Steel Cut Oats

I love oatmeal.  It becomes a special treat when slow cooked over the stove, rather than prepared in the microwave with the contents of a packet.  Don't get me wrong - I do love packets of instant oatmeal and they have saved my starving belly more times that I can count.  However, slow cooked oatmeal and instant oatmeal are barely even in the same food group.  Slow cooked oatmeal is luscious and satisfying, and sometimes I even eat it for dinner.

My favorite way to make oatmeal is with steel-cut oats.  I buy the Bob's Red Mill brand.  Steel cut oats look different than normal oatmeal - they look kind of like tiny slivered almonds.  I cook them until they are softened but still chewy.  I am honestly not sure if they are always chewy, or if I stop cooking too soon and just prefer it like that.  It seems like the texture I enjoy them at is a texture most people would find odd, so you may want to experiment with cooking longer or adding more liquid.

Ingredients (for one serving)
1/3 cup-1/2 cup nonfat milk, depending on how soft you want the texture
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup steel cut oats
Dried cranberries
Cinnamon, to taste
Walnuts
Heavy cream (optional)

Directions

1) Bring milk and water to a boil in a small saucepan.

2) Add oats, cinnamon (as much as you want), and cranberries.  Bring to a simmer and let cook for at least 20 minutes.  Add more liquid as necessary to get the desired texture.

3) Serve with walnuts and a small amount of heavy cream drizzled over top (optional).  You can also try adding coconut, brown sugar, raisins, almonds, etc.  Get creative!

Legends Pub and Grill

For my friend's birthday Sunday, a group of us went to dinner at Legends Pub and Grill.  The restaurant is right next to Edwards 22 Cinema (7609 W. Overland Road Boise 83709), which makes it very convenient if you are hoping to catch dinner and a movie.  They are a full service restaurant, bar, and small event center.  Next door to the eating area, they have an entertainment center with pool tables and darts.

The bar is open until 12:00 am every night and has two happy hours - one from 3 - 6 pm and the other from 9:30 -11 pm.  During happy hour, it is half price on rotating microbrews and all domestic bottles and drafts (16 oz and 22 oz).   Also, we went on a Sunday and she told us it was happy hour all day!  It was totally awesome because happy hour also includes half off well alcohol and special appetizer prices.

They have a $6.95 lunch menu, which I am going to keep in mind for the next time I check out a matinee.  I love a good soup/salad deal for a light lunch.

The dinner menu is what I had to work with, and the picture won't post large enough to be of any use to you. They basically have a little bit of everything - appetizers, salads, burgers, pasta, soups, specialties, steak, salmon, pizza, sandwiches and wraps.  The most expensive menu item is the Rib Eye Steak (12 oz 100% Angus certified rib eye, seasoned and grilled your way) for $18.  The cheapest item is a cup of Soup de Jour for $3.99.  Most items fall in the $9-$12 price range, so this is definitely an affordable restaurant.  
Yelpers rate Legends a solid 3.5.  Positive reviews cite the "friendly staff," with a "quality happy hour menu and a regular menu to suit just about everyone" plus "great food."  Negative reviews seem to disagree with the friendly staff comments, and say, " Waitstaff sucks!" and "the waitresses were incredibly unfriendly," with food that is "poor quality and prepared with average skill and imagination."

Most of the negative reviews are from a year or so ago, and the positive reviews are from more recently, so maybe management or staff has changed recently.  When we were there, our waitress was an absolute DOLL.  She was fabulous, very attentive, split the check perfectly, and got us everything we needed.  I even told her they had poor yelp reviews and she was single-handedly proving yelp wrong!

To eat, I split a California BBQ chicken pizza with my friend.  I think it was $15.50 for a large pizza (good size) which probably had about 8 slices.  I love California BBQ pizza, so it is hard for me to be critical any time I eat such a delicious pizza.  However, there really isn't anything negative to report.  The pizza was great!

I only had to pay $22 (including tip!) for THREE Rose Kennedys (vodka, soda water, splash of cranberry with limes) and half a pizza.  Quite the deal.

Next time I go to the movies on a Sunday, I will make sure to hit up Legends for a happy hour cocktail prior to the film.

