Berries and Cream!

After cooking Indian, I had a ton of plain yogurt and cream leftover. So, I mixed the yogurt and cream with a bit of sugar and vanilla and topped it with some berries--blue, rasp, and black. Yummy!

Just add heavy cream to plain yogurt until you get a consistency that you like. Add some vanilla extract and brown sugar. (About 1/4 tsp vanilla and for the sugar--your preference.) Drop in some berries/fruit, and instant dessert.

A Newfound Respect for Indian Food...

Ever since I was first introduced to Indian food, I've loved it. I LOVE Indian food. And now, I have a newfound respect for it. I'm not sure what possessed me, but I decided that I wanted to cook chicken tikka masala, garlic naan, dal, and rice.

First of all, it takes so many spices. Secondly, it takes forever, and third, it takes forever. Oh, and did I mention? I cooked for like 4 hours?

Here is the end result:Chicken Tikka Masala, Basmati Rice, and Garlic Naan

Dal

It all started when I realized I had 3 leftover chicken breasts in the freezer. I searched for chicken recipes and came across this. So then I decided I wanted to make this. Which led me to this. So then I spent the next 4 hours measuring, marinating, stirring, kneading, rolling, waiting, simmering, tasting, sweating, burning (yup, burned the naan), etc etc etc.

The chicken tikka masala recipe was actually pretty good. The dal and naan recipes, not so much. Better find a better recipe before I attempt this again.

I did have to make some adjustments to the recipes:
1. The chicken tikka masala recipe calls for 7 tsps of salt. UHHHHHH... no thank you. I cut that down to like 2 tsp and also cut out some of the cumin.
2. I cooked the chicken stove top instead of grilling.
3. I marinated the chicken for longer than it calls for.
4. I also cut out a little bit of the cayenne and jalapeno.
5. I cooked the chicken in the sauce for longer than the recipe calls for.
3. I didn't cook the lentils, Andrew did. Hee hee.
4. I didn't use butter for the naan, I used olive oil, and like tripled the amount of garlic.
5. I numbered this thing all crazily.
6. I proofed the yeast before adding the other ingredients.
7. The naan recipe makes 14 servings... so I cut it down to 4.
8. They didn't have red lentils at the market, so I used brown. They supposedly get mushier quicker.

Here's the rice I used. Andrew took this picture, I like it.

The cursed result. Why cursed? Because it was so yummy, but I never want to make it again anytime soon lest my feet and arms fall off.

p.s. Aren't these the cutest ever? I received them for my birthday and finally put them to good use. I kept feeling like I couldn't use them for just ANYTHING but finally I gave in and used them to cook Indian food. They were super useful to measure out everything. Thanks Hannah!

Parmesan and Panko Crusted Pork Chops with Warm Salad of Roasted Potato, Artichoke, and Pine Nuts

I've never cooked pork chops. Ever. But surprisingly, it was so easy. They came out nice and crunchy on the outside, but still juicy on the inside. The breading was super flavorful and yummy. It tasted like the thicker, juicier, Italian cousin of tonkatsu.

Pork chops:
Bone-in Pork chops
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Panko Breadcrumbs
Italian Seasoning
Dried Parsley
Onion Powder
Dried Minced Garlic
Flour
Eggs
Butter/Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 325. You'll have three plates/saucers. One with a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper. A second bowl where you'll beat a couple of eggs together. A last one with a mixture of parmesan cheese, panko, parsley, italian seasoning, onion powder, and garlic. Dredge the pork chops in the flour mixture, followed by the eggs, and lastly the panko mixture. Heat up a pan, make sure it's super hot. Melt some butter, or heat some oil on the pan. Cook each side of the porkchop about 3-5 minutes until browned on both sides. Stick the pork chops in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until cooked thoroughly.

Potato Salad: (From Hipcooks!)
Red/fingerling potatoes (fingerling potatoes are expensive, so I used red... You can probably use yukon gold too... just not russet, unless you peel them)
Frozen artichokes
Lemon (Zest and Juice)
Garlic (cloves)
Pine nuts
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Defrost the artichokes. Wash and chop the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Parboil the potatoes. (Boil for about 5 minutes) If you're using fresh artichokes, you'll have to parboil those as well. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts on a pan until you start to smell them. Next, peel a lemon and cut into one inch strips. Mix the potatoes, artichokes, lemon zest, and pine nuts, with about 4-5 garlic cloves, olive oil, s&p, and some lemon juice in an oven-safe pan. Stick the pan in the oven at 325 for about 30-35 minutes or until all the veggies are nice and soft. Optional: Sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley on top, and add more lemon juice before serving.

If you time it correctly, the pork chops and potatoes will be done at the same time.

