Archive for the ‘Fast & Easy’ Category
Good evening Dear Readers:
I haven’t written since March 10, and for that I apologize. Even WordPress started nagging me about it! I’m still not working, but working ON it. I have some more gluten-free stuff to share, and I may have a big decision to make soon. But more on that as it happens, since I haven’t been offered anything in the top hiring state in the nation in the 8 months I have been actively looking for a job. Nuffin’.
Enough of that.
Remember the blog post I did on lunch bags a while back? Updates: I’ve got more sewing done, and the last of the lunch bags is complete. I have decided to retire the book Lunch Bags, at least for a while, until I have more inspiration or someone asks for one. This interesting lunch bag is the reason I bought that darn book in the first place. I even found the same fabric used in the book, but kept getting vexed by the directions. Finally, I finished it, more or less just like the book, even though I’m not carrying a lunch bag around anymore.
A triumph over. . .oh, heck, it’s finished.
There ended up being three of these Zipper-top Lunch Bags on page 71, two of which looked like this:
One of three lunch bags
I gave one to my Buddhist leader, and this last one went to faithful reader Aunt Kathy. Surprisingly, I had enough materials left to make a third, although I kept thinking this was a fourth. (I went to Tulane at night, so I can’t count.) I hate wasting fabric and supplies, so Neighbor K got this version:
A wilder version of the Zippered Lunch Bag
If you’re wondering why I call it that, it’s because I used black on the bottom and for whatever reason, I’d previously cut more Insul-Fleece with this fabric to line it with:
And the screaming red liner for lunch bag 3. Told you it was wilder.
I forgot to take a picture before I gave it to her, so yes, if you’re reading this, K, these pictures were taken in your kitchen when I brought the pug back in. (K also was the recipient of the first bicycle lunch bag.)
A note about Insul-Fleece–it won’t keep lunch icy cold for a long period of time, you’ll have to stash the bag in the fridge at work, or at least carry something that won’t spoil easily.
I’m not sewing that much, mostly on the weekend. I’ve got a couple of things to stitch up this weekend and I hope I get them all finished on time.
OK, now through the bedroom to the HeatCageKitchen garden on the back patio. NOTE: I am NOT making escargot from the snails I keep finding. Yuck. I just toss them over the fence and tell them to go find a new life.
So the gardening is, well, it’s going, and if you remember the little tomato survivor, it finally turned red and became part of a garden salad.
The one, lonely winter-surviving tomato.
Incidentally, that plant is starting to come back, as you can see from the greenery at the bottom. Need to trim off the brown parts so the green can thrive. I think I waited a bit too long to use the tomato, because it became a bit, oh, you know, odd, like it was over-ripened, but not too far. Hate to toss that hardy plant after the multiple freezes it went through.
I also had my computer in the shop for a few days, and before I picked it up yesterday I ducked into Garden Ridge a couple of doors down. I saw lots of hanging planters for both tomatoes and strawberries, including one that you plant bell peppers on one end and tomatoes on the other. A hanging salsa grower? I’m game.
So I gathered up a few ingredients including mint, lettuce, Italian flat-leaf parsley, two garlic shoots, and one hardy tomato and made a gourmet salad. Ready? Here it is.
Le Salade a la Amy Garden. You would pay top dollar for this in a snooty restaurant.
Those dark colored leaves are lettuce from the “city mix” I planted several months ago. For whatever reason, that was pretty much everything I harvested, and a little has grown back. Oh, boy.
Sure, I put a bit of salt and fresh-mixed dressing on it–who wouldn’t? Of course it was tasty, but I put too many mint leaves in it. Not earth-shattering, just a little potent.
Speaking of salads, I have gone back to doing the lettuce-in-a-jar thing after a few months of not doing it, mostly because of the very cold weather. While we didn’t get any snow this time around, not many folks are interested in cool, crisp lettuce when the heater is on and the fireplace is lit. You want warm. . .much as I love salads, this winter, I gave it up for a while.
So you probably know my penchant for seeking out stuff on sale, particularly meat on sale, and at SuperTarget, I can definitely get lucky.
The steak to start with. No, Fancy Feast was not part of the deal.
