Pork Chop Pork Chop Greesy Greesy

Dear Tia Fia,

Diving into the pool of excess- oh boy- gotta love it. Really, I'm going to have to make some friends who offer me Nutella. If I bought it for the house, B and I would eat it in a single sitting.

You won't believe how cool it is here in Chicago. It's been between 62 and 75 degrees for the last week. Although the early autumn is pleasant, the crisp weather is foreboding in its promise of 20 below oh my God this could actually kill me freezing cold. I imagine this is the reason people say "Why'd you move HERE?" when tell them I'm from Austin. Yeah cold is a deterrent, but there are an amazing amount of things to do here. It's not just margaritas, Tex-Mex and Barton Springs.
Evidence-
Edgewater Farmer's Market where we can buy:




heirloom tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, and flowers that I thought were pretty in their purpleness, but forgot to note the name.

Hosted by neighborhood store, Nature's Way, the market is a small, but effective, meeting place for neighbors and friends. Nature's Way also has this cool rooftop garden thing going on. They grow some of the veggies they sell on the ROOF. You can check out the details here. We weren't allowed to climb the ladder and get a sneak peak, but they were certainly nice about answering all our questions.

Afterward, B and I split the Cherry Custard Strudel and had a hot cup of coffee at Austrian Bakery.



Whenever we're there we make sure to pick up a loaf of Sunflower Bread (see picture with pork chop) and buy a pastry we've never had. See that sugar on top? It makes the crunchiest, yummiest texture ever.

Because all the above fun was so tiring and expensive, we ate in for the evening.

Pork Chops Saltimbocca (adapted from Gourmet)

2 (1-in thick) center cut pork chops
2 sage leaves, finely chopped
2 very thin slices Italian Fontina
2 thin slices prosciutto
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2) Cut a deep, wide pocket in each pork chop. Sprinkle half of sage in each pocket and stuff pockets with cheese and prosciutto. Pat chops dry and season with salt and pepper. I also like to add a little bit of sugar to the 1st pan down side.
3) Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a ovenproof skillet over medium high heat until it shimmers. Cook chops until undersides are golden, about 2 minutes, then turn chops and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until cooked through. About 5 minutes.

See, easy as pie. Although- I didn't make my pocket wide enough and the double pork goodness was centered in a very small area of chop. Also it says 5 minutes, but I shoulda put an extra 2 minutes on the meat, we couldn't eat close to the bone.
Did you get your Fulbright application sent? I keep thinking about how much I'll miss y'all if you go to Bangladesh.

Love,
Tia T

P.S. New word I will not say- Swab. Even the benign command "Swab the deck" sounds suspect.

The Weekend in Review

Tia T -

I like to saunter into the idea of restraint and then sprint right out, which totally happened this weekend starting Friday night, when Laura and I made tomato pie. It tasted as cheesily, decadently good as you promised. Laura threw some feta into the cheese mixture, which nicely complemented the basil and tomatoes.

Then, J and I had a wonderful Saturday afternoon that included cinnamon-laced chocolate ice cream from our favorite ice cream shop. I ate a whole serving of it on a sugar cone like ice cream was going out of style while J and I walked hand in hand and window shopped.

And then our Saturday evening began with this tasty chicken dish:

Pretty delicious looking, right? It took no more than 15 minutes to make, was spicy, smoky, and sweet, and went great alongside some leftover orzo. I'm thinking it'd be good on top of some home fries or just plain white rice too, anything to sop up that sauce. J, who is not generally a huge sauce fan, licked that mustardly goodness right off his fork.

Finally, my friend Jess had me and Laura over for brunch this morning. Girlfriend made brown sugar and blueberry waffles, then taunted us further with a jar of Nutella:

I share all these food pron pictures with you to emphasize how briefly I lingered in Spiritual Growth Land. I didn't just fall off the wagon; I leaped. This state of Dionsyian bliss puts me in the right frame of mind to not just admire your refrigerator shelf stacked with cheese, but to wish to acquire my own.

