chicken afritada

i'm pretty sure i've strayed a lot from the original filipino way of making this filipino dish but i'll still call it afritada. it is quite tasty.

prep vegetables:
onion: 1 diced
garlic: 1 bulb
ginger, minced
bell pepper (green or red), diced
english peas: 1c
potato: 1 russett, pealed, thinly diced

prep sauce in large bowl:
soy sauce: 2T
oyster sauce: 1/4c
tomato sauce: 8oz (can)

prep chicken:
drumsticks: 5
rinse, pat dry, black pepper

in dutch oven, heat sesame oil.
add chicken, brown all sides, use tongs, ~10 minutes total.
set chicken aside. cut off skin (i don't like the skin).

add a little more sesame oil.
sautee onion, garlic, ginger.
add back chicken.
add sauce.
simmer ~15 minutes, covered.
add potato.
simmer ~20 minutes, covered.
add bell pepper.
simmer ~10 minutes, covered.
add peas.
simmer ~10 minutes, covered.
simmering longer and slower may be good if time allows.

take off heat . serve with rice. 5 servings (duh).
total time: 2 hours (prep :40, sautee :25, simmer :55)

spaghetti squash!

today i experimented FINALLY with a spaghetti squash! put the oven on 350, cut the squash in half, put them cut side down, and then bake for 45 minutes. that's all you do! and then once they come out and cool some, you can use a fork to "scrape" out the squash strands that really do look like spaghetti.

so here's what i did with what i made:

"spaghetti" with shrimp and vegetables!

here's what i used:

- baked spaghetti squash. i think used about 2/3 of the squash i had? just eyeball whatever you would eat in pasta amount i suppose...
- roasted shrimp. 1/2 pound of shrimp, peeled, etc, and i roasted it on 400 about 5-6 minutes with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
- diced zucchini.
- chopped green onion.
- minced cilantro.
- tomatoes. i decided to use cherry tomatoes that i halved and roasted along with the shrimp.
- salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and sherry just because i like it.

saute the zucchini, onion, then add the squash, and splash the sherry, and then add the shrimp and tomatoes and cilantro. toss! serve! we garnished ours with some grated parmesan and some avocado and yum it was good! the dish was so colorful and delicious. would have been 100% complete with some crusty bread and a nice glass of wine!

will DEFINITELY be using spaghetti squash more in my cooking!

pictures to come when i upload my camera...

black beans

cooking black beans is always an experiment (especially on how to incorporate the cumin the best way so that it doesn't just float on the top of the broth) but i've more or less settled down on a way that makes pretty good beans.

black beans: 1 pound dry
water: 8 c
onions: 2, halved
garlic: 2 bulbs, pressed
bay leaves: 5
cumin: 1 t
chili powder: 1 t
black pepper
salt: 1.5 t
oregano: 2 t



- soak the beans ~8 hours. put in dutch oven with water and bring to a low simmer, covered.
- add the onion halves.
- prep your garlic, sautee in some olive oil, add to pot.
- sautee cumin, chili powder, and BP in some olive oil, take off the heat, and add some broth before adding to the pot.
- ~1 hour in, add salt and oregano.
- simmer another hour or so (the longer and lower the simmer, the better).
- take off the heat, remove and discard the onion pieces, let sit covered a while and let cool before refrigerating.

this recipe makes enough to have several meals of beans and several of bean soup.

curried pumpkin soup

i guess it's time for a new recipe...

i've recently discovered roasting the various winter squashes to be quite fun and tasty. i started with roasting a small sweet dumpling squash with a bit of salt and pepper, slathered it with some butter, and lo and behold, a tasty side dish! i also procured some small sugar pumpkins with the intent of making pumpkin pie, but then i decided to make a soup with it, much to the delight of H. and it turned out so deliciously, i must share the recipe.

ingredients:

• 1 small sugar pumpkin, about the height of a canned coke or something
• chicken stock (or veggie, whatever you have)
• cream
• sour cream (for garnish)
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and rough chop
  
