Hiding Vegetables is not exactly a new concept.

So someone did a study on children and came up with the conclusion that if you hide vegetables in the meals you create, the kids won't know. Not exactly a new concept, especially for people who are good cooks and creative in the kitchen. Where was I when the grant money for this study was given out!?!

It doesn't work for just children, but for adults who don't like or won't eat their veggies. Personally, I'm very picky about what vegetables I eat, so I have to come up with recipes that can fool even me; and I'm the one who cooked the dish!

One vegetable I dislike is eggplant; I don't like the texture and it tastes bitter to me. I have only tried it in dishes where it has been fried in oil, and being the sponge that it is, the eggplant is oily in taste and texture. However, they do have nutritional value, low in calories and high in fiber, so how to include them in a recipe without having to fry them?

Well, two dishes I know how to make are Eggplant Lasagna and Eggplant Parmigiana which both involve the use of homemade pasta sauce.  Wonder what it would be like if I used the eggplant in the sauce as an ingredient, like tomatoes?  After a bit of trial and error, I discovered that it worked very well indeed, and the eggplant substituted as a thickener for the sauce instead of having to use tomato paste.

Even though the sauce works well with any pasta, I like to use a ribbon pasta such as Tagliatelle or Papardelle.  I leave the sauce chunky and any eggplant chunks have absorbed the flavors of the sauce itself, so no bitterness.  Being a homemade sauce, I control what I put in it; salt and sugar, like in jarred sauces, really have no place, since the ingredients used already contain them naturally.

Vegetarian Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 medium eggplants, peeled and cut into 1” cubes

3 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes

3 Tbsp Italian herb mix

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

¼ cup grated Romano cheese

Preparation:

Set a 6-qt crock pot on low; put all ingredients into crock pot, mix thoroughly and let cook for 8 hours. 

Use an immersion blender or a potato masher in the crock pot to break up some of the eggplant chunks; this will thicken up the sauce.  The sauce will be chunky; if a smoother sauce is desired, use the immersion blender or potato masher until desired consistency is achieved.

Makes 5 quarts.

Mary Cokenour

Japan invades New Mexico!

Mikasa Japanese Cuisine

400 W. Main Street
Farmington, NM, 87401

(505) 327-2255

Website: N/A

Upon entering Mikasa, you are immediately greeted by a cheery receptionist, led to a table or booth; your waitress is quick to take your drink order and leave you to peruse the menu.  Mikasa is open and airy and features what you expect to see at an authentic Japanese restaurant....a sushi preparation station.

First we decided to try one of our favorite appetizers at any Asian restaurant...Crab Wontons.

The wontons skins used are thin, so they fried up perfectly crisp and light; the cream cheese is creamy, well seasoned and you can see the crab meat. This dish is served with its traditional sweet and sour sauce.

Next we ordered 3 Specialty Sushi Rolls and a Hibachi Bowl; while the rolls were created at the Sushi station; the Hibachi is done in the back kitchen...not all Japanese restaurants feature individual Hibachi grill tables.

Tiger Roll - inside is perfectly done shrimp tempura with thinly sliced salmon and green seaweed strands on top.

Dragon Roll - a traditional California roll topped with smoked eel.

Las Vegas Roll - Avocado, Cream Cheese, Salmon and Crab Meat; the cream cheese so smooth, it felt quite decadent inside the mouth,

The Hibachi Special Bowl - Hibachi grilled chicken, shrimp and beef and vegetables over fried rice (or white if you choose); served with a seasoned mayonaisse similiar to Utah's famous "fry sauce". The proteins had a wonderful grill flavor and the sauce helped to enhance this flavor even more so.

Our waitress, Lara, was very sweet and attentive...she helped make our meal even more pleasant with her happiness, and was very knowledgeable about the food served. All in all, this meal was worth every penny paid, we tipped Lara well and will gladly make the trek to Mikasa anytime we're in Farmington, New Mexico.

Mary Cokenour

Fresh for Less in New Mexico

This past weekend, I decided to surprise my hubby with a little road trip to Farmington, New Mexico.  I had read that there was a Farmers' Market at Animas Park on Saturday mornings and wanted to see what they had to offer.  So, after a 2 and 1/2 hour drive we got to the park by 9:30am and found....nothing.  No stands with fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers, no fresh baked goods; absolutely nothing there at all, but the park itself.  Talk about a big disappointment.  Ok, so it was still too early to go for lunch and decided to do a bit of driving about and window shopping....until I saw the sign, "Fresh for Less" on Main Street.  I had heard about this place from an acquaintance; it offered fresh fruits and vegetables at low prices, so we pulled into the parking lot.

