Ground Beef Curry [Recipe]

I may have had a rocky time in England, but it was on no account of the people I met. Aisha, Jess, and Alison are all bloggers I had a rollicking good time with. I also saw my best friend from high school. But I met other people too, and they were some of London’s best for me. Joe, Caitlin, Pontus, Zen, Kristina, Mark, and the random Scottish dude who liked Texas and hung out with me at the Kamelot concert were all awesome people I saw, and whom it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever see again.

But it doesn’t really make me sad. Few things actually do. I make myself sad (though my claws have been well-sheathed of late), being ignored makes me beyond sad, and sometimes I come across a book, movie, tv show, or musical that makes me happily sad.

Instead, as cliche as it sounds, I treasure my memories. I’m so happy when I meet awesome people.

That said, I miss Indian food. The Indian food in England is very unique to anywhere else, even other Western countries. I remember the spice profiles though! I also brought something with me across the pond — a few jars of curry paste!

It was with fond nostalgia of my British buddies that I pulled together a mega yummy dinner. The chief irony is that only three of the people I mentioned would probably eat it.

This curry-inspired dish is simple but it’s hearty. London raised my spice level but it’s not packing too much heat. Feel free to dump in chilies.

Ground Beef Curry

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef (I used an 80/20 grassfed)
• 1/2 sweet-ish onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 can chopped/diced tomatoes
• ~2-3 tsp Indian spice blend or assorted individual spices (whatever you fancy)
• 1 tbsp green curry paste or laksa curry paste
• 1 tbsp tamarind relish or to taste (tamarind paste works too but you’ll have to adjust the amount based on taste)
• 1 tsp red curry paste
• 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Heat butter in a pot on med-high heat. Start browning your beef, using your spatula to crumble it. Add some spices.
2. As that’s browning, hack and slash your onion and red pepper.
3. Once the meat is browned, remove and set aside. There should be enough juices in the pan that you do not need any more cooking fat. If it is too dry, use a spray or more butter.
4. Add in onions and peppers and let them cook on medium heat. Add in some spices.
5. Once the onions and peppers are soft, add in the tomatoes. For the tomatoes, drain the juices beforehand if you want a drier curry. Keep the juices if you want a soupier curry.
6. Give it a good stir then add in the coconut milk, tamarind, and curry pastes. Stir again to dissolve the pastes and get everything mixed up.
7. Return the meat to the pot and turn heat down to low.  Taste and adjust spices as you see fit.
8. Now, you can either let it simmer for 15-25 minutes to bamf up the flavors, or you can it as is. You can also do what I did, which is save for tomorrow’s lunch or dinner. Sticking it in the fridge overnight really kicks up the flavor. Whenever you choose to chow down, serve it with rice, cauliflower rice, or spaghetti squash. Or break out the naan. I had it with spaghetti squash.

Nom!

Meaty Matters

Surf and Turf?

First, thanks you guys so much for all of your love and support regarding my last post. USC peeps, I fortell a Yogurtland meetup, what say you?

I’m really loving the Crossfit! I haven’t been so inspired to work out since last summer. Those promo videos with someone sprawled out on the floor and wheezing? Totally true. But what I love about this gym is that you are always encouraged, not drill sergeanted at.

Ok, onto the meaty matters of this post. This isn’t a pun.  When I look at food blogs I see plenty of recipes for vegan fare, a decent amount of great chicken recipes, and a smattering of good seafood. Oh, and bacon sneaks in when somoene’s feeling frisky. What I rarely see is my favorite meat of all: beef. Ok, maybe my real fav is duck, camel, or venison, but I’m sticking to something that’s easily buyable. Why? Because once I’m done with this post, hopefully some of you will be racing out to grab the closest sirloin.

Looks like Texas. Coincidence? I think not.

For those of you abstain from beef for ethical reasons, I won’t argue. I find factory farms disgusting and try my hardest to buy grass-fed. But those who abstain for health might want to look a little deeper than the vegan website that claims meat rots in your guts. Cuz no, it doesn’t. Red meat is a highly nutritious food that contains iron, zinc, phosphorous, B vitamins, protein, and if the source is grass-fed, some CLAs and Omega 3s. Fattier cuts like roast are not bad for you either as long as you remember fattier = more caloric.

No one said getting dinner was easy

The one caveat against health I have is corn-fed beef. Corn-fed cattle are pumped up with hormones to grow faster and antibiotics to keep them alive until slaughter, since corn slowly kills them. I don’t see hormones as a problem, as they don’t pass the blood-brain barrier. Antibiotics are another matter. The overuse of antibiotics in America have and are leading to resistant strains of bacteria. We don’t need to be helping out future plagues.  Or winding up with antibiotic-resistant salmonella because some dumbass at the meat packing plant let some bad pork get by. That said, if you are eating a variety of animals, the exposure should be minimal. If you’re eating grass-fed, antibiotic-free beef you’re in the clear.

Another argument against beef is the cost. I’m not rolling in filet mignon all day. I almost always go for cheaper cuts of beef and keep an eye open for sales. Stew meat tastes amazing if you put it in a slow cooker with tomatoes, peas, and Guinness.  Tough fillets can be softened with an acidic marinade and cut thin for fajitas. And, ultimately, I put a lot of stock in the phrase “Pay the farmer or pay the doctor.”

But I want to talk about one of my favorite incarnations of beef — steak. I don’t usually buy sexy New York strips or manly ribeyes. I tend to go for sirloin and other more economical cuts. Thing is, sirloin can be tough if prepared improperly. When I want a steak dinner, here’s what I do:

Stuff of the Gods. More specifically, Yahweh.

- Salt the beef. To make tough, cheap meet nice and juicy, coat it in kosher salt (or any other flaky, chunkier salt — NOT table salt). A better explanation of this is found here. I’ve used this trick since I was old enough to use cast iron. Coat the steak in 1/2 – 1 tsp of salt per side and let it hang out for awhile. A 1-inch steak can sit for an hour. Up the time for thicker steak. Basically, the salt draws out excess moisture and breaks down the proteins. After the steak has rested for the allotted time, rinse well and pat dry. Get that thing DRY. The rest time also allows the steak to get to room temperature so it cooks more evenly.

