Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette from Lemonade LA

This is super delicious! Great on avocados.
I made some tweaks to the recipe from The Lemonade Cookbook, ISBN 978-1-250-02366-7

Here, I slathered it on a hard boiled egg:

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

ingredients

• 1/4 c lime juice (2-3 limes)
• 1 tb honey
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp salt

• 2/3 canola oil

• 1/4c cilantro leaves (I use 1c)

method

1. Blend first set of ingredients, 
2. Add oil slowly so it emulsifies, 
3. Add cilantro last, blend more. 
4. Store in jar in fridge.

My Most Easy Recipe

I call it the Hong Kong Scramble.

First, the backstory...

Dec 2003-Jan 2004. I was visiting Lisa in Hong Kong. She had a Nike Design HK contract job, staying at a long-term hotel with a double bed. She was lonely, and had a large meal stipend. All I had to pay for was my flight and any additional shopping (all, she says, haha).
The room came equipped with a microwave and mini-fridge. We usually had dinner leftovers.

Lisa went to work fairly early and I loved waking up slowly, sipping TenRen Tung-ting Oolong tea and looking out the window at the fabulous view.

I would make a super simple breakfast adding an egg to the leftovers. Indian Curries were especially accepting to this method.

Hong Kong Scramble

1. Put stewy leftovers in a bowl (curries, rajas, mash potatoes, creamed spinach, etc).
2. Stir in an egg or two.
3. Cook in microwave for 1 minute. 
4. Remove, stir again.
5. Cook for another 30 seconds+ (as needed)
6. Enjoy!

Here's a Hong Kong traffic movie to watch while you eat your scramble:

Linking up with
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

Social Distance Picnic in Ojai

Anita, Severo, and I took a field trip to Ojai, for fresh air and hiking. (Hike link).
Then, naturally, we were hungry.

Originally, we were planning to go further north to Santa Barbara and get takeaway from La Super Rica. Sadly, LSR is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (thanks COVID), so we scrambled for an alternate. I had assigned Severo Yelp duty, but all he fixated on was finding Rajas con Crema, which he found, in Oxnard - no help.
I advocated for a picnic in Libbey Park and we ended up finding some delicious food at The Nest.
We ordered off the (limited) online menu, waited under a shady oak, then took our lunches to the park.

Anita sat at a separate table to social distance.

Our food:

• SMOKED SALMON CAESAR SALAD

greens, crispy capers, sourdough croutons, pickled onion, soft boiled egg + almond caesar dressing

• CRISPY BRUSSELS

maple, apple cider vinegar, dijon, hemp seeds + sunflower seeds

• BAO BUNS

pork belly, fermented chile aioli, pickled veggies, serrano, green onion, cilantro + squid ink buns

It was delicious! And the park was so peaceful!

Korean-Style Meatloaf

This is an adaptation of Kay Chun's Meatball recipe for NY Times Cooking (my favorite online recipe source. No ad overload!)

Meatball photo as placeholder

Korean Barbecue-Style Meatloaf

Heat oven to 350 degrees

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground beef (round or chuck)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup chopped scallions
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt - omit if using regular soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup breadcrumbs or panko
• 2 tb sesame oil
• 3 tb ground garlic/ginger stuff
• 2 tb gochujang [didn't have yet]
• 2 tb siracha

PREPARATION

1. Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray
2. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients, gently mix.
3. Shape the meat into the pan.
4. Bake until interior reaches 160º about 40 minutes.

A Photo a Week Challenge: Just for Fun

What am I doing for fun these days?

I'm stalking safety cones!

That guy is doing a great "Tony Soprano getting his newspaper in his bathrobe" impersonation.

What am I doing with said captures?
I Waterlogue them!

Waterlogue is a super fun app that converts photos into watercolors. Worth every penny!

See more of my Safety Cone Series on Instagram. I try to post a new one every day.

Linking up with Nancy Merrill's Photo a Week Challenge

A Photo a Week Challenge: Peaceful Place

I love the poppy fields in the Antelope Valley west of Lancaster, CA.

This year, the Poppy Reserve is closed (thanks COVID-19) and the situation is not at all peaceful. There are mobs of people without masks (a current CA strong suggestion) wandering willy-nilly into the blooms from the side of the highway. 

I wouldn't be surprised if a road block is soon deployed.

Anita and I (in our social distancing separate cars) stopped about a mile west of the Reserve and found a piece of peace and quiet.

