Tuesday, September 03, 2024
Lamb and Eggplant Pasta
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Artichoke & Olive Ravioli with Chive Flowers
.
Technology still sometimes leaves me bug-eyed. How about you?
I mean...there you are, using your phone, browsing the web, taking pictures and emailing someone 2000 miles away or texting someone sitting next to you, all at the same time. It's really a bit astonishing.
Much like our food, of course. Even this most mundane things have a lot going on!
We can't just drink that glass of water and not remember that a whole lot of nature and technology and man-power went in to it appearing in a vessel with some frozen cubes and a slice of citrus for our consumption. It too is astonishing.
That's pretty much the gist of my world these days. Taking a moment to appreciate that which got us what we eat. It's a vast and amazing system! Wooo---eeeee. Again...it leaves me bug-eyed and slack-jawed.
Like when I was in my favorite old-fashioned book store and I came across a photo of pyramid shaped ravioli. So cool! I snapped a picture of the picture with my phone, emailed it to a friend and queried if she thought we could muster something like that for the vegan edition of our underground supper club, Chicks with Knives. Wham-bam, she replied and we were a go. Technology in action.
Then we just got our sweet selves to the bountiful local farmers market, pondered the fillings possibilities and voila...ravioli. (Well...there was a lot more to it than that. Testing and fussing and tasting and contemplating and pasta rolling and breaks and laughs and all that good stuff. Plus we changed our minds about what sauce went best with it about sixty-five times. And I swear at one point we thought about deep-frying them. Or maybe that was just me. I do love deep-fried!)
So we made 90 of them (Took us, what, three hours? Give or take.) and served it at our swank little dinner party to our glamorous guests and it was a smash hit. (Which I can say with confidence because - technology again - they were reviewed on line by other bloggers.) And that, was that. Technology meets old fashioned cooking. A match made in...the year 2009. And perfection all around.
They are toothsome and filling and salty and rich (without dairy!) and have a faint perfume of garlic and orange. The chive blossoms as garnish offered just the right visual punch and a tiny bit of additional flavor. (Coarse salt would be nice too...naturally.) We only offered two per person (because in all honesty...making another 35 of them would have killed us at that point. It's a lot of work doing this sort of thing on a grand scale!) but at home, I would encourage you to serve five per person.
Now, all of the ingredients in this recipe were organic and sourced locally (mostly at the Santa Monica Farmers Market. We used Santa Barbara Olives and olive oil for instance) but you can really do with anything if that's how you swing. ;-)
So try this my peaches, and enjoy.
1 cup durum wheat flour
1 cup semolina flour
2 tablespoons white flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
water as needed
4 extra large artichoke hearts
1 large baking potato, peeled, cut in to chunks and boiled
1/4 cup dry cured olives, rough chopped
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 tablespoon minced spring garlic
1/4 cup minced parsley
salt to taste (you won't need much if the olives are salty.)
Olive oil and chive blossoms for garnish
In a mixer, combine the flours. Add the olive oil and enough water to bind. Continue to mix until it all comes together adding water, as needed, to keep it smooth and not tacky or crumbly.
Roll out the dough using a pasta maker (per the manufactureres directions) or with a rolling pin. Cut in to four inch squares and chill until ready to use.
Trim down the artichokes (we used ones that were huge. Like 4 pounds each.) to their hearts and steam until soft. Mash with the potato (to bind), olives, garlic, zest and parsley. Season to taste.
Mound 1 tablepsoon of filling in to the center of each square of pasta. Lightly brush the edges of the pasta with a touch of water then gather up the corners and pinch shut. Using pinking shears, cut to crimp and seal. Freeze until ready to serve.
Boil the ravioli in a large pot of salted water until cooked through...about 3 minutes tops. Drain and serve with warm olive oil and chive flowers.
Makes about 36.
© 2009 Fresh Approach Cooking
______________________________________
© 2009 Rachael at "Fresh Approach Cooking" http://www.freshcatering.blogspot.com If you are not reading this at the aforementioned URL or in your RSS feed, the site you are looking at are violating my copyright. And that's rude.
All artichokes commercially grown in the United States are grown in California.
Have you read Secret Suppers by Jenn Garbee yet? So great...
If you are in the Bay Area, the Millbrae Spring Faire is this weekend and features a Ravioli dinner.
Technology still sometimes leaves me bug-eyed. How about you?I mean...there you are, using your phone, browsing the web, taking pictures and emailing someone 2000 miles away or texting someone sitting next to you, all at the same time. It's really a bit astonishing.
Much like our food, of course. Even this most mundane things have a lot going on!
We can't just drink that glass of water and not remember that a whole lot of nature and technology and man-power went in to it appearing in a vessel with some frozen cubes and a slice of citrus for our consumption. It too is astonishing.
That's pretty much the gist of my world these days. Taking a moment to appreciate that which got us what we eat. It's a vast and amazing system! Wooo---eeeee. Again...it leaves me bug-eyed and slack-jawed.
Like when I was in my favorite old-fashioned book store and I came across a photo of pyramid shaped ravioli. So cool! I snapped a picture of the picture with my phone, emailed it to a friend and queried if she thought we could muster something like that for the vegan edition of our underground supper club, Chicks with Knives. Wham-bam, she replied and we were a go. Technology in action.
Then we just got our sweet selves to the bountiful local farmers market, pondered the fillings possibilities and voila...ravioli. (Well...there was a lot more to it than that. Testing and fussing and tasting and contemplating and pasta rolling and breaks and laughs and all that good stuff. Plus we changed our minds about what sauce went best with it about sixty-five times. And I swear at one point we thought about deep-frying them. Or maybe that was just me. I do love deep-fried!)
So we made 90 of them (Took us, what, three hours? Give or take.) and served it at our swank little dinner party to our glamorous guests and it was a smash hit. (Which I can say with confidence because - technology again - they were reviewed on line by other bloggers.) And that, was that. Technology meets old fashioned cooking. A match made in...the year 2009. And perfection all around.
They are toothsome and filling and salty and rich (without dairy!) and have a faint perfume of garlic and orange. The chive blossoms as garnish offered just the right visual punch and a tiny bit of additional flavor. (Coarse salt would be nice too...naturally.) We only offered two per person (because in all honesty...making another 35 of them would have killed us at that point. It's a lot of work doing this sort of thing on a grand scale!) but at home, I would encourage you to serve five per person.
Now, all of the ingredients in this recipe were organic and sourced locally (mostly at the Santa Monica Farmers Market. We used Santa Barbara Olives and olive oil for instance) but you can really do with anything if that's how you swing. ;-)
So try this my peaches, and enjoy.
1 cup durum wheat flour
1 cup semolina flour
2 tablespoons white flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
water as needed
4 extra large artichoke hearts
1 large baking potato, peeled, cut in to chunks and boiled
1/4 cup dry cured olives, rough chopped
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 tablespoon minced spring garlic
1/4 cup minced parsley
salt to taste (you won't need much if the olives are salty.)
Olive oil and chive blossoms for garnish
In a mixer, combine the flours. Add the olive oil and enough water to bind. Continue to mix until it all comes together adding water, as needed, to keep it smooth and not tacky or crumbly.
Roll out the dough using a pasta maker (per the manufactureres directions) or with a rolling pin. Cut in to four inch squares and chill until ready to use.
Trim down the artichokes (we used ones that were huge. Like 4 pounds each.) to their hearts and steam until soft. Mash with the potato (to bind), olives, garlic, zest and parsley. Season to taste.
Mound 1 tablepsoon of filling in to the center of each square of pasta. Lightly brush the edges of the pasta with a touch of water then gather up the corners and pinch shut. Using pinking shears, cut to crimp and seal. Freeze until ready to serve.
Boil the ravioli in a large pot of salted water until cooked through...about 3 minutes tops. Drain and serve with warm olive oil and chive flowers.
Makes about 36.
© 2009 Fresh Approach Cooking
______________________________________
© 2009 Rachael at "Fresh Approach Cooking" http://www.freshcatering.blogspot.com If you are not reading this at the aforementioned URL or in your RSS feed, the site you are looking at are violating my copyright. And that's rude.
All artichokes commercially grown in the United States are grown in California.
Have you read Secret Suppers by Jenn Garbee yet? So great...
If you are in the Bay Area, the Millbrae Spring Faire is this weekend and features a Ravioli dinner.
Labels: Appetizer, Pasta, Vegan, Vegetarian
Monday, June 30, 2008
Gourmet Tuna Noodle Cassarole with Grape Leaves and Olives
.
There you have it my lovelies. A photo remnant of the last tuna I will be consuming for a long, long time.
(Insert heaving sigh.)
The last vestiges of the meal are heating in the oven now...ready to be consumed. (With a bit of trepidation if you must know.) Savored, savory, satiation.
Yup.
Tuna is off the menu.
Pity really. It's delicious stuff.
But peaches! It is just about time that we must all face the facts that it's also heinously over fished (and badly fished at that) and way up there on the "for-goodness-sake-people! Really? Please-stop-demanding-this" list. Right?
Right.
So as my one-small-person act of the week, I have chosen to avoid it from here on out.
Oh tuna, I will miss you, but I cannot consume you. No, no, not at the cost of the oceans, the earth and my general health.
From now on, I will focus my pesce-energies on mackerel and sardines and all the mid-range sea creatures that aren't a danger to myself and my pretty planet.
I promise to be a good, eco-friendly girl.
So with this dish, (recipe lifted almost entirely from The Hostess, who served it to me last week, and then repeated for your pleasure) I say adieu and close my eyes and hope and hope and hope that others will stop eating tuna too. At least long enough for you to rebound and for fishermen to find a less wasteful/more humane way to ensnare you.
Swim on great tuna.
For you my peaches, try this (not entirely summery, but entirely delicious and fantastically satisfying) dish and taste the (bittersweet) joy.
And thank you for indulging me in my lil' bitty soap-box moment. Sometimes a girl just can't help but say something that weighs heavy...ya know?
2 ounces seared tuna (I brought mine home from a lovely and abundant dinner out), diced
1/2 pound whole wheat noodles, cooked and cooled
1/2 cup whole cream
2 teaspoons capers
2 tablespoons minced scallion
1/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced
1 cup assorted wild mushrooms (I reconstituted dried)
1 teaspoon minced fresh savory or thyme
1 tomato, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Enough rinsed grape leaves to line your baking dish
Salt and pepper
Preheat your oven to 325F.
Toss together the noodles, cream, capers, scallions, olives, mushrooms and savory. Season with salt and pepper.
In another bowl, toss together the olive oil, panko and Parmesan.
Lightly oil a medium sized (you'll have to eyeball this) oven-safe baking dish. Line with overlapping grape leaves (gaps are fine). Fill with the noodles. Top with sliced tomato then panko.
Bake until golden brown on top. About 30 minutes.
Slice in to wedges and serve.
There you have it my lovelies. A photo remnant of the last tuna I will be consuming for a long, long time.(Insert heaving sigh.)
The last vestiges of the meal are heating in the oven now...ready to be consumed. (With a bit of trepidation if you must know.) Savored, savory, satiation.
Yup.
Tuna is off the menu.
Pity really. It's delicious stuff.
But peaches! It is just about time that we must all face the facts that it's also heinously over fished (and badly fished at that) and way up there on the "for-goodness-sake-people! Really? Please-stop-demanding-this" list. Right?
Right.
So as my one-small-person act of the week, I have chosen to avoid it from here on out.
Oh tuna, I will miss you, but I cannot consume you. No, no, not at the cost of the oceans, the earth and my general health.
From now on, I will focus my pesce-energies on mackerel and sardines and all the mid-range sea creatures that aren't a danger to myself and my pretty planet.
I promise to be a good, eco-friendly girl.
So with this dish, (recipe lifted almost entirely from The Hostess, who served it to me last week, and then repeated for your pleasure) I say adieu and close my eyes and hope and hope and hope that others will stop eating tuna too. At least long enough for you to rebound and for fishermen to find a less wasteful/more humane way to ensnare you.
Swim on great tuna.
For you my peaches, try this (not entirely summery, but entirely delicious and fantastically satisfying) dish and taste the (bittersweet) joy.
And thank you for indulging me in my lil' bitty soap-box moment. Sometimes a girl just can't help but say something that weighs heavy...ya know?
