Cilantro Jalapeno Mayonnaise

I love this mayo so much, that it has largely become my 'secret sauce.' It's also incredibly easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 bunch cilantro, washed
1 clove of garlic
2 jalapenos, stemmed
1 tsp water
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 3/4 cups store-bought or home-made mayo (I cheat and use best foods mayo, tastes great!)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until everything is incorporated.

Enjoy with tacos, burritos, wraps, as a chip dip, on sandwiches etc.

Home-brewed Hard Apple Cider

I started brewing cider about a year and a half ago after my brew-master friend convinced me how easy and cheap it was to do. He makes wonderfully tasty beers like lavender honey lager, coffee stout, and grapefruit ale. I am nowhere near his expertise and creativity in brewing, but I hope to be at some point. It's a typical progression in learning to brew to first make cider and mead, and later moving on to beer. Cider and mead are easier technically and more forgiving than beer, and I'm just now at the stage where I feel I can take on beer. Needless to say, this cider recipe is probably your best bet for starting out and testing the waters.

Gathering Your Supplies

Brewing Supplies: 

2 carboys or brewing buckets (one for primary fermentation, one for secondary)

Air lock

liquid funnel

automatic siphon

Cider Ingredients: 

Unfiltered, unpasteurized apple cider

Sugar

Yeast 

Fruit or spice additives (optional)

Ingredient Ratios

I use a 3 gallon carboy, but I'm going to list the ingredient ratios for one gallon for adaptability.

To make one gallon of cider, you will need:

1 lb sugar: regular white baking sugar is fine, but you can also use brown sugar. White sugar to start out with is a good idea- you can branch out later. 

1 tsp champagne yeast: you can buy a cider yeast, but I like to use Champagne yeast for the more subtle flavor and stronger potential alcohol content. I would not recommend using an ale yeast for cider as it will retain a strong 'yeasty' flavor after brewing. Or, as one of my brew friends says, like "Rhinoceros farts."

1 gallon unfiltered, unpasteurized apple cider

Primary Fermentation (1-4 weeks)

Funnel your cider into the carboy a little at a time, periodically adding sugar and stirring to incorporate. Be sure to leave a few inches at the top of the carboy for air bubbles. See picture above, taken during fermentation. Once your sugar is totally incorporated, add your yeast after it has been activated in a bit of warm water. If you would like to add any fruit additives, now is the time. I have tried fresh orange juice/peel and raspberries and had nice results. Seal with your airlock. 

You can put water in the airlock, or alternately use vodka as any leakage into the carboy will just be alcohol. An alcoholic 'seal' as opposed to water is also a great added bacteria blocker to keep your cider safe during fermentation.

Once all ingredients are combined and the airlock is in place, keep the carboy in a warm, dry place. If it is kept at room temperature or around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, fermentation should start in about 5-15 hours. 

For about a week after fermentation has begun, your cider should be bubbling furiously, then it will slow by the second week. You can choose to bottle and drink after only two weeks if you like a sweet, fizzy cider. I have done this before and been perfectly satisfied with the results, but usually secondary fermentation is a good idea for a few reasons. 

First, racking the cider to a second container will give you an opportunity to leave behind all the nasty, dead yeast that has settled to the bottom of the carboy. If you have added any fruit extras, you will also leave them behind at this point.

If you like a dry cider, secondary fermentation will let the yeast eat more sugar. Secondary fermentation will also let the flavors of the cider to mature. You will have a less 'yeasty' taste and more subtle notes of apple. 

If you have your heart set on a clear cider, it is typical for cider to be cloudy at first and clear as yeast settles during primary fermentation, continuing to clear during secondary fermentation.

Racking the Cider

Place your second container below the carboy and use your auto-siphon to easily transfer your cider. 

Be sure to taste a sample at this stage. If it is sweeter than you would like, you may choose to let secondary fermentation go for longer. If dry and flat, you can add a bit of sugar for carbonation and/or a little sweetness at this stage. You can also wait until bottling to add a tiny amount of sugar to the bottom of your bottles for the desired carbonation and sweetness. 

You should not transfer all of the liquid to the second container as there will be a yeasty sludge at the bottom inch or so. Yes, you will have to sacrifice a bit of precious cider but it will be worth it, trust me. 

Secondary Fermentation (1-2 weeks)

Let secondary fermentation go for 1-2 weeks or longer based on sweetness and carbonation at the time of racking. It's okay if the cider is totally flat at this point because you can add more sugar for carbonation at the bottling stage. If you added more sugar during racking, it might be a good idea to check the cider after a week or so to see if you have achieved the desired carbonation and sweetness. If you are happy with the cider now, you are ready to bottle and enjoy. 

