Cooking With Whatever

28-year-old straight male who cooks when he's bored, because fuck this one specific gender role. Give me a stove and a well-stocked pantry and I can make you a meal, but I afterwards I usually can't remember what I put in it. So here's where I start actually collecting recipes. • Main Blog • Writing Blog

[cookingwithwhatever]

Southern-Fried Lobia

This isn’t actually fried and it’s only a little bit southern.  I don’t even know what to call it.  It’s basically a mixture of Indian lobia curry (black-eyed peas) and Southern Hoppin’ John, and it’s what happens when you’re desperate to use up leftover Christmas ham but you also want to do the black-eyed peas on New Year’s thing, but you also like to cook your black-eyed peas with more spices than the usual butter and rice.  Indian food is largely devoid of pork whereas it’s basically a food group in the American South, so this is probably food blasphemy but here we go.

1 lb. black eyed peas

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic (or 6 cloves, minced)

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 lb. ham, diced

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley (or 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh)

1 tablespoons vegetable oil

water

salt to taste (I didn’t have to add much, but the ham was very salty)

If the beans are dry, put them in a dutch over or stock pot and cover them with water and add a little salt.  Bring the water to a boil for 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat and let the beans soak for 90 minutes, periodically adding water in order to keep the beans covered.  If the beans are canned, you can skip ahead.

Cover beans with water, add turmeric and pepper and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Combine ham, onion, garlic, paprika, oregano, and parsley in a medium-to-large pan with vegetable oil and cook over medium heat.

Remove from heat when onions are translucent.

When beans are tender and have absorbed most of the water, add ham mixture to pot.  Add a little water if the beans are dry, but not enough to cover the beans.

Mix well and cook for 3-5 more minutes.

Serve with rice.

Total time: 2 hours (from dry beans)/45 minutes (from canned beans)

Makes 8 servings

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Chicken Vindaloo

May as well start up an Indian restaurant at this rate.  The meat here can be pretty much whatever you want.  The point of this is the vindaloo part, not the chicken.  I used some leftover pre-prepared chicken we had, anyway, so just do whatever you want with that part.

The recipe I found to base this on was clearly the white man’s vindaloo, so it required some modification, mostly in the form of lots and lots of chili peppers.  Authentic vindaloo doesn’t have potatoes in it but most Indian places in the west put potatoes in (this arises from a confusion with “aloo,” the Hindi word for potato, even though “vindaloo” is Konkani and comes from Portuguese).  Anyway, I didn’t have any potatoes on hand so I didn’t use them, but you can put some in if you like.

2 large onions

3 medium tomatoes

3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon minced garlic (~2 cloves)

1 teaspoon powdered ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon curry powder

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into pieces, cooked

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Roughly chop onions and tomatoes, and combine in blender with vinegar, tomato paste, and garlic.  Blend until fairly smooth.

Combine paste from blender with vegetable oil, salt, and all spices (cayenne pepper, chili powder, curry powder, turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander, black pepper).  Mix well and cook for about 3 minutes.

(I used red onions so what came out of the blender looked like Pepto Bismol.)

Add (cooked!) chicken to pot, mix well, and sauté over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.

Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Serve with rice or naan, roti, etc.

Total time: approx. 1 hour

Makes 6 servings.

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Paneer Tikka Masala

Made this for an international holiday lunch at school.  It’s a big undertaking, but worth it.

For ginger-garlic paste:

8 cloves garlic

1 tsp ginger powder

For paneer tikka:

1 lb. paneer (you should be able to find this at any Indian grocery store), cubed

2 green bell peppers, diced

1 medium onions, diced

6 oz. Greek yogurt

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 Tbsp flour

2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

For masala/gravy:

3 medium onions, diced

5 medium tomatoes, sliced

6 oz. Greek yogurt

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 3/4 tsp curry powder

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 cup water

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

First make ginger garlic paste by grinding all garlic cloves with 1 teaspoon ginger powder with a mortar and pestle.  You should end up with about a tablespoon.  While you’re at it, you can also grind the coriander and cumin if you don’t have it already powdered.

In a bowl, mix 6 ounces of yogurt (about 12 tablespoons) with about half of the ginger-garlic paste, the flour, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt, nutmeg, and lemon juice.  Blend until smooth.

Mix the result with the paneer, green peppers, and 1 diced onion.  Mix well so that the marinade covers everything evenly.

Now put this aside while you make the masala.

In a wok with 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat, mix the rest of the ginger-garlic paste, the tomatoes, and rest of the onions.

Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the tomatoes are pulpy and liquid.  Add in all spiced (ground coriander, ground cumin, remaining curry powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, ginger powder, turmeric), and salt.  Mix well and cook for about 5 more minutes.

