Not-Quite-Goulasch with Wild Rice

The secret to this strangely flavored dish is to enjoy it with a glass of Tempranillo Wine and The Darjeeling Limited. The full-bodied weirdness of the three combined see to offset each other. The result? Something familiar... but not boring.

-Saute red onions in olive oil till translucent

-Add hamburg and brown.

- Midway through browning add zucchini, garlic and spices (cinnamon, oregano, red pepper flakes, ground bay leaf, salt and pepper)

- Add wine and pulverized tomatoes, then cook till reduced.

-Serve over wild rice

White Fish with Sweet-Chili-Grapefruit Saute and Rice Noodle Pancakes

So, white fish with fruit is nothing new. Saute what have you in the pan, cover for a minute and then done. The special thing here is the Rice Noodle pancakes...

-Soak rice noodles in warm water until soft

-Drain noodles, making sure to remove as much water as possible

-Scramble several eggs, chili flakes, green onions and basil.

-Add noodles to egg mixture

-Heat up your best non-stick pan (you can do this with a well oiled pan as well, but the product is much greasier)

-Drop noodles onto pan by the spoonful, and flatten with spatula.

-Cook each side until crispy

-Serve with sweet chili sauce and ground peanuts

Salat mit Thuna

The key to keeping this salad light is to ignore the conventional tuna salad recipe. Instead mix the tuna fish with simply lemon juice, olive oil and scallions. Top the entire salad with a yogurt and dill dressing. The result? A light summer salad that's packed with proteins and healthy fats.

Vegan Chocolate-Molasses Cookies

2.25C flour

2t baking powder

1t baking soda

1t salt

.5C sugar

.25C cocoa powder

.5C maple syrup

.5C molasses

.5C oil

*sift dry ingredients

*mix wet ingredients

*combine

*roll into tablespoon-ish sized balls

*dip the top of each ball in sugar

*bake at 350 for about 11 minutes

initial source: Nibble Dish

Chicken Salad Done Right

2 sections of breast meat (cubed)

1 apple (both granny smith and braeburn work well)

2 stalks celery (sliced)

.5 medium onion (finely minced)

salt

pepper

ground sage

blue cheese dressing to taste

*combine dry ingredients in a large bowl

*add dressing till moist

*mix well

Feel free to eat this immediately, but a night in the fridge really makes the flavors pop! The salad is especially good on honey wheat bread. For a twist on the traditional sandwich, spread the salad on a slice of bread, sprinkle blue cheese crumbles on top and enjoy open-faced.

Coffee Pot Iced Tea

Loose leaf tea is great. Not only does it tend to brew a better beverage than most of the prepackaged stuff, it tends to be less expensive too.

I buy most of my tea in Boston's China Town. There the best bang for your buck is Gunpower (tons of pun intended). This green tea is darker than most and packs a flavor punch that black coffee purists, like myself, will appreciate. Best of all, 250 grams (8.82 ounces) cost me $0.99.

Brewing loose leaf a cup at a time is easy with the help of a tea ball or other similar tool. When it comes to iced tea, however, the point is to make it in bulk. Since I only own one tea ball, I had to get creative.

This summer I experimented making loose leaf sun tea freeform. In other words, I tossed in a handful of leaves, filled the pitcher with water and tossed it on the deck to brew. After a day in the sun, I then used my wire strainer to remove as much of the leaves as possible. The process was messy at best, not to mention that even with a dishwasher cleaning the tools was more than a pain.

I should mention here that you can purchase empty tea bags and make your own. Paying more for my super cheap tea though is not my favorite option.

So the other day, after I failed to fashion a massive tea bag from a coffee filter, it dawned on me. Why not use the leaves as you would coffee grinds? Imagine how easy, and fast, it would be to fill up the auto drip, plop in a filter and some tea leave and mash the on button! Now I must admit that I was skeptic that this method would result in a descent brew... but boy was I wrong.

The quality of the coffee pot method is contingent on a couple factors. First of all, make sure the machine is clean. The gunpowder tea is strong enough to mask any coffee taste that may have made it through, but I would definitely run some white vinegar and a lot of water through before brewing my more subtle Syrian flower tea.

In the end, I had plenty of tea to pour into mason jars and stick in the fridge, and a little left for a hot cup of *BANG*. All in all an incredibly successful experiment. Go ahead. Do try this at home.

Creamy Kale and Potato Soup

1 bunch kale (stems removed)

2 large onions (chopped)

2T olive oil

6 small potatoes (chopped)

3C chicken stock

1C h2o

1t dill (dried)

.25C white wine

1t cardamom (ground)

1T cumin (ground)

.5C evaporated milk

2T dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

*saute onions in oil till translucent

*add stock and water, bring to boil

*add potatoes, dill and wine

*simmer till fork-able

*blend till smooth

*stir in mustard, and milk

*in separate pot steam kale till tender

*drain well, then add to potato puree

*pulse with blender to desired consistency

initial source: Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites Cookbook via weheartfood.com

Simple Curried Carrot Soup

1 onion (chopped)

2T olive oil

1.5T curry powder

1t cardamom (ground)

2# carrots (chunked)

2C chicken stock

*saute onions in oil till translucent

*add spices and cook till aromatic (~1 min)

*add stock and carrots

*simmer till tender

*blend till smooth

initial source: Curtis Akins (Food Network)