The Cook's Thesaurus: Passing on a useful tool

Hello Community!

This is my first blog post and I am not sharing food with you today.
Instead, I want to pass on a reference tool that my father, and then mother, shared with me.

http://www.foodsubs.com/

At the link above, visitors can feel a little bit cozier in their own kitchen.  How you ask?
Many times when mixing and mashing in the kitchen with close friends, I see panic flash across faces when they hear me say "crap...well, we don't have any of that...huh".  HAVE NO FEAR.  As the Cook's Thesaurus above will show, many seasonings, many vegetables, and even meats, can be substituted.  It's all about understanding flavor and how to use it liberally.  No chilli powder?  Hot sauce and cumin can help add flavor and punch equal to chili powder.  Have no idea what a caper is?  Look it up!  You'll find a description and equal parts that can serve in exchange when no capers lay around your kitchen (as is often the case on a college campus...damn you capers).  Take a peak and test some common recipe additives that you feel you never have, see what you can substitute.  Learn about high notes and low notes (food talk, snazzy I know).

But most of all, take a deep breath, and feel safe in your own kitchen.  Things can turn out great even if you make a shopping mistake!

Best

K

Chinese New Year Dinner

We're terrible Asians for buying half of our meal (note the takeout containers) instead of cooking everything. But anywho :P, here was our meal for tonight. I'm going to miss home cooking so much when I head back to school tomorrow :(

Goodbye Dinner

My brother is heading back to school and I'm going to Vegas tomorrow morning so my dad decided to cook us (it's really more for him but I like to include myself in these things) a big dinner. 

Now when I can make a meal like that in a matter of a few hours, I'll really have something to blog about. 

I'll be MIA for a few days until I return. Too-da-loo!
*Cathy*

Pizza Omelet

As good as cold pizza is straight out of the refrigerator, I got something even better: pizza omelet! :)

All you'll need for this yummy breakfast is:

leftover pizza cut into bite-sized pieces

four eggs (this is going to be a biggg omelet)

and half a ball of mozzarella cut into slices

First, throw the pizza into a pan with a bit of oil. You just want to heat up the pizza a bit and give it back some of its crispiness. 

Then pour in your beaten eggs and let that cook until it is no longer runny.

Throw your slices of mozzarella on top and fold the omelet in half over itself. Then put a lid over the pan, turn off the heat, and wait a few minutes for the heat of the eggs to melt the cheese.

mmmmm cheesy goodness. Enjoy!

*Cathy*

Making Wontons

I've been craving wontons lately and decided to make some. It's actually pretty simple so I'll show how to do just that :). 

Ingredients: To make the actual wontons (not the dish), you'll need for this is half a pound of pork, chicken powder, salt, rice wine, and 2 packs of wonton skins.

If you don't buy ground pork, chop the pork into fine pieces and stir in a tablespoon of chicken powder, 2 teaspoons of salt, and a tablespoon of rice wine.

After the meat is all chopped, get out your wonton skins to start preparing the little guys.

I made a step by step guide on how to fold them. Hope it's clear enough. It's fun :) just like origami

After you've made all of them, put them in the freezer for a few hours so they'll all hold their shape.

Then you can just put them in ziplock bags and use them when you're ready. I'm ready now so I just made them :)

*Cathy*

Instant Porridge

You can ask any of my friends at college and they'll tell you that I'm a big fan of ramen. You see though... it's not really about the ramen itself as much as it's about the fact that it's instant food XD. 

I stumbled across this instant porridge a while back and it's one of my favorite quick (snacks?). 

It comes with dried rice flakes, 4 packets of seasoning, and a packet of fish (the big silver one). 

You just pour the 4 packets into the bowl with the dried rice flakes and add boiling water to the line (marked on the bowl). Cover and wait just 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes, stir in the packet of fish and enjoy! It's soooo good, warm, and filling :D
(my brother forced me to pour the porridge into a porcelain bowl because he's convinced leaving hot brothy substances in plastic bowls will release carcinogens ) :P

 Yumyummmm

*Cathy*

New Year's Dinner

Alright, so I didn't make this and I'm actually not even blogging from a computer (lazy), but I wanted to show you our epic sushi galore for new year's :D

*Cathy*