What Color Is Your Apron?

2013-10-07T21:14:00.000-04:00

Say anything about me, say I'm an odd bird.

I spend most of every weekend in my kitchen, simmering sauces, brining meats, grinding spices, mincing herbs, to be able to start my work week with a fridge stocked full of homemade, love-infused foods for me and my guy. I envision the joy it will bring me to come home from a ruthlessly dull day at the office, to shed my stiff garments, throw on a pair of lounge pants and saunter into the kitchen ready for my 90 seconds to dinner.

But...

Instead, most days I find myself barreling through the door, 5:45pm, ravenous and electrified, T minus 1.5 hours to yoga and no way in hell I'm gonna make it to dinner at 9pm, so it's straight to the fridge door where I stash my peanut butter, at which point I proceed to consume a reasonable but inconveniently timed calorie intake in the most unplanned and uncouth of ways: pantsless, squatted in front of the open refrigerator, peanut butter jar and cap both balanced tentatively on my left paw while I spoon the stuff out with my right, as I gaze wistfully upon my containers of laborious prepped home-cooking.

Here's the view. I've taken to calling it the Lambdom, due to my recent propensity for preparing all things sheepish in my slow cooker.

Rewind, retry:

Assuming you're not crazed with hunger, here's what you do when your fridge is full of incongruous but viable eats and you're kind of a screen-ravaged zombie:

Pick 1 of each:

CARB: ie. rice, tortilla, crusty bread heel, baked potato
PROTEIN: LAMB! or: chicken, beans, tofu, cheese, etc.
VEG: spinach, broccoli, that squash you roasted with such good intentions...
CONDIMENT: ie. mustard, miso-sesame dressing, jarred salsa, kimchi

Arrange your selection in a vessel of your choosing and nuke it while you proceed to PUT SOME PANTS ON FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HAVE YOU ANY DECENCY and enjoy!!

If you're in a generous mood, repeat for your partner, lover, friend, but be sure to reserve the choicest cuts and yummiest bites for yourself 'cause these are the fruits of your own damn labor.

Disclaimer: I'm back, with less filter, more cowbell.

Mini-quiche w/ ramps, goat cheese + red rice #spring #food #onthego

2013-04-27T11:15:00.001-04:00

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Coconut red curry chicken

2013-04-14T19:35:00.001-04:00

From Melissa' Clark's recipe for the NY Times.

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Braised lamb with wilted dandelion greens and locally-brewed kombucha #sundaysupper

2013-03-24T19:17:00.001-04:00

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Ginger steamed tilapia with baby bok choy over quinoa

2013-03-01T20:23:00.001-05:00

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Sesame Beef

2013-02-24T18:27:00.001-05:00

adapted from http://www.pbs.org/food/fresh-tastes/sesame-beef-bowl/

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Dijon egg salad with pickled celery #snowedin

2013-02-09T09:42:00.001-05:00

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Lentil Stew with Sausage, Chard, and Garlic #SK #food

2013-02-03T11:14:00.001-05:00

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Wintry day egg curry

2013-02-01T12:15:00.001-05:00

Indian Egg Curry

(serves 3-4)

-6 eggs

- 2 tbs. vegetable oil or ghee

- 1 tsp. black mustard seeds

- ½ tsp. fenugreek seeds

- 1 tsp. cumin seeds

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 4 garlic cloves, minced

- 1 tbs. fresh ginger, minced

- 1 14-oz can chopped tomatoes (I like the kind with green chilis for this)

- 1 tsp. garam masala

- 2 tsp. ground coriander

- ½ tsp. cayenne

- 1 tsp. ground turmeric

- 2 tbs. Greek yogurt

- salt

- cilantro leaves for garnish

Hard boil the eggs, peel, cut in half, and set aside.
Heat the oil or ghee over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek, and cumin. When mustard seeds start to pop, add the onion and cook till translucent.
Add garlic and ginger and cook about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Add tomatoes, garam masala, coriander, cayenne, and turmeric. When it starts to boil, reduce heat and simmer, with cover, about 10 minutes.
Stir in yogurt and salt to taste. Add eggs and gently spoon the gravy over them.
Simmer with eggs for another 2 minutes. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve over rice.

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Braised pork adobo

2013-01-20T17:38:00.001-05:00

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Sunday pot roast #comfort#food

2013-01-13T19:21:00.001-05:00

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Minestrone to cure what ails ya!

2013-01-12T15:23:00.001-05:00

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By popular demand, recipe can be found here. I modified slightly, by omitting the prosciutto and substituting dandelion greens for kale. Otherwise, to the letter and absolutely delicious. Enjoy!

