Lazy Person's Stew

I am terrible at managing time. It's true. A task that I estimate will take me 2 hours invariably ends up taking 4. Am I planning to leave the house at 5:45 to make it in time for a 6:30 class? Whoops I guess I'm leaving at 6:10 instead! You get the idea. I've tried schedules, timers, strategically composed playlist lengths...nothing works. Whatever thing that allows people to be responsible, punctual adults, I was born without one.

So instead of aiming to actually finish something on time, I aim to circumvent all possible distractions that may prevent me from doing anything but the task at hand. Such as thinking about what to eat, standing in front of the refrigerator wondering what to eat, and any and all actual cooking, which invariably takes me hours. As such, I've made this stew recipe dozens of times out of the sheer convenience of it--I just cook a huge batch of it in a 5 quart pot, and when I get hungry I turn the stove on low to heat it up. Also unlike most things of which the taste substantially declines once it's cooled down and been reheated, I'm convinced that this stew actually tastes better each subsequent time I warm it up again! Maybe it's just because I was really hungry when I did that, I'm not sure.

Hungry Person's Beef Oxtail Stew

1 lb oxtail
1 lb beef stew meat, cubed
8 cups beef stock or water
3 medium carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery
4 medium red potatoes, cubed
1 large onion, diced
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
salt

~Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat; salt beef stew meat and oxtail and cook until golden brown. Remove from the pot and set aside.
~In the same pot melt the butter and saute onions until translucent. Turn heat down to medium-low and add flour, stirring constantly until it turns into a paste. Add garlic.
~Add 1 cup of beef stock to the pot and stir until thickened, then add the remainder of the beef stock, thyme, paprika, and the beef and oxtail. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook on low for 1 hour.
~Add carrots, celery, potatoes, and sundried tomatoes, and cook until tender (about 30 minutes). Add salt to taste.
~Optional: Let cool and refrigerate, then reheat on low flame and eat hot whenever hungry!

Honey and Rosemary

I have to admit I don't have a very good score when it comes to pork--the last time I tried to make pork cutlets they came out dry and stringy and I've been a little intimidated to approach them since. I've had a little more experience with not overcooking my meats, however, so for dinner I decided to modify this delicious recipe I found on Saveur's website.

Pork Chops with Balsamic Vinegar and Honey Glaze

4 bone-in pork chops
3 tbsp olive oil
⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp honey
zest of an orange
4 tbsp unsalted butter
sprig fresh rosemary, torn into 1" pieces
salt
pepper

~Put pork chops on a plate; drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
~Mix vinegar, honey, and orange zest in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced to ¼ cup. Stir in butter and rosemary and take off heat.
~Heat up a dry skillet on high heat; when it is hot, place the pork chops in the pan to cook, fliping and basting with balsamic mixture every 2-3 minutes until browned and cooked through, about 12–14 minutes.
~Transfer pork chops to a plate and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.


There seems to be a silly idea that pork should be cooked "until it's done", AKA until it's overdone, bone dry, and tough, which is, objectively, generally less than desirable. A perfectly cooked pork chop should be tender and juicy, as these were...so don't overcook your pork!

Pumpkinfest

So it's safe to say I have never been the type to go overboard with "seasonal spirit". Don't get me wrong, I'm no Scrooge--I love to see the autumn-themed recipes on everyone else's blogs, coo over everyone's fall-themed manicures, and d'aww at people's pets dressed up in costume for Halloween. But I'm just not quite so proactive when it comes to my own autumn-themed activities.

A couple days ago, though, I was feeling more jolly than usual, and I'd been meaning to make pumpkin bread. I find that this is best eaten slowly, in thick slices accompanied by a hot mug of chrysanthemum tea.

Shoddy photo. You'll forgive me.

Seasonal Spirit Pumpkin Bread
A note--yep, this recipe is a cavity-ridden delight. Feel free to halve the sugar if you feel like it, but take my word for it that this definitely wasn't too sweet for me...and I've actually kind of moved past my "everything must taste like gummi bears!" phase. Shocking, I know.


 Recipe makes approximately 12 muffins, or two small loaves, or one large loaf.

3 cups flour
1 can of pureed pumpkin
3 cups turbinado sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup butter, soft
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup flax seeds
1 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder

~Preheat oven to 350˚F.
~In a bowl, mix the flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and set aside.
~In a large bowl, beat the sugar. softened butter, and eggs for about 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin puree and mix well.
~Add the dry portion of the ingredients slowly and mix gently.
~Mix in the nuts and flax seeds.
~Grease your baking container(s) and fill 3/4 full.
~Bake for an hour or until a knife comes out clean.

