Review- Annie Chun's Garlic Scallion Noodle Bowl

I feel the need to immediately review this product as I just ate it so here goes: I picked up a few of these noodle bowls because they were on sale (they are normally close to $4 a piece and they were about $2.50 at King Soopers). I really like the Annie Chun's Udon noodle soup and these looked pretty good as well with few strange ingredients. They are very convenient to make- add water and cook for 90 seconds, but they are not very tasty and not nearly worth the calories. I hate it when a convenience lunch food like this gives calorie ratings as half servings. Who cooks a tiny lunch like this at work or school and then eats half of it? It misleadingly lists calories as 310, not bad for lunch, but 620 is ridiculous!! I would have never bought it had I noticed the half serving size. I could have just eaten two slices of pizza, but instead I ate over-salted plain noodles and am still hungry! These would be tolerable with added tofu and veggies and maybe half of the sauce packet (which is where I'm guessing all the calories come from) but who had time for that? Plus I could make a similar dish myself and it would be better and cheaper. This product looked and tasted nothing like the package promised. I will definitely stick to the udon soup when I feel like a sodium bomb of convenient "Asian" flavor. These noodle bowls are so not worth the price or the extra exercise.

Late Summer Eats

It had been too hot until recently to really cook much- every time I made bread the kitchen turned into a sauna. I am loving my new kitchen though- there's not much more counter space but there is way more space to move around and a dishwasher!

I made a perfect ciabatta with grilled veggies, fresh pesto and mozzarella. It doesn't get much better for summertime- toss veggies (I used tomatoes, red onion, squash, zucchini and peppers) with olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper and Italian seasoning and roast at 450, turning occasionally, for about half an hour. I always add some garlic at the end.











I realized the reason a lot of my bread loaves were coming out so dense and somewhat gummy was the overuse of wheat flour. I used almost all bread flour in this batch and it had big air holes, a beautiful somewhat chewy crumb and a nice crisp golden crust. I made one ciabatta, one pizza and a regular loaf and I have one left to freeze.

I had a package of tri-color gnocchi in the cupboard (or actually walk-in pantry!!!) so I tossed it with some veggie sausage, spinach, garlic and onions:

Two easy and delicious dinners!

Hoisin-Glazed Tempeh with Green Beans and Cashews

I have much to post about my Israel/Jordan trip, but I am postponing that to drop this quick recipe I made tonight. The sauce was lip-smacking good and if you don't "do" tempeh you can always sub tofu/seitan/chicken. I made this with soba noodles but rice would also be tasty. The recipe is from Vegetarian Times, March 2010.

4 tsp. Hoisin sauce
2.5 tsp. Rice vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 T. veggie oil
1.5 T. minced fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg. tempeh, cubed
1 12 oz. pkg. frozen whole baby green beans
1/3 C. roasted, unsalted cashews

1. Whisk hoisin, 2 tsp. rice vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch and 1/2 C. water in bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in skillet or wok. Add ginger and garlic and stir-fry for a minute.
3. Add tempeh and sauce to pan and stir. Cover, reduce heat to med-low and simmer a few minutes.
4. Stir in green beans. Cover and simmer about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in remaining rice vinegar. Top with cashews to serve.

Kombucha

I have started brewing my own kombucha- a fermented tea with multiple supposed medicinal benefits. I am on the third batch now and it just keeps getting better. The taste can be a bit different at first if you're not used to it (commercial brands are often sweetened and flavored), but it is refreshing and healthy. It costs about $4 a bottle in a health food store-the whole setup for making your own is about $10 and it you get a gallon cycle after cycle for as long as you want. The process is fairly simple- you just need a few supplies and patience.

The first thing you need is a vessel to brew in- after much research I went with a $7 sun tea jar which can be purchased from any hardware store or online. You must brew the tea in a glass container as it can leach contaminants from plastic or metal. The sun tea jar has a spigot which makes it much easier for bottling the finished tea. The tea becomes fermented by the addition of a funky looking mass of microrganisms often referred to as a "mushroom," "mother" or " "scoby (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast)." I procured a "mother" culture from a kind woman off of Freecycle (craigslist may work as well but I find the people on freecycle to be less flaky and creepy). She gave me a culture and a fair bit of "starter tea" (this is just previously brewed kombucha that helps balance the pH of the new batch- a mother can live in kombucha in the fridge for up to 6 months). The rest of the process goes like this:

1. Clean and sterilize everything the tea will come in contact with- utensils, container, pot, hands.
2. For 1 gallon of tea I boiled 2 quarts of water.
3. Turn heat off and steep 5-6 tea bags for about 15 minutes (many people use black tea- you can use black, green or white but not herbal teas or earl grey- I use 3 bags of black and 3 bags of green).
4. Mix in 1 C. Sugar (this is what the culture "eats" as it ferments)
5. Let the tea cool for at least two hours or overnight (this is very Important! Hot tea will kill the mother)
6. To speed up the cooling process I mix in 1 or so quarts cold water with the tea in the jar. Fill jar up to about 3 quarters with tea.
7. Add starter tea and then with clean hands carefully place the mother on top.
8. Cover with clean cotton cloth (not cheesecloth as bugs can get in) and secure with rubber band.
9. Place somewhere away from direct sunlight where it is relatively warm (the warmer the temperature the faster the tea will ferment).
10. Sample tea after about 5 days- if it is still sweet it's not done yet. It will start to develop a vinegar like taste- at that point it is a matter of personal preference how long you want to continue brewing for. I have bottled mine after about 10 days and it has a cider-like taste. You can leave it for as long as you like, and if you want to get really serious you can test it's pH for the optimal level of 2 to 3.5.

To Bottle:
I start steeping the next batch of tea before I bottle- that way it is ready to go by the time I am done.
1. A "baby" scoby will have formed on top of the mother. You can use this new culture for the next batch. You can discard the mother, save it as a backup or give it to a friend (just remember to leave some of the tea with it). A new baby will form each brewing cycle.
2. Pour tea into glass bottles of your choice (swing top bottles can create more carbonation) leaving about a tenth of liquid as starter for your next batch.
-If you wish to flavor the tea put flavoring in first (grated ginger, fruit, juice etc.)
3. Leave bottles at room temperature for a few days to flavor, the place in fridge and enjoy!

*I have read that putting a few raisins in the bottles makes the tea more fizzy but I haven't tried it yet. I have done a ginger batch and a batch with pomegranate lemonade.

Here is a useful site on the process:
http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-brew-kombucha-double-fermentation-method/

Here are flavor suggestions:
http://www.giveittomeraw.com/group/rawincollege/forum/topic/show?id=1407416%3ATopic%3A11014

There's a good video here:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Kombucha-Tea

Here you can see the mother culture on top, and my first completed batch:

Green Tea Smoothies at last!

It was probably a few years ago that I first had a green tea smoothie- I think it was with Jay at a Jamba Juice in NYC. Anyway, I was hooked. I get them now wherever I can- the local coffee shop Dewey's in Cleveland makes a tasty, almost milkshake version. Since I indulged in this tasty treat I have been on the search for the main ingredient: Matcha green tea powder. It is a finely ground premium green tea used ceremonially in Japan. The preparation for a traditional Matcha is rather complicated- it is brewed using particular tea bowls and swirling motions.

I have searched every grocery store and health food store in both Cleveland and Boulder for this. I finally gave up and ordered a 1/2 lb. from Amazon (quite a lot in terms of this super concentrated tea): http://www.amazon.com/Matcha-Green-Tea-Powder-lb/dp/B001F10XUU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=grocery&qid=1270828793&sr=1-1
This brand had good reviews (green tea can be quite bitter- this is more like a grassy flavor). It arrived yesterday in a big pouch, complete with recipes for traditional Matcha, frappes, lattes, green tea pudding and GREEN TEA TIRAMISU! The tea is so fine you can use it for baking. It surely works for green tea ice cream as well if you have an ice cream maker (you lucky fool!).This morning I blended a teaspoon with a little hot water, then added soy milk, vanilla frozen yogurt and protein powder for a delicious smoothie. My life feels somehow more complete today.

Tuscan White Bean Dip

This is from AB in 5. It's one of the many accompaniment recipes. It is delicious served with any home made crusty bread and makes a great appetizer. I adapted this a bit to make it faster.

1 16 oz. can white northern or cannellini beans
1 roasted red bell pepper
1 large clove roasted garlic (or smaller fresh clove but garlic taste will be stronger)
2 T. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
fresh ground pepper
10 fresh basil leaves

1. Place garlic, beans, oil and salt and pepper in food processor. Process until smooth, adding a bit of water,
2. Add basil and roasted pepper and pulse until coarsely chopped. Adjust seasoning as needed.

