We LOVE this marinade.  The longer you let it sit, the juicier it gets!  Serve it with garlic parmesan mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and you are set!  This is the full recipe, I cut it in half for the two of us.

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely minced fresh parsley

Marinate and grill!

If you have been keeping up with the progress of my beautiful handcrafted camphor laurel chopping, cheese boards and Mezzaluna Boards. My official site is finally finished and live so to see my full collection please click here.

Ingredients

2kg Duck legs
3 Garlic cloves, crushed
2 Star anise
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
2 Teaspoons sesame oil
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 Tablespoons sweet chili sauce
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 Tablespoons green ginger wine

Method

1. Marinate duck in remaining ingredients for about 8 hours (from the morning until dinner time is good). Turn occasionally through the day.

2. Heat oven to 160c/330f.

3. Remove the duck from the marinade and lay on a foil lined baking sheet.

4. Bake for 2 hours or until very tender.

5. You may need to pour off the fat a couple of times during the cooking time.

Serve with rice or noodles, I served ours over braised cabbage

All photos taken by me unless otherwise stated.

Please welcome the first post for the new category...<drumroll>...Supermarket Secrets! Nowadays supermarkets and convenience stores are so cram-packed with different items, it's impossible to find out which products are the absolute must-buys. And let's face it, teriyaki-sauce recommendations isn't on the common conversation pieces list.

I originally wanted to post a picture of "Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki." Unfortunately, it seems like Trader Joe's replaced it with what I can only assume is their store-brand version of the same product. Tsk tsk Joe! Either way, it comes in an exactly the same shaped bottle and that bottle is packed with exactly the same great taste found in its Soy Vay counterpart. (plus it was cheaper!) Here is a link to Soy Vay.

Unlike a typical teriyaki sauce, it's packed with chunks of ginger, garlic, and sesame seeds. It isn't excessively salty or sweet, so you don't need to worry about it drowning the flavor of your meats and vegetables away.

"Trader Min's Soyaki Sauce is a unique Asian style sauce made with preservative free soy sauce, fresh ginger, fresh garlic and sesame seeds. Great as a marinade before grilling and cooking, or as a stir fry sauce. Try it on poultry, fish, meat, vegetables or tofu. No artificial colors or flavors. No preservatives."

Grilled Flank Steak

2 (1-pound) flank steaks
5 green onions, chopped
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tsps. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsps. garlic powder
3 tbps. honey
2 tbsps. vinegar

Mix all ingredients except steak in a ziplock bag. Prick the steak all over with a fork and place steak in bag, seal, and smoosh (technical term there) all together. Let steak marinate all day in the refrigerator or at east 8 hours.

When ready to grill, remove steak from bag and discard marinade remaining in the bag.

Grill steaks for 5 minutes on each side or until done to your taste. Slice against the grain into thin strips.

Serves 6

Happy Cooking!

This concoction uses considerably more processed ingredients than most of my other recipes, but even these can be part of a healthy lifestyle if used in moderation and on rare occasions - like that perfect late-summer barbecue. They can all be easily found in the Asian section of a conventional market.

The amount will work for approximately 2 lbs of meat. Because the sauce contains honey, you need to be very careful when grilling - it will burn easily, so after you sear on the initial grill marks, move the meat to an area of the grill with low heat to finish cooking.

ingredients:

• 2 T light soy sauce
• 2 T dark soy sauce
• 1/4 c honey or light molasses
• 2 T oyster sauce
• 2 T Shaoxing cooking wine
• 2 T hoisin sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp five-spice powder (optional) or anise seed

method:

1. Combine all the ingredients.
2. Rinse and pat dry the meat you intend to barbecue, then rub all over with the sauce.
3. Refrigerate the meat in the sauce at least 3 h or overnight, turning once or twice.
4. Remove the meat from the marinade and grill to desired doneness - don't forget the sauce will burn easily, so turn down the heat or move to a cooler section after the initial sear.
5. While the meat grills, bring the sauce to a simmer on the stove and simmer on low for 4-5 m. It will now be safe to use this sauce either to give the meat a final coat when it's cooked or to serve on the side as a dip. If you have any left over, you can freeze it and reuse it.

