![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
exhilarationI made four delicious meals this week. I will share with you my recipes! Of course, my recipes are like rules for pirates - they're more like guidelines. I do know how to measure things (in theory) but I rarely do, and most of the things I cook are put together in my head as I'm grocery shopping. So, don't expect list-like recipes here!
First was a late-night salad after a day at the movies (meaning we had popcorn and candy and stuff in the theatre so were not that hungry). I do like to eat salads, since I definitely like vegetables, but there are definitely certain things that must be true about my salads. Usually in a restaurant I will choose the caesar salad rather than the house salad because the LAST thing I want is chopped up iceberg with a few wilted carrots/cucumbers/tomatoes thrown on top and then doused in dressing. My salads are fancier - hey, I told you I was stuck up! This even applies to salads!
Next day was veal scallopine, then beef in curry sauce (sort of) and then seared tuna with fresh salsa.
The salad was made of arugula for the leafy part and glazed walnuts for the crunchy part, golden raisins for the sweet part and crumbled blue cheese for the savory part, and the whole thing was tossed in a basil vinaigrette. I actually bought a pear to chop up and put in the salad as well for another texture/flavor, but I forgot to add it! It was good without it, but it would have been better with it! Note to self: improve memory!
I made veal scallopine by filling a bag with flour, ground pepper, and seasoned sea salt and dropping the sliced, pounded veal inside and shaking it to coat each piece evenly. Just like shake and bake, very simple. Then heated butter and olive oil in the sauté pan and added the veal when the butter began to foam (that means it's hot enough. That's why you cook with butter and olive oil, the oil does not change in appearance when it heats up so you have to guess if its hot enough or too hot or whatever.) I cooked each piece just enough to brown them, not cook them all the way through, and then removed them from the pan. Then I poured a bunch of lemon juice in the pan to de-glaze and made sure to scrape the bottom with a rubber spatula, and added two diced shallots and cooked them until they were translucent. Next I added half a can of beef broth and the tips of a bundle of asparagus, and turned the heat down and covered it with a glass lid until the asparagus turned bright green and slightly tender. Then I returned the veal to the pan and added a handful of finely chopped sage, making sure to coat everything in the sauce and once the sage wilted I turned off the heat. I was always taught to add the fresh herbs last, because as they cook their flavor decreases. It seemed counter intuitive at first, because I figured it would be better to infuse all the things in the pan with the herbs, but this really is true, it is better to add fresh herbs last and cook them only until they wilt. I served it with whole grain shell pasta.
Can you make this vegetarian? You can make this vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth and eggplant or portabella mushroom caps. I live eggplant but I think texturally large mushroom caps are a better substitute.
Can you make it GF-DF? It's already dairy-free (if you skip the butter - don't substitute margarine, just keep an eye on the oil and if it starts smoking, it is too hot so remove the pan from the heat before you add anything to it) but you can make it gluten free by substituting corn starch for the flour and making sure your broth is also gluten free. Pretty sure you can find gf broth/stock/etc in the organic aisle and cornstarch SHOULD be gf but obviously check the ingredients, some brands might add something glutenous for some reason. No need to go to the organic section tho, I have Argo cornstarch in my kitchen and it is officially GF. Same with the pasta - rice noodles from the international aisle are not nearly as expensive as GF pasta from the organic aisle, and are usually clearly labeled GF if they are.
Was this successful? Yes it was very. Its something I would usually make with long pasta like angel hair or linguine, but the shells do a nice job of holding the delicious sauce. Whole grain pasta is a different texture from white pasta and it has more of a flavor as well, and I think it's a nice combination with the mild sauce.
Is it healthy? Well... I'd classify it as "not bad." There's certainly nothing awful for you in it, but it's not like it's packed with healthful stuff.
(Sort of) green curry was more of an experiment. I fried about 2 tbsp green curry paste in olive oil, and then instead of adding a can of coconut milk (which is extremely unhealthy, its one of those rare naturally found bad fats or something) I used the other half of the can of beef broth, half a can of water, and two mashed avocados. The curry paste needs some kind of fat to bind with and avocados are the good fat. I then added a dash of fish sauce and the juice from one whole lime, turned the heat down and added the bottoms of the asparagus bunch from the night before. When they were tender I added chopped broccoli, cauliflower, and sugar peas that I bought pre-cleaned and chopped all in one at the supermarket. Once they were cooked just barely enough I added the sliced beef and let it simmer in the sauce until it was cooked through. I completely forgot to add the sliced lotus root I had in the fridge, but that was probably good since there were sufficient ingredients already. As the beef began to brown I added a handful of chopped dill and chives and one thinly shredded piece of lemongrass and once the herbs wilted I turned off the heat. I served this with brown rice.
Can you make this vegetarian? You can make this vegetarian by using thinly sliced extra-firm tofu and soy sauce instead of fish sauce. It would probably taste better with tofu than with beef, IMO.
