Quickie dinner that makes great leftovers.

One of my favorite dinner items that was an experiment years ago as become a staple in my diet. I love fried rice, I usually get chicken when ordering from a Chinese restaurant, however a few years ago I tried Crab fried rice. It was amazing! Why did I not eat this before?!

I have since discovered my own recipe for crab fried rice. I cheat because I'm cheap and use pollock (fake crab), which I think works just as well.

Fried rice with crab
Ingredients
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled
large pinch of salt
3 tablespoons oil
1 egg
1 cup cooked jasmine rice (I use Uncle Ben's converted white rice, and make the the 2 serving portion)
large pinch of ground white pepper
larger pinch of white sugar
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
3 spring (green) onions, cut into 1 cm (1/2 in) lengths
100g (3 oz) cooked crabmeat
1 tablespoon coriander leaves (I ignore this)

Preparation
Mince garlic with salt. Heat oil in a wok and fry garlic until fragrant and beginning to colour. Crack in the egg, allowing the white to firm before scrambling. Add rice and turn down the heat. Fry gently, mixing and tossing. Season with pepper, sugar and light soy sauce: the rice should be well seasoned, but not too salty. Add spring onions and, after a moment, the crabmeat, reserving a little to sprinkle over the finished dish, along with coriander.

I've made this recipe so much that I don't measure anything anymore, with the exception of the rice to cook it in the microwave. I eyeball everything and it works quite well for me. It's also the only thing I cook in my Ikea wok, worth the $7.99. I usually up the ingrediant quantities to make a larger batch so I have lunch for the next day.
I think I found this recipe on the Canadian Living website, but I can't find it anymore, sorry!

Tomato update, and a late Diwali post!

Shubh Diwali everyone!


Yes, it's a little late, but I did make this recipe on November 5th, I just haven't posted it until now. To celebrate Diwali and to remind myself of my time in Mumbai, I made Saag Paneer. I was also able to use my first major harvest of my tomatoes!

Sadly, I don't remember where I got my specific recipe from, but Google is a wonderful thing in finding some.


Saag Paneer


2 bunches of spinach, cleaned and trimmed
2 tbsp veggie oil (don't use olive oil, it will affect the flavour a bit)
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (similar measurement of cumin powder works well)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 tsp finely grated ginger
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander (something I don't like, and leave out)
2 tsp of ground Indian hot pepper, or 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground coriander (put this in!)
1/2 tsp of tumeric
pinch of cinnamon
3 plum tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped (they're fine with the peel on)
1/3 cup plain Balkan yogurt
2 tsp of lemon juice
3/8 tsp garam masala (bit more)
8 oz of Paneer!

 

SPINACH!!

In large pot of boiling salted water, blanch spinach just until wilted; drain, chill under cold water and drain again. In food processor, purée spinach with 1/4 cup (50 mL) water; set aside.

In large deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; cook cumin seeds until slightly darkened, about 10 seconds. Add onion and butter; cook until onion is golden, about 8 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium; stir in garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Stir in fresh coriander, hot pepper, salt, ground coriander, turmeric and cinnamon; cook, stirring, until very fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring, until tomatoes break down, about 3 minutes.

Stir in puréed spinach; cover and cook, stirring occasionally and adding 1 to 2 tbsp (15 to 25 mL) water if mixture is no longer saucy, until steaming hot, about 3 minutes.

Stir in yogurt, lemon juice and garam masala; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low; add paneer. Cover and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. 

Soooo good. Love Paneer. This dish is great fresh and equally good reheated the next day for lunch!

Window Gardening

I live in an apartment on the 14th floor of a high rise. Lovely views, and a balcony, which has enough room for a few plant pots. They would be out there.. except that it's a corner balcony and the cross wind is pretty horrific. I've tried to have plants out there in the past, and I've been lucky to find them still within my balcony railings. So, my beloved herb collection has been moved indoors and has taken over our living room windows.

