Anne Can Cook

Last weekend, my youngest aunt and her family were in town for a preseason football game. They were gracious enough to bring me up some stuff from home.

I suspect my mom got a bit carried away with cleaning out her cookbook cupboard, because she sent me something like twenty editions of Taste of Home Quick Cooking.

But I love Taste of Home, so this is totally okay.

I was on my own for dinner tonight, and so I turned to my latest acquisition for guidance. Sure enough, I had barely flipped through the pages of my random edition before I found something that sounded perfect. The entry is called "Sesame Broccoli," and it was submitted by someone named Myrna Innes for the July/August 2003 edition.

I did add a bit to Myrna's recipe, but not much. I'll note my changes.
"Sesame Broccoli" (with Rice Noodles)
1 cup water (Note: I almost always ignore the amount of water for boiling things. Fill pan with water. Boil things. Done).
1 pound fresh broccoli spears (or, in my case, 1/4 bag of frozen broccoli spears)
*Approximately 1 oz of dry rice sticks
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
*3 cloves garlic, pressed
4 tsp olive or canola oil, divided
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice (I used lime juice. It's just what I grabbed first).
1 Tbsp. soy sauce.

*Stuff I added to the original recipe.

In a saucepan, boil the water and add the noodles and broccoli. Boil until tender. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp. oil in a small skillet. Once hot, add the sesame seeds and saute until brown. This goes surprisingly fast. Don't think you can walk away during this part. It seriously took me about fifteen seconds, tops.
Remove the skillet from the heat. I added some pressed garlic here, since the skillet was still hot enough to cook it a bit.
Add the sugar, lemon (or lime) juice, soy sauce, and the rest of the oil. Mix well, set aside.

Once the broccoli and rice sticks are done, drain them well, then toss with the sesame seed mixture.

I sprinkled some lemon pepper on top, because I've been into it lately.


This had an incredibly homey flavor to it. The progression went something like this for me:
1st few bites: Yeah, this is okay.
Middle of eating: OMG this is soo good. Broccoli! I love broccoli! Pasta! Mmm. Lime in the background! Mmmm! This tastes like something mom would've made!
End of eating: I'm sort of full but I. Can't. Stop.

Ridonk.

Life is good again. My ability to cook has been re-validated (as has my love of spicy food).

It is crazy cold here. We’re lucky if the temperature crests above zero. And don’t get me started on the wind chill, which has been -20ish.

On top of the arctic temperatures, I’m also starting to get ill. I woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat, which has persisted and I’m sure will eventually become a cough. This is what I get for spending my New Year’s Eve with my boyfriend, who is still fighting off the exact same thing. It’s not a huge deal, just annoying.

Anyway, it’s cold, I’m sick, and I want something hot. On the same page of my new cookbook (Taste of Home Down Home Cooking for One or Two) as the spicy chicken roll up is a recipe for Sesame Chicken Stir Fry. The original recipe calls for mushrooms, peas, and red peppers as well as broccoli and onions, but I’m not so much a fan of those so I left them out. The original sauce is pretty basic as well. I jazzed mine up considerably, and it seems like an easy base to augment. Here is what I did:

1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks
1 ½ caps of veggie oil
1 cup broccoli florets
¾ cup chopped onion
3-4 cloves of chopped garlic
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. sugar
½ cup cold water
3-4 Tbsp. soy sauce
About 2 tsp. Siracha
About 1 Tbsp. honey
½ tsp. powdered ginger
1 tsp. garlic powder

Crushed red pepper, sesame seeds, and chopped green onion for garnish

The original recipe asks you to do all of the stir-frying first before mixing up the sauce. I don’t know about you, but when I stir-fry I prefer not to get too distracted by anything in case whatever I’m stir-frying starts to burn. Therefore, I went ahead and mixed up the sauce first.

Combine cornstarch and sugar; stir in water and soy sauce until smooth. This is where you can start flavoring it to your liking. I wanted something spicy, so I added the Siracha. The honey, ginger, and garlic powder also went into the sauce as a result of me tasting and adding until I liked it. Once you’re happy with your sauce, set it aside.

Stir-fry the chicken for 6-8 minutes or until cooked thoroughly. Remove the chicken, and stir-fry the broccoli for a few minutes. Add in the onions and garlic. Stir-fry for a few minutes. Add the sauce to the skillet/wok/whatever you’re using. Bring to a boil and let cook for a few, stirring occasionally, until it starts to thicken up. Add the chicken back in and toss it all together. Let it cook for a few more until the veggies are tender, the whole thing is heated through, and the sauce is to your liking in terms of thickness.

Serve the whole thing on rice. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper (if you want), sesame seeds, and some chopped green onions. Eat. Be happy.

Folks, this was so good. All of my favorite stir-fry components plus a tasty Asian-style sauce. It was pretty spicy. I probably should have used less Siracha. But whatever. I was really happy with the whole dish.

I would probably add more broccoli the next time I made this. One cup of broccoli florets doesn’t really amount to much. I love broccoli, and would probably use more like 1 ½ -2 cups.

Not a terrible dish for warming up in this cold, cold weather.

My favorite food in the entire universe is mashed potatoes. I love them even more if they are garlic-y, and I love them most when I make them from scratch. The problem with mashed potatoes is that they are time consuming to make, so I cheat a lot and buy instant. Not a terrible substitute in my estimation, but they really do not compare to the ones I make from scratch.

I had poached chicken again this week (with lemon thyme, rosemary, and lots of smashed garlic), and I did some quick instant mashed potatoes to go with it. Those packets of instant mashed, though, provide enough potato to feed a small army (aka a family of four). I always end up with leftovers that I'm never entirely sure what to do with, as they get sort of stale tasting when I leave them in the fridge.

I am of the opinion that you can make soup out of anything. All you need is some liquid (stock of some kind is preferably, but in a pinch you can season some water or do a bouillon cube), and some other stuff. Voila! Soup! It's also been getting colder here, and so soup weather is upon us.

I had never thought about mashed potato soup until one Thanksgiving, when my grandma said something about turning the leftover mashed potatoes into mashed potato soup (although I find it incredulous now to even think there were leftover potatoes). It seemed like this really brilliant idea, and I kept it filed away in the back of my brain until this week.

This is a really informal recipe. As I said, you can make soup out of anything and you can make it in any proportion. I made enough soup for two bowls full, which was perfect for hungry me. Here are the rough estimations:

1 cup (or more) organic chicken stock
1/2 cup frozen broccoli
5 or 6 roughly chopped cloves of garlic
A dash of soy sauce
A dash or two of hot sauce
1 cup (or more) leftover instant mashed potatoes
Cheese
Pepper to taste
Paprika for garnish

Boiling the chicken stock. Toss in the broccoli and garlic, until they're cooked through. Season with soy sauce. Add the potatoes and stir until incorporated. I found this took a little while, since my potatoes were stored in the fridge. Let the soup bubble and thicken. Season with hot sauce and pepper. Grate on a little cheese (I used a marbled jack). Garnish with paprika--do other families do this? At holidays, my family always garnishes potato anything with paprika.

Turn burner down to low, ladle your soup in a bowl, and enjoy. I think I made some garlic toast to dip in the soup as well.

It turned out souper (haha) well. It was flavorful and potato-y and seemed to obliterate that stale flavor instant mashed taters get when left in the fridge.

I love mashed potatoes. I love soup season. I love the marriage of the two.