The Muttering Chef

All Apologies

2010-08-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

Things have been a little crazy in my life lately. Well, not crazy busy, just crazy in a draining sort of way. My pups recently ruptured a disk in his spine. Oh yea, my dog went beyond normal dog problems to major surgery. I was an absolute wreck for a few days. There were all sort of crazy scenarios going through my head, the worst being "what if they can't fix him and I have to put him down." I now know that when he actually does die, I'll need to take at least a week of vacation so that people at work aren't subjected to my persistent sobbing. It will not be fun. Luckily, they were able to fix him. And, while he'll be spending a long two months in his kennel all the time while his disk scars over even though he feels just fine and has no idea why I keep telling him he can't jump on anything or walk up and down the stairs on his own, he should eventually recover the strength and nerve response in his hind legs. I can only imagine what I'll be like at the end of all this. He's already driving me nuts barking at everyone outside and trying to run around. He needs exercise. I think the animal hospital should throw in free dogging swimming sessions so that he can work out his energy.

Anyways, back to the real purpose of this blog. Food! The CSA is ramping up. I didn't write down everything I received the last few shares, but let's just say there have been green beans, carrots galore, napa cabbage, potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, kale, herbs, fresh cut flowers, and so on. It's been delicious. I have also purchased some local, healthy meats (the maple sausage was delicious), eggs, and organic blueberries (with cream, to die for). I recently made a great salad: a giant mound of greens, bacon, boiled egg, and a warm maple-mustard-bacon grease dressing. So delicious. I would provide a recipe, but can't tell you the exact measurements for the dressing. It was more like, okay, I have some warm bacon grease in that pan; whisk in a giant scoop of maple-mustard; whisk in some rice vinegar, pour into a bowl to be spooned over salad.

Also, I've shared the Chilled Ginger-Carrot Soup and the Curried Quinoa with Vegetables. Well, a friend came over for dinner recently and I made both for our meal. It was the perfect combination. We also drank Vin D'Alsace Pinot Blanc 2007 with it. Sometimes meals are a complete bust (like the salt overload meal I made for one friend once, what a disaster), but sometimes they are exquisite. This was the latter. You must try it (but maybe don't add quite as much ginger as I did. Spicy!).

Last night I made up a layered vegetable dish that was absolutely wonderful, though a bit salty. I'm going to try reducing the salt for you guys, but you may want to be careful when salting the vegetables for weeping. I think that's what pushed this one over the top. But, salting the vegetables is essential to reducing the amount of water in your dish.

Baked and Layered Eggplant, Zucchini, and Tomato

2 Asian eggplants, ends trimmed and sliced thin vertically
3 small zucchini, ends trimmed and sliced thin vertically
salt
2 tbsp basil olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 c fresh oregano leaves
1/4 lb thinly sliced prosciutto
3 tbsp chopped kalamata olives
2 medium tomatoes, cored and sliced thin
fresh mozzarella slices
2 tbsp grated Parmesan

Preheat over to 375 degrees.
Place eggplant and zucchini slices on a cooling rack over your sink and salt. Allow to sit. Once water has collected on one side, flip and salt again.
While those are weeping, heat olive oil is a heavy skillet over medium heat.
When oil is hot, add onion and garlic and cook until onion is transparent.
Add canned tomatoes and oregano and cook until most of the liquid is cooked off, remove from heat.
Rinse eggplant and zucchini well, then press between sheets of paper towel to remove excess moisture. (Lean down on your hands, but not so hard as to squash the vegetables.)
Pour a little olive oil in the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch cake pan and spread evenly.
Lay eggplant down in pan to create a layer.
Put a layer of prosciutto over the eggplant.
Layer the zucchini slices over the prosciutto.
Sprinkle the olives over the zucchini.
Layer tomato slices over the olives.
Evenly spread cooked tomato sauce over fresh tomatoes.
Layer mozzarella slices over sauce.
Sprinkle with Parmesan.
If there is any leftover prosciutto, chopped and sprinkle over the top.
Put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Cover with foil if cheese is browning too much for your taste.
Slice and serve warm.

I'm Sure This Has a Fancy Name; I Just Call It Delicious

2010-07-20T11:28:00.000-07:00

Wanting to use up the small, tender zucchini I received in last week's share, I decided to experiment. Shredded zucchini, finely chopped kale, ricotta, and eggs and I found myself enjoying something between a frittata and that spinach and artichoke dip every restaurant now makes (from a can, I suspect). I ate it with some whole grain bread, but it stands up pretty well once slightly cool. I'm thinking I'm going to try it again and use it in a sandwich, maybe with some fresh tomatoes and basil. (I just ate lunch and am hungry just thinking of this).

Zucchini and Kale "Frittata"

3 small zucchini, shredded
salt
1 tbsp bacon grease (or olive oil)
6 c finely chopped kale
2 eggs
1 c ricotta
1/4 c green onion, sliced
2 tbsp fresh basil, minced
2 tbsp fresh oregano, minced
large pinch each of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Toss shredded zucchini with a sprinkle of salt and let stand in a sieve.
Melt bacon grease in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
Add kale and cook until wilted and not watery; remove from heat.
In a bowl, beat eggs well, then mix in ricotta, green onion, basil, oregano, salt and pepper and mix until smooth.
Squeeze excess moisture out of the zucchini, then mix into the egg and cheese mixture.
Add kale to bowl, mix, then pour ingredients back into the skillet and spread evenly across the bottom.
Place skillet in oven and let bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until set and starting to just brown on the edges.
Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before cutting into pieces and serving.

Where My Ego Takes Over

2010-07-19T07:26:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was practically perfect. I went to a friend's camp on Thursday night and we had some wine, enjoyed the weather, and built a fire. Friday started off warm, but overcast, so we read for a while on the dock. Once the sun came out, it was hot and lovely; perfect for sunning and swimming! In the afternoon, a storm rolled in and we went inside to watch the pouring rain. On Saturday, I biked to the beach with another friend. Even though we didn't do much swimming (the water was thick with tiny red seaweed), we laid in the sun. It was very hot, but the wind kept us from getting overheated. Sunday I went back to camp for more sun (slightly less humid and definitely more windy) and swimming. I am now more than relaxed; it's almost like I was on vacation.

I also picked up my farm share on Friday. This week I received:

1 gallon tatsoi
1 quart green beans
1 very full gallon of lettuce
3 small zucchini
1 gallon kale
1 gallon chard
1/2 gallon carrots
fresh herbs (cilantro, basil, marjoram, thyme, oregano, parsley, chives)
fresh cut flowers

The farm also raises sheep, pigs, and chickens; so I picked up some lamb steaks, bacon and eggs. I made some bacon on Saturday morning. It's interesting, not quite as salty and smokey as bacon usually is, but still really good. This was my breakfast on Saturday:

Herbed Scrambled Eggs, Greens and Bacon

3 strips bacon
2 cups mixed greens (spinach, tatsoi, and kale)
1 tsp butter
2 eggs, beaten
pinch of salt and pepper
1 tbsp fresh basil, cut into thin strips
toast
strawberries

In a heavy skillet, place the bacon strips and turn to medium-high heat.
Once bacon starts cooking, turn the heat down to medium-low and continue cooking, turning frequently.
While bacon is cooking, melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat.
Beat eggs well, then beat in salt, pepper and basil.
Once butter is melted, pour eggs into skillet. Allow to cook for a while, then stir gently, allowing uncooked egg to reach the bottom of the pan. Continue this method until eggs are cooked but not dry. Remove to a plate.
Once bacon is done to your liking, remove to a cooling rack (put paper towel under the cooling rack to catch any drippings).
Drain most of the grease from the pan (put in a heat-safe pyrex dish to save for later use).
Add greens to the pan and cook until wilted, then transfer to plate.
Serve bacon, eggs, and greens with toast and fresh fruit.

Besides my wonderful breakfast, I also experimented with carrot soup. I really like cooked carrots and raw carrot sticks are a great snack, but with all the carrots I got this week, I knew I was going to have to try something new. I decided to try making a ginger-carrot soup, but since it's so hot, I wanted to chill it. I ended up with a fresh tasting, simple soup that is perfect for a hot summer day. Served with a plain green salad and bread with butter, it was another mark of happiness in a wonderful weekend.*

Chilled Ginger Carrot Soup

1 tbsp bacon grease (or olive oil)
2 to 3 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 c red onion, grated
2 c carrot, grated
3 c water
1 tsp chicken Better than Bouillon
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp cilantro, rinsed and chopped

In a soup pan, melt bacon grease over medium heat.
Add ginger and onion and cook until onion is translucent.
Add carrot and cook, stirring for 3 minutes.
Add water, bouillon, salt and pepper and turn heat up to high.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Pour soup into a blender and blend on high until smooth.
Pour soup into a serving bowl, stir in cilantro, then place in the refrigerator until chilled.
Serve with green salad and bread.

*As noted, I forgot the ego bit. I meant to say how I couldn't believe the amazing deliciousness of the soup. It was just so perfect! And I made it without starting from another recipe. It's all me and all wonderful. (There, ego boost).

Bonus Day

2010-07-15T06:04:00.000-07:00

I have tomorrow off, so I thought I would post two things today (ooo). Last night I had breakfast for dinner, but without any syrup requiring breads (I don't have any syrup at the moment, bummer). Instead I made an omelet and a potato-kale scramble. Do you call it a scramble if it doesn't include eggs? Hmm... Anyways, it was delicious and accomplished 2 goals: finish the last of the spinach from the share the week before last and knock down one bag of kale from last week's share. I didn't have any bread for toast (should probably go shopping), but I found a large boiled Yukon Gold potato in my refrigerator. Ah leftovers, how you save the day more often than not.

Spinach and Cheddar Omelet with Potato-Kale Scramble

2 tsp butter, divided
3 eggs
3 tbsp green onion, sliced thin
1/2 c spinach, washed and chopped
1 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1/2 c cubed cooked potato (cold)
3 c kale, washed and torn into pieces
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

In a pan over medium heat, melt 1 tsp butter.
In a bowl, beat eggs well.
Mix green onion and a pinch each of salt and pepper into the eggs.
Spread butter in pan evenly, then pour in eggs.
Once the eggs are well set, but still slightly wet on the top, use a spatula to flip.
Sprinkle spinach and cheese on one half of the omelet, then turn other half over to cover. Remove to a plate and cover to keep warm.
Place 1 tsp butter in the same pan and add garlic.
Once garlic is fragrant, add potato and kale.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then stir while cooking (using spatula to scrape any browned potato from the bottom of the pan).
Once potato is hot and kale is wilted, transfer to plate and eat while warm.

I think I also mentioned that I was going to make some coleslaw with all the cabbage I had left from two weeks ago. I researched a variety of recipes in my old cookbooks. I find, when you're looking for something classic, the old cookbooks are always the best. Too many cookbooks today try to make things less fat (eat less) or time (I enjoy cooking, so I don't necessarily need all my meals done in 10 minutes) or are trying to reinvent recipes (which I have no problem with, I do that a lot, but again, looking for classic). Also, if I'm looking to experiment myself, I like to know how people typically make something and to think of variations all on my lonesome.

After digging around, I found that a "boiled dressing" was a classic for coleslaw. It's not actually boiled, but it is cooked in a pan and then allowed to cool before dressing the vegetables. I took ideas from a few different recipes and settled upon adding mustard seeds and celery seeds to the dressing. For the vegetables, I added shredded zucchini, kohlrabi, and carrots. I also met someone once who salted the vegetables and allowed them to weep before adding the dressing, so I also did that. After a few days, it's gotten a bit watery, but the first couple days it was delicious. Eaten with some cold cooked chicken, it was a nice summery meal.

Classic Coleslaw

6 c finely shredded cabbage (mixture of green and napa cabbages)
2 zucchini, shredded with a grater
1 kohlrabi bulb, peeled and then shredded with a grater
1 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp butter
3/4 c half and half
1/4 c vinegar
1 c onion, sliced paper thin
2 c carrot, shredded with a grater

Place cabbage, zucchini, a kohlrabi in a salad spinner and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and toss.
While vegetables are sitting, place other 1/2 tsp salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar and flour in a sauce pan and whisk together.
Add egg yolks to seasonings and mix well with a whisk.
Slowly add half and half, whisking smooth.
Add butter and vinegar, then turn on heat to medium-low.
Stirring constantly, cook dressing until it starts to thicken.
Remove from heat, then pour into a Pyrex measuring cup and put in the refrigerator to cool.
When dressing is cool, rinse the vegetables with water and spin dry.
In a large mixing bowl, combine these vegetables with the onion and carrots. Stir well.
Pour dressing over the vegetables and mix well.
Place in the refrigerator and allow to sit for at least 2 hours before serving.

Love Those Greens

2010-07-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

Looking in my refrigerator last night I realized:

1) I have 2 gallons of kale to eat.
2) I forgot to store my last kohlrabi bulb properly and it was starting to get soft.

So, with those two vegetables in mind and a craving for pepperoni, I whipped up a quick meal. Oh, I also had a craving for olives, which... if you really like olives (which I do), you can add. But, to be honest I felt they overpowered everything else. The olive-less bites were very tasty all on their own. So, if I was to do this again, I'd just have the olives on the side. I added some whole grain crackers, slices of cheddar cheese, and some fruity red wine. When finished with some dark chocolate, it was a great (fast) meal.

Kale and Kohlrabi with Pepperoni

1 tsp black pepper olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thick
1 medium kohlrabi bulb, peeled and julienned
2 inches link pepperoni, quartered lengthwise and then sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 c kale, washed and sliced into 2 inch strips
1/2 c green onion, cut in 2 inch long pieces
salt and pepper to taste

In a cast iron pan, heat the olive oil and garlic over medium heat.
When garlic is fragrant, add kohlrabi and continue cooking, stirring rarely.
Once kohlrabi starts to turn golden, add pepperoni and continue cooking until kohlrabi is very golden.
Add kale, green onion, and salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until kale is wilted, but not soggy.
Serve while warm with cheese, crackers, and olives.

Simple Pleasures

2010-07-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about living and working in Portland is that it doesn't take a lot of effort to find a quiet place to enjoy the weather. After work, I take my dog for a walk that meanders through green neighborhoods or around the cove. On the weekends, I can go for a bike ride and see the ocean crashing against the rocks, bluebirds flying through fields, or cranes and ducks enjoying a marsh. And at lunchtime, I can take a simple salad, pick up something from the Standard Baking Company next door and go sit on the pier to soak up sun and let my brain relax.

I've found that some of my favorite salads are the most simple. A bunch of salad greens, some fruit, and a basic vinaigrette eaten with fresh bread is refreshing and satisfying. The key to a great salad (besides fabulous vegetables) is the dressing. I've done a lot of experimenting with dressings over the past couple years and have found that simple is many times the best. I usually use a little oil, vinegar and a sweetener (and occasionally some salt and pepper). The variety comes from the type of oil, vinegar and sweetener you use and then the proportion of vinegar to sweetener. For oil, I've used hazelnut, olive oil, and many flavored oils (like lemon rosemary, black pepper, or basil). For vinegar, I'll use rice, balsamic, white balsamic, or cider. And for sweeteners, I'll use white sugar (rare), honey, molasses, maple syrup, or fruit or fruit juices. I tend to like my dressings tangy, but when I have company, I'll make them sweeter, so anywhere from 3 parts vinegar to 1 part sweetener to 1 part vinegar to 1 part sweetener (or for my more sensitive friends, I'll put more sweetener than vinegar). Below is the vinaigrette (and salad) that I had for lunch today.

Salad with Basic Vinaigrette

4 cups mixed salad greens (baby lettuce, radicchio, spinach, tatsoi, arugula)
3/4 c blueberries
Vinaigrette:
1 tsp lemon rosemary olive oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash lettuce and tear into bite sized pieces, place in sealable container.
Put blueberries in an 8 oz glass jar with lid.
Place vinaigrette ingredients in a 4 oz glass jar with lid.
When ready to eat, add blueberries to the salad greens; shake vinaigrette to mix and pout over salad.

Caution: Hot

2010-07-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

It's been hot and humid here in Maine, which is unusual. For example, for a good portion of June I still needed to wear a jacket and leggings on my bike ride to work. I'm enjoying the heat and hope it lasts long enough for me to want it to go away. I have to say, this summer has been absolutely beautiful. While it may not have been hot in June, it didn't rain all month like last year. I'm not sure if a lack of rain (well, it's rained, but not constantly, day after day) is affecting the farm. They mentioned in the last newsletter that it's been dry enough for them to dry and bale hay. And the vegetables are still coming. They think next week they will also have flowers in the pick-your-own section, which is cool.

So, where am I with my vegetables from last week? Mostly gone, though I still have some napa cabbage, a small cabbage, some lettuce, and the zucchini left. Perhaps I'll make some coleslaw inspired salad this weekend. Most of the remaining vegetables went into my dinner last night, a hot and sour soup inspired stew. The hot and sour soup recipe I use is from Ken Hom's Fool Proof Chinese Cooking. If you've never made Hot and Sour soup, you really should pick up a copy of this book and try his out. I've never been a fan of the glutinous vibrant red variety in most Chinese restaurants in the US. Hom's recipe, however, is a proper soup and the only vibrant red comes from the hot pepper oil. It's absolutely delicious.

I was already considering using his marinade for some ground pork I had and as I got going I decided to make a stew that I could put over rice. His recipe has tofu, egg, pork, woodears and shitake mushrooms. I used the egg, pork, and shitake mushrooms and added broccoli, baby bok choy leaves, napa cabbage and some spicy red peppers. It's important, when making his soup, to make a chicken stock. I didn't have any, so I used bouillon and simmered it with slices of ginger, crushed garlic, and onion to make the base. After making that, the rest of the soup went together rather quickly. And despite the heat, it was a perfect meal.

Vegetable Hot and Sour Stew

6 c water
2 tsp chicken bouillon
4 inches of ginger, sliced
6 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
1/2 c sliced red onion
12 shitake mushrooms, stems and tops separated; slice tops
1/2 lb pork
4 tsp soy sauce
4 tsp rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
12 napa cabbage leaves, washed and sliced into 1 inch strips
8 to 10 baby bok choy, leaves separated from stems
3 c broccoli pieces*
2 hot peppers, sliced into rounds
2 eggs
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
8 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tsp chili oil
1/4 c cilantro
2 tsp sesame oil
cooked rice

In a stock pot, combine water, bouillon, ginger, garlic, onion, and stems from the shitake mushrooms.
Bring to a boil, turn down a tad and let cook for 15 to 20 minutes.
While the base is boiling, mix the 4 tsp soy sauce, 4 tsp rice wine, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp sugar and pork.
Use a wire strainer to remove the ginger, garlic, onion, and shitake stems from the base.
Turn down heat so base is simmering, then slowly add the pork, breaking it into small pieces. Allow to simmer for a few minutes.
Once pork is no longer visibly pink, add the cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, shitake caps, and red pepper. Allow to cook until broccoli is bright green and cabbage and bok choy are wilted.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the 1 tbsp sesame oil.
Push the vegetables to the sides of the pan, clearing a space where there is mostly broth in the center. Slowly pour the egg into this space, stirring with a fork to break it up, then stir.
Add the remaining ingredients and allow to simmer for a few minutes.
Remove from heat and serve in a bowl over cooked rice.

*I typically cut the long stemmed florets off the sides, until I reach the heart of the top. Then I cut this from the stem and break into pieces. I then cut off the bottom of the stem, peel the skin off the main stem at the bottom, and then quarter lengthwise and cut into 2 inch lengths.

Sun, Fun, and no writing

2010-07-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

You'll have to forgive me, but over the holiday weekend I decided accepting invitations to camps* was more appealing than staying in town where there is Internet access. I spent three glorious days sunning myself, swimming, and eating grilled food. Pretty awesome. Before heading out of town I took stock of what remained to be eaten from last week's CSA (a head of red leaf lettuce) and then went to pick up that week's share. I now have gallon size Ziploc bags, so I can give you a more accurate account of what I picked up:

1 gallon baby lettuce mix
1/2 gallon mixed salad greens (including spinach, radicchio, and tatsoi)
1 1/2 gallons mixed braising greens (including kale, baby bok choy, and chard)
1 small head each of cabbage and napa cabbage (they are a little bigger than a softball)
1 quart of pea pods (This time I picked more snow peas than snap peas.)
2 zucchini
1 large napa cabbage
2 heads broccoli

And given my being out of town over the weekend and then being sick at the beginning of the week, I still have quite a bit left (1/2 the baby lettuce, all of the salad greens, the bok choy, 1 small head of cabbage, 2 zucchini, most of the large napa cabbage, and the broccoli). I'm thinking I'm going to try finding a recipe for kimchi. The broccoli I'm going to try freezing. The zucchini might be made into bread that will be brought to work (or frozen).

I used up the chard, kale, and small head of napa cabbage last night (which turned into today's lunch, or maybe afternoon snack). Wanting to change up my stir fried greens, I decided to add some Moghul Masala to it. What is Moghul Masala? It's an Indian spice mixture I found in one of my cookbooks (The Book of Curries & Indian Foods). It's a mixture of cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and nutmeg, so it adds a warm flavor to foods. After adding that, I felt that the dish needed a little sweetness, so I threw in a good handful of raisins during the last few minutes of cooking. I was really pleased with the results. While it's not a combination many people would think of, it's a balanced combinations that completely changes the flavor of typical stir fried vegetables.

Spiced Greens with Raisins

1 tbsp oil
1/3 c chopped red onion
1 tsp Moghul Masala
6 cups mixed greens (such as chard, cabbage, kale), rinsed and dried
1/4 c raisins
cooked rice

Put a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add oil.
When oil is shimmering, add onion and masala, and cook while stirring.
When onion is translucent and spices fragrant, add greens. Use tongs to turn the greens and mix with the onion and masala. Cook, turning frequently until mostly wilted.
Add raisins and continue cooking until greens are cooked to your liking. (I found that the chard and kale cooked quickly, while the cabbage was still not quite done. In this case, I kept cooking until the cabbage was tender and the other greens were very soft).
Remove from heat and serve with rice.

* Camp: the Maine term for a small cabin on a lake or ocean.

