HOLY RAVIOLI MOLY

Civello's Raviolismo, is a cute little Ravioli factory near my house that I pass EVERYDAY on my way to work. I've been living in my apartment for two years and until last week I wasn't able to visit the store because of it's crazy hours (closes at 3pm on weekdays and is appointment only on weekends). Needless to say, I came here at the first opportunity (my first EVER free halfday off Friday woowoo thankyou boss lady). Their website SAID they would have butternut squash, but they weren't available yet BOO!!! But the nice old ravioli man did have some zucchini and yellow squash ravioli (pictured above with a butternut squash puree) and we also bought a pack of buffalo, goatcheese, and jalapano ravioli which I tossed in some quickee tomato sauce. SO GOOD!! And the ravioli man even gave me some extra vege ones since I was so super excited about my first visit!!!! I'm REALLY looking forward to the pumpkin ravioli in the striped chili pasta that he's making next. Also, if I'm ever feeling ritzy, they have a $30 eggplant lasagna. thank you IRONTYLER for your stellar presentation skillz

Fuzzy Melon Attack

So...my mom gave me a freakishly large fuzzy melon this past Houston trip. It is large enough to last me for days on end. I wanted to do a fuzzy melon omelet with little white fish (which i think are actually called silver fish?) but apparently, this fuzzy squash was much too old for that. My only options were either soup, braise, or cutting into cubes and doing some sort of a wet stirfry. Being my father's daughter, I opted to braise. The first night (and first attempt) I did fuzzy melon braised with stuffed fried tofu (stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, bacon, and dried shitakes). Pictured above is braise attempt #2. It was pretty tasty if I do say so myself, and probably seconded by Iron Tyler. This was another braise, MUCH longer braise, with sliced shitakes, some dried shrimp, fish cakes, and sliced egg tofu. MMmmmm!!! Just like momma used to make.

Yogurt Batch #2

Batch one was, as Iron Tyler constructively stated, "like sweetened cream cheese". I hope batch two can only be more to his liking. It is more to my liking. I don't think it will be as thick, but it has a similar taste. Maybe less sweet? I'm experimenting with different sweeteners...in this case sweetened condensed milk. Hmmmm... we shall see. Still sticking to yogurt flavor. The verdict is still out. :-/

Almond Jello Popsicles

Me ma brought me a box of almond jello pudding to make for my friends, but instead of just making the jello and adding fruit cocktails like the norm (pictured above) I used the same ingredients and made popsicles!! They were quite tasty, but we ate them all before I could take a snapshot. I think there's one left in iron tyler's fridge...but I doubt it managed to survive the night. I need to figure out how to make the overall consistency less icy. These pops were MUCH better than the redbean (which needed much more sugar) and the avocado (which are more of an acquired taste). gj gj!

AvoPop

Ladies and gentlemen. I HAVE DONE IT. Avocado Popsicle. Not for the feint of heart or non avocado lovers. This bad boy punches your tastebuds with avocado flavor like a brick to the face. It...could have probably been diluted a little bit more though... But *I* still liked it. More icy treats to come!

Good Beef

Good beef will always beef. Remember the July 4th beef? (yes ONE steak managed to stow away in my fridge...still good tho...shut it) Stir fried beef with mushroom and hoisen. And some random greens from my parents garden. Oh so good~

Nostalgia

This was my favorite thing to eat in college from the Maybee Cafeteria. Baked sweet potato with green onion, pine nuts, S&P with a side salad. Oh Trinity...you and your baked sweet potato man... how I miss you sometimes.

Satisfy your every desire Saturday.

This Saturday, we did not let anything stop us and just went with the flow. It all started with a trip to the White Rock Lake Market...and ended as close to sandwich heaven as possible.

Rose Sorbet? Sure!
Bread from Empire Bakery? Yes!
Baguette to munch on whilst we walk!!
Even MORE bread from the Empire booth? Double yes yes!!
Should we make a sandwich with this round loaf? Why not?
We're hungry! We can go to the Deli!
Deli Meats? We are at a deli...
Cheese too? Why the hell not?
Basil? Tomato? Oil and vinegar? Yes^3!!
Toasted? DUH~

And so...we used our bounty and created...

