Crockpot Burrito Soup!

This was the first time I've cooked with a crockpot, and I must say it was a great success! (Thanks for the crockpot mom and dad!)

Thursday night Alex and I both leave the house later but don't get home until 9 or 10. Getting home that late, you just want something already prepared. Hence, I have deemed Thursday night crockpot night! 

This recipe was fantastic. I threw in a few extra cloves of garlic and seasoned my beef while I cooked it with garlic powder and cayenne pepper, but otherwise, followed the recipe. (And no I'm not copying Erin, I had already planned to make this!)

It was freezing, by New York standards, on Thursday, so coming home to this hot soup was perfect. I had made some cornbread muffins to go with it and just had to cook up a little rice when I got home. We topped it with some grated cheddar and pepper jack cheese and sour cream. Easy! 

Chicken Tikka Masala

I googled Chicken Tikka Masala because I was craving it and was curious if I could actually make it. This recipe was the first to pop up. I was flabbergasted that I actually had all of the ingredients in my kitchen. Nothing special required.

This was absolutely some of the best Chicken Tikka Masala I've ever had, restaurants included. I doubled the sauce but took out the salt. I just added a small dash of sea salt, and only one jalapeno and and about 1.5 times the cream instead of double. We clearly don't have a grill. I fried the chicken in a skillet, made the sauce in a pot, then poured the sauce into the skillet.

This was rich and packed just the right amount of spice. Flavorful and delicious.

Make it. I promise.



I apologize for the lack of photos. I totally forgot until I was basically finished. Opps. It was still wonderfully delicious.

25 Things

So, I was tagged by Sarah, to list 25 random things about myself. I thought it'd be fun, so here we go...

1. I hate broccoli stems.
2. I refuse to make sandwiches with bread butts, the crusty part at the end of the loaf.
3. I can touch my tongue to my nose.
4. I'm scared of the dark.
5. I only like food I can chew, with the exception of ice cream, which I think you can kind of chew. But pudding, yogurt without granola, etc. are hard for me to eat. Flan also grosses me out.
6. I have the most impossible time spelling the word convenient.
7. I know how to spell Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. And I learned in 5th grade. :-)
8. I like top 40 music, and a good amount of country. Some might say I have poor music taste. I contest I still like "good" music, I just like everything else too.
9. Brittany Spears is a regular on my IPod workout playlist. Don't judge me.
10. I cut off the tip of my nose and had to be sewn up by a plastic surgeon when I was 3.
11. I also subsequently spit in the face of the surgeon the entire time he was trying to sew me up.
12. I love cream cheese frosting. And will eat it straight out of the container without a second thought. I also need to eat dessert after every meal. Or at least lunch and dinner. 
13. I hate when people throw recyclable things in the trash. I will take it out and recycle it for you. I also do not understand it when people litter, or drink bottled water when tap water is fine and is readily available.
14. I refuse to wear pantyhose. I think they are gross. I also think panty is the about the ickiest word ever.
15. There are days when I wish I knew how to be more lazy without feeling so guilty. I have an "I have to do too much stuff" complex.
16. I have a black belt in Taekwondo and have broken a board behind my head with my foot.
17. I hate milk. It is in no way thirst quenching. I also hate coffee, it spoils the flavor of everything and tastes like chalk. People think I'm weird, especially in New York, because of this.
18. I think driving a stick shift is WAY better then driving an automatic. Since learning to drive a manual, I have to sit on my foot to avoid driving with two feet when driving an automatic.
19. I'm very proud of all my passport stamps. I think it's sad when people have no desire to see the world.
20. I learned how to say Hello my friend, how are you? or something like that in 23 different languages in preschool. I wish I could still do that.
21. I was uncomfortable with how religious the inauguration of Obama was, even though I think he's incredible.
22. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life.
23. I have no memory of what it's like to see clearly in the middle of the night. I have worn glasses/contacts for as long as I can remember. Though I do remember getting my first pair of glasses, and being excited about the gold heart sticker on them.
24. I think stilettos are silly. Why would you put yourself through that? I recently read a book on Chinese footbinding, then I walked through Manhattan and saw women in ridiculous heels, the similarity was not lost on me.
25. I wish I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Bits of Bushwick

Today I decided I was going to get creative. I've been meaning to get out and shoot more, and I really want to find a way to capture the area in which I'm now living. Bushwick has its good and not so good parts. I'm hoping here and in future posts to capture both. 

