House of Zeta

Good food, drinks, friends and ukulele!!!

Category: The Lab (Page 3 of 7)

This is where we do all our cooking, baking and experimenting.

Vegetarian Chili for Camping

August 20, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Chili Chili fixin's Chili veggies

 

One of the easiest things to make for camping is vegetarian chili. You just chuck everything in a pot, no rx let it simmer for a while and tah dah! It’s done. I’ve made this so many times that I don’t measure anymore. Who am I kidding a never measure! Ok so I’ve gotten better at measuring thanks to writing about what we cook. You can keep it vegetarian or add meat it’s all up to you. We usually are out for a couple days so keeping it meat free is best. I also freeze it so it becomes part of the ice we use to keep everything fresh. I like to add as many fresh ingredients as possible, like tomatoes, corn, carrots, onions, bell peppers and sometimes zucchini. This is a great dish to experiment with and have fun.

 

 

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Vegetarian Chili for Camping
Author: 
Recipe type: Main dish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
Ingredients
  • 1 8oz can of black beans
  • 1 8oz can of dark kidney beans
  • 1 8oz can of pink beans
  • 1 28oz can of whole tomatoes
  • 1 14.5 oz can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
  • 1-2 6oz cans of tomato paste( depending on how thick you want it)
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 med onion
  • 1 med green bell pepper
  • 1 med red or yellow or orange bell pepper(your choice)
  • 2 carrots(3 if small)
  • 1 med zucchini
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 teaspoon of oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon of cumin
  • 2 tablespoons of chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of ancho chile powder
  • 1 large or two medium bay leaves
  • ½ tablespoon of salt
  • ½ tablespoon of pepper
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes
  • Olive oil
Instructions
  1. Peel and chop onion
  2. Peel and chop carrots
  3. Chop bell peppers and zucchini into cubes
  4. Cut kernels off corn
  5. Chop tomatoes
  6. Peel and rough chop garlic
  7. In large sauce pan add some olive oil and onion
  8. A sprinkle of salt and pepper
  9. Sauté for a few minutes
  10. Add tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes till tomatoes start falling apart
  11. Add remaining vegetables, garlic and cans of tomatoes, sauce and paste
  12. Rinse beans and add them to the pot
  13. Add spices and herbs, salt and pepper
  14. Simmer for about 20 minutes
  15. let cool and put in freezer bags and freeze.
Notes
If you aren't a camper that's ok, this is a great meal anytime. They say to let chili sit overnight that way it incorporates all the flavors. I usually can't wait, but if you can, let the pot cool off, refrigerate and reheat the next day.
Don't for get the hot sauce, cheese and sour cream for the ultimate bowl of chili!
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Final hot sauce is here!

August 1, 2014 / / 0 Comments

 

 

Wow! It’s the last hot sauce of  our hot sauce mania month! We can’t believe it.  So we accidentally took a couple weeks off and our month turned into six weeks.  We are human and needed to rest and enjoy the summer.  But now it is back to work.  And without further ado I give you:

 

Blossoming Tumescence

 

 

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Blossoming Tumescence
Author: 
Recipe type: Condiment
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 8 Puya
  • 2 mulato
  • 2 japones
  • 2 New Mexico
  • 1 chipotle
  • 4 garlic
  • ¼ cup chili water
  • ¾ cup of vinegar
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
  1. Soak your peppers in hot water for 30 minutes
  2. Either in a bowl weighed down so chili's are submerged or in a ziplock bag
  3. When chili's are done pull off stems and discard
  4. Also discard any seed and veins that come with stems
  5. Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend till smooth
  6. Strain through a sieve and discard any solids
  7. Serve immediately, mind or put on your favorite bottle for later
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Hot Sauce number 3. It’s a Cheap Trick!

July 22, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Here is the latest in our month long(.. A hum…6week) hot sauce mania.  Great for BBQed Meats!!!

