A Warm Lunch at the Office

Anyone who has been following this blog for a while knows that I am NO fan of microwaves and have not (knowingly, although I realize it must happen to me some places!) eaten microwaved food in at least 10 plus years!

But when the weather starts to turn this can pose a problem for a girl who is looking for a little warmth at lunch time at the office and there is no way to heat anything up except the you know what!

So imagine my delight when I saw THIS idea!!

Please forgive me, I do like to give credit where credit is due but I do subscribe to a lot of food blogs and can’t always remember where I see what I see and regrettably I couldn’t find this again when I went back to look for the instructions.  So thank you idea giver.

So let’s call them Homemade Noodle Pots.

We’ve all had them.  Some are better than others.  But even the “organic” “healthy” versions are still pretty much weird dried stuff in a cup.

You know what I’m talking about.  Those instant lunch things that come in a cardboard, or worse, cup.  You peel back the lid, pour boiling water over it, cover it up again, let sit for a bit and voila.  A cup full of some kind of warm, usually desperately salty, noodle type stuff.

And they aren’t even that cheap, especially the higher end ones!

So why not just make your own DIY noodle pots?

You can put just about anything you’d like but best of all, you know exactly what’s in them!

And what’s great, on a Sunday afternoon, you can make up all of your ingredients, pack up your jars and have one for every day of the following week!  Imagine?  A whole week of not having to worry about what to bring for lunch??  Fantastic!

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Here is what you will need:

Heat safe jars, like Mason Jars 500 ml size x days of your week

Flavour base: I tried different combos for each day to change it up a little.

1 to 3 teaspoons of organic or quality soup stock base, miso paste or curry paste

More Flavour:

1 to 3 teaspoons of:  coconut milk, sesame oil, hot sauce or Sriracha, tamari or Bragg sauce etc

 

Fillers:

Chicken, tofu, frozen vegetables, shredded cabbage, cooked lentils or beans, thinly sliced mushroom, kimchi, hardy greens, boiled egg, or whatever else you might find in the fridge!

Noodles:

Cooked Soba noodles, spaghetti, rice noodles, ramen.   I haven’t tried this yet, but maybe dried couscous?

Toppings:

Green onion, Cilantro, shredded carrot, a slice of lemon?

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Start with the flavour bases on the bottom of the jar, spread them around so they will dissolve evenly.

Then add in your filler items.

Then the noodles and pack it down nicely.

Then finally what ever fresh toppers you might be using. ( if you want these really fresh, perhaps store separately and top the noodles just before eating)

Put the lids on tight and refrigerate!

Each morning, grab one to go!

 

 

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When it’s time to eat, simply add some boiling water and replace the lid.

Let sit for a few minutes to let everything warm up.  Then maybe give the jar a little shake or a twirl before you open it or give them a good stir with your chopsticks to let the flavours mingle.

 

You can enjoy it right out of the jar or dump it into an awaiting bowl and eat right away while it is warm.

 

And there you have a nice warm, weird stuff free, bowl of niceness to get you through your afternoon!

 

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Radish Salads

I’ve always been fascinated by radishes.

My father liked radishes.  When I was a kid I would help my mother by making my father’s lunch for work.  I pack up the regular sandwiches and cookie and whatever, but sometimes we would have radishes and so I’d give him some.

I’d cut off either end and then put them in a little Tupperwear of cold water and seal it up.  Then the next day he would eat them along with his sandwich.  Or so I would picture.

Sometimes I would even try making the little slits around them before soaking them in the water, in hopes that would magically turn into those radish roses.  Never really worked so good.

I just loved looking at them.  Such bright red with green stocks and then when you cut into them the fresh white flesh inside.  So crisp and refreshing looking.

But then I’d take a bite and gag on their spicy dirt flavour.   Sad.  Very sad.

I’ve tried them again many times over the years and can get away with them in a regular green salad that is doused in dressing.

In recent years I have tried Daikon radish.    (Click here to check them out )  I find them somewhat milder and therefore a little more agreeable.  They are however VERY good for you.  It fortifies the liver, helps clear the gallbladder of stones and detoxifies the digestive tract.  So basiclly……real good.

I really WANT to love them.  I do.

