Creativity in the Kitchen: How I Learned to Ditch the Recipe

As I'm sure you can surmise from the posts on this blog, I love a good recipe. I'm able to cook with a recipe really well, but without one I'm sometimes at a loss. This isn't the case for dishes that I grew up with (Chicken with Mushrooms and Olives is dish my mom and grandma would make that I can cook by heart and without a recipe), but for dishes that are on the spot created in the kitchen? It's hit or miss. Recently, though, I've had the opportunity to exercise my creativity and on-the-spot dish creation and I have to say...it hasn't been too bad!

Earlier this year, my girlfriend underwent a general overhaul to improve her health. She was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic myofascial pain a couple of years ago and she learned of a clinic in the area that creates a completely individual holistic health plan to combat chronic ailments such as these. She underwent copious allergy tests for all sorts of different food stuffs to isolate those items in her diet that could trigger a flare or be the root cause of different health issues she's experienced over the last few years. The first things they advised her to cut out completely from her diet were: gluten, dairy, alcohol, sugar, and caffeine. I have a few friends who also suffer from fibromyalgia and both of them have cut gluten out of their diets with successful results. This list was difficult, but rather easy to work around. Most restaurants near us cater to alternative diets and special dietary needs. Most of what I cooked could be easily altered to accommodate these, too. After further testing, though, the list grew to a staggering 36 total items that were to be removed from her diet for at least 3 months.

The numbers next to each item are a ranking to how much of an allergic effect they have on her body. (1s are fairly mild, but 4s are very harsh). Unfortunately, there are a lot of common ingredients on this list: beans, soy, garlic, ginger, lemon, pepper, tomatoes, eggs, nuts... You find these in pretty much ANY commercially prepared food and/or food prepared at restaurants. Eating out can easily turn stressful, if the waiter or kitchen staff are either unaware or reluctant to share what they put in their food. Eventually, we learned the best way we could eat a meal together is if I cooked.

At first, I stuck to very simple meals. Things I knew really well. Baked potatoes were a great option for us. Making a few adjustments to the lamb mixture from Whole-Wheat Flatbreads with Lamb and Yogurt, made for a flavorful and hearty meal. While she wasn't able to eat cow or goat dairy, Whole Foods carries a sheeps milk yogurt that she CAN eat, which topped baked potatoes quite well. Tacos were also a great option, too. Quick and fast, I adjusted a recipe from Sunset (Sweet Potato and Chorizo Tacos). I couldn't use the chorizo, so I substituted some broiled chicken breasts. Since I wanted to use more than just sweet potatoes, I added some Italian peppers and onions, making our tacos more like fajitas. We topped them with some sheeps milk yogurt, a squeeze of lime, and avocado. They were delicious! For a while, salads weren't an easy option, simply because most vinegars contain malt or other items that could potentially be a problem. Eventually, her doctors gave her the OK to use apple cider vinegar, which allowed me to make a delicious nectarine salad with a basil vinaigrette, that paired really well with a steak. Stir-fries were a challenge at first, because I never met a stir-fry without garlic and ginger and soy, but eventually we found ingredients that DID work. The closest non-soy soy sauce we found were coconut aminos. It's not nearly as salty as soy, but paired with lime juice makes for a really tasty sauce. I also found that coconut oil is great to stir-fry with, too! Vegetable oils, unless specifically canola, all contain a mixture that includes soy. Olive oil, while loved by her doctors, does not do well with extreme high-heat cooking, such as stir-fry. I gave coconut oil a try and it was great! It leaves a little bit of a coconut aroma, but not so much in flavor. Shannon and I went on a road trip over the summer and in order to keep the cost down, we camped and cooked for ourselves. We ate out only at the start and the very end of our trip. The rest of the meals were made at the campsite. The last campsite we stayed at was in the middle of absolute nowhere in Nevada. On the road we stopped at the only "grocery store" in town, which was essentially nothing more than a convenience store. Our meal that night, made from what we found at the store, was spiced black bean chili (bacon, onions, black beans, and ground cumin) with avocado and warmed corn tortillas. It was hearty and delicious, and made for a very comforting meal in a very isolated place.

What has helped significantly when creating dishes on the spot has been her weekly CSA box. Personally selected by her so as to avoid getting anything on this list, this box would provide a veritable bounty of options. Plus, every week's box came with recipes, most of which were easily modified to make them "Shannon-friendly". I liked having these boxes because they helped provide me with a jumping off point from which to make a full meal. It was better than heading to the grocery store and standing in the produce section and being so overwhelmed by the options to make a decision. I knew what I had to work with and it made for some excellent meals.

Reintroducing items has been trying, as the clinic's recommended process is to eat a ton of that one item at each meal in one day and record the effects. It also requires a lot of patience and effort to really eat a lot of that one item. Shannon works and is also currently getting her MFA in photography, so her days are packed and on the go. Adding on top of that remembering what food or item she's reintroducing that day can easily get derailed and she has to start all over again. It's tough and has sometimes turned eating into a chore. Eating should never be a chore. I've always thought food and eating should be pleasurable experiences. She's successfully reintroduced a few things: red chile powder (nothing spicy, so no cayenne or paprika just yet), cinnamon, and garlic. Unfortunately, the attempt to reintroduce black pepper resulted in some pretty awful side effects, so that has continued to be avoided. As an Italian, I am very happy that garlic is back in my arsenal again! I'm hoping one day tomatoes will be OK and I can make us a decent sauce with which to smother a bowl of mushy polenta.

When Shannon first shared this list with me, she was worried it would be too much of a hassle. The thing is, it's actually opened my eyes to a lot of new food possibilities and I've added some really awesome dishes to my repertoire in the process! I made this really awesome steak taco salad with thin slices of steak, lettuce, crispy tortilla strips, black beans, roasted sweet potato, corn, toasted pumpkin seeds, red onion, and avocado, dressed simply with lime and olive oil, that before I wouldn't think of to do without looking up a recipe. I gained a confidence in my cooking that made creating this dish a fun experience. I took this list as a challenge to what I could accomplish in the kitchen and I've met that challenge happily. I've loved using my brain and realizing that I do have the capacity to cook using just my wits. Ultimately, though, I just love cooking for the ones I love, using whatever means are necessary. Their happy faces when they sit down to eat makes all the effort worthwhile.

