The Emotional Epicurean

Ratatouille

2021-05-07T14:43:00.004-07:00

Nothing says that summer is around the corner or summer is here than ratatouille with its medley of riotously colorful vegetables cut into uniform slim discs and cooked with fresh herbs and tomato sauce to golden perfection in the oven.

The vegetables remind me of a melodious string quartet with the eggplant being the bass of the cello, the tomato the alto voice of the viola and zucchini and squash are the music of the violins. All in perfect gastronomic harmony!

The vegetable slices can be cut very thin or medium sized to make it easier.

You can use any combination of fresh herbs but I prefer the combination of basil and parsley crushed in a bit of olive oil. You could also experiment with thyme, marjoram and tarragon.

I added dried herb de Provence gifted to me by Ms. Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the tomato sauce to add extra flavor.

I created a double layer of vegetable one on top of the other to make a large quantity and stretch it out through the week but it’s harder to cook that way. A single layer is best and most delicious. The line between ambition and greed can get hard to tell sometimes!

I like to serve a tower of the ratatouille vegetables with a golden, sensuous poached egg and slices of crisp, chewy sourdough bread.

It is a labor of love and patience but truly worth the effort as the harbinger of warm weather and sunshine.

Three large zucchini and squash, 3 medium eggplants, 6 tomatoes and 2 bell peppers

2 bunches of basil, 1 bunch of parsley

8 clove of garlic and 1 onion and 2 shallots

2 large cans of tomatoes

Dried herbs de Provence

Sauté chopped onion, shallots and garlic

Add crushed tomatoes, 3 tablespoons of dried herbs

Add diced bell peppers and cook well

Cut the vegetable medley into medium sized discs and coat with olive oil and salt

Chop the herbs and crush in olive oil

Add the cooked tomato sauce to a large pan

Layer the discs in the string quartet groups of 4

Coat the herbs on top

Another layer of vegetables is ambitiously greedy which I will not repeat!

Another coating of herbs

Cook at 400 for 60 min

Serve with golden sensual poached egg and sourdough bread

Bon Appetit!

Minestrone Soup

2021-03-12T13:45:00.003-08:00

Minestrone soup is a rustic Florentine soup like Robolitta and Pasta Fagioli and it’s the very definition of warm and hearty.

Previously I would add a dollop of homemade pesto to the soup but it made it richer without adding anything special to the flavor. Instead the acidity from a large can of diced tomatoes is the perfect foil for the mildness of the rest of the flavors in the soup.

The vegetables used are mellow such as cauliflower, Savoy cabbage, spinach, carrots and celery.

This is combined with the mélange of white beans such as cannelloni, navy, and butter beans. You could also use chickpeas and fava beans but I prefer the softness in flavor of cannelloni, navy and butter beans.

The queen of this dish is the deep flavor of rosemary. Half the rosemary is stuffed into a bouquet garnii bag and dropped into the soup and the other half is ground in a mortar and pestle with olive oil to extract rosemary oil and then hand squeezed into the pot to finesse its deep essence.

This is not French onion soup with sticky, stringy cheese floating everywhere but to create the richness and earthiness of cheese I use Parmesan rind. The rind holds shape without melting away and provides the soup with a luxurious warmth.

Last but not least don’t dip just plain bread into the soup but a sour rye or a thick toasted tangy sourdough bread and use it to clean up the last drops of soup in the bowl.

Yes, winter is ending and spring is around the corner. This is probably the last time I will make minestrone soup until winter rolls around again.

Bon Appetit!

The vegetables, one head of cauliflower, a bunch of carrots, 3 sticks of celery,
half a head of savoy cabbage, 2-3 cups of spinach

10 to 15 cloves of garlic, a bunch of Rosemary

Three slabs of parmesan rind

2 quarts of vegetable broth, 2-3 cans of white cannelloni beans, a large can of diced tomatoes

Add broth, beans and canned diced tomatoes to large soup pot

Sauté carrots, celery and add to pot

Sauté cauliflower and add to pot

Sauté diced savoy cabbage and add to pot

Take half of the Rosemary and add to bouquet garnii bag

The other half is ground in a mortar with pestle and olive oil to extract rosemary oil

Crush the garlic with a garlic press

Cube the Parmesan rind.

Add the bouquet garnii bag, crushed garlic and parmesan rind to the pot

The spinach goes in last followed by the rosemary oil which is hand squeezed to extract every drop of rosemary essence

Let the pot simmer for 30 min

Serve with a sour rye or toasted thick sourdough bread

Bon Appetit!

Laksa soup

2021-02-19T18:36:00.002-08:00

My Laksa soup is a wonderful combination of Indian spices cumin, coriander seeds, black pepper, red chilies and Southeast Asian staples Kaffir lime leaves, lemon lemongrass and coconut milk.

I’ve taken a lot of poetic license and changed this recipe to my liking. I do not use tomatoes or tomato sauce or the readymade laksa red chili paste to let the lemony tangy Kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass shine through. The heat instead comes from red chilies and black pepper along with cumin and coriander seeds.

The original recipe calls for seafood such as shrimp or mussels or clams or firm fish but it’s very difficult to reheat the soup with seafood and eat it around the week therefore I keep it vegetarian with firm tofu.

If you like an oceany flavor adding fish sauce and shrimp paste to the soup is apt. But if the fishy flavor is not to your liking then you can surely skip it. Again to let kaffir lime and lemongrass flavors remain emperor I dropped shrimp paste and fish sauce.

So as to get the maximum flavor of the lemon grass use only the purple circumferenced portion of the lemongrass bulb, cut it into small discs and stuff it into a bouquet garnii bag and drop into the soup. Again the soup does not originally contain a lot of vegetables but I make mine as green as possible with green beans, broccoli or Chinese broccoli and bok choy.

I cut the ginger into larger chunks so that they can be easily removed from the soup while slurping it. Towards the end I also add Thai basil to the bubbling pot. Thai basil is a deeper, richer flavored basil that adds a special touch to the soup.

The leftover lemongrass I sauté in oil to make it crisp and then garnish the rice noodles which are floating in a large bowl of spicy, tangy, warm soup.

Perfect for a cold winter night!

Bon Appetit!

A bunch of Thai Basil, 4 biped leaves of Kaffir lime, a chunk of ginger

4 sticks of fragrant lemon grass

The Indian twist, 2 tsps of black pepper, 3 red chilies, 2 tablespoons of cumin and 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds

A head of broccoli, 2 bunches of bok choy, a bunch of green beans

2 large cakes of firm tofu, 2 slabs of rice sticks

2 quarts of vegetable broth, 3 cans of coconut milk

Roast the dry Indian spices on a pan

Then grind fine

Add vegetable broth and coconut milk to pot

Add the ground spices

Dice ginger into big chunks or can grate too

Slice the lemon grass and use only the violet circumferenced portion

Add the lemon grass to a bouquet garnii bag

Add lemon grass bag, Kaffir lime leaves and ginger to pot of broth and coconut milk with spices

Add chopped vegetables to pot

Cook for 15 minutes

Add rice noodles to hot water and soak for 10 min

Drain the water

Add large cubed firm tofu to pot and cook for another 10 min

Then the chopped Thai basil

Sauté left over lemon grass in pan with oil

Add soup to bowl and drop the noodles in the center and decorate with fried lemon grass

Bon Appetit!

Ground spice yellow dhal or Kootu

2021-02-01T16:31:00.016-08:00

Growing up in a strictly vegetarian family myriad variety of dhals, pulses and whole grains were at the center of every meal along with rice.

My mother was so strict that she would add garlic to the food only on certain inauspicious days. And she had a wild supernatural story that one day when she made eggs she burned her hand and the resulting burn was exactly an egg shaped bubble. She called it divine retribution for cooking unholy non-vegetarian eggs! Her specialty which my brother, father and I loved were her ground spice Kootu or yellow dhal with carrots, cabbages and beans. It’s not a sharp shooting green chili spicy but more, smoky, earthy and stimulating to the throat spicy. We would eat it with doses or Indian bread or rice. When you cook Indian food similar to Mexican cooking the staple is roasting and grinding of spices. I have tried the magic bullet grinder small and large, food processors, myriad kind of mixers but end up with the twisted or broken blade within months. Mr.Sweet Potato's addition to the kitchen the Cuisinart spice and nut grinder however gets my five star rating and it’s a must for all the crushing and grinding that goes with Indian cooking.

After years of rejecting another addition by Mr. Sweet Potato to the kitchen, the Instant pot, I finally succumbed and embraced it to make the dhal. I learned the hard way that I should slow cook the dhal and not pressure cook it and the amount of water that goes in is double what I would use in a regular cooking pot.

Now to share the great secret to my mothers cooking the final garnish with mustard seeds, urad dhal, red chilies and extra hing or asefotida powder added to oil and sautéed until the mustard seeds crack open and then the concoction is splashed with the great flourish on top of the dish. Every time my mother did this my brother would run into the kitchen enticed by the fragrance of the hing and the noise of crackling mustard seeds.

I make humongous quantities of yellow dhal which can be eaten through the week. It’s healthy, nourishing, simple and warms up any cold winter evening.

Bon Appetit!

4 red chilies, 4 tablespoons of coriander seeds, 3 tablespoons of cumin seeds, 2 tsp of black pepper

Sauté spices on pan

Add to spice grinder

Grind to fine powder

Finely chop a whole head of cabbage

3 cups of moong or yellow dhal

Add to instapot with 8 cups of water

Toast 2 cups of grated coconut

Add ground spices and grated toasted coconut to pot

Add diced cabbage to pot

Slow cook until the dhal is cooked and blended with spices and add 2 tablespoons of clarified butter or ghee

The holy grail of south Indian cooking 2 tsp of mustard seeds, 2 tsp of urad dhal, 2 red chilies, and 1 tsp of asafetida powder or hing

Sauté in clarified butter or ghee

Add salt and sautéed spice above to pot

Ground spice dhal ready to eat with rice or Indian bread
Bon Appetit!

