Glass of Win

Oh, peaches, how I love them (and I’m not talking about the band). However, due to my hypothyroid, the medicine I have to take for it and fate having a hearty laugh, I can only indulge in peaches once in a great while – and preferably cooked. Well, thank goodness for peach dumplings, am I right? If you can stand to turn on your oven during the summer, this dish makes the perfect dessert, either for your family or, if you double it, for one of those many summer potlucks you’ve been invited to.

This recipe is so quick and simple I wouldn’t be surprised if you made it a couple of times throughout peach season. Now, I realize the inclusion of Bisquick is going to dock me some serious foodie points but I’m sticking to it.

PEACHES ‘N’ DUMPLINGS

Ingredients
Bisquick (1 cup)
Milk (1 cup – if using soy/almond/rice milk, make it 3/4ths cup)
5-6 large peaches (seed removed, cut into chunks but not peeled)
Butter (1/4th cup, melted)
Cinnamon (1 tsp. at least)
Nutmeg (1 tsp. at least)
Pumpkin Pie spice (optional, but I use it)
Agave nectar (1 tablespoon)
Honey (1 tablespoon)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Mix the Bisquick and milk together
Add the melted butter
Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice
Incorporate well and scrape mixture into an ungreased 8×8 baking dish.
In a separate bowl, coat the peaches with the agave and honey.
Place the peaches in the baking dish on top of the Bisquick mixture – DO NOT MIX THEM IN!
Put dish in oven, bake for 35-45 minutes (depending on your oven)

Dumplings should rise and have a nice golden brown color.

Meatloaf is one of those staples that has a pretty bad rap because it’s easy to be careless and do a half-ass job. It’s the butt of every cafeteria/canteen joke and is often overlooked as a dinner option for budding chefs.
Shame on you.
I’m here to say that meatloaf can be a delicious meal if properly prepared.

As most of you are aware, I hardly ever measure. It’s all to taste.

Ingredients:
Mushrooms (whole package, stems removed, reserve about 3-4)
2 shallots
Garlic cloves (I used about 6)
Fresh basil
Fresh rosemary – leaves plucked from stem
Fresh sage
Small carrot (sliced)

Pulse the above items in a food processor – make sure to PULSE into finely minced pieces and not processes into liquidy pulp!

Scrape contents into a large mixing bowl and add:
- Pepper
- Sea salt
- Fennel seed
- Ground allspice
- Ground mustard
- Herbs de Provence
- Oregano

Add your ground meat (I used ground sirloin, but you can use turkey, lamb, veal, pork or any combo of these)

Add breadcrumbs (homemade is best but I had a canister of them lying around so I just added about 3/4th cup)
1 egg

Mix ingredients together
Add:
- Worcestershire sauce
- Red wine
- Drop of liquid hot sauce if you like it spicy

Incorporate ingredients well

Stuff your mixture in a loaf pan sprayed well with cooking spray.

OPTIONAL: Line the bottom of your loaf pan with parchment paper
OPTIONAL: Top your loaf with a sauce of your choice (BBQ or whatever)

Slice the mushrooms your reserved and place them atop your loaf before covering with aluminum foil
Stick loaf pan on a cookie sheet and place in oven
Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes

Enjoy with veggies! This makes GREAT leftovers – especially for sandwiches!

We’ve all been in What’s-For-Dinner-Hell.
You don’t want to eat anything too heavy, but you also want to be sure whatever you eat fills you up…you’d like for it to be healthy, quick and tasty. Gosh, aren’t you picky! Just kidding. I’m like that, too, and this soup hits just the spot. It’s perfect for chilly days, to sate a need for spice, and will blow open your sinuses if need be.
Let me give you a little history in the development of my herb & noodle soup.

Once upon a time my cousin married into a Vietnamese family. To impress her stern Vietnamese mother-in-law, my cousin decided to make traditional Pho soup. She pulled out all of the stops – a big-ass metal wash basin for her soup cauldron, soup bones that simmered for hours, all of the yummy fixins, you wouldn’t believe it. It was the most delicious soup I have ever had. I decided to master a simplified version of the soup, which I am now presenting to you.

HERB & NOODLE SOUP

Prep Garnish:
Mint
Basil
Cilantro
Green onions
Bean Sprouts
Spicy chili garlic sauce (I recommend Sriracha)

OPTIONAL: Paper thin slices of raw beef

In a large soup pot, heat 64 oz. low-sodium beef broth over medium heat.
Halve a lime, squeezing the juice into the broth and leave the lime in the liquid.

As the broth heats up, fix you rice noodles.
(Add rice noodles to boiling water – let cook for 2-4 minutes, drain in colander, rinse noodles with cold water)

In a bowl, add your noodles, spicy chili garlic sauce, garnish and beef (optional).
Ladle broth over items in bowl, stir contents with chopsticks (beef will cook in hot broth).

Eat and enjoy!

What have you been cooking in your kitchen lately?