Now, unfortunately, back to work. I hope this weekend found your "project" in an enjoyable phase of its development.

Love you!

-Ti to the Fiazzle

Cheese Heavy

Dear Tia Fia,

After reading your letter I was struck by the stark contrast in our weeks. While it sounds like your week is one of spiritual growth and sacrifice, mine is one of self-indulgence and idleness.

Although I could offer you tons of evidence to support the above statement I will only give you one:







I call this Cheese Heavy. Yes, that's right. Five cheeses and even more dairy products. The grated Monterrey jack/cheddar mix is for casseroles, the goat is for salads, the Parmesan is again for salads when I don't feel like goat, the small block of cheddar is for my walnuts or my eggs in the morning, and after taking this photo I added a provolone to make your Eggplant Pizza (which was AMAZING).

We usually have only a mild cheddar, but this week is prime time to work on what I call "the Project". Most projects require discipline, hard work, and time management, but for this one the Doc prescribed no running, five more pounds, and relaxation. Not only does an abundance of cheese choices help me gain those pounds, but it also signals to my cave woman brain "him- good provider" about B. Or this is how I explain it to B when he asks, "What the Hell are five cheeses doing in the fridge!!???"


Let me know how your weekend went.

Love,
TT

Ramadan-A-Ding-Dong

Dear Tia Tay,

It's Ramadan for Muslims worldwide, and I'm struggling to fast often enough that I don't feel the usual resurgence of inherited guilt. When I was younger and living at home, Ramadan seemed like a boundary encircling our house, separating us from the rest of Smalltown, West Texas. Inside, my mother cooked Bengali food without being able to taste for salt or seasoning, my father read the Qur'an, and I wandered from room to room, trying to find something to fill my hands to pass the time. Outside were children on bikes, families warming up their grill for what I imagined were steaks, and what seemed like an entire world able to eat and drink at whim.

We'd break our fast with dates and glasses of milk swirled with this syrup that tasted like roses and candy. I always made a beeline for the water afterwards; that's always been the hardest part of fasting for me.

I think the notion of imposing rigor on oneself temporarily is an interesting one, so part of me was eager to try to keep as many fasts as I could. Yeah, that ship has sailed. Somehow, it's a lot harder as an adult. I'm so reliant on my daily rituals, as simple as they are: a bowl of cereal or a smoothie in the morning, a cup of coffee at the coffeeshop I go to write sometimes, water all throughout the day from the bottle I carry with me everywhere.

Thankfully, my friend Amira fasted with me yesterday. Solidarity means everything when you can't take even a sip of water from sunrise to sunset.

We agreed to break our fast at my place with a light meal and several huge, ice-laden glasses of water. I wanted to make something filling and healthy; heavy food is the worse thing you can do to an entirely empty stomach.

It must be an Elise kind of week, because her Greek meatballs were easy to make, flavorful, and satisfying. And the seasoning is minimal enough that I didn't feel like I needed to taste while I was making them. I served them with a dipping sauce made from Greek yogurt mixed with sour cream and dill and alongside the following orzo:

Orzo with Spinach, Cucumber, and Feta (adapted from my friend Laura)

1. Cook orzo according to the directions on the package. I cooked mine with half chicken stock/half water. Drain.

2. While orzo is draining, slice cucumbers lengthwise, then again into small half-moon shaped slices. Chop a few generous handfuls of spinach.

3. When orzo has cooled, throw it in a bowl and toss with a few glugs of olive oil.

4. Add spinach and cucumber slices, then the feta.

5. Toss to mix. Eat. Repeat!

By the way, B's salad dressing inspired me to try some new dressings. I usually just mix lemon juice and olive oil with some salt and pepper, but I'm definitely going to try that.

