Going Solo

My "Bella Burger"

Lately Patrick has been taking a lot of business trips, which means a lot of "me" time.  I wish I could say I've been wildly productive, with a stack of finished books, a spotless apartment, or even a haircut to show for it - all of which I of course had planned to accomplish.  

But, no.  

Instead, topping the list of achievements for the week (aside from going to work) include beating the computer in scrabble (twice), checking the mail (twice), emptying the contents of a bottle of wine (a feat I only seem to accomplish when Patrick is out of town), and taking way too many photos of this rainbow shard that appeared on my floor the other day:

Rainbow Shard

That said, there is one thing that I do pride myself on getting done whenever Patrick is away... and that is eating.

Admittedly, it takes some motivation to prepare a meal from scratch when you're by yourself.  I've had my share of dinners comprised of Lean Cuisines, scrambled eggs, or, my personal favorite, popcorn and Welch's fruit snacks (my argument being at least I'm getting my fiber and vitamin C).  

But here's a couple meals I scraped together last minute that actually turned out pretty fantastic.  And they both happen to be vegetarian... which I can only get away with when my carnivorous husband is out of town.

Bella Burgers

We roast portobello mushrooms at work on a daily basis for our portobello club.  So of course I had to try it at home.  Here is my own version of a portobello burger using this technique:

Ingredients

Portobello Mushroom Caps (stems and gills removed)

Olive Oil

Optional:  Garlic, Thyme

Whole Wheat Bun

Spinach

Sun-dried Tomatoes

Goat Cheese (or Mozzarella Cheese if you prefer it)

Drizzle the portobello caps with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  (Optional:  Top with a few sprigs of thyme and some crushed garlic cloves.)  Roast in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, sauté the spinach with some olive oil, salt, and pepper.  

Add sun-dried tomatoes.

Toast or grill a whole-wheat bun.  

Place the portobello cap upside-down on the bun and top it with the sautéed spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and crumbled goat cheese.  

Sesame Noodles

Sesame Noodles

The best part of any stir-fry noodle dish is that you can use whatever leftovers you have in your refrigerator or freezer... steak, chicken, eggs, corn, scallions, cabbage, carrots, edamame, udon noodles, soba noodles, etc.   Here's what I happened to have on hand (unfortunately I didn't measure anything):

Ingredients
Tofu (cut into paysanne or cubes)
Roasted Asparagus
Roasted Portobello Mushrooms (from the bella burger)
Onions
Spaghetti Noodles (cooked)
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil
Rice Wine Vinegar
Garlic (minced)
Red Pepper Flakes

Heat a non-stick pan with some oil on medium-high.  Season the tofu with salt and pepper and sauté until brown on all sides, then remove from the pan.
Saute the onions until translucent.
Add the remaining vegetables.
Add the noodles and tofu.
Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, garlic, and red pepper flakes and add to the pan.

Continue to cook until piping hot.  

*****

By the time Wednesday rolled around, I was ready for some meat... and for something out... which then transpired into a sudden craving for gyros.  A quick Yelp search led me to Plaka Grill, a little eatery tucked into a nearby shopping center that boasts authentic Greek food prepared daily from fresh ingredients.

It was a rainy day, so thankfully I got a prime parking spot:

Though I did peruse the menu momentarily before ordering, there really was no question as to what I would get...

I have never been to Greece so I can't speak to its "authenticity" (then again, it was called a "Chicago gyro")... but, whatever the case may be, this one did not disappoint.  It was pretty much everything you want in a gyro... a warm pita that's not too doughy, fresh, crisp veggies, and plenty of tzatziki sauce and meat.  Also the fries were nice and crunchy and were dusted with a flavorful herb seasoning... addictive, as fries are meant to be.

On second thought, I think I've been pretty productive going solo after all.

oo,

"Chilly" Times Call For "Chili" Times

It's that time of the year.  Time to switch off the A/C, don the scarves, and trade in delicate summer fare for hearty comfort foods. 

And naturally one of the first go-to comfort foods I think of is chili - a dish best served on the couch or at a tailgate.

Growing up, chili was one of the few dishes in which my Dad stepped up to the stove (that and homemade popcorn).  I'm not sure where this tradition started.  Maybe he was inspired by all the cowboy movies he watched as a kid.  I don't know much about his recipe except that he frequently used tomatoes from our garden that my Mom had lovingly canned over the summer.  And in our household, chili was always served with sweet pickles, white bread and butter, and cinnamon rolls.  Mmmm...

