The Best Soup Ever

Sweet Potato Patties, I'll never let you go

2008-01-27T20:37:00.000-08:00

Hey hey kiddos, quick and dirty tonight...tomorrow is my first day of work at my new job, after all. :)

The topic? Sweet Potatoes. The taste? Phenomenal. The picture? Less than extraordinary. (Sorry, still don't have my camera charger -- I took this picture with my iphone.)

A few nights ago I made mashed sweet potatoes to go with our dinner of French Onion soup, roasted chicken with meyer lemons, and a green salad. I baked the two huge sweet potatoes and then mashed them, skins on, with a dab of wildflower honey, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper. They were wonderfully savory and complimented the tangy chicken perfectly.

Last night, however, dinner was a bit different. I roasted a slab of salmon in the oven (seasoned with fresh oregano and more meyer lemon) (I would have grilled it, but wouldn't you know that our deck is being ripped out because of water and termite damage and we can't walk out to the grill for fear of collapsing the fragile remnants of our once beautiful deck. Don't ask.), blanched some green beans, and reheated the left-over French Onion soup.

I wanted to use the left-over mashed sweet potatoes also, but I didn't want to simply reheat them. Instead, I unearthed an old recipe from my memories of helping my parents cook as a child. My mom and dad both loved potato patties (fried circles of day-old mashed potatoes, mixed with diced onions, and salt and pepper) and I loved to help them shape the potato mixture into patties. Plus, dipping the (crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside) potato patties into ketchup was highly entertaining to my as a kid. I haven't had them in years.

I created the below recipe based on that memory -- our dinner guests and I gobbled them up. Hope you give them a try, they are really, really worth it!

Sweet Potato Patties

(Sorry, all ingredients are approximations -- this sort of recipe I do by feel)

Ingredients:

-- leftover mashed sweet potatoes, skins on (approximately 3 cups)
-- flour (approximately 3/4 cup)
--eggs (two)
--nutmeg (1/2 teaspoon *freshly* grated)
--cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon ground)
--ginger (1/4 teaspoon ground or freshly grated)
-- salt and pepper
--honey (one teaspoon, but only if the mashed sweet potatoes don't already have honey added)

-- neutral oil, such as canola, for frying

Directions:

1) Combine all ingredients, except the oil, with your hands. Be sure to add the flour bit by bit (you may not use it all). The mixture should be thick and tacky like playdough. If it is too wet, add more flour, if it is too dry, add a bit of water or an extra egg white.

2) Heat oil in large cast iron frying pan (enough oil to go 1/4 inch up the side of the pan) until sizzling. A drop of water should dance on the surface.

3) Form golf ball sized balls of sweet potato mixture, and flatten them to about 1/2 thick

4) Slide the patties into the oil, making sure the pan isn't too crowded. When one side is browned, flip the patty and fry the other side until golden.

5) Remove the patties from the oil and place them on a plate covered with a layer of paper towels.

6) Fry the patties in batches until all of the mixture is used.

7) Blot the excess oil from any patties and serve hot.

Notes:

Be sure to use fresh oil -- rancid or stale oil will ruin these. Also, the freshly grated nutmeg is very important, pre-ground will not be nearly as good. Additionally, the patties should have a crunchy exterior and a smooth, creamy interior. Finally, you should be able to taste the interplay of the salt/sweet/spice flavors.

We served these for dinner, but our plan is to reheat the left-overs in the oven and serve them for breakfast with maple syrup. I'll let you know how it goes!

I'm back!

2008-01-23T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hello, and deepest apologies. As you've very likely noticed, I've been absent for some months. In a nutshell, I was working 14 + hour days and nearly every weekend. I didn't have time to get my haircut, let alone cook any sort of meal and take pictures of it. I subsisted on sandwiches most nights for dinner (around 11:30 p.m.) and almost entirely stopped going to the farmers market (and mainly just shopped for necessities at Trader Joes). They were sad times friends, sad times.

However, I did manage to take a trip to Italy in October (and, while staying at an old Tuscan villa, enjoy mind-bogglingly good food). I also took multiple trips to New York City to visit the boyfriend (and, while there, also relished delicious meals at fabulous restaurants). Of course, taking these trips necessitated even more time at work and no time to document all of the tastiness.

Never fear fine reader, those times are behind us. I have quit my job a The Big Law Firm and will be starting a new job next Monday. My hope is that the new job will not suck as many hours out of my life as the old one (and how could it?) and that I will be able to return to regular posting! First, however, I need to buy a battery charger for my camera. What good is this blog without the pictures? :)

All the gooey details

2007-08-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

Hello, my most patient of friends/readers/ random finders of this blog. I vow to never again be as lax as have been this month with my posting. I offer no excuses -- a busy life is no reason not to be totally obsessed with eating food, writing about food, and taking pictures of food, right? :)

And, as I promised, on to all of the gooey food details from my vacation!

First up, Turkey (the country, not the bird).

Turkey was fan-freaking-tastic.

We went to Kusadasi to see the ruins of Ephesus (as in the city from the book of Ephesians in the Bible -- seriously old and awesome ruins) and to Istanbul.

I LOVED Istanbul. I seriously think I could live in there. The city is vibrant, beautiful, unique, metropolitan, and swarming with people. Oh, the apple tea, the carpets, the mosques, the tiles, the bazaar (swoon!).... I have only good things to say.

A small slice of Istanbul.

Me and some of the best tiles ever. :)

Kusasasi was also pretty fantastic -- it is a vacation city (though we didn't get to spend much time there -- we spent our day climbing around the old city of Ephesus) and it is much smaller than Istanbul. On the plus side, we had the most hysterical tour guide in Kusadasi -- I'm going to try and relate to you how she sounded. However, I warn you that translating an accent into written language is hard and some of the humor might get lost.

What she said was: "My dear guests, our driver Mr. Ahmeet will be taking us to the Third Ephesus" (She said "my dear guests" at the beginning of *each* sentence -- it was awesome --and she was referring to the fact that Ephesus was rebuilt three times).

What she sounded like, however, was this: "My deeeeeeeer guests, our driver, Meeestery Meat, will be taking us to Tuuuuurd Ephesus." Her accent was a bit like a vampire from an old movie crossed with a cheerful (Turkish) school teacher. We loved her, and couldn't stop giggling about our driver Mystery Meat, and our journey to Turd Ephesus.

The original Nike (the goddess) sculpture in Ephesus. Can you figure out where Nike (the company) came up with the "swoosh" design?

Those crazy Ephesians and their two story buildings.

Those crazy Kusadasians and their "magic atmosphere!" (This was seriously the sign for the bathrooms at Ephesus.)

After we left the ruins in Ephesus, there was a small market. In this market, from a street vendor, I bought God's own figs. No really. These figs were transcendent. After tasting just one, I shrieked/moaned with delight, and shoved another one greedily in my mouth, (with complete and utter disregard for any potential lurking intestinal disease.) They were achingly sweet, perfectly ripe, and almost erotically lush. Take a look:

The fruit of the gods. I've never had figs like these before.

In Istanbul, I had a delightful, though much less palate-altering, meal. For lunch one day, just outside of the Grand Bazaar, we feasted on kebabs and rice. This was my plate -- perfectly seasoned chicken, delicious rice (it tasted nutty -- I think it was browned before it was steamed. Regardless, it was damn fine rice), tomatoes, and french fries (which I didn't eat. Who goes to Turkey and eats fries???)

Note the darker pieces of rice. Yum!

For drinks at that particular meal, I went with their house specialty imported beer: Miller Lite. Yes, I'm serious. (And, more importantly, who goes to Turkey to drink cheap American beer? Me, apparently. In my defense, it seemed slightly safer than the tap water)

See?

Next up, food wise, Naples. Italy in general has um, how do I say it?, ....um, astounding food. I know I don't need to tell all of you the glories of sweet fruity olive oil, the beauty of the fresh produce, or the siren call of wine. However, if you'll indulge me, I will fill you in on our day of yummy food in and around Naples.

We first went to Pompeii (it was entertaining, but the ash bodies just made me sad. I will point out that however big you think Pompeii is, it is at least 4 times bigger. The ruins are huge.) and then we jaunted up the Amalfi Coast. Seriously? Double swoon. I believe I would give my left arm to be independently wealthy and be able to buy a big, gorgeous house on the Amalfi Coast.

Anyway, my friends and I settled in for a long, leisurely Italian lunch at a cute cafe near the Coast. We started with some antipasti:

My plate, from the top, clockwise: mussels in decadent tomato sauce, perfectly tender grilled calamari, crusty fresh bread, and marinated veggies -- eggplant, zucchini, and peppers. There was also an assortment of cheeses available, but being allergic to milk, I of course didn't take any.

Next course was the pizza. Now, those of you who have been reading my blog for a bit, might remember that in my post in April, I pointed out that eating pizza in Naples (the birthplace of pizza) was one of my 25 things to do before I turned 50. Well kids, mission accomplished....and oh, what a sweet reward. My frutti de mare pizza was exquisite. A delicious crispy/chewy crust -- lightly blistered on the bottom with charred spots. Perfectly balanced tomato sauce. Tender seafood. A glorious trinity of textures, flavors, and smells. It was all I dreamed and more.

Accomplishing a goal sure feels (tastes) good!

After lunch, we strolled around the shopping area and picked up jewelry, admired some inlaid wood (which the region is famous for), and perused the fruit stands. Apparently, other than inlaid wood, Sorrento is also famous for some hard-core lemons. Um, limoncello anyone? Anyway, check out the size of these babies:

They were huge -- and incredibly fragrant. I only wished I had stayed in Naples for longer so I could have made a batch of lemonade, or a tart, or marinated some fish,.... or, or, or (I could keep going with a million ways I could have used those glorious lemons).

We also enjoyed our fair share of cafe, the aforementioned limoncello, and some gelato. "Wait!", I hear you say. "Kristel, you can't have gelato. Hello? Dairy allergy?" And to that I reply one word: Sorbetto. Yes indeed, folks, those Italians make some of the best sorbetto in the world. And I was lucky enough to have life-changing dark chocoloate sorbetto with chunks of dark chocolate while in Sorrento. I am at a loss for words to describe the experience of eating this dessert. It was unlike any sorbet I'd ever had before -- incredibly smooth, deeply flavored, and impossibly rich. If I lived in Italy I think I'd weigh 500 pounds. Look, I won't even stop eating it to take a picture:

* Friends of Kristel (I'm looking at you, Melissa, Jason, and Ben), if you do not want your picture on this website, let me know. If not, you and your gluttonous, gelato eating ways will be on display for the world to see.

Next up, Rome! In Rome I saw approximately one million amazing things, including: St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, the Spanish Steps, and lots of sculptures. Here I am in front of the Trevi fountain:

I also saw (but did not eat) a very interesting flavor of gelato:

I guess it keeps you, uh, primed and ready.

In related news, another funny Roman food sign:

I find this hilarious. I'm not sure why. I think it is the "only from we" bit.

Onward we slog, on this pictorial tour, towards Florence. Florence is clearly a beautiful city with amazing architecture:

The camera just doesn't do justice to the intricacy of these churches.

Hello, awesome door.

Perhaps more importantly, Florence is the home of some amazing leather. Including a new leather blazer that hangs proudly (and so far unworn) in my warm southern California home.

Perhaps most importantly, it is the home of the best plate of pasta that I've ever eaten. Hands down.

I personally have problems making properly al dente pasta. It is always either too raw or a little too soft. Even at restaurants I find that it tends to fall just short or just over al dente. Well, some crazy Florence voodoo magic was at play here (or the chef was just really good) because this pasta was what pasta is meant to be. It defined the word toothsome. The noodles were chewy, but not elastic, tender, but not soft, flavored, but not strongly. In a word, perfect. Oh, and the sauce was pretty much divine. I inhaled this plate of pasta, pausing only long enough to reflect, "sweet lord, this is the best carbohydrate known to man (or woman)."

It may not look like much, but I would give almost anything to be able to create a pasta dish this good.

Finally, the food on the ship. I don't really have much to say about the food on the cruise ship. I guess I could say that there was a lot of it. The quantity far outshone the quality. Etc. I did take a picture of the one dish on the ship that I thought was superb. My salad of lobster, crab, shrimp, grapefruit, avocado, and cilantro oil was wonderful. Of course, it would be difficult to make those ingredients taste badly. Nevertheless, here is my favorite dish from the ship:

Check out the size of the claw meat!

And, to wrap up - I did go to other places on this trip -- I just have no food related pictures. I was in Venice (sorry, no pictures, period. I'd been to Venice before, and just wasn't feeling the picture taking vibe while I was there this time),

Athens, Greece,

and a few villages in Marseilles, France.

Thanks for taking the time to read my account of food and fun from this vacation. I leave you with the image of me doing what I did best on the ship: drinking wine.

Ciao!

Bah!

2007-08-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

Sweet mother of all things good and holy. This week? Gah.

Our power was out for nearly 24 hours. In stifling heat.

There was a HUGE accident on the 101 right outside my house yesterday. Traffic was backed up for literally 6 miles. Getting to work yesterday was misery incarnate.

My camera charger is missing. And, without it, I can't upload photos of the trip or of subsequent delicious food, so I can't blog about anything.

My luggage is still traveling Europe without me. Most recently, Princess Cruises told me that they shipped it from Barcelona, to Belgium, to the U.K. We'll see if I ever receive it.

Work is, well, work. And therefore, all consuming.

M is having neck surgery today -- getting 3 vertebrae fused together. Enough said. :(

I could go on -- but I have a feeling you might get bored. The moral of this story? I'm frazzled. And feeling guilty about not posting. I will. I promise. Very, very soon. Until then, read the archives. I recommend the recipe for smoked salmon pizza.

I'm Back!

2007-08-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello, my dedicated handful of readers. :)

The Mediterranean did me well. Princess Cruises and Air France? Not so much.

To make a very, very long story short, we had a wonderful vacation around the Mediterranean (Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, and France), save for the overwhelming incompetence of both Princess Cruise and Air France. Princess Cruise line lost our luggage at the beginning and at the end of the trip, served us staggeringly mediocre food, and provided us with tour guides that lacked any semblance of a personality. Granted, we did have a few good meals, the staff on-board were very nice, and we did run across at least one entertaining guide. On the whole, however, Princess was disappointing. The actual ports, though? They were wonderful.

I'd love to show you some of my pictures, but as the result the aforementioned incompetence of Princess Cruise line and Air France, I am still missing two of my pieces of luggage. In those bags, other than my clothes, shoes, jewelry, gifts, souvenirs, toothbrush, etc., is my camera charger. Without that charger, I can't upload any pictures. Therefore, until either Princess or Air France manages to get their act together, you will have to wait with bated breath for shots of food and fun from around the Mediterranean and the stories of the same.

However, in the meantime, I thought I'd share some pictures of The Best Soup Ever. A few weeks before I left for vacation, I invited some friends over and made the Best Soup Ever for the first time this year. It was just as delicious as we remembered -- tangy, smokey, herby, salty, and fresh. If you haven't read the recipe, please do. You can find it here. Enjoy!

The garnishes, clockwise from the top: diced heirloom tomatoes, limes, hot sauce, shredded smoked trout, shopped cilantro, minced basil.

Words don't do justice to the deliciousness. No, really.

Seriously, make this soup.

Cantaloupe and Black Pepper Sorbet and Ciao (for a bit)!

2007-07-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

I hate to be that blogger that constantly apologizes for falling behind on posting. But....I'm sorry.

I admit that I've been really lax about posting for a few weeks...I'm further ashamed to divulge that it will be another few weeks before I'm back in the saddle, as it were.

Work has been, how shall I say this? Demanding. I have a horrible cold. I was out of town at a wedding. Etc. Etc. Etc. I could talk (type?) your ear off all day, but I'd still have to apologize. So I'm sorry, dear reader, I vow to get better.

However, not until mid- August.

Why will it be that long, you ask? Well, I'm about to go on a long awaited, much hyped, and hopefully fabulous, vacation. My best friends and I are going on a cruise around the Mediterranean, starting this Friday and lasting until August 9. During that time, I will devouring all of the delicious food I can find, drinking all the wine I see, and taking plenty of notes about everything to share with you all. However, the one thing I won't be doing, is blogging.

So for now, please accept my apology, enjoy the recipe, and get excited about the stories to come!

Cantaloupe and Black Pepper Sorbet

Ingredients

--5 cups cantaloupe chunks
--1/2 cup sugar
--1/2 cup water
--pinch salt
--1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
--2 tablespoons vodka

Directions:

1) bring sugar, water, and salt to a boil. Then, simmer, stirring often until sugar is completely dissolved. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.

2) In your blender, combine cantaloupe chunks, sugar syrup, salt, pepper, and vodka and blend until smooth. For best results, refrigerate this mix for at least an hour.

3) freeze according to ice cream maker instructions

Notes:

Yes, black pepper and cantaloupe are delicious together, I promise. My family has always put pepper on cantaloupe (and salt on watermelon), and relished in the contrasting flavor. This sorbet takes this idea a bit further...and, man, oh, man, is it delicious. Sweet and smooth, with a subtle kick. Please don't be turned off by the idea of pepper in your dessert -- it really is good. :)

Oh, and the vodka? Keeps the sorbet from freezing too hard. Don't worry, it's not going to get you (or your kids or neighbors) inebriated!

And, the main part of that meal: Cockles with garlic and parsley, over whole wheat pasta.

And, on the side, sauteed squash and a glass of Prosecco with a raspberry. (Oh, yes, and a citronella candle -- we were eating outside, after all!)

On that note, I bid you farewell for a few weeks -- but, never fear, gentle reader, I'll be back soon enough, with lots of inspiration and plenty of tales to tell. Ciao!

Wrap-tastic

2007-07-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned how much I love the combination of mint, cilantro, and basil? Put those three herbs together and mix them up with almost any savory dish and I'll come sit at your table.

I buy mint, cilantro, and basil every week at the farmer's market and use them in summer salads, in any asian style soup, in tuna salad, chicken salad, in larb, in sorbet (no, really), and in a multitude of other dishes. Like I said, I adore the combination -- it is heady with fragrance, complexly nuanced, and fresh beyond belief.

Last night, D and M were coming home late from the airport, and I promised to have something yummy on the table when they got in. Because it was the end of the week, and the larder was on the empty side, I did not have much to work with. However, I did have the magical mix of herbs, a slab of marinated tofu, and a bag of chili flavored noodles.

Necessity being the mother of invention as it is, and those being the ingredients that I had on hand, this dish was created. It turned out to be a distant cousin to one of my favorite dishes, larb. D, M, and I all enjoyed it -- give it a try, it is another one of those fast, simple, healthy meals that you can get on the table in just about 30 minutes (and holds really well, you can serve it warm or at room temperature, or even cold).

Tofu Noodle Wraps

Ingredients:

--3 or 4 purple cabbage leaves per person, separated from the head and cleaned

-- 1 lb pasta (either soba noodles, udon noodles, or thin spaghetti noodles -- mine happened to be chili flavored spaghetti)

--1/2 cup total of liquid (your choice on the ratio, but I include: sesame oil, soy sauce, a bit of fish sauce, lucky boy soy paste, rice wine vinegar, and rooster sauce)
--2 cloves garlic, diced
--1 inch fresh ginger, dished
-- 1 8 oz package of baked tofu, sliced into matchsticks
--4 green onions, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
--1 cup sliced mushrooms
--1 cup diced herbs (basil, mint, and cilantro)

Directions:

1) put a large pot of water on to boil, and, when boiling, add your pasta. Cook until al dente and then drain.

2) meanwhile, heat the liquid mixture in a large wok until bubbling. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for about a minute.

3) add the tofu, onions, and mushroom, and cook, stirring regularly until mushrooms are done and tofu is heated through -- about 10 minutes. Then turn the heat off.

4) add the herbs and the drained noodles to the tofu mixture and stir until everything is incorporated and the noodles are slicked with sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning (at this point I added more rooster sauce)

To Serve:

Pile the noodle mixture onto a large plate, next to the plate of cabbage leaves. Let each person fill their own leaf to make their own wrap(s).

Just before the first bite. Yum!

In other (culinary) news, check out some of the first tomatoes from my tomato plants!

And, look at the delicious cupcakes I made for a 4th of July party -- they are the cupcake version of this cake. They were phenomenal, if I do say so myself, and were devoured in minutes after I brought them out. :)

Sucky Day Salad

2007-07-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you just have a sucky day. Or maybe you don't. Maybe it's just sometimes *I* have a sucky day. I doubt it though -- like death, taxes, and Paris Hilton, bad days are here to stay.