* 3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
* 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
* 2 teaspoons honey
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder
* 1 pound boneless pork loin chops, cut into thin strips
* 1 tablespoon canola oil
* 2 cups broccoli florets
* 3 medium carrots, sliced
* 3 celery ribs, sliced
* 4 cups shredded cabbage
* 6 green onions, sliced
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* Hot cooked rice

DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup broth, soy sauce, vinegar, honey and garlic powder; mix well. Pour 1/3 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; add the pork. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.
2. Drain and discard marinade from pork. In large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry pork in oil for 2-3 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm. In the same pan, stir-fry broccoli and carrots in reserved marinade for 2 minutes. Add celery; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add cabbage and green onions; stir-fry 2-3 minutes longer or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
3. Combine cornstarch and remaining broth until smooth; stir into vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. Return pork to the pan; heat through. Serve over rice if desired.

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup THREE LEAF balsamic vinegar (see my suggestions below for details)
• 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4-5 sprigs of rosemary
• The juice of one lemon
• 4 Chicken Breasts
• Two 8oz. packages of crimini mushrooms ("Baby Bella")
• Two red bell peppers
• 10-12 medium-sized shallots
• 4 large poblano peppers
• Salt and pepper

This is a great thing to make for a party, since you can do almost everything in advance.

Step 1 is to marinade your chicken. Bruise your rosemary sprigs by twisting them up a few times. This will release more of the oils inside, which is where all that rosemary flavor comes from. Put your sprigs in a plastic zip-top bag with 1/4 cup of your balsamic vinegar and 1/2 cup of your olive oil. Squeeze the lemon into the bag as well. Salt and pepper to taste. Cut your chicken into 1.5" x 1.5" x 1.5" cubes, put them in the bag, close it and toss them around to coat them evenly with the marinate. Refrigerate for 6-12 hours.

Step 2 is to wash all your vegetables. Yes, you can wash the mushrooms too, as long as you alow them to try in a strainer for 15 minutes before putting them in their marinade. The whole "mushrooms soak up a whole lot of water" thing is just a myth, assuming they're allowed to completely dry.

Step 3 is to marinate the mushrooms. These don't need nearly as much time to marinate compared to your chicken, so you can do this immediately before you prep the rest of your vegetables. Mix the remaining 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar with 1/2 cup of olive oil in a zip-top bag. Salt and pepper to taste, and add your mushrooms. Refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.

Prep all your veggies by cutting them into small (1.5" x 1.5") pieces. It's very important to have everything about the same size, because then it will all be done at the same time. Spear the mushrooms on the axis of the stock, right through the middle. Things on each skewer should be touching, but not squished together.

Heat your grill up to 450 degrees (medium high ish) and cook for 7 minutes, turn, and then another 7 minutes. Let them rest for 5 minutes after you take them off the grill, and serve.

NOTES:

• Balsamic vinegar comes in many different varieties, and there are many imitations out there. The first thing to look for on the bottle is the word "Modena". This is the region of Italy, from which all real balsamic vinegar comes. Just like with vanilla extract, accept no imitations! The second thing you need to know is how strong the vinegar is. Balsamic vinegar can vary from sweet and flowing to unbearably strong and thick. Your vinegar, if real, will have a rating of one to four leaves on the front. Three leaf vinegar is what you want to use for marinades (in the amount I have above). If you used a half cup of four leaf vinegar for the mushroom marinade, they might be borderline inedible. If you used a half cup of one-leaf, you might have to marinade them overnight to be able to taste anything.
• You will want to semi-indirect cook the kebabs if you're using a grill. This means the burner under them is on low, and the burner(s) not under them are on hi.
• Most people don't like red hot sticks shoved through their food. For your guests' benefit and safety, take all your food off the skewers before serving.

First, we had some turkey marinating in Caribbean Jerk sauce.  It had been marinating since Sunday so it was definitely time to use it.

Second, I needed to use some of my bok choy and water spinach from the Farmer's Market last week.

I convinced myself that this would work perfectly.  And it almost did.

the citric acid causes the proteins in to become denatured, which pickles or "cooks" the meat/fish without heat.