Taters and thyme #food

2013-01-07T18:26:00.001-05:00

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Leeks vinaigrette w/ capers + egg for #lunch#food

2013-01-05T14:34:00.001-05:00

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Romanesco pesto w/ fresh spinach fettucine #holiday#food @ebedelia

2012-12-25T13:05:00.001-05:00

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My weird #food obsessions know no bounds: oatmeal w/ homemade harissa and feta.

2012-12-24T09:16:00.001-05:00

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Homemade harissa made with deep, dark Urfa chilis, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and my own blend of Ras el-Hanout spices. #food

2012-12-23T09:39:00.001-05:00

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Cauliflower pesto, minus the cauliflower: romano, garlic, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, red chili pepper and almonds #food

2012-12-22T16:31:00.001-05:00

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Ratatouille, third iteration: lasagna! #food

2012-12-16T19:32:00.001-05:00

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Summer Panzanella

2012-07-28T13:06:00.003-04:00

This is going to sound horrible, but it took me until this morning to finally make it to the summer farmer's market in my neighborhood. The past few Saturdays, I've been too quick to cook up an excuse: too many errands to do, gotta clean the house, going to visit Grandma, too hot, too rainy, yadda yadda, etc. etc. I deserve to be arrested by the summer police.

Anyway, I finally made it! I was so overwhelmed by the mid-summer bounty that I dove right in like a hungry pelican and came out with a beak-full of peak-season veggies. Given the randomness of my selection, I decided a salad would serve this hodge-podge well and, with the addition of a fresh loaf of sourdough from Hot Bread Kitchen, I was ready for some panzanella. Here's what you do:

Tear a 1 pound loaf of crusty bread (like sourdough) into bite-size pieces, spread out on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and toast in a 400 degree oven for 7 minutes, until slightly crispy (you're not going for croutons). Dump into a large salad bowl and set aside. Take your smattering of market vegetables - tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, scallion, corn, whatever - and chop into desired bite-size shapes. Add to your bowl of toasted bread. Wash and tear a handful of basil leaves and throw those in as well. In a smaller bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup good olive oil, more salt and pepper, and pour over the bread and veggies. Toss well and serve immediately, preferably on a terrace in the sun...

Easy fish tacos

2012-07-14T18:00:00.001-04:00

Here's a quick meal to make on a weeknight after work when you really don't feel like slaving away. All you need is some peak produce (shouldn't be hard to pull off this time of year), a small amount of chopping, minimal cooking, and away you go...

How to make fish tacos with mango-cucumber salsa and Mexican coleslaw:

Preheat the oven to 350. Drizzle olive oil along the bottom of a baking dish and rinse 1-1/2 lbs. tilapia fillets. Layer the fish in the baking dish, drizzle with more olive oil, fresh lime juice, salt and pepper, cover, and bake 15 minutes, until cooked through. Serve with some warmed corn tortillas and extra lime wedges.
Toss together diced mango, diced cucumber, chopped cilantro, seeded and minced jalapeno, chopped scallions (just the green parts), fresh lime juice, and salt and pepper and let marinate 15 minutes before serving.
Combine shredded purple cabbage, sour cream, fresh lime juice, cumin, cayenne, and salt and pepper.

Cold-Cuts Bread Pudding

2012-06-27T22:00:00.002-04:00

A strange idea? Maybe. But delicious? Oh yes!

Just roll with me on this, people: when you find yourself with a fridge stocked with a surplus of maple ham, smoked turkey, muenster cheese, sandwich bread (plus a few eggs), and little else, you'll be happy to have this in your back pocket.

Cold Cuts Bread Pudding
Serves 6

5 slices stale sandwich bread, cubed
1 bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and diced
4 slices smoked turkey, chopped
4 slices maple ham, chopped
4 slices deli cheese (swiss, muenster, cheddar, etc.)
4 eggs, beaten
3 cups low-fat milk
8 shakes of oregano
salt and pepper

- Preheat the oven to 325°F and grease a casserole (glass is nice).
- In a large bowl, toss together the bread, pepper and cold cuts and set aside
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk, and season with oregano and salt and pepper.
- Spread the dry ingredients evenly across the bottom of the casserole and pour the egg-milk mixture over.
- Lightly poke the bread that's at the surface into the liquid, ensuring everything is wet - otherwise, those pieces of bread will burn.
- Place the casserole on a sheet tray to catch any spills and place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for 1 hour, until the liquid is almost completely set.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool and set up before serving, or cover and refrigerate for later. This is best served at room temp.

