Lately, I haven't been much of a chef or an eater. I seem to have lost my desire to enjoy the beauty of food. Life is rather confusing for me right now. I'm at the end of a fork in the road. The destination of either path is unknown. I'm not scared, I'm not angry, I'm just...I'm out of feelings. I'm indifferent. I have no preferences or desires. Hence, my penchant for cooking and great tasting things has disappeared. Fear not my friends, based on past experiences, this should be temporary.
My current diet consists of coffee and Kashi Go Lean cereal, minus the lactose free milk. I've been too preoccupied to even do groceries.
Do you tend to eat more when you're sad or happy? I eat more when I'm at peace with myself. I seldom lose my appetite, even when I'm sick, or I'm grieving over a death, I still eat and with gusto, mind you. Right now, I can't injest anything.
Excuse me while I make a cup of coffee.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Baked Potato Fries
Since I've been pretty busy with cleaning and redecorating my room, I haven't had much time to do anything else, ie. buying groceries. So without much to choose from in my fridge, I take out a few potatoes and stare at them for a minute. During that minute, I stare at the potatoes and they stare at me. Then finally, I hear: "Bake me like a fry!" Who am I to say no?
Ingredients:
4 potatoes (any kind will do)
1 clove of garlic
4 tablespoons of olive oil
3/4 cup of flour
sea salt
pepper
paprika
juice of 2 lemon slices
herbs, seasoning of your choice
nutmeg
I haven't included measurements for the spices because it is entirely up to the chef.
Directions:
1) Wash potatoes. Leave the skin on.
2) Slice potatoes into long rectangular slices (like a fry, duh).
3) In a bowl, add potato slices, sqeeze lemon juice, add olive oil, sea salt, pepper, paprika, nutmeg, other herbs and seasoning that you enjoy.
4) Mix well to ensure that each fry is coated in oil and spices.
5) Add flour to the fries, just enough to be "dusted."
6) Line baking tray with wax paper.
7) Put fries on the tray, and try not to let them overlap as much as possible.
8) Sprinkle on chopped garlic and if you'd like, more flour. The flour gives it a crispier and thicker texture.
9) Bake in oven for 30 minutes at 350C.
10)Let it cool for a few minutes before you devour them.
Ingredients:
4 potatoes (any kind will do)
1 clove of garlic
4 tablespoons of olive oil
3/4 cup of flour
sea salt
pepper
paprika
juice of 2 lemon slices
herbs, seasoning of your choice
nutmeg
I haven't included measurements for the spices because it is entirely up to the chef.
Directions:
1) Wash potatoes. Leave the skin on.
2) Slice potatoes into long rectangular slices (like a fry, duh).
3) In a bowl, add potato slices, sqeeze lemon juice, add olive oil, sea salt, pepper, paprika, nutmeg, other herbs and seasoning that you enjoy.
4) Mix well to ensure that each fry is coated in oil and spices.
5) Add flour to the fries, just enough to be "dusted."
6) Line baking tray with wax paper.
7) Put fries on the tray, and try not to let them overlap as much as possible.
8) Sprinkle on chopped garlic and if you'd like, more flour. The flour gives it a crispier and thicker texture.
9) Bake in oven for 30 minutes at 350C.
10)Let it cool for a few minutes before you devour them.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Pasta Amore
It would be a very long list if I had to list all the reasons why pasta was so good. We'll just leave it that pasta is so good. =) I woke up at 12:45pm with a hankering for something filling and warm. I looked in my pantry and found some rotini pasta calling my name. I happily obliged and cooked away.
Ingredients:
2 cups of rotini pasta
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 chicken breast fillet, sliced
6 grape tomatoes, cut in half
2 tablespoons of cream
1 cup of milk (I use skim)
3 tablespoons of broth (I use vegetable)
3 small chunks of blue cheese
3 small chunks of baby parmesan cheese (you don't need to grate it because it melts in the pan)
3 teaspoons of corn starch
1 teaspoon of chili flakes
a little bit of lemon zest
lots of black pepper, salt to taste
Directions:
1) Boil pasta. I'm not going to teach you how to do that. Just read the package instructions!
2) In a pan, heat up olive oil, then add garlic when oil is heated.
3) Add chicken, lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste.
4) Add tomatoes.
5) Add cream and broth. Stir vigorously.
6) In a cup, pour in milk and add corn starch. Stir and make sure there are no clumps. Add in pan.
7) Keep stiring everything in the pan. The sauce should be thickening at this point.
8) Add blue and parmesan cheese into the pan. Keep stirring.
9) Smell it and tell me you don't love it.
10) Add chili flakes, salt, pepper. This step is optional.
11) After rinsing the pasta in cold water and straining the water, add pasta into the pan.