This particular steak was a good flank steak, and the kind that’s organic grass fed and all that. But what to do with it?
When I had a “regular” job (that is, one I knew I was going to every day) my favorite single-girl payday meal was a steak salad I created with the usual lettuce/tomato/cucumber, and added either sugar snap peas, avocado, or some other veggie that looked real good that day. My preferred steak was the Flat Iron Steak, which I’d never heard of before but eagerly tried and loved.
The dressing is one of my favorites from Suzanne Somers’ Get Skinny On Fabulous Food, (page 149) with six tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, two tablespoons lemon juice, two cloves of garlic, and salt with freshly ground black pepper. Whiz that together with your hand blender or mini blender, and set that aside.
I discovered flat iron steaks while prowling in Kroger’s meat department one day. They were, at the time, relatively inexpensive, although the price has gone up considerably in the last couple of years. I would get a big one, use my little meat tenderizer tool thingy and get it cooking. Of course I wouldn’t eat the ENTIRE steak at one time; they are usually as long as my forearm. Depending on the size of the steak, I would have one third to one fourth on the salad, and then cut up the rest for more delicious salad later. Sliced thinly and against the grain, the steak and the accompanying salad veggies are wonderful together with that simple vinaigrette.
Yum. I need to make that dressing again soon. Shaking oil & vinegar in a jar is easy, but that one is fantastic.
My method for cooking just about any kind of steak is simple: stash it under the broiler in the toaster oven. Oh, wait, you want to do it on top the stove? OK, here you go: cast iron pan, a little olive oil, heat on high while you prep your steak (salt/pepper, whatever.) Once you know it’s screaming hot, toss that steak in and IMMEDIATELY turn down the heat to medium. DO NOT go check Facebook because you will ruin a good steak. Do not do that, either.
After a few minutes, when you can easily pick up the steak with tongs, a fork or other implement, flip it. Don’t pull or scrape the steak from the pan–if it’s stuck, leave it until it’s not stuck anymore, which shouldn’t be more than a few minutes, like 5 to 7. (You did put oil in the pan, right?) Cook on the second side until it’s done to your liking–red, pink, completely cooked through, whatever. I prefer some red/pink in the middle, because I will microwave the leftovers later and I don’t want to overcook them.
Really, you should leave a steak to rest for five minutes before you cut into it. Some of us are impatient, but I do it most of the time.
This particular steak I cooked on top of the stove, but because I have more time on my hands than most, I decided to marinate it before hand.
Ahh, there’s the rub! Lemon zest, garlic shoots and finely chopped rosemary from the garden.
I’ve said this before, I love the garlic shoots, and if you’ve never tried growing garlic, it’s not difficult. I haven’t yet harvested any, because I don’t think it’s time, but I’ll keep you posted.
To the chopped stuff, I tossed in some olive oil–I didn’t measure, but I’d say it was between a quarter cup and an eighth of a cup. Mixed it all together, along with some salt and pepper, dropped the steak in and coated both sides, put some plastic wrap on top and stashed it in the fridge.
After the overnight bath
The next day I just used my steak-cooking method and it came out wonderful:
That’s what a steak is supposed to look like!
After the requisite rest period, it looks like this when you slice it:
Oh, yeah. . . .
Yes, it was a really good steak. Twice. The lemon, mild garlic and rosemary infused the meat with a mild but distinct flavor that was tasty, but not overpowering like some marinades and flavorings can do. I don’t mind a stronger flavor, but this was certainly worth the time and effort. I’ll do this again sometime, maybe with garlic cloves rather than the shoots (which I probably won’t have much longer anyway once I harvest.)
It’s gluten free! (By virtue of having no bread/wheat around, of course.)
You could always do this on a grill, too. . .I just didn’t. Feel free to grill and let me know how it turns out, please.
It was a good night, and I even had a glass of wine after dinner. With more sewing done and projects given away, it was a pretty good weekend.
More to come in upcoming blog posts.
Enjoy!
Good evening, Dear Readers:
Just dropping in to say Hi, and to tell you about a recipe I tried this evening, FINALLY.
The weather here is warm, but will chill down later in the week. The AC is still on, but because it cools off a bit at night, I have to keep turning it UP. Oh, well.