All in all. VERY YES!
Picture by Moi. Sandwich glory goes to Iron Tyler.

Looks can be Deceiving

*sigh* I need to learn portion control better. I kinda last minute made dinner for we3, and while it looked nice, it could have used a little bit more work. Mushroom risotto needed more salt... and a little undercooked. Steak...a little over cooked. I made WAY too much risotto and not enough meat. But I nailed the salad as I usually do. I was disappointing, but the boys are sweet as usual and said it was good. They are so sweet. <3

Still good the next day...

Whatever cauliflower and tomatoes I had leftover from Friday night, incorporated into a grilled chicken salad with a tomato vinegarette. Tasty and healthy! I'm also getting better at grilling chicken to where it's still juicy and not tough. Improvment gold star for me!!! :)

Cauliflower Crave

I've been craving Cauliflower, and there's a very simple recipie invovling garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and a hot pan. So, sauteed some cauliflower...made some polenta...and topped it all off with some fresh green onion and tomato. Friday nights at home aint so bad. I've been eating like a pig lately ANYWAY. YUM!!

Keep Kewl

In these sweltering summer months, a cool cucumber salad hits the spot. My favorite version also happens to be a little Sichuan inspired number. Speaking of which, those northern Chinese people man ... those little cold dishes... are so good. I could eat them all day everyday. The approximate recipes for my two personal favorites!! *gasp* a recipe?! Only because you ask. I actually do not know if the tofu one is legit. Either way, I make it and it's STELLAR. Also, I suppose this would make it Single Living Cooking Tip #4. Actually, it could be an amendment to Single Living Cooking Tip #2. But when making extra, keep your friends in mind. It is just a nice thing to do, and sometimes, they return the favor. In this case, although probably not directly related, Iron Tyler made enchiladas (cuz mexican green chilis are delicious and on sale). I forgot to take a picture of the actual food that I made... but I did feature the tofu salad before. Huh...actually has a recipie on there already too. Twice a feature waddya know. Damn good eats that's what. What what?!

Kewl Q-Come-Brrrrr

2 ENGLISH cucumber (not an option) - cut into strips
5+ cloves of garlic (the more the better)
2 tablespoons of sea or kosher salt
1 tablespoon of red pepper flake
1/4 cup of rice vinegar
douse of good toasted sesame oil

Incorporate well. Done!

I would not eat this before a business meeting... That garlic is a kicker.

Avocado Curry

I love avocados, and I love curry. Naturally, I try to combine the two. I've actually had a similar dish at a Thai restaurant near my house. Surely, it must be somewhat legitimate. It was delicious. I could eat it for days. The next time I make this, I may be a little adventurous and add some eggplant too.

Aspiring Monk

Not about food today.

Quite often in the past I've considered packing up, running away, and joining a Buddhist monastery. This past week... I once again have that strong desire to be a hermit monk devoting my life to the teachings of Buddah... living on a picturesque mountainside shack by the sea with a little yam garden and no companions. I think it had something to do with these articles (below)... I just want to remember.

For those of you who haven't seen Spring, Winter, Fall, Spring. Go see it. TODAY. And you will know what I feel...sometimes.

http://trifter.com/asia-pacific/the-monastery-built-on-a-volcanic-plug/

http://www.foammagazine.nl/index.php?pageId=9&foto=72

http://www.offbeatearth.com/leaving-your-mark/

Leftover magic!

