The Budget College Cook

Corn, Tomato and Bacon Salad

2009-08-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

I'm back...sorta. Anyhow, this is easy, fast and everything you need is probably at your local farmers market or grocery store.

1. Saute 2 pieces of bacon until brown and crisp. The bacon fat is the only oil in this dish so don't get rid of it.

2. Throw in half of a minced red onion and half of a minced jalapeno (or more to taste). Saute until onion is translucent. Add salt.

3. Throw in the kernels from one ear of corn. Cook for roughly five or so minutes.

4. Allow corn mixture to cool slightly and then add in lime juice to taste and some chopped tomato. I used one large, fist sized heirloom tomato.

5. Add some corn mixture to plate.

6. Grab a few handfuls of salad greens and add to the remaining corn mixture. With any luck, the warm corn mixture will slightly wilt the greens.

7. Adjust seasoning...lime juice, minced jalapeno and salt.

8. Add salad green/corn mixture to plate.

9. Optional. Garnish with toasted bread. I mashed up some avocado with lime and salt and used that as topping.

10. Eat!

Time- 20 Minutes

Cost: 40 cents for avocado, 1 buck for salad greens, 1 buck for bacon, 50 cents for corn, 2 bucks for tomato, incidentals 75 cents. 'Bout $6.00, total.

Nopa

2009-07-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco. I'm not big on the whole Cal-Mediterranean thing (wood burning ovens are de rigeur in this city) but NOPA has one of my favorite dishes EVER. Little fried fish. I dream about these things. The rest of the menu is solid, affordably priced and they have a neat cocktail menu. Loud and crowded if you go during prime time but they're open until 1AM so going late is a definite possibility. Grazing on nothing but appetizers is how I usually roll when I go. Try to score a seat at the bar in front of the open kitchen---if you're lucky, the chef will be working the pass next to you and you can grill him (no pun intended) on what's good. Dinner and theater, all rolled up in one.

560 Divisadero St
(between Fell St & Hayes St)
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 864-8643
www.nopasf.com

Mixed Fruit Crisp

2009-06-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

Boy, I've never blogged from my office computer so don't blame me if this sucks. I need a dual-core processor to properly do this, see?

Keith, this one is for you. Recipe is taken from The New Best Recipe.

I made a double recipe which fits nicely into a 9x13 baking dish.

INGREDIENTS

Topping

3/4 cup AP flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

1 stick of butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1.5 cups of chopped nuts...I used walnuts...feel free to use whatever you have on hand.

Filling

3 lbs (or so) of cut up fruit--i used approximately 3 lbs of nectarines/apricots (post-chopping weight) and 1/2 lb of boysenberries

zest of 2 lemons

3-5 tablespoons of lemon juice (use your taste buds)

1/3 to 2/3 cup of sugar (again, use your tastebuds...if your fruit isn't very sweet, add a bit more sugar...if you over did it on the lemon juice, add sugar to compensate)

(Advanced move...I made a corn starch slurry with the lemon juice to help thicken the filling...feel free to do the same if you so wish)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk together flour, sugar, spices and salt. Add cubed butter and, using a pair of knives, "cut" the butter until it is pea-sized. If you're lazy, just squeeze the butter and flour/sugar mixture until it's totally homogeneous. Nobody will know the difference. Mix in the nuts until evenly distributed. Refrigerate the topping for at least 15 minutes.

Process the fruit. If you're using stone fruit, please make sure you're not an idiot like I am and don't buy clingfruit. Freestone, please. At any rate, you just want chunks of fruit. See picture:

Toss the fruit with the lemon zest, sugar and lemon juice.

Distribute the chilled topping over the fruit:

Place crisp into oven. Bake for about an hour.

Serve! It's great warm or room temperature. Great with whipped cream or ice cream. It's a winner.

Time-15 minutes of active work, an hour of baking time.

Cost-Depends on where you buy your fruit. If you buy organic nectarines from the farmer's market, it'll cost an arm and a leg. Say, anywhere from 3-15 bucks total depending on food cost.

Random Food

2008-12-29T20:24:00.000-08:00

I've been hella lazy with posting recipes. As a consolation prize, have a looksie at the random things I've eaten over the past month.

