Category Archives: Cooking

Brown Rice with Pesto and Peas

November 21, 2010 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Ingredients:
1.5 cups uncooked brown rice
2.5 cups boiling water
1 TBS butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 TBS olive oil
1.5 cups frozen peas
1/4 cup pesto
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:
Make brown rice according to Alton Brown’s Recipe. Ten minutes before rice is done, steam the peas in a small saucepan. Drain when they are just hot. Saute onions in olive oil over medium heat till soft. Add the garlic and lightly brown. Add the rice, cheese, peas and pesto and toss till rice is coated.

Cooking, Pasta

Whole wheat linguine with creamy sauce and peas

November 14, 2010 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Ingredients:
3/4 pounds whole wheat linguine
1 cup of frozen peas
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 TBS butter
1 TBS olive oil
2 tsp italian seasoning
several shakes of red pepper flakes
3 TBS fresh chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 of a block of cream cheese
1/4 cup half and half
salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook till al dente. Add the frozen peas at the end of the pasta’s cooking time just to heat them up a little. Meanwhile, heat up butter and oil in a large pan over medium low heat. Add the garlic, italian seasoning and pepper flakes and slowly brown the garlic. Drain the pasta and peas and add directly to large pan. Turn up the heat, add all the other ingredients and toss till pasta is fully coated.

Cooking

Homemade Sushi

November 10, 2010 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I’ve really got to start taking photos before I eat the food. I’m just so hungry!

Makes about 2 rolls of sushi plus extra for hand rolls
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked short grain white rice, cook according to directions
1 TBS seasoned rice vinegar (or rice vinegar plus 1 tsp. sugar)
1/4 pound imitation crab (the kind that’s 80% snow crab so it tastes better and is CHEAP)
1 ripe avocado, thinly sliced
1 TBS mayo
2 green onions, finely chopped
3 sheets of nori
Soy sauce
Wasabi (optional)
sushi mat, preferably wrapped twice in plastic wrap

Cook the rice and when it’s done, spread it thin on a foil-lined cookie sheet so it cools faster. Sprinkle the vinegar and mix in with a spoon. When cool to the touch, it’s sushi time!
Shred up the crab and mix it with the mayo.
Place a sheet of nori on the sushi mat so the lines on the nori are horizontal. The nori should be flush against the bottom of the mat. Wet your hands so the rice doesn’t stick like crazy and grab a handful of it. Spread it all over the nori except for the top inch. Don’t need to lay it on thick, but make sure it goes up to all three of the other edges.
If you’d like wasabi in the sushi roll, spread a small line across the lower part of the nori. Place the crab in a line on the bottom third of the nori, (like a joint?) Place avocado up against the crab. Sprinkle green onions on top.
Wet your fingers and run them along the non-rice part of the nori, at the top.
Use your index fingers to secure the filling and your thumbs to pick up the lower edge of the mat and nori. Begin to roll the sushi up. Once it reaches your index fingers, start lifting the mat away from the nori as you continue to roll. When you get all around, roll the sushi back and forth, pressing gently. Remove from mat. Cut into eight pieces using a wet chef’s knife.
Serve with soy sauce. YUM YUM.

Cooking, Italian

Meatballs with red sauce

November 10, 2010 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Most measurements are eyeballed.

Makes 35 meatballs
Ingredients:
Two slices of white bread put through the food processor into coarse crumbs. Soak these in milk for a few minutes and squeeze out milk.
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 – 1/2 onion, chopped finely
1 tsp. porcini powder (optional)
1 TBS dried basil
1 TBS dried parsley
1 TBS tomato paste
2 tsp dried oregano
a couple of dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
splash of red wine
salt and pepper
a couple of shakes of pepper flakes (that rhymes!)

Mix all the ingredients with the flat beater of the kitchen aid standing mixer, or just use your hands!

Bake in a casserole dish in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes. Drain excess fat, top with marinara sauce and sprinkle with mozzerella cheese. Put back in oven till cheese is melted.

Note: I ran out of wine and bread last night so I used dried bread crumbs and added a splash of milk to the mix plus a little extra Worcestershire sauce.

Marinara Sauce
Ingredients:
1 TBS olive oil (a couple of quick glubs in the pot)
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 can large can crushed tomatoes (24 oz?)
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
red pepper flakes or one dried red hot pepper
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp tomato paste

I open the can and put all the ingredients minus the garlic and oil in the can. That way I can dump everything in at once when it’s ready.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium/high heat. Toss in garlic and cook till lightly browned. Add all the other ingredients and simmer till meatballs are ready.

Cooking, soup

Cream of Porcini Mushroom Soup

November 9, 2010 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Serves about 5
Ingredients:
2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
6 oz. fresh button mushrooms
6 oz. fresh cremini mushrooms
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup white wine
1 teaspoon porcini powder (optional; found at specialty spice shops)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
liberal amount of freshly ground pepper
1 cup half and half
3 tablespoons fresh italian parsley, chopped

In a small saucepan, add the dried mushrooms and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, turn heat to med/low and simmer 20 minutes. Blend with a hand blender or transfer to a blender.
Remove the stems from the fresh mushrooms and give them about 6 pulses in a food processor (till well chopped). Slice the caps.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the caps and stems. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the mushrooms’ liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
Add the wine and scrape up the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and add the porcini/stock mixture, the porcini powder, the thyme, salt and pepper. Let simmer on med/low heat for 10 minutes.
Add the half and half and the parsley and let simmer 10 minutes.
Serve with warm crusty bread.