I developed these when I was cooking and baking a lot for my friends who would come out to L.A. to visit me, the lone adult who does not drive in all of Southern California. I used to use boxed chocolate cake mix, but here is a recipe to make them from scratch. The picture below is actually a botched brownie that came out too cakey instead of chewy. I remembered the yummy sauce I made years back and applied it – the best fix-it for any dessert!

CHOCOLATE CHERRY COLA CUPCAKES

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups organic sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk (almond, soy, rice or moo-cow)
1/2 cup your favorite cola

1 can cherry pie filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and sugar. Set aside.
In a large bowl, melt the butter. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla.
Add the f lour mixture alternately with the milk & soda; beat well.
Fill cupcake pan/liners 2/3rd of the way
(Optional: add a teaspoon of cherry pie filling to the center of each cupcake)

Bake for 15 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

TOPPING
Combine the rest of the cola and cherry pie mixture in a small sauce pan, simmering until thickened and heated through.

When the cupcakes are ready, top with cherry-cola mixture and enjoy! You’ll probably need a fork!

NOTES
If you’re still using boxed cake mix, just substitute the oil with the cola.
Make the sauce if your cake comes out too dry or if your brownies come out too cake-y like mine did!

What’s been cookin’ in your kitchen?

Are you a pancakes, waffles or French Toast kind of person? I’m a mixture of all three, but I think pancakes is the most versatile of the trio.
Lately I’ve been hankering cottage cheese pancakes – and I got nothing but flack from my mom because apparently when she tried to make these for me when I was a kid I totally turned up my nose at them. Well, taste buds change and these are my current go-to pancakes ~ I love to garnish them with raspberries and use agave nectar in lieu of syrup for a lighter taste.

COTTAGE CHEESE PANCAKES
via Whole Foods

Ingredients
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoons sugar (optional swap out: 1 tsp. agave nectar)
2 eggs
1/2-3/4th cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup milk (soy, almond, rice or moo-cow)
1 tablespoons oil (canola or coconut)
Cooking spray

OPTIONAL: 1 tsp. lemon zest, 1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a small bowl mix: flour, baking soda, and sugar.

In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together eggs, cottage cheese, milk and oil.

Add flour mixture to egg mixture and whisk until thoroughly incorporated.

Spray a large skillet or griddle with cooking spray then heat over medium heat.

Spoon batter onto the skillet, cook, flipping pancakes once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through.

Transfer to plates, garnish with berries & syrup and serve.

serves 2

Cottage cheese pancakes with raspberries & agave nectar in lieu of syrup

If I had to pick only ONE type dessert for the rest of my life, crepes would be it. We make crepes often in my family – excuse me, let me rephrase that – I make crepes often – for myself, for my family and friends. It’s not only fairly easy and quick, but there is such a variety of ways to stuff them that they’re the perfect choice for a handful of people with different likes/dislikes.
While this recipe focuses on the classic crepes Suzette, I’ll also list other fabulous combination’s to try out.

CREPES SUZETTE – BATTER

2 eggs
1 c. milk
1 c. flour
2 tablespoons melted butter

Beat the eggs well, then add milk, flour and butter.
Cover tightly and let batter stand for 30 minutes.
After it has set, heat a small skillet or crepe pan, greased up with cooking spray or a thin layer of butter.
Ladle up the batter into the pan and quickly tilt the pan, slowly swirling it so the batter spreads to make an even, thin layer.
Cook until the bottom is golden and you are able to easily slide a griddle spatula underneath and flip, cooking the other side until done.

This recipe makes about 7-10 crepes, depending on how big you make them. I divided it in half and made four (only three depicted.)

CREPES SUZETTE – SAUCE
adapted from Gordon Ramsay

1/3rd c. orange juice (either from the store or freshly juiced)
1/4 c. sugar
1/4th c. Grand Marnier

Slowly heat the sugar in a pan over medium heat, shaking the pan a little to help the sugar dissolve.
Simmer until the syrup forms a light caramel.
Carefully add the Grand Marnier
Pour in the orange juice and boil until reduced by half. Remove from heat, but keep warm until your crepes are prepared.

Fold crêpes into quarters and plate up before spooning the sauce over it, adding peeled segments of Clementines or oranges. Dust with powdered sugar and serve!

NOTES:
I recommend making the sauce first as it takes more active time than the crepes do.
I had a hell of a time with my sugar, as it kept turning to solid rock as soon as I would add the alcohol. My sauce came out a little liquid-y because I could not achieve the desired consistency with my sugar. If you have any tips, send them my way!

Alternative Crepe Filling: Nutella + fruit, powder sugar + fruit, strawberries + cream, blueberries + lemon curd, warmed spiced apples with cinnamon/powder sugar dusting, pudding, custard, fruit + caramel, fruit + chocolate syrup, cottage cheese + jam.

What’s your favorite crepe filling?

This post is not just a bonus Tasty Tuesday to give in to my vegetarian guilt, but also a product review. I’m always on the lookout for non-soy based meat substitutes (recap: soy messes with my hypothyroid medicine) and I found Quorn while perusing the aisles of my local Whole Foods Market (let’s be honest; any time I’m at Whole Foods Market, I’m hardly perusing. More like merrily frolicking.)