When I get home from an especially awful day (which for me usually includes: getting up early, horrible traffic, demanding clients, difficult bosses, and a late night) I need something easy for dinner. But more than that, I need something easy and good. No soup from a can or heated up pasta will do. I need something that will make me feel healthy, fill me up, and won't take me more than 15 minutes to prepare.

Enter, Sucky Day Salad.

There are a thousand variations on Sucky Day salad. The basic formula is this:

Your favorite salad greens (I like spring mix, spinach, and arugula) + assorted fresh veggies (I usually add tomatoes, mushrooms, and carrots) + protein source (for me, generally grilled chicken, tuna, tofu, or beans) + something a bit exotic (artichoke hearts, high quality olives, roasted peppers, etc.) + salad dressing of choice (usually a vinaigrette of some kind).

Simple? yes. But also, healthy, tasty, easy, and brightly colored. Certain to improve any sucky day.

My most recent example:

Mixed greens, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, cold, cooked lentils, roasted red and yellow peppers, and basil vinaigrette.

All of the ingredients live permanently in my pantry and refrigerator, and the entire thing takes less than 15 minutes to put together. Goodbye sucky day, indeed.

Chimichurri 2.0

2007-07-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, I was out to dinner with some friends from work. We were tired, hungry, and, for some unknown reason, talking about baseball. One of my cohorts, as they perused the menu, asked the table what chimichurri sauce was...happy that the conversation had moved from the Red Sox (of which I know nothing) and on to food (of which I know many things), I piped up with an explanation of the Argentinean sauce and its uses. In case you, lovely reader, are unsure, chimichurri sauce is usually made from chopped parsley, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, onion, and paprika. The herb mix is moistened with olive oil and a bit of vinegar, and the loose sauce is most often used to top steaks or as a dipping sauce for bread.
.

I had this delicious mixture on my mind as I set about making dinner a few nights ago. I had some beautiful fresh, yellow wax beans, some adorable tiny potatoes, and a hunk of never frozen halibut. The yellow beans were on the receiving end of a hot bath in boiling salt water, and the potatoes were tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika and left to roast in the oven, while the halibut was sprayed with lemon juice and then dusted in salt and pepper before going on the grill. This meal was easy, healthy,.... and honestly, a bit boring. I needed something to liven up the lean fish, and provide a contrast to the simple beans and potatoes.

I came up with this sauce, a first cousin of chimichurri, as a solution. It is so simple, I'm almost embarrassed to share the recipe with you, but its bright herby flavor was the perfect addition to our plates. I imagine that it would be delicious with anything grilled, from fish to chicken, and would also be wonderful as a baked potato topping or as a sauce to pour over sweet corn. Experiment -- and let me know of any other uses you find for it.

Herb Sauce (Chimichurri style)

Ingredients:

--1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonaded (I use thai purple basil)

--1/4 cup fresh cilantro, stems removed

--1/4 cup fresh mint, chiffonaded

--1 clove garlic, mashed into a paste with a pinch of salt

--salt and freshly ground pepper

--2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice)

--1 tablespoons olive oil (or more to taste)

Directions

1) grind all ingredients together with mortar and pestle until a loose paste is formed. Conversely, pulse all ingredients together in a mixer until a loose paste is formed. Add more oil or vinegar to correct consistency, if needed. The smell in your kitchen at this point will be fantastic, I promise. :)

To serve:

Spread thickly over the piece of grilled meat, vegetable, or bread. Eat. Sigh. Eat more.

Notes: These pictures are kind of awful. I apologize. The yellow beans look oddly like french fries and all of the colors seem muted. I assure you, this dinner tasted 100 times better than the pictures indicate. As my friend J informed me, perhaps I need to work on presentation...

The avocado dilemma

2007-07-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

One avocado. Three people. Do you see the dilemma I was in? I felt like King Solomon -- should I cut the avocado into pieces or leave it whole? Would the avocado (and us) be better served by being sliced into tiny bits or by giving it to one person to enjoy? Did I mention that it was a small avocado to begin with?

Unlike King Solomon, I chose to cut up the baby. Erm, I mean avocado. Cut up the avocado, and then pulverize it. Because it seemed fairer...not that King Solomon had that choice -- pureed baby wouldn't have solved any problems.

Good God, what am I talking about? Forget it, I can't stretch this analogy any further, I've become (more) offensive (than usual).

Bottom line is, I chose to make avocado vinaigrette with our one sad, little avocado instead of slicing it up and giving us each a miserly portion.

Phew, are you still reading? Did I manage to not scare you away with all my talk of babies and pulverizing? Awesome. On to the recipe.

Avocado Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

--1 avocado, flesh scooped out

--2 tablespoons grapefruit vinegar (I buy mine at Trader Joes)

--1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

--1 tablespoon hot sauce (I use the green Tabasco)

--salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) mash all ingredients together in a bowl. Add more vinegar or water until the mixture has a loose dressing type of consistency. (Do recipes get any easier than this?)

To serve:

Use as salad dressing or as sauce to pour over fish. I made a simple heirloom tomato salad -- just roughly chopped tomatoes, diced green onions, and a sprinkle of purple basil -- and served the avocado vinaigrette on the side. It was delicious -- and though it only contained one avocado, we each managed to satisfy our jones for the rich veggie.

Another pic of the tomato salad.

The rest of the meal -- seared tuna over mixed greens and couscous/red quinoa/baby garbanzo bean mix (from, where else? Trader Joes)

Nature's Viagra (no, really)

2007-06-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, D and M were traveling through Turkey (the country, not a particularly large fowl) and they ran across a fruit stand in the middle of nowhere. The side of the stand had a banner the size of a bus, saying "Nature's Viagra." D and M, being the curious folks that they are, set out to investigate. "Nature's Viagra" turned out to be Turkish Figs...large, luscious, and almost too sweet for word, figs. They bought a bunch, ate them all, and.....(I don't know what happened from here. I refused to listen to the story any further.)

Anyway, they were inspired to tell me this story after I made the salad described below. And, after smelling the sweet aroma of the ripe figs, breaking open their delicate flesh, and sinking my teeth into a their intoxicating flavor, I must agree. Figs are sexy. Dead sexy.

Make this salad for someone you love. Or someone you want to love you. Or just for yourself, to feel special. This salad would tempt a monk...

Fig Salad, with Walnut Oil and Aged Balsamic

Ingredients:

--1 to 2 figs per person

--2 cups salad greens per person (I used a mix of baby arugula and spring greens)

--1 tablespoon marcona almonds per person

--walnut oil (hazelnut oil would also be nice)

--pomegranate vinegar

--balsamic vinegar (the most expensive bottle you can afford. The tiny bottle I used was worth $150, and worth every penny. Aged balsamic tastes like normal balsamic multiplied by a million. sweet, complex, and wonderful.)

--salt and pepper

Directions:

1) quarter the figs

2) pile the salad greens onto a plate, place figs slices in a circle on the greens

3) sprinkle with marcona almonds

4) drizzle pomegranate vinegar and walnut oil over the plate

5) place one drop of balsamic on each fig slice

6) grind salt and pepper over entire plate and serve

Note:

This salad is a wonderful example of the the benefit of using high quality ingredients. Though the preparation is simple and there aren't many ingredients, this salad will seriously rock your world if you have perfectly ripe figs, fresh greens, a tasty nut oil, and some sweet fruity vinegars. And, like I said before, a very high quality balsamic will change your life (and palate) forever.

Three more pictures of the fig salad...

.
The rest of the meal, that night -- broccoli, roasted potatoes, shallots, and garlic, grilled pork chops. Delish!

The Edge of Reason

2007-06-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday 17 June

9st, alcohol units 2 ( good), cigarettes 0 (v. good), instants 10 (v. bad, but flustered because saw Mark Darcy at market, and looked a mess), calories 1675 (excellent, considering), thigh circumference (18 inches, must go to gym), positive thoughts 2.

9:00, living room. Feeling v. full and v. pleased. I just ate yummy dinner (that I invented!), and now am watching brilliant new American t.v. show with dancing men in v. short shorts. Saw Mark Darcy earlier in market -- was total mess. Had just tried new curling iron on hair, and failed miserably with new style. Hair was sticking up, part curly and part straight. Attempted to pile on head in attractive messy manner, but ended up looking like an refugee from important BBC program. Was wearing tight yoga pants, but worried not as cute as Shaz in yoga pants. Possibly because Shaz does yoga and I don't. Face had spots, but had covered them (at least) before going to market. Anyway, saw Mark Darcy looking at me strangely from across the bin of rocket, and managed to squeak out, "Cheers, Mark" before he was able to ask what was wrong with my hair.

Chatted a bit about work, and then he asked if I was going round my mother's house anytime soon. Apparently, he actually *liked* my mother's turkey curry from the Turkey Curry Buffet this New Years and wanted the recipe. I told him my mother never shares her recipes, but that I had a better version for him to try. Of course, I can't cook a bit, but I bloody well had to come up with a reason to give him my number.

After running around the market like a mad woman, I came home with some powdered curry, some chutney, and some ground turkey, and managed to come up with a absolutely divine recipe. Just tasted one of the burgers, okay, two of the burgers, and feel positively giddy. Am splendid cook, like Jamie Oliver, but female.

Will call Mark Darcy straight away, show him my culinary brilliance, and cause him to fall madly in love with me.

____________________________________________________________

Alright, sorry about that folks. Once I determined that the dinner I was making involved turkey and curry, I couldn't stop giggling about the Bridget Jones connections. I indulged myself in a bit of imitation prose - I couldn't resist. For those of you who missed the Bridget Jones craze a few years ago (likely my male readers, though I hate to generalize), before Bridget Jones was played by Renee Zellweger, she was a character in a book. And, each new section of the book started remarkably as written above. The style always amused me, and I hope you enjoyed my toying with it. :)

Now, on to the actual recipe. I was working on a idea for a slightly different turkey burger, and was having a hard time coming up with anything other than an Asian inspired version. The curry idea came out of the blue, and once it lodged in my mind, I couldn't shake it.

I mixed the ground turkey with some garlic curry paste, mango ginger chutney, curry powder, and green onions. Shaped the mix into burgers, and grilled them until just done, then topped them with grilled eggplant slices and mango mint salsa. Man, oh, man, these were good -- or as Bridget would say, "Brilliant." The burgers were a bit spicy, but the mango mint salsa tempered the heat and the eggplants slices added a bit of smokey chew. The combination was wonderful -- next time you BBQ, I encourage you to give these a try.

Turkey Curry Burgers -- serves 4

The layers, in order, from the top -- whole wheat bun, mango mint salsa, grilled eggplant, turkey curry burger, more mango mint salsa, whole wheat bun.

Ingredients:

--1 lb very lean ground turkey

--2 tablespoons mango ginger chutney

--1 tablespoon hot garlic curry paste

--2 tablespoons curry powder (or less, to taste)

--4 green onions, finely chopped (green and white part)

Directions:

1) Mix all of the ingredients with your hands until fully combined. Don't over mix, or you'll have tough, chewy burgers

2) Shape mixture into 4 equal patties

3) Grill, on hot grill, for about 10 minutes (5 minutes per side) or until done. Don't overcook!

To Serve:

Top each burger with a dollop of mango salsa and a few slices of grilled eggplant (Slice an eggplant into 1/4 inch slices, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and grill as you grill the burgers -- 5 minutes per side or until done). Serve on a bun.

The burger, just before being put together. The bun, burger, and eggplant on the left and the mango salsa-ed bun on the right. Tomato/ cucumber salad in the background.

Sizzling on the grill....mmmmm

Lies, and the lying liars who tell them -- oh, and some food :)

2007-06-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry for lying to y'all in my last post...I didn't update that night as I promised. Bad blogger, bad.

What can I say? Life got seven kinds of busy. However, on the plus side, I'm here now...right? And I have all sorts of things to post for you -- pictures, a recipe, stories, and more. So settle in for a good long post, full of all sorts of Kristel-approved fun.

First off, some seriously good banana bread. As you may remember, I have a thing about spotted bananas -- they totally gross me out. The cloying smell, the sick-sweet taste, the mushy texture...I wouldn't eat an overripe banana if you paid me. However, I'm also a farmer's daughter and I abhor throwing food away. So, when the repulsed get ripe bananas, the repulsed make banana bread.

Now for the sad news -- I have no idea what recipe I used to make this bread. I remember it called for four smushed bananas, I remember I used part applesauce and part oil, and I remember I added cinnamon and nutmeg. The precise recipe, however, I have no idea. I'm sad I can't share a recipe with you -- this banana bread was wonderful. The crumb was dense and tender, and the walnuts crunchy, and the banana flavor just powerful enough.

Next, an simple and fast dinner. I usually get home pretty late from work, and I always try to get something on the table as soon as possible. I don't like to eat late, so the faster I get dinner ready, the better. This meal was made on a whim, but it turned out to be so tasty, that I felt obligated to take a picture. Curly pasta, dressed in a light tomato sauce, with mini sun-dried tomato chicken sausages, mushrooms, and olives. A simple side salad, with a dollop of homemade guacamole for dressing.

Next up, unique, spicy, complex and completely delicious shrimp.

It started with a pound of shrimp and no ideas. D had requested black beans and rice as a side dish, and I had already made a mango peach salsa. I also knew I had some broccoli rabe to saute as another side, but what to do with the shrimp kept eluding me.

Finally, I poked my head into the refrigerator in despair and my eyes landed upon a bottle of ginger beer. I poured the ginger beer into bowl, added a chopped garlic clove, some hot sauce, some fresh ginger, and the shrimp. I marinated the shrimp in the ginger beer mixture for about an hour, and then sauteed them in a bit of canola oil until just done. Then, I boiled down the marinade until it reached a sticky consistency. I plated the shrimp on a pool of the sauce, and surrounded it with a mound of mango salsa, a scoop of beans and rice, and a stack of broccoli rabe. Lucky for me, the gamble played off -- the entire meal was wonderful, but the shrimp were absolutely phenomenal. The sauce was exquisite -- the sweet and spicy ginger added an exotic bite, the garlic an earthy undertone, and the hot sauce a contrasting spice. yum!

The shrimp and their sauce.

The rest of the plate -- the beans and rice, the mango salsa, and the broccoli rabe.

Next, the roasted lamb. I butterflied a boneless leg of lamb, rubbed the inside with salt and pepper, and laid whole rosemary stems and garlic cloves across the meat. I rolled it up and secured the leg with metal picks, and baked it until it was medium rare. The lamb was served with mint pesto (mint, olive oil, salt, garlic), thinly sliced summer squash sauteed with lemon basil, and roasted potatoes. Everything was delicious, perfectly seasoned, and well matched. We *loved* this meal.

And, last but not least, a recipe.

I had picked up some green tomatoes at the Farmer's Market, with the idea of frying them. You see, I have southern roots (my mother is from Alabama), I love the move Fried Green Tomatoes, and I have a great cast iron frying pan. Surely I was destined to know how to make fried green tomatoes (even though I'd never tasted, made, or seen them before).

I came up with the following recipe. I'm not sure how authentic it is, but it tasted pretty wonderful to us. Enjoy!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:

--4 large green tomatoes (or one for each person dining)

--1 cup flour

--salt and pepper, to taste

--4 large eggs

--1 tablespoon hot sauce of your choice

--1 cup cornmeal

--canola oil for frying

--hot sauce for serving

Directions:

1) Slice the tomatoes into 1/2 inch think slices

2) pour the flour, salt, and pepper into one shallow bowl, the eggs (scrambled with a bit of water and the hot sauce) into another shallow bowl, and the cornmeal into another shallow bowl

3) heat an inch of oil in a large cast iron pan

4) dredge the tomato slices in flour, then dip them into the egg mixture, and then into the cornmeal (add more flour, eggs, or cornmeal to the bowls if you begin to run out)

5) as you take each slice out of the cornmeal, slide it carefully into the oil. Add each new slice as it is ready, being careful not to crowd the pan too much. If you add them too fast, the oil will drop too much in temperature and the tomatoes will get soggy instead of forming a crust

6) Check each slice periodically to see if the side in the oil has browned. If it has, turn it over and allow the other side to brown.

7) as each slice finishes frying, take it out of the oil with a slotted spatula and place on a plate covered in paper towels

To serve:

Pile onto a plate, and offer hot sauce on the side.

Note:

M likes them cold the next day, in a pita pocket with hummus.

Public Service Announcement

2007-06-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

I am 26.

It is June.

Why do you care, you ask?

Well, those two clues should hint that the fact that dozens (it seems) of my friends are trotting down the aisle toward the altar. All of my weekends have been full of travel to bridal showers/weddings/bachelorette parties/sacred blood rituals. That means no trips to the Farmer's Market, no cooking on the weekends, and no time to cook during the week (because I'm trying to catch up on work to be ready to go out of town again the next weekend), and no blogging! I haven't done laundry in a month, haven't been grocery shopping in weeks, and haven't cooked a proper meal (other than breakfast) since mid-May. Boo.

Never fear, however, friends. I plan on catching up on some posting(s) tonight. You'll have plenty of pictures and recipes to entertain your mind and whet your appetite.

Until then...

But where has all the rum gone? (said in Cap't Jack Sparrow's slurring pirate accent)

2007-05-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

Oh, the rum is right here, my friend, right here.

As I've told you all before, I'm not really big on desserts. However, I've been in the sweets-mode for a few weeks now....and all signs point to this trend continuing for awhile. My friends and co-workers have been lavished with leftover treats recently and now they won't stop pleading for more. What can I say? They're savages (scallywags?). :)

So, in my quest to come up with things that are delicious, I looked through my pantry.

chocolate.

rum.

pecans.

Oh baby, yeah.

Add these all together and discover a most luscious dessert. Yes, indeed, folks ... I'm talking about rum balls. The reason I embarked upon this particular (non)baking quest is simple. It was the last game of the kickball season and my team's name is Red Rum. Get it? Ball? Rum? :)

Rum Balls were clearly in order. Plus, inebriation via pastry is always fun.

The follow recipe is super simple. You can throw this together in just a few minutes and enjoy the rum balls immediately (or wait a few days for an even better treat). These are seriously good -- rich, chocolatey, with a hint of cinnamon, and a punch of rum. yum!

Be warned, however, that these things are super potent. Only serve to those of age (and not driving right away -- having just eaten one of these would make you fail a breathalizer test for sure!)

Rum Balls -- makes at least 40

Ingredients:

--1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans (toast the pecans first, let them totally cool, and then pulse very finely - if you don't let them fully cool they will get all pasty...which you don't want, I promise.)

--1 1/2 cups ground vanilla wafers (pulse into a fine powder in a food processor)

-- 3/4 cup powdered sugar, plus more for garnish

-- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

--2 tablespoons cocoa powder

--2 tablespoons corn syrup

--1/2 cup good quality rum (mix of your favorite -- I used spiced rum and stroh's rum)

Directions:

1) mix together all ingredients, in order listed, and chill until batter is cool (and less sticky)

2) roll dough into thumb size balls

3) toss them in a bowl with powdered sugar (enough to coat each ball)

4) store in refrigerator

Notes:

They're even better a few days later. My team adored them (and D and M made me promise to make more soon for them). Enjoy!

An experiment in fava beans

2007-05-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

I'd never had a fava bean before. Sure, I'd heard of them (I am a foodie after all), but I'd never eaten them. However, last week at the Farmer's Market I saw a pile of pretty greenish brown beans with a "fava" sign and couldn't resist.

I shelled one, and popped a raw bean in my mouth. It tasted grassy and clean, with a nutty undertone. I wasn't sure how to prepare them -- I didn't even know if they were meant to be eaten raw.

A pile of shelled favas

After I went home, I did some Googling and discovered that they are usually cooked, and often served with other spring veggies. They are also eaten mashed, with spices. I was tempted by many of the recipes, particularly one in which the fava beans with tossed with peas and mint, but I eventually settled on a risotto.

In all honesty, I ended up a bit disappointed. The fava beans didn't taste like much. They had a pretty color, and a nice texture, but the flavor was bland. Maybe their delicate taste was overwhelmed by the chicken, or the artichokes. Or maybe they are better with another preparation. Or maybe fava beans are just boring. Beats me. I did enjoy the risotto, which is why I'm giving you all the recipe, but the fava beans themself weren't particularly exciting.

Fava bean shells on the left, the shelled beans on the right.

Unshelled, shelled. Up close.

