Everyday Goddess

Bison & Eggs, Baby!

Tonight I came home and cooked up some Bison. Oh yeah, Lindner 100% grassfed, free-range Bison. And eggs. I finally made it out to the Hollywood Farmers Market so I could get my hands on some.

Honestly, I would really prefer to only eat 100% grassfed, free-range meat. Any increase in cost can be balanced by simply eating less meat. At the same time, buying free-range meat from New Zealand kind of robs Peter to pay Paul. So Angelinos are blessed to be able to get Lindner Bison.

And the Lindner Bison was delicious! Kind of like a cross between lamb and beef. It also felt more filling somehow, potentially because it has significantly more protein than beef, chicken, lamb, or salmon. And more iron, which rocks. I cooked up the whole .5 lb steak, but I think two healthy-eating people could easily each have a meal with .25 lb. I had to put some in the fridge because I couldn't finish it all.

Now, the trick to steak and eggs is that I don't add anything to the eggs. When I'm making eggs for breakfast I'll add milk and lots of pepper, but for steak and eggs I want the eggy-est eggs to balance the steak. I also use A-1, but I made sure to taste the bison first and then use less A-1 so the flavor of the meat came through.

Also good, when you have steak and eggs for dinner, a cup of I-have-tons-of-work-to-do-tonight coffee goes with it perfectly. Blog post's done.

Can you find salvation in a shallot?

Probably not, but it's all I can bear to try these days.

I've been cooking since I moved into my new apartment. Tonight I made Green Beans with Mushrooms, aka Sam Aur Khumbi, from a cookbook my friend Becca gave me: Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking. It feels entirely decadent to come home to my own apartment, turn off my mobile, not look at my email, turn on some Michelle Featherstone and cook myself dinner.

Of course, it's all about the fresh ingredient prep:

There is truly something good for the soul to be found in prepping fresh ingredients.

I used shallots - my new favorite food - instead of onions, and I didn't have any turmeric because my store was out when I went shopping this weekend. And all and all, the dish was super yum. I love mushrooms and tomatoes, and of course, the green bean, my most favoritest vegetable. I made some brown rice to go with it, and I was pleased:

Of particular note is the first step in the recipe which calls for heating up some oil and then throwing in 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds. Excellent smells and sounds. Cumin seeds are most awesome! This recipe rocks the spicy spices, calling for coriander, cumin (yes, ground, too), garam masala, AND cayenne pepper. Plus onions (or shallots!), garlic, AND fresh ginger. Very flavorful. And spicy.

Previously in the month, I was immersing myself in a gorgeous heirloom pumpkin:

I gave this baby the 101Cookbooks treatment. The picture above is from when I roasted most of the pumpkin for Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup (to which I also added fresh corn). But before this I'd already made one of my favs, Roasted Pumpkin Salad, (full of shallot-y goodness!) and Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Seeds. There is another heirloom pumpkin at my market, but it's HUGE. I resisted it this weekend when I was shopping. Even though I'm dying to roast more pumpkin seeds.

Ultimately, salvation from my heartache still evades me, but the cooking is good.

So Not South Beach Tuna Casserole

I didn't even use whole wheat pasta or whole wheat breadcrumbs!

Or even take a picture when it came out of the oven in all its bread-crumbed, steamy glory.

But it was yum. I made it the other night when MBF came over for dinner and Battlestar Galactica. It's basically this recipe: California Tuna Casserole. Except I use Jack cheese and a couple healthy dashes of white pepper. And the breadcrumbs I used were slightly seasoned with parsley.  The entire effect has a nice, mild flavor, so definitely serve with salt and pepper.

When you want to indulge!

Quest for Kogi

Kogi BBQ, to be specific. You can't live in L.A. without hearing about it. It's taco truck/Korean BBQ fusion, they twitter where they're going to be, it's delicious, people line up, you've got to try it...

So when my friend Josh from Brandissimo! said they were getting a Kogi truck outside their office, I knew it was my time. I knew where it was going to be, it was coming to the valley, I'm laid off - I mean, seriously, it was clearly time for some Kogi BBQ.