80% less fat than ground beef
High in protein & fiber
No cholesterol & 0g trans fat
Fully cooked – just heat and serve!

The website for Quorn has a whole dog and pony show about everything and anything Quorn and since I don’t want to steal their thunder (re: content) here is a mere excerpt:

The principal ingredient in all Quorn products is mycoprotein (“myco” is Greek for “fungi”).

- Mycoprotein is a fungus which contains high-quality protein, enabling us to offer an alternative, purely vegetarian source of protein to meat. It is high quality because it has all 9 essential amino acids.

I decided to use Quorn for one of my favorite childhood comfort recipes, Sloppy Joe’s.

QUORN SLOPPY JOE’S

Empty Quorn in a large skillet and heat thoroughly over medium heat.

Stir in a 6oz can of tomato paste, 1 c. water, and 1 package of Sloppy Joe’s seasoning mix (I use McCormick).

I also added: garlic powder, 2 drops of Tabasco sauce, onion powder, sea salt, black pepper, pinch of cinnamon and ground mustard.

Bring mixture to a soft boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve in sesame seed hamburger buns with a side of French fries and veggies.

sans fries and veggies

RESULT: The texture is just fine, and the taste is lighter than it would have been with beef and way tastier than Morning Glory soy fake ground beef I used in Sloppy Joe’s (before I knew I needed to be avoiding soy.) The seasoning adapts rather seamlessly, but I would definitely season it more next time. Additionally, my leftovers held up very well.

Overall, I highly recommend Quorn for your meatless and soy-free culinary needs! If you’re interested in giving Quorn a go, but aren’t a fan of Sloppy Joe’s, head over to the Quorn website for more recipes. Be sure to also check out the original UK Quorn website for even more recipes!

Yesterday was a vortex of mental hell and I foolishly gorged my way through it. Ugh. Hand me some tea and raw veggies, because I never want to look at another piece of fried food again. Delicious…delectable…French fries…garlic aoili…onion rings…ACK! No, no, focus time.
So we all know that I am the worst vegetarian ever and luckily never labeled myself a vegetarian because I knew, ultimately, I couldn’t strictly give up all meat (unless instructed to do so by a doctor). Even when I was being very firm with myself about not consuming red meat, I knew I’d cave the second my mother made her famous – and easy to prepare! – flank steak. Hot damn is it a delicious hunk of meat. (that’s what she said).

FLANK STEAK

Marinate a flank steak overnight in a gallon size ziplock bag with the following mixture:
1/2 c. sherry OR vermouth
1/3 c. soy sauce
If you like more soy than sweet, add 1/2 c. soy and 1/4 c. vermouth.
LOTS OF FRESHLY MINCED GARLIC! (I’m a garlic fiend; just use your own garlicky judgment here)

When you’re ready to cook it, either stick it on a foil-lined pan OR, if you want to make gravy/reserve the juices, stick it in a Pyrex or some sort of pan and broil on high 7 minutes on each side for rare (which tastes the best, by the way) or 9 minutes on each side if you need to eat medium to sleep well at night. Any longer than that and you’d be wasting a perfect cut of meat.

Flank steak with red skin mashed potatoes, au jus gravy & peas

For something so incredibly simple, it took me a little while to fully master seared Ahi tuna because of the trick with timing and not only knowing and understanding the fish, but my stove top and my cookware. Become one with the culinary universe and you shall have perfectly seared Ahi tuna forever. Or something.

SESAME SEED-CRUSTED SEARED AHI TUNA

Marinade
Stick the tuna steak in a plastic sandwich/Ziplock bag (no bigger than quart sized) and add:
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 clove minced fresh garlic
- a pinch of garlic chili sauce (optional for spice-lovers. Sriracha is my spice of choice)

You can let this marinate overnight as the tuna steak defrosts, or you can just stick it in the fridge for a few hours to one hour prior. I only thought of the marinade maybe an hour prior, and that was enough time for some flavor to sink in. Plenty of time for the spice!
Be sure to flip the bag every now and then so your tuna marinates evenly.

When the tuna is ready, remove tuna from bag and place on a small plate. Discard bag and remaining liquids.
Fire up your non-stick skillet to medium-high/high heat.
In a bowl, pour toasted sesame seeds or your favorite Furikake, as I did. Mine consists of black and tan sesame seeds, nori (seaweed) and seasons like mirin.

Dunk the edges of your tuna steak into the bowl of sesame seeds/Furikake, carefully turning until every side is thoroughly coated and no tuna meat is visible.

Place steak in pan, sear for exactly one minute (two if you want it a little less raw) and then immediately flip the steak onto the other side, sear for another 60 seconds and remove from heat.

Slice the tuna against the grain of the fish, plate up and serve with a side of soba noodles or rice for a light, healthy meal!

おいしい !!

What’s been cooking in your kitchen?