My ruminations on my life, my dog, cooking, baking, and whatever else comes to mind
Yet another calzone iteration. This one was just my previous chicken and basil calzones with an 8 oz package of crimini mushrooms added after I browned the chicken. These are so easy and tasty, and the mushrooms were a great way to add some veggies.
This is from Jaden’s blog. I halved the sauce recipe, omitted the fresh berries, and just eyeballed everything, and it turned out really well! I still had more sauce than needed, but it’d go great on ice cream or a little piece of pound cake for dessert. I’d definitely make this again.
Ham Steak with Blackberry Rum Sauce
Serves 2
1 large ham steak, about 1 lb total weight
For the sauce:
1 tbsp butter
1/8 cup blackberry preserves (I used Smucker’s Simply Fruit)
2 tbsp white rum
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
Heat the broiler and line a small rimmed cookie sheet with foil. Place the ham steak on the foil and place under the broiler. Cook for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through to brown on both sides.
While the ham is cooking, melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium low heat. When it starts to foam, add the preserves, rum, and sugar, and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Keep warm while the ham finishes cooking.
Cut the ham into two equal pieces and plate. Drizzle with the sauce and serve warm.
This was a somewhat successful experiment from crazy ideas in my head. I tried to keep close to ingredients that the Navajo would have had, in some form 
Not very flavorful this first try, but next time I can up the spices. I think I’ll add a chipotle in adobo sauce and/or some roasted green chiles to the beans and corn as well, though that was definitely the most successful part of the meal. Maybe I’ll try some Navajo fry bread too, or substitute some chicken rubbed in chile powder and then grilled for the buffalo. I’ve typed it up as I made it, so take it with a grain of salt or three!
An update: I scrambled a couple eggs, added some leftover buffalo and warm corn and bean salsa along with some salsa, and made a sort of migas style breakfast that was quite tasty!
Navajo Tacos with Warm Corn and Black Bean Salsa
Serves 4
For the meat:
1 lb ground buffalo
1 tbsp dark chile powder (I like Gebhardt)
1/8 tsp cayenne
For the warm salsa:
1/2 tbsp canola oil
1 large clove garlic, pressed
1 14-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (I like Bush’s)
8 oz frozen corn kernels, defrosted and drained
dash cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp onion powder
12 small corn tortillas
In a large skillet, brown the buffalo with the cayenne and chile powder. As it cooks, heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until just turning golden and fragrant. Add the beans and corn and the spices and stir to combine. Heat through and simmer until the rest of the meal is done. When the meat is browned, turn off the heat on the beans and the meat and heat the tortillas for 40 seconds in the microwave. Assemble tacos and serve warm.
This was a quick, easy, filling breakfast for a dark and chilly morning before work.
Northwest Scramble
Serves 1
2 large eggs
3 oz smoked salmon
1 oz cheese (I used 1 wedge garlic and herb Laughing Cow cheese this time)
kosher salt and black pepper
1 tsp olive oil
Beat the eggs lightly. Stir in the salmon, cheese, and a few pinches of salt and pepper to taste. Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and cook, stirring at intervals, until eggs are cooked through, cheese is melted, and salmon is warm. Serve immediately.
A friend of Shaun’s (and now of mine too), Brenden, painted a portrait of Emma for us. I’m just thrilled with it, and it now graces our dining room. Isn’t it awesome?
This is a great recipe from Jaden’s excellent cookbook, which I highly recommend: The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook: 101 Asian Recipes Simple Enough for Tonight’s Dinner
This is a flavorful steak that is easy to prepare. The marinating takes some time (I did mine overnight), but it’s definitely worth it! I used a thin flat iron steak, so mine cooked up faster. I’ve paraphrased the recipe as I made it below. I served this with some steamed broccoli.
Balsamic Teriyaki Steak
Serves 4
For the steak:
1 lb flat iron steak
1 tsp olive oil
For the marinade/sauce:
1-1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, pressed (I added extra garlic to make up for the lack of shallot)
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup beef broth (I used water and Better Than Bouillon)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. When it starts to foam and bubble, add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute – until the garlic starts to turn golden and fragrant. Add the vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the volume of the liquid is reduced by half. Add the sugar, broth, soy sauce, and mirin, and return the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Reserve 1/4 cup of the sauce for serving.
Pour the rest of the sauce into a large zip top bag and add the steak, turning to coat. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator, turning periodically. When ready to cook, remove the steak and let it come to room temperature. Discard the marinade, and pat the meat dry. Spray a grill pan with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Grill the meat for 3 minutes on each side for medium rare. Let rest for 5 minutes, then cut across the grain and serve.
This is a very easy and cheap dinner, easily scaled for however many you need to serve. I have the recipe for one below, as tonight Shaun and I were just foraging thanks to a headache I had earlier that precluded any major cooking that might involve such things as knives
Eggs in Purgatory
Serves 1
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 large clove garlic, pressed
1 pinch dried oregano
1 pinch dried basil
1 small (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 eggs
Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and other spices and cook until the garlic is just turning golden and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Crack an egg into a small bowl and slide it into the sauce. Repeat with the other egg. Cover and cook eggs to desired doneness – as little as 3 minutes and as much as 10. Slide the sauce and eggs into a bowl and eat hot.
One of Emma’s many nicknames is “Emma-chicken.” I’m not quite sure how that came about originally, but tonight, she sure was doing a great job imitating a brooding hen. She nudged the pillows in to the corner of the couch then hopped up, wedged herself in the corner, and started dozing. The long morning walk and trip to the pet store must have tired her. Very cute 
We needed to use up a couple leftover hot dog buns from dinner the other night, so I melted a tablespoon and a half of butter, added a couple cloves of pressed garlic and a few generous pinches of oregano and parsley, spread the mixture over the buns, and popped them in the toaster oven for about 6 minutes. Nearly instant edible-ish garlic bread. Certainly not as good as made with a crusty loaf of Italian or even better homemade garlic focaccia, but for punting, using up some leftovers, and tapping into my inner white trash , not half bad.
Tonight we tried Garlic Jim’s Pizza in Mukilteo. We had a coupon for 30% off our first online order, so we got a Hercules, some garlic bread sticks, and some garlic wings. This was a definite win! A lot of the pizza places out here go way too heavy on the cheese and have mediocre toppings. This was an excellent crust, a good sauce, though there could have been more of it, light on the cheese, and full of great toppings. The garlic bread sticks were flavorful and came with garlic butter and pizza sauce to dip. The wings were very tasty as well – lightly breaded and baked. We’ll definitely order from these guys again! They do have multiple locations in several states, so check ‘em out.