So I was pretty excited when I saw a recipe for “Radish Salsa”.   Sounded great, cause I love salsa in general and so this seemed a good idea.

Let’s see what you think.

Here’s what I used:

• 12 radishes
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 English cucumber
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• few dashes of hot sauce
• salt & pepper

Chop the radishes and cucumber into a fine dice, try to keep every piece the same size and try to keep some of the red from the radish and green from the cucumber on each piece to keep it looking nice.

Then mix with all the other ingredients and chill for at least 1/2 hour before using.

I didn’t try it as a traditional salsa on a tortilla chip but it DID make a very refreshing topping on a fish taco and then the next day I added the rest of it to a green salad.   Both worked nicely and were very acceptable ways of enjoying radish!

Radish Salsa

Let me know if you can think of other places you might use it.

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I saw another great little use of radish in a salad on the Whole Foods website.   I tried it on the weekend and it was really nice and fresh.

It was:

• one bunch of radish
• 2 -3 bulbs of fennel
• juice and zest of one lemon
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Really simple, trim and wash radishes and slice them really thin.  I actually just tossed them in the food processor with the slicer attachement.

Same with the fennel.  Wash it and cut off the “fingers”.  Cut in half and remove the knarley core and then either slice the bulb into really thin slices or whack it too into the food processor with the slicer blade or on a mandolin.  Whatever your slicer of choice.

Then I cut the frauns off of the fennel and sliced up the green finger bits too.  The original recipe doesn’t call for that, but they were fine if cut really thin.

Toss the fennel and the radishes together then add the zest, lemon juice, oil and S&P just before serving.

Toss it all again and then garnish with chopped fennel fraun for colour.

Really nice and fresh accompaniment to any summer meal.

Pulled chicken tacos

I seem to have gone taco crazy lately.

Not sure why I haven’t enjoyed them more in the past?  I always tended to be more of an enchilada type girl before, but I am finding the taco experience so much lighter and fresher.

Here are some super easy chicken tacos to try.

Start with a good size heavy skillet and add:

• 1 onion chopped into small cubes

Saute in a little oil till they are nice and translucent

Then I added four frozen  boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( the frozen part was poor planning on my part).  However boneless chicken of any sort will do just fine.  Then I add just enough water to cover them about half way, then put a lid on  and let them simmer a spell.

If you are using fresh chicken, I would brown on all sides and then follow the rest of the recipe.

Once the (frozen) chicken has thawed in the water and turned white it is time to add the rest of the ingredients:

• 1/2 jar ( or more) of store bought salsa of your choice
• equal part of water or stock
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Mix that in evenly and cover again for about 15 minutes at a slight boil, to make sure the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

At this point, test to see if the chicken is done inside by taking two forks and “pulling” the chicken apart.  Resulting in the “pulled chicken” part.

If the chicken comes apart easily, then it is time to add the herbs and spices.   But if you like you can shred up the chicken first, or leave it in the larger pieces and shred it later.  Doesn’t really matter too much.

So then I added and this is just a suggestion, what ever you have, or what ever you like better is fine, but this worked well:

• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp smokie paprika
• 1 tbsp chili powder ( the kind that is more flavour than hot)
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ( more or less) of chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• salt & pepper to taste

And if you wanted to take it up just a notch,  add a couple of tsp of brown sugar.

Mix that all in well, cover again and let simmer about another 10 minutes until you are ready to serve.  Add a little more liquid if it gets too dry.

Now you are ready for assembly

I prepared a bit of a “taco bar” so we could dress our own.  Some possibilities are:

• fresh made guacamole
• sour cream ( I added chopped cilantro and hot sauce)
• grated cheese
• salsa
• chopped tomato
• chopped cilantro

Start with the tortilla of your choice ( warmed or not) and start piling on the fixins!

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Pulled chicken tacos

Happy times!

South West Supper

We very much enjoy the taste of the South West around our house.  Even if we DO live in the North West.  Maybe that’s why?

Tonight I have made a South West beef stew, a South West salad and some South West corn bread muffins.  All together, you have a South West Supper!

I started with the stew so it would have some time to get acquainted.   I have to warn you that this stew will seem remarkably similar to chili.  That’s cause it most is the same only instead of ground beef I used stewing beef.

