Clementine Beef

I haven't eaten or made anything especially interesting up until now, which is going to be my excuse for the lack of posting. I feel that I've been doing more impromptu socializing lately, which leaves less time for cooking elaborate things. And sleeping. But it's worth it to have those late night conversations, to visit somewhere new, do some wandering. 

I bought a bag of clementines recently. Clementines are my winter/spring fruit that I eat obsessively (apples being the fall fruit and my true love, peaches, being the summer fruit). I usually have no issues eating all of them almost immediately, but this batch, for some reason, ended up being incredibly difficult to peel. So they sat in my room for a while, me glaring at them occasionally, willing their peels off. Hasn't worked out so far. 

 Since I've eaten all my lemon curd (don't judge), I decided to try my hand at a batch of clementine curd, which turned out very nice, but I still had too many clementines on hand. Unless someone felt like peeling them for me, I was not going to eat them. So I browsed and brainstormed. How else can I use these? And I came across a recipe for clementine beef! The juice and zest is combined with honey and soy sauce, the sweetness balanced out by the kick of chili flakes. You'll definitely enjoy this if you're a fan of orange beef. 

Clementine Beef
adapted slightly from daisy's world 

3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 pounds tri-tip, skirt or flank steak, cut in thin strips on the bias
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (I ended up using YR Sauce, which is quite similar to Worcester Sauce)
 2 tablespoons honey
1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1/3 cup freshly squeezed clementine juice 2 clementines, for zest
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, as needed
3-5 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely minced
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the lite soy sauce and cornstarch. Add beef strips and mix well. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

To make the sauce, whisk the  hoisin, honey,  red pepper flakes, soy sauce, clementine juice, and the zest of one clementine until completely combined. Set aside.
In large pan or wok, heat oil on high and brown beef in small batches, making sure not to crowd the pan. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a platter. Set aside.
Add more oil in the pan, if necessary. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sauce mixture and cook until reduced and thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Add all the beef back into the pan and cook for about 1 minute. Add spinach (or other vegetables) and cook just until spinach is incorporated and beef is heated through. Season with freshly cracked black pepper.
Garnish with more clementine zest. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Rice Pudding

Whew, what a week. From pub crawling to shivering on the beaches of Bray, I have been going out of my way to be much more social than is typical of me. Meeting new people from all over the world is fantastic, but I accidentally slept for 12 hours Saturday night, which I guess was my body's way of telling me to reign it in a bit? But there's no time for that! Classes have just begun, and next weekend I'll be taking a weekend trip to Cork (by the way, can we pause and think about how it's almost February? Sheesh). Time flies, and I have to do my best to keep up!

This is Wicklow Jail. It was cold and kinda spooky.

I've been surprisingly less homesick than I thought I would. Being able to Skype, facebook chat, and use Google Hangouts to make phone calls has been really helpful. It's kind of astounding that only 5 years ago I went to Europe and was totally fine without internet access, and the only way to call home was with a phone card that may or may not work with the temperamental Italian telephone at the front desk of a hotel. 

One thing I do miss? The oven. Oh man, I really, really do. But I'm trying my best here. The other night I made some rice pudding to relax. It turned out suuuuuper thick and creamy, which I attribute to the use of a bit of Irish cream. Country of magical dairy. This pudding is only slightly sweet, and best eaten hot, since when refrigerated, it becomes a solid chunk. Still delicious as a late night snack though! 

Rice Pudding 

580ml milk ( I used a mixture of milk and cream)
1 tsp vanilla paste (or extract, or a bean, whatever you have)
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
4 tbs basmati rice
1/8 tsp. cinnamon

In a pan, heat the milk. As the milk heats, split down in the middle vanilla pod, scrape the seeds and add to the warming milk. Just as the milk comes to the boil, turn off the heat.
In a large, wide saucepan, melt butter with sugar. As soon as the butter is melted and bubbling, add the rice and stir for 1 minute. Begin adding the milk to the rice, one ladle full at a time. Cook over medium-low heat, being careful not to scorch the rice. Stir constantly. As the milk is absorbed, add another ladle full of milk and continue cooking the rice, continue with adding milk.
After about 20-25 minutes, taste the rice. If it’s plump and soft, then you know it’s cooked. If not, continue adding milk and cooking until the rice is done. If you need more milk, warm up some more, sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve hot.