Uploads from Neven Mrgan, with geodata

Rice bowl

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:15:23 -0700

Short-grain rice, sesame oil, cucumber, kimchi, steamed bok choi, avocado, fish balls, nori. Pretty good for a fridge-cleanout dish.

C+

Shakshouka

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:33:45 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Middle-Eastern dish of peppers, onions, and tomatoes topped with egg. Simple, but thanks to a few seasonings twists (cumin and cayenne) tastes complex.

Next time I'd add more olive oil and cook the eggs a bit less. Still, this got rave reviews.

A-

Kimchi-fried rice

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:53:17 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Made this super quickly very late at night. Could've used sone salt (rice drinks it up) but overall very good. Used homemade kimchi.

B-

"French salad"

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Sun, 12 May 2013 14:33:34 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

My parents make this; it's a cold, Midwestern-style mix of potatoes, carrots, peas, eggs, pickles, and mayo. Goes well with grilled meats.

Didn't quite nail it this time, but it was good. Should've chilled it longer.

B-

Mustard chicken with rice

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:33:19 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Chicken thighs roasted in a sauce of Dijon and Chinese mustard, mirin, honey, and rice vinegar. Served with rice, sesame seeds, cucumber, scallion.

Next time I'd use skinless chicken or find some other way to reduce the fattiness of the sauce, so I could eat more of it.

B+

Breakfast

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Sat, 11 May 2013 10:17:31 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Buttery scrambled eggs, miso-butter kale, pickled onions. The flavor of the kale was good, though the baby kind is too stalky for my taste.

C+

Balsamic Brussels sprouts

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:37:38 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Roasted in a wok, since the oven was full. They turned out uneven; too charred on the outside, too hard on the inside. I tossed them with balsamic vinegar and urfa pepper. Didn't quite work.

C

Vegan kimchi

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:37:38 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Using Kenji Lopez's recipe for vegan kimchi. (Most kimchi isn't vegan; the fermentation process is helped by adding dried or fresh shrimp, squid, etc.) This uses miso.

It was solid, but it lacked the hyper-fermenty, umami kick I love in good kimchi. I also used too much flavoring paste for the amount of cabbage I had.

B-

Ajoblanco

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:37:38 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

The simplest of soups: blanched almonds, soaked stale bread, garlic, olive oil, water, sherry vinegar. Topped with grapes and more oil and almond, served uncooked and cold. Refreshing and always oh-so-pretty.

A-

Peruvian chicken-peanut chili

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:07:15 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Ground chicken, chopped peanuts, onion, garlic, milk, cheese. Topped with black olives and eggs. An odd dish, but very satisfying. I'd like to try the smooth version, where the sauce is blended and served over cubed chicken. The flavor was good here, the texture a bit too unusual.

C+

Pickled jalapeños

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:07:07 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Same as any other pickle: 50/50 mix of water and plain vinegar, sugar, salt. Seasoned with coriander and bay leaf here. Made this for pizza; pickled peppers will work better than raw.

B

Pizza sauce

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:37:10 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Pretty simple: garlic, oregano, and crushed pepper bloomed in olive oil for a minute, then tomatoes and a tiny bit of salt. As long as the oil and the tomatoes are good, and the heat is low, you can't screw it up.

A

Pan pizza

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 07:02:14 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

I'm not usually a fan of pan pizza (Sicilian pizza) but one of the best pizzas I ever had was like this, from Apizza Scholls. This one was made for a party, and I think the pan style lends itself better to parties.

I used Kenji Lopez's recipe, which was simple and excellent. Topped it with my dad's homemade kulenica salami. I only wish I could've gotten the bottom just a bit browner, but flavor-wise, this was great.

A

Foraged breakfast

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 09:24:06 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Cauliflower purée, egg, bacon, bacon-fat-fish-sauce greens, sambal. Worked better than expected. Fish sauce was superfluous. B-

Som tam style salad

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 20:11:11 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Som tam with cabbage instead of papaya, radishes instead of tomatoes and green beans. With poached shrimp. Missing the sweet fruitiness of papaya and tomatoes a bit, but still a solid salad. Shrimp were the cheap kind, but I'd add them again to make som tam into a meal.

B

Running Babies

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:05:13 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Running Babies

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:05:14 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Quick som-tam-style salad

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:47:55 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Cabbage, shredded chicken, cucumber, tomato, eggs in dressing of fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, dried shrimp, peanuts, and chillies. Everything worked except the few mint leaves I threw in (thinking of laab); they didn't hurt it, but they were unnecessary. Very solid stuff, refreshing and crisp.

B

Stir-fried pork with leek

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:50:23 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

I used bacon instead of pork butt; I sliced the leek too thick; I served it with roti paratha instead of rice; and yet it was still delicious. Induction stove + wok = love.

B

Beet-pickled deviled eggs

nobody@flickr.com (Neven Mrgan) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 10:05:35 -0700

Neven Mrgan posted a photo:

Boiled eggs pickled overnight in canned beets & beet juice, white vinegar & water, bay leaf, and sugar; yolks then deviled with mayo, horseradish, dill seed and celery salt, garnished with chives.

The eggs boiled weird and didn't peel properly. But they taste great and the yolk filling was nice.

C+