Pour masala into a stock pot containing 5 tablespoons of yogurt.  Do this over no heat. Mix well before turning the pot up to medium heat.

Now you can use the wok to cook the paneer.  Over medium-high heat and a tablespoon of oil, spoon in the paneer marinade and cook until golden-brown on all sides, stirring occasionally.  Do this in batches so that the paneer can always cook on the bottom of the wok.

When all the paneer is cooked and added, turn heat under stock pot down to medium low, add remaining yogurt, mix well, and let simmer for 5 more minutes.

Serve with naan and/or rice.

Total time: approx. 2 hrs.

Makes 8 servings

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Green and White Turkey Chile

I am king of Thanksgiving.  It is known.  Now, if you have leftover turkey and you’re getting sick of the same old reheated Thanksgiving dinner for three meals a day, may I suggest a variation on the chile part of this recipe.

14.5 oz. chopped green chile

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 ½ teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 pounds turkey (ground, Thanksgiving leftovers, or a mix)

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried)

2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 ½ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon cayenne papper

½ teaspoon oregano

30 oz. great Northern beans, drained

Separate any leftover turkey you want from the bone.  Make sure it’s free of any tendons and skin.

Now, basically follow the other chile recipe linked above.  Brown ground turkey if you’re using any.  Sauté onions and garlic with chili powder and ground cumin.  Combine all turkey with onions, garlic, parsley, and diced green chiles.

Mix well, then add chicken broth, salt, oregano, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and beans, and cook over medium heat.

Bring all ingredients boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes until consistency thickens.

Serve with shredded or crumbled cheese and sour cream, if desired.

Total time: approx. 45 mins

Makes 8 servings

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Cran-Raspberry Sauce

Happy Thanksgiving!

1 lb. Massachusetts cranberries (or some other kind of cranberries... if you must)

6 oz. raspberries

1 cup orange juice

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

(Good Bay State cranberries, certified by certifiers.  Accept no substitutes.)

Mmmkay, dissolve one cup sugar into one cup orange juice.

When the sugar is dissolved, add the cranberries and set to cook over medium heat.

When the berries start to pop and the liquid starts to turn pink, add the raspberries and mix well.

Let cook for another 15 minutes or so until nearly all the cranberries are popped and you have a sauce that’s uniformly bright red.  Add the nutmeg, mix well, remove from heat and let cool.

Total time: approx. 20 mins

Makes like a metric butt-ton of servings

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Jeera Aloo Gobi

Jeera = cumin.  Aloo = potato.  Gobi = cauliflower.  This is essentially a blend of two basic Indian side dishes: jeera aloo and aloo gobi.  In case you haven’t figured this out, Indian dishes are very creatively named.  They’re just named in Hindi or some other language so people think they’re all exotic.  Here it is in Devanagari script if you want to get it tattooed on your butt or something: जीरा आलू गोबी.

24 oz. potatoes, cubed

1/4 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 head cauliflower, diced

1 tablespoon cumin

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon mustard seed

1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1/4 cup water

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

Put potatoes, onions, garlic, and cauliflower in a large pot with vegetable oil.  Cook over high heat, stirring continuously.

When onions start to turn translucent, add all spices and mix in well.

When cauliflower starts to get tender, add Sriracha sauce, lemon juice, and water, and let cook until potatoes are fork tender (a total cooking time of about 45 minutes).

(Served some before taking a picture, but here it is done).  Serve as a side with a main like tandoori chicken (see previous post).

Total time: approx. 45 mins

Makes 6 servings

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Oven Tandoori Chicken

1 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

2 1/3 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 large clove garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce

Tandoori chicken is supposed to be cooked in a tandoor, or clay oven, but I don’t have one of those in my kitchen.

Mix yogurt and lemon juice until smooth.

Add all spices and Sriracha sauce, and blend well.

(Remember what I said about baby poop?)

Put the marinade in ziploc bags with the chicken and knead well until mixed, then put it in the fridge overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 °F.  Place chicken pieces on rack on foil-lined backing pan.

Put in oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, then turn the chicken over, and cook for 15 minutes more.  After 15 minutes, turn the oven off and let stand for 10 minutes.

(I may have jumped the gun and served it before taking a picture, so here’s the two pieces left).

Serve with a side like jeera aloo gobi (see next post).

Total time: 1 day (prep), 55 minutes (cooking)

Makes 3 servings

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Slow-Cooker Jerk Chicken Legs

1 cup of chopped green onions

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground mustard seed

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

10 chicken drumsticks

1 teaspoon olive oil

Throw all ingredients (except chicken and olive oil) in the blender.

Take this mess and pulse it until it’s well blended, then throw it in the slow cooker (greased with olive oil) on top of the chicken.

