Jun

25

2010

Make Fried Rice at Home

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Making fried rice at home is very easy and very delicious. The great part about it is that you can put almost anything in it and it will turn out. It’s what I usually make when I have a bunch of veggies that need to be eaten before they go bad, and you can throw any kind of leftover meat in too. I’ve made this once with freshly cooked rice and although it was still good, it wasn’t as good as using day-old. It’s something about the way it sticks together when it gets a bit dried-out. Feel free to use this recipe as a base and use whatever vegetables you have on hand or prefer, and the sauce is easily customized to taste. Usually I put a bit of fresh ginger and Sriracha in, but this time I didn’t have any on hand. I doubled the sauce recipe and marinated scallops, then seared them and served on top. Yummy!

For the rice:

1 box left-over chinese white rice
1/4 cup broccoli
1 red pepper, chopped in strips
1/4 cup snow peas
4 garlic scapes, chopped
1 Tablespoon peanut oil
2 Tablespoons cup low-sodium soy sauce

Heat the oil in a large skillet, add in the rice. Stir to coat.
Add the soy sauce, stir and sauté.
Add the vegetables, cook 3-5 minutes, until they are just soft.
Add the sauce (recipe below), remove from heat, serve.

For the sauce:

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons peanut oil
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients.

Jun

15

2010

Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

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Strawberry and rhubarb is a classic springtime combination. Their harvest seasons coincide, and the strawberries provide a nice balance to the tartness of rhubarb. I’ve put them together in pies and crumbles before, but this year, since I want to become really really good at making ice cream I thought I’d try it out. I’m glad I did!

I went with this recipe because it’s modified from a David Leibowitz recipe, and he is a master. I’ve made quite a few of his recipes and they were all amazing. This ice cream is very creamy and the flavor is perfect. It’s just sweet enough and really takes advantage of the fresh flavors of the fruits. I ate a big bowl of it as soon as it came out of the ice cream maker!

the strawberries mixed with sugar

custard mixed with the fruit puree

yummmmm!

Jun

09

2010

Rhubarb Sweet Tea

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I’m from Chicago, but as a teenager, I spent some time living with family in Alabama. The first time I went to a party there someone offered me a glass of sweet tea and I had no idea what they were talking about! Everyone thought it was really funny, the silly northern girl that had never heard of the southern staple. I was promptly educated on the deliciousness of tea, mixed with sugar, served over ice. Oh, how love sweet tea ♥ I didn’t stay down there very long, but I took the tea home with me.

I made a fresh batch of sweet tea, but wanted to do something a little different this time. I had some extra rhubarb that needed to be used, so I got right on Google and found this recipe from Martha Stewart and decided to combine the two for a fresh summertime beverage. This is a yummy way to use fresh rhubarb!

For the rhubarb:

1/2 pound rhubarb
2 cups water

Wash rhubarb and remove leaves, chop into 1” pieces
Put rhubarb in a pot and add water
Boil for a 45 minutes to an hour, strain with a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth
Push the remaining liquid out of the mushy rhubarb, discard rhubarb

For the tea:

Put 4 cups of water to boil and add 4 tea bags
Boil and let simmer for a half hour or so
Remove tea bags and add 1 cups sugar (or sugar to taste)

Mix rhubarb juice with the sweet tea, chill.

Serve over ice.

amazingly refreshing

Jun

09

2010

Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

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Last mother’s day I got an ice cream maker for Mothers’ Day. Since then it has gotten a lot of use. What I love about making my own is that I can use fresh ingredients and make flavors that aren’t commonly available, and even basics like vanilla taste far better when made at home. Homemade ice cream has a slightly different texture as store-bought. The big brands have additives to make it harder and creamy.

Over the winter I didn’t make any, but as soon as it was hot out I was ready to get started again. I plan on doing a summer ice cream series on this blog. I’ll make the ice cream, eat it, and share the results with you. This way, I can eat bunches of ice cream and tell myself that it’s work so I have to do it ♥

I bookmarked this recipe for burnt sugar ice cream as soon as I saw it. After reading her write-up and looking at the photos, I was sure that this would be one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Making this recipe was a lot of fun. Boiling the sugar and watching it turn caramel-colored was very cool, and when I poured the milk and cream mixture in there was a reaction similar to what happens when you add lye to water when making soap. I would advise using a stock pot, because it does bubble up, and not having small children or anyone else around that doesn’t understand safety.

sugar and water starting to heat

sugar and water boiling, beginning to caramelize

it steams!

the fully caramelized mixture

At first taste, I was not happy with the results. It was bitter and I thought I must have done something wrong. I put it in the freezer, thinking maybe the flavors needed more time to meld. I liked it when I tried it again, but it definitely was not the best thing that ever happened to me. It was still bitter at first, then the sweetness and vanilla came through. It tasted like black coffee with a bit of cocoa. It actually was quite delicious.

The next day we went swimming at a friends house so I brought it along with me. Everyone liked it, and one person even called it divine. I’ll definitely be making this one again, but it’s not something you would want to eat everyday.

Jun

08

2010

Green City Farmer’s Market and a Quiche

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Category : Uncategorized, farmer's markets, recipes

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Me and Ve recently went to Green City Market. We had a great time at our first trip there this season. I love Green City because of the great selection and the great atmosphere. It’s far bigger than the local markets, and you can get all kinds of fresh produce, free-range meats, seedlings to plant, baked goods…it goes on and on. There’s usually live music, and people hang around on the grass, eating, talking and watching their kids play.

I picked up a few bunches of asparagus. The first market asparagus each year is a special treat. So crisp, so flavorful, it makes Chicago winters worth it. I also got rhubarb, farm fresh eggs, a few tomato plants and herbs, and we split a smoothie from Seedlings made with their cider (best cider I’ve ever had ~ go buy some!) and rhubarb. Ve saw an older girl sitting in a tree enjoying a snack so she wanted to sit in a tree too. She was so cute!

I’ve made this quiche a few times. It’s truly delicious. I always use frozen potatoes, and just cook them a little bit before on the stove top before putting them in the pie pan to bake. It’s what I thought of making when I got home with the fresh eggs, and the asparagus was a great addition. I made it for dinner, and the leftovers are equally as good the next morning.

Quiche with rosemary, bacon and asparagus

Jun

05

2010

Lemon and Lavender is a winner

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A few weeks ago I made myself a lotion with a lovely lemon lavender essential oil blend. I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. It’s so nice and light, with neither scent overpowering the other, instead combining into the perfect springtime fragrance. I’ve been using it daily, and the friends I’ve given it away to love it as well.

Thinking about my lemon lavender lotion, I remembered a recipe I’d seen in the last issue of Hobby Farm Home for a lemon lavender cake. I looked up the recipe and although it seemed delicious, it called for a box of almond cake mix. I don’t have a problem with other people using boxed mixes, but it’s just not for me. I can mix my own flour, baking soda and salt and get a better tasting cake, without using much more time and effort, so I just don’t see the point.

I still had cake on my mind (I love cake!) so I searched around the internet until I came across this recipe for a lemon lavender cake.

It’s basically perfect. I liked that it uses yogurt instead of oil, which I find creates a finer crumb and more flavorful cake, and that it calls for two sticks of butter. I’ve never failed on a baking project using two sticks of butter (which is exactly why I gain weight if bake too often).

The cake turned out amazing. It was moist, with just the right amount of flavor from the lemon and from the lavender. For the glaze, I only used about 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, and I about doubled the lemon juice amount. I didn’t measure when making the glaze, I just wanted it to be more lemon than sweet and it worked. This is a fantastic recipe and I will be making it again.

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