Homnomnom... Is it still a quesadilla if I don't use tortillas? Is it a panini without a panini press? A weird hybrid torta of some kind? Either way, I made a hot sammy with mexi blend cheese, chili powder and spices chicken strips, onions, peppers and black beans on flatbread. Nice and spicy! Leftovers are your friend.
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I gotta say, of all of the cuisines in the world, a couple of my favorites are probably Italian and Japanese. In particular, sushi is one of those things that I kind of have to budget into my diet because I have a... Problem.
One of the ways I've done to help this was learn how to MAKE sushi, from scratch, which has mixed results, to put it kindly. I've had sushi parties in the past, especially back when I was doing the bento blog back in college. I recently just got myself some new kitchen gadgets -- in particular, an onigiri press and sashimi press, so I wanted to finally play with my new toys to make some SUSHIIIII!!! First up is some black bean soup/chili stuffed onigiri. Onigiri is a rice ball, usually stuffed with something -- in the past, I've made it with jelly as a dessert (too much sugar, yikes) but bean paste or a meat thing is really common in Japan. I had some leftover chili, and decided that would be good enough, so I tried it, and it was actually REALLY CHOICE. Of everything, weirdly this was the thing I thought was most successful. Will def do this again. I also made a tamagoyaki rolls (traditionally this is a sweet egg omelete, but mine are just omeletes with a touch of sugar for sweetness) with duck sauce, a "spicy tuna roll" that was some canned tuna tossed with cayenne and soy sauce (...It was alright), and another odd vegetable one with carrots and cream cheese (...I was running out of things) and another with jalapeno, carrots and cream cheese. Fresh jalas in a sushi roll is great for texture, questionable for taste. I also made a tamagoyaki sashimi (with a touch of duck sauce to attach the egg to the rice -- usually it's wasabi or something like that), and a pickle roll (miracle whip, bread and butter pickles and carrots) that... Was actually pretty good. I tried something similar with the tuna, but it did not stick together terribly well, so I ended up making them into onigiri with a sesame seed garnish, because I was trying to make my trash sushi look extra. The last two little buckets were my very-originally-named Sweet & Savory Flavor Bombs (TM), with one made with cream cheese and strawberry, and the other with cream cheese, carrots and jalapeno. It was alright. There was one last black bean onigiri with spicy mustard in it that was dangerous to eat, but still tasty. All in all, it wasn't all great, but that's what experiments are for! I actually really loved having onigiri made up -- they're a nice pop of grain and protein, and when you warm them up they make a great on-the-run snack or small meal. And there's just something fancy about heating up some handmade onigiri and adding it to your plate like that's just a thing you do, and I might endeavour to do that some more in the future! I also like having a vegetarian sushi roll made up that, again, makes for a great addition to a meal or as a side in a bento box or lunch. And of course, after all of my cooking and prepping and experimenting was done, it was time to ACTUALLY EAT!!! Have some poor boy's instant miso to go with it, shall we? Again, Japanese food is a thing I really enjoy, and little ways like this to enjoy it a little more in my day-to-day diet helps scratch that itch more than the rather expensive vice of dropping $50 at a sushi bar, heh. Not that I'm going to stop doing that, but sometimes the budget just doesn't allow it. One needs must make compromises and be realistic about his financial limitations. OH RIGHT. BREAKFAST. Today's breakfast is a sammich made with wheat toast (I occasionally attempt to eat better, but don't count on it), miracle whip, pepper jack cheese, caramelized onions, fried ham and a pair of eggs, over medium. NOSH. I personally love to have a breakfast sandwich with eggs not entirely cooked so that they pop nicely when I slice a sammy in half, but sometimes I overdo it, as I did here. It's sad, but it happens. I've been doing this thing where I keep a jar (think pickle jar) of diced onions, one of jalapenos, that kind of thing. So it's easy to toss half of a handful into the pan before the ham and then eggs (EGGS GO LAST, ALWAYS!!!) so that we get some sweet, grilled deliciousness to go on the sammich, but to be very fair, that's an extra step than I usually do. Def worth it (as evident by me destroying half of it before I remembered to take a picture...), and the pepper jack cheese is always a nice touch.
