Tuesday, September 29, 2009

cooking ideas: sesame green beans

This one is super easy to make and whenever I eat it, I think, "Wow, I should be eating this more often!" And then I proceed to forget all about it until the next time I suddenly have an impromptu green bean flash (which usually happens in Chinatown when I spot a bag of beans for an absurdly low price).

I don't know the technical term for this dish, but I know it's popular in Japan and pops up in bentos all the time. It's also very easy to make, although I can't be completely sure I'm making it correctly. Although, I guess "correct" doesn't really matter in cooking as long as it tastes good.


Sesame Green Beans

Green beans
Sesame seeds
Mirin
Soy sauce
Sugar

1. Snap the ends off the beans and put them in some boiling water for about 5 minutes.

2. Saute some sesame seeds in hot oil until they are brown. If you have a mortar and pestle, smash them. If you do not, bash them uselessly with a spoon until they seem mashed or you lose patience.

3. Mix the mashed seeds with equal parts mirin, soy sauce and sugar (altered as you wish, to taste, usually with a bit more soy sauce). Add the green beans and mix thoroughly.

4. After they cool down enough, put them in the refrigerator. If you can resist, wait a day before eating.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

cooking ideas: goulash

I must begin this post with a disclaimer. This recipe is not mine. D. is the goulash captain; I was merely a sous chef who swept in with a wooden spoon and some paprika when things got hectic. I know what I saw and what I felt as the goulash process took place, but, alas, cannot claim responsibility for the deliciousness that ensued.

(Satisfied, D.?)

Okay, here's the scoop:

Chicken and Beef Goulash

Ingredients:
cabbage
onion
zucchini
garlic
a can of tomato sauce
vinegar
paprika
salt
pepper
chicken drumsticks
beef, cut into bite size chunks ("meat for stewing" -- I don't know specifics)
milk / cream
egg noodles

1. Pan fry chicken, beef, onion and garlic. Transfer into a pot and add water to the pot and boil it for awhile to create a soup stock.
2. Lightly pan fry cabbage, zucchini and more onions. Add them to the pot with the stewing meat.
3. Add a can of tomato sauce and some vinegar, to taste. Add a bunch of paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Add some milk or cream to taste. Let this stew for as long as you can wait until the scent drives you mad with hunger.
4. Boil egg noodles. Serve goulash on top of egg noodles.

This is a truly fantastic meal. The chicken falls off the bone, the cabbage is delightfully sour and the soup is tomatoey, creamy and warm with paprika. Love it!

jealousy



Sometimes, I think my cat has the best possible life.

Actually, most of the time.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

birthday weekend gluttony



I baked a cake for D's birthday using this recipe. I frosted it with store-bought frosting (chocolate) and layered it with slices of strawberry. However, it came out lumpy! Not totally sure why, but I think it has to do with my lack of an electric mixer (which was also the reason for buying, not making, the frosting). We've been slowly working away at it despite the lumps, though at two layers and probably about 7 pounds, it's not a task for the faint of heart (or those who cower at lumps). Wish I could send some to my Mom, whose birthday was today!

Cake is not our only indulgence, not by far! We ate Dim Sum yesterday at Gold Mountain (the best place we've found for it here, though it doesn't hold a candle to Jade Asian in Flushing... sigh...). And for dinner? Crab! I bought two crabs from a stand at Fisherman's Wharf and we proceeded to terrorize their lifeless limbs with gusto that would have been inappropriate in public (hence, the decision to eat at home).

And... just now I had another little indulgence, pictured below.



These are peaches soaked in a fruity, sweet white wine, an inspiration from Orangette.

One word: Wow.

Another two words: Make this.

I want to eat and drink this every day, and dream about it when I am asleep.

Hope everyone had as succulent a weekend as we did, and hope 24 Hour Fitness is ready for me!