The Goodness of Garlic

2010-07-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

I was pretty much famished by the time I got down to making dinner last night. Due to some exercise related protesting from my legs, I decided to take it easy last night. So instead of the planned bike ride, I took my pups for a long, leisurely walk (read: I was in too much pain to walk fast). While this did result in a great deal less pain today, it also meant it was late when I got home. Whilst on the walk, I was dreaming of pizza and wine (having to walk by a pizza parlor did not help). Knowing the state of the vegetables in my refrigerator (many), I passed up pizza and instead made pasta. I whipped up a garlic cream sauce, sauteed some kale and parboiled some pea pods, mixed it all, and topped it with a little bit of shredded cheddar cheese before eating. It definitely hit the spot and made me happy that I didn't cave to the enticing pizza perfume.

Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce and Vegetables

2 c pea pods, washed, cut in half
1 tsp oil (I used a basil olive oil)
1 1/2 c kale, washed and chopped
2 oz pasta (I used dried because I didn't have any fresh)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil (again, I used the basil olive oil)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
4 tsp flour (this is a reduction, I actually used 5)
salt and pepper to taste
1 c milk
cheddar cheese, shredded

Put pea pods in a pot, cover with water and place over high heat.
Bring to a boil, cook for about 2 minutes, then drain.
In the same pot, put a generous amount of water and bring to a boil over high heat.
Add a large pinch of salt, stir, then add the pasta to cook. Cook to al dente as directed on the package.
While pasta is cooking, heat a skillet over medium high heat and add 1 tsp oil.
When oil is shimmering, add kale and stir fry until wilted, then remove from heat.
Once pasta is done cooking, pour into a sieve and let drain.
Place that same pot over medium low heat and add butter and 1 tbsp oil.
Once the butter has melted and is crackling, add garlic and cook, stirring, until garlic just starts to turn golden.
Add flour, salt and pepper and stir until smooth. Let this bubble, stirring, for about a minute.
Slowly add the milk, whisking until smooth.
Cook until sauce thickens, then add the pea pods, kale, and pasta and toss.
Before serving warm, top with cheddar cheese.

We all love quinoa

2010-06-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

Well, at least I love quinoa. I've only recently discovered it and have been purchasing it regularly. And (according to what I've heard from people around me and a quick search online) it has protein, eight whole grams per one cup cooked. That's pretty awesome for a little grain! Or, oops, it's not a grain. It's actually a seed, but you can prepare it and use it like rice or couscous. To prepare it you need one part quinoa to two parts water (or other such liquid) and whatever seasonings your heart desires. What I've read says to rinse it before cooking, but I'll admit that I don't. I'm pretty sure the tiny seeds would go right through the holes in my strainer. Like rice, you mix the quinoa, water, and seasonings, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and cover. It cooks in twenty to twenty five minutes. I usually set the timer for twenty minutes and let it sit, still covered, for the last five minutes.

Last weekend I was with some friends at camp (that's what Mainers call a small cabin on a lake) and they were eating this delicious curried quinoa and chickpea salad. Inspired, I did some experimenting. I made a curry quinoa by just adding a bit of sea salt and curry powder to the pot. Then I stir fried some baby bok choy, green onions, and sugar snap peas. When all was done, I tossed them together and ate it with a side salad with a simple vinaigrette.

One of the things about my CSA that I'm enjoying most right now is trying to make a small variety of vegetables (greens, salad greens, and pea pods) into a wide variety of meals. What I usually end up with is a simple flavor combination that highlights the delicious vegetables. For this meal, the curry complimented the bok choy and peas quite nicely. I enjoy the combination of sweet sugar snap peas (or other sweet vegetables) with the complexity and slight spice of curry. Baby bok choy is great because the leaves themselves are slightly sweet, but if you include the thick stem, that is slightly spicy. It's not spicy in the jalapeno sense, but rather like horseradish or wasabi. Those pieces are a pleasant surprise that makes the dish even more interesting. I feel that this dish, or varieties of it, will make frequent showings at my dinner table.

Curried Quinoa with Baby Bok Choy and Sugar Snap Peas

1/4 c quinoa (rinsed)
1/2 c water
sea salt to taste
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp black pepper olive oil
1 green onion, rinsed and chopped
6 small baby bok choy, split apart and washed
1 c sugar snap peas, rinsed and chopped in half

In a pan, mix the quinoa, water, sea salt and curry powder.
Turn burner on high and once the quinoa is at a boil, stir, cover and reduce the heat to low.
Cook for 20 minutes, then turn of the heat and let stand 5 minutes.
While quinoa is standing, heat a cast iron pan over medium-high heat and add oil.
Once oil is shimmering, add green onion, bok choy and peas.
Stir fry until bok choy begins to wilt.
Remove vegetables from heat.
In a bowl, mix together quinoa and vegetables. Eat while warm.

Mango-Goat Cheese Salad

2010-06-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it, I cheated and bought tomatoes from the grocery store. But, they were Maine-grown tomatoes. Unlike the mango I bought, which is most certainly not grown in Maine. I'm pretty sure tropical fruit-producing plants like that wither up and die when they cross the boarder into Maine (sort of like a wicked witch). Luckily, we can still get the fruit. It may not be entirely eco-friendly, but I enjoy the variety that global food distribution provides. But this takes us into territory that makes me uncomfortable, debates over responsible eating habits. Where exactly does one draw the line? I've joined an organic CSA, but I have to drive 25 minutes one way to pick it up; good or bad? I eat very few pre-packaged foods, but purchase things like bananas from South America, oranges from Florida, and apples from Washington; good or bad? I figure as long as I'm making mostly good choices, that's enough. I mean, the conversation could go so far, into the larger, worldwide ramifications of food monoculture and the attack on cultural food diversity. So, back to what I ate for dinner last night and again for lunch today!

Mango-Goat Cheese Salad (recipe for two meals, with lunch packing directions)

1/2 c quinoa
1 c water
1/2 tsp adobo
1/4 tsp sazon
large pinch oregano leaves
pinch cumin seeds
5 cups washed lettuce/salad greens, torn into bite sized pieces
2 green onions, sliced
1 large tomato, chopped
1 mango, peeled and chopped
2 oz goat cheese

In a pan (with lid), mix quinoa, water, adobo, sazon, oregano, and cumin seeds.
Put over high heat and bring to a boil; then reduce heat to low and cover.
Cook for 20 to 25 minutes.
While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the vegetables and fruit.
Put half the tomato, green onion, mango, and goat cheese in a sealable container for the next meal and half in a bowl.
When quinoa is done, put half in a sealable container for the next meal and the other half in the bowl with the vegetables/fruit; mix.
Place 1/2 the lettuce in a sealable container for the next meal and half in a circle on a dinner plate.
Put the quinoa mixture in the center of the plate and serve.
(All prepared containers should go into the refrigerator until you're ready to eat. To prepare the leftovers, heat the quinoa for about a minute in the microwave, then mix with the vegetable/fruit, then combine with remaining lettuce to serve).

Oh internet

2010-06-28T14:48:00.001-07:00

So, apparently there is a conspiracy to prevent me from updating my blog on a daily basis. Enter "lose of Internet for the weekend." Well, despite the inability to post, I did not fast over the weekend, far from it. I have too many vegetables to eat! So many, in fact, that I incorporated them into my breakfast. Enter "the breakfast sandwich." It's oh so delicious and envied by other breakfast sandwiches that lack its vitamin richness. Or so we can imagine in our little world of walking-talking breakfast sandwiches. I imagine those fast food ones would be the kids getting picked on. Or, maybe I have it backwards and they're actually the popular kids and my little guy is the outcast. Good thing it's all in our imaginations. Except the sandwich; it really is tasty!

Egg and Kale Breakfast Sandwich

2 slices hearty whole grain bread, toasted
1 tbsp cream cheese
1 tsp butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp black pepper olive oil
6 medium to small kale leaves, washed and torn in half
salt and pepper to taste

Once bread is toasted, spread 1/2 tbsp cream cheese on each slice.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add butter.
At the same time, heat a small cast iron pan over medium-high heat and add the oil.
Once the butter is melted and sizzling, tilt pan to spread and then crack the eggs into the pan. Break the yolks and salt and pepper "to taste."
Once the oil is shimmering in the other pan, tilt pan to spread and then add kale.
While your eggs are cooking, occasionally stir the kale until wilted. Remove from heat.
When eggs are mostly done, flip and cook the rest of the way.
When eggs are done, put kale on one slice of the bread, top with eggs and then the second piece of bread.
Eat while hot.

My fingers are green

2010-06-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

My fingers are green from picking snow peas and snap peas. After a few years of meaning to, I've finally joined a CSA. I usually remember about wanting to join after they've all closed. This year I found one that was still open and willing to accept a choose-your-own payment plan. So, I went last week to pay my first installment and pick up my first veggies. As I live in Maine, the CSA had only started the week before I joined, thus not a ton of vegetables last week, but definitely enough to get me through the week.

Each CSA has a different method, but the one I joined does a lot of mix-and-match, which is great if you don't like one of the options. I like experimenting, so I take a little bit of everything. Last week was mixed salad greens, mixed cooking greens and broccoli. This week there was a lot more to pick up and their pick your own field was open with peas. Since I don't have my own garden, I enjoyed picking peas amidst kids hunting for peas, exclaiming that they found a really great one, and munching on half the ones they picked. I started to leave when I thought I had enough, but was stopped by the gentleman overseeing the field. He exclaimed, "That's not nearly enough! Go take more! Eat more!" As I slowly wound my way back out of the plants, one hand covering the basket so my extra peas wouldn't fall out he said, "That's more like it! That's what we like to see!" You have to love a place that tells you to take more.

So, now I have a new goal for this blog. I bought a whole share, which means I'm going to have a lot of vegetables. I figured I'd share my attempts at eating enough vegetables to feed two vegetarians with you. I'm also going to attempt to freeze or can whatever I don't manage to ingest. Each day I'll share at least one meal that involved my CSA produce. (Disclaimer: this is a goal and given my atrocious ability to regularly update my blog, a goal I can't guarantee; but I'll give it my best effort). So, first, the run down of this week's share (and then a recipe):

(measurements are approximate, given that they put out big and medium sized bowls that you measure the loose leaves into)
1 head of red leaf lettuce
mixed baby lettuce leaves (about 1 or 2 full heads worth)
mixed salad greens (about 1 head of lettuce)
mixed cooking greens (bok choy, kale, Swiss chard) (about 1 1/2 heads)
2 bunches scallions
1 purple kohlrabi
1 quart mixed snow and snap peas

My lunch today consisted of this salad and a French roll from the local bakery. I ate it while enjoying a sunny day and watching a seal swim near the pier. Practically perfect.

Salad with nectarines and cheese (directions are for transport to work)

2 cups young salad greens, washed and torn into bite sized pieces
1 nectarine, pitted and chopped
2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
2 oz apricot-ginger white cheese

Put salad greens in a small, sealable plastic bag.
In a small, sealable container, put the chopped nectarine and pour in vinegar and syrup.
Put cheese in a separate bag.
When ready to eat, put greens on a plate, top with nectarine/dressing, and crumble the cheese over all of it.
Lightly toss before eating.

Summer Inspiration

2010-04-19T18:21:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming. I suppose I could say that spring is here, but thinking that summer is coming makes me even happier. Especially since I live in Maine, and spring is quite the roller coaster. A couple weekends ago it was so warm I braved a 45 degree lake to help friends put in their dock. At least, I think it was 45 degrees. It was quite cold, but sitting on the dock in the warm afternoon sun made it all worthwhile. This past weekend was... maybe in the 40s and rainy. I'm not exactly sure because I avoided going outside as much as possible, especially after I saw snow on people's cars. Snow! So, spring is here in Maine, but summer is what I look forward to.

One of my favorite summer activities is grilling. I mean real grilling, the kind with charcoal. I'm amazed at the number of people who feel that a gas grill counts; it doesn't. Gas grills are just outdoor broilers. Charcoal is real fire and imparts a flavor that gas grills will never match. I love slow grilling the most. Circle of coals, chicken split in half, basting, turning, adding coals to keep the heat going, basting, turning, repeat as necessary. This is best achieved while sipping a beer or a glass of wine and soaking up sun in a lawn chair. And now my deep secret... I don't own a grill. I've lived here coming on three years and this will be my fourth summer in this apartment. It's time to get that grill, don't you think? And a lawn chair. I don't own one of those either. Once I have those and Maine makes up its mind to be warm, I will start grilling.

In the meantime, I have found a decent substitute that gives me a charred flavor - my broiler. It's electric, so it has one up on those gas grills. No gas flavor, take that gas grills! I've also stuck with vegetable dishes. Not sure why, exactly. I love meat, but just haven't been buying it as of late. I have, however, been buying asparagus like it's going out of style. The first dish below was made for a potluck. As a friend once pointed out, vegetable dishes seem to get overlooked in the world of potlucks. The second was because I had those vegetables in my house and some soba noodles. Two different flavors from one great cooking method, the broiler.

Asparagus, Green Bean and Roasted Red Pepper

3 red bell peppers
1 bunch asparagus, ends snapped off and chopped into 1 1/2 inch pieces
3 cups green beans, trimmed and chopped into pieces
6 large shallots, peeled and sliced thick
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Move one oven rack to the top position and the second to the position just below that and set your oven to broil.
Place the red bell peppers, whole on the top rack, leaving the door open a crack.
As the top side of the bell peppers turn black, turn; continue turning until all sides are blackened.
While peppers are roasting, mix the asparagus, green beans, shallots, oil, salt and pepper on a cookie sheet; make sure to coat everything well with the oil.
When you turn the peppers to the last side for roasting, place the other vegetables on the rack below the peppers. (It's good if the peppers drip onto the other vegetables.)
When peppers are done roasting, remove from oven and place in a bowl of cold water; move the other vegetables up to the top rack and leave the door open a crack. Stir occasionally.
Peel skin off peppers, seed and chop. Be careful because the air inside the peppers will be very hot and steamy!
Place peppers in a bowl.
When other vegetables are done and slightly browned, add to the bowl with the peppers and stir.
This really good served over quinoa.

Asparagus, Snap Peas, and Leek

2 large bunches asparagus, ends snapped off and chopped into 4 pieces lengthwise
4 cups snap peas, de-stringed and rinsed
2 leeks, dark green tops and root trimmed off, sliced in half lengthwise and then sliced into 1/2 inch pieces - rinse
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 package soba noodles (enough for 4 servings)
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce

Set oven rack to the top position and turn your oven to broil setting.
Mix asparagus, snap peas, leeks, olive oil, salt and pepper and then divide between two 9x13 inch cake pans.
Place pans in the oven on the top rack, leaving the door open a crack.
Stir occasionally.
Remove vegetables when tender and slightly brown.
Drizzle with soy sauce and mix.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add soba noodles.
Cook for 4 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water.
Place noodles back in pot, drizzle with sesame oil and toss.
To serve, place 1/2 serving of soba noodles in a bowl and spoon vegetables over the top.

Vegetable Mushroom Soup

2009-12-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

I went to a friend's house last night for a small get together. Instead of ordering food or doing our usual appetizers-for-dinner, I offered to cook. Originally I suggested a mushroom-squash soup, broth based because one of my friends recently discovered that her body is having an all out battle with dairy (or maybe that should be the other way around). The other friend indicated she's less than fond of squash, so I had mushrooms as a start and had to apologize to all the squash sitting in my kitchen unused. I hope they aren't sitting there, crying to each other about how nobody wants them. (As a side note: I have a ton of squash because, when my brother and sister-in-law left for a month in France, they left me their enormous csa share which included a ton of squash).

Back to our unpaired mushrooms... While sitting around knitting (I had the day off), I was thinking through different vegetables I could use. Oh, the no-dairy friend is also not a huge fan of meat, so I was going for an all vegetable soup. I recalled a delicious soup I had a local restaurant; it had beets (immediately nixed because one of the people eating doesn't really like those) and mushrooms and a very rich and complex broth. There were a lot of tiny pieces of root vegetables at the bottom of the bowl, so I assumed they had roasted the tiny vegetables with beef, deglazed the pan, and used that as the base. Since I wasn't using beef and didn't want to roast as well as cook stove-top, I wanted to try obtaining the richness in one pan.

In the end, I selected onions, garlic, potato (russet, for the starch), carrots, and parsnips. I used a mixture of baby portabella mushrooms and shitake. I heated a generous amount of olive oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Once that was hot, I added the onions and garlic and cooked those, stirring occasionally until they started to brown. Then I added the potato, and again, cooked with occasional stirring, until that started to brown and stick to the bottom. Next were the carrots and parsnips, a little more browning, some salt and pepper, and then I deglazed with a little bit of red wine. Once the bottom was scraped clean of all those delicious brown bits, I added water, vegetable and beef bullion (my friend isn't averse to that), and the mushrooms. It simmered for about 30 to 45 minutes and I added some more salt and pepper. The end product was a peppery, rich broth filled with perfect little cubes of root veggies and sliced mushrooms. And it was a definite hit with all friends involved.

Vegetable Mushroom Soup

1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 large russet potato, washed and diced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup carrots, diced or sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup parsnips, diced or sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup dry red wine
3 to 4 quarts water
1 to 2 teaspoons beef bullion
1 teaspoon vegetable bullion
3 cups variety of mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat.
When hot, add onion and garlic, stirring occasionally until onion begins to brown.
Add potato, stirring occasionally until potato begins to brown and stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add about 1 teaspoon and 1 teaspoon black pepper at this point.
Add carrots and parsnips, stirring occasionally until they also begin to brown.
Pour in red wine and scrape the bottom of the pan clean.
Add water, bullion, and mushrooms and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
While soup is simmering, taste occasionally to test the levels of salt, pepper and bullion, adding more if needed.

Sheepish return...

2009-12-18T07:49:00.000-08:00

So, a year? Wow. Basically, anyone beyond my family has probably given up checking this site for updates; even they might have abandoned me. I don't blame you. That's a long period of silence. It's not as though my kitchen is a gloomy pit of dust and cobwebs. (Truth be told, it's currently covered in dirty dishes from last night's dinner). I have no good excuse. So, after a brief "I'm sorry," I'm going to jump right in.

After a week of scrounging for meals from what I had in my house, I got paid, went grocery shopping, and made meatloaf. But, this was no ordinary meatloaf. I honestly love my mother's recipe for meatloaf; it is the epitome of comfort food when served with mashed potatoes and cooked carrots. However, beyond really wanting meatloaf, I've had a hankering for mushrooms and rosemary. There is something about those items that just screams winter. Or rather, as their scents drift through the house, they slowly wrap you in a warm blanket of aroma and whisper to you to curl up on your couch and enjoy their company. I'm so ensnared by their intoxicating combination that they play a pivotal role in my fall/winter cooking regiment. It might come to bore someone else, but I wouldn't know; I'm usually cooking for one. I have a feeling it would take a lot of coaxing from a special someone for me to refrain from their weekly use.

All this ruminating aside, let's get onto the recipe and the process. I started with my mother's basic recipe: 1 pound of ground beef, an egg, crushed cracker crumbs, salt, pepper, splash of tomato sauce, and a small finely chopped onion. My changes: I used Stone Wheat crackers instead of basic saltines (I thought their heartier flavor would go well and add more complexity) and replaced the tomato sauce with milk (a la our recipe for Swedish Meatballs). I also added: 3 portabella mushrooms which I whirred in my food processor and then sauteed with two minced shallots, a tablespoon of dried rosemary leaves crushed, pepper and salt. I chose to precook the mushrooms so that I could cook off some of their moisture. My mother's meatloaf is normally shaped into a loaf and baked in a cast iron pan on top of a circle of tomato sauce, the covered in the remaining tomato sauce. Add a loose cover of tinfoil and bake for about an hour at 350 degrees. My resulting mixture was too wet to hold its own shape, so I actually used a loaf pan (ungreased) and covered with tinfoil for baking. The result: a winter wonderland of flavor and a new addition to my comfort food collection.

Rosemary and Mushroom Meatloaf

1 tablespoon oil
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
3 portabella mushrooms, minced in a food processor
1 pound ground beef (I used 85% lean)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
5 ounces Stone Wheat crackers, crushed to a fine powder (either in food processor or with a rolling pin)
1 egg

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a cast iron pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
Add the shallots and cook until translucent.
Add the rosemary, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook until fragrant.
Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms release their moisture and most of the moisture cooks off.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, place beef, onion, milk, remaining salt and pepper, crushed crackers, egg, and mushroom mixture.
Mix with your hands until everything is well incorporated.
Place mixture in a loaf pan, pat down gently, cover with tinfoil, and bake for about an hour, or until center is cooked through and no longer pink.

Beef and Sausage Stew

2009-01-12T10:24:00.001-08:00

I had planned to go grocery shopping yesterday so that I could make another round of chili or something else warm. Instead I sat in my apartment most of the day reading and knitting. My dirty laundry and bare kitchen mocked me the entire day. In my defense, dragging a granny cart through a foot of snow to do laundry isn't exactly fun. Especially when most of my neighbors are disinclined to shovel their walks. The snow also deterred me from shopping and since I'm going back to Wisconsin near the end of this week, there isn't much reason for me to do any major food purchasing. So, I holed up in my apartment and stayed warm while my dog barked at everything that dared make a noise outside. Magellen has a serious problem. He hates trucks in general, car doors slamming, and people talking outside. I think he has a wire loose that makes all noise seem like an impending threat to our safety. The only way to keep us safe is to bark ferociously and run to all the windows. You never know, one of those trucks might climb into one of our second story windows. Then where would we be? Choking from gas fumes and freezing from the brisk winter wind blowing through the giant hole in the wall. It's a good thing Magellen scares them all away.

...Back to more important matters, though. The stew... perhaps it was more a soup... consistency of soup because I didn't feel like thickening the liquid, but there wasn't much liquid... okay, we'll just stick with calling it a stew. Feel free to thicken the sauce, should you be so inclined (mix some cornstarch with cold water and pour gradually into simmering stew/soup). I had 3/4 of a pound of steak and about 1/4 pound andouille sausage. I had an onion, three parsnips, some carrots, and a cabinet of leftover alcohol from my 30th birthday party. The end result was good... but lacked something that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I think it just needed something to balance out the earthy and spicy ingredients. I thought the sweetness of the carrots would do it, but not really. Okay, I'm being a bit of a perfectionist here. The stew was very good, but the next time I make it, I'll try to make it more balanced and let you know if I succeeded. In the meantime, make it. It's good. Maybe you could make some suggestions on how to improve it?