Mor Kuzhambu

2021-02-01T16:29:00.007-08:00

Growing up vegetarian along with dhal, pulses and whole grains, dairy and dairy-based dishes were the center of the table. This included yogurt with greens or Mor Keerai, yogurt with tomato or onions or carrots which is the Raitas and of course the king of south Indian yogurt-based dishes the flaming yellow Mor Kuzhambu. When my mother would travel to Chennai with my brother and me she would leave my father in Bombay with big pots of Mor Kuzhambu, Avial and Vatha Kuzhambu which he would stretch out and eat over weeks.

The ginger and green chilies were my mother’s secret ingredients along with the standard tumeric powder, cumin, coriander seeds and grated coconut. And of course the hing or asafetida laced garnish along with oil splattered mustard, urad dhal and cracked red chilies were too.

After having destroyed with bent blades, magic bullets and food processors I have settled comfortably with the Cuisinart spice and nut grinder which is a must for any kitchen that is going to cook Indian food.

This dish goes well with Indian bread of any kind such as chapatis or naan but I eat it with my favorite savory puffed rice cakes or idlis.

2 tsp of turmeric powder, 3 tablespoons of coriander seeds , 3 tablespoons of cumin , a chunk
of ginger, 3 green chilies

toast dry spices in pan

Add to spice grinder

Grind to fine powder

Add ground spices and ginger and chilies to mixer

8 cups of yogurt, 2 cups of grated coconut, 1/2 cup of rice flour

Add yogurt and coconut to mixer with spices and ginger and chilies

Dissolve rice flour in water

Add to mixer and grind

Cut and boil a bunch of carrots and potatoes

Add contents of mixer to a large pot and then in goes the boiled vegetables
Cook for no longer than 15 min

The holy grail of South Indian cooking according to my mother
2 tsp of mustard seeds, 2 tsp of urad dhal, 2 red chilies, 1 tsp of asafetida powder or hing

Sauté the above in oil until all the mustard seeds crack open

Add to the flaming yellow Mor Kuzhambu

Bon Appetit!

The Farmers Market Bounty, Butter lettuce, Zucchini salad with Buttermilk Basil dressing, Corn meal and chili crusted Zucchini flowers, Bread, Cheese and Berries.

2015-06-26T12:01:00.004-07:00

The Farmer's Market Bounty

Butter lettuce

Medium sized Zucchini

Basil

Zucchini flowers

Raspberries, Blackberries, Figs and Peaches.

The Salad

Soft and tender. They can be used fresh

or broiled for 10 min to give a little crispy cover

Torn butter lettuce

Add diced cucumber and celery

Add broiled zucchini and grated Swiss cheese

Buttermilk Basil Dressing

1 cup basil leaves, 1 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup mayo, 4 pieces of garlic, 1-2 chilies, juice from half a lemon

Saute the garlic and chilies to take off the edge

Grind all of above

Buttermilk Basil dressing
Add dressing to salad on your plate

The Bread and Cheese

Swiss cheese which was smoked and very much like Gouda

Pumpernickel raisin bread

Corn meal chili crusted zucchini flowers

Zucchini flowers

2 eggs to dip the flowers in

Corn meal, ancho chili powder, chipotle chili powder and salt

Zucchini flowers

Dip flowers in eggs and then corn meal and chili powder mix

Saute both sides util crisp

Squeeze lemon juice on top and decorate with cilantro

Serve with fresh berries and salad

And with a smoky, strong Swiss cheese along with quince paste,
to be layered on a slice of crunchy savory-sweet pumpernickel raisin bread.

The Farmer Market Bounty Table

Mr Sweet Potato cant resist being in the picture!

Peach Pineapple chutney

2015-06-26T11:29:00.001-07:00

1 pineapple and 3-4 ripe peaches

1 onion, a large piece of ginger, 1 large red pepper.

1/2 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 4-5 tsp of Madras curry powder.

Saute diced onion and red pepper

Add finely chopped ginger

Add cubed peaches

The pineapple corer and slicer is pushed down and rotated

Once you reach the bottom, lift up and viola!

Add cubed pineapple to the pan

Add sugar, Madras curry powder and apple cider vinegar.

Mix well

Cover and cook for 10 min

Then let simmer on low flame for 40-45 min

A slice of baguette, Iberico cheese, chutney and cilantro

The bread and cheese absorb the complex flavors of the chutney to make a winning combination.
Bon Apetite!

Vietnamese chicken salad or Goi Ga

2015-06-09T19:55:00.001-07:00

I spent the whole of 2013 running from my grief. I went to Japan with Mr Sweet Potato and climbed up the hill studded with orange arches up to the Shinto shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha decorated with skirted fox statues, praying for a sign.
Shortly after I walked 152 km of the Camino through Gallicia with a lovely Australian couple, a Gallician now settled in California and an intellectually stimulating guide sharing pulpo, tinto and Albarino.
A brief four months later when the faded green walls of the hospital started claustrophobically closing in on me and the bad odor of the black dial up phone was unbearable as much as the voice on the other end asking me to admit a patient and the nurses' questions made me want to run as though I was escaping an erupting volcano, I knew it was time to go far from the madding crowd. So we took a plane to Houston and then one to Panama city and then a smaller plane to Boca Town and finally a 40 min boat ride to little island off the Caribbean coast of Panama; Bocas Del Toro. I swam in the cucumber cool, turquoise waters to soothe the sand flies bite that I must have collected eating fish dinners on the beach with tiki torches burning brightly as the waves methodically crashed on the shore.
Obviously I was not done running far enough from my excruciating pain. So we went to Hanoi with Mr Cardamom Chai and Ms Bahn Xeo and their extended family. From the cool salubrious mountains of Sapa to the emerald green waters of Bai Tung Long, from the food vendors on stools in Hanoi to the history museum in the French quarter, it was cathartic, intense, beautiful and breathtaking.
In Hanoi I took a cooking class with a chef, Anthony who had an easy smile and a winsome personality. We made Pho Bo and banana flower salad. My mother and grandmother would use the outer flowers to make a sweet, tart, spicy and bitter concoction for the new year signaling the nature of life. Anthony discarded the outer flowers, sliced and diced the inner core and then soaked it in a mix of lemon juice and rice wine vinegar. He then boiled and shredded chicken breast to make a fresh, lite, spicy and salty summer salad. Lacking banana flowers of any kind I used julienned carrots, cucumber and added fresh moong beans as recommended. I used my own poetic license to go over board with cilantro, mint, scallions and fresh grated ginger.

The dressing was cool, lite, spicy, salty and sweet with garlic, chilies, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar and sugar.
Toasted peanuts and sesame seeds make a perfect garnish to this exhilarating summer salad.
I did not manage to run away from my omnipresent grief that seemed to be dissolved in the water I drank and air I breathed. But 7,000 miles away in the northern Vietnamese city of Hanoi where women wore conical straw hats and carried old fashioned balances with produce and grain, where men and women huddled over a cooking fire slurping brothy noodle soups at all times of the day and night, I learnt to make a great Vietnamese summer salad from a chef with an easy smile and a love for food.
Bon Appetit.

My summer fruit basket

A bunch of carrots and 2 cucumbers

A large bowl of mung beans

A bunch of cilantro, mint, scallions and a large piece of ginger

Julienne the carrots and cucumber and then add the mung beans

Add grated ginger

Add the finely chopped cilantro and mint

Saute the chopped scallions for a 2-3 min

And add to salad

Season 2 chicken breasts with salt and pepper

Cook by steaming

Cool down

Add shredded cooked chicken to salad

The Dressing

This Red Boat fish sauce has flavor and depth without being fishy

4 pieces of garlic(chopped), 1/2 a green chili(chopped), 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar, 1/2 cup of fish sauce
and juice form 1-2 limes

Mix all of above together

This lite,salty,tangy, spicy summer dressing is ready

Add dressing to salad

Toss well

The Garnish

I cup of peanuts and 1/3 cup of sesame seeds

Roast the peanuts in a pan

Roast the sesame seeds

Plate the salad and garnish with roasted, warm peanuts and sesame seeds. Bon Apetite!

Black Bean Burger

2015-05-30T21:49:00.004-07:00

Nothing screams summer to me than a humungous burger overflowing with roasted vegetables and a gigantic black bean patty.

I packed the black bean patty with diced and sautéed onion, garlic, ginger, green chilies, carrots, cilantro and left over Madras curry powder from making the rhubarb lentil soup.
Eggs and bread crumbs hold all these ingredients together with slightly mashed and crumbly black beans. I shaped the mix into patties and cooked them on a hot iron pan with oil.

Instead of boring old Mayo slathered on the bun, I made fire roasted tomato and shallot sauce which Mr Sweet Potato thinks I should patent. Aromatics shallot and garlic are sautéed. Then sliced tomatoes are coated liberally with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and roasted at high heat in the oven. I then blended these together with roasted almonds which adds a creamy, nutty edge to the sauce.

Finally the bun. Buns of steel are an asset in other areas of life but for burger buns the simple, classic and soft white bun is the best. I toasted the buns until brown on a hot pan with a slice of butter.

I built my burger with the cooked black bean patty, caramelized sliced red onions, buttery slices of green avocado and a general slather of the nutty, tangy, roasted tomato shallot sauce.
I served the burgers with corn on the cob, zucchini and cucumber raita.
Bon Apetit!

Black bean burger

2 large cans of black beans, 3 onions, 6 pods of garlic, a piece of ginger, 3 green chilieI s,
4 tsp of Madras curry powder, a cup of cilantro and a bunch of carrots.

2 eggs and a cup of bread crumbs.

Saute finely diced onions, garlic and ginger

Add cut carrots and green chilies and saute

Partially crush the black beans

Add Madras curry powder

Add finely chopped cilantro.

Add the cooked vegetables

Beat 2 eggs

Add the eggs and bread crumbs to the black bean mix

Mix well.

