Vegetables, Steak, and Pasta, Oh My!

Fortunately for me, I have friends who have gardens and can supply me with random produce. Last week, I found myself with two tomatoes and a pear. The pear wasn't quite ripe yet, so I felt that cooking it would soften it and bring out some sweetness. It was hot, I am lazy, and thankfully, just managed to pull an idea out of my bottom on the way home from work. However, even the best laid plans ...

Defrosting in my fridge was a good amount of skirt steak that I had purchased from the farmer's market. I had marinated it overnight with lemon juice and a bit of salt and pepper. I had planned to broil the steak after cutting it down to 1" thick pieces, but ended up pan-searing it instead (long story). I added some mashed garlic and red pepper flakes to the steak about 20 minutes before pan-searing in butter, and the whole thing turned out quite well! The most important step is to make sure your pan is very hot before cooking otherwise the meat will soak up too much of the fat (thanks Gordon Ramsey for reminding me of this important fact during the 4 non-stop hours of "Hell's Kitchen" that I watched).

I sauteed onions and garlic in a pan with vegetable oil until translucent, then added chopped pear and balsamic vinegar (a few tablespoons) and cooked it all together. Then I added the chopped tomatoes and one cup of chicken stock (or 1 cup of water with a boullion cube, or 1 cup of water with some salt - whatever floats your happy heart's boat) and let it all stew together. I added just a bit of parmesan and romano cheese as the sauce got thicker. Stirring every few minutes is essential to make sure you evenly cook the sauce and get the exact consistency you are looking for. In this case, I let it cook down to a very thick sauce, as I didn't want anything too runny to go with my steak.

While the sauce was going, spaghetti was boiling away and when everything was done, I ate it all together and smiled for days. The whole thing took me less than an hour - the most time-consuming parts are letting the steak come to room temperature before cooking, and letting the cooked meat rest after cooking.

Using pears and other hard fruits in cooking is something I love when I eat out, but never really tried doing so much at home. Whenever I got a bit of pear it was a pleasant surprise (even though I knew it was in there...). Has anyone else had success with using fruit in savory dishes? I need ideas, I'm newly obsessed!

Aaaaaah-i Tuna, Food TV, and the Weekend (Food) Warrior

Forgive my Friday rambling, but here goes:

- Last night's Ahi Tuna Experiment went well - I wish I had soaked more than one kind of bean for a mix of beans with my fish, but the white bean salad with cilantro, lemon juice, salt, pepper, red chili flakes, feta, raw onion, and orange pepper was really good. Success!

- I watched a ton of Food Network last night, and an episode of "Good Eats" on beef tenderloin was really amazing. Here is a link to part 1, aptly titled "Tender is the Loin: Part 1". Both parts of the episode were good, but Part 1 has the information on breaking down the entire tenderloin which I found thoroughly fascinating and, more importantly, do-able!

- Weekends are the hardest part of the RestaurantREHAB process. You tend to be out and about, the restaurant is right there, pulling you in, begging, practically! I try to combat this by grocery shopping/going to the farmer's market on weekends. That way, I'm so excited by what I'm bringing home that I just want to cook. However, that's not going to happen this weekend, so I'm already building up the willpower needed to forego the usual cravings for Chipotle. I have leftovers from the Ahi Tuna Experiment, some chicken drumsticks that I can bake, and random other tidbits in my freezer and pantry. I can do this.

And in ridiculous food news for the day...

Please read this for a moment of pure hilarity:

http://www.thelifefiles.com/2010/06/26/news-flash-unicorn-is-not-the-other-white-meat/

Back at it again! Plus, what's on for tonight

Sometimes A Little Simplicity Goes A Long Way

I left work today late. Like 7:30pm late. I was tired and not really in the mood to cook. As I walked down 14th Street on my way to the train station, I passed every convenient form of food that would have very well sufficed for dinner. I passed Subway, with its $5 footlong, and my heart ached for banana peppers. I passed a Golden Krust, with its $3.99 roti, and thought longingly of curry. I knew that it would take me about an hour to get home, and I also knew that when I got there, everything that I would want to cook would take me a while to get done (all my meats are frozen, all my rice is uncooked).