Beef and Sausage Stew

3/4 lb steak, cut into small cubes
1/4 lb andouille sausage, cut in quarters lengthwise and sliced into cubes
1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1 medium onion, diced small
5 cups water, divided
1/2 c sweet vermouth
3 parsnips, peeled and sliced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme leaves
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp beef bouillon

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat until hot.
Add steak and andouille sausage and brown on first side.
Add black pepper and stir.
Continue to brown the meat, stirring occasionally, until a crust has formed on the bottom of the pan.
Add 1 c water, scrape bottom of the pan clean, and simmer until liquid has evaporated and crust is forms on the bottom of the pan again.
Mix vermouth and 1/2 c water and pour into pan.
Scrape bottom of the pan clean and simmer until liquid has evaporated again and crust is formed again.
Add remaining water and the remaining ingredients and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan again.
Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1/2 hour to 1 hour, until liquid dips below the top of the solid ingredients and carrots and parsnips and tender.
Serve hot with warm bread.

Pepperoni, Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella Pizza with Tomato-Mushroom Sauce

2009-01-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

There are certain dishes that I rarely use a strict recipe for. My pizza sauces fall into this category. I do use a crust recipe, since I've found one that I love. Why mess with perfection? Well, I suppose that's too much of a simplification. It did take me a few tries before I realized that I needed to reduce my oven temperature, since it runs high. I also discovered that 5 minutes of pre-baking the crust means that I can take the pizza out of the oven as soon as the cheese is melted without the crust being undone. Returning to my sauces, though, I use a rough approximation of a recipe, but I almost never make it the same way twice. I suppose this does mean that pizza can be a little hit or miss, but it's usually a hit. This is probably why I don't bother with following recipes, even if I do write them down. This becomes a problem when friends and family request my sauce recipe. Most of them don't like "add a little this" and "just a bit of that." So, I'm going to provide the specific recipe I followed for a pizza I made earlier this week for a couple friends.

Pepperoni, Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella Pizza with Tomato-Mushroom Sauce

2 tbsp oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 portabella mushrooms, stems removed and finely chopped
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp basil
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 whole cloves
5 dried rosemary leaves
1 red bell pepper
1 8 inch link pepperoni, sliced thin
1 3/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c water
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast
butter or shortening for greasing
1 baseball sized ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced into about 12 pieces

Preheat oven to 500 degrees (or less if your oven runs hot).
Heat oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat.
Add onion and cook until it just starts to brown.
Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are glistening and have released juice.
Add tomatoes, basil, cinnamon, cloves, and rosemary leaves.
Simmer, stirring frequently, until reduces to a good spreading consistency. You don't want the sauce to be watery, since that will make your crust soggy. Turn off the sauce once it has reached the consistency you want.
While the sauce is simmering, blacken the skin of the bell pepper. To do this with an electric stove, turn a burner to high. Using an oven mitt to grasp a long pair of metal tongs, hold the bell pepper over the burner (about 1 to 2 inches from the burner). As each side blackens, set the bell pepper down and adjust the tongs grip on the pepper to expose an unblackened side.
Once the entire bell pepper is blackened, set aside to cool.
Once bell pepper is cool, cut off the stem end, slice in half lengthwise; remove seeds and slice into strips.
Heat a skillet over medium heat.
Add pepperoni slices in one layer.
Cook until pepperoni starts to curve, then flip over.
Cook on other side for 30 seconds, then remove pan from heat.
Mix flour and salt in a bowl.
In a microwavable measuring cup, heat the water for 2 1/2 minutes.
Be careful when removing water from the microwave, as it may be at boiling point and can boil over.
Add sugar to hot water and stir.
Add yeast to sugar water and stir.
Allow yeast mixture to sit for 8 minutes.
As yeast mixture is sitting, grease a jellyroll pan with butter or shortening.
Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and press down.
Use more butter or shortening to grease the top of the parchment paper.
Stir yeast mixture, and then pour into flour mixture.
Stir with a fork until just mixed.
Use your hand to finish mixing (you want to remove the dry parts but not over-knead the dough).
Roll dough between your hands to create a log the width of your jellyroll pan.
Place in the center of the jellyroll pan and use your finger tips to slowly and gently press the dough evenly all the way to the ends.
Bake the crust for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven, spread with sauce. Top with pepperoni, bell pepper and cheese.
Put pizza back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
Slice and serve hot.

Breakfast Review - Bintliff's American Cafe

2009-01-04T08:14:00.000-08:00

So, I mentioned that Kurt, Jen and I were going to try to go to Bintliff's American Cafe. Well we ended up going twice. The food was wonderful and I really love the atmosphere. The color scheme is eggplant and cream, which gives a cozy feel while allowing it to be properly bright for a brunch cafe. They play jazz and the walls are decorated with old photos and documents from 1800s grocery stores and sailing logs. While waiting for a table, you can enjoy a cup (or three) of their Coffee by Design blend. Jen was happy to discover that they will give you soy milk for your coffee, even when you're standing waiting. The menu is full of creative and tempting options. The first morning Kurt and I both ordered the Eggs Benedict and Jen ordered the Vegetable Hash with an English muffin. The mountain of vegetable hash was perfectly cooked so that the vegetables were done without being overdone. The eggs Benedict was absolutely perfect! You know how most times, when you order this dish, the hollandaise sauce is an obscene yellow goop over undercooked eggs and slightly burnt English muffins? Well, at Bintliff's the sauce is thin, flavorful, and I believe freshly made. The eggs were perfectly done and the muffin was crisp and perfectly browned. Their three potato hash is also divine. It's a combination of sweet potato, red potatoes and either russets or Yukon gold. Besides fresh thyme, there was a spice in them that I couldn't quite put my finger on, but it reminded me of one of the warm flavors in jerk seasoning - perhaps allspice? Jen and I shared one of their chocolate chip macadamia nut pancakes. It was fluffy without dissolving in the syrup and there were just the right amount of chips and nuts to add flavor without being over powering. Kurt ordered the fruit plate. He was disappointed to find that it was half melons. Other than my mom, nobody in my family is a fan of melon. Seeing that Kurt hadn't eaten half his fruit, our waiter did not charge us for it. We were so happy with the meal that we went back the next day, even without a reservation.

The second morning I had the Raspberry Almond pancakes, which were delicious, with a side of maple sausage and eggs. The sausages were so large, I could have shared them with someone else and gone without the eggs. Now I know. Kurt had their Georgia Pecan Carmel waffle, which he enjoyed. Jen had their Dark Chocolate waffle with a side of medium rare steak. Once again we were all full to the brim and completely satisfied with our meals. Now I know why everyone waits at Bintliff's for their brunch. I highly recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in the area.

Lamb Chili

2009-01-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

Mary Anne came over tonight for dinner and knitting. ...Do I sound like an old maid yet? We went to the grocery store without any idea what we wanted to eat except that I knew I wanted something warm. I’ve been feeling chilled and tired lately and warm food seems to help. I guess that’s just the normal for winter. She suggested soup, which I’ve been eating a lot of lately. I wanted something else and Mary Anne suggested chili. Okay – so it’s basically soup, but in my defense, it’s thicker, more substantial, and basically hearty and warm – just what I wanted. Knowing that I spent some money this weekend, she hesitantly suggested making it with lamb; since lamb wasn’t that much more than the beef, we did opt for it. And instead of the tomato juice I usually use, she suggested with whole tomatoes. We hit common ground with crushed tomatoes and a can of tomato paste. We both enjoy a lot of beans as well, so we picked up a can each of black and kidney beans. The resulting soup was thicker than my family’s recipe, without being the seasoned meat dish of some people’s preference. And least anyone fear that I am a hermit, we did end up going out afterwards. There is a great beer bar in town with a casual atmosphere and intriguing mix of patrons. It has both great drinks and entertaining people watching. We even ventured into a conversation with complete strangers – look at us make acquaintances!

Lamb Chili

1 lb ground lamb
2 small or 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 habanero, stemmed and chopped
1 can tomato paste
1 large can crushed tomatoes
3 tbsp chili powder (or to taste)
½ tsp oregano
pinch of cumin

In a soup pot, brown the lamb meat. If there is a lot of extra moisture in the meat, simmer off the excess liquid.
Add onions, pepper and habanero to pot and cook, stirring, until onions are translucent.
Stir in tomato paste.
Gradually add crushed tomatoes.
Mix in chili powder, oregano and cumin.
Simmer for ½ hour, stirring frequently.
Serve hot with a hearty whole grain bread.

Rosemary Chicken with Mashed Yams and Parsnips and Sauteed Spinach

2009-01-02T07:28:00.000-08:00

This morning I'm headed to Bintliff's American Cafe with Kurt and Jen. I have tried most of Portland's brunch cafes, but not this one. I've heard great things about their food. We had tried to go once before, a while back, but it was weekend brunch rush hour and Jen was already hungry, so we decided to go to another restaurant that I frequent and had never experienced a wait at. Enter the "never" curse. We had to wait just as long at the second cafe and also got the table right by the door, so we had to keep our coats on. I seriously don't understand people who walk into a restaurant during the winter and hold the door open while having a conversation with the people behind them about whether they'll eat there or not. The waitress also wasn't very attentive. I have high hopes for Bintliff's, since we made a reservation this time!

Last night, I made another meal to continue my attempt at more vegetables. This time I pan cooked some chicken thighs with rosemary and garlic, mashed yams (for sweetness) and parsnips (to balance out the yams), and quickly sauteed some spinach with garlic in oil so that it was wilted but not soggy. I hate overcooked greens. The meal was very colorful, which is always so appetizing, and the flavors balanced I thought. (Though, I didn't realize my brother doesn't like squash and yams very much, so I should have increase the amount of parsnips to yams for his taste preference). The meal came together quickly, which was nice since Jen was hungry when they arrived and I hadn't started to cook yet. Oops. Kurt also told me that when he makes a quick sauteed vegetable after cooking meat, he'll just throw it into the meat pan (meat removed). It saves a pan and adds more flavor to the vegetables.

Rosemary Chicken with Mashed Yams and Parsnips and Sauteed Spinach

2 tbsp oil
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 tbsp rosemary
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 yams, peeled and diced
6 parsnips, peels and sliced
1 bunch spinach, washed well

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Add smashed garlic cloves and rosemary and allow to cook for a minute.
Salt and pepper the chicken thighs on both sides and add to the pan.
Leave these to cook until you can see that it is cooked half way up and side facing down is thoroughly browned.
While first side of chicken is cooking, put the yams and parsnips in a pan and cover with water.
Bring yams and parsnips to a boil, then reduce heat and low boil until vegetables are tender.
When chicken is cooked half way up, turn over and allow to cook the rest of the way. Do not turn the chicken frequently, or the outside will overcook and the inside will take longer to come to temperature.
Yams and parsnips should be done before the chicken - drain and then mash.
Cover with a lid to keep warm.
When meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the largest chicken thigh reads 180 degrees, remove chicken from pan and place on a serving platter.
Add spinach to the meat pan and saute until just wilted.
Remove spinach from pan and put in a serving bowl.
Put mashed yams and parsnips in a serving bowl.
Serve hot.

Creamy Winter Soup

2008-12-30T16:52:00.000-08:00

After our delicious Christmas of starch and meat... and sweets... my body was craving some vegetables. I also want to get a greater variety of vegetables into my diet. This is something I typically forget to do in the winter months. During the summer, it's so easy; I just stop by my local farmer's market and go wild. We have some wonderful local producers who remember to provide many types of vegetables. I actually have been complimented by a couple (patting myself on the back here) for my "adventurous" selections. Once it was for simply buying rainbow colored carrots (which are so superior to the simple orange ones) and beets. Another time it was for buying kohlrabi, turnips, and possibly rutabaga.

During the winter, I tend to eat a lot of cheese, mushrooms, bread, squash, potatoes and meat. I think that this is mostly natural - those are the items that would have been available... I think... back in the day. But seeing as I have more opportunity to purchase other items year round, I should take advantage of it (to an extent - I still avoid buying fresh tomatoes in the winter since they rarely taste as good as the summer ones. Why torture myself with sub-par tomatoes?) I didn't avoid starch completely with this recipe, but I made sure to add some other nutritious vegetables to make me feel better about it.

Creamy Winter Soup

1/4 c wild rice
2 large red potatoes, cut in quarters lengthwise and sliced about 1/8 inch thick
2 tbsp butter or oil
1 small onion, chopped small
salt
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
12 cremini mushrooms, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 c reserved wild rice water
1 c reserved potato water
5 c water
2 tsp chicken Better than Bouillon
1 bunch kale, stems removed, torn into pieces and washed well
1/4 c half and half
1 c milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp paprika

Place wild rice in a pan with plenty of water (about 4 cups).
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
When rice is done, drain over a measuring cup to reserve 1 cup of the water.
Place potatoes in a large soup pot with water to cover.
Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender.
Drain potatoes over a measuring cup to reserve 1 cup of the water.
Dry out the soup pot, then put over medium-high heat.
Add butter or oil to pan and heat.
When butter is hot, reduce heat to medium and add onion and sprinkle with salt.
Cook onion, stirring, until browned (be careful not to burn the onion).
Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
Pour in reserved wild rice and potato water and 5 cups water.
Add chicken bouillon and stir.
Add kale and bring soup to a simmer.
Cook until kale is almost tender.
Add potatoes, cooked wild rice, half and half, milk, salt and pepper, dill weed and paprika.
Heat over medium-low heat until flavors are well blended.
Serve hot.

Vintage Cookbooks

2008-12-28T16:06:00.000-08:00

To state it simply, I love cookbooks! I especially adore vintage cookbooks. I learned to cook from my mother and two cookbooks: Betty Crocker's Cookbook (23rd printing 1974, copyright 1969) and The Fannie Farmer Cookbook revised by Wilma Lord Perkins (Eleventh Edition, 1965). My mother gave me the basic building blocks of cooking and the two cookbooks taught me the many structures that could be created. One of the reasons I love vintage cookbooks so much is that they don't insult your intelligence. They expect that you can debone meat, mix batters by hand, and chop, slice, and mince with your own knife. I no longer wonder that most Americans no longer know how to cook from scratch when many of today's cookbooks use as many convenience items as possible and advertise that all of your meals can be cooked in 30 minutes or less. There are popular chefs whose cookbooks do not follow this trend, but I fear their cookbooks end up being coffee table books rather than kitchen staples. I hope I am wrong, but with the number of people who tell me they don't know how to cook makes me worry.

Another thing lacking in many newer cookbooks is taste. Boneless, skinless meat should only be used to a certain extent. Cooks should not fear putting oil or butter in their pan rather than spray oil. Vintage cookbooks give me the recipes as people used to make them, full of flavor and style, but with out pretension. And after cooking a while, you can be your own judge of whether that recipe you want to try really needs a whole stick of butter or a whole cup of heavy cream. I approach vintage cookbooks as I approach all recipes - I adapt them to my own tastes or those of my guests.

So, my favorite cream of mushroom soup recipe is adapted from a Fannie Farmer recipe. I cut the butter and the cream. I usually use half-and-half rather than cream because that's typically what I have in my refrigerator. My favorite chicken potpie recipe is actually my mother’s, which she adapted from Betty Crocker. If you limit yourself to what is exactly in a recipe, you will get bored in your kitchen quickly. That said, vintage cookbooks are the land of "new" ideas and invention. There is a greater variety of ingredients in comparison to today's limited diet.

My current library of "vintage" cookbooks (and I suppose I use that liberally, since some are from the 60s) includes:

Betty Crocker's Cookbook by General Mills, Inc; copyright 1969, printed 1974.
The Fannie Farmer Cookbook revised by Wilma Lord Perkins; copyright 1965.
[I want to get this book in its older editions as well and compare the recipes.]
The American Heritage Cookbook by the editors of American Heritage, copyright 1964.
Sweets [appears to be by Lydia E. Pinkham's Medicines, no date is given]
The Metropolitan Cook Book by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, printed 1925.
Choice Recipes: How To Operate a Fireless Cookstove by Toledo Cooker Company, copyright 1920.
Victory Cook Book: How to Eat Well... Live Well... Plan Balanced Meals... under Food Rationing by Lysol Disinfectant, copyright 1943 [and free with purchase of Lysol].
Everybody's Cook Book published by The Haskin Service, (no date, but was printed during WWII).
The next two I just received for Christmas from my brother, Kurt, and his wife, Jenny.
Modern Priscilla Cookbook: 1,000 Recipes and Cooking Methods by The Priscilla Publishing Company, copyright 1929.
The Wine Cook Book by The Browns (Cora, Rose and Bob), copyright 1951.

My new favorite sentence is: "Cookery becomes an art when judgment, skill, creative ability and a fine appreciation of flavors enter into it." [Quoted from Modern Priscilla Cookbook] Finally I have proof that I am artistic - with food!

Christmas Eve Breakfast

2008-12-24T12:26:00.000-08:00

My whole family has postponed our Christmas celebration to January. While this meant that we haven't quite felt that holiday spirit this year, it turns out it wasn't that bad of a decision. If my brother and his girlfriend had been flying home, they would have found themselves stuck on the west coast due to the recent weather. Let's hope that January, which tends to be snowier all around, doesn't throw us for a loop too!

Postponed family Christmas celebration means postponed traditional meals. On Christmas Eve we usually have sausage, cheese, dill bread and soup. Christmas morning brings caramel rolls and scrambled eggs. The Christmas Day meal is typically either ham or turkey. There was one Christmas where my mom and I tried to break with tradition and had an Indian meal one day and Cajun the next. I still haven't heard the end of the gastronomic adventures my weaker stomached family members experienced.

Since I have tradition to look forward to and I'm spending this Christmas Eve and Day with my brother and sister-in-law, we're covering the Puerto Rican traditions of my sister-in-law's family. If you haven't had the pleasure to eat good home cooked Puerto Rican food, you are missing out! Earlier this week Jen (my sister-in-law) made Frijoles con bollitas (stewed black eyed pea with green banana dumplings). It's one of my favorite Puerto dishes. Tonight, for Christmas Eve dinner we'll be having Alcapurrias (green banana and plantain dough filled with seasoned beef and deep fried). Tomorrow we'll be having pork roast seasoned with garlic, green olives and adobo. Yum!

This morning, while my brother, Kurt, and Jen went for a run, I made breakfast. I fried up the mashed potato filling from the varenyky like hash. I scrambled a few eggs and cooked some sausages. While all of that was delicious, it mainly played the role of accompanying my first attempt at Ginger Scones. Jen and I have both had Ginger Scones that we've loved. I wanted to capture the variety of tastes you can get from ginger in its many forms, so I used candied ginger, ground ginger, and freshly grated ginger. The only thing I would do differently is to squeeze the juice out of the grated ginger and not use the pulp. Oh, and follow the recipe accurately and not add an extra 1/4 c of butter (oops). What follows is an adaptation of a Buttermilk Scone recipe that my mother found online and which we've found to be the best basic scone recipe. I've marked the items I added with an asterisk. That way you can omit or change those to make your own creations.

Ginger Scones

3 c flour
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon*
1/2 tsp ground ginger*
3/4 c unsalted butter
1/2 c candied ginger, chopped*
1/4 c walnuts, chopped*
juice from 3 inches of fresh ginger, grated*
1 c plus a dash buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ground ginger in a large mixing bowl and stir together well.
Cut butter into the dry ingredients until coarse meal is achieved.
Stir in candied ginger and walnuts.
Mix fresh ginger juice into buttermilk.
Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients.
Using a wooden spoon or stiff rubber spatula, gently mix. (I slide the spoon into the bowl along the edge, scooping up through the center.)
When everything is JUST moist, gather dough into your hands and gently form into a loose ball.
Divide dough in half.
With each half, pat into a loose ball then place on a lightly floured surface.
Pat ball flat to about 1 inch thick.
Cut each dough round into 8 wedges and arrange on cookie sheets.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until inside is dry and outside is only slightly browned.
Serve warm.

Breakfast Sandwiches

2008-12-23T08:45:00.000-08:00

I assume that most everyone has had either one of those chain breakfast sandwiches or something similar. Well, my sister-in-law made her own version the other morning. When I saw her choice of meat I wondered... hard salami on a breakfast sandwich? But it was tasty. This morning, looking for a quick breakfast and seeing the fresh French bread sitting on the counter, I made a goat cheese and egg version. Breakfast sandwiches are fun and easy to be creative with, so get out your eggs, find your favorite bread, and start creating!

Jen's Egg Sandwich

1 egg
1 tsp butter or butter substitute
salt and pepper to taste
1 slice hard salami
1 English muffin
butter for muffin

Heat the teaspoon of butter in a pan.
Add egg, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover pan and fry until the egg is cooked to your desired firmness.
Toast English muffin while egg is frying.
Butter muffin.
Once egg is cooked, place on the muffin.
Place the slice of hard salami in the hot pan and fry quickly on both sides.
Place salami on the egg, top with other half of muffin and serve hot.

Goat Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

5 inches of French bread, sliced in half
1 tsp butter or butter substitute
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp goat cheese

Heat butter in a frying pan.
Add eggs and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
When eggs are mostly cooked, flip over and cook until yolk is your desired firmness.
While eggs are cooking, spread goat cheese on the bottom half of the French bread.
When eggs are done, cut in half and place length wise on the bottom half of the bread.
Replace top half of the bread and serve hot.

You could easily add fresh basil and thinly sliced tomatoes to this sandwich. Or maybe mix some dill weed into the goat cheese before spreading on the bread. Or if you'd like to add meat, what about pan frying some prosciutto a little? Eggs go well with mustard, so you could put a thin layer of mustard on your bread, under the goat cheese. The best way to approach your kitchen is to keep an open mind. When you have an ingredient you want to use, look through your refrigerator and cupboard for the things that might go well with it. Don't be afraid to break with tradition and you'll have the culinary variety needed to expand your cooking repertoire and to keep cooking fun.

