Last nights dinner! (Rana)

Lemon-Garlic baked Salmon was the main dish, with a little dollop of pesto sauce.
Asparagus, mushrooms, and leeks broiled with brown butter was one side.
Rosemary-thyme Gold fingerling potatoes as another side.

I decided to give my mom a break and cooked dinner for me and my family on a visit from school.

I'll start with a recipe for the salmon!

Lemon-Garlic Baked Salmon:
Ingredients:
1 whole salmon fillet(half the fish, not a slice of half the fish)
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large baking pan
Aluminum foil
Lemon juice, to taste

Steps:
First lay the aluminum foil out on the baking dish.

Then wash the salmon fillet and try and debone it if its not deboned already. It's not difficult, but if you don't know how you may end up like me and stab your index finger while searching for bones.

Pour olive oil all over both sides of the fillet and lay it down on its skin side.

Rub the crushed garlic onto the fish gently, just let it lay on top, it doesn't matter if they are big chunks of garlic, they'll bake into yummy garlic chips anyways.

Place in oven at 375 degrees, bake for about 25-30 minutes or until you can push the large end of the fillet and it seems firm. Remove from oven, serve, pour lemon juice on it to your hearts desire.


Brown Butter Vegetables:
Ingredients:
1 package of asparagus tips
1 leek
1 package of mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Rosemary, salt, and pepper

Steps:
Wash all your veggies. Leeks may be harder to wash because of their layers. I just slice them up and put them in a cool water bath, so the dirt falls to the bottom.

Dry your veggies, cut the mushrooms, and lay them all out onto a baking pan that has been oiled, buttered, or liberally sprayed with Pam.

Place 2 tbsp of butter into a heated frying pan, the pans heat must be low. Slowly swirl the pan and watch for the butter to start to brown and smell nutty. When that occurs, take it off the heat, and pour over the vegetables. Sprinkle veggies with some rosemary. Pour the oil and move the pan around to incorporate it.

Place in an oven heated to 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes (or until the asparagus is nice and tender). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then serve.


Rosemary-Thyme Gold Fingerling Potatoes:
Ingredients:
1 bag/pound of fingerling potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
Rosemary and Thyme (dried or not)
Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

Wash the potatoes. Cut the larger ones in half so they cook evenly with the smaller ones.

Oil the pan, put the potatoes in there, move them around to coat them in oil. Cut some of the butter onto each side of the potatoes/pan. Sprinkle with rosemary, and thyme.

It's smart to bake these before the fish AND the veggies, for potatoes take a while. Also, while baking, take the pan out and move it around so that more than one side of the potatoes get browned and delicious. Cook them at 375 degrees for around 35-50 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Salt and pepper, serve, and enjoy!

And there you have it! A delicious meal! If you want you can use some pesto to eat the salmon with, my family loves pesto so we do it for almost every meal. Use whatever pesto recipe you find, I usually just eyeball it all and it ends up tasting delicious!

Cabbage and Spam Soup (Vivi)

This is a really fast soup that I made when I was in a hurry to make dinner before my family came home. It's pretty dang healthy, and REALLY cheap, especially if you just toss in whatever vegetables you got on sale in the supermarket. It can also be made vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth for chicken, and using firm marinated tofu instead of SPAM. Plus, the garlic and chili is good for sinuses, so it's a good recipe for cold weather or when the family starts exhibiting symptoms of cold.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (or whatever oil you like. I just use what I have)

6 cups of low/ no sodium chicken broth (I make my own from chicken bones, but canned is alright for other people's tastes)

half of medium cabbage, shredded

two cloves of garlic, crushed

one whole onion, chopped

two large potatoes

one can of Light Sodium SPAM, diced

any other vegetables you may want to toss in

pepper to taste

crushed red pepper to taste

oregano to taste

Directions:

1. Brush the oil onto a deep pot and saute/caramelize the onions and garlic, shredding the cabbage and chopping up your other vegetables. The vegetables should all be cut up about the same size so they all cook evenly.

2. pour in the 6 cups of broth into the pot and add in all the vegetables. Heat it to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer until potatoes are tender, but not mushy. Sprinkle in the spices to taste.

