Chic(ken)pea Salad

I bought some dried chickpeas and I had to figure out something to do with them that wasn't hummus.  I am over hummus. To get them ready for whatever evil plan I had for them, I first soaked the dried chickpeas overnight with kombu (a seaweed, it helps break down their enzymes).  Then boiled and drained them. I decided to make  a faux chicken/tuna salad. I mashed them slightly with the handblender with:

•  mayo- not too much, gross
•  fish sauce, chung king vinegar - to get it tasting meat like 
• garlic powder
• curry powder, ground dill, and chili powder - to get the flavors I like in chicken salad
• then add cut up sugar snap pea because I didn't have celery

I put it on toasted bread with some kale. Delicious, healthy, cheap. 

Quick Pickle Sandwich

I am like real poor these days. It sucks. So, I have to be creative with my eating. Despite my lack of cash, I refuse to have a bad meal, life is too short.


You can pick up a bunch of radishes for a dollar and a cucumber for even less.   


For my cucumbers, I just sliced and covered in salt and a light douse of white vinegar. I didn't completely cover them in vinegar because I have found it can get soggy. They can be eaten immediately or you can wait for more sourness. 


I usually slice my radishes and eat them raw with course salt and vinegar. I really love vinegar. This time I tried something different. I made a brine using this recipe as a starting point. I added some coriander and some kombucha just for fun. These need a day to be ready. 


The cucumbers and radishes work as a snack, but they can become a poor girl's lunch on some bread with cream cheese (low-fat, duh). 

Things These Days (3 1/2 Year Update)

Since my move to Philly for law school and my blog obligations to my baby Midtown Lunch Philly, Fressa Girl dried up and became the neglected old maid who I forget to send greeting cards to on holidays. Some things have changed since I started this blog 3 1/2 years ago. I have a J.D. now... which is super great because it means I have the Bar exam in a few weeks followed by unemployment for an unknown duration. Other things haven't changed, food still makes me the most happy. So, since my readers are long gone, I may start posting the recipes and crafting that I do when I am procrastinating, just to keep track.

I'll start off with a sad story/ recent food creation. Someone stole my basil plant off my front stoop! Who does that? Before he was taken from me I was able to use his lovely leaves in a scape basil pesto. I got the scaped for a dolla at the farmers market. Most pesto recipes call for pine nuts. But pine nuts are expensive! So I substituted sunflower seeds and a handful of my roommates almonds.  I threw in some frozen shrimp and lima beans for added protein. It works. I hope my basil is being properly maintained and watered with care in this heat wave. What a jerk.

Speaking of Pickles: 2-day Pickled Broccoli and my new pickle necklace

Did I mention that I was obsessed with pickles? And more importantly, do you pickle your broccoli stems? Because you really should. The NYTimes once mentioned a basic recipe for doing this and since then I have pickled all the broccoli stems left over from when I make broccoli, which gives me even more of a reason to make broccoli in the first place. Its a quick pickling process and so easy to make.

The first step is to get rid of the harder outer layer with a veggie peeler. Cut it up to your desired shape; sometimes I do long spears, but this week my broccoli was shorter so I went with round pieces. Put them in a container and cover with salt, shake it up to coat it.

Refrigerate over night. In the morning drain the water and add olive oil, apple cider vinegar, ground pepper, chopped garlic and any other spice of your choice- I like mustard powder for example.

By dinner time, your broccoli should be ready enough to enjoy.

Lookie, what came in the mail this week- my pickle necklace I ordered from roscata.com. I am a happy fashionable pickle lover now. Check out her most adorable food jewelry.

