Lunch #002

Leftovers from tonight's dinner. This is my first use of the bento box and I love it! I eat very little during the day because of my whack schedule (10am lunch!) so this is what I packed. Trying to eat healthy :D

Contents:
1.) Rice
2.) Seared Italian Sausage
3.) Stir fry fish with cilantro, jalapeño, and shallots
4.) Softened cabbage & shredded carrots
5.) Pickled seaweed with sesame seeds

:D

Rice & seared sausage.

Cabbage & carrots, stir fry fish, and pickled seaweed. 

Bento box!

Hello hello! I know this blog is nearly dead and is on life support, but I can't help it. Chinese New Years seems like it's almost here and yet so far away! I might even start posting recipes soon before New Years :D However, I'm trying to resist and give myself time to focus on school a bit more. I have been cooking here and there, but not as serious as before. :[ However, there are good news.

The good news is: I got my first bento box! I just got it yesterday and I've been loving it since! Ever since the beginning of the new year, I've been trying to keep a good and healthy balanced diet of fruit, veggies, rice, and meat for every meal. Except I had a problem. I had stored almost all of that in a Rubbermaid container and just crammed it in my messenger bag. Well, let's say that by lunch time, I had a weird mix of flavors which wasn't bad, it's just I like each food group as separate entities. However, any who, I decided then to go on a lunch box hunt and I came across this bento box. I couldn't find anything super compartmental and compact which made me disgruntled until I checked Amazon. I got this box for ~$20 and a second one for the same price. This came yesterday and it has a beautiful lacquer texture (I'm a lacquer addict, no joke) with giraffes with two layers (and it's microwave safe!). The other one I got was one with sakura blossoms that should be on its way soon (which I will post a picture once it gets here). But I'm happy for now and will start posting some more lunch time news soon!

My first bento box. 

:D

Lunch & Hiatus :D

Hello hello! My apologies again for not posting recently but I've been busy with school and what not with just having the first week over. I'm here to announce that I am officially going on hiatus for a week until Chinese New Years! My favorite holiday of the entire year in which I am going to be in a cooking frenzy while making a cornucopia of food. But don't worry, recipes will be posted and posted they shall! So I can only fast and save energy till then. However, in the meantime, I am not going to be posting new recipes, but rather just a few shots of my meals here and there. Within this post I am posting what I have had for lunch and just list some details. My apologies for any inconvenience but this is a massive holiday for me (like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years concentrated into one day!). Well speak to you soon my reader and I hope you can enjoy!


Lunch Today:
1.) Lays Potato chips
2.) Pickled carrot & daikon salad
3.) Baby carrot sticks covered in honey dijon dressing
4.) Pressed honey baked turkey with cheddar cheese.

:D

Pizza Pizza!

Hello hello! My apologies that I haven't posted in a while but I have been quite busy with school. The quarter just started up for me and I'm running around like a chicken without a head but, I managed to still find something to post about which is: pizza! I made this recipe a while ago and I just didn't get the opportunity to post it till now. And besides, it is a perfect time since school did just start. :D I know know, I said no pizza delivery, but this isn't a delivery. Unless you count it as one from your oven. This recipe was made with my friends Juan and David. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
1.) 1 packet of active dry yeast
2.) ~1 tbsp of sugar
3.) 3 cups of all purpose flour (you can use wheat for alternative)
4.) ~1-1.5 cups of hot water (hot as possible from faucet, not boiling hot)
5.) ~2 pinches of salt
6.) pepperoni slices (as much as you want--also you can top with whatever you want)
7.)  ~2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
8.) 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
9.) ~1.5 tbsps of fennel seeds
10.) 3/4 tbsp of oil
11.) 1-2 tbsps of yellow cornmeal
12.) ~1/2 cup of tomato sauce (I used Classico brand spaghetti sauce and it works out delicious)
13.) ~2 tbsps of oregano

Directions:
1.) Place 1 packet of dry yeast in a bowl or container and add hot water. Vigorously stir the yeast in the water. Sprinkle sugar on top and stir. Wait till the yeast starts to "foam." This is called "proofing" yeast where you wake up the yeast and cause it to grow. The warmth of the water gives heat for the microbes to grow while the sugar acts as food. This allows them to multiply and helps bring fluffy goodness to carby baked goods. Keep in mind that if the water is too hot when added to yeast, the yeast will not proof as it has been killed by the heat of the water.

