This is becoming a one-woman show, peeps! Now, I know I'm fascinating (said in the Gary Oldman-as-Drexel voice if you catch me) but I ain't that fascinating! Variety is the spice of life, in food and in food blogging. I know we're all busy, but for the sake of keeping this thing alive (and because I amuse myself, if only myself) here's what I ate this weekend:
Friday night
dinner: tacos (corn tortillas) filled with caramelized onions, wilted spinach and goat cheese, smothered in A's delicious fire roasted salsa. Shazam!
Saturday
breakfast: bacon, egg and cheese on a toasted everything bagel and coffee. The everything bagel may arguably be "boyfriend repellant" (depends on the boyfriend, I guess) but it sure is tasty! And we all know I don't resist tasty. It was so tasty, in fact, that I took a couple home with me, along with a container of vegetable cream cheese and a hot chocolate chip bagel that got eaten before we even walked out the door.
lunch: this delicious broccoli and potato soup from the New York Times. They've got some gems in their soup repetoire, I'll report back as I try more of them. The parmesan croutons add textural interest and a rich saltiness - you can't go wrong.
dinner: Attended a vegetarian potluck. Brought bbq pizza with mushrooms (not my idea, and initially I scoffed at it but I learned my lesson - it was damn good!). Ate tons of awesome food, can't remember all of it. Standouts included quesadillas with guacamole, soy-marinated tofu and fried rice, homemade hummus with garlic pita bread, and butternut squash soup.
Today:
breakfast: half an everything bagel (from stash acquired yesterday), plain cream cheese, and coffee.
lunch: this is kind of embarassing, but I ate another bagel for lunch. What can I say? I like bagels. My first real job was at a Bruegger's Bagels and it was no accident. I think back on it as my halcyon days. I was free to try all sorts of seemingly perverse combinations like everything bagels with honey walnut cream cheese and poppy-salt bagels with every different kind of cream cheese. They are quick, filling (for a few minutes, anyway) and delicious, and I was running out the door. So it was a sesame bagel toasted with vegetable cream cheese. To save face, I ate a blood orange (I'm trying for one piece of fruit per day) and washed it all down with some hot peach tea (my favorite - oops, just kidding - Earl Grey is my favorite, see previous posts!)
dinner: what did I eat for dinner? hmmm... oh yeah, I remember, sorry but I'm emerging from the fog of dessert. Dinner was some of A's delicious green salsa (he is a salsa machine and I love it!), more broccoli potato soup, and some potato and pea samosas with coriander and mango chutney.
The dessert that did me in for the night was David Lebovitz's sticky toffee pudding, a recipe I have been absolutely drooling over for the past couple of weeks (weeks! just look at the pictures!) Usually once I find a recipe this swoon-worthy, I don't wait weeks. I do everything in my power to produce it in my kitchen as soon as humanly possible. Sometimes I think of myself as a machine. For some reason, I kept getting waylaid on this one and maybe it was for the best - someone should have warned me that I would need not only a couple hours to make it, but several more to recover from eating it. It was amazingly delicious, but my blood sugar HATED me afterwards. I doused it in toffee sauce (think of me & syrup, you get the idea), topped it with whipped cream, and devoured it. Any time any of y'all want to come over, just say the word and I'll whip it up. Then we'll have to talk to each other as we lie prostrate on the floor, but it will be worth it.
On a side note, if anyone's made toffee (not the hard kind, but the warm sticky kind as shown in the pictures) perhaps they can tell me what the trick is to getting it all thick and sticky. Mine never thickened to the consistency that it should have. It tasted like toffee and it worked fine with the cake, but I want to know what I did wrong. I'm thinking it may have been the sugar I used. Next time I'll try with true brown sugar (I used turbinado) and see if that does it. Maybe I'll add some butter. Hah.
Buona notte!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Another soup recipe...
I apologize for my lack of blog participation lately, but i couldn't help but contribute one of my favorite "under the weather" soup recipes, or techniques really.
