Thing-a-day.com

Today I made my favorite salad.  This salad was made for me over 10 yrs ago and ever since then there has be no other.  Not only is it tasty, but it’s easy to make.  The key ingredients are a ripe avocado and the dressing.  Today’s salad included baby romaine lettuce, baby arugula, celery, carrots, cucumber, grape tomatoes and diced avocado.   The dressing is a simple balsamic vinegar and olive oil mixture  with crushed garlic, salt, freshly ground pepper and squeeze of lemon. Pour dressing over salad and toss.  I also added some freshly shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano. Yum!  Of course, I would advise not eating this if you have an important meeting any time in the near future.  

Still more lemons. Are we seeing a common theme here? Today I decided to produce two useful kitchen items in one go. First, we have candied Meyer lemon rounds. Second, we have Meyer lemon simple syrup. See the connections?

The Meyer lemon, Citrus × meyeri, is thought to be a hybrid of lemon and mandarin orange. It’s not as sour as “standard” lemons, and has a non-bitter, edible rind. I’m not sure why I even needed to candy these, as I’m quite happy eating them whole, like kumquats. Oh well, it’s an exercise!

Process: Slice lemons in 2-4mm slices, removing all the (numerous) seeds. Prepare a 2:1 simple syrup (two pars sugar to one part water) and heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the lemon slices and simmer until somewhat translucent. Strain the lemon slices and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow them to drip and cool, then dry in a warm oven until nearly dry. Roll in granulated sugar to crystalize the outside, then finish drying in the oven.

Of course, I got my process slightly out of order, and rolled mine in sugar before getting them nearly dry. Oops. They will be good with ice cream.

More lemons came my way today, in that I spent today still helping my brother pack his apartment. While there, I found a cute little overproductive Meyer lemon tree in the back yard. I harvested a couple handfuls between stints of packing and hauling, and when I got home, I made myself a nice Whole Lemon Slushie:

Whole Lemon Slushie

1 Meyer lemon, halved, seeds removed
8 ice cubes
2Tbs sugar

Place all ingredients in BlendTec blender and press the Ice Crush button.

Yes, it blends! (Though you might have to pause it halfway through and scrape down the sides of the blender bowl.)

I was pretty sure I wouldn’t manage a thing today, having spent the whole day helping my brother move out of his apartment and into a storage facility. I’m wiped. However, when I got home, I realized that I had some ingredients I wanted to play with, so I made yet another newish cocktail. This one started life as a Sidecar, then I added yellow Chartreuse for a little herbal background (which turned it into a Knight Cocktail), and then replaced the triple sec with St. Germain, a citrusy/sweet elderflower liqueur which is really astonishingly amazingly totally unbelievably good. Or something. The end result was:

The Knight Templar

1.5oz brandy
1oz fresh lemon juice
.5oz yellow Chartreuse
.75oz St. Germain

Mix in a mixing glass, shake over ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

This is good stuff. Hell, anything starting as a Sidecar is going to be good stuff, but the St. Germain and Chartreuse really do succeed in their respective goals.

I had a whole mozzarella ball in my fridge so I thought I’d try this Jamie recipe for a simple baked pasta dish. I made the sauce yesterday and the rest of the dish today.

for the sauce
sweat 3 cloves of garlic and half an onion until soft
add a can of chopped tomatoes and a can of water
add seasoning — the recipe calls for chili which I usually don’t have, nor do i use often; but I did add a dash of tabasco, some worcestershire sauce and Italian seasoning
simmer until the sauce thickens
blitz slightly, just enough to break the tomato pieces but not so that the sauce ends up being a paste

for the dish
cook pasta according to package instructions
drain and toss with half the sauce
arrange half the pasta at the bottom of an oven dish
spread over half the remaining sauce
slice up the mozzarella and arrange over the sauce
add the rest of the pasta, the rest of the sauce and the last pieces of cheese
bake at 200°C for 20mins

There’s supposed to be liberal amounts of parmesan sprinkled in with the mozzarella but I, um, don’t like parmesan. Yes, really.

I missed yesterday’s deadline, mostly cos I was eating my Thing-A-Day!

So, here it is:

Cumin Beef
General Tso’s Chicken
Ma Po Dou Fu
Bok Choy With Chestnuts
Hot and Sour Noodles
Steamed Rice

And it was all delicious (though extraordinarily hot and spicy!) - even if I say so myself. All recipes from Fuschia Dunlop’s Revolutionary Cookbook.

After a long day helping my brother pack up to move out of his apartment in Calistoga, I got home and felt the need for a cool, sweet/tart drink. Thus, I present a refreshing blend of mojito and caipirinha:

The Calistoga Fizz
1.5oz cachaça or white rhum agricole (I used Fazenda Mãe do Ouro cachaça)
.5oz peppermint simple syrup
dash orange bitters
6 mint leaves
.5oz lime juice
soda water

Muddle mint leaves in a mixing cup, then add peppermint syrup, cachaça, bitters and lime juice. Shake over ice and strain into a tall glass (highball if you want to use ice, or a tall, narrow glass as I used), then top with soda water and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Honestly, it should probably be stronger, more sour, and served on the rocks for maximum refreshingness. But this is pleasant and will serve for tonight.

I was at a bit of a loss this evening as for a creative Thing to do. So, as I made flavored syrups last night, I decided to make a cocktail using one of them tonight. I chose the allspice syrup, and instead of the obvious mix with rum and fruit juices to make Navy Grog, I decided to see how it worked in a gin drink. This is the first attempt:

Work In Progress Cocktail

1.5oz gin
.5oz sweet vermouth
.25oz allspice syrup (or substitute Pimento Dram if available)
dash decent balsamic vinegar
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Add ingredients to a mixing glass and stir with ice. Strain into a cold cocktail glass, and garnish with a floated star anise.

The star anise isn’t assertive enough, though I’d hoped to complement the licorice flavor from the Peychaud’s Bitters. I do like the combination of the astringent allspice and sour vinegar flavors, and gin ties it all together. This has some potential, and I’m going to keep experimenting with it.

About a year ago, my husband decided to eat more naturally.  Over the course of the year, he’s cut out all high-fructose corn syrup, white flour and sugar, transfats and fried foods.  And looks great for it too!  (there are always exceptions for holidays, nights out to dinner, etc, but he mostly sticks to it!)

So, I’ve been making all our bread…100% all natural.

I don’t have any pictures this evening, but my house smells great, so I know I made it!

5 tsp yeast mixed with 2/3 cup warm water

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup dry milk mixed into 2 cups warm water

2 1/2 tsp salt

Combine all above ingredients.

Add 5 cups whole wheat flour ( I use my kitchen aid)

When that’s all mixed in, add about 2 more cups whole wheat flour…until it  “looks right” :)  and knead in the mixer for a couple of minutes.

Let rise for 1 hour.

Divide into two loaf pans and rise about 45 minutes.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes uncovered, then cover with foil (to keep it from burning on top) and bake another 40 minutes.

My previous batch of beet eggs ran out around Christmas and I haven’t had time to make some more. So I took this opportunity during thing-a-day to make a fresh batch.

I hard-boiled 6 medium sized eggs and peeled them. Then I opened a jar of pickled beets, poured the juice in a pan and arranged the beets with the eggs. To the juice I added 150ml cider vinegar and half that in volume of sugar. Dissolved the sugar and simmered for 10mins. Once done I immediately poured the hot liquid over the eggs and closed the jar. Now I have to wait at least a week.

These eggs are delicious. Perfect with a salad or on a sandwich. I can’t believe I’m so addicted to them. Here’s an old pic of the purple eggs on a salad of peppers, tomatoes, avocado and some of the beets.

Weekend means more cooking. This recipe is adapted from orangette who adapted it from the absolutely fantastic casa moro cookbook. I actually have the first moro cookbook, and it looks like I should get the second one too.

Pumpkin and squashes are high on my favourites list. Creamy soup, roasted as side dishes or as a substitute for mashed potato, there’s nothing that beats the chill of winter than a warming, welcoming squash dish. The tahini adds a touch of arabia to the proceedings, and lifts it up beyond just a warm pumpkin salad.

for the salad
Peel a whole butternut and dice into 1-1.5″ pieces
Season with olive oil, minced garlic, salt & pepper and mixed spice — the recipe calls for allspice but I didn’t have that
Roast at 200° for 25mins or until soft
At the last 5mins or so chuck in a can of drained chickpeas to warm them up

for the tahini dressing
Whisk together 2tbsp tahini, 2tbsp lemon juice, finely minced garlic and sea salt
Add water to dilute
Add oilve oil and whisk to a thick consistency
Season to taste
I found it still too lemony so I added a few drops of sesame oil for balance

assembly
After removing from the oven, cool the squash to warm temperature
The recipe uses red onions but I don’t eat onions, so I added celery chopped into small bits for the crunchiness
Toss vegetables in tahini and serve

I know “Sour Curry” doesn’t sound that appealing, but while many people have a sweet tooth, I have a whole mouth full of teeth, including a sweet tooth, a bitter tooth, and of course a sour tooth. Sour foods, while somewhat unusual in American cuisine, are well-established elsewhere in the world. I’m taking a somewhat Zen approach with this recipe and not including quantities. Adjust to taste. If you like sour and spicy foods as I do, use plenty of tamarind paste and lime juice and chili, with relatively little coconut milk or sugar. This recipe is vaguely based on a dim memory I have of a recipe for a Keralan (southwestern coastal Indian) fish curry. Sort of.

Sour Curry

vegetable oil
fresh curry leaves
onions sliced in thin rings or pole-to-pole shreds
ginger, minced
chicken stock
tamarind paste (the seedless, soft kind)
fresh-squeezed lime juice
unsweetened, shredded coconut
colorful bell peppers, coarse chop
sliced hot chili (Jalapeño, serrano, etc)
pickled green peppercorns on the stalk
kabocha squash, peeled and cubed
protein source of choice (chicken, white fish, firm tofu cubes, …)
brown sugar
coconut milk

Heat oil in a large saucepan. When hot, add the curry leaves and fry briefly, then add onions peppers and cook until beginning to brown. Add ginger and cook until fragrant. Add stock, tamarind paste, lime juice, coconut, peppercorns, and squash and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the squash is almost tender, then add the protein source and cook until cooked through. Add coconut milk and brown sugar to taste and serve over rice.

Today was a slow day. My roommate had a small party last night, and so today was the recovery and cleaning after that. Plus she took her puppy away for most of the day, so I had one of those lovely days to myself. I cleaned and sang badly along with my iPod. I putzed around online. I returned something to Amazon so I never have to deal with them again. I tried some lovely dessert wine at Whole Foods, and ended up buying a bottle for my boyfriend’s visit in a week. I didn’t get breakfast at Panera as planned, because it was a zoo in there. That’s okay, it’s probably better that I keep my pennies as much as possible. I also bought some eggs at Whole Foods, but I haven’t used any yet.

Trying to figure out dinner tonight, I decided to on an old fall back. Not in terms of the food, but in terms of the plan. Cooking for one can be a real challenge, and so I’ve often resorted to making a side dish as my main food, and then scrounging around for anything else if I’m still hungry. So, since I’d already planned to make Red Chile Carrots Cointreau for thing-a-day, I figured I’m make dinner and do my thing at the same time.

Again, I photographed most of the process, but I’ve only posted a photo of the final product in pan. Food photography is incredibly hard.

And, just for the record (to make up for my missed day), I not only photographed the puppy yesterday, I also did the unthinkable (for me) and experimented with my best ever recipe. I think a lot of people have that one recipe they make for all the pot-lucks or get-togethers, and it always garners rave reviews. Usually, we’re not interested in modifying it after that point (or at all, depending on how we got it), because what if it sucks? Well, I took the plunge, and instead of making my usual pumpkin bread I made pumpkin muffins with a sweetened cream cheese filling and a dark chocolate icing/frosting.

Out of this world. One of my roommate’s co-workers took three of them home with him after I went to bed, and the ones I left out had been decimated to a lonely five muffins. Which, between the roommate and I, are gone now. Sometimes it’s good to experiment with the tried and true, I think.

Two days ago, I left out a post; here it is. This is a quick, unstyled look at some food I was eating that day; I had a problem. No starch for my curry! (There’s broccoli rabe in there along with pan-fried eggplant and tons of Thai basil.) But I did have some potato-filled pirogy in the freezer. Perfect? No, but tasty.

Edited in a recipe for sea star:

Take an eggplant that’s not too big (Asian eggplants are what I cook with; only use half on one of the big European ones) and cut it into strips, maybe you want them about half an inch on each short dimension and an inch to an inch-and-a-half on the long side. If you’re using a big European eggplant, toss these strips with a tablespoon of salt and leave them in a colander while you do the rest of the vegetable prep, and come back to this when indicated. If not, then heat a nonstick frying pan on medium heat, add some neutral oil and warm that up, throw in the eggplant and toss immediately to cover all the pieces with oil. Now spread them out in a single layer and leave them alone for several minutes, until the bottom is golden brown. Salt to taste, toss them again, and brown again. Remove them from the pan and take the pan off the heat.

Take a handful of broccoli rabe (about the diameter of a broom handle or two, I’d say) and cut it up into more-or-less equal pieces. I know that this is really hard because stems and leaves are so different, but just try and get them to the same size as the eggplant bits. Oil the pan again, heat it to quite high, and flash-fry the broccoli rabe just so it has some crunchy browned bits but doesn’t lose its bright green colour. Take the pan off the heat again and dump the greens on top of the eggplant.

Cut up a roasted red pepper or two into strips of appropriate size, add to the other vegetables.

Get some red curry paste. It comes in cans at the Asian market. You need about, say, two tablespoons, which amount you can adjust to your taste. Get a can of coconut milk and keep it in a cool place.

Open the coconut milk. Important: Never shake coconut milk.

The coconut milk should have separated into two layers: A thick, stiff, creamy layer on top, and a thinner, watery layer on the bottom. Take like three tablespoons of the cream, and put them in your empty nonstick pan. It’ll slowly melt and sizzle; coconut milk is made up of water and coconut solids and coconut oil, and the cream is mostly oil. Stir in the curry paste and let it fry on medium-low heat. It will separate. This is okay! You want to slowly heat it and eventually it’ll turn into dark-red solids and bright orange oil. That’s what you want. Toss in two to four kaffir lime leaves and fry them until they curl up a little.

Once the curry paste and coconut cream have separated and the lime leaves are fragrant, stir in the vegetables and toss them until they’re well covered, then add the rest of the contents of the coconut milk can and stir it around till it’s all evenly warmed. Finally, add a handful or two of chopped Thai basil leaves, stir them in.

It’s funny, when I lived in Switzerland I never made rösti from scratch. I guess it’s because it was so easy with the packaged stuff, just empty into a pan and fry up. And lots of flavours too! When I left, my friends gave me a couple of Swiss cookbooks, one of which is Cooking in Switzerland by Marianne Kaltenbach. There on page 66 is a recipe for traditional rösti.

Parboil potatoes until partially tender, then cool and leave overnight
Peel and grate coarsely
Heat a knob of butter in a heavy frying pan and add the potatoes, season
Squash with a wooden spoon then sprinkle about 1 tbsp milk on top
Cover the pan and lower the heat
After about 20-25mins a crust would form and the rösti can move about in the pan
Carefully turn out onto a plate

What better to serve with traditional rösti than traditional brätwurst? Of course, I’m missing the zwiebelsauce, but um, I never eat the onions anyway.

Holy smokes, this all taste exactly of Switzerland.

I was going to buy some battered fish to have ‘fish n chips’ for dinner, but I decided to take a slightly healthier approach and buy some fresh fish and try a new recipe I had found.

you can read the recipe’s step by step instructions here:
http://fitsugar.com/872363

It was deeeelish! Sadly, the fries were frozen… and that mayo on the side is not quite low fat

This is a recipe I saw on the Martha Stewart show a year or so ago. It’s kind of bread pudding-like with apples and cinnamon and nutmeg. I modified the original recipe to make it a smaller dish, and I use a sweet Belgian Waffle Mix instead of flour. It makes a great, quick breakfast/brunch dish. add more sugar and it becomes a dessert.

Apple Pancake Puff
1/2 stick butter
3-4 apples (I prefer Gala)
2 tbs. raisins (optional)
4 eggs
1 cup Belgian waffle/pancake mix
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
dash nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbs. granulated sugar (more or less, depending on the sweetness of your waffle/pancake mix)
1 tbs. brown sugar

Pre-heat oven to 425°F. Melt butter in an 8×4 loaf pan in the oven. Meanwhile, peel, core and quarter apples. Quarter again for 16 pieces per apple. Add apples (and raisins, if using) to melted butter. In a large bowl or blender, combine: eggs, waffle/pancake mix, milk, vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, granulated sugar. Blend or whisk until frothy. Make sure butter is bubbling, then pour batter over apples. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake 20 minutes. Serves 6.

To make into dessert: After adding apples & raisins, and before adding batter, sprinkle apples with 1 tbs. granulated sugar. Also, increase sugar in the batter mix from 1 tbs. to 3 tbs. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream to make this into a dessert.

Martha’s original recipe may be found here: click!

visit my blog: hot air!

Mmmmm I love cookies! Kathya and I made this today using a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated. She packed the cookies for me, since I am returning to Italy tonight.



Some mixer action…



Next photo by Kathya as I scooped the cookie dough onto the baking sheets…



Me sneaking a cookie before dinner…

Sorry about the light.Kathya and I made this (well, the burger was mostly her, but I did remind her to put an egg in it)… Burger and a salad.


Burger instructions: In a bowl, mix together freshly ground beef (we went to a butcher in Wiesbaden city center), salt and pepper, chopped mushrooms, garlic and 1 egg yolk. Use your hands to shape the meat mixture into patties. Seal the burger patties by searing both sides quickly on a grill pan, then place in the oven/broiler to cook for 10-15 minutes (we like ours rare inside).

After 10-15 minutes, brush the patties with barbecue sauce and add slices of Swiss Emmenthal cheese on top of the burger patties. Return to broiler/oven to melt the cheese. Once it’s melted, place on burger bun. Serve with side salad.

Buon appetito!