The jury is out in my mind, given recent events, on the question of whether it is cheaper/better to make you own food or go buy prepared food. Don't take this as my letter of resignation from the kitchen, or as a solicitation for offers on my cast iron pans. What I mean is that given some of my recent cooking adventures, I had begun to think that there are many items never worth making for your self. Take my ravioli quarter-of-a-day. Some of them break open while bowling, and the filling is nothing sensational. For the time cost (had a been tutoring for 6 hours instead) I could have bought a thousand pre-made ravioli, or gone to every little italian place in the east village and tried their ravioli.
Perhaps I exaggerate, but let me make another illustration in a slightly different vain. Yesterday I made granola (I'll give the recipe below). It didn't take 6 hours --- more like 1 hour. My question here is about cost. I used almost a bag of almond, and then a good portion of sesame seeds and sunflower seeds, plus almost a whole bag of apricots and dried cranberries. Estimating the cost of ingredients, I'd say it was about $7. The yield was a big freezer bag worth. On the pro side, I was able to control the ingredients and the amount of fat/sugar. On the con side, I probably should have used more honey and my oven (like all NY ovens) was way too hot and burned some stuff. Moreover, I probably could have bought the same amount of granola from trader joes at about the same price. The jury is still out as to whether I will continue to make my own granola.
Lastly, I want to remind everyone about my attempt at making paneer --- such a waste of time, money and milk.
What these episodes have taught me is not anything profound but is worth stating. If something is labor intensive and can be bought for a reasonable price Don't Try to Make It. Things worth making combine cheap ingredients in ways which are not too complex, to make meals. Things not worth making combine expensive ingredients to complex ways to make small parts of larger dishes.
I feel now, thinking this over, that I don't actually have a great understanding of what to make and what to avoid. I guess I'll wing it, and likely, I'll be writing some time soon about another wasted evening trying to make ... oh... say homeade dosas.
Heres the granola recipe:
4 cups oatmeal (not the minute or fast stuff, just the good old fashion kind)
1 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup canola oil (i probably used less though)
honey (to taste and coat)
a splash of vanilla extract
cinnamon and nutmeg (just a little)
2 cups chopped dry apricot and cranberries
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a big bowl. Add oil and honey until everything is coated and sticks together a little. Spread out on cookie sheet (lined with parchment paper) and cook in oven at like 350 until a little golden. Then mix stuff to expose more uncooked area. Don't overcook or burn. When done let cool then enjoy.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Cooking show idea
A few weeks ago my sister emailed me and told me I should check out this link (http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-next-food-network-star/index.html) . I of course didn't have the patience to read what it would take to become the next food network star (I seldom have the patience to read more than headings). However it still got me thinking about what type of show I would have, if I did have a food network show. Would I play on my nerdy math/science side like Alton Brown, or would I try to show off my nearly non-existent cooking prowess? My idea, which I admit is not earth shaking, came to me after a 6 hour car ride back from my brother's wedding in New Hampshire. My aunt Mimi (or Ruby if you are speaking to here in Europe) and my mother were remembering all about my great grandmother's cooking habits. Mimi's favorite was taiglach, my Dad's was pletzlach. I know that the "lach" part means little, but I'm not 100% sure what "taig" and what "pletz" means. This is not the point though. My idea came from my desire, at hearing about these old traditional foods, to find out how they were made and to recreate them as authentically as possible.
In Ivan Imaginary World (IIW) I would have a TV show where each week I chose a new old food to explore. The format would essentially be that I find some old women who have been making the food for a collective 1000 years and I learn from them as much as I can about how to make it. Part of the show is devoted to their story and the story of the food, another part is me actually trying to make it myself in the style I was just taught, once I have either succeeded to failed at this I try to consider what makes their method so unique, and finally I present a version of the recipe which can be made relatively easy and with little time commitment. I'm not sure what name I would give the show. Maybe something like "The Food Treasure Hunter", or "Tasty Traditions", or "Bubbi's Kitchen".
Ideas? Thoughts? I probably won't apply for anything, but its still fun to imagine.
