Fabulous Foccacia

It's been a while. I apologize. Life has been topsy turvy.

The husband loves foccacia. It is expensive (or what I deem expensive) to buy at teh Farmers Market and frozen will not do. For years it has been a special treat I only buy when it is marketed down. The husband has been very good lately and I told him if he kept it up I would make him foccacia from scratch. Today I did. And who knew it was so easy! I am thrilled. It was fairly quick for something that has to rise, quick baking, no fancy ingredients...a great thing to make. I found a basic recipe and then added a few things. It came out moist, crisp, fresh...lovely and savory.

The Basic Foccacia Recipe from Allrecipes

INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

MY ADDITIONS
1 cup krinos oil cured olives, pitted and chopped coarsely
1 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped
2 roma tomatoes thinly slices
1/2 c parmesan/romano
pepper


DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with flour; stir well to combine. Stir in additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of the flour is absorbed. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly for about 1 minute.
Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. (I put mine in the sunshine!)

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface; knead briefly. **Pat or roll the dough into a sheet and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the dough with oil and sprinkle with salt.

Bake focaccia in preheated oven for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on desired crispness. If you like it moist and fluffy, then you'll have to wait just about 10 minutes. If you like it crunchier and darker in the outside, you may have to wait 20 minutes.

** At this point I folded in 1/2 of my olives and 1/2 my basil into the dough. After I flattened it out I put the the remaining ingredents of mine on top and pressed lightly into the dough and ground fresh pepper/sea salt over top. We ate it wiht a little olive oil for dipping - a perfect weekend lunch.

Open Sesame...

and get in my mouth!

Had a great brunch today - brazilian avocados (very rich) and a lovely light salad. I will share the salad as it is so easy and will definitely become a regular around here.

Oriental Watercress Salad
Adapted from Diana Kennedy's Nothing Fancy

Toss
1 bunch watercress
2 tb chopped cilantro
3 scallions white and green parts chopped

Mix
1/2 tsp chopped ginger
1.5 tb sesame oil
3 tb rice vinegar
3 tsp soy sauce
1.5 tp toated sesame seeds

Toss greens with a bit of dressing and enjoy! I think the dressing would be stellar with spinach and mushrooms as well.

A Spoonful of Love

What beautiful day I am having. Very domestic, but very beautiful. I feel very loved and at peace today...and no I have not been drinking, and I am not high. It is a very soy day, in many ways, but let me walk you through it.

The day began with a soy massage from my lovely husband. We got this candle from our friend which smells wonderful and as it melts creates warm soy oil/wax, which you then use in massage. A beautiful and multipurpose item. I won't detail what happened next, but you can guess...

Then the husband brings me coffee and makes me a delicious breakfast of turkey sausage and fried potatoes which I frown at because I am trying to eat healthy, and he assures me it is okay as he cooked the potatoes in the iron skillet with non fat spray. I am breathlessly in love with this man.

After breakfast I set about doing laundry. I hang wet clothes on the line practically humming a damn tune to myself. I go inside and start the soy milk maker. While it is doing its thing I set to roasting eggplants and ironing clothes at the same time. Nat King Cole plays on the record player.

A bit later, soymilk is done, and I flavor with cinnamon, Splenda and vanilla. It tastes SO fresh. I love it. Then I make fresh babaghanoush from the eggplants. While slightly more complicated than making homemade hummus, this is definitely worth it.

Babaghanoush
2 large eggplants
4 cloves garlic
4 tb tahini paste
juice of one lemon
Handful of fresh parsely
Salt and pepper to taste

Roast two large eggplants over open flame or broil in oven till skin is charred all over and flesh is obviously mushy. Place in a paper bag to cool for a bit. Run eggplant under cold water and slide skin off, put flesh in food processor with the other ingredients and voila! Put in fridge to chill...sooooo good.

Then I make vegetarian bites from the leftover okara from my soymilk.

Crab cake okara bites
1 c cooked rice (i use basmati)
1 egg
4tb Parmesan/Pecorino/Romano
1 tb tomato paste
1 tb brown mustard
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp garlic powder
a couple shakes of dried minced onion
2 tb horseradish
1 tb cornmeal
1 can green chilies chopped
1 tb flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 tb chives
1 cup okara
2 tb fish sauce or combo of soy sauce and anchovy

Mix and chill for about 20 minutes. Make little balls, flatten slightly and dust with flour. Fry in iron skillet or other fry pan till crisp on both sides. Enjoy! I think I will try to bake these next time...

While my husband love and cooking love was great today. I have to share that a huge part of this love was from a family friend, Mr. Richards.

I grew up with Mr. Richards, whom was a good friend of our family. He and my parents were culinary adventurers and played a huge role in my young development as a food lover and cook. I watched them make sausage together, wine, beer, bread, all sorts of things. Mr. Richards, throughout my life, even when I moved far away, always had presents for us of homemade liquors, oils, soaps, lotions and all sorts of things. All of these things are his gifts of love. He is a lot like me in that we are not traditionally affectionate, but show our love and joy through the things we make and give the ones we care about. All of these things were pieces of his heart.

As we grew up, my little sister, much more affectionate, was closest to him. However, as I got older, I felt in my heart, the quiet love I have had for years for this kind, generous and gifted man. So fast forward to today -- For my wedding, Mr. Richards gave us the soymilk maker. Which I obviously love, and today has played a huge role in my happiness...a smaller, and perhaps more metaphorical gift from him was a set of measuring spoons shaped like hearts. I also used these today. As I looked at them, covered in tahini and powders and other cooking smegma, I think in my heart, how they remind me that every time I use them I am adding his love to whatever I am making. It also serves as a reminder to myself to never measure out my love in fractional amounts, that it is always okay in life to use a heaping spoonful, life will come out better for it.

Peace and love to you.

Edible Sunshine

Two thoughts - both citrus related.