Earlier this week, I tried to make chinese stuffed eggplant with some ground shrimp. I know it's easier to mix it with some not so lean ground pork, and I felt like I should consult some recipes or at least my mom. But I'm more of a trail and error type gal. Naturally, the different components were good, but the stuffing totally failed to stick to the eggplant. I think the next time I attempt it, I'll have to let the shrimp paste rest for a little bit so it can build up some glutton so T says. Anyway... back to tonight's feature... 2 japanese eggplant does not quite equal up to 1lb's worth of shrimp paste. I had a little left over that I was just going to pan sear like mom does with the leftovers and add it to some noodles. HOWEVER, I have all these left over buns from July 4th weekend. Daniel "wanted" burgers, so I bought them...knowing the steak was what we were going to end up eating. I got to thinking I should make use of the buns (I made KIMCHEE burgers the other night with the cheap ground beef I bought SO GOOD!!!!!) so shrimp burgers came to mind. I just took the leftovers and made a patty and threw it on the grill, but 10 seconds after I did that, I thought DUDE it's going to fall apart....need something to keep it together... PANKO. Perfection!! Toasted the bun...a little mayo...a little saracha...lettuce...tomatoes...onions.... panko crusted shrimp burger. Deliciousness!

As Paula Deen once said "You really gotta rub your meat. Rub that meat!"

Yep... my mind totally went there too. But no, we're not talking about slapping any old ham!! Tom Thumb had high quality steaks on sale!!!! I got three HUGE bone in rib-eyes for $16 (originally priced at $40). What a freakn steal!!!! Not to meantion the family econo size package of ground beef I got for $6 that I have yet to deal with. One of the steaks I grilled last night for the 4th of July in I spent with Mr. Daniel. Please see here for details. http://gluttonouschinaman.blogspot.com/2009/07/waiting-for-my-steak.html

Upon further evaluation, we decided that one steak was more than enough for the two of us to share. They were out of your mind huge. Not 72oz huge, but plenty. Tonight, I grilled the second steak that was meant for last night for a late night dinner of snow pea and string bean stir fry. The other half I'm going to eat as a steak sandwich tomorrow. If I'm good, you will have pictures of that as well!!!!

Leggo my Lentils

It's summer time, but I'm still making soups and slow cooking goodness like a mother trucker. Pictured here is my stewed lentils. So deliciously healthy. I had leftovers that I ended up baking with an egg on the top, but sadly, it was all eaten before I remembered to take a photo.

Gotta love that purple stuff

I Love eggplant so much. I had one left, just enough for lunch!! I steamed it with some ricewine, garlic, and sacha sauce. It was good, but I think I like the garlic sesame combo MUCH better. Homemade kimchee from the darn Korean lady... very good *rubs belly* No, I'm not preggers. Also in the bowl, so-men. Mushier than ramen, but cooks up EVEN quicker. I think it's healthier for you too since I'm pretty sure it's just dried noodle and not fried like instant noodles are. YUM!!



And I finally got my art installed! Pictured here is the beginnigns of my mini salon style wall.










A close up of the print I bought from Esao Andrews. I'm madly in love with him (Don't tell Daniel). I got print #6/40 bithces BOO YA!










This is my FAVORITE piece of all time. I've been eyeing this chic since I saw her in our gallery originals pile. She's been on sale for AGES but I finally bought her. YAY!!! And Kimbo let me frame it at cost. Art looks so much better framed. She's HUGE 43"x 56" <3

Grillin' like a villan

I'm kinda on a indoor grilling craze. I haven't put away my cast iron, and those eggplants I bought during my Korean market stint were YELLING at me. Oh man... that was a trip let me tell you. This little old Korean lady cons me over to her stand with $1 off homemade kimchee and by saying it was very good. I respond with hand signals by rubbing my belly and going "MMMM" in agreement that kimchee is indeed delicious. Don't know Korean. I figured it would be a more positive response than my usual korean which is a very loud, very fast announcement of every korean dish I know with a hello and thank you thrown in there for good measure. Upon belly rubbing, the Korean lady goes !!! BABY?!? To which I reply "oH NO!! NOOOooo no no no no no". She still made Tyler carry my groceries. I must be gaining weight or SOMETHING. -_-

Anyway, I digress. Above is grilled eggplant marinated in soy, sesame oil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, S&P, and red chili flake. Oh and LOTS of toasted sesame seeds for texture!! Too much oil. No olive oil next time. It did absolutely NOTHING...only made it kinda greasy. Bleh....

