Another Tasty, Quick and Easy Dinner

Before I know it, it’s the end of the day and dinner time is right around the corner. So what do I do? Jump on to the computer and Google search a quick and easy recipe for dinner. The other night was no different than what tonight will be. I always find something that I know with my limited kitchen abilities (I hate being in the kitchen for the most part; that’s why I married a chef) I will be able to put together and have it look good but more importantly, taste good. Thank God for microwaves because I never have any meat thawed out.

For dinner the other night I found myself scrambling for yet another recipe that was quick and easy. While all the “big” food sites like Food Network and Rachael Ray make their claims of quick and easy meals, I have found that they really aren’t always that quick and easy nor do I keep some of the things they consider to be basic pantry supplies in my pantry; so I generally look for “real” quick and easy recipes and the last one I found turned out great. So great I didn’t have to cook dinner last night because everyone wanted to have leftovers.

At Moms Who Think I came across Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta and it was so delicious; the kids couldn’t get enough of it. Aside from how great it tasted the ingredients are very minimal and the process in which to produce the finished product was so easy a 12 year old could have done it. All you need for it is penne pasta (or you could use whatever you have on hand), ground meat (we use turkey), bacon, cheese and a can of tomato soup. This recipe makes 4 servings but it is super easy to make more without having to do any math. Just add more of everything until you are satisfied. I used a big stock pot to mix it all together with the reassurance that I would have enough room for all of it.

I know that making enough dinner to fill the stock pot sounds like over kill, but I like to multitask without multitasking so to speak. When I make amounts this large it is all out of selfishness. I know there will be enough for leftovers (so I don’t have to cook any given day of the week I choose), the hubby will have something to take for lunch other than a sandwich and I can freeze the rest for the next time they all want to have it for dinner and I don’t want to cook. Nothing like making one dinner and literally killing four birds with one stone!

Adventures in Oven Cleaning

So, after going on a literal baking rampage in a not-so-fruitless attempt to use up a box of apples, I realized that it was time for a little oven-cleaning. I took out all of the pans that I hide in the oven—since my cupboard space is a little lacking—and put the oven cleaner on “Self-Clean” (which sounds like something out of the Jetson’s. I wish more household appliances had a Self-Clean feature.)

Not more than ten seconds later, I smelled smoke coming from the next room and ran back into the kitchen and turned on the overhead fan, opened the windows and doors in the kitchen, and closed the doors to the back room in the event of the smoke reaching the area where I sleep.

I didn’t know what to do next, so turned to the Internet for a lesson in oven-cleaning. The first site that I found was eHow where I learned which steps I had missed in the oven-cleaning process. 

First, I forgot to take out the oven racks. Duh. That should have been my first move.  Rookie mistake for sure.

Second. I didn’t put the oven racks in soapy water. (Of course, this would have been much more difficult had the oven racks been in the oven where I left them.) Luckily, the racks weren’t too bad, so I think I’ll be able to wipe them off without that much trouble.

Third. I didn’t know beforehand that the Self-Cleaning was going to automatically char everything in my oven to high hell and make my place smell like a B-B-Q gone wrong, so I didn’t prepare anything beforehand.

Fourth. I didn’t buy any oven-cleaner. I still don’t know—can I use a different cleaning solution or is it really necessary to stick to a cleaner that is totally dedicated just to oven-cleaning? Does anyone know? Can you help me?

Fortunately, that’s about all of the mistakes I made in my Oven-Cleaning adventure. One of the lessons that I am learning a little too slowly in the kitchen is that the more you cook, the more cleanup you have to do and the more cupboard space is devoted to food, dishes, and the ever-handy Tupperware. (Thankfully, I’ve never had to go to a Tupperware party—I like to store my left-overs, but I don’t think I could get all excited about pieces of interlocking plastic unless they were Legos.)

