Well I've never been to Spain...

 but I kind of like the music...

But I digress. I've been tossing around the idea of retiring to Spain, which will take a few more years of working and saving if I can make it happen. In a group I joined about Americans in Valencia, I was pointed to Spain on a Fork and there's a growing list of recipes I plan to make from this fabulous site.

While perusing, I found many recipes for Spanish tortilla, which is only related to the tortilla one finds in Mexico and points south in that they are both round.

The Spanish tortilla is a potato omelette, massively versatile, and, to my surprise, surprisingly light tasting. There are several to choose from on the site. I went with this one because I love an excuse to eat Manchego cheese. 

Since my pan is smaller than the one listed and there's only one of me anyway, I cut the ingredients in half, though what is below is right from the site.

• 3 Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 large onion (I call a large onion 1 cup sliced or chopped)
• 2 cups tightly packed fresh spinach 120 grams
• 2 cups shredded Manchego cheese 470 grams
• 6 cage-free organic eggs 
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 85 ml
• pinch sea salt
• dash black pepper

1. Peel, wash and pat dry 3 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut each one into 4 evenly sized quarters, cut each quarter into 3 pieces and then slice into 1/8 inch (.3175 cm) thick pieces. (I used a mandoline for this and I highly recommend such)  finely dice 1 large onion, grab 2 cups of tightly packed fresh spinach and roughly chop, shred 2 cups of Manchego cheese, crack 6 eggs into a large bowl and season with sea salt & black pepper, whisk together until well combined
2. Heat a large nonstick fry pan with a medium heat and add in a generous 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil, after 2 minutes add in the diced onions and mix with the olive oil, after 2 minutes add in the pieces of potatoes and continue to mix, after 20 to 25 minutes and the potatoes are fully cooked through, start adding the spinach into the pan, add in batches to not over-fill the pan, mix the spinach with the potatoes so it wilts, once all the spinach has been incorporated and wilted, turn off the heat, season everything with sea salt & black pepper, mix so the seasonings are evenly mixed
3. Add the potato mixture into the bowl with the eggs, add the 2 cups of shredded Manchego and mix everything together until well combined, at the same time, make sure to heat the same fry pan with a low to low-medium heat
4. Once well mixed, add the mixture into the pan, make sure everything is in a single layer, after 2 minutes run a spatula through the outer edges to ensure the mixture is not sticking to the pan
5. After 4 to 5 minutes it´s time to flip the tortilla to cook the other side, add a plate that is a little smaller than the pan into the pan, place one hand over the plate and the other hand on the handle, make the flip in one swift motion, slide the tortilla back into the pan, push down on the tortilla to ensure everything is evenly divided and then using the back of a spatula, start compacting the tortilla through the outer edges and into the middle, this gives it that classic rounded edge
1. The flipping was not as difficult as I thought it might be. Keep a firm grip on your plate and you'll be just fine.
6. After another 4 to 5 minutes the tortilla should be perfectly cooked, remove from the heat and transfer into a serving dish, enjoy!

I've made a few of these since. If I have a lot of veggies added like mushrooms and spinach, a 3-egg tortilla can give me three meals. 

Let me know your variations if you try this!

There's no food! There's just ingredients!

I'm sure more than a few of you have yelled that more than once. I do it frequently and this weekend I decided to do something about it. I considered making sous vide egg bites, but a) I am running low on room in my fridge and b) I wanted to stuff the freezer for the future and the jarred bites really should be eaten pretty quickly.

So, why not breakfast burritos? I first came across a breakfast burrito in 1989 in Albuquerque. I was moving for a job from Long Island to Prescott, Arizona. My friend Jason drove with me. He was great company. We mooed at a lot of cows, noted the frequent number of Yellow trucks, and I swear every time we changed states and found a new Top-40 radio station, the Bangles' Eternal Flame came on.

Anyway, our comment at the fast food joint was something along the lines of, "What the f*** is a breakfast burrito?"  Then I was in love. Warm, comforting, convenient, cheesy.

