Refrigerator Pickles

I have been playing around with pickles lately...  **How do you continue writing after a statement like that?** 

Basically, I have been making pickles because they are delicious.  Last time I bought some pickles they were a lot sweeter than I wanted them to be.  The time before that there was too much garlic.  Getting annoyed that I didn't like the pickles I was getting I decided to make my own.  Looking at a simple recipe I threw something together that I like and hopefully you will too.

Pickled Cucumbers

Ingredients

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar, to taste preference
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 5 mini cucumbers, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• Dill, green peppers, garlic, etc. to taste

Instructions

1. Place sliced cucumbers, onions, garlic, green peppers (or any combination thereof) in a jar.
2. Combine sugar, vinegar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil making sure to fully dissolve the sugar.  Pour over the sliced vegetables.  Add fresh dill to taste, if desired.  Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  Store in the refrigerator.

Before any of you go off on me - yes, I know that this isn't the best way to make pickles.  This is a way that I use when I want to make them quickly.  Last minute sort of deal.  There are probably better ways to pickle, but try this.  You may like it.  If not...no harm, no foul.

As always, until next time....
Happy Snacking!

Luke

Oprah's Favorite Grilled Cheese

All I can say about this simple sandwich is, "HOLY F***!"  Why did my mother never make this for me when I was growing up?  (I still love you mom, don't you worry about this.  However, you HAVE TO make this for the grandkids.)

The inspiration for this came from work last night.  I work graveyard shift at a resort in Las Vegas and the Employee Dining Room is very underwhelming from 10pm - 5am (here forth shall be called the Dreaded Hours) when they start to serve breakfast.  During the Dreaded hours the food provided is straight from the buffet after they close.  So, we get fed leftover, rejected food from a buffet that isn't known for being good.  It isn't even known that we have a buffet, it is that good....

Anyway, for an hour or so we are lucky enough to have a chef making personal orders just shy of the Dreaded Hours.  It's all free and they can make eggs to order, burgers, chicken breast, quesadillas, sandwiches or wraps and they are not too bad.  Last night I was lucky to catch my favorite chef just before he closed down the grill and left us to suffer fight over the buffet food.  Not being too hungry I just wanted something that wouldn't take long to cook, so I asked for a grilled cheese sandwich.

There was definitely nothing special about this grilled cheese.  It was typical American on wheat and he even threw on a few fries (that went unconsumed), but he takes pride in his work so I smiled, thanked him and sat down for my quick bite.  The first bite happened and I noticed that the cheese wasn't even melted.  He had managed to toast the outside of the bread on the griddle, but the cheese was still as cold as it was when he took it from the prep line.  I took a few more bites and then decided that this was probably for the best as I wasn't all that hungry to begin with.

That brings me to today...  With the heat being in the low 100's I often don't have an appetite, but I know I must consume something.  I wanted to make something quick while I was working on another recipe and decided a grilled cheese would be great because I have everything for it and need to use the ingredients.  Also, I have a basil plant that is struggling to survive in this desert heat so I knew I wanted to use that.  Heading over to Google I typed in "grilled cheese basil" into the search bar and after a few web pages ironically enough ended up at ohsweetbasil.com.  What caught my attention was a recipe for Oprah's Favorite Grilled Cheese.  Now I'm not one to typically follow what Oprah likes, but it was so simple that I had to try it - and you should too.


The Recipe

Oprah's Favorite Grilled Cheese

Five simple ingredients to Oprah's Favorite Grilled Cheese (honey not pictured)

Ingredients

• 2 slices of good quality wheat bread
• 2 slices of Havarti cheese
• 2-4 slices vine ripe tomato
• honey
• fresh basil, 2-3 leaves chiffonade

One side of the sandwich prepped and ready to cook

Instructions

1. Spread a thin layer of honey on each slide of bread.  Top with cheese, tomato, basil and another slice of cheese.
2. You can butter the bread or use a little olive oil in the pan.
3. Grill on a skillet or pan over low-medium heat, or very low flame for gas stove users, until golden brown on both sides.  
4. Remove from heat and enjoy.  You can thank me later.

