ooh, jason lam so hungry in nyc
Amazing weather up here in NY finally. At the moment, we’re grilling up these little packets of vegetables my friends Ryan and Meghan showed me years ago. Just foil packets of mushrooms, peppers, onions, etc with salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Close them up and throw them on the grill alongside your meats. So easy for some steamed delicious veg.
Bonnie made her sister’s delicious and fattening Spinach Artichoke Dip for the NFC Championship. That game sure was stressful. Not because of the football, but because a bunch of non-sports fans came over to watch and all they did was talk about relationships, boys and girls while I was trying to get into the game. The kicker was when they proceeded to call Favre a faker when he got hurt. How dare they question Favre’s integrity. This man wears Wranglers. I was about to take the dip and go to my room.
I suppose I wouldn’t have known the dip was fattening if Bonnie didn’t tell me what she put in there. The recipe after the jump. (more…)
Rusty’s fried shrimp were a hit at yesterday’s playoff party. Devein the shrimps, toss it in a mix of flour, old bay, cayenne, adobo seasoning and beer to get the mix caked on. Then flour again sans beer for extra crunch. Fry in vegetable oil until golden brown. Salt. Eat. Repeat.
I felt the need to take a break from meat. Here’s my take on a Vegan Vegetable Crock Pot Stew.
- 2 red potatoes
- 1/2 Spanish Onion
- 3 branches of celery
- 1 large thick carrot
- 2 slices of ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic
- salt, pepper, thyme
- medium can of diced tomatoes
- can of vegetable broth (2 cups) …which apparently provides no nutritional value according to the label. You’re just getting it for the flavors.
Chopped it all up and put it in the crock pot on low for 8 hours while I went to work. I did have thoughts of the crock pot malfunctioning and burning down the building. And once I thought that, I accidentally dropped part of the casserole dish hard into the crock pot heating element. Now I really thought it would malfunction. All this thinking while I’ve been reading this book, The Intention Experiment
Came home and added about three tablespoons of corn starch to thicken it up. I strongly advise adding corn starch to some of the liquid in a separate bowl and whip it up. Then pour that into the rest of the pot. When I was little, I tried to thicken up a can of Campbell’s chicken soup. I kept pouring the corn starch into the pot and it wouldn’t thicken up. So I kept adding more but with no luck. I think I put in half the box. I still ate it.
Back to the veggie stew… I didn’t think it tasted good. I added some Adobo seasoning and Ketchup. Now it tasted a little better. What kicked it up a notch, was adding some Caribbean habanero hot sauce. And even better was adding some of Rusty’s queso-dip (bottle of salsa verde mixed with melted pepper jack cheese).
My Vegan Veggie Stew = C- …+ ketchup + Adobo = C …+ Caribbean habanero hot sauce = B- …+ queso-dip = B ≠ Vegan
…We ate this while watching the BSC Championship last night. Russ blamed me for Texas losing because I had thoughts of them screwing up during that botched shuttle pass that led to an Alabama defensive touchdown.
…and now Jeff just asked if I want to participate in a Vegan focus group as I write this post out. And it’s way out on Ave J close to Di Fara’s pizza. My thoughts are manifesting in front of my eyes.
Had a feast with Rusty, Bonnie and Ashley last night. Everyone did a great job cooking. I tried my hand at a Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna with the least amount of effort. This is what I did…
1. Mixed together 1 chopped green bell pepper, 1 chopped Spanish onion, 1 bottle of Goya Ranchero Salsa, 1 can of Green Giant Sweet Corn, 1 can of Del Monte Diced Tomatoes w/ Zesty Jalapeño, 1 can of Goya Black Beans, a little bit of salt and pepper.
2. Boiled the Lasagna noodles, tried to not cook it all the way.
3. Pam sprayed the casserole pan and started assembling the noodles, the filling mix, ricotta cheese, and 1 bag of shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheese.
4. I let it sit overnight in the fridge, hoping the noodles will soak up the flavors
5. Stuck it in the oven at 360 for 45mins (covered with foil). An additional 15 mins uncovered, but I think I’ll do without this step next time. I don’t like it to get too crispy and un-edible on top. If you like it a little crispy, maybe less time uncovered.
The Mexican Lasagna turned out delicious and spicy. Add a dollop of sour cream on top and your golden. I think the grittiness of the ricotta cheese and the filling almost gave it a ground beef texture effect. I didn’t miss the meat. I would just assume it was in there. [update: I don't recommend eating Mexican Lasagna leftovers while watching District 9]
Merry Christmas, ham!
I made this a few months back, so don’t think I just ate expired meat if you look at the label. This would be perfect for this crazy cold week. Warm stewed meat soup with ramen noodles. Comforting.
I took my stewed beef shin recipe and added ham hocks …because it was cheap and I was curious. A can of vegetable broth, a nice cut of beef shin with the bone, two cuts of ham hock and a can of collard greens (drained) into a pot. It got really tight and I should have thought this through more. You should use a bigger pot than I did or it will bubble right up through top. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, Accent (MSG) and balsamic vinegar. I let it cook for about 3 1/2 – 4 hours on low on the stove top.
The meat was super tender. I had a side of ramen noodles which dipped well in the rich broth if you season it right. I couldn’t decide if I liked the beef shin or the ham hock more. Probably the beef shin because of all the meat you get on it. It comes clean off the bone and you get a good amount of marrow (that didn’t boil off this time. I kept it at low from the start).
Yeah, this would be good this chilly week. I’m interested in trying it in the crock pot.
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