the kitchen radio

Potato and Mushroom Gratin - Falling Into You

2009-08-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

What a perfect day for this! Rainy and cold, this dish lit up our evening! Sliced new potatos, pan fried mushrooms

A sauce made from cream, rosemary, and pepper. Layer it in a pan with parmesan and cheddar.

Bake with foil on top for 45, then remove foil and let brown nice and crisp. YUM. Heated me up through and through.

Cooking/Prep Time: 1hr
Song: Falling Into You - Sugarland

Activities during cooking: Discussing Veronica Mars

Lox Cornmeal Crepes - In Pieces

2009-07-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

Usually we only eat crepes as a dessert, with a ton of ice cream and chocolate sauce. Tonight we decided to try something different. I say 'we' but please read 'me'.

Cornmeal and rice flour crepes are easy to make! Cornmeal, rice flour, eggs, honey, milk and a bit of butter. Fry them up and YUM.

I filled them with herb cream cheese, lox, avacado and capers. Let me tell you, delicious!!

Cooking/Prep Time: 0.45hr

Song: In Pieces - Linkin Park

Activities during cooking: Ipod

Polenta Pizza Surprise - Teardrop

2009-07-29T07:02:00.000-07:00

A fantastic gluten-free alternative to pizza dough (not that there aren't great mixes on the market, believe me we have a doozy in our cupboard) that's easy and makes really great mini pizzas....POLENTA! It's something new we've recently discovered and often wonder "why didn't we find this before??"

Polenta, in case you also are in the dark, is a sausage looking cornmeal substance that comes in many flavors (garlic, peppers etc) and can be sliced and used in MANY dishes including things like lasagna or fries. Look for it at the grocery store. Apparently it's been there all along!

For the pizzas we sliced the polenta, stacked them with our fav toppings, and cooked for 10 minutes. instant YUM.

Cooking/Prep Time: 0.15hr
Song: Teardrop - Massive Attack
Activities during cooking: Watching the Listener

Shish Ka Bobs - In Between

2009-07-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

Easier than they look!

I chopped up some veggies into big chunks, marinated for an hour in a honey garlic sauce (VH-all celiac friendly!) with pepper and salt.

Then, stuck them on skewers and cooked at 325'c for 20 minutes. YUM.

Cooking/Prep Time: 0.35hr
Song: Linkin Park - In Between
Activities during cooking: Watching my sis babysit on the trampoline.

Hablano Peppers - Love In One Shot

2009-07-22T19:43:00.001-07:00

Easy, spicey, delicious! Grab a bunch of fresh Hablano peppers from the grocer, along with some cheese (fancy cheese is nice!) and a regular pepper. Chop up the cheese into cubes and dice the pepper. (And any other veg you think would be good. Mushroom are sometimes a good idea!

Slice the peppers along the top, then disect it along it's middle. (See pic) Pull it gently apart and cut out the middle and seeds. Then stuff with cheese, veg, a little bit of spice (I used cajun) and VOILA.

Cooking/Prep Time: 0.35hr

Song: Love In One Shot -The Higgins

Activities during cooking: Talking about work

A Great Review!

2009-07-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning to Peter Broderick "The Path to Recovery" on my i-touch, and a nice surprise in my mailbox! Kebabs, kahwa and more did a really nice review on our blog! I have to say, I'm really liking his blog as well! Great pics, nice variety and witty commentary. Enjoy!

SPAM...and not from a can...

2009-07-22T07:04:00.000-07:00

After being totally spammed multiple times I've decided to moderate all comments. Apologies to those true blue commentors, but I'm really tired of deleting tons of spam. I don't even LIKE spam.
-Crystal

Apple Cider Butternut Squash - Da Doo Ron Ron

2009-07-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

Perfect for fall! Mix up some butter with rosemary in a pan...let it simmer and flavor. Then add the cubed squash and cover it with 1-2 cup apple cider (pure). Let it boil, then simmer until it thickens and reduces. It should be kinda syrupy and very sweet! Apparently you can mix it with apple cider vinegar or balsamic, but I didn't try it. Enjoy a sweet tang!

