Marla in the Kitchen

Last Chance to Renew!: Pork tenderloin with honey mustard, Root vegetable gratin

2010-03-10T16:01:00Z

Magazine circulation managers have become increasingly aggressive. Many of their campaigns try to trick me into believing that a yearly subscription offers great values. "Free--full color pages", "Free--Easy to use indexes"; "Free--easy to follow recipes". Please. Catalogs used to make up the bulk of my mail but lately, I have been deluged with pleas to subscribe. You can receive Sunset magazine for less than $10 a year. Garden Design, which targets gardeners with plenty of green to spend, is affordable. Quilting magazines can be had for the cost of a yard of material. Magazines' desperation is based on real world economic figures. Printed media is vulnerable to today's technology and may soon go the way of dime comics and Book of the Month clubs.

Anyways, I love magazines and would sign up for each one if I had the room. I limit myself to two, three at the most: The New Yorker is a must for me, at least one quilting magazine (usually there are far too many heart/bear/flower patterns), and one food choice. But what to do with already-read magazines? Clipping doesn't work for me, the pieces of paper pile up for months. I keep a basket for the favorites, pass on any that are accepted, and recycle the rest.

Knowing that a visit to my dentist will include at least fifteen minutes with People Magazine--Kate Gosselin is now wearing hair extensions!--makes a cleaning or a new crown bearable. Nikki recently brought me a sackful of previously-owned magazines, passed on to her from a friend--so they're re-re-read. I stacked the pile in my basket and felt rich and idle as I thumbed through the pages. I did some serious clipping and tried two not-too-bad-for-you recipes from Food and Wine. The pork tenderloin is easy and quick; the root vegetable gratin is delicious.

Spiced pork tenderloin with honey mustard

3 Tbs. mustard seeds
1 Tbs. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
One 6-8 oz. tenderloin
1 tsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup grainy mustard
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey or agave

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Crush mustard and fennel seeds with the crushed red pepper flakes. Season tenderloins with salt and pepper. Coat your hands with the olive oil and rub over the tenderloins.

Spread seed/pepper mix on a cutting board or plate and roll tenderloins to coat.

Roast tenderloin for 15-20 minutes or until thermometer reads 145 degrees. Transfer to cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes.

Combine mustards and honey or agave. Slice tenderloin 1/2" thick and serve with honey mustard.

Root vegetable gratin

1 Red Garnet yam
1/2 butternut squash neck, peeled
1 rutabaga--1 pound, peeled and halved lengthwise
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbs. heavy cream
1/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 Tbs. olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a mandoline, if possible, cut vegetables into thin slices.

Oil 8x12 baking dish. Arrange half of the yam slices in the dish, overlapping them slightly; season with salt and pepper. Top with half of the rutabaga and squash, seasoning each layer. Repeat the layering. Pour chicken broth over and around the vegetables.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour or until vegetables are almost tender when pierced. Remove foil and pour the cream over the gratin. Bake for about 30 minutes longer, until liquid has thickened.

Preheat the broiler. Mix the panko with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil 3 inches from the heat for 2 minutes, until golden, rotating for even browning. Let the gratin stand for 10 minutes, then serve.

Yes! ! (with both arms raised): Green Pea Salad

2010-03-09T17:57:00Z

Happiness can be found in small victories--at 67 I won't be crowned Miss Nebraska, can't compete in the figure skating finals, and will never win the Booker Prize....but six months after surgery I am back riding the Lifecycle for twenty-four minutes at my highest level. I'm sure that takes your breath away, but it was a hard-won, if small, victory. To make the day even more exhilarating, how's about this... I can now see the back of the freezer.

What's left?: one loaf of Dave's Killer Bread, one package of frozen corn, a pork shoulder roast, three freezer bags of walnuts, one-half bag of frozen shrimp, and best of all, we do have ice cube trays. Getting to this goal, however, did require sacrifice over the weekend. We had pea & cheese salad, weenies with flat bread, soup made from cabbage, peas, leftover chicken, and a reddish creamy sauce, and barley/wild rice/and Italian sausage.

Next up--a trip to Costco to stock up the freezer with unidentifiable items. Just kidding, I am dedicated to maintaining a spare freezer and leaving plenty of room for future toast.

That pea salad wasn't half bad--here's an approximate outline.

By the way, yesterday when I was browsing through mean things the critics were saying about Sunday night's Oscars, I read a funny blog entry by Ken Levine. I had to read the biography page to make certain, but sure enough--he's our Ken Levine. If you're an old Mariner fan, you must remember Dave Niehaus's color guy during the early 90's. Anyways, Ken is a television writer--Cheers, Somebody Loves Raymond, etc.--who covered the Cubs, Orioles, and now hosts an after-the-game radio show in LA about the Dodgers. If you scroll down the left side of my blog, there's a link to his page. Some witty remarks from an old favorite.

Pea, parm, and pork salad

2 cups thawed, slightly cooked green peas
1/4 cup fine diced red onion or 2 Tbs. minced shallot
1/4 cup celery, fine dice
Fresh dill, fennel leaf, or mint are a plus
1 part mayonnaise
1 part plain yogurt
Few squirts of lemon juice
Big pinch of minced garlic
A spoonful of minced preserved lemon grated lemon zest

1-2 pieces bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
Parmesan cheese

Combine peas, onions, and celery, and the pluses in a bowl.

Mix mayo, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and preserved lemon or lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour dressing over pea/onion/celery mix. Fold in bacon and Parmesan cheese.

This would also be good with pasta or rice.

Whatever you've got: Yakisoba with pork and cabbage

2010-03-01T20:06:00Z

The blooming plum trees are dancing down the street. Before long, they'll be leaving pink shadows on the ground, but for now we see clouds of pink out the window.

Last night we had English muffins from the corner of the freezer with Swiss cheese, love those easy ones. Today Mark Bittman (The Minimalist) checked in with a wonderful yakisoba recipe. Luckily, I found a bit of freezer pork—not pork chops, must be either ground pork or pork sausage.

The below recipe is one of those take-your-pick of whatever happens to surface when you stand in front of the open refrigerator door and wonder, what’s for dinner. No Chinese noodles?—vermicelli or linguini fill the bill. No pork chop?—how about leftover pork roast, a bit of chicken, tofu, beef trimmings, freezer shrimp, eggplant, or zucchini. No Napa or savoy?—plain ol’ green or red cabbage will do. No mirin?—rice, white, cider vinegar taste about the same. No green onions?—add regular onions with the carrots & cabbage, who’ll know?

Substitute away, but don’t leave out the ketchup. Yakisoba screams for ketchup.

Yakisoba with pork and cabbage

· 6 ounces dried Chinese egg noodles, or 10 to 12 ounces fresh

· 1 tablespoon sesame oil

· 3 tablespoons peanut oil

· 2 tablespoons minced ginger
(I added 1 Tbs. minced garlic)

· 2 pork chops, thinly sliced

(I used one small patty of ground pork)
· 1 small head Napa or savoy cabbage, shredded
(I used green cabbage)

· 2 carrots, shredded

· 2 tablespoons ketchup

· 1/4 cup soy sauce

· 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
( I used 3 Tbs.)

· 2 tablespoons mirin, or a bit of sugar

· Few drops Tabasco sauce, or to taste

· 1 bunch scallions, chopped
(I sauteed 1/2 minced onion with the garlic at the beginning)

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it and add noodles. Cook until just done, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and run under cold water. Toss noodles with sesame oil to keep them from sticking together, and set aside. (I added 1 Tbs. coconut milk when I tossed).

2. Put peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add ginger (and garlic) and cook, stirring, until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pork and cook for about 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink and starts to brown around the edges.

3. Add cabbage and carrots to skillet and stir; sprinkle with salt. Continue to cook until vegetables soften, adding a bit of water as needed to keep them from sticking.

4. Meanwhile, stir together in a small bowl ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mirin and Tabasco. When vegetables are soft and any liquid has evaporated, add noodles and sauce to skillet. Toss to coat everything well and cook until noodles are warmed through. Serve, topped with chopped scallions.

