Food, glorious food.

baked french toast casserole

2011-12-21T15:06:00.000-08:00

Lookit, I love The Pioneer Woman. Truly, I do. Her wild rice and corn casserole is slap-your-mama good. Her stuffed mushrooms? To die for. But I always find myself tweaking her recipes to contain less fat-- not that it's not delicious, but if I ate her recipes as is I would be roughly the size of the Goodyear Blimp. I'd love to know her secret!

When I came across her recipe for baked french toast that contained 2 cups of whole milk PLUS 1 cup of heavy cream PLUS A WHOLE STICK OF BUTTER, my eyes almost fell out of my head. So I gave it a loving revision. And it's still delicious. Lemme tell you how:

the insides:
1 loaf of sourdough (or bread of your choosing, enough to rip up and fill a 9x12 casserole dish)
nonstick spray
12 eggs
1 C buttermilk, I used 2%
4 T sugar
4 T bourbon* (*optional, I guess)
2 T vanilla

the topping:
1/2 C - 1 C pecans, toasted
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C flour
1 T cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1/2 stick butter, cubed and very, very cold

Directions: rip up your bread and fill your greased casserole dish. In a large bowl combine 12 eggs, buttermilk, sugar, bourbon, and vanilla and beat lightly with a fork. Pour it over the bread, cover with foil, and stick in the fridge for at least 4 hours (I say overnight. I mean dude, that took what, 5 min? Perfect thing to do before bed on Christmas Eve.)

For the topping, throw the toasted pecans in your food processor with flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Add in the cold butter cubes and pulse until it resembles small pebbles. Stick that in the refrigerator too.

The next morning, sprinkle the topping on and bake at 350 for 45 min to 1 hour, depending on if you like yours eggy vs. toasty. I put maple syrup on mine and served it with cayenne & brown sugared bacon.

Serves 12, and if you care: 400 calories, 20g fat, 12g protein, 3g fiber.

gribiche

2011-11-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

Seriously, almost a year? I'm so flighty with this thing. But I'm unemployed now so I SWEAR to start posting more often. At least once a month. Will you guys help keep me accountable?

Today I am making a sauce gribiche. In all honesty I am making it because I have an almost limp bunch of parsley that really needs to be used, and stat. But also, because I love it-- it's delicious, and fun to make, and so very, very French. And it's really, really adaptable. I've used it on asparagus in the past, and once in a pasta dish with flaked salmon. Tonight I'm putting on steaks, like this guy. But doesn't it sound great on roasted potatoes?

When I first tried it, I read David Lebovitz' recipe, because I love his style, and also Orangette's, ditto, and since then I've played around with the ingredients, and what I have, what I like, etc, and found my perfect gribiche.

Ingredients: one egg, olive oil, capers, fresh parsley, whole-grain mustard. (You'll notice there are cornichons in the photo above. Now I love love LOVE cornichons, but my personal opinion is that they add one too many flavors to this sauce, so I leave them out now.)

Start by soft-boiling your egg. You want the white firm and the yolk runny. FIRST, make sure your egg is at room temperature so it doesn't crack when you lower it into the boiling water. Bring a pot of water to a boil, turn it down to a steady simmer, and carefully lower in the egg with a slotted spoon. Exactly 5 minutes later, remove with the slotted spoon and run under cool water until you can peel it.

Drop it into your glass bowl with a spoonful of whole grain mustard. Mash around with a fork until the white is crumbled up, and start adding olive oil little by little until it looks sort of like lumpy mayonnaise. Appetizing, right? (I didn't take a photo of that step.)

Next, add chopped capers and flat-leaf parsley. Like, a LOT of parsley. Don't worry. Parsley is delicious. Taste and season to your preference with salt, black and/or red pepper. Keep adding and mixing and tasting until you get it just so. You'll know when it's right.

Feel free to experiment and make it your own. Use a mixture of herbs. Add a clove of minced raw garlic. Brighten up with a splash of acid, like lemon juice or red wine vinegar. It's up to you and your taste buds!

Cover with plastic wrap and it will store for a few days in the refrigerator. However, I like it room temperature, served over something simple. Cold roasted chicken. Poached fish. Leftover steak or potatoes. Scrambled eggs? The possibilities are endless.

skillet carrots

2010-12-04T12:12:00.001-08:00

Sweet Lord baby Jesus, you guys. I just ate about a pound of cooked carrots. Truly.

COOKED CARROTS? That sounds deplorable.

But I saw this recipe on Orangette's food blog, and seriously, that girl has never steered me wrong. And I love thyme. So I gave it a shot. Honestly, I think the French (and Orangette) are just genius.

I decided to use a mixture of carrots and parsnips (about 2:1) because the lonely parsnips at the market always make me so sad. Have you ever had one? It's sort of like a carrot, and sort of like a potato, and has that good, solid, earthy feel & taste that we gravitate toward in the foggy winter months. I love them.

I also used white balsamic vinegar because for some unholy reason my pantry is out of red wine vinegar (an injustice that will be remedied on my next trip out the door). It was fine-- the vinegar just sort of brightens the dish, not flavors it. But I think red wine vinegar would have been better. Oh, and while I was cooking, this happened:

So that took some time. And some sweeping. And I'm still crunching sea salt under my feet every time I walk into the kitchen. LE SIGH.

Ingredients:
2 large carrots
1 large parsnip
1 white onion
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
sea salt
olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar

Tools:
Large flat-bottomed skillet with a lid

So you take a skillet, and heat up some olive oil. A little more than you think. Really coat the bottom of the pan. When it's hot, throw in 1/2 a white onion, cut stem to root (like this; as Orangette points out, it's very important to the integrity of the onion). Let the onions soften a while-- she says don't brown them but what is better than caramelized onions? so I just let them go to town while I sliced my carrots and parsnips.

Add the carrots, parsnips, thyme, and a generous pinch (or two) of sea salt. Toss to coat everything well and cover.

Let stew/sautee/steam for 15-20 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Test with a toothpick. They're ready when they reach your desired texture. I prefer them a little al dente myself, but it's totally up to you.

Sprinkle with vinegar, give a quick stir, and remove from heat. Serve immediately.

Note: this recipe should make 2-3 side servings, but I ate the entire thing by myself. Don't judge. At least I'm eating my vegetables.

the lazy frittata

2010-11-15T14:07:00.000-08:00

There are many not-so-wonderful things about being single, but there are many wonderful things as well, and since I'm a glass-half-full kinda gal, I choose to be happy about the fact that one of the greatest things about being single is that I always get to eat what I want, when I want it. I don't have to take any one else's stomach, or allergies, or nutritional needs, or whims into consideration except my own, and I, for one, like having complete control over my food and drink intake.

There have been many books written on this subject by far better cooks and far better writers than I-- Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, for one, and The Pleasures of Cooking for One, for another-- but I'm here today to tell you about the lazy frittata.

The down side of cooking for one is cleaning for one. Sometimes you don't want to make a huge mess in the kitchen for something that's going to last all of 10 minutes and be shared with no one. So I've taught myself some tricks and shortcuts, and this frittata is one of my laziest. As I almost always have leftovers, the veggies and sometimes the cheese are hanging out in the refrigerator already prepared, so besides something to beat the eggs in, I only use one pan and one plate. (And honestly, I've been known to eat it from the pan!)

Ingredients:
olive oil or butter
2 eggs, beaten with a T of milk or water or ahem... half & half if that's what you have on hand
leftover vegetable(s) of your choice
leftover herb(s) of your choice
some sort of cheese
salt & pepper

Directions:
Preheat your broiler. Heat a swirl of olive oil over medium heat, and toss in whatever vegetables and/or fresh herbs you have on hand. Today I used 3 large handfuls of baby spinach and some green onions. Mushrooms and thyme would also delicious, as are zucchini and dill, roasted tomatoes and red onions, or any combination of what you have available. Season with salt & pepper. Once the veggies are cooked through, pour the egg mixture over the top and turn the heat to low. Don't touch!

Let cook until you can slide a spatula around the edges and see that it's done on the bottom. Now, sprinkle the (still raw) top with cheese (today I used a gruyere/emmenthaler mixture left over from fondue night, but anything you have will do) and more pepper, because you can never have too much black pepper with eggs, and pop under the broiler -- ***making sure you leave the handle sticking out or wrap it in foil*** and finish cooking until the top is golden brown and delicious. Serve immediately and then wash your one pan!

preserved lemon vinaigrette

2010-11-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

So, I've been in the South for 3 weeks. Chattanooga, New Orleans, Atlanta. And don't get me wrong... I LOVE the South. I'm FROM the South. But I haven't seen a vegetable that wasn't deep-fried and/or drowned in ranch dressing for weeks, and my body could not be happier to get back to California, where the drawstring on my yoga pants seems to have shrunk. :/

So yesterday I made a nice veggie-based soup, a bunch of fruit, and bought salad greens. Hellooo FIBER! Yesssss! I never buy pre-made salad dressing because A) I think it's gross and B) I don't like to eat the same thing all the time and then it goes bad.

I'm leaving in 4 days so my staples are pretty sparse, but there's a lovely jar of preserved lemons in the fridge that I made on a whim last time I was home, when lemons were 5 for $1. You can find the recipe here and I must say that while they turned out deliciously, I don't really know what to do with them since I don't eat chicken and they kind of are made for a tangine.

But I poked around a little and came up with a simply delightful salad dressing that is making my lunch zing. It may me a little on the tart side for some of you (I love my acid) so maybe dial down the lemon juice and dial up the olive oil a tad.

Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette
1 t minced shallot
2 T chopped preserved lemons (recipe here)
1 t whole-grain mustard
2 T fresh lemon juice
1-2 T extra virgin olive oil (the greener the better)
dash of freshly cracked pepper
caveat: the lemons are very, very salty, so don't add any extra until you've tasted it. I didn't need any, and that's very unusual for me.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and build your salad on top. I used mixed greens, thin slivers of zucchini, and an asian pear, because that's what I had on hand, but I think it would really work well with chickpeas, cucumbers, and tomatoes, or perhaps a simple spinach, red onion, and walnut combo. The sky's the limit-- lemon goes with everything.

creamy white bean soup with leeks

2010-08-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again-- one of my very favourite things about San Francisco is that it's almost always soup weather! I just love soup. You know what else I love? White beans. And leeks. And my Epicurious app on my iPhone.

"Do you have a kinder, more adaptable friend in the world than soup?" ~Miss Manners

This recipe is super easy and cheap. It was adapted from a recipe I found on Epicurious, which was adapted from a recipe in Gourmet magazine in 1991. I, of course, tweaked it to fit my needs, taste buds, and pantry, the main differences being omitting the dairy and that the original recipe called for tarragon, which I find far too licorice-y. But, if you like tarragon, by all means use it where I used thyme.

Tools:
an immersion blender
soup pot

Ingredients:
2 cans cannellini beans
2 C vegetable stock
2 large leeks, white and light green parts only
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 tsp dried thyme
the juice of 1 large lemon, strained and divided
olive oil
hot pepper flakes
salt & pepper

Directions:
Thinly slice your leeks (first make sure then are properly cleaned). Heat to medium a hefty swirl of olive oil in your soup pot, and thrown in the leeks, a couple of pinches of salt, and a pinch of hot pepper flakes. Toss to coat well and then let caramelize, 3-4 minutes. The rings will start to break apart and get nice brown bits on them. Add the garlic and toss well again, to brown the bits that haven't browned yet.

In the meantime, put the two cans of beans, undrained, into a mixing bowl with 2C of vegetable stock, and 1 tsp of dried thyme. Using your immersion blender, blend to a smooth consistency.

Back in your soup pot, deglaze the bottom with half of your lemon juice, scraping up all the little yummy bits of garlic and leek. Add the pureed beans and drop the heat down to medium-low. Heat up to serving temperature (do not boil). Taste and adjust seasoning. Once you pull the soup from the heat, stir in the remaining lemon juice and serve!

Note: I am extremely lazy when cooking for one, but if I was serving this to people I would have pan-fried some leeks on the side and put a few on the top. It would also be delicious with a handful of garlicky croutons.

okey dokey artichokey

2010-08-27T10:19:00.001-07:00

I love artichokes. LOOOOOVE. When I saw this big daddy at the farmers' market for $0.99, I pounced. I wanted SO badly to make homemade mayonnaise to dip it in, but sadly, I gave up after reading 30 recipes, watching 7 videos, and 2 actual failed attempts. If I ever figure it out, I promise you guys will be the first to know.

So instead, you get a very, VERY easy lemon-tahini sauce recipe. Which turned out to be just exquisite, and perfect with the artichoke. You could also thin it out with some hot water to make a nice tangy salad dressing.

(PS> to steam an artichoke, cut the bottom off so it will sit flat, cut the top off, and trim any thorns off the outer leaves. Sit in a couple of inches of simmering water for 20-40 minutes based on the size of your artichoke. It's done when a leaf comes off easily. I read to put some lemon juice in the water to keep it bright green but that didn't work for me... maybe next time I'll throw in a half a lemon instead of just squeezing the juice?)

Tools:
small food processor

Ingredients:
about 1/4 C of tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon-1 lemonsalt
1 clove garlic, pressed, grated, or microplaned
pinch of hot pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:
Put tahini, about half of your lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and the garlic in your food processor and pulse several times. Taste, and adjust for lemon and salt, then serve!

how to cook a perfect steak in your apartment (sans grill)

2010-08-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

Remember when I taught Tom how to cook salmon? That was like a hundred years ago and now he cooks more than I do! But I liked the idea of laying out the basics so someone can take off and do his/her own thing in the kitchen, so today I'm going to teach y'all how to cook the perfect steak without a grill. It CAN be done in your studio apartment, with just a few spatters.

OK, so yes, I'm MOSTLY a vegetarian. But I have been trying to eat meat once a week, for the iron, and Trader Joe's sells these lovely 6-ish oz filets that are free-range, organic, vegetarian-fed, and affordable.

Tonight's menu is roasted potatoes, kale, and filet mignon-- and BOURBON. God, it's been too long since I've had a bourbon: 2 fingers, on the rocks, with a twist. *sigh*

Tools:
a cast-iron skillet (this is a must-- do NOT use a non-stick skillet)
a splatter-guard
tongs
a kitchen timer

Ingredients:
steak
vegetable oil
BUTTER

Directions:
While your potatoes are roasting, let your steak(s) rest to room temperature, and season liberally with salt & pepper. Heat, to high-medium-high, about 1 T of vegetable oil and 1 T of butter per steak in your cast iron skillet. Make sure you use an oil with a high smoke point, like corn or canola, as you want your skillet screamin' hot. Using tongs in one hand and the splatter guard in the other, lay the steak in the hot buttery oil. Slam the splatter guard down and DON'T TOUCH IT. You want the fat to caramelize the meat. If you're anything like me, you'll be tempted to move it, but DON'T. Timing you will need to play around with-- on my gas stovetop for a smallish steak (6-8 oz) to get rare-to-medium-rare, I do 2 min on the first side and 90 seconds on the second side. Remember you can always cook it more and you can never cook it less, so err on the side of caution at first.

Remove it from the heat and set it aside covered in a foil tent while you finish plating your meal. It needs to rest for a couple of minutes.

My trick for the greens-- steam them lightly on the side while you're searing the steak and while the steak is resting, throw the greens around in the greasy cast-iron skillet. It will make a big ruckus and splatter oil everywhere but it will be totally worth it, and by worth it I mean DELICIOUS.

My roasted potatoes: get the teeny tiny white ones (about the diameter of a quarter), toss with olive oil, salt & pepper, and roast at 400 for about 40 minutes until they are done (test with a toothpick).

ENJOY!~

2010-08-23T15:16:00.000-07:00

my post-yoga lunch: Trader Joe's Thai Vegetable Gyoza over a bed of edamame, roasted sweet potatoes, and a side of homemade pickled radishes. NOM.

cioccolato all'arancia gelato

2010-01-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

Maybe most of you don't think of making ice cream in December, but in Arizona, there's really no reason to not think about ice cream, ever. We made more than one absolutely DIVINE batch of candy cane ice cream around Christmastime, but I failed to get any photographs, as it was devoured in its entirety practically as soon as it came out of the freezer.

This week, with memories of Gelateria Ponte alla Carraia (revived by a dark chocolate orange tucked into a stocking on Christmas morning) in my head, I decide to try my hand at cioccolato all'arancia (chocolate-orange).

I typically make Philadelphia-style ice cream (no egg, does not require cooking) but that's because I'm lazy. And while Philly style turns out fluffy and snowy and and delicate (and perfectly acceptable for peppermint and fruit flavours), I really prefer chocolate ice cream to be denser and richer and creamier, so I went the custard-style route. I must admit, I was not disappointed. And by "not disappointed," I mean "ecstatic."

(photo credit, Gherkin's Bucket)

Ingredients:
2 C heavy cream
2 C whole milk
3/4 C sugar
2 egg yolks at room temperature, whisked slightly with a fork
3/4 C - 1 C shaved dark chocolate, at least 60%
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 T grand marnier or 1 1/2 t orange extract or 3-4 drops orange essential oil

Directions:
In a large sauce pan over medium-low heat, mix milk, cream, and sugar. When tiny bubbles barely begin to form around the edges of the pan, back the heat down (you don't want it to boil), temper the egg, and add back to the pan. Incorporate the shaved chocolate into the warm milk mixture in batches, stirring until completely melted. Remove from heat, stir in extracts, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or until completely cool. Then, freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions, and store in the freezer until it's at your desired serving consistency.

