16 Kitchen Experiments

This post has been in draft mode since before the start of last winter, basically almost a year. Sometimes perfectionism can be crippling. From this I’ve learned to separate posts and not overwhelm myself with trying to get it just right. Alignment and such will be off and it will probably really bug me. But in efforts of getting this website up and running, I’m just going to jump right in…this post was from my cooking fervour phase in attempts to impress my husband 🙂

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Its getting cold out and I retreat into hibernation mode, therefore, my Kitchen is where its at lately.  Here are some loosely explained recipes which may semi guide you to inspiration.

I’m keeping it short in each recipe for 2 reasons: 1) I just hate scrolling on an on each time I google a recipe.  A few lines should do, and there is no need to make it look more complicated than it is. 2) I don’t usually measure my ingredients and don’t really pay attention to exact timing instructions because each oven if different.  I go by the general guideline – and if it looks burnt, it probably is.  The only exception I think is whole chicken or turkey for obvious reasons.  If not so obvious, its because internal temperature should reach a certain point and you cant tell from the outside if it is thoroughly cooked.  3) I want to document and keep lists of my work, because lists are my thing.  #virgo.

A couple of notes before we get started: (~) means approximate.  You will see this mostly in front of lengths of time.  Secondly, the instructions are short but sometimes I go off on side-notes.  I also called this ‘experiments’ because a lot of them were done for the first time and some failed but most did not.  Cooking shouldn’t be stressful so if one meal sucks, its ok, it will be better next time.

CARBY AND MEATY

1. Spicy Chili

This chili I made the traditional way in a sautee pan on the stove, but I hear its very nice in a slow cooker as well.  Ive ordered one and its on the way; I’ll try it both ways and update my favourite method.

For this, I used 350g of ground beef (you can use ground anything…turkey, veal, veggie), a green bell pepper, an onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes, a handful of kidney beans, vegetable/beef broth, cipotle powder, and Mexican seasoning.  For garnish, use cheddar cheese and sour cream with tortilla chips.

First chop the onion and bell pepper into small squares, then fry onion and bell pepper in a large preheated pan with butter or oil until they brown on medium heat (~5 min).  Add ground beef and garlic, broth, crushed tomatoes, seasoning and beans as well 1/2 cup of water.  Bring this to a boil on high heat, then reduce it to a simmer until the chili thickens (~15 min).  Throughout this time, stir in whatever added spices you want and adjust it to perfection.  Salt, pepper, added chili, etc.   Wish I could tell you how much but I just add ‘pinches’ or 5-6 shakes.

    2.  Pesto Rigatoni with Chicken Strips

First fill a pot with water half way, add salt and and bring to a boil on high heat with the lid on.

(At first, when all the pasta recipes never explained that the pasta goes in after the water has started boiling, I embarrassingly struggled with this simple task. So there you are, in case you were wondering like I used to, the pasta should not be tossed into the pot until the water is boiling.  You get a strange goopy mess otherwise).

So once boiled, put in the pasta for about 20 min and reduce to medium heat with lid on, stirring occasionally.  Test with a fork and once you get the desired texture drain it into a strainer and wash it with cold water so it stops cooking.  Old school grandma kitchen hack alert: if you want to prevent the water from overflowing, a wooden spoon resting across the top will do the trick.  I swear it works, and nothing but a wooden spoon will do.

Start heating up another oven top heat element/nob (what the hell are they called?).  This is for the chicken but if you don’t want to fry it, you can also pop it in the oven for ~30 min at a preheated 400 degrees.  Usually I do the latter but for this it was on the stove top.  Another thing, if I make the chicken in the pan, generally its with butter and not oil, but either will do.  I also switch up the spices and if I recall well for this one, fresh parsley was used, along with dried oregano and some ‘all purpose’ seasoning.  Cooked on medium for 15 minutes or so, and cut open to see if its ready.   If ready, cut into strips, set aside.  Add a small amount of butter into the pan, place the pasta in and mix some pesto of your choosing.  I had zesto-cilantro pesto from Sunflower Kitchen, but basically any pesto you like works!  Some people add buttermilk or another thickening agent to pasta for a creamier texture but for this, nothing but the pesto was needed!  Mix, put in bowls, add chicken strips and enjoy.