Wild Mushroom Soup and Varenyky

2008-12-23T06:51:00.000-08:00

I realized that the last "recipe" I posted for Varenyky would leave most people at a loss of where to start. So last night we made varenyky and served it with a Wild Mushroom soup. I started the recipe making as many potatoes as when I first learned the dish and increased the amount of dough in hopes that it would be enough to use up all the filling. We ended up with leftover filling (which we plan to pan fry for breakfast). The recipe that follows should get you close to equal amounts of dough and filling. Keep in mind that you can also be creative with the fillings. Spinach and cheese filling would be delicious. I tried a sweet potato, asiago cheese, and Italian sausage filling that was very tasty. The recipe that follows is more traditional, minus the addition of dill. My friend had used feta cheese in hers, but my sister-in-law is lactose intolerant, so we omitted that and added more salt. My brother helped stuff the dumplings. He had plenty opportunity to taste test the filling, since he was licking excess filling off his fingers. It's a good thing we're all family here.

Varenyky with Potato Filling

4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
3 large onions, two finely chopped and one halved and sliced into thin half moons
1/2 c olive oil
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp dill weed
2 c whole wheat flour
1 c unbleached white flour
1 c water (approximate)
sour cream (for serving)

Place potatoes in a pot filled with water and boil until tender.
While potatoes are boiling, heat 1/4 c olive oil in a saute pan.
Add the two chopped onions to the oil and fry until they start to brown.
Remove onions from the heat.
When potatoes are tender (fork inserts easily into them), drain well and place in a mixing bowl.
Use a potato masher or ricer to mash the potatoes well (you don't want any large chunks).
Add sauteed onions with oil to the potatoes.
Add ground black pepper, salt and dill and mix well.
Set aside.
Place flours in a wide, shallow mixing bowl.
Add water a little at a time, mixing well with your hands.
Once dough becomes a ball, begin kneading the dough and adding water as needed.
You should knead the dough five to ten minutes so that it is uniform on consistency. The finished dough should be slightly tacky, but not sticky.
Take a portion of the dough and roll into a 1 to 1 1/2 inch log.
Cut pieces from the log about the size of a large marble and roll into a ball.
Use your fingertips to press the dough into a circle, starting with the center of the ball and slowly working out to the edges.
The dough circle should end up covering the palm of your hand and should not be so thin as to see through it.
Place a heaping teaspoon of filling into the center of the dough. You can fill more or less depending on the size of your circle.
Fold the dough over the filling and, starting with the center of the half moon, press edges firmly together. Edges should be sealed well.
Place prepared varenyky onto a place dusted with flour.
Once you have a layer of varenyky, dust with flour and continue piling the varenyky. Dust with flour between all layers so that they do not stick together.
When you are nearly done filling the varenyky, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
To cook the varenyky, add enough varenyky to the boiling water so that they do not overlap. Stir once.
Once the varenyky float to the top of the water, cook for 60 seconds longer.
Remove the varenyky from the water with a slotted spoon and place in a serving bowl.
While second batch of varenyky are boiling, heat the remaining olive oil in a pan.
Add the sliced onion and saute until starting to brown.
Pour some of this over the already cooked varenyky.
As each batch of varenyky goes into the serving bowl, pour a little more of the oil and onion over the top.
Serve warm with sour cream.

As we wanted to have a vegetable with our dumplings last night, my sister-in-law and I decided to make a mushroom soup. As I was making dinner, this posed a welcome challenge to me. I admittedly use a lot of dairy. My typical fat of choice is butter. In my favorite mushroom soup recipe, you fry the onions in butter and add half and half for a creamy texture. This would have left my sister-in-law in quite a bit of pain, so I needed to make a flavorful broth based soup. I knew that my typical recipe, which only uses portabella mushrooms, would have lacked in depth. So when we went shopping we bought fresh portabella and shitake mushrooms and a small package of dried porcini mushrooms. I used the water in which the porcini mushrooms were reconstituted as the broth for the soup. If I had thought enough in advance, I would have made the soup as it reads below. As it was, I forgot that I would not be using the stems from the portabella and shitake mushrooms. So, they are sitting in the refrigerator to be used in a future mushroom broth.

Wild Mushroom Soup

1 package dried porcini mushrooms
3 large portabella mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed and caps chopped
1 6oz package shitake mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed and caps chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, finely diced
2 tbsp onion, finely diced
2 c reserved mushroom broth
2 c water
1/2 tsp chicken better than bouillon
salt and pepper to taste

Bring 3 c water to a boil in a medium soup pot.
Place portabella and shitake mushroom stems in cheese cloth and tie shut.
When water comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the porcini mushrooms and the cheese cloth package.
Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until porcini mushrooms are tender.
Remove cheese cloth package.
Place a strainer over a liquid measuring cup and drain porcini mushrooms, reserving 2 cups of the broth (or more if you'd like).
Make sure soup pot is dry and place over a medium heat.
Add olive oil to pot to heat.
Add shallots and onions, cooking slowly until translucent (reduce heat if necessary).
Add portabella and shitake mushroom caps, sprinkle with salt and cook until mushrooms are tender.
Chop porcini mushrooms and add to the pot.
Add reserved mushroom broth, water, bouillon, and salt and pepper.
Simmer for 20 minutes and serve hot.

Varenyky (Ukrainian Dumplings)

2008-12-21T10:56:00.000-08:00

This past summer, while in the New York area for work, I visited a great Ukrainian cafe with some colleagues of mine. The borscht was delicious, but I fell in love with the varenyky, or dumplings. The cafe had a wide variety of fillings, some traditional and some not. One of my colleagues is from Ukraine and graciously offered to teach me how to make them. It's quite simple, even without measurements. Like all good home cooked food, this is a recipe of approximation. Relax and have fun with it! This recipe is not traditional because my friend adapted it to her and her Greek husband's own tastes.

flour
water
potatoes
onion
olive oil
feta cheese
salt
pepper
dill weed

In a mixing bowl, place enough flour for the amount of potatoes you plan to make. (perhaps 2 cups) Add water slowly, mixing and kneading the dough until it is slightly sticky and the consistency of pizza dough. Set aside. Peel and quarter four to six potatoes. Place in a pan, cover with water, and boil until tender. While potatoes are boiling, chop one to two onions finely. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a saute pan add the onions. Cook onions until they begin to brown and remove from heat. Once potatoes are tender, drain and use a potato ricer to mash. Add the onions (with the oil) and feta cheese, salt, pepper and dill weed to taste. Mix thoroughly. Take a portion of the dough and roll into a log until the diameter of a quarter. Cut off pieces of dough about 1 1/2 inches long and roll into a ball. Use your fingers to press into a circle of dough. (It should be thin, but not so thin that you can see through it.) Place enough filling so that the dumpling is plump, but you can still seal it. Press the edges firmly together into a half moon shape. Set aside and continue until all the dough or all of the filling is used up. You might need to flour the dumplings so that they do not stick together before cooking. Once all dumplings are assembled, fill a stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Add dumplings one at a time until the bottom is covered with only a single layer of dumplings. Stir once and let boil. While first batch is boiling, chop another onion. Heat a generous amount of oil in a pan, then saute onion until it starts to brown. Once dumplings float to the top, cook another 60 seconds, then remove from pot with slotted spoon. Place in a serving bowl. Pour a little of the onion and oil on the dumplings. Continue to boil dumplings in small batches. Once all dumplings are cooked, serve hot with sour cream.

Herbed Tomato and Cucumber Salad

2008-07-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

So, my farmer's market has these wonderful yellow cucumbers, I can't remember if they're called lemon cucumbers or if the description just mentioned lemon, but they are absolutely delicious. Way better than your average cucumber and smaller, about half the length. I made this salad with them (nothing too original, but tasty):

Herbed Tomato and Cucumber Salad

1 yellow cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
1 tomato, cored and chopped
1 tbsp minced fresh basil
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
juice from 1/2 a lime
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together and let sit, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes before serving. (single serving in my book)

Pan Cooked Pork Chops with Cilantro Rice and Fresh Salsa

2008-05-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

I had some unused ingredients from my Mango Jicama Salsa and some tomatoes in my kitchen, so this dinner started with the salsa. Then I decided to finally cook a couple pork chops I had in the freezer for a while and added the rice to round out the meal. I ate the salsa more like a side salad than a condiment.

Fresh Salsa

4 tomatoes, seeded, stemmed and chopped
2 thin slices of red onion, chopped fine
1 jalapeno, seeded, stemmed and minced
1/4 c chopped cilantro leaves
1 to 2 tsp tabasco sauce
juice from 1 lime
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp sugar

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix.
Set aside while preparing the rest of the meal.

Cilantro Rice

1 c rice
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Fill a medium stock pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat.
Add salt, mix.
Add rice, stirring until water returns to a boil.
Boil rice until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.
When rice is done, drain in a sieve.
Melt butter in empty, warm pan.
Add rice back to the pan and stir in the butter.
Sprinkle in cilantro and stir.

Pan Cooked Pork Chops

1 tbsp oil
2 boneless pork chops
adobo, to taste

Heat a cast iron pan over medium to medium high heat.
Sprinkle pork chops with adobo on both sides.
Add oil to hot pan.
Add pork chops and cook until browned well on one side.
Turn pork chops over and cook until done.

Garlic Rosemary Chicken with Roasted Cauliflower

2008-05-05T17:45:00.003-07:00

Spring has arrived full force in Maine. Spring in Maine equals some beautiful, chilly days with lots of sun and many cloudy, very rainy cold days. The spring brings a renewed desire for fresh vegetables in my kitchen, but the cold days are also pushing me towards some warmer vegetables. Sunday was cold and rainy, so I opted for roasting some cauliflower I had purchased this week. The chicken is a typical flavor combination I use in my kitchen. I really just wanted the cauliflower, but thought I should get some protein since I've been exercising more regularly.

Garlic Rosemary Chicken

4 chicken thighs
1/2 c sliced red onion
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
4 sprigs rosemary
2 tsp oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a square baking dish, place the onion, garlic, and rosemary.
Lay the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables and herbs.
Rub each thigh with 1/2 tsp oil, then rub in salt and pepper.
Bake for 1 hour, or until done.

Roasted Cauliflower

1 large head cauliflower, washed and broken and cut into equal sized florets
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper (or to taste)

Place cauliflower in a large bowl.
Melt butter and mix with oil.
Pour butter/oil mixture over the cauliflower and toss to coat.
Pour into an even layer on a cookie sheet.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
When chicken has about 1/2 hour remaining to cook, place the cauliflower in the oven and roast until browned a bit.

Mango and Jicama Salsa

2008-05-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

Having a party to attend last night, I made this salsa to bring. At first it is a bit crunchy, but as the night went on the jicama became softer and the flavors melded a bit better. I would suggest making this in the morning or the day before.

Mango and Jicama Salsa

2 ripe mangoes, peeled, flesh cut from the pit and diced fine
1 jicama, peeled and diced fine
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded, stemmed and minced
1/4 c red onion, diced fine
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon tabasco sauce
juice from 2 limes
2 tablespoons minced cilantro

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and allow to sit a few hours before serving. If you're unsure about the salt and sugar amounts, add the smaller amount and add more later should the salsa require it.

Savory Citrus Cornish Hens with Mashed (Sweet) Potatoes and Leek Butter

2008-04-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

I am continually amazed by how opening yourself to new people can be so rewarding. A woman who volunteers for my employer asked me to show her daughter around while they were in town this weekend. I had met the mother during a work trip and found out that we had a common home town. We had a great conversation, so when she asked me to spend some time with her daughter, I didn't hesitate to say yes. I was not disappointed. Her daughter was outgoing and full of surprises. I love people like that. She was honestly sweet and open, too. As a close friend's mother has put it, "Wisconsin people are good people," this girl included. As an end to the weekend, I invited her and my close friend over for dinner. Not knowing her likes and dislikes, but knowing that she had ordered chicken when we went out earlier in the weekend, I decided on Cornish Hens (well, the store only had huge chickens that were not going to cook fast enough). I made this up as I went, not to say it's original, the flavor combination is common, I think. The entire meal included individual Cornish Hens stuffed with lemon, garlic, rosemary, and capers, mashed sweet potatoes and potatoes with leek butter, cooked carrots, and asparagus.

Savory Citrus Cornish Hens

4 Cornish Hens, rinsed and patted dry
1 lemon, sliced thin
8 cloves garlic, sliced in half lengthwise
2 tbsp capers
2 long sprigs rosemary
4 tsp oil
freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Separate skin on breasts of hens from the flesh.
Slice four lemon slices in half and slide half a lemon slice between the skin and flesh of each breast.
Divide remaining lemon slices between the cavities of each bird.
Divide garlic, capers, and rosemary between each bird, stuffing into the cavity.
Rub the breast of the birds with oil, then rub with black pepper and salt.
Bake until done, between 1 hour and 1 1/2 hours.

Mashed (Sweet) Potatoes and Leek Butter
2 large yams, peeled and cubed
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 leek, white only, sliced in half, then thinly sliced into half moons
1/4 c butter

Place yams and potatoes into a pot, cover with water.
Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook until tender.
Rinse leeks well and set to drain.
When potatoes are nearly done, heat small skillet and melt butter.
Add leeks and cook until tender.
Drain potatoes and return to pot.
Pour in leeks and butter and mash to desired consistency.
Serve hot.

Signs of Spring

2008-04-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

The sun has been deceptively bright and warm lately, but I live in a city with amazing and chilly winds. I can't even imagine the force of them should they be forced between skyscrapers. Despite the continuing biting cold, we can feel spring creeping up on us.

My suspicions that spring is coming, even to the northern frozen tundra, were confirmed when I found some asparagus at the store. It is most likely not from around here yet, but it was still appealing: bundles of slim, lively green spears properly stored cut side down in a tray of water.

A close friend has been having a tough time lately, so we picked up some wine and bread one night and I made her some dinner. Apparently Creamed Asparagus is not made in this part of the world, because when I told people about it, I received some dubious looks. If you haven't tried this before, try it now. It's both warming for the cool days and full of fresh spring flavors.

Creamed Asparagus

1 lb bunch of asparagus, woody ends snapped off (tops should be about 2 inches long and the remaining length of the spears should be about 1 inch pieces)
1/4 to 1/2 lb bacon
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 c milk
2 slices of bread per person, toasted

Place asparagus in a pan and cover with water.
Bring to a boil, cook until still slightly crisp (about 1 minute).
Drain and rinse in cool water to stop the cooking.
Place as many bacon slices as will fit into a cold skillet.
Turn skillet up to high, then reduce to medium heat once bacon starts sizzling.
Frequently turn bacon, removing slices when cooked to desired crispiness and adding slices when space is made.
Once all bacon is cooked, set aside to cool.
Pour about 2 tbsp of the bacon grease into a sauce pan and turn heat to medium-high.
Add flour, salt and pepper, stir until lumps are gone.
Cook flour mixture about 1 minute.
Remove from heat and slowly stir in the milk.
Once all milk is incorporated, return to burner turned to medium to medium-high heat.
Cook until sauce is thickened.
Chop bacon.
Stir bacon and asparagus into sauce and heat until asparagus is warm.
Ladle creamed asparagus over toast and serve.

Makes two large portions.

Weekend Coffee

2008-03-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hazy shadows of tree limbs rocking in the morning breeze play over my lap. My fluffy teddy bear of a dog lays curled up in the other chair, content after his morning meal and walk in the brisk air. The sun warms me, deceiving me and making me think that we have moved further into spring than we have. I sit listening to public radio podcasts, reading the smart, sassy comments of crafty women and men on one of my favorite websites, and sip my coffee. Preferring to avoid electric appliances that replace perfectly good kitchen items, I make my coffee in a French Press. I feel peaceful as I fill the kettle and put it on to boil, as I grind my coffee beans and watch the grinds tumble into the press, as I pour in the boiling water and stir in the grinds until a thick foam has formed on the top, and as I pour the coffee, a few minutes later, into my enormous coffee mug already half full with steaming milk. Walking to my living room, I think about how I relish the lazy later mornings and early afternoons when all I have to do is sit in the sun sipping my coffee and enriching my mind.

Lentil Chili part II (with Cornbread Pancakes)

2008-03-05T17:41:00.000-08:00

So, I reheated the Lentil Chili this evening and added some (1/2 c to 1 c) water, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp chili powder, and 1/2 tsp Chipotle Tabasco sauce. Just this little addition made the chili so much more flavorful. I had never thought to add cinnamon to chili before (the original recipe called for it). It definitely adds a level of complexity and warmth that straight chili does not typically attain. I also made some Cornbread Pancakes to go with it.

Cornbread Pancakes

1/3 c cornmeal
1/3 c whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 c milk
2 tbsp green onion, finely chopped

Mix the dry ingredients together.
Add liquids and stir with a fork until smooth.
Stir in green onion.
Heat skillet over medium-high heat.
Grease with oil or butter before first batch.
Once oil is hot, reduce heat to medium and pour out three small pancakes sized dollops of batter.
Once pancakes have bubbles on top and sides are dry, flip.
Heat until they puff up and brown, then remove to a warm plate.

(This makes about six pancakes)

Lentil Chili

2008-03-04T17:38:00.000-08:00

Still craving beans/legumes, so I decided to use some lentils I had in the cupboard. I searched through my cookbooks and found a vegetarian recipe for chili made with lentils and mushrooms. Not being one for a purely spicy dish, but something spicy and flavorful, I took the idea and ran with it, adding ingredients I had in the house. The result was good, but I think I might add some seasonings to make it more flavorful. Perhaps add a little oregano and more chili powder and maybe some corn.

Lentil Chili

1 1/2 c dried lentils
5 c water
1 1/2 tsp chicken bullion
grease from 1/4 bacon or 3 tbsp other oil
1/4 c onion, chopped
1/2 a large red bell pepper, chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 tomatillos, chopped fine
1 Roma tomato, seeded, cored and chopped fine
1 large portabello mushroom, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
salt to taste

In a stock pot, placed lentils, water and chicken bullion and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until tender.
In a skillet, heat bacon grease (or other oil) over medium-high heat.
When oil is hot, add onion and cook until it starts to brown.
Add red bell pepper and garlic and cook until garlic softens.
Add tomatillos, tomato, and mushroom and cook until mushrooms shrink.
Add chili powder and cook until fragrant.
Stir vegetable and spice mixture into the lentils and cook until fragrant.
Add salt to taste.
You may want to let this sit a day in the refrigerator before serving.

Black Bean Stew with Cornbread Dumplings Served Over Collard Greens

2008-02-22T16:51:00.001-08:00

It is so rare for my fabricated recipes to turn out near to perfect. Typically I develop something in my mind and, once made, find multiple ways in which I might tweak the recipe to perfect the flavors and texture. Tonight, I nearly nailed my imagined meal on the head. It's so close to perfect, it seems like it should have taken much more work.

My inspiration for this meal:
Healthy eating in Brazil
A craving for black beans, possibly in soup form

As I developed in my mind, this recipe started as a very liquid black bean soup with collard greens, similar to the kale in Zuppa Tuscana at Olive Garden. Then I thought, "What about some dumplings?" Thus the idea to make cornbread dumplings. I also thought some canned pimentos might be a nice color and flavor addition to the soup. Imagine it, a black soup with bits of bright green and red popping up here and there.

In the making, I added as I went, pulling from some Puerto Rican flavors, Southern flavors, and cooking methods I have already adapted. The result was a flavorful, but not oppressive, black bean stew with savory cornbread dumplings floating on top. I spooned this over collard greens that I cook enough to soften, but not turn to complete mush. I appreciate greens with a little bit of body left to them. It makes the texture so much more appealing. The only adjustment I might make in the future would be to add a tablespoon of sugar to the cornbread dumplings to create an interesting blend of savory and sweet.

Black Bean Stew with Cornbread Dumplings Served Over Collard Greens

Black Bean Stew
2 tbsp oil
1 jalapeno, seeded and sliced into thin half-moons
1/4 c chopped onion
1/2 a canned pimento, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
pinch of ground cumin
pinch of dried oregano
2 cans black beans, undrained
1 1/2 cans water
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp sazon (red flavor packets used in Puerto Rican cooking)
1/2 tsp adobo

Cornbread Dumplings
1 c flour
3/4 c cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar, optional
3 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 c milk

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
Add jalapeno and onion, cooking until soft.
Add garlic, pimento, cumin, and oregano, cooking until garlic is soft and mixture is aromatic.
Add black beans, water, chicken bouillon, sazon, and adobo.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
While stew is simmering, mix together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Cut in butter until in small pieces like coarse meal.
Stir in milk, just until moistened. Do not over stir.
Make sure stew is only simmering, if it is boiling, reduce heat until it is simmering.
Drop in all of the dumpling dough in rounded tablespoon measures, evenly distributing over the surface of the stew.
Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
Cover and simmer 10 more minutes.
Spoon stew and dumplings over collard greens.

Collard Greens

1 tbsp oil
1/4 c onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1/2 a canned pimento, chopped
1 large bunch collard greens, stemmed, sliced into 1/2 in strips and washed well

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.
Add onion and cook until soft.
Add garlic and pimento and cook until garlic is soft.
Add collard greens and cover, stirring occasionally.
Cook until greens are soft, but not mushy.

Brazil and Fresh Food

2008-02-21T17:46:00.000-08:00

I've recently returned from a short trip to Brazil. Of all of the places I've desired to visit, South America was not at the top of my list. It is now. Granted, I was on a rather relaxed "work" trip that included a lot of laying by the pool and visiting popular sites, but the entire attitude of Brazil seemed laid back. Within half a day, my shoulders were more relaxed than they have been in months. Less typing? Maybe. Less work? Probably. But, I can't help but feel that the attitude of the people creates an entire atmosphere in which you can do something that would typically stress you with ease and a pleasant attitude. And who can be unhappy surrounded by fresh fruit (pineapple, guava, apple bananas...) and fresh cheese (firm, salty, room temperature)? I came home realizing that my diet of late has been very bread and dairy heavy and produce light. Tonight I bought some fresh vegetables and other items and I plan some good, creative cooking soon. And I will be sharing.