Oprah's Favorite Grilled Cheese (and soon to be yours too)

For this recipe I made sure to buy some decent Havarti and slice it myself at home.  Also, I prefer to cook the sandwich open faced where both buttered sides of the sandwich cook at the same time.  Each one has cheese on it, a slice of tomato and fresh basil.  I chose to add the honey just before I put the two cook sides together, but this doesn't affect the taste.  For me it is just to make less mess in my pans during cooking.  

Either way, this is an amazing and simple grilled cheese that must be tried by all.  If you can get ingredients from your local farmers market you will enjoy this even more!  Oprah made a good choice with this and I hope you do yourself a favor and take full advantage of this combination.  You will forget all about your nasty American "Cheese" sandwich you grew up with and hopefully never turn back. 

Until next time,

Happy Snacking!

Luke

Crockpot Fig Apple Butter

The other day I polled my Facebook friends about what kind of things they would like to see from a food blog like mine.  As it has been two years since my last post I figured revamping it would be necessary.  The responses I got were that some just wanted straight up recipes, some wanted restaurant and food reviews and one very excited friend just screamed, "CROCKPOT RECIPES!"

I love crockpots.  They are time savers, easy to use and easier to clean.  It's the best way to make food when you are having a lazy day.  Also, it will fill your home with the scent of awesomeness.  And the best part is that there is no end to the number of recipes you can find for the crock pot.  For me, the first one that came to mind was a Fig Apple Butter that I made a month ago.  

That day I wanted a pizza, but didn't want a typical pizza and was feeling adventurous with toppings.  Looking into my fridge to see what I had to work with I started to cry when I realized that I had nothing.  It was my day off from work and I was exhausted. Going to the store isn't something that I wanted to do.  Then I noticed that I had some goat cheese near the back of my top shelf (don't worry, it wasn't THAT old).  Having some apples for an apple butter that I wanted to make I began to look up other recipes that might go with the goat cheese when I came across PaleOMG.com and their Crockpot Fig Apple Butter.  Having all of the items I threw it into the crockpot and went about my day (which then turned into running to the store for pizza dough and prosciutto) and then taking a nap because I had actually RAN to the store.   The rest was up to the crockpot.  So, as to fulfill my friend's wish (and to stop my mother from directing people to other blogs) here is my first recipe for the crockpot.  ENJOY!!

Fig Apple Butter Pizza with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto

Crockpot Fig Apple Butter - Recipe found at PaleOMG.com

Ingredients

• 20 dried black figs, stems removed, cut in half
• 6 apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1/2 cup honey (or other sweetener such as maple syrup)
• 3 TBS cinnamon (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in the slow cooker.  Mix well.
2. Put the slow cooker at low and cook for 6-8 hours until apples are completely soft and almost mushy.
3. Place ingredients in food processor and puree until smooth.  You may have to do this in a few batches.
4. Store in refrigerator in a glass jar.

This stuff is seriously amazing on almost everything and has a hearty cinnamon flavor to it.  Keep in mind that this recipe can be tailored to your palate especially where the cinnamon comes it.  Some people will love it as it is and some of you will probably want a little less cinnamon in it.  That is okay.  Recipes are meant to be like maps - they only offer suggestions, nothing is definite and the possibilities are endless.  So, eat your heart out Julia Child.

Until next time...

Happy Snacking!!

Luke

Lilly's Thai and Vietnamese Restaurant Review

Lilly's Thai and Vietnamese Restaurant

Last night a few friends and I went to Super Summer Theatre's production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.  It's an outdoor theatre set within Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.  Tickets are a reasonable price and all you have to do is bring yourself, a blanket to sit on and maybe some food and beverage to enhance your experience that much more.

Being the classy people that my we are, my friends and I grabbed a 12 pack of Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, picked up a pizza from CostCo and headed out to the ranch for an evening of fun.  Though I don't drink much at all, I began to have the biggest craving for Thai food as the night drew on.  It was sudden and out of place, but then again my partner and I have been getting our fair share of Thai food as of late.  My latest addiction: Pad See Ew.

