Homefries in a hurry

Easy, really. Cut up a potato into small chunks. I used a small red potato, but I’ll probably do it again with a Yukon gold. Microwave for a minute, stir, microwave another minute. The potato chunks tend to stick together, which is why it’s good to stir/break apart halfway through. Maybe lightly coat them with oil before hand?

Heat a pan (I used non-stick) to medium high. Add a tablespoon of oil. Add the potato chunks, cook until as brown as you like, stir to prevent clumping. I was happy with them after 5 or 6 minutes, but that’s me. If you want a bigger potato, or more potatoes, just increase cooking time. I think it probably works best, though, if you do one potato at a time.

Dang, this could be more dangerous than the microwave brownies!

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Latest tea

Chamomile with allspice, cardamom, and anise seed. Yum!

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Cookbook recommendation

When I first got my own apartment years ago, my parents got me various apartment-warming presents. One that I’ve gotten the most use out of is “The Starving Students Cookbook“. It helped me feel comfortable enough to not worry about getting it perfect, just to taste good. With measurements like ‘splash’ and ‘dollop’, it’s a wonderfully informal cookbook that you’ll come back to again and again. The cover of mine came off ages back, and it’s tattered and stained, but that’s the sign of a well-used cookbook, isn’t it? Even if you’re not a starving student, I think you’ll like it.

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Tea for me

I like tea. I like coffee too, but that’s mostly for perking up in the morning. Tea I can have any time of the day. It’s simple to make, and there’s so many options. I don’t go for the fancy teas (big surprise). I usually use something simple, then add herbs and spices as the mood takes me. I’ve got bags of green tea and chamomile on hand, and they’ve been on hand for many moons. So I’m trying to use them up before getting new stuff.

Standard method is to microwave a cup of water for two minutes. Then I add a bag of green tea and a bag of chamomile. I’ll keep them at the bottom of the cup with a tablespoon. Add herbs and spices, steep for three minutes. Fish out the bags, double strain out the herbs and spaces. Add sweetener, pour into a quart plastic container, fill the rest of the way with more water.

Yeah, it might seem dilute to most. But that’s how I like it. It’s like those fancy flavored waters, but infinitely cheaper. The herbs I usually add (about an eighth to quarter teaspoon each) of any of the following:

• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Cardamom
• Dried Mint

This time, I tried something new in the mix. Whilst fishing out the additional tea seasonings, my eyes lit on Five Spice Powder. When I cooked Chinese food more frequently, I used it a lot. Not so much for a while. Hmm, have to rectify that.

Anyway, I thought it might work in tea. I looked at the bottle and it contained anise, cinnamon, star anise (redundant?), cloves and ginger. No pepper in this version, so it was perfect!

Did the usual procedure. After straining, I added in a couple of squirts of honey while the tea was still hot, so it’d dissolve better, and stirred. Into the plastic container and filled it, added a bit of sweet n’ low. Tasted pretty good, but it’ll be better after it’s chilled. It actually looked on the strong side for me, so I’ll probably do a half cup of tea with more water added.

So, drink tea and live. I am fond of soda, but tea is so much better for you, and cheap-cheap-cheap. Especially the way I make it.

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Pressure popcorn

I haven’t made popcorn the old-fashioned way (on the stove) in a while. I had a yen for popcorn earlier, and decided to not make it in the microwave for a change. Looking at the stove, I saw my little tea kettle. Which I hardly ever use, since it was more Mom’s thing. Anyway, I wondered if I could balance it on top of the lid I made the popcorn in, turning it into an impromptu pressure cooker. Voila, it worked! The popcorn seemed to pop faster, and only a bit on the bottom got burnt. Yeah, I still have a problem with that. Anyway, I did my usual margarine and olive oil melted in the microwave, with seasonings. This time, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, parsley and paprika. In fifteen seconds, it was ready to pour over the popcorn, and then salt. Simple and yummy. 🙂

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