24 Hour GISH: Quarantine Cooking

Those of you who know me in real life are somewhat used to my bizzare posts that crop up on social media in the month of August when participating in the week long Greatest International Scavenger Hunt (the world has ever seen). GISH is a fun and maddening event intended to spark creativity, good deeds, and push back against the idea of being “normal” in all its forms. This weekend some of us participated in an at home quarantine mini version of GISH that took place over 24 hours. The funds from entries are going to Random Acts for programs that feed children during thse difficult times, as well as some yet to be named charities suggested by participants.

I usually gravitate toward the craft items, anything with food, and the online advocacy projects. Here is my Noonday Snail made with toilet paper rolls.

One of the surprisingly challenging items this year was to reach out to random people who use the GISH app (there is a worldwide map) to ask how people are doing and for a recipe for their favorite quarantine comfort foods. As with some items every year, what seems like a simple request (tooth survey, fellow Gishers, amirite?): message people, have nice chats and get recipes turned into a last minute mad dash to use social media to connect when messaging mountains of folks via the app proved futile (though lovely experience in checking in and wishing people well). I pulled together the 5 recipes from five people and five lands, with a breathless minute to spare using about a dozen different technologies to make it happen. [Oooh let’s count: Gish app, Facebook Groups, Messenger, email, Dropbox, Word, computer, phone, cutting and pasting across all those tech, printer, scanner, convert to jpeg, aaaaaaand post to Gish website.]

So here are the five Gishers who helped me out and their comfort foods, followed by an updated shorter version of my chicken soup to feed body and soul.

 

“Kinderkartoffeln” – by Linachen from Germany

Kid potatoes, recipe by my mother, who usually isn’t a particular great cook, this was and still is one of my favourite meals and always gives me a sense of home and happiness.

You need:

Potatoes

Cheese ((any cheese over 45% fat works, vegan cheese works, raclette cheese or gouda works best)

Butter (or butter sub)

and a pan with a lid *

Optional: mayo, remoulade sauce, or curd cheese for serving.

Boil potatoes (no peeling needed unless you really don’t like the skin). Cut potatoes into halves on the long side. Cut cheese slices to roughly cover the flat surface of each potato half (double layer if you feel like it). Heat butter (or vegan alternative) in pan. Place potatoes with flat side down first in pan, fry till crispy and slightly browned. Lower heat a bit, cover potatoes with cheese and put lid on pan. Wait for cheese to start melting, take pan off heat once the cheese starts running down the potatoes.

Eat with mayonnaise, remoulade or curd cheese.

 

Egg Curry – from Bangladesh by Susan Ackles

A dozen hard boiled eggs
1 cup oil
1 yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
A dash of red pepper
Salt to taste

First hard book eggs and peel and keep them cool. Then in a saucepan heat up oil, put in julienne sliced onion , caramelize them. Then add the spices. Stir and add the hard boiled eggs. Add 1/2 cup water. Cover and simmer for 7 minutes and voila.

 

Raspberry Crumble – From Minnie6661 aka Marie Kim P.  in Quebec, Canada

Crust:

1 cup (250 ml) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking powder

1 pinch salt, 1/3 cup (75 ml) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes,

3 tablespoons (45 ml) ice water.

Raspberry Filling:

1/2 cup (125 ml) sugar

1 tablespoon (15 ml) cornstarch

2 3/4 cups (680 ml) frozen raspberries (300 g).

Crumble:

3/4 cup (180 ml) quick-cooking rolled oats

1/4 cup (60 ml) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (60 ml) sugar

1/4 cup (60 ml) unsalted butter, melted

Crust: With the rack in the lowest position, preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F). In a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and pulse a few seconds at a time until it is the size of peas. Add the water and pulse again until the dough just begins to form. Remove the dough from the food processor and form into a disc with your hands. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough and line a 23-cm (9-inch) in diameter and 2.5-cm (1-inch) deep tart pan with a removable bottom. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Raspberry Filling: In a bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Add the raspberries and toss to coat. Spoon into the crust. Set aside.

Crumble: In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the butter and stir until the dry ingredients are moistened and just stick together when pressed between your fingers. Sprinkle over the raspberry filling.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown and filling begins to bubble. Let cool on a wire rack.

 

Rhubarb Whip  – from Finarda in Scotland

1lb rhubarb

4oz sugar

6oz can Evaporated Milk (chilled)

1/4 pint water

1 packet raspberry jelly*

Grated chocolate (for decoration)

Cut rhubarb into 1″ lengths. Place in pan with water and sugar. Cook over low heat until soft.