Fava Bean and Chicken Risotto, with Artichokes -- serves 6

Ingredients:

--1 large onion, roughly chopped

--3 tablespoons olive oil

--1 1/4 cup risotto rice (arborio)

--salt and pepper, to taste

--5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

--1 cup good white wine

--2 cups shelled, blanched fava beans*

--1 cup quartered, cooked artichoke hearts

--1 cup shredded, cooked chicken

Directions:

1) Saute the onion in the olive oil until the onions are softened.

2) Stir in the rice, and saute with the onions until the grains of rice get a little translucent and have a white dot in the middle of each one.

3) Add salt and pepper, stir

4) Add a cup of chicken broth and cook, stirring occasionally over medium/low heat until the liquid is absorbed.

5) Repeat step 4 with the rest of the cups of chicken broth and the wine (should take about 25 minutes). As you add the liquid, remember not to add the next cup of liquid until the previous cup is absorbed. And, of course, be careful not to let the rice get so dry that it scorches.

6) Just before the final bit of liquid is absorbed and the rice is creamy, add the fava beans, artichokes, and shredded chicken. Cook for a few minutes and then turn off the heat. Taste, and adjust seasonings.

To serve:

This is a main dish risotto, just serve with a leafy green salad and a glass of crisp white wine.

Notes:

Be sure to add enough salt -- I noticed that the risotto was a bit bland at first and salt really perked it up. A squeeze of lemon over top is not a bad call either.

* The fava beans are infinitely easier to shell if they have been blanched in boiling water first. I tried to shell them without blanching them, and it was quite difficult and time consuming. But, after a 1 minute dunk in boiling water and a quick drain, the fava beans are a breeze to shell.

Strawberry Basil Deliciousness

2007-05-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

It is getting warm here in sunny southern California -- I've been itching to use our ice cream maker for a few weeks. Luckily, there was a Farmer's Market outside my building last Friday and I picked up some juicy strawberries on my way home. They languished in my refrigerator until they were getting a little soft and I was obligated to use them in something. Sorbet seemed the obvious choice, though pie was a contender for a few minutes. I didn't want to make boring, simple strawberry sorbet though. I wanted something a little exotic.

My thoughts went to other fruits, but they didn't sound fun enough. Then I remembered some flavor combos that I had been intrigued by -- including one with strawberries and and basil.

Now, let me admit something -- I am obsessed with Thai purple basil, and I use it as often as I can. I toss it into salads, stir it into pastas, and drop it into soups. It is a little more fragrant and less licorice-y than green basil. I decided that strawberry *basil* sorbet sounded just unique enough, and I made the following recipe. We devoured it in days. It was divine -- try it and see. Hello, summer. :)

Strawberry Thai Basil Sorbet

Ingredients:

-- 5 cups sliced, cleaned, ripe strawberries
--3/4 cup sugar
--3/4 cup water
--1 large bunch Thai purple basil, leaves chiffonaded
--1 ounce vodka
--juice of one lemon

Directions:

1) Puree the strawberries in a food processor. Put pureed strawberries in the refrigerator for at least one hour

2) Simmer the sugar, water, and basil in a small sauce pan over low heat until the sugar is totally dissolved (5 -6 minutes)

3) Take syrup off the heat and place in refrigerator until cold.

4) Strain the basil leaves out of the syrup if so desired.

5) Stir the syrup, lemon juice, and vodka into the pureed strawberries

6) Freeze according to the ice cream maker's instructions.

To serve:

Scoop into bowls, and garnish with more Thai basil or pretty edible flowers (like we did).

Notes:

The vodka helps the sorbet stay soft -- actually, any liquor with a compatible flavor would also work. Grand Marnier comes to mind. Without the alcohol (which doesn't freeze) the sorbet gets too hard and icy. However, you don't have to add the alcohol if you don't want to, just be sure to let it soften before you serve.

There's peanut butter in my chocolate, and all that that implies. Wait... what?

2007-05-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

Oh, the things I could admit to you all.

I have a secret love of Jennifer Lopez. I own Tevas *and* Birkenstocks. I once shoved more than 15 marsh mellows in my mouth at one time (on stage in front of thousands of people) and nearly threw up on stage, but managed to hold it in and win the prize. As a teenager I had such a crush on Jonathan Brandis that I wrote a script that added me (as a love interest, of course) into SeaQuest DSV and mailed it to Steven Spielberg. I love canned mushrooms. I sort my Skittles into color piles before I eat them. I still watch Saved By the Bell when I find it on T.V. Believe me, I could go on, but I'll spare you all of the quirky details.

Now, with all of this background, you will be much less surprised to find out that I play on a kickball team. See, if I had come right out with the kickball thing, you might have thought that I was little strange...but with all that information, you aren't a bit thrown off. Pun intended.

Anyway, I joined an adult kickball league shortly after moving to L.A. I didn't know a lot of people and I figured that the kind of adult that plays kickball is my kind of adult. I was right. Fast forward a few months, I've made some great friends, stayed out way too many late nights at local bars, and made an awesome use of my old soccer cleats.

My team is in the playoffs right now, and our captain sent out an email earlier this week saying, "anyone who likes to cook, feel free to bring a baked good to our next game." Now, I know this was directed to me because we had had a conversation at our previous game about 1) how I liked to cook and 2) how I had thought about bringing cookies or something to a game. He managed to cleverly ask me to follow through with my promise by couching it in a request to the entire team. Smart boy. It worked.

I decided to make my mom's fabulous chocolate peanut butter cake bars after scouring my memory for a crowd pleasing, unique dessert. My mom used to make this cake for me to bring to school as a child, and I've never forgotten the rich creamy frosting or the moist chocolaty cake. Even as a kid, I couldn't eat very much of this cake at once. It is so decadent that just a few bites are all that anyone can handle at a time.

Sadly enough, I had a doctor's appointment for the pinched nerve in my elbow and a stack of work to do last night. I had to miss my game. Boo! However, what my kickball team missed out on, my co-workers relished. I brought in these rich, sweet pieces of chocolate peanut butter goodness and they were scarfed in minutes.

I hope this cake becomes a regular in your repertoire -- It has certainly earned a spot in mine.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Bars*

Ingredients:

For the cake:

--1 cup butter
--1/2 cup cocoa
--1 cup water
--1/2 cup buttermilk (or in my case, one scant cup soy milk and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar)
--1 teaspoon vanilla
--2 eggs, well beaten
--2 cups sugar
--2 cups flour
--1 teaspoon baking soda

For the Frosting:

-- 1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter

--1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
--1/4 cup cocoa
--6 teaspoons buttermilk (or soy milk with a tiny splash of apple cider vinegar)
--1 teaspoon vanilla
--1 box confectioners sugar (16 oz.)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees

For the Cake:

1) Simmer the butter, cocoa, water, buttermilk, and eggs in a sauce pan on low heat until it bubbles

2) Take mixture off the heat, and stir in the vanilla

3) In a large bowl, stir the sugar, flour, and baking soda together until completely mixed

4) Pour the hot, wet mixture over the dry ingredients. Mix the batter with electric beaters until completely smooth.

5) Pour the batter into a well-greased 9 x 13 pan and bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean (about 25 minutes). Set aside to cool.

For the Frosting:

1) Heat the butter, cocoa, and buttermilk in a sauce pan on low. Stir until butter is melted, cocoa is incorporated, and the mixture is bubbling a little. Take off the heat and stir in the vanilla.

2) Pour the confectioners sugar into a large bowl and then pour the warm cocoa mixture over the sugar. Beat until smooth. The frosting should be very thick, but if it is impossible to stir, beat in a tiny bit more buttermilk.

To Assemble:

1) Spread the peanut butter over top of the completely cooled cake. Spread the chocolate frosting over the peanut butter, doing your best to maintain the integrity of the layers.

To Serve:

Cut into small pieces. Savor the deliciousness. :)

Notes:

Next time I plan on using only 1 or 2 eggs. I think I'd prefer a more brownie-like cake, verses the lighter fluffy cake that 3 eggs ensures. I've also debated pouring the cake batter into a larger pan so as to have a more equal cake to frosting ratio, but I've always talked myself out of it because the frosting is so rich it needs a substantial cake layer to balance it out.

* My mom calles it Reese Pieces Cake, but I've changed the name to avoid trademark infringement. Blame it on the IP class I took in law school.

A bit of this, a bit of that, and some promises of what is to come

2007-04-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry friends, no time (or energy) for a full post with recipes tonight. My weekend was a standard mess of activities (happy hour, traffic school, miniature golf, Farmer's Market, work, movies, playing with Fudge, etc.). I did do plenty of cooking (and even some baking), but you'll have to wait a few days for the full account of my recent culinary adventures.

Did you notice how I slipped traffic school in there all casual like? I admit it -- I broke the law by turning left directly in front of a "No Left Turn" sign. However, I'll have you know it was my first traffic ticket *ever* !

Oh, and I also neglected to mention that most of those activities were done one-armed. Yup, my left arm is in a sling. I have a pinched nerve in my elbow and I'm under doctor's orders to wear a sling for the next few weeks while I'm doing any activity that puts pressure on my elbow. A serious (and occasionally painful) inconvience, I assure you. :(

Anyway, for tonight's post you're going to be blessed with some pictures of dishes I cooked in the past week, and a teaser for the next few posts. The pictures are below...... and the teaser?... Well, the topic of the next posts are:

My Mom's Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

and

Strawberry Sorbet with Thai Purple Basil.

Do you feel sufficiently teased? :)

On to the food pics!

"Chinese Spinach" (at least that is what the label at the Farmer's Market said). Huge leaves and beautiful color. It doesn't taste much like traditional spinach, but it was wonderful in the stir fry below.

Shrimp stir fry, with snap peas, Chinese Spinach, fresh ginger, and black sesame seeds. Served with brown rice. Delish! (Except for the shrimp, which turned out cardboard-y -- I think they were freezer burnt at some point in their little shellfish lives).

Salad, with sunchokes, hearts of palm, and olives.

Can you guess what this is?

It is the chicken roasting pan my parents gave me for my birthday earlier this month!

You fill the cup in the middle with some flavorful liquid (in this case wine) and place the chicken over it to bake. The chicken gets steamed internally by the liquid as it roasts on the outside. This particular chicken was slathered in olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary and then placed on a bed of garlic, carrots, and celery. The wine flavor delicately permeated the entire bird, and the rosemary was a wonderful woodsy counterpoint. It was divine (and the homemade chicken stock made from the carcass and the roasted veggies already smells fantastic)!

That is all for now, friends. I promise the next post will be witty, charming, and contain at least one delicious recipe. At this moment, however, I'm too tired to be witty or charming, and I can hardly remember the recipe for a ham sandwich. :)

Until next time...

Something a little different

2007-04-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

Shepard's Pie is not something I usually make ... it is heavy, and often gloppy. In the past few years I've made it precisely twice. And, each of those times I made it with ground turkey and sweet potatoes in an attempt to lighten it up a bit and jazz up the flavors. I liked it that way, but at the time I was living alone and ended up so tired of the leftovers (because it is impossible to make a small portion of Shepard's Pie) that I didn't want to make it again for another year.

However, as I mentioned in my previous post, Sunday was dreary and chilly. I wanted something hearty for dinner, and I knew I had dining companions and I wouldn't be stuck with the leftovers forever. The idea of making traditional Shepard's Pie wormed its way into my mind and wouldn't let go. One package of ground lamb and a pound of potatoes later, we were feasting on a Shepard's Pie and licking our spoons. I still don't think it is a dish to work into a monthly rotation, but it is definitely worth making when it is cold, you are hungry, and only something meaty, rich, and carby will hit the spot.

Traditional Shepard's Pie --serves lots

Ingredients:

--1 lb potatoes, peeled, quartered and well rinsed
--2 tablespoons butter/margarine (optional)
--salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

--2 tablespoons olive oil
--2 garlic cloves, diced
--1 onion, chopped roughly
--3 carrots, chopped roughly
--3 stalks celery roughly chopped
--8 oz mushrooms, sliced
--1 cup green peas, fresh or frozen (not canned!)
--1 lb ground lamb
--splash red wine

-1 tablespoon flour

--3/4 cup stock (I used chicken)
--1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
--pinch ground nutmeg
--salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Boil the potatoes until tender, drain them and mash them with the butter, salt, pepper, and garlic. Set aside.

2) As the potatoes cook, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

3) Add the garlic, onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and green peas to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies have softened (about 15 minutes).

4) Add the ground lamb to the pan and cook for 12 -15 minutes more, breaking the lamb up with a wooden spoon. Spoon off any fat.

5) Deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to get up the browned bits.

6) Add the flour to the pan and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes.

7) Add the stock, rosemary, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally until the mixture has thickened (a few minutes).

8) Let cool a bit and then pour the meat mixture into a large baking dish. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top, allowing then to have peaks and valleys.

9) Bake until potatoes are browned and the dish is heated through (about 30 minutes).

To serve:

Serve straight from the baking dish with some light veggie side dish (we had steamed asparagus). Enjoy your hearty dinner, and be sure to invite someone over to enjoy it with you! :)

The lamb mixture before it was topped with the mashed potatoes.

Not the prettiest dish in the world, but still delicious. Open wide!

Speaking of opening wide, look at Fudge yawn. :)

I say, let them eat cake! (but not in a making fun of any peasants sort of way)

2007-04-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Scanning through my blog posts this morning I noticed that I've never posted a single dessert recipe. It isn't that I don't like desserts, it's just that I don't usually make them. Growing up dairy free meant that I didn't really develop a taste for super rich desserts, mostly because, well, I can't have them. I bake bread occasionally, and I've been known to make a mean pan of brownies, but I honesty don't bake very often. For dessert at home I usually have a scoop of sorbet, a glass of port, or a chunk of super dark chocolate and I call it a night. Out at restaurants, I make do with a cup of decaf, an espresso, or a bowl sorbet (if they have it).

However, it was grey and chilly in L.A. today, and I actually, for the first time in ages, felt like baking. After a quick flip through my mental rolodex of recipe ideas, I decided that carrot cake sounded particularly delicious. I also made a Shepard's Pie, but I'll save that story for the next post.

I went to the grocery store to gather my ingredients, and as I went in search of cinnamon, I wandered past the display of old 50%-off Easter candy. I noticed a pack of bratwurst and a jar of dijon mustard tucked into the stack of chocolate bunnies. I stopped and began to laugh. I could just imagine it, someone decided on bratwurst for dinner, got distracted by the chocolate bunnies, and thought, "screw it, chocolate bunny for dinner it is" and abandoned the sausage and mustard on the spot.

Giggling to myself, I found the rest of the ingredients and went home. I dug out my trusty Joy of Cooking and looked up the carrot cake recipe. A few hours later, after a few minor recipe modifications, the cake was done, and I was covered in frosting.

My cake may not be the prettiest, but it is delicious and a little different. I hope you enjoy it!

Carrot Cake, with Citrus Glaze and Cream Cheese Frosting

Below is the recipe broken into manageable chunks. I recommend making the syrup and the icing as the cake bakes and cools. Store the syrup and icing in the refrigerator if you finish them ahead of time.

For the Cake:

As the cakes cooled, Fudge the kitchen explorer sniffed around.

Ingredients:

--1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

--1 cup sugar

--1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

--1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

--1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

--1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

--1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

--1/2 teaspoon salt

--2/3 cup vegetable oil (you can substitute applesauce for part of the oil for a lower fat cake)

--3 large eggs (you can use 6 egg whites instead, again for a lower fat cake)

--1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots

--1 cup walnuts (they taste much better if they are toasted for a few minutes in a dry frying pan before using them. Just toast them, let them cool a bit, and roughly chop. I actually use about 1 1/2 cups walnuts because I love extra-nutty cakes)

--1 cup golden raisins (optional -- I don't add them, because, well, I don't believe in raisins*)

-- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, lightly drained (optional, I used "tidbits")

-- 1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional, I didn't add it this time)

Directions:

(Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees)

1) Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and salt in a large bowl.

2) In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and the oil until totally combined.

3) Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, slowly, while continuing to stir.

4) Stir into the batter the carrots, walnuts, raisins, pineapple, and coconut.

5) Scrape the batter into two greased and floured 8 x 8 inch round pans (or one greased and floured 13 x 9 inch pan) and spread evenly. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. ( about 30 minutes, but start checking at 25 minutes).

6) Cool in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then slide a thin knife around the edge of the cake and remove to cool right side up on a rack.

For the syrup:

Ingredients:

--Pineapple juice from the can of pineapples used above (about 1/2 cup)

-- 3/4 cup orange juice

--splash of your best rum

--splash of vanilla

--1/2 cup (or more) granulated sugar

Directions:

1) simmer juices, rum, and vanilla in a small pan on low heat for 45 minutes or so, stirring occasionally (until reduced and syrupy)

2) pour in some of the sugar and continue stirring over low heat, add more sugar until the mixtures is thick and shiny and the sugar is dissolved (be careful not to burn the mix). Take off the heat. I'm not sure precisely how much sugar I added, but I think it was between 1/2 and 3/4 of a cup)

For the icing:

Ingredients:

--8 oz cream cheese (I obviously used soy cream cheese)

--5 tablespoons butter (I used dairy-free margarine)

--splash vanilla

--2 tablespoons to 1 cup powdered sugar (it is up to you how sweet you want your frosting)

Directions:

1) Blend all ingredients in a food processor until icing is smooth, don't over blend or the cream cheese will get grainy.

To construct the cake:

1) smear some syrup on the first layer of the cake. Top with a thin spread of icing.

2) place the second layer of the cake atop the first layer, and smear the top of the second layer with syrup and then icing.

3) Ice the sides of the cake with the remaining icing. Drizzle any remaining syrup over the top of the cake.

Notes:

First off, I have a confession to make. Unbeknownst to me, I was out of powdered sugar. Thinking to myself, "what would Al Gore do?" I decided that he wouldn't want me to drive all the way to the store just to get some powdered sugar. So, I ended up substituting Splenda in the icing recipe. I know, I know, I know...a culinary travesty. However, I did help save the planet a little bit. :)

Also, my cake's frosting is a little melty -- I am storing it in the refrigerator to keep it as firm as possible. I'm not sure if it is because I used soy cream cheese and the recipe called for dairy cream cheese or if it is because it is so warm in my kitchen right now or (most likely) because Splenda doesn't have the same structural integrity of powdered sugar, but the icing isn't perfectly setting. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was also out of ground cloves and allspice, but I had whole cloves and allspice in my cupboard so I hand-ground them with my mortar and pestle. Sweet lord, it made such a difference. Not to sound like an insufferable foodie, but hand ground spices are fabulous. (Do I get any culinary-cred back for hand grinding my spices after admitting to using Splenda?)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, I'll point out that you could leave off both the syrup and the icing if you wanted -- the cake itself is the real star here. It may have a dense crumb and a plain exterior, but it is moist, fragrant with spices, and studded with nuts. In fact the batter to this cake may be the best batter ever, though I'm not changing the blog name.

(Legal disclaimer: I do not condone the eating of raw eggs. Salmonella is scary. However, it you do decide to throw all caution to the wind as I did, you will be rewarded with some seriously tasty, spicy, sweet batter. Um, but again, I emphasize that eating raw eggs may be harmful to your health. Please return to your regularly scheduled programing.)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* Let me explain. In the sense that I acknowledge that raisins exist on this planet, I do believe in them. However, in the sense that I have any desire to put them in my food, I most certainly do not believe in them.

Bastard Soup

2007-04-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

Yes indeed, folks, I just made bastard soup. And you want to know what? I don't even know who the father is. In my defense, I don't really know who the mother is either. This soup is an amalgamation of every possible asian soup I could think of, save for miso.

I was tired, kids, and hungry. I wanted something warm and comforting, quick and easy, and spicy and creamy. I poured some chicken broth in a pot, added some coconut milk, a bunch of spices, a handful of veggies, some leftover chicken, and some hot sauce. Then I added some noodles, and left the whole mess to boil. Somehow this pile of ingredients turned into something much tastier than it should have been. It was better than the sum of its parts, and perfectly hit the spot. Feel free to tweak the ingredients, I just threw in what was rattling around my refrigerator.

