Ham Pie Sandwiches

Banana avocado spinach flaxseed smoothie

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:24:00 +0000

One big benefit to living in California is the produce. No, I can't have ramps, but yes, I can have a 2-lb bag of tiny avocados for $2. Seems like a fair exchange to me.

So the other day I was pondering my breakfast options. I had my bag of avocados, a couple bananas, a new vat of plain yogurt, and a bunch of spinach. It was clearly time for a cool and comforting green smoothie.

I've said I dislike bananas in smoothies, and this is generally true, since the bananas required are generally the truly squishy and brown ones that get chopped up and thrown in back of the freezer as a last resort against waste. But I didn't use a frozen overripe banana--I used a fresh, barely ripe, slightly firm banana. In short, I used a banana caught at the exact stage I want to eat it most.

This turned out to be an excellent plan.

Banana avocado spinach flaxseed smoothie

1 banana, unfrozen
big handful spinach leaves
1-2 tsp flaxseed meal
several large spoonfuls plain yogurt
1 small avocado or 1/2 large

Blend it! Drink it!

The result was very thick and creamy, so if you prefer a thinner smoothie, you may want to add a couple ice cubes or a splash of the milk of your choice before blending.

What are you chucking into your smoothies lately?

We have been eating

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 13 May 2013 02:35:00 +0000

Like everyone who writes a foodblog, I make and eat a lot of food I don't write about. Let's look at some of it!

I was excited enough about zucchini that I made and ate not only two separate instances of zucchini tacos, but also a pan of fried rice. Green onion, mushroom, carrot, zucchini, leftover brown long-grain rice, and egg. I mixed the onion greens and some chopped cilantro in at the end, then scattered the plate with little bits of parmesan. Yes please.

I got super excited a couple weeks ago when I saw this recipe for Goan black-eyed pea curry on Girl Cooks World. So I cooked up a batch, and we ate it for dinner, and was it ever good. SO good. It's absolutely going in the rotation.

Next time I think I might shred a couple carrots and add them near the end of cooking, to up the vegetable content and add another textural element. Or maybe I'll serve it over a big plate of barely blanched spinach tossed with a little melted butter instead of rice. Either. Both. I don't know!

And finally, because I don't know about you, but I totally bought an entire two pound bag of tiny avocados a few weeks ago, we have AVOCADO TOAST. I just sliced up half an avocado, put it on a piece of hot toast, and added a sprinkle of salt and pepper. With a little bowl of cottage cheese with chopped green onion and cilantro, it was a perfect breakfast.

Hooray!

What have you been cooking, photographing, eating with great gusto, and then never posting about? You guys must have all kinds of delicious business that never sees the light of day too, right?

Zucchini tacos two ways

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:07:00 +0000

We are back from Michigan! Unfortunately, I accidentally left my camera on in my bag overnight, so I have no pictures to give you. But I do have pictures of things I made before we went to Michigan!

So. TACOS.

Traditional tacos are pretty straightforward: beans or meat, crunchy shredded leaves, and a salsa or garnish of some type. So you get things like fish tacos with cabbage slaw and pickled onions, chicken tacos with shredded lettuce, onion, and cilantro, and straight-up pinto bean tacos with more lettuce and pico de gallo.

Then you start adding more things, and the traditional tacos get blown out of the water.

Don't get me wrong: traditional tacos are amazing and I love them very much. But when the first zucchini start showing up at the farmer's market, I want to eat them every which way, and one way is in the taco of my choice.

Some of you may be saying something along the lines of "UGH! Squash in a taco is an abomination! This is what's wrong with every so-called 'vegetarian burrito' ever made. Why do you torment us so??" Fair point! Most of the time tacos and burritos filled with zucchini (and its awful counterpoint, broccoli, which I flatly do not believe can be saved here) are watery and bland, devoid of protein, and dripping with colorless juice that soaks the tortilla through before you're even halfway through. These tacos are different.

By pan-frying the zucchini with onion and herbs, you not only burn off the offensive juices, but also flavor the resulting vegetable mass beautifully. Adding scrambled egg or refried black beans takes care of the protein problem. And cooking the tortillas over open flame provide an extra element of crispness to fight against the sog factor.

I made two different kinds of zucchini tacos: one for breakfast and one for lunch. Both start out in very much the same way.

Saute chopped onion and/or garlic in a frying pan with a little olive oil or butter. While it's softening, toast as many corn tortillas as you want tacos on both sides over the gas flame. You can do this in a frying pan if you have an electric stove, but the gas burner char is really amazing. Put your finished tortillas aside, covered with a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm.

Chop up your zucchini and add it to the pan. Salt, pepper, cumin, oregano. Cook over medium to medium-high heat, stirring or tossing frequently. It should take five minutes or so before your zucchini has released all its liquid and begins to turn golden around the edges. This is what you want.

For breakfast tacos: scramble a couple of eggs, either with your finished zucchini or by themselves. Add in a bit of chopped cilantro or green onion if you want. Layer your tortillas with the finished eggs, the zucchini mixture, and a scattering of the cheese of your choice. I used parmesan because we had some lying around.

Hooray! Tacos!

For lunch or dinner tacos: Warm up some black or refried beans in a separate pan, or shove all the zucchini and onion to one side of your frying pan and just warm them in the empty spot.

Layer your tortillas with the hot beans, zucchini, and some sliced avocado. Scatter cilantro over the tops.

Hooray! Double tacos!

What have you been stuffing into tortillas lately?

Cottage cheese, carrot, and fresh herb salad

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:12:00 +0000

This weekend we are in Michigan for a family wedding. That means, among other things, that yesterday morning John and I had some of the vilest airport coffee you can possibly imagine. OH MAN. It was actually so bad that I'd put it in the "unbelievable" category. Not the best breakfast on the planet.

You know what is one of the best breakfasts on the planet? Cottage cheese.

Obviously cottage cheese is one of those foods that you either love or hate. If you hate it, that's fine. I love it. It's instant delicious protein and hits your bloodstream almost immediately: perfect for mornings when you need food NOW or you will collapse in a large and awkward pile.

I also theorize that, as a northern European mutt, I'm genetically prone to be able to digest dairy well as an adult. Hey, cows were one of the most important animals in both early Irish and German culture, right? And the cows were generally too valuable to butcher with any sort of frequency, so people relied on milk and cheese (among other things) instead. It makes sense.

What I do not love is cottage cheese mixed with sweet things such as jam or fruit. Cottage cheese should remain its own savory self. That's why I eat it plain, I eat it in salatka with radishes and sour cream, and I eat it like this, with a mishmash of vegetables and herbs.

On this particular occasion, I had a couple carrots, a green onion, a bunch of cilantro, and some backyard parsley and oregano. Why not mix it all together, pepper it up, and call it breakfast?

The texture contrast between crunchy raw carrot and tender cheese is especially nice.

Cottage cheese, carrot, and fresh herb salad

cottage cheese
carrot
green onion
herbs of your choice
salt, pepper

Put as much cottage cheese as you want to eat in a bowl. If you like, you can thicken & tarten it up by adding plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, but it's also totally fine to just leave it.

