Brussel Sprouts Are Your Friends

Brussel Sprouts Are Your Friends...

I know a lot of people who have been traumatized by their parents forcing them to choke down bitter, mushy Brussel sprouts. I never understood this since I've only had them stir fried or roasted, never boiled down to the horrifying descriptions some of my friends have described to me.
I promise that these recipes will neither be mushy, bitter or force-fed to you. I just ask you give this poor vegetable another chance. It's actually really simple to make tasty brussel sprouts and there are tons of recipes trying to change the image of lovely and healthy treat around. The easiest it to steam them with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Another way to serve is to roast them. I have a two for one today providing two recipes with Brussel sprouts.


Balsamic Brussel Sprouts

6-8 fresh Brussel sprouts (Buy them at your local produce specialist if you don't want to buy a whole (usually expensive) packaged bag, shout out to Grower's Direct in Costa Mesa!)
1 large clove or 2 small cloves of garlic minced
1 small shallot, minced
3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Heat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle olive oil and balsamic vinegar on sheet pan (again I like to use foil for easy cleanup since balsamic vinegar will caramelize and get sticky.) Add a pinch of salt and some fresh ground pepper on top.

Mince the garlic and shallots. Sprinkle half of them on top of the oil and vinegar.

Trim the ends of the Brussel sprouts. Take the top outer layers off
(sometimes they just come off themselves).

Cut each Brussel sprout in half.




Place cut face down onto the sheet pan. Move them in a circular motion around the pan to absorb the vinegar and oil.
Sprinkle on the rest of the garlic and shallots.
Sprinkle some more olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the tops of the Brussel sprouts. Salt and pepper again, and place into oven.

Yes. Sprinkle is the word of the day.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the Brussel sprouts are tender. Cover the first 15 minutes or so with foil so the Brussel sprouts steam a little from the liquid and won't dry out as quickly and then let it roast uncovered for the remaining time.

If you want to sneak the Brussel Sprouts or disguise them, here is another tasty recipe. Think of the Brussel sprouts like mini cabbages.

Israeli Couscous with Vegetables

1 package Trader Joe's Israeli couscous
1/2 yellow onion diced
4-5 brussel sprouts, ends trimmed, and sliced (like cabbage)
1 diced carrot
1 broccoli head choped into small flowerets
2 diced cooked chicken breasts, seasoned
Chili oil (if desired)
EVOO
Balsamic vinegar
Kosher Salt
Pepper

Follow directions on the the box for the Israeli couscous...I treat this like orzo, toasting the couscous a little in the pot before adding a bay leaf or two with the water for extra flavor. In another pan, saute the garlic, shallots, onion in sesame oil and chili oil until onions are translucent...Add a few swirls of balsamic vinegar to the pan.
Add Brussel sprouts, broccoli, carrots, or any other veggies you would like until cooked thoroughly. Salt and pepper to taste. Add more balsmamic if needed.
Spoon mixture on top of cooked Israeli couscous. Top with green onions.
Add chili flakes, or hot sauce if desired.

Kanpai!

Michael's Smokin' Turchili

So, once a year my housemate makes food that requires more than unwrapping a Clif Bar or microwaving a burrito (that I made). And I KNOW he can cook, he just chooses to withhold his culinary skills for whatever reason. And yes, he named this recipe himself.

The idea for making his famous chili came about when we were having a "cold snap." in SoCal. However, the day he chose to make the chili it was 82 degrees out and fires were raging as they have all too commonly been this fall... (My other housemate's brother and fam actually had to be evacuated this actual day...my thoughts are out to you affected by the fires)

So here is his chili recipe...beware, it makes A LOT. That being said, we're more than halfway through this batch since he made it on Saturday...midnight chili, chili and eggs, chili and pasta...and it's still not getting old..
Disclaimer: this is written per his instructions, so they're way more loosey-goosey in timing than I usually write for my recipes, since stove top ranges...well, range, I would suggest checking in often.
All in all, it took about 5 hours, 4 of it of simmering.

