My my my, I was a little worked up writing that last post- apologies to those lovely ladies and their tubs of margarine. The day of reckoning is soon upon us (T-5 days) and although I am feeling calmer and more generous than when I last wrote, I still have no time to cook and write about recipes. Instead I will give you this incredible little ditty by a legendary woman, Shirley Caesar, which is currently playing on the rapid-repeat study loop.
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Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
A Little Perspective
For the past six weeks, I have been preoccupied with this comprehensive exam I have to take at the end of the month for nursing school (eeeeeekkkk!). Last night the studying reallllllly got to me and I was suffering break downs at the rate of one per practice question (go ahead--calculate the drip factor of that). Poor BFKef tried to give me some perspective and I was NOT having it--a reality check is not what Chef Kefi wants when in the throes of test-related anxiety.
After I calmed down a bit, I had a little chat with myself that went something like this:
Normal Me: "Well, ChefKef. It could be worse."
Crazy Me: "Listen here, wench--this ish is rock bottom. I am going to fail this test, never become a nurse, and have to organize the card section at Target for the rest of my life." (Editor's Note: Seriously --imagine having to find the right envelope for ALL those cards!)
Normal Me: "Ok now you listen here--work.it.out...ain't nobody gonna find this mess cute."
Crazy Me: "But this test is so pointless-- no one else is this whole world is wasting more energy on something so stupid."
And THAT is when the seas parted and I thanked God for creating the hipster. In my moment of need, I take solace that I have not spent my time on this*.
*I admit that I enjoyed watching this and do appreciate the creativity... but I maintain that I'd probably rather study for HESI for the rest of eternity than spend an afternoon on this.
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After I calmed down a bit, I had a little chat with myself that went something like this:
Normal Me: "Well, ChefKef. It could be worse."
Crazy Me: "Listen here, wench--this ish is rock bottom. I am going to fail this test, never become a nurse, and have to organize the card section at Target for the rest of my life." (Editor's Note: Seriously --imagine having to find the right envelope for ALL those cards!)
Normal Me: "Ok now you listen here--work.it.out...ain't nobody gonna find this mess cute."
Crazy Me: "But this test is so pointless-- no one else is this whole world is wasting more energy on something so stupid."
And THAT is when the seas parted and I thanked God for creating the hipster. In my moment of need, I take solace that I have not spent my time on this*.
*I admit that I enjoyed watching this and do appreciate the creativity... but I maintain that I'd probably rather study for HESI for the rest of eternity than spend an afternoon on this.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Sweet Potato Ginger Potato Pancakes
Spring is in the air friends! I just had my first single-layer-of-clothing run and my windows have been open since Sunday. Praise the LORD.
Last night I was feeling terribly lazy and even more gluttonous. I had plenty of real vegetables in the house, but I had just seen this recipe so instead I looked past the zucchini and turned instead to my partner in deceptive-nutrition crime: the sweet potato. Is this thing a starchy vegetable or a sweet treat? It's so unclear. But once you shred it and fry it, the distinction becomes unnecessary-- starch or sweet, it's delicious.
This is easy-peasey and could also double as a delicious hash browns recipe-- follow all the same steps, just don't bother to put them in patties before you fry 'em. I was eating them straight out of the pan- the the sweetness of the potato/ginger matched with savory fried onions and garlic was unbelievable!
Ingredients
1. Squeeze as much water as possible out of your shredded sweet potatoes. The most effective way is to scoop up about 1/3 c at a time and squeeze them in your fist over the sink.
2. Mix the sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, and ginger together in a mixing bowl using your hands.
3. Add in 2 beaten eggs and mix everything around. Sprinkle with some flour (maybe 1/8c) and see how congealed the batter is by using a handful to make a patty. Does it stick mostly together? If so- proceed to step 4. If not, beat and add another egg (or two) and more flour. It won't be cookie-dough congealed, but they should form loose patties before you fry them. For reference, I had to use 4 eggs and about 1/2 c of flour.
