Wonder Noodle Fettuccine in Peanut Sauce

get in mah behleh...

a.k.a. Lazy Pad Thai. Can it even be called that? 

Sure. My food, my rules.

Going full steam with the noodle switch. Shirataki is something to get used to, but I don't know if I  could eat it with a tomato sauce. It doesn't seem right. 

Asian foods, no problem. It goes. For this, I sauteed the noodles in beef fat, and doused it in peanut sauce. Sesame, hemp hearts, chili flakes.

Gone in an instant. And yay timing... I've got more noodles coming in tomorrow. Thanks Thrive Market!

2019

 

Following traditions. Dark leafy greens, black eyed peas, round fruits for luck and prosperity.

Life feels very turbulent, yet not moving. If that makes sense.

Sorry, just feeling mopey.

Here's to a new year.

Sunday Stock # 1 - 3

Adobong Sitaw and Kangkong (Green Bean and Water Spinach)

When you think adobo, you probably envision chicken or pork. But here's the thing - you can adobo much more than that. The key ingredient to make something adobo is vinegar. Pick a meat or vegetable and braise in vinegar - adobo!

If you're looking for water spinach at the Asian market, look for hollow stems, the leaves are long, narrow and pointed at the end. I bought this at the 99 Ranch in Hackensack, but I'm sure they sell it at the markets here. 

Adobong Kangkong (Braised Water Spinach in Vinegar)

adapted from Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine 

2 pounds water spinach 

2 onions

4 garlic cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp coarse black pepper

1/4 cup white vinegar

splash soy sauce

1. Blanch water spinach for 20 seconds. Place in ice bath to stop cooking

2. Saute onion and garlic on medium heat until soft

3. Add spinach, vinegar, soy sauce, salt and pepper

4. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated

5. Serve immediately

Repeat with green beans/yard long.

Goes great with grilled meats.

The Flexibility of Ramen

When your pots are dirty, a frying pan will work in a pinch. I ended up making this more of a stir fry than soup. Great for clearing out leftovers. Almost done with the New Year's leftovers.

Also, I'm slowly working through all the unfinished posts in my drafts folder. Most I'm sure I will have no idea why I wanted to post it, but whatever... improvise.

Day 16: International Hot & Spicy Food Day

In honor of this international food holiday, I decided to make a popular spicy Filipino dish, Bicol Express.

Bicol express is a stew made with pork, sauteed shrimp paste, coconut milk, the usual aromatics (garlic and ginger) and chilies. Normally pork belly is used, but I picked up one of those stir fry packs that had pork strips. Paid a little bit more, but all I had to do was chop up the onion and pepper strips into small dice. I only used jalapenos for my heat, but I don't want to kill my stomach. Keep it on the light side.

I roughly followed the bicol express recipe from Yasmin Newman's 7000 Islands: A Food Portrait of the Philippines. When I say roughly, I mean I glanced at the page to make sure I got the right ingredient in at the right time. Measurements I didn't really follow.

I'm a little worried about tomorrow's food holiday - hot buttered rum. What is that?

Friday... Back At It

Hey look here... scenes from yesterday. But you would have seen those already if you follow me on Instagram. Sometimes I wonder if a blog is necessary when you have that. Blogs are words pictures. Instagram is nothing but pictures with words. Eh.

Friday after the gorge fest and I'm at work. Turkey coma... not that I ate too much of it. I didn't really eat all that much, now that I think about it. One of the perks of cooking everything I suppose. I should keep at it. Big high school reunion milestone next year.

Don't get me started.

Work has been steady, which I expected. Because people don't take a holiday from being sick. For? From? Whatever. I woke up nice and early this morning for the drive up. Not too bad, perhaps slightly more busy than usual.

I need more coffee. And a warm blanket. And a nap.

Or... I'll just keep online shopping. Probably my best bet.

Happy Thanksgiving

Originally I was going to attempt at live blog of today. Didn't happen. But I was on Instagram for most of it, so if you follow me you saw what I was up to.


