Posts Tagged ‘garlic’

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Slow-carb heaven: Taco salad


2011
06.27

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I’ve previously shared with you the secrets of making kick-ass homemade tacos, and these are usually in heavy rotation around my house. Of course, I’ve been listening to Celebrity Intern preach the gospel of the Slow-Carb Revolution for years, and recently started to think about all those tortillas we were eating. Sure, we always use Mission tortillas’ Carb Balance medium or small-sized wraps, which are definitely better for you than the average tortilla (with only 18 g of carbs, plus 11 g of dietary fiber), but still.

I guess what finally put me on the road to Slow-Carbing it was the fact that I had finally gotten my hands on the library’s copy of Tim Ferriss’ Four-Hour Body, and was looking at the “Chipotle method” he advocated for the non-cooking bachelor. I mean, number one, who doesn’t love Chipotle? But more importantly is number two: dude, I can make a taco salad myself that will rival any Tex-Mex bowl o’ goodies.

Thus, I present to you the Low-Carb Taco* Salad!

LOW-CARB TACO* SALAD

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground beef (preferably organic, though shoestring budgets may dictate otherwise)
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ground cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper (to taste; see our taco recipe for approximate amounts)
  • romaine lettuce
  • salsa (we used a combination of Herdez Salsa Verde and Salsa Casera, plus Texas-Texas Fresh Roma Roasted)
  • white cheddar cheese, shredded
  • sour cream or crème fraîche
  • guacamole (1/2 an avocado, a sprinkle of salt and juice of 1/2 a lime all mashed together; keep it simple!)

Directions:

  1. Salt and pepper your ground beef, then brown in a skillet over medium heat.
  2. Drain off excess grease, if necessary (we used an 80/20 mixture, so there was quite a lot), return to pan, and add shallot, garlic, cumin and chili powder plus about 1 cup of water to create a sauce.
  3. Simmer sauce down until water has mostly evaporated, about 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. Arrange leaves of romaine lettuce in the bottom of your bowls. You can either use the leaves whole for a nice presentation or chop them up into bite-sized pieces for edible convenience.
  5. Place ground beef on top of lettuce.
  6. Sprinkle cheese on top of beef.
  7. Add salsa, guacamole and sour cream on top as desired. We also tossed in a few pickled banana peppers for good measure.
  8. Consume and enjoy!

* Tacos need not apply

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Low-carb summer pasta


2011
06.20

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We’re due for a recipe around here, aren’t we? So check out this low-carb pasta (what?!) I whipped up recently, thanks to a little summertime ingenuity and the desire to eat a nice, hearty pasta with some delicious (in season!) eggplant in it. I call it…

LOW-CARB SUMMER PASTA

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 eggplant
  • 1 28-oz. can of Muir Glen crushed tomatoes
  • 1 box of Dreamfields low-carb pasta (rotini, macaroni elbows or penne rigate all work nicely)
  • at least 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 shallot
  • dried oregano (to taste)
  • cayenne pepper (just a dash or two)

Directions:

  1. Chop up your shallot and mince & mash your garlic up. Cut your eggplant into fairly bite-sized cubes (or weird shaped wedges of a similar size, if you’re like me). Have all of that ready to go while you start browning your ground beef in a decent-sized pan.
  2. Put a pot of water on to boil for your pasta. The Dreamfields brand is lower in carbs than normal pasta because it has lots of extra fiber in it, but the side of the box is very insistent that you NOT overcook the stuff. If you do, you won’t get the low-carb benefits so, seriously, set a timer and don’t walk away. I believe most of them take 8 or 9 minutes to cook, at a rolling boil, but you may even want to take them out a bit earlier if you like your pasta al dente. Watch that pot!
  3. Okay, now even if you’re using a fairly lean cut of ground beef, you’ll end up with a fair amount of oil in the bottom of your pan. This is great, because the eggplant is going to soak up all that delicious fat and taste even better than usual. (How is that possible when it’s already so delicious?!) So get the browned beef out of your pan with a slotted spoon, leaving all that tasty oil behind. Add in the eggplant, shallot and garlic and possibly even a little olive oil if it starts sticking to the bottom. Toss it around in the pan until the onions are starting to turn translucent, and add in your dried oregano, followed by your can of crushed tomatoes. Add your meat back in and bring that sauce to a slow boil. You can add in salt and pepper (or the above-mentioned cayenne pepper) to taste, at this point.
  4. Once you’ve drained your pasta and the sauce is simmering, add the pasta directly to the pan. If there’s not enough room, never fear; just do it the other way around, pouring your sauce on top of the pasta and combining it all together.
  5. Ladle that pasta out into bowls, hit it with a little Parmesan cheese (yes, we were ghetto and bought the Kraft kind in this photo; it’s Shoestring budget, baby!), and enjoy!

