welcome to the kitchen

a kitchen inventory

2004-08-13T09:18:53Z

I've thrown together this incomplete list for kaitoujeanne, my soon-to-be roommate.

I now have:
1 large bread bowl, chipped
1 set pyrex nestling mixing bowls +1
sale textured glass plates/bowls
1 bread knife
3 sm paring knives
1 chopping knife
1 flat grater
1 garlic press
2 metal spatulas
several wooden tools
1 wooden spoon
1 rice cooker
1 toaster oven
1 blender
1 pie plate
4 pyrex cereal bowls
1 sm covered glass casserole
4 sm glass ovenware dishes
1 cookie sheet
2 loaf pans
1 can opener
1 oven thermometer
1 set of tongs
1 sm revereware frying pan
1 sm revereware pot
1 sm cast-iron pan
many muffin tins
assorted dishtowels

Will Have:
1 wok
1 rolling pin
- breadboard? Lasagna pan? -

Anticipated needs/wants:
silverware
dishes (?)
glasses
sieve
measuring cups
pots & pans
pitcher
more dishtowels
spicerack?
dish drainer
tea kettle
pizza cutter
potato masher
squeeze bottle for jam ^_~
baking pans
a little hibachi?
waffle iron!
pizza pan?
nicer measuring spoons
a timer
whisks
. . .?

feh. Anything to add?

Quick Stir-Fry - Vegan

2004-08-05T20:51:27Z

One of my favorite quick & healthy meals is a simple stir-fry. You can use whatever's handy.

Ingredients:
Vegetables
Tofu (optional)
Egg (optional)
pkg Yakisoba noodles or some cooked rice
Soy/Teriyaki sauce
Oil (pref sesame oil)

First, see what vegetables you've got handy. Onions, broccoli, and carrots are my standby.
This time, I used what I had around—yellow summer squash and a handful of frozen edamame. I also used 1/3 pkg firm tofu, cut into cubes.
Something with tofu, edamame, and soy sauce constitutes a protein-rich "triple-soy threat."

Cook in the oil until tofu is browned and the veggies get soft. I like them to still be a little crunchy. If you have something like broccoli that takes longer to cook, you can put a little water in, cover the pan and let it steam awhile, then saute the mix until it's done.

Move the veggie mix in a bowl, and put the noodles in the pan. If you have cooked rice, you can put your veggies right on that. Or just eat them.

I use a LOT of sesame oil.
Keep stirring the noodles so they don't stick to the pan, and add a little soy or teriyaki sauce for flavor.
If you want, you can fry rice this way too.

The noodles, more brown from sauce than cooking. Taste them to see if they're done.

When the noodles are done, pour the veggies back in, mix it all together, and serve.

I was hurting for protein, so I scrambled a quick egg to go on top, too.

And you're done.

This is the most variable thing ever. You can use olive oil, some oregano or basil, and saute the vegetables with spaghetti, angel hair or any other pasta for an Italian twist. Quick sauteed veggies are good in a tortilla or sandwich, too.

Coming soon: chilis rellenos

free foodstuffs & a failed project

2004-07-31T16:50:41Z

A friend who's moving gave me a bunch of stuff, including bags full of white and wheat and rye flours, rice and mung and garbonzo beans, black-eyed peas, popcorn, cornmeal, rolled oats, and all kinds of goodies, some of which I've never used and some of which I couldn't even have identified without her help.
I'm excited.
And she gave me orange juice, which means eternal love.

It is a very sad thing to use one's last stick of butter in a failed batch of oatmeal cookies. It was a similar problem to what cropped up when I cooked emergency chocolate chip cookies for my roommate, which was that they looked melty and flattened out too quickly. I believe this is due to a too-hot oven, and think I very much need an oven thermometer, so hopefully this can be avoided in the future. I wonder how off this oven is. . .

Tassajara Wheat Bread - Vegan, and Banana Bread - Ovo

2004-07-31T01:51:09Z

Thursday was breadmaking day!
It was in the 90s, but I needed bread.

First, I made wheat bread.

There is no way I can illustrate breadmaking to compare to the instructions given in the Tassajara Bread Book.

In addition to fantastic, healthy, detailed recipes, the Tassajara Bread Book is full of zen philosophy, and is just a damn good read.

The book also contains a very in-depth illustrated section on this recipe. Go get it.

mmm wheat bread. I used 2/3 cup soy flour to replace some of the flour, and it didn't add any noticable be any taste. (lots o' protein, though). I skipped the eggwash, but it comes out a much nicer brown with it.
Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons milk or water.
Plain egg, or plain milk, works too.

Then, banana bread.

This is the bread to make when your bananas go brown. Good, soft ripe bananas are best.

Mash them well, and add the eggs. This is much easier to do when you're not holding a camera in your left hand.

I haven't used eggs much lately, but for this I bought veg-fed cage free eggs.

Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt separately.

Blending the dry ingredients first prevents lumps of salt or baking soda in your batter.
Stir in the dry ingredients a bit at a time; I did it in thirds.

Personal rule? Whatever amount is written for nuts, it's not enough. If it says half a cup (even in my handwriting) I'm using at least 3/4.

And because I can, I'm adding dried cranberries. Any dried fruit would be a nice addition to this bread. I put in about 3/4 c, not packed.

Fold these in carefully, using a circular motion. We're trying not to make too many gluten strands, but we don't want to break them, either.

Pour the batter in a greased pan. This is a quickbread—it won't be a dough.

