Archive for the ‘Domestic Tips’ Category

Herb Saver

Friday, February 5th, 2010

It happens every year, the cold weather hits, I bring my potted herbs inside, and then they die.  I can’t blame it on abundance or lack of sun because I have tried all windows in two different apartments.  I even tried watering them frequently and infrequently; tending to them daily and leaving them alone for a week.  I finally gave up on having a windowsill herb garden year round and looked into other options.

Although I always prefer fresh herbs I bump up my dried use in the winter months such as thyme, oregano and rosemary.  I tend to stay away from dried basil or parsley, they don’t have any aromatics so if a recipe calls for it just use the real thing.  If you have the option of buying in bulk it’s usually cheaper and you get to use your own spice jars, but if not a brand that always treats me well is simply organic.

IMGP1136I got this herb saver as a present from my brother and it works like a charm. The shelf life is amazing, fresh rosemary and thyme have lasted up to three weeks and the leafier herbs such as basil and sage will last around a week and a half.  The herb saver  alleviates the guilt I often faced from throwing away a pack of herbs before I got a chance to use them all, something that brings a tear to the eyes of all crows and foodies alike.

Dining out in New Bedford

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

If you want to try authentic Portuguese cuisine, New Bedford is the place to go.  Last weekend my Aunt and Uncle treated me to a delicious meal at Anotonio’s located in the North End of the city.  I wasn’t familiar with many of the Portuguese dishes listed on the menu but luckily my Uncle had already picked out what I had to try: Carne a Ribatajana.  It’s very similar to Carne de Porco a Alentejana except the pork is not fried, but slow cooked so it shreds easily off the bone.  I split this dish with my Man Crow and when it arrived at the table I quickly realized it was enough to feed 4, maybe even 5 hungry adults.

I should have taken Anthony Bourdain’s advice and skip the bread and potatoes and focus right in on the meat but i couldn’t deny my love for carbs, especially dipped in delicious meat juices.  We ate ourselves into a food coma and ended up leaving Anotonio’s with an ungodly portion of pork.  We ended our New Bedford experience with a trip to Lydia’s Bakery for some much needed coffee and sweets.

The next morning i had a revelation on what I should do with my leftover mountain of pork: make one of my favorite sandwiches, the Cubano.  I waited a day, then shredded up the pork, chopped my lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles and created an assembly line.

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My man crow and I each made two Cubano’s each- one for dinner and one for lunch the following day at work.  Since we both have different preferences, mine being extra pickles and mustard- hold the mayo, and his being extra pork andIMGP1325 mayo- hold the mustard, we decided to construct our own.  My kitchen lacks a panini press so i had to brainstorm an alternative.  This is how you construct a make shift panini press: heat olive oil in a large skillet, add the Cubanos, spray the top of the sandwiches with extra virgin olive oil spray, place a layer of aluminum foil over them then top that with a smaller skillet.  To weigh it all down and achieve the “press” put a tea kettle full of water on the top skillet.  The set up is not visually appealing  but it does the job!

Finished Product served w/ a simple slaw

Finished Product served w/ a simple slaw

I love you, Real Simple.

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Real Simple

Its true.  I love Real Simple Magazine.  Sure, there are a little to many articals that reference having children.  And sure, it promotes almost every heteronormative stereotypes under the sun, but I don’t care.  Who knew that you can clean a keyboard with stickynotes?  Or what brand of curl smoother works best?  Or which brand of pickles has the best crunch?  Real Simple will teach you all this and more.  It rocks.  Plus, they have awesome, easy, inexpensive recipes.

I made this super yummy Potato Leek and Feta Tart from their September issue the other nice and it was so savory and comforting, and super, super easy.  Try it out!

Sprout Success!

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

After 5 days of rinsing my sprouts they have matured into eating status!

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I tried to rinse twice a day but a couple mornings I was too busy getting ready for work to carry this out but the sprouts didn’t seem to be affected by it.

The mung beans took an additional couple of days to fully mature and they were successfully used in a stir fry Mo and I whipped up last night.

My alfalfa and clover supply is already running low so I started another batch.  I am so amazed by the notion that it takes only two tablespoons of seeds to fill a large mason jar to the brim!

In preparation of my mission to grow sprouts I started saving cherry tomato containers to store my finished product in and they work quite well!
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New Winter Project

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

My new project for this winter is to grow my own sprouts.  Hopefully this will fill my gardening void and will supply fresh green items to my dishes for the long winter months.