Michael's Smokin' Turchili
2 1/2 lbs ground turkey
2-3 large yellow onions diced
2 heads garlic minced
1 green bell pepper diced
2-15 oz canned corn (no salt added)
2 containers fresh HOT salsa (non-jarred)
75 oz whole unsalted tomatoes
60 oz tomato sauce
16 oz tomato paste
3/4 cup Kahlua liqueur
1 1/2 cups finely chopped cilantro
2 jalapeno peppers minced or finely processed (do not seed)
1 Thai chili minced (be careful handling, I suggest using gloves, especially for you contact lens wearers)
3 tablespoons parsley flakes
5 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon basil
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon oregano
3 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons hot sauce (he prefers Frank's)
Salt to taste

Brown turkey and place in large pot
Saute onions, green pepper, garlic, jalapeno, Thai chili, cilantro
Add to pot. DO NOT add spices yet.

Cook on medium heat 30-60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spices, one at a time, stirring fully after each addition. let simmer for additional 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add additional spices to taste. Pour into a big bowl and top off with a dollop of Greek yogurt (or sour cream) and cheese. Enjoy!

Salud!

Spinach and Cheese Goodness

This is a recipe based off of an Eating Well mag that I yoinked from one of my best friends after a marathon of watching season 2 of Dexter...but I digress...

The recipe is linked here. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/parmesan_spinach_cakes.html
I made an accompanying sauce created while drinking "2002 Columbia Crest Two Vines Merlot-Cabernet" so I wanted to give them the appropriate creative credit they deserve. And I apologize, most of the pictures turned out blurry, "maybe" due to my drinking, and only one decent pic came out, above.

After looking at the mixture following the recipe, I knew there was no way it was going to turn out looking like the end product so I tweaked, eyeballing things in the end. Note: they used fresh spinach which in my past experience has leached out a lot of liquid turning things into mush, so I used a 16 oz bag of frozen spinach, thawed and drained.

Makes 12-ish. Or 6 large.

The nutritionals may be off in my version since I didn't make as big of muffins as they stated in the recipe. But these are great under 200 calories for 2 pieces even in their full size.

Spinach Parmesan Cakes
1 package frozen spinach (16oz), thawed and drained
1 cup non-fat cottage cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
2 large eggs, beaten
2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 small onion small dice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. pan spray
Finely dice onion and mince garlic. Heat EVOO, add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent. Salt and pepper. Set aside.
Make sure you drain as much water as possible from the spinach. Add to bowl. Add cottage cheese, Parmesan, eggs, pepper, pepper flakes.

Add the onion and garlic mixture well. Pan spray LIBERALLY in the muffin pans. Spoon mixture to just below muffin top pan line.

Bake 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until you see dark browning around the edges. My oven sucks and I have gotten used to it, so add another 10 minutes if your oven sucks like mine.

Optional dipping sauce
3 tablespoons non-fat plain Greek yogurt
1/2 Roma tomato diced
small pinch salt
1 turn of ground pepper (lemon pepper even better)
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Dash of garlic powder.

Spoon yogurt onto plate. Place diced tomatoes on top. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder on top. Splash a few drops of balsamic vinegar on top. Enjoy!

Ganbai!

Breakfast Burritos Cheap

Breakfast burritos are the best invention ever. Eggs. Good. Cheese. Good. Potatoes. Good. Chorizo. Goood. Able to be eaten in one hand. Goood. Cheap healthy burritos...infinity good=)
Now of course, there are detractors on what should go into these burritos like, ahem, a certain roomie of mine who claimed he is "allergic" to eggs. He gets the eggless ones. Yeah, I'm that nice.

There is the fact that real chorizo is not the healthiest for you (but oh, does it taste so good when it touches your lips), but there are other options that are much healthier.
Trader Joe's used to sell this chicken chorizo in their stores and but have been told that it has been discontinued. If anyone has any comparable substitute, I would greatly appreciate it.

