Writers Block EXTREME

I know I should be reflecting and writing about the recent CAW visit to California, but I just can't. I am way far more excited about the soup that I just made, than reflecting upon things we all did.

Although, I will, I promise. Eventually.

While Billy is away enjoying the sights and sounds of Yosemite with his childhood christian brethren, I am at home attempting to not freak out about the mess left behind; and the toilet seat that was up- a clear indication of man-boy rampage prior to their departure this morning.

How do I relax? I brief clean up, and immediate cooking adventure and a characteristic analyzation of my day.

Today was the Castro Farmers Market- a savior on a day where fumes were emitting from my ears for approximately 8 hours straight. After consuming a delicious lunch of Hummus and Tabbouleh* with sesame pita, around 4 o'clock I felt it was time to go for a walk.

I enjoy eating my lunch at my desk, and then going for a stroll later in the day, in lieu of a full blown lunch out. On this day, I decided that I did not crave cookies (although that was tooootally what I needed on Monday, from Hot Cookie)

I craved strawberries. Sweet Delicious strawberries.

Now it is not strawberry season, so I question the integrity of these apparent fresh market berries, but god damn you these were stupendous! They saved my day.

But I digress. Savior of Soup. Simple, delicious, my mind is a-flutter as to what to do with the savory leftovers.


Red on Red on Red Lentil Soup

1 small onion diced
1 large carrot grated
5-6 gypsy or lipstick peppers
1 excessively large ripe heirloom tomato, diced
about 1 cup frozen corn- although fresh would suffice

1/2 cup red lentils
4 cups water

larger bits of ground fennel seed
1 T crushed black pepper
pinches of salt
sprinkles of onion powder
1 pinch cumin
some garlic powder
a little mustard powder
some nutmeg

Methods:

Coat the bottom of a heavy pan with olive oil. Add carrot and onion, cook for a long while. meanwhile, dice the peppers all nice and tiny-like. Add these. At this time add some salt and lots of black pepper. Cook for an f-ing long while, add tomatos and cook until they give off their water. Add various spices now. Add lentils. Add water. Cover and cook for a long while, until lentils are cooked until you can't tell they were once tiny little things, and the soup is of a consistency that makes you happy. Turn off the heat, add the corn, mix. Eat with bread, or rice, or alone!

*a great lunch btw

Experiments with Agave Nectar and Sweet Breads

It's summertime, and that means in the Bay Area, produce boxes are HEAVY on the fruits. I get so much fruit, I can't eat it all, and I'm about 3 weeks backed up on plums, nectarines, and peaches. These two breads, are my attempt to use up some of the fruits I have that are about to turn.

Recently, I was exploring a new neighborhood of Oakland and came across a silly hippy natural foods store called The Food Mill, that reminded me of the ass-backwards "health foods" stores that exist in the Northeast, and have existed there since before the dawn of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. You know the type, fresh peanut butter, more aisles of suppliments than food, and the origional pay-by-the pound grains, psices, and teas. I like the first and the latter, but the suppliment ailes both scare and piss me off. And for some reason the people that work/own these stores tend to have a bit of the creepy jesus stare in them, but I digress.

I LOVE PAY BY THE POUND

I especially love pay by the pound olive oil and honey. This time around I bought some pay-by-the-pound Agave Nectar. I have never had it before, but in my attempt to move away from refined sugars as sweetners, I figured I should give it a try. At room temperature it is way less viscous than honey, and therefore, baking was quite easy with it. It scooped right into my measuing cup with ease.

The following two breads are in the oven, so I don't know if the proportions are correct or not. I'll be sure to update when I taste...I'm hoping for a t least a 1 out of 2 here..

Orange Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup agave nectar
2 eggs, beaten

2 mashed overripe bananas
1 h applesauce
zest 1 orange

Mix everything in the usual baking manner- wets with wets, dry with dry. Bake in a buttered and floured pan- shape and size of your choosing (I did 4 X 9) at 350 until the skewar comes out clean.

Plum Cardamom Bread

1 c. fresh plum cubed

1/2 c applesauce
1 yogurt cup
1/2 cup agave nectar
2/3 cup white sugar

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
11/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp. fresh salt

1 tsp. cardamom
1/2 t cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix everything in the usual baking manner- wets with wets, dry with dry. Bake in a buttered and floured pan- shape and size of your choosing (I did 4 X 9) at 350 until the skewer comes out clean. If you feel like it make a sweet decoration of plums on the top of the bread- I recommend this as the top crust wasn't as hearty as I had hoped for.

