Thyme For Cooking, the Blog

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Peas and Peppers; Season's Eatings

2009-11-04T21:46:03+01:00

Season's Eatings!

Should we do it again?

Last year I almost forgot about it and we started very late.... after Thanksgiving. Several people who participated never did receive their gift.

Shall we try again? With plenty of time so we're not rushed?

Let me know....

Leave a comment if you want to participate. Here are the details:

Season's Eating's is a spicy/foodie gift exchange to celebrate the Holiday Season.

Like Secret Santa....

I put all the names into a virtual hat, and distribute them, with real addresses.

The rules are simple:

Each person sends a small gift of a local herb, spice, or other food that is unique to or characteristic of where they live, along with a recipe using it, to a fellow foodie.

When you receive your parcel, you can either use your 'gift' in the recipe included, another of your choosing or just snap a photo of your new treasure.

Then you do a post about it...

Ready to get the holiday season started?

Let me know.

In the meantime here is a colorful dish to take your mind off the gray weather (at least, mine has been very gray)

Stir-fried Shrimp with Peppers and Peas

12oz (350gr) cleaned shrimp
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
1 cup peas
1/2 cup celery
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs minced fresh ginger
2 tsp sesame or walnut oil
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbs dry sherry
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs cornstarch (Maizena, corn flour) dissolved in
1 tbs soy sauce plus 1 tbs water
Basmati Rice

To Prep: Peel and clean shrimp if needed. Slice peppers into strips. Cut onion in half and thickly slice. Cut celery at an angle into thin slices. Mince garlic and ginger (peel it first). Dissolve cornstarch in soy sauce and water.
To Cook: Heat oils in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, peppers and celery to skillet and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, shrimp, stir-fry 1 minute, until shrimp start to curl and turn opaque. Add peas and stir-fry 1 - 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomato paste and sherry, cover and simmer 2 minutes. Uncover, add cornstarch mixture, stirring until cleared and thickened.
To Serve: Arrange Basmati on a large platter. Spoon Shrimp and Veg on top and serve.

Basmati Rice
1/2 cup Basmati rice
1 tsp butter
1/2 tsp sesame or walnut oil
1 cup chicken stock

Heat butter and oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add rice and sauté, stirring for 1 - 2 minutes. Add stock or water. Cover and cook rice for length of time on package. When done fluff with fork and serve.

So..... let me know about Season's Eatings.

White Pizza; The Stairs, part trois

2009-11-02T20:37:24+01:00

Last July, when we decided it was time to order the stairs, we called 2 people for proposals.

One was a local craftsman who would hand-make them to our specifications. We've seen his work; they would have been gorgeous. They also would have been slightly more expensive and he couldn't do it until January.

The other was the same company that installed our windows. These would be factory made to our specifications, would merely be beautiful and would be installed in September.

We opted for the quicker installation - we've already had enough delays with this house.

We accepted the one quote and ignored the other - which is typical. Once a quote is delivered it's up to the recipient to take the next step. The seller rarely makes contact after that.

Today, as the lads were hoisting our staircase into position, the local craftsman stopped by to say that he had some time right now and did we want the stairs.....

How is that possible? Out of all the days and all the times.... How is that possible?

Here's how the rest of the day went:

Mon mari stained and varnished the underside of the stairs this past weekend.

The first order of the day was to finish cutting the opening in the floor above.

Then have a closer look to tidy it up a bit and determine the anchor point.

There were just the 2 of them so I was expecting some sort of equipment to hoist the stairs into place - solid oak and all that.

Here it is.....

We didn't wall paper where the stairs are - assuming it would get messed up. We could have....

They threw the rope over the roof beam and hoisted it up.

They braced it on the ladders while they determined the final position.

Once we were all satisfied that we wouldn't hit our head on the beam going up and down, they maneuvered the stairs into place.

Well, that was all the hard work.... You'll see the rest next update.

At all of the pizza restaurants here one has a choice of regular or white; the regular being made with tomato sauce and the white being made with creme fraiche.

Normally, I eat pizza so rarely that I don't pass up the chance to have a 'real' one, but last year, during the move we were eating pizza every other day....

I tried the white.

It was good.

Not a proper pizza, but it was good.

I made these mini tarts for a first course the other night; use an entire sheet of puff pastry for a proper pizza size.

The best part?

Delicious, very quick and easy.

White Pizza with Ham and Olives

1/2 sheet of puff pastry
1/2 cup green olives
2oz baked ham
1/3 cup fromage frais
1/4 cup shredded cheese

Thaw the puff pastry, if needed. Cut 2 rectangles out of 1 half, reserve the other for another day. Slice the olives in thirds and cut the ham into small pieces.
Lay the cut pastry on a baking sheet. With a dull knife (butter knife) lightly etch around the pastry, 1/3" (.75cm) from the edge. Divide the fromage frais and spread evenly within the etched lines. Arrange the ham and olives on the fromage frais and sprinkle the cheese on top.
Bake, 425F (215C) for 12 - 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and serve.