In the meantime, I have been using "soyrizo," the soy substitute for chorizo. It is healthier and you know there aren't any questionable pieces of animal parts going into it...though which end of the soy bean that the soyrizo is made from is in question>D

This is a great, cost effective and healthy breakfast (or any daypart) item that you can just pop into the microwave of toaster oven to heat. Feel free to add any other favorite breakfast item like chicken sausage, bacon, rice, peas, etc. This recipe is just soyrizo, eggs and cheese for less than you would pay at a fast food place and much more healthier for you.
UPDATE**-This recipe is meant for you or others to either eat within a week or frozen for later consumption.

Breakfast Burritos
(Makes 10 burritos)
10 pack of Whole wheat tortilla (about 10 inch rounds)-$1.99
3 red potatoes medium $.79
1 medium yellow onion $.25
1 jalapeno (you can add more if you lika da heat) $.10
1 package soyrizo (12oz) $1.99
6 eggs $.75
1 cup Organic Lite shredded Mexican cheese $1.00
Cilantro $.15

~$7.00 for 10 burritos=$.70 each

Boil potatoes. To make them cook faster, half or even quarter the potatoes. Salt the water and add potatoes in the cold water. That's right. Add them in BEFORE the water boils. Drain the water after the potatoes are easily pierced with a knife, approximately 20-30 minutes.

While the potatoes are boiling away, you will start making your soyrizo mix. Chop up garlic, shallots, and onion. Heat a deep pan with olive oil. salt and pepper. When hot, add the veggies at medium low heat until translucent. You can up the temp if it seems to take too long, but the garlic may burn faster and turn black before the onions are cooked through.

Add the soyrizo and turn heat down between low and medium low.

Now, the eggs. Crack the eggs into a bowl.
One thing I've never seen before is in the picture. A bloody egg. I looked it up and apparently it's edible. something about the blood vessel not separating correctly when it is being formed. So, if you don't see any more posts from me, you'll know what happened...


Add the chopped cilantro and parsley and add the cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Beat eggs. Now I choose to extend the eggs with water about 1/2 cup but you make also add milk, 2% or less will work fine.

Heat another pan for the eggs. If the eggs don't look like they're all going to fit, make them in batches. Make sure you re-beat the eggs a little to pick up the cilantro and parsley each time.

Now. the potatoes should be done. You may choose to keep the skin on, or peel the skin off. I would suggest taking the skin off since it is mostly coming off at this point, but there are good vitamins in the skin. Drain and rinse under cold water. Be careful, they will be HOT. When they are cook enough to handle, dice the potatoes into 1 inch cubes. smaller if you're using a smaller tortilla. Now, if you have potatoes that are just crumbling and not really dicing, set aside in a separate bowl. You can make mashed potatoes, or potato burritos with the "leftovers."What's left is to assemble. I realized I didn't measure the filling amounts, but eyeball and make sure not to overfill. Rip foil sheets slightly bigger than the tortillas and pan spray before placing the tortillas.

To help roll the tortillas easily so they won't crack, I heated them a little over the gas stove one by one. Another option is to heat the oven to about 250 degrees, place a moist paper towel on top of a long piece of foil and place the tortillas op top of that. Wrap the foil around the tortillas. Add more water the the paper towels to make sure the tortillas don't dry out.

Again, you can add whatever other fillings you would like. in the end, it will be a lot cheaper and healthier for you.
Have it your way! (Please don't sue me Burger King)
Enjoy!

Sante!
DD

No on 8!

This blog was to be only about food, but I noticed something that is compelling me to step outside of that just this once. I noticed on my Google ads that there was a link to Yes on 8. I do not have much control on what scrolls through on the ads, but I want to firmly state that I do not advocate this absolutely ridiculous discriminatory proposition. If Prop. 8 goes through, it will throw us back to the Stone Ages. Whatever your orientation, Californians, please vote NO on Prop. 8!
(Ok, off my soapbox now.)

