Back in the Game

My goodness has it been a long time since I last wrote a post! I'm pretty sure my audience is basically zero at the moment, but I digress...

I'm finishing up my Spring semester of senior year at college - Eeep! Where has time gone? 

Anyhow, I figured that I would ease back into posting with a simple snack I had the other day: goat cheese with pesto, olive oil, and black pepper; local golden tomatoes; melba toasts.

No Meal-Plan

At the end of my sophomore year of college, I decided that I would "liberate" myself from the chains of  the much despised meal-plan. The idea was that I would grocery shop either weekly or biweekly, and for the most part prepare all my meals myself. Now halfway through my junior year, I can reflect on the semester past and say this:

I definitely made the right choice. 

Yes, cooking from scratch does take some time (though not eons like one might think) and there was an adjustment period; but I see these things as small potatoes. The time I spend cooking is one of the few precious moments during the day where I can escape from the insanity and immense pressures of the academic world.

For a split second, my sole focus and responsibility is the approximately 6' X 6' area immediately around me - consisting of the stove, some pots and pans, produce, seasonings, and my knives and cutting board. The rhythm of knife making contact with cutting board as I chop a carrot or dice an onion is strangely soothing. Flicking a few water droplets into a pan and hearing the telltale "I'm ready" sizzle as water makes contact with oil. Garlic permeating the air only seconds after being tossed into the pan. A sprinkle of this, a dash of that - oh, and I can't forget a bit this too! In that moment, all is good and right with my world.

Below is the first meal I created after classes had officially begun - sometime in late August or early September 2013. It features a Chinese sausage and vegetable stir-fry, golden cherry tomatoes, and cilantro-lime-Thai basil rice. 

Baked Egg in Avocado

Yes, you read that right. 

I baked an egg in an avocado.

This is something that I had seen several times across various food blogs, and was always curious as to what it would taste like. Well, I finally tried the concoction out for myself sometime back in July.

The verdict? - Not bad at all!

I used my handy toaster-oven to complete the job, as baking a single, lonesome avocado half in a standard-sized over seemed ridiculous to me. Overall, I really enjoyed making and eating this dish. It's something that I can see as a nice filling snack on a rainy day, or perhaps as an appetizer. The prep work was all of 2 minutes - slice open avocado and remove pit, scoop a portion of flesh from one half, crack egg, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, bake for ~5-10 minutes at 375 °F, and enjoy hot out of the oven with a wedge of lemon. The only issue was that, for my taste at least, the egg was overcooked. Next time, I think I'll only leave the avocado in there for maybe 5 minutes and see how things turn out. 

Ingredients: (makes 2 servings)

• 1 avocado (ensure that it's ripe)
• 2 eggs
• Lemon
• Sea salt (or regular salt is fine too)
• Black pepper, freshly cracked

*Other Materials Needed: spoon, sharp knife, baking dish or foil-lined baking sheet

Directions:

1. If using a standard oven, preheat to 375 °F. (otherwise, skip this step)
2. With a nice sharp knife, split the avocado down the middle and remove the pit.
3. Scoop out some flesh from each half of the avocado. (set aside for other use or make into immediate snack)
4. Crack 1 egg into each partially-hollowed avocado half.
5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Bake for ~5-10 minutes, or until egg is done to one's liking.
7. Enjoy with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Yum.

Had this for dinner a few nights ago. Delicious. 

Vegetarian/Vegan Chili

There has definitely been a lack of posts as of late - 8 months I believe. I have been cooking on a fairly regular basis since my last post, but either: been too lazy to take pictures of my creations; or haven't had the time to type up an entry. The end of spring semester and pretty much the entirety of this [fall] semester have been hectic to say the least. But now both are over and done with, and I finally have time to just breath and relax. For the next four weeks I will be home for winter break, and I plan on using my time efficiently to enjoy life - boy, has it been a while since I've had the chance to do that! 

