larder

Cork Screw Pasta With Chicken And Vegetables In Curried Coconut Cream

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Leftover pasta. What to do with it ?
Usually, most folks just pop it in the microwave with a bit of sauce (or ketchup?? ) 🙂
Or maybe cook it up in a pan with some eggs ?
How about doing this easy, sexy beauty next time !
I had some left over pasta and roast chicken in the fridge from the previous day, and of course there is always some type of veggie in the fridge and coconut cream in the larder, so this wonderful tasty and pretty dish basically crawled together by itself 🙂
It took a mere few minutes to prepare and was truly delicious and satisfying. Definitely better than “microwaved leftover pasta with ketchup” ! 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Cork Screw Pasta With Chicken And Vegetables In Curried Coconut Cream

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: saute julienne from 1ea large onion and 4 ea large scallions, cut into 2 inch stick, in 2 tblsp ghee

: add 3 tblsp curry powder, 1 tsp granulated garlic, 1 tsp cumin, a pinch of grated ginger,1 tblsp garam masala and kosher salt to taste, leftover cooked chicken, about 1 leg or one breast per person (this was a whole chicken, so this whole dish will serve 4) ,saute until fragrant

: add 1 can coconut cream

: bring to a simmer

: add 1 medium head of cooked, cut into large roses cauliflower and 20 ea grape tomatoes, simmer until veggies are heated

: (this could be eaten as is, served over rice)

: add 1/2 lb cooked pasta. simmer until pasta is hot, check/adjust seasoning; (if the texture is too thisk at this point, thin with milk or yogurt)

: Cork Screw Pasta With Chicken And Vegetables In Curried Coconut Cream

: Cork Screw Pasta With Chicken And Vegetables In Curried Coconut Cream

: Cork Screw Pasta With Chicken And Vegetables In Curried Coconut Cream

: Cork Screw Pasta With Chicken And Vegetables In Curried Coconut Cream

: Cork Screw Pasta With Chicken And Vegetables In Curried Coconut Cream

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Pasta Pearls, Bok Choy, Mollejas And Chillies In Ginger/Tamarind Broth

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Before you make a long face at the Mollejas (Chicken Gizzards), pls know that you can easily replace them with any other part of the chicken, such as breast, wings, tighs, etc. If you are not in the mood for chicken, many other proteins will work just as well, such as beef, pork, shrimp, or any other seafood, or just add more veggies of your choice.
However, if you love mollejas as much as I do, this soup will surely find a special place in your heart 🙂
In my opinion, the mollejas fit perfectly with the other ingredients, but as usual, use what you prefer, what you can afford or whatever you have in your larder that seems to fit the dish.
If you look at the pictures and try to immagine the taste of it, you’ll know that the main attraction is the Ginger/Tamarind Broth, the pasta pearls and the bok choy, everything else is just icing on the cake 🙂

Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Pasta Pearls, Bok Choy, Mollejas And Chillies In Ginger/Tamarind Broth

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: cook the bok choy in salted water with 1 tsp chili flakes – submerge the stems first for 1 – 2 minutes (depending on the size), then turn on its side to simmer the leaves as well

: simmer for 30 seconds more, drain and discard the water, place bok choy into ice water

: in 2 qt of chicken stock, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1/2 tsp grated ginger, 1/2 tblsp sugar and 5 to 10 scallions (depending on the size), seasoned lightly with kosher salt and chili flakes,simmer 2 lbs mollejas until tender but still with a slight bite, ca 2 hours (some mollejas are tougher than others), remove and discard the scallions, (there should be about 1 qt remaining, otherwise adjust by reducing or adding more stock), season soup with 1 tblsp toasted sesame oil and chili oil to taste

: remove the bok choy from the water, sqeeze out as much water as possible

: cut bok choy lengthwise into quarters

: add the boc choy to the soup, bring to a simmer, remove from heat at once, check/adjust seasoning

: bok choy……..

: bok choy and mollejas……

: add feshly cooked pasta pearls (Israeli couscous), add the broth and a few finely sliced chillies

: Pasta Pearls, Bok Choy, Mollejas And Chillies In Ginger/Tamarind Broth

: Pasta Pearls, Bok Choy, Mollejas And Chillies In Ginger/Tamarind Broth

: Pasta Pearls, Bok Choy, Mollejas And Chillies In Ginger/Tamarind Broth

: Pasta Pearls, Bok Choy, Mollejas And Chillies In Ginger/Tamarind Broth

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P.S.
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This dish is part of my upcoming meal plan # 2 –
“HANS’ LIGHTER, HEALTHIER COMFORT FOOD” – MONTH TWO
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Click here for
“HANS’ LIGHTER, HEALTHIER COMFORT FOOD” – MONTH ONE

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No Name Soup

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This delicious soup follows the popular “whatever I find in the larder” principle. 🙂
Today, I found beef bones, mushrooms, canton noodles, eggs, cabbage, chinese sausage and fried shallots, which, together with a bit of time for the broth, is all you need to prepare this tasty delight.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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No Name Soup

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: simmer 5 lbs beef bones SLOWLY in 3 qt water, season with 1 tblsp garlic paste, 1 tblsp chili paste, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp grated ginger and kosher salt to taste for two hours or until reduced to 1 quart

: strain broth through cheese cloth or coffee filter (optional); check/adjust seasoning

