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Thursday, March 10, 2011
Pea Planting Time is Upon Us!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Black Truffles
An exciting farmer's market find! Truffles have a unique earthy flavor that give the simplest dishes power. These funghi are famous for being hunted by specialized pigs in France and Italy, but as it turns out there are plenty to be found in Washington and Oregon. Northwestern truffles are considerably less expensive as well. I've heard they can cost a fortune or your life in France, but I paid less than $10 for 6. Which is a lot, but for the novelty they provided, it seems pretty worth it.
They are kind of a pain to clean as they have quite a bit of dirt caked on them and you don't really want to water them down much if you can avoid it. Fortunately I had just picked up a free toothbrush at the dentists :). Truffles can be stored in cornmeal, in the fridge for up to a week. What's great about this is that when you are done storing them, you can still cook up the polenta.
The same holds true for eggs. Omlette is one of the classic truffle preparations, and keeping truffles in the same container helps the aroma permeate the egg.
In the end, I just went with these two preparations - truffled polenta and scrambled eggs with truffles. Both were delicious - you just shave the truffles into the polenta or scrambled eggs while they cook, add salt, pepper, and parm and you are golden!
They are kind of a pain to clean as they have quite a bit of dirt caked on them and you don't really want to water them down much if you can avoid it. Fortunately I had just picked up a free toothbrush at the dentists :). Truffles can be stored in cornmeal, in the fridge for up to a week. What's great about this is that when you are done storing them, you can still cook up the polenta.
The same holds true for eggs. Omlette is one of the classic truffle preparations, and keeping truffles in the same container helps the aroma permeate the egg.
In the end, I just went with these two preparations - truffled polenta and scrambled eggs with truffles. Both were delicious - you just shave the truffles into the polenta or scrambled eggs while they cook, add salt, pepper, and parm and you are golden!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Spanish Tortilla
Basically a potato frittata, this dish is simple, satisfying and versatile. You can enjoy it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It can be eaten hot or cold. And it is also commonly served at tapas - Spain's version of happy hour - with romesco sauce. You will get a lot of leftovers from the dish, so it's nice that it works well for so many occasions.
I loosely followed Mark Bittman's recipe to make this. But basically you slice potatoes thinly, saute them in what seems like too much olive oil until they are nearly done cooking, remove them and then saute thinly sliced onions in the olive oil not absorbed by the potatoes for several minutes. Salt and pepper liberally, then combine it all in one oven proof pan (I used a cast iron skillet for the whole thing. Bittman does the potatoes and onions together, but I just couldn't fit it all in my pan. Now that you have the onions and potatoes combined in the pan, pour your eggs over the top so that you have enough egg to mostly cover the vegetables. I used a pint of egg beaters instead of whole eggs. I have been trying not to eat so many yolks, so I reserve whole eggs for when I want them fried or poached and not scrambled. Mark Bittman cooks his on the stove top and flips it to cook it evenly. I am just not that skilled, so I cook mine in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes or so. You can see from the detail below that I've done it this way because my vegetables stick up out of the egg mixture.
We ate it plain, practically straight from the oven the first time, but later enjoyed it slightly warm with some homemade romesco sauce - which I made by tossing half a cup of sundried tomatoes, a quarter of a cup of sliced almonds, a generous sprinkle of smoked Spanish paprika and a roasted red pepper into the food processor until I had a nice paste. There are more complicated and smoother versions of romesco out there, but this was really good and used some stuff we had hanging around in our fridge. I could have added more olive oil to smooth it out, but I was happy with the texture as is.
I loosely followed Mark Bittman's recipe to make this. But basically you slice potatoes thinly, saute them in what seems like too much olive oil until they are nearly done cooking, remove them and then saute thinly sliced onions in the olive oil not absorbed by the potatoes for several minutes. Salt and pepper liberally, then combine it all in one oven proof pan (I used a cast iron skillet for the whole thing. Bittman does the potatoes and onions together, but I just couldn't fit it all in my pan. Now that you have the onions and potatoes combined in the pan, pour your eggs over the top so that you have enough egg to mostly cover the vegetables. I used a pint of egg beaters instead of whole eggs. I have been trying not to eat so many yolks, so I reserve whole eggs for when I want them fried or poached and not scrambled. Mark Bittman cooks his on the stove top and flips it to cook it evenly. I am just not that skilled, so I cook mine in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes or so. You can see from the detail below that I've done it this way because my vegetables stick up out of the egg mixture.
We ate it plain, practically straight from the oven the first time, but later enjoyed it slightly warm with some homemade romesco sauce - which I made by tossing half a cup of sundried tomatoes, a quarter of a cup of sliced almonds, a generous sprinkle of smoked Spanish paprika and a roasted red pepper into the food processor until I had a nice paste. There are more complicated and smoother versions of romesco out there, but this was really good and used some stuff we had hanging around in our fridge. I could have added more olive oil to smooth it out, but I was happy with the texture as is.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Caprese
Mozzarella Tomato Basil. Need I say more?
Enjoy it slightly warmed on grilled bread
Or as a salad, no bread necessary to enjoy this scrumptious combo
Enjoy it slightly warmed on grilled bread
Or as a salad, no bread necessary to enjoy this scrumptious combo
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Have I Mentioned this Pizza?
