“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
Welcome to Refrigerator Confidential Day #5! We are not running out of food yet, nor ideas for using what’s left. I think we are doing a good job this week getting through most of the produce we bought last Saturday.
Wednesday’s Meals with Recipes:
Breakfast
Oatmeal with Granny Smith Apples
Green Tea
Freshly Pressed Ginger Kombucha
Lunch
Quesadilla with Gruyere, Green Peppers, Jalapeños & Swiss Chard
*1/3 cup regular oatmeal {not instant or quick cooking}
Scant 2/3 cup milk of your choice {or you can use water}
Pinch sea salt
1/2 Granny Smith apple, or other apple variety of your choice, diced small {you can leave the peel on if you wish}
Put the oatmeal, milk, salt and apple in a microwave safe bowl. The bowl should hold 2-3 cups so that the oatmeal doesn’t boil up and over the edge in the microwave. Cook, uncovered, on high for 1 minute, stir, cook for another minute, stir, and then cook for about 1 more minute. Take out and let stand for a few minutes, for the oats to absorb the milk. Top with whatever you like on your oatmeal. I tried roasted peanuts & a small plop of peanut butter & thought it was pretty tasty.
*I use 1/3 cup oatmeal for 1 serving for me. My husband likes a larger serving, so for him I use 1/2 cup oatmeal and a scant 1 cup milk.
Snip any thorns off of the leaves, slice off the top third of the artichoke and trim the stem so the artichoke can stand upright, removing as little as possible from the base. Rinse the artichokes well, pulling the leaves apart to get out any dirt or critters. If they are large, you can cut them in half lengthwise, so they will better fit into your steamer. Rub the cut sides with a lemon to prevent browning.
Put your lovely artichokes into the steamer basket over boiling water. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until a leaf pulls out easily when tugged. Serve immediately, with melted butter, mayonnaise or Lemon Aioli. If you want to serve the artichokes cold, drop them in an ice bath to stop the cooking, then drain on a kitchen towel in the refrigerator until until ready to serve.
Lemon Aioli
About 2/3 cup mayonnaise {homemade or store bought}
1 clove garlic, mashed into a paste with kosher salt or put through a garlic press
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste {I put more pepper than one would think prudent; it can take quite a bit.}
Fresh lemon juice to taste
Mix all ingredients & chill if not serving immediately.
Relish Plate
Put whatever you want on your relish plate! We have green onions, pickled beets & sauerkraut.
Welcome to Day #4 of Refrigerator Confidential! I’m not sure if you noticed, but we can sure tell that the fridge has more room to move around. Even though it’s great to have a well-stocked refrigerator, it is fun to “eat it down” and look forward to starting all over again on Saturday.
Tuesday’s Meals with Recipes:
Breakfast
Me- leftover baked potato from yesterday’s lunch, 1/2 grapefruit, Breakfast “Borscht”
My husband- same as the last 2 days {plain yogurt, nuts, dried fruit, local honey}
Lunch
Roasted Carrot Soup
Ryvita Crackers with Organic Cultured Butter
I was going to blend up a frozen banana and some plain yogurt to make a banana lassi {although I don’t think you would use frozen fruit in a lassi}, and then it occurred to me that pickled beets and yogurt would be a good combination {think chilled beet borscht with a dollop of sour cream top}. Mine would be kind of a speedy version of chilled beet borscht. A big spoonful of pickled beets, with a creamy cloud of plain yogurt swirled in, and a sprinkle of dill and voila, “borscht”! I tasted it, and thought that some capers would add a nice punch of flavor, and indeed they did. I love capers! Actually, I just learned on the Splendid Table podcast last week that capers are more properly called caper buds, because they are the bud of the caper flower {from the caper plant} before it opens. When the flower drops off, what is left is a caper berry, which looks like a giant caper bud. I have never tried caper berries, but I hear that they are not quite as pungent as the caper buds. Had I not eaten the baked potato, I would have enjoyed my yogurt with a buttered Ryvita {a buttered Ryvita is always good}.
Roasted Carrot Soup adapted from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen
This is another of my favorite soup recipes from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen . I think I have mentioned before that it is my favorite soup cookbook, and Madison is my favorite cookbook author.
