The one who started it all ...

Although I started this blog only a couple of weeks ago, I've loved cooking for years. Just like anything I often question why I like cooking. At the core of it is the fact that I love making people happy. Food is definitely a universal language. We may not all agree who serves the best hamburgers in town (by the way, in Boston that place is RF O'Sullivan, and you can't convince me otherwise) or whether a Witchetty grub is really a delicacy, but when a dish makes your taste buds explode, no one can argue with you.

Digging deeper though, I've traced it back to the fact that I have Wonder Woman for a mother. Everyday for twenty years (and on occasion for the last eight) I had my own personal chef. I remember her sipping coffee every morning while pouring over her cookbooks or recipe catalog, coordinating these with the week's newspaper grocery coupons. Her grocery list rivaled that of any professional cook and she would go to any number of stores to ensure that a "check mark" was positioned next to each item. As dinner time approached there was no question where you would find her - in the kitchen managing several cooking activities at once. You knew that at any minute the call for dinner would come (your hands better be washed) and an affordable, delicious, and healthy meal for me, my sister, and my father would be served. Not only that, meals varied from seared tuna steaks (not the typical "steaks" available in grocery stores in Michigan) to liver to lamb, opening my mind to the endless culinary combinations.

For any of you that have had the luxury of eating at my parent's house, you know what I'm talking about. In any given 24 hour period you may eat 4-5 times your weight in food. To do so, one meal will have just barely finished before the next begins. Go ahead and ask my friends, I've never heard anything but rave reviews ... and that makes me proud. I never asked her about her philosophy regarding sharing food with others but my guess is that it would mirror mine. So you see, I don't need professional culinary training because I had something even better - inspiration. I'm inspired to uphold that philosophy. I'm inspired to share good food, memories, and feelings with others. I'm inspired by the support of my Mom to try new culinary adventures.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! Thank you for inspiring me and supporting me! I love you!

Orange beef with tempura onions

Ingredients:

1 steak
Chinese Five Spice Powder*
1 cup ice water (e.g. water that is chilled with ice)
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour + some for coating onion
1 egg, beaten
1 onion
4 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
1 1/2 cup orange juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

*Chinese Five Spice Powder can be found in the Asian food section of most major grocers. It is a combination of cinnamon, star anise, fennel, ginger, and cloves. It compliments the orange sauce very well.

Step 1: Apply 1-2 tsp of Chinese Five Spice Powder to each side of a steak (the cut is your choice, I used a skirt steak). Grill or cook in a pan coated with cooking spray until it is done to likeness. For the skirt steak, I went with 4 minutes on each side for medium rare.

Step 2: In a bowl, mix 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup ice water (water that has been chilled with ice, not water with ice cubes in it), and 1 beaten egg to make tempura batter.

Cut one onion any way you like. Some people like thin slices. I quartered my onion and separated the layers to make "chips". Place the onion in a second bowl and coat with dry flour. Remove onion from bowl (one piece at a time) and dip in batter. Place pieces in 4 cups of vegetable oil heated to 350 C (medium-high heat works) until they become golden and crispy.

Frying is not all that difficult. They say to use a thermometer but I don't have one. I let the oil heat and then place a little drop of batter in the oil. If the oil is too cool, not much will happen. If it is too hot, the batter will cook and burn immediately. Also don't try frying all the onion pieces at once. Do them in batches.

Step 3: Remove the onions from the oil and place them on a paper towel or cooling rack to remove excess oil. Sprinkle with some garlic salt.

Step 4: Mix 1 1/2 cup orange juice (from the container or fresh squeezed ... but who has time for that?), 1 minced garlic clove, and 1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flake. Reduce over medium heat until about 3-4 tblsp is left.

Near the end, the liquid will become thicker and the become more orange with a hint of brown (which is the sugar beginning to caramelize).

Step 5: Pour the orange sauce over the beef and serve! I served slices of the beef and onions on a bed of fresh baby spinach. Drizzle some soy sauce on top and it makes a fantastic salad.