Delicious Easy Chicken-ness

So last night I got home from yoga at 830pm, and not only was I starving, but I had an eggplant to use. Sooooo I made some incredible chicken for which the recipe follows:

1 medium eggplant

2 medium red bell peppers

salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger 

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 cup white wine

4 tsp lemon or lime juice

1. Slice eggplant and bell peppers and place in microwave on high for 8 minutes- or until soft.

2. Combine ginger, garlic powder, 1/8 tsp red pepper and pinch of salt and sprinkle over chicken.

3. Cook chicken in a pan or on a grill (George Forman works wonders!).

4. PLace eggplant, bell pepper, 1/8 tsp red pepper, oil, paprika, juice and wine in a blender, and process until smooth and pourable. Pour over chicken

5. Serve and ENJOY!

Bagels and Cream Cheese

I fully plan on wowing Phil with some boiled bagels this weekend and
thought some fresh cream cheese would go nicely with it. I started a
buttermilk culture on Tuesday and am now using it to make other
cheeses. Kegerator will make for a nice hard cheese incubator (~50F).
Remember all that cheve we used to make Paco? Let's step it up to feta
and cheddar...

Pizza from Aleta's post

So I bought some of the TGs dough.... How the hell do you get it to
roll out!?!? Was very hard to work with.

Made a quick sauce with tomato paste, white vinegar, herbs de
provance, and fresh onion and garlic. Then topped with roasted red
peppers, capers, asiago shavings and my favorite vegetarian brats,
tofurkey somethin er other. Burned it at 450 for ten min, then aired
out apartment, reduced heat to 350 and continued to back for about
eight more minutes. Mmmmmm. Good call on the whole wheat TGs dough
Leeeeeeetah.

Happy Halloween!!

Ok. Ok. I promised Ariel I would finally put this post up. I got this recipe from Jane Snelling back in the day, and it has remained a favorite of mine for years. It's rather fitting for this time of year, but I think it's always a good fall-back treat. And so easy!



Pumpkin Bars with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

½ c. butter
1 c. brown sugar (lightly packed)
1 egg
1 c. canned pumpkin
1½ c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger, allspice, & baking soda. (each)
½ c. chopped walnuts

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and pumpkin. Blend flour with spices and blend into the creamed mixture. Add the nuts, and mix well. Spread into a greased 9" x 13" pan, and bake @ 350° for 16-18 minutes.

1 Juicy Orange
1/2 package Cream Cheese
lots of powered sugar (like a cup or two)

I mixed the juice and zest of an Orange into the cream cheese until smooth. Then I added large spoonfuls of powered sugar until it reached the consistency I wanted. I left it kind of runny, and it will set up a little after you spread it over the bars. You could double the amount of cream cheese and use half the orange juice for a thicker, tarter frosting, as well.

Pear Gingerbread

I made this pear gingerbread the other day as a means of procrastination. It was pretty so I took a picture, and yummy so I wanted to share the recipe, but since I don't have it with me during this session of procrastination I will add it on soon :) 

We have been doing ladies dinner night on sundays down here in Corvallis and ofcourse you are all welcome to drop in whenever. Also it's about time for a formal dinner I think....

Birthdayssssss

Most importantly... Me. My birthday is Nov 2nd, but Paco's is Nov 3rd, and Colleen is right around the bend. And then there's Becca! I believe  her birfday is the exact same as Phillip's (which i only learned by some bizarre event of needing to get into something of your mom's and the code was your birthday!?!?!?!?!?) - December 7th. And then Melanie is riiiiiiiight around the New Years bend, 2nd week of Jan? Uhkay. That was fun and informative. 

Bagels Bagels Bagels

Rachel came for the weekend.... And we've made stuff. This is what happens when you share your recipe with your girlfriend. She makes it way better than you ever have or ever could. Thanks Rach.

And it's actually not even MY recipe. I just researched about 50,000 of them before I decided that the consistency was culminated into one, fairly successful sounding one. Which happened to be on allrecipes.com and here it is.... 

Hey Laaaaaddyyyyyyyy

You ladies have never met Jenna Adams, but she is Jake's sister. Um. The Jake you all refer to as Hot Jake and I pretend not to notice... Anyway, I added her as a contributing author ;)

Be proud ladies...