1 pound carrots, cut into chunks
2 small potatoes, cut into chunks
1 large onion, cut into chunks
5 garlic cloves, peeled
2-4 tbsp olive oil {I used 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil}
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 hefty thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf {I used 2}
*1 quart vegetable stock or water
1/2 cup light cream {I used 2% milk, and the soup was delicious. I don’t think I’ve ever made it with cream.}
2-3 tbsp creme fraiche or sour cream, stirred with a fork until loosened {I used plain yogurt, but would use one of the other choices if I had them on hand.}
Fresh minced parsley or chives
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F {I used 375 degrees F.}. Toss the vegetables with the olive oil and season with 1/2 tsp salt and some pepper. Put them in a large baking dish sprayed with pan spray for easy cleanup {I used a 9″x13″ Pyrex baking dish.}, along with the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Roast until tender and glazed, about 1 hour, turning them 2-3 times.
Transfer the vegetables to a soup pot, add stock or water and bring to the boil. Simmer until the carrots are soft, about 20″, then puree until smooth. An immersion blender is a great tool for this-very quick and easy. Return the puree to the pot {if you used a blender}, taste for salt, and season with pepper. Stir in the cream or milk.
Ladle the soup into bowls, swirl in a spoonful of creme fraiche, sour cream or yogurt into each, top with minced parsley and serve piping hot. Delicious and super healthy!
Makes about 4 servings {6 cups}.
*I used to make homemade vegetable stock for soup until I read Deborah Madison say that if you have great vegetables, you can use water in lieu of stock. So unless a soup calls for a specific stock {i.e. red stock for tortilla soup, mushroom stock, etc.}, I use water and the soup is great. I do not care for store bought vegetable stock.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
We had a tasty little wine and cheese pupu {appetizer} while waiting for our Orange and Molokai Purple Sweet Potato Fries to roast.
Orange and Molokai Purple Sweet Potato Fries
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Roasted Orange and Molokai Purple Sweet Potatoes
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Make sure you have a rack positioned on the bottom of your oven.
3 potatoes will fill up a half-sheet pan-use 2 pans if you want more fries
Cut potatoes so they are approximately the same size; you can cut them into any shape you want {slices, wedges, French fries…}. Place potatoes on a sheet pan that has been lined with foil, sprayed with pan spray {they will stick if you don’t} and drizzled with olive oil. Season with kosher or sea salt, freshly ground pepper and red pepper flakes. The red pepper flakes add a great spicy counterpoint to the sweetness of the potatoes; I wouldn’t leave them out, but if you aren’t a fan of spicy, by all means don’t use them. I love spicy!!
Roast the potatoes on the bottom oven rack until they are browned and starting to get crispy, stirring occasionally. They will be tender in about 20 minutes, but leave them in longer so they will brown and crisp up. The purple potatoes can get dried out if you leave them in too long, so keep an eye on them after 20 minutes or so.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Steamed Beet Greens
Fresh beet greens {1 pound will serve 2-4 people}
Extra virgin olive oil
Butter
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
Sherry vinegar or lemon juice
Wash greens well, making sure water is clear, as beet greens can be quite dirty. Discard any tough stems {or cut small & sauté} and roughly chop the greens. Spin them mostly dry, but leave some water clinging to the leaves for steaming. Put greens in a pot large enough to hold them, cover and cook over medium high heat until tender, 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally so they do not burn or stick. When the greens are tender, season with a little butter, olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. If desired, sprinkle with a bit of sherry vinegar or lemon juice.
Welcome to Day #3 of Refrigerator Confidential! This week, you are up close and personal with our refrigerator. You can see what we buy at the Saturday Upcountry Farmers Market, and how we prepare it during the week. It’s kind of a game for us {a very tasty game I might add}, and the goal is to eat all or most of the food by Friday, and end up with lots of empty bags to fill up at the market on Saturday. Sometimes we are successful, and sometimes we don’t do so well. The refrigerator’s Friday appearance has to do with how many times we eat out during the week {restaurants, beach BBQs, etc.}, as well as how motivated we are to take the time to wash the greens, broccoli, etc. and cook them. Sometimes it’s easier to throw a salad together, with the already washed lettuce, than to wash and steam the broccoli; I think you know what I mean.
Monday’s Meals:
Breakfast
Me- The little bit of chili and brown rice that was leftover from yesterday
My husband- Nancy’s Low-fat Plain Yogurt with local honey, dried Maui pineapple, dried Maui apple bananas & coconut flakes, roasted peanuts & walnuts
Freshly Pressed Ginger Kombucha {1 bottle is almost gone already!}
Green tea
Lunch
Gerald’s Eggs with Red Peppers & Parmesan {these eggs are a kind of open-face omelette/frittata that Gerald made up~really good}
Baked potato with butter {we shared a potato}
Caesar Salad
Avocado
Dinner
I worked tonight, so we didn’t eat the same thing. We usually do, but it did’t work out this time because there was only 1 piece of Chicken Cacciatore left…for me!
