Meat-a-balls!

This morning I made something sinfully delicious…Swedish meatballs, IKEA version. Well, what other version is there? (Just kidding, Sweden! I’m sure you have plenty other recipes for meatballs, but I was really, really craving IKEA’s)

It’s mildly frightening that I wake up at 8am on a day that I don’t have class until 1:30 just so that I have time to cook!  What does that even mean for a college student?  If only I could apply myself so diligently in other areas of (uhm) importance.

Well here is the smooth, savory, succulent (awesome alliteration!) Swedish meatball recipe I made up this morning.  I can literally taste the furniture store in my mouth. Well, not really…

Meatballs:

1 small onion, chopped finely

1 lb beef
½ lb pork
¾ cup milk
3 tbsp bread crumbs
1 egg
Cinnamon
pepper
Salt

Gravy:
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp flour

1 tsp soy sauce
Cinnamon
Pepper

*Keep the drippings from the meatballs for the gravy*

1. Chop the onion and fry it in 2 tbsp of butter in a medium size fry pan.
2. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, mix together the meat, milk, bread crumbs, egg, and spices.  You only want a pinch of the cinnamon.  It’s what gives the meatballs an unexpected taste of sweetness when you first bite in.  But you’re eating Swedish meatballs, not Irish potato balls. So keep it to 2 or 3 really quick shakes of the cinnamon shaker.
3. Roll the mixture into balls.  Size doesn’t matter here; it’s whatever your heart desires.
4. Remove the onion from the fry pan and add 3 more tbsp of butter.  Melt it and drop the meatballs in one by one.  Give them enough room so they don’t get crowded.  Flip the meatballs over with a spatula once the bottom has turned brown, about 4 minutes on medium heat.  Once the meatballs are all done, place them in a bowl.
5. Whisk a cup of chicken broth into the pan with the drippings.  Beef broth is probably preferred but I didn’t have any. Add in the milk until the gravy boils and  the soy sauce. Slowly whisk in the flour; start with 1 tbsp and then add another if it doesn’t thicken.  Add another pinch of cinnamon and pepper.  Cook for a few more minutes and you’re done!

I also have a splendid Vanilla-Sparkling Wine Pound Cake recipe that I made the other night for dessert.  I found it in the February 2010 issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

Preheat oven to 350°

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 cup sparkling wine or milk (I didn’t have a sparkling so I used a White Sangria wine)

3 tbsp sour cream

2 cups sugar

¾ unsalted butter, melted

¼ canola oil

5 cold eggs

2 tbsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven and grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan; set aside.  In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside. Stir together sparkling wine and sour cream; set aside. 
2. In a large mixing bowl beat sugar, butter, and oil with an electric mixer until combined.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well.  Beat in vanilla and mix on medium to high 3-5 minutes, or until lighter in color.  Add 1/3 flour mixture, beat on low until just combined, scraping sides of the bowl.  Add half of the wine mixture, and repeat with the flour mixture.  With a rubber spatula, pour the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes.  Turn out on the rack, cool completely and drizzle with glaze.

Glaze:

In a small bowl, mix 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1 tbsp wine.  Stir in an additional 1 tsp wine at a time to reach a drizzling consistency. 

TGIF!

I found these two recipes in the January/February 2010 issue of “Simple & Delicious” magazine. My main dish was a moist and delicious meatloaf that I made with a ground beef/pork combo. I needed 1 ½ pounds of meat, but the beef was in one pound packages and the pork was in half pound packages, so it only seemed right to introduce them to each other. They must have become good friends because it was delish!


I also made an egg noodle with bacon and spinach in cream sauce dish to go along with the meatloaf. I definitely spoiled myself last night, but it felt good after a week of classes! As much as I love to spend time in my kitchen, when I come home sometime after 6pm from a full day of classes, the last thing I want to do is make something that will take forever to cook but dinner was done in 45 minutes - which gave me time to study while I waited and watch Bones afterwards!