Late-summer Bounty: Tomato, Prosciutto, and Ricotta Tart

Screw Christmas - right now is the most wonderful time of the year! Okay, that was a bit harsh, but I don't see how Christmas can even compete with the glory that is tomato season. Right now, just when you feel like the days should be cooling down but they're readily throwing their 90F temperatures in your face; when all you want to do is start wearing sweaters and roast things, but you can barely stand to cook it's so hot in your house? This is the best part of summer for me. Granted, summer is probably my least favorite season, even though many of my favorite vegetables and fruits are in season, and especially THIS part of summer, garden- and market-fresh tomatoes make it all worthwhile. I can stand the hotter-than-hot afternoons and evenings knowing that a wonderful meal is only a few juicy slices away. This is the time of year I yearn for my own vegetable garden so I could brave the heat only to come back to the kitchen with a basket full of goodies to whip up into a meal like this: Tomato, Prosciutto, and Ricotta Tart.

I'll readily admit that ricotta is my least favorite of all the cheeses. There's just something about the texture and flavor that I never really got on board with. Now, I have made my own ricotta (I did so a couple of years ago for my Ina Garten-themed birthday party, where all the food I made was from The Barefoot Contessa and I even dressed up as her, and one of the dips was a homemade herbed ricotta cheese - it's super easy to make) and it was slightly better; at least it was more milky/creamy than whatever store-bought ricotta tastes like. I figure with this dish I could easily overlook the ricotta for the almost 2 pounds of tomatoes, fresh herbs, prosciutto, and puff pastry. I've always been delighted with the recipes from Sunset magazine and this one is no different. The flavors came together to create this light, and deceptively filling, tart. The fresh juicy tomatoes, the lemony ricotta cheese, the splash of fresh herbs (I went ahead and used BOTH basil and mint for one of the most excellent flavor combinations I've recently encountered), the salty tang of prosciutto, all supported by the buttery crispy puff pastry made for a wonderful summer Sunday meal. While I did groan a bit at having to turn on my oven for this, I soon forgot the heat after I bit into this tart. This is the perfect meal to have for kicking back in your garden with a glass of wine. This is also a perfect appetizer or first-course for a garden dinner party, too! A great thing about this dish is that it's easily vegetarian-friendly. Simply eliminate the prosciutto and you've got a great appetizer (or meal) that'll please just about everyone.

Oh yeah and it made for the perfect individually packaged lunches!

A few things of note:

• Don't even try to adhere to the tart measurements in the recipe. The puff pastry I bought for this (Pepperidge Farms) is two square sheets. Honestly, once thawed and rolled out a bit, it's the perfect size for a party of 4 as meal (or 2 meals for 2 people). I tried piecing together trimmed bits and I was left with the trimmed bits coming apart in the baking process. So not worth the hassle!
• I used a full pound of ricotta cheese and I think it was a bit too much, but measuring out the 1-1/3C would've left me with too little cheese in the package to save. I think I'd go just with the half-pound next time. However, if you like ricotta use as much as you like!
• As I said above, I used both basil and mint, when the recipe called for either/or. I also didn't deal with trimming the "tiny" whole leaves and just chiffonaded both the basil and mint leaves. Believe me, having both makes for a much more complex and refreshing flavor! I also cut too much herbs, so I threw them in with the simple salad I served alongside the tart (mixed greens + arugula, tossed with olive oil and lemon juice).
• I also used a mix of large heirloom tomatoes and cherry tomatoes (the cherry tomatoes were from my coworker's garden - they were delicious!). I thinly sliced the big tomatoes and halved the cherry tomatoes, per the recipe, and it worked out wonderfully. The more colorful the better, really!

Bon appetit!

Accidentally Vegan: Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Mint, and Pistachios

I believe I may have already blogged about the Meatless Mondays initiative, but as it's been such a long time since I've updated to begin with... Meatless Monday is a campaign with many celebrity contributors (Mario Batalli, Paul McCartney, to name a couple - I even have the McCartney family Meat-free Monday cookbook), as well as those in the health community, targeted to help reduce the amount of meat the average family consumes with the goal of bettering their personal health and the health of the environment. More often than not, I tend to forget Meatless Monday and treat it like a normal day. While putting together our grocery list this morning, I came across a lovely salad recipe from September's issue of Martha Stewart Living. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Martha, I find much of her magazine to be rather pretentious and WAY out of my league, but... her recipes are hands-down part of my favorites. She has a great style of writing her recipes (or at least her editors have an excellent way of editing them): they're easy, approachable, and very clear. Her recipes rank among Giada DeLaurentiis, Ina Garten, and the folks at America's Test Kitchen/Cooks' Illustrated for the most well-written recipes. And you know these recipes were tested to ensure they're correct, too, something I feel many cookbook authors and chefs don't do nearly enough. Anyway, I thought that I might keep the menu of meals this week rather light. Neither of us ate very consciously this weekend and I figure a nice salad would help turn that around.

I love quinoa and I love finding new ways to cook and prepare it. While there is some controversy about quinoa and the effect the explosion of first-world demand for quinoa has had on the indigenous people who primarily live off of it, I do love the fact that it's a fully balanced protein and can be a tasty stand-in for most starches, like rice, potatoes, and pasta. I also love zucchini and I don't think I cook nearly enough with it. It's such a versatile little gourd. You can bake it, stuff it, sauté it, roast it, grill it! With two of my favorite ingredients in the forefront, how could this salad go wrong? It didn't, to be quite honest. It was quick to make and incredibly flavorful. The sautéed zucchini provided a lovely sweetness next to the savory quinoa, then there was a punch of lemon from the zest and juice and the brightness of the mint. The pistachios add a lovely crunchy texture and toasted flavor note. A sharpness from the lightly sautéed garlic and the scallions made for a really great flavored salad. The great thing, too, is that it was filling, unlike other lettuce-based salads, which can leave you feeling more bloated than satisfied. Both Marshall and I loved it and I know I'll make it again.

A few things I would think to adjust for next time:

• Cut the amount of quinoa to 3/4 of a cup instead of a full cup.
• Increase the amount of zucchini by a full cup. I love having more green on my plate, plus I think the zucchini got a little lost among the quinoa.
• Skip trying to find/use roasted and salted pistachios. Get the shelled raw pistachios and toast them in a dry pan until lightly browned. You honestly won't miss the salt and I think you might end up with an even better flavor.
• Smash and mince the garlic, instead of slicing it. Honestly, I don't have the knife skills to thinly slice garlic and I'm not digging out the mandolin to slice a clove (or in my case 2 cloves) of garlic. If you choose to smash and mince, be super careful not to overcook the garlic in the pan. You merely want to warm it through and cut the rawness, you definitely don't want to brown it. 