Asian Fusion Chicken Coconut Soup -- serves 4 or more

Ingredients:

--8 cups chicken broth, homemade is best
--1 can light coconut milk
--1 small onion roughly diced
--4 cloves garlic diced
--2 inches lemongrass, very finely diced
--8 kaffir lime leaves, cut into very thin ribbons (chiffonade)
--1 bunch cilantro, leaves removed and diced
--8-10 basil leaves, chiffonaded
--small bunch mint leaves, finely diced
--handful of roughly chopped chinese broccoli or similar green vegetable (bok choy would also be good)
--splash soy sauce
--splash fish sauce
--1 teaspoon (or more) curry powder
--1 teaspoon diced fresh ginger
--juice of 2 limes
--rooster sauce (lots -- at least 1 tablespoon)
--3 chicken breasts, cooked (mine were leftover grilled)
--1/2 lb noodles (soba would be best, I was out of soba and had to use spaghetti)

Directions:

1) Bring the stock and coconut milk to a boil

2) Add all of the other ingredients except for the noodles, and simmer for 15 minutes

3) Add the noodles, and cook until just done

To Serve:

Pour into bowls, garnish with more fresh herbs and a lime slice. Enjoy. A cold Corona is an excellent companion. :)

Just For the Halibut ... yes, I went there

2007-04-15T20:25:00.000-07:00

This week, even more than my usual weeks, was absurdly busy.

Monday through Friday were packed full with work, happy hours, and parties, and then my parents came to visit for the weekend to help me celebrate my birthday. We ate yummy food, I opened fun presents, and Fudge was extra spoiled by his grandparents. This morning D,M, and I took them to the Farmer's Market and enjoyed seeing our usual Sunday routine through new eyes. My parents just left, but the pile of fruits, veggies, and fish that we bought stayed here in Los Angeles.

Your weekly dose of Fudge. :)

Some of the bounty from today's visit to the Farmer's Market. From the left: asparagus, green beans, mixed salad greens, summer squash, spring garlic, Chinese spinach, and sugar snap peas.

I wanted to use some of these delicious fresh veggies for dinner tonight, along with the wild halibut that we also picked up at the Farmer's Market. I decided on a variation on Nicoise Salad, with halibut instead of tuna, roasted potatoes instead of boiled potatoes, and tapanade dressing instead of whole olives.

The meal turned out fantastically -- the halibut was tender, the potatoes crunchy-edged, the tomatoes tangy, the green beans crisp, and the olive dressing perfectly salty. Everything worked together wonderfully: the lemon juice in the dressing brought out the taste of the lemon zest in the halibut from the marinade, the bitter bite of the arugula contrasted with the sweet smoothness of the potatoes, and the crunch of the green beans highlighted the soft tomatoes.

Halibut a la Nicoise -- serves 4- 6

Ingredients:

--1/2 lb mixed salad greens
--2 lbs halibut steaks, marinated in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, lemon zest, and basil for approximately 4 hours
--1 lb roasted new potatoes (dice them into small chunks, toss them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs de provance, and bake until crispy - about 1 hour at 400 degrees)
--1 lb blanched fresh green beans (de-string them, break them in half, and boil them for about 2 minutes in heavily salted water, then spread them out to cool)
--10 basil leaves, chiffonaded
--2 large tomatoes, sliced into wedges (or 2 cups grape tomatoes)

--1 spring garlic shoot, white and green parts diced
--juice of one lemon
--4 tablespoons olive tapanade, best quality you have
-- 2 tablespoons chiffonaded fresh basil
--salt and pepper to taste
--splash of white wine or chicken stock

Directions:

1) Grill the marinated halibut until just done, about 8 minutes on a medium hot grill

2) Layer the mixed greens, potatoes, tomatoes, basil, and green beans into a large salad bowl

3) Meanwhile, simmer the garlic shoot, lemon juice, tapanade, basil, salt, pepper, and wine or stock in a small sauce pan until garlic is soft (about 10 minutes).

4) Taste the dressing, adjust seasonings, and thin with extra wine or stock if needed

5) Top the salad with the halibut, break the fish into large pieces, and then pour the dressing over all. Toss to combine everything, wilt the greens, and distribute the dressing.

Notes:

Capers and/or whole olives would be a good addition to this dish.

I like this salad on the light side, without a lot of extra olive oil. However, if you'd like a more decadent salad, drizzle olive oil over the entire dish. It is delicious served with a chunk of bread and a glass of wine. Enjoy!

Yummy roasted potatoes.

A (slightly embarassing) request:

2007-04-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Friends,

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the internet! I feel we've gotten close over the past few months, so I feel slightly less embarrassed than expected by asking you a favor... please vote for me!

I have to come completely clean here, I nominated *myself* for a food blogging award. Totally lame, right?

Here's the deal: I've been dutifully typing away at my keyboard, taking lots of pictures, and doing my best to keep my little blog fun and entertaining since January. However, I'm just not getting the readership that I hoped for. "Self," I asked, "what would be the best way to get the word out about my blog?" Lo and behold, I stumbled across the Blogger's Choice Awards, swallowed my pride (or perhaps dug up some extra pride), and nominated myself.

My theory is thus (and it is the same one that I used to rationalize voting for myself when I was running for Student Body President): If I don't believe I am worth voting for, why should you? In this case, I think I run a fine little blog, with lots of stories, good food, and fun pictures. Therefore my reasoning, (to myself), is sound -- I believe in my blog, and thus I feel justified in asking you to vote for it.

So there is my plea, if you read this blog and enjoy what I write about, please take the time to vote. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks! :)

Note: If the link above doesn't work, go to: http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/2718

Plan to be spontaneous...

2007-04-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow (April 11th) is my birthday (yay!)-- I turn 26 years old. (Which means that I am rapidly leaving mid-twenties and rushing headlong into late-twenties. Boo.) Exactly one year ago today I made a list of 25 things to accomplish in the next 25 years. Here they are, in no particular order:

Live in another country
grow my own tomatoes
write a book
publish the book
see a total solar eclipse
give birth
get married
eat pho in Vietnam
eat pizza in Naples, Italy
kiss the Blarney Stone
hike the Grand Canyon
white water raft the Colorado River
SCUBA the Great Barrier Reef
eat at The French Laundry
visit the pyramids in Egypt
learn to snow ski
learn to surf
visit all 50 states
visit Scotland, Ireland, Greece, Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Israel
learn to ride a horse
learn to tango, ballroom dance, and waltz
learn to speak another language, at least conversationally
buy a house
hike in a jungle, either South American or African
learn to sail

Thus far I have only done *one* of the above. I learned to snow ski last month, and, in case you were wondering, I absolutely loved it. However, one accomplished goal a year is not enough -- as you may have noticed, some of those are multi-part dreams.

Luckily, I do have plans to cross off a few of those in the next year. I have been studying Italian, though I don't speak it fluently, or even conversationally yet. I will be visiting Greece in July, and Naples, Italy in August (where I can try that famous pizza). I have a few small tomato plants that I plan on planting soon (hopefully they will live and produce tomatoes and I can claim that I "grew" them). And, I have plans to go to Mongolia in 2008 to watch the solar eclipse. It is possible, if I continue at this clip, that I actually may complete all of those goals in the allotted 25 years.

I am proud of my list, and of my plans to fulfill those goals ... though to be honest, I wish I had added something else to the list. I wish I had included, "Try something new as often as possible."

Friends, I tend to get stuck into ruts. In fact, I once was given a fortune cookie that said "plan to be spontaneous" and it was the most accurate description of my yearly New Year's resolution that I had ever read. I've already admitted that I eat the same thing for breakfast every day. I also tend to pack repeat lunches and order the same coffee drink at Starbucks. I drink the same types of wines, wear my favorite clothes over and over again, and listen to my favorite CDs on a continuous loop. I've watched a handful of movies over 50 times, just because I love them. Once I find a favorite bar or club, I often return there exclusively. It isn't that I don't want to try new things, it is just easier to stick with what I know.

However, I am adventurous in at least one area of my life on a regular basis (keep your minds out of the gutter, this isn't that kind of blog!): I am excellent at trying new foods. I love digging up new and unknown (to me) delicacies to try -- this year I tried alligator, rabbit, and every new fruit and vegetable that I found. I shy away from offal and other organs, but other than that, I'm game for most anything.

Last week, at the Farmer's Market, I ran across a vegetable that I had read about, but never tasted. Dandelion greens. They were beautiful and green, with long delicate leaves and thick veins. I bought them and brought them home to languish in the refrigerator for a few days. I finally pulled them out tonight. Here they are raw:

I cobbled together a recipe from a few cooking methods I had read about on the internet. They turned out wonderfully -- bitter and sharp, but in a good way, with garlic and sweet onions as soft counterpoints.

Be adventurous with me, and try them! :)

Dandelion Greens with Garlic and Lemon

Ingredients:

--2 large bunches of dandelion greens, about 2 pounds
--2 cups water/chicken stock
--2 tablespoons olive oil
--2 spring garlic shoots, white and green part thinly sliced
--2 spring onion shoots, white and green part thinly sliced
--1 lemon
--salt and pepper

Directions:

1) cut the tough ends off the greens and cut the leaves into 2 inch pieces. Swish the leaves in a bowl of water to rinse the sand off and allow any dirt to settle to the bottom.

2) Bring 2 cups of water/chicken stock to boil in a large pot and add the greens. Bring back to a boil and put a lid on the pot. Lower the temperature, and allow the greens to simmer for 15 minutes.

3) After the greens are added to the pot, swirl the olive oil in a frying pan over medium high head. Add the thinly sliced onions and garlic. Stir.

4) Zest the lemon over the pan of onions and garlic, and then squeeze the juice of the lemon into the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5) Turn the heat in the frying pan down to low and stir occasionally as the onions and garlic slowly soften and begin to caramelize.

6) After 15 minutes both the greens and the onion/garlic mixture will be ready. Use a slotted spoon to remove the dandelion greens from the boiling water/stock. Add the greens to the frying pan and toss to distribute the onion/garlic mixture. Turn off the heat.

To Serve:

Pile on plate, and squeeze a little extra lemon over the top if you like. I served it with mashed potatoes and carnitas.

Note:

These are bitter greens -- if you don't cook them for at least 15 minutes you will be unpleasantly surprised by the bitterness. If you cook them thoroughly, however, they are just bitter enough to keep your tastebuds dancing, but aren't painful to eat. Enjoy!

Simple Is As Simple Does

2007-04-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

It's funny, this blog writing is. It changes you, changes they way you look at food, and changes how you look at words. I think before I cook now. I try and make something blog-worthy, something interesting, something colorful, something that showcases my ability to cook. I pick my phrases carefully, and try to demonstrate wit and humor and culinary skill, all at once. It is a strange feeling, this desire to impress the camera, the internet, and my (few) readers. In general, it is a good thing -- it keeps me motivated and inspired. But, other times, it makes me feel inadequate. If I don't have a new recipe, a clever title, or a funny story I feel like I have let you all down. What can I say? Us Type A personalities have a hard time not being perfect. :)

I'm trying to get over this feeling. You wouldn't be here reading if you didn't enjoy what I have to say, and I wouldn't be writing and cooking if I didn't relish it.

If, occasionally, I am exhausted or busy and I only have a simple recipe to share or a brief blurb to write, I am convinced that that is okay.

And, if we are in agreement on this, on with the (short and easy) recipes.

Basil Stuffed Pork Chops

The chops, exposing their basil filled pockets.

Ingredients:

--lean boneless pork chops, divided into personal portions

--salt, pepper, garlic to taste

--basil leaves

Directions:

1) cut a pocket into the side of each chop

2) liberally sprinkle the outside of each chop and into the pocket salt, pepper, and garlic

3) Insert basil leaves into the pocket

4) Grill on high heat to desired doneness, turning once (about 8 minutes total-- don't overcook!!!)

Spaghetti Squash with Mushroom Marinara

Ingredients:

--1 large Spaghetti Squash

--splash olive oil

--2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

--handful of torn basil leaves

--1.5 cups leftover marinara sauce (either high quality bottled or homemade)

--4 cups mushrooms (2 cups sliced mushrooms of your choice, 2 cups whole button mushrooms)

Directions:

1) Microwave or bake squash until soft (about 20 minutes in the microwave or 40 minutes in an oven on 350)

2) Heat up the olive oil, garlic, basil, marinara sauce, and mushrooms in deep saute pan. Stir occasionally and simmer until mushrooms are soft (about 20 minutes).

3) Cut open the squash and scrape the flesh out with a fork (it will separate out into strands like spaghetti -- hence the name, of course!). Pile onto plate or bowl.

4) Pour the sauce over the squash strands.

Our dinner tonight -- Lightly steamed asparagus, spaghetti squash with mushroom marinara (not meatballs!), and basil stuffed pork chops. Simple, fast, and healthy. Yum.

Fast, Cheap, and Easy (the food, not the blogger!)

2007-04-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

Blog, honey, I'm sorry I was late coming home again. I know, I know, I know, I say that all the time. But, seriously, this job...it is all consuming. I worked over 100 hours last week. 100 hours! Yes, indeed, that is 2.5 times a normal work week. It was awful. I'm sorry I didn't have time to make you many meals . I know we were stuck with take-out, quick and dirty spaghetti sauce, and dinners at the office. I apologize. How can I make it up to you?

I know it is already 8:30 p.m. I know I just walked in the door. How many times can I apologize? I didn't want to stay at the office until 8:00 p.m. and I certainly didn't want to get up at 4:30 a.m. to get in a few extra hours of work this morning. I'm tired and hungry too, you know.

What if I whip something up right now? Something fast and delicious...will that make it better? Excellent, fish tacos it is.

All right, then, hand me that red snapper in the refrigerator. Thanks. I'm just going to rub it with olive oil and then sprinkle it with salt, pepper, garlic, and lime juice. See, look how quickly things are coming together?

Now, let me grab the tomatoes, cilantro, cabbage, onions, and olives and start dicing them all up. There, now, this isn't taking too long.

Hmm... let's get out the hot sauce and the salsa. You know, the homemade salsa roja from the Farmer's Market. Thanks. Oh, and put the rooster sauce back. The only hot sauce I want with this meal is the green Tabasco.

Did you pre-heat the grill? You did? Awesome, well done. While we wait for the grill to get to the right temperature, let's get out the corn tortillas and the Coronas. Do you mind warming the tortillas over the stove while I put the fish in the grill basket? Thanks.

Okay, then, fish is on the grill. During the 10 minutes it takes to cook, we'll wrap up the rest of the preparation. Are the tortillas warm? Veggies finished being chopped? Hot sauces at the ready? They are? Awesome.

What are we missing? We have the fish, the condiments, the beverages...hey, speaking of drinks, hand me my Corona. Thanks. But, I still feel like we are missing something key here.

Crema! Yes, crema. Fish tacos are almost always served with some sort of creamy sauce. Sometimes it is avocado based, other times it is mostly thinned sour cream, but it is always tangy and always a cool accompaniment to the crunchy and spicy bites of the taco. Sadly, the avocados at the market were waxy and hard this week...and I'm out of soy sour cream. But I bet I can improvise a delicious sauce. Watch this:

Cilantro Crema (dairy free, of course) -- makes about 1.5 cups

Ingredients:

-- 1 tub of soy cream cheese (I used Tofutti brand)

-- 2 to 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (regular or low fat, or substitute sour cream)

--juice of one lime

--1/2 cup cilantro leaves

--hot sauce, salt, and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) blend all ingredients in a food processor until totally smooth

2) taste and adjust seasonings

To serve:

Set out bowls of chopped veggies and cheese, hot sauces, salsas, broken up pieces of cooked fish, cilantro crema, and lime slices. On the side, stack up some warmed corn tortillas. Allow everyone to build their own tacos.

Note:

The red snapper I used for this meal was actually a little "fishy" for my taste. Next time I'll try a milder white fish -- cod or halibut, perhaps.

Condiments: cilantro crema, salsa roja, cabbage, tomatoes, olives, onions, cilantro, and cheese.

Open wide!

See, I told you I could go all Rachael Ray on you and get a delicious meal on the table in 30 minutes. Don't you feel bad about being mean to me when I came in the door?

A Veggie Tale

2007-03-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite experiences is to discover I that I now like something that I previously hated. It usually happens when the original item is re-imagined in some way. For example, capri pants. I grew up disliking them; they made short folks look stumpy and taller people look mis-proportioned. They were a bit too short to be proper pants and too long to look like anything other than a piece of clothing left in the dryer for an extra 20 minutes. Bad, bad, bad.

But then, one day a few years ago, someone brought them back...but ever so slightly changed. Now capri pants can be almost any length -- just past the knee, mid calf, a few inches above the ankle. They are cut more flattering now, in better fabrics. The new lengths and new design make them adorable. I wear them all the time -- denim capris to run errands, linen capris to the beach, tailored wool capris to work. The transformation is complete - I now love what I once disliked.

The same thing recently happened in my life with a lowly crucifurous vegetable. Brussels sprouts. I despised them as a child. My mom boiled them until they turned into a bitter, sulfuric smelling, pile of mushy vile green vegetable matter. They smelled revolting and tasted only marginally better. She only made them about twice a year, but those few days lived on in my memory during the other 363 days. It was the only vegetable that I ever disliked.

Recently I have revisited the sprout. A few months ago, I was in a roasting phase -- I had roasted every root vegetable and potato that had crossed by path. I was itching to try something new and inspiration struck, as it often does, at the Farmer's Market. For some reason brussels sprouts looked good. They had dainty heads, tightly packed, tiny leaves, and a gorgeous bright green color. I bought them on whim, still not sure that I liked them. Honestly, I hadn't had them since I was about 17 years old.

Once home, I read a few recipes, brainstormed for a while, and then settled on roasting. I wanted to like brussels sprouts and I wanted to roast something. It seemed like a good plan. Luckily, I was right. I tossed them in olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, dijon mustard, and garlic. I roasted them on high heat until they cooked through and began to caramelize. They were wonderful -- tangy and a bit sweet, with a hint of bitterness tempered by the bright note of mustard.

I repeated this process a few times -- I didn't want to tempt culinary fate. I liked brussels sprouts for the first time and I was sure that messing with the system could only lead back down the road to mushy, smelly side dishes.

However, once brussels sprouts were on my radar I kept noticing new recipes. One in particular kept catching my eye -- sauteed shredded brussels sprouts. The same recipe littered the web with just a few differences. Some used apple cider vinegar, some bacon, and others poppy seeds. The basic recipe was the same though -- shredded brussels sprouts, sauteed with some acid and some oil, and cooked for just a few minutes. Finally I couldn't resist the description of the crunchy ribbons of vegetables balanced with sour and a touch of fat, and I had to try it.

Here is my version of the recipe. And, you must believe me, though I know I tend to speak in superlatives, but these are the best brussels sprouts that you will ever eat. They are amazing -- both soft and crunchy, tangy and tart, rich and light, and unlike any other brussels sprouts imaginable. They don't even really taste like brussels sprouts, and I don't mean that in a bad way. They are transformed by the shredding and the sauteing into a vegetable with a whole new flavor and texture. Seriously, try these.

The World's Best Shredded Brussels Sprouts (no, really) -- serves 3 -4

Ingredients:

--splash of olive oil
--1/2 onion, diced
--1 clove garlic, diced
--salt and pepper
--1 lb fresh brussels sprouts
--3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
--1/2 cup chicken broth
--1/4 cup pine nuts, preferably toasted

Directions:

1) Remove any discolored leaves from the sprouts. Cut off any remaining stems. Use either a food processor, a mandolin, or your knife to shred the sprouts into fine riboon. (Essentially you just slice them into thin rounds and the layers separate into ribbons as they cook. )

2) Heat a splash of olive oil in a large frying pan. Saute the onions, garlic, and salt and pepper for a few minutes.

3) Add the brussels sprouts, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth. Put a lid over the pan (or a piece of foil) and allow the sprouts to steam for about 3 minutes.

4) Take off the lid and stir as the liquid cooks off (about 2 more minutes). Be sure to stir regularly during this time to allow even cooking and to fully separate the shreds.

5) Add the pine nuts, and toss to distribute them. Taste a piece of brussels sprout -- it if it still a bit crunchy and starting to brown, it is ready. If not, let it saute for another minute and taste again.

To serve:

Pile on a plate with the rest of your meal. Look around in wonder at your dining companions as you taste these delightful sprouts for the first time. Go back for seconds.

Notes:

Resist adding bacon or lots of oil to this dish. These delicious sprouts aren't meant to taste meaty and fried. These are best light and crunchy, with just a hit of richness from the splash of fruity olive oil accented by the sweet sourness of the apple cider vinegar. Don't allow smokey bacon or oil to obscure the delicate blend of flavors -- you'll regret it! However, be sure to add the pine nuts, they are an integral part and add an important layer of flavor and crunch.