Meatloaf:

1 egg

½ cup V8 juice (about half can)

½ cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1 package onion soup mix

¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 ½ lbs ground beef (I used 1 lb beef and ½ lb ground pork)

Ketchup

Heat oven to 350°

1. Lightly beat one egg with a half can of V8 juice. Add breadcrumbs, soup mix, and cheese and combine. Add the ground meat to the mixture; mix well.

2. Pat the meatloaf mixture into an ungreased loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and spread about 1/3 cup of ketchup on the top of the meatloaf. Bake for another 10 minutes, until a meat thermometer reads 160°.

Creamy Spinach Noodles:

1 ½ cups uncooked egg noodles

2 bacon strips, diced

2 tsp finely chopped onion

6 ½ tsp flour

¾ tsp salt free seasoning blend (I used adobo!)

1/8 tsp salt

Pepper

1 ¼ cups milk

1, 9 oz package baby spinach, defrosted

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Boil water with a pinch of salt and cook noodles al dente.

2. In a large skillet, cook the bacon and onion over medium heat until bacon is crispy. Remove to paper towels to drain.

3. Stir the flour and seasonings into drippings until blended. Slowly add milk and whisk until it boils. Cook for 2 minutes or until it is thick. Add spinach and cook until it is well mixed.

4. Drain noodles and transfer to a bowl. Add spinach mixture and shredded cheese; toss. Sprinkle with bacon and onion mixture.

Classes went well, I’m back in school mode, and I love it! This semester I’m taking astronomy, archaeology theory, archaeological geophysics, history of East Asia, and my senior synthesis, “Feast Here Awhile”. Work and classes keep me busy so that I’m only home to eat and sleep.

I hope I will have time to keep this thing going on here. I may have gotten ahead of myself early on thinking that I could write a 3 page essay for a blog post; that’s not too realistic now. But, I will be adding new recipes and stories, and whatever else I can think of.

So, keep reading, comment, suggest; I welcome it all!

P.S. I’m going to try to use my camera when I cook so I can take some appetizing photos of all these yummies. So, if anyone has good tips for photographing food, let me know!

The best chicken soup ever! (And other things)

On Sunday I leave home to go back to school for my last semester. It’s so crazy that I’m already graduating in just a few short months. All that’s left to do is:

1. Get an A in each and every one of my classes (I don’t think I’ve done that since elementary school)

2. Work on my SAA project locating graves in a Lutheran graveyard-turned-park.

I don’t think I’ve gone into detail about this yet. Last year was a prehistoric Native American village and this year I am conducting a project in a park that was once a graveyard for a Lutheran Church.

In the late 1800’s, Indiana County decided that they didn’t want people to be buried in the county anymore; they wanted those already buried to be moved to another cemetery nearby. However, exhuming bodies is hard work, and gravediggers probably didn’t understand why it was necessary. They probably thought that no one would ever know if the bodies weren’t moved. So, sometimes just the tombstones would be relocated and the bodies would stay put.

There is also a county legend that places a Frisk Coffin in the park. Around the time of the Civil War, when it was difficult to transport soldiers who were killed far from home, an iron sarcophagus-like coffin was invented that would prevent the body from decaying over the journey home. Gross, I know. But extraordinary. There would be a circular glass plate that was at the head so that the families were able to see the soldier when he finally made it home.

So, I’m hoping that there are still Civil War veterans and a Frisk Coffin buried in the park. And it’s part of my job to figure out!

3. Practice my Chinese and come up with some way to get back to China, except this time I WON’T be getting swine flu, or any other flu. Got that, China? Got it?? This is going to be the abridged version of my H1N1 experience…the longer version takes up an entire composition notebook that I kept as a record of my trip.

My professor, three other students, and I flew into Hong Kong for a month-long internship associated with Xiamen University. I was going to be helping my professor arrange a full-scale, systematic survey in Fujian province, and help a Chinese archaeologist work on a Neolithic site. I flew out of Newark and transferred in Vancouver.

Two days after arriving in Hong Kong, I woke up really, really sick after coughing all night and with a fever of about 103. The coughing was probably also because of the air in China but the fever was strange and out of place because the other two girls, with whom I shared a room, didn’t get sick at all! But I felt like death warmed over. While everyone else was sight-seeing Hong Kong and meeting archaeologists, I was confined to a hotel room. They did bring me a PizzaHut pan pizza when they came back, though.