Day 10: Balsamic Sheets

I wanted to make something simple in Moscow this weekend, so I made balsamic sheets.  I didn't take any pictures, but it was one of the easiest ones yet.

1) Boil 2/3 cup of balsamic vinegar with one package Agar Agar.
2) Pour into a large casserole dish.  Tilt dish around so entire dish is covered in a fine layer.
3) Put into fridge for 15 minutes.

Done!  Then, just cut out the shapes you want.  This forms sheets that look kind of like the consistency of a fruit roll up or jello.  I cut mine into rectangles and it cut very well and also maintained it's shape.  I used mine on a sandwich like you would use a slice of processed chese.  I also think it would be great sandwiched between two pieces of mozzerella, or a tomato/mozzerella stack.

Day 9: Arugula Spaghetti

Keeping this one short and sweet - Also, I am going to Moscow this weekend, so may not post again until Monday.

How to make Arugula Spaghetti:

1) Blend together 2 cups arugular and 3/4 cup water into a smooth paste.

2) Bring to a boil with one packet of Agar Agar
3) Using a syringe, suck up the arugula mixture.

4) Push it into long tubes (see picture).  A straw might work, but it might spill out the ends.  The tubes came in my kit.

5) Put in ice water for at least 4 minutes.
6) Use the syringe full of air to push out the noodles.

These look really cool, but arugula in noodle form is kinda gross and weird.  I think the method would work for anything though.  These noodles are really fragile - if I try to pick them up they break.  I want to try this again but with something delicious, like fruit juice.

Sunday - Eggs, Mags, and Legs

Today was one of those Sundays I live for and also help contribute to my "old lady" reputation.  I wouldn't change it for the world.

I spent about two hours stretching out my legs with various yoga poses while reading the newest edition of Elle magazine.  Elle was a fantastic touch, as I wasn't even expecting it when I made an impromtu run to the grocery store. In addition, there was a four episode marathon of one of my guilty pleasures - Most Eligible Dallas.  The rain has been pouring all day and was accompanied by some phenomenal thunder claps this morning.  Of course that means my blinds are open so I can enjoy the drizzle, and I am wearing my most comfortable lounging clothes.

Even better, tonight, Pan Am and Desparate Housewives are on.  Score!

I also have been enjoying an awesome menu of food - fresh juicy peaches for breakfast, turmeric scrambled eggs for lunch, and asparagus with a vinaigrette dipping sauce tentatively planned for dinner. 

Last night we went out to Matador for a friend's birthday dinner.  Matador is a Tex-Mex restaurant and tequila bar -- you have to be 21 just to eat dinner there.

The inside is really beautifully decorated and the lighting is dim -- really great atmosphere.  We were able to eat outside, which was surprising for October.  Yes, it was a tiny bit chilly, but not uncomfortable.

I ordered two different margaritas - cucumber-jalapeno and tamarind.  The tamarind didn't taste much different than a normal margarita...I was expecting some sort of exotic flavor.  However, it did have a cinnamon and sugar rim instead of a salt rim, which was delicious.  The cucumber-jalapeno margarita was spicy, but didn't taste like cucumber at all.  I was pleased with myself for being adventurous, but neither is the kind of unique drink I would want to order again.  Also, both margaritas were $8 each, and after drinking two quickly, I barely even had a buzz.  Definitely not a cheap drink if you are looking to get drunk.

For dinner, I got the Braised Pork Sandwich.  To start with, I was really excited they let me order extra cilantro (restaurants always get bonus points for indulging that wish).  Also, the bun was absolutely fantastic - perfect fluffy texture, wonderful crust, and good size.  However, the sandwich was composed of chunks of meat - I was expecting more of a shredded type meat and the heft of the chunks made it difficult to keep them in the sandwich. 

Another thing I didn't like was that the sandwich wasn't pre-assembled.  I felt like I was wrestling the sandwich as I tried to add the lettuce and tomato.  Even odder was it didn't have ANY of the mayonaise already applied.  I was a bit confused about how to proceed, but ended up making it work.  I had to squish the sandwich down, and my fellow dinner mates commented on how difficult the sandwich looked to eat.  However, my fries were delicious and the chipotle mayo was very tasty.  AND, once I was able to eat the sandwich, it was great.

