Zest Therapy

Spanish Rice: Another Recipe from my Great Grandmother's Bible

2008-05-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

I opened my email this weekend and found in the inbox a letter from my grandmother, my nommie. This usually means one of two things: that she is sending me a chain letter of some sort, most of which, I am sorry to say, I do not read...or, she is alerting me to some new 21st century danger in the most simple and effective way possible, "Dear Benny, I heard STDs are on the rise XOXO Nommie." But...to my pleasant surprise, my Nommie had called to rave about my blog, more specifically my great grandmother's rhubarb bread. She told me that she had another recipe from my nanny's bible, spanish rice, and would love to make it with me. So that is what we did today...we made spicy spanish rice.

Ingredients

1 Cup Brown Rice

5-6 Swirls Olive Oil

4 Small Onions

2 Cans diced tomatoes, drained (tomato jalepeno mix was used)

2 Bell Pepper

4 Garlic Cloves, minced

2 Teaspoons Paprika

Salt and Pepper to Taste

2 Cups Waters

Instructions

Chop vegetables. Heat oil in a pan. Add rice, onions and garlic. Heat for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, peppers, paprika, salt and pepper. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cover for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Music: Tony Bennett (Nommie insisted on the music choice)

Biology Cookout

2008-05-11T18:57:00.000-07:00

I have shown you guys a bunch of recipes. Now I wanted to show the people enjoying them. Here are some assorted pictures from our AP Biology Cookout, a tradition the day before the exam. I made my chili and barbecue sauce for this special occasion complemented by several pasta salad dishes (courtesy of many a class mom), Dr. Lynch's famous hot wings and several amazing types of desserts (I am trying to obtain a friend's chocolate cookie recipe so that I can post it. They were, in a word, scrumtulecent)

Music: Phish - Golgi Apparatus (It's a song, believe me)

Sweet Mamma Jane's BBQ Sauce

2008-05-04T13:12:00.001-07:00

For me, sunny Sunday afternoons have always screamed barbecue. So after finding some burger patties in the fridge, I thought I would make some barbecue burgers, brazed with Mamma Jane's super barbecue sauce. Here is the recipe for the sauce, use it on anything you wish. I promise it will be delicious. The making of this sauce is quite an art. It is like making soup, constantly tasting and mixing around ingredients. Most of the measurements were eyeballed and adjusted, but I did my best to quantify a "pinch".

Ingredients

Onion

1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Cup Water

1 1/2 Cup Ketchup

1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons worcestershire sauce

Tablespoon of spicy mustard

Tablespoon of dijon mustard

Dash of Tabasco sauce

Minced Garlic to taste

Tablespoon of Parsley

1/8 Teaspoon of Lavender

1/8 Teaspoon of Mustard Seed

Pinch of Lemon Grass

1/4 Teaspoon of Thyme

Kosher Salt to taste

2 Tablespoons of Honey

1/4 Cup Apricot Preserves

1/4 Cup Plum Cherry Preserves

Chopped Basil

**Note: All spices were put in to taste and you may use whatever preserves you like, if any at all.

Instructions

Chop onion and place in sauce pan. Sauté chopped Onion in olive oil. Slowly add the rest of the ingredients listed in the order above while stirring the mixture in medium heat. Let the mixture cool and blend in a food processor until fine texture.

Music: Lady Antebellum

Non-dairy puddin' for dear old Dad

2008-04-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

Whatever your flavor of choice, chocolate or vanilla, this is the recipe for you. I liken it to America's constitutional great compromise, but perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. So the following recipe is a vanilla tea infused soy milk and tofu chocolate pudding. It has no added sugar, just that in the semisweet chocolate, and is pumped with protein. Oh, and did I mention it is dairy-free...this one's for dear old Dad. By the way...this is a recipe I adapted from 101cookbooks.com (which is an unbelievably awesome site...really long hyperlink). The original recipe called for green tea, but I was feeling some vanilla, so ahh here it goes (bonus points for the pop cultural reference).

