Jun12

Stuffed Summer Squash

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When I lived in Guatemala, I cooked with a lot of vegetables. My favorite was “guicoy,” which is a little round zucchini.  Whenever I see them at the farmer’s market here, I have to buy them. You can saute them just like regular zucchini, or you can stuff them! Their shape makes them the perfect vessel for cheese, rice, nuts, meat, or anything else that sounds good to you. With a little bit of meat for protein, they become an entrée.

I added mint to mine because it looked great at the farmer’s market, and coriander because it goes well with mint. You could use parsley and cheese, or any other herbs that you prefer.

Stuffed Summer Squash

5-6 small round summer squash
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 lb ground beef (substitute cooked rice to make this vegetarian)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 T mint, finely chopped
1/4 c breadcrumbs
1 egg
kosher salt
black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the summer squash in half horizontally. Use a small spoon to scoop out the inside of the squash so that they form a little bowl, and set aside the insides of the squash. If necessary, cut off the stems of the squash so that they lay flat. Season them lightly with salt.

In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and ground beef to the skillet. Season with salt, pepper, and coriander. When the meat has browned, add the reserved squash insides and mint to the skillet. Saute for another minute.

Remove the meat mixture from the skillet and cool for five minutes. Combine with egg and breadcrumbs. Stuff the squash halves with the filling.

Place the stuffed squash in a casserole dish. Bake for 20-30 minutes depending on the size of your squash. They are finished when the squash is tender.

Serve with brown rice or cous cous.

Jun11

Dumplings in the San Gabriel Valley

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Yesterday we drove to the San Gabriel Valley to get Chinese food for lunch. My friend Pearl recommended J & J Restaurant, and it did not disappoint us.  It’s a tiny place with only about ten tables, but it’s in a strip mall with several other Chinese restaurants, so you won’t have to wait if you don’t want to.  Paco let me order, so we did not have any of the old standbys (beef with broccoli. . .).

We had xiao long bao, which is what they’re known for. These are steamed dumplings filled with pork or pork and crab. When the dumplings are made, a cube of gelatinous broth is included in the filling. While the dumpling steams, the broth melts. When you bite into it, savory, steaming hot broth fills your mouth. You can often find these at dim sum restaurants, but they may be a little dry if they’ve been sitting on the cart for a while. The freshly steamed dumplings at J & J were amazing.

The noodle soup with braised beef was great if you like Chinese beef stew (you know, with tendons and who-knows-what braised until tender). The broth was dark but mild, which complemented the flavorful beef nicely.

I had to order the braised pork with bean curd skins because I love bean curd skins.  The pork was braised until super tender, and the bean curd skins were tied into little knots, which was cute and made them easy to eat.

We rounded out our San Gabriel experience with foot massages!  ($15 for an hour or $10 for 30 minutes.)  What a perfect afternoon.

Jun8

Easy everyday updo

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I used to spend a ton of time experimenting with my hair in high school. I colored it, wore different updos on a regular basis, and even had a perm for a bit. In college, I highlighted it and played with different colors. Then I started working, and dyed it from Asian orange back to its natural dark brown for the sake of professionalism. Since then, I’ve consistently had shoulder-length hair in my natural color.

Snore, right?  My hair is the longest it’s ever been at the moment, and it’s really hot in L.A. this week, so it’s the perfect time to play with updos.  In high school I had to experiment on my own or get ideas from magazines.  It’s a brave new world out there for high school girls, though, with thousands of instructional hair-related YouTube videos available to them.

I tried this one today, and it was as easy as advertised, and looks so much more interesting than an everyday ponytail.

Jun5

Indian-Style Sloppy Joes

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I found this recipe in Every Day with Rachael Ray, and I immediately wanted to try it! I like the idea of sloppy joes, although I never really eat/make them, and this spicy Indian version seemed like the perfect opportunity. I modified the recipe to give it more of a kick, and I used ground sirloin instead of ground lamb because I wanted a leaner cut of meat.

I served them with crispy oven fries, and the filling was great the next day over brown rice, too!

Indian-Style Sloppy Joes
(Adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray)

1 lb ground sirloin
1 T olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
3/4-inch piece of ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
kosher salt
black pepper
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 T honey
butter, room temperature (for buns)
4 burger buns or kaiser rolls, split
fresh cilantro for garnish
sliced red onion for garnish

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground sirloin and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook for 5 minutes or until browned, then add the onion, ginger, and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin, coriander, chili powder, and red pepper flakes, then stir to combine. Cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft.

Add the tomato sauce and honey. Fill the empty tomato sauce can halfway with water, then pour the tomato-water into the pan as well. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for 10 minutes.

Serve on toasted, buttered buns, and garnish with cilantro and red onion.