Confident Kitchen

We have an odd assortment of leftovers in the fridge this week. I had a container of bell peppers that had been grilled on the BBQ, some raw ground beef leftover from hamburgers, a handful of Farmer’s Market asparagus that needed to be used very soon, and half a yellow onion. I tossed together this quick spaghetti sauce using a jar of basic marinara and half a bag of pasta from the pantry.

Skill: Easy
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground beef
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup cooked bell peppers, chopped
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• 1 cup asparagus
• 1/2 bag rigatoni noodles

Directions:
Set a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. In the meantime, brown onion in a dash of olive oil. Add bell peppers and saute for 5 minutes. Add pasta and cook for 11-13 minutes in the pot of water. Add ground beef, cooking until completely brown, about 10 minutes. Add asparagus and pasta sauce, bringing to a simmer for 3-4 minutes. Drain pasta. Serve pasta and sauce together in a bowl, adding Parmesan if desired.

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We are going to eat this all summer, I just know it.

There’s not really a “recipe” for this.  Take one fresh peach.  Cut into slices and place in a bowl.  Add one scoop vanilla ice cream on top.  Enjoy.

I want an ice cream maker so bad.

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I’m heading into the home stretch of my final quarter at BCC, so I’ve been making simple meals lately that involve some shortcuts and leave leftovers for a few nights. We actually had these tacos twice this week. They were great both times.

Skill: Easy
Prep: 10 minutes
Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
Taco Seasoning:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Everything else:

• 1lb ground beef
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• lettuce, cut into strips
• 1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
• taco shells, warmed
• 1/2 cup pico de gallo (Carl picked up some pre-made at the grocery store)

Directions:
Mix seasoning together in a small container.  Brown yellow onion in a tablespoon of olive oil. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Add as much taco seasoning as you prefer and 1/4 cup water, simmer until the water has absorbed into the meat. Warm taco shells. Layer meat, cheese, lettuce, and pico de gallo. Enjoy.

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Ginger Ice Cream, originally uploaded by ~wesa~.

www.reedsgingerbrew.com/icecream.html

Fantastic!

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I have a new camera.

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This was the best curry dish I’ve ever made.

Skill: Easy
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chicken, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon Thai green curry paste
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, torn into stripes
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into slices
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped into large pieces
• 1 cup sugar snap peas
• 3 tablespoons peanuts

Bring coconut milk to a simmer. Mix in curry paste and simmer for a minute. Add chicken, half of the basil, brown sugar, and fish sauce, simmer for 20 minutes.

Add bell pepper, onion, sugar snap peas, peanuts, and the rest of the basil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over hot rice.

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Fresh Washington-grown asparagus has hit the produce stands of Pike Place Market.  At $2.99lb, I am going to make this a weekly purchase until it goes out of season (all too soon for me.)

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It’s warm enough to BBQ and we are taking full advantage. We basted this chicken with a hoisin garlic sauce and BBQ’d for 40 minutes.

I’ll use the leftover chicken tomorrow in a Thai green curry dish.

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Via Orangette via Julia Child

Skill: Medium
Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter
• 4 ounces best-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt; set aside.

Melt the butter and the chocolate together in the top of a double boiler over—but not touching—simmering water (or in a metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water), stirring frequently. When the chocolate and butter are both melted and smooth, add 1 cup of the sugar to the mixture, and stir it for 30 seconds; then remove the mixture from the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the mixture into a large bowl.

Put the remaining 1 cup sugar and the eggs into a medium bowl, and whisk by hand to combine. Little by little, pour half of the sugar and eggs into the chocolate mixture, stirring gently but constantly with a rubber spatula so that the eggs don’t scramble from the heat. Beat the remaining sugar and eggs on medium speed until they are thick, pale, and doubled in volume, about 3 minutes. Using the rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped eggs and sugar into the chocolate mixture. When the eggs are almost completely incorporated, gently fold in the dry ingredients.

Pour and scrape the batter into an unbuttered 8-inch square pan. Bake the brownies for 25-28 minutes, during which time they will rise a bit and the top will turn dry and a bit crackly. After 23 minutes, stick a knife or toothpick into the center to see how they are progressing. They should be just barely set—not too raw, but still fairly gooey. Cool the brownies in the pan on a rack. When they’re completely cool, cut them into rectangular bars to serve.

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Simple, easy, quick, nutritious.

Skill: Easy
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/3 C. dry quinoa
• 1 C. water
• Juice of one fresh lime
• 1/4 t. ground cumin
• 1/4 t. ground coriander
• 1 T. finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 15ounce can black beans
• 2 diced roma tomatoes
• 1 C. diced orange bell pepper
• 2 t. canned green chilies
• salt and black pepper to taste

Rinse quinoa. Boil the water, add quinoa, cover, and simmer about 10-15 minutes, until all the water is absorbed. Cool 10 minutes.

Combine lime juice, cumin, coriander, and cilantro. Stir in beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, and chilies. Add cooled quinoa, salt and pepper to taste.

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