This year's crop includes the usual Basil, Rosemary and Chives. As extras, my Mom gave me a dark opal Basil and I found a tomato plant for $2. They've done really well this year, the Basil is about 3 feet tall! I've also managed to get a second harvest out of the tomato plant! I've been feeding it tea water for months, which according to many sources is a great fertilizer for tomatoes. It hasn't hurt it, and I drink a lot of tea, so it's always readily available.

 

They're starting to get a bit old. I need to do some research into how to dry herbs for later use, see if I can salvage some of them.

D.I.Y. Post! And an apology of sorts.

Firstly, I have discovered a slight flaw in my whole plan about documenting my crafty makings. Specifically, I have realized a flaw that will last about 2 years. I just started a Masters program and it's a wee bit work heavy. My posts may get a bit further apart, but at least I'll be testing out more fast, easy and cheap recipes to make up for it.

That aside, I have my first D.I.Y. post!
My bathroom sink drains at roughly the speed of ketchup so I figured it was about time for a clean and drain. After poking around with a wire coat hanger to pull some hair out (ick, and there ARE uses for those 'evil' wire coat hangers), I did some research on how to make your own draino. This isn't because I am overly environmentally conscious or a greenpeacer, it's because I'm cheap. I was pleased to find this recipe by the lovely and talented Sayward Rebha over at Bonzai Aphrodite, that uses nothing but vinegar, baking soda and boiling water.

I'm quite pleased with the results! My sink actually drains now, so I really can't complain. Here's Sayward's post on her blog! Check out her chickens too, they're pretty cool.

http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2009/06/natural-homemade-drain-o-or-how-to-unclog-without-chemicals/


Going back to my previous comment, I've finished my first week of class and I think I need to plant a tree or two to make up for the amount of photocopied articles I've received since Monday. There's a stack an inch and a half tall of paper by my desk right now. I have since discovered an awesome service that the City of Toronto offers that I may take advantage of to make up for my educational needs!

http://www.toronto.ca/trees/tree_planting.htm

They'll actually GIVE you a tree or a shrub to plant, along with planting advice! Sweet deal! I just need to get a place with a lawn and I'll be set.

Pizza!!!

  It's pizza night! And by night, I mean when I have pizza dough and lots of vegetables. I like my crust thin, my sauce is pesto and my toppings are piled high. It's a bit messy, but tastes great.

Ingredients:

Half a pack of pizza dough, thawed out and left on the counter for about 20 minutes (take it out of the fridge and cut your veggies while you wait)
Olive Oil
Pesto or pizza sauce
Loads of toppings (I use red onions, mushrooms, spinach, peppers some times, ham, salami, pepperoni, cheeses like marble or provolone)

Stretch out pizza unto a pizza pan lined with parchment paper that's been drizzled with olive oil.

Spread with pesto or sauce. Add all toppings and cheese.

Bake in 400˚C oven for about 15 minutes, or until crust is crisp and cheese is bubbly.. Keep an eye on it and turn regularly.

Instant and Homemade

Some nights I really can't be bothered to properly cook. Some nights I can be semi-inspired to make something instant while actually making a side dish. It has been one of those choice b) nights. The main was a Chicken Kiev from M&M's Meatshops and I made some spiced potatoes as a side. I've been making this recipe for a while now, and it's a bit different every time. I eyeball it, and I recommend you do too, since you can alter the taste to suit you.

*Please note that the chicken is cooked and not pink, just poor camera settings on my part.

Spiced Potatoes

Ingrediants:

One Potato
A bit less than 1/2 a teaspoon each of preferred spices, coriander, cumin, tumeric and curry powder are a great start.
Dash of Olive Oil
Half an Onion, yellow or white.

Clean potato and peel if desired. Chop into 1cm thick-ish pieces and place into mixing bowl.

Add desired spices to bowl and toss potatoes to coat. Add olive oil and toss.

Place on foil lined baking tray and baked in 400˚C oven for about 30 minutes, or until, when tested they have a crispy outside and tender inside. I bake them right next to the Kiev for about the same time, works fairly well.

Meanwhile, chop onion. Add more olive oil to a frying pan and quickly fry onions on medium heat. When onions are almost soft and cooked, added potatoes to give final crisp to them and extra flavour. Chuck on the plate and you have a side dish!