First - I love citrus, it is edible sunshine. however, getting at ti sometimes can be a bit of a pill. If you have fingernails or you don't for that matter - you are familiar with the tiresome and often frustrating act of peeling a citrus with your nails/no nails. It is absolutely fruit drudergy and the impatience you feel rising as you attempt to access the sweet flesh inside is often unbearable. Behold - the citrus thingy. Not sure where I got it..I think maybe ma put it in my stocking one year, but I am totally enamored of it. Only an inch or so of plastic, you run in downt he side of a citrus several tiems and it makes peeling fast and easy. God bless you cirtus thingy.

I found it online for $1.50 at Amazon - It's worth it: http://www.amazon.com/MSC-Citrus-Peeler/dp/B000FRZCKQ

Note my husband giving me a big orangey middle finger for making him be my hand model. Yes , he is very clever...

Second - while in France we had the combination of grapefruit and avocado. It was delightful. Who knew? So I attempted to recreate it the other day with a decent amount of success. Probalby because there is little involved with the combination. Here is it served with chicken burgers which were a nice light main with the avocado/grapefruit with it.

Avocado and Grapefruit Salad
(serves 2)
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 avocado
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of ginger

Slice grapefruit in about four circular slices.
Cut avocado in half and twist slightly to seperate. Gently remove the pit fromt he second half with a knife tip.
Mash avocado with a bit (about 1-2tb) grapefruit juice, pinch of ginger and salt and pepper to taste. The consistency should be thick and textured versus thin/puree.
Place a little avocado on plate, place a piece of grapefruit on top, add another dollop of avocado, another slice of grapefruit and one mor dollop...Volia! Sweet, rich, tangy, bright...lovely. Nice with grilled fish as well.

Simply Delicious

So a couple of us head up to the mountains this past weekend on a free pass. I have to see a client, and they put us up in their generosity at a lovely three bedroom lodge overlooking the river. We hit the spa, then hit the hot tub and several bottles of wine.

All three of us have been working 10 hour days and are very tired. Our usual obsessive compulsive cooking feats that take place on mountain "girls" trips are conspicuously missing. We eat random things that taste good. Cheese weighs in heavily as do olives, nuts and a pound of bacon between us. The wine, mostly care of Trader Joe's was all very good. Right before we left for our trip up, I did grab two of my favorite simple things to make, and belle requested I post the recipes...they are quite good and very simple.

Lentil Lemon Soup

Bring to a boil , cover and simmer for at least a half hour...or till lentils are tender

1 cup french green lentils, rinsed and cleaned
4 cups of broth, any kind
1 tsp red chili paste, or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Before serving add
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Cabbage Salad with Lemon and Herbs

Mix together and chill, or serve immediately

4 cups of shredded cabbage (I just use one bag of pre-shred)
1 lemon, sliced into thin wheels and seeded
2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar or splenda
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup chopped dill, mint or cilantro
1/4 cup currants, raisin, or pomegranate seeds

*Note the intensity of the lemon dressing increases as it sits.

Mmmmmm. The first time I made this, the boy and I ate the entire batch.

Today we are grateful for: The boy enjoyed a positive college sports moment, NCAA basketball was great...even though he usually never watches it. I am grateful for my lovely friends and our quiet weekend, even though I had to work for a little part of it. It was beautiful and I feel refreshed.

Hi-YA Keen-Wa!

Okay, that was a lame title...what I am really excited about is Quinoa (Keen-wa). I have had it a few times in a green tea reduction at R. Thomas...I really loved it. And picked some up at the Dekalb farmers market, but never got around to cooking it. Well I finally did this week, and 100% of taste testers agree it is a wonderful addition to our diets and palates.

Though it looks like a grain and acts like a grain, it is actually not a grain. It is the botanical fruit from a plant in the goosefoot family. This stuff is lighter than rice and pasta, has huge amounts of protein, a lower sodium content and is higher in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc than wheat, barley, or corn. Some call it vegetable caviar, to the Incas it was the food of choice...

The first recipe I made was really simple, basically:

Quinoa Risotto

1/2 onion chopped
2-3 clove garlic, minced
1 tb olive oil
1 cup Quinoa rinsed three times in fresh water
1 cup water
1 cup fat free half and half or soy milk
1 cube bouillon either veggie or chix
1 cup parmesan or veggie version

Saute first three for a couple minutes on med heat.
Add Quinoa and saute about 1 minute.
Add milk, water, boullion and bring to a light boil.
Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Remove lid. Fluff with fork and let sit for a minute to dry out a bit.
Gently toss with Parmesan.
Gently toss in mouth.

The other version I made yesterday was just boullion, h20 and quinoa and it was wtill awesome. No need for any butter, salt or anything.

To every season...

Turn. Turn. Turn. Everytime I need something light and heathy to eat, I will go to Season's 52.

This was my second time eating here. Both times I was generally impressed with, well, everything, especially for a rather new chain in the ATL area. The service is efficient and not pushy. It is quick and accurate, attentive. The atmosphere is cozy considering it is pretty massive.The food is well priced, flavorful and good for you. The first time I was here I was initially feeling snobby due to the over abundance of aging yet bouyant bosom, very high heel wearing, very blond haircut coiffed and rather tight bodies of the Cougars here, but then I realized the food was so good for you, in order to keep their bodies, they eat here. Well, for once I will take a tip from them, everyone can use some bouyancy as well as some tightness, and here you don't have to sacrifice taste for health.

Truly, it feels like you are indulging. The menu changes every season as well, so there is always a reason to come back. Every item on the menu contains less than 475 calories, and each meal is nutritionally balanced to include the highest quality lean meats and seafood, good carbs and beneficial oils such as extra virgin olive oil.

I had:Edamame w/ Green tea salt - I love soy beans...and this salt was very nice and soft, not as harsh as standard sea.