While I'm looking for a job, I'm keeping expenses down, so while I would have loved some chorizo, that will be for a later time. Instead, I grabbed a can of black beans. The whole ingredient list:

• 8 8-inch tortillas (mine came from The Tortilla Factory, and were bog-standard white flour)
• 6 eggs--taken out of the fridge a couple hours before I got going. Cooking with room-temperature eggs just works better.
• 1 can of black beans
• 6 ounces of cheddar, grated. Next time with the black beans, I will get pepper jack
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup green salsa that I found in the fridge
• 3 few shakes of Dave's Habanero Powder (I still don't remember buying this or getting it as a gift)
• 3 shakes of oregano  It might not have been Mexican oregano, but I don't think the Oregano Police are a thing.
• 2 shakes chili powder

A lot of the recipes I looked at had potatoes in them, but I've recently learned how to make Spanish Tortilla  (and I still need to blog about it) and right now, if I'm doing potatoes with eggs, this is how.

I drained the black beans and put them in the largest bowl I had, followed by the green onions, then the salsa, then the spices. Stirred well with a rubber scraper. I started the eggs and alternately kept an eye on the eggs (I always start my eggs in a cold pan on low, gradually increasing temperature to medium-low), and grated the cheese.

When I make scrambled eggs, I do my initial stirring with a whisk once they've been on a the heat for a few minutes. That will usually pull some nice big curds off the bottom. When the mix is about 50/50 curds and runny egg, I switch to a silicone scraper and gently fold them over once in a while. You don't want to scramble them too much. Once I felt they were done, they got stirred into the bowl with all the other goodies.

If you look away from this blog entry when you're making it, please make sure you read this part: Use warm tortillas. They are much more flexible. I zapped mine individually in the microwave for 30 seconds between paper towels. No tearing whatsoever. 

Also this: use a little water (just brush it on with your fingertip) to make the parts of the tortilla stick together when you're folding and rolling.

I spread out my silicone baking mat, lay down a tortilla and put about 1/3 cup of the mixture on the bottom third, and pulled up the bottom like a tab (there's only one of me, I can't take pics of me folding a burrito). Then just like wrapping the sandwiches  I used to make for my school lunches, I folded the sides over so all the filling was kind of in a pocket and then rolled, wetting the top  before I finally sealed it. I let them sit seam-side down while they cooled, then individually wrapped them in parchment paper before bagging and freezin.

My most sincere apologies. I did take pictures, but they came out twelve kinds of terrible.  The burritos themselves are kind of cute and rather trapezoidal. I had enough for 8 burritos and one taco, which was breakfast.

If you try this, please let me know!

Cue the Kinks: Avocado Toast and a bit about eggs

Hi everyone. Today's entry is unplanned, mostly because one of the most important ingredients isn't where I want it yet. On the other hand, it's a fine breakfast, so why not share?

I am not what you'd ever call a dedicated follower of fashion, but I do like variations of avocado toast. My version for breakfast this morning:

• One ramen egg (soft boiled, marinated in soy, mirin, dashi, sake, rice vinegar) (comments about the egg below)
• Chopped 1/2 of a ripe (ha!)* avocado
• Soy sauce
• Hot sauce
• Toasted slice of your favorite bread (optional)

It's a damn fine breakfast if you ask me. It's filling, it's flavorful, and there's a mix of textures so it's interesting to eat. I don't always bother with the toast--that depends on how hungry I am. I've also considered putting this over a small amount of rice, but I haven't tried it yet.

About the egg:

I love ramen and I've tried it multiple ways in multiple places. Several of my friends get an invitation once a month for a Ramen night and we always have a great time. This has been going on (minus lockdown, of course) since 2014. The members of the group have changed, and it's not always the same group at the same time, but there's always fun, food, and drinks.

Ramen eggs, if you haven't experienced them, are unique and fabulous. The correct name is ajitsuke tamago and they are soft-boiled and marinated. I have seen recipes for all kinds of marinades and I haven't found one or improvised one that I am completely happy with.

The texture, where you have a solid, but soft white without a trace of a rubbery feeling, and a yolk with a texture that you could describe as feeling like a rich custard or your favorite jam, I do have down. That is thanks to Ivan Orkin, who is an interesting human and has a chain of restaurants. My birthday has been spent at Ivan Ramen more than once. If you have a big appetite, I recommend the triple-pork-triple-garlic, which is hugely delicious, but I can't finish even if I fast for two days prior.

Anyway I was searching with various terms for the recipe and several pages into the search engine I found this blog entry from Rowley's Whiskey Forge. While I didn't love the marinade recipe when I tried it, boiling the eggs for six minutes and ten seconds is pretty much perfect! When I have a marinade I like, I'll post a full entry.

Happy noshing!

*Yeah, I know. It is really hard to find that 15 minutes when an avocado is perfectly ripe.

