Fried Rice and The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

Hi,

Last night I made fried rice for dinner. It was so extremely easy. I used leftover rice (so I didn't even have to bother with the whole boiling process), chopped up a few things, and stirred it all around for a bit. Actually, that's pretty much my cooking strategy in general right there.

Fried Rice with Eggs

-2 Eggs

-Rice

-Celery

-Tomato

-Onion

-Soy Sauce (San-J Wheatless, Gluten Free)

-Salt and Pepper and Such

1. Scramble/fry the eggs in a large frying pan.

2. Pour on the leftover rice, and let it cook for a few minutes, stirring pretty constantly.

3. Toss on some diced tomatoes, chopped celery, and onions. If you're a little bit of a nerd like me, color arrange them for a few minutes to admire the pattern.

Then smush it all up together, and feel abstract.

4. Sprinkle on some soy sauce, salt, pepper, and whatever.

5. Finish cooking. Approx. 5 minutes.

I also made a trip to the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck (@biggayicecream on Twitter) today at 47th and 6th. What a nice man! I really appreciated his friendliness in midtown of cold New York. He was very lovely to chat with for a few minutes, knew all about gluten, and made me a gluten-free chocolate "bomb" (a heaping scoop of chocolate fudge with vanilla ice cream swirled on top) that was unbearably, habit-formingly delicious. Other tastily unique toppings included olive oil and sea salt, wasabi, bacon, dulce de leche. Highly recommended for a boost to your day and a smile on your face!

La Pasta e Lo Pomodoro

Ciao,

Ho preperato una pasta per la mia cena con una salsa di pomodori e la carne.

(I made pasta for my dinner with tomato and meat sauce.)

Just brushing up on my Italian skills. A bit hazy after l'estate (the summer) but it comes back with a little bit of thinking.

Ah si, si, the dinner. Once again, I pulled out the crock-pot to prepare some meat sauce for spaghetti. I went the easy way about it, though. I picked out a nice jar of Ragu that sounded particularly good, and used that as a base. I also used up the rest of the browned meat that I had made for chili. I cooked too much of it yesterday, so I had put half away with the ruminations of a future Italian dinner.

Spaghetti Sauce

-Ragu (I used "Sweet Italian Sausage and Cheese" flavor.)

-Browned meat and a chopped onion

1. Brown meat and onion in a frying pan.

2. Pour sauce and meat into the crock-pot. Cook low and slow for a few hours.

I served this with Tinkyada penne pasta. The general consensus of my suite mates was that it tasted a little different, but basically the same as regular pasta. I really hate gummy noodles, so if this is you too, make sure to stir constantly, boil a little past "done", and strain well with the colander.

Also, I baked some chocolate Pamela's brownies, the "fudgy" version recommended on the package.

I fed this meal to my non-gluten-free suite mates, and they all loved it. I was even compared to Martha Stewart (ha! at this point, I'm striving for a faux-Rachael Ray). In any case, it smelled amazing in here today. If you like to cook and don't want to spend money on air fresheners, fix up some stew or something. You'll also be surprised how many friends you make when you have great smells coming from your place.

Crock-Pot-Simmer-All-Day Chili

Hey,

Today sufficiently reached "monumental" on my sliding scale of culinary wonders, which is sized in relative approximation to my suite kitchen.

I made chili, in a crock pot, and old-fashioned rice. And you know what? It was actually extremely delicious. Again, it was made mostly by memory and experimentation.

I've always loved the look of chili. All of the colors together, beans mingling around, spicing up the kitchen with teasing smells as different flavors pop forwards in momentary boiling bubbles of self-excitement. I've never liked it to be too spicy, but I can appreciate a little zing.

Crock-Pot-Simmer-All-Day Chili

-Medium-large sized crock-pot

-1.5-2 pounds ground beef/turkey/pork (whatever you want)

-1/2 an onion, chopped (light a candle as you chop it. stops the terrible stinging.)

-1 or 2 cans of kidney bean

-1 or 2 cans of black beans

-1 or 2 cans of diced tomatoes

-Carroll Shelby's "Original Texas Brand Chili Kit"-this little box includes little packets of corn masa flour, cayenne pepper, salt, and chili spices (ground chili pepper, garlic, cumin, oregano, onion, paprika)

-Agave nectar

-Long-grain rice

1. Defrost and brown the meat in the microwave and a large frying pan, respectively. Add the chopped onion and thoroughly cook through.

2. Pour the beans, tomatoes, and meat into the crock-pot. I didn't drain any of the cans, and I added plenty of the fat that came from the meat. Fat adds flavor!

3. The chili kit is a very handy little thing to have. I added half the packet of masa flour (to thicken it up a bit), some of the chili spice, some salt, and none of the cayenne. You can use the packets to really make the chili your own, and to suit your palate.

4. Place the lid onto the crock-pot and cook it low and slow for at least 5-6 hours, stirring occasionally if you feel like it. I lightly sprinkled a little agave onto the chili just for fun.

5. 25-35 minutes before serving the chili, cook long-grain rice on the stove in a sauce pan.

6. Season the chili and rice to taste with sour cream, cheese, chips, pepper, chili powder, whatever your Texas heart desires.

More chicken variations: Indian Spice Chicken, Peach Wine Chicken

I made a few other variations of chicken this week. I made these recipes up on the fly as I was cooking, so they're not very advanced. I apologize for no images. The photos I took didn't turn out, and I was too hungry to try and perfect the art of a food photog.

Indian Spice Chicken

-Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I cut mine into chunks)

-Indian Spice Tea bags (2)

-Cinnamon

-Agave syrup

-Butter

-Hot water

1. Steep the two teabags in a mug with hot water for 5-10 minutes. Brew a mug of tea for yourself as well-the smell will be too delicious to resist.