4. Heat 1-2 TBS of olive oil in a sauce pan or on a skillet. Using about 1/4c of batter each, make 3-4 patties and place them in the hot pan, flattening with a spatula. Feel free to make them bigger or smaller to your liking.
5. Cook on each side until fried, about 3-4 minutes per side.
6. Repeat 4-5 until you're all out of batter (duh).
Read More
Last night I was feeling terribly lazy and even more gluttonous. I had plenty of real vegetables in the house, but I had just seen this recipe so instead I looked past the zucchini and turned instead to my partner in deceptive-nutrition crime: the sweet potato. Is this thing a starchy vegetable or a sweet treat? It's so unclear. But once you shred it and fry it, the distinction becomes unnecessary-- starch or sweet, it's delicious.
 |
| I really love CRISPY- feel free not to burn yours |
Ingredients
- 2 large or 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded (either by food processor or grater)
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- 1.5 inch piece of ginger, grated (or 2 TBS ground Ginger)
- 2-4 eggs, beaten (start with two and see instructions below)
- Flour of your choice for dusting (I used chickpea flour)
- Olive oil for frying
1. Squeeze as much water as possible out of your shredded sweet potatoes. The most effective way is to scoop up about 1/3 c at a time and squeeze them in your fist over the sink.
2. Mix the sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, and ginger together in a mixing bowl using your hands.
3. Add in 2 beaten eggs and mix everything around. Sprinkle with some flour (maybe 1/8c) and see how congealed the batter is by using a handful to make a patty. Does it stick mostly together? If so- proceed to step 4. If not, beat and add another egg (or two) and more flour. It won't be cookie-dough congealed, but they should form loose patties before you fry them. For reference, I had to use 4 eggs and about 1/2 c of flour.
4. Heat 1-2 TBS of olive oil in a sauce pan or on a skillet. Using about 1/4c of batter each, make 3-4 patties and place them in the hot pan, flattening with a spatula. Feel free to make them bigger or smaller to your liking.
5. Cook on each side until fried, about 3-4 minutes per side.
6. Repeat 4-5 until you're all out of batter (duh).
Well If That Ain't the Truth...
There is no love sincerer than the love of food -- George Bernard Shaw
Is Pinterest the Next Prado?
"So much ink has been spilled over something so ridiculously petty. People seem downright incapable of the innocent excitement that comes from seeing other people enjoy a piece of solid writing—and this sadly seems unlikely to change, at least until we change the very language we use to describe it, since by calling the activity of people who traffic in links “curation” instead of “sharing” we imbue it with all sorts of hollow importance and circumscribe it as something wholly apart from the selfless and benevolent sharing of knowledge."This guy used to work at Google and is now an art director at Timbuk2. Follow that link to read the rest of his very interesting thoughts about internet "curation" (Pinterest, Reddit, etc) and the Tumblr wars.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
A Few Words on Making the World a Better Place
If you have the internet, you've probably seen posts ad nauseum over the past few days about making someone named Joseph Kony famous. Today, we're taking a break from our regularly scheduled delicious and nutritious programming to talk about the illusions of "awareness" campaigns. The struggles of Northern Uganda are real, and the complicated realities of cyclic violence, poverty, apathy and under-resourcing are a terrible crisis for Uganda and the world. It can be stopped. I'm just not convinced that approaches like this campaign's are the way it will be.
