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Sunday, April 13, 2014

Sriracha for days & faux-asian recipes

There are a lot of things I wish I were better at in terms of blogging. Like actually updating my blog, for one. Another vital skill that I lack: photography. Not only am I a less-than-stellar picture-taker, I rarely remember to even attempt to snap a photo, especially when I'm preparing food. There are two reasons for this: my knowledge of my photography handicap and my tendency to leave my phone and ipad out of the kitchen for fear of splattering food particles all over them. I definitely need to work on being neater and steadying my hand.

Onto the point of that spiel. I've actually been in the kitchen a bit more frequently testing out new simple recipes that I've thrown together, largely based on my craving for Srirarcha.
This is me
I made up a large batch of red quinoa this week to experiment with, and ended up making quinoa "fried rice" with all of it because it was so craveable. I even got my mom and sister's boyfriend to try it and enjoy it. Win. Especially since it's the easiest, quickest recipe ever and amounts can easily be adjusted to serve one or several people, as a side or main course for a meal.

Quinoa "Fried Rice"

  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 diced celery
  • large handful of sugar snap peas
  • 1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 diced red bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup - 1 cup cooked red quinoa
  • low-sodium soy sauce, to taste
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • black pepper
  • Sriracha, to taste (I recommend liberal application)
  • 1 - 3 eggs 
Saute garlic, celery, and sugar snap peas in a large non-stick frying pan on high until soft. Reduce to medium heat and add red pepper, quinoa, and seasonings. Reduce heat to medium-low and add eggs one at a time, stirring constantly to incorporate into the quinoa mixture. Top with more sriracha and enjoy!

I actually served this with some baked marinated chicken and a side of balsamic asparagus. Such a good meal.

Another super simple non-recipe that I toyed around with this week was egg drop soup. Guess I'm craving eggs, too, huh? After being sick last weekend, I was really craving soup, but didn't want to make a big batch...voila! Egg drop soup!

Definitely Non-Traditional Egg Drop Soup

  • 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 - 3 tsp low-sodium soy sauce (I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos)
  • 1 clove crushed garlic
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • cayenne pepper, to taste
  • salt & black pepper, to taste
  • Sriracha, to taste
  • 1/2 diced celery
  • 3 medium radishes, sliced thin
  • diced scallions
  • 3/4 cup sliced white mushrooms
  • 2 large handfuls fresh spinach
  • 1 egg and 1/4 cup egg whites
Add all ingredients except spinach and eggs to a saucepan and bring to a boil, cooking until celery is soft. Reduce heat to a simmer and add spinach to cook through. Remove the pot from heat. Crack in one egg, stirring the entire time to get those stringy tasty egg bits (yum!). Do the same with the egg whites, or another egg, pour it all into a bowl, and dig in.
Like I said, my photography skills are nil. That lighting is repugnant. The soup, however, was awesome. 
I've also been utilizing my air popper on the reg and toying with some new popcorn toppings. My favorite so far? Sriracha, cayenne & black pepper, and sea salt. 

Have I mentioned that I LOVE Sriracha?

Speaking of sriracha, I stopped by AS220 last night, a non-profit organization in Providence that services troubled youth, hosts small concerts, and has an amazing FOO(d) menu and bar. They regularly infuse their own vodkas with some unique ingredients (cinnamon sweet potato clove, anyone?). To my surprise and delight, they happened to have a pineapple sriracha ginger infused vodka, which I had to sample. The flavor was spot-on sriracha. Kudos to AS220 for the successful infusion!

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