Can you make perfect food in a less-than perfect kitchen?

Mark Bittman, the prolific food writer for the New York Times, posted on his blog a picture of himself cooking turket breasts in his kitchen. The first thing that popped out was the tiny, Manhattan kitchen he was standing in and the lack of many expensive kitchen tools.

The interview itself was very revealing of the excuses that keep those with small spaces and less money out of the kitchen. As a college student, those are the concerns that most resonate with my situation. These are parts of the interview that I found to be most applicable:

"Q: So why do so many people think a nice kitchen will solve their cooking woes?


A: Maybe it’s like what you said. You use your crummy kitchen as an excuse not to cook. Maybe it’s like saying, “I can’t exercise in the winter because I don’t have an elliptical trainer.” I once cooked for six months in what amounted to a basement with a hot plate, microwave and a refrigerator and sink. Not only did I cook for six months, but I wrote the column for six months. It was funny. People like to cook when they’re camping and in other places where the situation is less than adequate. For some reason they think they have to have a great kitchen to cook at home, but it’s not true."

Q: So what are your must-haves in a kitchen, and what can you live without?


A: One of the things I hate about my stove is you can’t put four pots on it at the same time, so you cook with two pots and use the oven more. A functioning oven, the best possible stove… I think a big refrigerator is not that helpful. Stuff that’s in the refrigerator shouldn’t be in there all that long anyway. You need a couple of sauce pans, a couple saute pans, you need some knives, and then you need to pick up what you need on an as-needed basis. If you’re going to roast a turkey you need something big to put it in. When you need it you’ll know you’ll need it. Some things you’re going to find yourselves repeatedly wishing you had. Those are the things you need."


Having less-than-adequate kitchen space, or only having the most basic of kitchen tools, should not be an excuse to take responsibility for cooking. If anything, it is a constraint that makes sure that you have only the essentials, and that is all you really need to make great food.



The Bitten Blog has since been combined into the New York Times' Diner's Diner's Journal, but it's definitely worth a peek, if not a very critical once over.

How to Make Ice Cream with Just One Ingredient

Apparently frozen bananas result in a creamy ice cream and can be made in a food processor or blender, such as my everyday oster 12-speed blender. I was interested in the possibility of being able to make ice cream with just one ingredient and with just one kitchen tool, and so, on the way home, I stopped at the grocery store and picked up two bananas to make a small, experimental batch.

The recipe I used is as follows:

Ingredients:
2 Medium Bananas
2 t Vanilla Extract
1-2 T Milk (optional)
2 T Peanut Butter
1/3 Cup Chocolate Chips

Method:
1. Slice up the bananas into small slices, put on a plate, and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours.
2. Put the frozen bananas and the 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract into a blender or food processor and begin mixing at a high speed. If you are using a blender, you will have to stop periodically to remove banana that is stuck underneath the blades. It may also help to use the 1-2 tablespoons of milk in the initial blending.
3. When the mixture is smooth add the peanut butter and chocolate chips and mix on a slow speed for 30 seconds so that the ingredients blend together, spoon into a bowl and serve.

I think next time I would up the amount of vanilla extra to 1 tablespoon or more, or use a stronger extract, such as almond, to cover the banana taste more. However, the end results were delightful. From a banana and a little milk, I created a creamy, custard-y ice cream that may be my go to dessert in the stifling DC heat come summer time.

Other Ingredients to experiment with:
Almond extract
Coffee
Coconut (a little milk or some sweetened, shredded coconut)
Fruit (blueberry, strawberry, mango, raspberry, etc)
(Candied) Walnuts or Almonds
Candy (Toffee, M&Ms, Reese's Pieces, Kit Kat, Gummy Bears)
Sprinkles
Caramel
Marshmallow Fluff

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

It's getting toward the end of the semester which means my workload is increasing and my study schedule is becoming insane as I have to begin preparing for my final exams. This would be the point in which I would give in and go to leo's for all of my meals, but I have made it my prerogative to stay strong and find meals that are that much easier to make. 


I still have lots of soup left in my fridge, so I will be pairing that with sandwiches and salads throughout the week, as those are meals that take about 10 minutes to prepare. Here is a recipe for the next sandwich I plan on making this week.


Monte Cristo with Blackberry Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• 1T Mayonnaise
• 1T whole grain Dijon mustard
• 1t whole grain Dijon mustard
• 2 slices white bread, crusts removed, if desired
• 1/4 cup seedless blackberry jam
• 4 slices deli ham or turkey
• 4 slices Swiss or Cheddar cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 
  
• Method
• 1.Combine 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise and 1T mustard with wire whisk in small bowl. Season, if desired, with salt and pepper. Evenly spread bread with mayonnaise mixture.
• 2. Combine jam, remaining 1 teaspoon mustard in small bowl with wire whisk; set aside.
• 3. Evenly divide ham and cheese between 2 slices of bread, then top with remaining bread.
• 4. Beat eggs with milk with wire whisk in small shallow dish. Season, if desired, with salt and pepper. Dip sandwiches in egg mixture, turning to coat. Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray over medium-high heat and cook sandwiches, turning once, 5 minutes or until golden and cheese is melted. Serve with blackberry sauce on the side.

