east coast 2

when the smoke cleared from the friday breakdown i did manage to get some cooking done. here is what it looked like:

roasted sauce (2) + niku jaga (2) + roasted chicken and veggies

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roasted sauce

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a spin off of the west coast sauce

tomatoes

onion

garlic

baby bella mushrooms

sweet italian sausage

olive oil

1. cut up tomatoes and onions and throw them in a roasting pan

2. smoosh the garlic to get skin of and break piece open and throw it in the pan

3. drizzle with olive oil and roast at 425 for about 25 or 30 minutes

4. puree all that

5. saute sausage and mushrooms

6. combine puree and sauteed foods in the slow cooker for a few hours or overnight

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niku jaga

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see west coast 2

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chicken and veggies

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chicken breast bone in

summer squash

eggplant

peppers (red, green, italian)

lemon

soy sauce

olive oil

sesame oil

big cook prep = cut up all veggies

night of

1. put chicken and veggies in separate pans

2. on each squeeze one lemon

3. add sesame oil, olive oil, and soy sauce

4. roast at 375 for a bit

5. reduce heat if needed and roast until chicken is fully cooked.

(yummy hint, for another nights dinner simmer down the carcass of your bone in breast to make a soup base and add the left over veggies once it is cooked.)

that's all for now folks.

happy cooking

~woo woo~

west coast 2

Here we are in week two of the big cook.

It has entered "Fall-ish" type weather here in L.A., which means gray mornings and the fact that I might actually have to wear socks. I hate wearing socks.

Well, to kick the gray away, I'm cooking up some soup and stew for the week to come.

Big Cook: Niku Jaga (Japanese Style), Corn Soup (Alice Waters Style), Veggie Quesadillas and Zaru Soba Stir Fry

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Niku Jaga

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Found a good recipe with some twists on it from Iron Chef Morimoto himself.

Here's the link:

www.community.learnsushi.org/2007/11/iron-chefs-niku-jaga/

*also, there's a high effort portion to the prep which calls for dipping the beef one by one. You can also do as gohan/woo woo mamas do. dump it all in. at once. you're still an iron chef! just smarter!

*if you can't find certain ingredients, such as yam noodles or even thinly sliced beef--> just use regular cubes of meat (longer cook on low heat and omit the noodles).

*i had a ton of shiitake mushrooms in the house, so i added that too.

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Corn Soup

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Large White Onion

6tbs butter

salt/pepper

5 ears of white corn

optional: half a pigs foot (it's a very good option)

1. Dice onion w. butter

2. Add half pigs foot. The tasty option.

3. Add salt/pepper

4. Stew until onions are soft

5. If onions dry out, add a little water

6. While the onions are cooking, slice corn kernels from cobs

7. When the onions are ready, add a quart of water, bring to a boil, add corn and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

8. Take the pot off fire, remove pig's foot and puree

9. Strain through sieve.

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Veggie Quesadilla/Zaru Soba Stir Fry

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Veggies (Napa/Peppers/Onions/Asparagus/Leeks...whatever)

1. Stir fry with tons of garlic/season

2. Save for sticking in veggie quesadillas and Stir Fry w. Soba

west coast 1

The only real difference between woo woo mamas big cook 1 and my big cook 1 is that I did a roasted tomato sauce instead of the yummy stir fry she cooked up.

A quick and tasty fix for all those end of summer tomatoes out there:

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Roasted Tomato Sauce:

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Bunch of Tomatoes

Garlic

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

(basil, oregano etc.)

1. Half your tomatoes

2. Spread chopped garlic over the top

3. Sprinkle Salt, Pepper and any other dry herbs you have and like!

4. Dribble olive oil around the tomatoes

5. Roast them until very soft (25-35 min.) at 450 degree oven

6. Mash or Food Process the cooked tomatoes

7. *optional :add browned meat and onions, but just plain is super good too.

east coast 1

here it is. my first shopping list and menu for my solo big cook. my big cook 1. i am only including here the portions of the list that are applicable to the big cook. but, like me, you might want to stock up on your families other staples while you are there. for example, i am kind of obsessed with having the same breakfast everyday. cut up strawberries, organic honey nut o's, slivered almonds, plain yogurt and agave. so, this week i needed to buy myself two boxes of strawberries and two containers of yogurt. but, not everyone is so insane about breakfast.

this was a holiday weekend so i only planned four meals but it can work for a five day week with one of the meals being doubled and eaten twice.

i also have to mention that the woo woo family belongs to a CSA. what is a CSA and how can you find one near you? this link may help www.localharvest.org/csa

our farm is in a neighboring town and is pretty spectacular place. i can count on having fresh, local, organic veggies every week. this comes into play with my big cooking. for example, one of the meals this week is stir fry and i'll use some of the veggies from the farm so i don't have them on my shopping list. to be fair to anyone who wants to try to use my list i'll add on what we got from the farm. if you can find a local CSA i highly suggest you try it out. in fact, we woo woo's belong to a meat CSA too so we'll be shaping our big cook's around our meat share as well once it is restocked next weekend!

ok, onto the deets.

meals = roast chicken + taco night + stir fry + ground chik/tofu/napa

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roast chicken
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whole chicken
lemon
garlic
bay leaves
salt/pepper
butter

1. wash the chicken
2. stuff the cavity with 1/2 lemon, garlic, two bay leaves and anything else you want
3. tie the legs
4. rub the skin with softened butter, salt and pepper and any other herbs you want
5. stick bird into an over set to 450
6. after 3o mins reduce time to 350
7. cook about 20 mins per lb

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soft tacos / or if no time to heat up tortillas--- taco salad night:
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lettuce
tomatoes
avocado-->guacamole if ambitious
salsa
can of beans
ground turkey/chicken
onions
grated cheese
lime
tortillas

1. chop or grate what you can so it is all set to go, tuck it in the fridge
2. cook meat ground turkey/chicken +onions + garlic + spices (chile, cumin, cayenne etc.)
3. have any lettuce washed b4 hand- so it's an easy go-to.


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stir fry (served with rice)
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stir fry meat of choice
onion
ginger
garlic
eggplant
peppers
summer squash
bok choy

1. cut and freeze meat so it lasts
2. cut veggies, garlic, onion when you have those free minutes so they are all set to go in the pan
3. stir fry! (if you are lucky you have a great sauce your sister in law the master big cooker made when she was visiting you in the freezer to use too!) *if you don't have the sauce you may want:

soy sauce
sesame oil
hot pepper sesame oil
or any other yummy flavors for your stir fry sauce

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tofu/ground chicken/napa (served with rice again)
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tofu-firm (1-2 blocks)
ground chick
head of napa-chinese cabbage
garlic
ginger
soy sauce
rice vinegar
sriracha
sake (or rice cooking wine)

1. brown chicken w. garlic/ginger(chopped up)
2. add a few splashes of soy sauce/vinegar/sake
3. squirts of sriracha-pending heat level u like
4. add in napa- let that cook down
5. add tofu last, fold together, cover for a few minutes--



so, are you all ready to get started? enjoy the big cook. now you see the pic from the first post was taco night and chick/tofu/napa night all good to go. got questions? want help? think this is crazy? leave a comment....