Soba

My Epicier had real Japanese soba.  So real that the instructions on the package are in Japanese, so I have to wing it.  The soba are green!  I love the stuff from that place.  I always come home with something new and exciting.  There is always something in hand to stimulate one or more of my 8 senses.
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 small package soba (100g)

handful leftover cooked chicken

1/2 zucchini, julienned

1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger

1 grated clove of garlic
juice from 1/2 lemon

1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp EVOO
1 tsp sesame oil
fresh ground pepper
splash of soy sauce
splashe of sriracha thai sauce
Directions:
1.  Place everything but the soba in a bowl and let marinate.

 2.  Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the soba 3 minutes, then transfer to iced water (to stop the cooking).

3.   In a wok, cook the marinating mixture about 5 minutes (just to heat through and make the zucchini tender)
4.  Drain the soba and add to the wok.  Stir fry a bit, then breath in the lovely aroma of ginger and garlic.

Eat with chopsticks.  Very important.  If you don't know how to eat with chopsticks, LEARN!

Orange Cilantro Tilapia en Papillote

I know I've done this type of thing on the BBQ in the states with potatoes or other vegetables, but I can't figure out how to say "en papillote" in English.. please forgive.  It is the process of cooking something wrapped in foil or banana leaves.. or just wrapped while cooking.

Anyway, I was inspired by my leftover orange today and decided to place my last Tilapia filet in some foil with some other loveliness.  The result was more than satisfying.  It was actually an explosion of happiness in my mouth.

Ingredients (serves 1 but make lots!)

1 filet Tilapia (frozen or fresh)

1/2 zucchini, sliced very thinly or julienned

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp chili powder

juice from 1/2 large orange

4 wedges of this orange

sprinkle of pepper

some chopped thai chili (unless you can't handle this heat)

Directions:

1.  Place everything neatly on the bottom of some foil or other wrapping material.

2.  Close the foil and put into 350°F (180°C) oven for 10-15 minutes depending on if the fish was frozen or fresh when starting.

Then be like.. whaaaat? I thought about this all by myself?  No.. THE Stef did.
 It would do well over basmati rice, but unable to handle the suspense, I just dug in as is.

Fish Curry

I thought my life was complete with the butter chicken curry and lamb curry from Kitchens of India.  But that was until I tried this fish curry.  The flavors are completely different, but oh so heavenly.  The fact that the curry paste is ready to use makes it a quick dish to prepare as well.

Ingredients:

1 lb firm white fish (I used Tilapia)

1 handful broccoli florets

1 handful cauliflower florets

2 Tbsp dried coconut

1 small handfull almonds

1 pack fish curry paste

serve with cooked basmati rice

leftover Indian Lentils

cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1.  Mix the curry paste with 3/4 cups water.

2.  Add the almonds, broccoli and cauliflower and bring to a boil.  Then simmer and cook until tender (about 10-15 minutes.. I actually didn't time it, sorry).

3.  When the broc and cauli are tender, add the coconut and fish and cook maybe 5 minutes longer.  You don't want the fish to disintegrate.  Add a little water if it tastes too spicy.

That's all folks!  Then serve and have a shameless indianfoodgasm in front of everybody.

Followed by a nice juicy mango with lime juice and thai chili... and you now can be very ashamed of your public display of food affection ; )

Strawberry Speculoos Cheesecake

Lushious and surprisingly light, this "cheesecake" was divine.

Recipe coming soon, for I did not make this myself, it was a lovely guest appearance in my kitchen.
Ingredients (16 servings):
 2 cups crushed speculoos or gingerbread (pain d'épices) cookies
1/2 cup (120 g) melted butter
1 cup (250 ml ) mascarpone
1/4 cup (60 ml ) plain yogurt
1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Garnish : 1 lb fresh strawberries, halved or quartered
Directions:
1.  Crush the speculoos or gingerbread cookies with the melted butter until obtaining an even mixture.  Place molds on a baking sheet and pack the mixture at the bottom of each mold. Refridgerate until the mixture hardens a bit.
2. Whip the mascarpone, yogurt, sugar and vanilla. Spread this mixture on top of the cookie layer.
3. Gently lay the strawberries on top of the mascarpone.
Serve cold and be proud.

Poached Chicken Salad

So proud of myself.  I correctly poached an egg.  Then I put it on my chicken salad.  Then I ate it.  It was wonderful.

To poach an egg correctly, it has to be Xtra fresh.. as in, you caught it as it was coming out and you can feel the warmth from the inside of the hen.
Ok, maybe not THAT fresh, but you got the idea.

Then you bring a (small) pot of water to a boil with salt and white vinegar.

Then you bring down the temperature to a simmer and make a whirlpool.  Don't ask, you'll soon figure out why.  Slowly pour in your egg, white first, followed by the yolk.

Using a large spoon or 2, try to keep the white near the yolk.  This will help your poached egg be visually pleasing when serving.  If you made a whirlpool in the boiling water, this will have happened naturally.

After about 2 minutes max, scoop out the egg and plop it onto your lovely chicken salad made with leftover farmer's market rotisserie chicken and halved cherry tomatoes.

Berber Casbah Vegetable Soup

Blew. My. Mind.

I found this recipe in a Mediterranian "fancy" cookbook.  When I saw glass noodles as an ingredient, I was curious to see what they would be like in a non-asian recipe.  When Eric said he wanted steak and fries, I jumped on the occasion to make this for myself, completely forgetting that THIS IS NOT SOUP WEATHER and sweating balls while I ate it.  Still, very worth it, and healthy too.