Bottling

As previously mentioned, adding a small amount of sugar to your bottles is a good way to add carbonation and sweetness for drinking. However, be careful if you choose to do this as residual yeast will create CO2 and you do not want to make bottle bombs. To combat this, putting bottles in the fridge will render the yeast inactive. 

Joe's Chicken Tikka Masala

This Chicken Tikka Masala is one of my favorite things to eat, ever. Just ask Joe, my old roommate. On one nondescript day at the lake house, he was probably practicing seven hours of classical guitar as per usual and I was likely home early after my part-time Archaeology contract job. I honestly can't remember anything about that day except that Joe made us the Tikka. As I worked on my work report on my laptop at the dining table, he proceeded to cook for about four hours straight.

Wonderful smells wafted over to me on my laptop and my curiosity grew. What was he doing in there? He must be making a feast, I thought to myself. At last he was ready to share the mysterious and alluring dish.

At first taste I was hooked. It tasted better than any Chicken Tikka I had ever ordered from an Indian restaurant. The wonderful balance of cumin and paprika with the richness of yogurt and cream, lifted slightly by hints of lemon and cilantro, it was perfection. To top it off, he served it with rice and naan, which was necessary to lap up every bit of delicious sauce from the plate.

After much doe-eyed pleading, he showed me how to make the recipe, the same one I am sharing with you today. But hold on, Chicken Tikka Masala wouldn't be complete without rice and homemade naan!

Here is my recipe for how to make "really sticky" sticky rice just like in a good Thai restaurant. It is the culmination of a year-long battle with rice cooking which I am finally over, thanks to my fool-proof stove-top method.

For the naan, I used Half Baked Harvest's recipe! I absolutely love the addition of milk and yogurt to the wet ingredients as well as the use of whole wheat flour in addition to white flour.

For the marinade:

1 cup plain yogurt (I use Greek Gods yogurt)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs


For the sauce:

1 sliced jalapeno
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced

4 teaspoons cumin
4 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon salt

16 oz. tomato puree
2 cups heavy cream

1/3 cup freshly chopped cilantro

Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl, stir well with chicken which has been cut into bite sized pieces. Refrigerate for up to one day before making the dish. If you only have an hour or less, it will still taste great but not be as tender or flavorful.

Spread chicken on a broiling sheet and broil on high until the tops are browning, about 12 minutes. While you wait for the chicken, you can start on the sauce, but don't forget about the chicken under the broiler! I can't say how many times I have left something to broil, forgotten about it, and discovered a much crisped surprise. The best way for me to remember is just to leave the oven cracked.

Heat a medium to large pot over medium-high heat. Add the butter. Once butter is melted, sautee the sliced jalapeno rounds with the garlic for about one minute. At this point, you can remove the jalapenos and still have infused jalapeno flavor if you prefer the dish less hot, but I like to leave them in. The combination of the cayenne and jalapeno makes the finished sauce relatively mild to moderately hot.

Add the spices, and stir to prevent burning until aromatic.

Add tomato puree and cream. Bring up to high until just bubbling, add the broiled chicken, making sure to add in all of that yogurty goodness from the marinade. Turn down to low and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Just before service, add chopped cilantro.

Devour with sticky rice and naan!

Indian Spinach with yogurt and spices

This recipe is actually adapted from a recipe for Spinach Paneer. I liked it so much with just the spinach and spices that I felt it could stand alone. It's healthy, flavorful, and great to freeze for a side dish in a pinch.

Ingredients:

11/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, coconut oil, or sesame oil

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ginger, peeled and minced.

1 large green serrano, pablano, or other mildly hot chile, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon garam masala or curry

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 package fresh spinach or 1 16 oz. package frozen spinach

salt

1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred


Whisk together turmeric, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons oil, set aside.

Chop spinach finely, set aside.

Heat a large sautee pan over medium heat until warm, add oil, turmeric, and cayenne mixture.
Add onion, ginger, garlic, and chile. Saute until the onions are translucent and the mixture is softened, about 10 minutes.

Add garam masala, coriander, and cumin. Stir until aromatic, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and stir well, adding a pinch of salt. Take off heat and add the yogurt, stirring so it doesn't curdle.

Bakery style cookies with chocolate chips, walnuts, coconut, and oats

I have been on a quest for my favorite cookie- and one I could make in my kitchen. I have always loved the chewy, dense, perfectly soft bakery cookies as big as your tea saucer that you have to eat in two different sittings- or not. So, I set out to replicate them and include my favorite cookie ingredients along the way.

This is a basic recipe that can have various ingredients added and taken out by preference, built-in creativity!

3/4 cup unsalted butter, completely melted (you can brown the butter for a rich, toffee flavored cookie)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

semisweet chocolate chips
shredded coconut
walnuts
oats

Once the butter has cooled, cream the sugars with melted butter until well incorporated. Add egg and egg yolk, beat. Add extract, stir well. Combine dry ingredients in a separate mixing bowl, add in batches to the wet ingredients until smooth. Add chocolate chips, walnuts, coconut, oats, and any other additional ingredients.

