frijoles rancheros
this is a delicious mexican side that can be eaten as a meal

-pinto beans, a pound or so

soak them in water overnight, until they are swollen. if you skip the soaking you will triple your cooking time

-large onion
-garlic

drain and rinse beans, put them in a stock pot add enough water to cover the beans by half their original height. cut a large onion in half or cut a deep X in a small onion and put it in the pot, along with 2-3 peeled cloves of garlic

simmer covered at low heat for 3 hours or so, until the beans are cooked. this step is where you can easily ruin the beans. if you have the heat the slightest too high you risk boiling off the liquid and burning the beans. your liquid level should not drop noticeably while the beans are cooking. if you wish you can add bones to improve the flavor of the broth

-fatty meat (bacon, sausage, chorizo)

pour the beans and broth in a large bowl or something to hold them. in the original pot, fry some bacon, sausage, or chorizo until the grease has been released and fatty pieces brown slightly. you can use about two ounces of bacon. if you use sausage or chorizo, put all you want as long as you put at least a quarter pound.

-onion
-jalapenho
-tomato

add a large chopped onion and fry it in the grease at low-medium temperature until the onion is softened. you can add with the onion a diced jalapenho. control the spice by how many of the seeds you leave in. after the onion is soft, add the tomato, chopped. you may make the dish sweeter by cooking the onion until it is caramelized.

make sure you have removed the onion and garlic from the beans. pour a bit of the broth into the pot of frying onions and use it to unstick any bits of meat or bean residue on the sides of the pot. add the rest of the beans and broth.

-fresh cilantro
-cumin (comino, jira)
-tomato sauce
-salt and pepper

stir the pot and add about a cup of coarsely chopped cilantro, and a half tablespoon or so of cumin. cilantro balances the spice of the jalapenho, so it is important. let this simmer about 20-30 minutes, covered at low heat, to assimilate the flavor. add tomato sauce to make the broth look thick and more appealing, and salt and black pepper to taste.

if you find you have made it too spicy, eat it with steamed white rice stirred into the bowls
- posted by Jesse @ 11:57 AM 2 comments  

 
Food, Budapest Style
Hungarian food is wonderful, life-affirming stuff. It exists in complete synergy with everything I believe to be True and Right. Last night we went to a modest little wood panelled food place just around the corner from Peter's house - and it delivered wonderfulness in bucketloads...

First up was a entree of Palacinta (stuffed pancakes), stuffed with a pork stew, topped with chillis, onions and sour cream. Swimming in delicious mild paprika sauce. Grrrr.



The main event spoke for itself. I've done a fair bit of eating in my time, but this was the single greatest Manly Plate O' Meats Iáve ever seen.



A construction of four different types of meat, topped with an omlette, build on foundations of fried potatoes. Surrounded rice, onions, cabbage and paprika paste. Unspeakably good.

To reapeat myself - Budapest is the best place in the world.
- posted by Tom Gara @ 5:43 AM 2 comments  

 
boiled eggs and rice
if you want to make a quick meal

steam some rice
boil some eggs
open the eggs and cut them into chunks
mix eggs with chili garlic sauce and soy sauce
pout this over bowl of rice and eat

i use a soy sauce called tuong gia vi which is enhanced with disodium-5-inosinate and disodium-5-guanylate. look for this chemical enhancer if you want a soy sauce that is good as a tabletop condiment rather than for cooking
- posted by Jesse @ 11:35 PM 1 comments  