Note: You can use creme fraiche, Greek yogurt or soft cream cheese in place of the fromage frais.

I'm going to go run up and down my stairs now....

In case you're wondering why I'm so excited about this....

It means I can finally unpack my cook books!

You see, now that we have the stairs we can easily get to the first floor which means we can move the lighter furniture up there which means we can get all the stuff out of the hall which means I can put the Welsh dresser and book cases in place which means I can unpack my cook books.

And.....

Mon mari can move his 3 staining, varnish and gluing tables up there which means we can finish the den, followed by the living room followed by the dining room.....

Pork Tenderloin with Potatoes, Apples and Carrots; The Furnace, part deux

2009-11-01T18:58:36+01:00

Everything that happens, chez nous, seems to happen in installments.

Nothing can ever be straightforward and simple.

After my proud, and somewhat smug, announcement of getting our boiler / furnace working, it promptly stopped.

I noticed right off that something was wrong.

90 seconds into my shower, roughly 30 seconds after getting my hair and body thoroughly soapy, the hot water ceased being hot and became very, very cold.

Background info: We have an electric hot water heater, but, as the boiler also has a hot water tank, it's much more economical to use that system. As soon as we got the boiler working we turned off the electric tank.

Back to my shower....

I'm not fond of cold showers in the summer when it's hot.

I'm really not fond of them on a cold, rainy day in October.... When it's a mid-shower surprise....

Back to the boiler....

Did I mention that it was a fancy unit with a programmable electronic thingy that controls the life of the house with an iron will?

Did I mention that said unit was in French?

As were all the instruction booklets?

We have a division of labor in our house: I do computers and kitchen stuff; mon mari does building and manly stuff.

Boilers fall under the manly category.

Because it was electronic it kind of, almost, and, in fact, eventually, fell under the computer category.

He couldn't get it to work again.

Being male, actually reading the instruction booklet was a last resort.

The instruction booklet being in French, and him not reading French, ever so slightly exacerbated the problem.

I found an instruction booklet on-line (aren't computers marvelous?), downloaded it, printed it and gave it to him.

He still couldn't get it to work.

He said the English book and the French book were different.

I offered to help....

He persevered....

He would take the book and the flashlight, go out to the little boiler room and, I presume, hit a lot of little buttons.

It would start, the pump would start and he would come back into the house with a satisfied look on his face.

An hour later I would, sadly, inform him that neither the radiators or the water was hot.

Fortunately we had the stove in the kitchen burning merrily....

I insisted that I be allowed to help - at least to translate the French manual. (He could still push the buttons.)

I was handed the stack of manuals and informed it was 'all mine'.

The first problem was there was a word on the little screen that I didn't understand and couldn't find a translation for.

I laid the 2 manuals side by side and went through them page by page.

I finally was able to translate the word.

It was holiday.

Mon mari had done a marvelous job of setting it all up.

He had it scheduled to heat the house from 5am until 11am, then turn itself off, starting again from 5pm until 10pm. He installed the thermostat and set the temperatures for both house and the hot water.

And then, in his button-pushing zeal, he informed it that we were going on vacation.

Apparently, this thing is so smart that, rather than turn it off when one leaves, one just informs it how long one will be gone. It turns itself off for the duration, and on again just in time to have everything nice and toasty for one's return.

No matter what he did after that, it wouldn't work because, well, we weren't suppose to be here.

I told it that our vacation had been cut short, it apologized, and immediately started working like a proper boiler again.

So far....

At least the oven is still working.

Pork Tenderloin with Potatoes, Apples and Carrots

Pork and apples naturally compliment each other: the sweet-tart flavor of the apple brings out the sweetness of the pork. With roasted potatoes and carrots this is a simple meal needing little attention. Remember, slightly pink is fine for pork - and keeps it juicier.

1pork tenderloin, 12oz (350gr)
2 medium potatoes
2 - 3 medium carrots
1 apple - Golden Delicious or Granny Smith
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs Balsamic vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter

Trim tenderloin if needed, but leave whole. Cut potatoes and carrots into sticks, 1/2 X 2" (1.25 X 5cm). In medium bowl mix sugar and vinegar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add oil and mix well. Add potatoes and carrots and toss to coat. Spread the potatoes and carrots out in a baking dish large enough to hold everything easily.
Coat tenderloin with remaining vinegar/sugar and place in center of pan, with vegetables around it. Bake, uncovered, in 400F (200C) oven for 20 minutes.
After 15 minutes, cut and core apple. Slice into thick wedges. Melt butter in nonstick skillet. Add apples and toss to coat well.
Remove pork and vegetables from oven. Turn the pork and stir the vegetables, turning them also. Arrange the vegetables in a single layer, put pork on top and the apple slices around the vegetables. Return it all to the oven for the 20 minutes.
Remove, let the pork rest while you arrange the potatoes and apples on a small platter. Slice the pork and place on top. Pour over any pan juices and serve.

