I've Moved!

I went ahead and gave in and got myself a proper website. Blogger has been useful but it's just not what I want in terms of layout and accessibility.

You can now find me at www.eat52weeks.com

I still need to tweak it and make it more "me" but it's up and running and has all these posts. Hope to see you there!

Pad Thai

You might have noticed I only prepared three Costa Rican meals, compared to the four to five that I have been making. The biggest reason for this was that I couldn't find a lot of Costa Rican meals; apparently they don't have a large diet. I know this can't be true because, hello, there are more than two people living in that country, but it was hard to find a lot of recipes that were appealing and different from each other. Most of the recipes involved rice and beans, which is fine, but that can be boring after a couple of days. I had read that a big part of Tico diet is rice and beans so I expected that going into researching meals but I had no idea just HOW big. They're like in every meal. I've stated numerous times how much I love rice and beans but even though that love is strong, it's not every day strong. It's more like once a week strong. Maybe even every couple of week strong. What I'm saying is that Costa Rican food has made me rethink my relationship with rice and beans. So if anything came out of last week's cooking, it's that rice and beans and I are now in therapy and working out some stuff.

We'll be fine. I know we will.

Moving on.

This week we're eating Thai food. I was and am super excited about this week! I haven't had a lot of experience with Thai food but what I have eaten has been great so I know this week will make my belly very happy! Since I didn't really enjoy looking up recipes online for Turkey and Costa Rica weeks, and because I know I'll want to make more of this cuisine, I went out and bought a Thai cookbook. Today's meal, however, came courtesy of my running partner. Last week I mentioned I was doing Thai food and she said she had some great recipes a friend had shared with her so, here is Usha's Friend's Pad Thai

Ingredients

2 handfuls of rice sticks, soaked in cold water for an hour. When shopping for my rice sticks, which are also known as rice noodles, I was very overwhelmed with the selection. There are a lot of rice sticks/noodles out there! That's when I busted out my trusty phone and Googled it. Rice sticks/noodles come in different sizes: small, medium, and large. It's apparently up to you to decide what size you want but from what I read, you can't go wrong with medium. You also want to use sticks/noodles that were made in Thailand because they are made differently than in other countries. I can't remember the details and I could Google it but I'm tired. I just spent an hour arguing with the waste company that services our neighborhood over a replacement trash can. I learned a lot about how trash works in this area and I just can't learn any more right now. My brain will literally not take anything else in.

2 small bunches of Chinese chives or green onions, chopped into 1 1/2 in long pieces. I used green onions but I wish I would have used the Chinese chives because they are pretty! I don't know about the flavor but if we're going on looks, sorry green onions, you do not win this contest.

2 tsp oil

1 shallot, minced

2 eggs

4 oz extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes and deep fried. Use double the amount if not using another protein.

6 shrimp or 2 oz chicken. Or just use tofu.

1 tsp salted radish. I couldn't find this so I didn't use it.

1/2 tsp roasted Thai chili flakes. I used regular red pepper flakes. If you want to make Thai chili flakes, buy dried Thai chilis and roast in a pan or in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes. Then put them in a food processor and blend until they're flakes.

2 handfuls bean sprouts

2 tbsps crushed roasted peanuts

lime wedges

For the sauce

2 tbsps fish sauce

2 tbsps palm sugar

1 tbsp white sugar

2 tbsps tamarind water. To make tamarind water, soak a tablespoon of tamarind paste in water for 10 minutes and strain.

Drain the noodles. Make the sauce by simmering the sauce, sugars, and tamarind water until the sugars dissolve. Heat the oil in the wok and fry the shallots until fragrant. Add the eggs and stir. Add the tofu (and shrimp or chicken if using), chili flakes, and radish. Stir until tofu is heated through and then add the noodles. Turn up the heat and stir fry until the noodles are translucent and almost brown. Add the sauce and a pinch of chili powder. Stir for a few more minutes and then add most of the bean sprouts and chives. Cook for another thirty seconds. The noodles should be sweet, sour, and salty.

Serve with lime wedges, roasted peanuts,and the rest of the bean sprouts and chives.

I made more than two handfuls of noodles but I did not double the amount of sauce so my Pad Thai came out a little dry. I don't know why I didn't double the sauce, I remember thinking to myself "You're making more noodles, double the sauce" but I just forgot when I started cooking. I'm going to blame the girls, they probably distracted me. 

