Rabia's Samosas

Rabia, Helen's friend, sent Helen her beef samosa recipe. Since Helen only has in her possession a pan, I was the one to test out the recipe. Let me tell you, it's awesome! I had a few hiccups with the wraps but that was entirely ... no one's fault.

Extended absense

Hello kids! I'm sure you all missed me and secretly wanting MOAR, but I'm afraid it's going to be awhile before my next post, but this means that the Chopping Block is going to have to double her output!

So for those that don't already know, I've relocated from San Francisco, CA to Pittsburgh, PA for grad school. This means I am way poor, and I will never be able to afford that food processor or electric mixer for another two years!

I condensed my life to a 52lb suitcase and two cats. I'm afraid that I only have one pan and three packs of 20 cent beef flavored instant raman. Obviously I did not think over this purchase. How am I going to make raman without a pot?

Hopefully the next post will be soon(er than I expext)!

Happy Anniversary!

I just realized that it has been one year since we made the first post. Whoohoo!

Other blogs would use the opportunity to give away free stuff as a form of pulling in readership. I am unprepared and I don't have things on hands...so I'm offering free high fives! How about that?

*HIGH FIVE*

Mini Meatball Sandwiches

So The Pioneer Woman said that these mini meatball sandwiches of hers only take 16 minutes to make. I love meatballs. I love fast food. I'm sold! Gone!

Let me tell you a secret, the Pioneer Woman must have magic or something because I most definitely spent more than 16 minutes on them. Either that or I'm slow. The latter seems more plausible, but I'm just going to go with the former.

Gordon Ramsay’s Shrimp & Angel Hair Pasta

The Chopping Block and I had a dinner party because we are old! She even wore a sweater! :O She made her avocado fries (see previous post here). I made Gordon Ramsay's pasta except I used penne and chicken instead. You can see Chef Ramsay making it on hulu here. There wasn't really a written recipe, so I just used what I thought were the right amounts. :| (I think I fed 6 hungry people.)

Avocado Fries

Remember Nur? She was the one who posted this and this. She sent me this link to make avocado fries from Circle B Kitchen.

My first reaction was "Wah? Avocado fries?" Yeah, I have never heard of such a thing before! It looks pretty easy so I decided to make it.

Meal Planning Part 1

 

While my cupboard fails to look organized, it is quite functional. Function is important when you want to start meal planning.

Why meal plan? If you follow my method, it's cheaper and easier than what you might be currently engaged in.

So how do you transform a packed, inaccessible cupboard into one that functions for you (and likely no one else :P) The first things to do have nothing to do with the cupboard but with you. What we think we do, and we actually do is quite different. In the archaeologist Rathje's study of garbage in Phoenix, AZ he found that 15% of the food Americans buy finds its way to landfills. That was in the '80's. While we have started discussing more about waste, that doesn't mean we're doing anything about it. As you can see on that link, Rathje discovered something else Anthropologists have known for a long time: what people think they do and what they actually do are NOT the same. The facts do not mirror the perception we have of ourselves.

So we cost the environment and our pocketbooks with this behavior. Provided you spent $100 a month on groceries, you would be wasting $15 worth (provided the measurement is in monetary value. If it is in lbs, it is likely even more money in your garbage can) a month. That's $180 a year. What could you do with an extra $180 a year? That's a fun out of town trip at the very least.

So the first thing you should do if you want to meal plan, is know your habits. Not what you "think" your habits are, but what they ACTUALLY are.

How do you do this? For two weeks to a month change nothing. Keep a food diary, and keep all of your receipts associated with food. If you eat out, keep the receipt, and write down why you ate out. A birthday? Or was there 'nothing in the house'? If it was the second, and you do this repeatedly and you still grocery shop, your choices and your needs don't match. Also, record what veggies you like, and what veggies you eat. These don't always match.

In order to plan your new (affordable) diet, you need to know what you actually eat. Do you prefer pasta? Rice? Or American Home-cooking: Smashed Potatoes and beef and Broccali n' cheese or Macaroni and Cheese? What does it take to "make you eat your veggies?" Freshness? Light dressing/seasoning? Do you eat more veggies in Asian stir fry's? Curries? Pickled? Salad? Raw?

How do you prefer your meats? What meats?

Chronicle all of these things.

If there are dishes you consistently buy out of the house, perhaps you should look for a variation to make at home. Is there something you buy and eat because it is easy, but you never seem to eat as much of it as you think?

Tips:

Stay away from packaged foods as much as possible. They inflate your grocery bill and are unhealthy.

Buy as many fresh fruits as possible.

If you eat cabbage, a shortcut I've found is shredding and stuffing in plastic bags, for storage in the fridge. When making stir-fry, ramen, or soup it is easy to toss in. Of course, you would have to be using cabbage in large amounts...which I do sometimes.

You will be looking for staple combinations. These are veggies and meat batches that will be able to pull double and triple duty.

Staples that you buy for your cupboard will be seasonings. Oils, spices, wines, vinegars, etc. But in order to select these successfully you need to know what cuisines you prefer.

That returns us to the food diary. Keeping an eye on what you eat before making the shift is essential. In Part 2 I'll discuss how to make the selections of seasonings and combination dishes...all to make daily cooking easy, quick, and delicious.

Drea

Raspberry Ice Cream

When the temperature in the Central Valley of California reaches triple digit, there is nothing better than sweet, fruity ice cream in one's tummy. Nothing, I tell you! I was going to make green tea ice cream but the only place I know that sells macha green tea is closed. So, raspberry ice cream was made and the recipe was found at Annie's-Eats.com

Simply Pan Fried Scallops

If you ate my cooking, the probability of you dying of mercury poisoning or clogged arteries is probably five times higher than average. I love seafood, and I love bacon, but I especially like it when their powers are combined.

The Artichoke Affair

My sister is a cook out of necessity. That is, my mom would call or leave a note saying "Make lunch for your dad when he comes home." So what is there to make for one vegetarian for lunch? Being resourceful, she figured that it's best to combine all of my dad's favorites into one dish: olives, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms!

She called this The Artichoke Affair because, like me, she has a flare for the dramatics.