Streetttccchhh that meat!: Red flannel hash, White bean and beet salad

2010-02-26T23:27:00Z

Today, February 21, is Johnny Cash's birthday and NPR broadcast an old Terry Gross interview with him that played this song.

We may have fallen off the meat wagon but we’re still trying to stay on the high road by eating less meat. Our small-in-size but large-in-carbon footprint corned beef has lasted for four meals. One carrot/cabbage/potato with corned beef, one Reuben sandwich with salad, one-half Reuben sandwich with white bean/beet salad, and one Red Flannel Hash. Bob looked a bit dubious when the answer to his usual 4:00 pm inquiry, “What’s for dinner?” was “Red flannel hash”.

My mom used to make it; I made it at Sound Food, after the obligatory St. Patty’s Day corned beef and beer special ran its course. Served with a poached egg on top—to dip the edge of rye toast in (now that we have a toaster)—it ranks right up there on the list of good diner food. The color is off-putting, definitely reddish, maybe pinkish-gray but at least it doesn’t turn out blue. When I previously made hash, I used a cast iron skillet. This time I used a non-stick Calphalon and didn't get any crustiness. The hash tasted the same but I missed the crunchy bottom.

Moving right along with "Freezer Adventures", tonight featured a strange mix. Secret freezer ingredients included one small chicken andouille sausage, some unidentified tomato stuff, and some grayish clear pasta--presumably glass rice noodles left over from the January Korean extravaganza. Gumbo jumped to mind, so gumbo is was, over those glass noodles instead of rice. When I bought the noodles from Boh Han, there were no instructions in English so I didn't know what to expect. I covered them with boiling water and waited for them to soften--they mushed instead into a mass. Tonight I covered the noodles with cold water, waited a short time, then drained and added them to the gumbo at the end. They mushed in the gumbo but at least they retained their shape until we ate. Not a dish I'd recommend, so I'll skip that one; but the white bean and beet salad is tasty.

Red Flannel Hash

2 red-skinned potatoes
2 peeled carrots, large dice
2 small peeled beets
Some corned beef

1 bacon slice, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 eggs

Toss beets with a small amount of oil, salt, and black pepper and roast in a 425-degree oven for 60 minutes. Chop potatoes and carrots in small-medium pieces. Toss with oil, salt/pepper and roast in the same oven for 45 minutes. Cool beets until you can handle them, then slip skins off and chop into small-medium pieces.

Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until brown but not crisp. Drain all bacon grease but 2 Tbs.

Sauté onion with bacon until translucent, add potatoes, carrots, and beets to onions in the skillet. Flatten with spatula to compact. Cook hash until brown on bottom, about 10 minutes. Continue cooking until heated through, stirring up bottom crust occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Crack eggs on top of hash, cover with lid and cook until whites are solid. Serve with a piece of toast.

White bean and marinated beet salad

For the beets:

4 small beets, tossed with olive oil, salt, & pepper
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar

For the beans:

1/2 pound dried small lima beans
1 large white onion, cut in half
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow or red bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion, soaked for five minutes in cold water, drained and rinsed (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Toss whole beets with small amount of olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Place in a aluminum foil pouch and roast in 425 degree oven for 45 minutes. Let beets cool, slip off skins, and cut in wedges. Combine vinegar, the sugar. Toss with the beets. Arrange the beans on a plate or in a bowl and surround with the beets

Place the beans in a pot. Cover by 2 inches with water, and bring to a gentle boil. Skim off any foam, and add the onion, garlic and bay leaf. Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer until tender. Add salt to taste, and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove and discard the onion, garlic cloves and the bay leaf. Allow the beans to cool in the liquid, then drain through a strainer set over a bowl.

Gently toss the beans in a bowl with the lemon juice, olive oil, celery, peppers, onion and herbs. If desired, add 2 to 4 tablespoons of the bean broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Either combine beets and beans for that pinkish look or separate them on the plate and garnish will chopped dill.

What freezer burn?: Beef barley soup

2010-02-24T17:35:00Z

Under the flank steak, I found a small freezer bag with about 8 pieces of unknown meat—probably beef. I always assume that I’ll remember what is in these bags—I’ve begun marking pieces of meat that go into the freezer.

We slipped off the tracks of responsible eating for a weekend supper of corned beef and cabbage, but who’ll know? Back on track and following the self-imposed rules of “Clean out the frig”, I found one carrot and a turnip in the vegetable bin. Stone soup was right around the corner. A half bag of barley from the bean/noodle/nut drawer sealed the deal and a fine beef barley soup with enough barley left over for a wild rice/barley pilaf was in the works.

I made my first beef barley soup one morning at Sound Food. After searching through the walk-in for the day’s menu, soup for lunch was my priority. The blustery weather and last night’s beef stew made for an easy call. Beef barley soup hit the right notes—comforting, cheap, and available. I trimmed, chopped, browned, and stirred with a frequent eye on the ticking clock: the lunch bunch was on the way.

After a two-hour simmer, a peak under the pot lid revealed a sticky, gray, unappetizing mass of barley, beef, and vegetables. Barley has a life of its own: growing, exuding starch, and absorbing all liquid. I’ve since cooked the barley separately and added it to the soup for the last 20 minutes.

The following recipe for soup may seem steppy, but if you are patient when building the flavor base for any soup it will taste much better.

P.S.
We had an “interesting” dinner with the leftover grilled flank steak—an Asian-flavored stir-fry with broccoli, onions, tomatoes, and sliced steak over a barley/wild rice pilaf. I think I touched at least six countries that night.

Beef barley soup

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 pound beef cubes, short ribs, or chuck roast
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 Tbs. minced sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
• 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes
• 6 cups chicken stock

• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 cups chopped cabbage

•1/3 cup pearl barley, rinsed, and cooked

Heat a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add 1 Tbs. of the oil. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper. Sear the meat on all sides until well browned; this will take about 15 minutes.

Lower the heat to medium, add remainder of oil to the pan. Add the onion and thyme to the pan and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes—saute five minutes. Add chopped canned tomatoes, saute five minutes.

Return the meat to the pan, add chicken stock. Bring to a boil, adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 2-3 hours or until the meat is just tender.

While meat and broth are simmering, rinse the barley and cover it with water plus about 2 inches of water. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until barley is tender—usually 45-60 minutes. Drain and rinse.

When the meat is fork tender, add the carrots or other hard vegetables—rutabagas (rutabagas are so hard, they can almost be added with the meat), parsnips, etc. and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add softer vegetables—cabbage, potatoes, or zucchini, the amount of cooked barley you prefer, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper or Tabasco.

Meat, it’s what’s for dinner: Marinated flank steak, oven-roasted sweet potatoes, coleslaw

2010-02-18T21:48:00Z

Last night we fell off the wagon onto a pile of sliced marinated flank steak. If Mark Bittman is watching, food still matters, but the ongoing toaster saga has created a lapse in our responsible eating.

Now that we have the appropriate small appliance, we’ve developed a strong liking for Dave’s Killer Bread toast every morning. Finding a spot in our packed refrigerator freezer for the obligatory two-loaf minimum from Costco poses a dilemma. Soooo, the challenge is to cook only from the freezer until I can see the back. I’ll use up what’s in there and buy only the essentials—milk, yogurt, sparkles, Diet Coke. Who knows what I’ll find?

I’m afraid the flank steak has been in the freezer since this summer when Bob’s brother Tom hosted a family affair to celebrate Brother Dick’s visit from Brazil. Once again, the Costco purchase could have fed thirty, so I tucked the leftover flank steaks into a back corner of the freezer. Wednesday night, I liberated the last one, marinated it overnight, and grilled it on the balcony grill. Paired with coleslaw, (dressing found in the refrigerator door, also left from long ago), and roasted sweet potatoes, it made me glad I’m not a vegetarian.

The video may be a bit of a stretch, but it's especially for woldhagen.

