UnRecipe: Adult Movies

See, I knew that post title would catch your eye. No sign of The Hedgehog anywhere, I assure you, this post is staying strictly above the belt. We had a Movie Night at home a while back, to have an Alien/Aliens movie marathon after the Mister bought the super-duper Blu-Ray DVD combo that went on mega-sale when Prometheus came out. I can't say much for Prometheus, quite frankly friends who saw it said it kinda sorta suuuuuuuucked, but that shouldn't diminish the chest-bursting awesomeness of the previous films (well, the first two) and the fact that I just wanted an excuse to make grownup snacks like Gummi Whiskey Colas and bacon caramel popcorn. Let's all go to the movies!

There's bacon in them thar caramel pocorn - Photo by Wasabi Prime

WARNING: MOVIE NERD ALERT -- What prompted this post was less Prometheus, more a revisit of the previous Alien/Aliens movies because the Mister bought the fancy-schmancy BluRay set. The fact that the DVD movie set didn't include any of the Alien vs Predator (AVP - sigh...) movies was a blessing; I don't count those as part of the Xenomorph Mythology. It included the arguably good (I liked it) Alien 3, one of David Fincher's first full length features, pre-SE7EN, and the bizarrely squishy acid trip that is Alien Resurrection, which had the benefit of French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet of Delicatessen, City of Lost Children and Amelie fame. But great directors aren't enough to improve goofy scripts and the fact that it's hard to sympathize with a prison colony full of mysogynists -- chow down, hungry Alien. But I will say, the best thing about this DVD set was the fact that you got the extended cut of Aliens. Before James Cameron got all googly-eyed over the Titanic and made Dances With Aliens, I mean Avatar, he did an amazing job with reinventing Ridley Scott's original Alien into a wicked roller coaster ride. The director's cut adds quite a bit more exposition and additional dimension to key characters; it definitely kicks the badassery of the original up a few notches, so if you're as much of a supernerd about the Alien/Aliens movies as I am, it's a worthy DVD set to add to the collection. OK, Movie Nerd Rant over.

And now... back to food - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Clearly, I take my movies seriously, so I put equal effort into Movie Night. Not that these movies elicit any gastronomic inspirations, short of making spaghetti and everyone losing their appetite the second you see John Hurt have the worst case of heartburn in the history of man. Since we had a group of people over, I went the easy route: a large crock pot of chili. Nothing fancy, the pot stays hot and people serve up what they want. I had a cold antipasti-like salad as a side and it was all a hefty base to cushion the snackery I had prepared earlier.

Don't take candy from this adult, I'm just warning you now - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Caramel bacon popcorn was of course inspired by Lisa Dupar and her crafty food wizards at Pomegranate. I still had visions of my last visit to Pom Bar dancing in my head, so I thought crumbles of crispy bacon tossed with freshly-made caramel corn would be a fitting savory snack to accompany our action-packed movie night. Plus it's something you can make ahead -- I made several batches of the bacon caramel corn a couple of days before the event and kept them stored in sealed plastic bags. Even with a little humidity in the air, the caramel helps keep things crunchy. But of course the most curious snack to be given an R-rating was drunk gummi candies. I can blame/thank Serious Eats for this one, they posted a story about "Rummy Bears" and that of course got me thinking about my favorite gummi candies, gummi colas, and how awesome it would be to soak them in whiskey. That should be a solution to any tough problem. Got an issue? Have some whiskey. Problem solved.

A feast and an Alien Queen beast - Photos by Wasabi Prime

After several bottles of wine, plenty of beer and nearly all the popcorn and chili eaten - the gummis were killed early on - we managed to get through three of the Alien(s) movies, right up to the one where you see how attractively symmetrical Sigourney Weaver's head is, when completely GI Jane-d. A violent and dystopic way to spend a Saturday night, yes, but considering most of us knew the lines to Aliens by heart, it was more Mystery Science Theater 3000 than anything else. So I hope this inspires you to have your own Adult Movie Night, complete with grownup movie snacks and copious amounts of alcohol. And just remember to make a ton of popcorn because we can all learn from the Wisdom of Hudson:

UnRecipe: To There and Back Again

Vacations can be stressful. I know that seems like a contradiction in terms, but I should specify: getting ready for a vacation is stressful. I think there's some fuzzy math involved, something to the effect of, it will take about the time you'll be taking off to prepare for the time you'll be taking off. Confused yet? I have some tips to share if you're in that whirlwind of getting ready to go on a trip and don't want to feel like you're behind the eight-ball when you return. Let's get some Wasabi-Wisdom on, shall we?

