Food
Food
Pepper Soup
I haven’t made any soups recently and since one of my New Year’s resolutions is to make more soups (and eat them), I figured today would be a good day for that. As I was reviewing the produce I had, I noticed that some of the bell peppers were starting to look like a Shar Pei and a few random roasted peppers in a jar could be used up too. So, Pepper Soup to the rescue! I remembered seeing a fairly easy recipe by Bal Arneson on the Cooking Channel, but there were a few ingredients I didn’t have (I’m not driving across town for 1 tsp of asafotida, especially when I don’t even know what it is). Thus, I decided to use the recipe as...
Read MoreFish in Fresh Tomato Sauce
Tomatoes… My love for them knows no bounds. Even in this winter, when we have several feet of snow, I seek out tomatoes and try to make something where they’re palatable. You know what winter tomatoes taste like, right? The taste like… paper… or cotton…. completely flavorless and watery. BUT… if you cook them, they make delicious magic with garlic. This dish is also very quick, easy, and healthy. If you want to cut down on additional calories from olive oil, you can use a cooking spray or use olive oil spray can (I have a Misto Sprayer). Ingredients: 2 pints of tomatoes (I used yellow and red and you can see that I have...
Read MoreYogurts (Dairy Odyssey: Part 2)
I have been on a dairy kick since the cheese-making class I took a few weeks ago. After having made butter, I was all jazzed to make other things from the class and started on the yogurts a few days ago. Since I had such a hard time with yogurt previously, I asked Linda about some ways I can try to improve and wanted to try out her suggestions. So, one of the yogurts I made is based on her recipe and the other is an attempt to improve upon my experimentation from last fall. The yogurt Linda talked about is based on the Piima culture she gave out in class. I’m always looking for “Greek style” yogurt, the kind that’s really, really thick and...
Read MoreHolodetz (aspic)
This is a much-loved dish in the family, and it’s ubiquitous at Russian celebrations. It’s hardly a party without one. Holodetz is called holodetz (studen’ or cholodetz or p’tcha) because it’s served cold, as in frozen, and the root of all those Russian words is “cold”. In my attempt to learn how to cook dishes I grew up with, I thought it was about time I learned to make this one, and I gave it a go for our New Year’s celebration this year. (Yes, it’s been a while, but I still have a bit of a backlog of posts and this is one of them.) I always thought that making holodetz is difficult or complicated or time...
Read MoreHome-Made Butter! (Dairy Odyssey: Part 1)
I can’t believe it’s butter! There’s nothing better than home-made butter, squished between your own hands. I keep asking my dad if I’m channeling some long-forgotten farmer ancestor, but all we can find in the family tree so far are military/engineers/professor/entrepreneurs/manufacturers (city folk mainly). No farmers in sight, so far. Last week, I took a cheese making class taught by Linda Conroy of Moonwise Herbs. I first learned of this class from Sofya, but couldn’t fit it into my schedule to take this class at the Driftless Folk School. So I was really excited when I learned that this class is being offered a mere 10 minutes...
Read MoreMediterranean Vegetable, Bean, and Feta Penne
I saw this recipe in my Clean Eating magazine (page 41 of the February 2011 issue) and it looked pretty good. But the fact that it didn’t have meat had me worried, for I am an unabashed carnivore. The recipe seemed easy, quick, healthy, and potentially great-tasting so I thought it was worth a try, especially since I’ve been craving summer flavors. [You might have seen it on the news, but WI is buried under a few feet of snow and I for one, absolutely hate it. For a sunnier view of our weather, check out Sofia's take on it.] So, off to the kitchen I went, though, as always, I did deviate slightly from the original recipe. Ingredients: 6 oz. of whole...
Read MoreMKEFoodies
I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post! Wowza! Though I have some recipes on backlog, I thought it would be much more fun to out and meet some of the foodies of the Milwaukee food scene. And I have to confess, I am really glad that I went. Some of my friends tease me that I’m a recluse, but I can’t help it if I like my home and sometimes even my microscopic kitchen. This tweetup was the second one organized by the wonderful people who write Burp! Where Food Happens. Tuesday’s gathering was at Mason Street Grill and the turnout was much better than I’d have thought. The food was simple and great (just how I...
