Myself As Another

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or corn oil
2 medium onions , chopped fine (about 2 cups)
1 red bell pepper , cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef
2 (15-ounce) cans red kidney beans , drained and rinsed
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes , with juice
1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree
2 limes , cut into wedges
Table salt

Instructions

1. Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed nonreactive Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, oregano, and cayenne; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add half the beef; cook, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink and just beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add remaining beef and cook, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Remove cover and continue to simmer 1 hour longer, stirring occasionally (if chili begins to stick to bottom of pot, stir in 1/2 cup water and continue to simmer), until beef is tender and chili is dark, rich, and slightly thickened. Adjust seasoning with additional salt. Serve with lime wedges and condiments if desired.

(Note from Cook’s Illustrated: Good choices for condiments include diced fresh tomatoes, diced avocado, sliced scallions, chopped red onion, chopped cilantro leaves, sour cream, and shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese. If you are a fan of spicy food, consider using a little more of the red pepper flakes or cayenne–or both. The flavor of the chili improves with age; if possible, make it a day or up to five days in advance and reheat before serving. Leftovers can be frozen for up to a month.)

Makes about 3 quarts, serving 8 to 10. Published March 1, 2003.

This recipe can be found at the Cook’s Illustrated site.

I really can’t imagine a more refreshing, sweet, and light way to begin my morning than with some kind of ginger. Part of me would like to say that this recipe is a pleasing, balanced blend of both ginger and lemons. And that part of me would be right. But another part of me has a tough time calling “balanced” such an overwhelmingly strong sense of both ingredients. You barely need any marmalade at all on your bread or biscuit or whatever you use marmalade for. Really… it’s like an explosion of taste in your mouth. Startling. Probably not startling to you, now that I’ve warned you. Maybe even still. It’s that powerful. But not to the point where it’s too much. That other part of me also balks at the impulse to call this a “blend” because both the ginger and the lemon can be tasted so distinctly from each other. They work so well together, but they don’t form a unified taste like rosemary and thyme, or salt and pepper.

I’m starting to think that ginger is going to become my new favorite ingredient. It really does wonders for pear jam and cookies (think snaps). As far as spices go, it’s not cheap, but you really don’t need much for most recipes, so I think I’m gonna start seeing what happens with it as a wild card ingredient to some other dishes. Maybe the Thai dishes I’m working on.

Well, as always, I’m including the recipe below with a link to the book in which it appears. I hope you’re able to knock out a batch of your own. You’ll be loving your breakfast toast for months!

Ingredients

*6 small lemons
*½ teaspoon baking soda
*2 ½ cups water
*1 cup coarsely grated gingerroot (about 12 oz.)
*1 (1 ¾ ounce) package regular powdered fruit pectin
*6 ½ cups sugar

Directions

1. Prepare canner, jars, and lids.
2. Measure sugar and set aside.
3. Using a vegetable peeler, remove yellow lemon peel in long strips. Cut strips into thin slices. Reserve fruit.
4. In a large deep stainless steel saucepan, combine lemon peel, baking soda, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover, 5. and boil gently for 5 minutes until peel is softened. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Using a sharp knife, cut white pith from lemons. Working over a large bowl to catch juice, use sharp knife to separate lemon segments from membrane. Place segments in bowl and squeeze membrane to remove as much juice as possible, collecting in bowl. Discard membrane and seeds.
6. Measure 1 cup lemon segments and juice. Add to softened lemon peel with gingerroot. Whisk in pectin until dissolved.
7. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
8. Ladle hot marmalade into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust head space if necessary by adding hot marmalade. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

9. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered by water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool, and store.

(From: the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine)

So I think I’m doing pretty well on my food and exercise projects since Christmas Day. I’m working out every day, and I’m trying to find healthier foods to eat, instead of eating too many pizzas, sodas, popcorn, and tatertot hotdish. I’ve always been a big fan of Thai food, so I picked up an old cookbook (Simply Thai Cooking by Wandee Young and Byron Ayanoglu), and decided to try something with beef and curry. The recipe follows below.

I have to say that this is pretty amazing. Easy to cook, even with all of the ingredients. My personal version of the recipe was missing the lime leaves, because I couldn’t find any. I tried a Vietnamese Grocery, another grocery in a part of town with lots of immigrant citizens, and even my friendly neighborhood Kroger. Alas. No luck. They sound pretty good, and I’m certainly going to keep my eyes open for them, and I’m even gonna see if I can get some online.

A couple other variations… I’m a big fan of onions, so instead of putting them on top at the end, I added them into the mix about three-four minutes before the end. Probably not a lot different than dressing with them at the end. My guess is that they don’t really get cooked either way, but waiting until the end gives them a more fresh taste and more of a crunch.

Also, I don’t know much about fish sauces, but I do know that they stink to high heaven. So be prepared for that. I went with the cheapest version, but now I realize just how much flavor it adds, so I’m not gonna go budget on that next time I get my bottle.

The store at which I bought the beef was out of flank steak (which I guess is pretty expensive, $6/pound!), so the fella at the counter recommended round steak. He said they both are quite flavorful and tough. I guess that’s why the recipe calls for such small pieces. This guy recommended some non-flavored meat tenderizer. I guess it breaks down some of the toughness all on its own. Just sprinkle it on, rub it in, and give it about 30 minutes to do its magic. Not really much style, but I heeded the warning about the potential toughness, and pickup up a meat tenderizer. (Can you believe I’ve never owned or used one before?) Needless to say, I forgot to use the tenderizer anyway, and so the meat was a bit tough. Luckily, I’m not so bad with a knife, and I was able to chew it without any trouble. But I recommend tenderizing in some way if you can remember.

All-in-all, this was just like it tastes in most of the Thai restaurants I’ve tried. I highly recommend it. This would be a great dish for hosting a few guests.

I’m gonna try to make Pad Thai this Thursday with my friend Eric. It’s a little more complicated, but it’s my favorite Thai dish. Wish me luck!

Here’s that recipe

Beef in Thick Coconut Milk Sauce

10 oz trimmed beef flank
2 lime leaves
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
2 tbsp red curry paste
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp ground roasted peanuts
1 tbsp white sugar
1/4 small red onion, finely sliced
some fresh basil leaves
cooked rice to serve it with

Slice the steak into pieces that are ¼ inch thick, 2 inches long and about 1 inch wide. If you find it difficult to cut meat thinly, put it int the freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden slightly and then slice. Reserve.

Thinly slice the lime leaves (with a very sharp, heavy knife). Reserve.

Heat 1 cup of the coconut milk in a wok (or frying pan) and add the red curry paste. Stir to dissolve and cook at high heat for 5-6 minutes, until the oil of the coconut rises to the top and the sauce is thick. Add fish sauce and stir it in.

Immediately add the second cup of coconut milk and the reserved beef. Reduce heat to medium-high and stir-cook for 1 minute. Add the ground peanuts, ¾ of the reserved lime leaf shreds and the sugar. Stir. Turn heat back to maximum and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquids have reduced (it’ll be a red-brown, thick mantle covering the meat generously but with not much to spare).

Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 3-4 minutes while the oil of the coconut again rises to the top. Take off heat and transfer to a serving dish. Top with the rest of the shredded lime leaf, the onion slices and the basil leaves. Serve immediately, accompanied by steamed rice.