Grilled Cheese and Soup - An Easy Sunday Lunch

As you know yesterday I used my new blender to make soup. I decided to heat some of that up, along with a grilled cheese sandwich. And it wasn't just any grilled cheese sandwich. I up two servings from the ciabatta roll, one for Mike and on for myself. On Mike's I just layered a couple of strips of mild and sharp cheddar cheese. On Mine, I sliced up half of an apple and layered that on the bread, along with some shredded swiss-gruyere cheese. Be sure to apply lots of butter on the pan, as grilled cheese tends to be more fried than grilled anyways. You could also use the compound butter, such as honey-butter or a roasted garlic-basil-butter (the kind that I made the other day).

The expense for this meal is minimal as the entire ciabatta roll was $2.69 and there is still more than half left, the two blocks of cheddar were about $2.50 each and there is more than 3/4 left on each, after using some of the cheddar in other recipes, and I used 1/2 of an apple from a 5-for-$3 bag of apples, and about 2 oz of cheese from the 12 oz-$5.99 bag of shredded swiss-gruyere cheese. I'm too tired to figure out what the exact expense was, but I think I could say it was about $1 for Mike's and $2 for mine. I think it took about 10 minutes to cook the two sandwiches and heat up the soup as well, so the time requirement is minimal as well.

Very soon I'll share my adaptation of the butternut squash-sweet potato-carrot-apple-bacon soup. For now, enjoy the eye candy.

Strawberry and Strawberry-Mango Smoothies

In case you have not realized, I'm loving this new blender. My first official creation was the butternut squash-sweet potato-carrot-apple-bacon soup, adapted from Confessions of a Cardamom Addict, but I'll share that with you later. My other blender creation today was a strawberry smoothie (followed by strawberry-mango smoothie). While I tend to not measure while I cook, here is an approximation of my recipes.

Strawberry Smoothie:
Ingredients:
2 cups of yogurt
1 lb bag of frozen strawberries (got mine at trader joes for only $1.69)
1/3 cup agave syrup
1 t vanilla extract

Method
Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

This will make a verrrrrrrrrrrry thick smoothie, so if you want a thinner consistency, do 1 cup of yogurt and 1 cup of milk.

As for strawberry-mango smoothies, just do 1/2 lb strawberry, 1/2 lb mango. You could even throw in some protein powder, for your health, or a frozen banana, for a creamier consistency. I suggest using this recipe as a guideline and experiment to find the consistency and flavor(s) that you like the most.

New Kitchen Toy: Oster 12 Speed Blender

While my ultimate goal would be a Blendtec blender, which would probably outlive me, I just purchased a 12-speed Oster blender from Target. It's reasonably priced ($29.99), reliable, and it could perform the role of 4 different kitchen appliances (blender, smoothie maker, soup puree-er, ice cream maker, margarita maker, etc). There are also unending possibilities for what you can make in a blender (beverages, salsa, guacamole, hummus, butternut squash bacon and apple soup, etc.

Perhaps there will be a blender series on all of my blender creations in the future. For now, some eye candy.

Update: I forgot to mention one of my favorite aspects of the blender. It can be a food processor!!! I used it to make a butternut squash-sweet potato-carrot-apple-bacon soup. I'll share that with you later. For now, here is a little guide to using a blender as a food processor (and coffee grinder!!!).

Food -- Processed Quantity -- Unprocessed Quantity -- Special Instructions

Breadcrumbs -- 1/2 cup -- 1 slice, torn in 8 pieces -- Pulse 1-4 times

Celery -- 3/4 cup -- 1 cup of 1in pieces -- Pulse 2-3 times

Cheddar Cheese -- 1 cup -- 1 cup of 1in pieces -- Pulse 2-3 times

Swiss Cheese -- 1 cup -- 1 cup of 1in pieces -- Pulse 5 times

(Semi-)Hard Cheese -- 1 cup of 1 cup of 1in pieces -- Chop continuously

Coffee Beans -- 1 cup -- 1 cup -- Grind 45 seconds for percolators/french press; 60 seconds for drip

Wafer Cookies -- 1/2 cup -- 10 wafers -- Pulse 3 times

Graham Crackers -- 1/2 cup -- 8 crackers -- Pulse 3 times

Peppers -- 2/3 cup -- 1 cup -- Pulse 1 time

Boneless Meat, Cooked -- 1 cup -- 1 cup of 1in pieces -- Chop continuously

Nuts -- 1 cup (250 ml) -- 1 cup (250 ml) -- Pulse 2-4 times

Sighting of the Sweetflow Mobile

My friend Paul and I were walking through the front gates when a truck drove up and parked across from the entrance. My friend exclaimed that it was the Sweetflow mobile. I've never heard of it before, but apparently it is an ice cream truck that sells frozen yogurt and provides lots of toppings, such as mango, dried cranberries, candied walnuts, shredded coconut, strawberries, etc.