Scrub and grate your carrot; chop your green onion and herbs. Add them to the cottage cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix everything together and eat it. Hooray! Breakfast of dairy-digesting champions!

What oddities are you eating for breakfast lately?

Mango and avocado salad with toasted sesame seeds

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:00:00 +0000

It's mango season!

I got this year's incoming mango alert from Janet of The Taste Space, who clearly loves them above all other fruit. She has an amazing array of vegan mango recipes, for those of you. Super exciting!

Anyway, when I went to the store a few days ago I discovered not only giant flats of mangos everywhere, but also a serious two-for-$1 sale. I didn't know what I was going to do with two mangos, but I bought them anyway. Avocados, green onions, and a bunch of 49-cent cilantro happened to jump into my basket too. And a few days later, when my avocados were perfectly ripe, I realized I had the makings of a seriously amazing salad on my hands.

For one large serving or two smaller servings, you'll need one small mango, one similarly sized avocado, one green onion, a handful of sesame seeds, and several stems of cilantro. If you hate cilantro, you can switch it out with fresh mint, or just leave it out entirely and double your green onions instead. I totally ate this entire thing myself, no problem.

If we'd had a cucumber lying around, I would absolutely have diced it up and added it too. Now that I've thought of that, I really need to try it. The extra crunch would be a great contrast to the softer textures of mango and avocado.

Mango and avocado salad with toasted sesame seeds

mango
avocado
green onion
cilantro
sesame seeds
red pepper flakes
salt
sesame oil

Start by cutting up your mango. If you've never done this before, here's a YouTube video that shows the technique very clearly.

Cut the mango flesh off the pit, one side at a time. Slice a crosshatch into each side of the mango, bringing the point of the knife up to but not through the skin. Scoop the finished pieces out with a spoon, or turn the skin inside out and cut off the pieces with a small knife. Trim as many extra bits from around the pit as possible. Peel and dice those as well.

Cut the avocado in half, removing the pit. Crosshatch each side, just like you did with the mango. Use a spoon to scoop out the cubes of avocado flesh.

Put your mango and avocado into a large bowl and mix gently. You may have to use your fingers to separate the bits of avocado.

Trim a green onion, halve it lengthwise, and cut it into fine slices. If you like cilantro, strip the leaves off several stems and chop them roughly. Add the green onion & herbs to the mixing bowl.

Toast a generous handful of sesame seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat. Keep an eye out and swirl the pan frequently. As they cook, the seeds will darken a bit, pop, and start to smell toasty and amazing. As soon as your seeds have turned golden, take them off the heat. Wait a minute for them to cool slightly before adding them to the bowl. The whole toasting process should take about five minutes.

Season your bowl of salad lightly with salt and red pepper flakes. Dress with a squeeze of sesame oil. Gently mix the entire business together. Taste, correct any seasonings, and serve.

This salad would be perfect alongside some seared teriyaki tofu or salmon. Actually, sushi-grade salmon cut into strips would be a great garnish to arrange across the top of a serving of salad. That sounds like the best lunch in the world.

What are you making with all the mangos that have been popping up lately?

Tilapia with smoked almond crust

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:41:00 +0000

Ok, y'all. I am back on the wagon. By "back on the wagon," I mean I am writing things. And yes, I am allowed to use the word "y'all" in good health & good conscience. I lived in North Carolina for a whole year!

I am also glad to hear that my MFA is standing me in good stead even 12 years after the fact. Thanks, guys.

So. Let's talk about nuts.

Every Sunday on my trip through our local farmer's market I make my way to the far back corner. That's where the almonds are.

I'm sure by now I've mentioned the amazing array of almonds at the farmer's market. There have to be at least 30 different spice mixtures. Cinnamon, toffee, sesame, citrus; cheddar, jalapeno, applewood, hickory. They're all out for the sampling, and the sample strategy works, because I regularly come home with a $6 container of fancy luxury almonds when I could totally get some ordinary roasted ones from the supermarket bulk bins. Still. These are better.

My favorite are all smoked. This time I got applewood.

They're delicious on their own, but they're even more delicious with something else.

Let's make some smoked almond-crusted whitefish, okay?

Smoked almonds! Beautiful white fish! Ten minutes of cooking! What's not to love?

Seared tilapia with smoked almond crust

smoked or roasted almonds
flour
salt, pepper
tilapia or other whitefish filet
butter

Finely chop a large handful of almonds per fish filet. You can use a food processor if you want to and have one, but otherwise, a knife will be fine.

On a shallow plate, mix your chopped nuts with a tablespoon of flour and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Wash and pat dry your filet of fish. Dip it into the dish of chopped nuts, pressing gently to coat. Turn it over and do the same to the other side.

Sear your fish in a hot frying pan with a pat of butter. The timing will depend on the filet's thickness. Mine took about three minutes per side. When the first side is cooked and the nuts are beginning to turn dark brown, carefully turn it over with a spatula.

Sear the other side until the fish is cooked through. Plate. Melt another pat of butter in the hot pan and pour it over your finished fish, if you like.

Eat your fish with a side salad or some sort of serious green vegetable of your choice. Lemon is not really necessary with nuts, but it can be delicious. It's up to you.

I am ok. How are you guys doing?

Weekend tacos

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:44:00 +0000

On Saturday I went to the park to read a book and discovered a young woman sitting in the grass straight-up sobbing for a good ten minutes.

Afterward I walked up the street, passing two guys in their 50s playing basketball in a driveway. The ball got away from them, and one guy went after it, while the second made small talk with me. "Hi! How are you? Nice weather." I agreed that it was very nice weather. Then, as I continued to walk away, he said, "Don't get yourself killed." I immediately & without batting an eye agreed that I would try not to.

It turned out that he was actually talking to his friend, who had chased the basketball into the street, but still. That's what the week was like. I am more than willing and happy to accept wishes that I not die from a random person on the street.

I don't have a whole lot to say about food today. I transplanted the tomatoes a few days ago: Boxcar Willie and Caspian Pink. I stood around drinking Modelo and weeding and watering for a good chunk of the weekend. The jasmine is still in bloom. Overripe oranges keep falling off the tree, and I find them on the ground, smashed, half-eaten, and filled with ants.

Last night we made tacos. Onion, carrot, jalapeno, black bean; long-grain brown rice; chopped lettuce and grape tomato; corn tortillas charred over the flame; hot sauce. I put cream cheese on mine, because that was the cheese we had in the house. Later, for a midnight snack (ok, a 9:30 snack), I charred one more tortilla, filled it with leftover beans and cheese, folded it in half, and set it to toast over the gas. It was warm and tasty and comforting, and I ate it and played some puzzle games and went to bed.

A nice relaxing beer

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 01:02:00 +0000

After this week, I think we all could use a beer.

Mine is Uncommon Brewers' Baltic Porter. Organic beer from Santa Cruz! You can't get much more relaxing (and local, as long as you're in the south bay) than that.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I plan to avoid as much stress as possible for the duration of the weekend. I hear that it's emergency blanket fort day in some corners of the internet. Well, it's too warm here for blanket forts, but not too warm for beer.