Tomato shallot sauce

4 large tomatoes, 1 shallot, 4 cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup of almond slivers, and 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Cut the tomatoes in slices and add balsamic vinegar and olive oil and bake at 400 for 20 min

Saute the shallots and garlic

Toast the almonds

Add the cooked tomatoes, shallots, garlic and toasted almonds to the mixer

Grind to make a thick sauce

Build the burger

Saute sliced onions in olive oil

Lay on a plate

Cut long slices of avocado

Make a patty of the black bean mix and roast on a pan.

Melt butter on an another pan

And toast the bun

Lay the toasted buttered bun a plate and spread the tomato shallot sauce on both open sides

Layer with caramelized onions and avocado

Then the cooked black bean patty and some more sauce

The mighty burger is ready

Serve with corn on the cob, vegetables and cucumber rait

Lentil Rhubarb soup with Madras Curry Powder.

2015-05-01T18:38:00.003-07:00

Rhubarb arrives late in spring and is the harbinger of summer. Its long, bright and burgundy stalks are irresistibly and incorrigibly tart and sour. Its like a sour patch candy that my favorite children’s character William ( by Richmal Crompton) would suck on as he plotted to destroy every adult’s peace and quiet. The sad solution to tempering the taste is to add sacks of sugar to it and bake it in a pie. I do not understand the concept of a rhubarb pie when there are naturally more sweeter fruits that make an easy partner to pie. Sour flavor is mellowed and enhanced by spice and salt and not sugar. Like raw mango pieces that I would coat with chili powder and salt and smack by tongue after chewing and swallowing.
My choice would be to cook the rhubarb with piquant, smoky, fragrant and freshly ground Madras curry powder along with root vegetables carrot and potatoes in a rhubarb lentil soup.
Madras curry powder is ubiquitous in my cooking. I use it in soups, for grilling vegetables, to marinate chicken and fish. Can take the girl out of Madras but not Madras out of the girl?
Le puy lentils have a sobering effect on spicy curry powder and the tangy rhubarb.
A third of a cup of red wine vinegar plays hand in hand with the rhubarb.
No dish with Madras curry powder is complete without clarified butter or ghee which adds a creamy touch to the soup.
Serve with steaming hot jasmine rice and Bon Appetit!

4 stalks of rhubarb

The vegetables, 4 small onions, 10 pods of garlic, 5 potatoes and a bunch of carrots

Madras Curry Powder

Add caption

6 tsp of coriander seeds and 4 tsp of cumin

1 tsp of fennel, 2 sticks of cinnamon, 1 tsp of cloves, 1 tsp of cardamom.

2 tsp of turmeric powder, 4 tsp of black peppercorn and 4 dried red chilies

Toast in a pan

And grind

Your home is now a fragrant palace of spice

Saute diced onions

Add cubed carrots and finely chopped garlic and saute

Next is cubed potatoes and diced rhubarb

Saute until soft

Add 5-6 tsp of freshly ground piquant Madras curry powder and cook for a few min

2 and half cups of le puy lentils

Which is pressure cooked

Wait for 3-4 whistles

Add 2 lit of vegetable broth to pot

Add sauteed and curried vegetables and the cooked lentils into the pot
and let boil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup of ghee or clarified butter.

Add red wine vinegar into the pot

Next is the clarified butter and let simmer for 15 min

Add a bunch of finely diced cilantro and simmer for another 10 min

Spicy, hearty tangy bowl of goodness

Serve with rice or rice noodles

Kale and white bean soul soup

2015-04-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

When I have an overwhelming feeling of dread or inescapable fear of the unknown I make this pottage like soup with kale, white beans and vegetables. It’s a hearty, nourishing soup for the soul. The recipe never fails me even though everything else around me could me crashing and burning.

You start with a mirepoix mix and then comes the kale. The slightly bitter edge to kale might repulse some and the best way to enjoy this dark green splendor of the leafy vegetable world is to subjugate it with acid. Ms Butterfish makes a delightful kale slaw where she shows no mercy as she macerates the kale with lemon and orange juice. I sauté it with olive oil and a liberal quantity of sherry vinegar before it enters the bubbling pot.

I am easy with the garlic too and the maximum flavor is extracted by muscling the pods through a garlic press. At the risk of sounding like a 50’s housewife with a pink, floral and lacy apron I have to talk about my new garlic press. It has a nifty blue colored attachment that fits perfectly into the miniature holes which are otherwise impossible to clean.

I used Yukon gold potatoes which, with all the rounds of boiling and simmering are deconstructed and melt into the soup to add to the rustic pottage like consistency.

The broth you choose is probably the single most important decision you will make in your kitchen life. You might think less about whom you marry! I have tested many and have authoritatively and rightfully picked Imagine vegetable and chicken broth. It has the perfect ratio of salt to flavor and the ratio of depth to playing supportive role instead of overwhelming the soup. Swanson’s broth is meek and lacking in boldness and depth. Pacific tries to be everything but a humble a broth enhancing the other players. Trader Joe’s does a reasonably good job but somehow falls short of consistency and depth.

Now after that treatise on broths we move to the beans. Any white beans will do, cannelloni, navy, butter or double beans. Take your pick and have fun with the different permutations and combinations of two or more beans.

The coup de grace is cubed juicy pieces of preserved lemon added before the last round of boiling.

After about an hour of dicing,crushing , sautéing and simmering, the heavenly bowl of slurp worthy soup is ready. I sink a steamed rice cake or idlli in the center before dipping my cavernous spoon in the bowl. Mr Sweet Potato drops slices of savory rice crepes or dosas to perfect his bowl of soul soup.

Bon Apetit!

2 bunches of Italian kale, 6 medium sized potatoes, a bunch of carrots, 4-5 stalks of celery and 1 white onion

2 cans of cannelloni beans and 1 can of navy beans

Preserved lemon and 10-15 pods of garlic

3 cans of Imagine vegetable broth, each can has about a lit of broth

Sherry vinegar

Half cup of sherry vinegar and 2-3 cups of olive oil

Dice and saute onion, carrots and celery

Add the cut potatoes and saute

Squeeze the garlic through a garlic press

This a nifty one which is easy to clean

Viola!

Add the crushed garlic to the pan and mix

Heat 3 cans of broth in a large pot

Add the sauteed vegetables and garlic to the bubbling broth

Chop and saute the kale

Add half cup sherry vinegar and cook for 3-4 min

Add the slightly cooked and vinegar-ed kale to the pot with broth and vegetables

Let it simmer covered for 15-20 min

Then add the white beans

In goes 2- 3 cups of olive oil next and simmer for 10-15 min
With frequent stirring

2 large pieces of preserved lemon

Are finely chopped

And into the bubbling pot.
Cook for 10 more min and mix well through all the simmering

Warm, hearty, tangy and soul nourishing soup. Bon Apetit!

Bean, corn and pepper salad

2015-04-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a sign for spring. It could be the fluffy pink cherry blossoms, white virginal magnolias, yellow happy dandelions dancing in vacant lots that are filled with grass and vacant no more. Or maybe it’s the strawberries, which are small, gossamer and sweet unlike the large, dry and sour ones in winter. It could be the asparagus. It is to Mr. Pastrami who loves them either thick, stout and white or thin, green and delicately long. To Ms.Butterfish it’s the mint crushed and muddled in cocktails and the entrance of mild nuances of citrus. For some it is artichokes. I still remember the large phallic looking artichokes bathed in olive oil and baked, in Rome, three springs ago.

And as pain and pleasure are two sides of a coin, the pain of two springs ago cuts open my heart to let the bright red blood gush forth. Somehow today I know it is this blood that give the cherry blossoms, strawberries, asparagus and artichokes real meaning.

Starting from spring to late summer I make my corn, bean and pepper salad. Early on the peppers are less spicy and the corn is pale white and slightly dry. As the seasons progress, the peppers find their piquancy and the corn get plump, sweet and pollen dust yellow. When I found an early crop of corn at the Co-Op I knew it was that time of the year again.

This salad is a cutting, dicing and chopping labor of love. I chopped 2-3 differently colored peppers, garlic, cilantro,cucumber and ripe cherry tomatoes. The heat and mild smokiness is from roasted and ground cumin and black pepper. The citrus is from an uninhibited cup of lemon juice. A cup of olive oil balances the spice and citrus. Nothing compares to the sensual pleasure of crumbling a brick of salty feta cheese into the salad. I use a couple of cans of washed black beans to absorb the robustness of all the ingredients. The longer the salad sits in the refrigerator the more peaceful the marrying of different flavors. In the heat of passion we forget that time is love.

The riot of colors in the bowl sure tells me spring is here. So does the slow flowing river of sadness in my heart on seeing the cherry blossoms.

Bon Appetit.

3 red and green peppers each, 4 cobs of corn, 1 large cup of cherry tomatoes, 1 large cucumber

A bunch of cilantro and 10 cloves of garlic

2 cans of black beans cooked

7-10 ounce feta cheese, 1 cup olive oil, juice from 4 lemons

8 tsp cumin, and 4 tsp black pepper

Roast cumin and pepper

Grind cumin and black pepper

Dice green, red pepper and cucumber

Add cherry tomatoes

Add black beans

Finely diced bunch of cilantro and garlic go in next

Cook the cobs of corn in boiling water

Remove corn from the cob

Add to salad

Then into the rainbow mix add 1 cup of lemon juice, 1 cup of olive oil, ground cumin and black pepper

Crumble the feta cheese over the salad

Add salt to taste and toss

The riot of colors, spring to late summer salad is ready. Bon Apetite!

Spring Breakfast Surprise

2015-03-30T18:00:00.001-07:00

Spring is here and Mr. Sweet Potato walked in with bananas and strawberries not knowing that I had just done fruit shopping too “What do I do with these” I exclaimed. “Bake” he said. “Isn’t it what you do when you see rotten bananas on the kitchen counter?” He was right.