The Reserve has an active webcam -- it's very relaxing!

Visit https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2020/04/16/a-photo-a-week-challenge-peaceful-place/ to see what she and others are sharing about their “peaceful place” this week.

"Don't Call It Fruitcake" Bites

A recipe adapted from NYT Cooking, Good Fruitcake by Amanda Hesser
To quote Amanda:

The ridicule that most fruitcakes face has everything to do with bad recipes, which skimp on fruit and load on the batter. In a good fruitcake the batter should barely be perceptible, acting merely as adhesive to bind the fruit and nuts. Broken down into its parts, a good fruitcake contains ingredients that most people love: plump dates, candied cherries, almond extract, pecans, walnuts and sugar. And when it comes out of the oven, it is showered in whiskey. This is by no means an inexpensive cake to make, and that is largely why it became a traditional gift. It is a cake that you wouldn't make for yourself. It is a treat.

Well, why NOT make it for ourselves? We could all use a treat these days.
My special challenge is that my big oven is broken. I'm baking in a toaster oven.
I halved Amanda's recipe and didn't bother with the last step (didn't have ingredients).

Mixing. I got that electric beater from my grandmother in 1976 or so.

I used an ice cream scoop to pack the dough mixture into the cups

Maybe a bit too crispy on top, next time I'll cover with foil at 30 minute marker.

"Don't Call It Fruitcake" Bites

YIELD 11-12 small "cupcake" size bites

INGREDIENTS

• 11-12 cupcake or souffle cups (depends upon size of muffin pan)
• 8oz pitted Medjool dates or 12oz dates coated with walnuts, chopped 
• 20oz total assortment of dried fruit, chopped  suggested: apricots, cherries, raisins, papaya, figs, prunes
• 1/2 cup chopped candied orange peel

• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon double acting baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• 2 eggs
• 1 tb brandy
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cup shelled pistachios
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup shelled pecans or walnuts

• White corn syrup
• ⅓ cup Armagnac, bourbon or whiskey

PREPARATION 

• Heat oven to 275 degrees. 
• Coarsely chop dried fruit, final measure (dates plus others) is 3 cups. 
• Combine fruit in a bowl with orange peel. 
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. 
• Sift this over fruit. With your hands, toss to coat. 

• In medium bowl, beat eggs until frothy. 
• Beat in sugar, then almond extract. 
• Pour over fruit. 
• With wooden spoon, mix well. 
• Fold in nuts, mix until coated with batter. 

• Divide mixture into paper cups, packing the cups solidly - fill in open spaces. 
• Bake for about 65 minutes, until tops of bites look dry but not brown. 
• When bites are done, let stand for 5 minutes.
• While bites are still hot, brush lightly with corn syrup. 
• Let cool 30 minutes, then spoon Armagnac on tops. 

If not eating right away, wrap bites in plastic wrap. They will keep for two months in refrigerator. 

If storing, sprinkle with more Armagnac an hour before serving.

Mushroom Bread Pudding

I first found the concept for this recipe from Susan Spungen in the NY Times Cooking website, as a suggested side dish for Thanksgiving. I wasn't totally pleased with the results and searched for another version. Which I found. But I have no record of where I found it! Here it is on Chowhound! Thank you Google Chrome!

It's pretty much an exact copy of the Chowhound recipe, with a few minor tweaks.

Mushroom and Gruyere Bread Pudding

ingredients 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, minced (or small onion)
5 cloves garlic, minced
marjoram, rosemary
6 cups mixed wild mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 cup brandy sherry, or mirin
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1½ cups heavy cream
2 eggs
1 cup grated gruyère or other cheese

1/4 cup chives
6 cups cubed bread: brioche, challah, anything soft

method

• Preheat oven to 350˚F.

• Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with butter or PAM.

• In a large pan, add the butter over medium high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the shallots and    cook for 2 minutes, until the shallots begin to soften.

• Add the garlic and herbs and stir for 30 seconds, until the garlic is fragrant.

• Add the mushrooms and brandy and cook for 6-8 minutes, until cooked down.
  Season with salt and pepper.
  Reserve the mushroom mixture off the heat.

• In a large bowl, Whisk the eggs and cream.

• Add the challah and stir until fully incorporated. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

• Add cheese and reserved mushrooms and stir until fully incorporated.

• Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is browned and custard is baked through.
Let cool for at   least 15 minutes before serving.
Top with chives.

Linking up with Shelbee on the Edge