Add jelly to rhubarb in pan and stir until jelly dissolves. Set aside to cool.

Whip evaporated milk until double its quantity. Fold into almost set rhubarb mixture. Leave to Set.

Decorate with grated chocolate.

*For those outside the UK, this is a packet similar to US jello with flavoring and gelatine, though there are versions made with other thickeners.

 

Vegan burger with salad and Hummus is JayBirdJosh14 in Belgium’s favorite quarantine comfort food.

Prepare your favorite vegan burger (recipe or frozen), put on bread/bun or in pita, add condiments, top with some hummus (homemade or bought) and serve with a salad (or top with salad ingredients).

Easy Hummus

Can of chickpeas, or about 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas

1/3 or so (up to 1.2 cup) cup of tahini

1/2 cloves of garlic (more or less to your taste)

a lemon

2T olive oil

1/4 cup (or possibly a bit more) water

Add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth, adding more water if needed to get right consistency. Taste and adjust ingredients to your liking. [There are tons of recipes and hummus is definitely something you should adjust to suit your own tastes and how its going to be used.]

 

Jen’s Paleo and Gluten Free Hearty Chicken Soup

1 whole roasting chicken, 2.5 pounds or so

Chicken stock: enough to cover chicken in pot, 3-4 quarts plus water if needed. [Recipe follows if you want to make your own. Start 1-2 days ahead for this.]

½ onion, chopped  or  1 leek, tough leaves and tops removed, then sliced finely and washed a second time to remove any remaining grit

5 oz mushrooms, sliced and/or chopped depending on size preference

4 stalks of celery, about 1-1.5 cups chopped

1 small/ ½ large diakon radish, cut in quarters length-wise, then chopped, about 1.5 cups.*

*[No diakon? A mild turnip, carrot, peeled potato or other root veggie will work.]

2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half, NOT chopped

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper

A little olive oil or butter, 1T to sauté the veggies

Additional water if needed

 

Place the chicken in a soup pot large enough to fit the chicken covered with stock. Pour in your stock, add enough additional water to cover the chicken, then toss in the bay leaf along with some salt.  Slowly simmer the chicken until tender and can easily be pulled off the bone – but not until it has lost all its flavor and turns to mush. Time this takes will depend on the size of your chicken, but start checking it after 50 minutes, in ten-minute increments.

Pull out the entire chicken and cool until they can be handled.  While this is cooling, re-strain your stock. [Yes, this is labor intensive.  You could have just cooked some chicken and put it in your already cooked stock, but I’m telling you it won’t taste as good.]

Sauté your onions/leeks, mushrooms and celery in a tablespoon of olive oil or butter in a sauté pan (or the bottom of the empty stock pot if you have not poured the stock back in). Cook until wilted, but not browned, then add to the stock. Add the chopped daikon/root vegetables and garlic halves. Put soup on a low simmer. Pick all the meat off the chicken bones and discard the skin and bones. Tear or chop the larger pieces or meat so they are more bite sized, but still chunky.

At this point you can determine how stew or soup-like your chicken soup will be. I like a ratio of about 1/2 – 2/3 chicken and veggies to stock. This is quite a bit more hearty than your average soup, so you may choose to set aside some of the chicken meat to use in another dish.  Check the soup for saltiness, add salt as needed. Add pepper to taste.  Check the doneness of the veggies – they should be tender, but still hold their shape. Add the chicken meat at the end.  Serve.

Make your own chicken stock:

Every good soup starts with a homemade stock. Mine tends to evolve in the freezer over time: I collect up onion peelings and trimmings, carrot peelings, ends and tops of celery, and parsley stems in a freezer bag. In another bag I collect up all the unneeded chicken parts: necks, backs, wing tips, carcasses left from roasts. If your butcher/store has chicken feet, these are a great addition as they will add a lot of collagen that gives body to the stock. When I have about a bag of each, I get out the big slow cooker, (Or use a big stock pot) dump in all the veggies and chicken parts, add a couple of garlic cloves and a few black peppercorns and then cover the parts with water – about 3 quarts or more. [To be on the safe side, thaw raw chicken parts in the fridge for 24-48 hours before making the stock.]  Don’t simply add more water to make more stock – it just dilutes the flavor.  Ideally you are aiming for a stockpot full of parts and scraps, covered with enough water so that it circulates around the flavorings and bones.  Let the stock simmer for 8 hours on low. Strain off all the vegetables, bones, any remaining meat bits, etc. and discard them.

If you want a clear stock, you can strain the remaining liquid through cheesecloth or a coffee filter draped in a strainer. Another option is to cool the stock overnight in the fridge: the stock should have turned mostly gelatinous when cold. The fat can be taken off the top and most of the particulate will have settled to the bottom where it can be ignored/discarded.  You will end up with anywhere from 3-4.5  quarts of stock, depending on the starting amounts of chicken and veggies.

 

New Year, New Blog?

Cook90 has launched its 5^th year January challenge of cooking 90 meals in 30 days. This is my 3^rd year participating. Each year I it reenergizes my cooking. As an experienced cook, it’s not that it teaches me brand new skills: more like it sharpens skills that got a dull edge during the year and perhaps even some rust during the holiday binge season. But I have picked up new tricks like DELIBERATELY planning to cook more of something for “nextovering:” extra cooking prep for new meals later in the week. Or making better use of the sheet pan to cook a whole meal in the oven.

This year’s #Cook90 focus is on sustainability and I have some THOUGHTS.

Interestingly I’ve been considering blogging about this for a while, like six years of thinking to be more precise.  In that time my cooking, eating, and life habits have changed a lot. I have been off *doing* things with food: just not documenting them very well, definitely not stopping to note directions, quantities, or quality. There are pros and cons, but one is it doesn’t leave much room for the sort of blog I started with years back writing up recipes. Let’s see where the January challenge takes us.

While revamping the blog’s About page, I mention our omnivore household and the sustainable farms we buy from. We’ve evolved so much over the years in eating and shopping practices. And the landscape has changed! I’ve been vegetarian, vegan, low carb, paleo, super low fat and sooooo many sizes. We’ve reduced pesticides and chemical use. Recently, I’ve found that eating a controlled calorie, lower sugar, lower glycemic (but not low carb) omnivorous diet has worked better to keep my health issues in check, for now.

We have worked to be very thoughtful about eating, and meat eating in particular. We buy from local farms who use sustainable farming practices whether they are selling me sunflower sprouts in a returnable glass jar, organic chicken, or a grass-fed beef share.

This NYT article sums up the issue and digs a bit into the problem specifically with beef: greenhouse gas emissions due in part to raising beef fed in feed lots and cows on industrial sized dairy farms. Turns out that letting them graze on grass and using careful land management techniques can reduce methane and the impact of animal farming (though it’s not yet clear to what levels). This would require significant changes in cattle production, processing, and in consumption and consumer preferences. [If you don’t subscribe to NYT This opinion piece in USA Today covers similar material on the differences.]

So, should one eat meat or not? I don’t think there are easy answers despite articles and studies saying a plant based diet is the best thing you can do for the environment. I think giving up products and services that are contributing to deforestation, water pollution, and global warming are the right thing to do, and that requires you as a consumer to take a HARD look at your life, what you consume, and what you contribute. Are you going to stop using air travel or driving? Make a commitment to curbing planet overpopulation or overdevelopment by having fewer children? Live in a more compact residence in an area so you can live with and electric car or without one entirely? What about other consumer products like phones and tvs that use difficult to mine commodities and quickly become obsolete – are you committed to keeping your phone for a decade or more? Or is it not just us and our individual choices that’s the issue?

The reality is that eating a plant-based diet is an economical option many people could choose when looking at ways to contribute on an individual level. Without major shifts in income equality, government intervention, and cultural and societal change to transportation, job choice, access to walking, rolling, or bike friendly communities, individuals have a difficult time accessing the global climate change drivers that studies suggest would help the most such as switching to alternative fuels, buying electric cars, opting into alternative electricity generation, walking/rolling/biking to work (or telecommuting) and more importantly creating global economic change needed to eliminate harmful emissions. Overpopulation is also a significant contributor to global warming that we aren’t necessarily talking about because that starts to make us uncomfortable. I don’t fault anyone for looking at food choice as an option, and I hope people don’t judge us for thinking deeply about the issues surrounding the problem and looking beyond just plant-based diets.

Perhaps food is a gateway into the next conversation about what else we need to change. Here are things I’ve made an effort to do.  You don’t have to be perfect to be better.

• Eat and shop local, where possible
  1. This reduces the impact associated with your food from fossil fuel emissions due to transport.
• Look for producers who focus on sustainable practices
  1. Ocean products should be harvesting/selling products that are considered sustainable, ethically and safely harvested, farmed or fished. https://www.seafoodwatch.org/
  2. Grass-fed and pasture raised products should be using good land management practices.
  3. Organic, pesticide-free: because of regulations, in the US this can mean different things and your local producers may be able to go pesticide free or reduced easier than going certified organic. In some cases, pesticide free may involve less chemicals than organic. Talk with your farmer.
  4. Water and waste management practices are important too. Hog waste is huge problem for large companies who are unwilling or unable to put in new waste management tools that raise costs.
• Eat what’s healthy for YOU
  1. Not all foods are healthy for all people. Soy is a great example: it’s *not* a health food for me and triggers other problems, for some it has great benefits. Be less judgmental toward others for what they eat: strive to have conversations.
  2. I’ve added in more plant based meals, and tried out alternatives at home like making my own energy bars and nut based “cheese” to also avoid additional packaging.
• Reduce single use plastics and waste
  1. Plastic Free July and the Zero Waste movement have a lot of great ideas about where to start. We started with fewer plastics to reduce fossil fuel use (and plastics really aren’t recyclable), and then moved on to things like bamboo paper products for the home.
  2. Compost (indoor and outdoor options are available), find a compost program in your community, advocate to start one in your community if there isn’t one.
• Look for products and programs using clean fuels
  1. See if Arcadia Power* is available in your area. It connects your energy bill to clean energy providers.
• Ask questions and do your own research.
  1. Spend some time learning about where your food comes from, climate change issues are happening, what is being suggested from various viewpoints to curb emissions and repair damage. Join an advocacy campaign.
• Raise Hell
  1. No, seriously. Eating differently can help, but we need better people in elected office who are going to shift companies and government in this country to act differently around climate change right now. I’m convinced that we are being told it’s just an *us* issue as consumers (i.e. we need to change) when really it’s an ALL of US issue (the producers of products need to change, government needs to change). Most of the greenhouse gas in the US comes not from agriculture (9%) but from industry (22%) electricity production (28%) and transportation (29%) [Note that global numbers look different, and these numbers to change year to year]. The way we are going to turn this ship around is with alternative forms of energy and stopping emissions from fossil fuel and. Then go beyond that and create more equity so that the idea of products that LAST for decades and have affordable and replaceable parts isn’t out of the reach of average people, farmers, etc.
  2. Write your members of Congress and your local elected officials (where applicable). Work on electing better ones. Get in touch with me if you need help getting in touch with them.
  3. Leadership matters, not party. Decades of work have been turned back under the current administration, but that’s not an issue that, in my opinion, is about political party. It’s about recognizing the fundamental need to lead on this issue regardless of who is in office; science and innovation, something that American has stood for with pride, must drive policy.

 

And one final comment on sustainability: caring about the climate and environment shouldn’t be a privilege, but if you’ve read the above carefully, it is. After making these changes over 5-10 years, I can attest that it’s time consuming, expensive, and frankly exhausting, to avoid pesticides, plastics, fossil fuels, eat healthier, be healthier and care about anything other than day to day living. This from an educated, middle class, white person. Imagine what barriers are in place for someone else. This isn’t just about changing consumer values: if it is, we are screwed. Most of the world cannot buy their way into this change. See #RaiseHell: Advocate.

And because this blog is still about FOOD:  Sign up for Cook 90. Cook and eat some new things. Oh,  BTW, I also made some food, like I usually do on my blog. Yum.

Cook90 2020 Day 1

We live in the South so there is no New Year’s Day without some form of black-eyed peas and greens. This year I used the Splendid Table recipe  that turns portabella mushrooms, instead of bacon, into umami bombs in this easy dish.

Does this not look like little lardons?

Be sure to substitute some coconut aminos for the soy sauce if you are soy averse.

Also, I have a miserable, eye watering, nose streaming, taste nothing cold. So, when the recipe for feta and greens came up on Day 2, as interested as I was in the simple recipe with lemony yogurt, I longed for the comfort of the tomato based version I made often last winter in David’s book (and I had tomato sauce to use up). The link is missing a link to the simple tomato sauce, so you should really buy David’s book. 🙂

I added extra onions and garlic to the dish, and some extra chili flakes. I am trying to kill this cold with fire.

Until next post – be sure to check my Instagram where I post all the meals from Cook 90 2020!

 

[*Full disclosure: I am an Arcadia Power customer and after 10 referrals I do get a bonus from Arcadia on my bill. You get a thank you discount for signing up using my referral link. This is not otherwise a paid sponsorship; I got the same deal as you when signing up through a friend – I’m just extending my offer to you!]

French Fridays with Doire: Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes and Prunes

 

I got to use my big daddy pot!

Last week the Dorsita’s participated in Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day, which is all about getting children excited about real food. Turns out that people who cook their own food eat healthier and kids who help choose, grow and cook food are more likely to make healthy choices including eating their vegetables!  It makes a lot of common sense; folks who don’t grow up eating certain foods have a much harder time adapting to new tastes and textures as adults. Grown ups might be able to eat spicier, or more unusually flavored foods, with our less sensitive taste buds, but having the expectation that vegetables, fruits, and whole foods are part of a normal diet starts when we are young.

The goal this week was to pick a recipe that we thought all kids should learn. I picked Chicken Taigine, a slow simmered Moroccan inspired stew, that might be a bit advanced for younger children, but it encompasses a lot of basic kitchen and food knowledge that I think young people, and adults learning to cook, should know. Here is why I think this dish works well:

• It combines familiar flavors (chicken, onions, sweet potatoes) with possibly new ingredients (saffron, star anise, prunes).
• There is a lot of history to be learned about Morocco and the influences of many cultures in the dish, including adding ingredients from the New World vs the Old. The the origins and growing of ingredients like saffron, star anise, cinnamon, and sweet potatoes alone would make a great school project.
• The cutting of onions, peeling and chopping sweet potatoes and slow cooking methods can be applied to every stew or soup they make in the future.
• Depending on the young person’s age, interest or skill level you can teach boning a chicken, or simply buy one cut up already. Cutting up whole chickens is thrifty and will serve when when they are on their own and making decisions about $.
• Stews are good ways to use less expensive cuts of meat and stretch ingredients. They can cook for a crowd of their friends and family, while still staying on budget.
• Despite its exotic sounding name, the ingredients are simple. Saffron might be the most challenging and pricey, but you can typically buy small amounts that will last for when they, or you, tackle a paella or cous cous with your new knowledge. 🙂

we went back for seconds…

I made the dish last Friday to be served Saturday night to my co-workers. We were helping to staff a fundraising event over a weekend and thought dinner togehter would be a good way to end the day. Did I mention the event was at the beach? 🙂 I took a bunch of photos, ate two servings, washed down with some iced margaritas – all with the intent to post a quick blog of the dinner that night – however many margaritas later…I’m a bit late with my posting. A week late to be exact.

The tagine was wonderful: the spices slow simmered with the chicken made the house smell like I imagine an Eastern spice market would. Sweet potatoes are a favorite southern food and appealed to most everyone there. The broth was a bit sweet from the prunes and honey, a bit savory from the slow cooked onions that melted into the taste of cinnamon, bay, star anise and saffron.  Even D who dislikes cinnamon thought it was good when he dug into the leftovers.  We served this with a kale/cabbage salad with a poppy-seed dressing and cooked red quinoa for those who wanted a grain accompaniment.

sun is setting and dolphins are frolicking

Since 2011, a group of cooks and bloggers have been making their way though all the recipes in Dorie Greenspan’s “Around My French Table.” We don’t publish the recipes, but you can pick up your own copy of the book and cook along, or just enjoy all the great food to be found in its pages. 

Grilled Mahi Mahi with Cucumber Avocado Pesto “Salsa”

summery grilled fish with avocado cucumber salsa

No matter how precise the recipe there always seems to be that table spoon or two of pesto, tapenade, tahini, remoulade, or some other sauce leftover in the fridge. If you are a bread eater, the easiest thing to do is spread it on a sandwich. Lacking that option, we are always looking for ways to sneak odds and ends into other dishes. A few weeks ago we made a batch of simple three ingredient pesto for a bean and artichoke ragout and then used it to top grilled flank steak. Pesto keeps and freezes well, so the remainder was used for this fish dish.

The mahi mahi fillets are dusted with Adobo seasoning, (a pre-mixed seasoning of salt, pepper, garlic, cumin and oregano available in most Hispanic foods sections at the grocery) and a bit of chili powder, then grilled and served with a chopped fresh salsa of cucumbers, avocado, lime juice, olive oil and pesto.  The salsa doubles as a salad or vegetable side dish, and would also be a good topping for a fish taco version of this dish. We are firing up the grill pretty regularly over here, but even if you don’t have a grill this recipe can be easily adapted to the stove or oven/broiler.

Grilled Mahi Mahi

4 pieces of mahi mahi

Adobo seasoning

Chili powder

Dust both sides of the fish fillet with both seasonings. Grill (or broil, bake or sauté) until just done. About 5 minutes a side, or 15-20 in a 350 degree oven depending on the thickness of the fillet.

