food + music

Red Beans and Coconut Rice

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 23:07:17 -1000

A really quick, cheap, and simple recipe I made for dinner tonight because we’re on a budget. It came out pretty delicious and fragrant. I added baked chicken to give it more protein but instead you could add a second can of beans if you prefer. :]

Ingredients:

1 can unsweetened coconut milk

1-2 cans red kidney beans

3 cups cooked white rice (tip: 1 cup uncooked makes 3 cups cooked in my rice cooker!)

salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Preparation:

cook the rice fully

mix everything in a large pan or wok

simmer everything until the rice has absorbed all the coconut milk

Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites Saw Skrillex live...

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:14:10 -1000

Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

Saw Skrillex live Saturday night and pretty much melted my brain. If you like this song, I’d check out more of his stuff. He finally released his first album and hes already ridiculously popular. It was probably the biggest event I’ve been to yet, and it was amazing.

(Fried) Spam Musubis

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 15:15:00 -1000

Spam musubis are pretty much a daily thing where I live. They’re cheap (spam, rice, seaweed), they’re tasty & salty, and they’re real easy to make. If you don’t have a musubi mold, you can make a ghetto one like we did by cutting the bottom off of a spam can!

Ingredients:

2 cans of Spam! If you’re not from Hawaii you can probably find it in camping food supplies or near the corned hash.
3 cups cooked White Rice
Nori aka seaweed that you can get in big square sheets at your local Asian food market.
Shoyu aka soy sauce to taste
1 pkg fine panko aka Japanese bread crumbs, also found at an Asian food market.
1 egg

Preparation:

Making the musubi:

Start cooking your rice either by the directions on the bag or with a rice cooker.
Open your can of Spam and let the block of meat slide out. Slice it (top-bottom style) into ~1/4” slices, larger or smaller as you prefer. Heat a skillet with a splash of shoyu and brown the spam slices on both sides.
Pull out a sheet of nori and cut it in half, one piece of nori makes 2 musubis. Either using an actual musubi mold or your cut spam can, place it over the center of your nori sheet which should be the same height as your can.
Pack in rice about 1/4 of the way up the can, packing it down tightly with a fork. Place a piece of spam over the rice and put more rice over the spam. Press it down firmly so it all sticks together and then, using your fork to hold it steady, slowly bring your mold up. Wrap the edges of the nori around the rice block and use a dab of water to make the edges stick together.
TIP: If your nori doesn’t fit all the way around, next time use less rice!

To deep fry it:

Crack open one egg in a small bowl and whisk. Pour about 1 1/2 cups of panko into another bowl. Heat a little oil in your frying pan. Roll your musubi in the egg and then the panko and place in the pan. Cook until the panko starts to brown a little and it isn’t runny or egg-y anymore.
Set aside to cool for a little bit before eating. To store extras, place in a tupperware and put a damp paper towel over top of them all. If you don’t the rice dries out and gets crunchy and gross. :]

Credit for the spam-can-mold idea goes to: http://momofukufor2.com/2010/04/spam-musubi-recipe/

Been on a Pink Floyd thing recently. :] I learned how to play...

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 14:59:19 -1000

Been on a Pink Floyd thing recently. :] I learned how to play this song wayyy back when I took Guitar1 in high school. Good stuff.

Apfelstrudel

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 17:52:00 -1000

I’m making apple strudels for my German101 class tomorrow because we’re having a end of the semester party and we have to bring something to eat. Anyway, this is a pretty easy recipe that cuts out making your own dough (which I hate to do) by using filo dough you can get in the freezer section of your grocery store!

Ingredients:

3 regular sized apples chopped into small (maybe 1/4 inch) cubes
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp water
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
9 sheets filo dough, thawed
1/3 cup soft/melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preparation:

In a saucepan, simmer water, flour, and half the sugar, and your chopped apples to create the filling. Once the apples are getting a little less crispy, remove from heat. Stir in nuts, and half of the cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, mix remaining sugar and cinnamon. Place a sheet of thawed filo dough on your work surface. Brush with butter and then sprinkle with your cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat until you have layered and coated 9 sheets of filo.
Spoon apple filling across one long end of the filo leaving a 2 inch border along the sides. Brush the edges of filo with butter, fold in the sides and then roll the filo so that it encloses the apples, brush with butter to seal. Coat the entire outside of the roll with butter as well.
Place on a cookie sheet, cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until its golden and crispy. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes, move to wire rack to cool.

You can hurt me. I can hurt you. But you better be sure Before...

