You say Bok, I say Choy

Sorry, ladies and gents, but I did not do any cranberry cheffing last week. After coconut milk curry on Saturday, I ate curry leftovers Sunday and Monday, went out for Indian food with Sarah Michelle and Brandon on Tuesday, and went to my parents' house Wednesday (eating leftover Indian food) in order to get up early to prepare Thanksgiving for six on Thursday. Friday and Saturday I was with Kevin + family + friends in Marin/San Francisco. But! I did help bake cranberry bread for Thanksgiving. Alas, I have no pictures or recipe. Nevertheless, the show must go on!

This week the ingredient is: Bok Choy! And I made salad.

I got the original recipe from cooks.com, but I adjusted the ingredient amounts as seemed about right at the time, so I will do my best to guesstimate how much of everything I actually used. I think the topping was a bit heavy (too many nuts and sesame seeds!), so maybe half that.

~ Bok Choy [Sans]-Noodle Salad ~

• cut up 1 head of bok choy (about 1 inches apart) and set aside in a bowl
  
• cut up 1 bunch of green onions and set aside
• saute in 2 Tablespoons of canola oil (recipe calls for butter, but that seemed excessive for a salad):
  - 1/2 cup sesame seeds
  - 1 cup cashews
  - 1 cup slivered almonds
  - chopped green onion (improv)
  
• mix this in with the bok choy
• for dressing, mix together (very well -- the oil isn't very friendly!):
  - 1/2 cup olive oil
  - 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (original: 1/2 cup vinegar)
  - 1/4 cup soy sauce (addition)
• drizzle the dressing on the salad and stir well
• [the recipe called for breaking Ramen noodles up by hand, but I decided it was already crunchy enough without that]
  

[1/160 sec, f/5.0, ISO 400, 63mm, with flash]
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While grocery shopping today for the missing ingredients, among other edible necessities, I spotted a pre-marinated teriyaki salmon fillet. This not only looked and sounded absolutely delish, but it would go well with my salad. So I grilled this as well. Using the same pan that I saute'd the salad fixings in, I heated 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, then grilled each side of the fillet for 5-7 minutes each, flipping regularly. I cooked the bottom first so I could peel off the skin easily.

Yum!

[1/160 sec, f/5.0, ISO 400, 48mm, with flash]

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Give them a Twist, a Flick of the Wrist!

So a week or two ago, while browsing my Facebook news feed, I noticed some commotion on Sarah Michelle's wall about hunting down rhubarb. It sounded like a fun little scavenger hunt/pot luck, so I voiced interest. Apparently she and a few friends started a weekly event called the Iron Chef Blogger Challenge, where every Saturday night, someone announces an ingredient (and, optionally, a rule; for example: "no pies" for the first week's ingredient of rhubarb) and everyone has 1 week to cook something using that ingredient and then post a blog about it. The ingredient for this week is coconut milk, and it is my first week participating.

I browsed the nets at work earlier this week looking for what to make. I decided on Sugar Snap Pea & Shrimp Curry [cooking.com]. I also decided to make risotto to go with it, a modification of a chicken risotto Kevin and I made the weekend he came up for my birthday. I know it's mixing genres a little bit, but I don't see why not -- it is so tasty!

~Sugar Snap Pea & Shrimp Curry~

• heat 2 Tablespoons of canola oil in a large skillet [let me stress large!]
• add 2 Tablespoons of curry powder and cook for 2 minutes
• add 1.5 lbs raw shrimp [I cheated and used cooked shrimp]
• add 1 lb sugar snap peas, trimmed [I don't know how much 1 lb is, so I used about 2 cups]
• cook for 4 minutes
• add 1 cup coconut milk
• add 1/4 cup lemon juice
• add 1/2 teaspoon salt [I just grinded some over top]
• bring to a boil and cook for ~2 minutes

[1/160 sec, f/5.0, ISO 400, 63mm, with flash]
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~Chicken Risotto Sans Chicken~

• melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in a skillet [I used margarine this time around, and it tastes fine]
  
• add 1 clove of garlic, minced
• add 1 cup rice [you're supposed to use a special kind but I just use sushi rice]
• saute until the rice is browned
• add 1 teaspoon basil [or whatever looks right]
• add 2 cups chicken broth
• bring to a boil
• reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes [or until the rice is tender and moist and delicious looking]
• top with sharp cheddar cheese and stir in so it melts
• add sliced mushrooms [this was my addition since I removed the chicken part]

[1/160 sec, f/5.0, ISO 400, 105mm, with flash]~*~

This recipe was really fun for me, because I am not a very experienced cook. It was really easy, too! I botched the planning of the simultaneous cooking, even though I knew the risotto would take much longer. Sauteing the rice was a cook time I neglected when planning when to start the curry. This wasn't too big of a deal, except the curry was meant to be served and eaten immediately "to keep the snap peas crisp." Honestly, it just made the snap peas lose color by the time I was ready to serve and eat, but it still tasted good! Overall a very filling and tasty meal =)

[1/160 sec, f/5.0, ISO 400, 105mm, with flash]
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Here is what everyone else made:

• Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce and Cilantro Rice
• Coconut Scones
• Indonesian Coconut Chicken
• Thai Coconut Soup
• Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, Leek and Coconut Milk Soup
• Brazilian Soup and Pan de Coco
• Basil Chicken in Coconut-Curry Sauce

Next Week's Ingredient: Cranberries!
How festive! The rule is: no making cranberry sauce. Hmmmm, I'm not the biggest fan of cranberries, so I'll have to look around for something to like.

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Fallen Star

I drove up into the Los Altos Hills last night to watch the beginnings of the Leonids meteor shower.

Even driving up 280, I saw a few from my car. I found a really nice lookout that didn't have too many trees blocking the view. I was freezing, more noticeably so with Kevin so far away instead of cuddled under a blanket with me, but I still stayed out stargazing rather late. There weren't TOO many -- it hadn't hit the peak yet for California, and I no doubt would have seen more a couple hours later towards dawn, and tonight -- but I got a few good wishes in on a few spectacular ones. Either way, it was peaceful, and beautiful.

I really missed living somewhere you can see the stars.

[f/3.5, 30 sec., ISO 1600, 28mm]
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