Doin' the Furry Scurry: Chicken, Green Bean, and Mushroom Stir Fry

I can't believe I have gone down to one post a week.  I am truly ashamed of myself now.  I have tons of pictures and recipes to share.  But at the moment, life is in a lull.  And if you blog, you know each post requires three folds of creativity: good food, good pictures, and something to say.  

Before I share the fantastic recipe for this chicken, mushroom, and green bean stir fry, I thought I'd sum up the Furry Scurry (ya know, from a couple of weeks ago) in pictures.

Euma waiting by the front door - so excited to get going!

Soooooo many people scurrying the two miles.  About 10,000 people and 5,000 dogs showed up!

Some adorable bulldog with a tiny hat.  Next year Euma will have a costume of her very own.

Euma enjoying her peanut butter ice cream.

Euma's teammate, Riley, enjoying HER peanut butter ice cream.

A crazy lady participating in the pet-owner look alike contest.  If she really is channeling Cruella DeVille then I am very afraid for those puppies!

Spanky Bottoms and Riley - Happy Piddle Pack members

Merut (as in myself) trying to maintain composure while restraining a very hyper Euma.

Three hours of straight walking + 15,000 dogs and humans + 2 mile walk = no energy to get up and go outside to pee.

Euma would like to thank everyone who donated to her cause.  She can't wait to do it again!  In particular, she wants to give a shout-out to Babette at Babette Feasts.  Euma was tickled silly when she found that one of our blog readers chipped in!  Check out Babette's blog and tell her thanks for us!

Chicken, Green Bean, and Mushroom Stir Fry - found at I Wash . . . You Dry

1 lb chicken, sliced

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp ground ginger

8 oz + cremini mushrooms

2 cups fresh green beans

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1. Heat a pan over medium-high
2. Add evoo (or any oil) to prep the pan
3. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and any other spices you like
4. Saute chicken until cooked.  Add garlic about half-way through.
5. Add Mushrooms and green beans.  Saute.
6. Meanwhile, mix balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and ginger in a bowl.  Add to pan.  Mix well.
7. For a thicker sauce, add cornstarch

Really, this is just a regular ol' stir fry recipe.  Add more of what you like, less of what you don't like.  Season the sauce to give it extra kick, or leave it alone.  Stir fry is just about the easiest thing to make ever.  Serve over rice.

The Daring Cooks' Challenge: Gumbo

Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

You read that right.  May's Daring Cooks' Challenge was . . . gumbo.  There is just so much about this challenge that I was nervous about.  I'll just list them out:

1. Having never had gumbo before, I imagined a hodge-podge of animal parts.  Ick.
2. Speaking of body parts, luckily I had the option of choosing a non-seafood gumbo.  But this one still had sausage.  I can't explain it, but since I'm not confident which body parts are in sausage, I have a hard time eating it.
3. The sheer number of ingredients.  
4. The overall cost due to the sheer number of ingredients.
5. Okra and file powder - two ingredients I had never heard of before.
6. And the biggest concern - ONIONS.  And not just a small handful.  No, no, no.  Two whole onions.  I battled whether I could leave these out, but it sounded like a crucial part of the roux so I swallowed my disgust and threw them in.

There you have it.  And did any of my concerns prove unfounded?  No.  Not at all.  Up until the very end, I kept holding hope that gumbo would have an amazingly unique and addicting flavor.  I was sorely disappointed.

Then I encountered a shit-ton of actual obstacles.  I started making dinner at 4:30ish, having read that the time to make it was about 2 1/2 hours.  Here is how my gumbo experience panned out:

• I did all of the chopping first, because the recipe says that once you start making the roux, you won't have time to stop and chop.  It took me almost an hour to chop two peppers, two pieces of celery, garlic, two pounds of sausage, another seven ounces of andouille sausage, two onions, and to part a whole chicken
• I save the onion and chicken for last, knowing they were going to be painful.  After chopping two onions, my eyes stung sooooooooo bad.  Not pleasant.
• Parting a chicken - a delightful experience.  If you have never done this before, I highly recommend it.  Cutting through bone, having pieces of cartilage everywhere, and having ribs poking my fingers just warms my heart.
• The roux.  Roux is basically a oil-flour mixture that you have to stir over heat for a half hour nonstop.  I was stirring the roux, but the heat was too high, and it bubbled.  A tiny drop of hot oil would land on my hands.  Then my hand would react, abruptly pulling the whisk away causing more hot oil to fly everywhere.  Joy.  This happened twice, and then a third time when Euma barked at the cat, scaring the crap out of me.  My hand/arm is still recovering.
• At some point I managed to get all the ingredients together in the pot, only to find that it needed to spend an additional hour and a half simmering.  Needless to say, at 8 pm when it was finally ready, I was not in the mood to take pictures of it.