Steak Marinade

· ½ c. olive oil

· 3 T. red wine vinegar

· 2/3 c. soy sauce

· 3 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

· 1 T. dry mustard

· 1 T. Tabasco

· 1 T. minced garlic

· 1 tsp. black pepper

Marinate flank steaks, skirt steaks, rib eye, or sirloin overnight for a savory barbeque.

Serve as a sandwich on flat bread with gorgonzola cheese and horseradish mustard.

Horseradish/Mustard:

· 1 c. stone-ground mustard

· 3 T. horseradish

Old-fashioned Coleslaw

Dressing:

· 1 cup vinegar

· 1 cup sugar

· 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

· 1 teaspoon celery seeds

· salt, to taste

· Mayonnaise

Salad:

· 1 head cabbage, finely shredded

· 2 carrots, grated

In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, and salt, to taste. Bring to a boil and continue cooking until sugar is dissolved. Cool and mix with an equal amount of mayonnaise.

Oven roasted sweet potato wedges

· 2 # red Garnet yams or sweet potatoes

· 1 Tbs. olive oil

· 1/2 tsp. paprika

· ½ tsp. cumin

· ½ tsp. garlic powder

· ¼ tsp. roasted spicy paprika or chipotle chile powder

· ½ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put half-sheet pan in oven to preheat.

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into wedges—I prefer 6 wedges per potato.

Combine olive oil, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, spicy spice, and salt in large bowl.

Toss wedges in oil/spice mixture until evenly coated. Put wedges on hot sheet pan in a single layer.

Bake for 15 minutes, turn wedges.

Bake 15 more minutes. Roasted sweet potato/yam wedges will never be crispy like regular potatoes

Food Matters: "Anything goes" granola, Black beans, rice & sweet potatoes, Spicy chickpea stew

2010-02-05T23:42:00Z

As I left the library the other day, I picked up a new book by Mark Bittman, author of the book, How to Cook Everything and the New York Times food blog, "Bitten". On his blog, Mr. Bittman seems brusque and a bit bossy but is direct, knowledgeable, and cuts through much of the usual food personality baloney. I've never thought of him as a "healthy living" advocate, so was surprised when his new book, Food Matters, detailed a plan for "responsible eating".

In three hundred pages, he describes in detail how global marketing has put both our health and the planet's health at risk and cites a stunning statistic from a United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization report : "global livestock production is responsible for about one-fifth of all greenhouse gases--more than transportation." Mr. Bittman proposes that you can "loose weight, reduce the risk of long-term, chronic disease, save money and help stop global warming with one simple, lifestyle change.

Well maybe not so simple, but still..."In general, eat less meat, and fewer animal products. Specifically, eat fewer refined carbohydrates: white bread, cookies, white rice; eat way less junk food: soda, chips, snack food, candy, etc.; eat more vegetables, legumes, fruit, and whole grains. By reducing the amount of meat we eat, we can grow and kill fewer animals. That means less environmental damage, including climate change; fewer antibiotics in the water and food supplies; fewer pesticides and herbicides, reduced cruelty; and so on."

Here are a few of his statistics that address what we eat and its effect on the environment:

Americans eat twice as much meat as the world average and 10 times as much as developing countries.
To produce one calorie of beef protein requires 40 calories of fossil fuel; to produce one calorie of corn takes 2.2 calories
Each cow on the planet consumes seven barrels of crude oil
A steak dinner for four is equivalent, energy-wise, to driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving the lights on at home
A 12-oz can of diet soda requires 2,200 calories to produce
A 1-qt. polyethylene bottle requires more than 2,400 calories to produce

His rules are simple:

Eat plants first
Avoid anything with more than five ingredients
Eat locally when possible
Embrace olive oil
Cook at home

Anyways, unlike other books about how we eat, Food Matters made sense to me and I'll try to incorporate some of Mr. Bittman's suggestions in my everyday life. Here are a few recipes to that end: the first is from his book, Food Matters, the other two are from me.

Sorry to slip back into the 80's, but I just watched this again after sooo many years and couldn't help myself. Oh to see Ray Charles again!

Mark Bittman's "Anything goes" Granola

5 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant) or other rolled grains (i.e., wheat, rye)
3 cups mixed nuts and seeds (i.e., sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews)
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tsp. ground cinnamon, or other spices to taste (i.e., cardamom, allspice, coriander, nutmeg, ginger)
1/2 to 1 cup honey, agave, or maple syrup
Pinch of alt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 cups raisins or dried fruit (i.e., dates, cranberries, cherries, blueberries, apricots, pineapple, crystallized ginger, or banana chips)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts and seeds, coconut, sweetener, and vanilla; sprinkle with salt. Spread the mixture on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or a little longer stirring occasionally. The granola should brown evenly; the darker it gets without burning, the crunchier it will be.

Remove pan from oven and add raisins or dried fruit. Cool on a rack, stirring now and then until granola reaches room temperature. Put in a sealed container and store in the refrigerator; it will keep indefinitely.

Black beans, sweet potatoes and brown rice

2 Tbs. sun-dried tomatoes in oil, minced
1/2 Serrano, fine dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, fine dice
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbs. lime juice
1 tsp. Tabasco
1 cup steamed, cubed sweet potatoes
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup cooked brown rice

Saute sun-dried tomatoes, serranos, garlic, and onion over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add oregano, paprika and cumin, sauté to roast spices. Add 1 Tbs. lime juice and cook until juice has disappeared. Add Tabasco.

Season black beans, sweet potatoes and brown rice with salt and pepper. Toss together: sun-dried tomato/onion/spice mix, cooked black beans, sweet potatoes and brown rice. Taste and add more lime juice, Tabasco, or salt if necessary. Garnish with Cotija or Parmesan cheese and plain yogurt.

Spicy Chickpea Stew (Chana Masala)

• 4 Tbs. oil
• ½ tsp. mustard seeds
• ½ tsp. cumin seeds
• Fenugreek
• 1 minced jalapeno
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Tbs. minced garlic
• 1 Tbs. ginger
• ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. ground coriander
• ¼ tsp. turmeric
• ¼ tsp. ground paprika
• 4 large tomatoes, chopped
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 cans (16 oz each) chickpeas
• 1 cup chicken stock

Heat oil; add mustard, cumin, and fenugreek seeds. Cover pot and heat until mustard seeds complete their popping sounds. Add chili pepper and roast in hot oil.

Add onions, garlic, ginger, lower heat to medium and stir well. Add cumin, coriander turmeric, and paprika. Stir well—add small amount of water if spices threaten to burn.

Add tomatoes and cilantro stems, stirring well. Reduce tomatoes and onions to a thick paste. Season with salt. Stir constantly.
When mixture is thick, add chickpeas and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low; cover, and simmer 30-40 minutes.

Garnish with chopped cilantro—serve with rice and yogurt.

Staff of Life: Ezekiel bread

2010-01-30T18:17:00Z

Last week we made room for a toaster. During my "old-is-better" phase, we stood guard over one after another old-but-charming toasters that refused to give up toast without manual prodding. The latest Eugene heavyweight was deemed not "counter-worthy" for our move to Tacoma, so we gave up the toast. Not a bad thing--fewer carbs, more counter space, and a quicker, smoke-free breakfast. Enter our friend Foster's turnaround to better health. During our San Diego visit this fall, he made us a dandy piece of Ezekiel toast, made from whole grains and whole beans.

Once home, we found a loaf during a routine trip to Trader Joe's. Now TJs is on the other side of town, Ezekiel bread sells for $5.00 a loaf and is literally hard to swallow without a liberal spread of butter and a beverage. During a Costco run we found a loaf of Dave's Killer Bread, hands down delicious, full of seeds, and best of all--two loaves for $7.00. A much better bargain, given the lengthy drive across town. However, heating up the oven's "Broil" function, toasting the bread, and turning on the fans to remove incidental smoke created by forgotten bread offset any energy saved. Thus came, during our next Costco trip, the purchase of a faux-stainless steel toaster--light, small in size, and remarkably inexpensive.

