Cooking Thread~ Recipes & Things

[Imabot]

Just found a video with really great idea for making jelly.
I tried it with my favorite Chocolate Milk. It's pretty good.

It's so easy to make and expand variety of jelly you can enjoy. It can your favorite juice or making new unique flavors that aren't unavailable normally.

Edit... I wonder if this can be done with Sodas and other carbonated drinks? after decarbonating them obviously.

 

[Raven1138]

As a bit of a cross take from the Video Games Thread, here's something that every mixologist has been wanting since last week's Night City Nightwire revealing our first look at the legendary Afterlife bar in Cyberpunk: 2077. The Johnny Silverhand cocktail via Cocktail Chemistry:



And here is the exact recipe from his website:

Original Johnny Silverhand

• 2oz (60ml) aged tequila
• 1 barspoon agave nectar
• 2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
• Orange twist
• Chili pepper
• Splash of Mexican beer (around 1oz or 30ml)

1. Add tequila, bitters, and agave nectar to a rocks glass with ice and stir
2. Express oils of orange peel over the top
3. Add beer and chili garnish

---

Johnny Silverhand: Alternate version

• 1oz (30ml) blanco tequila
• .5oz (15ml) Ancho Reyes liqueur
• .5oz (15ml) fresh lemon juice
• .25oz (7ml) agave nectar
• 1 dash celery bitters
• 1 dash Scrappy's Firewater tincture
• Salt or Tajin
• 4oz (120ml) Mexican beer
• Chili pepper

1. All all wet ingredients except beer to a shaker glass with ice
2. Shake for 15 seconds
3. Rim a beer glass with salt or Tajin and add a few ice cubes
4. Double strain cocktail into beer glass
5. Top with beer and stir
6. Garnish with chili pepper

Click to shrink...

Edit: And for a third take, Youtube channel How to Drink has their own spin on the Silverhand:

 

[Idkusername]

Shingade ki Usal - fasting ver. (water caltrop stir fry) - Serves one.

• 50~60 water caltrops (also known as buffalo nuts)
• 4-5 small chillis, chopped (might be too much for some people)
• cumin seeds - 1 tsp.
• ground peanuts - 2 tbsp.
• Yoghurt - 1/2 small bowl
• salt and sugar to taste
• oil/ghee (type of clarified butter) for cooking

1. Wash the water lotuses after peeling.
2. Grate them.
3. Heat the pan with the oil/ghee.
4. Put in the cumin seeds.
5. After the cumin seeds are sauteed, put in the chillies. Can be put in together too.
6. After the chillis are done, put in all the ingridients.
7. Cook till colour changes to a brownish hue and the oil starts to dry up. Should take 8-10 minutes.

I got this recipe from my mom, who typically makes it when she's on a religious fast. I just like how it tastes. You can add curry leaves and other seasoning with the chillis depending on how long it takes for them to cook, but I've never felt the need.

 

[Stephen the barbarian]

best cinnamon/dinner rolls

this is a "hybred'' recipe

the ingredients list comes from this bc recipe, doubled
i've modified it as needed

up to 8 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 packages regular or fast-acting dry yeast (3 tbsp if using bulk)
2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick),
2 large egg

+ 1/4 warm water

however the process is different


add the yeast to the water, allow to hydrate
crack the eggs into a bowl, beat with a fork
cube butter
place 2 cups flour and salt in work bowl

place butter, milk, and sugar in a saucepan, heat over medium until the butter is nearly melted and the milk is warmed,
add to work bowl, incorporate fully
add eggs, incorporate fully
add yeast, incorporate fully

add remaining flour, 1/2 at a time, until you can add no more
turn out onto floured surface, kneed for ~10 minutes
place dough into oiled bowl, allow to rise until doubled, ~1 hr
punch down, turn out onto floured surface, roll out

for cinnamon rolls,
spread out melted butter, sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar* over top, with optional dried fruit and nuts
roll up, cut into 12-24 rolls, place into greased baking pan and bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes


for dinner rolls, same thing as before, but skip the filling and shape into balls

 

[bastur2]

Let's give everyone here an easy (not the most traditional one) recipe for Brazil's chesesbread.

First you will need an equal volume of:

- Sour starch;
- Half and half cream (I believe that this is the appropriet substitute);
-Halfcured cheese (chose your poison), it is possible to use 2/3 of the halfcured cheese of your choice with 1/3 of Parmigiano regiano or something similar (chose the one that you prefer). -
-Salt

How to do it.

Grate your cheese (coarse is etter).

Thrown everything in a bowl (or the recipient of your choice) and mix it.

Ad a pinch of salt to taste

If the mixture is not somewhat firm (it should stay in a spoon without falling of) ad some more Sour starch.

After you get the mixture in the intended firmness (you don't need it to be too firm), put, by spoonful, it on a tray to go to the oven.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 180° C.

Enjoy it.

 

[Raven1138]

Building off of a prior post, here's another drink recipe from Cyberpunk: 2077. The Jackie Wells

Mine will be some vodka, a good squeeze of lime juice, ginger beer and a splash of love...
-Jackie Wells on what his Afterlife drink will be when he makes it big.

While a basic Moscow Mule, the main debate is what constitutes "a splash of love." To me, owing to Jackie's roots with the Valentinos, I interpreted the splash of love to be a mix of true grenadine and mescal. Those two additions add a nice nose to the drink and a bit of extra tartness without compromising the ginger beer's spice.

The Jackie Wells:

juice of one lime (approx 1 oz)
2 oz vodka (Tito's brand or any simple unflavored vodka will do)
1/4 oz mescal
one can of good ginger beer (Q, Fever Tree or Goslings)
Splash of True Grenadine (all natural with pomegranate, not the basic one with HFCS. Only the best for our choom)

Add the lime juice and vodka to a copper mug and add some crushed ice
Stir to chill and dilute then add more ice
Pour in the ginger beer till nearly full and give a quick stir to combine
Add the mescal and splash of grenadine then serve.

nota-benne: drink goes even better with several story scenes in CP:2077, including one particular side mission where raising a Jackie Wells may as well be mandatory. Those who have played that mission know what I am talking about.

 

[Raven1138]

Quick double post, this time with a Worm themed cocktail: the Foxhunter Martini from Wine Enthusiast. A port wine martini riff that between the name and color had me thinking, "this is Tattletale's drink of choice after a hard day of being smug."

The Foxhunter Martini

2oz of Bourbon (no real brand preference, I used Buffalo Trace but any good bourbon works)

3/4oz sweet vermouth

3/4oz late bottle vintage port wine (I used Quinta das Carvalhas which was fairly inexpensive)

3 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice. Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass and garnish with a lemon twist and luxardo cherry. Sip while feeling smug.

 

[Biigoh]

"The End The Final KFC Recipe Video - KFC secret Ingredients revealed - Glen And Friends Cooking"

 

[MadGreenSon]

Something I've discovered recently due to Hello Fresh; sour cream is sooo flexible as an ingredient. I amazed a friend the other day by whipping up some spicy creama sauce for some pork chops she was frying.

Super simple recipe:

Three spoonful of sour cream

1/4 to 1/2 of a lime

Siracha

Put the sour cream in a bowl, add in lime juice and siracha to taste as you stir it up. If the sauce isn't liquid enough to pour, add a bit more lime juice and stir 'til it is.

