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WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2003 link
I've been eating a lot of sugar lately. I've mostly stopped drinking wine (just temporarily), but I've developed the family sweet tooth to make up for it.
Cinnamon toast is my current favorite sweet treat. I use "Italiano" bread from The Buttery, Straus Unsalted Butter, organic, unrefined sugar, and sea salt. The only sub-par ingredient I have is the cinnamon. I need to order some from Penzey's Spices - much better than the grocery-store cinnamon I have now.
I toast the bread on one side under the broiler. On the untoasted side, I spread an insane amount of butter, then sprinkle the cinnamon, and then sugar, being sure to get all three ingredients spread all the way out to the edges. A little sprinkle of salt, then it goes back under the broiler until the butter melts, combines with the sugar, and turns into bubbling, molten, candy.
Not bad, not bad at all.
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WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2003 link
I know that the East Coast is shivering - my sister has come home from New York to escape the cold and snow - but around here it feels like spring. The sun is shining, asparagus has been at the farmer's market for three weeks now, and my hayfever is driving me crazy.
We're lucky to have asparagus so early this year. Usually February and the beginning of March are very frustrating; the weather's warm, but spring vegetables don't appear until the end of March. The dinner I made tonight is a cure for that frustration, or for the frustration of dealing with two-foot drifts of snow and frozen pipes. It's a happy, sunny meal to escape winter - or celebrate the early arrival of spring.
ORANGE-JICAMA SALAD
2 medium oranges, peeled, quartered, and sliced
2 c. jicama, sliced, then cut into sticks
2 green onions, sliced thinly on a diagonal
1 dash smoked paprika
1 pinch New Mexico (or other) chile powder
1 T. olive oil
juice of 1/2 lime or lemon
Toss all ingredients in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Let stand 10 minutes (long enought to cook the chicken below), to let flavors blend. Taste and adjust seasoning before serving.
CITRUS GLAZED CHICKEN BREASTS
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic, minced (feel free to add more)
red pepper flakes
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1 orange
3 T. chopped cilantro
Sauté chicken breasts in olive oil over medium heat until golden on both sides and cooked through (4-5 minutes per side). Put on a plate and set aside. Add garlic to the pan and cook for minute or two, until soft but not brown. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and the citrus juices, stirring to deglaze the pan. Turn up heat to high, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Return the chicken to the pan along with the cilantro. Turn chicken breasts back and forth in the sauce until they are nicely coated. Serve with orange-jicama salad.
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FRIDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2003 link
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
I am an NPR regular listener. I listen to the BBC World News on the way to workout in the morning, and Terry Gross on my afternoon runs to the library. Occasionally I would catch The Writer's Almanac if I was making a late trip to the grocery store or home from a meeting.
Luckily, I don't have to go sit in the car at 7 pm anymore - The Writer's Almanac comes to me every morning by email. It is a wonderful thing to start the day with Garrison Keillor reading me a poem.
Today's show has two wonderful poems (one called "The Love Cook"), but my favorite of the week was a poem by Phillip Appleman called "This Year's Valentine." You can read it, if you like, but I suggest letting Mr. Keillor read it to you. Enjoy!
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THURSDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2003 link
Having a slow-cooker is worth the money and counter space, if only to have Chinese-flavored pork ribs. I used the recipe for short ribs from the NY Times, substituting country-style pork ribs for the beef. I also added coriander seeds, and used yellow onion since I didn't have any green onions. My house smells delicious, and I just tasted the meat, and it tastes better than it smells. I can't wait for dinner!
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TUESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2003 link
I finally bought a slow-cooker a couple of weeks ago. I borrowed my mom's for a while to see whether or not I really wanted one; turns out that they're pretty handy. Use a slow-cooker to cook anything that you'd normally cook in the oven or on top of the stove for two or three hours - braised lamb shanks, pasta sauce, beans.
And for a little inspiration, here's an article in the NY Times. (Free registration required.) The Short Ribs with Chinese Flavors sound delicious, and country-style pork ribs would easily stand in for the beef. (link via Nobody's Doll)
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MONDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2003 link
CATHERINE ON UTENSIL USAGE
So, one of Malika’s biggest pet peeves is that I don’t do the dishes very often. I like to say out loud that this is because if I did them all of the time, the effort would go unnoticed. (You readers can think what you will, I’ll have you know that I scoop cat litter and organize Malika’s many collections for her. Don't these and other wifely tasks absolve me of dish duty?)
But, I want to talk about my reason, up until now, that I SECRETLY didn’t like to do dishes. Quite frankly, Malika can use every utensil in the kitchen to make an egg. But, as I watched her this evening making bolognese sauce for our upcoming ski trip, I realized that she just sees all of this equipment as tools at her disposal. Would I admonish a carpenter for only using a hammer to build a house? Of course not.
I have until this evening prided myself on my ability to make a fabulous “one pot” dinner. But my wonderful counterpart has as usual, outdone me. Everything she makes is great. And, as I watched her use two different utensils to scoop Spanish tomato paste from a jar I realized that this will be the best bolognese sauce I have ever eaten.
Use everything that you have to make your food great. Malika does it with a pinch of passion and all of our spoons.
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