Cooking Time: 0.45hr
Song: Da Doo Ron Ron - Crystals
Activities during cooking: Christmas Music!

Eggplant & Garlic - Evergreen

2008-10-29T20:03:00.001-07:00

For a simple eggplant dish! Take a couple small eggplants and cut off the tops and slice in half. Insert garlic slices into cuts in the eggplant skin. In a skillet/pan/wok toast up some garlic in oil, then toss in the eggplants. Let them brown on the bottom, then add 1 cup water and some salt and cover to let boil. Leave until all eggplant is soft and cooked. Drain water and let them cook until golden.

If you want more of a spicy taste, toss in some cajun spice or chili flakes when you first start the dish. Otherwise, enjoy the buttery soft and sweet taste of eggplant!

Cooking Time: 0.75hr
Song: Evergreen - Barbara Streisand
Activities during cooking: Bloggin'

Zucchini Fritters - A New Soul

2008-09-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

Not exactly easy on the labour, but definately worth it!
Grate up some fresh zucchini to start. Then mix up, in a seperate bowl, egg yolks, cheese, pepper flakes and a bit of flour. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then stir them and the zucchini all together. It's like a batter really, which you then spoon onto a hot frying pan and flatten.

When it's brown on one side you flip it over (it doesn't exactly flip nice and neatly however) and do the other side. In the end the taste was FANTASTIC, and reminded me of a really fancy omelette. The brown toasty bits were divine. Definately a new favorite.

Stuffed Peppers the Easy Way - Mamma Mia!

2008-09-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

When the parents come over, you must impress!! So we had stuffed peppers, but without the work!

Heated up some peppers and broccoli with garlic and oil, added cooked rice and mixed it up. Some pre-browned hot sausage and fresh cut tomatoes added last. Instead of actually stuffing the peppers, I layered the bottom of my glass baking pan with orange peppers cut lengthways in half. I then spooned the filling into it, stuck it into the oven for 20 minutes, and waited for the compliments!

It's a Sushi Party! - It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

2008-08-19T21:27:00.001-07:00

Another Sushi Extravaganza, this time featuring Gooseberries and Radishes! Some pics below.

Lemon, Artichoke and Ham Pasta - I Get A Kick Out of You!

2008-08-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Quite the zingy dish, this pasta holds all the good things in life!

I added pepper to my garlic and oil, sauteed it up nice. Then added in quartered marinated (drained) artichokes and chopped ham. The lemon and cream went in last, along with a scoop of ricotta cheese. As always, lots o' seasoning with more pepper, italian, basil and St. Galena (from a spice set we got in NYC).

Boiled it to reduce and thicken, then mixed in the pasta and served. We were out of parmesan, so shredded cheddar had to do. And it did! The lemon flavor really came through and thus we named it, I Get a Kick Out of You Pasta.

Cooking Time: 0.75hr
Activities during cooking: Chillin' with Sarah

song: i get a kick out of you - frank sinatra

All You Need Is Love and this fruit salad!

2008-07-09T06:43:00.000-07:00

A combination of hot weather and dental surgery meant fruit salad was on the menu!! Personally I can't have fruit salad without melon and pineapple. I also added some nectarines and kiwi. Now, feeling a bit like accessorizing, I decided to make a sauce to top it off with. My first choice would have been a maple type topping, but I was out of maple syrup (bummer). So I improvised. Grabbing the cream cheese and some honey, I added it to heated pineapple/mango juice and VOILA, a honey cream cheese sauce for on top. YUM.

Cooking Time: 0.5hr
Activities during cooking: Trying not to wake up Holly who was napping.

song: all you need is love - Beatles

Sweet Red Chili Salad - I Think We're Alone Now

2008-06-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

Needed something to bring to our Father's Day dinner and was assigned a veggy side dish. We decided to experiment (of course) with asparagus, red pepper, and sweet red chili sauce.