Being that I live on the west side of Las Vegas I decided that I need to start trying new places in my area.  Just across from my favorite falafel house in Las Vegas I have noticed a few restaurants come and go, but nothing really stays.  Could it be bad location or just bad food?  I don't know, but what I did notice on my way past the area this morning is that there was a Thai restaurant that I have never been to.  And where there is a Thai café, there is Pad See Ew.

I decided to stop in at Lilly's Thai and Vietnamese Restaurant on West Sahara to give it a go.  My first impressions where mostly faded by the fact that I just wanted this noodle dish...NOW!  I placed my order for beef Pad See Ew (there is a $1 up charge for beef) and sat down to wait for my dish.  As I had a few things to get done this morning, I ordered it to go but the wait staff still poured me a glass of water as I waited which was quite unexpected but very welcomed.

Sitting down I began to take in my surroundings, and to be quite frank, there wasn't much to take in.  The tables were very plain and each one had a large sticker on it's edge to indicate the table number.  The front desk was made up of what looked like an ill fitted computer desk set to the side of another desk that could have easily been left behind by the previous tenants of this rental space.  The decorations were few, but I just kept reminding myself that I am here for the food and not the atmosphere.  Besides, I was taking my food to go.  What did I care?

My order only took about 5 minutes to make and when it was ready the host bagged it up, walked it over to me and politely thanked me and invited me back.  For me, the drive home is usually the worst part about take out as the smell of the food taunts me until I have reached my destination.  However, in this instance I got nothing.  It wasn't until I opened the bag fully and opened the To-Go box that I got a whiff of what was to come, and what I got was a short scent of the dish and then...nothing.  I enjoy food that lingers in the air and taunts everyone around that's eating something else to the point of jealousy and begging for a bite.

Upon further inspection of the opened box I noticed the beef.  It had been cooked to an eerie gray to it that made it seem like low quality factory meat that was cut into a uniform thickness.  Looking past that I was excited to see a spring roll that came with this lunch special as it meant that I would enjoy at least one thing.  How can you mess up a spring roll, am I right?

I began to plate my lunch, but was quickly losing my appetite (it's hot here and I don't have a big appetite during the hot Vegas summer's to begin with).  I took my first apprehensive bite and was underwhelmed.  There was so much anticipation that was leading up to this moment that perhaps I was the reason that it wasn't appealing to me.  I took another bite and again wasn't excited, but the food was forgettable.  After my fifth bite I decided to just take the spring roll and enjoy the little bit that I could.

After my meal I looked up Lilly's on Yelp to see if it was just me, but they have gotten some mixed reviews.  The photos make the food look amazing, but good photos don't make up for a lack of flavor which seems to be a common complaint.  Though I didn't get a Thai tea or dessert like I would have wanted to give this place an overall review, I can't say that I will never be back.  

Overall, this dish was not good.  It had little to no flavor, the protein was gray, but the egg roll and dipping sauce were not half bad.  The desserts look delicious and the wait staff is very attentive, but as far as this dish goes there are far too many other Thai restaurants around Las Vegas that make a better Pad See Ew to go to.  I will probably come back to get the curry, Thai tea and coconut ice cream as recommended by others on Yelp.

Thanks for checking out my first review and be sure to come back as I make this dish at home later this week.

Until next time....

Happy Snacking!

Luke

Update

It's been two years, I have moved to a new city and have had a lot of changes, but am happy to say that I'm rekindling this blog. Expect some new and awesome recipes to come.

If you were following my blog originally you will know that it focused on vegetarian/vegan food at affordable prices.  With the relaunch of the blog I will now be focusing on all foods as well as offer restaurant reviews from local eateries in and around Las Vegas. 

If you would like to see anything specifically on this blog let me know by contacting me and I will do my best to accommodate all requests. 

Glad to see you all again! 

                             

Until next post....

Luke