A quick note about Martha's measurement "style": I'm not entirely sure where she gets her "medium" zucchinis that yield 2-1/2 cups thinly sliced. I also don't know where she gets her scallions where 3 of them sliced equals 1/2 Cup. Lastly, I think she gets her lemons from the magical lemon tree in her personal grove, because I've never been able to get 3 Tablespoons of juice from a single one! I ended up slicing 3 small-to-medium zucchinis, 6 rather skinny scallions, and the juice from 2 small lemons. My suggestion is to buy a little extra and if you end up with too much, I'm sure you'll find a use for your leftovers (might I suggest garnishing that gin and tonic with a lemon slice?).

I totally recommend this salad for those warm summer nights when you don't have much time to cook and the kitchen is too hot for much else. Plus - you could always grill your zucchini, instead of sautéing it!

Bon appetit!

Vegetarian Madness! Veggie Wheat-Berry Salad with Warm Pita and Grilled Halloumi

But first, a confession. Had you asked me what "halloumi" was 6 months ago, I would've ventured a guess that it was a type of fish. I would have, of course, been absolutely wrong. I had been to countless Greek and Mediterranean restaurants and seen something called "halloumi" on the menu and immediately regarded it as a type of fish, perhaps a white fish like halibut or mahi-mahi or a bronzino. Although, now I see that I probably just equated the way halloumi sounded with a combination of the words halibut and mahi-mahi (I believe covered the fact that I'm weird. Moving on...) Regardless, I would've never thought it was a type of cheese. What kind of name is halloumi for a type of cheese anyway? Well, it is and my sincerest apologies for the island of Cyprus (and its inhabitants) where halloumi originated. Halloumi is, indeed, a cheese and I learned this at a birthday party earlier this year. What's wondrous about halloumi is that it doesn't melt, but one of its famed preparations is grilling it. I'm not sure what kind of magic keeps this brined sheeps' milk cheese from melting once applied to heat, but it remains intact and this delicious salty-briny-crispy crust forms on the outside. It's delicious and irresistible. My friend's boyfriend grilled some up for my friend's birthday party and it just tasted so damn good. Plus, it's super quick and easy. Just a non-stick pan is needed over medium heat. Plop down a few slices, grill a couple minutes on either side, then eat! Well, okay, wait for it to cool down a bit, but then eat!

Weirdly enough, I forgot about the halloumi until this weekend while leafing through this month's issue of Women's Health. Every once in a while they'll have a section on food and cooking chock-full of delicious recipes. This month's held a particular gem: Veggie Wheat Berry Salad. My husband, when presented with this week's menu, immediately said "I knew you'd pick to make that!" pointing to the recipe in the magazine. I asked him why he would think that I would be drawn to this recipe, despite the fact that it sounded delicious and perfect for a summer evening. "Because of the photo. It's in a small little glass, all pretty and colorful." Indeed the photo shows a small appetizer-sized glass full of colorful veggies and little fluffy-looking wheat berries. I can't deny that the photo drew me into the recipe in the first place (ironic considering one of this month's articles is on food porn...), but it was the potential for a delicious one-salad meal with fresh summer veggies and chewy wheat berries. I fell in love with wheat berries when I was living in London. One of the yogurt varieties/brands had winter wheat berries stirred throughout. The yogurt itself was sublime (so much better than the yogurt in the states), but the addition of the wheat berries...it made it more filling and you'd find these little chewy bits of deliciousness amid the creamy clouds of yogurt and sweet chunks of strawberries. I ate more yogurt while I was in London that I'd eaten my entire life. Anyway, for the longest time I didn't know what these little bits were in my yogurt. But now I know and I'm totally going to cook up a batch of plain wheat berries and sprinkle them in my yogurt from now on.

Anyway, getting back to the salad, and the meal as a whole, it was perfect: savory and fresh. I couldn't find any green bell peppers at the store, and wanting a bit more color than red, I found a few purple bell peppers and picked those up (of course, forgetting that the red onion is also purple, but they still stood out). The dressing is a great combination of tangy and savory, akin to the "broth" in a gazpacho (thanks, in part, to the red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce). Overall it had a very gazpacho-like quality, but much more filling due to the chewy and delicious wheat berries. Originally, I wasn't sure if this would be filling enough for a dinner, which is why I toasted up a pita bread and grilled up the halloumi. Everything worked so well together. After taking a bit of pita and cheese with a bit of olive oil, a bit of the salad would cleanse the palate. This would make an excellent picnic meal (either pre-grill the cheese or use a pan or be extra-special careful on the open BBQ). The salad itself, of course, is perfect for summer potlucks, too!

Hello Dal-ly, Take Two: Curried Red Onion Jam with Simple Dal

I know it wasn't too long ago that I posted a delicious dal recipe. This particular post isn't necessarily going to focus on the dal, but rather on the condiment which elevates this simple dal into something incredible. You'll recall from my last post that I'm rather enamored with a new cookbook. It shouldn't surprise then that this recipe comes from the same book. While the onion is called "red", it certainly doesn't look RED like other truly red fruits and vegetables. Instead, the author quite rightly puts the red onion in the purple chapter. Yes, a look at a color wheel would show that the connection between red and purple is only a small amount of blue away, but it's still purple. Okay, how did we get on the topic of color? When I set about to make this condiment, I had no idea how much flavor a red onion could have. I have a slight issue with onions. Raw onions tend to not have the best affect on me; they leave me tasting onions for days afterward and my stomach is certainly far from happy. Cooked onions are better for me, but I tend to keep my distance from too much onion regardless. But this jam? Oh my... it's sweet, tangy, spicy, and, well, jammy. It's super simple to make and even though I made mine the night before making the dal, they can both be made at the same time and in about an hour. So, while it's certainly not a 30-minute meal, it can be done after coming  home from work. I have a feeling this jam would also make a great gift. Snag a couple of small jars and a few pieces of decorative fabric/cloth and you've got a gift for just about anyone. Cheryl, the author of Ripe, mentions you can use the leftover jam for sandwiches and I'm eager to give it a try. I figure some roasted chicken, mayo, and some spinach with plenty of this jam would make a kind of curried chicken salad sandwich. You could also use it in a pita with hummus and crunchy veggies for a flavor-packed vegetarian option. Either way, this jam can be an excellent condiment for just about anything in need of kick.

I did want to touch upon the simple dal. It really is very simple. I could barely believe just how simple it was to cook and yet so incredibly flavorful, creamy, and rich it came out to be. I'd never cooked with red lentils before, so this was a first. I think the last dal I made, using lentils of course, used the regular brown/green lentils (I think...it was a while ago). The red lentils don't retain their shape like French black lentils do, but instead break down into this super rich creaminess. The aromatics in this recipe also stand out. I mean, this dal only calls for lentils, water, star anise, ginger, and a chili pepper (I used jalapeno since I couldn't find a red chili at the store). Since it's only 1 chili, there isn't a whole lot of spice, but ginger makes up for the lack of heat. The star anise provides this sweetness and underlying tone, which I'd never noticed in other dal I've had. Honestly, this is probably the simplest recipe I'll ever post here.

I got a request from a friend to post more vegetarian-friendly recipes. I have another vegetarian dish, which I'll post next. I honestly love cooking vegetarian. Not only does it tend to be simpler to make, but it's also a lot lighter on the wallet. The times when I've spent the most at the grocery store have usually been when I had a lot of meat on the week's menu. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think I could ever turn completely vegetarian. I love fish, chicken, pork, and beef way too much to give it all up. I pride myself on being an omnivore and am lucky to have a husband who doesn't have to have meat on his dinner plate every night.

The Most Important Meal of the Day: Cacio Pepe Oatmeal with Spinach

I'll say this first: I never was one for breakfast. It wasn't until the last few years that breakfast has become a must-have. Before then, I could easily sail through the morning on a big cup of coffee and not much else. Maybe I'd throw in a piece of toast, but it usually was just coffee. I was worse in college. My first meal of the day was usually lunch. After, you know, the giant cup of coffee. I never ate breakfast in high school. Now, this doesn't mean I didn't like what was served at breakfast. I love eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, fritatas, quiche, sausage, hashbrowns, everything you'll find on any diner menu - I love. But, I have this weird thing where I just cannot bring myself to eat right when I get up. There has to be this delay. I don't understand people who get up and immediately eat. It actually makes me sick to think about it. But I've had to change my tune when I started Weight Watchers, which is when I really started to hone my breakfast skills. Of course, eating a solid breakfast helps combat snacking and helps your blood sugar maintain a steady level through the morning, so it was only natural to start eating breakfast. I used to make a pretty hefty breakfast sandwich with an egg, bacon, and spinach on a whole wheat English Muffin; all together not as point-heavy as you'd think. So, on a daily basis, I've come around to breakfast.

Whenever I bring up what I eat these days for breakfast, I'm usually met by a confused expression on my companion's face. Last year, I came across a section in an issue of Womens Health that was all about oatmeal. It included 4 or 5 different recipes for oatmeal, some sweet and some savory. I tried a few of them and fell in love with one: Cacio e Pepe Oatmeal. Cacio e Pepe, when describing a pasta dish, is simply fresh pasta tossed with Parmesan cheese, lots of freshly ground black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Sounds pretty great, huh? Well, I thought it'd be great, too, for breakfast. It goes without saying that not all oatmeal needs to be sweet. I grew up on the instant packets of Maple Brown Sugar and loved every sugary bite. I never really cared for fruit in my oatmeal; I liked it more plain than chock full of stuff. Before I found this article, I would've never thought to branch out my oatmeal tastes. I never really thought oatmeal could be savory, but I was oh so wrong. The result of my first batch of this particular dish was delicious: creamy, warm, savory, and peppery. It reminded me of a big bowl of cheesy risotto. Originally, I made this with standard rolled oats (never instant). I then made a move to steel-cut and I've never moved away since. I love steel-cut oats: they're chewy and they retain their overall texture when they've been cooked. The only thing against them is that they take a long time to cook, but I've adjusted my morning routine to accommodate the time required. Luckily, it's not like risotto in that you have to keep stirring, but you certainly don't want the pot to go completely dry.

This particular oatmeal dish eventually evolved over time. One of the other recipes in this article was a Florentine-style oatmeal, with Monterey Jack cheese and an egg on top. This seemed a little TOO heavy for every morning, but I loved the idea of adding something green to my bowl. I honestly am not a huge fan of raw spinach, but I'll happily add cooked spinach to pretty much everything I can. So, I snagged the spinach from this other oatmeal dish and added it to mine and I got a dish that was cheesy, creamy, peppery, now with a slight bite/crunch from the wilted spinach. It also turned my rather indulgent breakfast into something much more nutritious. Chock full of protein, iron, and Vitamin C, it keeps me full through the morning. Within the last couple of weeks, this bowl has evolved again. One morning, as I stood at my counter making my breakfast, my eye was caught by the little container of cherry tomatoes. "I wonder..." I grabbed a handful and plopped them on top of everything else. I was pleasantly surprised with the result. As you can probably imagine, this is a very heavy meal. The sweet-tart burst from the cherry tomatoes cuts through the thick oatmeal and really brightens up the meal overall. I love the combination and it's elevated my breakfast into something I eagerly tuck into, instead of picking at while driving to work.

A personal note

A little over a year ago, my cousin, James, unexpectedly passed away. It was sudden and very painful for our family. He was a giant bear of a guy, always quick with a joke, a story, and a big huge hug. Before he passed, he was looking forward to turning 30 and getting married to his fiancé. Instead, our family ended up holding a memorial service for him. It was a simply amazing event, to be honest. He was a sales manager at Google and it seemed that everyone knew who he was. His managers at Google were incredibly generous and offered one of their cafés for the remembrance. The place was packed. The impact he made on everyone was evident. Unfortunately for me, I didn't know my cousin very well. Even though we were only a year apart in age, we led very different lives. I learned a lot about him at his memorial, which, had I the choice, I would've not wanted. I would've wanted to opportunity to get to know him from him. One thing that I had only partially known was his love of food and his passion for cooking. Our grandma once said when my cousin and I were both young that we should open our own restaurant: Micky and Jim's. We laughed about it, but obviously nothing happened. We lived our own separate lives and it wasn't until a year before he died that we attempted to get together as friends. Our schedules never meshed, unfortunately. We did end up running into each other at our local Pizza Antica one night, while looking for a place to take some friends of ours who were in the area. I will say that, for how brief that run-in was with him, it has made a lasting impact. Whenever I pass by that Pizza Antica or go there for dinner, I'm half-expecting my cousin to pop up out of nowhere, yell my name, and pick me up into a big hug.

My uncle (his father) and James' mom got together with Sprouts Cooking Club and started the James Cole Sprouts Scholarship Fund. Sprouts is a cooking club whose purpose is to promote cooking and healthy eating to children of all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. They host hands-on cooking classes with professional chefs for children in the San Francisco Bay Area in the hopes the next generation knows how to eat and how to cook good ingredients. The scholarship fund started in memory of my cousin helps fund classes and events to foster the passion for cooking my cousin had in all children.

Being my cousin's birthday today, I thought I'd use my cooking blog to plug Sprouts and, in particular, the James Cole Sprouts Scholarship Fund. If you feel like donating, please feel free. Do not feel you are under any obligation whatsoever.

I miss you, James.

I Heart Broccoli: Broccoli Soup with Cheddar Croutons

Last weekend, my two very good friends from college took me out to give me my birthday present: mani-pedi's. We also threw in some eating, drinking, and shopping, too. While we were sauntering around and window shopping, we ended up at Anthropologie. I honestly cannot wear anything in that store, try as I might. I don't have the right complexion for the majority of the tones they play with and I definitely do not have the body, either (a wide body + flowy skirts, dresses, and tops = not that great). The thing that Anthropologie does have that I love to browse is their kitchenware section. Most of it is tchotchke items, but if I had the money to throw, I'd buy a handful of their beautiful mugs and linens. Anyway, while browsing, something caught my eye: a beautiful...brightly colored...cookbook. I love big splashy cookbooks with pages of photographed dishes and food. The book is Ripe: A Fresh Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables. It's a gorgeous book, first separated by color, and then by ingredient. I'd never seen a cookbook organized by color, but I love it (even has a website)! It helps illustrate the approach the author, Cheryl Sternman Rule, is going for. What grabs your attention in the produce section or farmer's market? Color. Color is was signifies ripeness, it signifies nutritional value, it signifies deliciousness. I quickly grabbed the book and brought it home. I haven't treated this cookbook like the others I have on my shelf. I have treated this cookbook like an actual book. My husband found me in the chair in our office curled up with this book, reading it, and he chuckled. "Who reads a cookbook?" Well, I do, I suppose. Each ingredient is prefaced with a vignette from the author, talking about her relationship with the ingredient. Her writing style is humorous, sarcastic, and genuine. It's similar to how I talk and even a bit how I write. I know I'll find myself leafing through this book a hundred more times, and you'll see plenty of her recipes posted here, as I find something new and exciting to make. But, of course, the first ingredient I turned to was broccoli.

I think I've mentioned my love of this particular member of the cabbage family before. I love broccoli. I've always had. It's not like it's a newly found favorite, like brussel sprouts (shh, don't tell my mom...), I've always loved broccoli. When I was a kid, my favorite vegetable side was steamed broccoli, topped with a splash of red wine vinegar. I never understood my cousins' infatuation with cheese sauce. Why drown these little tender trees with heavy thick cheese? Don't get me wrong, I love cheese sauce, but broccoli has this great flavor - why cover it up? Plus, I loved the texture of the stalk and the "leaves" of the crowns. It's a little sweet, a little bitter, and a whole lot of delicious. In college, my dorm fridge was stocked with bags of prepared broccoli florets. I'd throw them in a bowl with a bit of water and pop in the microwave for a minute or so. Pull it out and snack on them while watching TV or chatting online. The second half of my senior year consisted of broccoli florets and microwave-baked potatoes (plus its various toppings: hello baked beans!). My husband would shake his head whenever he'd visit and open my fridge to find these two items in abundance (amid bottles of beer, of course). No one could ever say my diet was unhealthy. It certainly wasn't a varied diet by any extent, but at least I wasn't living off of Hot Pockets.

So, what did Ms. Rule have in store for my favorite vegetable? Why, soup, of course! I love a good soup, but unfortunately the majority of broccoli soups at restaurants tend to be heavy, thick, and full of "cheese", with absolutely no flavor of broccoli, unless you count the sour taste of overcooked cabbage as the flavor of broccoli (which no one should). This soup has but a little bit of cheese in it and no cream. It uses an immersion blender and a bit of Greek yogurt to thicken at the end, but otherwise it's all broccoli on the inside. The thing that really caught my attention for this soup, though, was the combination of spices used to flavor the soup: whole cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and ground coriander. This elevates the soup entirely and places it into more Indian fare than American. Oh, and did I mention it's topped with cheddar croutons?* I love croutons in my soup (one of the reasons I LOVE French Onion Soup) and these add a lovely sharpness against the spicy thick soup. As the author notes before the recipe "As with most soups, its flavor improves over time." The spices are super potent even after a day after the soup is cooked. Total powerhouse of flavor, it definitely stands on its own. Or, you know, paired with an open-faced grilled cheese with tomato, which is what we did with the leftovers.

* Haha, okay, funny story about the croutons. The recipe says to line a baking sheet with parchment when making the cheddar croutons. I pulled out my roll of parchment and grabbed what was left of the roll: a 18" x 1" strip. Well, that wasn't going to do me any good. So, I grabbed what I thought would've been a fine substitute: aluminum foil. Boy, was I wrong. The cheese immediately stuck fast to the foil and took the cubes of bread hostage. I did what I could with my spatula when trying to flip and turn the croutons during baking, but it was a big fat mess. In my final step, attempting to rescue the croutons from the metal clutches of the foil, my husband peeks over my shoulder and says "Wouldn't a silpat worked better?" I shot him the look of death over my shoulder and he high-tailed it out of the kitchen. How stupid of me? I have 2 silpats in my arsenal. Why didn't I think to use them?! As I went about picking little bits of foil off of the salvaged croutons, I yelled to my husband in our office: "And, yes, a slipat would've worked better."

Best Salad Ever - Now with Shrimp!: Shrimp Club Salad

Remember a while back (you'll need to go a ways, considering the speed at which I post things...) when I made the best salad ever? Okay, well, if you a) can't remember, or b) don't feel like clicking the link I provided to you TAKE you to the "best salad ever", this was the BLT Salad. It was everything in a BLT, but in salad form. Creamy garlic dressing coating cool crisp romaine leaves, juicy sweet and tart cherry tomatoes, with crunchy salty bacon sprinkled throughout? That jogging your memory? What if I told you to add sweet, succulent shrimp to the mix? How would you feel about that? Well, I, for one, love the little buggers. Shrimp is on the top of my "favorite proteins" list. It's versatile, tender, and delicious. Ever since I was little, I loved shrimp in all its forms. Remember those shrimp burgers I posted about? Yum! Shrimp is delicious on its own, or dipped in tangy spicy cocktail sauce, mixed with vegetables in a stir-fry over rice, roasted, BBQ'ed, boiled in Cajun spice, I really could go on (much like my good friend, Bubba Blue). So, when I saw Martha Stewart's Everyday Food June issue boasting an entire section dedicated to shrimp, I snatched it from its check-out rack and threw it on the conveyor belt.

Martha's Shrimp Club Salad did not disappoint. Now I must state that this isn't just the BLT Salad with cooked shrimp thrown in, although it certainly contained all the same ingredients, but it was definitely different. A big difference is the dressing. It's creamier than the BLT Salad dressing and it doesn't contain any garlic. The thing about this salad is that the flavors in the bowl complement the shrimp. The big garlicky dressing from the BLT Salad would overpower the delicate pink pieces of meat (now, next to just the lettuce, tomato, and bacon: the garlicky deliciousness of that dressing adds to the flavor powerhouse; nothing is drowned out). Instead, the dressing for our Shrimp Club Salad is a simple mixture of mayo, chives and lemon juice. That's it and it's perfect. The dressing coats everything with this velvety and tangy goodness that brings out the sweetness of the shrimp, the saltiness of the bacon, the tang of the tomatoes. This is a great summer salad and perfect for those nights when it's just too damn hot to cook and too damn hot to go out. Okay, so you'll have to endure a little heat from cooking the shrimp and the bacon, but the final product will cool things down immediately. Serve with a crisp and fruity Savignon Blanc or perhaps a frosty Pilsner (or iced tea, if wine and beer aren't your thing) and you won't even notice the 100-degree weather outside!

When Fandoms Attack: Spicy Dark Chocolate-Coffee Cupcakes

So, about two years ago, the husband was advised, nay ordered, by a friend to play a new (well, newly discovered) video game. it was around the time that World of Warcraft died down in our household and, while I was still busy with grad school, my husband was looking for something to fill the time in the evenings and on weekends. World of Warcraft (or WoW) was a huge deal in our house until then. We were part of a guild and we ran raids and did dungeon runs together. But, just before our wedding, we decided that we needed to focus our attention on, well, our wedding, and both agreed to stop playing. We both realized that WoW wasn't holding our attention as much as it did before and a few months after we got married, we cancelled our accounts. One of our good friends had recently picked up a game called Mass Effect. It was a sci-fi space-faring RPG and apparently it grabbed our friend more than any other game before it. The husband was intrigued and borrowed a copy from another friend who had played it and finished it. The husband was, for lack of a better word, enraptured by the game. He couldn't put it down. He dove headfirst into the world of Mass Effect (or ME) fandom and joined all the fan communities on LiveJournal, even got a handle/profile on the game forums. Soon after he finished the first one, the sequel came out and I don't think I saw him for days as he consumed every bit of that game. His fandom grew and he started to write fanfiction, the sort of level-cap to any fandom. During this time, he kept suggesting that I play, too. Given the timing, I didn't really have much in the way of free time, but during one of my breaks I picked up ME1 and started playing. I loved it. I couldn't get enough of it. While my fandom never fully capped like my husband's, I was in it for the long-haul. I played through ME1 multiple times and imported all my saved games into ME2; bought the downloadable content; bought ME-themed apparel; the works. When ME3 released earlier this year, we both ordered our own copies of the Collector's Edition of ME3. While this certainly isn't the forum for expressing how we eventually felt about the trilogy's ending, suffice it to say we're still hooked. ME remains a huge deal in our household. While I might not be writing my own fanfiction, I help proofread the husband's works and I follow a few choice fanfiction authors online now. So yeah, pretty big deal.

But, La Petite Chef, how is this related to food? Oh, dear reader, everything in my life can be related to food. Sometimes I feel like Monica on Friends when she's told that the only reason she became a chef was so people would like her (that's another fandom entirely, believe me). I tell you about this Mass Effect fandom to lay the groundwork for what I did last year.

Last year was the husband's 30th birthday. One of those milestone birthdays and we went all out. I even organized with one of his best men at our wedding to come up from LA to visit and celebrate with us. We had a ton of people over at my parent's house and cooked up a huge variety of street-style Mexican tacos. We had carne asada, carnitas, grilled chicken, and even some grilled portobello mushrooms for our vegetarian friends. Accompanying these we had all the condiments: homemade guacamole, pico de gallo, salsa verde, pickled onions. Let's just say the crowd did not leave hungry that day. The thing is, the husband did all of this himself. Well, okay, I helped a lot with the prep-work, but he manned the grill, and served everything up on his birthday. He loved it. I, on the other hand, kept the dessert a secret. I only asked him what kind of cupcakes he wanted. He simply said spicy chocolate. Off to the internet I went and found a beautiful recipe for Spicy Dark Chocolate-Coffee Cupcakes with Cardamom Buttercream. I ran it by him, he approved, and I made them. What the husband didn't know was how they were going to be decorated. Little did he know, I had been making sketches of my idea a few weeks leading up to the party. I wanted it to be perfect. I researched what I wanted to draw, bought a whole mess of food colorings, pastry bags, and piping tips. I spent the night before the party at my parent's house, baking and decorating and getting everything set up. I loved every minute of it. Only thing I wish I had was a picture of the two of us holding the tray of cupcakes on his birthday. Oh well, let's just say, he was pleased.

The cupcakes and buttercream was easy enough to make, really. I find cupcakes to be easier to bake than whole cakes and for almost every special occasion in the last 3 years, I've been happy to bake cupcakes for birthdays and other events. I made 2 batches of Root Beer Float Cupcakes for my niece and nephew's 5th birthday party, as well as cupcakes for the last few birthdays for the husband. These particular cupcakes were quite delicious. The spice was a little more subdued than I was expecting; there was definitely more coffee than spice, but I don't think I would try and add MORE spice as I wouldn't want the cupcakes to end up bitter. The cardamom buttercream was an excellent complement, although I was rather sick of cardamom after making these, considering how much I had to handle the frosting during the decorating phase. My nephew, who isn't big on cupcakes at all, said they were his favorite. The reason being is that I lightly ice my cupcakes. Like my nephew, I do not like a ton of frosting or icing on my cupcakes. It's too sweet, especially when all I want is the cake. So yeah, the cupcakes, both as food and a gift, went over well. Not everyone in the crowd understood the significance, but it was my gift to my husband. While my fandom will never surpass his completely, at least he knows I'm just as much of a fan in my own way.

Hello Dal-y: Broccolini and Chickpea Dal

Last year I started a subscription to Sunset. Yes, I am my mother, and I've accepted that (to be honest, she is a pretty cool lady). Anyway, I didn't quite know what to expect when I got my first issue in the mail. I knew there were going to be a lot of articles about gardening (have I not mentioned my rather brown thumb?), home renovations (although drool-worthy, can't use them), and travel (okay, that fits into our life a little more). I had a feeling there would be some recipes involved (I mean, what else are you going to do with your perfectly grown summer squash in your homemade redwood raised beds?), but I wasn't sure what kind. I didn't want a repeat of Mario Batalli, in which he goes on in a pompous manner about how readily available he finds monkfish at his local fishmonger's and how his father owns his own charcuterie (or the Italian equivalent) and makes his own salumi and other dried meats and sausage. Oh--you don't have these things available? Too bad, no substitutions for you, peasant! *ahem* Where was I? Oh, right... I was pleasantly surprised to find that Sunset's recipes were easy to follow and were, of course, delicious. Plus, since Sunset is all about the seasonal availability of everything, the recipes coincide with the seasons and use fresh ingredients, which you can find in abundance at your local store, in my case Whole Foods (anyone who follows me on Twitter will know I have a bit of a Whole Foods addiction). 

One of the first recipes I tried from Sunset was this one, Broccolini and Chickpea Dal. Alright, pun aside, I love a good dal. As I've established a number of times before, I cannot get enough of legumes. I think I could easily go vegetarian, as long as I subsisted on nothing but legumes (and, of course, pairing them with the right grain as to ensure I'm getting my complete protein). Of course, this would mean no meat and that would make me a very sad omnivore. Nonetheless, I have been known o make a vegetarian meal every so often and this has become one of my absolute favorites. I also love anything that starts with "brocco-", whether it's plain ol' broccoli or perhaps its bitter cousin broccoli rabe or its sweeter and more tender brethren broccolini, I love it all. I've been known to live off of broccoli (okay, it was broccoli and baked potatoes, but still, my college dorm's mini-fridge wasn't complete without a few bags of already prepared fresh broccoli florets). This dish is perfect: it's spicy, tender, creamy, and perfect for all occasions. I'm sure if you can't find broccolini, you can simply use regular broccoli. Although, I would recommend just trim up the stems a bit more so that it cooks in the time allotted without overcooking the chickpeas. Seriously - this is a meal I would easily make year round. Who cares if it's the middle of summer and you can't get off the couch because your thighs are stuck to it? This will make you sweat just enough to loosen things up and off you go!

No excuses! Okay, some excuses...

So, here's the deal, I could run off a litany of excuses as for why I have seemingly abandoned my food blog. It certainly isn't for lack of eating, although I did spend the majority of the past year submerged in Weight Watchers (my love of butter had caught up with me and I had to do something about it). Of course, this doesn't mean that I stopped cooking while on WW; in fact, I did more cooking, since going out on WW isn't the best option. Who knew you had so much control over your own food in your own kitchen!? /sarcasm I could cite school as being a huge obstacle in my way of cooking and blogging about my cooking. Truth be told, I'm not the only one in school in our household anymore. The husband started his MBA program last fall, which has thrown a wrench in our otherwise routinized evenings. Him being in school for a few days each week has led to the "cooking for one" dilemma. I love myself, but sometimes I just don't have the energy to cook for just myself.  In the last few months our weekly schedule is even more crammed as the hubby and I have both started attending classes at our local gym (Smash Fit is pretty darn awesome; check it out if you're in the area). This meant I had less time to cook on the evenings my husband and I were together, thus leading to more grabbing something to eat on the way home from the gym. When your class ends at 8, it's tough to cook a complete meal without finding yourself eating at 9:30 at night. So, while I could do the thing I just said I wouldn't do, but quite easily did, I will instead say that I am back to writing and cooking and doing all manner of things to keep this blog active. While I cannot promise future hiatuses won't happen (the upcoming fall semester is my portfolio semester, which means finalizing my masters degree and attempting to graduate), I will do all I can to make sure they don't last a full year.

Deal?

OK, deal.

Now that all that's sorted, I'd encourage you to stick around for some upcoming dishes and posts. I'll have some new favorites, like Broccolini and Chickpea Dal, and some incredible expressions of love and fandom, such as my Mass Effect themed Spicy Chocolate Cupcakes I made for the husband's 30th birthday, plus much more as the summer progresses! Seriously, it'll be great.

No Soup for You! Week Serves Up: Lentil Soup

No Soup for You! week continues with a favorite from my childhood.  I know I received a few requests on Facebook for Cream of Mushroom, but I have actually never made it before (let alone have it available for this week).  However, I have taken note and will make sure to make it sometime soon and blog about it.  I, too, love cream of mushroom soup.  I remember seeing a recipe for it somewhere around here, so it's on my list!  The topic for today, though, is that most humblest of legumes:  the lentil.

Growing up, my mom had a winter routine of making large pots of soup and freezing it for those nights when she was too tired to cook.  One of the staple soups was lentil.  I loved lentil soup as a kid.  I remember other kids my age not caring for it because for some reason I found many kids didn't like beans/legumes.  Weird, I know.  Anyway, my mom always made the best lentil soup.  It was savory and full of chunky vegetables, lots of garlic and the lentils themselves were always cooked to perfection.  I have taken on this same tradition of making large pots of soup in the winter and keeping them for later dinners or even lunches.  Lentil soup has always made me feel warm and comforted.  It's the kind of soup which results in the "warm soup belly" afterward.  It's probably comforting only because I associate it with being a kid in the winter.  It would be cold and dark and stormy outside and my mom would put in front of me a big steamy bowl of lentil soup, topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, served with a huge piece of sourdough bread (or garlic bread, depending on the night).  I'd dig in and in no time, my bowl would be empty and I would immediately be warmed from head to foot.

This is a perfect freezing soup, but I point out that when reheating the soup, add a little water.  Unless you want your soup really thick, the lentils soak up all the moisture, even as it's sitting in the fridge or freezer.  Also, the recipe below makes A TON of soup.  If you don't have the room for all the leftovers, or that many mouths to feed, I (and my mom) recommend cutting the recipe in half.  You'll get plenty of soup for dinner that night or week and still have enough to freeze for later!

Lastly, don't feel beholden to the recipe below.  You can pretty much add anything you want to your soup and as long as it has lentils in it, it's still considered lentil soup.  My sister makes a great lentil soup by simply using up all the veggies she has in her fridge.  She also adds sausage to her soup, which I usually don't.  Her lentil soup is still delicious; just as delicious as our mom's, and as mine.  In other words, feel free to make it your own.

Don't miss the exciting conclusion No Soup for You! Week...Butternut Squash Soup--surprisingly elegant and perfect for entertaining!

No Soup for You! Week and the "Ultimate" Cream of Tomato Soup

Happy 40th Post, everyone!  I actually did not commemorate my 1-year anniversary in April, so I thought I would celebrate a different milestone.  I noticed when I logged in that I had written 39 posts, so this one is my 40th.  It's been wonderful writing about the food I've cooked and the experiences I have had in the kitchen over the past year.  Let's hope this year averages closer to a post a week!