But, I prevailed. I got home and realized I could be smart! I could do something that would not only make me happy, but would take a really short amount of time and would be healthy. I walked in the door and with  my coat on, put a pot of water to boil. By the time I got my coat off, my hands washed, my PJs on, I had a handful of whole wheat penne going at full boil. I made the quickest vegetable ragu using chopped zucchini, onions, and spinach with minced garlic and some tomato sauce. I toasted up some bread, and was sitting down to eat in about 20 minutes.

It was so simple, so fast, and remarkably good for me. Sounds easy, but you would be surprised at what I was concoting in my mind on the way home that would have been way more difficult and time-consuming. Here's how it went down:

Saute vegetables starting with onion and zucchini. As onions become translucent and that amazing cooking onions smell gets in your hair, add spinach. Add minced garlic. Add diced tomatoes or ready-made sauce of your choice. If you add plain diced tomatoes, be sure to add basil, oregano, salt and pepper. If you add ready-made sauce, still add stuff to your heart's content. I added garlic, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and some more basil. Mmm basil. Throw the whole concotion over pasta, and serve hot with some bread. If you're feeling fancy, put some butter and garlic on that bread and pop it in the oven. If you're feeling extra fancy, mix some diced olives with garlic and olive oil. Then toast up that bread, and dip dip dip.

Lost My Appetite!

I've been sick for two days with stomach flu - and have NO APPETITE! I didn't even think that was possible. I always have an appetite. And yet, here I am. I've eaten nothing but plain toast, plain pasta, a random bowl of plain corn, Powerade, and ginger ale. Plain plain plain. While I understand that this is necessary, spice does not seem like a good idea right now.

Boo and hiss to sickness. Maybe I'll make some Jell-O to introduce flavor back into my diet. As soon as I get better, I'm gonna want a hunk o' steak. Skirt steak with adobo and garlic stuck in the broiler for a little while? Sounds perfect. In the meantime, excuse me while I turn the toaster on. :(

I've Fallen Off the Wagon

So. Today is my birthday. To celebrate, starting last week, I've been out to eat about three times. Three times!! I'm so upset with myself, that I could cry. Yes, the food and the company was amazing. Yes, there was something to celebrate. Yes, yes, yes! However, the whole point of this blog and my stupid experiment is to cook at home and enjoy everything without putting extra strain on my wallet. My wallet isn't even strained right now. It's plain broken in half. It's torn to shreds and whimpering in the corner.

I will not be defeated. Tomorrow, I start again. I have some leftovers from the places I've been that I used today and will use tomorrow for lunch at work, but I have to go back to cooking my dinners. I feel pathetic and sad, and really full from the dinner I just had with my friends. Yes, it was their treat, but I'm sad. The problem with living in New York is that there is always a new restaurant that I want to try, and because of the recession, they have extended Restaurant Week to Restaurant Month, so we've been going to super fancy places for relatively cheap (today, it was $35 per person for an appetizer, dim sum, entree, and dessert. Several levels of amazing. Here is the menu, if you're interested in what I'm currently digesting. I did the soup appetizer, assortment B, the filet mignon, and fresh fruit dessert. Happy birthday to me and my waistline).

How to avoid the eventual fall off the wagon!? I feel as though I've done really well - eating in on weekends before I head out or after I get home. Weekends have always been the hardest for me. Ideas, anyone?

Fishy Business

So, lately, as I become more and more broke, and as my salary continues to slap me in the face monthly with its lack of cost-of-living adjustment, I've taken to purchasing bags of frozen fish fillets. I know. It hurts my heart, too. But someday, fresh fish and I will be reunited. I believe in the power of love.

Right now in my freezer, there is a bag of individually wrapped cod fillets. I like this because, 1. it was on sale, and 2. cod is a good mild fish - it can be incorporated into anything. I discovered today that I also have egg roll wrappers. This is going to be amazing.

