What's Cooking: Easy Homemade Pasta

This recipe is from my food blog, Street Cred. Click on the photo below to check it out!

BUM-BUM-BUM! I know that this might sound intimidating, but please trust me, it's not. If you can roll out sugar cookies, you can make pasta. No lie! When I started making my own pasta about a year ago, I didn't even own a rolling pin - I used an empty wine bottle to roll out my dough. And it worked great! So there is no need for a fancy pasta machine, and in about half an hour you can have amazing fresh handmade pasta.

I do have the advantage of owning a pasta machine now, since it was an anniversary gift this year (and a hint that the hubs wants me to make pasta more often). If you make pasta using this recipe and you decide that it's worth the time, effort, and you like to know exactly what's in your food - you can pick up a basic hand crank model like mine for about 20 bucks (or pounds, or whatever your unit of currency is). It still won't save you from the upper body workout that is kneading dough, but hey! The more calories you burn, the more of that fantastic pasta you can eat later.

So, without further adieu, here are the ingredients for my pasta recipe:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (plus a little more for dusting)

3 large eggs

That's it! I swear! That's all that goes into pasta. Or, should I say, it should be. This stuff can be hang dried or refrigerated for up to a week, so even if you don't use this whole batch at once, it won't go to waste. Typically this makes 6-8 servings, depending on your appetite. I made lasagna noodles this time around, and about 1/3 of the dough was leftover and cut into fettucini for the later this week. 

Make sure your work surface is washed clean and dried thoroughly. You can use a large cutting board, but I prefer a nonporous surface like a countertop. Place your flour in a pile, then hollow out the center to create a well. Crack all 3 eggs into the center well of your flour, and whisk gently with a fork (if you'd prefer, you can whisk before pouring into your flour). While stirring with the fork, gradually incorporate flour from the center edges of the well. 

When the flour is about 2/3 incorporated, you can begin mixing with your hand until a ball of dough has formed. This dough will probably be flaking off and quite messy now, and that's when the fun of kneading begins! Knead the dough ball using the heel of your hand. Flatten, fold over, and repeat. Continue this for about 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and stops cracking when kneaded. It's extremely important to knead the dough, since this process gives the pasta its elasticity. 

When your dough ball is ready to be rolled out, clean and dry your work surface, and dust it with a layer of flour. Divide the ball of dough into 3-4 even pieces, and work with one at a time. Dust the top of the dough and your rolling pin (or rolling wine bottle) with flour, and begin rolling! If you're using a pasta machine, you can probably begin rolling in the machine once you have the dough at about 3/8" thickness. If you are rolling by hand, skip the rest of this paragraph and see below!

For machine rolling, start on the lowest (biggest) setting, #1, and each time the dough is rolled through, increase the number by 1. I like my lasagna noodles to be a #6 thickness, and my linguine to be a #7. Unless you're making angel hair pasta, I don't think it's really necessary to roll anything out to the thinnest setting, but that's a personal preference. I like a little substance to my pasta. Then you can either use one of the cutting wheels on your pasta machine, or remove your pasta and cut it by hand (instructions below).

For hand rolling dough, roll into a large flat sheet of desired thickness - about 1/8" is usually good. Dust the top of the pasta sheet well with flour, then fold over in half. Repeat until you have a log shaped roll of pasta. Then, using a sharp knife that is lightly dusted in flour, simply slice your log into the desired thickness. Here's a good little demo video, in case you'd like a visual for this process. Shake out your cut pasta so that it doesnt stick together, and dust with another tbsp or so of flour if you're not planning to cook it right away. 

Simply repeat this process (whether by hand or machine) for the rest of the remaining dough, and voila! The first time I made this, I think it took about 20 minutes, so please don't be intimidated - give it a try! You'll never want to buy store-bought pasta again.

Twist on a Classic

I've stolen this post from Street Cred (my food blog), because a lot of my friends - I'm looking at you Numie - will remember this one from our college days. It's also hands-down one of my favorite salad recipes, and I'm obsessed with figs at the moment, so why not combine the two? Enjoy. 

Each season brings with it new weather, endings, beginnings, and most importantly, new foods! Shopping at farmers' markets are a perfect way to see what is fresh and in season right now.

