We are very close to finishing our IKEA closets - and MAN are they gorgeous. However, we've had to contend with two broken panels on the last door, and that means that the entire unfinished project is spread all over our closet. I literally had to move a hammer, a fat orange screwdriver and a set of IKEA instructions just to get to the keyboard.
And it makes me think again about tools.
You need the right tools to put things together, of course. But sometimes you just need some instructions that have easy to follow pictures. IKEA's instructions do not even have words. They are all visual instructions, with just arrows, guides and pictures. It is genius.
Why don't they make a cookbook for guys like this? Seriously - this is my inspired thought for the evening. IKEA needs to get into the cookbook business. Now that I think about it, it's not just the guys. We could ALL use a cookbook like this.
When I get into the office (that is if I remember, if I can still locate my other computer because I've never loaded the scanner info onto my new laptop, if I can find the magazine page, and IF I get in early....) I would like to scan in a magazine article that food network magazine runs. It isn't a recipe, actually but a collection of pictures! It will show a picture of 3 eggs, a picture of a tablespoon of oil, a picture of 15 spears of asparagus...
This idea is really smart for people who are just learning, because often the combinations of food and flavours are intimidating.
My friend Melanie said once that people always make a recipe look so easy because they LIE about what is in there. They say "Oh, I just added this, and this and a bit of that and some this" but what they don't tell you is that there are 10 other things that they added and don't tell you about. And she may be right.
Tonight, I just "threw together" a risotto for Harrison and I.
So here - in exhaustive detail - is his favourite mushroom risotto recipe. And I will try to put it into realistic terms for fun.
Take a saucepan (the size of a hubcap )
Turn one large burner onto the number 6 (already this is harder than I thought...)
Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil (one shot glass... yes, I just measured it:)
Take a half cup of ARBORIO rice
Cut up half an onion (the size of a baseball) into little pieces (about the size of dice?)
Pulverize one clove of garlic into tiny pieces (the size of a nail head).
MIx all this in the pan until the oil coats everything including the rice, garlic and onions and keep stirring everything around.
Get a FLAT spatula so that you can scrape the entire bottom of the pan or something is going to start burning (the very blackish brown colour... NOT GOOD!)
Once you have this oily coated oniony-garlicky-rice, you can add some vegetable stock.
Vegetable stock comes in tetra-paks in the soup aisle. It can also come in a can, but it can be concentrated, so read the directions on the can. It can also come in a cube, or a packet. Make the entire packaged recipe before you start. It does not need to be hot - you can leave it cold.
[The cheapest and best way to get vegetable stock is to make your own from a large chopped up carrot (the size of a big orange screwdriver) and an equal amount of chopped up celery and one chopped up (baseball sized) onion that you have peeled to get rid of the papery surrounding layers, and just keep the wet crisp part. Cut off the hairy bearded part and the pointy top too. Add 1 teaspoon of salt (1/4 of a shot glass) and some pepper. Add 4 cups of water and leave it on the stove with the burner on 4 for 40 minutes until the veggies are soft. Since I really believe in waste not, want not, I would put the whole thing into the blender to use all the veggies....]
OK - back to our risotto.....
You will need about 6 cups of the stock OR 6 cups of liquid of some kind. If you are adventurous, you could add 1/2 cup of wine. If you have a leftover soup from the day before, you could add that. OR you could just add water.
As the oily rice is sitting there frying, grab a soup ladle and add two ladlefuls of liquid. It will sizzle and steam up.
Use the flat spoon or spatula to keep stirring everything. You will need to keep stirring for the next 18 minutes.
IT IS WORTH IT.
Let everything keep evapourating as you stir every 30 seconds to a minute and a half.
Grab a pack of whole mushrooms. (The size of golf balls)
Rinse them in a clean sink.
Cut them into slices with a knife. (The slices should be the size of a head of a wrench that says 3/4 on the head....Yes, I just looked this up too.)
Add another two spoonfulls of liquid. Add however many mushrooms you have managed to cut up.
Keep doing this every 45 seconds - 1.5 minutes or until all the mushrooms are added to the risotto.
OK. This part is for Melanie.