Roasted Fennel Tomato Soup

Fennel Fun

I've been experimenting with soups lately. With the weather getting colder (yes, it gets chilly even in coastal Southern California.) And I've been infatuated in fennel recipes because, well, I've never really worked with it. It's compared to celery...except it's got a fat white base, has green fuzzy fronds, and has layers like an onion. It's labeled, incorrectly as anise, in many stores, so it should look like this.

Now, I'm fairly adverse to the licorice taste. Not the Twizzler kind, more the black anise-y tasting kind. I'm sure it goes back to some nasty Chinese herbal medicine my parents tried to pour my throat at some point. But, after reading up on fennel and how to prepare, I've been pleasantly surprised with the great taste that fennel effuses. It's perfect roasted alone, or added as an ingredient to soups and sauces. So the recipe posted below will provide a great base for a sauce and soup. I found the inspiration for fennel and tomato soup from several sources, but I will like this one because I like what they did to the veggies.=)

ahttp://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/749/Roast-Fennel-and-Tomato-Soup/

Notice that you do not need to add any sugar like you would to a tomato sauce or soup. The caramelization of the veggies and balsamic vinegar adds a natural sweetness.

Roasted Fennel and Tomato Soup
1 fennel bulb $1.19
1 medium red onion quartered $.22
2 Roma tomatoes $.69
3 garlic cloves, smashed $.30
1/2 box low sodium chicken broth $1.00
1 bay leaf
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Red pepper flakes or 1 diced jalapeno

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To prepare the fennel bulb, chop the long stalks from the bulb. You can actually see the picture above where I made the cut. Save the stalks for the feathery leaves for recipes calling for herbs and the stalks for soup bases. Trim the base of the bulb where the root end is. Rinse the bulb.

Quarter the bulb and quarter again. Repeat with the tomatoes and red onion. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar onto a sheet pan. Place the quartered pieces onto the pan, drizzle more olive oil and vinegar over the veggies. Fennel pieces will roast better if you separate the layers a little. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Turn the veggies halfway through.

Add a couple of drops of oil or use a spritz of pan spray to a soup pot. Heat on high and saute smashed garlic for a few minutes. Add chicken stock and bay leaf, bring to a boil. Add the veggies, cover, and reduce to simmer for 30 minutes.

In batches, add the stock and veggies to blender. Add the red pepper flakes or jalapeno at this step. Pulse and then blend until smooth. Stop occasionally to scrape down sides of blender. The mixture will look a little more pink then red. Add a tablespoon of tomato paste for added color if you would like, but it tastes great without it.

You can extend and use this for a multitude of recipes.

Variations:
Add oregano and basil to make a nice pasta or pizza sauce.
Add more broth to make this a soup. Top with some Greek yogurt and chopped chives.

I mixed in some leftover pumpkin puree and it provided a light nuttiness with undertone of pumpkin. Add more or less to taste

Happy November!
DD

Pumpkin and Roasted Butternut Squash Casserole

Happy Halloween!
It's the Great Pumpkin and Roasted Butternut Squash Casserole Charlie Brown!

I thought I would add to the multitude of pumpkin recipes with this one. The only difference was this was created by pure accident because I was testing pumpkin and butternut squash ravioli recipes and "Good grief!" they weren't coming out the way I wanted it to (wonton skins too "slimy"). So I'll mess with that recipe a little more and share a great accidental recipe that resulted instead.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Casserole
(Serves 6-8)

1 1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree-$.75
1 1/2 cup Fat free cottage cheese $.80
3 tablespoons goat cheese $.65
10 leaves of fresh sage finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons) $.85
1 shallot minced $.20
3 cloves garlic minced $.15
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan $.25
1/2 roasted butternut squash (1-1.5 cups)* $.50
1 teaspoon nutmeg $.01
1 egg $.11
Roasted Gorgonzola crackers crushed (Trader Joe's brand or an savory cracker) $.23

Total cost: ~$4.50
Per portion ~$.56-$.75

*Roasted Butternut Squash
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Halve butternut squash. To prevent rocking or tipping, I trimmed a part of the more rounded part of the squash to make it flat and stable. Take out the seeds and pith (the stringy stuff). Pierce or score the fleshy part. Place skin side down. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon brown sugar on each half. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the halves, Salt and Pepper. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Use one half for this recipe. Reserve the other half, either cube it or scoop out into a mash.