Does white wine really go with red sauced pasta & beef? My friend, in the heat of an Austin summer, you need not ask yourself these questions. It’s cold, it’s wine—just go with it.

P.S. If you’re one of those odd, meat-fearing vegetarian types, you can surely omit the beef and enjoy this veggie-style. I’d also add in some red, orange or yellow bell peppers to bump up the flavor, and if you’re of the “fake meat” persuasion, crumble in some of that faux meat tofu product to get a beef-like texture to your sauce.

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Best pizza in Austin is, hands-down, homemade


2011
05.03

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Continuing in our cooking on a shoestring vein, here’s an old favorite that’s sure to please: PIZZA!

Tell me that doesn't look tasty!

Pizza chains and fancy-pants retailers would have you believe that it requires some kind of old-world knowledge and special gadgetry in order to create a killer pizza. I’m here to tell you that it’s all bull-pucky. Stick with me, kid, and you’ll soon be making some fancy-pants pizzas of your own, all with the basic utilities of a plain ol’ stove set to 350 degrees F.

First round up:

  • Large-sized tortillas (white, wheat, sun-dried tomato, or whatever tickles your fancy here) – get enough for one per person, as these are the pizza bases we’re going to work from
  • 1 14.5-oz. can of crushed tomatoes, or 1 small can of tomato paste + some water to dilute it – your sauce!
  • 1 c. mozzarella cheese, grated (if you prefer cheddar, or just happen to have it on hand and don’t want to spring for mozzarella, go for it)
  • olive oil

In terms of toppings, the varieties are endless. As always, you get to decide what would be good on your pizza. If you just want cheese, that’s all you need. Otherwise, here are a few suggestions:

  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 onion or shallot, minced
  • pepperoni slices
  • mushrooms, chopped
  • bell peppers, chopped (red, green, orange, yellow – they’re all good!)
  • pesto
  • assorted cheeses (the more the merrier)
  • artichoke hearts
  • anything else you think would taste great on a pizza (I have a friend who loves dill pickles on hers, so feel free to get creative!)

Now what?

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (F).
  2. Lay your tortilla on a plate and slather it with an even coating of about 1 tsp. olive oil. You can do this with the back of a spoon, or (if you’re fancy and have such acoutrements) a pastry brush.
  3. Atop the olive oil, coat your pizza with crushed tomatoes or the tomato paste, slightly diluted with water. (If you’re using paste, you want it to be slightly less pasty, and more like a sauce, so just a few tablespoons of water should do the trick.) This is your sauce, so add as much or as little as you like, leaving a rim of about 1/4 inch all around for a “crust.”
  4. Now’s the time to add your toppings. I always like to include onion, garlic and cheese at a minimum, for a nice savory base. Add whatever you like here, but remember it’s a thin-crust pizza, so don’t get too heavy-handed with the toppings or they’ll all slide off when you try to eat it.
  5. Layer on cheese to cover your toppings.
  6. Place pizzas on a cookie sheet or on the oven rack directly (be careful not to burn yourself or let the edges of your pizzas droop and spill through; this takes a bit of finesse), and let bake for about 12 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.
  7. Remove from oven onto individual plates and allow to cool 5 minutes before cutting and eating.

The final result should look something like this:

Chicken, bacon, mushroom, shallot & garlic pizza

Or maybe this, if you used pesto instead of red sauce:

Pesto, chicken, bacon, shallot & garlic pizza

Delicious, right? And all you had to do was round up a few simple ingredients on a cool spring day like today (55 degrees feels SO good after all that 90+ heat!), bake and enjoy. Seriously, if you’re waiting for the pizza guy to deliver in 30 minutes or less, you’re just wasting your money. Try one of these personal pan pizzas and see if you don’t convert by the time he finally knocks on your door, expecting a tip.

