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.

Aw, the first meal made in our new apartment.
I think I've mentioned on here that Andrew and I have a less than perfect track record when it comes to me cooking for him. I think I'm a pretty decent cook, but when I've cooked things for him, it's never turned out just right.
Consequently, he always seems a bit hesitant to let me cook anything beyond (his favorite) chicken tenders.

We do not have the internet at our place yet, so the other day we sat around and flipped through some of my Taste of Home cookbooks, tagging recipes. This one I pulled out of the Taste of Home Ultimate Chicken Recipe Book. It was quick(ish), easy, and really pretty tasty. I should note that I halved this recipe for the two of us, and we still had enough for seconds AND lunch time leftovers.



Creamy Chicken Angel Hair

"1 pkg angel hair pasta
1 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 large carrot, diced (I used a handful of baby carrots)
2 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery rib, diced (I left this out, but I'm sure it would a good addition)
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 cups heavy whipped cream
5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 c. Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the chicken, salt and pepper in 2 Tbsp oil until no long pink. Remove and keep warm.

In the same skillet, saute carrot in butter and remaining oil for 1 minute. Add the onion, celery and garlic; saute 3-4 minutes or until tender.

Stir in the cream, cooked bacon, lemon juice and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Return the chicken to the pan.

Drain pasta; toss with chicken mixture. Garnish with Parmesan cheese."

Pictures soon! Andrew really liked it, and I have photo proof!

ETA: I told you so!

I had a craving for guacamole. I did a little research, and it turns out that most premade guacamole dip you can buy at the grocery store doesn't contain any actual avocado. Insane! Luckily, it's not too hard or expensive to make your own, or so I learned from BrokeAss Gourmet.
I didn't look closely at the recipe while I was whipping this up, so I ended up with 1/2 onion and 1/2 tomato. Otherwise, the ingredients are the same.
Somehow mine turned out a bit bitter. Maybe too much onion? Too much cilantro? I'm not sure. A hearty dose of lemon juice seems to have helped.
If I were to do it over again, I would omit the tomato and add more garlic. Hmm. I'll have to ponder this.
Oh, I also gave this a run through with my new immersion blender for a smoother texture.


Summer is for dip!

I don't think I've ever mentioned it before, but I am a big fan of StumbleUpon, which is sort of like internet roulette with your relevant interests. You install a toolbar into your browser, hit the "Stumble!" button, and get taken to a random website. I have found so many excellent food sites this way. My food bookmarks through StumbleUpon are so full of stuff that I will never be able to cook it all.
A couple of week ago, StumbleUpon brought me to this pizza recipe, and I knew I had to make it. It has so many things I love: pizza, pesto, potatoes, and garlic. I couldn't resist it, especially since I had just received a mandolin slicer in the mail and had yet to test it out.

Now, I have a few things to say about the logistics of the recipe. I think it's more complicated than it has to be. Admittedly, I used store bought dough, which immediately made quite a few of the instruction irrelevant. There was no need to let it rise, for example. There was also no need to knead the dough or to flour anything or to find a pizza peel (peal?). I just rolled my crust onto a standard cookie sheet and spread it out to meet the edges. Easy, and it tasted just fine. Oh, and I also baked the pizza on the cookie sheet. No worrying about trying to slide the pizza onto the baking stone. My baking stone wasn't large enough for that, anyway.
What I'm getting at here is that you can follow the directions precisely if you'd like, but you don't have to.
I also want to comment on the amount of potatoes this calls for. Granted, I sort of halved the recipe, since I didn't need to make two pizzas (one alone is going to feed me for the next few days). However, I didn't even make it to two potatoes before I said, "This is way too much potato." Maybe the authors were slicing their potatoes more thickly than I was, but one potato would have been sufficient for me. As it was, I probably sliced one and three-fourths potatoes, and ended up with enough slices to cover the pizza, make microwave potato chips, and STILL have a good two dozen slices left over.
My new mandolin slicer rocks, by the way. This could be the source of my issue:

Look at those! They're translucent they're so thin. They may even be waffer thin. (I will give ten points to anyone who gets that reference)
Anyway, my experience is that 2 thinly sliced potatoes is too much.
Dough and potato opinions aside, this pizza was pretty awesome, if a touch salty. The potatoes had a really great texture, and the garlic was soooo good.

