beef stout stew

Le Creuset!  When one is fortunate enough to have a boyfriend who stalks ebay in order to purchase an affordable used cast iron pot, it is imperative to break it in with a warming stew.  Though beef bourguignon would probably be most peoples' dish of choice, I wanted to do something slightly simpler and less iconic.  I decided on Diana Henry's "Beef Carrot Stout Stew" for my inaugural dish, and the result was a very homey and pleasant dinner.  I made the onion-breadcrumb dumplings she included, but did not find them to add that much to the stew.  

1. Brown 2 lbs stew meat in 2 tbsp olive or peanut oil in an oven-proof pot. Remove from pot.
2. Brown 2 chopped leeks, 6 medium chopped carrots in 1 tbsp oil.
3. Add 12 oz. stout to the pot after vegetables have browned, then add 2.75 cups water, .5 cup pearl barley, and the browned meat. 
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and place into 325 degree oven for 2 hours.

If you decide to make the dumplings:
1. Saute 1/2 large diced onion in 1 tbsp butter.
2. Combine with 1.5 cups breadcrumbs, .25 cups chopped parsley, 3 tbsp creamy horseradish (next to the mayo in the grocery store), and 1 large egg.  
3. Mix and shape into balls; place on top of beef stew for 20 minutes covered and 10 minutes covered.  

Autumny!

ghettofab taco bites

If you have ever met an insufferable California native, you will note their obsessive discussion about REAL mexican food and how, as an East coaster, you cannot possibly fathom the complexity of tastes and spices that can only be found in various food trucks and food stalls. However, instead of accepting their assumed superiority, I suggest we fight back with our own interpretation of tacos. With most of our Mexicans working the kitchens of Japanese and Italian restaurants, we have little to fall back on that is much better than the infamous taco bell (I won't capitalize it so you can visualize the shame). When you're not in the mood for grade F beef, you can make your own version at home with delightful packets of taco seasoning. The result is a heavily addictive and satisfying flavored beef that all coasts can enjoy in peace.

1. Brown 1 lb ground beef. Drain, add 2/3 cup water and packet of taco seasoning.

2. Wash and dice two tomatoes, one bunch cilantro, and red leaf lettuce.

3. Warm wheat or corn tortillas for 1:30 in the microwave.

4. Offer a wide range of hot sauces and salsas.

Feeds 3 to satiation or 2 to overstuffedness.

new directions

As the past two months have largely prevented me from eating appropriate, and at times sanitary, meals, I have decided to share one such creation with you before I embark on a hopefully more healthful and appetizing month. Here is my latest proud creation, microwaved baked beans that have been rinsed (to wash off excess sugar) and topped with slightly dried out smoked salmon:

kale!

Today Jen and I started our afternoon by doing shots of vegetable juices. I brought my silly little juicer over to her place with a bag of spinach, carrots, beet greens, and kale. Jen insisted we use shot glasses and thus we began with the spinach. Now, though much juicing takes place in my mother's home, it has never been of vegetables by themselves, without loads of apples and oranges sweetening the taste. The spinach tasted awful, like tiny particles of anger fighting to invade your brain through your palate. We followed with carrot, which wasn't awful, but kale, truly the king of juiced vegetables, tasted like gasoline. I never thought I'd be able to say something tasted worse than wheatgrass. Strangely, however, we both felt quite full after those three shotglasses, most likely due to bodily reaction that rejected any more ingestion.

When I got home, I decided to make a hearty soup that could be stored and eaten in busy times. Since I had soaked white beans the night before, a can of tomatos, and leftover kale, I could make a white bean soup! I first boiled the beans for about an hour with sauteed onion, rosemary, and salt, then added a can of diced tomatoes, chicken bouillon, and sliced kale (no stems!). The bean broth after cooking was so delicious I couldn't throw it out (thus leading to bits of rosemary floating around the finished soup), and the calm consistency of the kale nicely complements the tanginess of the tomato. Hopefully it will be just as delicious reheated!

so fierce and so clean

If I had an alter ego, she would be named Beyoncé. You can't say her name without attitude. I hadn't realized her new album was out until I walked into Best Buy, with the glamorous intention of buying a vacuum cleaner, when I saw her poster and let out a very uninhibited "whoaaaaa" despite the many employees circling the entrance. Her first single Run the World was awful, but the video had sick choreography and costume. Watching her perform always puts me in awe but also makes me feel inconsolable turmoil, as I am filled with the strongest longing to quit my day job and work at jazz clubs until I make it as a singing dancing sensation, but also the hard bitter truth that I neither have the talent nor dedication for that business. Nevertheless, her entire album is available to stream. It's her first self-managed album after her year hiatus. Enjoy!


P.S. About that vacuum cleaner. It has changed my life. I had been using a handheld to no avail, leaving me with a carpet from which I could grab fistfuls of hair. I finally realized hygiene was hygiene and shelled out the $100 for a proper upright Hoover. I had every intention of returning it after purchasing, but after filling up half the container with possibly a year's worth of dirt and hair (I don't judge you), I am never going to let anyone pry this machine out of my hands. Best purchase all year.

pesto cheddar crostinis, tea, and musings

I write to you from a sleep-deprived haze. Unlike the trials and tribulations of my classmates who are helping to save lives in hospitals, I found myself staying up all night due to a curious case of animal psychology. I awoke an hour after falling asleep to the sound of paper bags crunching and chairs being pushed around. After a moment of annoyance that my cat baby was pouncing about the kitchen, I decided to get up to play with him to tire him out. I grabbed his laser pointer and tried to get him to play, but he only looked casually at it and did not chase after it in a frenzy as he is apt to do. I put the laser pointer away, and noticed that he had run into the bathroom. As he never went into the bathroom without a person to bother, I followed him out of curiosity. Then I noticed a mouse on the floor. A small, grey, adorable mouse baby. And what was my cat baby doing?? Not attacking it ferociously as I would expect, but instead pouncing, holding the mouse in his mouth, and then releasing him to play with him more. At first I was annoyed. Was this senseless behavior the result of a cat living in luxury? That he would cease to perform basic cat duties in favor of finding himself through play? But as I watched him play I felt a sense of sympathy for his loneliness, that he would play with a mouse because he had no other cat friends to play with. Since I felt it irresponsible to have seen a mouse and let it go, I decided to let him play with the mouse to his heart's content by closing the bathroom door. Later on the evening, I opened it to find a nonchalant cat with a mangled mouse body. So he was useful for something after all. This was followed by another such mouse chase, hours of squeaking and pouncing, to be followed by crunching and another headless mouse body.

Pumpkin, having had his fill, left me no choice but to wake up and make my own breakfast. The winner of my Whole Foods shopping trip was a mild white cheddar cheese from the deli, $5 a pound and extremely flavorful. I toasted sprouted whole wheat bread, chopped smoked turkey and sauteed with cumin (cumin makes everything taste better, no?), and melted the cheese squares on top. Then I finished with a dollop of pesto, and poured milk into my lovely English breakfast tea. Though I did not attack my crostinis or paw at them for hours, I very much enjoyed this delightful breakfast!