     3.  Organic Pierogies with Cheese and Potato Filling

Wish I could say I made these pierogies from scratch like a sweet old babushka might, but I didn’t.  Still, at least they weren’t frozen.  They’re fresh and organic ‘decadent perogies’ from my Mama Earth delivery.  I’m not plugging anything here, its just where I got them, and the taste is much improved from the frozen ones you might buy at a grocery store.  They’re pre boiled but I still place ’em in for a second boil for ~10 min, then transferred to a preheated pan with sauteed red onion for a light frying.  Use butter, and cut onion in half vertically to get them long.  Add fresh parsley or cilantro, sour cream and some salt.  Ta-daaaa!

4. Turkey Schnitzel

This one is fun but messy and time consuming, so better to do on a weekend if you’re working during the week.  You have to prep stations and everything: 1 area for flour, one for lightly beaten eggs (I used 10 quail eggs but you can use 3-4 regular eggs, or 6-7 egg whites if you want to be a snob and not eat the egg yolk because you think its high in cholesterol when really its not bad for you at all…), and finally one station for Italian breadcrumbs.  This is for 2 breasts.

Now for the fun part –  buy yourself a good metal meat hammer to tenderize the turkey breast.  First cut it in half it it seems too big, then just start pounding away at it with the pointy side.  Especially recommended if you are in a bad mood.  Once finished, put the hammer down and back away slowly.  Just kidding, throw in a few more slams for good measure with the flat side, until the meat is about 1/8th of an inch thick.  Heat up your pan with oil and start dipping the meat first in the flour to thoroughly coat it, then in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs.  Place it in the pan for ~5 min per side.  I really don’t watch the clock, it just seems to be about 5 minutes on medium heat.

I cut up some cucumbers and cilantro, as well in the spirit of full disclosure, that pie was not made by me.    It was a Zimbabwean style Kale and Carrot Hand Pie from Mama Earth (Mnandi pies), heated up on my panini grill.  Very delicious.  I did make a savoury pie later on in this list. So I’m not all the way lazy.

5. Steamed Asparagus with Breaded Chicken and Caesar Salad

Similar to the recipie above but this was only lightly coated with breadcrumbs, so its less fattening.  It was also baked for half an hour at 400 in the oven.   The asparagus was steamed in my rice and beans steam cooker for ~20 min on ‘steam’.  Its quicker but I much prefer steaming it in a ceramic dish ontop of the stove, with a bit of water and the asparagus ends covering the bottom.  I find they don’t become mushy this way.  Throw on some lemon seasoning and pepper.

As for the salad, you know how to make Caesar Salad.  Romaine Lettuce.  Caesar dressing.  Breadcrumbs.  Bacon bits if you want (I did not want).  I’m already getting tired of recipe writing.  I think I need to revisit this endeavour later.

6. Turkey Bacon and Quail Egg Breakfast Bites

I use a silicon mini muffin tray for this, and thick cut turkey bacon which I recieve as part of my TruLocal meat box.  Slice down the middle and fold into a cone.  Place that in the muffin tray and press down on the bottom to create a base.  In a separate bowl, mix eggs with whatever ingredients you want ie. cheese or red pepper.  I used a quail egg for each of these, with chive and goat cheese.

7. Sauteed Gnocchi with peas and Rosemary Striploin Steak

This was boiled Gnocchi, which was lightly sauteed with with Pesto and garlic sauce.  The Steak was pan seared then popped in the oven for 5 minutes at 450 degrees.

   8. Mini Stuffed Peppers with Minced meat, mushroom and Saffron Rice

Well this was originally supposed to be posted a few months back but I got stuck writing somewhere around here.  Working off memory, this was mini bell peppers that I stuffed with Saffron rice (boil rice and add saffron), minced beef that I had leftover from meatball mix, and added mushrooms which were pre sauteed.  Placed in a small backing dish with some tomato sauce and placed in the oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

PESCETARIAN AND SEMI VEGETARIAN

  9. Lemon-Lime Atlantic King Shrimp with Water Cress

Super easy and super delicious!  Start by sauteeing some purple onion in a bit of butter, place the cleaned shrimp in a wok and mix around until the colour turns slightly, all on on medium heat.  Before turning off the heat splash with lemon and lime juice, and throw in some watercress, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Not sure where to get water cress?  I use MamaEarth Organics but you can probably find it in other health food stores.

10. Zucchini and Cheese Stuffed Savoury Pie with Salad

I didnt just heat up a pie, I made it myself!  I cant remember how as this post is now a long time ago by the time I got around to finishing.