For extra flavor, add dry basil or dill to it as you stir.


Super easy and really adds to and brings out the flavor of pork chops.

 

[Biigoh]

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRKls2LLMqU-uK2csT6FOKw

 

[Raven1138]

A bit of a follow up from my earlier recipe for the Jackie Wells' cocktail. The YouTube channel How To Drink just released their own take on the beverage, and a surprise revelation. Turns out CDPR are not only fans of the channel, but they changed the appearance of the Johnny Silverhand to match the one in his video. Of course, he does apologize for causing all of the bugs because they had to change a drink appearance.



The HtD version uses for the splash of love Irish Mist, a blend of irish whiskey, honey, aromatics and other liqueurs, so with St. Patrick's day near, I may need to do a taste test between my version and the HtD version. As for the recipe it is as follows:

.5 oz lime juice
1oz vodka
1oz irish mist
pour into a shaker tin, add ice and shake
strain over a glass with cracked ice
top with ginger beer

Also there is a fancy version where instead of ginger beer, you use ginger syrup (.75 oz to 1.5 oz vodka), 1oz lime juice and an egg white akin to a sour. Shake with ice, then after straining back into the tin do a dry shake (shake with no ice), then pour, top with selzer and a spray of Irish Mist.

Edit as of April 2nd. Had a chance to grab some Irish Mist and Cock & Bull Ginger Beer, and I can see where HtD is coming from. The ginger spice and lime balances out the up front sweet of the Irish Mist and it makes for a very refreshing tipple. Have yet to try the Legendary version, but that will be a future experiment. Namely because my atomizer is filled with absenth for making sazeracs.

 

[Highlord]

I tossed together a half-drunk experiment on the fly, and was rather surprised at the result.

Cut up an entire ring sausage (cracked black pepper, Johsonville), half a white onion, and a pound of mushrooms (baby bella) and dumped it all in a kettle with about three caps worth of olive oil and two spoonfulls of minced garlic. Tossed in "enough" cayenne pepper and cumin. Cooked it all until the mushrooms started to brown and the onion got soft.

During this I boiled about four cups of water and dumped in four packets of beef Herbox. When the stuff in the kettle looked ready, I dumped in the broth, and let it simmer for, oh, 30 minutes or so. Added a can of chili beans and a can of kidney beans (Bush's) along with their broths. Then, on a whim, I added...call it a cup of half and half to deal with the pepper, and added a can of regular, low-sodium Rotel. Let it cook for another 20 minutes or so.

I did not add salt during any of this, since I figured the sausage and Herbox had more than enough.

And holy hell. I tossed this together with just random stuff from the fridge and soup cupboard, and even my mother is impressed.

ADDITION: I considered adding rice or taters, but I'm trying to cut down on carbs, and I like a chunk of dark rye with my spicy soups.

 

[kinglugia]

Weird barley porridge recipe:
> Wash and soak your barley grains (whichever variant you prefer).
> Dice up a red onion (preferably medium to large size) and a potato. No, not the sweet ones.
> Slice up some old ginger - not the whole thing, dumbass; just a small portion of it. 20~30g of the stuff is enough.
> Get some of those minced garlic. A chive or two would do if you prefer doing it traditionally, but one teaspoonful of it, if it's pre-minced.
> A chicken drumstick, washed, and defrosted. Any other chicken parts would do, but I like me drumsticks -_-|||
> Toss them all into a pot, put a cube of chicken stock (fish would do in a pinch), and have it simmer for however long you think it's needed.
> Don't forget to add water before switching it on!
> Eat it.

 

[QQmember2021]

Home made pumpkin cheesecake

 

[Biigoh]

I can't actually make any bread, indian or otherwise but I know rice so give me something that goes with rice or some snacks

Click to shrink...

 

[Arc-on-Fire]

>QQ has a cooking thread.
Holy Based. Might as well contribute to the thread with some good drunk food/good snack to enjoy.
The Patty Melt and the Ever-Famous Canadian Poutine.

 

[QQmember2021]

Taco Triangles

 

[Biigoh]

Pico de Gallo Salsa.

Portions were off with insufficient tomatos.

The above is 1 bunch Cilantro (chopped), 3 romano tomato (diced finely), 1/2 small onion (diced finely), juice of 1 lime and 1 lemon, and salt.

I would say portions might better with 6 romano tomato instead of 3.

Just dice the onions first, add salt and let them sit in lemon and lime juice, while you dice up the tomato and cut up the cilantro before mixing it up and letting it sit in the fridge. Recommend letting them sit a minimum of 1 hour in the fridge.

It can last up to 4 days with proper refrigeration.

 

[MizMahem]

Cauliflower Poblano Enchiladas
Serves 2

So I thought I'd add to this thread with this pretty fun and healthy vegetarian dish. But I think it is still a fun dish for everyone, because it doesn't try to taste like meat, but is still hearty and filling like a good meat dish. It's a little bit of work to make, mainly in chopping up all the ingredients and making the cream sauce. But it is still a great dish for a new chef because it is really hard to mess up. Like seriously, it is pretty flexible with substitutions and mistakes. Just don't burn it in the oven and you should be good. The Poblanos here are really the secret ingredient.

Hmm, I wonder, since it has a Bechamel sauce, does this qualify as French-Mex? I'm going to say it does.

Note that the pictures are from when I made a double portion, which serves 4 people. Simply double the ingredients for this, though you'll have to adjust the cook times.

All measurements in US.

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Cauliflower Florets	12 oz.	This is about half a typical head of cabbage. Chop into coarse bits. Maybe 1/2-1/4".
Poblano Pepper	1	Fresh. Remove seeds and optionally ribs. Chop into coarse bits. Maybe 1/2-1/4".
Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce	1	They sell this in cans, usually in the Mexican/Hispanic food section. If you can get fresh Chipotle you could probably use that, but I don't have experience with that.
Butter	1 tbsp	Salted or Unsalted, doesn't really matter
Flour	1 tbsp	White
Milk	2/3 Cup	Whole preferably, but skim or anything else in between will work fine as well.
Chile Spices	2 tsp	I use Chili and Cummin, but you can use spice mix, or a chili mix (they even got liquid ones) whatever you got. You can use more if you like.
Garlic Salt	1/2 tsp.	You can use more if you like.
Garlic	2 Cloves	Mince/Mash. (You can also just use like 1 tsp or so of minced garlic if you have that). Fresh garlic is better than Garlic Powder will not be as good.
Green Onions	2	Separate the green part from the white part. Finely slice. Maybe 1/8". Can omit if you don't like onions.
Cream Cheese	2 oz.	You can use like onion flavor or something like that if you like. Light cream cheese is also fine. If you really like cream cheese you can double or even triple this and the Garlic and Onions.
Medium Flour Tortillas	6	Can use whole wheat or whatever you prefer. 6" in diameter.