Here is a brief on the sweetflow mobile from their website:

"Sweetflow Mobile is an environmentally-conscious frozen yogurt truck from Sweetgreen. It is uniquely engineered to run without a generator, thus significantly reducing the amount of fuel consumed. Just like our stores, we use 100% compostable packaging and local/organic ingredients & toppings. Catch us in your neighborhood soon and stay tuned for the site launch."

Here is Paul. He sure is excited about his yogurt.

Here I am. I look terrible in this picture. I guess it is karma for ruining my trip to the gym with frozen yogurt.

I realize that my picture is sideways, but it tasted delicious. I chose mango, coconut and candied walnuts.

Pizza Ideas for the Less Creative

Right in line with last nights dinner, here is a month's worth of pizza ideas.


Ones I want to try (This is most of the list):


Portobello and Pesto Pizza Remove stems from large portobello mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms in a mix of olive oil, garlic and red wine vinegar until tender. Then fill the caps with sliced plum tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and homemade or store-bought pesto and bake until cheese has melted. These can be enjoyed atop a crust -- or even on their own.
Pizza al la Norma Top dough with a cooked tomato sauce, strips of sautéed eggplant and ricotta salata. Once baked, scatter fresh basil leaves over the top.
Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza Top whole-wheat or regular dough with sliced pears, a briefly stirred mixture of crumbled blue cheese and cream cheese, fresh sage and chopped crystallized ginger.
Pizza Bianco Make a sauce-free bianco (Italian for "white") pizza with mozzarella, ricotta, provolone, Parmesan and a generous amount of black pepper.
Broccoli Rabe and Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza Sautée coarsely chopped broccoli rabe in olive oil until tender, then arrange it atop pizza dough with thinly sliced, plump, sun-dried tomatoes and grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese.
Pizza Margherita Brush dough with olive oil, top with mozzarella and, if you'd like, a little ricotta or Parmesan cheese, and scatter grape tomatoes over the top. Garnish with a few basil leaves.
Acorn Squash and Walnut Pizza Top dough with with skin-on, thinly sliced acorn squash, Gruyère cheese, toasted walnuts and drizzles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Chicken and Fontina Pizza Chop onions, cook them until golden brown, then scatter on a crust with shredded rotisserie chicken and creamy fontina cheese. 

Burrito Pizza Top large burrito-style tortillas with shredded pepper jack cheese, thinly sliced chorizo, roasted red peppers and drained, canned black beans.
Fig and Prosciutto Pizza Thinly slice fresh figs and toss in a little oil and lemon juice. Place on pizza dough and top with slices of prosciutto.
Bacon and Cheddar Pizza Spread dough with spicy mustard and top with crumbled crisp bacon, cheddar cheese and thick slices of tomato.
Ham and Apple Pizza A layer of sliced apples, another of fontina or Gruyère and one more of julienned strips of Black Forest ham makes for a most savory pie. (This is just like the one I made the other night!!!)
Lamb Pizza Top large pitas with a mix of ground lamb, pine nuts, coriander, cumin and tomato and finish with a layer of feta or yogurt.
Barbecue Pizza Pulled pork, corn kernels, a slathering of barbecue sauce and a topping of slaw takes pizza on a trip down South.
Zesty Shrimp and Mango Pizza Top dough with thinly sliced tomatoes, sautéed shrimp, sliced hearts of palm and chopped mango. Serve with lime wedges.
Pizza with Greens and Ricotta Sauté escarole or beet greens in olive oil with a little anchovy until the greens are tender. Place on top of dough along with a little ricotta and plump raisins

Cannoli Pizza Brush dough with olive oil and sprinkle with sugar. Top with lightly sweetened ricotta, grated orange zest, mini chocolate chips and shelled pistachios for a pizza-fied twist on a cannoli.

Banana and Chocolate Pizza Coat dough with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Top with sliced bananas and bake, then finish with chocolate sauce.

