Cooking with Katya

Perfect pizza

2011-11-12T11:09:00.001-08:00

Perfect pizza, a photo by SeattleProPhoto on Flickr.

I recently came back from a trip to Italy. What blew me away is the food. It was amazing. One dish I could not get enough of was the pizza. First of all they make it in a fire oven. The crust is thin and crunchy, there is a thin coat of tomato sauce and a sprinkle of cheese. I only wish I could find pizza like that in Seattle.

Roasted Tomato Egglant

2011-11-09T15:07:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite eggplant dishes, is the Tomato Roasted Eggplant. It's a really easy dish to make and is perfect for as a "make-ahead" dish.

Time to prepare: 1.5 hours (including prep time)
Ingredients:

2 eggplants
2 cans of diced tomato
2 tbls ketchup
1 onion
1 green pepper
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbls olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Pre-heat over at 350 degrees. Wash the eggplants and poke them with a fork all around. As I have learned the hard way, if you do not poke the eggplants, it might explode in the oven.
Roast the eggplants on a cooking sheet for 45 min.
Take the roasted eggplants, and take off the skin and chop into cubes.
In a food processor combine: 1 onion, 1 green pepper, and the eggplant
In a deep pot, heat the olive oil. Add the mixture from the food processor. Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes.
Stir, all of the ingredients in the pot. After about 10 minutes, add ketchup, salt and pepper, dill. For additional spice, add some red chili sauce (1 tsp)
Cook for about 40 minutes on medium temperature. Stir occasionally. Let it cool down, prior to serving

New Kitchen Gadget

2010-12-07T22:46:00.000-08:00

I've recently found my kitchen filled with new fun gadgets. This slow cooker is fantastic. Now I've had slow cookers before, and I have never been satisfied. It over cooks, it under cooks, the timer isn't built in. This guy, is great. I didn't realize that what I was doing wrong is just using the wrong model. The best thing I like about this model is that it has a rack. Definitely a keeper. So get ready for some fun slow cooker recipes.
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10 ways to use digital channels to grow your business

2010-01-31T21:07:00.000-08:00

1. Create a blog
You can use easy tools like blogger or wordpress to create your blog. You should update your blog at least 3 times a week. Make sure that you have content that is not stale. To allow your blog to be searchable, make sure that you register your url with the main search engines (google, bing, yahoo).

2. Create a twitter
In today’s age, Twitting is a necessity to help build your brand, but as you have probably noticed, everybody is on Twitter. Since you only have 140 characters, use them wisely. For your links, substitute them with short links. Make sure that you maintain good list hygiene. Follow people who follow you back. Use tools like Huitter.com. Make sure that you are twitting daily several times a day. If you don’t have time to tweet daily, write the content ahead of time and then use tools like SocialOomph.com to post it for you throughout the day.

3. Create a fan page on facebook
You can use facebook to help with your online brand. The facebook page is a great channel to help tell your customers what’s new. The key thing to remember is to not overwhelm them with information. Use the same rule of thumb for status updates as you use for Twits. They should be short and sweet. Consumers do not like reading long messages

4. Business online channels
If you sell your products online, make sure that you use the social media channels to help build your online identity.

5. Measure your channels
I like to use google analytics. They allow you to see your online traffic to your site, blog, online channels. They aslo allow for you to see your traffic sources. If you receive any traffic from search, it allows you to see what search terms lead to your site. As you create new content, you can keep this information in mind.

6. Integration between channels
It’s imporatnt to connect the dots for your consumers. You can integrate your twitter with your facebook. Push your facebook to your business channel. Integrate up to date widgets on your blog. Channel integration allows the dots to be connected for the consumer, without them having to think too much about what you want them to do.

7. Don’t be lazy
The mistake a lot of people make is they don’t go the extra mile, and it shows. Don’t be lazy. For your blog page, buy the domain name and transfer it. For your twitter page, create your own background, it’s easy enough. You can use Twitbacks.com. These little things will make a difference.

8. Brand consistency
Many business fail in this area. They either have not thought about their overall brand identity, or they change their brand too often and thus confusing their consumer. Create one brand; keep it consistent cross all channels. Use the same naming convention, icons, and consistent images across all of your channels.

9. Online website
As part of your online identity, build a website. Who are you, what do you offer. This will help with building your online reputation. As your online brand grows, this will help with building you credibility in the community.

10. Keep your content up to date
Most important of in all of these areas, is keep your content up to date. As they say, out of sight, out of mind. Be consistent in what you are doing, than your audience will be looking for content that’s coming from you.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2010-01-25T19:15:00.000-08:00

Sweet potato is a great alternative if you are trying to avoid high starchy food like potatoes.
Time to cook: 35min

Ingredients:
• Sweet potato 4potatoes
• Olive oil (2tbls)
• Chicken broth 1cup
• 1 twig of thyme
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Salt &peper

Directions
• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
• Clean and cut the potatoes in cubes
• Add potatoes, chicken broth, S&P, thyme, and minced garlic to oven safe caserol dish. Cover with foil. Bake for 25 min
• Remove the foil, drain the remaining liquid, sprinkle olive oil and bake for 10 more min

New Slow Cooker

2010-01-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

My new slow cooker is coming next week!!

