I finally went to Berkeley's big farmers market this weekend. Well, it was actually much smaller than I imagined (or maybe 'hoped' is a better term), but it was still beautiful with lots of colors and delicious treats. I decided to treat myself to a cookie there, but was a bit disappointed- or maybe I'm too spoiled by my own homemade cookies. I tried to restrain myself from spending too much money and walked away with most of my cash safe in my wallet. On my walk back, I chose to zig zag through the streets, making sure to take note of the local, front yard selection of produce. I was relieved to see tons of rosemary, as I have been cooking lately without any herbs, and even came across some gardens. There was nothing too special though: a really tall lemon tree and a weary-looking apple tree which I might take a bite off of, and way overgrown swiss chard. I realized though that I had been doing a really bad job of neighborhood gleaning since I got here and I know it's lurking somewhere. To my delight, as I was nearing the house, something caught my eye. Off to the side, nestled tightly in between a home and a storefront, I spotted a huge pomegranate tree. Given that I had just denied a $2/lb pomegranate at the farmers market and was starting to pity my move away from SoCal- where I can name every pomegranate tree in the town, and am not afraid to silently seize half of a dozen of the ripe crowns in the middle of the autumn nights, I finally found what I've been waiting for.
When I got into my house, I was feeling a mixture of delight from my findings and quite disgusted with myself from the cookie that I had garbled down in a one felt swoop, but excited to finally do some climbing with a great friend of mine. I packed a quick salad of some pepper that had been sitting in the fridge for a couple of days, a tomato (from my internship), half of an avocado (found in the fridge at my internship), some cheddar cheese cubes, and cubed apple chunks, also from the batch of apples at my internship. I added some chili-garlic sauce and balsamic and olive oil. Noticing that I was sitting right next to a 'No Eating or Drinking' sign, I tried to secretly shove spoonfuls into my now-hungry mouth on the BART. Nevertheless, it was quite a delicious salad.
After climbing, my friend and I were starved and we decided to try out a Chinese place near her house where nothing costs more than $6. We talked about going there a couple of weeks ago, but chose Japanese over Chinese after viewing the line that wrapped around the corner at 7:30 on a Saturday evening. I wasn't too sad then, my luck with Chinese food has never been good. When I was little, my family would often order it on Sunday evenings and I would usually find myself vomiting over the toilet from the grease. The taste never satisfied me, either. Too bland, too meaty, where was the vibrance? The complexities?
Last night, we arrived just in time for a space. We waited outside for a few minutes and when I ran inside to use the bathroom, I noticed two empty bar stools. I took a good look around: this place was truly only about the food. 12 barstools lined the counter with only a foot of walking room to get from the door to the other end of the counter. On the far wall, tucked into the corner was the refrigerator where the vegetables, tofu, packages of meat and frozen dumplings were stored in plastic bags as they were chopped, marinated, stuffed and waiting to be consumed. Next to the fridge, was the cooler. You could have your pick of it: bottles of Coke, cans of diet coke, Sprite, and incomprehensible Chinese drinks with shiny pictures, or a fresh young coconut- sold for $3.50 for only 1. But on the other hand, you had your fill of the milk and the fresh meat inside the coconut. Hard work though. Behind the counter, was the restaurant's heart. 3 middle-aged Chinese women: 1 near the window, sweating and counting as she filled a basket of rice noodles and plopped them into the steaming wok, overly seasoned with oil. 1, 2, 3, she heated them nice and hot and put them in their respective bowls and to-go containers on a secret shelf under the counter. The woman in the middle, the boss-woman. She answered the phone, always shouting at the customers: I CAN'T HEAR YOU. YOU HEAR ME? WHAT YOU WANT? as if she could hear more clearly if she yelled. The woman near the back of the space, she took the orders from the customers and tended to the rice cookers, which were always being filled and replaced. She got you your drinks, gave you your food and filled and emptied the dishwasher, tucked perfectly at the far end of the counter. Smoke filled the air, the temperature inside was hot. Bodies were warm, jackets were off, and I could feel the garlic and oil seeping into my hair, my skin, my eyes.
We waited almost an hour before they gave us our food. Something got lost along the way. The take-out orders, the new guests, our location at the far end, our starving bodies, aching stomachs. I almost suggested we leave. But, finally, my food arrived. I had given in to my carnivorous desires and ordered beef noodles in the house roasted garlic sauce. One taste and I almost keeled over. It was the most delightful food I had ever tasted. They weren't kidding. I added some sriracha and chili sauce, took a bite of the noodles. Took a bite of the meat. I closed my eyes and chewed. Slowly and patiently, allowing the juices to flow throughout my mouth and the chewed bits to roll over my tongue. I let it linger. Next came our 'appetizer,' samosas. Deep fried, curried potato, they were actually food gold nuggets. I was hooked. My friend's food still had yet to arrive, but she found delight in my beef noodles and the samosas. Finally, the stout woman in the back plopped her black bean fish down. Steam was rising off of her plate in heaps, and the smell of the fresh fish and veggies erupted into the air. I enjoyed her food as much as mine. Before long, we were stuffed to the brim and we could see the women eyeing our deliberate stay. But we wouldn't leave until we devoured every last bit. Well worth the wait.
This morning, I started off the day with a piece of tres leche cake. It is my birthday, so I obligingly agreed to a huge piece at breakfast. A good way to start off the day, I suppose. I also managed to eat 2 scrambled eggs with cheese, spinach and onions and homemade salsa, the Mexican way. A corn tortilla sealed the deal and while we ate, ideas of restaurant with big windows, wood floors and furniture, a fireplace, and a rooftop garden to make homemade salsas like Mommy, and innovative fusions of equal delight created a dream space that can truly only happen over a meal, at the kitchen table. A community space that brings together people from across barriers, across borders, across languages and across tastes and textures is a place that I want to create. One day.
After breakfast, I came back to Berkeley. In the fridge, I found 2 pieces of cake- one chocolate and one coconut, and fresh, handmade, homemade corn tortillas, all from Alice Waters' brother-in-law's Mexican restaurant, from the woman from whom I am renting a room. She must have read my mind about my burrito craving and I began getting beans ready for dinner. I didn't have black beans, so I started opted for garbanzo beans, which I brought with my from SoCal, in the hopes of making hummus, something which I still have yet to do.
Closer to dinner, I took out my bounty from the farmers market to survey my goods. I chopped 5 cloves of garlic, 3 long rainbow chard stems (I LOVE the colors of the yellows, pinks and oranges and reds with the leaves), plus tore the leaves in large pieces, half of a bell pepper, shucked the kernels off of an ear of corn, diced a tomato from my Oakland bounty, and cut up about half of a head of broccoli, including the stem, which I actually love the flavor, but does take longer to cook.
I accidentally burnt the chick peas, not realizing that they were done, and there was no more water to be absorbed, but it was only a slight char on the bottommost layer and I wasn't about to start all over again. I put the beans to the side and began with olive oil and garlic in a pan. I waited about 30 seconds until the garlic smelled and then added the chard stems and broccoli stems, stirring constantly to avoid burning the garlic. I did this all on low-warm setting heat because the stove here gets very hot very fast. I then added the broccoli heads and the pepper, letting it cook for about 4 minutes before adding in the tomatoes. I tried the chard stems and deeming them on the brink of being done- a slight bitter aftertaste, I added the chard leaves and put a cover on the pan to capture the heat. I let it sit for about 1-2 minutes and then stirred everything around for another minute. I removed this from the heat, added it to a bowl and added the corn and chopped a radish to add to it. I added a fair amount of garbanzo beans, trying to have a 60:40 ratio of beans:vegetables. I then toasted the tortillas and added cheddar cheese to melt on top of the tortilla. I added some chili-garlic sauce for a kick and though I was intending a burrito, ended up with more of a picking at the vegetables with the tortilla. I'll be having the second half tomorrow evening.
Ingredients
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 long stems of swiss chard, chopped, plus leaves, roughly torn
1/2 medium-sized head of broccoli
1/2 bell pepper
1 medium tomato
salt and pepper, to taste
1 small hot chili or crushed red pepper or hot sauce, optional
1/2-1 cup garbanzo beans
1 ear of corn, shucked
1 large radish, roughly chopped or sliced
cilantro and lime juice, optional
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Roasted Veggies, Lentils and Rice for lunch... AND an apple pie. Oh my!
After an evening of preparing salads at a local restaurant in attempts to being my pursuit at a culinary career, and an epic fail (I am 99.9% sure that I did not get the job), I decided yesterday that I was going to cook lunch today and take over for Rowena's 3 day non-stop cooking extravaganza. After perusing through the kitchen, 101cookbooks, epicurious and other random food blogs, I settled on a lentil salad with tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and a mediterranean/middle eastern style yogurt mint sauce with nuts and raisins and/or dates. I planned on coming in to work around 9-9:30 to get started on doing things for the council, but I ended up not making it here until about. I started cooking the moment I walked into the door, intending to just put the lentils on to start cooking. I quickly realized that I didn't have time to actually do any work though, as I wanted to bake an apple pie with the apples from the director's neighbor's tree.
I did as I said I would and first put the lentils on to start cooking. I wasn't sure how many people were going to show up to lunch- it's always a hit or miss with interns, full time staff, volunteers, visitors and the other CFJC non-profit who shares the upstairs space. I decided to make 2 cups of French green lentils and put them on to boil after a quick rinse and then turned the stove down to a simmer.
Meanwhile, I got started on the veggies, which I decided to roast after debating if I should cook them on the stovetop. I cubed, quartered and halved fingerling potatoes and small red potatoes and small brown ones. I wish I knew the names of each kind, but each and every potato was different: different color, different texture, different taste, and a different cut.
I took a break from the veggies, decided I better get started on the pie. I went out to the garden and picked a rather firm lemon from the tree, which I zested. I juiced two older lemons into a bowl and added the zest to keep it moist. I then cored and peeled the 6 apples, slicing away large chunks of brown mushy parts- I guess that's what happens to organic local apples. I say this because I can't even believe that apples grow here- there's no winter and no summer. Amazing. I then sliced the apples and put them in a bowl. I poured the lemon juice and zest over the apples to help them retain their color and absorb some juice, then set the slices aside. I mixed 3 tbsp flour, 3/4 cup sugar, fresh vanilla from a bean which I got at the JUSTICE BEGINS WITH SEEDS conference this past weekend, along with a few other seeds and some good info on the local movement. I mixed this all together and sprinkled a layer on the base of a pre-made crust. I'm not a huge fan of pre-made crusts, but it was in the freezer and I frankly did not have time to make a crust, no matter how easy they are!
