Savory Breakfasts?

What do you get when you combine:

• Leftover wild herb rice (mixed with rice wine vinegar & mirin).
  
• leftover jalapeno honey mustard cut with mayonnaise & herbs.
  
• A tin of tuna.
  
• A tomato.
  
• An avocado.
  
• A stalk of asperagus (barbecued). Sheets of nori.

I don't know either; but I hope to try making sushi out of this mess for a savory breakfast. I'll let you know how it goes.

Update: It's pretty good. I didn't use the avocado (too far past its prime) or the tomato; and only about 3/4 of the rice and 1/2 of the tin of tuna. It's falling apart as I eat it, but it tastes pretty good. And it's certainly different which was, ultimately, what I wanted for breakfast.

Either my sushi-making skills have degraded (possibly) or the nori I bought was the wrong type (most likely). The sheets have holes in them, seem way too thin, and in this case - were too old (liquid was accumulating in the sealed package in spite of the silica packet). So I should (a) buy new nori and (b) practice more. :)

Black beans and rice - to nice to be mild

Some nights, I just want something hot and filling for dinner; and I don't really seem to care what that contains. There's a specific texture I'm looking for--silken without sauce--that always comes to mind when I think of rice and beans. I think it's a perfect dinner for any night. My SO thinks its bland. We live in two different worlds of taste. He's a fire-eater and I, alas, am not.

So this is my non-fire-eating version, which he thinks is just OK. More for me!

I like making beans from scratch, but in the spring--when the beans take 2+ hours to cook, being that they are so very old, I use canned. I drained 1 can of black beans and 1 can of navy beans and rinsed the beans well. This gets rid of a lot of salt, and I've always found the thick bean liquid in cans rather disgusting.

Once well-drained, I carefully diced up a yellow onion, red bell pepper, chipotle pepper in adobe sauce, two-ounces of medium chorizo, and 4 garlic cloves. I warmed olive oil in a pan, then added the onions and bell peppers, stirring occasionally until the onions wilted.

Then I added the rest of the vegetables. I cooked the rice separately (in water). When it was done, I added the beans and rice to the pan along with 2 cups of home-made chicken broth. This replaces the bean cooking liquid required by the original recipe and adds a lot of flavour.

Stir well to incorporate, add the spices, and allow to simmer. The cooked rice will absorb a lot of the liquid. If it comes to a boil, turn off the heat and uncover to allow the steam to escape. Serve it hot topped with cilantro and lime.

Ingredients
1 cup dried black beans (3 cups cooked)
1 two-ounce link chorizo, diced
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, coarseley chopped
1 chipotle pepper in adobe sauce, diced
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cumin
1 cup white rice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 lime, juiced

Directions
1. Bring 1 1/2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil; add the rice, reduce heat to low, and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes more. Fluff with a fork and then spoon some rice into each bowl.

2. Drain the beans. Dice the onion, pepper, and garlic. Heat the oil over medium-high in a large sauce pan, and add the minced vegetables, chorizo, and cumin. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften somewhat, about 5 minutes. Add the drained beans, cilantro, cooked rice, and 2 cups of broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook off any extra liquid.

3. Remove the beans from the heat and stir in the lime juice and top with cilantro. Serve hot.

The failure of a new paella recipe

I wanted to try a "new" paella recipe that I found on the ABC website. It sounded like it should taste good, if a bit too spicy for me. The following is the recipe with the changes I made to make it less hot. It was still too hot for me though, and something was definitely not to my taste. Paella to me brings to mind the taste of saffron and short-grain rice. This recipe lacks the saffron and uses minute-rice instead, which while absorbant, isn't quite the same.

The recipe was supposed to come in under $15 and serve 4 (which explains the lack of saffron and the specialty rice). The spices used are pretty costly when initially bought, but I had them all in my pantry and, based on the amount used, my cost should still be under the $15 goal.

Paella has a long tradition in Spain, and it's a wonderful community dish that has numerous cultural variations. Chicken and shrimp paella is one of my favourite versions, but I've also made vegetarian paella too (replacing the meat with beans and adding more vegetables).

Browning chicken in oil (with the skin on) is something that takes more practice than I have. My pieces were only lightly browned, and when served, the skin was gummy and unpleasant. It would have been better to leave the chicken in the pan to crisp more before removing it to a plate. Also, I think I overcooked it. The meat itself was very tasty, but the skin ... ug.

