Chinese-Style String Beans w/ Spinach and Faux-Latkes and Pan-seared Salmon

Chinese-Style String Beans w/ Spinach and Faux-Latkes and Pan-seared Salmon

String Beans:
Ingredients:
3 full handfuls of string beans
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cups of baby spinach, chopped
1 tbsp ginger root, minced
2 tbsp Soy sauce
2 tsp Sesame oil
1 tsp Cornstarch

Instructions:
Heat oil in pan. Add minced ginger and sautee for 30 sec. before adding chopped onion. Cook until onion is soft. Mix Soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch together. Add string beans and cook until about half done, sautee throughout. Add sauce. When beans are half-cooked add spinach with 1/8 cup of water. Cover skillet to let spinach wilt. When wilted, remove cover and reduce liquid.

6 servings

Faux-Latkes/Potatoe Pancakes
(this was actually stolen from my Rachael Ray cookbook, but modified)
4 medium potatoes, grated
1 medium onion, grated
1 egg
4 tbsp whole wheat flour

Instructions:
Skin and grate potatoes and onions. Crack an egg into a bowl and beat it. Squeeze the excess water from the potatoes and onions and add to the egg. Add flour and mix thoroughly. Form into small patties and sear in a pan, each side should take 2-3 minutes. You can serve with a variety of sauces (sour cream, salsa, ketchup, sweet and sour sauce, whatever you like!)

Pan-seared Salmon

2 Salmon fillets
salt
pepper
1 lime
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp of ginger
EVOO

Pretty simple... brush on EVOO on both sides of fillet. Salt and pepper, season with salt, pepper, diced garlic, and ginger. Sear in pan, flesh side first. Cook until fish becomes flakey.

Lamb and Spinach Stuffed Bell Peppers

Lamb and Spinach Stuffed Bell Peppers



This is a modified recipe from one found on Epicurious.com

Ingredients

EVOO
2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups of chopped baby spinach
1/2 lb ground lamb
4 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
4 bell peppers (choose whichever color you like) with stem (6 to 8 oz), halved lengthwise through stem, then ribs and seeds discarded

Preparation

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F. Oil a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie plate with 1 teaspoon oil.

Cook onion with salt in remaining tablespoon oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 7 to 9 minutes.

Spread half of onion in pie plate. Add lamb to remaining onion in skillet and cook, breaking up large clumps with a fork, until meat is no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Add washed spinach and add 1/8 cup of water. Cover skillet until spinach is wilted, then reduce liquid until sauce is thick.

Stir tomatoes into onion in pie plate and season with salt and pepper. Nestle bell pepper halves, cut sides up, in tomato and onion mixture and season with salt and pepper. Divide lamb mixture between bell pepper halves, then cover pie plate with a sheet of oiled foil (oiled side down) and bake until pepper is tender when pierced with a fork, 25 to 30 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Bak Choy & Tofy; Pork Sausage and Vegetable

Bak Choy with Stir-fried Tofu

Ingredients:
1 Bok Choy
1/4 cup of extra-firm Tofu
1 clove of garlic
1/4 of medium onion
Soy Sauce
1 tsp of corn starch
1g of ginger
1 tsp of sesame oil

Preparation
Heat wok with oil. Add finely diced garlic and ginger to wok. Then add chopped onions cubed tofu and stir fry until they begin to soften. Stir together 3 tbsp of soy sauce with the corn starch and sesame oil, and stir until incorporated and add to wok. Chop the white stems of the bak choy from the leafey sections, and then cut the bak choy stems in half, lengthwise. Add to wok with 1/8 cup of water to help wilt. Serve with 1/4 cup of cooked rice.

serves 1-2

Pork Sausage and Vegetable

The recipe was stolen from epicurious.com I used egg whites and halved most of the ingredients to make less. Oh, and i took out the jalapeno and potatoes, and added some sage, curry powder, and cumin to spice it up a little bit.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound hot Italian sausages, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 medium-size red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 jalapeño chili, chopped
4 medium tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1/2 cup water
6 eggs

Preparation:
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausages, potatoes, onions, bell peppers and chili and sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and 1/2 cup water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover skillet and simmer until vegetables are tender and sausage is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Uncover skillet; simmer until sauce is thick, about 8 minutes. One at a time, crack eggshells and drop eggs onto sausage mixture, spacing evenly. Cover and cook until egg whites are set and yolks still feel soft to touch, about 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

Welcome!

Hello and Welcome to Rachael Jay!

This blog is designed to trace my culinary escapades and to empower students and young people alike to not be afraid of the kitchen! If I can do it, so can you!

Here we go:

Vegetable Rice Pilaf with Lime

Ingredients:
1 cup of white rice
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
2 full handfuls of baby spinach
1/2 onion (I use one whole onion, b/c i love onion)
2 cloves of garlic
EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil for those of you non-Rachel Rayites)
1 small handful of dried basil
1 small handful of dried rosemary leaves
1 tsp of sage
1 half lime

*note: if you are pre-cooking your rice in a rice cooker, make sure to put your rice in about 20-30 minutes before you start to cook the rest. Remember it's about 1.5 parts water to every 1 part rice.
Heat deep frying pan or wok with about 1 tbsp of EVOO. Peel and dice garlic and onion so that they are finely diced, and toss into the pan/wok (give the garlic about a 30 sec. headstart before the onion). Sautee garlic and onion briefly before turning to the peppers.
Chop the red and green peppers in half and remove the center and seeds (don't forget the whitish inside stuff). Chop into small "cubes" and add them to the wok. Add rosemary, basil, and sage. Sautee until 75% cooked.
Chop the ends off the baby spinach (washed) and add to the wok. Add 1/4 cup of water (just a splash) to wok to allow the spinach to wilt and to braise the vegetables. Reduce the liquid until spinach is wilted and peppers are cooked.
*note: here's where whether or not ur using a rice cooker effects things. If you use a rice cooker: 20 minutes before you cook your vegetables, wash 1 cup of rice thoroughly, draining off excess liquid. Put cup of rice in rice cooker with 1 1/2 cup of either salted water or seasoned chicken or vegetable stock. Cook in rice cooker until done.
If you're not using a rice cooker... then place 2 cups of salted water or stock in a deep pan and bring to a simmer. In another pan, heat with oil and sautee onions, garlic and uncooked rice. When rice is brown add to heated water or stock and cook for designated time (usually between 15-25 minutes).
After rice is finished cooking, add rice to vegetables and mix thoroughly, adding more herbs, salt, and pepper as you see fit. To add the final tangy zing, squeeze one lime half into the pilaf.

serves about 4