See Steve Cook

Tonight is Thursday, and every Friday evening during Great Lent, my church has a lenten pot luck dinner after Presanctified Liturgy. I look forward to these dinners because it gives me a chance to try out my lenten recipes on other people who are in search of good lenten food.

Since my Carrot Soup turned out so well on Tuesday night, I decided to make it again for tomorrow. Here are some awesome action photos of me working hard on my Carrot Soup (props to my wife for her crazy photography skills).

Here's me chopping carrots with my brand new Santoku Knife, faster than Emeril! Three pounds of carrots in like 5 minutes -- no joke. And I only cut off two of my fingers this time.

Here's me moving the chopped carrots to a bowl. Exciting isn't it? Why even bother to watch Food Network when you have my blog?

And here is a picture of Emily (my wife) not helping me cook (this is typical). Of course, every time I bring up the fact that I do all of the cooking, she is quick to point out that she does "everything" else. But that just isn't true! I did laundry... once.

So tomorrow, my Spicy Carrot Soup get puts to the test. If it's good enough for the faithful of Saint Andrew Orthodox Church, then I can truely call it a success.

Comments Welcome.

Don't try this at home

Tonight's dinner was not so good. It was another attempt at Asian Cuisine; this time I tried Chinese. I've actually done Chinese successfully before. But this dish was definitely less than steller.

I love all of the Chinese "Something and Broccoli" dishes (Shrimp and Broccoli, Beef and Broccoli, Chicken and Broccoli). I decided to try something along those lines, except, (being Lent and all), I decided to make this dish with various mixed vegetables (Red Pepper, Sugar Snap Peas, Onions, and Broccoli). And, in place of Chicken/Shrimp/Beef I chose Tofu. Now I what you're thinking... "Tofu? Tofu has no taste!" And that is exactly right -- tofu really doesn't have any taste. But I believe we can use that to our advantage... if we know how. Clearly though, I need more practice cooking with Tofu.

You see, tofu has a lot of moisture, and in order to put any flavor into it, we need to get the moisture out. My absolute, all-time favorite cook book, "I'm Just Here for the Food" by Alton Brown, has a recipe for "Bar-B-Fu" (Bar-B-Q Tofu). The suggested technique in that recipe is to place the tofu "steaks" on a cookie sheet with several paper towels both underneath and on top of the tofu. Then, place another cookie sheet on top, and weight it down with several heavy cans of food. Wait 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then, marinate the tofu in the Bar-B-Q sauce for several hours before cooking.

That makes good sense, but it's a lot of prep work, and I'm not much for prep work (which means I will probably never become an outstanding chef -- "mise en place" and all that jazz you know).

So I just decided to throw the tofu (moisture and all) into my wok along with the onions and red pepper that I had cut up. This was mistake number one. Even though I bought the firm tofu, with all its moisture, it's still not that firm. So when I went to do the saute toss (you know, to get an even coating of oil over everything), the tofu just sort of crumbled. What I ended up with was something like fried onions and red peppers with scrambled tofu -- not terribly appetizing, and I hadn't even gotten to the Broccoli yet.

Meanwhile, my rice is taking forever, probably because I kept taking the lid off to stir it, which I understand you're really not supposed to do, but whatever -- I've never been one to follow directions well.

In an attempt to salvage dinner, I decided to pick out the onions and red peppers one by one (they were done by this point), and let the tofu cook a while longer (it was still pretty mushy). I set them aside and let the "scrambled tofu" cook until it was nicely browned. Finally my rice has finished cooking, but I still had this tofu mush to deal with, and for some reason, I got the bright idea to add the tofu to the rice!

I think I was thinking about fried rice when I did this. Chinese fried rice generally has a scrambled egg added to it, so I figured: scrambled egg, scrambled tofu -- what's the difference?

I finished cooking the rest of the vegetables in sesame oil (the broccoli, and sugar snap peas). I mixed in the red peppers and onions, then added some ginger, curry, salt, and soy sauce. It was actually starting to smell somewhat good.

I plated the rice and topped it with the vegetables and then went to work on a brown sauce. My goal was to replicate the brown sauce that you get with most Something and Broccoli dishes. To do this, I just took a guess: soy sauce, sesame oil, water, chili flakes, pinch of ginger, pinch of curry, and some cornstarch for thickening. I still think I was on the right track, but my ratios must have been waaaaay off because I almost threw up (honestly) when I smelled this sauce. It smelled so bad that I couldn't even taste it. I ended up just eating the vegetables and rice with no sauce.

My wife actually didn't mind the dish. Actually, she said it was fairly good. So I said "Great! You can have it tomorrow for lunch too, and I'll have the left over Carrot Soup!" I definitely got the good end of that deal.

Comments Welcome.

Closet Indian

My project lead came into work this morning and asked me "What's weeth you and Indian food? I think you are a closet Indian."