 

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Cheap Trick
Author: 
Recipe type: Condiments
 
Ingredients
  • 4 New Mexico chile
  • 6 Japones red chile
  • 3 Pulla chile
  • 5 birds eye chile
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • ½ cup vinegar
  • ¼ cup of Apple cider vinegar
  • Salt pepper
  • Splash of chili water
Instructions
  1. Soak your peppers in hot water for 30 minutes
  2. Either in a bowl weighed down so chili's are submerged or in a ziplock bag
  3. When chili's are done pull off stems and discard
  4. Also discard any seed and veins that come with stems
  5. Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend till smooth
  6. Serve immediately.
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Hot Salsa? Yes Please

June 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Salsa

 

Our newest hot sauce is more of a salsa but not quite.  We added tomatoes so you can really sink your chips into it.

Also we don’t put this one threw a sieve but if you want a smoother sauce than you can.  With a heat most hot sauce lovers can handle this one will disappear fast!

 

 

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Hot Suff
Author: 
Recipe type: Condiment
Prep time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 2 packages of grape tomatoes
  • 1 chipotle chile
  • 3 mulatto chili's
  • 1¾ habanero chili(deseeded and destemmed)
  • 4-5 garlic cloves
  • Small handful of cilantro
  • ½ cup vinegar
  • * Splash of chili water
  • Salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Soak your peppers in hot water for 30 minutes
  2. Either in a bowl weighed down so chili's are submerged or in a ziplock bag
  3. When chili's are done pull off stems and discard
  4. Also discard any seed and veins that come with stems
  5. Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend till smooth
  6. Serve immediately.
Notes
If your worried about it being too hot, generic add some lime juice and or decrease the amount of Habanero peppers.

* Chili water is the water you soaked the chili's in.
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Hot Sauce Mania!

June 17, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Hot sauce of the week! We shared a new red pepper hot sauce last week and decided to feature a new one every week! We will start out with an easy one. It’s not spicy, link just smokey and delicious. Perfect for that person who can’t handle the heat but wants a great sauce for their tacos or eggs in the morning. Or if you just want to easy into the heat.

Chili's and hot sauce

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Easy Lay
Author: 
Cuisine: Condiment
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 4 Dried Pasilla
  • 5 Dried Puya
  • 4 Dried Arbol
  • 1 Jalapeño
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • ½ cup of vinegar
  • Salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Soak dried peppers in a bowl of hot water for 30 minutes.
  2. Make sure peppers are completely submerged.
  3. I use a heavier smaller blow for this
  4. Or you can use a ziplock bag.
  5. Just make sure it is on a flat surface and you flip it half way through .
  6. Once peppers have soaked pull off stems and discard them.
  7. Some seeds and veins will come with the stems and that's fine.
  8. Not all your peppers will be completely soft, approved that is ok.
  9. Take the chili's, more about garlic, vinegar and blend, adding salt and pepper to taste.
  10. Once done put sauce through a sieve to remove excess solids
  11. Take sauce and put in your favorite jar or container.
  12. Discard leftover solids*
Notes
* if your anything like us chances are you don't like to waste things. As we kept making hot sauces, one thing was bothering us. What to do with the left over solids? We think we are coming up with some great ideas. And if you stay tuned we will share our discoveries.
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Remodeling and The Bean Soup

