I happened upon twelve beautiful lamb loin chops at GIANT: original price $33.18, scavenged price $19.03. It was definitely time not only for my wonderful Spanish lamb chop recipe, but to make Voluptuous Vegan's Fennel, Orange, and Pomegranate Salad. (Second only to unveganing a vegan recipe is serving it with baby animal, since both please my warped sense of humor.)
Showing posts with label the organic scavenger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the organic scavenger. Show all posts
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Lazy Yakatori Steak
I defrosted a beautiful 1 3/4 lb. sirloin that I got on sale at Whole Foods for $6.99 a pound. I found this easy recipe for Yakatori Steak so that I could get one more go on the grill before it gets too cold, which I decided to make even easier by using red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice to save a step and not cubing or slicing up the steak to thread on skewers. Lazy!
With it I will grill salt and vinegar potatoes and local eggplant that I bought yesterday at Sonnewald. I'm very excited to get a chance to make the potatoes, though of course rice is the obvious (and lazier) accompaniment to the steak. La!
With it I will grill salt and vinegar potatoes and local eggplant that I bought yesterday at Sonnewald. I'm very excited to get a chance to make the potatoes, though of course rice is the obvious (and lazier) accompaniment to the steak. La!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Scavenged Chicken to Javanese Chicken Curry
This recipe for Javanese Curry Chicken that I downloaded in 2006 from the NYT is the one I finally chose. I will use dried kaffir lime leaves that I brought home from a Belfast Marks and Spencer back in May, and I got frozen chopped lemon grass and whole knobs of frozen galangal from the Asian grocery around the corner. I have cut the oil down from 3 to 2 tablespoons, subbed light coconut milk for regular, and removed as much skin and fat as possible from the chicken.
Note to self: cook more Asian food to use that grocery more extensively!
Javanese Chicken Curry (Opor Ayam) Adapted from NYT
Time: 1 hour
Serves 4 to 6
Per serving (@ 5 servings): 318 calories, 37 g protein, 1.2 g carbs, 16.8 g fat
Per serving (@ 5 servings): 318 calories, 37 g protein, 1.2 g carbs, 16.8 g fat
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
2 fresh cayenne or other hot pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
6 shallots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 piece galangal, about 11⁄2 inches long, peeled and roughly sliced (optional)
1 piece ginger, 2 inches long, peeled and roughly sliced
2 tablespoons sunflower oil (or other oil suitable for high heat)
2 tablespoons chopped frozen prepared lemongrass
2 pieces cinnamon stick
5 dried kaffir lime leaves
21⁄2 to 3 pounds skinless chicken legs, thighs or both (if possible, have thighs cut in half and knuckle cut off legs), patted dry
1.5 cups unsweetened light coconut milk (1 can)
3⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
1. In a small food processor, combine coriander, chili, shallots, garlic, galangal and ginger and process to a smooth paste, adding a tablespoon or so of water if needed. (Ingredients can also be chopped finely, then pounded together in mortar and pestle.)
2. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. When oil is hot enough to gently sizzle a pinch of paste, add all the paste and cook, stirring often, until golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat as needed to prevent browning.
3. Add lemongrass to pot with cinnamon and lime leaves. Cook 1 minute more, until cinnamon is fragrant.
4. Scrape paste to one side and add chicken to pot. Raise heat and brown chicken lightly on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Add 1 cup coconut milk, 1 1⁄4 cups water and salt, stirring well and scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered 40 to 50 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thickened. Do not boil.
5. Add remaining coconut milk and heat through. Taste for salt. Let cool slightly and serve.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Scavenged Top Round To Sesame Ginger Beef
I'm adapting this recipe for a beautifully reduced-price slab of lean organic top round I found at GIANT. (Original price: $7.14. Reduced price: $4.28) I started the brown rice, then made the marinade, and will cook the beef when the rice is almost finished. That means about 40-45 minutes marinating at room temperature, and dinner in under an hour!
Sesame Ginger Beef (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Serves 4
Per serving: 257 calories, 29.4 g protein, 7.5 g carbs, 11.7 g fat
1 pound round steak or other lean steak like sirloin
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (use something higher heat than olive oil)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
4 spring onions/ 1 shallot/1 small onion, chopped
1 bag frozen veg (stirfry mix = best)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1. Mix sugar, soy sauce, oil, garlic, and ginger in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Cut steak into strips and add to bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or leave out to marinate at room temperature for up to an hour.
3. Heat skillet or wok to medium high. Add beef with marinade, and cook till beef is just browned on all sides. Pull beef out, and add onion and frozen veg and cook till onion is tender. Put beef back in, add sesame seeds, and cook for two minutes more (or longer, if you want your meat more cooked--I like mine rare to medium-rare).