Bananas make an excellent binding agent and I use them instead of eggs. Not that I would avoid any food or ingredient. If you wish to lose my attention in less than a second you could tell me you are vegan or gluten intolerant. Say those words and my eyes will glaze over and a thoroughly disinterested stare will occupy my face.

When I see the bananas going gradually mushy and increasingly consumed by black patches, I use them to bake muffins. This time with the strawberries added to the muffin mix they were extra moist with the surprise delight of a soft melting fruit in the center almost like a chocolate éclair with a liquid molten center. I also used a mild, full fat, plain yogurt to double the moisture. With all the fruits and yogurt the butter and sugar is cut by more than half.

I chose a luxuriantly deep dark sugarless cocoa powder (Guittard) for the chocolate, banana and strawberry muffins.

And finally the secret ingredient that elevates the muffin from regular to regal. I asked many to taste and guess the missing X in the equation of the moist and mighty muffins. Mr. Sweet Potato and Ms. Dark Chocolate picked the common cinnamon. Ms. Lemon Meringue Pie took a bite of the chocolaty goodness and yelled excitedly “There are flowers in them. Rose or Lavender…”
Yes it was a tablespoon of flowery and fragrant rose water that reminds you of Delacroix's extravagantly colorful paintings of women in Tangier.

Apparently a basket full of spring fruits, luxuriously rich deep dark cocoa, delicately fresh rose water and mundane all purpose flour and yogurt are a match made in muffin heaven. It made for a perfect spring breakfast.
Bon Appetit!

1 cup of all purpose flour, 1/3 cup sugarless cocoa powder, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly

2 bananas, 1 cup full fat yogurt, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 tbs rose water essence

Mash bananas and mix wet ingredients together

Add wet to dry mix

Mix no more than 10 to 15 times very gently. Do NOT blend together.

Add 1/2 to 3/4 pound cut strawberries and turn another 5 times.

Into muffin cups

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min.

Until a knife plunged in the center of its heart exits without a mess

Enjoy your Spring Breakfast

With the soft, moist surprise of strawberries inside. Bon Appetit!

Persian Chelo Kebab with Tzatziki and Pulao

2015-03-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

My obsession with lamb continues like discovering your new lover’s body. Mr. Sweet Potato wanted lamb kebabs with ground lamb. He said he likes the spices and the mint to find it s way into the inner molecular structure and ground lamb is the only way to achieve that. “ Do you want meat balls?” I ask curiously? He shook his head all knowingly and showed me Anthony Bourdain’s visit to Iran. It so happens he wanted Chelo kebabs. The ground lamb is mixed with spices and binding agents, bread crumbs, eggs and then patted out on a flat knife like skewer.

I decided to make the Moroccan green goddess chutney Charmoula to marinate the ground lamb with. Charmoula is Botticelli’s Flora, green and earthy and with the same magical powers. It’s made with fresh ground cilantro and parsley. The paprika and cumin giving a smoky flavor, the heat from chilies and a pungent piece of ginger are my own interpretations and last but not the least the acidity is from preserved lemon.

The perfect way to cut through the Charmoula infused lamb is yogurt. Hence I made Tzatziki with cool, crunchy cucumber and fresh mint and garlic. I make mine salty and let it sit in the refrigerator for hours before serving to let the flavors fossilize with each other. I made starchy potatoes to absorb the strong dishes along with sweet pepper and string beans.

I roped in My Sweet Potato to make Pulao. He was stingy sharing his secret recipe and suggested we withhold some ingredients. I pursued him with vengeance so as to not miss any pinch of spice or splash of liquid that went into the simmering pot. I did not know he used saffron milk to cook the Basmati rice or that he used both black and white pepper. Goes to show you could be married for 15 years and can still extract kitchen secrets as if you had just met. Is this how one falls in love all over again? By watching golden orange milk being poured into a pot with long, proud grains of Basmati rice? The Pulao was fluffy, buttery and with right amount of heat from peppers.

We enjoyed Sunday night dinner with Ms. Hibiscus flower and Ms. Salsa and shared Pulao, Chelo kebabs, vegetables, Proseco and our journey to America (the land of milk and honey), our immigrant roots, delicious childhood food memories and the library of books that Ms. Salsa had managed to devour in her young life so far

Charmoula

2 bunches of cilantro, 1 bunch parsley, 2 tsp paprika, 3 tsp cumin, 6 cloves of garlic, 1 small piece ginger, 3 green chilies.
and half a preserved lemon.

Saute the green chilies and garlic in olive oil

Toast the cumin

Mix all of above and grind

If you want the Charmoula a bit creamy add toasted almond slivers
and grind

The green Goddess of my kitchen is ready to woo and whisper spicy, tangy goodness

Persian Chelo Kebab

1 pound of ground lamb

I onion grated and excess water drained, 1 bunch of mint finely diced, juice from 1 lemon, 1 cup of bread crumbs
4 heaped tsp of Charmoula and 1 egg

All of above is mixed together with the lamb and marinated for 3 hours
Cook lamb kebabs uncovered at 400 degrees for 20 min
And broil for 2-3 min uncovered for further browning.

Tzatziki

5 cups of yogurt, 1 cucumber, 1 bunch of mint, 6 cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup olive oil, juice from 1 lemon

Remove skin of cucumber and julienne, finely dice mint and garlic,

add juice from lemon, the olive oil and 2 tsp salt

Add yogurt and mix well
Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving

Vegetables

Sweet peppers, green beans and garlic cloves with olive oil and Vadouvan spice
Cubed potatoes with olive oil and Vadouvan spice

Cook covered in oven at 400 degrees for 25 min

Cook covered at 400 degrees for 40 min and broil uncovered for 3 min for extra browning

Pulao

Heat oil and butter in dutch oven

Add 2 onions finely sliced and saute

4 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 pieces of cardamom, 8 pieces of clove, 2 star anise.
Soak 1/2 tsp of saffron in water

1 tsp of black pepper and 1 tsp white pepper.

Add 1 cup diced carrots and peas to pink translucent onions and then all the spices above except saffron
and saute

Add 2 cups of rice and saute

Add the saffron water to 1 cup of hot milk and mix

Add the saffron milk to the rice.

Add 4 cups of water

Cover and cook for 15 min

Fluffy, peppery, saffrony Pulao!

Sunday night dinner
Bon Appetit!

Lamb Kebabs with Harissa come rain or shine

2015-03-17T13:52:00.001-07:00

Usually I make the soups, sauces,chutneys and vegetables and Mr Sweet Potato cooks the meat. But I think it is time for me to start cooking the meat, being a food blogger and all. Therefore the beef bourguignon.

It's two years to date that my life changed irrevocably and I lost everything and in some "Eat Pray Love" kind of way I am still trying to learn what its all supposed to mean. One year ago to date I was preoccupied in clearing my life of cobwebs and quagmires. Now that my life is several kilos lighter and minus the cobwebs and quagmires, its time to cook meat.

The beef bourguignon was a good start. Next are lamb kebabs. I wanted to learn to make the kebabs even without the rare, clear, sunny Pacific North West day and without an outdoor grill.

I started with homemade harissa. Smoky mild Peruvian Aji Panka and spicy smoky Mexican Guajillo chilies are soaked in hot water for 15 min and then ground with toasted cumin, coriander and caraway seeds, a few pieces of sauteed garlic and a medium sized preserved lemon to give the harissa a tangy kick. The lamb cubes are marinated with harissa and mint leaves. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator or until the lamb has succumbed to the harissa’s desires.

A colorful medley of red, green, yellow, orange peppers, onions, white mushrooms are soaked in olive oil and zahter before cooking them.

I kept the Basmati rice simple with onion, garlic, cumin and a few fronds of saffron.

The Japanese are famous for their double barbecue technique. Instead I used a double cooking method. Cook the lamb covered at 375 degrees for 20-25 min in the oven and the vegetables covered at 400 degrees for 15 min. Skewer the lamb and vegetables and baste with butter or better still with saffron butter and sear at medium to high heat over your home gas flame for a perfectly browned and spiced lamb and vegetables kebab. And enjoy your home smelling like a Mughal palace with the delicate aroma of saffron butter and mint.

Bon Appetit!

Harissa

4 Peruvian Aji Panka chilies and 4 Mexican Guajillo chilies

3 tsp of coriander seeds, 3 tsp cumin and 3 tsp caraway seeds.

8 pieces of garlic

Soak the chilies in hot water for 15 min

Use half of this preserved lemon. Remember to remove the seeds

Saute the coriander, cumin and caraway seeds.

Saute the garlic

Grind the soaked softened chilies, sauteed seeds, garlic and half a de seeded preserved lemon

Add salt to taste. The smoky, spicy, tangy Harissa is ready

Lamb

Two pounds of de boned lamb leg

Cut into cubes

I cup of finely chopped mint

To cubed lamb add 6 heaped tsp of Harissa,1 cup of mint and the juice of a lemon and salt to taste
Marinate for at least 3 hours or overnight

Cook the lamb on a tray, covered for 20 min at 375 degrees

Vegetables

Green, yellow, orange and red peppers and red onion and white mushrooms

5 tsp of Zahter

Cut vegetable into large pieces and add olive oil, salt and 4 tsp of zahter and mix well.
Cook vegetables, covered for 15 min at 400 deg in oven

Add olive oil liberally, salt and 1 tsp of zahter and coat well
Cook mushrooms uncovered for 20 min at 400 deg in oven.
At the ten min mark make sure the mushrooms are still well coated with oil to prevent drying

Rice

Saute 1 large diced onion, 3-4 pieces of diced garlic and 2 tsp of cumin in olive oil

When the onion is pink and translucent add 2 cups of Basmati rice and saute for 5 min

Add 4 cups of chicken broth

Add a few fronds of saffron and cover and cook rice

Vegetable and lamb skewers

Skewer the cooked lamb and vegetables and baste with saffron butter and then sear on medium to high flame, turning over frequently.

When done layer the kebab skewers over a plate of rice. Serve with yogurt and Harissa
Bon Appetit!