Ceviche made with shrimp is quite good- I've made it before. Chicken "acid-cooked" then under the broiler for 10 minutes is a little tougher to swallow- literally. Fortunately, the red bell pepper and onion slices I also put under the broiler came out quite tasty.  Isn't this beautiful?

Now for the stir-fry part of the meal! I researched recipes using water spinach but didn't find much beyond "stir fry with garlic." So, that is what I did.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Heat 1-2 teaspoons of the cooking oil over medium heat in a non-stick pan.  Add the garlic-ginger mash and saute about 30 seconds then add the onoin.  Continue to cook 2-3 minutes more before adding the bok choy.  Sprinkle some sesame oil over the vegetables, add more garlic and ginger if you want.  Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the water spinach to the pan.  Keep the leaves moving in the pan, tossing with the bok choy and onions.  When the spinach is wilted but still a nice bright green, toss with a teaspoon of soy sauce and garnish with Gomasio.

Notice no salt? Gomasio is a Japanese condiment made with salt.  I use the garlic version but you can get it plain, with seaweed added and other varietes from Eden Foods.  A quick and simple lunch I like is 1/2 an avocado, mashed and mixed with canned tuna, chopped tomatoes and Gomasio then served on crackers or rice cakes.

JasonF! Thanks for finding a link to that article within two minutes! Google had totally flummoxed me yesterday, or else I ran out of patience, or else it was newly posted. It was a relief to send it along to the editor to prove that the article did in fact still exist and that I hadn't made it all up.

griefbone! Thanks for looking up the article in Lexis and sending me such a pretty, formatted copy that I can edit directly, instead of messing around with word wraps and extra spacing.

kem! Thanks for knowing what wine I was drinking and recommending a better one. I'll definitely look up Jackson Creek next time I'm at the grocery store. I'll make sure I'll bring that extra dollar. Also thanks for reading this blog in the first place. I am touched. And then inflated with a sense of my own importance.

******

Second order of business is a recipe report. I bought four pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast last week because it was on sale from $21 to $6... days ahead of the sell-by date. Because it was days ahead of the date I got sloppy and let it sit in the fridge until I noticed today it "expired." I decided, because my stupid garden is only producing chili peppers reliably, to look up some kind of slow-cooker chicken chili recipe. I found one, but I didn't have beans in the house, and I was going to adapt a beanless chili that used beef, but the thought of chopping up four pounds of raw meat into pieces that approximated ground meat was daunting. Besides, the recipe I had called for tapioca pudding, which I really did not want to use. But because when I deviate from recipes I usually ruin dinner, I was going to use it anyway. I mean, fuck. It's on hand. I have no idea why I have tapioca pudding mix on hand, much less open, but what a serendipitous moment, right? Still not enough to get me enthusiastic about meat chopping, though.

When Husband called midday wondering where he should kill time during a hole in his schedule, a talk about the grocery store ended up changing the menu plan to chicken parmigiana. Amazingly, I had breadcrumbs on hand, and powdered parmesan cheese. Kewl. More amazing was the fact that I already knew how to bread a chicken breast and that I could mix a tasty breading without checking a recipe (Italian breadcrumbs from the blue cardboard tube, parmesan cheese, oregano, garlic powder, basil, parsley--nothing fancy). I only had to look up how long to bake it. Talk about the moment when you feel like a real adult! I noticed on the page I ended up at that they added butter... BUTTER... to the beaten egg before breading it. Well, I love butter. I tried that and everything smelled twice as good.

My problem before has always been getting breading to stick. I finally started dredging the chicken in flour, THEN the egg/butter, and THEN the breadcrumbs. I'm probably the last person to learn about the flour first, and I'm sure I read it somewhere but it works. Baking the chicken is always risky with my crappy oven, but about forty minutes at 350 did the trick. Unfortunately, I forgot to put the cheese on before the forty minutes was up, so when I popped the chicken back into the oven just to melt it, it started the drying-out procedure. The chicken wasn't dry, but it wasn't perfect, and I sort of wish I'd just left the cheese off. It was Monterey Jack anyway. Husband grabbed the first MO cheese he could find. We often buy fresh mozzarella cheese, which comes in the tub floating in water, but you know how the boring kind comes in that ball? He called to confirm that it came in a block and I assumed he meant the ball. Well, he meant a big rectangle. Doesn't matter. It was white. No one else was there to share our shame.