Mixed grains, veggies, and ricotta salata (see mom, I can be healthy)

I made it to Cheese of the World in Forest Hills before it closed up for the day and got inspired for my dinner. The ricotta salata was pretty cheap- about $7 a pound (in contrast to a fave of mine, Midnight Moon, that I also picked up which is $24) I figured I could somehow make a dinner with this. I need to eat a bit healthy to make up for the glutton fest in Philly this weekend (post to come). I prepared a Trader Joe grain medley. I threw in two chopped tomatoes, a diced red onion, and asparagus that I steamed and then sauteed. I used only a pad of butter when cooking the grains and a few tablespoons of olive oil for the asparagus, thats not too bad right? I use cilantro, parsley, and scallion all the damn time, so with this I used dill to change it up. Salt, pepper, and some apple cider vinegar added some flavor, but the ricotta salata pulled it all together. I like the colors that are going on and I have enough for my lunch today.

Wonton Time

I bought some wonton skins from a market in Flushing and attempted to make some dumplingish things. I was very pleased with the stuffing: pork, scallion, garlic, and the part that I thought added the most- sauteed shitake mushroom. I threw in soy sauce, vinagar, hot sauce, and other spices to the mix.

I did the fold over and pinch with a fork method, which worked when I boiled them, but when I tried to crisp them a bit by pan frying, they mostly fell apart. Oh, well- at least the taste was there. I probably should have folded the ends over and made them more wonton-y. Next time.

But what to do with the extra wonton skins...

Oreos are the answer to most food questions. I crushed some up and rolled them cannoli style and did a quick deep fry. If you had to ask, yes they were awesome. Now why thisiswhyyourefat.com won't post this as an entry, I do not know. I sure think it qualifies.

Pre made Turnip Cake at home

Whether at dim sum or from a hole in the wall vender, turnip cake has that comforting combination of savory mush with contrasting crispy exterior. Although there are recipes to make it at home from scratch, my family has always preferred to buy the pre made package available at Asian grocers. For a few dollars, you can enjoy the goodness at home with minimal hassle.

You just need to slice it and throw it on a pan with a little oil. Unfortunately the first pan I used was crappy and not a non-stick so that resulted in no outer crisping and major stickage to the pan.

bad pan= fail

Luckily, I found a griddle top in my kitchen and used that for the second batch.


Ok now we are getting somewhere.

Throw on some scallions and okinamiyaki sauce from the fridge along with bok choy sauteed with scallion, garlic, shallot, mirin, and topped with a vinegar, chili oil, and sesame oil. Its healthy, easy, and really cheap, with enough leftovers for my lunch today.

I made strawberry jam

The supermarkets in Flushing often have amazing produce deals. Last weekend I picked up 2 pints of strawberries for $1. The only problem is that while they look great for 24 hours, they quickly get nasty. Instead of throwing out my second pint, I made a little batch of strawberry jam. It was super easy and tastes delicious. Sugar, sliced strawberries, and lemon juice are boiled and then simmered until it all gels up.

I used this recipe http://www.portlandpreserve.com/smallbatchjam.pdf, but since some of my berries were not usable I had less than a pint and used 3/4 cup of sugar.

Its such an easy, simple thing to do but it results in a lot of happiness. At least I think so. 

And it makes for a bangin pb&j.

.

Thai Stir Fry

Made this last week and it came out pretty darn good and was pretty darn fast and easy. We cut up flank steak and added is to a stir fry of asparagus, peppers, garlic, mushrooms, red and yellow onions, with vinegar, lime juice, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and a lot of cilantro. Its healthy balance of meat and veggies. 

Chocolate Balls

Lookie here what I made for my office.  Oreo truffle bally thingers! And guess what, you can do it too. My apologies if these little guys are not so easy on the eye, but trust me, they taste like a dream. I used 2 sleeves of one oreo container and crushed them up. Then I added a package of cream cheese and smushed it all together. I rolled them into about 40-50 little ballies and chilled them in the fridge. While they chillaxed, I melted 3/4 a package of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a make-shift double broiler. I rolled the chilled balls in the chocolate, added some more oreo crumbs on top and popped them back in the fridge. Use your imagination for other toppings and coatings. I have had a request to make peanut butter chocolate truffle balls next. Easy breezy, and everyone loves them.