Archive for September, 2009
Episode 2 covers the delicious zucchini. A small summer squash relative which if picked at the right time can provide great results. Be sure to steam, boil, grill, stuff, bake, barbecue, fry to your hearts content and remember this guy can get easy chill damage!
Be sure to check out the various zucchini recipes here and use this knowledge to help extract those excellent flavors! Let me know how things turn out or if there’s something else need to expose about this great fruit/vegetable.
[podcast]http://tcamz.s3.amazonaws.com/MZO-S1-EP2.mp3[/podcast]
History:
- A small summer squash which can be yellow, green, or light green. Looks like a cucumber in shape
- Plant wise, it’s a fruit, and it’s got a beautiful yellow flower (great to deep fry tempura style)
- It’s origins are in Italy and probably occurred of some cool mutations of summer squash.
Prep/Storage/Characteristics:
- Store no longer than 3 days
- Prone to chilling damage
- Leave skin on, remove stump and eat the flower if you get it.
- You want get this when it’s about 8 inches long because the seeds are soft.
- I’ve cooked longer, just remove the seeds.
How to Cook:
- When you are cooking this it is a vegetable, unlike the surprising fruit we had last week
- It can be prepared using a variety of cooking techniques, including steamed, boiled, grilled, stuffed and baked, barbecued, fried, or incorporated in other recipes
- How do other nations use it?
- Italy is usually breaded and pan-fried
- France makes it a key ingredient in ratatouille
- Greece, usually fried or boiled with other veggies
- Egypt, cooked with tomato sauce, garlic, and onions
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zucchini
We all need a break from the classic tomato sauce which is why I am sharing my classic pasta sauces with you. This pasta sauce is very basic and should be made with fresh ingredients for the best flavor. The combination of tomato, onion, balsamic vinegar, pepper, and garlic is the key to the flavor, but, add something new and see how it turns out! Just make sure you share your thoughts, ideas, or tweaks for this sauce in the comments below.
[print_link] Tomato and Meat Sauce with Pasta
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 4 medium tomatoes
- 1 green bell paper (sliced)
- 1/2 cup green onion (sliced)
- 4 garlic cloves (mashed and minced)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp basil
- 4 servings of noodles
- 1 lb ground beef
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350, then cut tomatoes into 1/4 inch width slices. Lay in a single layer on a sheet pan and drizzle olive oil, sprinkle salt, and sprinkle pepper over the exposed side of the tomatoes. Place tomatoes into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, which is a perfect time to start cooking the pasta!
In a skillet about 5 minutes before tomatoes finish in the oven, brown the ground beef with some oil. Add the green peppers, garlic, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Once tomatoes are done, remove from the oven and add to the skillet your beef. Mash the tomatoes down a bit with your spoon and then add the basil, thyme, and green onions. Continue cooking for another 5 or so minutes, transfer to a bowl of tasty noodles, then finish with a nice drizzle balsamic vinegar over the top and serve.
I am a big sucker when it comes to potatoes and I can see why the american public is in agreement with me. Recently I moved out of the fried potato arena and into the healthier potato space and in doing so I decided to have some mashed potatoes.
After opening the fridge to get the ingredients for my classic mashed potatoes I realized I did it again, I was out of one of the most important ingredient, milk! After staring into the fridge for a few minutes and realizing that wasn’t good for the food in the fridge the idea came to me… I still had a nice quart of vanilla soy milk in the fridge and thought to myself “Well it’s milk right?”
Putting my culinary know how to work, I quickly replaced the missing item and ventured deep within the bowels of my kitchen to create this crazy contraption of mashed garlic and vanilla potatoes! As always, I was surprised by the result and in a very good way. The oil I used in place of the butter worked out well and you couldn’t even taste the vanilla from the soy milk. What you could taste was some good garlic mashed potatoes that serves about 6 people. Let me know how it turns out and if you tweak it, be sure to share.
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 large baking potatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup soy milk, vanilla okay!
METHOD:
Peel, rinse, and dice the potatoes. Place into a large pot and cover with water, about 1/4 of an inch above the diced potatoes. Move to stove and cook on med-high for about 15-20 minutes. The potatoes should fall apart easily if pushed with a spoon or poked with a fork.
Heat a sauce pan up, add olive oil and garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, add soy milk, and set aside.
Once potatoes are done boiling, drain water and transfer to a mixing bowl. Begin to mash the potatoes together until it becomes somewhat smooth. Add in the soy milk/garlic mixture and stir until it is very well blended and looks like mashed potatoes. Transfer to a dish and enjoy the potato goodness you just created.
I don’t know who doesn’t love a nice tall glass of freshly squeezed lemonade. It becomes very apparent when I see the lines for it at all the festivals and fairs and I am sure that I am not the only one who finds it hard to resist stopping by the little stand ran by young entrepreneurs.
