Peas, Carrots, & Parsnips

I was soooooo excited when I saw fresh English peas at the Santa Monica Wednesday Farmer's Market a couple weeks ago!  I had never seen or cooked fresh English peas before so I picked a few handfuls and brought my veggie treasures home, eager to see if there really would be a big difference in taste and texture from the common frozen kind.  Final verdict is that there was a difference and they definitely were yummy, BUT I also learned some valuable lessons and had some of my unrealistic expectations shattered....

First of all, apparently 1 pound of peas is mostly pod weight and only yields about 1 cup of peas.  The pods are also too fibrous to eat, though perfect for soup stock!  Following my mantra of using as much of what I have as possible and not wasting food, I used the pods in my weekly homemade chicken stock.

Secondly, peas are in season in the Spring and well....it's in the dead middle of Winter right now so my face fell with disappointment when I opened up the pods to find shriveled little peas.  I guess I was expecting these round and plump peas the size of the tip of my pinky finger, not these little pellets.  Hopefully I will see them again in the Spring and be able to get my hands on some fatty peas!  With these two valuable lessons explained, on to my simple recipe.

I didn't want to take away much from the natural flavor of the peas so I decided to do a simple saute of the classic peas and carrots with a little addition of some beautiful parsnips I also picked up at the farmer's market.

Ingredients:
1     Large Carrot Diced
1     Parsnip Diced
1/2  Cup of English peas
Cooking Oil & Salt

Instructions:
Lightly grease a saute pan with the cooking oil and heat on medium-high.  Add the carrots and parsnips to the pan first because they will take a few minutes longer to cook. Saute over medium to medium-high heat for about 3-5 minutes then add the peas and toss, only cooking for about another 2-3 minutes.  Season with a good pinch of salt and you have a delightful little veggie side dish!

Easy Cabbage Stir Fry

This is my go-to fiber kick to balance my body after I've had too much animal based fatty foods.  I immediately feel healthier and cleaner after eating a big plate of simiple stir-fried veggies.  A nice salad can also to the same thing, but during the colder winter months, a cold raw salad doesn't seem as appetizing as a big hot plate of veggies.  Here's another tip about Chinese food, you will rarely see "salad" on a Chinese dinner table for any meal.  We eat a lot of vegetables and its almost always cooked.

The following dish is healthy, easy, cheap, and you can pretty much use any other veggies you want to add in with the shredded cabbage.

Ingredients:

1/2-1  Head of Cabbage julienned
* If you don't feel like practicing those knife skills, shredded will work just as well :)

1        Carrot julienned

1        Cup of julienned Snow Peas

Salt and Cooking Oil





Instructions:
Heat about a tablespoon of cooking oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.
Put carrots in the pan and cook for a couple minutes then add the snow peas.  Add a pinch of salt and toss then cook for a couple minutes.

Add the cabbage and sprinkle in about a teaspoon of salt then carefully toss and let cook down for about 5-8 minutes, tossing occassionally.

Once all the veggies are softened yet still has a little snap, your done!  Plate up and enjoy :)

Prosciutto Wrapped Dates

This was another big hit at our NYE party!  Quick, easy, and the perfect little bite of savory and sweet.

Ingredients:
Pitted Dates
Raw Almonds
Prosciutto

Instructions:
Toast the almonds in a fry pan over medium heat OR spread evenly on a baking sheet and roast at 375 degrees fahrenheit for about 5-10 minutes.  Prepare a baking sheet by lightly greasing with olive oil(use a paper towel to apply olive oil to the baking sheet).  Stuff the dates with the toasted almonds then wrap each date with a strip of prosciutto and place on the prepared baking sheet.  When done, drizzle the dates with olive oil and broil in a preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes or until slightly crisp and browned on top.  Remove, let cool for a few minutes, and bite into one....or many. ;-)

Simple Fried Rice

The dish that I get asked most about is definitely fried rice.  This is a dish every Asian grew up with and everyone has their own version.  It's simple home-cooking that originated as a leftover dish.  With that said, I really just wanted to give the most basic fried rice recipe here and emphasize that you can add almost anything you want to this recipe.  There are only three main ingredients to fried rice and the rest is up to your imagination and taste, or as my Mommie did: anything that was leftover from the night before.  It could be chicken, shrimp, tofu, curry, beef, even hot dogs, or ham.  Just like how you can top pizza with anything you like, you can add any protein, veggies, or seasoning to your fried rice.  See this recipe as the primer coat of paint that you use as a foundation to add your own color and flavors upon.  There are also several ways to make fried rice and there's not right or wrong.  This is MY way because this is how I like it. =)

Ingredients:

2 Cups   Day-Old Cold Rice 

(It's not the end of the world if its not "day-old" rice.  You can use freshly cooked hot rice, but what tends to happen is a mushier fried rice.  Leftover rice for a day or longer in the fridge tends to dry out thus not as pleasant to eat, unless cooked again that's how the whole idea of "frying" leftover rice came about.) 