In Ivan Imaginary World (IIW) I would have a TV show where each week I chose a new old food to explore. The format would essentially be that I find some old women who have been making the food for a collective 1000 years and I learn from them as much as I can about how to make it. Part of the show is devoted to their story and the story of the food, another part is me actually trying to make it myself in the style I was just taught, once I have either succeeded to failed at this I try to consider what makes their method so unique, and finally I present a version of the recipe which can be made relatively easy and with little time commitment. I'm not sure what name I would give the show. Maybe something like "The Food Treasure Hunter", or "Tasty Traditions", or "Bubbi's Kitchen".
Ideas? Thoughts? I probably won't apply for anything, but its still fun to imagine.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Ravioli or my hands ache
Yesterday was a roller coaster of culinary emotion. I awoke eager to go to the William Sonoma knife demonstration with my roommate. We got there only to discover that what his coworker who invited him there really meant by 12:30pm was 11:00am. Bummed out about this we went to Wholefoods to grab a bite (I abstained having just recently eaten some of my dal stew) where I was blown away by the quantity of prepared food available. Arriving home an hour later I settled into watching the Giants trounce Seattle. I started the game late, so my DVR let me skip through commercials and timeouts. Perhaps it was missing the knife demo, or maybe it was the lack of witty banter by NFL announcers (fast-forwarded over) but when 4:30 rolled around I had an empty feeling in my stomach. The solution: make homemade pasta. This seemed like a good idea since just two hours earlier I had impulsively purchased a block of Pecirino Romano cheese at the East Village Cheese Shop.
The first steps in making fresh pasta are pretty easy. You take about two cups of flour and put it on a counter top in a pile. Sprinkle some salt on the flour and then make a well in the center. Into the well place two (jumbo) eggs. The well is supposed to contain the eggs. Of course my eggs just toppled the well and I needed to rush to save them. Work the eggs into the flour by hand. At first this will seem futile and everything will either be dry or sticky. Eventually the egg gets worked into the dough and after much kneading you end up with a solid piece of dough. The dough should really be dry, or else the pasta won't come out right. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This lets any gradient in moistness resolve itself in the dough.
Now comes the laborious part! Cut a small chunk -- like 1/5th of the dough -- and roll out flat. I don't have a pasta maker, so if you do, perhaps this part isn't as long and painful. When you've flattened out the piece as much as possible (use some flour to keep it from sticking), cut long thin strips. Each strip needs to be rolled out to make it thin enough to cook. When I did this I got about 40 pieces of pasta this way, each about 1/3rd of an inch wide and really thin. I let these dry out on a hanging rack (you want the air to circulate) and then cooked them for a few minutes in boiling water. On top of this I put some of the grated romano cheese and ample pepper, plus a little olive oil and called this Cacio E Pepe.
I was pretty content at this point --- the food had taken a little over an hour to make, but I was full and it had been yummy. Quickly, though, I realized that I had a significant amount of pasta dough in remaining in the fridge. I hate to waste, so I knew I needed to do something with it. The feeling I had was like when you decide your going to clean, you take everything out of the closets and move everything around, and then get sick of cleaning but realize that you can't leave everything scattered around the house. Well, perhaps I was obsessing a little, because I could have just thrown the baseball size ball of dough out the window and been done, but I didn't.
Instead I decided to make Ravioli. First step was to get filling. I went to the corner store to get Ricotta. Yet after seeing their packaged "fresh pasta" for 8$ I got the hell out of there. It was too depressing to see, for sale, something which probably tasted as good as the stuff I made and wouldn't require me to spent the rest of my evening working on. I went to the supermarket and, without much thinking, also bought three pears and a butternut squash, plus the ricotta and a tub of yogurt. I made two fillings for the Raviolis.
The first was a traditional filling. I cooked diced onion and garlic and then added a thing of frozen spinach. Once cooked I added in some fresh basil and other Italian spices and finally a tub of ricotta cheese and an ample amount of the Romano cheese. I put this aside.
Meanwhile, on my favorite cast iron I cook the butternut squash (cubed) and added to it some chopped rosemary and sage (yes mom - I found a use for the sage you gave me). I also added in some garlic here. When cooked I put this into a glass bowl and covered. Then, in my same pan I browned walnuts. To the bowl of squash I added two diced pears, and when the walnuts had gotten nicely cooked, I added them too. This all got nice and mashed, and then a few heaping spoonfuls of yogurt and some Romano. Everything received some salt too.