Note: I think this dessert would be very lovely if garnished with curls of orange zest, if one can be bothered to serve it in actual dishes rather than eating it out of a coffee mug like we do it at Chez Moi.

potatoes and resolutions

2009-12-30T13:45:00.000-08:00

Oh-ho, it's December 30th and I haven't updated since August. As usual, one of my (many) New Year's resolutions is to update here more often. I would like to strive for once a week, but I also want to give myself an objective that I can keep, so maybe I should settle for twice a month? What do you think, dear reader?

I have been spending my Christmas break at my lovely friend Krysten's house in Arizona, where the vodka flows like the sunshine and I'm gaining weight with a rapidity heretofore only reserved for mad dashes to late trains. I honestly think my fat pants are now leaving indentions in my waist right now, but isn't that what the holidays are all about? (On another note, I've been hearing about Kate Moss' "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels" statement, and ... girlfriend is just WRONG. Obviously I am not condoning obesity but indulge yourself every once in a while; can I get an amen??)

Today's recipe comes to you courtesy of my roommate Brian's mother Madeline, with some added flair by me, per usual, this time in the form of a nod to "A Potato Dish for Julia" by Judith Jones (whose book The Pleasures of Cooking for One I received as a Christmas gift this year). The United Nation of Krysten & Jamie single-handedly polished off HALF the casserole dish, but instead of curling up for a carb-coma nap, I decided to drag myself to the computer to share the recipe.

Perfect Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes, sliced thinly with a mandolin (about 1/8"-1/4")
4 T flour whisked into 2 C of whole milk
1/2 onion, minced
3-4 garlic cloves, pressed or grated, then mashed with a hefty pinch of sea salt to form a paste
1 C grated cheddar or gruyere cheese, or a mixture
3 T butter, cut into small cubes
1 T parsley,
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
In a greased casserole dish layer half of the sliced potatoes, dot with half the butter and half the garlic paste, sprinkle with half the onions, salt, and pepper, and top with half of the grated cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Pour the flour and milk mixture over to cover potatoes. Bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour and serve sprinkled with fresh parsley (and if you're me, a dash of hot pepper flakes).

I dare you to only eat one helping.

black bean soup with corn-avocado relish

2009-08-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

Oh MY has it really been 3 months since I've updated? What a shame. I've been cooking, I swear! Just not posting.

At any rate, this soup is the easiest thing to make, and sooooo cheap (I call it "recession soup"), nutritious, and it's so delicious and hearty, but the corn relish still summers it up a bit. L-Ro asked me for the recipe, so L-Ro, this one's for you!

Black Bean Soup

ingredients:

2 or 3 cans black beans

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (I used the fire-roasted ones)

2 cups water or broth

2-3 big handfuls of a big leafy green (chard, kale, etc), rinsed well, deveined, finely chopped

instructions:

heat olive oil in a large soup pot. add onions, garlic, and salt and sweat or sautee to your desired degree of doneness. seriously, you can't really mess this soup up. add beans, tomatoes, and liquid, and bring to a simmer. add the greens and bring back to a simmer, continue cooking until the greens have wilted. then use your immersion blender to puree to a smooth consistency (if you don't have an immersion blender you can use your food processor-- just do it in batches and make sure you cool it first).

Avocado-Corn Relish

ingredients:

1 cob corn

1 avocado

2-3 cloves raw garlic, microplaned or grated

1 generous handful of cilantro, including stems, finely chopped

green or red onions, finely minced

the juice and zest of 1 large lime (or 2 small ones)

generous pinch of sea salt

even more generous pinch of hot pepper flakes

2-3 glugs of olive oil

instructions:

roast the corn in the oven- spray or rub it with a little olive oil, loosely wrap it in foil, and put it in a 450-degree oven for 30ish minutes. you could also do this on the grill, mmmm. to trim off the cob, use a bundt pan or a small bowl inverted into a bigger bowl, and slice it off the cob in vertical strips. some of it will stay in neat little chunks and other kernels will separate.

Note: I find finely chopping herbs for relishes and pestos to be easiest with my Ulu, but if you don't have one you can just chop and drop as normal.

In a bowl, combine the corn, diced avocado, garlic, lime zest and juice, salt, pepper flakes, and cilantro. Fold in olive oil with a fork to desired consistency.

Serve at room temperature over hot black bean soup.

Bonus recipe alert!! Serve over eggs in toast for breakfast:

Double your recession savings! You're welcome.

caramelized cauliflower with slow-roasted tomatoes

2009-05-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

As you all know, I really enjoy preparing a little dish I like to call "making do with what you have." As usual, I'm going out of town on Thursday for a couple of weeks, so instead of spending money on groceries, I'm forcing myself to be creative with what lies in the depths of my icebox and pantry. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up to my girl Amanda, who gave me the idea for a sundried tomato pesto which I have eaten at least 3x this week on various pastas and vegetables, and am currently contemplating putting it on eggs for breakfast.

This week I had the great fortune of reading Orangette's new book, A Homemade Life. I loved it soooo much that its only low point was that I devoured it in one sitting, instead of pushing it into leftovers for a week. It has all the wonder of a good dish-- delicate in some parts, meaty in others, and provided me good taste for my heart and nutrition for my soul.

I think Ms. Wizenburg (or can I call her Molly? she seems so personable!) would be proud to know I used not one but two of her recipes last night, and tweaked them to fit my needs. In my crisper sat a lone head of cauliflower, which is a lot for a recipe-for-one, but it really needed to be eaten. I contemplated soup (any excuse to use my immersion blender, you know), but that would have required a trip to the market for at the very least, an onion, so I decided to roast it.

Her recipe for roasted cauliflower (pg 273, or here) pairs with it a salsa verde that sounded scrumptious, but again, a trip to the store would have been necessary, so with Amanda's tomato pesto still fresh in my mind, I turned to a clamshell of sweet grape tomatoes and pg 193 (or here).

I had to go with grape tomatoes instead of romas, and they're so sweet I contemplated adding some vinegar (I have a lovely white balsamic, courtesy of Stonehouse, and my girlies Krysten and Chanelle), but in the end I'm glad I left as is. I had them all sliced and slick with olive oil when I realized I was out of coriander. This recipe notwithstanding, gasp. I adore coriander. But, bygones, not to be daunted by my threadbare cupboards, I settled on 2 huge garlic cloves, pressed, smoky cumin, hot red pepper flakes, and sea salt.

Oven at 200. Generally season oiled tomatoes with garlic, cumin, hot pepper, and salt, and roast for hours. Literally. I checked on them about every hour or so but I think I finally found them at their peak around 3 1/2. When Orangette states "rubies in fruit form," she ain't lying. It took a LOT of willpower not to eat the entire sweet, hot, smoky mess with slightly burnt fingers, right from the pan.

OK, now, oven to 450. Slice your cauliflower in slice in 1/4"-1/2" slices. A good deal of it will crumble away, but that's just snackies while you're waiting. Nestle loosely into a baking sheet, generously coated with olive oil (Orangette suggests using your fingers; I used a silicone brush) and sea salt. Roast 30-40 minutes, flipping once.

I sat near the oven for most of this process, with a glass of pinot grigio, flipping through her book, listening to the hissing, burbling, & popping of the cauliflower caramelizing in the oven. I like it well-done. I threw the pan of tomatoes back in the oven while I plated the cauliflower, just to heat them up, then drizzled the whole goopy mess over the cauliflower.

I fully intended to eat half and save the rest for today... but I didn't. I cleaned the plate and licked my fingers.

portobello stroganoff with sundried tomatoes and spinach

2009-03-07T08:57:00.000-08:00

I've been a vegetarian for about 2 years, and every once in a while, I encounter a dish I completely forgot about. This week it was beef stroganoff. I would never have called stroganoff a favourite dish of mine, but I liked it, and when I found a mushroom version on a menu in Austin, TX, I decided I had to make it. Yesterday's cold weather seemed perfect for thick egg noodles with a warm gravy sauce-- but I amped the nutrition with some added veggies.

I'm sad to say that I don't ever feel like my food blog will take off until I get a decent camera. It's near impossible to take a good detail photo with a digital point-and-shoot in the evening. The ambient light in the kitchen isn't strong enough, and the flash is way too much-- even if I "diffuse" it with a tissue. Any pointers, beyond spending money I don't have, would be much appreciated.

Gravy-based sauces are not quite as easy when you're not cooking with animal fat, but a good roux can take you a long way, and it's definitely a learned skill. This stroganoff is a bit easier because you incorporate the flour into the sour cream-- just remember to temper the sour cream mixture so it doesn't curdle when you add it to the skillet.

This may seem like a lot of ingredients, but assemble them ahead of time-- it all comes together rather quickly.

Ingredients:
4 servings dried egg noodles
3T butter (or olive oil)
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 large portobello mushroom caps, wiped clean and coarsely diced
+ 1/2 C dried creminis or porcinis, reconstituted in hot water and finely chopped
(reserve mushroom liquid for broth)
2-3 huge handfuls of fresh spinach
1/2 C julienned sun-dried tomatoes

for the sauce:
1+ C of veg broth (with mushroom liquid should add up to about 1 1/2 C)
1/2-1 C sour cream
3T all-purpose flour
fresh thyme
1-2T white wine
2-3 healthy dashes of worcestershire sauce
2 T tomato paste

First, set up your pasta water to boil (you'll do it right before you serve) and mix the 3T flour with 1/2-1 C of sour cream in a small glass bowl. Set aside.

In your largest skillet, melt butter over medium heat, and sweat onions and garlic in a large pinch of sea salt. When they start to turn translucent, add both kinds of mushrooms and a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme. Sautee for a few minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked through. Add in the sundried tomatoes, cook for a few more minutes, then add spinach. Once the spinach is barely wilted, transfer to a dish on the side.... you'll add the veggies back to the sauce later. (Don't forget to fish out the thyme stems!)

Deglaze the skillet with a dash of white wine, making sure to scrape up any bit of cooked onion and mushrooms. Add broth, worcestershire sauce, and tomato paste, bring to a boil, and reduce mixture by 1/3. At this point, turn the heat to very, very low, and temper your sour cream mixture. (If you've never tempered a sauce before, it basically means to stir in a ladle or so of the hot liquid to the sour cream to warm it up before dumping it into the sauce, or else the dairy will curdle in the skillet). Pour the warmed sour cream and flour into the broth, and stir to thicken. It will need to cook for a minute or two to avoid the raw flour taste. Once it's cooked through (feel free to take a taste test!), add the veggies back in, and leave on low heat while you cook your noodles.

Serve over egg noodles and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves or chopped parsley.

Make your partner do the dishes. Delicious!~

"indian" roasted vegetables

2008-12-14T14:22:00.000-08:00

Remember my roasted vegetables obsession? Today I made it ethnic. I've been craving Indian food lately, and on my new budget, eating out has been cut way down.

I chopped up a large eggplant, a head of cauliflower, and a red onion, and tossed that with a can of drained chickpeas, a couple of smashed garlic cloves, some olive oil, S&P, and about 3T of some Indian spices. (I was lazy and used a spice mix from Naturally India, which is a mix of coriander, chili, ginger, cumin, garlic, cumin, garlic, fenugreek, turmeric, cayenne, and bay- but you could certainly use the blend of your choice. I like Alton Brown's, which you can find here.)

Roast the veggies at 450 for about 20 minutes, then kick the heat to 500 for another 10 minutes. Toss with a large spoon about every 10 min. In the meantime, prepare some basmati rice. Once it's done, stir in a tsp of turmeric, a tsp of saffron, and a pat of butter (you certainly substitute olive oil to make the rice vegan).

Serve vegetables over rice, and garnish with mint and parsley. Top it off with a nice big dollop of plain yogurt mixed with chopped fresh mint.

roasted winter vegetables

2008-12-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

My Vegetarian Times magazine this month was all about roasted winter vegetables. Added bonus of eating locally? Vegetables in season are CHEAP!

A couple of nights ago I made this dish for my roommates:

Basically, it's 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets, about 10-12 large Brussells sprouts, halved, 2 large carrots, cut into sticks, and 1/2 of a HUGE yam, cubed. (PS> All that was about $4.) I tossed the vegetables with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, rosemary and thyme I had leftover from Thanskgiving (just throw it in there whole; the leaves will fall off during cooking and you can fish the stems out before serving), and 4-5 smashed garlic cloves. Season to your liking. Luckily I had this fabulous alderwood-smoked salt that really added to the depth of the dish. Roast at 450 for about 20-30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes. After that, turn the heat up to 500 and let everything get golden brown and delicious. Once you pull it out, sprinkle with fresh parsley and lemon juice. I served with black rice, but I think it would be amazing with a hunk of crusty rustic bread.

Tonight I made baby red potatoes and brussells sprouts with thyme and a splash of white balsamic vinegar. I also have plans for a red onion, some chickpeas, and an eggplant. Suddenly my new favourite oven setting is 500!!!

Why I Love Park's Farmers' Market #2

2008-11-24T14:19:00.000-08:00

I just bought:

1 dozen organic, cage-free brown eggs
4 lbs spinach
3 large leeks
1 bundle fresh sage
1 bundle fresh rosemary
1 large bundle of celery
1 yellow onion
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
13 sweet potatoes
5 lemons
1 lb roasted pistachios

And I paid $19.25. I KNOW. [/Monica]

Vagabond Thanksgiving Menu, 2008 Edition

2008-11-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

appetizer:
brie with fig preserves and honey

main meal (served cafeteria-style):
roasted turkey with maple-sage sausage stuffing
vegetarian apple-onion stuffin' muffins
green bean casserole
mashed potatoes
fresh corn and wild rice casserole
hasselback sweet potatoes
creamy spinach, leek, and blue cheese gratin
cranberry relish with orange zest and honey

dessert:
pecan pie with vanilla-laced whipped cream
buttermilk chess pie
pumpkin ice cream
hot spiced cider with amaretto

my favorite tuna

2008-11-15T18:31:00.003-08:00

I know I've blogged about my amazing tuna salad before. But Dish taught me an even better way, and now it's my go-to. SO easy.

1 can canallini beans
2 cans white tuna packed in water
both drained and rinsed

Add 2 celery stalks, split down the middle and chopped, about 1/4 white onion, chopped, 1 large green onion, chopped. Then season with your very own lemon-thyme salt (or if you don't have that wonder, salt and pepper and dried thyme) and add the juice of 2 large lemons (or 3 small ones). Mix well and serve over arugula.

This would also work well with chicken, or even just the white beans, for my strict no meat-eaters.

Coming up tomorrow: quinoa risotto with broccoli and smoked salt!

REALLY?

2008-11-05T05:18:00.001-08:00

OK, apparently now fake sugar comes with fake fiber:

http://www.splenda.com/page.jhtml?id=splenda/products/fiber_packets.inc

That's just ridiculous. Wake up, obese America. Eat an apple.

comforting

2008-10-03T14:03:00.002-07:00

Does anyone find it odd that a big bowl of fresh arugula with the greenest whisper of olive oil, the juice from a half a lemon, and a smattering of lemon-thyme salt is comforting to me?

Yeah, me too, a little.

the best dish I have ever made, EVER.

2008-07-22T19:37:00.005-07:00

You guys. For REAL. This is the best thing I have ever made, ever. EVER.

Before I get too far into this, I have to say-- I am not an ice cream lover. Sure, I'll grab a pint of coffee-heath-bar-crunch every now and then, but generally speaking, ice cream just usually doesn't make the cut. It's not worth its weight in calories to me, when I could have cheese, or olives, or a nice martini. But this ice cream? It's in a league of its own. Sweet and tangy homemade peach buttermilk ice cream. I took one bite, and put my bowl down, walked away, and came back. It's so good I couldn't handle it. I just... well, I have no words for how good it was. I might not even finish this post without sneaking into the freezer for another taste. And I've already had thirds tonight.

You know, I honestly believe that canned peaches have practically ruined the taste of a real peaches for the rest of the world. There is no way a canned peach, although somewhat tasty in its own right, can ever prepare you for what a real peach tastes like. And they're not like bananas where they taste the same year-round. When you eat a peach, it is just... fresh. It is ripe. It was hanging on a tree mere days ago. And it tastes like summer.

It's stone fruit season in Northern California. Last week the farmers' market was overflowing with plums, apricots, cherries, nectarines, and peaches. My LORD, the peaches. I went to Greens and that goddess of a chef served me grilled peaches with fresh ricotta and sage honey. So this week, when my mom & I were at Whole Foods in Columbus, Ohio, and walked under the big banner advertising California Peaches, I raved like a broken record until she put half a dozen in the basket.

Honestly, A) if you live somewhere that grows fresh peaches and B) have an ice-cream machine, make this tomorrow. Your life will never be the same.

Ingredients:
6 large peaches, very ripe (I put mine in a brown paper bag on the sun porch for 24 hours)
1/2 C white sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 C buttermilk
1 1/2 C heavy cream
1 t vanilla

Directions: Peel and chop peaches into a large bowl. Add sugars, cinnamon, and lemon juice, cover, refrigerate, and let macerate for several hours (up to 24, but allow at least 4-6). When you're ready to freeze, mash with a potato masher to desired consistency (I like some chunks, but you want the peach flavor to be evenly dispersed throughout the ice cream, too). Add buttermilk, cream, and vanilla, and freeze according to the instructions for your ice-cream machine.

Voila! Easy-peachy. My parents and I ate daintily from our glass bowls, then went straight into the machine with our spoons and kept eating and eating, and then licking our fingers, until I asked my mom if I could just stick my face straight in there for the rest. She, in no uncertain terms, let me know I would have some serious competition. There was a long discussion over who paid for the ingredients vs. who prepared the ice cream, and I believe the terms "summer pregnancy" and "labor" were thrown around as leverage, and rebutted with things like "favorite child" and "nursing home." Rest assured, however, that we all ended up with full bellies and sticky faces, and smiles all around.

