Instant Teriyaki Chicken

The weather is still very humid. I can't wait for it to disperse. I'm starting to think that the weather is affecting my moods. I seem to have trouble keeping my head up and I'm just very annoyed. I'm upset at my friends. Maybe I just need new people. I am going to try to keep my head up but I just want this humidity to go away.

Book: Not on any book at the moment. Might read something in Spanish but not sure yet.

iTunes: Three Doors - Vast.

Pandora: Never Ever - Ciara. This song actually made me sad.

Quote: If you have God on your side, everything becomes clear. - Ayrton Senna. I hope God is on my side. I know he roots for me but right now things seem so hard. But I still have faith, I hope I haven't faltered in that.

Ingredients:

1. 2 Tbsp less-sodium soy sauce
2. 1 1/2 Tbsp honey
3. 1 Tbsp Tomato paste
4. 4 bone-in skinless chicken thighs
5. 1 tsp Sesame seeds, toasted (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat broiler to high. Stir soy sauce, honey, and tomato paste in medium bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat all surfaces.

• I think what I used to cook this was a broiler, not sure. Also I didn't use chicken thighs I used chicken breast. It still tasted good.
2. Place chicken in ovenproof pan under broiler. Cook about 10 minutes, or until well browned. Flip and brown second side until cooked through, about 4 minutes longer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using).

• Did not find Sesame seeds, but I didn't really search much for them. I added quinoa as a side dish. It was missing something. My mother said that the next time I make quinoa to add some salt and olive oil to give it more flavor or taste. It really tasted bland. The chicken was good. I just hope that, that is what chicken teriyaki tastes like. Next time I'm in a Japanese restaurant I will order chicken teriyaki to see if it tasted similar to what I made.

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

It has been an egh weekend. Tired of all this rain, making everything muggy and wet. When will this humidity go away. I can't do my hair. Also this weather makes me a bit gloomy.

Book: Not reading anything at the moment. Might read two books, a spanish one and the next Anita Blake book in the series if I can find it in the library.

iTunes: Lupe Fiasco - Kick Push II.

Pandora: Incubus - Drive. Good song to hear when I'm feeling kind of down or worried. Can't let fear rule my life, I must be in control.

Quote: Calmness is the cradle of power. J.G. Holland. Must keep this in mind.

Ingredients:

1. 1 Cup all-purpose flour
2. 1 cup sugar
3. 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4. 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
5. 10 egg whites, at room temperature
6. 1 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
7. 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Serves: 12
Per Serving: 125 cal, 5g pro, 1g carb, 1g fiber, 1g fat, 0g sat fat, 47mg sodium

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift flour and 1/2 cup of the sugar into medium bowl. Stir in cocoa and cinnamon.

• So far so good here. No problems sifting.
2. Place egg whites in large bowl. Beat until foamy with electric mixer on medium speed. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar and vanilla extract. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time.


• This is when problems started. I don't have an electric mixer, so I had to use my hands and a spoon and I kept stirring and stirring until it looked right. Then I folded the mixture in and kept stirring until it was smooth and nice looking.
3. 3 Pour batter into 10" tube pan, spreading evenly and deflating large air pockets with knife. Bake 40 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool upside down 40 minutes before removing cake from pan.

• Everything is  still good. I put it in the pan, place it in the oven and wait for it to cook.
• Now is when everything goes wrong. I take it out, let it cool, and taste it. It tastes terrible. This is one recipe that I would say skip. I think what went wrong was the unsweetened cocoa powder. It tastes like nothing. Hence the cake came out tasting like nothing. It was just a waste of good ingredients.

Chicken Salad with Grapes

Sometimes I wonder if I would get in trouble for posting these recipe's. I get them from magazine's, books and other online stuff. I'm not making any money. Just hoping to learn to cook and share my thoughts on food and stuff.

This has been a hectic week. Lots of work and some fun times. Crazy fun times.

Book: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carol. I must say that it is not what I expected. I saw the Disney movie first and so the book version is good but somehow lacks. Crazy I know, for the book is always better but not so sure in this case.

iTunes: Cali=Gari - Tadaima. A Japanese song. The title means I'm home.

Pandora: Tiesto - Love Comes Again (feat. BT). I hope so Tiesto, I really do.

Quote: The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit. Moliere

Ingredients:

1. 2 Cooked chicken breast chopped
2. 1/2 cup chopped celery
3. 1/2 scallion, chopped
4. 2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
5. 1/2 cup halved seedless red grapes
6. 2 leaves romaine or red leaf lettuce.

Servings: 2
Per Serving: 227 cal, 28g pro, 10g carb, 1g fiber, 8g fat, 2g sat fat, 205 mg sodium

Directions:

1. Mix Chicken, celery, scallion, and mayonnaise in large bowl. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Gently fold in grapes.

• I had my mother cook the chicken for I was very, very tired and lazy. Once the chicken was cooked, I grabbed the celery, scallions, meat and mayonnaise and mixed everything together. I was a bit worried only because celery and scallions together don't sound appealing.
2. Divide chicken mixture between lettuce leaves, roll up and serve.

• I did not like the celery and scallion. Everything else was good but I'm not a huge fan of celery to begin with. Though my mother liked it. Veggies are just evil.

Next Time Chocolate Angel Food Cake. 

Cran-Almond Muffins

Don't feel as bubbly as yesterday but that's because I feel a bit lonely. However, it's a good day. I will have a fun night, hopefully. Things will fall into place. I believe it. Truly do.

Book: Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya.

iTunes: Talkin' to Myself (feat. Kobe) - Eminem.