 

Avocado Cucumber Salsa

1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeded

½ an avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped into small cubes*

1.5 Tablespoons of pesto

2 teaspoons of olive oil

Juice of ½ a lime (or more to taste)

Salt, a few sprinkles if needed

Dice the cucumber and add in to the cubes of avocado in a small bowl. In a second bowl, thin the pesto with the olive oil and lime juice. If it’s not thin enough to toss in the cucumber and avocado mixture, add a tiny amount of water.  Gently mix the pesto dressing with the cucumber and avocado. Serve on top of the grilled fish.

*If you like avocado, you can use the entire fruit in the salsa which will be more guacamole-like. You may need additional lime and/or salt if you double the avocado.

This Week at the Farmers Market

Fresh young summer squash are already in the markets!

 

It was a beautiful day for the Apex Farmer’s Market this past weekend, sunny, no chance of rain. Last week the market was closed due to PeakFest, our town’s annual street fair and the farmer’s market space is used for a stage and entertainment area. I didn’t miss the market last week – we still had veggies left over from the big shopping trip for Easter dinner. One of the best things about buying farm fresh produce is that it lasts longer, so if you over purchase, you will have a longer timeframe to use them up. D joined me on my weekly shopping this week, hopefully not just because of the promise of Sol Tacos. 🙂 But, yes, there were tacos.

D’s tacos: chuck burger on fresh tortillas

We picked up a whole chicken from Andreas Homestead to use for a stew later in the week.  We got another jar of pear preserves from Natural Choice, which are great served with soft cheese (really, any cheese!).  Natural Choice makes all natural German mustard as well as preserves.  D and one of the owners had a long chat about Paul McCartney, Wings, the Beatles while we waited for our freshly made tacos.

Breakfast in a taco

The tacos were really good: My breakfast version had spicy salsa, black beans, ham, cheese and eggs and D’s chuck burger tacos are an American-Latino hybrid of a cheeseburger and taco. Doug’s only complaint is that he likes his burger meat more well-seasoned, but otherwise great. And they make their own fresh flour tortillas, of which D got to eat mine covered in salsa as well since I ate the breakfast innards out of it.

The entire market smelled intoxicatingly of strawberries. I picked up some zucchini to turn into “noodles” with the julienne cutter, some cabbage and squash possibly for a stirfry, and a head of romaine lettuce for salads and lettuce wraps. Produce vendors had:

Asparagus

Cabbage (likely the remainder from the winter/fall)

Cucumbers, pickle variety

Green beans

Lettuce, heads of romaine and leaf

Onions, larger ones than the spring version

Strawberries

Squash, yellow summer squash

Tomatoes

Zucchini

Zucchini were going fast

French Fridays with Dorie: Leeks Vinaigrette with Mimosa

It’s wonderful to be cooking with a group of people again. So fun in fact I am looking around for another potential cookbook and group. While I’m not sure I could juggle two online groups, it’s very tempting. Having said that, its sometimes difficult for me to think of what to write about a dish. Two years ago I took a brief food writing class through a local university continuing ed program hoping to better understand both the mechanics and the inspiration. The most lasting thing to come out of those weeks was the deeper appreciation for people who write as both profession and passion.   Turning vision into thoughts, taste into words, sensual into print, still has the steamy mystique of a miracle.  Like turning sugar crystals into cotton candy.

Why the musing on writing? This week’s recipe contains, separately, several favorite ingredients: leeks, sherry vinegar, and eggs. It involved kitchen twine and poaching. The “salad” was dressed while still warm (an under utilized technique in my opinion) and contained straight forward ingredients combined in a new way. And yet it left me a bit uninspired.

The leeks themselves may be in part to blame. No skinny young leeks to be found and not even any large long white leeks, which are generally more tender. These were a bit short, and more green than I like: a sign they may be more tough on the outside (and they were). The inner texture when poached was fine and the leeks had that buttery flavor that comes from them simply being leeks. The vinaigrette was balanced with olive and walnut oil, sherry and a bit of Dijon. I had a farm fresh egg. The combination was tasty and yet I’m not sure I would trouble to make them again, unless I could find some of those thin, young leeks to see if that made the difference.

Curious as always to see how the other Doristas fared.

Since 2011, a group of cooks and bloggers have been making their way though all the recipes in Dorie Greenspan’s “Around My French Table.” We don’t publish the recipes, but you can pick up your own copy of the book and cook along, or just enjoy all the great food to be found in its pages. 

 

Easy Dinner: Grilled Flank Steak and Asparagus

Eat asparagus while it’s still in season locally.