Simply put we sauteed asparagus and red pepper with several cloves of garlic, tossed in some red onion for a bit of bite, and seasoned with lots of pepper and a bit of lemon juice. Lastly, added in the sweet red chili sauce. Just before serving we tossed it with avocado.

Let me tell you, it was a hit. We're not alone now.

Cooking Time: 0.5hr
Activities during cooking: Eating an icecream float with strawberry icecream and 7up.

song: i think we're alone now - tiffany

love is a battlefield - asian tasters

2008-06-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

trying out a whole bunch of recipes, I made a plateful of asian tasters last night. this includes miso eggplant, miso soup with mushrooms, and sesame spinach salad. add in some edamame and avacado and BANG you've got a meal!

the eggplant was a simple chop and stirfry deal. (with garlic...mmmmm) mix in some chili pepper for zang.
the sauce is a combo of tamari, miso, broth, and a touch of sesame oil. something to be noted however, is to brown the eggplant a bit rather than just softening it.

for easy miso soup i heated broth and added miso and green onions. later on i stirred in some mushrooms and tofu cubes. i didn't want to over cook them so i put them in just before serving.

although not a spinach fan, i cannot get enough of sesame spinach salad! blanch some spinach in hot water for a minute, add tamari and sesame oil, top with some sesame seeds. voila. instant iron.

realizing that this meal was very salty (two miso dishes - usually i wouldn't do that but i was in the mood for some serious miso) and then adding in some sardines as well......BING...needed some avocado to balance out the palate. And of course, whats asian food without edamame?

in retrospect some rice with the miso eggplant might have balanced it out a bit as well.

arigato!

Cooking Time: 1hr
Activities during cooking: um...just cooking. staying sane with four dishes on the go!

song: love is a battlefield - Pat Benatar

Take A Bow Curry Vegetables

2008-06-12T20:47:00.000-07:00

We decided on zucchini, mushrooms, tofu and butternut squash as our vegetables tonight. Some green onions for zest. I like thick chunks in curry type dishes, so I chopped them up.

The sauce was an experimental thing. Yogurt (plain, non-fat) with chicken broth, and a whole hoard of spices including yellow curry, italian, lemon/garlic, and one we picked up in Grand Central NYC. Adding the onions, it became quite the affair. I realize afterwards that some honey or maple syrup would have helped counter the dry texture of the yogurt. Learn from my mistake.

For the meat lover (me) I tossed some chicken with the curry sauce in a frying pan with garlic.

The squash took some imagination, trying to get it soft enough without having to stirfry it for ages. In the end I cut it up and tossed it with oil and spices, then cooked in at 350" for about 10 minutes. Result? Soft and tasty squash! I added the squash and tofu in last to avoid them disinegrating.
Voila. Nutritious and delicious!

Cooking Time: 1hr
Activities during cooking: checking email

song: take a bow - Rihanna

see you again cream sauce

2008-05-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

Only the second time for this recipe, but lovin' it more and more every time. A light and tasty cream sauce with asparagus and red pepper!

Sauteed some garlic with oil, added the asparagus and pepper until tender. Then mixed in some spices and fresh oregano.

Added the cream, sour cream, and chicken stock. Let it simmer and thicken before adding parmasan for a cheesey taste! Some garlic and pepper spice and then, voila, sauce! Also cooked up some chicken with garlic for the top.

Used rice pasta, gluten free! Certainly one of our favorites now! Wish it had made more so there were more leftovers, sigh!

Cooking Time: 1hr
Activities during cooking: Hanging with Liz

song: see you again - cyrus

butternut squash and buble

2008-05-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

one of our favorite recipes: butternut squash pasta! With gluten free rice pasta, of course.

I cut up a small squash, tossed it with oil and spices (cajun, garlic, roast chicken) and laid it out on a pan at 450'.