You will also need:

• A good chefs knife
• Cutting board
• A big frying pan, preferably non-stick.
• A saucepan or pot or something
• A small casserole dish 6"x9" - can be metal or plastic or whatever, but should be at least 3" deep, and about as wide as the tortillas
• A stove
• An oven (you could use a toaster oven)
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive Oil (flavored/infused oil works well)

1. Prep the ingredients as indicated in the notes above.
   1. Spoiler: Ingredient Prep

      1. Spoiler: Chopping Cauliflower

         It's actually a lot, especially once chopped.

         
      2. Spoiler: Chopped Cauliflower

         
      3. Spoiler: Chopped Poblano the Secret Ingredient!

         
      4. Spoiler: Chopped onions and garlic

         Putting your ingredients in little dishes like this helps keep you organized but you don't have to. I probably should have minced the garlic more. Do better than me.

         
      5. Spoiler: All the preped ingredients together

         

         
   2. Chop up the pepper and the cauliflower. These bits will be the filling, so I like to make them somewhat on the finer side of coarse. 1/2 to 1/4" bits, maybe a bit larger for the Poblano. Make sure to get all the seeds out. You don't have to remove the ribs if you don't want to.
   3. Slice the onions up thinly and separate the white and green portions. The white portions will go in the filling, the green bits will be garnish, so the thinner you can slice the white onions the better. You'll probably have more green bits than you need. If you don't like onions, you can omit this.
   4. Preheat the Oven to 425*F.
2. Make the cream cheese part of the filling. Mix the cream cheese, garlic, and the white part of the onions. If the cream cheese is thick you can zap it for a sec in the microwave. This is a small amount to control calories/fat, but if you like you can double or triple this portion.
   1. Spoiler: Cream Cheese mix

      
3. Cook the rest of the filling.
   1. Spoiler: Cooking the Filling

      When you cook the cauliflower it breaks up a bit more, which is fine, though ideally, you would do it less than I did. It can be hard to tell when it is done especially when cooking a lot like I did, as it won't brown well. This is also fine, though browning it is better.

      

      

      

      

      
   2. In a big skillet, cook the cauliflower and poblano with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. If you have a seasoned oil like basil olive oil or something, it's okay to use it here as the flavor should come through. This is a lot of stuff to cook, so you'll probably should use the biggest pan you have.
   3. Season with the Chilie Spices, Garlic Salt, and pepper to taste. If you like it really spicy you can add more seasoning than I listed, but the amount listed is a good amount. The poblanos themselves do have a small bit of kick.
   4. Cook on medium-high heat until the cauliflower starts to get a little brown. If you don't use enough heat it may soften before browning. That's okay, move on to the next step when it starts to get a little soft/glassy. Takes about 4 minutes or so.
   5. After they have browned a little, add 2 Tbsp water. Cover and cook until tender 7 minutes or so. The cauliflower should be tender and soft, but not mushy. The poblano should be cooked through and tender. Take off of the heat when done.
4. Make the enchiladas.
   1. Spoiler: Making the Enchiladas

      1. Spoiler: Cream Cheese Filling

         
      2. Spoiler: Adding the cauliflower and poblano

         
      3. Spoiler: Enchiladas in the dish

         I used a bigger dish because I'm making a double portion.

         
      4. Spoiler: Extra in a ramekin

         
      5. Spoiler: Put it in the oven

         
      6. Spoiler: Cooked

         
   2. This amount should make 6 enchiladas, but picking the right amount of filling for each is always tough. Sorry, I don't have a magic method for this.
   3. So put the cream cheese filling you made previously down as a base a spoonful each, and then maybe I dunno, half a cup of the poblano and cauliflower each on top.
   4. Wrap them up and put them in a casserole dish, seam side down. The enchiladas should basically fill the entire dish. If you have left-over filling cram it in there with it on the sides or you can cook it by itself in a little ramekin or something.Bake for ~9 minutes or so at 425*F. The enchiladas should be golden brown.
5. While the enchiladas bake we will make the sauce.
   1. Make the white/cream sauce. This is also called a Bechamel.
   2. If you want the enchiladas really swimming in the sauce, you can double up the amount here, or even triple it.
      1. Spoiler: Making the White Sauce

         Sorry I didn't capture any pictures with the Chipotles

         
      2. Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium-ish heat.
      3. Stir in the flour with the melted butter and stir it constantly, so it doesn't brown. Keep going till it bubbles a little, ~2 minutes.
      4. Add the milk and keep stirring while it thickens and continue until it boils.
      5. Add salt and pepper to taste. It should taste kinda like a creamy soup base.
      6. Reduce to just below a simmer, and stir for a couple more minutes. The sauce should be reduced slightly.
   3. (You can also substitute lots of shit for the Bechamel, like cream of chicken/cream of celery soup, it'll work but obviously, it'll taste different).
   4. Add the Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce to the white sauce. You should find like a number of small Chipotles in the can. Add one or two, as well as some of the adobo sauce.
   5. Mix together under medium-low heat poking and mashing the chipotle until it basically dissolves. 3 minutes or so.
   6. Add 2 tbsp of water and bring to a simmer.
   7. Once simmering, cook for 3 minutes or so until it thickens up a little. Should be a nice yellow-orange color, almost like an egg.
6. Top the enchiladas with the sauce and the green parts of the onion.
   Spoiler: Topped with the sauce

   

   

   
7. Eat and Enjoy!

The final result!

 

[MizMahem]

Mushroom Stroganoff
Serves 2

What's that you said? More vegetarian recepies? Well sure! This variation on classic Stroganoff is super easy to make and very tasty. Easier than regular Stroganoff I would say. It uses Italian noodles, french broth, and greek seasoning (or at least I do) making it a truly continental dish! It's a nice and hearty dish, just like regular Stroganoff except, you know, more mushrooms.

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Campanelle Pasta	6 oz.	You can use any thick noodle or "egg noodles"
Cremini Mushrooms	10 oz.	These are just young or "baby" Portobello mushrooms. You can use regular portobello instead. Coarsely chop into 1/4" bits.
Garlic	1 Clove	Mince/Mash. (You can also just use like 1/2 tsp or so of minced garlic if you have that). Fresh garlic is better than Garlic Powder which will not be as good.
Grated Parmesan	1/2 oz.	As much as you like really
Concentrated Mirepoix Broth	4 tsp.	This is a tricky one. If you don't have this or can't find it, you can just use a condensed Vegetable soup or even just like a chicken or beef soup/broth. Anything with a clearish base.
Savory Spices	2 tsp.	You know the Simon and Garfunkel song, "Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme" plus like, Oregano, Basil, uh Savory, Onion Powder. Basically, all the savory spices you have on your rack that you might put with chicken or beef dish. Personally, I like to just use Greek Seasoning which has a lot of Oregano and MSG but you can use whatever.
Sour Cream	2 oz.	You can use more if you like your sauce thicker. Less keeps the calories and fat down though.
Chard	4 oz.	This has a bitter savory taste but turns a little sweet when you cook it. You can use spinach instead if you prefer. Or even Kale or Collard Greens. Stem and coarsely chop into 1/4" bits.