I hopped in my car around noon, stopped at the bank for some cash, got to Ventura Blvd... and then realized that I didn't have change for the parking meters. So I popped into a place to buy a soda and some change. Which worked out great, because Kogi was running late. When I got there at 12:30pm, no Kogi truck, just a small crowd standing around in front of the building:

 

Twenty minutes after that, this was the scene:

 

The crowd gave a little cheer when the side doors rolled up. When the Kogi guy said hello to everyone, a guy in front of me complained lightly about the show of it, "I just want my lunch, man, you know?" But really everyone was pretty patient and mellow. It would be another 30 minutes before I could place my order, so I made friends with my very cool line neighbor, cinematographer and more, Mark W. Gray. Oh, yeah, talking entertainment and exchanging business cards in the Kogi BBQ line. Our lunch was totally tax-deductible, baby.

Before we knew it, we were closer:

 

Josh found me just as he was getting his yummies, which was cool. "We got the Kogi truck!" Hooray!

I decided to super order so I could try a bunch of stuff. Heck, I'm finally checking out the Kogi BBQ experience, right? So I ordered one of each taco (Korean short ribs, spicy BBQ chicken, spicy pork, and tofu), AND the kimchi quesadilla.

Here's a shot of the line while we waited for our orders to be ready:

 

Mark's in the center giving me the thumbs up. Almost there... Stay on target...

Soon I got my goodies and headed home to chow down. Here's the goods:

 

No, I didn't eat it all, but I did try everything. My fav tacos were the Korean short ribs and the tofu. Tofu has that wonderful quality of soaking up all the flavors, you know? The chicken and the pork were both a little more mellow than the kickin' Korean short ribs.

And the kimchi quesadilla was super yum. It was really difficult to put half of it in the fridge so that I could taste all of the tacos without exploding. That's a definite reorder for me if (when?) I find myself at a Kogi BBQ truck again.

It was definitely worth the quest, and the whole thing of it was really quite fun. When you're counting up the L.A. Kogi BBQ fans, definitely count me in!

Cherry Tomato Couscous

OK, I have actually made this delicious Cherry Tomato Couscous that I found on 101 Cookbooks TWICE already, but the first time it was actually gone so fast that I completely forgot to take pictures!

 

The second time I found this awesome mix of cherry tomatos and used them all:

 

My only note would be that next time I'm going to double the Feta. I think I used more the first time. And I use whole wheat couscous, of course. And also, you can use a WAY heavy hand with the salt, pepper, lemon, and lime. Be not afraid! Go for it!

In other news, I'm totally going to BlogHer Food!

When the post about the visuals track came out, and I learned that there's going to be a lot about food photography (which clearly I need help with!) AND Heidi from 101 Cookbooks is going to be on a panel AND the closing keynote is about blogging and "How do you sustain momentum and avoid burnout," I just suddenly felt like OMG I have to go. So I bought someone's ticket, bit the financial bullet, and I'm going! Hooray!

You Can Grill Pizza on Your Grill! And It Is Yum.

Yes, that title is totally redundant, but I never would have thought you can just throw pizza dough on your grill. Like this:

You just place the rolled or thrown out dough (we used pre-made dough from Fresh & Easy and Trader Joe's) on your grill and brush the top with olive oil.

Then, after a while, you flip it and brush the other side with olive oil, too:

Then, right on the grill, you put on whatever toppings you want. (So have them at the ready!)

We made a margarita pizza, and the other one has two kinds of olives, two kinds of onions (one was caramelized onions, which were wonderful yum), and a little truffle oil:

Here's another shot of that goodness!

 

These two are cheese and mushrooms, and the other is a mix of mushrooms, black olives, jalapenos, onions, sauce - everything we had left, basically.

OK, this last pic is not the best picture, but I had to include it because I simply couldn't resist taking a bite *before* I pulled out the camera. Or two bites. Seriously, the olive and onion pizza was divine. It's a miracle I got this picture.

Just imagine my hands shaking in anticipation of getting the pic over with so I could continue to consume the insane deliciousness that is grilled pizza.

