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Showing posts from March, 2014

THE Ultimate Chocolate Pie

I found  this recipe  on a young lady's blog and decided to give it a go. It's a chocolate pie made with tofu, which is terribly exciting all by its onesie, but the fact that it  is THE chocolate pie is significant. You see, I've made lots of chocolate desserts over the years I've been cooking. Cakes, pies, puddings, shakes, drinks, ganaches, chocolate-covered you-name-its ... all kinds. This blows all of them out of the water. Way, way out of the water. We cut 1/8th slices and they were too rich for us - we'll cut smaller slices next time. Those are really small servings , and yet they'll be satisfying. (Also, it's made with tofu, which means there's a nod to healthiness in it, but don't be confused - this is a sinful, decadent adventure into hedonism that will make Zachary Comstock frown enthusiastically in your general direction see if it doesn't.) THE Ultimate Chocolate Pie Ingredients 16 oreos (you will need 6 more later) 3

No-Bowl Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal (with cranberries 'n raisins)

I love banana bread, don't get me wrong, but oatmeal's a thing I'm supposed to eat more of, and since oatmeal is gross and bread isn't, I thought, "why not make a banana bread oatmeal that I can take to work and eat with a fork so it doesn't feel like I'm eating oatmeal?" No not really. What actually happened was three bananas went too ripe to eat and I was too lazy to turn them into banana bread. Plus, I'd just discovered that I could make  no-bowl oatmeal  that tasted really really good, so I figured why not try it with fruit that's going to go bad? No Bowl Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal (with cranberries 'n raisins) Ingredients 1 2/3 cups whole oats, which you are going to pulverize into meal 1 tsp baking powder 1/3 cup packed brown sugar Couple'a shakes cinnamon 1/3 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky, your call) 1 cup milk or soy milk 3 very ripe bananas 1 egg 1/4 cup applesauce OR 1/2 apple, cored

No-Bowl Oatmeal for Hungry Cyclists (and you, too)

Breakfast has long been argued to be the most important meal of the day. I won't argue that it isn't; it probably is. However, it's also the most difficult meal of the day, for me, because a) I don't like most traditional breakfast foods, b) getting out of bed early enough to cook/eat breakfast sucks in general and REALLY sucks in the winter, and c) I'm a cyclist, so eating a big meal and then riding to work makes me want to throw up, and packing up and carting most breakfast foods is either a pain in my ass or impossible. Furthermore, oatmeal with fruit is the perfect breakfast, but it's also oatmeal, which is disgusting, so I don't make it and don't like eating it when I DO make it, so there's that. Pretty much failure all around. This recipe came about because I had half a carton of strawberries and 3/4 of a carton of blueberries threatening to spoil in my 'fridge, but I was too lazy to bother making muffins. It's kind of kissing cousi

All I Want for my Birthday Dinner is Crab(cake)s

My long-suffering partner loves crab-cakes, so in 2012, I tried to make him crab-cakes for his birthday. The result was barely edible - too much Old Bay seasoning, too dry, too ... just gross in general. Scared me away from making crab-cakes for two solid years, through it fortunately didn't dim my partner's love of crab-cakes. Made me feel guilty every time he ordered them in a restaurant because a) crab-cakes are fucking expensive and b) it served as a reminder that I'd fucked up. So this year, I decided to face my fears and bought the man two cans of crab for Christmas, with the promise that he could have crab-cakes whenever he wanted. He probably suffered PTSD from that, since the last crab-cakes I made were truly that awful , but by his birthday this year (three months later) he'd overcome his fear (or maybe his stomach had overwhelmed his fears) and asked me to make him some crab-cakes. The recipe I found and used is easy and delicious. I glared at it suspicio

Tofu-ckin' Fabulous Meal for Three (Four)

I'd heard rumors that tofu was an actual edible thing, but I hadn't entirely believed them because, holy shit, it's apparently really  easy to cook bad tofu. I say this because I've eaten really bad tofu. Many times. Tonight was not one of those times. This meal takes some forethought and prep-work to make, but I 100% swear it is 105% worth it. That's +5% value, son. EDIT: Three meals is dumb. I've changed some things to make this recipe stretch to four meals. Will update if leftovers are disastrous, 'cause around my henhouse, four meals means two servings for dinner, two servings for the sequel. Tofu-ckin' Fabulous Meal for Three  Four Ingredients 1 lb (16 oz) extra firm tofu, which you are going to press like it's a heretic 1 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp rice vinegar 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp ginger 1 tsp chili/garlic sauce (I used Sriracha/Rooster Sauce) 2 3/4 cups water, boiling 1 1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed 1 small sweet potato, c

Curried Chicken and Broccoli with Quinoa

Many thanks to the imgurian who posted  this recipe , which served as the inspiration for a lunch recipe  that my dear partner was heartbroken to learn was for his lunch, not his dinner (despite the fact that I was cooking it at dinner time). Curried Chicken and Broccoli with Quinoa Ingredients 3.5 cups water 1.5 cups quinoa, rinsed 1 medium onion, coarse-diced 1 medium sweet potato, chopped into pieces ~1"x1/2" in size 2 heads broccoli, cut into bite-size florets 1 heaping tsp minced ginger 2 tbsp minced garlic 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup water 2 tbsp curry powder 1 tbsp chili powder 1 tsp black pepper (I so eyeballed this it's not even funny) Instructions 1. Put your water on to boil in a medium saucepan. Rinse your quinoa and set it aside. 2. Cut up the onion, sweet potato, and broccoli. Put the onion with the garlic and ginger. 3. Cut up the chicken into little bite-size pieces. 4

Not Shae's Fish Tacos

For hands of gold are cold, but a woman's hands are always warm ... Not Shae's Fish Tacos Ingredients Slaw 1/4 head red cabbage, sliced very thin and cut in half 1 small onion, diced 1 tbsp dry cilantro 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp olive oil Fish 1 lb whitefish (I used haddock, I think), thawed if you use frozen fish 1/3 cup cornmeal 1 tsp garlic  powder 1/4 tsp ground cumin 1/4 tsp chili powder Vegetable oil for frying the fish Serve with 4 flour tortillas Salsa (we use medium hot) Guacamole (just try to find fresh avocados worth eating in Massachusetts in winter, I dare you) Instructions 1. In a small mixing bowl, combine all slaw ingredients. Set aside. --- Note : The longer the slaw sits, the better it wilts. I recommend letting it sit at least 10 minutes 2. Pat the fish dry and cut it into 3/4-1" pieces. 3. In a cereal bowl, combine cornmeal, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder. 4. In a skillet, hea