I spent ALL of today taking online technical exams for two upcoming job interviews. Long and tedious, but that’s OK, I had a couple of other things going on at the same time. The first was OK, but the second involved proofreading. Now for a writer, this is usually no big deal. But the whole proofreading section was foodie based: restaurant menus and tabs, vegetable purchase receipts, that sort of thing. The worst part was reading and proofing the various descriptions of a fictitious vegetarian restaurant called “Garden Greens.” It read like a badly written romance novel–irritating to read, and then I had to proofread and find the errors. You talk about a headache; no wonder I’m so tired!
Tomorrow I head downtown for an interview for this company, and then I head to the Galleria area on Thursday to meet with one of so many job shops I hear from. They’re also known as temp agencies and headhunters. Mostly they just waste my time, but one of the jobs they have is for a copywriter, for which I am quite qualified. So, we’ll see, and maybe a stop for a coffee at Central Market on the way home.
One in a million is what sent me to my last job, and to the job at Boeing where I hung out with the finest IT people in the world for 8 years. Oh, well. . . .
I have a habit of printing off recipes and getting around to trying them “one day.” Of particular interest are healthier versions of popular things, and chocolate, as you might imagine, is tops. One of the most popular recipes floating around online is the infamous “microwave cake in a cup.” There are many variations, and for us gluten-free/yeast-free folk, this is a bonus opportunity.
Dr. Steven Hotze, who I frequently refer to as “The God of the Hormones,” is big on healthy and yeast free eating, for obvious reasons. Physician’s Preference, his on-site vitamin store, publishes recipes on their blog all the time. This one, being chocolate, I printed and have moved around for over a year.
Tonight, I finally made this Microwaveable Chocolate Cake, and I have to say I am quite impressed. It worked!! Makes two, and I did, but only ate one. Honest!
Gluten free chocolate cake in a cup. Go for it!
Instead of Sweet N’ Natural, I did use SomerSweet, my favorite natural sweetener. Glad I bought a case a few months ago. Wish I’d bought more, but I only have so much room in the pantry.
I wrapped the first one in the wax paper, and I should not have done that. But that’s OK, it came out just fine, even if it doesn’t look like the one on P/P’s website. The second one just had wax paper on top. YUM. I don’t know how big those ramekins are, but that’s OK. Use what you have, right?
Mind you, it would have been perfect for Valentine’s Day, too. DUH.
Oh, and that potholder I made from a book called Pretty Little Potholders. Made two of them. Used up some fabric scraps, that’s for sure. Haven’t made any more; they don’t really insulate your hands that well, so I’ll figure out another method for the next batch I make that actually keep your hands from burning, probably doubling the batting recommended.
Enjoy!
Afternoon, Dear Readers:
Here in Houston, the weather has warmed up, the clouds are gone and it’s a lovely day. I say that not to make anyone jealous, but to remind you that winter always turns to spring. Eventually.
Y’all, it just dawned on me that I didn’t recommend anything for Valentine’s Day dinner. DUH.
Sure, you could go out to dinner. Have you ever tried to get a reservation for Valentine’s Day? No, I don’t mean Golden Corral. . . Jack In The Box is usually open. So is Carl’s Jr., if you have one in your area–they have sweet potato fries!
Or just go out and find a place to eat. You’ll be elbow-to-elbow with all the other star-crossed lovers. Forget that! Make dinner for your sweetie–but don’t go overboard. You need something easy that won’t take long. So here you go.
One of my newest favorite foods is cannellini beans. You know, the white kidney beans, usually from Italy. They are SOOOO good. I have a number of recipes calling for them, but my absolute favorite is, once again, from Nigella Lawson. It’s a simple white bean mash that can take the place of mashed potatoes and tastes so much better.
Thing is, you have to do it exactly as the recipe states. However, I’ve fiddled with it a bit to make it just for lunch. I’ll explain that in a minute.
Tonight, if you can get some nice little steaks and three cans of cannellini beans, (don’t forget olive oil, lemon and garlic) you’re all set–just make sure dessert is delicious, too. (It does not have to be chocolate, OK?) You make the beans first, then cook up the steaks and squeeze the lemon into the hot pan to deglaze it. The most time it takes is for making the bean mash. You can find the entire recipe here.