You will also need:

• A chef's knife.
• A cutting board.
• A frying pan (preferably non-stick)
• A medium-small pot, 4 quarts or so.
• A colander is helpful for draining the water
• Measuring utensils
• A stove
• Olive Oil (flavored/infused oil works well for this dish)
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. Prep Work
   1. Spoiler: Ingredients Prepped

      
   2. Coarsely chop the mushrooms into 1/4" bits.
   3. Stem chard (Chard has a thick stem to the leaf so you can just slice along it or rip the leaves off with your hands).
      1. Cut stems into 1/4" slices and coarsely chop leaves. Keep stems and leaves separate.
      2. If you are using regular spinach you can just chop that up coarsely. You might add some onions or celery as well in this case. Chad stems have a more mild flavor which is good though.
   4. Mince garlic. (This just means to chop it up finely, the finer the better, though you can get a garlic press that also works well)
2. Cook the Pasta
   1. Bring 8 cups of water to a boil, add 2 tsp of salt if you like your pasta salted. I think it is better that way for this dish.
   2. Add noodles and boil until "al dente" which means "to the teeth." Um, it should be just a little firm I guess. 8-10 minutes, depending on your type of noodles.
   3. Take out about 1/2 a cup of the cooked pasta water (you will use it later). Drain the rest.
3. While the noodles are cooking, cook the Vegetables
   1. Spoiler: Cooking the Vegetables

      Have some Videos Cooking Vegetables. Almost Done. Finished!

      
   2. Add the mushroom and chard stems to a frying pot as well as like 2 tsp olive oil (an infused oil like a basil olive oil works well here).
   3. Stir often until lightly browned on medium-high heat. 8 minutes or so.
   4. Add the chard leaves and the garlic. Stir until the leaves start to wilt/shrivel up.
   5. Remove from heat.
4. Finish dish
   1. Video of Finishing the Dish.
   2. When the noodles are done, add them to the vegetables in the pan.
   3. Add the sour cream, seasonings, and the mirepoix.
   4. Add the starchy pasta water until you get to a thickness that pleases you. The sauce should thickly coat the noodles but not be too watery.
   5. Stir until heated through. You aren't cooking this, just getting it all nice and mixed and warmed up. Should only take a couple minutes.
   6. Once combined add the parmesan and maybe some more salt, though the seasoning mix I use has a lot of MSG so I don't need to add much.
5. Enjoy! Serve with some garlic bread.

The finished product!

Spoiler: Some more pictures just for fun

 

[MizMahem]

Greek Spinach Quesadillas
Serves 2

Wait, you want even more vegetarian dishes? Well sure. Spinach quesadillas are a classic, but why not spice it up a bit of a greek twist. Because spinach is delicious and feta cheese is delicious, so this Greek-Mex dish is even more delicious! (Does Mozzarella make it Italian? I dunno). Also easy to make if you know how to make Quesadillas, and if you don't, well now is a great time to learn!

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Baby Spinach	1 cup	You can also just use regular spinach. Just a little less tender. Chop coarsely.
Chimichurri Seasonings	2 tsp.	sometimes called Argentinan Pesto, you can just use Parsley and Oregano. Or Parsley and Greek Seasoning (seriously that stuff is great, you can use it with everything!)
Feta Cheese	2 oz.	the secret ingredient! You can use more if you want
Garlic	2 Cloves	Mince/Mash. (You can also just use like 1 tsp or so of minced garlic if you have that). Fresh garlic is better than Garlic Powder which will not be as good.
Green Onions	2	Separate the green part from the white part. Finely slice. Maybe 1/8". Can omit if you don't like onions.
Lemon	1	you won't need a whole lemon probably, maybe only half. You can just use lemon juice if you have it.
Roma Tomatoes	2	These are more fleshy than regular tomatoes, but you can use 1 big tomato or cherry tomatoes or whatever instead if you want though.
Shredded Mozzarella	3 oz.	You can use more.
Medium Flour Tortillas	6	Can use whole wheat or whatever flavor you prefer. 6" in diameter. Optionally you can also make just like two bigger quesadillas, but I think the tortilla is an important part of the dish, and so smaller ones work better.
Sour Cream	2 oz.

You will also need:

• A chef's knife.
• A cutting board.
• A frying pan (preferably non-stick)
• A mixing bowl
• Measuring utensils
• A stove
• Olive Oil (flavored/infused oil works well for this dish)
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. Prep the Ingredients
   1. Spoiler: Ingredients Prepped

      I could have chopped the spinach better, but since I overcooked it a bit, it didn't end up mattering too much

      
   2. Slice the onions up thinly and separate the white and green portions. The white portions will go in the filling, the green bits will be in the topping. If you don't like onions, you can omit them.
   3. Chop the tomatoes into 1/4" bits. Optionally core the tomatoes first, which gets out some of the seeds and a bit of the juice. But I don't do this because I like tomatoes a lot.
   4. Coarsely chop spinach. Don't do it too much though, you want it to be kinda floofy.
   5. Mince garlic. (This just means to chop it up finely, the finer the better, though you can get a garlic press that also works well)
2. Make the Filling
   1. Spoiler: Cooking the Filling

      Note that in this one I used about half the spinach I listed in the ingredients. More spinach = more better.

      
   2. Add the white parts of the onions to a hot frying pan and cook over medium-high heat with 2 tsp olive oil (an infused oil like a basil olive oil works well here). Cook until tender and a little clear, should only take a couple of minutes.
   3. Add garlic and cook a bit to bring out the smell, doesn't take long, less than a minute.
   4. Add spinach and the seasoning. Stir until the spinach is wilted, a couple of minutes.
3. Make the Topping
   1. Spoiler: Topping

      
   2. Combine tomatoes and green portions of onions.
   3. Halve the lemon and squeeze in its juice.
   4. Add 1 tsp. olive oil, again a flavored/infused oil works well here (can you tell I like these a lot?)
   5. Salt and pepper to taste.
   6. You can either add the sour cream in here and mix it or serve it separately.
   7. Mix, duh.
4. Make the Quesadillas
   1. Spoiler: Making the Quesadillas

      1. Spoiler: Assembling a quesadilla

         
      2. Spoiler: All assembled

         
      3. Spoiler: Quesadillas in the pan

         
      4. Spoiler: Cooked Quesadillas

         
      5. Bonus Video
   2. As always, portioning the filling is tough and I don't have a secret to it. We'll be making 6 quesadillas.
   3. But anyways, put some of the Feta and some of the mozzarellas on one side of the tortillas, and then put the spinach filling on top. Fold in half. Ideally, you want like a flat quesadilla.
   4. Add some more oil to the pan (just regular oil is fine here) and cook on medium-ish heat.
      1. Getting the heat right here is tricky and important. You want it to be hot enough to brown, but low enough that you can cook it without burning it.
      2. Cook until golden brown. Takes a couple of minutes per side.
   5. Add more oil if the pan gets dry. You can cook as many in a pan as you can manage at a time. Better to take longer than to burn them.
5. Top with the tomato topping and sour cream, add some more lemon juice if you want, you have half a lemon left! Enjoy!

The Finished Result!

 

[MizMahem]

Tomato Lemon Salmon with Broccoli
Serves 2

So I don't just cook vegetarian. I'm really more of a pescatarian who also sometimes occasionally eats pork or beef. So you know, basically just a regular person who is trying to cut down on the meet portion of my diet. And so today I've got for you a seafood dish. Simple and not many ingredients and pretty easy to make. It also scales up and down pretty easily if you are cooking for more or less than two people.

