Just a quick tip post, I went to a holiday party, and the hostess served cucumber spears with hummus. I loved the combination of the cucumber with the hummus. I don't know why I never thought of doing this before. I served the same at Christmas dinner, and it was a hit.
Now to learn to make my own hummus recipe! That will have to be a project for the near future.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Catching Up and the Ah-ha's of Life
I think about this blog on occasion. It seems like it's been forever since I've come over here to write an entry. But the other day I cooked dinner, and I realized something. I have actually improved as a cook. I'm not completely sure when that happened.
The thought that I had improved came to me as I was cooking up some "faux" fried chicken. I had learned to make a baked version of fried chicken from a recipe I'd found online a long while back. I have long since lost the recipe and the link to whichever web site it was on, but the basic idea of the chicken stuck in my mind.
So when I went to my refrigerator looking for something to cook for dinner, it just popped into my head. And surprise of all surprises, I knew how to do it, no recipe needed. I added my own seasonings from what I had on hand, no exact measuring, no web site telling me to do this or that. And then came the moment of truth... how did it taste?
Excellent! My chicken, and it truly was MY chicken because it was all my own concoction came out great! It was crispy and flavorful and juicy. I can't say I know exactly where I learned. I just know I learned. I guess all of those recipes and dinnertime failures have been paying off!
This little culinary revelation has made me begin to think that I really can grow in the kitchen. And it has also made me think that I should start blogging about the journey again. Perhaps then, my next culinary ah-ha moment won't catch me so much by surprise.
The thought that I had improved came to me as I was cooking up some "faux" fried chicken. I had learned to make a baked version of fried chicken from a recipe I'd found online a long while back. I have long since lost the recipe and the link to whichever web site it was on, but the basic idea of the chicken stuck in my mind.
So when I went to my refrigerator looking for something to cook for dinner, it just popped into my head. And surprise of all surprises, I knew how to do it, no recipe needed. I added my own seasonings from what I had on hand, no exact measuring, no web site telling me to do this or that. And then came the moment of truth... how did it taste?
Excellent! My chicken, and it truly was MY chicken because it was all my own concoction came out great! It was crispy and flavorful and juicy. I can't say I know exactly where I learned. I just know I learned. I guess all of those recipes and dinnertime failures have been paying off!
This little culinary revelation has made me begin to think that I really can grow in the kitchen. And it has also made me think that I should start blogging about the journey again. Perhaps then, my next culinary ah-ha moment won't catch me so much by surprise.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Pork Loin Stir Fry
Once again, it's been awhile since I posted. I'm not very good at keeping up on this whole blogging thing.
But alas, there was a success in the kitchen today, and I decided I better blog about it before I go and forget what it was that I did that turned out so tasty!
I've been following a budget lately.... the master plan... save money, pay off bills, buy some freedom from the daily grind. But that's another topic for another blog perhaps. The short of it is that I had boneless pork loin steak in the freezer, and have been hankering for a stir fry. I tried looking up some recipes online, but every recipe called for a bunch of ingredients that I didn't have. Given said budget, I have exactly $0.00 spending dollars for the next few days. So going to the store for the extra ingredients just wasn't happening.
So I decided to improvise. Now this is a decision that more often than not leads to tragedy in my kitchen. But just maybe, I am getting better at cooking.
What I did:
I sliced the pork loin into strips (cutting against the grain).
Then I put them into a ziploc plastic bag, and poured in a few tablespoons of soy sauce.
Next I used a microplane to grate some fresh ginger into the bag.
I stirred it all around so that the soy sauce and ginger evenly covered the meat,
and I let the whole thing marinate for the afternoon (about 4 hours by the time I was ready to cook dinner).
I took the meat out of the refrigerator and heated some corn oil in my wok.
Once the oil was warm I cooked the meat over medium heat until it was cooked through.
Next I took the meat out of the pan, and set it aside, leaving the juices in the pan.
I poured a package of frozen stir fry veggies into the pan and put the head to high.
I stir fried the veggetable until they were soft (about 5 minutes),
Then I put the meat back into the pan.
