Caprese Bruschetta

Ingredients:

• 1 handful of zebra tomatoes, sliced
• Small handful basil, chiffonade
• 1 hoagie role sliced (but an Italian or French bread would be better)
• ¼ cup of mozzarella, shredded
• Drizzle Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1) On a baking dish line with slices of bread.

2) Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toast until golden brown.

3) In a bowl toss tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. Liberally coat with salt, pepper, and olive oil.

4) Serve caprese salad on toast.

Cost breakdown:
Tomatoes: $1.75/2= $0.87
Basil: $1.09/3= $0.36
Mozzarella: $2.47/8= $0.31
Hoagie: $0.45

Total: $0.87+$0.36+$0.31+$0.45=$1.99

Pickled Watermelon Rinds

Ingredients:

• Salt
• ¼~½ cup sugar
• ½ Serrano pepper
• A couple stalks green onion
• 1 ½ cups vinegar
• A couple cloves of garlic

I had pickled watermelon rinds at a restaurant one time and I really wanted to attempt it myself. Instead of throwing away the watermelon rinds from the melon salad I decided to pickle them.

1) Carefully peel the green skin off of the watermelon rind. I used a vegetable peeler. Be very careful.

2) In a bowl of cold water add salt, enough to make the water taste like the ocean.

3) Allow watermelon rind to brine for at least a few hours if not overnight. Drain the water.

4) Once brined add rind to a mixture of about equal parts vinegar and water with sugar add. If desired, you could boil the rinds in the water and vinegar but I like the crunch of the rinds.

5) Add sliced Serrano peppers, sliced green onions, and garlic to vinegar. Allow to sit for a couple of hours to pickle.

Easy. Breezy. Beautiful*. Melon Salad.

*Not to be confused with CoverGirl Cosmetics.

Melon Salad

When I went to the Farmer’s Market there was a cooking demonstration by Bay Area chef Stephanie Rosenbaum. She made this beautiful summer salad and I just had to make it. To see her original recipe go to www.sjrosenbaum.com 

I guess I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients…

Ingredients:

• 2~3 cups Watermelon, cubed
• 2 cups Cantaloupe, cubed
• ¾ cups Radishes, cut in half and sliced
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• Large handful basil, roughly chopped
• Large handful cilantro, roughly chopped

Dressing:

• A couple tablespoons sugar
• A couple tablespoons fish sauce
• Juice of 1 Lime
• Small nub of ginger grated
• Salt, to taste

1) Toss all the fruits, vegetables, and herbs together.

2) In a separate dish mix the dressing together. Adjust the amount of each ingredient to taste.

3) Toss everything together.

Eat alone or serve alongside a piece of pan seared fish. Or any other appropriate protein.

Cost breakdown:
Watermelon: $1.33/3= $0.44
Cantaloupe: $0.58/2= $0.29
Radishes: $0.49/2= $0.25
Celery: $0.89/10= $0.09
Basil: $1.09/3= $0.36
Cilantro: $1/3= $0.33
Lime: $0.10
Ginger: $0.10
Fish sauce& Sugar: Not that I expect most people to have fish sauce on hand (like sugar), a couple tablespoons out of a big bottle is very hard to calculate so…

Total: $0.44+$0.29+$0.25+$0.09+$0.36+$0.33+$0.10+$0.10=$1.96 for three or so servings

So I guess it's been three weeks...

It's been three weeks since I lasted posted anything. Now I feel bad.I hit that cycle of telling myself everyday that I'd make a post the next day (or the day after, my next day off, etc. etc.) and we all know how that goes.

But I haven't stopped cooking. I've been cooking a little bit less and unfortunately eating out a little more but I still have a bunch of stuff to post.

Hopefully I get back into the groove where I'm making posts more often.


:)
Patrick.

(Actual) Chili this time

I can seirously get down on a bowl of classic chili.

