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Stuffed Baked Potatoes

This is one of our standards when we’re low on time and ingredients. It is a good pantry meal, which is super delicious and nutritious.

Stuffed Baked Potato

• Idaho potato (1 per person)
• Salsa
• Avocado
• Black beans (canned are fine, but be sure to rinse)
• Scallions
• Cheddar cheese
• Cilantro
• Cumin
• Lime

Poke holes in the washed potato with a sharp knife. I bake potatoes on a baking sheet (not wrapped in foil) in a 375F oven for about an hour. In the mean time, cut the avocado and toss with lime juice and salt. Mix the rinsed black beans with cumin and olive oil. When the potato is cooked, slice in half and layer toppings: Salsa, beans, avocado, scallions…top with cilantro, grated cheese and hot sauce.

Chicken Fried Rice

I stopped on the way home from work at the take-out Chinese restaurant near our house for a small container of white rice and a small container of brown rice. Usually I make fried rice with left-overs, but since we didn’t have any, and I was really craving fried rice, I bought some rice. I guess I could have just as easily bought the fried rice…

Fried Rice

• 3 cups rice, brown or white or a mixture of both
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1-2 T chopped ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup shelled edamame beans (they come frozen)
• 1-2 cooked chicken breasts (can be left out or substituted with tofu or  tempeh)
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions
• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 T sesame oil
• 2 eggs, beaten

First heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Add onion, garlic and ginger and cook for about 5 minutes. Add chicken (or tofu or tempeh) and continue cooking. Add rice and shelled edamame beans and cook for a few more minutes.

When the rice is all broken up, make a hole in the center of the pan and pour in the beaten egg and scallions. Stir the rice continuously until the egg is just cooked through. Remove from heat and add soy sauce and sesame oil.

Chicken Tagine

Disclaimer: Our camera broke (hence our slight hiatus on posts this week). All pictures below are from our cell phones, and are therefore of inferior quality then we would like.

Tonight, inspired by Sheila’s North African Cooking Class, I decided to make a chicken tagine. While we do have an actual Le Creuset tagine, I didn’t use it tonight for some reason. I am not sure that this is the authentic way to make tagine–I guess Sheila will tell me after her class.

• 3 Chicken legs
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1-2 T chopped ginger
• 1/2 c raisins
• 1 box Pomi chopped tomatoes
• Spices to taste: cinnamon, cumin, oregano
• salt and pepper
• honey
• red pepper flakes

Season the chicken with salt, pepper and spices. Brown the chicken (skin side down) in a little oil (it will release oil as it cooks, so you don’t need much initially). Flip the chicken after 3-5 minutes after it’s browned, and continue to brown the other side. After about 5 minutes, add the onion, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, raisins, honey and tomatoes. Add a bit of water so the liquid comes up almost to the top of the chicken. After the liquid begins to boil, turn the heat down to low, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Browned chicken with onions, garlic, ginger

Chicken with tomatoes, raisins

Couscous

Couscous is not actually a grain, but rather a very small pasta. It is extremely easy and quick to make–all you have to do is pour boiling water over the couscous in a sturdy glass/ceramic bowl and cover with a plate for about 5-10 minutes. During this time couscous absorbs all the water, and when you lift off the cover, you should fluff the couscous with a fork.

Fluffing the couscous

Couscous is very versatile. For this meal I mixed in:

Clockwise: sliced almonds, chopped parsely, chopped ginger, chopped red onion, dried cranberries and scallions (center)

The finished dish: Chicken tagine with couscous

Crepes for Breakfast

I opened my eyes wanting crepes. With the Cuisinart Griddler, which we got from our wedding registry, crepes are very easy and quick to make.

Crepe Batter

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1.5 c milk
• 3 T melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 t salt

Mix all ingredients until smooth. The batter will be very runny. Heat up the Griddler.

Drop a small amount of the batter with a ladle onto the heated griddle. Spread the batter with a small offset spatula until the batter is evenly distributed in a circle. After about 30 seconds, when the batter has small bubbles around the edges, it is ready to flip. Because of the super-non-stick surface of the Griddler, the crepes are extreemly easy to flip. Slide a large spatula under the crepe, lift up and flip over. After 30-45 seconds, they are done.