Anyway, the next day we were supposed to leave Hong Kong for Guangzhou, an entry point to mainland China. Carrying my suitcase to the train station and trying not to cough in front of people, while also trying to keep my fever down was interesting. I really didn’t think I could possibly have H1N1; I thought that I was just weak after having travelled for 25 hours and not sleeping the night before because I was just so excited. But, apparently the Chinese thought otherwise. I had my temperature taken on the train – everyone had theirs taken – but mine wasn’t even the highest among my group. Then, when we entered the train station in Guangzhou, panic broke out. (Not really, but I was definitely panicking.)

While I was standing in line waiting to show my ID I set off a heat sensor; yeah, I’m just that hot. Security guards immediately whisked me away from my group and brought me to the nurse’s station. They made me put a face mask on as a preventative measure, but combined with my fear and asthma, it just made everything worse. They interpreted my shortness of breath as a symptom of swine flu and swabbed my mouth to test. I guess it came back positive because the next thing I know, I was being taken outside and put in an ambulance to be taken to a hospital for further testing. Somehow, without knowing any Chinese, I managed to get my professor to come with me so I wouldn’t be alone. I was too busy crying hysterically and trying to avoid looking at the ambulance people in HAZMAT suits to notice, but my professor told me that we were going the wrong way down one way streets to get to the clinic. It’s a good thing I wasn’t dying or anything because it took 30 minutes to get there.

Once we got the clinic, I was placed in a room that had bars over the window and bugs on the floor. The doctor came in to take my blood but hysteria took over. I eventually gave in, but quite begrudgingly. That would be my first blood test of many for the week to come and I hated needles. I would need a comedy routine performed for me if I ever needed to get a vaccination, let alone a blood test. No way did I like having a needle stuck in my arm. Uh-uh, not a chance! But I had to so I tried to be strong. I convinced myself that once they had a sample of my blood that was clean of H1N1, they would let me go, apologize and pay for my trip all around China. HA!! I was wrong.

I spent the night on my cell phone with my parents (this move brought our phone bill up to $1,000 but my mother talked T-Mobile out of charging us) trying to stay calm but when they went to bed, I tried reading a book, listening to my iPod (until it died), and learning some Chinese from one of the nurses. When the doctor came into my room the next morning with the news that I had H1N1, all I heard was that I was going to die. With all the hype and stigma associated with it, and that it was affecting younger people with underlying medical conditions (asthma!!), I though I was goner. But, I was relocated to a better another hospital which became my home for the next week.

I had two roommates who’s names I only know as Bensy (after Mercedes Benz), and Gucci. These weren’t their real names, so I can’t really find them online. I’d like to get in touch with them, but I don’t know how to. Bensy has a blog but it’s in Chinese, and even though I’m learning, I can’t figure out how to send her a message. Bensy also had a computer which she let me borrow so that I could be in touch with my family. My mom had called the White House and the consulate in China when we found out I was being moved, but since I didn’t know where I was going, they weren’t much help. Eventually, the Economic Officer in Guangzhou found me and helped me get the treatment I needed. I had blood taken at least four times a day, every day, and pretty much spent my days crying or sleeping.

When I was finally released, I hated China. For one week, I was all alone in a country whose language I didn’t understand, being treated by doctors who were too scared to come near me. I wanted nothing to do with the country and I just wanted to go home. I was so upset that my internship was ruined, I ruined my friends’ internships, and my professor’s project wasn’t going to happen. We left Guangzhou the next day and spent the rest of our month travelling throughout the country. We visited Xian, Luoyang, Beijing, Wuyishan, Fuzhou, and finally Xiamen. We went to tea houses, climbed the Great Wall, floated down a river on a bamboo raft, rode overnight trains on hard sleeper, ate delicious food, went to beautiful Buddhist temples, and Grottoes. We lived as the Chinese would for the rest of the month, not American tourists. Even though our internship didn’t work out as we had planned, we got even more out of it than I think we would’ve, had we stayed put in Xiamen.