11. Pizza

I didn’t call this post “How to be a Michelin Chef” For a reason.  This is a regular dough recipe that you can find online.  If lazy on a particular day, I get the Longo’s freshly made pizza dough, and cut it in half.  I never use fully pre made pizza crust.  I’ve tried baking pizza on a regular baking tray, ceramic baking dish, pizza stone, and a cast iron skillet.  The cast iron is by far superior to the rest.  Lather on whatever ingredients you want.  I go one of two ways – with a garlic pesto base, or regular pizza sauce.  Then its just a matter of toppings.  Spinach, Red pepper, garlic, pepperoni or chicken (or meatless), artichoke, and any cheese I have in the fridge.  I never buy pre grated cheese as its filled with preservatives that bricks of cheese don’t have.  Brush a bit of oil on the crust. Pop it in the over at 425 for 10-15 minutes.  Let sit 5 min and cut with a wheel or knife.  I find my long samurai knife most effective. Its just a long Japanese boning knife called a Shobu, made of carbon steel.  More on my precious knife collection in another post.

 12. Creamed Spinach and Kale With Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup (Childhood Favourites with a Twist)

This is a spin on my favourite spinach recipe growing up, which is strange because its not your typical children’s favorite.  At least my mother didn’t have to tell me twice to eat my vegetables.  The only difference is I add some kale to the mixture and my garlic pieces are much larger as well more numerous.

Instructions: You half de-stem and wash a bag of spinach.  I only cut the base of spinach leaves off because I like the added texture from part of the stem.  As for the kale, I removed the whole stem since its too large by the leaf. After you bring water to a boil over the stove, submerge all of the spinach and kale then turn down to medium heat with lid closed.  Meanwhile, on medium heat, throw in some crushed or chopped garlic to heated butter.  8-10 minutes or so later, drain the spinach water (or keep it for a soup broth!), and place the spinach on a cutting board.  Messily chop vertically and horizontally until you are satisfied with the texture.  When the garlic in the pan is brown and almost done, mix in a teaspoon or pinch of flour, mixing rapidly with a whisk so it doesn’t bundle.  This is done so that the soon-to-be-added milk doesn’t make the creamed spinach too runny.  Some people use cream or buttermilk for creamed spinach recipies, but I like the consistency (and reduced fat) you get with milk and a touch of flour.

Throw in the chopped spinach, mix and start adding milk slowly but immediately.  Remove from heat.  Mix for another 3-4 minutes in pan, transfer to a cooling bowl and let sit 5 minutes.  Then eat it 🙂

As for the soup. Its also known as the “Youre-Not-A-Real-Balkan-Woman-If-U-Dont-Know-How-to-Make-This Soup.  It involves carrot, turnip, celeriac and, vegans cover your ears, chicken carcass.  Bit of oil and water, half full in large dutch oven/pot with the bones, which you are to bring to boil and as you do, scrape the goop off the top with a sifter.  You want to get your soup as clear as possible.  If grandma determines its not clear enough, you’ve failed.  Reduce to simmer, throw in egg noddles 10 minutes before serving.  The carbs lets out startch that makes the soup less clear, so it must be done near the end.  Remove Bones.  Serve perfection.

   13. Hard Polenta with Quail Egg and Vine Tomato

Another Romo dish.

SALADS-FOR-DINNER

   14. Butternut Squash & Kale Salad with Goat Feta

The above is a really nice chili oil that goes with pretty much anything.  And Nonna’s balsamic reduction is another go-to if I want to add a bit of flavour to my food without putting too much regular oil or butter. I made a little salad with beetroot which was previously baked at 450 for 1 hour in an aluminum foil and drizzled with chili oil, then left to cool 2 hours.   I cut then threw in equally sized pieces of avocado as well some goat feta, sprinkled pumpkin seeds and chopped garlic then finished it off with drizzled nona’s fig reduction.  I like all the flavours but fig is my favourite.

15. Couscous Salad with Halloumi CheeseThis is middle eastern fusion between a traditional Arabic spice (zaatar) as well halloumi cheese typically used in their cuisine, and Isreali couscous native of Isreal.  It looks like a larger version of quinoa.

VEGAN POST

16. Kale, Pecan and Red Beetroot Salad (Vegan)

Beets – I love beets but have always found it to be a tricky and messy vegetable to cook. With a bit of research, I’ve found that the best way to do it is to cover it first in parchment paper, then aluminum foil, and simply place it in the oven as you would a baked potato. Give it a bit of breathing room at the top, and drizzle a bit of oil. From there baked it on low heat of about 300 for an hour or so, until it’s tender when poked with a fork. Let it cool and then the peel will come right off with a paring knife. You can cut it into cubes for a salad with goat cheese, or cut it into slices for a side dish.