Even with it being a little dry, it was delicious! It wasn't as good as other Pad Thai I've had but that's probably more on the chef than the recipe. That sauce really makes a big difference. I actually made Pad Thai once a long, long time ago, but the recipe was more Americanized. I remember it was pretty bland and I now know why: the palm sugar. When preparing the sauce, I instantly recognized the sauce I've come to know when eating Pad Thai at a restaurant. My point is do not skip out on the palm sugar. If you want authentic Pad Thai, you need this. You also need to double the amount of sauce if you're making more than two handfuls of noodles. 

Casado

Casado means "married" in Spanish. The story behind this meal is that it was traditionally eaten by newlyweds on their wedding night. Since they hadn't lived together before and didn't know what the other liked, the meal featured a little bit of everything so they could learn what the other did and didn't like. I've also read that it got its name from "marrying" a bunch of different flavors. I like the former explanation because it makes me laugh that people didn't talk about what foods they liked during courtship. I feel like that would be the easiest discussion to have.

"My favorite color is green and my favorite food is fried chicken."

"That's really interesting. I hate fried chicken. Date and possible marriage is over. Bye."

Maybe that's why they didn't talk about likes and dislikes during courtship...

Ingredients

4 pork chops

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 cup beef broth

2 plantains, peeled and sliced

1 small head of lettuce, chopped. I used iceberg.

1 sliced tomato

1 carrot, grated. I didn't do this because I didn't feel like grating a tiny carrot.

Vinaigrette, for salad

3 cups white rice, cooked

3 cups black beans, cooked

4 eggs, fried or hard boiled. I hard boiled 2.

1 cup queso fresco, sliced

Tortillas

Season the chops with salt, pepper, and crushed garlic; set aside. Heat veggie oil in a pan and cook the chops to your liking. Deglaze the pan with beef broth and let it boil. Reduce to 1/3 cup and set aside.

In a separate pan, fry the plantain slices in oil until golden brown.

Prepare the salad by seasoning the tomato and grated carrot with S&P and the vinaigrette. Set aside.

The recipe said to assemble the meal on a banana leaf but I didn't have banana leaves. The portions should all be served side by side.

I was expecting this meal to be really heavy with the fried chops, plantains, and egg but it wasn't. Everything melded together to create a really tasty, filling meal. I prepared the beans by boiling them with a bay leaf and cumin so they were a little more flavorful than usual but I don't think that made a huge difference overall. 

The girls ate everything but the plantains, which isn't surprising. They're not fond of bananas so I wasn't expecting them to be into the plantains.

Another fantastic, easy meal! Also, I'd like to point out that if I married a guy and then found out on our wedding night that he didn't like any of the components of this meal. I'd ask for a divorce.

Olla de Carne

Olla de Carne translates to "pot of meat" but I feel like there wasn't a lot of actual meat in this recipe. The recipe called for two pounds of beef and roughly four and a half pounds of vegetables. It reminded me of Caldo de Res, which is Mexican beef stew, but with more root veggies.

This was by far the easiest meal I've prepared so far. It was also one of the most boring.

Ingredients

I forgot to take a pic of the ingredients, which was probably the most interesting part.

8 cups water

1 lbs lean beef, cut into 3-4 in pieces

1 lbs lean beef short ribs, cut into 3-4 in pieces

1 cup diced potato

1 lb cassava, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces. Cassava is also known as yucca.

1 lb carrots, chopped

5 corn on the cobs, cut into 3 in pieces

1 lb taro root, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces. I couldn't find taro root so I excluded it.

1 lb sweet potato, cut into bite sized pieces

3 green plantains, peeled and cut into 3 in pieces.

S&P to taste

Heat the water and add salt and beef; cook for 20 minutes. Add carrots, corn, plantains, and cassava. Wait 5 minutes and add the potato, taro, and sweet potatoes. Cook for another 25 minutes until veggies are tender. Serve with white rice.

It even looks boring.

There was just no flavor! If I had to do it again, I would add some kind of seasoning because it was just boiled meat and potatoes, Boiled meat and potatoes is not interesting. It was filling but that's because you were eating like a pound of starch. James liked it a lot and the girls really liked the corn but that's about it. Maybe I just got a bad recipe but the one I used came from costarica.com. I'm pretty sure that's legit.

Maybe I should have thrown in some cilantro...

Arroz con Pollo

This week we are becoming honorary Ticos, an honor I have bestowed upon us by eating Costa Rican food. I'm pretty sure that's how you become an honorary citizen of a country. I don't need a government to recognize me, all I have to do is eat the food. Lawyered.