Overall, the price of the food at Matador is reasonable - my sandwich was $8.95, salads were around $7.50 (fairly small for a dinner salad), enchiladas/fajitas were around$14, and appetizers were $7 or $8.   Everyone's display was beautiful and everyone seemed to enjoy their food.  Thinking of your other choices for Mexican food, this is the classiest and doesn't seem to cost much, if any, more.  Coupled with the great atmosphere, this is definitely a place I would want to go again (but I probably won't opt for the sandwich).  If you are looking to save money, walk somewhere like Bittercreek or Red Feather beforehand, and get a few drinks there.  

You also get chips and salsa with your food (of course!) and this was the first restaurant table salsa I have had that actually has a bit of a kick to it.  The chips were very fresh and nicely salted.

None of us had room for dessert (my sandwich actually kept me stuffed for hours) but the desserts sounded out of this world yummy.  They have Coconut Flan, Banana Crown (a banana filled fried pastry),  Chocolate Decadence (a cake served with ice cream and pineapple rum caramel) and some fancy ice creams/sorbets.  I would definitely go for the Coconut Flan -- I LOVE FLAN!! All the desserts range from $5-$6.

Finally, the service aspect.  Our waitress was one of the best waitresses I have ever had, and yes, I made sure to tell her repeatedly how wonderful we thought she was.  She was friendly, funny, fast, and eager to get us whatever we needed.  She was everything you could want in a waitress.  I was also only drinking water at the bar, and the bartender made sure to fill it up as soon as it got a little low.  I really appreciated that -- sometimes if you aren't paying for anything at the bar, service can be less than stellar.

*I took all the pictures from the Matador website because the dim lighting made photos difficult, so don't give me any credit for the photography!

Brussel Sprouts

My apologies for being such a negligent little blogger lately!  I have been so busy with work, and with the drizzly (which I love!) weather and the fantastic fall television, I come home from work, cuddle up on the couch, and veg out on the best shows ever.

While I work on a super amazing French toast recipe for you, here is what you need to eat when cuddling up while it rains outside: Braised Brussel Sprouts (courtesy of Orangette.blogspot.com with a few changes).

1) Chop up your brussel sprouts into quarter wedges - cut lengthwise in half, then cut those halves in half.  Hit up your Costco for delicious big brussels for a good price -- I used 2 pounds.
2) Heat up olive oil in a big pan over medium high heat.  When hot, add your brussels and cook for at least five minutes.  I thought mine were burning but realized the tastiest parts were the brown spots, so keep that in mind.  Also, I eyeballed the olive oil -- added enough to get things cookin'
3) Pour in one cup of heavy cream, turn the heat to medium low, and cover and cook for 35 minutes.
4) Add the juice of one lemon and cook for two more minutes.
5) Realize you never knew vegetables, let alone brussel sprouts, could taste so fantastic.  Cuddle up on the couch and watch fall TV!!

PS - I thought this would be a cream sauce, but the brussel sprouts somehow soak it up.  I think this is 3482093 times better than the hashed brussels with poppyseed I made and so much easier.  It is about par with my roasted brussel sprouts (and I think the roasted way is still my favorite).

In other news:
Go buy your bread and apples so you can be prepared to make french toasts with me.  I rarely even buy bread, but french toast I can never say no to.  That should be my next post!

Yo,

So yesterday blogger wasn't working for me -- don't blame me!

Tonight, I got off work, went home, and changed into some more comfortable (aka less hot) clothes.  I then went to my friend's house, with another friend, and she made a DELICIOUS dinner.  Lots of watermelon, grapes and jicama, manicotti, salad, and garlic bread.  We also all tried Muscovado white wine for the first time (I mixed mine with some Sprite) and it was amazing.  Have you ever tried that kind of wine?

This weekend might be sparse on posts, but sure to be full of activities to write about next week.  I think Jake is coming down, and we are either hanging out in Boise a bit, or heading for a relaxing weekend in Garden Valley.

I am really tired and hoping I sleep better tonight than I have been lately...