Looking at these two things of fillings I knew I had made too much. Oh well!
The prospect of rolling the raviolli shells had been looming for a while and finally I began the process of flattening small chunks, applying more flour, cutting into smaller chunks and finally flattening to paper thin pieces. Optimally I wanted pieces roughly 3" wide and 5" long. This seldom happened. I dried these out and once I had a few, I started to fill. I Wet the boundary of the pasta shell and then filled it with one of the two choices. Then I carefully folded everything together and hoped the shell would hold. Generally it did. I repeated this around 50 times before I had exhausted the dough. Using methods advanced mathematical theories on sphere packing I found enough room in my over packed freeze to chill these creations.
Washing dishes was a pleasure now, knowing that I didn't need to worry about pasta dough anymore.
The clock read past 11pm when I emerged from the kitchen, flour covered and hands aching. Even today, as I type, I grimace every time I need to hit the lower keys on the keyboard. Never had I rolled dough for so long as I did yesterday. Enjoyable - Yes, Worth it - Probably not. I haven't taste the creation yet, so who knows...
One side note: The initial creation of Cacio E Pepe comes from the eponymous restaurant three blocks north of my apartment. In retrospect I may have been better off going there, paying the 16 dollars, and then spending 6 hours begging for change on the street.
Post note: I had some of the Ravioli's tonight for dinner. They were good, but not worth 6 hours.
The first steps in making fresh pasta are pretty easy. You take about two cups of flour and put it on a counter top in a pile. Sprinkle some salt on the flour and then make a well in the center. Into the well place two (jumbo) eggs. The well is supposed to contain the eggs. Of course my eggs just toppled the well and I needed to rush to save them. Work the eggs into the flour by hand. At first this will seem futile and everything will either be dry or sticky. Eventually the egg gets worked into the dough and after much kneading you end up with a solid piece of dough. The dough should really be dry, or else the pasta won't come out right. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This lets any gradient in moistness resolve itself in the dough.
Now comes the laborious part! Cut a small chunk -- like 1/5th of the dough -- and roll out flat. I don't have a pasta maker, so if you do, perhaps this part isn't as long and painful. When you've flattened out the piece as much as possible (use some flour to keep it from sticking), cut long thin strips. Each strip needs to be rolled out to make it thin enough to cook. When I did this I got about 40 pieces of pasta this way, each about 1/3rd of an inch wide and really thin. I let these dry out on a hanging rack (you want the air to circulate) and then cooked them for a few minutes in boiling water. On top of this I put some of the grated romano cheese and ample pepper, plus a little olive oil and called this Cacio E Pepe.
I was pretty content at this point --- the food had taken a little over an hour to make, but I was full and it had been yummy. Quickly, though, I realized that I had a significant amount of pasta dough in remaining in the fridge. I hate to waste, so I knew I needed to do something with it. The feeling I had was like when you decide your going to clean, you take everything out of the closets and move everything around, and then get sick of cleaning but realize that you can't leave everything scattered around the house. Well, perhaps I was obsessing a little, because I could have just thrown the baseball size ball of dough out the window and been done, but I didn't.
Instead I decided to make Ravioli. First step was to get filling. I went to the corner store to get Ricotta. Yet after seeing their packaged "fresh pasta" for 8$ I got the hell out of there. It was too depressing to see, for sale, something which probably tasted as good as the stuff I made and wouldn't require me to spent the rest of my evening working on. I went to the supermarket and, without much thinking, also bought three pears and a butternut squash, plus the ricotta and a tub of yogurt. I made two fillings for the Raviolis.
The first was a traditional filling. I cooked diced onion and garlic and then added a thing of frozen spinach. Once cooked I added in some fresh basil and other Italian spices and finally a tub of ricotta cheese and an ample amount of the Romano cheese. I put this aside.
Meanwhile, on my favorite cast iron I cook the butternut squash (cubed) and added to it some chopped rosemary and sage (yes mom - I found a use for the sage you gave me). I also added in some garlic here. When cooked I put this into a glass bowl and covered. Then, in my same pan I browned walnuts. To the bowl of squash I added two diced pears, and when the walnuts had gotten nicely cooked, I added them too. This all got nice and mashed, and then a few heaping spoonfuls of yogurt and some Romano. Everything received some salt too.