Now I am just writing about the day. Very busy, but enjoyable. Food was cooked, people were fed. Plenty of alcohol to be had. Leftovers sent home with all participants, including yours truly.


It's late and I'm exhausted. I have to get up early to head back upstate for work. So it looks like there will be no Black Friday shopping for me. For the best, I think.


Hope you had a good one.

Ratatouille

I must admit, working as a prep cook has been a good influence on my home cooking. The ease of making this at work encouraged me to make it as the main dish for the week. Ratatouille, if you are not familiar with it, is a French vegetable stew. It can be thinly sliced and presented in some pretty fashion, or roughly chopped into even sized pieces for quick and easy cooking. Traditionally each vegetable is cooked separately, and then combined at the end. Too much work, if you ask me. So much easier to cook it all together at once. Bastardized ratatouille, I'll take it.

Ratatouille

2 eggplants, peeled

2 peppers, cored

2 red onions

2 zucchini

2 yellow squash

2 pints grape tomatoes

3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup chopped basil

1 cup chopped parsley

2 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp cracked black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment/foil

2. Cut vegetables in even pieces, 1/2 - 1 inch sized. Combine in large bowl and mix to combine

3. Whisk oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small container. Pour over vegetables, add basil and parsley. Toss to combine.

4. Spread out on baking sheets, single layer. Bake for 20 minutes, stir vegetables and rotate pan. Repeat in 10-15 minute increments, until vegetables are tender. Allow to cool before storing in air tight containers.

First Days in the Kitchen

"You smell like bacon."






That was the first thing M told me Monday morning. After my first weekend working in a kitchen, I am not surprised. M will have to get used to it, as this will be a common occurrence.






So, to recap: I applied, interviewed, was offered and accepted a position as a prep cook in a local restaurant. I am not naming names, but it's local. You'll probably be able to figure it out, and if you do... please stop on in! Have a drink, have a bite to eat. I may have helped make some of it.






And just like my culinary classes, I was excited to start. More excited/nervous, but hey... have to make a good impression. Arrived early to make sure I beat the farmers market crowd for a decent parking spot. It was probably a good thing I got there early because I was thrown right into the mix - they got slammed the night before, and a lot of prep to get through.




My duties were a mish mash of things - portioned and formed scones, baked eggplant slices, prepared the house salad mix, sliced/portioned/stored meats for sandwiches, and made crepe batter. Not only did I make that batter, I was expected to make them as well. Most of my crepes were not pretty, but I think I've got the hang of it. Maybe. Cleaned by area, helped when I could. Most of the time I kept my head down and did what I had to do. By the end of the day I was sweaty, sore, and exhausted. I had enough energy to scarf down a slice or two of pizza before I called it a night.


The next morning I was there even earlier, but it was nice to walk around downtown before it got busy. Day two started off slowly, but picked up quickly after opening. I helped (mostly watched) how they make their quiches, before I started on three different fruit fillings for the crepes - apple, peach, and mixed berry. Made some more crepes (really need to work on my technique at home) and prepped more vegetables for the line. Cooked up ratatouille right before my break, and whipped up a batch of Devonshire cream before I left. Lots of portioning, labeling, and rotating stock.


Instead of heading straight home after work, I ended up meeting M and a friend for drinks to celebrate my new job. Not a bad start.

An Interesting Development

I keep meaning to start this blog up again, but I don't know what direction to take it. It started just as a means to write down the food related things I was doing. But then came the boom of food blogs/food lifestyle things and it seems like niches are covered. So now what?



Just write when I'm in the mood, I guess. Did I write about this before? I wouldn't be surprised, I am known to get stuck in loops.



Moving on.



A couple of weeks ago it was Julia Child's birthday. Exactly two weeks ago. She would be 105 if she was still kicking. Being the notable food person she was, people posted on social media Julia Child things. Pictures, videos, and quotes. Lots of quotes. And there was one in particular that rang true:

Passion. Interest. Food.

I feel like I've been in limbo for a while. What am I supposed to be when I grow up? Where is my life going? What am I making for dinner tonight?