Me- Chicken Cacciatore, broccoli & 1/2 grapefruit {and a piece of chocolate~ Lindt Dark Chocolate with Black Currants!!!}
My husband- sandwich on Dave’s Killer Bread {sometimes we will break down & buy a loaf of bread, if we run out of homemade bread…we like Dave’s} with Gruyere cheese, lots of arugula and mayonnaise {he said it was really good}, broccoli
Welcome to Day #2 of Refrigerator Confidential! This week, I’m taking you inside our refrigerator so you can see what we buy at the Saturday Upcountry Farmers Market, and what we do with it throughout the week. It’s kind of a game for us {a very tasty game I might add}, and the goal is to eat all or most of the food by Friday, and end up with lots of empty bags to fill up at the market on Saturday. Sometimes we are successful, and sometimes we don’t do so well.
Yesterday I told you in words and pictures what we bought at the market. I didn’t say anything about what else was in the refrigerator. We had {not an exhaustive list, by any means}:
leftover homemade chili
leftover brown rice
cooked broccoli
homemade mustard vinaigrette
beets, which I cooked and pickled yesterday
Sunday’s Meals with links to recipes:
Breakfast Me- Nancy’s Low-fat Plain Yogurt with olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin; broccoli with a drizzle of mustard vinaigrette
My husband- Nancy’s Low-fat Plain Yogurt with local honey, dried Maui pineapple, dried Maui apple bananas & coconut flakes, roasted peanuts & walnuts
Freshly Pressed Ginger Kombucha {1 bottle is almost half gone already!}
Green tea
Lunch
Leftover chili & brown rice {they’re almost gone!}
Salad of kale, arugula, pickled beets, Maui onion, Wakame & Ginger Sauerkraut Salad with mustard vinaigrette
Broccoli with olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper, Parmesan and toasted sliced almonds
Dinner Baked salmon with mayonnaise and Sweet Ginger Chili sauce {similar to Thai sweet chili sauce, but with healthier ingredients} Caesar salad with homemade croutons and avocado
Pickled Beets
4 fresh beets, scrubbed and steamed until tender {about 45 minutes for medium size beets}
Onion, sliced {as much as you like, or none}
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp whole peppercorns
2 small bay leaves {or 1 large}
When beets are tender when pierced with a knife, let them cool until you can handle them comfortably. Peel off the skins, and cut them into whatever shape you like. Put them into a container with a tight lid, so you can turn them upside down to distribute the pickling liquid. If you are using onions, layer them in with the beets. I usually use a quart mason jar. In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring them to the boil, stirring to ensure that the sugar gets dissolved. Pour over beets and onions. There will not be enough liquid to cover your beets, so turn the container upside down occasionally, and shake to distribute the liquid. They will get tastier as they marinate longer.
This is going to be an express post, because I have a lot of things I want to get done today, but I want to tell you about our new favorite way to eat asparagus . . . just in case you get your hands on some fresh asparagus. To our great delight, a new crop of Maui-grown asparagus has hit the Upcountry Farmers Market! If asparagus isn’t available in your area just yet, don’t fret-spring is coming your way soon. Just for the record, I love thick spears of asparagus; I want to know that I am biting into something. We enjoy asparagus steamed, then topped with freshly squeezed lemon/lime juice, freshly ground salt and pepper and homemade mayonnaise. It’s also fantastic roasted in a hot oven, after rolling around in some extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground salt and pepper and sprigs of fresh thyme. I was looking for ideas in my newest Deborah Madison book, Vegetable Literacy, and found a way to cook asparagus that we think is genius, not to mention downright delicious. It is pretty much the same technique as this green been recipe I shared with you a few months ago, which is our new favorite way to eat green beans.
Griddled Asparagus
adapted from Vegetable Literacy {Madison}
1 bunch asparagus
olive oil, for coating asparagus
kosher salt
Maldon Sea Salt, or other flaky sea salt, to finish
freshly ground pepper
If you are using asparagus with thick spears, peel the lower parts so they will be tender. Toss the spears with olive oil to coat {you don’t need a lot} and season lightly with salt. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
When the pan is hot, add your asparagus. Don’t move it around just yet; you want some color to form on the spears that are in contact with the pan. When you see some beautiful browned spots on your asparagus, toss the spears around in the pan. You do not need to methodically move them one by one. Keep the heat on medium high and continue cooking the asparagus for several more minutes, until they are tender when poked with a sharp knife. Some of the larger spears may still be a little al dente {crisp}, but I assure you they will be perfectly delicious.