Pho: Vietnamese Noodle Soup

I love Pho. I grew up eating this oh-so-yummy Vietnamese noodle soup. Pho is great to eat for lunch or dinner. And the nice thing about Pho…it is so cheap and good! You can visit any local Pho restaurant and experience a wonderful hot bowl of the Vietnamese styled noodle soup. Vietnamese styled cuisine food and Pho is very popular in the Seattle area. Pho is great to dine with your friends during lunch to chat and gossip. For a yummy large size bowl of Pho is about $5. Since the economy is at a difficult period, it is always smart to spend money on great food that’s not too expensive. Why not a hot bowl of Pho?

Pho is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup served in a flavorful beef broth with beef or chicken meat. The Pho noodles are made from rice added with fresh basil, bean sprouts, peppers, jalapeños, and lime. At many Vietnamese Pho restaurants, hot and spicy sauces are provided to add more flavor and taste to your soup. The beef or chicken meats are sliced thinly and you can also have the option of adding meatballs or shrimp. This adds a bit of a tasty combination. A bowl of fresh Pho noodle soup will be a delicious, flavorful taste to your hungry mouth.

The history of Pho actually came from Vietnamese refugees that were fleeing Vietnam onto boats during the 1970’s to late 1980’s. In many parts of the countries such as the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia are filled with Pho restaurants. Not only are they bringing a part of their Pho recipes and home-cooked food, but cultural influence and background as well. If you love Asian food, you will love Pho.

Here are some of my favorite Pho restaurants you must absolutely try out:

What the Pho: Located in Bellevue, Bothell, and South center. Great atmosphere, fantastic servers, delicious menu, and superb customer-service.

Pho Hoa: Located in Seattle, Redmond, Federal way, and Olympia. Clean restaurant, friendly service, and great menu.

Pho Hao: Located in Woodinville. Very customer service friendly, nice owners, quality menu, and delicious food.

Come into any Pho restaurant and enjoy the great taste of a hot bowl of Pho soup. If you want a cheap, quick bite to eat meal, try this delicious Vietnamese noodle soup. Not only are you eating a delicious bowl of Pho, but experiencing the fine savory taste of real Vietnamese noodle soup. Bon appetit!

The Delicious Miso Soup Cold Cure

I'm always on the lookout for new cold cures.  And if they are delicious cures, then all the better!  I recently learned about a cold cure which apparently has been popular in China for several thousand years.  Hard to argue with that kind of track record, right? 

This savory, rich broth is also a great substitute for chicken broth.  Which makes it an appropriate cold cure for vegetarians.  Miso is a fermented vegetable paste, similar in theory to tofu.  Miso is rich in amino acids, and is made with a blend of legumes or grains (typically soybeans, adzuki beans, rye, or similar) and the kojikin (Aspergillus oryzae) fungus.

(Miso's health benefits are legendary, if somewhat vague, and largely unsupported by modern science.  One typical assertion is that miso is "incomplete" but that if served with scallions, it becomes "complete."  Complete what, I have not been able to ascertain.)

Miso soup is sold in your grocery store's refrigerated section, most likely near the fresh tofu.  (Miso is alive, in the sense that a sourdough starter is alive.  Be sure to keep it under proper refrigeration, and according to convention you should never boil the miso directly, lest you kill off its beneficial microorganisms.) It is a thick red paste which you scoop out of the package or container.  Just scoop out 2-3 tablespoons and add about 2 cups of boiling water to make the soup base.

To this you can add a myriad of delicious ingredients.  For the traditional cold cure, add 3 green onions (scallions) sliced thin.  Some variations include thinly sliced fresh ginger, a squeeze of lemon, and/or fresh minced garlic.  If you are having trouble with a stuffy or runny nose, try adding a little dollop of chili garlic paste to give it some heat.

I recently felt like I was coming down with a cold.  I took the soup as directed.  I have to admit, I did feel a lot better by the end of the day.  In fact, I don't want to jinx it, but I think I may have shaken the cold off. 

Was it the miso soup going to work?  Or was it just that, by fixing a bowl of miso soup specifically as a cold cure, I was acknowledging that I was getting sick?  I find that for myself, if I actually allow myself to admit that I'm getting sick, and treat myself well for a day or two, I'm often able to shake it off. 