12) Stir and make sure the pasta is coated in the sauce.
This serves 2-3 people.
Ingredients:
2 cups of rotini pasta
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 chicken breast fillet, sliced
6 grape tomatoes, cut in half
2 tablespoons of cream
1 cup of milk (I use skim)
3 tablespoons of broth (I use vegetable)
3 small chunks of blue cheese
3 small chunks of baby parmesan cheese (you don't need to grate it because it melts in the pan)
3 teaspoons of corn starch
1 teaspoon of chili flakes
a little bit of lemon zest
lots of black pepper, salt to taste
Directions:
1) Boil pasta. I'm not going to teach you how to do that. Just read the package instructions!
2) In a pan, heat up olive oil, then add garlic when oil is heated.
3) Add chicken, lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste.
4) Add tomatoes.
5) Add cream and broth. Stir vigorously.
6) In a cup, pour in milk and add corn starch. Stir and make sure there are no clumps. Add in pan.
7) Keep stiring everything in the pan. The sauce should be thickening at this point.
8) Add blue and parmesan cheese into the pan. Keep stirring.
9) Smell it and tell me you don't love it.
10) Add chili flakes, salt, pepper. This step is optional.
11) After rinsing the pasta in cold water and straining the water, add pasta into the pan.
12) Stir and make sure the pasta is coated in the sauce.
This serves 2-3 people.
A Quiche in 5 Bites
5 Bite Quiche, 2 if you're hungry.
I was invited to go to my friend's house for dinner, so I decided to make something that was people friendly and easy to eat. I was also really tired from buying new furniture and cleaning all day, so it had to be something easy to make.
Ingredients:
4 eggs
12 personal unsweetened pie shells (I get the no name kind)
2 basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup of Balderson's strong cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup of Baby Paremesan cheese, grated
6 grape tomatoes cut in half
*1 chunk of proscuitto cut into many more tiny chunks
*I hate measurements.
Directions:
1) In a mixing bowl, crack all 4 eggs and whisk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Personally, I skip the salt because the proscuitto is very salty.
2) Add basil, proscuitto and both cheeses into the bowl. Whisk, whisk and whisk some more!
*I know most quiche recipes use Swiss cheese, but I'm not a fan, so yeah, cheddar it is.
3) Pre-heat the oven (I use a convection oven) for 10 minutes at 350C.
3) Pour the contents of the bowl into the pie shells. Don't let it get too full because the egg will rise when you bake it.
4) Top each quiche with a grape tomato half.
5) Bake for 25 minutes at 350C.
You know what? The funny thing is that I completely forgot to bring them with me to the dinner. I only realized this as I was pulling up to the house. *sigh*
I was invited to go to my friend's house for dinner, so I decided to make something that was people friendly and easy to eat. I was also really tired from buying new furniture and cleaning all day, so it had to be something easy to make.
Ingredients:
4 eggs
12 personal unsweetened pie shells (I get the no name kind)
2 basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup of Balderson's strong cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup of Baby Paremesan cheese, grated
6 grape tomatoes cut in half
*1 chunk of proscuitto cut into many more tiny chunks
*I hate measurements.
Directions:
1) In a mixing bowl, crack all 4 eggs and whisk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Personally, I skip the salt because the proscuitto is very salty.
2) Add basil, proscuitto and both cheeses into the bowl. Whisk, whisk and whisk some more!
*I know most quiche recipes use Swiss cheese, but I'm not a fan, so yeah, cheddar it is.
3) Pre-heat the oven (I use a convection oven) for 10 minutes at 350C.
3) Pour the contents of the bowl into the pie shells. Don't let it get too full because the egg will rise when you bake it.
4) Top each quiche with a grape tomato half.
5) Bake for 25 minutes at 350C.
You know what? The funny thing is that I completely forgot to bring them with me to the dinner. I only realized this as I was pulling up to the house. *sigh*
Friday, August 17, 2007
My favourite fried rice
The golden rule for making fried rice is to use day old rice. This is so the rice is not mushy but instead dry and seperated. Sometimes we'll order Chinese food take out and it comes with 2 take out boxes full of rice. With so much white rice left over, there's only one thing to make!
What I love about fried rice is that you can eat it at any time. You can have it for lunch, dinner, Winter, Summer, pretty much whenever you want. This is another one of my soul foods. Some people have their grilled cheese, I have my fried rice.