I did make one major mistake, though. I over-oiled the baking sheet when I should have floured it instead. Therefore, my crust was a little overly oily on the bottom. Overall, though

I can't complain.

I was in the Twin Cities last weekend for a job interview with another AmeriCorps organization. My aunt and I decided that we should do some cooking while I was in the area, and I told her I'd gladly blog about it.
We decided on this Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic recipe and The Purple Foodie's Garlicky Baked Fries. It was one garlic-y night, let me tell you.
Here is my aunt Linnea, getting creative with the notion of pounding chicken flat. We decided to split up. She took the chicken recipe, and I did the potatoes.
My uncle Dave, cutting garlic. I think we ended up with more like 20 cloves of garlic, but it was still awesome.
Here I am, stirring up the taters.
Andrew (my boyfriend) helped too, mainly by fetching me various things.

Check out the final product!
Oh yeah.
For one, I think this is the best food photograph I've ever taken. For two, this was as good as it looks. Aunt Linnea is a rockstar.


You pretty much can't go wrong with these potatoes, though I think I may have baked them a smidgen too long. I think we used Yukon gold potatoes instead of russets, which accounts for the yellow color. Well, that and the garlic infused olive oil. Mmm, garlic.

It was really fun to tag team with Aunt Linnea while I was up in the cities. Hopefully, I can snag a Twin Cities position next year so we can do this again.

No pictures for this, since it's cooking away at my house right now.

I did not come up with this recipe. I got it from one of the incredible ladies over on SmartChat. It's easy and curry-tastic.
Here's what's up:
Veggies (today I'm using carrots, celery, onions, and garlic, but I know I've used broccoli before. Use whatever you like best).
Boneless skinless chicken breast (I think one per person, so one for me).
A can of Lite Coconut Milk
Green Curry Paste (The kind I have is mild. Use whatever you prefer and how much you prefer. I use about a Tbsp).

I also doctored this up a bit with some Rogan Josh seasoning and a drizzle of sriracha.

Layer your crock pot like this: veggies, then chicken, then liquid. Put the lid on and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Shred the chicken and serve the whole mess over rice. Mmm.

I have been eating pretty terribly lately, so a good crock pot recipe with a high propensity for leftovers is much called for.

These past few weeks have been surprisingly busy, and next week looks busy too. We're kickin' it into high gear for spring!

Sauces and I are not traditionally friends. My favorite way to sauce a pasta is either to fake a cream sauce with cream cheese or to open a jar. I think the only pasta sauce I ever successfully made without incident was the cheese sauce for The Pioneer Woman's mac and cheese.

Spinach and I are friends. I love spinach, and would even go so far to say that it is my favorite leafy green foodstuff. The problem with spinach is that I can never eat an entire pack of it before it goes back. Grocery stores need to sell 1/2 or 1/4 packs for people who live alone. Anyway, in an attempt to up my vegetable intake, I bought a package of spinach. I've been using it almost daily on sandwiches and things, but I've barely made a dent in it.

How else could I use the spinach? I did some pondering the other night and decided that a creamy spinach pasta would be a delightful dinner.

Well, it was not without its flaws, but it was tasty.