Upon Arrival, Make Soup - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I wouldn't really call it Wasabi Wisdom, more like I'm Lazy and Don't Want to Worry What's For Dinner When I Get Home. So before any trip, I always make an extra batch of something simple, like stew, a hearty soup or chili. This time, it was chili because at any given time, I'll likely have all the basics to make a big ol' pot of the stuff, which is: dry spices, beans, ground meat, onions and whatever vegetables are lying about in the crisper drawer. I also like to throw in some beer for good measure when I'm making chili -- why not, they kind of go together, right? If you're gone for just a few days, like an extended weekend trip, leave it in the fridge for when you return -- big appliances like that run better when they've got stuff to keep cool, versus chilling an empty space. Gone longer? Freeze it in smaller batches for easy defrosting when you get home, and you can just heat-and-eat leftovers for a few meals, not worrying about grocery shopping until after that grueling Monday where you have to trudge back to work. Yes, you can also call the magical, marvelous Pizza Delivery Man, who we all love and adore, but I'm trying to give an alternative to hitting the Pizza Button. Especially after a vacation -- you've probably been on a weeklong bender of diet-busting proportions, why not ease back into balanced meals with something you made prior to your trip? And then call the Pizza Delivery Guy mid-week.

Beer and bacon chili - it's what's for the Mister while I'm away - Photos by Wasabi Prime

In my case, I made this batch of vacation-chili/stew/whatever for the Mister, as he stayed behind on my last trip. It's worth it to leave some food for whoever's staying at home. There might still be leftovers by the time you get home, but more likely, it's a way of keeping things on the rails if you've got a budget to stick to, or just don't want to leave that take-out temptation behind when you're gone. He's got a pretty good habit of taking lunch to work, and he's busy as all get-out, so having something quick to eat when he gets home is a saving grace. But I did see the leftover pizza sitting in the fridge when I got back, so I know the Pizza Button got hit at least once, but that's fine, I'd have done the same.

By the time I returned, we had a CSA delivery, so it was nice to arrive home to a fridge already stocked with produce. The Mister cooked with some of it, and there was plenty left for me to dabble with when I got settled back into Wasabi HQ. I just wanted something simple and rustic, so I made a big crazy soup, using a little of everything. I caramelized leeks and onions, threw in some Swiss chard, canned garbanzos, and added some pork sausage that Brock had picked up on a whim. I'm  not sure what this soup could be called; maybe it was a bit of a riff on Italian wedding soup, swapping meatballs with sausage chunks, but the week after you return from a vacation, you just want something delicious and easy to prepare. This was the perfect meal to get me back into the swing of kitchen duty while juggling work.

Building the perfect soup-monster! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

And bless the Mister's heart -- I came home to the Best Thing Ever. Fresh cornbread and my most favorite thing in the world -- no, not even Indy -- Chocolate Chip Cookies. Sorry, Indy. Cookies = Winning. I don't say this enough, but Brock's a really good cook and baker. It always comes down to time and how we wish to spend it. At the end of a long day, when the option of Cooking in the Kitchen vs. Playing Mass Effect 3 is placed before you, who you think's gonna win? But before I left, Brock had just perfected the seasoning of his cast iron cornbread pan and a pot of chili clearly demands such accoutrement. I'm sure the smell of just-baked goodness became infectious, so he made incredibly perfect chocolate chip cookies. Seriously, is he half Keebler Elf or what? I should make that guy live in a tree and bake me cookies all the live-long day! So I came home to tasty fresh cornbread, chocolate chip cookies and even a big ol' bottle of bubbly chilling in the fridge. It was the best Welcome Home I've had in a while! 

The best thing about all this good stuff is, it was just waiting for me - Photos by Mr. and Mrs. Wasabi

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet, Give Me Something Good to Eat...

Happy Halloween, Boos and Ghouls! I hope you're ready for the one night out of the year where it's socially acceptible to run around from house to house, banging on the door for free snacks! You're probably already sugar-coma-ed out from all the pre-holiday candy you've enjoyed; you know what I'm talking about, the bag of Reese's peanut butter cups you bought on sale weeks before Halloween, but then started to slowly eat them one by one before the 31st...  So instead of sweet, I went with savory for Halloween. Along with a peek at our spookily pimped out Halloween house, I bring to you a Ghoulishly Green Tomato Chili! *Insert Vincent Price cackle at end of Thriller song *

The Prime and "V" wishes you a Happy Halloween! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

This post is very Halloween-like, in that it's just a big UnRecipe post wearing a scary holiday costume. I wasn't planning on making "green" chili, it was more like our tomato plants were starting to die off from the cold, there were too many green tomatoes still on the vine, and there's no way I was going to just sacrifice them to the Compost Gods without a valiant effort. So our garden boxes are cleaned out for the season, resting in the chill and rain for another year, and I found myself with several pounds' worth of green tomatoes of all sorts, from a collection of heirloom plants and other varieties. I let them sit in brown paper sacks for a few days, but when it's this green, there's no magical ripening powers that are going to make them bright, juicy red. But that doesn't mean you can't use green tomatoes. Aside from the usual suspects like fried green tomatoes, I wanted to see how they would do in a chili. Green tomatoes are known for being really tart, the sugars haven't really developed yet, and they're quite firm, almost like a tomatillo. Which, by the way, I had a few of those from a CSA delivery. Those are kind of Halloween-y as what's up with the weird sticky film that's on the surface of tomatillos when you remove the paper-like husk? And the fact they kind of taste like apples? Ingredients with costumes and their own sticky ooze -- It's the Great Tomatillo, Charlie Brown!