 
Great Idea - How about we do a nomad cookbook in 6 months?
From Chicagoist Blog - The Loosetooth Cookbook
Last January, Chicagoan Brandy Agerbeck turned 30 and celebrated with a potluck dinner.
According to Agerbeck's Web site, "Everyone was asking for everyone else's recipes. I thought, 'I oughta create a Friends of Loosetooth.com cookbook.' I love old ladies auxiliary type cookbooks that are a group, community effort. In the next thought, 'and we'll donate the money to a food bank'."
And that's just what she did.
Agerbeck has developed the "Friends Of Loosetooth.com Cookbook." With more than 190 recipes, including drink, soup, and meal recipes, and a healthy amount of vegetarian and vegan ideas, the cookbook brings together a slew of mostly fellow Chicagoans, all who contributed their own recipes to the project.
What's really cool is that the cookbook is available at Cafe Press for $20, and the $4 profit to be had from each book -- as Agerbeck says each costs $16 to produce -- goes directly to America's Second Harvest.
Chicagoist is pumped to buy her copy and get her own glimpse into the kitchens of some of her fellow Chicagoans -- some of the recipes give credit where its possibly due with names like "Aunt Eydie's Cheddar Potatoes" and "Aunt Diana's Grasshopper Cheesecake" and Chicagoist's favorite, "Dueling Grandmothers Swedish Rice Pudding," meaning you know these are some fantastic recipes that have lit up people's lives for years. So cool.
To get your copy of The Friends of Loosetooth.com Cookbook, visit Agerbeck's Cafe Press location.
- posted by BG @ 9:04 AM 0 comments  

 
a recipe close to my heart

- posted by Jesse @ 6:00 PM 1 comments  

 
Foodie Poll
A couple questions...

1. How many dishes do you have memorized? (No referencing a recipe, just grab the ingredients and tools... lets go.) Or do you learn certain spice combinations/ratios and just apply as needed?


2. How often do you measure spices and ingredients? Do you only measure on things you've recently learned, or are you pretty rigid about quantities?


3. When you don't measure, do you go by ratio (this much of that, and about half as much of this) or eyeballed quantity (a handful of this, about a panful of that)? (No fair using ''to taste'' -- DUH How do you choose initial amounts when not measuring?)


4. How often do you just randomly try throwing stuff together, cooking by feel (taste) and experience? How often do you have to throw that away, or bury the flavors with something else?

- posted by BG @ 2:51 PM 6 comments  

 
Chinese new year recipes
Kitchen Gods' Day

On Kitchen Gods' Day, the 24th day of the month before, it's time to appease the kitchen gods before they head up to heaven where they report on the family's activities. Traditions include burning images of the kitchen gods to symbolise their departure. Brushing honey or sugar on the images' lips before burning is supposed to improve the chance that they will say sweet things about you.



- posted by Mel T. @ 6:56 AM 0 comments  

 
salsa
further inspired by trent.

salsa means "sauce". some common forms you see as condiments are salsa picante (hot), pico de gallo (lit. peck of the rooster), salsa verde (green)...

this is a standard red spicy salsa
-roma tomatoes-jalapenhos-cilantro-onion-tomato paste-salt-lime
get about four roma tomatoes and four jalapenhos. heat a cast iron skillet and place them on there. you want to singe the skins, releasing some of their oils into the interior of the fruit turn the tomatoes and peppers about until a good portions of their skins are blackened, singed, blistered, and starting to peel. careful with the tomatoes.

core the tomatoes, half them and remove the seeds. chop them very finely or puree them, along with the peppers

put this in a saucepan on low heat until it thickens slightly. add chopped onion and cilantro. cilantro is important as it counters the spice of the jalapenhos. it gives a "fresh" taste to the salsa

add salt and lime to taste, add tomato paste for color, reduce to desired thickness. it is not necessary to heat the salsa, you can make it all cold if you wish

if the salsa tastes as if it has not enough body, add tomato paste
if it is too spicy, add cilantro
if you cannot put your finger on it, add lime and/or salt
- posted by Jesse @ 11:59 PM 0 comments  

 
mexican / spanish rice
this was inspired by trent's recipe:

spaniards learned of the spices turmeric and coriander after contact with arab traders who had brought them from india