Please, make this ice cream. Make it now, and thank me later. I promise you won't be disappointed.

stuffed mushrooms

2008-07-05T19:49:00.003-07:00

I have a confession to make. I am not a meal-planner. I go to the market and am seduced by the smells and colors and I buy what I think looks good, and next thing you know, I am eating arugula pesto over mushrooms and red onions with a side of corn on the cob.

However, when I don't meal plan, I am forced to be creative, and I hate wasting food, so I usually end up with a meal I call "Making Do With What You Have." Some of them have turned out well, some not so much... but tonight I have to confess I rather outdid myself.

I pulled together my last 2 portobello mushrooms (I had brilliantly thought ahead and saved the stems from the previous 4), a handful of weary rainbow chard, a clove of garlic, a sad shallot that I actually had to trim a bad spot from, some quinoa, the last splash of vegetable broth, and the remainder of my peppered chevre from the Cowgirl Creamery, and voila! Stuffed mushrooms that were beautiful, nutritious, and extremely satisfying. Try to think of this recipe in broad strokes; you can easily recreate these mushrooms with a variety of grains, greens, and cheeses. Think brown rice, spinach, and blue cheese, or couscous, sundried tomatoes, olives and feta!

Stuffed Mushrooms with Quinoa, Chard, and Goat Cheese

Ingredients: I am not going to give measurements here. I was cooking for one and your amounts will depend entirely on the size of your mushroom caps and how many you're making. Enjoy playing around with the fillings you have on hand!

olive oil
vegetable broth
portobello mushrooms, caps cleaned and stems chopped
quinoa
shallot or onion, minced
garlic, minced
rainbow chard, or other green, chopped
goat cheese or other soft cheese
salt and pepper, to season

Directions: In a large skillet, heat your garlic and shallot in a glug of olive oil until fragrant. Add the dry quinoa chopped mushroom stems, and toss to coat. Season well and add broth or water, a little at a time, then cook as you would risotto, waiting for the liquid to absorb and adding more, stirring frequently until the quinoa is al dente. Add the greens toward the end of the cooking process so they wilt without overcooking.

Heap your stuffing into your mushroom caps and top with cheese, then broil until golden brown and delicious. Enjoy!!

olive bread

2008-07-05T09:51:00.005-07:00

Yesterday, inspired by some leftover tapenade and a container of various olives from the Ferry Building, I decided to make olive bread. It's an Alton Brown recipe that I had tucked away some time ago, as I am allergic to yeast and always have my feelers out for non-yeast breads.

Olive bread is something we don't really do in the south. I'm not sure why, but I never really had it until I moved to New York. And as you know, olives are my absolute favorite food, and I prefer savory/salty to sweet almost all the time, so the thought of a baked good full of salty, olive-y goodness? I just can't pass that up. (In fact, I think I'll go heat up some for breakfast. Be right back.)

Rosemary Olive Bread, adapted from Alton Brown's Olive Loaf

Ingredients:

3 1/2 C AP flour (I wanted to use whole wheat but was unsure if that would affect the texture... can anyone tell me if it's an acceptable substitute?)
3 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
2 C roughly chopped mixed olives (I used green, kalamata, and tiny dried oil-cured black ones)
1/3 cup homemade tapenade, my recipe here
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup whole milk (I used 1/2 & 1/2 because I don't drink milk and didn't want to go out, *snort*)
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 t ground rosemary
1 T fresh rosemary, needles left whole

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a standard nonstick loaf pan with olive oil spray and set aside. Place flour and the baking powder in the bowl of a food processor and pulse for 5-10 seconds. Pour the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the olives and tapenade. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, milk, honey, salt, and rosemary. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine, but do not mix until smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and place in the oven. Bake for 80 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the loaf from the pan and allow to cool on a rack before serving.

The texture is like that of a buttermilk biscuit, and honestly, I think next time I'll just make biscuits. Mostly because I'm lazy and it's just always easier to grab than cut. Serve with... anything. YUM.

it's mushroom thyme!

2008-06-19T13:09:00.003-07:00

Yeah, that thyme/time joke never gets old.

I cannot possibly tweak this recipe at all. Just scoot yourself on over to Orangette's lovely site and do it her way. She's not kidding about the cursing, either. And seriously, don't even serve this. Just eat it right out of the casserole dish-- and if you live in SF, mop up the dribblings with a hunk of seeded sourdough baguette from Arizmendi.

arugula pesto

2008-06-18T17:17:00.004-07:00

One of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco is Greens. When carnivores like my Texan father and my Midwestern stepfather ask me exactly what it is that I eat, I always want to drag them to Greens for a hearty meal. Anyway, for a while they had these potato pancakes with arugula pesto that were just to die for. I have tried to re-create the pesto three times, each time failing-- once, too much garlic (weird), once too many pine nuts-- but today-- today my friends, I hit gold... or perhaps I should say I hit green.

This pesto tastes green. I don't know how else to describe it. It is verdant, vibrant, sharp, and well, spring-y. It would be a perfect compliment to some crusty San Francisco sourdough or a simple farfalle salad with cherry tomatoes, or maybe mashed with some fresh peas as a ravioli filling-- but tonight we are embracing our farmers' market, and drizzling it over a tower of portobello mushroom caps, grilled red onion disks, and thin rounds of sweet potato, and roasted corn on the cob.

ingredients
about 4 C of fresh arugula (sometimes called rocket)
1 clove garlic
1 t to 1 T fresh lemon juice, to taste
a good fruity olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

directions
Put all the arugula in your food processor with a smashed garlic clove and add the lemon juice, a generous glug of olive oil, and season liberally with salt and pepper. Pulse a few times until most of the leaves have broken down, then give it a whir while drizzling in oil to your desired texture. You could certainly stir is some finely grated pecorino cheese at the end but I think the taste of the arugula is simply perfect on its own.

Edited to add: I couldn't resist adding a photo of my farmers' market dinner. The portobellas weren't uniformly sized enough to make towers, and my sweet potatoes had sadly gone bad, so I modified my idea to the above plate-- red onions brushed with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and broiled, mushrooms sauteed in garlic and olive oil, arugula pesto, and fresh sweet corn roasted in its husk. YUM.

Real Food!

2008-06-11T16:56:00.004-07:00

Aren't these beautiful??? (Thankfully California tomatoes have been cleared by the FDA.)

I went market crazy today as I am home for a full 10 days. In addition to these beautiful heirloom tomatoes, I got lemons, limes, spinach, arugula, radishes, carrots, red onions, green onions, tofu, nori, mushrooms, leeks, black beans, feta, garlic, plums, pears, shallots, sweet potatoes, apricots, avocados, artichokes, olives, cornichons, pistachios, and beans, tortillas, cereal, and soy milk. Mmmmm!!!

First up I'm going to make this, and then probably something like this, and then most definitely this. I will keep you guys posted.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Quinoa

2008-06-02T12:37:00.007-07:00

Usually, when I come home from a long trip, I go on a mini-cleanse. 26 days of eating restaurant food makes me feel bloated and salty, and in dire need of some organ purification. There are tons of unhealthy and downright insane cleanses floating around out there, so I was planning on sharing with you my instructions on how to do it safely and healthily. However, I had no immediate need for the cleanse after this trip, as I got home with food poisoning and my digestive tract was all set, so I'll leave my healthy cleanse instructions for another post.

So today, I bring you an easy and healthy lunch that uses only a few ingredients but satisfies your belly and colon alike. Quinoa is an extremely healthy grain with a high protein content (12-18%) which, unlike most of its relatives, contains a balanced set of essential amino acids, making it an unusually complete food. This recipe would work be equally delicious with broccoli.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Quinoa

ingredients (for one):
1/4 C quinoa
1 garlic clove, smashed
7-8 small Brussels sprouts, washed and halved
olive oil
salt & pepper
vegetable broth
1 lemon wedge
Parmesan cheese (leave out to make the dish vegan)

directions:
In a small pot, mix the 1/4 C quinoa, smashed garlic clove, and equal-ish parts of water and vegetable broth (you could use chicken, or even all water). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is done. Cooking time and liquid amount will vary, but a good rule of thumb is too cook like you would rice.

In a small bowl, pour a generous glug of olive oil over the halved Brussels sprouts to coat. Season liberally with salt and pepper. In a skillet, heat another glug of olive oil to medium/medium-low heat. Place the Brussels sprouts flat side down in the hot oil, add just a SPLASH of veggie broth so they don't burn before they cook, and cover. Let cook for 5-6 minutes (you can pierce one to test for done-ness), then uncover and let the broth cook off, letting the sprouts caramelize to a deep crusty goodness. Flip and caramelize the round side as well. At the very end, squeeze a lemon wedge over the top.

Serve with quinoa and a dusting of parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

bad brilliant.

2008-05-09T06:41:00.003-07:00

OK, so this picture is incredibly poor-quality, as I took it in a dark bar with my phone, but I believe this to be one of the most brilliant dishes I have ever had, and I quite honestly can't believe I never thought of it before. It's called "tater tachos" and it's basically nachos with tots instead of chips. That's tater tots smothered in black beans, melted cheese, jalapenos, sour cream, and salsa. Are you kidding me??? Bar food on crack. Thank you, Louisiana, for being the unhealthiest city in America, even at a vegetarian restaurant... or, as vegetarian as you can get in New Orleans.

mmmm.... broccoli!

2008-04-14T20:07:00.004-07:00

I really love broccoli. It seems like most restaurants these days are obsessed with asparagus, but as far as my green veggies go, I would choose spinach, brussels sprouts, or green beans all before asparagus, and of course, broccoli... always, always broccoli.

Last week a bag of broccoli called my name at the market, but a single gal can only eat so many sides of broccoli. And I hate wasting food, and in an effort to use up the rest, today I remembered a glimmer of genius, and searched through the archives of Making Food, Eating Food until I found this.

Mine was tweaked just a tad-- it dropped 30 degrees last night so I was thinking a in more wintery strokes than Chanelle's-- I couldn't resist starting the pot with a smashed clove of garlic in a few driplets of olive oil, opted for some smokey gouda rather than parmesan, and I finished it with a smattering of my new alderwood-smoked sea salt from the Stonehouse Olive Oil Company. The result was a verdant, smokey bowl of I swear, comfort food- even though it is all vitamins and fiber and nutritional goodness. It was absolutely magnificent.

Ingredients:

a scant teaspoon of fruity olive oil

1 smashed garlic clove

about 3 C broccoli florets, trimmed of stems

enough vegetable broth and white wine

to just cover the broccoli, about 4 parts broth to 1 part wine

smoked gouda, finely grated

smoked sea salt

cracked pepper

Directions:

Heat the olive oil and garlic until fragrant. Add broccoli and liquid with a dash of salt and cover; cook on medium-high heat until the broccoli is fork-tender. Strain, reserve liquid, and put the broccoli in the food processor. Pulse in short bursts, adding the liquid in small batches until the soup reaches the desired consistency. Stir in about 1/4 C of cheese, and serve immediately, garnished with cracked pepper and a bit more cheese.

post-yoga soba noodles

2008-03-11T14:25:00.005-07:00

It's incredibly easy to be a vegetarian in San Francisco. Unlike Dallas or Las Vegas or Ohio, where people get all confused and say things like "but... what do you eat?" everyone here is open and familiar to the lifestyle, people kind of assume you are unless you make a point to tell them you eat meat, and I've even come across more and more omnivores who like to rock out their vegetable protein on a semi-regular basis.

Because I work at the yoga studio now, I get all the free yoga I can practice, which means when I'm not working and don't have visitors, I go pretty much every day. 90 minutes of Bikram yoga in a classroom heated to beyond 100 degrees is said to burn in the realm of 600-1000 calories, so as you can imagine when I get done, no matter what I ate for breakfast (which around here usually involves low-fat cottage cheese and a piece of fruit), I'm usually famished.

This is a quick, protein-laden, and filling dish that I have started to make more and more frequently. It satiates me without making me uncomfortably overstuffed, is low in saturated fat, high in vitamins and minerals, and has about a third of my daily protein and fiber. (It's sort of a more filling version of this soup, which is where I got the inspiration.) Serves 1.

Ingredients:
1 t dark sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
dash of hot red chili flakes
1 serving soba (buckwheat) noodles
1/3-1/2C vegetable broth (or chicken, or water)
1 medium carrots, sliced into half-moons
3-4 large mushrooms, sliced
1/3 C frozen, shelled edamame
1 T soy sauce
1 t sesame seeds
1 T unsweetened all-natural peanut butter

Directions: In a large skillet, heat 1 t dark sesame oil with garlic and hot pepper flakes. Sesame oil has a relatively low smoke point (about 350, almost 100 degrees lower than olive oil and almost 200 lower than vegetable or canola oil) so don't let your skillet get too hot. Once the garlic begins to sizzle, throw in your dry noodles, and toss to coat. Add just enough broth to cover and let the noodles begin to absorb the broth and let out some starch. After a couple of minutes, add the carrots and another splash of broth if necessary, and cover. After another couple of minutes, uncover, add edamame and mushrooms, and cook, uncovered, stirring every once in a while, until the liquid has absorbed completely. Remove from heat, stir in soy sauce and sesame seeds, and immediately throw into a bowl containing 1 T peanut butter. Stir well, and serve with a lime wedge.

Total time: about 15 minutes. Total dishes to wash: 1 skillet, 1 cutting board, 1 knife (+ bowl and fork). Total calories, 573- fat, 21g (saturated, 3g)- protein, 23g- fiber, 8g.

Enjoy!!!

real food- book review

2008-03-08T07:28:00.004-08:00

I read a lot of books about food. I love the entire subject- history, nutrition, science, restaurants, trends, even fad diets. I'm obsessed with it. I read cookbooks like novels. So as an avid food junkie, I thought I would start book reviews on Food, Glorious Food.

The best book I've read in some time is The Omnivore's Dilemma-- I'd like to read it again and will review it at that time, but today I want to focus on Real Food: What to Eat and Why, by Nina Planck. I bought it in the airport last Tuesday and finished it Thursday night (there's really not much else to do in Salt Lake City). Planck grew up on a farm in Virginia and started the first famers' market in London (impressive!) and the premise of her book is that real food is good for you (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, grass-fed beef, raw milk); industrial food is bad for you (corn syrup, hydrogenated palm oil, white sugar). Her definition of real food is foods that are old (been around for thousands of years), and foods that are traditional (butter is real food; margarine is not).

While I whole-heartedly agree with Planck's general belief that the industrial food boom is responsible for our concurrent weight epidemic (there's a reason America is the only country where poverty is linked to obesity), vitamins from said food are better than synthetic supplements, and slow food is healthier than fast food, I had a few negative reactions to her book.

1. She sang way too many praises for fat and cholesterol. Of course some fat is good for you. Your body needs it to survive. It makes you feel full and keeps your skin and hair pretty. I eat more than my fair share of it- in the form of nuts, seeds, olive and sesame oils, plants, and cheese (glorious cheese)- but I don't see any nutritional reason why humans need to drink whole milk after childhood, or why I should buy and strain my own pig lard. Her opinion (based on her research of 1- herself) is that vegetarianism is bad for you. She claims to have been heavier, flabbier, and more sickly when she didn't eat meat. Barring anemia, which is certainly a valid caution for female vegetarians- there is really no reason a vegetarian can't get above-adequate nutrition from a plant-based diet. If one does choose to eat meat- I agree with her that it should be small-farmed (not industrial) without hormones or antibiotics, but there's really no reason to eat it at every meal, or in more than 4-6oz servings. She repeatedly states that ancient man didn't have heart disease or high cholesterol and pretty much all they ate was meat- and my rebuttal is A) how do we know that? and B) ancient man didn't live long enough to develop any degenerative diseases.

2. Her book was way too opinion-based.* She used selective facts to support her argument. For one example, she wrote about the Clara Davis baby experiments from the late 30s, where Davis gave babies 33 foods to choose from and let them eat whatever and however much they wanted. Planck noted that one baby who had been diagnosed with rickets reached for the cod liver oil (high in vitamin D, which is a cure for rickets) every day until his rickets were gone, and then never touched it again. I searched the internet for information and read up on the Clara Davis experiments and what Planck didn't tell you is that there were 3 babies in the study who had rickets; the other 2 babies did not receive cod liver oil and they all passed their rickets in almost identical timing. I felt like every other sentence in her book started with "in my opinion," "I feel the reasoning is," "it could be that," "what this surely must mean," etc. While (obviously) one's writing is always opinion-based, I feel (hee!) that she presented her book as scientific but her writing was based in opinion.

3. I think the mantra to steer clear of industrial foodstuffs completely is unreasonable in our current time and space. Unless every family in America owns their own farm, it's just impossible. I'm not saying it's great or even preferable, but the average American can't just bebop down to the corner store for a gallon of whole, raw milk or have access to fresh produce grown 100% free of chemicals. I was almost in a state of despair as I was reading-- I am probably going to die from those dried soba noodles I bought from the Asian market last week-- surely since they are processed they are bad for me!! Baby steps, American foodies.... unprocessed food IS better for you than processed. You SHOULD choose steel-cut oats instead of instant oatmeal and buy organic when it is available and you can afford it. I DO believe you should buy fresh, in-season produce from as close to home as you can possibly get, and that corn syrup is practially liquid Satan. But we are a country of over 300 million people- we have to feed them industrially. There is no way around it. And while I agree with all of Planck's statements that pollution in our food is killing us, we also have air pollution, soil pollution, and water pollution- so growing your own vegetables and raising your own meat is not a cure-all.

In summary, I enjoyed Planck's book but wouldn't use it as a textbook of hard scientific knowledge. Use her presentations as a guideline for your diet and be responsible in your choices. I had a Kashi frozen waffle this morning- yes, it was processed in a factory- but I ate it with an organic egg from a free-roaming California chicken and a California-grown clementine. I can live with that. And I'll probably live healthier and more socially responsible than most.