Compound Butters - Cheap Ways of Seasoning Foods

Sometimes all you need in a recipe is butter. You can add herbns to that butter to add more flavor as well, creating a compound butter. Feel free to cook it on your seafood, steaks, chicken, corn on the cob, vegetables, breads, etc. It's simple, it's a cheap way of seasoning food, and the options

Herb: Herbs, spices, aromatics: Ginger, shallots, garlic, scallion, fresh herbs, cracked or ground spices, citrus zests just scratch the surface. Herbs should be very dry before mincing them and adding them to the butter.


Salt: I tend to buy only unsalted butters, but a little bit of fine sea salt really helps bring out the flavor of all the ingredients in a compound butter.

Acid: Vinegar or citrus juice adds balance to the mix. While mixing, be sure to blend a few drops at a time.

Sweet: Add a bit of honey or superfine sugar. These butters are delicious on warm breads and waffles. They can also be great on savory dishes, like a sage and honey butter on fish.

Along with some of the suggestions that are provided in the article, you make your own "wild card" compound butter. Flavors like this would be anchovy paste, dried fruit, cocoa powder, almond or vanilla extracts, etc.

Don't limit your self to just one flavor, as the options are mix-and-matchable. Experiment and find the most creative, budget-friendly and tastiest option for yourself.


Here is a slide show on how to begin making your own compound butters.

Pizza Night!

Calzones and Pizza are something I know that both I and my picky eater of a boyfriend will eat when I want something quick and easy to make, not from the dining hall and something we can both agree on. Not to mention it is very cheap.

Because my kitchen is still lacking a rolling pin, Mike hand-stretched the dough on the counter, giving it the rustic shape. I used my homemade tomato sauce (I'll provide the recipe) on the pizzas. The sauce is also fairly chunky and rustic-looking.

For Mike I made a simple pepperoni pizza, also topped with sauteed onions and mushrooms. For myself, I got a little more adventurous. I diced up some ham, used the rest of the onions and mushrooms, put this on top of a swiss-gruyere mix. And for the final touch, apple slices. The result was delightful. The mildness of the cheese, the tartness of the apples, the saltiness of the ham, and the woodiness of the onions and mushrooms was delightful.

My pizza, of course is a more expensive option, and a simple pepperoni will more than satisfy your dominoes cravings, as well as keeping your wallet out of their grasp.

Now for the recipes

Rustic Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
28 oz can of Chopped/Diced/Pureed Tomatoes (depending on how smooth you like your sauce)
6 cloves of garlic, 4 finely diced and 2 crushed (adjust according to taste, but the flavor is more mellow than you would think)
1/2 yellow or vidalia onion
3 tbsp of olive oil
5 large leaves of basil, chopped

Method
1. Pour the olive oil into a sauce pan. When heated, add the garlic, onion, basil.
2. When the onions become clear, added the tomatoes. After it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and keep on the burner for 1-2 hours.

Pizza
Ingredients
1/4 package of pizza dough
olive oil
tomato sauce
cheese
assorted toppings
flour (to cover the surface for rolling out the dough)


Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a baking sheet with olive oil.
2. Cover the counter, or other surface, with flour, then roll out the dough on the surface, either using a rolling pin, or stretching it with your hands.
3. Drizzle olive oil on the stretched dough and then pour on tomato sauce, leaving about 1/2 inch between the crush and the sauce.
4. Add cheese and then toppings according to taste.
5. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, remove, then allow to cool.

Breakdown of Costs by Recipe:

Tomato Sauce
Can of Crushed Tomatoes (at Trader Joe's) - $2.29 for a 28oz can
Pack of Fresh Basil - $1.99 (expect to use 1/4-1/2 of the package)
Fresh Garlic - $1.99 for 4 heads (expect to use 1/2 a head, ~6 cloves)
Olive Oil - $5.99 for a 17oz bottle (expect to use 2 oz)

Total Cost - $4.25 for fresh, homemade tomato sauce

Pizzas
Pre-made Dough - $0.99 for about 4 servings
Pack of quattro formaggio - $4.99 for 12 oz (used about 3 oz)
Pack of Swiss-gruyere cheese - $5.99 for 12 oz (used about 3 oz)
Pack of Pepperonis - $2.99 (expect to use 1/6 of the pack at a time)
Onion - $0.79 each (used 1/2 the onion for the both of us)
Mushrooms - $1.99 for 1 pint (expect to use 1/4)
Pack of 5 apples - $3.99 (used 1/2 of one apple)

Mike's Pizza - $2.94
My Pizza - $2.59*

*I saved because the ham was leftovers given to me by my mom from a trip home, otherwise I would expect the expense to be ~$3.10 Take this as an example of how leftovers can be made into fresh creations

P.S. I had a salad on the side of my pizza. It's a mix of baby spinach, crumbled feta cheese, chopped walnuts, diced apple, craisins, and balsamic vinaigrette.

P.S.S. - Those glasses are filled with kool-aid. Yeah, we did.