Raspberry, Lemonade, Strawberry Popsicle!

Too much work for something too strange.

I saw a recipe today for chocolate chip cookies made from hard-boiled eggs. It immediately made the 3 cups of coffee I had just consumed travel quickly up into my mouth, as well as making me yelp loudly in my closet of an office.
Has anyone ever heard or tired such a thing?
First off, why would you go through the motions of making the hard boiled eggs just to bake them in cookies? Raw eggs bake up just fine, right?
Secondly, WHY? It's just weird. I mean, I'm cool with weird, but that's really weird.

Perhaps, this is because I am on the fence about eggs in general. I like them because I know they are a really good start to the day in regards of protein, but the taste is sometimes funky and I am not a fan of them in baked goods. They kind of remind of of wet dog.

On another note, today is 8th grade graduation at my internship. I get to sit through the 2-hour dress rehearsal in about 10 minutes. I distinctly remember my 8th grade graduation. I also remember that afterwards we went to Pronto in Royal Oak to eat!
Let's hope I do not cry. I'll miss you Rhodes School.

Saturday night with the Food Network.

Tyler Florence's Steamed Asian Greens with Honey Soy Sesame Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds spinach, baby bok choy Chinese broccoli, or a combination
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
• ~1 tsp. red chili sauce added to recipe

Directions

Pour about 1-inch of water into a wok and bring it to a boil over high heat. Put the greens into a bamboo steamer and cover. Put the steamer into the wok and steam the vegetables for about 5 minutes or until they are just tender. Meanwhile make the dressing by combining the soy sauce vinegar, honey, oil, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds in a small bowl. Put the cooked greens onto a serving platter, drizzle the dressing over them, and toss well to coat. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately. 

I stir-fried the greens with celery, carrots and garlic and it turned out good as well! 

 Coconut Brown Rice (from Darlene Schmidt on About.com)

• 1+1/2 cups brown jasmine or basmati rice
• 2 cups good-quality coconut milk
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2+1/2 Tbsp. dry shredded coconut (baking type)
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, or other vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Rub the oil over the bottom of a regular-sized pot (you will also need a tight-fitting lid).
2. Add the rice, coconut milk, water, salt, and shredded coconut. Stir and set over high heat. Bring to a bubbling (but not rolling) boil.
3. Immediately reduce heat to low and cover tightly with a lid.
4. Allow to cook for 1 hour, or until the coconut-water has been absorbed by the rice.
5. When all (or nearly all) of the coconut-water is gone, turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the burner (covered). Allow the rice to sit for another 5-10 minutes, or until you're ready to eat. Your coconut rice will stay warm in this way for 1 hour or more (a great make-ahead tip if you're expecting company!).
6. Fluff the rice with chopsticks or a fork, and serve with your choice of entree(s). If desired, coconut rice can be topped with a sprinkling of toasted coconut (simply 'dry-fry' 1-2 Tbsp. shredded coconut in a dry frying pan until toasted), OR top with a sprinkling of sweetened shredded coconut ENJOY!

 YUM! =)

 

Dreamin..

Graduated.

Photo by Jacob Yeung

H'orderves & Cocktails by Jacob Yeung.

Little Black Bears.

Sugar Rush.

Filling, Sides and Pancakes.

For Veggie Potluck H'orderves and Cocktails I made Samosas. I read a few recipes and kind of made my own thing up ('cuz that's what I do.. !). This recipe from Real Simple has all of the ingredients I used and is definitely proportioned better.

Simple Samosas

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 cups store-bought refrigerated mashed or frozen mashed potatoes, thawed (about 16 ounces)

1 10-ounce package frozen peas, thawed

1 15-ounce package refrigerated piecrusts

1 jar mango chutney (optional)

Directions

1.Heat oven to 375° F. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the curry powder, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the potatoes and peas.

2.Unroll the piecrusts and cut each into 6 triangles. Place a heaping tablespoon of the potato mixture in the center of each piece. Gather the corners of the dough and pinch to form a point. Pinch the seams to seal. Transfer to a baking sheet.

3.Bake the samosas until golden, 22 to 25 minutes. Serve with the mango chutney, if using.

** A few modifications:
Make your own mashed potatoes, you will only need about 1 1/2 c.
Add a whole bunch of ground red pepper to spice it up!
FRY THEM in about 1/2 of veggie oil til brown on both sides. What's better than fried food? Not much! Duh.

ENJOY! with Spiked Chai Tea Lattes (vanilla vodka!)

If there are left-overs, which there are because I thought it would be smart to mash a whole bag of potatoes (who does that!!??), you can use the filling for other things. It would work as a side (or today's lunch, which has made my office smell of curry. blech!), or add an egg or two and make some mashed potato pancakes to serve with sour cream. YUM.

Monkey Theme.

Everything I create seems to be named Monkey something or other. I also tend to bake with oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate ALOT.
So, in the theme of things, here is my new recipe.


Chewy "Monkey" Granola Bars (Imitation Avalon Bakery Vegan Granola Bars)

In a medium saucepan melt:
1/2 c. soy margarine
1/2 c. Agave Necture
~1 C. crunchy peanut butter
Add:
1 tsp. Vanilla
Dash of salt
1/4 c. Flax meal
1 C. coconut
~3 c. dry oats
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Spread in a glass pan, cover with foil and bake for about 12 minutes at 350 to make them toasty tasting. Let cool (as in, put them in the refrigerator so that they harden) before you cut and enjoy.

Does anyone know where to get vegan white chocolate chips??

I would probably keep them in the refrigerator too. YUM!!!!!

Ooo ooo eee ooo ah ah!

Have I told you I cloned Jack?

Now, how crazy is that?

So, it's been a while, right?

Due to the intensity of the current semester, my kitchen has been lonely and dirty. I have been eating lots of soy cheese nachos, quesadillas, and tuna fish sandwiches, as well as whatever I can shove in my mouth while I am babysitting.
My goal is start cooking again and get back track on the blog.
This winter, we have had one pot-luck and the theme was Asian food. This coming Friday is an H'orderves and cocktail pot-luck. Here we go... 

This is a wonderful photo taken by Jacob Yeung of my only winter success....Veggie Sushi!

Here is my main squeeze getting his cook on..

Hope to see you soon!
Emily