I began adding the apple slices in layers, sprinkling cinnamon and more of the sugar-flour mixture on top of each layer. I can't say it was a very pretty pie, and once all the apples were on, I poured the remainder of the juice and, remembering the walnuts, sprinkled chopped walnuts all over the top and added 4 slices of butter to the top, hoping it would melt over the top and sink in to the filling. I put the pie in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour.
Returning to the veggies, I cut white carrots into threes and from there worked to cut them lengthwise into sixth (I sliced them down the middle, then 2 more times for each half- all lengthwise cuts) so they were like fries. I cut about 6 large carrots and 12 potatoes and put them in a bowl with 6 cloves of unpeeled garlic and olive oil and salt and a teensy bit of cumin and crushed red pepper. I then explored the herbs available outside and settled with rosemary, which I coarsely chopped and added to the veggies. I mixed it all together and put them in an even layer on a baking sheet.
I added the sheet to the oven, placing it below the pie, hoping the flavors wouldn't interfere too much. I then put 2.5 cups of brown rice in a rice cooker and washed fresh, local greens for a salad. At this point, Rowena came in to help me and sliced some tomatoes with fresh basil from the garden. She pulled out a loaf of challah from the freezer... did I mention the bread here? The bread here is fantastic. Some of it's homemade from a friend of the director and some of it's day-old bread that's donated to us. But it's all absolutely fantastic. Crusty exterior, doughy, light inside, always hearty and dark.
Back to the meal... While everything was cooking, I juiced the zested lemon, added some olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. I then went out to the garden to grab some mint, which was few and far between. I chopped up the mint and whisked everything together. Searching for brown sugar, I stumbled upon brown rice syrup, which I decided to give a try and added a bit into the dressing to balance the acidity of the lemon. Checking on the veggies, I noticed that they were almost done, but I turned up the oven to broil to crisp them up (and of course removed the pie at this point). I then added 1 cup of greek yogurt to the lemon-oil-mint-syrup mixture and whisked together until thin and dressing-like.
Once the veggies were crispy looking, I pulled them out and put them in a large bowl, to which I added chopped and lightly toasted walnuts, just enough to release the oils, and a handful of craisins. I removed the skin off of the garlic and added the whole cloves with a teaspoon of minced garlic, courtesy of Rowena.
With everything finished and ready, the lentils with a bite to them and trusting the rice cooker's work, I called everyone in for lunch. The instructions: a little bit of rice, a little but of lentils, and a spoonful of veggies, and a splash of dressing. Mix together.
Lunch was quite delicious and even the unpresentable pie with the store-bought crust tasted amazing. And, better yet, there was PLENTY of food for everyone and leftovers.
Ingredients
Lentils w. Rice and Roasted Vegetables
10-15 small and medium-sized fingerling potatoes
5-6 cloves of garlic
5 large carrots (of any color)
olive oil
1 tbsp fresh rosemary
crushed red pepper, to taste (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tsp cumin (optional)
Ratio of 1 cup lentils : 1.5 cups water, maybe 1 cup for the number of veggies
Ratio of 1 cup rice : 2 cups water, about 1 cup for the amount of veggies
Dressing:
1 cup Greek Yogurt
1-2 lemons, juiced and zest
salt and pepper, to taste
crushed red pepper, to taste (optional)
1 large handful of mint, chopped
1/8- 1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup craisins, raisins, or chopped dates, or mixture of 2 or all 3
Apple Pie
1 crust
6 large apples, cored and thinly sliced
3 tbsp flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 lemons, juiced and zest
1/2-1 vanilla bean, sliced open and scraped
2 tbsp butter, quartered
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
about 3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
I did as I said I would and first put the lentils on to start cooking. I wasn't sure how many people were going to show up to lunch- it's always a hit or miss with interns, full time staff, volunteers, visitors and the other CFJC non-profit who shares the upstairs space. I decided to make 2 cups of French green lentils and put them on to boil after a quick rinse and then turned the stove down to a simmer.
Meanwhile, I got started on the veggies, which I decided to roast after debating if I should cook them on the stovetop. I cubed, quartered and halved fingerling potatoes and small red potatoes and small brown ones. I wish I knew the names of each kind, but each and every potato was different: different color, different texture, different taste, and a different cut.
I took a break from the veggies, decided I better get started on the pie. I went out to the garden and picked a rather firm lemon from the tree, which I zested. I juiced two older lemons into a bowl and added the zest to keep it moist. I then cored and peeled the 6 apples, slicing away large chunks of brown mushy parts- I guess that's what happens to organic local apples. I say this because I can't even believe that apples grow here- there's no winter and no summer. Amazing. I then sliced the apples and put them in a bowl. I poured the lemon juice and zest over the apples to help them retain their color and absorb some juice, then set the slices aside. I mixed 3 tbsp flour, 3/4 cup sugar, fresh vanilla from a bean which I got at the JUSTICE BEGINS WITH SEEDS conference this past weekend, along with a few other seeds and some good info on the local movement. I mixed this all together and sprinkled a layer on the base of a pre-made crust. I'm not a huge fan of pre-made crusts, but it was in the freezer and I frankly did not have time to make a crust, no matter how easy they are!
I began adding the apple slices in layers, sprinkling cinnamon and more of the sugar-flour mixture on top of each layer. I can't say it was a very pretty pie, and once all the apples were on, I poured the remainder of the juice and, remembering the walnuts, sprinkled chopped walnuts all over the top and added 4 slices of butter to the top, hoping it would melt over the top and sink in to the filling. I put the pie in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour.
Returning to the veggies, I cut white carrots into threes and from there worked to cut them lengthwise into sixth (I sliced them down the middle, then 2 more times for each half- all lengthwise cuts) so they were like fries. I cut about 6 large carrots and 12 potatoes and put them in a bowl with 6 cloves of unpeeled garlic and olive oil and salt and a teensy bit of cumin and crushed red pepper. I then explored the herbs available outside and settled with rosemary, which I coarsely chopped and added to the veggies. I mixed it all together and put them in an even layer on a baking sheet.
I added the sheet to the oven, placing it below the pie, hoping the flavors wouldn't interfere too much. I then put 2.5 cups of brown rice in a rice cooker and washed fresh, local greens for a salad. At this point, Rowena came in to help me and sliced some tomatoes with fresh basil from the garden. She pulled out a loaf of challah from the freezer... did I mention the bread here? The bread here is fantastic. Some of it's homemade from a friend of the director and some of it's day-old bread that's donated to us. But it's all absolutely fantastic. Crusty exterior, doughy, light inside, always hearty and dark.
Back to the meal... While everything was cooking, I juiced the zested lemon, added some olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. I then went out to the garden to grab some mint, which was few and far between. I chopped up the mint and whisked everything together. Searching for brown sugar, I stumbled upon brown rice syrup, which I decided to give a try and added a bit into the dressing to balance the acidity of the lemon. Checking on the veggies, I noticed that they were almost done, but I turned up the oven to broil to crisp them up (and of course removed the pie at this point). I then added 1 cup of greek yogurt to the lemon-oil-mint-syrup mixture and whisked together until thin and dressing-like.
Once the veggies were crispy looking, I pulled them out and put them in a large bowl, to which I added chopped and lightly toasted walnuts, just enough to release the oils, and a handful of craisins. I removed the skin off of the garlic and added the whole cloves with a teaspoon of minced garlic, courtesy of Rowena.
With everything finished and ready, the lentils with a bite to them and trusting the rice cooker's work, I called everyone in for lunch. The instructions: a little bit of rice, a little but of lentils, and a spoonful of veggies, and a splash of dressing. Mix together.
Lunch was quite delicious and even the unpresentable pie with the store-bought crust tasted amazing. And, better yet, there was PLENTY of food for everyone and leftovers.
Ingredients
Lentils w. Rice and Roasted Vegetables
10-15 small and medium-sized fingerling potatoes
5-6 cloves of garlic
5 large carrots (of any color)
olive oil
1 tbsp fresh rosemary
crushed red pepper, to taste (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tsp cumin (optional)
Ratio of 1 cup lentils : 1.5 cups water, maybe 1 cup for the number of veggies
Ratio of 1 cup rice : 2 cups water, about 1 cup for the amount of veggies
Dressing:
1 cup Greek Yogurt
1-2 lemons, juiced and zest
salt and pepper, to taste
crushed red pepper, to taste (optional)
1 large handful of mint, chopped
1/8- 1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup craisins, raisins, or chopped dates, or mixture of 2 or all 3
Apple Pie
1 crust
6 large apples, cored and thinly sliced
3 tbsp flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 lemons, juiced and zest
1/2-1 vanilla bean, sliced open and scraped
2 tbsp butter, quartered
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
about 3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
An Inspiring Butternut Squash, Bay Heirloom Tomatoes and Gnocchi
I haven't really been cooking much at all and that's basically the reason I haven't been updating the blog. But an even more realistic reason- I haven't had one moment to sit and write for the blog. Since the last post, I was working on another post plus 2 other dishes- both for the same dinner. But what's even more exciting (or maybe frightening), I moved to Berkeley for the internship in Oakland. I am interning with the Oakland Food Policy Council, check it out, they do a lot of great stuff with implementing policy changes and supporting the local community surrounding food justice issues. And the best part? Lunch, every day. Free. Homemade. Fresh. Amazing.
Most of this week and last week, one of the full-time employees has been cooking. Everything she makes is amazing. We had mung bean soup with rice last week, zucchini "crab" cakes yesterday with spicy green beans/peas, pasta with tomatoes, and more. The development director cooks a few times, too, usually a pasta dish with tomatoes. There's always salad and an abundance of tomatoes right from the garden. The whole front yard is a garden, Food not Lawns would be proud. Amongst the tomatoes is a lemon tree, a last push of raspberries, basil, a barrel of sad mint, lemon verbena, and even an apple tree. Last week, while I was at an OFPC meeting, the other interns planted beans in one of the beds. It's absolutely magical!