Or our food. You know how many chicken breasts there are in four pounds of chicken? Six. You know how big each one is? Half a pound. We split one (5 points, with a point for breading and 3 points for the cheese). I have five breaded, cheesed, heavy chicken breasts left. This is ten portions of chicken breasts we have to eat this week. I'm not real happy about it, and if I'd been thinking I would have frozen the other two, or three, but I was on a roll and I prepared them all.

I forgot until the last minute about serving a vegetable and after I called that dinner was ready I saw it. I broke up a crown of broccoli with my hands and threw it in a pan to steam it. My haste meant that I pulled it off as soon as possible. It was a beautiful bright green and still crunchy. It could quite possibly be the best broccoli I've ever steamed in my life. I served it without butter or salt or any seasoning and it tasted great. I am sort of relieved that we ate most of it, because it will not be as good tomorrow.

Tonight was also the first time I'd used a jar of Mezzetta "Napa Valley Bistro" pasta sauce. I got the Tomato Basil flavor, which was made with Napa Valley zinfandel and it smelled like booze the minute I opened the jar. It didn't taste boozy, and it was a very good sauce (I think I only got to have it because it was on sale or at Costco--can't remember which; I usually make do with Classico). Of course, any sauce is going to be good if there's no sweetener before the ninth or tenth ingredient. In this case, it's actual sugar--not corn syrup. Jarred sauces are one of those products in which the more expensive items really do use better ingredients and taste better.

******

Third order of business is raving about the steak I made last night, which I cooked to medium rare. I love medium rare, but you can't get medium rare at the family restaurants we eat at and Husband always cooks steak from medium to well-done. I'd been inspired by the Perfect Pork Chop technique I've been using, and found an article that described a fool-proof way to cook steak that used the same stovetop-to-oven method. (God bless you, Philip A. Stephenson of the Pittsburg Post-Gazette!). We had New York somethings that were the traditional steak shape and about an inch and a half thick. I forget what cut; I did try to retrieve the label but it was very far down in the garbage. Sorry.

My trusty little omelet pan did the trick again; I was able to cram two steaks in at once, and I just let the third sit out for a while. Perhaps irrationally so, but raw beef doesn't scare me like raw chicken. I'd marinated the steak with a quick recipe I'd found from Recipezaar, that uses plenty of garlic. I add about a quarter cup of red wine, per the suggestion of one of the commenters on the page. I love the flavor, and I think it cuts the saltiness a little (I know the same amount of salt is still present), but mostly it gets the right amount of volume. I don't know what people are marinating when they say that the recipe makes twice as much as they need.

Our steaks were nowhere near done in the five minutes that reading the article led me to believe were all I would need, but eight minutes more or less did the trick. I repeat, we have a crappy oven. Husband and I were fighting yesterday, and he was civil to me at dinner but he withheld all compliments on the steak. Even without external verification, I know it was good. When I asked him today, he said he got a piece with a lot of marbling and gristle in it. I thought marbling was desired, but I know gristle is not. The only other thing I did was make this sauce in the pan by scraping up the drippings and adding some leftover marinade and then some butter but it came out weird. It tasted like buttery, hot marinade. I got that idea from the perfect pork chop process but it was a deviation from the plan and ended up exactly like it should have: not food.

******

Fourth order of business: I am not having mysterious and spectacular results on my diet this week. I haven't lost anything at all. I'm up a zero point few, but that's as of an hour ago at the end of the day. I always weigh myself in the morning. And even though I swore I wouldn't, I tried on my skinny jeans from before, which are a size lower than the ones I am pleased to be in. They are too tight. But they zipped. They zipped, I tell ya. Of course, they are stretch. The up a zero point few doesn't bother me, either, because I know it is meaningless to weigh myself daily and because I have two more days before it's official. I know that I am only going to lose a pound or so week, and that this 3 pound something pattern was an anomaly. But it was fun.