By the way, I'm very well aware that's not how it works. Just in case you were wondering if I'm that dense, I'm not.

Costa Rica holds a special place in our cold, dark hearts because it's where we went for our honeymoon six years ago. Six years ago we spent ten wonderful, HOT days in Costa Rica while the rest of Austin froze in a dumb winter storm. Austin was literally frozen and we were sitting on a beach, drinking alcohol out of fruit. It was the best!

When I think back on that trip, this is what comes to mind.

This was taken in Montezuma, a small village known for its artistic community. We were at a restaurant on the beach, eating paella and befriending locals. I want to go to there.

From what I remember about Tico food, it wasn't overly complicated but still extremely flavorful. My two favorite things! I was running short on time yesterday so I chose the easiest recipe I could find, Arroz con Pollo, which is Chicken with Rice.

Ingredients

For the chicken

Whole chicken. So this was a pain. Up until last night, I had never chopped up an entire chicken. Last time I was back home, I watched as my aunt cut one up in like two minutes and was in awe at her skills. It did not take me two minutes. I also had to watch a video to learn. Save yourself the time and buy the flippin pieces separately or just use some breast meat.

 2 tbsps veggie oil

1 celery stalk

2 garlic cloves

Oregano, cumin, and S&P to taste

Heat up the oil and cut up the chicken. Place all the ingredients in a pot and fry until until the chicken is golden brown. You'll want to move the chicken around a few times. I ended up pouring in a cup of veggie broth so I could cover it and do other things. I fried it for maybe ten minutes and then boiled it for another twenty.

For the rice

The recipe called for 1 lb of white rice. I used a cup and a half.

2 tbsps veggie oil

2 carrots, thinly sliced

1 tsp annatto. I read online that annato isn't used so much for flavor as it is for color and it was suggested that paprika or tumeric would be a good substitute. I used paprika.

Salt to taste

1 15 oz of peas, drained.

Heat the oil and then fry the rice until almost brown. Add the carrots and salt. If using the pound of rice, add 1 1/4 quart water. If using 1 1/2 cups like me, add 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and then cover. Lower the heat and simmer until the rice is done. Do not mess the rice while it's cooking.  Just don't do it. Once it's done, turn off the heat and let it sit for ten minutes.

For the sauce

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 tbsps cilantro, finely chopped

1 tomato, diced

2 tsps Salsa Lizano. I didn't have this but I read that Worcestershire sauce is a good substitute so I used that.

1 15 oz can of tomato paste

Heat the oil and saute the onion, bell pepper, tomato, Lizano sauce, and salt. Add in the tomato paste and heat through.

Combine the chicken and sauce on low heat for two minutes. Stir in the rice and peas and cover for five minutes.

What this recipe failed to mention, but what pictures of Arroz con Pollo show, is that you're supposed to shred the meat. I didn't do that because I just learned that today.

D for presentation but A+ for taste! It was slightly reminiscent of the Arroz con Chancho from a couple of weeks back but not as rich. I was surprised by how juicy and tender the breast was because it takes a lot to get chicken breast to be juicy. The baby loved it but the three year old almost died when I gave her a spoonful of rice. She choose Goldfish crackers instead.

This is the second week I'm using an online recipe instead of a cookbook and I have to say, I prefer cookbooks. I feel like the online recipes are kinda rushed and I get it, you get tired of being so thorough when you've been typing for a while, but I wouldn't mind a bit more detail. It doesn't seem to be hurting my cooking so maybe that's just my Type A personality coming out.

Anyway, I'm excited about Costa Rica week. I need some alcohol in fruit!

Kiymali Pide

Kiymali Pide is basically Turkish pizza. I wasn't really looking forward to making this because it involved making dough and using lamb. My success rate in making breads for this project has not been good. It's actually been really terrible so I was a little worried about that part. As for the lamb, I think I've mentioned before that I'm not a fan of lamb and I was afraid we'd have a repeat of the Finnish Liver Casserole...

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 350

I didn't take a pic of the ingredients for the dough.

3 cups plus 1 tbsp flour

1 tsp salt

4 tsps yeast

1 cup warm water

3 tbsp olive oil

Dissolve the yeast in a half cup of the warm water. Let it sit for five minutes until it's frothy. Mix the 3 cups of flour and salt together. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Pour in the other half cup of water and mix well. Knead with your hands for 3-5 minutes, until the dough is smooth. The recipe says the dough can get sticky so you can pour in the additional tablespoon and flour to help with that. I didn't have this happen. Place the dough in a large bowl and cover it with cling film. Let it rest for an hour in a warm place so it can double in size.

