UnRecipe: You're My Hero, DIY Gyro! (and the Interwebs, too)

Sometimes I think, I should try and write down more of my recipes and actually make this a real recipe blog. And then I ignore that voice and keep reading through cookbooks, browsing recipes sites, and other cooking blogs, which basically all inform how this blog winds up. In the evenings, I multitask while re-watching that Downton Abbey episode for the fourth time to figure out what the hell is going on, and dinking around on my smartphone, reading recipes and looking up what other people do with specific ingredients. This is exactly what happened not long ago, when a wicked craving for gyros came about, and the solution was (as always) The Interwebs.

Make-at-home-gyros on lavash; a near-perfect restaurant-style reproduction - Photo by Wasabi Prime

OMG a Recipe: CSA-Curious Seeking LTR w/ Fresh, Seasonal Produce for Exciting Cooking Adventures

It's easy to fall into the routine of weekly recipes and organized grocery lists, but what about being a little spontaneous? Why not flirt with the mystery and excitement of a delivery of fresh, seasonal produce, and let your meals be swept away by a swarthy CSA box from Oxbow Farm? I was pleased to participate in this year's Oxbow Box Project, a great challenge for local food bloggers to get a big ol' box of seasonal summer produce and see what winds up on the table. If you're already a subscriber to one of the many CSA programs out there, you already know what this at-home Iron Chef-style of cooking is like, but if you've always been CSA-curious, I'm here to say, as Rob Schneider so often shouts in terrible Adam Sandler movies: YOU CAN DO IT!

Oxbow Farm CSA, you take my breath away - Photo by Wasabi Prime

UnRecipe: Ramping Things Up for Summer

You see what I did there? I just made a horrible pun. I make a lot of them. I should open up an Etsy shop full of terrible, handcrafted puns, festooned with crocheted cat ears and googly-eyes. I also made pickled ramps a little while ago, and frankly, the notion to get all Portlandia on these precious springtime treasures was a good thing, because, baby, it's hot outside, and I need something simple to eat on these hot summer nights.

My favorite summer food, made even more favorite-er with pickled ramps - Photo by Wasabi Prime

UnRecipe: Medite-grainian Salad and All Things Green

I get a little bit of culture shock when warmer weather hits and I have to change my cooking habits. It's hard for me to transition from months of slow-cooked stews, hearty soups and spicy stir frys to meals where I should probably limit the use of the stove, just to keep the house from any additional heat. Salads are an obvious choice, but I need a transitional dish, something that could be eaten warm or cold, with a lot of the flavors that transport my palate to a summery state of mind. Mediterranean style dishes always work for me -- perfectly fresh and summery, but a hearty enough meal that doesn't leave you feeling hungry later. 

Grains, vegetables and beans, with a Mediterranean flavor - Photo by Wasabi Prime

UnRecipe: The Secret of Food Blogging and the Comfort Food Gnome in Your Brain

Friends have often asked, what does it take to have a successful food blog? Is there some secret SEO-sorcery? A mystery, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a taco, to unlock like some mysterious DaVinci Code? Perhaps it's just about knowing all the right people and being at the right place at the right time? My answer: I have no idea, but post some photos of some cheesy, gooey pasta and it's a hit parade. It's not that simple, of course, but the almighty glutinous noodle is as popular as it is ubiquitous, and it never fails to get appetites whetted, no matter how many plates of noodles we see. Today's post proves the Power of Pasta -- even with random ingredients and a pantry full of nothing special, baked pasta with spicy Italian sausage, smothered with cheese is always a winner.


Baked pasta and my Big Fat Italian Belly after eating it - Photo by Wasabi Prime

FoodTrek: Spring Fever and Yes, More Cowbell

"I got a fever... and the only prescription is... More Cowbell," so sayeth Christopher Walken's insane, Phil Spector-style record producer character on that high-larious Blue Oyster Cult Saturday Night Live skit from a few  years ago. If you have no idea what the hell I'm talking about and have a strong hankering to see Will Ferrell's hairy gut shake its money-maker, you should get to know your Internets better and see a quick-edit mashup on the YouTube. I definitely got a case of Spring Fever when I indulged in some springtime shenanigans: attending Woodinville RESERVE and savoring a day of sun at Pike Place Market. Start that cowbell, we're ready to rawk.

