Not a favorite salad

Seems like I am functioning in a low ebb of culinary capability. Tonight I impulsively bought bok choy for the first time and made a fresh vegetable salad for dinner. I truly thought it would be good: boy choy cabbage, mushrooms, broccoli, chopped raisins, and roasted sunflower seeds with a dressing of plain yogurt plus cinnamon.

The first clue I had that my family didn't like it was the slow progress through the food on the plate. The confirming moment came when Guy sprinkled Kelly's salad with soy sauce -- and she still insisted on eating in (very slowly) rather than ditching the contaminated mixture and refilling her plate with the original concoction.

A promise of yellow seedless watermelon was the key to maintaining peace at dinner. Ah, well . . . maybe tomorrow will bring new inspiration.

I chose not to immortalize this failed salad recipe in a photograph.

Quark update

Well, I tried a recipe for quark for a reliable source. As it turns out, I had to begin substituting ingredients (lowfat buttermilk for whole buttermilk) and cooking temps (200 degrees Fahrenheit for 150 degrees Fahrenheit) from the very start -- due to the inventory at my local grocery and the capabilities of my oven. The resultant quark, although edible, was disappointing in color (tan, not white), texture (dry, not moist), and overall appearance (rather yucky, not creamy).

So, I will start a new batch of quark in the near future, using corrected ingredients purchassed from a grocer farther away, temperature controlled by a small appliance, and paying more heed to the recommended cooking times.

I will report further when results are in . . .

Rotel hamburgers and fruit salad

It started out simply. Kelly decided to make Rotel* hamburgers. Easy.

She mixed Rotel tomatoes with:
hamburger meat,
garlic powder,
red pepper,
salt and black pepper.

Meanwhile, I helped out by broiling the hamburger buns

Kelly shaped hamburger patties and browned them in the skillet. Then she added the juice from the Rotel tomatoes and enough water to simmer the meat until done.


Meanwhile, I forgot the broiling hamburger buns. They scorched.
I started over, broiling a new batch.


















* Rotel tomatoes are a spicy canned tomato product manufactured by Conagra. Click the link to read more about them.


Kelly served the hamburgers with a fruit salad of fresh grapes and tomato wedges. (The tomatoes were vine-grown, hydroponic, from Canada -- so ok'd by the FDA to eat raw.)


Delightful !

cube steak with Asian vegetables

We had an appreciation dinner for Sherman, who was leaving for a summer job in another part of the country.

Dinner was austere, but yummy!

The main course was cube steak with Asian stir-fry vegetables.


Very simple to prepare because the steak is thin and mechanically tenderized:

• Brown the cube steak on both sides in a large skillet.

• Add a little water (about a cup or so) and simmer until the meat is cooked to taste.
  

• While the meat is cooking, quickly microwave a package of frozen Asian-style stir fry vegetables.
  

• When the vegetables are cooked, add them to the meat in the skillet.
  

• Mix together and heat through.

• Serve cube steak topped with the stir fry vegetables and broth. Season with soy sauce or steak sauce.
  

Enjoy!

green bean taco

*recipe*

Steam or sautée until tender:

fresh, trimmed green beans

Break one egg per serving, into a bowl and mix the eggs thoroughly.


Heat in a skillet:

vegetable oil, enough to scantly cover the bottom of the skillet

Pour beaten eggs into skillet and fry as a large omlette.

Sprinkle:

cooked eggs with shredded cheddar cheese.


Assemble by layering, then folding:

one soft flour tortilla

one serving of cheese omelette

spoonful of cooked green beans

Serve with ranch-dressing on the side.

Ersatz beef stroganoff 2.0

So . . .




Ersatz beef stroganoff was well-enough received that I tried a different variation on the theme the next day.

*Recipe*

Ersatz Beef Stroganoff 2.0

Ingredients

Ground beef
onion
yogurt (ersatz replacement for sour cream)
rice (ersatz replacement for wide egg noodles)
oil
mustard

Saute

ground beef and onions in large skillet or until onions are transparent.

At the same time, cook in separate covered saucepan until all water absorbed and rice is fluffy:

1 part rice
2 parts water
1 tsp oil

After rice is cooked, turn off the heat and let saucepan stand covered.

Reheat skillet with the browned meat and onions.

Add

mustard and yogurt to the meat mixture.
Warm thoroughly, but don't boil. Remove skillet from heat.
This is the sauce.

Serve

rice onto plates and top with the Ersatz Beef Stroganoff 2.0 sauce.

Delicious!

Ersatz beef stroganoff 1.0

I suggested making beef stroganoff for dinner and got a wide range of responses. The majority favored the notion, with the following comments:

"Don't use onions! I can't stand them!"

"I hate the meat! Can we have it with only noodles and sauce?"

and

"We're out of noodles!"

• 
  

Ahhhhh, the sweet inspiration of Ersatz cooking!

Ersatz (German) means a substitute or replacement for the real thing.

Ersatz cooking is to cook your best using strictly what is on hand -- without getting too hemmed-in by the deficiency of ingredients in the pantry.

We speedily composed two recipes on two consecutive nights (see companion recipe- ersatz beef stroganoff 2.0, posted below):

First recipe:

ersatz beef stroganoff 1.0

Ingredients

patties of ground beef (instead of pan-fried strips of steak)
hamburger buns to match (instead of noodles)
onion slices
pickles (ersatz for onions for non-onion-eaters)
mustard (ersatz for sour cream sauce)

Instructions

Cook hamburger patties in skillet
Assemble hamburgers with mustard, pickles, and onions

Serve.

• 
  

Maintain a good attitude about aspiring to cook beef stroganoff!

It is the thought that counts!