Fresh For Less 
 
2330 E Main St
Farmington, NM 87401

(505) 327-4400

Up and down the aisles we walked, around the little tables offering melons, apples, and peppers galore; racks of spices and herbs; bags of rice and beans.  I had found my own little Farmers' Market inside this small building.   Half the trunk of the car was taken up by the loaded box of huge fruits and vegetables, plus a 10 lb bag of Colorado potatoes, and it only cost $43.  The photo below only shows a sampling of all we had purchased.

My biggest thrill was the bell peppers, only costing 99 cents each, instead of the $2 per pound that the supermarkets are charging.  The bell peppers were huge, some weighing in at 1 to 1 and 1/4 lbs; and they were as big as our hands.

In fact, some were so large, they almost covered up my hubby's face.

I was able to find a few smaller peppers and I used these to make my Tamale Stuffed Peppers. I did find a bargain bag ($1) containing 3 baby green zucchini and 3 baby yellow squash.  I cut these into 1/2 inch pieces, combined them with a pound of fingerling potatoes, olive oil, salt, black pepper and garlic.  Baked in a 375F oven for 45 minutes, and oh so good.  Except for a little discoloring here or there on the outside skin, the zucchini and squash were firm inside, so nothing got wasted when I made the vegetable medley.

...and if you are big fan of chile peppers, you need to visit "Fresh for Less"; the peppers are huge and beautiful; and they have them labeled for mild, medium or hot; so if you are not familiar with the chiles, at least you'll know the heat intensity.

I miss the Farmers' Markets I used to visit back in Pennsylvania, but this store acts as a great substitue.

Mary Cokenour

Philly Cheesesteak: the sub and the pizza.

The Philly Cheesesteak Sub - a massive amount of meat, onions and melted cheese crammed into a sub (hero, grinder, hoagie - depending on your area) roll. Sometimes sauteed bell peppers (use red and/or yellow; the green is too overpowering in flavor), sometimes hot peppers; it depends on who is making it.  Same thing for the cheese - maybe provolone or an orange cheese sauce called "Cheez Whiz"...me?  I use good old American cheese slices; 12 slices for every pound of meat.  The meat is normally thinly sliced Ribeye; just the right amount of fat and meat to keep it moist and tender.  You can have it sliced by the butcher, do it yourself, or find it already sliced and packaged in the frozen food section; the frozen Ribeye looks like small steaks, but when cooking, they break apart easily.

Philly Cheesesteak Sub

Ingredients:

1 lb thinly sliced Ribeye steak

1 medium onion, cut into strips

1 medium bell pepper, cut into strips

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 Tbsp minced garlic

12 slices American cheese

3 (6") sub rolls

Preparation:

In a large skillet, medium-high heat, brown the steak; it will be tender enough to break apart in the skillet while browning.  Remove to plate; leave 2 Tbsp grease in the skillet.

Put the onions, bell pepper, black pepper and garlic into the skillet; saute' until the vegetables just begin to soften.  Add back the steak; add the cheese and use two spatulas to break apart the cheese and mix with the meat and vegetables thoroughly.  Turn off heat.

Pack each sub roll with the mixture.

Makes 3 subs.

Now to make the Philly Cheesesteak Pizza, use the pizza dough recipe that I posted on January 21, 2011,  After the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450F; put some flour on the dough and your hands and begin to spread it out to fit whichever method of pizza baking tool you use (traditional pizza pan or stone).  I usually put the dough mound over my two fists; using my knuckles and working from the inside out, start spreading the dough until I get the size I need, and then lay it on my pan or stone.  Nope, I don't toss it like you see some makers do....I'm not that dexterous.

Depending on what size you're making, spread 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups of sauce (I use my homemade pasta sauce) over the dough, leaving about 1" room from the edge.   Now after I browned my meat and sauteed my vegetables, I set aside a good handful of each before bringing them together to make the subs.  So over the sauce, I evenly spread out the meat and veggies; then I topped it all with a generous helping of an Italian 6 cheese blend I had found at the supermarket.

I have 5 rack settings in my oven, so I put the pizza pan on the second from the bottom rack setting.  Bake the pizza for 20-25 minutes; check the bottom for doneness by slightly lifting up the pizza and looking for browness.  Remove from the oven, cut into slices and enjoy.

There you have it; the Philly Cheesesteak done as the traditional sub, or as a pizza.

Mary Cokenour

I would just about kill for a....

"I would just about kill for a..." is an offhand phrase usually meaning that you desire something greatly; so much so that you might do just about anything to get it.  When I say offhand, I mean it is said without any real intent of doing any bodily harm to any living creature.  Oh yes, there are a few out there who would do just that, kill to possess, but they have emotional and/or mental problems, and I'm not going to get into such a serious topic as that.

