Quest 68: Ramen

We all know that soups show up within the Zelda franchise often and all of them work towards refueling our heart containers. Today, we are making an awesome ramen soup that is both super hearty and will turn you off from grocery store ramen (if you can even eat it) for the rest of your days. If this doesn't fill up your heart container, I am not sure what will. Enjoy!

Gear!

1 lb Flank Steak

1/4 cup Green Onions

1/2 cup Snow Peas

1/2 cup Sliced Mushrooms

3 Eggs

32 oz. Beef Broth

1 cup Water

1 t. Fresh Ginger, finely grated

1 Thai Chili, sliced thinly

1 T. Lemon Grass, sliced thinly

1 t. Cilantro, finely chopped

1 Nori Sheet, sliced thinly

GF Black Bean Noodles or Rice Noodles

salt & pepper to taste

Steak Marinade

1/4 c. Lime Juice

2 t. GF Soy Sauce

2 t.. Housin

2 t..Szechuan Sauce

2 t. Asian BBQ Sauce

2 t.Worcestershire Sauce

2 t. Roasted Garlic, minced

Quest!

Marinate your flank steak in a gallon sized zip top bag with lime juice, soy sauce, housin, szechuan, Asian BBQ, Worcestershire Sauce and Roasted Garlic. Let sit together for at least 30 minutes but an hour or two would be better.

In a small sauce pan, add 3 eggs and enough cold water to cover. Bring them up to a boil, shut the heat off and cover. Leave alone for 5 minutes.

Immediately rinse eggs under cold water. Peel eggs and set aside for later.

In a sauce pan, add beef broth, water, ginger, nori, cilantro, thai chili, about half the green onions and lemon grass.
When it comes to a boil, add GF black bean or rice noodles. cook until softened.
Notes: I don't have a specific amount for the noodles b/c everyone likes less or more noodles. I used about half a package (3 oz.) of black bean noodles for this go round.

Add sliced mushrooms to broth. Leave a few mushrooms out for garnish later. Continue cooking together.

Divide your flank steak into two pieces. This will allow it to cook more quickly.

In a cast iron frying pan, add olive oil to the pan and seer your pieces of flank steak. We are only going to give the outside a good seer. We don't want to cook the meat all the way through.

Let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes.

Very thinly slice the meat with a knife. Paper thin is what we are going for. Yes, the meat is rare in the middle - never fear - we aren't done with it yet.

Add the meat to the broth mixture - leave a few pieces off to the side so that we have some garnish.

Cook until you are happy with the flavors and doneness of the meat. Ladle into bowls.

Garnish with snow peas, eggs, mushrooms, green onions, and meat. Enjoy!

Quest 67: Deku Nut Cheesecake

We have been really busy lately! We have been out in the forest gathering Deku Nuts and boy did we make a haul! (BTW hazelnuts are really harvested in the late summer!) With all these lovely Deku Nuts, we are going to attempt the best. thing. ever! CHEESECAKE! This is a gluten free rendition of the cheesecake I used to make before being diagnosed with Celiac - now with a Deku Nut twist. Sweet and rich - you might want to wear sweatpants when you eat this one - Enjoy!

Gear!
Crust

1 cup assorted GF Cookies, crushed (I used chocolate sandwich cookies and hazelnut wafer cookies!)
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
3- 8oz. packages cream cheese, softened

Filling
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons GF AP flour with xianthium gum
3 eggs
2 tablespoons milk or cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup Nutella

Frosting
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups hazelnuts, chopped

Quest!

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prep a 10-inch spring-form pan with nonstick spray.
Prep your crumbs by placing your cookies into a zip topped bag, seal and smack with something heavy - I like a rolling pin myself, but use whatever you like.

Mix cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and butter in a bowl until thoroughly combined

Press crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake in oven for about 10 minutes. Set completed crust aside to cool.

Now for the filling. Get your trusty mighty mixer out and add the cream cheese - beat for a few seconds break it up and make it smooth. Beat in the sugar and flour until the mixture is smooth. Adding one at a time - beat in the eggs. Once fully incorporated, add the milk and vanilla. Continue beating the mixture until morale improves - or until the cream cheese filling is very smooth and well combined, about 3 minutes.

Add about 2/3 of the filling to the crust. Spread out evenly.

In a bowl, melt 3 oz. chocolate -preferably in a double boiler. Mix chocolate in with remaining filling.

Add Nutella and continue to stir until combined.

Plop the remaining batter in dollops over the first layer of filling.

Using a knife or flat wooden skewer, create a marble effect in the cheesecake until it is pretty,

Place the cheesecake in the oven. In a roasting pan beneath the cheesecake, add boiling water to create a steaming effect in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45-50 minutes or until cheesecake is set. Cool for 15 minutes or so before removing the outside ring of the pan. Let cheesecake cool completely.

Baked and cooled!

Frosting time! Melt your chocolate in a double boiler. Add Sour Cream and stir, stir, stir until smooth.

Spread frosting over the cake.

Add chopped hazelnuts (deku nuts) to the sides of the cheesecake and whole hazelnuts on the top. Refrigerate for an hour before serving. Enjoy!

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Quest 66: Cucco Enchiladas

The cuccos are running amok once again leaving a lot of tasty tasty in their wake. So today we will put these leftovers to good use with cucco enchiladas. Enjoy!

Gear!

2 large chicken breasts

1 16 oz. can re-fried beans

1 cup rice, prepared

GF soft tortillas

8 oz. enchilada sauce

8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

Quest!

Acquire some chicken! I am not going to ask from where. If you can eat rotisserie chicken - good for you. I like to slow cook my chicken breasts in tequila and lime juice and chicken broth on high for 2 hours. It shreds really easily and tastes super nummy.

Prep your soft tortillas by spreading re-fried beans on them. I am using rice flour tortillas, but corn or any kind will work as long as it is soft. Top with rice.
Rice recipe: - Makes 2+ cups of rice
1 cup rice, uncooked
2 cup water, tequila, and lime juice (that's all together 2 cups, not each)
2 T. GF Taco Seasoning Mix
1 t. Chili Powder
Bring everything up to a boil in a sauce pan. Top with a lid, shut off the heat and walk away for 20 minutes.

Add the chicken to the tortilla.

Add shredded cheese. At this point, you could also add fresh jalapenos or other favorite chili pepper.

Roll up and place in a sprayed 9 inch square pan. Repeat until the pan is full.

Top with GF enchilada sauce - I have found one I like in the store, but I am sure you can reduce down some tomato sauce in a sauce pan with chili powder and cumin and get the same effect.