Garbanzo Rice Soup

Today it rained. Praise the Lord. It was a light, transient rain, but still rain nonetheless. The afternoon was bright and lovely. I had my curtains adjusted to let in the day's light, which made for a beautiful ambiance in my livingroom. I lit a candle and had Ludovico Einaudi serenading me on Pandora as I filled my brain with wonderfully useless useful MCAT facts. Yet, it was an almost perfect afternoon....
As I finished my work, the world outside my window got darker, and my stomach got hungrier. I hadn't the energy to make something complicated, so I figured soup would be easy and filling. I threw together some rice, chick peas (garbanzo), sweet corn, vegetable stock, scallions, and a bunch of spices to make a hearty soup with earthy and vibrant tones. The slightest drizzle of olive oil on top just kicks it up a notch (gotta thank Chef Ramsay for that). I paired it with some awesome Italian herb crackers and kicked back while watching a NOVA documentary on dreaming (which made me sleepy, of course). Gotta love lazy Sundays.

What's in it:
-vegetable stock, basmati rice, sweet corn, garbanzo beans, scallions, cumin, paprika, red chili flakes, chipotle, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil

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Chicken Nuggets

These lovely chicken nuggets were made in part by the even more lovely Maheen Khan. I gotta say, she's an awesome sous chef! Anyhow, this was a treat for my post MCAT practice exam hangover. Great company + great food + sytycd = cure. These tiny treats are stupidly easy to make; it takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, and about 20 minutes to bake. And the best part is that there is nearly zero cleanup! Thank God for aluminum foil. Making nuggets is a fairly simple process, requiring minimal ingredients. The most important thing is to make sure your chicken is defrosted completely before preparing them. Also, make sure you have enough eggs! I only had 1 egg on hand, and ran out of it before I could finish dredging every piece. So I improvised with some olive oil, which isn't the best idea, but it's all I could do. Basically, you cover your chicken in flour, dip that in the egg, and then cover in bread crumbs. Here, I used panko, since it is thicker. Italian crumbs do have more flavor but are thinner. You can always add your own extra spices to the crumbs, according to your taste. We had ketchup and some awesome dynamite sauce to dip the nuggets in.

Shout out to Maheen!

What's in it:
-chicken, flour, egg, panko crumbs

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Lemon Bars

Again, I really shouldn't be posting 2 entries in one day. Brain no worky work right now. Anyhow, my intent was to make lemon squares...but they turned into bars. This wasn't entirely bad, and I accidentally came across a lighter alternative to full lemon squares. The recipe I normally have used for the past couple years yields 2 sheets of lemon squares, but I accidentally put it all in one, and realized there wasn't enough room to pour in the filling on top of the crust. Therefore, the crust to filling ratio was 2:1, which created a more crispy surface rather than the normal almost gelatinous texture of a full lemon square. The taste and flavors were still spot on, though. Success.

What's in it:
-crust: flour, butter, powdered sugar
-filling: eggs, sugar, baking powder, salt, flour, lemon juice, lemon extract

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Crab Stuffed Jalapenos

My brain hurts from MCAT studying that I have almost nothing to say in this post. I made these jalapeno popper dealios yesterday, and they turned out quite well. It's a mixture of cheddar cheese with roasted peppers and jalapeno, crab meat, and scallions. I topped it all off with panko bread crumbs, and baked them for about 45 minutes. On top is a simple dynamite sushi sauce, comprised of sriracha and mayo. These are a great appetizer or party finger food.
Sorry this post is so boring. I'm tired. That is all.

What's in it:
-jalapenos, crab meat, cheddar, scallions, panko
-mayo, sriracha

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Egg and Cheese Sandwich

This is egg and cheese made over. I was definitely craving something with egg today, and luckily just went to the grocery store. At first, I wasn't going to make this post, because I was really hungry and wanted to devour the sandwich right away; but after I plated, it looked so pretty sitting there. The deep red color of the romaine and bright hues of arugula and mizuna contrasted so wonderfully. This is probably the prettiest sandwich I've ever made. That's all I have to say about that.