I've been here now a week and a half. My last few days in Claremont were chaotic- I can't remember what happened at all, it all happened so fast. I remember looking for houses and jobs in berkeley/oakland on craigslist for hours at a time, posting an ad for a ride up to the bay area with my bicycle and getting in a strangers car for the 7 hour ride. I stayed at a hostel the first couple of nights. I brought some left over pilaf with me, but ended up skipping breakfast and dinner those 3 days in exchange for a huge lunch and snacks. I met quite a slew of characters in the hostel. My first night, I stayed in a shared room with, surprisingly, another intern from Food First, a French masters student, and an Aussie yogi chick who told me about a website for bed and breakfasts where people rent out rooms in homes for a night, a week, or even a month! I found a nice looking place to stay and by day 3, i was ready to leave the hostel as fast as I could. I had a woman in my room the second night who was running away from her abusive boyfriend. She said she was trying to go to San Diego asap, but she was still lingering around 2 days later. I didn't know what to do, other than give her hotline phone numbers, of which she told me she's been to counselors, called hotlines, homes, but always goes back. I think that's what she was waiting for at the hostel, too.
Last night, sick of my diet of eggs, yogurt, peanut butter and bread (not all at once), I went over to the magical Berkeley Bowl. Such an inspiring place, I can't ever decide what to put in my trail mix, something salty, something (or two) sweet, something fruity, something nutty, something savory, something spicy- another addition to my diet. I was picking up some stuff for the woman who's room I'm renting out- oh. I forgot to mention, I moved in with a great woman who graduated from Cal in the 60s. She's a real member of the free speech movement and has great stories to tell, great advice to give, and makes great art, specifically photography. She has been incredibly helpful in my chaotic movements around the area. I can't even seem to sit still here, but her groundedness (which she told me, she just recently found after 69 years of moving around) helps me come back to right here, right now. She can't eat sugar or flour, which is a bummer for me as a cook and baker, but after my terrible diet, I gave in and went for the veggies.
I bought a butternut squash and a large heirloom tomato. I have been eating tomatoes nonstop. The garden out front of my internship is just blooming with them and I snack all day on grape tomatoes, enjoy several slices at lunch and even bring some home to add with my eggs. Last night, I decided to go for a red and green stripey one, which I roasted whole with the butternut squash, and 4 cloves of garlic, still in their skin. I lightly oiled the pan with olive oil and cut the end off the squash and then cut it half and scooped out the seeds. I removed the green leaf off of the tomato and put it all in the oven to bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.
The tomato finished roasting before the squash, I took it out when it was oozing from all sides and let it cool. I cut the tomato into small pieces and put it into a bowl with all the juice/water. I then heated up about 2 tbsp of butter until it was browned and smelled nutty. With the butter, I added some cumin, salt and pepper and waited for it to toast. In the meantime, I turned on a pot of boiling water for the gnocchi.
When the butter was browned and the spices toasted, I added the tomato plus all of its water and about a tbsp and a half-2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. I peeled the garlic and added it, mushing it a little with my fingers. I turned the heat down to low and let the flavors combine and also added in a fair amount of dried basil (I would have added fresh, but didn't have any). Once the squash was done, i took it out and peeled and cubed just one half. I added it to the tomato mixture with about 1 tsp of nutmeg.
The water had reached a boil by then so I added the gnocchi and in just one minute, the gnocchi surfaced in the water and I took each piece out as they floated. I put the gnocchi in a bowl and added the sauce and mixed well. I then sprinkled a bit of parmesan for good measure and devoured my first home cooked dinner in weeks.
Ingredients
1/2 roasted butternut squash, seeds removed, cubed and peeled
1 large roasted tomato
4 cloves of garlic, roasted and peeled
1/2 pound fresh gnocchi
water for the gnocchi
2 tbsp butter
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil for the baking sheet
Most of this week and last week, one of the full-time employees has been cooking. Everything she makes is amazing. We had mung bean soup with rice last week, zucchini "crab" cakes yesterday with spicy green beans/peas, pasta with tomatoes, and more. The development director cooks a few times, too, usually a pasta dish with tomatoes. There's always salad and an abundance of tomatoes right from the garden. The whole front yard is a garden, Food not Lawns would be proud. Amongst the tomatoes is a lemon tree, a last push of raspberries, basil, a barrel of sad mint, lemon verbena, and even an apple tree. Last week, while I was at an OFPC meeting, the other interns planted beans in one of the beds. It's absolutely magical!
I've been here now a week and a half. My last few days in Claremont were chaotic- I can't remember what happened at all, it all happened so fast. I remember looking for houses and jobs in berkeley/oakland on craigslist for hours at a time, posting an ad for a ride up to the bay area with my bicycle and getting in a strangers car for the 7 hour ride. I stayed at a hostel the first couple of nights. I brought some left over pilaf with me, but ended up skipping breakfast and dinner those 3 days in exchange for a huge lunch and snacks. I met quite a slew of characters in the hostel. My first night, I stayed in a shared room with, surprisingly, another intern from Food First, a French masters student, and an Aussie yogi chick who told me about a website for bed and breakfasts where people rent out rooms in homes for a night, a week, or even a month! I found a nice looking place to stay and by day 3, i was ready to leave the hostel as fast as I could. I had a woman in my room the second night who was running away from her abusive boyfriend. She said she was trying to go to San Diego asap, but she was still lingering around 2 days later. I didn't know what to do, other than give her hotline phone numbers, of which she told me she's been to counselors, called hotlines, homes, but always goes back. I think that's what she was waiting for at the hostel, too.
Last night, sick of my diet of eggs, yogurt, peanut butter and bread (not all at once), I went over to the magical Berkeley Bowl. Such an inspiring place, I can't ever decide what to put in my trail mix, something salty, something (or two) sweet, something fruity, something nutty, something savory, something spicy- another addition to my diet. I was picking up some stuff for the woman who's room I'm renting out- oh. I forgot to mention, I moved in with a great woman who graduated from Cal in the 60s. She's a real member of the free speech movement and has great stories to tell, great advice to give, and makes great art, specifically photography. She has been incredibly helpful in my chaotic movements around the area. I can't even seem to sit still here, but her groundedness (which she told me, she just recently found after 69 years of moving around) helps me come back to right here, right now. She can't eat sugar or flour, which is a bummer for me as a cook and baker, but after my terrible diet, I gave in and went for the veggies.
I bought a butternut squash and a large heirloom tomato. I have been eating tomatoes nonstop. The garden out front of my internship is just blooming with them and I snack all day on grape tomatoes, enjoy several slices at lunch and even bring some home to add with my eggs. Last night, I decided to go for a red and green stripey one, which I roasted whole with the butternut squash, and 4 cloves of garlic, still in their skin. I lightly oiled the pan with olive oil and cut the end off the squash and then cut it half and scooped out the seeds. I removed the green leaf off of the tomato and put it all in the oven to bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.
The tomato finished roasting before the squash, I took it out when it was oozing from all sides and let it cool. I cut the tomato into small pieces and put it into a bowl with all the juice/water. I then heated up about 2 tbsp of butter until it was browned and smelled nutty. With the butter, I added some cumin, salt and pepper and waited for it to toast. In the meantime, I turned on a pot of boiling water for the gnocchi.
When the butter was browned and the spices toasted, I added the tomato plus all of its water and about a tbsp and a half-2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. I peeled the garlic and added it, mushing it a little with my fingers. I turned the heat down to low and let the flavors combine and also added in a fair amount of dried basil (I would have added fresh, but didn't have any). Once the squash was done, i took it out and peeled and cubed just one half. I added it to the tomato mixture with about 1 tsp of nutmeg.
The water had reached a boil by then so I added the gnocchi and in just one minute, the gnocchi surfaced in the water and I took each piece out as they floated. I put the gnocchi in a bowl and added the sauce and mixed well. I then sprinkled a bit of parmesan for good measure and devoured my first home cooked dinner in weeks.
Ingredients
1/2 roasted butternut squash, seeds removed, cubed and peeled
1 large roasted tomato
4 cloves of garlic, roasted and peeled
1/2 pound fresh gnocchi
water for the gnocchi
2 tbsp butter
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil for the baking sheet
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Sweet tart
A Frenchman taught me a great trick to creating sweet tart crusts. You know how you always want that crispy, gooey edge, falling apart in your mouth as you devour a sweet berry tart or peach pie? Well as it turns out, milk makes a great accompaniment to the dough. Following the original recipe:
3 cups flour : 11 tbsp butter for 2 crusts
or
2.5 cups flour : 1 cup/ 8 tbsp butter for 1 crust
add in a sprinkle, or about 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt and mix well until it feels like wet sand. Instead of water, add milk (it can be whole or even skim- whole is better) in splashes until the crust sticks together and roll into a ball. Chill the crust in plastic wrap and roll out into a thin crust in a pie pan or baking sheet to make lime bars, pies, tarts, etc.
I had lunch with a new friend a couple of days ago, who is a recent graduate of a neighboring school, and a LOVER of food. We could talk about food forever and she's on board with the whole crazy healthy thing that has overtaken my purchases of whole wheat flour and raw cane sugar. I told her about my recent baking spree and she asked if I had added any spices to my crust. I said no, but I thought I must. Maybe some cinnamon and nutmeg? Or even for savory crusts, a little rosemary or dried herbes de provence? Try it!
3 cups flour : 11 tbsp butter for 2 crusts
or
2.5 cups flour : 1 cup/ 8 tbsp butter for 1 crust
add in a sprinkle, or about 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt and mix well until it feels like wet sand. Instead of water, add milk (it can be whole or even skim- whole is better) in splashes until the crust sticks together and roll into a ball. Chill the crust in plastic wrap and roll out into a thin crust in a pie pan or baking sheet to make lime bars, pies, tarts, etc.
I had lunch with a new friend a couple of days ago, who is a recent graduate of a neighboring school, and a LOVER of food. We could talk about food forever and she's on board with the whole crazy healthy thing that has overtaken my purchases of whole wheat flour and raw cane sugar. I told her about my recent baking spree and she asked if I had added any spices to my crust. I said no, but I thought I must. Maybe some cinnamon and nutmeg? Or even for savory crusts, a little rosemary or dried herbes de provence? Try it!
