Banana-Bran Muffins

Also made muffins for sb club.

Banana-Bran Muffins

2 1/2 C All Bran Extra Fiber Cereal
1 1/2 bananas (reserve half for garninsh)
1 1/2 C 1 % milk (or use equivalent powdered buttermilk)
1 T baking powder
1/2 t kosher salt
12 packets splenda
1/4 torani sugar free caramel syrup
1 t vanilla
1 egg
1/2 C flax seed meal
1/2 C lowfat plain yogurt
1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
oat bran (optional for garnish)

1. Measure ceral into mixing bowl and stir in milk. Let sit a few minutes until bran is softened.
2. Add mashed bananas, reserving half a banana for garnish.
3. Stir in baking powder, salt, splenda, syrup, vanilla, egg, and flax meal.
4. Fold in flour.
5. Spoon into lined muffin tins and garnish with oat bran and banana slice. Bake in 400 degree over for 25 minutes of until done.

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Pad Thai and Tom Yum Soup

I made yummy pad thai and tom yum soup for my sb lunch club today. Okay this has no exact measurements because I do not measure.

Pad Thai
- Rice Noodles, soaked in hot water ( I usually use the pho noodles sold in the refrigerated section but in this case I experimented with mung bean or cellophane noodles)
- chicken breast, sliced
- extra firm tofu
- shrimp
- eggs
- paprika
- pad thai sauce
- fish sauce
- garlic
- limes
- cilantro
- bean sprouts
- green onions
- peanuts

Since I baked the muffins the morning I went ahead and put the cube of tofu on a strainer and placed a heavy casserole on top to squeeze out the excess water. I then sliced the tofu and put into the oven to dry. I also stuck a pan of peanuts in there to toast.

The dish turned out a lot better than I had expected. The mung bean noodles were different but not bad at all.



Tom Yum Soup
- Can of chicken broth
- water
- chicken bones that I had in the freezer
- shrimp
- chicken breast strips
- mushrooms
- zucchini
- cilantro
- lime
- onions
- tomatoes
- fish sauce
- tom yum base
- chili in soy bean oil (i use the patainorasing brand)

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In the Pantry

I'm trying to figure out what to make cook using the ingredients from my pantry.

Flours/Grains/Dry Goods:
- whole wheat pastry flour
- whole wheat flour
- almond flour
- oat bran
- flax seed meal
- flax seeds
- chia seeds
- steel cut oats
- wheat berries
- bran
- nuts (peanuts, pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios...)
- whole wheat pasta
- semolina
- rice flour

Meats:
- whole chicken
- IQF chicken drums
- ground chicken breast
- ground turkey italian sausage
- ground turkey
- turkey carcass
- IQF shrimp
- applewood smoked bacon
- canned salmon
- canned sardines (in tomato sauce, in water, in green chile...)
- canned chicken breast

Produce/Veggies:
- eggplant slices
- tomatoes
- lemons
- cilantro
- calabasa squash
- bananas
- canned tomatoes
- canned green beans
- frozen broccoli
- frozen endamame

Dairy:
- plain nonfat yogurt
- plain low fat yogurt
- 1 % milk
- eggs
- powdered egg whites
- powdered buttermilk
- sour cream
- riccotta cheese
- parmesan cheese
- unsalted butter

Spices/Seasonings:
- almost everything you can think of
- saffron
- garam masala
- curry powder
- curry paste
- herbes de provence
- hungarian paprika
- pumpkin pie spice
- cinnamon
- tarragon
- thyme
- oregano
- cumin
- soy sauce
- fish sauce
- vinegars (cider, balsamic, seasoned rice...)
- oyster sauce
- sweet chili sauce
- sriracha
- coconut milk (canned & powdered)
- and so on

I'm thinking I can make:
- chicken adobo
- stuffed poblanos (grandma's meat filling)
- salmon burgers

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South Beach Yogurt

This is a picture of the yogurt that I have been eating lately. It is basically nonfat plain yogurt (I buy the tubs of Dannon) with sugar free jello powder. People at work nickname it radioactive yogurt and pepto yogurt. The first time I had this I thought I was eating a spoonful of heaven. Lisa was not too impressed the first time she tried it. I found half of it in the sink and the other half in the trash. She now enjoys it and says she will not go back to regular yogurt. It is surprisingly very good. Lisa and I alternate buying a tub of yogurt each week. We keep the mixed yogurt and keep it in the refrigerator at work.

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Celadon Restaurant

Celadon Restaurant - Hillcrest
540 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
http://www.celadonrestaurant.com/html/main.html

Duck Drunken Noodle, Duck Lad Nar, Choo Chee Duck, Asparagus w/ Shrimp & Chicken, Chicken Shrimp Tofu Pad Thai, Papaya Salad, Tom Yum Krung, Chicken Red Curry w/ Potatoes

Meal for four. I thought it was a bit much when we ran out of room on the table but hey it is not very often that we are able to get together for a meal at Celadon. It used to be part of our girl's night out routine every Friday night. Now everyone is all grown up with their own lives and we are too busy (or too far) to meet at Celadon. I highly recommend Celadon. The sister restaurant, Rama on Fourth in downtown San Diego is equally yummy is a little pricier.