Fried rice is as versatile as a sandwich. You can put anything in there and it will go (for the most part). Today's ingredients are my favourites when it comes to fried rice. Here they are:
Ingredients:
1 large bowl of day old white rice
2 tsp. of chicken broth
2 tsp. of soy sauce
1/4 cup of chopped red onions
1/4 cup of chopped green onions
1/4 pound of BBQ pork, chopped
1 egg
pepper to taste, again, I don't like to add salt because the soy sauce takes care of that
Directions:
Scramble an egg, then cook it in a pan under low heat. Use your spatula to cut up the egg into strips (no need to be neat here) directly on the pan.
Add in red onions and half of your green onions to the pan to saute.
Add in BBQ pork.
Add rice. Make sure you seperate the rice with your fingers and do not leave clumps.
Add chicken broth and soy sauce.
Add pepper, and perhaps salt to taste.
Top rice with remaining green onions.
Enjoy!
What I love about fried rice is that you can eat it at any time. You can have it for lunch, dinner, Winter, Summer, pretty much whenever you want. This is another one of my soul foods. Some people have their grilled cheese, I have my fried rice.
Fried rice is as versatile as a sandwich. You can put anything in there and it will go (for the most part). Today's ingredients are my favourites when it comes to fried rice. Here they are:
Ingredients:
1 large bowl of day old white rice
2 tsp. of chicken broth
2 tsp. of soy sauce
1/4 cup of chopped red onions
1/4 cup of chopped green onions
1/4 pound of BBQ pork, chopped
1 egg
pepper to taste, again, I don't like to add salt because the soy sauce takes care of that
Directions:
Scramble an egg, then cook it in a pan under low heat. Use your spatula to cut up the egg into strips (no need to be neat here) directly on the pan.
Add in red onions and half of your green onions to the pan to saute.
Add in BBQ pork.
Add rice. Make sure you seperate the rice with your fingers and do not leave clumps.
Add chicken broth and soy sauce.
Add pepper, and perhaps salt to taste.
Top rice with remaining green onions.
Enjoy!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Pret a Manger
While we're on the topic of London...
There's a chain of cafe-like cafes called "Pret a Manger" which translates from French into "ready to eat." It's a place where you can grab n' go, or stay a while to enjoy the scenery (people watching to the max!). I would say that they appeal to the health concious yuppy, in a hurry to feed themselves so they can get on with making more money. I'm defintely in favour of their health concious ways even though I don't consider myself a yuppy by any means (that's a whole other battle).
Pret a Manger is home to fresh squeezed orange juice (my favourite!), flavoured fruit teas, gourmet sandwiches, soups, wraps, yogourt, salads, muffins, just to name a few.
I tried to eat at Pret as many times as I could because I knew that I wouldn't be able to find anything as good here in Toronto (Sorry, Hogtown). My favourite item by far was the "Hoisin Duck Wrap." This was a tortilla wrapped with slivers of Chinese BBQ duck meat (skin on) doused with hoisin (a thick and sweet Chinese sauce), red onions, cucumbers, leaf spinach. There was some mayonaise on it as well, but I wasn't such a fan of that. This is because I consider mayonaise to be my antithesis. You know how kryptonite is to Superman? Well, that's what mayonaise is to me.
Here is the link to this particular wrap: http://www.pret.com/menu/baguettes_wraps/1765.shtm
I've been reading up on their food philosophies and I can't agree more! If there was a Pret in Canada, I would eat there everyday.
For further knowledge on this wonderful establishment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pret_a_Manger
http://www.pret.com/our_food/eat_with_your_head/
British food: Yay or Nay?
This is a picture taken at an Irish pub when I was in London last summer (July '06). All I've ever heard about British food was that it was bland and rather boring. Just how boring could it be? I had to give it a try to find out for myself.
In the picture, we've got steak and kidney pie to the left, Guiness beef stew in the far back, and good ol' fish n' chips to the right. Oh, and you can't forget the Mexican beer (Corona)!
The verdict: It tastes like how it looks. There are certainly no surprises here. I suppose it is decent and certainly edible, but I'd choose me some bibimbap or a hamburger any day. I just find British food to be rather heavy and fattening. If I were a full-time vegetarian, it would be hard to find something in a pub. I guess British food isn't really for the health concious. Goodness, they serve so much meat, even in the morning! So many things are made out of lard, but I have to admit, lard makes things taste so much better.
I think my favourite thing to eat in England are the pastries. I love the flaky dough of the Cornish pasties and sausage rolls. Pastries to England are like hotdogs to Toronto. The first thing I ate when I stepped off the plane was a Cornish pasty filled with something so good that I can't remember. If I lived in London, I would probably live off these things. So filling and cheap! I would probably also resemble Bridget Jones in the weight department too.
What are your thoughts on British food?
Did you know?:
In 1762, the sandwich was invented in England.
There is a town named Sandwich in the south of England. John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich invented a small meal that could be eaten with one hand while he continued his nonstop gambling.
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