Ingredients

1 Cup chocolate soy milk

1 Tablespoon loose vanilla tea leaves

10 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

13 ounces silken tofu

On the low side of 1/4 cup of extra firm tofu (the recipe called for soft tofu, but Whole Foods was out)

1/2 Tablespoon of vanilla paste (a drop of vanilla paste)

Instructions

Pour chocolate soy milk and tea leaves into a bowl and bring to a boil. Let it cool. Melt chocolate chips in microwave (3 minutes). Combine soy milk mixture, chocolate chips and tofu into a bowl. Add vanilla paste. Mix in food processor until silky smooth consistency. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Verdict

So it was a bit heavy in the chocolate flavor, and a little bitter. Good "moosey" consistency, and I quite liked it when I added a few packs of splenda.

Music: The Beets - Killer Tofu

Yay Passover

2008-04-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

It's that special time of the year again...yes, you've guessed it: Passover, and while in years past I have resigned myself to eating the bread of affliction for a week, I tried to funk it up this year. This almond tort has no matzah in it, in any form, which I am incredibly happy about because I am already sick of this unleavened bread. It came out incredibly moist and delicious, and gained the thumb of approval from my fellow tribesmen at school. Enjoy...

Ingredients

1 Cup Almond Meal/Ground Blanched Almonds

1/2 Cup Sugar

Teaspoon Vanilla Powder (if you have it. You could use something like cocoa powder as a substitute for example)

2 Large Eggs

Stick of Unsalted Butter

Instructions

Mix together almond meal, sugar, vanilla powder and eggs. Beat in butter at room temperature. Place batter in 9 inch round, bottom lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Garnish with fruit as you like and 2 tablespoons of apricot preserves and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice microwaved for 45 seconds as glaze.

Music: Clem Snide - The Junky Jews

Great Grandma's Rhubarb Bread...or Something Like it

2008-04-09T14:51:00.001-07:00

I was walking around the market and I found, to my pleasant surprise, that rhubarb is officially in season...I know, it's an exciting time of year. So, I ventured into my kitchen shelves and discovered a recipe for rhubarb bread that I am told my Great Grandmother made all the time. I went to work, modifying the recipe a bit, but it was Nanny Miriam's at heart, and it turned out great.

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cup Rhubarb

1 Cup Sliced Strawberries

1/2 Cup Crushed Walnuts

1 Cup Milk

Teaspoons Vanilla Paste

Tablespoon Lemon Juice

1/2 Cup Pear Sauce*

1/3 Cup Canola*

1 Egg

1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar

2 1/2 Cups Flour (broken up however you please, wheat, soy, white, etc.)

1/2 Cup Oatmeal

Teaspoon Salt

Teaspoon Baking Soda

*Note: Pear or Apple Sauce Can be substituted for Vegetable/Canola Oil to cut fat.

Instructions

In a bowl, mix milk, lemon juice, vanilla paste and let sit for 10 minutes

In a separate bowl, mix egg, sugar, pear sauce and oil.

In yet another bowl, mix flour, oatmeal, salt and baking soda

Mix the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture, alternating with the milk mixture.

Cut Rhubarb and Strawberries

Fold rhubarb, strawberries and walnuts into batter.

Preheat Oven to 325

Spray two bread pans and add batter

Topping Ingredients

Tablespoon Butter

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Tablespoon Cinnamon

Topping Instructions

Melt Butter, add sugar and cinnamon and mix.

Spread topping on top of batter and bake for 45 minutes.

Music: Ben Harper - Strawberry Fields Forever

Smores Brownies

2008-04-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

I had the utmost pleasure of having math class today, which I know it is absurd, because it is a Sunday, but I went with it keeping in mind that old saying, when life gives you Sunday math class, make smores brownies...so that is precisely what I did.

Ingredients

Crust

5 1/3 Tablespoons Melted Butter

1 1/2 Cups Ground Graham Cracker Crumbs

1 Tablespoons Sugar

Dash Cinnamon

Dash Pure Vanilla Powder (from Madagascar) (Omit if you only have extract)

Brownies

4 Ounces Unsweetened Chocolate

1 1/2 Sticks of Butter

2 Cups Sugar

Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

3 Eggs

1 Cup Flour

Topping

Mini Marshmallows

Instructions

Melt butter and add crushed graham crackers. Mixed in cinnamon, sugar and vanilla powder. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and precook for about 5 minutes.