*Yes, pot, the kettle and I ARE both black. But this is my BLOG, not a self-help book.

On deck on Food, Glorious Food: my version of Orangette's version of the Nigella's granola, and Krysten's birthday dessert (surprise)!!!

lemon spaghetti

2008-02-16T13:18:00.002-08:00

My two readers know how much I love lemon, and do I have a doozy of a new recipe for you today! I've been on the road for 15 days, in a couple of cities that aren't very veg-friendly... so I feel like I've been eating cheese pizza and cheese quesadillas and nachos-hold-the-meat-what-do-you-mean-you-don't-have-any-beans all week. Bleh. My GI tract is NOT happy with me. So today I went to the market and brought back my not-a-plastic-bag full of fruits and veggies and those wonderful whole-wheat noodles, the kind that have 4g of fiber per serving.

Let me first talk a bit about Rachel Ray, whose recipe I adapted for this spaghetti. I have a love-hate relationship with her show. I hate her recipes because she uses so much meat; I love her recipes because they are so adaptable. I hate her because she's everywhere; I love her for not ever claiming to be a chef. I hate her show because she's such a dork; I love her show for not caring or pretending that she's not.

Anyway, I saw her make this lemon spaghetti last week, and even though her recipe has way more fat than I would make for an every-day basis, I rewound it and watched it again so I could be sure to tweak it into my own version like, the second I got home from my trip. Which I did. So, here is my version, which is healthier and results in less kitchen clean-up, and is very easy to make for 1, (or 3 or 4, depending on your needs).

A note on the less-kitchen-clean-up: I'm not sure who first introduced me to absorption pasta-- I think it was Chocolate & Zucchini-- but you have changed my life and I am forever grateful.

Ingredients (for the 1-person version):
a nice glug of olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1 large lemon
dash of hot red pepper flakes
1 serving of dried whole wheat spaghetti
1/2 C-ish of vegetable broth (you can use chicken broth or water if you like)
3-4 handfuls of your favorite dark, leafy green
salt & pepper, to season

Directions:
First, swirl some olive oil in a big skillet- preferably a flat one with high sides, in which the spaghetti can lay down flat. Smash and mince 2-3 cloves of garlic, and add it to the room-temperature oil with a healthy dash of hot pepper flakes (depending on your heat preference) and the zest of 1 lemon. Turn the stove on very low heat as to not brown your garlic.

Once the oil begins to bubble and release its yummy fragrance, throw in your dry spaghetti. Toss to coat the noodles well in the lemony-garlicky oil, and add enough broth or water (or a combination of the two) to barely cover the noodles. Let it bubble away, gently stirring, until the noodles are al dente and the broth absorbs. You will need to add liquid as it cooks to keep it from sticking to the pan. Toward the end of the cooking process, throw your greens on top and cover to wilt. Once the noodles and greens are to your desired texture, add the juice of your zested lemon and a little salt and pepper.

As a side note, that photo was taken with my new phone. Not too shabby, eh?

Vegetarian Lasagna

2008-01-17T10:15:00.000-08:00

This is another one of those recipes that I kinda hate to share because it's easy and delicious and when I make people think I'm some sort of genius kitchen wizard (which I'm totally not). But it's one of my standbys, I make it at least once a month, and last night, I made baby tins of it for my boy Brian's birthday. He doesn't like cake. And since I don't BAKE cake, I thought little lasagnas would be a great present for my favorite bachelor. He can pull one out of the freezer and bake it whenever he pleases. Plus, how cute are they??

I've had this recipe for ages- pulled out of a magazine probably 6 or 7 years ago, long before I became a vegetarian. I can't even recall where I got it, so I can't give credit, but now it's a grease-spattered, tweaked and marked-up, ragged little security blanket for me. I wish you could taste it before you read the ingredient list- because I swear even the most discernible of palates won't be able to tell that I substituted high-protein, high-fiber soft tofu for the fatty ricotta. The original used eggplant, squash, and zucchini, but over the years I have decided my favorite combination is spinach, mushrooms, and carrots. It's prettier, more vitamin-diverse, and tastes better (in my humble opinion). Plus, I love the different textures of the wilted but still verdant spinach, the woodsy, earthy mushrooms, and the slight crunch of the sweet carrots.

Ingredients:
1 lb soft tofu
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese, + additional for topping
2 eggs
3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
2 T each of basil, thyme, oregano (or 6T of your favorite Italian herb blend)
1/4t each of salt and pepper
32 oz homemade marinara sauce* (or your favorite jarred brand, if you must)
1/2 pkg no-boil lasagna noodles
8 oz shredded mozzarella
6-8 oz fresh spinach, washed and torn
2-3 large carrots, peeled and cut into half-moons
6-8 oz sliced mushrooms of your choice (I prefer brown criminis)

*Jamie's standby marinara: Sautee 1/2 white onion and 5 garlic cloves, minced, + 1/2 carrot, finely grated, in 1T of olive oil with salt, pepper, and a palmful of Italian herbs. Then add 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 can of crushed tomatoes, and a generous spoonful of tomato paste. Simmer on low heat while you're preparing the lasagna, and with a nod to this recipe, stir in 1T of butter once you take it off the heat. Perfection.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, combine tofu (drained and pressed as to discard as much liquid as possible), eggs, parmesan, garlic, herbs, and salt & pepper. Mash up to the consistency of ricotta. Lightly coat a lasagna pan with non-stick spray. Spread about a cup of sauce on the bottom. Layer lasagna noodles, tofu mixture, spinach, mushrooms, carrots, more sauce, and mozzarella, and repeat until you get to the top. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover, top with additional cheese, and bake another 10 minutes until top is brown and bubbly. Let stand for at least 5 minutes before cutting so it can set.

YUM. Now that I've written about it, I think I will go have my leftovers for breakfast. :)

apple-onion stuffin' muffins

2008-01-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

So, I've never been a huge fan of stuffing. Probably because my mom was not a cook, and it was one of those dishes we only had at holidays, and it was probably from a mix or picked up at Honeybaked Ham, or when I was really little, my grandmother, who was from Arkansas, put oysters in it. Gross. I'm not sure I ever even had homemade stuffing until Krysten and I made it last year.

I have been promising this recipe to Chanelle for quite a while. I'm extremely proud of this them, because it's one of the first recipes I actually mostly concocted myself. I used Rachel Ray's as a guideline, because I think her muffin idea is brilliant, but mostly, it's a Jamie original. I think they turned out really well, and vegetarian, to boot. (Tip: you could make these vegan by exchanging the butter for more olive oil.)

Ingredients:
1 9" pan of cornbread + 6-8 buttermilk biscuits, crumbled
2 T olive oil
1/2 stick butter
2 bay leaves
4 ribs celery with leaves, chopped
1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
1/2 C applesauce, unsweetened
2 T fresh sage, finely chopped
1/4 C fresh parsely, finely chopped
1/4 C fresh celery leaves, finely chopped
salt & pepper

First, you have to prepare your cornbread and buttermilk biscuits. I usually do it the day before, and I use 1 box of Jiffy for the cornbread, and my biscuit recipe makes 6-8 biscuits. Bake those and let cool completely- several hours or overnight. They should be a little dry. Once they're cool and dry, just crumble them directly into a large zip top bag.

When you're ready to cook the muffins, dump the crumbled, prepared cornbread and biscuits into a large bowl with your parsely and celery leaves. In a large skillet, heat olive oil, 4T butter, and bay leaves. Once the butter is melted, sautee onions, celery, sage, and salt & pepper. Once the vegetables are starting to turn translucent (I like mine a little al dente), add them to the bread and herb mixture with the applesauce. Then start adding the vegetable broth, a little at a time, stirring and adjusting the seasoning, until mixture has the consistency of a wet meatloaf.

Butter or spray a muffin tin liberally and mound the stuffing into the cups. They won't rise, so use an ice cream scoop to really mound them up to the size you want them. This recipe makes about 12 large muffins.

Bake at 350-375 for 30-45 minutes. I was cooking at 6,000 feet so everything was a little different. You can also certainly cook in advance for only 30 minutes and reheat right before dinner.

Enjoy!

Christmas Eve

2007-12-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

The scene: Christmas Eve, Sun Valley, Idaho: single-digit temperatures and feet and feet of snow. Some might call it a winter wonderland. So, it was clearly meant for Mexican food, right? We had my world-famous vegetarian chili (you can feed it to carnivorous men; I swear they won't know the difference, and I'm from Texas, so believe me when I say I know my chili and the men in my life do, too), guacamole, green-chile cornbread, pomegranate margaritas, and Mexican train dominoes. It's a fiesta!!!

First off, the margaritas. Ay carumba, they were good!! We made them by the pitcher, but you could do 'em by the glass as well:

1 part silver tequila
1 part fresh-squeezed lime juice (and I think we squeezed about 15 of them)
1 part orange-infused simple syrup*
1/2 part 100% pomegranate juice

Wipe a lime wedge around a rocks glass and dip in flaked kosher salt. Fill with ice and pour it up! Garnish with lime wedge.

*To make the orange-infused simple syrup, bring one cup sugar and one cup water plus a couple of heaping tablespoons of freshly grated orange zest to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved, let cool on the stove and pour through a fine-mesh strainer.

These margaritas pack a wallop of tart, so you can cut them with a splash or two of club soda or 7-Up to give them some bubbles if you like.

Next up- guacamole. I go simple and traditional (no tomatoes). Dice up 2-3 ripe avocados (I halve them, cut a grid right in the skin, and scoop out the cubes with a spoon), add 1/4-1/2 C minced red onion, a VERY generous handful of fresh chopped cilantro, 1 large garlic clove, finely minced, then mashed with salt into a paste, and the juice of one lime. Mash with the fork and for Pete's sake, please don't puree it. It's better chunky. Serve with your personal chip preference (mine is restaurant style white corn tortilla chips).

Now for the chili. It's wicked easy, and you can do it in a stock pot or a slow-cooker. I happen to think it tastes better the longer it cooks, so if you have the time, go for the slow cooker.

In a large skillet (or your stock pot) on the stove, sweat a large onion, chopped, in a bit of oil. Once it starts giving up its liquid, I go ahead and add my spices: chili powder, cumin, coriander, celery seed, paprika, cayenne, and hot pepper flakes. My personal preference is about 4 T of chili powder and 1-2 t of the others- but certainly you can use your own blend (or even buy a packet if that's easier for you). Move this mixture to the slow-cooker, or just keep going if you're cooking it stovetop. Then add 3 15 oz. cans of beans- I use 1 each of dark red kidney, light red kidney, and pinto- 1 large can (28 oz.) of crushed tomatoes, 1 small can of tomato pastes, and 1 regular can of tomato sauce, and 1 package of TVP (soy crumbles). Seriously, don't be scared- the texture is perfect and no one will know. (If you have to use meat, just cook a pound of ground carcass in a separate skillet before adding it to the chili.) Cook on high until bubbly, then reduce to low for 5-6 hours (stovetop method: bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer until all your flavors are melded). Serve over fritos, topped with chopped white onion, fresh cilantro, and grated cheese.

Finally, the cornbread. I got this trick from Paula Deen, I think, and it's simply scrumptious. Make your own cornbread recipe, or use a box (not going to lie- I usually go Jiffy), but when it's time to pour it into its baking dish, only pour in half. Then spread a layer of grated cheese and a small can of drained mild green chilies, THEN add in the rest of the cornbread. Cook like normal but you get an ooey, gooey, tangy surpise in the middle of each bite.

Then play Mexican train dominoes- all 13 hands, and it just gets more fun with each passing margarita. :) Feliz navidad, mis amigos.

Christmas is coming, the (tofu) is getting fat....

2007-12-16T17:33:00.001-08:00

I cannot believe it is already December 16th. I am leaving for Christmas vacation in 3 days and tonight, far more important than laundry or Christmas cards or packing ski clothes, is getting together my recipes. I am headed to Sun Valley, Idaho for 8 nights with free reign of the Cooke family kitchen- including Christmas dinner. I am told there is a vegetarian uncle that is absolutely ecstatic that I am in charge of The Meal.

So, no pressure, but I am collecting my recipes, fine-tuning my menu for Christmas dinner, and deciding what else I want to cook while I am there- that is, between my skiing, snow-shoeing, antique-shopping, sledding, sleighing, and all-purpose lounging by the fire reading a book in my long-johns.

So, here goes, Jamie's 1st Annual Vegetarian Christmas Event (you will see some repeats from Thanksgiving, but, with different diners, only my 3 readers will know)

appetizer:
baked brie with cranberries, pecans, and honey
stuffed mushrooms

soup:
fresh mushroom bisque

dinner:
wild rice with sweet potatoes, leeks, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds, which I think I will serve in a hollowed-out acorn squash "bowl"
creamed corn
roasted brussels sprouts with shallots
twice-baked potatoes with chives
mushroom gravy in a red-wine reduction
homemade cranberry-orange relish

bread:
apple-onion stuffin' muffins

dessert:
a lovely apple-pear-ginger crumble

extra goodies:
white chocolate peppermint bark
my Christmas-colored oatmeal-cranberry-pistachio cookies

What is everyone else serving/baking/stewing/mixing? I love the holidays-- but am going on a diet come Jan 1 like everyone else in America. I have gained about 100 lbs.

best comfort food ever

2007-12-05T12:47:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make. I don't like butternut squash. I'm sorry; I've tried. I just don't. I don't like sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows, I don't like honey-glazed ham, and I don't like vegetable soup that tastes like dessert (and looks like baby food, but that's neither here nor there). I made some last week as a trial run for Christmas dinner, and it was beautiful- a soft, autumnal color with onion, a slip of apple, and a smattering of cumin, coriander, and chili powder- hoping in vain that the savory spicing would surprise me into loving the butternut squash- and topped with homemade garlic & parsley croûtons. It was a huge hit- everyone loved it and everyone had seconds. Everyone except me. It's just.... blah. No thank you. I am closing the book on my relationship with butternut squash.

I'll probably still make it for Christmas because it's so festive and well-liked (and will be served in a hollowed-out acorn squash, fancy!), but not to be daunted by my self-imposed failure, I decided to try my hand at a tomato soup the next day. Now there was a winner!! Plus, there's pretty much no meal I would rather have on a dreary winter day than a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich (fried in butter, natch).

Tomato-Tarragon Soup

Ingredients:
1 large onion, or 2 small ones- yellow or white, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 yukon potato, peeled and chopped
2 hefty 28-oz. cans of fire-roasted tomatoes
generous splash of a crisp white wine
1 carton of vegetable broth (or chicken, if you're not vegetarian)
a generous amount of dried tarragon (a big palm full or a couple of tablespoons, you could use basil here for a more classic flavor)
salt and pepper

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat a couple of swirls of olive oil to medium high heat. Chop and drop your onions and carrots and sautee past translucent- until they start browning. Take your time- this flavor will really add to your soup. Add a splash of wine to deglaze the pot, and make sure you scrape up any bits that cooked to the bottom. Then add tomatoes (undrained), the potato, the spices, and about 3 C of broth. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until the potatoes are very soft (about 25-35 minutes).

Once the vegetables are all soft, blend with an immersion blender (alternatively, let cool and blend in your blender or food processor, then return to pot). Re-season to taste and serve hot with your grilled cheese (mine was a combination of smoke white cheddar and gruyere) and dill pickles.

This makes about 6 servings, and trust me, it's better the next day, so feel free to make it ahead of time and re-heat.

oh, that creamed corn!

2007-11-29T14:07:00.001-08:00

OK, like I said before, I'm almost embarrassed to post this, because it's not even cooking. But it is the best creamed corn you will ever have, the kind that people who don't necessarily care for creamed corn rave about. I just ate the last bit of leftovers for lunch (with an apple-onion stuffin' muffin) and I'm not gonna lie, I was sad to see it go- although I'm sure my arteries will thank me.

Hardware: dust off that crock-pot or other slow-cooker!

Software: 2 bags of frozen corn, 1/2 stick butter, 1 block cream cheese, 1 C milk, s/p, and dried dill

Seriously. This is it: Put the corn, butter, and cream cheese in the slow-cooker. Turn it on high. After an hour, turn it to low and add the milk. Cook for about 5 more hours, stirring occasionally. Add salt, pepper, and dill to taste.

As a note: I had some dill-haters (*gasp*) at Thanksgiving this year, so I omitted the dill and it was just as good. I am a huge fan of black pepper, and it's so good with the rich, creamy sweetness of the corn.

I'm not going to post my apple-onion stuffin' muffins until after Christmas dinner, because I haven't yet perfected them (although they are very close).

the morning after

2007-11-23T12:50:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up out of my food coma to this:

I'm pretty sure that Socrates (the gnome on the windowsill) was mocking me. I don't have a dishwasher, you know (unless you count my two hands) so I was wary of this undertaking. However, it actually didn't take me that long, and since I tackled the dishes before my roommate got up, I was completely justified in telling her I left the floor to her. Which was my sneaky plan, because there is nothing in the household arena that I loathe more than mopping.

So, after the dishes, I treated myself to these:

I know I promised you more Thanksgiving recipes, but I had to tell you about these before you ate all your leftover mashed potatoes because they are unbelievable. Thanks for the tip, Giada.

Ingredients:
2 C leftover mashed potatoes
1 egg
1/4 C flour, plus more for dusting

Directions:
Mix in a bowl. Make patties. Dust with flour. Pan-fry in oil or butter of your choice.

How easy was that?? I mixed in the leftover chives as well, and enjoyed with fried eggs, leftover gravy, and a dollop of leftover cranberry sauce.