With September blending now into October, a few of my favorite foods are fresh from the harvest. 

Butternut & acorn squash, pumpkin (of course), artichokes, pears, beets, and figs, just to name a few. Here's an unusual use for a bounty of figs, using one of my favorite vegetarian salad recipes. 

I've always had the opinion that "salad" doesn't only have to refer to "lettuce + toppings + dressing". No, to me, salad is the combination of a variety of vegetables and cold items (and even some warm), tossed together with plenty of complimentary flavors, colors, and textures. It can be made of vegetables, proteins, grains - anything that tastes good and is whipped up without actually cooking. 

Some of my very favorite salad recipes don't involve any type of lettuce or greens at all (and this is one of them!) I actually came up with this classic in my college days, when I lived with several vegetarian roommates, and today I thought that these ripe figs would be a perfect addition. It's a hearty, filling white bean salad with floral-y herbs de provence and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette. There's a bite from some fresh onion, and the mellow sweetness of the figs blends in just wonderfully. It would also be fantastic with some feta cheese sprinkled on top (but leave that out if you're opting for the vegan version). 

Living Abroad Life Hack: Pumpkin Spice Coffee

Necessity is the mother of invention. I always took the season of "pumpkin spiced everything" for granted, until now. Apparently, it's a strictly American obsession, and I was on the verge of suffering withdrawal. Something had to be done, and quick.

I searched Pinterest diligently, but all Pumpkin Spice Latte recipes I found required one of two things: pumpkin puree (which I can't find in stores here), and pumpkin pie spice (again, doesn't really exist on this side of the Atlantic). In an act of sheer desperation, I concocted this little spiced coffee to hold me over until Amazon can fulfill my imported pumpkin-obsessed needs.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee

Ingredients:
Coffee (Instant or Brewed, 8 oz)
Milk (or non-dairy milk or creamer)
Ground Nutmeg
Ground Cinnamon
Ground Ginger
Raw Sugar (optional)

Add a dash of nutmeg (literally, one little dash), two dashes of cinnamon (sorry for the super precise measurements), and a dash of ground ginger to bottom of coffee cup. Add 1 tsp raw sugar (optional), and milk (again, optional) and stir. Add coffee, instant or brewed, and enjoy! It's that simple, and it definitely evokes those feelings of fall in a pinch. If you have McCormick pumpkin pie spice sitting around in your pantry, and you never use it except that once-a-year pie, then take a shortcut and toss that in instead of the individual spices! It's quick, easy, and does a lot less caloric damage than a commercial latte.

Enjoy!

Diary of a Diet: Everyone is Different

Maybe you recall my post last week about my recent budding adventures on a "Pairing Diet", due to a decrease in my energy levels and an overall want to feel healthier in my day-to-day life. I also pointed out in that post that different people have different dietary needs, and sometimes certain approaches just don't work for some people. Well, this diet just wasn't doing it for me. Nope.

The lack of carbs in the majority of my meals left me clinging to a bowl of basmati rice while my internal voice screamed, "You'll never take me alive!"

I ended up even more drained of energy, and craving processed and sugary snacks, so I decided to nip this diet in the bud before I did more harm than good. It was a good jump start back into healthier eating, though, and made me more conscious of the balances of foods I had been eating (ie: wine, cheese, and red meat). I'm enjoying more of a lean-protein, veggie-centric meal style so far this week. Although there are no strict dietary guidelines to the way I'm eating, it's nice to get back to a style of cooking that I have preferred in the past. I'll admit, it's not easy to feed a meat-and-potatoes guy when you're trying to be mostly veg, but I think I've found a good balance and everyone is happy.

Some might argue that being forced into strict dietary guidelines actually makes one more likely to revert back to an unhealthy eating pattern; when food is seen as "bad" or "cheating", the temptation is there to, well, cheat. But when the food is simply purchased/prepared/served as the only option, and it has enough carbs/fat/yum to satisfy while remaining healthy, there is less of a chance of straying from the path.
So, while I did try to go on a two-week, supposedly energy-boosting diet, I decided that it wasn't working for me, and my long-held strategy of enjoying my food was the better option. Here's a little glimpse of what has made it onto my plate this week.