• cloves of garlic, peeled
  
• 1.5-2 inch piece of root ginger, rough chop
  
• cilantro, minced
  
• red curry paste
• salt
• pepper (i used some black and white pepper)
• red cayenne pepper to taste

first you gotta cook the pumpkin flesh. you can do this in any number of ways...what i did was to cut it into sections, scoop out the seeds (SAVE THEM TO MAKE THE ROASTED SEEDS), and then steam them until a fork easily pierces the skin/flesh. this took me about 10-12 minutes. alternatively, you could roast them in the oven along with the onion, garlic, and ginger (since you have to roast those anyway to get really good flavor). (next time i think i'll roast the pumpkin with the rest of the ingredients, if that helps you decide.) roast the veggies at around 350 for 45 minutes or so. just check them periodically, and when they look good, just take them out!

after everything's done, puree the whole lot in a blender. or food processor. i don't have one of those, so i used a blender. over medium heat in a pot, put your concentrated "soup" into it. add a cup of the chicken broth and stir. add more if you want thinner soup. i believe i added about 1 3/4 cup chicken broth. then add your spices. i ended up using about 1.5 tsps of the red curry paste, and then i put in some yellow curry powder as well. i like spicy food so i added a lot of cayenne pepper. basically, just add your spices and cilantro a little at a time, taste, and then adjust. i went through multiple tastings before i got it how i wanted, but that's just how soup is.

once everything warms through and just starts to bubble, turn the heat off and add a bit of the cream. the cream really helps to just smooth things out a bit. after you add the cream, you do NOT want to bring the soup to a boil. that is why you add the cream AFTER you've gotten your soup seasoned the way you want.

serve in a bowl. i garnished with a dollop of sour cream and H added some peanuts to his. it was a lovely soup with nice spice and heat to it...enjoy!

braised lamb shank

i had been craving some lamb lately and found myself in fresh market the other day, and voila, they have lamb! of multiple varieties! i decided to try to cook the lamb shank...i knew it just needed some long slow cooking for it to taste good, so why not? i had a few hours to spare...

ingredients:

• 1 lamb shank (a little over 1 lb)
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• garlic, minced
• 1 small apple, sliced
  
• coriander
• cumin
• paprika
• PINCH of cinnamon
• salt
• pepper
• mint
  
• red wine

preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. heat up some olive oil in a dutch oven. trim the excess fat off of the lamb. season the lamb with the salt and pepper. brown the lamb shank on all sides and then set aside. add the onions, garlic, and apple and saute until everything looks good and translucent. add your spices and let cook for a few moments. deglaze the pot with some red wine. bring to a boil. once at a boil, add the lamb shank back into the pot, cover, and place in oven. bake it in the oven for about 1-1.5 hours, or until the meat falls off the bone.

once it was ready, i took it out, carved it, and had 2 good servings of delicious lamb! this method of cooking was very similar to cooking coq a vin, just in case you needed a reference point.

the lamb was served with some of the sauce in the dutch oven, fresh lightly boiled green beans (seasoned with some of the spices used in the lamb), and some oven-baked cheddar mac and cheese. delicious meal, and quite colorful as well.

chicken salad

we all know that it is hard to find a chicken salad recipe without nasty eggs and disgusting mayonaise. this has neither- it's got yogurt. this makes about 3 servings. very good on toasted pita bread.

mix all this together in a bowl:
2 cups cooked chicken *
1 stalk celery diced
1/4 red onion, diced
cilantro, minced
garlic powder
curry powder
paprika
S&P
1/2 c plain yogurt
mustard

*poached, shredded, and chopped (one breast and one drumstick are enough)

bulgogi

bulgogi is grilled, marinated beef strips. along with white rice, garlic, and gochujang (a sweet and picante chili-garlic sauce) beef strips it is wrapped in a leaf of lettuce. the marinade recipe comes from manchi and the assembly comes from how i remember it being done in korea.

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for the marinade, mix in a bowl:
1/4 c soy sauce
1/8 c white sugar
1/2 asian pear
1/2 head garlic
1/4 c water

puree then add and puree again:
1/2 T honey

add:
black pepper
1/2 T sesame seeds
5 stalks chopped green onion
1 T sesame oil

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for the meat:
1 # sirloin tip
slice long and thin strips again the grain
add to the marinade
refrigerate >= 3 hours

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grill meat, flip each strip once (~4 mins each side)
wrap in lettuce as described above
this serves 4. can easily be doubled.