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Lee's Sandwiches

When I go home to San Diego I make the hour and a half drive up to Irvine. Right across the street from UC Irvine is a sandwhich shop called Lee's. For about $2.00 you can get a delicious 10 inch sandwhich filled with meat (I always get the grilled chicken), carrots, daikon. onions, cilantro, jalapeno slices, cucumber, and mayo. It is absolutely heaven. These Vietnamese sandwiches are called banh mi. The store bakes the french baguettes every day for the sandwiches.

The last time I was in California my friend Scott picked me up from LAX and we stopped by Lee's before going down to San Diego. When he came to visit me in Denver he brought a little box of my favorite little custard filled cakes called deli manjoo. There are several locations throughout California, Arizona, and Texas. I wish they would open one in Denver. There are NO good banh mi shops in Denver. I tried a little place on Federal Blvd. that my vietnamese nail tech recommended to me. I was disappointed. I've come to terms with the fact that I cannot find many things that I am able to find back home.

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Weird Cravings: Chicken Liver

I have had some weird cravings lately. A couple of days ago I craved sardines. Now that I am thinking about it I do want some more. I want the canned sardines in the tomato sauce. I have a can of the kind packed in water. I wonder what I can do with them. Tomorrow I think I will stop by the grocery store for some chicken livers. I think whenever my body needs iron I start craving chicken liver. I gave blood yesterday. I think that depleted my iron stores. This is what I like to do with chicken liver.

Chicken Liver
- Chicken Liver (washed and cleaned)
- butter
- onions, diced
- celery, rough chop
- carrots, rough chop
- salt & pepper to taste
- dash thyme
- dash tarragon
- flour (althout this time I made it w/out flour)

1. Wash, clean, and pat dry liver.
2. Season with salt & pepper.
3. Dredge in flour
4. Melt butter in saute pan.
5. Saute onions in butter. Add liver a few pieces at a time and brown.
6. Add celery and onions. Cook through.

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Eggplant Lasagna

I will post pictures after I put the lasagna in the oven. I prepped and assembled it last night to give the eggplant slices time to absorb the flavors from the sauce. (The picture didn't turn out that great.)

I have no recipe for the sauce. I usually get crushed tomatoes in a can. San Marzanos whenever I can find them. Most brands of crushed tomatoes have sugar added so I buy the cans of whole peeled tomatoes and chop them myself. When Frank showed me how he made his sauce he put the resulting sauce in a blender for me because at that time I did prefer a smooth sauce. The sauce usually starts with olive oil, onion, and garlic. I always use dried oregano because I do not feel the flavor of fresh oregano is much better than the dried. What I do believe in is fresh basil. I didn't use fresh this time. I add veggies such as red bell pepper or a jar of roasted pimentos to help sweeten up the sauce. The meat also usually varies. Sometimes it is just ground turkey or ground turkey italian sausage. It is never the same. I vary it up according to what I have on hand.

I partially peeled the eggplant and sliced them up really thinly. I did consider also using zucchini slices but I decided against it and put them back in the fridge. The ricotta cheese was mixed with eggs, parsely, and a pinch of nutmeg. I didn't have any frozen spinach otherwise that would have been layered with everything else. I put the sauce on the bottom of the pan, layers fof eggplant, ricotta mixture, fresh grated parmesan, mozzarella cheese, and topped it all off with a sprinkling of pine nuts. Pine nuts are yummy!

Edit***In my opinion the eggplant lasagna was not that great. Even after salting and squeezing out the water, the eggplant still made the dish really watery. I think next time I make it I will roast the slices in the oven first to dry them out and to cook them a little more. I felt the eggplant could have been a little more cooked. It was watery and hard to slice. When I took it to work the next day it sliced very nicely. Lisa said it was delicious. Cinque didn't even notice that the noodles were missing. Karen had it for dinner and the next day she said it was delicious. It wasn't a disaster afterall. I still was not convinced it was lasagna.

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Culinary School

No recipes here but a bunch of pictures from my time at Johnson & Wales. This was intro to baking and pastry.

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Malisa's Caramel Flax Muffins

This recipe stemmed from my cravings for muffins. Flax is a seed full of omega 3 fatty acids. The seed is ground up into a meal. The texture is fluffy; almost spongey. I can't really compare the flavor to anything. The caramel syrup adds a different dimension to to the muffins.

Malisa's Caramel Flax Muffins

3 large eggs
1/4 C 1% milk
2 T butter; melted or canola oil
10 packets splenda
2 T Torani Sugar Free Caramel Syrup
2 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
pinch kosher salt
3/4 t baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 C flax seed meal
1/4 soy flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk together eggs & milk. Whisk in melted butter or canola oil. Add remaining ingredients and mix together gently.

Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Divide batter evenly between six muffins tins. Bake 15-20 minutes.

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