Read MoreHappy New Year!
Happy New Year! It has been a wonderful 2010. I met local bloggers, tried new restaurants, tried new recipes, traveled to various parts of the state and hope to continue that trend in 2011. And since New Year’s is pretty much the biggest holiday for people in (and from) Russia (and former republics of USSR), I spent much time preparing for the small feast. I say “small” because it was; just the family members who were in town and that’s not a lot of us. But we had a blast hanging out, laughing, and watching Russian TV. If you follow blogs written by those living in the former USSR or those who are from there, you’ll notice that salad...
Read MoreWhole Wheat Bread
There is nothing more satisfying than making bread. Taking such simple ingredients, like flour, yeast, and water, and turning them into something nourishing and fabulous is just so rewarding and self-affirming. It’s immensely satisfying knowing I can whip up a loaf of bread with practically no effort, make it dense, chewy, and nourishing, and save a bundle in the process. I think I’ll have a bread-related goal for 2011. I used the same recipe and process here as I did in my first attempt (Bread based on My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method), but I made changes to the flour mixture. Instead of 3 cups of white bread flour, I used 1.5...
Read MoreMatzo Ball Soup
Turns out, I really, really like matzo ball soup. [Matzo balls (also known as kneidelach) are dumplings made of matzo meal (matzo flour).] I haven’t had it in ages (about a year, I think) and then, had it twice within the span of about a week. So I thought I’d give it a shot and learn how to make it myself, especially since I’ve been craving chicken soup (which is completely foreign for me). With that, I was off on the internet search for fluffy matzo balls and I settled on a recipe from Jewish Magazine. And of course, I made a couple substitutions: I used only 3 TB of oil instead of 4 that’s called for in the original recipe, and I let it...
Read MoreChicken Stew with Chickpeas
We’re in the grizly clutches of winter here, though, technically Winter hasn’t started yet. But since it is so cold, it’s perfect weather for a stew. And since I’ve been eating a lot of lamb lately (made Lagman, (an Uzbek soup) a few times), I thought it’s time to make something with chicken. I also wanted to use up some of my pantry items. So, I had chicken on hand, and I wanted to use Montreal Steak Seasoning (I read a great recipe by Sofya on her blog) but that was the end of my idea, until I started cooking. Initially, I considered making this with potatoes, something like the chahohbili-style stew I made last year. But then, I...
Read MoreVika’s Pepper Salad
This is one of my absolute favorite salads! It’s great warm or cold, as a salad, a side to a meat or fish dish, or piled hungrily on a piece of toasted baguette as bruschetta. In addition to its versatility, this salad is very healthy and easy to prepare. You really can’t beat that. You can also switch things up by adding other veggies, eggplant being my favorite add-in. But this time I went “traditional” since this is the first time I’ve ever made it (I’ve been after the recipe for a loooong time and finally got it). Ingredients: 1 medium-large onion (diced) 2 medium-large bell peppers (sliced the long way; I used red and yellow,...
Read MoreMeringue and fruit trifles (Eaton Mess?)
[An alternate title for this post could have easily been "An ode to my KitchenAid"] I thought I saw a similar dessert on some cooking show but couldn’t find it anywhere online. The basic premise was to have a healthier and lighter-feeling dessert that tasted great and was fairly easy to make and something I could make ahead. I also wanted something a little crunchy and something with fruit. So, I thought I’d make meringue for the crunchy part and stew some frozen fruit for the fruit part. But I wasn’t quite sure what the topping should be. I wanted something creamy and investigated zabaglione and decided it was too much work at this time and thus...