I realized that I had to be a good anthropologist and not be upset with China. China was only trying to do its job and protect its people; I couldn’t argue with that.

With the help of my friends and my professor, and Buddhism, I eventually got over my anger. I am not a very religious person; I haven’t been for several years. And I am not one to push any thoughts or views on others, but Buddhism helped me find myself when I was sick, it helped me forgive China (not that I had to) and myself for how I behaved.

As a petite, asthmatic female, I think I should have been sicker than I actually was and I am thankful for how easy my hospitalization was, instead of what it could’ve been.

4. Stay stress free, healthy, and have fun!

Alright, I really digressed there big time. Focusing now…

One of the many things that is going to keep me stress free is my cooking. Since Monday is Martin Luther King Day and we don’t have classes, I plan on waking up early and going to the store to fill up my fridge. Then, I’ll be spending the day making dumplings, egg rolls, cinnamon rolls, and whatever else I can fit in the freezer. That way, on my busy days when I’ll be leaving my apartment early in the morning and not getting home until late at night, I will just have to pop some dumplings into a fry pan, cook up some noodles and bok choy, and voila! Easy dinner. Of course, I’ll probably get quite bored with that so I’ll have to split it up with some crock-pot days of soups and pulled pork. And pasta, too. Mmm! I’m getting hungry just thinking about all the yummies!

Here is the “sicko soup” recipe that I promised last week, that I haven’t been able to post. Amounts of ingredients really depend on how much soup you want to make, but I typically use:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3-4 stalks of celery with leaves, chopped

3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 ½ cups barley, rinsed thoroughly

2 cans low-sodium chicken broth

1 tsp celery salt

Pepper

Parsley

1. Fill a stockpot ¾ with water.
2. If you’re using frozen chicken, you can place it in the water and boil. When it is cooked through, remove it from the pot to let cool. Defrosted chicken can be added with all of the other ingredients.
3. While the chicken is cooking, cut the celery, carrots, and onion. Rinse the barley.
4. Put the veggies and barley in the broth. The barley should add some thickness to the soup. Add the chicken to the mix once it has cooled enough to shred.
5. You can add a few cans of low-sodium chicken broth once the soup has reduced a bit. Simmer for one hour on medium low heat and stir occasionally.
6. Shortly before the soup is done, add celery salt, a big, healthy pinch of black pepper, a pinch of parsley. Stir one last time and bon appétit!

If you used too much chicken for the soup, you can use leftover boiled chicken for chicken a la king! All you’ll need is:

Leftover chicken cut or shredded in bite-sized pieces

A small jar of pimentos or 2 roasted red peppers, sliced

½ cup of peas cooked ahead until almost done

Pepper

Celery salt

Gravy:

2 cans low-sodium chicken broth

½ cup flour

1. Stir flour into broth with heat turned off. Turn heat to medium and stir constantly with whisk, until thick.
2. Add pepper, salt, peas, and chicken. Keep stirring. A few moments before it is done cooking, add pimentos.
3. Serve over rice, noodles, or pastry shells.

***Of course, you can alter the amounts for the chicken a la king and soup***

Finally, I’d like to send my good wishes, thoughts, and prayers to those affected by the earthquake in Haiti, and friends and family elsewhere. Namaste.

Boy oh boy! This has been one crazy week. And it’s only Thursday. If this is any indication of what my last semester is going to be like…I don’t know if I want it to come.

I’ve been working in New Jersey all week – Secaucus and Plainfield. Work starts at 6am and I don’t usually get home until 6pm. This means I have zero time for studying, and even less time for sleeping. Forget cooking.

Although, the online health class that I am taking just covered nutrition and healthy eating. Not that I don’t eat healthy – I really try to. I don’t eat fast food and I like to try different cooking methods for meats and veggies. It’s a challenge finding a way to keep in the most nutrients while still tasting yummy.

Anyway, learning about healthy alternatives introduced me to ChefMD and John La Puma, M.D.’s book: “ChefMd’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine.” It’s on my wish list!

One of my favorite winter soups is Pasta e Fagioli. It’s an Italian pasta and bean soup with garlic, tomatoes, ground beef, among other things. The best, in my opinion is at Olive Garden. Here is a fantastic clone of the Olive Garden’s masterpiece that I found Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur. He is a genius, I think. Try it out for yourself!

“INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground beef

1 small onion diced 1 cup

1 large carrot julienned 1 cup

3 stalks celery chopped 1 cup

2 cloves garlic minced

2 cans diced tomatoes - 14 1/2 oz ea

1 can red kidney beans - 15 oz with liquid

1 can great northern beans - 15 oz with liquid

1 can tomato sauce 15 oz

1 can V-8 juice - 12 oz

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 pound ditalini pasta

PREPARATION

1. Brown the ground beef in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat. Drain off most of the fat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour.

2. About 50 minutes into simmer time, cook the pasta in 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of boiling water over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or just until pasta is al dente, or slightly tough. Drain.

3. Add the pasta to the large pot of soup. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes and serve.

This recipe yields 8 servings.”

I haven’t had a chance yet to try this recipe but Wilbur’s other recipes are great. Here’s another heart healthy alternative from ChefMD for the soup:

“INGREDIENTS

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 carrots, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
One-quarter teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups low-salt vegetable or chicken broth
One-half cup (2 ounces) uncooked whole wheat gemelli (small twisted pasta), such as Eden brand or ditalini (small tube pasta) or small shell pasta
1 can (14.5 ounces) seasoned diced tomatoes, undrained (such as Muir Glen brand)
1 can (15 to 16 ounces) kidney beans or red beans, rinsed and drained
One-half cup frozen baby peas, thawed
One-quarter cup chopped fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley
One-quarter cup grated Romano or Asiago cheese

PREPARATION

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil and carrots; cook 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes; cook 1 minute. Add broth and pasta; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and beans; return to a simmer and cook 5 minutes or until pasta is tender. Stir in peas; heat through. Ladle into shallow bowls; top with basil and cheese.

SUBSTITUTIONS

Freshly shelled peas may be substituted for frozen peas; stir them into the soup with the tomatoes and beans. Great Northern or cannellini beans may replace the kidney or red beans.”

Now, enough of the healthy eating. Time for some yummy dessert recipes! Here’s my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe from All Recipes. They’re soft on the inside, and crunchy on the outside.

“INGREDIENTS

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

1 tablespoon half-and-half cream

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, toasted

PREPARATION

1. Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). (Using an oven thermometer will ensure proper baking temperature since ovens vary.) Line cushion-type baking sheets with baking parchment; set aside. (Professional bakeries double their baking sheets and use baking parchment.)

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, cream together butter, sugars and vanilla at medium speed until creamy and light. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in corn syrup and cream or milk. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour mixture, in 3 separate batches, scraping down bowl after each addition. Mix well to ensure full incorporation of flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) and nuts.

3. For each cookie, using a 1- 3/8 inch spring-loaded scoop (or 1 tablespoon measuring spoon), scoop 2 level spoonfuls of dough and roll into a ball with wet hands. (Dough will be very sticky. Wetting hands between every 3 rollings of dough will prevent sticking. Simply hold hands under running tap water and shake hands 10 times over sink before handling dough. Don't worry, this will not harm the cookies. I guarantee that this added effort will be worth it for these cookies!) Arrange at least 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. (Cookies will spread a bit during baking.) Flatten each ball of dough slightly with heel of hand or fingers.

4. Bake for 14 minutes or until light golden brown around edges and centers are still a little puffy. (Do not underbake this particular cookie or they will be too soft.) Allow cookies to cool at least 5 minutes while on baking sheets before transferring (with a thin, metal cookie spatula) to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough and fresh sheets.”

This is enough for now. I’ll be adding an old family chicken soup recipe tomorrow. We call it “sicko soup” in my house because, well, it’s what we eat when we’re sick.

Toodles!

My not-so-typical Sunday in January

Last Spring, I attended my first professional conference with the Society of American Archaeology! It is an annual meeting as a way for archaeologists, professionals, students, and amateurs alike, to mix and mingle. There are presentations, forums, and other activities so that those in the American archaeology community can share what they have been working on and provide ideas and avenues for the future of archaeology.