In fact, there is little you can do to prevent or cure a cold.  Your immune system is the one that's doing all the work.  All you can really do is rest your body and provide what's known as "palliative care."  In this case, this includes eating right, drinking fluids to help your lymphatic system remain its lymphiest, and getting enough rest.  (Your body only has so much energy - it can use that energy to walk you through the mall, or it can use it to fight off the cold virus.  Your choice.)

Photo credit: Flickr/Krista76

Note to Real Cooks or In Defense of Learning to Cook


Note to Real Cooks

 

I’ve been writing on Cooking Badly for a few months and have enjoyed trying out new recipes. The name of the site suggests the truth- I am a less than accomplished cook, but am pretty enthusiastic. Most of my friends and family cook better than I do and most have been pretty supportive of my new endeavors, but not all have.

 

To any Real Cooks out there, I’d like you to know that when I have the opportunity to eat your food, I am super-excited. At meals, I want to worship the ground you walk on as tasty morsels enter my mouth; however, that doesn’t necessarily mean I want a complete run-down of meals you have made recently or want to hear your comparisons of how poor I am at cooking.

 

 

Here’s a sample chat that I had the other day on Facebook:

 

Friend: How’s your cooking going?

Me: Oh, fine. Just looking for a few new recipes to try outJ

Friend: I just got done making Beef Boulognese. Have you made any more dishwasher chicken lately?

 

The connection fortunately dropped at that point.  I sat there looking at my computer in shock while I tried to figure out why me learning how to do something new would be a threat to my friend or would be worth her dissing me --- I came up with nothing. The chat left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

 

I wasn’t all that bad of a cook when I was a kid, but I truthfully haven’t cooked as much in the last years—mainly because my husband is a better cook than I am and because I lived in a country where it was difficult to get staple ingredients. Some of my friends can re-create delicious meals from taste after a few bites at a restaurant and a couple are former chefs and all of them have been supportive.

 

My grandmother, who has since died, attempted to learn Spanish in her 80’s. Most of the people around her who knew Spanish knew more than she did, but she kept on trying, regardless of any difficulties. (No one fluent in Spanish snarkily told her that they had read Don Quioxte in Spanish when said, “Hola.”)She also learned how to use the Internet in her 80’s as well despite any keyboard knowledge. From her, I learned the importance of life-long learning and have been trying to learn a few new things.

 

I don’t see anything wrong with me learning how to cook.

 

So, if you do happen to be a Real Cook and aren’t that impressed with someone’s cooking, keep it to yourself. Give them an easy recipe to try, patiently teach them a few tricks of the trade, and appreciate their efforts. Remember that no one is born knowing how to do anything, and that you had to learn how to cook, also.

To those of you who are also learning to cook or do something new late in life, keep it up. It's part of what makes life worth living.

 

 

Turkey Gumballs

At Thanksgiving, when presented with a tin of novelty gumballs in Cranberry, Pumpkin Pie, and Turkey flavor, I went straight for a Turkey gumball.  Because that is the kind of girl that I am.

I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that it was not very good.  But it was not very good in a very interesting way.  To my own surprise (much less that of the attendant onlookers), I ended up chewing it for a lot longer than I would have thought, just to see how the flavor developed. 

If you're looking for an unusual taste sensation, you can look no further than a turkey-flavored gumball.

I'm sure you also won't be surprised to learn that the tin of assorted gumballs is produced by Archie McPhee.  This Seattle retailer of all things wacky (from a truly impressive line of rubber duckies to bacon-flavored lip balm) never shrinks from doing something flashy and weird.

With the Thanksgiving assorted gumballs, Archie McPhee is stepping into the breach left by Jones Soda.  Every year for a while now, Jones has put out a six-pack of special holiday flavored soda.  Like gravy.  I know, right?  This is matched only by the sheer joie de vivre it takes to secure the soda concessions at Safeco Field, only to turn around and offered grass-flavored soda.  I love Jones Soda so much for that!

Jones Soda opted to start selling these limited-edition packs online only in 2004, and apparently discontinued them altogether sometime around 2007.  Even though by all accounts they were ridiculously popular.  Presumably as a silly thing to bring to family Thanksgiving, just like these gumballs.