Continuing with Elise week, Laura and I are actually making the tomato pie tomorrow night! You captured dead on what makes Simply Recipes one of my favorite food blogs: simple, fresh, and thoughtfully made food. I'm terribly excited, even more so after seeing your pictures. I like the idea of a whole wheat crust, but I especially like the prospect of cheesy goodness. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Hope your week has gone well - what are y'all's plans for the weekend?

Much Love,

TF

Pie

Dear Tia Fia-

The idea to put a fried egg on a salad is genius! At work, about a week ago, we were discussing odd things that tasted good with fried eggs on them. My list included hamburgers, enchiladas, and hash browns (not weird, but definitely a classic). Nobody mentioned greens, I can't wait to tell 'em about it.

Glad you liked my pseudo food porn pics. I swear to God I will never arrange peaches in the shape of a starfish ever ever again.

After years in the service industry, B and I have finally organized Sundays off together. To celebrate we like to cook, have a fight, and then make up. The picture was taken after cooking and before the fight. The walnuts, goat cheese, and peaches added to arugula was the most exciting part. It tasted kinda like a grown-up version of peaches and cream. B composed the dressing. Together he combined:

1/2 cup of prosecco (reduced to half a cup)
1 egg yolk
lotsa basil
pepper
shallot
garlic
lotsa lemon juice

Dressings are super hard to do though, and we needed to put a ton more lemon or maybe a vinegar in the stuff. It didn't distract from the salad, but it could've added more.

Tonight I pulled from my favorite food blog- www.simplyrecipes.com. Elise always selects the most yummy recipes. She uses a ton of fresh veggies and her ingredients are never high-brow. Today I tried to make her Tomato Pie. Hers looked like this (includes the recipe).
Mine looked like this:


LOOK"N GOOD! Right?

The warm cheesy zucchini tomato goodness was amazing- that is not an exaggeration. Adding the zucchini and using a store-bought whole wheat crust, it was little different than Elise's, but everything else I followed to the letter. This recipe will definitely be made again.

Did you finish your statement of purpose?

Love,
TT

Food for Thought

Tia Tay!

That does look like an amazing day...details, and fast. Are those peaches in that heavenly looking salad? Goat cheese? WALNUTS?!!! What herbs are canoodling with that chicken? That looks like a restaurant I would want to frequent but couldn't afford - is that your house?

My life is a little more dull at the moment...I'm sitting at my desk, taking a lunch break from a frustrating few hours of working on my statement of purpose for the Fulbright application. I hate this kind of writing, because it always feels contrived to try to find that balance between overly modest and explicitly self-aggrandizing. I wanted to eat something fresh, light, but substantial enough to kick start my beaten-against-the-wall brain. After foraging through my pantry and the fridge and busying myself in the kitchen for a few minutes, I sat back down at my desk with renewed purpose.

A bowl of baby spinach. A can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed. A generous handful of grated parmesan cheese. A few glugs of olive oil, and the juice of a whole lemon. One fried egg dusted with ground black pepper. I think I can get back to work now.

Can't wait to hear the details of your day -

Love,

TF

A Long Day

Um-- Ms. Tia Fia

Your Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake looks amazing. I'm going to have to try it even though I'm a total wuss about baking. I always think bakers are the most brave people on earth- all that science they have to learn.

Anyway, the cake would've gone great with my day. It looked like this-



+




=

an amazing day.

Give you the details later.

Love,

Tia T

Chocolate and Cheese

Dear Tia Tay,

I'm glad to not be alone in a universe of self-imposed arbitrary rules. I hardly ever make anything I don't have at least the majority of ingredients for. This is true especially for baking. It's such a high maintenance task already - who wants to leave the house on a rainy afternoon for something as ultimately useless as whole jar of instant coffee granules of which you are going to use only ONE freaking teaspoon just for a chocolate ganache?

These are the kind of injustices that haunt me late at night. By the way, "granule" is a word that bothers me, though I'm not sure why. I don't think I can shun it entirely, but it makes me think of having sand in my mouth, and that's gross.

