World Con 76 San Jose, CA August 16-20, 2018

World Con 76 San Jose, CA August 16-20, 2018

This is an opportunity for writers or lovers of science fiction and fantasy to meet other authors, share their work, participate in workshops and events, and vote in the Hugo Awards.

http://www.worldcon76.org/

Microwave: Baked Potato Salad

Microwave: Baked Potato Salad



 Ingredients:

5 medium to large white potatoes, peeled
1 cup plain yogurt
1 TBspn mayo
1/2 red onion, diced
1 Medium slice, Mozzarella cheese, diced
1/2 Cup Imitation Bacon bits
Ground black pepper to taste
A palmful of dry parsley, crushed
A few dashes of Parmesan cheese
Garnish: a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved (Optional)



Process:

Place potatoes in microwaveable dish.
Pierce with fork. Cook on high for six minutes or more until cooked.
Let potatoes cool before dicing.
Add diced potatoes to large bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients, except garnish.
Mix and stir well until potatoes are coated.
Cover bowl, place in frig to cool.
Add garnish to individual servings.

I usually don´t add salt to my recipes but I just thought, maybe I should make sure I offer a salt shaker to guests.

 

Also, Lucy likes it. Lucy is a friend who is brave enough to try some of my recipes. This is the first recipe she has liked :-)

Dressed Up Store Bought Cake

Dressed Up Store Bought Cake

Part of my morning routine is to have coffee and a slice of store bought nut cake. One morning, I decided to dress up my usual slice of nut cake with a plain yogurt sauce, a few dried blueberries, banana slices and a few dashes of cinnamon. Presto: breakfast.

Happiness is Cake

Happiness is Cake

When you move to another country, you make alot of adjustments. One is finding a favorite snack. In Mexico, these cakes are called Pinguinos. Chocolate Cake with chocolate frosting with a little white icing inside.

(Brand: Pinquinos. https://marinelausa.com/en)

Microwave: A Dish of Apple Pie

 While the original recipe was a mug recipe, for this recipe, I used a small dessert dish.

This recipe is similar to Amy Dacyczyn´s Apple Crisp recipe in the Tightwad Gazette.

A Dish of Apple Pie
Adapted from: http://www.curryandcomfort.com/2012/11/2-minute-apple-pie-in-mug.html


Ingredients:

1/2 an apple, peeled, cored and diced
1/2 Tsp flour
1 Tsp olive oil
a few dashes of Cinnamon
a dash of Nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp lime juice concentrate
Toppings: crushed cookies, whipped cream or ice cream


Process:

Mix all ingredients together, except toppings.
Stir well.
Microwave 1 minute on high.
Add toppings.

My New Blender

My New Blender

In a previous post, I had discussed thinking about buying a convection oven, a toaster or a blender.

I have solved my blender problem.

My blender's name is Marcos. He is a former bartender. Now, he runs a juice bar  on Paseo de Montejo at Calle 39 where you can choose from various preselected fruit blends for a tasty fruit smoothie. Or, Marcos lets you pick your own fruit combinations.

I often get banana, dragonfruit and papaya with water and no sugar.

As with most tiendas, Marcos has no set hours, you just have to catch him when he's open.

Hotplate: Thinking About Fritters

I have been thinking about making vegetable fritters for weeks.
Also, I have been thinking about food waste.
I thought vegetable fritters would be one solution to reduce vegetable waste.
So, I searched for new vegetable fritter recipes and found:

Mother Earth News – Vegetable Fritters 
http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/seasonal-recipes/vegetable-fritters-recipe-zerz1410zdeh

Taste Without Waste – Vegetable Fritters 
https://tastewithoutwaste.com/2014/02/07/vegetable-fritters/ 

The Guardian – Vegetable Fritters
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/may/06/vegetable-fritter-recipe-anna-jones-the-modern-cook 

The Kitchn – How to Make Fritters Out of Any Vegetable 
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-fritters-out-of-any-vegetable-231408 

While I enjoyed reading these recipes and learned a few things, either I did not have all the ingredients or it seemed too complex for me, so I went back to my fritters recipe and made few revisions.


Vegetable Fritters

Ingredients:

leftover tomato and onions, diced
1 garlic clove, diced
1 cup of frozen diced mixed vegetables
2/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3 dashes of Tabasco Sauce
¼ cup white cheese, grated (optional)
ground black pepper to taste
Garnish: Lime Juice
Makes about 12-15 small fritters.


 

Not all ingredients used are shown.

Process:

Place diced tomato, onion and garlic in a small bowl, microwave for one minute on high. Set aside.
Place frozen mixed vegetables in a small bowl, microwave for two minutes on high. Set aside.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
Add egg, milk, and Tabasco Sauce, mix well.
Smash batter lumps with the back of your spoon to make batter smooth.
Add tomato, onion, garlic and vegetables to batter.
Add grated cheese.
Stir thoroughly.

Add oil to medium or large skillet.
Heat oil until it sizzles.

Use large spoon to scoop up batter mixture.
Drop the batter mixture into skillet, leave room for other fritters.
Press down on batter mixture with spoon to flatten.
Cook on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes on each side until fritter is brown on both sides.

If fritter is thick, cook a little longer on each side to avoid uncooked batter.

Remove cooked fritters to a plate, drain oil.
Sprinkle with a little lime juice. 

Note: did not use Basil. 

Alternative: Canned Spinach Fritters

All I did was make the batter and mix in two tablespoons of twice drained canned spinach instead of tomato, onion, garlic and vegs, and cooked the fritters the same way as the vegetable fritters.

Ideas for future fritters: use diced cooked potatoes, shredded carrots, or mashed beans; spices: cumin or paprika.

While my fritters came out well, the amount of dirty dishes and utensils I made was overwhelming. Plus, I am on my fourth hot plate and this one is finicky, too, and my new skillet cooks unevenly, so I had to move the fitters around in the skillet to the areas where they would cook not burn.

If I had had any fritters left, I would have frozen them.

But, I think next time, I will slice and dice the veggie items, put them in containers and store for a bit. Then, make up a batch of dry batter mix and store it in a container.

Then, maybe when I make fritters next, it might be easier. Who knows.

More Links:

Sustainable Table
http://www.gracelinks.org/tag/main_dishes