Alex and I have been going on quite the food adventure lately. While I'm sorry to say that I have no pictures to prove it (camera malfunction), I do have words to describe these dishes. So I will use them. Bear with me, if you'd care to.
#1: Bagels
On Saturday, we made bagels. Basic how-to -- Mix yeast, warm milk and a bit of bread flour in a bowl. Let sit. Add more bread flour, egg yolk, oil, sugar, salt. Let sit for longer, preferably somewhere warm. Roll dough into balls and poke out center. Let sit. Poach bagels (place in simmering water for 3 minutes each side). Brush with egg white and whatever flavor you want it to have.
Alex and I made 16 small(er) bagels in 8 flavors:
thyme, dill, oregano, cinnamon/sugar, salt, garlic salt, raisin, & cumin/oregano. They are delicious. Warm with butter.
#2: Slow-cooking. Simple instructions and few ingredients - mix together dijon mustard and orange marmalade and pour it over pork-chops with thyme, salt, pepper, and a little bit of water. Cook it on low for 6-7 hours. (Because our work days are more like 10 hours, I made this the night before and let it cook while we slept. Discovery: Cooking pork is NOT the first thing you want to smell at 6 in the morning).
#3: Weeknight dinner by myself. Cooking just for myself allows me a little more freedom, as I don't have to worry about accidentally feeding Alex things he might not like. I can...experiment more. So tonight for dinner I decide to try my luck at poaching an egg. I had decided this before randomly coming across an article in a food magazine on how to poach an egg. I knew it was fate.
For all the hype (see "julie & julia"), it really wasn't that hard. I think the secret is (which my cooking magazine let me in on) to break the egg into a ramekin before you slip it into the boiling water. Then, as you are placing it in, be careful to let water into the ramekin as the egg slides out. Makes for a smoother transition, I think. Once you have it in there, you just have to control the whites so they don't spread out all over the pan. The only thing I would adjust next time is the length of time I leave it cooking. I probably left it for about 3 minutes, but the yolk was very runny. Please imagine the rest of the dinner with a firmer set yolk. Please do not interpret that last sentence in any way but that which I intended.
The rest of the dish? Polenta fried in olive oil with tomato sauce, edamame, and cooked cabbage. Seasoned with - dill and garlic salt (really, I use dill and garlic salt way too often for seasoning. But we like it. and it was good for the polenta/veggie mix). Oh, and just regular salt and pepper for the egg. Can't be too creative the first time you poach an egg.
It's health food, people, and it's good. and economical. and not that hard to cook.
#1: Bagels
On Saturday, we made bagels. Basic how-to -- Mix yeast, warm milk and a bit of bread flour in a bowl. Let sit. Add more bread flour, egg yolk, oil, sugar, salt. Let sit for longer, preferably somewhere warm. Roll dough into balls and poke out center. Let sit. Poach bagels (place in simmering water for 3 minutes each side). Brush with egg white and whatever flavor you want it to have.
Alex and I made 16 small(er) bagels in 8 flavors:
thyme, dill, oregano, cinnamon/sugar, salt, garlic salt, raisin, & cumin/oregano. They are delicious. Warm with butter.
#2: Slow-cooking. Simple instructions and few ingredients - mix together dijon mustard and orange marmalade and pour it over pork-chops with thyme, salt, pepper, and a little bit of water. Cook it on low for 6-7 hours. (Because our work days are more like 10 hours, I made this the night before and let it cook while we slept. Discovery: Cooking pork is NOT the first thing you want to smell at 6 in the morning).
#3: Weeknight dinner by myself. Cooking just for myself allows me a little more freedom, as I don't have to worry about accidentally feeding Alex things he might not like. I can...experiment more. So tonight for dinner I decide to try my luck at poaching an egg. I had decided this before randomly coming across an article in a food magazine on how to poach an egg. I knew it was fate.
For all the hype (see "julie & julia"), it really wasn't that hard. I think the secret is (which my cooking magazine let me in on) to break the egg into a ramekin before you slip it into the boiling water. Then, as you are placing it in, be careful to let water into the ramekin as the egg slides out. Makes for a smoother transition, I think. Once you have it in there, you just have to control the whites so they don't spread out all over the pan. The only thing I would adjust next time is the length of time I leave it cooking. I probably left it for about 3 minutes, but the yolk was very runny. Please imagine the rest of the dinner with a firmer set yolk. Please do not interpret that last sentence in any way but that which I intended.
The rest of the dish? Polenta fried in olive oil with tomato sauce, edamame, and cooked cabbage. Seasoned with - dill and garlic salt (really, I use dill and garlic salt way too often for seasoning. But we like it. and it was good for the polenta/veggie mix). Oh, and just regular salt and pepper for the egg. Can't be too creative the first time you poach an egg.
It's health food, people, and it's good. and economical. and not that hard to cook.
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