Farewell BBQ's and Wiiiiiiiiine

Oh man, I've been on quite the hiatus. And tired.

I've been on a 1 and a half week vacation from life, and boy was it good. I really don't want to return to civilization.

Where have I been you ask? Entertaining my visiting parents, of course!

And entertaining my parents, really just meant eating out 80% of meals, bringing them to all the tasty restaurants in this Bay Area (...that I can't afford). In the beginning, it sounded like a great idea, but by the final night, I had heartburn (which apparently feels like your boob is asking to be ripped off of your body) from eating foreign food substances so much, and really just wanted to return to my kitchen and cook a yummy meal with my mom for billy & my dad.

It was stupendous.

The highlights were a super satisfying corn soup, and perfectly grilled portabella mushrooms (which fared considerably better than some ny strip steaks we attempted to cook, but really just chared), which we ate with grilled/burnt squash and onions and a simple salad of cucumbers and tomatoes with balsamic deliciousness.

Mama Ferrier's (chicken) Corn Chowder

1 1/2 c diced red onion
1 1/2 c diced yellow onion
1 1/2 c diced potato
1/2 c diced carrot
1 c diced celery
4-5 corns on the cob, boiled, with kernels cut of
6 c chicken broth
heavy cream
flour
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 t fresh basil
pinches of dried oregano, basil
a couple of shakes of chili powder
Optional: meat picked from half of a rotisserie chicken

In your soup pot, start with some olive oil, the carrots, the onions, and the celery. Cook until translucent, add flour and cook until the flour smell is away. This soup is thickened more by this rue, than the cream, so use a hefty amount of oil and flour to get a nice rue. Add the chicken stock to the pot now and do a little scrappin' to get all the good flavors on the bottom of the pan. Bring soup to a boil and add the potato, corn (and chicken if you wish). Now is the time to add the basil, oregano, and chili powder. Let the soup simmer for a little while, and test the potatoes for doneness. When the potatoes are to your liking shut of the heat and allow to soup to cool down to a temperature that allows you to add some cream. Add as much, or as little, as you like!

Grilled Portabella Mushrooms

4 Large Bella Shroomies
1 t mustard
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 t fresh chives
1 t fresh basil
oregano flakes
juice from 2 juicy lemons
1 Container for shaking

add dressing contents to container and shake up. Place mushroomies in a big bowl and pour the dressing all over them. You might have to add more oil than you think to coat evenly. Be sure to add enough salt to encourage a little water to release before you grill. Do this about a half hour before you are grilling. When you place the musrooms on the grill save the extra dressing in your bowl and drizzles over top the finished mushrooms.

A Note on Wine Country

While the retals were here, I had the awesome chance to go to Napa and Sonoma- only an hour from Oakland! This hole concept of driving around, and drinking, and then driving around more is really strange to me, but f-ing awesome none the less. The whole myth that you aren't drinking enough to get drunk it just that- a big myth. I got saucy both days I went up there. It was grand.

I went to about 6 wineries- all were yummy. Even the cheap wine companies we see in the store tend to have reserve wines on site that are super. The most memorable wineries were:

Peju
Ravenswood (due more to a heavy handed server than the wine)
Sebastiani




If you have $100+ to blow on wine, I recommend any of the Peju's Napa Style Cab's

I'll take my summer with a side of political turmoil

This was an interesting weekend that lacked the normalcy of weekends past. Sunny weather, goodbye parties, and a sighting of someone who looks like me reading the book I'm reading (In Defense of Food) on BART.

....and I feel asleep last night to a room of 3 boys trying to explain why they can't just get their hands to go through the table : /

Thanks Whiskey. More thanks to the Monks Kettle.

I don't know how I have let this place slip my sight until last night- I'm guessing it is because the average beer price is somewhere above $10. I suggest checking out the beer menu now so that when you(I'm looking at you crows and family members) come out to SF you know what you'll order before walking in the door!

Also of note- I saw several patrons ordering very large pretzels served with country mustard as their bar snack! I will defiantly check that out next time I go.


******************

On the food front I just made the delicious summer squash gratin c/o the New York Times, and, Wow. Wow. Wow, it was so delicious (gracias crow Vanessa). I used fontina and Parmesan, and ate it with a fresh salad and some yummy chopped peach.

Now I am off to try and make myself some smashing aprons! The fabric store by my house has incredible sales on dress fabrics...Polka dots and flowers anyone?

Grilled Chess

Eek, it was a very nice weekend here in the Bay Area.

Although... you'd be hard pressed to find a native to agree with me. 90+ and sunny! Woohoo!