Wasabi soy salmon salad - This was REALLY nice. I almost cried it was such a perfect salad. It was huge. It was crunchy and sweet and spicy. It had wasabi peas in it. The salmon was moist and not overcooked. The yellow beets that came with it were a sweet and beautiful side note contrasting visually and flavorfully with the main salad. Truly it was a work of art. For a meal salad, and I rarely order them because they always make me sad...this was exceptional. and Yes I ate it all. While my companions coyly packed up "leftovers" I licked the plate clean.

Last time I was here I had a steak and blue cheese flatbread which was also super yum.

I will be back again...

Impromptu Soup

It will take forever for me to write about everything we've eaten and cooked over the last week or so, but here is a really quick recipe that resulted from arrving back at home after the holiday to a fairly empty kitchen except for leftovers...I didn't write a recipe while making it, so I hope this is about right. We were looking for something with a little less fat in it!! The boy liked it so much he insisted I try and write it down so I could make it again. I swear, I am trying to practice to write for other cooks. It's hard, most of the time I just improvise. Well, here goes!

Impromptu Black Bean Soup

Saute in 4qt pot:
1 small onion chopped
1 tb olive oil

After 3-4 minutes add:
4 cloves garlic chopped
3 gentle shakes of chili powder
1.5 tsp ground cumin

After 1 minute add:
1 can black beans drained
1 can creamed corn
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can H20
2 bouillon chicken cubes

Bring to boil then cover and reduce to simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Turn off heat and puree ½ of mixture + 2tb neufchatal/cream cheese
Return to pot and stir.

Add and stir:
¼ Meyer lemon squeezed
3tb chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

Garnish with any of the following
Sr cream, cilantro, slivers of Monterey jack or cheddar

Gently squirt a little more Meyer lemon over top before serving.

YUM!

Green and Sprightly

Well perhaps inappropriate in what should be the cool weather of December, coddled and comforted by thick meaty stews, chowders and creams...the celery soup I made yesterday and ate today was green, light, and sprightly. The recipe was a surprising riff on celery soup, and I've made more than a few. I found this illuminating. And served with one of the best canned dolmades I have ever had.

The dolmades were Aegean Brand, I think we bought them oddly enough in the Blue ridge mountains at an apple orchard. They are much better than the canned variety sold at the Farmer's market, and the fresh versions at fancypants intown Krogers (yes a bit of bitterness sensed there) and Whole foods.

The soup was very easy to make:

2-3 small Potatoes, chopped

1 bunch Celery, chopped

1 Onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon Curry Powder

1 tablespoon fresh Ginger, chopped

1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/2 Chilipepper

1 1/2 quarts Broth (chicken, veggie or bouillon)

Salt -- Pepper

3/4 of a fresh Lemon

2 tablespoons Butter

Saute the onion and potatoes in the butter, add the seasonings. Stir well till soft. Add celery and everything else up to salt--pepper. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes. Carefully puree warm soup. Finish by squeezing the 3/4s of lemon over soup and mix in the butter. Serve.

Free and Easy

So I was doing my shopping this weekend and my checkout gal turned out to be my neighbor. In neighborly fashion she pointed out to me that pumpkins were free if I wanted one. At first I hesitated, and the bag-girl said "I'll get it!" and so I decided why-not. I suppose I could do something with it. Keep in mind (a) I have already made no less than 8 pumpkin related dishes from canned pumpkin over the past two months. I was not sure how the boy would react to more pumpkin. (b) I had never tackled a raw pumpkin, and this one was of rotund waist.

After a little bit of online research and a little bit of questioning from the boy, I began my free food journey with his critical eye hovering near. I decided to make pumpkin seeds and roast pumpkin flesh. Turns out both were pretty easy, but required a bit of perseverance and upper body strength.

Pumpkin Seeds
Preheat oven to 400. Then I cut open my pumpkin jack-o-lantern style and pulled the guts out, separating the guts from the seeds. I rinsed the seeds a few times in a colander, brought a 4 qt pot of salted water to boil and threw the seeds in for about 10 minutes. Then I drained them. I drizzled some oil over a shallow baking pan, threw the seeds in there and messed them around with my hand till they were coated and spread evenly across the bottom in one layer. As for seasoning, I chose a few sprinkles of smoked paprika, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes, but really keep an eye on them. Let cool before you eat, and save the rest in air tight container.

Roasted Pumpkin
The boy and I really really enjoyed this. The flavor is very different from canned and puree...Closer to sweet potato plus squash. Plus I have enough for the whole winter.

I started out by struggling to cut the big vegetable up and was quickly brushed aside as my "man" made short work of the pumpkin. He then proceeded to show me how he would clean the remaining guts from the pieces if HE was going to do it. Prep work not being my favorite, I cooed and encouraged while I made myself a drink. When he finished, I handed him a drink as well.

We placed the pumpkin pieces flesh up on baking pans and rubbed them with olive oil. I seasoned with crushed dried rosemary, sea salt and ground pepper, but I bet thyme would be good too. We put this in the same 400 oven as the seeds and let it cook for about an hour. Stick a fork in the flesh to see if it is tender. After it cooled off, I pulled the skins off the large pieces of pumpkin (easy) and roughly chopped them into large chunks.

I portioned away a bunch in ziplocs and put them in the freezer. When I served them with dinner last night I sauteed the chunks to warm them up in a tablespoon of butter with a dash of olive oil so it doesn't burn. Then I sprinkled with more salt, rosemary, pepper and the juice of one 1/4 lemon. MMMMMMMM good. I think there is caramelizing going on somewhere, and then the comforting rosemary, the rich texture of the pumpkin, the freshness of the lemon juice...good. I think I will serve with some roast chicken and potatoes later this week.

We were grateful for: The boy was grateful he had a friend who would come help him figure out a problem for school. I was grateful I didn't have to run an event for work tomorrow.