Melt butter with chocolate. Do not overcook the chocolate. It is better to have the chocolate melt completely by the heat of the butter than to overcook the chocolate. Mix in sugar, vanilla extract, eggs and flour. Pour the brownie batter onto the crust and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then add marshmallows and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Music: Dave Barnes

Pomegranate Teriyaki Chicken

2008-03-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

This idea just popped in my head. I had a bunch of pomegranate juice in the house and was in the mood for some teriyaki, so I thought the combination would bode well. I looked at how to make a basic teriyaki sauce on several sites, and the recipes were all similar or the same. This Food Network link is the recipe I followed most closely for teriyaki sauce.

Ingredients

1/3 Cup of Soy Sauce

3/8 Cup Pomegranate Juice

2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon of Rice Vinegar

1/2 Spoonful of Minced Garlic (I didn't have any garlic cloves in the house-probably use 1 or 2)

6 Boneless Chicken Breasts

Instructions

Mix sauce, pomegranate juice, brown sugar, rice vinegar and garlic until all the sugar has dissolved. Marinate chicken breasts in the concoction in a resealable bag for several hours. Bake chicken with marinade in a pan for approximately 35 minutes at 350 degrees

I thought it came out pretty well. Next time I would have added some more pomegranate juice for a more intense flavor, but definitely good. I served it topped with sesame seeds with some greens and Israeli couscous with roasted nuts on the side.

Music: Lupe Fiasco - Paris/Tokyo

Warm your Hearts with some Chili

2008-03-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

I have a fatal weakness for veggie chili. I guess you might call me a connoisseur of sorts. So I broke out the 1960s retro cooking pot and made me some chili. With the aid of English teacher extraordinaire, Cheryl Irving, for the basic recipe, I added my own zest, and made what I think is a delicious chili. I used a small can of stewed tomatoes and a small can of kidney beans, and it easily fed two for dinner with some leftover for the next day's lunch.

Ingredients:

1 Small Can of Stewed Tomatoes

1 Small Can of Kidney Beans

Olive Oil

2 Celery Stalks

2 Carrots

1 Bell Pepper

A Few Cloves of Garlic

Basil

2 Mushrooms (Shitaki)

2 Bay Leaves

Chili Powder

Cumin

Tabasco

Orange Juice

Instructions:

Chop veggies, however way you please. I used my Alaskan Wedge Chopper (totally made up the name, but it is from Alaska). Heat your stove and add in two swirls of olive oil. When the pot is warm add the veggies and sauté. Drain the kidney beans and after a few minutes add the stewed tomatoes and the beans. Stir... Add in the following ingredients to taste: Chili powder, cumin, tabasco and orange juice. I used about 5 shakes of chili powder, 3 pinches of cumin, a swirl of tabasco and a splash of orange juice. I also added in around 5 basil leaves and two bay leaves It had a kick to it, just the way I like it. Let the pot simmer on low heat until served. The great thing about chili is that proportions have little effect on overall taste. It is a perfectly customizable dish. Enjoy!

Music: John Legend, Anthony Hamilton and Marvin Gaye

Scrambled Egg Panini Wrap? SOS

2008-03-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

So, I was feeling breakfast for lunch today, and thought, why not make an omelet wrap. When push came to shove though, the omelet became more of a glorified scrambled egg. And, though I tried valiantly to make a panini wrap, the wrap was too stale to toast, and the egg amalgamate fell to pieces. With that being said, although my grandfather might call it SOS, shit on a shingle, it was nonetheless tasty.

Ingredients:

Two Eggs

Grilled Bell Peppers (Red and Green)

Water

Chopped Onion

Wrap (a fresh one)

Basil

Hoagie Spread

Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

Whisk two eggs in a bowl, adding a dash of water, with some salt and pepper. Chop up you veggies. I used onion and peppers because that was what was in the fridge. Add eggs first to the pan, followed by the veggies and cook. Put the omelet on the wrap, adding a basil and hoagie spread, fold, and toast in a panini maker for around 3 minutes.

Music: Squeeze