He's right actually.

I have been obsessed with Indian food lately. Ever since I went with him to this Indian restaurant and ordered Vegatable Biryani, I've been talking about it nonstop. I liked the VB so much that I decided to look up a recipe for it. Problem is, I don't have half of the stuff in the recipe. Where in the world do I find Black Cardamom? And what is Haldi Powder? And Cumin-Coriander powder? Can I just take cumin and coriander and mix them together? How much of each?

Plus, it calls for whole cloves and cinnamon sticks, neither of which I have. Let me tell you, if a recipe calls for ingrediants that I can't get it at the local Safeway, I generally don't make that recipe.

So making Vegetable Biryani is on hold for now, but I haven't given up. I'm determined to amass these ingrediants eventually and then wow my wife with some good ethnic cooking.

If you're interested in making Vegetable Biryani yourself, here is the recipe my dear Indian friend gave me:

Ingrediants:

• 1 1/2 cups of good quality Basmati Rice
• 250 g of Cauliflower (I know... who in the world measures cauliflower in grams??)
• 2 medium sized potatoes
• 2 medium sized onions
• 50 g of green peas
• A few cloves, cinnamon stick, black pepper, black cardamom, a bayleaf or two (everything whole)
• Oil for frying
• Salt to taste
• 1 medium tomato (chopped)
• 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
• Ginger-garlic paste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons haldi powder
• 2 tablespoons of cumin-coriander powder
• 2 teaspoons (or to taste) of red chili powder

Directions:

1. Wash rice, boil in salted water for 5 minutes, then drain. Set aside.
2. Chop and fry with whole garam masala (??) until brown.
3. Cut all vegetables into big pieces and add to the onion mix.
4. Add chopped tomatoes, yogurt, salt, ginger-garlic paste, haldi powder, chili powder, and cumin-coriander powder.
5. Stir until all vegetables are well-coated with spices.
6. Spread rice over vegetables.
7. Cover with aluminum foil and cook over low heat for 60 to 70 minutes.
8. Check every 15 minutes or so for water. Normally no water is needed as the juices of the vegetables will be sufficient, but check just to be sure.
9. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, fried cashews (if desired) .
10. Say a prayer.
11. Eat and enjoy.

Since I haven't had the opportunity to actually try this recipe, I'd love to get feedback from someone who has.

Comments welcome.

Fire Girl

Fire Girl

Ok, so apparently my sister is not really human at all but rather a fire-breathing dragon (which is completely news to me, a little bit scary, and also kind of cool). Her obsession with spicy foods (Thai in particular) is relentless. I was aware of this to some degree, but I didn't realize it went to such extremes. She must have completely decimated her tastebuds or something, because I don't know of anyone that can eat a raw habañero pepper and not die.

Here are some comments of hers from a recent conversation we had via email:

"If you haven't yet, you might want to try cooking with habañero chiles... they have a fabulous tropical fruit flavor and would be great in a pineapple stir fry. Be careful though, it you have sensitive skin, they cause burns. I ate a whole one raw just to see if I could do it. Painful but yummy."

"Went to Thai restaurant yesterday and ordered Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles). Got 4 stars (the max spicyness) and it still was wimpy so asked for extra chili paste and added entire container. What does a white girl have to do to get some spicy food in an ethnic restaurant? I think I'm being discriminated against."

Don't get me wrong. I love spicy food. I spent a year in Mexico, the home of the habañero! But my goal is generally not to make myself sweat when I eat. I usually throw in some serrano chilis, some chili flakes, maybe some cayenne pepper into everything I cook, but that's pretty much where it ends. I don't like my food to be so so spicy that it overwhelms the other flavors in the dish.

But whatever, to each his (or her) own. If you like Hot n' Spicy, my sister recommends www.firegirl.com -- Everything Hot n' Spicy, and you can have it all shipped right to your home. Apparently they have these "Habañero stuffed olives from Hell" which my sister thinks are "fabulous." Personally, I think I'm gonna try to stay as far away from Hell (whether it be culinary hell or spiritual hell) as I can.

Comments welcome.

Lenten Banana-Coconut Pie

Lenten Banana-Coconut Pie

Note: With the exception of the crust, which in my case was store bought (because I have no idea how to make a lenten crust) this pie is completely lenten.

