Risotto, Schmisotto!

I made risotto for the first time. It was like conquering the final frontier. I had been so afraid because everyone seemed it have issues with their first attempt and I needed to serve this to a hungry family. This is a family that will cut you down with one comment. Ever had a person complain about a hamburger you made? I have. Chocolate pound cake sounds good, until a family member tells you it is too chocolatey. However, my risotto came out quite well and I have leftovers. How dare you even think I will be reheating it. Leftovers are for deep frying and I will be making rice balls. Balls, hahahaha!

Anime Has Changed My Children's Eating Habits

On a quest for rice balls and takoyaki. Since I have been watching One Piece and Sailor Moon in Japanese, practically every night, we have been eating a bit differently. I find I am going through rice at a breakneck speed and soy sauce was always a staple, but now I am purchasing much more. The foods are delicious, but I will be making a trip to Little Tokyo for takoyaki( fried octopus balls) soon.

My daughter had me buy kuro yokan from Asianfoodgrocer.com. It took her three weeks to finish it. That will not be on the buy list anytime soon.

Happy New Year! Traditional Southern New Year's Dinner, Vegetarian Style

It is supposed to mean good luck and prosperity for the year. The southern tradition of greens and black eyed peas. let's try and make it a little healthier for you. These recipes are adapted from several authors and made vegetarian by emaxhealth.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hoppin’ John
½ pound dry Blackeye peas
4 cups water
¼ pound vegetarian Italian “sausage”
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
½ cup green pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 packet Sazon Goya seasoning
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
Hot pepper sauce to taste
3 cups water
1 cup long-grain rice (can use brown rice for more fiber)
Sort and wash beans. In a 6 to 8 quart pot, soak beans in 4 cups water. Do not drain. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook sausage with olive oil until heated through. Add onion, pepper, and celery; cook until tender. Add mixture to beans in pot. Stir in remaining ingredients except for the rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are tender. Add more hot water if necessary. Beans should have about 2 cups of liquid when they are tender. Stir in rice and simmer covered 20 to 25 minutes or until rice is tender. Serves 4 to 6.
Recipe adapted from Goya Foods Inc.
Heart Smart Collard Greens
1 pound fresh collard greens, chopped
14 ounces vegetable broth
1 ½ cups water
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon sugar
Bring broth, water, olive oil, salt, and pepper to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add the greens and sugar; bring to a boil again. Cover pot and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes or until desired tenderness.
Recipe adapted from Nature’s Greens, a product of Walter P Rawl & Sons.
Vegan Cornbread
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup sifted flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
4 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar, (Sugar in the Raw brand)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 to 1 1/4 cup plain low-fat soy milk or rice milk
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the canola oil in a 10- or 12-inch cast-iron skillet and heat the skillet in the oven until the oil is hot (about 10 minutes). Remove from the oven and swirl around so that the oil coats the skillet bottom and sides; set aside. Or while the oil is heating, you can work really fast to mix the corn bread before the oil starts to smoke or gets too hot.
Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large measuring cup or bowl. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the applesauce and milk (if using rice milk, start with 1 cup). Use a fine-mesh strainer to sift the dry ingredients into the wet mix. Carefully add the heated oil from the skillet; the mixture will bubble a bit. Mix well.
Pour the warm batter into the hot, oiled skillet and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve warm. Makes 8 servings.
Recipe from Levita Mondie-Sapp, printed in the Washington Post 10/10/2007


Traditional Southern New Year's Dinner, Vegetarian Style

Gyudon(Beef Bowl), Because I Am Nowhere Near a Yoshinoya

 4 Servings


I had a craving for Yoshinoya's beef bowl.  A 50 mile drive for this is not warranted in today's economy. I researched how to make my own Japanese bowl of rice and yummy flavored beef.  Unfortunately, I had almost none of the ingredients. No dashi, no mirin, no red ginger, and no sake.


Here is what I had:

• 1 pound thinly sliced top sirloin( I froze it before attempting to slice)
• 1  large onion, sliced thinly
• 1 1/3 cups beef broth to which I added 2 Table of sugar and 3 T of balsamic vinegar. (my dashi)
  
• 4-5 T soy sauce
• 4 cups white rice cooked ( I miss my rice cooker, it is in storage after a cross country trek)
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced(not in the recipe, but I love garlic)
• black pepper
  

In all honesty, after slicing the beef, I marinated it in 2 T soy sauce and some garlic powder for a couple of hours. This was all by feel.

The onions were brought to a simmer in a 2 quart saucepan filled with the beef broth, sugar, and balsamic.  I then added the additional soy sauce. Once this came to a boil I got ready to add the beef and sliced garlic. I did this to order so as to not crowd the saucepan and bring the temperature down. This ensured the raw beef cooked quickly.  I ladled the beef over 4 individual bowls of white rice. The pepper is personal..some of us had it, some didn't. You know I had it.

Loved it. Next time, I want to go authentic. It was okay for a recipe on the fly.