Medium salsa is hot for me. Hot salsa is inedible. This mix is something far north of hot salsa. The depth of flavour I was expecting might very well have been there, but I couldn't taste it. I couldn't taste much of anything--even with a glass of milk and a sour cream chaser.

Without thinking, I cooked 2 cups of basmati rice beside the dish. So now I have lots of cooked basmati rice and leftover chicken (hrm... I see chicken fried rice in my near future). Regardless, here was the failure along with a few changes for next time.

Ingredients

8 cups chicken stock

2 chipotle peppers in adobo (next time I'd leave this out)

1 tsp red chili flake (next time I'll reduce this to 1/4 tsp)

1 tsp chili powder (next time I'll reduce this to 1/4 tsp)

2 tsps extra virgin olive oil

1 two-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces

1 med yellow onion, diced

2 tbsps fresh ginger, julienned

2 tbsps paprika

2 tsp red curry powder (next time I'll leave this out)

8 whole cloves garlic, peeled (next time I'll use 4 and mash them with salt & parsley)

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces (next time I'll use 2 red bell peppers)

1/2 lb kielbasa sausage, sliced into 1-inch pieces

2 cups five-minute white rice (next time I'll use 2 cups short-grain spanish rice)

kosher salt (to taste)

black pepper, fresh ground (to taste)

saffron (to taste) (next time I'll add this in)

Directions

1. In a 6 quart saucepan, combine stock, chipotles, chili flake, and chili powder and bring to a boil.
   
2. Lower the heat to a simmer, and reduce the heat to minimum.
   
3. In a large 12-14-inch sauté pan, heat olive oil until almost smoking.
   
4. Season the chicken pieces generously with salt & pepper.
   
5. Brown them carefully and slowly until the skin is a deep, dark, golden brown. Work in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan.
   
6. When chicken is browned on both sides, remove it to a plate.
7. In the same pan, add the onion, paprika, red curry powder, garlic cloves, red bell pepper, and ginger.
8. Sauté until soft and golden brown, about 8 minutes.
   
9. Add the chicken stock to the onion/pepper mixture and bring to a boil.
   
10. Lower the heat and allow to simmer 10 minutes.
11. Place the browned chicken pieces in the broth and cook for 15 minutes.
    
12. Add 2 cups rice and the sausage to the pan.
    
13. Bring the mixture to a boil for 5 minutes, turn off heat and let sit for 5 additional minutes, uncovered.
    
14. Serve with a spring green salad.
    

Beef fajitas for 3, spanish rice and guacamole

Beef fajitas are one of those recipes that I tend to make when I don't really want to cook. Funny, because it still involves a lot of cutting, measuring, and the like. But I've made it so often that I can almost make it with my eyes closed (but then I'd probably cut myself and that would be bad).

So, with company coming, I set to work preparing the meal.

First I made spanish rice.

I diced up a red onion (I didn't have any others, so red it would be), and put half in a pot with a nob of butter. Once the foam subsided I added a cup a rice and stirred it. This toasts the rice and provides it some initial flavour. Then I added some chicken stock (freshly thawed in the microwave) and some pureed tomatoes (canned diced tomatoes pureed with an immersion blender). I then covered the pot and brought it to a boil. Once boiling, I lowered the heat, set the timer and promptly forgot about it.

By then, my guest had arrived and joined me in the kitchen. We chatted as I dug out my favourite frying pan. I coated the bottom with a teaspoon of olive oil, and tossed in strips of sandwich steak to fry. As the meat cooked I diced a clove of garlic, mixed it with 1 rounded tablespoon of cumin and half a tablespoon of chili pepper, and added that and the remaining half of red onion in with the meat. I cleaned, and cut a red bell pepper and a green bell pepper into strips and added that to the hot pan.I stirred the mixture to coat everything with the spices and meat juice equally. Then I added a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and a cup of medium salsa to the mix. I stirred it again and let it cook until the rice was done.

I mixed another crushed and diced clove of garlic along with two tablespoons of crushed tomatos and two avocado's, adding another heaping teaspoon of cumin as I stirred. Once the lumps were mostly gone (or at least very small), I stopped and set it aside.

