Lazy quesadilla

Ok, so I have trouble making my toddler eat sometime. By the time I finish making a meal, all of a sudden "he is not hungry".
So, this quesadilla takes literally like 2 minutes to make. All you need is tortillas and cheese. I usually use American cheese slices.

Take a flat ungreased skillet to a medium heat. Flop the tortilla on it. Now, tear up the cheese to place it uniformly on top. Put another tortilla on top. Press with your hand a bit. After about 1 min - turn over and repeat the process, but without pressing this time.

The tortilla will be slightly crunchy and the cheese will be gooey, and I need to make sure it makes it to my son's plate before I "taste it" for readiness, eating it whole.

Royal Icing Recipe

So Bryan and I realized we had never made a gingerbread house before and decided this was the year to start/practice/give it a go. We wanted it to look like our house, but realized after construction we didn't have enough skill graham crackers. I bought gingerbread graham crackers, lots of candy and ingredients for royal icing (the cement that would hold the gingerbread house together). Here is the recipe I ended up using and it worked AWESOME!

8 cups of confectionary sugar
18 tablespoons (or 6 eggs) egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. I blended this concoction with a hand mixer for about 7-10 minutes until it became white, shiny, and stiff.
2. I scooped it into a plastic sandwich bag, removing air, and leaving much room for squeezings and so it wouldnt come out too fast.
3. cut a tiny corner off the sandwich bag for squeezing out of
4. Have a couple wet cloths on hand to cover the tip of the sandwich bag so it doesnt harden in between using. Also cover any leftover icings so it doesnt cement before you can use it

Voila - its done. One batch did the entire house and candy and protective layers. We used four sandwich bags about half full each - to separate and make it easier to handle. You will definitely want to be careful until it cements - but at that point its hard as a rock. :)

Quickest Desert you will ever make.

All you need for this little masterpiece is:

Large can of canned yams
a few large marshmallows
backing dish of any kind
oven

Open the can, drain the juice (but not all). Pour yams in the dish.Put marshmallows on top, leaving some space between them. Stick int he oven for a few minutes (about 300 degrees). Take out when marshies start browning.

Easiest way to impress someone with homemade desert.

Turkey Milk gravy

This, I found is a great way to use some of that turkey juice. You know,t he fatty yummy slush you find at the bottom of your roasting pan?
I usually save it in jars and use it up throughout the week in stews, soups, gravies, and other things for rich turkey broth flavor.

To make the gravy you just need:

Onion, Garlic
Milk,
Butter or oil
pepper
Flour

I usually add little to no salt, as the turkey juice is pretty rich. Heat up the oil on a skillet, dice up onion and garlic. Throw it on and let them cook for 5-7 minutes.Salt just a tiny bit if you want.
Once the onion is translucent, add a few tablespoons of the turkey juice - don't haev to add much. Once the Turkey jello melts, sprinkle some flour (about a handful) into the liquid - very lightly. Don't throw one big pile as it will just clump. Stir carefully to make sure you don't have lumps.

Continue stirring for a couple of minutes. Add milk - add as much of as little as you want. Depends on the flavor that you are going for at this point. Continue stirring for a couple of minutes. I usually do this on the skillet that I just fried meat on, to get the brown bits in as well.

Comes out - heavenly.

Jamaican Heaven tea

My dad loves fennel and anise. He's been making this awesome drink lately. We found a bag of Jamaican dried hibiscus flowers and a bag of star anise. You can find those in the "weird foods" stores, like International Farm Markets.

All you need for this tasty and exotic summer drink is:

1-2 blooms
1-2 star anise
2-3 cups of water

Boil it all together for a few minutes. The water will start turning a lovely purple color. I like the drink chilled with some sugar - de(wait for it)- licious.

The cool thing about anise is that not only it looks like an alien plant - it makes virtually any herbal tea taste better. I have not tried it with other foods yet, but you bet I'll be researching this further.

Fish experiments

So, I've been really craving some fish lately, so after another trip tot he local Farmers market, me and dad picked out a few fresh tilapias. I don't really know much about fish, to be honest, so I picked that one because I know it has large bones. Easier to pick.

I decided to bake them whole, after stuffing them with some veggies.
'

I diced the onion, sliced the garlic and chopped the celery. The oregano and parsley I just washed and left whole. Then I washed the fish, and checked to make sure it was already gutted. It was.Dry it with towel - inside and out and rub in a bit of olive oil.
Yeah, there is a LOT of raw fish handling, which is kind of a perk for me.

Stuffed the chunks of veggies first, then stuffed it as much as I could with herbs.
Sliced lemon slices to 1/4 thickness and placed on top. I also squirted some lemon juice inside, and peppered.


I lined the bottom with parchment paper, because the fish will stick, and aluminum might add a strange teaste due to acid int he lemon juice. Don't worry, it won't burn.
I baked the fish at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes (until the top side of it was browning and drying).

Although I forgot to add salt tot he fish, it came out super soft and flaky. This is a great recipe if you want to have a healthy light meal. It has a nice thick filet, but it also has some bones, which are easy to remove. Be careful nonetheless.

Spring Rolls

After my second experiment with spring rolls this week I feel as if i have it figured out enough to share now, especially from my mistakes I have learned from. So here we go.

1. Make your filling by sauteing tofu, onions, garlic, frozen veggies, brown rice and cabbage (you can put anything you want in your fillings - chicken/beef/shrimp/whatever)
2. I mixed this combination in a bowl with some crushed roasted peanuts, and spices 
3. Next I took a rice paper and soaked it in water for about 15-30 seconds 
1. the first time I made these I did not soak them long enough and they wouldnt stick.
2. you will want to soak it completely and when you move them in the water - if it wrinkles its ready, if its stiff its not yet
   
3. be careful here not to rip the wrapper or make it stick to itself too early
4. this is really the hardest part
4. Take the rice paper out of the water and spread it out on a clean surface like a cutting board 
5. Spoon a tablespoon or two of filling into the center of the wrapper 
6. Fold the top and sides in
    
7. Roll the spring roll until the bottom flap wraps around it 
8. Very carefully - pick it up with your hands and place it on an aluminum sheet 
9. Continue until you have wrapped as many as you like - make sure they arent touching on your aluminum sheet
10. At this point you can store them in the freezer/fridge or cook them. Let them dry a bit before you try to handle them.
11. They can be served cold but I recommend throwing them in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes (keep an eye on them and when they seem crunchy/brownish take em out)
12. Eat - serve with soy sauce, duck, or hoison sauce or whatever else you may like.