Serve the griddled asparagus on a platter sprinkled with whatever crunchy salt you have selected. Although I think it is perfect just like this, without any other additions, Madison suggests rolling the cooked spears around in Tarragon Butter and a few other sauces from her book. I greatly respect Madison’s opinions when it comes to making delicious food, so I will probably try some of these sauces in the future.
A few tidbits about cranberries. . .
~ The cranberry is native to North America.
~ Cranberries bounce because of air pockets inside the fruit. They are also called bounceberries.
~ If you were to string all of the cranberries harvested in North America last year, it would reach from Boston to Los Angeles more than 565 times!
Some time ago, I posted a few ways that we like to eat plain yogurt. Cranberry season is here, which means we can swirl some raw cranberry orange relish into creamy plain yogurt for a delicious breakfast treat. Topped with walnuts & a sprinkling of raw cacao nibs, it makes a great breakfast with a piece of toast and some tea. As I mentioned in a previous post, our favorite yogurt is Nancy’s.
Nancy’s Plain Yogurt
When you open up a new yogurt, stir it well until all the lumps are out and it is super creamy. Add whatever you like to make a healthy and delicious breakfast.
Plain Yogurt with Cranberry Orange Relish & Broken Walnuts
You could stop with the cranberry orange relish {recipe here} and walnuts, or do as I did and sprinkle a few raw cacao nibs over the top. In one fell swoop, you can boost the taste & the nutrition of your creamy bowl of yogurt. What a deal!
Try some raw cacao nibs on your bowl of yogurt!
I enjoy having some toast with my yogurt. It adds somewhat of a “savory” bite to counter the yogurt’s sweetness, even though this yogurt isn’t super sweet, since it only contains a bare minimum of sugar. I wrote about this bread before, but it’s worth revisiting. It is simple to make & tasty to eat.
Date Walnut Cinnamon Bread with Star fruit
Better eat it quickly, because the butter is almost melted! I prefer my butter sitting on top in cold, thin slices. Mmmmmm! This bread is just about as good as cinnamon rolls, but a lot easier and quicker to make. With the cranberry orange relish, more fruit isn’t really required, but the star fruit makes a pretty addition to the plate. Aren’t they cute? Star fruit is a tropical fruit whose season runs from July-February in the U.S. It is a good source of Vitamin C, potassium and fiber. According to Food Chemistry, star fruit is a good source of antioxidants, particularly the kind found in green tea and red wine.
1 1/4 cups / 300 ml warm water (105-115F) 2 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 cup/140 grams whole wheat flour
1 cup/100 grams oats
1 cup/125 grams unbleached white flour
3 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
5 dates, snipped into small pieces
1 cup broken walnuts
2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing {you probably won’t need it all}
In a medium bowl, sprinkle the yeast onto the warm water and stir until the yeast dissolves. Stir in the honey and set aside for a few minutes, until the yeast blooms and swells a bit – 5 – 10 minutes.
In the meantime, mix the flours, oats, salt, cinnamon, dates and walnuts in a large bowl. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir very well.
Brush a 9” x 5” loaf pan {8 cup} generously with some of the melted butter. Turn the dough into the tin, cover with a clean, slightly damp cloth, and set in a warm place for 30 minutes, to rise.
Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C, with a rack in the middle. When ready, bake the bread for 35-40 minutes, until golden and pulling away from the sides of the pan. I finish things up by leaving the bread under the broiler for just a heartbeat – to give the top a bit deeper color. Remove from oven, and turn the bread out of the pan quickly. Let it cool on a rack so it doesn’t steam in the pan. Serve warm with butter.
“If you’re busy, never cook for one meal; always cook for two or three. Put it in the freezer, but it doesn’t have to encore in the same form.” Lynne Rossetto Kasper
Kula Black Raspberries
Who knew? Not me. I had no idea that some nice farmer is growing black raspberries, on Maui, for our eating pleasure {in November!!!}. My husband purchased these beauties at the Upcountry Farmers Market. What a pleasant surprise!
Luscious Fresh Berries
Black Raspberries with Cream & Powdered Sugar
We love fresh berries with a dribble of heavy organic cream and a flurry of powdered
sugar. . .pure bliss.