I served the stir fry with white rice, and edamame which I seasoned with some roast red pepper, kosher salt, and chilli powder.
The meal was a hit! I'll definitely be doing this again. It was a definite bonus that it was really inexpensive to make, and didn't take much time to pull together at all (well provided I remember to do the marinade ahead of time).
My boyfriend even told me it was good enough to make for the Sunday dinner I've started having with a small group of friends, two of whom are excellent cooks who I get a little intimidated cooking for. I think I'll practice it a few times more before I serve it to company, just to make sure I can make it consistently good, but for now, I think this one's a winner! Kitchen Success!!!
But alas, there was a success in the kitchen today, and I decided I better blog about it before I go and forget what it was that I did that turned out so tasty!
I've been following a budget lately.... the master plan... save money, pay off bills, buy some freedom from the daily grind. But that's another topic for another blog perhaps. The short of it is that I had boneless pork loin steak in the freezer, and have been hankering for a stir fry. I tried looking up some recipes online, but every recipe called for a bunch of ingredients that I didn't have. Given said budget, I have exactly $0.00 spending dollars for the next few days. So going to the store for the extra ingredients just wasn't happening.
So I decided to improvise. Now this is a decision that more often than not leads to tragedy in my kitchen. But just maybe, I am getting better at cooking.
What I did:
I sliced the pork loin into strips (cutting against the grain).
Then I put them into a ziploc plastic bag, and poured in a few tablespoons of soy sauce.
Next I used a microplane to grate some fresh ginger into the bag.
I stirred it all around so that the soy sauce and ginger evenly covered the meat,
and I let the whole thing marinate for the afternoon (about 4 hours by the time I was ready to cook dinner).
I took the meat out of the refrigerator and heated some corn oil in my wok.
Once the oil was warm I cooked the meat over medium heat until it was cooked through.
Next I took the meat out of the pan, and set it aside, leaving the juices in the pan.
I poured a package of frozen stir fry veggies into the pan and put the head to high.
I stir fried the veggetable until they were soft (about 5 minutes),
Then I put the meat back into the pan.
I served the stir fry with white rice, and edamame which I seasoned with some roast red pepper, kosher salt, and chilli powder.
The meal was a hit! I'll definitely be doing this again. It was a definite bonus that it was really inexpensive to make, and didn't take much time to pull together at all (well provided I remember to do the marinade ahead of time).
My boyfriend even told me it was good enough to make for the Sunday dinner I've started having with a small group of friends, two of whom are excellent cooks who I get a little intimidated cooking for. I think I'll practice it a few times more before I serve it to company, just to make sure I can make it consistently good, but for now, I think this one's a winner! Kitchen Success!!!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Year Goals
It feels good to welcome a new year. I am excited to see what 2012 will bring.
I've never been much for New Year's resolutions, but each new year does feel like a chance for a fresh start. My goal in cooking is really just a continuation of a seed that started to grow in 2011.
The thing that I really want to do in 2012 is to bring friends and family closer over shared meals. Yes we all routinely share meals as much of eating is a social activity, but over the past few years, I have grown tired of only sharing restaurant meals with my friends and family. The few times I have had dinner parties it's been so great. People just relax and there's no time limit for clearing the table for the next group of diners or for figuring out where to go next.
So my cooking goal for 2012 is to have friends and family over for more shared meals, even shared preparations, rather that's cooking together or having potluck style meals.
I've never been much for New Year's resolutions, but each new year does feel like a chance for a fresh start. My goal in cooking is really just a continuation of a seed that started to grow in 2011.
The thing that I really want to do in 2012 is to bring friends and family closer over shared meals. Yes we all routinely share meals as much of eating is a social activity, but over the past few years, I have grown tired of only sharing restaurant meals with my friends and family. The few times I have had dinner parties it's been so great. People just relax and there's no time limit for clearing the table for the next group of diners or for figuring out where to go next.
So my cooking goal for 2012 is to have friends and family over for more shared meals, even shared preparations, rather that's cooking together or having potluck style meals.
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