#1: Awareness is not the same as action. Awareness is a starting point, and an important one at that. But awareness does nothing unless it is matched with action. Holland is famous for having saved close to 75% of its Jewish population during WWII, and you know how they did it? By doing something. Imagine if, rather than courageously risking their lives to hide their friends and neighbors, the Dutch had simply worn designer t-shirts that read "Save the Jews!" On a less fatal scale, try and imagine the Civil Rights movement without action: what would America look like today if activists had organized a "Concert for Equality" starring Ray Charles rather than the bus boycotts? My point is not that awareness is bad--it is that we have all been bamboozled into thinking we have done something by sporting a Pink Ribbon clutch or posting a clever Facebook status. Resist this idea. Do something, locally, globally, or personally to act on your new awareness, and preferably something that will require further thought and action. Can we all fly to Uganda and meaningfully contribute to ending this conflict? No--but we can contribute to organizations who are, and we can continue following this longer than the next time we update our social media profiles. On a smaller scale, each of us really and truly does have the power to make local impacts--and we have to match our awareness of our own communities to positive action. Which brings me to #2:
#2: Understand that, even with all the awareness in the world, you are taking actions every single day that make the world a worse place and that contribute to situations like those represented in the Kony 2012 video. This is a tough pill to swallow and, as Americans at the top of the consumerist food chain, is admittedly difficult to dismantle. We have all be raised in a system that relies upon our belief that we need certain things and that the suffering of others is required for us to attain those needs. Each day we wake up in the morning and waste gallons of clean water by showering, dress ourselves in clothes made by faceless, underpaid, rarely-educated women and children across the world, and consume food farmed, transported, and served to us at great cost to individuals and to great profit of corporations--and this is all before we even get to work. Understanding this, we have two choices: to be paralyzed by the guilt of this knowledge or to be empowered by the injustice of this knowledge. The point isn't to feel guilty about this--this is a reality just as complicated as what is happening in Uganda. The systems that keep Kony in power and that keep us contributing to him have one thing in common: they continue because a lot of very powerful people make money because a lot of less powerful people were raised to understand that this is just the way it is, and that this is how it will continue to be. The point is to critically engage yourself, your family and your friends about how the small things you do every day contribute to local inequality, global inequality and, yes, situations like the one represented in the Kony 2012 video. Which, conveniently, brings me to point #3:
#3: Caring about others, social justice, and the end of conflicts like those in Northern Uganda is not an elitist, hipster, or liberal point of view. It is a human point of view. When we roll our eyes at ideas like fair trade, public service, community partnership and empowerment, and making choices based on the greater good, we contribute to Joseph Kony. When we dismiss equitably-sourced products as "too expensive," we diminish the human cost of what we buy and contribute to Joseph Kony. When we post about the terrible conditions of humans across the world and then flip to TMZ to see Lindsay Lohan's latest gaffe, we contribute to Joseph Kony. When we ignore our awareness of the atrocities of Apple's labor conditions and post about the terrors of childhood in Northern Uganda from our iPhones, we contribute to Joseph Kony. Again--the point is not to feel guilty about the fact that we buy things we don't need, love Nike shoes, or swear by Perez Hilton. The point is to understand that if we have the time, money, and energy to engage in these things, we have the resources to engage in the things that matter. Are Fair Trade products more expensive? Absolutely. But when we write them off as a luxury of the privileged class, we let ourselves off the hook for privileging our own luxury rather than the extra $1 required to buy chocolate not sourced from slave conditions. Can all Americans afford to make the most just decision every time? No--but we can make more of the fair decisions more of the time.
#4: Know that none of this matters if you do nothing. What I have just gone on and on about is, essentially, a more enlightened form of awareness. I don't have all the answers, and I DO have Apple products and Nike shoes. What I'm advocating here is not to go tent out in a public park until the cops forcibly remove you--what I'm advocating is that you think about your life, research the impact of your choices, and then evaluate where you can stand to make more fair choices and increase the number of actions you take to improve your world. I have spent time mostly on small decisions--what we watch, which articles we read/share, where we send our money, what we eat and what we buy--which I will admit are important but largely inconsequential given the massive system of inequity facing us. But these systems want you to believe that we exist in a binary of lose-lose choices-- either you must fly to East Africa and chain yourself to a young Ugandan to save him from child soldiderdom or you must... post on Facebook about it. Both are equally unhelpful. So what I'm encouraging all ten of my readers to do is to take what action you can every day to create more equity. On some days, this will mean small action and on other days hopefully this will mean big action--but if you're not doing anything, you might as well not know. And you can post that to Facebook.