So in your dutch oven, brown in a few splashes of oil:

• cubes of stewing beef dredged in a little flour ( or whatever protein you are into)

Once they are browned on all sides, remove to a resting bowl.   Then add to the pot:

• 1 large onion sliced and or cubed
• 1/2 of 1 large red pepper cubed
• 1 small carrot cubed

Try to keep all of these things the same size of cube for consistency.

Cook these till they are nice and sweaty looking and then add:

• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika ( smoky adds more flavour)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 – 1 tsp chili flakes ( depending on your tolerance)
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 3-4 cloves minced fresh garlic

Feel free to use more or less of anything depending on your taste.

Mix those into the vegetables well, then return the meat to the pot with any juices that may have collected.  Stir it all well.

Then add:

• 1 small tin tomato paste
• aprox 1 cup water or stock

Stir, cover and let come up to a boil, stir again and turn down to a simmer.

Shortly before serving add:

• 1/2 can rinsed black beans

Stir in and turn off heat.

South West Stew

While your stew is simmering you can put together your South West Salad.

Add together is a bowl:

• the other half of the can or black beans
• 1/2 a can of nibblet corn ( keep other half for corn bread)
• the other half of the red pepper diced ( same size as corn and beans)
• 2 green onions ( green part only) sliced on the diagonal
• 1 large handful of fresh cilantro finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin

Toss all that together.

Just before serving add:

• 1 ripe avocado diced
• juice of 1 whole lime
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• S & P to taste

Toss again and serve.

South West Salad

Put these two dishes together with some nice corn bread muffins to soak up the sauce and you’ve got yourself a tasty South West Supper!

South West Supper

Bread in a pot

I had some bad news over the weekend.

And what’s the best thing to do when you get bad news?  Well, make bread of course!

I saw this technique while I was “stumbling” on the internet recently and thought “Hmm…that looks interesting” and believe me, it IS!!

The original recipe  Click Here

I followed the instructions exactly as they are written, no adding my own little this or that!  Except for the additional flavours, instead of any of her choices I used fresh chopped cilantro, lemon zest and dried garlic, cause that’s why I happened to have around.

I was also THRILLED to finally find a use for this cast iron dutch oven I have.  I had bought it a couple of years ago because I thought I was going camping……but as it turned out……I didn’t…..and actually have never been camping!  But I had this pot, which I like, but I don’t know if you know this but you can’t really cook things with tomato in plain cast iron.  Something to do with a reaction of the two that causes some unpleasant taste, and seeing as I envisioned it as my “chili pot”…..well…..it didn’t work out and it has been sitting on the shelf waiting to be used.

Well this was the pot’s chance to shine!!

So, like I said, I followed everything exactly.  Prepared the dough late in the  afternoon, and let it sit over night and then baked it in the morning.

I swear, I really DID try to let it cool!!

But the smell was too overwhelming.  It took all our strength to not gobble down the whole loaf!  Warm and soft on the inside and golden crispy on the outside.  Few pats of delicious butter………it was heavenly!

And just what you need when you are feeling a bit sad!

And then it made great toast the next day and even better croutons for the Caesar Salad!

Singapore Noodles

Back in the day, I used to eat a LOT of Singapore Noodles! 

Back when I lived in Montreal, I used to work as a Stage Manager in live theatre, so every Thursday night, I would call in the order from the lighting booth and then after the show,  we would swing by the Kam Shing restaurant on Cote des Neiges Blvd to pick up a big order of Singapore Noodles and General Tso Chicken.

Those were the days!   I could still eat shrimp back then.  In fact, it was while eating those noodles every week that I started to notice “the trouble”.  I always dread the thought that I may have over eaten shrimp to the point of being allergic!!

Oh well……so now I make my own, without the shrimp of course!

Feel free to add shrimp if they are no trouble to you.  Or substitute with chicken or tofu or like in this particular version, there is nothing at all!

Firstly, you will need:

• 1 pack thin rice stick noodles (rice vermicelli)

Then, thinly slice up:

• 1 red or green bell pepper  ( or half of each)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 carrot into match stick size bits
• 2 cups Napa cabbage
• 3 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1 cup of mung bean sprouts ( but I didn’t use any)
• 2 green onions

Then for the sauce mix together:

• 1/4 cup water or broth
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar  ( or favorite sweetener)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt  ( or 1 tsp soy sauce )
• 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder, or to taste

Start by boiling some water for you noodles, either in a pot or a kettle.  When the water boils, turn it off and add the noodles or pour boiling water over noodles in a bowl, stir to soften them.