Ingredients:

• ½ pound ground pork
• 2 cups of assorted beans (I used red and black, that I froze from Red Beans and Rice and black beans from when I made Deconstructed Chili)
• 2 slices Applewood Smoked Bacon
• “Marinara” Sauce from Calzones (Check)
• 3 cloves garlic
• Ancho Chili Powder
• Smoked Paprika
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1) Chop bacon and garlic. Add to a pan.

2) Once bacon has rendered, add ground pork.

3) In a pot heat tomato sauce.

4) To sauce, add beans and about a cup of water if there’s not enough liquid.

5) To ground pork add paprika and ancho chili powder to taste.

6) Once pork is cooked through add to tomato sauce and beans.

7) Add salt, pepper, and more chili powder to taste.

8) Simmer until some water has cooked off and chili has thickened.

Serve with chopped onions and grated cheddar cheese (optional).

Cost breakdown:
Pork: $2.40
Bacon: $0.46x2= $0.92
Beans: $0.32+$0.25= $0.57
Marinara Sauce: Negligible since the cost was already absorbed into the Calzones
Garlic: $0.06x3= $0.18
Chili Powders: So hard to calculate -_-

Total: $2.40+$0.92+ $0.57+$0.18= $4.07 +small cost of chili powder for multiple servings
Side note 1: The total cost will be slightly more if making the tomato sauce fresh, or if using the optional garnishes. 

Calzones!!!

This is essentially the empanada recipe but with the filling changed out. To see how to make the dough check this post out. 

The only difference is that I didn’t want to make a bunch, just a couple so I only made half the recipe for the dough.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 cup Bisquick mix
• 1/6 cup hot water

Filling:

• 1/3 chicken breast, grilled
• Mozzarella cheese, shredded

“Marinara” Sauce:

• 6 ounces Tomato Sauces
• ½ onion
• ½ bell pepper (any color is fine)
• A couple stalks celery
• Italian Seasoning
• Basil
• Salt and Pepper

Marinara Sauce:
1) In a sauce pan cook down the aromatics (onion, bell pepper, celery) until they start to sweat.

2) Add salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.

3) Add tomato sauce, and maybe a small amount of water.

4) Simmer for a bit. At the very end add basil.

Assembly:
1) Layer marinara sauce, cheese and chicken like a pizza. Then fold calzones closed and baked at 350 degrees for about 15~20 minutes until crust is golden brown. 

Side note 1: I sprayed the baking pan and the calzones with cooking spray before I put them in.

Cost breakdown:
Bisquick: $0.15x3= $0.45
Chicken: $1.19x 1/8 lb= $0.15
Mozzarella: $2.84/8= $0.36
Tomato Sauce: $0.99/3= $0.33
Onion: $0.20/2= $0.10
Bell Pepper: $0.30/2= $0.15
Celery: $0.89/10= $0.09
Basil: $0.07x3=

Total: $0.45+$0.15+$0.36+$0.33+$0.10+$0.15+$0.09+$0.21= $1.84 for 2
Total per Calzone: $1.84/2= $0.92

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Why does everyone hate Brussels sprouts? They’re so yummy, especially roasted. This recipe is super simple and definitely the definition of delicious “rustic” cooking.

Ingredients:

• About half a pound of Brussels sprouts, cut in half 
• 1 ½ cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 slice thick cut Applewood smoked bacon
• Salt and Pepper

1) Cook bacon in a pan. Once crispy and fat has rendered out remove bacon.

2) Toss brussel sprouts and tomatoes in bacon fat. Salt and pepper.

3) Place on a baking tray and roast at 375~400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until tomatoes have softened and Brussels sprouts have a charred just a bit.

4) Chop reserved bacon and sprinkle on top.

Cost Breakdown:
Brussels Sprouts: $0.83
Tomatoes: $0.89/2= $0.45
Bacon: $0.46

Total: $0.83+$0.45+$0.46= $1.74
This would also make a great side dish to a side of protein!