Add some grainy dijon mustard. (To measure this, use a big spoon you would use to eat soup with.)
Add some fresh rosemary if you have it. (One twig)
If you have laughed at the thought of fresh rosemary being in your house, smack your forehead and do not pass go, because you really should. It is delicious.
However, you could use one half of a coffee spoon of dried rosemary from your cupboard.
Use one half of the same coffee spoon to add some steak spice because STEAK SPICE GOES BEAUTIFULLY WITH MUSHROOMS.
Are you still stirring? Stirring this way is what makes risotto, risotto. It is what encourages that creamy starchy deliciousness to come out and play!
By now (I'll assume you've had about 10-15 mushrooms and have added liquid and stirring about the same number of times...) it will be thickening up, smelling delicious and making you feel pretty darn proud of yourself now.
Almost done...
Take a bite of one of the rice kernels using the spoon you were using to measure out the spices. Is it smushy, or is is still hard? It should be smushy when you stop adding liquid.
If you have used up all the stock, water is just perfectly fine at this point. There is a lot of flavour in the pan, and you are just now trying to cook the rice through.
Grab a plate, not a bowl. I prefer a plate because of how hot this risotto will be when you try to eat it.
*Believe me on this one - it will be hot - you will want to start devouring it - so use a plate.*
Grab a ladle, and finally dunk it into the risotto. Give yourself 3 good scoops on your plate.
Grab some sea salt and pinch it between your fingers, and then sprinkle it over the risotto to finish it.
Grab the olive oil and another dessert spoon and pour some olive oil onto the spoon.
Spoon the olive oil over the salted risotto. This is the good, uncooked olive oil application which is good for your heart, and adds a delicious olive-y flavour. Don't skip this step because of the fat. There is no meat in this dish, so a bit of flavour and fat will make you feel rewarded, satisfied and full.
Eat what you made.
Congratulations!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
A Quickie...and reincarnated veggies.
Quickly ran into the grocery store yesterday to grab a quick dinner. The fresh pasta (yesterday is was Spaghettini) is always such a time-saver for me. I also grabbed a can of San Marzano-Style (Canadian) tomatoes and a can of navy beans.
As many of you know, Harrison loves fresh tuna, so I also picked up some sushi for him as a treat. They actually had the spicy albacore tuna, so I was hoping to impress him.
In a pan on medium I put a bit of olive oil and chopped up a clove of garlic. I also chopped up about a quarter of a white onion into tiny pieces. Dumped the can of tomatoes in, dumped in the rinsed white beans, sprinkled some salt and pepper and finished it with a few splashes of white Balsamic vinegar, which is a trick I learned in Venice. Then I put the lid on, heated the pasta water and dinner was essentially D O N E.
Carissa and Abby were going to come by for a quick bite. I took the sauce and threw a few ladlefuls in the Magic Bullet to puree the white beans and tomatoes over her pasta.
There were a few sad veggies left over from Thanksgiving, a few red peppers, some yellow ones, and a bit of steamed bok choy. So, I chopped them into bite-size pieces and plopped them into the now bubbling sauce.
I do this veggie scouting a lot when I have a sauce or stew or chili on the go. I just eyeball what's in my fridge and then dump it in. Sometimes veggies have lost their youthful glow, but they can still make a wonderful counterpart to an accompanying sauce. Especially if they are already cooked. I almost never waste vegetables, preferring to just recycle them into a new form. Like reincarnation!
I even had enough to invite Carissa and Abby for dinner, fed the three of us, AND have a container of leftovers for lunch.
Harrison, on realizing that I got him tuna sushi, burst out with a version of a Katy Perry song:
California Rolls
They're unforgettable
Tasty treats
With rice on the top...
Love this kid.
As many of you know, Harrison loves fresh tuna, so I also picked up some sushi for him as a treat. They actually had the spicy albacore tuna, so I was hoping to impress him.
In a pan on medium I put a bit of olive oil and chopped up a clove of garlic. I also chopped up about a quarter of a white onion into tiny pieces. Dumped the can of tomatoes in, dumped in the rinsed white beans, sprinkled some salt and pepper and finished it with a few splashes of white Balsamic vinegar, which is a trick I learned in Venice. Then I put the lid on, heated the pasta water and dinner was essentially D O N E.