Read More
#1: Awareness is not the same as action. Awareness is a starting point, and an important one at that. But awareness does nothing unless it is matched with action. Holland is famous for having saved close to 75% of its Jewish population during WWII, and you know how they did it? By doing something. Imagine if, rather than courageously risking their lives to hide their friends and neighbors, the Dutch had simply worn designer t-shirts that read "Save the Jews!" On a less fatal scale, try and imagine the Civil Rights movement without action: what would America look like today if activists had organized a "Concert for Equality" starring Ray Charles rather than the bus boycotts? My point is not that awareness is bad--it is that we have all been bamboozled into thinking we have done something by sporting a Pink Ribbon clutch or posting a clever Facebook status. Resist this idea. Do something, locally, globally, or personally to act on your new awareness, and preferably something that will require further thought and action. Can we all fly to Uganda and meaningfully contribute to ending this conflict? No--but we can contribute to organizations who are, and we can continue following this longer than the next time we update our social media profiles. On a smaller scale, each of us really and truly does have the power to make local impacts--and we have to match our awareness of our own communities to positive action. Which brings me to #2:
#2: Understand that, even with all the awareness in the world, you are taking actions every single day that make the world a worse place and that contribute to situations like those represented in the Kony 2012 video. This is a tough pill to swallow and, as Americans at the top of the consumerist food chain, is admittedly difficult to dismantle. We have all be raised in a system that relies upon our belief that we need certain things and that the suffering of others is required for us to attain those needs. Each day we wake up in the morning and waste gallons of clean water by showering, dress ourselves in clothes made by faceless, underpaid, rarely-educated women and children across the world, and consume food farmed, transported, and served to us at great cost to individuals and to great profit of corporations--and this is all before we even get to work. Understanding this, we have two choices: to be paralyzed by the guilt of this knowledge or to be empowered by the injustice of this knowledge. The point isn't to feel guilty about this--this is a reality just as complicated as what is happening in Uganda. The systems that keep Kony in power and that keep us contributing to him have one thing in common: they continue because a lot of very powerful people make money because a lot of less powerful people were raised to understand that this is just the way it is, and that this is how it will continue to be. The point is to critically engage yourself, your family and your friends about how the small things you do every day contribute to local inequality, global inequality and, yes, situations like the one represented in the Kony 2012 video. Which, conveniently, brings me to point #3:
#3: Caring about others, social justice, and the end of conflicts like those in Northern Uganda is not an elitist, hipster, or liberal point of view. It is a human point of view. When we roll our eyes at ideas like fair trade, public service, community partnership and empowerment, and making choices based on the greater good, we contribute to Joseph Kony. When we dismiss equitably-sourced products as "too expensive," we diminish the human cost of what we buy and contribute to Joseph Kony. When we post about the terrible conditions of humans across the world and then flip to TMZ to see Lindsay Lohan's latest gaffe, we contribute to Joseph Kony. When we ignore our awareness of the atrocities of Apple's labor conditions and post about the terrors of childhood in Northern Uganda from our iPhones, we contribute to Joseph Kony. Again--the point is not to feel guilty about the fact that we buy things we don't need, love Nike shoes, or swear by Perez Hilton. The point is to understand that if we have the time, money, and energy to engage in these things, we have the resources to engage in the things that matter. Are Fair Trade products more expensive? Absolutely. But when we write them off as a luxury of the privileged class, we let ourselves off the hook for privileging our own luxury rather than the extra $1 required to buy chocolate not sourced from slave conditions. Can all Americans afford to make the most just decision every time? No--but we can make more of the fair decisions more of the time.