A steak dinner on Valentine’s Day? Of course!
Now, I have, on a couple of occasions, accidentally bought those little great white beans, or whatever they are called, because I simply grabbed the wrong can. This is easy when you buy Goya, because the cans all look alike. Darnit. They work, but are not as tasty as the cannellini.
Since my job ended on January 31, I’ve been eating white bean mash nearly every day. Why? I love it! With turkey, meatloaf, or whatever I feel like cooking up, it’s simple. And I also figured out how to make it in the microwave.
Rinse one can of beans and dump it in a microwave safe bowl; preferably one like a Grab-It with rounded sides and wide. Add to it a goodly amount of olive oil (maybe 1/8 cup, just eyeball it), and grate in a clove of garlic and some lemon zest (one small or half a large.) Microwave it until it’s hot. Take it out (put it on something heat-safe) and get a wide, flat spoon (a round wooden one works great) and mash to your heart’s content. Taste, and dd a bit of salt if you think you need it (mine always do) and mash until you get the same nubbly consistency, or it’s good enough for one person to devour.
I took that to work many times. Now that I’m not working, I just need to make sure I keep cannellini beans in the pantry.
That’s all for now.
Happy Valentine’s Day, and Enjoy!
Good evening, again, Dear Readers:
After last night’s triumphant return to the blogosphere, I fell. No, not like “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” No, I’m sick. Bronchitis. Feels like two guys are in my lungs letting loose with flamethrowers every time I cough.
Someone in my current office environment was sick last week and just had to go to work, coughing, hacking, etc. How nice that one of the princes thought it would be OK to cough up a lung all day long in an open-air office.
Thanks for that.
So after an $89 visit to a local Redi-Clinic and a $19 prescription at Target for a high-potency broad spectrum antibiotic, I decided that I would get something quick to eat. After all, I’m sick, darnit, I deserve a little something else.
Note: this is how I discovered the Cranberry Bliss Bar at Starbucks many years ago. I was at Target waiting for a prescription in the winter and there it was. . .well, I’m gluten free now, but that’s how it happened.
The Rotisserie Chicken is a wonderful thing, and can be part of a regular day. Just not too often. These babies are all cooked, nice and hot and stay hot until you get home (if you don’t live too far away from the heat case.) Much as I like to cook, and enjoy making food at home. . .once in a while, stuff like this is a BIG help.
Come to Mama. . .
One of two remaining hot rotisserie chickens in SuperTarget this evening.
You just tear the pieces off, and. . .yum. No carving required.
The step-kitty got some, too. She’s so cute, jumping up to grab my hand with her paws so she can get that chicken. I’ve posted videos on Facebook and sent them to her owner, who saw her in action at Thanksgiving (or was it Christmas?). Awww. . .I just tore off a few pieces of breast meat, small enough for her to handle, and let them cool. (Of course anytime I’m near the stove, she demands what she thinks is food; she doesn’t understand coffee or tea.)
Now, I’ve seen Giada de Laurentiis turn these into chicken salads, instead of messing around with poaching or roasting chicken herself. Big time saver, and sometimes, that’s just what you need.
The SuperTargets around here sell these same chickens the next day in the refrigerated case for $3. No kidding. Need a bunch? Get them cold, and they’re cheap. I’ve done that a few times, too.
And because I’m super-sick, what I politely call my “Sunday treat,” only it’s not actually Sunday:
Ahhhh. . .chocolate and coconut. . .
It is my current favorite. I bought two, and one will be for tomorrow. If I can wait that long. . . .
Yes, I’ll be going back on the hCG diet real soon. I bought the hCG tablets this time, let’s see if this works better than the alcohol-free liquid.
Oh, and I got another coupon tonight from Starbucks for $2 off an espresso drink. Looks like I’ll be heading over there soon.
Stay warm and dry, and please take care of yourselves. Please bring your pets and critters inside so they can be safe and warm, too. Winter isn’t over yet.
More to tell you soon.
Amy
Good evening, Dear Readers:
Well, I’ve been quite busy, and offer my sincerest apologies for the lack of content here. I can’t believe it’s been a month since Halloween already!! SHEEESH!!