2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced into a paste
2 Tablespoons Champagne vinegar
1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons Spanish paprika
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds beef tenderloin -or-
2 pounds chicken breasts -or-
2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, cut into medallions and pounded thin

For garlic mustard glaze:
Whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl,cover,and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours before using.

For grilled meat skewers:
1. Heat your grill to high.

2. Cut the tenderloin or chicken breasts lengthwise in half, then cut the halves lengthwise in half again. Slice crosswise to make 24 equal pieces. Pound flat. Skewer 2 pieces of meat onto each skewer, keeping them together at one end of the skewer. (This will make the grilled skewer easier to hold and eat.) Place the skewers in a baking dish or on a baking sheet, pour half of the glaze over the meat, and turn to coat. Can be done several hours in advance.

3. Grill the meat, turning once and brushing with the remaining glaze, for 4 to 6 minutes until golden brown, slightly charred, and cooked to medium-rare. Transfer the skewers to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.

4. Place the skewers on a platter and serve hot or at room temperature.

Adapted from Bobby Flay

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
3-4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except the chicken in a bowl and stir until sugar dissolves. Pour into a ziplock bag, add the chicken and turn to coat it well. Marinate overnight.

Transfer chicken and marinade to a heavy nonstick skillet.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, and reduce to low. Cover the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked. Place chicken in a warm oven when done.

Increase heat to medium and cook the marinade until syrupy, stirring constantly. Return chicken to skillet, coat it with sauce, and serve with rice.

Notes: You can use whole breasts, or cubed.

Ingredienser

[caption id="attachment_124" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Bulgogi"][/caption]

1 Kg oksebov (eller andet oksekød)

Til marinaden:
5 spsk brun rørsukker
6 spsk. sojasauce
4 spsk. sesamolie
2 spsk. sesamfrø
8 spsk. Sake (eller anden risvin)
4 fed hvidløg, fint hakket
2 mellemstore løg, fint hakket

4-6 gulerødder
6 forårsløg

Bulgogi er en af de mest populære retter i Korea. Har man været i Korea, har man sikkert prøvet Bulgogi. Bulgogi laves af oksekød, skåret i tynde skiver og marineret i sojasauce, sukker, sesamolie og risvin.

Skær okseboven i ca. 2 mm tynde skiver, på tværs af fibrene. Oksekødet skæres bedst når det stadig er lidt frosset. Fersk oksekød kommes 2 timer i fryser og skæres derefter i skiver.
Bland oksekødet godt sammen med marinaden og lad denne marinere i mindst 2 timer (evt. natten over).
Tag kødet ud af marinaden og steg kødet i en pande under kraftig varme. Hvis der dannes for meget væske i panden, hæld denne fra, da kødet ikke skal koge men steges til dette er brunt. Ønskes en sovs, kan væsken/marinaden gemmes og tilsættes kødet eftersom dette er brunt.
Skær gulerødder på langs i tynde strimler 3x3 mm. Skær forårsløg i 3-4 cm lange stykker. Opvarm olie i en pande og lynsteg grønsagerne i få minutter under kraftig varme. Tilsæt grønsagerne til kødet og server med basmatis.

Tip: Haves ikke risvin, kan denne erstattes med riseddike. Kan købes hos en asiatisk købmand. Der findes mange udgaver af Bulgogi. Denne opskrift indeholder de primære ingredienser. I Andre udgaver tilsættes en frugt (Kiwi, æble eller bære), som blendes sammen med marinaden.

(les ingrédients sont par personne)
1 escalope de poulet
1/2 poivron rouge
1/2 poivron vert
2 cuillères à soupe d'huile d'olive
des herbes du jardin( romarin, thym, sarriette et sauge pour ma part)
des spaghettis selon l'appétit ;)

mettre dans un récipient hermétique l'huile et les herbes ciselées

ajouter alors le poulet détaillé en petits cubes

mixer les poivrons et les ajouter aussi

fermer le récipient et secouer pour bien mélanger.

laisser reposer une nuit

puis faire cuire tel quel à feu doux environ 1/2h

faire les spaghettis et y verser le poulet

1 1/2 C. soy sauce
1 TBS honey
5 TBS cilantro (fresh, finely chopped)
4 cloves garlic
1/3 C Worcestershire sauce
2 TBS oil
1 1/2 C water
1/2 to 1 tsp pepper (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together. Marinade boneless chicken breasts, or beef fajita skirts for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. Cook on the grill, basting occasionally with marinade. When done (do not overcook), slice into thin strips with sharp or electric knife. Serve with sautee'd onions, bell peppers, guacamole, sour cream, tomatos, picantes, grated cheese and tortillas. These leftovers make for an AWESOME fajita salad too--sometimes the meat almost tastes better the next day (chicken especially).