2 ounces seared tuna (I brought mine home from a lovely and abundant dinner out), diced1/2 pound whole wheat noodles, cooked and cooled
1/2 cup whole cream
2 teaspoons capers
2 tablespoons minced scallion
1/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced
1 cup assorted wild mushrooms (I reconstituted dried)
1 teaspoon minced fresh savory or thyme
1 tomato, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Enough rinsed grape leaves to line your baking dish
Salt and pepper
Preheat your oven to 325F.
Toss together the noodles, cream, capers, scallions, olives, mushrooms and savory. Season with salt and pepper.
In another bowl, toss together the olive oil, panko and Parmesan.
Lightly oil a medium sized (you'll have to eyeball this) oven-safe baking dish. Line with overlapping grape leaves (gaps are fine). Fill with the noodles. Top with sliced tomato then panko.
Bake until golden brown on top. About 30 minutes.
Slice in to wedges and serve.
© 2008 Fresh Approach Cooking
______________________________________
© 2008 Rachael at "Fresh Approach Cooking" www.freshcatering.blogspot.com This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, or at the aforementioned url, the site you are looking at is guilty of infringing upon terms of copyright. And generally cheesing me off.
Yes, I did just read Bottomfeeder: How To Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood. I urge you to check it out.
New data released in 2006 by the WWF, the global conservation organization, revealed that bluefin tuna has almost been fished out of some of the Mediterranean’s oldest fishing grounds.Catches around Spain’s Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean, for example, were down to just 15 per cent of what they were just a decade ago. Only 2,270 tonnes have been caught there in 2006, compared with 14,699 tonnes in 1995. - WWF
What's the difference between a fish and a piano? You can't tuna fish!
Labels: Entree, Pasta, Seafood
Monday, May 12, 2008
Noodles with Olives and Corn
.
Hee hee.
If by some interesting twist of fate, the Ombudsman and I have a child, we have decided it would be best to name it Rutherford, after our 19th President, Rutherford B. Hayes. (Not that we know much about him, only that in 1876, he was elected by a margin of one - yes, one - electoral vote. Talk about controversal!)
We also get a tickle from the name because The Ombudsman's last name is pronounced (though not spelled) something akin to Ball, and we think that Rutherford B. Ball is pretty much the most rockin' name imaginable.
Good thing we aren't having children, right?
But should baby Rutherford ever come in to being, I have to say, one aspect I really and truly look forward to is the exciting challenge of choosing his/her (because Rutherford could be a girl's name too, right?) comfort food. I mean really! Talk about a control-freak foodies dream...choosing another persons comfort food! I tell ya, that lil' desicion right there must make motherhood totally worthwhile. I mean really! (Again.) What if every time your adult child gets a bit down they suddenly CRAVE - um, I dunno - BBQ'd eel like Mother used to make?
Not that I wish my (as now unrealized) offspring to be total oddballs, (that is bound to come naturally...tee hee) but there is just something so cliche about craving mac n'cheese or ice cream when one gets pouty, why not make it more festive?
For instance, I could introduce this recipe...which as an adult I have added to my personal comfort food list. If you have ever spent a prolonged amount of time in the South Pacific, you've seen it too, ya? It's the Polynesian go-to vegetarian afterthought side-dish extraordinaire. Honestly, go anywhere in Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea or their neighboring islands and I can promise you, this will be presented. Again, and again, and again. Until you finally get over the fact it is a bit off, and realize you too love it.
It's one of those dishes that is 100% from the cupboard and perhaps not the most gourmet. It is though, ideal for island pantries, boats at sea, and naturally, that makes it a flawless dish for moments when you are in need of comfort...the contents are easy to have on hand and can be put together in a snap.
Noodles wit Olives and Corn. I tell you, the future Rutherford B. Ball will be forever appeased with this whiz-bang delight in his/her repetoire.
It may seem like a strange combo, but it really does taste quite nice. Sweet corn, salty olives, chewy pasta and fragrant olive oil. It is comfort indeed.
So try this my peaches, and taste the joy.
1/2 pound whole wheat fettuccine
2 T. olive oil
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/2 cup picholine olives
1/2 cup corn
Green onion for garnish (optional)
salt and pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta per the package instructions.
Pit the olives and rough chop.
Meanwhile, saute the onion in the olive oil until just softened. Add the olives, warm through and remove from the heat.
Drain the cooked pasta and toss with the onions-olives. Add corn, toss and serve with additional salt and pepper and green onion as garnish (if desired).
© 2008 Fresh Approach Cooking
______________________________________
© 2008 Rachael at "Fresh Approach Cooking" www.freshcatering.blogspot.com This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, or at the aforementioned url, the site you are looking is guilty of infringing upon terms of copyright.
First Lady, Lucy Webb Hayes (one of the most popular First Ladies of her era) was also known as 'Lemonade Lucy', due to her strong support of Temperance.
The French Picholine is a green, torpedo-shaped and brine cured olive.
Tokyo, Japan has more Michelin stars than Paris, France.
Hee hee.If by some interesting twist of fate, the Ombudsman and I have a child, we have decided it would be best to name it Rutherford, after our 19th President, Rutherford B. Hayes. (Not that we know much about him, only that in 1876, he was elected by a margin of one - yes, one - electoral vote. Talk about controversal!)
We also get a tickle from the name because The Ombudsman's last name is pronounced (though not spelled) something akin to Ball, and we think that Rutherford B. Ball is pretty much the most rockin' name imaginable.
Good thing we aren't having children, right?
But should baby Rutherford ever come in to being, I have to say, one aspect I really and truly look forward to is the exciting challenge of choosing his/her (because Rutherford could be a girl's name too, right?) comfort food. I mean really! Talk about a control-freak foodies dream...choosing another persons comfort food! I tell ya, that lil' desicion right there must make motherhood totally worthwhile. I mean really! (Again.) What if every time your adult child gets a bit down they suddenly CRAVE - um, I dunno - BBQ'd eel like Mother used to make?
Not that I wish my (as now unrealized) offspring to be total oddballs, (that is bound to come naturally...tee hee) but there is just something so cliche about craving mac n'cheese or ice cream when one gets pouty, why not make it more festive?
For instance, I could introduce this recipe...which as an adult I have added to my personal comfort food list. If you have ever spent a prolonged amount of time in the South Pacific, you've seen it too, ya? It's the Polynesian go-to vegetarian afterthought side-dish extraordinaire. Honestly, go anywhere in Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea or their neighboring islands and I can promise you, this will be presented. Again, and again, and again. Until you finally get over the fact it is a bit off, and realize you too love it.
It's one of those dishes that is 100% from the cupboard and perhaps not the most gourmet. It is though, ideal for island pantries, boats at sea, and naturally, that makes it a flawless dish for moments when you are in need of comfort...the contents are easy to have on hand and can be put together in a snap.
Noodles wit Olives and Corn. I tell you, the future Rutherford B. Ball will be forever appeased with this whiz-bang delight in his/her repetoire.
It may seem like a strange combo, but it really does taste quite nice. Sweet corn, salty olives, chewy pasta and fragrant olive oil. It is comfort indeed.
So try this my peaches, and taste the joy.
1/2 pound whole wheat fettuccine
2 T. olive oil
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/2 cup picholine olives
1/2 cup corn
Green onion for garnish (optional)
salt and pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta per the package instructions.
Pit the olives and rough chop.
Meanwhile, saute the onion in the olive oil until just softened. Add the olives, warm through and remove from the heat.
Drain the cooked pasta and toss with the onions-olives. Add corn, toss and serve with additional salt and pepper and green onion as garnish (if desired).
© 2008 Fresh Approach Cooking
______________________________________
© 2008 Rachael at "Fresh Approach Cooking" www.freshcatering.blogspot.com This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, or at the aforementioned url, the site you are looking is guilty of infringing upon terms of copyright.
First Lady, Lucy Webb Hayes (one of the most popular First Ladies of her era) was also known as 'Lemonade Lucy', due to her strong support of Temperance.
The French Picholine is a green, torpedo-shaped and brine cured olive.
Tokyo, Japan has more Michelin stars than Paris, France.
Labels: Entree, Pasta, Vegan, Vegetarian
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Penne with Five-Spiced Pumpkin
.
Ever since The Ombudsman took me out for a rousing day of G-rated activities at the California Science Center, (actually, not entirely, that place has some racy stuff! And a lot of super duper icky stuff! So, you know. It was fun!) I have been thinking about the delicate balance of my body's culinary needs.
All that and I've been thinking I need a warm drink. Mmm. Yes, a warm drink.
Wait, no, what I really need is warm, hearty food. Yes. That's what I learned at the museum! Our bodies need a balance of nutrient rich foods as the weather turns colder. Who knew!
So in my science inspired mood, I contemplated dinner.
It would have to be something toothsome (oh for the love of/in the name of all that/for pities sake...did I just use that word? Gack. Sorry. Loathsome.), something with heft and stout resolution. Something carb-tastic (now, isn't that a much better word than toothsome? Yes, I think so too.) Something that positively reeks of late autumn, with the clever addition of Chinese five-spice powder. That all-balancing spice combo of note that incorporates all that is good in spirit and food balancing. It was what the doctor (had one practicing Eastern medicine been one involved) ordered for my scien-tiffic (oh wow do I think that's clever! Grin.) dinner bonanza.
Newly up-to-date on the human body and all its wonders, I cozied up to the Ombudsman with a steamy bowl of this all-nourishing, beta-carotene rich fantastic-ness. Balanced perfection. And it was warm and robust and filling and I'm sure your body will agree, super yummy.
So try it my dears, and taste the joy.
1 pound (whole wheat) penne pasta
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin puree
1 T five spice powder
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
1 teaspoon chile flakes
1/2 cup green onion
2 carrots cut into matchsticks (julienne)
1 cup green cabbage, finely shredded
In a large pot of boiling, salted, water cook the penne until al dente.
In a saute pan, heat the vegetable oil, then add the pumpkin and five spice and saute for one minute, stirring. Add the stock, hot sauce and chile flakes. Warm through. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Toss with the pasta, add carrots, green onion and cabbage. Toss, taste, and serve.
Makes four servings.
_________________________________
Emeril Lagasse will throw down his last "Bam!" on Dec. 11, when he tapes his last "Emeril Live!" for the Food Network. The show is being canceled after 10 years, though the network says his studio show will remain on the air. - TMZ.com
Five spice incorporates the five basic flavors of Chinese cooking — sweet, sour, bitter, savory and salty. It consists of cassia (cinnamon), star anise, ginger, fennel seeds and Szechuan pepper
Ever since The Ombudsman took me out for a rousing day of G-rated activities at the California Science Center, (actually, not entirely, that place has some racy stuff! And a lot of super duper icky stuff! So, you know. It was fun!) I have been thinking about the delicate balance of my body's culinary needs.All that and I've been thinking I need a warm drink. Mmm. Yes, a warm drink.
Wait, no, what I really need is warm, hearty food. Yes. That's what I learned at the museum! Our bodies need a balance of nutrient rich foods as the weather turns colder. Who knew!
So in my science inspired mood, I contemplated dinner.
It would have to be something toothsome (oh for the love of/in the name of all that/for pities sake...did I just use that word? Gack. Sorry. Loathsome.), something with heft and stout resolution. Something carb-tastic (now, isn't that a much better word than toothsome? Yes, I think so too.) Something that positively reeks of late autumn, with the clever addition of Chinese five-spice powder. That all-balancing spice combo of note that incorporates all that is good in spirit and food balancing. It was what the doctor (had one practicing Eastern medicine been one involved) ordered for my scien-tiffic (oh wow do I think that's clever! Grin.) dinner bonanza.
Newly up-to-date on the human body and all its wonders, I cozied up to the Ombudsman with a steamy bowl of this all-nourishing, beta-carotene rich fantastic-ness. Balanced perfection. And it was warm and robust and filling and I'm sure your body will agree, super yummy.
So try it my dears, and taste the joy.
1 pound (whole wheat) penne pasta
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin puree
1 T five spice powder
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
1 teaspoon chile flakes
1/2 cup green onion
2 carrots cut into matchsticks (julienne)
1 cup green cabbage, finely shredded
In a large pot of boiling, salted, water cook the penne until al dente.
In a saute pan, heat the vegetable oil, then add the pumpkin and five spice and saute for one minute, stirring. Add the stock, hot sauce and chile flakes. Warm through. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Toss with the pasta, add carrots, green onion and cabbage. Toss, taste, and serve.