The gumball format was an interesting choice for Archie McPhee on this one.  (In fact, they have a whole line of odd gumballs, including Pickle and Roast Beef.)  Something like turkey flavored candy, you might expect it to be a jelly bean.  Something small, that you chew and either spit out or swallow.

But a gumball, this invites reflection.  Contemplative chewing.  Making these candies gumballs is definitely a dare from Archie McPhee.  The experience becomes all about how long you can keep chewing it before you have to spit it out.  A gumball is meant to last you a good, long time. 

I stuck it out until all the sugar was gone, and the gum had devolved into that rubbery final state you get with gumballs.  I wasn't able to blow a bubble (I tried, just so that I could think "Turkey bubble!").

The flavor starts out mostly tasting salty, with some fatty/buttery overtones.  You then get into this layer where it blends in a liquid smoke smell (maybe this is meant to evoke roasted turkey, but it just tasted like smoked turkey to me).  And then the sugar gets melded in. 

The taste was surprisingly effective.  And honestly, I might have liked it, if there hadn't been that terrible gumball sweetness.  Sweet can work with liquid smoke - think of a Honeybaked Ham.  But the sugary sweetness from a gumball resoundingly does not.

At the level of "tastiness," this gumball definitely fails.  But it does what it sets out to do - it is indeed a gumball that tastes like turkey.  So in that sense, I have to consider it a resounding success.

TV Food Pr0n, or Anyone Can Cook

When you have a small kitchen and you're only cooking for two but you are passionate about good food and cooking, there are times when it's a great deal of vicarious fun to watch other people cook, and other people eat. Yes, I'm talking about food pr0n—the Food Network, and all those cooking shows (and later, I'll even talk about food blogs) where people who know what they're doing make great food look simple, and good cooking a matter of following the steps that they make look so effortless.

Television cooking began, not too surprisingly, with commercials. Famous presenters, or even household name stars, would do very brief cooking demos on screen, live, for the programs's sponsors. It didn't take long for networks and local stations to realize cooking demos, and even cooking classes, worked fabulously well on TV.

In the 1960s, beginning in 1963, TV had Julia Child and The French Chef (you can still catch old episodes from the show's two year run on Educational TV/PBS as reruns on The Food Network). In 1969, American television audiences rejoiced in Graham Kerr as the Galloping Gourmet. Since Julia Child and Graham Kerr made gourmet cooking fun and repeatable, there's been a definite increase of highly produced, carefully executed television intended to appeal to casual as well as more dedicated cooks. At first, PBS and ETV were the primary production homes for cooking shows. The 1980s brought us the bizarre and annoying Jeff Smith as The Frugal Gourmet (he permanently earned my ire for making up etymologies, screwing with history—and allegedly, with his underage assistants). In the late 1980s and the 1990s TV brought us shows by Martha Stewart, who made frequent guest appearances on Oprah! and elsewhere, before launching her own show.

The 1990s and cable networks brought us The Food Network, with chefs like Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, and Alton Brown. The Food Network is also at least partially responsible for the television career of Anthony "Tony" Bourdain, first in A Cook's Tour for The Food Network, and then, with a slightly venomous relief, in 2005 on his own show No Reservations.

British chef and restauranteur Gordon Ramsay, already familiar to British audiences and cookbook readers came to Fox Television and America via his shows Hell's Kitchen in 2005 and Kitchen Nightmares in 2007. The same decade brought France's Eric Ripert's to American TV via both Tony Bourdain's No Reservations, and Bravo's Top Chef, starting in 2006. PBS began begun airing episodes of Rippert's Avec Eric in 2009. 2009 also brought us Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci in Nora Ephron's Julie & Julia, a celebration of Julia Child, French cooking, and good food that has once again awakened interest in those first French Chef episodes, as well as Child's subsequent PBS series, Julia Child & Company and Dinner at Julia's.

