Blizzard Dish #2: Steamed spinach in garlic aioli

I have done this before only now, more eficiently. Just buy the right amount of spinach for one meal for two. Cooking time is less than 10 minutes. It is the steaming that takes most part of the cooking.

1 bunch of fresh spinach
Minced garlic
Olive oil

Drizzle the steamed spinach with olive oil and minced garlic.
Serve with Deanna's heavenly mashed potatoes.

Blizzard Dish #3: String beans in butter and rock salt

My habib has confirmed that I am cooking up a storm for the storm.
If you have fresh string beans and cook them until they are crunchy, you will have instant heaven as a side dish. Here is my simple recipe:

String beans
Rock salt
Butter

Let the butter melt over the fresh-from-the-boiling-pot string beans.
They should be really bright green.
Then lightly drizzle with rock salt.
Fold the butter and the salt on the string beans.

Merry Christmas from Mark and Deanna

May your days be filled with hope and love.

Habib's Gift: The Recipe Manager

My modified recipes - for two, on a slow cooker, using my own ingredients - have littered our network and my desk for a while now that habib decided to give me The Recipe Manager. Well, that was 2 months ago and I finally had the opportunity (more time, than opportunity) to play with The Recipe Manager on Ssam Finley, my Mac.

It's a little cumbersome and not as friendly as an Apple interface but I am willing to learn, in order to be organized. See my Homey Homeboy Mayo Recipe, the first attempt to use The Recipe Manager.

Thank you, Mark!

Deanna's Homey Homeboy Mayo

A rainy and lousy Sunday forced me to do housekeeping chores and of course opening the Kitchen Lab for some culinary experiements. Here is my recipe for home-made mayo which I plan to combine with tuna, onions, red peppers on toasted challah bread an chicken vegetable soup for a warm and easy to prepare lunch when my habib comes home.

My Thanksgiving Prayer

Dear God,
May we all be as svelte as this Turkey Hunter.
Amen.

Deanna's Fennel Soup

Ingredients

2 Zucchini, peeled and sliced
2 vegetable boullion cubes
4 cups water
1 medium Fennel, trimmed and sliced
1 Tomatoe, chopped
1 medium Onion, chopped
a pinch of garlic

Trim fennel before cooking

Fennel can seem unwieldy to work with at first, especially if you buy it with the stalks intact. Once you cut off the stalks (slice them close to the bulb), you'll find you have a more manageable vegetable.

Next, peel the stringy fibers off the outer layer of the bulb with a peeler or sharp paring knife. Now you can cut the bulb into wedges and braise or roast it, or cut it into slices for sautéing or tossing with pasta.

1. Peel the outer layer to remove any tough strings. If it's bruised or seems very tough, remove it altogether
2. Remove the core for slices but leave it in for wedges -- the core will keep the individual layers together.

Instructions:
1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Xlow cook for about 4 hours on high.

A very healthy and easy to prepare dish. I added toasted onions and parmesan cheese before serving. As a variation, you can add quinoa or brown rice for a full meal.