The upside of my field of work is that I will always have work and will always be able to find work if I need it. I am at a state when I'm comfortable enough to be able to do the things I've wanted to do. Like taking culinary classes. Buying residences. Adult things.

But even though I have this ability to do what I want (and generally when I want it), I feel stagnant. Running around but still in the same place. I need a shake up.

I applied for a kitchen job at a restaurant.

Every now and then I would look at the help wanted section and read the descriptions thinking "this would be cool." Usually I think that and then close the window and get back to work. But a couple of weeks ago, I clicked on the link and filled out an application.

To be honest, I didn't think much of it. At least I applied. But the strangest thing... I heard back and scheduled an interview. I scheduled an interview after an impromptu trip out to Connecticut and back, with no sleep and running on coffee fumes. And from what I remember it wasn't bad... some talk about the job, but a whole lot of me rambling on about food things. I walked out of there thinking, that was a decent interview... but I'm not holding my breath.

A week went by, and nothing. I sent off an email because I was asked to do that if I heard nothing. The response back was a job offer.

Holy moly... I got it!

Immediately, I sent a text off to M and he was just as excited as I was. I think this will be a good thing.

I'll write again about my first two days as a prep cook. This post must be pretty long at this point.

Early Morning Rambles and Cooking

Hello. Still there? Well I'm still here.

Been busy. Big things... mostly trying to buy a place and a car. Place I kinda have, car I need to work on. 

Still doing the keto thing, which has been alright. Stayed on this a lot longer than the Paleo dealie. Which is weird, because they are somewhat similar. You read about people going on keto and they talk about all this weight they lose right away. I'm a month in and I have lost an astounding... five pounds. 

Meh. 

Maybe I'm more keto-ish than keto. Or maybe I don't have water weight that needs to be lost. I must say, I drink a crapton more water now than I used to. I bring my 34 oz water bottle with me to work every day and half of it is gone before lunch. I fill it back up with ice and keep plugging along. 

I kind of miss things. Like ice cream. Why did I start this nonsense in the summer, the peak of all ice cream-ness? Instagram taunts me with pictues of ice cream sammies, black ice cream, this week's flavors at Snowman. And yes, I know I can go and get some, eff the sugar... but I end up talking myself out of it and eating blueberries and calling it a day. 

Since I passed out at 7 last night, I am up bright and early. May even go to the gym first thing this morning. In the meantime, I am reading yesterday's WSJ and cooking lunch. This week's lunches/dinners are Mexican shredded chicken either in a salad or over cauli rice. And don't get me wrong, it is tasty, but I need something else. Which explains why I got some fish and calamari after work yesterday. Totally hit the spot.

Now I'm cooking up some Filipino food. Laing, to be exact. And as paleo as many filipino dishes are, they are also keto friendly. Some adjustments here and there, but doable. Kelp and shiritaki noodles are decent replacements, and hello! no more bloat.

I've posted a recipe for laing in the past years. But it is simple - sauteed onion, garlic, and ginger. Diced pork belly and tuna. Collard greens, coconut milk, and fermented shrimp paste. Not sure how this will be over cauli rice, but it's pretty good on its own.

Food Prepping

Food prepping is one of those things I swear I'll do... but don't. It's right up there with making meals for the week. I either end up eating everything that day, or I bring it to work and don't touch it. Wasteful. 

And portions. I am horrible at doing that. For example, that pan there? That can be broken up into what... three portions, with a little bit of each? Half I threw into a container for work (which I ended up not eating until I got back home), and the other half I ate right off the pan. It was delicious, by the way. Olive oil and some Cajun seasoning. 

I think I need more cooking structure. Next week. My life will be less crazy after Saturday.

Late Night Meal Prep

Hello.

I should be studying. Actually, I should be sleeping. But the night owl in me never lets that happen.

So I figure I should make food for lunch. Something a bit more substantial than vegetables, which don't get me wrong... are good. Just boring. And no protein.

So I'm poaching chicken. Nothing fancy. Garlic, peppercorns, star anise. Okay, maybe the star anise is a bit fancy. But hey... spice it up.

