This evening I made these:

BATTAH
1 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg
* 1 cup beer



SAUCE (SOCE, SAWS,)
* 1/2 cup plain yogurt
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 1 lime, juiced
* 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
* 1 teaspoon minced capers
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
* 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
*
* 1 quart oil for frying
* 1 pound cod fillets, cut into 2 to 3 ounce portions
* 1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas
* 1/2 medium head cabbage, finely shredded

1. To make beer batter: In a large bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Blend egg and beer, then quickly stir into the flour mixture (don't worry about a few lumps).
2. To make white sauce: In a medium bowl, mix together yogurt and mayonnaise. Gradually stir in fresh lime juice until consistency is slightly runny. Season with jalapeno, capers, oregano, cumin, dill, and cayenne.
3. Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. Dust fish pieces lightly with flour. Dip into beer batter, and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Lightly fry tortillas; not too crisp. To serve, place fried fish in a tortilla, and top with shredded cabbage, and white sauce.


AND THEY WERE TO DIE FOWA OHMUHGAWD.

I made Ratatouille Bake for supper and it may have been one of the most fucking delicious things I have ever made in a while. Right up there with Shawn's lolsagna, my crab rangoon, apple pie and or naan bread.

It was so good that, even though we forgot to pick up the eggplant it called for it didn't fucking matter because win had sky rocketed down from the sky and deposited the fucking ROCK all over my mouth.

Here's the recipe if you're interested:

Ratatouille Bake

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 5 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 cups peeled and diced eggplant
* 2 cups chopped zucchini
* 1 green bell pepper, chopped
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 tablespoon dried basil
* 1 tablespoon dried parsley
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 (8 ounce) package frozen cheese ravioli
* 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C); spray a 2 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir the garlic, onion, and eggplant with the garlic until the vegetables have begun to soften, about 8 minutes. Stir in the zucchini, bell pepper, tomatoes, basil, parsley, salt, and black pepper; bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Cook the frozen ravioli as directed on the package; drain. Spread the cooked ravioli in a layer into the bottom of the prepared baking dish; spoon the hot vegetables over the ravioli. Sprinkle with the cheese.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.

This is History folks. My long decent into sushi, sushimi & california roll madness has now been completed thanks to Shawn's birthday gift last July 2nd. A sushi chef sushi making kit.

They're sloppy. They're not perfect. They're extremely simple and it's not really professional looking but it's so much cheaper (given times, very important), and delicious. Did I mention delicious?

Just how delicious? Why--my California rolls. Let me show you them.

The first batch of chick pea home made veggie burgers was a smash success.

They were extremely delicious. I didn't go into the whole meal with burgery or meat-like expectancy and walked away with a clean plate as well as being surprisingly pleased. The consistency is correct, I feel as full or more so. The flavor is subtle and worked kicked ass with my favorite burger toppings: thinly sliced red onion, tomato, dill pickle chips, lettuce and a teaspoon of spicy cajun mayo.

It's a good taste, not overpowering. I am almost 100% sure it wouldn't matter what you put on the burger, bbq sauce, ketchup or mustard or avocado and sour cream it would mesh well. The patties were not too spicey, nor were they so light weight there was no flavor at all.

If you like veggie burgers already and are having a tight time of it, try the recipe out in the link above. Over here, a can of chick peas are about 1$ and the recipe ended up making six excellent sized burgers. For the two of us, that's three days worth of meals for the cost of a can, buns, tomato, lettuce and cheese. Pretty cost effective.

In other news, Operation No White Bread/Noodles is also a hit AND a success. Wheat noodles are exceptionally tasty and hardly drop in the pan. The texture is a bit more fiberlicious but the taste is awesome. I thought I would fatpanic without my white bread, but wheat--especially the honey-wheat is really, really good. We're able to drop beef entirely, drop white breads/buns/noodles/sweets/chips/pop, pick up salads, greens, veggies, unsweetened ice tea for drinks for about 60$ a week (food stuffs only. No counting shampoo, coffee, soap, razors, fabric detergent and cleaners.)

My ideal amount would be to see if we could go so far as to cut it to 50$. In the distant future now that Shawn's purchased new dirt and compost for the backyard garden and we can start soon on planting our own lettuce, herbs and veggies, eventually cutting those out of the grocery list for a few months when they're grown.

Now to just get ourselves back on the wiifit three or four days out of the week and I think this year's amazing turn around would be complete.

I found this recipe here: http://www.leftoverqueen.com/2008/08/18/the-homemade-veggie-burger-experiment

Home made chickpea burgers:

1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed

1 large egg

3 TBS all purpose flour

2 TBS olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

3 large cloves of garlic

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

salt and pepper

pinch of cayenne

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

( How to cook the Chickpea burgers )

Since I ran out of chilli powder, I threw in a dash of cajun too, I expect them to be spicy. I'm going to let it sit in the fridge over night since I made sauce with crumbled turkey and basil for supper with the noodles tonight, I will let you know tomorrow night if these are worth it.

I've got a couple of recipes for meatless burgers, including one that calls for black beans, frankly, comparing the price of home made to store bought? If I can find one that's delicious and home made I will be saving us a couple bucks!

Tonight I made this:




You should try it omg!

Also, don't forget--if you haven't given me your address for the great Christmas card exchange? Now's the time to do so! Check it: here. Reply as soon as you can so I can make sure you get your cards around Christmas time and not like, easter :p.

Yesterday I made Naan bread (I'm on a bread kick, can you tell?) and Shawn made homemade hummus.

Internets, let me tell something to j00. Here in Flordia land, where we live, to get 10 oz of hummus, you pay about 4.99.