Featured Restaurants (in order of appearance):

Han Il Kwan

1802 Balboa St
(between 19th Ave & 20th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 752-4447

Tartine Bakery

600 Guerrero St
(between 18th St & 19th St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 487-2600

Vietnamese Noodle House

726 Clement St
(between 8th Ave & 9th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 668-8896

Golden River

5827 Geary Blvd
(between 22nd Ave & 23rd Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 668-5105

Delfina

3621 18th St
(between Guerrero St & Oakwood St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 552-4055

Layaly

2435 Clement St
(between 25th Ave & 26th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 668-1676

Luna Park

694 Valencia St
(between 18th St & Sycamore St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 553-8584

Tanpopo

1740 Buchanan Street
(between Post St & Sutter St)
San Francisco, CA 94115

Dragon River

5045 Geary Boulevard
(between 14th Ave & 15th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118

Ton Kiang

5821 Geary Blvd
(between 22nd Ave & 23rd Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 752-4440

Swan Oyster Depot

1517 Polk St
(between California St & Sacramento St)
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 673-1101

The Cheese Steak Shop

1716 Divisadero Street
(between Bush St & Sutter St)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 346-3712

Although I love my Chinese food, I'm having an affair with Italian. I checked out A16, Delfina and Oliveto Cafe. With more to come.

Panda Country Kitchen...my favorite Chinese restaurant in San Francisco.

4737 Geary Blvd
(between 11th Ave & 12th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 221-4278

Anyone?

2008-12-27T11:14:00.000-08:00

Do any of you have experience with re-teaching yourself to play a musical instrument? I am looking for a three month plan with about 5 hours of practice per week. My goal is to get to a decent enough level to join some other amateurs for a public performance night at a local coffee shop. My background: 20 years of violin lessons, attended a prestigious music conservatory where I studied with, his-eminence, Victor Danchenko. I was playing at a fairly high level when I quit but went cold turkey for 7 years. There is significant rust.

I am thinking scales and arpeggios (played against a drone to check intonation), double stops (thirds, fourths and sixths), and slow bow exercises for the first month. With a metronome, of course.

After the first month, let's hit up some Kreutzer etudes! With rhythms and bowings.

For the third month, I think I'll play it by ear (no pun intended).

I also need to buy new strings and get my bow re-haired.

Wakakusa Nabe

2008-12-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

I am currently testing hot pot recipes for an upcoming cookbook which is slated for an October 2009 release. Although I am not able to post recipes, I thought I'd post a few pics. This first hot pot featured pork and a whole mess of greens...napa cabbage, mizuna, spinach, shungiku and watercress. The broth is mirin/dashi/soy. Really, really terrific. I will definitely make this again.

Help Needed

2008-12-14T20:13:00.000-08:00

Hi gang. Sorry for not posting for nearly a month but, aside from a notable exception, I've not cooked anything worth mentioning for quite some time.

Anyhow, I'm here to see if any of you want to help out in my kitchen and be a taste-tester! I'm doing some recipe testing for an upcoming cookbook on Japanese hot pot dishes and have three recipes I need to create and taste. Given that the recipes make far too much food for one person, I need mouths to food! So, you help out in the kitchen and, in return, get fed!

If you are interested, drop me a line at mikeczyz@gmail.com

The Omnivore's Hundred

2008-11-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late to the party but here goes:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOBAMA

2008-11-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

That is all. GObama!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

I hope that you had a good time. I'm currently sitting at home drinking martinis (gin, ftw) listening to Mozart ( K. 365) at an ear-splitting volume while contemplating whether or not I should shower and head out for the night. I think I'll walk to a bookstore and browse cookbooks....

And, oh yah, I'm really bummed. My favorite part of Halloween is handing out candy to the lil' trick-or-treaters. Not. A. Single. One. Not one. Seriously, parents. Do your damn job and take your kids out on Halloween!

NYRD06

2008-10-27T19:24:00.002-07:00

Sexy reader Nyrd06 writes,
"exactly when do you plan your meals? do you plan a week's worth the weekend before? or do you plan for two weeks? I'm curious because I'm looking for more efficient strategies/ routines for planning my meals. It's been especially hard lately because I've been busy this semester plus my dorm this year (and thus the kitchen) is not nearly as big as the one I had last year..."

