8 posts tagged “thing”

the latest in the "cooking A Thing!" series!

Eggplant Thing, originally uploaded by miz_ginevra.


Originally a recipe that started as thai fried eggplant with basil, eggplant thing has come into being along with my CSA box this summer, and a gifted basil plant. Thai basil is better, but usually means a trip to the Sunset. The concept of cooking from the CSA box - especially this summer, when the produce is suffering from a lack of water here in California (and the east coast has the inverse problem) is more of a philosophy of OMG QUICK EAT IT BEFORE IT ROTS. I'm serious, my CSA tomatoes rot within two days of delivery. It's depressing, since I love tomatoes like it ain't no joke.

Moving along!

Eggplant Thing is meant to have a savory-sweet asian flavor, but I bet if you wanted to Italian-i-fy it with tomatoes and oregano, you could.


Eggplant Thing

veggies:
eggplants - chinese work best, chopped into 1-inch cubes
peppers - I've been using the red peppers from my CSA box, and red give the best color
onion - 1 medium, julienne
basil - as much as you like

sauce:
shoyu/soy sauce
sugar
rice wine vinegar
fish sauce (not too much, it's fishy)
red pepper flakes or diced thai chilis, to taste
hot water
if you're going for a thicker sauce, cornstarch


fry eggplant at high heat, put aside in its own bowl. I like to get at least one side super-toasty-brown, so I use a cast iron pan with just a wee bit of oil. Fry onions the same way (you can use water to sort of steam/deglaze to cut down on oil, a trick I learned from ChezBeau) and add peppers. When everything gets all tasty-looking, add back in the eggplant and the sauce. Stir in sauce, let cook for ~5 minutes.

You can fry the chilis first in the oil, for the spicy-spicy goodness.

You could also add in other veggies to taste, whatever you're trying to use up - squash would be good, as would zukes.

For Italian-i-fying, I'd sub the sauce with something like arrabiata (red pepper flakes, capers, tomato, parsley/oregano) and lots of cracked black pepper, instead of the umami of soy/fish sauce.

I just wanted to say the word "umami".

sidenote: some guidance on picking the best eggplants.

Wise words from one of my homeboys. After going through some crazy, seriously unbloggable shit these past few weeks, I found myself smoking much more than was reallllllly necessary. I don't like when that happens, so, I stopped. Doing yoga while being a smoker is, as my homie says, fully retarded. I'm also inspired by being back in California where there are hills to walk up and oceans for swimming in.

It always takes about 3-4 days before my whole...yuck that's in my lungs goes away, so I've got a bitch and a half of a sort of head cold/purging thing. This is the part that sucks the worst. I don't know if I should take cold medicine or just let it all work itself out. MMMM.

I don't find the cravings most people have too troublesome. It's a bad habit more than anything else. I do always miss the social aspect of smoking. It's kind of fun being in the bad kids club, and to stand around a doorway shooting the shit with strangers. But I'll probably do that anyway.

I will still have the occasional smoke at a party and yall simply cannot stop me from that. I am from Flavor Country. But! this leads me to another Thing! (See what I did there?)

Srihacha Soup Thing

This is truly a Thing in that I've made it differently each time. I always make it for myself when I don't feel well, so I rarely remember when and why and what goes in it. Other than hot sauce, cos hot sauce makes my world go round. It's sort of like pho, sort of like miso, and sort of like a big ol mess.

ingredients:
Srihacha (you can use whatever you want, but that's what I use.)
miso or chicken broth
Cilantro
Noodles, tofu, chicken, whatever you want. I am not ashamed that I have used leftover spaghetti in this.

You're making a soup, smarty. It's not that hard. Boil your stock or water. Don't put miso in boiling water or you'll kill all the awesome whatevers that are in it. Pour yourself a big ol dollop of Srihacha at the bottom of your bowl. Pour in soupy goodness. Tear up the cilantro small enough that you can eat it on a spoon, but don't go all crazy chopping it. You're sick, remember?

Plunk your whatever else deliciousness (chicken! tofu! noodle!) to round out the soup, and eat. :) 

Bok Choy Thing originally started from Nigella's cookbook as a dish made with salmon. I honestly don't care for a big honking slab of salmon - it's just really too rich for me. And also I ate a LOT of it living in the Northwest. If it ain't sashimi, I'm taking a pass.