February 23, 2014 / / 0 Comments

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Mixed Bean and Lentil Soup with Bacon
Author: 
Recipe type: Main dish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
This is a very easy recipe that you can leave and get things done. Once you have done the prep all you have to do wait.
Ingredients
  • 1 lb of mixed beans and lentils
  • 2 Tbsp of butter
  • 1 Tbsp of olive oil
  • 6 cups of stock(your choice)
  • 4 pieces of bacon chopped
  • 1 onion
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 4 celery ribs
  • 4 carrots
  • 1 bunch of flat leaf parsley
  • ½ box of frozen peas
  • 1 lime cut in half and separated
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cloves of garlic chopped
  • dry herb mix- oregano, salve dill, medical chive, celery leaf, kale, parsley
  • (you can make your own mix)
  • Splash of red wine or beer or water
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Chop up bacon
  2. Chop up onion
  3. Cut celery into ½ inch pieces
  4. Peel and cut carrots into ½ inch rounds
  5. Cut red pepper into ½ in squares
  6. Rough chop parsley and set half to the side
  7. On med to high heat put oil and butter in large soup/stock pot
  8. Add onion and cook till they get soft
  9. Make a ring on the edge of the pot with onions
  10. Add bacon in the center and let cook for a couple minutes
  11. Stir onions and bacon together and cook till bacon starts to get crisp
  12. Add stock, beans and lentils and herb mix
  13. Bring to boil and lower flame to very low
  14. Let simmer for 4-5 hours with lid on
  15. Last hour add celery, carrots and bell peppers
  16. Add beer or wine or water if soup seems too thick
  17. (this is if the soup starts to get to dry)
  18. You want some broth
  19. The last 15 minutes add the peas and half the parsley
  20. Save the other half for garnish
  21. Salt and pepper to taste
Notes
The beans and lentils can be any combo you want. Also I say 6 hours but the soup can be ready between 4- 6 hours. It just depends on how you like your beans. Adjust times accordingly
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We started the remodel because Jason’s friend suggested it.  Not only suggested it, but had developed a plan.  Jason was all ears.  I heard about it second hand.  It sounded vague but promising.  So we headed to this warehouse in Greenpoint to get these colorful brackets that were the basis of this mini make over.  They were bright, but something about them and the ideas that were being talked about made sense.  We walked out with a bunch of them.  The plan was in motion. We stopped at a bar to discuss the rest of the plan as it existed at that time.  As things came together, salvaged wood shelving, the color scheme of the kitchen, things changed and evolved.  Next thing you know we are painting the ceiling terracotta/brick red and the inside of the pantry became canary yellow.

The apartment is in complete disarray.  So cooking is not easy, to say the least.  But the Lab must continue to experiment and make new food.  The latest is a mixed bean, lentil and bacon soup that could sit for hours as we continued to work on the shelving.  It’s a basic soup but with a few extras thrown in on purpose and also just for the fun of it.  We started with a bag of beans and lentils we found at our local Indian market.  You could easily replicate the of mix beans and lentils if you don’t have access to store like this.  From there it was what broth to use?  We chose a combo of beef and vegetable.  One, because it’s what we had available and two because given the chance I will always use broth over water.  For reasons that are obvious.  We also had an herb bag for soup that we found during our excavation of the pantry.  Also from the Indian store.  From there we added onion, bacon, celery, carrot and a red bell pepper. As the soup cooked and as I tasted it, it also changed. From seasoning, to consistency, to the acidity. I added half the juice and pulp of a lime.  I always have citrus around as it’s always good for such occasions.  It took the bite out the soup that I couldn’t help but wonder how it got there.  I thank my friend Regina for this trick.  She is a brilliant cook.

Four hours and a few layers of polyurethane later we were ready to eat.  The soup was amazing and though we aren’t nearly finished with the kitchen and the shelving, at least we finished another food journey that will be part of our cannon for years to come.  Now if we could just get the rest of the kitchen off the living room floor!

Lasagna

January 7, 2014 / / 2 Comments

Lasagna! Filling Onions, <a href=website like this celery and bay leaf” src=”https://houseofzeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/image-300×225.jpg” width=”300″ height=”225″ />

 

With winter setting in, ask we all want to hunker down and eat.  And what better way then with a big ole piece goodness called lasagna?!  Do you make it at Christmas or New Years, or whenever you want that giant casserole dish of baked noodles with sauce and cheese?  Do you add meat or vegetables?  Maybe you’re a white sauce kind of person?  For me, it all comes down to one thing, tomato sauce.  It screams lasagna.  All red and bubbly with veggies and Italian sausage, yum!

I usually start with one large and one medium can of whole tomatoes.  Giving them a medium rough chop so you have nice chunks of tomato.  Then I saute onions, garlic and whatever vegetables I want in my sauce, like celery and bell peppers, all seasoned with the herbs I’m using in the sauce.  I find it helps get things going.  If I am adding sausage, I cook the veggies in with the sausage, onions and garlic first then the rest.  Next I combine the tomatoes, veggies, meat and simmer for a few minutes then add some paste to thicken.  More herbs and simmer for as long as necessary.  I even slice zucchini to put in between the layers.

When it comes to cheese, fresh is best.  But we all know we can’t always get it or have the time to make it.  So do your best and it will be just fine.  I do stir up my ricotta if it comes store bought, makes it easier to spread or drop.  But my big discovery is to grate most or all of your mozzarella, which can be evenly distributed.  This will keep you from having that moment when you accidentally sliced it too thick and don’t have enough to cover the top.  Oops!  Been there done that! And who ever thought of cottage cheese as a substitute for ricotta should be shot.  Don’t do it ever! You are not doing yourself or your guests any favors.

