This is only slightly a food post. But I thought this would be a good place to point out that lattes really are more delicious when they're drunk with a large dose of self-satisfaction. And when you've got two large doses of self-satisfaction, nothing could be better. Except maybe having people in your life who know how good it feels to pat yourself on the back.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
best proxy eva
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Dirty Rice
I was just thinking about how sad it was that there had been so few posts to the food blog. Probably a sign that none of us have time to cook. But, since I've left the firm, I've had time to cook a few things. So here's the first post. Most of you probably wont like this, but I think it's really tasty so. . .
Paul Prudhomme makes this thing called dirty rice. When my parents gave me a 10lb. bag of basmatti rice I started seeking out ways to use it. I have been making a very modified version of this recipe all year, but it has been overwhelmingly hot every time. This time however, just right, so finally post worthy.
Ingredients:
- red pepper, chopped (green too if you're feeling adventurous)
- onion, chopped
- two large chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces (you could substitute this with tofu I think)
- two links chicken sausage, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2+ cups of chicken broth (you can sub. vegetable broth if you want)
- 2 tbs. olive oil
Spices:
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 teaspoon, sweet paprika
- .5 teaspoon dry thyme
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- .5 teaspoon oregano leaves
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
Directions:
1. Chop everything up. Put the vegetables and the garlic in the pot and cook them with a little bit of olive oil.
2. Once the vegetables are soft, put the meat, in the pan. Cook it alone for about one minute.
3. Add everything else (the spices, the rice, and the broth).
4. Let it simmer until all the liquid is dissolved and the rice is tender. You might need to add more broth if it looks like it's drying out before the rice is soft.
Eat. This is a great meal to take to work or to eat on the go. I think everything meet could be replaced with a fake meat product or tofu without having a negative result.
Pesto, it can happen to anyone
I'm growing basil in a pot on my back porch, and it's producing like crazy. Thus, every so often, I am forced forced to trim off big bunches. And as everyone knows, big bunches of basil means pesto making.
However, I don't tend to keep pinenuts (a key pesto ingredient) on hand, but I tend to forget this until the basil is pureed with lots of olive oil. What to do?
This time, I had a bunch of pecans so I threw some of those in, and while I wasn't totally sure, it actually turned out really tasty. Not a pure pesto, but it had an interesting, meaty (like hearty, not like meat) flavor. I know am curious what other nuts will do to the basil and olive oil mix. Or what about different oils?? Sesame? I don't know, but I would love to hear if anyone else has experimented with this, and what they have discovered.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
The Best and Easiest Sorbet Ever
Hopefully some of you remember the delicious banana, pineapple, and other fruit sorbets that came out of Elizabeth and Keren's kitchen back when that room was shared between the two of us. 
I realized the recipe for those desserts wasn't on this blog, and was sad for us all. Thus, Banana Sorbet, and some variations. Please include your own!
Step 1: Dissolve half a cup of sugar in half a cup of boiling water, making sure to stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool slightly, and then refrigerate until cold.
Step 2: In a food processor or blender, puree 2 medium bananas and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice until smooth. Add the sugar syrup. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch square metal pan. Freeze until solid, several hours or overnight.
Step 3: Break the sorbetto into chunks. Place in food processor and puree until smooth and creamy. Enjoy!
Other sorbets follow the same pattern, with differing amounts of syrup.
Pineapple sorbet: 3 cups of pineapple and 1 cup of water and sugar for the syrup.
Blueberry sorbet: 1 pint blueberries and 1 cup of water and sugar for the syrup.
Chocolate calls for milk (2 cups) with 1/4 cup sugar dissolved in it, and 3 ounces chocolate melted into that. (This I may have to try...)
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