 This very veggie-laden stir fry with rice noodles is a lunchtime favorite

My "Border Patrol Breakfast Burrito" : Get the recipe here

This family dinner from last night: Tequila Lime Chicken. Om nom nom. This was definitely a crowd pleaser at the dinner table. Next time I make it, I'll be sure to post the recipe!

My favorite use for leftover chili: Taco salad! I'm beginning to sense a very southwest-heavy trend in my eating this week. Maybe a little bit of homesickness is manifesting itself in taco-themed everything. 

Which I am totally ok with. 

Border Patrol Breakfast Burrito

Most mornings, I'm not a big 'breakfast person'. This morning, however, I had some really Kafka dreams about touring Martha Washington's house and being turned into a statue (I'm not even joking. Any dream interpreters out there?). My odd sleep experiences woke me up around 4am, and I have simply not been able to fall back asleep. Around 6:30, Millie (the dog) started whining to be let outside, so I gave up and began what has become a coffee marathon.

On mornings like this, I need some fuel to keep me going for the rest of the day. Breakfast burritos are a recent homemade obsession of mine, so I employed some leftover taco night ingredients and threw together what I call a the Border Patrol Breakfast Burrito. The sauces look like a Mexican flag, teehee! (I'm easily amused.)

Ingredients: 

Diced onion, caramelized first!

1 egg, scrambled

Lettuce

Tomato

Cucumber (Hey, it's not Mexican but I'm trying to be healthy. Bring on the veggies!)

Hot sauce

Greek yogurt

Guacamole or fresh avocado

Salt & pepper

Fresh cilantro/coriander

1 10-inch tortilla  *hint: I microwave for 15 seconds before wrapping, so that it doesn't crack!*

Wrap it up, baby! It's that simple. YUM!

The Baked Omelet

Sounds complicated and fancy, right? Looks it, too. But it's not, I promise! Baking an omelet means you don't have to flip it on the stove, so whatever ingredients you pile on top can stay sittin' pretty. The recipe starts on a stove, then moves to the oven: they key is having a saucepan that handle it (metal handled pans work best!) If you saw my recipe post from yesterday, you know that there's smoked trout in the fridge right now. It's a real treat/obsession for me, so I'm basically incorporating it into everything I eat, until it's all gone. [insert sad face]

This technique works for any kind of omelet though, so you can use your traditional favorites (ham and cheese), or branch out with some really lovely ideas (asparagus and bacon?). It's a blank canvas!

Here's how I made mine: 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter or olive oil (or 1/2 butter & 1/2 olive oil, if you're feeling fancy and French)

2 medium eggs

1 tbsp milk

1/4 cup finely diced onion

3-4 basil leaves, sliced into 1/8" strips (chiffonade, for those of you in the culinary know)

1/2 fillet of smoked trout

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Add milk to the eggs and beat with a fork - **Do not add salt or pepper yet! Salt will dry out the eggs at this stage; save that for the last step**

Heat pan on the stove on medium heat, with butter or oil

When the butter/oil is fully melted and heated, tilt the pan to cover the entire bottom. This will ensure that your omelet slides out nicely at the end

Add the eggs, reducing heat to low, and add toppings of your choice

When the edges of the omelet are just beginning to firm up, add salt & pepper, and transfer the pan to the oven at 250 degrees (Farenheit. I don't know the conversion to Celsius yet, and I'm sorry.)

Keep an eye on it, and your omelet will be finished when the center is solid

Remove pan from the oven (remember that the handle will be hot!) and use a spatula to slide your omelet onto the plate

Garnish with fresh herbs or leftover ingredients. Voila! A fancy omelet made simple. 

Warm and Seasonal

In an effort to eat healthier (and cut back on my daily French cheese binges) I'm trying to make sure that my meals stay fresh and seasonal. August is one of my favorite months for fresh produce; the start of the "harvest season."

