2011 | The Wannabe Chef

Yearly Archives: 2011

MyPlate: One Plate Does Not Fit All

Written on June 11, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

Last week the USDA updated their old, out of date food pyramid with a new plate. I don’t remember what the old pyramid looked like to be honest except for that it had pictures of bread and pasta at the bottom and chocolate and candy and everything good in the world at the top. I wasn’t a fan of the old one, so I was happy they changed the look. I wasn’t sure what I thought about it at first, but then I saw this:

That’s just sad.

I’m not saying I don’t have meals at times that look disgusting, like a child just threw things together in his plate and started playing with his food. And I’m definitely not saying I haven’t eaten meals standing up in front of an open refrigerator door. But there’s no way that that’s MyPlate.

Let’s pick apart what’s wrong with that image from a foodie and a food blogger’s perspective, shall we?

The light is only coming from one angle which creates unwanted dramatic shadows.
Food always looks better on white, neutral plates, or at least plates that aren’t segmented and multicolor.
Fresh food photographs better.
I’m not even sure what that pink thing is; it could be a giant Band-Aid for all I can tell.
I don’t think that dairy or grains are absolutely essential to any diets. While most people can digest them perfectly fine, there’s no reason they need to be there as opposed to other food groups such as beans and nuts.

So, since one plate clearly doesn’t fit all, I made my own that’s more accurately suited for me:

At first I made this as a joke.

And then I realized I’m actually just a parody of myself for eating things like this,

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and this,

and definitely this

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all. the. time.

But that’s OK, because those are my plates and they work for me.

What are your thoughts on the new plate system? What would your plate look like?

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How To Grill Onions

Written on June 10, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in How To

People are like onions: They taste great when they’re peeled and cooked.

Or maybe it’s something about both having layers? I forget. It doesn’t matter.

Onions are one of life’s little pleasures. They make you cry and taste awful when they’re raw, but when they’re cooked—Oh, it’s another story. During the colder months I’ll always caramelize onions to give them flavor but when the sun’s out and the grill’s hot it’s a shame not to grill them. Grilled onions have a sweet flavor and a crunchy texture that goes great with just about anything.

How To Grill Onions

Ingredients:

Onions, preferably short and stout ones like Vidalia
A grill
Spray oil

On a cutting board, start by cutting off the ends of the onions and peeling the outer flaky layers.

Turn the onions on their sides and with a sharp knife slice rings about 1/2 an inch thick.

Spray a grill with oil and turn it on to preheat. Once heated, lay the onions out and cook for 4-6 minutes on each side until there are noticeable grill marks. Remove from the grill and serve hot as a side or burger topping.

I ~~could~~ do eat these plain on salads with broccoli, chickpeas, and tomato-tahini dressing. A little coarse sea salt really brings out the sweet onion flavor.

Grilling anything fun this weekend?

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Tomato-Tahini Dressing

Written on June 9, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

I think something’s wrong. I’ve virtually stopped wanting all kinds of potatoes and instead I’m craving fresh produce and vibrant flavors. What has gotten into me? This Summer thing has got to stop. My favorite “foods” right now are tomatoes and fresh herbs, if you can even call things you don’t have to cook for an hour food. They just taste so good when they’re this fresh. This dressing is thick and hearty and brings a Summer salad together.

Tomato-Tahini Dressing

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons tahini
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped basil

This recipe uses tahini for the body which is a paste made out of sesame seeds. It can be found at most grocery stores either near the peanut butter or in the ethnic section along with other Middle-Eastern ingredients.

Add all of the ingredients together.

Mix all of the ingredients together until smooth and silky. If the dressing is too thick, add water by the teaspoon until reaching the right consistency.

The fresh basil makes a huge difference in flavor and helps to brighten the greens up. You can adjust the sugar and salt for how much of the tahini you want to taste. It’s strong bitter flavor can be a bit much for me on its own but tastes great paired with these other flavors.

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Eggs Poached In Tomato Sauce

Written on June 8, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

Apparently I get my love of cooking from my great grandmother. I say apparently because I never really knew her when she was active; I only ever heard stories of her cooking from my mother. And my grandmother never cooked; she comes over to my house and asks for freshly baked cookies. Is it just me or is there something wrong there?

From what I hear, my great grandmother was a great cook. She made her pasta, tomato sauce, and everything else by hand. A few nights ago my mom mentioned how she poached eggs in tomato sauce, and as soon as I heard that I knew I had to try it. Turns out it’s not so difficult and makes for some of the best tasting eggs I’ve ever had. I’ve already made this twice because I didn’t bother taking photos the first time. How could I mind having to eat this again?