Your grandma's version of a non-stick pan.

- Sear. You know how restaurant steaks have that crunchy seal on them? It’s because they have been seared. First get a pan on the stove and get the heat up high. Cast iron is the best for this — if you have a non-stick pan, please make sure it’s built to withstand heat. Also, crack open a window and turn on the fan in case it gets smoky.  Get some high-heat cooking fat like coconut oil or tallow and rub a bit into each side of a steak. Once the pan is hot, drop those steaks in. You will know it’s hot enough when the steaks sound like they are being cooked in the fires of hell. Sear for about one minute on each side. This also burns off all the outer bacteria so you can cook your steak rare and not be concerned with contamination. You can skip this step and still have a nice steak, but I like the crust.

That's the look you want

- Oven Prep. There is a great debate about broiling verses baking. I prefer to broil because it’s closer to grilling (the real man’s way to cook beef). But before you stick your meat under a broiler, disable your fire alarm…oooh wait, you might not know how or you might be worried about filling your apartment with smoke. Here’s how to prevent that!

Take a broiling pan (the pan that has a slitted covering), line with foil, and pour salt in the bottom. It doesn’t need a ton, just enough to evenly cover the bottom. If you don’t have a broiling pan, you can use a muffin pan. I’m not joking. Fill the cups with salt and be careful not to let the steak fall in. The salt catches the drippings and doesn’t let them burn. Granted, you won’t be able to make a gravy, but you save yourself smoke or explaining to a landlord why the fire alarm looks abused.

Not a bit of smoke to be seen!

- Broil. Get that broiler on high and move the rack six inches from the top. Take the chance now to season your steaks as you wish. Go easy on the salt since a little bit now lives in the meat. Once the oven’s raring to go, slide in your steaks, but leave the door ajar. Broil times do vary based on thickness, cut, and if it’s grass-fed or corn-feed. Corn-fed beef takes longer because it’s fattier. Here is a timetable guide (this is for corn-fed, to take a minute or so off for grass-fed).

- Rest. Do NOT dive into these meaty wonders just yet. The juices are hopping and will drain right out if you cut them now. Instead, take the steaks out, burn off broiler, and gently put the steaks on a plate. Tent with foil and let sit for 5-10 minutes.  Make some broccoli or something.

Tell them to STFU for a few minutes and set the table.

- Feast. Savor the deliciousness of Bos primigenius.

Sauteed onions and mushrooms go really well.

Cookery & Bookery: Indian in 6

Here you have it, the first of my Cookery & Bookery series! This is a work in progress, so I’m open to suggestions for content.

I’ve have a hankering for Indian food since I left London. When I came across this gem while unpacking, I knew it would be the first book I played with.

Indian in Six, by Monisha Bharadwaj 

The premise of the book is Indian food made with six ingredients or less. This statement does not prove true — apparently salt, pepper, flour, butter, and sunflower oil are only 1/3 ingredients. But regardless, the quantity of the ingredients is still pretty small.

The quality is not always the case. In London it would be quite easy to pick up some of the ingredients she uses throughout the book — ginger-garlic paste, black mustard seeds, silver leaf, chilies, and fenugreek seeds. In America, not as much. Luckily I live next to a Mexican grocer that supplies a lot of chiles and seed-spices. I made the ginger-garlic paste myself. Bharadwaj  also doesn’t specify what kind of chiles to use; she just says red or green. I consulted my Bobby Flay cookbook on the heat index but couldn’t tell which ones she was referring to.

But what I like about this book is the variety. Bharadwaj  explores the cuisine of different regions — forget a few simple curries or tandoor dishes. She has sections devoted to poultry, seafood, eggs, veggies, and other odds and ends. I chose three:

Kolmi til Kebab – Chili tiger shrimp with sesame seeds

Aloo Mutter Jeerawala – Potatoes and peas with cumin

Gujar Kobi nu Shak – Guijarati-style carrot and cabbage stir fry

I actually made these at the same time. I almost never make this many relatively complex dishes at the same time. Aye caramba! But they came together surprisingly well, and the fire alarm stayed quiet.

Kolmi til Kebab

3 Tbs white sesame seeds
10 oz. tiger shrimp, tails on (mine were cheaper and tailless)
1 Tbs garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili slivers (I forgot to get a red chili so I used chili powder)
Salt
Sunflower oil for shallow frying (I never use seed oils; I subbed coconut)

1. Dry roast the sesame seeds in a pan and set aside.
2. Combine all other ingredients (except oil) with the shrimp.
3. Add oil to pan and fry those suckers up.
4. Drain shrimp and toss with sesame seeds.

I forgot to snap a pic but here's the idea

These were easy to prepare, though of course I had to forget this was from the appetizer section, and thus the serving size was too small. Though it’s originally for 4 people, a dinner portion would be around 2 people.

The coconut oil added a nice bit of sweetness. However, the recipe was lacking in a bit of kick, so I tossed in some extra turmeric and chili powder.

Aloo Mutter Jeerawala

2 Tbsp sunflower oil (I used butter)
1 tsp cumin seeds (I had no seeds so I used powdered)
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste (I smooshed together 1 tsp each of grated ginger and garlic)
1 fresh green chili, ground (I used a fresh pasilla and diced it)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp turmeric
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used one white and one sweet potato)
1.25 cups green peas (I dumped in a small frozen bag)
Salt

1. Heat up the oil and add the cumin. Let darken, then add the ginger-garlic paste and green chile.
2. Stir in tomato paste and the turmeric. Add some water so the oil can seperate.
3. Toss in potatoes. Add the peas now only if they are fresh. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add 1 1/4 cup hot water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat. If you used frozen peas, dump them in now. Cover and cook until the vegetables are done.

The water suggestion was too much. I could have reduced it to 3/4 cup. As it was, I used a slotted spoon.

This dish is really comforting. It has some grounding potatoes but the peas keep if from getting too heavy. The tomato paste adds a bit of tang. Yum!