I hope you & yours all get the chance to draw some deep breaths and relax this weekend.

Open-faced tomato, mushroom, and herb sandwiches with melted mozzarella

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:18:00 +0000

It's been a long few days. Here, have a sandwich.

(I'm so tempted to just title this "A Sandwich.")

Open-faced tomato, mushroom, and herb sandwiches with melted mozzarella

sourdough
dijon mustard
green onion
cilantro
grape tomatoes
mushrooms
mozzarella
pepper

Spread a layer of mustard on as many slices of sourdough bread as you want sandwiches. Chop up all your different vegetables and herbs and layer them on as well. If you hate cilantro, you can sub in parsley, or just chop up some spinach instead. Slice up some mozzarella and layer it over the top. Grind some black pepper over each finished sandwich.

Toast in the toaster oven until warm and bubbly and just barely golden brown.

Eat.

Have some of the last few clementines for dessert.

Coconut extravaganza!

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:45:00 +0000

I have a new favorite ingredient and its name is coconut. Coconut oil, coconut milk, actual shreds of sweetened coconut--I want it all. Okay! Let's do it!

My stash of extra virgin coconut oil had been sitting around alone and unloved ever since I used it in my 3-ingredient DIY deodorant. (This has been working just about perfectly for me, incidentally, so if you've been putting off making your own homemade deodorant, go for it!) But now? Now it is no longer alone and unloved. I've started using it as a cooking oil, and is it ever great.

I started out by making Gena's curried lentils, substituting red lentils for the specified yellow, and serving the whole shebang over basmati rice. The coconut oil gives this curry a faint tropical undertone and a richer mouthfeel, making the whole dish much more satisfying.

This was amazing, not to mention practically free. Isn't that a great feeling? I heart practically free food. And it tasted just about perfect, whether with avocado (always a plus) or with a big spoonful of plain yogurt and some sriracha sauce. When you put those two traits together, you know you have a good thing on your hands.

I liked it so much that I made a big pot of very similar red lentil soup with coconut oil and quinoa several days later. That one got the yogurt and sriracha treatment too. So good.

Next, I started drooling over Michelle's beautiful-looking coconut bread. Clearly, I needed to test it out and determine its actual deliciousness level. So I bought a bag of shredded coconut and went to town.

This recipe is based on the original at Smitten Kitchen, but substitutes in coconut milk in place of dairy. I'm thinking this made the loaf a bit heavier overall--but it also made it an especially coconutty delight. COCONUT!

The only change I made was to sub in wheat flour in place of the all-purpose. This is kind of the default at our house, since we almost never have all-purpose flour, but always have whole wheat kicking around. Wheat flour generally gives a slightly more damp and hearty character to baked goods, and that was certainly the case here. I think it worked especially well with all the chewy strands of sweet shredded coconut.

Toasted in the toaster oven, cut into cubes, and topped with sliced sugared strawberries, this bread made one of the best desserts ever. Or maybe one of the best breakfasts ever. Either. Both. Yes.

Speaking of strawberries, how about a coconut milk and strawberry smoothie?

I had just about 1/4 cup of coconut milk left after making my coconut bread, so I stuck it in the freezer for a few days. Then, when I scored some windfall white grapefruit, but didn't want to make it into a typical alcoholic beverage--the fact that it was Monday at 11:30 am helped a lot there--I decided it was smoothie time.

White grapefruit, strawberries, frozen coconut milk, and yogurt made a delightfully tart, thick, and filling creation. I also got to avoid the bane of my smoothie existence: frozen bananas. Seriously, frozen bananas are one of the main reasons I don't do smoothies more often (the other reasons are my visceral repulsion as regards the word "smoothie" and my dislike of washing the blender), so discovering the wonders of frozen coconut milk essentially made the heavens open right there.

I put my smoothie in a mason jar. This worked out especially well, because when I discovered I was too full to drink the entire thing, I just put a lid on it and put it in the refrigerator, a la KERF. Then, the next day, I drank it for completely instant and ready-made breakfast. Hooray!

What's next on the coconut agenda? Hmmm...any suggestions?

Baby leek and potato gratin

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:48:00 +0000

Spring means ramp season across much of the US, and the foodbloggers are starting to sit up and take notice. Ramp chimichurri, ramp pasta, ramp foraging and preserving guides--it's all ramps all the time.

Guess what I have never once seen in California? That's right: ramps.

Instead, when I went to the farmer's market last weekend, guess what I found?

That's right: it's the new season's first baby leeks. So tiny! So delightful! They aren't ramps, but they're still beautiful new fragrant alliums barely as thick as my index finger--and at $1.75 a bunch, I'll definitely take them.

And then I'll smother them in cream sauce and bake them into a fragrant potato gratin. Sure! Why not?

This recipe requires three main components: sauce, vegetables, and breadcrumb crust. If you are working by yourself, you may want to get the vegetables prepped in advance, but you can also cut them up afterward as long as you remember to watch the sauce and stir it occasionally. If you're working with someone else, you can do the veg and sauce at the same time. The breadcrumbs can go last with no problem.

All the leftover leek greens went immediately into a batch of vegetable broth destined for the freezer. Because it's great to make veg broth on the fly and everything, but sometimes you just want to whack a chunk of premade broth into a pot and walk away.

Baby leek and potato gratin

butter
flour
half and half/cream
milk
nutmeg, pepper
gruyere
leeks
potatoes
breadcrumbs
olive oil
dijon mustard

For the sauce, start by melting half a stick of butter over medium heat in a saucepan of your choice. (We used the gratin dish, so as to avoid an extra dirty pot, but I wouldn't recommend it.) Add 4 tablespoons of flour and whisk together, cooking for about three minutes, to make a roux. Add a pint of cream or half and half and continue to cook, whisking frequently, for a good five minutes or so. The sauce will thicken as it cooks. You can add a bit of milk to thin it down if you think it needs it.

Season your thickened sauce with a tiny bit of nutmeg and a copious amount of ground black pepper. Gradually whisk in several large handfuls of grated gruyere cheese. If you want to use another cheese, feel free; just keep in mind that any highly flavored cheeses are going to dominate the finished product.

Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of a pan of sauce mornay!

Okay. The vegetables mostly require a lot of cleaning and chopping. I used five little leeks and five boiling potatoes. Trim the roots and the ends of the tough greens off your leeks, split them in half, and wash them really well under cold running water. Slice them into inch-long chunks.

Scrub your potatoes well, removing any eyes. You can peel them if you like; I don't bother. Cut them in half, rest each half on its cut side, and slice into the thinnest slices you can manage. If you're prepping potatoes in advance, make sure to put them into a bowl of cold water; otherwise they can oxidize and turn to black mush in an astonishingly short period of time. Then just drain and pat them with a paper towel before assembling the gratin.

When your sauce and veg are ready, mix them together and pour them into a gratin dish or casserole of your choice. I also splashed a bit of milk over the top of mine, since the sauce was pretty thick and I wanted to make sure the potatoes had enough liquid to absorb.

