Coconut Curry!

There are many benefits of being single, one of them is dating. A few months ago I went out with someone and he took me to a Thai restaurant. The only thing I've ever ordered at a Thai restaurant is peanut chicken satay. It's safe and doesn't have all those crazy smelling spices in it. Well I wasn't about to tell him I hate Thai food, so I sucked it up and let him order whatever he loved on the menu. One of the dishes he ended up ordering was Coconut Curry, and I LOVED IT! Who knew I loved Thai food?! I thought I hated it! Thank you unnamed first date boy :)


So ever since that date, I've been craving curry. Weird! I went to the grocery store yesterday and decided I would try to recreate that delicious coconut curry. I have never in my life even looked up a Thai recipe. I decided it couldn't be that hard though, right?!??

I picked up a prepackaged curry spice package and read it: Main ingredients- Curry spice, red peppers, water, garlic salt, oil and soy sauce. Done & done, I can do that.

I made my guinea pig roommate test out my recipe and this was her exact wording: "Wow, this is better than any curry I've had in a restaurant!" Boom! Success!!!

::::Here's the recipe::::

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper- thinly sliced into strips
1/2 yellow onion- thinly sliced into strips
1/2 jalapeno - seeded & finely chopped (if you want it extra spicey add seeds but Beware!)
3/4 sprigs green onion- chopped
1 chicken breast
2 garlic cloves- minced
1 can coconut milk
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup medium grain rice (or indian rice if you prefer the taste)

How to cook it:

To start pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the chicken with salt and pepper for 26 minutes.

The rice takes around 15-20 minutes as well, so start on that next. Boil 2 cups of water in a pot & add one cup of rice. Reduce heat to low and cook rice covered.

The curry mixture takes less than 10 minutes to cook, so try to start on this 5-10 minutes after you heat the rice. Heat oil in a medium size skillet over medium heat. Throw in the veggies- bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, green onion and garlic. Cook those until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk, curry powder, salt & pepper & water. Allow this to cook on medium high heat, so that it has a light boil for another few minutes until the mixture starts to thicken.

Around this time your rice and chicken should be about ready. Take the chicken out and shred it into thin strips. Throw it in the curry.

Serve the curry on top of the sticky rice. I know I say this about all of my recipes, but this one is truly a winner. Even if you think you don't like curry, open up your palate and try it, you might just be surprised!

Happy Quarter Century Roomie!!!

Mid 20's huh? Weird. Roomie just hit that mark, so to celebrate the fact that we aren't old quite yet we partied hard. Floatopia, men, adventures, blow up toys, rollerblades, booze & food, Happy 25th buddy! If you read my posts (which would be no one, not even my mom), then you will have read earlier that roomie loves my Jumbalaya. She also loves tasty sweet treats. Since it's her birthday and all I thought I would make both tonight.

I made my Jumbalaya with turkey sausage tonight, and it was surprisingly BETTER than the usual spicy italian hard core blend of meat I usually use. This tasted almost the same, I felt a little better afterwards. I mean, it's hard to feel good about any blend of animal in a synthetic case (man, I make this sound so appetizing), but this wasn't too bad. Or I should say, Mmmmmmm MEAT!

I also thought it would be nice to make her a cake. This is a tough one for me. I have found that most chefs are either great at baking or great at cooking, but rarely love both. I'm the same way, I LOVE to cook, and SUCK (balls) at baking. I'm terrible at it. It's like a science. I'm more of a throw it together, add different ingredients and amounts every time type of person. It's hard for me to ever stick to a recipe. And I suggest you be the same way, except when it comes to baking. You add too much or too little baking soda and you could go from a puff pasty to play dough. I don't get it.

Basically I wasn't about to try to bake, especially in our tiny kitchen with no Kitchen Aid. So I came up with this:

CREAMY CHEESY POUNDCAKE



Ingredients:

1 frozen Sara Lee pound cake
1 8oz cream cheese - room temp.
1/2 cup powdered sugar
dash of vanilla
1 stick of butter- room temp.
Colorful sprinkles

To Make:

Whip together the cream cheese and butter with a mixer until well blended. Slowly add in powdered sugar and vanilla. Once everything is mixed and smooth, spread over the top and sides of the pound cake. Add the sprinkles on top and stick in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Done & done, no baking involved. High five!