Gujar Kobi nu Shak 

2 Tbsp sunflower oil (I used coconut oil)
1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 green chiles, slit down the middle (I used a fatass pasilla)
1 tsp fresh, shredded ginger root
1 tsp turmeric
2 1/2 – 3 cups (10 oz) cabbage, shredded (I used a 10 oz bag of cole slaw shreds)
2 cups (10 oz) carrots, shredded
1/2 tsp garam masala (it needed a bit more kick)
Salt

1. Heat up the oil and plop in the mustard seeds. Get them to pop then add the chiles and ginger. Stir, add the turmeric and stir again.
2. Add your veggies, season with salt and pepper, and stir until things start to wilt down. Then add 1/2-2/3 cup of water.
3. Cover and cook until the vegetables are done but not geriatric.
4. Serve and sprinkle with coconut if you want.

Served on top of steamed kale

YUM! Best dish out of the three.  But whatever green chile she wanted it sure as hell wasn’t passila. The dish was a wonderful marriage of sweet and savory but needed more bite, hence the addition of the garam masala. You can probably leave it out of you used a ballsier chile.

This dish can do a lot. I was sticking it in omelets, in lettuce wraps, having it plain…it’s very versatile. It tastes amazing drizzled with a bit of tahini or Trader Joe’s Tahini Sauce. So yeah, this one’s staying in the rotation.

Parting Shots:

This book didn’t lead me back to the kitchen of Aisha’s mom, but it’s a good intro into Indian flavor profiles. I wish it was more specific but there are a lot of interesting options. Still, considering I’m known as Baby Spice in some circles, I was really surprised I had to add heat. Keep your chili powder handy.

Who says office lunches have to be boring?

So, any requests for the next edition’s theme? I have so many cookbooks I could supply a culinary army.

Cookery and Bookery

This may set a record for the shortest, bluntest, and to-the-point post I’ve ever written.

I have lots of cookbooks. They are fun to collect and ogle. But I rarely use them and instead wind up creating “inspired by” dishes. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I weren’t just a wing-it girl. I’m also looking to expand my cooking skills.

So, idea for the blog: once a week (or perhaps every two weeks) I’ll showcase a cookbook. It won’t contribute to everything I shove in my mouth, but I would pick several recipes for the week to create. Afterward I would evaluate them.

Cookbooks will be wide and vast. Italian, vegan, paleo, Indian, specific chefs like Bobby Flay – the list is as wide as my sprawling cookbook and e-book collection.

Thoughts? What kind of cuisine would you be most interested in seeing?

Nose to Tail

After my last self-servicing epic, it’s time to get back to the main reason I blog. To share cool stuff and spread my cultural imperialism.

You want to know what sends me into a twitchy, cranky bitch storm?

Wasting food.

I’m not talking about force-cleaning your plate (aka Shitty Parenting Skill #1). Or people who get bombarded with  unwanted doughnuts from co-workers and wind up tossing them.  I’m talking about people who chuck bananas when they are barely black and grocery stores that dump hundreds of thousands of pounds of perfectly good food each year. Africa isn’t starving because the world lacks food.

The fact we live with so much waste makes me even more irritated when people claim they cannot afford healthy food. Correction: you can’t afford grass-fed/organic/Whole Foods every week.

The ultimate tough-love reply is “Pay the farmer or pay the doctor.” But as a student, I understand tight budgets. While my father has worked hard to give me security, not all of my family is nearly as well-off. Trust me, I remember days where the Dollar Menu was the choice by financial default.

That said, there are so many ways to eat healthy without a sugar daddy to take you to Erewhon. A chief way is living nose to tail. Classically, this expression refers to using all parts of an animal like the organs and bones. But veggies can totally get in on the act.

Here are some ways to live nose to tail and high on the health hog.

Whole Chickens

The humble chicken, much like the goat or sheep, is a blessing to man. If you own chickens you can reap the eggs. But even dead, those cluckers are useful.

First, skip the expensive individually-wrapped chicken breasts. Besides protein and low calories, there’s very little value to a plain chicken breast. Buy a whole chicken and revel in all the free add-ins.

Chicken ceases to be boring when paired with mango pickle chutney and carrot fries.

The easiest way to cook a whole chicken is to roast it. My favorite method is to let the chicken chill on the counter to bring it to room temperature. Baptize it with spices, including a generous amount of salt. Make sure to put herbs and spices both in the cavity and under the skin, as well as some butter or oil. A lemon, orange, or onion up the butt is tasty too. The trick is to be sure the skin stays dry. You don’t need to do anything fancy like truss it. Pop the chicken into an oven pan (a roasting rack is prefrerred for good skin) and blast it with 425° Fahrenheit for about an hour. Simple.

It's not burned. It's crunchy.

Once you’ve had your homey chicken dinner, your chicken is worth far more than leftovers. Take the carcass and turn it into stock!

Chicken stock is super nutritious. People have revered animal broths for their healing qualities for thousands of years, as they are incredibly nutrient dense. The collagen, gelatin, and glucosamine are especially good for you.

MSG-riddled store-bought stock? Don't be a pussy.

To make the stock, plunk the carcass into a big ol’ pot of water. Get it up to almost a boil then reduce to a simmer. Add some chopped veggies like onion, celery, and carrot (aka a mirepoix for you hipsters), or any random stuff you have lying around. Herbs and spices are groovy. Adding a little vinegar extracts more nutrients. Let the stock simmer for severak hours. When done, strain or pull out all the chunky bits and add salt to taste.

To prevent possible bacteria growth, put your stockpot in a sink filled with very cold water. Once it’s cooled, put into tupperware. In the freezer it lasts forever, in the fridge it stays about a week. After a few hours the fat will solidify at the surface. For chicken stock, remove this fat, as it’s high in Omega 6s you don’t need. For other animals like cow, you can leave it in if desired.

Now you have a yummy stock to make soup and a million other dishes with. Or just drink it, especially if you think you’re getting a cold.

But for all veggies who are squirming at the thought of drinking animals as well as eating them, here’s a non-animal way to live nose to tail.

Squash Seeds

Everyone complains that nuts are too expensive and that sunflower seeds suck. But do any veggies out there like kabocha or butternut squash?

This kabocha doesn't need to be de-seeded. It needs a C-section.

Voila, seeds, free of charge.

The fun thing about squash seeds is that you can roast them with whatever spices you like.