As I served them. The yummy sprouts are nestled next to meatless meatballs swimming in homemade chicken gravy, on a bed of wheat noodles. Healthy, hearty comfort food at its best :)

A little counter culture, pun intended

2007-03-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time last summer I met a music producer on a flight to Las Vegas. What can I say? I live in LA, we were flying to the city of fun, and I happen to be a friendly girl. We chatted all the way to Vegas, exchanged numbers, and kept in touch. He is a producer for a big label and many of his bands are regularly all over the charts. I was impressed, I won't lie, most of us in a LA have a bit of Hollywood-itis. Though flirty, he is married, and I don't go there. So, to make a long story short, we've become friends.

He called last week to ask if I wanted to grab dinner and get caught up. I accepted, and we planned for something this week. He called again to ask if I wanted to join him at the House of Blues after dinner -- one of his bands had a sold-out show. The band was Gym Class Heroes, currently #5 on the charts, and the sold-out venue was the House of Blues on Sunset Blvd. I said yes.

Fast forward a few days, and he called again. He had to get up early the next day for a flight, so he didn't want go to the concert after all (I could have a rain check for another concert someday, which I obviously plan on cashing), but wanted to know if still wanted to go to dinner and, if so, if I minded if the band joined us.

I didn't mind.

We all met at Katana, a very scene-y restaurant in Hollywood, known for fabulous sushi. I changed clothes after work -- no one wants to show up in Hollywood dressed in boring work clothes, particularly to dinner with a music producer and his band. One cute brown low-cut dress, metallic green cowboy boots, and chunky necklace later, I was set.

I stroll in, pretending to be cool, in a room full of H-wood players, performers, hangers on, and stars, and found my friend. He introduced me to the band and we settled in with some Invincibles, or Obliteraters, or Destroyers...whatever those drinks were called. The waitress delivered the menus. Conversation and strong alcohol flowed. The band was funny, full of stories, and genuinely nice. My friend entertained us during any dull moments with tales about his other bands and adventures in music. No one looked at the menus. I was itching to study my choices, but since no one else at the table seemed to care about the menu, I resisted as long as I could.

When I finally looked at the menu I got all drool-y. Everything looked good. I zoned out into my review of the menu, and when I emerged, fell into a conversation about taking blow. Having no personal insight, I kept my mouth shut and returned to the menu. There were about 25 items I wanted to order, but since I had realized that I was with a group that didn't care a bit about food, and were much more interested in alcohol, cigarettes, funny stories, and upcoming tour dates, I kept my selection simple (sashimi- it was wonderful) and didn't fall into my usual habit of quizzing my dinner companions about their menu selections.

They were all nice, and totally fun to spend time with, but not my ideal dinner companions. In case you haven't noticed, I like food. I like to eat food, read about food, talk about food. Yes, the conversation about sex, drugs, and rock and roll with actual music stars gave me insight into the rock star counter culture. And I'm completely glad that I went --I had a great time. But the most curious counter culture I noticed was the food-apathy culture. These people just didn't care about food. At all. They ordered safe, simple dishes that they clearly had ordered before. They ate mechanically, with no thought or apparent enjoyment. All of their focus was on the conversations, libations, and flirtations swirling around the table. They obviously had appetites for other indulgences, but food just did not seem to be one of them.

I get the appeal of the rock and roll life. I do. I see the adoring fans, the piles of money, and the joy of creating your art. I don't get the food-apathy. It just confuses me. One kind of counter culture I understand, and enjoy being a part of, even if just for one night-- but, the other....The one that doesn't use counters, or knives, or pans? That one I just don't get.

Maybe I misjudged them. They were getting ready for a big show, they are appearing on Leno in a few days, and are touring with Gwen Stefani this summer -- they clearly have big things on their minds. But somehow I don't think so. Nice though they are, these people just don't care about food. And I don't get it.

Speaking of caring about food, this Sunday night I cared about food -- about healthy, simple, vibrant food. I had been out to dinner too many times in a row and I was craving something light and easy, highlighting clean flavors.

I had been re-reading Amanda Hesser's book, "Cooking for Mr. Latte" and had been inspired by her recipe for salmon on a bed of lentils. Full of protein, fiber, and omega-3s, it sounded like the perfect meal. I loosely followed the recipe, added some grilled veggies on the side, and looked over the plate. I still felt like something was missing. I wanted a sauce, but I didn't want anything heavy or oily. I had some fresh basil, and began thinking about pesto. But, I wanted light pesto. Or at least something light and pesto-ish. This recipe was born, fresh and delicious. It might not be pesto, but it is tasty and healthy, and isn't that what counts?

Fresh Basil Sauce

Ingredients:

--1 head garlic, roasted
--juice of 1 lemon
--salt and pepper, to taste (I use lots)
--few drops of olive oil
--1 cup fresh basil leaves
--3 pita chips, crumbled
--splash of water

Directions:

1) combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse until very smooth. Add a few drops of water at a time if mixture seems too dry.

To serve:

--Use as salad dressing, to top cooked fish or chicken, as a marinade, or to flavor baked potatoes.

Notes:

Clearly, you can add more oil to make this sauce more decadent. Nuts would be good also. The pita chips give the sauce bulk and a thicker mouth-feel without a lot of fat or calories. If you add more oil or nuts, feel free to omit the pita chips.

Mixing this sauce with some mayo or sour cream would make a fantastic dip.

Oh, and roasting the garlic is an important step. Don't just add raw garlic -- you'll be overwhelmed. Roasting the garlic makes it mellow and smooth, and allows you to use a whole head in one recipe. Simply sprinkle a bit of oil on top of the garlic head (skin still on), wrap it in foil, and bake at about 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. When your kitchen smells fantastic, take the garlic out, squeeze the now-soft garlic out of the skin and straight into the food processor.

The sauce as served, poured over the salmon and lentils. The sharp lemony-herby flavor really tied the dish together. And, the next day the sauce was delicious mixed into the leftover lentils.

Side note: The Gym Class Heroes really are nice, fun, and friendly. And, I'm totally digging their music. In particular, in the song Cupid's Chokehold, the line,"I know I'm young, but if I had to choose her or the sun, I'd be one nocturnal son of a gun" amuses me to no end. Check them out!

thoughts on salmon, pizza, and salmon pizza

2007-03-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Even us allergic-to-milk-girls love pizza. I usually make it/buy it with thick crust, extra sauce, black olives, mushrooms, artichokes, and fresh basil. In college, Papa Johns was the go-to pizza for my food-happy roommates and I. Either that, or Zachary's.....Mmmmm, Zachary's.

Zachary's is an amazing place. It can be found near the University of Arizona campus, in a non-descript building, near a deserted lot, with a sign that simply says"Zachary's." There is no indication whatsoever that it is a restaurant. Of course, as it always is with "secret" spots, it is constantly packed. People are lined up outside every night of the week to enjoy the varied beers on tap and relish some of the best pizza I've ever been fortunate enough to taste. The crust is thick, crunchy, and rich with olive oil, the toppings perfect, the sauce sublime. (And, as I'm told, the cheese is pretty fantastic too). Every time I go to Tucson, Zachary's is a must visit.

The pizzas I usually make at home are an effort to recreate a Zach's experience. I pull out the veggies, make a hearty tomato sauce, and roll the dough extra thick. But my most recent pizza experiment ventured outside of my normal red sauce laden creation.

I used smoked salmon. Yes, smoked salmon. On the pizza (!)

This is odd for more than one reason. First, obviously, smoked salmon is not what one would call a traditional pizza topping. And two, well, there is a bit of a story behind me and smoked salmon. Generally, I adore it. It is my favorite thing to order when out to breakfast -- I don't trust any of the hot cereals, waffles, pancakes, french toast, or pastries because they are likely saturated with dairy. I despise eggs, so all of the egg dishes are out. That leaves me with either dry toast or a bagel with smoked salmon. 10 times out of 10, I choose the bagel with smoked salmon.

However, this tendency to favor the delectable smokey fish left me quite miserable last summer. I was on a fancy schmancy cruise in the South Pacific with some good friends, and over-indulged on smoked salmon in a flamboyant way. I either had it for breakfast, on my salad at lunch, or as an appetizer before dinner every. single. day. I ate copious amount of smoked salmon for 13 days in a row. Needless to say, by the end of the trip, I never wanted to see a smoked fish again for the rest of my life. Then, as was my luck, I fell prey to Tiki's Revenge on the final morning of the cruise. Remembering each bite of smoked salmon, I proceeded to be ill for the next 24 hours. It wasn't the salmon's fault, but it was the last thing I had eaten, so it was blamed.

I've only eaten it a few times since last August. Seriously.

But, last week, it looked appealing again for the first time in months. In in shock, I picked up a package of the rosy red fish and let it linger in my refrigerator for a few days while I debated on how to use it.

One night, I got home from work late, saw the smoked salmon and a hunk of dough from Trader Joes and decided to experiment. I'd seen something similar on a menu before, so I can't claim that this was entirely my idea, but I gave it a few adjustments to make it my own.

I had some leftover soy sour cream from the cream sauce for the pasta from earlier in the week, and all of the other ingredients were on hand. Soon we were devouring one of the tastiest pizzas we had ever enjoyed -- it was divine. It may not replace the Zach's pizzas of my college years, but it certainly is a challenger. Salty capers, smokey fish, rich and tangy sour cream, sharp onions, and doughy crust combine to form a unique, yet fabulous pizza. Break out of your pizza comfort zone and give it a try -- you won't regret it, I promise!

Here is the very simple recipe:

Smoked Salmon Pizza -- serves 4

Ingredients:

--lump of pizza dough, homemade or from Trader Joes , enough for one pie
--1/2 cup sour cream (soy or dairy), or more
--4 oz smoked salmon, torn into big pieces
--1/4 cup thinly slice onions
--2 tablespoons capers
--juice of 1/2 lemon

-- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Roll the dough out into a circle, brush with olive oil, and bake according to directions (around 12 minutes)

2) Remove it from the oven, smear sour cream over the top, lay pieces of salmon on the sour cream, scatter onions and capers over the salmon, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and squeeze a lemon over all.

To Serve:

Slice and serve with salad. Lick your lips and cut another piece.

Notes:

Thinly sliced ripe tomatoes on top of the salmon would be a delicious addition.

As served!

A non-dairy cream sauce?!? Who knew?

2007-03-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

When people first meet me, a few things usually stand out in their minds. 1) Wow, that girl likes to talk. 2) Well, at least she is friendly. 3) She's funny, too ... at least that sort of makes up for how much she talks. 4) I'm sure glad I'm not allergic to milk.

I've known that I am allergic to milk since I was seven years old. Since then, I've been examining labels, questioning waiters, and explaining myself to practically anyone who is with me when I eat.

The first question that I am usually asked is, "Oh, you're lactose intolerant?" I (usually) patiently explain that no, I am not, in fact, lactose intolerant. The lactose intolerant folks cannot digest milk sugar (lactose) and are usually helped by lactaid, because it enables them to digest the sugars. On the other hand, those of us with actual milk allergies can often digest milk properly...we are just allergic to it. I am allergic to all three components of milk -- the fat, the sugar, and the protein. That means that even those products that are lactose free are still a problem for me (because they still contain the milk fat and protein).

I also have to beware of the shifty ways milk is slipped into innocuous foods -- did you know that "sodium casinate" is milk? All words with "casin" or "lact" in them also signify milk product. And, somehow, food manufacturers are allowed to label items as milk free, even of they aren't. Case in point, "milk free" soy cheese often still contains whey. "Dairy free" creamers, often contain lecithin.

Milk shows up in almost *everything* -- even some foods you'd never dream contained dairy. To name a few examples: brown sugar flavoring, processed meats, caramel coloring, high protein energy bars, and canned soups -- there is even a brand of potato chips that uses a milk by-product to help the BBQ flavor stick to the chip. I have to watch out for all prepackaged foods, all spice mixtures, salad dressings, baked goods, etc. I must read the ingredients or question the cook for every morsel of food that I eat.

Sounds exhausting, huh?

Thankfully, it really isn't. Like I said, I've known since I was a child. It is a way of life for me -- I can't imagine would it would be like not to question what is in my food. On the plus side, I love to cook, so making things from scratch is not a problem for me. Plus, not being able to have butter, cheese, cream, etc. has helped me stay trim and healthy. And, desserts aren't really a downfall for me, because I can't have most of them. A chunk of dark chocolate with some port or a scoop of sorbet is about the only dessert I ever have or want.

On the downside, I have to take calcium pills and constantly worry that I'm not getting enough to keep my bones strong. I also have to speak with the host of any party I attend to explain my allergy and bring food with me on trips to ensure that there will be something I can have. The past few years have made my life much easier -- coffee shops now stock soy milk, stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods have entire sections of their stores dedicated to dairy-free foods, and labels now must state whether the product contains milk. When I was a kid, my poor parents couldn't find dairy-free alternatives anywhere -- now 7-11 carries soy creamer.

Another question that I get asked all the time is, "what do you miss the most?" I honestly have no answer for that. I haven't had dairy foods since I was seven --- I don't miss mac and cheese because I don't remember what it tastes like. Besides, I have dairy-free versions of ice cream, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, chocolate, and milk that I eat and cook with all the time. I don't really feel like I'm missing out on anything.

Okay, maybe cheese. I'm such a foodie -- I love to read about recipes and restaurants, and knowing that I'll never experience the glories of a cheese plate or the thrill of sneaking some unpasteurized, smelly block of cheese into the country to enjoy at a later date is rather disappointing. All who know me are convinced that I'd love cheese if I could have it, but alas, I can't. (Soy cheese, even to my uneducated-about-cheese-palate, is not very good).

Oh, and cream sauce, I'm jealous of people who can have genuine cream sauce. It just looks so decadent and delicious.

While I know that soy cheese is a wan, pale imitation of real cheese, and my dream of being able to eat the real stuff will never be fulfilled, I have become convinced that a delicious dairy-free cream sauce is possible. Why have I come to this realization, you ask? Well, I made some. And it was fantastic.

So, from my dairy-free house to you ... I present.....a non-dairy cream sauce that actually tastes *good*!

Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta, in Cream Sauce (serves 4)

Ingredients:

--1 1lb pasta (I used whole wheat penne, but linguine or spaghetti noodles would also be great)

--3oz Canadian bacon, diced into 1 centimeter cubes
--splash of olive oil
--1 lb raw shrimp (large), peeled, tails removed, and de-veined if necessary
--salt and pepper, to taste

-- 2 -3 tablespoons grainy dijon mustard
--3 tablespoons water/ white wine
--1 tablespoon cornstarch
--1 teaspoon hot sauce
--1 garlic clove, diced and then mashed into a paste with a pinch of salt (or a cube of frozen garlic from Trader Joes)
--1/2 cup soy sour cream
--splash of soy milk
--salt and pepper to taste

--2 bunches asparagus, washed, trimmed, and cut into 1 inch pieces

Directions:

1) Put on a large pot of water to boil, when you are ready for it, it will be happily boiling away.

2) Saute the cubed Canadian bacon in a splash of olive oil on low heat in a frying pan until it begins to brown (15 minutes or so)

3) Drop the pasta, with a pinch of salt, into the boiling water. Cook according to directions. Hopefully, the pasta will be finishing right as the sauce finishes .(My pasta had to cook for 12 minutes and it worked out perfectly for me.)

4) Add the shrimp to the frying pan with salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium high, stirring occasionally, until shrimp turn pink (about 3 minutes).

5) With a slotted spoon, take out the shrimp, leaving the oil and bacon behind (it is okay if a few bits of bacon come along). Place the shrimp on a clean bowl or plate. This step ensure that your shrimp don't get overcooked or chewy. Yay!

6) Make a slurry of the mustard, water, cornstarch, hot sauce, and garlic. Stir vigorously or shake in a container (with a tight lid) until cornstarch is dissolved. Add slowly to frying pan, stirring continuously.

7) As the sauce cooks it will thicken. Continue stirring for about a minute, then add the soy sour cream and soy milk. Stir.

8) Add the asparagus pieces to the pan. Cook, stirring continuously, for about 3 minutes. If the sauce appears too thick, add more soy milk to thin it out.

9) Turn off the heat and add the shrimp back to the pan, stir a few times to make sure the sauce is distributed evenly. Taste and adjust seasonings.

10) Drain the cooked pasta, and put back into the pot. Pour the sauce over top and stir to combine.

To serve:

Serve in a shallow bowl or plate. A fresh green salad goes nicely as an accompaniment.

Notes:

Obviously, you can use dairy sour cream and milk instead. However, I encourage you to try to soy variation. When M tasted it, she looked up at me in surprise and said, "this doesn't have milk in it?!?!" Then, proceeded to lick her plate clean. This meal was a real treat for me, because I so rarely can have any creamy foods, and a treat for D and M because it was just plain good. The tang of the soy sour cream, with the sweet shrimp, crunchy asparagus, salty bits of ham, and earthy mustard combined to form something truly luscious. Try it and see!

The sauce, just waiting for the pasta to join the party. See the little mustard seeds? Yum!

I love the fishes because they're so delicious :)

2007-03-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm...ahi tuna. Is there anything fresher, cleaner, or purer than rare ahi tuna? I *love* seafood. Period. But, my my my, I really LOVE ahi tuna. I particularly adore it rare -- barely warmed and silky textured.

D and I picked up a slab of fresh ahi at our local farmer's market. It was caught that day and never frozen -- clearly we could not resist.

We brought our prize home and discovered Fudge, attacking a fish of his own. Here he is, gleefully pouncing on his stuffed puffer fish:

Hee hee. Isn't he cute?

Anyway, along with the beautiful piece of tuna we picked up some asparagus, brussles sprouts, fuji apples, arugula, spring garlic shoots, baby bok choy, and thai broccoli (among other wonderful things). I also had a container of black sesame seeds that I had purchased a few weeks ago that had been burning a hole in my pantry. Soon the plan for dinner formed -- black sesame seared tuna with a mixed veggie stir fry on a bed of soba noodles.

A spring garlic shoot -- absolutely delicious, pungent, and crisply fresh. I buy as many as possible during the spring and use them in everything -- green tops included.

The baby bok choy, the sliced spring garlic shoots, the mushrooms, and the diced ginger -- all ready for the wok.

Black Sesame Seared Tuna with Ginger Garlic Stir-Fry (serves 4)

Ingredients:

--1lb ahi tuna, cut into personal portion sizes
--salt and pepper to taste
--black sesame seeds

--2 inches of peeled ginger root, finely diced
--1 teaspoon rooster sauce, or more to taste
--2 tablespoons soy sauce
--2 tablespoons rice vinegar
--splash of sesame oil
--splash of fish sauce (optional)
--3 bunches baby bok choy, approximately 5 cups uncooked, cleaned and cut into very large pieces
--3 shoots spring garlic, cleaned, and roughly chopped (both white and green parts)
--8 oz mushrooms of your choice, cleaned and quartered

Directions:

1) Set ahi tuna out about 30 minutes before you are ready to cook. The closer it is to room temperature, the better. (You're only going to cook it for about a minute, so starting it at room temperature ensures that the middle won't be ice cold.)

2) Season the tuna with salt and pepper and then dredge it in black sesame seeds, completely covering all visible red (no coating needed, the seeds stick to the tuna naturally). Set aside for a few minutes, you'll sear it just as you are finishing the stir fry.

3) Heat the fresh ginger, rooster sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and fish sauce in a wok. When it is bubbling, throw in the mushrooms and spring garlic.

4) Stir fry the mushrooms and garlic for about 5 minutes.

5) Add the bok choy to the wok, stir fry for another 2 minutes and then turn off the heat.

6) Heat a thin film of oil (I used a mix of olive and sesame) into a frying pan on high.

7) When a drop of water will dance on the surface of the frying pan, carefully place the tuna, piece by piece, into the pan, not crowding them too closely.

8) Cook the pieces for 30 seconds, and carefully flip over. Cook for another 30 seconds on the other side and then remove from heat.

To Serve:

Place cooked rice or soba noodles on a plate. Layer stir-fried veggies on top. Slice the tuna on the bias, and lay carefully over the veggies. Serve with wasabi soy dipping sauce (powdered wasabi with a bit of water and a generous glug of soy sauce added).

Notes:

Do NOT overcook the tuna. This is dish is all about enjoying the glorious clean taste of the very rare tuna. If you buy high quality ahi tuna, eating it mostly raw (or totally raw) is completely safe (and extremely delicious). Also, be careful not to use too much oil to sear the tuna -- you'll make it greasy.