Recipes - Something to Inspire

2008-02-21T17:09:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, a close friend of mine and I collaboratively cooked a meal from some new friends. Now, I love to cook, but I don't tend toward what I consider to be... food snobbery. I would love to buy those ingredients that lend a slightly different flavor or are more environmentally friendly, but I can't quite afford those items. Now my friend tends to buy those ingredients. It leads to interesting conversations and eventual compromise in the grocery store. As soon as I have the monetary funds necessary, or my own farm, I'll definitely be up for those ingredients. At the moment, substitutions must be made, especially when cooking from recipes from certain online websites. I also found that said website also got the time necessary to cook a chuck roast grossly wrong, as in at least three hours wrong. I like my roasts tender, an hour in the oven with a mass of vegetables is certainly not sufficient. I also have heard that reducing wine alone makes a more flavorful and less alcoholic sauce, so we applied that to our recipe. If you buy a well marbled piece of meat, you shouldn't need additional fat. I also applied a technique for flavoring a pork roast to our adapted recipe, deep slits into which you stuff seasonings. Here is the recipe, as close as I can remember.

12 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon whole mustard seed, roasted in skillet and crushed
2 tsp black peppercorns, roasted in skillet and crushed
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 4 lb chuck roast
2 c dry red wine
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 c chicken broth
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small celery root, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 small to medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 medium to large onions, peeled and cut into eighths

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To prepare mustard seed and peppercorns, place in a small heavy skillet over medium heat. Gently shake pan until mustard seeds start popping. Remove from pan and allow to cool. Place in the middle of a piece of plastic wrap. Fold plastic wrap in half to seal in the seeds. Pound with a meat mallet until crushed.
With a sharp knife, make 1 inch deep slits into the roast at regular intervals on all sides, placing a clove of garlic in each slit.
Rub the outside of the roast with the kosher salt, mustard seed, and peppercorns.
Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
Place roast in the hot skillet and brown on all sides.
Remove roast from skillet and place in large roasting pan.
Reduce heat on the skillet to low.
Once cool enough, pour in the wine and start stirring to loosen the browned bits.
Bring the wine to a simmer and cook, stirring, until reduced to half.
Add bay leaf, thyme, and chicken broth and cook until aromatic.
Pour the sauce into the bottom of the roasting pan.
Cover the roasting pan loosely with aluminum foil.
Place in the oven and roast for about 2 1/2 hours.
Add vegetables and continue roasting until vegetables are tender and roast is tender enough to insert a fork, but the fork does not lift the roast when removed.

Guilt me into blogging...

2008-01-17T06:44:00.001-08:00

So, I am talking with my mother last night and she starts teasing me about how I have not posted since January 6th. Sheesh. One problem with following a budget is, it's most economical to make one or two large dishes for the week. So that's what I've been doing. This week was Dry Curry, because it sounded good, and Swedish Meatballs, because I needed some comfort food. Dry Curry isn't a very appetizing name, but it's a very delicious meal. Swedish Meatballs have a very bad reputation, but when made properly are delicious, not grease ridden blobs. Let's hope the family does not attempt to remove my heart for sharing the recipe for one of our family favorites.

Dry Curry

1 tbsp oil
2 to 3 medium onions, finely chopped
5 to 6 carrots, peeled and finely diced
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 tofu blocks (soft)
3 cans tuna, drained
5 to 7 curry roux blocks
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c cilantro, chopped

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, then add oil.
Once oil is hot, add the onions, carrots, and garlic.
Cook until onions start to get soft.
Add tofu, breaking it up with the back of a spoon, and tuna.
Make sure that the tofu and tuna are chopped up and evenly distributed in the pan.
Add curry blocks and cook, stirring often, until curry blocks melt and blend into the dish.
Taste. If more curry is needed, add them and allow them to melt.
Add salt and pepper and stir in the cilantro.
Serve over hot rice.

Swedish Meatballs
1 lb ground turkey or beef (I use turkey because I like lighter meatballs)
1 stack of saltine crackers, crushed
1 egg
dash of milk
1 small onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper
about 1/2 a nutmeg, ground

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together well with your hands.
If using turkey, add 1 tbsp of oil to a large skillet. Do not turn on the heat.
Shape meat mixture into balls smaller than a golf ball, but larger than a ping pong ball.
As each ball is shaped, place in the center of the oil, then slide to the edge of the pan.
Once the pan is full (which may be before all the balls are shaped), turn heat to medium-high.
As soon as the meatballs start to brown, turn the heat down to medium and start turning. The goal is to brown all sides.
As the meatballs shrink, add more to the pan and brown.
Once all meatballs are browned, spread evenly in the pan.
Add about 1/2 c of water to the pan and cover. Turn heat down to low and let meatballs steam until centers are no longer pink.

Mushroom Pizza

2008-01-06T15:33:00.001-08:00

Sunset from my back window

My friend came over yesterday for an evening of cooking and knitting. The food was good (a Thai curry), but would have been better if I had remember correctly and told her to buy the fish sauce. I guess I didn't have any in the house after all... but the dish didn't suffer too much from the absence of the fish sauce, so all was well. The recipe called for shitake mushrooms, stems removed. Instead of letting those stems go to waste, we saved them and tonight I made a mushroom pizza. I heated my pan and then added my oil and let it heat up as well. That way, the shitake mushroom stems didn't absorb too much oil, but did give the oil a strong mushroom flavor. I added to that garlic and rosemary. Once the garlic was starting to brown, I removed the mushroom stems, garlic and rosemary. I then turned down the heat and once the oil had cooled a bit, I added about one cup of chopped portabella mushroom. This I cooked slowly, allowing the mushrooms to wilt and absorb the flavored oil. Once it had cooked a while, I added some flour and then some milk. I combined the sauce with sharp cheddar cheese to top the pizza. I was very pleased with the results. I hope you enjoy it too.

Mushroom Pizza

pizza crust (see Rockin' Homemade Pizza)
1/4 c olive oil
stems from 5 oz of fresh shitake mushrooms, trimmed and sliced lengthwise
3 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 large portabella mushroom, chopped fine (yields approximately one cup)
1 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz milk
1 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Heat a 2 quart sauce pan over medium high heat.
Once the pan is hot, add the olive oil.
Once oil is bubbling, add the shitake mushrooms and cook, stirring, until slightly browned.
Add garlic and rosemary and cook until the garlic just turns golden brown.
With a slotted spoon, remove the mushroom stems, garlic and rosemary.
Turn down heat to medium low and add the portabella mushrooms.
Allow the mushrooms to cook slowly for 5 to 10 minutes, until wilted and only a little oil is still visible in the pan.
Add the flour, salt and pepper and cook for one minute.
Slowly stir in the milk.
Once the mixture is smooth (except for the mushroom pieces), remove from heat.
Prepare your pizza crust and prebake for 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove the pizza crust from the oven and spread evenly with the mushroom sauce and cheese.
Bake another 8 to 10 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.
Remove from oven, slide from the pan onto a cutting board; cut and serve.

Someone got a haircut...

Alternate Doctored Up Tomato Soup

2008-01-04T19:32:00.000-08:00

Still feeling ill and still needing to go grocery shopping, I had tomato soup again tonight. I remembered a good recipe for homemade tomato soup in my Cooking From Quilt Country cookbook, so I found it again and used it to make my canned tomato soup a little more tasty. While the garlic powder was good, this version makes a more complexly flavored soup. I simply added 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1 whole clove, a couple dashes of cinnamon, a pinch of allspice, and a couple dashes of Tabasco sauce. It's amazing how well the spices blend with the tomato. Of course, I also make this with milk. No watery tomato soup for me. I'll settle on something like that when I'm a starving and struggling actress in New York City; at which point I will enter my local, shabby diner and order a mug of hot water into which I will pour a healthy amount of ketchup. But until that day, milk in my condensed tomato soup from a can.

Feeling Sick Doctored Up Tomato Soup

2008-01-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

I don't get colds easily, so when I started feeling a cold coming on yesterday surprised me, since I just got rid of some lingering nasal congestion over the weekend. Tonight I'm totally wiped out and have very little in the house (must grocery shop tomorrow...). For a quick dinner, I made Tomato Soup, which I just recently discovered other people don't necessarily make with milk. Who knew?! We (as in my family) have always made it with milk. It's creamy, warm, and delicious. Tonight, besides my typical healthy dose of ground black pepper, I added a small dash of garlic powder. Yummy and soothing. I'll have to do that one again.

Chicken Curry Salad with Red Cabbage

2007-12-29T23:17:00.000-08:00

My new favorite way to use leftover chicken is in a curried chicken salad served over a bed of wilted red cabbage. This recipe is full of flavor and color, making it very satisfying. I got the idea for how to wilt the cabbage from someone who was telling me how they prepare coleslaw. Curried chicken salad has been done before by many, which is why I was inspired to make it. I like the mixture of savory and sweet in this dish.

Chicken Curry Salad with Red Cabbage

1 head of red cabbage, washed and shredded
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
meat of a whole cooked chicken, cooled and chopped
1/3 c raisins
2 ribs celery, finely diced
1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced
1 tbsp finely chopped onion
enough mayonnaise to hold mixture together
1 to 2 tbsp curry powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

In a large bowl, sprinkle the cabbage with sugar and salt.
Allow cabbage to sweat, covered, in the refrigerator overnight.
Mix chicken, raisins, celery, apple, onion, mayonnaise, curry powder, salt and pepper.
Allow chicken salad to chill for at least 1/2 a hour to blend the flavors.
To serve, place at least 1 cup of cabbage in a bowl and spoon chicken curry salad over the top.

Black Bean and Chicken Stew

2007-12-27T09:21:00.001-08:00

After returning from the holidays late in the day, I made this simple stew from what I had in my kitchen. At first it was only going to be a black bean stew, but the flavor was lacking, so I added a bit of cut up chicken to it.

2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 1/2 tbsp Indian curry powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp chili oil
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c water
1/2 a cooked chicken breast, chopped

Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
When oil is hot, add garlic and cook until fragrant.
Add curry powder and chili oil and cook until fragrant.
Add black beans, water, and chicken breast.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes, adding water if necessary.
Serve hot (with rice if you'd like).

Rockin' Homemade Pizza

2007-12-23T18:24:00.000-08:00

I have come to learn that you can learn good recipes from even the most unexpected sources. Recently I discovered that my younger brother has become quite a good cook. I don’t think he gets into quite as much experimentation as I do, but he cooks everyday. (I think it’s cool that both of my brothers have become the main cooks of their relationships, rather than falling into the gender roles that would put the “burden” of cooking on their significant others). He shared a recipe for Thai Chicken Pizza with the family, and I must say it’s pretty tasty. Our only disappointment in making it was our inability to find a decent crust.

Actually, a decent homemade pizza crust has been the holy grail of my family’s cooking adventures; it was always out of reach and sought for. As it turns out, my younger brother had found a great pizza crust recipe and I have it in my possession now. I will now add the disclaimer that my family likes thin, cracker-like crusts. That way, the toppings take the front seat in the flavor-mobile and the crust doesn’t sit in your stomach like a lump of clay.

With the new crust recipe in hand, I embarked on the adventure of making a great pizza. I winged the sauce recipe, knowing that too much of a good thing (oregano) can make for a bitter sauce, that I like sauce that is just a touch sweet and with a slight sting, and that onions and whole tomatoes were a must. We also decided to slightly cook the pepperoni in a skillet before placing on the pizza. This allowed the pepperoni to release some of its oil and increased the likelihood that it would crisp on the pizza, despite the short baking time. I venture to say that the resulting pizza was practically perfect in every way.

Rockin’ Homemade Pizza

1 pizza crust for a 9x13 inch jellyroll pan
pizza sauce (below)
½ c sliced black olives
1 ½ c shredded mozzarella cheese
enough pepperoni to cover pizza to taste

Sauce:
¼ c olive oil
½ medium onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 rounded teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 rounded tablespoon oregano
1 c portabella mushrooms, finely diced
16 oz canned whole tomatoes, with juice
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat until hot.
Add olive oil.
When oil is hot, add onion and sauté until soft and slightly golden.
Add garlic, red pepper, and oregano and cook until fragrant.
Add portabella mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they have shrunk to half their original size.
Add tomatoes, salt, and sugar and cook, stirring, until reduced to a good sauce consistency.
*You don’t want the sauce to watery, or it will make your crust soggy.

Crust:
1 ¾ c flour
½ tsp salt
¾ c water
¼ tsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Heat the water in a microwaveable dish for 2 to 3 minutes, until hot but not boiling.
Add sugar to the water and stir until dissolved.
Add yeast to the water mixture, stir, and let sit for 8 minutes.
Pour ½ of the water mixture into the flour and stir.
Add remaining water mixture and stir until just combined (you can use your hands to finish the mixing).

To prepare the pepperoni:
Starting with a cold cast iron pan, add pepperoni in a single layer to the pan.
Turn burner to medium heat.
Once the pepperoni has bubbled up, remove from pan.
If you still have more pepperoni to prep, add another single layer and cook until bubbled up.
Repeat until all pepperoni has been precooked.
Drain pepperoni on paper towel until ready to use.

Pizza assembly:
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Oil a 9x13 inch jellyroll pan and place pizza dough in the center.
Using your fingertips or a small rolling pin, gently press or roll the dough to fit the pan.
Pre-bake the crust for 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove crust from the oven and spread with pizza sauce.
Add olives, cheese, and top with pepperoni slices.
Place bake in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and slide the pizza out of the pan onto a cutting board.
Cut into pieces and serve.

Green Salad and Roasted Pears with Warm Apple Bacon Dressing

2007-12-22T08:35:00.000-08:00

The other day I had a friend over for dinner. It was a Christmas present wrapping party that lacked in the wrapping department; problems being she only had a few presents to wrap and I ended up too buzzed to wrap adroitly. In my defense, I was using tissue paper, a material that is difficult to maneuver in the best of circumstances.

I was leaving in a few days for the holidays, so dinner was “what’s in the house?” again. Thankfully I had a whole chicken in my freezer, so I thawed that and baked it with just a touch of olive oil, salt and pepper. It would have been perfect had the wine not induced a short bought of forgetfulness. It was just this side of a National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation turkey jerky. Oops. My faithful friend declared it still delicious. What a sweetheart!

I roasted the half of a butternut squash that was sitting in my fridge to go with it and made a green salad with warm apple bacon dressing and roasted pears. While the food was cooking, we snacked on rosemary crackers and habanero cheese... and of course slaked our thirst with wine, yummy, yummy wine.

The next day I found out that I had been secretly sabotaged – since my friend had to drive home, she kept pouring more wine into my glass every time she topped them off. Whether due to the amount of food or the length of time or my voyage into becoming an... well, let’s just hope it was the food and time, because I wasn’t hung over at all the next day.

Green Salad and Roasted Pears with Warm Apple Bacon Dressing (for 2)

1 head of green leaf lettuce, washed and dried
3 pears, peeled, cored, and halved
1 tbsp bacon grease
1 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp apple cider
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Once the lettuce has been washed and spun dry, place it in a bowl in the refrigerator to crisp.
Place the pear halves in a shallow baking dish, face down, and roast until browned well (1/2 hour to an hour... I can’t remember... and not because of wine, I swear!)
Heat the bacon grease in a small cast iron pan.
Add onion and saute until golden.
Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.
Add olive oil, white wine vinegar, apple cider, salt and pepper and stir well.
To serve, put lettuce in individual serving dishes, top with three pear halves each, give the dressing a stir and pour over the salads.

Good wine to try: 2006 Maipe Malbec (Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina)

2007-11-10T20:42:00.000-08:00

After losing my internet at home, I have been strongly neglecting my blog, but last night I devised a plan to finally update you on some of the recipes I’ve been making lately. Type the posts at home and upload them before work.

We begin this long journey into my recent past with a recipe for a Pasty potpie style. Some of my coworkers and I have created a cooking club and I was hosting the first round. We chose to do our club like a potluck, since we would be holding them on work nights. We also felt that a theme would help ensure that the foods would complement one another. The first theme was fall foods, which I was forced to enforce with certain individuals, who shall remain nameless, but had chosen the theme and suggested she bring a spring vegetable. Ahem. My strict enforcement of the theme prompted a rather unflattering association between myself and a certain WWII German political party. I, personally, had no trouble deciding what I was making. I had been craving a good pasty, but I had never made one and wasn’t quite sure what gave it its delicious flavor. Enter the internet and it’s perpetual eagerness to find what I needed in less than 4.832 seconds. I found that a generous helping of pepper and onion was the key, as was rutabaga. Done. Many of the recipes had their own pastry recipe, but our family has a tried and true recipe that I opted to use due to its dependability. I did alter the pastry recipe slightly, since I was out of sugar, but I did have some honey and it worked just as well. The pasty ended up tasting exactly how I wanted it to, thank you mom for teaching me how to smell for flavor, rather than tasting.

Pasty (potpie style)

1 double pie crust
1 lb ground pork
1 ½ onions, diced
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large rutabaga, peeled and cubed a little smaller than the potato, but not as small as the carrots
freshly ground black pepper to taste (somewhere between 2 tsp and 1 tbsp)
salt to taste (about 1 tsp)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place the ground pork and onions in a cast iron skillet and cook over medium heat. You do not want the pork to brown, but you do want it to cook all the way through. Stir it often enough to prevent browning.

In a large pot, put the potatoes, carrots and rutabaga, covering with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat a bit so that it does not boil over, and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop cooking.

Once the pork is cooked through, mix in the cooked vegetables and add the black pepper and salt. Smell the mixture, you should smell a good amount of pepper. If you don’t, add more. Then add about ¼ c water to moisten the mixture a bit.

Roll out one half of the pie crust and place in a 9x9 baking dish. Pour in the filling (I ended up with a little extra. My dog loved that!). Roll out the second crust for the top. Before laying the second crust on top of the mixture, use some cool water and moisten the edges of the bottom crust, along the rim of the baking dish. Gently roll the second crust onto your rolling pin and lay over the pie. Gently press down when you moistened the bottom crust. Trim both crusts so that you have just over 1 inch of crust over hanging. Roll under and crimp the edges. Use a sharp knife to slice a couple slits in the top of the crust.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden.

One of my coworkers is engages to the son of cranberry grower, which means that at harvest time she kindly brought many of use a bag of fresh cranberries. Yum! I used them to make Cranberry Walnut Pancakes, a fruit cobbler and a filling for crepes. The cobbler came of another day where I was trying to make something from what I had in the house while also attempting to sate a sweets craving. I’ve been making crepes on the weekends recently. They are just so delicious. I’m going to share the fruit cobbler recipe I made and how I’m going to make my next batch of crepes.

Fall Fruit Cobbler

2 soft apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and sliced thin
½ c cranberries, washed and halved
¼ c brown sugar
¼ c flour
dash of salt
4 tbsp butter, softened
¼ c honey
½ c walnuts
½ to 1 c rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place apples, pear, and cranberries in a bowl. Sprinkle with brown sugar, flour, and salt and coat well. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Pour the fruit into a bread dish.
With your hands, mix together the butter, honey, walnuts and oats. Spread over the top of the fruit.
Bake until a fork meets no resistance when inserted into the cobbler.

Orange Crepes with Cranberries

Crepes (make approximately 6):
¾ c flour
2 tsp sugar
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 c milk
1 egg, beaten
½ tsp vanilla
1 tbsp melted butter
zest of ½ an orange

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add all remaining ingredients and whisk until completely smooth.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Using a stick of butter with the paper turned back, quickly grease the pan. Pour in ¼ c of the batter and quickly tilt pan in a circular motion to spread the mixture thinly over the bottom of the pan. Cook until slightly brown on one side, flip and brown other side. To keep the crepes warm, place in a covered dish in an oven set to warm.

Cranberries:
¼ lb cranberries
6 tbsp sugar
½ c water
zest of ½ an orange

Place all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until sauce is thick.

To serve:
Place a crepe on a large plate, put a line of filling along the middle 1/3 of the crepe. Fold over one side, then the other. Slide aside and repeat until the desired number of crepes are on the plate. If desired, you can sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of the cranberry sauce before folding the crepes.

The past few days I’ve been craving Indian food, but I’ve also been watching my budget. This means using up what I have in the house. I discovered that I have three half-full bags of lentils in my cupboard, one of regular lentils, one of red lentils, and the last of Moroccan lentils. I used two with the following soup that was inspired by dal.

Indian-spiced Lentil Soup

1 tbsp oil
½ an onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp Indian curry powder (the kind that is not spicy)
½ lb of red lentils
½ lb of Moroccan lentils
Enough water to cover, plus more to maintain soup consistency while cooking
1 tsp chicken boullion
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a soup pan over medium-high heat.
Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft.
Add cumin seeds and curry powder and cook until fragrant.
Pour in lentils, stir to coat, the add water to cover.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Stir in the chicken boullion.
Add water as the soup cooks. You want to maintain a slightly thick consistancy.
Once red lentils have cooked away and Moroccan lentils are tender, add the salt.
Heat a bit more, then serve.
I let this soup simmer for a few hours before eating it.

Tonight I had a craving for Indian, but also for cream of potato soup. This was the result (though, I did have to run to the store for a couple of things). Warning, this is a bit spicy!

Creamy and Spicy Potato Soup

4 red potatoes (big enough that you can’t quite fit your hand around them), washed and cubed
2 ½ tbsp butter
1 tsp mustard seeds
½ a medium onion, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp flour
2 ½ c milk
salt to taste

Place potatoes in a soup pan, cover with water, bring to a boil, and cook until tender. Drain the potatoes and set aside.
Heat the butter in the same pan over medium heat.
Once the butter has melted, add the mustard seeds and cook for a couple minutes.
Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
Add ground ginger, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and cumin seeds and cook until fragrant.
Add the flour and cook for about 1 minute.
Slowly add the milk, then heat over medium-high heat until thick.
Once the sauce is thick, add the salt and potatoes and stir. Bring to desired serving temperature and serve.

Now that I’ve devised my system of continuing my blog, you’ll be hearing from me more often!

Mushroom Dip and Fall Vegetable Stew

2007-09-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

I adore my Fanny Farmer cookbook. It's a vintage edition, the same edition that my mother has. I love that it has great recipes and that it's not of the same strain of many newer cookbooks that feel the need to reduce the fat and sugar in everything. I'm all for taking care of yourself, but for me that means eating less of what I love rather than eating more of something that's just mediocre. When I needed an appetizer for a party this weekend, I turned to Fanny Farmer and found a gem of a recipe for mushroom dip. It's simple, very few ingredients, and it was delicious.