(Most delicious food looks like baby poop at some point during its life cycle.)

Mix it well, then turn the slow cooker onto low for 2 hours.  Go take a nap.

After 2 hours, check the chicken and turn it over to mix the juices a bit more.  Turn the slow cooker up to high.  Go take a walk.

After 2 more hours, take the chicken out of the slow cooker, and place on a foil-lines baking sheet.  Set the oven to broil and pour the juices from the slow cooker over the chicken.

Broil for 15 minutes or until brown or crispy on the outside,

Serve with rice, beans, or salad.

Total time: 4 hours, 30 minutes

Makes 5 servings

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Green Chile Skillet Potatoes

I had some green chile left over from my New Mexico trip and my wife found this recipe online so it looked like a perfect match.

1 lb fingerling potatoes

4 pieces bacon

1 cup onion, chopped

6 oz Hatch, NM green chile, chopped

1 1/2 tsp (kosher) salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

olive oil

Put some bacon in a pan to cook.

In another non-stick pan or wok, cook the onion and green chile in some olive oil over medium heat until the onion starts to turn translucent.

Meanwhile, piece your potatoes with a fork and microwave them for about 5 minutes (for fingerling potatoes—allow more time for larger potatoes).  When done, cut each potato in half.

Check on the bacon!

Put the potatoes in the wok with salt and pepper and continue to cook.  Add more olive oil if necessary.

When the potatoes start to turn brown on the cut surface, the bacon should be done, so tear it up and throw it in the pan.  Top with cheese.

Cook for another 5 minutes or so until the cheese melts.

Total time: approx. 30 mins.

Makes 6 servings.

[cookingwithwhatever]

Bhindi Bhuna

OK, first.  This is bindi.

This is bhindi.

So next time y’all’re wearing your bhindi at Lolla or whatever you kids do these days... I’m laughing.

12 oz. okra (of which one piece... ONE!—was home-grown)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium tomatoes, chopped—keep the pulp

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

3 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon ground coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon mustard seed

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Using a mortar and pestle, grind the garlic cloves and ginger powder together until you get a fairly smooth paste.

Chop off the okra tops and cut each piece into 1/2 inch to 1 inch segments (3-4 segments per piece).  Sauté the okra in a wok over medium-high heat with 1 Tbsp olive oil.  The result should be fairly slimy and the okra pieces should be beginning to turn brown on the ends.  Set this aside.

Combine tomatoes, onions, ginger/garlic paste, cumin, mustard seed, and salt in wok with remaining olive oil.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly.

When the result starts to resemble soup or stew, add the turmeric, chili powder, coriander, black pepper, and curry powder.  Stir in well.  This much powdered spices will make the mixture thicken a little bit.

Add the okra back in and stir in well until the sauce thoroughly coats the okra.

Cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Okra should be tender.  Serve with rice or roti.

Total time: approx. 45 mins

Makes 4 servings

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Turkey Green Chile Tacos

New Mexican food—yes please.

They sell this shit in the Albuquerque airport now so you’re damn right I loaded up while I was there.  I just wish I’d gotten more.

10 oz. chopped Hatch, NM green chile (or some other kind of green chile... if you must)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup tomatoes, diced

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

1 teaspoon lemon juice

corn tortillas

tomatoes, onion (for garnish)

Brown turkey in large pot with 1 table spoon olive oil.

In different pot, with remaining olive oil, sauté onion, garlic, cumin, and chili powder until onions start to become translucent (about 5 minutes).

Add sautéed onions and garlic to turkey, add broth, tomatoes, and parsley.  Stir.  Mix in green chile.

Bring pot contents to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 more minutes, or until it reaches a thick, soupy consistency.  Serve on corn tortillas, garnish with more tomatoes and onions.

Total time: approx. 45 mins

Makes 4 servings

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Sweet ‘N’ Smoky Chicken and Beans

Adapted from this.

1 tablespoon honey

2 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

3 teaspoons lemon juice

3/8 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 1/2 lbs chicken (I used drumsticks but anything will work)

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon garlic, minced 

1 jalapeño, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

15 ounces unsalted pinto beans

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons parsley

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Place chicken on foil-lined cooking tray.  Combine honey, 2 tsp olive oil, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Blend well.  Spoon mixture evenly over chicken.  (Forgot to get a picture of this, unfortunately).  Place chicken in over for 30-35 minutes or until internal temperature reached 165°F.

(Here’s the chicken cooked.)

Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a pan or wok.  Add onion, garlic, jalapeño, and remaining chili powder and salt.  Sauté until onion is translucent.  Stir in tomato paste and cook for another minute.

Add beans and broth, then simmer for another 25 minutes.  Add remaining lemon juice and parsley, cook for another minute.

Total time: approx 1 hr.

