I have a courtyard.

I have a courtyard. And it sits. And waits. But no one ever goes near it except for the occasional watering of plants. I have just recently discovered the beauty and potential of this little space. Swept clean of cobwebs and dirt that has formed a dust-like layer upon the tile, it begins to remind me of a little outdoor restaurant in Italy somewhere. My sister and I vigorously scrub the tile with water along with the metal chairs and table with spiral finishes and satisfied that it looked worlds cleaner, began to string rows of Christmas lights from one wall to the other, hanging paper lanterns every-so-often, and twisting the final stretch of light around a Japanese maple tree in the corner.

The little space comes to life when we throw a navy-blue and white table cloth in a fantastic design over the table, decorating every inch of the space with tea lights in amber-colored glass and larger creme-colored candles in magnificent glass-blown vases.

With this set-up there was no way we were going to pass up the opportunity to create a mini tapas restaurant in our own backyard. Inviting over one of my mother's closest friends, my sister and I hurriedly created a shopping list for the night ahead. And the kitchen was a mess by the time it was over. While "tapas" are supposed to be Spanish, we created tapas from around the world including baked brie with caramelized onions, lemongrass chicken skewers with a peanut satay sauce, hand rolled California rolls with (yay!) successful sushi rice, grilled slices of polenta with ratatouille and Parmesan, Peach Melba in a caramel with homemade raspberry sauce, and our recipe for today: marinated bell pepper salad. Not only was this my favorite dish of the bunch that we made, but it captured the original spirit of Italy that the courtyard seems to encompass. It is a magnificent, surprisingly to-die-for salad that is also unbelievably easy. And unlike other salads, it can be made way in advance.

Marinated Bell Pepper Salad
(makes 4 servings, from the Culinary Institute of America)

you will need:
Dressing:
-1/4 cup red wine vinegar
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
You can omit the red wine vinegar if you have a really good quality balsamic laying around. The red wine vinegar will overpower the subtle sweetness of a really good one. 
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
-1 1/2 Tablespoons of fresh herbs (optional, of your choice)

-1 1/2 cups mild olive oil
-1/2 cup very thinly sliced red onions
-1/4 cup black olives cut into strips (pitted, of course)
-1/4 of a bunch of cilantro, chopped
-1/2 jalapeno, minced
-1 clove garlic, crushed or minced

Salad:
-3 bell peppers (one of each color, you decide which three. I used red, yellow, and green)
-toasted pine nuts (you can toast them yourself)
-Parmesan cheese (preferably in large strips which can be bought pre-grated or you can do yourself)


1. Cut the bell peppers into 1/2 inch strips

2. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together, pour over the bell peppers, and toss till evenly coated. (There will be an excess of liquid in the bowl.) Try and get as many peppers beneath the surface of the liquid as possible without smashing them, cover with plastic wrap and let marinate at room temperature for 30-45 min or refrigerate until needed but let it come to room temperature again before serving.

3. Toss in the pine nuts, and grate fresh parmasean over the top and serve! Wasn't that easy? Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

-Kristin

Rainy Day Oyakodon

Although it's a very dreary day, the cold weather inspires me to make a warm cozy dish for lunch. With my last class of the day canceled, my weekend begins early with this wonderful, homey, Japanese dish. Last summer I traveled to Japan with a jazz band and choir and stayed in two different Japanese homes where I lived in their shoes for a few days, eating the food, sleeping on cots, spending afternoons trying to communicate to each other about our lives. It was an experience of a lifetime, one-of-a-kind state of being. You learn that it doesn't matter what language you speak or what background you have, there is always something to talk about, and always something to eat.

When you think of Japanese food here in America, usually the food that comes to most people's minds is sushi and teriyaki. However, Japan is rich in delicious food: different flavored broths with of ramen-noodles filled with shitake mushrooms and deliciously cooked meats, cooked root vegetables from the mountains full of nutrients, wonderfully soft breads filled with melon flavored cream, cold soba (buckwheat noodles) for a hot day with fresh green onions in soba sauce, large cabbage pancakes with bacon and shrimp topped with a special sauce and one-of-a-kind Japanese mayonnaise, panko-breaded pork and pickled ginger, cute bento boxes filled with various treats like potato salads, and rice balls filled and wrapped in nori (a kind of dried seaweed). And of course with everything (including breakfast) is the most decadent white rice most likely grown in the backyard and a steaming bowl of miso soup. Oh, and the sushi in Japan is amazing.

Although I had an endless list of delicious food in Japan, I didn't actually try today's recipe until a Japanese friend from school cooked it up for lunch one day. Cooked in a savory-sweet broth with onions, chicken, and egg and served over hot rice, this is sure to lift your spirits and leave you completely full and satisfied.

A Note about chicken in college: Since it's not always easy to plan ahead when buying food, especially in school when all you're thinking about is the next class, I buy big bags of pre-frozen chicken. This can sound pretty sketchy, but I buy mine from Trader Joe's, a store a trust completely to do things the healthy, right way. They claim that they freeze it right away as to make sure it's good to eat when you throw it in your oven. It saves me a ton of money and brain power. So I can have chicken when I want without worrying about buying chicken and using it when it's fresh. It's not the ultimate, of course, but it is a real helper.

Also, if you don't like to buy chicken broth in a can/box and worry about it going bad, Trader Joe's carries a chicken broth flavor concentrate which comes in a box of small packets. 1 packet=1 cup hot water. Again, not ideal, but it does the job and is a load off my mind.

As far as the other ingredients in this recipe, they are basic, use-over-time ingredients which I use in many recipes and love to have around including yellow onions (you can buy in big bags from TJ's) and soy sauce.

This recipe serves about 2-3 people.


Oyakodon
(adapted from Setsuko Yoshizuka from About.com)
  
You will need:
-1 cup of white rice and 2 cups of water (rice cooker/stove top)
-2 chicken breasts (either frozen or raw or left-over)
-1 yellow onion
-1 2/3 cups of chicken broth
-7 Tablespoon of soy sauce
-3 Tablespoon of sugar
-4 eggs

1. Cook your rice with the water either in a rice-cooker or on the stove, covered in a saucepan. (Bring to a boil and then reduce to low heat and continue cooking for 10-15 min.)

2. If your chicken breasts are frozen... Bake in the oven at 400 degrees from 20 min. until almost thoroughly cooked.
If your chicken breasts are raw... Bake in oven for 350 degrees for 30 min. or until almost thoroughly cooked.
If your chicken breasts are left over: go to next step.

3. Cut your chicken into bite size pieces, set aside. Slice onion in half and then into thin strips, set aside. Crack your eggs into a bowl and mix them slightly, until yolks are broken and partially mixed in (do not whisk thoroughly), set aside.

4. Add chicken broth, soy sauce, and sugar in a medium sized frying pan or small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and continue to simmer for a few minutes. Add onion and cook for a few more minutes.

5. Now, bring to a boil. Pour your eggs over the chicken and onion, cover with a lid, reduce to a medium-low heat and cook until your desired egg consistency. (I like mine almost completely cooked through, but you can have some yolk running in there-cook to your liking!)

6. Serve over hot rice in bowls and perhaps with some yummy bok choy and miso soup! Enjoy!!!


I hope you love this very easy and delicious dish! It'll make you feel like everything is right in the world. :D

Good Luck and Happy Cooking!

-Kristin