During the pandemic lockdown in 2020 when dining out days were on hold, I learned from YouTube how to make all my fave Thai, Vietnamese and Cantonese dishes. I was surprised that all I needed was a few ingredients to keep on hand and almost everything was made from that handful of condiments.

A BASIC FAVE STIRFRY SAUCE

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup low-sodium broth or water
1/2 tsp teaspoon sesame oil
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp grated ginger or 1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tbsp sugar or honey
Pinch of white pepper
Pinch of cayenne

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Brown lentils cooked with peas & carrots

Recently  I had my best/only brown lentil success EVER with ideal texture. I cooked brown lentils in the rice cooker and added one teaspoon chicken powder, a couple shakes of dried parsley, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, a quarter cup of chopped carrots, a shake of powdered ginger, shake of cinnamon and splash of apple cider vinegar, then 1/4 cup of green peas added the last 10 minutes for color.

The ratio I use for cooking lentils is the same as for rice: 1 cup lentils to 2 cups water. I set it to cook which it does for like 20 minutes and I left the lid on for another 20 minutes afterwards. It’s the absolute perfect al dente texture.
Ok some rices I do 1 cup rice to 1.5 cups water.

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I used to hate household routines until I realized I was doing it wrong. I could make them work to save me time and money. I dined out 10+ times a week from age 25 to 52, then began cooking at home to reduce sugar, sodium, fat. During Covid, I learned from YouTube to make all my fave Indian, Thai, Vietnamese dishes, find them at www.goddessgrub.com/blog I began using my bread machine. I discovered I cared less about a wide variety than I did high flavor, health and satiety. I eat poultry and fish and just discovered brown lentils. Here’s my new basic shopping list bcz I eat the same meals on rotation so I don’t have to wonder what to cook. I just keep everything on hand. See full pantry list at https://goddessgrub.com/Pantry/index.html

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I’m often asked for a simplified version of the spicy soups I make so here it is.

EASIEST VERSION:
To a one quart pot of water add:
1 or 2 tsp of chicken powder or bouillon
1 or 2 tsp Tom Yum Paste (spicy, tangy)
1/8 tsp tamarind concentrate (it’s very sour)
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce (a little hot)
1 tsp dried shiitake mushroom powder
1 capful of apple cider vinegar
Small squirt of ginger paste or 1/2 tsp ginger powder or a pinky-tip size fresh ginger

I always like to add a few dates for sweetness as the lemon juice and vinegar make it sour.

As it heats, I add chopped vegs, right now my faves are okra, cauliflower, spinach

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Homemade hot & sour soup

This is a very simplified version of American restaurant style hot & sour soup. If made with vegetable stock and egg substitute, it’s vegetarian. You can spice this to your liking, this recipe as is will not be very hot nor very spicy.  

6 cups of a good low sodium chicken stock or broth
1 cup of mushrooms, white, portobello or even canned
1 cup of bamboo shoots, cut into strips
1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts
1 cup of tofu, cubed (I like the firm style) (NOT frozen first)

I like adding 3-4 dates for sweetness.

2 eggs or equivalent Eggbeaters or vegan egg substitute

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A galpal gifted me with some luscious huge zucchini and I’ve been enjoying roasting them. For a change, I spiralized a zucchini, 2 radishes and a carrot this morning, added slivered onion, red pepper, parsley, kalamata olives and a drained can of chickpeas, lemon juice, coarse ground black pepper and sea salt. Spiralized zucchini really makes a difference in how appealing a salad looks to me.

                My rolling game is tightening up

I’ve been watching Netflix’s Extraordinary Attorney Woo and her fave food is Korean gimbap aka kimbap., what Japanese call nori maki or sushi rolls. This morning I was just gonna make some sushi rice for later, but it turned into chopping and sauteing celery, carrot, kale, tofu and making a very flat cheese omelet, all to be cut into strips for the rolls. I wrapped my bamboo roller in a clear ziplock bag, topped with a nori sheet, shiny side down, then blobbed my cooled rice (mixed with a little sesame oil and soy sauce) in the center and spread it thin. Topped with strips of each item as well as pickled ginger, drizzled with spicy mayo, I made 2 perfectly tight rolls. And they were delish.

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Today I made an easy chicken and veg stirfry that was really tasty. First, I velveted my chicken breast for 4 hours beforehand in a mixture of 1/2 cup egg whites (or Eggbeaters,) 2 tbsp corn flour and 2 tbsp vinegar.  The formula to keep meats tender is egg white, corn flour and an acid.  Velveting is not a tenderizing method, but it keeps foods from becoming tough.  Then I heated my big square grill pan and tossed in 2 tbsp coconut oil and a cup each of chopped (into BIG chunks) celery, onion, red bell pepper and zucchini. After the veg begin to brown, toss into a big bowl for later. Continue reading →

Arroz con Gandules prepared in the rice cooker

I began this site so I could keep all my recipes easy to find. I especially need a reminder to use equal parts rice and water in the rice cooker if I want the grains to be separate.

Here’s my fave easy rice and peas recipe: 
Equal parts (1.5 cups) rice and water.
One can of brown gandules WITH the liquid,
1 tsp each:
turmeric            onion powder         basil
salt                      garlic powder        vinegar
oregano 

1/2 tsp each fresh ground black pepper and red pepper flakes.

At the end I stir in 1/4 cup green olives and 2 tsp capers, and I add more vinegar and tabasco to my plate.

I’ve been using rice paper to wrap Summer Rolls and learning I can roll almost any kind of sandwich into rice paper to avoid bread and save calories. For traditional summer rolls tho, it’s as easy as a little prep ahead of time — chopping vegetables into slivers and having them ready in stackable plastic containers so I can easily lay them out in front of me when I’m making the roll. 

I start by filling the fridge with stackable plasticware containing uniform strips of the vegs that will go in the rolls. I wash, dry, slice and stack when I get home from the store.

I make my dipping sauces, see recipes below.

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