Makes 4 servings

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Soy-Ginger Salmon with Blanched Green Beans

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp honey

1 1/2 tsp powdered ginger

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Salmon fillets (about 1-1.5 lbs)

1 cup brown rice

1 Tbsp sesame oil

olive oil

2 cups green beans

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt

pepper

lemon juice

First, preheat oven to 375°F.  Then, mix up the glaze.  Stir together soy sauce, honey, 1/2 tsp ginger, and mustard in a small bowl.  (Here I actually made homemade mustard using 2 tsp yellow mustard seeds with white vinegar, ground together with a mortar and pestle).

Place salmon on tin foil-covered baking sheet.  Spoon the glaze evenly over the salmon, place in oven at 350°F for approximately 30 minutes or until the thickest part of the salmon reaches an internal temperature of 145°F.

Next, boil some brown rice.

When done, drain the rice and put in a medium pot with sesame oil and remaining ginger powder.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the flavors are well-mixed (about 2-3 minutes).

To blanche the green beans, bring them to a boil over high heat, then immediately plunge them into ice (or very cold) water to stop the cooking.

Return to pot with a little bit of olive oil.  Sauté over medium heat for a few minutes with garlic.  Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.

Total time: approx. 45 minutes

Makes 3 servings

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Hungarian Chicken Paprikash

When thinking “spicy,” “Hungarian food” probably isn’t the first thing to come to mind, but apparently Hungarians really like their paprika.  Adapted from this with a few substitutions.

1/2 cup flour

3 Tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

egg noodles

Boil yeself some egg noodles!

Combine flour, 2 tablespoons paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a bowl.

Mix well.  Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture, place in pan with olive oil over medium heat.  Brown chicken on both sides (~10 minutes).  Set chicken aside.

Add a little more oil to the pot if necessary.  Add onions, cayenne pepper, rest of the paprika, and rest of the salt.  Salute for about 2 minutes.

Return chicken to pot, add chicken broth.  Boil until roughly a third to a half of the chicken broth has boiled away.

Spoon about 3/4 of a cup of the broth mixture into the bowl containing the rest of the flour mixture from earlier.  Add the yogurt.  Stir together until smooth.

Add mixture to pot, stir until mixed well.

Serve over egg noodles.

Total time: approx. 45 minutes

Makes 3 servings.

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Spicy Lemon Chicken with Vegetables

What is this nonsense?  I’m leaving on a trip on Friday and wanted to use up anything that might go bad while I’m away.

2 large, boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup baby carrots

1 red potato, cubed

1 lemon

1 jalapeño, diced

1 cup arugula

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

6 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup fresh parsley

Add 3 tablespoons oil to non-stick skillet.  Add potatoes and carrots, plus 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (some jalapeños got in in the picture as well--ignore those).  Coat well with oil and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes

Meanwhile, chop all vegetables, cube chicken, grate zest from lemon (should end up with about a tablespoon), and juice the lemon.

Add the chicken to the skillet, along with paprika and 1 teaspoon garlic powder.  Mix well.  When the chicken is starting to cook through, stir in the lemon zest.  When the chicken starts to look white on all sides, turn heat down to low and let simmer.

Add 3 tablespoon olive oil to another skillet, and add other vegetables (bell pepper, jalapeño, mushrooms, arugula), and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Cook over medium-high heat.

When the arugula is starting to wilt, add this mixture to the other skillet.  Stir in the lemon juice, turn heat back up to medium-high, and let cook for another 5 minutes.

Mix in the parsley and cook for another minute (don’t want to cook the parsley too much).  Then eat!

Total time: approx. 30 minutes

Makes 4 servings

[cookingwithwhatever]

Turkey and Vegetable Stuffed Bell Peppers

For some reasons I got it into my head that I wanted to make stuffed bell peppers, so here’s what I ended up with.

2 green bell peppers

1/2 pound ground turkey

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 onion, chopped

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 jalapeño, minced

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup Chinese broccoli (you can use spinach but I still had Chinese broccoli to use up)

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375° F.  Remove the tops and seeds from the green peppers, wrap them in aluminum foil.

Bake peppers in the oven for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the turkey to a non-stick pan, cook turkey until brown, set aside.

Add remaining olive oil to pan with vegetables.  Cook until tender.

Add the turkey back to skillet, add tomato paste, Italian seasoning, salt, garlic powder, pepper.  Cook for another 3 minutes.

Stuff peppers with skillet mixture.  A little overflow is okay.

Put stuffed peppers, unwrapped, back in oven for another 15 minutes.

Total time: approx. 50 minutes

Makes 2 servings

[cookingwithwhatever]

This morning I just ate it alone because I was in a hurry, but it should go well with rice or noodles.  In fact, it’s probably better that way.