Writing With My Mouth Full

recent posts

    • Whole30 Dinner: Barbecue Ribs

      These barbecue ribs will fall apart with just a gentle prod of your fork. The best thing is that it cooked while I was at yoga class; I simply reheated my oven while I was getting ready to work out, put the meat in the oven before I left the apartment, and by the time yoga was finished and I had walked back home, the meat was ready!

      Ingredients:
      half a rack of pork ribs
      5 garlic cloves, minced
      olive oil
      salt, pepper
      paprika

      1. Dry the ribs with a paper towel. Rubs the garlic cloves all over the meat. Keep the garlic to line your container. Brush the meat with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle and rub paprika all over.
      2. Transfer to a sealable glass container that’s been lined with the garlic. Keep in the fridge for up to 2 days to marinate.
      3. When ready to cook, let the ribs sit in room temperature while you preheat the oven at 275º. Transfer the marinated ribs to a sheet of aluminum foil, large enough to fold over, cover and seal. Put on a foil-lined baking sheet (the juices will leak) and bake for 2 hours.
      4. When done, remove from oven and open the foil to release remaining heat and serve.

    • Whole30 Dinner: Chicken and Turkey Meatballs with Lacinato Kale Salad

      Are you now getting a hang of Whole30 meals? When you plan a little ahead of time, you can make multiple meals out of the same batch of ingredients. This is now the third meal I’ve created out of the chicken and turkey ground meat I bought from the same trip to the market.

      Ingredients:
      scant olive oil
      2 cloves of garlic, minced
      1 small onion, finely chopped
      1/4 pound ground chicken meat
      1/4 pound ground turkey meat
      salt, pepper
      red chile flakes
      1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
      2 sprigs of mint, finely chopped
      1 scallion
      lime juice
      1/4 cup coconut flour
      ghee
      2 eggs, soft-boiled

      1. Put all the ingredients together in a bowl except the coconut flour, ghee and eggs. Mix well and incorporate. Scoop a generous tablespoon and gently roll them like meatballs between in your hands.
      2. Put the coconut flour in a separate plate and roll each meatball until slightly covered. It provides a nice thin cover unlike regular flour.
      3. In a skillet, heat a tablespoon of ghee and fry the meatballs in medium-low heat, about 2 minutes per side, until most of the ball is golden brown to ensure that it’s cooked inside. Feel free to add more ghee if your pan is burning too fast. Serve with soft-boiled eggs.

      Recommended:
      The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom
      I bought this tub of ghee from Organic Valley Purity Farms from Whole Foods
      I picked the least expensive coconut flour because I know I won’t be using it as much

    • Whole 30 Breakfast: Chicken and Turkey Coconut Meatballs

      I had leftover meat stuff from the Whole30 larb dinner that I made the night before so I rolled them into balls to make a completely different meal out of them. I needed a binder to dry them up so they can retain their shape, so I used a little bit of coconut flour before I fried them with ghee.

      Ingredients:
      scant olive oil
      2 cloves of garlic, minced
      1 small onion, finely chopped
      1/4 pound ground chicken meat
      1/4 pound ground turkey meat
      salt, pepper
      red chile flakes
      1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
      2 sprigs of mint, finely chopped
      1 scallion
      lime juice
      1/4 cup coconut flour
      ghee
      2 eggs, soft-boiled

      1. Put all the ingredients together in a bowl except the coconut flour, ghee and eggs. Mix well and incorporate. Scoop a generous tablespoon and gently roll them like meatballs between your hands.
      2. Put the coconut flour in a separate plate and roll each meatball until slightly covered. It provides a nice thin cover unlike regular flour.
      3. In a skillet, heat a tablespoon of ghee and fry the meatballs in medium-low heat, about 2 minutes per side, until most of the ball is golden brown to ensure that it’s cooked inside. Feel free to add more ghee if your pan is burning too fast. Serve with soft-boiled eggs.