I got the book!

And it's awesome! It goes into detail about the whole baking process of the bread and every recipe in it sounds amazing (I will post all those I try). I have been trying to adjust my recipe for high altitude to get a less dense loaf that rises more. There are some good tips on the bread blog: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com. I used only 1 tbsp. yeast this past time and it was more airy. I think I will try bread flour, and possibly vital wheat gluten next. The loaves are still fairly flat, not the size of sandwich bread, but there is a recipe in the book for a loaf pan version which could very well replace the need for store bought sandwich bread. This past week I made the "Light Whole Wheat". It is basically the same with the addition of whole wheat flour:

3 C. lukewarm water

1.5 Tbsp yeast (I used 1)

1.5 Tbsp kosher salt
1 C. whole wheat flour
5.5 C. unbleached all purpose flour
whole wheat flour for pizza peel

-Mix dough, allow to rise 2 hours. Use or refrigerate up to two weeks. On baking day, scoop out grapefruit size chunk.
-Shape dough into ball, pulling top around to form cloak. Allow to rest on cornmeal covered pizza peel for 40 minutes. Preheat oven at 450 with stone and broiler pan.
-Slide bread onto stone, pour 1 c. hot water into pan underneath and bake about 35 minutes.

I think the addition of wheat and other flour makes a tastier bread.
I stretched this dough out using lots of flour and made a huge spinach and cheese calzone.

I am almost fully equipped for these baking adventures. Instead of a baking stone, I invested in a Lodge cast-iron pizza pan: http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pro-Logic-Pizza-Pan/dp/B0000E2V3X . The reviews were all stellar and unlike baking stones, it can't break. It can also be used on the stove as a griddle pan and can be used in the oven for bread, pizza, biscuits- just about anything. It came pre-seasoned and I'm very pleased with it so far. I also bought a bamboo pizza peel from amazon which is solid and well made but a tad heavy for the oven transfer.

Homemade Pizza

I really need to go get the "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day Book," but until then I've been reading their blog online: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/ , and searching for variations on the recipe. I have made two pizzas now with the basic pizza dough recipe:

2 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tbl granulated yeast
1 1/2 tbl salt
1 tbl sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1. Mix first 5 ingredients with wooden spoon.
2. Gradually mix in yeast.
3. Same as the bread, allow to rest in non-airtight container for a few hours. This makes about 4 pizzas. Before using, pinch off grapefruit sized piece form into ball and let rest on counter at least 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 500.
5. Stretch and roll out with hands or dusted rolling pin, using cornmeal and flour to prevent sticking.
6. Top pizza and bake about 7-10 minutes, keeping an eye for crust to turn golden.

My kitchen is not yet equipped with a pizza peel OR a baking stone, so the first time I ended up with the dough sticking to my cutting board. I ended up dusting a cookie sheet with cornmeal and making the pizza directly on it. Normally, you prepare the pizza on the peel while the sheet or stone heats in the oven so the pizza cooks faster and more even. A little bit of the crust stuck when it came out but all in all it worked out ok and was delicious! A decent frozen pizza seems to run between $6 and $10 and these, depending on ingredients used are more like $4 and much tastier.
I made a mushroom/spinach/fresh mozzarella and an "eggplant parm" pizza with oven baked breaded eggplant, homemade tomato sauce, Italian cheese blend and fresh tomatoes. If you do use a cheese like fresh mozzarella, be sure to top pizza for only last minute of baking or it will melt to much (as mine did). Next I think I'll try a pizza with fake sausage and maybe one with avocado and fake bacon.


My food photography skills and camera are not up to par I know, but these are much tastier than they look!

5 Minute "Artisan" Bread!

So my brother sent this recipe my way awhile ago and I just got around to trying it. I am completely hooked- it is SO easy and SO delicious. I was always intimidated by homemade bread, mainly because of the time involved. This recipe takes about 10 minutes on the day you mix it, and then 5 minutes of preparation on the day you bake it. It makes enough for 8 loaves (I halved it) and keeps in the fridge for 2 weeks. You just slice off a hunk every time you feel like fresh baked bread and then it's ready in a little more than an hour.