Eggs Poached In Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

2/3 cup your favorite marinara sauce
2 eggs

For this recipe, I used Trader Joe’s marinara sauce. You can make your own if you’re feeling ambitious, but this is a great tasting brand that’s cheap, too.

Bring the tomato sauce to a slight boil in a pan. Adjust the heat so that it’s boiling but not spattering over the sides.

Carefully crack the eggs into the sauce, making sure not to break the yolks.

Cover the pan with a fitted lid. Poaching the eggs this way takes slightly longer than normally. Leave them undisturbed keeping an eye on them.

The eggs will be done as soon as the albumen over the yolk turns white. Take the pan off the heat and plate and serve hot.

I served mine over a stack of savory Italian socca pancakes which soaked up the sauce and the yolks perfectly. Cooking the eggs this way added all the flavors of the sauce into them; regular poached eggs just can’t compare.

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Peach-Almond Yogurt Dip

Written on June 7, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

I love recipes that lend themselves to endless variations. Example: Fruity Peanut Yogurt Dip. Even though it’s just 3 ingredients, with those you can make countless combinations that taste completely different.

Peach and almond is one of my favorite flavor combination, so this was a no-brainer. I used an almond milk yogurt for my base but you can use any peach yogurt and it will come out just as delicious. Try Greek yogurt for a protein-packed punch.

Peach-Almond Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:

1/2 cup smooth almond butter(preferably unsalted)
1/2 cup peach yogurt(Greek, non-fat, soy, almond—any will do)
1/4 cup powdered sugar

In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt and almond butter. If you’re using a fruit on the bottom yogurt, make sure to stir it first so that the fruit is all through the yogurt.

Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until no lumps remain. Scoop the dip into a serving bowl.

Cut up fruits and vegetables for dipping and serve. Keep leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

I was really happy with how this tasted. Neither the peach nor the almond stood out over the other; instead it was a perfect blend of flavors. Can you really get better than peaches and almond butter in the Summer time?

Peaches: Healthy. Almonds: Healthy. Yogurt: Healthy. Peach-almond yogurt dip: Triple healthy, so dip away.

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Black Bean And Kale Tacos

Written on June 6, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

If cooking has taught me anything, it’s how to cover up mistakes. That’s my favorite part of cooking as opposed to baking: It’s never too late to fix things. I wanted to make a black bean and tempeh taco filling until I realized the tempeh I bought had barley and rye in it which I’m severely allergic to, so that was a no-go.

The second mistake that day was the chickpea flour “grits” you see in the top left of that plate. That’s what you get when you mean to make a tortilla but the batter’s too thin and never comes together. It actually wasn’t bad with a little seasoning and would have been even better with some shredded cheese or Daiya. See? Never too late to fix things.

So even if this wasn’t what I intended to make at all when I started cooking that day, it still tasted incredible. And isn’t that what matters? Oh, that and looks. Looks always matter.

Spicy Cocoa Black Beans With Kale

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

1 can black beans, drained
1 cup kale, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine the black beans and kale in a pan over medium heat with the oil already heated. Cover the pan for 2 minutes until the kale has steamed and changed into a deeper green color.

Remove the cover and season with the taco seasoning, cocoa powder, and cinnamon.

Serve hot into a tortilla wrap, taco shell, with rice or all by itself. Use a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt to mellow the spice if necessary.

I really like this, mistake or not. And that grits I could eat again and again with enough cheese on top. So don’t be afraid to make mistakes because you just might knock one out of the park anyway.

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Hello, Summer

Written on June 5, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

Hello, grilling everything. Swordfish? Grill it. Bell peppers? Grill it. Shoe? Grill it.

Hello, ridiculous amounts of Summer produce. 1/2 a watermelon is totally a reasonable afternoon snack, right?

Hello, ridiculous footwear. I actually got a compliment on these in Whole Foods. If I wear them anywhere else, I just get stares.

Hello, trips into the city. And hello, egregious photo editing because on the day I went to Marsh Chapel it was grey and raining.

Hello, Netflix subscription. Because some afternoons I have nothing better to do than watch TV for 6 hours. That’s not a problem, just a lot of Party Down.

I’m sorry this is so ‘Goodnight, Moon’, but do you have anything about Summer you want to say hello to?