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 10:59:44 -1000

You can hurt me.
I can hurt you.
But you better be sure
Before you leave me
For another one.

Hooverphonic’s first hit single video “2Wicky”. I can’t make sense of the lyrics but the melody is beautiful and the video is interesting to watch.

Coconut Pecan Pie

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 18:21:52 -1000

I had a huge craving for pecan pie after thanksgivings. And then pecan pie began showing up around me everywhere. The characters in my favorite TV show (Fringe) were eating it, the grocery store was selling slices of pie, and even one of my friends mentioned wanting pie… So I had to. And damn, it was so yummy.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 & 1/2 cup pecans, crushed
pie shell (unbaked or graham cracker)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Mix sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt, and eggs in a bowl until its mostly blended.
Add in coconut and pecans. Continue to mix until its even.
Pour into the pie crust, bake for 40-50 minutes until the crust is cooked and the top pecans are dark and toasty.

This tastes better cooled down so be patient! :]

Watching this video gives me goosebumps, Bassnectar is SO sick....

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 18:13:14 -1000

Watching this video gives me goosebumps, Bassnectar is SO sick. I really hope he’s at EDC2011.

Ratatouille

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 23:29:00 -1000

If you’ve ever seen the Pixar movie Ratatouille, you know where this recipe is from. Its really healthy, super flavorful, and pretty easy to make. I make mine with all veggies but you can stir in some precooked chicken before you bake it if you want the protein.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped up
1 eggplant, sliced
2 bell peppers, sliced
1 onion, chopped into 1 inch chunks
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup fresh basil (you can use 1 tbsp dried basil instead)
2 tbsp vinegar
4 oz cheese (I recommend goat cheese, but you can use your favorite)

Preparation:

Heat the oil at medium heat in a large wok or skillet, add garlic and onion and cook until they’re soft and fragrant. Add the eggplant, peppers, zucchini, and basil. Cook for 5 minutes.
Turn heat to low, cover the veggies, and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the veggies are soft.
Take the cover off and let the liquid evaporate for 10 minutes. Add vinegar and salt/pepper to taste.
Heat oven to 350 degrees, spread the ratatouille in a pie or glass dish. Sprinkle with your choice of cheese and bake for 20 minutes. Devour. <3

This song makes me warm & fuzzy inside. :] If you have...

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 23:13:30 -1000

This song makes me warm & fuzzy inside. :] If you have someone who you care for a lot, listen to this and think of them. Its a good feeling.

Roasted Asparagus

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:32:00 -1000

I figured since my first recipe was a little difficult and long, I’d do a quick and easy one this time. These are really easy and delicious for a snack or complement to a meal.

Ingredients:

1 bundle of asparagus
1 - 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Wash the asparagus and chop of the fibrous ends (about 1-2 inches from the bottom).
Lay the asparagus on a baking pan in a single layer and sprinkle olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper over them. Roll the asparagus so they’re evenly coated.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until they’re soft at the ends when you poke them with a fork. Let them cool and devour. You can dip them in butter or drizzle with lemon juice but they’re delicious as is as well.

This is Pendulum: The Island (Pt.1) off their new album...

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:34:00 -1000

This is Pendulum: The Island (Pt.1) off their new album Immersion. An old school d&b band gone d&b/dubstep hybrid. This song is more on the d&b side but if you take a look at the other songs on this album, you’ll see what I mean. I think this album is way better than their old stuff. In the previous albums all the songs sounded the same and on Immersion every song is intricate, interesting, and beautiful. <3

Meat & Rice Stuffed Tomatos

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 14:40:00 -1000

Ingredients:

1 cup rice, or enough to make 2 cups cooked rice
4 large tomatoes
1 tsp olive oil4 large tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 pound meat (I used chicken but you can use shrimp too)
1/2 cup hot water

Preparation:

start cooking the rice and set it aside
cut off the tops of the tomatoes and scoop out the insides, saving the tops. I did this by using a knife to cut around the inside of the tomato to loosen the guts, and then scoop them out with a large spoon. Save about 1/2 cup of the tomato guts.
in a large pan, heat the olive oil and add the chopped onions and cook for 1 minute. Add the minced garlic and saute for another minute. Lastly, add the 1/2 cup of tomato pulp and cook until all the liquid evaporates (about 5 minutes).
Mix the rice, onion mixture, feta, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and meat until its well blended. Gently scoop this mixture into the tomato shells and place them on a baking sheet and replace the tops of the tomatoes. Pour the hot water into the dish around the tomatoes so they dont dry out when baking.
Place in the oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, serve warm.