I started making this soup for myself when i was working at a vegetarian restaurant. I was really into (and still am) very simple japanese food at the time, and this was just something i came up with out of necessity. A small piece of kombu seaweed, a knob of ginger, some dried mushrooms, scallion whites, a little water, tamari or shoyu, makes an excellent broth for soba or udon noodles, or is great just poured over some brown or steamed rice, with fresh scallions and togarashi chili powder on top. you could make a basic dashi and add bonito flakes to the kombu broth, but i almost prefer this vegetarian version when im not feeling well.
Kombu Broth with Soba
1 2 inch piece of kombu seaweed, scored with a sharp knife once or twice.
1 1 inch knob of ginger, smashed with the flat of your knife
2 - 3 scallion whites (greens reserved for garnish) smashed with the flat of your knife
5 good quality dried shitake mushrooms, or fresh shitake stems (if using fresh shitakes, gently cook in the finished broth while the noodles cook.)
3 cups of cold water
tamari or shoyu soy sauce to taste
For garnish:
Cooked dried soba noodles
Thinly sliced fresh or reconstituted dry shitake mushrooms (from making the broth)
Scallion greens, thinly sliced on the bias.
Sesame oil
Very finely julienned fresh ginger
schichimi togarashi (japanese 7 spice chili powder)
Method:
in a small sauce pan combine the kombu, ginger, scallion whites, mushrooms and water.
Slowly bring to a simmer, and remove and discard the kombu before the water starts to boil, otherwise it will give off a funky odor. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the dried shitakes are soft and the broth tastes like it has fully extracted the flavor of the aromatics. remove from heat, strain through a fine mesh sieve, reserving the reconstituted shitake caps (remove and discard the woody stems), and discarding the rest of the spent ingredients. Thinly slice and return the mushrooms to the broth, and season to taste with the shoyu or tamari. keep warm on the stove while you prepare the garnishes and cook the noodles.
Serve in warmed bowls garnished to your liking.
Hope you feel better!!
I started making this soup for myself when i was working at a vegetarian restaurant. I was really into (and still am) very simple japanese food at the time, and this was just something i came up with out of necessity. A small piece of kombu seaweed, a knob of ginger, some dried mushrooms, scallion whites, a little water, tamari or shoyu, makes an excellent broth for soba or udon noodles, or is great just poured over some brown or steamed rice, with fresh scallions and togarashi chili powder on top. you could make a basic dashi and add bonito flakes to the kombu broth, but i almost prefer this vegetarian version when im not feeling well.
Kombu Broth with Soba
1 2 inch piece of kombu seaweed, scored with a sharp knife once or twice.
1 1 inch knob of ginger, smashed with the flat of your knife
2 - 3 scallion whites (greens reserved for garnish) smashed with the flat of your knife
5 good quality dried shitake mushrooms, or fresh shitake stems (if using fresh shitakes, gently cook in the finished broth while the noodles cook.)
3 cups of cold water
tamari or shoyu soy sauce to taste
For garnish:
Cooked dried soba noodles
Thinly sliced fresh or reconstituted dry shitake mushrooms (from making the broth)
Scallion greens, thinly sliced on the bias.
Sesame oil
Very finely julienned fresh ginger
schichimi togarashi (japanese 7 spice chili powder)
Method:
in a small sauce pan combine the kombu, ginger, scallion whites, mushrooms and water.
Slowly bring to a simmer, and remove and discard the kombu before the water starts to boil, otherwise it will give off a funky odor. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the dried shitakes are soft and the broth tastes like it has fully extracted the flavor of the aromatics. remove from heat, strain through a fine mesh sieve, reserving the reconstituted shitake caps (remove and discard the woody stems), and discarding the rest of the spent ingredients. Thinly slice and return the mushrooms to the broth, and season to taste with the shoyu or tamari. keep warm on the stove while you prepare the garnishes and cook the noodles.
Serve in warmed bowls garnished to your liking.