Left it to sizzle, and when it was done blended it up with milk and chicken broth. It thickens beautifully, and is divine with parmesan on pasta. Alternately you can add peppers or other veg.

Cooking Time: 1hr
Activities during cooking: Painting

song: fly me to the moon - michael buble

Sushi

2008-05-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

The best thing about sushi is it's versatility. Almost anything can go in sushi, with any number of combinations. It's the best edible creative outlet.

Last night I made a whole boatload of sushi, using as my inspiration: Radishes, avocado, and kiwi.

Radishes always taste fresh and spicy, and might just be my new favorite thing.

I raided the fridge and gathered all my ingredients, cutting them in various shapes and sizes to make things interesting. This included green apple, tofu, red pepper, lemon shavings, bean sprouts and cucumber.

The tofu was heated up with teriyaki sauce for some flavor.

Mini Rice Balls with Toasted Asparagus

Below you can see an attempt at something different. Mini rice balls on sushi paper with garnish. I topped these guys with cucumber, waterchestnuts, sprouts, asparagus, (toasted with soyasauce and garlic) and lemon shavings. Green and yellow flavors.

Cucumber Dragon Rolls
White Water Rolls
Red Poison Clamshell Rolls

My main platter of sushi was a mix of three rolls.

The first is a variation of the dragon roll, with avacado on top and plum sauce inside. These are also rolled with tofu, cucumber and green onion.

The second row is tofu, avocado and red pepper topped with bean sprouts and green onion.

And the last one is a clamshell design (hard to see) using edge pieces of cucumber facing each other, and garnished with red pepper and lemon shavings.

Radish Rose Rolls

Radishes, gotta love em, topped the last set of rolls. These were tofu and avocado and also had water chestnuts and sprouts on top.

It appears I like to use a few ingredients in a variety of ways to make very different sushi rolls.

Mini Dessert Sushi Rolls

Not sure if I like them or not, yet they are beautiful and Holly certainly enjoys them! My dessert rolls consist of cream cheese and crisp green apple mixed with a variety of other fruit or jam.

I find dessert rolls go fabulous with a scoop of lime sherbet! A perfect finish to the meal.

Cooking Time: 2hrs
Activities during cooking: Holly (and me) watched Supernatural - Dean mowing the lawn

song: in the heat of the moment - aisa

the kitchen is open...

2008-05-22T13:14:00.001-07:00

until we finally get our own cafe on the corner of 4th NYC, this blog will have to suffice. full of adventures, music, and food-just two sisters creating culinary masterpieces. stay tuned for pictures, step-by-step instructions, what NOT to do and, of course, the perfect music to match.

-cheers
chef CM

must-have ingredients

2008-05-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

There are some things our fridge is never without. These are the staples to cooking, the ying in the yang, the bread to the butter, the heart of the kitchen..etc, etc, etc.

Cheese - must have! LOTS. Cheddar, old cheddar, parmesan, brie...pretty much any cheese. Toss is on pasta, in chili, with eggplant, nachos...pretty much anything. Well, you've seen the commercials, right?

Peppers - red, yellow and orange. The perfect veggies, IMO, colorful and tasty. They spruce up any dish, add zest and life to a stir fry, or stuff em full of rice pilaf. Great for sushi too!

Eggplant - eggplant and garlic. what more can i say? oh yeah, eggplant parmasan...ooooh yeah.

Rice - sushi, stir-fry, just plain. Rice is versatile and goes with everything!

Yams - yums! cut em up for yam fries with spicy cajun on top. cook em and load em up with parmasen and butter. roast em with spices and squash. orange little devils.

Sardines - always need a can of sardines (in fresh water) in the cupboard. Goes great with asian food.

the chef

2008-05-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

Short self-proclaimed chef living on a small island in the Pacific. Experimentation is the key, there is no recipe that can't be changed for the better! I love making sushi, eggplant parmesan, and butternut squash pasta. If I had a cat he would be named Rodney. I love art, reading, video games and thrift stores.