Traditional Thanksgiving Dish: Winter Succotash!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Although I love cooking, I hardly ever make Thanksgiving dinner. I have enough aunts to make much more food than the family could ever eat. Thus, it's hardly necessary for me to cook. However, this year, I'm determined to make food and contribute to our Thanksgiving feast.

Since my family is Asian, I wanted to do something more educational. Succotash is something that most likely be

Winter Succotash

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1/2 tablespoon of canola or another high heat oil like coconut or peanut oil

1 1/2 Cup of winter squash ( I used butternut)

1 Cup of corn

1 Bell Pepper, chopped

1 can of Luma Bean

Dried herb: thyme

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Add oil to pan and then sautee the butter Squash over medium high heat until slightly soften. About 7 minutes.
2. Add corn and bell pepper. Add dried herb. Reduce heat.
3. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook until done.

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Preparing for the Feast (...and a recipe One Pot Vegan Pasta)

I love reading. I love cooking. So, naturally, reading cookbooks is something I wish I have more time to do. Back when I had my first Food Confession blog, I would literally spend an eight to ten hours day just cooking. I would spend hours pouring over not just cookbooks but also the Internet, cooking shows, and any other sources I can get my hands on. So, as I pour over these volumes, I wish I still have that much time to cook and experument. Oh, the woes of having a day job and being responsible!

One of the book I was reading was called Martha Stewart's One Pot Meal. As a busy working woman, I love one pot meals. They're easy and sometimes require very minimal prepping. Because I love vegetables, because I do love vegan food, and because I have a locally sourced produce store down the street from where I live, one recipe stood out to me. This one.

Now, I, being who I am, just could not follow the recipe. I love experimenting, and I love developing flavors. Simplicity is not in my nature. You can, of course, just follow the recipe, and, I'm sure, it will be delicious as simple recipes often are. Or, you can do what I do.

One Pot Meal Vegan Pasta

Ingredients

12 ounces linguine
12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
1 onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
2 sprigs basil, plus torn leaves for garnish
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
4 1/2 cups water
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving if desired

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Take half of the onions and tomatoes and place them in a sheet pan. Wrap the garlic in tin foil. Place it in the pan with the onions and tomatoes. Place both of them in the oven for about 15 mins. 

Roasting give the vegetables a smoky, nutty flavors that simply boiling them can't bring forth.

3. Now, place them all in a pot, and bring to a boil.
4. Then, reduce to medium heat. Let it go until the pasta is cooked. While cooking, season to taste. 

Note: I didn't have linguine so I used angel hair. It didn't work out well. I think, as a substitute, a heartier pasta like spaghetti might have worked better.

Experiment, and try different things. Let me know what you think.

Happy cooking!

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...I'm really back at it

I guess I didn't have the best start. I think I must have started the second post at least five times before I completely forgot about it. However, late is better than not at all right? Well, at least, that's what I am telling myself.

Lately, I have been cooking and made some pretty delicious meals, if I do say so myself. Also, my kitchen, although still tiny, had acquired more tools for me to play with. Two items that brought me much excitement are a slow cooker and a pressure cooker. I haven't experimented with the pressure cooker yet but the slow cooker had had plenty of used. Two dishes I was very proud of were an Irish stew and a white bean chili. I have photographic documentations for neither of those unfortunately. Hunger got the best of me.

Anyway, I've been on the vegan/vegetarian kick. Not that I'll ever go completely vegan, but more on that later. So, I made this last night as a before dinner snack.

However, I didn't think my snack was hearty enough. So, I added a poached egg. Still healthy. I've been in love with poached egg since Japan. They put it on everything. One of the many things I loved to put poached eggs on is Zaru Soba.

Soba was going to be my second post. My time on Japan had greatly influenced my taste buds. I will write a post about Soba and Japanese food. The next couple of post will be about Thanksgiving. Happy cooking!

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