I was completely unimpressed.  Barely ate half a bowl. Wanting it out of my life, I stuck it in a crockpot and gave it to Gas Monkey to take to work.  He said it was a success.  I was just thrilled he wasn't bringing home leftovers.

Gumbo again?  Over my dead body.  Yes.  It was that bad.

Since this post is pretty darn long, if you are looking for the recipe I used, visit The Daring Kitchen HERE.

100th Blog Post Celebration

Yup.  I've finally reached that milestone.  100 posts.  Yay.  In celebration, I thought I would wow my parents (and Gas Monkey) with my amazing new culinary skills.  But of course, once I give myself high expectations I am bound to disappoint.

Hoping to pretend to be a lovely hostess, I bought a new table cloth and place mats.  I even set the table in a beautiful way.  Yes, those are brew mugs (with a logo) for water glasses.  Sometimes the real me shines through, despite my best efforts.

For the appetizer, I made a marinara dip.  I won't include a long, dry recipe here, because it is pretty darn easy.  You take marinara sauce and put it in an oven-safe dish.  In the middle of the marinara, place your favorite goat cheese.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until heated all the way through.  Serve with warmed pita bread.  It's like taking bread sticks to a whole new level.

The dinner part was a total disaster.  Originally I was going to make cheese ravioli with a pesto cream sauce and topped with a red pepper sauce.  Unfortunately, I haven't made pasta dough in a long time, and it came out too stringy.  So in a moment of poor judgement, I decided to make pesto lasagna.  The cream sauce was not green enough for my taste, so I added a shit-ton of green food coloring.  The result was something from a Dr. Seuss book.  Not only that, the casserole dish I used undercooked the bottom layer and overcooked the top layer.  Poopy.

For dessert, I served the Maple Mousse in bacon or walnut cups.  Gas Monkey and I were pleased, but I think my parents were disappointed (they went with the safe walnut cups.  No WOW factor in predictability).

So there it is!  I have shown that I am not nearly as skilled as I pretend to be.  You now know the truth!

The Daring Bakers' Challenge: Maple Mousse in Edible Containers

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blogCheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

Ok.  Show of hands- how many people are sick of looking at garbanzo beans?!  Wait - my hand isn't up.  Why is that?  Well, because I am lazy and a procrastinator, and so sometimes I take the lazy option of not posting.  

First of all - I am alive.

Second of all - I have been cooking.

Third of all - Not much has been happening.

Not much of a news flash.  Writer's block happens to everyone.  I haven't been much of a religious poster anyways, so taking a couple of unannounced weeks off shouldn't be too much of a shocker.  But I am glad to be back.

Now, the Daring Bakers' Challenge for April was a maple mousse in an edible cup.  Lacking in creativity, I just did the same edible cups the presenter used - a bacon cup and a walnut cup.  Personally, Gas Monkey and I thought the maple mousse in the bacon cup was phenomenal.  Finally, a successful challenge!  My parents on the other hand, cautiously eyed our happy faces while they protected their walnut cups.  What can I say?  They have no taste.

Letter from Euma - Last Ditch Call for Support

(Google translated from Dog-Speak to English)

Hi everyone,

Let me introduce myself in case we haven't met.  My name is Euma.  You know, that furry, stinkin', droolin', jumpin' thing Gas Monkey and Merut adopted a few months ago.  Don't tell Merut I hijacked her blog - she would tell me "NO!" and put me in my crate.  Well, I have exciting news.  I am walking the Furry Scurry this Saturday!  The Furry Scurry is the Denver Dumb Friends League's annual walk/fun-draiser where dogs and their pet humans can support the animal shelter's contributions to society.

Lately Merut has been dragging my tired bum out of my comfy bed early in the morning to train for the grueling two mile walk.  But I still have work to do.  I am also supposed to go from computer to computer selling tax write-off "candy" (i.e. it's a metaphor - we are asking for donations NOT selling literal candy.  Merut just calls donations "tax write-off candy" because it reminds her of using her good looks to sell chocolate bars as a little brat for the softball team.  I'm just saying donations are tax deductible.).  

Should you feel like supporting me, you can donate HERE. (Click the "donate" button under the picture of me on the right-side) Today is the last day to donate!!!!!

Should you not feel like supporting me (even though it is a tax write-off), that's fine and dandy.  We will be walking proud for Sheba, Mandy, Scout, Peggy, Max and Maya.

Love,

Euma

P.S. I'll make Merut take lots of pictures.  I'll even wear a bandana.

P.P.S. Here is another photo of me looking adorable in case you still needed convincing
P.P.P.S. I hear her coming - quick, donate before she punishes me for shameless soliciting!