Ad tuberosum tempore

The beauty of this recipe is timing. It takes about 40 minutes in the oven, thus allowing for other preparations and synchronizing the arrival of all the components of the meal onto the plate.

Potatoes:
- 3 large potatoes, cut into 1/4" half-circles
- 1 1/2 cup water and 1/2 a bullion cube OR 1 1/2 cup broth
- thyme and cumin
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup salsa verde (spicy stuff, adjust amount accordingly)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (juice of 1/2 lemon)
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- place potatoes into an oven-safe dish
- sprinkle with thyme, be generous - all pieces should have some
- mix broth, garlic, cumin, salsa and lemon juice together in a cup, then pour onto potatoes
- cover the dish with foil
- bake at 375F until potatoes are soft

Easy stuff, eh? I suggest serving it with shallots, sour cream or fresh cheese. Now, if you feel that dinner is not complete without some protein and greenery, here's a quick-and-easy trio:

Broccoli is just steamed, nothing special there. Some soy sauce or balsamic vinegar would have made it more festive, but this time I didn't bother. Tofu and mushrooms are stir-fried, with an Asian twist:

- 1 lbs tofu, cubed into 1/2" pieces
- 1 medium onion, diced also into 1/2"
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ginger, I'd say 1" cubic (it's a guess, just put as much as you want), minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil (strong tasting, use with caution)
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- heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat
- start frying the tofu, occasionally stirring
- when tofu is golden on most sides, add onion and keep stir-frying until they are translucent
- add ginger, garlic and sesame oil, fry stirring often for 2 minutes
- add mushrooms, cover and cook until the desired tenderness is achieved

Judas Mashed Potatoes

Something to betray the commensals for; or at least to impress the shit out of them. For full effect these must be served hot and fresh; the leftovers are nonetheless delicious and by no means should go to waste. Some recipes call for a specific type of potatoes, but since 90 percent of my cooking is low budget the only type of potatoes I use are the discount, or just the cheapest ones. As usual, adjust the quantities according to what you like.

Ingredients:
- 2-3 lbs potatoes, peeled, cubed
- one large red onion, chopped and caramelized (on medium heat, in olive oil, yes)
- 1/2 can of coconut milk
- cardamom, ground
- cloves, ground
- black pepper, FRESHLY GROUND
- Jamaican pepper (aka all-spice), ground
- salt

Making:
- boil potatoes until soft, but not falling apart of their own free will (cubing will speed up the process)
- drain the water and mash the potatoes
- add 1/4 can coconut milk and spices, mix
- add coconut milk as needed

My eastern European background requires any potatoes to be accompanied by sour cream, but that is entirely subjective.

Zen GG Tofu

Oh yes, I just dropped the t-word! You may be slightly offended or feel a bit cliche, but here's something that doesn't make fake meat, something real veg-tasty. The first principle of tofuism states that tofu is akin blank paper, thus takes on the taste of whatever it is marinated in. Zen suggests the balance of the four flavors, and GG stands for...

Garlic and Ginger Tofu

Ingredients:
1 lb x-firm tofu, cut into 1/2" strips
2-3 garlic cloves (depends on size), peeled, minced
2" piece of fresh ginger, peeled, minced
1/3 cup oil (olive/peanut)
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
10 drops liquid smoke
1-2 tbsp mustard
1-2 tsp honey or agave
1/6 cup vinegar (apple cider or rice)
freshly ground pepper
few drops of sesame oil (use with care - overwhelmingly strong taste)
few drops of red chili oil (optional, use with care - very spicy) or chili flakes

Process:
- place tofu, ginger and garlic into an oven-safe dish, mix
- mix the rest of the ingredients together, pour over the tofu
- marinate as little at 30 min to as long as 24h, turning and tossing occasionally
- bake at 425F for about 20 minutes, until tofu is golden

Notes:
- the composition of the marinade is not exact, so adjust to taste
- you can marinate in a ziplock bag instead of a dish; if you squeeze out all the air, there will be no need to turn the tofu
- adding onions during marination is nice as well, just remove them before baking and caramelize on medium heat, or use them for salad

Curry patch for pasta sauce v.1.01

I hate pasta. Love noodles, hate pasta. I always saw it as emergency food; nothing else is left, not even the money to buy some bread - dig up the pasta in far and high cupboard. However, there is something worse, a true gastronomic nightmare. Pasta sauce. Aside from diced canned tomatoes, mushy overcooked onions, soggy peppers, it's the sour-ey liquid in which it all floats. While nothing can rectify the state of the veggies, there is an easy way to bring the whole mixture to the level above edible, at least where taste is concerned.

Note: I don't measure out spices, so all quantities are guesstimations; feel free to use your intuition.