I also made a fall vegetable stew.

2 tbsp oil
1/4 c onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
3 turnips, peeled and diced
2 medium red potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 a butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 1/2 apples, peeled and diced
4 c water
3 springs fresh rosemary
1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
1/4 lb of mushrooms, scrubbed and diced
1/4 tsp kosher salt
generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium high heat.
Add onion and cook until browned.
Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
Stir in the turnips, potatoes, squash and apples.
Add water, chicken bouillon and rosemary.
Simmer for at least an hour (some vegetables will keep their shape, others will not).
Remove the rosemary and add mushrooms, salt and pepper.
Cook for 15 more minutes, then serve.

And now some pictures, just because I like being random like that.

Happiness

2007-09-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

I've become the source of many negative comments and diatribes lately. As such, I thought it was best to start thinking of positive things (a la Crazy Aunt Purl, sort of...)

Example--
Negative: Does Maine even have a summer? It went from spring to fall.
Positive: Mmm, fall food! Rosemary, potatoes, squash, turnips, hearty breads, warm stews, spiced desserts, the list goes on and on. And I can knit too!

I got three family recipes from my mom recently - white bread, Swedish rye bread, and nut bread. I've found I need an oven thermometer. My first batch of white bread looked done, but was doughy in the center. The second batch, after reducing the temperature, was right (or so the people I gave it to told me). I will have to explore some new grocery stores as the one I currently frequent does not carry rye flour. I'm sad, but will persevere. My first batch of nut bread is a little burnt on the outside. I know I can bake, I just have to learn more about my oven so that I can work properly with it. (See me not swearing about said oven, but telling myself that I can work with it? I'm not even going to use the "cooking headaches" label for this post. That's positive thinking... at least for me it is. Don't tell me if it really isn't positive thinking because I don't want to hear it).

Cream of Turnip and Carrot Soup

2007-09-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

The cool weather and my need to use some turnips inspired this recipe. Turnips can be a bit sharp in flavor, so I decided to use carrots to balance them. It worked very well. The soup is slightly sweet and savory. Since thyme works well with both turnips and carrots, I used that for seasoning. I also used some saved bacon grease to add a bit of flavor. The measurement for water comes from the amount of water I needed to just cover the vegetables and I used that measurement to determine how many teaspoons of bouillon I added. Make this if you want a light, but warm meal. I ate mine with some toast made from homemade white bread.

1 tbsp bacon grease
5 small to medium turnips, peeled and cubed small
5 medium carrots, peeled and diced small
2 1/2 c water
2 tsp chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
pinch of thyme
1 to 2 c whole milk

Heat bacon grease in a soup pot over medium-high heat until sizzling.
Add turnips and carrots and saute for a minute or two.
Add water, chicken bouillon, black pepper and thyme.
Bring to a boil.
Turn down heat and simmer until vegetables are very tender.
Fill your blender with hot tap water a few times to make sure the glass is not cold.
Add soup, in small amounts, to the blender.
**Make sure that you do not completely seal the lid, or it WILL explode!!**
The best method is to remove the center of the lid, or keep it ajar so that steam can escape, then **tent with a towel** so that the hot soup does not splash on you while blending.
Blend the soup in batches, until smooth.
Return to the soup pot and place over medium heat.
Add enough milk to make the soup creamy.
Heat to desired serving temperature.

Always a New First - Lamb

2007-08-29T18:12:00.001-07:00

I've eaten lamb before, mostly while living in China (either in Hot Pot or at the barbeque restaurant). I was at the store this past weekend, browsing the butcher's display. Some lamb loin chops caught my eye, so I bought three. It ended up being three meals worth of food, which is perfect. I ate the leftovers for lunch the past two days. I also went to the farmer's market. While the farmer's market in Portland is nice, it doesn't live up to my childhood farmer's market. There aren't nearly as many vendors. The prices aren't as low. And some of the produce is seriously sketchy. Oh, and one stand didn't live up to their posted prices, which seriously annoyed me. But, I ended up with some sweet corn (not sweet enough), green beans (haven't eaten them yet), wild blueberries (I've had better), and yellow zucchini (small ones! I was happy about that).

Loving the challenge of something new, I dug out my various resource cookbooks and did some research on lamb and cooking it. I decided to cook it stovetop, using tips from a recent Cook's Illustrated article about barbequed porkchops inside. I also decided to use garlic and cumin to flavor it. So, after spending the afternoon at the Eastern Promenade reading and enjoying the weather, I walked the three miles home and started my dinner.

I rubbed the lamb chops with chopped garlic, cumin seeds and oil. I covered them tightly (as in against the meat, not over the plate) with plastic wrap and let them sit at room temperature for about 1/2 an hour. I took out some yellow squash, a small white eggplant, and an orange bell pepper and prepared them. I washed everything, trimmed the eggplant and squash and sliced into lengths. I seeded the bell pepper and sliced it. The eggplant got salted and put in a drainer for a while. I heated some olive oil with garlic and red pepper flakes and let that cool. Near the time for cooking, I brought the oven to about 350 degrees. I rinsed the eggplant, then laid it with the other vegetables and brushed all with the cooled spicy garlic oil. That went in the oven and I heated a cast iron pan over medium heat until hot. I added a little oil, then the lamb chops and cooked them about 5 minutes on the first side. I flipped them (they were browned on the first side) and let them cook on the other side until the thermometer read 130 degrees. I took the chops off the heat, put on a plate and let them rest. Once the vegetables were slightly tender, I removed them from the oven. I ate one chop with some of the vegetables. It was fabulous! I had a leftover lamb chop today for lunch with some leftover cream of mushroom soup. Very good together! I was definitely happy with this new cooking venture.

Jamaican Chicken with Curry Tortillas

2007-08-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

So, a while back I mentioned some Jamaican food I made. I was thinking about making it again and thought I should actually get around to sharing it with the rest of you... assuming anyone reads this infrequently updated sorry excuse for a blog. The New York Times had a recipe a while back for Jamaican Beef Patties, so I adapted this to what I had on hand (chicken) and my inability to bake anything due to a dirty oven (thus the curry tortillas).

4 handfuls of flour
1/2 tsp salt (approximate)
1 to 2 tbsp curry powder
1/4 inch thick slice off of a pound piece of lard (or you can use butter)
water

Mix the flour, salt and curry powder in a bowl.
Add lard (or butter) and rub in with fingers until incorporated.
Add water 1 tbsp at a time, stirring with a fork until the dough forms a ball and sides are clean.
Take a piece about the size of a pingpong ball and roll into a ball.
Roll out very thin on a floured board.
Heat cast iron pan to medium-high, then turn down to medium.
Cook tortillas about 30 seconds on each side.
Keep warm between two sheets of aluminum foil.

2 tbsp oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 hot pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp thyme
1 whole split chicken breast, boneless, skinless - chopped fine
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
water

Heat oil in a pan and add onion, garlic and hot pepper and cook until tender, but not browned.
Add paprika, allspice and thyme and cook until fragrant.
Add chicken breast, mixing well.
Add salt, pepper, sugar and enough water to cover.
Cook until almost all of the water is gone and sauce is made.

Spoon chicken mixture into curry tortillas to serve.

A Month?!

2007-08-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

So, my work has been keeping me busy lately and I have sorely neglected not only my blog, but also the essence of this blog and one of the things that brings me happiness in this world. Most of the cooking in my kitchen, as of late, either doesn't count as cooking (though I am enjoying what I call my "European" meals) or is quick cooking, which I don't find interesting to blog about (hello breakfasts of fried egg sandwiches). I'm tired and feeling a little worn out.

Perhaps sensing my exhaustion, my alarm clock chose this morning to not go off. It's a random occurrence (trust me, I couldn't sleep through the thing) that has me baffled. I got to work late and rebelliously left "early" (meaning before seven). I got home early enough to take my dog for a nice walk. I met a lovely woman who liked talking about dogs, so we walked with her a while, even though Magellen was seriously annoyed that we were sauntering along rather than briskly trotting from tree to tree. Sensing his annoyance (and tired of having him trying to pull my arm out of its socket) we turned around, quickly walked home and I even had time to go to the grocery store!

You should see my fridge. It is the saddest sight ever! You know the scene in Bridget Jones when she's eating her depression away? That's what my fridge looks like, but without the Parmesan and with a gigantic jar of green olives. I didn't buy a ton tonight, no point since I still have at least one week of absolute craziness at work. I was also riding my bike, and I can only carry so much on my back.

Though it's not a cooking feat and I've posted about it before, I made Cream of Mushroom Soup tonight. Yum. I can't tell you how much my body relaxed while I slowly chopped up the 3/4 pound of mushrooms. The Riesling I bought might have helped a bit too, but I had some wine this past weekend and I didn't feel nearly as calm and centered as I did tonight while cooking. I have a chicken in the fridge right now waiting for tomorrow night when I'm going to bake it (probably cut up so that it cooks faster) and serve it with lemon sauce from Betty Crocker. (Not that crappy low fat version in more recent books, but the one from the 70s). I bought some green beans and I have some small potatoes that I plan on serving with it. ("Serving" - to me, there isn't anyone else here to enjoy it).

It's been suggested by multiple family members that I become a chef, but when I get down to cooking and pondering that thought, I think it wouldn't make me happy. I enjoy taking my time, cooking something that I want to make, being creative, and not having the stress of anyone waiting (unless that's family members and I can always tell them to eat a snack while I finish the meal). I think I would enjoy writing a cookbook and I have an idea or two in my head along that line. Maybe cooking for an in-home party once in a while might be fun, but I'll have to find people who could afford me to come and make a mess in their kitchen. I'd clean up afterwards, even; as much as I dislike cleaning up.

I did spend the first two weeks of August in San Francisco, though during the week I was dealing with teenagers and work stuff. I got the weekend to look around San Francisco a bit. It was nice. I had a couple really good meals, one absolutely amazing meal (which are on my "must blog about" list). For now, though, here are a few pictures from my trip to cold and foggy San Francisco.

Random Topics and Some Vegetable Goodness

2007-07-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to the farmer's market with a coworker. They finally have vegetables. I say finally because I'm sure in Wisconsin the stands have been up and running for some time now, but here in Maine it's cool, rainy, and just not sunny enough for the things to grow quite as quickly. Truth be told, I want some hot weather, but I don't think that's going to happen. Back to the subject at hand, though: vegetables! I bought some fresh basil (expensive! holy lord, don't people know basil grows and grows and paying that much money for it is just insane? Alas, my apartment doesn't get enough direct sun to grow my own.) I also bought some tiny potatoes (they had a name, I can't remember it - not finger potatoes), lettuce, and pattypan squash. I got home eager to use some of my new purchases. I also had a tomato that needed eating (see how it's kind of wrinkly?):

This was the resulting dinner.

I put the potatoes whole in a pan of water, brought it to a boil, added some kosher salt, and cooked until tender.
For the squash and tomato, I combined it with hot capicola, garlic, and fresh basil. It was quite good. Here are the "recipes:"

Pattypan Squash Saute

4 thin slices hot capicola (a type of ham), sliced into strips
1 tbsp olive oil
4 small garlic cloves, crushed
3 pattypan squash, trimmed and cut into thin wedges
1 roma tomato, seeded, halved and sliced thin
1/4 c basil, shredded
freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

Heat skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
Add capicola and cook until browned.
Add olive oil.
Once oil is hot, add garlic and cook until fragrant.
Scrape the capicola and garlic to the side and spread the pattypan wedges over the bottom of the pan.
Allow to brown on one side, then turn and brown on the other side.
At the last minute, add tomato, basil, black pepper and salt.
Stir to combine and serve.

Basil Dressing for Potatoes

1 large leaf basil, chopped
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp honey
freshly ground black pepper

Put ingredients in a sealable container, seal and shake until combined. Pour over warm potatoes.

WARNING: AN UGLY SIGHT AHEAD

This is the truth of how my kitchen looks after cooking.

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately. I made two wrap skirts without a pattern. It's very simple really. Buy a length of fabric that will fit around you once and then some. Mine fit around one and a half times. After washing the fabric, wrap the length of fabric around yourself and find the length you want the skirt to be. Mark that (my fabric had stripes so it was easy to cut a straight line across), and cut off the excess. Make sure the vertical edges are straight (almost never are when you bring it home from the fabric store), and hem three sides. The unhemmed side will be the top. I used the cut off portion to make ties for this green one:

To make the ties, I cut the extra bit in half. Then I folded that over on itself, sewed it up mostly (except about 1 or 2 inches), turned it inside out, closed the hole and did some detail stitching at the end to match the detail stitching it did at the ends of the skirt. I sewed one tie to each end of the top of the skirt. I also made an orange one, but I still need to add ties to that one. Also, I didn't hem it, but did a zigzag stitch on the three sides and washed it so that the edges would fray a bit. I'll probably replicate that with the ties when I get around to making them.

And now... some random pictures:

Inside of a boat.

Street musicians in Portland.

Clouds over the ocean.

Magellen's new throne, my books. (Sad, really. All those books and I don't own a single bookshelf).

(I know I still owe you the Jamaican chicken (or beef) recipe...)

Coming soon - Jamaican Chicken Patties

2007-07-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

The other night I experimented with Jamaican Beef Patties, but as always, I used what I had on hand. So, it ended up being chicken instead. And I cooked them on the stove top instead of the oven (I really must get down to washing it again this weekend). By the way, the stove top is not recommended, unless you're frying. More on that later. In the meantime, get ready to drool just thinking about how delicious Jamaican Chicken Patties might be!

Family Photo Competition

2007-07-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

So, my younger brother saw that the BBC is having a photo competition this summer (every summer?). The first theme is blue. Here are my uninspired entries which I'm sure the family can quickly defeat seeing as they have greater photography skills than I do. My artistic skills are limited to the kitchen and knitting (and even that is limited).

Branch against blue sky.

Longing to go out.

Lichen in the spring.

Boat at Boothbay Harbor.

Shadow's blue hues.

Blue shadows two.

Boothbay Harbor.

Curry Tortillas

2007-06-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

I did a little experimenting today and came up with curry tortillas. Now I'm starting to dream up ways to fill them (I ate them with soup tonight).

Curry Tortillas
(I apologize, but I didn't measure any of this. I totally winged it.)

two generous handfuls of flour
salt (about 1/2 tsp, maybe less, maybe more)
1 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp butter
approximately 2 to 3 tbsp warm water

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt and curry powder with a fork.
Using hands, rub the butter into the flour until it's well mixed. (Like making pie crust).
Add the water 1 tbsp at a time, stirring with the fork.
Add enough water so that the dough forms a ball.
I divided the dough into four equal parts.
On a lightly floured board, roll out one part of the dough until thin.
Heat a cast iron pan over medium-high heat.
Once the skillet is hot, turn the heat down to medium.
Place the rolled out tortilla on the hot skillet; cook approximately 30 seconds on each side (adjust this time to how well they are getting cooked and how hot your skillet is).
Remove cooked tortilla from the skillet and keep warm while you roll out and cook the remaining tortillas.

One of these I cooked over a lower heat for a longer time and I found it dried out a bit in the center and was very similar to a cracker. That gives me some ideas...

Pancakes with Banana Sauce

2007-06-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

I forgot to get syrup at the store last weekend. So I made pancakes and used two ripe bananas to make a sauce for them. If you like banana bread, you'll like this.

Pancakes (enough for 2 to 3 people)

1 1/4 c buttermilk
1 egg
1 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg.
Add the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.
Allow to sit while you make the banana sauce.
Once the banana sauce is started, heat a skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
Once the skillet is hot, lower heat to medium to medium-low.
Use a paper towel to spread some shortening on the skillet before the first pancakes go on.
Using 1/4 c measuring spoon, put three measures of pancake batter on the skillet.
Once pancakes are bubbly and starting to just dry along the edges, flip. Do not press down on the pancakes - that makes them flat.
Allow to cook on other side a few moments, remove and add more pancake batter to the skillet.
I keep the pancakes warm by putting them on a plate covered with aluminum foil.

Banana Sauce

2 ripe bananas that have started getting a lot of brown spots
1/4 c sugar
2 tbsp molasses
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter

Put bananas in a sauce pan and mash.
Add sugar and molasses and stir.
Cook over medium-high heat, bring to a boil.
Stir in the salt and butter.
Once butter is melted, turn off the heat and allow to cool a bit before serving.

My New Spin on Chicken Salad

2007-06-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying that while the posts about food have been lacking in photographic evidence, you should be thanking me for that. Seriously, I don't think I've ever taken more unappetizing pictures ever before. So, until I have the foresight to actually set aside part of the meal so that I can take a picture of it in good light, not to mention remember that I'm supposed to take the picture the next day, you don't want to see the dark, slightly disgusting pictures I've been taking lately.

That aside, let us get to today's meal. Actually, tonight I had leftover greens and rice and cooked some Cajun salmon to go with it. But, the other night I made chicken salad, but added a little something-something to make it extra tasty. I've been eating it for lunch all week and I still haven't tired of it. Good thing, too, since I have a lot left still!

Lemon-Thyme Chicken Salad

2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp dried or fresh thyme (fresh would probably be a lot tastier, but I only had dried in the house)
salt (as needed)
3/4 lb brussel sprouts, shredded and rinsed well
6 good sized carrots, peeled, quartered and sliced thin
1/4 to 1/2 tsp sugar
12 oz small shell pasta
1/2 c mayonnaise
juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 tsp thyme
good pinch of cayenne pepper
pepper to taste

Put chicken breasts in a pot, cover with water, add salt and thyme and cook until done. Allow to cool.
While the chicken is cooking, put on a large pot of water to boil.
Once water in second pot is boiling, add salt, stir, then add pasta.
Cook pasta until done, drain and rinse in cold water until cool.
While pasta and chicken are cooking, prepare the brussel sprouts and carrots.
Put brussel sprouts in a large serving bowl, sprinkle with a bit of salt (not too much, maybe 1/4 tsp) and about the same amount of sugar.
Also while other things are cooking, mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, thyme, cayenne pepper, and pepper (and salt if desired) in a bowl and set aside.
Once chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into bite-size pieces.
Add carrots, pasta and chicken to the shredded brussel sprouts.
Add the dressing and stir until well coated.
Allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

The Other Half

2007-06-27T19:38:00.001-07:00

The same night I put the roast in the crock pot, I decided to cook the rest of it on top of the stove. The results were forgettable. So much so, I had to sit here and attempt to remember what I had done with the rest of it.

I believe I started the dish by cubing the beef. I heated some oil in a cast iron pan on the stove and added the beef and some chopped onion. I think I added thyme and, when the meat was nearly done, some chopped mushrooms. I deglazed with red wine and at the last second threw in a chopped tomato (so that it would warm but not disappear). The meat was tough and the flavor was lacking. I ate it all, over the next few days as lunch, but this definitely needs some work before I would actually serve it to other people. Although, the chances of my serving other people food in my house any time soon are very slim. Moving from an efficiency to a one-bedroom makes one realize how sparse their belongings are.

Garlic Ginger Beef

2007-06-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

Last week I had a roast that needed to be cooked, but I still haven't gotten around to re-cleaning my oven, so I couldn't roast it. So, instead I cut it in half and put half of it in a crock pot (my crock pot is very small) with 6 crushed cloves of garlic, 2 inches of ginger, peeled and sliced, 1 cup vegetable broth, and enough water to cover. It cooked overnight and was absolutely delicious. The flavor might be a bit strong for some people, in which case you would need to reduce the amount of garlic and ginger.

I ate the roast two ways. One was in a salad of green leaf lettuce with a ginger and sesame dressing (also made by me, but I can't recall what I put in it beyond grated ginger, sesame oil, olive oil, and brown rice vinegar). I also sliced the roast thinly and piled it on french bread with some Russian kale and freshly ground black pepper. This was an easy way to make a very versatile base for meals. I think I might do this again and make a pasta salad out of it.

Cajun Salmon, Rice and Collard Greens

2007-06-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

I made Cajun salmon again tonight. I've never made salmon any other way and I really must try something new, but I just love Cajun salmon. I also boiled rice and sauteed some collard greens. The combination of spicy, sweet, and slightly salty was very nice.

Boiled Rice

water to fill medium sauce pan
1/2 cup rice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp butter

Bring water to a boil.
Add rice and salt and boil until tender (the water should not all cook off, it should be like boiling pasta - too much water for the rice).
Drain in a sieve, then put back in the pan.
Add the butter and stir until melted.

Collard Greens

1 tbsp ghee
1/4 c red onion, sliced thin
1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 large bunch collard greens, torn and washed well
2 tsp to 1 tbsp honey

Heat pan over medium to medium-high heat and add ghee.
Once ghee is hot, add onion and saute for one minute.
Add garlic clove and red pepper and saute until onions are translucent.
Add collard greens and cover, stirring occasionally.
Once greens are too desired tenderness (I don't like mushy greens, so I leave a little bite), drizzle with honey and stir.

New England, my new home

2007-06-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

When I first moved to Maine, this is what greeted me. When I came to interview there was a horrible snow storm that dumped slush from the sky. I've seen slush on the ground, not falling from the sky. When I moved here, another huge storm hit. I started wondering if I would ever see sun in this place.

For a while I lived in Boston, so here are a couple images:

I also took an evening trip out to Providence to see a lovely friend of mine. I took almost no pictures, but I did get a picture of the State Capital Building.

My brother and sister-in-law invited me to go house hunting with them one weekend. I walked into one kitchen and it was eerily like my parents' kitchen...

...right down to the ugly floor...

I recently went up to Boothbay Harbor with my brother and sister-in-law. It was very cute. I took my dog because I wanted him to be able to get out and run around. We never actually made it to a place where he could run free, but he had lots of fun whining and yelping for sympathy as we went into shops or had the nerve to stop walking for a few seconds. He did get to beg for food though...

And some more pictures, just because:

Internet can be an annoying thing

2007-06-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

I've tried posting quite a few times between my last post and this one. Everytime I get it all typed up, my internet connection disappears. I wrote this a while ago, but here it is for you pleasure:

I am in heaven, or what I might imagine it to be like, if I believed in it. My kitchen is once again functioning. I am once again cooking for myself (not just having raisins and popcorn for dinner - yes, there are times when I consider that dinner). I went grocery shopping this weekend and bought a lot of staples and a few things to try.