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Broccoli	1 Head (I dunno, this is maybe 3/4 pounds?)	Chop Coarsely
Butter	2 tbsp
Lemon	1	We are just using this for lemon juice so you can just use lemon juice instead.
Salmon	2 Fillets maybe 6 oz each?	I mean you can use bigger pieces if you like
Shallot	1	Slice or Chop Coarsely You can also use like half a regular onion. You can omit if you don't like onion.
Sour Cream	4 tbsp
Tomato Pesto	4 tbsp	I just buy this at the store. This is the secret ingredient so if you want to get a fancy kind, you can/should.

You will also need:

• A chef's knife.
• A cutting board.
• A frying pan (preferably non-stick)
• Measuring utensils
• A stove
• An oven
• A couple of mixing bowls.
• Olive Oil (flavored/infused oil works well for this dish)
• Salt and Pepper

1. Roast Broccoli
   1. Spoiler: Prepped Ingredients

      There is actually way more Broccoli than this, I underestimated the size of the container I needed. Pretty foolish.

      

      I should have sliced the shallots finer. Whoops.

      
   2. Spoiler: Roasted Broccoli

      These could have stood to stay in the oven just a little longer.

      
   3. Chop up the broccoli. You are aiming for bite-sized pieces.
   4. Slice the shallots/onions. You want these a bit smaller than bite-size, you know usual dice size or whatever.
   5. Toss the broccoli and onions with 2 tsp olive oil (like always, a flavored oil works well here, like a basil or lemon oil) and half a tsp of salt or so, plus some pepper.
   6. Roast broccoli at 400°F for like 15 minutes. The broccoli should be a little browned and tender.
2. Make sauces
   1. Spoiler: Sauces

      Lemon Sour Cream

      

      Butter Tomato Pesto (Ideally this would be a bit more combined but it will melt on the fish so it is fine)

      
   2. Combine the sour cream and juice from like half/quarter of the lemon (to your taste), and some pepper. This is the topping for the broccoli.
   3. Combine the butter with the pesto, and like half/quarter of the lemon (to your taste). If the butter is to stiff you can zap it in a microwave for a sec. You want it creamy but not melted. Don't stress if it doesn't completely mix though, it will melt on the fish. This is the topping for the salmon.
   4. Don't let the portions fool you, you don't need much for the fish. You can make a larger portion of the sour cream if you want though, though it was plenty for us.
3. Cook the Salmon
   1. Spoiler: Prepped Fish

      
   2. Spoiler: Cooking the fish

      Bonus Video!

      

      Cook one side. Then the other! (Nailed the color here I think)

      
   3. Pat the salmon dry if necessary with some paper towels.
   4. Season the flesh side of salmon with some salt, pepper, and other seasonings if you like (maybe some basil or oregano, you can also never go wrong with that greek seasoning). That said, you probably don't want to overpower the butter, so take it easy.
   5. Prep a frying pan with 1 tsp olive oil (unlike other times just regular oil is fine here, save the fancy stuff... though lemon oil would be good too ).
   6. Cook the Salmon over medium heat, starting with the skin side up. Time is hard to predict because it depends on the thickness of your fillets, but it should be golden brown. But shouldn't take long, maybe 5 minutes a side.
4. Eat and Enjoy!
   1. Spoiler: Before the topping

      
   2. Top the broccoli with the sour cream and the fish with the butter pesto.

The final product!

 

[MizMahem]

Roasted Creamy Pesto Gnocchi with Peppers

Today I have another tasty vegetarian dish for you, Roasted Gnocchi in a Creamy Pesto sauce plus peppers and other veggies. Gnocchi is a kind of Italian potato pasta, much heartier than regular noodles. Usually it is boiled but today we will be roasting it. This dish is a lot of fun and is actually really easy to make, and ends up looking really colorful and beautiful. A delight to eat with the eyes, but tastes good too!

Note that the pictures are from when I made a double portion (well more like 2 and half), which serves 4 people. The cook times should remain basically the same.

All measurements in US. (though in this dish you do not have to be really precise with anything, pretty much all ingredients can be done to taste)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Basil Pesto	1 tbsp	You could use more or a different kind if you like.
Lemon	1	You can also use lemon juice.
Butter	1 tbsp	Salted or Unsalted, doesn't really matter
Flour	1 tbsp	White
Milk	2/3 Cup	Whole preferably, but skim or anything else in between will work fine as well.
Seasoning	2 tsp	I used my favorite Greek Seasoning along with some garlic powder, but you can use any flavor combinations you like.
Parmesan	1 oz	You can totally use the kind from a can, but shredded parmesan is better for this.
Gnocchi	~1 lb	You could probably use a little less of this. The kind I get is shelf-stable and you can use right out of the package. If you get dried gnocchi you will need to boil it first.
Peas	3 oz	You can use canned or frozen (or fresh if you can get them). I prefer frozen.
Shallot	1	Peel and Slice into strips. You can also use like half a regular (yellow) onion. You can omit if you don't like onion.
Bell Pepper	1	Any kind of non-green bell pepper will work. Red, yellow, or orange. Green will work as well, but they are sweeter and a little tougher and not preferred for this dish. Seed and slice into strips.

You will also need:

• A knife or other sharp cutting implement
• Something to cut on
• An oven of some other enclosed box which gets hot and with which you can control the temperature. (Even a little toaster oven can work for this dish)
• A pan that can fit in said oven. (Actually, a cooking sheet is more appropriate, not sure why I called it a pan, well, I'm to lazy to fix it, you can figure it out I'm sure)
• Measuring utensils (maybe)
• A pot (preferably metal)
• A stove or something else that gets hot.
• Maybe a bowl, maybe not, depends on how you want to serve the dish.
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive Oil Fancy oil not that necessary for this dish.

How to Make It!
Unlike some of my other dishes, this one isn't much prep-work and is mostly waiting on things to cook.

• Roast the Gnocchi
  • So as mentioned in the ingredients section, the kind of Gnocchi I get is 'shelf-stable which is basically like fresh gnocchi which they do some kind of food science magic to that makes it keep. This kind of Gnocchi can be used straight out the package. I have also seen dried gnocchi sold. This kind you will probably need to boil at least briefly before using. If you make fresh gnocchi (you bad-ass, you) you can also just use that right after you finish it.
  • Spread the gnocchi out on a pan optionally hitting it with some non-stick spray first. I sometimes line the pan with aluminum foil first, it makes clean-up easier.
  • Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the gnocchi and mix it up to get it all nice and coated. Using some flavored oil is okay here, but not necessary.
  • Put it in the oven at 425°F for about 20-25 minutes.
  • About halfway through that time, open it up and give it a good mix.
  • When the gnocchi is done it should be crispy on the outside but still soft inside. Parts of it may turn golden brown, but not all of it. That is okay.
  • Spoiler: Roasting the Gnocchi

    Spread it out on a pan.

    

    Add oil and Shove it in the oven.