Makes four servings.
_________________________________
Emeril Lagasse will throw down his last "Bam!" on Dec. 11, when he tapes his last "Emeril Live!" for the Food Network. The show is being canceled after 10 years, though the network says his studio show will remain on the air. - TMZ.com
Five spice incorporates the five basic flavors of Chinese cooking — sweet, sour, bitter, savory and salty. It consists of cassia (cinnamon), star anise, ginger, fennel seeds and Szechuan pepper
Labels: Entree, Pasta, Vegan, Vegetarian
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Baked Pasta with Cheese
.
I believe there is something awry in my world when I can't convince any of my friends that they want to eat this. I just can't figure it out.
Look. I make food, I eat food, I go to the gym to work off said food, and then, I come home, and lo, there is still more food. Staring out at me from my fridge. Waiting to be consumed. Pleading with my guilty conscious not to be thrown out, or worse...but I am just one girl! A girl who cannot possibly eat as much as my eyes would have me. And yet...
So I offer the food to friends. I invite them over with alarming frequency. And when they show up, I ply them with tasty vittles. Or I drop it off at their homes. I'm just nice that way. Nice Rachael.
And they seem to like it.
But then came this. Ooey-gooey baked elbow pasta with cheese. Your basic North American food.
Scrumptious, calorie laden food. And I didn't even fancy it up! Oh no. No ham. No tomatoes. Not a sprig of thyme to be found nestled in its hallowed layers. Just pure carb and fat decadence.
Akin to blowing off a few meetings and going to the spa on a weekday to get a Swedish/Shiatsu combo massage from a blind man who leaves you so blissed out you forget dinner plans and end up... (Oh wait, I did that. And I ate the pasta...bad Rachael.) I mean...it's just really good.
Now if you were here in town, wouldn't you love to take a bite of this dish? Wouldn't you heed my call? Can't you just close your eyes and revel in its simplistic perfection? Seriously, wouldn't you want some? (And yes, Mr. Ombudsman who "passed," on a home delivery of this exact piece, I am talking to you. Training for a marathon? Bah.)
But sadly for me, you are reading this on line and we don't know each other well enough for me to be dropping food off on your doorstep...so instead I must encourage you to try this recipe. Try it, and devour it, and lick and smack your lips and know that you have done good. And next time I make it...maybe I can Fedex some to you...
1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk (this may vary), room temp is best
2 cups shredded cheese
salt and pepper
bread crumbs
Preheat your oven to 350F
Butter a 8x8 baking dish
In a saute pan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Whisk in the flour and stir to combine. Continue to cook for a minute or so. Add 1/8 cup of the milk, stir to combine. Repeat with another 1/8 cup of milk. Continue doing this, all the while stirring to make a creamy paste. When you have a thick, almost pudding like consistency, add the cheese and stir to melt. Stir in the pasta and pour into the baking dish.
Top with bread crumbs. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Cut into squares and serve.
______________________________
And yes, I know I said this was the best mac n' cheese ever...and it is, but I amend that to be in the "fancy" category. So there. (Actually, I totally forgot about that recipe until just now. Doh!)
Why did Yankee Doodle name the feather in his hat Macaroni? Macaroni was what they called the fancy trim popular on the hats of military officers then, like the stuff on the visor of naval officer hats now. Eduqna.com
Chicago-area real estate broker Tom Seefurth said he has created a pizza-flavored beer. Walter Payton's Roundhouse in Aurora, IL. will serve the pizza beer as long as the supply lasts. - KPTV Beaverton
I believe there is something awry in my world when I can't convince any of my friends that they want to eat this. I just can't figure it out.Look. I make food, I eat food, I go to the gym to work off said food, and then, I come home, and lo, there is still more food. Staring out at me from my fridge. Waiting to be consumed. Pleading with my guilty conscious not to be thrown out, or worse...but I am just one girl! A girl who cannot possibly eat as much as my eyes would have me. And yet...
So I offer the food to friends. I invite them over with alarming frequency. And when they show up, I ply them with tasty vittles. Or I drop it off at their homes. I'm just nice that way. Nice Rachael.
And they seem to like it.
But then came this. Ooey-gooey baked elbow pasta with cheese. Your basic North American food.
Scrumptious, calorie laden food. And I didn't even fancy it up! Oh no. No ham. No tomatoes. Not a sprig of thyme to be found nestled in its hallowed layers. Just pure carb and fat decadence.
Akin to blowing off a few meetings and going to the spa on a weekday to get a Swedish/Shiatsu combo massage from a blind man who leaves you so blissed out you forget dinner plans and end up... (Oh wait, I did that. And I ate the pasta...bad Rachael.) I mean...it's just really good.
Now if you were here in town, wouldn't you love to take a bite of this dish? Wouldn't you heed my call? Can't you just close your eyes and revel in its simplistic perfection? Seriously, wouldn't you want some? (And yes, Mr. Ombudsman who "passed," on a home delivery of this exact piece, I am talking to you. Training for a marathon? Bah.)
But sadly for me, you are reading this on line and we don't know each other well enough for me to be dropping food off on your doorstep...so instead I must encourage you to try this recipe. Try it, and devour it, and lick and smack your lips and know that you have done good. And next time I make it...maybe I can Fedex some to you...
1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk (this may vary), room temp is best
2 cups shredded cheese
salt and pepper
bread crumbs
Preheat your oven to 350F
Butter a 8x8 baking dish
In a saute pan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Whisk in the flour and stir to combine. Continue to cook for a minute or so. Add 1/8 cup of the milk, stir to combine. Repeat with another 1/8 cup of milk. Continue doing this, all the while stirring to make a creamy paste. When you have a thick, almost pudding like consistency, add the cheese and stir to melt. Stir in the pasta and pour into the baking dish.
Top with bread crumbs. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Cut into squares and serve.
______________________________
And yes, I know I said this was the best mac n' cheese ever...and it is, but I amend that to be in the "fancy" category. So there. (Actually, I totally forgot about that recipe until just now. Doh!)
Why did Yankee Doodle name the feather in his hat Macaroni? Macaroni was what they called the fancy trim popular on the hats of military officers then, like the stuff on the visor of naval officer hats now. Eduqna.com
Chicago-area real estate broker Tom Seefurth said he has created a pizza-flavored beer. Walter Payton's Roundhouse in Aurora, IL. will serve the pizza beer as long as the supply lasts. - KPTV Beaverton
Labels: Pasta, Side-Dish, Vegetarian
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Pasta:Salad with White Beans and Roasted Peppers
.
Now lookie here. As a girl who cares about her figure, I can assure you, I completely get it with the whole low-carb thing. I mean, cutting out those big-bad empty calories makes total sense. And this time of year, well, let’s just say, a few less slices of white bread would do us all a bit of good.
But just because something is logical my sweet juicy peaches, doesn’t mean the whole world is on board…
So there has to be compromise. A middle ground. A place where everyone can meet, eat and rejoice.
And this wiz-bang Pasta:Salad is the answer, lemme tell ya.
I just dashed off a bowl of seasonal, highly flavorful, outrageously fantastic veg and whatnot and then divided it between a bowl of chilled fusilli for those around me who eat carbs and tossed the rest in another bowl of perky-peppery greens (Arugula actually.) for the kids avoiding noodles and whatnot.
It’s a medley of flavors that shout summertime, with out without those pesky carbs. And owning to my obsession with all things spicy and citrus, it has zip. The beans add a nice creaminess to balance the heat of the chile flakes and chile oil and the cooling, crunchy fennel adds that something special to make it a sassy delight.
So try this my dears, and enjoy!
1 small bulb fennel, sliced medium thick
10 picholine olives, pitted and rough chopped
1 large orange bell pepper, roasted, peeled, deseeded and sliced
½ cup white beans, rinsed (this is approx. I used ¾ of a standard can)
Arugula
Cooked pasta
Zest and juice of one small orange
2 T. olive oil
1 teaspoon chile oil (optional)
1 pinch (to taste) chile flakes
Salt
In a medium sauce-pan, heat the zest, juice, oils and chile flakes over a medium flame until just simmering.
Add the fennel, olives, pepper and beans and toss to coat. Remove from the heat and add the pasta or let cool and add to the salad greens. Add salt and pepper to taste.
_______________________________________
Arugula, which it today classified as an herb, was commonly featured in ancient meals. The Romans used the leaves in salads and made aromatic oils from the seeds. Arugula seed has been a frequent ingredient in aphrodiasiac potions since the first century.
But just because something is logical my sweet juicy peaches, doesn’t mean the whole world is on board…
So there has to be compromise. A middle ground. A place where everyone can meet, eat and rejoice.
And this wiz-bang Pasta:Salad is the answer, lemme tell ya.
I just dashed off a bowl of seasonal, highly flavorful, outrageously fantastic veg and whatnot and then divided it between a bowl of chilled fusilli for those around me who eat carbs and tossed the rest in another bowl of perky-peppery greens (Arugula actually.) for the kids avoiding noodles and whatnot.
It’s a medley of flavors that shout summertime, with out without those pesky carbs. And owning to my obsession with all things spicy and citrus, it has zip. The beans add a nice creaminess to balance the heat of the chile flakes and chile oil and the cooling, crunchy fennel adds that something special to make it a sassy delight.
So try this my dears, and enjoy!1 small bulb fennel, sliced medium thick
10 picholine olives, pitted and rough chopped
1 large orange bell pepper, roasted, peeled, deseeded and sliced
½ cup white beans, rinsed (this is approx. I used ¾ of a standard can)
Arugula
Cooked pasta
Zest and juice of one small orange
2 T. olive oil
1 teaspoon chile oil (optional)
1 pinch (to taste) chile flakes
Salt
In a medium sauce-pan, heat the zest, juice, oils and chile flakes over a medium flame until just simmering.
Add the fennel, olives, pepper and beans and toss to coat. Remove from the heat and add the pasta or let cool and add to the salad greens. Add salt and pepper to taste.
_______________________________________
Arugula, which it today classified as an herb, was commonly featured in ancient meals. The Romans used the leaves in salads and made aromatic oils from the seeds. Arugula seed has been a frequent ingredient in aphrodiasiac potions since the first century.
Labels: Entree, Low-Carb, Luncheon, Pasta, Vegan
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Artichoke Ravioli with Supremed Blood Oranges
.
If you tuned in yesterday, you undoubtably saw my post on how to supreme an orange. Supreme reading, I'm sure. (Hee hee. Terrible, aren't I?)
Well, it's all well and good to theoretically know how to do something, but it's a far finer thing to be able to put it into practice, ya?
And this is a delightfully different pasta dish that has the vibrant and somewhat unexpected addition of supremed orange segments. (In this case, I used blood oranges, for color and whatall) So you can get to using that knowledge I imparted right away! Yipee!
My recipe was inspired by the wonderful birthday dinner at Hatfield's (thanks again to my darling Ombudsman for that meal. Come to think of it, the last post was thanks to him too! What a inspiring boy that boy is!) that included an appetizer of fresh ricotta ravioli in a citrus buerre blanc with candied grapefruit (and odd as that sounds, it was outrageously tasty).
The ravioli I concocted here as a variation on that citrus and butter theme, are somewhat dense and rich. That is what makes the orange so perfect. With a hint of sourness, it cuts through the pasta creating a balance that can only bring a smile to your face.
So try this my dears, use your new "supreme" knowledge, and enjoy!
1 package gyoza potsticker wrappers (you will use about 16)
1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained and quartered
2 teaspoons parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fontina cheese, shredded
1 egg1 small onion, haved and sliced as thin as possible*
4 T. butter
zest and segments of one large orange
chopped chives, to taste
In a food processor puree 4 artichoke hearts and cheeses. Adjust seasoning to taste. Add the egg and pulse to combine.
Line up four wrappers on a cutting board. Brush just the top half of the outer edges with some water, you just want a thin film. Using a tablespoon, arrange 4 dollops of the filling in the center of each wrapper. Place another wrapper directly on top, pressing around the filling and sealing the edges. Using a fork, crimp down the edges of the ravioli.
To cook, bring a large pot two-thirds full of water to a boil over high heat. Add some salt and the ravioli and return to a boil, stirring gently. Cook until the ravioli float and are al dente (tender but firm to the bite), 30 seconds to 3 minutes, depending on the freshness of the pasta. Using a skimmer, transfer to paper towels to drain briefly.