Tuna Melt

What can I say? I had a craving.

• 1 can tuna, drained
• 1 T mayo
• 1 T mustard (I prefer whole grain or Dijon)
• 1 scallion, chopped
• Salt and Pepper
• Tomato
• Nice, crusty bread, sliced thick and toasted
• Cheese, we used Havarti today

Turn the broiler on high. Mix the tuna, mayo, mustard, scallion and salt and pepper. Mound the tuna salad on the bread, top with tomato and cheese. Place on a sheet pan and place under the broiler for 3-6 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Little BBQ

Living in an apartment, we don’t get to do much barbecuing, but we do have a little travel grill and thankfully, we got to use it once before the summer ended.

Grilled Corn, Bratwurst, and Grilled Peaches:

A great tool for barbecuing is the chimney starter.  Using this chimney eliminates the need for lighter fluid, and allows you to get the charcoal heated evenly.  Just fill the chimney with enough charcoal to create a single layer in the barbecue, stuff some newspaper in the underside, and light the newspaper with a match.  I did this on the grill.  The coals should ignite pretty easily, so just allow them to burn for 10-15 minutes, or until the fire goes out and the charcoal is glowing red.  Then just pour the charcoal into the grill and you’re ready to go.

The meal from here is pretty simple grill fair, nothing fancy.  I learned a great trick to grilling corn from Bobby Flay a while back: pull the husks down, remove the silks, and then pull the husks back up.  Then soak the corn in a bowl of cold water for about 30 minutes, and shake it out before grilling.  This makes it so that the corn steams while on the grill.  I cooked the corn first, cause it takes the longest, and left it on for about 30 minutes.

The bratwurst was precooked, so I just scored it with a knife and grilled it for about 5 minutes, turning it once.  There’s really no reason not to grill the buns for a couple of minutes, it makes all the difference.

Whole grain mustard and saurkraut finish the dogs.  Add a side of baked beans and you’ve got summer comfort.

Grilled peaches for dessert.  Just halve the peaches, pull out the pits, and sit them face down on the grill for about 15 minutes, turning 90 degrees once to get nice grill marks (ours didn’t mark for some mysterious reason).   Serve them in a bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  The warm soft peaches with the cold creamy ice cream, divine!

Pantry Pizza Pie

Making pizza from scratch may seem intimidating, but its really very easy, and a lot of fun too. You just need to plan ahead a bit so you have enough time for the dough to rise. It also helps to have a pizza peel and a baking stone. The peel will allow you to make your dough nice and thin, while still being able to slide it into the oven. As far as toppings go, the sky is the limit. I LOVE artichokes, so I went with canned artichokes, grilled onions, anchovies, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce.

Pizza Sauce:

• 32 ounces of canned chopped tomatoes
• 1 can of tomato paste (make sure it doesn’t have any high fructose corn syrup!)
• Water
• 1 small white onion, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 handful of parsley, chopped (you can also use oregano or thyme)
• Salt & pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Saute the onion in the olive oil on medium high until the onion is translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for a couple of minutes, then add the tomatoes, tomato paste, a small can’s worth of water, and salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, and add the fresh herbs. That’s it. (Sauce courtesy of the Honkers)

Pizza Dough:

• 2 Cups Bread Flour
• 1 Cup Whole-Wheat Flour
• 2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 2 tsp active yeast
• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mix the dry ingredients (I used the food processor with the normal blade attachment), then, with the food processor running, add the olive oil and about 1.5 Cups of water through the drizzle hole. Add just enough water so the dough forms a ball, and it is still sticky to the touch.

Next, work the dough for a few seconds on a floured surface, kneading, until it is smooth. Form it into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and let it rise for 2-3 hours. It should double in size.

Next, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it for 20-30 seconds. Split the dough into 2 with a dough scraper, and let it rest for about 20 minutes on the counter covered with plastic wrap.

I actually wrapped one of the balls in plastic wrap and put it in a ziplock freezer bag, labeled it, and put it in the freezer for another pizza day within the next month.