Made my entire apartment smell like sesame. Worth it.

I realize now the pictures is fuzzy. Tough. The eggplant are all in my belly. YAY MIDNIGHT SNACK ON A FRIDAY NIGHT~

If you will it, you can grill it.

It's been a while since I last made a meal worthy of posting. Grilled zucchini and yellow squash are two of my favorite summertime vegetables!! I wanted to make risotto, but I was feeling lazy. So I made pasta instead. Gooooooo canned tomato sauce. That stuff is so versatile!! Growing up, tomato and egg was a weird concept but I could still put it down. Now it's one of my favorite combos, but not something i make all the time. I'm still 3% weirded out by it even after all these years.

Sleep my prince...

My sweet puppy Charlie passed away last night from kidney failure due to Leptospirosis. It's not fair that his young life was taken. He meant so much to me, and I will never find another dog quite as silly, handsome, a bigger asshole, or prissy as he was. Charlie was a huge wuss, but he put a mean front for my sake. Sir Charles my prince...may doggie heaven be full of things for you to smell and plenty of used tissues for you to find and tear apart. The 7 short months we spend together as a family were some of the most frustrating and wonderful moments that I will cherish forever.

5-5-08 ~ 5-27-09

Single Living Cooking Tip #3: If at first you don't succeed...TRY AGAIN!

BAKING SUCCESS!!! I'm by no means a great cook. And my few attempts at baking have been far from successful. First baking attempt: Biscotti...they turned into scones (taste ok texture WRONG). Second baking attempt: Earl Grey Tea Cookies...they were so weird tasting, I had to throw them away. Not only that, they did not feel like cookies in my mouth. More like...mushy...BLECH...

After evaluating my failures... I decided to turn it down a notch. Clearly, I was trying to bake outside my experience caliber. This current attempt, attempt #3: Cheese Cake Pound Cake. SUCCESS!!!!!! It was good. VERY GOOD. It tasted like cake and the texture was like pound cake! YAY! Even Daniel thought it was good.

So just take it easy. Don't try something too complicated and don't give up!

Slngle Living Cooking Tip #2: Always Make Extra

I've been a single living chef for a little over a year. I'm not terrible, but everyone makes mistakes!! Especially when it comes to item that I don't cook often (in this case fish). I can use some tips please J! My mom gave me a few of um a... "center cuts" of sea bass a few Houston trips ago. They've been sitting in my fridge for a few weeks (possibly a month or two) because i didn't know what to make. I love steamed sea bass or pan fried. But for whatever reason, I didn't want to do that with the batch of fish I had on hand. The other day, I had a fish taco craving. *light bulb* Hey, I've got some sea bass in the fridge!! So I took out the bag of fish from the freezer and threw them into the sink to defrost whilst I was working hard with the boss lady filling the world with gorgeous art!!! Ok...the lesson is coming I swear! Fish tacos ain't fish tacos unless you have some type of cabbage slaw condiment. And who doesn't love cabbage slaw condiment. Not this chick. This is where ALWAYS MAKE EXTRA comes into play. Even if it's just a side dish or something, you can always take it and eat it the next day...recreate it...SOMETHING! Or, like me...Oh young, innocent, niave, inexperience little me. You can't defrost fish like a piece of meat DUMMY. So after I make a big batch of slaw FULL of goodies let me tell you: avocado, red cabbage, red onion, tomatoes, walnuts, green onion, garlic, sarachi... all folded together with some mayo. I go over to the sink to retrieve the fish. The original plan was to cook them with some butter and garlic. BUT OH HOLY MOTHER OF A COW!!!! This isn't what fish is supposed to feel like....spongey?! Now, it could have been a number of things: freezer burn could have ruined the fish beyong saving, or I wasn't supposed to just throw it in the sink in the bag and left it defrost... I'm pretty sure it's the latter. Jason said.... you have to slowly defrost fish in the fridge. I didn't listen. Bad ame.