As served--the wasabi soy dipping sauce on the side. YUM!

The vegetables were still crisp, intensely garlicy, and gingery. The fish was tender and sweetly clean tasting. The noodles were a soft backdrop and the dipping sauce a spicy/salty counter point. Everything was wonderful -- don't be intimidated by this meal; it is easy and delicious. Enjoy!

For the Love of Onions

2007-03-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

I am cooking for a dinner party in a few weeks and I have a lengthy list of items I am not allowed to use (based on allergies, religious reasons, and dislikes). I have to cook without any dairy, pork, red meat, onions, cilantro, curry and smoked fish. Clearly, the dairy thing isn't going to be hard for me. I can easily avoid cooking with pork, I already don't cook red meat, cilantro I love, but I can cook without it without much sacrifice, I don't mind not using curry, and smoked fish is similarly avoidable.

However, I am absolutely flummoxed by having to avoid onions. The guest hates them -- cooked and raw-- and asked that I not cook with them. Of course I said yes, because I adore her and I'm up for the challenge, but I am hard pressed to come up with a savory dish that I don't cook with onions.

I love the entire onion family-- red, white, and sweet onions, leeks, scallions, shallots, etc. Some form of onion is sauteed in olive oil to begin almost every dish that I make. I even use raw onions regularly -- I put them into salads, burgers, salsa, and salad dressing, just to name a few of my staple raw onion-using dishes. Onions are the backbone of my cooking, so this upcoming dinner party is going to challenge my improvisation skills. I'm guessing that I'll use a lot of garlic.

Perhaps in response to this upcoming restriction, I went a little onion crazy a few days ago. I had purchased a few gorgeous young maui onions and four leeks from my Farmer's Market. I also had some large russet potatoes rattling around my cupboard, and a turkey sausage staring beguilingly out of the freezer at me. And an idea for some sort of soup was formed. If you remember, a few weeks ago I improvised a vichyssoise style soup with leeks, red potatoes, and smoked trout, but I didn't want to repeat the same dish. I wanted a chunky soup this time, and I wanted to use the sausage instead of the smoked fish.

It turned out delicious -- warm, comforting, smooth, and hearty. I'm calling this soup "Deconstructed Vichyssoise with Sausage" because, well, that is what it is, and, I like how it sounds. Enjoy!

Deconstructed Vichyssoise with Sausage (serves about 6)

Ingredients:

--2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
--3 young maui onions, the bulbs and the lower 1/2 of the stalks roughly chopped (or substitute sweet onions if you cannot find the young maui onions)
--4 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced, (white and green part)
--4 garlic cloves, finely diced
--salt and pepper to taste
--6 cups chicken stock (I used homemade broth I made from the chicken I roasted last week)
--3 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean and finely diced
--1 package (4 or 5 links) turkey sausage (I used Trader Joe's Turkey and Chicken Sausage with Italian herbs)
--1/4 cup soy milk (or dairy milk/cream if you prefer)

Directions:

1) heat the olive oil/ butter in a large stock pan, add the leeks, onions, and garlic, and turn the heat on low

2) stir occasionally, while allowing the onions to soften, for the next 30 minutes (if you like, continue stirring over low heat until the onions begin to caramelize)

3) add the chicken stock, the salt and pepper, the potatoes, and the sausage, bring to a simmer

4) simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally

5) take off the heat, stir in the soy milk, taste and adjust seasonings

To serve:

Pour into a large bowl and serve with a hunk of crusty bread.

Notes:

Be careful not to add too much oil or butter. I wanted a richer soup and added too much and it was a little greasy. Stick with just 2 tablespoons. Oh, and be sure to add plenty of freshly ground black pepper -- it really brightens up the mellow onion and potatoes.

If you want a more traditional vichyssoise, puree the contents of the stockpot, sans sausage. Then, if you like, add sausage at the end to the smooth, pureed soup.

Young Maui Onions -- if they had been left in the ground for a few more months they would grow into full sized onions. However, when they are harvested young like this you can enjoy the smaller bulbs and the tender green tops .

Look at the green tops -- yum!

To give you an idea of size -- the bulbs are about the size of a large golf ball

A secret shared

2007-03-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed that it is easier to tell secrets in the dark?

When you were a child at slumber parties, the best gossip and the juiciest secrets always came out when the lights turned off. Similarly, when you are an adult, the intimate dreams, the private thoughts, the potentially embarrassing stories, and the closely-guarded secrets don't usually emerge until you are safely cocooned in darkness.

Something about the anonymity of the night makes revealing your full self easier. Lucky for you, dear readers, the blogsphere causes a similar reaction. Though you all know my name and face, and some of you know me in real life, when I sit at my laptop to post, I feel the safety of dark room. This is why I feel comfortable telling you this:

I've had the same thing for breakfast for the past *ten* years.

What? You were expecting a juicier secret? Nice try -- it'll need to be a little darker in here for that. :)

I'm not kidding, by the way, I've had nearly the exact same thing for breakfast since I was a junior in high school. Granted, occasionally (usually on a Sunday morning), I'll have something different. I'll make my famous french toast waffles, or a bagel with smoked salmon, or Cheerios with soy milk, or scrambled tofu with mushrooms and peppers, or a smoothie, or a vegan muffin from Trader Joes, or grits. But 6 days out of 7, for the past 10 years, I've had oatmeal for breakfast.

Yes, oatmeal. The dorkiest breakfast possible. And I love it. I don't just eat it because it is good for me....still, to this day, I wake up in the morning looking forward to my bowl of oatmeal. I genuinely adore the taste, the warmth, the texture, the smell,...everything. I love oatmeal, and it the relative dark safety of the blogsphere, I'm comfortable telling you all of this love.

As you may guess, I have a particular way of preparing my oatmeal that makes all the difference. I am an oatmeal snob -- no gloppy mess from Denny's will do. Neither will some powdery mess from a pre-flavored bag. Not only is the pre-flavored stuff full of sugar, but it is also often times full of dairy. Plus, it isn't as good for you as the non-instant variety. I will eat the "regular" flavored instant oatmeal if under dire circumstances (such as, I'm starving) at a Best Western continental breakfast bar...but, that is about the only time. (This is actually what the secret is: I'm letting you all know how crazy I am about my oatmeal routine.)

First, the oats themselves. I prefer the Multi-Grain oatmeal that Quaker Oats used to make (it was in an orange canister), but I haven't found them in years. Instead, I now use any quick cooking, good quality steel-cut oats. Recently, I've been buying Irish ones from Trader Joes.

To make my style of oatmeal, I start by pouring 1/2 cup of the oats into my bowl. Next comes the banana. Now, you must understand that the banana is key -- if I don't have any bananas around, I likely will opt for another breakfast. The bananas joined the oatmeal during high school when I was playing two sports and needed a hearty breakfast, and they have become such an integral part of the meal that I can hardly eat a bowl of oatmeal without a banana. It just doesn't have the proper texture or taste to me without the banana-y deliciousness.

Next, the banana is sliced into the bowl, over the raw oats. Yes, this means that the banana is going to be cooked into the oatmeal-- don't worry, it is fabulous. I used to slice the banana into the already cooked oatmeal, but I found that I liked the texture better when the bananas are cooked in.

Oh, and on the topic of bananas -- they must be barely ripe. I can't stomach bananas with spots -- I literally gag. I am convinced that one mushy, brown spot changes the taste of the entire banana -- cutting the brown spot out does not solve the problem. No sir-ee, no spots for Kristel.

Once the oats and sliced banana are in the bowl, the ground flax seeds are added. The flax seed meal is a relatively new addition to my oatmeal. It made its first appearance about two years ago after I read an article about the wonders of ground flax. (I don't put whole flax seeds in, because, as the article told me, they are not as nutritionally available to your body.) The flax meal is faintly nutty flavored, and essentially just disappears into the oatmeal. However, it adds lots of nutritional goodness. -- Ground flax is full of omega-three fatty acids, protein, vitamins, and fiber that your body can access. I usually sprinkle about a teaspoon over the top. If I'm out of flax, I use wheat germ to fill its role.

Next, I pour a little over 3/4 cup of water over the mixture and give it a quick stir. I happen to like my oatmeal "stacky" (as my Dad puts it). Meaning -- thick. Really thick. Think thick enough that a spoon can stand up in it. Thick enough that you practically have to chew your oatmeal. I know I am strange -- I don't know anyone else who likes oatmeal this way. I've accepted my odd preference, and moved on. If you like thinner oatmeal, add a full cup or more of water.

I then put it in the microwave for 3:33. Why three minutes and thirty three seconds? It is something my Dad and I both do -- it is easier to hit the same button three times in a row instead of different buttons. We don't consider it "lazy," we believe we are saving time. :)

After the 3:33 is up, I take the oatmeal out of the microwave and stir some sort of sweetener in (honey, brown sugar, splenda(!), whatever). Then, the final step --- the frozen blueberries. I occasionally skip the frozen blueberries and add fresh strawberries or peaches to my oatmeal. 99% of the time, however, the final addition is frozen blueberries -- they are delicious, they cool down the hot oatmeal, and they are chock full of antioxidants. Yum!

Then, the frozen blueberries are stirred in and my breakfast is served!

The entire process takes about 5 minutes (plus eating time) and it is a fully integrated part of my morning routine. I always eat breakfast and I (almost) always eat (my style of) oatmeal. Give it a try sometime -- you just may like your oatmeal the way I do -- thick, banana-y, accented by flax, and topped with luscious frozen blueberries. And, if you do, I promise to turn out the lights and let you share your secret!

Dinosaur Kale, and the girl who loves it

2007-03-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

Wandering through the humid jungle, wearing a loin cloth and a bra made of palm fronds, I stumbled upon a pile of nubby, dark green leaves. I rested my spear against the trunk of a nearby tree, hung my sack of fruit on the closest vine, and inspected the bumpy leaves. I had never seen such a leaf, but I was bound and determined to have some :

OK fine. I was actually wearing jeans and a t-shirt that said "club sandwiches not seals." And, I wasn't in the humid jungle, I was in Studio City, CA at my local farmer's market. However, the part about carrying a bag of fruit, ruining across an intriguing pile of nubby leaves, and then lusting after those leaves is totally true.

I had seen these before, in one of my favorite blogs, but hadn't ever found them myself for sale. I love greens in all forms and these, boy oh boy, these greens have become a front runner.

Dinosaur Kale is also known as Cavolo Nero, Black Cabbage, Tuscan Kale, and Lacinato. It is beautiful raw, gorgeous cooked, and delicious, period. Dinosaur Kale retains its texture better than traditional kale and tastes sweeter, all while maintaining the traditional earthiness that all greens naturally posess. I am falling for it, and fast.

The first batch that I bought I simply cooked in a bit of chicken broth with a shake of vinegar and a few drops of hot sauce -- it was divine. This time, however, I opted for something a little bit more complicated. As I've mentioned before, my mother is from the South. Therefore, I grew up learning to love (and cook) blackeyed peas, grits, biscuits, greens, and the like. I have always particularly adored blackeyed peas; I could eat them every day and be happy.

I decided that I should combine the deliciousness of the Dinosaur Kale with some of my Southern cooking roots. This dish of Beans and Greens was created. Of course, I can't really claim this concept as my own -- beans cooked with greens is a classic combination, I can't even begin to list the variations on this theme. But this one, with my own little tweaks, I do claim. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Beans and Greens --serves 4-6

Ingredients:

--4 cups total of broth (I used a combination of smoked turkey broth* and chicken broth)
--1 large onion, roughly chopped
--1 cup shredded smoked turkey (diced ham could be substituted, as could baked tofu)
--3 to 4 cans blackeyed peas (or 1.5 cups dried blackeyed peas, soaked in water overnight, and boiled for an hour)
--3 bunches Dinosaur Kale, stems removed, washed, and the leaves sliced into large pieces (if you can't find any, substitute another kind of kale, or any other kind of greens -- turnip, beet, spinach, swiss chard, etc.)
--hot sauce to taste ( I prefer the green Tabasco sauce)
--white vinegar to taste (at least a splash -- a touch of sour is important)
--(or you could use a few shakes of the vinegar used to marinate hot peppers like my mother does)

Directions:

1) bring broth to a boil
2) add remaining ingredients
3) simmer for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour or more to allow the flavors to meld. Stir occasionally and keep the lid partially on. If the beans and greens dry out too much, add more broth or water. You want this dish to be a little soupy
4) taste, adjust seasonings, and serve

To Serve:

Ladle into a bowl, offer hunks of bread (I like sourdough), and pass the hot sauce.

Notes:

I discovered that the more hot sauce I added the better this was. When I got it just to the point that it was almost too spicy hot to eat, it was perfect. Something about adding lots of heat to a dish full of smokey broth, nutty blackeyed peas, toothsome bits of turkey, and tender kale just made the entire combination irresistible.

*Smoked Turkey Broth:

(see previous post for picture)

The night before you need the broth, boil a few smoked turkey legs/wings in enough water to cover the pieces with an inch of water. Boil for hours. I mean it -- hours. When the liquid level reduces down, add more water. Boil the hell out of the legs/wings. When you are satisfied that every last drop of flavor and nutrition has been extracted, strain the liquid, let it cool, and put it in the refrigerator. When you are ready to use it, just remember to skim the hardened fat off the top.

Take the skin off the meat, discard the skin (unless you love skin, I don't), and shred the meat for later use.

Hallelujah!

2007-03-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

Behold the prettiest cauliflower you've seen today:

...dramatic pause.......I have a camera again! Granted, I had to buy a new one, but still, there is cause for celebration. It turns out that it would have cost nearly as much to fix the old camera as it would to pick up a new one, so I made the executive decision to buy the new camera.

I haven't posted in the past few days because 1) I was crazy busy, 2) I went out to dinner a lot, 3) I was still sad about the lack of camera in my life.

However, new camera in hand, I cooked up a storm tonight and took oodles of pictures. I was also able to use my new turquoise plates as a back drop, which rocked my world. I have no recipes to share today, just lots of pictures to make up for the previous few posts full of photo-less prose.

Presenting, your weekly dose of food porn:

.......................................................................................................................................

Beautiful purple cauliflower from my local farmer's market

All cooked up -- A Lighter Shade of Pale (Purple)

Roasted chicken, with garlic cloves, sliced lemon, and rosemary

Blanched asparagus, with walnut oil, lemon juice, and walnuts

Dinner tonight -- polenta, roasted chicken, steamed cauliflower, and walnutty asparagus

Our appetizer tonight: Green chile bread, with seasoned olive oil for dipping

Pasta salad made with the leftover roasted chicken, tomatoes, capers, olives, mushrooms, arugula, fresh basil, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Hello, lunch for the week!

Again, just because it is pretty -- mmm, pasta salad. Who said carbs were bad? I mock the very thought!

While all of the chicken-ing, cauliflower-ing, asparagus-ing, polenta-ing, and pasta salad-ing was going on, I was also boiling the hell out of a few smoked turkey drumsticks. Above is the resulting broth and shredded smoked turkey. This broth and turkey will be used later this week in a dish with blackeyed peas and kale.

See? I told you I went wild in the kitchen tonight -- I even wore an apron. :)

My new camera and I wish you a wonderful evening -- see you soon!

so, are the days of our lives...

2007-03-06T21:55:00.000-08:00

..like sand through an hourglass, that is.

Sorry I haven't posted in a week or so. Life seems to have gotten in the way of my all important blogging duties. I was out of town at a conference most of last week, in Tahoe skiing all weekend, and busy with work and errands the past few days.

Honestly, I haven't done much cooking -- let alone cooking worth blogging about. However, you may rest assured friends, lots of ideas for posts are marinating in my little head. Before you know it, I'll be back with recipes, reviews, and thoughts.

Meanwhile, I'd like to point out something I recently noticed while looking for a quote to use as a header to this blog. It seems that quite a few great minds have found the interplay of loving and dining to be a topic worth discussing. Enjoy a few of my favorite such quotes:

"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all."~ Harriet Van Horne

"Of soup and love, the first is best."- Spanish Proverb

"No mean woman can cook well. It calls for a generous spirit, a light hand, and a large heart."~ Paul Gauguin

"We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink, for dining alone is leading the life of a lion or wolf."~ Epicurus

“There is no sight on Earth more appealing than the sight of a woman making dinner for someone she loves.”~ Thomas Wolfe

"The art of cooking is among the most intimate things that we can do for another.”~ Charlie Trotter

"Don't let love interfere with your appetite. It never does with mine."~ Anthony Trollope

"I have made a lot of mistakes falling in love, and regretted most of them, but never the potatoes that went with them."~ Nora Ephron, in "Heartburn"

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well."~ Virginia Woolf, "A Room of One's Own"

Any favorites?

Oscars and Applesauce

2007-02-25T21:14:00.000-08:00

The Oscars are just finishing and I'm wrapping up all of my multi-tasking activities. During the show I: sorted through my mail, did laundry, fed the dogs, marinated sea bass, worked on some documents that are due Monday, prepared grilled sea bass, roasted asparagus, and buckwheat soba noodles in miso sauce, posted to the blog (twice now), washed dishes, read two magazines, responded to email, and made applesauce.

Huh? You say, applesauce? Aren't you a modern girl living in a big city -- why on earth are you making applesauce? Isn't is hard? Don't you have better things to do?

Answers: Yes, applesauce. Yes, I live in LA, though my modernity is still up for debate (note that I bake bread, wash dishes by hand, and have a collection of aprons). No, it isn't hard. And, clearly, no I don't have better things to do (at least not tonight).

Let me tell you about making applesauce. It is easy. Really easy. And, your result will be better than what you can buy in the store. The first time I ever participated in applesauce making, I was about ten years old. We were visiting my Aunt's farm in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country one summer, and I was eager to help around the farm. I picked peas, helped make pie, weeded the garden, and ate a whole lot of fabulous food. One day, my Aunt asked me if I wanted to help make applesauce. Clearly, my answer was yes. It turned out that my primary job was to taste the sauce as it progressed and determine if it needed more sugar or cinnamon. I had quite the sweet tooth at the time, and I kept insisting that she add more sugar. My poor Aunt never protested, but I'm sure that the applesauce was too sweet for anyone but a child to enjoy.

Fast forward about 15 years to tonight. We had about eight Pink Lady apples getting a little soft and unsavory looking sitting on the shelf. We also had another ten apples (newly purchased from the farmer's market today) to replace them. The choices were either to throw the old Pink Lady apples away (For shame! Did I mention my father was raised on a farm? Under no uncertain terms, other than mold and actual rotting, do we ever through any food away) or make something with them. I thought about making pie for about two seconds, but decided that that was too ambitious to make while also watching the Oscars. Applesauce it was.

To emphasize how crazy easy this dish is, I'm not going to give you an official recipe. If you do something approximately like what I'm about to tell you, you'll get great applesauce. I promise.

Peel, core, and dice about eight apples -- any kind, mix and match if you want. Put them in a big pot with about an inch or two of water in the bottom. Bring to a boil. Add about 1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar to taste. Add a few dashes of cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon (beware of seeds). Stir. Boil until apples are soft, stirring occasionally. When almost all of the liquid has been cooked off, turn off the heat. If you like chunky applesauce, like I do, mash with a potato masher until they are the consistency that you like. If you like smooth applesauce, let mixture cool and then blend in a blender (carefully).

It is that simple. And, believe me, oh so delicious. Plus, a serving might keep the doctor away... (Which reminds me, I should go eat a bowlful. I have laryngitis and maybe the medicinal qualities of the apples will bring my voice back). I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Why I miss my camera -- Crab, Avocado, and Citrus Salad

2007-02-25T17:47:00.000-08:00

Ah, friends, never fear -- just because I haven't been taking pictures of my food doesn't mean we haven't been making some delicious things this week: Lamb kebabs with minted couscous, pasta primavera with chicken and spring veggies, Dover sole in parchment with roasted potatoes and broccoli, and seared scallops with dijon sauce. Sadly, I have no pictures to share -- the camera doctor has not yet called me to let me know the estimate of damages.

It is funny, I have only been blogging for a few months, but I already feel naked without my camera. There is a strange sense of something missing if I make a dish now and don't photograph it. For example, I wanted to save a bag of oddly shaped noodles to use when my camera is fixed -- I thought to myself, what is the point of making something if I can't take its picture? (I ended up slapping myself straight and using them anyway in the pasta primavera.)

In such a short amount of time I've fallen prey to Food Blogger Syndrome -- mentally writing blog posts as I cook, examining shelves and stalls at the grocery store and farmer's market looking for something odd to display for you all, or throwing a pity party for myself because I can't take a picture of the pretty dish I just made.