-brown some dried rice in a skillet with minimal oil, do not burn it, it burns easily. the more oil you add, the less likely it is to burn, the less moist it will be in the end
-add chopped onion, fry until fragrant
-in a mortar and pestle (molcajete) grind a couple cloves of garlic with cumin (comino) and chicken bouillon powder (msg-knorr suisse) add water and mix this around.
-chop tomato and cilantro, add this to the skillet with water from molcajete
-the liquid in the skillet should be approximately half more in volume than that of the rice originally added
-cover and cook at low heat until the rice is done and no liquid remains
-if you wish to make the spanish arroz con pollo, omit bouillon powder, replace water with chicken stock and add browned pieces of chicken or whole chicken parts, also add turmeric to give it a yellow color. peas and carrots are useful.
- posted by Jesse @ 11:44 PM 0 comments  

 
Taco Surprise...College Style
This is a classic Trent recipe: Start with a theme, such as Mexican, and then dive into the fridge with the loose mandate of butchering some ethnicities traditional cuisine...observe.

You will need:
1/2 Chopped Onion
1 Chicken breast (frozen or fresh)
Long grain rice
Cilantro
Tobasco or Franks Hot Sauce
Garlic Salt
Salsa
Refried or Black beans
Olive oil or Peanut Oil or Vegatable Oil, motor oil?
Pitas!

Part 1: Rice
Make some rice. If you can't do that, get out of here. You should be hanging your head in shame, not cooking. Put cilantro in it to taste. Put aside for later....gigity, alright.

Part 2:
Fry one chicken breast in olive oil. While frying, cut into bite size peices and sprinkle gingerly with garlic salt and tobasco or Frank's sauce and toss those onions in there. Fry until FULLY cooked, that part is really important, and lightly browned. Add salsa, refried and/or black beans, and a shit ton more Franks sauce. Stir and simmer.

Part 3:
If you have an electric grill surface, turn'er on low and throw a couple pitas on there. Otherwise, grab another pan. Take Part 2 and Part 1, throw it in the toasted pita, and serve. Serves like 1.5 hungry college students.

COLLEGE!

T-rent



- posted by nomadlife community @ 7:52 PM 0 comments  

 
Paneer Jalfrazy (makes you crazy)



1/2 lb paneer cubes (cottage cheese)
1/2 white onion
1/2 green bell peper
3/4 cup tomato paste
1 tblsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 1/2 garam masala
1 tsp sugar
oil

Chop the onion and green bell pepper in big square shapes. Cut paneer into cubes. Saute' the paneer until light golden brown for about 2 mins and store in a bowl filled with water to keep them soft.

Fry cumin powder and onions until onions turn golden brown. Now add bell peppers and saute them for 2 mins and add giner garlic paste. Let it saute for another 3 mins. Add turmeric powder and chili powder. Add tomato paste and saute for about 5 mins or till you see the oil on the surface of tomate paste.

Remove paneer cubes from the water bowl and add it to tomato paste mixture, sprinkle the garam masala and salt to taste on top and cook for another 3-4 mins. Add sugar & tomato ketchup, cook it for 2 mins. Stir and garnish it with some fresh chopped corriander.

Can either have it with parathas on the side or can be had as a wrap(tortilla/paratha).

- posted by Ganju @ 6:55 AM 0 comments  

 
Update
Here ya go... atom feed enabled. This page is news aggregator ready.

and for good measure (get it?.. get it?..) i'll throw in a cooking related link too.

Cooking for Engineers - directions in a semi-intuitive graphic format

- posted by BG @ 3:06 AM 0 comments  

 
Creamy Curried Chicken Salad


2 1/2 cups of chopped deli roasted chicken ( fancy name eh ? just cooked chicken breast meat chopped is fine )
1/4 cup of Mayonnaise
1/8 cup of green onion slices
2 Tbsp raisins
2 Tbsp slivered almonds, toasted
1 Tbsp curry power

Mix all ingredients until well blended; cover
Refrigerate for several hours or overnight
Serve with crackers or mini pita halves
Throw in a few lettuce leafs

Simple, healthy choice ?