What are some of your favorite pizza toppings? Leave us a comment or tweet us @shoestringATX!

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Monday Munchies: Bourdain vs. Roast Chicken with Spring Vegetables


2011
04.18

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I just finished reading Anthony Bourdain’s Medium Raw, so I have been getting an eye-full of his anti-Food Network views (as well as his various hate-ons for celeb chefs and villainous food writers). Having never actually tried any of their recipes, however, I decided to hit one up and see if his complaints of dumbing it down for the uneducated (and possibly also unwashed) masses held any water.

Or are these, in fact, just tried-and-true classics?

The challenger: Food Network Magazine’s recipe for Roast Chicken With Spring Vegetables. Please note that I have not chosen a recipe purportedly created by any of Tony’s specific arch-nemeses—especially Sandra Lee (I mean, does “Semi-Homemade” really even count as cooking?)—so, instead, what you see here will either be an indictment or vindication of the Network’s Magazine. Who comes up with these recipes, and for what purpose? Hard to say. But in any event, this recipe was one of their spring suggestions. Hankering for some vegetables amidst the never-ending meat parade, I found this one most appealing.

Here’s their photo, for reference purposes:

Roast Chicken With Spring Vegetables (photo courtesy of Food Network Magazine)

And here’s how you should tweak this recipe, if you want your food to be delicious:

  1. GARLIC. (Or, in the words of Bourdain’s number-one nemesis, Emeril: GAH-LIC.) How can you roast anything without garlic? It’s unthinkable, really. This recipe doesn’t have any. It should. A lot, if you like garlic, which I do. Chunk in a whole bulb of the stuff, scattered throughout, and let it roast into deliciously soft lumps that can be smashed and squirted onto bits of your food as you eat. Yum.
  2. SHALLOTS. Almost always paired with garlic in my house, the shallot is the sexy cousin of the onion. Sure, there are a few scallions in this recipe, and they taste pretty good, but the shallot is the Crown Prince of all onions. Fling him in there, let him mix it up with the commoners, and get this party started.
  3. FORGET THE DILL. Hey, if you dig dill, then go for the gusto. Personally, I couldn’t even find the stuff at my (shitty) local grocer, and had to omit it. No big loss, if you ask me, as roasting stuff in olive oil is pretty tasty and adding salt will bring out most of the desired flavors of the meat and veggies anyway (and dude, FYI: roasted radishes are way more awesome than the cold ones you usually get in a salad). Instead of dill, I think rosemary is pretty keen, but even just sticking with salt, pepper, shallots and garlic should pretty well knock your socks off, especially if you can score nice fresh veggies from some type of farmer’s market.
  4. SPRING VEGGIES = ASPARAGUS. Leaving asparagus out of a “spring vegetables” dish is criminal. Asparagus is, by far, my favorite spring veggie, and honestly I can’t get enough of ‘em. Put ‘em in everything until the season ends! Or at least have ‘em as an appetizer, while you’re waiting for this damn thing to cook for 35 minutes when you’re starving to death at 8 o’clock at night. Fry them in butter, season with salt. Keep it simple, sweetie.

So those are my suggestions for a more succulent Roast Chicken with Spring Veggies. The Food Network isn’t exactly showing itself to be a total waste of time here, but then again, roasting isn’t exactly rocket science. You put shit in a pan, you drizzle with olive oil, you salt and pepper, you jam it in a hot oven for a while, and then you take it out and eat it.

Someone who can screw up roasting is someone who doesn’t know much about cooking at all (or is someone who likes to “set it and forget it,” and ends up charring everything when they walk out of the kitchen). In that sense, I can feel Bourdain’s pain when he says these are recipes we should all already know how to cook. This is a pretty straightforward technique, and for a chef to claim he or she invented it would be absurd. It’s just a basic cooking method.