I'm thinking adding the chicken to salad for lunch, and perhaps a noodle soup for dinner.

Wait... don't I have some CBC in the fridge?

Wonder if that is still good.

P.S. - I wrote this on phone.

P.P.S. - I used the swipe function to write it. How about all that fancy tech savvy...ness. I don't like my phone throwing words in there it thinks I want there. Just had to correct a bit.

Pressure Cooker Spare Ribs

So it's only taken me just about three weeks before I finally got a post up. I've been meaning to write more, but I keep putting it off... you know how that goes. 

I've been very much into my pressure cooker of late. A regular stovetop one, not one of those new dangled electric ones. I did get one for my sister, and she loves it. I say I'll get one, but the stovetop works just fine. Over the weekend I used it on a whole chicken, taking the bone and most of the meat off and leaving a decent portion in the pot for arroz caldo. Before that I made kalua pork, which I've been eating with my salads. Tonight I made ribs.

No real recipe here - cut up the rack of ribs so that they would fit in the pot. Seasoned with salt and pepper. I used beef broth for the liquid. I set a steam bracket inside to keep the ribs out of the broth. High pressure (I think) for about 30 minutes. When it was done, I placed them on a baking sheet lined with foil and slathered both sides with the whiskey sauce I got from O'Brien's. The first floor smells so good, even M the vegetarian mention it. 

Looking foward to lunch tomorrow.

Last Minute Game Day Food: Shredded Buffalo Chicken

I have to be honest here, I’m not planning on watching the game.

Oh, it will probably be on in the living room, but I will most likely be doing other things. Like cleaning out my closets. Organizing my clothes. Cooking food for the coming week. Drinking beer. Stuff.

If you have a viewing party to go to later, here is something you can throw in your crockpot and take over. Or you can just make it for yourself to eat during week. I found the recipe on Sweet Little Blue Bird, but tweaked it just a bit. What I cooked is listed below. The cream cheese addition was me.

2.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
12 oz Franks Red Hot sauce
1 packet Ranch dressing mix
1 package cream cheese, softened

1. Mix the hot sauce and ranch dressing mix in a small pan. Heat until it starts to bubble. Allow to cool slightly.

2. Pour over chicken in crock pot. Cook on high for ~4 hours.

3. Shred chicken. Add in cream cheese, mix to combine.

I’ve been this with tortilla chips and in wraps. You can add shredded cheddar, crumbled blue, scallions, chives… whatever floats your boat.

Enjoy!

Hello 2016!

Most people celebrated the new year last night. My family celebrated this afternoon. Just family. I think the reason we pushed it back was because my grandma just got back from the Philippines and wanted to give her time to recover. She's okay, but my uncle that accompanied her came home pretty sick. But we celebrated anyways.

I wanted to make at least one Filipino dish. I ended up making bopis, which apparently is also called igado. Pork heart cooked until tender and then chopped fine and simmered in a vinegar/annatto sauce with chopped chili peppers. Lots of oohs and ahhs, and all that remains is just a little for my sister when she gets back from work.

I decided to break tradition and made a non-pancit dish - jap chae. The sweet potato noodles made for a nice change from the usual rice noodles we eat. Several people asked for the recipe, but it can easily be made without one. Cook the noodles according to the package. Drain, rinse, set aside. Wilt a dark green vegetable (I used kale) and chop to bite size pieces. Sauté vegetables in a little oil and sauce made of soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, chopped garlic, and white pepper. Sauté the kale in the same way and with the sauce. Add everything to the noodles and mix to combine. Top with scallions and sesame seeds. This disappeared quickly and I was asked to make this again for the next gathering.

My mom asked me to bake a cake for an aunt to celebrate her birthday. She ended up not making the party, but my cousin brought a slice home so she can enjoy. Nothing fancy, plain yellow cake. Made a stabilized whipped cream frosting, mixing in some cherry preserves for the middle layer. Never heard of a stabilized whipped cream? It's just whipped cream with gelatin added. Another request to make this for the next gathering.