Carissa and Abby were going to come by for a quick bite. I took the sauce and threw a few ladlefuls in the Magic Bullet to puree the white beans and tomatoes over her pasta.
There were a few sad veggies left over from Thanksgiving, a few red peppers, some yellow ones, and a bit of steamed bok choy. So, I chopped them into bite-size pieces and plopped them into the now bubbling sauce.
I do this veggie scouting a lot when I have a sauce or stew or chili on the go. I just eyeball what's in my fridge and then dump it in. Sometimes veggies have lost their youthful glow, but they can still make a wonderful counterpart to an accompanying sauce. Especially if they are already cooked. I almost never waste vegetables, preferring to just recycle them into a new form. Like reincarnation!
I even had enough to invite Carissa and Abby for dinner, fed the three of us, AND have a container of leftovers for lunch.
Harrison, on realizing that I got him tuna sushi, burst out with a version of a Katy Perry song:
California Rolls
They're unforgettable
Tasty treats
With rice on the top...
Love this kid.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
A quick note about the Thanksgiving "Sweets"
If Thanksgiving is the Oscars, and the Turkey is best actor, then sweet potatoes have to rank as best supporting actress. They're sweet, colourful, healthy and irresistable.
But some people make them far too sweet (remember that kid who won best supporting with that hideous hat?- TOO SWEET to the point where it's a turn off). I feel the same way about that hat as I do when people douse their dinner sweet potatoes in marshmallows and sugar and maple syrup. It's too much!
So, instead of overstyling a cute kid, I think sweet potatoes belong on the savoury and spicy side. My sweet potatoes are more like Queen Latifah in Chicago.
I shredded them and then baked them in the oven with some water. Could have used a stock, but I didn't have any. When they were out, I mashed them slightly, added a generous cranking of Indian spices from a grinder, a tiny bit of brown sugar, some cinnamon and grated in some fresh ginger.
Scott - who is unabashed in his love of all meaty things - loved these. He also thought a lot of a chili I threw together so I thought I'd post it here too.
1 can of Bravo tomato sauce
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of white kidney beans
1-2 tablespoons chili powder. (Check out my Gold Medal Chili for a more complex version, February 2010)
But some people make them far too sweet (remember that kid who won best supporting with that hideous hat?- TOO SWEET to the point where it's a turn off). I feel the same way about that hat as I do when people douse their dinner sweet potatoes in marshmallows and sugar and maple syrup. It's too much!
So, instead of overstyling a cute kid, I think sweet potatoes belong on the savoury and spicy side. My sweet potatoes are more like Queen Latifah in Chicago.
I shredded them and then baked them in the oven with some water. Could have used a stock, but I didn't have any. When they were out, I mashed them slightly, added a generous cranking of Indian spices from a grinder, a tiny bit of brown sugar, some cinnamon and grated in some fresh ginger.
Scott - who is unabashed in his love of all meaty things - loved these. He also thought a lot of a chili I threw together so I thought I'd post it here too.
1 can of Bravo tomato sauce
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of white kidney beans
1-2 tablespoons chili powder. (Check out my Gold Medal Chili for a more complex version, February 2010)
Monday, October 11, 2010
Math, the Single Guy and Snakeskin...
Even though my blog is aimed mainly at women, I am excited to learn that quite a few of my readers are guys. And that is an extra challenge since some men have still been programmed with the "I can't really cook" messaging.
When I was a kid, I always told myself "I'm not good at math". I was also told this by one of the nuns who taught Math in grade school, as well as Mr. DiMaio who had to suffer through my attempts in high school. But even he used to say that I had it in me to be good at math, but I was just sabotaging myself by saying that I couldn't.
Fast forward to University where I just got sick of telling myself I was bad at math. So I took a stats course. I do believe in facing your fears... and I figured that I would take down the "FEAR OF MATH"...
I tried.
I practiced.
Eventually I relaxed and saw the patterns, the rythms, and the repetition.
My final grade was my only A+ in University.
