Pickyfingers

Old School Baked Enchiladas

2011-11-17T21:29:00.000-08:00

I grew up on baked enchiladas. They aren't Mexican, but they are very much a Rancho Mexican or Cal-Mex staple. Although in general I'll do anything for green sauce, this is one time I like red.

This recipe involves a number of steps (and shortcuts), it can be pulled together in just over an hour if you're rushing, but it's better if you give yourself an hour and a half, or make the sauce and combine the filling the night before. Any sides can be prepared while they bake. The fillings are also totally flexible. When I make chicken stock, I bathe the poached chicken with the red sauce and fill the enchiladas with the chicken, caramelized onions and cotija cheese. For a great vegetarian meal, use the filling below. To go totally old-school, use shredded cheese, and maybe even a can of sliced black olives.

This recipe makes two lasagne pans of enchiladas, enough to feed a crowd, or enough for leftovers. You can easily halve the recipe, but one can of sauce isn't quite enough for a pan, so make extra sauce and freeze it.

2.5 cups crumbled cotija or shredded jack cheese
20 corn tortillas

Quick Red Sauce (adapted from Jaqueline Higuera McMahan's delightful California Rancho Cooking)
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive or canola oil
2 t crumbled Mexican oregano
1 t ground cumin
2 28-oz. cans Las Palmas mild red enchilada sauce
1 bay leaf
1-2 T brown sugar

Saute the garlic over medium heat for 1 minute till fragrant. Add the oregano and cumin, stir to combine and add a teaspoon of water. Stir again, add the red sauce and bay leaf, and bring to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes, and adjust flavor with brown sugar -- 1 T punches up the flavor, 2 dulls the inherent bitterness of the red chiles. Reserve sauce.

Vegetarian Bean Filling
1/2 yellow onion, small dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t chili powder
1 t cumin
1 t Mexican oregano, crumbled
1 t salt
1/2 red bell pepper, small dice or 1 4 oz can diced mild green chiles
2 cups cooked beans (pinto, black or your preference) or 1 16 oz can
1 cup frozen corn, thawed

Combine the above ingredients with 1/2 cup cheese and reserve.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. While oven is heating, line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and spray with a light coating of canola or olive oil. Overlap six tortillas across the pan, spary lightly with oil and continue to layer the tortillas. Place in the oven for ~5-10 minutes until they are no longer raw but are not yet stiff.

Create an assembly line: Place the stack of tortillas next to a shallow pasta bowl filled with ~1 cup of sauce. Next place a clean plate, and then a 9/13 casserole. Put a thin layer of sauce across the bottom of the pan.

Dredge a tortilla lightly with the sauce and place on the plate. Place 1/3 cup of filling down the middle, roll it up and place it seam-side down in the casserole. Continue with half the tortillas, placing 8 up the casserole and finishing with two on the side. Spread a cup of sauce over the rolled tortillas, being careful to pour along the sides and at the edges of the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Cover with foil and repeat with the second pan.

Place the pans in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Serve with crema Mexicana, creme fraiche or sour cream and the hot sauce of your choice. Put a gravy boat of extra sauce on the table for those who want more.

September 2011 Recipe Roundup

2011-10-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge fan of the Dinner: A Love Story blog; the recipes, the writing, the loving banter between husband and wife. When I read that the She in DALS had been keeping a log of their dinners for years, I decided that I had to so, as well. I was already deep into weekly meal planning (I have no idea how working families get dinner on the table without it), so it took little effort to commit the logs to a monthly note on my iPhone. I'd always intended to post these logs for my own use, so that I could refer back on a seasonal basis to see what had worked. But look at that, my logs go back to November 2010 and I've yet to regularly post. It seems a bit OCD to go all the way back, so I'm going to start today with September 2011, and hope to make this a regular thing. It was good month, filled with recipes worth making again.

1: Camp Tawonga
2: Camp Tawonga
3: Camp Tawonga
4: Picante w Friends
5: Labor Day: BBQ w Friends
6: Tuesday Recipe halibut w corn, potatoes and cherry tomatoes: A keeper! This dinner was outstanding.
7: BTS Night/Cook's Illustrated lentil and escarole soup: Another keeper
8: A&R out/Spaghetti w marinara and TJs Meatless Meatballs for MZ
9: Shabbat: Roasted skinless, boneless chicken thighs with artichokes, cherry tomatoes, capers and olives (a riff on a Donna Hay recipe, definitely a keeper!), couscous, caprese salad
10: BBQ w Friends: grilled Bi-Rite merguez and chix-apple sausage, lentil-brown rice risotto, smitten braised Romano beans (delicious!), butter lettuce-roasted corn-nectarine-toasted almond salad w mint chutney buttermilk dressing
11: Baked farfalle w ricotta and fresh tomatoes: a riff on this, using ricotta, and adding a pound of roasted roma tomatoes in place of both the broccoli and the chickpeas. Very popular!
12: Maya Kaimal tikka masala simmer sauce with Whole Foods frozen vegetable medley and leftover chicken over basmati rice, w cucumber-scallion raita: This might be MZ's favorite meal right now
13: Mana & Papa grilled tuna, served it with broccolini and roasted potatoes
14: New Chinese place on Monterey is just okay
15: Family dinner w Bubbe: Grilled salmon, soba noodles, stir-fried napa cabbage, bittman's sesame soy tomatoes (outstanding!)
16: Papa's rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes w Cook's Illustrated pan gravy, leftover Romano beans
17: A&R out
18: Dinner with Friends after apple picking
19: shesimmers spicy apple tomato salad w leftover chicken and romaine (great transformation to an entree salad)
20: A&R out/Mana & Papa take MZ to GFC
21: Tri-tip over Food Blogga Warm Quinoa Corn and Arugula salad (added cherry tomatoes, and blue cheese FTW!)
22: TJs veggie burgers and Whole Foos mahi mahi burgers w napa cabbage slaw w apples, carrots, scallions in Penzey's Green Goddess Dressing
23: Shabbat: Dinner Files Manti lamb pasta (over farfalle! this was delicious!), green salad, challah w honey
24: A's Work BBQ
25: Spaghetti dinner at Friends'
26: Indian Slow Cooker Punjabi curried kidney beans w basmati rice, napa cabbage stirfried 5 Spices, 50 Dishes-style -- except I added 1/2 chopped red onion. MZ devoured this dinner!
27: A&R out: Opportunity Fund Taste of Microfinance event
28: Erev Rosh Hashanah family dinner: Paulie's Pickling pickled herring, chopped liver, and Zesty Original dill pickles; Bubbe's brisket, mashed potatoes, string beans, honey cake
29: Rosh Hashanah, SM's birthday dinner: Foreign Cinema
30: Cod Puxa Vida w Vallarta beans and rice: this sauce is incredible!

Other successes:

wee cranberry bran muffins came out great this way
three many cooks BTS granola bars made nut-free with pepitas and coconut: next time I'd whir the oats in a food processor for a few seconds before assembling
America's Test Kitchen slow cooker applesauce
Oven-roasted roma tomatoes roasted by the flat-full and frozen to last the year
Bistro Cooking's Maggie's Peppers (a late summer favorite)

Healthy Snacks: Granola Bars and Fruited Bran Muffins

2011-09-25T23:10:00.000-07:00

MZ's school hosted a Lunchbox Cafe as part of its Fall Festival, where parents brought favorite healthy lunch items to share ideas with others. The table was full of interesting items: carrot and hummus sandwiches, quinoa cakes with avocado, popcorn sprinkled with nutritional yeast. I made two items that went over well, the granola bars with the school crowd and the muffins with MZ.

Thank you for your great work organizing and hosting the table today, it was such a good idea and so much fun in practice! Am I confused? Am I supposed to be sending these to you? Please let me know if they should go somewhere else.

Granola Bars with Pumpkin Seeds, Chocolate, and Dried Cranberries

I've tried several granola bar recipes at home, these have been the most successfully received and they easiest to make. Some call for a lot of butter or oil, or peanut butter as a binding, or eggs, which make them more likely to spoil. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's both carry organic condensed milk. These bake up into a chewy bar, and they freeze well, if one pan is more than you can use. Adapted from "Back to School Granola Bars" at the Three Many Cooks blog. Makes 20-24 bars

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup ground golden flax seed
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup semi-sweet chips or chocolate chunks (about 3 ounces)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (substitute cherries, blueberries, raisins or chopped dried apricots)
1/4 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened (optional)
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-9" square baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with two strips of parchment paper, with at least 2" of paper up over the rim on all four sides of the pan (this will make it much easier to remove the bars after baking). Spray parchment lining lightly with vegetable cooking spray.

Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add condensed milk and stir thoroughly. Turn into prepared pan and, using a spatula, firmly pack into pan, filling the corners and leveling the top. Bake until golden brown about 30 minutes.

Transfer pan to freezer to cool. When firm, use the parchment paper "handles" to remove the bars from pan. Use a long, sharp knife to cut bar into 20 bars approx. 1 x 3 inches (you may need to run the knife under hot water to keep the blade clean, this helps keep the bars in one piece). Store in an airtight container up to 1 week, or wrap in wax paper and place in a ziplock bag to freeze up to one month.

Gluten free variation: Substitute 1/2 cup rolled oats that have been finely ground in a food processor for the wheat bran, or use 1/2 cup ground flax meal.

Fruited Bran Muffins

This is barely a riff on a recipe from Weelicious, except that we've been experimenting with the flavors. MZ prefers chopped crystalized ginger or dried blueberries to the cranberries she uses, and we also added coconut. I'd like to try it with grated apples or chopped dried cherries. If using grated apple (or carrots or zucchini), I would squeeze out the liquid. This makes a very loose batter, but bakes up to a tender, not overly sweet muffin. Makes 15 full size or 40 mini muffins.

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c wheat bran
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 c buttermilk
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup mild-flavored vegetable oil such as canola
1 cup dried cranberries, blueberries, chopped dates or chopped crystalized ginger
1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, whisking to combine. In a smaller bowl, lightly beat the eggs, then add the rest of the liquid ingredients. Whisk to combine. Slowly fold the wet ingredients into the dry flour mixture. Add the cranberries and coconut and stir lightly to combine.

Pour batter into a greased muffin tin or use baking cups, filling each 2/3 of the way up. Bake 14 minutes for mini muffins or 20 minutes for full-size muffins. Cool on a baking rack and serve.

Post-Caprese Tomatoes

2011-09-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

Our family doesn't typically get sick of tomatoes. We wait impatiently for tomato season, then gorge ourselves on heirlooms, cherries, roasted San Marzanos... In those heady early weeks we savor our tomatoes thickly sliced and topped simply with salt and pepper, or on a bagel with a light smear of good cream cheese. Then comes the basil, oil and vinegar treatment, augmented occasionally with some fresh mozzarella or sweet corn. Really, we can do this 2-3 times each week and never get tired of the tender sweetness of a perfectly ripe tomoto.

But this year I bought a flat of heirlooms that did us in. I couldn't look at another basil leaf, I thought I was done. Fortunately we were rescued by the redoubtable Mark Bittman, who offered up this Asian take on tomato salad.

Sesame-Soy Tomato Salad

Slice 4-5 heirloom tomatoes 1/4-1/2" thick and arrange on a platter. Combine 1.5 tablespoons toasted sesame oil with 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and drizzle over tomatoes. Finely slice 2 scallions, sprinkle over tomatoes and serve.

Spicy Green Apple Salad

This recipe is a brilliant intersection between North American summer and fall, from the shesimmers.com blog -- a gorgeous blog with wonderful recipes, very much worth checking out. We made this salad with San Marzano tomatoes from our farm box and apples from our Rosh Hashanah foray to Petaluma's welcoming Chileno Ranch.

She recommends this salad as a topping for grilled or pan-fried fish. We added shredded leftover rotisserie chicken and a chopped heart of romaine and enjoyed it as an entree salad, topped with the recommended chopped cashews. Delicious! Makes about 2 cups without the added chicken and lettuce.

1 medium Granny Smith, Gravenstein or other very firm, tart apple
1 medium shallot
3-4 roma tomatoes, cut into ¼-inch dice
lime juice, to taste
fish sauce, to taste
dried red pepper powder or chili flakes, to taste
2-3 T of chopped cilantro leaves
¼ c coarsely chopped roasted cashews (optional)

Put 2-3 cups iced water in a bowl; keep the bowl handy. Core the apple and cut it in half. Slice each half lengthwise into thin slices. Make stacks of 4-5 apple slices and cut them lengthwise again into thin matchsticks. Soak the apple matchsticks in the prepared iced water.

Thinly slice the shallot lengthwise. In a mixing bowl, toss together the shallot slices, tomatoes, the well-drained apple matchsticks, and cilantro. Season to taste with fish sauce, lime juice, and dried red pepper powder. Serve immediately.

Shrimp with Green Beans in Coconut Milk

2011-08-31T23:44:00.000-07:00

This dish is adapted from a Ken Hom recipe and another found in Anita Loh-Yien Lau's Asian Greens. The Ken Hom recipe has been a favorite every time I've made it, so I adapted that sauce to the ingredients I had on hand. The addition of the shrimp paste really made it, MZ devoured the green beans, R bogarted the shrimp and I was satisfied with the whole dish: the lovely pale yellow sauce contrasted with the green beans, the aromatics and the soothing flavors.

I used a bag of frozen white shrimp from Ikea of all places, an impulse buy for sure. What exactly is the carbon footprint of those shrimp, I dare ask? They were fully cooked, making this dish a snap to prepare in just 20 minutes.

4 large shallots, peeled and finely diced
1 pinch chile pepper flakes
1/2 t Thai shrimp paste
1 T coconut, vegetable or peanut oil (if there isn't enough coconut cream in the can)
1 lb green beans, trimmed and cut to 1.5" lengths
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1/4 t salt
1/4 t tumeric
1 t sugar
1 T fish sauce
1 lb large bay shrimp, cooked

Open the can of coconut milk -- do not shake before opening. If there is any thick almost-solid cream at the top, place that in a warm broad saucepan. Substitute oil as needed to reach ~1.5 T. When the coconut cream is melted, add the shallots, chile pepper flakes and shrimp paste. ry till fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the green beans, sugar, salt and tumeric and stir to coat. Stir-fry about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, bring to a simmer and cook until the beans are to your liking. Add the shrimp and fish sauce, stir, and simmer till the shrimp are fully heated.

Serve with mounds of white or brown rice.

Quinoa and Smoked Trout Cakes

2011-06-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

I made these for a wine tasting party, they were meant to pair with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and they didn't disappoint. The doubled recipe made so much, I served them at a dinner with some girlfriends and again to my family. Three turns, and they were gobbled up each time. I served them with a dipping sauce that varied a bit each time, but was generally a mixture of mayonnaise, nonfat yogurt, salt, lime juice, chile powder, smoked paprika and cumin. Worked every time.

This is loosely based on two recipes, one from Food Blogga and the other from a new cookbook that is just wowing me right now: Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson of the wonderful 101 Cookbooks.

2.5 cups cooked quinoa, red or gold, at room temperature
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 t kosher salt
1.5 cups smoked trout, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup crumbled soft goat cheese
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 serrano chile, veins and seeds removed, minced
4 T plain bread crumbs
1/2 t ancho chile powder
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients, stirring gently to mix. Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow flavors to meld and combination to set. Form into small 1" thick patties the size of crab cakes. Add an egg if they don't come together, or breadcrumbs if the mixture seems too loose.

Heat 2 T vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add as many patties as fit with room between and cook 4-5 minutes until the bottom is well-browned, flip and cook the second side for 4 minutes. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Kimchi Fest

2011-06-30T21:52:00.001-07:00

For some reason I got a bee in my bonnet to make kimchi this year. Not satisfied with one type, I made three in the course of one week, then took off on vacation while it "cooked" and came back craving a Korean grill-fest.

The first type was scallion kimchi. I saw a recipe for ramp kimchee, but at $25/lb., there was very little chance that I'd buy enough to yield a pound of greens. But scallions? Dirt cheap at the farmer's market, so I decided to give it a go.

Here's the recipe, not terribly traditional with the Aleppo pepper, but...
http://tigressinapickle.blogspot.com/2011/05/ramp-greens-kimchi.html

Once that was on the counter fermenting, I started thinking about the daikon and Napa cabbage we weren't going to get to before we left. I had ideas of making a Vietnamese bun bowl for dinner, but then w got a rain storm in June and that seemed less exciting.

I searched for recipes. David Lebovitz had one that looked tempting, till I noticed that more traditional recipes never call for rice vinegar. This one looks fabulous, a Steamy Kitchen guest post from Kimchi Mom complete with video, but with a grant due and a vacation to pack for, this was clearly more aspirational than realistic. I settled on the sauce and daikon prep from the Wandering Chopsticks recipe, with some Kimchi Mom influences.

1 large napa cabbage
about 1/4 cup kosher salt
1 T red pepper flakes, medium coarseness
2 T gochujang (Korean chili paste)
4 tablespoons fish sauce
3 t sugar
4 green onion stalks, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 T minced ginger (~1" piece, peeled)
1 T minced garlic (3-4 cloves)
1 medium carrot, julienned
1 8" piece daikon
water

Cut the daikon into 2" sections, reserve one piece and cut the remainder into 1" dice and place in a clean nonreactive bowl. Add 1-2 T salt and toss till well coated. Weight the top (I used a bowl with a can of beans in it) and allow to sit 3 hours.

Slice the remaining piece thinly lengthwise and add to the julienned carrot.

Cut the cabbage into four wedges, remove core and any discolored leaves, and cut into 2" pieces. Layer in a clean nonreactive bowl with a liberal dose of salt between each layer. Weight the top (I used a bowl with a can of beans in it) and allow to sit 3 hours

Just before the three hours is up, combine the sauce ingredients -- the pepper flakes through the minced garlic -- to make a sauce. Clean two jars that seal well and have a nonreactive top. I used an old caper jar for the daikon and a qt. jar for the cabbage.

Rinse the daikon well, squeeze out the excess water and return to the bowl. Add 1/4 of the sauce and stir well to coat. Add to jar but do not seal yet.

Rinse the cabbage in two changes of water, squeeze and add to the remainder of the sauce. Add the reserved daikon slices and julienned carrot. Stir and toss until coated thoroughly.

Do not clean the sauce bowl. Instead, add 1 cup water and 1 t salt. Stir to dissolve and pour over daikon until it's just covered. Pour remainder over cabbage, pressing cabbage down into jar.

Don't fill either jar more than 75% full, as the mixture will bubble and needs some air.

Seal both jars and set out on the counter out of direct sunlight for 24-48 hours to allow the kimchi to ferment, then put it in the fridge.

According to Kimchi Mom: After the first 24 or so excruciating hours, sample the kimchi. There should be a slight tang. At this point it is ready to be refrigerated. You can eat the kimchi right away, but I prefer to wait at least a week to indulge. The kimchi will continue to ferment at a much slower pace in the refrigerator and will keep for about 4 weeks. The kimchi will turn really sour at this point and if you have any left in the jar, it will be perfect for jigae, fried rice, ramen or jun.

Back pocket dinners

2011-05-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

Every parent needs a few back pocket dinners, something you always have in the pantry that comes together quickly that everyone will eat, for those nights when nothing goes to plan but yet the children must be fed. Restaurants often don't work on nights like these, because the parking and waiting variables can throw an off night into disaster territory. Some nights, I need to know dinner will be on the our table quickly and eaten, so I can get MZ up to bed without fear of throwing off tomorrow.

I keep a freezer full of frozen dumplings for nights like these, and as long as I don't serve them too often, I get the added bonus of being a complete hero for serving my family's favorite food. Boil some dumplings and some frozen edamame and dinner is on the table in 10 minutes. Little else is that quick, healthy and popular.

So when I read about Maya Kaimal's simmer sauces on DALS a few months ago, I made a note. I'm not usually a fan of jarred sauces, they're usually dull and viscous with way too much sodium and fat, not to mention the preservatives. These are refrigerated, so they actually have an expiration date, and the ingredients are pretty straightforward. And I trust DALS on the taste front, so on my shopping list they went.

I looked and looked for them. No luck at Whole Foods, Molly Stones, not even Rainbow Grocery. They stayed on my list, but I was losing hope. And then one day MZ and I found ourselves at the new Whole Foods - Haight and they were giving out samples of the Tikka Masala sauce with frozen peas, corn and carrots over basmati rice. And MZ LOVED it. She asked to go back for another sample. She asked me to buy all the ingredients and make it exactly the way they did. And R was on his way to China so I was all like, Yeah! Easy dinner, I'm in.

And DALS was right, dinner was on the table in 20 minutes with time to chat, wash hands, set the table. It was downright leisurely. I put on the rice, surreptitiously chopped and steamed some carrots because I had them, heated the sauce and then hung out with her until it was time to add the vegetables and serve. She scraped her plate clean and asked for more.

If I was really rushed, I'd use TJs frozen brown rice and all frozen vegetables and dinner would be ready in 10 minutes. But I'm already planning to try the coconut curry sauce for some frozen okra I have on hand from my gumbo foray, and that chicken and spinach with the tamarind sauce looks pretty good too. So grateful for another item to keep in my back pocket.

Four More Passover Keepers

2011-04-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

We went to a Passover brunch this morning, and my friend made the most delicious matzo kugel. It had pears and apricots and it was extremely satisfying in a Passover sort of way. I was really excited about it, and exclaimed, "This is great! I'll definitely be making this next year!"

That's the thing about Pesach recipes (other than matzo ball soup); gefilte fish, charoset, vegetables kugels, matzo granola, the newly discovered minas: no matter how much I enjoy them, there's no way I'll be making them again until the next Pesach. After Tuesday night, the soonest I plan to touch matzo is April 6, 2012.

But when that time comes, I want to remember these recipes. They are gooood.

Pear-Apricot Matzo Kugel: S. made this with pear instead of apple, and subbed some cardamom for some of the cinnamon (because she knows I'm not fond of cinnamon, how nice!). It's as close as you can get to a French toast casserole during Pesach. A keeper.

Matzo Minas: These were this year's big discovery. I caught this story on the NPR Facebook feed and couldn't wait to give it a try. According to the story, minas are also known as meginas or mehinas, they are a Sephardic matzo pies not unlike lasagna. I made two versions, and with the following adjustments, will happily make them again next year.

Mina de Carne

I've modified this recipe slightly to suit our tastes. It called for sugar but the carrot is more subtle and allows for more vegetable content. And draining the meat first really makes for a lighter dish. Makes filling for a 9-inch mina

1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground lamb
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 c finely chopped red onions (2-3 medium onions)
1 finely grated carrot
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t kosher salt, or more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c coarsely chopped flat leaf (Italian) parsley
1/2 c coarsely chopped dill leaves
One 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup crumbled feta (to spread around top of mina before baking)

Brown lamb in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, drain over paper towels. Do the same with the ground beef. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and add the chopped onions and 1 t salt; saute until soft and somewhat transparent, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the carrot, garlic, remaining salt and black pepper and cook until brown, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up meat. Lower to medium heat, add the chopped parsley and dill, and mix well. Cook 5 minutes.

Pour in the crushed tomatoes and mix well. Bring to a slow boil over high heat and cook 3 minutes, then lower the heat to medium and cook an additional 7 to 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Mix in the beaten eggs and proceed with the Basic Mina Template recipe.

Leek and Asparagus Filling with Dill and Lemon

This was delicious! I modified this recipe as well and it's a keeper! Makes filling for an 8- or 9-inch mina

2 T olive oil
4 to 5 small leeks, or 2 to 3 large, thinly sliced and washed free of all dirt
1/2 t salt

2 bunches asparagus, washed, tough stems snapped off and sliced into 1-inch lengths
1/4 cup dill, finely chopped
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Grated black pepper to taste
1 c cottage cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup crumbled feta (to distribute over the top of the casserole before baking)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium flame. Add the leeks, sprinkle with the salt and saute until they totally soften but do not color, about 10 minutes. Add the asparagus, cook for an additional minute until they just begin to turn bright green, then turn off the heat (they'll cook further in the oven). Add the mint and lemon zest, black pepper to taste and additional salt if needed. Let cool for a couple of minutes, then add the cottage cheese and eggs, stirring to combine, and proceed with the Basic Mina Template recipe.

Assembling the Mina

4 to 6 sheets matzo
1 recipe mina filling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and oil an 8- or 9-inch square casserole dish or it's equivalent (which will require more breaking and reassembling of matzo to cover).

Soften the matzo sheets, either by dipping them in a dish of water or running them under the faucet, until they are just starting to soften (you don't want to oversoak, or they'll become mushy). Set aside in a clean dish towel for about 5 minutes, then check to see that they have become somewhat bendable. If not, moisten them further and set them aside for another few minutes to absorb.

When the matzo is ready, cover the entire bottom of the baking dish with a layer of matzo (you will have to break some matzo in pieces to fill in the gaps). Gently spread half of the filling over the matzo. Top with another layer of matzo, then the remaining filling. For the above recipes, top with the crumbled feta before baking. Bake until the filling is hot and set, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool and set for 15 minutes, then serve.

And here is a dessert I'd make all year long, but it is absolutely wonderful for Passover. If this flourless chocolate cake roll cracks, just serve it up in a bowl topped with whip cream and call it trifle. My sister did, and we loved it.

Pesach Granola

2011-04-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

I find breakfast the toughest meal during Passover. Potatoes or quinoa at dinner make matzoh sandwiches easier to take at lunch, but nothing makes up for the loss of cereal, oatmeal, bolani and R's French toast during the 8 days of Passover. I can't drink a smoothie every day and KFP cereal is just blech.

But this -- this is delicious! It's adapted from a recipe that appeared in the J.'s FB feed a week ago. I adjusted the oil downward and modified the spices, nuts and seeds to suit our tastes. I can't believe how satisfying it is, I can't wait to try it with yogurt and blueberries tomorrow morning!

1 lb. matzah farfel
1/2 c. oil
1 c. brown sugar
1 stick butter
1 c. water
1/2 cup each: sliced almonds, chopped pecans, raw pumpkin seeds and unsweetened coconut
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cardamom
1/2 cup chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped dates

Melt butter with oil, water, and brown sugar. Add remaining ingredients through the cardamom. Spread on two jellyroll sheetpans lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, turning over every 15 minutes. The middle will stay slightly wet as the corners brown so be sure to move the mixture around the pan. After removing pans from the oven, use a spatula to mix the chopped cranberries and dates into the granola while it is still hot, right in the jellyroll pan. The dates may clump when you chop them, separate a bit as you add them and add in stages.

Allow to cool completely and store in a sealed glass jar, plastic or tin container. This recipe makes enough to share with your friends and family!

Egg and Gruyere Custard, Sorrel and Potato Soup

2011-01-16T21:06:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I haven't posted since November. Really?! There have been so many great recipe discoveries since then:

Dinner a Love Story's Sloppy Joes, Pork Chops with Mustardy Apples and Onions, and Roast Chicken with Brussels Sprouts (the last one so good that MZ requested it for her birthday dinner!)
Cook's Illustrated's Slow Cooker Lentil Soup
A Little Yumminess' Cheater's Tres Leches Cake
Roasted Leg of Lamb with this ridiculously good marinade
Dinner Files' Radicchio and Green Olive Salad (next time I'll add two minced oil-cured anchovies to the dressing)
Grilled chicken with Mark Bittman's Sauce au Chien

So it hasn't been lack of inspiration that kept me from posting, but pure unadultured business. I still haven't gotten all our holiday cards out, so really, I have no excuse for being here. But I don't want to forget these two recipes, two I've been fiddling with for quite a while and finally perfected.

Egg and Gruyere Custard
This started off as an Epicurious recipe, but it was so rich that only the most peppery acidic salad could get me through a slice. Plus it cried out for strata, for bread. This version, which I made this morning, was a keeper:

4-5 x 1.5" slices challah
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère (6 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped chives or scallions
4 ounces marscapone, ricotta or softened cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Lightly grease an oval casserole dish and fit bread into the bottom of the casserole. Whisk together the milk and marscapone till fairly smooth. Add the chives or scallions, 1/2 the cheese and nutmeg, stir and pour over the bread. Spread remaining cheese on top and allow to sit ~ 2o minutes or over night (if left overnight, the bread will practically melt into the egg mixture, a shorter soak will maintain a more layered custard).

Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake 30-40 minutes. The casserole will puff up and brown beautifully. Serve with a peppery salad and a bubbly wine.

Potato-Sorrel Soup
I've been making this soup for 21 years. Unbelievable! It's from The Greens Cook Book, the first volume from that venerable San Francisco establishment. I have a lot of favorites from this cookbook (from the classics -- the lentil salad, the Moroccan carrot salad -- to their own innovations -- Spicy Red Pepper Soup, Fettuccine with Saffron Butter, Spinach and Roasted Peppers, Eggplant Gratin with Saffron Custard, Chard and Saffron Tart, Tofu Salad, and their amazing Grilled Tofu), but this soup is an odd one. Made as the recipe dictates, with water, it is a dull, cloudy mess. Add some vegetable or chicken stock, and it comes alive. But add the Kitchn's Cheese Stock (made with parmagiana rinds) and it is truly remarkably delicious. Put a poached egg on it? I could practically eat it for every meal.

4 T butter
1 recipe cheese rind stock, plus additional vegetable stock to make 6.5 cups
3 leeks, white parts only (~8 oz), halved, rinsed and cut into 1/4"half-circles
4-6 oz sorrel leaves (~6-8 cups), stems removed and roughly chopped
1/2 T salt
1.5 lbs red or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
4-6 eggs at room temperature

Melt the butter in the soup pot with 1/2 cup of water. Add leeks, sorrel and salt, cover and stew for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Remove lid and stir. The sorrel will have broken up and look somewhat slimy. It's okay.

Add the potatoes and cook another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in cheese stock and additional liquid, turn heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Stir, lower heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

About 5 minutes before serving, poach an egg for each person eating. Taste the soup and adjust salt. Ladle soup into a bowl, top with a poached egg and a generous grinding of pepper, and serve.

A 3-Kid Hit! Udon Soup with Turkey Meatballs

2010-11-27T20:45:00.000-08:00

You would think that we wouldn't want anymore turkey this weekend, but here it is Saturday and we're having turkey already. But turkey in a very different form, one that was a huge hit with all three kids at the table, and with the adults as well. This recipe is a riff on one from Sarah Marx Feldner's A Cook's Journey to Japan, which appeared on the fabulous blog The Kitchn last week, combined with a standbye originally riffed from a Donna Hay recipe.

This is slightly more complicated than my typical weeknight fare, what with the mixing and shaping of the meatballs, but it is definitely going into the regular rotation for nights when we have a but more time, but want something warm and soothing.

For the meatballs:
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 scallions, sliced thin
1 t minced ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon shichimi togarashi, or to taste
1 lb ground turkey
2 T matzo meal

For the soup
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
4 coins ginger
2 T white or dashi-style miso
3 cups sliced Napa cabbage, white stems separate from the leaves
3 scallions, thinly sliced
5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup hot water till softened, de-stemmed and sliced into thin strips
2 T soy sauce

4 packets udon noodles (fresh or frozen) without seasoning packet*

Make the meatballs: Combine the egg and seasonings ingredients in a small bowl. Add the turkey, mix to combine, add the matzo meal and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Cook the noodles: Bring a pot of water to boil and cook one minute less than package instructions suggest, about 4 minutes. Drain, rinse, and drain again. Set aside.

Make the soup: Combine the broth, water and ginger coins and bring to a simmer. Add the miso, stirring until it dissipates into the liquid.

Meanwhile, form the turkey mixture into small 1 teaspoon balls, placing on waxed paper or a plate after forming.

Reduce the broth mixture to medium and add the meatballs. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook 4 minutes. Add the cabbage stems and cook 1 minutes, then add the cabbage leaves, scallions and udon. Cook 1 minute more to heat through.

Serve garnished with gomasio or shichimi togarishi.

* I buy udon in 3-packs from the refrigerator section at Nijiya Market.

Smitten Kitchen's Zucchini, Ham and Ricotta Fritters

2010-10-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

Fritters? Latkes? Pancakes? Whatever you call them, these are delicious! Light, savory, they make a lovely brunch or light supper with an arugula salad, or probably any green salad but the peppery greens were perfect. Don't want to lose track of this one.

Best of Summer Recipe Roundup

2010-10-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

Although summer was crazy, with fewer opportunities to cook than I would like, several recipes joined our list of favorites. Summer 2010 will go down as the year we realized we like zucchini, that we can't keep up with a farm box, and that you really can't have too much baba ganoush.

Simple Steamed Zucchini
Up to now, most of our go-to zucchini recipes have involved a lot of spice. We all thought we really disliked the taste of plain zucchini. But it turns out that simply steamed zucchini is a treat! The key is avoiding those bitter one, one bite of bitter zucchini can ruin us for the whole summer, delicate squash flowers that we are. Look for smooth-skinned, straight or gently curving squash. If it has bulges down the body, that means it was watered irregularly and it's bound to be bitter. Then cut it in 1" half moons, or quarters if they are larger squash. Lightly oil your steamer pan, add the squash, sprinkle with kosher salt and crumbled oregano and steam a few minutes till done to your preference. We actually like ours slightly soft rather than perfectly al dente. The squash gets a lovely creamy texture that pleasantly surprises us each time.

Pesto Trapanese (Tomato-Almond Pesto)
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

When I saw this recipe, I was smitten with its simplicity -- wonderful summer ingredients, no cooking, and a nice change after weeks of traditional pest. Plus I am guaranteed to love anything with pecorino cheese and I had lovely roma tomatoes from our farm box that needed using and about a handful of basil that hadn't yet wilted. We gobbled it up, but to our tastes it needed something, a little contrast to the rich almonds, olive oil and cheese. I added a touch of vinegar at the end and also ground the almonds more finely. They don't break up the way pine nuts do. Here's my modified dish, no longer very traditional but it's won rave reviews.

3/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 large handful fresh basil leaves
2 to 3 large garlic cloves
Several sprinkles of sea salt
Several grindings of black pepper
8 ripe plum tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup grated Pecorino
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 t red wine vinegar

1 pound linguine or spaghetti

In a small skillet, toast the garlic cloves *in their skins* until they take on light brown patches on all sides. Allow to cool, then peel. Place the basil inside a folded piece of wax paper and pound lightly with a meat tenderizer.

Grind the almonds in a food processor until they are somewhere between a grain of shortgrain brown rice and good-sized breadcrumbs. Add the basil, peeled garlic and a few pinches of sea salt into the food processor and chop. Add the tomatoes, cheese and olive oil and whirl briefly. Season with freshly ground black pepper and the vinegar.

Cook the linguine until it is al dente. Reserve one cup of pasta cooking water and drain the rest. Immediately toss the hot linguine with the pesto and mix quickly so that it drinks the sauce up a bit, adding more pasta water if needed. Serve with freshly grated pecorino and a glass of wine.

Israeli-style Baba Ganoush

Pierce the skin and roast one globe eggplant till it is very soft, either in a 500 degree oven or over a grill. This can take as long as one hour, but it is totally passive, you can do it while you're eating dinner and the rest of the recipe comes together in minutes.

Make a deep slit in the flower end of the eggpant and allow it to drain in a colander in the sink for ~10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a small cast-iron or other heavy pan over medium-high heat. Toast 2 unpeeled garlic cloves until the skin is browned on all sides. Cool and peel.

Scoop the eggplant flesh away from the skin, removing any large seed clusters and place it in the bowl of a food processor. Add the garlic cloves, 1/2 t salt, 1 T lemon juice, and 2 T mayonnaise. Whirl it till it's smooth, maybe 4-5 long pulses. Adjust the balance of lemon and mayonnaise until you are satisfied, then enjoy garnished with chopped parsley and a drizzle of flavorful olive oil, or keep on hand for a quick snack when you are too ravenous to cook dinner. Better yet, make something for dinner like lamb burgers or garbanzo patties and serve the baba ganoush alongside in a whole wheat pita.

Ravioli with Corn, Spinach and Pancetta

This recipe is based on a recipe from one of my favorite, food blogs, Dinner: A Love Story. I've been happy with every recipe I've cooked from this blog (and their Time for Dinner cookbook is fantastic), but that doesn't mean I don't fiddle a bit, and here are the results, a perfectly easy after-work meal that takes very little prep. Even MZ liked it, once she could be convinced to try everything on one fork full instead of plucking out various ingredients with her fingers. This recipe handily serves 4 people.

1 lb. fresh cheese ravioli or 1/2 bag dried cheese ravioli*(TJs)
1/2 T olive oil
1 package diced pancetta (TJs)
1/2 large onion, diced
Freshly shucked corn from 2 ears or 5 oz (1/2 bag) frozen white corn
4 cups fresh spinach, leaves roughly chopped
1/2 cup finely grated parmigiano cheese
1 cup low sodium chicken broth

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and pancetta to the pan, stir and go change out of your work clothes. Then dice the onion and shuck the corn, if using fresh.

Generously salt the boiling water. Add the ravioli and cook for 15-16 minutes till a little more firm than al dente. If using frozen corn, add it to the water, stir, cook for 1 minute and add the spinach. Stir and drain into a colander with a mesh strainer.

Meanwhile, when the pancetta is crisp, remove it from the pan and discard all but 1 T of the oil/fat. Saute the onion. Add the drained ravioli mixture and the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Stir in 1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese and a generous grinding of black pepper. Serve with additional cheese.

*These are a matter of personal taste. I prefer fresh but I do think these little raviolis have a flavor all their own, their size is nice here and they couldn't be more convenient, although keep in mind they take almost 20 minutes to cook.

Fusion Bolognese

2010-09-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of Ken Hom, I own several of his cookbooks and find that his recipes come out dependably well. One of my favorites is an out of print Chronicle Books book, the first of the Quick & Easy series I love so much. This recipe is based on his "Fast Spicy Meat Sauce for Noodles," which I made several times before R suggested that it would be even better with tomatoes. Then MZ announced that the sauce was too spicy and sweet for her and it changed again. This is a super-easy, fast and very satisfying dinner, we like it served over dried Chinese noodles along with a salad or a quick stir-fried vegetable. R and I add chili garlic sauce at the table to bring it up to our spice preferences.

1 T vegetable or peanut oil
3 T coarsely chopped green onions
2 T coarsely chopped garlic
2 T finely chopped fresh peeled ginger
1 lb. ground beef (94/6 works well here)
1 T bean ground bean paste
1/8 t chili garlic sauce
1 T dark soy
2 T rice wine or dry sherry
2 T hoisin sauce
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 t salt
1 t sugar
1 28 oz can ground tomatoes, or diced tomates whirled with a hand blender till coarsely pureed
1 T tomato paste

Heat a medium saucepan ove medium high heat and add the oil. Add the onions, garlic and ginger, stir and saute for 1 minute. Add the ground beef and stir and saute for 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve over noodles or rice.

Cumin Lamb Steaks

2010-07-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

This marinade is addictive, and worked great this evening with some simple soba noodles tossed with green onions, gomasio, soy and sesame oil and a riff on this zucchini, using a few tablespoons of the strained marinade along with the onions, ginger and garlic and a thinly sliced half of red pepper that needed using.

For ~1 lb. lamb steaks (cut from the leg of lamb), combine in a nonreactive pan:

1.5 T Shaoxing wine or sherry

3 T light soy

2 T dark soy

1.5 T hoisin sauce

1.5 T cumin seed, toasted*

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t minced ginger

1/2 t kosher salt

1/2 t chile oil (may substitute canola oil and 1 pinch chile flakes)

* Toast the cumin seed in a dry pan over medium heat till fragrant. Add directly to the other ingredients after toasting, the warm cumin will infuse the marinade.

Lay the lamb steaks down in the marinade, swirl around, turn over, swirl the other side and allow to sit 15-30 minutes before grilling the steaks. If using a stovetop grill pan, blot the steaks of any marinade so they sear properly instead of steaming.

Pasta with Chard, Pancetta and Tomatoes

2010-07-12T20:41:00.001-07:00

This dish was delicious! It's riffed on this recipe, I had pancetta and a bunch of chard and R wanted tomato sauce. I cut the chard the night before and it was a snap to put together after work, it took just 20 minutes with interruptions to greet the family. The recipe called for penne, but neither R nor MZ prefer that shape. We were out of rotini so I went for spaghettini -- not a traditional match but a house favorite.

1 bunch chard

1 T olive oil

1 package diced pancetta, or the equivalent amount of diced high-quality pancetta

1/2 red onion, diced to 1/4" pieces

1 pinch red pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated, plus more for the table

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut the chard leaves from the stems and rinse in a bowl of water. Cut the stems crosswise into 1/4" slices. Drain the leaves, cut them in half and cut crosswise into 1/2" strips.

Bring the pasta water to a boil. Heat 1 T olive oil on medium-high heat, add pancetta and saute 5 minutes. Drain all but 1 T oil off the pan and set pancetta aside. Add red onion to the pan and sprinkle with 1/2 t salt. Saute 2 minutes. Add chard stems and saute five minutes till onions have softened. Salt pasta water, add pasta and set timer.

Add red pepper flakes and garlic to onion mixture, saute 30 seconds and add chard leaves. Stir, saute five minutes. Meanwhile drain the canned tomatoes, reserving juice. Turn heat to high, add tomatoes, stir and saute until the tomatoes release some juice (about 3 minutes). Meanwhile, toast pine nuts.

Add tomato juice, 1/4 cup pasta water, 2 T parmigiano and pancetta to chard mixture, stir and saute 3 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Serve sauce over pasta, top with toasted pine nuts, grated parmigiano and a grinding of black pepper.

Drain pasta when ready,

Inside the Lunchbox

2010-07-12T07:53:00.000-07:00

And what do I feed MZ for lunch? My previous post outlined how I pack (protein, carb, veg and fruit, bento-style). I used to love leftovers but she does not, so most of these are "purpose-built" lunch items. Pesto, marinara, black bean soup and applesauce are made in batches and frozen in portion sizes, which means my freezer looks a bit similar to those days when I was making baby food in batches -- the ice cube trays are getting a second life (large ice cube trays from Daiso, 1 x marinara, or 2-3 x soup = lunch.

"Main dish" items include:

Sandwiches: tuna salad (with capers, celery and red pepper when I have time), egg salad, salmon salad (with sweet pickle relish and celery), tofu salad (Greens Cookbook recipe with capers). I'm trying to get her to eat a cheese sandwich, cream cheese/sunbutter and jam, or sunbutter/grated carrot sandwich, but no luck so far.
Hard boiled egg with seasoned salt
Smoked salmon and cream cheese pinwheels on lavash bread
TJs Baked tofu cut into "sticks" with hoisin sauce for dipping
Tofu dog or garbanzo burger with catsup
Salmon rice balls (onigiri with leftover rice and canned salmon)
Cheese quesadilla or veg refried beab and cheese mini-burritos (requires heating)
Mashed potato cakes with cottage cheese and parmesan (when we have leftover mashed potatoes)
TJs Edamame potstickers (heat and place in a heated thermos jar, they will be warm at lunch)
TJs vegan split pea soup, M. Bittman's quick homemade black bean soup (in the thermos, I avoid brothy soups because of the mess factor but the thicker bean soups work well)
Homemade marinara with w/w pasta or couscous and TJ's meatless meatballs
Cheese tortellini with pesto and peas
Sesame soba noodles with baked tofu cubes and green onions
Mac'n'cheese (make it in a rice cooker, freeze individual portions)
Hummus or edamame dip and carrots and/or pita/crackers
Cheese cubes, shelled edamame and crackers (she likes gruyere, gouda or parmigiano chunks)
Soy butter and carrot, celery or apple slices
Yogurt cup with granola to add
And here's a recipe for ham-n'cheese pinwheels that I've never tried

Veg sides include lightly steamed vegetables (especially broccoli, snap peas, string beans and asparagus) or raw cherry tomatoes, red pepper slices, cucumber circles, carrot, celery or jicama sticks, or frozen peas (which thaw by lunchtime and keep the lunch cooler) or nori seaweed strips (I use individually portioned seaweed packets as the big sheets get soft by lunchtime). She will eat cucumber slices dressed with rice vinegar, salt and ginger, but other than that she won't eat the veg if I "salad it up."

Some alternative side starches:

Newman's Own spelt pretzels
TJs lentil curls "crackers"
Kashi multigrain crackers
TJs soy-flax rice crackers
Nori seaweed-wrapped brown rice crackers (Nijiya Market in Japantown)
Pea Crisps
Potato salad (with leftover boiled or roasted potatoes)

"Treats" are usually store-bought because I'm not much of a baker, but if someone makes cookies, she'll see a few in her lunch:

TJs tapioca
Kozy Shack chocolate pudding
Fruit juice jello (homemade from knox gelatin package instructions)
Honey for dipping the fruit (usually apple)
Frozen applesauce cup or frozen "yogurt squeezer" (which thaw by lunchtime and keep the lunch cooler)
Yogurt-covered pretzels
Annie's fruit snacks or Clif Kids twisted fruit
Pop chips, TJs Baked "chee-tos" or Multigrain tortilla chips

Also, so far there is no ewww factor and the kids seem to introduce each other to new things (fortunately not Lunchables), although a number if not all the girls in MZ's class swore off grapes for a while this year. A sign of group think to come, I'm afraid...

Please share what your kid loves, I get bored of what I make.

Packing School Lunches

2010-07-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

Last week on vacation I realized that for the next six weeks, I not only need to pack MZ's lunch, but also 1-2 snacks per day, depending on who she's with that afternoon. Ugh, she'll need a backpack just for her food! On the upside, none of the camps are dairy kosher, so she can finally have her beloved turkey sandwiches.

When I got home, there was an email from a member of my mom's group asking about packing lunches for K. Many of our local preschools serve lunch, so this thing I've been doing for three years is new for some of my friends. I realized I have quite a system down, and thought it might help others who are facing this challenge for the first time.

I hate packing lunch, because it's monotonous. Our situation is complicated by MZ's school's dietary requirements (no meat, nut free); since we don't eat vegetarian more than 1-2 times per week, I have to make special items for her lunch (none of that arrabiata sauce with pancetta for her, must make marinara). But I do have a livable routine down, starting with planning out the lunch menu on Sunday. It's a loose plan, but it helps me maintain a grocery list and gives me something to refer to on brain dead nights. Each evening, more or less, I talk with MZ at dinner about a firm menu for the next day, and prepare whatever I can (sandwich filling but wait till morning to put it together) while R cleans the dishes. When I wait till morning to decide on and make lunch, I always regret it. I've got lunch-making down to about 10 minutes, but there's no extra minutes in our morning routine.

Lunch consists of a protein, a starch, a veg, a fruit and either a relish (various pickles, olives) or a treat (tapioca pudding, packaged applesauce), and a half-thermos of milk or kefir. I try to shoot for zero waste but I don't have the same schedule flex that I used to, so there are some packaged items like cheese sticks, yogurt squeezers and fruit mashables. I pack bento-style, using the sections in Lock&Lock containers and/or silicone cupcake liners to separate portions, tucking in a few olives or a Babybel cheese to fill gaps. Inspiration here: http://lunchinabox.net/

As far as equipment, I've settled on some pieces that work really well for us:

Various sizes of the Lock&Lock plastic containers, which are made of "good" plastic, come in "section-able" configurations, do not leak and are easy to open;
Small sturdy plastic containers available at Kamei on Clement;
The Thermos brand squat 10 oz container for hot lunches and the tall, slim 12 oz for cold drinks (Foogoo or Funtainer depending on branding, available at Target);
The "wrapnmat" for sandwiches;
Wax paper bags for items that need to be heated in a microwave, such as quesadillas -- our preschool did this for the kids but I don't know if that will be an option in K.
Daiso in Daly City and Ichiban Kan in Japantown for cute sauce and relish containers and fruit vegetable/picks, as well as decorated foil for wrapping up items that don't need microwave heating (maybe quesadillas this year?)
Mini reusable "blue ice" cooler packs (available at Target or Daiso) to keep it all cool.

There are a few items I've looked into but haven't purchased:

Stainless steel containers at Daiso -- the sizes are somewhat limited but several preschool friends use them
I covet this stainless steel set, the Kids Konserve metal lunch kit.
Two newer products that are interesting: the Go-Green Lunchbox and the Easy Lunchboxes set
Reusable Bags is also a great source for lunch equipment including the Lock&Lock line.
Daiso in Daly City and Ichiban Kan in Japantown carry many cool bento boxes. I've avoided them because of the type of plastic, but YMMV.
Bernal Parents Group and preschool parents report that the Laptop Lunch kit leaks, so I've avoided it.

For lunch boxes, none are as well made as the Hannah Andersson ones, which go on sale near the start of school, but our entire family uses the built Gourmet Getaway large neoprene tote, because it is light, washable, colorful, insulated and the size is super flexible (the standard lunchbox size does not easily accommodate a thermos of milk and a thermos of hot lunch).

This year I would like to do something that a Bernal parent suggested, she made flash cards of all the lunch options in a given category, and the night before, she would have her kids choose from each category, and she would put the lunch together after they went to bed. As they got older, they would assemble more of the lunch based on what they picked out. I love this idea, but I've never had time to make the flashcards so who knows if I will ever do this. But what a great idea!

Cherry Mojitos

2010-06-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

Sneaking in at the outer edge of cherry season to archive this delicious recipe from last year. The thing I love about mojitos is that they aren't that sweet, so this isn't a proper mojito, but it is a *delicious* cocktail.

You can muddle each cocktail individually, or for a cocktail party, muddle a batch of cherries and mint and dollop it into the glass with the rest of the ingredients.

For four cocktails you'll need
15-20 pitted ripe Bing cherries
8-12 fresh mint leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
2 t granulated sugar*
4 oz. lime juice (~2 limes)
8 oz. white rum
8 oz. club soda

Divide the cherries, sugar, lime and mint in highball glasses. Muddle together until cherries are well combined and mint leaves are well torn. Add crushed ice to the top of the glass, add the rum, stir and topw ith club soda. Garnish with mint and enjoy!

*Although superfine sugar is more traditional, the granulated sugar helps to grind up the cherries. I use organic cane sugar.

Benedictine and Strawberry Refrigerator Jam

2010-06-23T22:27:00.001-07:00

Two quick, easy recipes for produce that seems to accumulate by season: cucumbers and strawberries.

Benedictine is a cucumber cream cheese spread from the Southern United States, and I can't wait to try it on a bagel with smoked salmon! So easy, the perfect way to use up those last two Persian cucumbers before they spoil. I made mine with scallions because that's what I had around, I like the flavor and it adds to the green hue:

2-3 Persian cucumbers, peeled and cut into chunks
2 T chopped scallions
8 whipped cream cheese
1/2 t salt

Process the cucumber and onion in a mini food processor till smooth. Strain mixture, shaking the strainer over the sink to drain off excess liquid. Stir cucumber mixture into cream cheese and serve as a sandwich or with bagels and smoked salmon.

Refrigerator strawberry jam is just ridiculously easy. The trick, in my opinion, is the sugar, most recipes call for too much, but even the sweetest strawberries need some sugar to make jam work. I had a scant 4 cups strawberries so I used just 3/4 cup sugar. I use partially refined organic cane sugar, so it is still a bit brown and it has a lovely rich flavor. I buy it in the bulk food aisle but Trader Joe's is exactly the same. I also added ~1 t lemon juice to round out the flavors. I stirred the sugar and cut up strawberries together over medium heat, turned it up when the sugar began to melt and let it do a high simmer for 5 minutes, then I crushed the strawberries with a potato masher and poured it all into a freshly cleaned jar.

Delicious with yogurt, on toast or over ice cream.

Oyako Donburi Modified

2010-05-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

Oyako Donburi, or "mother and child ricebowl" is a huge favorite at our house. I've found that it's equally delicious, and exceptionally convenient, when I add vegetables to the pan in addition to the traditional onions, eggs and chicken. Everything is savory from the sauce and all we need is a pot of rice for a nutritious dinner.

I find the sauce in most recipes too sweet for our tastes, so this is dialed back a bit. Add 1/2 T more mirin and 1 T more sugar if you like a sweeter flavor. I serve it over short-grain brown rice; the rice takes much longer to cook than the oyako donburi, so if you want to make this after work, consider making the rice the evening before and reheating it for dinner. This recipe serves a family of four, but probably not four adults.

Last night I used diced leftover teriyaki chicken thighs, already cooked so I threw them in the sauce just before adding the egg. It was delicious!

1 T vegetable oil

1 yellow onion, cut into 1/4" quarter rounds

1/2 c thinly sliced carrot (on diagonal)

4 scallions, cut on diagonal and white and green parts separated

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced into 1/4" pieces

1.5 cup dashi or low sodium chicken broth

5 T soy sauce

2 T mirin

2 T sugar

1 T salt

4 shiitake dried mushrooms, soaked in warm water to rehydrate and sliced thinly

2 cups fresh spinach, torn or cut into 1-2" pieces

4 eggs, lightly beaten

Heat the vegetable oil in a 10" saute pan, saute the yellow onion, scallion whites and carrot till just softened. Add the chicken, stir, add the next six ingredients through the shiitakes and bring to a simmer. Cook 3 minutes, then add the spinach, stir and cook 2 more minutes until spinach is wilted.

Pour the eggs over the chicken and vegetable mixture in a steady stream. Spread 1/2 the green onions over the eggs, place the lid on the pan and cook approximately four minutes. Check the eggs to see that they're not too runny. When the eggs are done to your liking, place a scoop of hot rice in a bowl, add a wedge of the egg mixture, drizzle with sauce and top with green onions. Enjoy!

Chickpea and Chard Soup

2010-05-27T20:41:00.001-07:00

This soup is what happened when I couldn't decide between two different soups, Heidi Swanson's Chickpea Hot Pot and Eating Well's Aromatic Middle Eastern Soup.

My only complaint about the recipes on 101 Cokbooks is that they are often too sweet for us, and we all love the warmth of Middle Eastern spices. I had just this amount of bulgur to use, as well as a bunch of chard from our farm box so it was convenient, came together quickly and was absolutely delicious.

I had a number of lingering allium in the fridge, so I made this with a shallot, 1.5 leeks sliced into thin quarter-rounds, two spring onions sliced thinly and 2 stems of green garlic, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced. But that would be a high-maintenance recipe, and I think it will be equally delicious with the yellow onion and a shallot.

I made it the night before for a quick weekday dinner with salad and a loaf of crusty whole grain bread.

1.5 T EVOO

1 medium yellow onion, small dice

1 shallot, small dice

1 t each ground cumin, coriander

1/4 t each turmeric, salt, black pepper, ground ginger

1 pinch each cinnamon and aleppo pepper or chile pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced

2/3 cup bulgur

5 cups veg bouillon* or low sodium chicken broth

1 can chickpeas, drained

3 c chard, stemmed and cut into thin ribbons

1 T lemon juice

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, add onion and shallot and saute till just softened. Add spices and garlic, stir and saute 1 minute.

Add 1 T water, saute, stirring, until water evaporates, and add bulgur. Stir until bulgur is well coated with spices and oil, and add the broth, bring to a simmer, and add the chickpeas. Bring to a simmer.

Simmer about 10 minutes, until the bulgur softens. Add the chard, stir and simmer till chard is tender. Add lemon juice and serve. If you are waiting a day to serve, add lemon juice when you reheat the soup to prevent the chard from turning gray.

* This is an easy recipe that makes TONS of bouillon that keeps well and stays very spoonable in the freezer. It's completely revolutionized my veg cooking. Use 1 t for every cup of water.

Carrot Lentil Soup

2010-04-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

1.5 T EVOO
1 bunch carrots (or more), cut into pieces
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 rib celery, coarse dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 t ea toasted and ground cumin and coriander
1 t ea smoked paprika, ground ginger and salt
1/2 t black pepper, finely ground
1/4 t ea turmeric, cloves and cinnamon
Pinch cayenne
4-6 cups Chix or vegetable broth
Sherry vinegar or lemon juice
Creme fraiche (optional)

1/2 cup French, black or green lentils
1/2 onion, big dice

Heat EVOO in a heavy soup pot or dutch oven, add carrots, onions and celery, medium heat. Stir to combine. Cover and sweat vegetables ~5 minutes, until just softened. Add spices and garlic, stir to combine. Add 1-2 T water, stir to form a paste with the spices, saute until liquid reduces. Add 4-6 cups of broth, depending on amount of vegetables, and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, place lid askew, and simmer till vegetables are soft.

Meanwhile cook 1/2 cup of rinsed black or green lentils with the remaining 1/2 onion till just firm.

Puree the carrot mixture, add the lentils and season to taste with salt and sherry vinegar. Serve drizzled with creme fraiche if desired.

This is also good with browned, crumbled merguez, but then what isn't?

Maple Horseradish Glazed Salmon

2010-04-30T22:26:00.001-07:00

For 4-6 servings salmon, combine 2 t prepared horseradish, 1 t Penzey's Trinidad Style Lemon-Garlic Marinade, 2 t maple syrup, 1 t soy sauce, 1 t olive oil Pour over salmon fillets and bake or pan sear and spread over top of fillets and run under broiler to finish. If grilling, apply to top of fillets after searing both sides.

Eating low on the food chain

2009-11-15T08:43:00.000-08:00

We've been enjoying some outstanding vegetarian food lately, two from the redoubtable Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks, and two old favorites.

Last night it was cold, a real Fall evening. MZ took a long nap, we had work to do and by the time I realized we would need dinner, I also realized I hadn't made it to the meat market. I had all the ingredients for a recipe I'd been wanting to try, a vegetarian chili loaded with legumes and whole grains. It seemed the perfect dinner for a cold night, and lo, I also had all the ingredients for her lovely-sounding apple cake, thanks to a bag full of apples our neighbor dropped by.

Both recipes came out great, definitely something we'll make again:

Pierce Street Vegetarian Chili

I made it exactly per the recipe, using the recommended veg bouillon. For a garnish, I stirred 1 t lemon juice and 1 t salt into a bowl of nonfat Greek yogurt. It was delicious, although her oregano oil sounds pretty tempting, too.

Unfussy Apple Cake

This has a nice biscuit quality. I made it in a ceramic tart pan, and it took 35-40 minutes. I'm not fond of apples and cinnamon, so I used 1 t ground cardamom and 1/2 t ground cinnamon, but other than that followed the recipe exactly. Perfect with some agave-sweetened whipped cream.

These followed on the heals of two other winners, a surprisingly satisfying tofu-based onion "quiche" that we've enjoyed for years and a twist on the Greens tofu salad which is also a family favorite.

Brother Ron's Alsatian Onion Pie

This quiche-like pie comes from a vegan cookbook called Friendly Foods, by Brother Ron Pickarski, a Franciscan friar. Since I'm not vegan, there are certain time-consuming meat-imitating recipes in this collection that I'll never make, but so many recipes really shine that it's been worth packing and unpacking for the last 15+ years. I've made a few additions over the years, and this remains a favorite. It's savory and very satisfying, I don't miss the eggs and cream at all.

Right now I have a surplus of sweet potatoes from our farm box, so this time I quartered and sliced a small sweet potato, steamed it in the microwave while I sauteed the onions, and tossed it in. I also had chanterelles instead of shiitakes, so in they went. Both went beautifully with the other flavors. I usually use a frozen whole wheat pie crust, which increases the baking time, but if you make your crust and bake it in a tart pan, this will cook in just 30 minutes.

2 T vegetable oil

5 dried shiitakes, soaked in warm water till softened, stemmed and thinly sliced

3 large onions, quartered and thinly sliced

1 t minced fresh thyme

1 cup soy milk

2/3 cup firm tofu, crushed by hand

1.5 t kosher or sea salt

1/4 t black pepper, freshly ground

1/8 t nutmeg

2 T unbleached flour

1 T whole wheat couscous

1 whole wheat pie shell

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line the frozen pie shell with foil or parchment, and add pie weights. Bake 8-10 minutes, till the crust has browned just a bit.

Lower oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil on medium heat, add the onions and 1/2 the salt. Saute the onions till translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the thyme and mushrooms, stir and remove from heat.

Whisk the soy milk, tofu, salt, pepper, nutmeg and flour until smooth. Add the onions and the couscous, stir to combine and pour into the prepared pie shell. Bake for 40-55 minutes until filling is set. Test by pressing lightly with a knife, if liquid pools, bake longer.

Greens' Tofu Salad

This next recipe is another long-time favorite from a cookbook I've been carting around since my first apartment. I love this cookbook, the soups and tarts are delicious, as are the salads and sides. Far from vegan, The Greens Cookbook leans on cheese and nuts for protein and I tend to avoid the main dishes because they can be so heavy. There are only 2-3 tofu recipes, all of which are excellent. This tofu salad is wonderful on whole-grain bread. I've successfully substituted 1.5 T curry powder, some minced ginger and 1/2 t rice vinegar for the herbs, sherry vinegar and capers.

18 oz firm tofu

5 T bell pepper, finely diced

5 T celery, finely diced

4 T carrot, finely diced

2 T scallion or red onion, minced

2 T fresh herbs: parsley, thyme, marjoram or a combination

1/2 t Dojon or whole grain mustard

2 t capers or cornichons, chopped

1/2 c mayonnaise

1 t nutritional yeast (optional)*

Rinse tofu, then wrap in a clean kitchen towel and twist to wring out excess moisture. Place the now-crumbled tofu in a bowl and combine with the rest of the ingredients through the cornichons. Stir lightly, then add mayonnaise as needed until you reach the desired consistency.

Wonderful on a sandwich of whole grain bread with lettuce and sliced tomatoes. This keeps about one week.

Dinners Week of 11/8: Chicken Sweet Potato Curry!

2009-11-15T07:33:00.000-08:00

Shopping on Fridays means the week of menus starts on Fridays, ahh Shabbat, ahh the weekend. In these weeks of school tours, that time is more welcome than ever. Weeks are frantic right now with 2-3 tours eating into our work days and the constant catch-up that entails. We've been trying to keep it simple and healthy, and I've been relishing the chance to be more elaborate on the weekend.

Fri: Grilled steak, potato-stuffed pasilla peppers

Sa: Date night! Velvet Cantina is a good spot for groups

Su: Vietnamese pork chops, stir fried bok choy and brown rice

M: Out for meetings, MZ home with M&P

Tu: School Open House, Mac 'n' Cheese and Peas for MZ

W: Chicken Sweet Potato Curry* over Brown Rice

I made double the rice on Sunday to have some to reheat tonight

Th: School Open House, lamb steaks and string beans w Bubbe for MZ

* Chicken Sweet Potato Curry

I recently picked up Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express. It's organized by season, and touts 404 recipes that can be made in 20 minutes or less. More than a cookbook, it's really a series of ideas, it doesn't offer ingredients lists so much as a series of steps you might take in pulling dinner together. I thought I'd hate it, but I'm finding it really suits the way I cook. I find Mark Bittman's recipes tasty and dependable, and felt pretty confident leaving this for R to put together. I did all the prep the night before, and left the dry ingredients out on the counter along with a more detailed take on the recipe.

I'm the primary cook in our household, but R has been picking up Wednesday nights as my commute is so hideous. Truth be told, he has a much better palate than I do. When I came home, he had made the most delicious, comforting curry, and some significant changes to the recipe. This is definitely a keeper, and absolutely perfect for a chilly Fall or Winter night. I could eat this every week. MZ loved it, too. Yellow curry is mild enough for most kids, and the addition of fish sauce, ginger, lime juice and lemongrass peps up the prepared curry paste nicely.

This would be perfect with a cucumber and red onion salad, if you have time.

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1.5 cans coconut milk (do not shake the cans!)

3 T Thai yellow curry paste

1 can-full low sodium chicken broth

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced ~3/4" pieces

2 handfulls string beans, cut to 1" lengths

Juice of one lime (or more to taste)

1 T fish sauce

2 t. minced ginger

1 stem lemon grass, pounded and cut to 1" lengths (optional)

2-3 Keffir lime leaves, slivered (optional)

1 lb. chicken breast tenders, cut to 1" pieces

Open the coconut milk and heat a saucepan over medium heat. Skim the thick coconut milk from the top of the can and put in the saucepan. When it liquifies, add the onion and garlic and cook till just softened. Turn heat to medium-high and add the curry paste. Stir and fry till fragrant, about 60 seconds, then add the rest of the ingredients through the lemongrass, if using. Stir, bring to a simmer and cook 7-9 minutes till the sweet potato is tender. Add the chicken, stir and simmer 6 minutes. Adjust flavors, adding more lime juice or fish sauce as needed. Serve over brown rice.

Speedy Deliciousness: Miso Udon Halibut Soup

2009-10-12T13:47:00.000-07:00

This is so easy and so good we have it every few weeks. R and MZ put it together while I make my commute home, it takes all of 15 minutes. We buy organic fresh udon noodles without the soup base, I usually get them at Nijiya but I recently saw them at the SF CostCo in the refrigerator section. There are three servings to a package, which easily makes enough noodles for four. The noodles and miso have a long shelf life, so we always have them on hand. It would also be good with tofu or thinly sliced chicken breast, the recipe remains just as speedy (add the chicken a minute or two before you add the sliced greens). Great with shiitakes or other vegetables if you have the extra time, but the idea is to keep it quick so we try not to add too many flourishes. MZ loves it best with Napa cabbage and halibut, in general kids love the big fat udon noodles.

4 T white miso paste

2 t fish sauce

2 T soy sauce

6 cups warm low-sodium chicken broth

3-4 slivered green onions, white and green parts separated

1 lb firm fish such as halibut or rock cod, cut into bite-size pieces

Four good handfuls of sliced quick cooking greens such as baby bok choy, Napa cabbage or spinach

3 servings fresh udon noodles (see above)

Gomasio for garnish

Bring a medium pot of water to boil and cook udon noodles per package directions.

Meanwhile, bring chicken broth to simmer, add miso, fish and soy sauces and the white part of the green onions. Return to simmer, cook 1 minute and add fish and greens. Cook 2 minutes.

Drain noodles, place a serving in each bowl and ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with remaining green onions and gomasio and serve.

Zucchini Bread (sweet) and Zucchini Muffins (savory)

2009-08-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

I know it's summer when I'm desperate to find a good zucchini recipe. All through my childhood, summer meant lots and lots of squash, there was always more than most of us wanted to eat. I remember my mom's zucchini bread, zucchini soup, zucchini cake, zucchini in tomato sauce and a whole lot of steamed zucchini. So much of it that not a single one of those recipes holds any appeal.

Fast forward to adult me, an urban non-farmer but CSA subscriber. And yes, there is plenty of zucchini. None of us are that partial to it, but since I don't have pigs to feed, find a recipe I must. Here are two that are outstanding, thanks to the brilliant Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks.

The first is her "My Special Zucchini Bread" and it is without a doubt the best zucchini bread I've ever had. Gone is the cloying cinnamon dullness, replaced by curry powder and ginger, with poppy seeds, chopped nuts and whole wheat pastry flour for texture. It makes two loaves, so 1 stick of butter is pretty moderate in the fat department. I used almonds instead of walnuts and would half the amount of crystalized ginger next time, as MZ and others loved it for a few bites and then had enough. It's strongly flavored. With those few changes, I will happily make this recipe for as long as the zucchini lasts. This isn't a super-moist quick bread, but it goes down easy with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk. Delicious!

The second is a riff on two of Heidi's recipes, the Zucchini Ricotta Cheese Cake and the Cottage Cheese Muffins. I'm not fond of dill, and muffins work better for the quick meals we require around here. I'm also not as much of an ingredients purist. I've made this hybrid with almond meal, but since nuts aren't allowed at MZ's preschool, I use flax meal instead, hoping she'll warm to them as they would be perfect in her lunch box. These light, quiche-like muffins make a great breakfast, and an even better lunch lightly warmed with a crisp green salad.

Zucchini Ricotta Muffins

2 cups zucchini, unpeeled & grated

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 15 oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
4 large eggs, well beaten

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 T water

Preheat oven to 400F degrees, place racks in the middle of the oven. Line a muffin pan or two (this makes 18 muffins) with medium-sized silicon or paper baking cups.

In a strainer, toss the shredded zucchini with the salt and let sit for ten minutes. Wrap the zucchini in a clean cotton kitchen towel and wring out as much moisture as possible. Fluff lightly and set aside.

In the meantime, combine the ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, shallots, garlic and basil in a medium bowl. Stir in the eggs and continue mixing until well combined. Add the flour, flax seed meal and baking powder and stir lightly to combine, then add the shredded zucchini.

Fill the muffin cups with the mixture and place in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until set, slightly risen, and golden brown. Serve as hot or at room temperature. Makes 18 muffins.

Dinners Week of 08/09

2009-08-17T15:47:00.000-07:00

Sunday: Dinner out in Berkeley after Peter Pan

Monday: Korean Braised Tofu*, soba noodles and pan-roasted pimientos de padron and shishito peppers; blackberries, plain yogurt and brown sugar for dessert

Tofu recipe was a definite keeper, riffed off of a recipe from Quick and Easy Korean Cooking, from my beloved Chronicle Books series. The pimientos de padron have been running hot, so the folks at Happy Quail Farms suggested we buy Shishito peppers, which she described as "just like the padrons but never hot." "Really?" I asked. "Really," she assured me. Not so, they have a different, floral but slightly more bitter profile and much tougher skins. The padrons win hands-down.

Tuesday: Shrimp Egg Foo Young

We had been talking about old school childhood foods. Mana made a lightened up version with just eggs, shrimp, bean sprouts and green onions, and a light oyster sauce. It was delicious with brown rice.

Wednesday: Tacos los Altos with friends

Too hot to cook.

Thursday: Shrimp, Pea and Orzo Pasta, Green Salad and Banana Bread

Aunt D brought her A game for sure. I used the Cook's Illustrated Banana Bread recipe as usual, but replaced half the flour with w/w pastry flour. Absolutely the best ever.

Friday: Grilled flank steak, potato-stuffed pasilla and bell peppers**, cherry tomato couscous***

Shabbat dinner with friends combined with major fridge cleaning in anticipation of vacation. I came across the two sides recipes this week, each made ample use of something that needs using from the CSA box. Both were outstanding, totally worth making again. R LOVED the peppers, MZ went for the couscous salad.

Saturday: Zuni Cafe for our anniversary

*Korean Braised Tofu

This recipe should be quite spicy, but since MZ isn't there yet, I changed the recipe quite a bit and we added gochujang at the table. So this is hardly Korean at all anymore, but it is very very tasty. It was great served over soba noodles, but I really would have loved it with short-grain white rice.

1 block firm tofu

2 T canola or grapeseed oil

2 T warm water

1 t white miso

2 T soy sauce

1 T mirin

2 garlic cloves, minced or run through a garlic press

4 green onions, sliced thin on the diagonal

1 T sesame seeds

Wipe the block of tofu dry and slice the tofu into 1/2" slices. Set the slices out on a jellyroll pan lined with paper towels while assembling the rest of the ingredients. Pat the tofu slices dry on top and sides.

Heat a 10-12" nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and when it is very hot but not yet smoking, add the tofu slices. Brown on each side ~5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the warm water and miso, whisk, then add the remaining sauce ingredients.

When the tofu is browned on both sides, pour the sauce over and around the slices, flip any pieces with a lot of garlic on top, cover and turn heat to medium. Cook for 3 minutes and serve. Garnish with additional green onions for a shot of color.

**Potato-Stuffed Pasilla Peppers

Adapted from a recipe on the Happy Quail Farms website, this recipe reminds me of the best street tacos we've ever had, served from a cart in Mexico City's main Zocalo. The tacos included grilled steak, peppers and onions with a smear of mashed potatoes, topped with cotija cheese. They were so addictive we went there on our last night instead of someplace fancy. So it was a natural to serve this with grilled flank steak. Serves 6

6 pasilla or green bell peppers
5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup crumbled feta
salt and pepper
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350° and lightly spray a shallow baking pan that is big enough to hold peppers snugly together, holding each other upright (use balled up foil if they need propping). Slice the top (stem end) from each pepper and set aside. Keeping pepper shells intact, remove seeds and ribs. Arrange shells in prepared dish and bake while making the filling.

In a large skillet, over medium heat, sauté onion in olive oil while chopping the flesh of the pepper tops, discarding stems. Add peppers to pan and sauté while peeling and slicing the potatoes. Add potatoes and 1/4 cup water, cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring half-way through, until potatoes soften.

Remove from heat and stir in mustard, cilantro, feta, salt, and pepper. Remove partially baked pepper shells from oven and fill with potato mixture. Return to oven and bake, uncovered, until filling is golden brown and peppers are tender, about 25 minutes.

***Cherry Tomato Couscous

The perfect foil for high summer produce, this recipe came together easily, was ridiculously tasty when freshly made, and overnighted well in the fridge for a delicious cold salad the next day. I made very few changes: I used whole wheat couscous; I added 1/4 t Dijon mustard to the citrus juice mixture in the bowl prior to whisking in the EVOO to emulsify the vinaigrette; and I added three thinly sliced scallions (which, incidentally, were extremely popular with the 4 yos at the table). Another winner from 101 Cookbooks!

Dinners Week of 07/26

2009-08-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge: how to turn MZ into a chile head? I am craving good hot food, where the heat is cooked in rather than added at the end. But what would MZ eat? I know she could get used to chile if I made consecutively hotter dishes over a few intensive weeks, but I don't think she'd enjoy the ride. So I continue to dumb the recipes down, and hope that she develops an appreciating for the sensation of hot food on her own.

Sunday: Dinner at Friends' house

Monday: Grilled Lemongrass Beef Noodle Salad (Bun Bo)

Lemongrass-marinated grilled flank steak sliced over a layered salad of rice vermicelli, julienned zucchini, cucumber, shredded carrots, thinly sliced romaine lettuce, chopped mint, cilantro, Thai basil, green onions and crushed roasted peanuts. I marinated the meat, made the nuoc cham and prepped the veggies (all except the herbs) the night before. When I got home from work, I marinated the carrots and zucchini in the nuoc cham, boiled the noodles and chopped the herbs while R grilled the meat. MZ enjoyed hers deconstructed.

Tuesday: Grilled halibut, boiled new potatoes with butter, steamed broccoli

Wednesday: "Spicy" Grilled Chicken, "Spicy Eggplant with Tomatoes", Whole Wheat Chapati, Cucumber Raita

The chicken was from Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking, minus most of the cayenne. I made the marinade and put it in a zip lock with the chicken the night before. We received both eggplant and roma tomatoes in our farm box, so this quick recipe from 5 Spices, 50 Dishes was perfect. When I got home, I quickly cut up the eggplant and tomatoes. I added 1/2 t garam masala at the end to make up for the missing cayenne, thinking otherwise it might be bland. Definitely a make-again dish. The chapati, purchased from the frozen case at our local pan-Asian market, was an easy accompaniment. I made the raita from a diced cucumber and some yogurt and spices while the vegetables and chapati cooked. R and I added lime pickle for heat, MZ prefers the sweeter taste of tamarind chutney.

Thursday: Slow Cooker Tacos - FAIL

Wow, this estofado recipe did not work at all. When I started it in the morning, I thought it needed more liquid, but then thought more would be created as the pico de gallo salsa cooked down. R called me at 5 pm to suggest that it hadn't quite gone to plan, but was very polite and so I just thought it wasn't a lot of meat. It was shoe leather. Very salty shoe leather. We ate it in warm tortillas with a lot of sour cream and salsa.

Friday: Lemongrass Chicken, Asian Slaw and Judy D's fabulous Coconut Lime Rice

Angie's lemongrass marinade was outstanding! The chicken went really well with this new slaw recipe. I made brown Kalajiri rice in the rice cooker and stirred in a can of light coconut milk, some lime zest and the juice of one lime at the end. Also on the table: delicious heirloom tomatoes and good bread to start, grilled corn, teriyaki flank steak, edamame, and Mitchell's ice cream for dessert. A feast with good friends.

Saturday: Leftovers for MZ, NOPA for the adults

Asian Slaw

This recipe is based on the Ginger Pickled Red Cabbage Slaw in the China Moon Cookbook. I love this cookbook, but rarely have all her house-made pantry items on hand these days. To compensate for the lack of handmade pickled ginger, I added handfuls of fresh, tasty herbs and some carrots for contrast. This salad is gorgeous and tasty. It was great with grilled meats and hot rice, and would be good on a SE Asian-flavored burger.

2 T minced pickled ginger (sushi ginger)

1/4 cup ginger pickling liquid

1/2 cup rice vinegar

2 T sugar

1.25 t kosher salt

1 lb red cabbage, cored and cut into fine strands

2 medium carrots, grated

3 green onions, finely sliced on the diagonal

2 T each chopped mint, cilantro ad Thai basil

1 T black sesame seeds

Combine the first five ingredients in a nonreactive, shallow bowl. Toss with the cabbage. Toss again in 15-20 minutes, cover and refrigerate for a day, tossing occasionally. The mixture will turn hot pink. Just before serving, add remaining ingredients, reserving some sesame seeds for garnish. Serve.

Dinners Week of 07/19

2009-07-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

Robert away, but MZ and I ate well...

Sunday: Potato-Sorrel Soup and Heirloom Tomato Salad

A Greens recipe, completely violated by a bit of pancetta and low-sodium chicken broth. Potatoes from the farm box and sorrel from the garden!

Monday: Moki's with friends

Tuesday: Mission Beach Cafe for Barbecue Night! (MZ at g'parents)

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Chile con Carne with Salsa Cruda, red cabbage coleslaw and corn muffins

The basic chile recipe from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook made with lean ground beef, cooked all day. Salsa from the tomatoes, cilantro and red onions from the CSA box. Mana made the cornbread, but next time I'll prep the wet and dry ingredients in the morning, the muffins bake in just 18 minutes.

Thursday: Teriyaki pork tenderloin, microwave-baked yams, stir-fried zucchini and Korean cucumber salad

Friday: Hula's in Monterey (definitely worth a return visit)

Saturday: Roasted cherry tomato and shredded chicken pasta

Leftover roast chicken, a dozen or so cherry tomatoes, sauteed scallions and garlic and some chicken broth worked well together. I topped mine with goat cheese, MZ opted for Parmigiano.

Summer Vegetables: Cucumber and Zucchini

2009-07-23T20:43:00.000-07:00

We've been getting tons of cucumber, zucchini and red onions in our farm box lately. I love cucumber, but am less fond of zucchini. Both these recipes worked well enough to make again, MZ loved the zucchini. I prepped them the night before and served with microwave "baked" yams and pan-grilled teriyaki pork tenderloin.

Stir-fried Zucchini with Red Onion and Black Soy

3 large-ish zucchini cut in 1/4" half-moons

1/2 red onion, feather cut

1/4 t salt

1 clover garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 t minced ginger

1 T soy sauce

1 T chicken broth

1 t black soy

1/2 t sesame oil

Heat a wok to hot hot. Swirl in a scant 2 t canola oil, add onion, sprinkle with salt and stir and fry until the onion softens a bit. Add garlic and ginger, stir and fry 30 seconds and move mixture to upper edges of wok. Add zucchini, spread out across bottom of wok and allow to char around the edges. Stir and allow the other side to char. Add soy sauces and broth, stir and cook to desired doneness. Drizzle with sesame oil and serve.

"Korean" Cucumber Salad

This recipe is riffed from a salad from Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen by Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall. We need to work MZ up to the spice level she recommends... I used a combination of Persian, lemon and standard cucumbers because that's what I had on hand. I seeded the lemon and standard cucumbers with spoon before slicing. No seeding required for the Persian cucumber. Serves 4-6 as a side dish

3 lbs. cucumbers, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

1.5 T sea or kosher salt

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1 T vermouth

2 T sugar

2 T fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic, pressed

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

1/2 red onion, feather cut

1 T sesame oil

1 T toasted sesame seeds

1 T slivered almonds

Place the sliced cucumbers in a strainer and sprinkle with the salt. Toss to cover. Let sit for 15 minutes. Meanwhile. combine ingredients through black pepper, whisking till sugar dissolves. Add red onion and toss to combine.

Wrap cucumbers in a dish towel and squeeze out liquid. Place in a bowl with dressing ingredients, stir to combine, drizzle with sesame oil and refrigerate one hour or overnight. Toss with sesame seeds and almond slivers and serve.

Watermelon and Cucumber Salad

2009-07-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

This is based on a recipe from Eating Well, I added cumin and cayenne to make it work with our turkey fajita taco dinner, but if I wanted to serve it with Southeast Asian food, I'd add mint instead of cumin. It was easy and delicious! A tiny dice for the cukes and watermelon would make it a great salsa for grilled shrimp.

2.5 t sugar dissolved in 2T rice vinegar

Add 1/4 t ea ground cumin and salt

A wee pinch of cayenne

Add 1.5 cup ea. diced watermelon and cuke

1/4 c chopped cilantro

Thinly sliced white part of two scallions

Delicious immediately.

Rice Krispy Treats

2009-06-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

Turns out that if you brown the [salted] butter while attending to your daughter's burnt hand, and run short 1 cup of rice krispies, you end up with a much more delicious Rice Krispy Treat. Next time I'll brown the butter only, and not the daughter's hand.

Dinners Week of 05/10

2009-06-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

o Sunday: Mother's Day Mixed Grill

Merguez with Cucumber Sour Cream sauce, Brined and Grilled Chicken Breast with Bi-Rite's Romesco Sauce, Grilled Asparagus, whole wheat couscous

o Monday: Black Bean Soup with Cheese Quesadillas and Salad (soup from Cook's Illustrated's 30 Minute Recipe, finished with 2 T o fresh orange juice

o Tuesday: GFC

o Wednesday: Pasta with Red Pepper Sauce (Cook's Illustrated 30 Minute Recipe)

o Thursday: Grilled fish with soba noodles and sauteed bok choy

o Friday: BarBQ with friends

o Saturday: Out

Ginger-Garlic Condiment for Chinese-style Poached Chicken

2009-06-02T23:28:00.000-07:00

Hainanese Chicken Rice and Soy-Poached Chicken are two of my favorite chicken dishes on earth. I love these dishes, and I love the dipping sauce that Happy Bakery & Deli on Ocean Ave. serves with all their chicken plate lunches. It's onion-y and gingery and totally addictive. This recipe, from a Hawaiian cookbook, is the closest I've gotten.

1/3 c finely minced ginger

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1/3 cup minced green onion

1 T Hawaiian salt

1/2 cup corn or canola oil

Process ginger and garlic in a food processor till slightly coarse, then add green onions and process till finely minced. Place in a small heat-proof serving bowl and add salt.

Heat oil till a sliver of onion sizzles when dropped in, then pour over ginger mixture. Stir to combine and serve as a condiment with poached chicken.

This is also good tossed with noodles: Heat oil in wok, add ginger, green onions and garli, stir and fry 30 seconds, add 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1.5 t salt and 1 t sesame oil. Toss with just-cooked wheat noodles.

"Indian" Fried Rice and Garam Masala Vinaigrette

2009-05-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

I had 3 cups of leftover brown rice that needed using, and tandoori-spiced chicken thighs for the grill. This came together easily and was a nice change from plain brown rice. I riffed off Madhur Jaffrey's Turmeric Rice, a classic spiced basmati and Kylie Kwong's "Mums Fried Rice." It reminded me of the Chinese-influenced Indian food we enjoyed in New Delhi. Leftovers would be great with a fried egg.

2 T grapeseed or other mild cooking oil

1/2 t each cumin and brown mustard seeds

1/4 t turmeric

1 yellow onion, finely diced

2 t minced ginger (knife-cut, not grated)

1.5 T sugar

3 cups cooked small-grain brown rice, broken up if clumped

2 T light soy sauce

Heat the oil on med-high heat in a wok or flat frying pan. Add the seeds, then the turmeric a moment later. When the seeds start popping, add the onion, ginger and sugar, stir and fry about 1 minute. Add the rice, stir and fry, then add the soy sauce. Fry, stirring occasionally so the rice gets crisped a bit but doesn't burn. Serve as a side, along with a butter lettuce salad with the vinaigrette below.

This was a delicious vinaigrette, perfect on a butter lettuce salad with shredded carrots and diced tomatoes.

1/2 t whole grain dijon mustard

1/4 t salt

1/4 t garam masala

2 T rice wine vinaiger

3 T grapeseed oil

Whisk ingredients together. Mustard will help dressing to emulsify.

Farfalle with Sugar Snap Peas, Spring Onions & Ricotta

2009-05-31T20:39:00.000-07:00

It's been so crazy with work and life events that we've fallen off the weekly meal plan. However there have been some very good dinners and this one was so good and so easy it begs to be recorded.

I had skim milk ricotta, a bag of sugar snap peas and spring onions from my farm box and some leftover roast chicken breasts from GFC. I had Marlena Speiler's article full of pasta recipes from the Chronicle food section. This came together in under 20 minutes and was very tasty!

12 to 14 ounces Barilla whole wheat rotini pasta*
2 cups sugar snap peas, halved crosswise on the diagonal
3 spring onions, halved and very thinly sliced
1 stem green garlic, white and lightest green part only, halved and very thinly sliced
2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
7 ounces part skim milk ricotta cheese
Shredded meat from 1.5 roast chicken breasts
Salt and liberal grindings of freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, plus more to pass at table

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to package instructions. With about 2 minuts to go, add the peas to the water and continue cooking until the peas are bright green and tender and the pasta just al dente. Set aside a cup of the cooking water and then drain the pasta and peas.

Return the pasta and peas to the still hot pan and toss first with the green onions and olive oil, then the ricotta, salt and pepper. Add pasta water as necessary to moisten. Lightly stir in the chicken and grated cheese. Serve right away.

True to her recommendation, this went fabulously with dry rose. Even MZ enjoyed it!

* This is our favorite w/w pasta, it has great pasta flavor and texture, it's never gummy or tough.

Creamy Asparagus Mustard Sauce for Pasta

2009-05-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

This recipe is a riff off an Eating Well recipe. I didn't want red sauce, R wanted cream sauce, we had asparagus and pancetta that needed to be cooked. The end result was delicious, easy and extremely satisfying but not crazy-creamy. Definitely worth making again

1 t EVOO

1/4 cup pancetta, fine dice

1 lg shallot, halved and thinly sliced

1 stalk green garlic, white part only, halved and thinly sliced

1/4 cup white wine

4 t mustard

4 t flour

1/2 t kosher salt

1/2 t freshly round pepper

3/4 cup each half/half and 1% milk

zest of one half lemon

1 bunch asparagus, thicker stalks

1/4 cup grated parmesan

8 oz. whole wheat fusilli or spaghetti

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Heat the oil in a medium pan over medium heat, add the pancetta and brown slowly. Drain all but 2 t fat and add shallots. Saute till softened, add green garlic and saute briefly. Add white wine, turn up heat and reduce by 2/3.

Meanwhile, snap the bottoms from the asparagus stalks, trim "points" from sides and slice 1/4" thick on a sharp diagonal. Reserve tips.

Cook pasta per the package directions. Add asparagus tips in the last 90 seconds of cooking, then add the asparagus in the lass minute. Drain.

Whisk together mustard, flour, pepper and salt. Add milk and half/half slowly, whisking to combine. Add to pancetta mixture, heat to a simmer and stir, 1-2 minutes till the sauce thickens. Stir in the lemon zest and parmesan, combine with the pasta and asparagus and serve.

"Egg Puffs" for Breakfast

2009-04-29T15:17:00.001-07:00

This recipe is from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious. I'm not really a fan of hiding veggies, but the high-protein, quick and savory nature of this breakfast dish appealed to me. I do not prefer sweet food first thing in the morning.

This is sort of like a savory mini-Dutch Baby, and it was great with Primavera salsa. It comes together very quickly, in the time it takes to heat the oven, although I'd consider making the batter the night before to see if that speeds things by much.

2 eggs
4 egg whites
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin or winter squash
2 T shredded cheese
1 T w/w flour, 1 T all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray four ramekins with canola oil and place on cookie sheet lined with foil. Whisk ingredients together and divide into four ramekins. Bake until puffed, and not runny when pierced, 13-15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Dinners Week of 04/05 - Passover!

2009-04-28T23:40:00.000-07:00

With Passover and MZ's Spring Break, this week was weird. We sent MZ to Mana & Papa's so we could front-load the week. It was like the pre-MZ days, staggering in at 9 pm to take-out Chinese food. And then three nights of serious cooking.

o Sunday: Thai food out with Friends

o Monday: Chinese take out won ton soup

o Tuesday: Turkey Fajitas
So easy, so good: Sauteed 2 red peppers, added 2 red onions, then sliced turkey cutlets, Penzey's SW seasoning, juice of one lime, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, on the table in 30 minutes.

o Wednesday: First Night Seder with Friends

o Thursday: Second Night Seder at Emanu-el

o Friday: My Special Passover Lambshanks + Brown Rice + Steamed Broccoli

o Saturday: Big Family Seder at Our House

o Sunday: Easter Dinner at Mana & Papa's

Passover Matzoh Balls
My recipe for easy, foolproof and completely delicious matzoh balls:
1 package Manischewitz matzo ball mix
2 T schmaltz
1 T finely chopped green garlic
1 T finely chopped chervil
1 pot-sized piece parchment paper

Prepare matzoh balls according to directions on box, substituing schmaltz for vegetable oil, and adding herbs. Refrigerate 1 hour before shaping into small balls slightly smaller than a golf ball. Do not be afraid to handle them, really shape them into tight balls. Bring water to a boil (do not salt!) and add matzoh balls as fast as possible. Cover pot with parchment paper, cover quickly with lid. Turn down heat and follow package instructions. Taste, if they're ready, remove them from the water as fast as possible or they'll start to sink. Enjoy with homemade chicken soup!

Prepare matzoh balls according to recipe

Dinners Week of 03/22

2009-04-28T23:28:00.000-07:00

o Sunday: Chicken Vesuvio + Sauteed Greens
A Weight Watchers recipe, this one needs work: the potatoes need to be cut smaller in order to cook in time, and cut down on the rosemary. But R. enjoyed it and it's super-healthy and I love artichokes, so I'll probably try this again.

o Monday: Mustard-Maple Pork Tenderloin + w/w couscous + String Beans
Another easy, delicious Eating Well recipe! Pork and couscous, oh the irony!

o Tuesday: Ground Lamb Kebabs with Basque White Beans + Roasted Brussels Sprouts
A Basque dish that Mana and Papa made together, the kebabs were too spicy for MZ but the beans were delicious!

o Wednesday: Miso Soup with Rock Cod, Bok Choy and Soba Noodles
A super-easy recipe from New Food Fast, R and MZ had this made before I made it home!

o Thursday: Peruvian Grilled Chicken + Grilled Asparagus + Brown Rice
One of Bubbe's specialties, this chicken is great.

o Friday: GFC at SOMAnu-el

o Saturday: Mixed Grill with Friends at Home

Dinners Week of 03/08

2009-04-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

o Sunday: Pumpkin-Tomato-Lentil-Merguez Soup + W/w Toast + Green Salad
Lots of house projects, dinner from the freezer

o Monday: Turkey Burgers with BBQ Seasoning on W/w Buns + Roasted Cauliflower + Green Salad

o Tuesday: Mana's Tortilla Casserole + Steamed Asparagus

o Wednesday: Lemongrass Marinated Grilled Pork Bun
Marinated the meat in the a.m., came home and shredded lettuce, carrots, cukes and green onions, cooked some rice noodles and made a dressing from some nuoc cham. A speedy, delicious dinner

o Thursday: Hangar Steak + Mashed Potatoes + Steamed Artichokes
Bubbe made a delicious dinner!

o Friday: Out at Friends' House

o Saturday: Out at Restaurant

Dinners Week of 03/01

2009-04-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

o Sunday: Out for Thai food

o Monday: Tandoori Chicken + Bok Choy with Ginger and Green Garlic + Aloo Paratha + Pickle, Chutney and Cucumber Raita
The tandoori recipe is from Cook's Illustrated and I do like it better than my old method. The bok choy was based on a recipe for spinach from Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking, MZ loved it. The Aloo Paratha was from Vik's, Swad brand -- delicious but too spicy for MZ.

o Tuesday: Mana's Tamale Pie + Salad

o Wednesday: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce + Salad
Another quick dinner with sauce from the freezer. Almost time to make more!

o Thursday: Grilled chicken + Steamed Broccoli + Whole Wheat Couscous

o Friday: Birthday party at Giovanni's

o Saturday: Hmm, lost track

Dinners Week of 02/22

2009-04-28T22:59:00.000-07:00

o Sunday: Lamb steaks with Penzey's Greek Seasoning + Steamed Broccoli + Boiled Red Potatoes
These may be MZ's three favorite foods

o Monday: Butternut Squash and Turkey Sausage with Whole Wheat Fusilli + Green Salad
I was going to make this baked pasta recipe with cubed roasted butternut squash, but it seemed several steps too many. So I browned the bulk sausage, removed it from the pan, sauteed the onions, added the chard, squash, sausage and olives and some chicken broth and pasta water. Finished it with olive oil and lemon zest. It was delicious!

o Tuesday: Out for Papa's Birthday

o Wednesday: Chile Verde tacos with sour cream, salsa and cabbage slaw
Just one container of chile verde left in the freezer for another quickie dinner. This is the recipe from The Gourmet Slow Cooker Cookbook, made in a big batch and frozen.

o Thursday: Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives + Whole Wheat Couscous + Salad
This is the easiest recipe, I made it on Monday when I worked at home and it was delicious a few nights later. The chicken doesn't need browning yet the flavors are so rich. My only adjustment to the recipe is browning the onions first.

o Friday: Out

o Saturday: Bistro Salmon + Steamed Asparagus + Roasted Potatoes
This simply seared-then-baked salmon recipe in Bistro Cooking is amazing, it completely transforms the texture of the the salmon into something amazing.

Dinners Week of 02/08

2009-02-11T20:06:00.000-08:00

This week was dominated by Mexican and Southwestern flavors given food on hand. We broke it up with Asian food and no one seems to mind.

o Sunday: Korean Fish Cakes, Bok Choy and Soba Noodles with Ponzu Sauce, Gomasio & Green Onions (fish from leftover miso-marinated tilapia, based on a recipe in Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen)

o Monday: Leftovers: Chicken Enchiladas from the freezer, Chicken Mole Tamales from All Star Tamales, served with Carribbean Beans & Rice, Green Salad with Pomegranate and Pepitos
The pomegranate seeds in the salad were not a hit.

o Tuesday: Out

o Wednesday: Turkey and Pumpkin Soup
What a grerat recipe! I used sliced turkey cutlets and butternut squash. Easy and delicious.

o Thursday: "Pulled Pork Tenderloin" with Mexican Coleslaw on Whole-Wheat Buns
This is a family favorite, one of the few recipes I don't adjust at all, and that everyone loves. The coleslaw is from The Chronicle Cookbook 2, another Jaquelyn Higuera McMahan recipe.

o Friday: Out at Friends' House

o Saturday: Date Night out

Organizing Ourselves: Dinners Week of 02/01

2009-02-11T20:03:00.001-08:00

Anticipating a return to work and trying to be budget conscious, I'm finally settling down into a week of menu planning. I sit down with lists on Sunday evening: what's in the freezer, the produce bin and the pantry; and I come up with the week of menus.

We're in week two and it's working out well. R. and the grandparents know not to touch something if it's on the menu list, everything else is fair game. There's less waste and I'm clearing items out of the freezer with a quickness.

Dinners Week of 02/01

o Monday: Chicken Soup, Salad and Bread
With everyone fighting colds, it's time for cheater's chicken soup: saute some diced onions, then simmer a chix breast in low sodium broth, add diced vegetables (celery, carrots and baby turnips in this case) and pastina or other small pasta. Instant comfort.

o Székelygulyás (Hungarian Pork and Sauerkraut Goulash): Mom's homemade, delicious

o Chicken Enchiladas + Sauteed Greens: The best enchiladas I've ever made, with leftover chicken from a Martha Stewart recipe (left over from the Super Bowl) and the quick sauce option and fillings from Jaquelyn Higuera McMahon's California Rancho Cooking. The carmelized onions made them!

o Kaddo Bowrani

o Sweet & Sour Cabbage Soup
I think I've finally perfected this! It's a mish mash of recipes from The Mensch Chef, Loaves & Knishes and Jewish Cooking in America (1st ed.)

3 lbs. flanken shortribs
2 yellow onions, large dice
2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes
1.5 T tomato paste
2 qts. water
1 t salt
1 small cabbage, coarsely sliced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 t sour salt
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring the first 6 ingredients to a boil, simmer together for 1 hour. Meanwhile place cabbage in a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt and allow to drain 1 hour. Rinse with hot water, add to pot with remaining ingredients. Simmer 1 hour, adjust seasonings (especially the sugar and sour salt) as desired.

Gung hay fat choy!

2009-01-26T21:04:00.000-08:00

This Lunar New Year I finally learned to be okay with making a dish or two rather than a banquet. Enjoyed dinner a great deal more. Also enjoyed these recipes from Kylie Kwong's Simple Chinese Cooking:

White Radish Salad, made with watermelon daikon from the CSA box. Gorgeous! A little salty, cut the recipe by 1/2 T next time. I sliced the green onions thinly rather than julienned them, for the sake of time. Delicious with the noodles, but also would be great on a banh mi!

Stir-Fried Hokkien Noodles with Prawns, Chilli and Bean Sprouts: I added a red bell pepper, thinly sliced, with the onions. Didn't use the chile but put sambal olek on the table to add as we pleased. I also minced the ginger and garlic, and added them a minute after the onions and peppers, then proceeded with the recipe 30 seconds later.

Arianna's Fantastic Frosting (vegan)

2009-01-26T16:44:00.000-08:00

I am not a baker. I love to chop and season and baste/braise/grill/roast/steam and stir-fry, tasting as I go. I do not like to carefully measure and then give it all up to the kitchen gods.

I have serious control issues with baking.

So cupcake season, ie MZ's birthday, is not my favorite time of year. Last week I made 3-dozen mini cupcakes using the Cook's Illustrated buttercream recipe for frosting. I simmered and took the temperature and carefully timed each step. And, meh. A bit too fluffy for my taste, not that I could stand to eat it once I fully understood why they call it Butter Cream.

And then I tried to use it again a day later and it curdled and I realized I would have to beat it again and I threw it away.

And then I called Arianna the Crafty, my clever friend who can make ANYTHING, from Star of David beads to snowflake tie-dye tees to this fabulous frosting, which takes color beautifully, spreads smoothly and can be put to use after chilling with a light massage to the pastry bag.

It has good mouthfeel and isn't too sweet and all in all it's my new favorite frosting. Now if the cupcakes would just bake themselves I'd be set...

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated shortening

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine (Earth Balance)

3 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 generous T vanilla

1/4 cup soy mil, as necessary

Sift sugar. Beat first 4 ingredients together till fluffy. Adjust fats in equal measure to reach desired level of sweetness (I added more fats by T-fulls as I found it a bit sweet at first). You'll know when it's fluffy, it just changes like magic. Add soy milk if necessary if it seems to thick. Beat some more.

Color as desired, or divide and color pink and purple like we did!

This makes enough to frost 3 dozen full-size cupcakes.

Favorite Chicken Pot Pie

2009-01-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

I've been making this pot pie since 2004, ever since I got the recipe at a Draeger's cooking class. The theme was "Quick, Healthy Chicken Dishes," it was someone's bridal event, there was wine and many god friends to aid the enjoyment, and every single recipe Chef-Instructor Francis Wilson made was a keeper. But this is the one recipe I make several times a year, it's my go-to dish whenever I have leftover chicken. I've made a few changes to give the broth a bit more structure, but overall this is just as we had it the first time.

While I do on occasion make it with a traditional pie crust, more often I top it with steamed dumplings, a re-use of a Bert Greene recipe from my tattered copy of Greene on Greens. And if I'm really in a hurry, I use a sheet of frozen puff pastry, which transforms it from Healthy to Decadent. This dish is super fast if the filling is made a day ahead.

This time I doubled the recipe, using 4 cups of leftover roasted Cornish game hen; subbing turnips from my farm box for the butternut squash, mashed roasted garlic cloves for the fresh garlic, and adding 3/4 cup of frozen peas to please MZ. In summer, I've used summer squash, corn and shiitakes; I've used diced onions or shallots instead of leeks. It's a forgiving and comforting recipe, and every time I think I've lost it I have a heart attack so here it is:

Chicken Pot Pie with Chanterelles and Butternut Squash

Serves 6

1 T each olive oil and butter

1 leek, white part only, halved, rinsed and thinly sliced

1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks

1 stalk celery, halved and cut into 1/2" slices

4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

2 T flour

1/4-1/2 lb. chanterelle mushrooms, clean and torn into pieces

1 quart chicken stock

1 cup cubed butternut squash

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

1 T chopped fresh parsley

2 t roaughly chopped fresh thyme

1 t chopped fresh marjoram

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 sheet pie crust or frozen puff pastry, or 1 recipe dumpling batter (below).

Heat olive oil and butter, add the leeks, carrots and celery, sprinkle lightly with salt. Cook over medium heat until vegetables have softened slightly, but do not brown. Add the garlic and mushrooms, stir, and cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle the flour over all, cover and allow to cook 2 minutes. Uncover, stir, add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, add salt and pepper to taste, and add the butternut squash. Simmer 10-15 minutes, until the squash is tender.

Add the chicken and fresh herbs, and frozen peas if using. Adjust the seasonings. If using the pie crust, place the filling in an ovenproof pie dish to cool a bit (the hot filling will melt the dough). If there is too much liquid, remove the solids to the dish and reduce it in the pan before adding, or reserve for another use.

If using a pie crust: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring filling to room temp. Roll the dough out to a circle 1" wider than the pie plate, and about 1/4" thick. Lay the dough over the filling, brush with an egg wash and fold the edges up around the edge of the pie plate to form a fluted edge. Make a few cuts in the top of the crust and bake until golden brown and pastry is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

If using puff pastry: Preheat oven to 400 degrees, place filling in square casserole and top with puff pastry sheet. Brush with egg wash and bake for 15 minutes, or until pastry is nicely browned.

If using dumplings: Make the filling in an oven-proof Dutch oven. Prepare the dumpling batter after adding the butternut squash as it simmers. Drop batter by the tablespoonful onto the filling, not too thick or it will take along time to steam. Place the cover on the Dutch oven and steam for 18 minutes.

This recipe just needs a green salad and a glass of wine to complete the meal.

Cornmeal Dumplings

1/2 cup flour, preferably pastry flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/2t salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup milk

Sift the flour with the cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat in the egg and the milk with a wooden spoon until smooth. Drop by tablespoonfuls over chicken pot pie filling or simmered greens and ham, and cook 18 minutes, covered, in a Dutch oven.

Crab Season: Crab & Corn Chowder

2008-12-14T21:26:00.001-08:00

It's Dungeness season! We always buy one crab per person, and when they're running 2 lbs each and MZ decides she doesn't want crab, we have enough to make one of our favorite soups. I don't get to make this so often that I always remember how, so here's what I did last night, and it worked really well.

We had about 2 cups of cracked and pulled crab meat, so I used the following proportions:

1 thick slice pancetta, fine dice

1 white onion, fine dice

1 rib celery, fine dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 T EVOO

1 T butter

3 T flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

2.5 cups fish stock

3.5 cups milk

1 c Yukon gold potatoes, small dice

1 c frozen white corn

2 cups crab meat

1 t minced fresh thyme

Sautee the pancetta on med-low heat till crisp, remove from pan. Turn up heat to med-high. If drippings are minimal, add EVOO. Saute the onions, celery till onion is transparent. Add garlic, saute 1 minute. Make well in the center of the pot and add butter, when melted add flour. Stir till a thick paste forms and color turns that of like peanut butter, about 3 minutes. Whisk in cream. When bubbling, add fish stock and milk. Bring to simmer and add potatoes, thyme. Cook 15 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Add corn, bring to simmer. Stir in crab meat, return to simmer and serve or chill if serving later.

Steamed Tilapia with Cabbage and Shiitakes

2008-11-24T10:42:00.001-08:00

After our Ono Mix Plate fest, something light was needed, and something that would use the odds and ends in our fridge. We always have udon noodles on hand, I buy three-packs of the individual fresh udon without the sauce base whenever I do a Nijiya shop. I also had shiitakes that had dried in the fridge, a few teaspoon-fulls of tobiko left over from Robert's birthday poke, and a quarter cabbage. We picked up a handful of snow peas and some tilapia and I threw this together. It came together quickly, and was satisfying, tasty and healthful.

It was gorgeous topped with the tobiko, pretty enough for a dinner party. We used the shimchimi pepper mixture to give some heat to ours, but just garnished Miriam's with gomasio and gave her some "tiny orange balls" on the side. I would also serve this on soba, top with cilantro if I had it on hand, or replace the cabbage with Napa cabbage. Julienned carrots would be pretty, too, but at that point it stops being a quick/easy recipe.

1 lb. tilapia

6-10 dried shiitakes

2 c. coarsely shredded cabbage

1 handful snow peas, sliced on the diagonal to 1" pieces

2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1 t. minced ginger

1/4 c mirin

1/4 c soy sauce

2 T ponzu

1 t sesame oil

Gomasio (store-bought or home-made)

Shichimi Togarishi

Tobiko (optional)

Soak the shiitakes in hot tap water till soft, about 15 minutes. Lay the tilapia filets out on a plate. Bring a medium pot of water to boil.

Slice the veggies: cabbage, snow peas, green onions, garlic and ginger. Combine the garlic, ginger, mirin, soy and ponzu in a small bowl.

Drain the mushrooms (save the mushroom water for another use if so inclined), rinse any grit off, squeeze out moisture. Remove stems and slice caps thinly.

Set up a steamer, bringing water to boil. In a pie plate, place cabbage, then snow peas, then mushrooms and 1/2 green onions. Pour 1-2 T sauce over, and steam five minutes.

Meanwhile, blot any moisture from fish, with a paper towel, then liberally salt and pepper; prepare udon noodles. Place fish over veggie mixture, sprinkling remaining sauce and green onions on top. Steam 10 minutes.

Drain udon noodles and distribute in ramen or pasta bowls. Check fish for doneness. When just cooked, distribute veggies, then fish fillets on noodles, ladle sauce over fish and sprinkle with gomasio and shichimi togarishi, adding a dollop of tobiko if available.

Serves three adults or two adults, one kid with leftovers for one lunch. Delicious with a glass of chilled Gewurtztraminer.

Indian Recipes from the CSA Newsletter

2008-10-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

Our CSA, Eatwell Farms, has been hitting it out of the park lately. From a spicy "Sicialian pesto" to tonight's offerings, this newsletter is becoming a go-to for good food. I made the two dishes below with some grilled chicken thighs I had frozen with a tandoori spice and yogurt marinade, and some whole wheat chapati from the frozen food section at New May Wah. Miriam made chapati sandwiches with the chicken, dal and some tamarind chutney she loves.

I don't want to lose track of either of these:

Radish Dal

This is easily one of the most delicious dals I've made, although I like the super-simple standards. I didn't have all the ingredients in the original recipe, but I would make it again exactly this way. Made easier by putting it together the night before.

1 c toovar dal (split yellow lentils)

1.5 T canola oil

2 t brown mustard seeds

1 lg onion, small dice

2 T finely grated coconut

1 T sambhar powder*

1 large tomato, fine dice

2 sprigs curry leaves (optional)

2-4 radishes, quartered and sliced 1/8" thick

1 t jaggery or raw sugar

1 t salt

2-3 cups water

Soak the lentils in water for one hour

Heat a medium-size heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil. When hot, add the mustard seeds, and as soon as they start popping, add the onion. Sprinkle lightly with a bit of the jaggery and salt, and stir and fry till the onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the spices, stir, add the coconut, stir, and add the tomatoes and curry leaves. Stir to combine and cook a few minutes. Add the tovar dal, the jaggery, salt and 2 cups water.

Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook until the lentils fall apart, about 40 minutes for red lentils or 1.5 hours for yellow lentils. Add water if necessary per your preferred consistency. Delicious!

*I didn't have sambhar powder, but after perusing several recipes, arrived at the following mixture:

1 t ground coriander

1/2 t each ground cumin, ground fenugreek

1/4 t each ground black pepper, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, ancho chile powder, ground urad dal

Since these ingredients are supposed to be toasted, I added them to the browned onions and stirred a bit till fragrant before adding the tomato and coconut.

In looking up the difference between red lentils (which I had on hand) and yellow (which I did not) I found this recipe, which I plan to return to -- and to investigate her blog, too!

Benghali Fried Greens

1 T canola oil

1/2 t ea cumin, fennel and brown mustard seeds

1/4 t cayenne and ground fenugreek

2 t minced garlic

1.5 cups diced onions

1/4 t raw sugar

1/2 t salt

3/4 lb. stir-fry mix, chard or kale, chopped

4-5 radishes, grated

Bring the oil to med-high heat in a wok. Add the seeds, stir and when the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the ground spices and garlic. Stir for 10 seconds and add the onion. Add the sugar and half the salt, stir, lower the heat to medium and fry for 10 minutes, until the onions are deep golden brown. Return heat to high and add the greens and radishes. When the greens brighten, add the remaining salt and cover to steam for one minute. Uncover and stir-fry until the greens are completely cookd.

Yum, Squash?

2008-07-19T22:23:00.000-07:00

Neither R nor I are that fond of zucchini and summer squash. I think in my case it's because there was always so much of it from my dad's garden every summer, so much that I even got sick of all the recipes for hiding squash. So when we get squash in our CSA box, I'm always tempted to just give it away.

But this week our zucchini came with a neat little recipe called Greek Taverna-style Summer Squash, from an old SF Chronicle Food Section (05/06/98). The squash is supposed to be cut into large chunks and boiled to a softness in salted water, then dressed with garlic, oregano, black olives, EVOO and lemon juice. I decided to roast largish bite-size pieces at 425 degrees, dressed in EVOO, salt, pepper, some coarsely chopped garlic and some crumbled dried oregano. Once it was done, I stirred in coarsely chopped oil-cured black olives, and squeezed lemon juice over all.

It was delicious! Our table of four adults all liked it, although MZ still refused to try it. She insists she doesn't like squash, although it's probably been more than a year since she last tried the stuff.

I may try quartering the squash next time and preparing according to the original recipe, but the roasted squash will definitely come into the rotation again.

Lovely Leftovers: Spinach Rice Gratin from 101 Cookbooks

2008-07-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

I love 101 Cookbooks, I almost always want to make whatever Heidi sends out, although sometimes it takes me a while to get to the recipe. This one is in such perfect alignment with my refrigerator that I made it immediately -- and was not disappointed. It's easy to make and the results are savory and nutritious, and my refrigerator is a better place for it. Plus it was delicious and filling straight out of the fridge as I dashed out this morning.

I used a combination of spinach, baby chard and turnip greens because that's what I had from my CSA box, and I added an extra egg because the mixture seemed dry to me. I also used black oil-cured olives, but I think any flavorful olives would add that salty dimension such a simple combination requires. I was also skittish about the raw onions -- would they be too crisp, too strong? But no, it works well and added lovely pink flecks. And finally, I added the extra pine nuts on top, along with a light grating of cheese, before baking. It came out lovely.

Spinach Rice Gratin

Another riff on Turkey Burgers

2008-07-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

After looking up my poke recipe the other day, and then enjoying some defrosted turkey chile tonight that I have no idea how I made, I was reminded of the usefulness of this blog, if only for my own purposes. I seem to have more time to type in a recipe these days than to jot it down in my old notebook, and my mind is a sieve, I forget favorites from week to week and then wonder what foolproof thing I can whip together for dinner.

Last night featured turkey burgers, or really, ground turkey seasoned and grilled, with a South Asian/Middle Eastern/North African fusion thing happening. I made my usual mixture with 1/4 cup matzoh meal, 2 minced green onions (whites and pale green stems), and 1 t salt, and added 2 teaspoons of Penzey's balti mix (intended to be simmered into a sauce, but the combination of spices worked for my purposes) and 1/2 t of Penzey's Trinidad Lemon Garlic spice mix. Forming the patties into thick cigars like a sikh kebab would have been better than the round burgers I made.

The turkeys were great with some garlicky hummus R and MZ had made earlier that day. We had a package of Sam's merguez sausages around, so we threw these on the grill, too, and I made a yogurt sauce with some minced green onion and a teaspoon of the yogurt masala I bought in Jodhpur, in imitation of a presentation we'd enjoyed at Aziza several months ago.

And with two lovely bunches of carrots from successive CSA deliveries, Moroccan carrot salad was in order. I used the recipe from the first Greens cookbook, adding 1/2 cumin and the finely sliced green portions from the green onions I used for the turkey mixture instead of the called-for orange flower water. I love carrots with cumin, and the green onion slivers against the peels of carrot made for a pretty dish.

All of this would have been perfect with whole wheat pita or chapati, but we had grilled corn on the cob, and it was good.

Riff references: Moroccan Carrot Salad, Spicy Turkish Chickpea Spread

Kaddo Bowrani (Afghani Pumpkin)

2007-11-08T22:13:00.000-08:00

I crave this dish fairly regularly, having become addicted to the version at The Helmand in San Francisco. Well, Helmand is open again but I haven't made it back yet, and I picked up a lovely sugar pumpkin at the pumpkin patch last month.

I cobbled the recipe together from the Chowhound Home Cooking board. I used Allstonian's pumpkin recipe, and mainly followed the yogurt and meat sauces from a SF Chronicle article. The SF Helmand pumpkin is sloooowly cooked in tons of oil and sugar which makes it rich, creamy and truly amazing, but not quite right for a main dish.

It came together relatively quickly, in about 1.5 hours with some down time to steam a vegetable and make a salad -- not a typical weeknight meal for us but I'll certainly make this again when I can carve out the time, and hopefully while pumpkins are still available.

Pumpkin:
One 2 to 2.5 pound sugar pumpkin
2 T vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon

Yogurt sauce:
1 cup plain full-fate yogurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ t dried mint
¼ t or more salt

Meat Sauce (see recipe to follow)

Preheat oven to 350.

Cut the ends of the pumpkin to create a flat surface, and peel with a U-shaped peeler. Cut into wedges, quarters or sixths depending on the size of the pumpkin. Remove seeds and strings.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven. Brown the pumpkin pieces, turning every few minutes until golden brown on all sides. Do not scorch it.

Mix sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over pumpkin. Bake for 30 minutes, or until tender, basting with the juices half-way through. [From the recipe post: This seems like a lot of sugar, but go with it. The dish doesn't come out sweet in the end, and it just isn't as tasty if you cut down on the sugar.]

While the pumpkin is baking, make the yogurt sauce and the meat sauce.

Yogurt sauce: mix together ingredients until smooth and season to taste with salt.

Meat Sauce
2 T corn oil or other neutral oil
1 large onion, finely diced
1 1/2 pounds ground round
1 small can tomatoes, roughly pureed*
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 t ground coriander
1 1/2 t salt
1 t freshly ground pepper
1/2 t ground turmeric
2 T tomato paste
1 1/3 cups water

* I drain the juices into the pan then whir the tomatoes briefly in the can with an immersion blender

Heat the oil in a heavy, medium-sized saucepan until it ripples. Add the onions and sauté over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until they are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Add the beef, stirring to break it up into tiny pieces, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomato, garlic, coriander, salt, pepper and turmeric. Cook for 5 minutes. Blend in the tomato paste. Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Use 2 to 2 1/2 cups of the sauce for the Kaddo Bourani. Cool, cover and refrigerate the remaining sauce for another dish. Yields 5 cups sauce.

To serve, place the pumpkin wedges on a serving plate, ladle the meat sauce over all, and drizzle with the yogurt sauce. Delicious!

NOTE: The photo above is sourced from and links to a really great food blog, Habeas Brulee. Check it out! I can't wait to make that pumpkin seed-cocoa nib brittle!

Turkey Parmigiana

2007-06-27T19:29:00.001-07:00

Since Parmigiana dishes are mostly an American riff on Italian food, I don't feel the least bit bad about the liberties I took tonight. We had turkey cutlets because they're quick and readily available at TJs, but I didn't feel like preparing or eating any of the French-influenced sauces recommended in my Cook's Illustrated Quick Recipe cookbook. "Can you make Parmigiana?" asked R. Why yes, in a manner of speaking.

It turned out to be a tasty dish easily made of items we always have around: matzo meal, eggs, frozen homemade marinara, and havarti cheese slices (makes for quick-n-easy cheese toast). My sensibilities were far more offended by the sauteed bock choy I served along side, but that's my anti-fusion issue.

1 package turky cutlets (~1 lb.)
1 T flour
1 egg
1/2 cup matzo meal
1/2 t Italian seasoning
2 T + 1/2 cup grated parmigiano cheese
salt and pepper
2 cups marinara-type tomato sauce, or make a very simple marinara with lightly sauteed garlic and one can of tomatoes, puree to use
Cheese slices suitable for melting

Arrange the turkey cutlets on a plate and allow to rest 10 minutes at room temp. Meanwhile, spread the flour in a plate. Lightly beat the egg in a pie plate and arrange it next to the flour. Mix the matzo meal, 2 T grated cheese, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste in a third plate. Begin prep for a salad or veg side. Pour a glass of wine. Then blot the cutlets with paper towel and lightly salt and pepper.

Using tongs (this gets messy), dredge the turkey cutlets one by one in flour, egg and the matzo meal mixture. Shake lighly after each dredging to rid excess. Some cutlets will follow apart, salvage the small pieces that make sense and keep going. Transfer the turkey cutlets to a plate and let sit for ten minutes while the coating sets. Turn on the broiler, heat the sauce and cook the veg and a pasta shape to accompany and make the salad.

Heat a 12" nonstick skillet on med-high and add 1 T EVOO. Heat until it's hot enough to sizzle a crumb of matzo meal mixture, but not smoking. Add the turkey cutlets and cook for 2 minutes, turn over and cook for 30-60 seconds until just browned. Transfer to aplate lined with paper towels, and continue to saute the turkey in batches as necessary.

Arrange the cutlets in a casserole and ladle a few tablespoons of sauce over each, then top with the remaining grated cheese and torn-to-size pieces of sliced cheese. Place under the broiler till the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Remove and plate on top of a bit more tomato sauce. Toss the pasta with the remaining sauce. Serve with cutlets over the pasta and with the veg and/or salad, enjoy with a glass of wine, of course.

A Matter of Convenience

2007-06-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

So many recipes to catch up on: there was a fabulous shrimp scampi pasta, a carnivore's take on Greens' Zuni stew (add pork), and the return to turkey burgers, this time vaguely South Asian/mid-East-style with Hamati bread, sweet and sour carrot sauce, a very tasty yogurt sauce, and thinly sliced cucumbers from our *new* CSA box.

Our major challenge lately has been getting food on the table quickly. I'm working more and we're inevitably rushing. We try not to rely on take-out and I'm constantly trying to redirect my brain from involved Cook's Illustrated dinners to quick, tasty sustenance.

The latest discovery is Trader Joe's pre-cooked rice. I wouldn't dream of heating it in the plastic pouch with all the phthalate hoopla these days. But a little diced onion, sliced mushrooms and water with the jasmine rice/quinoa/flax seed blend made for a great 7-minute pilaf on Saturday night -- a great product to have around for a quick side, and it went well with the more time-consuming roasted baby artichokes I inherited from my sister's fridge before she left on vacation.

I've also recently discovered the Asian American Food Company, source of delicious and convenient Chinese dumplings. In a little storefront on Noriega, they make the dumplings in the back room and sell them out of enormous freezers in front. The owner is incredibly nice and his website details the cooking instructions for all his products. We've had the boiled dumplings for breakfast with some fresh fruit, and for dinner with a stir-fried vegetable. Tonight I'm making a quick soup of their Shanghai wontons, some defrosted chicken stock and leftover sauteed pea shoots. If you open my freezer, you'll find bags of chicken and chive, pork and napa cabbage and lamb dumplings, as well as xiao long bao and a tryer pack of pork and cabbage potstickers. Delicious!

Purim Happiness

2007-03-15T23:08:00.000-07:00

I decided to make Hamentaschen this year. Actually, I decided to observe all the Purim mitzvot this year, and was foiled when the Megillah reading I planned to attend seemed not to happen.

Anyway, I made Hamentaschen this year, which is a major thing for someone who is not a baker. I made prune filling from scratch, and bought some nice organic apricot jam. I made the dough, rolled it out, cut it and filled it -- twice because I didn't love the first batch.

I've been pretty happy with The Mensch Chef for savories (the matzo brie is a phenomenon), but have never tried the desserts. His dough has way too much butter, which makes it relatively easy to work with but ultimately unsatisfying for Hamentaschen, it just seemed more like butter cookies with jam. So I made another batch from Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Kitchen, and liked these much better.

In they end they weren't that hard and were extremely satisfying, I look forward to making them again next year (and not sooner).

Lamb Kebabs & Gumbo (sort of)

2007-01-24T21:51:00.000-08:00

Monday was lamb kebabs made of ground lamb, scallions, matzo meal, an egg and a bunch of a Persian 7-spice mix I'm trying to use up. We have tons of crudite left over from MZ's birthday (of course we didn't run out of anything) so I made a Greek salad and a cucumber-yogurt sauce to go with the kebabs in w/w pita. It was a really good dinner, and very on the fly. MZ ate everything, so worth repeating.

Still trying to work through the crudite, tonight I made a sort of gumbo. I saw this recipe and thought of the turkey andouille sausage in my fridge, then realized that real gumbo has celery and bell pepper, which would address a few other lurkers, too. So I made up this combined Cook's Illustrated-Quick Cook never-the-twain shall-meet recipe that saved me from the insanity of a 1-hr roux or the disappointment of a pallid imitation. And served it over brown rice, completely separating this stew from its roots. Although MZ tasted not a bit (after devouring a spicy hot tamale pie last night), we liked it, I'll make it again.

Not Quick but Not Altogether Traditional Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo
1 lb. turkey andouille sausage
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
2 red onions, diced small
1 celery rib, diced small
1 medium red bell pepper, diced small
6 cloves garlic, minced
2.5 t Penzey's Cajun spice mix
2 bay leaves
1 bottle clam juice
1 quart low sodium chix broth
10 oz frozen okra
3/4 lb. cooked bay shrimp
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions

Assuming this is a raw rather than smoked version of "Andouille", brown the sausage in 1 T vegetable oil in a dutch oven. Remove to a collander lined with paper towels to drain.

This part is straight out of Cook's Illustrated -- it's fussy, but amazing chemistry and really doesn't take that long to get the desired result: In the same pan, heat the oil to 200 degrees. Lightly spread the flour over the oil, and stir to combine. Turn heat to medium and stir constantly until the roux turns a copper penny shade. The flour will thin considerably (thus the need for something in the end to thicken the stew, according to CI). Add the onions, celery and red pepper and stir to combine. The mixture will seem a bit gluey but wonderfully fragrant. Stir frequently as the vegetables soften, ~8 minutes. Add the seasoning and garlic and stir.

Slowly add the clam juice in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Now add the chicken stock. When the mixture is full combined, add the okra*. Bring to a boil, add the bay leaves and turn to a simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the reserved sausage and simmer another 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Adjust seasonings and add the shrimp. Stir, simmer for 5 minutes and serve over rice, garnished with thinly sliced scallions.

Easily serves 6-8 people.

* This is where I should have added a 28 oz can of drained diced tomatoes, but MZ woke up and I lost track. I would do this next time, if only to increase the vegetable content of this one-dish dinner.

Chew on this...

2007-01-19T00:59:00.000-08:00

Really busy week and not a whole lotta cooking happening. But in the meantime, chew on this (it sounds pretty yummy).

Oyako Donburi

2007-01-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

This remains one of our favorite meals. I added a cup of thinly sliced Napa cabbage, because I had it on hand. I prefer the baby spinach leaves. MZ loved the shiitake mushrooms and chicken.

Not much cooking over the weekend, but we did learn that MZ loves ikura. She kept asking for more orange balls. She also likes Little Star pizza.

Petrale Sole again, with Indian Spices

2007-01-11T20:56:00.000-08:00

Petrale sole is cheap and good right now. Halibut? $17.99/lb. Wild King Salmon? $19.99/lb. Sustainably fished Chilean Seabass? A whopping $24.99/lb. But fresh, wild Petrale sole is a mere $12.99/lb. And it is much tastier, in my opinion, than tilapia, The Other Cheap White Fish.

So we had it again tonight, this time I added 2 t. of curry poweder to the dredging mix of matzo meal and flour. Unable to look at any more potatoes or rice, I made whole wheat orzo, then McGiver'd a bechamel out of the dredging flour and the reserved pasta water, in the pan in which I'd cooked the fish. It came out surprisingly well!

The veg was charred cauliflower with chiles, onions, cumin, coriander and turmeric, finished with some yogurt and lime juice. Wow, I actually found hot serrano chiles, this was no dish for MZ. Good thing she likes salad now, her veg was the juice from chewed dressed lettuce (she spits out the mangled leaves), as well as tomatoes, cukes and shredded carrots from the salad.

Tomatillo Pork Stew, A Steak and a Soup

2007-01-10T22:08:00.000-08:00

I made a pork and tomatillo stew earlier in the week, a variation from a real recipe in a slow-cooker cookbook. I had Niman Ranch pork shoulder and decided to go the easy way with jarred salsa and a can of green enchilada sauce. I should have known better, it was good, but kind of flat and one-dimensionally salty in spite of the browned onions, chile and 1/2 bottle of beer I added. I won't take that many shortcuts in one recipe again.

Tonight was skirt steak, grilled out in the wind, and Beets Two Ways. This is what we call it, I habitually buy beets with the greens, and we make a roasted beet with blue cheese salad as well as sauteed beet greens. I roasted the beets during MZ's nap, and sauteed the greens while the meat was resting. R. grilled the meat and made the salad, so it was a pretty easy dinner, along with some roasted purple potatoes.

I've been trying to get a grip on our refrigerator. It was good to get those potatoes used up, as well as some russets that have been sitting around since Chanukah, a bunch of leeks, some chicken stock left over from stretching S's fabulous matzo ball soup, and a ham steak I bought, then rejected, for my New Year's black eyed peas. I started off making potato leek soup, rustic-style with the potatoes lightly broken up rather than fully pureed. I added some ham and then couldn't resist throwing in some frozen spinach. No dairy, and it's hearty enough for a meal with some good bread and a salad. A keeper.

Turkey Cutlets with Thyme-Riesling Sauce

2007-01-07T23:51:00.000-08:00

I always forget how easy turkey cutlets are, and how tasty when prepared as directed in Cook's Illustrated The Quick Recipe. I riffed on the Hard Cider-Thyme sauce based on what was open and needed using. Sauce was made with a cup of slightly off-dry riesling and finished with a small amount of cream. Served with shredded Brussels sprouts braised with shallots and with mashed potatoes. Very good, and on the table in 35 minutes.

I have lots of potatoes, a few leeks and a ham steak, so look for potato leek soup sometime very soon. I think I want to try a more rustic, not-pureed version.

Petrale Sole with Cumin Tomato Sauce

2007-01-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

It's hard to come up with stuff to cook all the time, so I'm starting a log here of what we eat in the hopes I can bring more favorites into regular rotation and learn from what didn't work as well. Logs won't include recipes, but those will still appear when I make something up that I want to cook again.

The Petrale Sole was excellent, fresh tasting and not at all muddy. I cooked it per the Cook's Illustrated Best Recipe suggestions, but used some matzo meal and oregano in the flour, and topped with a tomato sauce simmered with sauteed shallots, toasted cumin seeds and smoked paprika. The sauce was tasty and lighter than the recommended brown butter, but the match was not perfect. However, the fish came out with a lovely golden crust, and not at all greasy. Next time go for a lemon caper sauce...

Steamed Broccoli was a nice accompaniment, whole wheat couscous was perfect with the sauce. Dinner came together in 30 minutes.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

Like many Bay Areans, I've adopted the African-American tradition of cooking up black-eyed peas for New Year's. Last year I made a very traditional version of Hoppin' John with ham hocks and collards, finished with a vinegar-based hot sauce. This year I never got around to buying my ham hocks and found myself looking at a few Niman ham steaks in the refrigerator case. Fortunately, my sister had scored me a link of Spanish-style chorizo at Fatted Calf. I reasoned that it would add some porky goodness as well as some heat, and what isn't better with that smoky paprika flavor? I finished the soup with Tabasco, the vinegar hit is an important flavor component, so if you don't like heat, add a jot of white vinegar.

I'm not crazy about black-eyed peas in most preparations, I find the flavor can be a little muddy. But this soup was wonderful, something I'd make again nomatter the holiday. It went perfectly with some jalapeno cornbread and a nice cold beer.

Truly, the pantry is the mother of invention.

Chorizo, Collard and Black-eyed Pea Soup

1.5 cups dried black eyed peas

2 medium yellow onions, small dice

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 bay leaf

1 long link Spanish-style chorizo

1/2 cup beer (not too hoppy)

2 bunches (about 15 leaves) collard greens

1 t salt

6 cups chicken stock

Tabasco or other vinegar-based hot sauce

Place the rinsed peas in a large-ish pot with 1/2 diced onion, the garlic and the bay leaf. Cover with 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Skim scum off the top, partially cover and simmer for 1.5-2 hours. The fresher the peas, the shorter the cooking time. When the beans are done as desired, drain and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, quarter and thinly slice the chorizo. Saute the onion in 1 scant tablespoon olive oil, add the chorizo when the onion has softened. Keep heat on medium, do not allow the sausage to crisp. Saute ~5 minutes, then add the beer, bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover and stew for another five minutes. The previously hard and dry sausage should be somewhat soft and crumbly.

While the chorizo is stewing, cut the collards off their stems and slice the halved leaves crosswise into 1/2 inch strips. Rinse thoroughly in cold water, use two rinses if necessary, then drain in a colander.

Add the collards, sprinkle with the salt, and stir. Cover the pot and braise the greens over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, until the greens are tender. [You can cook the greens much longer if desired, but I prefer them with a bit of bite left.] Add the stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the black-eyed peas, simmer for 5-10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld, and finish with the hot sauce to taste. I used 1 teaspoon so that MZ could tolerate it, and we added more to taste at the table.

Riff references: Tijuana cornbread

Happy Birthday, Baby!

2006-11-24T15:09:00.000-08:00

For R's birthday, we generally have rack of lamb or Dungeness crab, depending on his mood, the crab season start, and the proximity of his birthday to Thanksgiving. This year was a crab year, and that meant all the trimmings, which in our house includes tuna poke. It's not as weird as you might think, cracked crab, sourdough bread and poki, since I used to get my crab at the recently sold Yum Yum fish out in the Sunset. Yum Yum was operated by two ecentrics, one French the other Japanese. They had a lovely fish case and I would often try one of their sushi-grade fish when I stopped by for my crab order.

This is my first year without Yum Yum. While I miss the quirkiness of my old friends, Swan Oyster Depot has personality to spare, and Nijiya does have a well-stocked sushi-grade case. I picked out lots of tuna, octopus and tobiko for our feast, and MZ loved the deer at Japantown, already in place for the winter holidays.

My poke isn't totally authentic, I've never added ogo or kikui nut, due to sourcing issues, and mine is shoyu-style, so no Hawaiian salt. But it took a lot of fiddling to arrive at this combination, we only taste the difference immediately upon arriving home from The Islands.

Ahi Tuna or Octopus Poke

The recipe is the same whichever seafood you choose to use, just give the octopus an extra 30 minutes for the flavors to permeate. The tobiko gives it a luscious look and an interesting mouthfeel. I made a shrimp version for MZ, with some ebi from the sushi case, and she loved it! That's my girl...

1/4 cup finely diced sweet onion
1/2 cup green onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
1/3 c soy sauce
2 T mirin
1 good shake togarishi shimichi, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or 1 seeded Thai bird chile, minced
1/2 t freshly grated ginger with juice
1 lb. sushi-grade ahi, cut to 1 cm dice
2 t toasted sesame seeds, halved (a combination of black and white looks lovely)
1 T toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup tobiko

Combine the sweet onion, the white part of the green onion and the soy, mirin, chile or pepper flakes, garlic and ginger while dicing the ahi. Add the ahi, one half of the sesame seeds and 1/2 of the tobiko. Stir gently to combine, add the sesame oil and stir again. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the green part of the green onions, and sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds and tobiko. Enjoy on fried wonton chips, cucumber slices or a fork.

A new blog and a new recipe

2006-11-24T15:04:00.000-08:00

Hey, we started another blog! Yep, a few of us who gather regularly for pot luck are collaborating on a recipe collection and you can check it all out at Sunday Potlucks.

And here's my first contribution, Chicken, Tomatillo & Sweet Potato stew.

Ceviche el Tigre

2006-11-02T22:09:00.000-08:00

A recent trip to Sayulita in the State of Nayarit, Mexico yielded some of the best ceviche I've ever had. It was made with dorado, or mahi mahi, freshly caught by members of our party. We grilled it up the first night, and on the second night six adults and three toddlers descended on El Tigre, a local restaurant that speciliazes in all things fish. She made Dorado Two Ways for us, the first course this addicitive ceviche and the second grilled with a variety of sauces. My favorite was the Mojo de Ajo, right after the ceviche, of course.

The proprietress was kind enough to share her recipe, which we attempted to duplicate on the third day, to quite good results.

Certainly the freshest of fish has a lot to do with our success, but I do plan to try this at home with whatever appropriate sushi-grade fish I can get my hands on.

Ceviche El Tigre

2 lbs. impecably fresh dorado/mahi mahi or similar fish, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 small white onion, finely diced
1 t. ground black pepper
1/2 t. salt
1 cup lime juice
2-3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2-1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, diced (optional)
2-5 T ketchup, to taste
Mexican hot sauce, such as Huichol or Valentina, to taste

Good-quality tortilla chips, preferably round and about 5" in diameter.
More Mexican hot sauce, such as Huichol or Valentina

Combine the fish with the lime juice, black pepper and salt and allow to sit, refrigerated, for about 1.5 hours, or until the fish becomes firm. Add the rest of the ingrdients, tossing lightly to combine. Adjust flavors to taste and enjoy with tortilla chips and more hot sauce to taste.

Starting off to a sweet new year

2006-09-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

Having MZ in our lives has changed the way we approach the holidays more than we imagined. We used to plan carefully for our hosting or guest duties, but now we are more haphazard, as we juggle her needs with getting the food to the table. At the same time, we think more of her impressions and the family traditions we're creating, how to make her understand that these days are different from all others, and to be looked forward to from year to year.

I'm betting the food traditions make the most impression at this age, and the High Holy Days are filled with foods that make few appearances during the rest of the year. When else do we eat bagels for dinner except when we are breaking our fast? And lokshen kugel, there's a dish I don't make every day. It's a dairy fest, full of rich milky ingredients. The first few times I made Grandma Nora's recipe, I fiddled with low fat and nonfat ingredients, and found myself underwhelmed with the results. Now I just make it once or twice a year, and enjoy the warm, rich, custardy joy of it. The only flavorings are a touch of good vanilla and a light sprinkling of cinnamon. It's perfect comfort food after fasting all day.

There are two tricks to this recipe than might run counter to the way many people cook today: use old-fashioned egg noodles, nothing fancy, and cook to doneness. The kugel should meld into a soft pudding, and al dente noodles add nothing to this effect. And never, ever use whipped cream cheese -- your custard will never set.

Grandma Nora's Noodle Kugel

12 oz. wide egg noodles, boiled in lightly salted water and drained
4 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. small-curd cottage cheese
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. sour cream
1 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
6 T. melted butter
Corn flakes, crumbled
Cinnamon-sugar

Cream eggs and cream cheese together. Add cottage cheese, sugar and sour cream, stir to combine. Add milk and vanilla, stir. Add noodles and melted butter, stir. Pour into a greased 9"x13" baking dish. The kugel can be refrigerated overnight from this point.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle top of kugel with corn flakes crumbs, dust lightly with cinnamon-sugar. Bake for 40-60 minutes, until custard is set. Serve warm or at room temperature topped with sour cream and apple sauce or other stewed fruit (strawberry-rhubarb is lovely).

Aloha Pork

2006-08-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

I've been craving a tropical isle lately, and missing our favorite local Hawaiian place, which wasn't authentic plate lunch, but did do a delicious Kalua Pork and the fried rice with over-easy eggs that I crave periodically. We used to walk there every few months, enjoy a heavy breakfast and the walk home. MZ practically grew through infancy there and the waitresses were kind in a coffee shop sort of way.

So when I got a cabbage in my CSA box and saw some cryovac'd Niman pork shoulder at TJ's, I started thinking of Kalua Pork. I perused a dozen recipes via Google, and realized I was not going to go out in search of ti leaves, nor did I want to roast it in the oven. I wanted a braised pork and cabbage dish, the kind served at any plate lunch place on the Big Island.

So here is my interpretation. It is not authentic, but it is a fair bit healthier than its kin, and so easy it practically cooks itself. It was very nice with some organic half-polished brown rice I found at Nijiya. No mac salad, so the transformation to vaguely reminiscent, mostly healthy Cali-Hawaiian comfort food is complete.

Aloha Pork

2 lbs Niman pork should, cut into boneless country ribs, or slices approximately 2"x2"x6"
2 T Penzey's Trinidad Lemon Garlic Marinade
1 banana leaf
1 cup water
1 t Wright's Hickory Liquid Smoke combined with 3 t. water
1 medium head green cabbage, cut into papardelle-size slices

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Rub the pork pieces with the marinade and allow to sit for one hour or while preparing remaining ingredients. Cut banana leaf to fit over a heavy saucepan suitable for braising (many Asian markets sell packages of round trimmed banana leaves in the freezer section. I keep them on hand for making amok, and this was the perfect size for my small Le Creuset-style saucepan).

Place the seasoned pork in the saucepan. Pour liquid smoke mixture and water over all. Bring to a simmer, skim top, stir to put raw meat under water. Cover pan with the trimmed banana leaf and pot lid. Place in oven to braise for 1.5 hours.

Remove from oven, stir and place cabbage over all. Return to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Stir, and cook for 15 minutes more. The pork should be falling-apart tender, continue to braise, covered, until the pieces fall apart when you stir the mixture.

Adjust seasonings and serve with Japanese short-grain rice, Sriracha sauce and a cold tropical beer.

Riff references: Kalua Pork (slow cooker), No-Imu Kalua Pig, Will Owen on Chowhound

Postscript: For more traditional kalua pig, rub two 4-lb. pork shoulders with Hawaiian salt and 2 T Liquid Smoke and let sit, unwrapped, in the fridge overnight. Place in a crockpot and set on high. After one hour, turn to low, cook for 8 hours. Remove pork, add coarsely shredded cabbage and cover. Shred pork and add back to crockpot. Allow to simmer together ~30 minutes on high, then serve.

Tony's Venezuelan Black Beans

2006-07-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

Tony was a friend of mine back in my final years of college. He was an engineer in an agency in which I interned, a funny, creative guy who taught me how to be a passenger on a motorcycle and who smelled chronically of patchouli. He shared his family recipe for black beans, and there was a time when these were a requested feature at every pot luck.

There was a time when I went to a lot of potlucks, before the security of age and career progression brought dinner parties and nice restaurants. Some friends were famous for the potlucks they gave (?), for the scintillating and unique people and food they brought together. If you were a newbie, you were asked to bring dessert. If your dish made an impression, you'd be asked to bring an app or a main, but if you were asked to bring dessert again, unless you were a pastry chef it was a fair bet you didn't impress.

I've lost touch with a lot of those folks over the two intervening decades. I only just rediscovered this recipe a few weeks ago and decided to make it again. I suppose it fell out of favor when I was busy trying my hand at more complex flavors, but like an old friend, it's comforting familiarity is a refreshing change. And the simple hominess of the flavors means MZ is likely to give it a try, too, sometime around the 12th time I offer it. And since this makes a heap-big batch o' black beans, maybe that will happen.

But in the meantime I am happy with my rediscovery. It's lovely the next day, and when you reach the end of the leftovers, it makes wonderful balck beans and rice, just drain and mix with some cooked white rice, chopped fresh cilantro, red pepper and onions, and a few dashes of Tabasco -- you want that vinegary kick in an otherwise plain combination.

I don't know where Tony is anymore, but I'm happy to remember those days.

1 lb. dried black beans, sorted, rinsed and soaked overnight (or not, your preference)
2 medium yellow onions, fine minced
1 red bell pepper, cored and finely diced
1 jalapeno or 1/2 green bell pepper, cored and finely diced
1 T each ground coriander and cumin
1/4 t cayenne pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 - 3/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (add to taste)
Salt to taste

Saute the vegetables through the jalapeno in a heavy pot over medium heat till the onions are translucent. Add the spices and garlic, stir and saute until fragant. Add the beans and enough liquid to cover the mixture by about 2 inches.

Bring beans to a simmer and continue to cook, uncovered, until the beans are soft and a thick broth forms, about 2 hours.

Remove 1-2 cups, puree and add back along with the orange juice and salt. Simmer another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve as part of a big spread that includes a braised or grilled meat and white rice, or solo with some cornbread.

Bulgur, I don't even know her!

2006-07-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, that's bad. But I've always thought bulgur was a strange word for something so toothesome. We've been trying to eat more whole grains here at Casa Robmaliam, both because MZ likes them and because they're good for all of us. And bulgur is almost as easy as couscous. It can be prepared the same way, with salt, EVOO or butter and boiled water, left to steam ~10 minutes, but it's even better as a quick pilaf. And our bountiful supply of cherry tomatoes lightened the whole dish up to make it more bearable on this unusually hot weekend. It barely felt like cooking.

This dinner is on the table in 20 minutes, easy. Part of the speed is in using Penzey's dependable, high-quality spice mixes -- a quick way to add complex flavor without a lot of chopping and measuring. The recipe feeds two and a toddler generously with leftover bulgur for toddler meals.

Halibut with Cherry Tomato Salad and Bulgur Pilaf
1 lb halibut fillets
3 t. Penzey's Greek seasoning mix or ~1/2 t. each crumbled dried Mediterranean oregano and marjoram, garlic powder, lemon zest, kosher salt and black pepper
3 T EVOO
1.5 cups bulgur
1 leek, coarsely chopped
1 stem celery, medium dice
1 t kosher or sea salt
1.5 cups boiling water
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 coarsely chopped green onion
1 t white wine or champagne vinegar

Rub the halibut fillets with 1.5 t. Greek seasoning or your own spice mix, and 1 T EVOO. Set aside.

Heat 1 T EVOO in a saucepan and saute leek and celery till softened, add 1 t salt and the bulgur, stir to combine and add boiling water, stirring again to combine. Turn off heat, cover tightly and allow to steam for 10 minutes.

Combine green onion, remaining Greek seasoning, and vinegar in a non-reactive bowl. Allow to sit while preparing rest of dinner.

Heat nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Pan-grill fish for 2 minutes on each side, then turn heat to low, cover and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, slice cherry tomatoes in half, reserving some if you think your child won't like the seasoned tomatoes, and add to green onion mixture. Add remaining EVOO. Fluff the bulgur.

Lay halibut over a serving of bulgur, then spoon tomato salad over all, this is delightful with a glass of chilled Sancerre or other Loire Sauvignon Blanc.

Have I mentioned that this marinade rocks?

2006-07-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

That's what I kept saying all through dinner. It's really that good.

This morning we took a multi-generational jaunt to Alemany Market. R. and I were so happy to be back in The Land of Fabulous Produce. We planned to go to Ferry Plaza, craving perfect tomatoes and ceviche tostadas, but Papa & Ma'na suggested Alemany and suddenly that sounded perfect. Halfway through the market, we agreed on a menu for that night: striped bass on the grill, beet salad, fresh black-eyed pea salad and grilled summer squash, and a nectarine and berry tart. What's not to like?

We brought home four bright-eyed striped bass, and Papa gutted them, R. scaled them and Ma'na cleaned them up, while R. cleaned up all the scales in the back yard. Iwas ready to say "Never again!" to gutting/scaling, but when I tried the fish that night, I was converted. So sweet, so firm, so outstanding. And I like to think my marinade helped...

Herb Marinade for a Whole Mess of Whole Fish
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 T chopped fresh marjoram
2 t. chopped fresh rosemary
2 T. minced parsley
2 T capers
1/8 c Meyer lemon-infused EVOO
1/8 cup EVOO

Combine ingredients thoroughly. Place the fish in a zip lock bag. Spoon marinade into the cavity of each fish, then pour remaining mixture into the bag and rub all over the fish. Refrigerate for a few hours.

When you're ready to eat, open a bottle of crisp white wine, pour glasses all around, and heat the grill to medium hot. This might be better grilled over charcoal, but we use gas. So place the fish on a medium-hot grill for four minutes, turn over and grill for another four minutes.

Bone at table and enjoy.

Grilled Squash to Go With
I learned a nice trick from the Chez Panisse Vegetables cookbook. I roasted some beets, and the folks at Chez Panisse suggest marinating the vegetables in a vinegar-based mixture for at least 30 minutes before adding any oil. It makes for very sprightly flavors, so I decided to try it on the squash, which can be a little bland. I mixed minced garlic with salt, 1 teaspoon of Boulettes Lebanese 7-Spice and a few tablespoons of sherry vinegar, added the 1/2"-thick slices (lengthwise) of assorted summer squash and zucchini, and waited a bit before adding 1/4 cup of EVOO. Summer squash is a much more porous vegetable, so 10-15 minutes is sufficient. But try this next time you grill squash.

Favas: A Lifestyle Choice

2006-06-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

Beyond the obvious Silence of the Lambs reference, favas are a challenge. They're a lot of work to prepare, no matter how good they are they require a certain "lifestyle" if you you want to have them very often. I typically make a point to go to Ristorante Bacco during the season to enjoy their fava crostini. This, incidentally, is where I learned of the fava bean's affinity for sheep's milk cheese, which informs the recipe below.

The recipe is also informed by my CSA box, which bore a bagload of favas last week, so fresh and beautiful that a manageable recipe had to be found. Also in the box: broccoli di Cicco. My friend Jude sent me a recipe from Mariquita Farms, which I naturally had to porkify. The results are addictive. I can't say this is totally worth buying favas for, but I will say that I peeled them (both times) in front of the computer, while catching up on blogs, newsletters, and other e-reading.

This recipe made plenty for a dinner for four adults, and was lovely over our new favorite multi-grain spaghettini with a glass of crisp, cold pinot gris.

Pancetta, Fava & Broccoli di Cicco Pasta Sauce

1 T EVOO
2 slices pancetta, preferably thick-cut, diced into lardons
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T finely chopped oregano, or ~2 t minced
1.5 cups low sodium, low fat chicken broth
2 cups cooked, peeled fava beans*
1.5 cups broccoli di Cicco, or substitute broccoli florets
1 lb. dried w/w or multigrain thin spaghetti or fettuccine
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Roman cheese, plus more for grating at table

* Peel the outer pod off the fava beans. Unless your favas are small and fresh, blanch them for 2 minutes in boiling water, drain and immediately plunge into a bowl of ice water. When they are cool, drain and peel the skin from the bean. Favas are much easier to peel when they're blanched.

Reserve the boiling water to blanch the broccoli. If using broccoli di Cicco, remove the leaves and chop coarsely. Then cut the stalks into 1/2" dice, keeping the florets intact. Blanch for 1 minute, add the leaves, stir, then drain and plunge into ice water.

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.

Meanwhile, heat a heavy medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, allow to heat, then add the pancetta. Saute the pancetta until it is slightly browned. Add the garlic, saute about 2 minutes till the garlic is just beginning to brown, stir in the oregano, then add the stock. Bring to a boil, taste and adjust salt. Add 1.5 cups of fava beans and simmer for about 3 minutes.
When the pasta water comes to a boil, salt generously and add pasta. Cook according to package directions. Pour yourself a glass of wine, and one for your partner, too.

Turn off the heat on the pasta sauce and puree with a stick blender or in a standing blender. Return the sauce to the pan, turn the heat to medium and add the remaining favas, the drained broccoli, 1/4 cup cheese and several grinds of black pepper (to taste). Cook for 3-5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooking water for the sauce. Toss the pasta in the sauce, adding pasta water as necessary to thin the sauce. Remove to a warmed serving dish, garnish with a few sprigs of fresh oregano, and serve with remaining cheese to be grated at table.

Or, if your house is like ours, one of you will dish the pasta into bowls from the stove while the other dices pasta into manageable toddler lengths, then sit down to enjoy dinner together.

Riff references: Two Small Farms Newsletter

Miso-glazed Black Cod with Braised Carrots & Soba Noodles

2006-05-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

This recipe is a variation on the Salmon, Bok Choy & Udon theme: quick pieces that combine into an easy, flavorful meal that feels like special occasion food but comes together quickly on a busy weeknight. Since I put this together, we've had it enough times that MZ chows down on the soba noodles and even eats the carrots. Oddly, she's off fish these days, but if she were to actually try this, I think she'd love the light sweetness of the miso marinade and the suppleness of the black cod.

Black cod is in season locally right now. So is green garlic (you don't say), so I substituted it for scallions to excellent effect. The soba noodles aren't local, nor are they from a local merchant. But Nijiya market has a nice line of organic, non-GMO products and their soba is good. And the Mariquita Farms carrots were a real clean-out-the-fridge discovery, since neither of us love cooked carrots; the miso compliments their sweetness without reaching dessert levels. The marinade keeps for about one month in a glass jar in the fridge, so make the whole recipe and enjoy it again! Also, I haven't really noticed a huge difference in flavor with longer marinating, so don't feel like you need to get up early to get the fish marinating in time.

Miso-glazed Black Cod with Braised Carrots & Soba Noodles
1 recipe Aqua's Miso Marinade
1 lb. black cod fillets
1/2 cup low-sodium chix broth
1 T sugar
1.5 T white miso
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions or green garlic
1/2 lb. carrots, cut in quarters lengthwise, then into thin slices on a deep angle
1/4 T butter (one thin slice from a stick)
2 sections from a package of dried soba noodles (see photo)

Place the fish in the miso marinade at least one hour before cooking. Then remove from marinade. Reserve marinade.

Place the chix broth, sugar, miso and leftover marinade in a nonstick pan. Bring to a boil, add the carrots, cover and cook 3-5 minutes, depending on preferred "doneness." Stir in the green onions or green garlic.

Meanwhile, bring a medium pan of water to boil, and heat a nonstick pan to medium-high for the fish. Cook the soba noodles according to the package instructions. Cook the cod fillets for 3 minutes on each side.

Stir the soba into the carrot mixture. Serve in rimmed pasta bowls with the fish on top.

The last of the green garlic

2006-05-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

I have a few recipes I've been dying to post, and right now I'm procrastinating folding laundry, so why not?

This a salsa verde of sorts that's amazing served over grilled fish or chicken. The strong flavors make a simple dinner pop. Serve over salad or whole wheat couscous or orzo. As an aside, whole wheat orzo is my new favorite side dish, it's fast and toothsome, without the flavor and mouthfeel tradeoff of some whole wheat pastas.

Green Garlic Salsa Cruda

3 stems (?) of green garlic, from whites through light green, stopping wherever the stem becomes tough
One dozen green or oil-cured black olives
20 or so stems of Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon rinsed salted capers
1 t or more fresh lemon juice
Anchovy, mashed (optional)
EVOO or lemon EVOO
Salt and freshly ground peper to taste

Coarsely chop the first 4 ingredients. Add the capers and combine with your preferred EVOO to taste. Addictive served over grilled salmon or halibut, yummy on steamed vegetables.

Think globally, eat locally

2006-05-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

May is so many things for Bay Area eaters, as Spring begins in earnest and the markets start to fill with lovely produce. What better time to rise to the Eat Local Challenge? If you follow this link, you will find perhaps more structure than you're willing to take on. I feel like it was just yesterday I was thinking of a birth plan, much less a sleeping plan or a weaning plan. Do I really need an Eat Local Challenge Plan? I think not.

But I do take this as an opportunity to act locally in my consumer behavior. Like many Bay Area food people (and isn't being a food person practically a prerequisite for living here?), I shop the farmers markets and try to think about where my food comes from. I understand that local means fresher and thus tastier, that less energy was expended to get it to me, and that I am contributing to my local economy in a very direct way. But this month, I plan to pay more attention to Local with a capital L. I like Tea & Cookies' 100-mile foodshed, that seems do-able.

I know I'll still buy things for MZ that don't comply, I'm not ready to give up her few sources of protein for the month. But let's see if we can't get her to eat more of Hodo Soy Beanery's great products. And I'll never make it through the month at all if I give up coffee. But Blue Bottle is a local business (as is Peet's). If I'm reaching for the Horizon, I'll pick up Clover Organic instead. Ben & Jerry's? Think Straus. Chicken? Why, Rocky and Rosie, of course! Oh, yeah, and plenty of wine. Good, local wine.

I may not be able to handle a plan, but I can handle a Pledge:
If not Locally Produced, then Organic.
If not Organic, then Family Farm.
If not Family Farm, then Local Business.
If not a Local Business, then Fair Trade.

Wanna join me?

House o' Pork

2006-04-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

Pork is my absolute favorite meat, no contest. Lamb is very, very good, duck breast does not suck, but pork? Fugheddiboudit. Pancetta is the basis for so many great dishes, nothing beats braised pork shoulder... pork belly, pork loin, pork ears and feet and even liver. I even dig ground pork, where ground beef always makes me a little queasy.

When I met R., he wasn't much for the pork, it being über-treif and all. But I would not be swayed. This is a man who loves shrimp, scallops, crab. So dammit, he'll eat the pork. And I cook the pork.

So I do not speak lightly when I say that if you make one thing out of a magazine this month, make it the glazed pork chops out of the Cook's Illustrated April issue. So easy. So good. Serve it with braised red cabbage and you'll think you're in Munich.

Happy Passover, Happy Spring

2006-04-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

I had recipes and posts in mind, but MZ's ear infection/roseola outbreak forced a retreat. Just posting on Wine Blogging Wednesday nearly drove me past the point of exhaustion (where are my priorities, you might ask, but the four cups could not compete with the Navarro Pinot Gris after three days of nursing a sick baby, plus I drank the wine on Tuesday). And did I mention that our freezer got left open, thus necessitating two days of mad cooking to save what could be saved? Necessity is the mother of invention, but it remains to be seen whether I was successful since almost everything went back in the freezer in its re-cooked state.

So, Passover recipes will come, maybe in a few days when hiding the matzo takes on a whole new meaning. Here's one idea, from last year, which I plan to make again with some permutation of lamb shanks... it may not feel very Spring, but with all this rain I'm thinking a wedge of this kugel might be good cold, as a snack on the ark.

Vegetable Passover Kugel

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
4 small zucchini, grated
2.5 t salt
1 carrot, grated
2-3 eggs, beaten
1/4 t each oregano, smoked paprika, turmeric, black pepper
1/2 t salt
2 T chopped parsley
1/4 c unsalted matzo meal
1 t EVOO

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine onion, 2 t of salt, and zucchini, drain 20 minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid, and add next four ingredients. Stir to combine, then add matzo meal and parsley, stir again till thoroughly combined.

Lightly grease a tart plate (ceramic is better than one with a removable bottom), pour in mixture and bake 45 minutes, till golden on top and a knife comes out clean.

Best served with something saucy like lamb shanks.

As I type this, I realize this is dangerously close to my neo-latke recipe, but you'll have to wait for Chanukah to do the comparison.

Wine Blogging Wednesday: '02 Navarro Pinot Gris

2006-04-12T22:59:00.000-07:00

Wine Blogging Wednesday is a monthly international event that I learned of over on the excellent Vinography blog. This month it's being run by Wine for Newbies, if you're interested in what people had to say about white wines beyond the Big Three (Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc), check out his wrap-up. If you're interested in a wine primer podcast, check out his site.

I took the event as a great opportunity to try something from one of my favorite wineries: Navarro Vineyards, in Mendocino. Navarro is exactly what I want a California winery to be: beautiful setting, lovely people, delicious wines, and a tasting room that is comfortable without being big and corporate. We manage to get up to Mendo every few years, and when we do, we always enjoy our visits to Navarro, Husch, Handley Cellars and Lazy Creek. Inevitably, we come home with a case of wine, which we dole out across the years to remind us of our wonderful get-away.

While not the subject of this tasting, it's worth noting that Navarro makes fabulous non-alcoholic grape juice. Both the Pinot Noir and the Gewürztraminer show true varietal flavors, and make a lovely spritzer with sparkling water and a twist of lemon or lime. Navarro spritzers have gotten me through the wine-craving days of my pregnancies. Don't look for these in stores, Navarro sells strictly from the winery or online store, but you can give them a try at Zuni or Chez Panisse, or at virtually every Mendocino-area restaurant.

Now for the subject of this post: the 2002 Navarro Pinot Gris, a gift to my dad that he graciously shared with us. He's been storing it for a couple of years, to great effect. I'm not a big fan of pinot gris (or pinot grigio when from Italy) in general, it can be much too light for my taste, leaving me craving something with a little more substance. While I enjoy light wines in context (Muscadet with shellfish, for example), perhaps I just haven't found the proper context for most pinot gris.

Or perhaps this is an issue of the winemaker not knowing how to handle the grape. According to the folks over at Terroir French Wine Guide, Pinot Gris is an Alsation grape-variety, also called Tokay d'Alsace. They tell me it's a very exacting variety that might be light and fruity or robust. Somehow Navarro managed to make the '02 both fruity and robust, almost like a lightly-aged Riesling Spätlese trocken in weight.

According to Navarro, each vineyard lot of pinot gris is fermented and aged separately in French oak casks and in the spring Navarro's staff ranks them in quality in order to blend the cuvée. They have hillside vineyards as well as grapes on the valley floor, and the combination results in a suprisingly rich and balanced pinot gris, full of fruit (they tell me melon, fig, mint, muskmelon and tangerine) on the palate but with a completely dry, minerally finish. That transition from rich to crisp left me wanting the next sip almost immediately, I found myself tempted to gulp this wine -- but that may have been more the result of a day spent with a sick and clingy baby.

All in all, a wonderful way to close out the day.

What to do with lots of carrots and fennel

2006-04-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

It's early spring and our CSA box is filled with carrots and fennel, as well as gorgeous green garlic. R. is not especially fond of fennel, and I am not a fan of carrots as a vegetable side dish. But when we were in Paris last Fall (and there is no way to write that without sounding pretentious), MZ was served a fennel and carrot mousseline, scented with herbes de Provence, that we all swooned for.

Our days of baby food past us, I'm not enthused about breaking out the food mill. So how about fennel carrot soup? The whole time I was making it, I was sure it would be a disaster. I didn't feel I had enough taste memory to know where I was going. But when R. tasted it, he was enthusiastic, as was Tante Judy, who hasn't been easy to satisfy these days. The recipe is indeed a keeper, made so I'm sure by the wonderfully fresh ingredients and the addition of sausage and cream. If you can't get a hold of Fatted Calf sausages, look for a really good fresh (not smoked) garlic sausage with a fine grind. Do not use a Whole Foods sausage, they are always too coarse and over-seasoned.

This makes a lot of soup, because I had a lot of vegetables, easily enough for dinner for four with a light butter lettuce salad, some crusty whole wheat bread, and a bottle of Sancerre. And maybe some fresh raspberries for dessert.

2 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced green garlic, white and light green parts only
1 leek, cleaned, quartered and thinly sliced
1.5 teaspoons salt
2 cups carrots, a flavorful farmers market variety if possible, cut in small dice or thin quarters
2 cups fennel, cut in small dice
1.5 teaspoons crumbled herbes de Provence
1/2 cup crisp, dry white wine (not oaky)
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
3 cups water
2 links of Fatted Calf Toulouse sausage, or another good fresh garlic sausage
1/2 cup heavy cream

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the green garlic, leeks and carrots. Sprinkle with salt and cover the pot, allowing them to stew for five minutes. Do not brown. Add the fennel and herbes de Provence and stew a few minutes longer. Turn the heat to high and add the wine. Allow the wine to cook almost completely away, then add the broth and water. When the soup comes to a simmer, cover and turn down the heat. Cook until the vegetables are quite soft, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, add a bit of olive oil to a nonstick pan over medium heat. Remove the sausage from its casing and crumble into the pan. Brown, but do not cook completely. Set aside to drain in a colander or on paper towels, then chop into small pieces.

When the vegetables are soft, add the sausage and simmer for 10 minutes. Add water if necessary to achieve a thin consistency. Remove 1.5 cups of broth and solids and puree. Return to pan with the cream. Simmer for 3-5 minutes, until the soup loses the raw cream flavor, adjust salt and serve.

Riff references: Dinner at Les Fables de la Fontaine

Salmon, Bok Choy and Udon, oh my!

2006-03-27T11:01:00.000-08:00

This post is inspired by Wood, who sent up a flag for recipes to get her through the week. This is our absolute favorite fast, healthy meal, bar none. We ate this almost once/week when I was pregnant and trying to get salmon and greens as often as possible (when what I really wanted was pizza and mac'n'cheese). This method for cooking salmon, straight out of Patricia Wells' Bistro Cooking, will wow your benefactees, the texture is unbelievable.

MZ loves everything in this dish now, she plays with the udon noodles and will eat the bok choy if it's cut small. And Wood, you should easily be able to find the ingredients in your 'hood...

2 salmon fillets
Teriyaki sauce from a bottle or homemade
2 garlic cloves
6 fresh shiitaki mushrooms (if you're feeling fancy)
4-6 heads of baby bok choy, depending on size
2 individual serving packages of udon noodles, without the broth base

Teriyaki sauce:
1 T sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T mirin
2 T sake
1 garlic clove, pressed
1" piece of ginger, peeled and grated

Preheat oven to 325. Combine teriyaki ingredients, or pour sauce in a shallow baking dish. Add fish, turn to coat, leaving skin side up.

While fish is marinating, slice mushrooms thinly, if using, then cut bok choy on the diagonal into thin slices and rinse in a colander -- allow some water to remain on the leaves. Put a medium pot of water on to boil. Pour a glass of wine, if you haven't done so. A fruity sauvignon blanc, gewürztraminer or dry riesling would be perfect.

Heat a nonstick pan on medium high heat. Pat the fish dry and lay in the pan, cooking for two minutes on each side. While fish is cooking, transfer teriyaki sauce to a small saucepan and bring to a boil, cook for at least 3 minutes to reduce and to make sure it's cooked. Wipe baking dish with a paper towel and place fish back in, and place in oven. Set timer for 5 minutes.

When water comes to a boil, add the noodles. Stir to break up a bit, and cook as directed.

Heat a wok or flat nonstick pan on high heat (if you have expensive nonstick pans, ditch them for some restaurant supply pans and enjoy high heat -- they're practically disposable). Add some canola oil, and the garlic. When it turns golden in color, add the mushrooms. Stir occasionally until they soften (a minute or two), then add the bok choy. Stir often, but not continuously, for a few minutes until done to your liking -- keeping in mind that baby bok choy goes from crisp to mush very rapidly.

When the noodles are done, drain in colander used for bok choy. Plate to two rimmed soup/pasta bowls, reserving some for the baby. Add the bok choy mixture, then lay the fish on top, again reserving some for the baby. Add the teriyaki sauce to the water remaining in the bok choy pan, and spoon over all.

Cut the baby's food up, refill the wine, and sit down to eat together. The best.

Riff references: Bistro Cooking, Japanese Family-style Recipes

Random finds that MZ will eat

2006-03-23T21:28:00.000-08:00

I made all MZ's food when we were first feeding her solids, and she liked everything. We even got to the point where she would eat whatever we were eating, simply ground up in a portable food mill.

But now that MZ's a self-feeder, it's become a challenge to get food in her. Her try-anything attitude seemed to have shut down, she gave up most meat and cheese, and now I find I feed her a lot more prepared food than I ever intended. It's hard not to try anything when left to her own devices she'd go through the day on nothing but grapes, peas and blueberries. I read labels more than I used to, and I'm stunned by the amount of sodium and sugar in prepared foods, even those designed for kids. Why does yo-baby have added sugar? Why is there so much sodium in Annie's Mac'n'Cheese? Don't even get me started on the horror that is Lunchables... and most of these don't have any real flavor.

But I've found a few items that I feel pretty good about, and that make life a lot easier:
-Hodo Soy tofu omelette and tofu jerky, found at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market
-Tofu Pups, the lowest sodium of the tofu dogs, available at grocery stores that carry soy products, including Whole Foods
-Trader Joe's spinach nuggets, located in the refrigerator case near the cheese
-Trader Joe's baked tofu -- the Thai flavor has the least sodium
-Trader Joe's organic hummus
-Just Tomatoes freeze-dried fruits
-Annie's whole wheat cheddar bunnies
-Earth's Best fortified Crunchin' Crackers
-Sukhi's spiced naan (heated in a dry nonstick pan, this makes great cheese toast)
-East & West Foods spinach bolani and lentil curry, available at the Alemany Farmers' Market

Unfortunately, many of these are impossible to find outside the immediate Bay Area. What works for your kid?

Just for the halibut

2006-03-23T19:49:00.000-08:00

Groan, that's the worst line ever. But Alaskan halibut's in season and our CSA box started this month, so we're in heaven at Casa Robmaliam.

Since Chilean seabass entered the off limits list, wild Pacific salmon and halibut have become our favorite fish. When they're in season, we try to enjoy them as much as possible. And sauteed greens -- our favorite vegetable by far -- makes a lovely bed for grilled halibut. How wonderful then to have Lacinato kale (also called cavalo nero or dino kale) in our box this week! Rancho Gordo beans would have been ideal to go with, but the meal occured to me too late so we made do with a can of cannelinis. The following will easily feed two adults and a toddler, with leftover greens:

For the halibut:
2 6-oz. halibut fillets
Penzey's Greek seasoning, or salt, lemon pepper, and crumbled dried Mediterranean oregano
lemon EVOO

For the greens:
2 T EVOO, plus more to finish
1 bunch kale, preferrablo cavalo nero/Lacinato/dino kale
2 garlic cloves, chopped coarsely
1/2 t chile flakes
1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth

Put a medium pot of water on to boil. Meanwhile, liberally sprinkle the fish with the seasoning and rub with the lemon olive oil. Set aside.

Prepare the kale by slicing the leaves off the side of the stem (easiest if you hold the kale by the end of the stem and slice down over a colander), then slice crosswise into thin strips. Rinse thoroughly. When the water is boiling, add 1 T salt and the kale. Cook for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a grill pan on medium high heat. Chop the garlic. Heat a saute pan on medium heat. Add the olive oil and when it heats up, add the garlic and chile flakes. Saute slowly till the garlic softens, don't allow it to burn. Put the fish on the grill pan and set a timer for four minutes. Drain the kale and add it to the garlic, stir and when everything is heated up, add the beans and chicken broth* and stir. Allow to simmer while you turn the fish over and cook for another 4 minutes.

Plate the sauteed beans and greens in rimmed soup plates/pasta bowls. Lay the fish over the top.

Enjoy with something cold, white, dry but fruity, like a Spanish Albariño.

Riff references: The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market Cookbook

*This is where if you had those good Rancho Gordo beans, already cooked and ready to go, you'd add a cup of the cooking liquid, which would be thick and flavorful with a sauteed onion or some crushed garlic cloves and a bay leaf.

Cheatin' Chilaquiles

2006-03-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

The value of this recipe is convenience. There are excellent chilaquiles-from-scratch recipes out there, and then there's this one. But it is good and comforting and incredibly easy, and a great use for leftover cooked chicken.

The way I make chicken stock, I always have lots of cooked chicken meat left over, and I make this or an amazingly good chicken-butternut squash-chanterelle pot pie that I haven't had time to make in a while. I am optimistic that someday even MZ will eat this, it has all the right flavors but is still a bit too casserole-y for self-feeding.

This is not a spicy dish, to our tastes. I much prefer to add the picante at the table, either in the form of Valentina, or Marie Sharpe's if you're a real chile head. This dish will easily feed 6 adults, and makes great leftovers.

20 corn tortillas
1/2 white or yellow onion, diced
2 T canola oil
1 28-oz. can Las Palmas green chile sauce
1 7-oz. can Herdez salsa verde
1/4 c. water or chicken broth
1 Bay leaf
1.5 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/2 cup crema or sour cream
3 T chopped cilantro
1/2 cup grated Jack or other good melting cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly brush dry tortillas on one side with canola oil, stacking them oiled-to-non-oiled sides. Divide into stacks of 5 and cut into 6 wedges. Spread on a foil-lined jellyroll pan and bake, stirring occasionally, till crisp and browned, about 15-20 minutes. Increase heat to 400 degrees and set chips aside.

Meanwhile, saute onion in oil in a small Dutch oven. Don't skimp too much on the oil, because you want to fry the sauce when it's added. When the onion has softened, increase heat to high and add the bay leaf, sauce, salsa and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add the chicken, stir and cook to heat through, then add the crema and cilantro. Remove sauce from heat.

Scatter chips in a lasagne pan, pour sauce over and stir slightly to work the sauce into and under the chips. Top with grated cheese, bake for 15-20 minutes till heated through, then place the pan under the broiler until the cheese browns a bit. Serve with hot salsa on the side.

Enjoy with beer. My favorite for this and most Mexican food is Negra Modelo.

Riff references: Rick Bayless

Banana Pudding without the wafers

2006-03-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

The internet is an amazing thing for lots of reasons, but especially for cooking. I have a fairly large collection of cookbooks, I used to read and reference them all the time. But these days I rarely have time, so it's nice to know that I can plug x ingredient and the word recipe into Google and come out with some ideas. Not tested, mind you, not proven, but at least a starting point for a technique or a flavor combination.

One of my favorite resources is the Chowhound Home Cooking Message Board. It's populated, seemingly 24/7, by a selection of good cooks who almost always have the answer to your questions. Slow cooker recipes? Check. How to keep galangal and lemongrass? Check. How to make banana pudding without the wafers? Check!

I'm not a big dessert maker. Savories are my bag, and I'm frankly a little afraid of dessert chemistry. So I was happy to have a place to turn for pudding advice after my chocolate pudding came out one-dimensionally sweet, without the full mouthfeel of the real thing. And after I discovered that apparently what most of the country means by banana pudding is packaged vanilla pudding with banana slices, layered with Nilla wafers. I can see the attraction if you grew up with that as comfort food, but I didn't, so I don't even want to know.

Thanks, theSauce, for your recipe for real homemade banana pudding. I made a change or two from the original, linked below, but overall this is theSauce's vision and technique. It was sweet for my taste, but R pronounced it perfect.

1.25 cups sugar
1/3 cup + 1 T cornstarch
Pinch of salt
3 cups cold whole milk
2 egg yolks
2 T room temp unsalted butter
2 t vanilla
1 t Meyers dark rum
3 ripe but firm bananas, sliced

Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large saucepan. Whisk in the milk until the mixture is completely smooth. Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir until the mixture is warm.

Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl until blended. Stir a small amount of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks and stir (to prevent the egg yolks from curdling). Cook for about 10 minutes, whisking continuously, until the custard is quite thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, rum and bananas.

Pour the custard into a bowl or into individual ramekins. Pressing a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding will prevent a "skin" from forming. Place in the fridge to cool completely before serving, at least one hour for ramekins and a few hours for a full bowl.

Enjoy with a cold glass of milk.

Recipe riff: Recipe from theSauce

Jerusalem Artichoke & Green Garlic Soup

2006-03-05T22:07:00.000-08:00

There's a lot to find annoying about San Francisco. It's expensive, it's cold almost all the time, and boy do we have a high opinion of ourselves. But you can't beat the produce. R. and I visit markets whenever we travel, and the variety and quality of produce here is truly incredible.

And lo, according to the farmers markets, Spring is springing! A bit early for reliably good strawberries, but green garlic is here! And it's overlapping with lovely little Jerusalem artichokes.

I planned to roast the chokes, but then R. had to get his wisdom teeth pulled. And then I saw the green garlic. So, soup it was, with a little direction from the nice man at Knoll Farms.

We like our pureed soups with a little something to chew on, usually I add lentils or crumbled browned sausage, but I had some cremini mushrooms and thought the earthiness would work in this soup. I also used part stock/part water because I didn't want to overwhelm the vegetables with the flavor of chicken stock. If you're using canned broth, maybe go 100% broth.

The color might be off-putting for some, it's a dull pale green. But the flavors should help you get over that. If this soup didn't already have the cream and butter, I might spring for the pumpernickel croutons suggested in the Epicurious recipe below.

2 T butter
2 T olive oil
4-6 stems green garlic, thinly sliced, with green parts and white parts divided
4 spring onions or scallions, thinly sliced
1 lb. Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock + 1.5 cups water
3/4 cup cream
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, diced to ~1/4" pieces
1/4 t black pepper, finely ground

Melt half the butter and olive oil in a heavy pot on medium heat. Add the white parts of the green garlic, the scallions and the Jerusalem artichokes. Sprinkle with salt. Stir, cover and stew for ~10 minutes. Add the wine, increase heat to high and boil to reduce wine by half. Add the broth, simmer 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter and olive oil on medium-high heat in a nonstick pan. Add the mushrooms and sprinkle with salt. Saute till the juices are released, allowing the mushrooms to brown slightly. Add the green garlic stems and saute ~1 minute longer. Turn off the heat.

When the the vegetables in the soup are quite soft, turn off the heat and puree using a hand blender. Turn heat to medium high and add the cream. Bring to a simmer and cook for approximately 3 minutes, until the cream is no longer raw-tasting. Add the mushroom mixture and black pepper, Stir, adjust salt, and serve.

Soup doesn't necessarily lend itself to wine, and artichokes will kill the flavor of most anyway, but these earthy flavors would work with a lighter-bodied Pinot Noir.

Riff references: RecipeSource, Riverford CSA, Epicurious

Duck and Mustard Green Soup

2006-03-03T01:42:00.000-08:00

Every time I go to my OB/GYN's, I stop at Nijiya market for a snack. It's a spendy Japanese supermarket with a lot of organic/non-GMO soy products and noodles. I usually get a few items from the deli case for breakfast the next morning, if I get oyako donburi, R and I will eat the rice and chicken, while MZ eats the egg. I bought tamago over and over, thinking she'd love it, but after the third refusal I gave up. But this she likes. She also loves these little tofu nuggets with carrot and edamame in them. And on one occasion, she devoured seaweed salad.

They have "water duck" in the meat department, beautiful little neatly trimmed breasts. I bought them planning a more elaborate dinner, but then we all got a cold. Getting sick always makes me a little manic, and on the first day I made a huge pot of stock. First night we had matzo ball soup (made from a mix, we're sick after all, but with schmaltz, not vegetable oil), then tom kah gai. On the third night, the duck needed to be used. So I did some recipe surfing, and remembered I had some nice mustard greens from my weekend foray to the Alemany farmers market.

This is what I came up with, it was quick and we liked it so much I plan to make it again. I think it would also be good with sai fun (bean thread noodles):

Whisk together 3 T soy sauce, 2 T mirin, 1/2 t five spice and 1 clove garlic, minced. Marinate 2 duck breasts.

Meanwhile, heat 4 cups chicken stock with 1 T soy sauce, 4 coins of peeled ginger and 1 star anise. Place four dried shiitake mushrooms in a bowl of hot water till softened. Chop the leaves from one bunch of mustard greens into thin strips. Cook one or two bundles of SE Asian rice noodles (the kind you'd use for pho) according to the package instructions (no, really, they're pictographs, you can follow along), drain and set aside.

Pat the duck breasts dry and pan-saute on medium-high heat, about 3 minutes on each side. Slice the mushrooms into thin strips while the duck rests and add them to the soup, then slice the breasts into thin slices. Add the mustard greens to the soup, and stir.

When the greens have wilted, divide the noodles into two or three large Chinese-style soup bowls. Ladle the soup on top, distributing the greens and mushrooms evenly. Fan the duck slices on top and serve, with Sriracha and oyster sauce on the side.

Riff references: Asian Greens, New Food Fast

Lamb Patties with Yogurt Mint Sauce

2006-02-27T11:07:00.000-08:00

Again, necessity drives invention. The only way MZ will eat meat is if it is ground. And when she slept too long for me to get to the store to buy ingredients for our planned Indian meal, I went with what we had on hand. It was good enough to make again. That is if my sister will make more of her delicious pita.

MZ gobbled this up, she loved the crumbled patties as well as the pita dipped in hummus and yogurt sauce.

Lamb patties (recipe below)
Minted Yogurt sauce (recipe below)
2-3 pita
Hummus
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese

Lamb Patties
1 lb ground lamb
3 chopped green onions
1 T. Persian spice blend, or 1/2 t. each cumin, allspice, finely ground black pepper
1 t. salt
1 egg
1/3 cup matzo meal or breadcrumbs
Heat broiler. Mix ingredients lightly till just combined. Place in refrigerator ~20 minutes while preparing the yogurt sauce. Then form into patties about 2" in diameter and 1/2" thick, and broil, about 4 minutes on one side and two minutes on the other. Serve hot.

Yogurt Sauce
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 T lemon juice
1 chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped mint
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Pepper and salt to taste
Combine ingredients and allow flavors to meld while heating pita and forming lamb patties.

Wrap pita in foil and heat in a toaster oven. Rub lightly with water if the pita are stale.

To Serve: Place patties, pita, hummus, yogurt sauce and feta on the table and let everyone make their own pita sandwiches. I made a salad of boston lettuce and cucumbers that was also good tucked into the pita.

Enjoy this with a lightly chilled dry rosé.

Riff references: Minted lamb patties; Minted lamb burgers with Feta and Hummus; Lamb Burgers with Mint Yogurt Sauce

Egede Szegede Gulyas

2006-02-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

This dish evolved out of my desire to try out my new slow cooker and my need to clear the refrigerator. I had saved a recipe for a pork and sauerkraut stew that on second look needed doctoring -- and was just a step away from a Hungarian pork and sauerkraut stew my mom makes, but for which I have no recipe. And in addition to the required pork and sauerkraut, I had a few links of andouille left over from New Year's Hoppin' John and some white beans that I had made for MZ, which she mainly hucked from the highchair.

So, I made up this stew, which came together quickly during MZ's morning nap. The beauty of this strategy was that dinner was done by noon (although I missed my shower window), and the flavors got to meld over the course of the day. With its kick of spice from the andouille, it was perfectly warming yet comforting on a winter evening. I used turkey andouille from TJ's, which makes this marginally healthier, but would not quibble with the genuine article.

I didn't end up using the slow cooker, but I'm sure it could be done that way, too -- still staging the addition of the beans and sausage. And although this was pretty spicy, MZ did eat a few white beans. As usual, she declined any meat.

It's named for a toast we were taught in Eger, ancestral home of the Egris, which if said wrong might not be very nice. The spelling is a riff of its own. Oh, and I served this over egg noodles.

2 lbs. pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1.5" pieces
2 T. flour
1 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 yellow onion, diced
2 T. butter
2 T. Hungarian paprika
1 jar Bubbe's sauerkraut, rinsed
1 -2 cups water
2 Bay leaves
2-3 links andouille sausage, cut in half and sliced on diagonal
1 can white beans or equivalent home-cooked
Sour cream

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a plastic zip lock Shake the pork pieces in the mixture and brown in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat, in batches if necessary. Remove pork to a bowl and drain all but 1 T. of the fat. Add the onion and saute till translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika, and butter as necessary to keep the mixture lubricated. Stir till the paprika is dark and fragrant, then add the pork and any accumulated juices, the sauerkraut, bay leaves and enough water to come about half-way up the mixture. Bring to a simmer, then turn to low, cover and braise for one hour. Meanwhile, brown the sausage and drain off any fat.

After one hour, add the sausage and beans. Bring to simmer and cook another 30 minutes, till the pork is almost falling apart tender. Serve in bowls with a generous dallop of sour cream.

This dish has its roots in Eastern Europe, and it packs some spice to boot, so enjoy with beer, maybe Pilsner Urquell or something Belgian.

Riff references: Pilot Guides.com

Introducing Pickyfingers

2006-02-26T11:47:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about doing something with food and blogging for a while. It hasn't fit into Casa Robmaliam, although parenting has changed my cooking and eating more than anything else since a stint in the kitchen just after college. I was a disaster there, the slowest prepcook in recorded history.

But I left that kitchen with new skills and a new appreciation for well-prepared food, which I've maintained, and when I stumbled on CityMama and her other blog, FamilyFood, a lightbulb went off -- just start another blog!

I'm not a foodie, nor a dedicated chowhound. We hardly eat out anymore, and then the choices are based more on proximity, the opportunity to catch up with friends, and whether MZ can handle the place, and visa versa. Fortunately, in SF, we never need visit a chain, "ethnic" mom'n'pop restaurants are almost always happy to see a baby. So restaurants will get a mention, I'm sure.

But mostly this is a place to jot down what I'm cooking these days, mostly stuff made up on a whim, riffed off a recipe or two and what's available in the pantry and on the clock. Previously a leisurely cook, I'm learning to make it happen within the time confines of a budding toddler. And rather than combing the neighborhoods for new food adventures, I comb the aisles for things she might consider eating -- things that have flavor and food value, things that aren't just chicken nuggets and mac'n'cheese.

So, without further ado, I introduce pickyfingers... bon appétit!