Ganache, on the other hand, is a word I love. It instantly makes me think of creamy, glossy chocolate rippling over some baked good. My love of this glorious concept compelled me to make Ina Garten's Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake to accompany the huge trays of my mother's delicious Bengali food (left over from her recent visit) I served at the party Friday night.

I chose this recipe, in part, to get rid of a lot of foodstuffs that were about to bite it: almost-mushy navel oranges, buttermilk on its last leg, the remaining few eggs in the carton. I almost always have semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate on hand (dangerous, but sometimes necessary in emergencies), and heavy whipping cream as well.

The combination of citrus and chocolate, I thought, might complement the spiciness of the main course. I served slices of it warm with a scoop of tangerine sorbet. Judging by the look on AC's face and the empty cake plate left at the end of the night, I think it was a success:

Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake (adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties)

1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1/4 cup grated orange zest (from 4 large oranges)
3 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups good semisweet chocolate chunks

Syrup:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Ganache:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules (which I did not use, obviously, and I don't think it mattered)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the orange zest.

3. Sift together 3 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour. Toss the chocolate chunks with 2 tablespoons flour and add to the batter. Pour into the pan, smooth the top, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the syrup. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves. Remove the cake from the pan, set it on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely.

5. For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

How was y'all's weekend? I just used the last of the whipping cream to make that goat cheese sauce, by the way, which was perfect since I had leftover goat cheese from the eggplant pizza. I added some shrimp to it and baked it in the oven for our Sunday evening dinner. It ended up being kind of a creamy stew, and I had to stop myself from tipping my bowl back and drinking it. J loved it too - he sends his thanks and his love.

Mine too,

TF

Rules

Tia Fia-

Not only do I have rules for dining out, but I also have rules for makin' dinner. Existing only in my head, these strict stipulations are based on a complex and emotional framework that changes frequently and is unexplainable. So when B said the other evening, "I think I want to cook tonight," he knew to sit on the couch quietly and listen to-

1) You have to use the chicken breasts.

2) The goat cheese crumbles have to be used up.
3) There will be no going to the store for ingredients. And
4) The vegetables that are on the brink of turning need to be eaten.

Instead of complaining, B rose to the challenge and found a yummy and new recipe on-line.

He baked the chicken breasts and then slowly simmered

3/4 cup of goat cheese
1/2 cup of cream
1/2 cup of chicken broth
1 garlic clove
a handful of fresh herbs from our container garden


He then put this on top of the chicken breasts. Girl- I could eat this EVERY week. I see it on grilled veggies, a chicken sandwich, or on a spoon shoveled into my mouth while I'm standing over the stove.

How was your party? Let me know.

Love,

TT

P.S. I'm putting "veggie patch" on my Will Never Say list- it joins moist, pluck and prune.

Temperate Summer

Dear Tia Fia,

O.K. don't be jealous-it's 77 degrees and breezy here in Uptown, Chicago. We've had the most mild summer I've ever seen. No air-condition hopping for us, only open windows, sweaters at night, and hot coffee in the a.m. Our lone window unit resides in our bedroom, not because it's too hot to open the window, but because I'm afraid the bad men will break in and steal me. The weather has been so balmy that it has taken 'till August for B's strawberries to ripen-


Because we only have a few plants, B and I each have one strawberry a day. If we had more I'd make this for dessert.

For eating out, I just require that it be really good and that I can't make it. Like for pastor tacos with homemade corn tortillas, I'd require a roasting spit and an altogether new place of family origin. Posessing neither, I have to go to Carmela's (so small they don't have a website) for lunch when I can't stand another day of Yankee food.

The aguas frescas recipe you sent looks great. I'd love to try the mint cucumber.

Love ya,

TT

Dear Tia Tay,

Richmond's been flooded by a deluge of incredible heat and humidity lately, making me remember more than one Austin summer spent hopping from one air-conditioned place to the next. Today's air-conditioned environment was briefly provided by Croaker's Spot, a local restaurant whose menu is unabashedly seafood-laden. I didn't dare order one of the two chicken dishes there, much less anything from the begrudgingly short list of vegetarian items known as "The Veggie Patch."