Well, I typically spend 30 minutes to an hour on a Saturday or Sunday deciding what it is I want to make for the upcoming week. My final choice is a function of what we have in the 'fridge, what I'm craving, what the weather is like, whether I feel fat or not (don't laugh...this actually does play a part), what I think I can find at the local markets, which cookbook I've been reading, what I've recently seen on TV, what friends have suggested...etc. I'll generally have two index cards with shopping lists. There's usually one ingredient which might be hard to find so, if I can't find that ingredient, I have another shopping list for a different dish. Kind of anal but it's saved me on many an occasion.

I do almost all of my cooking on weekends because I have next to no time on weekday nights. I get off work around 6, grab a bus home and get back around 7. I go running most weeknights so there's another 40 minutes. I really don't have the time to go grocery shopping and cook. I need cooked meals already in the fridge.

Let's talk about how I planned for this week's meals: On Saturday, I purchased some apples at the farmers' market. I decided to cook something with those apples. I'm awful at dessert so I needed something simple...so, voila, apple crumble. That part was easy.

For the savory component of the upcoming week's meals, I peeked in the fridge. We had somewhere around 40 eggs, all nearing expiration, so I decided that I needed to do something with eggs. A frittata popped into my mind. My usual frittata recipe involves onions, potatoes and cheese. Eggs=breakfast=sausage so I decided to toss in some pork sausages. I used a combination of breakfast links and mild Italian sausage.

Frittata, even a 14 egg frittata is only going to get me through 6 meals (breakfast and dinner Monday-Wednesday...I eat lunch in the office cafeteria). I knew I needed four more meals so I kept that in mind while on my grocery shopping trip. While at the butcher, I saw some good looking steak on sale. In addition, it was still in the vacuum bag so it would last longer than an unwrapped steak. I talked to the butcher and he said that the steak would be fine until Wednesday night. Great, so I can finish the frittata on Wednesday night, cook the steak, and be set for Thursday and Friday. I need something to eat with steak so I grabbed some salad greens/lettuce. I get a little bored of rice so I grabbed some whole wheat lavash. A ha. An idea...sliced, grilled steak, lettuce...I'll make steak wraps for Thursday and Friday. Done. So, I've got dessert for the week, frittata for the first three days and steak wraps for the last two. Not a bad plan.

I find that stews, soups, braises etc. also work really well for this kind of schedule. Not only are they super convenient (just pair them with the starch of your choice), they actually taste better the longer they sit (up to a certain point...don't be an idiot about it). I guess this is why I make so many chicken curries...they're affordable, go great with rice and work well on my schedule. Also, hearty soup, bread and side salad is a fine meal although I don't do that as often.

Thinking ahead and going grocery shopping with a general plan is absolutely key. I'm definitely not one of those people who goes to the store with an open mind. Nope. If I see a great sale or an ingredient which looks especially good, I'll find a way to fit it in but I generally know exactly what I'm cooking before I go shopping. Just think about your schedule and what you can do with it. Hope this helps.

Black Bean Sauce Chicken with Onion

2008-10-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

Super duper basic chicken stir fry. This recipe uses very few odd ingredients. I'm writing on a weeknight so no time for an introduction--I'll get straight to the recipe.

This recipe is from "The Breath of a Wok" by Grace Young and Alan Richardson. If you're interested in how to cook in a wok, this is the book for you. Stir-frying, steaming, smoking, this book shows you how to use your wok in a multitude of ways. Although I've mostly only cooked the stir-fry recipes, they've all been dependable and delicious. Recommended, although the scope of this book is rather narrow. Definitely an enthusiast level cookbook but, if you're into the subject matter, it's fantastic. Does that make sense? I hope so.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thigh cut into bite sized pieces

1 tablespoon of soy sauce plus an extra dash

1 teaspoon of Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry

.5 teaspoon sugar

.5 teasoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 small whole shallots, peeled (about 1/2 cup) (I used large pieces of diced onion)

1/3 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth, I used water and it was fine)

1 green onion, chopped

Combine the chicken, tablespoon of soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, salt and white pepper in a bowl. Mix to combine. Add the corn starch and mix. The mixture should be slightly sticky.