Pandora: Anytime - Brian Mcknight. I wonder if I cross any one's mind.

Quote: The only way to have a friend is to be one. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup all-purpose flour
2. 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3. 3/4 cup + 2tsp Sugar
4. 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
5. 1/4 tsp salt
6. 1 large egg
7. 1/2 cup Milk
8. 4 Tbsp Butter, melted
9. 1 tsp Almond extract
10. 1 2/3 cups whole cranberries
11. 1 Tbsp butter, cut in 12 cubes
12. 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
13. 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Servings: 12
Per Serving: 169 cal, 3g pro, 27g carb, 2g fiber, 6g fat, 3.5g sat fat, 143mg sodium

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375F. Mix flours 3/4 cup of sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Whisk egg, milk, melted butter, and almond extract in small bowl. Fold into flour mixture. Stir in cranberries.

• No problems here. I used a whisking thing to mix and the type of sugar I used was Splenda. The recipe didn't specify which type to use but I decided to go for super healthy stuff. Also, it was hard to find cranberries where I live. Don't people eat fruits. I ended up using dried cranberries. It worked but I don't like cranberries to begin with.
2. Pour batter into muffin pan lined with 12 baking cups. Top each cup with butter cube. Sprinkle muffins with remaining sugar, cinnamon, and almonds (if using). Bake about 22 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.

• I don't think there was enough for 12 baking cups but I managed to spread it out.
• The sliced almonds tasted a bit stale. Not as awesome as regular almonds.
• This was a good breakfast. My parents ate it with coffee and I just pulled out the cranberries and enjoyed the rest of it.

Next time will be Chicken salad with grapes.

Chicken & Sweet Potato Stir-Fry

A good weekend, especially Saturday. Saturday's are turning out to be my favorite day of the week. Things seem to be getting better. I just wish I wouldn't be so lazy at times. I was supposed to update last Wednesday but I was feeling a little tired and out of it. I blame the humidity, which I hope leaves this week or something.

Book: Bless Me Ultima - Rudolfo Anaya. A great book and one I recommend for everyone.

iTunes: The Cranberries - Zombie.

Pandora: Wisin & Yandel - Rakata. A weird combination of music this morning but fun nonetheless.

Quote: Do as much as possible, and talk of yourself as little as possible. - Sallust. Interesting advice. I will focus on doing much.

Ingredients:

1. 1 Cup water
2. 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
3. 1 sweet potato (about 8 oz), peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
4. 4 tsp Canola oil
5. 12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 pieces.
6. 1 onion, chopped
7. 1 jalapeno Chile pepper, finely chopped
8. 1 red bell pepper, chopped
9. 1 clove garlic, minced
10. 1 tsp ground cumin
11. 1 cup frozen peas
12. 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
13. 1/4 tsp salt
14. 1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Servings: 4
Per Serving: 307 cal, 24g pro, 34g carb, 6g fiber, 8g fat, 1g sat fat, 264mg sodium

Directions

1. Bring water and quinoa to a boil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 12 minutes, or until liquid has been absorbed.


• This is the first time cooking and eating quinoa. I didn't even know such a thing existed. Also I was wondering if it would actually come out okay.
2. Place sweet potato in saucepan with enough cold water to cover by 2". Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until just tender. Drain.

• While the quinoa was cooking I took the sweet potato my mom peeled and cut to the saucepan and began cooking it until tender. After it was cooked with her help I drained the hot water.
3. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in large nonstick skillet or cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes, or until starting to brown. Transfer to bowl.

• No problems cooking the meat, though there was a moment when I was worried about burning myself.
4. Return pan to heat and add remaining oil. Stir in onion and jalapeno pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Add bell pepper, garlic, and cumin. Cook 2 minutes, or until vegetables start to soften. Stir in peas and reserved chicken and cook 2 minutes. Add quinoa and potato. Cook, stirring, until heated through. remove from heat and stir in cilantro, salt, and black pepper.

• Before I started the meal, I had chopped all the things that needed to be done. The onion made my eyes burn horribly. The Jalapeno left my hands tasting spicy and smelling of it. Other than that I cooked the meal as the directions said to do and I had no problem. I'm not a huge fan of jalapeno or onion and pepper. Other than that the quinoa was good along with the chicken and sweet potato. My parent's really enjoyed this meal.

Next posting will be on Cran-Almond Muffins.

Strawberry Smoothies

I had changed the background before I made this post. It was some green thing that my mother picked out. But I disliked it a lot and found that it was a bit difficult to read. I'm sticking with the orange. This shade is a bit darker but not that much. Something about the color orange seems right for now.

My cat seems to be better, lets hope that she stays that once the antibiotics finish. Nothing has happened this month. Other than the fact that lately I feel good. Not sure why but I hope the feeling lasts and that I am able to enjoy it.

Book: Finally finished The Stand by Stephen King. That book took forever and I don't know what I will read next.

iTunes: Kanye West - Can't Tell me Nothing

Pandora: If you could read my mind - Gordon Lightfoot

Quote: The greater the effort, the greater the glory. - Pierre Corneille

Ingredients:

1. 1 pkg (14oz) firm tofu, drained and cut into quarters
2. 3 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
3. 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla soy milk
4. 1/4 cup honey
5. 1 orange, juiced

Directions:

1. Place tofu, strawberries, soy milk, honey and orange juice in blender. Process until smooth. Divide among 6 glasses and serve.
• Tofu is kind of icky looking and feels strange. Also I find it strange that this recipe contains tofu in the first place. It tasted good, though not something I would have too much of.