Well, my friends mutantly ginormous Zucchini yielded 2 dozen muffins and 2 loaves of bread, and there was still more left over (I shredded it all, remember, because I actually DON'T like zucchini). Well, always looking for creative ways to clean out the fridge, I settled on pasta sauce.
So here is my Clean out the Fridge Pasta
I boiled Whole Wheat Penne.
In a pan, heat some EVOO, and saute some minced garlic. Add as much shredded zucchini as you want. Saute that, too. Dump in whatever you have got. I used a can of diced tomatoes, a scoop of trader Joe's sun dried tomato bruschetta, and some artichoke hearts. Then I just let it bubble away for a while. When the pasta was ready, I dumped it on top.
A side note: I heard that Michael Phelps eats 10,000 calories a day to maintain his body weight, including a pound of pasta for lunch and another pound for dinner. In an effort to understand the sheer quantity of food he eats, I decided to boil the entire pound of penne.
I will be eating it all week long. It is no less than SIX ENTIRE MEALS for me.
Showing posts with label lessons learned. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lessons learned. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Ow
While making a spicy Thai Tuna salad last night...
(1 can tuna, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, 3 tablespoons lime or lemon juice, 2 chopped green onions, 1 teaspoon minced fresh chili pepper, 1 small chopped shallot, chopped fresh cilantro, 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger, mix well, serve with crackers, or wrap in lettuce)
...I managed to rub my eyes with fingers saturated in serrano chili pepper oils. Good news: I didn't go blind. Bad news: my eyeballs were on fire for a few hours. Next time, gloves. Or get someone else to chop the peppers.
(1 can tuna, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, 3 tablespoons lime or lemon juice, 2 chopped green onions, 1 teaspoon minced fresh chili pepper, 1 small chopped shallot, chopped fresh cilantro, 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger, mix well, serve with crackers, or wrap in lettuce)
...I managed to rub my eyes with fingers saturated in serrano chili pepper oils. Good news: I didn't go blind. Bad news: my eyeballs were on fire for a few hours. Next time, gloves. Or get someone else to chop the peppers.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
More Nasty Food from Mo's Kitchen
Without getting into the nitty-gritty details, there were Trader Joe's Lobster Ravioli and an Alfredo sauce for which I had none of the ingredients. It was gross. The End.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Cookbook Love and the Swordfish Fiasco
The current issue of the New Yorker magazine (Feb. 13 & 20, 2006, the anniversary issue) contains a funny article about cookbooks, by Nora Ephron. Here is an excerpt:
"Thanks to 'The Gourmet Cookbook,' my mother herself was in the kitchen, whipping up Chinese eggrolls from scratch...The recipe doesn't begin to convey how stressful and time-consuming an endeavor it is to make eggrolls, nor does it begin to suggest how much tension a person can create in a household by serving eggrolls that take hours to make and are not nearly as good as Chinese takeout."
There are a few other good articles in this issue, too, on subjects other than food and cooking. I highly recommend it. Get some of that good Chinese takeout and read a magazine tonight instead of cooking dinner!
That is exactly what I should have done tonight. Instead, I got ambitious and decided to try something new: Let's have grilled swordfish! I wanted to celebrate the sunny, 75-degree dead of winter here in California. The swordfish was awful. I don't know if it had gone bad, or if it was just bad-tasting fish, but the minute I tasted it I lost my appetite and didn't eat anything for dinner. Best to stick with the tried and true: grilled salmon, or better yet, raw hamburger.
If the swordfish wasn't bad enough, I made a dessert that flopped, too. It was cherry cobbler from a mix. You'd think it would be hard to blow it with a mix, but I did a good job of it. It looked fine coming out of the oven, nice and brown on top, but the biscuit topping was runny underneath. I remembered that's why I never make cobbler because that always happens. Stick with the tried and true: ice cream.
"Thanks to 'The Gourmet Cookbook,' my mother herself was in the kitchen, whipping up Chinese eggrolls from scratch...The recipe doesn't begin to convey how stressful and time-consuming an endeavor it is to make eggrolls, nor does it begin to suggest how much tension a person can create in a household by serving eggrolls that take hours to make and are not nearly as good as Chinese takeout."
There are a few other good articles in this issue, too, on subjects other than food and cooking. I highly recommend it. Get some of that good Chinese takeout and read a magazine tonight instead of cooking dinner!
That is exactly what I should have done tonight. Instead, I got ambitious and decided to try something new: Let's have grilled swordfish! I wanted to celebrate the sunny, 75-degree dead of winter here in California. The swordfish was awful. I don't know if it had gone bad, or if it was just bad-tasting fish, but the minute I tasted it I lost my appetite and didn't eat anything for dinner. Best to stick with the tried and true: grilled salmon, or better yet, raw hamburger.