Another Filipino dish, fruit salad, that my dad used to make for parties. Cream base is made up of cream cheese, condensed milk, and whipped topping. Fruit cocktail, tropical fruit blend, and maraschino cherries comprise the fruits. I should make this into an ice cream.

There's some karaoke action going on now... time to hide.

Happy New Year!

Crock Pot Kalua Pork

You've probably seen this recipe all over the internet. Where I saw this recipe I can't remember but they all seem to be the same three ingredients - Hawaiian sea salt, liquid smoke, and pork shoulder. If you want this to be true paleo, you use bacon to get the smoky flavor. And because it's cooked in the crock pot, very summer cooking friendly. I'm melting as I write this up.

I remember having Kalua pork when I was in Hawaii. At the luau, of course. So good. Can't say this is the same, but whatever. It's tasty.

Crock Pot Kalua Pork

7lbs pork shoulder/picnic cut/pork pork pork

1 tablespoon liquid smoke (I used hickory)

2.5 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt

Place pork in crock pot dish, Add smoke and salt, mix to combine. Set on low and let it cook overnight. Pull apart with fork. Eat to your heart's content.

Wednesday Workout, Ramblings, and the Status of my Culinary Education

There were three points I wanted to make this morning. I am pretty sure these were the three that I was thinking of. Not in the order listed above, here we go.

Ramblings

I'm at work. I'm still sick. Don't necessarily think I'm infectious, but I am achy and exhausted. Congested. Where is my bone broth?!? Er... stock. Bone broth is stock. Let's not get into that nonsense.

I am five days in with NO ADDED SUGAR. It's killing me. Okay, not really... but I think a little bit of sugar would make me not feel like nodding off as I sit here writing this. And I am emphasizing the added sugar part. Fruits have sugar. And that is apparently okay in this challenge. Just in moderation. That's what they say about bacon - in moderation.

I think they're nuts.

The small baked goods for tomorrow's Oneg are done. If you go to Congregation Gates of Heaven in Schenectady, tomorrow's potluck will have the following:

• Chocolate chip cookies
• Lemon Genets
• Butterscotch Cream Cheese Bars
• Banana Bars (with plenty of chocolate!)
• plus the sheet cake and challah

I wish I had a bigger kitchen to work in. Don't get me wrong, my kitchen is lovely and has more storage and counter space than previously. But it's still not enough. Oh well... make with what you have, amirite?

Wednesday Workout

Even though I was sick, I still made myself go to the gym. I was thinking it would help force out what ills and make things better. Oh, to dream!

Warm Up:

5 minute AMRAP
10 regular jumping jacks
10 seal jumping jacks
1 Turkish stand up

WOD:

In 15 minutes complete

40 weighted ring dips
10 rope climbs

In 25 minutes complete

1000m run
80 pistols
60 burpee box jumps
40 kettlebell taters (sort of like a compact Russian swing with a goblet squat)

Results:

I ended up doing regular ring dips, which my left elbow is not happy with. My hands are not happy about the rope climbs and they're still hurting from it. I can't do the true rope climb yet, but I start from the ground and pull myself up to standing position.

As for the other workout, I completed it with a couple of minutes to spare. My run was more of a slow jog, which is fine since it was an Endurance WOD. Did a modificed pistol, and thanks to that left elbow I had to modify my burpees. Kettlebell taters are kind of fun... I may do those at home.

Status of My Culinary Education

I've completed my last two labs for Cake Decorating and Food Prep I. I should do a proper write up about it. I have my written final for Cake Decorating next week, and the following night we cover sanitation in Food Prep, along with cleaning some part of the kitchen.

Whew. I made it through those two classes. I think I'll be getting an A in both, but who knows. I liked them, I would like to take more classes. I'm signed up for a class this summer, but I can't sign up for any fall classes. Why?

Because they are full.

Really? Arrrrrgh!

I don't think they do a waitlist at SCCC, because there was no mention of it when I tried to register. I wanted to take Commercial Baking I and American Pastry. Both are earlier in the week, from 5:30 - 9:50. Sure, I guess I can wait... but I would really like to take these classes with people I've been taking classes with. I'm upset, if you can't tell.