I made this creation last night for dinner. When I started out, I had no intentions of making chili, much less a vegetarian/vegan version. The original plan was to make quinoa with a few vegetables mixed in and to have that alongside something else. However, when the quinoa was a few minutes shy of being done, I had the idea to add some canned tomatoes (stewed to be exact) to the mix. I started out with perhaps a quarter of a small, 14.5 oz. can but then chose to pour the whole thing in. Then I somehow thought to add a bit of cumin, and before I knew it, I had quinoa that tasted like chili! This is basically how I start out making regular, non-vegetarian chili - of course some variety of ground meat (generally 85/15 beef) would be used in place of the quinoa. I don't have any pictures at the moment - didn't take any right after making it or just now when I had some of the leftovers - but I still have plenty in the fridge, so I will update this post with pictures when I have them.

Vegetarian/Vegan Chili

(makes 3-4 small to medium servings, or 2-3 regular sized servings)

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 cup broth (or water)
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 small (14.5 oz.) canned tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. olive oil*
• 1-2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1-2 tsp. red chili flakes
• 2 tsp. sugar*
• salt & pepper to taste

Begin cooking quinoa according to package instructions. Generally speaking, it should be 1 part quinoa to 2 parts liquid (like rice), cook on high for ~1 min. until mixture boils, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for another 10 min. or so. I also added the olive oil along with the broth/water. The olive oil (or any oil) can be omitted if you'd like; I chose to use it because I like the flavor it adds to the dish.

When the quinoa is about halfway done, add the vegetables and garlic. Feel free to use as much or as little - and also any type of vegetable(s) - as you wish; I included carrots and red bell pepper because that's what I had on hand. Incorporate the can of tomatoes and also the seasonings (cumin, red chili flakes, salt, pepper). I just eyeballed the cumin and red chili flakes by first pouring some into my palm before dumping it into the pot. After doing this and taking a taste, I felt that the chili was on the bitter side (perhaps too much cumin? - I think I managed to add more than a tablespoon), so I added a small amount of sugar to counter that. 

Allow the chili to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 min. or so to allow flavors to incorporate and develop. Serve and enjoy alone or with a starch such as pasta, rice, or bread. 

This chili can be made into a soup by adding more liquid to the mix. 

*When making this, I used chicken broth that I had sitting in the freezer, so what I made was technically neither vegetarian, much less vegan. But that chicken broth can easily be replaced with water or vegetable broth, which would make the dish vegan.

It's Been a While

It certainly has been a while since the last time I posted. Spring semester started out pretty carefree, but it soon inundated me with work from various classes. But there are only two weeks left - I can't believe that it  all went so quickly!

On a more somber note, one of the best friends I've ever had, Hooligan #1 (Bacci) passed away two days after I returned to school after having been home for a week during spring break. He was almost four years old - just two months away from it in fact. I distinctly recall getting up early that morning to study a bit for a quiz that I had for an 11am class. As I was walking into the restroom, I saw the text from my dad - Bacci was gone. Just like that. He had been fine while I was home for winter break, but didn't look too good the entire time I was there for spring break. Even knowing that, I didn't expect him to go so soon. My original plans for that week in March involved going to Honduras with a medical brigade, but that fell through - and thank goodness that it did. The last seven days or so I was to ever spend with my little green stink bug are something that I will remember and cherish always.

I miss him.

No more head-scratch sessions with him.

No more picking up tiny green feathers that had been molted.

When I arrive home after my last final exam, there will only be one food bowl to fill.

One budgie to give treats to.

Don't get me wrong here - I love Ciri just as much as I loved (and still do) Bacci. But there's a void that's resulted in the wake of his passing - both in the physical and emotional sense.

If only I could see and feel him one more time, just for a moment. I would give him little scratches until the feathers on his head puffed up like a multicolored blowfish, tell him I love him, and most importantly, say goodbye.

Tastes Like Chicken

All I can say is this: yum! Below is a picture of the remnants of my dinner - seasoned steak fries and "gator bites" from a local eatery called Bayou Hot Wings. I placed my order and received the golden crispy pieces of amazing within ten minutes time.

Delicious.

Now if only I had some more...