There is a book on my nightstand (that I will be writing about in the near future) where the author suggests that home cooks would do well to work more like professional cooks and 1) plan meals for 1-2 weeks 2) shop once, weekly or bi-weekly, based on that plan 3) spend an hour or two on Sunday pre-cooking many items for the weekly meals. This makes a lot of sense. Especially if you are adapting to a new way of eating or trying to eat more whole foods. Eating out is less of an option and those without plans tend to eat off plan…

But sometimes you just need a quick meal on a weeknight with little thought. I hesitate to call this a recipe. Think of it as a starting point. Grilled meats and vegetables are flavorful on their own, with just salt and freshly ground pepper (yes, I like mine rare to medium rare.) If you have extra time, you can embellish the basics with:

Vinaigrette: Favorite oil, favorite vinegar, salt pepper, a bit of Dijon mustard. Shake. Sneak peek: The Dorie recipe this week calls for walnut oil, olive oil, sherry vinegar, and Dijon. Vinaigrette dressings keep for weeks, so make extra and use on salads, grilled vegetables or as a marinate for the steak.

Pesto: This easy one that accompanied the bean and artichoke ragout at Easter is just herbs, garlic and oil. Pesto without dairy or nuts will keep quite a while in the fridge, but any version can be frozen ice cube trays and placed in a bag, or in small containers in the freezer for later use.

Avocado: Tastes great with grilled meats, especially lean ones, and grilled veggies. My Dad used to put slices of avocado on pizza (Trust me. Fantastic) A squeeze of lime and a dash of salt and you have the essence of guacamole.

Directions:

Salt and pepper your meat. Add a dash or two of olive oil to the cleaned and washed asparagus, then some salt and pepper. Let them sit a bit to absorb. Heat your grill. Cook items to desired doneness. Hardest part is keeping the asparagus from falling through the grill when you turn it. Don’t overcook the steak or the asparagus. Both will keep cooking briefly when they come off the grill. If you are using flank steak, be sure to cut against the grain so it is tender. Top leftovers with an egg for breakfast.

New Gadget: More Silicone Covers!

I still use a baking pans frequently, even without making a lot of desserts.

Well, I went ahead and finally used my birthday gift card online to get more silicone covers. Shaped like banana leaves. Yes, banana leaves.   A few weeks ago I posted about a silicone bowl and pan cover that I recently purchased.  The lilly pad shaped cover will replace plastic or foil in the fridge, on the table, in the oven, as well as covering saute pans. This versatility makes it one of my favorite new finds (though they have been around a while, apparently. 🙂

Researching them online, the same maker has square and rectangular covers that mimic banana leaves. I keep saying “banana leaf” because to me they have such a nice shape, color and texture. Maybe its just the association of eating banana leaf wrapped tamales and living here in a quasi tropical climate that does it for me, but the designer did a great job taking a pleasing natural form and adapting it to something so practical. They cover square baking pans and rectangular “lasagna” roasting pans. Both key for me as I use those pans to roast chicken drumsticks and bake crust-less quiche which are weekday meals and there are always leftovers to put in the fridge.

My Pampered Chef stoneware pans get a lot of use.

These covers have the same small handle on one end that allows you to hang them from a hook on the inside of a cabinet or pantry door. I’ve added two more 3M removable hooks to the inside of a cabinet door, staggered so all three lids fit.

Easy Slow-Cooker Dinner: Filling for Chicken Tacos

 

the chicken filling, over sauteed peppers, yellow squash and served with greens and some cheese

Do not put away your slow cooker for the winter! Slow cookers are a great option for cooking inside during the warm summer months. They make less heat than the oven, and you don’t have to stand over the heat of the stove top. You’ll want to choose recipes with a focus on lighter ingredients: chicken, curries, bean dishes with lots of veggies. Or, use the slow cooker to make a meaty main dish you can serve with raw or lightly cooked vegetables to make use of all the great fresh produce coming your way.

Barbecue pork shoulder, sloppy joes, or this chicken taco meat are great examples of using the slow cooker to make a “filling” that can be used in a variety of ways. These main dishes can top a salad, fill a taco or burrito, or even be tossed with cold pasta. Paleo and gluten-free eaters can use spaghetti squash, ribbons of lightly steamed summer squash, or strips of peppers for a great alternative to noodles.