Here's the thing... do I really need to take these classes? There are plenty of self taught bakers out there - I could do the same thing. I have the basics. And there's always Youtube. It's cheaper and frees up my time.

Anyways, it's not as if I'm going for a culinary degree. I'm taking these classes because I enjoy them. I'm not trying to make a career out of this. Unless provoked... And I always feel like I'm going to be provoked.

But hmm. One of the classes, my professor is the same as my summer class. So I'll ask if I can be let in to the class. And there are always people who drop out. So I may have a chance. And I would really like that chance.

Because hello... pastry? I am so there.

Food Prep 1 Lab: Salads and Sandwiches

Geez, I really have been slacking, haven’t I? The semester is almost over and not one post about this class is up! So I really should change that now. Last night in Food Prep we covered salads and sandwiches. My team had to make tabbouleh, spinach salad with bacon vinagrette, and club sandwiches. Should be easy, right? Don't worry, it wasn't bad. None of the bean fiasco like last class.

 

My station. I got to class early because I wanted to get things moving so we could leave early. Yeah, shouldn't hurry... but it's a night class. If I can help speed things along I will. With the help of one of my classmates I sharpened my chef knife on the stone and got my station in order. I grabbed a pot and filled it with enough water for the bulgur. Set that on medium heat like I grabbed a cutting board, bowls, and containers for my ingredients. Mise en place people!

 

After helping check in the foodstuffs, my partner and I grabbed what ingredients we needed for our recipes. I weighed out 12 ounces of bulgur and set that aside. My partner cut out the stem and scored the bottom of a tomato and set that aside to be blanched and peeled later. Tomato concasse... we have to do that for the final. Peeled and diced the cucumbers, washed and finely chopped the parsley. Poured the boiling water over the bulgur and covered it, and kept it in the oven to get out of the way. Partner cooked up the bacon and set it aside, washed and cut up the mushrooms. Another team was boiling eggs for their salad, so we threw a few in there as well. After prepping everything, making the actual dishes was quick. As it should be since it's just salads and sandwiches.

 

 

This was supposed to be a traditional spinach salad with hard boiled egg, bacon crumbles, and mushrooms. Topped with a bacon vinagrette which chef was supposed to demo. Well, didn't happen. The spinach was old and it was hard to pick through and find enough good leaves. So I added arugula and watercress. Chef did not realize there was a dressing demo and someone threw out the bacon fat I had been saving for it. Oh well. Made a vinagrette with some dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil and a little salt and white pepper. Washed and spun dry the greens and tossed with just a bit of the dressing... enough to coat the leaves. Added the bacon, eggs and mushrooms and gave it a quick toss.

 

I thought the dressing went well with the salad. Slightly acidic which worked with the peppery arugula. Most people that tried the salad liked it, including chef.



 

I've made tabbouleh so many times before (and I'm sure I've written about it) that I don't think I have to say too much about this dish. I let the bulur sit for about 30 minutes before I dumped it into a china cap and let it drain for another 30 minutes or so. I mixed the olive oil and lemon juice in a seperate bowl and set it aside. After draining, I mixed the bulur with the diced tomatoes, cucumber and parsley. Poured the dressing and gave it a good toss to help evenly distribute. Seasoned with salt and white pepper. Kept it on ice while waiting for serving. For presentation, I took two raddichio leaves to make a bowl and placed a scoop of tabbouleh in the center

 



My partner did almost all the work for the club sandwich. I helped with slicing some tomatoes and getting the bread ready for toasting. There is no toaster in the kitchen, so we had to use the broiler. She even used the slicer to cut the turkey. I made a few slices, but I'm squeemish with a fast moving round blade near me. I'm not really a big sandwich person, so I had no idea a club sandwich is a turkey sandwich and blt put together. It was pretty good! I'll have to make these for myself. Or order it.

 

Next week is our written final, followed by our lab final. Wish me luck!