    

    Roasted Gnocchi

    
• Prep Work
  • Seed the bell pepper and optionally cut out the little ribs. Then slice it into well, slices. You could dice it up if you like, but with gnocchi, I think it is better to have larger pieces. Doing it horizontally would be cool, make some nice shapes!
  • Peel and slice the shallot. Again we are opting for larger slices rather than dicing it. Additionally, these onions will not be cooked as much as normal, only roasted briefly. So a larger size makes sense. That said, if you don't like onions, now is the time to cut them out of the dish. While you can always substitute a regular onion for a shallot, shallots work nicely in this dish as they have a more mild flavor then regular onions I think.
  • Spoiler: Sliced Veggies

    I was making a larger portion so used multiple peppers. I got a red, yellow, and orange one, but if I was to do it over again, I would have just gotten red. Strictly because I think the yellow and orange color did not stand out as much as I would have liked in the end.

    
• Make the sauce.
  • Again we are making a bechamel sauce. This is the most difficult part of the dish to make. There is no shame in using like a cream soup as a substitute instead here if you like. You need ~4oz.
    • Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium-ish heat.
    • Stir in the flour with the melted butter and stir it constantly, so it doesn't brown. Keep going till it bubbles a little, ~2 minutes.
    • Add the milk and keep stirring while it thickens and continue until it boils.
    • Add salt and pepper to taste. It should taste kinda like a creamy soup base.
    • Reduce to just below a simmer, and stir for a couple more minutes. The sauce should be reduced slightly.
    • Spoiler: Making the bechamel

      Melt the butter.

      

      Add in the flour. Honestly, I messed up a bit here and added too much flour. Or maybe I should have cooked it a little longer. Not that big a deal, just added more milk later. Ideally, it wouldn't get this clumpy though. Add the milk and stir I dunno, learning how to make this sauce is tough, and I'm no expert. Watch a youtube video or something.

      

      But here is a video giving an idea of the consistency you should end up with.

      
  • Add in the Pesto and the juice of like one half a lemon, as well as the seasoning you are going to use (we used greek seasoning and garlic powder).
  • Don't be afraid to be liberal with the seasonings in this dish, unlike other pastas, gnocchi has a significant potato flavor (which gets even stronger when roasted like this) so a nicely seasoned sauce goes well with it.
  • Spoiler: More making the sauce

    Lemon Juice

    

    Pesto! MY FAVORITE

    

    Finished sauce.

    
• Roast the vegetables
  • Spread the peppers, frozen peas and onions out on a pan. As before you can zap it with some cooking spray and line it with aluminum foil to make cleanup easier.
  • sprinkle 2 tsp of olive oil on the vegetables and season with salt and pepper to taste (again don't be shy with the pepper, salt you can take it easy on though).
  • Mix the vegetables up and shove them in the oven at 425°F for about 20 minutes
  • If you are using frozen peas you can just dump 'em in at the start. If using fresh or canned peas, wait until the vegetables are about 3/4 done (about 12 minutes or so) before you add them. Obviously drain canned peas first.
  • Depending on how long the other steps took the gnocchi may be done before this point or not. Doesn't really matter. If you only have one pan you can set the gnocchi aside and use the same pan to cook this one.
  • Spoiler: Roasting the Vegtables

    Vegetables in a pan

    
• Mix it all together!
  • Once the vegetables, gnocchi, and sauce are done we will mix 'em all together.
  • Combine the gnocchi and the vegetables together on one pan (just dump one on top of the other).
  • Pour the sauce mix on top.
  • Add the parmesan cheese on top of this mix. Use as much as you like, but you know, cheese makes you fat .
  • Put it back in the oven at 425°F for about 5 minutes. The cheese should be melted.
  • Spoiler: The final combination

    Gnocchi and roasted vegetables, together at last!

    

    Add the sauce.

    

    Mix.

    

    And the cheeeese!

    

    Put in Oven

    

    DONE!

    
• Dish it up and eat it!

The final Result!

 

[Biigoh]

 

[Biigoh]

 

[Biigoh]

This recipe is... simple.
Ingredient : Onion
Cooking : Roast
Serve : Salt and Butter, maybe some pepper for fancy.

XD

 

[MizMahem]

Mexican Risotto
Risotto is one of my favorite dishes, and once you get used to it, is fairly easy to make. The only secrets are A. Use the right kind of rice. and B. Keep stirring. This version I pretty much invented/adapted myself and is a more 'Mexican' take on Risotto. Unfortunately, you don't get as precise measurements then, but you should still be able to follow along. This amount serves two.

Ingredients All measurements in US.
Not that many different ingredients in this one.

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Poblano Peppers	2	The most important ingredient! We will roast these. There are several ways to do this, but we will cover it in the oven.
Cherry Tomatoes	1/2 cup	This is about 8-10 cherry tomatoes. You can use more.
Shallot	1	Peel and Coarsely Chop You can also use like half a regular (yellow) onion. You can omit it if you don't like onion.
Arborio Rice	1 Cup	Using Arborio Rice really will work best here. But you could maybe substitute some other kind of short-grained rice.
Vegetable Broth	3 Cups	So you have several options here. They sell this just in like a box/can. You could also use like a chicken/beef broth or a vegetable soup or even just water.
Mexican Seasoning	enough	I primarily used Cayenne Pepper here as well as some garlic powder, and pepper. Onion powder would be okay. You could also use some cumin, coriander, and cilantro.
Lemon	1/2	You can also use just like lemon juice.
Shrimp	1/2 lb	You can obviously use more if you want, but this was just about the perfect amount for two portions. Size doesn't really matter if you go by weight.

Spoiler: The Ingredients

Non-shrimp things. You may notice there is only one poblano here. Use two. The shallot is already peeled.

Shrimp.

These were some Argentine shrimp or something which were very tasty.

You will also need:

• An oven
• A sheet that can go in that oven, and maybe some aluminum foil to line it with
• A plastic bag (yes really!) Or some plastic wrap or something to seal a bowl with.
• A stove.
• A pot that can go on that stove. The bigger the better.
• A frying pan of some sort.
• Stirring utensils.
• A knife and something to cut on.
• Measuring utensils.
• Olive Oil - Fancy Olive oil is not necessary for this recipe.
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions
So not a lot of prep work in this recipe. Basically, you will cook the three sets of ingredients, the rice and onions, the shrimp, and the peppers/tomatoes, and then you will combine them. Luckily cooking all these takes about the same amount of time so this whole recipe can be made in about half an hour or so if you manage it right.

1. Roast the Peppers and Tomatoes.
   1. Spoiler: Roasting the Peppers

      The seasoned pepper and tomatoes going into the oven. Again, use two peppers, not one. If you want to use more tomatoes, that is fine too.

      

      

      The Peppers when they come out of the oven. Put 'em in a bag.

