#CAFB Food Blogger Project Day 5: Peanut Sauce Noodles and How You Can Help

Well here we are. We've come to the final day of the project. The final dish we wanted to prepare is a little more off-the-wall and fun. It may sound like something an intoxicated college student would dream up, but Han and I both remember eating something similar when we were young, making it somewhat authentic I guess.

And besides, all joking aside, price sensitivity is of course something that is common to both college students and people trying to make ends meet, making this an excellent dish to prepare.

Ingredients

• 2 ramen packages
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• Garlic powder or salt to taste
• Dried chives

First boil the ramen noodles for 3 minutes. Throw the flavor packages away. Drain the noodles and add back in the pot. Add in the peanut butter and soy sauce while stirring over heat. Add a

few dashes of garlic powder or garlic salt and sprinkle with the chives and you're done. This dish also goes really well with chicken or shrimp.

I liked this dish a lot because it was incredibly tasty. Plus, even though ramen gets kind of a bad rap in the food world, this is a big improvement because you're getting rid of a lot of the sodium by throwing out the rice packets and adding protein through the peanut butter.

So now that the project is over, where do we go from here? Maybe you've been reading our posts this week and want to know how you can help. Lisa Goddard of the Capital Area Food Bank says the biggest help can come in three ways:

• Donate. Healthy, non-perishable food can be dropped off directly at the Food Bank or any Austin-area Randalls or RunTex. And as wonderful as food donations are, Lisa says that donating money really helps the Food Bank go a long way in terms of managing the types of food that are available to ensure that people are getting food that is fresh, healthy, and balanced.
• Volunteer. There are a wide range of opportunities to donate your time, everything from sorting donations, to distributing food, even educating people on gardening or nutrition.
• Contact Elected Officials. Right now there are several pieces of legislation that need support that would help feed families in the area, such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the the Women Infants and Children Program (WIC). If hunger issues are important to you, your elected officials need you to let them know to make it a priority.

Information on all of these and more are available in the Capital Area Food Bank website. And don't forget that the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is coming May 8th. Look for your bag in your mailbox, fill it with healthy, non-perishable food and set it by your mailbox on May 8th to be picked up.

#CAFB Food Blogger Project Day 4: "Sort Of" Pad Thai

So a few days ago, Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon from the Austin American Statesman paid us a visit to talk to us about the food blogger project, just in time to sample one of our more, um, daring recipes we made this week.

Jorge interviewed us on camera and took some shots of us cooking our dish for the night, which was probably your average run of the mill day for him, but for us it was pretty exciting and somewhat nerve-

wracking. The final cut of the video should be out early next week and we will definitely be posting in on the site. (Everyone should check out my mad knife skills, courtesy of the knife skills class Han got me for my birthday...)

Well so far all of our recipes have stayed pretty true to the original dishes, mainly because we were able to get key ingredients that we needed from our stash, such as rice and flour. Today, we posed a question of what happens when you don't get everything you need and you need to make some rather drastic substitutions?

Case in point: families who receive supplements from the Capital Area Food Bank gene

rally don't get any rice noodles (although understandably so...). So what's a recently-immigrated Asian family to do if they want some pad thai?

We looked at the ingredient list and thought that, while some suspension of disbelief might be necessary, we just might be able to make a half-decent pad thai dish out of everything.

Ingredients

• 1/2 package of Spaghetti (cooked)
• 1 can of mixed vegetables
• 1 can of mushrooms
• 2 eggs
• Oyster sauce
• Fish sauce
• Sugar
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 10 leaves basil (from our garden)
• 1 tbsp Canola oil
• 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, crushed

At this point, I'd like to make a quick note that oyster sauce and fish sauce are both very common Thai ingredients and we are working under the assumption that these are ingredients a recently-immigrated family would keep stocked.

Anyways, the first step we did was to heat the canola oil in a wok for a minute or so. Break the eggs into the wok and scramble lightly until mostly cooked. Add the minced garlic and mix. Mix in the spaghetti and stir fry until the egg is mixed in well. Add in the mushrooms and

vegetables and keep mixing!

Next comes the actual seasoning. Many Thai dishes have three common ingredients, each with its own distinct flavor - sugar (sweet), oyster sauce (savory), and fish sauce (umami??)

Together they combine to make the distinctly "Thai" flavor that you may recognize, and the ratio of the three can really make a big difference in the way the dish tastes. Try and experiment til you find a combination you like!

As for us, we generally like it heavy on the fish sauce, with about 3 or 4 "globs" of oyster sauce, and about a tablespoon of sugar. Just dump the ingredients right on the dish and keep stir-frying until it's dissolved.