Now, I'm back in my food coma, so I think I'll sit back and watch the Food Network all day. Probably with leftover wine.

Fall Casserole (Vegan)

2007-11-23T00:16:00.001-08:00

Wow- I did it!!!!!

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Really, a lovely day. I am fat, happy, and exhausted. And seriously, who needs turkey?

First recipe, my own Wild Rice Casserole with Sweet Potatoes, Leeks, Cranberries, & Pumpkin Seeds: (very loosely adapted from a brown rice with pumpkin recipe in last month's Vegetarian Times)

Coarsely chop a couple of sweet potatoes and a bunch of leeks (white and light green parts only-- save the dark greens for a soup later in the week). Arrange them in a oiled casserole pan and roast at 350 for about 30 minutes or so, stirring once or twice. The sweet potatoes should be just less than done because it will go back in the oven later. Look, doesn't it just look like fall??

In a soup pot or dutch oven, heat a couple of swirls of olive oil, and gently sautee a small white onion and 2-3 carrot stalks (chopped) with 2 bay leaves, 2 t of ground sage, 2 t of ground rosemary, and salt & pepper to taste. When the onions start to get translucent, throw in a cup and a half of wild rice and 4 C of vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the rice is done and all the liquid is absorbed, about an hour.

When the sweet potatoes and leeks are done roasting, pull the casserole dish from the oven and add in a cup of dried cranberries. The heat from the vegetables will plump them up a little. Once the rice is done, pour it into the dish, folding it in with the sweet potatoes and leeks until it's uniformly mixed. Top with 1/4 of toasted pumpkin seeds and put back in a warm oven to serving temperature.

It's the solid, earthy sweet potatoes meld just perfectly with the delicate leeks and the tangy cranberries. The sage and pumpkin seeds hint it toward Thanksgiving and the rosemary gives it a wild, almost forest-like essence, like you could be eating outside under a fir tree. Heavenly!

Coming soon on Food, Glorious Food, apple-onion stuffin' muffins (adapted from Rachel Ray), vegan make-ahead (up to 4 days ahead!) gravy, the best cranberry sauce you will ever eat, and the "so easy I shouldn't even call it cooking but so good it's the last thing people talk about on their way out the door" creamed corn.

15 minutes to Thanksgiving--

2007-11-21T23:53:00.000-08:00

Monday I made homemade mushroom stock. I used shitakes. Not to be daunted by fools that say things like "discard the mushrooms" I promptly sliced 'em up, added some sesame seeds and edamame and served them with soba noodles and a dash of soy sauce. Discard them, indeed!! I gotta say- it was really, really good. But totally not worth NOT buying the stock in the paper boxes, which is cheaper, faster, more convenient, and just as good. But still, it was my first time to make my own stock and I was quite pleased with the results.

Tuesday I made my cranberry sauce and my gravy-- another recipe asking me to discard the mushrooms- three kinds of them this time (porcini, white button, and baby bellas) that had been simmering for an hour in onions, shallots, red wine, rosemary, and tomato paste, so I melded those has-beens with a dash of half-and-half and served them over toast. Hello, gratin! Please, who are these people that can afford to throw perfectly good food in the trash? And even if they could, why would they? OK, so after the sauce and the gravy, I made cornbread and buttermilk biscuits (from scratch), let them cool, and shredded them for my stuffing. I also managed to clog the kitchen sink and set off the smoke alarm in the building. Good times.

Today I made pies and pies. They made my apartment smell just heavenly. I tried to talk my roommie into letting me crack into the pecan pie for dinner but I got shot down.

Tomorrow is the brie, the creamed corn, the green bean casserole (my roommate), the mashed potatoes (my boy), the wild rice dish, and the mulled cider. And then? Then we eat.

roasted garlic cream-of-potato soup

2007-11-17T09:11:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday was a solid 54 degrees and 100% humidity. You know that legendary fog in San Francisco? The fog that comes in on little cat feet? Yeah, I'm from Texas, where it burns off by 8am. This fog? This fog STICKS. The city is eerily quiet.

So, in light of the sticky grey that was sticking around, I needed a warm, sticky soup. There were several potato soup recipes in my new Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons, but I wanted more traditional, baked potato soup, the kind you put sour cream, cheddar cheese, and chives on top (or crumbled bacon, for my carnivores). Then I remembered this roasted garlic and potato soup I had once at a hotel in on a cold, lonely night in Denver.... and bam! My roasted garlic cream-of-potato soup was born.

(I took photos but my camera is on the fritz.... trust me, it looks exactly like the creamy, melty, ooey-gooey bowl of deliciousness that is was.)

The Ingredients:
2 large head of garlic, + 6-7 smashed cloves (I KNOW!)
olive oil
about a cup chopped white or yellow onion
7-8 medium Yukon potatoes, peeled if you want (I did not) and chopped (note: Yukons are ideal for creamy soups as they are a little less "stiff" than a traditional russet or red-skinned potato- they are more starchy and tend to fall apart in a soup, so they do part of your work for you!)
1 red apple, peeled and chopped
1/2 C dry-ish white wine (I used pinot grigio because that's what I had but sauvignon blanc probably would have been a little better)
1 to 1 1/2 C milk of your choosing (I used 2%)
about a cup of grated cheddar cheese (if I had had smoked cheddar I would have used that)
salt and pepper

to garnish: sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, thinly sliced green onions, crumbled bacon (optional)

The directions:
First, roast your garlic, and make your house smell like heaven. Slice the tops off 2 large heads of garlic, and nestle them in a cozy little aluminum foil house. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, & pepper, and add a little water at the bottom so they don't dry out. Seal tightly and bake at 400 for 50 minutes to an hour. Set aside (wrapped).

In a large soup pot, heat a swirl or two of olive oil. (If you are cooking bacon for the garnish then do it right in your soup pot, forgo the olive oil, and use the bacon grease.) Add the 6-7 smashed garlic cloves and chopped onion, and sautee for a couple of minutes. Add the potatoes, apple, wine, and just enough water to cover, plus a little salt, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until potatoes are very soft- about 35 minutes.

Take the soup off the heat and use your immersion blender to puree. (If you don't have an immersion blender: let cool, transfer to your food processor, and then move back to your soup pot.)

Next, add the roasted garlic. Squeeze every last sweet, savory, roasty bit into your soup pot, taking care to not let any skins drop in. (Use this opportunity to lick your fingers when you're done. Then wash your hands.) Season liberally with salt and pepper now, so you can adjust during the last few steps. I tend to be an over-seasoner (I considered adding rosemary) but to me, nothing pairs so well with a starchy, hardy potato like good old-fashioned black pepper. Add about a cup of milk and bring back to a low heat, stirring occasionally until all the starch from the potatoes is released into the milk and the soup has a thick, cream-of-wheat-like consistency. (Add more milk if needed to reach your desired soupiness.) Then, fold in your cheddar cheese, a little at a time, stirring until it's completely melted.

Serve hot, garnished like your favorite baked potato.

Jamie's 1st Thanksgiving Feast

2007-11-13T14:09:00.000-08:00

OK, sure, I've helped before. But this year I am running the show, y'all, and it is going to be a vegetarian-friendly event. I'll be sure and take photos and post recipes later, but just to tantalize your taste buds, here is my menu:

le appetizer: baked brie with cranberries, apples, raisins, and honey

le drink: wine, and lots of it

le main course: green bean casserole, creamed corn with dill, sour cream and scallion mashed potatoes, wild rice with sweet potatoes, leeks, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds, mushroom gravy in a red wine reduction, and cranberry-orange sauce

le bread: apple-onion stuffin' muffins

le dessert: chess pie & pecan pie with homemade vanilla-laced whipped cream and hot apple cider with amaretto

(Have no fear, meat-lovers, there will be also be a turkey and turkey dressing courtesy of my roommate.)

books? good. food? goooood.

2007-11-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

I went to the bookstore today to pick up Skinny Bitch, ("a no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous!"). Yes, I suppose it's pretty silly, but a friend was reading it and I thought it looked cute. They're a bit overboard - I will never give up my alcohol or cheese, dammit! - but they adopt a relatively realistic eat-crap-look-like-crap-feel-like-crap vs. eat-well-get-thin-and-feel-better attitude. It's a fast read; I finished it this afternoon. They have a cookbook coming out in December (Skinny Bitch in the Kitch).

I also picked up Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons as I've been desperate to use my birthday immersion blender. There's over 120 recipes broken down by season, so you always use produce that is fresh and loaded with vitamins and flavor. I can't wait to make Moroccan Peanut & Lentil Stew and I know when spring hits I will be itching to blend up a batch of Puree of Spring Greens. YUMMM!! She also has an entire section of breads to go with the soups, including such wonders as Olive Tomato Bread and Chili-Corn Muffins.

Wait , wait, there's two more! One is The United States of Arugula, The Sun-Dried, Cold-Pressed, Dark-Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution, about our nation's relatively sudden obsession with gourmet, ethnic, and organic food. The second is The Omnivore's Dilemma, A Natural History of Four Meals, and discusses our political and consumer-driven national eating disorder.

Because what's the next best thing to eating, talking about eating, or blogging about eating? Reading about eating.

Edited to add: I also got the Thanksgiving issue of Vegetarian Times as I am hosting said meal in less than 2 weeks. Methinks a subscription is in order. You know what's not in order? Listening to Christmas music on November 10th. Shut up, Borders.

the french part of Cajun country

2007-10-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

I'm in New Orleans, or N'Awlins, as the locals call it. It's my first post-Katrina trip, and I honestly can't tell much difference except that it's a little cleaner and a little quieter. I don't like Cajun food - too many bell peppers, ick! - but I love French food, and N'Awlins has French to spare.

My first meal was at Lilette, on Magazine Street in the Lower Garden District. I started with a drink they call The Alberto- a mojito-like concoction of vodka, fresh mint, and a splash of champagne. My soup course was a sweet corn broth with coriander oil, chives, avocado, and lump crab meat, and then for my entree I opted for 2 small plates: a tower of eggplant crisps- thin, crispy medallions fried like green tomatoes, layered with a thick hummus-y skordalia, oven dried roma tomatoes, basil, and oil cured olives, and savory, perfectly mushy potato gnocchi with sage brown butter and parmigiano cream. Mon dieu! I got the special for dessert, which was an almond-lemon pound cake served with lemon anglaise and huckleberry compote- and an amaretto on the rocks, bien entende.

Good thing I don't come here very often, since for lunch I had fried shrimp and french fries, and that was the least fattening thing on the menu. *raises eyebrow*

Quick n' Easy Comfort Soup (Tomato & Pasta)

2007-09-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

This soup is modified from a recipe of Giada's and is vegetarian, although it could easily be vegan if you used vegan pasta and didn't add cheese. But honestly, why would you do that?

Ingredients:
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, sliced into rounds or half-rounds
6 garlic cloves, smashed
2-3 T dried basil
2 T dried oregano
1 T hot red pepper flakes
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 cans cannellini beans
2 medium zucchini, cut into half-rounds
1/2 C dried pasta of your choice
your favorite Italian cheese to garnish

Heat a generous swirl of olive oil in your soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and spices, and saute until tender. Add canned ingredients, pasta, and about a cup of water, and simmer until the pasta is done. Add zucchini toward the end, and once it's done, serve with cheese, a big chunk of crusty bread, and a glass of wine. The result is a warm, gooey, spicy bowl of comfort that freezes really well (add in a couple of tablespoons of water when you reheat).

Thai Night (Vegan)

2007-09-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

My friend Brian came over this evening. It was the first time I've "hosted" since I moved to San Francisco and I had a blast. I made edamame with sea salt, tom yum soup, and Orangette's peanut citrus noodles (a tweaked version, since I can never leave well enough alone). Tom yum soup is one of my favorite soups- equal parts tart and spicy- but it's not a quickly whipped-up meal, so if you don't enjoy chopping, better order take-out. The noodles were PERFECT- really creamy and peanut-y. I never thought about citrus in my peanut sauce, but the lime juice brightened up the flavor just right.

Tom Yum Goong
Ingredients:

4 C vegetable broth
1/2 white onion, cut into crescents
4-5 shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced (or if you can find them, the adorable little ones that danced around in Fantasia- I'm not sure what they're called but I always see them in Asian restaurants and never in the market)
about 1 C bean sprouts
1 bunch fresh cilantro
about 1 C cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4-5 limes, juiced, + 1 lime cut in wedges
the zest from 1 lime, about 1 T
2" piece of fresh ginger
1 stalk of lemongrass (or 1 T dried lemongrass)
1-2 t coriander
3 cloves garlic, minced
about 1-2 t hot red pepper flakes (or 1 t chili paste, or a whole or sliced red chili-- it really depends on your spice preference)

Directions:

Cut the lemon grass and the peeled ginger into a few rough pieces. Hit them with a mallet to "bruise" them and release the flavor. You will fish these pieces out when the soup is ready, or you can tie them in a cheese cloth. I used a large tea infuser. Throw the lime zest, garlic, onion, coriander, and chili flakes/paste in the bottom of a soup pot with your lemongrass and garlic bundle and add the vegetable broth. Bring to a low boil and let simmer for 30-40 minutes. You can't really overcook it; it will just get more and more flavorful as you prepare the rest of the soup.

While the broth is cooking, juice the limes. You should have about 1/2 C of fresh lime juice. In the bottom of your soup bowls, nestle the sliced mushrooms, a handful of beans sprouts, a handful of halved grape tomatoes, and lots of fresh cilantro. Once the broth is ready, pull it off the heat and THEN add the lime juice. You don't want the acid of the lime to cook off, so make sure this is the last step. Pour the broth over the raw vegetables and serve garnished with cilantro, lime wedges, and hot chili flakes.

Peanut Citrus Soba Noodles, adapted from Orangette
Ingredients:

8 oz. soba noodles
1/2 C natural peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1/2 C freshly squeezed lime juice
2 t dark sesame oil
1 t+ hot red chili flakes (to your spice preference)
2 t soy sauce
1 clove minced garlic
sesame seeds, for garnish
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
3-4 radishes, thinly sliced
2 bunches bok choy, roughly chopped

Directions:

Earlier in the day, mix your dark sesame oil and hot chili flakes in a ramekin and set aside. The longer you leave it the hotter it will get. I let it sit about 2 hours and if I had thought ahead I would have doubled that time.

Juice your limes first, because this process takes longer than the rest of the dish. In a large serving bowl, mix the lime juice, peanut butter, homemade chili-sesame oil, soy sauce, and garlic. I used a fork to mash up the peanut butter chunks and then whisked it to a saucy consistency. Next, boil your soba noodles. They don't take very long, so make sure you don't overcook them. While the water is boiling, slice your veggies. Once the noodles are ready, drain and rinse them, and add them to the peanut sauce. Use tongs to mix well- toss in the raw veggies, garnish with sesame seeds, and serve!!

Whole Foods

2007-09-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about working in San Francisco is that there's a Whole Foods just down the street and I get to expense my lunch! I've been hitting the soup bar, the salad bar, and the hot food bar all week, but today I went for a sandwich- a food group sorely lacking for most vegetarians, but now that I live up in the land of damn dirty hippies are a lot easier to come by.

Multi-grain bread with hummus on one side, gorgonzola spread on the other, with tomatoes, red onions, spinach, cucumbers, grated carrots, avocado, and muenster cheese.

Served with a San Pellegrino Limonata and a bag of Kettle Salt & Cracker Pepper potato chips.

And the sweet, sweet dessert of knowing I get my $8.32 back in my next paycheck.

Tag, I'm it.

2007-09-07T16:18:00.001-07:00

OK, so it took me a month to see, but Chanelle tagged me to post 4 Recipes I Always Have on Hand. I don't think anyone really reads this, and if they do, they've probably already seen these recipes, lol, but here you are- My Fave Four, as it were.

I'd like you girls to pop up to Northern California and make me one of the these right now, if you please. I'm lonely and thirsty!!!

oh, ETA: I will tag Gina. I don't think anyone else reads this except Chanelle, the tagger, and Krysten, who was already tagged. *slump*

cuisinart food processor, how do I love thee?

2007-09-07T15:29:00.001-07:00

Let me count the ways. One is that I can whip up a dip with leftover stuff from my pantry and about 3 minutes. Aaaaand, I'll post a photo as soon as my camera batteries charge up.

Really Fast Lemony-Artichoke Spread
1 can artichoke hearts, drained
3-4 forkfuls of sundried tomatoes in olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 wedge lemon rind
healthy dash (or three) of hot red pepper flakes
1 T+ capers (if you don't have capers, add a dash of kosher salt)

Blend and serve on crackers with feta and mediterranean mixed olives. YUM.

Parks Farmers Market #1

2007-08-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

I just went to Parks Farmers Market #1, which is a scant 2 blocks from my house, and I got:

1 box of organic granola cereal
1 carton soy milk
1 carton vegetable broth
1 big bag organic veggie chips
1 pint half & half
1 lb lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 lb havarti with dill
1 bag grapes
1 bag bok choy
2 sweet potatoes
2 oranges
2 pears
3 lemons
1 onion
1 bag peeled garlic cloves
1 bag baby carrots

all for like $26. Whooop!!

I heart vegetables.

2007-05-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Did I tell you guys I'm a vegetarian (well... pescatarian) now? After Lent I just kept going. I imagine that a few times a year I will probably cave for a steak but I'm just not introducing meat back into my everyday life. And my everyday life is feeling pretty healthy these days, with all the yoga and the good eating. I just bought some size 4 pants for the first time in probably 5 years!