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-PSC-400-Programmable-Brushed-Stainless/dp/B000VA7JL2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1264299224&sr=8-3

I am so excited.

Me like Bacon

2009-11-15T19:56:00.000-08:00

So I will be honest, I love bacon, but for a variety of reasons I don't eat bacon. :( So, I was really excited when a friend recommended BaconSalt

http://www.jdfoods.net/products/baconsalt.php

I used the original flavor and added it in my scramble eggs this morning. Very yummy, who knew I would have a tasted of bacon in my breakfast once again. :)

I plan on trying this stuff in some chocolate chip bacon cookies. Doesn't that sounds good? I am so excited right now.

Tomate Roasted Eggplant

2009-11-04T09:21:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite eggplant dishes, is the Tomato Roasted Eggplant. It's a really easy dish to make and is perfect for as a "make-ahead" dish.

Time to prepare: 1.5 hours (including prep time)

Ingredients:

2 eggplants
2 cans of diced tomato
2 tbls ketchup
1 onion
1 green pepper
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbls olive oil
S&P

Directions:

Pre-heat over at 350 degrees. Wash the eggplants and poke them with a fork all around. Please note, if you do not poke the eggplants, they might explode in the oven. Roast the eggplants on a cooking sheet for 45 min.
Take the roasted eggplants, and take off the skin and chop into cubes.
In a food processor combine, 1 onion, 1 green pepper, and the eggplant
In a deep pot, heat the olive oil. Add the mixture from the food processor. Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes.
Stir, all of the ingredients in the pot. After about 10 minutes, add ketchup, salt and pepper, dill. For additional spice, add some red chili sauce (1 tsp)
Cook for about 40 minutes on medium temperature. Stir occasionally. Let it cool down, prior to serving

Rosemary Vinegar Dressing

2009-10-14T09:01:00.000-07:00

One of the best ways to make a healthy salad is to create a homemade dressing. Dressing are crucial, as they will bring a lot of flavour to your salad. The rosemary vinegar dressing brings in the flavour of rosemary to your meal.

Ingredients:

rosemary
1/2 cup oil of olive oil
3 tbls balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Pull rosemarry from a twig. In a small deep dish combine olive oil and rosemarry. Put in the over for about 5-7min
Separate the rosemarry from the olive oil, put the rosemary aside. Add balsamic vinegar.
Mix in salt and pepper use the crispy rosemary as a spice for any other dish or for your salad

Tomato Basil Soup

2009-09-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

I am not a big soup person, but Tomato Basil Soup is something that always hits the spot on a cold, chilly night. It's very easy to make and is a fulfilling dish.

Time to prepare: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

3 strands of basil
2 tomatoes(chopped) or 1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 onion (chopped)
1 glove of garlic
3 cups of chicken broth
S&P
1tbls of olive oil
Dill (optional)
Tobasco sauce (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Directions:

In a deep pan, heat olive oil and add onion and garlic. Sautée onion and add tomatoes and basil. Add chicken broth and cook for 5 min on medium heat
With a strainer spoon, take out all solid items (tomato, onion, basil) and run through a food processor
Add the mixture from food processor to the chicken broth and cook until it boils
Add S&P for taste
I like to add a dash of tobasco sauce for a kick
When serving, add a teaspoon of sour cream to the bowl, and some fresh dill

Tabasco Chicken Wings

2009-09-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Chicken wings are one of my most favorite comfort foods. Since this blog is all about quick cooking, thus comes this quick recipe for Tabasco Chicken Wings.

Time to prepare: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

4 pounds of chicken wings
3 tbls of olive oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped
salt & pepper
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup crumbled cheese (blue cheese preferred)
1 small onion
5 teaspoons of apple vinegar
2 tbls Tabasco sauce
cilantro

Directions:

Pre-heat onion to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine wings, olive oil, garlic, s&p. Arrange on a baking sheet, and bake for 25 minutes
In a bowl, create the sauce by combining; sour cream, mayo, chopped onion, blue cheese (melted), 1 teaspoon vinegar, tabasco sauce
Sprinkle the wings with remaining vinegar, and brush on the sauce
Serve the rest of the sauce as a dip sauce

Lemon zest - Eggplant dip

2009-09-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

It's September, and after a small break I am back to cooking and eating healthy. Eggplans are one of my favorite veggies to cook. There are just so many dishes you can make; side dish, main dish, salad. Don't be surprised to see more eggplant recipes on this site in the near future. With that said, here's the Lemon zest - Eggplan dip. It's a perfect dish that still has a big of a summer feel to it.