Excerpted from "Grand Canyon", Educated Guess - 2004, Ani DiFranco

shocked to tears by each new vision of all that my ancestors have done  like, say, the women who gave their lives so that i could have one  people, we are standing at ground zero of the feminist revolution yeah, it was an inside job stoic and sly one we're supposed to forget  and downplay and deny but i think the time is nothing if not nigh to let the truth out coolest f-word ever deserves a fucking shout! i mean  why can't all decent men and women call themselves feminists? out of respect  for those who fought for this  i mean, look around  we have this   yes i love my country by which i mean i am indebted joyfully to all the people throughout its history who have fought the government to make right where so many cunning sons and daughters our foremothers and forefathers came singing through slaughter  came through hell and high water so that we could stand here and behold breathlessly the sight how a raging river of tears is cutting a grand canyon of light  words and music by ani difranco © 2004 righteous babe music / BMI

Because cooking at 2.m. is normal

You guys are going to think I'm nuts.... but it wont be the first time. So it's 1:40 a.m. right now, and I am LOVING a chicken curry and naan bread i just whipped up from scratch. I went to get the groceries on my bike at 11:30, so really the cooking itself only took about 40 min. I cleaned the kitchen a long the way, and already packed up the leftovers... This is not my recipe, but i LOVE this website. Real, easy food, from people who are authentically of the ethnic origin of the food itself. 

How To Cook A Chicken Curry In Ten Minutes

How To Cook A Chicken Curry In Ten Minutes: Indian Chef and Cookery Book author Manju Malhi shows VideoJug users a quick and easy chicken curry which is perfect when you're in a hurry. Experience our Chicken Curry in Ten Minutes recipe, and make a quick and tasty dish for all to enjoy.

Weights & Measures:

                           Metric                         US Imperial                         UK Imperial                     

Serves:

2

Preparation Time:

5 minutes

Cooking Time:

10 minutes

---

Step 1:

You will need

• 45 ml olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 400 g chicken fillet
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 green chilli
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp tomato purée
• ¼ tsp garam masala or 1 tsp curry paste
• 30 ml double cream
• 1 Teaspoon
• 1 Tablespoon
• 1 Chopping board for meat
• 1 Chopping board for vegetables
• 1 Sharp knife
• 1 Non-stick frying pan
• some Plates to hold the ingredients
• 1 Wooden spoon

---

Step 2:

Prepare

Finely chop a medium sized onion 

Remember- when preparing ingredients, the smaller you chop things, the faster they cook. Chop your ingredients really small, so they'll be ready in no time. 

Crush 2 cloves of garlic with the side of a knife. Now peel away the skin, and finely chop. 

Finely chop a green chilli. Unless you want an incredibly hot curry, use the knife to take out as many seeds as you can. Chilli juices can burn your skin so when you've finished, wash your hands. 

Take the chicken on a fresh chopping board. Chop into small bite-size pieces. Wash your hands after chopping the meat.

---

Step 3:

Fry the onion

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Then add the chopped onion, and fry for 1 minute.

---

Step 4:

Add chicken

Put the chicken in, and continue to fry for 5 to 6 minutes. The chicken will start to cook, and turn entirely white on the outside.

---

Step 5:

Add garlic and chilli

Put the garlic and chilli into the pan, and stir. Carry on frying gently over a medium heat, until everything is golden brown, which will take 2 to 3 minutes. Keep stirring.

---

Step 6:

Add spices

Put 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin and 1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander in the pan. Stir well.

---

Step 7:

Add more flavour

Add 1 teaspoon of tomato purée, and 1/4 teaspoon of garam masala or curry paste. Here we're using freshly made garam masala. 

Stir, and fold 2 generous tablespoons of double cream into the mixture.

---

Step 8:

Check the chicken

If you're worried about whether the chicken is cooked, take a large piece from the pan, and cut it in half. It should break easily, and be white all the way through, with no trace of pink. It should also be piping hot throughout.

---

Step 9:

Serve

Serve hot with freshly cooked basmati rice, or naan bread.

Stetp 10: Hide from Kitteh!

How To Make Naan Bread

Naan Bread Recipe. Perfect your feast of flavours with delicious, aromatic naan bread fresh from the oven. Manju Mahli's authentic recipe is a real taste of India. Devour our Naan Bread recipe.

Weights & Measures:

                           Metric                         US Imperial                         UK Imperial                     

Serves:

4

Preparation Time:

40 minutes

Cooking Time:

15 minutes

Oven Temperature:

140

280° c  -   ° f

140

---

Step 1:

You will need

• 1 tsp dried active yeast
• 1 tsp demerara sugar
• 200 g plain flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp natural yoghurt
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 small bowl
• 1 teaspoon
• 1 tablespoon
• 1 mixing bowl
• 1 rolling pin
• 1 oven tray
• 1 pastry brush
• 1 tea towel

---

Step 2:

Yeast

Mix 1 teaspoon of dried yeast with 1 tablespoon of warm water in a small bowl. 

Stir a teaspoon of sugar into the yeast mixture. Put the bowl in a warm place, and leave it for 5 minutes, until the yeast is covered with froth.

---

Step 3:

Dough

While the yeast begins to froth, start to mix the dough. In a large mixing bowl, put 
200g of plain flour, 
1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder. 
Mix well. 

Stir in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt, 2 tablespoons of milk and the yeast mixture, which should be frothy by now. Mix a little, with a spoon.