Lastly, tear up the basil leaves and mix in to the pad thai. If you happen to have some bean sprouts lying around, you can add them here too. Sprinkle the crushed peanuts on the dish and you're ready to serve.

The result? Something that looks absolutely nothing like pad thai! But in total honesty it tasted pretty good. For sure the spaghetti in place of rice noodles was pretty weird, and of course our distaste for canned vegetables has already been well documented, but the mushrooms were actually pretty good, and if we had added some chicken or shrimp, I think this definitely could have been something.

Check back soon for our final post for the project!

#CAFB Food Blogger Project Day 3: Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancake)

So a quick announcement: we just got word that the Austin American Statesman is coming over to our house tomorrow to film a piece on the food blogger project. I think they're going to interview us and maybe film some shots of us cooking. Ack! Gotta clean...

Anyways, today's dish is somewhat of a dim sum classic, known in Chinese as cong you bing, and known in English by many names -- green onion pie, scallion pancake, etc. -- mainly because it's hard to really describe what's going on here that actually sounds appealing.

In essence, it's fried dough, with onions and salt, and when made correctly, is darn delicious. The recipe below, though, is a somewhat modified version, slightly different than what you will get at Chinese restaurants. This is actually something College Justin used to make all the time, particularly because it was tasty and inexpensive. The ingredients are simple:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1 egg (beaten)
• water
• salt
• oil

You will also need some kind of flat surface, like a cutting board or a clean countertop. Also this is incredibly messy so be sure to wash your hands often and remove any jewelry.

Start out by pouring the flour into a big bowl. Pour about 1/4 cup of water in the bowl and start mixing. A flour dough will start to form. Form as much clay into a ball as you can, about the size of a ping pong ball.

Flatten the dough on the surface and mix in a little bit of the egg. This is when it starts to get really messy. Once the egg is mixed in, add flour to the dough until it is dry. Add water and flour to the ball until it is about the size of a squash ball (that may or may not help - roughly 1.5" in diameter).

Flatten the dough again and mix in about a tablespoon of the green onion until it is completely meshed into the dough. Dust with some flour on both sides and repeat the entire process creating pancakes until the flour and green onions run out.

Next heat up some oil in a frying pan, and fry the pancakes for about 1-2 minutes on each side until fully cooked. Once each pancake is finished place on a paper towel to dry. Sprinkle some salt to taste and enjoy.

Now as I said this is something I used to make all the time. In fact this is probably the first time since college that I've made it, in a time when both money and nutrition value had little meaning to me. This time around I made about 10 pancakes, and Han and I literally just ate that for lunch and nothing else.

The other day I talked about how hard it is to eat healthily on a budget because the cost of fresh produce is so cost ineffective. Along the same line, it's very cheap to make food that still tastes pretty good, despite having little to no nutritional value.

Back in humanity's hunter/gatherer days, salt and fat were pretty rare and our bodies needed to get them whenever it was possible. As such, to this day, our bodies are pre-programmed to crave these things, even though they are both widely available and very inexpensive.

As delicious as it is, cong you bing is pretty much nothing but salt and fat (and carbs). It's generally served as a side dish, but after today, I can definitely see how someone might choose to eat this and nothing else for an entire meal or maybe even an entire day.

I think this might be part of the reason why it seems almost all cultures have some sort of fried dough dish -- doughnuts, churros, Indian fry bread, etc. People in every country have hunger issues, and it makes sense that they may try to feed themselves in the most inexpensive yet satisfying ways possible for them.

#CAFB Food Blogger Project Day 2: Garlic Fried Rice

At the Hunger Awareness Project kickoff meeting last week, Lisa Goddard, the Online Marketing Director at CAFB, said that she had no real ideas on what to expect out of the food bloggers this week, and she liked that. She said that each face who comes into the Capital Area Food Bank has a completely different story, from the homeless man living on the street, to the mother of three who, although still fully employed, still just needs a little something extra to fill her pantry because she's unable to do so on her own means.

We're a few days into the project and I continue to be amazed as to the different stories that are emerging out of everyone else's experiences who are also on the project (Check out the other blogs as well, if you haven't gotten a chance already). Many of the bloggers, such as Something to Chew On and Austin Farm to Table, are diving full on into the hunger experience, eating nothing but stuff from the sample list for an entire week. As for us, we kind of made the executive decision to work with the list kind of like a Top Chef challenge. We want to produce some reasonably tasty Asian-inspired dishes made largely from the sample list with a few low-cost additions. The reason for this is, first, because we're much more familiar with Asian cooking than any other kind. But also our hope is that maybe (just maybe) a family who takes from the CAFB regularly who might be a little weary of Hamburger Helper and spaghetti marinara might somehow stumble upon these recipes and eat some dishes they might not normally get to eat.