Can you make this GF-DF? It is already dairy free but you can make it gluten free by tracking down gluten free green curry paste (or being incredibly ambitious and resourceful and making your own, but it is available for purchase in most supermarkets, I think the brand is called "A Taste of Thai.") Instead of soy sauce use Tamari sauce because soy sauce is definitely NOT gluten-free.
Was it successful? Partially. It tasted good, but usually when I make curry I make it with all vegetables. I cook the sauce for quite a while, letting it simmer and develop sort of a foam on top, and then add the veggies and herbs and cook only until they brighten and become tender. (unless I am using root vegetables, those I let cook in the sauce as it simmers because root vegetables do not turn to mush the longer they cook) Switching coconut milk for avocados and beef broth did not negatively affect the flavor but it certainly changed the consistency of the sauce. Overall I think I cooked everything too long, the veggies were very soft and the sliced beef was not at all tender. Next time I might try searing the beef in the curry paste right away and then removing it and adding it back at the end, or buying like cubed stew beef and allowing it to simmer along with the sauce. I think if there is such a thing as coconut extract I could stand to add some of that, and also something to thicken the sauce like a sprinkle of flour or something.
Is it healthy? Yes, very, that was kind of the point of leaving out the coconut milk and using avocados instead.
Searing tuna is very simple, I coated it with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and seared it in a pan, just enough to cook the very outer part and warm up the inner part. I bought something in the supermarket called "pico de guaco" that was guacamole on the bottom and fresh salsa on the top, and I used this to top the tuna steaks. Then I boiled some baby yellow potatoes in water with seasoned sea salt - I only used enough water to barely cover the potatoes and let it boil uncovered until most of the water was boiled away. This makes a nice sort of salt crust on the potatoes. Then I sautéed a bag of baby spinach and a handful of whole basil leaves in olive oil and added a spritz of lemon juice after taking it out of the pan.
Can you make this vegetarian? Not really. It's tuna.
Can you make this GF-DF? It is already dairy-free and you can make it gluten free by either making your own salsa or making sure you buy it without any kind of gluten-containing preservatives. If you have a food processor salsa is very easy to make. I don't have one so I always buy mine.
Was it successful? Yes, entirely. However, an attempt to turn the potatoes into mashed potatoes for lunch today was not at all successful. They were too salty.
Is it healthy? Yes. The potatoes are very salted but for the most part I think this is balanced out by all the good things in the meal.
And THAT, oh f-list mine, was FOUR DAYS OF DELICIOUS. From here on out it'll be take out :)
Also, as resolved, I did draw a little bit:
First was a late-night salad after a day at the movies (meaning we had popcorn and candy and stuff in the theatre so were not that hungry). I do like to eat salads, since I definitely like vegetables, but there are definitely certain things that must be true about my salads. Usually in a restaurant I will choose the caesar salad rather than the house salad because the LAST thing I want is chopped up iceberg with a few wilted carrots/cucumbers/tomatoes thrown on top and then doused in dressing. My salads are fancier - hey, I told you I was stuck up! This even applies to salads!
Next day was veal scallopine, then beef in curry sauce (sort of) and then seared tuna with fresh salsa.
The salad was made of arugula for the leafy part and glazed walnuts for the crunchy part, golden raisins for the sweet part and crumbled blue cheese for the savory part, and the whole thing was tossed in a basil vinaigrette. I actually bought a pear to chop up and put in the salad as well for another texture/flavor, but I forgot to add it! It was good without it, but it would have been better with it! Note to self: improve memory!
I made veal scallopine by filling a bag with flour, ground pepper, and seasoned sea salt and dropping the sliced, pounded veal inside and shaking it to coat each piece evenly. Just like shake and bake, very simple. Then heated butter and olive oil in the sauté pan and added the veal when the butter began to foam (that means it's hot enough. That's why you cook with butter and olive oil, the oil does not change in appearance when it heats up so you have to guess if its hot enough or too hot or whatever.) I cooked each piece just enough to brown them, not cook them all the way through, and then removed them from the pan. Then I poured a bunch of lemon juice in the pan to de-glaze and made sure to scrape the bottom with a rubber spatula, and added two diced shallots and cooked them until they were translucent. Next I added half a can of beef broth and the tips of a bundle of asparagus, and turned the heat down and covered it with a glass lid until the asparagus turned bright green and slightly tender. Then I returned the veal to the pan and added a handful of finely chopped sage, making sure to coat everything in the sauce and once the sage wilted I turned off the heat. I was always taught to add the fresh herbs last, because as they cook their flavor decreases. It seemed counter intuitive at first, because I figured it would be better to infuse all the things in the pan with the herbs, but this really is true, it is better to add fresh herbs last and cook them only until they wilt. I served it with whole grain shell pasta.
Can you make this vegetarian? You can make this vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth and eggplant or portabella mushroom caps. I live eggplant but I think texturally large mushroom caps are a better substitute.
