Food for Thought

Coming soon: the tofu mousse suggested in the comments!!

For now:

The Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking

Sorry you have to put your email address in to see this article, but I think it's worth it. It's a super interesting article! If you don't want to, here's the gist:

We've all heard of the radiation they've found coming out of microwaves. But unfortunately, there's more.
Studies are showing that cooking things in the microwave is affecting our food and ourselves in ways we had hoped it wouldn't. Micro-waves change the chemical compound in foods exposed to them, zapping nutrients away & doing other creepy things. We'd probably be a lot better off if we relied more on just re-warming food on the stove or in the oven.

Anyway, I don't want to write out the whole article; it's understandable to be skeptical in our fear-mongering society, but I think this is good food for thought.

The silver lining from reading this article? I learned I can sterilize my kitchen rags in the microwave! Cool! Just don't stand right in front of the microwave while you're doing it, ha.

Soft Tofu & Kaddo Bourani

My friends, rather than bringing something to the table, I'm asking for help!
I just bought a box of soft tofu. I've never bought anything but the firm firm stuff (mainly for stir fry).
Sure, I could look up recipes, but I'm wondering if anyone has any tried and true favorite recipes to share! Please speak up!

Oh, ok- just so this post isn't all take and no give, here's my really-out-of-season-to-talk-about, one person Thanksgiving feast I made last year!:



That's cranberry orange sauce, mashed potatoes with green onions and white gravy, leftover turkey samples from work (I'm not buying a turkey for one person!), Kaddo Bourani (more on that in a second), green beans with pearl onions and pumpkin seeds, cinnamon cookie with chocolate chunks and cranberries, toasted panettone bread and some wine! It was a good day. And a great week of leftovers!

So, Kaddo Bourani is a baked pumpkin dish, with warm meat, and cool mint yogurt sauce on top. The first time I read the combo, I wasn't sure about it. But working at a grocery store means you walk by the pie pumpkins twenty times a day, and each time, they whisper for you to 'trryyy theeemmm in that weeeiiird reciippeeee...'

So I went for it. Ohhhh man. The pumpkin is soft and sweet, and melds so surprisingly well with the oniony, spiced, savory meat; and the cool minty, garlicky yogurt on the top is like perfect icing on a cake: you love the whole dish, but you never want to eat it without that part!

If you're interested in making this lovely Afghani dish, here is a link to the recipe I used. Yes, the amount of sugar is scary. It's going to be ok though. Just make sure to line your baking dish well!
You may be able to substitute in a different kind of squash if you just can't wait for pumpkin season to come around again!

Happy times, everyone!

Channa Masala

Hello fellow foodies :-)

Tonight I'd like to contribute...Channa Masala!

Bottom line: I <3 Indian food. It's so freaking good. The sad part is that many people think Indian food is too spicy or weird or whatever. Well, they are missing out! Indian food is incredibly flavorful. Also, it can be spicy or not-depending on your preference.

In this dish, I love how some innocent looking spices (Coriander, Tumeric, Cayenne, Cumin and Garam Masala) transform some ordinary looking chickpeas into pure deliciousness. Ginger, Jalapeno and Garlic also lend a hand.

And Onion. Gotta have some Onion.

Look at those sexy chickpeas all dolled up!

I served my Channa with a dollop of plain yogurt for some creaminess. On the side is cooked spinach and garlic naan from Trader Joes.

Here's a link to the recipe. She also has step by step instructions with pictures which made my life easier. This is one of the first Indian recipes I've attempted at home (the first one was "ehh") and I really think it turned out well. Very tasty and easy to make.

If anyone has any yummy Indian recipes-please share in the comment section!

Happy eating-
Julie F.

Fuckin' Stuck?

What the fuck should I make for dinner?


Hey guys, I love everything that's been posted so far! We are some gourmet kids! Keep it up!

Love, Michelle

pesto perfecto

I have terrible insomnia.  Been an issue since I was a child but has been amplified by my son's wonky sleep schedule...so thanks to my craptastic Blackberry I spend my sleepless nights surfing the web for blogs and sites that interest me.  I have become a faithful reader of Dash and Bella.  Phyllis Grant is a genius writer, photographer and home chef...with the most adorable co-chefs: her almost 3 year old son and her 7 year old daughter.  All her blogs feature fresh local organic products, kid friendly recipes that allow children to learn the art of cooking and a warm humor that comes through in her writing.  She inspires me to encourage Devin to help in the kitchen and to cook with simple fresh ingredients.  She almost always has some sort of fantastic sounding pesto to add to roasted veggies,  spread on something, or made into a killer salad dressing.  She talks about having some in the freezer and its like someone just told me that water makes ice cubes.  I never make certain things because many times I just plain forget that a freezer is attached to my fridge.  So while I did not have some of the fancier ingredients that are featured on Dash and Bella I made due with what I had and found a recipe that turned out pretty dang good!

The only addition I made to the original recipe was to add meyer lemon juice.

Toasting the walnuts as suggested by some of the reviewers of the recipe.

Thai basil...smelled sooooooooooooo good.  I am trying to figure out if it smells differently than italian basil.

Grated garlic right into the ninja!