Don’t be afraid to use oil. A big reason it’s better to buy dry-toasted or raw nuts because most seeds are roasted with crappy soybean and vegetable oils. Coconut, olive oil, and ghee are much better choices. And they taste good. Elise with Simply Recipes has a great method to get you started. The trick to crunchy nuts is to boil them beforehand.

In the last batch of seeds I made, I mixed half with cocoa powder, vanilla, and stevia, and the second with cinnamon, mesquite, and nooch. Both were roasted with ghee.

I'm not nutty. I'm seedy.

Here are a few others ways to live nose-to-tail:

- Save your bacon fat. After baking or pan-frying your bacon, strain the fat and save it. It’s delicious with eggs or on salad. And before I get people gagging, no, saturated fat will not kill you. Forget the 80s; you need saturated fat for proper cell function. Let Drew @ How to Cook Like Your Grandmother teach you how to render it. All you need is a bowl and paper towels.

- Get vegetables with “tops” on and use the greens for sauteeing or green smoothies. Beets are a great example.

- Buy full-fat coocnut milk and add two cans of water. Voila, you have three cans of light coconut milk. Or use HEAB’s coconut milk trick.

You are about to defy physics by a factor of three.

- Save your yolks. I totally get mixing whole eggs with egg whites to make a lighter omelet. However, yolks are super nutritious and have a lot of uses. If you’re not using liquid egg whites (which are costly anyway), save the egg yolks for custard, ice cream, hollandaise sauce, mashed potatoes, or hair treatment.

- Shop in your pantry. Let’s play a game. You can only buy fresh veggies or fresh meat from the store. Otherwise, you must make do with ingredients in your pantry. Everyone has a can of beans that haven’t seen daylight in five months. Get creative and save yourself a trip to the store. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga has tons of great recipes that suit a pantry clean-out.

If you’re a brave soul like my friends in Edinburgh, you can also take up skipping. That has some tasty results.

Bless freezer breakdowns.

That said, when living sans waste, I feel no obligation to treat low-quality junk food with the same standard. If you wind up with a ton of extra Easter candy that’s just going to make you pick at it, give it away.

Don’t feel the need to play with your junk food.

I had a paper due and was bored. I take no responsibility for my hypocrisy

Hunting Along the Thames

To bring back this puppy.

Getting those feathers off was a bitch.

Actually, as my sword and archery collections are safely back in Texas, I’m pretty useless for bringing down my own game. But I do have the legs my hunter-gather ancestors endowed me with, so I can toddle down to Borough Market and buy me one. Along with fig-infused balsamic vinegar and flax–uh, I mean linseed. But first my three friends and I stopped for lunch. This was Saturday afternoon.

Long line = good omen?

That cheese on the left is Halloumi--it's a tad like paneer, and quite yummy

Venison and Wild Boar, topped with salsa verde and sweet chili. The meat and filling were delish. The bread was blah but made a good trencher.

I saw these as I was walking by. Kawaii, ne?

London is such a lovely city, with so many great people. I won’t lie though…perhaps it’s the season, or just my whacky mind, but I have been fighting a few black moods. Random moments were things set me off way more than they should. Nothing like the summer before last though, no worries.

I’m looking into a few possible supplements, but in the meantime, I keep myself distracted by not sitting still.

I’ve been exploring these past few days. I should have been mucking around Paris and eating crêpes, but a few buddies forgot to tell me about it until the last minute, and the hostel was full. Luckily, I found some other peeps who want to go to Paris, so I’ll hop on their train. At the end of the month I’m going to Edinburgh, as well as Durham/Newcastle. Edinburgh is to visit my best friend from high school, and Durham is to visit Jess @ Almost Over Now. Can’t wait!

The night before my Borough Market jaunt, I celebrated my flat mate’s birthday. She wanted legit Mexican food.

Yes, it does exist in London. Even if our homemade guacamole is better.

We (sort of) found it at Cafe Pacifico, a restaurant in Covent Garden.

Hardly sketchy enough to be a LEGIT Mexican food stop!

Upon sitting, a pitcher of margarita graced the table. I hadn’t had one in years, but it was fruity (aka sugary) enough to taste pretty good. Oh, tequila–I sober up quickly, but tequila gets me buzzed faster than almost anything.

Cheers to finding salsa and tacos?

Me: “I haven’t had a margarita in five years.”

Flat Mate: “But didn’t you have a tequila shot at the Super Bowl?”

Me: “NOT the same thing!”

Pretty good, but blander than what I'm used to. And tucked in the corner was the strangest quesadilla ever. It was like...a quesadilla ragoon.

Aw hell, who invited you guys?

Drunkies much?

Overall, while Pacifico does good sauces, it doesn’t flavor the meat as well as it should. I wrote more about in my review for Editorial class.

On Thursday, thankfully not hung over, I got my first taste of Portobello Market. Anyone remember that Disney movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks? Yeah, that Portobello Road. It’s winding and huge…luckily, I had a guide! Aisha @ Aisha Gets Cooking!

We hit it off right away–I stumbled off the Tube, flustered at train delays, only to be given homemade cupcakes.

Using part of an egg carton to transfer minimuffins? This girl's a genius!

“Oh no, they got a little squished,” she said.

Pfft, if odd-looking food was a turn-off to me, I wouldn’t be able to eat my own grub.

As it turns out, these little jewels were delicious–perfectly fluffy and sweet. And I’m not even a big cupcake person! I enjoyed them much more than I do a lot of cupcakes (ahem, Sprinkles).

Aisha wanted to try a falafel place she’d heard about. Confession: I’ve never had legit falafels. I’ve baked something falafelesque. I’ve had raw vegan falafels. But never real ones. In steps Falafel King.

I like the no-nonsense menu

The master at work

According to Aisha, these were definitely legit falafels. And they were yummy. The tahini, pickles, and hummus were the perfect accompaniments. They were sort of like hearty hushpuppies.

100% Legit Falafel

After our lunch, we explored. It was rainy, but tons of fun. We roved spice shops, Hummingbird Bakery, clothing boutiques, knickknack shops, and even a bookstore dedicated to cookbooks. Then we encountered my long-lost lover. We met at Bee Me.

Chocolate with pralines and white chocolate. Nomfest.

This was really good fro-yo.