Use Your Bean

2012-06-24T13:08:00.000-04:00

Continuing on my journey to strike a balance between work and everything else, I've been keeping up with my weeknight home-cooking ritual with pretty great success! A highlight of last week was a super fast and easy bean stew that literally takes 20 minutes (or less!) from start to finish. It's the kind of Wednesday night squeeze-it-in meal I can rally around, after the work clothes have been shed, the sillies shaken out, and a few minutes of staring idly at the wall have been achieved.
It's called Indonesian Bean Stew, but neither myself nor Dan can attest to its authenticity, given that our only encounter with Indonesian food was a Hell's Kitchen spot on 9th Ave that tasted delicious but ended up being so packed with MSG that our post-dinner activity that night was holding our heads in our hands and moaning like feral cats. Not fun. But this is!
The recipe comes from my dear friend Genna's mom Karen, who has followed this blog since the very beginning. Thanks, Karen! for the recipe and your readership :)

Indonesian Bean Stew

1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small knob ginger, peeled and minced
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 28-oz box diced tomatoes (Pomi brand is the best)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 can black beans, drained
1 can garbanzos, drained
Cilantro leaves for garnish

1. Saute the onion, pepper, garlic and ginger until softened, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the kidney beans, tomatoes and brown sugar, stir and bring to a steady simmer.
3. Stir in the peanut butter, spices, and then add the rest of the beans. Cook just until heated through.
4. Serve over bowls of rice, topped with a few cilantro leaves.

I'm still here!

2012-06-14T07:24:00.000-04:00

Lovely folks - I wanted to let you know I'm still here, albeit off the grid. Busy with work, yoga, life, and creating a family dinner ritual (a la Jenny Rosenstrach, author of newly released Dinner: A Love Story).

Here's something to hold you over till I return to the blogosphere...

Chicken Milanese with Baby Arugula + Shallot Vinaigrette

Thanks for continuing to tune in! I apologize for the lapse in posts. I <3 U!

Joys of Ginger

2012-05-26T20:31:00.000-04:00

Practical person that I am (well, perhaps obsessive-compulsive is the more accurate descriptor...), I used to avoid recipes that called for ginger seeing as it's highly perishable and impossible to buy in small quantities. After just 2 days in the fridge, all those knobs of ginger purchased in order to obtain the one measly tablespoon of the freshly grated stuff would be soggy, stringy, and discolored. But those dark days are behind me, ever since I found Marc Matsumoto's delightfully simple solution to my ginger-itis: how to make fresh ginger last. Peel it, submerge it in vodka (or your tasteless, odorless, colorless ethanol of choice) and presto, you're stocked up with fresh, ready-to-use ginger for days - weeks, even!

Obviously, this revelation has led to a 500% increase in my use of ginger and that's good news, since ginger happens to be one of those handy foods that not only makes everything infinitely more delicious but also delivers a load of health benefits: it is said to settle the stomach, reduce pain and inflammation, prevent cold and flu symptoms, and it even works as a heartburn remedy.

Here are a couple of tasty ways I've used my arsenal of ginger lately:

Ginger Chicken (adapted from Marc Matsumoto's recipe)
Makes 4 servings

1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 bunch scallions, white and green separated, thinly chopped
sesame seeds for garnish

Rinse and pat dry the chicken thighs. Combine the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, ginger and garlic in a bowl and toss with chicken. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chicken in a single layer, leaving space between each piece (you may need to cook it in batches). Regulate the temperature so that the marinade doesn't burn (too high) yet the chicken doesn't leech water (too low) - you want it just right to get that nice crust dark brown crust. Fry one side of the thighs, then flip and fry the other. Remove to a plate.

Wipe the burnt bits out of the pan and add the rest of the marinade and the white part of the chopped scallion, returning the pan to medium-high heat. Bring the marinade to a boil and return the chicken to the pan. Turn the chicken pieces as the sauce reduces, until you have a nice glaze that's sticking to the chicken. Serve garnished with green scallion and sesame seeds, over rice.

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Homemade Ginger Ale
Makes about 8 cups

4 big knobs ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup honey, or to taste
1 liter seltzer
Lemon slices for garnish

Combine the ginger and 4 cups water in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer about 40 minutes. Strain out the ginger and mix in the honey, stirring until it's totally dissolved. Transfer to a container and chill.

When ready to serve, mix 1 part seltzer to 1 part ginger brew in each glass, with a slice of lemon and a few ice cubes.