It's easier now than ever before for even a novice to learn how to cook not only basic dishes (check out Bourdain's recent techniques episode where chef Thomas Keller demonstrates roasting a chicken and Bourdain shows how to properly chop an onion) but professional techniques. And that's just based on all the cooking shows, many of which are streamed for free, or have clips on their Web sites. Don't forget all the food and cooking blogs, and the wine blogs, and even cookbooks. Anyone can learn to cook.

Image Credit: The Culinary Geek, Evan Swigart

The Disgruntled Food Critic: Hannukah Food Overhaul

 

 

Listen up, my fellow Hebrews and Shebrews, we've got a serious problem and it's high time we start fixing it. Every damn year our winter holiday gets overshadowed by the twin culinary terrors that are Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sure, we could just blame Hanukkah's lack of adventurous cuisine on having to compete with America's favorite national holiday and the hulking behemoth that is Christianity, ya know, if we wanted to be pansies about it. Consider this the intervention and the call to action. Hanukkah food isn't impressive enough and that has to end now and forever.

First off, the potato latke. I love these things as much as any Jew, but they get too much of the spotlight. Latkes are a side dish, damn it. Sorry, Mom, making a huge pile of them and sticking them in the center of the table don't make latkes an entree. Maybe they were 200 years ago when they were invented by a bunch of impoverished shtetl-dwellers, but I'd like to think that our culture has grown beyond that. Fried potatoes are not and will never be a main course.

So, what can we do to rectify this problem? The answer, as it often is, is meat. This is America. Meat is what's for dinner. Meat is impressive, it's symbolic, it brings people to the table. Hanukkah needs its own official meat dish so it can compete with Thanksgiving and Christmas. America took the turkey, which is fine because that's not exactly a Jewish kind of animal. And Christmas? It's not like we'll be clamoring for a freaking ham, so no worries there. The problem is that once you go beyond pig, cow or fowl you start to enter "acquired taste" territory. Fish? Forget that noise. Nobody is going to get excited about a holiday fish recipe. The same goes for seafood in general, especially since the whole kosher thing has a problem with shellfish.

That's why I've come up with two options for the official meat of Hanukkah. First on the plate is buffalo. That's right, bison is 100% kosher, not too gamy but noticeably different from beef and no major religion has claimed it as ritual food. We might even form a new bond with the American Indian population as a result. For a more poetic Hanukkah meal, I say we go for venison. But not just any variety. That's right, reindeer. I think Jews ought to celebrate Hanukkah but chowing down on one of Santa's sleigh-slaves. Maybe even top that reindeer steak with a cherry to remind us of Rudolph.

Lastly, let's talk about the abysmal state of Hanukkah sweets. Gelt? Seriously? Nobody actually likes cheap, waxy chocolate wrapped in tight tin foil that makes it impossible to eat the stuff without getting it under your fingernails. Screw gelt. Gelt sucks. Why oh why are we not taking advantage of the jelly doughnut thing? We cornered that confection ages ago and have yet to shout our conquest from the rooftops. If the Christians forever acquired mint as their holiday candy flavor, surely we can make some headway with fried dough filled with fruit jelly and covered in powdered sugar. All we need is a marketing push, possibly an embrace of the mini doughnut-hole phenomenon. Have some pride, Chosen People.

Martha's Pork Tenderloins with a Twist

 

 

 

 

I know that many of my imaginary fans are waiting in constant anticipation of what I will cook next. I am sorry to disappoint—no more dishwasher cooking for the moment due to salmonella concerns—and nothing nearly as inedible or as disturbing as some of my first concoctions.

 

I cooked pork tenderloins and it was actually a bit of a success. (I know, I know, it’s always supposed to be bad cooking, but I have to eat some good food sometimes.) This time, I was on my own for the evening, so could experiment freely without the barking voice of “El Cook” –aka "El Groucho"—coming loudly from the living room. (Like most writers, I work better independently than under constant supervision in close quarters.)

 

The recipe was courtesy of everyone’s favorite Jailbird/Chef/Homemaker Extraordonaire, Martha Stewart. You can find it HERE. (And, don’t worry, it’s actually pretty simple and much tastier than a fricking shake-n-bake so don’t be scared to try something new.)