Bee Me was a lovely counterpoint to yogurt places like Yogurtland that try to overwhelm you with all the self-serve and bazillion toppings. There is a wide variety of toppings, but only three fro-yo flavors. And it’s not self serve…good for Mimi the Free Samples Whore. The yogurt a really nice blend of sweet and tart. I’m a fan.

Aisha is now my go-to for all cool foodie events in London. In March, we’re hitting up the International Food & Drink Event! Apparently it’s like an international version of FoodBuzz Fest. Score!

I was so happy to meet up with Aisha–it’s crazy how the internet can bring people together (sans dark alleys and Silence of the Lambs scenarios).

On Friday I took a day trip with the Comm and PR kids to Windsor and Hampton Court Palace. Windsor is where the Queen likes to hang out and Hampton was Henry VIII’s stomping ground.

Judging by Henry's girth, that's pretty loud stomping.

By the way, the above painting features Henry, Elizabeth, Edward, Mary, and Jane Seymour. Anyone who can answer why this portrait is historically impossible gets a gold star!

So, the English liked having big castles...

And huge clocks

And epic ceilings

And way cool paintings

London actually decided to follow the stereotype of rainy, overcast weather…but I think it added to the ambiance.

Misty Eton, where I'll send Little Mimi if I seduce Harry.

This look familiar? It should if you watch The Tudors.

Some of my explorations have been a bit more domestic in nature. Like raw dairy!

I saw some for sale at the Borough and Islington markets and had to taste it. It was delicious. I’ve done some reading– apparently raw dairy, when taken from clean conditions, is a healing food. I just think it tastes really good. At first I just purchased some crème fraîche from Hurdlebrook Dairy. Then the guy gave me a free pint of milk to try! It’s top-grade stuff: it comes from old-breed Guernsey cows, which produce a very rich, golden milk. It’s also an A2 casein milk, so it digests better.

Apparently I can still put the charm on when need be

Crème Fraîche is a mild sour cream. It's delicious on berries.

And on top of eggs, apples, and (wild boar) bacon!

I don’t actually drink much milk, but it was fun to try. I’m really loving the crème fraîche. At Borough, I also bought some raw butter from Hook & Son. It’s some of the purest stuff I’ve ever tasted.

One reason (besides digestive upset) I don’t buy much dairy is because I really despise the conditions of dairy cows (or any conventional cattle in the U.S.). Ok, the Fage that occasionally pops up in my shopping cart is a moment of hypocracy, but I own up to it.

These cows, however, are treated very well. I don’t see using milk as robbing the calf of nutrition…cows have been bred for thousands of years to produce more milk than is necessary to feed a calf.

I’ve also been exploring game meat. It’s delicious.

Like balsamic blackcurrant-glazed venison (that set the fire alarm off >_<)

Oh, and remember that pheasant? I was kidding about the feathers. Well, most of them. I really wanted to roast a pheasant, and as the season is over, this would be my last chance.

I chose this recipe…though I had to make a few substitutions. In my version, I used a mix of raspberry jam, balsamic vinegar, and apple cider vinegar in place of the marsala wine, and a “forest mix” of berries instead of grapes. Oh, and walnuts became pepitas. I make do with what I got.

That puppy was not 4 pounds...but it got done in half the time!

This sauce was aaaamazing.

All together now!

The thing about wild game is that you can’t snarf it down. You have to chew with purpose and savor it. Partially to enjoy the taste, but also because…

Yup, that's buckshot.

But you know? I liken it to finding a bug in your produce. To me, it shows that this animal wasn’t stuffed in a cage all of its miserable life and thrown into some boiling vat. It was a wild, free animal. And it tasted yummy. Pheasant meat is quite dark and delicate. Definitely not chicken. I like it, but some might find it strange.

I’m having another blogger meetup soon, with Caitlin @ Cake Addict Will Travel. Again, I can’t wait!

Dirty Hungry Ho

I feel dirty. I told my father I’d make him anything he wanted for Christmas.

I didn’t think he’d ask for…

Recognize that layout? Yup, my dad was hittin’ up a Hungry Girl recipe. More specifically, her Eggnog Puddin’ Pie.

Hungry Girl is very polarizing for people. In this neck of the woods (hardcore foodies, health bloggers, vegans, etc.) she’s usually anathema, and sits on a throne ensconsed in children’s bones and Fiber One. But head over to a Weight Watchers forum and she’s a Tolkein-esque Lúthien.

Yoplait Light: the key to intimidating cleavage?

To those I’ve lost, let me introduce you.

Hungry Girl is the net name for Lisa Lillien. Her Hungry Girl website is where she and her team showcase lower-calorie alternatives to high-calorie treats and restaurant favorites. For example, a popular Hungry Girl recipe is her “Lord of the Onion Rings,” where the breading is replaced by pulverized FiberOne.

Hungry Girl rubs some the wrong way because of her apparent value of lower calories over nutrition–for example, many of her recipes rely on prepackaged goods like like fat-free Jell-O puddings, or Pillsbury Yellow Cake Mix. The nutritional profile for some of her recipes can be godawful, with high sodium and a plethora of sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Like many young dieting females, I was quite fond of Hungry Girl during my freshman year of college. When I was cleaning out my hard drive, I found an old file of her recipes.

But you know what? Looking at her recipes again, there are plenty of ones that rely on a few old-fashioned ingredients, like…

• Oats
• Egg whites
• Greek yogurt
• Fuji apples

WTF is Hungry Girl a blogger prototype!?!?!

Meet your anathema

Anyway, to continue my romance with Hungry Girl, we broke up as I grew more disordered. Suddenly, EWWWW chemical-laden packaged food! Gross! How could I let something like Pillsbury defile my quest for weight loss? No wonder she stayed in business — obviously her clannish gaggle was still fat and wondering why the Raspberry Bliss frappés and Shirataki Alfredo weren’t getting them into their bikinis.

Since then, I have mellowed out quite a bit. But out of choice, I don’t really care for things that resemble chemistry experiments more than cookery.

So let’s bounce ahead a few years, to my current self questing into long-abandoned territory – the central, ultra-processed food section of the grocery store.

I stared in wonderment at some of the new stuff out, like “No Bake Oreo Cheesecake” or brand-spankin’ new Pillsbury Pumpkin Quickbread.

I can taste the trans-fat.