Do you really even need them to tell you what vegetables to put in there? Not really, because you could substitute any you like. You could make a roast chicken with “winter” vegetables, and it’d be almost the same thing (potatoes and carrots being the type of veggies that grow year-round, although technically real baby carrots are the ones shown in the FN’s photo, not the ones you get in a big bag at the grocery store all wet and suspiciously slimy).

So, if you are just learning how to cook, or are looking for simple suggestions to get out of your weekly cooking ruts (and, let’s face it, we’ve all got ‘em), I would give this recipe a whirl. But don’t feel bad about not giving the Food Network any credit when you serve it up, because honestly, this is just instructions on how to roast chicken and vegetables, plus a few suggestions for veggies that will play nice together.

FINAL SCORE: Bourdain 1, Food Network 0

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Frugality, meet health: Organic and locally sourced recipes on a budget


2010
09.15

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Emily Ramsey is Shoestring Austin’s newest contributor. She’s got some great recipes she plans to share, to balance out our sometimes decadent lifestyle and help you stay healthy on a budget—without sucking. Bon appétit!

As Americans, we are all too aware of our country’s love affair with mammoth food portions and a disregard for nutrition, both of which easily place us near the bottom of the “world’s healthiest” lists.

Approximately 27 percent of Americans are obese. Honestly, I was expecting that percentage to be much higher, but, once I pulled out my calculator and did the math, I found that 27 percent of America’s population—300 million—is 81 million.

81 million Americans are “abnormally or excessively fat,” as defined by the World Health Organization.

That’s a lot of people.

This is not a figure I can hear without losing my appetite, nor without reflecting on my own health and how desperately I do not want to become part of that number.

Now, I know that’s not why you’re reading this. You didn’t come here to read about health; you came to read about frugality. But I’m here to tell you that you can eat cheap and healthy.

“Not possible,” you say?

Well, my mission is to prove otherwise. Starting now!

My recipe for this month fits perfectly with that “farewell to summer” dinner party that we’re all planning. Or, perhaps you’re not the party type. Maybe instead you’re more into an evening consisting of the back patio, a mojito, your dog and a sunset. Either way, this dish will deliver.

Many of the ingredients listed below can be currently found at Austin farmers markets, meaning they’re being locally and organically grown right now.

And, if you endeavor to prove me wrong and scour a farmers market next weekend and don’t find these items, feel free to experiment, buy what you can find and use that instead! It may even one-up this recipe—that is, unless we’re talkin’ eggplant. I’m still stumped as to how to make a good dish out of that darn purple plant. (Feel free to leave a comment if you’ve found a way.)

Sautéed Vegetables with Barley, Basil and Feta

The prep time is quick: only 15-25 minutes (varies according to agility). Makes 4-5 servings (that number will also vary, depending on your guests’ appetites).

Ingredients:

  • 1 c. barley (barley expands in water, so this amount won’t appear small for long!)
  • 2 ½ T. lime juice
  • 1 ½ T. honey
  • 4 garlic cloves (a food processor would come in super handy here)
  • ¾ tsp. ground pepper
  • ¼ tsp. chili powder
  • ½ c. extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ c. organic vinegar
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 12 whole mushrooms (this may look like a whole lotta ‘shrooms but don’t worry, they shrink when cooked)
  • 2 medium-size carrots
  • 3 ripe tomatoes
  • 3 purple potatoes
  • 3 T. chopped basil (use fresh, if you’re up for a small amount of extra chopping)
  • ½ c. crumbled feta

Need ideas for a variation on this theme? Check out Buff Chickpea's Tomato, Feta & Barley Salad recipe (photo via Buff Chickpea)

Directions:

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Sprinkle some salt in for flavor. Then add barley and boil until tender but slightly chewy—this will take 45 minutes to an hour. Take this window of opportunity to prepare your other ingredients—and maybe do some laundry.
  2. Bring a second pot of water to boil. This one will house the potatoes and carrots. Cover and keep a rolling boil until they meet desired tenderness. Most likely, they will take as long as the barley.
  3. In a bowl, combine lime juice, honey, garlic, a dash of salt, black pepper, chili powder, vinegar and olive oil. Taste and add more as your palate desires.
  4. Cover tomatoes, bell peppers and mushrooms with the dressing. Leave 1/3 of the dressing for the finished barley.
  5. Next, sauté veggies in a pan on medium heat. Turn over regularly to attain an even cooking.
  6. When the barley is done, toss it with 1 tablespoon of basil and the reserved dressing. Add veggies on top of the barley and sprinkle with feta and remaining basil.
  7. Eat, and savor the delicious goodness that came straight from the ground!