Beef Bourguignon

2015-03-04T08:48:00.002-08:00

Could food mean to me what it meant before? The depth of flavor seemed possible only if life is normal again. But normal was before and not now. Flavors, textures,my passion for food; is it all gone?

The aromatic, umami flavor of browned mushrooms, the creamy texture of briny oysters that makes you think of the few moments before an orgasm, the sharp tangy bite of preserved lemon with the tender scooped out meat of mussels on a piece of crunchy baguette. These flavors, textures and desires, do they have the anticipation, energy and truth they had before. The truth is they are all the more intense because I am waiting with breath that is baited. Waiting for the rightful return of what was, is and will always be mine.

As you would wait for beef to soak in the deep, dark red wine and spices and tenderize for hours in an oven. The reddish brown juicy meat like the color and warmth and urgency of my beating heart.

I followed a cast iron skillet recipe for short ribs from a book that Ms Burgundy had given me and amalgamated it with Julia Child’s classic recipe and partly followed my heart with one stick of cinnamon, one pod of Chinese cardamom, ten cloves, and three star anise seeds. The rich juices from the marrow, the full bodied Bordeaux and the spices seeped into the beef and it fell apart compliantly with a gentle push from a fork. The aromatic garlic, yellow onion, and butter browned mushrooms along with a few grains of rice gives you a fleeting glimpse of perfection albeit for a few seconds. The tiny potatoes cut threw the intensity of the tannin and spices. The aroma of beef, butter and browning filled every crevice and corner of my home. And everything was all right. For this Sunday evening at least. Bon Appetit.

Ms Burgundy's cast iron cookbook

And I added Julia Child's classic recipe for Beef Bourguignon

The aromatics, 2 yellow onions and a bowl of mushrooms.

with 4 pieces of garlic

The potatoes go into the dutch oven in the end

The carrots, celery along with onion is for the Mirepoix
The beans go into the pot along with the potatoes in the end

Thyme and Parsley for the bouquet garni

My twist with 1 cinnamon stick,, 1 Chinese cardamom, 3 star anise and a few pieces of clove

Tomato paste

2 cups of Bordeaux and 2 cups of beef stock

2 pounds of short ribs

From Julia Child, dry the meat otherwise it will not brown.( " Rombauer does not say a word about it in the

Joy Of Cooking.")

Dry the meat

Season with salt and pepper

Brown in a Dutch Oven

Keep meat aside

4-5 carrots, 3 stalks of celery and 2 yellow onions diced, 4 pods of garlic and sauteed until soft

Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste

Add spices, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and Chinese cardamom

Add bouquet garni of parsley and thyme

2 cups of red wine

2 cups of beef stock

Add the short ribs and cover

Into the center of the oven

At 350 degrees for 2 hours and 30 min

Saute the mushrooms in some butter

Next these perfectly small potatoes

Finally the beans

After cooking the beef for 2 hours and 30 min; remove bouquet garni and add the browned potatoes, beans and mushroom

Cook in oven for another 15 min.

There is something about beef cooked in red wine and spices,slowly simmering in the pot.....

Serve with rice or noodles. Bon Appetit.

The better off chicken.

2013-11-30T17:52:00.001-08:00

Are we better off today then 3 years ago? Am I clearer, closer to my goals and secure with my relationships and career? Did I find the work-life balance I sought?

I am older and wiser. I have more grey in my hair, cannot run the consistent 7 miles per hour and my discipline seems to be fading away. And then again I don’t pick the battles I cant win anymore. My marriage that seemed like a square peg in a round hole, now is rustic Wabi- Sabi; simple and thoroughly enjoyable rather than perfect. We have had grief and loss that bound us together like saprophytes on the branches of a large tree or moss on the rock. There has been more travel, more museums, more art, more history, more wonderful memories with friends, and more cooking. And yet here I am slow, tired and plodding in ways I have never seen before. Is the alacrity and idealism of youth behind me? Or am I truly tempered with reality and accepting of the vagaries of life?

I read my chicken with root vegetables, garlic and preserved lemon blog from 3 years ago and have made it more often than I have had full nights of sleep the last year. I took fresh pictures and looked at my old ones. I don’t know if I am better off or happier, or wiser than three years ago. But my chicken has the wisdom of advise, practice, and melange of new ingredients. And a new Le Cruset Dutch oven.

I don’t use sweet potatoes anymore, only Yukon gold firm ones. They keep their shape during the punishing heat of the oven. The carrots, celery, and onions are the same. The 40 pieces of garlic are store bought and pre peeled now. An added aromatic earthy flavor is chanterelle mushrooms. Sautéed alone in a pan with oil. All the vegetables are cut, diced and sautéed in a Paella pan which is the new addition to my kitchen. They are then layered at the bottom of the flaming orange Dutch oven.

I still remember Ms. Butterfish telling me that the chicken felt cold and lonely with out her skin. I have never ever removed the skin off any animal there after. Every chicken and every one of us need the layer of protective comforting adipose, as we deserve to desire. I am wiser in taking her advice I suppose.

I experimented further and coated the bird in spicy and smoky harrisa and then sautéing it in a pan. The bird is stuffed with rosemary and thyme. No parsley anymore. I felt it added nothing to the aromatic flavor.

There is nothing like a tangy bite of preserved lemon in left over chicken. And so there is extra preserved lemon and I make sure its store bought as the ones I make are rather bitter. The few preserved chilies in the bottle go in too.

I have realized no matter what the size or shape of the bird, 1 and ½ cups of crisp dry white wine and 1 and ½ cup of chicken broth submerges the bird and vegetables enough for a perfect browned bird flanked by roasted vegetables.

I don’t know if I am in a better place.

But my bird sure is.

Bon appetite!

Carrot, celery and potatoes.

Chanterelle mushrooms

Onions

Thyme and Rosemary

Crisp white wine and chicken broth.

Saute diced onion, carrots and celery in a Paella pan.

and then the potatoes

40 pieces of garlic go in next

saute mushrooms separately

Preserved lemons with chilies

Cut the lemons and chilies

Stuff the bird with rosemary and thyme

Coat the bird with harrisa

Brown on the paella pan

belly side up....

Pack a dutch oven with the sauteed vegetables, garlic, preserved lemon and layer rosemary and thyme on the side

Create a little cubicle in the center for the chicken

Cozy the chicken in

Add 1 and 1/2 cups of white wine and 1 and 1/2 cups of chicken broth.

In the oven for 45 min at 400 deg

The better bird

The Farmers Market Barter (Clam Linguine, Spinach and Radicchio Ranch salad, Plum pie)

2013-09-08T11:54:00.000-07:00

Every Saturday morning through summer and fall, Mr. Sweet Potato is at the farmer's market. It signals the start of his weekend and the end of his week. He is here whether I am asleep after a sleepless night or or I am out of town or I am with him. He strides down to the berries first and buys whatever berries are in season – strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. My favorite is the blueberries and he likes Obsidian blackberries. He says he likes the surprise of the blackberries; you never know if they are tart or sweet or seedy. It keeps him excited and guessing. If they are plump and feel like caviar, he knows that they are sweet and he offers me some. I buy the plums and the nectarines.

I buy clams as he leaves a pint of blackberries with the couple selling shellfish. The lady tastes some berries and adds a half dozen oysters along with the clams. I can hear the garrulous, friendly, wiry woman from whom we buy spinach and radicchio leaves. The rich odor of barbecue and roasted spices leads us to the Indian stand. He orders golden roasted chicken kebabs with cilantro chutney and steaming hot sweet chai. I request some habanero sauce.

By now, the grocery bags are full. We set them down on patch of grass by the musician of the day strumming his guitar and singing plaintive notes of love and loss. I attack the kebabs like a hungry African driver ant and he sips his tea. I draw his attention to the miniature Botticelli blond; a sweet girl of three with golden kiss curls running pointless energetic circles and then to the tall, Gothic, alabaster skinned woman in all black. All black in the middle of summer is a uniquely Pacific North Western as is the incessant rain in winter with hoodies and North face jackets.

Then we walk to the flower shop and I wait for him to select the perfect bouquet of lilies. As he walks with this intensely fragrant bundle, I see the yoga bodied, black clad, coffee cup holding women look at him.
And I think "I got him."
The food that came from the farmers market barter;

1) Clam Linguine
This is a very easy and very elegant recipe. Sauté onion, garlic and tomatoes. Add 1 cup of clam broth and 1 cup of white wine. Add clams to this bubbling concoction until their shells snap open. Cook linguine in extra salty water and layer on a plate. Add the reduced clam mix on top. Chop parsley and decorate. Remember to drink the rest of the dry crisp white wine (Pinot Grigio) as you cook the evening away.

2) Spinach and Radicchio salad with ranch dressing
Radicchio leaves are a lovely deep dark purple but also bitter. I like to wilt them gently in the oven for 5-10 min with olive oil. Since we are operating the oven I baked potatoes and red onion until the former was golden brown and the latter pink and soft. Cool them and add to fresh spinach leaves. The ranch dressing is a tangy, spicy and smooth, earthy mix of sour buttermilk, mayo, garlic, anchovies, black pepper, and lemon juice. Perfect with spinach and roasted vegetables.

3) Plum pie with thyme
This is a variation of Melissa Clark's recipe in the New York Times. Besides eating the fruit what better way to enjoy them than whole and baked in a pie? So, there was the plum pie with thyme and the blackberry pie.
And the berries in the pie were all sweet, Mr Sweet Potato. I made sure by adding extra brown sugar.

Bon Appétit! And to more farmers market barters and adventures.

Clam Linguine

Clams

Clam juice and white wine

Saute onions and garlic

Add tomatoes

Add 1 cup of white wine

Add 1 cup of calm juice

Submerge the clams

Cook until the clams are pried open my the heat

Cook the pasta in extra salty water

Cool under water

Layer on large pan

Add the clam mix and decorate with parsley

Ready to twist around your fork

Spinach and Radicchio salad with Ranch dressing

Baby Spinach

Radicchio leaves with olive oil

Wilt radicchio in oven gently.