Time to prepare: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants
1 small onion
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 fresh lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic
2 tsp of mayo
cilantro

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees. Wash and prick the eggplants with a fork and set them on a large baking sheet. Bake in the over for roughly 30 min
Let the eggplant cool an then peal. Press and release the eggplant juices
Chop the eggplant and combine it in the food processor with garlic, onion, and cilantro
Transfer to a bowl and combine with lemon juice, mayo, and virgin oil
Salt and pepper for taste

Gluten Free Almond Blueberry Pancakes

2009-07-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

One of the new healthy trends is to stay gluten free. It has been shown that many people are actually allergic to grains, without realizing it. When we eat grains, we will bloated, heavier, slower. With this in mind, I've decided to explore recipes for foods we love, that don't include grains. This is how the Gluten Free Almond Blueberry Pancake was born.

Time to prepare: 20 minutes
Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour
3 eggs
3/4 cup fresh blueberries
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup kefir
2 tbls of olive oil

Directions:

Wip the eggs and add to flour. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, and kefir. Mix with mixer and add blueberries at the end.
Heat the olive oil on the skillet, use a spoon to add add mixture to the skillet

Summer Salmon Steaks

2009-07-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

In the summer time especially when it's hot, I try to minimize the amount of time I spend in the kitchen. I also prefer for the food to have a bit of that fresh and zesty flavor to it. Somehow eating heavy food does not seem appealing. This weekend, was one of those days. As I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner, the "Summer salmon steaks" were born.

Time to prepare: 20 min
Ingredients:

4 salmon steaks
2 small tomatoes
2tbls olive oil
1/2 sweet onion
dill
2 cloves of garlic
S&P
1 lime

Directions:

Preheat the over for 425 degrees.
S&P the steaks. Heat 1 tbls of olive oil on the skillet. Throw the steaks on the skillet. Cook for roughly 1.5min or until each side is golden brown, than flip to the other side
Squeeze the lime on the steaks, and transfer to an oven dish. Cook the steaks in the oven for about 7 minutes
In a bowl, combine tomatoes, minced garlic, chopped onion, s&p, dill and add the remaining olive oil.
When the salmon is ready, transfer on a serving dish. Cover the fish with the fresh salad from the bowl

The Zesty Pickle Salsa

2009-07-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

You may ask, why would one combine pickles with salsa, well pickles add the sweetness to this spicy recipe that give this salsa recipe a bit a kick

Time to prepare: 20min

Ingridients:

1/2 cup olive oil
2 serrano chiles, with seeds sliced
1 cup of thingly sliced white onion
1 tsp of garam masala
2 medium tomato, chopped
2 tbls of lime juice
S&P
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
4 kosher pickles, chopped

Directions

In a large skillet, heat the oil until smoky. Add the chile and onion and stir-fry over high heat for 30 seconds. Add the garam masala and stir-fry until the onion is crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Toss in 1 tomato and lime juice.
Transfer to a bowl and add 1 tomato, pickles, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cilantro. Serve hot or at room temperature

Stuffed mushrooms with goat cheese

2009-06-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

Time to prepare: 30 min

Ingredients:

16 oz mushrooms
4oz goat cheese
2-3 cloves of garlic
rosemary
salt & pepper
olive oil

Direction

pre-heat oven at 400 degrees
toss mushroom tops with rosemary and 1tbl of olive oil, add salt & pepper (I use very little s&p)
place mushrooms opening end up on a baking sheet
bake for 15-20min. you want the mushrooms to be brown
in a bowl combine goat cheese, remainder of the rosemary, minced garlic
when mushroom are ready remove from the oven
use a paper towel and dab the extra oils from the mushrooms
use a spoon and stuff the mushrooms

Heirloom salad

2009-06-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

This salad is one of my summer favorites. As soon as I see some heirloom tomatoes at the store, you're bound to find this salad at my house.

Time to prepare: 10 min

Ingredients:

3 heirloom tomatoes
1 clove of elephant garlic
1 mozzarella ball
basil

Directions:

Chop up the tomatoes in half circles
Slice the mozzarella ball thingly
Mince the 1 clove of garlic
Chop up the basil
Salt&Pepper
Add some olive oil

The Perfect Caesar

2009-06-03T07:17:00.001-07:00

Caesar salad is one of my all time favorites. Please note, since I am all about healthy cooking, I try to avoid using croutons when I cook.

