Cry Baby Cabbage >_< !

Hey party people!  This week my taste buds were craving something spicy. You know, the kind of spicy that makes your eyes water! I also had a craving for cabbage which I haven't had since last year. So why not a spicy cabbage recipe? Originally, I wanted to make this dish with green chile-tomatoes instead of unsalted tomatoes. However, in the interest of not getting heartburn or high blood pressure, I decided to cut out the extra sodium. If this recipe isn't quite spicy enough for you, I would suggest upping the amount of sambal oelek or adding a pepper that's hotter than jalapenos. 

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 large head of cabbage, diced

1 can diced unsalted tomatoes

1/4 cup of pickled jalapenos, diced (only use fresh if you can handle it!)

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon pepper

1 tablespoon of sabal oelek (or 1 tablespoon of sriracha)

salt to taste (you shouldn't need much)

First, set stove top burner to medium heat. Pour the olive oil into the pan and allow it to heat up. Dice your cabbage into small strips and add to the pan. Try not to burn yourself! Incorporate the tomatoes and stir until coated in the oil. 

Dice your jalapenos (or pepper of choice) and add them to the tomato-cabbage mixture along with the garlic and lemon pepper. Once the cabbage has been cooking for about 10 minutes, add the first tablespoon of sambal oelek and stir into the mixture. TASTE BEFORE ADDING MORE. If the mixture isn't spicy enough, add an additional 1/2 tablespoons of sambal oelek until it reaches your desired heat level.

 

And voila! A nice, tangy, spicy cabbage dish to satisfy your taste bud's sense of adventure. 

Thanks for reading and see you next time!

Blueberry-Ginger-Rum Muffins

Greetings good people! It's only 2 weeks into the fall semester and I'm burnt out =_=. You know that feeling: You go to sleep at 2am, not because you were studying, but because you were watching Breaking Bad. You think to yourself "yeah, I can finish those last 12 pages of class reading if I wake up at 7am. 5 hours of sleep is plenty." Wishful thinking. You wake up dead tired and can't focus enough to meditate on what Justice Scalia or some other guy is rambling about. You rush off to class unprepared, praying that you won't be called on. These muffins will give you a nice kick in the morning when you have that last minute reading to finish or a looming deadline. I'm not saying that you should abandon the coffee, but you should definitely be in a better mood in the mornings, ready to tackle homework, after eating these muffins:).

WHAT YOU NEED:

A. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

B. 3/4 cup white sugar

C. 1/2 teaspoon salt

D. 2 teaspoons baking powder

E. 1/3 cup vegetable oil

F. 1 egg

G. 1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

3 tablespoons of chopped ginger

1 teaspoon of white sugar or until sweet (for the ginger)

1 teaspoon of imitation rum

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine ingredients A through D. Place vegetable oil (E) into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg (F) and enough milk (G) to fill the cup. Mix this with the flour mixture. If the mixture seems too stiff/thick, add about 1-2 more teaspoons of milk. Mix your ginger with the 1 teaspoon of sugar or until sweet. Stir your ginger-sugar mixture, imitation rum, and vanilla extract into the batter. Fold in the blueberries with the mixture.  (200 degrees C). 

Grease muffin cups and fill about 3/4ths full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the oven, or until a knife comes out clean.

And VIOLA! Deliciously, spicy, rich, fruity, creamy, non-alcoholic muffins. If your muffins are a little too tart because of the blueberries, pat the top of the muffins with a damp paper towel and coat in sugar.

Enjoy the day and I'll see you next week!