Lime Trees and Lime Bars
The limes are in full swing in the garden here. I can never really figure out their season- I used to think it was early spring, along with oranges and grapefruits. But it gets confusing, seeing as lemons are a year-round commodity. A neighbor's tree looked like it had been blooming lovely limes last March, I believe it was, so I plucked a few and added them to thai curries and even attempted to make lime bars. The recipe I followed was for lime-coconut bars with coconut in the crust and sprinkled on top, before the bars were done. The bars did not come out quite right; in fact the filling completely set and it didn't even taste good. The bars sat on the kitchen table for almost a month, a sign that they were truly awful if my roommates and their friends refused to gobble them down.
I've been doubting whether those 'limes' I picked were actually limes or if they were un-ripe lemons and I cut their life short. I will blame the failed bars on those limes for now, and gave the ol' lime bar a second chance. My friend's obsessed with limes. She had a picked a couple limes one day, which we wedged and sliced to add to raspberry-lime margaritas one hot evening. Craving more, I went with her to the garden, upon the agreement that we would both take our bikes to the campus bike program. My tire had been flat since before I left for the Bay- this was the second time it got flat in two days and she had yet to inflate her tires since last May. I brought along a new tire and new tube, determined to set things straight with my 10-speed. I ended up finding a staple in my tire, the cause of my tube flats and with a rather slow patch process (I kept losing track of the staple's damage), we finally made it to the garden. We first explored the fig tree, finding no ripe ones on one, but an abundance of exploding flesh on a different tree, one that's a bit more off the path. After finding a tub in which to place the sopping figs, we began to move through the lime trees, exploring all of its bounty, choosing those that just fell off at a moment's notice, into our open hands. A dozen limes later, we had navigated the tree's north, south, east and west sides and felt content for the time being. Limeade and lime bars. Today's goal had been set.
This time, I followed a lemon bar recipe, courtesy of Deb and her Smitten Kitchen blog. The crust was delicious- I made a slight adjustment to the original tart crust, which I have in another post.
I baked the tart in a pie pan, following Deb's "thinner lemon layer" recipe. After rolling out the crust and placing it in the pan, I baked it for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, until it was a delicate golden brown. While it was going, I first zested about 10 of the limes using a cheese grater to reach 1 tbsp + 1 tsp lime zest. After softening up the limes with my hands (I always roll them back and forth a couple of times, applying light pressure to get the juices flowing), I began juicing them in a 1/3 cup measuring cup and accidentally spilled the work of two very dear limes. Luckily, I was able to sop of most of the juice, but I ended up using all 12 limes in total to get a perfect 2/3 cup juice. I whisked the zest, juice, 4 eggs, 2/3 cup whole wheat flour, and about 1 cup of sugar together in a bowl. I tasted it for good measure, unsure if I should add more sugar. I determined it was plenty sweet and when the dough was ready, I added the filling and placed it in the oven for 25 minutes at 350.
I was worried about burning the filling again, so I took it out after 25 minutes when I realized that it had set into a solid. Though it wasn't a gooey mess like I had intended, the filling was still soft and delicate, bursting with lime flavor.
Ingredients
1 tart crust
2/3 cup lime juice, about 10-12 limes
1 tbsp + 1 tsp lime zest (remember to do this BEFORE you juice)
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup whole wheat, or all-purpose flour
I've been doubting whether those 'limes' I picked were actually limes or if they were un-ripe lemons and I cut their life short. I will blame the failed bars on those limes for now, and gave the ol' lime bar a second chance. My friend's obsessed with limes. She had a picked a couple limes one day, which we wedged and sliced to add to raspberry-lime margaritas one hot evening. Craving more, I went with her to the garden, upon the agreement that we would both take our bikes to the campus bike program. My tire had been flat since before I left for the Bay- this was the second time it got flat in two days and she had yet to inflate her tires since last May. I brought along a new tire and new tube, determined to set things straight with my 10-speed. I ended up finding a staple in my tire, the cause of my tube flats and with a rather slow patch process (I kept losing track of the staple's damage), we finally made it to the garden. We first explored the fig tree, finding no ripe ones on one, but an abundance of exploding flesh on a different tree, one that's a bit more off the path. After finding a tub in which to place the sopping figs, we began to move through the lime trees, exploring all of its bounty, choosing those that just fell off at a moment's notice, into our open hands. A dozen limes later, we had navigated the tree's north, south, east and west sides and felt content for the time being. Limeade and lime bars. Today's goal had been set.
This time, I followed a lemon bar recipe, courtesy of Deb and her Smitten Kitchen blog. The crust was delicious- I made a slight adjustment to the original tart crust, which I have in another post.
I baked the tart in a pie pan, following Deb's "thinner lemon layer" recipe. After rolling out the crust and placing it in the pan, I baked it for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, until it was a delicate golden brown. While it was going, I first zested about 10 of the limes using a cheese grater to reach 1 tbsp + 1 tsp lime zest. After softening up the limes with my hands (I always roll them back and forth a couple of times, applying light pressure to get the juices flowing), I began juicing them in a 1/3 cup measuring cup and accidentally spilled the work of two very dear limes. Luckily, I was able to sop of most of the juice, but I ended up using all 12 limes in total to get a perfect 2/3 cup juice. I whisked the zest, juice, 4 eggs, 2/3 cup whole wheat flour, and about 1 cup of sugar together in a bowl. I tasted it for good measure, unsure if I should add more sugar. I determined it was plenty sweet and when the dough was ready, I added the filling and placed it in the oven for 25 minutes at 350.
I was worried about burning the filling again, so I took it out after 25 minutes when I realized that it had set into a solid. Though it wasn't a gooey mess like I had intended, the filling was still soft and delicate, bursting with lime flavor.
Ingredients
1 tart crust
2/3 cup lime juice, about 10-12 limes
1 tbsp + 1 tsp lime zest (remember to do this BEFORE you juice)
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup whole wheat, or all-purpose flour
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Saturday hike and Lentils
After two nights of intensive cooking and baking schemes, I decided to take it easy for a day and explore the surrounding mountains. It was hot. Really really hot. There's a place in Los Padres natl forest called the Fishbowl Swimming Holes that I've been wanting to go for some time and it seemed like a perfect hot day to go explore swimming holes.
We planned to leave around 8-8:30, but after a rough night from all the red wine I put into my belly, I struggled a bit to wake up and we finally headed out around 9:15- not too bad, considering I'm usually running 2 hours late. The forest is off of the 5, near the tippy top of the Grapevine pass. It's just west of the grapevine and set back pretty far. We took a zipcar to get there, a hybrid of some sort and were a bit worried about the tires on the dirt road so we went to the first trailhead, which was a 5 mi hike in, but on flat ground. After lunch of leftover quiche, pasta and who knows how old rice, we headed out. It took us some time to find the first part of the trail and probably didn't get started until 12:30 or so. We made it about 4 mi in to a wash at the base of a hill and had completely lost the trail. After about a half hour of scouting, we gave up, dripping and red-cheeked. We never made it to the swimming holes which was a major bummer. Next time, I think I'll bring a better car and go to the second trail head, which apparently is only a 2.5-3 mi hike in, of which 1 mi is a 1000 foot climb.
When we got back, I was beat and thought I'd cook up some lentils, Indian style. Let me tell you about the lentils I've been eating recently... my dear friend, Korin, a recent graduate of my school, lives in town with her partner, Sash, who graduated from undergrad a couple of years back, but also just finished grad school here. Sash was born in India and has been cooking since he was very young. I met Korin under a year ago, but she has been an awesome friend, the kind that you can talk to about anything, and the kind that loves good food and loves to try new foods, meat excluded. I quickly learned that Sash is an amazing cook and have been devouring all sorts of wonderful dishes at their house, from daal to chickpeas, to stuffed eggplants, and even roasted goat. Korin has picked up a few tricks along the way and even making pizza or pilaf with her, there is never a dull taste to anything. The girl loves garlic and spicy chiles, two things that are always more than ok with me. I always try to bring them something of contribution- whether it be dessert or clusters of veggies from the farm; I know they will use it all and use it well.
I've been experimenting myself with Indian dishes and thought I'd try to make lentils Sash-style. I know that cumin and coriander are necessary, as are dried chiles, and tons of garlic. Sash and Korin always use the pressure cooker, to which they add the lentils and lots of tomatoes. Whether it comes out extra amazing because of pressure cooker or not, my attempt at the lentils definitely fell short. They were good. But didn't quite compare... here's the recipe though for easy lentils:
Ingredients
1.5 cup orange lentils
3-4 cups water
6-8 small or medium sized tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, sliced
10 heads of garlic, minced
2 tbsp oil, or ghee
cumin seeds (if handy, if not ground cumin)
ground coriander
salt
small handful of dried chiles or thai chiles
2 limes, juiced
Wash the lentils in a large pot and add the water. Allow the water to come to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer. Keep your eye on the lentils and add water if the bottom layer or sides start to burn/ all the water evaporates. In a pan, heat the oil or ghee on high and add the cumin and coriander to toast. When the spices begin to smell, add the garlic. Lower the heat to medium. Stir constantly until the garlic releases its smell and then add the sliced onion. Add a pinch of salt so that the onions will release their juices. Continue stirring so it does not burn. When the onions have cooked down, turn off the heat.
Meanwhile, check on the lentil and when they are done cooking and soft (you can taste them), add the tomatoes and some more water if necessary. Add the onions and oil/ghee and spices and stir well. Let the flavors meld together and the tomatoes cook down to release all their juices. Add the lime juice and mix well. Serve with rice, naan, flat bread or barley.
We planned to leave around 8-8:30, but after a rough night from all the red wine I put into my belly, I struggled a bit to wake up and we finally headed out around 9:15- not too bad, considering I'm usually running 2 hours late. The forest is off of the 5, near the tippy top of the Grapevine pass. It's just west of the grapevine and set back pretty far. We took a zipcar to get there, a hybrid of some sort and were a bit worried about the tires on the dirt road so we went to the first trailhead, which was a 5 mi hike in, but on flat ground. After lunch of leftover quiche, pasta and who knows how old rice, we headed out. It took us some time to find the first part of the trail and probably didn't get started until 12:30 or so. We made it about 4 mi in to a wash at the base of a hill and had completely lost the trail. After about a half hour of scouting, we gave up, dripping and red-cheeked. We never made it to the swimming holes which was a major bummer. Next time, I think I'll bring a better car and go to the second trail head, which apparently is only a 2.5-3 mi hike in, of which 1 mi is a 1000 foot climb.
When we got back, I was beat and thought I'd cook up some lentils, Indian style. Let me tell you about the lentils I've been eating recently... my dear friend, Korin, a recent graduate of my school, lives in town with her partner, Sash, who graduated from undergrad a couple of years back, but also just finished grad school here. Sash was born in India and has been cooking since he was very young. I met Korin under a year ago, but she has been an awesome friend, the kind that you can talk to about anything, and the kind that loves good food and loves to try new foods, meat excluded. I quickly learned that Sash is an amazing cook and have been devouring all sorts of wonderful dishes at their house, from daal to chickpeas, to stuffed eggplants, and even roasted goat. Korin has picked up a few tricks along the way and even making pizza or pilaf with her, there is never a dull taste to anything. The girl loves garlic and spicy chiles, two things that are always more than ok with me. I always try to bring them something of contribution- whether it be dessert or clusters of veggies from the farm; I know they will use it all and use it well.
I've been experimenting myself with Indian dishes and thought I'd try to make lentils Sash-style. I know that cumin and coriander are necessary, as are dried chiles, and tons of garlic. Sash and Korin always use the pressure cooker, to which they add the lentils and lots of tomatoes. Whether it comes out extra amazing because of pressure cooker or not, my attempt at the lentils definitely fell short. They were good. But didn't quite compare... here's the recipe though for easy lentils:
Ingredients
1.5 cup orange lentils
3-4 cups water
6-8 small or medium sized tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, sliced
10 heads of garlic, minced
2 tbsp oil, or ghee
cumin seeds (if handy, if not ground cumin)
ground coriander
salt
small handful of dried chiles or thai chiles
2 limes, juiced
Wash the lentils in a large pot and add the water. Allow the water to come to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer. Keep your eye on the lentils and add water if the bottom layer or sides start to burn/ all the water evaporates. In a pan, heat the oil or ghee on high and add the cumin and coriander to toast. When the spices begin to smell, add the garlic. Lower the heat to medium. Stir constantly until the garlic releases its smell and then add the sliced onion. Add a pinch of salt so that the onions will release their juices. Continue stirring so it does not burn. When the onions have cooked down, turn off the heat.
Meanwhile, check on the lentil and when they are done cooking and soft (you can taste them), add the tomatoes and some more water if necessary. Add the onions and oil/ghee and spices and stir well. Let the flavors meld together and the tomatoes cook down to release all their juices. Add the lime juice and mix well. Serve with rice, naan, flat bread or barley.
Kale Chips and Peanut Butter Cookies
The roasted corn and tomato pasta dish with pesto was not complete without an appetizer and dessert. Many glasses of red wine and a stomach completely full of pasta, I couldn't resist bringing out the peanut butter cookies I had made earlier that day to share with everyone and continue our lovely conversation. There was so much to talk about anyways, I didn't want anyone to leave. We had moved on to talking about the similarities between babies and older people, and then moved on to alzheimer's, and stories about my Bolivian friend's Bolivian grandfather who has alzheimer's and yet remains active and healthy. It's a weird dynamic to be around someone who can't remember you and who brings their own secret life to your reality in ways you can't understand. I gave my friend a copy of my other friend's Water for Elephants, which you should read too.
These cookies are probably the best pb cookies I have ever made, thanks again to Heidi Swanson and her peanut butter cookies recipe. They're made with olive oil, maple syrup and sea salt. I've never made them with syrup, but opt for agave nectar, though I'm sure if you have real maple syrup from vermont or maine, or even canada on hand, they will be drop-dead delicious. I've made them before with sea salt, but don't have any here so I used regular kosher salt.
For the cookies, first mix together flour, which I used whole wheat, as always, baking soda, and the kosher salt, in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, mix together the peanut butter, which I prefer to use chunky and definitely unsalted, though I ran out and had to use a small amount of creamy salted that was in the fridge and the agave nectar, olive oil and vanilla. Mix that all together and slowly add the flour mixture, mixing well with a wooden spoon until everything has been blended together just perfectly.
Grease a baking sheet and, with your hands, grab about 2 tbsp of the batter with your hands and roll into a ball. Place onto the sheet and press down to flatten it out. The first batch cooked just like this and then on the second batch, I remembered to use a fork to flatten it out even more and make the pretty criss-cross designs. They tasted the same, it's all a matter of presentation... I cook them at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until still soft, but slightly browned... after all there are no eggs in the batter and they can get too dry.
The cookies go fast so I don't know how long they can be stored for, probably 7 days in an airtight container. I gave a couple to my friends, both graduates from my school and who still live in town because of grad school and that's where one grew up. I'll talk more about them later though... My "housemate" who LOVES any and all baked goods finished them up.
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup agave nectar
1 cup organic, natural, chunky unsalted peanut butter
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
KALE CHIPS
I don't always start with dessert, but will usually have an appetizer, if anything. While the oven was still going after the cookies were done, I thought I'd attempt to make some kale chips- something I had tried once before and ended up burning so that they left an awful bitter after bite, but which luckily my loving housemates from last year gobbled up in half a day and told me were delicious.
Kale chips have been all the rage in the organic/health food craze lately. Lucky for me, I hate potato chips (I think it's a potato thing that I have) so I don't have to worry too much about having to swap kale for potato. When I was in NY this summer, in a VERY posh place, I saw a teeny bag of kale chips for $12. Plus tax. That's absurd. Kale is probably one of the easiest things to grow and it keeps coming back. Not to mention all the different varieties- there's dinosaur, curly, plain, rape (kind of a weird name...), and they even grow well in cold weather!
After finding some leftover kale from the winter/spring at the farm the previous day, I looked up a recipe on Smitten Kitchen, a cooking blog that a wonderful friend from the camp where I worked this summer turned me on to when he told me about a great challah recipe. There's a lot more than challah and just like 101 cookbooks, everything I've made has been absolutely divine. I found a kale chip recipe and followed it more or less. I tore the hard stems off of the leaves and ripped the leaves into somewhat smaller pieces, knowing that they shrivel up a bit when you bake them.
I mixed them all in a bowl with a little of olive oil, just enough to coat them, but not too much to make them oily, some salt and fresh rosemary. I had to make two batches, but I cooked them at 300 degrees for 20 minutes and they were great!
I can't really give exact measurements for this recipe, but just go with it! If you mess up the first time- as I did, try again! Feel it out.
These cookies are probably the best pb cookies I have ever made, thanks again to Heidi Swanson and her peanut butter cookies recipe. They're made with olive oil, maple syrup and sea salt. I've never made them with syrup, but opt for agave nectar, though I'm sure if you have real maple syrup from vermont or maine, or even canada on hand, they will be drop-dead delicious. I've made them before with sea salt, but don't have any here so I used regular kosher salt.
For the cookies, first mix together flour, which I used whole wheat, as always, baking soda, and the kosher salt, in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, mix together the peanut butter, which I prefer to use chunky and definitely unsalted, though I ran out and had to use a small amount of creamy salted that was in the fridge and the agave nectar, olive oil and vanilla. Mix that all together and slowly add the flour mixture, mixing well with a wooden spoon until everything has been blended together just perfectly.
Grease a baking sheet and, with your hands, grab about 2 tbsp of the batter with your hands and roll into a ball. Place onto the sheet and press down to flatten it out. The first batch cooked just like this and then on the second batch, I remembered to use a fork to flatten it out even more and make the pretty criss-cross designs. They tasted the same, it's all a matter of presentation... I cook them at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until still soft, but slightly browned... after all there are no eggs in the batter and they can get too dry.
The cookies go fast so I don't know how long they can be stored for, probably 7 days in an airtight container. I gave a couple to my friends, both graduates from my school and who still live in town because of grad school and that's where one grew up. I'll talk more about them later though... My "housemate" who LOVES any and all baked goods finished them up.
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup agave nectar
1 cup organic, natural, chunky unsalted peanut butter
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
KALE CHIPS
I don't always start with dessert, but will usually have an appetizer, if anything. While the oven was still going after the cookies were done, I thought I'd attempt to make some kale chips- something I had tried once before and ended up burning so that they left an awful bitter after bite, but which luckily my loving housemates from last year gobbled up in half a day and told me were delicious.
Kale chips have been all the rage in the organic/health food craze lately. Lucky for me, I hate potato chips (I think it's a potato thing that I have) so I don't have to worry too much about having to swap kale for potato. When I was in NY this summer, in a VERY posh place, I saw a teeny bag of kale chips for $12. Plus tax. That's absurd. Kale is probably one of the easiest things to grow and it keeps coming back. Not to mention all the different varieties- there's dinosaur, curly, plain, rape (kind of a weird name...), and they even grow well in cold weather!
After finding some leftover kale from the winter/spring at the farm the previous day, I looked up a recipe on Smitten Kitchen, a cooking blog that a wonderful friend from the camp where I worked this summer turned me on to when he told me about a great challah recipe. There's a lot more than challah and just like 101 cookbooks, everything I've made has been absolutely divine. I found a kale chip recipe and followed it more or less. I tore the hard stems off of the leaves and ripped the leaves into somewhat smaller pieces, knowing that they shrivel up a bit when you bake them.
I mixed them all in a bowl with a little of olive oil, just enough to coat them, but not too much to make them oily, some salt and fresh rosemary. I had to make two batches, but I cooked them at 300 degrees for 20 minutes and they were great!
I can't really give exact measurements for this recipe, but just go with it! If you mess up the first time- as I did, try again! Feel it out.
Pasta with roasted corn and tomatoes and fresh pesto
On my way back from the Bay, which instead of telling you how exactly I got back down to LA, I will just say was an interesting ride... as the car rolled south through the hot, brown valley and the stench from real california cows put on the verge of puking, I decided that I needed to cook for the girls with whom I was staying every evening. There would always be fresh, delicious food and wonderful baked goods for them to indulge- that would be my exchange for letting me sleep in their house without paying rent.
The night after I made the quiche, I went to Trader Joe's to buy a basil plant. It must be the way they line them up outside, green and bushy-eyed, the delightful smell of blooming basil leaves wafting through the air as you cross over to enter the store. Unfortunately, it's either so hot that now the basil plant is attracting fruit flies or I'm doing something terribly wrong. But before the flies came, the plant was a beautiful green overflowing with big fresh leaves that were going to make a wonderful pesto.