      
   2. So to roast the peppers there are several techniques you can use. You can put them directly on the flames of a grill/burner, broil them, or roast them in the oven. Basically what we are doing here is roasting them and then removing the skin of the peppers. Since I only have a gas grill outside and because I am doing tomatoes as well, we will use the oven. You can google the other techniques if you want though.
   3. Line a pan with some aluminum foil, this makes it way quicker to clean up, and heat your oven to 400°F.
   4. Coat the tomatoes and peppers liberally with some olive oil and spray the pan with some cooking spray. Season the tomatoes liberally with some salt and pepper and maybe some other more savory-ish seasonings. Not cayenne pepper, as these will be sweet, but maybe garlic or cumin or something. I wouldn't bother adding extra seasonings to the poblanos as we will remove the skin and most of the seasoning with it.
   5. Put them in the oven for 20 minutes.
   6. When they come out, put the poblano peppers in a plastic bag or a bowl or something that you can seal with plastic wrap. The peppers will steam and we will remove the skin later. The tomatoes you can just set aside for now.
2. Marinate the Shrimp.
   1. Spoiler: Peeled and seasoned shrimp marinating

      
   2. So when we made this dish the primary source of seasonings was in this shrimp, which worked out well for us. One of the fun things about Risotto is how it can be a fun way to meld different flavors together, but you could make do it other ways.
   3. If you need to defrost the shrimp, it really is best to just let them soak in some water for twenty minutes or so. If you microwave them or something to make it go faster, you can damage and cook the shrimp a bit, so avoid doing this. You'll have time. While letting them marinate is best, so long as they get a couple of minutes in the mixture, it should work fine.
   4. Peel the shrimp and season them liberally with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and possibly other seasonings (I hit them with my ever favorite season, Greek Seasoning). I don't really have measurements here, but as this is the primary way we are introducing seasoning, don't be shy. At least a half teaspoon each I would say, but you could do more. The only seasoning to be cautious of is the cayenne. You definitely want some, but don't make it more spicey than you can eat.
   5. Juice like half a lemon, and leave the shrimp to soak in the juice.
3. Make the Risotto.
   1. So to start we are going to cook up some onions in like the biggest pot you have. This is not because risotto will take up a lot of space in the pot, it won't. But because the bigger the pot, the faster the risotto will cook. However, you can totally do this with a more medium-sized pan, just be sure to keep stirring it. I used a medium-sized pot this time. It's kind of a tradeoff between how long it takes and how much you have to monitor it. A big pot will require a lot of monitoring but will cook faster. A medium pot requires less, but still a lot of monitoring.
   2. Anyways, yeah, dice up your shallot/onion into small pieces and dump it into the pot with a good amount of olive oil. A couple of tablespoons at least. You could add some garlic powder I guess if you want, but I wouldn't. For a more Mexican flavor you don't want the garlic to be overpowering.
      Spoiler: Diced Onions

      
   3. Cook the onions over medium heat until they are nice and golden. This will take 5 minutes or so. Cooking the onions (they are well done here).
   4. Dump in the rice and stir it around. We want to do two things here. #1. Toast it up a bit. #2. Get it nicely coated in the oil. This one is hard to tell when it is done, but the rice should get a deeper white color I guess. Shouldn't take long, only a couple of minutes. Roasting the Rice. Here is it when it is done.
   5. You can add some seasoning at this point, though as I said most of the seasoning in this dish comes from the shrimp. So I only added a little pepper. A small amount of savoring seasonings, garlic, et al wouldn't be bad, but is unnecessary. You shouldn't need to add any salt as the vegetable broth you are adding should have plenty. If you aren't using a vegetable broth or a smaller amount of it, then maybe season it more heavily. If not using vegetable stock, some sort of bullion or flavor concentrate would be great here, mirepoix or something like that idealy, but whatever.
   6. Traditionally at this point in a risotto, you would add some like white wine here and boil that off. We won't be doing that, but you still could do it. Hell you could use tequila if you wanted!
   7. Okay finally add like 1 cup of the vegetable stock. This is where the 'art' of making risotto comes in. It really isn't that complicated. For this first portion, you want to add enough to completely cover the rice. I find 1 cup to be about perfect for me. Then stir it around until it is all either boiled or absorbed. Keep stirring it, not like vigorously, but constantly. Adding the broth!
   8. When all the stock is boiled away or absorbed, add some more, only like 1/2 cup this time. Keep adding and stirring.
   9. Rinse and repeat. (don't actually rinse, just do the previous step again). This will take a while, like twenty to twenty-five minutes, depending on how you manage your heat and your pot. Idealy you want your pot hot enough that the stock starts to boil away very soon after adding but no hotter. If you are using water, what I would do is set another pot to boil to scoop water out of. But since stock isn't cheap as water, I don't want to waste it so I don't do it with that. Keep going.
   10. The risotto is done when it no longer really absorbers any stock and is nice and creamy to taste. It shouldn't really have any bite to it at all. When I did this it used spot on three cups of stock. If you aren't sure if it is done, taste it. If it looks done but still has a bit of bite to the taste, go ahead and add some more stock. The last half-cup can be a bit deceptive. The finished Risotto.
   11. You may be tempted to just ignore these instructions and just dump all the stock in at once. Don't do that.
   12. When done, set it aside. The timing is a bit tricky here, you don't want this to wait forever, so if you can start on some other steps in the meantime. This works better if you have an assistant to help you. If you don't, do the risotto last. If it waits a little while (5-10 minutes or so) it's fine though.
4. Finish the other ingredients.
   1. Remove your peppers from the bag, and peel off the skins. This is a little tricky, but not too bad. For the most part, you should be peeling off like a semi-clear outer skin, which is pretty thin. You don't want to be getting too much of the fleshy 'skin.' If you get a little it is okay though. We are going to dice these anyways.
      Spoiler: The Cooked and Peeled Poblanos

      
   2. Dice and seed the peppers. Sadly this is a bit of a pain to do with the roasted peppers, but you can still manage. If you don't get all the seeds it is okay, just get most of them. Dice them into small-ish chunks, and dump in with the risotto. Go ahead and drain any pepper juices from your board down on them too.
   3. Remove your shrimp from the marinade and pat them dry.
   4. Prep a skillet with a good amount of olive oil, a couple of tablespoons at least. Get it nice and hot.
   5. Throw the shrimp in and cook them. Shouldn't take long, although the exact time is going to depend on what kind of shrimp you got. 1-2 minutes per side though probably. If you want to throw some more seasoning on them here, maybe some pepper flakes or something, you can, but if you did a good marinade it isn't necessary.
   6. Now, when we did this my assistant made the mistake of pouring in the marinade with the shrimp when we cooked it. This also turned out good, though the shrimp were a bit more poached then grilled, and it took a little longer. But it was still fine. Frying/Poaching the shrimp.
      Spoiler: Almost Finished Shrimp

      
5. Mix it all together!
   1. Throw in the shrimp, the peppers, and the tomatoes in with the risotto and give it a good mix so that it is all mixed up. If you poached-grilled the shrimp like we did, go ahead and pour in the marinade too, why not!
      Spoiler: The risotto minus the tomatoes, we used those as a garnish

      
   2. Traditionally in a risotto, we would add some butter or some cheese here to mix in, or maybe some oil. I didn't find it was necessary for this dish.
   3. Top with some cilantro if you like I guess, and serve! Enjoy!

The finished result!

 

[MizMahem]

Pineapple Lime Teriyaki Tofu Poke Bowl
It isn't all Mexican/Italian/French fusion stuff over here, this time let's head west for some Hawaiian/Asain action! This dish packs a nice combination of different flavors, sharp citrus from the lime, sweetness from the pineapple and teriyaki, and some spicy punch from red pepper flakes. And while traditionally poke is made with some sort of seafood, in this dish we will be using fried tofu instead-

"But Miz!" I already hear you cry, "I am a meat-atarian, who eats meat with meat on meat with meat! TOFU BAD. GRR. ARRGH! More angry words at vegetarianism! GIVE ME MY MEATS."