Casserole:
Mix everything BUT the crackers. Mix thoroughly. Lightly oil or pan spray sides of a small casserole dish or loaf pan. Place mixture into the pan and top with crushed roasted Gorgonzola crackers. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes. Remove foil and brown for 5-10 more minutes. Enjoy! Sorry, we dug into this before I could take a picture!

Happy Halloween!
DD

Orzo Risotto AKA Orzo-tto

Orzo-tto

Orzo is a good dummy-proof way to making risotto. Arborio rice is needy like a sick boyfriend and I don't have the patience sometimes to watch and baby it...but good risotto is worth it if you have the time to invest in it. That being said, I'm going to provide a quicker, easier way to make a dish that looks complicated without the effort. This is a good option for meals you need a starch, but busy with the main course or other dishes. But do not turn your attention away completely. I suggest test running this a few times before serving a large crowd. I've lost half of the dish due to it burning and sticking to the pot.

What is great about risotto (orzo or arborio kind) is that it absorbs whatever flavor that you throw at it. with it being Fall, this is a great recipe to keep in your back pocket for Thanksgiving and other winter holidays.

This is one of the recipes where I believe that butter does help in not just the flavor, but to prevent intense sticking to the pot. I do refuse to believe that a stick of butter is necessary to make this recipe.

Orzo-tto
(about 4 servings)

1 cup orzo
1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic
1 large shallot
1/2 yellow onion diced
About 2 cups of Chicken stock or water
Olive oil
1 Carrot peeled and diced into quarter inch cubes
Handful of Broccoli flowerets, with tops chopped off and the stems diced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Melt butter in the pot, add a few swirls of olive oil in medium-low heat. Add a dash of salt and couple grinds of pepper. Saute the garlic, shallots, and onion at medium heat until translucent. If you like some spice, add a couple swirls of chili oil and/or a few shakes of red pepper flakes. If you want to turn it up more, finely dice some seeded jalapenos.



Toss in orzo and toss to coat. Turn heat down to medium low heat. You will need to watch this as not to burn the orzo. Stir for about 3 minutes. The orzo will look yellowish to tan. Add a cup of stock or water, stir. When the orzo starts to absorb the water and bubble, add another 1/2 cup of water. Toss the remaining veggies. As the liquid absorbs, add another 1/2 cup of water.

Taste the orzo and make sure the the orzo is cooked all the way.
If not, keep adding 1/4 cup liquid until fully cooked. Do not forget to keep stirring. Add the Parmesan in the last step. Add salt only after this step because the cheese will provide a lot of flavor.

To make the dish more in line with Fall and Winter, you can add diced butternut squash with a dash of nutmeg with the veggies or alone to the orzo. Or toss in some chopped up fennel bulb and use the leaves for extra flavor. Add some halved grape tomatoes to add some color. Mix with broccoli or green peas and you have a Christmas themed risotto. Add your choice of meat anything to make it a heartier main course; sausages, prosciutto, chicken strips. In fact, I served the chicken fingers on top of the orzo and drizzled some of the honey mustard and yogurt sauce over the strips and orzo. Toast some pine nuts to mix in for a nuttier flavor. One note, if you want to add spinach, as much as I would prefer fresh, I suggest using frozen for this recipe, since fresh tends to turn a brownish color when it's cooked. It's edible, just some people may be turned off by the color. Have fun!

Salud!
DD, drinking some Chariot red wine

Baked Breaded Chicken Strips

Okay, here goes...my first blog recipe. Portion pricing is not available since a lot of these products were already in existence at my house.