Cook it at 350°F for an hour, or until a toothpick (knife, fork, whatever) comes out clean. Remove it from the pan or it'll stick.

mmm. It's wonderfully dense and moist, and tastes best if it sits for a day or two before you cut it. This banana bread is fantastic with cream cheese.

"stop looking to a dead man for a quick-fix diet, and just start eating like a sensible human being"

2004-07-28T19:25:38Z

brilliant

Stuffed Bell Peppers ala Mrs Carson - Vegan

2004-07-26T22:05:36Z

Rice and Tofu Stuffed Bell Peppers
Made: July 24

These peppers were one of my favorite dishes from the Carson dining hall on campus. The staff gave me the recipe when I asked.
The first time I made it, I scaled it down from 9 to 2 peppers, and had to fudge all the measurements from weight to volume. It worked, though, and this time I went in confident I could make something good.

The first thing I did was take the orignal recipe, and the modified instructions I wrote after making the peppers the first time, and rewrote it for the ingredients I had on hand.

I followed this pretty closely. Use 3 cups rice. I only used about two teaspoons of salt (3t=1T), but I'm a wimp when it comes to salt, and should probably have used the full amount. I also used a lot of parsley, because I have a bunch of it fresh.

Then I prepared the ingredients I'd need later: I started the rice cooking and thawed out some spaghetti sauce.

I used pearl rice, because that's what I've got. I'd recommend plain long-grain white rice instead. Next time I think I'll try brown rice.
I used homemade spaghetti sauce, but any tomato sauce should do.

Then prepare the other things you'll need. Crumble the tofu:

Squeeze the excess liquid out first, and let the crumbles drain. Ideally, put them in a seive. I patted them with paper towels.

Chop onion and garlic:
1-3 cloves regular garlic would be fine.

Dip the tomatoes in boiling water to loosen the skins, then peel and chop:

Saute the onions in olive oil until they're lightly browned, then add the tofu to firm it up a bit. It's not critical, just a useful step. No need to get the tofu browned at all, though.

Hurray for multitasking! Now's probably a good time to start preheating the oven. Set it to 350°F. Now, while things are sauteing, you can prepare the bell peppers. Just remember to check what's on the stove every now and then.

Wash them, carefully cut the tops off with a small knife (I like to leave the shoulders on, it makes them look nicer. Whatever, though. Make sure to remove all the seeds, and cut out the white fleshy ribs. A spoon can help here. Be careful, it's easy to slice too far. You can also cut a little off the bottoms to help them sit up.
Put them in your pan, any sided pan, casserole dish or pieplate. Here, I'm using bread pans. Grease them a little first, I just use olive oil (I don't care if they're "nonstick," grease them anyway.)

Back to the onion/garlic/tofu mix, which has hopefully dried out a tad. Add the salt, pepper, honey and parsley (dried is fine), then the rice, tomato and sauce. For a vegan alternative, substitute brown sugar for honey.

Stir it up really well, because the rice can stick together.

Stuff the peppers, putting the filling in by spoonfuls. Don't pack it, but make sure there aren't air pockets. If you have enough, mound a little on each pepper. ooh.

Bake for 30-45 minutes. Really, nothing in here needs to be cooked any more, so it's not a sanitary issue. You're just cooking the peppers until they soften and the filling gets a little baked. Take them out whenever they look good.

I froze 8 of mine, and they should survive fine, but the pepper will get a little softer because the ice crystals break it down. I'll reheat them slowly in the oven.

My roommate and her pepper the first time I made them:

All righty. That was educational for me, anyway. Cheers.

food philosophizing

2004-07-26T02:46:22Z

I tend to wander a lot, fairly randomly, and spend a lot of time just looking at things or reading labels. Often I'll go back and forth between areas to compare things or muse. How much more do organic pears cost than conventional ones? Which rennetless mozzerella costs less per ounce? Couldn't I find a recipe for graham crackers and make them myself?
I suddenly realize I need lemon juice. I search for the right aisle, see what there is, take a bottle, walk ten feet, and decide I should really just buy those lemons at the Farmer's Market and juice them. So I put the bottle back. I find what I want in the freezer section, then realize I have more to look for, and should wait 'til the end to get cold things, so I put it back and wander to the produce section.
This is the same way I walk downtown, read the comics, make conversation, or choose college courses. It's my style. If I let it, it can be meditative, and I often find things I would never have run across otherwise.
So for me, food shopping is a zen thing. Maybe this is what other people get out of shoe shopping, I don't know.

Food is innately comforting and fulfilling. Making food is a fundamental and grounding experience, an activity to focus oneself while letting the mind wander. Thinking about what you're eating, what you're making, where your food is coming from, is important to a healthy relationship with food. Consider things. Ask questions. Be aware of what you're putting in your body, and make informed and conscious decisions about your food.

Lately, I've been eating out at the Farmer's Market. I realized recently I haven't had any prepackaged meals at home all summer. I'm eating more fresh vegetables than ever, and making my own bread. And it feels better. Nutritionally, emotionally, environmentally, I'm eating a much better diet. And I'm continuing to work on improving how I eat, and getting more familiar with my food, realizing the effects of my actions.

This journal is going to be home to my cooking adventures, open to everyone and not cluttering up my friends' friendspages. I may post recipes, or photojournals of my cooking; I may provide information and thoughts about organic and sustainable farming and eating locally, I may write about cooking therapeutically.

Please respond, discuss, and provide feedback.