Fajita Marinade

This fajita marinade is a staple in my kitchen.  I use it for chicken (for fajitas, tex mex salads, chili, enchiladas, etc) as well as veggies (such as peppers and onions).  I imagine it could be used with beef or pork too, but I don't use those meats as much so I haven't tried it yet!  My basic recipe, which is adapted from a recipe my da gave me years ago, is below.  Keep one important thing in mind as you try this: I like spicy food.  If your palate leans toward milder flavors, you might want to cut back, especially on the cayenne and the hot sauce.

Fajita Marinade (Makes enough for about 2 large chicken breasts)

• 1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
• 1/4 medium red onion, minced finely
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. Louisiana hot sauce
• Chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and black pepper to taste (I probably use about 1/4-1/2 tsp. of each)
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• Optional for extra spice: a few shakes of crushed red pepper flakes

1.  Mix all ingredients. NOTE: if you are using meat that is still partially frozen, you may want to leave the lemon juice out as the thawing meat will add plenty of liquid to the mix!
2.  Marinate chosen meat or veggies (I find it's best to let them marinate for at least 4 hours, but have done it as little as 30 minutes).

Note: My favorite way to do chicken or veggies with this recipe is to simply throw the chicken, marinade and all, in a stir-fry pan or wok to cook.

"Thai" Stir Fry

I'll admit it: I avoided any kind of Asian food until I was well into my 20s.  Seriously.  I wasn't a call-out-for-Chinese type of girl ever...until I discovered Thai food.  It opened up a whole new world beyond the Americanized "Chinese" food I'd been exposed to previously!  I subsequently fell in love with Vietnamese food, Mongolian barbeque -- and, finally, homemade stir fry.  I discovered and adapted this recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Prizewinning Recipes cookbook.  (You'll see me reference this cookbook often; I absolutely love it.)  Honestly, I'm not sure what makes it "Thai", but that's the name of the recipe, and I love it.  So, here goes:

Thai Stir Fry (serves 3-4, unless you're me and want to eat the whole thing yourself)

• 1 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
• 5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 large carrots, peeled and julienned
• 1/2 cup finely sliced red onion
• 3-4 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 large red pepper, cut into strips
• 1 can water chestnuts, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup pea pods, with ends and strings snipped
• 1 cup fresh bean spouts, rinsed
• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 4 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup dry-roasted peanuts

1.  Heat oil in a large stir fry pan or wok.  When it is hot, add ginger and garlic; stir-fry for about 30 seconds.
2.  Add vegetables and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, mixing well with ginger and garlic.  After that time, pour into a large bowl and set aside.
3.  Add chicken to stir fry pan or wok.  You may need to add a bit more oil, depending on the quality of your pan, in order to keep the chicken from burning.  Cook for 5-6 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked (no pink in the middle).
4.  Combine water, soy sauce, cornstarch, and red pepper flakes in a bowl; stir well.
5.  Add soy sauce mixture to chicken.  It will begin to thicken and bubble around the edges.
6.  Add vegetables back into stir fry pan/wok.  Pour in peanuts.  Mix well with sauce and stir fry again 3-4 more minutes.
7.  Serve over rice (I prefer the jasmine variety).

Notes:  You can leave the red pepper flakes out of the sauce if you don't like the spiciness.  The veggies can easily be prepared up to 24 hours in advance and kept all together in the refrigerator.  Additional toppings could include: sauted mushrooms and celery (not my favorite, but my mom loves it), sriracha sauce (if you like some fire in your stir-fry!), ground peanuts, and/or chow mein noodles.

Basic Hummus

I love hummus, but I'm really picky about it.  Before I decided to venture into making my own, I'd only purchase the Sabra brand because of its extra smooth texture.  So when I decided to really break in my new food processor by whipping up a batch of hummus, I did some preliminary research online to figure out the best way to get that super smooth texture.  (My best source was The Toby Show -- all credit to that author for the method I used!  It's fantastic!)

Extra-Creamy Basic Hummus (Yield: about 5 1/2 cups)

• 1lb dried chickpeas/garbanzo beans
• 1/2 c. tahini
• Juice from 2 lemons
• 5 cloves fresh garlic
• 1 tsp. ground sea salt
• 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Water as needed to obtain desired consistency (I used about a half cup)

1.  Soak chickpeas in 6-8 cups of water for at least 8 hours. 
2.  Rinse chickpeas well. 
3.  Cook chickpeas for 24 hours on low in a CrockPot.  (You can also simmer them on the stove per the directions on the bag, if you so desire.)  Drain and rinse.  If you are feeling extra ambitious, you can slip the skins off the chickpeas at this point, but this is an extremely tedious process.  I did about 1/2 of my chickpeas in my first batch but probably won't bother next time.
4.  Add tahini and lemon juice to the food processor.  Process well, as if you were going to 'cream' the tahini.
5.  Add garlic and sea salt.  Process again until garlic is well minced and incorporated.
6.  Begin adding chickpeas, about 1/2 c. at a time.  Process between each addition, and be sure to scrape the sides of the food processor bowl.
7.  Once all chickpeas are added, add olive oil and process for several minutes.  Add water as needed to get the consistency you prefer.  Scrape walls of the bowl as needed to ensure.

Notes: I noticed that after refrigerating for about 24 hours, the lemony flavor became a little more mild (as opposed to a definite "zing" fresh out of the processor).  Additionally, I can say from experience that this recipe freezes well -- it maintains its consistency, texture, and flavor upon thawing.

Sometime soon, I'm hoping to jazz up the hummus recipe with some roasted red pepper or roasted garlic.  What's your favorite flavor of hummus?

Real Food, Real Life

Welcome to The Candid Kitchen! I'm Jessa, and I'll be your tour guide through the entertaining, messy, delicious, and sometimes disastrous adventures in my kitchen.

Until about a year ago I was your standard processed-food-loving, make-it-as-quick-as-possible, "can to pan" cookin', on-the-go professional.  I won't pretend change came with some great epiphany about health; in fact, I still love my junk food and indulge at times.  However, a great change agent came into my life in the form of The Layoff.  In my desperation to fill the hours around a frustrating job search, I began spending more and more time cooking because I found it both soothing and energizing.  And so was born my love of stripped-down, straight-up Real Food.

But even in this job market, I'm hoping unemployment won't last forever.  That means that someday (soon, I hope!), I'll have to find a way to make my love of cooking Real Food fit into a Real Life schedule.  Therefore, this blog is a project dedicated to doing just that: creating Real Food in Real Life. The Candid Kitchen will be, in short, a collection of Real Food recipes field tested for Real Life by a busy girl who simply likes good food. 

The Candid Kitchen: Real Food, Real Life.