Firecooked Ceramics and Biscuits for Two..

My latest endeavor has been setting up a website to sell my ceramics!  For the first 30 years or so of doing ceramics, I always said that my pieces fell into two camps: ones that I wouldn't sell, and ones that I couldn't sell.  Over the last few years though, I have been fortunate to have the time to more more on my craft and have had some excellent teachers that have helped elevate my work.  So while I have been making things for a while that I would and could sell, I'm finally taking the leap to actually sell them.  I have decided to go on-line (not that there are many other options in today's environment), and directly sell from a website I am setting up on Shopify.  There have been a bazillion tiny choices to make, a lot of learning to set up a store, lots of photographs; but I am getting close to a launch, hopefully next week.  I will use this blog to announce when my store opens, as well as Instagram (@firecooked) and Facebook (Firecooked Ceramics).  My website is firecooked.com, but it's not live yet. 

Meanwhile, I'm still doing a lot of cooking.  Looking forward to summer when I'm hoping we are able to gather in bigger groups, but for now still just mostly cooking for 2.  And because its winter (although what we call winter here is not the deep freeze that most the country is currently in), we are eating lots of soups and stews that I make in family size batches, and nothing helps elevate a bowl of leftover soup like a couple of fresh biscuits. 

They come together very quickly ... I normally have all the ingredients (and if I don't buttermilk, plain yogurt thinned with just a bit of milk works), and just cook in the toaster oven.  

The butter get squished into the flour like for a piecrust, add your liquid.  

Then pat, fold, pat, the cut into squares. No rolling pin or cookie cutters needed.

Pop them into the toaster oven (which I don't bother to preheat)

And fresh, warm muffins....

Biscuits for Two

1 cup flour (can be ¼ whole wheat if desired)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons cold butter
3/8 cup (scant ½ cup) buttermilk

Oven: 425F  (can use a toaster oven)

Mix dry ingredients in medium bowl.   Cut butter into thin slices and drop individually into flour … toss as you are going so that all the butter slices are coated in flour.  With fingers, squish butter slices in the flour, until no large pieces of butter remain, but mixture still has some pea-sized lumps.   Add buttermilk, first mix together with a fork, then gently with fingers.  Knead a couple of times in the bowl to bring it all together into a ball (add a bit more milk if needed, but the dough should not be sticky.   Place ball on a floured surface.  Flatten a bit and fold over one way, then the other.   Pat the dough into a ½” thick square, and cut into quarters.   Place quarters on a baking sheet (does not need to be greased, parchment paper is optional).  Using your finger, wipe some buttermilk from the measuring cup and moisten the biscuit tops.   Bake for about 12 minutes.   Serve hot. 

Pickled Green Beans .. Pickled Kohlrabi ... Pickle Anything!

As we shelter at home, I have been doing my best to make sure we are eating healthy.  We do get take-out once a week or so for a break from cooking, and we do seem to have baked goods around but I try to offset that with lots of vegetables ... fortunately it's spring and the farmers market has some great product. At the Coronado Farmers Market where I go, most of the the farmers are there, but the organic farm that I buy my greens, root vegetables like radishes and carrots, and random other vegetables has just been offering boxes. From what I have been reading, many small farmers who typically supplied to restaurants are now offering CSA-type boxes.  The boxes I have been getting are wonderful ... 

A long, long time ago I wrote a post on what to do with all the greens from a CSA box, and I have been hitting those recipes and more, like spinach crusted quiche, beans and greens, curried lentils and salads.   I made some calzones with a mixture of greens that came out really nice and will post that at some point. Plus I share some of my greens with a neighbor when there is just too much (she was able the buy a 25 pound bag of flour, which she has shared both as flour and as baked into above mentioned treats).  My box has included lots of beets, last week I got some kohlrabi so I have been doing some quick pickles.  Quick pickles extend the life of vegetables, and are a quick side dish or appetizer.  Pickled kohlrabi goes great with sandwiches (a nice crunchy-salty bite that is not a chip) and pickled green beans are great for picnics and cookouts which hopefully we can get back to this summer!


After lots of experiments, my go-to quick pickle base is 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 cup of water, and 1 tablespoon of salt plus spices. (note - if you are using fine grain sea salt, only use 2 teaspoons as if is more dense). There are lots of variations:  many pickle recipes call for sugar in addition to salt, all types of vinegar (personally I'm too cheap to use expensive wine vinegars, and white vinegar is sometimes a bit sharp), various ratios of vinegar, water, salt, and sugar.  What this means is that most anything works!  I generally add some red pepper flakes to give the pickles a little kick, but do whatever sounds good to you!

Pro tip... if using pint jars, trim the green beans to fit.  Use quart jars if you have long green beans. 

Pickled Green Beans

Makes: 1 quart-sized jar or 2 pint-sized jars

1 pound green string beans

2 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon kosher salt or 2 teaspoons sea salt

Wash the green beans, and to fit into the jar.  Pack the beans into the jar(s).   Put the garlic, red pepper, mustard seeds and black peppercorns into the jar (if using 2 pint jars, put half into each jar). 

Put the vinegar, water, and salt into a large glass measuring cup, then heat in the microwave until boiling (about 3 ½ minutes or so).  

Pour the hot liquid into the filled jars.   Tap the jars to release bubbles, add more liquid if needed.  You want all of the beans covered.   Let cool on the counter, then refrigerate. 

They need a couple of days to “pickle” but are good for 2 – 3 weeks after that. 

Pickled Kohlrabi

Same as pickled Green Beans, except use 1 large kohlrabi peeled and cut into sticks (like big French fries) instead of green beans.  Omit the garlic and add ½ teaspoon coriander seeds.  

Kohlrabi 

Pickled Beet Recipe coming soon!

Bread Crumbs and What to do with them!

A new study about food waste came out this week, claiming that the typical American wastes about a pound of food per day.  And that the worst offenders were healthy eaters, because fruits and vegetables comprise 39% of the wasted food  (followed by dairy and meat).  What surprised me was that bread was not on this list.  I know I do better than most on using up fruits and vegetables, I have a lot of strategies ranging to buying really fresh product at the farmers market, to sweep-the-veggie-drawer recipes, like Pasta Whatever and Quesadilla's... just check the "Random Vegetable" link.   But it seems that I'm constantly tossing bread that is moldy or stale.  I know its in part because I buy bread that isn't loaded with preservatives, but the reality is that we just don't eat enough sandwiches or toast to go through a full loaf in a week or so. Or you get (or make) a nice "artisan loaf" to go with soup, and its stale the next day.    I do toss bread into the fridge after a few days, and it's still good for toast, but after about 10 days it's stale even for toast (and likely starting to mold).

So....  I have been trying a few new things.  First has been to get more proactive about making dry bread crumbs, which keep for a long time in the freezer.  But of course, this doesn't help unless you actually use the bread crumbs from the freezer.  I have a couple of recipes  that use bread crumbs, like Spinach Crusted Quiche, and meatballs (and hopefully will get around to posting that recipe).  But I needed more outlets for bread crumbs, because storing crumbs in the freezer for a year and then throwing out is not reducing waste.  I have managed to stumble across a few of recipes that use a lot of crumbs (by stumble, I mean I found one, then googled and found another 100 similar recipes, then pulled together the way that seemed best to me).  The first is a Bread Crumb Topping that you put on pasta or salads. This is something that really elevates a ho-hum salad or leftover pasta. The next is Oven-fried Zucchini.  Way back (we are talking about my college days) many people "discovered" that they liked zucchini when it was breaded and fried.  I will admit these are not quite the same, but they are quite tasty and actually pretty good for you.    How do you use bread crumbs?

First, let's cover making bread crumbs. You can use any kind; white, French, whole wheat, whole grain, seeded, etc., but I don’t like to use bread that is on the sweet side (> 2 grams sugar per slice according to the nutrition label), like a honey wheat or most of the whole grain breads.  Sugar will cause the crumbs to brown faster, which might be a problem in some recipes.  Plus I'm just not a fan of sweet tasting bread (and yes, I'm the crazy lady looking at the label of every loaf in the store).

Bread Crumbs

Leftover bread, preferably stale, torn into chunks.  Sandwich bread is fine as long as its not sweet.

Oven: 300F, convection if you have it.    Place parchment paper on a sheet pan (or pans, depending on how much leftover bread you have).

Place 1 - 2 inch chunks of bread into the bowl of a food processor, filling up to about half to three quarters full.  Pulse until broken up, go with longer pulses until the bread is in crumbs.    Put crumbs on prepared sheet pan.  Repeat if you have more bread.   Keep the crumb layer to less than a ½ inch.

Place pan in preheated oven.  Toss after about 10 minutes.  Then check every 5 minutes… goal is dry crumbs, not toasted crumbs.  It generally takes 15 - 25 minutes. Let cool completely.   If the crumbs are a bit big for what you want, give them another twirl in the food processor. Use dry crumbs within a few days, or put into freezer zip-lock bag and freeze, they are good for many months (at some point, they get that freezer taste).







Bread Crumb Topping

Good on pasta or salads.  But they don’t keep.  Use within an hour or so of making. This makes enough for 2 servings, double or triple as needed.  My inspiration for this recipe is from Melissa Clark of the NYTimes... that one uses anchovies.  Probably delicious, but haven't yet tried that!

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
½ cup dried bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh herbs (such as parsley, thyme, oregano) or 1 teaspoon dry Italian herbs
Optional:  1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved lemon or olives
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Warm olive oil over medium heat in small skillet.  Add garlic and red peppers, stir, then add remaining ingredients.   Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently until the crumbs are golden.  Add lots of pepper, and maybe salt (if you are using preserved lemons or salty olives, you probably don’t need more salt).

Breaded Zucchini

Serves 4 … but 2 people can finish this off if they are hungry.

Zucchini – about 8 small or 4 medium or 2 large, ends trimmed

1 cup dry bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon Italian herbs

Good grind of pepper

1 jumbo or 2 large eggs

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

Preheat oven to 425F, use convection bake if you have it.   Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. 

If zucchini are small, just quarter (and maybe cut the quarters in half if you have long skinny zucchini.  If you have larger zucchini, cut into ½ inch slices. 

Mix the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, herbs and pepper in a shallow dish.   Beat the egg(s) in shallow bowl 

Dip each piece of zucchini in the beaten egg, then drop into the crumbs.  Press crumbs on all sides.  This goes a bit easier if you have one “wet” hand for the egg dip, and one “dry” hand for the crumbs.  Place each coated piece on the prepared sheet pan.   Drizzle the coated pieces with the olive oil.  

Bake for 20 – 30 minutes, until brown and crispy.   No need to turn!  Sprinkle with salt when they come out of the oven.  Serve immediately with ranch or bleu cheese dressing, or marinara sauce.

Ranch Dressing

1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
     Or use Greek yogurt and less mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dill or other fresh herbs
Few drops of soy sauce
1 – 2 drops of hot sauce
Salt and pepper

Place the garlic and lemon juice in a small bowl while you get the rest of the ingredients together… this helps tame the raw garlic.   Whisk everything together.  Chill until ready to use.  Keeps for a few days.

Succotash

Summer is supposed to be coming to an end, but the last week has been the hottest so far this summer... Not that hot compared to where lots of my friends live, but hot when you don't have air conditioning.  But I can't complain, because the ocean is not very far away and the water there is always cool.

Succotash is supposed to have lima beans in it (and they certainly could be added to the below recipe), but this mix of vegetables that has been serving me (and my house guests) well all summer.  And I'm still getting corn and zucchini farmers market.  It seems that often I have a nice mix of vegetables around, but not enough of any one thing to make a nice vegetable side.  So I just put them all together, and its the perfect accompaniment to whatever is coming off the grill.

Succotash

Don’t fret about the quantities, use whatever you have around.
This will feed about 4, scale as desired.

1 - 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 – 3 ears of corn, cut from the cob
2 – 3 small zucchini, cubed
1 red bell pepper, diced
½ an onion, diced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried) or other herbs as desired
Salt, pepper to taste

Optional:
Green beans (1 inch pieces)
Broccoli florets
Jalapeno or other hot pepper, minced
Kale or other greens

Melt butter (or heat oil) in a sauté pan.  Add all of the vegetables (except greens if using) and cook over medium heat until just cooked, 7 – 10 minutes.  Add greens (if using) the last minute of cooking.  Add thyme, salt, and pepper.

Green Bean Salad with Mustard - Soy Dressing

When you live 10 minutes (walking) from the beach, family and friends are much  more likely to visit you.  Fortunately, I have the kind of family that you like to have come visit, and friends that are like family.  My dad gave me a great compliment when he was here ... "you make it look so easy".

And for me, cooking for family doesn't seem that hard.  In part because I like to do it, but I know a more than a few people that have decent cooking skills, but really struggle to be comfortable cooking for a crowd. Here are a few tips..

How much?  When you are used to cooking for 1 or 2, having 4 or 6 or more active people to feed (for days)  will take a lot more food than usual.   But don't go overboard, cooking way too much food is just extra work and makes it harder to cook because you can't find anything in the refrigerator.  Some rough guides on what's enough (so everyone is full, and maybe a few leftovers):

• Lean meat or fish: around 1/2 pound per person.  
• Fattier meat (like ribs or steaks) or whole birds (like turkey): about 1 pound per person.  
• Pasta: I generally figure that 1 lb will make 4 to maybe 5 servings, depending on appetite and what else is being served.
• Most grains (like rice): each cup (uncooked) will serve 2 - 3.  
• Potatoes: For my side of the family, it's about 1/2 lb + per person.  It's less for other families. 
• Veggies, like green beans or broccoli: This is a tough one for me, because I normally eat about 1/2 pound (or more) on my own.  But more normal people will eat much less.  Generally a "bunch" of broccoli or kale, or a pound of beans or squash will serve about 3 people if you are steaming or sauteing. Asparagus is about 2 people per bunch.  If you are roasting or grilling, people will eat more. 
• Pizza: For my recipe (12 ounce ball of dough) I figure 1 pizza for two people.

What?  First of all, cook food you are comfortable cooking.   If you want to try a new recipe, fine, but make sure it's just a riff on what you know how to do, not a shot in the dark.  I like things that don't generate a ton of dishes, like things off the grill.  Or pizza. Burritos or taco's.  Roast veggies. Salads.   Sometimes its handy to make things that you can do ahead, but it needs to be way ahead.. I'm at the beach too.  

Trick's: 

• Anything that you do make ahead, put in baggies when ever possible to minimize dishes. Marinate meats in baggies.  Store blanched vegetables in baggies. Put any pre-sliced or chopped things in baggies. 
• Put something simple out for people to munch on... cheese, nuts, olives, hummus, cut-up veggies, chips and guacamole.  Generally just 2 or 3 things. 
• Get help... think ahead of things for people to do when they ask "is anything I can do".  Salads are a good choice for help - just get out everything you want to go into in, or peeling potatoes, or anything you happen to know the person is good at (again, this works with family and good friends).    Roy (who gets no credit) is my secret weapon.  He takes care of getting wine out, setting the table, does the grilling.  

Here is an example of side that works well for a crowd and can be mostly be done ahead.  And if you don't have green beans, it works equally well on asparagus or broccoli.  The dressing is also excellent on salads.

Green Beans with Mustard-Soy Dressing

Serves 6

2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed
1 teaspoon salt

Blanch the beans:  bring a pot of water to boil over high heat, and fill a bowl with ice and water.   Add the salt and beans to the boiling water.  Cook for about 4 minutes.  Pull one bean out, swish in the ice water and taste for doneness.  Do this every minute or so until the beans are just done.  Using tongs, quickly pull the green beans out of the boiling water and into the ice water (the ice water part is important to keep the bright green color).    When cold, drain the beans.  Can be done up to 1 day ahead, store in plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Dressing:
3 ounces lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce
5 ounces olive oil

Mix lemon juice, mustard, and soy sauce in graduated container with immersion blender.  Slowly add oil with blender running, add enough oil to have a nice thick dressing.   Can be done a few days ahead and refrigerated, let come to room temperature to use (the olive oil will get thick... or use a more neutral oil like grapeseed that does not get hard in the refrigerator).

Garnish (take your choice):
Roasted almond slivers or slices
Thin strips of red or sweet onion  (soak in cold water to take some heat out if needed)
Thin strips of red pepper
Thin slices of radish

To assemble:  Toss the beans with dressing (it might not take all of the dressing.. start with half or so).  If the beans are in a baggie, just add the dressing to the baggie and squish around.  Place on a serving dish and garnish. 

Summer is here!!!!

I'm not sure how, but summer kind of snuck up on me.  May was quite gray (and thankfully wet) this year, then I had some time away..  

a few days in Austin (in between floods), including a visit to the Zilker Botanical Garden

then a spectacular week on Lake Powell (which was uncharacteristically cool),

which included grilling pizza on the houseboat one night

then ... wham!  A couple of hot days in Tucson, 

and back to Coronado.  It's not hot, but there are people everywhere! Summer tourist season is in full swing, and the Villa will be busy.  It's going to be a fun one.

Here's a easy recipe for those busy summer day's: refried beans.  Serve with chip's as an appetizer, or with taco's as a side, or to help fill a burrito.  So much better than the refries from a can.  And, if you are more ambitious, you can use beans you have cooked yourself ... they will even be better. 

Refried Beans

Serves 4

1 teaspoon oil
1 strip bacon, thinly sliced
½ onion, minced
Pinch of chipotle or red pepper flakes or diced hot pepper (optional)
Pinch of salt
2 (15 oz) cans  black or pinto beans, one rinsed and drained, one with liquid.

Cheddar or Jack cheese for serving (optional)

In a medium sauce pan or skillet, cook bacon in oil over medium high heat.  When a nice bit of fat has rendered from the bacon, add the onion and pepper or pepper flakes, and a bit of salt.  Cook until onion is soft.  Add the can of beans with the liquid, and the one without. Heat the beans until boiling, then mash with a potato masher.  I like them a little chunky, but keep mashing if you like them smooth (and if you like them really smooth, get out the immersion blender).  If needed, add a bit of water if too thick, or boil a bit more if too thin. Beans will get thicker when they cool, so target on the thin side.

Serve sprinkled with cheese.

The Traditional Norman Thanksgiving

The essential foods:  Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and wine. Of course there is pumpkin pie for dessert. Plus some random vegetable (because some of us don't count green bean casserole as a vegetable), and most years, some type of roll. We all do some parts ahead of time, then at the end its 3 or 4 cooks in the kitchen, mashing potatoes, making gravy, getting out serving dishes, doing the vegetables.  If I had to pick one thing to be most thankful for, it's having a family that has fun doing this together.

This year, the random vegetable was carrots. I gotta say, it went over way better than the Brussels sprouts I did a couple of years ago. It is based on a recipe from November 2009 Gourmet but of course I didn't exactly follow it, so I promised to write it down. The original recipe called for a lot more sage, so feel free to be heavy handed with it if you really like sage.  And while this went really well with turkey, it doesn't need to be saved for a holiday dinner.

Holiday Carrots

6 – 8 servings

2 pounds carrots, quartered and cut in 2-3 inch lengths
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
3 tablespoons butter
6 ounces chopped shallots (about 4), diced
Salt (about ¼ teaspoon), Pepper (about ½ teaspoon)
1 heaping tablespoon chopped sage
1 heaping teaspoon chopped thyme

Cook carrots in stock until just tender, about 15 minutes. Do ahead: Set aside to cool, then store in refrigerator until ready to finish. If not doing ahead, cook the carrots in a 12 inch skillet, when done put in the serving bowl and set aside.

To finish: melt butter in 12 inch skillet, add shallots, salt and pepper then sauté until shallots are translucent (5 to 10 minutes). Add the broth from the carrots, and let reduce until just a little liquid is left. Add the herbs, then the carrots. Cook until the carrots are heated through (1 to 10 minutes depending on the starting temperature of the carrots.

Discovering a classic....

I have discovered an old classic this summer: Ratatouille.  I find myself making it almost every week.  A full five years after the movie came out. A movie that touted not eating garbage (and yes, one of my favorite movies of all time).   Many ratatouille recipes call for peeling tomatoes, salting eggplant, roasting and peeling peppers and making enough for a small army, with an extended baking time. Which seems to be a lot of work, especially since I’m the usually the only one around that wants a dish with eggplant and tomatoes. So I have been making a less refined version, just chopping and sautéing. Yes, you have bits of tomato peel, but this is something I will make for just me when I’m home alone. I’m not too exact on amounts, using what looked best at the farmers market... or what needs to be eaten now. Sometimes I’ll use cherry tomatoes, last time I only had one tiny zucchini. Time before, I used some yellow summer squash. Sometimes I'll add a few mushrooms, or some fresh corn.  It’s all good. I do typically use the skinny Japanese eggplant, because the skins are more tender and they are less seedy. And while I say this serves 2, I can easily finish off most of this recipe all myself. And after making this about 4 times, I’m thinking maybe I do need to make a big batch and freeze some, for the days when zucchini and eggplant and tomatoes won’t be so plentiful at the farmers market. And someday for friends, I might have to try this version from the new French Market Cookbook, no matter how much trouble it is!

Ratatouille

Serves 2

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
½ onion
2 small zucchini
1 small bell pepper (preferably red or yellow)
2 Japanese eggplant
1 large tomato
1 – 2 cloves of garlic
Salt, pepper
Herbs… Basil, oregano, parsley (whatever you happen to have and like)

Have all vegetables out and washed. Put a 10” sauté pan on to heat over medium heat and put in a good film of olive oil. Start chopping vegetables in large dice (about ½ inch to 1 inch chunks) and add to pan as they are cut. Mince the garlic and add. Add a big pinch of salt (maybe as much as a ½ teaspoon) and a good grind of pepper. Turn burner to low or medium low, and let simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finish with fresh herbs.

Serving suggestions:

As a side for grilled meat. Or a grilled cheese sandwich.

Add some cooked chickpeas for a one-dish meal.
Over polenta with cheese on top.
Brown chicken thighs, then add and cook with vegetables, like this
Chop vegetables a bit finer and put over pasta, like this
Spread or dip… puree with some mustard, balsamic, hot sauce. like this

Happy New Year, and get your hand out of the bag

Happy New Year! I have to admit, I’m not the resolution making type. But the new year is a good time to think of changes to make, new things to try. You know I’m a fan of small changes, and I more and more believe that to maintain a healthy weight, the key factor is good habits (which I need to get back to after a somewhat gluttonous week or so!)

If you want to try to change just one habit, here is a recommendation: Don’t eat out of a bag. I know, this might seem almost un-American, as so eloquently stated on the Cobert Report.  But to help your mind make a connection with your stomach, make sure that you see what you eat.  If you want some chips, get a bowl, dish some up, put the bag away. If you get some fast food, take everything out of the bag before you eat it.

If you would like to try one new thing, start thinking of vegetables as being the main dish of a meal, the meat and starch as being a side. I find this thinking helps me keep the vegetable inventory under control. And helps me eat that half plate of veggies every meal.

For an example of a good vegetable main, I am sharing the recipe that I made for our Christmas dinner (yes, there was turkey to go along with it!). I adapted it from the December Fine Cooking issue, where I changed out onions for leeks (because I had a bunch of leeks), half and half instead of cream, and fresh (whole grain) bread crumbs instead of Panko. And re-wrote the instructions so the made better sense to me. So I don’t think I’m starting the year by violating copyrighted material.

Carrot and Sharp Cheddar Gratin

Serves 4

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 leeks, diced about ¾ cup
Salt
½ cup half and half
1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pepper
1 ½ lbs carrots, peeled, cut cross-wise if large, in ½ inch pieces

2 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated

Crumbs:
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 ounce fresh bread crumbs, ~1 slice of bread
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

Heat oven to 350F. Oil a 7x11 baking dish (or similar).

Heat oil in 10 inch skillet or medium sauce pan, add leeks and salt. Sauté until leeks are starting to brown, about 7 minutes. Add half and half, mustard, and pepper, stir well with wooden spoon to get any browned bits. Add carrots, bring to a simmer and cook until the carrots are tender-crisp, about 10 minutes.

Mix all the crumb ingredients together in a small bowl.  (side note - the food processor does an excellent job of making crumbs... Any bread will work, as long as its not too sweet, as it will brown too quickly)

Pour the carrot mixture into the prepared baking dish, scatter Cheddar over the top, then top with bread crumbs. Bake until the carrots are tender and crumbs are golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Let rest a bit before serving.

Roasted vegetables

Most of the time, I don’t use recipes. I have some basic techniques, some favorite combinations. It allows me to use what looks good at the farmers market. Or what Roy got last week at the farmers market and we need to eat before it goes bad. Plus it’s faster to cook when you make it up as you go along. How do you do this?



I figure there are only 5 ways to cook vegetables:
1. Sauté
2. Roast
3. Grill
4. Steam
5. Boil

I covered sautéing in March. Now on to roasting. I have to say that I have been roasting a lot of vegetables lately, as it takes the chill out of the kitchen. May is not warm in San Diego.. not cold enough to run heaters. It’s not like I live in Boulder. I’m not whining, anyway I know nobody feels sorry for me.  Like sautéing, you can cook pretty much any vegetable. With one or two exceptions, you do it the same way, the only variable is the time. 

Roasted Vegetables

Preheat oven 425F, convection if you have it. Get out a large sheet pan (or 2) and cover with parchment paper. Prepare the vegetables: Peel if needed, cut in equal size pieces. Put in a pile on the parchment paper. Pour on a tablespoon or so of olive oil, toss with your hands to get an even coating. Spread in a single layer, try to keep pieces from touching. Bake, tossing/turning every 10 minutes or so. When they are done, with nice brown spots, sprinkle on some salt, maybe a squeeze of lemon juice. Toss again, and eat.   And bonus, the sheet pan does not even need to be washed!

What vegetables? My favorite favorite way to eat cauliflower is roasted. Other options include asparagus, broccoli, beets, carrots, green beans, onions, potatoes (i.e. oven fries.. white or sweet) snap peas, summer squash, turnips winter squash.. you get the idea. The list of what you could not do this way is likely shorter. Not sure that you would want to cook spinach this way, but Kale is wonderful (like popcorn). (If you haven’t looked at the last post, please note that Kale is the oven temperature exception – only use 350F). 

The other variable is how big a piece of vegetable to use. Green beans, baby carrots, asparagus, snap peas should be left whole (trim ends as needed). Broccoli and cauliflower should be broken into florets, around 1 or 1 ½ inches. Beets I peel and generally do about a ½ inch dice. Potatoes (not peeled if thin skinned) are often cut into thick (1/3 of an inch) slices, or small ones are quartered. The only important thing is to get them about the same size. Smaller pieces will cook faster, timing is a little more critical.

So, how long? We know the smart ass answer is until they are done, but here are some guidelines: tender vegetables (asparagus, green beans, etc.), or vegetables in smaller pieces (beets) about 15 minutes total. Snap peas maybe even less. Cauliflower is about 25 minutes. Potatoes are maybe 35 minutes, maybe 45 if the pieces are big. Sweet potatoes cook faster.  Mileage will vary – convection ovens will be a little faster. Bigger pieces will take longer. I think that the amount of oil used makes a difference too (burn brown faster with less oil, cook faster with more oil). Just watch them, after a few times, you get the hang of it.

Add on’s:  If desired, spices or herbs can be used at either the start or the end. Chile powder and cumin mixed with the oil. Add some sliced onions, or garlic (which does tend to get on the burnt side if not frequently tossed…), red pepper flakes. Or some parm cheese grated over top when it’s done. Here’s a surefire to make you love broccoli (and I think a little crispy bacon could replace the ham power at the end, the bacon fat the duck fat if you don’t happen to have it laying around). But usually, I just use salt. And when I have them, lemon juice.

How much? For the 2 of us, one sheet pan full is usually enough.. guessing about a pound (yes, really). Sometimes I cook more, because roasted vegetables are great leftover and put into salads. Clean-up is so easy, I will cook them just for me. Sometimes I roast to put them into pasta (2 pans of vegetables to ½ pound of pasta is about right). This week I did a salad with barley and roasted beets, onions, red peppers, carrots, and walnuts. And a lemon-herb vinaigrette. It used up a random assortment of vegetables, and kept us well fed all week…

Artichokes...

Name most any vegetable, and I can tell you at least 5 different ways to cook it.  But artichokes I always eat the same way.  Just steamed.   As a kid, I always dipped them in mayonnaise.  But now, I do a mayonnaise based dip based on the French version of mayonnaise called Aoili.  But (gasp) I do a shortcut using (gasp) real mayonnaise (as in Best Foods Real Mayonnaise, not mayonnaise you would really make).

Aioli – like dipping sauce

A big spoonful of plain 2% yogurt (Greek or regular)
A small spoonful of Mayonnaise

A small splash of olive oil (optional)
One small clove of garlic, finely minced
A big squeeze of lemon juice

Mix together with a small whisk. Perfect for Artichokes.

I'm always surprised at how salty this tastes..  since most of the bulk is from unsalted yogurt (goes to how much salt is in mayonnaise) and how much flavor a little lemon juice and garlic can add.

Here is a good way to steam the chokes... the only think I would add is to wipe the cut surfaces of the artichoke with a lemon slice, then throw the slice into the cooking water.  

And artichokes are in season!

An Honest Relationship with Honest Food

I have never been on “a diet". I’m not good at just doing what someone else has thought up (which might explain why I work for myself now). My diet is what I eat every day, not something that I go “on”, like a pill. I don’t even have a good label … I’m not a vegetarian, or gluten-free, not a junk food addict, not a locavore, or limit myself to raw food. I have given up on finding a one word description, but I think this is catchy: “A healthy relationship with healthy food.” Maybe it will be the title for my first book! So, what does this mean?

A healthy relationship: This means that I care about it, that I put effort into making it good, that I have fun with my food. It means not doing sneaky things, like going to a McDonalds drive-through and hiding the evidence. Or eating a whole container of ice cream because I’m sad. Or just eating crap because I’m bored. It means paying attention, and honoring the food you eat. 

 Honest food: right now, this is my biggest challenge. Honest food is real food, not a collection of chemicals. Cheetos are a good example of a chemical collection, not food. Most any 7 year old can understand that. But what about a tomato at the grocery store? Grown in Florida with lots of fertilizer and pesticides, picked when green by (likely illegal) migrant workers, gassed before buying to make it red. It looks like food, but doesn’t really taste like much. How about beef? Where the majority of the weight of the animal is added at a feedlot, fed government-subsidized, Round-up resistant genetically modified corn? Plus plenty of antibiotics since cows really aren’t plumbed to eat corn. And maybe a salt and chemical solution shot into the meat to make it even more tender and “flavorful.” Is that honorable food? Where do you draw the line? It would be nice to have meat from animals that lived a happy, natural life and vegetables from your local organic farmer but that’s hard to do. For some, impossible. You need to decide where you will make trade-offs. In the next few blogs, I will go through some of my rationalizations on what is OK to eat, or not. Or not much. 

 But meanwhile, let’s talk about Kale. It’s good braised, and a great addition to beans or soup. It’s really good for you. Unfortunately, it makes this year’s “Dirty Dozen" for pesticides. Fortunately, it’s something that is widely available at farmers markets (in the winter in Arizona, and I suspect most of the year in San Diego, although it grows best in cool weather), so that’s where I normally get it, either from an organic farmer, or one that doesn’t use pesticides. Organic is usually available at Whole Foods. But since Kale is so good for you, even if you need to buy at the supermarket (where its unlikely they will have organic) – go for it. You don’t eat it every day. Wash it well. And here is a way to make kale into a tasty treat – really, you can eat this like popcorn! 

Kale Chips

Serves 2

You can use any kind or kale.  The best for this is the Tuscan Kale (dark long leaves), but the more typical green curly leaf is good too.

1 large bunch of Kale, washed and dry

Olive oil (~ 2 tablespoons)

Salt

Pre heat oven to 350F, use convection if you have it.  Cover 2 large sheet pans with parchment paper.

Remove the heavy center stem from the kale.  You can do with a  knife, but generally I just hold the stem in one hand, and pull the leaf off with the other.  For large leafs, tear in half or thirds.

Make a pile of kale leaves on each pan.  Add about a tablespoon of oil to each.  Mix well with your hands, so that eat leaf is nicely coated, then spread out evenly.  There should be a single layer.

Put the pans in the oven.  After about 8 or 10 minutes, toss the leaves, they should be limp and maybe starting to dry.  Cook for another 5 to 8 minutes, or until nicely crisp (a bit brown) but not too dark.   Remove from the oven, salt and toss.   Slide into a large bowl and enjoy!

New food guidelines

“Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.”  This is one of the key messages from the latest update to the USDA’s dietary guidelines, but will this change eating habits?    Likely not.

Why don’t adults eat lots (like half your plate lots) of vegetables?  

Some people truly don’t have the access or means to eat right (or sometimes eat at all), but that’s not the problem I’m tackling. My friends are generally educated, well-meaning, have access to fresh and frozen produce, and enough money to buy food. One reason vegetables get skipped is they are not convenient. You can’t get them at a drive-through. We don’t see ads for yummy vegetables on TV, we don’t pass farmers markets with big neon signs on the way home from work. The kids are not nagging you for them.

But I don’t want to discount the likability factor.  Often vegetables we get  are old, bland, and / or overcooked plus selectively bred for looks and shelf life instead of taste.  It’s not a wonder we don’t eat vegetables.

So, how to change?  Start by cooking a really tasty vegetable dish, even if just once or twice a week (but every week).  The best place to get really good, fresh vegetables is the farmers market, do try (look beyond the jewelry, candles, and crepes). This is prime season in Arizona (and California - but there, prime season runs all year).  But… you can just go to the grocery store.  Look for the freshest things: not to discriminate, but in general, this will not be asparagus from Peru, even if it’s organic.  Buy no more than a week’s worth of produce, less if you don’t know what your week is going to look like.

So…The last post for Sautéed Broccoli looked so good …  you’re excited.  You went to the farmers market. By the time you finished your crepe, the broccoli was gone.   You went to the store.  But they just had some nasty, wilted, sad looking broccoli.  But… there were some awesome looking green beans.  Guess what?  That broccoli recipe will work for green beans.  In fact, it will work for most any vegetables!  Don’t have a lemon tree in your back yard?  Use some other acid… like a bit of the gourmet vinegar you got as a gift and don’t have a clue how to use.   Don’t like red pepper flakes?  Use some other herbs.  Big date tomorrow and don’t want garlic breath?  Use some shallots.  Need to “man it up”?  Use some bacon.   Honestly, skip everything but the fat and salt, and they will be good if you started with good vegetables.

Sauteed Vegetables: The generic technique

ANY Vegetable* (enough to feed however many people, but don’t crowd the skillet)

Water (enough to steam)

Fat: Olive oil, butter, vegetable oil, rendered bacon fat (save the crispy bacon to go on top)

Aromatic: Garlic, onion, shallot, or red bell pepper

Herbs: red pepper flakes, mustard seeds, thyme, rosemary, parsley, orange peel, or curry

Acid: Lemon, lime, or orange juice, or wine or cider vinegar, wine**

Salt.  Pepper.

Clean and chop the vegetable into nice pieces.  Put in a skillet, and  enough water to cover the bottom.  Put on high or pretty high heat.  Stir and cook until they are almost done and water is gone (add more water if needed).  Add the fat, then aromatic, spices and/or herbs it a spot in the middle. Stir until fragrant (less than a minute).  Add the acid, and a touch of salt, and some pepper if you want.

My favorite combo’s (olive oil unless otherwise mentioned):

Green beans, garlic, red pepper, lemon (just like the broccoli)

Kale, garlic, sherry vinegar

Green beans, garlic, mustard seeds

Green beans, bacon, red pepper

Cauliflower, onions, curry, OJ

Asparagus, shallots, orange rind, orange juice

Carrots, butter, thyme (can skip the acid and carrot is an aromatic)

Zucchini squash, bacon, onions

Spinach, onions, bacon (skip the acid)

Mushrooms, shallots, red wine

* Exceptions:

Baby spinach:  this will cook in like 30 seconds.  Start with the hot fat (and a little water if the spinach is dry). 

Mushrooms: there is enough water in the mushrooms, start in oil and sear.  Finish with red wine.

Potatoes:  Too starchy.  Either start in a lot of water and drain, or just fry in hot oil.  Add a bit of water to help steam.

** wine as the acid: you can use this as the starting liquid instead of water

*** For more than 3 or 4 people, or to do ahead:

Cook the vegetable in a large pot of boiling water until almost done.  Then put directly into a bowl of ice water.

 I love the feedback from the last post (keep it coming!).   

4th Anniversary!

Can you believe it? The blog is 4 years old.  And time for a change:  Instead of just writing about what ever … food, books, travel, and a few rants, the focus is going to be on healthy eating.  There still may be some books and rants, but books and rants on healthy food.