One of my friends is newly single. So much of adjusting to a new lifestyle has to do with the LITTLE stuff, not the big issues. Of course this is made impossibly challenging because his female counterpart was responsible for daily dinners.
My response to this is SO WHAT?!?!
If you both are miserable, a daily salad and bad casserole is no reason to stay!
(Plus it probably came with dish duty and was capped off with some form of nagging about not loading the diswasher properly - so were you really farther ahead? My vote is NO.)
But what's a single guy to do when he finds himself on his own, and finally gets sick of the prepared roasted chickens at Zehrs?
Let's complicate the mix even more... Add in the fact that you're carrying around a lot of extra weight that is slowing you down, perhaps creating a health problem or two.
Add in the fact that you are probably eating a LOT more "convenience" food - which will never ever provide the smooth fuel your body craves to handle stress.
And finally, add in the extra financial pressure of the uncertainties of separating.
Hate to say it, because it just reveals my vegangelical self again, but there are some great options here for all of the above.
So, buddy, this is for you:
You NEED proper tools. Think of your motorcycle guys and your car-obsessed friends. Would you EVER go into a garage with one or two tools? NO! You need em' all!! (check out my older post Shop Talk, July 2009)
1. Get a slow cooker.
2. Get a rice cooker.
3. Get a good deep non-stick pan.
4. Have a "Date Night" - with yourself.
Even though you have to be repulsed by the idea of dating, you should make a date with yourself that is regular to grocery shop. One particularly lonely single man told me once that routine is comforting, and he was probably right.
5. Lose the inner dialogue that you can't do this. You can. Suck it up.
You may find yourself with some quiet nights that you either fill with TV or a book. One of those nights, think about your weekly "routine" from a food perspective.
Do you have breakfast with the guys after hockey? Do you grab something fast on Tuesdays? Where do you go? What do you order? And most of all... WHAT DO YOU SPEND? (eg: Ours used to be quarter chicken dinners at Swiss Chalet on Sundays.)
On one of these quiet nights, figure out what your REGULAR weekly routine costs. Also try to hone in on where some of your worst food choices happen. I'm willing to bet you a can of beans that it is also an expensive food choice for relatively little nutrition.
so 6. is Figure out what your weekly food budget has been.
Finally, 7. is to trust me. First, I can tell you I've been there. As a busy lawyer, who was single most of the time I was married anyway, I know what it's like to feel the quiet. To stare into a fridge thinking "what the heck am I supposed to eat tonight?" and decide it was easier just to make popcorn.
Cooking dinner for yourself is EXACTLY what you need right now.
You will be spending time with your own thoughts, but not the over complicated ones. The good ones. Like asking yourself "WHAT DO I LIKE?" What do I want to eat tonight? Maybe you were with someone who didn't like olives, or nuts or cinnamon. You are free from all of that stuff now - just eat what you love.
You will also be putting some good healthy fuel into your body, and in times of stress, you need it.
I promise you, you will be saving money too - and that is always a good thing.
You will also be saving truckloads of junky, weighty calories which will result in a sleeker, healthier boday and outlook. You can finally ditch that hideous XL sweater she made you buy (which you hated, even on the day YOU bought it) because it won't fit you in two months.
I'll tell you, there is nothing more satisfying like shedding your wardrobe, either. In 6 months, you will have a stronger, healthier happier body, maybe even a few new clothes that you look good in, and the old unhappy wardrobe will be lined up in garbage bags for St. Vincent de Paul. See? Even charities are going to benefit from this change!!!
If you've been through the dreaded separation, you've probably already been called a snake. But this isn't a bad thing. Think of snakes. They do what they do for a while, and then they move on.
They literally SHED their skin, and get back to their routine with a new skin.
So grab your slow cooker, your olives, that hideous sweater and a few garbage bags - because you have some cooking to get to...
When I was a kid, I always told myself "I'm not good at math". I was also told this by one of the nuns who taught Math in grade school, as well as Mr. DiMaio who had to suffer through my attempts in high school. But even he used to say that I had it in me to be good at math, but I was just sabotaging myself by saying that I couldn't.
