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

Barley: Part Deux

this delicious barley "risotto" is best served at room temperature. the texture of the barley is so AWESOME!! i'm really becoming a big fan of this oh so beloved grain of an oh so beloved sister crow~

Barley Risotto

1 onion chopped coarsely

2 or so cloves of garlic

1 cup pearled barley

10 oz frozen chopped spinach (or mixture w/fresh)

3+ cups chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 chopped roma tomatoes

1 can chick peas, drained

fresh parm

s&p

saute onion and garlic until translucent. add barley, saute to coat. add chicken broth and bay leaf and simmer 30-45 minutes covered. once barley is soft (you may have to add more broth and continue to simmer until you get here) and to your liking, add the tomatoes, pea, and spinach. cook about 5 more minutes, or until spinach is thawed/wilted and warmed through.

remove from heat, add grated parm and salt and pepper to taste.

Barley Monster

Everyone has their favorite grain and mine just happens to be Barley- I like its texture and ability to absorb delicious flavors without getting mushy. Barley Salads are great as leftovers and that's why I make them so often; it's perfect to bring to work for lunch because it allows me to avoid the dreaded microwave.

I found this fabulous recipe: Quinoa with Roasted Zucchini, Feta & Oregano in a Healthy Eats email and decided to give it a whirl, but of course I needed to make some adaptations to the OG Recipe.



I substituted the quinoa for barley- I had it in the pantry and like I stated before I'm a Barley Monster. My Quiona Cousin Mo would have done differently but I'm sure it's just as tasty with either grain. Second I added tons of fresh oregano and thyme rather than the dried- It's summer and time to take advantage of fresh herbs growing in yards or on porches! Lastly, I added some sliced grape tomatoes to the salad to get some more summer flavors in there. This salad tastes even better when consumed at the beach.

Gratin: Not Your Mama's Casserole (but kinda the same)

Casserole= Americana grossness favored by 60's housewives. Includes pantry staples such as egg noodles, canned tuna, canned green beans/peas/corn, Campbell's soup. Convenient way to feed your hungry brood of children when you are tired after a long day of drinking white wine and smoking Marlboros while waiting for your husband to come home from the office

Gratin= Fancy favorite of the yuppie crowd and natural food recipes, often found in the food & wine section of the NYT. Includes pantry and refrigerator drawer staples such as summer squash, potatoes, leeks, fresh herbs, cream, eggs, gruyere and arborio rice. Convenient way to feed your long-term live-in boyfriend or semi-employed friends after a long day of drinking white wine and smoking camel lights while waiting to hear back from those 20 jobs you found posted on idealist.org and applied to after you woke up at 10 am.

As the Thai people so famously say: "same-same, but different."

Gratins come in many shapes, sizes and levels of healthyness, but I think the majority of us crows agree that the Queen of all gratin recipes is this little gem that we dug up last summer:

This Summer Squash Gratin recipe from the NYT "recipes for health" section.

I have made this a least a half dozen times, and I know Mz Holly has as well. What is so great about this particular recipe is that is completely adaptable to whatever you have in your kitchen at any given time- zucchini can be substituted for sweet potatoes or butternut squash, Gruyere can be replaced by cheddar or chevre, leeks or shallots could be added, basil, parsley or organo can take over instead of thyme. Be creative!

Using rice in the gratin keeps it light yet filling (brown rice works just as well as aborio and makes it a little heartier), and personally, I like that this gratin isn't too cream-heavy, as many are.

The most important thing that this, and most, gratin recipes never mention is a classic ode to the casserole; always opt for a crusty top! A thick layer of breadcrumbs ups the yummy factor big time. After all, your Mama was right about a lot of things.

Two cool Cats

I have been slacking recently on my posts.

Its just so discouraging when you don't have beautiful pictures to add on! I will work on getting my camera fixed.

I"m surprised no one has spoken about the wonders of Risotto yet. This dish is so versatile, and even at its most bare bones can be so rich and stupendiferous.

The perfect default dish for a low-cost dinner party, or a highly elegant side on a fancy night with your lovers, Risotto can do it all! It can even save the day!

On Memorial day, I was all alone! Oh No! The only thing to do was go to a really awkward building BBQ, that is so overwhelming the only way to make it okay is to pound 2 glasses of wine before joining the party. I always like these parties because I can impress the adults with my cooking miracles (they aren't too shabby either, usually they enter a whose cut of meat was most expensive contest- this week it was a full leg of lamb) but that doesn't ignore the fact that they all think Billy and I are married (wah-wah) and consider us very strange individuals.

So I bought an eggplant, some zucchini (green and yellow saucer shaped), and some red onions. Got them all slathered in a nice coating of olive oil and S & P, cut them up with nice crosshatch marks, and set out to grill. I get out there, and there is no grill space :( sad.

Long story short- I eventually got some grill space, but the coals were virtually dead and I was left with half grilled veggies. Ever try eating raw eggplant?

So I came back and finished roasting them in the oven. The next day I decided they would make a nice addition to a light and creamy risotto. As risotto can be made in all quantities, I will leave that open for interpretation and adaptation!

Risotto with Grilled & Roasted Veggies

Arborio Rice
Vegetable stock
Parmesan cheese
roasted/grilled veggies cut into cubies
S & P
garlic
onions
1 c dry white wine
scallions or chives for serving

So begin with a basic Risotto methodology. Cut onions, brown/sautee until translucent. Add Rice, toast rice, deglaze with 1 c white wine. Stir constantly, and only add liquid after previoud liquid is absorbed.