Baked Breaded Chicken Strips
Got leftover chicken breasts? I did after not watching the oven while making OJ Chicken (a recipe I will post in the near future) and the 6 chicken breasts came out drier than I wished. So while my roommate and I choked down the dry chicken breast, my head started formulating in what I was going to do with the remaining 4 pieces left. I checked my fridge to see what I could improvise. If you ever watch Psych on USA network, you know the main character Shawn has this innate ability to pick out things and they do this weird lighted highlight special effect when he locates certain things. This is what I am like a lot of times. Saw a loaf of bread I forgot about, Dijon mustard and Greek yogurt. I thought at first maybe chicken salad made with Greek yogurt (a healthy mayo substitute). After I checked the bread, it seemed a little dry, so I thought why not just dry them all out to make breadcrumbs...breadcrumbs, chicken, breaded chicken...baked breaded chicken strips!!! This is just how my neurotic brain works. So I scoured the web for suggestions on no-fry chicken strips. Many tell you to dredge in flour, then dip in egg, then coat in breadcrumb. That's just incredibly messy to me. Even with the dry hand-wet hand method (I'll get to that in a sec) I always end up with a wad of flour-egg-breadcrumb goop on my hands. So I looked for a non egg-flour recipes and found one here-

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2003/06/04/mustardy-breaded-baked-chicken-strips/

I wanted something to cut the mustard since the Trader Joe's brand we had is very sinus- clearing even in small amounts but still needed a strong "glue"for the breadcrumbs to stick to the chicken, so decided to add the Greek yogurt.

*Real Quick Breadcrumb Recipe: Lay the bread slices out on a sheet pan and toast them at 300 degrees on both sides until they dry out. Any bread will work, timing will vary depending on the type of bread. Just make sure you keep an eye on it, I've burned many pieces of bread by forgetting about it. I happened to have Trader Joe's California Style Complete Protein Bread which makes excellent and healthy breadcrumbs. The wheatberries, corn and oats add a touch of sweetness. After the slices cool down, place dried bread in a large plastic bag, e.g., Ziploc, Glad...and roll over with rolling pin or smash with wooden mallet. Great way to get some aggression out. Crush to as fine as you need it. For this recipe, I like to have it more coarse.

Baked Breaded Chicken Strips

Ingredients:
4 Leftover chicken breasts cut into strips or raw chicken breast cut into strips
3/4 Cup Greek Yogurt (I like 0% Fat Fage)
3 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder or fresh minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
Handful of chives chopped finely
1 cup of breadcrumbs (see above recipe or use ready to use)
3/4 cup Shredded or grated Parmesan
Dried Oregano
Dried Basil
Dried Pepper Flakes
Salt
Pepper
Green onions and/or chives chopped for garnish

*If you're using raw chicken strips, cut up the chicken after all the other steps to prevent cross contamination.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Lightly oil or pan-spray a sheet pan. I prefer to lay foil down first for easier clean up later.

Mix the Greek yogurt, Dijon, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder, and chives in a bowl. It should look like this:


Set aside a few tablespoons of the mixture in a smaller container.

In a separate shallow bowl or plate, mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, 4-5 shakes each of dried oregano and basil and red pepper flakes if desired. Don't afraid to use your hands to incorporate the ingredients well.

With a spoon or butter knife, smear the mustard yogurt mixture on the strips evenly. The hand holding the strip is now your "wet hand." Try not to let it glop in places. Gently place the strip on the breadcrumbs, use your "dry hand" to scoop breadcrumbs on top of the strips. pat down to make sure the breadcrumbs adhere on all sides. Try to only use your dry hand to breadcrumb. Lay the strip down on the sheet pan. Repeat.

When done breading and all strips are the pan, sprinkle a little more olive oil on the tops of the strips and place in oven.

Bake about 10 minutes on each side. If using raw chicken, check for doneness by making sure only clear liquid comes out when you cut into the chicken.