2. Begin to cook the chicken in a large pan with a pat of butter. Pour the tea over the top after a few minutes. It will become very, very liquidy, but that will be drained off later.

3. Shake on some cinnamon, and continue cooking.

4. Three-quarters of the way through cooking the chicken, drain out most of the tea/"chicken stock". It may have boiled a bit in the pan. You can save it if you like (it tastes really good with rice).

5. Finish cooking the chicken.

6. Lightly sprinkle with agave, and toss around a bit in a bowl.

This chicken was my favorite! It made my little kitchen smell fantastic, and the tea 'marinade' was interesting, with enough subtle hints of other flavors to really appeal to the whole palate.

Peach "Wine" Chicken

-Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

-1-2 peaches, sliced, in a ziploc bag, a few days old so that they begin to ferment a bit

-Butter

-Brown sugar

1. Begin to cook the chicken in a pan with the butter.

2. Pour in the peach flesh/juice into the pan, and let it all cook together. Sprinkle on brown sugar.

3. When the chicken is done, sprinkle on some more brown sugar, and mix together.

This results in a very unique dish. It really does taste like you cooked the chicken in wine, but with a sweet, fruit-y finish. Peaches can probably be interchanged with any similar fruit. I'm thinking next time, I want to do mango.

This week was pretty delicious, but let me just say-THANK GOD I don't have any more chicken.

Mashed Potatoes!

I actually made mashed potatoes! I'm oddly proud of this fact. It was way easier than I thought previously. I did it from memory, as I've seen my mom make them in the past. I had a bit of trouble figuring out when the potatoes were done boiling, but Twitter friends helped me out big time.

I know what job I'm assigning myself for Thanksgiving from now on.

One Pot Mashed Potatoes

-1 Bag small, red skinned potatoes

-Butter

-Sour Cream

-Milk

-Salt/Pepper

1. Rinse the potatoes and slice them in half, to equal sizes.

2. Place the potatoes in a large sauce pan filled with cold water.

3. Add a bit of salt. Boil with the lid on for about 20 minutes.

4. As I learned, stab one of the halves with a fork. If it easily slices in, the potatoes are done. If not, keep cooking and try again in a few minutes.

5. Take the potatoes off the heat, and strain out the water. Rinse lightly with cool water.

6. Keep the potatoes in the pot, and begin to smush the potatoes. Add the butter and continue mashing. Add a splash of milk, and then a few scoops of sour cream. Mash until blended.

7. Season the potatoes to taste, and mash until they're as smooth as you like.

Kitchen soundtrack: Britney Spears

Black Pepper Brown Sugar Chicken

Hi.

Since I was in such a kitchen mood on Monday, I finished cooking up the entire package of chicken in several different ways, including this one.

Dinner was pretty tasty. While it wasn't the best chicken that I've ever had, it wasn't bad at all. I wish I had added more brown sugar, but hindsight will help me in the future.

Black Pepper Brown Sugar Chicken

-Boneless, skinless chicken breast

-Black pepper spice grinder

-Brown Sugar

-Butter

-Agave syrup

1. Begin cooking the chicken breast with a small pat of butter in a large frying pan.

2. 1/4 of the way through, grind as much black pepper as you want over the chicken.

3. 1/2 way through, sprinkle on brown sugar. Add a generous amount. This will cause the chicken to slightly carmelize/brown a bit deeper.

4. Finish cooking the chicken, and add liberal amounts of salt.

5. Lightly dot the chicken with agave, and stir a bit. Eat happily.

Kitchen Soundtrack: The Beatles

Stirfry Chicken with Pea Pods

Tonight was the first night I've cooked for myself in this dorm, ever. Needless to say, I was rather excited to get started. I was left with a large package of chicken breasts that had to be dealt with immediately, or risk their spoilage. I had just rinsed off all of my new Ikea pots and pans and was beginning to cut up the chicken when I tried to turn on the stove.

Nothing. Not even a click. No heat coming out; butter in the skillet wasn't melting.

After several panicked minutes, a quick check behind the old electric stove revealed a large plug that had come undone from the wall. Popping it back in was easier said than done, but I was on a mission. It was a rookie mistake :P

Finally, everything was up and ready to sizzle, and there were surprisingly no more disturbances along the way, except for the late-term discovery of a large pool of melted butter on the floor. I was so pleased with the results of my dinner that I finished cooking up the package of chicken, experimenting with different spices and makeshift marinades for the fridge.

My meal was delicious, healthy, and most of all, incredibly easy to make.

Stirfry Chicken with Pea Pods

-Boneless, skinless chicken breast

-San-J Wheat-free, gluten-free soy sauce

-Butter

-Green Giant Healthy Steamers No-Sauce Sugar Snap Peas (frozen)

-Large frying pan/skillet

1. Thaw the chicken, and slice into strips.

2. Melt a small pat of butter onto the skillet, then place the chicken on top. Set to medium heat.

3. Let cook for several minutes, then slowly pour desired amount of soy sauce into the pan.

4. Stir occasionally, and let chicken cook 3/4 of the way through. For me, this was about 5 minutes.

5. Add frozen pea pods to the pan, and continue cooking and stirring. Add a bit more soy sauce if you would like to. I turned the pan up to high heat until the liquid started slightly boiling, then took it off the heat. This was about another 3-5 minutes.

6. Let cool slightly, then pour over rice if you want, or serve alone like I did.

This recipe will make enough for 2, if the chicken is cut small enough, but is great for one if you, like me, like leftovers.

Kitchen Soundtrack: Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam's Coming Up For Air