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How To Use Pinterest To Promote Blog Content

Written on June 4, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in How To

Every week there’s a new social internet sharing platform. The newest one of note is Pinterest which lets people “pin” their favorite photos from the web to share with followers on “boards”. Pinterest has made itself out as ritzy and exclusive requiring members to be invited first(remember when Gmail was this way?). Don’t worry; it’s a fairly quick and easy process for people who want to join so long as you know somebody who’s already on. I’ve been using it for a few weeks both for fun and as a blogging extension to gage its effectiveness at reaching new people.

The Interface:

Once you actually have an account, you’ll see it’s separated into boards you create, name, and edit. These are used for different categories of pins that you create. When people follow you and you follow them, you can pick which boards in particular you’re interested in following. I’ve found most people just follow all of a user’s boards, but this might change as people get more familiar with using Pinterest.

How It Works:

If you’re worried about learning how to use another website, don’t be; Pinterest is actually pretty easy. The website gives you a button to add to your bookmarks which, once you click, isolates all the photos on your current web page and lets you choose which one you want to pin. You can literally grab images from anywhere on the internet, and Pinterest will link back to the page you were on automatically on your pin making it a good way to share content and bring visitors to that web page.

Final Thoughts:

Pinterest is a fun way to kill time and get to know people better through their interests, but I wouldn’t recommend joining except for personal amusement. You really don’t need to have any part in Pinterest to get traffic from it; in fact, most of the pins and traffic I’ve gotten have come from other people pinning my content. You can track pins from any website by looking at the source page(http://pinterest/source/<website URL.domain>/). Rather than joining and spreading your own content, the best way to get traffic from Pinterest is to post eye-grabbing photos to your own website that will get attention from readers.

Have you tried Pinterest? What do you think of it?

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Watermelon With Sea Salt, Black Peppercorn, And Basil

Written on June 3, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

I think I could eat watermelon alone all Summer long and never get tired of it. Well, maybe watermelon and chocolate, you know, for a well-rounded diet. This takes watermelon to the next level. It’s sweet and spicy with just a small kick of flavor from the basil. As soon as I started eating from the bowl I couldn’t put it down, and I’m not even one for savory foods.

This recipe is great to use fancy seasonings like lemon pepper or smoked salt since the watermelon is so pure and really a blank canvas to flavor however you’d like.

Watermelon With Sea Salt, Black Peppercorn, and Basil

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

1 whole seedless watermelon, cut into cubes
3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
10 basil leaves, torn

Method:

Cube the watermelon into bite-sized chunks.
Combine the watermelon in a large bowl with the salt, pepper, and basil.
Toss the ingredients together until they are evenly mixed.
Serve immediately or refrigerate for a few days.

Addictive. Purely addictive. Perfect for Summer, too!

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Raw Mini Ganache Tortes

Written on June 2, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Remember the best dessert money can buy? I can’t forget. Ever. One thing I miss horribly about Providence is being a short bus ride away from Wildflour bakery. That’s probably a good thing for my wallet and health but hard on the heart. Since I’m obsessed with their raw ganache dessert it was the first one I wanted to try and recreate. Smooth, rich chocolate that I could call healthy and make any time? How could I say no.

Raw Mini Ganache Tortes

Ingredients for the crust:

1 1/4 cups cashews*
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup maple syrup(or agave)
1 Tablespoon coconut oil

Ingredients for the filling:

6oz cacao butter**, melted
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup maple syrup(or agave)
2 Tablespoon coconut oil

*You can use any nuts; these are what I had on hand

**cacao butter is a specialty food product available online and in some grocery stores such as Whole Foods.

For the crust, pulse the cashews in a food processor until they’re finely ground. Add in the cocoa powder, coconut oil, and maple syrup and continue to blend until it forms a dough.

Flatten about a tablespoon of dough into the bottom of regular sized muffin wells.

To make the filling, gently melt the cocoa butter and coconut oil until they’re completely liquid(be careful that the cocoa butter doesn’t boil on you). Mix in the cocoa powder and maple syrup until completely smooth.

Scoop about 1/4 cup of ganache over each crust. Refrigerate until the chocolate has set.

To release them, gently run a sharp knife around the edges of the well until the torte pops out. For the best texture, keep refrigerate until 20 minutes before serving.

These are good. Like, really good. If I weren’t up against the best dessert money can buy they’d probably be my favorite. But I have to admit that Wildflour’s raw ganache is still the best I’ve ever had. It’s also probably cheaper to buy it than to make it with the raw ingredients since cacao butter is a pricey ingredient(although I plan on seeing if unsweetened baker’s chocolate will work in this recipe as well for a cheaper, less-raw alternative). Until I have theirs again I’ll have no problem settling with these.

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