In a small bowl, combine the black beans, garlic, ginger and dash of soy sauce. Mash with a fork.

Heat up a wok over high heat. Toss in a few tablespoons of oil. Add the chicken mixture and spread flat. Allow the chicken to brown. Depending on your heat source, temperature of the chicken, how long you allowed the wok to heat up etc., this might take a few minutes. When brown, stir fry for a few minutes, just so the chicken changes color on all sides.

Toss in the black bean mixture and onion (or shallot). Stir-fry for a few minutes. Toss in the broth and bring to a boil. You'll see it thicken and give the rest of the dish a glossy sheen. Toss in the green onion, give it a quick stir and you're done!

Time-15 minutes

Cost-3 bucks for the chicken, 1 dollar for the rest. Will serve 2 as a single course stir-fry dinner or more depending on how many other dishes you serve.

Liuyang Black Bean Chicken

2008-10-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

Did you know that my original chicken, tofu and black bean post is the most widely read page on this blog? Even if you take into account that that post has been up the longest, it still kills every subsequent entry. Given that I think the original chicken/black bean post sucks (not the recipe, just the post), I decided to do another chicken and black bean stir fry. Is this redundant? I don't think it is because the flavors are very, very different. Also, it involves an interesting technique. Chinese food aficionados already know that the Chinese LOVE to cook things multiple times. There are countless examples of this in Chinese cookery and, in this recipe, the chicken is twice cooked in hot oil and then stir-fried.

This recipe is from "Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook" by Fuchsia Dunlop. I absolutely love Dunlop's cookbooks because they focus on under-represented regions and cuisines. Her masterpiece on Sichuanese cooking is considered one of the all-time English language Chinese cookbook classics. While her volume on Hunanese cuisine doesn't quite scale those literary heights, it is still an excellent addition to any Chinese cooking enthusiasts' library and comes highly recommended.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. boneless (and skinless, if you like) chicken thighs
salt
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 head of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled, larger cloves cut in half
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
4 scallions, green parts only, cut into 1.5 inch segments
4 tablespoons of fermented black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon of Shaoxing rice wine or other Chinese rice wine
3 teaspoons of dried chili flakes (I used Korean chili flakes...they provide an outrageous amount of color to the final dish but you can use whatever you have on hand even if it's leftover chili flakes from pizza)
2 teaspoons unseasoned, rice vinegar ( I actually used more because I like a bit of vinegar tang)
1 teaspoon sesame oil (I omitted the sesame oil from my version because I was out)
2 cups of oil

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Add to a bowl and season with salt and the soy sauce. Mix well.

Organize all of the other ingredients, other than the oil, into little ramekins or bowls. The cooking process goes quickly so you want to be prepared.

Heat up the oil in a wok. Wait until it is good and hot or, if you have an oil thermometer, until it's 350-400 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the chicken and cook until the color has changed. Remove the chicken. Allow the oil to heat up to 350-400 degrees and add the chicken. This time, cook the chicken until it's golden-brown. When done, set the chicken aside.

Pour off all of the oil except for a couple of tablespoons.

Put your pan on medium heat, toss in the garlic and ginger. Stir-fry until the garlic is soft. Toss in the black beans and rice wine. Stir fry for 30 seconds. Toss in the chili flakes and stir-fry until they've colored the oil.

Add the fried chicken to the pot along with the vinegar. Stir fry. Add salt to taste. At this point, the chicken should be mostly cooked but grab a piece and check. Toss in the green onions and stir-fry for 30 seconds. The onions should be slightly wilted, not cooked through.

Turn off the heat, add the sesame oil and serve with plenty of rice.

Time- 15 minutes. Fast enough for a weeknight dinner.

Cost-
Chicken- 3 bucks.
Incidentals- 2 dollars
5 bucks total, will serve 3-4 people as part of a multi-dish stir-fry dinner. Or two people as a single-dish dinner.

Post

2008-10-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

No new post for this week as I made another batch of this recipe. I LOOOOOVE curry leaves.

To be served with dal and brown rice. Cauliflower and potatoes on the side.

