granola

preface:

why buy store bought granola when you can make your own and control what goes into it?

recipe:

in a large bowl mix:
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/2 t almond extract (or vainilla extract)
1/2 c honey
1/2 c peanut butter (smooth)

stir in:
6 c old-fashioned oats

spread this on a couple of baking tray, dont heap it too thick.

bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

with ten minutes left, add:
1/2 c somewhat chopped almonds

after baking is done add:
1/2 c raisins

let it cool- dont store it while its hot.

eat it for breakfast 10 days in a row and then it is gone.

eggplant, part II (eggplant parmesan)

why this way is good:

* not fried in oil
* not brushed with oil
* doesn't hurt stomach b/c of excessive oil
* doesn't use lots of salt for getting moisture out
* turns out like lasagna

egplant: wash, lop off the ends and slice horizontally (~7 slices). boil slices in water about 5 minutes then drain in a colander.

sauce: sautee minced garlic in olive oil (this is the only oil used). add some type of tomato-based sauce (~1.5 c pureed canned diced tomatoes), 1 T italian seasonings (oregano, basil,...), simmer 10-15 minutes.

bake: layer eggplant, sauce, eggplant, sauce, then parmesan cheese in sprayed cooking dish. cover with aluminun foil and bake at 350 degrees 20 minutes, remove foil and bake 10 minutes more.

mediterranean-esque salad with salmon

after deciding that a fresh, colorful dinner was in order, i decided to create a salad and add salmon to it since salmon is so delicious.

salad ingredients:

• green leaf lettuce (or whatever green lettuce-like vegetable you like)
• green onion
• 1 whole apple, chopped (i used fiji)
  
• sprouts (sprouts are just fun to eat!)
  
• 1 roma tomato, chopped

vinaigrette ingredients:

• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced and "smushed" (so the juice gets out)
• handful of whatever herbs you have on hand (for me, oregano and thyme from my mini-garden)
• pinch of salt
• few shakes of pepper
• equal parts balsamic vinegar and olive oil (i used a little less than 1/4 cup, and it was just enough for all the salad)
  

instructions:

to make the vinaigrette, put all the ingredients together in an air-tight container and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE to get everything together. an emulsion, if you will. (it's that easy! and you can try with different variations of vinegar or lemon juice or whatever herbs you want.) add all the vinaigrette to the salad and toss till well coated.

to make the salmon, cut the salmon into cubes and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. sautee in a pan until done.

to assemble the salad, just put the green stuff in the bowl first. then add the salmon chunks. garnish with croutons and crumbled feta cheese and then you have the most delicious salad EVER.*


*it could only be more delicious with a nice glass or two of red wine, preferably a cabernet. a merlot would be too sweet i think with the vinaigrette and the apple.

chick pea soup

* this is called "milan chick pea soup" on many web pages but when one reads about milanesian (?) cuisine, no such dish is listed. despite its origins, it is delicious.

(1) remove 1/2 pound italian sausage from its casing, brown in a skillet.
(2) add a chopped onion and a chopped head of garlic (sure, all the cloves).
(3) add 1/2 cup (or 2/3 cup to use the whole can) tomato paste.
(4) add 2 cans of chick peas (with the licuid). if you have time but not money,
obviously, cook these yourself in which case i guess you need 4 cups.
i will experiment with this next time.
(5) add 10 oz or so of chicken stock or broth.
(6) add 4-8 oz chopped mushrooms.
(7) add spices: basil, oregano, black pepper.
(8) bring this to a boil, simmer good uncovered 20 minutes.
(9) add one zucchini, in large cubes.
(10) simmer 5-10 minutes.
(11) serve with (whole wheat penne is good) pasta (1/2 cup dry pasta per person)
and parmesan cheese.

this feeds four hungry people and makes 6 cups.

fish tacos for two!

fish tacos are not only delicious, but are also healthier than red meat tacos. we made these on monday with an avocado salsa/guacamole. we used salmon, but i suppose any fish would do. i just really like salmon, and i like how it changes colors while it cooks so i know that it's done cooking (versus orange roughy, which contrary to its name, is a white-fleshed fish, not orange.)

for the fishy part:

1/2 pound salmon was cubed, or rectangled, into small chunks. i mixed together 1/4 teaspoons of the following: black pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and garlic powder. i then put all the salmon chunks in with the seasoning and stirred it up. then i sauteed them in a frying pan until they were done with just a little bit of olive oil. easy!

for the avocado salsa:

1 avocado and 1 medium tomato were diced and put in a bowl. add 1/4 cup of diced onion. then we added 4-5 cloves of minced garlic (raw) and minced serrano pepper to it, but i suppose that part is all to taste. chop a handful of cilantro roughly and add as well. a dash of salt and pepper, and a nice squeeze of lemon or lime, stir it up, and VOILA! you're done!

for the eating:

just take a corn tortilla or taco shell or what have you, spoon in what you like, maybe add some sour cream or cheese if that's what you want, and have at it! so delicious, and it was perfect for a warm evening. oh, and we drank red stripe with it and it was good too. and the recipe was perfect for 2 people to eat 3-4 tacos each without being overly stuffed.

vietnamese spring rolls or vietnamese foods, part 2

here is the now perfected recipe:

-boil shrimp, peel
-boil rice vermicelli (pancit noodles) until clear
-lay out bowl of water, wet towel, wrappers, cilantro, lettuce
-dip each wrapper in water for one second, let it drain, place it on the towel
-put in the stuff: rice vermicelli, lettuce, shrimp, cilantro
-fold the right and left side over a little.
-start rolling from the bottom until fully and tightly rolled

serve with a hoisin/peanut dipping sauce which i have yet to produce.

i can eat about 4 and thats a meal for me and its delicious and light.

vietnamese foods

pho is the vietnamese noodle soup dish that can make sweat come out of your forehead. even using homemade chicken stock and a "beef pho paste", i could not quite get the taste of the broth right despite several attempts. like the conclusion i reached after several attempts at making that ethiopian spongy sour-dough bread, i decided i would leave making pho to the vietnamese restaurant.

after memories of this failure had passed, it was time to try spring rolls, another favorite item on the menu at the local vietnamese eatery. i got a package of 48 spring roll wrappers and a crappy recipe of the internet, and i was ready to go.

for the filling, some ground turkey was browned and drained then mixed in with shredded cabbage, carrot, green onion, garlic, cilantro, and a little sesame oil and oyster sauce.

and getting the filling in the wrappers? you have to dip the wrapper in water briefly. this makes it go from hard to almost slimy. put it on a dry surface like a cutting board, put the filling in, and wrap it up.

at this point, my recipe said to bake these rolls. however, i dont think this is necessary, just brown the garlic with the turkey initially.

also, next time i may use iceberg lettuce, shrimp, and sliced pork, as at the restaurant. there should be another post about this in the future.