Barbed in BX.

Veggie Chili & Plaintain Chips Revisited . . .

This is a much simpler and cheaper veggie chili. I've had a can of small red beans in a cabinet for way too long and it was about time to bust them out. And it goes a little something like this: first I cooked a big pot of dry black beans. Then I removed about 2 cups of them, added the red beans, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, pimenton, and cayenne pepper. Wicked. Now why that was simmering I got out my new mandolin, which certainly makes life easier, and sliced up some green plantains, fried them in peanut oil, and hit them with some salt & garlic powder. Fab. 

114th & Morningside Dr.

Coconut Pudding Cake w Ganache & Toasted Almonds. {What?!?!}

So, I was dead set on baking a coconut pudding cake today. The problem is that I couldn't find a recipe that wasn't, "Take a yellow cake mix, add pudding mix, and some extra ish." What's a girl to do? It's simple really. I found a recipe for yellow cake from scratch, added the pudding mix, and some of my own extra ish. I would say it's not easy being a genius, but sometimes it is. Savor! 

Birthday Suit

Lusciousness . . .

Awww, Shit, look who's dressed up and hittin' the town!

Spicy Shrimp Tortillitas

So, in the spirit of food exploration, I bought some chickpea flour from Sahadi's the other day. {More on that wonderful place soon.} I couldn't remember the recipe that called for it and when I did a google search for chickpea flour, of course a Bittman recipe for tortillitas with shrimp was one of the first to pop up. This delicious Spanish treat is fairly painless to prepare. Ya'll know me, I had to make the recipe my own. I used cayenne pepper instead of black and half a cup of whole wheat flour instead of white. You will need to add more water since the flour is heavier. I used a generous amount of olive oil on the first pancake as Bittman instructed. As you can see below, it spilled over a bit, but it's actually a good thing. I used less oil on the second pancake and it wasn't quite the same consistency. They are brilliant. Explore & Enjoy!

Don't mind the oil on top, it helps cook the other side.

I almost never make pancakes, but I flipped this b like a pro!

Great color & texture. Try it with a small salad.

Get Your Mac On!

It's Friday, so Ms Christiana's getting her mac on . . . old black lady style. I was a vegan for many years so I hadn't cooked mac & cheese since I was in HS. Anyone who comes from a Black Southern family knows that this wicked dish is an easier said then done. It takes patience, good timing, and a bit of finesse. My family doesn't f with eggs or extra milk or any of that ish. We go for a straight rue over pasta, then pop it in the oven. I used cavatappi because it looks more fun then a standard macaroni. I also used a New Zealand Cheddar which is on sale at Whole Foods this week. The cheese is a bit oily, but it melted well. I dashed some pimenton on top for a bit of color contrast. To put it simply, the shit was good.

Anyway you slice it, they're still good!

Gorgeous!

By god is that bacon? Nope, it's something much much sweeter. I've had it in my head for weeks now that I wanted to make plantain chips. I love snacks, but hate packaging, and highly processed foods. Munching on dal was cool for awhile, but sometimes I yearn for something with a crunch to it. So, the experiments started. I don't have a mandolin and could not find a plantain slicer so, on the first go round, I cut the plantains free hand with a small knife. It's a no go, at least for me. They tasted fine, but the pieces were too thick for them to be crunchy. Today I remembered that I have a vegetable peeler and used it to delicately slice the fruit. It does get a bit sticky, and the chips were super thin, but damn if they weren't oh so good! I had to force myself to stop eating them and grab my camera.

 What you'll need: peanut oil, black {sweet} or yellow {less sweet} plantains, a plate with a paper towel on top for grease collection, a deep pan to get your fry on, and some tongs. I placed one strip in the oil to see if it was hot enough. You'll have to move very quickly once it is because they fry up fast. Try to shake off as much access oil before placing in on the paper towel. Let them cool for a minute or two before diving in. For attempt number three I will be using a proper slicer. I'll keep you posted.

Dark & Lovely!