The Green Tomato Caper, as captured on iPhone camera - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I didn't want to just stew the green tomatoes and tomatillos in a pot, I roasted them first, to cook off some of their liquid and intensify their flavor. There were a lot of pans and casserole dishes full of green tomatoes roasting away in the oven for a few days, as I had several batches. Not everything went into the chili, but the bigger Early Girl and heirlooms were what eventually made it into the slow cooker for the final stew. For the chili, I had a large pork loin that I cut into large chunks, browned in a pot, then softened onions and garlic in the drippings before throwing in several pounds' worth of the roasted green tomatoes. As for the chili seasoning, I went heavier on the cumin than the typical chili powder. I like the smoky flavor of cumin and thought it would go well with the tartness of the green tomatoes. The thing I was most surprised about in the cooking of green tomatoes is even after the oven and slow cook time, the tart citrusy flavor never really went away. Which is a good thing, as it ends up brightening the dish quite a bit. I didn't have fresh cilantro on-hand, just coriander seed, but fresh sprigs of that would have been nice as well. The green of the tomatoes eventually cooks down to a brown color in the slow cooker, especially after adding the spice mixture of cumin, coriander and a personal dry mix I make that has chili powder, finely ground coffee, mustard powder and pepper.

Can't you tell how much I LOVE this time of year??? - Photos by Wasabi Prime

So how was the Ghoulishly Green Tomato Chili? Not ghoulish at all, pretty tasty, in fact. For something that came together out of necessity, as most of our dinners end up being, it was nice to work with the underripe tomatoes and see how they work with other ingredients. It makes me less hesitant to plant tomatoes during iffy seasons, knowing even the green ones have their own unique uses. And having the oven and slow cooker doing most of the work gives me extra time to deck our halls with Halloween decor! I'm a total nut for fall and autumn colors, and L-O-V-E Halloween. I have to stop myself from buying more decorations because I can never provide an acceptible answer to the voice in my head that says: "Sure, it's cute now, but where are you going to store it for the rest of the year?" Pesky voice of reason. I will kill you with more beer, just you wait.

Getting skully with it (no Mulder, har-har) - Photos by Wasabi Prime

And given the fact that it's Halloween, I'm indulging myself in sharing some non-food photos. I was obsessed with skulls in the last few weeks. Seriously, they were everywhere, and not just for Halloween. I was browsing one of my favorite shops, Common Folk, over in Bellevue, and they had glitter skulls and spooky wreaths -- wanted to buy everything, but you know, that pesky Inner Voice of Reason crashed the party in my brain. So I took photos instead of taking my wallet out. Same goes for the Alexander McQueen scarf I reeeeeeeeally liked, but couldn't justify the $200+ price tag for, yes, a single scarf. Maybe I'll treat myself to a little gold skull ring if it's still around and on sale after the holiday... Happy Halloween, y'all. Stuff your face with candy and get your drawstring pants ready -- it's November tomorrow, and you know what's coming up next: Thanksgiving! *Vincent Price cackle*

UnRecipe: The (Tastes) Great Pumpkin

Pumpkins. They're not just for pies. Well, duh, of course you know that. They're for carving funny faces in. When smashed, they can inspire 90's indie band name titles. They're also nifty-keen for soups, stews and chili. To help inspire minds already clicking away on Thanksgiving plans, here's some non-dessert uses for our squashy friend, reminding us that The Great Pumpkin isn't just great, he's DELICIOUS.

Hey, there, Pumpkin! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

For those fans of the Peanuts Gang, I apologize to Linus Van Pelt for taking his sacred All Hallows Eve cow, hacking it in twain and roasting the bejeebers out of it. But you can't get a tasty roasted pumpkin without doing all that stuff. My journey to give Peter-Peter Pumpkin-Eater a run for his money started out at the grocery store when I saw a sign that priced small pumpkins at $1.99 a pop. Not per pound, per pumpkin, which was pretty good, since butternut squash was priced that amount by weight. Granted, these weren't sugar pumpkins, the creamier-textured pie-friendly varieties. These were basically destined to be mini jack-o-lanterns, but I hate to see produce go to waste, so I bought three of them and set to work on incorporating them into food.