As a final note: I repeat, this recipe is not a recipe to end all recipes. If you need to add additional spices or a buttery potato on the side to make it fanciful to your taste buds, go ahead! That’s your call. You can follow my nudgings and make it the healthy way, or you can take the dirty route and rebel.

Just remember: the simpler the ingredients, the cheaper—and more nutritional—the dish.

Here’s to a happy, and healthy, tummy!

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Summertime is chili time: Cook’s Illustrated Beef Chili with Bacon and Black Beans


2010
06.23

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Some will argue that winter is the best time for chili, and as someone who formerly lived in the Great White North, I would certainly agree that chili is delicious as a bone-warming wintertime meal.

That being said, chili is effin’ wicked in the summertime, too. As some Old Wives will tell ya, eating or drinking hot stuff actually cools you off. Dunno if I necessarily believe in this concept, but it sure is nice to stuff your gob with spicy deliciousness and then drink down a gallon or two of water. Pair it up with an ice-cold beer and some might even say you’ve got a little slice of heaven there, pardner.

As any good Texan knows, there are many different kinds of chili, not the least of which is “Texas style” chili—i.e. the no-bean variety that uses chuck roast rather than ground beef for the meat. Having done some time in Cincinnati, I’ve also come to appreciate the joys of a good Cincinnati chili, complete with cocoa powder and cinnamon, thin “gravy” style sauce, and fixin’s 2 (spaghetti + chili), 3 (add cheddar cheese), 4 (add diced onions or beans) or 5-ways (add diced onions and beans). And perhaps it’s the New Yorker buried deep down inside that says you’d better serve that chili on a Coney Island hot dog or it’s not worth bothering with.

As you can see, I love me some chili, in all its glorious incarnations.

The recipe I currently use, however, comes from Cook’s Illustrated and maximizes the spices combined to form this chili in the least amount of time possible, though it grows more tasty over time. I submit to you that this is actually The World’s Finest Chili recipe, in that it is infinitely customizable. Ingredients are kept basic, but fixin’s can range from a simple sprig of cilantro to the kitchen sink version of the dish, including everything from fresh tomatoes, diced avocado, sliced scallions, chopped red onion, sour cream, shredded cheese, up to extra shots of Tabasco or your preferred hot sauce. Yum!

Now, at this point in the game, I would typically type up a copy of the recipe for you to put to the test, but since it’s from Cook’s Illustrated and they absolutely deserve the credit from anyone who should find it here—not to mention the fact that I firmly believe that stealing someone’s intellectual property is the King of No-No’s and will earn you a one-way ticket to Bad Ju-Ju City—I must regretfully omit the specifics on this page.

However, if you want to check out the original recipe, which goes under the name “Beef Chili with Bacon and Black Beans,” I highly encourage you to sign up for a free trial membership at the Cook’s Illustrated website to get the straight dope right from the horse’s mouth. It’s a 14-day free trial of all the recipes on the site, and it’s really worth it if you like to cook. I realize this sounds like some kind of sneaky way for me to get you sign you up for the Cook’s Illustrated website with a concealed profit from said sign-up cha-ching!-ing somewhere for me, but I can assure you that this benefits me in no way. Heck, they don’t even have an affiliate program, which sucks cus, frankly, I would LOVE to be an affiliate of theirs!

Anyway, my point is that I admire the way they are all about maximizing the awesome factor of classic American recipes by making them tasty, foolproof, standardized and far less time consuming than their dusty, crusty ancestors. To be fair, yes, I am all about Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen, where their recipes are tasted, tested and released into the wild, but there’s absolutely nothing in it for me.

Unless, of course, you count delicious chili like this:

Cook's Illustrated Beef Chili with Bacon and Black Beans recipe burbling on the stove

Seriously, make some tonight and tell me you didn’t fall in love!