One cannot live on salads alone, so I tried to dress this one up with a toasty twist: on a bed of fresh cool spinach, I've piled some roasted vegetables. I love the interplay of warm and cool, and the contrast in crunchy and soft textures. The spinach underneath wilts ever so slightly, as the tomatoes burst and the juices create their own dressing for this salad. As an extra treat today, I've put some cold smoked trout flaked on top. It's salty and creamy, and reminds me of the fish I loved to eat growing up. You could substitute some good tuna, or even some sardines or anchovies if that's more to your taste. Or, if you're not much of a fish person, this flavorful veggie feast doesn't need any additional adornment. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 of a medium sized (8-9 inch long) courgette (zucchini), in 1/4" slices
1/4 of one large yellow or red onion, sliced thinly
1 clove of garlic, sliced thin OR 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Fresh cherry tomatoes, whole, one handful
1 handful fresh baby spinach, rinsed and dried
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped (dried is ok, too!)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper, to taste

In a saucepan over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and coat the base of the pan
Add tomato, onion, garlic, and courgette, salt and pepper, and toss to coat
Saute for 6-8 minutes or until the ingredients are cooked to your liking (some like it crunchier, some like it softer)
Place spinach in a large bowl, and top with the cooked veggies
Flake smoked fish (or your fish of choice) over the top
Enjoy!

Berry Good

Cooking: it never gets old (well, at least for me it doesn't). Experimentation is a constant, exciting adventure. Flavors I never would have thought to combine can actually be complimentary, and it's an exciting inspiration when I'm in the kitchen. Since lavender has continued to gain popularity in recipes (being used for culinary flavor instead of being used solely for fragrance), I've tried to use more herbs outside of their 'original purpose comfort zone'.

Blackberries are in season here at the moment, so I've been picking them at every chance I get. I munch them on their own or in some greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey. Yesterday, sitting on the kitchen windowsill there were five basil plants, so I thought, What the heck, and tossed a few leaves into my yogurt and berry snack. What a yummy flavor pairing! This isn't the first time I've had a basil-and-fruit epiphany; remember my recipe for Pineapple Basil Granita? That one was a favorite. 

It's so fun to continue to incorporate basil into my cooking, outside of traditional savory recipes. Another favorite summer snack with an unexpected spiced twist is watermelon sprinkled with chai tea masala. (I buy this brand, or pick up a spice mixture from a local Middle Eastern grocery store).

Have any tips on unexpected herbal or spice flavor pairings? Comment and let me know so I can give it a try, too!

Cold Soba Salad

I'm a big fan of soba noodles. When I was on an exclusively gluten-free diet for several years, these buckwheat beauties opened the door to many new culinary options. Lately, I've been loving them in cold dishes and salads, where their nutty flavor really stands out. Here's a recipe that I've been making for lunch the past few days; feel free to substitute your own veggies or protein, depending on what is on hand.

The beauty of this recipe is that once you adjust the dressing to your liking, you can really do anything you'd like with the other ingredients. Sometimes I like to add lime juice and make the dressing more acidic, whereas other days a more nutty sesame-heavy dressing pairs well with the ingredients I'm using. I've tossed in some leftover roast chicken, and sometimes I like a soft boiled egg on top. Shrimp is a great addition, too - leave me a comment if you give this recipe a try!

Salad Ingredients:
Soba Noodles - 1 bundle (these often come packaged in 3-4 "bundles")
Spring Onions -2 *save 1/3 for garnish*
Bell Pepper, diced
Cucumber, sliced into matchsticks
Soft Boiled Egg *Optional - substitute your own protein, like tofu or chicken or shrimp*

Dressing Ingredients: *adjust these to your liking*
Sesame Oil
Soy Sauce
Rice Vinegar
Sriracha (or any other Asian hot sauce) *use this for garnish on top as well*
Spring Onion - 2 stalks

-Boil water, then add soba noodles and stir to avoid sticking.
-While noodles are cooking (takes about 5-7 minutes), mix dressing ingredients together. Adjust flavors until you are happy with the outcome; you will need about 1/3 cup of liquid (start with small quantities!)
-Once noodles are fully cooked (either follow instructions on package, or taste them to determine done-ness), drain and rinse in cold water.
-Return cold cooked noodles to the pan, adding the vegetables and dressing.
-If you are adding a protein that can be mixed in, add that now as well. Toss together gently and pour into a bowl or onto a plate.
-Top with an egg (optional), and garnish with spring onion and a little more hot sauce.