Shooting today was not only a challenge due to the cold, but it was also for the fact that walking around with a camera makes me especially conscious of my surroundings. By that, I mean I stick out. A white girl, particularly a white girl with a camera, is breaking social norms in my part of town. Race, and my part in the gentrification process, are always on my mind here. And though no one said anything to me while I was shooting, I was very aware of what I was doing. And because of that, I was conscious of what I was capturing with my lens. I chose to shoot today with only my 50mm, not only to push myself creatively but because it would be less noticeable. 

I am still not comfortable in a street photographer role. I will not take pictures of people. I don't want to be the person sticking my camera in someone's face because they are different from me. I have moral issues with that that I struggle with. I am not ready yet to make that social commentary. Maybe someday I will be. But not yet. 

So for today, I hope you enjoy these small bits of my part of New York. Hopefully in future endeavors views will be widened as the community and I become more comfortable with each other. But for a first day out, I was happy with the results. 

Fake-out Take-out with Garlic Ginger Veggie Stir Fry!

Awesome. I was SO pleased with how this turned out. It smelled kinda funky while it was cooking, the vinegar I think, so I was a little scared for the result. But, no need to worry, this was GREAT! Alex even said it was the best of my recipe endeavors thus far.

Fake-Out Take-Out. I knew I had wanted to make this as soon as I saw it pop up on my google reader, and tonight I was craving something sweet and sour and stir fry, and I had finally bought the corn starch, so this hit the spot!

I followed the recipe for the chicken exactly except for I seasoned my chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.







Garlic Ginger Veggie Str Fry! I was proud that this turned out so well, it was an experiment. I would make this again just on its own with some rice.

A few stalks of celery, chopped.
A bunch of carrots, chopped.
Broccoli
One smallish yellow onion
Two Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
about a 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
a bit of water
a few splashes of soy sauce.





I fried up the garlic and ginger in some canola oil in the wok until nicely fragrant. Then added the rest of the veggies. Then I added a few splashes of soy sauce and a bit of water to get things steamy. I stir fried everything up, then put on the cover and let it steam, stirring occasionally.

The ginger flavor in this was great!

Overall this meal was better then take-out and much healthier and super flavorful! I will definitely be making this again!

Indian Spiced Chicken Burgers with Yogurt Sauce

I made these for Alex and I on Saturday night before we headed to the NYC Ballet. They were tasty. I'd make them again, but next time I'd add more, maybe some peppers or chiles, or perhaps some cheese to the end result. These would also be good with the apple yogurt sauce from the Tandoori Chicken Alex made last week.

Indian Spiced Chicken Burgers with Yogurt Sauce (Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food)

1.5 LBS chicken cut into rough chunks
4 scallions, thinly sliced
3 TBS chopped fresh ginger
2 TBS Lemon juice
1 TBS paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
whole wheat pitas
1 cucumber
fresh cilantro
1/2 C plain yogurt

In a medium bowl mix the chicken, spices, scallions. Let marinate for about 10 minutes or so.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor, pulse until coarsely chopped, but not pasty. Gently form into patties. Grill until cooked through.

Yogurt Sauce: 1.2 C Yogurt, 1/2tsp cumin. Combine in a small bowl.

Serve the burgers on whole wheat pitas with cucumber, yogurt sauce, and fresh cilantro sprigs.

Little Boats of Treasure

That's how Alex described these amazing Twice Baked Potatoes. Make them. Now. They're awesome.

I've also been tinkering with recipes a little as I make them, and I did a bit with these as well. For cheese I used half sharp cheddar, half pepper jack to give it a little kick, along with some extra scallions. I also didn't have any buttermilk, and didn't feel like buying any especially for these. So, I subbed in a few splashes of heavy cream, skim milk, and a few dollops of light sour cream instead. DELICIOUS.








Also featured in this meal: Lemon Garlic Salmon with Balsamic Glaze and Parmesan Snap Peas.

The Balsamic Glaze is from my Sauces cookbook by Louise Pickford. Simple as can be. Take a 16 oz bottle of Balsamic Vinegar, empty it into a saucepan, boil it for about half an hour or so until it has thickened and boiled down to a half a cup. Wonderful over fish!

The snap peas are also very simple and my favorite way to eat them! Place your snap peas on a baking sheet. Coat/toss with olive oil. Cover lightly with freshly shaved parmesan. Bake for about 5-7 minutes in the oven at about 350 or so. YUM.