Curry patch (v.1.01)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup nasty sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- few drops hot chili oil (optional, can use cayenne, tabasco or anything else spicy)
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tsp curry powder *
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp oregano **
- pinch of salt (optional, adjust to taste)
- dash black pepper

* the amount of curry is directly proportional to how much you like Indian food, but if it exceeds 2 teaspoons you risk not to taste anything else.
** to let you in on a little secret - I'm not even sure it was oregano. My spices are not labelled, so when I cook I just smell them and use what feels right.

Making:
- saute garlic and ginger in olive oil for a minute or two on medium heat (optional)
- mix all ingredients together
- heat in a saucepan on medium-low, stirring occasionally

Breakfast of Champions

Not quite as literary intricate as Kurt Vonnegut's novel, but certainly more tasty than Kilgore Trout's finger, oatmeal! Dubbed the champion breakfast by a friend of mine upon hearing the account of it from another friend. This is not a rushed breakfast, since presentation plays just as much of a role as the food itself here. I have a couple of variations of it, one with oatmeal, one with cereals. The oatmeal is a bit time consuming, but unbeatable in cold weather, and leaves you time to make coffee in the process. Depending on your stove and kind of oatmeal you are using (assuming you are above the instant kind), it should take about 20-30 minutes in total, and here is how...

Version 1. Oatmeal
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup dry oatmeal (I used steel cut variety)
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups milk (soy, almond, preferably not rice - it's too watery)
- 1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup dry goji berries
- 1/2 apple, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/3 cup nuts (i use walnuts and hazelnuts, but nothing prevents other kinds)
- 1 - 2 teaspoons honey, maple syrup, agave nectar (whatever floats your boat, can even skip it)
- any fresh fruit you like (my usual are bananas, kiwis and apples)

Making (note: for steel cut oats. rolled oats take less time to cook, I believe)
- bring milk to a boil, stir in oatmeal and cinnamon and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until soft (really depends on your stove here)
- while the oatmeal is cooking, cut up the remaining fruits and arrange in a pretty pattern on a plate. use the remaining time to make coffee ;)
- when oatmeal is about cooked (or even when completely ready), add nutritional yeast and goji berries, apple cubes and nuts
- add the sweet stuff (if you are using honey, especially unpasteurized, let the oatmeal cool a bit, ideally to 60 C) and eat!


The cereal version stems from my love for dry cereals and dislike for mushy ones. I used to just eat them from the box, dreading the moment when some internal voice would tell me to stop the massacre and do it the proper way (mainly because it was so dry and body requiring liquid would tempt the brain with the images of glasses of cold milk). This legitimizing cereal approach solves this dilemma - cereals are dry, and the whole thing is pretty damn healthy...

Version 2: Unorthodox cereals
Ingredients:
- 1/3 bowl of granola cereals
- 1/3 bowl of muesli cereals
- nuts, dry berries, raisins (anything goes here, really. I use the above-mentioned goji berries, walnuts and hazelnuts)
- fresh fruit (anything, but if they are not mushy they can go in the cereals)
- 4 - 5 teaspoons unpasteurized honey (here it's kind of the key ingredient, so not sure if it would work with other stuff)
- glass of milk

Making:
- Mix both cereals, nuts, dry berries and fruits (alternative A) in a bowl
- Arrange the remaining fruits in a pretty pattern on a plate (alternative B)
- pour 1 - 2 teaspoons of honey on top, mix as well as you can without destroying the fruits. I usually add more honey half way through the bowl, since it tends to stick to the top layers and not make it all the way down.
- sip the milk as needed, since the mixture its pretty dry and crunchy (the whole fun of it!)

Lingonberry jam!

Most definitely vegan; during my vegetarian days, smearing lingonberry jam on cream cheese, which in turn was smeared on toast was a nearly religious experience. Well, not the smearing itself, but the consumption of the said mixture. Despite vegan cream cheese being just meeeh, but lingon jam is still awesome, in its most traditional form - on toast or even toast with margarine. A random strike of inspiration today: adding lingo jam to corn flakes.

Recipe:
3/4 bowl of corn flakes
4 teaspoons (pretty much to taste) of lingo jam
rice milk to fill the remaining space

mix and eat!!!

Oh, and where to get the lingonberry jam? IKEA!

Inulin and maltitol

A post about something positive for once; I saw both of them on a wrapper of some chocolate, and did not buy it, because it I didn't know what they are. Both are plant-based, here's what the quick research yielded.

Maltitol is a sugar alcohol, a sweetener. Safe, although consumption of over 100  g/day (hundred grams!) can have laxative effect.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltitol

Inulin is much more interesting. It is also a sweetener, albeit much less potent (up to 10% of sweetness of sugar). It is found in "good for you" foods, such as garlic and leek. It is safe for diabetics and stimulates the growth of good bacteria in the intestine (i.e. considered to be a prebiotic); it could be beneficial in managing the cholesterol and sugar blood levels. Negative effect are the possible gassiness, and in people with fructose malabsorbtion could, again, have laxative effect, if taken in excessive quantities. Do check out the article, it has more interesting information, especially if you are into chemistry.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inulin