Fitting the new 12" appliance into our 800+ square feet condominium threatened to undo our orderly existence. Where to plug it in: all two kitchen outlets were full, the living room and bedroom seemed inefficient, and the one bathroom outlet sprouted three cords. Obviously, we'd have to move. Given the current condo market in Tacoma, that option was even less efficient than our electrical setup. So...if I use up the yellow lentils, toss out old pasta, shift the Basmatti rice into baggies, throw away the old Cook's Illustrated magazines, move the small white bowl onto the flour container, and put the orange bowl away there's plenty of room for the new toaster. If that is, we move the refrigerator out (which means taking the chrome shelf apart, which means taking all the food off the chrome shelf), put in a triple plug outlet, and string an extension cord to the 12 inches!! provided by Hamilton Beach, we have lift off. The puzzle we call home has been adjusted to include toast.

Being bakerly challenged, I can't imagine wanting to bake Ezekiel-type bread, but for anyone who does: (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ezekiel-Bread-I/Detail.aspx)

Ezekiel Bread

2 1/2 cups wheat berries
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1/2 cup barley
1/2 cup millet
1/4 cup dry green lentils
2 tablespoons dry great Northern beans
2 tablespoons dry kidney beans
2 tablespoons dried pinto beans
4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 cup honey
1/2 cup olive oil
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2 tablespoons salt

Directions

Measure the water, honey, olive oil, and yeast into a large bowl. Let sit for 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir all of the grains and beans together until well mixed. Grind in a flour mill. Add fresh milled flour and salt to the yeast mixture; stir until well mixed, about 10 minutes. The dough will be like that of a batter bread. Pour dough into two greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
Let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until dough has reached the top of the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes, or until loaves are golden brown.

Over the hill at 30: Hungarian Goulash

2010-01-28T00:10:00Z

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, David Chang and Anthony Bourdain "... emphatically agreed that if you’re over 30 and are just walking into a restaurant kitchen for the first time, you’re too old." In fact, they used the word "grandpa".

My parents were both college-educated and assumed that their daughters would follow suit and find work in a white collar field--for women of those years that meant teaching or nursing. By my third year in college as an English major, I wanted out--I loved reading and writing but teaching!? I gratefully married.

I was thirty-two when I started cooking in a restaurant and sure enough, I was older than anyone on the staff. I walked in to Sound Food because I needed a job and on Vashon Island in the 1970s, my choices were limited: I could sand skiis, press apple juice or work in the nursing home. I knew nothing about restaurants: seldom ate in one, knew no one who owned one, never thought about spending twenty years working in one. But within a few weeks of my starting day, I felt as if I'd come home.

In 1982 when Bob took a job in Los Angeles and moved south, I somewhat reluctantly followed. I loved Sound Food, considered the back kitchen to be my home and the staff to be my family. In 1982 as I walked up and down the side streets in Westwood looking for a job, I didn't realize how different these new restaurant experiences would be. Sound Food was always busy, had a large staff, and made almost everything in-house but LA restaurants were run by business men, staffed by competitive professionals, and filled with critical eaters.

The stakes had changed; what had not changed, was my age. Once again, I was the oldest person there--not only the oldest, but often the only female. But I had no career-directed agenda and posed no threat to the pecking order--I just needed a job. I quickly learned to keep my head down, my knives sharp, and work as hard or harder than anyone else. Eventually, I could have run any one of the kitchens I worked in. But then again, so could any hard-working dishwasher or ambitious prep cook. Due to the frequent swinging door exits of CIA-trained cooks, anyone who remained working long enough to learn the system, the management, and the menu could rise like tiny bubbles to the top of the glass.

At the end of the shift when the kitchen staff headed out the back door, I was the only one who didn't participate in "beer bowling" (chug one at the end of each frame), salsa dancing, the hot dog line at "Pinks", or an old-fashioned, LA-style carousing. Restaurant workers have a storied, well-documented ability to drink as hard as they work. How they got to work vertically the next morning was always a mystery to me. Anyways, I managed to work as hard and as long as the twenty/thirty year-olds, due in large part to my after work recovery period--quiet and at home.

Eventually gravity, bone loss, and common sense led me to turn in my kitchen towels. In memory of those over the hill years, here's an old, dated, but still worthwhile recipe from the 1953 edition of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

Hungarian Goulash

2 pounds beef chuck, cut in 1 1/2" cubes
1 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup fat
1 Tbs. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. paprika
1 eight-ounce can tomato sauce
1 #2 can (2 1/2 cups) diced tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Bouquet garni

Brown beef in hot fat; add onion and cook until golden but not brown. Stir in flour, salt, and paprika.

Add remaining ingredients. Simmer gently, covered, until meat is tender, about 1 1/2-2 hours.

Remove Bouquet Garni. Serve goulash with hot noodles.

Thanks, David Chang: Bo Ssam, Carrot Radish Salad, Cucumber Salad, Ssam Sauce

2010-01-18T21:37:00Z

Thank you, David Chang. Mr. Chang is my 2009 chef-of-the year, Korean New Yorker, owner of hot spots--Momofuku Ko, Momofuku Ssam Bar, and Momofuku Noodle Bar, and author of the must-have-if-you-have-plenty-of-money cookbook, "Momofuku". I first read an article about him in the Wall Street Journal, and found an on-line recipe for Bo Ssam shown on a Martha Stewart episode, whew! Anyways, his recipe for Bo Ssam, slow-cooked pork butt, was the sparking point for the twenty-first production of our annual overabundance of food, otherwise known as Return to the Light.

Everyone was on time, as per their usual, and we started with Korean ginger tea. Other than a few tough chews of sweet, sticky bulgogi, I have had little contact with Korean food. Madhur Jaffrey wrote two excellent cookbooks, Far Eastern Cookery and my old 70's favorite Vegetarian Cooking, that feature a wide selection of Korean recipes. Similar to Thai food, Korean food relies on four flavors: sweet, sour, salty, creamy plus heat (only Korean food drops the creamy). Asian recipes borrow back and forth, trading rice, noodles, chilies, palm sugar, spicy red pepper, fresh vegetables, ginger, a variety of pickled vegetables, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. I found a heavy use of fish, garlic, pickled vegetables, and soybean products, not so much lemon grass, fish sauce, coconut, or wheat-based products.

Korean cooks must spend their entire day in the kitchen. Each of my chosen recipes called for many ingredients, a long list of finely chopped seasonings, a variety of sauces, roasted seeds and coconut, spiced, blanched, and pickled vegetables, flavored oil, seasoned stocks, and pounded roots--who knew! Prep cook Bob, minced and diced until his hands were blue. We used every dish, jar, cup, plate, and bowl we own. Our size-challenged refrigerator gave up and broke a shelf in mid-production. Luckily for us, the cool weather provided an enormous, outdoor balcony refrigerator for emergency use. Most of the food required cooking a la minute, so everyone chatted and caught up at the table while Bob and I bustled about in the kitchen.

In my opinion, David Chang's Bo Ssam was the main event and ruled the day. The pork butt, slowly cooked at 300 degrees for eight hours and finished off for fifteen minutes at 500 degrees with a brown sugar glaze, was succulent, juicy, crispy and delicious. At Momofuku Ko, the Bo Ssam is available only to reservations of eight or more and is served with lettuce leaves, white rice, pickled vegetables, spicy bean paste sauces, and vegetable salads. Los Angeles's Korean franchise, Pinkberrys http://www.pinkberry.com/, inspired the frozen yogurt, fruit, and sprinkle dessert. Knife at the ready, Prep Bob tiny-diced strawberries, mangos, kiwis, bananas and Asian pears, roasted coconut, and chopped peanuts.

The most difficult part of working through the menu was the extensive variety of side dishes, sauces, pickled thises and thats, garnishes, and accompaniments. An org-chart of dishes and their attending partners would have come in handy. Anyways, the cooking part was fun, the company delightful, and the day too short. Today the tablecloths are folded and back in the drawer, the myriad of dishes, bowls, cups, and plates have been washed and put away, the sesame seeds have been vacuumed up, and a new refrigerator shelf is on its way. What remains are a few pictures, a few recipes, and good memories. If you're interested in any of the other recipes, just comment me and I'll send them on over.

Nancy and Tom

Beth and Spence

Fritz and Marilyn

MENU

Ginger tea
Shrimp and green onion pancakes
Sauteed bean curd with mustard sauce and roasted sesame seeds
Beef noodle soup
Savory crab custards with spinach and zucchini
Korean rice salad with spicy dressing
Bo Ssam with cucumber & carrot/radish salad and ssam sauce
Frozen yogurt and cookies

David Chang's Bo Ssam w/ lettuce leaves, kimchi, dwen jang, white rice, ssam sauce, ginger scallion sauce, and vegetable salads
P.S. (I didn't serve it with oysters.)

Bo Ssam Serves 6 to 10

• 1 (8- to 10-pound) bone-in pork shoulder or pork butt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 7 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 12 oysters, shucked, for serving
• 1 cup Napa Cabbage Kimchi, for serving
• 1 cup Napa Cabbage Kimchi, pureed, for serving
• 1 cup Ginger-Scallion Sauce, for serving
• 1 cup Ssam Sauce, for serving
• 2 cups steamed short-grain white rice, for serving
• 3 heads Romaine lettuce, leaves separated, washed and spun dry
• Sea salt

Place pork in a large bowl or roasting pan. In a medium bowl, mix together granulated sugar and 1 cup coarse salt. Rub sugar mixture all over pork and cover bowl with plastic wrap; transfer to refrigerator for at least 6 hours and up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Transfer pork to a large roasting pan, discarding any accumulated juices (or drain accumulated juices from roasting pan that pork is in). Transfer roasting pan to oven and cook, basting every hour with rendered fat in roasting pan, until meat is tender and easily shredded with a fork, about 6-7 hours.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together remaining tablespoon coarse salt and brown sugar; rub mixture all over pork.

Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. Return pork to oven until sugar has melted into a crisp crust, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with oysters, kimchis, ginger-scallion sauce, ssam sauce, rice, lettuce, and sea salt.

Ssam Sauce
• 1 tablespoon ssamjang (soybean and chile-pepper paste)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kochujang (Korean chile-pepper paste)
• 1/4 cup sherry-wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Sauce may be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Cucumber Salad
• 3 # pickling cukes
• 1 medium onion, thin slice
• 1 Tbs. Kosher salt
• 3 ½ Tbs. lemon juice
• ¼ tsp. cayenne
• 2 Tbs. roasted, crushed sesame seeds
• 1 ½ Tbs. sesame oil
Cut cucumbers and onions in fine slices. Sprinkle with salt, mix well and set aside for 1 hour. Drain liquid, add lemon juice, cayenne, sesame seeds, and sesame oil. Serve cold or room temp.

Carrot and White Radish Salad
• 1 carrot
• ½ lb. white radish
• 1 Tbs. sesame oil
• 1 Tbs. rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• ½ tsp. sugar
• Dash of cayenne
Cut carrot and radish in julienne strips. Add salt to carrot/radish, mix well, and set aside for 1 hr. Drain thoroughly, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and cayenne.

The Food Inspector and the Chef: Salmon with sorrel sauce

2010-01-03T18:22:00Z

In 1977 when Rick O'Reilly opened La Petite Maison in Olympia, WA, I had more restaurant experience but he had a far better and more sophisticated knowledge of food. While Jeffrey Basom opened my eyes to tofu, nori, seabass, and fresh ginger, Rick had extensive experience with French cooking, good wine, fresh oysters, Austrian pastry, and choucroute. For the time and the place, La Petite's menu was ambitious and complicated: table-made Caesar salad, house-made country pate, stuffed petrale sole, coq au vin, roasted oysters, and my favorite--salmon with sorrel sauce. Who had even heard of sorrel??

When Rick's uncle left him a sizable inheritance, Rick quit his job as a Washington State health inspector and started planning his new restaurant. It reminded me of the joke about keeping bees. "What does a millionaire do with all his money?? He keeps bees until the money runs out." Owning a restaurant is an act of love--few survive and even fewer turn a profit. The bee-keeping joke can be easily adapted to address the demands on a restaurateur: "What does a someone do with 24 hours a day?? He/she operates a restaurant until the hours run out." Working as a cook in a restaurant takes all you have to give. Owning a restaurant takes it all, then you have to balance the books, fill in for the absent dishwasher, placate the food inspector, wrangle your vendors, unplug the drains, fix the dishwasher, slide around the building codes, soothe the wait staff, and when there's time--re-price the menu.

Rick opened La Petite with his eyes wide open. He'd seen plenty of behind-the-dining room grit and grime when he inspected restaurant kitchens for the State. He knew the odds of succeeding and took the plunge anyway. He had been teaching cooking classes in France during summer vacations, attending classes from respected French chefs, and exploring the Loire Valley, Provence, and the French Mediterranean coast. He was a fine cook and an excellent teacher. His menu was small but exacting. We grew a small garden in the back for herbs, shallots, and sorrel. Sorrel is easier to grow in the Northwest than it is to find.

In a recent entry in Mark Bittman's blog, "Bitten", he rhapsodizes about salmon with sorrel sauce. The recipe originated with Pierre Troisgros, one of only three French chefs whose restaurants have received three stars in the Michelin Guide for more than thirty consecutive years. Bitten's recipe is just like Rick's and I choose to believe that Rick received it directly from Mr. Troisgros during one of his fondly remembered French cooking classes. Rick was an eccentric, witty, food-obsessed, generous friend and I think of him often.

http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/sorrel-and-fish/

Pierre Troisgros' Salmon with Sorrel Sauce

2 pounds salmon
1 tablespoon peanut oil, for pounding
2 cups Fish Stock
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine, preferably Sancerre
3 tablespoons dry vermouth
1 1/4 cups creme fraiche
4 ounces sorrel leaves (about 1 quart tightly packed), washed, stemmed, and large leaves torn into two or three pieces
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper

1.Choose the thickest center section of the salmon. Using a flexible boning knife, cut apart the two fillets, and carefully remove skin.
2.With pliers, pull out the tiny bones hiding in the center of the flesh. They can be found by running fingers against the grain of the fish. Divide the fillets in half horizontally to make four pieces weighing about 6 ounces each.
3.Lightly oil two pieces of parchment paper with peanut oil. Lay one piece of parchment on a flat surface. Place fish on parchment. Top with second piece of parchment. With a wooden mallet or the side of a cleaver, gently flatten so each fillet is of equal thickness.
4.In a medium saucepan, combine fish stock and shallots. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to a glaze, 10 to 15 minutes. Add wine and vermouth, and continue to cook until bright and syrupy, about 3 minutes. Add creme fraiche, and boil until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Pass through a fine mesh sieve into a clean pan.
5.Add sorrel, and cook for 25 seconds. Remove from heat. Add butter a little at a time, swirling or stirring with a wooden spoon until completely incorporated (be sure not to break up sorrel leaves). Season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
6.Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season salmon on one side (the less presentable side) with salt and pepper. Place in pan, seasoned side up. Cook 25 seconds, turn, and cook 15 seconds more. The salmon must be undercooked to preserve its tenderness (it will continue to cook in the finished sauce).
7.Distribute sauce among four large plates. Place salmon, seasoned side down, on plates. Season with salt. Serve immediately.

Ring in the New, Celebrate the Old: Tinga, Roasted Sweet Potato Salad, Ginger Scallion Dipping Sauce

2009-12-28T00:45:00Z

Newspapers and magazines are full of 2009 best-of lists. Here (in no particular order) are my top ten blog recipes of the year:

Quinoa with lime and fresh tomatoes
Pan-roasted sea bass with warm tomato vinaigrette
Tuna Provençal: (Tuna sautéed with garlic, olives, & tomatoes)
Garbanzos and swiss chard stew
Pan-roasted corn and tomato Salad
Pasta with beets or swiss chard and Parmesan
Boeuf bourguignon
Chicken & roasted pepper lavash sandwiches
Chimichurri
Chicken posole with poblanos

While we're reminiscing, here are some of my 2009 highlights: the Obama inauguration, "Julie and Julia", "Avatar", "Slumdog Millionaire", lobster dinner in San Diego with the Fosters, the Knoxville Quilt Expo, Bob Dylan's "Together Through Life", Beyonce's "Single Ladies", "Big Love", "Mad Men", David Brooks, the surprise that was Susan Boyle, our new undercounter lighting, GInny's Tinga pork stew, dinners at Cuidad and the Dahlia, tacos in LA's Grand Central Market, pupusas at the Des Moines, IA Farmer's Market, Claes Oldenburg's "Spoonbridge and Cherry" at the Walker Art Museum, finally leaving Rapid CIty, SD, the Richard Nuetra house in Los Angeles, and breakfast with the sweetie.

Got any highlights of your own?

Des Moines Iowa Farmers' Market

Claus Oldenburg's "Spoonbridge and Cherry"

Richard Nuetra's house in Los Angeles

And here are a few new favorites that didn't get into the blog this year:

Tinga (Stewed Pork with chorizo and chipotles)

4 pound of pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound of Mexican chorizo
1 bay leaf
1 large onion coarsely chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon of thyme
3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo
1 cup of peeled, chopped ripe Roma tomatoes or 1 can diced-in-juice
4 chopped tomatillos or 1/2 jar tomatillo salsa

Garnishes:
Tortilla chips
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
Black pepper
Salt
1 avocado, large dice
Grated Cotija cheese
1 lime cut into wedges

Cut pork shoulder in 1-1 1/2" cubes. Pat pieces dry and season with salt & pepper. Heat oil and brown pieces slowly. Add chopped onion, minced garlic, oregano, and thyme to browned pork pieces and sauté for 1-2 minutes.

Peel casing from chorizo and cook the chorizo in a dry skillet until brown, about eight minutes. Drain the chorizo and add to pork pieces.

Puree the tomatoes in a blender with the chipotle peppers in adobo and add to pork/onion/chorizo mixture. Add tomatillos and 2 cups chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer in a 325 degree oven for 3-4 hours. Add salt to taste.

Serve with corn tortillas or tortilla chips, sour cream, lime wedges, and guacamole or sliced avocado. Garnish with grated cotija cheese and chopped cilantro.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

• 4 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 large onion, preferably red, chopped
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 2 tablespoons minced fresh hot chili, like jalapeño
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• Juice of 2 limes
• 2 cups cooked black beans, drained (canned are fine)
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put sweet potatoes and onions on a large baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil, toss to coat and spread out in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, turning occasionally, until potatoes begin to brown on corners and are just tender inside, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven; keep on pan until ready to mix with dressing.

Put chilies in a blender or mini food processor along with garlic, lime juice, remaining olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Process until blended.

Put warm vegetables in a large bowl with beans and bell pepper; toss with dressing and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to a day.

David Chang's Ginger Scallion Sauce (makes about 3 cups)

• 2½ cups thinly sliced scallions (greens and whites; from 1 to 2 large bunches)
• ½ cup finely minced peeled fresh ginger
• ¼ cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
• 1½ teaspoons soy sauce, preferably usukuchi (light soy sauce), found in Asian markets
• ¾ teaspoon rice wine or sherry vinegar
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

Mix together the scallions, ginger, oil, soy, vinegar, and salt in a bowl. Taste and check for salt, adding more if needed. Though it's best after 15 or 20 minutes of sitting, ginger scallion sauce is good from the minute it's stirred together up to a day or two in the fridge.

Pandora and Posole

2009-12-23T23:39:00Z

Bob and I went to James Cameron's Avatar in 3D at the IMAX in the Pacific Science Center yesterday with nephews Nick and Baxter. We left our bodies for 3 hours and I, for one, found it difficult to get back to my real world. I saw a 3D horror show in the 50s and let me tell you, "Avatar" is not your mother's 3D. The ending was a teensy bit heavy-handed, but the movie was truly an entertaining experience.

Now to the poblano part. Although posole is not your typical Christmas Eve fare, this month's issue of Bon Apetit featured "simple and speedy" stews. We tried the chicken posole and although it was neither simple nor speedy, we ate every bite. Here's the recipe slightly adapted.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Chicken posole with poblanos, avocado, & lime

• 2 large poblano chilies (the triangular-shaped dark green ones)
• 1 cans (14 ½ oz.) drained hominy
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 lbs. boned, skinned chicken breasts or thighs
• 1 Tbs. minced garlic
• ½ onion, large dice
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tsp. oregano
• ½ tsp. cumin
• ½ tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground New Mexico chilies (the ones I used were spicy--if milder, use more)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• ½ cup tomato sauce
Garnish with: lime wedges, avocado chunks, sour cream, and tortilla chips

Brine chicken pieces in a mixture of 2 Tbs. salt, 1 Tbs. sugar or Splenda and 4 cups water for 2-4 hours.

Broil or grill poblanos until blackened. Put in bowl, covered or in a plastic bag until cool.

Cut chicken into 1-2” pieces and marinate for 30 minutes in ¼ cup Frank’s Louisiana Hot Sauce, 1 tsp. chili powder, 2 Tbs. melted butter and ½ tsp. smoked salt.

Heat oil until lightly smoking and brown chicken pieces, one half at a time. Remove to a plate and reserve.

Add onion and garlic to pan and sauté until golden—3-5 minutes. Add oregano, cumin, chili powder, and New Mexico chilies to pan and sauce for 1 minute.

Add chicken broth, tomato sauce, and hominy. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes.

Remove blackened skins from poblanos and chop into large pieces. Add browned chicken pieces and poblanos to posole and simmer for 10 more minutes. Serve with garnishes.

Turkey talk

2009-11-27T22:49:00Z

I've cooked Thanksgiving dinners for 40 years, give or take a few. I've prepared a six course sit-down for fifteen complete with silver, linen, champagne, and oysters; a traditional turkey/dressing/gravy for 500 in 1984 at the LAOOC (Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee) International Cafe, countless take-out turkeys for Gelson's in Los Angeles; an three-adult/one-course/turkey only picnic eaten without utensils at the kitchen counter, and many family-style events. I've always thought that Thanksgiving dinner offered few stressful challenges and little drama. Put in the bird, sauté the vegetables for the dressing, toss it all together, mash the potatoes, make the gravy and voilà! it's done.

This year we drove to Bainbridge Island to turkey with Bob's brother Tom and his family. We were responsible for dressing, mashed potatoes, and gravy--no issues there, Tom would provide the turkey, ham, vegetables and dessert. But wait, how do you make gravy with no turkey? We bought a small turkey for the gravy, roasted it in a Calphalon pot, in at 1:00 out at 3:30, resting on the cutting board until 4:30. Expecting the usual amount of brown juice and rich turkey fat, I found instead a few cups of slightly gray bird juice and little fat. By the time I'd whisked, stirred, and scraped, the gravy was even grayer and not particularly tasty. The dressing was dry and tough, ditto on the turkey.

It took every bit as much time and effort to produce a meal that ranked below the Mendoza line in quality. Could I blame the turkey--too small, the roasting pan--too aluminumy, the oven--unpredictable? Could it be me? I felt defeated and disappointed. Have I lost my chops, did the recent surgery diminish my cooking skills, has that time come when it's just too much?? I have a new empathy for those who don't cook well--do people still like you if your cooking doesn't knock their socks off? We've eaten well for so many years that we don't know what it's like to sit down to mediocre food.

Today I'm making turkey soup, surely I can bounce back. I won't include the recipe, who knows what's going to happen.

It Never Rains: Roasted halibut w/warm tomato vinaigrette and black bean quinoa

2009-11-22T20:07:00Z

We left in the rain and returned to the rain. South of the Oregon border however, the sun favored SoCal with golden sun, balmy skies, and a gentle Santa Ana. We had a wonderful time in Los Angeles--took in a play at the Mark Taper Forum, attended a Balinese music/dance recital at the Red Hat Theater, ate enthusiastically at Cuidad (a downtown Milliken/Feniger Cuban restaurant) and Noe at the Omni (where "progressive American cuisine blends perfectly with a gentle Japanese aesthetic"). Not only did we spend money, we boosted the national economy by completely using up our tax rebate.

Bob went to the Breeder's Cup at Santa Anita, I walked down a steep hill from the downtown Omni to lunch at the Central Market--maybe the best carnitas taco I've ever had. Similar to Seattle's Pike Place Market, LA's Central Market is grittier, limited to vegetable and food stands, and familiar mostly to downtown and East LA locals. My plan to take in museums failed completely. The MOCA behind the Omni Hotel was close until the day we left and the Getty Museum in Westwood is closed on Mondays. Maybe next time. I did take an architectural tour of Silver Lake (a neighborhood north of downtown and east of Hollywood) homes designed by Richard Neutra, R.M. Schindler, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

After our California sojourn I consider my rehabilitation complete--I now walk without mechanical assistance, I drive, I cook, I blow out the garage, I garden. There remains the issue of putting on socks--I still look to Bob for help.

LIfe at the Foster's was complete relaxation--we lolled by the pool, read newspapers late into the morning, drank too many espressos, I read Paul Theroux's Dark Star (a Beth Duncan recommendation), Bob walked along the water at Pacific Beach, Karen, the girls and I spent a brisk afternoon watching the tide Pools at La Jolla Beach, and we saw 2012 and Where the Wild Things Are.

Foster is still committed to his healthier diet so we experimented with quinoa--a grain I'd read about but didn't even know how to pronounce. I always assumed you'd say "kin oh aah", so imagine my surprise when I overheard someone talking about " keen wah". However it's pronounced, it's now my favorite good-for-you food. Glad to be back home--rain and all.

LA's Grand Central Market

Downtown graffiti

Richard Neutra's home in Silver Lake

Pan-roasted sea bass with warm tomato vinaigrette, quinoa pilaf and sautéed spinach

Quinoa with lime and fresh tomatoes

2 teaspoons grated lime zest
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup quinoa
1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 medium tomatoes, diced
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoons pepper in a large bowl.

Wash quinoa in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a sieve each time.

Cook quinoa in a medium pot of boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt for 2 quarts water), uncovered, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in sieve, then set sieve in same pot with 1 inch of simmering water (water should not touch bottom of sieve). Cover quinoa with a folded kitchen towel, then cover sieve with a lid (don't worry if lid doesn't fit tightly) and steam over medium heat until tender, fluffy, and dry, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat and remove lid. Let stand, still covered with towel, 5 minutes.

Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

Warm tomato vinaigrette

diced shallots
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped tomato
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds or until garlic begins to brown. Add the tomato and onions; reduce heat to medium, and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in 2 tablespoons lemon juice, vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Keep warm.

Dry 4-6 oz. fillets thoroughly. Season with smoked salt and black pepper. Brown over medium heat in olive oil for 5 minutes. Finish in 400 degree oven for four more minutes.

Serve sea bass topped with warm vinaigrette, sauteed spinach and quinoa pilaf.

It Goes Like It Goes

2009-11-03T17:17:00Z

I would consider my reconstruction nearly complete. I walk, I cook, I leap tall buildings in a single bound. There are just a few minor details: socks are still a problem--I can't put them on, I can't squat down and bounce back up (really never could), I can't lift sacks of potting soil, can't shave my legs, and may never again be nimble. I have become an expert at using the grabber-stick--I pick pins up off the floor, open drawers, remove jars from the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, and empty wastepaper baskets. All my amazing feats come to a halt, however, if I drop the grabber-stick; then I call for Bob.

The new bionic hip continues to settle in--causes almost no pain, complains less and less when slept on, is able to carry it's own weight--all in all, everything you'd want in a titanium product. We're off to SoCal on Thursday so we'll see how the new hip travels. It will most certainly delay me at the security gate. If I should have to take off my socks, I'll never see San Diego.

On a serious note, Bob's brother JIm died on Friday after a long, struggle with cancer. We picked up brother Tom, back from Florida, at the airport yesterday then drove up to Bellingham to visit the family. Jim was an old-fashioned family man, sweet, quiet and kind. He died surrounded by his wife Audrey, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He lived an honorable life and will be missed.

The below family picture was taken fifty years ago. Jim is the one in the back row with the glasses and tie.

The Zen of Cooking: Sauted Chicken with Port

2009-10-25T22:38:00Z

Restaurant work came to mind when I recently read "Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work" by Matthew Crawford, a book described http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/at large/2009/06/22/090622crat_atlarge_sanneh?currentPage=all as a 21st century update to Robert Pirsig's classic, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." Crawford's book bemoans the closing of high school shop classes to free up funds for more computer labs, in effect pointing everyone to college to pursue mental rather than physical labor. Crawford finds beauty and pleasure in physical work that creates tangible objects and finds little joy in Dilberts that sit behind desks filling out forms while dreaming of "tricking out their bikes".

Restaurant work is blue-collar labor that offer a daily "do-over". Every day ends with a cash register tally of meals served and the following day offers another opportunity to do it better. Next to the Sound Food prep kitchen where I worked, Bob Long continually trained a revolving door of young would-be bakers while simultaneously producing three baker's racks of bread, baguettes, cookies, bear claws, brioche, pies, and cakes. Bob understood bread so thoroughly that once I heard him tell a probie who asked how long to mix the dough, "Just listen, you can tell by the sound of the dough as it slaps against the Hobart". And this in a bakery with the tinny radio turned up to painful.

Cooking on the line in a restaurant offers the opportunity to experience total absorption in loosing time while working. A restaurant kitchen line usually includes a grill cook, at least one sauté cook, an expediter (he/she's the guy who reads the meal tickets as they come in, assigns the menu items to the correct cook, and deals with the runners who deliver the food), a pantry person, and a pastry/dessert person. When the line consists of skilled cooks who can focus amidst chaos, a busy night becomes an exhilarating rush, a flowing, engrossing, dance where thought becomes action and time disappears. Overlapping table tickets each with "sauce on the side, no onions, hold the cheese, leave out the meat, allergic to shrimp" are completed only to disappear into the dining room, reappearing later as scraps for the dishwasher.

A good line cook doesn't necessarily have to be a good cook. They listen to how "the boss" wants the food to taste and look, and are able to reproduce that single lesson over and over, night after night, never loosing speed or sacrificing taste for efficiency. A line cook may prepare the same dish twenty, thirty, forty times a shift allowing the final product to be perfected and refined. Each day's work ends as you walk out the door and the next day begins with a clean slate.

I've been a Dilbert and I've been a cook. I never wondered what time it was when I was a cook.

Here's a good one from the long-gone Trumps.

Chicken with Port

Add butter to hot sauté pan. When foaming has stopped, brown chicken breast, skin side down. Pour off fat.

Add 2 T. shallots, 2 parts red Port to one part chicken stock to sauté pan with chicken.

Roast in oven for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven, remove chicken breast and keep warm.

Reduce liquid (port/chicken stock) to syrup. Add ½ c. heavy cream—reduced until thickened.

Add 2 T. stilton cheese, and whisk in 2 T. cold butter. If the cream sauce separates, just add a little water to the pan and swirl around.

WE WANT PIE! : Triple Coconut Coconut Cream Pie

2009-10-19T16:13:00Z

It's been a month. My incision is almost healed, I walk my mandatory eight blocks a day easily with a cane, I'm up to 30 reps on my exercises and can put a load of wash in. Next big hurdles are sleeping on my "bad"side, ditching the cane and the elevated toilet seat, serious cooking, driving, and going down to the garage to sew.

