Tofu Praram Long Song (tofu with peanut sauce on a bed of spinach)

Feb 27, 2010

Tofu Praram Long Song a.k.a The Swimming Rama is my all time favorite Thai dish. It's all about the creamy peanut sauce that keeps me wanting for more. This dish comes in whatever protein you like such as chicken, pork, or beef,  but I like mine with Tofu because it brings out the peanut sauce even more. Also you can use any green vegetable you like such as broccoli. I've been wanting to make this for a very long time at home because every time I order it at the restaurant I come back home wanting more. I adapted the recipe from the website called Recipes From the Thai Kitchen. It gives a brief history of where this recipe originated from and the popularity of it in the US. The recipe was easy to follw and I got the results I wanted. The original recipe called form Palm Sugar but I used honey. As for the tamarind sauce, I still have my Pad Thai sauce which I used sparingly but you can buy concentrated tamarind at the Asian market. The original recipe didn't call for peanut butter which I added because that's what I love about it.  

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Thai Coconut Curry Black Bean Soup

Feb 23, 2010

I am learning a lot about all types of curry: green, yellow, red, massaman, and panang, and my taste buds are dancing to all the spices and flavors. It's really versatile and you can't go wrong with it, the sauces are just to die for. Right now I'm really digging Thai Curries and bought a couple of tiny buckets of Green and Red Curry at the Asian Market. They're definitely a time saver than creating my own each time and they store easily in the fridge. I came across a recipe in one of my fitness magazine that I've been meaning to try. It called for black beans, coconut milk, and cumin, and thought what if I just add curry paste. This Thai curry black bean soup came out sweet, a little sour, spicy hot, and creamy.

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Vegetarian MexicanTortilla Soup

Feb 22, 2010

On Sundays during Lent, whatever one gives up, one can do. For a quick second, I thought about going to the grocery store and picking up a nice thick rib eye for dinner to dry rub with my favorite seasonings but I wasn't really craving it. After a week of eating vegetables, I really had no desire to eat a piece of meat. I was more interested in what I can come up with for dinner using vegetables. Since it was raining and a bit chili inside, I thought I'd make a nice bowl of soup. I had made pozole in the past using pork so this time I'm going to use all kinds of vegetables to give it flavor. My favorite ingredients to use nowadays is a mirepoix which is a combination of carrots, celery, and onions. It sets the base of flavor to any dish.

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Deep Fried Twinkie and Oreos

Feb 21, 2010

 

No funnel cake today, it was all about the deep fried Twinkie and Oreos cookies. There's a little wagon stand on the boardwalk right across from the water ride that makes you look twice and say to yourself "Does that really say deep fried twinkies?" Just the thought of deep frying a Twinkie makes me feel a little giddy inside knowing that it's probably not good for me but I know it'll taste good. 

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Recap: Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook-Off 2010

It was a gorgeous day in Santa Cruz with the sun shinning on the boardwalk where the annual Clam Chowder Cook-off was held. We got there at 12:30 pm, half an hour before tasting begins, the crowd was friendly and eager to taste. Just $8 bucks for a tasting kit, you get a brown paper bag in it a cup with a spoon, 5 tickets which grants you to taste up to 5 different chowders, and a blue ticket to vote for your favorite. As I walked from one end to the other end, I noticed it was a little shorter than it was the year before. It could be a good thing or a bad thing. 

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Tofu Pad Thai Recipe

Feb 19, 2010

I am really enjoying eating like a Vegetarian. I thought it was going to be hard but it's a lot easier than I had anticipated. I don't mind substituting animal protein with Tofu, I actually like it a lot and I feel it's a lot healthier for me. It also seems like I have more energy, I went to the gym and did an hour of cardio and it felt amazing. For tonight's dinner, I made one of my favorite noodles, Pad Thai. I add tofu for protein and napa cabbage for some greens and this Pad Thai sauce paste that I absolutely love for flavor.

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A simple and quick Thai Red Curry Tofu

Feb 18, 2010

I've decided to give up animal protein (chicken, beef, and pork) for lent. For the next 40 days, Monday through Saturday, I'll be vegetarian. Why? Because I've been eating too much meat lately and I need to cut back plus it's healthy. The next 40 days will be interesting since I've tried to convert to vegetarianism at one point and lasted a week which consisted of eating green salads. I got sick of green salads that I didn't eat it for a long time. This time I'm a little bit more creative in what I cook  and I love experimenting with all types of vegetables. I'll miss meat but I won't give it up completely since Sundays are considered mini-Easter therefore it's like a celebration on Sundays so I can eat meat if I desire. What worries me is not getting enough protein in my system so tofu will be my main source or protein along with legumes. For tonight's dinner I made a simple Thai Red Curry Tofu with eggplant and bok choy which turned out fantastic. I am really enjoying experimenting with all the possibilities.

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A simple bread salad - Panzanella

Feb 10, 2010

Panzanella is a wonderful bread salad that I make every time I have some left over bread. I had plenty of garlic bread that I made the night before and I couldn't just throw it away or eat by itself which I probably could but I needed some veggies with it. The butter, garlic, and herbs really made my salad delicious with  just tomatoes, cucumbers, and fresh herbs dressed in a simple balsamic vinaigrette. You can pretty much add whatever you like just like any green salad but I simply like it this way.

