This satisfies both your craving for asian food and for something tangy and spicy. This tastes great and is pretty easy to make. You can serve it with rice, on lettuce as a salad or even over asian noodles.
Ingredients
4 tsp canola oil with additional canola oil for frying chicken
3 large boneless/skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1″ cubes (veg/vegan use sliced firm marinated tofu).
5 – 6 green onions sliced crosswise. Use white part up to where the stem turns green.
12 oz pineapple juice
5 large cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons of garlic chili sauce
5 tablespoons of white distilled vinegar
6 teaspoons of sugar
3 tsp of soy sauce
4 tablespoons of water
3 teaspoons of corn startch (mix with water)
1/2 cup of corn starch for coating chicken, don’t need for tofu.
Additional oil for frying chicken or tofu.
Prep and measure all the ingredients out ahead of time. Start by frying the garlic and onion in the oil on high heat till they soften then add pineapple juice, chili sauce, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce. Cook till boiling, then add the cornstarch and water mixture and continue cooking till it turns clear after adding the cornstarch. Pour the sauce into a bowl and set aside. Now coat chicken cubes then fry them in canola oil on high heat until crispy on the outside (Veg/Vegan: Fry tofu till crispy). For a healthiest chicken option skip cornstarch coating on chicken and just lightly fry. Spoon chicken or tofu over lettuce or rice and then spoon sauce over the top. Enjoy!
If you are going hiking, biking, or even camping in a rural area and want to have some emergency food rations, this is cheap, easy to make, and doesn’t take up a lot of room in your pack and lasts for years. I have seen articles that says it can have a shelf life of 50 years. Here is the recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup Flour
1/2 cup water
1 tblsp powdered milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp olive oil
Directions
Add all the ingredients into a bowl and mix. You can use a stand or hand mixer if you want. If not you can just mix with a fork. Now roll out into 1/3 inch sheet and cut into crackers. Then take the blunt side of a bamboo skewer or something similar and make impressions (as shown in the picture). Put onto a non-stick baking sheet, no need for oil, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. They should be lightly browned as shown in the picture. These were a staple army ration during civil war times and used during long sea voyages due to their ability to last for a long time without refrigeration.
This is a great pizza dough and the key is to let it set overnight. I took the original recipe from the food scientist himself, Alton Brown. I adjusted it slightly for my own taste and increased the quantity to make two fair sized pizzas. It came out great. Here is the recipe
3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1 1/2 tablespoon pure olive oil 1 cup warm water (1 1/8 for fluffier crust, 1 more cup if doing large batch) 3 cups bread flour (for bread machines, for healthier crust substitute 1 cup of bread flour with 1 cup of whole wheat flour) (1 more cup of flour for large batch) 1 tablespoon instant yeast 3 teaspoons olive oil Olive oil, for the pizza crust Flour, for dusting the pizza peel
Directions
Add 1 slightly warm cup of water to bowl along with 1 tbsp of the sugar and the yeast. Stir and let set while measuring the dry ingredients and putting them into a mixing bowl starting with the flour, then adding remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the rest of the dry ingredients on top. Using the paddle attachment mix on low until dry ingredients blended. Now add in yeast and water mixture along with olive oil and mix on low again until the dough comes together. Switch the mixer over to the dough hook attachment and knead for about 15 minutes on medium speed. Take a small piece of the dough and stretch it till thin and hold up to the light. If you have a taut membrane before it tears the dough is ready. If not knead in mixer for another 5-10 minutes and try again. Now pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a bowl add the dough and roll around till coated in olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator overnight. Next day remove and let come to room temp. divide in half and roll into two crusts. Sprinkle a thin layer of corn meal on the pizza pan and put the rolled out dough over it and let it set for about 15 mins. Add toppings and bake at 475 to 550 degrees in a pre-heated oven with a pizza stone till edges of the crust turn a deep brown and cheese is melted in the center. See my pizza sauce recipe for a great homemade sauce to go on top.
Customizations:
Softer, Fluffier crust: Add another 1/8 cup of water (1 1/8 cups total)
Chewier Crust and better gluten Devopment Notes:
Use 00 Flour to get a less bready crust and more like a Pizzeria
Better Gluten development to allow easier stretching of crust and better chew and bubbles
Add the water & suga first, mix, then add yeast and flour to the bread maker pan. Run the cycle till the first rest. While the bread maker is in resting period, make a pocket and add the salt and olive oil into the pocket and close the pocket around the salt and oil.
Flavor development: Make the day before and let ferment in the fridge overnight. Add 1/2 of the yeast and create the dough. Form into two balls and coat with olive oil, then put in a bowl and cover with saran wrap and set in the fridge overnight. Take out of the fridge 1 hour ahead and let warm to room temp before forming crust. This not only makes the crust chewier, but also improves flavor.
Large Batch:
Add 1 more cup of water and 1 more cup of flour. Rest of ingredients do not make a noticeable impact or flavor or quality.
Crispy Bottom:
Use Pizza stone as mentioned above. If no pizza peel is available form crust and put onto aluminum foil that has been oiled with olive oil, put foil with crust onto pizza pan and slide onto pizza stone, when removing grab edge of foil not touching pizza stone and slide back onto pizza pan. If no pizza stone is available put crust on foil as if to put onto pizza stone (above) but instead preheat pizza pan in oven then remove pan and put foil with crust onto preheated pizza pan and put back into oven to cook,
I love to eat Hummus, and especially the version I make since it has been adjusted to my taste. I like to have the flavor of the garlic come through a little to add another dimension to the flavor and the olive oil processed in give it a nice creamy texture. It is great to eat with pita, on crackers instead of cheese, or on a sandwich to add another layer for flavor. Here is my recipe, enjoy.