So let me finish my offhand comment, "I would just about kill for a knish" and not any old type of knish, but a Gabila knish ( http://gabilas.com/ ).  I grew up on these as they were always available at any hamburger/hotdog place, and most especially at the hotdog wagons seen on the streets of New York City.  Eventually they became available in the supermarkets, so you could heat them up at home at your leisure; baked in the oven or deep fried, they were the ultimate handheld comfort food.  Squares of seasoned mashed potatoes encased in a pastry type crust; slicing open one end and creating a pocket, so spicy brown mustard could be squeezed into it.  Lordy, lordy, I am drooling even while writing this!!!

Once I moved to Pennsylvania, I either traveled to New York (only 4 hours away from home) and stocked up at a supermarket there; or had them shipped to me directly from an online store.  Being close in distance, the shipping cost was just as much as the gas expense going to New York, so no big deal.  However that has changed greatly since moving to Utah; the shipping cost is almost as much as a plane ticket to New York from Utah.  As much as I enjoy knishes, going bankrupt to have them is just not on my list of things to do.

I have searched the internet high and low for a copycat recipe and so far nothing.  I have found the round Jewish style, but I have never really enjoyed those; the taste was always a bit off for me.  So I will simply just have to remember and who knows, maybe Gabila's will see this blog post, have pity on me and send me a case.  One can only hope.

Mary Cokenour

You take your chances when going to Denny's.

Denny's

2059 E. Main Street
Cortez, CO, 81321

(970) 564-0832

Website: http://www.dennys.com/

Every once in a while we want breakfast out, so we're not novices to Denny's.  The problem with the Denny's in Cortez is when it's busy, the service is slow and the food is low quality; when it's slow, service is better and so is the food.  We were there on Sunday morning and it was busy.

Create your own Grand Slam breakfast: I asked for soft scrambled, they came out hard and cold; the bacon was barely crisp; the pancakes and biscuit though were fluffy and hot.

From the new All American menu, hubby chose the Philly Cheesesteak Omelet.  It smelled great, not so with the taste though.  The eggs, again, were hard and cold; the steak was tasteless; actually it had a sort of artificial taste to it; the best part of the omelet was the grilled peppers and onions.  The hash browns were the typical, nothing to write home about, hash browns.

Our waitress though did make sure our coffee cups were filled throughout our time there, so kudos to her for that.

Another short, but not so sweet, restaurant review.

Mary Cokenour

Time Constraints? Consider Wok Cooking.

Many years ago I discovered the advantages, and ease, of cooking meals in a Wok.  Originating in China, the Wok is a deep pan with a rounded bottom and slanted sides; it is usually made of rolled or stainless steel, aluminum or cast iron.  The shape of this pan allows one to cook food at high heat with very little oil.  Besides the traditional stir fry method, Woks can be used to stew, braise, steam or deep fry.  Depending on the dishes you intend to create, a meal can be prepped and cooked in about 30 minutes if using a Wok. 

As with many plans, they do go astray; I'd planned a day at home, catching up on chores and giving myself plenty of time to plan out and make dinner.  Instead, a simple one hour drive to find the location of a copper mine to explore turned into a three hour drive; we never did find that mine.  Needless to say, as soon as I returned home I jumped into those chores and before you knew it...dinner time had arrived.  I was tired, really tired and then I saw the wok hanging from my kitchen ceiling rack.

Chinese Chicken and Broccoli

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into ¼” thin slices

1 large egg, beaten

2 Tbsp cornstarch

4 Tbsp canola oil, divided in half

1 lb broccoli, cut up into ½” pieces and blanched in salted water

3 Tbsp oyster sauce

3 Tbsp light soy sauce

1 Tbsp minced garlic

Preparation:

Mix together chicken slices, egg and cornstarch; place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Heat 2 Tbsp of oil, on high heat, in Wok; sauté broccoli with oyster and soy sauces.  Remove to plate and keep warm.  Add remaining oil to Wok, sauté chicken till just starting to brown; return broccoli to Wok and add in garlic.  Mix together and let cook together for 5 minutes; remove to serving platter.

Makes 6-8 servings.

~~~~~~~

Fried Rice

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp plus 4 Tbsp canola oil

½ cup diced onion

1 cup frozen peas and carrots

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

4 cups cooked long grain rice

3 Tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp ground ginger

Preparation:

Heat 2 Tbsp oil, on high heat, in Wok; sauté onion till just beginning to soften, add in peas and carrots, salt and black pepper; sauté together for 3 minutes; remove to bowl and keep warm.

Add remaining oil to Wok; add in rice, soy sauce and ginger; keep mixing together for 5 minutes, making sure to break up any clumps in the rice.  Add back the vegetables; mix thoroughly and remove to serving bowl.

Makes 6-8 servings.

The copper mine?  Roy went onto Google, found its exact location and we'll be trying that adventure again at a later date.  In the meantime, enjoy your own adventure in discovering the Wok.

Mary Cokenour