      Recommended:
      The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom
      I bought this tub of ghee from Organic Valley Purity Farms from Whole Foods
      I picked the least expensive coconut flour because I know I won’t be using it as much

    • Whole30 Dinner: Chicken and Turkey Larb

      I’m going to miss Asian foods the most while I’m trying this Whole30 meal plan. While you can substitute soy and fish sauces for Whole30 compliant brands, I’m just going to skip them altogether because I don’t want to buy any more stuff. (I recently Marie Kondoed my pantry and I’m not about to add new things!)

      The idea of larb is easy: take some ground meat and mix it with fresh Asian herbs. It’s like making Italian meatballs only with spices your Italian grandma would dismiss.

      Ingredients:
      scant olive oil
      2 cloves of garlic, minced
      1 small onion, finely chopped
      1/4 pound ground chicken meat
      1/4 pound ground turkey meat
      salt, pepper
      red chile flakes
      1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
      2 sprigs of mint, finely chopped
      1 scallion
      lettuce
      lime juice

      1. In a skillet, heat oil. Saute garlic and onions until onions are translucent. Add ground meats and cook for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Make sure you lightly crush and separate the meats while mixing so they’re not clumped in large pieces.
      2. Season with salt, pepper, and chile. Mix in bell pepper, mint, scallions, and lettuce. Continue cooking the meats until a tad crispy and the lettuce well-incorporated. Sprinkle with lime juice for a little acidity. Alternatively, don’t cook the lettuce so you can scoop the meat in them and eat them as individual wraps.

      Recommended:
      The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom
      I bought this tub of ghee from Organic Valley Purity Farms from Whole Foods

    • Whole30 Breakfast: Brussels Sprouts and Egg Scramble

      I had a great time in San Francisco this past weekend. So much so that I now have to detox for the next 2 weeks to feel healthy again. My friend Fides talked to me about Whole30 while I was there, and although I’m not strict with trendy diets and meal plans, I can recognize a good idea when there is one.

      Without going into too much detail about what Whole30 is–because the Internet can tell you that with another click–I’m going to try and eliminate all grains, sugars, butter, and soy from my eating habits in the next 2 weeks while continuing to eat more animals and plants and skipping anything processed. I plan to start my days with a real breakfast to avoid snacking at work before lunch and I plan to eat more fruits and protein bars that are Whole30 compliant as afternoon snacks.

      I created a new category on the right for these experimental recipes that follow the Whole30 philosophy so that they’d be easy to find and you can plan your visits to the supermarket in as fewer trips as possible. I’m not throwing out the Califian almond milk in my fridge just yet (the compliant version is really just made out of almonds and water and I’m not going to make my own) but I’ll definitely skip the sugar and honey in my iced coffees and hot teas. I’m also not buying brand-compliant soy and fish sauces for my Asian meals–I just pared down my pantry and the last thing I need is to buy more stuff; I’m just going to skip them altogether and learn to season differently. Slowly but surely, you know?

      Ingredients:
      scant olive oil
      handful of Brussels sprouts, shredded
      salt, pepper
      red chile pepper flakes
      3 eggs
      half an avocado, sliced

      1. In a skillet, heat oil. Add sprouts and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes, while seasoning with salt, pepper, and chile.
      2. Crack the eggs open into the pan and scramble with the sprouts by mixing to incorporate well. Turn off the heat after 1 minute and cook the egg in the remaining heat.
      3. Serve with avocado slices.

      Recommended:
      The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom

    • Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles

      There are a few cuisines that I crave for, and one of them is Sichuan food. This recipe looks long, but once you have your mise en place organized, you can follow my steps easily. I also substituted a few things that will be more common in your pantry. Most of the Asian ingredients here are now widely available at your store–you know, in the “Oriental” aisle–so no need to order online. You may also replace Shaoxing wine with rice vinegar, and double your soy sauce to pretend you have dark soy sauce.