Oh, and here are the ingredients, in case you’d like to play detective on your own to figure out the golden copyrighted ratio:

  • bacon
  • onions (preferably red, but that’s my opinion, not theirs)
  • red bell pepper
  • garlic
  • chili powder
  • ground cumin
  • ground coriander
  • red pepper flakes
  • dried oregano
  • cayenne pepper
  • ground beef
  • black beans
  • diced tomatoes
  • tomato puree
  • salt

It may not quite be elementary, Watson, but it’s darn close.

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The secret to great homemade tacos


2010
05.31

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Posted in Recipes | 3 Comments »

The secret to delicious homemade tacos does not, number one, lie within:

Old El Paso isn’t being particularly singled out here; it’s just one example among many. People seem to think that you need “taco seasoning,” purchased in a packet such as this one, in order to make great tacos.

This is a lie.

The way to great tacos, my friends, lies in combining just five important seasonings you probably already own. They are:

  • chili powder
  • cayenne pepper
  • cumin
  • oregano
  • salt

You can also toss in some ground coriander seed, to bump up the corianderliciousness of your cilantro leaves (sprinkled over the top of the finished dish), but it’s purely optional. If you’ve got chili powder, cayenne, cumin, oregano and salt, you’ve got it made in the shade. Enough with the pre-packaged “taco seasoning”! Free your kitchen of this sodium-laden packet of injustice, and marinate your meat in deliciousness.

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Brown about a pound of ground beef (or pork, or chicken, or whatever) in a buttered skillet.
  2. Chuck in your minced garlic (2 or 3 good sized cloves) and chopped red onion or shallot.
  3. Add your spices, as mentioned above, plus about a cup of water to create the “sauce.” My spice ratio is about a teaspoon to a tablespoon each of the coriander seed, oregano and cayenne pepper, plus about 1/8 of a cup of both cumin and chili powder; adjust these as you please for heat and general taste, adding more if you like it more savory. Simmer down your sauce, stirring occasionally, until most of the water has evaporated—about 10 minutes or so.
  4. Spread on your favorite tortilla, garnish as desired, and enjoy. Suggested garnishes include: lettuce, tomato, white cheddar cheese, cilantro, guacamole, salsa (I enjoy both red Salsa Casera and green Salsa Verde from Herdez), pickled banana pepper rings (I’ve been using some from Mt. Olive), and Celebrity Intern’s favorite, La Vaquita’s Crema Salvadoreña, a kind of El Salvadorean crème fraiche.

That’s it, that’s all. No fuss, no muss. Just great tacos. You’re welcome.

Also, if you’re looking for a great recipe for breakfast tacos, my fellow blogger Shim’s got you covered, over at Diet-of-Insects. (And no edible insects, I promise.)

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Butter Chicken on the cheap!


2010
05.09

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I’m a big fan of Indian cuisine, but I hate paying restaurant prices. It’s worse than hitting up your local sushi bar! I mean, seriously, $12 for a plate of chicken with spices (aka Butter Chicken)? I can make that shizzle at home—and better!

So I did, with the aid of Kitchens of India, an inexpeez ready-made spice packet for Butter Chicken found at my local H-E-B.

THE METHOD:

In a pan, we combined approximately 1 lb. of boneless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks, with 3 T butter (slightly more, due to Celebrity Intern’s heavy hand!), plus the contents of the Kitchens of India Butter Chicken Curry Paste packet. We mixed it up and simmered for 20 minutes under a lid. We then simmered on high for another 5 minutes, before removing from heat, covering, and letting sit for another 3 minutes. We also combined a packet of Tasty (i.e. NASTY) Bite Chunky Chickpeas, supposedly with garlic, ginger and “aromatic spices,” which I had lying in wait after a run-in with their doubly-nasty chickpea & lentil combo (a word to the wise: avoid this product at all costs and just buy yourself a can of plain chickpeas instead!). After fine-chopping some freshly-washed cilantro, we plated it up and got this:

(Photos by Celebrity Intern, who complained about the lack of natural sunlight.)

Superb! Stupendous! Only $8 for dinner for two!

Seriously, yo. Stop overpaying for Indian cuisine, and make it yo’damn-self. It’s delish, it’s inexpensive, and it’s easy to do.

Suggested wine pairings: