|
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TUESDAY 28 MAY 2002 link
FANTASY JOBS
Not that I'm not happy with what I have, but isn't it human nature to imagine other things?
We have a friend staying with us this week, and she was helping me make dinner tonight. It turns out that she doesn't know how to cook very well (her own opinion), so I ended up giving her more instruction than I usually give. Her very gratifying response was, "Wow, if I spent two weeks here I would know so much more than I know now."
Wouldn't that be fun? I'd love to be a cooking teacher, in my own house, in my own kitchen, with my own equipment. I'd love to teach one or two people my favorite recipes, tell all the things that I've learned so far, and tell the stories of how I learned them. I'd love to have a house in the country, big enough for 4 or 6 guests, where people could come for a week long vacation that consisted of shopping at the farmer's market and then cooking. What fun!
For now, I'll write down the lessons. As soon as I have the guesthouse, you all are invited to attend the classes. It never hurts to have these things in mind for "sometime."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SUNDAY 26 MAY 2002 link
I had an incredibly productive day today, very unusual for me. Cleaned the entire house - INCLUDING MY OFFICE! Catherine's coming home today, and we have a house-guest tomorrow (my office is also the guest bedroom). On top of all that, I also managed to can 12 jars of Brooks Cherries in Spiced Wine Syrup and 5 jars of Lavender-Meyer Lemon Syrup. Not bad. Just think what else I could have accomplished if I hadn't started reading The Princess Diaries and couldn't stop until I finished! (Thanks for the recommendation, Jennifer!)
I love canning. I'm always surprised by how many people I talk to that have never tried it. My new secret is to make small batches of things. I don't know if I can stick to the plan. At least once a year I forget my vow and end up coming home from the farmer's market with a case of peaches or apricots. That's just a mess - all the prep work, all the counter space required - and is very discouraging. Much better to bring home a bag or two of fruit and just make a few jars at a time.
Catherine's dad really likes jam, so we'll make a couple of jars, but I think we'll can more whole fruit this year. It's handier to have around. Cherries or apricots plus some ice cream or plain cake is an instant dessert.
Canning season is here, my friends. There are lots of specialty preserving cookbooks, but if you've never canned anything before, Fannie Farmer has good basic instructions. It's really not a big deal. You can buy the jars, about $7 for a case of 12, at the hardware store or the grocery store. Other than the jars and lids, the only other thing you need to have is a big pot. You're supposed to have a rack so that the jars don't touch the bottom of the pot, but you can use a clean dishtowel instead. (Fannie doesn't tell you this.) So easy - what's stopping you?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FRIDAY 24 MAY 2002 link
RANDOM COLLECTION OF BITS AND PIECES
I'm growing zucchini and tomatoes this year. My mom thinks I'm crazy for wasting garden space on zucchini when it's so cheap and plentiful from markets in the summer, but I love having it in my own yard. I think that as long as you grow tomatoes and zucchini that you'll always have something to eat. You can turn zucchini into anything. I want zucchini pancakes for dinner tomorrow. And I like zucchini for breakfast - with tofu, of course! And fried zucchini blossoms - yum. That's what I'm making Catherine for her welcome-home dinner.
She's away this week, on the east coast eating lobster. She asked me what I wanted for a present and I told her to buy me some Portuguese sweet bread. I hope she understands that I was serious!
My sister Jennifer has started selling her own line of jewelry. It's beautiful - check out the silver fortune cookie necklaces and the water/rocks ring, especially. Everybody tell a friend!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MONDAY 20 MAY 2002 link
I waited too long to start dinner - now it seems like forever until I get to take it out of the oven. I'm having panade, this time made with aparagus, spring onions, jarlsberg, and some chicken-vegetable stock.
Waiting for dinner is a common experience, and a company in England has something to help you while away the time. LG Electronics has invented, among other things, a refrigerator with an imbedded computer. Not only does it connect to the other appliances in your home, but it's also internet connected, so you can email & shop online in between checking the oven and stirring the pot on the stove. Crazy!
So they're introducing these appliances (there's also a microwave, washing machine, and air conditioner) by having them demonstrated in the front window of Harrod's. Four people have been choseto be part of a "family" that is living in that window for an entire week. Can you imagine? I'm liking Frontier House, but I think this version of a reality show is going a little over the top. Clinique makeovers! Gardening lessons! A visit from the cast of Riverdance! It's all here, folks.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
THURSDAY 16 MAY 2002 link
I used to hate sweet potatoes. I still detest sweet potato casserole - brown sugar, marshmallows, orange juice, honey, oatmeal cookies - all those recipes that show up on Thanksgiving tables.
Then I saw a recipe for Cuban Sweet Potatoes. I'm pretty sure it was in Martha Stewart, but I just did an online search and didn't find it. (Please don't sue me.) It's not the kind of recipe you need a recipe for, anyway - after the first time you make it, you won't need a recipe again. It's only got five ingredients! (If you don't count salt & pepper.)
This is a perfect time to make this because of the new crop of garlic. If you only have older garlic, make sure you remove the green sprout in the center of the cloves by slicing the cloves lengthwise and using the tip of your knife to pull out the sprout.
It took twice as long to type this recipe as it takes to cook it.
CUBAN SWEET POTATOES (WITH GARLIC & CILANTRO)
Put a heavy-duty baking sheet into the oven and preheat (oven and baking sheet) to 450º.
2 medium sweet potatoes
4 T. olive oil
Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise, and then cut into half-circle shaped slices about 1/2-inch thick. Put them in a big bowl, add the olive oil and stir to coat well, then season with salt and toss again.
By this time, the baking sheet should be nice and HOT. Take it carefully out of the oven and pour the sweet potatoes onto it - they should really sizzle. Spread them out so they're all flat and in a single layer - there shouldn't be any pieces on top of each other. Put them back into the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes - don't wash the bowl.
4 cloves garlic - or more!
1/3 bunch cilantro
juice of 1 lime
Peel the garlic and chop it very finely. Take the leaves of the cilantro off of the stems and chop roughly. (Sometimes I don't chop them at all.) Put the garlic, cilantro, and lime juice into the bowl you used for the sweet potatoes.
When the timer goes off, check to see if the sweet potatoes are browned on the bottom. If they are, turn them over. If they're not, put them back in for 5 more minutes.
An aside about sooking in a hot oven: Cooking in a 450º oven makes this a quick dish to make, and gives you nice and brown potatoes. However, there's a fine line between "brown" and "burnt beyond repair." Use a timer, pay attention, and don't drink any wine until the sweet potatoes are safely out of the oven! Learn from my mistakes...
After the sweet potatoes are turned over, put them back into the oven to get brown on the other side. This will take a little less time than it took for the first side. Total cooking time should be less than 30 minutes - more like 20.
When the sweet potatoes ARE brown on both sides, take them out and immediately toss THEM in the bowl with the garlic, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with a little more salt and a nice dose of freshly ground black pepper. That's it!
NOTES: Yes, the garlic is raw. It gets warmed up by the hot sweet potatoes, but it doesn't get cooked. It's good, trust me. If you're scared, start with only 1 clove. If your name is Ruth and you live in Gainesville, use six!
If you don't like cilantro, use parsley instead. Last night I used parsley and lemon juice instead of lime, and it was still good.
Red pepper flakes are a very nice addition. Tabasco on the table is good for those who like it.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
WEDNESDAY 15 MAY 2002 link
When travelling anywhere, I believe that it's important to eat the local food, and I don't mean just fancy restaurants. I love to browse the junk food aisles and roadside stands, and I have no problem eating street food. (Let's hope I didn't just jinx myself. What would I do if I suddenly developed a sensitive stomach?) Crab-flavored crisps in Thailand, chile-spiced tamarind candy in Mexico, hot boiled peanuts in Florida - these are the things that I eat when I travel, and the kinds of things that I love people to bring me as a souvenir.
One of the hotels we stayed in in Louisiana had a breakfast bar. We didn't eat breakfast there - we had an important date at the Waffle House - but I did pick up a couple of packets of Quaker Instant Grits to take home. Quaker Instant Oatmeal is everywhere, but Quaker Instant Grits? That's not something you can buy in California.
In the interests of regional food research, I had some for breakfast this morning. I tried the Real Cheddar Cheese flavor and they were surprisingly not bad. The color was bright orange, the same color as Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and I was expecting the same salty, intense flavor, but instead they were pretty mellow tasting, not too salty, and had a pretty good texture.
Now, don't give me a hard time because you think I don't know what good grits taste like. I'm not saying that these tasted like slow-cooked grits with cheese and butter. But I will say that Quaker does a better job of approximating grits than they do of approximating oatmeal. These are a lot closer to the real thing than Quaker Instant Oatmeal is to McCann's.
The cheese and butter flavors seem OK, but I don't think I'd try "Country Bacon" or "Red Eye Gravy and Country Ham." Dehydrated bacon? That's going a bit far, even for me!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MONDAY 13 MAY 2002 link
COCHON DU LAIT
One of the best things I ate in New Orleans - and I only had one bite! - was a cochon du lait po'-boy. Cochon du lait is roast suckling pig, and it's amazing. Soft, tender, juicy - and the soft bread of a po'-boy is perfect for soaking up that juice.
For a longer description ("the mere aroma of this dish is enough to make your knees buckle"), and a recipe, including directions on constructing the roasting pit, see: "Cochon du Lait; or How I got a guy from Israel to eat pig," by Chuck Taggart of The Gumbo Pages.
ALSO: In last week's recipe for "What to do with Tofu," I neglected to specify FIRM tofu. Silken tofu won't work, and I sure hope no one tried! I've gone back and corrected it now, but if you wrote down the recipe or printed out that entry, be sure to make a note. Thanks to Julia in Michigan for pointing out the error.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
THURSDAY 9 MAY 2002 link
I had one those mornings when you wake up hungry, but there's nothing to eat in the house. Unless you want chard or carrots or celery for breakfast. Which I didn't.
Luckily, we have the greatest breakfast place just around the corner. It's tiny - just six tables - but has such a sweet atmosphere. The walls are yellow and the sun comes in through the big front windows. The kitchen, which is only about as big as mine (not very big), is painted pink. There's one woman who cooks and one waitress at a time.
I love going there during the week, because on the weekends there is always a long wait to get in. People sit out on the curb reading the paper and drinking coffee. But on a Thursday morning you can just walk right in.
There is a daily special scramble, either tofu or eggs (I always get tofu). Today's was black olives, tomatoes, and cheese. Toast or an english muffin and coffee or tea are included (but hash browns are not). All that for $5.50! It's a rare occasion when I don't order the special.
I love having one place that we go to again and again. I don't need to try every new place that comes along; I just need a neighborhood hang-out.
If you're visiting Santa Cruz, our hang-out breakfast place is the Cliff Café, 815 41st Ave. (831.476.1214) After you eat breakfast, you can walk down to the end of the street and watch the surfers. Maybe you'll see Catherine!
Looking to see if the Cliff Cafe had a website (they don't), I found another review - with a photo of the pink kitchen. Take a look!
In other news, note that I've added permalinks to each entry. I think they work, but let me know if they don't!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
WEDNESDAY 8 MAY 2002 link
The new crop of red garlic from Mexico has arrived - another sign of spring. I've been going garlic crazy. I was roasting beets the other day, and since I had the oven on, I also roasted a head of garlic. We've been having roasted garlic vinaigrettes for our salads, roasted garlic mayonnaise on our sandwiches - I even gave Spec some in her dinner last night.
If you live in Santa Cruz, they've got the new crop of garlic at Shopper's. It's labelled "red garlic." If you live somewhere else and want to buy some, look for labels that say "red garlic" or "Mexican garlic." They might even have a sign that says something like "New Crop!"
When you get it home, you'll see that some the cloves are bigger than those of regular California garlic, and since it's so fresh, the peels are still moist and cling to the cloves. (Most garlic that we get the rest of the year is held in dry storage for months;garlic is a storage crop, like carrots or potatoes or onions.) It's very juicy, not dried out, and there's no green sprout in the centers of the cloves.
This is the time to have the dinner that my friend Ruth and I used to eat when we were roommates in college, and what we still eat when we get to see each other: roasted garlic, goat cheese, a baguette, salad, and red wine. That, and the company of a friend, is all you need for a wonderful dinner.
There are lots of lovely goat cheeses out there; look for a local one where you live. For this particular dinner, I'm partial to Humboldt Fog. (Scroll down for description.) It's got a chalky interior and a creamy exterior reminiscent of ripe brie. It's really good when it's slightly warmed; I put it on a serving plate and put it in the turned-off oven for a few minutes after the garlic's done.
TO ROAST GARLIC
The efficient way: Separate the cloves of as many heads of garlic as you like. For Ruth's dinner, at least one head per person. Put them in an ovenproof dish - I like ceramic, but a pie plate will do. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2-3 tablespoons of white wine over the cloves. Add a couple of sprigs of thyme or rosemary, and toss everything around. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover tightly with foil. Roast in a 400º oven until very very soft - 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the age of the garlic and the size of the cloves.
The pretty way: Remove the outer papery covering from as many heads of garlic as you like (see above), but dont' separate the cloves. Slice about a half an inch off the top of the heads.* Put the heads, cut side up, into an ovenproof ceramic dish. Drizzle the open tops of the heads with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Finely chop the leaves of a few sprigs of thyme or rosemary and sprinkle them over the garlic. Pour 3 tablespoons of white wine into the bottom of the dish. Season garlic with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover the dish tighly with foil, and roast in a 400º oven until very soft, about 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes.
Roasted garlic should be soft and starting to carmelize. Either squeeze the purée from each clove, or scoop it out with a knife to spread it on your bread.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TUESDAY 7 MAY 2002 link
Bacon of the Month Club.
Do I need to say more than that to make your mouth start watering? I only need to hear the title to want to join. A pound of bacon from a different artisanal smokehouse each month, delivered to your door. Here're some descriptions from the site:
Hempler's: Delicate texture, gentle flavors, sweet and very elegant. A bacon for nubile debutantes.
Bear Creek Hickory Bacon: A new favorite. Thick cut, meaty, smoky, intense and full of flavor. Luscious texture and perfect meat-to-fat balance. Yum!
Craver's Bacon: Dry cured and slowly hickory smoked. Great texture. Smoky, sweet flavor. Delicious, perfect balance of fat and meat. A near perfect slice.
The year's subscription is too much for me to shell out at once ($235), but you can also order one pound at a time. They are all available at The Grateful Palate. (Click on "The Bacons" in the left-hand navigation.)
This, my friends, is why the Internet was invented.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MONDAY 6 MAY 2002 link
I had the nicest weekend. My sister and her fiancé and one of their friends came down to Santa Cruz to go to Long Marine Lab and then came over and had dinner with me, Catherine, and our friend James. It was so much fun to hang out with them, and dinner turned out well. It did make me realize that we need one of those outdoor fireplaces. It was cold!
We had grilled chicken, grilled asparagus and spring onions with salsa verde, green salad, and bean salad. I promised I'd give James the recipe for the bean salad, so here it is. It's another one of those recipes that only takes about five seconds.
ITALIAN WHITE BEAN SALAD
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 T. white wine vinegar
*2 12-oz jars of Annalisa cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
3 stalks celery, diced VERY FINELY
1 spring onion, quartered and sliced OR 1/2 red onion, diced
3 T. chopped parsley
Whisk the olive oil, mustard, and vinegar together in the bottom of a serving bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, and add more vinegar if necessary. If the salad is going to sit for a while before you serve it, be sure to taste and reseason just before you serve.
As with every recipe I give you, this one has endless variations. Chopped fresh herbs are an obvious addition. I often make it with lemon juice instead of vinegar, reduce the amount of oil to almost nothing, and then throw in a can of Italian tuna in olive oil (undrained). Use green onions instead of red, add a clove of garlic, use borlotti beans instead of cannellini, add some red bell pepper or capers or cornichons. Experiment!
* I used to ALWAYS cook my own beans for bean salads. Most canned beans are way too mushy to use in a recipe like this. Then I discovered Annalisa canned beans, an Italian import. They come in a jar and I buy them at my local natural food grocery. They are not mushy; they have enough salt and a good flavor and texture. They make bean salad about the fastest dish I can make. Look for them. If you can't find them, and you don't want to cook your own beans (which is the best way, of course!), experiment with different brands of canned beans. Some are obviously better than others. Westbrae Natural makes pretty good black beans.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
THURSDAY 2 MAY 2002 link
WHAT TO DO WITH TOFU
No matter how much you may want to try new things, doesn't it seem like you keep cooking the same few things over and over again? Every household has at least one standby dish, even though it may change from time to time. For a while, my standby was sauteéd boneless chicken thighs, as regular readers may remember. Well, right now my dependable, I-could-cook-it-in-my-sleep dish is tofu. It should have another name, but we just call it tofu. Here's what you do:
Heat 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Crumble a 16-oz package of firm tofu into the oil. Season with salt and pepper and let it cook. It should get nice and brown and fried-looking. This might take a few minutes; just keep stirring. While it's cooking, finely dice half of a big onion (or one small one) and a couple of cloves of garlic.* When the tofu has browned, add the onions and garlic and continue to cook for three or four minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of mexican seasoning** and then let that cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 cup of water and one can of whole black beans (drained and rinsed in a colander. Reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer until the water has evaporated completely - about 10 minutes. Serve with grated cheese and sliced avocados on the side.
*Right now, I'm using green garlic.
**I buy something called "Mexican Seasoning" in bulk at the natural foods store, but any regular taco seasoning will do.
This recipe has obvious places for substitutions and additions. A gigantic handful of roughly chopped cilantro is good, so is half a bunch of sliced green onions. In summer I've added fresh corn cut off the cob right at the end. Sometimes we leave out the beans, melt the cheese onto corn tortillas, and have this as tacos. Another nice accompaniment is cabbage salad - thinly sliced cabbage dressed with a tiny bit of olive oil, a squeeze of lime, some salt, and some cilantro.
We eat this at least once a week, and it hasn't gotten boring yet. Give it a try!
|