Voila!

Moving Meals!

Well, it's no secret: in less than a week... we will officially have moved to England! Consequently, most of our apartment is being put in boxes, and our kitchen is growing emptier by the day. I'm determined to use up as much of the contents of our fridge/freezer/pantry as humanly possible before we depart, and so I bring you the "Moving Meals" series. These recipes are quick, cheap, require minimal ingredients, and are perfect for those ramen-noodle-budget times. Today's lunch: Cheap Chicken Chow Mein!

Ingredients: 

Ramen noodles, or rice noodles (whichever you have or prefer, one serving)
Broccoli: one box frozen, or one small head, fresh
1 bell pepper (optional)
1/2 of one yellow (or red) onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 chicken breast, diced (or 1 can of cooked chicken breast meat)
Soy Sauce
Black bean garlic sauce (or hoisin sauce + rice vinegar)
Water
Corn starch (optional, it just helps the sauce to thicken & look nicer, but doesn't effect taste)

Saute all of the vegetables with olive oil or sesame oil in a lidded pan while the water for the ramen (or rice) noodles comes to a boil.
Combine 1 tbsp black bean sauce with 3/4 cup water and 1/2 tbsp cornstarch and set aside
(Alternative: combine 1/2 tbsp hoisin, 1 tsp rice vinegar, and 1 clove finely minced garlic with cornstarch)
Add 1/2 of the sauce/water mixture to the vegetables, and cover while continuing to cook on medium low heat.
Add cooked noodles to vegetables (after straining, obviously) and add the rest of the sauce, too.
Cover with a lid, toss a little, and cook on low/medium low for another 1-3  minutes.
Garnish with... whatever! Herbs, lime, radish, etc - use up all the fresh bits in the fridge, and dig in!

If you try this recipe, comment below and let me know what you think!

Buh-buh-buh-BEETS!

A combination of summer's finest seasonal ingredients, and my recent wanderings in Brighton Beach (known as "Little Russia" to the Brooklyn locals), has left me with a craving for beets.

Red, ripe, naturally sweet - I love them picked or steamed, in salads and soups. One of my favorite summer foods from my childhood was my mom's pickled eggs & beets, the eggs stained burgundy with the vinegary sweetness of the beet-infused pickling liquid.

This time, I whipped up a quick beet soup - it's super simple and, if you omit the yogurt or sour cream garnish, it's vegan too!

You'll Need:
2 medium sized red beets, peeled and diced into 1/2" cubes

1/2 one yellow onion, chopped

3-5 cloves garlic, chopped 

1tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp lemon zest 

White pepper

Black pepper

Sea salt 

For the Garnish: 

Greek yogurt (or sour cream) 

Fresh dill (or parsley)

Add beets, onion, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper to a medium saucepan.
Fill with water just to the top of the beets, and bring to a boil.
Simmer until the beets are fork tender (the softness you'd want potatoes to be for mashed potatoes)
Add lemon zest just at the end, and remove from the heat.

Using a stick (immersion) blender, puree until smooth.
Garnish with Greek yogurt, or sour cream, and some fresh dill.
Enjoy!

      

Fruity

I'm currently in recovery mode from three weeks of decadent restaurant dining while my in-laws were visiting, so I decided to go with a salad tonight for dinner. Since so many delicious fruits are ripe and in season at the moment, I grabbed a few pears and peaches and topped off some Belgian endives with a honey & apple cider vinaigrette. Yummy and filling!

 I love grilling summer fruits. The natural sugars caramelize, and the sweetness is offset by a hint of smoke that adds just the right amount of savory flavor. 

Endive, Pear, and Grilled Peach Salad

- 6 leaves Belgian endives

- 1/2 Bartlett pear, sliced

- 1 ripe peach, thickly sliced

- 1 small persian cucumber, thinly sliced

- Several shavings of locatelli or parmesan cheese (bleu cheese crumbles would also work!)