For the filling

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped

14 oz ground beef, lamb, or mixture. I used lamb.

2 tomatoes, deseeded and diced. I didn't have tomatoes so I used 2 tbsps tomato paste.

1 tbsp lemon juice. I didn't have any lemons so I just eliminated it.

1 tbsp olive oil

1 egg plus 1 tbsp olive oil to brush on the bread

S&P to taste

Saute the olives and peppers until soft. Add the tomatoes, lemon juice, and S&P. Turn off the heat. Mix the veggies with the meat in a bowl.

After the dough has risen, place it on a lightly floured surface and knead for another minute. Divide the dough into two rolled balls. Roll each ball into an oval shape of about 8"x16" and .2" thick. Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the ovals on the tray. I used two trays and you want to put the dough on the tray before putting in the filling. It's hard to transport onto a tray after the fact. Spread the filling evenly onto each oval and leave about a 2 cm at the edges without filling. Fold in the sides to keep the filling intact and squeeze the ends together to make a point. Brush the edges with the egg/oil mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

These were a lot tastier than I expected! The crust was really light, which surprised me because I guess I was expecting something like greasy, pizza dough. It was also crispy and not too thick. The filling was great, too. I think it would have tasted gamier had I used fresh tomatoes but the tomato paste offset that flavor. I had to plan this meal a little more because of the amount of time it took to let the dough rise but this would be good on a night when I have more time. I think it would be just as good with beef and definitely more accessible.

The girls ate hot dogs and yogurt.

Fava Bean Dip, Halloumi Salad, Iskender Kebap, and Sekerpare

We had friends over for this meal so I went a little crazy on the dishes. Normally I make one or two dishes, depending on the amount of time each one takes, but I was really ambitious and did four! It also helped that they came over on a Saturday night so I had all of Saturday to prepare instead of the usual one or two hours during weeknight dinners.

Since there are four different recipes, I'm just going to link to them because I'm expecting this post to be long. No one wants to scroll that much!

First up, Fava Bean Dip

*instert cheesy Hannibal Lecter joke* This was really easy to make, even with my Vitamix. I've had to play around with the setting on the Vitamix to get the right smooth consistency with dips, which is something I didn't have to do with my old food processor, but I work with what I have. I didn't have dill so I used a combination of oregano and parsley. I read on other sites that dill is what "makes" this dip so I'm sure it's even better than what I made but I still liked this a lot. It looks like hummus but a little grainier and a lot sweeter. The red pepper flakes add a nice kick to it, too! I actually just ate some so 1. it refrigerates well and 2. it's yummy even four days later!

Halloumi Salad with Peppers

Um, halloumi cheese is amazing! When reading over the recipe, I was particularly interested in that halloumi doesn't melt easily because of it's high heat index. A cheese that doesn't melt?! What is this sorcery???? All four of us were amazed by the cheese! It had a weird consistency that I have trouble describing, although one guest said it reminded him of string cheese. I can agree with that but the halloumi was still crunchier? That's not the right word. Go try it for yourself, you will love it! I used spinach with this salad and everything went together perfectly! The simple dressing of olive oil, oregano, and red pepper flakes is one I will use again for sure.

Iskender Kebab

Iskender Kebab made all that "Must Eat" lists. I was a little wary because, c'mon, it's kebab. Have you ever seen those rotating kebab grills? I don't have one of those! The recipe said to saute the meat but I used the broiler in my oven instead. If I make this again, I'll saute the peppers and tomatoes separately because I was afraid of drying the meat so I took everything out after seven minutes and the peppers weren't as soft as I would have preferred. I'll also toast the pita bread because it was kinda blah with the rest of the meal. The meat was super tender and juicy, though. When making the marinade, I made the mistake of sniffing the onion juice. Don't do that! Unless you want your eyes to full on cry for a couple of minutes, then go for it. I marinaded the meat for six hours instead of overnight and it was just as good.

Sekerpare

When I found this recipe involving semolina, I was really anxious to try it. I'd had such success with the Burmese semolina cake that I thought preparing it in a different manner would be fun. The cookies were so easy to make that my three year old literally did most of the work. They came out fantastic as well! They were really light and sweet and the lemony taste was very subtle.

I think this was a great dinner meal. Everyone liked it and yes, it was a little labor intensive, but that was expected given the amount of food. All four are keepers!