I have funny food complexes. Believe it or not, I’ve always had a tray of vegan fudge in my fridge since last April. Why? What if someone came over and wanted some fudge to eat? These things happen, you know… in my mind at least.
It might be a bigger deal if this recipe weren’t so simple to make. I threw together a new tray Thursday afternoon with some leftover chocolates I had lying around. You just can’t beat dessert you can make while watching Ellen.
Now this house is a home.
This is the post that made me cry.
I have a love affair with onions. I think they make anything taste better. So I was naturally a little embarrassed that—up until this past Tuesday—I didn’t know how to properly dice one of them.
Sure, I could chop an onion a whole bunch of different ways, and when a few pieces weren’t cut up so evenly I would fix it afterwards. But I didn’t really know how to dice an onion. So what did I do? I youtubed it. And you know what? It’s pretty simple!
How To Dice An Onion
Start by chopping off the “stem” end, or the one that looks hairy. After that, cut vertically from the stem end through to the “root” end. Peel the outer skin off the onion and discard.
The first cuts you’ll want to make should be parallel with the surface. Push down with your fingers on top and make 2-3 slices horizontally through the onion .
Next, readjust your hand and make cuts from the stem end to the root end about 1/4-1/2 an inch thick. You’ll want to apply pressure on both sides of the onion to make sure it moves as little as possible.
Lastly, position your hand on the root end and make cuts lengthwise, perpendicular to your last cut and parallel with the first cut you made to remove the stem. After each cut, your onion will be diced so push the onion bits away with the knife in between each slice.
Is that not the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen? No? Only me? OK, then. For what it’s worth, this is a great skill to learn to make evenly sized onions for soups, stews, stir-fries and sautés. It’s also bad news for your breath, but that’s a trade I’m willing to make.
Benjamin Franklin once said “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” I would like to add apples from my CSA share to that list.
Every Wednesday, I get a great haul of fresh, local produce from my farmers’ market. And every Wednesday I keep getting more and more apples. I love apple crisp as much as the next person, but if I kept making that I’d be 10lbs heavier from butter.
Instead, I’ve been finding other ways to eat apples. I’ve been loving having them with bok choy since that’s another produce I’ve been getting a lot of lately with no previous experience of. It’s simple, sweet, and a perfect side dish to use up extra apples. Because who hasn’t gone apple picking and came home with 10lbs of apples only to realize that’s a lot of pie crust to make and eat?
Sautéed Bok Choy With Apples And Onions
Ingredients(for 2 servings):
Heat a pan and the oil over medium-low heat until it comes to temperature. Cut the bok choy in half to make the stalks bite sized and dice the apple. Add the bok choy and apple pieces into the pan and toss for about 5 minutes, until the bok choy begins to loosen up.
Add in the diced onion and toss for another minute, but not so much that the onions turn translucent. Sprinkle with salt and serve warm.
This is a delightfully simple way to get in both fruits and greens and all in under 10 minutes! I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t go for a slice of pie after this, though…
Before I start, I’ll answer the obvious question: Yes, it’s this simple. Almond flour is a great, gluten-free substitute you can use for baking. Either use it in special recipes or just substitute a quarter of the wheat flour in a recipe for a rich, almond flavor. Making your own is a great way to save money and ensure a fresher flavor, too.
How To Make Almond Flour
Ingredients:
Wash and dry the almonds if they’re from a bulk bin or might otherwise be dirty. For a richer flavor, used roasted almonds. Always keep the peels on as this will not only make the flour more nutritious but help ensure it stays a dry, course meal and not turn into almond butter.
Add the almonds to a food processor and process for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until all of the chunks have been pulverized into a smooth meal. Store in a seal-tight bag in the refrigerator until using.
Did I say “simple”? If you’re still wondering what to do with almond flour, I wouldn’t be opposed to making chocolate hazelnut shortbread with almond flour in place of the hazelnut flour or substitute some almond flour for whole wheat flour in banana bread, not opposed at all.
You could call this a light bulb moment recipe.
I really love starchy vegetables almost as much as I love chocolate, and that says a lot. They’re warm and comforting and everything you could want on a plate.
The squash has been excellent at the farmers’ market this Fall; I’ve been roasting it so much, I’ve been thinking of any which way to eat it otherwise.
And that’s when it hit me: Butternut squash home fries.
I started by roasting the squash to get it tender, and finishing it off in some fat and seasoning over a low burner. It was perfectly tender with a bit of a crust. The secret to any good home fries is time, so I left plenty for the pan-frying.
Butternut Squash Home Fries
Ingredients for 4 servings:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and roast the butternut squash for 45 minutes or until tender before starting. Warm a pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter and the diced onion. Once the pan has come to temperature, add in the squash. Toss every couple of minutes for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add the salt, pepper, rosemary, and remaining butter and continue to toss for 10 more minutes or until the moisture is gone and the home fries have begun to char.
Usually you want to treat food delicately and keep it tender and fresh—not so with home fries. The best home fries I’ve had at restaurants look like they’ve been battered and beat and have often been cooking for near an hour. That’s how they develop such rich flavors that intermingle.
Going back to “just” roasted squash is going to be hard.
Welcome to The Wannabe Chef.
The truth is that no one’s born a chef; we all come into this world the same way: Naked. We have no aprons, no whisks, and no poofy hats.
It took me 18 years of life to fall in love with cooking. Before then, I made brownies from boxes and microwaved popcorn, but I never really fell in love with the ingredients—just the food.
I remember the first real cookie recipe I made—oatmeal cookies with coconut, dark chocolate chips, and lots(and lots) of butter. When people told me they truly enjoyed what I created, it was like a high. I never stopped trying after that more and more to please others with my cooking.
At 18 I found myself alone and in charge for the first time. Who cooks in college? Nobody cooks in college. But I cooked in college. Armed with just a frying pan and a 30-year old stove 3 stories below me, I was determined to make my own food whenever possible. It just tasted better. And when I could cook for others felt like a dream come true; I’ve never stopped being delighted in having others enjoy the food I make.
And then it hit me: I want to be a chef. At 19, it was just one of those moments where I was cooking and thought “If only I could do this for a living!” when I realized you can do this for a living. It’s called being a chef…
I’ve never taken a formal cooking class in my life; I’m a college student taking courses for a concentration has nothing to do with food. And all I want to do in life is cook. I cook for fun; I cook to relax; I cook to eat; I cook to please. And I’m determined to make this work, because I’ve always believed you can do anything you put your mind to.
So won’t you join me? I can promise you recipes, food talk, and ramblings about some of my favorite chefs. My road might be long, but it will be tasty, because I am the wannabe chef.
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