Osso Bucco; the Stairs, Part deux

2009-10-30T20:30:03+01:00

Our workers arrived Wednesday morning, 8am sharp (white van).

About 10 minutes later the stairs arrived (blue truck).

Naturally, the first order of business was to stand around for 15 minutes or so and catch up on the news.

It turns out that the guy who brought the stairs, (white hair, nearest the truck) had been born in this house.

As had his father before him.

A discussion ensued as to the age of the current iteration of the house.

Conclusion: no one knew, but it must be really old (Might I say 'Duh').

Then, of course we had to show him what we had done and describe what we were going to be doing next.

We discovered that we were installing the stairs in what used to be his bedroom.

Finally, he opened the truck.

Naturally, the second order of business was to admire them and discuss how to get them in the house.

He then produced the tiniest 'dolly' I have ever seen.

I foolishly thought they would carry them in; not knowing how much an oak staircase for a 10' high ceiling weighs.

Thankfully, they knew what they were doing.

More discussion as to how to get it through 2 doorways.....

Finally, it was in the hall, the sawhorses were in place and the question was asked:

Which side did I want up 'au-dessous' or 'au-dessus'?

The words mean underneath and above, respectively.

In case you can't tell by looking, they sound only very slightly different.

Think of the difference to an untrained ear between what and watt.

Or higher and hire; loose and lose; flaw and floor; clothes and close.

There is a definite, but subtle, difference.

I can hear it.....

But, do you think I can wrap my mouth around the difference enough to make them hear it when I say it?

Fortunately, they have a great sense of humor.... It sounded a bit like a French version of Who's on First for a bit while we made each other understood.

The underside is up so mon mari can stain and varnish it before they install it on Monday.

And why, you might ask, did they bring it on Wednesday but won't install it until Monday?

Because we had to spend yesterday in Bordeaux at the hospital for some scheduled tests. No worries, we think he passed.

They did get the hole done on the upper floor and the Velux window installed.... so work was done!

And I did this....

Osso Bucco

Something else I've never made before.....

Where have I been?

Braised Veal Shanks, another Italian classic with as many variations as there are cooks: some have a light, lemon sauce; some a heavy tomato. This is a light vegetable sauce.

Osso Bucco

2 - 4 nice size veal shanks
1 medium leek, 1 cup chopped
1 medium carrot, 3/4 cup chopped
1 rib celery, 3/4 cup chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs olive oil
3/4 cup (6oz, 175gr) white wine
1/2 cup (4oz, 120gr) beef broth
2 cups (15oz, 450gr) chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried sage
1 tbs cornstarch (maizena) dissolved in 2 tbs water

Trim and wash the leek, Roughly chop. Finely chop the carrot and celery. Mince the garlic. Heat the oil in a heavy Dutch oven or deep skillet. Add the leek, carrot, celery, garlic and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Move vegetables to the side. Add veal and brown on both sides, about 7 minutes total. Add wine, broth, tomatoes and herbs. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 60 minutes (or longer).

When ready to serve: Remove veal and cover to keep warm. Dissolve cornstarch in water. Turn the heat to medium-high under the sauce. Stir in the cornstarch mixture until sauce is thickened and no longer cloudy. Spoon sauce over the veal shanks and serve.

In addition to this, for the weekly menu for October 30 we have Carrot Timbales, Scallops, Tuna and Chevre Lasagne, Meat Balls, Winter Rice Pilaf...

Become a Thyme for Cooking Subscriber and get the menu, complete recipes with meal preparation instruction, and shopping list each Thursday. First two weeks FREE. (Reverse seasons available for Australia, and others in the Southern Hemisphere).

For more recipes visit my internet cook book: Easy Gourmet Dinners

Sweet Potato Oven Fries; The Stairs

2009-10-28T21:54:31+01:00

Remember a week or two ago when I said we were waiting for September so our stairs would be installed?

After calling the installers several times over the past few weeks.....

And never hearing a word back from anyone.....

September arrived, without warning, Tuesday afternoon at 4:30.

The workers and equipment arrived also; ready to start work at 8 am today.

No warning.

Well, I mean, why should they have to warn us?

It should be obvious to anyone that we have been sitting on our front step for the past 7 weeks in eager anticipation of their arrival.