 

I was missing the key ingredient—not the pork, but the honey, which I later found hiding behind the salmon. I made an on-the-spot decision to substitute and used maple syrup instead. (I believe that this substitution made it possible for my Martha Stewart modified recipe to actually kick ass over the REAL Martha Stewart recipe.)

 

I used butter and maple syrup together—premium Maple Syrup and none of the Mrs. Butterworth cheapie stuff- and put them together on the stove. (If this sounds like a less than tempting combo to you, just think about pancakes, Hello?)

 

I put the maple syrup-butter combo on top of the pork tenderloins which I immediately put in the broiler. And checked often. Maybe too often given the fact that you are not supposed to open the oven (or is that only when you are baking a cake?). And finally used a steak knife to cut through the pork, which wasn’t all that bloody at this point. (Sorry if I am grossing out any vegetarians who accidentally happened upon this post.)

 

And, so I ate it with a salad. YUMMY! The Maple Syrup gave the pork a nice juicy flavor that was different than the honey would have been. (I am sure there are real cooks who would have made this same substitution, but I’m only starting to learn how to cook meals that don’t come from a box, so no one’s given me a belt or apron yet in honor of my cooking skills.)

 

As a reminder, this recipe, with or without the variation, is easy to cook and tastes much better than any of the processed crap that some people usually cook with tenderloins and pork chops.

Franz Chocolate Covered Raspberry Filled Doughnuts

I have only one question: Where have you been all my life?

Clearly I've fallen woefully behind in doughnut technology, because I was unaware that they could put filling in a ring doughnut.  When I first spotted the package, I was confused.  I thought it must be some kind of typo.  I peered in through the clear plastic window on the lid and confirmed that the doughnuts were shaped like toruses (torii?).  And that the package specified "raspberry filled."

Did I dare let my excitement rise?  My two favorite doughnuts are chocolate covered and raspberry filled.  Except that chocolate covered doughnuts are often dry in the middle, and raspberry filled doughnuts are usually covered in that loathsome powdered sugar. 

The stuff dusts down all over your shirt and table top, and inevitably causes a coughing fit, which makes things even worse.  Powdered sugar doughnuts are one of the worst examples of product design known to mankind.  (And yet, I continue to eat them.)

Franz Bakery is a Northwest company, a local favorite, known for their high quality mass market baked goods.  Their chocolate covered raspberry filled doughnuts are no exception.  The chocolate coating has just a hint of crispiness around the edges.  The raspberry filling has a full, fruity flavor, without tasting too artificial.  Best of all, the filling provides a much needed boost of moisture to the doughnut, but doesn't make it soggy.

Okay, yes, I'm trying to lose weight.  And no one who's trying to lose weight should buy a half dozen doughnuts.  But let me tell you something, when your power has gone out twice in two days, and you suddenly lack the essential services like running water and internet, and you need to buy food that doesn't require either refrigeration or cooking… well, okay, you probably still shouldn't buy half a dozen doughnuts.  So sue me.

A storm yesterday knocked out our power for a total of 28 hours.  And I was good, yes I was.  I ate fruit as a snack.  I marked down the calories of the fruit on my daily calorie tally, as best I could remember without being able to look up the information online.  I ate sensible meals.  Yay, me.

But another storm rolled in overnight.  I awoke at some time around dawn, aware that my bedroom air purifier had fallen silent.  I was, let us say, "somewhat peeved."

Worse, when I finally crept out of bed and fumbled my way downstairs, I found that I was pretty much out of no-cook food, having eaten it all the day before.  Low-fat cheese?  Gone.  Fat-free yogurt?  Gone.  Lean deli meat?  Gone.  Bananas, apples, and frozen blueberries: all gone. 

I was faced with trying to make a breakfast out of canned pumpkin, jars of spaghetti sauce (no spaghetti), and Italian bread crumbs.  Or I could get dressed and drive down to the little store in town.  From the moment of that decision, the half-dozen doughnuts were pretty much a fait accompli. And the doughnuts turned out to be so surprisingly good, I don't regret it a bit.

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