More winter comfort food: Oyakodon

Last nights dinner is something I was wary about trying to make myself, but the cravings got too strong and the delivery options at Paradox Place do not include something that looks or tastes by what follows.

Oyakodon translates as 'parent-and-child-rice-bowl,' something I was pleased to learn several years ago. When I lived on the West Side, there was a place that delivered them, and it was love at first bite. It was a frequent dinner until I moved to the other side of the island.

The chicken is simmered with onions in a savory broth, and then an egg is gently cooked with the chicken and the whole thing is served over rice. I lifted this one whole from Just One Cookbook, and I already have two more recipes from this site lined up.

Oyakodon

For two servings (you'll be making these one at a time, unless you have two pans you can use at once)

• 2 chicken thighs, cut into 1.5" (4cm) pieces
• 1/2 large onion, sliced
• 2 large eggs (you'll beat these separately)
• 1/2 Cup dashi (available in Japanese food stores. I have concentrate that I keep in the fridge. It's a useful thing for adding umami, but I digress)
• 1.5 Tablespoons mirin
• 1.5 Tablespoons sake 
• 1.5 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1.5 teaspoons of sugar
• 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice.
• Mitsuba for serving (or green onion, which is what I used this time)
• Shichimi Togarashi for serving (I think this seven-spice blend is one of the most fabulous things on the planet)

I make my rice on the stovetop--living in a studio means I don't have space for a rice cooker, though there's a microwave one I have my eye on. Once I got it simmering, I got started on the oyakodon.

Namiko Hirasawa Chen does a good job of writing recipes, in my opinion. Very easy to follow, very clear. 

• Combine dashi, mirin, sake, soy sauce in a bowl or a liquid measuring cup.
• Add sugar and mix all together until sugar is dissolved. Depending on the frying pan sizes, you may not need all the broth. You can keep the leftovers in the refrigerator for 3 days.
• Thinly slice the onion and chop mitsuba (or green onion). Beat one egg in a small bowl (you will need to beat another egg when you work on the second batch).
• Slice the chicken thigh diagonally and cut into 1.5" (4 cm) pieces. I recommend using “sogigiri” cutting technique so the chicken will be equal thickness and create more surface area for fast cooking.
• Divide your ingredients in half
• Add 1 serving of the onion to your pan in a single layer. Pour roughly ⅓ to ½ of the seasonings mixture (depending on the size of your frying pan, the amount may vary). Pour just enough sauce to cover the onion.
• Add 1 serving of chicken on top of the onion. Make sure the onion and chicken are evenly distributed. Turn on the heat to medium heat and bring to a boil.
• Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low heat. Skim off any foam or scum if you see. (I didn't have much at all) Cover and cook for about 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and onion is tender. (My stove took 6 minutes or so)
• Taste the broth and see if you need to adjust. Slowly drizzle the beaten egg over the chicken and onion. Cook covered on medium-low heat until the egg is done to your liking. Usually, Oyakdon in Japan is served while the egg is almost set but runny.
• Add the mitsuba (or green onion) right before removing from the heat. Transfer the chicken and egg over the steamed rice and drizzle the desired amount of remaining sauce.

I used a bit too much broth in mine, but the rice absorbed it quite nicely. 

Two-for-one special or Kate makes Greek-inspired recipes

Some people go down YouTube bunny trails and suddenly find that they've lost a few hours. I'm more likely to do that with my favorite fictional universe's wiki ('favorite' here meaning 'whatever I'm consuming at the time'), and I'm also highly likely to do this when looking for recipes.

The last time I did this, I found a recipe for avgolemono, a soup I've seen on many a Greek menu, but never tried. For some reason, this weekend seemed to be the perfect time to try it, and this recipe worked like a charm. It was easy, and tasty, and felt nourishing even as it felt light.

Ingredients

• 7 cups chicken stock (I used store-bought, 4 cups low-sodium, 3 cups regular. I am considering switching out a small amount for some vegetable broth for a bit more depth, not more than a Cup, more likely half of one. Alternately, I could make my own stock again. As soon as I have room to store it. Ha! #studioliving)
• 1 cup orzo pasta
• 3 eggs
• Juice of 1 large lemon (this worked out to about 1/4 Cup)
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Lemon slices, to garnish

• In a large pot, bring the stock to a boil. Add the orzo and cook for five minutes. Turn off the heat. (if you have an electric stove, also move it to another burner).
• In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until frothy, then add the lemon juice and one tablespoon of cold water. 
• Very slowly stir in a ladleful of the hot chicken stock, then add one or two more. With the heat still off, add the egg mixture to the pot and stir well. 
• Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately, garnished with lemon slices and fresh herbs

I was nervous that the stock was still going to be so hot it cooked the eggs when I added the first ladleful, so I gently shook the ladle over the egg mixture with one hand and kept stirring with the other. This seems to have done the trick. I hadn't grabbed fresh herbs when I went out to get lemons, so I kept it simple and added some dried parsley.