I ordered the shrimp po boy, which of course immediately made me think of you. Is it strange that I feel guilty eating something you can't? I must be more poorly differentiated than I thought. In case you were wondering, it was delicious: the bread soft and slightly toasted, the creaminess of the mayonnaise perfectly complementing the crispness of the battered shrimp. I drenched my sandwich in Louisiana hot sauce, and resigned myself to the sound of my arteries slamming shut.

Aside from pondering the psychological issues underlying guilt and whether or not my health insurance would cover me if I had an actual heart attack, today's lunch made me wonder if you had any rules for ordering in restaurants. I rarely eat out these days, and when J and I decide to, I drive him crazy by insisting that we go somewhere I can order something I wouldn't/couldn't make myself. Today's sandwich, for example: no way that you could achieve that kind of sandwich without a deep fryer, an appliance my cholesterol thanks me for not having.

How do y'all choose where to go out to eat, and do you have rules for ordering at restaurants too? Maybe it's just me.

I don't have a picture from lunch, which is a shame, because there were three lofty, beautifully made and frosted cakes resplendent beneath glass domes right next to where we were sitting. Instead, here's a picture of a glass of orange juice, courtesy, again, of my brother:

Hope to hear from you soon - is it hot out there in Chi-town? If so, maybe this will cool you and B off.

Love,

Tia Fia

Dear Tia Tay,

Ah, house guests. It seems we both have been invaded by this curious breed of human, though it sounds like y'all have had a great time. My parents and my little brother, as you heard, have been in town from Texas since Friday evening, and J and I have had a whirlwind couple of days filled with food, copious walking, and more food. I've just put my feet up to check my email for the first time in what seems like days, and I'm glad to have a new letter from you to read.

We have had a few meals out, though of course I always want to impress my parents and show them that not only am I a grownup (in some ways, anyway - at breakfast this morning, I managed to spill coffee and two separate bites of omelette on my white shirt, causing both my mother and J to shake their heads sadly at me), but that I can cook like one too.

My mother, like yours, is so experienced in the kitchen that it's intimidating to cook for her or around her, while my father's palate is both sensitive and not easily impressed. My brother, who is about to be 13, is just beginning to venture outside the safe realm of burgers and peanut butter sandwiches.

I wanted to make something consisting of ingredients I know they like, but also a little more unique than their usual at-home fare. This eggplant pizza was quick and simple enough to make and looked fancy enough that they were suitably impressed, though, much to my dismay, unsurprised that I knocked over a salt shaker and almost tripped and fell in the process of serving it.

Eggplant, Tomato, and Goat Cheese Pizza (adapted from Gourmet)

1 package Afghan flat bread (available at most Middle Eastern grocers), though naan or the equivalent would work too
6 oz. provolone cheese, sliced into matchstick looking things
2-4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled (basically about less than half a handful)
1 roma tomato, sliced into thin rounds
1 purple eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch-thick rounds
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
sea salt
olive oil

Heat oven to 325, then eason one side of eggplant rounds with a few grinds of sea salt.

Heat some (about 2 tbs.) olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. When hot, place eggplant, salt side down, in pan. Salt the other side. Flip over when oil has soaked through eggplant, and the flesh has started to soften.

Place rounds on a baking sheet covered with foil (easy cleanup!), and cook in oven for 15-20 minutes. The eggplant should be fairly squishy when you take it out.

While the eggplant is cooking, mix garlic with roughly a tablespoon of olive oil. With a brush or knife, spread over top of the flat bread until garlic is evenly spread out.

Allow cooked eggplant to cool for about 10-15 minutes. Place rounds on top of flat bread until surface is evenly covered. Sprinkle with provolone cheese. Scatter the tomato rounds on top of cheese layer, then finish with a few sprinkles of goat cheese.