Tonight's dinner:

soba noodles: cooked absorption-style in 1 tsp sesame oil and vegetable broth with 1 C swiss chard, 1 T sesame seeds, soy sauce, and a dash of hot pepper flakes
a small yam roasted with 10 whole garlic cloves, 1 tsp honey, and lots and lots of freshly ground black pepper
half a cob of white corn

Calories: 504, Fat: 9g (1 saturated), Protein: 9g, Fiber: 8g

a blog of trials, tribulations, and what I ate to get me through the day.

2007-04-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Honestly. I'm starting to think, at 30, that I don't handle stress very well. I used to be able to compartmentalize better, but now? One part of life stresses me out, and it bleeds into every little detail, which culminated in my bursting into tears at work today, good grief!

I may have told you guys this before, but I have an UNCANNY talent, a true knack, for wandering into a city I have never been in before, and finding a fantastic restaurant. Seriously, it's a gift. I've never steered myself wrong. So, I've decided to start posting about my eating-out as well as my eating-in... if for no other reason than this: last time I was in Denver I forgot to write anything down, and now I can't find those restaurants again.

So, I ate dinner and brunch at the same two restaurants the last two days. Odd... but when you work the hours I work, finding yourself off at brunchtime on a weekend is crazy and might never happen again, so you have to seize the day. Kinda like finding a really good local restaurant that has a no tourists, a great menu, decent prices, and is within walking distance of your hotel.

First, my dinners. The Dish. It's a scant 3 blocks from my hotel and I ate there both Friday and Saturday nights. Friday: carrot-ginger soup (to die for), edamame, mushroom-gruyere gratin on toast, and asparagus/carrot/green bean/and broccoli tempura with dipping sauces of ginger-soy, garlic aioli, and thai chili. Mmmm. Saturday: carrot-ginger soup again, because it was just that good, mussels steamed with onions and white wine and served with GARLIC BREAD PUDDING, that had whole cloves of garlic in it, *thud* and capers, and frites with truffle oil and parmagiano reggiano. (sigh)

We stumbled upon a local French bistro for brunch yesterday, and it was so good we went back today. Yesterday I had the dungeness crab benedict, which was brioche with tomatoes, avocado, fresh lump crab meat, poached eggs, and hollandaise, served with frites that had fresh herbs, champagne vinegar, and salt, pepper, and sugar sprinkled on top. SOOOOO good. With fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. Today I had a mushroom and gruyere omelet and french press coffee.

Tonight I ate at the hotel... the cocktail: a "Ruby Red"- which is ruby red absolut, campari, and fresh ruby red juice, garnished with a lemon, and the meal: just a roasted-garlic/potato soup that was simply scrumptious. I think it had carrots, cheddar, and I know it had lots of black pepper in it. It was insanely good.

So maybe I have an unhealthy relationship with food... but I am happiest when eating, or cooking, or talking about eating or cooking. I am working with a co-worker this week who grew up in Bermuda, her husband is Japanese but went to culinary school in France, and they used to own an Italian restaurant in Atlanta... where I am going next month and was promised a true fusion meal that would knock my socks off. I can't wait. As George Bernard Shaw said, "there is no love sincerer than the love of food."

Here's to tomorrow being better than today. And that it includes a lovely meal.

Cheers~

asian slaw

2007-03-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

So, you know how Orangette makes those really wonderful salads from like, 3 ingredients? Like that lemony carrot slaw, yum, and that garbanzo bean heaven (which I've also made with cannellini beans and find it simply scrumptious)?

Well, a couple of nights ago, I ordered Thai take-out, and because I am a pig, ordered like, 5 things and have been eating on them all week. Tonight I was cleaning out all the take-out containers in my fridge, and decided to consolidate all the garnishes, because I'm single, and honestly, who wants to mandoline vegetables for one?

I ended up with a 2-C tupperware about 3/4 full of thin carrot ribbons, cucumber matchsticks, purple onion crescents, razor thin cabbage strips, bean sprouts, green onions, and cellophane noodles~ all chopped up in tiny little perfect pieces (by someone other than myself, so... brilliant).

I searched through my condiments and added a dash of fish sauce, a drizzle of dark roasted sesame oil, a splash of bright rice vinegar, a swirl of soy sauce, and a healthy shake of toasted sesame seeds, and shook it up. Voila! A vibrant, tasty, and decidedly asian SLAW that took me about 30 seconds to make (and to be fair, barely that long to devour).

In fact, I ate it so fast I forgot to take a picture. :(

I KNOW!!! [/Monica]

2007-03-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it's been over 3 months since I last posted about food. Truth be told, I haven't been making anything new lately. Can you believe Nathaniel was here for 6 days and I didn't cook ANYTHING for him? Honestly, how can I be expected to win a man's heart if I don't cook for him? It's my one true talent. The only thing I did while he was here is bake lemon cupcakes for a friend's birthday, and they were terrible!

I did just make a puttanesca that would make you slap your Italian mamma (Krysten and Tom... I don't know who else here has an Italian mamma... oh, Gina!). Olive oil, onions, garlic, basil, oregano, cannalini beans, mushrooms, kalamata olives, a squeeze of tomato paste (not sauce), whole grape tomatoes, and fresh kale- with a dash of hot pepper flakes and freshly grated parmesan- over spaghetti. It was quite tasty, if I do say so myself.

Sorry I've been so boring lately in the food arena.... *sigh*

sicky-poo

2006-11-28T16:15:00.000-08:00

I promise to post about our Thanksgiving extravaganza soon, but tonight, my sicky-poo soup. I've had a fever for the past few days, along with a lovely fever blister on my lip, (which means a lot of mouth flapping and chewing is no fun,) plus a mighty sore throat and a bit of a sniffle. So now that I'm home and my test is taken- a few days of R&R is just what the nursing student ordered. I made a vat o' veggie soup and have about 30 hours of television to watch. This soup is fast, easy, and has 100% of your vitamins A & C. The red pepper opens your sinuses and the garlic helps promote good digestion. All in all, an ideal sicky-poo meal.

Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 t hot red pepper flakes
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 C chicken or veggie broth
1 can white beans
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced stewed tomatoes
1 small bag frozen green beans
1 small bag frozen sweet corn
healthy dashes of sea salt and cracked pepper

In a large soup pot, swirl a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Heat to medium-high heat and add onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, carrots, and celery. Sautee for about 10 minutes, then add broth, beans, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Once it reaches a simmer, reduce the heat and stir in frozen corn and beans. Heat to serving temperature. Per serving: 220 calories, 5.5g fat (0g sat), 7g pro, 7g fiber. Makes 6 hefty bowls.

Grab your tissues and your remote!!

Jamie & Krysten's Thanksgiving Feast

2006-11-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

There will be pictures and recipes tomorrow, but for now.... the menu:

First off, we're not having turkey. Brad is marinating and smoking a large slab of beef brisket... maybe nontraditional, but YUM~ Anyway, no one ever accused either Jamie or Krysten of being conventional, now did they, hmmm?

Krysten's friend Stephanie is bringing the relish tray, and she promised a trip to the olive store; the mere thought thrills me to the core.

The goods: stuffed mushrooms, cornbread-n-biscuit stuffing (even though it's technically "dressing" since we are not putting it in a bird; how Southern are we?), fried okra, creamed corn, garlicky green beans, roasted cauliflower, homemade cranberry sauce, and for dessert: pumpkin cheesecake, pecan pralines, and buttermilk chess pie.

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM~

Happy Thanksgiving!

autumn

2006-10-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

I know, I know; I haven't updated for months. I'm terrible. I still want to write about my food in Seattle - specifically the 4 Tom Douglas restaurants I went to, thanks to a tip from Orangette. I'll get around to it, I promise. But first, it's finally autumn in the great state of Texas, and I am consumed by soup frenzy. You guys know how much I love soup anyway... but for some reason, I love it especially in autumn. I made 3-bean chili a couple of weeks ago in the slow-cooker and it was great, but this week I made an outstanding white bean & bacon soup - warm and colorful and it just tastes like fall.

ingredients
4 strips bacon
(or, 4 strips turkey bacon + 1 T olive oil)
1 C white or yellow onions, cut in crescents
(or pearl onions: to peel, boil for 2 minutes, immerse in ice water, chop off one end and the onion will slide easily from its skin)
2 C carrots (about 4 large), peeled and cut into rough 2" pieces
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 15 oz. cans Great Northern beans, drained
(or another white bean like navy or cannallini)
2 C chicken broth
2 C kale, chard, or other leafy green
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Fry bacon in Dutch oven (if using turkey bacon, heat olive oil first) using medium high heat. When it is very crispy, remove it and set aside. Put the carrots into the bacon grease (aka turkey bacon flavored oil here at Chalet J) and sautee for about 5 minutes. Add the onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes more. Add the beans and broth, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Chop the bacon while the soup is simmering. Using a potato masher or slotted spoon, gently mash the beans to thicken the soup a little, but not all the way. After about 10 minutes, add the kale and bacon into the soup and cook just until the kale is wilted. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste. Serves 4.

Each serving: 273 kcal, 5g fat (.5 saturated), 16g protein, 13g fiber.

The Authentic Wisconsin Fish Boil

2006-08-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Appleton, Wisconsin. (If you've never heard of it, it's about 30 miles southwest of Green Bay.) Now, I love fish. But boiled fish? That just sounds heinous. But when in Rome, you know? So T. and I headed north up the peninsula and after visiting some antique shops, a winery, and a dairy, hit the Old Mill Supper Club for an authentic Door County Fish Boil. Basically, it's a huge pot of salt water heated over a kerosene burner. They lower a big basket of red potatoes, white onions, and carrots into the water for about a half an hour, then put another basket of white fish down on top of that one for 7-8 minutes. The fish was caught just a few hours previously in the Sturgeon Bay. They add a bottle of lemon juice toward the end and then carry the baskets full of steaming fish and veggies inside, where they serve you right out of the basket with sourdough bread and a vat of melted butter. Add some cold beer and homemade cherry pie and voila! dinner. And quite a tasty one at that.

The fish was light, flaky, buttery, and the freshest I think I've ever had. By the time we got done....

My only regret was that we were too full to try the "original hashbrown sandwich" when we passed the Countryside Restaurant on the way home.

the vodka gimlet

2006-08-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

No one knows the exact origin of the gimlet. Many ascribe it to Naval Officer Thomas Gimlette, but no written credit has actually been given to him. Rumor has it that while at sea, the sailors added lime juice to their liquor to ward off scurvy. In 1928 D.B. Wesson said a gimlet was "gin, a spot of lime, and soda." In 1953 Raymond Chandler gave the description: "a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose's Lime Juice and nothing else" in his novel The Long Goodbye. Today most bartenders mix it more to a 4 parts gin (or vodka, if specified~ the early 90's led to an influx of vodka over gin preferences) to 1 part lime. Some use fresh lime juice and simple syrup, some use sweetened lime juice, some add a splash of soda.

However you make it, a gimlet is one of those perfect cocktails that transcends time, fashion, and mood. Although shaken and strained into a martini glass, a gimlet makes a simply beautiful cocktail, here at Chalet J it is most often just 2 shots vodka and 1/2 shot Rose's over ice, in a classic rocks glass. It's a slick drink, almost oily (with vodka, anyway; I know nothing the properties of gin except that it tastes like pine needles *shudder*), clear with a hint of chartreuse... it just tastes classy. You can close your eyes, and almost see the a dark wood bar, almost smell the faint aroma of cigar smoke, almost hear the piano softly tinkling.

Cheers~

making do with what you have

2006-08-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of comfort food. Sometimes you just need it. I don't know why, but for the last couple of days, I've been thinking nonstop about fried chicken. Now, I have never in my life made fried chicken. But I've been up since 7 and running around all day, and I've been so damn healthy for the last 3 weeks, by the time I got home at 6pm, all I could think about was fried chicken! Anyway, earlier this week, I mostly finished a container of black pepper cashews from Whole Foods. There were a lot of little cashew bits left among the salt and pepper in the bottom, and I had set them aside thinking I could use them in something later on. I had briefly thought about breading a chicken breast in them, but by the time I finished trimming all the skin and fat off the piece I had thawed, there were only three little strip-sized pieces. Struck with a brilliant notion, I chopped the peppered cashews finely with my Ulu, and added a couple of tablespoons of flour, a tablespoon of cornmeal, and salt. I brushed the chicken strips with egg, tossed them in the mixture, and pan fried them in olive oil. Seriously... what's better than chicken strips?? They were hot, crispy, crunchy, savory, and just PERFECT for a Friday night on the couch. I gobbled them up with broccoli and lemon, a vodka gimlet, and The March of the Penguins.

Ohmigah, these penguins are soooooo cute I kinda feel bad for just devouring one of their fellow fowls. But... I guess it's a good thing chickens aren't as cute as penguins, because my belly is really happy right now.

asian soup

2006-08-10T06:28:00.000-07:00

I've decided to veer my blog in another direction. I'd love to be able to write like Molly or take photographs like Chanelle, but truthfully, my talents lie in creative, nutritious meals for the foodie on a budget. I don't actually make all that many fancy or gourment meals - but I cook a lot and I use food that people keep in their pantries, and I think there's a definite niche of (somewhat lazy) foodies out there interested in learning more about losing a few lbs (or maintaining a healthy weight). Although I definitely indulge, and frequently, there's absolutely no reason one should have to sacrifice taste for health. So I'll be adding nutritional information to my recipes whenever I can.

(PS> I've lost almost 5 lbs this month and I feel great!)

You guys know how much I love soup. Soup is also one of the best ways to fill your tummy without using up a lot of your daily caloric intake, and one of the easiest things to throw together. I always keep Pacific broth on hand - usually chicken and onion. I devised this particular soup out of necessity- one of those "making do with what you have" sort of meals, but now it's one of my favorites.

Ingredients
2 C chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small yam or sweet potato
1/2 C mushrooms (preferable shiitake)
1/2 C white onion, cut into crescents
1/2 C frozen, shelled soybeans
1 tsp sesame oil
1 green onion stalk, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
toasted sesame seeds to garnish

Directions
Wash & puncture your yam, wrap it in foil, and bake. By the way, a yam and a sweet potato are not the same vegetable - in fact, they are not even in the same family of vegetables. They come from different continents and have very different nutritional components. Generally speaking, a yam will have about 30-50% more calories than a sweet potato of comparable size, but the vitamins and minerals also far outweigh the sweet potato. Both are great sources of Vitamins A & C, beta carotene, and dietary fiber (what makes you feel full). Take out the potato when it is done but before it gets too soft. While it is cooling, sautee mushrooms and white onions in garlic and sesame oil. Cube the sweet potato (you can peel it for looks but discarding ths skin will lose about half of its beneficial fiber and many vitamins). Once the mushrooms and onions are done, add your chicken broth, sweet potato, and frozen soy beans, and heat to serving temperature. You will need to salt to taste during this step. Garnish with green onion, sesame seeds, and black pepper. Serves 1 person (2 bowls - that's just how I roll).

Calories: 450, fat: 10g (less than 2g saturated), protein: 21g, fiber: 14g. This dish contains 4 of your 5-7 FDA-recommended daily servings of vegetables.

at long last....

2006-08-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

I promised Molly over at Orangette that I would make these weeks ago. Many, many people turn their noses up at the thought of pickled green beans, but I think they're wonderful - fresh, crunchy, summery, vinegar-y, and the perfect garnish for a homemade bloody mary.

First of all, you have to have the old fashioned Mason jars. They just don't look right in anything else. I used a big one today because that's all I had unused, but I prefer the smaller size so you can stand the beans upright before they start curling. Regardless, you have to trim your beans so they fit exactly in the jar, just to the bottom of the threaded part. I know some people prefer to flash boil the beans first, but I like mine super-crunchy, so I start with them raw. Pack trimmed beans in the jar tightly with a few crescents of white onion, 10-12 fresh dill sprigs, a couple of garlic cloves (either sliced or minced, depending on your visual preference,) and some very coarsely ground black pepper.

On the stove, heat regular white vinegar (about 5-6% acidity) to a rolling boil. Pour boiling vinegar over beans to top and cap immediately. You'll have to use a towel or oven mitt to tighten the lid, but the heat should seal the ring. It will pop back open when you re-open the jar for the first time.

Let cool on the counter, then transfer to refrigerator for a couple of days for maximum flavor. Serve on their own or as a garnish. Enjoy!!

Nutrition 101

2006-07-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm finally learning something in my nutrition class. And since my goal is to lose 10 lbs, I'm going to spend the next few days looking very closely at my usual diet, and how to cut 500kcal (what we commonly refer to as calories) a day, which is what one has to do to lose 1 lb/week... so the idea is, adding exercise, can lose more than 1 lb/week..

I think the most important thing to do here is start measuring my portion sizes. Americans eat riDONKulous portion sizes. I figured out my BMI (loosely, 22.9, which is still in the healthy range of 18.5-24.9), and based on that, calculated that on a sedentary day, I should take in only about 1200+kcal. (When I work out, it's only about 1600.) That's not a lot. I also calculated that I can have between 20-70g fat (no more than 20g saturated), 46g protein, 200-300g carbohydrates, and 25g fiber.

For breakfast, I actually measured my cereal, milk, and blackberries - for a grand total of 300kcal, 7.5g fat (.5g saturated). For lunch I made my favorite salad, which I make all the time, all the time, and measured everything and looked everything up, and it turns out? My favorite healthy salad has over 500kcal and 38g fat!!!!!!!!!! Whoa. WHOA.

This is exactly the kind of stuff I need to know in order to accomplish my goals. If anyone would like me to work up their specs for them, please let me know; I need the practice. I'll just be over here making vitamin flashcards for my final next week. :)

comfort food for non-superheroes

2006-07-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

I feel bad even posting this on my cooking blog, being as I don't actually make a single part of it... but sometimes, you just don't feel like cooking. Sometimes you're just too busy, too tired, too lazy, or just plain too hungry to go 7 rounds in the kitchen, no matter how much you love to cook.