It was delicious and I managed to keep myself from eating it all. I did have a couple accompaniments. Half a pita and some hummus and a red pepper/feta dip.  (note: I used a food processor)

I'd made the dip before following a recipe that I didn't bookmark, but I wanted to play around a little. I'm only going to be able to give you approximations for starting. This is a taste you want to customize. 

• 6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• approx 8 ounces roasted red peppers from a jar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup Calabrian chiles  in oil (also from a jar). I didn't drain, de-seed, or de-rib them.
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano (which totally got lost)

Put everything into the mixer's bowl. Mix/blend until the color is consistent. Add peppers in small amounts until you achieve the balance of flavors you like. Service with pita or pita chips, and sliced cucumbers. A few olives on the side aren't bad either.

A couple notes:

If you don't have the chilis in oil, add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. If you're using a stand blender, I recommend putting the peppers in first so the cheese doesn't all clump around the bottom and clog the blades. I'd also advise using the pulse function and scraping the sides often. I didn't get a picture of the dip, but I'll be making it again soon, I'm sure. Maybe I'll make hummus again too, it's been a while.

Studio Living and I Refuse to Make Boring Salads

I got out of the habit of eatings salads when I had braces years ago. The greens would get caught in my teeth, which was a bit embarrassing and made it a bit hard to eat.

I almost always have a deficiency of vegetables in my diet. One of the ways I get them if by putting things on a bed of spinach. Today, I went for a spinach salad with steak. I complicated things and expanded cooking time, by using the immersion circulator, but I"ll skip that part until almost everyone has their own way to sous vide. A lot of InstaPots have that attachment, for example..

Ingredients for one serving:

• 3 or 4 handfuls of raw spinach, washed, drained, dry, washed again. If it's adult spinach, tear it a bit. If you have a clamshell package, about half will do.
• 4 oz steak, cooked to your liking (you can serve it warm or cold)
• 3 large mushrooms, sliced (I used crimini, white ones work just fine)
• 5 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 hard-boiled egg
• 2-3 Tablespoons of thinly sliced red onion or shallot
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon of your favorite vinegar. Balsamic doesn't work here, it will overwhelm the bacon. I used a white tarragon vinegar that needed to be used up
• 1 teaspoon mustard. I used dijon.
• Pinch of sugar
• Salt & pepper to taste

Cut/slice/chop your vegetables first. This will make assembly easier. Once that's done, set them aside and start cooking your bacon Move it to paper towels to drain. Reserve one Tablespoon of the bacon fat. Put the bacon and the fat in whatever container you use to make salad dressing (I recommend a glass jar  like one for pasta sauce or wide-mouthed tea bottle).

Cook the steak to your liking (I go for rare). Let rest while you make the dressing.

In your dressing vessel (say that five times fast), add the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and sugar. If you're using a bowl, whisk thoroughly. If you're using a jar, cover the jar with its lid tightly and shake it for 30-60 seconds. Taste and adjust as needed.

Arrange spinach on a dinner plate. Slice your steak and put it on top of the spinach. You can serve deconstructed (egg, onion, and mushrooms set in little piles on top of the spinach) or add the other ingredients with layers. Or just scatter everything about. Give the dressing another whisk or shake, and pour on the salad. 

I don't make this often, but I really should. It's filling, it's tasty, there are lots of different textures, and it's full of produce. Win all around!

A Make-Ahead Breakfast Muffin

I'd heard of egg muffins before and I've had baked eggs. These seemed a good idea because I tend to be in a rush in the morning before work, and these reheat in 30 seconds, are satisfying to chew and are filling too.

I came across this recipe (hat tip to the author!), and immediately thought of ways to improve it to my tastes. I also made half a recipe because I wanted to make sure I would like them before I committed to using a dozen eggs.