Now is a good time to preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

After 20 minutes, I dusted the pizza peel with cornmeal, and then flattened the dough on the pizza peel, and started rolling it out until it was very thin. You can pull it with the back of your fists like you see the pros do, but you can also use a rolling pin. If it gets too thin and tears, just patch the tear with a piece of dough from a thicker spot, no biggie.

Once the dough was about the size of the pizza peel, I thickened up the crust a bit by pinching, and added the sauce (see recipe above) about 2 ladels worth, just a thin covering.

Followed by the toppings:

First the pre-shredded mozzarella cheese, until the entire pie was generously covered:

Next the artichokes, anchovies (omit to keep it veg), and the grilled onions:

When adding the toppings, picture each slice, and make sure you spread the toppings around so each slice will get a nice mix.

Slide it into the oven:

18 Minutes later:

20-Minute Salmon with Sides

Matthew came across this Jamie Oliver recipe a few years ago, and it has stayed in our repertoire ever since. It is really easy on both the prep, the cooking time, and the clean up. The meal uses some pantry staples with just a few key fresh ingredients. Obviously, you should buy the salmon fresh the day you plan on cooking this meal. While at the store, buy green beans and cherry tomatoes and you’re all set.

Jamie Oliver’s Roast Salmon

• 1 pound green beans, ends trimmed
• 4-5 anchovy fillets
• 1/2-1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup black olives (we like Kalamatas)
• 1 pound salmon fillet
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. Toss the green beans with tomatoes, garlic, olives and olive oil (you can also use the oil from the anchovies). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place mixture on baking sheet or Pyrex. Place the salmon fillet next to the bean mixture, season with salt and pepper. Place anchovy fillets on top of the green bean mixture. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until the fish is just cooked through.

I realize that many people find anchovies to be too strong—I encourage you to try this recipe with the anchovies. They really melt away during cooking and impart a delicious briny saltiness to the dish. Of course, if you prefer you can only use 1 or 2 anchovies.

Green Coconut Curry with Thai Jicama Salad

Thai food, believe it or not, is quite pantry friendly. Two of the key ingredients to make curry (coconut milk, and Thai curry paste) are available in high quality, canned form. While I have made Thai curry paste from scratch in the past, it is a lot of work, involving a mortar and pestle and a hunt for many hard-to-find ingredients like galangal and kaffir lime leaf. You can approximate the taste of home-made curry using the canned ingredients. The curry paste that I use has just a few ingredients, all of which are easily pronounced: chili, garlic, shallot, lemon grass, salt, spices, galangal.

Thai Green Curry

• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 can curry paste
• 1 can coconut milk
• Tofu or chicken, cut into cubes
• 1/2-1 serrano chili, sliced (optional–curry paste is already hot, so if you are sensitive to spice, omit the extra chili)

First saute the onion in oil. After it softens, add the sliced carrot and chili. When the carrot and onion has some color, add the chili paste and cook for a few minutes until fragrant, then add the coconut milk and one can water.

Carrots, onion and curry paste

Chicken simmering in green coconut curry

When boiling, add the chicken or tofu and simmer for 10 minutes. Most any other vegetables (i.e. broccoli, peppers, green beans) or protein (e.g. tempeh, beef) can be substituted or added. Serve with basmati rice.

The finished dish

Another one of my favorite Thai dishes is green papaya salad (Som-Tum). Traditionally, this dish is PACKED with chillis and can make you really sweat, but at home, you can control the spice-level. Since green papayas are hard to come by, I started making this dish with jicama–it provides the same crunch as green papaya with a little extra sweetness. I think Jicamas are an underutilized vegetable, they have just a touch of sweetness and can pick up the flavors of whatever dish they’re in. Jicamas can now be found in many supermarkets, they look like a smaller, smoother celery root.

Thai Jicama Salad

• Jicama
• Cherry tomatoes
• Roasted peanuts
• Thai or serrano chili
• Chopped fresh cilantro
• Fish sauce
• Freshly squeezed lime juice
• Sugar

Peel and halve the jicama. To cut it into sticks, slice each half, then stack the halves and slice again.

Mix the jicama with the halved cherry tomatoes, roasted and chopped peanuts, a chopped chili (or to taste), and cilantro. Mix 2 T of fish sauce, the juice of a lime and 1 T sugar and pour the mixture over the salad.

Toss and serve.

The final salad