Crusted Zucchini & Ranch Dip

Last night was game 7 of the Lakers. We were thinking about going to a bar to watch, and shit talk Boston fans, but decided to stay in instead. Of course if you are going to watch a sporting event, no matter if it's at a bar or at home, you want two things: beer and game food. Usually game food consists of wings, or fries, or something generally unhealthy and delicious.

For our experience, I decided to make Crusted Zucchini as a semi healthy alternative. On top of that, I gave roomie her second cooking lesson. The first was steaming broccoli, apparently she found a way to burn it. See, simple cooking lessons are necessary. I am not a chef, but I love to share the little things.

...:::: Crusted Zucchini Appetizer ::::...



2 Zucchinis- Chop into long & slender bite-sized pieces.
Panko bread crumbs
Oil
1 Egg
Salt & Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Basil
Oregano
Parsley

Cooking Directions:

Coat a medium sized pan with oil, and place over medium high heat. While the oil is heating, set up an assembly line:
1. Zucchini
2. Bowl with beaten egg mixed with salt & pepper
3. Bowl of Panko mixed with a teaspoon of each of the spices listed above.

Take the Zucchini and first dip it in the egg. Next, coat it in the Panko crumbs and place in the skillet. Continue this process until you have coated all the zucchinis. The zucchini take less than 5 minutes to cook. Just keep turning them until all of the sides are golden brown. Remove from the heat and place on a pretty plate with some ranch dip and BOOM! Perfect game time snack.


Eat up & read up, more food coming soon!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Made this bad boy last night, and it was delishhhhh!

Ingredients:
1 head butter lettuce
1 red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves
1/2 head cabbage
2 chicken breasts, shredded
5 sprigs of green onion
1 tablespoon ginger root
2 cloves garlic
soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
Sriracha sauce
Salt & Pepper
Canola or Peanut oil


3/4ths of this dish is simply preparation. First finely chop all of the vegetables. Make sure to mince the ginger root and garlic. Next, cook and shred two chicken breasts. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Cooking it...

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Throw in all of your chopped veggies and chicken. Saute for 3 minutes. Next add your salt & pepper, a couple times around the dish of soy sauce, one time around the dish of sriracha, and 2 tablespoons of the hoisin sauce. Stir it all around and cook for another two minutes.

Serve nice and hot with the crisp butter lettuce!


Yummmmmmy. This one is definitely making it to the cookbook!

Happy eatings,
Steph

Surf Art

Spray painting is fun. I might become a tagger. Any suggestions on a tagging name? I'm pretty sure you need one before you can tag, or join a gang...

The Fresh & Healthy Snack: Acai

If you haven't already caught on to the growing Acai trend, I suggest you do. The Acai berry is in the same category as blueberries, which we all know is a "superfood." Pretty much both of these berries are very strong antioxidants, which help protect your body against disease & aging. And it tastes good!!


So here's my simple Acai recipe...

The Acai Cup

Ingredients:

1 frozen package Acai puree
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup granola
dash of milk
3 ice cubes

Directions:

Throw the frozen acai, half the banana, milk, and ice cubes in a blender. Blend until it is smooth.

Pour the acai into a cup and then mix in the granola. Thinly slice the other half of the banana and toss it on top.



That's it! Hope you enjoy this tasty recipe!

<3333 Steph

I think I'm turning Japanese

While living in Hawaii, I really learned to appreciate all things Japanese. Their style, their culture, their amazing people (who can drink you under the table by the way), and their food & drinks. So much of Hawaiian culture and cuisine is Japanese influenced.

One of my favorite places to eat was Kobe Steak House in Waikiki. They had the best teppan dinner around, and the fried rice there was incredible! I couldn't afford to eat there very often, so I started to try to recreate the meal at home. I still haven't figured out how they make that delicious ginger sauce, but I have recreated the fried rice well!

Here is my version of a great teppan dinner

...::FRIED RICE DELIGHT::...