Why?  Because I believe that the typical modern diet is slowly killing my friends and family.   Pretty strong words.  I certainly don’t have all the solutions.  But I have found some ways to eat better.. and not just recipes or things to eat (or not), but changes in eating habits.  Change that  didn’t happen overnight; but habits that over time focused on eating more good food, and getting the crap out of my diet. This went hand-in-hand with learning what was good… or not, which is not simple in today’s environment where real “experts” are gaining new knowledge about the human body, and how it interacts with food (which is changing a lot of previous recommendations on what to eat), which is compounded by marketing from the agribusiness who are just trying to get more of our food (and tax) dollars.

Anyway, I would like to use the blog to share what I have learned, and hopefully help everyone live a little better.

To start… my current favorite way to eat broccoli:

Sautéed Broccoli

Serves 2

1 bunch (2 medium sized heads) of broccoli

Water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 – 2 cloves garlic

Pinch of red pepper

Shake of salt

Squeeze of lemon juice

Wash the broccoli, cut off the flower parts and separate the pieces into about 1 – 2 inch clumps.  Cut off the bottom inch or two of the stem if it is tough, and slice the rest (you might want to peel first).  Put the prepared broccoli in a large (10-12 inch) skillet, and put in enough water to cover the bottom by a ¼ inch or so.  Place on the stove and turn to high.  When the water starts to boil, stir the broccoli around so it steams evenly.  Cook until its bright green and just starting to soften, about 3 minutes or so.  The goal is to dry off the water about the time the broccoli is done (you can add a bit more water as needed). Then, make an open spot in the bottom of the pan.  Add the oil, garlic, and red peppers. Stir and cook until the garlic is fragrant and broccoli is coated with oil (about 30 seconds) then remove from the heat.  Add a bit of salt and a squeeze of lemon to taste.  

Bread for stuffing and other Thanksgiving comments

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, with all the traditional fixings   ... but we are slowly losing the tradition of cans and packaged foods. And I think we have started a new tradition of smoked chicken wings for lunch (Lou's new specialty).

 

A big hit was the new version of Green Bean Casserole, using the recipe from Alton Brown.  We did all the parts the night before: blanched the green beans, made the mushroom soup part, and cooked the onions.  (Did you know that the first ingredient of the fried onions that you buy in a can is palm oil... yuck).  The only tricky part is the onions.  Don't cut too thin (go for ~ 3/16 of an inch) and try to cut evenly.  And don't get too brown the first time, as they will get browner on the casserole (especially in the turbo-charged convection oven).  We cooked in a 9x13 casserole dish, for about 20 minutes after the turkey came out of the oven. 

Not so big a hit were the brussels sprouts, even sauted with a bit of bacon (and finished with a little cider vinegar).  Roy, Sharon and I loved them, everyone else, not so much.  At least Bridget had fun slicing them with the Cuisenart!

Also a note on a deconstructed turkey:  You can do a big one this way: we did a 23-pounder.  Using the turbo-convection oven, when started at 400F for 20 minutes, then 325 it was done in about 2 1/2 hours (we dropped the temperature to 300F towards the end so it actually cooked for almost 3 hours).   I started at the higher temperature because I was a little late getting it into the oven, I had figured on 3 1/2 hours (which might be right for a normal 325 oven).  As always, everything cooks evenly.  We just had to use an extra pan because both legs didn't fig into the roaster.

Finally, here is the recipe for the stuffing.  Last year I discovered that Pepperidge Farms stuffing (which is what our family ALWAYS used) had one of my banned ingredients (don't even remember if it was HFCS, hydrogenized oil, or MSG) so I made my own bread using the bread machine (where you don't care there are stupid holes in the bottom from the paddles).   I'm always surprised at how long it takes for the bread to dry, especially considering that if you leave a slice of bread out you are making a sandwich from it is crispy in 15 minutes.  If you don't have a bread machine (I suspect that mine is on its last legs), there should be no problem making like normal bread, would just follow the steps for any whole wheat bread recipe. 

Herb Bread for Stuffing

2lb loaf, make 20 ounces of stuffing (lots)

¾ cup milk 

2 tablespoons butter

¾ cup warm water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups bread flour

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped

½ teaspoon sage

Black pepper (a couple of good grinds)

2 teaspoons yeast

Heat the milk and butter together in the microwave until the milk is just a little warm, and butter is soft and starting melt.  Put everything (in order) in the bread machine and start.  When done, let completely cool, preferably overnight.  Slice into cubes, about ½ inch square.  If the crust is particularly heavy, remove some of the crust, but otherwise leave on.  Spread the cubes on a large sheet pan, and let dry for a couple of days.

Stuffing

Bread Cubes 

½ ounce dry mushrooms, reconstituted in ~ 1 cup boiling water. 

8 ounces (1 package)  mushrooms (sliced)

1 large onion (diced)

2 stalked celery (diced small)

½ to 1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup butter

2 cups turkey broth

¼ cup of chopped herbs (parsley, thyme, sage, etc).

Place the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl.  Stain the dry mushrooms, reserving liquid.  Chop and add to stuffing.  Saute the fresh mushrooms, onion, and celery with salt in the butter, add to the bread cubes.

Add mushroom liquid to bread cubes, careful to not get any grit at bottom.  Mix the cubes, add a cup of turkey broth (slowly pour around the top).  Stir and taste.  Add another ½ to 1 cup broth.  Cubes should be just moist, not soggy.    Ready to go in / under turkey, or in a separate casserole dish to cook (if cooking separately, put a bit of turkey fat and / or skin on top).