an experiment with peppers.

i was feeling particularly...something....when i came home from school this evening. a mix between exhaustion, hunger, stress and the desire for coziness. the day was a complete whirlwind, and like most whirlwind days, i forgot to take a moment to eat something. it is at times like these when i scrounge around my apartment for some savory eats. 

here is what i came up with....i will call it something swimmingly creative like: stuffed red pepper with chick peas, orzo and goat cheese.  

sure does look pretty doesn't it?! didn't taste too bad either! 

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here is another delish dish for you to try: 

this is one of my favorite recipes of all time. i made it most recently for a friend's birthday. it is quite a process to assemble, especially if you don’t have the ingredients readily available in your pantry, but just put on some good tunes and prepare to get messy. it is definitely worth it! people are always impressed with the fusion of flavor and the fact that you took the time to make something homemade. 

Thai Pot-stickers

·         2 small whole green onions

·         1 tablespoon of ginger

·         1 pound of veal, pork or chicken (ground)

·         2 teaspoons of oyster sauce

·         1 tablespoon of Chinese rice wine/dry sherry

·         ½ teaspoon Asian chili sauce

·         ¼ cut of cornstarch

·         3 tablespoons of cooking oil

·         40 thin gyoza or wonton wrappers

Sauce

·         1 tablespoon of basil

·         1 tablespoon of cilantro

·         1 whole green onion

·         ½ cup of unsweetened coconut milk

·         1 tablespoon of oyster sauce

·         ½ cup of Chinese rice wine

·         1 tablespoon of Asian chili sauce

·         ½ teaspoon of curry powder

·         ½ teaspoon of sugar

start by putting on some good tunes and an apron-trust me, if you are anything like me, you’ll need both! 

prepare by putting a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and covering it with the cornstarch. pour your cooking oil in a small bowl, you’ll need it later. (don’t put it too close to the edge of your counter-i spilled the entire contents on my floor the last time i made these…idiot!)

next, get a large bowl and combine the onions, ginger, meat (i prefer ground turkey over what the recipe calls for), oyster sauce, Chinese rice wine & Asian chili sauce. i’ve made them without the Chinese rice wine (and used rice vinegar instead-who knows if they’re ANYTHING alike!?!) and they turned out just fine. make sure you mix this stuff up really well. 

here comes the fun part…take a small dollop of meat-gunk and place it in the middle of your gyoza wrapper. then pinch the top of the wrapper. it should look like a little coin pouch when you’re done. it’s okay if some meat pops out of the top. place each pot-sticker on the cookie sheet, then let them cool in the fridge while you prepare the sauce.

 

combine sauce ingredients.

 

in a large wok (set on medium high-adjust heat as needed), pour a bit of your oil and wait for it to heat up. place the pot-stickers (some…maybe 1/3) in the oil (on their bottoms), cover them in the sauce (don’t use all of it!!) and cover the wok. check them every couple minutes and move them around (so they don’t stick) until you see them brown up a bit. (how long really varies depending on the stove i’ve found….) once they feel a little hard on the outside, toss them around so they brown up all over.you want to make sure the meat is cooked all the way through.

when you’ve made all of your little goodies, use the remainder of your sauce to pour over the top and place sprigs of cilantro on top for affect. 

 

Ta da!!!