Bake potatoes and red onion

I cup mayo, 1/2 cup yogurt, 4 cloves garlic, juice from 1 lemon, 3-4 anchovies and 3 tbsp black peppercorn

Grind to make dressing

Add Radicchio and baked and cooled potatoes and red onion to spinach leaves

Next the dressing

Toss and serve

Plum Pie

The filling

Plums

Add 1 cup of brown sugar

Add 1/4 cup corn starch

Pie Crust

2 cup all purpose flour, 2 cup pastry flour, 3 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt and mix

Add 1 and 1/2 stick of butter

Make crumbly mix

Add 1 cup of cream and 3 eggs

Knead into dough

Layer on pie plate and then add filling and thyme sprigs

Roll over the edges

Bake at 400 F for 35 to 40 min

Succulent pie

Blueberry pie

Paella

2013-08-15T20:49:00.004-07:00

I miss walking the Camino. I wish I could have walked longer. All the way from France. I miss the family I made along the way. Needless to say, I miss the food.

And so when I found a paella contest in the New York Times between an award winning chef and a cook who had watched her grandfather cook paella for every family celebration, I could not wait to join the race. There was the paella of the land with juicy serrano jamon, whole chicken with the skin and fresh chorizo. Then there was the paella of the sea with not just paprika and saffron, but with thyme and cumin, and the with the usual clams and shrimp. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/dining/paella-by-land-and-sea.html.

I picked the paella of the sea. There is nothing more tactile and sensual than prying a chunk of rice with saffron soaked moist clam meat out of its tenacious connection to its shell.

Although the recipe looks complicated, if you divide this into 3 major steps, it becomes easier. And a bottle of sherry definitely helps. A splash into the rice, and a sip for the cook – make sure you finish the bottle.

Step 1:

Make the broth combination for cooking the rice. 3 cups of chicken stock, 2 cups of dry crisp white wine and 2 cups of clam juice added to a pot and simmered.

Step 2:

Make the flavoring by adding 3 tbs of toasted cumin seeds, 3 tbs of smoked paprika, a bunch of thyme, 4 bay leaves, 1 tbs of saffron to 1 cup of dry sherry and simmer and reduce.

Step 3:

Sauté the vegetables, onions, garlic, red pepper and tomato with chorizo and then add 4 cups of short grained rice followed by the brothy mixture and the flavoring.

Step 4:

Bury the clams and shrimp into the rice. Juste Milieu flame: not too high and not too low. Since I had the pan over 2 burners I twisted the paella pan by 45% every 10 min but did not mix or stir the rice.The most difficult task is not to stir the rice. It will be crispy at the bottom to give you the famous socarrat. Tantalizing not to stir but let the juices and spices take their course through the rice, clam and shrimp.

Is that not what life is about? Not the destination but the tantalizing wait. Well my wait was cushioned by Mr. Sweet Potato and a bottle of sherry.

Bon Appetite and happy cooking.

The ingredients

4 cups of chicken broth, 2 cups of white wine and 2 cups of clam stock

Into a pot and simmer

3 tbs of cumin, 3 tbs of smoked paprika, 4 bay leaves and 1 tbs of saffron

Toast the cumin

Add 1 cup of sherry to the cumin

Add the paprika, saffron and thyme

Simmer and reduce

The vegetables, 2 onions, 2 red peppers, 4 tomatoes, handful of garlic

Cut and dice

The Paella pan

Coat with oil

Add the onion and garlic

The chorizo

In goes the chorizo

Next the pepper

And then the tomatoes

4 cups of short grained absorbent rice

In it goes

Remove the thyme from the flavor mixture

Add the broth mixture and the flavor mixture to the rice

Bury the clams and shrimp in

Cook but do not stir

Do not stir but rotate the pan 45 % every 10 min.

after 30 min decorate with cooked red peppers, lemon wedges and roasted pine nuts

Bon Appetite!
Please enjoy the rak rak or blackened rice.

Thai-Vietnamese fusion welcoming summer

2012-07-05T21:16:00.001-07:00

We have all had Pho at a favorite Vietnamese restaurant. The noodles soaking into the broth and sinking to the bottom, large slices of crisp vegetables and juicy beef layered on top. Nothing compares to the tactile pleasure of plucking the basil leaves, and dropping them and pieces of cut chillies into the broth, followed by a generous squeeze of lime and sriracha sauce. Slurping the broth, biting into the crunchy vegetables and sucking in the piping hot rice noodles all demand great dexterity of tongue and teeth.

The nutty salty, and ever so slightly tangy peanut sauce is a staple for fresh spring rolls that just about starts every great Vietnamaese and Thai meal. We've also had green curry at our favorite Thai restaurant. There is something so exhilarating about the paste of galangal, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and coriander leaf and shoots in the sauce that forms the core of green curry. It is like summer in your mouth. Sweeten this fresh and refreshing paste with palm sugar and give it the salty tang with fish sauce, add shallots and garlic for the aromatic flavor, to make it the king of all sauces.

What if you combine these favorite Vietnamese and Thai delicacies together?

David Tanis' recipe from New York Times is one of the most delightful, elegant, taste wise complex and quite complete dinners I have made in a long time. I modified his (Indonesian) recipe for marinating chicken to a Thai version with green curry paste. There is goodness, spice and summery fresh ingredients in every layer of this large bowl of Vietnamese- Thai delight.

I made this two weekends in a row for some lovely friends who absolutely deserve this bowl of happiness. The first weekend for Ms Butterfish and Mr. Garlic Pickle and of course for Mr. Sweet Potato. The next weekend for Ms. Roasted potato with Rosemary and Dijon mustard. Please do try this refreshing recipe to enjoy summer and entertain.

Green Curry Paste for the Chicken

A big bunch of coriander leaves, 2 inches of lemon grass, 3-4 kaffir lime leaves, 2 green chillies, small piece of galangal, 3 cloves of garlic, 1/4 onion, 3 tbs fish sauce and one half of the chunk of palm sugar shown here are all ground together.

Use the purple portion of lemongrass only,

Saute the onion, garlic and chillies prior to grinding to take the raw edge off

Marinate chicken thighs in the green curry paste.

Cook chicken after marinating for 2 hours.

Sweet Dipping sauce for the vegetables

3 green chillies, juice from 3-4 limes and lemons, 3 tbs of white whine vinegar, 3 tbs of fish sauce,
3 tbs of soy sauce, a piece of ginger, 4 cloves of garlic,a big block of palm sugar all ground together.

Again saute the garlic and chillies to the the edge off

Grind all together to make sweet dipping sauce

Add dipping sauce to boiled shredded carrots

Add dipping sauce to boiled broccoli

Layer a plate with the carrots, broccoli, bean sprouts and shredded cucumber

Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup of sesame oil, 2 tbs of rice wine vinegar, 2 tbs of soy sauce, 2 tbs of fish sauce, juice from 1 lime, 2 small pieces of ginger, 1 cup of saltless peanut butter.

Grind all to make peanut sauce.

To cook the noodles

Rice noodles

Soak in hot water for 8-10 min to cook.

Rice noodles go with the peanut sauce

For the toppings

Mint, Thai Basil, Coriander and Lime

Tear up the leaves

Slice lime and spring onion

Dice lemon grass bulbs

Saute the lemon grass in oil to make fritters

The layering for the perfect bowl

Add peanut sauce to rice noodles

Then add carrots, broccoli, bean sprouts, slices cucumber with the sweet dipping sauce

Then the cooked chicken with green curry paste

The toppings of torn leaves, lime, spring onions, lemon grass fritters.

Bowl of goodness, spice and freshness is ready.

No Fettuccine Alfredo here please

2012-06-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

I am not very fond of Italian food. That is until I visited Rome and Florence. Italian restaurants here have so desperately tried to please, that salads are very complicated with salad dressing conjured up by someone trying way too hard, pasta soaking in creamy sauces crying for help and minestrone soup too light and too brothy and lacking the heart, strength and character and the beans it needs, and the wines are shocking fruit bombs in your mouth. Do I enjoy the wine or get hit on the head with a club of sugar.

Then enter a country meal from Florence.The salads fresh, light, and dressing nothing more than olive oil and balsamic vinegar that you mix at the table. Think, grated fresh zucchini with shaved Parmesan, a squeeze of lime and pine nuts. Or fresh baked artichoke and olive oil. The advantage they have is probably fresh vegetables that are not whipped into adulthood in a frenzy of efficiency.

The soups are next. I could write a thesis on them, thick, rich, hearty, exploding with beans, vegetables, meats, and bread. Pasta Figioli soup, with creamy borlotti beans, Ribollita a reboiled bean, vegetable, bread soup with black cabbage left to sit for a day before being served, earthy spelt or farro soup, with farro an ancient grain, in their menu since many centuries before Christ. The anti pasti decorated with such a wide variety of beans. The round yellow Zolfino from Pratomagno, silky smooth Sorano from Pescia.

And the vegetables so fresh and easy to enjoy with tomatoes, wild fennel, black celery, sweet red onions, artichokes of all shapes and sizes, zucchini flowers stuffed and baked, black cabbage, chicory, chard, added to the anti pasti, primi pati and secondo pati.

The pasta had no creamy sauces but just a few prized delicate ingredients. How about olive oil, truffle and porcini mushrooms. Or tomatoes, swiss cheese and chicory. Or saffron and fennel fronds and anchovies.

The bread salt less and unassuming that makes you adore the salty meats. And do the Florentine love their game? A bloody gastronomically gruesome and delicious mess of cow's stomach, cow's lungs, chicken kidney, liver and heart, pig's head, skin and tongue.

Well at home again, and how do you I keep it simple and remember what I have written before. Rearing children and cooking needs no pyro techniques. Just a lot of love.

The Wine:
Brunello. Tastes better with aging. Aromatic odor, elegant and harmonious in taste.