Add the cheese and any more salt or lemon juice after first blending the other ingredients together.

Four portions to go into the freezer for later use and one to go in the fridge!

Up close and pesto.

Ingredients (I doubled the recipe so  I could freeze a bunch and I did not use butter.)

2 cups packed basil leaves (approx. 2 oz)

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons softened butter (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions

1. Place basil, olive oil, walnuts, garlic and salt (if using) in food processor.

2. Blend until thoroughly combined.

3. Add Parmesan and butter (if using) and blend 5-10 seconds more.

4. Taste and adjust as needed.

My first application of the pesto was to make a salad dressing which consisted of a spoonful of pesto, lemon juice, curry mustard and a bit of salt and pepper.  awesome.

My son letting me know he was so hungry he was ready to go cannibal...thank you lil man for letting me make this! <3

My Favorite Squash

This past year, I've come to love butternut squash. After avoiding it throughout childhood, my teenager years, and much of my 20's, I wound up with two in my Bountiful Basket sometime in the last year. With them just hanging around the house, I decided I should actually try it and get over my squashphobia. "Getting over it" certainly puts it mildly.



I know I found the basis for this recipe online, but I'm failing to find my source. I'll update it once I retrace my steps properly to provide proper credit.

• Butternut squash
• Butter, 3-5 tablespoons depending on the size of the squash
• Salt
• Pepper
• The fun part: Spice. I happen to like a wee bit of lavender with a squirt of honey, an excessive amount of thyme, or a tiny bit of rosemary. Last night, I went with cardamom and a splash of vanilla.
  

Peel, clean, and dice the squash. You can leave larger chunks if you like more texture, or smaller bits for faster cooking.



Make brown butter. About the time it smells nutty and foams up, pull it off the heat and dump in your spices. Most likely, the spice will cause the butter to foam further, so do not be alarmed. Whisk the spice into butter, return to a medium-high heat, and add the squash.



Stir the squash into the butter mixture until the pieces are coated well, adding salt and pepper during this process. Allow the squash to cook for a few moments, stir it, and repeat a couple of times.

Put a lid on the pan and simmer until the squash is soft. This typically takes about ten minutes. If you prefer a mushier texture that resembles mashed potatoes more than cubes, just cook it a bit longer and stir it while it simmers to watch the squash melt down to a delicious mush.

Taste, add more salt and pepper, and eat the entire thing in one sitting while ignoring the rest of dinner. Not that, you know, I'd ever do such a thing. Bonus: It heats up well for lunch the next day.

carnitas!

Absolutely LOVING the beautiful healthful recipes published thus far...I am sadly going to muck that up with a really great recipe for carnitas.

Many traditional recipes call for the carnitas to be cooked in lard- like 3 lbs of it...before you change the channel know that even for me that is going a bit overboard...whether there was a tablespoon of bacon fat in my pot before the meat went in.... I'll let you decide.

Original recipe calls for fresh squeezed orange juice...I had pre-made stuff in the fridge...fussy 15 month old= short cuts in cooking sometimes.  I would much rather have had fresh!  I also used evaporated milk because that is usually what I use whenever a recipe that involves braising calls for milk.

Cut meat into large cubes and salt with sea salt

This is towards the end of the braising, about to add the mexican cola.

Getting ready  to go into a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes to get a bit crispy

The final product, to be served in corn tortillas or next to some  spanish rice or on ice cream...heck you decide.

Found the recipe here.  Husband and I have tried several recipes from this site and have really enjoyed that many times the final product really has that authentic flavor you'd be looking for.

Pork Carnitas

Ingredients

3 1/2 to 4 lb. pork butt, cut into large chunks (1 inch)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup red wine

2 cups fresh orange juice

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. chili powder

small handful of chopped fresh cilantro

1 bay leaf

1 cup milk

1/4 cup coke


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Directions:
Cut pork into large chunks (remove some of the fat) and place in a large frying pan or stock pot. Add the garlic, wine, orange juice, salt, chili powder, cilantro, and bay leaf. Add water if needed to cover most of the pork.
Stir ingredients and place on high heat. Once it boils, reduce the heat to low, partially cover and simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.You want the pork to be very tender and easy to break apart..
Keep an eye open so the liquid doesn't boil completely away. Add more water if needed.
Add the milk and continue to simmer(without the lid) for 20 minutes or until the liquid cooks down to half. Add the coke and bring to a boil again, then lower heat to simmer and cook an additional 15 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf and spoon the pork into a roasting pan. Shred the pork with a couple of forks and spread the meat out in a thin layer. Set the gravy aside and keep warm.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 until the meat browns and becomes crispy. You can pour the sauce back over the carnitas or use as a gravy.



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Going into a different part of flavor town if you are lucky enough to have an asian market in your area and love thai soups...you must try this paste.  Add to water throw in whatever you'd like...tofu, mushrooms, bamboo shoots...etc....in a matter of minutes you have a satisfying easy tasty soup.  Perfect on its own or as a starter before stir fry or maybe as a soup and salad meal for the summer.  We got ours at the Fil/Am asian market in Cathedral City.  We are stocking up for summer next month.