With a grimace I grabbed the Sugar Free Fat Free Vanilla Pudding. Then I set off for the graham crackers. I was holding off on the sugar-free Cool Whip for last (I friggin’ HATE frozen aisles).

Let us return to Hungry Girl. She attracts many because she offers “guilt-free” equivalents to decadent favorites. Do they taste just like the real thing? No, duh, but some of them are pretty tasty, like her butternut squash fries (though they’re even better with some coconut oil).

After a few more years of life, and looking at people in that life, I can’t detest her anymore…even if I can poke fun at her. Some things I really dislike about her website, most of all her usage of processed junk and her valuing of low calories over nutrition. But there are a few things I do think she does well…

Though kitchen etiquette may still be a hard-won skill.

- Getting kids in the kitchen. Even if it’s opening cans, we all have to start somewhere. Some people really never were taught how to cook, and think dinner always equals ordering from a menu. Making people aware that they can feed themselves, even broke-ass college students with microwaves and minifridges, is a step in the right direction.

There was a time when I thought this meant the whole bag.

- Making people aware that food has calories. Ouch. I can hear the wolves bristling. While I do not think calories need to be counted, they do count. Before I went to college, I had no friggin clue how big a dent an 800-calorie hamburger really was in my daily maintenance intake. So I could happily eat two a day, plus fries and a few Toaster Strudels. In a perfect world, people would grow up understanding their bodies well enough and have good enough eating habits to never worry about calories. But we are already in the midst of a problem, and sometimes you have to fix things in less-than-ideal ways in order to advance enough to fix them entirely.

I probably won't find this in London. I mourn. Just a wee bit.

- Drawing attention to a few awesome products. Unsweetened Almond Breeze–this wonderful creation is largely sold in a bigger size because of Hungry Girl. In the end, money talks, and Hungry Girl makes a lot of money. She has also done her part to popularize canned pumpkin, Fage yogurt, and Kashi products.

- Giving a push in the right direction. I wish more people would see the simple deliciousness of fruit, nut butter, high-quality meat, and vegetables. But some people are more hooked on Snickerdoodles and Big Macs. I do believe “guilt-free swaps,” even if franken-food derived, are a step in the right direction. In the end, even if both are junky, I’m picking the Hungry Girl milkshake over the Carl’s Jr. one any day. If I want a real milkshake, I want it to be a great one.

Some kind of haute Tupperware?

- Demonstrating there are other ways to prepare food. I don’t believe in a kitchen where butter is banned unless it’s in a can or Brummel’s and Brown’s. But growing up, I had no idea one could prepare vegetables without globs of butter. While Hungry Girl goes to an extreme, I do think she serves as a decent gateway for people who grew up in unhealthy families.

Some have argued that people like Hungry Girl trigger eating disorders. I really have a problem with this accusation. Anything can be triggering for someone with an eating disorder. Even health blogs. It’s like saying McDonalds triggers obesity.

A subject that also interests me is Hungry Girl in relation to “healthy.” What is healthy? I think this question in regards to Hungry Girl is moot, because what’s good for one person is not good for another. Her Eggnog Puddin’ Pie has a little over 6 grams of sugar per slice. Real eggnog has about 20 grams of sugar per cup. Considering the box of pudding mix used in the recipe produces 4 cups…egads, sugar bomb! While this may be a delectable treat for some, it would send my dad into a staggering blood sugar surge. With Hungry Girl’s monstrous concoction of instant pudding mix and Fiber One, my dad can enjoy a treat that, to him, is a good enough replacement for a drink he can rarely enjoy. As my dad doesn’t give a damn about natural ingredients, the only loss is all that fatty noggy goodness.

And as for the pie…it wasn’t too bad, even for my picky standards. My stepmom had a hard time believing it was an ultra light dessert.

I don't think Dad's feeling too deprived though...

Personally, I don’t see Hungry Girl’s frankenfood recipes as “healthy.” But I do see them as (in general) healthier than the original recipes. As far as her non-frankenfood recipes, of which there are more than you would think, they are perfectly fine. I see many derivatives of them on healthy living blogs…pumpkin oatmeal, anyone?

This pumpkin has an equal chance of meeting whole wheat pastry flour or Cool Whip Free.

I wish she’d loosen up on calories and take more of a Men’s Health Eat This Not That approach to nutrition, accounting vitamins and all that good stuff. I wish she’d stop pimping out tofu Shirataki noodles, or would at least switch to kelp noodle pimpage (as kelp noodles taste fine and are packed with good things). But I can’t hate her anymore.

After all, she made my dad happy, and when he’s happy, I’m happy. But she can still keep those damn Shirataki noodles to herself.

You shouldn't eat fish that smells like fish, so why eat noodles that smell like fish?

Questions for the Peanut Gallery:

- What are your thoughts on Hungry Girl?

- Try any of her recipes ?

- Do you draw a line on processed food? I.E., is Whole Foods stuff ok but Ralph’s stuff not?

Mascarpone Pistachio Coconutters [Recipe]

When I get back in town, my dad has a lot to look forward to. One is my sweet face. Another is my snarky conversation. A third is dessert.

Dear Dad is a Type 1 diabetic. Meaning, no sugar–no muffins from Starbucks, no candy bars, and no delicious restaurant desserts. Usually, my dad makes due with grotesque sugar-free cookies and ice cream. When I’m in town, however, he gets far better non-sugar fare. While I have turned him on to the decadent deliciousness of Coconut Bliss’s agave-sweetened ice cream, and a few of the non-maple syrup or honey-sweetened raw desserts at Whole Foods, but nothing beats a plate of goodies delivered to you as you watch Alfred Hitchcock re-runs.

Goes best with a glass of milk and a slice of raw cheesecake.

Besides the fact I’m not a particularly good baker, I love how delicious, easy, and utterly rich raw desserts can be. They are also healthier than many baked goods–even if they are very calorically dense, they have so many vitamins and minerals. And for my purposes, the biggest reason: most are incredibly high in fat.

And did I mention they taste really freakin' good?