---

Step 4:

Knead

Press your knuckles repeatedly into the dough. Continue kneading in this way until you have a soft pliable dough. It should take about 5-6 minutes.

---

Step 5:

Rise

Dampen a tea towel or small cloth, and use it to cover the mixing bowl. Leave it in a warm place to rise. This should take 10 to 15 minutes.

---

Step 6:

Pre-heat the oven

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees Celsius, 275 degrees Fahrenheit, or Gas Mark 1.

---

Step 7:

Shape the dough

When the dough is ready, it will be spongy and springy. Lightly sprinkle a little flour over a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 4 equally sized balls. With your hands, or a rolling pin, roll each into a long oval shape, about half a centimetre, or a quarter of an inch thick. Don't roll them out too thinly, or they'll turn out like crisps.

---

Step 8:

Bake

Grease a baking tray with a little oil on a pastry brush. Place the ovals of dough onto the tray, and then in the centre of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. When they're ready, they should be light golden, soft and crumbly.

---

Step 9:

Serve

Serve hot, with your favourite curry, like Chicken Jalfrezi or Lamb Madras.

Notice how my naan looks nothing like theirs? That's cause i suck, and i forgot the part about making it round? Mine was pretty dense, but it still tasted good.

Fudge Tunnel of Disaster

So today I was baking a cake, big surprise, and it turned into a chocolatey volcano mess with erupting brown gobs. It was supposed to be a chocolate fudge tunnel cake; cake-like on the outside and gooey and fudgey on the inside. It sounded perfect. The ultimate desert for that time of the month when you just want to shove chocolate in your mouth so that you first dance around from sugar high and then pass out from sugar low. -Sidenote: Why doesn't anyone ever talk about "sugar lows?" We should feed kids sugar so that they run around like crazy monkeys and and then take exhausted naps.- So I made this amazing sounding cake. I cooked it in a bundt pan and followed the directions in the cookbook. When it came out of the oven, it smelled delicious and looked fabulous. But then came the moment when I turned the cake upside-down onto a plate. Apparently the cake wasn't cooked enough, and it blobbed out all over the counter. The cake did not maintain any of its shape. I had to scoop it off the counter and bake it in a large rectangle baking dish. It wasn't quite what I had expected or wanted, but it was still sweet and made of cocoa products. Lesson learned: even if the cake is supposed to be gooey on the inside, it still needs to be cooked on the outside.

Semi Food Related...

I sold the Subaru ladies. It's gone. Allllll gone. I just feel like this is my way of fulfililng my domestic dream. Okay, and honestly, it affects food a lot because now I'm really unable to gorge myself on 5 gallons of juice from Fred Meyer at 10:30p.m. like some of you know I do....

Oh the joys of college cooking.

My friend Jamie and I made pizza on Sunday night... in 20 minutes! I know, I know, making your own crust is really the only way to go, but I decided to bite the bullet and try Trader Joe's incredibly inexpensive ($1.29) and amazingly delicious whole wheat dough. I was more than impressed- and it only took 10 minutes to bake! 

I decided that I am going to buy some more, and divide it into single size portions, and freeze it. Then, when I am fully immersed in studying, I can whip some out and make my own personal Edward Abbey. 

I have a few fun pizza ideas to share:

1. Grill eggplant and chop it up to use as a topping

2. Add dollops of Ricotta cheese (sounds strange- totally amazing!)

Okay, lame I know... but I wanted to post SOMETHING! So go out and buy some TJ's dough to support the lazy domestic life!

OH! I almost forgot- I am getting my wisdom teeth out sometime this month- so when I do, someone should make some sorbet and soup and bring it my way! :)

Cake

Ok, so I have been a little obsessed with baking lately. I admit it. I have a cake problem. Today I made a Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Citrus Glaze. It was so yummy that I can actually feel the fat making itself into glycogen stores in my thighs. In the cookbook, the cake was under the Tube Cake section so I baked it in a bundt pan. When I turned over the cake onto cooling rack, it didn't occur to me how I was going to ever get it off the rack. It was an awkward moment when I tried to transfer the cake onto a plate. Anyone have any ideas of a good way to do this? Then I poured the citrus glaze on the cake, but it was really runny and just sunk into the cake. Was it supposed to do that? (This is the post when I admit that I don't really have any idea what I am doing)
Anyone interested in this recipe?

Not so domestic anymore....

So my mom sent me this cookie recipe which looks really yummy but I don;t have time to try it out since I no longer have a life due to school. I figured I would pass it on to people who may have time to give it a go. (I would be happy to taste test as well)

Tamara's Ginger Cookies
2 1/2 c flour
2 tsp bkg soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp ground ginger
mix all together

12 Tbsp soft butter
1 c packed brown sugar
cream well and then add:
1 lg egg
1/4 c molasses
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
mix well and add dry ingredients. roll into walnut sized balls and then roll in granulated sugar. bake at 350 for 12 minutes,