Foamed yeast. Sorry for the over exposure.

2.) Add 3 cups of flour, oil, and salt to a mixing bowl. Once yeast has foamed, add the mixture into the mixing bowl and mix until a dough forms. The dough should be moist enough to not crack, but not moist to where it sticks. If the dough sticks, add a small amount of flour at a time until the dough stops sticking. This can be checked by how much is stuck to the bottom of the bowl.

Once the yeast as foamed, add to flour, salt, and oil.

3.) Collect the dough into a ball and leave in mixing bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with a wet towel and leave the bowl in the warmest place of the house. I left mine on top of my radiator that had been shut off but warm. Leave for it sitting for 30-45 minutes. Once time is up, check on the dough. It should have doubled in size. If not, then at some point, you have murdered the yeast, but still can be eaten regardless. Punch the dough. You should hear a "pop" due to the rapid release of air. Kneed the dough.
4.) Remove the dough from the bowl and flatten with rolling pin. Depending on how thick you want your pizza (I like thin crust), roll out your dough and constantly pull on it to stretch out. Once desired thickness and shape is achieved, slightly roll in the edges to form a crust. On a greased (or sprayed with non-stick), sprinkle cornmeal over the bottom. Place dough inside the tray.

Spread out dough by pulling and with rolling pin.

5.) With a spatula, add tomato sauce over the dough and spread out evenly. Add chopped cilantro, fennel, cheese, and then toppings. Add as much of whatever you please.

Not a big fan of sauce, so we added a thin coat. The added cilantro was delicious.

Add sauce then cheese. Also delicious if you add cheese, then sauce, the cheese again.

6.) Bake in oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the edges are golden brown. This should take about 45 minutes to an hour in the oven. Remove from heat and serve.

Before oven.

Fresh out of the oven pizza. :D

Afterthoughts: Came out delicious! Served us three extremely well. I would say this serves about six to eight people. I actually used half the ingredients listed above (for the dough only) because I wanted a thin crust pizza to serve three, but it still came out more than we had thought. The dough was great, the cornmeal was a great texture, and the toppings were delicious. I would like to make this again with pineapple and ham (my favorite) and will post the results later. You're free to top as you please in which I hope you enjoy!

Costs:
1.) Ingredients (i.e. Pepperoni, mozzarella, spices, sauce) = $~3.50
2.) Dough, yeast, spices = ~$1.00
Total Costs: ~$4.50 for a serving of 8 or so

Pineapple Black Bean Salad.

Here's another salad recipe that I had made with my friend Juan a while ago. It came out delicious and very delectable.

Ingredients:
1.) 3/4 cup of diced fresh cut pineapple
2.) 1/2 cup of black beans
3.) 1 romaine heart
4.) 2 cups of spinach
5.) 2 tbsps of lime juice
6.) 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
7.) 1/3 cup of Honey Dijon dressing
8.) salt and pepper
9.) 1 tbsp of fennel seeds
10.) 1 cup of grape tomatoes
11.) 3/4 cups of shredded carrots

Directions:
1.) In a container, add lime juice to pineapple pieces. This is only if you're using fresh pineapple. The lime juice helps inactivate the enzymes that causes that awful burn.
2.) Chop romaine heart into bite size pieces. Roll spinach and chop. Add tomatoes, carrots, and wash all together.

Fresh, delicious salad! Eating better just got easier :D

3.) Add black beans, pineapple, salt, pepper, and fennel seeds. Toss in dressing and top with cheese and serve.

Coat with dressing and cheese. 

Afterthoughts: This was delicious and very refreshing. The pineapple was an excellent addition. I wish I had made some bread sticks to go with this salad, but other than that, it was great. We ate it with toasted English muffins. Yummy!