When making desserts, the best commonly avaliable low-glycemic sweetener I’ve found is agave nectar. It tastes better than stevia (though NuNaturals is pretty good) but has a more neutral flavor than raw honey (which, when totally raw, is also lower GI). However, agave is still a 30 on the GI chart. When used a lot in typical fluffy, carby baked goods, I’ve seen for myself that it will still jack up blood sugar levels. Raw desserts, however, usually have tons of fat. Fat slows everything down, making the use of agave much safer.

As far as real baking, I haven’t gotten a chance to use granulated Truvia (a mix of erithritol and stevia), but I’ve heard good things. Since I’ve been baking a little more in general, I want to play with it. My dad can expect to be sampling pumpkin swirl cheesecake and chocolate lava cake this Christmas!

Anyway, when I was back in town for Thanksgiving, I only had one night to whip up something yummy. But I had no blender or food processor, an essential tool for most raw desserts. Then my stepmom pointed me to a tub of mascarpone and a bag of pistachios. And revealed she’d just stocked up on shredded coconut. Sometimes, you just have to chuck all recipes out the window and do a bit of trailblazing.

I actually did start off with a base recipe–Averie’s delicious chocolate coconut snowballs. I’ve made these for my dad before and he loved them, so at least I was starting out on the right food. Thing is, I also love toasted coconut. And I had an idea for cookies. Please note, this recipe will probably be refined the next time I make it–it’s a little rough around the edges. Anyway, I bring you…

Mascarpone Pistachio Coconutters

Yields about 10 cookies

Cookie Ingredients:

• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 – 3 Tbsp flour*
• 2 – 2 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil (or melted butter)
• Dash of vanilla extract

* You can use any kind of flour–it’s just to help it stick. However, be aware of “thirsty” flours like coconut, and adjust wet ingredients if needed.

 

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
- On a greased baking sheet, place bobs of coconut. Use a fork and fingers to mold them into circles.
- Bake for about 10 minutes, or until you’re drooling over the smell of toasted coconut.
- Remove cookies from the oven and let them sit on the counter. They are going to need a few minutes to firm up. In the meantime, you can start making the topping!

Warning, this next part is where we go Wild Wild West. Or medieval cookbook. I was not measuring very much and relying heavily on taste. I also started with a very small batch and it gradually grew larger as I adjusted the flavor.  You might need more filling than the measurements provided, so adjust as needed.

 

Mascarpone Pistachio Cream Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped
• 1/4 cup mascarpone (cream cheese could also work)
• 2 Tbsp sour cream
• 1 -2 Tbsp pineapple juice (either from a bottle or a can of crushed/diced)
• 1 – 2 tsp agave nectar (add more to suite taste)
• Pinch of salt

- Combine everything but the pistachios into a small bowl. Stir together and adjust to taste. The consistency should resemble a thick sour cream.
- Add pistachios.
- Top each cookie with some of the mixture.

You can eat these at room temperature, but they taste much better chilled or frozen. They make excellent freezer treats! Also, for a nifty spin, double the cookie batch and make “sandwiches.”

Questions for the Peanut Gallery:

- Would you like to see more recipes? I rarely make “Mimi originals,” but I get bored over the holidays…

- What are your favorite winter desserts?

- Ever tried a raw dessert? If so, what did you think?

So Long and Thanks for All the Turkey

Heads up! New header! Does a personalized header make me a hardcore blogger? No clue, but a big shout-out to Alda, the awesome designer.

On black Friday I rode my computer like it was a cattle drive to save the farm, because holy crap BeyondtheRack, Amazon, and HauteLook have some awesome steals. When an opportunity to properly attire myself off other’s income presents itself, I grab it…uh, I become the kindest daughter who happily scours the internet for the best deals. If you want to look like a countess on a college student budget, check out some of my favorite online discount boutique shops! If you’d like to join any, please let me know and I’ll send you an invite…full disclosure, if you join through my referral and make a purchase, I get store credit .

• Beyond the Rack
• Rue La La
• Modinque
• Ideeli

Mah new jacket!

Also, the past two weeks have been a bit of a mind-fuck for me. In a good way. One of those moments that makes the musical theatre fans among us think of that line from Sweeney Todd,

"But the work waits! I'm alive at last and I'm full of joy!!!"

Sans murder and Johnny Depp of course, though Depp is always invited to my house (though I don’t know what Paradis would think of that.)

But before we get to revelations of Mimi, let’s recap her Thanksgiving.

The festivities actually began last Tuesday evening. Because I got back into Houston. Let the thanking begin…

Thank you dad, for making feel so warmly welcomed home.

Of course for my first night in Houston, only Mexican food would do. Then it was off to the cinema.

Fajitas...Lord how I missed you

Thank you Harry Potter Part 7 Part I, for being ballsy enough to go to a dark place, stay there, and not pussy out with (too much) pointless cutesiness.

Teenagers running like someone put the fear of God in them: as life should be.

Wow, I’ve never enjoyed a Harry Potter movie as much as this one. Hell, this may get me shot, but I don’t think I’ve enjoyed Harry Potter as much as this one. I like the books, but I’ve never been a crazy fan, and the films range from supremely mediocre to “pretty good.”

Now if only they’ll not make the epilogue to Part II as gag-worthy as the book’s.

Thank you Averie, for your awesome Peanut Butter Banana Bread recipe.

I whipped up a batch of this before I left and took some home with me. Both my stepmother and dad LOVED it. My stepmother and I were giggling like crazy because my dad hates peanut butter with a passion (we didn’t tell him what was in it). Because my dad’s a Type 1 diabetic, I want to craft a lower glycemic version. Bring on the agave/coconut nectar/whey low.

Anyway, I spent most of Thanksgiving with my mom. Thank you mom, for appreciating tradition. Check out just a fraction of our spread!

Sweet potatoes...better without the brown sugar topping...but butter is yummy

Thank you Angela, for creating a totally awesome, distinctive dessert– your Pumpkin Pecan Brownie Pie!

My stepdad was making a regular pumpkin pie, so I wanted to make something different. This pumpkin brownie pie was divine–super rich, thick, and fudgy on the bottom, and deliciously sweet and crunchy on the top. My stepdad did not believe me when I told him I did not need eggs or butter.

Angela was so right--this brownie pie tastes even more amazing with ice cream.