Bake in oven for 15 minutes. The crust should be crunchy but still soft.

Here's a picture (our blog's first one, yay!) of the end result, courtesy of my brother:

I like to eat my pizza drenched with as many red pepper flakes as possible, while I'm sure others prefer to keep their stomach linings intact.

Oh, I wanted to tell you - you helped me break my stir fry curse! I tried your recipe, and J loved it. The beef was tender, the asparagus crisp, and the sauce drinkable. We had no leftovers, quite the opposite from my aforementioned mushy asparagus debacle.

I hope you get a chance to rest and get back to your normal routine - I know I must be getting old, because I get downright crotchety when my routine (such as it is) is disrupted.

Sausage and sauerkraut sounds like the perfect winding down meal - what else have you got planned for the week?

Love,

Tia Fia

Sausage and a Movie

Dear Tia Fia-

B and I have an unspoken rule that we sit down to dinner. I get home first and start preparing and when he gets home it's about ready and so he sets the table. Usually it's so late in the evening we both clean up. We are both really comfortable with this routine, maybe because we both grew up with it, but for whatever the reason, we keep to it.

This week though we've had to register our DBA as Hotel de D. We've had so many friends in and out of the apartment, plus free media passes to Lollapalooza, invites to private rock shows, and just a hell of alot of booze. It's been such a fun and overwhelming week that the only thing we can do is pull out our folding chairs, pretend they are t.v. trays, download a movie, and make one of the easiest meals ever.

Bratwurst Sausage with Sauerkraut

The bratwurst gets thrown in a pan with half an inch of water and when the water has evaporated you then turn the heat up a little and brown all sides of the sausage.

The sauerkraut comes in a jar and gets dumped into a pot with a little chicken stock and alot of caraway seeds. Usually by the time the sausage is done the sauerkraut has been warmed through.

I like to put mustard on this, but some people like onions or granny smith apples.

Anyway, Chicago has almost had its 6 weeks of summer so things are about to calm down for us. I hear your parents are visiting soon. Do you have to cook meals for them or do y'all get taken out the whole time? I hope its the latter.

Write back. I can't wait to hear from you.

Love,
Tia Tay

P.S. I'll have pictures soon. I just need to get my hands on this usb cord for the camera.

Dear Tia Tay,

It's funny that you decided to go starch-free for awhile; I've been doing the same thing for almost a week now. On top of our (totally worth it!) visit to CL, and the week spent with my parents snarfing down Tex-Mex like it was going out of style, my Canadian friend M came into town, and of course the best (only?) way to entertain a guest is to feed him. So I did, with a vengeance, in the meantime feeding myself, and now I'm not sure it's just water weight I have to worry about. At least I didn't cave and buy the pint of Espresso Oreo at the local ice cream shop that I felt M absolutely must visit...

But! I do have starch-free dinner for tonight planned, and marinating in the refrigerator: chicken breasts, South Asian style. It's my default weeknight dish, because I always have the necessary spices on hand, thanks to my mother's persistent packages brimming with large, plastic spice packets, and because chicken is so flexible as a meat that it's almost obscene.

I'm excited to hear about your stir fry - it sounds delicious. I tried to make something like that once and I overcooked the asparagus into mushy stringy things that vaguely looked and tasted like asparagus but clearly was asparagus's dumber, pudgier clone.

So here I am in my chair, early evening, writing to you and pondering the dead dahlias that I can't bring myself to throw away. Not for any sentimental reason, but because it seems like a lot of effort. This kind of laziness is probably what got me into this possibly-more-than-water-weight business to begin with.