Ingredients
1 15 oz can of low sodium Garbanzo beans (drained)
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste), Good quality and freshness matters.
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus oil for drizzling on top when serving.
3 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced
1/2 to 1 tsp of salt (add 1/2 tsp and if it needs more add the other 1/2 tsp)
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper.
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp paprika + a sprinkle on top for ganish
Juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed
1/2 cup of water
A sprig of cilantro for garnish (optional)
Directions
Put all ingredients except for garnishes into a food processor and process until nicely smooth. Taste and adjust salt, lemon, and tahini to taste and process a few more seconds to mix. Put into the serving bowl and sprinkle some paprika on top and drizzle with olive oil and optionally add cilantro on top for additional garnish.
This is a great side dish which can be cooked ahead and heated again when ready to eat. They take a while to cook since they are made from dried beans, but this allows you to lower the sodium and another benefit is that there is none of the canned taste with store bought canned chili beans.
Ingredients
2 cups of pinto beans
Water
2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
2 large Fresno peppers (Jalapeno can be used also)
1 medium sized onion
1 tbsp of chili powder
1 tbsp of tomato paste
3 large cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of cumin powder
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
Directions
Pre-soak beans overnight in water, or you can just cover with 2 inches of water bring to a boil, remove heat, and let set covered for 1 hour. Drain liquid and add in broth and all other ingredients except the salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 – 3 hours until the beans are tender. If you like it spicier, add more pepper.
1/2 Bell Pepper chopped (I used yellow, can use green or red)
1/2 medium sized onion chopped
1 jalapeno
2 cloves of Garlic finely copped
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tomatoes diced
3 oz of tomato sauce
1/2 tsp salt
5 eggs
Cilantro for topping
2 tbsp olive oil
Directions
Add olive oil to pan along with Bell pepper, onion, garlic, and jalapeno and fry over medium heat till soft. Add in tomato, cumin, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and tomato sauce heat till bubbling and then reduce heat and cover. Cook covered for about 30 mins. Crack eggs over the mixture and cover again and continue to cook for about 15 minutes covered. If you like you yokes broken break them and cook longer. When done sprinkle cilantro over and salt to taste.
Blueberries are in season and are very reasonably priced so it is a good time to make a blueberry pie. I came across a recipe where most of the blueberries were not overly cooked and with a few modifications came up with this recipe. I went with a frozen crust since I have not had a lot of luck with crusts in the past and also it is the most time consuming part. It came out great. The blueberries are juicy and it tastes fresher than the recipes where you cook all the blueberries.
Ingredients
1 frozen Deep Dish pie crust
4 cups blueberries, rinsed
1/2 liquid cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch and two tablespoons water stirred together
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Directions
Prebake the crust before adding fillings since you will not bake it after filling is added. Measure 1 cup of the blueberries, choosing the softest ones. Place them in a medium saucepan together with the 1/2 cup water. Cover and bring them to a boil. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water. When the water and blueberries have come to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 3 to 4 minutes or until the blueberries start to burst and the juices begin to thicken. Stirring constantly, add the cornstarch mixture, the sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Simmer for a couple more minutes or until the mixture becomes translucent. Immediately remove it from the heat and quickly fold in the remaining 3 cups of blueberries. Spoon the mixture into the baked pie shell and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving to firm up.
Quinoa is hugely popular now since it has lots of protein, is a low glycemic food (good for blood sugar), is gluten free, and is lower in calories than rice. These qualities make it a great side dish. It is very simple to make, here is the recipe I used. You can add onions or other vegetables you like in to jazz it up if you want.
Ingredients
1 cup of Quinoa
2 cups of Vegetable or Chicken Broth
Directions
Put the broth in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add in the Quinoa, stir, then cover and lower the temperature to medium low. It will take about 15-20 minutes to cook. Check on it after 10 minutes. You will know it is done when all the liquid is absorbed.
My banana pepper plants are starting to produce and I think they taste best when picked. Here is what I did with them and they came out great.
Ingredients
banana peppers (about 10)
1 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 garlic clove per jar, minced
Directions
Slice banana peppers into rings 1/4-inch thick. Fill pint mason jar with banana peppers. Add minced garlic to each jar. Heat the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Boil for about 3 minutes then pour with peppers and garlic. Screw on lid and when cooled put into the fridge. In a day or two they should be ready.
Eggplants are in season and my garden is producinga lot of them. So, to enjoy them in an easy to make dish, I came up with this easy to make curry.
Ingredients
1 black eggplant or 2 Asian eggplants chopped into 1/2 inch cubes.
1/2 large onion chopped in 1/2 to 1inch pieces
1 very ripe tomato or 1 6 oz can of tomato sauce
2 tbsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red. pepper flakes
1 tsp garam masala
l tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 doves garlic finely chopped
Directions
Heat pan till hot. Add olive oil and cumin seeds and fry till the seeds start to pop. Add onion, garlic and eggplant and fry for about 3 minutes. Now add in spices and fry for 1 more minute. Add tomato and cook about 15 more minutes till eggplantis cooked and tomato is disintegrated. Add additional salt and pepper flakes as desired. Serve and enjoy.