      Sui mi ya cai is preserved mustard greens that you have to buy at the Asian market, but it’s optional for this dish even though it provides a nice sourness and crunch to the dish. Once you buy it though, I guarantee you’ll put it on everything you eat. I also used spaghetti noodles here because the “white noodles” I find in Chinatown are simply called that; I have no idea what they really are. So to avoid confusion, just use spaghetti.

      Ingredients:
      For the chili oil:
      2 tbsps Sichuan peppercorns
      1 cinnamon stick
      2 star anise
      1 cup canola oil
      1/4 cup red pepper flakes

      For the meat:
      3 tsps canola oil
      half-pound ground pork
      2 tsps hoisin sauce
      2 tsps Shaoxing wine
      1 tsp dark soy sauce
      1/2 tsp five spice powder
      1/3 cup sui mi ya cai, or preserved mustard greens

      For the sauce:
      2 tbsps tahini sauce
      3 tbsps soy sauce
      2 tsps sugar
      1/4 tsp five spice powder
      1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, grounded
      1/2 cup of your prepared chili oil
      2 cloves garlic, very finely minced

      For the rest:
      1 lb spaghetti noodles
      1 bunch of spinach or bok choy
      scallions, roughly chopped

      1. Make the chili oil. In a small pot, add the Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon stick, star anise, and oil. Over medium low heat, slowly heat to 325 degrees, and then turn off the heat. Steep for about 5 minutes, then remove the peppercorns, cinnamon stick, and star anise with a slotted spoon. Mix in the crushed red pepper flakes and allow them to steep in the hot oil. Allow the oil to cool. Set aside and store in a glass jar and keep refrigerated.
      2. Make the meat mixture. In a large Dutch oven, heat a teaspoon of oil over medium heat and brown the ground pork. Add the hoisin sauce, Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, and five spice powder. (Add the preserved mustard greens here if using.) Cook until all the liquid is evaporated and remove to a plate.
      3. Cook the noodles according to package directions and drain. Save the water for the sauce and to blanch the greens. Set aside.
      4. Make the sauce. Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust by adding more of the noodle water to thin it out if you like.
      4. Assemble. Divide the sauce among four serving bowls. Add noodles. Top with the greens. Add the pork. Let your guests mix everything with chopsticks.

    • Rasam, South Indian Tomato Soup

      Dal is often referred to as lentils but it’s actually the split version of lentils, peas, chickpeas, mung beans, kidney beans, and so on. The edible seeds of various leguminous plants are called pulses. If a pulse is split into half, it is a dal.

      Rasam is a South Indian soup using tamarind and tomatoes as base. I added dal to make it meatier. For this recipe, I used an “Autumn blend” of brown, yellow, and orange lentils. I used 2 limes here to replace the tamarind’s sour note and deseeded the Serrano chile to keep the heat down. If you want to make a real meal out of this, buy some kebabs and serve with basmati rice and naan, like I did below.

      Ingredients:
      1 cup dal, soaked for 30 minutes in water, then drained
      2 tsps cumin seeds
      2 tsps black peppercorns
      2 tbsps clarified butter
      1 tbsp mustard seeds
      1 Serrano chile, deseeded, chopped
      a small knob of ginger, peeled, chopped
      3 cloves garlic, minced
      1 yellow onion, chopped
      1 tbsp, turmeric
      1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
      2 limes, halved
      a handful of cilantro, finely chopped

      1. In a medium Dutch oven, toast cumin seeds and the peppercorns, and then remove to ground with a pestle.
      2. In the same pot, heat clarified butter and toast mustard seeds. Cover the pot since the seeds pop. When they quiet down, add back the ground cumin and peppercorns. Be careful not to burn.
      3. Stir and sauté in garlic, then chile, ginger, and the onions for about 5 minutes. Add the drained dal and turmeric and mix to coat.
      4. Add the tomatoes and 4 cups of water. Stir and squeeze the lime into the pot without the seeds, and then throw in the spent lime halves. Season with salt. Simmer in medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat, remove and discard the lime halves, and mix in cilantro.