Delicious Mushy Goo (with Kale)

The Boy had a come-to-Jesus moment about a month ago when he had a guest speaker in his philosophy class. The speaker discussed the ethics of the corporate food industry and the political and nutritional implications of eating meats produced on industrial farms. The major take away (that I learned about as he sneered at the delicious meal of pork tenderloin I put on the table that evening) was that there are a lot of really terrible things happening in the world -- poverty, famine, genocide, torture, war -- that we really can't do much about in our day-to-day routines, but we do have control over what we eat, we can choose to eat differently, and eating ethically makes a difference. The environmental impact of meat-eating is dramatic and appalling no matter what your take on the animal cruelty angle. In fact, some researchers recently calculated that meat-eaters going vegan would reduce America's greenhouse gas emissions more than car-owners going hybrid. Yikes!

"So, what are you trying to tell me?" I ask. "No more meat?"

This possibility isn't much of an issue for me as I was vegetarian and pescatarian (fish only) for about eight years, but the Boy...the Boy is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy; I was pretty shocked (and delighted) at what this could mean for my mostly ineffective attempts to open his eyes to the delicious world of plants. Getting five-a-day in him has always been a struggle.

I see bacon cheeseburgers flash before his eyes, and he hedges, "Weeell, more like significantly reduce, but yeah."

Since, I've been expanding my repertoire of meat-free dishes for the meat lover. The Boy, on the other hand, keeps mentioning that he wants to find a local farm where he can kill his own chicken. Kind of a gruesome twist on picking your own apples, I guess. As long as he dresses and plucks the thing too, more power to him.

Anyway, on to the point of this post: the Mushy Goo. I got turned on to an Orangette recipe by a friend last week that sounded interesting so I thought I would try something like it. What I made is a modified, slimmer version of this recipe, if you're interested in the original. It calls for chard, not kale, and more oil and cheese.

My version was delicious, and the bread comes out tasting exactly like saltines crushed into soup, one of my all-time top comfort foods.

Kale, Onion, and Gruyère Panade

Makes about 5 main-dish servings and takes about 2.5 hours start-to-finish.

1 1/2 lbs. onions, thinly sliced
About 1/4 c. olive oil
6 cloves garlic, slivered
Salt and pepper
1 lb. dinosaur kale, thick ribs removed, ripped into manageable bits
Water (2 c. plus enough to drizzle on the kale)
10 ounces day-old yummy bread (i.e. not WonderBread), cut into rough 1-inch cubes
2 c. vegetable broth
1 c. of grated gruyère cheese

To prepare the onions:
Place the onions in a large, deep saucepan, and toss with about 1/8 cup olive oil. Cook on medium-high heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until the onions on the bottom start to turn golden on the edges, about 3 minutes. Stir and cook until all the onions start to color. Reduce the heat to low, and add the garlic, about 1 t. of salt and pepper to taste. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden and tender, another 20 minutes or so.

Preheat the oven to 325.

To prepare the greens:
Place handfuls of kale in a large nonstick skillet sprayed with olive oil, mist greens with olive oil, and sprinkle with water and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Set the pan over medium heat until the leaves begin to cook; then reduce the heat and stir and fold the leaves until they are all just wilted, 2-4 minutes. Set aside.

To prepare the bread:
Toss the cubed bread with 2 or 3 T. olive oil, ¼ cup of the broth, and several pinches of salt.

To build the panade:
Using an oven-proof and stovetop-safe casserole dish or dutch oven (I used the 3 quart stainless casserole that I use for almost everything), assemble the panade in layers. It's all going to get mixed up, so it doesn't have to be pretty or exact. You should end up with 2 or 3 layers of each ingredient, so each layer should be 1/3 to 1/2 of the total amount you've got. You'll want the top to have a little of each ingredient showing. Start with onions, followed by bread cubes, greens and cheese. Lather, rinse, repeat until you have no more ingredients or no more space in your dish (mine was full to the top). It's okay to pack it down at the end.

Bring the remaining 1 ¾ cups broth and 2 cups water to a simmer in a pan of your choice. Orangette used a medium saucepan, I used the skillet I wilted the greens in to cut down on dishes. Whatever works for you. Pour the warm liquid slowly, in doses, over the assembled panade, drizzling it down the sides of the dish so you don't lose all the cheese on the top into the casserole.

Set the dish over medium heat on the stovetop, and bring the liquid to a simmer. Cover the top of the dish with parchment paper, then loosely cover the top again with aluminum foil or the lid to the dish if it's not too full. Place the panade on a baking sheet to catch drips, slide it into the oven, and bake it until hot and bubbly, about 1 hour.

Uncover, raise the temperature to 375, and bake for 10-20 minutes to brown the top. Once out of the oven, give it a couple of minutes to calm down before serving. Enjoy!

Several reports indicate that it is also delightful when reheated.

We served it with an earthy, fruity Carmenere/Merlot blend, courtesy of Trader Joe's Chilean Collection ($4.49), and it was a wonderful meal.

The Zen of Cooking

For me, even when I come home from work very late (resulting in 8-10pm dinners) I usually take off my coat and head straight into the kitchen. I usually have general meal ideas built out per shopping, but often when my work schedule is overwhelming, like in the fall/winter season, I am often facing frequent creative approaches in the kitchen with bleary eyes, a sad tired back, and quite frankly an exhausted brain. I have several burns and cuts on my hands from minor cooking incidents over the past few months to show for it. Though I think I am either developing "chef's hands" or I am just drinking too much while cooking since these minor emergencies rarely cause me physical pain anymore, though they do cause bleeding and blistering!

Tonight was a wonderful marriage of fresh and convenience. Quick, flavorful and just enough chopping to soothe me. Just enough experimentation to satisfy. Quiet rhythms in movement and music. My stress melts away.

I played Imaad Wasif, a great artist we discovered as an opening act for a Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert. He is brilliant, a sort of nouveau Bob Dylan sort without the bizarre voice. I sat drinking wine post dinner at the dining table by myself just unwinding, thinking, melting. Good stuff.

