A cooking entry!!

Ok, here’s where the cooking part of Cooking n Knitting comes in. I’m going to share with all of you how to make some of my favorite dishes. We’re going to start with what I’m making for dinner tonight. It’s got a traditional Chinese name, one which I can’t spell. The traditional recipe has been altered at my house, so we altered the name; we call it Danny’s Food. I will give you the traditional recipe, followed by minor alterations.

1 lb ground beef
Scallions, chopped
1 can bean paste
Asian noodles (or spaghetti, or your choice of pasta)
½ box Frozen peas (optional)
Garlic cloves (optional)
1 cucumber, sliced (optional)

Cook pasta according to directions on package. While pasta is cooking, brown the beef, making sure to make the chunks of beef small. Drain. If using peas, toss in now. Toss in scallions (amount to your liking), heating til they are softened. Toss in the bean paste, mixing completely with beef/scallions and heat for just a few minutes more. Serve over individual portions of noodles, with/without raw cloves of garlic and cucumber slices.

At my house, we use Ditalini macaroni, and toss the beef mixture in with the macaroni. The beef loses some of the saltiness by being mixed in with the pasta. If you don’t mix it, the cucumber slices helps with the saltiness. And the garlic? Well, you’re not supposed to eat them whole. You take little bites of the clove while eating.

You can find bean paste at your local Asian mart. They come in small blue cans. Though, I have had a hard time finding them lately, and have turned to a different brand, in a glass jar, and that’s labeled soybean paste. Both are ok, but I prefer the blue can.

On the knitting front, I went thru my stash last night. I baggied up stuff for the Knitty yarn swap, and tossed small bits of yarn. I gathered up ball bands and wrote info down in my knitting diary. I organized my circular needles/DPNs. I looked longingly at my now neatly organized basket of yarn to be knit, ignoring their cries of “KNIT ME!!” Oh yeah. And I made 2 pairs of knitting needles out of wooden dowels and handmade clay knobs for the ends. Was fairly easy to do with one hand, and quite fun. Will take pics and show you all soon.