Baked Salmon & Couscous

Salmon is by far my favorite type of fish. It's inexpensive, versatile, and cooks pretty quickly. I marinated this beautiful filet in a mixture of olive oil, soy sauce, and various spices/herbs. I probably would have let it sit longer than I did, but I was quite hungry and didn't feel like waiting. It still turned out to be very delicious. Couscous is definitely a quick and easy food to make, and can be spiced according to your liking. I used Mediterranean/Italian seasoning to go with the flavors of the salmon. The best way to get everything out on time and together is to get the couscous going about half way through the baking of the salmon. This particular cut took about 12 minutes to bake, and the couscous only takes 5 minutes to fluff. I think I ended up eating this faster than it took to cook.

Here's to gourmet cooking...fast!  

What's in it:
 -Salmon: Atlantic salmon filet, olive oil, dark soy sauce, cilantro, coriander, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, parsley flakes, salt
-Couscous: olive oil, pine nuts, onion powder, salt, dried leeks, crushed oregano                                                                                  

Brown Butter Cookies

Brown Butter mixture! yummm

Yes folks, I have finally updated over a month later. Things got quite crazy for me, so I didn't do much real cooking or baking. Anyways, yesterday I was feeling rather festive (and was avoiding school work at all costs). The slightly colder weather put me in the sit-indoors-make-cookies-watch-tv mood.
To make brown butter you need to heat butter in a saucepan on medium heat and continuously stir it. You'll notice some brownish black flakes starting to form in it as the butter continues to break down. Once the liquid is completely brown, remove it from the heat, and separate the supernatant (yes, I'm using a science term here...hyperlinked for your benefit). Then let it solidify again before using it. You can make it in large batches and keep it in the fridge for future baking needs. If I wasn't already on a high from leftover halloween candy, I would have eaten them all by myself. Don't judge me.

What's in it:
-flour, baking soda, brown sugar, granulated sugar, browned butter, salt, vanilla extract, baker's chocolate, milk, eggs
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Linguine Alfredo

Pasta is seriously one of my favorites things to eat. Lots of carbs = WIN. Sadly, I haven't made anything for over a month now. Things have been a little busy for me, but fear not! I am back! I was feeling rather hungry after class today, and decided to not spend dinero on food and actually make something with my own hands. This twist on the classic uses linguine instead of the usual fettucine (only because I had linguine on hand). I've never gotten around to making my own pasta (shocking, I know). Perhaps that will be my next feat.
Anyways, I don't like my pasta to be too saucy, especially with alfredo. I tossed the pasta with the sauce after it was cooked. Each piece should be coated well enough, but it shouldn't be drippy. There are very few ingredients that go into making this dish, but the flavor is substantial. I toasted my garlic and minced it very finely before adding it to the alfredo, giving it a very aromatic flavor. Nothing more than salt goes into this dish; and I topped it off with some dried parsley. It's been a very delicious afternoon for me.

What's in it:
-linguine pasta, cream, butter, garlic, parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, parsley

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Jalapeno Jack Grilled Cheese on Sourdough

Baby Red Chard

 So I lied again about the whole only baking thing during Ramadan. I made a trip to good ol' HEB today and got some wonderful, fresh deliciousness to eat. Tonight, I made a grilled cheese on sourdough bread with jalapeno jack cheese. The things that really made this sandwich delightful is baby red chard and arugula. The chard with the sourdough creates a lovely nutty flavor that complements the spice from the cheese quite well. I had to photograph my sandwich really quickly because I couldn't wait to eat it.
I don't have many comments for this post, because I'm still thinking about the awesome sandwich I just devoured. And I'm also thinking about the coffee Haagen Dazs in my freezer...

Oh, and here's my reminder for making grilled cheeses: transfer the sandwich from a pan and finish it off under a broiler for about 1 minute! It's like magic!

What's in it:
-sourdough bread, jalapeno jack cheese, baby red chard, arugula

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Cranberry Almond Oatmeal Cookies

I think I'm only going to be baking things during Ramadan. The only 2 things I miss during the day are water and chocolate/something sweet. Anyways, when the days I actually get up for suhoor (the morning meal), I eat oatmeal. So ever since I first ate some, I've been craving oatmeal cookies. Now I'm eating them all by myself and I don't regret it. I can afford to eat a few cookies at night considering I don't eat during the day...right? Don't judge me. These are delicious. Now, I don't like to toot my own horn, but occasionally I will make something pretty darn good that I have to. Let me tell ya, these cookies...ARE PRETTY DARN GOOD. What I like in an oatmeal cookies is a delicate crisp exterior but an wonderfully soft and chewy interior. I added some fruit and nuts to it to make it seem healthier. When I'm not doing MCAT practice, you can find me watching some type of cooking show. My new favorite obsession is Ramsay's Best Restaurant. Earlier tonight I had milk and cookies while I watched Mister Ramsay. [It's refreshing to see him so nice and encouraging on television.]
Anyways, oatmeal cookies = SUCCESS.
Oh and best part is...they are SUPER easy to make and bake in literally 10 minutes. No joke. A minute more and they'll probably be overdone and harden. So you want to be very careful with timing when making these.

What's in it:
-flour, baking soda, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, rolled oats, cranberries, sliced almonds

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

Soooo....I lied. I thought I wouldn't be making anything this month, but that didn't last long. These seemingly daunting delectables are actually quite delicate delights. A lot of sugar does go into making these, but it's 95% light brown sugar if that makes you feel any better. I made these while fasting, so I didn't get to taste anything. I do feel there needs to be more chocolate in the brownie, and I need to mix the cookie dough a tad bit more. I kinda made these haphazardly because I was delirious from lack of food. However, some people who had the honor to eat them thought they were delish! So yay! There is something about the brownie that makes you want more. The brownie part is very airy and much lighter than you'd expect. And the cookie dough part isn't overwhelmingly sweet. You can eat more because it's not heavy...but your hips will probably hate you later on.

[On another note, some of you have asked why I don't put up actual recipes on here. Well, to be honest, I don't usually follow recipes myself. I'll adapt from recipes I find, but I don't do precise measurements and I'm constantly modifying what I make. Also, for you foodies out there, I want this to be a portal for you so that you can take something from here and make it on your own. The best way to learn to cook is by experimenting and guessing. That's the only way you'll build the intuition you need in order to create something successful. ]

What's in it:
-Brownie: semi-sweet baking chocolate, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, butter
-Cookie dough: butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk, vanilla, flour, chocolate chips

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Hiatus

Hello all! Because of Ramadan, I probably won't be updating until September. I get fed for free everyday, so I'm not really making much on my own.
Stay tuned!



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