2 Eggs   Beaten

2 Stalks Chopped Green Onion

Salt and White Pepper Powder (Fresh ground black pepper could be used in place of the white pepper)

Cooking oil

Instructions:

Heat about half a tablespoon of cooking oil in a wok or regular frying pan over medium-high heat.  Coat the bottom of the pan with the oil and add the beaten eggs and a pinch of salt.  Scramble the eggs, remove from pan and set aside.  ***Some people like to stir fry the rice first and add the beaten eggs directly to the pan of rice so that the eggs slightly stick to the rice.*** Turn the heat up to high, add a tablespoon of oil to the pan, then add the rice.  Immediately start breaking up the rice, if there are any clumps, and stir constantly in the pan.  You can flip it if you're feeling confident and fancy!  When the rice is thoroughly heated through, add the green onion then season with salt and pepper.  ***This is the point when you can add any additional ingredients; make sure that any meat or veggies you add are already cooked, do not add raw ingredients!*** Add the scrambled eggs back into the pan and stir to break up the eggs into smaller pieces.  Remove from pan and serve. 

Here's a video to further illustrate the instructions...

Vegan Chili

A sure crowd pleaser and decievingly simple to make!  Don't be scared off by the list of ingredients.  If you use a slow cooker, there are only three simple steps: 1. wash & chop veggies 2. open cans 3. throw everything in the slow cooker and leave to cook for 2-3 hours.  Voila!  Beautiful, delicious, and nutricious chili!  I was a bit unsure because this is my first attempt to make a veggie chili, but I'm pretty stoked by the outcome =D  I read about a dozen recipes and came up with this..

All of the following ingredients can be omitted or added depending on your own personal taste preference, you're the cook! =)

Ingredients:
1   Tablespoon Cooking oil
2   Carrots, diced
1   Onion, diced
3   Cloves of garlic, minced
2   Red Bell Peppers, diced
1   Green Bell Pepper, diced
1   Anaheim Chili, diced
2   Jalapeno Chilis, take the seeds out with latex gloves or with plastic wrap to avoid the ultimate "finger sting", dice and remember to wash everything (the knife, your hands, and cutting board).
2   Cups of Baby Bella Mushrooms, chopped
1   Zucchini or Italian Squash, diced
1   15oz Can of Whole Kernel Sweet Corn, drained (you can opt to use fresh corn if its in season)
1   15oz Can of Black Beans, drained
1   15oz Can of Pinto Beans, drained
(you can use regular beans by soaking and cooking the beans beforehand)
1   28oz Can of Peeled Tomatoes (No Salt Added)
(you can use fresh Roma tomatoes. Cut crosses at the bottom of the tomatoes, boil a pot of salted water and blanche the tomatoes then drain and put tomatoes in an ice bath, the skins should come off easily after that.  Peel and roughly chop.)
2-4 Cups of Vegetable stock
1   Tablespoon of Chili Powder
1   Tablespoon of Cumin
1   Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
2   Tablespoons of Dried Basil
2   Tablespoons of Dried Oregeno
***Secret Weapon: 1 Teaspoon of 5 Spice Powder***
Salt and pepper to taste
When serving, top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream, chopped cilantro or chives, shredded cheddar cheese and diced avocado.
(I added a few pieces of beef sausage for the meat eaters and a poached egg for breakfast)

Instructions:
When using a slow cooker...just follow the steps outlined in the intro above.

When using a pot...heat on the stove over medium high and add cooking oil.  Add the carrots, onion, and garlic.  Cook for a few minutes then add the pepper and chilis.  Cook for another few minutes then add the mushrooms and zucchini.  Cook for another few minutes then add the corn and beans and tomatoes followed by all the seasoning.  Stir and cook for a few minutes then add the vegetable stock until it covers all the veggies by over an inch.  Bring to boil and reduce to simmer, cover simmer over low heat for 2 hours.

When using a Thermal Insulated Cooking Pot (a.k.a. the "Magic Cooker")...follow all the same above instruction when using a pot except you use the "Magic Cooker" pot and simmer only 10 minutes on the stove then take the pot and place in "Magic Cooker", seal and forget about it for 3 hours.  I chose to use a "Magic Cooker" and it is my preference for slow cooking because it doesn't need any electricity and the food is essentially cooking by its own heat, genius!