For the sauce: Melt the butter in a saute pan. Add the artichoke quarters and shaved onion. Saute until just browned. Add the orange zest, some salt and the chives. Saute another minute and remove.
Toss with the cooked ravioli and serve with supremed oranges. (And broccoli, if you like. I did!)
*The onions are what look like ribbons of pasta in the photo. They were halved and then sliced on a mandoline.
________________________________
Stouffers LEAN CUISINE brand low-calorie frozen entrees were introduced in 1981
Fontina cheese has been made in the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps since the 12th century
In the U.S. today is National Cinnamon Crescent Day
If you tuned in yesterday, you undoubtably saw my post on how to supreme an orange. Supreme reading, I'm sure. (Hee hee. Terrible, aren't I?)Well, it's all well and good to theoretically know how to do something, but it's a far finer thing to be able to put it into practice, ya?
And this is a delightfully different pasta dish that has the vibrant and somewhat unexpected addition of supremed orange segments. (In this case, I used blood oranges, for color and whatall) So you can get to using that knowledge I imparted right away! Yipee!
My recipe was inspired by the wonderful birthday dinner at Hatfield's (thanks again to my darling Ombudsman for that meal. Come to think of it, the last post was thanks to him too! What a inspiring boy that boy is!) that included an appetizer of fresh ricotta ravioli in a citrus buerre blanc with candied grapefruit (and odd as that sounds, it was outrageously tasty).
The ravioli I concocted here as a variation on that citrus and butter theme, are somewhat dense and rich. That is what makes the orange so perfect. With a hint of sourness, it cuts through the pasta creating a balance that can only bring a smile to your face.
So try this my dears, use your new "supreme" knowledge, and enjoy!
1 package gyoza potsticker wrappers (you will use about 16)
1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained and quartered
2 teaspoons parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fontina cheese, shredded
1 egg1 small onion, haved and sliced as thin as possible*
4 T. butter
zest and segments of one large orange
chopped chives, to taste
In a food processor puree 4 artichoke hearts and cheeses. Adjust seasoning to taste. Add the egg and pulse to combine.
Line up four wrappers on a cutting board. Brush just the top half of the outer edges with some water, you just want a thin film. Using a tablespoon, arrange 4 dollops of the filling in the center of each wrapper. Place another wrapper directly on top, pressing around the filling and sealing the edges. Using a fork, crimp down the edges of the ravioli.
To cook, bring a large pot two-thirds full of water to a boil over high heat. Add some salt and the ravioli and return to a boil, stirring gently. Cook until the ravioli float and are al dente (tender but firm to the bite), 30 seconds to 3 minutes, depending on the freshness of the pasta. Using a skimmer, transfer to paper towels to drain briefly.
For the sauce: Melt the butter in a saute pan. Add the artichoke quarters and shaved onion. Saute until just browned. Add the orange zest, some salt and the chives. Saute another minute and remove.
Toss with the cooked ravioli and serve with supremed oranges. (And broccoli, if you like. I did!)
*The onions are what look like ribbons of pasta in the photo. They were halved and then sliced on a mandoline.
________________________________
Stouffers LEAN CUISINE brand low-calorie frozen entrees were introduced in 1981
Fontina cheese has been made in the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps since the 12th century
In the U.S. today is National Cinnamon Crescent Day
Labels: Entree, Pasta, Vegetarian
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Ricotta & Herb Dumplings
.
What makes dumplings so great? Their pillow-like perfection? The dreamy ease of making them? Their outstanding versatility? Maybe its just that they are comfort food. Happy, warm, comfort food. And with this winter chill in the air, that is certainly the order of the day.
Any which way you look at it, dumplings rock. (Unless they are too dense, in which case, they are rocks. But fret not, this recipe isn't rock-like. Promise.)
Made with basic pantry staples, they are a quick delight, and (bonus!) great to make with kids. You can also make them ahead, and freeze. And who doesn't like that? Try them in soup too...something brothy.
I made these for a most wonderful friend, who was feeling the winter blahs...she declared they are the perfect winter food...with just a hint of summer. I couldn't agree more. (Well, I could, but it wouldn't be too smart.)
Try them and enjoy.
1/2 cup ricotta cheese, drained
1/4 cup grated semi-hard goat cheese
1/4 cup grated Pecorino or Parmesan
2 cups flour
1 egg, yolk and white seperated
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh herbs. I used basil and tarragon
pinch of salt
Pesto to serve. Jarred works fine.
Bring a very large pot of salted water to a boil.
In a bowl, combine the cheese, flour, eggs yolks, pepper and herbs. Stir to combine. The dough should be a bit stiff. Add a touch more flour if it seems too wet.
In another bowl, whip the egg white with the salt until it forms medium peaks.
Fold the egg whites in to the cheese in three parts. Combine well.
Scoop a bit of the cheese into the palm of your hand. Cup it gently and form in to a (an American) football shape.
Drop in to the boiling water and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Skim out the dumplings and dry on a towel. Serve with brown butter or pesto.
Makes about 20 dumplings
______________________
Savory dumplings are mounds of dough that are dropped into a liquid and cooked until done. - Thank you, Epicurious, for that insighful definition.
Even more excellent info, this time from the beloved Oxford Companion to Food: "Dumpling. A term of uncertain origin which first appeared in print at the beginning of the 17th century, athough the object it denotes--a small and usually globular mass of boiled or steamed dough--no doubt existed long before that."
And because I know you want to read them...here are the lyrics to Sugar Dumpling, by Sam Cooke.
What makes dumplings so great? Their pillow-like perfection? The dreamy ease of making them? Their outstanding versatility? Maybe its just that they are comfort food. Happy, warm, comfort food. And with this winter chill in the air, that is certainly the order of the day.Any which way you look at it, dumplings rock. (Unless they are too dense, in which case, they are rocks. But fret not, this recipe isn't rock-like. Promise.)
Made with basic pantry staples, they are a quick delight, and (bonus!) great to make with kids. You can also make them ahead, and freeze. And who doesn't like that? Try them in soup too...something brothy.
I made these for a most wonderful friend, who was feeling the winter blahs...she declared they are the perfect winter food...with just a hint of summer. I couldn't agree more. (Well, I could, but it wouldn't be too smart.)
Try them and enjoy.
1/2 cup ricotta cheese, drained
1/4 cup grated semi-hard goat cheese
1/4 cup grated Pecorino or Parmesan
2 cups flour
1 egg, yolk and white seperated
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh herbs. I used basil and tarragon
pinch of salt
Pesto to serve. Jarred works fine.
Bring a very large pot of salted water to a boil.
In a bowl, combine the cheese, flour, eggs yolks, pepper and herbs. Stir to combine. The dough should be a bit stiff. Add a touch more flour if it seems too wet.
In another bowl, whip the egg white with the salt until it forms medium peaks.
Fold the egg whites in to the cheese in three parts. Combine well.
Scoop a bit of the cheese into the palm of your hand. Cup it gently and form in to a (an American) football shape.
Drop in to the boiling water and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Skim out the dumplings and dry on a towel. Serve with brown butter or pesto.
Makes about 20 dumplings
______________________
Savory dumplings are mounds of dough that are dropped into a liquid and cooked until done. - Thank you, Epicurious, for that insighful definition.
Even more excellent info, this time from the beloved Oxford Companion to Food: "Dumpling. A term of uncertain origin which first appeared in print at the beginning of the 17th century, athough the object it denotes--a small and usually globular mass of boiled or steamed dough--no doubt existed long before that."
And because I know you want to read them...here are the lyrics to Sugar Dumpling, by Sam Cooke.
Labels: Entree, Pasta, Vegetarian
Monday, September 25, 2006
Greek Style Pasta Salad
.
When it comes to making a dainty lunch...I tend to fail. Sure, sure, I can create breathless salads and shimmering soups, light as a feather and just right for a warm summer day or as dinner after a late lunch, but I never seem to be able to stop with making just one thing, you know? It's always three soups, two salads and a few desserts...just in case...(In case of what? Umm...in case someone doesn't like one of the first few things? In case they have allergies? See? In case...)
Luncheon at my house may be lighthearted, or even enlightening, but I have yet to have a guest go home saying it was just so light, they ate just enough...over the top baby, that's my gig. I fear I may be a gluttony-enabler.
And potlucks are no exception. Ask me to "bring a dish" and you will have unknowingly sent me into a miasma of options. What to bring, what to serve? What is in season? What is simple, yet refined? What will coyly shame every other dish off of the table? What will leave them begging for more?
Should you too have this dilemma, may I suggest my recent solution: Greek style pasta salad. All the flavors of a Greek salad, but with a twist.
Scrumptiously delicious. A kaladiscope of vibrant colors. A medley of peppy perfection. And bonus! Quite balanced nutritionally, and low in fat. Bravo!
Serve it for lunch and see how filling, yet light, it really is. Ideal indeed.
Try it, and enjoy!
1 cup semi de melone pasta (or orzo) cooked in heavily salted water
3teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly minced oregano
1/4 cup minced parsley
10 kalamata olives, pitted and minced
1 small red onion, minced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 large flame roasted red pepper, diced
1/4 cup feta cheese
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
When the pasta is just finished cooking, drain and rinse with cold water to prevent it from cooking further. Let drain in a fine mesh strainer (the pasta will slip through a common collender.) then pour into a bowl and toss with the vinegar, then the oil. Let absorb a few minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients. Season to taste and serve.
If you want to make it ahead, leave out the fresh herbs until just prior to serving.
Makes enough for four
______________________________
Semi de melone [ say-mee day may-LOH-nay ] Italian for "melon seeds," culinarily term describing tiny, flat melon-seed shaped pasta
The word feta comes from the Italian word fette, meaning a slice of food. The word oregano comes from the Greek, meaning “joy of the mountain.”
When it comes to making a dainty lunch...I tend to fail. Sure, sure, I can create breathless salads and shimmering soups, light as a feather and just right for a warm summer day or as dinner after a late lunch, but I never seem to be able to stop with making just one thing, you know? It's always three soups, two salads and a few desserts...just in case...(In case of what? Umm...in case someone doesn't like one of the first few things? In case they have allergies? See? In case...)Luncheon at my house may be lighthearted, or even enlightening, but I have yet to have a guest go home saying it was just so light, they ate just enough...over the top baby, that's my gig. I fear I may be a gluttony-enabler.
And potlucks are no exception. Ask me to "bring a dish" and you will have unknowingly sent me into a miasma of options. What to bring, what to serve? What is in season? What is simple, yet refined? What will coyly shame every other dish off of the table? What will leave them begging for more?
Should you too have this dilemma, may I suggest my recent solution: Greek style pasta salad. All the flavors of a Greek salad, but with a twist.
Scrumptiously delicious. A kaladiscope of vibrant colors. A medley of peppy perfection. And bonus! Quite balanced nutritionally, and low in fat. Bravo!
Serve it for lunch and see how filling, yet light, it really is. Ideal indeed.
Try it, and enjoy!
1 cup semi de melone pasta (or orzo) cooked in heavily salted water
3teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly minced oregano
1/4 cup minced parsley
10 kalamata olives, pitted and minced
1 small red onion, minced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 large flame roasted red pepper, diced
1/4 cup feta cheese
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
When the pasta is just finished cooking, drain and rinse with cold water to prevent it from cooking further. Let drain in a fine mesh strainer (the pasta will slip through a common collender.) then pour into a bowl and toss with the vinegar, then the oil. Let absorb a few minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients. Season to taste and serve.
If you want to make it ahead, leave out the fresh herbs until just prior to serving.
Makes enough for four
______________________________
Semi de melone [ say-mee day may-LOH-nay ] Italian for "melon seeds," culinarily term describing tiny, flat melon-seed shaped pasta
The word feta comes from the Italian word fette, meaning a slice of food. The word oregano comes from the Greek, meaning “joy of the mountain.”
Labels: Entree, Pasta, Side-Dish, Vegetarian
Monday, August 28, 2006
Kimchi Pasta Salad
.
I have spent quite a bit of time over the last three years posting recipes on this site because I want to share something that I am passionate about: sensational food, from simple recipes, made with fresh ingredients and exploding with flavor.