I still had my 19 cent corn left over and tons of tomatoes from the farm. Browsing for ideas of what to do with the corn on the internet, I saw roasted corn. Where you just take off the kernels and stick them in the oven on a baking sheet and they get all nutty and pop in your mouth, and, as it turns out, in the oven while they bake, almost as if you're making oven popcorn. What could be better? I wanted to invite everyone I knew over, but they only one who seemed the least likely to flake on me was my beautiful Bolivian-Jewish friend, who had spent the past semester in Brazil, studying in the north, and who I couldn't wait to see after almost 9 months apart!
I remember I went to her house the night before I left for New Orleans back in December. Fall semester had finally finished and her house was having a party. I had finished my 46 page research paper a couple of days earlier and was getting ready to spend 5 days in New Orleans, in the lower 9th, working at an alternative school and farm for underserved local youth. It was a beautiful place, which unfortunately had very poor leadership and I think has become nothing. I learned so much while I was there about the New Orleans, the local culture and how wonderful the youth are there, but how messed up everything is. School to Prison Pipeline is what they have created. It was a great end to my food justice research project (aka my 46 page paper) to see this happening by youth and for youth across the country. I actually remember New Orleans is what made me like rice. The school we stayed at purchased wild rice from a local coop and we bought some and cooked it for everyone and it was the best rice I have ever tasted. Incredibly dark, nutty and sweet...
I transgressed, but as for the corn, I did exactly what the internet told me- removed the kernels and put them on an olive oil- greased baking sheet with 3 or 4 tomatoes. I put that in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until the kernels were a golden brown and the tomatoes were bursting at the seams with their juices.
While the veggies were roasting, I put on a pot of water to boil for the pasta. I never salt my water. I grew up with very little salt in my food and hate salty pasta. I may add a little bit of olive oil from time to time, especially with spaghetti or linguini, to prevent it from sticking, but never any salt.
I then chopped up about 3 cloves of garlic and the other half of the yellow courgette squash from the farm. In a frying pan, I sautéed the garlic with a pinch of crushed red pepper and tore up a small handful of basil leaves to make a basil-garlic oil, one which I had made this summer while in Long Island for grilled clams over pasta. I actually got the idea for a grilled watermelon salad recipe in Bon Appetit, which I also used the oil for that same hot, humid summer night in New York. Once the oil smelled fantastic, I added the courgette to cook briefly.
For once, everything seemed to come together perfectly. I had already made the pesto- roughly chopped about 1.5-2 cups of fresh basil, added about 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup shaved asiago, and 2 cloves of raw garlic into a bowl. Since I am without a food processor, I just mixed it all together, which I actually often prefer it made by hand- it adds more love and dedication than with a machine. The pasta was still cooking while I added the roasted corn and tomato into a large mixing bowl. I broke apart the tomatoes with my hands, or rather they fell apart at my touch. I then added the sautéed courgettes in basil oil after it cooked for 5-7 minutes. The pasta still wasn't done and I remembered that I wanted to add nuts to the pesto. I quickly toasted about 1/4 cup chopped walnuts in the same pan that held the courgettes and then added it into the pesto.
When the pasta was done, I had to have my friend help me drain it because the girls didn't have a colander at the time (they found one for $0.75 on sunday at an estate sale!) and I added the pasta to the vegetables, along with the pesto.
I brought out the pasta to the table, along with some kale chips that I had made earlier that day. Our wonderful friend arrived with a bottle of red, and we had a wonderful dinner, full of Charlie's fabulous red wine and memories and stories from Brazil, Nepal, France and our lovely college.
Ingredients
2 ears of corn, husked and shucked
3-4 medium sized tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic for the pesto, minced
1/4 cup parmesan, asiago, or romano, grated
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
1/4 cup EVOO
2 cups fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 lb pasta, either fusilli or penne
3-5 tbsp EVOO
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp crushed red pepper (or more, if you like it spicy, or less if you don't- I LOVE spice)
small handful torn basil leaves
1 cup sliced and halved yellow courgette
The night after I made the quiche, I went to Trader Joe's to buy a basil plant. It must be the way they line them up outside, green and bushy-eyed, the delightful smell of blooming basil leaves wafting through the air as you cross over to enter the store. Unfortunately, it's either so hot that now the basil plant is attracting fruit flies or I'm doing something terribly wrong. But before the flies came, the plant was a beautiful green overflowing with big fresh leaves that were going to make a wonderful pesto.
I still had my 19 cent corn left over and tons of tomatoes from the farm. Browsing for ideas of what to do with the corn on the internet, I saw roasted corn. Where you just take off the kernels and stick them in the oven on a baking sheet and they get all nutty and pop in your mouth, and, as it turns out, in the oven while they bake, almost as if you're making oven popcorn. What could be better? I wanted to invite everyone I knew over, but they only one who seemed the least likely to flake on me was my beautiful Bolivian-Jewish friend, who had spent the past semester in Brazil, studying in the north, and who I couldn't wait to see after almost 9 months apart!
I remember I went to her house the night before I left for New Orleans back in December. Fall semester had finally finished and her house was having a party. I had finished my 46 page research paper a couple of days earlier and was getting ready to spend 5 days in New Orleans, in the lower 9th, working at an alternative school and farm for underserved local youth. It was a beautiful place, which unfortunately had very poor leadership and I think has become nothing. I learned so much while I was there about the New Orleans, the local culture and how wonderful the youth are there, but how messed up everything is. School to Prison Pipeline is what they have created. It was a great end to my food justice research project (aka my 46 page paper) to see this happening by youth and for youth across the country. I actually remember New Orleans is what made me like rice. The school we stayed at purchased wild rice from a local coop and we bought some and cooked it for everyone and it was the best rice I have ever tasted. Incredibly dark, nutty and sweet...
I transgressed, but as for the corn, I did exactly what the internet told me- removed the kernels and put them on an olive oil- greased baking sheet with 3 or 4 tomatoes. I put that in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until the kernels were a golden brown and the tomatoes were bursting at the seams with their juices.
While the veggies were roasting, I put on a pot of water to boil for the pasta. I never salt my water. I grew up with very little salt in my food and hate salty pasta. I may add a little bit of olive oil from time to time, especially with spaghetti or linguini, to prevent it from sticking, but never any salt.
I then chopped up about 3 cloves of garlic and the other half of the yellow courgette squash from the farm. In a frying pan, I sautéed the garlic with a pinch of crushed red pepper and tore up a small handful of basil leaves to make a basil-garlic oil, one which I had made this summer while in Long Island for grilled clams over pasta. I actually got the idea for a grilled watermelon salad recipe in Bon Appetit, which I also used the oil for that same hot, humid summer night in New York. Once the oil smelled fantastic, I added the courgette to cook briefly.
For once, everything seemed to come together perfectly. I had already made the pesto- roughly chopped about 1.5-2 cups of fresh basil, added about 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup shaved asiago, and 2 cloves of raw garlic into a bowl. Since I am without a food processor, I just mixed it all together, which I actually often prefer it made by hand- it adds more love and dedication than with a machine. The pasta was still cooking while I added the roasted corn and tomato into a large mixing bowl. I broke apart the tomatoes with my hands, or rather they fell apart at my touch. I then added the sautéed courgettes in basil oil after it cooked for 5-7 minutes. The pasta still wasn't done and I remembered that I wanted to add nuts to the pesto. I quickly toasted about 1/4 cup chopped walnuts in the same pan that held the courgettes and then added it into the pesto.
When the pasta was done, I had to have my friend help me drain it because the girls didn't have a colander at the time (they found one for $0.75 on sunday at an estate sale!) and I added the pasta to the vegetables, along with the pesto.
I brought out the pasta to the table, along with some kale chips that I had made earlier that day. Our wonderful friend arrived with a bottle of red, and we had a wonderful dinner, full of Charlie's fabulous red wine and memories and stories from Brazil, Nepal, France and our lovely college.
Ingredients
2 ears of corn, husked and shucked
3-4 medium sized tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic for the pesto, minced
1/4 cup parmesan, asiago, or romano, grated
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
1/4 cup EVOO
2 cups fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 lb pasta, either fusilli or penne
3-5 tbsp EVOO
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp crushed red pepper (or more, if you like it spicy, or less if you don't- I LOVE spice)
small handful torn basil leaves
1 cup sliced and halved yellow courgette
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
'Special' brownies and a belated birthday
Before I get too ahead of myself, I want to share what I made today. It was the Grove House manager's birthday last week and I was up in the Bay so I never got to make her anything. She is an awesome woman. I don't know her too well, but I got to spend a fair amount of time with her this summer while I was here. My roommate from spring semester last year, who is now the caretaker, worked in the kitchen with Z last year and would tell me wonderful stories. I knew I had to meet this woman, it was just a matter of when.
Z always has a smile on her face and has a wonderful outlook. She has an incredibly supportive family and is incredibly supportive herself. So much so that she catered her own birthday party for her three cousins or nieces and nephews. She also happens to be an AMAZING cook. Even though she's allergic to gluten, citrus and what sometimes seems like everything else, she can make anything taste great. She often goes to Amy's Farm in Ontario, an urban organic small farm where I worked last fall. She brings back beautiful produce to the house and is even a member of the cow share so she can milk a cow once a week for fresh, whole, delectable milk.
We could talk about food for hours, and have done so. She's been a great help to the garden this summer and has helped our school become an active part of the local food movement with her actions.
So, I decided to make her black bean brownies. With black beans. I should go back in time and mention that my favorite website is Heidi Swanson's 101cookbooks.com. I check there daily for new recipes and photos. She is incredibly talented and I have not made one dish that I do not like from her site. She posted Amazing Black Bean Brownies which I've kept meaning to make and finally decided I needed to do it.
I followed the recipe for the most part, but attempted to make the brownies vegan for cost-effectiveness (butter and eggs are pricey) and use what I had on hand. I omitted the sea salt because of price, and did not use any coffee substitute.
First I melted the chocolate in the microwave for 1 minute on high. I stirred it until it was smooth, then added in oil. I set that aside and pureed the black beans in a blender with 1/2 cup walnuts, 1 tbsp vanilla and about half of the chocolate mixture, to add extra liquid so it would mash well. I set that aside and beat 1 heaping tbsp of ground flaxseed with 1/4 cup water until it was foamy like an egg, but did get a little frightened that I messed up that ratio... it worked out well. I used a banana for 2 of the eggs that were called for an mashed it with my hands before adding it to the flax seed mixture. I then sacrificed one of my eggs and whisked it all together. Then I added the rest of the chocolate-oil mixture and 1 cup of agave nectar and 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts and whisked that together. Finally, I added the mashed beans/walnut/chocolate mixture to the eggs and mixed it all together.