Now it's time for the crust. This is easy. Just mix a cup or so of breadcrumbs with a sprinkling of olive oil, a couple spoonfuls of dijon mustard, and a bit of pepper. We usually end up cubing pieces of fresh bread for our crumbs, but whatever you have should work. Mix everything together, making sure you have enough oil to coat the bread. Then spread your breadcrumb mixture over the top of your gratin dish. If you have extra grated cheese, scatter it on last. Otherwise, the breadcrumbs work well by themselves.

Now put the whole thing in the oven and bake at 350F for about forty minutes, or until your potatoes are tender to the point of a knife and your breadcrumbs are golden and sizzling.

Hooray! Beautiful, golden, fragrant gratin!

We ate our gratin as dinner, with big mesclun and grape tomato salads. Then I ate the leftovers for breakfast the next day, after a short encrispening in the toaster oven. I didn't put a fried egg on top, but I was tempted. That would be pretty perfect, especially with another big bed of greens.

The tomatoes were also at the farmer's market, incidentally, as were a vast array of heirloom tomato plants. I got two. Soon they will be in my garden. SOON.

Which alliums are popping up at your market? What are you making with them?

Sauteed asparagus with cabbage and sesame

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:00:00 +0000

It's spring! And you know what that means: asparagus.

Yes. Asparagus has definitely been on our plates for the past few weeks, and it's going to stay there at least until the end of the month. Roasted asparagus. Steamed asparagus over salad. Asparagus risotto. Maybe we'll even try asparagus tempura one of these days.

So the other night we were clearing out some of the freezer and making simple spicy veg broth with vegetable and tofu dumplings for dinner. What would work well with that? How about an asparagus saute with some shredded cabbage and toasted sesame seeds? Fast, fresh, crunchy, and nutty--yes, please.

This was one of the swiftest dinners I've made in recent memory. The vegetables took about five minutes from start to finish, while the broth took maybe ten minutes to defrost and boil, and another three or four minutes to cook the dumplings. That's a multi-dish dinner in fifteen minutes. I could get used to this.

Sauteed asparagus with cabbage and sesame

peanut oil
1 bunch asparagus
1/4 cabbage (Napa or otherwise)
salt
sesame seeds
sesame oil

Warm a large saute pan over medium to high heat. While you're waiting, trim off the hard woody ends of your asparagus stems and cut the edible parts into reasonable pieces. Core and finely chop your cabbage.

Add a slug of peanut oil to your pan and swirl to coat. Then add your asparagus and cabbage, along with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

While your asparagus and cabbage are cooking, toast your sesame seeds in a separate small pan. I used enough seeds to cover the bottom of an 8-inch pan--maybe 1/8 cup. Toast for about 3 minutes, tossing frequently. When your sesame seeds turn slightly golden and begin to smell delicious, they are done. Turn off the heat and set them aside until your vegetables are done.

When your asparagus and cabbage are tender, turn off the heat. Pour your sesame seeds over your vegetables, add a few dashes of sesame oil, and stir to coat.

We ate this as a side, but I think it would also be good as a main dish, topped with a fried or poached egg. Who doesn't want a fried egg on top of a pile of delicious vegetables? I ask you.

How are you eating your spring asparagus?

Spicy tuna melt with cilantro and sambal oelek

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:24:00 +0000

I haven't had a tuna melt in at least ten years. The last time I remember eating a tuna melt, I was in a bowling alley in East Lansing. White bread, mayo, american cheese--the works.

So what spurred me to make a tuna melt for lunch? I mean, besides that I wanted to actually use some of the emergency tuna I've had in the cupboard for who knows how long.

Well, I wanted to change up the traditional tuna melt, and transform it into something more interesting and less mayonnaisey. I wanted to make it a vehicle for interest and spice. Okay. So let's make the tuna salad component mayo-less, and dress it with a bit of olive oil instead. And let's use some of the big bunch of cilantro that's been hanging out in the crisper. And how about spicing it up with some sambal oelek and mustard? I was out of Chinese hot mustard, so I had to use dijon, but it worked nonetheless.

I can totally see adding a bunch of chopped mint and basil (either along with or in place of the cilantro, according to your cilantro preferences), and maybe even a few drops of fish sauce, for a more obvious Thai tuna salad concoction. I could also see adding some diced hard-boiled egg, for double protein and fat deliciousness. It's tuna salad; you can do whatever you want to it.

One can of tuna will make enough salad for two open-faced melts.

Spicy tuna salad

can of tuna
celery
carrot
scallion (or red onion)
cilantro
sambal oelek (or other hot chili paste)
mustard (dijon or spicy Chinese)
salt, pepper
olive oil

Drain your can of tuna and deposit it into a mixing bowl. Finely dice a stick of celery, a small carrot, and a scallion, and add them to the bowl. You can use more or less veg according to your preferences.

Rip the leaves off a couple stems of cilantro, chop them up, and add them to the bowl. Spoon in sambal oelek and mustard to taste, season with a bit of salt and several large grinds of pepper, and dress with a drizzle of olive oil. Stir it all up and taste it to make sure you're happy with all the proportions.

Voila! Spicy tuna salad.

To make it a tuna melt:

spicy tuna salad
bread
cheese

Put spicy tuna salad on your choice of bread. Cover with a few slices of the cheese of your choice. I used sharp cheddar, which is admittedly a bit weird with the cilantro and sambal combination, but it worked out admirably. The only other cheese in the house was goat cheese, and that's not what I wanted, so. I do think some spoonfuls of cream cheese could be deployed to good effect instead, though.

Heat up your tuna melt(s) in the toaster oven or under the broiler. When the cheese is melted and beginning to risp, you're ready.

Eat. I put a bit of extra torn cilantro over the top of mines, because CILANTRO, but that's really up to you.

Note that it's impossible to plate a tuna melt in a fancy manner. The extra cilantro was all I could manage. I mean, I guess a bed of greens could happen, but that would be pretty nonsensical, so I didn't bother. And anyway, who cares? It's a tuna melt. What I really needed was a wide stoneware diner plate with the traditional blue rim. I bet we could even plonk down some kimchi in place of the traditional slaw and dill pickle spear.

Now I want a set of diner plates. Great.

What traditional foods have you turned on ear lately?

Orange poppyseed cake

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 04:25:00 +0000

I seem to be developing a taste for simple loafy cakes, made with a minimum of sugar and a total lack of frosting. The best part of a cake like this is its versatility. A slice is perfect for breakfast, a midafternoon snack with tea, or an easy dessert. I could definitely use some more options for all of those occasions. Clearly, we needed a cake in the house.

So I looked around the internet and decided to make Cookie & Kate's orange poppyseed pound cake--almost totally according to the recipe--and it was great. Hey, what better use of the oranges on our tree and the slowly diminishing half-pound bag of poppyseeds in the spice cabinet?

Here's what it looks like when you smash a bunch of orange zest into a mix of powdered and raw sugar. Orange and sugar paste!

I had to use the mix of sugars because we don't run the kind of household that normally has random pounds of sugar hanging around. Of course, we also don't normally have powdered sugar. It was just a happy accident, and it worked really well in the cake, besides. That's the only change I made.