1 can Italian-style stewed tomatoes (w/ basil, garlic, & oregano)
1 can organic cream of tomato soup
1 tsp dried basil
salt/pepper to taste (and I am ALL about the black pepper with tomatoes)
1-2 oz of good pecorino romano cheese

I didn't take a photograph because I have red dishes, and well, what's a picture of tomato soup in red dishes? but honestly, this is one of my favorite meals. It's beautiful, fragrant, and filling, and sometimes all a superhero needs is to take off her cape, put her feet up, and enjoy a lovely, steaming bowl of hearty tomatoes, sweet basil, sharp cheese, and black pepper.

It's a Monday Two-fer!!!

2006-07-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

I am making dinner for myself- a lovely piece of fresh wild sockeye salmon, cooked in the usual way, which will be paired with zucchini and squash matchsticks in a lovely wine-mustard-tarragon sauce, which I made up myself. I'm driving to Austin tomorrow, but working with my Dallas crew, so I'm making cookies to take to them. And also, I'm drinking wine. It's from Argentina and I'm quite fond of it. :)

wine-mustard-tarragon sauce:
a dollop of olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp fancy whole-grain mustard
a liberal dash of white wine (+ more for the chef)
a liberal dash of broth (I used onion tonight but you could use chicken or vegetable)
1 tsp+ flour
1 TBSP tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
salt & pepper, to taste

In a small saucepan, heat the oil and sautee the garlic and tarragon. Add the broth and flour to make a roux. Stir in the mustard and wine and reduce. Add more wine or broth if it gets too thick, more flour if it gets too thin.

In a larger skillet, lightly sautee the zucchini and squash matchsticks to al dente. Add the sauce to the vegetables and serve with a dusting of parmesan and fresh cracked pepper.

And nooooow, for the cookies!!! (Especially since I know Krysten and Chanelle are just scrolling through to the dessert.)

I got this recipe from an old boss of mine when I worked at the Komen Foundation, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to share it, but I tweaked it more than once to get it to its current state of perfection, so this is the new and updated ... better version. Seriously, they're so good. I feel like Phoebe- I can't make them all that much because it's just not fair to the other cookies:

Oatmeal-Cranberry-Pistachio Cookies
2 sticks salted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
2 large eggs
2 t vanilla
2 T milk (I use 1/2 & 1/2)
2 C rolled oats
2 C flour
1 t baking soda
a pinch of salt
1 t cinnamon... maybe a pinch more
1 C dried cranberries, halved (make sure you get really good quality, no-sugar-added, fresh & dried, if possible, none of that pre-bagged Craisin crap)
1 C roasted, unsalted pistachios, shelled & chopped

Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Gradually beat in eggs, vanilla, and milk. In another bowl, combine oats, flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add to butter mixture a little at a time & stir in just until mixed. Add the pistachios and cranberries, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight (or at least 2 hours).

Heat oven to 325-350. Drop by spoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet (I have always used my 2 T coffee scoop to make the perfectly sized and shaped cookie). I find it helpful to put the remaining dough back in the refrigerator while each batch is baking. Bake 12-14 minutes and cool on a wire rack. Eat while warm, with a Baileys on the rocks. Cheers!

Avgolemano

2006-06-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made my favorite soup. It's Greek and it's kind of like chicken and rice and kind of like egg drop and it also has lemon, my favorite ingredient in any dish, ever.

Avgolemano Soup, serves 2
1 large chicken breast, trimmed of fat and cubed
3 C chicken stock
1 small yellow onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 C (dry) long-grain rice
1 egg
1/8-1/4 C fresh-squeezed lemon juice (MUST be fresh-squeezed! My first trial had Whole Foods 100% not-from-concentrate jarred lemon juice and it was most definitely not the same)
a few sprigs of oregano
a few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a swirl of olive oil in a pot. Add the onion, garlic, and oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. Once the onions begin to get translucent, add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken breast and poach for 20-30 minutes. Strain and put broth back on stove. Add rice and cook until done (I used brown rice and it takes longer than white). Meanwhile whisk together egg and lemon juice. Once the rice is done, strain again, and s-l-o-w-l-y pour the hot soup into the egg mixture, whisking continuously. Add back in chicken/rice/onions/etc, garnish with flat leaf parsley, and serve with a dry, lemony white wine.

OPA!!!

2006-06-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

OK, seriously, y'all, I am SO FAT! This job is killing me. I'm only 5'1"... I can't just freely gain 5 lbs. without it making a serious change in how my clothes fit. And right now I have an extra 8-10. Ugh. My entire problem is willpower: I eat well at home because I only keep healthy food in my house. But give me an option between a chicken breast and a hamburger? Well, I'm going to choose the hamburger everytime. Hello, there are french fries!!

Sooo, I have a week and a half at home, and I'm going to see if I can't flush out (so to speak) some of these excess lbs. before I leave again. My focus this week will be soup and fresh produce. Last night I had french onion soup (with a dusting of parmesan, because honestly, who can eat dinner without cheese?), and replaced my evening glass of wine with a cup of chamomile tea. This morning I had two soy lattes (unsweetened soy milk) and currently I'm chowing on a bowl of watermelon and blueberries, with a tablespoon of lime juice and a teaspoon of wildflower honey. Yum! My dinner will more-than-likely be a zucchini and onion egg-white fritta, or maybe tomato soup. If I can get done with my schoolwork, I also intend to do some yoga. Go me, go!!

Please send good thoughts. Our dress code at work just changed from uniform to business casual, and I haven't worn my "work clothes" in well over a year. I doubt most of it still fits me!!

long time no cook

2006-06-15T22:46:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted much lately, but I've been on the road, thus eating out exclusively. I'll be home at the end of the month and plan on cooking a lot, but for now, I'll tide you over with one of the best appetizers I've ever experienced- a tiny trio of bisques, in onion, carrot, and celery. They were so cute! And delicious! (As, by the way, am I.) I love soup anyway, but these tiny explosive tastes of smoky onion, hearty carrot, and delicate celery was a fantastic combination, and a lovely lead-in to my filet mignon (medium-rare) with spinach and homemade macaroni and cheese. Oh, and a lovely tiramisu. Is it any wonder I am happiest when eating??

Yum. Sorry the picture is poor; I took it with my phone. For size reference, those 3 spoons are of the demitasse variety:

one-dish extravaganza

2006-05-31T19:33:00.000-07:00

I am normally not a fan of the casserole. It's so 1970s dinner party and anyway, I don't like it when everything has one taste. But I had this tuna steak I had cooked previously (Arizona, just pretend it's chicken!) and didn't really know what to do with it, so a cursory search of my fridge and pantry revealed I could make a healthy dish with a mediterranean flair. One has to be extra creative when one does not have a microwave.

I had cooked the tuna (rare) in sesame oil, garlic, and a smidge of dill last week. I dolloped a bit of oil in the bottom of the dish, threw the fish in, and surrounded it with Roma tomatoes, 1015 onions, kalamata olives, and fresh green beans. The robust tomatoes and fresh, crisp beans were a wonderful complement to the sweet onions and salty olives. I heaped everything in separate piles as to keep the flavors somewhat intact, covered with foil, and heated at 350 until bubbly. Paired with a crisp glass of dry white and Season 2.0 of Battlestar Galactica! Brilliant.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

2006-05-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

Ripped from the headlines... from Chanelle, from SweetNicks- I proudly (er, not-so-proudly) present... the fridge at Chalet J:

First... the door, ie: the staples. As you can see, I always have onhand:

minced garlic
whole-grain mustard
capers
olives
salsa
yellow mustard
sun-dried tomatoes
homemade marinara
salsa verde
mayo (ick, only for tuna salad/chicken salad)
applesauce
some foreign sauce
Soy Vey!
chicken stock
soy milk
glass jar where I pour my leftover coffee every morning so I always have iced coffee on hand
and of COURSE, an open bottle of wine

Next... pretty much any time you look in the refrigerator here, you'll find cheese and olives. Lots and lots of cheese and olives. At first glance one can see feta, mozzarella, smoked cheddar with carmelised onions, gouda, some weird foreign assortment of wedges, kalamatas, green Queens, and a container of olive tapenade. There's probably a wedge of romano back there, and maybe an old hunk of stilton. Oh look! Hummus!!

Aaand, the produce, of course. Even when I'm only home for 4 days, I buy produce. Always in excess. In the drawer, I have mixed greens, celery, green beans, a lemon (the one I use for my evening twist), mushrooms, and an onion:

And on the counter- tomatoes, zucchini, lemons, pears, apples, and a lone yam:

And of course... for a single gal who travels for a living... the freezer. The place she throws things she knows she won't get to for a few weeks:

soy beans (in and out of the shell)
corn
chicken
Italian sausage
steaks (cut in half and frozen as to cook for one)
rum
an ice gel mask (for the morning after the rum, ha!)
and during the summer, always a bowl of frozen grapes

Chanelle, don't make me go into the pantry!!!

Comfort Food

2006-05-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

I had a pretty shitty single gal night last night. I don't expect that many of my readers identify with dating at 29, so I'm not even going to go into the details, except to tell you that when I finally pulled myself from bed at 3:30pm, I really needed pasta. (To be honest, I really needed macaroni & cheese, but that wasn't happening without a trip to the store, which wasn't happening in my current physical and emotional state.)

As usual, my cooking is on a what-I-have-on-hand basis, so I took this recipe from Chocolate & Zucchini, and tweaked it to fit my pantry.

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 serving pasta
1 C hot chicken stock
1 small zucchini, matchsticked
1/8 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C grated cheese

(For some ungodly reason, I am out of parmesan - I went to the store on Friday but it's such a staple for me I didn't know I was out- instead, I used my new favorite cheese in the world, from Wensleydale- smoked cheddar with carmelised onions. It wasn't easy to grate but it melted well and the sweet, smoky flavor mingled with my dish nicely.)

Directions:
Heat olive oil in saucepan. Add garlic and onions, and cook for a couple of minutes, until fragrant. Add in dry pasta and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until the pasta has a nice coating of oil on it. Add in a cup of hot stock, cover and reduce heat. After about 5 minutes, throw in zucchini and continue to simmer until all the liquid is absorbed. I threw in the grated cheddar at the end and served immediately, with fresh cracked pepper.

Raspberries

2006-05-17T18:18:00.001-07:00

I am not especially fond of raspberries; they are a little too sweet and soft for me. I prefer the dark, tangy wildness of the blackberry, and I intend to make both these recipes with the latter. But for Krysten, who I know adores raspberries, I yanked these two out of The American Way on my cross-country flight today. Literally. I hope the next person didn't want that page.

First, a cocktail, natch: The Berry Sour.

Ingredients:
6 raspberries
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/4 oz. simple syrup
3/4 oz. raspberry vodka
3/4 oz. vodka
club soda

Directions:
Muddle raspberries, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a mixing glass. (Note to self: must get muddler before mojito season is over. Oooh, 2nd note to self: speaking of mojitos, this cocktail should be garnished with mint.) Fill glass with ice and vodkas (vodkas plural... *snort*) and shake. Strain into a Collins glass, add fresh ice, top with club soda, and stir. Garnish with aforementioned mint sprig.

Next, a dessert: Baked Ricotta with Raspberry Coulis.

Ingredients:
1 pint ricotta
1 pint fresh raspberries
1/4 C water
2 T Grand Marnier
zest of 1 lemon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Oil the inside of a 9" pie plate or quiche dish. Shape the ricotta into a low, flat mound so its edges don't quite extend to the sides of the pan. Bake from 40 minutes up to an hour and 20 minutes -- long enough that the top begins to turn golden brown and the ricotta is firm enough to come free when lifted with a spatula. (Note: low-fat ricotta will need to be cooked longer. But why on earth would someone use low-fat ricotta?) Place the raspberries and water in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Crush the softening berries with a potato masher. To get a seedless sauce, place the berries in a strainer lined with cheesecloth. Gather the edges of the cloth to make a ball, and squeeze to express as much juice as possible; return juice to saucepan. Add the liqueur and lemon zest and simmer another 5 minutes. The coulis can either be poured over the top of the baked ricotta mound in a decorative spiral or lattice pattern (Chanelle's feelers just went up -- remember those decorative pastry leaves??), or just spoon the coulis over each wedge-shaped serving of ricotta (my probable route).

Krys, it reminded me of that Orgasmic Cherry-Amaretto Sauce we made... did I ever post that???

Friday Night dinner and a movie:

2006-05-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

I almost hate to give away my olive tapenade recipe, because of the rave reviews it gets when I take it to parties. Everyone thinks I'm a culinary goddess, and it's really so easy I think of it as my little secret weapon. But it's just too good to hoard.

First, you will need a really good food processor. Now, I feel about my Cuisinart the way other foodies feel about their Kitchenaids, that is to say, it's among the things I would take with me if my apartment was burning down, so if you don't have one, I suggest you go the Cuisinart route. This is the one I have, and I love it, but I gotta say that if someone wanted to get my this bebe one for my impending 30th, I would be ecstatic.

Olives. Mmmmm, olives. I love olives. They're firm and juicy and salty and oily and all the good things the world of food presents. The texture of the black ones is a little mealy for me, although but sometimes I use them for my tapenade or my puttanesca. This time, however, I went to Central Market and they have an olive bar. Hello!!! I got a large container (a pint, maybe?) of pimento-stuffed Spanish queens and a smaller container (about a cup) of pitted Kalamatas.

Ingredients:
1 large jar or container of green olives, pitted and drained
1 small jar or container of black or kalamata olives, pitted and drained
2 T capers
3 garlic cloves, minced
juice of 1/2 a lemon
tiny squeeze of anchovy paste (optional)
fresh cracked pepper

Pulse in your processor until the consistency is even, then s-l-o-w-l-y drizzle in extra-virgin olive oil while the blades are running. Probably about 1/4 C, but it will depend on how oily your olives are. You can also throw in some fresh herbs (basil and/or oregano) at the last minute. I serve with feta on top; you could also use some flaked parmesan or romano. Eat with crackers.

NEXT: pizza. What's better for a night on the couch than pizza?? Now, I think I've mentioned before, I'm violently allergic to yeast, so pizza crust is somewhat of a trial for me. However, I've perfected my yeast-free version- it's the right texture, if a little bland, and is a perfect vehicle for the toppings of my choosing.

1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C corn meal
1-2 T salt
1/2 t baking powder
couple of pinches of dried oregano
1 1/2 C +/- of cold (but not ice) water
drizzle of olive oil

Mix all the dry ingredients and add the water a little at a time. The dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball naturally. Roll it out on the counter to about the size of your pizza stone (and don't even THINK of making homemade pizza without a pizza stone). Scatter some cornmeal on your stone and transfer the crust. I brush it with a little bit of olive oil, but don't use too much or it will get soggy. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

THEN... add your toppings. I always keep homemade sauce in my freezer (onions, roasted garlic, basil, and oregano) and that can go on at room temperature. This pizza is sweet Italian sausage (cooked and drained), mushrooms, and basil- but I like to use baby spinach, onions, fresh tomatoes, olives, or whatever other veggies I happen to have lying around. Top with medallions of fresh buffalo mozzarella (not shredded) and cook for another 15 minutes. Voila! The perfect Friday night dinner!

Everybody's doing it...

2006-05-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

...so why can't I??

Modified from Krysten, modified from Matt, according to the ingredients I had to work with at the time, in the very few moments I had to spare:

Summer Jimica Salad:
1 C of jimaca, sliced
coupla handfuls of grape tomatoes, halved
handful of cilantro, loosely chopped
'bout 1/2C coarsely chopped onions, 1015s, natch

Dressing:
2 T white vinegar
1 T olive oil
1 T lime juice

I just tossed everything together and put a dollop of prepared salsa verde on top. If I wasn't so lazy I would have thrown in some rinsed black beans and corn for color, but as is, it turned out tart and summery and crispy and perfect!

On a side note: before I left last week, I threw a ziploc bag containing a damp paper towel and freshly washed cilantro into the freezer, because I was going to be gone. I got it out today not knowing what to expect, but lo and behold, it retained its color and taste! I hate wasting food, so I'm glad to know that it'll keep if need be. Bonus: it was SO EASY to chop!

my new obsession

2006-05-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

I know I'm always damn-the-man-save-the-empire about Starbucks-- and I stick to my crappy over-priced coffee opinion-- but sometimes when I'm traveling, I have slim to zero choices in the non-starbucks coffee genre, and since I'd rather pull my eyeballs out that go without, meet my new obsession:

OH.

MY.

GAH.

Tomatillos

2006-04-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

So, I learn something new everyday. For a girl that grew up in Texas and has had her share of salsa verde, I had never made anything with tomatillos before. I really thought they were just spicy green tomatoes.

And that is exactly what they look like, but they have husks on them! I had no idea! And once you cut them open, they don't look like tomatoes at all, but more like an eggplant.

They were firm on the outside and dense and seedy on the inside and the flavor was perfectly spicy and tart, and I made a lovely salsa with 1015s, quartered cherry tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro, and I dressed it in lime juice and a tiny bit of olive oil:

Then I sauteed diced chicken in olive oil, garlic, lime juice, and chili powder, and put the chicken, a generous amount of the salsa, and some shredded jack cheese into a simple salad of romaine, radiccio, and radishes. No dressing needed. The flavor was brilliant.

They're here!!!