Chicken with Honey, Lime, & Chile Glaze

2008-10-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

I had a craving for something homey and delicious so I decided to make a few roasted chickens. This first one features a sweet, sour and spicy glaze. The next, which I won't discuss today, is brined in a Mexican flavored brine. I'll discuss the chemistry behind brining in a future post. Anyhow, for this chicken, I asked the butcher to spatchcock it but they just butterflied it. The distinction, AFAIK, is that a spatchcocked bird has the backbone and sternum removed and a butterflied bird is just cut in half. Anyhow, the reason to do either one is so that it cooks more evenly.

The glaze recipe is from John Ash Cooking One-On-One: Kitchen Secrets From A Master Teacher by John Ash. I don't really have an opinion on this book. It's organized in chapters which deal with specific techniques and then specific ingredients. As always, please try to use a naturally raised bird.

The Glaze:
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup honey
1.5 tablespoons of Ancho or Guajillo chile powder
.5 teaspoon of ground coriander
.5 teaspoon of ground cumin
.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 4-5 pound chicken, cleaned
Salt and peppr

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Liberally season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the bird, skin side up on a baking sheet or roasting pan.

Whisk together the ingredients for the glaze. I found that microwaving the honey to melt it and then whisking in the other ingredients made for an easier mixing process.

Toss the bird into the oven. Let it cook for, say, 1/2 an hour. I'm sorta improvising the cooking times. The recipe says to start brushing the bird with the glaze after 20 minutes but I disagree because the bird still has 30 minutes before the thighs are cooked through and the glaze has a tendency to burn if left on the bird for that long. After the initial glaze, keep brushing more on every 10 minutes. Don't let the glaze puddle on the skin. Just paint the bird with the brush...it's actually pretty cathartic.

After 50 or so minutes of total cooking time (poke the thighs and see if the juices run clear), remove the chicken and let it rest for 10 mintues. Cut it up and serve. If you want, keep a little extra glaze on the side to use as a dipping sauce.

Time- About an hour.
Price- REALLY depends on the price of the bird. My naturally raised chicken was $3.99/lb. So, about 20 bucks for my monster roaster. The rest of the ingredients are cheap.

Serves 5 comfortably.

Kalbi/Galbi

2008-09-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

I'm BAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCKKKKKKK.

Seriously, I'm back. I won't be posting quite as often because I'm not cooking quite as much but the blog is far from dead.

Today's post is from Croquet Day. Jorge decided to have a Croquet/BBQ so I pitched in by making kalbi. Kalbi (or galbi...my McCune-Reischauer is rusty) is a beef dish...marinated flanken style short ribs. I should mention something about the cut of meat. This is not your normal, boxy, rectangular short rib. The cut for this dish is done across the bone. Click here for a picture. You can find this cut of meat in Asian markets. If you don't have an Asian market near you, I'm pretty sure your local grocery store will be able to do it if you place a special order.

Anyhow, the marinade is really, really simple.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup of soy sauce
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of mirin
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 Asian pear, peeled and roughly chopped (There is an enzyme in the pear which helps tenderize the meat...if you're familiar with short ribs, you already know that they're quite chewy unless properly cooked or otherwise tenderized)
5 Tablespoons of minced garlic
3 tablespoons of dark (use Korean or Japanese) sesame oil
5 lbs of flanken style short ribs, cut 1/4 inch thick
Sesame seeds

Chuck the first 8 ingredients into a food processor or blender. Process. If you don't have a food processor, just grate the onion and Asian pear. It'll take a little more time but the result will be the same. Mix the short ribs into the marinade. Sprinkle in some sesame seeds and mix again. Marinate overnight.

When you are ready to eat, prepare your grill or use your broiler. Remove the meat from the marinade and rub off the excess marinade.

Cook. You'll need to be careful because there's enough sugar in the marinade so that the meat chars at a fairly high rate. However, I think that a bit of char is essential. It helps offset the sweetness of the meat and gives the ribs more character.

The dish is traditionally served in lettuce leaves. Take a lettuce leaf, add a bit of rice and then a piece of the cooked meat. Eat. I usually get some sort of fermented soybean paste whenever I'm in a Korean BBQ joint but I don't know what it's called.