Sounds like something I'll try later in the week- here is a link to one of my favorite salsa recipes that I think I'll try with it if I can find a mango at the market today.  Pair that with some whole wheat tortillas, fresh arugula, and some chips (this week, I've been mixing a cheap bag of regular tortilla chips with some low-calorie honey BBQ snack chips), and I have a pretty fun meal!

The marinade is pretty simple, and the tofu can be used with loads of different recipes so whip up a batch and throw it into whatever you have planned for dinner tonight... what could go wrong :)

1 package tofu (some where between 350 and 454 grams), drained and cut into cute triangles
1/2 c. mirin
3 Tbsp tamari
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (or rice vinegar)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp. Asian chile sauce (or hot sauce)
1 inch ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed

Combine the ingredients in a large shallow container (loaf pans tend to work well) add the tofu and marinate for an hour flipping after 30 minutes. Place the tofu on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, flip the tofu and bake for another 10 minutes. Finally broil until the tofu browns, it only takes a couple of minutes, then flip and brown the other side.

Note that the temp and times are different from Isa's recipe since we found 30 minutes at 400 degrees left the tofu very dry. Also note that mirin is an asian cooking wine, I accidentally bought a sweet, mirin-like, cooking wine and so we used a lot less of it and added water to make up the difference, it still turned out great so if you happen to have the same problem reading labels as I do, no worries it will work out... as long as someone notices you bought the wrong bottle :)

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We recently bought a Chinese cabbage and decided to make a green heavy version of chow mein. We added the entire head of lettuce and a little chopped kale. The only other veggie was onion. When the onions are translucent, add the greens with about 1/3 cup of water then mix and cover. Let things steam for 3-5 minutes stirring once or twice and making sure there's at least a little water. When the greens are cooked (which you can test by eating a little bit of the cabbage, it should be crispy-tender) add the noodles (see the original chow mein post) and some splashes of braggs (or tamari) sesame seed oil and rice vinegar.

It's nice to eat a lot of greens, especially in the summer when they are so plentiful and cheap. We had never tried Chinese cabbage before and I really liked it, I want to cook with it again... soon.

Ich denke die meisten haben schon mal einen Schwenkgrill gesehen. Er steht auf drei Beinen und von oben hängt an einer Kette das Rost. Zieht man leicht an der Kette, dann schwenkt der Grill über die Kohle. Eigentlich müsste es diese Art von Grills beim nächsten Baumarkt geben, also schnell hin und einen besorgen, denn es ist einfach die coolste Art zu grillen. Durch die Bewegung des Rostes kann man auch dicke Stücken Fleisch grillen, ohne dass sie trocken werden oder verbrennen.

Wichtig ist, dass man das Fleisch vorher mariniert. Kauft nicht die marinieren Sorten im Supermarkt, denn dort wird gerne altes Fleisch nur mariniert, um es noch ein paar Tage länger verkaufen zu können. Man kann eigentlich jede Sorte Fleisch nehmen, aber die mageren Stücke vom Schweinerücken zum Beispiel sind der Renner. Zwei Tage vor dem geplanten Grillabend geht ihr eurer Fleisch beim Fleischer holen. Jungschweinrücken, Schweinefilet oder anderes mageres Schweinefleisch. Ihr schneidet Stücke mit einer Dicke von 4 bis 5 cm und mariniert diese nach eurer Wahl. Es sollte aber etwas Essig, Öl und auf jeden Fall Zwiebel in der Marinade sein. Ich nehme dann gerne noch Knoblauch, Chili und/oder Worcestershiresauce. Zwei Tage lang sollte das Fleisch dann im Kühlschrank in der Marinade liegen und schön ziehen. Ihr könnt in dieser Zeit das Fleisch ein oder zweimal rausnehmen und die Marinade, die nach unter gelaufen ist, noch mal neu einreiben.