Tomorrow for a birthday lunch at work, we get to go back to that restaurant I wrote about, Tucano's (the Brazilian all-you-can-eat place where they bring different meats around to your table).  It should be delicious and really fun with about fifteen of us!

I also am going to try and check out The Modern Bar and an improv comedy show after work, but you know things never turn out quite how I have them planned...

Last night we went to Shige Sushi Happy Hour and it was awesome!  Wednesday-Saturday, 5-7 pm they have dollar per plate sushi.  They come around on these cute little boats you see below.  I was SUPER full and it cost $4.24 and a $1 tip.  Such a great deal.  I would recommend only going with a few people because the area is pretty small.  We were at the "Express" part.  The nicer tables you see down below, out on the deck, are at the bar/lounge part.  I want to go back and try a saketini!

And here is a picture from the back door at the house in Garden Valley.  Can you guess why I like going there??

PS NEW POLL IS UP!

Salmon Round 2

So, if you haven't realized, I have been experimenting with ways to cook salmon lately.  I was terrified the first time I cooked it (just a week ago!) and now I feel like I have a handle on it, and it is even simpler to tinker around with than chicken.  It defrosts quickly in a bowl of warm water, which I love.  It also doesn't bleed as you prepare it, which makes it more appealing to me than a variety of other meats.  I don't like the blood taste of most meats -- nothing to do with animal rights, trust me.  Just a taste thing.  Once I think chicken tastes like blood I have a hard time eating it, and I never know what sparks the weird taste.

At first I wasn't a fan of the "fishy" taste, but I am getting better at finding ways to cook it that help get rid of it.  Today's recipe isn't my favorite.  I made a salmon today that is the best, so far, but I don't want to post that yet. Let's get you warmed up to the idea of salmon, so your dishes will only get better from here.

As a starting point for this meal, I had a big-sized container of nonfat, plain yogurt.  If you aren't familiar with that, it is essentially sour cream.  I also had a bit of Greek yogurt left, so I mixed the two together and was pleased with myself for using some stuff that was about to go bad.  I ended up with about a cup of yogurt.

At the store, I bought some dill and some green onions.  I used to never use dill, but now it is one of my favorite herbs.  I have found the more you try something, the better it starts to taste.

Anyway, I chopped up some of the dill, and about a third of the green onion bunch. To season, I added some salt and some WHITE PEPPER.  Stop here for a moment.  How do we all feel about white pepper?  I have used it twice now, and I can't help thinking it tastes and smells really weird.  I want to like it.  To be honest, my book on CD mentioned a mother-in-law who simply had to have white pepper, as an example of her pretentiousness.  It reminded me I had some and made me want to try it again :)  I don't think I like it! I know I just said the more you try something the better it gets, so I will have to give it another shot but...does anyone else have this same problem?  It tastes off in the way almost-sour milk tastes or slightly too-old lemons.  Something doesn't seem right. 

Anyway, I mixed all this up and put the salmon in a "baking dish."  I don't have any normal sized casserole dishes, so I have been using my trusty cake pan and it works just fine. I baked it at 350* for twenty five minutes.  Here was my big hurrah - I had just picked up parmesan FLAKES at the store, and was excited to use what I had left.  Yes, I did eat about half the container whilst cooking the salmon.  I put some (a lot) of flakes on top, and let it melt on top.

This salmon grew on me.  It wasn't an immediate favorite.  However, I started eating it and thinking a bit to myself..."oh man, I am being quite indulgent tonight, this is quite the meal..." and then I realized, "Holy cow, this stuff is all actually quite phenomenal for me."  So basically, it tasted like a rich meal with a cream sauce and cheese on top, but in reality, it was very healthy and perfectly filling.  It also made good leftovers.  The one thing it did not do well?  Photograph.

Tomorrow I will get to the failed (utterly) dessert I am continuing to chip off the pan and eat in bits and pieces.  It was a series of bad mistakes and, like I said, still the most delicious mistake ever. Maybe it didn't matter it turned out so poorly. I had about half of it eaten before it was even done cooking.