I sincerely love trying new things - things that are unexpected and a little bit off the beaten path, and it's my intention that my recipes reflect that. Of course, by putting my own version of things out to the world, I do hope I can inspire a few of you to try something new too, based on what I have ventured forth and made, loved and written about. Or, you know, at the bare minimum, lure you in to admire my mind-blowing photography and witty banter. (Ha Ha)
This delectable pasta salad, which is a flawless dish for a warm afternoon, is a combination of all of the things I just mentioned. It is simple, flavorful and totally different from the norm.
It started for me with a visit to the market in Koreatown, which is like visiting a candy store. I just can't resist buying a huge pile of goodies. The shop I go to (and no, I don’t know the name, is that shameful? Super-fantastic Leiha knows. She introduced me to it) is pristinely clean and has such an abundance of interesting and (new to me) foods it makes every trip a taste-bud enticing adventure. The kimchi section alone is enough to make your eyes bug out in wonder. The seemingly endless array, in containers as small as a half pint and as large as two gallons line the refrigerated section just waiting to be dipped in to. Oh baby, is that ever a good thing.
Kimchi, for those of you unfamiliar, is Napa cabbage (and radish, and more, depending on the cook) pickled/fermented with red pepper, garlic, ginger and a small amount of fish sauce. It is a relish that is about as ubiquitous in Korean homes as salt and pepper is in ours. Lately, it has also been proven to be an a fantastic health food. "Cabbage is packed with vitamins that may boost the immune system, and fermented cabbage contains lactic acid, which helps with digestion and may weaken infections" CBS NEWS.
I personally buy Cosmo brand, because the price is right (the container pictured cost $5.00 in the Korean supermarket and is sold for $8.00 at Ralphs) it is made locally and you know how I love my MADE IN L.A. products, but any brand (or your own version) will do in this recipe. But even with my serious obsession with kimchi, I can only eat so much of it mixed with rice and cold fried tofu (my normal treatment) so I came up with this as an alternative.
The dish is perfectly crunchy, spicy, sweet and salty. It has a zip to it you won’t believe. Low-fat but high in flavor, it is different, but familiar. A fusion dish with a lot of pow, that comes together in a snap. One warning: sample the kimchi before you add it, to see how spicy it is. They can vary widely. So my petit chou, try this very non-traditional use for kimchi, and enjoy.
1 cup kimchi, diced, liquid reserved
1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin matchsticks
1 small cucumber, sliced into thin matchsticks
1 carrot, sliced into thin matchsticks
1 minced chile pepper (use to taste)
1 pound farfalla pasta, cooked in salted water, drained and cooled
Minced peanuts and parsley or cilantro for garnish
Combine the first six ingredients, toss, then season to taste. Let the pasta absorb the flavors for at least 20 minutes. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro or parsley and serve.
Additional vegetables such as bean sprouts, radish and jicama would also be tasty. Soy sauce or fish sauce would also be nice additions.
_______________________
Researchers wanted to know why Polish women have low rates of breast cancer. They discovered that women who ate four or more servings of raw or barely cooked cabbage per week during adolescence were 74 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than the women who ate 1.5 or fewer servings per week.
Traditional kimchi is stored in sealed jars and either buried or stored in underground cellars for up to a month.
Here is a list of Korean Markets in the U.S.
I have spent quite a bit of time over the last three years posting recipes on this site because I want to share something that I am passionate about: sensational food, from simple recipes, made with fresh ingredients and exploding with flavor.
I sincerely love trying new things - things that are unexpected and a little bit off the beaten path, and it's my intention that my recipes reflect that. Of course, by putting my own version of things out to the world, I do hope I can inspire a few of you to try something new too, based on what I have ventured forth and made, loved and written about. Or, you know, at the bare minimum, lure you in to admire my mind-blowing photography and witty banter. (Ha Ha)
This delectable pasta salad, which is a flawless dish for a warm afternoon, is a combination of all of the things I just mentioned. It is simple, flavorful and totally different from the norm.
It started for me with a visit to the market in Koreatown, which is like visiting a candy store. I just can't resist buying a huge pile of goodies. The shop I go to (and no, I don’t know the name, is that shameful? Super-fantastic Leiha knows. She introduced me to it) is pristinely clean and has such an abundance of interesting and (new to me) foods it makes every trip a taste-bud enticing adventure. The kimchi section alone is enough to make your eyes bug out in wonder. The seemingly endless array, in containers as small as a half pint and as large as two gallons line the refrigerated section just waiting to be dipped in to. Oh baby, is that ever a good thing.
Kimchi, for those of you unfamiliar, is Napa cabbage (and radish, and more, depending on the cook) pickled/fermented with red pepper, garlic, ginger and a small amount of fish sauce. It is a relish that is about as ubiquitous in Korean homes as salt and pepper is in ours. Lately, it has also been proven to be an a fantastic health food. "Cabbage is packed with vitamins that may boost the immune system, and fermented cabbage contains lactic acid, which helps with digestion and may weaken infections" CBS NEWS.
I personally buy Cosmo brand, because the price is right (the container pictured cost $5.00 in the Korean supermarket and is sold for $8.00 at Ralphs) it is made locally and you know how I love my MADE IN L.A. products, but any brand (or your own version) will do in this recipe. But even with my serious obsession with kimchi, I can only eat so much of it mixed with rice and cold fried tofu (my normal treatment) so I came up with this as an alternative.The dish is perfectly crunchy, spicy, sweet and salty. It has a zip to it you won’t believe. Low-fat but high in flavor, it is different, but familiar. A fusion dish with a lot of pow, that comes together in a snap. One warning: sample the kimchi before you add it, to see how spicy it is. They can vary widely. So my petit chou, try this very non-traditional use for kimchi, and enjoy.
1 cup kimchi, diced, liquid reserved
1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin matchsticks
1 small cucumber, sliced into thin matchsticks
1 carrot, sliced into thin matchsticks
1 minced chile pepper (use to taste)
1 pound farfalla pasta, cooked in salted water, drained and cooled
Minced peanuts and parsley or cilantro for garnish
Combine the first six ingredients, toss, then season to taste. Let the pasta absorb the flavors for at least 20 minutes. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro or parsley and serve.
Additional vegetables such as bean sprouts, radish and jicama would also be tasty. Soy sauce or fish sauce would also be nice additions.
_______________________
Researchers wanted to know why Polish women have low rates of breast cancer. They discovered that women who ate four or more servings of raw or barely cooked cabbage per week during adolescence were 74 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than the women who ate 1.5 or fewer servings per week.
Traditional kimchi is stored in sealed jars and either buried or stored in underground cellars for up to a month.
Here is a list of Korean Markets in the U.S.
Labels: Entree, Luncheon, Pasta
Monday, May 15, 2006
Fideos With Chickpeas and Beet Greens
.
“Slow Food is …the name of an international movement…to promote good food and the artisans who create it…” - The Pleasures of Slow Food
A few days ago I came across a recipe in The Pleasures of Slow Food
cookbook that had me giddy with excitement. The title of this dish was the self explanatory (ha) Fideos with Special Chickpeas and Saffron. (Fideos, so far as I can ascertain, is toasted pasta.) The ingredients seemed terrifically incompatible and the method overly complex and labor intensive. But the idea of it all piqued my curiosity and heaven knows, I delved right in. I mean come on, how can I girl resist a recipe that seems to include every spice in the cabinet, should take a few hours, dirty every dish in the joint and end up being deeeelicious.
What also intrigued me was that (I had every ingredient without a trip to the market? Well, the helped) it seemed to be a fancified, over-zealous version of pasta with mole sauce, and I do love me the mole sauce. It’s so…historic, and not knowing much about Slow Food, this seemed like a great introduction. Plus, I wanted to try my sassy new vanilla salt.
So on with the show. (Perhaps a touch too) bright and early in the morning, I gathered my mise en place, made a few substitutions and began. Almost an hour and a half later, with a heck of a lot of assorted culinary equipment in the sink, I had my masterpiece. It was indeed pasta with mole sauce, silky, rich, complex, sweet, spicy, hearty, unique (perhaps a bit wintery. OK, altogether wintery) and a fantastic new way to enjoy your pasta.
On a side note, one of those things that I sort of always feel like only the Italians pay attention to, is that every pasta type has a purpose (to an extent.) and angel hair is meant for soup. End of story. Or so I thought until I tried this. The toasting gave a slight nuttiness and it the ability to hold up to the sauce without going all mush on me. Fan-tastic.
So when you have some free time, and the inclination to make a hearty pasta dish that is absolutely different than anything you have had lately, go on and try this…and enjoy.
(Ingredients Adapted, method, the same)
16 oz. Chickpeas
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, rough chop
2 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
Salt
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon saffron (optional)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Vanilla scented salt
1 dried New Mexico chile
2 cups tomatoes in juice
3 cups water
1 pound angel hair pasta
Olive oil
1 cup beet greens, chiffonade
In a large soup pot, sauté the garlic, onion, chile, saffron, coriander and cumin until slightly wilted and fragrant. Add the tomato, vanilla salt (if not using vanilla salt, use regular salt and a vanilla pod, sliced lengthwise) 1 cup of water and the cocoa. Stir to combine, reduce the heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350F, break the pasta into 2 inch pieces, spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until slightly browned, about 4 t0 8 minutes. Remove promptly and set aside.
When the sauce is reduced slightly, taste, adjust the salt, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Puree and pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove all of the solids (I know! It seems like such a waste really. I suppose you could skip this step, but the straining really does make it quite the outrageously silky sauce.)
In yet another, shallow pan, bring the 3 cups of salted water (or you could use chicken broth) to a boil, add the pasta and let cook for 1 minute at a rolling boil. Add the chickpeas and cook until the water has all been absorbed.
Meanwhile (I know! Again!) sauté the beet greens in the olive oil (adding some garlic might be nice too, but do as you wish.) until just wilted.
When the pasta is cooked, add the sauce and beet greens.
Serves four to six
*** WOW...I had a bit of this sauce leftover and ate it a few days later, there just aren't words for how good it was after the flavors melded. Beyond superlatives.***
__________________________________
The threads that make up saffron must be picked from each flower by hand and more than 1,60,000 of these flowers are needed to produce just one kilogram ofSaffron filaments. -BabySaffron.com
California has lost its battle to require warning labels on canned tuna after a state judge concluded any warning of mercury contamination would needlessly scare people away from the fish. - The Oakland Tribune
“Slow Food is …the name of an international movement…to promote good food and the artisans who create it…” - The Pleasures of Slow FoodA few days ago I came across a recipe in The Pleasures of Slow Food
cookbook that had me giddy with excitement. The title of this dish was the self explanatory (ha) Fideos with Special Chickpeas and Saffron. (Fideos, so far as I can ascertain, is toasted pasta.) The ingredients seemed terrifically incompatible and the method overly complex and labor intensive. But the idea of it all piqued my curiosity and heaven knows, I delved right in. I mean come on, how can I girl resist a recipe that seems to include every spice in the cabinet, should take a few hours, dirty every dish in the joint and end up being deeeelicious.What also intrigued me was that (I had every ingredient without a trip to the market? Well, the helped) it seemed to be a fancified, over-zealous version of pasta with mole sauce, and I do love me the mole sauce. It’s so…historic, and not knowing much about Slow Food, this seemed like a great introduction. Plus, I wanted to try my sassy new vanilla salt.
So on with the show. (Perhaps a touch too) bright and early in the morning, I gathered my mise en place, made a few substitutions and began. Almost an hour and a half later, with a heck of a lot of assorted culinary equipment in the sink, I had my masterpiece. It was indeed pasta with mole sauce, silky, rich, complex, sweet, spicy, hearty, unique (perhaps a bit wintery. OK, altogether wintery) and a fantastic new way to enjoy your pasta.
On a side note, one of those things that I sort of always feel like only the Italians pay attention to, is that every pasta type has a purpose (to an extent.) and angel hair is meant for soup. End of story. Or so I thought until I tried this. The toasting gave a slight nuttiness and it the ability to hold up to the sauce without going all mush on me. Fan-tastic.
So when you have some free time, and the inclination to make a hearty pasta dish that is absolutely different than anything you have had lately, go on and try this…and enjoy.