A few weekends ago I went to my brother and sister-in-law's for the weekend and she made this awesome marinara sauce. I asked her for the "recipe" and sucessfully made that Sunday night, but I embellished the meal a bit.

Marinara Sauce

a good amoung of olive oil
1/2 head of garlic, cloves peeled and crushed
1 large can whole, peeled tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium heat.
Once oil is hot, add the garlic and stir until starting to brown.
Add the whole can of tomatoes (juice and all) and stir.
Turn to medium-low heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for a half hour.
Add black pepper and stir.

To serve:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook enough fresh pasta to feed the number of people eating (obviously assuming you made enough marinara to cover said servings of pasta).
Drain pasta, divide into serving dishes.
Spoon marinara sauce over the pasta.
Serve with fresh basil, allowing each person to tear off as much basil as they would like.

I added a good scoop of ricotta cheese to mine as well (who can pass up a chance to add cheese?)\

[ETA: I used this base and made a spicy version the other night, cooking real pepperoni, sliced, in the oil for a bit with some ground black pepper and crushed red pepper before adding the garlic. It was good!)

Last night I made Indian food. Dal and curried eggplant. It was perfect. I'll also admit here that when I make ghee (very simple to do), I use salted butter. I'm a bit of a salt addict and I prefer the taste of this to the unsalted ghee. I will probably face further shame when I admit that I also spread the browned bits at the bottom of the pan on bread. It very salty and very tasty and I don't really care how bad it is for me; it's fabulous.

Tonight I made cajun salmon. (First time ever that I successfully cooked fish without overcooking it. I'm very proud of myself.) I also attempted to make cornbread (sweet version), but discovered that I must not have cleaned all of the oven cleaner off the heating elements in the oven. The fumes were horrible. I gave up (must fix that problem; first my oven was filthy - honestly why do people live like pigs and leave the next tenants to clean up after them? - now it's a cess pool of chemicals). Instead, I cooked the batter like pancakes. It worked very well for a last minute fix. I also made fiddlehead ferns for the first time ever. I'm in Maine now, and it's the season. I followed my lovely guide to produce's advice and cleaned the ferns, boiled them in salted water for five minutes, drained and seasoned with lemon juice, butter, salt and pepper. I must say, I like ferns. They're yummy.

I love having my kitchen back.

Green Salad with Creamy Curry Vinaigrette

2007-06-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

I just discovered my new favorite salad. I had some left over chicken breast from some chicken soup I made the other night. I only put the dark meat in the soup, so I had two breasts to use in other meals. I created this salad from things I had around the house (I haven't been purchasing many things lately, mostly due to lack of time).

1/3 c plain yogurt
2 tsp brown rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar (or to taste)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp curry powder
4 to 5 leaves lettuce (torn and washed)
1/2 chicken breast, chopped
1/4 c walnuts, chopped
1 pear, cored and chopped

Mix the yogurt, vinegar, sugar, salt and curry powder together. Let sit while you prepare the other ingredients. Combine lettuce, chicken, walnuts, and pear in a large bowl. Pour on the dressing and toss (or stir carefully if you're kitchen accident prone like me).

I have a suspicion that I would love this salad even more with currants instead of pear, but pears were what I had at the time.

I've also been making orange yogurt by mixing plain yogurt with a spoonful of marmalade. It's delicious (especially if you use full fat yogurt).

I'm mostly settled into my new town, so the possibility of my posting more often will definitely increase. Nothing made me happier than unpacking all of my kitchen things! Well, a few things are still in boxes because I have almost no counter space and it's taking me a while to wash and put away everything. Plus, there isn't enough cabinet space for all of my kitchen stuff. I think my first investment will be a small, movable island for the kitchen. Who cares if I have a huge living room which currently houses 1 chair, 1 coffee table, 1 end table and a ton of boxes of books? I need to cook!

But, I get to eat fabulous food at restaurants

2007-05-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

I do! I've been eating out entirely too much, but I've discovered some cuisines I want to experiment with a little more. Like the potato and cabbage mash with gravy that I can get at many Irish pubs (I didn't grow up with Irish food, and some of it is very good, so I've discovered.) I've had some very tasty bangers as well. Besides Irish food (I'm surrounded by pubs), I've also had a fair share of Thai food. Mmm, Thai food. I've made some Thai food before (green curry to die for, so much better than a lot of the kinds I had had before). But I've been eating Tom Kha (soup with a coconut base and so much flavor), Pad Thai, curries, and I had this at a small restaurant in the town I'm moving to. It's thinly sliced beef dressed with a chili and lime sauce served with iceberg lettuce, cucumber, fresh green beans, and tomatoes. The cool vegetables nicely contrasted (and calmed) the spice of the beef. I also had fresh rolls (lots of veggies and shrimp wrapped in rice paper and served with a dipping sauce), but ate them before I thought of my camera. Actually, I would have a lot more posts if I thought more about my blog and camera than my stomach.

The Sad Cook

2007-05-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

My new company was very generous and set me up with an apartment for the time that I'm in between cities. Unfortunately, that apartment was supplied by someone who obviously cooks absolutely nothing. The knives are dull, the cutting board is glass (glass! ugh! loud and the answer to why the knives are dull), the can opener is broken, I had to buy a spatula, there are no measuring spoons, and (for me) there aren't nearly enough pans and bake ware. It's sad, and it makes for a sad cook who barely cooks. I guess I'm also hindered because I don't have all the staples I would normally have to make a wide variety of foods. But, simplicity also created this salad.

It was based on a Japanese cucumber salad that I had made before, but I added lentils and red bell pepper. It turned out really well. It's been a really long time since I made it, so I'll guess at how much I put in it.

Lentil, Cucumber, Pepper Salad

1 c dry lentils
1 cube vegan "chicken" bouillon
plenty of water
1 cucumber, scrubbed, seeded, and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
2 tbsp brown rice vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cracked red pepper
1 tbsp finely chopped red onion

Put lentils, vegan "chicken" bouillon in a pot and add plenty of water (2-3 cups).
Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and let simmer until tender.
In a bowl, mix together the brown rice vinegar, honey, olive oil, and cracked red pepper.
Add the cucumber, red bell pepper, and red onion.
When the lentils are done, rinse with cold water until cool.
Add lentils to the rest of the salad.
Let sit for at least 1/2 an hour before serving.

A quick note about food love

2007-04-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

My present food love? An avocado, cut in half, pitted, salted and eaten with a spoon.

Honey Mustard Sauce and Excuses

2007-04-10T19:34:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid that both parts of this post will be boring. The more boring part: excuses:

For not posting often enough:
I'm preparing to move across the country and have been extremely busy.

For not having photos:
I'm lazy, plus see the note above.

For not having my homework ready to hand in:
I did it, I must have left it on the kitchen table.

The less boring part: my experiment with making a honey mustard sauce:
I suppose the easy thing to do would have been to find a recipe in a cookbook, but after shopping all day Saturday (I hate shopping, except for shoe shopping or when I have a specific item that I NEED to buy. The latter has a maximum time limit of 2 hours to ensure that I don't lose all brain function) and then moving my boxes out of the attic for a good part of Sunday, I didn't even think to look in a cookbook. I just took the pork tenderloin and butterflied it. I dry roasted some yellow mustard seed (about 1 tbsp) in a small cast iron pan, allowed it to cool, and crushed in plastic wrap with a meat mallet. I fried a large white onion in a pan, added the crushed mustard, then added the tenderloin to brown. I figured it was cooking too quickly, so I put two cups of chicken broth and a quarter cup of honey in the pan. It was at this point that I realized that I was near ruining pork tenderloin.

Luckily, mom was there to save the meal. She took the pork out and put it in a dry cast iron pan to brown (and get rid of that porky smell). Then she instructed me to start the sauce separately because the pork had left nasty little balls in the sauce (gross). This time I started with 1/3 cup of prepared Dijon mustard (the other stuff hadn't even smelled like anything), slowly added 2 cups of chicken broth and then whisked in 1/4 c honey. I think I added salt and pepper as well. When it had boiled a bit, mom deglazed the browning pan with a bit of water and added it to the sauce. Then I added a bit of cornstarch/water mixture until it was thick enough to glaze. We put the pork in the sauce and allowed it to sit, covered, but without heat until we were finished preparing the accompanying dishes (corn and mashed potatoes).

Perhaps it was my mood that made me not love this dish, but my dad seemed to really like it. I'll have to try again, perhaps with tenderloin that is grilled (tenderloin tastes best grilled) and using the sauce as an accompaniment rather than the sauce in which it cooks.

Lime and Coconut Custard Cakes

2007-03-31T05:19:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the plans I had for limes last weekend? I finally got around to the experiment last night. A while ago I made Lemon Custard Cakes from Martha Stewart Living (March 2007, pg.147), and instantly wondered how a lime and coconut version might be. The results were delicate, fluffy lime cakes with a thin layer of custard, resembling lime curd, at the bottom. Admittedly, the flavor of coconut lent by the shredded coconut was so subtle that I nearly missed it. I think, next time, I will either simmer the flaked coconut in the milk (and allow it to cool to room temperature before adding to the batter), or I will use coconut milk or cream in place of the milk.
Here is my version of the recipe:

Lime and Coconut Custard Cakes
Butter, room temperature, for custard cups (or you can melt it and use a brush to butter the cups)
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
zest from two limes
a little over 1/4 c fresh lime juice (juice of two limes)
1 c milk (or the substitutions listed above)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Set a kettle of water to boil.
Butter six 6-oz custard cups.
Place the custard cups in a roasting pan or baking dish lined with a kitchen towel.
In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and granulated sugar until mixture is light.
Whisk in flour.
Gradually whisk in lime zest and juice.
Whisk in milk (or substitutes).
If coconut has not been mixed in, stir it in as well.
With an electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form
Add to lime mixture, gently folding in with the whisk.
Divide batter among prepared cups.
Place pan in oven and fill with boiling water to reach halfway up sides of cups.
Bake until cakes are puffed and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Roast Beef

2007-03-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

Another of our family's comfort foods is Roast Beef. The last time we went to the butcher (http://www.brandonmeats.com/) it was still a bit cool outside, so I ordered two roasts. Then it became unseasonably warm (80 degrees, 80 degrees in March, that is wrong on so many levels), so I started trying to think of warm weather ways of preparing the arm roasts. But, it got cool again, so last night I made Roast Beef with mashed potatoes and cooked carrots. The cooking time for this one is long, and longer if you do it the way I did yesterday so that I could go to the gym (needed more time), but the results are a tender roast.

Roast Beef

1 beef roast (You can use any size or cut. The size will only affect the cooking time. I believe the one I used last night was around 3 lbs, and it was an arm roast.)
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 large bell pepper
1-46oz can of tomato juice
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 275 - 350 degrees (higher temperature will reduce cooking time).
Place the roast in a large ovenproof skillet (we use cast iron).
Salt and generously pepper each side of the roast.
Add the onion and bell pepper.
Pour the tomato juice over everything until the roast is covered.
Place, covered with lid or aluminum foil, in the oven and cook until a fork, inserted into the middle of the roast, comes away without resistance (Yesterday I cooked the roast at 275 degrees for 3 1/2 hours.)

A gravy can be made of the tomato juice after the roast is complete. Simply remove the roast from the skillet and set aside, covered. Place the skillet on a burner set at medium to medium high heat. In a shakable container, put flour (the amount of flour depends on the amount of liquid in the pan, you'll have to experiment as we never measure this part) and enough water to make it runny and shake. Slowly whisk the flour and water mixture into the tomato juice and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Once it is thick, pour into a gravy boat and serve.

Irish Soda Bread

2007-03-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

I love (and I don't use that term lightly... at least here) the New York Times food section. They have provided me with some absolutely delicious recipes, and the Irish Soda Bread that was featured recently is no exception. It's a basic, slightly sweet buttermilk quick bread flavored with a healthy dose of currants and some caraway seeds. It's no longer on their website, but I don't feel comfortable copying it here. (But if you asked me, I would be okay sharing via email.) Instead, I'll give you the recipe for a light cream of potato soup which we ate with the soda bread, sharp cheddar cheese and thinly sliced tart apples. By light, I do not mean light on calories (though it may be, I haven't checked), but less dense, through the use of more chicken broth than milk and less flour in the roux.

Potato Soup

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tbsp butter
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp flour
salt and pepper, to taste
2 c chicken broth
1 c milk (I used 1%)
3/4 c diced ham

Place potatoes in a soup pan, cover with water, and boil until tender.
Drain potatoes in the sink while preparing the sauce.
Melt butter in the pan.
Add the onion and cook until starting to brown (better flavor).
Stir in the flour, making sure to get rid of lumps, and allow to bubble for one minute.
Add salt and pepper. (I did not add salt to mine because I thought the ham and chicken broth would lend enough. They did.)
Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring or whisking to prevent lumps.
Add the milk.
Heat this mixture to boiling.
Add ham and potatoes and heat through.

Colorful Breakfast

2007-03-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful breakfast this morning that also happened to be very colorful. Two of our dyed eggs, strawberries (more than just three. I thought three would look nice in the picture), and a piece of homemade bread with butter and honey. That is no ordinary honey. It's pumpkin honey. We got it last fall when we went to pick out pumpkins for our Jack O' Lanterns. It has a delicate flavor and you can definitely taste flowers. While I love clover honey, this is far superior. It's so good, I've refused to use it in my tea. I spread the pumpkin honey on bread and biscuits only.

Lemons and Limes

2007-03-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

Today we made... scratch that, my mom made Lemon Poppyseed Scones. I took the dogs for an early morning run again. Unlike the Maple Nut Scones, these are more like biscuits in moisture and texture. With the coming of spring, I crave fresh flavors. What's fresher than lemons?

Lemon Poppyseed Scones
(adapted from this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_1528,00.html)

3 c flour
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
zest of 1 lemon
3/4 c butter
2-4 tbsp poppyseeds
1 c buttermilk
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1 c powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and lemon zest together.
Cut in the butter until coarse meal.
Stir in poppyseeds and then buttermilk. (Mix as with the Maple Nut Scones, gently.)
Divide dough in half, pat into rounds on a floured surface.
Cut each round into 8 to 10 wedges.
Arrange on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit.
Mix lemon juice and powdered sugar into a frosting, drizzle over the scones.

I have some plans for these limes. I'll post that experiment soon.

Spring, Part Deux - Foliage Revenge

2007-03-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

Another picture heavy post. We have a new Nikon D80 in our house. Oh my, how I love it. The sparrows are very lively these past few days. We can see them finding mates and collecting twigs and stems from last year's flowers and herbs for their nests. We've cleaned out the bird houses and hope to have another family of house sparrows dwelling outside the picture window in the kitchen. We also put another one near the bird feeders. The plants are starting to pop up in the garden, as well. This is Dragon's Blood Sedum, which can be used (I think) for a green roof. The tulips, which we've planted in the grass for two reasons. Once they've finished blooming, you can just mow them down. Also, you don't risk digging them up while planting other plants in your garden. The crocus have also come up and are in full bloom.
And we dyed eggs, because they're so pretty, but we got a package of dying tablets that had problems. The red wouldn't dye anything, so we added some drops of red food coloring to that water. The purple wasn't purple, it was blue. We added red to that, too, and ended up with a horrible puce color. That egg ended up in blue dye, thus the multitude of blue eggs. I think next year I'm going to try natural dyes. Red cabbage, onion skins, spinach water... I think those would be really pretty. But what made me happiest of all? The mint is coming up again! I think when I own my own house, I'm going to get rid of all the grass and just plant a bunch of mint. It's so beautiful and it smells wonderful. It makes fabulous tea. I also use it to make a minted simple syrup which I then put in flavored, iced black tea.

The Arrival of Spring

2007-03-24T17:01:00.000-07:00

As most bloggers, journalists, and most everyone are pointing out, spring has arrived. It's absolutely gorgeous outside. (Though, that does mean I've lost my bet with my mother that we would get at least one more day of below thirty degree weather. I now owe her a Chocolate Martini. I suppose I'll just have to buy my own Vodka Martini so that she doesn't have to drink alone.) It's so nice outside that we grilled out. Hamburgers (with crushed black pepper and salt), topped with pan-fried onions (done to golden brown perfection) and tomatoes (we actually found some in the store that smelled like actual tomatoes), cooked corn (just the frozen kind, it's been so long since we've had that. I forgot how good corn is), and black pepper kettle chips. It was delicious. I'm now looking forward to the days of hot weather where I sit outside in a tank top and skirt, drinking wine (or a Long Island Iced Tea) and grilling because it's just too hot to cook inside. While I don't have any photographs of our food, I am going to share (a lot of) pictures from something else I enjoy. Running our dogs at the public hunting grounds.
Lichen on one of the most wonderful oak trees. It's still very small, but that tree has so much character. I admit, I have a strange affinity for trees.
The moss is growing and thriving again. I loved that there were still leaves from last year laying on top of it. Of course, my dog wanted to know why I was kneeling down. He trampled the moss. Poor moss.

This is my dog. Cute, huh? Needless to say, he and the other dogs got baths when we came home, but did they enjoy the run. Usually we only walk along the ridge at the beginning of the path. I decided to take them to the back area, which meant going through some pretty swampy areas. This was at the beginning of the low-lying part of the path. It gets a lot more wet. As in, I stepped in the wrong spot and the water came half-way up my calf.

It was a foggy morning and I found some pussy willow covered in dew.

This is our oldest female dog right before she and the others started hunting frogs. In the winter they hunt mice. In the spring, frogs apparently. She and the other female dog (not pictured) are trained to hunt pheasant. Unfortunately, the pheasant population in Wisconsin is dismal. They are also quite good at hunting sparrows in the backyard. I once laughed while telling a guy that I saw someone teaching their dog to hunt squirrels on my university's campus. He didn't think it was funny. Apparently he fed those squirrels.

The Red-winged Blackbirds are back. Soon I'll be riding my bike along the country highways with these birds screaming at me to get away from their territory while I make my slow, arduous way up a steep hill. It's not very good for my personal morale, you know?

And, finally, some more trees. I do love when the seasons change.

The Second Chayote Experiment

2007-03-23T05:43:00.000-07:00

A while back I got around to trying the chayote squash in a savory dish. The result was rather tasty, if I say so myself, but the other taste testers also enjoyed it. This was a far superior preparation of this vegetable compared to the dessert that I made with it. I have to say, the texture of this squash, when cooked, is very similar to cooked cucumber. Perhaps most of you haven't had cooked cucumber, but I have. The people in the area of China where I lived used cucumber in a variety of cooked dishes. At first I thought it was strange, but came to really enjoy it.

Back to the stuffed chayote. My very handy "Field Guide to Produce" listed both chorizo, seafood, and lime as good mates for the chayote. I took this and ran with it. (Oh, and please pardon the sketchy measurements. I will remedy the most offensive ones once back home.)

4 chayote squash, halved and seeded
1 tbsp oil
1/2 green or yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 of a tube of chorizo (Mexican) [see what I meant by sketchy measurements?]
1 1/2 c chopped, raw shrimp
adobo con pimienta, to taste
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
juice of one lime

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake the chayote squash, face down, in a glass baking dish until tender (1/2 to 1 hour).
Remove the chayote from the oven, turn over and allow to cool while preparing stuffing.
Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat.
Add the bell pepper and onion and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook one minute.
Add the chorizo and cook until firm.
Add the shrimp and cook.
When the shrimp is mostly done cooking, sprinkle on the adobo (I think I did two passes over the pan), cumin, oregano, and cilantro.
When shrimp is fully cooked, use a spoon to scoop the flesh out of the chayote and add that to the pan. Make sure to leave enough flesh inside the chayote, since the skin is thin and will not hold its own shape.
Add the lime juice to the pan, stir thoroughly.
Stuff the squash with the stuffing and place back in the glass pan.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake until heated through (15 minutes to 1/2 hour).

I served these with homemade tortillas. Just a note, the skin of the chayote is tender enough to eat. No waste! How great is that?

Starving Myself?

2007-03-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

That might be what you would assume given that I've seriously neglected my blog. I am not. I've just been very preoccupied with a part of my life not associated with food. I will resume posting shortly.

My favorite tools

2007-03-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

Erin, over at A Dress a Day (see sidebar), had a recent post about appreciating your tools. Whilst making Swedish Meatballs this evening, I realized that I had chosen my favorite kitchen tools. I love this fish spatula because it allows me to get beneath even the most stubborn things. Pancakes? No problem. Meatballs? Easy. Fish? Uh, what's that? Oh, that sea meat you make about once a month? Is that what I'm intended for? I had no idea! What a concept!

The tongs, oh the tongs. Now, my mother tends to reach for these tiny plastic tongs that I think she got with a take-out meal sometime in the past. Those have melted edges. She teases me about how I always choose the largest implement possible to do whatever job I need done. (My dad, on the other hand, chooses the smallest. Seeing him stirring a pot with a teaspoon -the type you eat with, not measure with- is NOT an uncommon sight.) I think I'm about the only person who regularly grabs these tongs. Everyone else seems to hate them because they claim they pinch. I suppose when you don't understand that you should grip the tongs about halfway up instead of at the pivot, that's your punishment. :)

My mother used to have one of those wooden rolling pins with the handles. You know the type? That makes a slight rattling noise as you flatten something (or in this case, crush some crackers into powder)? I loved that! But I also love this rolling pin. It's fabulous.

The timer (ticking type in the mid-ground, not the digital one in the background). My mom has always used these, and like most people, I feel what's good for mom is good for me. I love the sound of this thing slowly clocking how long my meal has been cooking. We use the digital one when the times exceed one hour. It's good, but I check it constantly to make sure it's still counting down the time. No reassuring ticking there.

A while back I posted about a broccoli dish and in the photo of the beautiful vegetable was my favorite knife. A butcher's knife. I love that thing. Again, biggest possible instrument for the job. I'll probably end up married to a really big guy, but love him to death for all the things he can do for me with such vast capabilities compared to all those tiny men! (And there are a LOT of them around, aren't there? I'm not a huge woman, but I am slightly tall and not small boned or fleshed and it makes finding a guy really difficult. I would love to let go of inhibitions and be one of those big women with a small man, but it's just not in me. I can't help but imagine squashing him like a bug between my fingers.)