Then there is the debate on the noodles.  Fully cook, don’t cook, cook partially.  What do you do?  Ive done all three.  I prefer to cook them al dente so they finish with the flavors of the sauce.  Also cook and extra one or two just in case one rips.  If not then have fun eating it while the lasagna cooks.

Once you have done all this, simply put it in the oven at 350 till golden bubbly, about 30-45 minutes and when done, let it stand for about 15 minutes and serve.   What could be more perfect and easy then that?

*if you think you need more sauce, always add another can of tomatoes, medium or large depending on how saucy you want your lasagna.  Or add another dollop of paste to thicken.*

Christmas Hot Sauce

December 17, 2013 / / 0 Comments

This year we decided to make hot sauces for Christmas.  To say it has been an experiment is a bit of an understatement.  You’d think easy, hospital right? We’ll not so easy. It’s sort of like a martini.  There may only be a couple ingredients, pilule but if they aren’t in the right proportions you’re screwed.  Or like us, visit this site running out of the kitchen, opening all your windows and gasping for air. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving! We practically drank a whole gallon of milk and consumed almost a whole bag of chips.  But we kept going and I think we came up with some compelling sauces.  Just don’t ask us to remake them! Of course we do have a couple that can be remade and here is one that is sure to please even the most sensitive pallet.

Chili's and hot sauce

 

2 Pasilla dried peppers

2 Ancho dried peppers

1 Chipotle dried pepper

1 garlic clove

1 cup of vinegar

salt and pepper

 

Soak peppers in  warm water till they are soft.   Pull off stems and discard.  Some of the inside guts will come with the stem, that’s fine.   Save chile water.  Put chiles in blender and add garlic, vinegar and a little salt and pepper.  Blend till mixed.  You can also use food processor.   If you want a chunky sauce then you are done.   If you want a thinner sauce, then use a sieve the get all the chunks out. If it is still too thick then add some of the chile water to get the consistency you want.

Traditions

December 14, 2013 / / 1 Comment
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Like most people I grew up with few traditions. Thanksgiving we were allowed to have Kahlua and milk with dinner, more about very grown up. Christmas Eve we opened one present. Easter was dyeing the eggs and the hunt on Easter Day. And and let’s not forget that all important school clothes shopping? A particular favorite of everyones! Not! But we are talking holidays, not torture. So now what do I do?

Well, for a long time the apartment I shared in LA was the house to go to. Not really for Christmas, that was a bar called The Spotlight. It started one year when we had gone to one too many Christmas parties and gatherings. We had had enough. So we stopped at our favorite dive bar and dove in. So far that a friend ran into the curtain that separates you from inside and outside and for some reason fell backwards losing her glasses. We, proceeded to fall off our bar stools laughing ourselves silly. We called this night Anti-Christmas. So for years we all got together after we had done our various Christmases and met for an evening of celebrating the end. We eventually moved this tradition to a better dive bar to be with a dear friend who would sufficiently pour us into a drunken stupor. But The Spotlight will always be where Anti-Christmas started.

My favorite tradition that we started was New Year’s Day pajama jam. Me and my roommate would get up, usually hung over from our friend Mary’s NYE party the night before. Open a bottle of champagne and start cooking. We did brunch, lunch and dinner. It was non stop food and drinks. What’s not to love?! One year we had a few stragglers who tried to get out of it but it was mandatory if you were invited. Not only did we eat and drink there were board games and video games usually with one of the worst movies or t.v. series we could find. And we found some doozies! Anybody remember Pink Lady and Jeff? I thought not. Do yourself a favor or not and check it out. It is something to see. But remember, I warned you!

Moving to NYC I wondered if I would continue or start new ones. Thankfully my friends here have taken up the pajama jam, but on Christmas, not New Years. So every year I get to lounge around in my pajamas for most of the day. And what is starting out to be another tradition is to end up at another friends for dinner and ukulele singalong. Gone are the days of Kahlua and milk and Easter egg hunting, but I still open up one present every Christmas Eve and I get to have my pajama jam. Now where did I put the pajamas?

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