Soupy Soup

Hey, guess what? I got out of class early today so I have time to cook myself lunch before work. It’s a very simple dish, but hey, some people need simple meals for their fast-paced lives. For lunch today I will present you with a noodle soup.

Servings: 2

Noodle Soup

You’ll need:

2 oz pasta shells (just a shake of the box really, less than a quarter)

1 celery stalk

1 carrot

1 chicken bullion cube/powder packet

2 scallions

2 sprigs of cilantro

1 small potato

            1. Set water to boil, about half a pot and add your bullion cube.

2. Peel the skin off of the potato and carrot. You can cut then cut the potato in half so you have a nice flat surface; then dice said halves. Cut the celery, carrots, and scallions into small pieces.

3. When the water is boiling, dump all of your cut veggies into the pot and cover with a lid. Let simmer for about 15 minutes. Go relax somewhere while you wait.

4. When all is said and done, put the pasta in and leave your soup to cook without the lid for another 10 minutes. Also, add a little more water so the pasta is covered.

5. When it’s ready to serve, add the cilantro into the soup. Now you’re ready to eat. Enjoy!

That’s my really simple soup. Flavorful and healthy…well, it has a lot of sodium, but that’s pretty much a given with soup. I wish you well and I will see you with my pancakes tomorrow. Because I know I won’t have time to cook dinner tonight. Very important social engagement to go to. Farewell~

Personal Breakfast

Oh man, I didn’t get to cook anything yesterday. I was so bummed. But I ate my delicious salad from last time and this wonderful cheesy bow-tie pasta dish that my mom brought home. I’m certainly going to try to make it myself soon enough.
But, that’s not what you want to hear. Today, I’m going to cook breakfast for you guys. I’m making tomato and bacon eggs with cinnamon toast. It’s all relatively simple and you can have it out in like 10 minutes.

Serving Size: 1

Cinnamon Toast
You’ll need:
2 Slices of your Choice of Bread.
Cinnamon.
Frosting.

1. First, pop the bread into a toaster for 3 minutes.

2. When it’s done, liberally sprinkle toast with cinnamon. However much you want, really.
3. Finally, to be a bit more fun I drew smily faces on my toast with black frosting. Of course, sky’s the limit with this one. Go crazy. I’m sure it’ll be especially appreciated if you have kids and/or picky eaters!

Tomato and Bacon Eggs
You’ll need:
3 Strips of Bacon.
2 Large Eggs.
Pasta/tomato sauce.
Cilantro (a couple of leaves)

1. First things in order: Cut up the bacon into small pieces and put in a pan on low – medium. You don’t need to put any butter because the fat from the bacon is enough for your purposes.

2. When that has browned up, dump the eggs off to the side in the pan. Let them set a bit. Then, just scramble everything together! Let cook for about 1-2 minutes, until eggs look cooked.

3. When everything is all nicely set, add in about 1 ½ tbs of pasta or tomato sauce. Mix that up. Everything should be completely cooked by now so you can go ahead and transfer your breakfast to your plate. Garnish with a bit of cilantro to add a nice colour and there you are, a lovely breakfast dish just for you!

It really tastes nice. It has the sweetness of tomatoes but the saltiness of an egg. It reminds me of a potato in some ways. The sweet bread is a good contrast to the savory flavor of the eggs as well.

That’s it for this recipe. Tomorrow we’re doing an egg sandwich with scallion pancake buns. I have to let the batter sit overnight so you’ll just have to sit tight and let your mouth water! Have a lovely day <3

Welcome to Cutting Spices! Have a Salad!

Hello, welcome to Cutting Spices! My name is Jin Curry and I’m an amateur baker and cook, full time student, and human being. I also garden. Look forward to posts on life through my eyes.

I like making food, a lot of it. I will share all my recipes and the techniques I learn along the way. My food is geared towards people who want to eat tasty food that’s also good for you, as well as for those who either don't have a ton of time and/or are too lazy to cook. Also, the desserts featured here? Probably not so healthy, but just as delicious.

I'll also be including my fun adventures through higher education, also known as college from time to time.

Today I want to share a quick recipe that are part of my dinner menu.

Simple garden salad with raisin bread croutons.

Serving Size: for 2, or just 1 really hungry person!

Garden salad is relatively straight forward.

You’ll need:

6 leaves from a heart of romaine lettuce.

1 medium beefsteak tomato.

1 cucumber.

½ of 1red pepper.

2 carrots.

1 stalk of celery.

1. First off, wash everything. Sanitation is very important. Be sure to let things dry because no one likes a salad with soggy ingredients. Shred the leaves, set aside. Take a peeler to the cucumber and carrots.

 

2. Now, salads naturally require a lot of cutting and dicing. You’ll be doing that now. Cut the carrot into circles for your salad. Cut the cucumber in circles as well, but quarter those circles. We need bite-size, yes yes?
3. As for the pepper, we only need a half. Just save the other for nearly any other dish. Peppers are extremely versatile. So, once you got that half and de-seeded it, put it face down so you’ve got a flat surface on the bottom, which is pretty much a rule with anything you’re chopping. Putting your bent fingers down on the pepper, cut down lengthwise along the “barrier” your fingers create. This prevents you from cutting yourself. When you’ve got pepper strips, rotate them and cut them into tiny, bite-sized pieces.
4. Next up is the celery, which you simply cut into bite-sized pieces.

5. For the tomato, slice off the top and place that facedown. Cut into the tomato horizontally, so you’ve got a bunch of slices. Then cut down twice (in a criss-cross fashion) so you’ve got a diced tomato. 

 

6. Add all of this to a serving bowl. Put the cucumber on the bottom with the lettuce on top. Arrange the carrots around the edges, followed by the celery and peppers as in the picture at the bottom of the post. Top with the croutons which you’ll make in a second. For now, time to make the dressing…

Oil and Spices Dressing.

You’ll need:

1/3 cup vinegar

¼ cup oil

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

½ tbs oregano

½ tbs basil

¾ cup water

7. Combine all ingredients and mix them up. Pour over salad.

Raisin Bread Croutons

You’ll need:

1 raisin cinnamon bagel or 2 slices of raisin cinnamon bread

1 tbs garlic powder

2 tbs olive oil

½ tbs basil

1 tsp salt

1. Cut up your choice of bread stuffs into bite sized cubes, for easy crouton eating.

2. Heat up oil in pan on low – medium heat.

3. Sprinkle garlic powder, salt, and basil on croutons and mix it around to spread      the delicious flavors. Put lid on pan and let cook for 4 minutes. Stir it around occasionally.

4. Add some more olive oil at this point and stir it around, just to let the croutons get a little wet. Continue to cook for a few more minutes until you have crispy croutons.

5. Remove from heat and serve with your salad.

The croutons won’t be too sweet. They’ll have a very herb-y tasty to them, but a hint of smoky sweetness. Even if you don’t like cinnamon raisin bread stuffs, this would definitely work for you.

That’s the dish for tonight. Stay tuned for more!

In other news, I've officially started my hunt for a culinary education. I'm not sure whether I want to get an associate's in cooking or a baking certificate...

Devry called me today but they don't offer a culinary program at all so they're out.

As I research more I'll be sure to put what I've learned up here.

On that note, I bid you a good night. Thanks for reading. Look forward to tomorrow's item of the day! <3