SEEDS APLENTY.

There was no licking of the bowl.

I actually oiled the pan before lining it with parchment. This meant the oil held the parchment firmly in place while I was pouring in the batter. Nice. How did I not know this trick before?

The result? A dense and moist loaf of cake with just the barest hint of orange scent, studded with all the crunchy seeds in the land. The overall texture actually reminds me of banana bread, although no bananas were involved.

As with practically every cake I make, I ended up eating a slice or two with peanut butter. Verdict: that's some good breakfast. Or snack. Or dessert.

What kind of cake are you eating this spring?

GIANT BURRITO

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:45:00 +0000

There comes a time in every girl's life when she just wants to eat the most gigantic burrito possible.

Actually, for "a time" substitute "all the time."

Yeah. This weekend we happened on the largest tortillas I've ever seen--12 inches in diameter. What better excuse could we possibly have for making gigantic burritos?

I sauteed some garlic, jalapeno, red and green pepper, and frozen corn in olive oil, seasoned the pan with cumin, oregano, ground New Mexican hot chile, and onion powder (there being no actual onion in the house), and mixed that with a couple cans of refried black beans. You could clearly use your own black or pinto beans instead. I made short-grain brown rice in the rice cooker and warmed up the tortillas in a foil packet in the oven. They were too big to fit in the toaster oven. Yeah.

Assembly: beans, rice, thinly sliced cheddar, hot sauce, avocado, and some mixed lettuce from the farmer's market. I had cilantro in mine too. We forgot to cut up the green onion, but oh well. Note the random piece of purple lettuce peeking out of the end.

The result? One huge burrito for each of us, and three additional similarly huge burritos for the freezer. I left the avocado and lettuce out of the frozen versions, since those obviously would not do so well in the cold. But I can't say I'll mind smashing up a batch of guacamole or pouring a bunch of tomatillo salsa over a hot emergency burrito in the future.

MOST SATISFYING DINNER EVER.

Spicy caramel corn with maple, almond, and sesame

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:44:00 +0000

We love popcorn. It's easy, fast, and can take on any spicing combination you throw at it. You can make it any time, on the slightest of provocation, and end up with a gigantic steaming bowl of fresh snacky bitlets. Best of all, it's cheap.

That is, it's cheap if you do it right.

Prepackaged microwave popcorn is not only a ripoff, it is DISGUSTING. Do you want your house to reek as much as the office kitchen does after some misguided person makes a bag of fake-buttery microwave popcorn for a midafternoon snack? No. No, you do not. The solution: plain popcorn.

Plain popcorn is easily available in the grocery store. Most of the time you can find bags right next to the microwave popcorn, but if your store has bulk bins, make sure to check them out too. I tend to buy popcorn in bulk and decant into a jar, so there's no danger of loose popcorn spilling from a ripped bag.

So the other night we had just finished dinner but wanted a little extra something. That something turned out to be this maple-coated caramel corn with lots of crunchy sesame seeds. Hey, popcorn is not only an instant snack--it's an instant dessert too! Perfect.

This caramel corn is easiest to make if you have more than one person in the kitchen, so one person can shake the pan of corn while the other swirls the bubbling caramel. However, it's also totally possible to do it entirely yourself. It just takes a bit of timing.

The proportion of caramel to corn (and to nuts and seeds, for that matter) is up to you. I really like a subtle and minimal coating, and I've written this accordingly, but if you want a super-sugary concoction, you can certainly do that as well. Just make more caramel--or less popcorn.

Spicy caramel corn with maple, almond, and sesame

1/3 cup popcorn
1/4 cup canola oil
1/8 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp honey
large dash cayenne pepper
1/8 cup roasted salted almonds
optional pat of butter
optional additional salt

Make the popcorn by the method of your choice, following the directions on the package. We do stovetop popcorn, but an air popper or the microwave bag method are good too. Just make sure to use plain unseasoned corn.

While your popcorn is cooking, start your caramel by toasting your sesame seeds. Put a wide frying pan over medium heat and add a layer of sesame seeds. (If you only have raw almonds, you may wish to chop them up and toast them with the seeds.) Toast, shaking occasionally, for about five minutes, or until your seeds turn just slightly golden brown and start smelling delicious. Watch carefully so they don't burn! When done, tip your seeds into a bowl and set them aside.

Put your pan back over the heat. Add your maple syrup and honey and cook, swirling occasionally to mix, until all your sugar is hot and bubbling. Add in a sprinkle of cayenne pepper, a handful or two of chopped almonds, a pat of butter (if you want butter), and your toasted sesame seeds. Swirl the pan to mix everything together, stirring sparingly with something heatproof as needed. Reduce the heat and let the caramel bubble away gently while you finish up making your popcorn.

When both caramel and popcorn are done, put your popcorn in a large bowl. Pour the caramel over it in two or three batches, stirring between each addition. Spread the resulting caramel corn on a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone mat to cool. (If you want to make popcorn balls, incidentally, now is the time--just make sure to butter your hands first.) For an extra sweet-salty crunch, you may want to sprinkle a bit of salt over the hot corn too.

Give your corn a few minutes to solidify before you attack it. We don't even bother putting ours into a serving bowl, but eat it right off the paper. If you want a little more stability, just put the whole thing on a cookie sheet or cutting board. Voila!

What are your favorite emergency snacks--or emergency desserts--or emergency snack-dessert hybrids?

Spring salad with shredded root veg, chickpeas, goat cheese, and almonds

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 21:00:00 +0000

Guys, it's spring. That means SALAD.

I want all the vegetables on the planet. Okay! What if we take some classic spring greens, combine them with some raw shredded veg, and add a few beans, some bits of cheese, and a handful of chopped nuts? Cover a plate and you have a full meal: tender, crispy, crunchy, and chewy all at once. Hooray!

Since we're hovering right at the boundary between winter and spring, I decided to take advantage of the juiciest winter root veg: carrots and beets. Combined with chickpeas, goat cheese, and almonds, they were just about perfect.

Not very many people seem to realize raw beets are even edible, let alone sweet, earthy, and delicious, but they absolutely are. They're a great option for a raw veg when the new spring peas and asparagus are stubbornly hovering just out of reach. I like to use golden beets, so as not to get my entire kitchen covered with magenta juice, but an ordinary beet will work just as well. And since the golden beet was bright yellow, I decided to use some beautiful purple carrot for extra visual punch.

A box grater is all you really need for finely shredded veg, but if you happen to have a spiralizer or mandoline, now is an excellent time to break them out.

We had some really excellent applewood smoked almonds from our farmer's market on this particular occasion. They're pricy, but they're worth it, especially when you use them as a sparing garnish. (I actually crushed some up and used them to coat a piece of flounder before searing a bit ago--and why I didn't take any pictures of that, I don't know. It was AMAZING.) Of course, then there's the issue of just eating them all out of hand, but they're so delicious that I think we can live with that.

This salad can take all kinds of variation. Don't have almonds? Try some toasted cashews or sunflower seeds. Don't have goat cheese? Crumble a chunk of feta or blue cheese, or use mozzarella bocconcini. Want to get rid of a handful of radishes or a kohlrabi bulb? Shred them up and go forth. It's all good.