- 3-5 very thin slices of cured salami (optional) 

For the dressing:

-1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

-1 tsp apple cider vinegar (I used Bragg's)

-1/2 tsp organic honey

-1/4 tsp brown mustard (to bind everything together)

Seasonal Eats

I try to keep my grocery shopping and diet in line with seasonal, local ingredients whenever possible. Summer and autumn may seem like the most exciting seasons for fresh produce, but I personally love winter! Winter is harvest time for cruciferous and root vegetables that I absolutely love, like brussel sprouts, kale, and beets. Contrary to popular belief, a lot of delicious veggies are available at this time of year. Below is a recipe for a super simple, super yummy beet soup that will warm (and fill) you up on the coldest of days.

I came up with this yummy creation yesterday, while experimenting with some Japanese black garlic I had bought. Black garlic is fermented and delicious, with a mild roasted garlic flavor and the sweetness of molasses. It can make an amazing salad dressing or aioli, or in this case, add tangy, earthy notes to round out my soup.

Roasted & Spiced Beet Soup

1 medium (3.5") beet, peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks
1 red onion, quartered
1 bell pepper, red or yellow, sliced into 1" thick strips
2 cloves raw garlic, sliced thinly
2 cloves black garlic (optional- substitute w/ 1 tsp molasses)
salt
pepper
cumin (I toasted and ground whole seeds, but powdered is OK if it is fresh)
chili powder
turmeric (optional - I added this for health benefits, not necessarily for flavor)
chili flakes (optional - I like a little spice in everything!)
olive oil
water

Place all of your vegetable, except garlic, on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil just enough to coat all vegetables evenly when mixed together, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, or until beets are caramelized (shown below). Check on them frequently, as the peppers and onions may burn around the edges. If you need to turn the oven heat down to 350 to prevent burning, do so; the roasting will simply take longer.

Remove veggies from oven and transfer to large pot on stove.
If you are using whole spices, toast and grind 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds with 1 tsp chili powder, pepper flakes, peppercorns, sea salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric. If using ground spices, mix all together in ramekin or other small dish for easy addition to the soup.
Add 1/2 of your spice mixture to the vegetables and toss with  a wooden spoon to coat evenly. Over low heat, saute the vegetables while adding the raw and black garlic.
Once the aroma of the garlic begins to bloom, add filtered water the top of the vegetables. Do not completely submerge - some tips and ends of the veggies should be poking out of the water.
Cover and let simmer over low medium heat until the beets are fork tender. Taste the broth after about 10 minutes and add the remaining spices, or additional salt/pepper, to taste.
Once everything is well incorporated and cooked through, remove from heat and prepare to blend.
I used a stick (submersible) blender, but the blending could also take place in a high-powered blender or food processor, though the soup will have to be left to cool first before blending.
Try to use a deep pot for the blending, or you will be painting your kitchen walls beet red!
Blend until it is a creamy, thick soup without lumps. You may need to add a few tablespoons of water, if some liquid evaporated in the cooking process.
Garnish with fresh parsley, sour cream, or horseradish cream (sour cream or yogurt with horseradish mixed in).
Bon apetit!

Let me know if you tried and enjoyed this recipe, or if you have any other seasonal recipes you'd like to share, in the comments or by emailing me at disownedclothing@gmail.com!

Pork Two Ways

A couple on a budget still wants to have a nice big roast dinner on Sundays.
For the first time, I attempted to cook a whole pork shoulder into tender, moist, succulent (I swear I'm not trying to make this sound sexy, it's just happening. I mean, it IS pork. These things happen)...

Disclaimer: sorry for the photo quality, I was in too much of a hurry to grab my camera today, so my iphone did the job. 



I have truly, truly outdone myself this time. *Pats self on back*

On Sunday morning, I put this behemoth in the oven. 7 hours later...

A whole pork shoulder. Which then became the Sunday roast dinner (ahem, see below)...

Whose astronomically tender leftovers were repurposed (I mean, there are like 9 lbs left, I'm going to be eating pork in various dishes for a week)... into the below Asian delight. 

This is a wonton noodle soup bowl version I made for my honey... mine sported GF rice noodles and a squeeze of lime. I could probably eat noodle bowls every day of my life. Tomorrow will probably be pork tacos. (Taco Tuesday, duh!). Loving this whole one-meal-lasts-a-week thing. We can eat well on a budget without a casserole dish in sight!