Impromptu Stir-Fry

I had tons of veggies in the fridge and had just picked up some snow peas at the 99 cent store. Inspired by the abundance of veggies on hand, I decided to make a stir fry.

Stir-Fried Veggies
oil for pan
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic
1 Tbs ginger, minced
1 tsp Thai garlic chili paste, heaping
1/4 soy sauce
2 cups broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper, juilienned
1 zuchinni, quartered and chopped
8 large mushrooms, quartered
1 cup snow peas
12 asparagus spears, cut on diagonal

Heat the oil and add the onion and garlic. Add the ginger, chili paste and soy sauce, stir to mix. Add broccoli and cook for a minute, then add red bell pepper and cook for a minute, stirring often. Add the zucchini, mushrooms, and snow peas and cook for a minute, stirring often. Add asparagus and cook until bright green. Serve over rice.

Mark's Birthday

Sunday is Mark's birthday. He likes to celebrate it for at least a month. Last night we had a little soiree in the garage for the occassion. To kick the Houston heat, I made mojitos. Our neighbor proclaimed it was the best drink she had ever had.

Mojito
10 mint leaves, muddled
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
2 Tbs Bacardi limon rum
1/4 cup simple syrup
ice
soda water

Combine mint, lime juice, rum and syrup in a cocktail shaker and shake to combine. Pour into a pint glass filled with ice. Fill glass the rest of the way with soda water. Stir and enjoy!

Taco Burgers

I love making Taco Burgers. Not only is it a quick and easy meal to make on a weeknight, but it gives me a reason to indulge in one of my favorite salads.

Taco Burgers
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
hamburger buns
shredded lettuce
shredded cheese
avocado slices
sour cream
salsa

Brown ground beef, rinse and drain. Add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Serve on buns with remaining ingredients.

Vic's Taco Salad
corn chips, crushed
shredded lettuce
avocado slices
kidney beans
shredded cheese
sour cream
salsa

Layer above ingredients, beginning with chips and ending with salsa. Enjoy!

Vindaloo

Mark's favorite dish at Indian restaurants is Lamb Vindaloo. Knowing this... I was determined to find a recipe and try to make it at home. My friend Jonathan from India came through with a recipe and I made it this weekend. Mark thought it was beyond excellent... next time I'm going to modify it a bit and cook it with shrimp, so that I can enjoy!

PORK VINDALOO
1 ½ lb lean pork cubed or pork fillet
4 tbs white vinegar
5 tbs oil or ghee
3 medium onions peeled and finely sliced
5 green chillies finely cut / ground
6 cloves of garlic peeled and pureed
1” ginger peeled and finely minced
5 cloves
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
¼ tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp ground black pepper
2-3 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
4 oz tomato puree
1 cup cubed new potatoes (steamed in the microwave for 5 mintues)
2 Tbs Boiling water
Sprigs of fresh cilantro

1. Rub the vinegar into the meat and chill overnight.
   Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions garlic and ginger until soft. Add the chillies and cloves and fry for a further minute.
2. Remove the meat from vinegar with a slotted spoon and add to the pan and fry until the meat is browned and sealed. SAVE THE VINEGAR/JUICES. DO NOT THROW AWAY.
3. Add the cayenne pepper, coriander, cumin, salt and black pepper, cook for a few minutes and then add the tomato puree, the reserved juices, potatoes and boiling water.
   Cover and simmer for 30/40 minutes or until the meat is cooked.
4. Add the garam masala and cook for a further 4-5 minutes.
5. garnish with the fresh coriander and serve.
   
   

Devilish Eggs

I am not a fan of eggs... I don't really like the way they taste. But, have found that if you put enough flavor in them to kill the taste, they really aren't that bad. Mark loves deviled eggs, and the holiday weekend seemed like the perfect time to make them. I even ate a few.

Curried Deviled Eggs
7 eggs, boiled and peeled
1 TBS chana masala, or curry powder
cayenne pepper, to taste
mayonnaise

Halve 6 of the eggs. Mash the yolks and extra egg together, add the curry and pepper. Add mayonnaise until it is the correct consistency. Fill empty egg halves.

Tale of two cucumber salads

Today I went to my little heaven on earth - Froberg's Market. It's a vegetable market not to far from my house. Frankly, besides fresh home grown tomatoes, I do not know what is better than home grown cucumbers. And... guess what??? It's cucumber season at Froberg's Farm!!! In my excitement, I bought way too many cucumbers... so, decided to make cucumber salads. The first one is one my mom always made, the second just a creation from the kitchen.