Wilted Salad with Seared Italian Sausage & Honey Dijon

Happy New Year to you all! In correspondence with the standard New Year's resolution of "eating better" here's a quick salad recipe that I had randomly concocted within the past week. With just a few leafy greens, eating better only got easier. To be honest, this isn't a legitimate recipe on my part, which I do apologize for, since there's so many varieties out there for you to think of. Who'd thunk it? So, over the course of the upcoming year, I will be posting a salad recipe or two just for the heck of it. (Psst, this is a great first step for all those veggies haters out there who need to eat better!) I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:
1.) 1/2 romaine heart
2.) 2 cups of spinach
3.) 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes
4.) 1/2 cup of shredded carrots
5.) 1/4 cup of sun flower seeds, pine nuts, or walnuts (whichever you prefer)
6.) 2 Italian sausages
7.) Honey Dijon dressing (I used store bought since I got lazy)
8.) Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1.) Dice the romaine heart in to bite size pieces. Take spinach and "roll the leaves" somewhat like a cigar and give it a rough chop. The leaves I'm using are rather large so I'm cutting down. This is also optional.
2.) Place carrots and greens in a colander and wash. Wash the tomatoes but keep them separately.
3.) Microwave the sausages for 3 minutes on high heat and then slice. Note: This particular step is important due to the fact that is it very difficult to cook a sausage whole without steaming or microwaving first. As a result, people are unaware of consuming raw sausage. It's okay if the center is still a bit raw when it comes out of the microwave, but the majority of the sausage must be cooked when it comes out of the microwave.
4.) In a hot pan, add nuts and toast. Keep them in pan for about 1 minute but continually tossing to toast. Remove and place aside. Then, in the same pan, add a few drops of  oil (olive oil works best here) and add sausage slices. Let the sausages sit for 2 minutes and then flip. Let the slices sit and sear. Add grape tomatoes (this is optional, but this searing of the tomatoes makes them sweeter).
5.) Turn off heat and quickly add mixed greens. The residual heat of the pan wilts the greens a slight bit but not enough to burn. Add nuts, give the contents a quick toss. Top with cheese and dressing. Serve.

Sorry I didn't take pictures of the cooking process--I had originally intended for this not to be posted :]

Optional Honey Dijon recipe:
1.) 1 tbsp of dijon mustard
2.) 3/4 tbsp of honey
3.) 1/2 tbsp of either red wine, balsamic vinegar, or olive oil (your choice).

Afterthoughts: This was a great salad for me since I'm not a big fan of eating raw greens, but love eating veggies. I decided to wilt the salad just because raw romaine hearts and be a very crunchy while also raw spinach (which annoys me the most) tends to dry out my mouth and leave a sandy taste; hence this was a great way to avoid those problems. Grape tomatoes are a wonderful addition since they're naturally sweeter than regular tomatoes and go very well with the carrots. The sausages I had used were great in which they added a smoky spice to the salad. I also didn't use "baby spring mix" greens that come in a box from the store since I had more knowledge (and fondness) towards the greens I used. Romaine lettuce are natural sources of antioxidants while spinach contain excellent amounts of iron (wonderful for anemic women) and calcium. Again, this is a very flexible recipe in which you're free to use as you please. I hope you enjoy this one!

Costs:
1.) 1 box of grape tomatoes = $0.98 so $0.20 was used
2.) 1 romaine heart = $0.60 so $0.30 was used
3.) 1 pack of Italian sausages (5) = $4.00 so $1.60 was used
4.) 1 bag of spinach = $2.00 so $0.30 was used
Total Costs: $2.40 for serving of two 

Chicken Curry with White Rice.

Hello hello! I just wanted to share my favorite dish of all time: chicken curry. Among southern Chinese, curry is a very popular home dish that is very easy to make with minimal ingredients. In this recipe, you only need two main ingredients and some spices. Simple, yes? Exactly. It's a very quick and easy meal that serves plenty. This is great for lunch and/or dinner (in my case both) in which leftovers are very welcomed.

Ingredients:
1.) 3 large russet potatoes
2.) ~1.5 cups of cubed or diced chicken breast (I used the meat from the hindquarter of the chicken)
3.) 2 tbsp of curry
4.) salt and pepper to taste
5.) ~1-1.5 cups of chicken stock

Directions:

1.) Season the chicken bits with salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp of curry powder. Mix to evenly coat the pieces.

Season the chicken first so it can marinate. 

2.) Wash, peel, and dice the potatoes into half inch chunks (you can cut them as big or small as you want but just adjust cooking time accordingly). Add to a pot of boiling water and let the potato bits cook until soft. (For this recipe, I cooked them in the skillet I'm using to cook the dish since it's one less thing to wash.) Drain potatoes once soft.