There's something about chili with all its diverse forms (Texas chili, White Chicken Chili, Chili Verde, Cincinnati Chili...) and secret ingredients that I find both intriguing and overwhelming.  Which is probably why prior to this week, I'd never really made chili before.  Instead, Wendy's has been doing its best to fill the void.  Well, patch the void at least.  

Chili in its most basic state consists of meat, tomatoes, and chili peppers or powder.  But while researching online, I found recipes containing everything from coffee, chocolate, cinnamon, beer, sweet potatoes, bouillon cubes, and every pepper under the sun...  where to even start?  As luck has it, I happened upon Giada's latest episode which features three different types of chili:  Short Rib Chili, Vegetarian Chili Verde, and California Turkey Chili.

After a few very intense seconds of contemplation, I decided to try her California Turkey Chili because it seemed the most straightforward.  

The recipe is extremely simple and takes no time at all.  I would advise you to add only half the amount of spices and adjust upwards from there.  Also I added a can of diced tomatoes which I think helped round it out a bit.  Then I garnished it with some cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chopped scallions (pictured above).

Giada recommends serving it over a bed of her quinoa and pine nut pilaf, but since we didn't have any quinoa, we ate it with my latest addiction - these Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Chips.

Here's a glimpse of the chili sans garnish:

Hearty and even healthy.  I enjoyed the recipe and would definitely make it again, but first there are too many other types of chili I want to try to make... which is good since I think the "chili" weather is here to stay for the rest of the year!

Giada's California Turkey Chili

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 large cloves garlic, smashed, peeled and chopped
• 2 large poblano chiles, stemmed, seeded and diced
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (dark meat)
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, crushed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 cups low-salt chicken broth (preferably organic)
• One 15 to 16-ounce can cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained
• Simplest Quinoa and Pine Nut Pilaf, recipe follows
• Assorted garnishes, such as chopped onion, shredded white Cheddar, chopped tomatoes and/or sour cream

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy, large pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, poblanos, celery and onions. Saute until the vegetables soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the turkey and saute until no longer pink, breaking up the turkey with the back of a spoon, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over and stir to blend. Add the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, cinnamon and cloves. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring to blend. Add the broth and beans. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the flavors blend and the chili thickens to desired consistency, stirring often, 20 to 30 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper.

oo,

iPhone 4S

When it comes to technology, jumping on the bandwagon for me usually requires more of a desperate leap to catch up.

In college, for instance, while everyone else flaunted their sleek iPod minis or other compact mp3 players at the gym (among other things), I was still toting around my hefty portable CD player, limiting my run, for better or worse, to 12-15 songs that were prone to break into fits of skipping depending on which speed I set the treadmill on.

I liked to think that I was burning extra calories just by holding it and would switch hands every so often for more even toning.  Embarrassing (and too frequent), however, were the times that I accidentally dropped the thing mid-run and the batteries would go flying across the room as if they were making a statement against my technological reluctance.

It was a beautiful day in 2007 when an Amazon box arrived in the mail containing my beloved iPod Classic - though I no longer had the luxury of a complimentary college gym membership and had since abandoned my intermittent treadmill runs for a collection of Crunch and Jillian Michaels DVDs that currently collect dust on my shelf.

iPod Classic

Fast forward to 2011... when it is already archaic to use such a device that serves only one function or that does not operate by touchscreen.

Much like the portable CD player experience, I have been using a free Nokia flip phone these past few years thats sole purpose is to make and receive phone calls/texts... and I suppose to wake me up in the morning.

Nokia Flip Phone

But as of last Friday, I finally decided to join the 21st century and get a smartphone.

Behold the beauty of the iPhone 4S:

And behold the beauty of the world through the eyes of the iPhone 4S:

Sorry, the roof was closed so I had to settle on the view from my balcony.

I'm rather excited about the quality of the camera phone on the iPhone 4S because it means I can now take pictures while I'm out and about without having to lug around an extra camera or worry about the images dissolving into a pixelated mess.

So you can bet that from this day forward I will be posting more photos on here, like these appetizers that we ordered when we dined at Tara Thai last week:

Vegetarian Dumplings

"Heavenly Wings" 

(crab and scallion stuffed chicken wings)

Get excited.