Firstly, I didn't put in nearly enough spinach. Secondly, I started the sauce/spinach saute much too early, so it reduced too much by the time I needed it. It was pretty tasty, though. Especially when I paired it with some warm garlic bread.
I eyeballed basically everything and I have no idea how much spaghetti I used. The goal was to use enough to for leftovers for lunch the next day, which I had. I also had about a serving and a half at dinner. So enough spaghetti for about three servings?
1 Tbsp. butter
4 minced gloves of garlic
2 cups of fresh baby spinach
3/4 cup of white wine, divided
1/4 cup of milk
1 oz fat free cream cheese
1 Tbsp. cornstarch (added because the sauce was not to the thickness I wanted)
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Enough spaghetti for three servings

In a pot, get the water going for the spaghetti. I started the sauce before the spaghetti and it was a huge and obvious mistake. Once the water is boiling, toss in the spaghetti and let it cook for the amount of time it states on the package.
In a small pan, melt the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add in the spinach and allow it to wilt down. Stir it all up. Add 1/2 cup of the wine and let it bowl and reduce a little bit.
Strain the spaghetti and put it back on the stove top on low heat. Add in the spinach/wine mixture and stir. Add the cream cheese, milk, and the rest of the wine. Stir. If the sauce doesn't thicken to your liking, add cornstarch. Finally, stir in the Parmesan cheese and serve. I ground some pepper on mine, but don't feel obligated if that isn't your thing.

Cheesy, garlicky, spinachy. I wish I had added way more spinach, but there you have it. I love cooking with white wine, by the way. There's something about it that adds such an excellent flavor.

The garlic bread was a take and bake loaf I picked up at my local grocery store. It wasn't very garlicky, but it was still quite good and was an excellent addition to the pasta.

I'm not sure what else I have planned for this week in the food department. I'm still pawing through my new cookbooks. This week, in comparison to last week, is very quiet and somewhat slow. I feel like busy week and not-so-busy weeks tend to be equally draining at the end of the day.

Last week was a lazy week for cooking. I honestly don't even remember what I had for dinner last week. I think it's because I was so geared up for my hoity toity dinner with my boyfriend in Minneapolis.
Andrew and I didn't see each other on Valentine's Day, and his birthday was on the 19th, so we decided to do this past weekend instead. He booked us a reservation at Porter and Frye's, which is a small fancy place in the Hotel Ivy.
I won't bore you with our dinner details, but I will say that everything was excellent and it was really fun to go somewhere like that when we normally wouldn't. I mean, the dessert was plated like something from Iron Chef. You just don't see that at the local burger joint.

Anyway, it was time to head back to the kitchen. Tuesday at work I was wracking my brain, trying to come up with something to eat that wasn't spaghetti. Then it dawned on me: Chicken Enchiladas. Chicken Enchiladas are high on my list of favorite foods. In fact, my mom makes me enchiladas pretty frequently when I visit because I love them so much. Mom's enchiladas are the best, of course. I hope she doesn't get too offended that this isn't her recipe. Someday I'll make Mom's enchiladas, but it's just never the same, you know?
Apologies that this picture isn't better. I'm experimenting with my food photography.
Here is what went down:

4 tortillas
4 oz cream cheese (or lite cream cheese)
1/4 c. salsa
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 c. cooked chicken, chopped
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 c. shredded colby jack cheese

Grease a baking dish and preheat the oven to 350F. In a small sauce pan, melt the cream cheese and salsa together. Once the mixture is more or less homogeneous, toss in the garlic, chicken, and spices. Stir together and heat through.
Spread about a fourth of the mixture on a tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and filling, then place in the baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.
Sprinkle the enchiladas with cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Mom does get credit for this recipe, as it was her homemade salsa I put in my enchiladas. Mmmm.
These enchiladas, while not as good as Mom's, were still pretty good and very easy. I got a little over enthusiastic with the filling and ended up with only three enchiladas instead of four. One of these days I'll post Mom's recipe, but for now these will do.

One of the defining factors of AmeriCorps VISTA is that each VISTA lives at the poverty level. We don't receive a salary, we receive a living allowance. When I was first hired, we went to a meeting with all the pre-existing VISTAs, who told us all about their years and the things they did to get by. One of the recommendations was the food assistance program, referred to as EBT or food stamps. Since we live at the poverty level, we qualify.