What else could we be doing?

After all, every inch of the interior has been wrapped in plastic to protect it from the horrendous amount of ancient dust, dirt and seeds that will come falling out of the ceiling as they cut this huge hole to make room for the stairs.

Since everything has been moved out of their way since September 1st, there was nothing that needed to be done; no need for advance notice.

Why should they have to give warning? There couldn't anything for US to do; they're doing all the work....

Okay, enough. You get my point.

I'm starting to suffocate, sitting under the plastic at my desk.

More later.

Let me just say this:

Sweet Potato Oven Fries have to be about the best thing I have discovered in years.

Why did I wait so long to make them?

Don't make the same mistake. These are incredible.

You could pass them out as candy on Halloween.

Seriously.

A bit 'al dente' on the outside from the caramelized sugars; like warm, creamy, sweet pudding on the inside....

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

2 medium - large sweet potatoes
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper

Slice potatoes in half the short way, then each half into 8 wedges. Put oil into a large bowl, add potatoes and toss, coating thoroughly. Arrange potatoes on baking sheet with rim (I use my trusty, round pizza pan). Bake at 400F for 30 minutes. You can turn once if you like to fuss but I don't bother. When done remove from pan and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper if you choose and serve.

Tanta Wawa, Peruvian Bread Babies; I'm a Baking Babe again!

2009-10-26T17:05:18+01:00

I'm playing with the Bread Baking Babes again!

They didn't kick me out of the sandbox, after all.

Which wouldn't have been a surprise considering my shocking behavior over the past year and a half.... What with moving house, being imprisoned in Vlad's house without an oven then, when I finally get an oven, having it catch fire.

No one can say I lack excuses.

I have to thank Gretchen, of Canela and Comino and this month's Host, for a great way to get back into baking.

This is the first bread I've baked in my new kitchen, and the wonderful smells were the perfect inauguration.

Visit her blog for all the details on how to be a Bread Baking Buddy this month.... And you really should try this.

She has the new and improved recipe on her blog, but I made mine using her original recipe, scaled down to being enough for two people. She tweaked it a bit to make it easier to work with. I needed the upper body work-out....

On to the Babies!

What are tanta wawas? They are delicate figures made of bread or cake, of different sizes, which represent children, animals or other forms depending on the region. The meaning comes from BREAD (PAN in Spanish & Tanta in Quechua) (BEBE in Spanish & Wawa in Quechua) or Bread in the form of a Baby. These breads are decorated with candies, raisins, anise, ceramics faces or glaze. People in the Andean regions give these breads as a gift during All Saints Day or Day of the Dead (November 1st & 2nd) which allows them to deal with familial relationships. On November 2nd, these bread babies are taken to the cemetaries in town so they can be left as offerings to those that have passed away and then are broken apart and eaten among the visitors. It is unknown when this Andean tradition began but it is known that from long ago, special breads were made and eaten in this manner. (Translated from viajeros.com)

My recipes is all in weights, as was the original....

Tanta Wawa (Peruvian Bread Babies)

500gr bread flour
125gr whole wheat flour
169gr raw sugar
63gr butter, soft
10gr of dry yeast
6.25 gr salt
6.25 gr ground cinnamon
1.25gr ground cloves
6.25gr sesame seeds
50ml milk
125ml water
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon of vanilla
1 egg yolk

1. In a bowl, mix the flours, sugar, yeast, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and sesame seeds. Make a well in the center and add in the shortening, eggs, butter, milk, water and vanilla. Mix well then turn out and knead for 10-15 minutes. Cover and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

2. Divide dough into 2 and form them into balls.

3. Stretch each dough ball into the form of a "fat baby". Place them on baking sheets which have been greased and floured. Cover with plastic and let the dough babies grow to three times their size. (I let them sit for 3 hours and they barely increased. I think the adustments Gretchen did helped)

4. Preheat the oven to 180C.

5. Brush the egg yolks over the dough babies. Bake at 180C for 30 minutes.

Mine are Amish Babies.... Plain, with no faces.

I was just so happy to be baking.

And yes, the one on the right is missing his feet - I never could resist hot bread right out of the oven.

My only regret is that I made a smaller recipe - these were very, very good...

And very, very quickly gone!

The Bread Baking Babes

Bake My Day - Karen
Canela and Comino - Gretchen
Cookie Baker Lynn - Lynn
Grain Doe - Gorel
I Like To Cook - Sara
Living in the Kitchen with Puppies - Natashya
Living on bread and water - Monique
Lucullian Delights - Ilva
My Kitchen In Half Cups - Tanna
Notitie Van Lien - Lien
The Sour Dough - Breadchick Mary
Thyme For Cooking - Katie