: meanwhile, cook 8 0z egg noodles, drain, rinse

: toss egg noodles with 1 tblsp toasted sesame oil

: stir fry 6 oz sliced chinese sausages and 4 oz fresh shiitake mushroom in 1 tblsp peanut oil until sausage starts to brown at the edges

: add 8 oz cubed white cabbage and 1/2 bunch chopped cilantro

: add 1 qt beef broth, simmer 1 minute

: divide the noodles between 4 soup plates or bowls

: top the noodles with 1/4 of the soup, garnish with fried shallots, chopped cilantro and 2/2 boiled eggs ; recipe serves 4

: No Name Soup

: No Name Soup

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Fiery Midnight Snack – Chilli-Noodles With Seafood And Egg

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Here is the thing – if yo are able to use anything fresh in preparing food – not frozen, not canned, not otherwise preserved – that’s usually the best way to go (although not always).
But, as I have mentioned before, we are not always so lucky as to have access to fresh, unprocessed food. Then, it is my honest opinion that as long as you use good quality preserved food, you will be able to prepare great dishes – just don’t skimp on the quality of the ingredients.
Having said that, if you have a well stocked larder and freezer, you are ready to prepare a wide variety of wonderful dishes without being a slave to store opening hours and store offerings.
Last night for dinner I shared a prosciutto sandwich with Bella at around 9.00 pm. Usually I can withstand any temptation of more food after that time of day, but while setting up to watch a great movie (A simple Plan) , hunger struck me with all its nasty temptations, (Bella of course is always in that state) :-), so I decided to whip up something fierce and satisfying for the both of us.
My larder revealed (among a lot of other goodies) rice noodles (Bánh phở), canned octopus, canned anchovies and canned mussels. In the freezer I had some leftover homemade lobster balls and a bag of titi shrimp. Together with fresh chilies, scallion and onions as well as garlic paste, grated ginger, chili paste, chili oil and sesame oil, this made for a very fiery, very satisfying midnight snack which, after the end of the movie, motivated Bella and I to go on a 1,5 hour early morning walk from 2.30 am to 4,00 am. Life is good !
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Bon Appetit ! Spice-up your Life !
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Chili-Noodles With Seafood And Egg

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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How to cook rice noodles:
Place rice noodles in a deep bowl. Bring a good amount of water to boil. Pour the boiling water over the rice noodles until they are completely submerged. Stir the noodles to prevent from sticking. Check often to see if they’re cooked through. This will take 1 – 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the noodles. Once the noodles are tender, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Toss them with a bit of sesame oil to keep the noodles from sticking to each other if you’re not going to use them right away. If you use the noodles in a stir-fry, under-cook them or they will become mushy. If used for soup, you can cook the noodles straight in the soup.

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: steep noodles in boiling water, drain, rinse with cold water

: whisk whole eggs with kosher salt

: saute sliced onions until light brown, add chopped anchovy fillets, saute until anchovies are dissolved

: add garlic paste, grated ginger, fresh chillies, scallions, saute until fragrant

: push vegetables to the side of the pan, add eggs

: cook eggs until set

: add noodles, kosher salt, chili paste and chili oil, stir to mix

: add seafood, stir to mix

: check / adjust seasoning

: Chili-Noodles With Seafood And Egg

: Chili-Noodles With Seafood And Egg

: Chili-Noodles With Seafood And Egg

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Bragging Alert !!! Best Turkey-Leftovers Sandwich – Ever !

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It is my firm believe that leftovers should be as good as the original dish it derived from. Yesterday I prepared this sandwich and I am convinced that not only is it the best left-over turkey sandwich, but also one of the best turkey dishes overall, period 🙂
I usually prepare other dishes from leftover turkey since most turkey sandwiches I ever came across are boring and tasteless at best and at my house during times past the only leftover turkey would be white meat, which I can live without.
So, yesterday I had a nearly insatiable graving for a good sandwich, because on the previous evening I made the mistake of buying two “Vietnamese” sandwiches at a newly opened place, “546 bánh mì café” at 6461 Stirling Road, Davie. I was looking forward to a good sandwich but was bitterly disappointed. I had 3 different sandwiches with different meat fillings, all three were completely tasteless. The clerk asked me if I wanted chillies and of course I said yes. When I got home, I found one !!! thin slice of chili in one of the three sandwiches. The meat was mostly tasteless and their contribution to Vietnamese food was the addition of a few spritz of maggi seasoning. (Which I am fond of). But the most disappointing thing was the portion size. Although the bread was of a nice size and of great texture, the amount of filling was laughable small. Granted, the sandwiches are very reasonably priced, but I’d rather pay a bit more and have a decent sized sandwich.
Fazit: Once is enough 😦

But back to the sandwich at hand : After I ate my three sandwiches (shared with Bella), I was still hungry and started to fantasize about eating a “real” sandwich the next day. The featured sandwich is what I came up with. I loved it so much that I will add them to my favorite dishes 🙂
Of course, you can substitute the turkey with chicken, beef, shrimp or any other protein you fancy and happen to have at hand, but the turkey leg meat was just perfect. Also, I had a bottle of “salsa de aji amarillo” in my larder which added that special touch of flavor and spiciness.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
If you don’t have “salsa de aji amarilo”, make a substitute by blending mayo, yellow peppers, salt, garlic, scotch bonnet peppers and turmeric (for the bright yellow color). For hot dishes, replace the mayo with heavy cream. Few folks will be able to tell the difference from the original, especially the bottled stuff.

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