I haven’t been taking pictures, but I guess I can at least document what I did.
Omlet
This morning for breakfast was bacon and omlets.
bacon was cooked at 410 F for ~13 min. This resulted in soft bacon.
5 eggs scrambled with a little salt and milk. Eggs were fine, but the cooking process and the fillings needed some work.
Tried Julia Child’s french omlet method. I guess I need to review it because it was cooked, but didn’t look pretty.
sauteed diced onions, wilted spinach, and sprinkled some mozzarella for the filling. Should have left out the spinach. Yes, it was healthier, but it made the omelet really watery. Edible, but according to Gracie, you need to press the water out of the spinach first. It reminded her of quiche.
Had diarrhea-like symptoms in the afternoon — probably from the grease / milk overload in the morning. Note to self — no grease in mornings.
Cheese
Experimented with cheese afterwards. Got 2 cups of milk warm, put in two capfuls of vinegar. And voila! Curds. The only problem is that they weren’t very tasty. Still sitting in the fridge being “pressed,” however the taste so was unspectacular I decided to use the backup queso fresco for poutine.
tilapia and rice pilaf and broccoli
Grace made tilapia just like last night – super simple and tasty. Defrost fillets, sprinkle salt, pepper, and italian herbs on it. (Lemon juice and zest if you have it) Bake for ~15 min.
I made side of rice pilaf and roasted broccoli.
I roasted the broccoli using information from these two preparations:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/good-eats/oven-roasted-broccoli-recipe/index.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/chili-garlic-roasted-broccoli-recipe/index.html
Used olive oil, red pepper flakes, and tony cachere’s to season broccoli. Roasted for about 10 minutes. I really needed at least 15 minutes because the tilapia was blocking the heat on the bottom. It was a bit too raw and crunchy.
The real success was the rice, based off of this recipe:
My main lesson learned was the ratio of water for jasmine rice:
1 cup rice = 1 1/3 cup liquid.
I also really liked sauteeing the raw rice with butter, cumin and green onion, and using chicken broth instead of water. The result is firm, moist, flavorful rice. I didn’t even add cinnamon or zest. This is a must keep recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large shallot, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 cups jasmine rice
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- One 3-inch-long piece orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1/3 cup salted cashews, coarsely chopped
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
Directions
1. Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots, cumin and salt. Cook, stirring, until the shallots are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the rice until the grains are well coated with the buttery shallot mixture.
2. Add the broth, orange zest and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, discarding the zest and cinnamon stick. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the cashews and scallions.
-Isaac
20120303