But I put him on to begin my tai chi movements through the kitchen...

I made:
Trader Joes Masala Burgers - A wonderful veggie burger that had a lovely light masala flavor as well as the flavor of all the individual vegetables in it. More like a potato pancake than a soy based burger...in fact almost no soy in it at all...and only 120 calories a piece...even the boy loved them. They came well reccommended by belle bleue as well. We grilled them on the indoor grill.

One small zucchini and one small yellow squash - Sliced and tossed with fresh ground pepper, sea salt, and olive oil and then cooked in foil packet on grill (easy cleanup). Cook burgers and veggies together for 10 minutes. (Flip burgers once).

Basmati rice cooked as usual, but garnished in a new way. Right before serving tossed with pepper, salt and a drizzle of dark sesame oil...soooo lovely.

That's it. Good. Tasty. Quick. Simple. Healthy.

Our wine wasn't so hot though...Sicilia Nero d'Avola...drinkable, but nothing to write home about. Not sure where I got it, but I think Trader Joe's.

We are grateful for: The boy did well on an exam. I was grateful for the boy. I couldn't stop thinking on the commute home how happy I was to have him to go home to.

As an aside: Trader Joe's brand edamame is the best I have had. Much better than Kroger's, DeKalb Farmer's Market and Whole Foods' brand. The soy beans are plump, crisp, and pratically bursting with healthy green joy. Not to mention they cost half as much. Now I am listening to Traveling Wilburys, and I am happy even though I have to do some work now...

Pleasant High Calorie Dreams Y'all...

Herbi vs. Carni

This is a funny contrast of a post: herbivore vs. carnivore bliss.

Herbivore Bliss
The other day the boy wanted to make pizza. This is one of "his meals" and he normally makes the dough and dictates the toppings without any fuss from me. However, he never came home. So I worried he would be sad and went ahead and made his special dough recipe for him. When he came home very late and realized there was no pizza dough (it has to rise for like at least an hour), he was so sad...then I surprised him and said "it's ready to go!" He was happy, and I had also made a veggie crumble tomato sauce and gathered yet another eggplant from the garden, two tiny green peppers, some fresh basil and oregano and some onions for toppings. He decided midstream that we should make calzones instead of pizza. So we did. Just using the same dough and placing ingredients inside and folding over the dough . I brushed egg yolk on top to make it golden...oh, they were sooo lovely when they came out. And they were even better to eat. Though the boy determined I should never ever put cumin in the sauce again (even though it tasted great) because it "started to taste like chili"...but the veggies, cheese and sauce, the moist inside and crisp outside bread, were just wonderful. Wonderful.

General Notes on Preparation of this meal

Use this dough recipe

Our ingredients were: 1 eggplant, sliced, sprinkle slices with salt and let them sit while waiting to join the calzone ingredients, two small green peppers chopped, 1/2 onion chopped

Sauce: simmered 1/2 chopped onion, 3 gloves chopped garlic, 1/2 bag of Morningstar veggie crumbles, sauteed in olive oil till soft and moist. Add 1 13oz box or can crushed or diced tomatoes, (I used two cubes of frozen fresh herbs from my garden) but you can use as much basil, oregano, parsley fresh or dry as you like. Simmer for at least a half hour. If too wet, take lid off and simmer a bit till thickens up.

After you roll the dough per recipe and add ingredients (make sure not TOO wet) folded over top and brush with one egg yolk beaten.

Cook in preheated oven at 420 (heh) for 20 minutes. Handle carefully when you take it out and let it cool a bit before you dig in...

Carnivore
Today I got sucked into Trader Joes, and they really do have nice prices on fine meats, wine and some veggies. Amongst other things, I got two filet mignons, some haricots vert and a bottle (okay several), but this one was a $6 Il Valore Red Zin...very drinkable. I found the most genius way to prepare the filets, blanched the verts and whipped up (literally) a bearnaise to go with the steak. It was all PERFECT. Okay, not perfect, but sooooo good. The boy took too long coming to the dinner table, so the bearnaise broke emulsion, but it still tasted decadent; it just looked like a train wreck. I am still impressed by the steak. I never splurge on beef. I don't know why, and because I always buy poor cuts of it, we tend to always be dissatisfied with it. This time I bought a good cut, prepared it in an appropriate way, and the result was the best steak I have ever prepared in this house, perhaps the best ever. I sat and drank wine for a while contemplating the meal at the dinner table, even after the boy had left to work on school things. In this case, it really was the technique of preparation that made all the difference.

Steak
Take two filet mignons and rub them in olive oil, bring to room temp. Heat a heavy pan with 1tb olive oil in it to "screaming" hot. Meanwhile soften 2 tb butter and chop two garlic cloves, mix together. Drop your filets in the pan and cook exaclty 2 min on each side. No more. Take the pan off the heat, top the steak with the butter/garlic, and place tinfoil in a tent over the steaks. Let sit for 20-30 minutes. Touch to test doneness. If it leaves a fingerprint it is rare. If it leaves a fingerprint which springs back, it is perfectly med rare, how you want it.

Easy Bearnaise
2 tb tarragon vinegar + 2 tb sherry or red wine vinegar in saucepan
Simmer until reduced to 1tb, remove from heat and cool.
Whisk 3 egg yolks into vinegar.
Place pan over another pan of boiling water (of if you have a double boiler, use it)
Whisk 1 stick softened butter, 1 tb at a time into the yolk mixture.
After all butter is in, add 1 tb tarragon, 1 tb parsley and a tiny pinch of cayenne.
Serve immediately. If you let it sit, it may break. It is a persnickety sauce, but soooo good,

Haricots Vert
Snip ends. Wash. Bring pot of water to boil. Plunge beans for two minutes. Drain and serve, or drain and rinse with cool water, and then reheat when needed by sauteing with butter in a pan.