Ingredients:

• One box (4 envelopes in all) of Dream Whip (the powdered stuff)
• 2 boxes of banana instant pudding mix
• 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 3 teaspoons of cocoa powder (divided into 1 1/2 teaspoon portions)
  
• 3 to 4 cups of very finely shredded coconut (divided into 1 1/2 to 2 cup portions)
  
• 3 cups cups of very finely chopped pecans (divided into 1 1/2 cup portions)
  
• 2 3/4 cups of soy milk (original -- not flavored or anything)
• 2 store bought chocolate pie crusts (this recipes yields two pies)
  

Directions:

1. Use an electric hand mixer (on high) to beat together 1 package of Dream Whip with 1 cup of soy milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until peaks form.
2. Add in the two packages of banana instant pudding, another package of Dream Whip, and the remaining 1 3/4 cups of soy milk. Beat until the mixture is about as stiff as it will get.
3. Add the shredded coconut to the mixture and mix until integrated thoroughly. At this point you should taste the mixture and if the banana is overwhelming, add more coconut.
4. Pour half of the mixture into one pie crust, the other half of the mixture into the second pie crust, and refridgerate immediately (soy milk has a much shorter shelf life than regular milk).
5. Using the remaining two Dream Whip packages, follow the directions on the box to make two more batches of whip cream (one for each pie). When mixing the Dream Whip, add in 1 1/2 teaspoons to cocoa powder (to each batch) to give the whip cream a mild chocolate flavor. Add a pinch of sugar to counter the bitterness of the cocoa.
6. Spread the chocolate whip cream over each of the pies, making sure to completely cover the pie filling.
   
7. Pour 1 1/2 cups of finely chopped pecans over one of the pies (again, cover completely and be liberal -- the pecans really make this pie!). Repeat for the second pie.
8. Chill for about 4 hours.
   
9. Say a prayer.
10. Eat and enjoy.

This recipe is pretty darn good, especially considering there is nothing terribly fattening in it. I definitely recommend giving this a try. You could of course change it up with different pudding flavors.

Comments are welcome.

Spicy Carrot Soup

Spicy Carrot Soup (this recipe is awesome)

Ingredients:

• 7 to 10 medium-sized carrots (peeled and sliced into discs)
• 1 small white onion or 1/2 of a large white onion (diced)
  
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (of fresh tomatoes if you have)
• 1 can of vegetable broth
• 1 can of Budweiser
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil ("EVOO" if you're a dork like Rachael Ray)
  
• 1 tablespoon of parsley
• 1 to 2 teaspoons of basil
  
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder (more if you like garlic)
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
  
• 1 tablespoon of kosher salt (or to taste)
• 1 cup of milk (I used Soy, but 1%, 2%, whole, heavy cream -- whatever you want)
• 4 Serrano Chilis, chopped (add about 237 extra if you are my sister)
• A few pinches of chili flakes
  
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
  
• Freshly grated parmesian cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Pour vegetable broth, Budweiser, and water into a 6qt. stock pot.
2. Add carrots, onions and bay leaves to the pot.
3. Heat to boil, reduce heat to medium and continue to heat until carrots are soft enough to puree.
4. Reduce heat to low, and scoop carrots and onions out with a slotted spoon and place into a blender (be careful not to scoop out the bay leaves..
   
5. Puree carrots and onions until you have a smooth velvety texture. Pour back into stock pot.
6. Turn heat back to high, and while you're waiting for the liquid to return to boil, puree the can of diced tomatoes in the blender until you have a texture similar to the carrot/onion minture.
7. Add tomatoes to pot, along with parsley, basil, garlic powder, cayenne powder, black pepper, and salt.
8. Add the milk and olive oil and stir until everything is thoroughly mixed.
9. Add the serrano chilis and chili flakes.
   
10. Leave the soup on high heat for a few minutes, then reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 20 to 30 minutes.
11. Remove lid and let cook meduim low heat for a few minutes before serving.
12. Garnish with some freshly grated parmesian cheese (extra parsley or basil if you want).
13. Say a prayer.
14. Eat and Enjoy.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think. It's a "LousyCook" Original.

Some kind of Asian Stir fry

• 1 Cup of Basmati Rice cooked in water, oil, red wine vinegar, and soy sauce.
• 2 or 3 Carrots (julienned)
• Scallions
• Curry Powder, Ginger, Sesame Seeds, Cinnamon (just a pinch)
  
• 1/2 lb of Extra Firm Tofu
  

1. Boil rice (with oil, vinegar, and soy sauce) until liquid level drops slightly below the rice. Reduce heat and summer about 30 minutes.
2. Saute tofu and carrots in sesame oil (along w/ the scallions) for a few minutes. Add curry powder, ginger, cinnamon, and more soy sauce (be liberal).
3. When rice is done, add it to the carrots and tofu. Toss
4. Serve with cheap beer.

This recipe is only average. I give it 2.5 out of 5 stars. It's definitely missing something. Needs more bite -- needs something to make it spicier. I need to find a way to 'kick it up a notch'. Where' Emeril when you need him?

My wife is smarter than me

I program computers for a living. I went to college to study computers, and I even ended up with a degree in computer science. Yet, somehow, I could not figure out how to start this blog... until my wife showed me how. I actually set this thing up about 4 weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to my first post today. Sad really...