Thank you Mama Pea, for giving me a recipe to make with my sister that my whole family loved–your PB balls! And thank you Mama Pea, Diana, Maria, and Averie, for giving recipes to get my bake on before coming home, so I knew how to whip up some damn good baked treats!

Mama Pea's "Mean Brownies" are chocolate decadence...and did not survive my apartment's lobby staff

Diana's Chocolate Chip Dough Balls (plus my own pumpkin spice version) had my roommate rethinking her thoughts on American desserts...

And Maria's alternative peanut butter dough balls are awesome for when I want a teensy bit healthier treat...and they taste even better with some jelly!

Thank you equestrian, for making my sister more active and helping her lose some weight.

But the child still hates cameras

My sister looked so much better since I last saw her. It makes me really happy because I’ve been scared she could develop health problems. Neither of us have good genetics for cholesterol and blood pressure (though I seem to have escaped them), but being in good health can’t hurt. I know first hand how hard it is to be healthy in an unhealthy family. If her horses motivate her to move her tush, I bow to Poseidon, Boreas, Epona, and Hayagriva.

Whoops, wrong Epona...but who doesn't like a little Zelda love?

Thank you Dad, for still taking me out to a 4-star dinner even though we both knew we’d just be nibbling at the food, having both had huge (seperate) Thanksgiving lunches.

Praise be to braised lamb...even if I could only eat a bit of it.

And my dad cannot pose for pictures...

Thank you Stepmom, for giving me carte blanch access to your kitchen to whip up a random-ass dessert that we all could enjoy. And giving my my first recipe on this blog in a long-ass time (coming soon!).

Hint: These babies contain coconut, pistachios, and mascarpone

According to my dad, he had to fight her for the last of them. I guess if the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, the same applies for girlies.

Thank you Tangled, for giving me a great afternoon out with my sister.

And that dude was hot!

If you don’t mind occasional goofy childishness, I recommend Tangled. This is the first time my jaw has dropped at the beauty of computer-animated art.

Thank you Texas Renaissance Festival, for giving me an awesome day out with my dad once again!

Bawdy tavern songs by Iris and Rose (Wild and Thorny)

Handsome guys on even handsomer horses...hitting each other with sticks. What more do you need?

And comedy shows way too bawdy for kids..who are there anyway.

I guess my dad still likes RenFest too.

Thank you random abscess on my jaw, for giving me yet more material for my epic future screenplay.

Yeah, I went into the doc’s on Monday, after my jaw got nasty again over the weekend. I wound up being shot full of Novocaine and having a point pair of dental scissors jammed into my mouth.

Thank you Yogurtland, for unraveling a slew of holiday froyo flavors just when I’ve been put on another round of antibiotics and need some beneficial bacteria.

Eggnog today– oh hells yes.

And finally…

Thank you December 15, for being so damn close. I can leave LA behind, recharge my desperately-low mojo, and enjoy Christmas with my family, who I have missed far too much.

Maybe if I thank my finals in advance they won’t be so hard? We shall see.

Night of the Procrastinator

The Mission: COMM Paper, by 11:00am 11/18/2010

The Objective: Some random stuff about the Telecommunications Act of 1996

The Trip-Up: I have not done any of the readings for this paper. I have not paid great attention in class. Translation: I am fucked.

Current Goal: Write a B Paper.

Settling in for a night of burning the midnight oil.

8:00pm: Attempt to do readings. Attempt to not look at blogs.

8:30pm: Get fed up with that idiot Parenti and start looking up FCC debates

9:00pm: “Think over” arguments by cleaning. Think over some more as TV briefly becomes interesting.

9:30pm: Realize I cannot find a mildly conservative argument. Call Dad (who is mildly libertarian, even better). Get distracted chatting about Thanksgiving.

10:15pm: Start to write. Like pulling teeth. Wisdom teeth. Relieve agony with some Free People oggling.

11:00pm: “Think over” what I’m going to write and bake up a half-batch of Averie’s Vegan GF Peanut Butter Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies with Peanut Flour. Psst…not actually vegan on the account of butter and not wanting to risk coconut oil. Still GF though. Go Maillard Reaction go!

11:15pm: Curse Byrd Mill’s peanut flour for not being peanutty enough, but otherwise satisfied with cookies. Digging the chew factor. Make up for lack of peanut action with some sea salt and bee pollen. Nom.

11:20pm: Bag up rest of cookies for classmates before they get lost in my intestinal tract. Decide I want a TRX.

11:21pm: Wonder if wisdom teeth extraction has reawakened my jaw-clenching habit. Jaws are sore. Scowl and get back to work. I so need this.

12:00am: Still like pulling teeth. “Think it over” in the shower. Feet get scrubbed extra long.

12:30am: Coffee Break. Work work. WTF no more toys in Happy Meals?

1:30am: Work becoming fuzzy. Decide to drink more coffee and take a power nap (waking up in time to ride the caffeine wave).

1:50am: Realize I still have no idea what my paper is about. Eat some protein cookie dough to jog my memory. Tastes good; doesn’t work. Neither does spoonful of LaLoos.

2:30am: Check out shops around London’s City University. Realize I am so fucking checked out of this semester. Type one more paragraph. Getting twitchy. WhyamIsuchafuckingprocrastinator?

Always the highlight of my fall

3:00am: See if there’s anyone new at RenFest. Consider making brownies. Decide I do not need anymore flab on my backside. Wonder how on God’s green earth my roommate sleeps with her bedroom light on.

3:30am: Pop in a bit more paper before realizing brain is utterly fried. Am starting to sound disturbingly like Glenn Beck. Decide to get up early and finish before I get shot. Curse 8am Exercise Science Lab.

5:30am: Do not want to wake up. Gradually roll/tumble/scramble out of bed. Scrounge up random breakky and green tea. Still do not understand paper.

Updated Goal: Turn in C paper.

Coming for me? Or my GPA? Probably both.

7:30am: Paper. Not done. Head to class and swear to work at turbo-speed between lab and COMM class (one hour time frame).

Updated Goal: Turn in something.

8:45am: Get out of lab early due to teacher evaluations. Praise the Universe.

10:30am: Paper. Done. Printed. Rejoiced over.

11:00am: FuckIhaveanotherroughdraftduetomorrow.

More like we proudly brew tepid, barely-foamed coffee-like beverages