Pumpkin soup with a unique flavor twist - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Despite their small size, these little guys were stringy buggers. The flesh was compact and definitely more tough than the pumpkins you'd use for pies. But that didn't make them any less edible. Once split, seeded and roasted in the oven till fork-tender, it still had that lightly sweet, fragrant scent that pumpkins have when cooked. Mild in flavor, it becomes a bit like a potato, able to play with a variety of seasonings. Blended smooth in a food processor or blender, it's great for soups. I made my version of pumpkin soup with creamy coconut milk, enhancing the pleasant sweetness of the squash. Adding a few different spices like cardamom, chili powder and nutmeg, it had more of a Southeast Asian flavor to it, versus the typical mild pumpkin soup. I reserved the seeds, dried them out, and roasted with chili powder to make them into a crunchy topping.

For my next trick, I will make a pumpkin disappear into this chili! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

This blog should be renamed as 101 Ways to Eat Chili. It's true, I make it a lot. Just call it the comfy pair of sweatpants and baggy sweater you always throw on after a long day at work -- it's always a good fit. The latest batch of chili ended up getting half a roasted pumpkin mixed in. The soft chunks of the roasted squash sort of melted into the chili and made for a great thickener. You don't really notice the flavor but it adds a nice, rich texture to the chili. I did the same to a chicken curry I made that week and it made the sauce pleasantly thick, plus gave it a pretty orange hue.

I still have a few more pumpkins left from the squash shopping spree. Another nice thing about thick-skinned squash is their shelf life. As long as the skin isn't pierced and no bruising, they can just hang out on your counter for quite a long time. Ultimately, the remainder of the pumpkins will be roasted down and have their mushy goodness frozen for future uses, as I haven't decided on the specifics of how I'll use them. But I'm already envisioning breads and cakes, or a rich, creamy mushroom and pumpkin lasagne.Stay tuned, I'm sure Pumpkin 2: Electric Boogaloo will be a sequel worth blogging about.

UnRecipe: Wasabi Two-Step

Consider it a kitchen lesson inspired by ballroom dancing. But without the B-list actors and questionable celeb wannabes. To avoid the temptation of a burger-and-fries run, but stave off the evils of mealtime boredom, I'll make a few things during the week for meals, just like anyone else. But I don't want to be stuck in the prep time vortex on days where there's just not enough time. Introducing... The Wasabi Two-Step -- no line dancing required. It's basic common sense time management: pick one slow-cook, large quantity, leftover-friendly dish for days that are short on fuss time and one quick-cook, minimal prep, smaller portion meal that's enjoyed freshly cooked. It's the slow-slow-quick-quick-slow of getting jiggy with dinnertime.

Chili and Rice is my BFF (Island style, yo) - Photo by Wasabi Prime

No duh, Wasabi -- did it take a rocket scientist to figure that one out? Hell, no! Brain surgeon, maybe. Very possibly an astrophysicist was involved. My last quick-slow cook week involved getting a slow cooker of chili going while I made a simple eat-it-now dinner of trout and garden greens. The chili was the basic UnRecipe of: chunks of beef, canned tomatoes, chopped onions, sausage and black beans. I throw together a mix of seasonings that I have never measured, so it's different every time (I know, bad recipe developer, bad, bad, bad!). There is no method to this madness, just throw it into the crucible that is the almighty crock pot and let it do its thing for a few hours, letting the cooking vessel do all the real work. That's how you get to be the master of your kitchen domain. Delegate to the robot army of appliances and hope they don't overthrow you in a high-voltage political coup.
One of the best things about chili and stews is the fact that it just gets better the longer it sits. It just ages like a fine, meaty wine. I'll make a chili a whole day in advance of when I want to eat it, just so it has more time to just soak in its own flavors, even in the chill of the fridge. Plus chili is one of those monthly go-to's that I still rely on, as my mother did the same. We'd have it at least once every two weeks, since it was so simple to make and it kept our family fed for several days. Poured over rice, of course -- a Hawaii favorite. I know it may seem weird, but just try it and you'll be a convert to chili and rice.

Summertime fish dish - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I know I'm not fooling anyone -- I clearly made this trout dish during the earlier part of summer, as witnessed by the fresh sugar snap peas. And I'm clearly backlogged on my food photos and posts! This was during the heyday of the Wasabi Garden's pea patch, where I was pulling handfuls of pods every day. Never a bad problem to have. I seared some trout filets we had from a friend's fishing trip, seasoned with some garden pesto, and deglazed the pan with some white wine, butter and sauteed whatever seasonal vegetables I had on hand -- peas, late spring onions, anything green. A dish like this felt very of-the-moment, as we were using things that were at their peak, no real plan in mind, just use what's there. Not that seared fish in a wine and butter sauce couldn't be done at any time of the year, but it was a nice way to work with the ingredients at-hand and enjoy them at their seasonal peak.

What about you? What are your favorite ways to balance time and get a meal on the table?