Today we are grateful for: the boy was grateful for his paycheck which he lost and then found again. I am grateful for the recent opportunities I have had at work as well as the good prices on this filet mignon and the joy of shopping at Dollar Tree.

Pilau et Bordeaux

When I was in college the first time in Chicago, I was also working full time at the local Dunkin Donuts. I became very good friends with my co-worker, a young Pakistani woman named Rubina. One year she honored me by inviting me to spend the day and night at her house for her birthday.

I remember the party fondly. I was the only non-pakistani, and the only one over 5'5 (I am 5'10). They were very honored to have me. We sang songs, danced and ate. My goodness, the food. It was the first time I had proper pilau rice. (And I grew up with Indian friends, but their parents always made us American food) I remember seeing and smelling it as her mother pulled it out of the oven, an enormous amount of rice baked in what appeared to be a roasting pan. The whole house was filled with the lovely smell of that golden rice studded with cloves and little magic stars. It is such a delicate an ethereal dish. Not overpowering, not intense like curries, but the most perfect, gentle accompaniment...to anything.

To this day, I am transported by pilau. And there are a million and one ways to make it. I favor easier ones and you can pretty much alter this general recipe to taste or to what you have in the pantry, but the general idea is:

Saute 1-2 chopped onions in olive oil or butter
Add 3-4 cardamon pods cracked slightly
a stick of cinnamon
5-8 whole cloves
3-4 star anise
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
Saute the spices with the onions for about 2 minutes, don't let them burn.
Add 1 cup basmati or jasmine rice (though normal rice is fine too)
Saute for about 1- 2 minutes till rice is opaque
Add two cups water or broth and bring to boil
Turn down heat to 1-2 and simmer with lid on for 20 minutes
Remove from heat and let sit with lid on till ready with the rest of your meal
**Pick spices off top of rice before scooping or stirring...otherwise you will have the unpleasant experience of biting into a cardamon or whole clove!***
If you want add 1 tb of butter for richness

The flavor is so light, so transporting...I don't even use the butter I like it so much. Thank you Rubina for sharing with me.

Tonight we had pilau with dal (though I doubled garlic and ginger and added tomatoes...mmmm), smashed avocado, and wheat tortilla crisps ( Just cut up a wheat tortilla, brush with olive oil or fat free cookspray, sprinkle with fave seasoning and broil under low broil. Keep an eye on it and flip when brown to brown the other side . Literally takes 1-3 minutes. 1 tortilla per person is more than enough.)

The boy had a job at Watershed today and ended up bringing home a delightfully different bordeaux, Chateau Gaillard Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2003. This wine is not normally in our price range, but was not terribly expensive at $25. It had almost no fruit in it, so didn't pare well with our spicy vegetarian food which could have used fat plums or raspberry to land on, but it was remarkable nonetheless. A truly masculine wine consisting of mostly cigar, woody, smoky notes. It immediately conjured thick smoky steaks. I longed for a proper cheese or a piece of dark chocolate. The boy settled for snickers. I settled for another glass solo. A lovely surprise.

On the stereo:Beatles "Sgt. Peppers", Jimi Hendrix "Axis:Bold as love" and Bowie "Heathen."

One of our dogs, Heidi, likes pilau too.

We were grateful for: The boy was grateful for the wine, I was grateful for the food and the memories conjured.

So long soleil...

Tonight was a sentimental "end of summer" meal. It started when I got home at 7:30 and had to rush straight to the garden to pick before the sun went down. What the heck? It's dark at 7:30 already? It was dark at 6 this morning too. The garden, even here in the south, is going woody. Last planting for early fall today as I quickly tore out a final salad from some plots and threw in some sprouts, accompanied only by the mosquitoes who obviously have not gotten the memo about summer ending.

I had picked tomatoes, green peppers, arugula, mesclun and radish laves for a salad, a bit of fresh oregano for a dressing, but I ended up with one of those super simple salads that are a sign of the freshest, most delicate lettuces which highlight their subtle flavors and really need little more them, olive oil, a splash of fresh lemon juice and of course some nice salt and pepper. I topped the greens alone with some smoked tuna, which came from a can and was remarkable in flavor and texture compared to traditional tuna in a can, and even the whole ahi steaks I buy frozen...nothing compares to fresh, but dang this smoked stuff was WONDERFUL. Definitely a buy again. A tiny bit of freshly grated Parmesan on top, et voila.

We also had a soup which was very bizarre, intriguing, cooling and delicate. It was pretty simple to make, just yellow squash and leeks sauteed with coriander seeds in olive oil, simmered in broth and pureed. Let chill over night and then whisk in creme fraiche or sour cream and some freshly grated lemon peel. Salt and pepper to taste. I used veggie broth and no-fat sr cream, and it was insanely rich and creamy just the same. I swear: leeks + vegetables = magic as far as richness goes. The boy thought it was a banana or fruit chilled soup it was so light and delicate, like a custard. I did determine though that I wished I had (a) removed the coriander seeds prior to serving, even though they were scant, they were a little disconcerting to absentmindedly bite down on in the midst of a light citrus bliss and (b) I wish I had either a food mill to make the soup even finer/smoother, or that I had strained it. It's sunny disposition deserved a smoother mouth feel.

We felt like it was the end of the summer. And it is. And while I welcome with open mouth: soups with beans and bacon, rich roasts and potatoes a thousand ways, chocolate that is drinkable and football food in all its forms, I will always have a place in my heart, and my two sizes smaller summer clothes, for the light delights of the warmer months.

Bad Bananas Gone Good

Don't you hate when your bananas go bad before you can eat them? Well, I am always trying to find ways to use the "bad bananas" as I hate to throw away anything. Usually they end up in banana pancakes or muffins or some sort of bread or dessert or smoothie, but last night they ended up in a lovely banana curry soup.