Taking out a second (and smaller) frying pan, I turned on the heat and cooked the corn tortillas until they were soft and pliable (8 seconds according to the package, less time in my experience). I then added a small amount of sour cream, an equal dollup of guacamole, a pinch of cheese and a ladel-ful of fajita mix. I then folded the hot tortilla around the mess and placed it seam side down onto the plate.

Three of these plus a third of the rice and another tablespoon of guacamole made the meal. It was delicious.

Beef fajitas

Serves 6.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lbs sandwich steak (preferably lean)
  
• 2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 green) cut into slices
  
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced (I used red)
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 1 cup salsa
  
• 1 tablespoon cumin
  
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  
• 1/2 tablespoon chili pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
  
• 1/2 cup guacamole
  
• 1/2 cup sour cream
  
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
  

Directions

1. Coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil.
   
2. Cut the sandwich steak into strips and add them to the hot pan.
   
3. Mix the garlic, cumin and chili pepper together and add that to the pan, stir well to incorporate.
   
4. Cut the bell peppers into strips and add them to the pan. Stir well.
   
5. Mix the salsa and Worcestershire sauce together. Add them to the pan. Stir well.
   
6. Cook until the meat is cooked, the onions are nearly transulcent, and the peppers still crunchy.
   
7. Heat the tortillas slightly.
   
8. Fill in the following order: sour cream, guacamole, cheddar cheese, fajita mix.
   
9. Fold the tortilla and serve.

Spanish rice

Serves 3.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
  
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  
• 1/2 yellow onion
  
• 1 teaspoon butter
  
• 1 cup chicken stock
  
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, optional.
  

Directions

1. Put the butter in a hot pan. Add the onion and the rice and stir to mix.
   
2. Once the onion starts to become translucent, add the tomato sauce and chicken stock.
   
3. Stir well.
   
4. Turn up the heat and wait for the liquid to boil.
   
5. Once boiling, cover and cook for the duration recommended for your rice.
   
6. Serve hot with a bit of cheese on top.

Chicken fried rice (attempt #1)

Tonight was an attempt, and while it was easy, and did taste good, it was also really mild. We like things a little more spicy, so there will be an attempt #2.

I made about 6 cups of long grain brown rice (after cooking) in the rice steamer; it takes a bit longer, but I'm guaranteed to have good rice. In addition, I cooked the rice in homemade chicken broth - just to add a bit of flavour.

After the rice had cooled, I finely diced a teaspoon of garlic, two teaspoon of ginger, and 1/2 a very small onion (yes, we have no scallions). Then I gathered the soy sauce and the egg-replacement together around a hot pan with a bit of oil in the bottom. I already had 2 cups of diced Easy Asian Chicken leftovers, 1 cup of peas, and 1 cup of corn; both freshly thawed.

With the oil hot, I added the ginger, garlic and onion to the pan. I stirred the ingredients until the onions were just starting to become opaque and the garlic was fragrant. Then I took the rice and carefully dribbled it into the pan, a bit at a time; being careful to break up clumps as they occurred. Once all in and well mixed with the ginger, garlic and onion, I mounded the rice up and made a dent in the middle. Into this I poured two lightly-beaten eggs. I then stirred the rice to get the eggs to mix well as they cooked.

I added the chicken, peas and corn, and finely two tablespoons of soy sauce. I mixed again until the rice changed color, and served it hot.

It was a bit bland. I don't want to add more soy sauce (as I'm trying to watch my salt intake), so next time I'll try the Weight Watcher's version of this recipe.

Original recipe by Mark Bittman.

Fried rice with egg (modification - Chicken fried rice with Peas and Corn)
Taken from How To Cook Everything, p212. Lightly modified.
Ingredients

3 tablespoons	peanut (preferred) or other oil
1 teaspoon	garlic, minced
1 teaspoon	ginger, fresh peeled & minced
2 tablespoons	scallions, chopped
3-4 cups	rice, cooked
2	eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons	soy sauce
	salt and ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Place the oil in a large skillet, and turn the heat to high
2. Once hot (about a minute later), add the garlic, ginger and scallion and cook, stiring constantly, for a minute
3. Turn the heat down and add the rice,a bit at a time, elimanting lumps
4. Stir frequently for about 3 minutes to mix well
5. Mound the rice and make a hole in the mound.
6. Pour the eggs into the hole.
7. Stir slowly to scramble the eggs and mix them into the rice
   Add the soy sauce, chicken, and thawed vegetables.
8. Stir to mix.
9. Serve hot.