#4: Know that none of this matters if you do nothing. What I have just gone on and on about is, essentially, a more enlightened form of awareness. I don't have all the answers, and I DO have Apple products and Nike shoes. What I'm advocating here is not to go tent out in a public park until the cops forcibly remove you--what I'm advocating is that you think about your life, research the impact of your choices, and then evaluate where you can stand to make more fair choices and increase the number of actions you take to improve your world. I have spent time mostly on small decisions--what we watch, which articles we read/share, where we send our money, what we eat and what we buy--which I will admit are important but largely inconsequential given the massive system of inequity facing us. But these systems want you to believe that we exist in a binary of lose-lose choices-- either you must fly to East Africa and chain yourself to a young Ugandan to save him from child soldiderdom or you must... post on Facebook about it. Both are equally unhelpful. So what I'm encouraging all ten of my readers to do is to take what action you can every day to create more equity. On some days, this will mean small action and on other days hopefully this will mean big action--but if you're not doing anything, you might as well not know. And you can post that to Facebook.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Isn't it lovely...
to just picture these two
dancing in their beautiful brownstone living room to this...?
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Chicken Tikka Masala with veg options + Gluten-Free Flatbread even a bread-lover will eat
It's spring break here in KefiLand, which made time for one of life's great pleasures-- a double date with my dearest friend on the face of the planet and our respective boyfriends (who ought to get Congressional Medals for putting up with us on these "dates"). I could go on for days about the hilarity about some of our adventures, but instead I will simply illustrate my point: we go back like peas and carrots.
I made one of my favorite dishes for entertaining: Chicken Tikka Masala. This is a pretty easy dish with a minimal prep that is both creamy and spicy, so it suits most taste buds. It is most often associated with Indian cuisine, but I'm pretty sure it was created by Bengali restaurant-owners to cater to a British palate (and was controversially declared the national dish of England--move over, Fish 'n' Chips!). Politics aside, it's pretty damn delicious.
To take the place of Naan, I also whipped up some grain-free flatbread, which I have been eating pretty much every night since the first night I made it. This is hands down the most versatile gluten-free bread I have made, and I've enjoyed it as pizza dough, a gyro wrap, the "bread" on an egg-and-cheese sandwich, and as a vehicle for eating 17lbs of hummus a day. It's really easy, cheap, and delicious.
Gluten-Free Flatbread
Ingredients
1. Mix everything together well, try to remove as many lumps as possible. Let it sit for 2 hours. If you don't have that long, it's not that deep, but the longer it sits, the better the texture.
2. Turn on your broiler. Lightly grease a skillet with olive oil (NOTE-- IT NEEDS TO BE OVEN SAFE! NO RUBBER HANDLES! I LEARNED THIS THE HARD WAY!). Stick it in the heated oven for 2-3 minutes.
3. Carefully remove the pan and pour in about half of the batter. Remember that the handle is hot (it is counter-intuitive and I have 3 new burns on my hand from repeatedly forgetting). Try and distribute batter evenly.
4. Cook for 11-12 minutes. It might look burnt around the edges, but it isn't.
5. Repeat with remaining batter
A few notes about this recipe:
This is best eaten while still hot. It gets soggy as it cools. I have not tried re-heating it yet--please let me know if you do.
I have tried to make half batches by decreasing all the ingredients by (you guessed it) half, but for some reason it does not work as well and the texture gets a little screwy. You can, however, increase it proportionately and it does just fine. Can't explain that math.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
1. Mix together all ingredients from chicken through ginger. This is your marinade. Set it aside. Before you start working on the sauce, cook whatever meat/meat substitute you're using until it's almost-but-not-quite done. I just broiled the chicken for about 8 minutes. Set aside again.
2. About 35-45 minutes before you want your meal to be done, start on the sauce. Melt butter in a sauce pan, then add garlic and jalapeno. Saute for 1 minute.
3. Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala and salt. Let it saute 2-3 more minutes, making sure to distribute all that spicy goodness around.