I took a baking sheet, about 11x15, well-buttered, and poured the brownie mixture and spread it out evenly. I baked the brownies at 325 degrees for about 35 minutes. It was still a little bit gooey, but it set as it cooled. I put it in the freezer to cool quickly so that I could cut it easily and bring it to Z.
Z took a little bite out of one and set they were delicious. She also gave me some wise words: told me to take it day by day, do not have fear for what might happen or think about how your job or current situation isn't working well for you now, but it will all change. She also said that she's working the job she always wanted- cooking and catering college events, working closely with wonderful college students and does her 'office work' on the mounds, outside in the sun. And she's here to stay until it's time to move on...
Ingredients
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup vegetable/canola oil
1 15-oz can black beans
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 banana (=2 eggs)
1 tbsp ground flaxseed+ 1/4 cup water, whisked together until egg-like
1 cup agave nectar (Heidi calls for 1 1/2, but I always lower the amount of sugar in recipes and they are still very sweet, I promise)
Z always has a smile on her face and has a wonderful outlook. She has an incredibly supportive family and is incredibly supportive herself. So much so that she catered her own birthday party for her three cousins or nieces and nephews. She also happens to be an AMAZING cook. Even though she's allergic to gluten, citrus and what sometimes seems like everything else, she can make anything taste great. She often goes to Amy's Farm in Ontario, an urban organic small farm where I worked last fall. She brings back beautiful produce to the house and is even a member of the cow share so she can milk a cow once a week for fresh, whole, delectable milk.
We could talk about food for hours, and have done so. She's been a great help to the garden this summer and has helped our school become an active part of the local food movement with her actions.
So, I decided to make her black bean brownies. With black beans. I should go back in time and mention that my favorite website is Heidi Swanson's 101cookbooks.com. I check there daily for new recipes and photos. She is incredibly talented and I have not made one dish that I do not like from her site. She posted Amazing Black Bean Brownies which I've kept meaning to make and finally decided I needed to do it.
I followed the recipe for the most part, but attempted to make the brownies vegan for cost-effectiveness (butter and eggs are pricey) and use what I had on hand. I omitted the sea salt because of price, and did not use any coffee substitute.
First I melted the chocolate in the microwave for 1 minute on high. I stirred it until it was smooth, then added in oil. I set that aside and pureed the black beans in a blender with 1/2 cup walnuts, 1 tbsp vanilla and about half of the chocolate mixture, to add extra liquid so it would mash well. I set that aside and beat 1 heaping tbsp of ground flaxseed with 1/4 cup water until it was foamy like an egg, but did get a little frightened that I messed up that ratio... it worked out well. I used a banana for 2 of the eggs that were called for an mashed it with my hands before adding it to the flax seed mixture. I then sacrificed one of my eggs and whisked it all together. Then I added the rest of the chocolate-oil mixture and 1 cup of agave nectar and 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts and whisked that together. Finally, I added the mashed beans/walnut/chocolate mixture to the eggs and mixed it all together.
I took a baking sheet, about 11x15, well-buttered, and poured the brownie mixture and spread it out evenly. I baked the brownies at 325 degrees for about 35 minutes. It was still a little bit gooey, but it set as it cooled. I put it in the freezer to cool quickly so that I could cut it easily and bring it to Z.
Z took a little bite out of one and set they were delicious. She also gave me some wise words: told me to take it day by day, do not have fear for what might happen or think about how your job or current situation isn't working well for you now, but it will all change. She also said that she's working the job she always wanted- cooking and catering college events, working closely with wonderful college students and does her 'office work' on the mounds, outside in the sun. And she's here to stay until it's time to move on...
Ingredients
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup vegetable/canola oil
1 15-oz can black beans
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 banana (=2 eggs)
1 tbsp ground flaxseed+ 1/4 cup water, whisked together until egg-like
1 cup agave nectar (Heidi calls for 1 1/2, but I always lower the amount of sugar in recipes and they are still very sweet, I promise)
[They tell me it's] Easy Quiche/Tart Crust
I learned how to bake quiche- real quiches in France, where, instead of a gooey, cheesy filling, you will find light, fluffy eggs with nicely roasted or sauteed veggies. I was in France last year for 7 months- from January to August of 2010. I studied in Nantes, which wasn't really my favorite place and after, went down to the Alps to WWOOF, or volunteer in exchange for food and housing, on two various farms.
At the first farm, which was in the Upper Alps (Les Hautes Alpes), I stayed at a woman's home with her pre-teen son. She had a really old house in the mountains overlooking a valley. It was an absolutely stunning place. It literally just took my breath away every day. As for farming, she had two gardens and did a lot of composting for mulch for her gardens. She went hiking fairly often with her sister, who often laughed when I spoke just one word of French. Luckily, there were 2 other WWOOFers there from the US, both of whom were really nice. Southern hospitality kind of nice. It was a bit of a culture shock on both ends- being thrown into an incredible, rural mountain village, still covered in snow, as I had literally just missed an early June snowstorm, and two southern Americans who just finished their semester in the US. All this talk of what was happening in America, and I was still trying to figure out what had just happened the past 4 months of my life in Nantes.
The woman I was working with turned out to be a complete you-know-what. I'm not quite sure what I did to deserve her treatment, but I must say, the woman cooked the best food I have ever had. Every day, both lunch and dinner were a huge production. I remember the rabbit that I ate- sweet, dark, and succulent. With fresh made gnocchi and local cheese melted on top. I have everything she made written down in my journal, actually. But that's back at home. So all I can give you here is her crust. So simple. So easy. That's all she said, before she left the other American girl and I to try and make our own quiche for dinner one evening while she set out. 300 grams of flour and 150 grams of butter. You mix it together until it feels like sand and then add a cup of water.
Easy enough... well an hour and a half later, we're still adding flour and butter to the crust, trying to make it stick together. It was not a pretty sight. The problem was either that we put in warm water... did she say warm or cold? And a whole cup. At one time.
I've been working on this crust recipe since then, trying different variations in flour and amount of water- which I just tend to eyeball now until it feels good. At the next farm where I worked, I stayed at a gîte, a sort of bed+breakfast and dinner in the Lower Alps. The scenery wasn't as drastic; it was more wheat fields and tractors than huge, snow-capped mountains, but I was in a village with no more than 12 homes outside of Mens. I was introduced to a French WWOOFer, who was also the cook for the gîte, and had experience working as a cook in Ireland at a French restaurant. Funny how that happens. He made the best flourless chocolate cake, of which I have the recipe in NJ. But he also made the crust the same way: about 300 g flour to 150 g butter, plus chilled water added by the tablespoon until it could all stick together and roll into a nice, slightly wet ball before it was chilled and then rolled out on a floury surface.
So that's what I've been doing since, only in American measurements. It's always a 2:1 ratio of flour:butter.
Ingredients:
For 2 crusts
about 3 cups all-purpose flour; I use whole wheat
11 tbsp butter
a pinch of salt
Cut the butter into cubes and put in a big mixing bowl. Add the flour. Mix well. I admit that I always use my hands, not only because I like to feel the texture, but I don't have a food processor. Mix until it feels like wet sand and the big clumps of butter are out. Add 2-3 tbsp water. Mix well. Continue adding water in small quantities until the dough begins to stick together and you can roll it into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and chill. When ready, roll out dough on floured surface or use hands to spread dough evenly until it forms 1/4 inch crust and put into a well greased pan.
I recommend using this crust for quiche recipes. You can use it for sweet tarts, too, if you want, but I will post a slightly different recipe for sweet tarts. I always use whole wheat flour, another weird thing I do- I am slightly afraid of white flour and I refuse to use bleached flour. It's healthier to use whole wheat or another hearty grain and more natural, as well. I also love the taste, which may take some getting used to.
At the first farm, which was in the Upper Alps (Les Hautes Alpes), I stayed at a woman's home with her pre-teen son. She had a really old house in the mountains overlooking a valley. It was an absolutely stunning place. It literally just took my breath away every day. As for farming, she had two gardens and did a lot of composting for mulch for her gardens. She went hiking fairly often with her sister, who often laughed when I spoke just one word of French. Luckily, there were 2 other WWOOFers there from the US, both of whom were really nice. Southern hospitality kind of nice. It was a bit of a culture shock on both ends- being thrown into an incredible, rural mountain village, still covered in snow, as I had literally just missed an early June snowstorm, and two southern Americans who just finished their semester in the US. All this talk of what was happening in America, and I was still trying to figure out what had just happened the past 4 months of my life in Nantes.
The woman I was working with turned out to be a complete you-know-what. I'm not quite sure what I did to deserve her treatment, but I must say, the woman cooked the best food I have ever had. Every day, both lunch and dinner were a huge production. I remember the rabbit that I ate- sweet, dark, and succulent. With fresh made gnocchi and local cheese melted on top. I have everything she made written down in my journal, actually. But that's back at home. So all I can give you here is her crust. So simple. So easy. That's all she said, before she left the other American girl and I to try and make our own quiche for dinner one evening while she set out. 300 grams of flour and 150 grams of butter. You mix it together until it feels like sand and then add a cup of water.
Easy enough... well an hour and a half later, we're still adding flour and butter to the crust, trying to make it stick together. It was not a pretty sight. The problem was either that we put in warm water... did she say warm or cold? And a whole cup. At one time.
I've been working on this crust recipe since then, trying different variations in flour and amount of water- which I just tend to eyeball now until it feels good. At the next farm where I worked, I stayed at a gîte, a sort of bed+breakfast and dinner in the Lower Alps. The scenery wasn't as drastic; it was more wheat fields and tractors than huge, snow-capped mountains, but I was in a village with no more than 12 homes outside of Mens. I was introduced to a French WWOOFer, who was also the cook for the gîte, and had experience working as a cook in Ireland at a French restaurant. Funny how that happens. He made the best flourless chocolate cake, of which I have the recipe in NJ. But he also made the crust the same way: about 300 g flour to 150 g butter, plus chilled water added by the tablespoon until it could all stick together and roll into a nice, slightly wet ball before it was chilled and then rolled out on a floury surface.