BUT!!!! Since I had SO MUCH slaw. I still had a plenty filling and yummy meal. Veggie tacos are still good in my book. Just look at the size of those things.

Hope everyone learned a lesson today. I sure did!

Single Living Cooking Tip #1: Savory Pancakes for Dinner

It's been my new favorite thing to make when I don't know what to do for dinner. I stole this concept from the Korean seafood pancake/kimchee pancake. I just throw some random savory items into the batter and *angels sing* dinner. It's pretty handy and tasty way to finish off your left overs. Pictured above is savory pancake #2: Kimchee and fishcake pancake. Don't give me that look... If you're asian you'd eat it and ask for seconds. Yea...that's how asian you are. FAIL! The little black things on top are sesame seeds... I had a double take for a second and was like WTF is on my pancake?? ANTS?!?! hahahaha!

Not pictured is savory pancake #1: Sliced lunch turkey, mushrooms, frozen corn, frozen spinach, and muenster cheese. It's a more universally palatable combo to be sure.

More variations to come, and more single living cooking tips!!!! TUNE IN~

Deluge Begins!

To my subscribers....Jason mainly. I apologize for yet another hiatus. I will begin a massive posting. I hope you are happy now.

Shrimp Scampi Pasta. Frozen shrimp. Still good. Ya droolin' yet? It's pretty special what garlic, shrimp, and butter can create.

If I had any white wine that would have gone in there too. But alas... I'm trying to be less of a lush. Please disregard the bottle of rum in my freezer. It's Daniel's. I SWEAR! What Pina Colada mix in there too? That's his!!!! Gay drink!? Has to be MINE?! CRAZY TALK I TELLS YA!!!!!!

Picture Perfect Sandwich

Or lack there of. I bought some $.25 rolls at the store the other day to make sandwiches for myself the other ladies at work since they're always bringing me sandwiches. I woke up this morning, fired up my cast iron grill and grilled up the chicken tenders I had marinating in olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. Also made some zesty tomato flavored cucumber salad. Cucmbers sliced thin with a little mayo, basalmic vinegar, garlic herb spice, and tomato paste. Secret ingredient: a package of taco bell hot sauce. SO GOOD HATERS!! We all devoured the sanwiches before i could take a pictures. Daniel's a much better blogger than I will ever be. Poo... You'll just have to imagine how yummy they looked. I even wrapped the sandwiches in partchement paper too!! Way better than foil wrap if I do say so myself. Now go forth and IMAGINE~~~

There's fried shrimp, shrimp scampi, salt and pepper shrimp...

I did something wrong. I don't know what. It was good, but could be much much better! ><

Back to the Stove

After my baking failure last week, I'm going back to the stove. I grilled some pork chops and made sun-dried tomato rissotto for dinner with D. We went Saturday sampling at Central. I picked up some mystery hard cheese that wasn't parm. It was good, but quite possibly the saltiest cheese in the world. Good stuff!!

STEW-ish

Stew on rainy days is so comforting. And it lasts and lasts and lasts.....

The Grey Lady

Hey-seuss cristo on a cracker! This drink was MADE FOR ME. I want it, I'd go to SF for it. It's got gin, that's my favorite liquor. It's got earl grey syrup and I love tea. It's called the Grey Lady. HELLO, grey is my favorite color!!! It sounds totally delicious!!

The Grey Lady
From Greg Lindgren of Rye

Ingredients

1 3/4 oz gin (recommended: No. 209 Gin)
3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1 oz Earl Grey tea syrup
1/2 egg white
1 Pinch Bergamot Dust (finely grated zest from one bergamot)

Directions

1. Add egg white to cocktail shaker with ice.
2. 2. Shake vigorously for 10-20 seconds.
3. Add the other ingredients. Shake again for 10 seconds.

Strain into a cocktail glass and enjoy.

Risotto Rampage

It's getting warmer, but I'm still craving all those soupy stewie steamy foods. Last night I made risotto again with avocado and green onion and threw in a little parmsean cheese and parsley. WINNER!