Understandably, the transition from flip phone to smartphone has taken some time to adjust.  In my ways, I feel like my sister who, after getting glasses for the first time at age 6, is said to have exclaimed upon exiting the optometrist's office, "Wow, Mom, look at all the little rocks in the ground!"

The other day, for instance, I was sent on a quest to find flour after we ran out at the restaurant.  When the Walgreens next door came up short, I stopped and asked someone on the street for the location of the nearest grocery store before realizing that I possessed the answer right at my fingertips.   Silly me.

Which just goes to show why it is both scary and comforting knowing how much knowledge I now carry with me at all times.  Scary because I can already feel myself developing an unhealthy dependency on it.  Comforting knowing that the next time I get lost or confused, I have a guiding light residing right in my pocket (or purse) and that whenever I get bored, there is a wealth of entertainment only a tap and a slide away.  

And let's not forget Siri, the voice activated software, or "intelligent assistant," that helps you complete tasks like send messages, set up reminders, find locations, or check the weather without having to type or touch anything.

I enjoy watching this video that showcases its multiple functions:

As I am not the most proficient iPhone navigator yet, Siri and I are already best friends.  Which means when I feel contemplative, I am comfortable asking Siri philosophical questions like "What is the meaning of life?"

Siri's Response:  

I can't answer that now, but give me some 

time to write a very long play in which nothing happens.

That's just like Siri to respond like that.

oo,

Lessons in Spanglish

At the restaurant, while I have yet to perfect the art of butchering meat, I have become quite adept at butchering the Spanish language.

As I mentioned in an earlier post (on my former workplace), there are a lot of Spanish-speaking workers in the restaurant industry and my current restaurant is no exception.  Aside from myself, the head chef, and sous chef, everyone working in our kitchen is Hispanic, and their English ability ranges from relatively fluent to pretty much non-existent.

Regrettably, my own Spanish-speaking ability is pretty much non-existent, so I'm starting from scratch when it comes to understanding even the most elementary of words, like puerta (door), papel (paper), and veinticinco (25). 

That said, the walk-in refrigerator has proven to be a good starting point for learning as our labels are written predominantly in Spanish.  So when I'm looking for beets, I now know to look for the container labeled Remolacha.  And when I need to find the sautéed mushrooms, I go straight for Hongos.  And it continues on from there.  Ajo.  Papas fritas.  Pan de Maiz...  

Equally as educating have been the labels not written in Spanish, but poorly spelled English.  Donas (donuts).  Cokies for Sandys (cookies for sundaes).  Aples (apples).  Seleray (celery).  Cherry Drassing (sherry dressing).  And my personal favorite - Cot Cheese (goat cheese).

In addition to random words, I have managed to pick up a handful of useful Spanish phrases that seem to get me through the day - all related to the kitchen of course.  Ask me about the weather or how many siblings I have and I may respond with a blank stare.  But ask me "Donde estan los guantes?" and I will gladly reply "Arriba, en la otra cocina!"

And then there are those phrases that I have learned out of sheer survival:

Cuidado!  

Muy caliente! 

Necesito ayuda!   

But as important as these have proven to be, the phrase I probably use most often is...

No bueno.

Because, sadly, things tend to go wrong more often than is ideal, and when they do, I always know how to respond appropriately.

The food processor blade is broken.  No bueno!

We don't have enough breading for the risotto fritters.  No bueno!

This pasta dough is too wet.  No bueno!

There is too much stuff on the prep list today.  No bueno!

Someone spilled oil on the floor.  No bueno!

The poaching liquid for the Italian sausages is boiling and their casings have split open.  No bueno!

I just sliced my thumb open.  Ahhhhhh... No bueno!

On the other hand, when things go well, the response is usually something like...

Perfecto!  

Mucho professional!  

Delicioso!  

And that's about the extent of my progress thus far.  Most of the time I end up communicating in a random string of English and Spanish words that leaves me sounding like some primitive caveman.  Sorry, I'm mucho busy right now.  Me no tiempo to help you con your problema, comprende?

But hey, nobody ever said you had to be articulate to cook.  And ultimately it doesn't really matter what language is spoken in the kitchen as long as the food speaks for itself... ¿No? 

oo,