The idea for growing sprouts arose on my last visit back to Maine when I found out interesting news that my Pops was an avid sprout grower when my brother and I were younger.    I must have been too young to remember but my two responses to him after discovering this exciting news was 1) Why did you stop and 2) What do I need to start this project up in my own kitchen.  Apparently all I need was some sprouting seeds, water and a jar that had a lid with holes poked through to act as a strainer.  I was sure that I would be able to find the jar and special lid at a health food store, but a recent snow storm kept me off the streets and straight to the web to search for this item.  It didn’t take me long before i found these sprouting lids and at a reasonable price.  They fit securely on any large mason jar, which I found were also inexpensive at the hardware store so now all I needed were some sprout seeds.

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For my experimental batch I went with Chinese Mung Beans (love them in stir frys) and a spring salad mix of Clover, Alfalfa and Pea Sprouts to add to salads and sandwiches.  The directions are very simple:

  • Place two TBS of seeds into a jar and soak in cool water overnight
  • Next morning tip the jar upside down so water drains out of the lid
  • Continue to rinse the sprouts with water twice a day and make sure all excess water is out of the jar
  • Keep sprout jar on its side and continue the rinsing process for 5-6 days then harvest the sprouts dry and keep refrigerated

I am day two into my adventure and things are still going smooth.  I can’ wait to share the finished product!  Also let me know if anyone has interesting sprout uses and recipes!

post holidayness

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

All these holiday posts- I had to chime in!

I confess that, with the exception of a slighly over-salted eggplant parm on Christmas Eve, I did very little cooking this holiday season- especially when compared to Ms. Emily. I spent most of my holiday out of the kitchen and at the table, with varying degrees of success.   However, this Christmas I made of with a haul of kitchen gadgets so amazing that I almost believe in Santa again.  The past week with no job and tons of snow I’ve had nothing to do but try all of these handy gadgets out.  It has been f*ing awesome.   Here are the highlights:

Le Creuset French Oven: Like Mo, I was also gifted one of the Holy Grails of stovetop cooking equiptment- the Le Creuset French Oven.  Mind was a beyond lovely surprise from my Man Crow.  I am in love.  I have so far cooked: Black Bean Soup and Lentil Soup in it, but am still searching for a recipe to do it justice- something meat-free (fish ok!) that involves browning  and then simmering in a sauce.  Suggestions welcome.

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The Cuiseart Food Processor: I think I connected with Tim the Toolman Taylor on a deep level the moment I pressed start on this bad boy.  Ho ho Ho.  This baby gets and A+ for raw, untamed power and I feel like such a spoiled girl everytime I look in my pantry and see that gorgeous stainless steal staring back at me.  It even has a setting for dough.  A gift from my Ma. Have made: pesto, black bean soup, broccoli and mashed potatoes.

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Cast Iron Frying Pan: From Holly.  Amazing.  I <3 it, seasoned it, use it for everything.  No more explanation needed.

Pasta Maker:  Yay!  Love making pasta, and now it is super easy, way more uniform, and awesome.  Aunt Shirley, I hope you are reading this and  know that I love the pasta maker.  I squealed the first time it pushed out a perfect sheet. It sits next to my food processor and they tell each other constantly how shinny and gorgeous they each look.  They make my mixer and George Forman jealous. I made linguini to go with that pesto the other night and every strand was eaten.  Next mission: ravioli.

Apple Pealer: From my Man Crow’s Mom for useing when I am feeling particularly domestic and need to bake an apple pie.  It took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out how to use, and as a result I had to eat a LOT of apples before they went brown.  It is super cool though, and apparently skins potatoes as well.  Plus, it is a shiny red.  I see lots of pies in my future….

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Le Creuset Heaven

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Holiday gift-giving was good to me. Oh so good…

This Christmas morning on the living room floor of my parents’s house, I tore through wrapping paper like I was a child again. After examining the heavy square box in front of me, I got a feeling in my gut like no other. Remember when you were a kid and all you wanted was that one special toy? You know the one-it was the talk of the playground. All your classmates gushed when you brought it in for show and tell. You got one of those for Christmas?! Wow, you’re so lucky! Well, my friends, I got that special toy. My mother got me that one toy that all your friends secretly hate you for having but would never turn down an offer to use it.

That’s right, this crow is now the proud owner of a Le Creuset dutch oven. Ooooh! Ahhhh!Le CreusetWhat color did she get me? Cobalt Blue. What was the first the first recipe I made in it? Beef stew. Do I absolutely love it? Yes.

Food Gifts, cont.