Looking at these two things of fillings I knew I had made too much. Oh well!
The prospect of rolling the raviolli shells had been looming for a while and finally I began the process of flattening small chunks, applying more flour, cutting into smaller chunks and finally flattening to paper thin pieces. Optimally I wanted pieces roughly 3" wide and 5" long. This seldom happened. I dried these out and once I had a few, I started to fill. I Wet the boundary of the pasta shell and then filled it with one of the two choices. Then I carefully folded everything together and hoped the shell would hold. Generally it did. I repeated this around 50 times before I had exhausted the dough. Using methods advanced mathematical theories on sphere packing I found enough room in my over packed freeze to chill these creations.
Washing dishes was a pleasure now, knowing that I didn't need to worry about pasta dough anymore.
The clock read past 11pm when I emerged from the kitchen, flour covered and hands aching. Even today, as I type, I grimace every time I need to hit the lower keys on the keyboard. Never had I rolled dough for so long as I did yesterday. Enjoyable - Yes, Worth it - Probably not. I haven't taste the creation yet, so who knows...
One side note: The initial creation of Cacio E Pepe comes from the eponymous restaurant three blocks north of my apartment. In retrospect I may have been better off going there, paying the 16 dollars, and then spending 6 hours begging for change on the street.
Post note: I had some of the Ravioli's tonight for dinner. They were good, but not worth 6 hours.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Steamed Chinese Fish
Wow, I'm on a roll posting. One pastime I have is to remember or imagine the way different dishes taste. Just a moment ago a dish I cooked about two weeks ago popped into my mouth/mind. I learned this recipe from my friend Greg when I was visiting him in Berkeley this summer. Two weeks ago I remade it with my friend Leah who was just in the city for the day and helped me go Chinatown shopping. Usually when I go Chinatown shopping I am heavily laden with my purchases, but having a partner in the endeavor freed me up to purchase some fish. I've read mixed things about Chinatown fish as far as how healthy they are, so I don't cook too much with them, however they are dirt cheap. For 1$ I got a 1 lb bass, gutted and fins removed. When getting fish in Chinatown its pretty important to know what to look for in fish (since some of the fish are kind of old and probably bad). As far as I'm concerned I look at eyes, scales, firmness and proximity to ice. Eyes should not be clouded and should not be too dislodge from the socket; scales should have a nice sheen and still shine --- dull scales means bad fish; firm fish is good fish --- if it is mushy or too yielding then pass on the piece; finally common sense dictates that the fish should have a good amount of ice near it to keep it cool.
Anyway, I used bass this time, but with Greg we used a thinner fish (can't remember what though). The important thing is that the fish is not too thick and that it has a good cavity to be stuffed. Take the fish, when you get it home and wash it off and remove any excess stomach crud. Take a bunch of ginger and scallions and cut both into shoots. These go inside the cavity of the fish formed from removing the stomach. If you can open this up more, so as to butterfly the fish more, do that. Then take the stuffed fish and put it on a ceramic plate. Take a large pan and put an inch of water on the bottom and a medal cap (like the top of an apple sauce container) in the middle of the water. On this cap put the plate with the fish, making through that there is a little room on the sides of the plate. Turn on the heat and cover. The fish will be steamed nicely in anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes depending on the thickness. You can tell that its done by sticking a fork or knife inside and checking it yields easily. Near the end of this cooking heat up some sesame oil and soy sauce to just below smoking (hot). When the fish is done carefully remove the plate (use chopsticks or forks but we careful) and pour this hot oil on the fish skin to give it a little crisp. If the fish is well cooked you should be able to pull the tail through the head out along with most of the bones before eating. Still be aware that most fish will have a number of small bones, so be sure to pick them out as you eat. This is good served with rice. Also, don't feel compelled to eat the stuffing -- it was there to impart its flavor to the fish in a mild way.
When done, you should probably dump your garbage because the fish is gonna start to stink in 5,4,3,2, now.
