Hi!
Sorry I missed you last night. Sometimes it's nice to have dinner without all of you peering over my shoulder! But mostly it's really nice having you here.
I ended up having the artichokes with a little lemon juice as a side to the leftover salmon, and the leftover fennel risotto from Friday night - still delicious! Upon reheating the risotto, I decided if I make it from the Lundberg mix again, I'll only use half of the seasoning packet. It was a little salty.
Tonight I'm making a small NY strip steak with caramelized onions, a big baked potato, and a side of fresh asparagus. I'm going to steam the asparagus and then dress it with a little tamari and miso mixed together. By "a little", I mean about a teaspoon of each, with a drop or two of honey to balance out the saltiness; I'll also add a few drops of sesame oil and rice wine vingar to the mix. My favorite trick for dressing a baked potato is to mix together some yogurt (low-fat is fine) and horseradish to taste. It adds a lot of flavor without all the fat.
I know a lot of my cooking ideas are really simple - but as I've said, the secret to good cooking is to start with great ingredients and try not to mess them up too much! And until next time, I'll see you at the market!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Artichoke Fest!
Hi there,
So my plan for tonight was to make a roasted artichoke and garlic bruschetta. But what happened instead was that the food took over. It does that sometimes; don't be scared. I went for a brisk 10k walk this a.m. in 1 hr. 40 min. (very proud of that) and made my friend/coach Denise a salmon lunch with salad wth miso/tamari/sesame dressing.
Also, we stopped off at Gold Leaf Spice and Teas - and we got to taste a whole host of balsamic vinegars and olive oils. Yum!!! Get in there soon and get a taste of the future - and get a say in it, too. Please convince Terri that truffle oil's a Good Thing!!!
I put 6 (halved and trimmed of rough outer leaves) baby artichokes in acidulated (that means there's lemon juice in it) water and cooked the water and artichokes together on low on the stovetop for 30 minutes. Then I chucked it in the oven with an olive-oil drizzle for another 20 minutes, thinking, "Oh, that'll be plentyof time." I'd already cut the top off a head of garlic, drizzled it with olive oil and wrapped it in foil, putting it into a 425 degree oven, 20 minutes ahead of the artichokes. So the garlic was in 40 minutes, all together.
After the second 20 minutes in the oven, the garlic was done. The artichokes, not so much. I covered the pan with foil and put it back in for another 20 minutes. So now the baby 'chokes were done, but they wanted to be eaten in stages...leaves, then hearts (which I wanted for the bruschetta).
I stood at the counter and ate as many leaves as I could get down...about 3 'chokes worth -- and put the rest in the fridge with the roasted garlic. I'll get back to you on how I use all that tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll see you at the market!!
So my plan for tonight was to make a roasted artichoke and garlic bruschetta. But what happened instead was that the food took over. It does that sometimes; don't be scared. I went for a brisk 10k walk this a.m. in 1 hr. 40 min. (very proud of that) and made my friend/coach Denise a salmon lunch with salad wth miso/tamari/sesame dressing.
Also, we stopped off at Gold Leaf Spice and Teas - and we got to taste a whole host of balsamic vinegars and olive oils. Yum!!! Get in there soon and get a taste of the future - and get a say in it, too. Please convince Terri that truffle oil's a Good Thing!!!
I put 6 (halved and trimmed of rough outer leaves) baby artichokes in acidulated (that means there's lemon juice in it) water and cooked the water and artichokes together on low on the stovetop for 30 minutes. Then I chucked it in the oven with an olive-oil drizzle for another 20 minutes, thinking, "Oh, that'll be plentyof time." I'd already cut the top off a head of garlic, drizzled it with olive oil and wrapped it in foil, putting it into a 425 degree oven, 20 minutes ahead of the artichokes. So the garlic was in 40 minutes, all together.
After the second 20 minutes in the oven, the garlic was done. The artichokes, not so much. I covered the pan with foil and put it back in for another 20 minutes. So now the baby 'chokes were done, but they wanted to be eaten in stages...leaves, then hearts (which I wanted for the bruschetta).
I stood at the counter and ate as many leaves as I could get down...about 3 'chokes worth -- and put the rest in the fridge with the roasted garlic. I'll get back to you on how I use all that tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll see you at the market!!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Fun with Fennel
I would fail as an Iron Chef tonight. I did not come up with a way to make fennel the star of the show - but it makes a great second banana! Okay, more like a great second licorice.
I used some Lundberg box-mix risotto (gluten-free). I can make my own risotto from scratch, with arborio rice, but I find it tedious to mind it while it's cooking. Nothing but a risotto mix or arborio rice will make this recipe turn out right. Anything else will give you rice with fennel, for no apparent reason.
Whether you're going homemade or boxed, start with 1/2 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil in a pan, over medium heat. Take out a head of fennel (not seeds or the ground stuff). Cut it vertically through the center and remove the tough core (it will be obvious to you where the core is; it's solid and often brighter green than the rest of the fennel). Also, remove any tough outside stems or stalks. It should taste and feel in your mouth like a lightly-licorice-flavored celery. Try a bite of it raw as a taste. It's lovely raw in salads with parmesan cheese.
Slice the fennel very thinly (like an onion). Put it into the hot fat and toss it around for 3-5 minutes, or until transluscent and/or slightly browned. Add and cook the risotto according to either package directions or according to your recipe. This is a brilliant side for chicken, or fish. Please, enjoy. Tomorrow, in honor of Castroville's annual artichoke festival (see also Marilyn Monroe), I'll be making some artichoke dishes I hope you'll love!
Oh, and I'm walking a 10k in the morning...just before I'll see you at the market!!!
I used some Lundberg box-mix risotto (gluten-free). I can make my own risotto from scratch, with arborio rice, but I find it tedious to mind it while it's cooking. Nothing but a risotto mix or arborio rice will make this recipe turn out right. Anything else will give you rice with fennel, for no apparent reason.
Whether you're going homemade or boxed, start with 1/2 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil in a pan, over medium heat. Take out a head of fennel (not seeds or the ground stuff). Cut it vertically through the center and remove the tough core (it will be obvious to you where the core is; it's solid and often brighter green than the rest of the fennel). Also, remove any tough outside stems or stalks. It should taste and feel in your mouth like a lightly-licorice-flavored celery. Try a bite of it raw as a taste. It's lovely raw in salads with parmesan cheese.
Slice the fennel very thinly (like an onion). Put it into the hot fat and toss it around for 3-5 minutes, or until transluscent and/or slightly browned. Add and cook the risotto according to either package directions or according to your recipe. This is a brilliant side for chicken, or fish. Please, enjoy. Tomorrow, in honor of Castroville's annual artichoke festival (see also Marilyn Monroe), I'll be making some artichoke dishes I hope you'll love!
Oh, and I'm walking a 10k in the morning...just before I'll see you at the market!!!
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