Cooking For Engineers

[Ashton.]

Any idea how to sexup a cheap and easy to prepare romantic dinner for two, please, using the vegetables I'm growing in my glass house (lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes). I do eat meat. Thanks.

[Latisha]

Ashton darling, of course, we can sexup your meat and two vegs...(OOPS!!! cough, cough) I meant... and your 3 vegs, babe! We'll try to make it really easy for you. And not to call it a cheap dinner, darling! Let's call it a down-to-earth dinner instead, shall we, Ashton babe? After all, you are going to use the vegs you've been growing in your garden, arn't you, darling?

Arrange lettuce leaves, cucumber slices and tomato slices onto 2 large dinner plates. Slice lean beef very thinly into bite size slices. We need a big handful of sliced beef. Fry crushed garlic in little cooking oil. Add beef. Stirfry quickly. Add some sliced white onions. Stirfry quickly to keep beef a little bit pink. Season with a bit of salt and ground pepper. Spoon meat onto 2 salads. Mix 4 tablespoons boiling water, 2 teaspoons vinegar, 4 flat teaspoons sugar and 1 flat teaspoon salt together. Spoon over salads. Scatter half handful of roasted, crushed peanuts over salads. Serve with hot garlic bread/ warm baguette slices.

I hope you two will enjoy this simple, yet delicious tea. cooked by yourself.

[Chefhoney]

I like to throw a little ethnic flair wherever I can. Go Mediterranean-Cut about 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (breasts or thighs-whatever you can afford) and marinate with 1 clove chopped garlic, the juice of 1 or 2 lemons, a tablespoon of olive oil, and 1 tablespoon of ground cumin for a few hours. While that marinates, whip up some taboulleh. You already have fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, just pick up some fresh parsley (curly) and bulgar wheat at the store. The bulgar is very good for you and prepped with just some boiling water and about 5 minutes of time. Mix chopped parsley, diced tomato, diced cucumber, bulgar, a squeeze of fresh lemon and a dash of olive oil. Chill till ready to use. Skewer chicken pieces and grill or broil til done. Serve chicken with taboulleh and also some rice or in pita as a sandwich. Most importantly-HAVE FUN!!

[danicamoore]

I can suggest a salad that can go with your lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes. 1 bot Tuna Tuscan Sauce, 100g lettuce, cleaned, 1 pc. med cucumber, sliced
1 pc med carrot 2 pc any sized tomato, quartered. Mix all vegetables in a salad bowl. Drizzle with tuna tuscan sauce. Voila easy tip for you.

[PauletteK]

I broiled what I thought was London Broil. It turns out it was "top round london", (whatever that means) on high for ten minutes on each side. I let it sit for a few minutes and sliced it thinly. It still was a little chewy. I think I overcooked it. Is there anyway to make it more tender? I have a good bottle of wine I could use in the sauce. I guess I could slice it and cook it in gravy. But will that help?

[susanzb]

Fresh Herbs is a great way to make something look and taste special.
Even hamburger Helper looks classy with a leaf or two of basil as a garnish.

[grover]

if you are not cooking inclined, just buy read made meals and add your own flare. Costco has already marinated meats(salmon my favorite) cook it and add some fresh herb or a salad to make the dish look more colorful. Don't be afraid of simple dishes. some of the best dates I had was over simple dishes I prepared in less than 20 minutes.

[ElsaLSA]

Hi Asthon,
You are great to plant yourself the vegetables from glass house.
Here I suggest you try to cook the vegetables with Chinese cooking method which is simple, tasty and most important healthy way.

Here is the lettuce recipes, you may refer below link:
http://www.chinesecookingrecipes.net/2012/03/chinese-lettuce-garlic-oil-蒜米生油菜/

Hope you enjoy cooking