4. Stir in tomato sauce, allow to simmer (not boil!) for about 15 minutes.
5. Stir in the cream, let it simmer for about 5 more minutes and the sauce will get a little
thicker.
6. Add the cooked meat/meat substitute. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
7. When ready to serve, garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice and flatbread "naan."
Read More
 | ||||
| Not sure what we're doing but we sure are having a good time doing it. |
To take the place of Naan, I also whipped up some grain-free flatbread, which I have been eating pretty much every night since the first night I made it. This is hands down the most versatile gluten-free bread I have made, and I've enjoyed it as pizza dough, a gyro wrap, the "bread" on an egg-and-cheese sandwich, and as a vehicle for eating 17lbs of hummus a day. It's really easy, cheap, and delicious.
 | |
| We were too busy eating to even pretend to care about presentation. |
Ingredients
- 2 cups chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour (Bob's Red Mill brand is pretty widely-found, check your baking or natural food section in your grocery store. It only costs $2.99!)
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
1. Mix everything together well, try to remove as many lumps as possible. Let it sit for 2 hours. If you don't have that long, it's not that deep, but the longer it sits, the better the texture.
2. Turn on your broiler. Lightly grease a skillet with olive oil (NOTE-- IT NEEDS TO BE OVEN SAFE! NO RUBBER HANDLES! I LEARNED THIS THE HARD WAY!). Stick it in the heated oven for 2-3 minutes.
3. Carefully remove the pan and pour in about half of the batter. Remember that the handle is hot (it is counter-intuitive and I have 3 new burns on my hand from repeatedly forgetting). Try and distribute batter evenly.
4. Cook for 11-12 minutes. It might look burnt around the edges, but it isn't.
5. Repeat with remaining batter
A few notes about this recipe:
This is best eaten while still hot. It gets soggy as it cools. I have not tried re-heating it yet--please let me know if you do.
I have tried to make half batches by decreasing all the ingredients by (you guessed it) half, but for some reason it does not work as well and the texture gets a little screwy. You can, however, increase it proportionately and it does just fine. Can't explain that math.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- Enough prepared rice for whoever you're feeding. I made 3 cups for 3 people and somehow had about 10 c left over- it's all very Strega Nona.
--- - Enough cubed chicken/tofu/fake Chicken/shrimp for whoever you're feeding. I used 1.5 lbs of skinless, boneless chicken breast because I love my boyfriend and he loves meat.
- 1 c plain yogurt
- 2 TBS lemon juice (which is about the juice of 1 lemon)
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp ground red pepper
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated
--- - 1 TBS unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 8 oz tomato sauce (as a rule, I use the cheapest tomato basil sauce I can buy)
- 1 c whipping cream
- 1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped
1. Mix together all ingredients from chicken through ginger. This is your marinade. Set it aside. Before you start working on the sauce, cook whatever meat/meat substitute you're using until it's almost-but-not-quite done. I just broiled the chicken for about 8 minutes. Set aside again.
2. About 35-45 minutes before you want your meal to be done, start on the sauce. Melt butter in a sauce pan, then add garlic and jalapeno. Saute for 1 minute.
3. Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala and salt. Let it saute 2-3 more minutes, making sure to distribute all that spicy goodness around.
4. Stir in tomato sauce, allow to simmer (not boil!) for about 15 minutes.
5. Stir in the cream, let it simmer for about 5 more minutes and the sauce will get a little
thicker.
6. Add the cooked meat/meat substitute. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
7. When ready to serve, garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice and flatbread "naan."
Monday, March 5, 2012
Live Your Best Life
It isn't exactly a green day here in DC, but spring is right around the corner and I can breathe without infecting others for the first time in about two weeks-- so I'll co sign ee cummings' sentiments.
Tomorrow-- Chicken Tikka Masala and homemade gluten-free naan. Hide your kids, hide your wives!
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