      Recommended:
      A bag of Pereg Gourmet Autumn Blend of heirloom lentils was $3 at my grocery store. Use the leftover for multiple salads and other lentil dishes.

    • Ham, Cheese, and Leek Scones

      My latest favorite cookbook is Violet Bakery’s by Claire Ptak. I feel like most cookbooks are all the same these days. They use the same photo style with the filtered-look and the same minimalist design throughout. So before I pick up a copy of any cookbook these days, I skim through the pages and see if there’s even a recipe I would like to try at home either because it looks easy enough to test (in the case of baked goods) or if it’s interesting enough to bother. Otherwise, you can just Google everything, right?

      Claire Ptak’s recipe for these savory scones was one of those that made me salivate. I needed my friend Lisa’s help understanding some of the baking terms though. What the hell does it mean to cut the butter? She found my question amusing enough that she made a video with her iPhone of her holding two knives and making scissor-like motions with them upright–basically “cutting through” the butter. Now, I know that’s what bakers do and the term wouldn’t have elicited any reaction from baking pros, but to me, it just didn’t make sense. Why not just say mix the butter in with the flour and use the back of a fork to combine and make it crumbly? I changed that step below, so sue me! I also converted the measurements to plain ol’ American English so you don’t have to. Lastly, I only used cooked ham here from the meat counter at my supermarket, but feel free to use good quality prosciutto.

      Ingredients:
      2 leeks, trimmed, rinsed, sliced into small pieces
      2 tbsp unsalted butter
      2 tbsp olive oil
      salt, pepper
      2 cups parmesan cheese, grated
      2 1/4 cups of flour, plus more for your work surface
      2 tbsp baking powder
      1 stick of unsalted butter, cut into cubes
      2 cups plain yogurt
      2 cups of cooked ham, cut into bite-sized pieces
      1 egg, lightly beaten with a little milk or water, for the egg wash

      1. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, heat the smaller knob of butter and the oil until the butter starts to foam. Add the leeks and sauté for about 10-15 minutes until soft. Season with salt and pepper. When they are cooked, transfer to a bowl and chill in the fridge until ready to use.
      2. In a medium bowl, combine and stir the parmesan, flour, and baking powder. Add and mix in the stick of butter with the back of a fork until crumbly. Add the yogurt, ham, and chilled leeks. Season with salt. Mix to combine and then form a cube and place on your lightly floured surface.
      3. Pat the dough into a thick log and cut out scone triangles, about 12 of them. Line a baking sheet that can fit into your fridge with parchment paper. Place the scone on the sheet and chill to set, about 1 hour.
      4. Preheat the oven to 350º. When ready to bake, line a different large baking tray with parchment paper, place the chilled scones on it and brush the scones with the egg wash. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.

      Recommendations:
      The Violet Bakery Cookbook is very pretty and practical at once.

    • Venison Stew with Stout Beer

      I think it probably went into the freezer maybe a day after it died, said Carly when she gave me some venison meat her father and brother hunted in Pennsylvania. I’m never going to pass on fresh meat so I was quite glad to take some from Carly’s hands when she came back from visiting her parents.

      Ever since I did spring cleaning using the KonMari method of Marie Kondo, I’ve been trying to use up all the food I found in my pantry before I buy anything new. I found this bag of manti, or mini Turkish dumplings, and was told by my Turkish friend, Elle, that I cook them like tortellini and serve with a garlic yogurt sauce with butter and sumac. I don’t have any of those ingredients so I decided to use them with this venison stew in lieu of egg noodles or pasta. I also had leftover kale, parsley, and 1 lonely scallion in the fridge so I used them all up too. The kale made the stew a bit bitter here so I tried to repair it with some lime juice–also leftover–before serving.