Enjoy! (Don't eat the lemon zest!)

Chicken (Noodle) Soup

I've eaten chicken soup a lot at home. My mom tends to make it whenever we have leftover rotisserie chicken. She takes all the skin off and is left with nice tender chicken meat.

Well, a couple of years ago, Andrew caught some kind of bug or flu so I decided to make him some chicken soup. It's definitely one of those comfort foods that you turn to when the weather is cold outside. Since it's been raining, I decided to make some.

Ingredients
1-1.5 chicken breast
1 medium carrot (diced)
celery (sliced--about the same amount as the carrot)
1 medium onion (diced)
1 clove of garlic (minced)
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups pasta (I use Wacky Mac Veggie Spirals bc I like the colors, and they're made from veggies. Sometimes, I substitute this for Trader Joe's Harvest Grains)
salt
pepper

I realize that many people like to use bay leaves or parsley or oregano and thyme in their chicken soup, but I just like mine plain. If you're an "herby" chicken soup lover, this is not the soup for you.

Trim the fat off of your chicken breast and place in a pot of boiling water. Allow it to cook all the way through. Remove the cooked chicken from the water (don't discard the water) and chop into small cubes. Further break up the cubes by tearing up the meat with your hands. (It'll be really hot so be careful!)

Next, heat up a large pot/dutch oven and put a small amount of oil in the pot. Add all the veggies and cook for a few minutes. Add the chicken and mix it up! Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Next, add the pasta and allow to cook. Reduce heat and simmer until all the veggies and pasta are nice and tender. If you like your pasta al dente, then don't add the pasta until the end.

Note, as soon as you add the pasta, it's going to soak up a lot of the liquid. This is where that boiled chicken water comes in. Skim off any oil that's at the top of your chicken water, and add some of the water to the level of liquid that you like. I like my soups chunky, so this recipe will be a bit chunkier than most people might like. If you like more of a "soupy" soup, then ... hahaha... soupy soup. Anyway, then just add less pasta or chicken.

I also like my soup really peppery, so I use a lot of freshly ground pepper... yum!
One thing I notice with this, is that the chicken isn't as tender as when my mom uses rotisserie chicken. I'm not really sure how to remedy this. Any suggestions?

Also, I noticed I like to make nouns into adjectives by adding a "y." I'm not really sure how to remedy this. Any "suggestiony" suggestions?

Pretzels

Yummy pretzels with mustard...

I recently went to Crate&Barrel to buy a gift for a friend. While I was there, I came across a box of pretzel mix that was $4.95. I thought it'd be fun to make some pretzels at home... and it was!

It's fairly easy. You mix the included package of yeast with warm water and melted butter and then incorporate the flour mix. Next, you knead the dough and let it sit for half an hour to let the dough rise. Divide the dough into 6 equal parts, then make them into pretzel shapes.

Next, take the pretzels and dip them in a boiling water/baking soda mixture for 30 seconds each. Brush each pretzel with a mixture of egg yolk and water and then sprinkle the included pretzel salt on top. Bake for 12-14 minutes at 450.

Here are my pretzels, ready to go into the oven!

Here they are just out of the oven

Yum, yum, get into my belly. They're definitely different from the pretzels you eat at the mall. First of all, they're much smaller and also, they're crunchy/hard on the outside and soft on the inside. Try it yourself at home! =) I think they'd be good with beer...

Crunchy Shrimp with Toasted Couscous and Hazelnuts and Ginger-Orange Sauce

edit: Huh. I could've sworn the recipe asked for garlic in the sauce. No wonder my sauce tasted weird. Okay, now someone needs to try making the sauce and tell me if it tastes good.
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I found yet another recipe on Cooking Light that I enjoyed and I wanted to share it with you! Yes, all two of you that read my blog!

As usual, I made a few changes, but one of them was not on purpose! The recipe includes couscous, shrimp, and a sauce that goes on top. Well, I was feeling so out of sorts today that I completely forgot to put the sauce on top and ate it without. I still wanted to try the sauce so I put some on some of the leftover couscous and... it tastes better without sauce!

Also, I used HAZELNUTS instead of almonds. OMG... so yummy. (btw, i had no idea how ridiculously expensive hazelnuts were, $12/lb!)

Ingredients: (2 servings)
Sauce:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 tbsp cilantro (chopped)
1 tbsp mayo
3/4 tablespoons fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (I used vegetable broth, bc it was all I had)
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 tsp lime juice (careful! Andrew squirted some in his eye...)
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (I used cayenne)

Couscous:
1/2 cup uncooked couscous (french, not israeli)
3/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (again, I used veg.)
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 tsp salt
chopped green onions (I used about 2 green onions)
toasted hazelnuts (chopped--I used about 10 hazelnuts) If you want to use almonds, it's 1 tbsp sliced almonds.
1/2 tbsp butter

Shrimp:
10 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1/4 cup panko
1/2 tsp cilantro (chopped)
1/4 tsp grated ginger
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup watercress (trimmed)

Omg. I just suddenly felt super lazy. I don't want to finish this post. I'll just copy and paste from the recipe and make adjustments to it.