Ingredients:
5 cups of bread or garlic bread, cubed

1 cup of cucumber, seeded and chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
12 basil leaves, torned
1 tb of parsley, chopped
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

New England Clam Chowder

Clam Chowder is one of my favorite soups to eat whether it be in the dead of winter or in warm temperature. I can eat 2-3 bowlfuls of it and still crave it. Who doesn't like the creamy goodness this soup. It's almost time for the Santa Cruz clam Chowder Cook Off and it inspired me to cook my own version from scratch. Well, actually it's Julia Child's recipe from her book, The Way to Cook. I was going to enter in the cook-off but I decided not to because I wanted to the one tasting not serving. The last time I went at the cook-off it was cold and pouring rain and the thought of cooking in that element is definitely what I had in mind.  Maybe I'll do it next year if I can drag a few friends to help me out.

Ingredients: (adapted from The Way to Cook)
The Chowder Soup Base

• 4 slices of bacon bacon, sliced thinly
• 1 Tbs butter
• 1 cup of diced onions 
• 2 bay leaf
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 2 tbs of flour
• 4 cups liquid clam juices, vegetable stock, or chicken stock
• 3 cups of diced potatoes
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper
•  1 pint of heavy cream
• 1 10 oz can of baby clams
• 1 6.5 oz can of chopped clams
• 2 cups of celery

Directions

Cook the bacon until crisp. Add the butter. Stir in the onions and bay leaf; cover, and cook slowly 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are tender. Add the flour and stir until golden brown. Pour in the clam juice slowly into the flour mix to prevent lumps. Add cream and add the potatoes and simmer for 30 minute. Season to taste with salt and white pepper, and the soup base is ready. Add the clams and celery and simmer for 30 minutes.

Mussels with Amber Ale, OJ, and Bacon

Feb 8, 2010

 

Mussels are funny little creatures with a hard shell protecting it's soft and chewy insides. They're good! Mussels, oysters, and clams are my favorite. Tonight, I was browsing through my Top Chef Quickfire Cookbook and came upon Stephanie's White-Ale Orange Juice Mussels recipe and thought I could do that. I didn't quite have all the ingredients, I left out the bulb of fennel as I wasn't about to venture out in the cold rain even though I like that licorice flavor. I did add bacon which y'all know I'm a huge fan of. 

The final outcome turned out smoky, a little tangy, and delicious The only thing I would do differently next time would probably be to set aside the bacon once crisp and sprinkle them on top at the end. It's just a preference on how I like my bacon.

Ingredients: (adapted from Top Chef The Quickfire Cookbook)

4 slices of bacon, sliced into 1/2" 

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup of orange juice

1 cup of amber ale beer

salt and pepper to taste

2 lbs of mussels, thawed if frozen

1 tbs of parsley, chopped

1 tsp of red chili flakes

jalapeno (optional)

Directions:

In a frying pan over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Add garlic and saute until golden brown.

Add orange juice and beer and simmer until reduced by half.

Add mussels and cook until tender or when all have opened up. Discard any unopened mussels. 

Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and serve with your bread to soak up the delicious juice. 

Pozole Recipe

Feb 4, 2010

It's been a while since my last post and I'd have to blame it on my new coupon book from Checks America to support missing children throughout the US. For only $12 bucks you get a lot of great deals from local restaurants such as buy 1 entree and get the 2nd entree for free to many great local restaurants and you have the entire year to use them.

The nights have been pouring like cats and dogs and the barking and meowing had me craving something warm and hearty. Pozole Soup will just do the trick to fill my tummy and keep me nice and cozy.  A soup that originated from Mexico comprised of pork or any other protein, hominy, seasonings, and toppings of fresh vegetables such as cabbage, lettuce, radish, and jalapeno to name a few been on my mind all day long. The flavors of this soup is without a doubt one of my favorite soups.  I first had it at my childhood friend's house. I stopped by on my way home and I was in for a real surprise when her mom had been preparing it all day. It was a soup that her mom rarely made and I was lucky that day have had some. The soup was absolutely delicious with it's rich broth, tender meat with fresh and crispy vegetable toppings. Tonight's soup was what I had except mine was on the spicy side. I had to stop myself on the 3rd bowl and just writing about it has my mouth water thinking about all the goodness in a bowl.

Ingredients: 

10 cups of water

2 lbs of pork picnic roast

1 tbs of salt

1/2 cup of onions, diced

1 bulb of garlic, peeled

2 tbs of chili powder

1 tsp of cayenne powder

1 tbs of cumin

1 tbs of dried Mexican oregano

1 29oz can of Mexican Style Hominy

Garnishes/Toppings:

shredded lettuce

sliced radishes

cilantro

avocado

jalapeno

Directions:

Simmer water in a large stock pot, add salt, and add the pork. Simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until pork is tender. Skim off the scum throughout the cooking process.

Add the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer slowly.

When the pork is tender, take it off the pot and set it aside to let it cool until easy to handle. Dice the pork into small bite size pieces and return to the stock for another 30 - 45 minutes.

Serve with desired toppings