Pasta Figioli soup

Sauteed carrots, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and celery with many many cups of earthy, smooth, rich barlotti beans, soft moist pieces of bacon, petite egg shell pasta and olive oil all slow cooked make it the soup of character I wanted. It just got better and better as the week progressed and by Friday afternoon my lunch box made 12.00 noon a rather exotic time of the day.

The Salad:
I used many different salad leaves, arugula, mache, and romaine. Made it interesting with pickled olives and capers. Dressing is sweet balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

The Pasta
I struggled a lot with the the pasta. Four different times and four different recipes. Then I remembered to keep the pasta itself the king of the dish. And Miss Butterfish's advise to boil the pasta in very salty water and removing it al dente helped.
I added dried porcini mushroom to hot water and a drop of the the incredibly delicate and rich truffle paste that I brought back home. Spinach goes in next on the pan followed by pappardelle pasta boiled in extra salty water and removed al dente. Some olive oil and grated aged pecorino cheese on top and we are done. I think I created the 8th wonder of the world!

The dessert
Gelato of course!
And remember no cappuccino after 10.00 am. An espresso for any time of day or night.

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

Carrots, onion, garlic, celery and tomatoes

Diced carrots, celery, onion, garlic sauteed in olive oil.

Fresh flat leaf parsley

Chopped

The tomatoes and parsley go in next

Add some dried rosemary

Borlotti beans

Into the pot of vegetables

4 cups of vegetable broth goes in next

1 cup egg shell pasta

In they go

Cover and cook

Add several tsps of olive oil

The soup of character

The Salad

Arugula and Romaine leaves

Mashe leaves

Pickled Olives

Capers

Sweet Balsamic Vinegar

olive oil into the vinegar

Whip it up

Add to salad leaves, capers and pickled olives
Shave aged picorino cheese on top

The Pasta

Add caption

Pappardelle pasta

Spinach

Dried porcini mushrooms

Truffle paste

Add a small dot of truffle paste to olive oil

Next the dried porcini mushrooms

Add 2 cups of water

Let it cook

Next the spinach goes in

Boil pasta is very salty water and take out al dente

Add pasta to pan with mushrooms and spinach

Aged pecorino is grated on top

The eighth wonder of the world.

Curry not in a hurry

2012-02-28T11:41:00.000-08:00

Every time I mention to layman or friend that I cook quite a bit and have a cooking blog there is always the the exuberant reply, "Oh I love Indian food!" "I love curry" "What is your favorite Indian Restaurant?" All in quick succession like bullets in a shooting rink.

My reply is an anti-climax. I rarely cook Indian or even more rarely curry. And I most definitely don't have favorite Indian restaurant because I keep expecting my mother's puffy gossamer steamed rice cakes (idlis) and her turmeric tinged yellow yogurt (morkuzhabu) and finely diced carrot cooked with cumin, mustard and dhal. Since that is figment of my fertile imagination that this meal will be served to me at a restaurant, I don't have a favorite Indian place to eat.

The friend or layman is dismayed at my abrupt reply much like the end of an existential French movie and very unlike a Bollywood romance at the end of which all loose ends are properly tied up and just in case you ever doubted the happily ever after there is the high energy dance with synchronised pelvic thrusts and bosom shakes to the prove point of all is well that ends well.

Why then this sudden desire to make curry?

Its my new fancy for roasting and grinding that I picked up in Oaxaca. Like a Renaissance painter who borrows himself in his work, and every brush stroke, every colour, the perfect addition to his canvas. Mexican and Indian cooking are alike that way. Bountiful in spices, all roasted and ground and added to a bubbling pot like that next adroit brush of paint to the canvas.

The New York times featured an elegant recipe for curried chicken and carrot raita that caught my attention. And so the evening was a slow, steady and sizzling combination of spices. Very cathartic. The chicken curry was juicy soaking in the coriander, cumin, black pepper, ginger and garlic. The carrot raita a riot of colour with the freshness of mint and cilantro.

In keeping with this rhythm, after along, hard day of skiing I made veggie chili. Cumin and black pepper are roasted and ground and added to a colourful medley of carrots, peppers, potatoes, zucchini, which are all sauteed and slowly added to a bubbling pot of broth and tomatoes. Guajillo and Mulato chillies soaked in hot water and ground into a paste, go in next. Warm, spicy and caressing every corner of your cold wind swept body after a day whizzing down the slopes. Mr Sweet Potato, Mr Cardamom Chai and Ms Banh Xeo all agreed in unison.

Chicken Curry

Cumin, coriander, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon

Roast the above spices

1 tsp turmeric powder, keep aside

Grind the roast spices

Ginger and garlic

1-2 tsp ginger and 4-5 cloves of garlic

Grind the ginger and garlic

Chicken thighs

Add the ground spices

Add the turmeric powder

Add the ginger and garlic paste

Marinate for an hour or up to a day

Dice half a red onion

Saute onion in oil

Then add the marinated chicken and saute

Add 2 cups chicken broth

Cover and cook for 20-30 min

When reduced to curry add diced cilantro

Serve with rice and the carrot raita

Carrot Raita

Carrots

Mustard, cumin and a little yellow dhal

Diced garlic

Saute spice and garlic in oil

Add to 3 cups of yogurt

Saute shredded carrots in oil

Add to yogurt with spice

Fresh cilantro

Dice and add to yogurt

Dice and add 3 tsp of mint

Colorful, fresh and tingling with flavor

Veggie Chili

3 bell peppers, a bunch of carrots, 4 zucchini, 5 tomatoes, and potatoes

Cut and saute carrots and peppers

Then the zucchini

3 tsp black pepper and 4 tsp cumin

Roast the spices

Grind the spice

Add to sauteed vegetables

Cook some more

Saute potatoes with the same ground spices separately since they take longer to cook

Empty 3 cans of tomatoes and 2-3 cups of broth into larger pot.

Add all the sauteed vegetables to the pot.

Saute the tomatoes

In it goes into the bubbling pot

A bunch of scallions and several cloves of garlic

Saute these too

Add scallions and garlic to pot

2 Mulato chillies and 2 Guajillo chillies

Soak in warm water

Grind the chillies

Add 5 tsp of chili paste to pot

2 cans of mixed beans go in last

Cook for 30 min on low flame

Sliced aged Parmesan cheese on top

Pizza! Pizza!

2012-01-22T21:40:00.000-08:00

I remember the first pizza I ordered after moving to the US - a deep dish swimming pool of cheese and tomato sauce with little swimming toppings that seemed to have stayed out in the sun too long. Why consume this chewy bread with bland tomato sauce, barely there boring toppings and molten lava cheese that scalds the roof of your mouth?

In New York, the thin crust pizzas were better, but the toppings still left a lot to be desired. What if I did not use sauce, and gave the base a better chance of staying crisp? What if the toppings were heaped like a hill, and what if the toppings were adventurous, eclectic and filled with herbs.

The dough: I mix the bread flour and all-purpose baking flour 1:1, with 1 tsp of salt and a couple of teaspoons of sugar. Dry yeast is added to warm water with honey and let it bubble for few minutes before mixing this with the flour to make dough.

Toppings:

Pizza 1- Broccolini and Peppers

Chop broccolini, red and yellow peppers and saute in olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar and rosemary. On the flattened dough, heap the sauteed vegetables and then add shredded mozzarella on top. Bake at 475 degrees (or 450 in convection mode) for 8-10 minutes.
The tart reduction from the balsamic vinegar and the fragrant rosemary complement the crisp base and the melted cheese.

Pizza 2- Tomato, Chantrelle and Basil

Saute small sweet red tomatoes with olive oil and set aside. Gently brown the mushrooms. Layer the flattened dough with basil leaves, and then add tomatoes, browned mushrooms and finely shredded mozzarella. The tomato basil cheese combination gives the pizza a caprese salad twist.

Pizza 3- Swiss chard and egg

Saute chopped Swiss chard, olive oil and sherry vinegar. Layer pizza base with chopped fresh parsley. Then add the sauteed Swiss chard, crack 2-3 eggs on top of the Swiss chard, and finally the grated mozzarella cheese. Bake at 475 degrees (or 450 in convection mode) for 8-10 minutes. The soft creamy yolk balances the slightly bitter and tangy Swiss chard perfectly.

The dough

Bread flour and all purpose flour, 1 cup each

Add a tsp of salt

Add 3-4 tsp of sugar

Add 1 tsp of honey to a cup of warm water

Let sit for 5-10 min and let bubble

Mix above bubbling yeast mixture with flour to make dough

Cover dough and let it rise

Pizza 1- Broccolini and Peppers

Broccolini, red and yellow peppers.

Chop and saute in olive oil

Add diced garlic

2-3 tsp balsamic vinegar

In goes the rosemary

Flatten the dough

The veggie topping with shredded mozzarella on top

Bake at 475 for 8-10 min

Pizza 2- Tomato, Chantrelle and Basil

Brown the mushrooms

Sweet small tomatoes

Saute in olive oil

I used Thai basil

Flatten the dough

Layer with Thai basil followed by tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese

Bake at 475 for 8-10 min

Pizza 3- Swiss chard and egg

Swish Chard

Saute with olive oil and 1 tsp sherry vinegar

Parsley is the first layer

Flatten the dough

Topping of parsley, Swiss Chard and eggs

Shredded mozzarella

Bake at 475 for 8-10 min

Sharp parsley, tangy Swiss chard and soft sensual eggs and melting cheese.
Bon Appetit!

Aha Oaxaca

2012-01-19T18:57:00.000-08:00

I remember the first meal in colorful, fiesta filled Oaxaca. It was breakfast at Andariego restaurant at Oaxaca. Drinking chocolate made from water by adding the famous Oaxacan chocolate and whipping up a layer of foam that tasted like the mighty Aphrodite's heart had been squeezed into it. The soft omelet served with refried beans with a splash of intense anise flavor from crushed avocado leaves - a flavorful change from the re-re-re-fried beans topped by layer of sharp melted mucky cheese at the restaurants back home. Then the spinach juice - refreshing like the pot of immortal nectar extracted from the bottom of the ocean.