Monday, December 28th, 2009

So miss Holly has been on posting fire lately, and the rest of us have been slacking! As she wrote about some awesome food gifts she gave, I’m going to write about some awesome food gifts I received!

My mom gave me a gift certificate to get myself a new crockpot and hand mixer (no more hand whipping eggwhites and cream! This crows bicep is thankful!) So upon my arrival back to the Bay Area I will be zooming to the store to get those- you can be sure some delicious delicacies will follow. Sweet, tender meats, here I come!291px-Vanilla_6beans

My sister gave me such an unexpected and wonderful foodie gift, one I will remember, and savor for a long time. What did she get, you ask? Saffron & vanilla beans- two of the most expensive ingredients one foodie can aquire. I’m so excited! Finally I can make some saffron rice WITH saffron! I will ertainly be waiting until the most brilliant idea comes to me to use these treasures- suggestions are welcome!

Look how beautiful the saffron plant is!

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Food Gift Ideas

Monday, December 28th, 2009

My mission this Holiday Season was to make gifts in my kitchen to give out to family and friends.  Given more time I would have made a larger variety, but this season the two gifts my kitchen busted out were Grainy Mustard and Roasted Tri Color Peppers.  I know I’m posting this after Christmas, but these recipes can make great gifts year round!

Grainy Mustard (Caution it’s Hott!)
3/4 C Yellow Mustard Seeds
1/4 C Brown Mustard Seeds
3T Honey
1/3 C Vinegar of your liking
1/4 C Irish Whiskey
1 T fine sea salt

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COMBINE yellow and brown mustard seeds, cover with water and let soak 8-10 hours.

DRAIN the seeds and pour them into a food processor.  Process until the mixture becomes creamy and emulsified.  Add the honey, vinegar, whiskey and salt- process again to combine.IMGP1097

POUR the mustard into a bowl, cover and let sit overnight at room temperature.  The next day check the flavor and consistency.  If it’s too thick and the taste is perfect, add a little water.  Adjust the other seasonings according to your taste, just beware this will be Hot!

SPOON into sterilized jars and store in the refrigerator where it should keep almost indefinitely.  Homemade mustard benefits from at least a week’s rest before using to allow the flavors to blend.

Final Product before Jarring

Final Product before Jarring

I got this recipe from a great book I have in my kitchen titled Food for Friends, Homemade Gifts for Every Season. The great thing about this mustard is that the taste comes out slightly different every time so it’s hard to get tired of!

Tri-Color Roasted Peppers

I’ve been meaning to buy a bunch of peppers on sale, roast and jar them in olive oil to use throughout the year but I never got around to it at the end of the summer.  I decided to give this idea another whirl for the holiday season to take advantage of the festive pepper colors.  To make this present cost effective I headed down to Trader Joe’s to get a great deal on their tri-color pepper package ($2.99) and a bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil ($6.99).  The other requirements were some jars which i picked up from Michaels Craft Store and Crate and Barrel.

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I used this simple roasting method then spread the orange, yellow and red peppers throughout the jars and then filled the extra space with olive oil to preserve them indefinitely.  After that all you need is some pretty tissue paper to wrap them in and a nice ribbon.

Birthdays, and post-guilt

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

Hello all! Coming to you from recently employed land! I’ve been so stressed lately that rather than take advantage of my free time, I became even less productive than usual- as a result posting has taken the back burner. Below is a stock pile of awesome photos and tales of the last 2 weeks in my kitchen in Oakland.

Billy and I both celebrated our birthdays this month (1st and 9th, respectively) and so much delicious food came out of the two weeks of birthday celebration. For his b-day I made the standard Beer Fondue! On my birthday I was supposed to be cooked a delectable eggplant parm, but silly billy didn’t realise that eggplants are hard to come by this time of year. 3 grocery stores later, he admitted defeat and had to re-think his plans. Below is the delicious result!

Spinach, Feta and Pine Nut Sausage with Smoked Oyster Potato Cakes & Beans

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Check out this little friend we found living in one of our greenbeans!

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DSC00246and the happy kitty who ate him

The part the was truely amazing about this years birthday festivities was that I got 3 nights of man-cooking. 1 night of delicious salad, 1 night of bangers & mash billy style, and 1 night of eggplant parm, which came about thanks to Trader Joes ability to have out-of-season produce when even Safeway does not.

Here is proof of the rare sighting of man-in-kitchen-and not getting beer- or orange juice….

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A special thanks goes to my sister for getting me some much needed new pans for my birthday!

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