So that's what I've been doing since, only in American measurements. It's always a 2:1 ratio of flour:butter.
Ingredients:
For 2 crusts
about 3 cups all-purpose flour; I use whole wheat
11 tbsp butter
a pinch of salt
Cut the butter into cubes and put in a big mixing bowl. Add the flour. Mix well. I admit that I always use my hands, not only because I like to feel the texture, but I don't have a food processor. Mix until it feels like wet sand and the big clumps of butter are out. Add 2-3 tbsp water. Mix well. Continue adding water in small quantities until the dough begins to stick together and you can roll it into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and chill. When ready, roll out dough on floured surface or use hands to spread dough evenly until it forms 1/4 inch crust and put into a well greased pan.
I recommend using this crust for quiche recipes. You can use it for sweet tarts, too, if you want, but I will post a slightly different recipe for sweet tarts. I always use whole wheat flour, another weird thing I do- I am slightly afraid of white flour and I refuse to use bleached flour. It's healthier to use whole wheat or another hearty grain and more natural, as well. I also love the taste, which may take some getting used to.
First dinner with friends
After visiting the farm, I brought home deep purple eggplants, yellow squash, dozens of tomatoes, chiles, green and red bell peppers and bitter kale that never seems to stop growing. I decided I'd first make something fairly easy and settled with a quiche and corn-tomato salad with my tomato abundance.
Quiche:
I still had eggs from before I left for the bay, and there were some onions in the house. I started out with the Japanese eggplant, which I sliced thinly, lengthwise and lied out on a baking sheet. I added 3 whole cloves of garlic, still in their skin and sprinkled on some olive oil, fresh rosemary that I had picked from the farm, and a bit of salt. I then took a squash that I had found at the farm the previous week, a big round one with jagged edges, shaped like an umbrella, and, according to google, called a 'patty pan'. I did a rough chop on the patty pan and added it to the eggplant, somewhat last minute- next time I will add them at the same time to make sure they're all evenly coated in oil and rosemary and put that into the oven at 350 degrees to bake.
Meanwhile, I sauteed a couple of cloves of garlic in oil, added a little bit of crushed red pepper, something I ALWAYS have on hand in my kitchen. After 30 seconds or so, when the garlic starting emanating its luscious scent, I added thinly sliced onions, about half an onion in total. I sprinkled that with salt- I've been told numerous times to always sprinkle onions with salt so that they will release their juices, and flavor into the pan. After the onions became translucent and quite soft, maybe 5 minutes or so, I added sliced and quartered yellow courgette squash. I let that cook for only about 5 minutes; I like to still have a bite to the courgettes.
After the squash and onions were finished, I started to get the filling ready. I whisked together the last 4 eggs of the dozen, added a dash of salt and pepper to taste, some fresh rosemary and about 1/4 cup of asiago, as the gruyère that I had originally intended to buy was way out of my price range.
After 20 minutes, the eggplant looked good and tasted tender. I took it out to cool and added the courgette and onion mix to the eggs. With the oven free, I put the chilled crust I had made earlier that day into the oven for about 10 minutes, which turned out not to be long enough. (see crust recipe in separate section). After baking the crust, (next time I will bake it until the edges are a light golden brown), I added the courgette/onion/egg mix to the crust, then added the baked patty pan squash and de-skinned garlic cloves to any open spaces. I laid the eggplant strips flat on top, arranging them to make a perfect top layer.
The quiche baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until set in the center.
Ingredients:
1 quiche crust
4 eggs
1/4 cup shredded or grated cheese, I prefer gruyère, but anything salty and somewhat firm works
3-4 Japanese eggplants, thinly sliced lengthwise
1/2 yellow courgette squash, sliced and quartered
1/2 patty pan squash, de-seeded and chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper
fresh rosemary
Corn and Tomato Salad
Growing up in New Jersey, I've come to absolutely love sweet summer corn. I prefer it grilled with a little bit of char on the outside, but seeing as I'm without a grill here in California and often without patience, I've been eating sweet corn raw, which I cannot complain one bit about. It also happened to be only $0.19 per ear in the store so went ahead and bought 5.
The tomatoes, like I said, came from the farm. I am not sure what type they are, but they are absolutely delicious. I hated tomatoes as a child, but started liking them as I got a bit older, especially summer New Jersey tomatoes, either from my own garden at home or farm a nearby neighborhood farm. With fresh mozzarella or burratta, I cannot keep my hands off of tomatoes, but tonight they were going with the corn.
I chopped up 5 medium-sized tomatoes, shucked the corn off of 3 stalks and added it into a big bowl. Alongside that, I chopped up 2 cloves of garlic, juiced 1 lime and added salt and pepper to taste. I added a pinch of cumin at the end for an extra bite- my new favorite spice that I now add to just about everything I cook (except Italian).
Ingredients:
3 ears of corn, husked and shucked
5 medium tomatoes, chopped
2-3 cloves raw garlic, minced
1 lime, juiced
salt and pepper, to taste
Quiche:
I still had eggs from before I left for the bay, and there were some onions in the house. I started out with the Japanese eggplant, which I sliced thinly, lengthwise and lied out on a baking sheet. I added 3 whole cloves of garlic, still in their skin and sprinkled on some olive oil, fresh rosemary that I had picked from the farm, and a bit of salt. I then took a squash that I had found at the farm the previous week, a big round one with jagged edges, shaped like an umbrella, and, according to google, called a 'patty pan'. I did a rough chop on the patty pan and added it to the eggplant, somewhat last minute- next time I will add them at the same time to make sure they're all evenly coated in oil and rosemary and put that into the oven at 350 degrees to bake.
Meanwhile, I sauteed a couple of cloves of garlic in oil, added a little bit of crushed red pepper, something I ALWAYS have on hand in my kitchen. After 30 seconds or so, when the garlic starting emanating its luscious scent, I added thinly sliced onions, about half an onion in total. I sprinkled that with salt- I've been told numerous times to always sprinkle onions with salt so that they will release their juices, and flavor into the pan. After the onions became translucent and quite soft, maybe 5 minutes or so, I added sliced and quartered yellow courgette squash. I let that cook for only about 5 minutes; I like to still have a bite to the courgettes.
After the squash and onions were finished, I started to get the filling ready. I whisked together the last 4 eggs of the dozen, added a dash of salt and pepper to taste, some fresh rosemary and about 1/4 cup of asiago, as the gruyère that I had originally intended to buy was way out of my price range.
After 20 minutes, the eggplant looked good and tasted tender. I took it out to cool and added the courgette and onion mix to the eggs. With the oven free, I put the chilled crust I had made earlier that day into the oven for about 10 minutes, which turned out not to be long enough. (see crust recipe in separate section). After baking the crust, (next time I will bake it until the edges are a light golden brown), I added the courgette/onion/egg mix to the crust, then added the baked patty pan squash and de-skinned garlic cloves to any open spaces. I laid the eggplant strips flat on top, arranging them to make a perfect top layer.
The quiche baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until set in the center.
Ingredients:
1 quiche crust
4 eggs
1/4 cup shredded or grated cheese, I prefer gruyère, but anything salty and somewhat firm works
3-4 Japanese eggplants, thinly sliced lengthwise
1/2 yellow courgette squash, sliced and quartered
1/2 patty pan squash, de-seeded and chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper
fresh rosemary
Corn and Tomato Salad
Growing up in New Jersey, I've come to absolutely love sweet summer corn. I prefer it grilled with a little bit of char on the outside, but seeing as I'm without a grill here in California and often without patience, I've been eating sweet corn raw, which I cannot complain one bit about. It also happened to be only $0.19 per ear in the store so went ahead and bought 5.
The tomatoes, like I said, came from the farm. I am not sure what type they are, but they are absolutely delicious. I hated tomatoes as a child, but started liking them as I got a bit older, especially summer New Jersey tomatoes, either from my own garden at home or farm a nearby neighborhood farm. With fresh mozzarella or burratta, I cannot keep my hands off of tomatoes, but tonight they were going with the corn.
I chopped up 5 medium-sized tomatoes, shucked the corn off of 3 stalks and added it into a big bowl. Alongside that, I chopped up 2 cloves of garlic, juiced 1 lime and added salt and pepper to taste. I added a pinch of cumin at the end for an extra bite- my new favorite spice that I now add to just about everything I cook (except Italian).
Ingredients:
3 ears of corn, husked and shucked
5 medium tomatoes, chopped
2-3 cloves raw garlic, minced
1 lime, juiced
salt and pepper, to taste
Summer in LA
I've been in southern California for one week now, since my last expedition up to norcal for a job interview and somewhat successful job hunt. The first few days were quite nice- I went to Santa Monica my first day back to have lunch with my former boss from my summer job and then went to the valley to see my family and have a nice homemade meal. My aunt had been cooking a roast in the pressure cooker all day and even though I try really hard to stay away from all meat, I knew I was helpless the moment I opened the car door in front of their house. Though I'm not planning on cooking any meat myself, I have kept in mind her sweet potato fries: crispy, tender, thick strips of orange and white potato perfectly baked in oil and salt. She told me that the potatoes came from the nearby farmers market and I made a mental note to search for some at the farmers market near me. I'm not a huge fan of fries- in fact, I hate fries, but these sweet potatoes were perfect.
Since visiting my family, I've been staying with friends in my college town. I haven't left the town again, yet. But I have been cooking and baking nonstop. There are two huge gardens here, well one is my school's own garden and the other is another school's "Farm." It's not exactly a farm, but there's an abundance of food all year round, and especially this time of year in particular. And best of all, no one seems to be reaping the benefits, so I've been at it all summer, bringing back food to cook for myself and for friends, and always bringing food to whom ever I go visit. It's always a tough decision between bringing food or alcohol, but I think food is the right way to go. Everyone needs it.
Since visiting my family, I've been staying with friends in my college town. I haven't left the town again, yet. But I have been cooking and baking nonstop. There are two huge gardens here, well one is my school's own garden and the other is another school's "Farm." It's not exactly a farm, but there's an abundance of food all year round, and especially this time of year in particular. And best of all, no one seems to be reaping the benefits, so I've been at it all summer, bringing back food to cook for myself and for friends, and always bringing food to whom ever I go visit. It's always a tough decision between bringing food or alcohol, but I think food is the right way to go. Everyone needs it.
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