Spring salad with shredded root veg, chickpeas, goat cheese, and almonds

salad greens
carrot
beet
cooked chickpeas
goat cheese (or your preferred cheese)
smoked almonds (or the nut or seed of your choice)
vinaigrette (we use Thomas Keller's house vinaigrette)
pepper

Wash and dry your greens; arrange them on a plate. Cover your greens with a layer of shredded raw carrots and beets. Add several scattered handfuls of cooked chickpeas and mozzarella balls. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped smoked almonds. Drizzle a vinaigrette over the top of your salad, add a bit of cracked pepper if desired, and eat.

Hooray for salad!

What are you eating on your early spring salads?

Apple oat yogurt cake

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:13:00 +0000

Lately I have been wanting snacks, and plenty of them. Crackers and cheese, pickles, tiny salami and mustard sandwiches, baby carrots, smoked almonds, clementines: ALL THE SNACKS. So I was not surprised to find myself looking through the internet to find a recipe for some sort of snacky baked business, and even less surprised to find myself whipping up a batch of cakey quickbread filled with apples, oats, and yogurt. What could be better for snacks than an easy slice-and-go loaf?

This cake is moist and nutty, a bit crumbly, and studded with delicious fruit chunks. If you like a streusel topping (with walnuts?), I imagine that it would be an exceptional addition.

It's perfect for breakfast, whether toasted gently (in the toaster oven; this is too soft to put in the actual toaster) and spread with peanut butter or cream cheese, or just eaten cold out of hand as you run to catch the train. And it's a nice not-too-sweet dessert for those of us who always want a little something a couple hours after dinner, but hate the crash of a serious sugar bomb.

Apple oat yogurt cake
Adapted from Stonyfield's apple oatmeal bread.

1 cup plain full-fat yogurt
1 cup oatmeal
1 egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup diced apples

Before baking, line a loaf pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350F.

Start by mixing the oatmeal with the yogurt. Set aside for a few minutes to let the yogurt soak into the oats.

In a large bowl, beat together the wet ingredient mix: egg, oil, sugar, and vanilla. If you are a traditional baker, your next step will be to sift together the dry ingredients and fold them into the wet mix in three or four batches. I am not a traditional baker, so I first mixed in the baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and then mixed in the flour in a few batches. Either way works just fine.

Fold your diced apples into the batter. I used fuji apples, since we had a big bag of them, but you can use whatever apple you like best. Lots of other fruit would work well here. I think pears would be a particularly good idea.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan, trying not to get any batter sandwiched in between the parchment and the side of the pan. As you can tell, I totally slopped some batter over the edge and had to do a bit of emergency spatulating. It worked out fine, though.

Bake your cake for about 45 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before lifting the whole thing out by the parchment edges and letting it cool completely on a wire rack.

Eat your cake! While this is great plain, adding nut butter or whipped cream can take it in either a savory or a sweet direction. A simple pat of butter is always a good idea too.

What are you guys baking this spring?

Meyer lemon limoncello

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 18:58:00 +0000

It's happening.

You guys know we have a meyer lemon tree in the backyard. Our next-door neighbors also have a standard lemon tree that overhangs our driveway, and they've urged us repeatedly to take as many as we like. So what I'm saying is: we have some lemons around.

So last week I grabbed ten lemons and set out to make some limoncello.

Limoncello is really easy to make. It mostly takes patience, which admittedly is not necessarily the easiest thing when you want to drink delightful lemon liqueur NOW. I find that it helps to bury your limoncello-in-process behind your other bottles of liqueur, or to tuck it into the highest cabinet in the house. That way it's easier to forget it's there and let it age appropriately.

Meyer lemon limoncello

10 unwaxed meyer lemons
1 quart 80 proof vodka
simple syrup

Zest your lemons, being careful not to include the bitter white pith. You don't need some fancy zester for this. I used my vegetable peeler, which is at least 25 years old, and it worked very well.

Put all your zest in a clean quart canning jar or other reasonable jar of your choice. You should have enough to fill the jar about halfway full, depending on the size of your lemons. Pour your vodka over your lemon zest, up to the top of the jar. Lid the jar and put it in a dark cabinet.

For the next week or two, steep your limoncello. I let mine steep for about ten days, but you can go longer or shorter if you prefer. Shake the jar every time you think about it--every few days will be fine.

When you're done steeping, strain out your peels. I find a canning funnel to be very helpful at this stage of the proceedings. Quart jar, canning funnel, strainer. You may need to strain your limoncello a second time, using a coffee filter, paper towel, or fine nylon sieve, to get out the tiniest bits of sediment.

Sweeten your limoncello to taste with simple syrup. I'd recommend starting with about 1/3 cup of syrup for a quart of liqueur, especially since meyer lemons are already so sweet. The act of adding sugar is what takes this from a schnapps (i.e. a basic infused vodka) to a liqueur, incidentally.

Now lid your jar, put it in the cupboard, and try to forget about it for at least a month or so. Give it some time to age. The more time you give it, the smoother and more delightful your limoncello will be.

When you're ready, drink your limoncello. It works well as a single aperitif or as the main ingredient in a really serious lemon drop. Obviously, limoncello is a drink made for summer, so try not to drink it all before it gets warm. Sweet refreshing lemon under the hot August sun? yes, please.

Simple syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Heat your sugar and water together on the stovetop, swirling the pan from time to time. When the sugar has dissolved completely, your syrup is done. Put it in a jar and let it cool completely (unlidded) before using.

You can keep simple syrup in the refrigerator for a good month or so. It's especially nice to have on hand when you want a classic sour, such as the Fitzgerald.

Last year's batch of limoncello was 100% standard lemons. This batch is 100% meyer. We have, of course, drunk the entire older batch already. So I may start a second standard lemon batch, and maybe even a mixed batch, so we can do a tasting and comparison in a few months. And maybe a couple more batches made with all the other citrus I can get my hands on...

How are you using the end-of-season citrus? Anyone else making liqueurs?

Cashew cheese and carrot

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:27:00 +0000

Cashew cheese has definitely been on my mind of late. What's not to love about a rich nut puree blended with herbs and vegetables? (Unless you have a cashew allergy, of course.) I decided to take advantage of our giant bush of oregano--the only non-citrus plant that is actually producing right now--and make a batch of cashew cheese with oregano and shallot. Perfect.

At first, I wanted to eat my cashew cheese in rolls, like I did with my raw zucchini rolls this past summer. I decided to use a beautiful yellow carrot instead of the totally out-of-season zucchini. Of course, carrot is quite a bit harder, and I found that my vegetable peeler only wanted to make the thinnest and most breakable of strips. So instead of making rolls, I cut thin slices of carrot and put cashew cheese on top of each. Maybe it's not quite as pretty a presentation (although I honestly find that arguable, with that brilliant yellow carrot color), but it's just as delicious.

I'm having a hard time naming this. Raw carrot and cashew cheese nibblers? Cashew cheese with oregano and shallot atop shaved carrots? Farmer's market yellow heirloom carrot with oregano-shallot cashew cheese and cracked black pepper? Sure, why not?