Read MoreEgg “Salad”
I call this egg “salad” because I don’t know what else to call it, and calling it egg “spread” just doesn’t sound appetizing, even though it’s great spread on bread as a snack or an appetizer. But this recipe is just so simple and the results are disproportionately delicious. The most time-consuming part of this recipe is boiling eggs. Really. Just try it and you’ll see what I mean. Use your favorite sharper cheese, but any cheese would probably work. Ingredients: 6 eggs 1-1.5 TB of mayo 3 cloves of garlic (finely minced, less if you’re not a garlic enthusiast) 1/3 cup of grated cheese (any sharper cheese...
Read MoreA Healthier Thanksgiving
I absolutely love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday. Not only do I get to cook up a feast, but people come and eat it and take food home too! But I also like the idea of having a day to get together with the family and count our blessings and all the positive and good things in our lives, no matter how small, for attitude is frequently half the battle. And this year, I wanted to keep the dishes on the healthier side so we wouldn’t feel quite so guilty for indulging. Come to think of it, it was quite a vitamin C and veggie feast. I had lots of red bell peppers and other veggies, used mostly healthy fats (olive oil) and banished soda from the table. Though...
Read MoreMushroom Sauce
Looks like I’ve been on a cooking binge lately. And I’m glad to say I like it. This recipe was came out of a conversation and was pretty much a necessity; you see, I bought about three pounds of mushrooms at Costco. I got two one-pound packages of baby portabella mushrooms and a one-pound package of chanterelles. Yeah, I know, I’m crazy. But mushrooms shrink when they cook. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. And I really, really like chanterelle mushrooms, as it turns out. Have you ever tried them pickled? If you haven’t, you really should seek them out (they’re frequently found in Russian/East European grocery...
Read MoreTabouleh
One of my currently favorite places has great Tabouleh. I like how fresh and flavorful it is, not to mention how healthy it is. So, I decided to try making it myself. I looked online and all recipes were a little different; some had onions and some didn’t, some had more bulghur (cracked wheat) some less, some some had mint, some didn’t. But overall, a few things are consistent: bulgur, tomatoes, and cucumbers. And my goal was to try to replicate the tabouleh of the restaurant where I usually get it. That version doesn’t have mint or onions, so I omitted those ingredients. Most versions have the cracked wheat soaking for a while (1-2...
Read MoreChocolate Cobbler
I crave chocolate on a regular basis and I figured I should make something myself instead of buying a gazillion-calorie chocolate cake at the store. So I started to scour the internet for an easy recipe that is quick to make and doesn’t require too many ingredients. This search yielded a recipe by Susan Hawkins at Tasty Kitchen. But you know me, I couldn’t leave it well enough alone and had to modify something. Because I’ve been in an experimental mood lately as it comes to my dessert, I thought about making this a little healthier. I have lots of room to play here, but this time I thought of switching out All-Purpose flour for Whole Wheat...
Read MoreOrzo and… Liver
Don’t scream. I know many of find liver scary or “icky”. But let me assure you that it’s delicious and good for you. It’s full of iron and I love the creamy texture. I grew up eating liver in various forms: pate, shish-kebab (known as “djigar”), sauteed with onion, etc. and I still enjoy it. As a matter of fact, I even have cravings for it. It’s a perfect cold-weather food because it’s creamy (which to me spells comfort), easy, and quick. For this easy meal, I sauteed some veal liver and paired with orzo and a little bit of feta cheese. Ingredients: 1 lb veal liver 1 cup orzo 1 onion, diced Feta cheese...
Read MoreBlueberry Muffins (breads)
I found a recipe for Blueberry Muffins on Lola’s website and they looked really good. So good and easy (read: I had all the ingredients) that I decided to give these a try. But I wanted to make these a little bit healthier and so I made a few substitutions. The main one is that I took out all the butter, not that there was too much to begin with. I used applesauce instead and used a little more buttermilk. The other substitution I made was the flour. Instead of all-purpose white flour I used whole wheat pastry flour. This is what gives these muffins a bread-like feel. They really do feel like individual little breads. A perfect healthy breakfast...