***

Fish fillets, thawed if frozen, or just there if they're fresh (you lucky duck)
olive or vegetable oil
salt
wasabi paste
soy sauce
duck sauce
carrots, shredded
ginger, shredded
cilantro
garlic, chopped
cabbage, shredded
egg roll wrappers

Cut the fish into slivers about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. The egg roll wrapper should give you information on how to fold them. If not, go here (http://www.life123.com/food/cooking-asian-food/egg-rolls/how-to-fold-egg-rolls.shtml). Do not do not do not do not overfill your egg roll wrappers. I promise that if you do your heart will eventually break and you will end up eating ice cream out of a container. Or Dorito's.

Sautee your carrots and cabbage together for just a few minutes, so that they are soft. I like to sautee with soy sauce, garlic, salt, and a little duck sauce. Fill the wrapper with about two pieces of fish, some carrot and cabbage mix, some ginger, and some cilantro. Wrap. Repeat for as many as you want to make.

You can either bake or deep fry your egg rolls. I like to fry things. That's why I'm perpetually trying to lose weight. But, I digress. While the rolls are baking (really won't require more than 15-20 minutes - they should brown on the outside and the fish cooks so quickly, you needn't worry about salmonella or other death-causing bacteria), or after you're done frying, combine soy sauce and wasabi together, with a tiny splash of duck sauce for an a-MAH-zing dipping sauce. If you've got some edamame, heat it up and get your salt ready.

I love egg rolls. You can replace the fish with tofu, or pork, with great success. I don't recommend chicken or red meats, although I would like to be proven wrong. I've had the best luck with firm tofu and fish.

I'm Shocked, but..

... it turns out, I DO like grapefruit. I've been avoiding this fruit like it is an anathema since I was younger and it was force-fed to me by my mom, who loves it.

But, I have coworkers who eat grapefruit in the office. And, I will admit, it's tempting. I have these PTSD flashbacks of fruit being forced upon me, and then I look away in disgust. The other day, I had some. And glory be, I liked it!

Must. Experiment. With. Grapefruit. Recipes. Anyone have any?

On Freezing Stuff and Thai Beef Curry

So on the weekends, I try to make a big pot of something that I can portion out to keep in the fridge and freezer - some for now, some for later! You do need to get good quality plastic containers to freeze food - I learned that the hard way when I used cheaper containers (this IS a recession - don't judge me) and they cracked in the freezer or allowed the food to collect rashes of freezer burn. Which is disgusting. Does anyone have good freezing tips? 

Anyway, today my one-potter is going to be spicy Thai beef curry with brown rice. I haven't ever made what I have in mind, but I'm pretty sure it's gonna go like this:

- Stewed beef (whatever was left from that chili I made), cut into smaller chunks, doused in curry powder, salt, pepper, a little bit of oil, garlic, and cumin powder - and left to sit overnight (or a few hours, or not at all, depending on your time frame)
- coconut milk (I'm using one can, since I'm only making about 3-4 servings)
- chicken or beef stock
- all the spices I mentioned in the marinade for the beef
- something spicy - whatever you have. Actual hot peppers, crushed red pepper flakes. I use Sriracha Rooster sauce (if you're not familiar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sriracha) It's available in all Asian groceries, and depending on where you live, in the "ethnic" aisle of your regular store
- veggies veggies veggies! I'm planning on tomato, onion, spinach, corn, okra, and green beans
- Optional: shredded ginger, cilantro

You can either do this curry and add rice noodles directly into the curry to cook, so you have a rice noodle soup kinda. I do that a lot when I make a very similar fish curry, but I think for this one, I'm going to make a pot of brown rice.

Put the stock in a large pot and bring to boil. Add coconut milk. While it's coming to a boil,  put the marinated beef into a skillet and let cook for about 10 minutes, until brown. Throw the beef into the pot with the stock and coconut milk (which should just be starting to really boil). Lower heat to a simmer, add your spices in desired amounts (again - add less than what you think it will need, and then taste and add more). After about  5 minutes, add your vegetables, and let everything simmer together as a happy curry family for about 15 minutes. Check a piece of beef to make sure it's at its best before turning off the stove. Cook as much rice as you want following the directions on the package.