Time to prepare: 10 min
Ingredients:

romaine lettuce
green onion (1 bunch)
chicken breast (or deli meat)

Dressing:

1 lemon
1/2 tsp mayo
2 tsp dijon mustard
1tbls olive oil
salt/pepper
1tsp white wine vinegrate
anchovies
2 cloves of minced garlic

Directions

combine all greens
add chicken (if you would like the meat version)
squeeze the lemon
in a bowl, squish the anchovies, combine olive oil/dijon/white vinegrate/mayo and mix together
add salt/pepper/minced garlic
mix dressing with salad

Roasted Asparagus

2009-06-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

Time to prepare: 10min
Ingredients: Asparagus/lemon/almond oil

Directions

Wash and chop off the bottoms of the asparagus
Place asparagus on the grill
As the asparagus is grilling brush over with almond oil
Turn the asparagus and brush over again
Salt and pepper while on the grill
Roast asparagus for roughly 5-7min
Once removed from grill sprinkle is fresh squeezed lemon or wine vinegrate

This is a very basic and easy recipe. It is one of my all time summer favorites.

Refresh Salad

2009-05-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

Time to prepare: 10 min

Ingredients:

3 cups of cole slaw cabbage mix
2 tomato
1 bunch of green onion
1/2 small onion

Dressing:

cilantro/dill
salt/pepper
1 tsp sour cream
1 tsp mayo
sprinkle vinegar (1tsp)
squeeze lemon juice

Directions:

mix all veggies in a bowl
create dressing
combine veggies and dressing

Spring Halibut Steak

2009-05-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

Time to prepare: 10 min
Time to cook: 12 min

Ingredients:

2 halibut steaks
3 garlic cloves
lemon
salt and pepper
dill
1tsp of olive oil
oregano/thyme/ or cilantro (fresh)

Directions:

wash and dry the halibut steaks
light salt and pepper
squeeze lemon over the fish
add minced garlic and dill
add oregano/thyme/or cilantro (I recommend using fresh herbs)
cover and put in the refrigerator for about 30min
warm up oven on broil
place the 2 steaks on a slightly greased pan
broil for 12min

Sautee Shrimp

2009-05-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

Time to prepare - 10min

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of shrimp (roughly 16 shrimps)- please note this is the larger types of shrimps
1 small onion
1 tsp of olive oil
lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic
salt/pepper/ chives

Directions:

clean the shrimp
chop the onion in small thin circles
heat the 1tsp of oil
add onions
add shrimps
squeeze lemon juice (half a lemon)
add 2 cloves of mince garlic
add salt/pepper/chive for taste
saute for 5 min

Broiled Salmon

2009-05-15T10:05:00.001-07:00

Time to prepare: 25 min

Zone breakdown: 1 blocks of carbs/1 blocks of fat/ (the image you see was 10oz of salmon and fed 3 people)

Ingredients:

1lb raw salmon
1 small onion
lemon
salt and pepper
dill
1tsp of olive oil
bbq soy sauce

Directions:

turn your oven to broil
spread olive oil and diced onions on the bottom of the baking sheet
wash and dry salmon/ place on baking sheet
salt/pepper the salmon
add dill to taste
squeeze 1/2 lemon
glaze the top of salmon with bbq soy sauce (use a glazing brush)
place in oven and broil for 20min

Blueberry muffins via Zone

2009-05-15T10:04:00.001-07:00

To help inspire me, my boyfriend got me the Zone cookbook. Typically, I am not a big fan of cook books and like to come up with my own idea and recipes, but in this case I thought that referring to the experts may be better.

I decided to make some blueberry muffins per the Zone recipe. After reviewing the recipe, I made a few alterations and here's my creation & recipe:

- each muffin will contain 1bl of protein/fat/carb
Time:

Prep time: 10min

Bake time: 20-24min

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups of oat flour (you can find it at whole foods)

4 1-ounce scoops of vanilla whey protein ( I used Whey Cool brand)

1 tbls of non-aluminum baking powder (you can find it at whole foods)

4 eggs

5 1/3 of oil ( I used almond oil)

2/3 cups unsweetened apple sauce

3tsp of vanilla syrup ( original recipe calls for 8 teaspoons of syrup)

1 cup of fresh blueberries

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350

Place cupcake paper cups in sheet ( I like to use the cupcake paper cups instead of greasing the sheet)

Mix all of the ingredients, except for blueberries ( I recommend mixing the dry and than adding the wet ingredients)

Mix it with a mixer than add blueberries

Use a spoon to pour mixer on to the sheet

Bake for 20-24min

Spicy Grean Beans

2009-05-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Time to prepare: 15 min

Ingredients:
• 4 cups of greens beans
• 1 chopped small onion
• 1.5 tsp of olive oil
• 2 tbs of soy sauce
• 1 tsp red chili sauce
• 2 clove of garlic
• handful of cilantro
• salt pepper
• lemon juice

Directions:
• mince onion/garlic/cilantro
• heat oil on skillet
• add onion and green beans
• saute for 5-7min
• mix sauce (soy sauce, red chili, lemon juice)
• add to dish
• add cilantro and garlic
• salt/pepper to taste