This is the important step for getting chewy, fat cookies. You need to bake the cookies at a lower heat (325 degrees) for a longer amount of time (about 15 minutes). The amount of batter used for each cookie should be about a fourth of a cup or the amount that you can just ball up in your fist. Also crucial is that you pre-cflatten your cookies before baking, otherwise you will get dome cookies that are raw in the middle.

Enjoy right out of the oven, as hot as you can stand, but beware hot molten chocolate burns!

Ras El Hanout Moroccan Spice Blend

I love making a regular batch of this blend. It's my secret weapon, it should basically be encased in glass and labeled "in case of boring food emergency." It's a little bit of an investment in spices to make this, but it's worth it. A batch will last several months in a closed container. You can add a dash of this to meat dishes- it's equally good in chicken and beef, vegetable dishes, meat pies, quiche, soups, and anything that needs a little kick in the pants flavor. I absolutely love the play of savory and typically sweet spices here. Turmeric, cayenne, with cinnamon, nutmeg. It would be the perfect complement to pork with a fruit-based pan sauce or chicken with apricots or dates.

Combine well in a medium mixing bowl.
Store in a closed container in a dry place.


1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground mace
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

My secret to great food all the time: A well-stocked pantry

I am a recent college graduate with a low-paying job, and I love to cook healthy, delicious food all the time. And no, I don't have an expensive grocery bill. In fact, I spend $50 every two weeks on groceries regularly with the occasional splurge for parties or big dinners. The secret to this is a well-stocked pantry with a diversity of base ingredients that can be used in a wide array of dishes.

These are some things I always keep on hand. I know that I can go to the store, come back with mostly produce and the occasional meat item, and create dishes I will be excited about with these ingredients already in my kitchen.

Spices
Spices can't be emphasized enough! With a good arsenal of spices, you can liven up anything. Here is what is usually on my spice shelf:

Asian/Indian Cooking:
Cumin
Curry
Paprika
Garam Masala
Turmeric

Middle Eastern:
Mace
Coriander
Cardamom
Cloves
Cinnamon

French/Italian Cooking:
Thyme
Sage
Oregano
Rosemary
Allspice
Fennel seed
Herbs de Provence

Other/Baking:
Nutmeg
Ground Ginger

Ras El Hanout spice blend: I like to keep this on hand to liven up meat, vegetables, any substantial savory dish that could use a little kick. It's a slightly sweet, slightly spicy rich spice blend that is traditionally used in Moroccan food.

Vegetable Bullion: I use this sparingly as I am not a huge fan of the high sodium content, but its good in a pinch if you don't have any stock and need to mimic that rich flavor.

Shredded Coconut: Just because I am a coconut-nut. Shredded coconut can be used in chicken dishes, rice dishes, cookies, and my favorite, coconut french toast.

Oils/Sauces
Soy Sauce: Can be used in a variety of meat dishes including pork and chicken, and in soups.
Sesame Oil: Using sesame oil in Asian dishes adds nice flavor as opposed to using vegetable oil or olive oil.
Fish Sauce: A little goes a long way when you're using fish sauce. I use it most often to add an extra layer of flavor to stir fry.
Worcestershire sauce: A favorite to use with beef. I love using it in my burger patties.
Stir-fry sauce: A good standby for a quick dinner.

Canned Goods
Conconut Milk: Can be used in savory and sweet dishes: Asian food combined with curry, in rice, in oatmeal, in baking.
Black Beans: A good staple in a pinch that can be tossed in a salad or used in a burrito.
Canned Chicken Stock (or homemade frozen): I like to keep some chicken stock around to add depth of flavor to soups and sauces.

Long-life Vegetables 
Onions: Onions are as basic a staple as they come. Whether it's in soup, sauteed vegetables, in a sauce, and in most savory dishes.
Garlic: Garlic is essential to most savory food I cook! It's also known to have great health benefits as it contains vitamins including Vitamin C and Vitamin B6, and is a natural immune system boost.
Ginger: An easy to keep root that makes a nice addition to meat dishes, vegetable sautee, etc.
Potatoes: It's good to have potatoes around for a side by themselves, in soup, roasted, etc.

Grains
Quinoa: Healthy-a complete protein, tasty, and goes with most vegetables. I love quinoa.
Japanese or Thai Rice: A nice side dish to most dinners. I like to soak my rice overnight for sticky rice the next day. You can also substitute coconut milk for water and make coconut rice. Feeling sweet, add a little sugar, toasted coconut, and butter for a coconut rice pudding.
Penne Pasta: A great standby that can be combined easily with stray vegetables and spices if you don't have a lot of food options.
Rolled Oats: A favorite breakfast staple and a good baking ingredient.