Anyway, I used bass this time, but with Greg we used a thinner fish (can't remember what though). The important thing is that the fish is not too thick and that it has a good cavity to be stuffed. Take the fish, when you get it home and wash it off and remove any excess stomach crud. Take a bunch of ginger and scallions and cut both into shoots. These go inside the cavity of the fish formed from removing the stomach. If you can open this up more, so as to butterfly the fish more, do that. Then take the stuffed fish and put it on a ceramic plate. Take a large pan and put an inch of water on the bottom and a medal cap (like the top of an apple sauce container) in the middle of the water. On this cap put the plate with the fish, making through that there is a little room on the sides of the plate. Turn on the heat and cover. The fish will be steamed nicely in anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes depending on the thickness. You can tell that its done by sticking a fork or knife inside and checking it yields easily. Near the end of this cooking heat up some sesame oil and soy sauce to just below smoking (hot). When the fish is done carefully remove the plate (use chopsticks or forks but we careful) and pour this hot oil on the fish skin to give it a little crisp. If the fish is well cooked you should be able to pull the tail through the head out along with most of the bones before eating. Still be aware that most fish will have a number of small bones, so be sure to pick them out as you eat. This is good served with rice. Also, don't feel compelled to eat the stuffing -- it was there to impart its flavor to the fish in a mild way.
When done, you should probably dump your garbage because the fish is gonna start to stink in 5,4,3,2, now.
Quick greens, garlic and pine nut dish
I just need to mention a dish which is a perennial favorite of mine. Essentially its a wilted greens, hot pepper, garlic, raisin/craisin, and roasted pine nut dish which is really great. Well, I supposes I've shown all of my cards by revealing all of the ingredients, so I'm not gonna give a formal recipe. Essentially take some sort of green vegi (fresh or frozen spinach, any type of chard, mustard greens, Chinese broccoli) and chop it up a little, but don't dice it or anything major. If there is any stalk like in Chinese broccoli, you should chop it separately and cook it longer than the leaves. Anyway, in your favorite cast iron pan roast some pine nuts and then let them cool a little. Meanwhile in a non-cast iron pan heat some olive oil and then put into it chopped hot pepper (or pepper flakes) and garlic and let it cook a little. Then add in any stalk type pieces of your vegi, and then, once that is half cooked add in the leaves. If you are using frozen spinach you can either premelt it, or do what I do and just throw it into the pan frozen and slowly scrap off the melted pieces until its all melted. Anyway, while this is going on you should add a handful of either raisins or dried cranberries. Once everything is cooked, and any of the excess water is cooked off, put the pine nuts into the mix, season with salt and eat. I often will eat this as a meal on its own, but for those who are not content to eat just one dish, you can probably pair this with some toasted bread. Thats too fancy for my tastes though and I'll just stick with the greens.
Cumin Dal and Rice Stew
Two years ago I had a roommate, Sheel, who was Indian. We both enjoyed cooking and explored many types of food. Some of the best recipes we made, though, came from his mother. Today I remade one of those recipes --- a stew of dal, rice and vegis, spiced with cumin (and many other spices). Here's the idea:
In a small cast iron pan brown cumin seeds and once cooled grind into powder. Meanwhile heat oil (canola) in a pot then add in dry red pepper and bay leaves. After like a minute add in garlic, onion, green chili, and ginger and let the onion brown/carmilize. Then introduce the potatos and vegis (I used carrot and peas). Spice with salt, turmeric and red chill powder. After cooking for a little, push the vegis to the side and add a little more oil to the middle and add in dal (1 cup) and roast two minutes. After that add 4 cups of hot water and cook until the dal is half cooked --- it should be getting softer and separating a little. Then add in 1 cup rice and a little more hot water and cook until done. When most of the water has been absorbed, add in the ground cumin seeds.
This dish is best after its cooled down and even after its sat in the fridge for a day because the spices really meld and develop. Its pretty much a complete meal in itself (I'll probably be eating it for the next four days or so). Its also a really good dinner party food --- on two or three occasions I've made it, along with some other dishes, and its gone over really well.
In other culinary news my roommate Steve and I are going to a knife demonstration at William Sonoma tomorrow noon; my friend Jess and I have made plans to try to create a good peanut butter cheesecake (I agreed to this because I don't like peanut butter and hence won't be tempted to eat it in all its fatty goodness); my friend Mike had a great idea of starting a bi-monthly food club where we learn to cook different dishes as a group. So as far as cuisine I have my plate full (lame joke).