I've seen all sorts of recipes for Kalbi. Ginger is sometimes used. Other times, rice wine vinegar is added. I also like to add some red pepper flake to mine.

For the nerds out there, I'm pretty sure that the enzymes in the pear which help break down the meat are bromelain and papain. Don't quote me on that but I'm pretty sure that I am right.

Time- 5 minutes to marinate the meat. However long it takes to cook.

Food Cost-
Beef- $5.00/lb. $25 bucks for 5 lbs.
Incidentals- 2 bucks. Will feed many, many hungry mouths especially if you do the rice/lettuce thing.

Soon, very soon.

2008-09-21T22:45:00.000-07:00

As soon as budget planning season is over, I'll be back with new stuff. Work has been keeping me busy.

Another thing...my friend suggested that because I am now very busy working man, my blog should reflect this new condition. So, I'm tossing around an idea of showing people how to cook/plan 5 days worth of food. Just an idea.

Strawberries for Supper

2008-08-23T21:46:00.000-07:00

Strawberries are one of those foods which are seasonally dependent. Sure, you can find them year round at your local Safeway but those tasteless, cotton-filled impostors should be avoided at all cost. I went to the farmers' market and picked up a pint of summer strawberries and, in my opinion, the only thing better than strawberries and cream is strawberry shortcake. For supper, I made my own strawberry shortcake free-form plate. Just mix and match the components and make your mouth happy!

A yummy and fun dinner...If this is what it is like to be a vegetarian, I might convert. :-)

Click the picture to learn about each component:

My Friend Matt

2008-08-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

If you have a chance, click here to vote for him. He is in a NYC TV stations competition to find the city's best busker. FYI, busker is synonymous with subway musician.

Click here to vote for my homie.

No New Posts Until My Commute Concludes

2008-08-09T23:01:00.000-07:00

This is just so everyone knows what is up. I'm AWOL.

Pasta with Tomatoes and Anchovies

2008-07-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

If this isn't my little brother's signature recipe, it should be. It is ridiculously easy but yields disproportionately delicious results. When I made it for a Sunday supper, all you heard was "slurp, slurp, yummm, slurp, nom nom nom." Don't be scared of the anchovies...they aren't particularly fishy...just ultra savory.

INGREDIENTS
1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes in juice (James recommends Muir Glen)
1 2.5 oz. container of anchovies
3 cloves of minced garlic

1 box of spaghetti
1/4 cup of good quality olive oil (important because the olive oil is very present)
1/4 cup of rough chopped Italian parsley

Take the tomatoes and remove them from the can. Leave the juice behind. Rough chop the tomatoes and place in a bowl. If any juice from the rough chopped tomatoes collects in the bottom of the bowl, that is okay. You just don't want to use all the juice from the can.

Drain the anchovies and cross cut. Mash with a fork and set aside.

Start heating up your water for the pasta. Salt the water.

Heat up the quarter cup of olive oil. You don't want to color the garlic...just get a mild sizzle going to help release the garlic flavor into the oil. After a minute of two of this, toss in the mashed anchovies and distribute. Mash the anchovies into the oil and cook for another minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and bring to a simmer. You will want to cook the sauce for 15-20 minutes. The sauce is done when the tomato juice has evaporated and, when you slide a spatula through the pot, the tomatoes part and the bottom of the pan is clearly evident. Add a touch of salt...remember, the anchovies are quite salty.

About 10 minutes into the tomato sauce simmering time, toss in the pasta. It'll take 8 or so minutes to cook. Drain the pasta.

By now, the sauce should be done. Dump the drained pasta into the tomato sauce and mix well. Toss in the parsley and mix again. Dish up and dig in!

Time- 25 minutes, most of it is inactive.

Food cost-
Tomatoes- $2.59
Garlic- Like 4 cents?
Pasta- $1.00
Olive Oil- $0.19
Anchovies- $1.49
Parsley- Ummm, another 4 cents?
Total- $5.35...3-4 servings so $1.78 or $1.33 per serving.