From Cooking Light:
Sauce:
Boil 1/2 cup orange juice; cook until reduced to 1/8 cup (about 7 minutes). Remove from heat; cool completely. Stir in 1/2 tablespoon cilantro and next 7 ingredients (through red pepper); set aside.
Couscous:
Toast couscous over medium-high heat; cook 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring constantly. Add 3/4 cups broth, 1/4 cup orange juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork; add green onions, almonds (or hazelnuts!), and butter, stirring until butter melts. Keep warm.
Shrimp:
Coat shrimp with egg white by tossing in a bowl. Combine the panko, 1/2 teaspoon cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and black pepper in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add shrimp to the bag, and seal and shake to coat. (What genius wouldn't seal the bag?)

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; arrange shrimp in a single layer in pan. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. (They should be pink when done!)
Place couscous on each plate; top each with 1/4 cup watercress and 5 shrimp. Drizzle with 3/4 tablespoons sauce. (or not. really, don't do it.)

Three Bean Chili

holy cow, that is a lot of sour cream... oops!

Yummy! I found this recipe on Cooking Light. It's really simple to make and super tasty. I did make a few changes and it still turned out great! The recipe has no meat (gasp!) but you don't even miss it. Also, their recipe makes kind of a soupy chili so if you like it with less broth, just don't add the water.

Ingredients (Makes six servings)

1 small onion (chopped)
1 small bell pepper (chopped)
1 tbsp garlic (minced--the recipe actually calls for like 2 tsp, but I love garlic!)
3/4 cup water (optional)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp chili powder (I used cayenne and reduced to like 1 tsp)
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves (the recipe doesn't ask for this, but I added it and it was good)
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups vegetable broth
1 can no-salt-added diced tomatoes (or you can just dice fresh tomatoes)
2 tbsp yellow cornmeal (to thicken the broth)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (chopped--the recipe calls for half of this, but I love cilantro! ...sometimes)
6 tbsp reduced-fat sour cream

Heat a medium-sized pot and add olive oil. When the oil gets hot, add onions, bell peppers, and garlic. Allow to cook for a few minutes then add everything except the cornmeal, cilantro, and sour cream. Heat to a boil and then allow to simmer and let allll the flavors to meld (is that a word?) together. Next, add the cornmeal and let the sauce thicken. It will be pretty watery if you added the water... watery water. haha... Okay, where was I? Oh right. Remove from heat and add the cilantro and mix well. When ready to serve, put about 1 tbsp of sour cream right in the middle. =) Enjoy with some corn bread. Drool

Uh, yeah. I should've (is that a word?) wiped that bowl. Also, don't add this much sour cream, unless you like the extra fat... If you do, you'll be like me--forced to add more chili to your bowl and eat more...

btw, in case you were wondering. Yoga is going well. =) I've gone two days so far. No major changes in my back, but it hasn't even been a week yet, so we'll see!

Yoga Diaries: Day 0

A couple of years ago, I started doing yoga at my local gym. Gyms typically don't have the best yoga instructors in my experience, but I realized I finally found a form of exercise that I enjoyed doing!

After I moved back home, I looked for a yoga studio and I found one in Whittier that I really love. It's called Greenleaf Yoga, it's pretty small, but I love it and I really love the instructor.

Last December when I was visiting my sister in Napa, I hurt my back and it's been bothering me ever since. Yes, for 10 months. I've really become limited in what I can do. I can't run, jump, sit for too long, or be too active. I get sciatic pain and numbness... and the pain radiates from my lower back and at times, all the way to my feet! Because I've been so immobile I've put on some weight and become really inflexible. I can't even touch my toes!

I saw a chiropractor, which did NOTHING for me. I've tried icing, heating, taking Motrin, Tylenol... I've tried walking, swimming, biking, resting... nothing seems to help except standing, which is really impractical since I'm a student. I finally saw a doctor who thinks I may have a chronic back condition--a herniated disc and prescribed me some muscle relaxants.

I'm 27. I'm not supposed to have this type of back pain.

So anyway, I've decided to take up yoga again to see if it helps. I'm really bad about staying with an exercise regimen. So I thought if I blog about it, maybe it'd keep me more accountable. I'm starting Monday, and I'm kind of excited and scared. Excited because I loved yoga and miss it. Scared because... I really hope it helps.