I’ve actually got TWO drafts saved, and haven’t been back to finish them off. I hate that, but I’ll try to get back on it this week.
A big Shout-Out to the wonderful folks at Oil & Vinegar in The Woodlands–more in the next post, but I had a recent trip up there and made sure to stop in for some of my favorites. Found out that Anton & Karia Kharoufeh, the owners of the Woodlands Oil & Vinegar, regularly check out my humble blog and remember me when I go up there. Now to have more content! If you’re in The Woodlands Mall sometime, they’re located just inside the entrance by Barnes & Noble (inside the mall, not outside like Anthropologie.)Â REALLY, really, wonderful olive oils and delicious vinegars that you won’t find anywhere else, as well as some other great gourmet foods. If you’re truly a foodie, it’s worth the trip. And many thanks to The Kharoufehs for being readers, too.
Incidentally, there are two little tomatoes in the HeatCageKitchen garden, and as I write this, it’s been raining pretty good, and as I write this, it’s 40F outside. Well, at least the rosemary is happy. That’s another long-neglected project that might get some attention this weekend when it warms up a bit.
So, my Turkey Day will not actually involve turkey this year., and the years-long “Buddhist Thanksgiving tradition” has given way to other things, so we’re all going in different directions. That’s OK–I’m going to my friends’ K&M’s place, and K will be roasting. . .duck. DUCK! Admittedly, I’ve only had duck once, maybe twice, but I’m game. (Get it?? I’m GAME!!) Another person will be bringing brisket, and I’ll be making a big batch of the Cranberry Ginger Relish that nets me multiple emails for the recipe just about every time I make it. (I’ve made it for myself with SomerSweet instead of sugar, and it works well and tastes great.) Five ingredients including water; sherry vinegar works best at the end. Seriously, it’s easy, quick, and is always well liked. First you taste the sweet and tart, then, POW! That ginger/sherry heat hits you right in the kisser! I made some for me with SomerSweet a couple of weeks ago and it didn’t last long. I just kept going back to the fridge for a spoonful. . .yum.
Oh, BTW, a safety warning–one of my favorite celebrity chefs, Giada de Laurentiis, sliced her finger on the set of Thanksgiving Live last Saturday. I did not see this, but saw the pictures on Facebook later. Giada joins a list of celebrities who have had holiday hospital visits, including Martha Stewart and David Letterman. WARNING: please pay attention, because four years ago, I did the exact same thing with a mandoline.It’s what I get for talking to Auntie on the phone whilst slicing onions for the turkey brine. With folks walking around visiting and talking, it’s easy to lose track of what you’re doing, and you don’t realize it until you see the blood.
Nobody wants blood on the pecan pie, OK?
Now, if your Thanksgiving is a bit on the traditional side, and you have a post-dinner football game, um, Jason Gay in today’s Wall Street Journal has some sage advice. OK, it’s hilarious–go read it, along with the comments.
And finally, the preparations for a presidential pardon of the national turkey is discussed in today’s paper. No, I’m not kidding, they TRAIN the turkey to behave in front of the President. Having been turned on to Animal Planet’s show My Cat From Hell, featuring a wild-looking guy named Jackson Galaxy, I can believe that they can condition a turkey to be cool in front of the President, TV cameras, Secret Service guys with loaded weapons, and wild children all over the place.
What is this, American Turkey Idol?
I wrote a post at this time last year on My Alternate Thanksgiving, and if you missed it, check it out, there is a recipe for Leftover Turkey Chowder that is wonderful. Also included was some advice in The Tuscan Turkey and Turkey–The Big Chicken if you are in need of some help with it. Suzanne Somers no longer sells salt rubs on her site, but you can find recipes online (just do a search) or head over to Williams Sonoma and/or Sur La Table to get some already made.
Since I was spending Thanksgiving alone last year, that meant going directly to the soup, and skipping the traditional dinner. This was my choice, of course, and if you try this soup, you will understand why. SOOO good, but I’ll skip it this time and maybe make it for Christmas, unless I get invited elsewhere again.
More articles to come, and thanks for being patient.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