Today's recipe is probably not one that's unfamiliar to any of you: garlic fried rice. Once again, the ingredients are mostly taken from the sample list of items visitors to the Capital Area Food Bank may receive:

• 4 cups of white rice
• 1 can of mixed vegetables (any mix will do, but we used peas and carrots)
• Any protein that is available (chicken, pork, beef)

In addition, we are adding the following, which might already be available in many kitchens or at most would cost a few dollars at the grocery store:

• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup chopped green onions
• Soy sauce
• Salt and pepper
• Oil

The first step is the heat up a big wok or any large frying pan (with high sides, if possible) with a tablespoon of oil. Break the eggs open and scramble. Once the egg is mostly solidified, mix in the garlic, followed by the rice. As an aside, Mama Ren insists that the rice you add should be as old as possible to fully maximize the flavor of the rice. I will add that freshly cooked rice seems to work just fine and rice that is over 3 days old should probably be thrown out for safety's sake.

Stir-fry the rice and eggs until everything is hot (should be about 5 minutes depending on how cold the rice was initially). Next add in bite-size pieces any pre-cooked protein and stir fry for 2 minutes.

(Just like the congee, this dish goes great with whatever you have, leftover rotisserie chicken, pork chops, whatever.)

Drain the mixed vegetables and add them in as well, mixing while you add. Add in some soy sauce (to taste, although adding too much may make the rice soupy) and add salt and pepper (also to taste). Lastly add in the green onions and stir fry for another minute. Let sit for 5 minutes while the sauces absorb into the rice and it's ready to serve.

We make this dish a lot because it is fun to make and there is a lot of room for creativity. Sometimes we like using some green curry, other times we'll mix in some oyster sauce, fish sauce, and fresh basil for more of a Thai twist. But in almost all instances we like to use fresh vegetables, whatever we have lying around. Sometimes in a pinch I've used frozen vegetables, but this was the first time we've used canned vegetables and it was a pretty noticeable difference. Even as someone who is pretty adamant about the importance of eating vegetables with every meal, for a split-second I wondered if I should leave the canned vegetables out of the recipe.

This brings to light something which, in my mind, is a key issue in hunger awareness. Even if you are provide enough food for you family in terms of sustenance, it is simply not cost-effective to make the choice to eat healthy.

If we were making this dish like we normally do, I would have added in some bell peppers, celery, some broccoli, and maybe some carrots, but that would have increased the cost of the dish by about five times. Even just adding one fresh vegetable ingredient might double it.

A few weeks ago in the Austin Chronicle, Belinda Acosta wrote an article about the ABC show "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" that pointed out the fact that it's somewhat unfair to lambast middle Americans for making poor food choices when in reality it's not that feasible economically:

"[W]hen it comes right down to it, it's more profitable to create processed, unhealthy food than food that is good for the American people. When a person of limited means is trying to decide between a bundle of fresh broccoli and a bag of processed food that only requires the addition of a cheap cut of meat or pasta to feed a whole family, what do you think the logical choice is?"

With this in mind, it makes it all the more impressive that the Capital Area Food Bank boasts one of the largest fresh produce distributions in the country. The Fresh Food for Families program distributes an average of 30 pounds of food to more than 3,600 families each month.

When it comes right down to it, my distaste for canned vegetables might be seen as just me being overly picky. But it is quite the blessing that so many families, thanks to the CAFB, actually get to make that choice.

Guatemalan Topado Soup: Don't Try This At Home

So about a month ago, Han and I took a post-holidays "vacation from your vacation" cruise through the Western Caribbean. One of our favorite stops was at Santo Tomas de Castilla in Guatemala. There we took a boat trip down the Rio Dulce and stopped at the small town of Livingston.

Unknown to us at the time, Livingston is famous for two things: catering to tourists from cruise ships from all over the world, and a special seafood soup called topado.

Our tour guide took us through the town and stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants off the main road in town. Being a river town, there were all sorts of seafood dishes available plus some of the more common dishes you'd come to expect. We knew we at least wanted the conch ceviche, but when we asked our server to recommend their best dish she said we had to try the topado, as it was the local specialty of Livingston.

The soup features this red creamy base with giant pieces of crab and fried fish and pieces of plantain. It was very flavorful and the meats were delectable. I seriously couldn't get enough of it. Once we left the restaurant and continued to walk around the town, we noticed that a lot of the restaurants also had signs that said "Try our Topado!"

Anyways, when we got home, being the daring amateur cooks that we are, tried to find a recipe on the internet to replicate the topado soup. The closest thing we could find was on Recipezaar so we gave it a shot. Unfortunately, as you'll see later, we didn't have a whole lot of success.