In a small cast iron pan brown cumin seeds and once cooled grind into powder. Meanwhile heat oil (canola) in a pot then add in dry red pepper and bay leaves. After like a minute add in garlic, onion, green chili, and ginger and let the onion brown/carmilize. Then introduce the potatos and vegis (I used carrot and peas). Spice with salt, turmeric and red chill powder. After cooking for a little, push the vegis to the side and add a little more oil to the middle and add in dal (1 cup) and roast two minutes. After that add 4 cups of hot water and cook until the dal is half cooked --- it should be getting softer and separating a little. Then add in 1 cup rice and a little more hot water and cook until done. When most of the water has been absorbed, add in the ground cumin seeds.
This dish is best after its cooled down and even after its sat in the fridge for a day because the spices really meld and develop. Its pretty much a complete meal in itself (I'll probably be eating it for the next four days or so). Its also a really good dinner party food --- on two or three occasions I've made it, along with some other dishes, and its gone over really well.
In other culinary news my roommate Steve and I are going to a knife demonstration at William Sonoma tomorrow noon; my friend Jess and I have made plans to try to create a good peanut butter cheesecake (I agreed to this because I don't like peanut butter and hence won't be tempted to eat it in all its fatty goodness); my friend Mike had a great idea of starting a bi-monthly food club where we learn to cook different dishes as a group. So as far as cuisine I have my plate full (lame joke).
Friday, October 3, 2008
Bok Choy 1
I made a vegi/tomato sauce mixture this morning to go with a bunch of Pirogies I had. As one of the components I used Bok Choy (chinese cabbage). This is an ingredient which I often include in chinese cooking, but have also used in crockpot chili. However, this was really the first time that I tasted a certain flavor in the Bok Choy. The flavor was best described as tang. An acidic, but also tangy flavor in the Bok Choy seemed to be accented by the acid of the tomatoes. I looked up online just a little while ago and in fact Boy Choy has a ton of Vitamin C so this makes complete sense. My question is how have people taken advantage of this characteristic tang? My first thought was that the Bok Choy could be utilized to create a distinctive drink. Think Lemonade -- maybe add some mint and simple syrup. Next time I got to Chinatown I'll get a bunch of Bok Choy and start to experiment with this idea. My concern with it as a drink, however, is that it might be hard to extract the flavor without the less drinkable components. Blending and boiling might do it.
Another thought is to try to use Bok Choy in cooking fish. Over the summer I made a nice flounder dish (essentially pan fry flounder with Rosemary, Thyme and some butter/olive oil mixture, when done deglaze with white wine and lemon juice and cook into a sauce). I'm thinking that rather than using the lemon juice, diced Bok Choy might meld well with the wine and lend it the desired freshness of the lemon, plus an interest additional flavor. In this capacity also the small pieces of Bok Choy would also provide a nice crunch in contrast to the softness of the fish.
Yet another idea is to employ this tang along side the only nut which loves tang --- cashews. For some reason, not yet known to me, cashews and tangy flavors meld really well. A simple mixture of cooked cashews and Bok Choy would probably rock. Probably best to chop the nuts a little, and maybe add a fresh tasting green -- cilantro? Not sure, maybe first try it with just these two ingredients. If this makes a good base, then you could make rice pilaf with these flavorings.
Well, I'd best get some Bok Choy before I loss interest and move onto another food...
Another thought is to try to use Bok Choy in cooking fish. Over the summer I made a nice flounder dish (essentially pan fry flounder with Rosemary, Thyme and some butter/olive oil mixture, when done deglaze with white wine and lemon juice and cook into a sauce). I'm thinking that rather than using the lemon juice, diced Bok Choy might meld well with the wine and lend it the desired freshness of the lemon, plus an interest additional flavor. In this capacity also the small pieces of Bok Choy would also provide a nice crunch in contrast to the softness of the fish.
Yet another idea is to employ this tang along side the only nut which loves tang --- cashews. For some reason, not yet known to me, cashews and tangy flavors meld really well. A simple mixture of cooked cashews and Bok Choy would probably rock. Probably best to chop the nuts a little, and maybe add a fresh tasting green -- cilantro? Not sure, maybe first try it with just these two ingredients. If this makes a good base, then you could make rice pilaf with these flavorings.
Well, I'd best get some Bok Choy before I loss interest and move onto another food...
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