I love a curry that's a day old. I know it sounds crazy, but when a curry has been sitting in its own spice overnight, it's so good the next day. Whenever you do eat it, pour it over your rice and maybe have a side of yogurt to tone down the spice (your tummy will thank you later).

And remember: I'm not making curry because I'm brown - the curry makes me be a better brown. Mmm curry!

I Want to Always be Eating Pizza. Always.

I could eat pizza every single day. For 1 month when I was a teenager, my mother got really annoyed at me for asking for pizza all the time over her home cooking. We drew up terms for a bet: she would give me pizza every day for a month, and if I got sick of it, I wouldn't ask her for pizza for a full month. My mom never wins anything.

Making pizza at home is no small feat if you're like me. I don't like the pre-made crusts (Boboli, etc.), and making my own dough is almost never going to happen. I have yet to try, and I'm pretty sure that when I do, it'll look more like an episode of I Love Lucy than what you would observe in your local pizzeria. I have used the dough that you can buy in some stores, like Trader Joe's. Their dough is about $2-3, and is really great, often with garlic and other types of flavors available. But when you get that dough, unless you use a little of it and save the rest, you're basically making an entire huge pizza.

At-home solution? English muffin pizza. I haven't had any in a long time, but I'm ready to re-introduce them to my life because I love them. Using English muffins as a base of a pizza is so ridiculously easy. They taste good, always get crispy on the outside, but stay soft on the inside (even if you go toppings-crazy), and let's face it - food in miniature is just plain fun.

Dinner Parties? Plus, Chili Recipe

The real problem is that when you're Restaurant Addicted, going out to eat seems to be the only acceptable way to celebrate a birthday or get together with friends. My friends and I have recently thought more and more about having dinner parties, or potluck events so that we can not only slave over a stove for ourselves, but we can also inflict our cooking on others, and save a little money in the process. So far, surprisingly, they've been raging successes. One friend had a potluck Thanksgiving and the smorgasbord of food made my heart happy. My roommate and I decided to forgo the usual drink-till-you-fall-down party and offered a Mexican dinner, instead. (After everyone ate, we still got really drunk. And I did fall down. But, I'll be damned if that food wasn't good!) Try a dinner party or a potluck - and hey! No pressure. The fact that they're so thankful for random, home cooked, free food pretty much takes all the pressure off of you - it doesn't have to be good, it's just a huge bonus if it is.

***

Ridiculously cheap, and only (possibly) requires a little prior prep.

3-Bean Beef Chili with Spinach and Corn

Ingredients

- Stew beef cubes (about $2.99/lb)
- Bagged beans or canned beans of your choice - I used kidney, black beans, and chickpeas (see notes following recipe), about one small handful each
- 2 fresh tomatoes in big chunks
- half a can of tomato paste
- chicken, beef, or vegetable stock (or bouillon cubes and water)
- 4 cloves fresh garlic (less, if you don't wish garlic was a man that you could marry)
- 2-3 onions, coarsley chopped (less, if you don't wish onion was a man that you could cheat on garlic with)
- two big handfuls of fresh spinach
- three big handfuls of corn
- handful of brown rice
- chili powder, cumin, salt, black or white pepper, fresh jalapenos or hot peppers (crushed red pepper, if you have that) - I have no measurements for you. Just add a little less than what you think, taste, and then add more if you want.

Optional: (1) other veggies! The more the merrier: green beans, okra, beets, carrots, celery, potatoes, and so on and so forth; (2) half a cup of red wine; (3) one bay leaf
Notes on beans: if you get the dried kind, it's much MUCH cheaper. Get a big bag for a dollar or so, and you just hydrate a handful at a time. You can put them in a bowl with warm water and let them sit overnight, or stick them in a pressure cooker to hyrdate them. The cans are easier, not gonna lie, but you do get more bang for your buck if you get the bags.