1/2 White onion
1 shallot
5 mini red and yellow peppers
5 mushrooms
3 green onions
2 eggs
1 cup medium white rice
Oil
2 tablespoons butter
Salt & pepper
Soy sauce
Sriracha

How to cook it...

*** Start by cooking the rice. Boil 2 cups of water and throw in 1 cup of rice. Cook for about 12 minutes, or until the rice is STICKY and the water is gone.

In a large, high rimmed skillet get started on your veggies...

Heat oil and butter over high heat. Throw in finely chopped mushrooms, shallot, peppers, white onion, and green onion. Let these cook for 5 minutes. Push the veggies to one side and pour a little more oil on the other side. Cook the two eggs scrambling them as they begin to cook. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until desired consistency.

Throw the rice in the skillet and mix everything together. Pour soy sauce about 4 times around the pan, add 10 drops of Sriracha (or pour freely if you like it hottt), Add salt and pepper and fry everything together mixing well for another 3 minutes.

Serve while hot!!!

Last time I made this I threw some pre cooked shrimp, sauteed in white onion and butter, and salt & pepper on top... Made for a pretty presentation.




If you feel like going all out.. serve with this Ahi Sashimi appetizer (ahi fillet thinly sliced with sriracha & soy sauce dipping sauce), along with some nice hot sake or Sapporo beer!

Compai!!!!

Tip of the day

This might be the number one over looked cooking tip of all time. Are you ready for it?!

Here it is...

When you are frying or sauteing anything, use a frying pan with high sides.
This will prevent the oil from splattering your counter tops and hands so much.
Not only will this help in cleanup, maybe you won't be so afraid to fry things
if you aren't constantly burning your hands in the process like I did
when I was first starting out!

Hope this helps, or if it doesn't I hope you learned sooner than I did!

Cheers.

Demanding roommates

"I want tacos, and chips and salsa, and ice cream for lunch. Pleeeeeeeease!"
- Michelle Knopf.

Can't wait to live with this cookie monster! I love you, but you're crazy. Well anyway, she came over for lunch today, and like a good human, I gave in to her demands and cooked her a glorious Mexican feast.

I made fresh salsa and ground beef tacos. I wasn't about to make ice cream though, so she sat and ate Ben & Jerry's while I cooked. What a good helper.

Homemade Salsa:

4 tomatoes
1/2 jalapeno (I left the seeds in but if you can't handle the heat leave them out!)
1/4 white onion
handful of fresh cilantro
salt & pepper

Throw all of this into the food processor and vuala, fresh salsa! Yum!



I was going to blog how to make the tacos, but I'm tired haha. I think the key to this recipe was the fresh salsa, and frying the taco shells myself... so much better than those packaged taco shells!

Hope you enjoy!

Breakfast Burritos- The breakfast of champions.

I LOVE BREAKFAST BURRITOS! Don't you?!

I really love breakfast burritos though. To the point that I struggle to order anything else whenever I go to a new breakfast joint. I am on the endless search for the perfect breakfast burrito. The current champ is at BC Burrito in Hawaii, it is God sent I think, or maybe Pedro sent, I'm not sure.

The point is, I can't make a breakfast burrito that delicious. But I can make a runner up...


Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 strips of bacon
1 flour tortilla
grated cheddar cheese
salsa
1 peeled potato
salt & pepper
seasoned salt
Oil- I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but any will do.


Cooking Instructions:


First, poke holes in the potato with a fork and stick in the microwave for 1:20 seconds.

Use two separate frying pans for this dish, One little and one medium sized.
In the medium sized pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy. In the smaller pan, add the 2 eggs beaten together with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat and scramble until well cooked, 3-4 minutes. Remove both bacon and eggs from heat, and place both in a bowl together, breaking up the bacon into small bits.

Chop up the potato into 1/2 inch pieces and add to a pan with a little oil. Add seasoned salt and cook over medium high heat for 2-4 minutes, or until the potatoes are a slightly browned. Remove from heat.

Using the medium size skillet over medium heat, place the tortilla inside filled with a little cheddar cheese. Once the cheese starts to melt, mix the eggs, potatoes and bacon together and throw it on the the tortilla. Add salsa on top and fold the tortilla over to form a burrito.


Dear followers, enjoy!