From 2004. Bean Sprouts grown on a tray lined with a wet towel, a couple sauce dishes to keep the bag from touching the sprouts.  I just slid this bag over the tray and left one side open to allow a little air in.  Kept it in a dark spot and in about 3 days they pop.  I consume them like that for a nuttier texture or let them continue to grow their root out longer for a more crispy juicy sprout.  The first sign that a leaf is starting to grow, I put them in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Another way I tried was with a plastic tube.  Apparently they like to be crowded together.  Grown similar way, soaking the beans overnight then draining.  Put them in the tube, cut a big hole in the end caps and lined with nylon netting.  That way they have a good amount of air circulation and it is easy to pour water through it.  I also added a sleeve to block out light, nothing more than some wrapping paper that slid over the tube. 
Surely there are a million ways to do this.  I have used empty jars with holes drilled in the cap. Circulation was not as good though and they had to be rinsed very often to keep from rotting, which exposed them to light which I try to avoid.  I have also tried lining a sieve and colander with damp paper towel and covering with opaque cloth or plastic. I think I like best putting a black garbage bag layer over the beans in a tray so that there?s circulation all around, but that requires a lot of space.  The jar method is nice and compact.  I am going to keep experimenting with it.

This could barely be called paella, but I've had such a taste for it and have always wanted to try to make it.  I did a dress rehearsal with chicken instead of shellfish and soujdouk in lieu of chorizo.  So this is my paella, super-ghetto GemFOX style (made with whatever food's on hand).


I divided two chicken leg quarters into 3 pieces (cutting through the 2 joints).  I seared and rendered it in hot dry wok, salted/peppered, drained off most of the fat.  I removed it from the pan and sauteed veggies: chopped onion, celery, carrot, tomato, and roasted garlic. When those became tender I added chopped red bell pepper.  Then I stirred in 1 1/2 cups well-washed rice.

I put the chicken back in, added 2 Cups of water and brought it to boil, then added chicken bouillon and saffron.  If I had stock I would've used that instead of water/bouillon.  I then added sliced soudjouk (Turkish sausage), reduced heat to medium, and simmered, covered, for 1/2 hour.

After the rice is completely cooked and the water absorbed, I turn the heat up a bit to caramelize the rice on the bottom because I just love that crust.  If I had a wider pot I'd have even more of that!

I reserved the celery greens for garnish.  It's peppery and fresh and tastes great with the paella.


Gonna save my pennies and hope for scallops, shrimp, mussels, and chorizo to go on sale!

Sometimes we get a craving for something specific like ravioli.  It's easy to whip up on the fly with some simple ingredients and some leftovers.

For the dough, I pour boiling water into 1 Cup flour until it starts to come together. 

The dough is soft and warm and smoothes out beautifully after a couple minutes of kneading.

After covering and allowing the dough to rest at least 15 minutes, it rolls out nicely.  I don't even use flour on my board (no mess!).  I use a piece of foam rubber drawer liner to keep my board in place while I roll.  I coil the dough into a long log and roll it, keeping it as rectangular as possible.

To keep the dough even, I frequently flip the dough over by rolling it over the pin to invert it.

To square the corners, a small tug and immediate roll brings the pasta to the edges of the board.
I cover my entire board with the pasta, nice and thin,  I cut it in half lengthwise with pizza cutter.
 
For the filling this time I used home made ricotta, leftover roasted chicken, Italian herbs, egg, salt, and parmesan cheese. That's just what I happened to have on hand.  I divide the filling into quarters and get 3 spoonfuls out of each quarter to make a dozen LARGE ravioli.  I start on one half of the pasta spooning 6 mound across one edge.

I brush the edge and in between each mound with water, fold the pasta over the mounds, then press down between each mound, sealing the edges trying not to trap air inside.

Cutting the pasta with the pizza cutter helps further seal them.

Then of course I do the remainder of the pasta with the remaining filling to get 12 ravioli.

I bring a large wok of salted water to boil, and drop the ravioli individually to keep them from sticking.  They float after about a minute, then I boil them for a few minutes over a soft boil.

I garnish with herbs, parmesan cheese, maybe a little olive oil and serve with marinara on the side.

Sometimes I just have a lot of milk to use up, sometimes I want some fresh cheese to spread on toast or to fill ravioli or lasagna.  I always have milk, vinegar, and salt on hand, so making this cheese is simple, delicious, and convenient!


Over low heat (about 20%) I slowly bring the milk up to about 170 degrees, stirring occasionally.  I have used regular whole milk in the past, but this time I used organic fat-free milk.


I then add 1 Tbsp vinegar per 2 Cups of milk to the pot and stir until it coagulates.  I then pour this into a measuring cup and allow the curds to separate from the whey for a little while.  Then I pour off some of the whey and then it's time to further strain out the whey through a sieve.

 
I've used cheesecloth or sarashi to strain and ball cheese, but I found that doing small batches in my fine sieve works just fine too, less messy.  I stir/scrape the curds and whey a little bit to let the whey fall through, and when it's the right consistency (dry for a sliceable cheese, more wet for a ricotta), I just transfer the scoops into a container.  I mix in salt to taste, and the cheese is good to go for pasta dishes.  For a firm sliceable cheese I press out more whey, then knead/stir the cheese a little bit to get it to ball up. Then I store it in a tight fitting container in the fridge for days or even weeks if it lasts that long.  In between the sliceable and ricotta is a beautiful cream cheese that I have used in my cheesecake recipes.  A super hard crumbly cheese can be achieved by bringing the temp up to about 180 during the coagulation process, then getting the curds as dry as possible when pressing out the whey.  Great on salads and to garnish pasta dishes.

 
I love to see simple milk transform into these beautiful cheeses.  Sweet, fresh, pure, delicious!
Here is my old FoxBox post from 2008 on making this cheese.

Corn bread with a couple surprise hot dogs inside.  A great way to use up hotdogs when you don't have enough buns.

Regular corn bread recipe, mine is from Better Homes and Garden cookbook from the 90's.
1/2 C corn meal, 1/2 C flour, 1-1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt combined in one bowl.  In another bowl beat 1/2 C milk, 1 egg, 2 Tbsp sugar, 2 Tbsp oil.  Add dry to wet, stir just until moistened and pour into a greased 9x5x3 loaf pan.  Double the recipe for a taller cake.  Then I just slip the hot dogs into the batter.  Bake 425 degrees for 25 minutes, remove from pan, and cool on a rack.  Fox was using my only cooling rack to age a steak so I built one ghetto style out of chopsticks. Slice and serve with ketchup and mustard.  I also like honey and mustard with a little cayenne.  Good for breakfast, lunch, snack, or dinner side.  Enjoy!
 

We'd see guava pastries at Publix in the bakery case and wonder what it was like.  I went home to Chicago this weekend and my mom was baking some.  So now that I'm back in Florida of course I had to try to make some too.  Thanks Mommy!
   
In the ethnic aisle at Publix we found the guava paste.  Goya makes a version that comes in a can, but per ounce it costs twice as much as this one I found in a plastic pouch. I  just transferred it to a tight sealing container to store in the fridge.  It's like a firm jam, very sweet sticky with a slightly tart guava flavour.  I used one of the two sheets of puff pastry from the frozen section, thawed out on the Silpat.  I unfolded it and cut it into 9 squares with a pizza cutter.  For the cheese filling I creamed together about half a beaten egg, about a teaspoon of sugar, and about 1/4 brick of 8 oz. cream cheese.  I spooned a dollop of cheese filling into the middle of each puff pastry square and pushed a small slice of guava paste on top of that.

I brushed the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg, folded in half then brushed top with egg.
I cut three slits for venting, but wish I cut them deeper so the guava peeped out the windows.

Baked in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Look how much they puff after 10 minutes.

Golden brown after 20 minutes.  A couple weren't sealed well and guava leaked out.

Cooled on a rack and served with coffee. Flaky, crispy, buttery, cheesy, tart, sweet, delicious!

And here's to Mommy for inspiring me to try to bake with puff pastry for the first time!

July 2008

Preheat oven to 450?F. Recipe is for 6 large biscuits.
Ingredients
1 C flour
1/2 Tbsp (or 1-1/2 tsp) baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C of butter or applesauce, or any combo thereof
1/2 C milk
Mix all the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter or applesauce with a fork until crumbly. Pour in the milk and mix with a spatula until just combined, adding a little flour if it's too watery. Using two large spoons, drop the batter onto a greased baking sheet or silpat into 6 large mounds. Wet fingers and smooth the edges until it's round and gently patting the top to flatten a little. Bake for 12 minutes or until the tops start to brown. Rub the tops with butter while they're hot and allow to cool on a rack.
Create breakfast sandwiches with eggs, cheese, bacon, ham, etc. Or spread cream cheese, jam, butter, honey, sausage gravy, etc. Or simply enjoy with a cup of coffee.

August 2008

Pita Bread
Ingredients
3 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp yeast
1/4 C olive oil
1 to 1-1/2 C tepid water
Directions
For bread maker, dump all the ingredients except for the water into the bucket and start it up on the dough setting. Gradually add enough water until it spins itself into a slightly tacky but smooth ball. Use a spatula to incorporate all the flour into the ball if necessary. Allow it to run its full cycle, usually about 1 hour 20 minutes for it to double in size.

Without a bread maker, mix the ingredients and enough of the water to make a tacky ball. Flour your board and knead dough until smooth. Allow to proof to double in an oiled covered bowl, 1-2 hours depending on your climate and weather. Pour out dough onto a generously floured surface, flouring the top of the ball, your knife, and rolling pin. Keep the flour nearby. Knead the dough for a couple of turns to redistribute the air bubbles, then divide and roll into tennis-ball sized balls, placing each ball on an oiled sheet. Preheat your skillet to medium. Meanwhile, roll out a ball of dough into a flat pita, a scant 1/4" thick. Spray or wipe your skillet with olive oil, and toast the pita until bubbles form on top and the bottom starts to brown nicely. Lift it off, oil the pan, and flip the pita and finish cooking on the other side. It takes a couple minutes on each side so roll out your next pita while you wait. When done, remove them to a covered container, like a plate with another plate inverted on top. I use two pie pans. If you don't cover them after you take them off the heat, they will dry and get crispy. Keeping them covered makes for a super soft moist pita perfect for wrapping your gyros. If they do dry out, they're great with hummus.

Gyro Meat
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground lamb
1 lb. ground pork
2 cloves mashed garlic
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp rosemary

Directions
Mix ingredients well, cook right away or refrigerate overnight. Form meat into a thick log. Place in a large baking pan lined with foil. Broil from the middle rack, turning often. Slice outermost part of cooked meat thinly and return the log back to the broiler. Keep the sliced meat on a covered serving plate. Repeat until you get to the core and slice the rest. If necessary, warm in the oven prior to serving with warm pita, sliced tomato, cucumber, and onion.
 
Tzatziki sauce
Ingredients
4 oz sour cream
1 clove of garlic, minced finely
1-2" cucumber slice, chopped finely
dash of red wine
dash of olive oil
dash of salt
finely chopped parsley

Mix ingredients and serve with gyros. Also makes great vegetable dip.

Hummus
Ingredients
1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1/4 C olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp salt
paprika

Drain almost all liquid from chickpeas. Process in food processor, drizzle olive oil and lemon and process until smooth, add salt and process to mix. Transfer to serving container and coat with paprika, garnish with cilantro. Eat with dried or toasted pita.
 

The Tabouleh was mostly from a box, which called for olive oil, lemon juice, and chopped tomato. It comes with the wheat, spices, and herbs, but I added a load of finely chopped cilantro and parsely for added freshness and green.

Crust:
1/3 Cup + 1/4 Cup crushed graham crackers (use your hands or a food processor)
1/3 stick of butter, melted

Stir crust ingredients together and press into the bottom and up the sides of two greased mini spring form pans (3-4" diameter). Square the corner well by pressing a measuring cup into the corner all around the crust. Set aside.

Cheesecake Ingredients
1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp flour

Blend together with an electric mixer until fluffy and well incorporated. Reserve about 1/4 Cup of the mixture into a small bowl, and 2 Tbsp of the mixture into another small bowl. Pour the remaining batter into the forms. Add 1/4 tsp of green tea powder (matcha ??) to the 1/4 C batter. Mix well. Add dollops of this batter to your poured cake, dollop the remaining 2 Tbsp of plain batter on top of that, and swirl, marbelize, and decorate as you like with a fork, knife, chopstick, or whatever. Gently tap out air and level the cheesecakes.

Bake in preheated 350? oven for 20-22 minutes or just until the cake rises to a small rounded dome. If there is a dimple in the middle, it's not yet done. If it's starting to crack, take it out. Cool thoroughly on a rack before unlatching the form, and then chill uncovered in the fridge or freezer depending on how firm you like it. Once fully chilled, store it in an airtight container (if there's anything left!).


To give you an idea of how small the cake is, the plate this wedge is on is actually a dipping-sauce bowl, and the wooden pick (kuromoji) is as long as a toothpick.

The rice vermicelli is underneath all the fixings: chiffonade romaine lettuce, cilantro, bean sprouts, green beans, ginger-garlic chicken, green onions.  The broth is hondashi, soy, and sugar.

I love how Fox mixes the sriracha and hoisin in the ladle with the broth before he pours it on.