I was able to dry rub the beef for a few hours while I was doing something else (read: playing on Facebook). I basically put the beef chunks in a bowl, mixed some of my spices together and then rubbed the meat down and let it sit there. It's not really necessary to have it sit in the spices for that long - I just like to. Took out a big pot, threw in the container of stock and brought to a boil. Added rice, tomato paste, beef. Simmered for about 10 mins. In a pan, I sauteed the garlic and spinach together quickly and then added that with all the rest of ingredients to the pot. I sliced one hot pepper in half and added that to the pot (to be fished out later when all the spice leaks out). Then, I went back to Facebook. I let the whole pot simmer on low for about 30 minutes. If I wasn't lactose intolerant, I would throw some cheese in my bowl when I ate it, but I just eat it plain or maybe with a piece of toast. Or two. I like bread.

If I can, anyone can.

I love to eat. I really like to cook, but only because it's the vehicle for more eating. I think I go through waves and valleys with my eating out patterns. I know that it's not practical, economical, or even digestively sound, to eat out all the time. But when I sit at my desk at work and dream of steak with garlic butter sauce, and tostones (oh god, tostones!) and then think about how I won't get out of work until 7pm, and won't be home until 8pm, and then have to defrost steak, melt butter ... do I even have steak? Anyway, I know I'll get there, open the fridge and just stare at it, trying to figure out the haze of food as I rub my bleary eyes.

So yes, sometimes I end up at a restaurant more often than my little non-profit salary can afford. And I know you are, too. And when you don't go out, I know your bleary eyes only see what's quick and easy (Lean Cuisine? PB&J? Ramen? Random, possibly bad, pita and hummus?). Now that we've hit this economic crisis, it's becoming more and more likely that I'll want to punch myself in the face at the end of the month when I check my bank history and realize that I blew way too much money on eating out and spent way too little in the way of, you know, actual bills.

I've started to go to the market more, and cook more, and am spending less. It's a bitch, sometimes, I'll admit it. It sounds amazing in theory: Go to the grocery store! Spend some money on healthy foods and ingredients! Cook! You'll have dinner and lunches from home that are nutritious! It's cheaper than eating out! But then you're home, slaving in front of the stove, putting stuff in containers, freezing things, packing things, cutting yourself, burning yourself, crying. It's a constant cycle and then - you have to wash the dishes.

As an experiment, last month I went to the grocery store and spent about $120 (FYI, I am single, living in Brooklyn, New York, working in New York City, and have one rooommate. We share groceries for the most part and we each cook, so it all evens out monetarily eventually). I lived off the food I bought for the next 10 days without spending a single cent in a restaurant, deli, or fast food place. That really opened my eyes, and I commenced the face punching as I thought of all the money that just went down the drain normally.

The next hurdle to jump was the simple fact that restaurant food just tastes good. I know homemade does, too (hell, aren't there a trillion companies making a lot of money because they advertise their stuff as tasting "like homemade" or "just like mom's!"?), but there's something about food made by a trained chef. And that "something" is that it's made by a trained chef. I tried some recipes from healthy websites and magazines. I hated them all. I was brought up in a house that just threw spices around and somehow it all came together as one delicious meal. Being Indian, I'm pretty sure it's in my genes to ignore recipes and just, literally, throw ingredients around, set it on fire, and see what happens. I started experimenting, and I am currently in love with myself.

I hope this blog serves as a rehab for girls like me. Young, broke, and addicted to restaurants. Heroin it's not, but it might as well be. I spend a lot of money, I'm fighting to get it out of my system, and I'm still dripping cold sweat, thinking about that damn steak and garlic butter sauce. But tonight, I'm going to go home and eat the beef and three-bean chili with spinach and corn I made with brown rice. Because it's awesome. And because I know better. I'll be sharing my recipes, giving the low-down on how to still get your restaurant fix (without breaking the bank), and probably will end up sharing a whole bunch of failures. But that's what rehab is about, right? VH1 said so.