JeffreyLipsey.com

I took a dive into making my own salsa this morning, as I bought some Tomatillos at the grocery store this weekend. I have been wanting to make some for a long time and I figured what the hell.


I have been wanting to re-create the salsa I had out in Vegas–very thin but also very tangy (and green). I figured this was Tomatillo Salsa at its best but, after figuring out what a Tomatillo actually tastes like now I’m not so sure. Granted, my own salsa is somewhat tangy but just not to the extent that I want and I have no idea how to make it even more tangy.


I used the following in making my salsa:


- 6 to 7 Tomatillos
- 2 whole Jalapeno Peppers
- 1/2 Red Bell Pepper
- 3/4 Cup of Water
- 2 Tablespoons of Lime Juice
- 2 Pinches of Salt


The only ingredient I didn’t use that looking back on I could have was half an onion, but that wouldn’t increase the tangyiness, it would just change the integrity of the flavor. In all, I like the way it tastes and there is certainly enough heat to it, I just wished it had more tang to it.


I was able to fit the entire amount into an empty salsa container so that’s a plus. Maybe unripened green tomatoes would give me the amount of tang? We’ll see.

Given that I’m running out of food in my place the most economical yet tasteful dinner I could make was pizza; it turns out it wasn’t that unhealthy either.


I started out using the rest of my whole-wheat flour for my crust. I haven’t made an entire crust from whole-wheat flour since my first crust, which turned to be real chewy and dry; usually I make half whole-wheat and half all-purpose flour. The crust this time however didn’t turn out the same way as it did before, in fact it turned real awesome. I don’t know what it was but it was probably one of the best crusts I’ve ever made.


For toppings I avoided using a tomato sauce; in part because the tomato pizza sauce I have isn’t all that great and with the toppings I was planning on using they wouldn’t go with that kind of sauce. I really didn’t use a “sauce” per se, but just put a layer of olive oil down before putting on the topings, but after I pre-baked the crust for a few minutes. My toppings included: Black Olives, Artichokes, Garlic and Red Pepper Flakes with Mozzarella Cheese. Probably the least healthy ingredient was the cheese and that would be a way to save calories.


I was extremely happy with the way it came out and I’m going to continue to use 100 % whole wheat crust from now on. As Alton Brown says: the crust is what makes the pizza perfect.

After we got back from Chicago, we already knew we were going to grill we just didn’t know what. Kiyoshi already had some chicken legs in his refrigerator, but not nearly enough for the both of us so we decided to head to the grocery store.


I wasn’t really in the mood for any red meat, nor was I in the for chicken as I already had that too for lunch. Also, the grocery store doesn’t carry the pork steaks that I like to eat so there was only other option: fish. I picked up a 3/4 lb filet of wild caught Salmon for $10.99/lb, even though when we got home we found it wasn’t the freshest of specimen.


We also bought: peaches, french bread and ears of corn (for grilling) and peach pie with ice cream for desert. When we got back and fired up the grill, everything went off practically without a hitch. Everything turned out fantastic, although my favorite was the corn and the garlic bread.
I did a half-assed job seasoning the salmon; I didn’t find any combinations that I wanted to try from my limited search online so I stuck to the basics. Lemon Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes and some grilled fish seasoning that Mickey had randomly all went into my seasonings. In the end, the flavor was OK and the only thing that I think would have made it better would be fresher salmon fillets.


We’re going to be grilling out today too, but only corn and hamburgers. It will definitely still be good though.

You know how Star Wars was so hyped for the original trilogy that when everyone saw it they were disappointed? That’s kind of how the fried chicken we had for lunch was today.


Kiyoshi and Maureen had been hyping the Funky’s Fried Chicken at Crisp’s on the North Side of Chicago for nearly 2 days, or at least as long as I’ve been in Chicago. I mean, the chicken itself was pretty good but its nothing to write home about. They fry the chicken and then put sauces over it and the entire taste of the chicken is dependent on this sauce.


I’m familiar with chicken sauces, as the last time I made buffalo wings I used a peanut sauce that was excellent. I know how an excellent sauce makes you absolutely crave the chicken, so much so that you just can’t stop eating them until they make you fat. The sauce on the chicken today was not like that (although I was expecting it).


On the chicken, we had two sauces in total; one was a somewhat plain but salty sauce that, IMO, didn’t have a lot of flavor. The other sauce was Barbecue but it was oil based; I’m used to this type of bbq sauce because that is what is put on cheap (or at least cheap tasting) buffalo wings when you order them out. I’m not a huge fan of this type of sauce but, in all fairness, it tasted better than the sauce on the wings normally does.


When it comes to bbq sauce, I’m more of a sweet and tangy than tart and sourly kind of guy. Honey in any sauce makes it taste better and, when in doubt, more tabasco never hurts either.


We also got two sides with our chicken and they weren’t anything special either. The onion rings were about on the equal quality as those found at Burger King and the fried mushrooms paled in comparison to any made at a local bar.


But perhaps the best side to this chicken is the price of it all. Enough chicken for 3 people with two sides and 3 drinks cost less than $10 per person, which is actually quite inexpensive given we’re on the North Side of Chicago.


Oh, how could I forget to mention the can of Diet Cream Soda from A&W: Fantastico! I haven’t had any of that in at least a year and it was quite flavorful.

So while I was rollerblading I was debating on what I should cook for dinner. My freezer is filled with chicken breasts and I have a decent amount of canned/packaged foods so I figured I’d make something up.


My original plan was to do some sort of ‘Shake and Bake’ although I didn’t have any 1) Shake and Bake Mix or 2) Bread Crumbs so that idea was nixed. I was going to make some stuffing with my chicken, so I scoured my Chicken Stuffing box and, to my surprise, there was a decent recipe on the back.


The recipe itself was just titled “Easy Oven Bake” and it was pretty quick to assemble. As I defrosted the chicken in the microwave, I place half the dry stuffing in the bottom of a casserole dish and put the other 1/2 in a cup of hot water. When the chicken thawed, I cut it into 1 inch pieces and placed that over the dry stuffing. The next step required the use of a can of condensed chicken noodle soup; unfortunately I didn’t have any (who drinks that anymore anyway?) but I did have a can of Healthy Choice Chicken and Dumplings which would work just fine. I was to mix that with frozen vegetables and I just happened to have a quarter of a bag of frozen cauliflower and broccoli. That mixture goes over the top of the chicken (you were supposed to mix in sour cream but I don’t usually carry that on hand), followed by the remaining stuffing on top.


It was supposed to bake in for 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven, or until the chicken was cooked thoroughly. Luckily I had my meat thermometer because it took nearly an hour to cook the chicken until it was done. The stuffing must have acted as a insulator and prevented the dish from cooking as quickly.


It really only took like 5 minutes to prepare and it tasted kind of good. I’d probably make it again if I ran out of ideas, or to just try something new. I think it was rather healthy too, because the only fat in the dish was that in the chicken itself and the stuffing had the carbs. I don’t know how many calories it worked out to be but it was probably a lot, but it was also a lot of food.