Be warned that some of the breading may come off, so carefully remove from pan using a spatula. You can see some balding strips in the pic above. Put those on the bottom of your chicken strip pile when serving=)

Mix the reserved mustard yogurt mixture you set aside earlier and add 1 tablespoon of honey or this wonderful product called Blue Agave Sweetener (can be found at Trader Joe's). This will be your dipping sauce along with whatever your favorite sauce is. I added Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce in the dish next to the mustard yogurt mixture. Garnish chicken strips with chives or green onions if desired.

Dip in your sauce. Eat. Repeat.
I apologize for the orientation of some of the pics. I can't seem to figure out how to fix it yet.

Ganbai!
DD

My Very First Blog!

Hello All...(it's probably just one of you),

Due to my extraneous time brought on by my unfortunate participation as a casualty of the current economy...AKA laid off, terminated, fired, eliminated, unemployed...I have decided to start blogging my recipes.

I've never done this before so forgive me if links and images don't load correctly. Any insight or suggestions are appreciated. And if I violate any copyright thing, I apologize ahead of time...I'm just doing this because I'm bored, not trying to make money or whatever off someone else (I'm talking to you Nelly Furtado and management!)

Since I've had so much more time on my hands, (one can only apply to so many jobs a day)... I've been cooking...ALOT...some recipes are ones that just pop into my never-stop-running- head of mine, others are inspired by what I've seen e.g. mags, websites, Food Network (one of my favorite channels). I will try to tell you where I got the original recipe from or what I am basing it off (sometimes, it's from my dad's own head!). I'm also going to make an effort to get prices of everything to help for those budget-minded...

Many times when I see a recipe that seems interesting I usually start figuring out what I can do to make it healthier or more organic. Most of the time, I think it comes out tasting better...though I have to admit, the ones that call for butter tend to have that je ne sais pas flavor, but if you don't add that much or not at all, you don't even know you're missing it=) That said, instead of Paula Deen's admirable habit of throwing a whole stick in, I do try to see how little fats and oils I can get away without compromising flavor...because fat IS flavor as I learned in my prior life selling meat (animal meat, not the illegal kind>)....)

So a few of disclaimers for those who are looking specific recipes or ask for ANY recipe...

Measurements-I've grown up watching my dad cook. He can eyeball pretty much on the dot and I like to think I have that ability, but I also like to improvise, mixing it up as I go, so when it comes to measurements, I start out with an idea, start conservatively, then add to taste...BUT, I promise to get measurements down as much as possible.

Seafood- Allergic... I know, it sucks big time...what Asian can't have seafood?! What makes it worse is I've DEVELOPED this stupid allergy so I've already tasted the goods so I KNOW what I'm missing...what yummy abalone tastes like and velvety shrimp and fluffy scallops taste like. it's been so long that I'm not even sure if that's what the mouthfeel is... so no seafood recipes unless I get a real goody from my dad to pass on...occasionally I will throw canned tuna recipes because apparently I can have that (in small quantities). Some recipes should be transferable to fish and I would encourage trying it...

Salt- I am pretty sodium phobic, as I always believe that you can always add more salt, but you can't always take it out after you put it in...I'm a big fan of using natural flavors ( I know, I know salt is natural) like garlic, shallots, onions ginger etc...plus people tend to add salt automatically before they even take a bite (technically an insult to the chef). So for those salt-philes out there, you may want to add more salt than I state in the recipe...unless otherwise noted.

Cuisine- I like to make fusions with different cuisines, taking the best of all worlds, Mexi-Asian, Cal-Italian, Germ-Indian., Mexicalifrenchilicious...just kidding=). But not all will be fusion, and some will call for specific ingredients from specialty stores. I will provide substitute ingredients where possible since I realize not everyone has a Ranch 99 near them.

So. I should be posting my first recipe after I finish taking the pictures and refining the recipe measurements, hopefully by the end of the weekend.

Sorry about the long intro...
Looking forward to your comments...=)

Cheers,
DD