Ramping it up with spring in the Northwest - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Mixed Plate: Take Flavor to Eleven

The Prime would never call herself a masterful blogger, nor would she consider herself a particularly knowledgeable culinary whiz, but I do talk about myself in the third person, so I've got that going for me. What I do think I can credit myself with, aside from a borderline case of crazybrain, is an appreciation for kitchen convenience and strong flavor that punches you in the face.

Vanilla beans + cheap vodka = tastebud happytown - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I received a great Christmas present last year, a lovely bottle of vodka filled with whole vanilla beans that had been soaking in there for God knows how long, rendering the once-clear liquid into a rich, marvelously caramelized brown. I believe modern science would call that, "vanilla extract." So simple, so lovely and a whole freakin' bottle of the stuff! My friend who gave it to me recommended I keep re-topping the liquid with more vodka as the levels dropped, plus adding more whole vanilla beans as I come across them, just to keep up the strength of the mojo. I did find myself in the enviable position of having quite a few vanilla beans and the need to make sure they stay well-preserved until eventual use, so I took my friend's lead and had a reasonable excuse to buy cheap vodka at the liquor store. I started to soak a few vanilla beans in a small recycled maple syrup bottle, using Maker's Mark bourbon. It yielded a nice vanilla bourbon that made for a very pleasant addition to cocktails, but was a little expensive to batch-soak vanilla beans for when I'm craving chocolate chip cookies. My friend assured me that the cheap bum-tastic vodka would be fine, given its neutral spirit quality and for baking, the alcohol would burn off, so it's not like anyone would feel the hobo burn in a batch of brownies.

From flower, to bean, to booze bottle - Photos by Wasabi Prime

It's kind of hard to imagine that wrinkly, gnarly-looking vanilla beans come from such a pretty plant like the orchid. Unlike my inability to keep orchids alive and thriving in my house, I do now have a thriving supply of vanilla extract in my pantry. Getting past the occasional trip to the liquor store to pick up a refill bottle of shamefully cheap booze, it's a nice way to keep the vanilla beans well-lit and preserved for future desserts.

Yay to quick, easy garlic paste and Muppets - Photos by Wasabi Prime and Muppet Wiki

My latest kichen shortcut was inspired by a Costco impulse buy. I think the old saying needs to be revisited, because Costco is truly the mother of invention. What exactly does one do with four pounds of peeled garlic cloves, anyway? I didn't really buy four pounds of peeled garlic cloves... without at least a hint of intent. I love the flavor of roasted garlic -- who doesn't? I don't always have the planning time mapped out to roast a head of garlic for a dish, so when I saw the gignormous bag on the shelf, the Wasabi brain said, "oven magic, baby." Spread out across a foil-covered cookie sheet and tossed with about a tablespoon of olive oil, the cloves are then covered with another layer of foil to keep the moisture in, and left to roast in a 350-degree oven for about forty minutes. Depending on how you feel about garlic, it will make your house smell like heaven or hell, but it will absolutely keep the vampires away. For, like, ever. Four pounds of garlic cloves, once roasted to caramelized softness and mashed into a pulp by a fork, fills a couple of good-sized jars. It was probably reduced to about four or five cups' worth of roasted garlic paste, and thanks to Muppet Wiki (my life is complete now, isn't yours?), I had three -- THREE -- jars of garlic paste, ah-hah-haaaaah. I don't expect anyone to use this wealth of flavor all in one week, so once the jars are cooled, throw the extras in the freezer for later use. I probably go through my supply of roasted garlic paste once every one or two months, depending on what I'm cooking, but it works for just about everything and the roasting kills that slightly hot garlic-ness. It's a nice fast flavor addition and I don't add any salt or pepper during the roasting, just to keep it basic, and you can always build the flavor as you cook with it.