Baked Pie Crust

This recipe is easy and delicious. You'll never buy a pre-made pie crust again once you try this one. It's my mom's recipe and I'm proud to say, it rocks.

9" One Crust Pie
1 c. flour
1/3 c plus 1 tbsp. Parkay soft margarine*
½ tsp. salt
2 – 3 tbsp cold water

Combine flour and salt. Cut in margarine with fork until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add cold water 1 tbsp. at a time until mixture clings together. Roll out pastry on wax paper and fit into pie tin. Prick bottom and sides with fork. Bake at 475 for 8 – 10 minutes. Let cool before adding filling.

*(I admit, contrary to my mother's advice I have used generic brands here and the results seem to be okay so far.)

The Happiest Pie in the World

Is there anything happier than lemon meringue pie? The fresh lemony smell, the warm, smooth texture and the sunniest color in the world make it hard to not eat the filling before you top the pie and bake it! I'd never made lemon meringue pie before, and I'll admit I was a little worried about the prospect. It seemed daunting somehow. Turns out I was totally wrong. It was straightforward and FUN to make. (And eat.) My only advice? Don't overbeat the egg whites like I did, so that you'll end up with a beautiful, curlicue top instead of a fluffy mess. Oh and take note that you only need 4 eggs total. So save the egg whites when you crack the eggs the 1st time around. I accidentally used 8. Oops! Oh well, time for you to try it on your own now- remember the picture doesn't do it justice. Enjoy!

Mama Joopsie's Lemon Meringue Pie

1 ½ c. sugar

1 ½ c.water

½ tsp salt

½ c. cornstarch

1/3 c water

Combine sugar, 1 ½ c water, and salt in saucepan; heat to boiling. Mix cornstarch and 1/3 c water to make smooth paste; add to boiling mixture gradually, stirring constantly. Cook until think and clear, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

½ c lemon juice

3 tbsp butter

1 tsp grated lemon peel

Combine egg yolks and lemon juice. Stir into above thickened mixture. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles again. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and lemon peel. Cool until lukewarm.

4 egg whites

¼ tsp salt

½ c sugar

Add salt to egg whites; beat until frothy in mixer at high speed. Gradually add ½ c sugar, beating until glossy stiff peaks are formed. Stir 2 rounded tbsp of meringue into lukewarm filling.

Pour filling into cool pie shell. Pile meringue on top and spread lightly over filling, spreading evenly to edge of crust.

Bake at 325 about 15 minutes , or until lightly browned. Cool at least 1 hour before cutting.

An update:
I recently made this pie again and it turned out much more beautifully than the last time:

Cucumber Sunomono

Courtesy of Dean's Mom and Obaasan Watanabe

This makes enough for 2 people, but it can easily be doubled, tripled, etc. If you're really a pro you don't measure anything, you just taste it. Don't worry- I'm not there yet either!

2 cucumbers, peeled (if you want/care) halved, cored and sliced.
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vinegar (I use apple cider but Obaasan insists that all vinegar is the same)
salt

Prepare cucumbers. Sprinkle with salt (not too much here people). Leave alone for about 15 minutes. Combine sugar and vinegar until completely mixed. Drain cucumbers and squeeze out water. Combine with vinegar mixture and serve.

Okay so that's the official recipe, but the gaijin girl is here to tell you that I've completely skipped the salt step (and the draining cucumbers etc.) and I've also added the vinegar and sugar directly to the cukes without mixing first and there have been little to no discernible differences- so for a weeknight dinner, save yourself the time and throw it all together. Just don't tell Obaasan or Julie I said so.

Thai Chicken Satay

So, we've been trying a lot of new recipes around here lately. Many of them have been "quick" week-night type recipes (or at least they've been advertised as such) but we've had mixed results. No dinners that were gross, but only a few that were truly memorable. I don't know about you, but no matter how easy or quick it is, I don't like eating meals that are just "okay." (So I'm a bit of a food elitist- is that such a crime?) Why put any effort in for only mediocre results? Luckily for all of the non-existent people who read this blog, I've sorted out the weak recipes from the culinary gems! And this one here is a gem my friends. It meets on all counts. It's relatively quick (okay the chopping does take some time, but that can easily be done the night before) and exceptionally yummy. This meal can be used during the week, but is fun/impressive enough to use when company comes for dinner-something I feel makes this recipe unique. Not too many dishes can fit both bills but this one does and does so without disappointing. But enough intro- try it for yourself and see what you think!

