Half Assed Kitchen

Spicy soba noodles with chicken and cabbage

 
 
Okay, one more recipe we've adapted from Everyday Food, and then we'll give it a rest. This one feeds right into our Asian food fetish, and was tasty and easy to boot. 

We wanted a little more spark than the recipe called for, so we trickled in some chili oil and extra rice vinegar. We hope you'll agree that this makes a smooth/crunchy, comforting/kicky dinner.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed (minimal chopping, because you know how we hate to chop)

Here's what you need and how you do it

3/4 pound soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

2 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced

6 scallions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup soy or tamari sauce

3 Tablespoons rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled, grated

Few drops chili oil, to taste (or pinch red pepper flakes)

In a pot of boiling water, cook soba until just done. Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, vinegar, oil, sugar, garlic, ginger and chili oil.

Drain soba. Rinse in cold water to stop cooking.

Warm a skillet and toss all ingredients, except scallions, together. Cook until heated through. Top with scallions.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Pan-fried cauliflower with herbs and breadcrumbs

 

First off, some business. We have ourselves a winner of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food subscription. Carol H., come on down. You've got a year's worth of Martha coming your way. We've sent you an email.

To celebrate Carol's good luck, we're giving you a recipe for pan-fried cauliflower, which is an adaptation of Roasted Cauliflower with Herbed Breadcrumbs from Everyday Food. But we're pretty sure ours is better because, Hello Fried.

In reality, it's kind of sauteéd, if you will, in olive oil, so it's not all that bad. The panko crumbs add a lovely golden crunch and the herbs balance all that fried goodness with a fresh lift.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

1/2 to whole head cauliflower, cut into florets

Lots of olive oil

Salt, pepper to taste

1/2-1 cup Panko (or other bread crumbs)

1 teaspoon garlic (or one clove)

Fresh parsley

Fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Over medium heat, in a skillet, sauté cauliflower, bread crumbs, garlic, salt and pepper in olive oil. When cauliflower and bread crumbs start turning golden, add parsley, thyme, lemon zest and lemon juice. Heat through and serve piping hot.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Giveaway: Martha Stewart's Everyday Food

The Martha Stewart Magazine Everyday Food has been appearing in our mailbox for a few months now. A gift from our mom. And we love it. It's tiny and easy to stuff into a bag for perusing while on the go. 

The magazine's tagline is great food fast. And we concur. In every issue we find useful tips, ideas and recipes like Cozy, delicious baked pastas and 5 nights of hearty dinners.

We're passing the inspiration on to one of you. For a free one-year subscription to Everyday Food, leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite, fallback week night meal is. You know, when you're in a hurry and need something fast that everyone likes. Comment before Tuesday, October 20th at 11pm. We'll choose a winner at random and announce it Wednesday the 21st.

Garlic mashed potatoes

Fall = Mashed Potatoes. At least in our book. We started making them in September and we're not letting up until June. Mashed potatoes are such an inexpensive, comforting and, if you leave the skins on, somewhat nutritious food.

We like to mix in garlic, thyme and a few other ingredients to make our mashed potatoes noteworthy*. And, as we mentioned, we like the skins. They taste good and keeping them in place cuts your prep time by 80%.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed

Here's what you need and how do it

2 to 3 LARGE russet potatoes (or 5 to 6 smaller Yukon Golds)

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

1/2 cup cream, half-and-half or milk

2-3 cloves garlic

2 Tablespoons fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup cream cheese (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Wrap garlic cloves in aluminum foil and place in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Cut potatoes into small pieces and boil in large pot 20 to 25 minutes. Drain. Mix with butter, cream, thyme, nutmeg, cream cheese, salt and pepper. Squeeze roasted garlic from their skins and mix into potatoes.

Serve piping hot with extra butter, salt and pepper.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

*Adapted from Real Simple.

Vegan Zucchini Cake

Don't be afraid of the vegan. All it means, in this case, is no eggs. And you won't miss them a bit. We got this recipe from Post Punk Kitchen. We heart Post Punk Kitchen for their combination of irreverence and good recipes that don't require animal products.

This fantabulous cake is moist and layered with cacophony of flavor. Like a small, sweet symphony in your mouth.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

2-1/2 cups fresh zucchini, grated, peeled

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup canola oil (or use our favorite trick and mix 1/2 cup applesauce with 1/2 cup oil)

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine zucchini, bananas, oil and vanilla. Stir well. In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients except chocolate chips. Add wet ingredients to dry, stir thoroughly and fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into lightly greased and floured bundt pan. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool before enjoying.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Pumpkin bread

 

One of our favorite things about fall is pumpkin everything. Doughnuts, muffins, cookies, soup and, of course, quick pumpkin bread. Pumpkin bread is easy and rich and we've been eating it for breakfast, snacks and everything in between.

We started with a classic pumpkin bread recipe, then added a few of our own ingredients to spice it up.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

3-1/2 cups flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1-1/2 cup pumpkin purée

2 eggs

1/8 cup molasses (optional)

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup applesauce (or another 1/2 cup vegetable oil)

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another. Then combine. Fold in chocolate chips.

Bake for 45 minutes to one hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.