After the potatoes are soft (~8 minutes), remove and drain.

3.) In a hot skillet, add a small about of oil and add chicken. Sauté the chicken for about a minute and half and potato bits and stir. Add salt and pepper.

Sauté the chicken for about a minute before adding potatoes.

Once the chicken has cooked for about a minute or so, begin adding potatoes.

4.) Add 1 tbsp of curry powder and chicken stock. Continually stirring, let the chicken stock evaporate. Depending on how you dry you want your curry (in this dish, this is a bit drier than I would normally make it), add more chicken stock for more moisture (or sauce) or less for a drier version. Once the stock as evaporated, remove from heat and serve with white rice.

Add about 1 tbsp of curry powder and a cup of chicken stock. Let the chicken stock evaporate.

Cook until the stock as evaporated. 

Best served with white rice. Very delicious. 

Close up of final product. 

Afterthoughts: This is actually the first time I've actually made curry chicken this dry since usually I like a thicker, saucier curry. This is just as good though and a lot of quicker. I can put up a thicker, saucier version some other time also. Mirepoix can also be added to this recipe, but traditionally it is just chicken and potatoes. This is just excellent with rice. I hope you enjoy.

Costs:
1.) 1 bag of russet potatoes = $0.98 so 3 potatoes = $0.15
2.) Chicken = $1.00
3.) Spices = $0.20
Total Costs: $1.35 for serving of three

Cornmeal Crusted Swai.

I know, I know, after reading the title, I know you're wondering, what the hell is "swai"? Well, for all you fish lovers out there, swai is a commercial bred fish closely related to catfish; except, significantly cheaper. Swai is often found in Asian markets, such as mine, and make excellent substitutes for catfish. I like it in particular for its attributes of sweet, soft, flakiness. It is also significantly cheaper! A whole bag of frozen swai filets (6) is about two dollars. In this recipe here, I'm only using half a filet which was already large for a meal. So, sit back, read, and cook. I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:
1.) 1 Swai filet
2.) 3/4 cup of yellow cornmeal
3.) 4 tbsps of all purpose flour
4.) 1/2 tbsp of cayenne pepper
5.) 1/2 tbsp of paprika
6.) salt and pepper
7.) 1 egg
8.) 1/4 cup of 2% milk (any milk is fine also)
9.) 1/3 cup of oil to fry

Directions:
1.) Coat filet with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Then coat with flour. Ensure that the entire filet is coated in flour. This helps the egg cling to the fish.

Always flour, egg, then cornmeal to create a nice crust.

2.) Break and beat the egg. Add milk to soften the mixture. Dip flour coated filet into egg mixture. Coat entire filet.
3.) Dip filet into cornmeal ensuring that the filet is thickly coated. Place into hot oil to fry.

Add to hot oil once thickly coated.

4.) About 3-4 minutes a side, depending how thick the filet is, turn filet with spatula until the cornmeal is gold. Remove from heat and let the filet cook on a rack. Remove and serve.

After 3-4 minutes, turn the filet over. Remove from oil once the cornmeal is golden brown.

Remove from oil and place on try to cool. This prevents sogginess!

I served it with my arroz sucio recipe :D It was delicious. 

 Afterthoughts: It was delicious. Surprisingly, even for half a filet, it was extremely filling. I loved the arroz sucio that I had served it with--it was a great pair. The fish was delicious, sweet, and very crunchy. I must say, it's better to be careful when breading with cornmeal is the fact that it can burn very very easily. Best to always watch the temperature when frying. It would have been also very good with some tartar sauce or dijon mustard. I hope you enjoy!

Chicken Udon Soup.

This recipe is to all those udon lovers out there who just want a quick and easy version at home. With only a few ingredients, you can have this lovely bowl of noodles in your kitchen too. I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:
1.) 1 bouillon cubes (you can use any kind, I'm using chicken)
2.) ~1 cup of chicken stock
3.) ~1.5 cups of water
4.) 1 packet of udon noodles
5.) Enoki mushrooms (as much as you want to add)
6.) Soften tofu (as much as you want to add)
7.) Bean sprouts (as much as you want to add)
8.) Cilantro (as much as you want to add)
9.) 1/4 cup of diced scallions
10.) thinly sliced meat (optional)

Directions:
1.) Bring water and stock to boil. Add bouillon cube and packet of udon. Once the udon has become soften (no longer its original packaging shape), reduce heat.

