Breakfast Scramble

I was craving something more than a Luna bar this morning. I don't have class until 2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and these mornings feel like lazy Sundays, especially when it's sunny outside.

This and a pot of tea will get me through my busy, busy day.

Breakfast Scramble:
2 eggs
1 large Yukon gold potato, diced
1 tomato, diced
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan; add potatoes. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are browned and cooked through. Beat eggs with a tsp of milk or water; add to potatoes, mixing quickly. When eggs are nearly done, remove from the heat. Add salt and pepper, top with parmesan cheese. Mix tomatoes and cilantro in; serve by itself or in a warm tortilla for a breakfast burrito.

Serves 2

*This would be even better with sausage. Get some high-quality sausage and cook that first, then cook the potatoes in the sausage drippings for an extra savory flavor.

-Jirafa

Spicy Potato "Salad"

I'm not eating mayo anymore but I miss potato salad so much. On a whim, I created this masterpiece of flavor. It uses a deliciously spicy harissa olive oil and BUTTER. YES BUTTER.



But it's worth it you know.

Did I mention it's served hot? Oh savory deliciousness...


Spicy Potato "Salad":

3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into large chunks
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups fresh green beans
2 tbsp butter
***2 tbsp harissa olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt

In a small pot, boil potatoes until JUST fork tender. Add green beans and boil for an additional minute. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp harissa olive oil in a large pan. Add bell pepper and saute for 3 minutes. Add butter, stirring until melted. Add potatoes and green beans to pan; season with salt. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes, mixing gently.

Serve hot. Serves 3.

The vegetables will still be crisp and crunchy and the potatoes will be just soft enough. If you prefer them softer, boil for an additional minute or so.

***So, harissa olive oil is probably going to be impossible to find. I got mine from Victorine Valley Farms awhile ago and it's no longer listed on their website. I'm still trying to find out if it's a seasonal item or if it's gone for good. Harissa itself is a spicy pepper paste that can be found in supermarkets, so it's reasonable to say that you can blend some harissa paste with regular olive oil to achieve this spicy flavor. Otherwise, some chili pepper paste and garlic will get the job done. I'll have to experiment a little more.

Doenjang Jjigae

My first time cooking Korean food! Doenjang is fermented soybean paste that is similar to Japanese miso, but I find miso to be softer and saltier while doenjang is pungent and slightly spicy.

I used potato, zucchini, onion, and carrots for the stew, but the recipe suggests using tofu. I want to also experiment with adding noodles.

I could never hope to explain it better than this, so please see K-Popped! for the easy-to-understand recipe!

My only recommendation is for those of us who aren't familiar with Korean food, to use three tablespoons of the doenjang as opposed to four, because it is really strong!

Savory Throw-Together

I am ashamed. This being my favorite comfort food, I have no real name for it. I called it “Persian Goulash” before I found out that goulash is more of a stew/soup. It has a Persian name but I can’t remember it and even if I could, I probably couldn’t pronounce it or spell it.

So for now it’s a “throw-together” and it’s the best throw-together in the world.

It’s delightfully Americanized and can be made with four basic ingredients, two of which come from CANS. And no, I’m not ashamed to say I prefer canned green beans in this dish. I do not prefer canned green beans as a rule, but they work well here.


What makes this meal so great is that is has all those delicious savory components mingling together over plain rice. The rice soaks up all of the flavors and makes everyone happy. Mostly me.

Just be liberal with the seasonings because you’ve got very plain potatoes that need love and also rice that will cut the flavor if it seems too strong.

Savory Throw-Together:
½ lb ground beef
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 14.5 oz can cut green beans
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
3 tbsp saffron-infused water
3-4 tbsp lemon juice (just squeeze/pour away *coughcough*)
1 tsp black pepper
Lots of salt

Brown ground beef over medium-high heat, set aside. Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and cook potatoes until tender, mixing occasionally. You want a nice brown crust over them without burning them before they have time to soften. This can take 6-10 minutes depending on how large the cubes are.

Once the potatoes are tender, return ground beef to pan along with green beans, tomatoes, saffron, lemon juice, pepper, and salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes more until all items are heated through and flavorful.

Serve over Basmati or similar long-grain rice!

Serves 4-5. (Really good leftovers, and I hate leftovers so trust me)

--Jirafa

Saffron French Fries

These are stars of my youth. The first time my father made these, I remember glaring at him and cursing him for withholding these from me until my 11th or 12th year of age, all while jamming as many in my mouth as I possibly could at one time.

When I was feeling particularly difficult, I would order my mother into the kitchen and oversee the potato cooking process like a nervous addict in need of her fix.

And now that I’m an adult, I can spoil myself with saffron French fries whenever I darn well please.