I made brown rice to serve with the soup, as the soup itself isn't very filling for a family of 5, as well as the fact that brown rice is delicious and very healthy for you. If you make it in the rice cooker, and you put it to make when you started the soup, that is the amount of time it should take for the soup to be done. Enjoy~

Deliciously served in my Kitty Soup Mug<3

Like flames right out of hell coming from your mouth! (Vivi)

OK, so I'm not sharing a recipe this time, but a life changing experience. I'm talking about Wing Stop's Atomic Wings. You heard me. Atomic. And they're not lying on the menu either.

The Atomic Wings

I might be a little late in reviewing this restaurant, as it's been out for years, but this is the first time I've been to one. And being the adventurous eater that I am, as well as being the proud owner of a 50% Mexican stomach that can take a jar of jalapenos without anything to wash them down, and eats fresh jalapeños or broiled Serrano peppers with tortillas for the kicks.

Regardless of that, This half beaner was still a bit nervous when, upon ordering 25 Atomic Wings the cashier looked at us dubiously and asked if we were sure we wanted Atomic. We were, and so she hesitantly wrote down the order and gave it to one of the cooks, who, upon looking at it, rose his eyebrows up to his hairline and asked us if we were sure we wanted 25 Atomic wings. Not to mention, many of the other customers were looking at us strangely, or giving us pitying looks. But this beaner was nothing if not confident in her abilities to take the heat, so I said we were sure, and sat down to wait for our wings.

Let me tell you, when we got them, I could already taste the spiciness coming from the bag as I opened it and smelled the wings, they were that spicy. We couldn't wait to get home, slather these wings with ranch and see what all the fuss was about. Well, it wasn't long until we found out.

I think I must have swallowed about a gallon of water thanks to these wings, and I finished two thirds of my ranch bottle trying to tone down the heat of these babies, but to no avail. My lips literally started hurting on my 5th wing, and by my 8th I had to call it quits for the day. It wasn't until the day after that I looked up the recipe to these little hellfire wings and almost cried when I saw that the sauce was made out Habaneros. Not just made out of them, but there were actual pieces of the pepper in the sauce.

If you don't know how hot a habanero pepper is, check this out. Not as hot as the ghost pepper, but still close enough that my ears were complaining to me about what I was eating.

The next morning, I made a soup, and hoping to tone down or dilute the heat from the wings, I added them to it and helped myself to a big portion. I was out of luck. I had to deal with Atomic flavored soup for the rest of the day as the rest of my family would have none of it.

I'm not saying I'll never go to Wing Stop again, but I will be more cautious next time when the cashiers ask if I'm sure I want what I ordered. And next time, I'll be sure to get only 10 Atomic wings instead of 25.

Throw-It-All-In Curry (Vivi)

Ok guys, in reality, I don't even use a recipe for this, as I've been making curry for about two years now, and no matter what random stuff I put in, it ends up tasting great, so this is just a basic "template" if you will of what I usually put in.

Ingredients

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper, or 3 fresh jalapenos
2 tbsp. sugar
2-1/2 tbsp. curry powder
3 tbsp. tomato paste
salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (you can use a whole chicken too) or tofu
4 tbsp. oil
2 cups of chicken broth (I use my homemade chicken stock for this)
2 cups + 1 can of coconut milk
6 garlic cloves, sliced
1 large onion chopped
3 medium potatoes
2-3 carrots, cut into large bite-size chunks

Any other vegetables or fruits(yes fruits. I've put apples in curry and it tastes great... just make sure they're not too ripe as that will make them too sweet for the curry. its all up to you with curry) that fit your whim. I put canned corn, mushrooms and yams in addition to apples in this curry.

Directions

1. In a bowl, thoroughly mix the salt, red pepper, sugar, curry powder, and tomato paste. Coat the chicken and marinate for 10 minutes. If using tofu, add a bit of milk to the paste so as to soften it and do the same as with the chicken.
   
   
2. Heat oil in a deep pot and stir-fry the garlic, onion, apples (if using them) ad jalapenos. Add chicken (or tofu) and stir-fry for a few minutes more
3. Add in the broth, 2 cups of milk, and 2 cups of coconut milk on top of everything, then stir in the potatoes, carrots, canned vegetables and yams and simmer until vegetables are tender. That's about 15-20 minutes depending on how large you chopped them..

And Voila! The result is delicious and easy to make curry!