Can you make it GF-DF? It's already dairy-free (if you skip the butter - don't substitute margarine, just keep an eye on the oil and if it starts smoking, it is too hot so remove the pan from the heat before you add anything to it) but you can make it gluten free by substituting corn starch for the flour and making sure your broth is also gluten free. Pretty sure you can find gf broth/stock/etc in the organic aisle and cornstarch SHOULD be gf but obviously check the ingredients, some brands might add something glutenous for some reason. No need to go to the organic section tho, I have Argo cornstarch in my kitchen and it is officially GF. Same with the pasta - rice noodles from the international aisle are not nearly as expensive as GF pasta from the organic aisle, and are usually clearly labeled GF if they are.
Was this successful? Yes it was very. Its something I would usually make with long pasta like angel hair or linguine, but the shells do a nice job of holding the delicious sauce. Whole grain pasta is a different texture from white pasta and it has more of a flavor as well, and I think it's a nice combination with the mild sauce.
Is it healthy? Well... I'd classify it as "not bad." There's certainly nothing awful for you in it, but it's not like it's packed with healthful stuff.
(Sort of) green curry was more of an experiment. I fried about 2 tbsp green curry paste in olive oil, and then instead of adding a can of coconut milk (which is extremely unhealthy, its one of those rare naturally found bad fats or something) I used the other half of the can of beef broth, half a can of water, and two mashed avocados. The curry paste needs some kind of fat to bind with and avocados are the good fat. I then added a dash of fish sauce and the juice from one whole lime, turned the heat down and added the bottoms of the asparagus bunch from the night before. When they were tender I added chopped broccoli, cauliflower, and sugar peas that I bought pre-cleaned and chopped all in one at the supermarket. Once they were cooked just barely enough I added the sliced beef and let it simmer in the sauce until it was cooked through. I completely forgot to add the sliced lotus root I had in the fridge, but that was probably good since there were sufficient ingredients already. As the beef began to brown I added a handful of chopped dill and chives and one thinly shredded piece of lemongrass and once the herbs wilted I turned off the heat. I served this with brown rice.
Can you make this vegetarian? You can make this vegetarian by using thinly sliced extra-firm tofu and soy sauce instead of fish sauce. It would probably taste better with tofu than with beef, IMO.
Can you make this GF-DF? It is already dairy free but you can make it gluten free by tracking down gluten free green curry paste (or being incredibly ambitious and resourceful and making your own, but it is available for purchase in most supermarkets, I think the brand is called "A Taste of Thai.") Instead of soy sauce use Tamari sauce because soy sauce is definitely NOT gluten-free.
Was it successful? Partially. It tasted good, but usually when I make curry I make it with all vegetables. I cook the sauce for quite a while, letting it simmer and develop sort of a foam on top, and then add the veggies and herbs and cook only until they brighten and become tender. (unless I am using root vegetables, those I let cook in the sauce as it simmers because root vegetables do not turn to mush the longer they cook) Switching coconut milk for avocados and beef broth did not negatively affect the flavor but it certainly changed the consistency of the sauce. Overall I think I cooked everything too long, the veggies were very soft and the sliced beef was not at all tender. Next time I might try searing the beef in the curry paste right away and then removing it and adding it back at the end, or buying like cubed stew beef and allowing it to simmer along with the sauce. I think if there is such a thing as coconut extract I could stand to add some of that, and also something to thicken the sauce like a sprinkle of flour or something.
Is it healthy? Yes, very, that was kind of the point of leaving out the coconut milk and using avocados instead.
Searing tuna is very simple, I coated it with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and seared it in a pan, just enough to cook the very outer part and warm up the inner part. I bought something in the supermarket called "pico de guaco" that was guacamole on the bottom and fresh salsa on the top, and I used this to top the tuna steaks. Then I boiled some baby yellow potatoes in water with seasoned sea salt - I only used enough water to barely cover the potatoes and let it boil uncovered until most of the water was boiled away. This makes a nice sort of salt crust on the potatoes. Then I sautéed a bag of baby spinach and a handful of whole basil leaves in olive oil and added a spritz of lemon juice after taking it out of the pan.
Can you make this vegetarian? Not really. It's tuna.
Can you make this GF-DF? It is already dairy-free and you can make it gluten free by either making your own salsa or making sure you buy it without any kind of gluten-containing preservatives. If you have a food processor salsa is very easy to make. I don't have one so I always buy mine.
Was it successful? Yes, entirely. However, an attempt to turn the potatoes into mashed potatoes for lunch today was not at all successful. They were too salty.
Is it healthy? Yes. The potatoes are very salted but for the most part I think this is balanced out by all the good things in the meal.
And THAT, oh f-list mine, was FOUR DAYS OF DELICIOUS. From here on out it'll be take out :)
Also, as resolved, I did draw a little bit:
