phood adventures

snowy night in new england

my housemates and i had planned to have a few friends over for a nice little dinner, but unfortunately the weather got in the way and only one guest showed up.

here’s what we made:
as an appetizer we had an époisse cheese with baguettes and champagne.

janice made a vegetarian french onion soup from scratch, so no beef stock since she and the guest are vegetarians. the soup was amazing, you could taste the cognac and the gruyère was melted just right.. i could have melted gruyère anytime, let me tell you. we paired this up with a nice beaujolais nouveau.

the salad was a quick all organic salad that the guest brought over. lettuce, colored peppers, radishes, tomatoes, covered in feta cheese. she made a balsamic vinaigrette with a touch of maple syrup. the dressing was just amazing.. need to remember to get the recipe from her for the summer greens that we grow in the garden!

the main course was a “paella” of sorts. i made an asparagus risotto with leeks, shallots, orange zest, saffron and garlic. i used white wine (chardonnay, i think) and lobster broth and got it nice and creamy. daniel made the other part of the “paella,” a bouillabaisse of sorts. he made it with different types of clams, scallops, shrimp in a leek, garlic, shallot sauce. we then combined the bouillabaisse on top of the risotto and voilà! the wine was a nice, crisp sauvignon blanc.

for dessert we had a nice crème caramel that janice made all day. it was nice, creamy and had a nice subtle vanilla flavor; it was paired up with a sauternes i had bought earlier in the year just to have with this dessert. amazing.

this dinner definitely made up for having to shovel the driveway with all that snow, let me tell you.

insalata caprese, skull island style

it turns out that there’s a variety of tomato in our garden that produces HUGE tomatoes, on average weighing more than one pound each, sort of the size of tomatoes you’d expect to find on skull island, where king kong lived. amazingly enough, the tomatoes aren’t mushy like those big ones that are found at grocery stores!

a picture of the ingredients: the tomato from skull island, fresh basil from the herb garden, and fresh mozzarella from the store.

that’s the huge 1.5lb tomato that i called my dinner.

you can see the insides of the tomato, which weren’t mushy. i did make sure to use a bread knife, it cuts with more ease than regular knives.

a bed of fresh basil ontop of the tomato slices.

although it doesn’t show it, i included balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil on.

i thought it would be a good thing to put in the fridge to eat tomorrow, but i have a feeling that it wouldn’t have lasted. either i would have eaten it or the tomato would have gone to waste instead. i was originally intending to eat it as an appetizer, it turned out to be the main meal of the night… well worth it.

very yummy, even if i do get heartburn later!

spicy hummus

this isn’t exactly from the garden, but it does contain stuff from the garden… don’t get too technical. i used foodtv’s rachael ray’s recipe called spicy hummus: quick chickpea spread

tahini and the Goya™ chickpeas.

since the recipe was wussy in the garlick department, i added the equivalent of four cloves, instead of one.

instead of adding “ground pepper flakes” (which we didn’t have), i used some home-smoked peppers from the garden from last season’s crop. though only one of them was a “chipotle”, i used a few other varieties as well. can you blame me, i mean, i had to pimp it up a notch!

the spices. starting from the upper center clockwise is the kosher salt, the ground coriander seeds, the tahini, the chopped up “chipotle” peppers, and the ground cumin. you can’t see the lime juice.

the final product. the picture doesn’t do it justice… just an incentive for others to try it.

let me just say that my version of this recipe needs black box warning, like the ones the FDA on certain medications: use with caution, especially around vampires.

i highly recommend modifying this recipe to your liking!

blueberry pr0n..

...the edible kind, that is!

i spent this past weekend visiting some friends out in western massachusetts, about 20 miles from new york state. while we were there, chris made pies. the first night was fresh peach pie; regrettably, i forgot to document the pie making or the pie eating, but it was really good!

since the night before chris had made enough of a buttery dough for two pies, and only used one up, we decided to make another fresh fruit pie. we had seen a few Pick-your-own blueberry places lining the roads, so we decided to go look for one. we hit the jackpot!

picking our own berries was so much fun! if we accidently picked one that was a bit too green, just move on to the next one!

we picked about six pounds of them and the total was only $7.50!!

once we got home, chris got to work on the pie. first, he blind-baked the pie crust, making sure the edges wouldn’t burn:

the filling was next. a handful or so of the blueberries were washed and blended to make part of the filling:

then, added the crust texturing! i am sure there’s a better term for it, but i can’t think of it:

and, voilà, the finished blueberry pie

i should have taken more pictures, but when the vanilla ice cream was brought out of the freezer, the pie didn’t last. may it rest in peace, with the knowledge that it fullfilled our bellies!

calling all phoodwhores™!

just like MJ has said in her post it is time for summer recipes.

so all of the planting for the summer garden has been done, and some of the plants are starting to produce vegetables. the list includes:

• tomatoes (all different types and varieties)
• tomatillos
• peppers (all different times as well)
• eggplants
• summer squash (zucchini and patty pan, aka ufo squash)
• winter squash (butternut squash)
• cucumbers (both pickling and loofah)
• carrots
• sweet corn
• radishes
• bak choi
• broccoli
• various salad green mixes (including spinach, mustards, lettuces, etc)
• herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil, etc)

so here’s where the phoodwhores™ come in: i need recipes that i could try this summer using stuff from the garden. post them, put them in comments, however you want. heck, try them out yourself, comment, make suggestions, you name it!

besides it would be make great phoodadventures “reading” material for these hot days and warm nights of summer.

easy to make zucchini (or patty pan squash) bread

after having had a garden this past summer, i had to look up recipes to help me use up some of the produce that just kept on growing. that’s where i found this easy recipe.

now, when i was growing up i was never one for zucchini in any form other than covered in batter and deep fried. i just had to give this one a shot, and sure enough, it was so easy and delicious, too! i have used zucchini, just as the recipe calls, as well as patty pan squash, which is a soft-skinned summer squash. they’re pretty interchangeable; the patty pans i used were yellow, so there were bits of yellow in the bread when i used it.

The recipe reads:

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

as with other recipes i’ve posted, i would love to hear what others think of it, and if any have tried to make it. trust me, you won’t regret it.

a lunch mostly from the garden

i got this recipe from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.


Although the recipe calls for summer squash, i took some of the patty pan squash from the garden and used them in this recipe, but any summer squash will work. i also used fresh corn from a roadside stand, which was very sweet and fresh. extra jalapeños were added to give it an extra bit of kick. also, we had to add salt at the end of it to make it just right.

Spicy Squash Cakes
1 whole egg plus 2 egg whites or use 3 eggs
4 cups grated summer squash
1 cup fresh corn kernels, cut from 2 ears
1/4 cup chopped green onions, tops included
1 large jalapeños pepper, chopped
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or black pepper
Canola oil for sauteing
Low-fat sour cream (optional)
Fresh tomato salsa (optional)

1) In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Beat in squash, corn, green onions, jalapeno, the cheeses, flour, olive oil and ground pepper.

2) Heat two tablespoons canola oil in a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. For small cakes, spoon one tablespoon squash mixture per cake into the hot oil and flatten to uniform thickness. For large cakes, use two tablespoons of squash mixture per cake. Do not over crowd the skillet. Leave about an inch between cakes.

3) Cook until edges turn golden brown, turn and cook the other side until golden brown, about three minutes total cooking time per cake. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Place in a warm oven and continue cooking the remaining cakes.

4) To serve, arrange two or more cakes on individual plates. Serve with some of the salsa and a dollop of low-fat sour cream. Sprinkle with salt if desired. Serves 6.

it came out pretty darned delicious, not many are left. though I doubt that any will make it through the night!

salsa to make my grandma proud!

we’ve been making lots of salsas lately and i thought i would share this one for roasted salsa here.

(note: keep in mind that the quantities are approximate and really depend on the amount you want to make; this is just what we have been making. it makes a few cup’s worth)

• 1 – 1.5 lbs of roma tomatoes (not the vine ripened stuff*)
  
• 3 jalapeño peppers (red or green, doesn’t matter)
  
• 2 habanero peppers (or scotch bonnets, etc)
  
• 5 unpeeled cloves of garlick
  
• 1 medium onion
  
• 1 lime or lemon
  
• fresh cilantro

get your largest, heaviest pan for this one; if you’ve got cast-iron, please use it. now, since this is roasting veggies, you may want to cover the bottom of the pan with a bit of foil, so that way the foil gets all of the tomato skins stuck to it and not the pan.

in the pan, put the tomatos, peppers and garlick (as many as will fit at one time) and set the stove on high. after a few minutes, the veggies will start to brown, when that happens, just turn the veggies to the next side.

continue to do this until all of the veggies are pretty roasted and soft, while enjoying the smell of the roasted garlick and peppers. once they’re all done, turn off the stove and remove the pan from the burner. let the veggies cool down for a bit.

once the veggies have cooled down, very carefully take the peppers and remove the stems. to reduce the hotness of the peppers, you may want to open up the pepper lengthwise and remove the seeds and the veins from the inside with a knife (while wearing gloves, so you don’t get the hot chemical on your hands). if you want to keep some of the hotness of the pepper, leave one or two intact; however, for the habaneros, i really, really, really recommend you remove the seeds. also, remove the peel from the garlick cloves as well.

put the peppers and the garlick in a food processor, and process until it’s a uniform consistency (this way, the pepper and garlick, as well as their flavors are in every bite).

you want to remove the seeds from the tomatoes, as well as any extra juice that may have accumulated while they were roasting. if you were to leave the juice and seeds in it, the salsa would become too watery after time. once they’ve been seeded, add them to the processor, along with some chopped cilantro (the quantity depends on your taste) and give them a few pulses, depending on how chunky you want them to be in the final product.

cut up some of the onion and add it to the processor, along with the salt to taste (we add one to two teaspoons of salt), and the juice of half of the lemon (or lime). then do a quick pulse or two. i like my salsa to be a bit on the oniony side, so i would add the entire onion.

once the onion is added, remove from the food processor and adjust any of the seasoning and stir the salsa with a spoon.

we usually put it in an airtight container and put it in the fridge for a few hours, that way the flavors get a chance to meld. but then, if you need to give into the salsa, just feel free to dive right in with some chips.

let me know if any of you try this out, and if you make any modifications to it!

¡buen provecho!

* while vine ripened tomatoes are extremely delicious in most other uses, they will not work for this recipe. we bought some of these tomatoes because they were cheaper than the other stuff, but they were too ripe to survive the roasting process and made a big mess before they were put in the food processor.

simple, yet delicious!

a few weeks ago while visiting my relatives in california, i got sucked into watching food network’s show called “Everyday Italian”. the show is pretty good, but the hostess… there something about her that i can’t explain yet find a bit annoying.

but she did have a great recipe that everyone should try. it’s called spaghettini with checca sauce.

it’s so nice and fresh, great for summer. i hightly recommend everyone try this one, at least once!

loretta lynn's pasta?

for dinner tonight we made pasta à la carbonara, which roughly translates to coal miner’s pasta. no, that’s “the coal miner’s daughter”! this dish is actually a very simple dish to make, very tasty, but definitely not something carbophobes would enjoy since it’s pasta. it’s also not very kosher since it’s got dairy and meats and a form of pork.

the recipe is quite simple. boil enough water to cook a pound of pasta, with a pinch of salt. you then finely grate two ounces, by weight, of romano cheese and 3/4 ounce, again by weight, of parmesano regianno cheese. you mix these two cheeses and set them aside.

you then take half a pound of bacon and cut it into strips and then into little squares, but i’ve accidently used prosciutto which worked well. the first variation we make is we strip most of the excess fat, render it in a frying pan, and use it instead of the olive oil that the recipe calls for.. besides, it’s baconier this way. we also chop up a few cloves of garlick for our second variation, which is that we fry the garlick in with the bacon. the recipe we found says to add it at the end, but we’ve found that the garlick is a bit too overpowering for the rest of the pasta, so we fry it with the bacon. the bacon and the garlick are fried until they’re nice and brown.

once the bacon and garlick are nice and browned, add half a cup of dry white wine. basically you want enough wine to deglaze the pan. this is where variation number three comes in, we have used other forms of wine like portuguese vihno verde or madeira or italian marsala wines. we haven’t really used other cooking wines, but feel free to try any other white wine if you wish. you then let this reduce down by half the volume. after it has reduced, go ahead and strain the bacon and garlicky bits, leaving only the oil and wine deglaze for use on the pasta.

once the pasta is cooked, drain it and set it aside.

in a medium sized bowl, mix in three eggs into the cheeses and get the mixture to a nice consistency. since this egg/cheese mixture is going to be added into the pasta, you want to get the pasta and bacony/garlick mixture very hot so it can cook thoroughly. if you feel that the pasta and bacony/garlick mixture isn’t enough to coat the pasta, feel free to add some extra virgin olive oil, just to coat it evenly. once you add the egg/cheese mixture, toss until the egg is cooked thoroughly, add the fried bacon and garlick. add some fresh ground pepper and salt to taste. mangia!

enjoy!

(oh yeah, since i’m too lazy to go look for the cookbook we used to make this, i’m only retracing the steps in my head. if there are any comments, questions, concerns, please leave me a comment here so i can address it here)