When you have 2 more cups of stock to add, throw in your cubed roasted veggies.* Continue adding liquid until the rice is cooked and rice begins to give off some of its starch (ie. creamy factor becomes visible) Add parm. cheese and enjoyyyyy!

*You probably don't even have to add the veggies to the risotto- leave them hole and serve them as sides if you wish!

Also- quick note last night I made a super fast, super protein packed meal: Halibut with onions and Quinoa. So yummy! I cooked the halibut in a lemony broth with carmelized onions. The Quinoa was simple and fast: sautee carrots, sweet peppers, and corn until soft. Add 1 16 oz can fire roasted tomatos and heat thouroughly. Add cooked quinqoa and 1/2 thinly sliced raw onion. Complete with some lemon juice or parsley. So yummy!

Put This in Your Back Pocket for Soup Season

After those two 90 degree days I'm sure that soup is that last thing on everyone's mind, but honestly I can not wait until Fall to post my favorite soup recipe. Plus who knows- living in New England we could always get another freak snow storm before summer (this better not happen).

Spicy Tomato & Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients:
1 medium onion-diced
2 medium carrots-diced
2 celery ribs-diced
1 red bell pepper-diced
5 medium sized mushrooms sliced (optional)
1/2 bunch of kale- rinsed and chopped
2 medium garlic cloves- minced
1 can diced tomatoes (preferably Muir Glen Fire Roasted-a favorite amongst most crows)
1 quart vegetable broth plus 1-2 cups water (depending on how thick you like your soups)
1 1/3 cup dried red lentils- rinsed
1 Bay Leaf
1 1/2 tsp cumin, turmeric & cayenne pepper
olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

• Heat olive oil in stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat- add onions, celery, carrots, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and bay leaf
• Cook until onions become translucent but not browned- add red pepper, mushrooms, garlic and remaining spices and cook for another 2-3 minutes
• Add broth, lentils, tomatoes and water and bring to a simmer
• Once soup is simmering add the chopped kale and an extra dash of salt
• Let soup simmer for 40 minutes (if using a dutch oven this will only take 30 minutes, turn heat off and cover-let sit for an additional 10 minutes)
• Serve with crusty bread

This recipe box was made and given to me by fellow Crow Riane Welch last Christmas. I keep all of my favorite recipes inside which saves time flipping through cook books and scouring the internet. This red lentil soup came to me when I had left over red lentils after attempting to make some cakes out of them- not so successful. I just followed a basic soup recipe, tweaked it a couple of times and voila- Spicy Tomato & Red Lentil Soup!

Desert Dessert Desert Dessert

I am currently waiting for some milk and rice to boil to make a yummy treat.
This is what I am trying!

Rice pudding

1 1/3 c rice
4 1/2 c Whole milk- I use Strauss, its really good, really thick whole milk that has a disgusting layer of cream on top that just adds to its glory
Salt
Maple Syrup & Honey- a 1/2 c between the two
Almonds
Cardamom
Orange zest
Vanilla extract - if I had or could afford a bean I would use it
cinnamon
nutmeg
2 eggs

Bring milk, salt, and rice to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
In a separate bowl wisk eggs with remaining ingredients. 1T at a time add the rice mixture to the egg until you are satisfied that you won't scramble the egg. Simmer a few more minutes and enjoy!

Flavor overload? I think so, but we'll see if it works.

P.S. Billy is currently making a Braunschweiger (in honor of the swine flu) and onion sandwich. GROSS.


Update:

Success! I have to say this is one of the more successful cooking adventures I've had.
for more specific measurements: 1 t of both nutmeg and cinnamon. 1.5 t cardamom, 1 T vanilla plus some. 1/2 the juice of a large navel orange, zest from the entire orange.

After a brief scare of scorching the milk, things calmed and it came along beautifully. In the end it was none other than Billy that determined the missing flavor was some finishing salt and more vanilla!

Our First Beach Adventure-Singing Sands

Sunday Morning we embarked on our first beach visit to Singing Sands at Manchester by the Sea (Take the Newbuyport commuter rail from North Station to Manchester)

For once we actually brought enough food and bevy to sustain us all for the long haul. Some items included:

• Port Salut & Baguette- absolute staple for picnics and beach excursions


• Pasta salad with fennel- for Vbar to post


• Barley Salad- unfortunately on this trip got a bit water-logged from melted ice


• Geary's Summer/ PBR


• Saussy Sangria

Saussy Sangria

There are numerous variations on the beverage but this is a version i enjoy

Dice up whatever fruit you have on hand (apples, kiwis, strawberries, pears, oranges, etc)

Add fruit to a pitcher and cover with a half cup of booze (brandy works nice but i've even done this with tequila!)

Add a bottle of vino verde and a bottle of red table wine

Top of the mixture with San Pellagrino or if you have it Trader Joe's Sparkiling Grapefuit Juice

Let Sit overnight- or for as long as you can hold out.

Barley Salad

I got the idea of this salad from a food and wine recipe- but I switched up the ingredients to fit my palate, feel free to try either version

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/barley-salad-with-parsley-and-walnuts

Cook one cup of pearl barley in boiling water for 15-20 minutes

In a large bowl whisk together 1/2 tsp honey, 1/2 tsp grainy dijon mustard, juice of one large lemon, quarter cup of olive oil, 1 large minced garlic clove, salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes

Add 1/4 C finely diced red onion, 1 diced tomato, diced feta cheese, 1 diced carrot, chopped basil, and a handful of baby spinach to mixture and let marinate while barley continues to cook

When barley is tender, strain under cold water add to the mixture.