Well, I presented a poster on archaeological geophysical investigations. Geophysical surveys are new(-ish) to archaeology as a way to create maps of subsurface archaeological features. “Features” are structures or traces of human activities that are left in the soil and can be recorded by different types of instruments. These instruments detect buried features by comparing them to their surroundings as a sort of base line. Geophysical investigations are used in association with excavations as a way to give insight to parts of a potential site. They are much less invasive and destructive than “blind digging” and are great in preserving a site for future generations of archaeologists.

Anyway, the purpose of my project was to locate possible “features” of a prehistoric Native American site. Specifically, I was looking for a stockade that would have surrounded a village for defensive purposes, most likely. My partners and I located what we thought was an arc of the stockade but when we excavated, we didn’t come up with much. As always, further research is needed! But, while I was at the conference, I met the owner of local geophysical company and landed my summer job! At school, I mostly deal with GPR (ground penetrating radar) and have gotten quite comfortable with it. But at work, I am able to use magnetometers and resistivity equipment which allows me to broaden my horizons.

Being home on semester break for one month means that I have been working a lot more. But, as an archaeologist I am not familiar with cold-weather, winter work. Field work mostly takes place during the warmer months and the off-season is spent doing lab work or research – traditionally, speaking. Last week was absolutely freezing working in New Jersey, just minutes from Manhattan, so today was shopping day! For work clothes! But not your typical work clothes for a 21-year-old female! Oh no, I am anything but typical.

My parents and I drove up to an L.L. Bean store today to pick up a amazing jacket:

The Baxter State Parka at L.L. Bean was designed for those working in very cold weather. According to L.L. Bean's website, the jacket was tested on Mount Washington in New Hampshire, which has the highest recorded wind speed in the world. At $200, it is expensive, but it’s an investment buy!

We also picked up some Flannel Lined Jeans which are just delightful, and some wool socks and Polartec long underwear. It was windy and bone-chillingly cold today so when I got home, I immediately changed into my new clothes and took Indy out for a run in the backyard. He loved it! And so did I! I couldn’t even tell it was 18° with wind speed at 16mph, making it 6° .

After our jaunt, it was time to start dinner. Recipe time! Tonight I made some jiaozi (Chinese fried dumplings, like potstickers), bok choy, and last night’s leftover wonton soup. I’m on a Chinese kick right now.

The dumpling recipe, which I borrowed from the Appetite for China, was easy and delicious. And exactly like the dumplings I had in China and those at Chinese restaurants in this country. When I come home, it’s a must to visit the Asian market and stock up on dumpling wrappers and rice and other yummies. Without further ado, here are some recipes (still no pictures, but they will be coming eventually).

Filling:

1 lb ground pork

1 cup shredded cabbage

2 tablespoons shallots (I used garlic)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon soy sauce (I used dark but I’m sure it doesn’t really matter)

A pinch of black or white pepper

1. Mix everything together in a large mixing bowl and set it aside. This is used to fill the wrappers.

There are plenty of recipes for homemade dumpling wrapper recipes but I just choose to save time and effort (I save the entirely homemade stuff for dessert!)

2. Using one egg, beat gently as an egg wash, spread on outside edges of wrappers and place a small teaspoonful of filling in the middle.

3. Using both hands, pinch the wrapper together in the center, as if folding it in half. On either sides of this pinch, “pleat” the rest of the wrapper. If this is too difficult, you can just fold it in half like Pierogies… Seal the wrapper completely. Otherwise, the filling can leak out while cooking.

4. Once all of the dumplings are made, you are ready to pan-fry. Coat the bottom of a skillet or fry pan with a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil. Before turning on the heat, place as many of the dumplings in the pan as you can flat side down, but be sure to give them some space. You don’t want to overcrowd them. Now you can turn the heat on to about medium. Once the dumplings start to turn golden brown (after about 3 or 4 minutes), add about a half inch of water and cook, covered, about 5 minutes more until the water cooked off.

