incredible, edible

On New Years' Day I made a wonderful brunch with my friend AY, who taught me how to crack an egg with one hand.  Today, while watching Ace of Cakes, I learned some more interesting tidbits about eggs from Chef Duff.  Apparently, salmonella lives on the outside of the eggs, so shells are especially bad - for more than just the unneeded crunch factor.  Also, though, if you crack your eggs into a bowl (he used a metal one, this might be important) and let them sit for a bit, the shells will sink to the bottom and stick to the bowl.  He's so cool!

More orzo, please!

So speaking of orzo, I have to share a deliciously easy meal with you. It's my version of "risotto."

I cook up some orzo in vegetable broth. When it's almost done, I run some frozen peas (because you know I have lots of those hanging around!) under hot water to just thaw them a bit. Back to the orzo, I reserve about a ladle of the broth, and strain the rest. I put the orzo back in the pot I cooked it in, with the reserved broth, peas, and a little butter, and heat it up a bit. I then add salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, and a little milk. Sometimes I'll even add some freshly grated nutmeg. I keep it on medium-low heat while stirring to see if I need more milk. And that's it! I know it's more of a side dish than a "meal," but sometimes that's just what you need.

Chicken-Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese

A schoolfriend of mine has recently gotten a subscription to Cooking Light, so on Thursday before our kickball game she invited me over for dinner.  She made this great tasting salad with tomatoes, arugula, peppers, red onion, basil, oregano, grilled chicken and orzo.  She did a great job, although it was both of our first time with Orzo, so we made it up a little.  It was a delicious dinner, and definitely something I can't wait to make again.

Unfortunately, we lost miserably.  Although I don't think it can be blamed on the salad.

Yogurt, kids.

Okay. So without naming names for the benefit of a certain search engine (except for Thermos, all right), here's the deal with the yogurt and making my own:

1) Once upon a time I was shopping for who-knows-what when I saw a yogurt maker I wasn't even looking for. It was a French one, which made me think back to the glorious yogurt AISLE (yes, a whole AISLE, pure heaven) at the grocery stores in France, so I knew this thing had to be good. I am not keen on machines and gadgets, and generally think they're a waste of money and space, but this purchase was no luxury. I eat yogurt ALL THE TIME, so I knew that making my own would save me money in the long run. So I bought it and then let it collect dust for a good 11 months. One day I thought, this is stupid that I keep buying it every single week while I have a perfectly good machine waiting for me at home. I busted it out and learned how to make it. It was easier than I had imagined, and I was a fool to wait so long. A fool.

2) To simplify: Heat up milk to a certain temperature. Cool down milk to a certain temperature. Add starter (some yogurt) to milk without killing the bacteria. Incubate for several hours (this is where the machine was used) at a certain temperature until it becomes yogurt (bacteria, yum!). Refrigerate yogurt for a few hours before eating. Try not to wolf it down all at once because it will be so much better than the crap that's sold in the store. And that's it. I did this almost every week for several months.

3) Then the machine started going sour on me (pun intended). It was a model that made the yogurt in eight individual servings. The four cups in the center of the heating element were always curdling before the four cups on the ends were even done. Something was wrong with the heating element and there was nothing I could do to fix it. Just to be doubly sure it was that and not user error, I made another batch. I ended up keeping the good half and throwing away the overheated half. Remember the nursery rhyme about Little Miss Muffet? Well, once the curds and whey separate during the yogurt-making process, there's no turning back and the affected batch is ruined.

3a) Out of this mistake, there was one time where I thought, hey, I'll strain it and make labneh.

3b) Creamy, smooth, mild, nice texture. Success. I'd do it again instead of wasting a ruined batch.

4) So I threw out the machine with much regret. I had gotten my money's worth out of it, but I was disappointed that it died on me so soon. Sure, I was using it just about every week, but it was for less than a year. See what I mean about machines? Not worth the hype. I vowed to not buy another one, but instead find a better method. Now that I was familiar with the process, I thought, now it's time to experiment and branch out. What did people do before these machines were made? I consulted my cookbooks for the answer. They used other incubation devices: the pilot light on a gas stove, a heating pad wrapped around the bowl, a double-boiler-type insulation method, even naked in a covered bowl on the kitchen counter. There are so many methods that don't require extra stuff (hell, even a heating pad isn't exactly a staple for a lot of people). The best one I heard was from dear old Pops speaking from personal experience: a Thermos. A Thermos!

5) Here's a hint: use one with a wide mouth. (You definitely don't want to use one that's meant for beverages.) I went through the same steps as before, only now using my new incubator. And the biggest surprise? The end result was even better than before, both in terms of taste and texture. So, I thought I had a loss, but instead I really won. This is the way I've been making it ever since. So easy. And there's less stuff I have to clean (8 cups, 8 lids).

6) One of my friends who bakes her own bread (and no, I don't mean she does it using a machine) encouraged me by saying once you get the basics down and you know how long the different steps take and you do this on a weekly basis, it's really not so bad. And she's right. It gets easier and easier the more you do it and refine your technique. Starting it is the more difficult thing, but you've just got to jump in at some point and learn from your mistakes.

Those are the basics. If you ever want real and more complete directions, you know how to reach me. (I have a phobia of writing anything of substance on the interwebs.)

B is for Burrito

Are you sitting down?  I cooked something tonight!  Granted it was just a simple burrito (or two....or three....) but damn if it wasn't good.  And as I cooked it I thought, you know who should hear about this??  M and M!

My burritos are pretty simple, but I swear there are two secrets that make them all the better.  First I cook some rice, usually brown boil-in-bag rice.  When that's done I put it in a pot with a can of black beans, mix it up and leave it on a low burner.  In a skillet I grill up some veggies, tonight I used a red and green pepper, yellow squash and eggplant.  Here is secret number 1, I cut the veggies rather large to grill them.  Tonight I used some avocado oil instead of evoo (because I had it) and then I sprinkle on some store bought Burrito seasoning.  Once the veggies are grilled, I scoop some out onto a cutting board and then I chop them up small.  I find that grilling them bigger keeps in some more flavors, and then chopping them small helps make them fit in the burrito.  

I take my tortilla and put on some sliced cheese, tonight it was colby jack.  Then a scoop of rice-bean mix, and some chopped veggies on top.  Here the key is to pile things up right along the center of the tortilla.  Now to roll it, followed by secret number 2.  First I fold in two ends, say the right and left sides, only a little.  Now I start to roll from bottom to top - be forceful, get all that filling inside, and keep watching the ends making sure they are tucked inside.  Secret number 2 is to immediately wrap it in aluminum foil and pop that sucker into a pre-heated 300 degree oven.  This allows the cheese to melt, everything to get warm and toasty, and the burrito is less likely to come unrolled when you go to eat it.  Totally simple, totally delish!  

Let's go Red Sox!

I don't cook much these days, either, but...

I've been making my own yogurt for quite a while now. Today I made granola for the first time (and too bad computers don't have smell-o-vision, because it is gooooooood). If you call me a hippie, though, I'll smash your face in.

things I've "cooked" in the past two weeks

boil-in-bag brown rice

frozen lima beans

frozen peas

frozen corn

peanut butter toast

turkey and cheese sandwich

marinaded chicken with frozen snap peas

cereal*

*It's a sad life when cereal makes the list of things I've cooked.