Hope you feel better!!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Chicken Soup to the Rescue
D, say it ain't so! I'm sorry to hear that you're under the weather. Here's my go-to recipe for a basic, no-frills, hearty and delicious chicken soup - you can improvise with whatever you have on hand (celery, onions instead of leeks, vegetable instead of chicken stock, etc.) I'm eating it as I type this very moment. Oddly enough, I find that a healthy squirt of hot sauce in my chicken soup is strangely satisfying when I'm sick - but you can also leave it as is, or grate some cheese over it, whatever strikes your fancy. If you're going to be eating it over a couple of days, you may want to keep some of the cooked chicken and pasta aside in the refrigerator so that you can make the soup quickly whenever you want. Feel better soon!
Chicken Soup with a Secret Weapon
Adapted from Orangette
2 large, bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
Olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh thyme (about 4-5 sprigs)
2 quarts chicken broth (I used Imagine brand Organic Free Range), plus a bit more broth or water for thinning if needed
2 large carrots, cut into rounds roughly ¼-inch thick
2 medium leeks, trimmed, halved lengthwise, rinsed thoroughly, and cut into rough 1-inch pieces 1 Parmigiano Reggiano rind, roughly 2 inches square
1/3 cup small soup pasta (I use whatever's on hand; pipette, elbows, etc.)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse and dry chicken breasts, and place them in a single layer on a baking dish or cookie sheet. Rub them with olive oil, and sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and roughly 3 sprigs’ worth of thyme leaves. Roast the chicken for 30 minutes, or until it is cooked through and the skin is golden. Set the meat aside until cool enough to handle; then shred the chicken from the bone in large flakes, discarding the skin. [Note that most of the seasonings are stuck to the outside of the skin, so as you remove it, you might consider rubbing it, seasoning side down, against the meat.]
Pour chicken broth into a large pot, Dutch oven, or stockpot. Add the carrots, leeks, cheese rind, and a dash of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let cook about 25 minutes, until vegetables are tender and broth smells lightly of the cheese. Add the leaves of 7 or so sprigs of thyme, and let cook another five minutes. Add chicken and pasta (and a bit of additional broth or water, if you feel the mixture is too thick), return the soup to a boil, turn down the heat, and let the soup simmer for 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt and pepper if needed. Retrieve and discard the cheese rind. Ladle into bowls. Serves a lot.
Chicken Soup with a Secret Weapon
Adapted from Orangette
2 large, bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
Olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh thyme (about 4-5 sprigs)
2 quarts chicken broth (I used Imagine brand Organic Free Range), plus a bit more broth or water for thinning if needed
2 large carrots, cut into rounds roughly ¼-inch thick
2 medium leeks, trimmed, halved lengthwise, rinsed thoroughly, and cut into rough 1-inch pieces 1 Parmigiano Reggiano rind, roughly 2 inches square
1/3 cup small soup pasta (I use whatever's on hand; pipette, elbows, etc.)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse and dry chicken breasts, and place them in a single layer on a baking dish or cookie sheet. Rub them with olive oil, and sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and roughly 3 sprigs’ worth of thyme leaves. Roast the chicken for 30 minutes, or until it is cooked through and the skin is golden. Set the meat aside until cool enough to handle; then shred the chicken from the bone in large flakes, discarding the skin. [Note that most of the seasonings are stuck to the outside of the skin, so as you remove it, you might consider rubbing it, seasoning side down, against the meat.]
Pour chicken broth into a large pot, Dutch oven, or stockpot. Add the carrots, leeks, cheese rind, and a dash of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let cook about 25 minutes, until vegetables are tender and broth smells lightly of the cheese. Add the leaves of 7 or so sprigs of thyme, and let cook another five minutes. Add chicken and pasta (and a bit of additional broth or water, if you feel the mixture is too thick), return the soup to a boil, turn down the heat, and let the soup simmer for 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt and pepper if needed. Retrieve and discard the cheese rind. Ladle into bowls. Serves a lot.
