It’s Refried Beans Friday!
I hear that some people sheltering in place due to COVID-19 are starting to lose track of which day it is. Well, friends, I can tell you that it is REFRIED BEANS Friday! And these beans are addictive, so you may want them every day… (Seriously, Mr. Flavorcollector has been asking me to make another batch, even though we still have a full tub in the freezer…) This is an Instant Pot recipe which doesn’t require pre-soaking the dried beans, so it’s ready to go within 2 hours. Makes about 8 cups — plenty to freeze for later! INGREDIENTS 1 lb dried pinto beans 6 cups of water with 4…
Taiwanese Tea Eggs in the Instant Pot
These delicious boiled eggs are the perfect on-the-go snack, and they’re so popular, you’ll find them at every 7-Eleven in Taiwan. Now, I know, Internet, that you are obsessed with gooey soft-boiled eggs. There are lots of blogs trying to get tea eggs to be all runny in the middle. Sorry, not sorry, these are supposed to be hard boiled eggs. You’ll see student tourists shoving eggs into their backpacks by the half-dozen at Taiwanese hostels (HELLO free breakfast buffets!) so they can hike up Elephant Mountain, or spend the entire day shopping at the Wufenpu Garment District. These healthy little 70 calorie snacks are full of protein and will…
Grandma’s fan qie chao dan (番茄炒蛋) – stir-fried tomato and egg
If you give my Ama a few tomatoes from the garden, she’ll tell you how pretty they are (they are!) and how our tomatoes are THE BEST (I started them from seed, so I’m pretty biased too), and then she’ll stir-fry the tomatoes with eggs. Use the best tomatoes you can, whether homegrown or from a farmer’s market. You only need a few, but this simple dish is all about the fresh sweetness of tomato. Honestly, I’m not sure I’d even bother making this dish in the winter. Maybe try Ama’s garlic chive eggs instead… These are Purple Russian tomatoes, also known as Ukrainian Purple. Flavor-wise, these are definitely the…
C is for Chicken – How to Poach Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot
I always wonder if a recipe is too simple to be worth posting, but I make this dish with frequency for my grandparents and still always double check the Instant Pot timings. Poaching chicken breasts in the Instant Pot is so easy, and the result is tender, healthy, and basic enough that you can dress it up however you like. I have to thank Amy + Jackie of pressurecookrecipes.com who do the legwork to figure out so many great Instant Pot recipes! You can check out their post for detailed instructions and an explanation of the deep poaching method. This recipe is for frozen chicken breasts. I get mine from…
Truffled Artichoke Dip
We were in St. Helena a couple years ago, tasting some fantastic olive oil and mustard at Olivier Napa Valley. They had a truffled artichoke condiment that I really liked, and I thought… hrm, maybe I can approximate these flavors. I came up with this super easy almost-not-a-recipe. It’s pretty healthy and works well as a dip for veg, or as a spread on sandwiches. I use Trader Joe’s canned artichokes, any nice olive oil, and a little drizzle of Urbani white truffle oil. It’s optional, not everyone likes truffle, but I think it gives this vegetable pate a bit of depth. Ingredients 1 14oz can of artichoke hearts 1…