I always serve it over rice, but that is up to all of you. As for the rice, I made it in my rice cooker, adding some spinach when it was just about done.

ChoChoSan is so Funny (Rana)

ChoChoSan is a Sushi restaurant I frequent when I'm back home. Their prices are reasonable, and their quality amazing. Yet, yesterday while I was there, I noticed a new roll had been advertised on the revolving belt. The Vegan Delight.



Don't see it? Here, let me elaborate:



Can someone explain to me when fish eggs became vegan?
Or cream cheese?

I think it's just hilarious, and a little insulting.

Unless they meant VEGAN caviar, which is essentially seaweed, salt, and olive oil. It would be good to elaborate. For more information on Vegan caviar, go here:

Vegan Caviar

Speaking of Vegans, I made my first recipe from the Veganomicon!
A delicious Corn and Edamame Asian salad!
I have no pictures, but let me tell you, it was really delicious and crisp. I just wish I'd had time to roast the corn.

See you soon!
Rana

Food, food, FOOD! (Rana)

Glad to see you're back, Vivi! I'll be sure to make that amazing looking Cheesecake during the holidays.

Now as Thanksgiving has passed, I think a post showing what I ate for that glorious night is in order!

I'm just going to barrage you with photos, but let me list what you will see.
The 21 lb. Turkey
The veggie casserole (made with tons of cheese and a cream sauce)
Butternut Squash soup (The recipe of which you Spree-ers know. :])
Tabouli (Arab Parsley salad)
A separate salad that I made out of spring greens, balsamic vinaigrette, and topped with cranberries, homemade candied walnuts, and gorganzola cheese!
Roasted Lamb legs
Buttery carrots (right above the casserole)








Some things that I am much too lazy to post up:
Rosemary Roasted potatoes
Hummus and Babaganoush
The bread display
Meat pies (We call them Kubbeh)
Ceviche
and Shrimp Stew

NOW ON TO THE DESSERTS!



Pies upon PIES! We had banana cream, pumpkin, MORE PUMPKIN, and peach to name a few.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST:




Happy birthday, Grandma! Her birthday is so close to Thanksgiving, we celebrate both on the same day! <3

See you soon!
Rana

Vivi's Back! Pumpkin Cheesecake

So finally I make a post after, what, a year? It feels like forever, anyway. But here I go. My computer is finally fixed, my camera finally works, and I finally have a reason to share these recipes. Truth: I have no life, I might as well spend my time cooking and baking ^^;

So here it is. For anyone who wants a cheesecake and pumpkin pie for Christmas, plus the goodness of marshmallows.

Ingredients:

3/4 cups of sugar

1/4 cup of brown sugar (I had none at the time so I used pilloncillo/rapadura. If you're Hispanic, you know what I'm talking about. If not... don't worry about it. It's just unrefined brown sugar.)

1 1/2 blocks of cream cheese softened

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tbs sour cream

1 tbs flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 ginger

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp cloves

2 eggs at room temperature

Marshmallows (whatever size you want. I used normal size since minis are too troublesome to arrange and jumbos would overpower the cheesecake)

Directions: Very simple, easy instructions. ^^ If you don't want to go through the "trouble" of baking it, just follow instruction 2 and 3, and just put the marshmallows on, pop it in the oven on "toast" until they have a nice brownness and then chill for 8 hours or over night.

1.Preheat the oven at 325○

2.Combine sugar and cream cheese until smooth

3.Add pumpkin and the rest of the ingredients except the marshmallows(add only half the amount of canned pumpkin and omit sour cream, flour and eggs if not baking)

4.Pour in pan (I used pre-made graham crusts) and bake at 325○ for 35 minutes or until cake is set. turn oven off and cool for one hour with the door slightly open. (Slightly, not halfway open)

5. Arrange as many marshmallows as you want on top of the cake, and set it on toast for about five minutes, turning the cake around frequently so that the marshmallows don't burn. (that means you don't have to close the oven door!) Cool with door open.

6. When you can pick up cake with your bare hands, cover it and stick it in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.

So there you have it. Easier than pie pumpkin cheesecake that takes at the most, two hours to make (not including the hour cool off when you can be doing something else.) Mind you, this is the first cheesecake I've actually Baked, (for Thanksgiving. It was the first one to be finished!) so it really is easy!