As soon as you get the chance, go to Carmelita for happy hour. The pizzas are so amazing, you will not be disappointed, nor will you be able to stop thinking about them. Ever since my first visit, I have been constantly trying to recreate them and while none of these are quite as good as theirs, we've been enjoying the results of my aspirations.
This is a Newman's Own Spinach and Cheese with the additional toppings of cremini mushrooms, pecans, roasted garlic, and wild arugula tossed with truffle oil, salt and pepper
The same store bought pizza again, but with some treats from the forager - porcini mushrooms and fiddlehead ferns, pecans, and green garlic slices.
Once it's out of the oven, I topped it again with the arugula tossed in truffle oil with salt and pepper.
Once, I was brave enough to make my own pizza whole wheat pizza dough. So good. This one is topped with roasted delicata squash, delicata seeds, kale, mushrooms, roasted onions, roasted garlic and a little parmesan. Love winter squash on pizza.
This is a Newman's Own Spinach and Cheese with the additional toppings of cremini mushrooms, pecans, roasted garlic, and wild arugula tossed with truffle oil, salt and pepper
The same store bought pizza again, but with some treats from the forager - porcini mushrooms and fiddlehead ferns, pecans, and green garlic slices.
Once it's out of the oven, I topped it again with the arugula tossed in truffle oil with salt and pepper.
Once, I was brave enough to make my own pizza whole wheat pizza dough. So good. This one is topped with roasted delicata squash, delicata seeds, kale, mushrooms, roasted onions, roasted garlic and a little parmesan. Love winter squash on pizza.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Creative Tacos
Since giving up meat, I've discovered that most vegetables/vegetarian dishes make delicious tacos. Though I am still occasionally wistful for carnitas, trying everything else in a tortilla has been a satisfying endeavor. Here are some great combos you can try at home.
Sauteed Zucchini, Basil, and Parmesan - this actually has yellow squash and squash blossom as well, but I just happen to have that. If you don't mind a little half and half, it coalesces the mix nicely, but is not necessary.
Banh Mi taco - we had some banh mi fixings left over and no bread, so I popped this into a corn tortilla instead. Charlie walked into the room as I was spreading the mayo on the tortilla and said "I like where this is going." We were still laughing as we ate.
Paneer curry with edamame, green beans, and carrots. The sauce I used is the coconut curry costco sells. You can also use any curry simmer sauce from trader joe's or make your own. This could be made vegan by subbing in tofu or potato for the paneer cheese. I had planned to only serve this over rice, but I remembered my odd taco successes of late and served it with tortillas as well, which really isn't a far cry from the round Indian flatbread Roti. When we were in Malaysia, a very popular street food dish was Roti Canai - which was basically a curry taco with Roti. This turned out so good that in future I'd make this for lunch without the rice.
Nearly every Mark Bittman post is irresistible to me, so after he posted about fava beans as an untraditional breakfast, I swooped into The Spanish Table to get some. I knew from experience at The Phoenicia restaurant on Alki, that ful madammes could not be made with fresh fave from the garden, but was a product of dried cooked beans and given how laborious it is to prepare fresh fave, I figured I would just pick up a can. Later, I read a blog post from a couple who tried doing the dried beans themselves and I am seriously glad I went for canned! Ful madammes is usually served with flatbread or pita, so why not a breakfast taco? Delicious!
Yet another variation of the Marination Mobile's "Sexy Tofu." Love this. Marinated tofu grilled up with some creamy slaw.
Sauteed Zucchini, Basil, and Parmesan - this actually has yellow squash and squash blossom as well, but I just happen to have that. If you don't mind a little half and half, it coalesces the mix nicely, but is not necessary.
Banh Mi taco - we had some banh mi fixings left over and no bread, so I popped this into a corn tortilla instead. Charlie walked into the room as I was spreading the mayo on the tortilla and said "I like where this is going." We were still laughing as we ate.
Paneer curry with edamame, green beans, and carrots. The sauce I used is the coconut curry costco sells. You can also use any curry simmer sauce from trader joe's or make your own. This could be made vegan by subbing in tofu or potato for the paneer cheese. I had planned to only serve this over rice, but I remembered my odd taco successes of late and served it with tortillas as well, which really isn't a far cry from the round Indian flatbread Roti. When we were in Malaysia, a very popular street food dish was Roti Canai - which was basically a curry taco with Roti. This turned out so good that in future I'd make this for lunch without the rice.
Nearly every Mark Bittman post is irresistible to me, so after he posted about fava beans as an untraditional breakfast, I swooped into The Spanish Table to get some. I knew from experience at The Phoenicia restaurant on Alki, that ful madammes could not be made with fresh fave from the garden, but was a product of dried cooked beans and given how laborious it is to prepare fresh fave, I figured I would just pick up a can. Later, I read a blog post from a couple who tried doing the dried beans themselves and I am seriously glad I went for canned! Ful madammes is usually served with flatbread or pita, so why not a breakfast taco? Delicious!
Yet another variation of the Marination Mobile's "Sexy Tofu." Love this. Marinated tofu grilled up with some creamy slaw.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Oven roasted cauliflower
This is a totally amazing, easy low-calorie side dish. Chop your cauliflower into florets as you wait for the oven to hit 400. Toss the florets onto a greased pan (I find metal caramelizes it best) and sprinkle with smoked paprika, salt, and pepper, and roast it for about 20 minutes or so. I never can hold back enough to have left overs, but I bet that they would be good in quesidillas, pasta or topped with a fried egg :).
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