Beim Grillen ist drarauf zu achten, dass ihr mir vorher Zeit und Ort bekannt gebt. :-)

Nein, ihr sollt den Grill nicht zu heiss haben, damit das Fleisch langsam gart. Und drehen nicht vergessen, dann übernehme ich von hier die Verantwortung für ein gelungenes Ergebnis.

Fish:

2 steaks yellowfin tuna (flash-frozen at Trader Joe's is cheap and good quality)

1/2 cup ginger-soy salad dressing

Marinade fish in salad dressing for an hour. Place both steaks in oven under broiler for approximately 7 minutes total (watch carefully - your time may vary dramatically depending on thickness of steak and heat of broiler) Flip halfway through cooking.

Cabbage:

1 head red cabbage, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1/2 small onion, diced

3-4 cloves garlic, smashed into paste

2T brown sugar

1T butter

1/2C chopped almonds

1/4C chopped dried cherries and cranberries

2C chicken or vegetable broth

Melt butter in large pan or wok over med-high heat. Add onion and stir frequently. When onions are medium-brown, add sugar and garlic. Stir once and add cabbage. Stir well to mix and reduce heat to medium. Cook cabbage, stirring occasionally, over medium heat. Add broth as needed to ensure plenty of steam. Add almonds and dried fruit. Place lid on pan for 5 min to allow cabbage to steam and soften. It should be mostly soft with a slight crunch left.

1Tl Curry
1 Tl Paprikapulver (Anteil Chili/Cayennepfeffer nach Belieben)
Frische Kräuter (Thymian, Rosmarin, Basilikum)
2 Knoblauchzehen
1 Tl Honig
1 El Tomatenmark
Je ein Spritzer Sojasauce, Zitronensaft, Olivenöl,
Viel Salz, falls das Fleisch nicht gesalzen ist.
Pfeffer

Im Mörser eine feste Paste stampfen, zuerst die Trockensubstanzen, dann die frischen Zutaten und zum Schluss die Flüssigkeiten. Die Paste darf nicht zu flüssig werden (Vorsicht mit dem Öl), sonst tropft sie beim Grillen in die Glut, schlägt Flammen und verbrennt das Grillgut. Das Fleisch mit einem Teil der Marinade kräftig einreiben und drei Stunden kalt stellen. Die restliche Paste während des Grillens immer wieder auf das Fleisch streichen.

Die Marinade eignet sich nicht nur für Spare Ribs (Schälrippchen), sondern auch für anderes Grillfleisch, z.B. Koteletts. Die Menge reicht etwa für ein Kilo Fleisch.

I saw that Lawry's marinade was on sale this week for 10 for $10, and at Acme I found out the hard way, but you do not have to buy ten.  I had a coupon for $1 off 2, which would make them .50 a piece.  Not bad when they are usually 2.50 a piece.  Anyhow, when I got there I saw a display at the end of the aisle and some of the bottles had coupons at the top, for a $1 off.  I took four off and went to the customer service to see if I could use them all in one purchase.  She said yes!  I in total bought 13, because I started to think people were staring, and figured I should share!  French's spicy mustard was also on sale this week for a dollar, and with the recent coupons of a $1 off 2, I got 4 for 2$.  Not bad, my husband loves that stuff.

Total out of pocket $2.00 

Got- 13 bottles of Lawry's marinade and four bottles of French's Spicy Mustard

Total saved: $15.00, not including the sale price

...picture to come...i think our lil mac is on its last leg...its giving me so many problems!

Use the coupon in this past Sunday's paper (go dig it out of the recycling if you need to) for 50 cents off WHICH doubles to $1.00  - - -  making it FREE!!!!

She does something like this:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon Hoisen sauce
1 tsp. garlic [fresh, ground or minced very fine]
1 tsp. fresh ginger [ground or minced very fine]
Lime juice

Here's what my sister says about the ingredients: "I know I don't have to tell you that I mostly do this by taste. I like a lot of garlic and ginger!"