Once the first drip hits your tongue, the bitter and sweet flavor of lemonade begins to calm and refresh you! I can’t stay away from that great taste, but I was all out of sugar and to lazy to head out to the store to replenish the stock. One thing I did have was a nice large jar of honey and I thought to myself “sure why not.” So began my adventure into a honey based lemonade.
It took quite a few attempts to get the right balance and I still to this day tweak and turn the knobs of flavor to make it good for those who try it. In the end, it was proven to me that sugar is not needed for lemonade and that honey makes a very worthy substitute! I know you are looking at the recipe going “Hey there is an orange and lime in there!” Yeah I was surprised how that helped in the process as well. Sweetness from the honey seems to be a bit over powered by the amount of lemons but by adding the orange and lime, it tones down the bitterness while preserving that tart acidic flavor. Give this recipe a shot and let me know how it turned out for you!
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 cups water, cold
- 1 cup water, warm
- 1/2 cup honey
- 4 lemons
- 1 orange
- 1 lime
- 1 tray of ice cubes
METHOD:
Start by squeezing the lemons, orange, and lime into your 1 quart pitcher. I usually do this over a mesh strainer so that the seeds and pulp that come out do not mix with the juice. Combine the warm water and honey together in a side bowl until the honey is dissolved in the water. Pour the honey mixture into the juice pitcher and follow up with the cold water and ice cubes. Stir well and refrigerate. You can serve this in about 10 minutes if needed.
This is the first episode of my new show, MadZakoledge, a radio/audio podcast going into the history and application of food ingredients. My goal for this show is to help spread the knowledge, get it Madzak Knowledge? In this first episode, I talk about what is the goal for the show and then jump right into the first topic of Eggplants!
[podcast format="video" width="290" height="100"]http://tcamz.s3.amazonaws.com/MZO-S1-EP1_EGGPLANT.m4a[/podcast]
References:
http://www.iqio.org/how-to-cook-eggplant
http://www.finecooking.com/articles/how-to/cook-eggplant-to-perfection.aspx
A delicious take and basic dish from it’s oriental foundations. This honey pork uses very basic ingredients yet delivers a sweet and original flavor you can’t find from a bottle or a can. Don’t just stop with pork, add this to chicken or even tofu and you’ll still walk away with an amazing dinner. Be sure to let me know how it turns out for you or any adjustments you’ve found to work out well in the comments below!
[print_link] Honey Pork Stir-Fry with Rice
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tablespoons water
- 6 slices ginger root
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup green onion
- 1/2 cup bell pepper (any red/green/yellow)
- 1 pound pork loin, cubed
- 1 cup of rice (brown or white)
METHOD:
Cook the pork in a skillet with the peppers on medium high heat. Stir and flip as needed until pork is browned.
While browning the pork, in a sauce pot, bring 1 cup of the water to boil. Once the water begins to boil, add the soy sauce, ginger, honey, oil, and salt. Mix well and reduce heat to medium. In a separate bowl, combine corn starch and water.
Once pork has browned remove the ginger from the sauce and pour the mixture over the pork. Add the garlic and green onions to the pork. When the pork and sauce begin to boil, add the cornstarch mixture and continue to stir on medium heat for about a minute or until the sauce begins to cling to the pork.
Remove from heat and serve over a a bed of white or brown rice.
Just cause you are not eating animal protein products does not mean you cannot join in on the sandwich fun those carnivores are having. This sandwich will let you dabble in the fun while still respecting your belly! Once you make the hummus (yes homemade hummus, I know it’s so cool), how you lay out your sandwich is completely up to you so add is little or as much as you please. There’s enough in this recipe to make for your special someone and I really suggest you do. Got some other cool dishes that involve hummus? Leave it in the comments so we can share the hummus love!
[print_link] Cucumber and Hummus Sandwich
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
- 1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans (14 oz)
- 1/2 Lemon
- 1 tablespoon garlic
- dash of salt
- dash of pepper
- Whole wheat bread (4 for 2 sandwiches)
- A cucumber
- 1 cup alfalfa sprouts
- Lettuce
EQUIPMENT:
- A blender/food processor
- Measuring spoons and cup
METHOD:
Combine vegetable broth, chickpeas/garbanzo beans, juice of lemon, garlic, salt, and pepper into a blender/food processor. Blend until smooth and chunky. Lay all four pieces of whole wheat bread on a smooth surface and spread the hummus thickly on each piece. Sprinkle half of a cup of alfalfa sprouts on two pieces of bread. We are making two sandwiches, one for you and one for your special someone! Next layer cucumbers two pieces of bread that are all alone with the hummus. Place lettuce on top of the alfalfa sprout bread and then carefully and quickly, flip the cucumber hummus bread over on top to make a pretty sandwich. Enjoy your healthy sandwich.