This recipe came from Williams Sonoma's Food Made Fast series, in the Weeknight cookbook. You can buy this cookbook here if you're interested. The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients
2 large limes
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon minced ginger (fresh is best)
3 cloves minced garlic
3 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 1/2lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or tenderloins

Directions

Marinate the Chicken
1) Soak bamboo skewers in cold water until ready to use.
2) Grate 1 teaspoon zest from lines and squeeze 1/4 cup juice. Whisk together lime zest and juice, vinegar, and peanut butter until smooth. Stir in the cilantro, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil. Reserve 1/2 cup of this mixture to use as dipping sauce. Use the rest to marinate the chicken.
3) Marinate the chicken for 10 minutes at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to two hours. (I bet you could actually marinate it overnight to save time)

Cook the Chicken
4) Preheat the broiler. (You could grill this too, we just happened to broil ours)
5) Remove chicken from marinade and skewer the chicken
6) Brush the chicken with extra marinade before putting in the oven, then discard marinade
7) Place skewers on cookie sheet and place under the broiler
8) Cook, turning once until seared on the outside and opaque throughout. The recipe says this took 6 minutes, but it took us more like 12....my only guess is because our rack was very low in the oven. Just watch the chicken and cook it until done but not rubbery.
9) Serve with Jasmine Rice and Cucumber Sunomono

Red Potato, Green Bean, and Cherry Tomato Salad

YUM! This is my new favorite salad. It is easy to make, delicious, and very Summery. Okay I do realize that it's only January but it has been so nice out lately that I feel like Summer or at least Spring has come early. Ahh, the delights of living in Arizona. But I digress...Back to this salad. It's crunchy, fresh and the colors look beautiful together. It goes well with practically anything you can grill and comes together very quickly, so it's easy even for a quick weeknight dinner. Try it once and I'm confident that you'll like it as much as I do! You can find the original recipe here.
In my version I quartered the potatoes so that they'd be easier to eat, added a bit more mustard than was called for, noticed that you need a little less olive oil, and my best idea was to add a smallish bag of cherry tomatoes carefully sliced in half. In my humble opinion the tomatoes make the salad. They taste great, don't get me wrong, but I think the color is what really makes the salad pop! See for yourself...happy cooking!

Hmm...as I was eating leftovers, I had a sudden inspiration for this recipe. Maybe too much though...I'll have to try it in a scant amount and report back. The proposed addition? Bacon. Oh yeah. :)

2010!

Happy New Year! As is customary in January, I'm resolving to eat healthier and work out more this year. Eating healthy is the easy part- I like food. It's the exercising that'll take some work! Maybe these, easy yummy recipes will inspire you too!

5 Ingredient Chicken Recipes

Quick and Easy Vegetarian Recipes (We're trying to eat meat free once a week)

Go here for some good tips on how to stock your pantry- since sometimes eating healthfully is more about forming good habits than obsessing over any one meal.

Enjoy these tips for now- I'll hopefully be back soon with some new recipes and updates. I've been inspired my good friend Rachel's Fashion Blog, so it's possible I might actually get serious about this cooking one after all. Until next time!

Pumpkin Bars

Before I post this recipe, I want to give full credit to Dr. Deborah Dean, a professor of mine from BYU who first introduced me to these delightful treats! I hope she won't mind my re-posting the recipe here. I just made these again the other day, and think that they are a wonderful fall dessert.

4 eggs
1 16oz. can pumpkin
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda

Mix ingredients thoroughly. Pour batter onto large, greased cookie sheet (similar to a jelly-roll pan). Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. When cooled, frost with the following cream cheese frosting. (We make ours with Tofutti cream cheese, and no one has ever been able to tell the difference, a fact I'm fairly proud of!)

1 package cream cheese
6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-5 cups powdered sugar depending on your sweetness preference. (we use 3-4)
2-3 tablespoons milk (if needed to thin the frosting to spreadable consistency. We don't usually need it, but the Tofutti cream cheese may not be as stiff as the real stuff...)