 

Add 1 packet of udon noodles and a bouillon cube to a pot of  boiling water & stock. 

2.) Begin adding ingredients. Add meat, bean sprouts, mushrooms, tofu, and half of the scallions.

You can add as much ingredients as you please. My favorite is enoki mushrooms :D

3.) Place cilantro at the bottom of serving bowl, remove the udon from heat and serve over the cilantro. Enjoy!

Mix in remaining ingredients and serve.

I personally didn't add meat to mine since I served it with some deep fried shrimp. :]

Afterthoughts: It was really filling and savory. Next time I'm going to try making it with some beef (my favorite) and some fish balls (don't worry, I'll post a pic). This time, I didn't add meat to the noodles just because I had made some deep fried shrimp to go with it, but the shrimp hadn't turned out as well as I wanted to have. But, no worries! I will post the fried shrimp recipe once I make some adjustments. Other than that, it was a great meal. I loved the mushrooms. The great part about this recipe is the fact that it's very versatile. You can basically add anything to the noodles as you please, but do at your own risk i.e. jelly beans >.<. But, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Oh yeah, this serves one. :)

Costs:

1.) 4 packets of (single serve) udon = $2.50 so ~$0.62 for 1 packet

2.) Overall ingredients, mushrooms, scallions, tofu, etc. = ~$1.50

     a.) 1 packet of enoki mushrooms = $0.99 (1/3 was used)

     b.) 1 box of tofu = $1.00 (1/4 was used)

     c.) 1 bag of bean sprouts = $1.09 (1/8 was used)

Total Costs: $2.12 for 1 large serving of udon noodles

Conchitas con Leche Dulce.

The sweet tooth is calling again! So here's a delicious dessert that's a great late night dessert with little to no effort at all. This recipe was actually an originally recipe that mother had received from this old old neighbor (who had just arrived from California at the time) of ours back in the old neighborhood when I was just a baby. So after years and years of this delicious dessert, I decided it's time to continue passing on this lovely dessert.

Ingredients:
1.) 3/4 cups of baby shell pasta (you can use regular sized shells but adjust the portion sizes)
2.) 3/4 cups of white granulated sugar
3.) 1 cup of milk (I used 2%, but any kind is welcomed)
4.) 1 cup of water

Directions:
1.) In a (non stick) pot, place water and shell pasta. Bring to a boil and leave on high heat with lid off and continue boiling until the water begins to evaporate. There should be enough water to keep the pasta wet and easy to stir (not to the point of drying out and burning the pasta) but not enough to keep the pasta submerged

I added just enough water to keep the pasta submerged.

Keep the lid off once at a boil until the water evaporates.

2.) Once evaporated, add sugar and stir the pasta around to distribute and melt the sugar. Add milk. Note: If not using a non stick pot, constantly scrape the bottom and sides of the pan since heated milk tends to form a film very easily and burn. Bring the milk to a boil. Remove from heat and serve.

Add sugar, milk, and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and serve. Here's a close up of the final product.
My apologies for the over exposure due to the white bowl and milk >.<

Afterthoughts: Delicious. This brings back the childhood memories. The pasta is nice and soft while the taste is just sweet and creamy. Best to eat after cooking. Refrigerated pasta never tastes as good as the day before. I personally used shell pasta (conchitas) for two reasons: 1.) My mother used shell pasta for the recipe always while growing up. 2.) The shell shape of the pasta actually traps the sweet milk inside. So when it's in your mouth, the sweet milk spills all over your tastes buds :). Please keep in mind that you're free to use as much or as little sugar as you want. As a kid, I preferred this recipe to a little less sweet but I don't mind as much now. If you also want creamier, best to use a milk that has a higher fat content or just a few tbsps added of cream works too. This serves about 1. I hope you enjoy!

Costs:
1.) 1 bag of baby shell pasta = $0.25 - only 1/3 was used = $0.08
2.) milk & sugar = $0.50
Total Costs: $0.58 for 1 serving