Perhaps I've had one glass of wine too many tonight....

An Unmitigated Disaster

2007-03-08T14:16:00.000-08:00

That was dinner the night before last. I ran out of time as I thought of endless meals to which we were missing at least one key ingredient. In the end I found some brats from our "local" butcher* and decided to boil them, broil them, and make potato pancakes. Hello cholesterol, goodbye arteries. But, our arteries were saved because the brats had gone bad. In the freezer, yes. This is the only drawback to using a local butcher, they don't use nearly as many preservatives as the mass producers. I'm not complaining. I should have realized. My fault, not theirs. I appreciate the lack of extra preservatives in my food. While my father undauntedly ate two of the offending brats, my mother sat silently swearing at me in her mind because she had had a rough day and was tired and hungry and dammit, dinner was a failure. She said it was alright, but it was the "it's alright" of a very disappointed and famished person. I don't blame her. (See post on teasing hungry people below.)

My shame led to a very successful dinner last night. I had my honor to defend here. On the menu:
Green salad with homemade Italian dressing
Italian roast beef
Marinara sauce over bowtie noodles
Individual banana cream pies

My reputation has been saved (further proof and details to come soon).

*I quote "local" because while this is a small butcher, we have to drive about 40 minutes to get there. But I suppose it isn't any further than our preferred grocery store. Unfortunately, our actual local grocery store has dismal produce, and when that is the bulk of your shopping cart, you pick your grocery store based on the quality of their produce. I refuse to shop somewhere that sells me onions that start sprouting and rotting within the week, celery that is rotting in its bag in the store and shrivelled green peppers.

Maple Nut Scones

2007-03-06T14:50:00.000-08:00

I've realized that using a Mac with Blogger has its drawbacks. Like not having the option to insert a cool link into my post (that one down below was only acheived because I used a PC that time). Instead you get this: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Restaurant-Quality-Maple-Oatmeal-Scones/Detail.aspx. Not exactly pretty, is it? Nonetheless, this link goes to a great scone recipe that I use regularly, even switching it up and making other flavors. My Gingersnap version is widely appreciated (at least the people at the local lumberyard love it). I do, however, make a few changes and have a few tips, if you should like to make these. First, I don't add the dried cherries, but instead a cup of chopped walnuts. Also, scones are a type of biscuit. I have no idea why so many of their recipes ask you to stir in the extras after mixing in the liquids. That is a quick way to end up with some tough, nasty scones. Instead, stir in any extras (nuts, raisins, poppy seeds) after you've cut in the butter and before you stir in the liquid. Speaking of the liquid, I add an extra splash of buttermilk so that I don't have to stir as much to wet all the ingredients, and I use 1 teaspoon of maple extract, not 1/2 of one. Why, you might ask? Because I am my father's daughter; if 1/2 is good, 1 must be extra good. (But don't tell him that. I enjoy teasing him mercilessly about the fact that if he's sent to the store for one quart of half-and-half, he inevitably comes home with two, "Just in case." This goes for most everything.)

Back to the stirring and preparation of the scones, I find that you should start off by gently folding to incorporate dry and wet ingredients. Then, when it's almost all mixed, I get my hands dirty (and sticky) by gathering the multiple lumps and working in that stubborn bit of dry lingering in the bottom of the bowl by patting the lumps into a large ball and dabbing the damp outside into the lingering dry bits. When you're done, the whole thing should be a moist, somewhat sticky ball. Don't try to pack the ball too tight, though, because you might ruin some of the biscuit structure. Basically, over-mixing is your enemy while making scones. Put a very liberal amount of flour on your counter, do NOT knead the dough as the recipe tries to trick you into doing, and proceed to divide the dough and cut as the recipe tells you. If you put this dough on a lightly floured surface, you WILL be using something to scrape it off. It sticks. But the end result is delicious. Oh, and keep an eye on them the first time you make them. Ovens are finicky appliances, and you don't want to end up with burnt scones. I top mine with a "never the same twice" icing of powdered sugar, dash of salt, maple extract and hot water or coffee. If you make it runny enough (but not so much that it just sinks into the scones), and put it on after they've cooled a bit, it should harden nicely on the outside. I find these store best uncovered, as when they're covered they tend to get sticky. Enjoy!

Mushroom Soup

2007-02-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

I don't have a photograph for this one, but I thought I'd share my version of cream of mushroom soup. I decided to add just a bit of rosemary to it last night, but it's just a delicious with just the nutmeg. Or, you can leave the nutmeg out as well, though it does tend to add a little something to the soup.

Mushroom Soup

4 tbsp butter
1/2 of a small onion, finely chopped
1 lb portabella or cremini mushrooms
3 tbsp flour
4 c water
2 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
pinch of rosemary
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 1/2 c cooked wild rice
1/2 c half and half

Melt the butter in a soup pan over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook until translucent.
Add the mushroom, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 to 20 minutes. (This step will seam dry once the mushrooms have absorbed the butter but not started to release their juices yet).
Add flour, mix.
Slowly add the water, making sure to mix thoroughly (you don't want lumps of flour).
Add chicken bouillon, rosemary, nutmeg, and salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 10 to 20 minutes.
Add the wild rice and half and half near the end, being sure to heat thoroughly.

Note to self

2007-02-27T08:38:00.000-08:00

Really must work on taking some decent pictures of food.

Comfort Food pt.1

2007-02-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

One thing I'm hoping to explore with this blog is the concept of comfort food. Anyone who has lived in another culture for some time will understand how one starts to crave certain meals from home that are unavailable. When I was living in China a coworker took a trip home and was kind enough to bring some herbs back to China for me. These herbs helped me make some decent (but by no means fantastic) meals for other expats. These meals were received with rave reviews mostly because it had been so long since any of them had had a home-cooked home meal. (I really must work on my vocabulary.) I find the close relationship between culinary culture and identity intriguing and I would like to work toward collecting comfort food recipes from a wide range of people, along with their best attempt to explain why that meal is comfort food for them and their family.
In my family, meatloaf is a standard in the area of comfort food. Typically we serve meatloaf with mashed potatoes (or simply boiled ones) and carrots. As you can see from the background, my father also adds ketchup, but he is the king of sauces. No meal is complete without extra sauce in his book. Meatloaf is a winter comfort food. It's something that my mom would make regularly when we were children. As kids, we were rather unadventurous eaters. (For example, our idea of vegetables included carrots, corn and peas, on occasion. Green beans were okay too.) The smell of meatloaf baking has a way of warming me up. It makes me think of chilly or downright cold weather and the satisfaction of a hot and substantial meal filling me up. Now, my mom, to make the meat fill more bellies, told me to add a whole stack of saltine crackers. Apparently she now only adds 1/2 to 3/4 of a stack of crackers, which she told me with a "duh, I've been doing that forever" tone.
I can't complain, because a lot of times they will ask what recipe I used to make such-and-such meal and I inevitably forget to add that I also doubled the herbs and spices or halved this, or added this for more flavor, and "didn't you realize that when you looked at the recipe??" I think the secret of a good cook and the reason nobody can get a meal to taste exactly like mom's is because she told you which recipe, but to know how she ACTUALLY makes it. You have to watch her make it. Otherwise you'll not do something that she's always done and forgotten to tell you about. Most likely it's been so long since she's actually looked at the recipe that she will assume that her embellishments are on the card.

Meatloaf

1 lb ground beef
1/2 to 1 stack saltines
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 egg
8 oz can tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the ground beef in a bowl.
Using a rolling pin, crush the saltines into a fine meal.
Add saltines, onion, egg, a dash of tomato sauce, and salt and pepper to the beef.
Mix thoroughly (the best method is using your hands).
Pour about 1/2 of the remaining tomato sauce into the middle of a cast iron pan (either dutch oven or one with a lid).
Gather the meat mixture into a ball and toss gently between your hands to make a large meatball.
Shape into a football shape and place in the tomato sauce.
Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the meatloaf.
Cover and cook until done (about 1 hour).
Serve with boiled potatoes (or mashed) and cooked carrots.
If there are leftovers, meatloaf sandwiches are difficult to beat. Two slices of homemade white bread, slices of chilled meatloaf, salt and pepper (butter if you're really looking for decadence).

Geeky Joy

2007-02-25T16:50:00.000-08:00

Unlike many Wisconsinites who have apparently lost all contact with reality and stayed in this weekend for fear of the deadly storm, I went and did a few errands yesterday. I have been feeling a little under the weather emotionally lately, mostly the effect of a very long, very slow search for a job. So, I made a trip to a bookstore. I debated going to one of my favorite political bookstores in downtown Madison, but I felt the roads mixed with less-than-intelligent drivers made that a bad choice. So, I ended up at a chain bookstore, but a very nice one that caters to a highly educated neighborhood.

I don't venture into bookstores as often as I would like because I buy more than is necessary every time. I managed to restrain myself this time and only bought two books (Nalo Hopkinson's newest novel and The Darker Nations). After that purchase, I realized I hadn't browsed the magazines. Am I ever glad I decided to look around. I found Gastronomica, a journal printed by the University of California Press. This is the best find in a long time! What is better than a quarterly journal that "is a vital forum for ideas, discussion, and thoughtful reflection on the history, literature, representation, and cultural impact of food?"*

*This quote is lifted from the Gastronomica website which I've linked in the sidebar.

Experimenting with Cranberries

2007-02-25T09:49:00.000-08:00

Breakfast is a fun thing to experiment with. This morning we decided to have french toast, and I decided to make a cranberry syrup to go with it. I've done some experimenting with cranberry syrups before, but this time I added cinnamon and maple flavoring. Before I was just making a fruit syrup (sugar, water, fruit, maybe some vanilla extract or vanilla bean). We also made scrambled eggs.

French Toast
11 slices of homemade bread
6 eggs
1/4 c milk
2 tbsp cinnamon and sugar mix
butter for the pan

Beat eggs in a shallow dish.
Add milk and beat.
Add cinnamon and sugar mix and beat.
Heat a skillet (we use cast iron) over medium-high heat.
Once hot, reduce heat to medium to medium-low.
Put butter on pan and spread around.
Dip each side of two slices of bread in the egg mixture and place on the skillet.
Brown the first side, turn, and brown second side.
Too keep warm while making the rest of the toast, place on a plate in an oven set to about 200 degrees.

Cranberry Syrup
1/2 bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 c water
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp mapeleine (maple flavoring)
1 tsp cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low.
Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Allow to cool a bit before serving.

Scrambled Eggs

8 eggs
1/2 to 1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp butter

Beat eggs well.
Add pepper and salt and beat until blended.
Melt butter in a steel skillet over medium to medium-low heat.
Once the pan is hot, add the eggs.
Allow a layer to cook and scrape up.
Repeat until the eggs are cooked, but still glistening.
Do NOT overcook, unless you like rubber for breakfast.

Never tease a starving person

2007-02-25T09:26:00.000-08:00

The other night I went to the gym for an intense aerobic workout (heavy bag, 3 1/5 mile run and 20 minutes on the stationary bike). I would have done some stair climber as well, but my ride had arrived. On the the way home, hunger pangs stabbing, I inquired as to what we were having for dinner. The response? "Leftover pea soup." I love pea soup, but like anything, I don't like eating it repeatedly within a short period of time. The excuse was that mom didn't feel like cooking and he was "lazy." I was angry. I admit it. The result was a less than enthusiastic response when I found out he HAD cooked. I snapped. I'm ashamed. I blame hunger and a not-so-hot day. A sorry excuse I guess.
Now, the family joke is, when dad cooks dinner is one of the following:
Frozen pizza
Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup
Chicken cacciatore
(and more recently:)
meatloaf
spaghetti

That evening, though, dad had gotten creative. A pork dish reminiscent of Caribbean dishes, asparagus, and (sweet) cornbread. It was delicious. I ate a bit before taking a picture. *sheepish grin* This is how he described making this dish.
He found a recipe for stuffed pork and sort of followed it, but not really. He chopped half of a large onion, an apple and some walnuts. He cooked the pork loin, which he had sliced, in a pan with water. He sauteed the onion, apple and walnuts together and added undefined amounts of sage, marjoram, cinnamon, salt, pepper and honey. The result was a slightly sweet pork dish. It was so good. The asparagus was boiled. The cornbread (from a Land o' Lakes cookbook) was baked. My angry stomach monster was assuaged. Thanks Dad!

What happens...

2007-02-23T07:25:00.000-08:00

when you go to the gym while the other major family cook goes to various appointments? You go to Culver's. Okay for fast food. I would have preferred going to Kopp's. While Culver's has spread the frozen custard love throughout many parts of the nation, Kopp's is a family owned chain in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Nobody (and I do mean nobody) makes custard like Kopp's. While most places have a mild, nearly tasteless vanilla ice cream (or custard), Kopp's vanilla has a strong flavor. And their chocolate? To die for. So even if you're not keen on the flavor-of-the-day, you're guaranteed a tasty pleasure with their standards. I think this month we'll have to make a trip for Caramel Cashew. It's delicious! And a family favorite. I must stop now or risk drooling on my keyboard and shorting it out.

Toffee Bars

2007-02-22T17:52:00.000-08:00

As promised, the toffee bar recipe. These are fabulous because the crust is sweet, but has a slightly salty quality, and then it's topped with chocolate chips and walnuts. It makes a cookie sheet/jelly roll pan-full. Which either means you have toffee bars for quite a long time, or, if you have ravenous eaters like those housed here, a couple days.

Toffee Bars

1 c butter - softened
1 c brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
enough chocolate chips to cover (1/2-full bag)
1/2-1 c walnuts, chopped (to preference)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix butter, brown sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, salt and flour.
Spread as evenly as possible onto a cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle with chocolate chips and let them melt. (You can keep them in the oven with the door propped open to aid the melting).
Spread the melted chocolate chips over the crust.
Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
Cut while warm.
These are soft and slightly chewy when warm, but firm and slightly crunchy when cool.

Dessert and my love of it is one of the reasons I have to workout diligently, or risk gaining weight that took forever to lose. :)

Tomato Soup...

2007-02-22T06:10:00.000-08:00

...is what you eat when the two people who decided not to go to the gym also decide to eat leftovers instead of making something for dinner. It was tasty though. They DID, however, make dessert. Toffee bars. I'll post that recipe later.

Split Pea Soup

2007-02-20T18:12:00.000-08:00

Here is the split pea soup. Not exactly the most appetizing looking dish, but delicious nonetheless. [I will refrain from inserting any unnecessary movie references here.] We decided to save this dish for the night that I worked (a rare occurrence while I'm attempting to find full-time work and doing random temp work). Next to it are some Dare whole grain crackers. Very tasty. For dipping into this soup they are far superior to saltines. Though, there were individuals in our household who chose buttered saltines. I prefer those with tomato soup (canned, but with extra black pepper). Here is our family "recipe" for split pea soup. We tend to... "some of this" and "some of that" for a lot of our well-known recipes. Don't most families? I know it's almost impossible to get a straight recipe out of my sister-in-law's parents for any of their Puerto Rican dishes. I think perhaps I'll have to spend some time hanging around their kitchen and forcing them to show me how to cook. I never can get the Pollo Guisado right. It's either completely tasteless or way too salty. But I digress. Didn't I say a while back I was giving you the recipe for split pea soup?

1 smoked ham hock
4 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 bag of dried split peas

Place the ham hock, carrots, celery, onion, bay leaves and salt and pepper in a large stock pot.
Cover with water and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for at least 3 hours (add water if necessary, but if you have the heat low enough you shouldn't have to). We typically start this part in the morning and let it cook slowly all day, thus, it requires a weekend day or someone to be home. Or, you could make the stock one night and continue the next night with the following:

Add the split peas and enough water to cover an inch or so.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until peas have cooked thoroughly.
Add water to prevent burning, if necessary.
You can remove the bay leaves, or be lazy like me and leave them in. If someone tries to eat it, they'll quickly realize it isn't exactly fun to chew on.
Remove the the ham hock and bits of meat that have fallen off. Let cool a bit, then shred, removing as much of the superfluous fat as possible.
Return the meat to the pot and heat a few minutes.
Serve.

Chicken and Broccoli in a Garlic Cream Sauce and Chayote Dessert

2007-02-20T05:50:00.000-08:00

Last night my mentor (who took offense at being referred to as my "clean up crew" despite it being a self-inflicted title) made Chicken and Broccoli in a Garlic Cream Sauce. Look at that beautiful broccoli! It smelled fantastic while cooking, always does, unless you let it cook too long. You can tell you've cooked broccoli too long as soon as your house starts smelling like your high school cafeteria, the holy land of over-cooked or dried-out "fresh" vegetables. Am I glad that my mom used to pack our lunches for us. I could take all the teasing questions about whether my mom also chopped down the tree, mashed it into a pulp, and made the paper bags for us too; the jealous taunts produced when my friends found out my mom made all of our bread.
I realized that I cook quite differently from my mentor now. I typically put at least eight cloves of garlic in my garlic cream sauce. She used four. I resisted the urge to go grab more. She, after all, was doing the cooking. We typically stay out of each other's way while cooking. If we are in the kitchen at the same time, we are usually making separate things. Did anyone read the New York Times article about alpha cooks? My mom and I are both alpha cooks. I managed to bite my tongue (but not my tone) when she asked me to chop some celery for this dish. I would never put celery in it. But, as my sister-in-law would point out, what "white people" dish is complete without celery and onions? None, I tell you. Many-a "white people" dish contains celery, onion, and ground beef and most often includes some "cream of" something soup. Cook something like that up and you'll be transported to the aromatic world of a white, midwestern church potluck.
This dessert was not such fare. Chayote squash, which I halved, seeded (only one large seed in this squash), and stuffed with a mixture of walnuts, raisins, coconut, brown sugar and cinnamon. I baked it at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, turned it down to 325 for a while, and then called my dad while on the way to the gym and asked him to turn the oven off, but leave them inside. When we got home a couple hours later, they were soft and still warm. It was agreed that chayote, while probably making a rather healthy dessert, also makes a rather bland dessert. The topping was delicious, but the chayote tasted of nothing next to it. When I use this vegetable again, it will be with something savory. Perhaps I'll take the Field Guide to Produce's advice and make a mixture including chorrizo to stuff them with, making sure to slice the flesh so that the flavor can penetrate the chayote a little better.

I also mutter outside the kitchen

2007-02-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

In fact, if anyone comes within audible distance of me while I'm doing most anything they will inevitably ask, "What?"

I grumbled and muttered a lot while making this skirt from some material I bought while in Japan for a friend's wedding. I loved the fabric, and now I have a skirt I love. I took a full skirt pattern and shortened the main body of the skirt. Then, through much trial and error, I figured out that in order to make the border I had to extend the part I cut off by 1 1/4 inches at the top and 5/8 of an inch at the bottom. I hemmed the skirt and both sides of the border and then sewed the border to the inside of the skirt. I also discovered the reason you stay stitch curved edges, especially on long narrow pieces like those. The original cut pieces were way too long once they stretched out of shape. Luckily, I bought enough of that fabric to cut more pieces (just barely, though). Now I just have to find a shirt that looks good with it. The sweater in the photo is okay, but the collar (which you can't see) isn't quite the right style.

This skirt will not be worn while I cook. I have ruined many-a-clothing item wearing it while cooking. I am a MESSY cook. Even when I try to be neat, it doesn't work. I can use a splatter screen and the grease will still coat the entire top of the range. That's why I have a clean up crew (my mother). I don't think she minds too much, seeing as I do most of the cooking while living with them. It allows her to actually enjoy cooking when she does it, as opposed to while we were growing up. Every day we posed the question "What are we having for dinner?" To which she would reply, "I don't know, what sounds good?" The perpetual answer..., "I dunno. Food?" The woman (or man) who does all the cooking for the family is a tortured soul, especially when they cook only because nobody else will or can.

Which reminds me, I don't have to cook tonight. We have split pea soup. I'll post a picture and recipe tomorrow. I thought I might add a dessert of stuffed chayote.
I actually knew what I could do with this vegetable thanks to The Field Guide to Produce by Aliza Green that I got for Christmas from my brother and sister-in-law. They also got me the Field Guide to Meat and the Field Guide to Herbs and Spices. Hopefully this will lead to more creative cooking on my part.

Apple Walnut Muffins

2007-02-18T12:50:00.000-08:00

I made these this morning. They were very good, though I may add a bit more liquid to them next time, or make sure to remember that the new oven takes less time than the old one to bake most things. Except cornbread. That still takes more time than the cookbook allots. Who knows why. Anyways, here is the recipe, adapted from a sweet muffin recipe in an old cookbook.

Apple Walnut Muffins

1 egg
1/2 c buttermilk
1/4 c oil
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
just shy of 1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 c walnuts, chopped

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 to 15 muffin cups. Beat the egg with a whisk until foamy, then slowly beat in the buttermilk and oil. Place flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in the bowl, and fold until mostly moist. Add apple and walnuts, and fold into the batter. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full and bake for 18 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pans for about 5 minutes, then remove (this prevents completely mashing the muffins, which inevitably happens when you try to take them out while hot).

2007-02-18T12:25:00.000-08:00

The requisite introduction:

My name is Kristen. I like to cook. And sometimes bake. And I usually mutter to myself while doing both, thus the name. I find experimenting in the kitchen rewarding, especially when those eating the creations actually enjoy them. So this blog is dedicated to the successes and failures of my kitchen. Perhaps it will help me to remember the likes and dislikes of those I feed. I have friends who can't eat spicy food (never forget to inform heat-intolerant people that the skin of the baked chicken is rubbed with copious amounts of red pepper); my mother has an aversion to strong lemon or sour flavors and alcohols of most kinds in entrees (forgot that when serving her a dish with a sauce made almost entirely of wine and lemon juice...oops); our family also includes the lactose-intolerant and those on salt and sugar-free diets. Holidays have become an interesting time of attempting to feed everyone something they can or will actually eat. Most of the year, however, I spend time cooking for me, and those I live with basically tolerate my experimentation or personal tastes while making occassional requests for "something normal...like meatloaf?"