Archive for the ‘VMICA’ Tag
Ingredients
- Two slices of bacon
- 1/4 of a medium onion
- 1 pound of fresh green beans
- Season salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Slice & dice bacon into small pieces. Brown in medium skillet until golden. Add finely minced onion. Saute until translucent. Snip stem ends off of green beans. Leave whole, or cut into 2″ pieces. Add to skillet. Season with season salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water. Cover & cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until green beans are tender.
One of few jobs I am qualified to do in Velda’s kitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 5 – 5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Sourdough Starter
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
Instructions
In large mixer bowl, soften yeast in 1-1/2 cups warm water (110*). Blend in 2 cups of the flour, Sourdough Starter, sugar, butter and 2 tsp salt. Combine 1 cup of the flour and the soda; stir into flour-yeast mixture. Add enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough.
Knead on floured surface until smooth (5-8 minutes). Place in greased bowl; turn once. Cover; let rise till double (1 – 1-1/2 hours).
Punch down; divide in half. Cover, let rest 10 minutes. Shape into 2 oblong or round loaves.
Place on greased baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover; let rise till almost double (about 1 hour). Brush with water and make diagonal slashes across tops. Bake at 375* for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from sheet, cool.
****
From The Mowry Cookbook.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 lb mahi mahi fillets, or approximately 4-6 oz per person
- 1/2 cup egg whites
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- salt & pepper
- vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
Slice fillets into single serving-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper, or your seasoning of choice.
Combine flour and almond meal in a shallow dish. Place egg whites in a shallow dish.
Dip mahi mahi flesh side down in the egg whites; let excess run off. Press firmly in almond meal mixture to coat. Let sit on platter for 5 minutes to set.
Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of your skillet over medium/high heat. Add butter, stir.
Add fillets, breaded flesh side down. Do not crowd the pan. Fry for 5-6 minutes until golden brown. Flip. Fry another 4-5 minutes.
I swear this is true. The names have been changed to protect, uh, me He.
He: What is this?
She: Larb.
He: Larb?
She. L. A. R. B. Larb.
He: Why are we having Larb for dinner?
She: I was hungry for Larb.
He: How do you get hungry for Larb?
She: I like Larb.
He: I never get hungry for Larb. I don’t even know Larb. Why are you hungry for Larb?
She: When I go out for Thai food, I have Larb. Unless I have Bun. And it’s not a bun. And I like Larb.
He: (drinks his Bulleit)
She: I didn’t give you the hot Larb. You wouldn’t like it.
He: Should I use the sauce?
She: Yes, but not too much. It has some pepper in it.
He: I like pepper.
She: But I know you don’t like spicy foods, so don’t have any.
He: I like spicy foods.
She: No you don’t.
He: I don’t know what I like?
She: It doesn’t matter. Eat your Larb.
He: So I put it in a lettuce leaf?
She: I prefer the cabbage.
He: So why are there lettuce leaves? Is the cabbage too spicy?
She: It doesn’t matter. Eat your Larb.
He: OK.
She: And put some rice in it, too.
He: Is that why there’s rice on the table?
She: Eat your Larb.
He: OK.
She: I found the recipe online.
He: (drinks his Bulleit)
She: Really. Want to see it?
He: Uh, no.
She: Oh, this is really hot. My mouth is on fire.
He: It has pepper in it.
She: (drinks her Bulleit)
He: (drinks his Bulleit)
She: It’s good. I love the fresh flavors. Lime. Cilantro. Mint. Cabbage.
He: Cabbage flavor? Really?
She: Eat your Larb.
He: (drinks his Bulleit)
She: This doesn’t taste like what I had yesterday.
He: You had Larb yesterday?
She: Yes, and it didn’t taste like this.
He: I thought you were hungry for Larb.
She: I am.
He: But you had it yesterday?
She: Yes, I had it yesterday.
He: But you were hungry for more today?
She: Yes. I like Larb.
He: But this doesn’t taste like what you had yesterday?
She: No.
