Can’t say I didn’t anticipate the lack of activity but we will press on!
I’m done with exams for semester, so I had no excuse not to update. But I just finished exams like…two days ago, so I don’t actually have much material to work with. Unless you’re interested in anaesthesia? No? I thought so.
I’m easily distracted; my mind runs a million different directions. Most days, though, the million directions all converge on point: food. And, look, I know college sucks and exams require much studying and there’s no good takeout for miles around but it doesn’t excuse poor eating!
Then, again, poor eating to me just means eating unsatisfying food. McDonald’s can prove to be good eats. Or Subway. I mean, even if I consumed my day’s calories, protein, and micronutrients in healthy shakes, I’d still shake my head. Poor. Eating.
It’s just good to take a breather and eat nice food, you know.
But I did shelve projects that took more than an hour to cook. Unless using the slow cooker.
(I have to go on a tangent here. Slow cookers are my love. I know I love clay pots and slow cooking on the stove and everything but an electric slow cooker when I’m on exam brain? Magic. Can’t accidentally forget things and set the kitchen on fire! Also, melt in your mouth beef brisket. And you only need to pay for the brisket – which is always on sale in winter – and garlic and soy sauce and what-have-yous. I didn’t take pictures because I’m still a sucky blogger but I shall. One day.)
Also, I have warmed up to culinary cheats. I mean, I know it tastes better if I make it myself but…
On Meatballs
I dislike ready-made meatballs. (But, then again, I am risk averse and generally stay away from ready-made things.) So, why not just homemade? Well, homemade ones don’t take particularly long and aren’t particularly hard but they also involve more minced meat than I’m ready to commit to. This is especially true in the last week of exams because I know I’m going overseas and hate throwing out anything I know isn’t spoiled but will spoil.
So…sausages. Which are: relatively cheap, already come in pork-veal blends, portioned, flavoured (most times). Also, if you have extra, you just eat them for breakfast. (I didn’t realise how lazy I was until I started trying to cook everything in the microwave. Cleaning the pan isn’t that much work.)
And because I was worried the sausage-meatball whatever would fall apart and just be minced meat, I bought ready-made ones, too. My housemates don’t have too fine a palate, so I figured either way it would work.
The thing is, it was pretty darn good. I still prefer the stuff I make from scratch but…these were above par. And if I ate many sausages to begin with, I think I’d know what to expect regarding flavour profile, so I could make better adjustments.
And the sauce? Just tomatoes (which were getting so cheap!) and tomato puree, basil, garlic, butter, and seasoning. I actually like slow cooking my tomato sauce (because I like hovering around the kitchen) but I was kinda like, screw it, dump tomato puree in for a deeper tomato flavour instead. It helped that the fresh tomatoes I used were lovely as well.
There isn’t a recipe because I banned myself from recipe stalking over the exams. Massive time suck.
On Quick and Delicious but Sloppy Cooking
This recipe doesn’t count because I’ve always had it in the back of my mind. So there. Plus, the writer wrote (and proved!) that he could make the gnocchi in less time than it took to cook dried pasta (which typically takes 11 minutes).
But I’m a slow worker and my workspace was tiny (tiny workspace = less cleaning).
And my house was stocked with angel hair pasta (which would have taken 2 minutes) and couscous. Neither of which would have proven the grand tagline: MAKES AND COOKS FASTER THAN IT TAKES FOR YOU TO COOK DRIED PASTA.
I’ve always wanted to use all caps.
I’ve linked the recipe which comes with this article. It’s way more comprehensive than anything I could’ve done, so I leave you in his capable hands regarding technique.
Also, the metric system. It is magic. Why isn’t it universal? It’s so much more intuitive than the Imperial measurement system. Side note: Why are US ounces and pints different from Imperial ounces and pints?
So, while I have linked the recipe for your further reading, I’m putting the recipe below because I will make it again and do not want to Google the measurements every time I make it.
I know. Lazy.
Ricotta Gnocchi (as seen here)
12 ounces (340 g) best quality ricotta cheese (Note: You’ll be pressing this later and really just need 225 g. I got away with buying 300 g. Guess there wasn’t much water to begin?)
1 ounce (28 g) finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
4 to 6 (113-170 g) ounces all-purpose flour (You start with 85 g though! Just in case you skip the instructions below. Which I totally do sometimes.)
1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Semolina flour, for dusting
1. Spread the ricotta cheese between triple layers of kitchen towel. Grab more kitchen towel and press the ricotta cheese. You’re essentially draining it.
2. Measure out 225 g of it and add the parmesan, 85 g of flour. egg yolk, and egg. Season with salt and pepper and knead with a spatula. I just kinda used my hand. It’s easier to wash my hand than utensils (failed logic was likely in operation here). After kneading for a minute you should have a “sticky but not loose mixture”. Add a tablespoon of flour if it’s too moist.
3. (I start the water boiling at this point. Don’t forget to salt the water!) Transfer to a floured surface. Flatten into a disc and cut into rough quarters. Work these into logs. Sprinkle flour if necessary. (Probably why you measured more flour to begin with).
4. Cut each log into gnocchi (they’re cute, fat pillows). Assuming you just want to cook with them now, dust them with semolina.
5. Throw gnocchi into boiling water. They’re ready when they float to the top and stay afloat for 30 seconds.
6. Drain. Keep some water for your sauce. Actually at this point. Do whatever you please regarding sauce. I know we have different preferences.
7. But despite our differences, I sorta kinda insist you throw more parmesan in there. And after you cook the gnocchi in whatever sauce you have in mind, serve immediately. Eat immediately. I mean, may as well, right? But…that’s probably why I didn’t take any photos of the finished product. I plate and immediately dig in. With my photo-taking skills, the gnocchi photoshoot would have taken 5 minutes. And that’s just too long.
Just Three Bites 