For Wing : a picture !
- posted by Celine @ 1:34 AM 0 comments  

 
stew for whores
my girlfriend scribbled down this recipe after drinking a bottle of the most popular ghetto girl drink, boone's farm fuzzy navel

click here

if you wish to read this politically correctly, replace "whores" with "sex workers," and "ghetto," with "homogenized community of the socioeconomically disadvantaged."

this is a vietnamese stew. it is best eaten with bread. to eat it with rice vermicelli, omit potatoes and use chili oil instead of thai chilies
- posted by Jesse @ 8:45 PM 0 comments  

 
Google-Fried Chicken
This recipe was originally posted on the official Google Blog last year. It deserves a re-posting here though, because not only is it for what the author described as "the best southern fried chicken I've ever had" - tempting enough - but because it involves 30 whole chickens and three gallons of buttermilk. A recipe for success if ever I've heard one.

Anyhow, I'm sure the recipe scales down properly, so here it is for everyones enjoyment:

-------------
"Chicken a la The King

Long before cooking at Google, I worked in the kitchen of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel with a Southern gent named Robert Brown. Story was that at one time in his life, Mr. Brown had cooked for Elvis Presley. Mr. Brown never gave us the details, but he did let us know that the King loved his fried chicken and biscuits.

Mr. Brown had a fluffy white cloud of hair floating above a face the color of molasses, garnished with a big gold tooth protruding from his mouth and thick dark glasses he never took off, even in the kitchen. He was a primal cook - he couldn't tell you why he did what he did, but he knew when it was "GOOOOOD." It was better than good. It was the best southern fried chicken I had ever tasted, and still is.

One day I got up the courage to ask him for the recipe, and he told me, "Charlie, I normally don't give out my prize recipes, but you, boy, have got the touch. And none of my boys are in the business, so I will give it to you." The secret to his fried chicken was marinating it in buttermilk for a long time, and adding just about every damn spice he had on hand.

Whenever I serve it today, I can hear Robert Brown saying, "Charlie, you make this chicken for people, you'll be making friends for life." And I hope I have. Here's the Google-sized recipe, plus a handy "recipe adjuster" if you're cooking for fewer people than I do.

Charlie Ayers


Buttermilk Fried Chicken Elvis Loved
*Google-sized portions; read all the way through to get the total amounts needed*

1/2 c thyme
1/4 c oregano
1/4 c basil
1/2 c onion powder
1/2 c garlic powder
1/2 c dry mustard
1/2 c paprika
1/4 c chili powder
1/2 c celery seed
2 Tbsp salt
1/2 c coriander
1/2 c cumin
1/3 c kosher salt
1/4 c cayenne pepper
1/2 c ground black pepper
1/4 c ground white pepper

3 gals. buttermilk
3 cases organic free range chicken (roughly 30 chickens, divided into 1.5- to 2-lb. sections)

Mix these amounts of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then whisk in the buttermilk until it's thoroughly mixed.

Pour the batter over the chickens and marinate for up to five days - keep refrigerated, of course.

For frying
Now mix another 4x the above dry ingredients, and add:
2 lbs. cornstarch
8 qts. all-purpose organic whole wheat flour

Dredge the marinated chicken pieces in the dry herbs/flour/cornstarch mixture mix.
Fry the dredged chicken in a large skillet with hot peanut oil @ 375 degrees. Once chicken has reached a golden brown color, finish cooking it in the oven. "

- posted by Tom Gara @ 4:49 AM 1 comments  

 
Grilled Chicken with orange
One will need :

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
5 medium oranges
half cup of barbecue sauce

Directions :

Squeeze juice from 1 orange, mix with BBQ sauce. Add chicken to the mixture.
Let it marinate for at least 20 minutes.
Preheat grill to mediumheat. Cut each of the 4 remaining oranges into 4 slices.
Remove the chicken from the marinade. Keep the marinade.
Place 8 orange slices on the grill, top the chicken.
Brush with the remaining marinade/ mixture.

Grill the chicken, placing the orange slices at strategic places, making sure that the juices 'seep' into the chicken !
Make sure that the chicken is cooked throughly.
Lastly, glaze the chicken with lightly with some BBQ sauce and serve with vegetables !

Enjoy !

Chris : this one has no garlic !


- posted by Celine @ 10:00 PM 2 comments