Holiday Monday

Cooking shouldn't be hard. Motivation to get started may be lacking (especially when the TV is playing all manner of movies all day long), but cooking should be easy and recipes adaptable.

My recipe for tacos is pretty simple; but best of all -- it's versatile.
Tonight, intending to make enough for lunches, I thought I'd make a batch of beef tacos and a batch of refried been and tomato tacos.

The former is simple: dice your vegetables. Add a drizzle of oil to a hot pan and throw in your spices. Once they become fragrant, add your vegetables. When they're cooked, remove them from the heat and cook the beef in the same pan. Drain well. Then - add everything back into the pot. When it's good and hot; remove the mixture and set aside. Add about a cup of beef broth and scrape the pan well. When the mixture is reduced by 1/2, add a pat of butter. If you want it thicker -- add about 1/2 a cup of beans and mash them well. Add everything back in and reheat.

For the bean version - just replace the meat with the beans and add a diced tomato (juice and all). Use the pan gravy from the beef mixture (or start over with vegetable stock) and remember to mash the beans well.

Either wrap it in a tortilla or sever it over salad. I like to top it with sour cream and cheese, but anything goes.

It's too hot to make mexican rice; but I am going to make a lentil, hazelnut and cheese salad for tomorrow's lunch. That, combined with the re-fried beans and some lettuce will make for a filling meal.

Update: The lentil, hazelnut and cheese salad was amazing; I'm definitely going to have it again. The vegetarian version of the tacos needed to be reheated--which I didn't want to do. I'll save the filling for either making chili or a rainy day. Dinner last night (the meat version of the tacos) was really good - but needed more kick than the poblano peppers provided. Fortunately we had salsa on hand to deal with the problem.

Beef Stroganoff - my way

The morning after report.

The beef was still pretty frozen when I took it out to cook. I love my new fridge, but it's sometimes a bit too good at keeping cold things cold. The ice crystals made the beef very easy to slice. I cut the strips in half (it was a wide piece of meat), but that was just a stylistic preference.

The meat cooked easily and I got a nice brown coating on the bottom of my pan. I'm getting better at being able to watch a pan and not fuss with it. If the meat doesn't lay long enough before you try to flip it -- it will either stick and tear (leaving little meaty bits behind) or not deposit the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.

Once cooked, and set aside, I added 2 whole shallots (for some reason, I read the recipe as requiring 1 cup not 1/2 cup -- sigh) and 8 oz of sliced button mushrooms (I halved the slices because the SO doesn't like mushrooms--so small=good). I turned down the heat and let it cook, stirring occasionally and trying really hard not to scrape up too much of the brown bits. The mushroom stems went into my collection of food scraps for soup. The SO tends to notice the stems way more than the tops, so I don't often cook with them.

The chicken broth (I prefer the flavour of chicken broth to beef broth--and I had fresh homemade chicken broth in the fridge as compared to the box of stuff in the pantry) went in with the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. And then I stirred. My arms got a workout from the stirring. I scraped every bit of brown stuff up off the bottom and into the broth. Then I added the meat back into the pan (flank steak is pretty tough and the extra cooking time helped tenderize it a bit).

I set the noodles to boil, and ignored the sauce as it reduced (I did up the heat just a smidge under the sauce--because I'm impatient when my kitchen starts to become so wonderfully fragrant).

As the noodles were done, and the (nuked frozen) vegetables were ready I made the realization that I was out of sour cream. So I used unflavoured yogurt. Unfortunately, I didn't strain it. It had been sitting for a while, so I poured off the liquid and scooped from what was left -- but once added to the sauce, it separated rather than becoming creamy. I put the meat back into the pan and stirred it all together. The sauce wasn't a pale brown or a pink, instead it was brown with a multitude of white pokadots!

I served the mix (and the rather thin sauce) over egg noodles with a side of green beans for me and corn for him. It tasted delicious, but it didn't look too good.

Now I know better. This morning I googled "sour cream substitution" and realize that I should have (a) drained the yogurt for at least 30 minutes, (b) added 1 tablespoon flour and 2 teaspoons water to the mix before adding. This replaces some of the strained-out liquid without adding an acid, and the flour provides the thickening-agent that the fat (in the sour cream) would provide.

The recipe came out really well. We both liked it, and since I had friends cancel out on me (I had intended to double the recipe), I made 1/2, have leftovers for lunch today and have enough ingredients to make it again next week. It's a win-win situation.

The recipe

• 1 lb steak (top round or flank), cut into strips
• 1/2 tsp each salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine
• 1/2 cup shallots, chopped
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup chicken broth (low fat, low sodium)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried mustard
• 4 servings of egg noodles.
• 3/4 cup unflavoured yogurt (strained for 30 minutes)
• 1 tsp flour
• 2 tsp water
  

Directions

1. Measure out 1 cup of yogurt and place it in a fine sieve or piece of cheese cloth suspended above a bowl. Leave to drain for 30 minutes.
   