I’ve taken a shortcut in here an used a packet of gluten free and starch free natural taco seasoning from Trader Joe’s. To make your own taco seasoning at home try this recipe with similar ingredients, and play around until you get the seasoning mix you like best (Trader Joe’s is a bit heavier on the paprika). You will need 3-4 tablespoons for the larger recipe below, so make a triple batch. Leftover spice mix can be sprinkled on wings or chicken legs as a dry rub for the grill. The chipotle pepper, a smoked jalapeno, makes the dish spicy and a bit smoky. If you prefer, use a more mild pepper or hot sauce that suits your heat level.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Filling

4 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs

1 cup of diced tomato with juice, or whole tomatoes in juice that have been chopped or crushed up

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced or chopped up in blender with tomatoes

3/4 cup of chopped green onions (I had a lot of green tops to use up. Regular onions work well too, reduce to a half cup)

1 yellow or red bell pepper, diced

1 package of Trader Joe’s taco seasoning mix or about 4 tablespoons of a taco seasoning blend

Juice of one lime

 

For serving (depending on your preferences):

taco shells or tortillas

baby greens or chopped lettuce

avocado

tomatoes

peppers

onions

zucchini or yellow squash

cheese

sour cream

Blend the tomatoes and chipotle pepper in the blender, until the chipotle is chopped. No blender? Just chop the chipotle very fine and mash up the canned tomatoes if they are not already diced.  Add the tomatoes, chipotle pepper, chopped bell pepper, green onion, and spice mix to the dish of the slow cooker. Mix with a spoon. Add the chicken and stir the pieces so they are coated with the sauce. Make sure the chicken is evenly distributed. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3.5-4 hours. When done, use two forks to shred the chicken in the slow cooker dish.

The dish makes its own salsa and the shreds will absorb some of the liquid making it very juicy. If you want the sauce to be thicker, you can remove the cooked chicken before shredding, reduce the sauce on the stove and/or use a gluten-free or low-carb thickening agent such as tapioca or xanthan gum. After thickening, shred the chicken and return it to the thickened sauce.

Use as topping for a taco salad or filling for tacos with topping of your choice.

Gardening in the Southeast

 

There wasn’t much cooking going on this week, but I did get a lot done in the garden and picked up a new garden book I’m recommending for any gardener new to their region or anyone just starting to raise vegetables in your unique climate. As with any garden, it changes constantly so I also made a point to get out and take some photographs of what is blooming this week on one of our beautiful overcast rainy spring days. Entirely without my SD card. LOL. Photos attached were taken today in the sun.

the irises that someone threw in the gutter last year. They have a delicate fragrance.

Parts of the vegetable and herb garden are planted: bush beans, some tomato seeds, various summer and winter squash, basil, cilantro and I replanted some lemongrass starts. While I had hoped to start seeds indoors this year, that never happened. Southeast gardeners can, ans should, take advantage of the second fall season after the hot summer, so I should be able to start some seeds in July for transplanting later. Basil that went to seed last year has re-seeded its self, but I tossed in some more seeds, because, um, pesto.

chives are flowering

This is my second try at keeping lemongrass year round. It doesn’t like cold freezing winters (hellooo polar vortex), though I was able to baby it though the two previous warmer winters. I’ve not quite found the right spot in the yard to take advantage of any micro climates: a spot on the southwestern side of the house might be best, so I’ll be starting a second set over there to compare results next year.

mint containment area

This is only my second year with raising vegetables in North Carolina after years of gardening in the Midwest and being raised by Midwest gardeners. My Grandma kept a farmer’s Almanac to consult about planting and my Nana canned the pears from her backyard tree.  I dove in with gusto last year after D and I built two long raised beds in the backyard for a combination of flowers and edibles. There was no reading or consulting experts. As a result, last year was a great learning experience: we had okra that grew 10 feet tall (apparently you can prune them for easier harvest, who knew), and we ate early peppers and cucumbers, but it was also unusually cool and wet, there were massive insect problems, and deer. Since I actually want to eat things grown out there, I’m grateful for stumbling over the Timber Press Guide to Vegetable gardening in the Southeast by Ira Wallace.

Timber press: helpful guides for vegetable gardening

There are Timber Press Guides for every region (The Southeast has an illustration of okra – how appropriate). here is what I like about them so far:

• It presents clear and simple directions. Expert gardeners may want more info, but beginners like me can get overwhelmed with too much info when what we want is to just get started.
• The book is organized by month, so you can easily review what you can or should be doing that month in your garden or for your garden. Many seeds and plants are temperature sensitive, beans can go in late April, but okra seeds need slightly warmer temps to germinate.  Everyone can benefit from a build in calendar guide.
• There are tips and directions for inexpensive options for everything from cold frames to mulch.
• In the back and scattered through the book are easy to understand charts and guides on specific edibles.

Leah is very happy with her catnip, and I, with my new book!