Rice vermicelli noodles

Then in a skillet or a wok, heat some oil then add, peppers, carrots and ginger. 

Once they get a head start, add the cabbage and if using, bean sprouts.  Add a bit of the sauce to help cook down the cabbage.

Drain the noodles and add to the skillet, toss into vegetables.

Add the remaining sauce and the green onions, toss quickly till noodles are completely coated.

Singapore Noodles

Serve immediately.  I garnished with some chopped cilantro and black sesame seeds.

Ah the memories!

Fish tacos

Two things that I really don’t like the smell of in the house are fried and fish.  So you can only imagine how much I would dislike “fried fish”!    ψ

We’ve been watching a lot of the Food Network’s ” Eat Street“.  A show about various food carts or street food all over the place.  They really come up with some great ideas and I would love to eat at least 95% of everything they have on there.  The other 5% usually involves shell fish of some kind which I am allergic to and therefore must avoid.

But something I’ve been dying to try is Fish Tacos!

I tried looking up some recipes but most of them call for frying the fish.  Which I’m sure tastes great, but brings me back to the problem of smelly stuff in the house, but I found a way around it!  I BAKED the fish instead!  Worked great.

You will need some firm white fish.  Although I imagine you could use salmon too but that is a much stronger flavour.  On this occasion I used haddock and it worked great.

I chopped it into bite size chunks, put it in the dish and drizzled it with a bit of olive oil.  Then sprinkled it with cumin, chili powder and some pre-packaged “Cajun spice” that I had.

Then I put it into a 400 degree oven for about 12 – 15 minutes or until it is nice and opaque.

Baked haddock

Meanwhile, I got my toppings ready.

First I took sour cream and mixed it with chopped fresh cilantro, Chipolte Tabasco sauce and S&P.  Put that aside and let it get acquainted.

Then I chopped up:

• 1 ripe tomato
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 1/2 small red onion
• handful of fresh cilantro leaves

While all of this was going on, I wrapped a few tortillas in some tin foil and popped them into the toaster oven.  Make sure you cover them up or they will get very dry and nasty.

So, when the fish is cooked, the tortillas warmed, the garnish chopped, it is time to assemble.

First lay down the tortilla.

Then a dollop of the chipolte cilantro sour cream

Then a few pieces of fish

Then top with tomato, red onion, avocado and a few leaves of cilantro!

There you have it, a beautiful, non fried, fish taco!!

Fresh fish taco

Roll it up and eat it!

Oh and for a little extra zing and some vitamin C, add a splash of fresh lime juice over top!

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Dipping Sauces

Here are the dipping sauces that we had with our  Gyoza.  ( see yesterday’s post)

First the Chef  made up a batch of what we’ll call “basic sauce” meaning each dipping sauce starts as this and then the additional ingredients are added to make it into a specific sauce.

Basic sauce:

• garlic
• ginger
• cilantro
• green onion
• soya sauce
• sesame oil

Lemon Soya Sauce:

• basic sauce
• extra soya
• lemon juice

Sweet miso:

• basic sauce
• miso paste
• water to thin it out

Chili Thai peanut:

• basic sauce
• peanut butter
• chili flakes
• water to thin it out

Dipping sauces

 

 

 

 

Stir them up and start dippin!!

 

 

These sauces are also great for vegan sushi!   ( Click here ) to see how to make them!

 

Party snacks are my favourite food!

 

 

 

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Accidental tasty dip

I needed some sauce or something to put over my empanadas ( see yesterday’s post ) because as taste as they were, they were just a little dry and needed a little bit of umph!

What to do?

Well first I whipped up a batch of my Chermoula sauce which probably would have been fine, but it a bit runny to put on flakey pastry.

Chermoula sauce

So I added it to some sour cream! 

Chermoula and sour cream

Fantastic!!

It made a great topping for the empanadas and all I could think of was what a great dipping sauce it would make for……..well……anything really.

Perfect dip