Soup Recipe
Nene (or anyone else for that matter): I'm pretty sick right now, so I was hoping you might have a good soup recipe for me. I have some home-made vegetable broth in the freezer, and i'm fiendin for some old fashioned chicken-noodle, or something. Let me know!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Weekend Bounty
So far today has been a day of bountiful productivity in the kitchen: I've made Molly's berry pound cake and Deb's chocolate chip cookies, and frozen yesterday's chicken stock in various quantities (ice cubes, 1-cup ziploc baggies, etc.). Now I'm contemplating what to eat for dinner but must do some actual work first (and I'm not yet hungry since snacking on the pound cake and the cookies). Potato gratin? Chicken soup? Patricia Wells' winter pistou with Gene's pesto? I forgot to get butter and milk when I was at the store earlier, and am debating whether to go out again. Is it absurd to go to Whole Foods twice in one day?
Breakfast: Kashi cereal of oat flakes and wild blueberry clusters (I add frozen blueberries), coffee, half a sesame bagel with cream cheese.
Lunch: Black forest ham and Swiss cheese on ciabatta with spicy mustard. Water, apple cider.
Snack: teeny slice of berry pound cake (warm) and two warm chocolate chip cookies.
Dinner: TBD
Saturday, January 24, 2009
That's What I'm Talking About
Since reading this article, I have been making this soup almost non-stop. It's quick, super tasty, wonderfully aromatic, and very easy to adjust or improvise the ingredients. It's kind of a fun game to play around with the proportions, depending on how much of each component you want to taste in each spoonful/forkful/bite. You can make and keep various ingredients (cooked, shredded chicken, cilantro, lettuce, scallions, etc.) in the fridge and simply toss them into the broth at the last minute. I attempted to eat this with chopsticks without much success, and promptly switched to a spoon.
There have been so many blog-worthy culinary moments of late that I don't even know where to begin trying to catch up. In New York last weekend, the wierd music fan club (minus one) hit up two spots that were both new to me: Veselka, Ukranian food in the East Village, and Le Gamin in Soho, which I've wondered about ever since I became devoted to Robert Arbor's cute, kitschy storybook about French food and lifestyle, Joie de Vivre. Veselka was heavy on the meat, although with lots of vegetarian options, it doesn't have to be - but I ordered the meat combination plate, which included meat-stuffed cabbage and an array of pierogi as well as a cup of winey red borscht (which was a bit on the sweet side for me - when I had it in Russia, I seem to remember it had a bit of cream added to the broth to cut it and give it some unctuous body). V looked like he was about to pass out over his goulash, and we decided that he needs a stomach expansion. H's Christmas borscht with mushroom dumplings looked tasty.
Le Gamin was a totally unexpected surprise and a huge hit (we missed you H & T!) Small, super laid-back with a neighborhood vibe, the food was straightforward French corner bistro and perfectly executed. By happy accident, they made us the wrong crepe and so we got to try two. V had a simple and delicious omelet of ham, mushrooms and cheese with a lightly dressed green salad on the side, and I had a poached egg atop a latke with ratatouille. Then we shared a ratatouille crepe and a crepe with fresh butter and sugar. The coffee was strong, the atmosphere calm and friendly, the food was scrumptious and affordable - if you're in NY and looking for a breakfast/brunch/lunch/study spot, you should check it out.
This morning has been devoted to making stock and reading, sitting at my kitchen table with tulips and a bowl of blood oranges before me. Later will be attending Culinary Nirvana at la casa de Jazione - will report back with full details and photos - ciao amici!
There have been so many blog-worthy culinary moments of late that I don't even know where to begin trying to catch up. In New York last weekend, the wierd music fan club (minus one) hit up two spots that were both new to me: Veselka, Ukranian food in the East Village, and Le Gamin in Soho, which I've wondered about ever since I became devoted to Robert Arbor's cute, kitschy storybook about French food and lifestyle, Joie de Vivre. Veselka was heavy on the meat, although with lots of vegetarian options, it doesn't have to be - but I ordered the meat combination plate, which included meat-stuffed cabbage and an array of pierogi as well as a cup of winey red borscht (which was a bit on the sweet side for me - when I had it in Russia, I seem to remember it had a bit of cream added to the broth to cut it and give it some unctuous body). V looked like he was about to pass out over his goulash, and we decided that he needs a stomach expansion. H's Christmas borscht with mushroom dumplings looked tasty.