So the base recipe is

• 6 eggs
• 6 ounces of your favorite breakfast meat
• 2 ounces cheese 
• 1/2 Cup of chopped onion
• 3 teaspoons of water

I used 2 bun-sized sausages that had habaneros in them, and a sharp cheddar cheese. Instead of shredding the cheese as the original recipe said, I cut it into small chunks. This way we got a bigger taste of gooey cheese in some bites. To go with the habaneros, I put in a teaspoon of dried cilantro and 1/4 teaspoon of oregano. The herbs got lost, I'm afraid. I blame the habaneros.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. If you don't have an oven thermometer, get one. Apologies for repeating myself, but I can tell you from experience it makes a huge difference. My oven is 50 degrees F cooler than what it says on the readout.

Lightly scramble your ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Using a 1/3 Cup measuring cup, spoon your egg mixture into your muffin tin (grease it lightly unless you're using non-stick or silicone). Do what you can to make sure your mix-ins are evenly distributed without making too much of a mess.

You might be wondering why I added water to the recipe. The idea was to keep the eggs moist while baking and to make the texture lighter by also having steam help cook them. I think it worked pretty well.

Bake the muffins in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes. You'll also be able to see the muffins start pulling away from the edges of the tin, and if you insert a knife it will come out clean or with only a little moisture on it..

Put the muffin tin on a cooling rack for about ten minutes. Remove your muffins and serve. We had them with yogurt as a dessert , but the damn raspberries I bought on Friday went a bit off, so the yogurt was plain. You could also serve these with a side of fruit, or if you're not in a rush, a potato of some kind.

I got some good feedback from Nexx, which is always nice, and I have some for quick breakfast this week before I get on a crosstown bus. I live in the Theatre District, sometimes referred to as Midtown West, and the ride to where I work, which is near the United Nations, is a tad annoying. A full stomach will definitely have me in a better mood.

I plan on trying some variations. Manchego, onions, bacon, and rosemary. Possibly bacon, potato, onions, and cheddar. Right now, I'm staying out of the kitchen because Nexx is threatening to make flan.

Cheers!

In which Kate ruminates on egg salad

The first time I saw egg salad was probably in the sandwich of one of my elementary school peers. I thought it looked absolutely disgusting. I was not that fond of mayonaise anyway I still rarely use it. I have had jars of may go bad in my fridge from non-use. Turkey sammiches after Thanksgiving and tuna salad is about it. Anyway, and it just didn't appeal at all.

I love eggs. I make omelettes that I've had some fabulous feedback on. Nexx, who doesn't like scrambled eggs, gobbles them up when I make them. I've made a lovely green chile quiche (and lost the damn recipe, I will have to look into that). I've never been overly fond of cold eggs, though. I usually don't eat deviled eggs either. Call it a quirk.

But, once you've figured out the exact amount of time you need to make yourself a boiled egg, there is nothing like it. It's a simple thing, totally self-contained. You can, if you wish, simply peel, salt, and eat.

I took to making warm egg salads a couple decades ago. I didn't want to spend the fussing of making an omelette, and I wanted something simple and comforting. I soft-boiled the egg until the yolk was just set. Since your kitchen and your altitude are guaranteed to vary. I am not going to tell you how to boil an egg. I can tell you a story about a relative who needed a cookbook to fry one, but it's a short story and more sad than funny.

I've mushed an egg with the yolk not quite set with with black pepper and crackers and that was quite delightful. I've since moved on to various combinations of mushables. If you have some ideas let me know. Here are some of mine.

• hot sauce. One favorite of mine is called Jump Up and Kiss Me. Cajun Power garlic sauce is also awesome here.
• Sriahcha. Rooster power!
• Curry powder and minced onions (figure about 2 teaspoons of mince onion per egg. Curry powder to taste)
• Dried basil and parmesan cheese with a dab of olive oil (almost like pesto)
• Cheese, onion, and mustard. I have five kinds of mustard in the fridge, but some dry hot Chinese mustard in the cupboard. My sweetie has asked me not to buy any more for a while.
• Dried rosemary and crushed garlic (because I am lazy and keep garlic in a jar on hand)

Crackers are not necessary, though toast could also be delicious if you wanted to treat a warm egg salad as a spread. I tend to treat my egg salad as a dip and scoop it out of the bowl with the crackers. My current favorite crackers and made from lentils and corn. The brand name escapes me. I wouldn't go with too buttery of a cracker, it might overwhelm the egg.  Nexx found the lentil crackers in the gluten-free aisle and we find them delicious, though neither of us is medically required to avoid wheat.

If you try some these, let me know how you like them, or how you improved them!

and happy new year!