Chill. I'm not here to take your meats away from you. Tofu isn't in this dish because you should or shouldn't eat meat. Tofu is in this dish because it makes a good combination with these other ingredients. Yes, it does not have a strong flavor, but so do many things. I don't hear many people complaining about how they don't eat other mild-flavored foods like rice or bread because of their lack of 'taste.' Sometimes a lack of strong flavor is what you want in an ingredient because it can then soak up the flavors from other ingredients. Like bread or rice, tofu is good at this, while bringing a different flavor and some protein richness to the dish, making it perfect for this occasion.

Anyways, on with the dish. This one is pretty simple to make and doesn't take many ingredients. This time I'll include a rough price of what I paid when shopping for it.

Ingredients! Measures are in US. Serves 4.

Spoiler: The Ingredients!

Ingredient	Amount	Notes	Price
Long Grained Rice	1 1/2 cup	We used Jasmine rice, which is supposed to have a more fragrant taste.	~$1.00
Tofu - Extra Firm	Two Packages ~14oz	The packages we got were 14oz. You could use slightly more or less. Dice into 1" cubes.	~$5.00
Green Onions	~4	Slice thinly. Separate white parts from green. We are eating these raw this time, so substituting them is not a great idea. You can omit if you don't like onions though.	~$0.50
Limes	1 or 2	I used the second lime as a garnish, you can omit.	~$0.50
Pineapple Slices	1 Can	You need 2 or so slices per serving. So 8 total. Can use more or less.	~$1.50
Coleslaw	1/2 bag 7-8 oz		~$1.00
Cornstarch	~1/4 cup	Enough to coat the tofu.	>$0.10
Mayo	~1/4 cup		~$0.20
Teriyaki Sauce	~1/2 cup	Use a flavor you like, a nice thick one works best	~$0.50
Red Pepper Flakes	~1/2 tsp	You can use more! But don't make it hotter than you can eat.	>$0.10
Olive Oil	~5 tbsp	just included this here for the price, since you use a fair amount you could use a cheaper oil for the frying	~$0.50

All told this runs about ~$2.60 a serving making this a pretty cheap dish.

In addition, you also need:

• Salt and Pepper
• A stove to cook things on.
• A frying pan of some sort
• A pot to cook rice in
• mixing bowls
• cutting tool and thing to cut on
• Measuring utensils.

Instructions!
This dish is pretty simple. We will basically be making the four different components (rice, coleslaw, pineapple, and tofu) separately, then combining them together. So these steps could be done in any order and split between different people (many hands make light work!). I'll list them in what seems the most logical order to me.

1. Cook the Rice
   1. Pretty standard. 1-1/2 cups rice + 3 cups water, and a healthy pinch of salt. (Twice the dry volume of rice in water is the general way to cook rice). Bring it to boil in a pot on high heat. Don't stir it, let it sit. Once it boils reduce to a simmer until all the water is gone then remove from the heat. Takes about 20 minutes.
   2. If you have a different way you like to cook it, in the microwave or a rice cooker or whatever, that is fine.
   3. You could use chicken or vegetable stock instead of the water for a richer taste, though if you are using jasmine rice it has a nice flavor all its own.
   4. Once done, give it a good fluff with a fork.
2. Make the Coleslaw
   1. Thinly slice the green onions. Keep all of the "white parts" aside. For me, this is basically all the way up until the onion turns 'hollow' inside. We will use the green parts for a garnish.
      Spoiler: Like so

      
   2. Juice one whole lime.
      Spoiler: 1/2 lime juiced

      
   3. Combine the coleslaw (half a package), with the mayonnaise (I go light on this, I don't care for mayo), lime juice, and green onions.
   4. Add a splash or two of olive oil. A couple of tsp. If you want to use a fancy oil with this dish, this is the place to use it. None of the fancy flavors I had would have gone well so I just used the regular stuff. You might even try sesame oil instead if you were feeling adventurous.
   5. Season with salt and pepper to taste, usually a pinch or so of each.
      Spoiler: Slaw stuff together

      
   6. Mix well and set aside.
      Spoiler: Slaw Mixed

      
3. Sear the Pineapple
   1. This part is so easy but looks so fancy it is almost cheating.
   2. Pat dry the pineapple rings well with a paper towel. You could season them now with some salt/pepper maybe, or even the red pepper, but I didn't. Part of the fun of this dish is the distinct flavors of the different ingredients.
   3. Just drop the pineapple rings in a hot pan with a splash (~1tsp) of olive oil, and just let them sit for ~3 minutes per side. The sugar with caramelize and you'll get a nice char and an even sweeter flavor plus a little smoke.
      Spoiler: Cooking the Pineapple Rings

      Video at the Start

      

      Video at the End
   4. Decide how you want to serve the pineapple. I recommend leaving one ring as a pretty garnish and dicing up the other ring. If you are really fancy you can even leave both rings as is and score them so they can come apart easy at the table. I'm not this talent though.
   5. Set aside. If you haven't cooked to tofu yet, you can use the same pan without cleaning.
      Spoiler: Seared Rings

      
4. Cook the tofu.
   1. Open the tofu package and drain out all the water. Then pat it down again with a paper towel and give it a good firm press to get more water out.
   2. Give it a few minutes to drain. Getting it super dry isn't essential, but will make frying it easier and gives it a firmer texture.
   3. Dice the tofu into 1" cubes. Try to keep them as evenly sized as possible, it will make frying easier.
      Spoiler: Dicing the tofu

      
   4. In a mixing bowl combine the tofu with the cornstarch and mix them together so that the tofu is well coated. Season well with salt and pepper, another pinch each.
      Spoiler: Coated Tofu

      
   5. Fry the tofu in a generous quantity of olive oil (or another oil I suppose) in your frying pan. About 5 tbsp or more. We aren't exactly deep frying the tofu, but we are frying it in the oil, so you need quite a lot.
      Spoiler: Frying the Tofu

      Video

      
   6. Periodically flip and stir the tofu with a spatula or something so you get it cooked well on all sides. Tricky to do, I know! Idealy you want to get it to a nice golden brown. But you can go less long if you don't like the coating so crisp. Takes about 8 minutes.
      Spoiler: Finished Tofu

      
5. Combine the Dish!
   1. The fun part. Divide the rice into four portions then top with the coleslaw, red-pepper flakes, teriyaki sauce, tofu, and pineapple in that order, and serve! Don't forget the red-pepper flakes, they are an important part. In fact, you may want to serve with the red-pepper flakes, teriyaki sauce, and limes at the table in case people want more.
   2. Alternatively, you could mix some or all of these ingredients before serving I suppose. The above is just the traditional way of serving it, and looks nice. But it's going to be a tasty dish no matter how you serve it.
   3. Enjoy!

If you have any leftover pineapple you can throw it in some tea for a nice drink or make a nice rum cocktail or even both like we did!

Spoiler: Pineapple Rum Tea Cocktail

The finished result!

 

[Biigoh]

 

[QQmember2021]