don't judge a plate by its contents

My fridge is getting fuller, my appetite is continuously changing, and I'm running out of room on my "things to cook" sticky (Oh the horror!) So while there is still an empty corner of my fridge 5 x 5 inches big, I sought to fill yet another Tupperware with some ethnically salivating dish.

I had a vision. A vision of roasted skewers of chicken satay. I was browsing the recipes and and was turned off by the thought of "fish sauce" (What the heck kind of fish is it made out of? How does it get to its present slick form on the back shelf of a forgotten grocery aisle with all of the miscellaneous goods one needs once in a lifetime?) So I decided to improvise.

Ingredients: peanut butter (yes- Skippy from my roommate's shelf- thanks Ian!), small onion, clove of garlic, tumeric, curry powder, kosher salt, pepper, water, chicken, rice.

Saving grace: honey (credit to my best friend and her superwoman like abilities to save my dish- Galee)

The "how to": Put on white rice to cook, blanch chicken in olive oil on high heat. Take chicken out. Sauté sliced onion (small onion) in olive oil in same pot (if you have use pressure cooker- makes the most tender chicken you've ever tasted and in only 10 minutes!) until brown on low heat. Add garlic (1 clove) and olive oil as needed. Add (approximate amounts) 1 tsp. of tumeric and 1 tsp. of curry powder, ¼ tsp. salt, dash of pepper, 2-3 tbsp of peanut butter, 1/5 cup water added sporadically to mix ingredients. 1 tbsp. honey. On low heat mix until satisfied with taste. Add blanched chicken and flip. Cover (make sure it locks) and raise to medium heat until top rises, then lower heat and time 8 minutes then shut off. Let top down and press if need be.

Disclaimer: All was going swell; the scent of aromatic onions filled the air coupled with the fragrant spices, and then...I added too much salt! (NOTE: always start with a little and work your way up!!!) To make up for this mistake I started diluting it with water and Galee (god bless her soul) advised me to add honey which was the perfect counterpart for the saltiness. Unfortunately this happened once i had about an inch of liquid in the pressure cooker. This would have been fine in a normal pot, but since it was in the pressure cooker, the moisture was multiplied by two and I ended up with a soupy mixture of peanut butter and spices. Because of this I lost much of the ethnic flare, but the strong onion flavor still resonated throughout. Despite these issues, it turned out delicious and perfectly cooked. (Just wish the sauce was a bit thicker and more of the peanut butter and spice flavor had stayed)

ขุดใน

Dig in!

P.S.
Listened to band "Horse Feathers" while cooking. wonderfully peaceful music.

hummus pronounced: [choom-uhs]

My to-do list for my Sunday afternoon was quite extensive. (See photo below).

Of the goals listed, I accomplished... well, let's not get into that. In place of reading a french childhood novel about petit Nicholas (which I intend on sparknote-ing), I ventured out to Westmount, home to some of Montreal's anglophone yuppies. Hidden amongst old stone houses and gothic-style buildings is a greenhouse. An urban oasis, smelling of paper-white narcissists and other fresh flora, I spent the afternoon feeling like I had landed in Alice's Wonderland--I swear I wasn't on drugs.

Despite the visual feast that surrounded me, I was more preoccupied with an actual culinary feast, featuring my mom's hummus. I contemplated not releasing this golden recipe, out of fear that I would lose my credibility as "Best Pot-Luck Guest". But then, I thought, for all three of my readers (hi, dad!), that this 3-ingredient recipe was simply to good to keep secret.

1 can of chickpeas (save the juice) 

1/2 cup tahini 

1 garlic clove 

Blend ingredients together, add chickpea juice until smooth. Garnish with olive oil & paprika. Eat with pillow-soft pita from your local Queens New York Jewish Bakery that you will ask your mom to bring up on her next visit to your college dorm.

If we ever are invited to the same potluck, you best not make this sinfully easily recipe. Or at least don't divulge to the host/hostess it's simplicity.

Happy hummus.

The Cobb Salad Rewritten

I am most definitely not a salad person but, I've been drooling over this salad for a week already mostly because it looks so neatly put together and every ingredient is the same perfect size. Not too mention the artistic freedom you have to serve it as a vertical or horizontal rainbow.

My Cobb salad is more of Santa Fe meets vegetarian. I love the avocado/corn/black bean combo. Therefore, I nixed the meat and eggs, but could have used some soft goat cheese instead- oops forgot that. The right dressing is key. I used this one found on "Smitten Kitchen":

(Heads up: I found I only needed half of this)

3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

And the best thing about this recipe- simplicity. Iceberg & Romaine lettuce, corn (preferred off the cob, but got canned- oh the lifestyle of a thriving college student!), canned black beans (drain liquid), tomatoes, orange and yellow bell peppers, chives, avocado. Chop and you're done.

Note: if you're not going to serve it to 10 people right away, make the dressing separately and add to salad individually so it doesn't get soggy.

Believe it or not- I'm actually full from a salad for once (2 bowls later).

Fridge Raiders: 'shrooms

The predicament: fridge smells like socks. Roommates are getting angry that your shelf is over-stocked and overflowing onto their own, as is a rank stench.

The answer: raid your fridge and experiment. I am a firm believer in following recipes to the "T," but when the time comes that you are too lazy to shop for the necessary ingredients- use what's in your fridge. You'll start to get a feel for what tastes good together.

The ingredients: smelly dry wild mushrooms in a ziploc tucked in the back of the cabinet, 2 month old goat cheese (doesn't really expire- it's cheese!), shallots hiding in the dark of the hall closet, "gourmet" raisin and rosemary crackers, and the key- garlic and olive oil.

Guest appearance: OJ- gives it some tang. 

Once a week it will be my goal to empty some of my fridge's contents so my roommates don't kick me out. I'll win their graces with this tasty hor d'oeuvre.

Some carmelizing (cooking shallots and the like on low heat with olive oil until brown) and spices later and here is the result:

Let's call it a fridgi(dare). Your turn.

Poach'd

The art of poaching an egg was, to me, synonymous with writing a PhD thesis on Nuclear Fission. Allow me to debunk this myth. First, let me backtrack. A few days ago, breakfast had become almost a chore. The cereal-milk combination has never really done it for me, and being hungry by 10a.m is simply infuriating. Enter poached eggs. The beauty of these perfect pillows of joy was always so alluring; plus, they don't have all the additives of other egg dishes. No oil, no cheese, just egg + yolk.

Being the quintessential inactive university student who spends most of her life horizontal, I advise you all to find your own recipe online. TGFG (thank god for google). The point of this blog is to inspire you to be a little more daring, even if it is only in the kitchen.

I will give you a few pointers, though:

• don't crack the egg directly into the pot of water; first put it into a separate bowl.
• make a "whirlpool" with your spatula; wait a second, and gently slide the raw egg from the bowl into the whirlpool's center, so the white "wraps" around the yolk.
• don't rule out eggs for dinner.