2. Cut the steak to the desired size and lay out the pieces.
   
3. Sprinkle steak strips with salt and pepper.
   
4. Dice your shallots and cut up your mushrooms.
   
5. In large non-stick frying pan, heat oil over high heat.
   
6. Add meat in single layer (working in batches if necessary) and cook until just brown on outside, about 1 minute per side. Reduce heat if the pan begins to smoke or if meat gets more than a bit brown. You're building a layer of brown on your pan here -- so patience is the rule.
   
7. Remove meat to plate and set aside.
8. In same frying pan, melt margarine over medium-high heat.
   
9. Add shallots and cook until starting to soften, about 2 minutes.
   
10. Add mushrooms and cook until tender and all liquid is evaporated, 8-10 minutes.
11. Put a pan on to start cooking the egg noodles. Bring the water to a roiling boil.
    
12. In a small bowl, whisk together broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard.
    
13. Return steak to pan and pour broth mixture over.
14. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the brown bits up into the liquid.
    
15. Simmer until liquid reduces and thickens slightly, about 12 minutes.
    
16. Cook the egg noodles (ideally they're done the same time as your stroganoff. Your stroganoff can wait, the egg noodles can't).
17. Prepare your steamed vegetables.
    
18. Mix the flour and water together to form a slurry. No lumps. Add it to the strained yogurt.
    
19. Add the yogurt mixture to the pan (stir to incorporate) and cook on low heat until heated through.
20. Serve over freshly-cooked egg noodles with a side of steamed (nuked) vegetables.
    

Marinated barbecue steak

This recipe probably doesn't need a recipe; but it is something I enjoy eating from time to time -- marinated barbecue steak. The exact cut of meat is (mostly) immaterial, but the marinade allows you to choose a very low-fat steak. The leaner the meat, the longer you should marinade it. I recommend marinading flank steak overnight, whereas a lean boston steak often needs no more than a few hours. We tend to buy butcher's block steak because of its lack of marbling, and consistent thickness. The former requires more marinading, but the latter helps guarantee that it will cook evenly.

Ingredients:
2 lbs butcher's block steak
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Montreal no-salt steak spice

Directions:
1. Marinade the steak in the red wine, olive oil and steak spice for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight.
2. Cook at medium heat on the barbecue until medium-well.

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.

Something simple for five.

Another dinner-time story.

Tonight was a game night; which meant four friends plus my SO and myself for dinner. Typically I "say" I only spend about $5 a head for such a meal. The ground rules are simple. Bring food to supplement the meal, or give me $5 to cover the cost of your portion. I gave up costing out these meals when I realized that I wanted to cook elegant food.

But tonight I opted for something simple: Monterey Jack cheese with Jalapeños and steak sandwiches with homemade tomato & bell pepper soup.

First, the bread.
She was tired from being fresh yesterday, and didn't really react until I cut and tore her wide open. Only then did the reminder of her tantalizing fresh smell fill the air. She was crusty to begin with, but now the crust was thickening and she was hard to cut. I tried to sweeten her up with a light coat of grainy mustard; the yellow and brown seeds glowed on her pearly-white insides.

Then I covered half of her with a luscious white blanket of sliced Monterey Jack Cheese. This was, however, a sultry blanket that had pockets of Jalapeño in it. I could tell it was a good match at once as the blanket completely hid her smell and the bread seemed to snuggle-down under its weight.

The steak was read with envy. Cut thin, I knew it was going to shrink on me. In fact, I was depending on it. I threw the steak into a hot grill pan, flavored slightly with a thin spray of olive oil, and proceeded to ignore it as the steak hissed and spat at me. When the spitting got too much I put a cover on it and waited until the steak started to weep before finally giving it my attention.

I turned it and the weeping continued. When it was evenly gray in color, and the pans high points had given a pleasant set of stripes to its hide, I introduced it to the cheese. They immediately bonded and stuck together throughout the meal.

The bread and the steak didn't get along quite so well. I popped the whole sandwich into a hot oven for 10 minutes and left the ingredients to get better acquainted.

On another burner there was a pot filled with a soup I'd beaten into submission some time ago. It was cold, clumping together, and sluggish. But I knew where it had come from and what it was made of. The heat slowly warmed it to a fragrance that was familiar and subtle. Tomatoes, fresh from the season, pared with sweet red bell peppers and red onion, melded together into a thick soup.

By the time the soup was boiling, dinner was ready.
The only regret was that I had not made more.