I decided to sign up. I wish I could say I had an honorable reason, like I wanted to know the trials and tribulations people and poverty are faced with. Honestly, though, I was just pumped about food. I love food. I love cooking. I knew that I was not going to be able to afford much in the way of food. Therefore, I went for it and signed up for EBT.

The process was really pretty simple. I applied online, and then I received a phone call to schedule my interview. I went to my local Department of Human Services Office early one morning and met with my case worker. I showed her my pay stubs from my pre-VISTA job and my job description of my VISTA year. Just like that, I qualified. She gave me some information about what kinds of things you can buy and what you can't (alcohol, paper products, ready to eat food, etc). I had my card about a week later, and suddenly the goverment was paying for my groceries.

I love the food assistance program. I am so glad it exists. I can't imagine trying to budget this year without it. I don't have to worry about food at all, I receive more than enough food assistance money each month in my EBT card to buy all the groceries I need and then some.


There are definite fun benefits to having an EBT card as well. For example, EBT cards are accepted in all 50 states. If you're on vacation and you want to buy something from the local grocery store, you totally can depending on the store. I visit my boyfriend in Minneapolis a few time a month. To my complete delight, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods both except EBT. Therefore, poor Andrew gets dragged along while I buy ridiculous and tasty things.

Hence, this gnocchi. I had never had gnocchi before in my entire life. I had definitely never seen it in a grocery store. Therefore, I had to pick some up when I saw this at Trader Joe's. Here is how it went down:
About 1 cup of potato gnocchi
3 Tbsp butter
2 frozen garlic cubes (another crazy TJs find!) or two cloves of garlic, minced
About a Tbsp of Italian herbs (I used Penzeys Bouquet Garni)
Two cut up green onions
About an 8th of a wheel of brie cheese

Boil some water based on the gnocchi package directions. Salt the water, then plop in the gnocchi. Let them cook for about 2 minutes after they start floating, then drain. In the mean time, melt the butter in a saute pan. Drop in the garlic, herbs, and green onions. Let them cook down a little until your kitchen smells totally awesome and the green onions have softened. Then, add the gnocchi to the pan and saute for a few minutes. Add in the brie and let it melt a little. I didn't leave the brie on the heat very long. Instead, I let it melt by stirring it when it was in the serving bowl.

There you are! Decadent, rich gnocchi and garlic and green onions and brie. NOMS.

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.

Well, things have been pretty crazy here in Podunkville...or rather, Slightly Less Podunkville. I moved rather abruptly last weekend and am resided with my coworker on campus. Luckily, she also likes to cook and has a decent sized kitchen.
Last night we made Mock Alfredo, a recipe we adapted from Going Solo in the Kitchen. Here is what we did:
A little olive oil for cooking
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup of fresh spinach (approximately)
Several ounces of thin spaghetti (enough for the two of us plus a little leftover)
2 ounces of cream cheese
6 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Pepper to taste
Grated Fontina to taste
A little milk for texture

In a small pan, sweat down the onions and garlic in a little olive oil. Meanwhile, bring water to boil for the pasta. Boil pasta until done to your liking and drain. Return to heat and stir in the cream cheese. Add milk if it gets too thick. Stir in the Parmesan, one tbsp. at a time.
Add the spinach to the onions and garlic and wilt them down. Once everything is cooked to your liking, add the onions, garlic, and spinach to the pasta. Stir until incorporated. Pepper to your liking. Grate some Fontina on top (if you want).

Serve and enjoy! It is filling and surprisingly flavorful. It's also sooo easy to make, and easy to adapt. The original recipe doesn't include the garlic, onions, and spinach. We just like those things a lot.

I like hummus. It's one of those things I never thought I'd like because I don't like beans or bean dip, really. Since hummus doesn't bring either of those things immediately to mind, I find I like it quite a bit.
I've made my own hummus a few times. Well, maybe "chickpea puree" is more appropriate, since I don't use tahini. I don't have anything against tahini, I just don't happen to have any in my pantry. So. Here is my hummus recipe. It should be pretty easy to alter if you want to add tahini or season it differently.