(Ingredients Adapted, method, the same)
16 oz. Chickpeas
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, rough chop
2 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
Salt
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon saffron (optional)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Vanilla scented salt
1 dried New Mexico chile
2 cups tomatoes in juice
3 cups water
1 pound angel hair pasta
Olive oil
1 cup beet greens, chiffonade
In a large soup pot, sauté the garlic, onion, chile, saffron, coriander and cumin until slightly wilted and fragrant. Add the tomato, vanilla salt (if not using vanilla salt, use regular salt and a vanilla pod, sliced lengthwise) 1 cup of water and the cocoa. Stir to combine, reduce the heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350F, break the pasta into 2 inch pieces, spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until slightly browned, about 4 t0 8 minutes. Remove promptly and set aside.
When the sauce is reduced slightly, taste, adjust the salt, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Puree and pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove all of the solids (I know! It seems like such a waste really. I suppose you could skip this step, but the straining really does make it quite the outrageously silky sauce.)In yet another, shallow pan, bring the 3 cups of salted water (or you could use chicken broth) to a boil, add the pasta and let cook for 1 minute at a rolling boil. Add the chickpeas and cook until the water has all been absorbed.
Meanwhile (I know! Again!) sauté the beet greens in the olive oil (adding some garlic might be nice too, but do as you wish.) until just wilted.
When the pasta is cooked, add the sauce and beet greens.
Serves four to six
*** WOW...I had a bit of this sauce leftover and ate it a few days later, there just aren't words for how good it was after the flavors melded. Beyond superlatives.***
__________________________________
The threads that make up saffron must be picked from each flower by hand and more than 1,60,000 of these flowers are needed to produce just one kilogram ofSaffron filaments. -BabySaffron.com
California has lost its battle to require warning labels on canned tuna after a state judge concluded any warning of mercury contamination would needlessly scare people away from the fish. - The Oakland Tribune
Labels: Entree, Pasta, Vegan, Vegetarian
Monday, November 28, 2005
Lemon-Fire Pasta
.
Let's face it kids, for the most part, pasta recipes are a total bore. They are a medley of cooked noodles and sauce/meat/seafood/etc. Sometimes inspired and transporting, but mostly, not.
So feeling that way, why have I got a lovely picture of noodles tantalizingly posted on the screen? Because kids, that is not a recipe for pasta, that is a recipe for pasta with limoncello.
Limoncello is a lemon flavored cordial that is so simple to make at home there is no excuse whatsoever (barring sobriety) that you shouldn't have some on hand at all times. I first had it sitting on a balcony overlooking the sea, in the ultra-fantastically-dreamy town of Manarola in Cinque Terra, Italy, with my sensationally food-centric, master-chef, Italian-American Step-Father pouring. I was rapturous over it's taste. An instant convert. Later that week I tried to buy a bottle, and was stopped with a smile. "No, no, my dear, this, I will show you how to make." Thus began my flavored vodka making frenzy that has never really abated.
The vibrant yellow color and lemon-rific flavor will send you right into your own dizzying summer sunset. And the bonus of course is that it is great in loads of dishes, from the most simple, to the outrageously complex. (Try marinating squid in it. Sigh.) Here for instance, I simply combined it with some oil and other ingredients for a fiery hot, electrifying, taste sensation. that whips up in a second. Boring old noodles with sauce, this is not. Try it, and enjoy.
For limoncello:
1 750 ml bottle (minus a few sips) vodka or Everclear
8 large organic lemons, scrubbed clean
1/4 cup white sugar syrup (equal parts sugar and water, heated to dissolve the sugar, then cooled)
Using a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler, remove the yellow zest from the lemons in large strips. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and let steep for up to 3 months in your freezer.
For the pasta:
1 pound long noodles
Salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup limoncello
1 teaspoon lemon zest, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted
Salt to taste
Black pepper, parsley and parmesan cheese for garnish
In a large, covered pot bring heavily salted water to a boil. Remove the lid, add the pasta, give it a stir and cook per package directions for al dente.
Meanwhile, in a large saute pan over medium heat, toast the pine nuts, shaking the pan often until just turning golden, about three minutes. Remove from the pan and return the pan to the burner.
Lower the heat and add the olive oil and limoncello. Toss in the pepper flakes and lemon zest. It will fizzle. Let warm through while the pasta cooks.
When the pasta is done, drain, then pour into a large bowl, toss with the lemon oil, pine nuts, parsley and black pepper (to taste). Pass with parmesan cheese.
Serves six to eight as a first course.
Additions: Capers, black olives, anchovies, frizzled leeks, scallops, broiled chicken, artichoke hearts...well, anything that you would put in pasta, right?
____________________________________
"Why do you think we add vodka to Penne alla Vodka?" says Shirley Corriher, food scientist and author. "Beverage alcohol actually dissolves flavor components and brings them out into the sauce."
In Italy, commercially made limoncello accounts for 65.3 percent of all sweet liqueur sold
The pine nut is also called the pinion nut or pignolia. It is mainly gathered in October in southern Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado from the stone pine (pinion means pine) trees.
From a reader: "Hi, I saw this and thought it was a great idea but badly presented. Check it out." Cooking By Numbers
Let's face it kids, for the most part, pasta recipes are a total bore. They are a medley of cooked noodles and sauce/meat/seafood/etc. Sometimes inspired and transporting, but mostly, not.So feeling that way, why have I got a lovely picture of noodles tantalizingly posted on the screen? Because kids, that is not a recipe for pasta, that is a recipe for pasta with limoncello.
Limoncello is a lemon flavored cordial that is so simple to make at home there is no excuse whatsoever (barring sobriety) that you shouldn't have some on hand at all times. I first had it sitting on a balcony overlooking the sea, in the ultra-fantastically-dreamy town of Manarola in Cinque Terra, Italy, with my sensationally food-centric, master-chef, Italian-American Step-Father pouring. I was rapturous over it's taste. An instant convert. Later that week I tried to buy a bottle, and was stopped with a smile. "No, no, my dear, this, I will show you how to make." Thus began my flavored vodka making frenzy that has never really abated.
The vibrant yellow color and lemon-rific flavor will send you right into your own dizzying summer sunset. And the bonus of course is that it is great in loads of dishes, from the most simple, to the outrageously complex. (Try marinating squid in it. Sigh.) Here for instance, I simply combined it with some oil and other ingredients for a fiery hot, electrifying, taste sensation. that whips up in a second. Boring old noodles with sauce, this is not. Try it, and enjoy.
For limoncello:1 750 ml bottle (minus a few sips) vodka or Everclear
8 large organic lemons, scrubbed clean
1/4 cup white sugar syrup (equal parts sugar and water, heated to dissolve the sugar, then cooled)
Using a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler, remove the yellow zest from the lemons in large strips. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and let steep for up to 3 months in your freezer.
For the pasta:
1 pound long noodles
Salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup limoncello
1 teaspoon lemon zest, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted
Salt to taste
Black pepper, parsley and parmesan cheese for garnish
In a large, covered pot bring heavily salted water to a boil. Remove the lid, add the pasta, give it a stir and cook per package directions for al dente.
Meanwhile, in a large saute pan over medium heat, toast the pine nuts, shaking the pan often until just turning golden, about three minutes. Remove from the pan and return the pan to the burner.
Lower the heat and add the olive oil and limoncello. Toss in the pepper flakes and lemon zest. It will fizzle. Let warm through while the pasta cooks.
When the pasta is done, drain, then pour into a large bowl, toss with the lemon oil, pine nuts, parsley and black pepper (to taste). Pass with parmesan cheese.
Serves six to eight as a first course.
Additions: Capers, black olives, anchovies, frizzled leeks, scallops, broiled chicken, artichoke hearts...well, anything that you would put in pasta, right?
____________________________________
"Why do you think we add vodka to Penne alla Vodka?" says Shirley Corriher, food scientist and author. "Beverage alcohol actually dissolves flavor components and brings them out into the sauce."
In Italy, commercially made limoncello accounts for 65.3 percent of all sweet liqueur sold
The pine nut is also called the pinion nut or pignolia. It is mainly gathered in October in southern Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado from the stone pine (pinion means pine) trees.
From a reader: "Hi, I saw this and thought it was a great idea but badly presented. Check it out." Cooking By Numbers
Labels: Entree, Pasta, Vegetarian
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Noodles and Cabbage
.
One way I know for certain I am a lucky woman is as simple as this. Whenever my darling Auntie Shesh jets in, she comes prepared with a huge supply of noodles and cabbage that she has lovingly stirred for hours (it does take hours) just so her West Coast family can indulge old world style. I also know I am lucky because when I was making it the other day and she wasn't around to answer my call, I just dialed up my first cousin twice removed (or some such interesting relationship nomenclature I have never fully grasped) and asked her, and we had a 20 minute discussion on the topic. That my friends, is a bond worth having. Family ties indeed.
So let's just say this isn't part of your particular culinary heritage. Or maybe, the idea of cooking something that calls for 1/2 pound of butter (margarine works here too. If you care to go that route) and has to cook for four hours just doesn't exactly appeal to you, well, to that I say, um, well, nothing actually. To each their own. I am posting it because it is really one of lifes better pleasures, that I encourage everyone to try. Me, I only make it at most once a year, and since it freezes oh so well, you really only need one batch to be able to defrost a bowl at any given moment. Why would you want to? Mostly because it is delicious, rich, deeply flavorful, and not all ALL cabbagey. More like buttery. Or cozy and most of all, excellent. Yup. Noodles and cabbage is excellent. Three ingredient perfection.
Please be forwarned, the reduction of the cabbage (as already stated) can take an eternity (or a fraction thereof) but it is also something you can easily walk away from for up to 45 minutes with no trouble at all. Classic addtions: Sour cream, poppy seeds, onions or smoked sausage. Non-traditional additions: Minced rosemary, a pinch of nutmeg or paprika. Thats about all I would suggest. Much else and you are just gilding the lily.
This dish is best made in a large, enamel coated cast iron (read: Le Creuset) pot, but any heavy bottomed (yeowza!) pan with a lid will do. Oh, and this is the excuse you have been looking for to bust out your Cuisinart/Magimix/Mandoline/V-Slicer to make fast work of the shredding. That said, here is the recipe. Try it as a side dish with roast chicken, a nice brisket or even with a warm bowl of soup. Make it as an indulgence, sigh with happiness, and enjoy.
1 large head green cabbage, shredded thin
1 stick unsalted butter
1 pound wide egg noodles
Salt and pepper to taste
In the aforementioned heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the cabbage and stir to coat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and walk away. Stir every 30 minutes for up to 4 hours. You want the cabbage to reduce to about a 1/2 cup of deep brown strands. Divide the mixture in half. When cooled you can freeze the second half for up to 6 months, or add another pound of noodles and double the batch.
When the cabbage is done, boil some heavily salted water and cook the noodles until al dente. Drain and add to the remaining cabbage. Season well with salt and pepper and serve.
Makes about 20 servings
__________________________
The B. Manischewitz Company was founded in 1888, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1930, U.S. per capita consumption of margarine was 2.6 pounds (vs. 17.6 pounds of butter). Today, per capita consumption of margarine in the U.S. is 8.3 pounds (including vegetable oil spreads) whereas butter consumption is down to about 4.2 pounds. - NMMA.org
In San Francisco, CA. crab season starts today at dawn and they should be back with a fresh catch by afternoon. Berthing fees for crabbers who dock their boats at the wharf are going up 60% starting in January. Some fishermen say that could put them out of business. Others say they'll dock their boats somewhere else. - CBS5.com
"Also getting the ax at Fox is the freshman comedy "Kitchen Confidential," whose order will not be extended beyond the initial 13 episodes." - Variety
One way I know for certain I am a lucky woman is as simple as this. Whenever my darling Auntie Shesh jets in, she comes prepared with a huge supply of noodles and cabbage that she has lovingly stirred for hours (it does take hours) just so her West Coast family can indulge old world style. I also know I am lucky because when I was making it the other day and she wasn't around to answer my call, I just dialed up my first cousin twice removed (or some such interesting relationship nomenclature I have never fully grasped) and asked her, and we had a 20 minute discussion on the topic. That my friends, is a bond worth having. Family ties indeed.So let's just say this isn't part of your particular culinary heritage. Or maybe, the idea of cooking something that calls for 1/2 pound of butter (margarine works here too. If you care to go that route) and has to cook for four hours just doesn't exactly appeal to you, well, to that I say, um, well, nothing actually. To each their own. I am posting it because it is really one of lifes better pleasures, that I encourage everyone to try. Me, I only make it at most once a year, and since it freezes oh so well, you really only need one batch to be able to defrost a bowl at any given moment. Why would you want to? Mostly because it is delicious, rich, deeply flavorful, and not all ALL cabbagey. More like buttery. Or cozy and most of all, excellent. Yup. Noodles and cabbage is excellent. Three ingredient perfection.