He: So are you hungry for this Larb, or yesterday’s Larb?
She: I like this. I like Larb. Don’t you like it?
He: Why am I eating Larb?
She: I like it. Go ahead. Drink your bourbon. I like it. Go ahead and blog about it. I don’t care. I like Larb.
More
(ed. note: Larb is a minced meat salad. It’s the national dish of Laos.)
(further ed. note: She likes it.)
(final ed. note: He is not allowed to eat the hot stuff, but at least She prepared some Larb without the heat. He prepared the Bulleit, and all was well.)
Larb recipe on Grit & Glimmer blog (probably not the one used in the above Actual Conversation)
A long time ago, not very far away, I began a phase in my life where I tried to cook. Things didn’t go smoothly. The food I made in my parent’s kitchen as a 13-year-old wasn’t good enough for the dog to eat, let alone my human family. However, I had to cook for someone in order to practice for my Foods class at school. My poor family suffered (Don’t let me make cinnamon rolls. EVER.). Anyway, after I passed this junior high elective (How? I still don’t know. Thank goodness for group work.), I gave up any hope of learning how to cook…until I met my future mother-in-law.
As Henry has mentioned before, Velda is a wizard in the kitchen (He might have given her other titles, but I lean towards the spell-casting folk. Personal preference, if you will). We’ve spent many a night packed around the kitchen table, eating to our hearts’ content. When our family of ten (now eleven!) gathers for a meal, we need two sets of bowls for each side dish. Otherwise, it would probably take 20 minutes to get a single bowl passed around the table! The conversation is filled with jokes about making sure there is a bowl of mashed potatoes set aside specifically for me, or casting family votes on some silly topic (usually not in my favor). We watch as Christopher gets all of his food last (usually Lauren has already cleaned her plate). At meal’s end, we help move empty plates to the kitchen and congratulate Velda on another great meal. Our star chef loves the praise, but doesn’t always want to be alone in the kitchen. This is where I came in.
I began my part in the Mowry Cucina as a sous-chef. I did small things like chop garlic and mix sauces. Occasionally I would season chicken or man the stir-fry. Though my jobs were small, it felt important and I enjoyed doing it. When Michael went away to college, Lauren and I spent time in the kitchen with Velda learning how to cook. We started the clamor for VMICA: The Velda Mowry Institute of Culinary Arts. Later, Jeremy and Michael joined the crew and started cooking. That didn’t last long, but it was definitely fun! Lauren and I were the first graduating class. As we got more confident we did more complicated things. I would make a side dish, or bake some rolls. Lauren would make sauces or put together salads. When Velda hurt her back at work and couldn’t cook, I was named temporary chef. I remember the first meal I made … it was awful. I put way too much raw garlic in the potatoes. Overcooked the chicken. Burnt the broccoli. It was a Murphy’s Law type of dinner and everyone ate it. They were too kind. It still haunts me.
Years have passed since that day and I like to believe I’ve gotten much better. I love to cook. I’m not amazing, but hope I get an “A” for effort. I have my own set of signature dishes that the family enjoys, and I torture my husband with my cooking at home. Since we’ve gotten so focused on losing weight, finding ways to make healthy meals that taste good has been very difficult. You never know how much whole milk and real butter make a dish taste amazing until you can’t use them. But sometimes, the point of making dinner isn’t to impress your guests with your cooking, it’s to spend time with the people you love. I know that’s cliché, but it’s true. We spend our entire family dinner laughing, telling stories, talking about our lives. We make faces at our beautiful niece and mock each other endlessly. Eating family dinner happens two or three nights a week, which is rare for most families. Before college, family dinner was five nights a week. We’re lucky the food is great, but we’re luckier to have each other.
I cook because I love to assemble ingredients and go grocery shopping. I cook because I love food. But, mainly, I cook because I love to have a reason to surround myself with my friends and family.
More
Management and Parenting: Making It Work
Tammy’s Top Ten Reasons to Have Family Dinners
(ed. note: MrsMowry cooks fine meals … and she sets a great table, too!)