Le Gamin was a totally unexpected surprise and a huge hit (we missed you H & T!) Small, super laid-back with a neighborhood vibe, the food was straightforward French corner bistro and perfectly executed. By happy accident, they made us the wrong crepe and so we got to try two. V had a simple and delicious omelet of ham, mushrooms and cheese with a lightly dressed green salad on the side, and I had a poached egg atop a latke with ratatouille. Then we shared a ratatouille crepe and a crepe with fresh butter and sugar. The coffee was strong, the atmosphere calm and friendly, the food was scrumptious and affordable - if you're in NY and looking for a breakfast/brunch/lunch/study spot, you should check it out.
This morning has been devoted to making stock and reading, sitting at my kitchen table with tulips and a bowl of blood oranges before me. Later will be attending Culinary Nirvana at la casa de Jazione - will report back with full details and photos - ciao amici!
New Schedule, New Diet
Thursday
Breakfast: Spent so much time in a flurry about what to wear on the first day of my internship, that I didn't eat at home. Found a clementine in my purse (I am such an old lady). At internship, with nothing to do, snuck absolutely disgusting "vegetable" Wheat Thins out of a half empty bag that I ALSO had in my purse. They contained MSG. Not the best way to start the day. Water.
Lunch: My first foray into the Conde Nast cafeteria. Delightfully surprising. I opted for the Korean bar, where I was served up a big bowl of brown rice, sprouts, kimchee, something fresh basil-like, tofu, and a fried egg, which I topped with chili paste, soybean paste, and sesame seeds. More water.
Dinner: To exhausted to even heat anything up. Sandwich on whole wheat white bread (which still confuses me) of salami, cheddar cheese, organic mesculun lettuce. Handful of Terra Cotta vegetable chips. A few almonds, I think. A few sweetened dried cranberries. A few penguin shaped gummies from Trader Joe's.
Before bed: Mug of chamomile tea.
Friday
Breakfast: Much better attempt. Mug of organic granola with 2% milk. Banana.
Lunch: Something called a mezze (I think) in the cafeteria. A small container with a sizable block of feta adorned with fresh rosemary, pitted greek olives, cherry tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, two stuffed grape leaves. A mealy apple. Water.
Dinner: At Grand Central sushi bar called Masa, which is suprisingly good. I've avoided the fish because it's in a train station, but I've gotten the vegetarian "Track 5" several times now. It comes with two pieces of inari and three three-piece rolls. One of them has cucumber and plum paste, one pickled (yellow) radish, one cooked squash (the best). Half a decent red bean bun. Water.
Breakfast: Spent so much time in a flurry about what to wear on the first day of my internship, that I didn't eat at home. Found a clementine in my purse (I am such an old lady). At internship, with nothing to do, snuck absolutely disgusting "vegetable" Wheat Thins out of a half empty bag that I ALSO had in my purse. They contained MSG. Not the best way to start the day. Water.
Lunch: My first foray into the Conde Nast cafeteria. Delightfully surprising. I opted for the Korean bar, where I was served up a big bowl of brown rice, sprouts, kimchee, something fresh basil-like, tofu, and a fried egg, which I topped with chili paste, soybean paste, and sesame seeds. More water.
Dinner: To exhausted to even heat anything up. Sandwich on whole wheat white bread (which still confuses me) of salami, cheddar cheese, organic mesculun lettuce. Handful of Terra Cotta vegetable chips. A few almonds, I think. A few sweetened dried cranberries. A few penguin shaped gummies from Trader Joe's.
Before bed: Mug of chamomile tea.
Friday
Breakfast: Much better attempt. Mug of organic granola with 2% milk. Banana.
Lunch: Something called a mezze (I think) in the cafeteria. A small container with a sizable block of feta adorned with fresh rosemary, pitted greek olives, cherry tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, two stuffed grape leaves. A mealy apple. Water.
Dinner: At Grand Central sushi bar called Masa, which is suprisingly good. I've avoided the fish because it's in a train station, but I've gotten the vegetarian "Track 5" several times now. It comes with two pieces of inari and three three-piece rolls. One of them has cucumber and plum paste, one pickled (yellow) radish, one cooked squash (the best). Half a decent red bean bun. Water.
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