Although I won't be doing this again anytime soon:

hopefully I'll be able to touch my toes again... wish me luck!

btw, that's not me.

Steve's Lucky Chicken

This is one of the first dishes I've ever learned how to cook. I think it's changed over the years but, oh well! It sounds funny to add ketchup, but trust me, it's super yummy! It has a sort of sweet taste, like sweet and sour chicken? But without the sourness. Andrew doesn't really care for ketchup but he LOVES this dish!

The story behind the dish is this: My sister's roommate had a little brother who played baseball. When he'd come back from practice, he'd be super hungry so his older sister would cook this for him and then demand his birthright in return. Oh wait, that was the story of Jacob and Esau. Yeah, I don't know the story. *shrugs* All I know is that my sister's roommate taught my sister how to make it, who taught me how to make it, and now I'm teaching YOU how to make it!

Ingredients: (makes 2 large servings)

1 large boneless skinless chicken breast (cubed)
about 1/4 cup flour
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 small bell pepper (chopped into squares)
1 garlic clove (diced)
1/2 medium onion (chopped)
ketchup
salt and pepper
sesame oil

optional:
chinese (snow) peas

Before you cube your chicken, you need to pat it dry. Next, mix the flour with some salt and pepper. Dredge the cubed chicken in the flour mixture. Meanwhile, add some oil to a heated pan. When it gets nice and hot, add the chicken and let it cook until it gets brown and crispy. Remove the chicken and place it on a paper towel to drain some of the oil. You can add butter to the pan if you want to brown the chicken faster.

The next step, you can either clean the pan and add clean oil (which is what I do) or use the same pan. Cook the onions and bell pepper and when those start getting tender, add the mushrooms and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and mix all together. Next, add ketchup and mix until all the ingredients are thoroughly covered. There's no such thing as too much!

At the end, add some sesame oil to taste. Serve next to, or on, a bed of rice. Hm, I don't imagine a bed of rice would be very comfortable to sleep on.

Anyway, enjoy!

a guessing game...

i went shopping yesterday. no, not at target. at a mall (!) i bought something for myself for the first time in what feels like... a year. can you guess what it is?

does this count as cable knit? bc if it does, i love cable knit!

any ideas?

a hat! beanie? what is the correct terminology? lucky me, they were having a special event so i got it on sale. i love when that happens.

andrew took pictures of me in my new hat! i get really awkward in front of a camera.

hobo chic?

super constipated?

i think i need to practice being in front of a camera. i get really weirded out and start fake smiling and my upper lip gets stiff.

i also found a purse i wanted. it was bright blue. it was so me. it was perfect. it was $400. it is still at the store.

wah.

Pineapple Pico de Gallo and Guacamole

i love pico de gallo and guacamole. so yesterday when andrew and i were deciding on what to eat for lunch, i suggested tacos!

Pico de Gallo:
2 roma tomatoes (diced into cubes)
1/2 a medium onion (diced into cubes)
1/2 a bunch of cilantro (chopped)
8 oz can of pineapples (chopped into small pieces, though I'm sure you can use fresh pineapples)
1 lime
1/4 jalapeno (chopped into small pieces)
salt and pepper

Mix tomatoes, cilantro, onion, jalapeno, and pineapples in a medium-sized bowl. Add the juice of 1/2 a lime. My lime was not very juicy, so I added the juice of a whole lime. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you want it a little sweeter, you can add a little bit of the pineapple juice. I had some cherry tomatoes in the fridge that needed to go soon, so I just chopped those up and put them in too which accounts for the bright red color. So pretty!


Guacamole:
2 avocados
1/2 bunch of cilantro (chopped)
1 lime
salt and pepper

Cut your avocado into halves and remove the seed. Use a spoon to scrape out the avocado into a medium-sized bowl. Use a spoon to mash up the avocado to the consistency you like. Add the cilantro, juice of 1/2 a lime, and salt and pepper to taste.

I didn't take a picture of the guacamole because, well, guacamole isn't very photogenic.

note: When you pick your avocados, make sure they're ripe! When you apply pressure, they should give just a little. But not too much that your finger goes through the skin... this happened to me once with a cantaloupe. Not cool. Same goes for your tomatoes.

Enjoy with chips, in a taco, or burrito, or be creative! For this taco, we put refried black beans, sour cream, guacamole, cheese, pico de gallo, and seasoned ground turkey! So yummy... I didn't have taco seasoning for the meat, so I just improvised with Lawry's seasoning, onion powder, diced onions and garlic, cilantro, jalapenos, salt and pepper, ketchup, and some italian seasoning. It was surprisingly really good.