Oaxaca - culturally and anthropologically the most diverse state in Mexico, with the valley Zapotecs who have strong pre-Columbian cooking techniques and ingredients using very little lard and meat; the isthmus Zapotecs who are tall and colorful - whose cooking is tropical, more Columbian with sharp spicy flavors and Oaxaca city is the perfect fusion of these - making it the gastronomical delight of Oaxaca. The fusion of pre-Columbian ingredients such as wild greens, chili, cocoa beans, squash, corn and tomatoes - with Spanish ingredients, meat, fat, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, onion and garlic creates the land of seven moles. The way most girls remember their first kiss, I remember my first mole in Oaxaca - at Los Pacos. At the end of the meal, I met the cook to ask her how she made the mole. When she could not tell me exactly what went in, she brought the ingredients out one at a time to show me. The roasting and grinding of the three chile's- mulatto, guajillo, chilhuacle, the sesame seeds, almonds and egg bread, onion, garlic, thyme, Mexican oregano, sweet raisins and bananas to make the Mole Colorado. It was love at first taste.The perfect creamy indulgent combination of spice, sweet, nutty, tart, salty all at once.
Mezcal, the country cousin of Tequila, is made by artisan distillers and each city has a favorite local Mezcal. Mezcal with salt and crushed chili accompanied every dinner before the feast of moles. Stimulating the gastric juices and a ravenous appetite for the moles.

The Central market (next to the Zocalo) and the 20 de Noviembre market is packed with food stalls selling rich frothy chocolate water in large cauldrons, the wonderfully brothy caldo de pollo, cactus fruit (called tuna) flavored ice-creams, soft salty cheese - queso fresco anejo and cojita, every part of the pig, and chili's of every shape, size and heat, which when toasted on the comal (grill) and ground create that special, wonderfully flavorful Oaxacan meal.

This is my Oaxacan meal back home.
Rice - my favorite rice is Jasmine, not Basmati, or Spanish or sticky. Jasmine rice is so wonderfully fragrant and easy to cook. Some aromatic onion, garlic, and chepil leaves slow cooked with chicken broth in a large cast iron pot is the perfect way to bring out the best of Jasmine rice. Chepil leaves are hard to find here, and so I used cilantro and cumin as substitutes. Watercress and parsley leaves will serve as adequate substitutes too.

Refried beans - no cheese, but garlic, onion, roasted cumin, and avocado leaves add a complex and smoky depth to the beans.

Salsa - I roasted tomatoes, jalapenos on a hot comal, and then cooled them until the oils were released. Then peel the tomatoes and jalapenos and crush them in a molcajete with chopped garlic, white onions and cilantro. Mouth watering (and eye watering).

The above three recipes are variations from my cooking class at Oaxaca at Seasons of my Heart.

Mole -This recipe is from Casa de Abuela and from the The Oaxacan cookbook by Zarela Martinez. Her food is for the heart and soul. She writes with such admiration, detail and love that is hard not to be taken over by this force of nature, that her book is. Her book was my Bible during my Oaxacan trip. The Mole de Almendrado is from her book.

Dia Del Muertos decorations

The ubiquitous comal for roasting

Chayote

Cactus or nopal

Tajate or cold frothy chocolate drink

Salsa

Tomatoes, 1-2 jalapenos, 1 white onion

Cilantro

Roast the tomatoes until the skin browns and crinkles

Roast the jalapenos

Chop onion and garlic

Molcajete

Cool and let juices be released and then peal the skin

Crush tomatoes and pepper in salsa bowl with pestle

Add onion and garlic and crush some more

Add finely chopped cilantro and crush

Refried beans

Avocado leaves

Saute onion, garlic and avocado leaves

Boiled and mashe red beans. Add the sauteed onion, garlic, avocado and cumin and blend

With a refreshing anise flavour

Rice with cumin and cilantro

Add olive oil to cast iron pot

Saute 1 onion, 4 cloves of garlic

Add cumin and saute

Add 2 cups of jasmine rice and 5 cups of chicken broth

Add diced cilantro

Cover and cook
Check every 5 min to mix

Steamy fragrant rice ready

Mole Almendrado

The spices; Canela or soft curled Ceylonese cinnamon, cloves, peppers, Mexican oregano

The tangy elements; pimento stuffed green olives, and fat juicy capers.

The sweet and nutty with raisins and blanched almonds

The aromatics; onion and garlic

Tomatoes

Egg bread

Start by sauteing chicken thighs in oil

Set aside

Saute blanched almonds

Then soak the almonds in water and set aside

Take a handful of egg bread, cut and saute in oil and set aside

Saute onion and garlic

Add tomatoes and cook and set aside

Blend onion, garlic and cooked tomatoes

Add to the above mix the blanched, sauteed, soaked almonds and egg bread and grind

To the above ground mix add raisins and grind

The creamy mix in a cast iron pot

ground canela, black pepper, cloves and Mexican oregano

Add to the pot

In goes the capers, olives and chicken last

Add a cup of chicken broth and slow cook

Eat with jasmine cilantro rice

Zarela Martinez's cook book.

Winter Vegetable Ragout and Biscotti for Christmas

2011-12-28T20:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas dinner was not a grand undertaking, having worked the weekend before and having to work on Christmas day. No complaints since I spent Thanksgiving week in lovely gregarious, colorful fiesta-laden Oaxaca and Mexico City. Juxtaposed with a flavorful trip to San Antonio. So when Christmas Eve came, I was rushing to the market before the 4pm closing time. Something warm, flavorful, colorful and quick.

A winter vegetable ragout and a simple dessert of biscotti studded with figs, cranberries and almonds - with blood orange sorbet. I wanted to use a big cast iron pot for my short evening of pleasure-filled cooking, and hence, the winter vegetable ragout - by Annie Somerville of Greens restaurant in San Francisco. Soft buttery butternut squash, sweet flakes of fennel, and several teaspoons of aromatic fennel seeds, colorful tangy rainbow chard and sun-dried tomatoes, large Italian butter beans that melt in your mouth like silk pillows under your head, and a herby delight of fresh oregano, thyme and sage. Oh to dip crisp, paprika sprinkled homemade croutons in this winter delight until they soak up the herbaceous juices.

Then came the dunking delights. Pumpkin and plum pies are perfect. I've tried eclectic flavored ice-creams - including the prickly pear (called Tuna in Mexico), soft chewy oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate chip, and crumbly Italian Christmas cookies that melt into a sugary fountain in your mouth, but the fairest of them all as the mirror on the wall says are the the dunking cookies. I remember as a child - dunking biscuits into a large glass of warm milk until they almost disintegrated, and then rushing them into my mouth before they collapsed and sank to the bottom of the glass. I still remember the cannoli I dunked into coffee in Little Italy in New York, the sugary creamy rush of life in my mouth. Then came the rusk dipped into warm, sweet, Cardamom Chai on cold, rainy Seattle days wishing for a glimpse of Mt Rainier again. Crispy biscotti sunk into my afternoon latte at work. In keeping with this passion for dunking born rather early in life, is my simple elegant Christmas dessert. The bejewelled biscotti by Rosoe Betsill channels this very passion. This biscotti is bursting with tangy cranberries, soft sweet figs. The recipe called for apricots and cranberries but I used figs instead as I thought the combination of cranberries and apricots to be too tangy for any dipping. And I used sliced almonds since I did not have the time to peel the pistachios that the recipe asked for. Although I would have preferred this ridiculously green, softest and most flavorful of nuts. I served the biscotti with orange sorbet and thyme. Crunchy and yet juicy bursting with the zing of cranberries and the sweetness of Turkish figs. The next day I made coffee all groggy eyed before going to work and I heard Mr Sweet Potato scream, "I shall have my coffee with a biscotti". Coffee and Biscotti, a match made in heaven.

As for a light, but oh so lovely way to make eggs for a Christmas breakfast, I used a recipe by Ms, Butterfish. It involves baking eggs in ramekins with sauteed leeks ( I used red pepper) and chives ( no chives in the fridge and so basil and parsley it was) with panko bread and Parmesan cheese at the bottom of the ramekin. As you scoop up the baked egg, delicious unexpected pieces of pepper/leek and basil/chives cling tantalizing to the fork. As Mr Saffron chimed in, you could use mushroom and spinach combination too. Such an elegant recipe as Ms Butterfish said.

Bon Appetite
And Merry Christmas to everyone!

Winter Ragout

The winter vegetable mix, butternut squash, parsnips, fennel, pepper, Swiss chard

Sage,thyme,oregano

Fennel seeds, sun dried tomato, garlic

Dry white wine, pinot grigio

Bake butternut squash in the oven at 400 for 15 min

Saute diced pepper, parsnips, and garlic

Sweet sweet fennel

Add sliced fennel and 3-5 tsp of fennel seeds.

add a cup of dry white wine

Juicy butter beans go in next

2 cups of vegetable broth

Next the Swiss chard

tangy sun dried tomatoes

Add the baked butternut squash

herb bag for the thyme

Bag stuffed with thyme

Sage and oregano next and cook for 10-15 min

Fresh paprika layered croutons on top

Dunkin delight

1 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup almond flour, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp baking powder and 1tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 cup of olive oil.

Whisk together

Cranberries

Turkish figs cut up

Sliced almonds

Add all of the above together

Flatten out

Transfer to baking tray

Bake at 400 for 10 min and then slice into pieces

Bake for another 20 min at 400

Serve with orange sorbet and thyme

Post Christmas breakfast

Saute peppers yellow and red for 5 min

Add basil and parsley

Then Parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs

Saute for just 30 sec longer

Add to ramekin

Add 1 egg on top and a little Parmesan cheese and 2 tsp of cream or milk

Bake at 400 for 10-12 min

Scoop of happiness!