UPDATE:  From MBF, "The heat was high before the crust went on to heat up the grill grates, then when the crust was cooked, we turned down the heat so that the crust wasn't scorched while the toppings cooked. Incidentally, the pizza cooks much faster on the grill than it would in the oven."

Learning how to shop organic at the grocery store.

So after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma I decided that I really want to try to eat more organic. I'd already switched to free-range organic eggs, and now I've switched to organic milk.

And the next thing you know you're looking at two organic green peppers that cost more than 10 of the other green peppers across the produce section. I couldn't stomach it, and I almost decided you just can't buy organic at the grocery store. I bought the cheap green peppers.

But.

It's also about buying things that are "in season" and more local right? The next time I went to the store I was determined to try the organic section once more. This time with an eye for what's in that's reasonably priced.

Jackpot. I discovered adorable and delicious Bunapi and Bunashimeji mushrooms for $1.99 a bundle:

 

Despite their Japanese pedigree they are produced and packed in San Marcos, California. I sauteed them up in a little olive oil.

 

And then added them to some puttanesca sauce.

 

Which I poured over some whole wheat pasta for a dinner that was super yum! Organic Produce: Win!

Yum Fun with Wonton Wrappers: Chile Pea Puffs

I was really pleased to have all the ingredients together and peeps coming over to try Monica Bhide's Chile Pea Puffs today. I got the recipe from 101 Cookbooks, no shocker there, but it's actually from Modern Spice: Inspired Indian Flavors for the Contemporary Kitchen. The trickiest ingredient was paneer, but MBF ran by an Indian market and picked me up some. There was a little chopping and pea cooking and mashing, but really the filling was a breeze.

I couldn't believe I'd never used wonton wrappers before! They were so easy to use. MBF did the pretty crimping, and the puffs bake right up in the oven.

 

The perfect touch was some delicious chutney we picked up at the farmer's market this morning from Gangadin. We had tamarind chutney and mint chutney. Both complimented the pea puffs really well.

They were a great snack, and my guests and I enjoyed them muchly! Really a fun treat, and I think this recipe would be great to do with kids, too.

Cashew Curry Carrot Oatmeal

Not at the same time! This week I did a 101Cookbooks double header.

First, for Sunday dinner I made Cashew Curry and served it with whole wheat cous cous. It was super yum, and the whole wheat cous cous was so good (I always make my cous cous with vegetable broth) that the next time I'm at Whole Foods I'm definitely going to stock up. MBF (Mystery Boyfriend, thank you Average Jane!) had seconds, so I guess it came out pretty good. Or he was hungry. Could go either way.

The man dates someone who enjoys shredded brussels sprouts, so he's never quite sure what to expect when I cook!

 

Then on Monday night I made Carrot Oatmeal Cookies! The dough was very moist.

 

The cookies are flavorful and not too sweet which is great for me. They also have walnuts and the moisteners are coconut oil and maple syrup. I really like that I can enjoy two or three and not feel like eating all the rest. It's just a perfectly yum snack. The recipe made exactly 2 1/2 dozen for me, and I'll probably double it next time.

 

In this pic, I've already taste tested.  :)

My friends that tried them added cream cheese frosting. So that's one way to sweeten them up if that's what you're looking for. It was definitely great to have some opportunities to cook and bake this week, and I'll definitely do both these recipes again.

My Favorite Cookbook: The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook

I talk about The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook: 200 Delicious Recipes Ready in 30 Minutes or Less so much that I thought I'd give it its own post.

Funny story, when I started cooking the recipes in this book, with all the fresh veggies and the chopping, I thought, no way this is 30 minutes. So I set a timer.

Turns out, I hadn't cooked in so long that 30 minutes felt like 3 hours.

When I'm going to cook dinner, this is the cookbook I use most often, and I've sent it to multiple peeps as a gift, including my mother. The food is tasty, healthy, and the book is full of full-color photos. I highly recommend it if you're looking to cook more, and you don't have a ton of time to be doing it. And, of course, if you'd like to find more healthy options for dinner.