PANCAKES

2008-07-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

I love pancakes. There's just something about them, a certain je nais sais quoi which I can't put into words. For this batch, I used whole wheat flour in conjunction with white flour. My younger brother was aghast at my decision to use whole wheat flour. Indeed, his response was so extreme that it made me think that using whole wheat flour was morally reprehensible in some way...a sin against breakfast foods. Anyways, I've been on a whole grain health kick over the past few weeks so that's why I decided to mix flours. Furthermore, I read a recipe which called for the addition of cooked quinoa to the pancake batter. To accompany my pancakes, I made a ghetto peach compote.

INGREDIENTS:
1 Peach
4 tablespoons of sugar
Juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons of butter
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of white flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1 egg
1 cup of buttermilk

For the peaches:
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Make a small, x-shaped incision on the bottom of the peach. When the water is boiling, drop the peach and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the peach. When cool enough to handle, peel the peach. The skin should be easy to remove. Cut the peach into bite sized wedges. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small pan and drop in the peach wedges. Cook for a minute or so. Add sugar...how much is up to you...personal taste....I must've used 1.5-2 tablespoons. Allow the melted butter, peach juice and sugar to form a caramel. When the peaches start to take on a bit of color, turn off the heat and squeeze in some lemon juice. How much is up to you...just enough to add a bit of acidity. Set the peach compote aside.

For the pancakes:

Combine the whole what flour, white flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl.

Melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter in a microwave. Allow it to cool for a minute...you don't want the residual heat to scramble the egg. Whisk the butter and egg together. Whisk in the buttermilk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to JUST combine...no more than that. Allow the batter to rest for 10 minutes. If you wanted to incorporate the cooked quinoa, now would be the proper time. Add about 3/4 of a cup.

If you are planning on cooking all of the pancakes before eating, you'll probably want to keep the first few batches warm. I use my oven...just preheat it to 200 degrees and put a plate in there. I place a cotton cloth on the plate and place the cooked pancakes under the cloth...a pancake blanket. This method works well.

Heat up your pancake pan. I spray it with a bit of oil but a light glaze of butter also works well. I use an ice cream scooper to scoop up the batter. I used about two scoops per pancake. Expect the first batch to suck...it's just an inviolable rule of pancake cookery.

I can't really tell you how long to cook the pancakes...you'll find your own groove.

Serve with maple syrup and peaches (if you made them). Done!

Time- 30 minutes, total. Includes 10 minutes of batter resting time.

Food cost- Too cheap. Not going to bother with it.

Bar Vs. Liquid

2008-07-11T22:17:00.000-07:00

After much deliberation, I have made the switch to liquid bath soap. Thus far, I am quite pleased with the change.

A food post coming on Sunday. I would do it tomorrow but I'll be at work.

No Updates...Sorry!

2008-07-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

I am swamped with work. This leaves me unable to update my blog. However, I will try to put something up tomorrow night...

Until then, check this out. Definitely NSFW....tastefully NSFW.

Calling All Math Nerds....err, Mathletes

2008-07-04T13:02:00.000-07:00

So, I'm currently reading this book which is one of the most thought provoking books I've ever read. I e-mailed my older brother one of the sections from the book and it led to a vigorous and animated discussion. During the course of the argument, we started thinking about a math problem and neither of could solve it on the spot. Having given it some thought, I've come up wiht my solution and have recreated it for all of you with the hopes that you might be able to show me if and where I've gone wrong.

Assume that we have a two person population, STD+ and STD-, with STD+ composing 75% of the population and STD- = (1-STD+). Given that we have a two person population, there are three kinds of interactions that can occur:

1) STD+/STD+
2) STD-/STD-
3) STD+/STD-

Our goal is to figure out how many NEW STD+ people there will be at the end of the night assuming that all individuals successfully couple with another individual, no discrimination or preferences are evident, the STD is 100% contagious and that there is no use of STD prevention devices.

The first two couplings are irrelevant because they do not create any new STD+. Only in the third coupling will there be a new STD+ person. With this in mind, it should be easy to compute.

1) (.75)(.75)= .5625
2) (.25)(.25)= .0625
.5625 + .0625= .625
1-.625= .375

So, in a 1,000 person population constrained by our above conditions, there will be 375 new STD+ people created.

Seem right?

edit: Studly reader Mark R has written in with what seems to be the correct solution. Read the comments to see what he has to say...