Because they’re insultingly easy you know. Ovens are helpful like that. You can also fry these in light oil in a frying pan, but I've just lost too many shirts to oil spots to continue that. Besides, think of how many pages of reading you can NOT do while these are cooking in the oven!




Saffron French Fries:

2 yukon gold potatoes, washed well (russet also work fine)
1 tbsp oil (vegetable, olive, whatever)
3 tbsp Saffron-infused water
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Slice potatoes into wedges. Coat with remaining ingredients and spread over a baking sheet.

Bake for 25 minutes, flipping halfway to ensure even browning (if you’re lazy like me and just care about fries, leave ‘em alone and they’ll be fine).

I serve these with a yogurt dip that 98% of the people I know won’t touch. But if you’re the rare plain yogurt lover or if you were raised under one of those cultures that raise babies on Abali yogurt instead of milk (joking, joking), you’ll love this. Because you probably eat plain yogurt out of the container for fun. You weirdo. Pass me a spoon.

1-2 heaping tablespoonfuls of plain yogurt
½ tsp lemon juice
½ tsp dill weed
And you’ve got a dip.

Serves two.

--Jirafa

Pita's Comfort Dinner

You know that saying, a picture is worth a thousand words? Yeah, that’s it. Yum x 1,000. This meal is my favorite carb-laden vicetastic (yes, viceTASTIC) dish of pure indulgence.

Mashed potatoes now, jogging later.

What you’re currently drooling over—what? Oh excuse me, that was me. Let me get a napkin.

…

Okay, I’m good now. What you’re seeing is panko fried chicken, basic mashed potatoes, and sautéed zucchini and mushrooms. And I’m going to show you how to make it all!

First things first:


Basic Mashed Potatoes

These are just your run-of-the-mill delectable mashed potatoes. Nothing overly fancy and that’s because I’m kind of a purist when it comes to mashed potatoes. And stuffing. Putting things like nuts and cranberries and apples into wholesome savory stuffing is the worst idea in the world. If you do that well…go away right now. Just kidding. But seriously.

ANYWAY. Potato purity, people. Potato purity.

And while I’m here I may as well discuss gravy. Pictured, you see tasty chicken gravy FROM A PACKET. I’ve long gotten over my shame. I cannot cook gravy from scratch. My mother is a gravy-cooking queen who can take an empty pan and make amazing mushroom gravy appear much like Mrs. Weasley and her cheating wand (Oh yes, Harry Potter reference for you nerds. I love you all.) I, unfortunately, was not given gravy-making genes. I accept this.

If you can make delicious smooth scratch gravy, then go for it. Just know that I loathe you.

3 Yukon Gold potatoes (peeled if desired and sliced into even chunks)
4 tbsp butter
¼ cup milk
½ tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Add potato chunks to a pot of boiling water and boil until fork-tender, about 7-8 minutes or so. Drain and place into a sturdy bowl. Add butter and mash until butter has melted. Add milk, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, mixing thoroughly.

Serves 2



Panko Fried Chicken

Panko, how I love thee. Let me count the ways. Something like that. Panko, for those of you unfamiliar, are Japanese bread crumbs. They can be found in the Asian section of your grocery store and some regular bread crumb brands have started offering “Panko-style” crumbs as well. I prefer to get the authentic kind but we’re all on a budget these days so do as you will.

Unlike traditional bread crumbs, panko crumbs are light and fluffy and stick well during frying or baking.

I like pan-fried chicken, but I LOVE panko fried chicken. And like everything else I make, it’s easy-peasy.

2 thinly-sliced chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten
½ cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp salt

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Mix garlic powder, pepper, and salt into panko crumbs in a flat dish. Dip chicken breasts into egg wash, then into panko crumbs. Fry until golden-brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.

Serves 2



Sautéed Mushrooms and Zucchini

And in order to cordon off the guilt of mashed potatoes, I make this vegetable dish which tastes even more decadent than the potatoes. This dish is one of my mother’s signature vegetable recipes. This used to be the only way I would eat zucchini because it’s really just that good.

2 zucchini, sliced into coins
6-8 oz mushrooms
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp basil
Salt and pepper

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium-heat. Add all ingredients, stirring only to blend spices. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring 2-3 times so that zucchini gets browned but doesn’t burn. If you prefer softer vegetables, cook for another 3 minutes or so as they will be otherwise still firm.

Serves 2

And there you have it: a great meal for a winter evening. Or comfort sustenance when you have 20 pages of Japanese grammar to study in one night.

--Jirafa

Oven-Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

There is no excuse now, people. No excuse as to why you had to go out and buy those Safeway lamp-nuked-radioactive potato wedges.

NO EXCUSES.


2 yukon gold potatoes, washed well
1/4 tsp rosemary
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp oil (vegetable, olive, whatever)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Slice potatoes into wedges. Coat with remaining ingredients and spread over a baking sheet lined with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Because I love you.

--Jirafa