If the swordfish wasn't bad enough, I made a dessert that flopped, too. It was cherry cobbler from a mix. You'd think it would be hard to blow it with a mix, but I did a good job of it. It looked fine coming out of the oven, nice and brown on top, but the biscuit topping was runny underneath. I remembered that's why I never make cobbler because that always happens. Stick with the tried and true: ice cream.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Nasty Chicken and Rice
I've been lazy. I've been busy. I've been eating out a lot. I certainly have not been cooking, but recently decided to cook the chicken in the fridge. Chicken and brown rice, mmmm good. Note - this recipe bombed. NOT, was "the bomb", just - bomb. Awful. Don't try this at home.
I didn't have a lot to go with the chicken so I tossed in about 6 ice cubes that were made of lemon juice (they were in the freezer). I then COVERED the chicken breasts with lemon pepper and some salt. I let cook. Eventually the lemon ice cubes melted, and then I added some water. I cooked the chicken covered. I looked in the freezer again and saw some frozen pineapple pieces. I tossed those in. Everything cooked down. Chicken was finished. I put the frozen TJs rice in the microwave for three minutes and ate it.
My eyes watered and my mouth burned. I totally over lemoned and over peppered that damn chicken. It was a classic case of SPICE OVERLOAD. What a shame.
What should I have done differently? (obviously used LESS.....)
I didn't have a lot to go with the chicken so I tossed in about 6 ice cubes that were made of lemon juice (they were in the freezer). I then COVERED the chicken breasts with lemon pepper and some salt. I let cook. Eventually the lemon ice cubes melted, and then I added some water. I cooked the chicken covered. I looked in the freezer again and saw some frozen pineapple pieces. I tossed those in. Everything cooked down. Chicken was finished. I put the frozen TJs rice in the microwave for three minutes and ate it.
My eyes watered and my mouth burned. I totally over lemoned and over peppered that damn chicken. It was a classic case of SPICE OVERLOAD. What a shame.
What should I have done differently? (obviously used LESS.....)
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Casualties in the Kitchen
So, for those of you who have followed my posts throughout the day, you will remember that I had raspberry muffins for breakfast.
Sadly, due to a wee forgetfulness on my part (i.e. totally forgetting they were in the oven when I turned on the broiler), they are no longer.
Sadly, due to a wee forgetfulness on my part (i.e. totally forgetting they were in the oven when I turned on the broiler), they are no longer.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
F-Expletive-Deleted-You Swanson's Chicken Broth!
I got home not wanting to cook so I tossed in some TJs Taquitos. Beef. Good. I rummage through the fridge and doctor up my salsa with some green onions and corn. Then I browse the pantry. I spy a can of refried beans and I have brown rice. And chicken broth. I have a lot of chicken broth. I don't know why, but I do. In fact, I have a can of Swanson Chicken broth that confuses me because I don't buy canned chicken broth. I'm a TJ snob now and if it doesn't come in a box, I don't want it. Cans are so last year.
Moving along. So I've got the taquitos in the oven, my beans are heating and I make rice. I am not a rice cooker-user. In fact, I've never owned a rice cooker. I'm not even sure how to use one properly. I cook rice in a pot. This time, I want to be clever, so I toss in 1/2 cup of brown rice in and 1 cup of chicken broth. I add some taco seasoning, I do my thing. Normally I bring it to a boil, I turn the heat down and put the lid on a bit askew to let the steam escape. This is how I cook rice. This is how I've cooked rice for YEARS. So when I check the rice and it is still uncooked, I'm not shocked, sometimes I guestimate wrong on the water:rice ratio and I added some more chicken broth. Time passes, I'm getting tired of waiting for rice, and eat the dinner without it. Now I'm slightly peeved that my plan of making a complete protein by mixing rice, beans and cheese has failed. I check the rice. Still not done. What the hell, I think to myself, I added the rest of the chicken broth. Note: this is 14 oz can. I let it cook. I check when it's done, I give it a stir. I even go so far as to let it steam itself for a few minutes. I do one final check. It still, was not done.
It's now living in the trash.
I'm blaming the chicken broth. I'm blaming Swanson's high sodium content, but actually I have no idea. Any suggestions?
Moving along. So I've got the taquitos in the oven, my beans are heating and I make rice. I am not a rice cooker-user. In fact, I've never owned a rice cooker. I'm not even sure how to use one properly. I cook rice in a pot. This time, I want to be clever, so I toss in 1/2 cup of brown rice in and 1 cup of chicken broth. I add some taco seasoning, I do my thing. Normally I bring it to a boil, I turn the heat down and put the lid on a bit askew to let the steam escape. This is how I cook rice. This is how I've cooked rice for YEARS. So when I check the rice and it is still uncooked, I'm not shocked, sometimes I guestimate wrong on the water:rice ratio and I added some more chicken broth. Time passes, I'm getting tired of waiting for rice, and eat the dinner without it. Now I'm slightly peeved that my plan of making a complete protein by mixing rice, beans and cheese has failed. I check the rice. Still not done. What the hell, I think to myself, I added the rest of the chicken broth. Note: this is 14 oz can. I let it cook. I check when it's done, I give it a stir. I even go so far as to let it steam itself for a few minutes. I do one final check. It still, was not done.
It's now living in the trash.
I'm blaming the chicken broth. I'm blaming Swanson's high sodium content, but actually I have no idea. Any suggestions?
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