Please be forwarned, the reduction of the cabbage (as already stated) can take an eternity (or a fraction thereof) but it is also something you can easily walk away from for up to 45 minutes with no trouble at all. Classic addtions: Sour cream, poppy seeds, onions or smoked sausage. Non-traditional additions: Minced rosemary, a pinch of nutmeg or paprika. Thats about all I would suggest. Much else and you are just gilding the lily.
This dish is best made in a large, enamel coated cast iron (read: Le Creuset) pot, but any heavy bottomed (yeowza!) pan with a lid will do. Oh, and this is the excuse you have been looking for to bust out your Cuisinart/Magimix/Mandoline/V-Slicer to make fast work of the shredding. That said, here is the recipe. Try it as a side dish with roast chicken, a nice brisket or even with a warm bowl of soup. Make it as an indulgence, sigh with happiness, and enjoy.
1 large head green cabbage, shredded thin1 stick unsalted butter
1 pound wide egg noodles
Salt and pepper to taste
In the aforementioned heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the cabbage and stir to coat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and walk away. Stir every 30 minutes for up to 4 hours. You want the cabbage to reduce to about a 1/2 cup of deep brown strands. Divide the mixture in half. When cooled you can freeze the second half for up to 6 months, or add another pound of noodles and double the batch.
When the cabbage is done, boil some heavily salted water and cook the noodles until al dente. Drain and add to the remaining cabbage. Season well with salt and pepper and serve.
Makes about 20 servings
__________________________
The B. Manischewitz Company was founded in 1888, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1930, U.S. per capita consumption of margarine was 2.6 pounds (vs. 17.6 pounds of butter). Today, per capita consumption of margarine in the U.S. is 8.3 pounds (including vegetable oil spreads) whereas butter consumption is down to about 4.2 pounds. - NMMA.org
In San Francisco, CA. crab season starts today at dawn and they should be back with a fresh catch by afternoon. Berthing fees for crabbers who dock their boats at the wharf are going up 60% starting in January. Some fishermen say that could put them out of business. Others say they'll dock their boats somewhere else. - CBS5.com
"Also getting the ax at Fox is the freshman comedy "Kitchen Confidential," whose order will not be extended beyond the initial 13 episodes." - Variety
Labels: Pasta, Side-Dish, Vegetarian
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Cinnamon Beef Noodles
.
I made dinner for a boy the other night. Not just a boy, but the original teenaged stammer-stammer, blush-blush crush-boy. I enticed him to come visit my chic little bachelorette pad with the promise of a hot meal (thats right baby. H.O.T.) and then spent a week wondering what I should serve.
The obvious choice was to make something with cinnamon. Why? Because kids, haven't you heard? "Pumpkin Pie" (and lavender) is the sexiest scent to men, and in my estimation that is a combination of nutmeg and cinnamon, is it not? Plus, I've thought a lot about it, and if it weren't true, no one would say the way to a mans heart is through his stomach, right? (I pretty much figure that is also why I seem to have so many - really good lookin' and single - guy friends. I have so many in fact, I sometimes wonder...)
Anyway, back to my one on one dinner soiree. I decided to seduce his palate with a warm steaming bowl of Cinnamon Beef Noodles. Not that I had any idea what that is/was, but I had seen the title (not the recipe though) in a cookbook, and I have been thinking ever since (and this dates back to, oh, say 1997) that sounded pretty scrumptious. Following some logical Asian flavor combinations, I fiddled around, and the results startled me. It was indeed a taste of heaven and earth, loosely based on the quintessential Vietnamese beef soup, pho.
Warmth from the backround notes of sweet cinnamon and star anise, heat from the chiles, robust flavor from the broth and carmelized flank steak all combined with the slippery (organic! Fair trade!) udon noodles. And what did the boy think? He thought it was divine. If it is chilly where you live, and you need to melt someone's heart (or just warm the cockles of your own) try this, and enjoy.
1 pound flank steak
1 large yellow onion, cut into thick half moons
2 cups beef broth
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
Soy sauce, to taste
1 red bell pepper
2 carrots, sliced thin
1 chile pepper (optional)
12 oz. udon noodles
Parsley or cilantro as garnish
Sliced green onion, for garnish
Slice the steak, against the grain, into bite sized strips.
In a large soup pot, over high heat, add the oil and let heat until it shimmers. Add the beef in a single layer and sear by not touching it for 2 minutes, then turning until browned on the other side.
Add the onion, lower the heat, and cook until lightly browned, about four minutes. Add the soy sauce, stir and let cook another 30 seconds.
Add the beef broth, cinnamon, cinnamon sticks, star anise and chiles. Bring to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes to meld the flavors.
Raise the heat until the broth boils, then add the udon, and cook as long as directed (8 minutes is typical), half way through that cooking time, add the bell peppers and carrots. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Remove the cinnamon sticks and star anise and serve garnished with cilantro and green onion.
Makes enough for two as a main course
_________________________________
Studies have found that using half a teaspoon of cinammon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics
Star Anise is a five pointed pericarp used primarily in Chinese cooking and to a lesser extent Southeast Asian cuisine
Indian and Thai shrimp traders are awaiting a desicion today on whether punitive tariffs of 5 percent to 16 percent on shrimp shipments after American shrimpers said they were hurting from unfair competition will be lifted to help farmers hurt by last year's tsunami. The tariffs were imposed just 10 days after the tsunami, but came after months of investigation. The Dec. 26 tsunami, flooded shrimp farms, destroyed fishing boats and killed thousands of fishermen. An estimated 88,000 fishing boats and more than 14,000 hectares of shrimp farms were destroyed by the tsunami in India alone. Due to the combined impact of American duties and tsunami damages, India's seafood exports are expected to fall by 30 percent to US$1.03 billion (euro0.85 billion) for the year through March. Of those, India's shrimp exports to the United States are projected by the trade body to fall from the usual 25 percent to about 20 percent during the year. -Newsday.com
Today in the Los Angeles Times Food Section, there is still no mention of Los Angeles Food Bloggers. Stay tuned...
I made dinner for a boy the other night. Not just a boy, but the original teenaged stammer-stammer, blush-blush crush-boy. I enticed him to come visit my chic little bachelorette pad with the promise of a hot meal (thats right baby. H.O.T.) and then spent a week wondering what I should serve.The obvious choice was to make something with cinnamon. Why? Because kids, haven't you heard? "Pumpkin Pie" (and lavender) is the sexiest scent to men, and in my estimation that is a combination of nutmeg and cinnamon, is it not? Plus, I've thought a lot about it, and if it weren't true, no one would say the way to a mans heart is through his stomach, right? (I pretty much figure that is also why I seem to have so many - really good lookin' and single - guy friends. I have so many in fact, I sometimes wonder...)
Anyway, back to my one on one dinner soiree. I decided to seduce his palate with a warm steaming bowl of Cinnamon Beef Noodles. Not that I had any idea what that is/was, but I had seen the title (not the recipe though) in a cookbook, and I have been thinking ever since (and this dates back to, oh, say 1997) that sounded pretty scrumptious. Following some logical Asian flavor combinations, I fiddled around, and the results startled me. It was indeed a taste of heaven and earth, loosely based on the quintessential Vietnamese beef soup, pho.
Warmth from the backround notes of sweet cinnamon and star anise, heat from the chiles, robust flavor from the broth and carmelized flank steak all combined with the slippery (organic! Fair trade!) udon noodles. And what did the boy think? He thought it was divine. If it is chilly where you live, and you need to melt someone's heart (or just warm the cockles of your own) try this, and enjoy.
1 pound flank steak1 large yellow onion, cut into thick half moons
2 cups beef broth
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
Soy sauce, to taste
1 red bell pepper
2 carrots, sliced thin
1 chile pepper (optional)
12 oz. udon noodles
Parsley or cilantro as garnish
Sliced green onion, for garnish
Slice the steak, against the grain, into bite sized strips.
In a large soup pot, over high heat, add the oil and let heat until it shimmers. Add the beef in a single layer and sear by not touching it for 2 minutes, then turning until browned on the other side.
Add the onion, lower the heat, and cook until lightly browned, about four minutes. Add the soy sauce, stir and let cook another 30 seconds.
Add the beef broth, cinnamon, cinnamon sticks, star anise and chiles. Bring to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes to meld the flavors.
Raise the heat until the broth boils, then add the udon, and cook as long as directed (8 minutes is typical), half way through that cooking time, add the bell peppers and carrots. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Remove the cinnamon sticks and star anise and serve garnished with cilantro and green onion.
Makes enough for two as a main course
_________________________________
Studies have found that using half a teaspoon of cinammon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics
Star Anise is a five pointed pericarp used primarily in Chinese cooking and to a lesser extent Southeast Asian cuisine
Indian and Thai shrimp traders are awaiting a desicion today on whether punitive tariffs of 5 percent to 16 percent on shrimp shipments after American shrimpers said they were hurting from unfair competition will be lifted to help farmers hurt by last year's tsunami. The tariffs were imposed just 10 days after the tsunami, but came after months of investigation. The Dec. 26 tsunami, flooded shrimp farms, destroyed fishing boats and killed thousands of fishermen. An estimated 88,000 fishing boats and more than 14,000 hectares of shrimp farms were destroyed by the tsunami in India alone. Due to the combined impact of American duties and tsunami damages, India's seafood exports are expected to fall by 30 percent to US$1.03 billion (euro0.85 billion) for the year through March. Of those, India's shrimp exports to the United States are projected by the trade body to fall from the usual 25 percent to about 20 percent during the year. -Newsday.com
Today in the Los Angeles Times Food Section, there is still no mention of Los Angeles Food Bloggers. Stay tuned...
Labels: Beef, Entree, Pasta, Soup
Monday, August 22, 2005
Ravioli with Potato, Watercress and Cheese
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Hi ev'body! Here is my very own entry for The (First) Really Big Cookoff. As noted (many times) earlier, the recipe was for the Jamie Oliver treat Ravioli with Potato, Watercress and Cheese. I went a little mad with the camera, so there are lots of pictures to share along with my thoughts. Hee hee.
Along with a few of the other people who took part in this fun little experiment, I started with wonton wrappers, not being in the mood to make fresh pasta. (I never even considered it actually. I have made it plenty in the past and was never impressed. It comes out too, well, actually, too slimy for my taste.) For the optional cheeses I chose to use two very distinct flavors, a Spanish sheeps milk Manchego (I use that a lot. I love it) and a crazy-pungent Amish Blue, (cows milk) cheese both of which I bought at Whole Foods. I was pretty excited about the blue cheese, since after tasting about six differents ones (at an the un-palatable hour of 9 am. No matter how much I love blue cheese, it still doesnt qualify as breakfast food) and this one had a great flavor and it was reasonably priced.
Like Sylvie, I too wanted the potatoes to have a bit of flair, so I went with the buttery yellow Yukon Golds (At first I wanted the pink-ish Rose Finns but I couldn't find them anywhere. Sigh). After that I pretty much followed the recipe as it was written. Filling in all noted gaps. Here it is in case you wanted to see it again. As I mentioned earlier, this was re-printed without any permission what-so-ever.
Serves 4-6
6 sheets fresh pasta (cut out into 36 circles or squares, or use 36 wonton wrappers)
2 pounds all-purpose potatoes
4 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
4 or 5 good handfuls watercress, large stalks removed, plus extra for garnish
1/4 cup butter
10 - 12 oz. cheese, extra for garnish
Grated nutmeg, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Wash and peel the potatoes, put them into well-salted, boiling water with the garlic and cook until the potatoes are just tender (it is very important not to under- or overcook them). Drain them and let them sit for about 5 minutes to enable the excess water to evaporate (if you overcook them or don't drain them correctly they'll be too moist and your filling will be too wet).
When the potatoes have cooled slightly add your butter and your chosen cheeses. Stir and mash with a fork to mix and break the potatoes up (I like to leave the mixture slightly chunky). Add the nutmeg and seasoning to taste. Stir in the watercress, half finely chopped and the rest coarsely chopped.
Place a good heaped teaspoon of this mixture onto the lower half of each of the pasta squares (or circles). To seal, wet the inside edge with a little water or egg wash, fold over and presssing down to seal completely.
Cook in boiling salted water, stirring constantly, for about 3-4 minutes, until tender. The ravioli will float when done.
And then, I ate. I loved how the strong taste of the cheese and watercress came through. I could not detect the garlic at all (I think next time, I will saute the garlic first. Bring out the flavor, and then use it as a garnish) and was pleasantly suprised at how the flavor of the potato came through too. It was nice. I had worried it would be too pasty, but it stayed light. The suggestion to leave some chunky was also a good thing, adding variation to the texture. Like a lot of other participants I also had a lot of extra filling, but that may have been my fault for under filling the pasta. Since it was in essence, blue cheese mashed potatoes, it was a great treat the next day. Mmm.
So overall, I was thrilled with the results. This isn't something I would have thought up on my own, but I am ecstatic I tried it. Next time, I think I will serve it with a watercress pesto, jazz it up a bit.
Hi ev'body! Here is my very own entry for The (First) Really Big Cookoff. As noted (many times) earlier, the recipe was for the Jamie Oliver treat Ravioli with Potato, Watercress and Cheese. I went a little mad with the camera, so there are lots of pictures to share along with my thoughts. Hee hee.
Along with a few of the other people who took part in this fun little experiment, I started with wonton wrappers, not being in the mood to make fresh pasta. (I never even considered it actually. I have made it plenty in the past and was never impressed. It comes out too, well, actually, too slimy for my taste.) For the optional cheeses I chose to use two very distinct flavors, a Spanish sheeps milk Manchego (I use that a lot. I love it) and a crazy-pungent Amish Blue, (cows milk) cheese both of which I bought at Whole Foods. I was pretty excited about the blue cheese, since after tasting about six differents ones (at an the un-palatable hour of 9 am. No matter how much I love blue cheese, it still doesnt qualify as breakfast food) and this one had a great flavor and it was reasonably priced.Like Sylvie, I too wanted the potatoes to have a bit of flair, so I went with the buttery yellow Yukon Golds (At first I wanted the pink-ish Rose Finns but I couldn't find them anywhere. Sigh). After that I pretty much followed the recipe as it was written. Filling in all noted gaps. Here it is in case you wanted to see it again. As I mentioned earlier, this was re-printed without any permission what-so-ever.
Serves 4-6
6 sheets fresh pasta (cut out into 36 circles or squares, or use 36 wonton wrappers)
2 pounds all-purpose potatoes
4 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
4 or 5 good handfuls watercress, large stalks removed, plus extra for garnish
1/4 cup butter
10 - 12 oz. cheese, extra for garnish
Grated nutmeg, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Wash and peel the potatoes, put them into well-salted, boiling water with the garlic and cook until the potatoes are just tender (it is very important not to under- or overcook them). Drain them and let them sit for about 5 minutes to enable the excess water to evaporate (if you overcook them or don't drain them correctly they'll be too moist and your filling will be too wet).
When the potatoes have cooled slightly add your butter and your chosen cheeses. Stir and mash with a fork to mix and break the potatoes up (I like to leave the mixture slightly chunky). Add the nutmeg and seasoning to taste. Stir in the watercress, half finely chopped and the rest coarsely chopped.
Place a good heaped teaspoon of this mixture onto the lower half of each of the pasta squares (or circles). To seal, wet the inside edge with a little water or egg wash, fold over and presssing down to seal completely.
Cook in boiling salted water, stirring constantly, for about 3-4 minutes, until tender. The ravioli will float when done.And then, I ate. I loved how the strong taste of the cheese and watercress came through. I could not detect the garlic at all (I think next time, I will saute the garlic first. Bring out the flavor, and then use it as a garnish) and was pleasantly suprised at how the flavor of the potato came through too. It was nice. I had worried it would be too pasty, but it stayed light. The suggestion to leave some chunky was also a good thing, adding variation to the texture. Like a lot of other participants I also had a lot of extra filling, but that may have been my fault for under filling the pasta. Since it was in essence, blue cheese mashed potatoes, it was a great treat the next day. Mmm.
So overall, I was thrilled with the results. This isn't something I would have thought up on my own, but I am ecstatic I tried it. Next time, I think I will serve it with a watercress pesto, jazz it up a bit.Labels: Entree, Pasta, Vegetarian
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Spaetzle with Butter
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I was tagged for a meme (answering of which has caused me considerable consternation.) that asked about our earliest cooking memories. I was reminded of a time as a girl (in 5th grade. How old are we in the 5th grade?) when my best friend tried to teach me to make spaetzel, (oh how I wish I could flash back to THAT conversation) but we got caught by the nanny, we were subsequently punished for playing with the stove, and the spaetzle never made it into the pot .
My next encounter with this Germanic dumpling was at the hands of Chef Hans Rockenwagner who I had a mad, mad crush on at the time. I was assisting him in a cooking demo, but the stars in my eyes prevented me from actually absorbing any information, and just left me blushing and stammering and hoping his publicist/wife lingering in the wings wouldn't notice my adolescent lunacy.
But now, now, I am a woman, in full control. No nannies, no celebrity chefs (with impossibly broad shoulders) just me, some wet dough and a large pot of heavily salted boiling water. And as luck would have it, spaetzel are just about the easiest thing on earth to make. I served it/them with a classic brown butter and parsley sauce. Not exactly summer fare, but exceedingly tasty, simple to make, and (at least for me) a truly worthwhile endeavor, years in the making.
1/2 cup cold whole milk
2 whole eggs, 1 yolk
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
In a food processor, combine the milk, eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the flour and blend until smooth. It should be a little thicker than pancake batter. Add more milk to thin or flour to thicken.
Melt the butter over medium-low heat, and keep the pan on the burner.
Bring large pot of heavily salted water to boil. Working in batches, pour batter through a spaetzle maker, a colander, a slotted spoon or a wide hole cheese grater directly into the water. Stir gently to prevent them from globbing up. They will float to the surface, when that happens, give them another minute or so, then scoop out, and drain, then add into the melted butter. Toss and serve.
Makes enough for six as a side dish
_________________________________________________
Moving between cars - as well as resting one's feet on the seats, sipping from an open container (even a cup of coffee) and straddling a bicycle while riding the subway - will be prohibited under a new set of passenger rules adopted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's transit committee yesterday, the first such rule changes since 1994. -NY Times
I was tagged for a meme (answering of which has caused me considerable consternation.) that asked about our earliest cooking memories. I was reminded of a time as a girl (in 5th grade. How old are we in the 5th grade?) when my best friend tried to teach me to make spaetzel, (oh how I wish I could flash back to THAT conversation) but we got caught by the nanny, we were subsequently punished for playing with the stove, and the spaetzle never made it into the pot .My next encounter with this Germanic dumpling was at the hands of Chef Hans Rockenwagner who I had a mad, mad crush on at the time. I was assisting him in a cooking demo, but the stars in my eyes prevented me from actually absorbing any information, and just left me blushing and stammering and hoping his publicist/wife lingering in the wings wouldn't notice my adolescent lunacy.
But now, now, I am a woman, in full control. No nannies, no celebrity chefs (with impossibly broad shoulders) just me, some wet dough and a large pot of heavily salted boiling water. And as luck would have it, spaetzel are just about the easiest thing on earth to make. I served it/them with a classic brown butter and parsley sauce. Not exactly summer fare, but exceedingly tasty, simple to make, and (at least for me) a truly worthwhile endeavor, years in the making.
1/2 cup cold whole milk
2 whole eggs, 1 yolk
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
In a food processor, combine the milk, eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the flour and blend until smooth. It should be a little thicker than pancake batter. Add more milk to thin or flour to thicken.
Melt the butter over medium-low heat, and keep the pan on the burner.
Bring large pot of heavily salted water to boil. Working in batches, pour batter through a spaetzle maker, a colander, a slotted spoon or a wide hole cheese grater directly into the water. Stir gently to prevent them from globbing up. They will float to the surface, when that happens, give them another minute or so, then scoop out, and drain, then add into the melted butter. Toss and serve.
Makes enough for six as a side dish
_________________________________________________
Moving between cars - as well as resting one's feet on the seats, sipping from an open container (even a cup of coffee) and straddling a bicycle while riding the subway - will be prohibited under a new set of passenger rules adopted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's transit committee yesterday, the first such rule changes since 1994. -NY Times
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Udon Noodle Lunch
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Once in awhile I will try to see how long I can go without a visit to the market. Weird, but true. It's a great exercise in creative cooking and general pantry cleanout. This does not include getting fresh produce, which I cannot live without, its just to see how many of my dry goods I can use up before I go buying anymore. Limited shelf space makes this a must in my little world. Yesterday’s challenge, after poking around in the cupboard for awhile was to find a tasty dish to make with a packet of udon noodles.
Udon is the beautiful Japanese wheat noodle that is interestingly complex to make. Basically you bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add the udon, when it comes back to a boil add a ¼ cup of cold water. Do this four times. After the fourth time, add a pinch of salt, cover the udon and let steam for 15 minutes. That, even to me, who doesn’t mind a multi step recipe, is pretty involved. But then again, they do become the most deliciously fattened, slurpy, flavorful and versatile noodles that can be eaten hot or cold and with sauce or in soups. Yesterday, I made them into a simple dish. Here is the recipe. Try, and enjoy.
½ package udon noodles, cooked
2 stalks celery, diced
½ cup water chestnuts, sliced
½ small red onion, sliced thin
¼ cup edamame beans, cooked and shelled
1 red jalepeno, minced
¼ cup water or chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
2 teaspoons mirin
a few drops of sesame oil
Garnish: sesame seeds and ichimi (Japanese pepper mix)
In a large sauté pan, over a medium low flame, add all the ingredients except the garnishes and the noodles. Heat, stirring constantly until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Add the noodles and continue to stir until coated, another 2 minutes. Garnish with sesame seeds and ichimi.
Makes enough for two large portions
__________________________________________________________
Rice is the main carbohydrate food in Japan, consumed with every meal. However, the real basis of the Japanese diet is not rice but fish, consumed at more than 154 pounds per person per year. In fact the Japanese consume about twice as much fish as meat
Egg consumption in Japan is higher than in America- 40 pounds per person per year, versus 34 in the US.
Once in awhile I will try to see how long I can go without a visit to the market. Weird, but true. It's a great exercise in creative cooking and general pantry cleanout. This does not include getting fresh produce, which I cannot live without, its just to see how many of my dry goods I can use up before I go buying anymore. Limited shelf space makes this a must in my little world. Yesterday’s challenge, after poking around in the cupboard for awhile was to find a tasty dish to make with a packet of udon noodles.Udon is the beautiful Japanese wheat noodle that is interestingly complex to make. Basically you bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add the udon, when it comes back to a boil add a ¼ cup of cold water. Do this four times. After the fourth time, add a pinch of salt, cover the udon and let steam for 15 minutes. That, even to me, who doesn’t mind a multi step recipe, is pretty involved. But then again, they do become the most deliciously fattened, slurpy, flavorful and versatile noodles that can be eaten hot or cold and with sauce or in soups. Yesterday, I made them into a simple dish. Here is the recipe. Try, and enjoy.
½ package udon noodles, cooked
2 stalks celery, diced
½ cup water chestnuts, sliced
½ small red onion, sliced thin
¼ cup edamame beans, cooked and shelled
1 red jalepeno, minced
¼ cup water or chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
2 teaspoons mirin
a few drops of sesame oil
Garnish: sesame seeds and ichimi (Japanese pepper mix)
In a large sauté pan, over a medium low flame, add all the ingredients except the garnishes and the noodles. Heat, stirring constantly until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Add the noodles and continue to stir until coated, another 2 minutes. Garnish with sesame seeds and ichimi.
Makes enough for two large portions
__________________________________________________________
Rice is the main carbohydrate food in Japan, consumed with every meal. However, the real basis of the Japanese diet is not rice but fish, consumed at more than 154 pounds per person per year. In fact the Japanese consume about twice as much fish as meat
Egg consumption in Japan is higher than in America- 40 pounds per person per year, versus 34 in the US.
Labels: Entree, Pasta, Vegetarian
