One of my biggest regrets during our last move was packing my beloved fuzzy logic rice cooker away into storage, so it was only fitting that upon moving into our new rental my first kitchen purchase was a new family rice cooker. This one came with a small steaming tray - for veggies or steamed bao buns - which could be inserted over the rice during the cooking process.

I picked up a piece of red snapper at the store a few days ago and modified a recipe from "The Asian Kitchen" - for a whole steamed snapper - to accommodate my little fillet. Basically, I set some white rice for a regular cooking cycle and while the rice started cooking I grated a small pile of fresh ginger, then sliced spring onions into 1-2 inch lengths and shredded them long-ways. About 12 minutes before the rice was due to finish I popped the seasoned fillet into the rice cooker's steaming tray and piled the ginger and green onions on top of it. When the rice was finished, I fished (ha ha) the snapper out and pan-fried it with a splash of soy sauce for a few minutes to ensure done-ness and put a little color on it. Fini! Couldn't be easier.

This morning I made pancakes from scratch. No Bisquick or pre-packaged griddle mix was used; just basic ingredients and the simplest recipe from the Joy of Cooking.

I'd never not used a mix. You know what? They tasted great.

Sorry, I got busy again, since the last time I posted. And I became a vegetarian! So I've been eating a lot more healthfully just by default, and yesterday I decided to whip up this cheesy-casserole-type-thing from the July 2007 Cooking Light so that I could have leftovers to last me all week. There's some nonsense about the broccoli in it being all good for me with its fiber, folate, and vitamin C. But really I just like it because it adds color. Also, I omitted the onion from my version.

Using Nigella's Exotic Evening as a springboard I whipped up this menu for dinner tonight:

Mini spiced Meatballs: lamb and veggie versions
Green Fattoosh (heavily herbed salad with pita chips and lime dressing)
Flat-bread with Zatar
Cucumber Raita
Humus
Almond Rice
Mixed Olive Salad
Artichoke Salad

The meatball and fattoosh recipes were both from Nigella. The meatball one is going in the permanent archive it was so good!

I appear to be on something of a dessert kick. Cupcakes last weekend, shortcake this. Yes, shortcake in the middle of winter, maybe because today's gorgeous weather didn't feel like winter at all. I don't think I've ever had chocolate shortcake before, and the cocoa and butter made these guys super-rich and yummy. I did my best not to overwork the dough, and they did come out pretty tender. From the Jan/Feb 2007 Cooking Light.

The first time I've ever made cupcakes! I guess I'm now officially part of the craze. I just tested one (while watching Charlie's Angels, natch), and I can report with authority that the lemon and the blueberry blend together most deliciously. I topped them with extra fresh blueberries, but if you wanted to get super-fancy you could use edible flowers as decoration...or marzipan sculptures. From the Jan/Feb 2007 Cooking Light.

there are many folks out there who really like the flavor of gingerbread, and what better way to have than as a waffle for breakfast. my waffle iron is reversible, so i have the option of belgian or thin waffles. i made these with the thin iron and they were really good.

we had alot left over so i stuf them in the freezer and they toast up quickly as an addition to a bacon and egg breakfast or something to grab on the way to work.

it has been forever and a day since i last posted here. now it is time to do a little catching up, with the foods i have been making this winter. lets start with the pumpking ginger pancake, which is a real favorite at our house.