      The venison meat is definitely not fatty; I can taste the gaminess and can tell how muscular the animal was since it’s been running around the woods. I thought a stout beer was perfect here, sort of like a carbonnade, or a traditional Belgian stew made with beef. (The Storm King Imperial stout beer was also leftover from a beer tasting, but you can use Guinness if that’s all you can get.) It was a hearty supper considering the temperature dropped back down to 20 over the weekend.

      Ingredients:
      venison stew meat, cut into 2-inch cubes
      salt, pepper
      a knob of butter
      4 slices bacon, chopped
      1 medium yellow onion, chopped
      1 tbsp brown sugar
      2 cloves garlic, minced
      1/2 bunch of kale, center ribs and stems removed, torn into smaller pieces
      1 bottle stout beer
      chicken stock
      3 bay leaves
      3 sprigs fresh thyme
      juice from 1 lime
      a handful of parsley, roughly chopped
      1 scallion, chopped

      1. Dry the venison with paper towels, then salt and pepper generously. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the butter and bacon and cook until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and chop, reserving for later. Add the meat to the pot, in batches to avoid overcrowding, and raise the heat to high. Sear the meat well on all sides, then remove to a plate.
      2. Add the onions and brown sugar to the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until the onions are soft and caramelized. Sauté in the garlic and the kale and cook until the leaves are wilted.
      3. Raise the heat to medium-high. Pour in the beer and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits. Bring to a boil, then add the crispy bacon and the venison along with its juices. Add enough chicken stock to cover the meat, then the bay leaves and thyme. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours.
      4. Uncover the pot and raise the heat to medium to reduce the liquid to a sauce-like consistency. Before serving, adjust the taste by adding salt and pepper and lime juice. Serve with pasta, rice, or noodles, and sprinkle with parsley and scallions.

      Recommendations:
      Amazon sells venison stew meat, you know, if you don’t have good friends who come from hunting families. The Marie Kondo book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing will change your life.

    • How to Make Your Own Wooden Palette Planter with Felt

      The city park across from my apartment threw this wooden palette away a few weeks ago. I walked past it while I was walking my dog, Atticus, and decided to come back for it after I dropped him off at home. I dragged it a block and a half home and there was no turning back after I leaned it against my terrace wall.

      Look, I already know I have enough plants and planters, but since I decided to plant all tulip bulbs in my cedar box last October, there really isn’t any room for herbs this upcoming season.

      The living wall planters from Woolly Pocket have worked well for me indoors, but I wanted to DIY this outside and not spend too much money. The non-woven felt I bought from Amazon.com was only $17 for the roll and because it’s non-woven, it will not unravel and should stand up to mold, mildew, and fading. You’ll need a staple gun here and some extra heavy-duty staples in case you get staple-happy like I did.

      Brief interruption: here’s a photo of Atticus hiding in the hallway because he was scared of the loud thuds coming from my staple gun. He kept peeking to see if I was done. So friggin’ cuuuuute.

      A regular wooden palette is 39 inches wide if you want it to stand on the shorter side. The roll of black felt I bought was 10′ x 4′. Using fabric scissors, I cut about 16 inches vertically for my first pocket so that when folded, the pocket depth is more or less 8 inches deep. The depth is up to you and may depend on how close the palette stripes are. Mine wasn’t evenly spaced, so as you can see, the third stripe is deeper just because it had to be stapled to a lower rung.

      To make one rectangular pocket, I stapled the felt horizontally to the top edge of the first palette stripe, making sure there’s about 3 to 4 inches overhang on either side. I also stapled the bottom edge to make sure it holds.

      I folded the vertical edges in and stapled them to seal the sides. Then I folded the rest of the felt up to make a pocket. At each vertical edge, I fanned out the felt and made a pleat to mimic an accordion before stapling along that edge. This gives you room for the soil and plants later.

      I stapled the front middle lip to keep the pocket from sagging. Once I have the soil in place, I’ll decided whether I’ll staple more in the front to make smaller individual pockets. I think I’ll keep to 3 rows though because the lowest stripe is too low on the ground.