What's in it:
-thin whole wheat bagel, egg, salt, oregano, paprika, chedder + jalapeno + roasted red bell pepper cheese spread, red romaine, arugula, mizuna

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Caramelized Watermelon

     Caramel. Yum. Watermelon. Yum. Caremelized watermelon? That sounds weird. I know you're thinking that. Well, stop, and open your mind to the brilliance that is heat and sugars. I decided to go out on a real limb here and display a gourmet dessert that probably wouldn't cross your mind, but would definitely make Gordon Ramsay proud. It's summertime, so that means I've been indulging in one too many cooking shows on television (MasterChef, Food Network Star, and Hell's Kitchen, which is starting soon!). I see. Then I do. And voila! You get daily posts to read on this blog. (Let's hope I keep this up). I'm surprised I'm even doing any cooking and blogging, considering I have the MCAT looming over my head. But this is how I unwind and get my mind off microbiology, ochem, and physics (blech). However, the nerd in me then goes back and learns the science behind what I create. Despite how much I don't want to admit it, I love science. Anyhow, back to the important thing. Watermelon you say! Confounded! Believe it, folks. I first searched my leftover watermelon half for the perfect area to cut a small steak. Then I tested a piece in the pan. I seared all sides, making sure to lock in the water but create a layer of caramelized crust. Let me tell ya, seared watermelon doesn't smell good. So I went on to fix this stinky creation. I decided not to add extra sugar to the watermelon, as it's already abundant in natural sugars. However, I thought, what would make this smell better? Without much hesitation, I excitedly whispered, cinnamon! (Yes, living alone has forced me to begin whispering to myself...) I cut out another perfect steak of watermelon, and sprinkled on a conservative amount of beautiful, powdery cinnamon. I carefully placed it on the hot pan and seared that sucker to perfection. You could hear the slow sizzle and smell the intoxicating aroma of cinnamon...I was ecstatic! I had just owned several biology passages in my MCAT practice, so I was definitely on a high. A quick couple minutes later, the watermelon piece looked perfect--each side locked and loaded with caramel. The consistency of heated watermelon is similar to that of a poached pear--soft and full of warm flavor. It's such a light yet powerful dessert and entirely too easy to make. Also, I know you're thinking it looks like ahi tuna...I definitely thought the same. I believe my next caramelization feat will involve oranges.

What's in it:
-watermelon, cinnamon

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Fish & Chips

Hello all! I'm back! I have been cooking quite often, but haven't been documenting it...sorry about that. I figured tonight for dinner I'd make something different and post it for you folks. I'm running low on groceries, so I had to make with what I had on hand. I realized I had a filet sitting in my freezer waiting to be picked, and 1 red potato sitting all alone in it's bowl. Immediately, I thought fish and chips! Britain's common meal, fish and chips is traditionally prepared as a breaded cod, deep fried, and served with golden fries. However, what I've made here isn't your traditional fish and chips; rather, I took the concept and added my own flair to it. I chose to use a trout, which is a fish very similar in taste and texture to salmon (my favorite type of fish). I soaked it in lemon juice, and crusted it with panko crumbs and toasted pistachio with dried parsley. For the fries, I used a red potato, with the skin left on, of course. I tossed them in olive oil, and sprinkled on a generous amount of paprika, garlic, oregano, and salt. The fries will take about 30 minutes to bake, and the trout is cooked at about 10 minutes per inch of thickness. You don't want to overload the fish with extra flavors and seasonings, because the taste of the meat is quite exquisite without adding anything to it. This is a very quick, no mess meal that will definitely fill your hungry stomach. 

What's in it: 

-trout, panko bread crumbs, pistachio, lemon juice, parsley

-red potato, paprika, salt, garlic powder, dried oregano, olive oil