We bought a can of 15oz chic peas, 8 oz of olive, already had cumin, red pepper, garlic and the olive oil at home and lemon juice--so essentially all we did was pay for the chic peas. That cost us 1.59. Think about it a sec, even if you add the lemon juice and cumin, you'll still be paying less or the same for the store brand 10 oz, but get a lot more.

And it is beyond delicious/tastes exactly the same (and probably better because we made it) as the store brand hummus. Something to think about! And now without further ado, onto the bread porn!

Naan Bread

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
  
• 1 cup warm water
  
• 1/4 cup white sugar
  
• 3 tablespoons milk
  
• 1 egg, beaten
  
• 2 teaspoons salt
  
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
  
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
  
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

( Instructions to make Naan bread behind the cut. )

Today I have:

Reached for the salt in the middle of making bread, caught the edge of one of the olive oil bottles and shattered glass all over the kitchen floor. It was a delightful mix of slippery, olive death.

Slipped on my own olive oil death-mess.

Hit the edge of the tub after filling the mop bucket with water to clean the olive oil mess up, tipped water all over the bathroom floor.

Slipped on the water.

Ran into the wall. You ever turn a corner for no logical reason in a doorway and crack your upper arm on the edge? Yeah. I did that. Hard.

Slip on the olive oil mess a second time while cleaning it up.

Drop the mop four times in trying to put it away.

Drop the broom while dropping the mop.

Stub toe on entertainment center.

Made bread.

If some of you are wondering why I have no yet self imploded--worry not! I, too, ponder this same question.

As for the bread, I am making Focaccia bread from a recipe I found at A Year in Bread. The recipe I am making can be found here: Rosemary Focaccia Bread. Or, if you don't want to go all the way there you can see it right below this!

Susan's Simple Rosemary Focaccia
Makes 2 large

4 to 6 cups organic bread flour (all-purpose will work, too)
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1-1/2 cups water
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling on top
1/3 cup dry white wine (or water)
4 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
2 teaspoons salt
Few handfuls freshly grated Pecorino Romano or other hard cheese

( Instructions behind this cut. )

Boy, have I got something for you. I am a chai-tea whore, (and a tea whore) in all it's favorite forms. From expensive loose leaf from fancyschmancy web sites, to the celestial seasonings mountain chai, to twinings, to the knock off brand the grocery store sells beside it. And, yes, Starbucks cold and/or hot chai tea as well.

And believe it or not (coming from the chick with the pink cell phone and Canon camera--no, really) I really can't see myself spending (overdramatic random price throwing warning) 5-8$ on a drink. Especially something I may want a glass of, or a cup of, every day.

Luckily for me there is an internet sympathetic with my tea-whore needs, and a recipe to recreate or, at least, come close to the chai-tea served at Starbucks!

1.) 3 cups water
2.) 3 cups milk (Skim for a lighter taste, heavier for a creamier, up to you!)
3.) 6-8 black or decafe black tea bags.
4.) 1/2 cup of honey
5.) 1 tsp ground cinnamon
6.) 1 tsp ground cardamom
7.) 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
8.) 1/2 tsp ground cloves (You can use less if you don't like the taste of cloves)
9.) 1/2 tsp ground ginger (or fresh mashed, or a chunk of ginger that = 1/2 tsp)


Bring water and milk to a boil. Add other ingredients and return to boil. Once boiling, turn off heat and let steep 3-5 minutes, according to taste. Remove the tea bags and filter through fine strainer. Can be served cold or hot.

If you HAVE on hand, Tazo's chai tea bags (Tazo is the main tea brand used by Starbucks) or your favorite chai-tea bags, you can do steps 1, 2 and 4, just bring everything to a boil and remove bags.

Man, I would have a cup of this right now, today, but we don't have cloves or cardamon :( So go forth and be chai-ey. Tell me how this works out!

Tips from our sponsors:
ayoub recommends any Darjeeling tea, as his poppa made it that way!
tigerphoenix recommends Stash's brand of Double Spice Black Chai tea!

I found this recipe via the Technicolor Kitchen for Lemon Poppy seed cookies.

I, uhm, well. I would show you some pictures on how they turned out. The cookies, I mean--but they have all mysteriously disappeared.

All of them.

• ¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice
  
• 1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  
• 1 ¼ cups (250g) sugar
  
• 1 large egg
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
  
• 4 teaspoons lemon zest
  
• 3 cups (420g) all purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• ½ teaspoon salt
  
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds + extra for topping


Preheat oven to 175ºC/350ºF; line 2 large baking sheets with baking paper.

In a small saucepan, bring lemon juice to a simmer and let reduce by half. Once it has reduced add ½ cup of butter (113g) and let melt, remove from heat and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In another bowl whisk remaining ½ cup of butter (113g) and 1 cup of sugar (200g) together until smooth and creamy. Beat in egg and melted lemon-butter mixture, beat on medium-high with an electric mixer for 3 minutes, or until very light and pale in color. Mix in vanilla, poppy seeds and 3 teaspoons of lemon zest; once combined, add dry ingredients and mix on low until smooth, you may need to stir in the last 1/3 to 2/3 of a cup by hand. Blend until smooth.
In a plate, combine the remaining ¼ cup of sugar (50g) with 1 teaspoon of lemon zest – rub the sugar and zest between your fingertips to obtain a lemony sugar. Roll leveled ½ tablespoons of dough into small balls and place on a prepared cookie sheet, 5cm (2in) apart. Using a very slight moist glass, dip the bottom into sugar mixture and flatten cookies, follow by sprinkling a few poppy seeds and a pinch of the sugar+zest mix over the top of each cookie.

Bake for 11-12 minutes (mine needed 14) or until perfectly golden around the edges. Let cool for a few minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack.

It says it makes 70, but I don't see how--unless you do use a half teaspoon. If you do, these cookies will be teeny tiny and only good for fairies.