Sesame Ginger Beef (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Serves 4
Per serving: 257 calories, 29.4 g protein, 7.5 g carbs, 11.7 g fat
1 pound round steak or other lean steak like sirloin
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (use something higher heat than olive oil)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
4 spring onions/ 1 shallot/1 small onion, chopped
1 bag frozen veg (stirfry mix = best)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1. Mix sugar, soy sauce, oil, garlic, and ginger in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Cut steak into strips and add to bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or leave out to marinate at room temperature for up to an hour.
3. Heat skillet or wok to medium high. Add beef with marinade, and cook till beef is just browned on all sides. Pull beef out, and add onion and frozen veg and cook till onion is tender. Put beef back in, add sesame seeds, and cook for two minutes more (or longer, if you want your meat more cooked--I like mine rare to medium-rare).
Sunday, September 5, 2010
A Warm Lamb Salad Welcome to This Blog!
Best to start boldly and declare it: I love the taste of baby animals. LOVE. Lamb also happens to be the one meat you can get at the grocery that is humanely raised, since there isn't enough of a demand for it to factory-farm them. And thankfully, Whole Foods Market sells pasture-raised veal, so I can get my osso bucco fix that way. Why sentimentalize baby animals but not the adults? Especially when they are so tasty.
Since I'm on such a tight budget yet want to buy meat that is as humane as possible, I either buy meat raised and slaughtered locally at my farmer's market (easy to get the good stuff in South-Central PA) or I scout for excellent reduced prices in the good section of the meat aisle at the local GIANT. I made this recipe after I happily landed some lamb shoulder blade steaks, .81 lbs total, for a mere $2.38. I have gotten three separate meals out of the salad and froze the stock for lamb stew--that's a bargain!
This easy recipe is adapted from Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly's The Complete Meat Cookbook, which has never failed to deliver truly awesome recipes. You can serve it as a first-course or as a light lunch. It rewarms very nicely in my toaster oven; not sure what a microwave would do to the meat. Still, cold lamb is to be avoided.
Warm Lamb Salad
Serves 4-6
for the lamb
1 lb. bone-in or lamb shoulder, trimmed of all fat (leave bone in for stock)
1 medium onion, unpeeled, cut in half
2 bay leaves
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 carrot, unpeeled, cut in half lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups water or chicken stock
for the salad dressing
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed or minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
for the salad
3-4 cups cubed, cooked potatoes (red, fingerling, or other boiling variety)
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
4 green onions or scallions, finally chopped
1/2 pound fresh chopped tomatoes or blanched green beans (or both!)
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
To prepare lamb:
Place the trimmed meat in a large pot with the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cover. Simmer for 1.5-2 hours, or until the meat is quite tender. Remove the meat, discard the vegetables (but do eat the carrot!), and put the meat back in the stock to cool, covered, in the stock. Save the stock for soup. When the meat is cool enough to handle, cut into 1/4" slices and reserve.
To make the salad dressing:
Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl, pulse briefly in a food processor, or (my choice) place in a glass jar with lid and shake to emulsify.
To assemble the salad:
Gently toss the meat, potatoes, and other vegetables with the dressing, preferably while the lamb and potatoes are still warm. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve at once.
Since I'm on such a tight budget yet want to buy meat that is as humane as possible, I either buy meat raised and slaughtered locally at my farmer's market (easy to get the good stuff in South-Central PA) or I scout for excellent reduced prices in the good section of the meat aisle at the local GIANT. I made this recipe after I happily landed some lamb shoulder blade steaks, .81 lbs total, for a mere $2.38. I have gotten three separate meals out of the salad and froze the stock for lamb stew--that's a bargain!
This easy recipe is adapted from Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly's The Complete Meat Cookbook, which has never failed to deliver truly awesome recipes. You can serve it as a first-course or as a light lunch. It rewarms very nicely in my toaster oven; not sure what a microwave would do to the meat. Still, cold lamb is to be avoided.
Warm Lamb Salad
Serves 4-6
for the lamb
1 lb. bone-in or lamb shoulder, trimmed of all fat (leave bone in for stock)
1 medium onion, unpeeled, cut in half
2 bay leaves
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 carrot, unpeeled, cut in half lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups water or chicken stock
for the salad dressing
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed or minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
for the salad
3-4 cups cubed, cooked potatoes (red, fingerling, or other boiling variety)
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
4 green onions or scallions, finally chopped
1/2 pound fresh chopped tomatoes or blanched green beans (or both!)
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
To prepare lamb:
Place the trimmed meat in a large pot with the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cover. Simmer for 1.5-2 hours, or until the meat is quite tender. Remove the meat, discard the vegetables (but do eat the carrot!), and put the meat back in the stock to cool, covered, in the stock. Save the stock for soup. When the meat is cool enough to handle, cut into 1/4" slices and reserve.
To make the salad dressing:
Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl, pulse briefly in a food processor, or (my choice) place in a glass jar with lid and shake to emulsify.
To assemble the salad:
Gently toss the meat, potatoes, and other vegetables with the dressing, preferably while the lamb and potatoes are still warm. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve at once.
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