Cucumbers in Sour Cream Dressing
3 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
3 green onions, slivered
1 cup sour cream
2 TBS lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until serving.

Cucumber and Tomato Salad
3 cucumbers - peeled, cut in 1/2 and seeds scooped out and thinly sliced
2 tomatoes - chopped
1/2 red onion - thinly sliced
1/2 cup feta cheese
vinaigrette dressing - enough to coat

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until serving.

Monster Sketti

Last night I made Mark's favorite dish... spaghetti. I make one batch of sauce and then split it 1/2 veggie and 1/2 Italian sausage. It is really good and almost as easy as opening a jar. For dessert I served Strawberry Whipped Sensation, very cool and refreshing on a warm spring night.

Vic's Spaghetti
olive oil - for pan
1 onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
18 oz mushrooms, sliced or chopped very thick
dried oregano (about 1 tsp)
fennel seed (about 1 tsp)
crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
1/4 cup red wine
2 cans crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
1 can whole peeled tomatoes (28 oz), mushed up with your hands
salt, pepper, oregano, basil, to taste
green olives - about 1 1/2 cups

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion becomes tender and translucent. Add the oregano and fennel, and crushed red pepper, cook for 1 more minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute until the juices have reduced to practically nothing. Add the red wine and saute until it has reduced to 2 TBS. Add the tomatoes. Taste, re season if necessary. (this is the point that i separate the sauce). Add the green olives. Cook another 10-15 minutes and it is ready to serve over spaghetti noodles.

Moosewood Restaurant ROCKS!!!

I have never eaten at the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY... but I have several of their cookbooks. My favorite being Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. I am always finding new favorites in this book. My most recent is a dish that I cooked last night (I changed it up a bit and included those changes below). I served this with pork chops marinated in jerk seasoning for Mark... would be awesome with jasmine rice.

Cauliflower with Curry Sauce
3 cups cauliflower, steamed
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp canola oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 TBS cilantro
pinch of cayenne
1 cup nonfat yogurt (I used low fat sour cream)
chana masala

saute the onion in oil until golden (add a little water if needed to prevent sticking). Add cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne and cook for 2 more minutes. Transfer onion mixture to blender and add yogurt and cilantro. Puree until smooth. Pour the curry sauce on the cauliflower and toss gently. Sprinkle on chana masala as desired.

Collaboration is Great!

Last night I made two simple and delicious dishes. My sister-in-law and I collaborated on both of these on a recent visit. The roasted vegetables have become a staple... the pasta salad is just fabulous.

Roasted Vegetables
Several cups of chopped veggies (I used zucchini, portabello mushrooms, red onion, new potatoes (steamed in the microwave for 5 minutes), and red pepper)
Bottled salad dressing - vinaigrette style (last night I used Asian style vinaigrette, have used sun-dried tomato and balsamic in the past)

Place veggies in a baking dish and coat with vinaigrette and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Awesome Pasta Salad IV
8 oz whole grain rotini pasta - cooked and drained
1 jar artichoke and capers bread dip (from the Bread Dip Co.)*
1 red pepper, chopped
3 green onions, slivered
1/2 cup feta cheese
4-5 sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil), rinsed and chopped

Combine above and season to taste with salt and pepper

*could use 1 can artichoke hearts (chopped very small), 2 TBS capers, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 TBS lemon juice, 1 clove garlic (minced) and 1 tsp dried oregano

Fried Green Tomatoes

I have always been intrigued by the dish Fried Green Tomatoes (where exactly do you find green tomatoes... are they unripe ones, or are they a special variety, and why on earth would you mess up a perfectly good tomato by frying it). And little scared of it (after eating Green Tomato Pie once as a child). On Saturday at the vegetable market I found Green Tomatoes (they are unripe, and they sell them down here as Green Tomatoes). Since Mark and I are now living in the southern states, I thought it was appropriate to try this dish. I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter, but sliced my tomatoes about 1/4" thick. I served them with a side of Ranch dressing. Oh, my... very tasty! Mark and I give Fried Green Tomatoes a "thumbs up"!

Welcome!

Welcome to the first post of my blog... many of my friends and family have shown an interest in several of my recipes, so will be posting many of them... at least the "keepers".