2006-04-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

A word about 1015s... GO GET THEM NOW! They're only available from mid-April until about mid-June. 1015 onions were developed by an A&M horticulture professor in the early 1980s and are by far Texas' leading vegetable crop, upwards of $100 million a year. These onions are known by chefs the world over for their crisp texture and mild, sweet flavor, and of course, since they're from Texas, they grow up to the size of a grapefruit and can weigh as much as a pound!! In 1983, Texas held a "name the onion" contest for their new million-dollar baby and the winner was something like "The Texas Supersweet"-- but no one has ever called them anything but the "1015"- so named because the crop is planted on October 15th.

Seriously y'all. You can eat it like an apple. Also, they are huge and predominately single-centered, so they make fantastic onion rings.

Texas Sweet Onion Salsa:
2 C chopped 1015 SuperSweet Onion
2 C diced fresh peaches
1 to 2 T finely minced, seeded serrano or jalapeno (I don't like the taste of peppers but I like the kick, so I just use the seeds out of a jalapeno... I know, weird)
5 T chopped fresh cilantro
3 T tequila
2 t grated lime peel
2 T fresh lime juice
1/4 t ground cumin (optional)

I've also made this salsa with halved green grapes instead of peaches, and mint instead of cumin. Be creative! Serve with tortilla chips and chicken and beef skewers (marinate in lime juice, olive oil, & chili powder and grill). YUM!

Back to the Basics: Puttanesca

2006-04-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

[poot-tah-NEHS-kah] The name puttanesca is a derivation of puttana, which in Italian means "whore." According to one story, the name purportedly comes from the fact that the intense fragrance of this sauce was like a siren's call to the men who visited such "ladies of pleasure." Another story just states that as prostitutes rarely had time to cook, this was their standard throw-all-the-left-overs-in-a-sauce meal.

Either way, puttanesca is a staple at Chalet J, as I almost always have the ingredients on hand even if it's grocery day. I whipped up this one at Krysten's last week:

This one involved what was left over in her fridge, which was fettucine noodles, grape tomatoes, spinach, red onion, green olives, garlic, and tomato sauce, and it was really good, but here at my house I usually make it a little something like this:

Throw a couple of swirls of olive oil in your skillet. Set your stove to medium high heat. After the oil gets hot you can back it down to medium. Throw in a couple of cloves of garlic and about a half of a white or yellow onion, chopped. Stir occasionally, until onions start to get translucent. If I have mushrooms I will add them at this point and cook them until almost done as well. I cheat with this dish and add a can of mostly-drained Del Monte Diced Stewed Tomatoes (I always keep the kind with basil and oregano; they're delicious, cheap, and time-saving, and the only thing in there that I wouldn't add myself is a little corn syrup). If you want to use your own stewed tomatoes, I would stir in fresh basil and oregano right before serving. Once that gets bubbling, I add a small can of plain tomato sauce, a small can of sliced black olives, drained, and about twice that many green olives (I always have olives; if I have Queens I will slice them as well; if they're the tiny ones I will either halve them or leave them whole). Reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer while you cook your pasta. Salt and pepper to taste and serve with freshly grated parmesan or another hard cheese, and some fresh basil, torn or chiffoned (roll up a few leaves into a cylinder and cut into thin ribbons).

There are obviously many variations on a basic puttanesca; I've been known to add celery, carrot shreds, whole garlic cloves, a squeeze of anchovy paste, pearl onions, Italian sausage (cooked and drained), capers, kale, and many other ingredients. My parents ~~ruin it with~~ add in green peppers. If it gets too thick, add more sauce, a bit of chicken broth, or dry white wine; too watery, add a bit of tomato paste. Enjoy!

the salad!

2006-04-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

So, I made this salad from Orangette today. It's not quite as pretty as hers, but it is tasty!! I added lemon juice to the vinaigerette, of course.

1 endive, sliced on the diagonal
1/4 head raddichio, chopped
3 radishes, sliced in thin rounds
handful of cilantro, leaves only
1/2 small avocado, diced
1/4 C crumbled feta
freshly cracked black pepper

dressing:
1 T whole-grain mustard
3 T red wine vinegar
1 t fresh lemon juice
1/2 t salt
olive oil, to taste

Mix up the first 4 ingredients and then stream the olive oil in very slowly, whisking contiuously until it reaches the desired consistency. YUM! Thanks Orangette!

"Jam? Good. Custard? Gooood. Meat?? GOOOOOOD."

2006-04-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

OK, so I have many things to post, including the Orgasmic Cherry-Amaretto Topping that Krysten and I created this weekend... but I've been really busy today. I will tell you that I just spent $120 at Central Market and I couldn't be happier. I bought wine and fancy mustard and anchovy paste (for caesar dressing) and cheese (feta, white stilton with apricots, basil & garlic gouda, cheddar with carmelized onions) and olives, they have an OLIVE BAR-- and produce: brussells sprouts, tomatoes, 1015 onions (yay!), tomatillos, radishes, radiccio, endives (I'm going to make this salad), romaine, avocado, apples, pears, Meyer lemons, and more! Mmmmmmm.

More to come.

The Perfect Lemon Drop Martini

2006-04-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

by Jamie & Krysten

It only took 4 tries... but we got it! (Or maybe we just think it's the perfect lemon drop martini after the first 3? Nope, this is definitely it.)

3 oz citron vodka
1 1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz triple sec

Put all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Divide into two really cool martini glasses. Watch Friends. Love life.

Pears

2006-04-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

My mom is not a cook. I'm not sure where I got it, because that woman will only make things that involve the words "instant" and "ready-made." *holds vomit in* Anyway, that being said, before I left the house in 1994, I had only ever tasted canned pears. So there's absolutely no mystery why I thought I didn't like them.

I have since then discovered that I LOVE pears. My favorite is the sweet and juicy Green Anjou, but I also like Red Bartletts, super crisp Seckels, and dense, flavorful Boscs. Boscs have a shorter shelf life than an Anjou, but when they're good, they're good. My all-time favorite way to eat a pear is simply raw, with a hunk of good cheese and a glass of crisp white wine. Seen below, my mid-morning snack of a good Bosc and some fresh Edam:

OK, so I forewent the wine, as it's 9:30am. *weg*

I have a really good self-developed dessert made with pears, and Chanelle has inspired me to post if for you here:

ingredients:
4 large pears of your favorite variety, or whatever is in season
4 T brown sugar
1/4 C walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/4 C gorgonzola (or your favorite bleu) cheese, crumbled
about 4-6 oz. good port

directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. It's easiest if you have a corer, but you can do it yourself with a long, thin, sturdy knife. Remove each core while keeping the pear intact (including the bottom). Nestle the pears in a square baking dish so they fit snugly and don't fall over. I use an 8x8 Pyrex which works if you have fairly big pears. If not, put them in indivual ramekins in the dish. Stuff each core cavity with thin layers of brown sugar, gorgonzola, and toasted walnuts. Fill up the cavity with port. Bake about 20 minutes or so, until the pears collapse in on themselves. Serve immediately.

Sorry there are no pictures, but this is an incredibly rich and beautiful dessert, and is actually very healthy! It's full of vitamins A and C, fiber, and calcium. Enjoy!

guilty pleasure

2006-04-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

Call me gross... but this is a breakfast of champions.

Cold, leftover take-out dumplings. Mmmmmmmm....

back to the basics: chapter 1

2006-04-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

Back to the Basics, for my Tom, who loves salmon but only knows how to cook 2 things: jack and squat. :) He doesn't even own any pots and pans, but I'm going to get him on the right track. This is the easiest thing in the world to cook.

Tom, go to the store and get yourself a nice filet of fresh salmon. Make sure the flesh is firm and pink and doesn't smell too fishy.

I would say to use olive oil, since everyone keeps that in his pantry, but since you probably don't, I say go ahead and get yourself some sesame oil. It's got a great, intense flavor that goes really well with the fish.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Get a glass baking dish and pour a little oil in the bottom, just about a tablespoon. Tilt the dish around until the bottom is coated well so the fish doesn't stick. Lay the fish skin side down. Lightly prick the salmon with a fork, and drizzle just a little more oil on top. Add a teaspoon of minced garlic (also a staple, but it keeps well, so just buy a jar).

Squeeze 1/2 lemon over the top and then leave the lemon in the dish with the salmon. Add pepper and cook about 20-30 minutes, or however well you like it done. It should be able to flake easily with a fork.

Once it's almost done, drizzle a little honey on the top and pop it back in the oven on broil for about 2-3 minutes. It'll make a nice little crust on top.

I throw a few sesame seeds on top for crunch (and flair!) and serve as is, or with sauteed mushrooms and a caesar salad:

I can't wait to hear all about it! XOXOX

It's true...

2006-04-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

... I make the best tuna salad in the world. Ask Sandy. Or Evan. Now, I know my Arizona girls (who make up roughly half my reader base) don't like fish... I KNOW! You can substitute 12 oz. chicken (cooked and diced).

This recipe is a staple in my house, plus, I really enjoy making it because I find all the chopping and dicing soothing. Weird? Quite possibly. But I turn on some tunes, sing really loudly, and choppity-chop-chop until I forget whatever's bothering me. That's right- you get recipes and pop-psychology all in one here at Dine Well!

So, my entries and pictures will never be as witty and awesome as Chanelle's... but I'll give it a whirl!

First, take 12 oz. of chunk white tuna packed in water and drain well. (Or, use chicken! Geez.) Next, chop 1/4 of a large white onion. This part is really fun for me because I get to use my Ulu knife:

After the onion, chop 1/2 a large apple:

Eat the other half of the apple while you're chopping. Decide you can't eat an apple without cheese and pause to slice a little havarti. Now, I used a Fuji apple because that's what I had, but it looks prettier if you use a Red Delicious. Next, chop 3-4 stalks of celery, to your preference. I like mine really crunchy so I use a lot! As a side note, the best way to store celery is in aluminum foil, but I have found standing it up in a mug with about an inch of water (like you do with asparagus) works just as well:

Next, fresh dill! Mmmmmm, so fresh and summery! Dill is a strong flavor so you only need about a tablespoon. The leaves off one stalk should be plenty.

Of course, since very, very few things come out of my kitchen without cheese, grate about 1/8 C parmesan or romano, or whatever hard cheese you keep on hand. Grate it finely so it doesn't soak up too much of the moisture.

Finally, add in 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 T whole-grain mustard, a generous amount of fresh cracked pepper, and just enough mayonnaise to mix everything together well. Now, this is my least favorite part because I hate mayonnaise and all it has to offer. I have to let my tuna salad (or chicken!) sit for a few hours so the flavors can settle in and I can't taste (or smell, ew) the mayonnaise. *shudder*

After a couple of hours, serve with your favorite bread or cracker. Enjoy!!

Lemon-Blackberry Goodness

2006-04-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what to call this dessert... it's supposed to be a pie, but of course I can't let any recipe BE, and I'm not a huge pie buff anyway. So I put it in ramekins like custard, but there's no dairy, so it's not really custard. Anyway, let's just call it Lemon-Blackberry Goodness... as I can never, ever get enough lemon! The blackberries are really delightful right now, but you can use raspberries, blueberries, pitted cherries, or any other berry of your choosing.

3/4 C fresh-squeezed lemon juice
3/4 C sugar
3 eggs
2 egg whites
4+ T freshly grated lemon zest
4 T melted butter
1 C fresh blackberries

Set oven to 325. Whisk together lemon juice and sugar and set aside. With your mixer, beat eggs and egg whites together until frothy; slowly add in lemon juice mixture and beat until it turns a bright yellow color. Stir in zest and butter.

Grease 6 small ramekins and cover the bottom with berries. Fill with lemon mixture and set on a baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes and cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Lady Mix-a-Lot

2006-04-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today is the day... I cheated on Lent and bought a mixer. I wanted to make a dessert tonight and realized that when I moved into this apartment, I got rid of my old mixer (which, by the way, was a Sunbeam Mixmaster from the 50s or 60s which belonged to my grandmother). I hoped the discarding would prompt me to buy a new one more quickly... but it didn't, so I finally went today. It was very hard to not "shop" but I did a pretty good job.

I know my Arizona chefs live and die by their Kitchenaids, and I, too, was fully prepared to spend the money on the label, much like other women do with purses. However, when I got to the store, I realized that the best selling mixer in America only comes in black and white. Seriously. Now I can do red (my pots and pans) or brushed chrome (my other appliances) but I absolutely cannot do white or black.

My friend Amy told me she bought her mother a Sunbeam for Christmas (because if it's good enough for Paula, it's good enough for Anne) and it was a better deal. Begrudgingly, I looked. True story. It doesn't have the fancy attachments, but I don't need those anyway because I have my fancy food processor, but the motor is better than the Kitchenaid, it has the same whisk/paddle/hook, and does it? Yes, it comes in red and brushed chrome. To put icing on the cake (pun intended) - not only is it a full $100 cheaper than the comparable Kitchenaid model at regular price, but it was on sale. So even though I argued with Amy about wanting the Kitchenaid more than both my kidneys... I got this:

I used it tonight to make custard and I adore it. Step back, Kitchenaid! There's a new sheriff in town! (Custard to be posted in separate entry.)

Oi!

2006-04-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

So, most of you know that I never use pre-made sauces. I can't stomach the chemicals they usually contain, and don't approve of the unnecessary sugar, and generally enjoy making them on my own.

However, my Jewish friend Heidi recently introduced me to Soy Vey! Oh... mi... gah. It's the product of a Chinese girl and Jewish guy and it sort of a soy/teriyaki blend and it's just fantastic. All natural, no preservatives, and kosher... if you're into that kind of thing.

Tonight I sauteed 1/2 cup of onions and 1/2 cup of mushrooms in 1 T of sesame oil. Once the onions became transparent, I threw in a 5 oz. lean filet mignon, sliced, and after a couple of minutes on each side, added 2 T of Soy Vey! Served with a dash of sesame seeds, green beans al dente, and a glass of sauvignon blanc. Yum!!

Restaurant Mania!

2006-03-27T08:09:00.000-08:00

Dine Well also seems like an excellent place to post restaurant reviews from around the country! One of the few perks of my job. I think it's been well established that I have a gift for finding a funky restaurant with local flavor and fabulous food in pretty much any city. What better way to share my gift??

The city: Minneapolis, Minnesota
The restaurant: Azia Restaurant and Caterpillar Lounge
The cuisine: Asian Fusion "with a Minnesota Flair" (I didn't even know Minnesota had a flair!)

I was very impressed because the executive chef (whose picture I had just seen on the website when I found the restaurant) was running around, checking on tables, chatting with patrons, even delivering food! I love that.

The drinks: blackberry vodka mojitos

The appetizer: A cheese plate of sage havarti, ash sheep's milk, and stilton with mango, crackers, and green apples.

The dinner: We couldn't resist going with all appetizers because everything sounded so amazing. We had chicken "wings" in a spicy sesame sauce, crisp avocado spring rolls, and tuna carpaccio with mango-mint sauce.

The dessert: I was fiending for the Limoncello Tart, but we ended up sharing these huge white and dark chocolate covered strawberries ("tuxedos") and an Irish Red and Gold- which is a large mug of coffee with Bailey's and Frangelico, topped with a mound of real whipped cream. *thud*

We then stepped next door into the Caterpillar Lounge (love the name!) and had a couple of glasses of wine and discussed the physical aspects of heaven.

Perfecto!

A feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.

2006-03-25T21:47:00.000-08:00

I just got the most beautiful salad from Hilton room service:

Mixed greens in a champagne-honey vinaigrette, with cherry tomatoes, pecans, pears, and 2 kinds of cheese (brie and bleu). Which leads to me one of my all time favorite food experiences: a juicy, ripe pear with a wedge of salty cheese and an ultra-crisp white wine.

Mmmmm, can't wait until summer!

Mediterranean Salad

2006-03-22T12:26:00.000-08:00

One of my all time favorite cuisines is Mediterranean, specifically that of Greece and coastal Italy. I love all the ingredients, how they mingle together, how fresh and summery everything tastes, and how healthy I feel after eating it. Lemon, garlic, dill, feta cheese, olives... practically every dish involves some combination of these flavors.

In a glass baking dish, bake a 6 oz fresh salmon filet in 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, and fresh cracked pepper at 350 for 20 minutes, or to your desired level of doneness.

While the salmon is baking, toss the following ingredients in a large bowl:

2 C Romaine hearts, chopped
1/2 C kalamata olives, drained
1/2 C marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
1/4 C feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 C prepared sundried tomato pesto
20-30 shelled pistachios
juice from 1/2 lemon
generous amount of fresh cracked pepper

Once the salmon is done, cut it up, and mix everything well and serve. The oil from the artichokes and the pesto mixes with the lemon juice and negates the need for any additional dressing, and the saltiness of the olives and feta make adding salt unnecessary. Serves two.

This salad can also be made without the salmon and can be thrown together in minutes. Enjoy!

Food, Glorious Food

2006-03-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

As you all know, I have an extremely unhealthy fondness for food. I love to cook, mix, bake, chop, and above all, eat. I love kitchen gadgets and I even love cleaning up the kitchen. I've decided to start a blog dedicated to my passion. One of my specialties is "making-do-with-what-you-have." I love to be creative in the kitchen, and love to invent healthy alternatives to my favorite dishes.

I will be posting some of my favorite food experiences, whether they be restaurants, friends' homes, or my own creations, and probably some nutrition lessons as well. :) I will also at time-to-time, have guest chefs, so get ready, Gina, my go-to for Italian cuisine, and my Arizona girls, who love gadgets so much they can barely make a bowl of cereal without breaking out their Kitchenaids!

Some of my passions include, in no particular order:

coffee
cheese
olives
lemon
tomatoes
seafood
green beans
pistachios
homemade soup
beef
white wine

By no means is that a comprehensive list!

Remember, "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, unless one has dined well."

Coming soon....

2006-03-17T10:57:00.000-08:00

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, unless one has dined well." ~Virginia Woolf