Farmer's market yellow heirloom carrot with oregano-shallot cashew cheese and cracked black pepper

1 cup cashews, soaked 1 hour or more & drained
leaves from four or five sprigs of fresh oregano
1/4 a large shallot or 1/2 a small one, chopped
1/4 tsp white miso, optional
1/4+ cups water
salt & pepper
a large carrot of your choosing
more fresh oregano and pepper to garnish

First, make the cashew cheese. Combine your cashews, oregano leaves, shallot, miso, water, and a mild sprinkling of salt and pepper in a food processor or blender. Pulse, scraping as needed, until the mixture is thick and well blended, adding a trickle more water if needed. As always, you should use a food processor for this if you have one. I used our blender, which was actually less frustrating than usual. Remove the finished cashew cheese to a container of your choice.

Scrub and peel your carrot. Slice it on the diagonal into oblong disks. Top each piece of carrot with a spoonful of cashew cheese, and garnish with cracked black pepper and an oregano leaf or two. Repeat until you have as many bites of carrot and cashew cheese as you like. Refrigerate any leftover cashew cheese in a sealed container and use it within a week.

These guys would make an amazing plate of hors d'ouvres for a party. Little delicious bites of finger food full of vegetables, nuts, and herbs? They'd certainly give the standard crudites a run for their money.

Hooray! Snacks for all!

Fried egg tacos

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 23:57:00 +0000

So my new camera has a learning curve. That's ok. I'll just have to play with it and see what happens.

In the meantime, have some tacos.

This was my breakfast this past Saturday morning, when I needed lots of protein to smack into my bloodstream as immediately as possible. It's a good thing eggs take less than 5 minutes from start to finish.

Fried egg tacos

corn tortillas
butter
eggs
optional cilantro or green onion
hot sauce of your choice
salt & pepper

Heat a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Have the lid handy.

While you're waiting for your pan to heat, use a pair of tongs to sear your tortillas for about 30 seconds on either side, working directly over a second gas jet. This obviously assumes you have a gas stove. If you don't, just use the frying pan. You want your tortillas to be flexible and fragrant with a bit of char from the flame.

Put your warm tortillas on a plate and cover them with a clean tea towel to keep warm.

Melt a pat of butter in your hot pan. Crack in your eggs, one at a time. Give them maybe 30 seconds to begin to set up in the hot butter. Then carefully pour a trickle of water into your pan and slap on the lid. I just use the teapot for this.

Let cook for 1-2 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally. The water will steam the top of the egg, eliminating any uncooked white around the perimeter of the yolk. When the egg is done, the yolk should be just veiled and the white around its edge should be just solid to the tip of the spatula.

Top each tortilla with an egg, a bit of chopped cilantro or green onion (mine is under the eggs), some hot sauce, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

I like to break the yolks with a fork before I eat these tacos. This makes them easier to eat and lets you get some yolky goodness in every bite.

Have coffee. Feel better.

What do you eat for an instant protein infusion?

Black bean cauliflower soup

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 22:02:00 +0000

It's been a crazy week. I've been working setup for Stitches West, a gigantic yarn convention, and am going to at least one yarn-related party this weekend before working teardown Sunday night. That means many hours of physical labor. Personally, I'm used to sitting in front of a desk or videocamera for the majority of my workday, so this is a huge and exhausting (although fun) change. It does mean I'm getting the best sleep I've had in ages, though.

Thank you all for your camera recs! I did a good bit of additional research, especially since I decided a smaller and more portable form factor was important to me. So I decided to take a step back from the ubiquitous Canon and go for the Panasonic Lumix GF3. Hey, why not learn to use a different camera interface while I have the opportunity? And a small DSLR with pancake lens seems to offer the best of both worlds.

So here's the situation. I have the camera in hand, but I haven't been in the kitchen since Tuesday, and all I want to do is lie on the couch and eat delivery pizza.

It's a good thing I'm the type of person to stash homemade soup in the freezer.

I make this same kind of simple pureed veg and bean soup over and over, as you may have noticed. It freezes beautifully and defrosts to an unchanged texture. By keeping the main base free of dairy, you can not only avoid any separation or crystallization in the freezer, but also feed vegans. Hooray!

Black bean cauliflower soup

olive oil
onion/garlic
celery
carrot
cauliflower
dry vermouth
cooked black beans
bean/veg broth
salt, pepper, thyme, sage, red pepper flake, bay leaf, etc.
typical garnish of cilantro, yogurt, and sriracha

If you're starting from dried beans, sort them, soak them overnight, and boil them in a fresh change of water for about an hour, or until tender. This will give you both beans and black bean broth. I was starting from previously cooked beans in their broth, which I had frozen into a 2-cup block. Yes, the freezer is my prep kitchen.

If you're using canned beans and thus need veg broth, start a pot of that first.

Okay. Chop up an onion and a couple cloves of garlic. Saute in some olive oil in a reasonably sized soup pot. While the onion is softening, scrub and chop a carrot and dice a stick or two of celery. Throw them into the pot, add a bit of salt, stir, and let cook on medium for about five minutes, or until tender.

While this is happening, tackle the cauliflower. Cut off any dark bits and chop the rest of the head (or as much cauliflower as you want) into florets. Add them to the pot, season with the herbs and spices of your choice--I used thyme, sage, red pepper flake, a bay leaf, and maybe some marjoram too--and cook for another five to eight minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the cauliflower to soften and also to pick up a bit of browning. Deglaze with vermouth when the pan gets too dry.

Next, add your black beans and broth. Since mine were frozen, I just threw the blocks into the pan and let them melt. I used about four cups of beans in broth, so that's roughly 2 cups apiece.

Bring everything to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for a good ten minutes. Puree off the heat with an immersion blender. Cook down to your preferred texture, correct any seasonings, and you are good to go.

Eat with the garnish of your choice and some delicious pita or toast. I obviously really like yogurt, sriracha, and cilantro as soup garnish, but I think a squeeze of lemon and a scattering of parsley would also be delicious. Also: cashew cream. I'm just saying. I may be needing some cashew cream in the next few days.

Put the ungarnished leftovers in the freezer for the next time you come home with absolutely no desire to spend any time over the stove. Hooray!

What foods do you store for emergency dinners?

Chickpea tomato couscous

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:02:00 +0000

Well, my camera has suddenly started writing invisible junk data to its memory card. It still takes pictures, but it won't store them. So I'm pretty happy that I've had a backlog of pictures hanging out waiting to be edited, aren't you?

It was a good run, ridiculous little Canon point-and-shoot. Hey, over five years' worth of service in the kitchen is pretty great, considering all the sauce and steam and oil in the mix, right? I'm thinking I will take a small step up instead of leaping into the land of complex equipment I don't really know how to use. If any of you guys have recommendations for mid-range cameras that work well for food photography, let me know!

Anyway. Lunchtime!