Unlike other easier to eat berries, cranberries elicit strong opinions from those who either love them or loathe them. We happen to enjoy cranberries, and have a few favorite ways to use them. I should say that I am talking about fresh cranberries, not the dried ones. We do like dried cranberries, but they are not the same healthy powerhouse as the fresh variety.
Fresh Cranberries
Once the berries are dried, the sugar and calorie content skyrocket. Fresh berries are only available a few months of the year, so if you want them year round, you will need to buy them now and squirrel them away for another day. We like to rinse fresh cranberries in a colander, blot them dry and then put them on a parchment-lined sheet pan for a short stint in the freezer; this will prevent them from freezing into a solid block of cranberries, which will not be user friendly. If you do not have parchment paper, a flexible cutting board works well, but I do not recommend using waxed paper, as it tears easily from being wet and it will be harder to remove the frozen berries. Once the berries are frozen, pop them into a freezer bag and enjoy them whenever you like, in breads, cookies, hot cereal, smoothies or relish.
Ready for the freezer!
One of our favorite cranberry recipes is for fresh cranberry orange relish. We also like cooked cranberry relish, but this is what we make most often. We have significantly reduced the sugar for our tastes, but you can certainly adjust it for yours. I enjoy this relish the most on plain yogurt {yum!} with big pieces of walnuts. It is also good to have a spoonful on a green salad, or with any traditional cranberry-friendly foods.
Cranberry Orange Relish
Fresh Cranberry Orange Relish
adapted from Superfoods Rx.: Fourteen Foods that will Change Your Life {Steven Pratt, M.D. and Kathy Matthews}
12 ounces fresh or *frozen cranberries, rinsed and drained
1 unpeeled orange {preferably organic}, washed, cut into eighths and seeded
1/3 cup sugar {the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup}
Put the cranberries, orange slices and sugar into a food processor. Process until everything is evenly chopped. Chill until ready to eat. *If you use frozen cranberries, partially thaw them before processing, or you will end up with a big cranberry orange ice ball.
The relish gets better as it sits and the flavors mingle.
Makes about 3 cups
Kale Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
We enjoyed several kale salads last week, all of them with cranberry vinaigrette. The tart-sweet of the vinaigrette pairs perfectly with kale’s bitterness and the creaminess of fresh goat cheese. A few other ingredients make this salad a winner. Not to mention the fact that the dressing is a gorgeous hue of creamy cranberry pink. It looks kind of like raspberry gelato. I apologize for the lack of photo-we ate all the dressing.
Kale Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette I made several versions of this salad recently, this being the most elaborate with the addition of canned tuna.You can put in whatever you like, but I think the most important additions are the goat cheese {for creaminess} & the toasted walnuts {pair excellently with the goat cheese and cranberries, and for a toasty CRUNCH}.
Kale, enough for 2 salads, washed, dried well & torn into bite-size pieces
Thinly sliced sweet onion {or red}
1 avocado
1 can tuna {we use Wild Planet}; optional Fuyu persimmon, washed and thinly sliced {I don’t peel them, but you can if you like.}
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
Toasted walnuts
Fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Cranberry Vinaigrette {recipe below}
Put the kale into 2 bowls and dribble with enough dressing to moisten. Top with onion, avocado, tuna {if using}, tomatoes, crumbled goat cheese and walnuts. Put a ring of persimmon slices around the edge of the bowl. Add a grind of salt & pepper then top with dressing.
2 servings
Cranberry Vinaigrette 2/3 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (or tangerine juice)
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Combine cranberries, sugar, and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook about 5-10 minutes, or until the cranberries pop. Remove from the heat and let cool. Pour cooled cranberry mixture into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Add the mustard and orange juice and blend. With the motor running, stream in the olive oil. Season dressing with salt and pepper.
Makes about 2 cups dressing
Did you know that. . .
Fresh cranberries:
* are low in calories {44/cup}
* are high in fiber
* are low in sugar
* aid in the prevention of urinary tract infections {UTIs} by preventing bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract lining
* are high in phenols which are plant chemicals known to be highly protective against many health problems {i.e. toxic to cancer tumor cells}
* helps to prevent bacterial adhesion to teeth and the stomach lining, preventing dental plaque and ulcers, respectively
Information from: The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth {Jonny Bowden, Ph. D., C.N.S.}
“Fermented foods help people stay healthy,” Sandor Katz author of New York Times best-selling book “The Art of Fermentation.”