EQUIPMENT:

Pizza stone or baking sheet
1 cup measuring cup
1 Tablespoon measure
Flat shallow metal pan- a broiler tray or large cake pan works great
Serrated bread knife
A large bin, bucket, or tub with a NON-AIRTIGHT lid for the dough.
Pizza peel or rimless cutting board

INGREDIENTS:

6 C. Lukewarm Water
3 Tablespoons/28g Active Dry Yeast, or four packets
3 Tablespoons/50g Kosher or flake salt
13 C. All-Purpose Unbleached Flour (I use high altitude flour)

1) Put water, yeast and salt into 5-quart bowl or container.

2) Mix in the level scoops of flour. Mix with a wooden spoon or very wet hands until uniformly moist.

3) Cover loosely and leave out about two hours. You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period. Refrigerated wet dough is less sticky and easier to work with than room-temperature dough.

4) Sprinkle pizza peel/cutting board with cornmeal.

5) Coat hands with flour and sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour, then cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-sized) piece with a serrated knife. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom creating a "cloak," until the bottom is a collection of four bunched ends. The bottom of the loaf will flatten out during resting and baking.

6) Place the ball on the pizza peel. Let it rest uncovered for about 40 minutes.

7) Twenty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone/pan on the middle rack. Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on lower rack.

8) Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour, which will allow you to slash the loaf with the serrated knife. Slash a 1⁄4-inch-deep cross, scallop or tick-tack-toe pattern into the top. (This helps the bread expand during baking.)

9) Slide bread onto heated stone/baking sheet in oven. Quickly pour about a cup of hot water into the broiler tray and close the oven door to trap the steam. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the crust is browned and firm to the touch, and loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom. Allow to cool (if you can resist) before slicing.

10) Refrigerate the remaining dough in your lidded container and use it over the next two weeks. Cut off and shape loaves as you need them. The dough can also be frozen in 1-pound portions in an airtight container and defrosted overnight in the refrigerator prior to baking day.

Here's a video that shows the whole process:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFJZPm-_2-M

And here's a link with step-by-step directions:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Artisan_Bread_in_Five_Minutes_a_Day/

Here's my first loaf:

And an "herbed"version I made tonight (I just rolled fresh rosemary into the dough). I served this with a frittata and an olive oil/balsamic/herb dip:

Mattar Paneer

It's a new decade! I had a hard time working on a new year's resolution this year. Usually it's to get in shape but I have been going to the gym pretty regularly and snowboarding keeps my high-altitude endurance in condition. The only thing I could come up with is to spend less time dwindling away on the computer (haha as I type this) and more time being creative, reading, hanging out with folks etc. I also want to try cooking new things but that is a constant in my life. Here's a hearty, sinfully good Indian recipe to start the year off right. This is a recipe from my friend Richelle who has more experience cooking Indian than I do. Although we made this together originally I managed to do it on my own and it came out great- just like it's from a restaurant.

1 package fried paneer (Indian grocery store)
heavy cream (about 1/4 C.)
1/3 cup kasuri methi leaves (Indian grocery store)
1-3 clove garlic
egg-sized piece of fresh ginger
16 oz. frozen peas
2 white onions, chopped
1/2 cup oil or ghee
1 tsp turmeric
10 oz canned crushed tomatoes
salt and sugar

1. In food processor or by hand finely mince garlic and ginger.
2. Coat large pan with oil and place on medium heat.
3. Add onion, keep covered and stir.
4. Increase heat slightly and make sure there is enough oil.
5. Cover pan and allow onion to soften.
6. Add garlic and ginger paste and a pinch of sugar and salt.
7. Fry for a few minutes, until lightly browned.
8. Add turmeric.
(at this point, you can leave it on low heat for a long time, or add a little more oil and increase heat to make it faster)
9. When onion is mushy and oil has separated, add the tomatoes.
10. Turn heat to low and keep covered.
11. Cook until dry, like a paste. Then add 1/2 C. water and bring to boil.
12. Add methi leaves.
13. Lower heat and add paneer, peas, and some cream.
14. Before serving, add enough cream to cover, and heat again.

I served this with warm store-bought garlic nan. Many recipes online add other spices like garam masala and coriander. I thought this was spiced perfectly although it is mild. You could experiment with any Indian spices and add some hot pepper to spice it up.