Fast forward to University where I just got sick of telling myself I was bad at math. So I took a stats course. I do believe in facing your fears... and I figured that I would take down the "FEAR OF MATH"...
I tried.
I practiced.
Eventually I relaxed and saw the patterns, the rythms, and the repetition.
My final grade was my only A+ in University.
One of my friends is newly single. So much of adjusting to a new lifestyle has to do with the LITTLE stuff, not the big issues. Of course this is made impossibly challenging because his female counterpart was responsible for daily dinners.
My response to this is SO WHAT?!?!
If you both are miserable, a daily salad and bad casserole is no reason to stay!
(Plus it probably came with dish duty and was capped off with some form of nagging about not loading the diswasher properly - so were you really farther ahead? My vote is NO.)
But what's a single guy to do when he finds himself on his own, and finally gets sick of the prepared roasted chickens at Zehrs?
Let's complicate the mix even more... Add in the fact that you're carrying around a lot of extra weight that is slowing you down, perhaps creating a health problem or two.
Add in the fact that you are probably eating a LOT more "convenience" food - which will never ever provide the smooth fuel your body craves to handle stress.
And finally, add in the extra financial pressure of the uncertainties of separating.
Hate to say it, because it just reveals my vegangelical self again, but there are some great options here for all of the above.
So, buddy, this is for you:
You NEED proper tools. Think of your motorcycle guys and your car-obsessed friends. Would you EVER go into a garage with one or two tools? NO! You need em' all!! (check out my older post Shop Talk, July 2009)
1. Get a slow cooker.
2. Get a rice cooker.
3. Get a good deep non-stick pan.
4. Have a "Date Night" - with yourself.
Even though you have to be repulsed by the idea of dating, you should make a date with yourself that is regular to grocery shop. One particularly lonely single man told me once that routine is comforting, and he was probably right.
5. Lose the inner dialogue that you can't do this. You can. Suck it up.
You may find yourself with some quiet nights that you either fill with TV or a book. One of those nights, think about your weekly "routine" from a food perspective.
Do you have breakfast with the guys after hockey? Do you grab something fast on Tuesdays? Where do you go? What do you order? And most of all... WHAT DO YOU SPEND? (eg: Ours used to be quarter chicken dinners at Swiss Chalet on Sundays.)
On one of these quiet nights, figure out what your REGULAR weekly routine costs. Also try to hone in on where some of your worst food choices happen. I'm willing to bet you a can of beans that it is also an expensive food choice for relatively little nutrition.
so 6. is Figure out what your weekly food budget has been.
Finally, 7. is to trust me. First, I can tell you I've been there. As a busy lawyer, who was single most of the time I was married anyway, I know what it's like to feel the quiet. To stare into a fridge thinking "what the heck am I supposed to eat tonight?" and decide it was easier just to make popcorn.
Cooking dinner for yourself is EXACTLY what you need right now.
You will be spending time with your own thoughts, but not the over complicated ones. The good ones. Like asking yourself "WHAT DO I LIKE?" What do I want to eat tonight? Maybe you were with someone who didn't like olives, or nuts or cinnamon. You are free from all of that stuff now - just eat what you love.
You will also be putting some good healthy fuel into your body, and in times of stress, you need it.
I promise you, you will be saving money too - and that is always a good thing.
You will also be saving truckloads of junky, weighty calories which will result in a sleeker, healthier boday and outlook. You can finally ditch that hideous XL sweater she made you buy (which you hated, even on the day YOU bought it) because it won't fit you in two months.
I'll tell you, there is nothing more satisfying like shedding your wardrobe, either. In 6 months, you will have a stronger, healthier happier body, maybe even a few new clothes that you look good in, and the old unhappy wardrobe will be lined up in garbage bags for St. Vincent de Paul. See? Even charities are going to benefit from this change!!!
If you've been through the dreaded separation, you've probably already been called a snake. But this isn't a bad thing. Think of snakes. They do what they do for a while, and then they move on.
They literally SHED their skin, and get back to their routine with a new skin.
So grab your slow cooker, your olives, that hideous sweater and a few garbage bags - because you have some cooking to get to...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)