Curry Marinated Chicken Breasts and Cucumber Yogurt Salad

The Chicken (adapted from my mother)

1 lb chicken breasts
1/4 c plain yogurt
1/4 c garlic paste (available at your local Indian grocer in a giant jar for a modest sum)
1/8 c ginger paste (see above)
1 tsp-tbs turmeric powder (I didn't actually measure any of these spices, but I think they're probably alright)
1 tsp-tbs chili powder
1 tsp-tbs cumin
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt, to taste
whatever other willing and able spices you have that you want to throw in there, such as cardamom or garam masala

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl until chicken is coated evenly.
2. Stick bowl in fridge for at least an hour, though all day/all night is best.
3. Turn your oven to broil.
4. Take bowl out of fridge, let sit 10-15 minutes or until roughly room temperature.
5. Place chicken breasts in a baking dish lined with foil (makes cleanup easy!).
6. Broil chicken for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.

The Salad (adapted from www.simplyrecipes.com)

1 cucumber, quartered then sliced lengthwise
1/2 bell pepper, chopped roughly
1/2 c plain yogurt
1 tsp dried dill
salt, to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl until cucumber pieces are evenly coated by yogurt.
2. If making in advance, refrigerate until ready to eat.

You're right; that was more arduous than I expected! Hope all is well in Chi-town. I'm glad we're doing this blog thing together. I'll put some pictures up whenever I a) find my camera b) figure out how to post pictures.

Love,

Tia Fia

P.S.: Do you have any low-starch recipe ideas for buttermilk on its last leg?

Makin' Dinner

Hey Tia Fia-

So- I just started makin' dinner again. I was totally thrown off by our weekend in CL last week. Like an autistic kid, I got fussy and inconsolable because my schedule had a slight variation. "Oh MY GOD I wasn't able to paint my toenails the perfect shade of red at exactly 8:30 on Sunday night. My whole week is RUINED!" B heard this refrain a million times punctuated by my foot stomping and crying jags. Last week was more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Attractive, right?

So come the next Sunday I'd resolved to "pull myself together." Meaning scoop the litter box and make a meal. These nightly dinners haven't been creative or researched. I've been going on the formula meat+green=dinner. The only problem with this set up is that while I lose all the water weight I gained on my weekend away B wastes away to almost nothing.

Ignoring his needs, this evening I'm continuing with my no bread resolution. The dinner menu is beef and asparagus stir fry. I usually don't get to eat asparagus, but Edgewater Grocery had it for .99 a pound! Although it's extensive and has alot of ingredients this is one of my favorite recipes. (adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

1 pound of flank steak (I always get what's cheapest)
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of dry sherry ( For months I thought the vermouth in the pantry was sherry, B just told me it's not)
2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth (if I don't have it I use water)
5 tablespoons of oyster sauce (do NOT think that you can substitute this with fish sauce)
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
6 medium garlic cloves
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger (if you use the stuff in a jar make sure it doesn't have added sugar)
3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
11/4 aparagus
1/3 cup water
1 small red bell pepper
3 meduim scallions

1. Combine the beef and soy sauce in bowl- let marinate. Whisk the sherry, chicken broth, oyster sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a measuring cup. Combine garlic, ginger, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the peanut oil in a small bowl.
2. Drain the beef and discard the liquid. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of peanut oil in 12 inch pan over high heat 'till smoking. Cook beef in batches until browned. Put beef aside.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of peanut oil to the now-empty skillet; heat until smoking. Add the asparagus and cook 30 seconds; add the water, cover the pan, and lower the heat to medium. Steam the asparagus until tender-crisp, about 1 minute. Set aside.
4. Add the remaining oil and let heat 'till smoking. Add the bell pepper and let cook 'till soft and with spotty brown places.
5. Clear the center of the skillet; add the garlic and ginger mixture to the clearing and cook mashing the mixture with a spoon 'till frangrant, 15 to 20 seconds. Return the asparagus and beef to skillet and toss to combine. Whisk the sauce to recombine; then add to the skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and evenly distributed, about 30 seconds.


Whew! That was alot. I didn't know that writing the recipe down would take so much time. I think I'll open a bottle of wine to celebrate the first posting. Let me know how you're doing.

Love,
Tia Tay