Mmmm, sweet lusciousness! Sometimes I like my beans how I like my men, dark & delicious. This was my first attempt at making black beans from scratch. I must admit, it started out as a bit of a disaster. I used maggi cubes which gave them a strange taste. But this bitch can cook her way out of most situations. I had a friend over so I was a tad distracted, but I think it went something like this: chopped garlic, olive oil, kosher salt, maggi cubes {would not necessarily suggest, but a veggie bouillon cube does the trick for my friend Camilla.}, cream of coconut, fresh carrots, and I feel like I threw in some coriander. They grew more and more delicious as the spices settled. Then I paired the beans with some maduros {sweet fried plantains}, pan seared shrimp, and basmati rice. It was heavenly!

Untitled.

Boo-Urns!

No more Conan! NBC is clearly all dollars and no sense! Peep the update from the NYTimes. It was so lovely watching the whole crew back together in the big time slot. Not to mention I never watched The Tonight Show before because Leno is one corny motherfucker! Sadly poor taste prevails once again. I'll miss you Conan.

"If you're not really here, then the stars don't even matter. . ."

I have to admit, I'm a bit down on love at the moment, but this Sam Sparro song surely does a bitch's heart good. Shout out to Elizabeth for passing this tune along many moons ago. And can I just say, if I were a man or a tall woman with small boobs, I'd so get myself a light up tux like they sport in the video. Watch and get some warm fuzzy feelings.

One of the benefits to eating beans all day is that you have room/calories to indulge in some sweets. I prefer to bake my own so I know exactly what I'm ingesting & digesting. I found this simple peanut butter chocolate chip brownie recipe on cooks.com. I actually found 6oz of chocolate chips to be too rich for my blood, so I made a ganache and blended it through the batter. They came out perfectly soft & moist. Fantastic recipe.

I Dream of Beanie . . .

I remember the first time I had dal. My friend Haroon shared some he made in his Cook College Kitchen. I was surprised at how smooth and creamy they were. I'd tried to recreate them several times over the years without much success, I couldn't get the right consistency. But alas, I was using the wrong beans! I was cooking yellow split peas instead of red lentils. I watched Mark Bitman whip them up on the NYTimes site last Monday and realized my error. And because I'm such a nerd, I woke up the next day with visions of a warm bowl of beans dancing in my head. Luckily, I had some waiting in the cabinet and have enjoyed them as a high protein, low fat, mid-day snack.

Red lentils garnished with crispy onions & scallions.

ACP.

Adam Clayton Powell ascends on 125th & ACP.

Pimenton Party!

Oh Mark Bittman, I cannot thank you enough for introducing me to pimenton. I remember watching him gently stroke the magical spice on some swordfish about a year ago. I was instantly captivated and bought some pimenton the next day. I've yet to make the swordfish, but we've certainly had some fun times. Here's an extra easy recipe for pita chips. I mean really you can tell what to do by the photos alone. {One hint, bake around 300-350 for 10-15 minutes. You may need to re-arrange them to make sure they are all getting the oven's lovin' warmth.}

Just Like Mom's . . . Almost . . .

Back, way back in the day my Mom used to make some bangin' chicken soup from scratch. I've quit the cock since then and geniusly used steamed tilapia instead. {I also came up with the word geniusly} Ingredients are: freshly chopped onions, red potatoes, carrots, red peppers, corn, & tilapia of course. Perfect for a cold winter day.

Harlem Up in Smoke.

Steam pipe outside of Grant Houses on Amsterdam & 124th.

New Frontiers . . .

First & foremost, HAPPY NEW YEAR!  2009 was some rough shit, but hey we made it! My overarching resolution for this year is to keep evolving through exploration. And this of course extends to my kitchen creativity. The new ish{es} for tonight were fish sauce & red chili paste. I am usually quite absurdly opposed to pre-blended concoctions but, hey they were on sale at Whole Foods. Sweet Jesus, I've been such a fool. My salmon turned out so delicious. I had to be a bit stubborn/non-conformist so I didn't exactly follow the recipe on the package. Drool & start exploring!

Mmmhmmm, edamame steamed over basmati rice.

I pan fried the salmon in a little olive oil, removed the fish, made the sauce in the same pan, then put the pieces back in to soak up the flavor.

Awww shit, look at all that garlic. . .

Edamame out of it's shell & garnished with chopped peanuts.