A home experiment for the night! This is an attempt at my godmother's recipe for goulasch, which I admittedly haven't attempted in a good long while. I'm a big fan of miscellaneous pasta dishes when you're running low on things (today is egg noodles and rainbow rotini), and this batch is made with some chicken (shredded canned kind -- good pantry staple!), a doctored red gravy/spaghetti sauce (I'll never reveal my secrets), sweet corn and diced onions. Garnish with red pepper flakes (if desired) and an Italian blend of cheese (mozza, asiago and... Provolone, I think?). I'm missing my fresh bread and gelato for the ideal, but I'll live. It's simple, hot, filling, and more importantly, CHEAP! And this is definitely one of those recipes that cures nicely the second or third day.
You can take the cowboy cook out of the southwest, but you can't take the southwest out of the cowboy's cooking. I believe strongly in a generous, even application, be it ranch, cheese, bacon, onions or jalapenos.
Saw some fresh jalapenos on sale at Aldi's last time I went to the grocery store, and decided to grab a pack of them. I wanted to do a bacon-and-cheese thing, but I did not have... Um. Well, bacon. I know, I'm dumb. But I did manage to get some jerky to try and manage to get by with that. Some onions, garlic, cheese... Barbecue sauce. I stuffed it all in the peppers, expecting a mess, and tossed it in a toaster oven. They came out a bit al dente, so there was a good crunch, and HOLY COW were these ones spicy! A nice surprise. I had to drown them out in ranch, too, to eat it, but that's fine with me...
Future notes: Um, make sure you actually have bacon for this. Also, maybe a better quality of cheese. Monterey jack, for instance (a la pepperjack) and maybe hollow them out more? They were really thick. I would probably slow-roast them longer in the future. But ultimately, not bad! Exactly what it says on the tin. In an attempt to eat something fairly healthy (I'M TRYING!!!), I made a salad for myself and the roomie! A bed of fresh spinach, a handful of grape tomatoes, lightly seasoned chicken, fresh onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms, with a hardboiled egg. It's not entirely raw, but mostly.
FOOD. Trying not to cry because this is the last of my tortillas. Homemade quesadillas made with buttered tortillas, shredded three-cheese blend, and diced onions. Again, a simple dish that's warm and hearty and filling and HOT, perfect for a chill spring evening. Great to have with a spot of medium salsa, simple and cheap. Makes you feel accomplished while you're actually having a glorified grilled cheese sammich for dinner. BUT SOUTHWEST.
Breakfast time!!! I had some eggs that were getting old, so I decided to finish them off before I lose them. Cheese and onion scramble, some home fried potatoes, and a bratwurst on the side. BECAUSE BRATS ARE BEST BANGERS. I wish I had some beans... It's not quite an English breakfast, but it's still pretty wonderful. If you haven't tried having an actual SAUSAGE as your breakfast sausage, I do encourage you to try it. Onions and taters, precious, because they're a poor man's filling meal. Any day I'm up early enough to make breakfast is always an accomplishment.
FROM scratch, black bean chili! This shit is ON FLEEK!
...God, I hope that saying doesn't keep, it's so awful. But I did really love this experiment. I made chili with a can of chili, a can of black beans, my usual mess of spices and jam and what-the-hell else, and then popped it into a bowl, some cheese on top, and some tortilla chips. After a long day that wasn't necessarily so great, just having the spoons to cook something from scratch, fool around, and then have a hot and hearty comfort food dinner to be proud of. Plus, the beans are a nice protein boost, and it stretches one can of chili into a nice, full pot, and they're also a lot less expensive than more chili, hehehe. Also, I just really love black beans. I really, really do. I'm trying to embrace this southwest aesthetic, don't judge me. |
Brunch w/ BlakeHalf-boricuan, half-corn fed Indiana hick. Stir in a taste of the southwest and serve in LA, on the rocks. #BrunchWithBlake #FoodPorn #LAFoodie Archives
July 2021
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