The boy came into the kitchen while I was cooking, looked around, and not seeing any meat sighed and asked "vegetarian night again?....." "Um, whatever, Mr. Duck confit" I replied...he had much nicer things to say about dinner later when he tasted it.

Recipe is pretty easy, I mixed up a few I found to suit my ingredients...

Curried Banana Soup

1 onion, chopped
2 clove garlic, chopped
2 tb curry powder
2 tsp pepper
3 banana, smushed or chopped into slices
2 cups chicken or veggie broth
1 can chopped tomatoes, or 3 fresh chopped
3/4 can coconut milk
splash of heavy cream if you got it

Saute the first 4 ingredients in a bit of olive oil or cook spray for a minute or so, taking care not to burn the spices. Add the bananas, tomatoes and broth. Simmer covered for about a half an hour. It will get weird foam on top, don't worry about it. Puree the soup and in the last batch you are pureeing, add the coconut milk. Mix all soup together and ad the splash of heavy cream and serve.

I served this with a side of sauteed zucchini. If you prefer a hotter curry, add a bit of red chili pepper or ground red pepper to soup before you simmer.

Tater Cakes

"Tater Cakes...You got the cutest little Tater Cakes..."

This is the song we sing whenever we have potato pancakes. I discovered the world's best potato pancake recipe a couple weeks ago and made them again for breakfast this morning. So good, I think I will make them for the parents when they visit next week.

This is another chemistry lesson regarding moisture in food. Potato pancakes are always tricky because raw potatoes have so much water in them and can frequently become soggy. I have been making them forever in various ways;. Recipes will advise you to dry the grated potatoes with paper towels, or do this or that...the past few years I have added flour to your basic grated potatoes and egg, but this recipe kicks butt. Resulting in fluffy, crsipy, rich,tasty tater cakes...so good makes you want to sing...

While I traditionally serve these with nonfat sour cream and chives, some folks like applesauce. I was out of sour cream so I served them with truffled lowfat mayo...goodness this was good. Okay...This is from Cooks.com:

MAMA'S POTATO PANCAKES

3/4 c. bread crumbs (dry)*
2 1/2 c. potatoes (grated)
1 sm. onion (grated) or 1 tsp. onion powder
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 sage
1 tsp. baking powder
dash of pepper

Mix all ingredients until well blended. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto hot, greased skillet. Spread the batter and brown pancakes on both sides. Serve hot with butter.* Makes 10 pancakes.

*I didn't feel like getting the chopper out for the breadcrumbs, so I used instant potato flakes, you could use cracker crumbs too, for a lazy man's substitute. I also didn't use the butter...You can always omit the onions, add in shredded cheeses or herbs...you name it.

As an aside...booked tickets to Paris today...I have been absorbed in reading "The Historic Restaurants of Paris: A Guide to Century - Old Cafes, Bistros and Gourmet Food Shops" by Ellen Williams. Of course I am taking notes and working hard to find an apartment to rent near my beloved choices. Thrilled to find that several of the places Julia Child mentions in her book "Ma vie en France" still exist, and may be visted by us!

Fake Food and Avocado Soup

First a few product notes: Many folks these days try to eat healthy. I mentioned a while ago that we eat vegetarian every other day. I also tend to eat all my pre-dinner meals vegetarian; the boy does not. I am always trying to incorporate various veggie products into our meal explorations, so the other day we tried Morningstar's "Meal Starters" which were things that look like strips of chicken breast. I made "chicken" fajitas with them just like I would with real chicken, and the boy declared he would "Eat them again." This is a big win. Might I also note that Gimme Lean's "ground beef" is also a very good substitute, especially in tacos, spaghetti sauce and other highly seasoned traditional dinners. Morningstar's "chicken nuggets" are also pretty darn good if you cook them in the oven. A meat lovin' friend did not notice when I served them to him that they were not meat. (Quite frankly real mcnuggets are probably 75% soy anyway!)

Tonight's dinner was tasty and pretty simple. We had:
Chilled avocado soup with tomato and cheddar quesadillas and corn

Avocado Soup
1 avocado
1 cucumber, seeded and peeled, chopped
1 inch peeled ginger
1 clove garlic (a fatty)
1/4 lemon
1.5 c broth (veg or chicken) cooled
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper

Puree all of the above and chill in the fridge for an hour at least.

Quesadillas
10 cherry tomatoes quartered
1 c shredded sharp cheddar
salt and pepper
2 whole wheat tortillas

Put tomatoes and cheese in tortilla, fold in half and grill on a foreman type grill for about 5 minutes, or in a saute pan. Either way, use nonstick spray on cooking surface.

Corn was just leftover from some corn of the cob we had.

On the jukebox: Traveling Wilburys, Suede, Concrete Blond, White Stripes

We are grateful for: the boy said he was grateful for me. I am grateful for white vinegar which I used to clean like everything in the house. Cheap and very effective. Whew the shine on our chrome!!! Plus, adds the boy, it smells like I am making hot wings all day long!

In the Lab

Cooking is not only an art, but a science.

I am fond of experimenting and sometimes my experiments go awry. Sometimes they create new and wonderful things. Tonight it was wonderful. But I bring up the science bit, because you really have to think through things sometimes before using them willy nilly. Like when I messed up the cuke salad the other day. I was too lazy to seed them and they were super-watery and made the salad too wet. I forgot how much water is in a cuke. Just the same with tomatoes. Lots of folks throw them in eggs for example and then are #$#@ed off cause their eggs are too wet. Too get rid of some of the watery aspect of juicy fruits and veggies, you seed and depulp them or you sweat them before adding them to things. Today I wanted extra moisture, so I left the pulp in in my tomatoes..well, you'll see.