Sunday Dinner Made For Two

Daniel's gone. So the romantic dinner that I was GOING to make for us Saturday night I'm goin to eat on my own. He wanted crab cakes instead of what this so his loss (cuz i totally fucked up, but he "claims" it was the best meal of his life). I love the bull shit that hurtles out from the mouths of boys. Hiss loss.


So anyway, I made potato and leek soup. With a little bit of butter when I sauteed the leeks first to soften them up. To make it soup and not puree, I added stock and soy milk instead of cream. Same texture less fat. I grilled some chicken to top the left over phylo dough in my fridge with sliced garlic and Italian herbs. More wine for me jerkface.

Breakfast Genius

I felt like pancakes. I added bacon, ham, and blueberries to the batter. Nuff said.

When life gives you prawns

When life (mom) gives you prawns. You've got a lot of options actually. She told me to sautee them in a tomato ketchup mixture with garlic and onions shell and head on. I thought about steaming them skin and head on split in half with garlic, ginger, and scallions. Daniel wanted walnut prawns. Since it is March 14 (Blow job and steak day). I'm going to do whatever he wants ;)




I didn't want to fry the walnuts, so I just made some walnut in caramel (makes a lot of left over candied walnuts to snack on).










I did sort of a tempura panko prawn fry. Stirred them all together with a mayo based sauce. SO GOOD. Usually, frying is a waste of good seafood, but these prawns were still so sweet and succulent after the fry. They were like mini Lobsters!!!! So good, so good.




I also made rice and ginger garlic green beans, but that's whatever whatever. WALNUT PRAWNS FTW!

The sandwiches of sandwiches

As many will know, I love sandwiches. My coworkers have banned Jimmy Johns from our plethora of lunch options to my dismay because my love for sandwiches was so great I insisted on having JJ a few times a week. The plan was to get them to love JJ too...Plan JJ love via massive overdose is FAILURE. Poo... Well, at least I can make sandwiches at home. I had one last serving of ground turkey begging to be used, so I made a turkey burger (I like to add lots of garlic to the ground turkey to add lots of flavor). My dad always gives me fruits and veggies that are about to turn (-_- thanks dad) when I go back to Houston. So I had about 3/4 of a usable tomato. To my surprise, A WHOLE AVOCADO (i freakn LOVE avocados). Result: avocado, tomato, turkey burger sandwich!!! MMM!!!! If you're eating a burger-sandwich, you gotta have fries! I always keep sweet potatoes on hand since I love them, and so does my dog (making your own dried sweet potato chews is MUCH cheaper than buying them at the pet store. TOTAL rip off). SWEET POTATO FRIES. I made these spicy: chili powder, curry powder, pepper... it made my sandwich so much better. The fried weren't as crispy as regular potatoes. I need to do a little research on that. All in all. I give this mean a solid 7.

Asianesque Steak

Peppercorn steak - Well done (Ok...I'll admit...it was onlly supposed to be medium well) + fried egg + rice. HEAVEN! I had a big salad too. But the steak. OH WARM GLORIOUS MEAT!!!!

I made this!

http://gluttonouschinaman.blogspot.com/2009/03/crab-fried-rice.html

some douche bag wanted to dis my cooking. Ass. Holla back at your girl!

RISOTTO!!!!

YAY!!! I made risotto. REAL risotto and not miso-to. But yea, this stuff doesn't photograph well. It just looks like unappetizing. Anyway, it was Saturday night and I was spending the weekend with TWO of the puppies, so I decided to make myself a nice dinner. Seared pork first. Then made the risotto with mushroom and peas. Mix together and MMMMmmmm!!!!!! It was comfort food to the xth degree. So very comforting.

(The beer in the pic is Shiner 100 THE CENNTENIAL!)

Asian Omlettes

Asians have their own version of everything (including omlettes). This is more of an egg cake... But it was paired with what was quite possibly the best slaw salad EVER. It's quite magical what vinegar and oil can do. (I've been lazy with the uploads if you can't tell)