This is a great marinade for beef or fish. Just be careful when marinading fish, you shouldn't keep the fish in there for more than 1/2 hour. I've tried it on chicken as well and loved it. I marinaded the chicken for a little over four hours. I then baked the chicken in the oven and served it with rice and steamed vegetables. Serve the vegetables over the rice with a bit of lemon butter sauce. Yummy!

By the way, Mark Bittman is a well-known American cookbook author and food writer. He lives in New York. He is not a trained chef, but came to cooking through journalism.

Lemon-Garlic Lamb Chops with Yogurt Sauce (from The Gourmet Cookbook)
I didn't change this much if at all, so I'll type it in as it is in the cookbook.

In Turkey, lamb - the meat of choice - is very often served with this simple yogurt sauce, a Mediterranean classic (the key is fragrant mint). To give the yogurt a thicker texture, we drain it before mixing in the garlic and mint.

Yogurt Sauce:
1 c plain yogurt
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T chopped fresh mint
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chops:
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
3 T olive oil
4 1/2-inch thick shoulder lamb chops
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 T water

Yogurt sauce: Set a sieve lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth over a bowl, add yogurt to sieve, and let drain at room temperature for 20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. (Note: I don't keep cheesecloth around, so I used a #4 unbleached basket coffee filter and it worked just fine.)

Chops: Stir together lemon juice, garlic, oregano, and 2 T oil in a shallow baking dish. Add chops, turn to coat, and marinate 20 minutes. (I have an Italian herb blend grinder; I used that.)

Remove lamb from marinade (reserve marinade) and season with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 1 T oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Cook chops in 2 batches, turning once, about 4 minutes per batch for medium rare. Transfer to plates and cover loosely with foil.

Add reserved marinade to skillet with 1 T water, and deglaze skillet by boiling, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, for 1 minute. Pour pan sauce over chops and serve with yogurt sauce.

Marinated Pink-Eyed Peas and Fresh Herbs (from Frank Stitt's Southern Table)
Again, I didn't change this much, so here it is as Frank Stitts of Highlands in Birmingham wrote it.

This Southern take on a French lentil salad has become a regular staple in summertime, when peas are at their prime. It is a great barbecue side dish, easy to make, and holds up well for several hours. I like to serve it with creamed corn and fried okra as part of a vegetable plate.

2 pounds pink-eyes, black-eyes, crowders, or butter peas, or a combination, shelled
2 onions, quartered
1 ham hock or a small chunk of slab bacon
2 dried hot chile peppers
2 bay leaves
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bunch sage, leaves removed and torn into small pieces
1 bunch thyme, leaves removed
fresh ground black pepper
hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco or Cholula (my note: since living in New Orleans, Crystal is the hot sauce of choice)

In a large pot, combine peas, onions, ham hock, hot peppers, bay leaves, and salt; add cold water to cover by three inches. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and simmer til tender, 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the freshness of the peas. Set aside to cool in cooking liquid, then drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the liquid. Discard onions, peppers, and bay leaves; if desired, remove meat from ham hock and reserve for another use (discard the bacon if that's what you used).

In a large pan, heat olive oil with garlic, sage, and thyme until fragrant. Add peas along with reserved cooking liquid and toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper and serve with hot pepper sauce.

(I spaced out and accidentally drained all of the liquid; I tried to make up for it with a few shakes of Pickapeppa sauce and soy sauce, plus some cane vinegar. The flavors were good, but the peas were slightly dry, only slightly, but next time I would pay more attention.)

Cucumber Tomato Artichoke Salad
Sunday evening's recipe again, replicated successfully.

In glass oven dish, combine 1/4 c rice vinegar, 1/4 c tequila, 2/3 c olive oil, 1/3 c lime juice, chopped garlic, crushed red pepper flakes; add flank steak, cover tightly, and marinate several hours in refrigerator, turning occasionally. To cook: heat grill pan over medium-high; grill steak 4 minutes per side, rotating one-quarter turn without flipping after the first two minutes; flip to cook on other side at 4-minute point; rotate one-quarter turn.

Saute spinach in olive oil with fresh-ground garlic and sea salt.

Rewarm pasta.