CHILI LIME HUMMUS
1 can of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), drained
a splash of chicken broth
2 Tbsp. lime juice
Several cloves of garlic (I like garlic a lot, so 4-6 is modest for me)
Salt and pepper to taste
Approximately 1 Tbsp. chili powder (I used Chili 3000 from Penzeys)

Dump everything into a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Eat.
Adjust flavors and texture as desired.

I find, too, that it's better after being refrigerated overnight. The flavors marry yadda yadda it's tastier.

I was on a brief scone kick at the end of last week. I made two batches and neither turned out quite right. I used the classic Better Homes & Gardens recipe, but I substituted milk instead of cream. This was an epic mistake. It changed the texture of the scone from awesomely dense to weirdly muffinish. Oh well. The strawberry scones turned out slightly better than the chocolate chip ones.
I have learned two very valuable lessons from the scone debacle: 1. Never substitute milk for heavy cream. 2. Honey butter makes everything extremely delicious.

I also decided to make an Onion and Spinach Custard from Going Solo In The Kitchen, my new single-living cookbook. I'm not really sure what I expected, because I hate eggs and egg dishes. Here is the recipe:

1/3 cup raw rice (or 2/3 cup cooked)
2 tsp. olive oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup scallion greens (optional)
1 1/3 cups chopped raw spinach
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh herbs (I used basil, thyme, and garlic chives)
1/3 cup cottage or ricotta cheese
2 medium eggs
1/2 cup milk
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I used Fontina).

In a large pot of boiling water, boil the rice for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a heavy enameled or stainless steel frying pan. Add the onion, scallion greens, and spinach. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes, or until the vegetables are slight wilted. Stir in the herbs.
In a mixing bowl, beat together the cottage/ricotta cheese, eggs, and milk. Add the vegetable mixture and rice. Season with pepper and stir in the cheese. Spoon into an oiled 6-cup dish (I used a small Corelle baking dish). Cover loosely with a piece of foil. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 1 hour. The custard should be cooked through. Remove cover and bake another 5 minutes to brown the top. Let sit for 1 minute before unmolding. Serve warm.

It wasn't bad, exactly. It just wasn't my thing. It was too egg-y for one, and it was also sort of bland. In my opinion, it would have greatly benefited from a hearty dash of garlic powder and perhaps some salt.

Tonight, I am going to poach some chicken breasts in the hopes that the leftovers will make good lunch meat.

On less cooking related notes, I am still getting strange visitors after moving out of my parents' attic. Yesterday morning I found a small frog in the middle of my room. It was clear that he had come through the window air conditioner because he was covered in lint. I have no idea how he got from the window to the middle of the floor, though. I felt bad for the little guy, so I scooped him up and set him outside near the downspout. As far as I know he made it, even dehydrated as he was.

I am actually looking forward to winter so that nothing else invades my space via the window air conditioner.

The only other VISTA on this campus right now is working on green initiative and sustainability. She spends Thursday mornings working at her advisor's farm and comes home with arm loads of fresh vegetables. We decided to do a stir fry last night. She provided the veggies and the wheat spaghetti for pan fried noodles, I provided my box of spices and my sub par knife skills.

It was delicious.

In soy oil, we simmered garlic and carrots with ginger powder and other spices. Then we gradually added in other veggies in accordance to cooking time. Broccoli was next, following by small onions, and finally zucchini and yellow squash. We seasoned liberally with soy sauce, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and an herb blend called Bouquet Garni. The final touches were the wheat spaghetti and some fresh basil (she also has a basil plant).

It was so good, although maybe a touch too spicy. We ate with chopsticks and congratulated ourselves on a job well done. I promised I'd have actually cooked something by the next time I posted and I have...with help, of course.