5. Once the water has evaporated, flip the dumplings over and cook for 3 minutes more.

6. Serve and eat!

Bok Choy – you can either use Chinese Bok Choy or a head of cabbage. I prefer cooking with cabbage. The bok choy has a stronger taste and I can’t seem to conquer it…

Cut about 2 or 3 cups of cabbage into strips

1 shallot sliced thinly

Salt to taste

Water

Place a little bit of vegetable oil in the bottom of a pan. Once the oil is hot enough, add the shallot and let it cook 30 seconds until it is translucent. Add the cabbage, a pinch of salt and about a 1/3 cup of water. You can always add more salt and water depending on how much broth you want. Cover with a lid and cook on medium heat until the cabbage is soft enough.

I got my wonton soup recipe from ifood.tv, Cooking with Kai. There is a great video that also accompanies the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork

½ lb shrimp, raw or cooked

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 green onion, chopped

1 egg, beat gently, for egg wash

Wonton wrappers

Soup:

1 gallon water

1 can of chicken broth

¼ cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 green onions, tied in a knot

1. Mix all ingredients together. Put 1 tsp of filling in center of wonton wrapper and spread egg wash on edges of wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half as triangle, being careful not to let the filling leak out.
2. Place wontons in a large pot of boiling water and cook until the wontons float to the surface. This indicates that they are done.
3. While the wontons are cooking, start to prepare the broth. Add the water, broth, soy sauce, oil, and scallions to a pot. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Place a few wontons in a bowl. Add the broth and garnish with chopped scallions.

First Post

Welcome to my site, The Cooking Archaeologist!

I should probably give some information to what I hope this blog is going to be, as well as who I am. Well, I’ll stay somewhat mysterious so that you keep coming back to learn more!

As a senior archaeology student at a reputable American university, I have an immense appreciation for all things exciting and new. I love to travel, and I love to meet new people. It’s a cliché, I know, but it’s the truth. In fact, this love of the world brought me to China last summer on an internship. It was a very interesting trip and I’m sure that I will be going into much more detail at a later time.

Anyway, along with my passions of archaeology and culture and history, I love to cook! When I am not in the library or the laboratory studying or working, I can be found in the kitchen either making up a Chinese masterpiece, or exploring my Irish/Italian heritage making Tiramisu, pasta, or something delicious with potatoes. No worries, I will be including my favorite and most trusted recipes as I make them. Photos might be difficult to show because I am crossing my fingers for a nice camera as a graduation present. J

Going on, I have the most perfect, beautiful, and sweetest child on four legs with a tail. No, I’m not biased. He is also the most demonic. And no, I’m not referring to a human. My dog, number II, is named Henry Jones Jr. We call him Indy II. Number I was Professor Indiana Jones but passed away two years ago after a year-long battle with Cushing’s Disease. Like most brothers, Henry and Indy cannot at all be compared. While they were/are both well-tempered, Henry is a lot more adventurous than Indy I, and a lot more stubborn. An 80 pound Golden Retriever puppy, Indy II is a snuggle bunny, couch potato, lap dog all rolled into one. But I digress. See the connection, though? Archaeologist, Indiana Jones infatuation… Some might call it an obsession, but it’s more of a calling. At least I think it is.

Continuing, I have two fantastic and supportive parents without whom I wouldn’t be what I am today. They have sent me to France after our third exchange student and I became close friends, and sisters. Shout-out to my French family! Then they sent me back so I could experience Switzerland and Italy, too. This is the anthropologist in me speaking, but I think that it is necessary to experience new and different cultures in order to become a wholesome and well-formed, intelligent being. Having studied French for more than 12 years made it possible for me to be a Parisian in Europe, rather than an American tourist. Then, six years later, they helped me get to China where I found my true calling as a Chinese Archaeologist. At least that’s the plan for now.

I think this will cover the “About Me” section for now. As for this blog, you can expect a little bit of everything, which pretty much sums me up. A little bit of archaeology and other related factoids, some cooking, some sewing, some fashion, some travel and therefore subsequent packing advice, some random tidbits, maybe some life lessons or epiphanies if I am feeling very daring. Above all, though, you can expect it to be fun.

As a product of the 21^st century, my identity is somewhat scattered and I hope this will keep me grounded. So, for better or for worse, welcome to my life!