Ingredients:
-2 cups coconut milk
-1 onion
-1 red bell pepper
-2 lbs red snapper (we used tilapia)
-1 lb shrimp
-1 Tbsp corn oil
-1 Tsp oregano

-1/2 Tsp salt

-1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

-1 plantain

-1 medium tomato

-3 tsp freshly chopped cilantro

-2 cups water

Now, the directions get a little hazy here. I'll post what we did:

-Slice the onion and saute in the corn oil.

-Add the coconut milk and spices and simmer for about 5 minutes

-Add the fish and shrimp in whole and simmer for another 10 minutes or until cooked

-Slice the plantain and dice the tomato and add to the soup and simmer for another 5 minutes

Here was the resulting dish:

Now, it doesn't look TOO bad, but it did not look anything like the soup we had in Guatemala, and it sure as heck didn't taste anything like it either.

I can tell you first and foremost that adding the fish in whole was a mistake. The soup we had in Guatemala was fried first, which in hindsight was key. The recipe we used said to dice the fish into 2" cubes, which probably would have turned out better as well.

Also the soup we had in Guatemala, not only more flavorful, was also much more, um, redder. Not really sure what happened there but I'm guessing it had something to do with stewing the red peppers or tomatoes?

So now we are reaching out to all of you, our loyal readers. Where did we go wrong? What could we have done instead? Does anyone actually have a real topado recipe they can share with us?

We welcome all suggestions!

The World's Easiest Chicken Pot Pie

Here at Keep Austin Tasty, we love eating and we love cooking, but the truth of the matter is that we are much better at the former than we are at the latter. As such, our favorite recipes are not only easy and delicious but ones that someone who isn't a great cook would actually be confident to serve to guests.

We initially found this one after Thanksgiving as a means of finishing up leftover turkey, but we loved it so much we've actually had rotisserie chicken for dinner a few times specifically so we can use the leftovers.

The instructions are foolproof:

Step 1: Buy a rotisserie chicken and eat half of it. We recommend HEB's Honey Jalapeno for taste or Costco if you want more chicken for your buck

Step 2: Shred the rest of the chicken with two forks

Step 3: Prepare a package of frozen vegetables according to directions. Broccoli, peas, and carrots are a good mix for a traditional pie. The HEB Asian stir-fry adds a tasty twist with snap peas, red peppers, and water chestnuts.

Step 4: Combine chicken, veggies, and 1 can of condensed Cream of Chicken soup. Add a pinch of kosher salt and plenty of ground pepper.

Step 5: Pour ingredients into a frozen pie crust. Place second thawed pie crust on top and bake according to directions.

Delicious!

Beer Cheese

We brought this to the Beer-themed Food Bloggers' Potluck and served it again at Han's birthday party last week and both times it seemed to go over really well. At Han's birthday specifically, the whole bowl was gone before all the guests had arrived, and at both events, I had people asking me for the recipe.

Here's a secret though: I'm not really a good cook, and so to have anyone compliment me on something I made... I didn't really know how to handle it so I'm pretty sure I just muttered something.

So with football season in full swing and Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought it's be good to just post the recipe here, in plain-text un-muttered print.

Ingredients:

2 16-oz packages of cream cheese

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1/3 cup of dark or flavorful beer (I use Saint Arnold Lawnmower)

1 cup shredded cheese

Mix the cream cheese, ranch dressing, and beer together in a bowl. Once the cheese has softened and has mixed completely with the beer and cheese mix, mix in half of the shredded cheese,

(Optional: add some fresh rosemary or oregano for extra flavor, or add some crushed red pepper to make it a little spicier.)

Sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheese on top and serve!

This dip goes really well with mini pretzels, but we also discovered and recommend spreading it on a water cracker and top with a pepperoni.

Recipe: Mango Salsa

Someone once asked if we were going to put recipes on here.  Han and I are by no means superstars in the kitchen, and I can only shudder to imagine what you all might think if I ever posted about some of Han's "grab 4 random things from the fridge and throw them in a pot" dinners, but every now and then we find a recipe (or make something up) that might actually fool people into thinking we know what we're doing. 

Here's a pretty good recipe we found a few days ago that's not only delicious but unbelievably easy. 

Ingredients:

1 large or 2 medium sized mangoes (largely diced)

1 cucumber (diced)

1/2 medium sized onion (you guessed it, diced)

1 tablespoon minced jalapenos (this is for a very mild salsa, add more if you want it spicier)

A few sprigs of cilantro, chopped

Salt and Pepper

Instructions: 

Throw them all together in a big bowl and mix together. 

And voila! You're gourmet.  Eat it with chips or throw it on a tortilla with grilled mahi-mahi and chopped red cabbage and have one of the best fish tacos you've ever had (that you made, anyways).