Box Lunch Adult v.2

Rice with sakura denbu, tiny oil-marinated fish with blackbeans (inbetween layers of rice), honey beef, quail eggs, ants on a log, and strawberries. Also packed a peach that is not shown here.  Unfamiliar ingredient--Sakura denbu. It's a fluffy, sweet-and-salty condiment make of flaked whitefish, named "sakura" because of its pretty pink color. My sakura denbu was storebought, but Maki has a great recipe for it herethat I'd like to try someday! Once I get over the intimidation...haha.

Cream + Seafood

New England Clam Chowder

1 cup chopped clams in clam juice
1 large onion, diced
4 medium potatoes, cubed
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 quart chicken broth
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
salt
white pepper

 ~ Melt half a stick of butter in a large stockpot. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat until golden, about 10 minutes.
~Add celery, potatoes, thyme, salt, and pepper and saute for 10 minutes.
~Add chicken broth and clam juice, bring to a simmer.
~In a small pot, melt the remaining half stick of butter and whisk in the flour to make roux.Whisk in a cup of the simmering broth and then return to the stockpot.
~Simmer for a few minutes until the broth has thickened.
~Add heavy cream and clams and cook for a few minutes until clams are done.
~Salt and pepper to taste, serve piping hot.

Box Lunch Adult v.1

Put together this bento. Contains stir-fried chicken with red bell peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, and quail eggs. And lots of rice...because I'm Asian, and that's just how I roll.

More Meat

On the menu: Burgers with tomato and guacamole. Was there anything ever as perfect as the fresh watery juiciness of a slice of tomato with the beefiness of a burger patty? (Well yes, maybe bacon) Add to that the creamy tang of avocado guacamole, and I am sold, forever.

Burger Tips:

~Don't press down on the burgers. The sizzle may sound satisfying, but you're pressing out delicious meat juices
~Flip as often as you like, contrary to popular belief, this actually promotes browning and helps the meat cook more evenly...in fact flipping only once results in a drier burger.
~If you like your burger at the hockey-puck stage known as Well Done, you are dead to me.

Raw

I know many people are squeamish about eating raw meat and raw eggs. The fears are various--salmonella, mad cow, random bacterial infections. I get it it. Ewwwww raw stuff! Germs! Non-heat-induced sterility!

But it is possible to safely enjoy a delicious steak tartare. Just take a few obvious precautions:

-only use fresh meat
-ask your butcher to grind up a steak for you, rather than buying commercial ground beef--beef from chain supermarkets can contain the meat from ~ 1,700 cows! Slightly disturbing.
-prepare the meat in sanitary conditions

So...do you dare?

Steak Tartare

2 egg yolks
1 lb steak, ground or minced finely
1 scallion, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp. ketchup
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp sriracha
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
salt
pepper

~Mix ketchup, sriracha, and mustard in a bowl until smooth. Gradually whisk in oil, then lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
~Add steak and scallions to the sauce and mix gently with a spoon until combined. Adjust seasonings.
~Divide between two plates, place an egg yolk in the center of each portion, and serve with toast points or fries. Before eating, mix in the egg yolk.

Dim Sum Saturday

I must admit that I am usually not much of a breakfast person...it's not that I don't love breakfast foods (bacon!) or enjoy cooking it, but being a student means that I rarely have the time to putter about my kitchen in the early hours of the morning which more often than not are spent putting the finishing touches on whatever project is consuming my energy and attention at that moment.

But every now and then, I like to treat myself. When the mood strikes, I take the N train down to Chinatown and make a trip to my favorite dim sum place, Jing Fong.

Two things to keep in mind when visiting just about any dim sum place:
1. Be Aggressive. The cart ladies have no mercy. I've often had to chase down a cart with my favorite offering because the cart lady had passed my table by. Exercise with breakfast...it's part of the experience.
And 2. Arrive Before Noon, especially on weekends, when all the Asian families will be getting together for their weekend dim sum brunch and all the hungover NYU students will be flooding in for cures to their Friday night of overindulgence. Speaking a bit of Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin) can help too, even if your accent is atrocious. As a last resort, point.

Above: Steamed vegetable dumplings

Green tea

Har gow (shrimp dumplings)

Beef tripe

Deep fried taro

Sesame seed balls


Egg custard tarts

Coconut mochi filled with peanut sugar

Sweet Osmanthus jelly

Sushi Palace

There is a place, a place of magic and wonder, in Princeton, NJ. This place is called Sushi Palace, and here you can go and have all the sushi you can eat for $20. Long story short, my friends and I go a lot--every time we return home for holiday, and several times a summer.