Last night billy and I had a mini grill-session that included Burgers, eggplant and garlicy asparagus, and 3 games of intense chess.

I have little new to share recipe wise, except, that 1.5 lbs. of meat = exactly 4 patties!

In case you are ever unsure of how much meat to get for a party.

Coffee..Coffee....Coffeeeee

Its that time in my morning when I realize I have not yet consumed enough coffee to be considered awake. Some days, my normal French Press coffee just doesn't cut it.

There is a coffee place in SF called Philz Coffee that makes individual cups of coffee from start to finish. Each cup is brewed with freshly ground coffee, poured through a mini filter by hand, mixed and stirred to perfection, and served at drinking temperature. Its an easy process to recreate at home, and I do it sometimes. More than their method of brewing, I love some of the strange coffee blends that they have created.


For example, my personal favorite blend includes a dash of fresh Cardamom. Cardamom is a glorious spice, I recommend this beverage when you need a little extra flavor in your morning.




Cardamom Coffee

1 t Cardamom for every 2 cups (emily sized cups*)
Medium roast Coffee of your choosing

Lightly crush the pods in a mortal and pestle. Add Everything, pod and seeds, directly to freshly ground coffee. Brew as usual.

Enjoy!

*which in all actuality is probably more like 5-6 cups

Chard, Chard go away, come again someother day!

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some fresh spring vegetables!

Farm Fresh to You provides me with a pantheon of good treats each week, but I am ready for some new variety! Eating and cooking seasonally is a challenge, and it is hard to find new ways to cook the veggies like chard, greens, and potatoes that continue to challenge the palate. Luckily, I get a little sheet of paper each week with suggested recipes from fellow farm box members to help ease the pain.

This past week the recipe was for Chard, leek, and Cilantro Soup!
The recipe is below, however I made several edits to the original.

3 medium Leeks cut with majority white parts *
1 large bunch Chard (I used green, although I am sure swiss or rainbow would be fine)
A medium sized bunch of cilantro loosly chopped
3-7 potatoes (about 1-2 cups depending on what you want) thinly, but not too thin, chopped
7 cups water- divided
S & P
1 t paprika

*Does anyone have suggestions for trimming leeks? I feel so wasteful every time I get them


Start the leeks and potatoes together with butter (I know--eww---but worth it you need the browning that only butter can provide) and paprika. Stir occasionally but not to much as you want a nice brown to form on the bottom of the soup pot. When this happens add 1/5 c water to deglaze the pot. Add the chard now, and allow to steam cook for about 5 minutes. Now add the additional 6.5 cups water. Bring to a boil and cook an additional 15 minutes. Once it has reduced enough that you feel good puree the contents of the pot.

At this point the recipe calls for sour creme or creme fraiche to be added. I didn't have these so I added some Parmesan and whole milk to the mixture. It worked alright but next time I would just leave it soupy and sprinkle a little cheese on top. Or, I was thinking of adding some pureed white beans to thicken it. Thoughts?

So I served the soup with rice- although unnecessary because I had roasted two large garlic bulbs. We toasted some whole wheat bread and smooshed the roasted garlic on the toast and dipped it in the soup! Outstanding. A perfect spring dinner or lunch!

Transcontinental BBQ

Its good to hear it is finally warm enough to go to the beach in New England!

Yesterday Billy and myself attended our community Pot Luck, where all of the eccentric adults who live in our building show off their bbq-ing skills. It is a time to meet your neighbors, drink, and eat good food. There is, however, and underlying tone of competition among the grillers. Below is what I brought to the table!

Veggie skewers

Marinade
3 tons* minced fresh ginger
2 tons minced fresh garlic
1/2 cup Korean Chili sauce Sriracha
4 T mustard of your liking
4T Hoison Sauce (although plain soy would be good too)
Enough grapeseed oil** to cover the veggies and thin out the sauce
Red wine vinegar- I also think Balsamic or rice wine vinegar would work
Salt, and pepper

Veggies!
Green Pepper
Red Pepper
Eggplant- Cubed with skin left on
Mushrooms- any and all the mushrooms soak up the marinade the best!
Onions

On some of the skewers I put shrimpies, but I didn't marinade them with this-just the traditional S&P.

I let the veggies marinade almost 24 hours, and it was worth it! The chili sauce was grabbed up by both the eggplant and the mushrooms. But the sweetness of the mustard and hoison made the peppers delicious too!


*as per hollys instructions. However, here I felt there needed to be some specification as to how much garlic/ginger we are talking about
**which I have switched to for most occasions unless of course the olive oil is the star of the show!