Instant couscous is one of my favorite options for a super-fast meal. It costs just about nothing from the bulk bins. It's not perishable, so you can keep a container in your desk at work and whip it out whenever you have a food emergency. It's surprisingly filling, and can be a meal in itself if necessary. It's exceptionally easy to make--all you really need is boiling water and a little salt and pepper. And, of course, it makes a perfect backdrop for nearly any mix of vegetables, beans, and sauce. This time I had chickpeas, tomato sauce, and some carrot and red pepper. Voila! Lunch.

Chickpea tomato couscous

couscous
garlic
olive oil
carrot
red bell pepper
cooked chickpeas
dry vermouth
tomato sauce
salt, pepper, red pepper flake, marjoram, oregano
parsley and green onion to garnish

Start out by making your couscous. Simply put as much couscous as you want to eat into a bowl, keeping in mind that it will expand by about half when cooked. Boil some water in your teapot and pour it over the couscous to cover by a finger's width. Add some salt, pepper, and a little drizzle of olive oil, cover the bowl with a clean tea towel, and set it aside. It will steam while you cook all the vegetables.

Warm a glug of olive oil in a saute pan. Add as much minced garlic as you like. I like plenty, so I used three or four cloves for my lone lunch serving. Let the garlic soften over medium heat while you scrub and grate a carrot and slice up a chunk of bell pepper.

Add the carrot, bell pepper, and a bit of salt, and cook your vegetables together, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes. When the vegetables are tender, add your chickpeas and season with pepper, red pepper flake, marjoram, and oregano. I used half a can of chickpeas, since I was only feeding myself, but you can easily up the amounts if needed. Stir everything together and cook for another three or four minutes. When the pan gets dry, deglaze with dry vermouth or some water.

Add your tomato sauce to the pan, stir, and bring to a simmer. Give everything a few minutes to cook before you taste and adjust the seasonings. Chickpeas can take a lot of flavor, so be prepared to add a bit more of everything. Continue to cook until the sauce has reduced to your desired thickness.

By this time your couscous should be finished steaming. Uncover the bowl and fluff with a fork. Top your couscous with a big spoonful of chickpeas and tomato. Garnish with chopped parsley and green onion.

Now eat it!

Since I used oregano and marjoram as my main herbs, this turned out slightly Italianate. The red pepper, carrot, and tomato made the overall profile a bit sweet, while the red pepper flake punched everything up with spice. It would be really easy to switch out the herbs and turn this into a spicy tomato curry, to mix up the vegetables with some celery or mushrooms, or to exchange the chickpeas for white beans and puree into fagioli-type sauce. It's totally up to you. I think that's my favorite thing about knowing how to cook--the ability to improvise lets you use your available ingredients to cater precisely to your tastes. It's so satisfying.

What's your favorite melange to serve over a bowl of delicious grains?

All holiday all the time

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:58:00 +0000

Man, this week is just packed full of festivities. Pancake Day! Pazcki Day! Lincoln's birthday! Mardi Gras! The state of the union address! Ash Wednesday! Chinese New Year! Valentine's Day! I bet I'm missing a few more!

You know I'm the one who wants to celebrate the state of the union instead of any actual holidays. HA.

Okay, maybe Pazcki Day too. The thing is that there aren't really any pazcki in the bay area, at least that I'm aware of, so celebrating with them is a bit difficult, especially a couple days after the fact. Now I miss Michigan. I hear the best pazcki in Ann Arbor are at Amadeus...

Right. Anyway, because it is actually Valentine's Day today, have a delightful treat.

That's right: oatmeal with yogurt and raspberry jam is about as valentiney as it gets at our house. And let me tell you: it is really, really good. Who needs dessert when you can have such an amazing breakfast?

Of course, I'm also making myself a lovely batch of shrimp etouffee for lunch--but that's a little more in line with Mardi Gras.

Oh well. Happy festivity of your choice!

What are you celebrating this week?

Cilantro tzatziki

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 19:12:00 +0000

I have a new obsession and its name is tzatziki. Cucumbers! Yogurt! Garlic! YES.

I had yogurt sauces on the brain after the chole palak incident the other day. Sure, yogurt on curry is good--but wouldn't a sauce full of garlic and herbs be better? So when I found Erin's recipe for tzatziki at The Speckled Palate, I nearly ran straight to the store for cucumbers and herbs.

Tzatziki is usually made with dill. However, I had a big bunch of cilantro hanging around, so I decided to sub that in and see how it went. This was a very good idea, especially because all the dill I had was dried. If you love cilantro, give it a try! Of course, if you hate cilantro, the classic version with fresh dill is classic for a reason.

Let's talk for a minute about different dairy options. The original recipe called for half Greek yogurt and half sour cream. Honestly, I tend to use either plain runny yogurt or thick labneh for all my tart dairy needs, and frequently make my own labneh from the yogurt so as not to let multiple containers go bad on me. Making labneh is easy; all you have to do is drain plain full-fat yogurt in a fine-mesh sieve. I use a couple of little nylon sieves I found at Goodwill ages ago. However, if you want to use Greek yogurt and sour cream, go right ahead. Just know that I got amazing results using plain runny yogurt and home-drained labneh.

Cilantro tzatziki

a cucumber or two
1-2 cloves garlic
a big handful of fresh cilantro
3/4 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup sour cream or labneh
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Finely chop your cucumber. I'd recommend staying away from the waxed bulbous supermarket monstrosities in favor of thin-skinned Armenian, English, or Asian varieties. I used one big English cucumber; if your cucumbers are smaller, use two or three.

To leach some juice from your chopped cucumber, toss it with a little salt and let is sit in a sieve for at least ten or fifteen minutes. This will ensure that your tzatziki stays thick and delightful instead of getting runny from extra water content.

Finely mince a clove or two of garlic; pick and chop a big handful of cilantro leaves. In a large bowl, mix them with your dairy products, salt, pepper, olive oil, and vinegar.

After your cucumber has drained a bit, add it to the bowl and mix again. Voila! You now have a beautiful batch of chunky tzatziki.

What can you do with tzatziki? I threw several big spoonfuls of mine over poached salmon on a bed of spinach salad, which was delightful, but there are clearly a million other alternatives. With lamb kofte! With lentil kofte! Over falafel sandwiches! On a giant salad! With french fries! (I REALLY want to throw some of this batch in the blender to smooth it out and then use it on all the fries in the land. That may happen soon.) Otherwise, I've mostly been eating it in big spoonfuls on pieces of sourdough toast, for crunchy, garlicky, vegetable-packed results that are well worth the miniscule effort.

If you do want to poach some salmon or other fish to have as a full dinner-sized excuse for eating all the tzatziki, here you go:

Poached salmon

salmon filet
water
bay leaf

If you want to remove your salmon skin, do that first. Otherwise, just put your salmon in a high-sided pan and cover with water. Add a bay leaf. Bring the whole business to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until the salmon is opaque and can just flake at the touch of a fork. This should take somewhere in the neighborhood of five minutes, depending on the thickness of your filet. Drain your salmon and eat it with tzatziki and spinach salad (or, you know, salt, pepper, & lemon).

And because it's just about Valentine's Day, be sure to share your garlic breath with the one you love! SO ROMANTIC.