      Come back to this post when I update it with soil and plants!

      —

      First update:
      We didn’t have planting weather here in New York 3 weeks until I after I assembled this palette planter and even then, it wasn’t warm enough to actually start gardening. I did put down some seeds and there was a peep of life after it rained for 5 days straight.

      Now, it has been an additional 3 weeks and these red kales are taking shape! The pocket below it also has some smaller sprouts, but the others are showing no signs of life. I’m still waiting though before I put Plan B in place, which is to buy herbs and replace them in those lifeless pockets.

      Recommendations:
      1. Black non-woven felt that will withstand the elements
      2. A nice staple gun that you won’t be able to live without after your first project
      3. Extra heavy-duty staples

    • Farro with Pickled Carrots, Kale and Shiitake Mushrooms

      Spring cleaning is a bitch to do, but it’s always worth it in the end. You stand in front of your pantry and you can actually find stuff! I was applying the KonMari method of Marie Kondo to my kitchen cabinets when I found a small bag of farro. I set it aside to remind me to make use of it later in the week for a healthier dinner option. The carrots were a bit stale, found in the back of the vegetable bin, so I decided to quick-pickle them here. I used leek and scallions since I had leftovers, but feel free to use onions and some parsley for green coloring instead. If you want to impress, sous-vide your eggs at 146º for 45 minutes and crack them open on top of the salad before serving.

      Ingredients:
      a handful of baby carrots
      1/2 cup white vinegar
      1 tsp sugar
      salt, pepper
      olive oil
      1 cup semi-pearled farro
      2 garlic cloves, minced
      1 leek, cleaned, chopped
      1 scallion, chopped
      a large handful of dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, drained, chopped
      1/2 bunch of kale, center ribs and stems removed, torn into smaller pieces
      a jigger of fish sauce
      2 large eggs, fried

      1. Quick-pickle the carrots. In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 cup water to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Pour over carrots in a bowl; let sit at least 30 minutes, or until ready to use. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup pickling liquid.
      2. Cook farro. In a medium saucepan, heat olive over medium-high heat. Add farro and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until farro is dark brown, about 10 minutes. Add 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Boil farro until tender but still firm to the bite, about 25 minutes. Drain; let cool.
      3. Heat some more oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté leek and scallions. Add mushrooms and kale and cook, tossing often, until mushrooms are soft and kale is wilted. Season with fish sauce and pepper. Add the pickled carrots and the farro. Pour in some of the pickling liquid to make sure it’s not dry. Serve and top with the eggs.

      Recommendations:
      The Marie Kondo book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing will change your life. I also highly recommend the Anova Sous Vide as one of those toys you don’t think you need.

    • Blueberry-Cardamom Muffins

      This is a Tasting Table recipe that I’ve adapted after I realized that I had all the ingredients in my pantry. I’ve made small changes like using frozen blueberries that I thawed out and gently patted down with a paper towel, and then I cut down the sugar and skipped the sugar topping altogether. All my changes are reflected below. This batch made 12 incredibly tasty muffins that I ate for breakfast, afternoon snack, and a late dessert!

      Ingredients:
      2 cups all-purpose flour
      2 tsps baking powder
      1 tsp salt
      1/2 tsp cardamom seeds, grounded
      1 stick of butter, at room temperature
      3/4 cup sugar
      1 tsp vanilla extract
      2 eggs
      1/2 cup whole milk
      2 cups frozen blueberries, thawed, then gently patted dry with a paper towel

      1. Preheat the oven to 375º and line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom, then set aside.
      2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugar and vanilla, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well until incorporated before adding the next. With the motor running, slowly add the flour mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the milk, until a smooth batter comes together with the help of a spatula.
      3. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and fold in the blueberries. Divide the batter between the muffin liners. Bake until golden brown for about 30 minutes.

      Recommendations:
      There are a lot of cheap muffin liners out there, but I quite like these large ones for breakfast items because I like more cake in my muffins.