So with Defattening Project 2K9 came the very explicit directions to eat more veg, especially leafy greens. Mushrooms are also good for ya. Hence - Bok Choy Thing.

Three (heads? bunches? units?) things of baby bok choy
big scoop of shiitakes/small mushrooms
ginger - chopped fine
garlic - chopped fine
chiili garlic sauce or srihacha
scallions, cut on the bias
tempeh/tofu if you want it
brown rice, if you want it.
toasted sesame oil
shoyu or soy sauce

Rough chop the bok choy, seperating the green leafy bits from the white, more dense bits. Slice your mushrooms if you're into that, Michel Richard says they're better whole.

Get your pan hot, throw in some of the sesame oil (not too much of this, it's strong) and the white parts of the bok choy. Mushrooms hit the pan about a minute after. Then the ginger, garlic, chili-garlic and soy sauce. Stir it all a bit. Chuck the green leaves in and cut off the heat, letting them just wilt a bit. Serve with lime wedges if you're a freak for limes like me.

Every recipe that I make is something my friends just call "thing." Spinach thing, mushroom thing, shrimp thing. I should do a Thing Cookbook. IMPORTANT IMPORTANT: Things do not include measurements. They do accept substitutions/suggestions.

Miso Thing, below, is for salad dressing, but would probably rock as a sauce for grilled veg (eggplant comes to mind) or for salmon/chicken too. I'd imagine you could bump this up with scallions or a thai chile.

Miso Thing

1 spoon white miso
1 spoon honey
1 count olive oil
2 count rice vinegar
salt
finely minced/pasted garlic
lime (zest and juice)

throw in a jar and shake until at the consistency you like. Taste. Adjust. Apply to yer pie hole.

Damn right, I love a smoothie for breakfast. Now that I'm convinced that fruit is not to be feared, but it's c-c-cold in Boston, what's a gal to do? Other than to not go outside? Secret ingredient!

Frozen blackberries and strawberries
Flaxseed (since it's pricey...look for the best per-unit price.)
nonfat soy millk
two chunks of ginger

This made it warm flavor-wise and also tasty as hell.

Over the weekend, we had some nasty weather. Which makes me want to get all domestic and whatnot and putter around the kitchen. Like Nigella, I prefer puttering when things are "fiddly, not difficult".

I really, really love tomatoes, and my favorite grocery guy at Lionette's Market knows it. He convinced me to buy a 20 pound box of tomatoes to try my hand at home canning. "Just make a decent tomato sauce and follow the directions. It's not hard." And it wasn't!

Steps:

Buy tomatoes. Haul home. Make sauce. Follow directions for canning. Devour leftovers with lots of bread, forsaking all notion of low-carb eating. Send the rest to friends. (Requests welcome!)

I made two kinds - one an improvisation on this arrabbiata with lots of peppers/cayenne/parsley, and another that was more freeform with loads of roasted garlic. Plus a tomato jam that makes me crazy.

Here's a few photos:

I do eat healthy, I swear, despite my Girl Raised In The South upbringing. Well, mostly. Brown rice, wheat pitas, lots of fresh fruit and veggies, tra la.

And then there is Oven Fried Chicken Thing.

Ingredients:
chicken pieces (thighs would be decadent)
panko
butter
mustard
parmesan
garlic
salt and pepper

Mix up in a bowl some panko bread crumbs and crappy powdered parmesan, add some herbs and salt and pepper. This is your breading.

Melt anywhere from 1/2-a full stick of butter, depending on how many you're feeding. Add a bunch of minced garlic and a dollop of dijon mustard. This is your binding. Also, yum.

Take chicken pieces (breast, thigh, whatever is on sale) and make into nugget size.

Dip in garlic butter, roll in parm/bread crumbs, pour leftover butter on the top, bake at 375 until yummy. About 20 minutes did for very flat chicken bits.

Updated to add a photo:. If you look, there is a piece missing from the middle. I had to make sure it wasn't poison before I photographed it. If only I could add a scent/taste to Vox posts.

Heart attack