How silly - right? I mean, what is the point of cooking? -- nourishment, of course, bonding with your loved ones, socializing...and something more. The pleasure of it. The joy of watching a pile of raw ingredients turn into something you want to enjoy and share. And, you know what? I can do all of those things without my camera. And, honestly, if I really thing about it, there was only one dish I made this week that I really regret not being able to photograph: A magical salad of king crab, avocado, mandarin oranges, cucumbers, arugula, red onions, black sesame seeds, and homemade dressing.

It isn't that the other dishes were not delicious or pretty, but this one just had something special. The colors are astounding (green, white-pink, orange, black, and purple) and the flavors/textures stunningly well matched (salty, sweet, crunchy, rich, and spicy). Try it and see: it is hard not to love this salad. Each bite is different -- in one you'll get a salty piece of crab with some creamy avocado, in another a crunchy bit of cucumber with a sweet segment of orange, and another with all four of those, plus some spicy arugula. I (and hopefully you will) love it.

Crab, Avocado, and Citrus Salad (serves 3 to 4)

Ingredients:

--2 large king crab legs, cooked, meat removed, and then diced into bite size pieces (or substitute grilled shrimp or tuna if crab isn't your style)
--2 ripe avocados, flesh cubed
--1/2 red onion, sliced as thin as possible, and then roughly diced
--2/3 cucumber, cut into bite size chunks
-- 6 to 8 seedless mandarin oranges, peeled and segments separated
--1/2 pound mixed greens, including quite a bit of arugula

--splash of sesame oil
--3 tablespoons rice vinegar
--1/2 teaspoon rooster sauce
--teaspoon finely diced fresh ginger root
--1 clove of garlic, finely chopped or one cube of Trader Joe's frozen garlic
-- splash of soy sauce (if needed) (we didn't because our crab was particularly salty)
--1/4 cup corn or safflower oil OR 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock (for a lighter dressing)

-- black sesame seeds

Directions:

1) Combine first six ingredients, and toss well

2) Whisk the remaining seven ingredients together in a small bowl

3) Pour the dressing over the salad, and mix well

4) Sprinkle black (or white) sesame seeds over top

To serve:

Plate salad in a deep flat bowl. Offer a side of fresh bread. Enjoy.

Notes:

Be sure to adjust amounts of ingredients to suit your tastes. If you have a small cucumber, use two. If you don't have mandarin oranges, substitute blood oranges. If you love Mexican flavors, omit the sesame seeds and the dressing, and substitute them with cilantro and a spicy south of the border dressing instead. Make this salad your own. And, be sure to let me know how it goes.

Restaurant Review -- Gangadin Indian Cuisine

2007-02-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

Last week, on Valentine's Day, I was stuck in traffic on my way to work. The day was just like every other day, I was humming to the radio and thinking about the work I had to do, when I looked to my right and noticed a very cute guy in a pickup truck in the lane next to me.

I smiled.

He smiled.

Traffic moved.

We continued our cat and mouse flirtation for the next few miles.

I soon had to get off the freeway, so I smiled a final time and changed lanes. As I exited, I looked up at Handsome Truck Guy and waved. My goal was to convey, "Hi, thanks for brightening my morning. I happen to be without a Valentine and I know that there are no flowers waiting for me on my desk and I appreciate the attention from such a cute guy. Hope you have a great day."

He crossed over four lanes of traffic and exited after me.

Let me repeat that. He. crossed. over. four. lanes. of. traffic. and. exited. after. me.

In my mind, he suddenly turned from Handsome Truck Guy into Creepy Truck Guy. My innocent wave had apparently been interpreted as "Hey sexy, please follow me. I want to take you home." He hovered behind me in my lane, until I managed to lose him (by running a yellow light). I pulled into my building's garage and heaved a sigh of relief. I was convinced that I had narrowly missed being stabbed in the eye by a psychopath. (Why the eye? I have no idea -- it just sounds particularly painful and frightening.)

Later, D and M informed me that I was crazy. Apparently this is normal in Los Angeles -- in fact, there was once a radio station that had a show called "freeway love" all about this very type of situation. D and M explained that it was part of the "car culture" of LA . If you see someone in traffic you think you may like, it is completely normal to follow them off of the freeway, pull off into a parking lot near a busy place (like Starbucks), and meet the person.

Regardless of whether I'm crazy and totally missed the man of my dreams *or* Los Angeles is more bizarre than I even imagined, a new phrase has entered my vocabulary. "I'd cross four lanes of traffic and exit the freeway for ______" -- meaning that whatever it is, it is something that I am enamored with...perhaps dangerously so.

This long introduction has been the build up to this line: I'd cross four lanes of traffic and exit the freeway for Gangadin Indian Cuisine.

D, M, and I were hungry, tired, and lacking inspiration in the kitchen last Saturday night. We had a craving for Indian food and a vague memory of a menu we had once seen and liked from a restaurant nearby.

A few minutes later we had figured out the address and were parked in front of Gangadin Indian Cuisine.

A cozy room, an extremely friendly waiter, and intriguing menu greeted us. One of the best lines of the entire menu, for me at least, was this one: "All dishes cooked without MSG, butter/ghee, sugar or animal fat." Usually I can't have most Indian food because of the prolific use of butter/ghee (and the propensity for marinating meats in yogurt) -- dairy is everywhere in Indian food. However, a menu free of ghee meant a menu full of things I could have -- I just had to avoid the tandoori dishes (yogurt).

D, M, and I found so many things on the menu that looked delicious that we decided to over-order with the belief that we'd have tons of leftovers. We had the following:

Bread Bonanza -("Combination of 3 breads -Garlic Naan, Peshwari Naan and spinach parantha.") (Sweet mother of all things holy, good, and pure in the world, this was the best naan bread I've ever hand. The garlic naan was pungent and savory, the Peshwari naan lightly sweet with nuts and fruit, and the spinach naan earthy and rich. )

Lamb Korma-("Tender pieces of marinated lamb meat, spiced mildly and cooked with onions, yogurt, and assorted nuts") ( D and M said it was the best lamb they'd ever had. Apparently, the sauce was from God -- I couldn't have any because of the yogurt. Clearly, my loss.)

Chicken Curry -("Chicken cooked in a sauce of fresh onions, tomatoes garlic and ginger.") (Unlike any curry I'd ever tasted, yet oddly comforting, complex, and fragrant.)

Mixed Grill - ("Two piece of seekh kabab, two of chicken tikka, and one piece of Tandoori chicken.") (D and M said it was wonderful. I couldn't have it because it was full of yogurt, but they really enjoyed it. They said the meat was tender, delicately flavored, and charred just right.)

Saag Paneer -("Cubes of homemade cheese and spinach cooked in mouth-watering sauce. ") (We didn't realized until after we had ordered that we could replace the paneer in any dish with tofu. Next time we are going to order that in that style so I can enjoy saag panner for the first time. Again, D and M said it was fabulous.)

Aloo Gobhi- ("Cauliflower and potatoes sautéed with tomatoes, ginger and special ground spice.") (Fabulously delicious. Yum. The cauliflower was crunchy, the potatoes nicely soft, and the sauce perfectly spiced.)

White rice - (self explanatory.)

3 complimentary sauces -- mint, spicy, and sweet. All fantastic -- particularly spread on the naan bread.

We only had a bit of the tandoori chicken and some rice leftover at the end of the meal (which M enjoyed thoroughly for lunch the next day). Everything was wonderful, from the naan, to the meats, to the veggies, to the wine, and we devoured it all. The price was right and the meal essentially perfect. We already have plans to return, there are literally another 20 or so dishes that was are dying to try.

Let me repeat myself: I'd cross over four lanes of traffic and get off the freeway for Gangadin Indian Cuisine.

5 of 5 stars. Eat here. Soon.

Gangadin Indian Cuisine

12067 Ventura Place
Studio City Ca 91604
818-509-0722

Lunch: Monday-Friday from 12:00 to 2 p.m.
Dinner: Monday-Sunday from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Restaurant Review -- Ca' Del Sole

2007-02-20T21:23:00.000-08:00

On a scale from Kate Winslet (whom I adore) and Britney Spears (whom I am repulsed by) I rank Ca' Del Dole a Claire Danes.

Here is the deal, Claire seems nice enough. I liked her in Romeo and Juliet. I enjoyed the few episodes of My So Called Life that my parent's let me see. But, something is a little off about her. Maybe it is the wonky eyes. Likely it is because she stole Billy Crudup from the very pregnant Mary- Louise Parker. Regardless, I don't particularly care for her. I'll never say, "Hey now, friend, lets go see that new Clarie Danes movie -- I've been dying to see it." However, if you rent a movie that happens to have Claire Danes in it, I won't protest. I'll watch it, I'll daydream of her ethereal angel costume in Romeo and Juliet -- wishing I could scrape up that outfit for Halloween next year, and enjoy my bag of Skittles.

Ca' Del Sole is the restaurant equivilant of Claire Danes for me. A few hits, a whole lot of misses, and not much to write home about.

The Good:

Tonno e Salmone ("fresh chopped tuna and salmon separately mixed with shallots, capers, olives, anchovies, lemon, mustard and chives garnished with organic micro greens and toast"--super fresh and tangy), and the

Granchio ("crab cakes with stewed white kidney beans, tomatoes, arugula and extra virgin olive oil "-- though they were a bit on the heavy and greasy side).

The Rest:

Venison Carpaccio (with mushrooms -- boring and bland),

Mezzelune ("half-moon shaped pasta stuffed with pumpkin; sautéed with a light sauce of butter, sage, and parmesan cheese" -- M said it was tedious, mediocre, and unremarkable),

Coniglio ("free range rabbit leg, wrapped in house cured pancetta, braised in Vin Santo and served with mashed potatoes and “Weiser Farms” organically grown baby carrots" -- how anything with this list of ingredients can be *so* vanilla is beyond me. It was dry, flavorless, and completely without any taste worth reporting)

Ossobuco ("grain fed veal shank braised in white wine and fresh herbs; served with gremolada and saffron risotto" --D says it was nondescript, flat, and "boring." I told him I couldn't use the word "boring" again, but he was too bored to come up with another adjective.)

Limone ("lemon-rosemary tart with caramelized sugar and balsamic reduction" -- bland, too sweet, not rosemary-y enough)

See what I mean? Nothing was really bad -- nothing was improperly raw, burnt, or salty. All of it scraped by as "acceptable." However, only two dishes were worth even recommending. Oh, and the tapanade that was complimentary on the table...that was good. So I guess there were three things worth trying.

Two final points:

1) The patio in the back is beautiful, nearly enough to make up for the mediocre food. You dine in a cozy, tree lined, softly lit, and beautifully decorated little slice of Italy right here in Los Angeles. It might be worth returning to -- if only to enjoy a cocktail while sitting in the warm, breezy air.

2) Don't bother with the wine list, unless you are a wine master already. If you aren't quite a wine genius, beware. You'll be impressed with the length and depth of the list but, you won't have anyone knowledgable to ask any questions. If your experience mirrors ours, your waiter won't know merlot from chardonnay, the manager will pretend to know something, but her education in wine is clearly limited to what she can read off the back of the bottle, and you'll be assured that the general manager, who isn't there, does happen to know a lot about wine, but he is off tonight.

In sum, 2.5 out of 5 stars. A clear Claire Danes.

Ca' Del Sole

4100 Cahuenga Blvd
Toluca Lake, CA 91602

(818) 985-4669

Tofu Larb

2007-02-20T07:03:00.000-08:00

I promised here that I would break my routine and make larb out of something other than ground turkey. I had toyed with the idea of shrimp or pork or tofu, and last night I settled on tofu.

The result? Meh.

It wasn't bad, per se, it just was lacking something texturally. It was soft, like scrambled eggs....and we all I know how I feel about eggs.

I used extra firm silken tofu ... perhaps another, harder, tofu would be better. Or maybe seiten is the way to go. Have any of you made Tofu Larb? If so, was it good, and how did you do it?

The other issue we noticed was that it needed almost double the amount of fish sauce, rice powder, and lime juice originally called for to taste even close to right. The tofu absorbed our seasonings like a giant, bland sponge.

Meh.

If it isn't broken, I'm not fixing it again. Ground turkey larb from here on out (Unless, of course, I get some really good, fresh shrimp -- then, I may not be able to resist giving it a try.)

If you've had adventures in larb, please leave a note in the comments. I'd love to hear how you all out there in the blogesphere prefer your larby goodness.

A Tale of Two Kristels ...and/or, Why This Blog Isn't Anonymous

2007-02-19T18:59:00.000-08:00

Remember that martini I told you about last week? Vodka, extra dirty? That I spilled onto my beloved camera? Yes, well, the salty nectar of the gods (don't even entertain the thought of going there) finally did its harm. My camera ceased functioning this morning and made a very ominous clack and whir as it did so. I rushed my dear, usually-reliable camera to the camera doctor (a sweet little old man with an unidentifiable European accent) and he promises that he'll call me sometime this week to tell me the extent of the damage. Sad.

So, faithful reader, of there are, I'm sure, at least two, I must warn you --this week is likely to be full of brilliant passages of prose, and devoid of pictures entirely. Unless, of course, M digs up her camera and I can use it as a pinch-hitter because I can't dance with the one who brought me or keep my metaphors straight. Or something.

Tonight, being too sad to post about food without being able to take a picture, I choose to fill you in on why you know that is is Kristel writing this blog *and* you know what Kristel looks like. (Why I am writing in third person, even I don't know).

I thought long and hard before choosing to make TheBestSoupEver not anonymous. Many of my favorite blogs' authors are hidden -- either going by a pseudonym or an initial, or by choosing not to include a picture. I debated with myself, hence the two Kristels in the title, and the nicer Kristel was victorious. Here is an excerpt of the argument:

Mean Kristel (MK): Ooo, remember our previous blog? Man that was awesome. We could do the same sort of thing here. You know, make fun of other people's food instead of their dating habits.

Nice Kristel (NK): No, no, no... we can't do that. I felt too guilty, remember? I was putting bad karma into the world. I had to stop.

MK: Karma, shmarma. It was soooo entertaining. Remember how it all began? We were so fed up with getting cheesy, awful emails from LAME guys on Myspace and Friendster that we began sending excerpts to our friends. They cracked up at all of the "U R hott, wanna cum C me 1 day?" type of messages we got.

NK: Yeah, but we went one step further, remember? We created a blog, posted the emails (with identifying details removed), and mocked everything they said. That was why the blog had to be anonymous -- I couldn't let the world know who it was who was being so mean.

MK: They deserved it! They couldn't even spell -- they drove us bonkers. Ooo, and I get chills thinking about how the blog progressed. How we eventually ran out of emails to our Friendster and Myspace accounts and so we began signing up for Match.com in various cities. We would post our real picture and likes/dislikes and wait for the emails. Invariably they would be full of sappy poetry, lines like "I thik we shud date. U a fine ass." or "You seem smart, I am looking for a wife, R U her?", or pictures of penises. And then we would post their emails and tear their grammar, spelling, and humanity to pieces. I. Loved. It.

NK: Yeah, it was funny for awhile. But then I began to feel bad for these guys. I mean, yes, they were idiots, that couldn't read or spell, but they mostly seemed like sincere idiots. Besides, we do have a fine ass.

MK: Ah, and then we compared each city to the other cities and ranked them on a loser scale. We were hysterical. And brilliant. Imagine this -- we make other people's recipes or visit their restaurants and then we make fun of their paltry culinary skill! Mwah ah ah ah ah!!!!

NK: NO. NO. NO. I am done with this petty, internet meanness. Not to say of course, that I won't give a bad rating to a restaurant that was truly awful, or that I won't be snarky occasionally, but hiding behind a fake name and making fun of people is no longer part of my plan. Instead, I will win over the internets with wry comments, delicious food, and entertaining prose. We'll be a hit!

MK: Whatever.

So, there you have it folks. Nice Kristel won. I wanted to be able to honestly read, write, and review food -- no tricks or gimmicks. If I really don't like something, I'll let you know. And if something is great, I'll share that too. I've got nothing to hide behind -- you know my name and my face. This blog is essentially Kristel, Unplugged.

Be gentle.

Happy Valentine's Day

2007-02-13T22:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!

And for those that don't celebrate Valentine's Day:

Happy Arizona Statehood Day! :)

Roasted Chicken, done right.

2007-02-11T21:16:00.000-08:00

The glories of perfectly roasted chicken are manifold. Crisp skin, juicy meat, bones to make wonderful stock...but the possible detriments are also numerous -- burnt skin, chewy meat, salty broth. Roasting a chicken properly is difficult -- fully cooked, yet not overcooked. It is a fine line, really. You want to create luscious dinner with the possibility of tasty leftovers... without subjecting you or your guests to food poisoning.

Here is my recipe for both the chicken and the resulting stock. I love to make roasted chicken on Sunday nights. Honestly, I'm a bit of 1950s housewife. Minus the house, husband, and children, of course. I *literally* put on an apron, tie up my hair, get dirty, and make a full Sunday dinner most weeks. I consider my ability (and desire) to do this as part of my dowery. :)

I encourage you give it a try, at least once and awhile. There is some kind of therapy in chopping, rubbing, sauteing, and stirring...I promise.

Roasted Chicken, done right -- serves 5 or 6, or less with lots of leftovers

Ingredients:

--1 chicken, about 4 lbs (try to get organic and/or free range for better flavor and more peace of mind)
--5 stalks carrots, roughly chopped
--5 stalks celery, roughly chopped
--2 onions (or 5 shallots) roughly chopped
--2 Meyer lemons, thinly sliced
--4 sprigs fresh rosemary
--salt, freshly ground, to taste (at least 1 teaspoon)
--pepper, freshly ground, to taste (at least 1 teaspoon)
--garlic, fresh or ground, to taste (at least 1 teaspoon)
--olive oil

Directions:

1) preheat oven to 400 degrees
2) place carrots, celery, onions into bottom of large roasting pan
3) separate skin from flesh of chicken,
4) rub, with your bare hands, under the skin of the chicken and into the meat, a slurry of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic (a kitchen assistant is useful here to pour the seasonings into your hands)
5) place Meyer lemon slices and rosemary sprigs evenly under the skin, all around the chicken
6) rub the outside of the chicken with oil, salt, and pepper
7) place on top of veggies in the pan
8) pour 1 cup of water into the pan
9) bake, at 400 degrees, for 1:40 in convection oven or 2:15 in normal oven (or until done -- when you can cut into the meat at the bone without seeing blood or pinkness. Don't eat raw chicken, you ninny)

To serve:

Carve and serve the chicken. Yum. For this particular dinner we served it with blanched broccoli doused with lemon juice and olive oil and oven-fried baby potatoes.

Note:

You don't have to roast the chicken on a bed of veggies -- you can bake the chicken on a rack in an empty pan if you like. However, you are going to add carrots, celery, and onion to your stock later, so you might as well toss them into the roasting pan under the chicken. Besides, I'm convinced that the veggies add more flavor if they have been roasted before being added to your stock.

Delicious bed of carrots, celery, and onions, pre-chicken

Bed of veggies, with chicken as a welcome guest, just before entering the oven. If you look closely, you can see the Meyer lemon slices and rosemary sprigs under the skin. I don't have a picture of the final Roasted Chicken for a reason. I accidently poured my martini (very dirty, vodka) onto my camera. Seriously. (Wish me luck in rehabilitaing the camera... and myself).

Basic Chicken Stock

Ingredients:

--1 chicken carcass, stripped of most of its meat
--organs and other gross things from the bag inside the chicken (but not the bag itself!)
--leftover carrots, celery, onions, and juice from roasting pan (see above)
--bay leaf

Directions:

1) Add about 3 cups of water and then boil all ingredients together for a long time... 7 -8 hours is best, 2 at minimum. The longer you boil, the more flavor and nutrition is extracted from the bones.
2) strain all solids out, refrigerate liquid overnight, or at least 8 hours
3) scrape off fat from top of jelled stock
4) use in everything from soup, to sauce, to rice dishes (watch for our stock to reappear in risotto this week)

Note:

Use the leftover meat in chicken salad, sandwiches, stir fry, soup, etc. This dinner can turn into 3 or 4 meals very easily.

On an entirely differenly note, here is the fruit for the week. Bananas, Mango, Kiwi, Apples (both Pink Lady and Fuji), oranges (navel and mandarin), and lemons. Mmmmm, fruity goodness.