Before we get to the heart of the matter of cultured foods, here is a photo of yesterday’s sky. I was at the pool and the sky was so beautiful I had to take a picture. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but you get the idea.
My husband and I do a good job of learning about what constitutes a healthy lifestyle in terms of eating and exercise, and then we implement what we have learned to the best of our abilities. Our latest foray into healthy eating is fermented {cultured} foods. Please understand that in no way do I consider myself an expert on cultured foods; I am far from an expert, and know just enough to be dangerous. We have been eating cultured foods for years, because we enjoy them, but have intentionally added more into our diet because of the health benefits. Here are some of our favorite cultured foods, all of which we buy at Mana Foods, for those of you on Maui: ~ Yogurt– Nancy’s Yogurt {contains 11 different culture strains} has been a staple for more than a decade. ~ Sauerkraut and Fermented Pickles- We have recently started purchasing sauerkraut that is raw and unpasteurized, so that the beneficial microbes are available to us. One of our favorite brands is Sonoma Brinery. Farmhouse Culture makes fantastic sauerkraut as well. I LOVE their Smoked Jalapeno Kraut; I don’t find it at all smoky, but perfectly spicy! My husband prefers the Ginger Beet flavor, which I also like, but not as much as the Smoked Jalapeno. Both of these companies offer excellent products that are reasonably priced. If you want sauerkraut, these are a must try! ~ Kombucha– We drink a little kombucha most days. Our kombucha comes from Maui Kombucha. ~ GoodBelly Probiotic Drink– This is a delicious nondairy nectar-like drink. My favorite flavor is Mango. If you sign up for their Goodbelly Challenge, they will email you some coupons! ~ Sour Cream- We often spoon a bit of cultured sour cream on our quesadillas. Sour cream is always a yummy addition to a spicy dish. ~ Tempeh– Tempeh is a fermented soy product from Indonesia. Our current favorite way to eat tempeh is seasoned with freshly ground salt and pepper and sautéed in a bit of coconut oil until golden brown. Eat with ketchup and you have something that resembles French fries. A heavy drizzle of Sriracha Sauce is a great addition, if you like a little mouth burn, like I do. We also make a delicious sandwich that we call a “TLT” meaning Tomato, Lettuce and Tempeh. It is fantastic on toasted ciabatta bread. Our tempeh is in the freezer until we are ready to eat it, and then it thaws very quickly. ~ Miso- I like kale salad with Outstanding Miso Sesame Dressing. There is also miso soup, which is delicious!
Here are a few of the cultured foods we’ve enjoyed in the last few days:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Tempeh Sautéed in Organic Coconut Oil
Slice tempeh into approximately 1/2 inch slices. Spray skillet {we use cast iron} with pan spray, then melt about 1 tbsp. of coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add the tempeh slices. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper to taste. Sauté, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Serve hot with ketchup and Sriracha Sauce, or whatever you like.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Yogurt with Pineapple, Peach and Cranberry Preserves
Put some yogurt in a bowl, and top with homemade preserves, and your choice of any or all of the following toppings: unsweetened coconut, maple syrup {the real stuff please, preferably Grade B}, good quality honey, cinnamon, cacao nibs, nuts, hemp seeds, ground flax seeds, Buckwheat Chia Crunch or anything else you’d like.
Pineapple, Peach and Cranberry Preserves
**This is really more of a guideline than a specific recipe. You can adjust everything to your taste, including changing the fruits to what you have available.
1 Maui Gold pineapple
1 quart chunked fresh or frozen peaches
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cinnamon stick
approximately 1 tbsp. good quality honey
Juice of 1/2 a juicy lemon
Grind of salt
Get a Maui Gold pineapple if you can {we buy ours at Costco, maybe Mainland Costco sells them also-I think they do}, otherwise a “regular” fresh pineapple will do. Cut up the pineapple into chunks {see previous pineapple blog post}. Put all of the pineapple chunks into a wide-mouthed saucepan {for better evaporation of the liquid}. Add 1 quart of peach chunks {we used the peaches we froze in August} and 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries. You can certainly use a different berry if you are not a cranberry fan, but you can’t really identify them as cranberries as far as taste goes . Squeeze half a lemon and add the juice, and then throw in a cinnamon stick and a grind of salt. Spoon in some good quality honey to taste. We used about 1 tbsp. Bring to a boil, and then turn down the heat and simmer on low until thickened. The timing will depend on how juicy your fruit is. The preserves will thicken as they cool.
These preserves are meant to be made and eaten within a week or so; they are not preserved, so will not keep.
These preserves also taste great with one of our new favorite breads, from 101 Cookbooks. I have made several of her bread recipes, and we have loved them all.
Photo from 101 Cookbooks
Easy Little Bread from 101 Cookbooks 1 1/4 cups / 300 ml warm water (105-115F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 cup / 4.5 oz / 125 g unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup / 5 oz / 140 g whole wheat flour
1 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g rolled oats (not instant oats)
1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing
In a medium bowl, sprinkle the yeast onto the warm water and stir until the yeast dissolves. Stir in the honey and set aside for a few minutes, until the yeast blooms and swells a bit – 5 – 10 minutes.
In the meantime, mix the flours, oats, and salt in a large bowl. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir very well.
Brush an 8-cup loaf pan {9″x5″} generously with some of the melted butter. Turn the dough into the tin, cover with a clean, slightly damp cloth, and set in a warm place for 30 minutes, to rise.
Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C, with a rack in the middle. When ready, bake the bread for 35-40 minutes, until golden and pulling away from the sides of the pan. I finish things up by leaving the bread under the broiler for just a heartbeat – to give the top a bit deeper color. Remove from oven, and turn the bread out of the pan quickly. Let it cool on a rack so it doesn’t steam in the pan. Serve warm, slathered with butter.
“There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s thoughts on enjoying the perfect pear may be true for raw pears, although I think his window is a little narrow. My new favorite way to enjoy pears is roasting them, which I will tell you about in a moment.
I try to walk most days, and enjoy listening to podcasts on my iPhone while I walk. I subscribe to a number of podcasts, several which have to do with my favorite subject-food. Here are some I highly recommend:
These podcasts are all hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, who is an American food writer and radio journalist out of Minnesota.
The Splendid Table– hour long program which is “public radio’s culinary, culture and lifestyle program which celebrates food and its ability to touch the lives and feed the souls of everyone.” Key 3– a series of discussions with great cooks about the 3 techniques or recipes that they think everyone should know How to Eat Supper/How to Eat Weekends– short shows {around 10 minutes or less} based upon the 2 books
After I baked a couple batches of Mocha Truffle Cookies Saturday, I turned off the oven and popped in some fruit. “What’s that?,” you say. Putting the fruit in after the oven is turned off? Yes indeed! I popped some pears into the oven for about 50 minutes, and what emerged was tender, juicy fruit ready to eat in a variety of ways. Look at the gorgeous browning that occurred in that short period of time.
The first time I tried this, I roasted Bosc pears and Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced. My husband thought they needed a little something extra, so he drizzled just a bit of local honey over the fruit, and a touch of freshly ground salt. As most of us know, a little salt complements the sweetness of fruit. I sprinkled the fruit with sliced almonds after it came out of the oven, and we enjoyed it with some dark chocolate. Delicious! I have also just put the fruit in with no extras, and that’s good too. Plain yogurt is excellent topped with roasted fruit, nuts, cinnamon and a sprinkle of cacao nibs.
I got the idea for roasting with the oven off from the podcast How to Eat Weekends {episode from 6 October 2011}. If you listen to the podcast, you will hear about many other foods that you can roast, but I haven’t tried anything other than apples and pears {yet!}. The beauty of this method is that it is energy efficient, it is tasty and you can use fruits or vegetables that may not have stellar flavor if eaten raw {think tomatoes, apple or pears that may be a little mushy, etc.}. I hope you will listen to this podcast and then try roasting some of your own fruits and vegetables. It is quick, easy and delicious!
Roasted Pears
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and fill with thinly {about 1/4 inch} sliced pears. Slide into the oven after you’ve turned off the heat and let the fruit “roast” for about 50 minutes. You can drizzle the fruit with honey and sprinkle with a little salt and nuts if you like. I didn’t put the nuts on before roasting, but think I will start doing this. Enjoy plain {warm or cold}, with dark chocolate or over ice cream.
Just for fun-perhaps you will find your city in this list of culinary winners from Saveur Magazine.
“The kitchen, reasonably enough, was the scene of my first gastronomic adventure. I was on all fours. I crawled into the vegetable bin, settled on a giant onion and ate it, skin and all. It must have marked me for life, for I have never ceased to love the hearty flavor of raw onions.” James Beard (1903-1985)
First of all, I have to tell you that I am super excited about the class that I signed up for, which starts this Tuesday! It’s called Science & Cooking: from Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science. It is offered through Harvard {yes, that Harvard!} and it’s free. Scientists and chefs will be getting together to teach this course about the science of cooking. Check it out!
This week’s farmers market find- freshly dug sweet Maui onions! Yum! We have been waiting for these & now they are here.
Just about everyone has an opinion about onions. We go through a lot of onions at our house, which is a good thing, because onions are a healthy food to eat, and they add great flavor to food. We love all kinds of onions- green onions {aka scallions}, shallots, leeks, white onions, pearl onions, yellow onions and sweet onions {Maui, Walla Walla, Texas Sweets, Vidalia, etc.}. They can be enjoyed raw, cooked or caramelized so that they are brown, sweet and jammy. This onion was delicious in a salad with arugula, steamed beets and thinnings from the basil seeds I planted a few weeks ago {apologies to those who will not be growing basil outside for awhile!}.
I hadn’t thought to pair basil with arugula, but it was a good match. I consulted the Flavor Bible, which is one of my favorite books, and that is where I saw that basil and arugula go well together. I dressed this salad with my usual arugula salad dressing of fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground salt and pepper. I have not always been an onion lover. Like many kids, I ate my spaghetti with butter {I still love noodles with butter!}, salt and pepper. I don’t remember if I had cheese on it, but if so, I’m sure it was that awful stuff in the green cylindrical can; you know the one to which I’m referring. I think it was the onions in the spaghetti sauce to which my immature palate was objecting, but I’m not really sure why I didn’t want to eat spaghetti sauce. I had no problem eating chili or beef stew, which definitely contained onions. My mom’s {and now my recipe} delicious potato salad was eaten {by me} before the celery and onions went in. It must have been the crunch, in addition to the onions, that I did not care for. Crunch did not belong in creamy soft potato salad, in my opinion. Mind you, I was not really a picky eater. I ate just about everything, except celery, onions and this dressing that my grandmother made to dress dandelion greens. It was some kind of cooked dressing, and I really did not like it. In fact, I amazed my relatives with the quantities of food I consumed. “Does she have a hollow leg?” they wondered. “Where does she put it?” they inquired. Raw onions became a part of my diet in my early 20’s, when my husband returned from a business trip to Atlanta, GA with a sack of Vidalia onions. He bought them at the airport, like tourists buy Maui pineapples at the Kahului Airport. Boy, were those onions ever good; nice and sweet and perfect mingling in a bowl with sliced cucumbers, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. My mom makes great cucumbers and onions with apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper; I’m sure I just ate the cucumbers way back when. Now, I can’t get enough onions. Thankfully, most kids grow up and expand their food horizons to include foods they wouldn’t touch in their youth, but now find delicious. Several techniques can be employed to make onions more palatable, as well as make them more suitable for a particular dish. The way an onion is cut makes a huge difference on how it tastes in any given recipe. Click hereto view a Fine Cooking video on a few different onion cutting techniques. I usually cut onions 4 different ways: Large Dice– Large dice is great for onions that will be cooked in spaghetti sauce, stew, vegetable soups, this quesadilla filling and that type of thing. The large dice holds its shape during cooking, but at the end will be soft and pleasant to eat. Minced- Minced onions belong in guacamole, potato salad, coleslaw, some bean salads and places where you don’t want to bite into a big piece of raw onion, especially when that onion isn’t a sweet variety. Lyonnaise– Lyonnaise is also called “pole to pole” because you are cutting the onion in crescent shapes from the root end to the blossom end. It is my favorite way to cut onions! I love this cut for green salads, cucumbers and onions, pickled beets and recipes where I want to see the onion, and taste it, but not have big chunks. When I cut this way, I always thinly slice the onions if they are to be served raw. Even a strong onion {i.e. not a sweet variety} is palatable when thinly cut pole to pole. Sliced- Sliced onions are cut across the equator, and are great served raw or caramelized on a burger, sub {hoagie, grinder, etc.} or other sandwich. I think onions for sandwiches should always be sliced paper thin; pile them on, but they must be thin or they will slide right off {Tomatoes too should be thinly sliced, but my mom will disagree with me here.} If you are tired of your green onion slices rolling off the cutting board, try slitting the white part of the onion lengthwise, so you have half-moon slices-no more mischievous onion slices rolling around!
Not just a tasty vegetable and seasoning for many foods, onions have numerous health benefits. Click on this link to the National Onion Association for nutritional information, tips and recipes.
This is how one amongst us spent his day. . . not an ounce of friskiness in this pussycat!
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
Maui Girl Cooks 