Yesterday was my first social venture. Bob's cousin Kyle is in Seattle for a convention so the Allens met at Tom Douglas' Palace Kitchen for dinner. Tom Douglas is the go-to guy in my mind for a Seattle food event. Bob's brother Tom, wife Allie, and sons Nick and Baxter, brother Norman, and sisters Barbara, Kathy, her daughters Amy and Alysia and Alysia's baby met for a group gather at Tom Douglas' Palace Kitchen.

The Allen family is an exuberant, unpretentious group famous for spontaneity and high drama, with a serious ability to enjoy each other and a good get-together. With these traits in mind, clock-like precision doesn't immediately spring to mind. But clock-like it was: everyone seated together in a busy restaurant on the appointed time, minds at the task of ordering, baby being passed around the table like a new toy, seat-mates catching up on family news. Unbelievable how disparate units can come together precisely at the same time: from Olympia, Auburn, Bellingham, Bainbridge, Everett, Minneapolis, and Tacoma. Boggles the mind.

I've yet to have a bad dining experience at one of Tom's places and last night fit right in. Burgers were popular--don't even talk about those French fries--roasted pork loin, apple-wood grilled chicken and hangar steak, Coho salmon, stuffed pasta. Then we somehow managed to wedge in tastes of coconut cream pie. Altogether a wonderful event, worthy of celebration.

Here's a link to the Douglas empire http://www.tomdouglas.com/ , a few pictures, an on-line menu, and a recipe for Tom's famous Coconut Cream Pie.

Appetizers
seared scallops roasted plums, basil and sweet corn 15
palaceville bratwurst apple-cabbage choucroute 8
sautéed coastal chanterelles cherry tomatoes and grilled bread 10
palace olive poppers with herbed sour cream 7
wood grilled chicken wings coriander cream 9
"plin" a piedmontese style ravioli filled with roast pork and chard 14/18
penn cove mussels roasted in the fire bavarian meats bacon, leeks, apples 14
local oysters picked celery and tobasco 3 each
goat cheese and lavender fondue grilled bread and apples 10
semolina fried oysters lemony tartar sauce 10

Salads and Soups
newaukum valley beets sheep's milk feta and pistachios 7
enormous garlic crouton and romaine lettuce with parmesan dressing 8
roasted parsnip soup bacon, frisee and chive 7
Hand Crafted American Cheese
Cheeses
camellia
great hill blue
mad river roll
schloss
thomasville tomme
$5. to try one cheese ~ $20. to try all five

Entrées
martha's telme cheese and potato ravioli with cherry tomatoes and walla walla onion 18
sautéed alaskan halibut summer squash, cranberry beans and parmesan - leek broth 28
palace burger royale wood grilled oregon country beef with nearly traditional accompaniments and fries 15
roasted cauliflower gratin caramelized onions, gruyere, bartlett pear 18

From The Apple Wood Grill served with lacinato kale and yukon gold mashed potatoes
grilled alaskan king salmon fresh corn grits, roasted chanterelles, basil croutons 28
oregon country beef hanger steak chanterelle mushrooms 26
washington chicken cascade huckleberries 21
whole idaho trout meyer lemon and sea salt 23

Tom Douglas' Triple Coconut Coconut Cream Pie

Coconut Pie Shell
•   1 cup plus 2 Tbs. flour
•   ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
•   1 stick cubed, cold unsalted butter
•   2 tsp. sugar
•   ¼ tsp. salt
•   1/3 cup ice water

In a food processor, combine the flour, coconut, cubed butter, sugar, and salt. Pulse to form coarse crumbs. Gradually add the ice water, one Tbs. at a time, pulsing each time. Use only as much water as necessary for dough to hold together when pressed between your fingers.

Dump dough on plastic wrap and form it into a flattened disk. Chill for one hour before using. Roll dough and trim to fit pie pan. Chill for one hour. Place round of foil on bottom of crust and fill with beans or pie weights. Bake in pre-heated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and beans/weights and return crust to oven for 10 more minutes

Coconut Pastry Cream
•     2 cups milk
•     2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
•     1 tsp. vanilla
•     2 large eggs
•     1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
•     3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
•     1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Combine the milk, vanilla, and coconut in a medium saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and stir occasionally until the mixture almost comes to a boil.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and flour until well combined. Temper the eggs (to keep them from scrambling) by pouring a small amount (about 1/3 Cup) of the scalded milk into the egg mixture while whisking. Then add the warmed egg mixture to the saucepan of milk and coconut.

Whisk over medium-high heat until the pastry cream thickens and begins to bubble. Keep whisking until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the butter and whisk until it melts.

Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and place it over a bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally until it is cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a crust from forming and refrigerate until completely cold. The pastry cream will thicken as it cools.

When the pastry cream is cold, fill the pre-baked pie shell with it, smoothing the surface.

In a mixer with the whip attachment, whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla on medium speed. Gradually increase the speed to high and whip to peaks that are firm enough to hold their shape. Top coconut cream with whipped cream. To garnish, shave white chocolate with vegetable peeler over the top of the pie.

Who watches the watcher?

2009-10-07T17:11:00Z

I've become a watcher. I watch Bob vacuum, water the plants, fold the clothes, empty the dishwasher, and unload the groceries. I watch football, baseball, daytime television, the weather, the big trees across the street dancing in the wind, the ongoing battle for syrup between the hummingbirds and the wasps, the gradual lightening of the morning sky, the noisy parade of green garbage trucks, the daily walks of familiar dogs, the worker bees mowing, pruning, patting, and tending the solid, square neighborhood houses.

I'm usually a doer--the vacuumer, gardener, cook; but this hippy thing has changed my role. After major surgical body invasion, we seem to hold the offending body part (for me, it's always the legs) literally at a distance--a thing apart. As my hip heals, it's becoming part of me again. Pain has dissolved into discomfort, itchiness, and the occasional twinge as the left hip settles back in to being part of a whole.

My fog has lifted--due in no small part to the absence of pain pills--and I have a hand in own my life again. I take showers, wash my hair, make a coffee, hang up my clothes, wash a dish or two and make decisions, but I miss the doing. I miss making the bed, sweeping the courtyard, cooking, driving, weeding--the ordinary acts of life. Peter Devries, in "The Blood of the Lamb", writes eloquently about a discussion among old WW II veterans reminiscing about their wartime experiences and "the best moment in their lives". Each describes a wrenching, temporary loss and the joy that the return to the commonplace, perhaps previously discounted, brought to their lives.

Luckily for me, there was no wrenching loss but I am still looking forward with glee to a return to my common routine.

What's wrong girl? Is Timmy in the well?

2009-10-01T19:49:00Z

During my September visit to Knoxville, Lara (my daughter-in-law), Ronnie (my son-in-law) and I were having a discussion on the scope of canine intelligence. Lara, owned by Lucy the Bishon, loves dogs and credits them with an innate ability to make decisions. Ronnie, owner of Louie the mixed breed, doubts that dogs deliberate but instead can read visual or subtle clues from their human friends and respond accordingly.

I am squarely with Ronnie in the they're-not-THAT-smart camp. These two opposing groups consist of people from all walks of life, irrespective of gender, age, race, religion, sexual preference or whether they watch "Jon & Kate Plus Eight".

Lara told of Lucy's concern and her caring gestures when Lara has a migraine. Lucy doesn't leave Lara's side on a good day, so when Lara is laid horizontal in a darkened room with the covers up to her ears, Lucy is sure to be there. Lara insisted that Lucy knows she has a migraine and will lay as close as possible to her head providing as much warmth and comfort a three-pound dog can. Ronnie and I scoffed, insisting that Lucy was only responding to visual clues and was not thinking through the situation and making corresponding choices.

Last night Bob and I were watching Evening Magazine's fluff piece about "Quirky Pets". Although I'm not ready to change parties, Henry the pug's ability to select a specific toy from his collection is hard to dismiss.

Please forgive the intrusion if you, like me, would rather people didn't send you cute animal videos. Henry's part is about three minutes into the tape.

http://www.king5.com/video/eveningmagazine-index.html?nvid=403522