PS: One day left to decide whether my weekend adventures will involve what seems to be a close race between shopping for gargoyles or eating bread pudding. I'll put one more survey up tomorrow or Thursday morning to decide one more weekend activity! So far I am going to Birds of Prey and people watching from Thomas Hammer (something I think will work well during the Saturday market) as well as whatever else you decide!).

Salmon

O
M
G

My computer is being so slow right now and you are lucky there are even words here to read.  I was thisclose to throwing it across the room.  SO ANNOYING.  And if you were wondering, yes, I do still have that annoying sinus-y headache.  I don't think it was helping much with the patience issue!

So, as a caveat, I am headed to Moscow right after work tomorrow.  I think my friend might go with me, which will be nice.  If not, I might head to the library and pick up a book on CD.  My friend suggested it and it is actually a really great idea!  I filled up my car with gas and it only cost $40 which really isn't too bad.  It helped that my tank still had about a quarter of a tank in it.

I really wanted to pack tonight, but this headache is driving me crazy and makes me just want to sleep, so we will see what happens...I will only be gone for about two days, so I really don't need to pack much.  I always overpack!  It is hard to anticipate what in the world you might need.

Anyway, because I will be gone, I probably won't be posting anything until Sunday or Monday.  However, I am going to try and figure out this scheduling thing and I might be able to get some random tidbits to post to tide you over!  If the posts seem random, that will be why.

Today, I got off work pretty late (6:30 pm) and didn't want to spend forever at the grocery store.  I needed to get an envelope and some stamps, so I had to go, but didn't feel like wandering all over the place.  I also had eight unused salmon fillets in the freezer, so I decided this would be a good time to use them.  All I had to pick up at the store was a jar of minced ginger and soy sauce (which both will last for a very long time).

I have never, ever cooked fish before, that I can remember.  I was a little nervous and normally I would have googled what to do, but my headache was making me lazy and unmotivated.  I just decided to go for it and I went back and forth over how many fillets to make.  I didn't want to ruin them if things went wrong, but I also wanted enough food for dinner tonight and breakfast and lunch, as well as a snack before the trip tomorrow.  Yes, I do eat weird dinner foods for breakfast....all the time.  It helps me stay full for longer.

I finally decided on four.  These fillets come from Coscto and my mom and grandma turned me on to them.  They are awesome!  They come individually wrapped.  To defrost, I put them in a bowl of warm water, and kept replacing the water until they were defrosted.  Then, I sliced the plastic open with some kitchen scissors.

To make the sauce for the salmon to cook in, I mixed two tablespoons of soy sauce with two tablespoons of Chardonnay.  I had a cheap $4 bottle of wine and I always see "dry white wine" and have no idea what exactly that implies.  I decided to go the cheap route and just use what I had.  Chefs out there -- what does dry white wine even mean??  I also added a teaspoon of the ginger and a quarter teaspoon (heaped) of minced garlic.  If you mince you own garlic, go out and buy the giant thing of pre-minced garlic.  It has changed my life.  It makes garlic soooo much easier to use, it is inexpensive, and it still tastes delicious.

After making the sauce and cutting open the defrosted fish, I put them in  big frying pan and made sure I had a lid that fit!  I put the burner on a medium-low heat (about a 4) and put the fillets in, along with the sauce.  I made sure the sauce spread throughout the whole pan.  I have to admit -- it was pretty fun cooking the fish.  It looked like I just caught them!

I covered them with the lid, and waited about four minutes.  After that, I flipped them over for another four minutes.  I still wasn't sure if they were done, so I did two more minutes on each side.  By the end, the liquid was bubbling and my stove top was probably closer to medium.

I kept taste testing as I was going, which is my favorite thing about cooking for myself.  I can just scoop things out whenever I want.

Finally I decided the salmon were done, and I might as well go all out.  I put the salmon on a "bed" of lettuce.  Mom, you should be proud I was making sure no food went to waste and using what I had!  Haha, I didn't want the spinach to go bad, so I thought it would be a good thing to eat it with.  I also had the bottle of soy sauce to add on top.

It turned out really tasty!  I was pleased with my first attempt at cooking salmon and am sad I only have four fillets left.  I am going to have to make another Costco trip soon.
Side note: Did I spell fillet wrong?  Is it filet?