Restaurant Review -- Lucy's El Adobe Cafe

2007-02-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

Question: What is more disappointing than watching a new, much-hyped TV show and despising it?

Answer: Turning on an old favorite, watching for a few minutes, and then realizing that it is now awful. How sad is it to find a show that you once loved, discover that it is coasting on its previous fame, and note that it is currently producing pure drivel? (I'm looking at you, Saved By the Bell: The College Years).

Lucy's El Adobe Cafe is the restaurant equivalent of a TV show waaaayyyyy past its prime. Lucy's is an LA establishment -- it was hugely popular in the 70s. The governer at the time, Jerry Brown, and his girlfriend Linda Ronstadt, were regulars and were responsible for putting Lucy's on the map. In fact, their names still pepper the menu. It has been a traditional star hang-out for ages ... clearly aided by being across the street from Paramount Studios. Now, however? Perhaps the worst Mexican food in Los Angeles.

One restaurant has to hold the title of worst, and seriously, folks, I think Lucy's is currently the owner of the dubious honor.

I didn't bring my camera, so I have no pictures. But even if I had, I wouldn't have been able to take pictures because the damn restaurant is so dark that we couldn't see our food (we think, perhaps, to disguise the disgustingness).

The refried beans? Salty. The rice? Soggy. The chips? Greasy. The tortillas? Stale. The salsa? Watery. The Chile Verde? With your eyes closed, completely unidentifiable as pork. The chili rellano? As, M put it, "tasteless cheese shoved into a slimy, canned pepper, and wrapped in an oil-soaked sponge." The mole? Hershey's Syrup covered nuggets of chewy chicken. The Arroz con Pollo (the "Jerry Brown")? The bell peppers were raw, the rice greasy, and the chicken tough.

Essentially, each plate was less appetizing than the previous one.

Lucy's may have once been a must-visit. It is now a must-avoid.

And, let me mention, it was the priciest bad mexican food I have ever had. We each one drink and one entree. The table split 2 guacamoles. Our bill? $30 per person. Honestly, if you are going to serve awful food, at least make it cheap.

0.5 of 5 stars. Not worth walking across the street for. (Why the 0.5? Because the chicken in the Arroz con Pollo was identifiable as chicken and if, starving, could provide enough calories to live on)

Lucy's El Adobe Cafe
5536 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA

(323) 462-9421

For the love of Larb

2007-02-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

Larb (n) : Laap or Larp or Laab is a type of Thai/Lao meat salad. It is most often made with chicken, beef, duck or pork , flavored with fish sauce and lime. Larb made with duck, turkey or fish is also popular. The meat can be either raw or cooked; it is minced and mixed with chilli, mint and, optionally, assorted vegetables. Roughly ground toasted rice (kao kua) is also a very important component of the dish. The dish is served at room temperature and usually with a serving of sticky rice.

Laap is the unofficial National Dish of Laos and is also very popular in Thailand.There is also a variant from Northern Thailand which does not use lime or fish sauce, but rather other local condiments for flavor and seasoning. (Thanks Wikipedia!)

(v) : To Larb. To turn into Larb. e.g. "Let's try Larbing some shrimp." Or "We Larbed for dinner tonight." (erm, Thanks Me!)

I have a confession to make.

I tend to be obsessive -- I'll decide that I love something and immerse myself in it completely. I'm willing to repeat eating, listening to, using, or reading that thing for days, weeks, or months. For example, right now I am completely enamored with the acoustic version of One by U2. I play it on repeat 9 or 10 times in a row sometimes. I also am entirely addicted to LOST. I read message boards, gossip about the show to friends, and even *flew* to Hawaii for the weekend with D and M to see the red carpet Season 3 premiere before the episode was shown in the US.

My newest infatuation? Larb.

I was introduced to Larb during the first week of January. I was on a date with The-Man-Who-Hates-Children-So-Much-He-Wants-To-Get-A-Vasectomy (it was our last date, never fear) and we were at a Thai restaurant. We had just gone to the Thai foot massage parlor across the street and had incredibly relaxing foot massages and were starving. We chose a few favorites from the menu, and I decided to try something new -- Larb. I had heard of it before, but never eaten it. This version was made with ground chicken and served with amazing sticky rice and crunchy cabbage. I was hooked from the first bite. The date, however, didn't have such power. The Larb? Perfect.

I made it for the first time a few weeks ago -- D and M's first taste of the addictive power of the Larb. Since then, I've made it a least 5 more times. D, M, and I can't get enough. This dish is like crack -- or what I assume crack addiction is like. Every time we eat it we exclaim over its freshness, its complexity, its healthiness, and how easy it is too make. Hence the opening of the post -- we have turned it into a verb. "Larbing" and variations thereof, now pepper our conversation. So far we have only Larbed ground turkey--- we keep meaning to try to make it with shrimp or tofu, but the turkey is just so delicious. Larb can be made with any protein that crumbles -- I promise to eventually make a variation and tell you all about it. For now, though, I'll just focus on the current version of my obsession.

This recipe is not entirely authentic. I use rooster sauce instead of traditional Thai chilies and I use three different herbs instead of the usual two. I also use lean ground turkey to make the Larb and often replace the accompanying rice with rice noodles. The basic taste composition is still there though: hot, tangy, spicy, sour, and fragrant.

Oh, and Larb has got to be just about the least photogenic food ever. Believe me when I tell you it tastes a million times better than it looks.

Larb -- serves 3 or 4

Ingredients:

--1 lb (approximately) ground extra lean turkey
--2 tablespoons fish sauce
--2 shallots, finely diced
--3 stalks green onions, diced
--1/4 cup lime juice
--1/2 tablespoon rooster sauce (or freshly diced Thai chilies)

--1/2 cup total (combined) Thai purple basil, cilantro, and mint leaves, finely chopped

--2 to 3 tablespoons ground, toasted rice powder*

--raw Napa cabbage leaves, separated. (I recommend Napa cabbage, other cabbages seem to impart too strong of flavor)
--sticky rice (cooked) or rice noodles (cooked) (2 cups worth)

Directions:

1) In large bowl, combine turkey, shallots, green onions, lime juice, and rooster sauce. Toss to combine.

2) Heat frying pan to medium heat, add turkey mixture and bring to simmer. Do not fry -- just allow meat mixture to poach until cooked through (about 6 minutes).

3) turn off heat, stir in herb mixture and toasted rice powder. Can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold. I tend to eat it warm (mostly because I have no willpower and I can't wait until it cools down)

To serve:

Build wraps out of cabbage leaves by layering the starch (either rice or rice noodles) and Larb into the leaf. Add more rooster sauce if desired.

Eat, with uncontrollable joy. If you're anything like me, you won't be able to stop until you are completely full or you run out Larb. (and you may be forced to make another batch within the week).

Note:

As much as I am usually a proponent of drastically changing recipes, this one benefits from sticking the the plan. From experience I warn you, do not add soy sauce or ginger to this. Both completely throw off the balance of flavors.

* Toasted Rice Powder: Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add a handful of Thai long-grain sticky rice (also known as glutinous rice or sweet rice). I used a black Thai sweet rice -- hence the purple hint to my Larb. Toast until dark and fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, being careful not to burn it. Transfer to a plate and let cool. Use a spice grinder or food processor to grind the cooled, toasted rice to a fine powder. Keeps for weeks in an airtight container at room temperature. Thanks roots and grubs for the info.

Food porn -- isn't this pile of cabbage leaves pretty? (Note, however, that this isn't Napa. We didn't like this as much--attractive, thought it is. Next time, back to Napa cabbage)

Half eaten wrap, with lots of extra rooster sauce.

Just another Manic Monday

2007-02-05T20:34:00.000-08:00

Oh, yes, I went there. I quoted the Bangles. But, seriously, it was that kind of Monday.

As I stumbled in the front door a few minutes ago, I was greeted by a cold, empty kitchen. M had just gotten home, and D was busy with work. No stove was lit, no pots were out, no food was prepped. We were all exhausted, hungry, and wishing it was Sunday.

Alas, the wishing did not work. It was Monday and food needed to be prepared, and fast.

Enter stage left: soft taco bar. Quick, healthy, full of flavor -- and all of the ingredients were on hand.

I'm almost embarrassed to give these recipes ... they are so simple they are more like instructions to follow the dotted line. However, sometimes when you are really tired, you need a directions for even the easiest meal. Here you go:

Set the table with condiments -- salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, sliced olives, chopped cilantro, quartered limes, etc.

My favorite condiments. One can never go wrong with a frosty Corona with lime and I can't even explain to you how much I *love* the green Tabasco sauce.

Then make the refried beans, then the chicken, and then warm the corn tortillas (either in the microwave wrapped in a damp paper towel or over the flame of a gas burner on your stove). Build a soft taco. Eat. Smile.

Fast, Healthy Refried Black Beans:

Ingredients:

--2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
--1 tablespoon olive oil
--dash cumin
-- salt to taste
--hot sauce to taste

Directions:

1) Mash all ingredients together in a frying pan over medium temperature until medium smooth -- e.g. still a few whole black beans in the mash. About 8 minutes. (Use a fork or a potato masher --also, note that if you continue to add oil, lard, or butter, and keep mashing for an extended period of time you will make much more authentic --though much less waistline friendly-- refried beans.)
2) Turn off heat. Place into bowl.

These refried beans are just as delicious on chips. :)

Chicken with Cumin and Lime

Ingredients:

--2 whole cooked chicken breasts (boiled, baked, grilled,..whatever. If I'm in a big hurry I'll just boil frozen pieces in plain, salted water ... I'm not even kidding)
--2 garlic cloves mashed with pinch of salt into a paste (or 2 cubes of frozen garlic from Trader Joe's)
--dash(es) cumin
--dash(es) chili powder
--salt to taste
--hot sauce to taste
--juice of one lime

Directions:

1) cube or shred the chicken
2) over low heat, mix chicken with all other ingredients until combined
3) turn off heat, pile on a plate

To serve:

Put the refried beans and chicken on the table with the condiments. As mentioned above, build a soft taco. Eat. Smile. Be happy that tomorrow is not another Monday.

Yum!

"Six o'clock already I was just in the middle of a dream, I was kissin' Valentino by a crystal blue Italian stream, But I can't be late 'cause then I guess I just won't get paid, these are the days when you wish your bed was already made.

It's just another manic Monday, I wish it was Sunday, 'cause that's my fun-day, my I don't have to run-day, it's just another manic Monday"

Restaurant Review -- China Islamic

2007-02-04T20:05:00.000-08:00

Many, if not most, foods are just plain better made from scratch -- bread, salad dressing, salsa, chicken stock are just a few. However, much of the time, even foodies rely on pre-made versions from the store. For example, I love to make homemade bread, but I just don't have the time or energy on most days to make it. And, though I usually make my own salad dressing, salsa, and chicken stock, I keep bottled or canned versions of all of them on hand, just in case.

Noodles are another prime example. I make them from scratch a few times a year, but the rest of the time I rely on ones from a box. However, the knowledge that the homemade noodles are practically on another plane of tasty existence compared to boxed ones drives me to seek out handmade noodles at least once every few months. Hence our trip to China Islamic...

As part of an ongoing quest to find the ultimate in Chinese handmade noodles, some friends and I embarked upon a journey through the San Gabriel Valley to China Islamic.

China Islamic is a restaurant specializing in the Chinese food of the Xing Jing (north west) province of China (mostly populated by the Uyghurs and often called East Turkestan) -- e.g. Halal Chinese food. Adherence to Muslim dietary laws means that this restaurant, unlike most Chinese restaurants, does not serve pork. However, they more than make up for this fact by serving some of the best lamb this side of Greece. This restaurant also happens to specialize in homemade noodles.

Six friends and I wandered into this sparsely-decorated, fluorescently-lit, Chinese restaurant early Saturday night, starving and without a reservation. Luckily, they could seat the seven of us quickly, and we soon were settled around a round table with a large lazy susan in the middle. The dining room was filled with the most ethnically diverse mix of customers I have seen in quite awhile -- many clearly Muslim and obviously enjoying familiar food. I'm a firm believer that it is always a good sign when the people of a culture are enthusiastically eating at a restaurant that purports to serve authentic food of that culture. The seven of us exchanged happy glances at our good fortune.

As we immersed ourselves in the menu, hot tea was immediately delivered and ice water poured. Much debate and discussion ensued as we tried to come up with the best foods to order to highlight the lamb dishes, the noodle dishes, and personal preferences. The menu was littered with traditional suburban Chinese restaurant dishes mixed with a slew of unique (at least to us) foods. The discussion lasted for at least 15 minutes....

This is what the seven of us ended up deciding on: 2 orders of kimchee, 1 order of sliced chilled ox tendon, 1 order spiced chilled ox tripe, 1 order sesame flat bread with green onions, 1 order thick sesame bread with green onions, 1 order spicy green beans with dried shrimp, 1 order vegetable chow mein, 1 order bok choy with mushrooms, 1 order lamb warm pot, 1 order beef noodle soup, 1 order lamb buckwheat noodle soup.

We ordered enough to feed an army.

In our defense, we had originally only ordered one plate of kimchee, but it was so good we had to order a second. :)

In sum, we *loved* everything (except the lamb warm pot). The kimchee, as mentioned, was crispy and just sour enough. The ox tripe and tendon (I was told) was wonderful. The sesame breads with green onions are a must eat -- rather bland on their own, but the perfect starch to dip into the broth of the soups. The spicy green beans were some of the best I'd ever had. The vegetable chow mein was complex and crunchy. The bok choy with mushrooms were perfectly done. The beef noodle soup earned rave reviews and the lamb buckwheat noodle soup was so delicious I wanted to bathe in it. (The lamb warm pot? It was just too lamby -- and we like lamb. Plus, it had too much cabbage in it -- somehow the soup managed to be both too lamby and too cabbagey. Not a good combo. )

The noodles themselves were wonderful -- chewy, toothsome, and dense...yet also light and full of flavor. Oh, and, be sure to order the "dough slice" noodles to ensure getting the fresh, homemade ones.

Take a look at all of the deliciousness:

Thick sesame bread filled with green onions. Doughy, fragrant, and dairy free! (Doesn't that look oddly like chicken in the middle?)

Sesame flat bread with green onions. See above, just flatter and crunchier. Yum.

Lamb soup with buckwheat noodles -- my favorite dish of the night. It had tons of ginger (see the piece in my chopsticks?), wonderful nutty buckwheat noodles, and tender morsels of lamb.

The lamb warm pot -- our least favorite dish. The lamb flavor was just too strong, the glass noodles were slimy, and ... see all the cabbage? Also, note that the bowl is as big around as a basketball hoop -- so we got the largest portion of the dish we liked least. Alas, such is life.

The delectable kimchee. Szechuan style, apparently, and delicious.

The spicy green beans with dried shrimp. These were wonderful -- the beans were crispy, the shrimp just a hint of saltiness, and the spice just right.

The bok choy with mushrooms -- also delicious. The mushrooms, in particular, were meaty and perfectly cooked.

The beef tripe and tendons -- I have to rely on my friend's opinions on this one. They said it was crackly, rich, and soft. I couldn't bring my self to try it -- too beefy and odd for me. Sorry kids.

The beef noodle soup -- M and D's favorite dish of the night. Again, I didn't try it. Beef just isn't my thing, but they assured me that the meat was tender, the broth was strongly flavored, and the seasonings perfectly balanced.

Our verdict? 4.5 out of 5 stars and worth a drive in LA traffic.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the price -- our feast for 7 people with plenty of leftovers? $80.00. No joke. $100.00 with tip. Clearly, a bargain -- and a delicious one, at that.

Give it a try:

China Islamic

7727 E. Garvey Ave. (Evelyn Ave.)

Rosemead, CA 91770

626-288-4246

Friday Night Light

2007-02-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is Friday night.

Yes, I am 25, single, and living in Los Angeles.

Yes, I am at home posting about what I made for dinner.

Honestly, I do have an excuse...it has to do with lack of sleep, a overwhelming workload, and a desire to stand and stir something over the stove.

This week has been nuts --Monday night I was in the office until 2 am, Tuesday night I was there until after 8pm, Wednesday night I met a friend for dinner and didn't get home until after 10pm, and Thursday night I had a cocktail party to attend and didn't get home until after 9pm. Plus, I got up on Monday, Wednesday, and today at 5am to go to the gym before work. Essentially, this week has been low on sleep, high on stress, and full of intense assignments. Plus, because of all this, I haven't cooked until last Sunday. For shame! What kind of food blogger am I?!

And, to add insult to injury, tomorrow I have to attend training at work from 9 - 5 (on Saturday!). After that, dinner with a group of friends. Sunday is the Superbowl and I'm going to another friend's house for the game. The craziness shows no signs of stopping...Tonight was literally the only night of this entire week for me to sit, relax, and cook something yummy.

It may seem a foreign concept to some, but the kitchen is my place to find peace. Brainstorming a recipe and chopping up ingredients are wonderful stress relievers for me. All I wanted to do tonight was get back into my kitchen, grab a knife, forget about work, and get started on something delicious for dinner. Seriously, the stove is my happy place -- If I were in Neverland, I think cooking would the thought that would help me fly. :)

Tonight I just wanted something tasty, simple, and light. After a week of late-night meals, heavy on carbs and oil, I was craving something that made me feel healthy.

First, I settled on turkey burgers...ground turkey, mixed with chopped fresh sage and rosemary, garlic, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper and shaped into patties and grilled until just done.

Mmmm...fresh off the grill.

Then, a small side of sweet potato gnocchi, tossed with walnut oil, a tiny bit of nutmeg, and salt.

But the vegetable of the night was eluding me. Finally, I decided on a wilted, winter salad. I wanted something that would highlight the flavors of the season, yet still be light and delicious. I knew I had some beautiful blood oranges in my fruit basket left over from my last trip to the farmer's market -- I love the gorgeous deep color and rich acid of blood oranges. Plus, I remembered that I had some fresh spring garlic shoots and a new bottle of walnut oil. I also knew that I didn't want just a plain tossed salad -- something a little warmer and complex was clearly in order. The salad below was the lucky result of these ideas.

This side dish ended up being the best part of the meal -- and that reallly is saying something. The turkey burgers were tangy and savory, the gnocchi were gently spiced and pleasantly earthy, but the salad tied together the herbs in the burgers with the background nutty taste of the gnocchi in a crunchy, balanced perfect end to this crazy week -- I hope you like it.

Wilted Mixed Greens, with Walnuts, Spring Garlic, and Blood Oranges -- Serves 3 or 4

Ingredients:

--1 teaspoon olive oil
--1 teaspoon walnut oil
--1/2 cup diced spring garlic shoots, white and green parts (substitute green onions, if necessary, but try and find the spring garlic shoots - they are deliciously delicate and fragrant)
--1/2 sweet onion, diced
--1 clove garlic, finely chopped
--2 teaspoons orange muscat vinegar (I usually find it at Trader Joe's)
--1 teaspoon blood orange juice (squeeze from a few slices of blood orange, then toss the pulp in also)
--tiny splash of apple cider vinegar
--1/3 cup water
--1 teaspoon fresh sage leaves, finely diced
--1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely diced
--salt and pepper to taste

-- 1/2 lb mixed greens (as many different leaves as possible. My mix was self-created at our farmer's market and included arugula, spinach, pea shoots, spring mix, radicchio, and many other salad greens)
-- 3 small blood oranges, separated into segments, and then diced (if you are feeling fancy, peel the membrane from the flesh. I was feeling lazy, and neglected to do so)
--1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions:

1) Simmer the olive and walnut oils with the spring garlic shoots, the onions, the garlic, the vinegars, the blood orange juice, and the water for about 5 minutes.

2) Add the sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste, adjust seasonings, and then take off the heat.

3) Toss the mixed greens with the blood orange segments, walnuts, and warm vinaigrette.

To serve:

Eat immediately. If you let the greens sit with the warm vinaigrette for too long you'll end up with salad soup. And, honestly, nobody likes salad soup.

Note:

Hazelnuts and hazelnut oil would be wonderful substitutions for the walnut(s). Also, I think a bit of honey might be a tasty addition to the dressing. Finally, I have a notion that some sort of cheese might be good in here, but since I'm allergic, I really can't opine on the topic. If you give it a try, let me know what changes you made and how it turned out.

Sauteing vinaigrette -- I know it looks rather like unappetising slop, but I promise, it is fabulous.

Dinner as served -- turkey burger, sweet potato gnocchi, and wilted salad. Friday. Night. Light. (and delicious).