Serves approx 3 as a meal

Ingredients:

1 large zucchini, julienned

1 large carrot, julienned

1 onion, diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

handful cherry tomatoes, halved (or 2 chopped tomatoes)

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

2 Tbsp EVOO

1 tsp turmeric (excellent antioxydant)

2 oz Glass noodles (low carb, high protein) about 1/2 a "nest"

2 cups water (or more)

1 chicken bouillon cube

fresh ground pepper

red pepper flakes

This seems like a lot of ingredients, but I got this done in 35 minutes AND busted out sautéed mushroom steak and home fries at the same time, so it's really not that bad.

Directions:

1.  In a large saucepan, sweat the onion in the EVOO.

2.  Add the garlic, carrots and zucchini and stir around 5 minutes.

3.  Cut up the thread noodles, add them and stir around.

4.  Add the cube and fill the pan with the water.

5.  Add the parsley and turmeric.  Put on low and simmer for about 15 minutes.

6.  Add the tomatoes, pepper, and cilantro and stir to warm.

Serve in bowls with red pepper flakes as a 1st course or as a meal.

Jump in pool or take cold shower, because it's June and you juste ate soup.

The original recipe calls for julienned potatoes at the beginning and couscous,  butter, and saffron instead of turmeric added at the end, but I was going for the low cost light version.

Cherry Ice Cream

My first attempt at homemade ice cream turned out great, mostly because of the quality of ingredients that went into it.  You can't beat fresh hand picked cherries!

Ingredients:

150g plain yogurt

400g fresh cherries, halved and pitted

120g sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

150g heavy whipping cream beat into whipped cream

Directions:

1.  Blend the yogurt, cherries, sugar and lemon juice together.

2.  Gently stir in the whipped cream.

3.  Put into a tupperware (or container that you can close) into the freezer and stir every hour an half.  This is to prevent cristals from forming.  It worked for me.

Yum!  Eat "A la Mode" with pie or just as ice cream!

The other flavor is Ferrero (nutella) but it is not home made.

Cherry Pie

Same as my Strawberry Tart, but with fresh hand picked cherries.

This is better the next day because the cream will be more like custard.

Ink Squid and Cherry Tomato Fettuccini

I recently found some interesting things in the "World" section of the grocery store:  canned squid in it's black ink.  It is used in spain as tapas, but I thought it would make an interesting color in a pasta dish.  Since I have this horrible habit of adding a dash of fresh cream to anything pasta, the color is just brownish instead of black, but oh my was it good!

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

2 cans squid in black ink

1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved

2 cloves garlic, grated

hidden ingredient: handful cauliflower florets (Eric didn't even notice)

1/4 cup EVOO

1 tsp red pepper flakes

lots of fresh ground pepper

handful fresh parsley, chopped

1 lb Fettuccini, cooked al dente

drizzle of heavy cream

1 cup reserved pasta water

grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.  Sautée cauliflower in EVOO and red pepepr flakes.

2.  Add half the cherry tomatoes and stir around.

3.  Add the cans of squid and their ink as well as garlic and set to low until cauliflower is tender.

4.  Don't forget to reserve some of the cooking water from the pasta!  This is to make it nice and creamy.

5.  In a big pot on low, toss the cooked pasta and the mixture of the squid.  Add the rest of the cherry tomatoes, parsley, parmesan, cream and pepper.  If it needs more liquid, use the reserved pasta water.  

When you serve, the fresh tomatoes should be warm but still have their lovely cherry texture that explodes with flavor in your mouth.

Also, I didn't salt.  The squid ink is salty like the sea so you get that natural ocean goodness that tingles in your mouth

When I announced what was for dinner, Eric wasn't too motivated, but he definately licked his plate clean!

Spanish Paella

I finally got around to making Paella without performing sacrilegeous acts such as adding white wine or using basmati rice. The photo looks liquidy.. I should have waited 10 minutes or so before taking the picture. The end result was fabulously delicious and I'm very happy to be making it a little bit more authentic (although I did use an ingredient that would not be approved of).
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
500g (2 cups) BOMB Spanish rice from l'Epicier

This rice is thick and round and a little sticky at the end. It reminds me of arborio rice (blasphemy)
3 tbsp EVOO
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 bell peppers, sliced (1 red, 1 yellow)
3 lbs live fresh mussels
4 chopped merguez sausages (sub pepperoni)
juice from 1 lemon
1 chicken bouillon cube
water (no idea how much.. go for 6 cups)
some salt + fresh ground pepper
2 packets of paellero spices with saffron
optional: jumbo shrimp, chicken, octopus or other seafood. I'm saving for a trip to the US right now, so I made a poor man's Paella.
forgotten: handful frozen peas (I just got too caught up and forgot them)
Directions:
1. In a large thick bottomed skillet, brown the sausages (and chicken if using) in 1 tbsp EVOO. remove and reserve.
2. Add the remaining EVOO and sautée the onions until translucent.
3. Add the Bomb rice and lemon juice and stir around, cooking for 5 minutes. You do not want anything to burn.
4. Add the garlic, bell peppers, and spice packets along with 1 cup broth. Cook until bubbly and turn down the heat. Now you will follow a risotto ish process, adding liquid and stirring around until absorbed, always stirring. If you start getting a stickiness at the bottom of the pan, do not worry. It is the normal paella making process.
5. After the 1st cup of liquid, put the sausage and chicken and/or frozen seafood back in and continue the process until the rice is almost al dente.. about 30 minutes. Do not take my word for it on the timing. I always drink and chat while I cook and never really pay attention to the clock. Use your taste.
6. At this point, you will want to add your fresh mussels or clams and peas (if you haven't forgotten). I also added some red pepper flakes because after tasting, I decided it needed more spicyness.
7. Stir and let cook until the mussels or clams have opened. Adjust the seasoning.

Serve and be satisfied!

I also made this without seafood once, but it's better with: