chicken croquettes.

these little meaty creations are typically something you find in the frozen food aisle in the market, or in some diner. & they usually look or taste really freaking weird. but, since my mom once taught me how to make salmon croquettes i decided to try my hand at the chicken jumpoffs (thanks, fish allergy!). i made this up as i went along, so the measurements are all kinds of odd. there's essentially no precision involved whatsoever. i think they turned out pretty okay. . .

1 can trader joe's white meat chicken in water (broth is okay, but i find it to be kinda salty)
whole wheat flour, enough to bind the chicken mixture
nasoya nayonaise (regular), enough to maintain the moisture of the chicken mixture
random seasonings, including old bay (for the fishy flavor), diced bell peppers (very little, maybe 2 tbsps), oregano, garlic (fresh, chopped, crushed, or powder), ground blk pepper, cayenne, onion powder, & turmeric
grapeseed, olive or canola oil -- enough to brown croquettes, depending on the size of the skillet being used

drain and rinse the chicken. mix it in a bowl with all seasonings, flour, & nayonaise.

heat the oil in the skillet to the proper temperature for frying (see the fish recipe for ideas if you aren't sure, & do the drop of flour test before adding anything substantial to the oil. turn it DOWN if you've had it turned up to high to heat it rapidly)

as the oil heats, fashion the chicken mixture into small balls, about 1/3 the size of your palm. flatten the balls a little, making them no thicker than 3/4 inches at their thickest point. place as many croquettes as will fit in your frying pan.

brown the croquettes on one side, and turn over for browning on the other side. ideally, the croquettes will cook up to a warm brown color & also be very firm when pressed upon with a fork or other utensil. when they are cooked to your desired brownness, remove the croquettes to a plate topped w/ layered paper towels. (don't act like you don't know how to drain a fried food, dammit)

you may have to change the oil, for stray bits of food that didn't hold together. that's fine. just make sure you turn the burner off & be extra certain to heat the oil slowly -- the skillet will likely still be hot.

serve with sauteed spinach, collard greens, string beans or other sexy vegetables & a nice starch like mac & cheese or some fancy schmancy rice pilaf thing.

this recipe would probably kick ass w/ some sort of meat substitute. i won't try it any time soon since i hate cooking lately, but i encourage you veggie/ vegan readers to try. xoxo

collard greens!

since it's about to be autumn, that means one thing to me: it won't be too hot to cook. i can actually warm my entire apartment by roasting some potatoes or making cornbread. most importantly, though:
i can prepare as many stockpots full of collard greens as i wish to. praise the lord & pass the hot sauce.
my greens are a mash-up of omi's recipe for collards & whatever i feel like the day i prepare them. i usually throw some sofrito into the pot, & have been known to squirt a lil lemon juice in (don't ask, it sounded good at the time & turned out great), also. anyway, here's my first photo contribution to the delicious ignorance blog:

veggies, sauteed & looking sexy:



collards in the pot!




simmering vegetable goodness...



the finished product:




i took these photos w/ my camera phone & am amazed that they turned out this good... lol.

a note about the spicy mango fried rice:

if you wanna make a risotto out of the dish, mix some coconut milk, orange juice & spices then add the mango & rice... it's yummers. fa sho.

also, it's really good w/ trader joe's pad king. really. good. really.

spicy mango fried rice.

i made the coconut forbidden rice about 2 weeks ago, & was looking for something to do w/ allllllll the leftover i had. so, i froze it & thought really hard about what would be suitable. it's tooooooo hot for soup, & i wasn't about to attempt much else (sweet sticky rice was out because of the ginger & garlic) beyond plain old coconut rice as a side dish. then i thought about it. i like mango & coconut outside of desserts.
so i came up w/ spicy mango fried rice! here goes nothing. all measurements are estimations, children...

2 cups coconut forbidden rice
1 cup trader joe's frozen mango chunks, thawed slightly and diced
2 small cloves (or one large clove) garlic, peeled & pressed
3/4 teaspoon pureed ginger
2 tbsps olive oil (or whichever oil you cook with -- butter or margarine would mess w/ the flavor)
ground ginger, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste
onion powder (i didn't have a real onion), to taste
blk pepper, to taste
sea salt, to taste
chili powder, to taste

1) mix the diced mango & seasonings in a bowl; set aside. (i let mine sit for about 10 minutes or so before i started cooking, so the mango would get thoroughly spicy)
2) in a skillet or wok, heat the oil to its frying point.
3) add rice. stir-fry for about 3 minutes.
4) add fruit/ spice mixture. stir-fry for another 3 minutes or until the mango is tender.
5) remove from heat. serve.

i like my rice kinda crisp so i kinda overcooked it, then added the mango. i let the whole dish cool before tasting any of it. it was really good. i'm supposed to be sharing it w/ my homegirl but i genuinely don't see that happening. lol.

happy eating.

black bean burgers are my shit.

apparently, i'm not alone in feeling that. :D

(found this link via blogs of note...)

coconut forbidden rice.

this is my own variation on the recipe for purple jasmine coconut rice which i posted a few days ago, from 101 cookbooks. this was a complete stab in the dark, as i (a) didn't want cashews or shallots, & (b) had never cooked w/ forbidden rice ever in my life . . . i used heidi's measurements for the rice, coconut milk, water & salt.

2 cups forbidden (aka black) rice
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (i use the foco brand, which is hella cheap & thick as thick can be -- do NOT use lite. use regular, whichever brand. & please for the love of pete, don't use coconut creme.)
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 large clove of garlic, crushed (optional)

soak the rice in cold water for 45 minutes to an hour in the pot you'll be using to cook it. once the rice is finished soaking, drain & rinse it twice. add to the pot the water, sea salt & coconut milk. stir the mixture. place the pot over high heat, uncovered. bring rice to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. lower the flame to a low simmer. cook for about 20 minutes without stirring the rice or removing the lid. remove from heat. allow the rice to sit for 20 minutes (still covered). fluff the rice with a fork & serve with the garnish of your choice.

this was a really easy recipe.
i ended up adding about a half cup more coconut milk once i'd finished though; the taste wasn't quite right to me.

next time i'll try some shredded ginger . . .

are you lactose intolerant?

tryna lay off the cow juice?
are you looking for something more nutritive than regular old elbow macaroni?
do you love macaroni & cheese, but find it to be the kind of thing that'll ruin your insides as well as put you to sleep?

well, look no further. heidi swanson is looking out! i'm posting the link but will also come back w/ my own report on said recipe, along with any possible ingredient substitutions.

if any of you tries it first, please give me a shout & lemme know how it went. thanks!

recipe links!

so, i was snooping around/ drooling over heidi swanson's 101 cookbooks site (see the links) & discovered something that i think might change my life if i prepare it: purple jasmine coconut rice. yes, lord! i can't wait to find some rice & cook it. yay!

then i found a recipe for some meatless 'burgers' on starchefs.com, thanks to a random link on mighty foods (again, see the links).

thanks to the message boards on vegiac.com, there's an oatmeal cookie that i can eat without feeling all extra crazy. (i'm gonna get tested for celiac mid august so this site has been a BIG help as of late)

happy cooking!

a friendly reminder:

if your e-mail client automatically adds a signature, please be mindful that it WILL post to the blog when you send a recipe or helpful hint. also, i changed the remote posting e-mail address, so if you've been trying to post using the old one, see the blurb at the bottom for the new address. thanks!

cool website

spices!