girl bomb

The collaborative invention of this mixed drink is a simple result of both being thirsty following a 3 a.m. snack of a veggie cheese burger with rapini and mushrooms, and being frugal and not wanting to waste the horrible mix of Soho lychee liqueur and Ruby Red Absolut Vodka.

Coca-Cola was used to cut the alcohol and not make it feel like eating a fermented fruit basket. Then a few drops of Guyanese Pride pear essence were added to add a third fruit into the basket of flavour and to finally get use out of my pear extract. It contains both artificial and natural flavours.

Although the terms "flavoring" or "flavorant" in common language denote the combined chemical sensations of taste and smell, the same terms are usually used in the fragrance and flavors industry to refer to edible chemicals and extracts that alter the flavor of food and food products through the sense of smell. Due to the high cost or unavailability of natural flavor extracts, most commercial flavorants are nature-identical, which means that they are the chemical equivalent of natural flavors but chemically synthesized rather than being extracted from the source materials. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavor)

Then... "Do you have ice cubes?"

"Umm, I have frozen strawberries."


Two strawberries were added to the small glass, three to the large one, then a few pieces of Italian effervescence to each (for extra carbonation). It ended up being a rather tasty drink, although the alcohol and cola soaked semi-frozen strawberries at the end may have been the highlight for me. Since this recipe is basically a product of damage control, I doubt anyone else will ever make it, but if you do, play around with the proportions based on your desired alcohol-to-palatability ratio. Girl Bomb. Boom, boom.

okra with tomatoes, black beans and greens salad

Lazy and hungry: those are probably the main forces that guide my cooking. Today's outcome of laziness and hunger was a delicious okra and tomato dish served on a bed of pasta with a simple side salad. The okra dish was loosely based on "Okra with Tomato Sauce" by Diana Rattray.

I should add to the self-analysis of my cooking habits. It is 2008. Most mainstream music sucks. Current fashion trends are a mix of good and bad. Tuberculosis is back. Things could be better. However, we no longer have to obtain spices by going to Venice and trading gold and silk for them. Thinking about that era makes me want to read "the Taste of Conquest" by Michael Krondl but due to the aforementioned laziness, I'm thankful that I don't have to travel internationally just to add a few spices to my food. And most importantly, I'm glad that we have such a wealth of ingredients from diverse regions of the world at our disposal. I truly believe that it is a waste to not take advantage of this luxury.

Although the name "okra" is West African, I tend to think of it as an ingredient in Indian cooking, which is my favorite cuisine if I had to choose one, and soul food, which I think I have a soft spot for thanks to half of my family being from Kentucky. Although the original recipe I based this on was considered soul food, the tomatoes made me think of Italy, and I wanted to incorporate some sort of starch into the meal, so I decided to serve it on a bed of whole wheat spaghetti.

I began by cutting the ends off of 2 or 3 cups of okra and sautéing them in a generous amount of olive oil in a skillet for about 5 minutes, making sure to get one side of them nice and brown while keeping the rest fresh and a vibrant green. I removed the okra and sautéed about 1/4 of a large red onion, sliced lengthwise, then added a couple of cloves of minced garlic and 1/2 package of enoki mushrooms (or "enokitake"). I just happened to have them around, but I think their texture works really well with the "slimy" okra texture which, sadly, so many people seem to dislike. The cultivation of enoki mushrooms is interesting but reading about the wild ones makes me want to find ones growing on a persimmon tree and see how that affects the flavour! Not having lemon juice around, as requested my the inspiration recipe, I added a couple of splashes of sherry once the garlic and mushrooms had cooked for a few minutes. Whenever alcohol can be added to a dish, why not? Next I added about a cup of stewed tomatoes, torn into small pieces, with their accompanying tomato juice.

Then I sprinkled in some summer savory and garam masala. The garam masala was a bad idea! I think cumin on its own would have worked, but the cinnamon in the mixture really muddied up the flavour, which surprised me since small amounts of cinnamon are common in Italian tomato sauces. I was able to undo the damage by adding more summer savory, 1/4 cup of crushed tomatoes, and a few tablespoons of Turkish hot red pepper sauce (one of my favorite condiments).

To get some protein and greens into the meal, I made a salad simply with mesclun mix, black beans, balsamic vinaigrette, a drizzling of sesame oil and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

I would definitely make this meal again, staying away from garam masala. I would probably have a nice oaky wine with it too! Enjoy.

it begins

My friend Chrissy and I decided to start this food blog. However, as we began talking about it, we realized that we each had very different goals for the blog. I want to push my palate and expand my skills, while also infecting some recipe-searchers with a bit of my carefree take on dining.

Chrissy, on the other hand, mentioned that she would want to be listing nutritional information for her recipes. I have no doubt that Chrissy's good taste and culinary zest will shine through in her entries, but the thought of me measuring anything out – let alone calculate the nutritional data – made me realize that our entries will probably end up being quite separate from one another.

We – "No Recipe" Mike and "Know Recipe" Chrissy – welcome you to our kitchens.