We had:

Goat cheese and potato stuffed poblanos with mesclun and garden tomatoes

In General
2 large poblano peppers, roasted and skinned

Whenever a recipe calls for roasted peppers, you can either char them over a flame, say on your gas burner or in a grill, or broil on top rack in your oven. Just place the peppers near the heat source and turn them every few minutes till all the skin is charred. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn up though. Take them out and throw them in a paper bag, close it and let them sit for about 10 minutes. Take them out and rinse them under cold water, they will still be hot to the touch, so be careful. Gently rub the skin and it should just come right off. Cut a slit lengthwise and slice the top off. Gently remove the stem and seeds. Weird that this changes the flavor so much of a pepper, but there is the mystery of chemistry!

For stuffing
1-1.5 cups leftover mashed potatoes, warmed
a healthy pinch of ground cumin (a "pinch" is less than a tsp, just grab some with your thumb and forefinger. Don't be shy!)
a healthy pinch of garlic powder
salt
pepper
a handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup of pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan till browned
1/2 -3/ cup chopped fresh cilantro
squirts from 1 lime quarter
1 little tube of chevre (soft goat cheese)

Mix the first 5 ingredients. Mix the rest of the ingredients in gently, don't really "stir" just mix, right before you stuff the peppers. (The mashed potatoes when reheated get a little dry, but I know the fresh tomatoes will make them just moist enough along with the cilantro when they are stuffed and sweating when the peppers are fried.)

Batter
flour for dredging
2 tb flour
1tsp baking powder
1 tb water
2 eggs yolks (save the whites)

Mix these ingredients in a bowl. Whip the two egg whites till they are stiff and fluffy. Fold them gently into the rest of the batter.

Assemble and Cook
Heat about an inch or two of cooking oil in a deep pan on med hi. Gently stuff your peppers with the potatoes and cheese. Make sure you can close them, and don't overflow them out the top. Gently roll them in some flour on a plate. Coat them in batter and gently place in hot oil. Cook first side about 2 minutes, turn to cook the other sides, and the top each about a minute. Drain on paper towels and serve with salad and a few chips.

Salad
1 tomato sliced in four pieces
Two handfuls of greens (arugala, butter, mesclun or mizuma)
drizzle with dressing of juice made from half a lime, a little olive oil, ground cumin, garlic pepper, salt, pepper, little bit of sugar.

To Drink: We had Diet Coke, but gave in later and went and got Gin for gin and tonics. Refreshing!

What we are thankful for: We are both thankful for the lovely 4th we had yesterday with a family we know. We had tons of food and played games and talked. It was very nice. We are also thankful for our wonderful country. God bless America!

Now back to my Gin...

Viva Italiano and um, some pancakes

I have three little mini highlights from the past few days.

First is the pizza the boy makes. He recently got into making his own pizza dough, which is great since he LOVES pizza. Big surprise that a guy likes pizza. I don't like all the grease and fat usually that come with it, so this is a perfect way to have our pizza, make it healthy, and taste WAY better that store bought.

We are still working out the cooking of it though, since it seems to have a mind of its own. We are fantasizing about a stone oven (read article in Bon Appetit this month) and the boy has been begging for a pizza stone the past year. In any case, he has been using the Giada DeLaurentiis recipe for the dough, and we vary the ingredients, but this one had spinach, olives, salami, fresh mozzarella, basil,and regular old canned spaghetti sauce on it.

Saturday I made banana pancakes from my torn up, worn down bible: Fanny Farmer's Cookbook. (The BEST source for the oldie but goodie stuff). I used the recipe below...sublimely easy and added two organic bananas that had gone too squishy, a little vanilla and some honey. We served then with honey instead of syrup and they were just lovely.

Standard Pancake recipe (Makes about 9-12)

Mix:

1/2 c milk or soy milk

2 tb melted butter

1 egg

Sift: (I use a tiny metal colander for this)

1 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 Tb sugar

1/2 tsp salt

(To banana-fy, add two squished bananas to the first stuff along with a splash of vanilla and a squirt of honey.)

Mix it all together and cook, two tsp per pancake in a hot non-stick pan coated with cook spray. Don't flip until there are a lot of bubbles on the uncooked side.

Serve with honey and butter or try some marscapone or clotted cream....mmmmm.

This evening I tried my hand at eggplant parmigiana. I had never made it before, and it was really good. The eggplant came out tender with a decadent crisp crust, and the sauce was nice too. It was a tiny bit labor intensive, but not bad. We served it with a sort of "chopped salad caprese."

Eggplant Parmigiana

1 eggplant

1 cup of flour or more

1 cup of romano or pecorino cheese

2 eggs

2 tb water

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

salt

spaghetti

store bought sauce + whatever you like

Slice the eggplant and salad lightly, put in colander to drain for about 30min.

Put flour in a grocery bag.

Mix cheese, eggs, water and basil in a bowl.

Boil water for 1/2 spaghetti noodles.

Prepare your sauce. I like to use store bought and then dress it up. I sauteed 5 cloves of garlic and threw the sauce in there with a cup of chopped fresh oregano, parsley and basil, about a tsp of smoked paprika and 1/2 c of vermouth. Let it simmer till time to serve everything.

Your water is probably boiling now, throw your noodles in for 10 min. and start preparing eggplant. Pat them dry wit a paper towel. Heat about 1/2 c corn or canola oil in a skillet with sides till it shimmers (on lo hi). Throw the eggplants into the bag with the flour and shake around till they are coated. Take each out, dip/coat in egg/cheese mixture and put in pan w/oil. Cook till brown on both sides.

By now, everything should be about ready. Drain spaghetti and plate it, put a little sauce on the noodles and then top with 3-4 eggplants, top with more sauce and then a little cheese.

Chopped salad caprese

Chop and mix olives, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and a squirt of lemon juice. Taste for seasoning.

We are grateful for: The boy is grateful this class is relatively easy. I am grateful for the heat. I have been able to dry three loads of laundry this weekend on the line and not have to run the dryer. I figure I save the energy from the dryer and pass it to our poor air conditioner which is working over time.

Note to self, work on food photography skills. Too much color in that eggplant photo!