Category: Food

Food

Chef Lane: Breakfast Burritos

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I get very excited when I strike upon something that Thor will eat without complaining.  So, when I discovered he liked my breakfast tacos, I decided to pre-cook and freeze them.  Unfortunately, breakfast tacos (a tortilla folded over the ingredients) do not taste as good as a breakfast burrito (a tortilla wrapped around the ingredients), so the first batch largely went into my belly.  The second batch?  Gone in 4 days.

They are very easy to make.  Easy to freeze.  Easy to reheat.  And if you’re in a hurry and forget to pack your lunch one day, grabbing one of those and a banana will get you through a Monday.  I know this for a fact.

Here’s what you do:

The hardest part is folding them up, and wrapping them. I've seriously considered getting a part time job at Freebird, just to learn how to properly wrap a burrito.
The hardest part is folding them up, and wrapping them. I’ve seriously considered getting a part time job at Freebird, just to learn how to properly wrap a burrito.
Chef Lane, Food

Chef Lane: Imitation of Sea Life Fried Rice and Teriyaki Mahi Mahi

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe, but my various versions of fried rice have been well received lately, so here is the latest recipe.

You will need:

  • 1 packet of imitation crab
  • 1 individual serving packet of frozen peas
  • 1 large shallot
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs sesame oil (or thereabouts)
  • 1 cup of uncooked rice (and cook to instructions)
  • 1 tbs sesame seeds
  • Pepper to taste
  • 1 packet of frozen mahi mahi (3 fillets or so)
  • Teriyaki sauce
  • Soy Sauce

Saute your garlic and finely chopped shallot in the sesame oil until the shallots are transparent, then scramble in your egg, add the peas and crab, and heat it all up.

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While that is cooking, toss your mahi in the teriyaki sauce, and throw it in the oven.  Bake at 400 for about 18 minutes or so.  Then, add your rice into the skillet, pepper it, add the sesame seeds, and put in soy sauce to taste.  Let that cook over a medium-high heat, stirring now and then.  I like my rice kind of crispy.

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That’s it.  How easy is that?!

Serve up your rice and fish on your finest paper plates and enjoy:

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Advice, Diet, Food, Health

Water Logged: A cautionary tale

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As part of an ongoing, uphill battle in the care and feeding of my lazy, pizza-loving bones, last week I made a serious commitment to drinking more water.  I bought a pitcher and a boat load of fruit, and started dressing up the tap with orange and grapefruit slices.  Because I am frequently guilty of acting first and thinking later, I decided to set a water goal of 3 pitchers full. 

Day One, I drank 3 pitchers full of water, and I did not feel great.  On the plus side, I also did not want any pizza.  Or anything else, for that matter. 

Day Two, I drank 2.5 pitchers full of water, and I did not feel great.  I also had a massive headache.

Day Three, I drank 2 pitchers full of water and then started wondering exactly how much water I was drinking.  There was no measurement information on the bottom of the pitcher, so I guesstimated that I was putting about 2.5 bottles of water into the pitcher, and I thought those bottles had about 12 ounces in them.  I decided 2 pitchers was probably the most I should drink.

Days Four and Five I drank about 2 pitchers, and ate Tylenol because my head was so hurty!

I skipped the pitcher over the weekend and just drank normally, and felt better.  Hmm.

So, today I actually measured.  My pitcher holds, including the fruit slices, 3.5 bottles of water, and those bottles of water hold 16.9 ounces each.  I’ve been filling this thing to the brim, meaning on Day One, I drank 177.5 ounces of water PLUS a few cups of coffee.  No wonder my head started feeling like a cement balloon.

The Mayo Clinic would like you to know that while the amount of water a person should drink varies, most women do well with 1.9 to 2.2 liters of fluid per day–water or other liquids.  More than that is overkill.

If you don’t count the coffee, on Day One I drank 5.25 liters of water.

Days 2–5, I drank somewhere between 3.5 and 4.375 liters of water.

Go big, or go home.

I think I’ll be dialing it back a few notches.  Like 2 notches.  1 pitcher of water a day is plenty enough.  I’d hate for you to have to wring out my sodden corpse after I collapse from Water Intoxication.  Although, it does explain the headaches.

Food, recipe

Chef Lane: Capricorn Salad–part goat, part fish, all good for you

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You will need:

  • 4 oz of goat cheese
  • 2 planks of salmon (I suggest the Cedar Bay Planked Salmon)
  • 1/2 lb fresh asparagus diced
  • 3 small red peppers diced
  • 3 small yellow peppers diced
  • 1 head romaine lettuce (or whatever greens you have handy–this is what I had handy) chopped
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 Tbs olive oil

While you are cooking your salmon (20 minutes at 425 for medium well–10 for rare), sautee all your veggies (not the lettuce!) over a medium heat in the olive oil.  When your veggies are just barely tender, remove them from the heat, transfer into something chill safe, and chill enough that when you mix them into your lettuce, your lettuce doesn’t wilt.

Mix all your veg and lettuce and remove fish from the oven.  Split into 2 large salads, top with 2 oz of goat cheese each, then lovingly nestle your salmon on top of the greens.  This will serve 2 adults and one child–if the child splits half your salmon with you.  You will have to peel and cut an apple for the child because he will look at the asparagus and start to cry.  You will have enough salad left over for tomorrow’s lunch.

You won’t need dressing because the goat cheese serves as flavor, but you could make your tastebuds very happy with a few drizzles of balsamic vinegar.

My favorite way to cook salmon.
Chef Lane, Food, recipe

Chef Lane: Hakuna Frittata

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It is super easy to make this savory dish, which will serve you all week for breakfast.  Better yet, it is easy to substitute for flavors.  Don’t like ham?  Have sausage.  Don’t like meat at all?  Add potatoes.  Too posh for cheddar?  Add something French and runny.  Hate cilantro?  Toss in some celery.  Throw in some dill.  Add a dash of garlic powder.  Squirt in some Sriracha.  Make it your own worry free dish.

For my favorite way, you will need:

  • 1.5 cups of Egg Beaters
  • 1/2 cup of chopped ham (I just minced up some lunch meat)
  • 1/4 cup of shredded  cheese (I used cheddar)
  • 2 Tbs of cilantro
  • 2 Tbs of parsley
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • Cooking Spray

Turn on your broiler. 

Spray an oven safe skillet with cooking spray, then warm it on the stove.  In a separate bowl, combine all ingredients except for the cheese.  Hold on to your cheese!  When the skillet is hot, pour in your mixture and turn your heat down to medium.  Let the mixture cook until it is starting to set around the edges, then sprinkle half your cheese over the top.

When the mixture is starting to set throughout (and this takes between 10 and 15 minutes, depending), take it off the stove and put it in the broiler for 5 minutes.  Remove after 5 minutes (it will have puffed up like souffle–let it fall), sprinkle your remaining cheese on top, then broil for another few minutes, until the top is golden with gloriously toasted cheese.

Remove from broiler and let sit until cool.  Slice into 8 pieces.  Works out to about 2.5 WWPPV per slice, and you’ll be surprised how filling this is.