Now, to the topic at hand:  soup.  My No Soup for You! week continues with one of my absolute favorite soups.  Growing up, I loved Campbell's Tomato soup more than anything in the world.  I'd make an entire can and armed with saltine crackers and lots of black pepper, I would eat the whole thing myself.  Marshall's not such a huge fan.  He's said, on more than one occasion, that Campbell's Tomato Soup tastes like the sauces used for Chef Boyardee.  While I've never actually had Chef Boyardee, I can't exactly tell him that it doesn't, but this sounds like an insult so I take offense.  So, when I saw the special "Soups & Stews" issue of Cook's Illustrated earlier last year and it contained a recipe for cream of tomato soup--excuse me, ULTIMATE cream of tomato soup--I knew I had to make it and show Marshall that tomato soup can be creamy and delicious.

I was not led astray, nor would I expect any less from my new favorite cooking magazine.  While there were far too many steps in this recipe than I care for, the result was far better than I could have imagined.  It was meaty, sweet, and silky smooth.  The flavor was the most savory I have ever tasted coming from tomatoes, but it still retained that lovely sweetness that comes from tomatoes, as well.  I think a lot of that sweetness comes from the use of whole canned tomatoes, plus tomato paste.  Of course, there is sugar in the recipe, but it is a means to caramelize the tomatoes as they roast in the oven.  I will say this, though, that step is a pain in the ass.  I ended up with what I feel was far too few tomatoes, by the time I was done seeding them and laying them out on a cooking sheet.  I also didn't seem to get the kind of caramelization that I was originally expecting, so I have a feeling I might've overcooked them.  However, this did not detract from the end result.  This soup was definitely the highly sophisticated city relative of its Campbell's canned country bumpkin, but both are equally warming of the soul.  They say chicken soup is the food of the soul, but my soul'll take tomato soup any day.

Bonus time!
So, what does everyone think of when they think tomato soup?  Grilled cheese, right?  Right.  Well, with a sophisticated cream of tomato soup like this, we needed a sophisticated sandwich.  American singles and white bread were not going to cut it with this bowl.  I turned to this one sandwich that Marshall and I absolutely adore.  It's sweet and salty, buttery and just incredibly delicious:  Ham, Manchego, and Fig Tartines.  Leave it to my Gourmet magazine (RIP) to have a last page of the September 2008 to hide these gems of sandwiches.  The French tartine is an open-faced sandwich, but the recipes on this page are far from the original.  This particular sandwich that we enjoyed with our tomato soup leans more toward the Iberian Peninsula, with the ham and manchego cheese.  The fig, too, is very Spanish, and I could definitely see something like this on a tapas menu somewhere in Spain.  I don't know if I could fully explain the richness that is this sandwich.  The baguette, toasted, mingles with the fig (mixed with butter, of course) and infuses the sharp cheese and finally there's this salty jolt from the ham (in this case prosciutto; serrano would be your true Spanish alternative).  The sweet and salty was a great companion to the rich and savory tomato soup.

If you're feeling homesick, but want still want to wear your tiara (or monocle), this is your meal.

No Soup for You! Week continues...Up next time is my personal all-time favorite soup for eating and freezing:  Lentil (Italian-style)!

No Soup for You! Week Continues: Golden Winter Soup

No Soup for You! week continues with this lovely gem I unearthed in an old issue of Cooking Light.  Normally I don't buy Cooking Light, not that it's bad or anything (this was my mom's go-to cooking magazine growing up) I just usually gravitate toward other cooking magazines.  Anyway!  I bought this issue a few years ago because it contained a handful of soup recipes.  Being the dead of winter, soup is a welcome bowl of sunshine.  The recipe that I kept this issue around was that delicious black bean soup that Marshall absolutely loves, but while organizing my cooking magazines during Winter Break this school year, I found this other recipe that sounded fantastic for a winter evening:  Golden Winter Soup.

I mean, the name says it all.  It's this bowl of beautiful sunshine yellow, but hearty and silky without being super creamy.  It's surprisingly fresh-tasting, considering the rather mundane ingredients.  I don't normally cook with leeks, only because I honestly don't come across a lot of recipes which use it and I don't believe my mom used them much growing up, but this certainly adds a brightness which cuts through the potatoes and butternut squash.  Topped with a little chives, it was seriously summer in a bowl (and this sunshine was edible, rather than the potpourri sunshine...any Friends fans out there?).  Being this came from Cooking Light, the cream is kept to a minimum, with all the silky creamy texture coming from puréed potatoes and squash.  Marshall and I paired this soup with a lovely German wheat beer (I cannot remember which one) which was perfect.  Oh yeah - I almost forgot.  The little side that the cooks at Cooking Light paired with this soup were little Gruyère toasts.  Now, I love cheese and bread, but this was almost like having a little grilled cheese with your soup.  It was great for dipping or scraping up the soup at the bottom of the bowl!

I ended up freezing the rest of the soup, since it makes so much, and it was great even after it was frozen.  I defrosted it one week for my lunch and it was just as delicious as I remembered.  So this is definitely one of those soups where you can make a huge pot of it, have some for dinner that night, and freeze the rest for an easy dinner in the future when you simply do not feel like cooking.  It's okay--I've been there plenty of times myself.  Having stuff like this in the freezer has been a lifesaver for us!

No Soup for You! week continues... Don't miss out on tomorrow's true classic:  Homemade Tomato Soup (and the most delicious sandwiches EVER)! 

No Soup for You! Week Presents: Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup

My very best photog friend, Nicole, suggested I pick a theme for a week.  Since I watch more TV (or used to, at least) than I would rather like to admit, she thought I could base my themes on TV shows.  So, for this week, I present:  No Soup for You!  For the following week, I will be writing one post per day, focused on a soup recipe.  While my soup is rather tasty, I would not prevent you from tasting it because you didn't order it correctly.  I also am choosing not to hide away the recipes in an old wardrobe.  Do I have any Seinfeld fans out there?  Maybe?  Okay, moving on...

My first stop on this delicious endeavor is a soup I actually found at Whole Foods.  From time to time, I suggest having dinner out at Whole Foods.  They've got so many options that it's like looking into a vast fridge and finding something that will satisfy any craving.  One day, Marshall and I went for lunch and I walked away with a small salad from the salad bar and a cup of soup.  They had a Vegetarian Tuscan Kale and White Bean soup available, which sounded perfect for what I was in the mood for that day.  When I took my first bite, I was underwhelmed.  There was all these veggies in this soup and no flavor whatsoever.  It desperately needed salt, and I'm not a huge salt person.  But I've learned that everything needs at least a little salt.  I sat at that table and thought "I can totally do this better."

And I did.  I actually found their original recipe on their website.  It shocked me that it suggested using lots of canned veggies, rather than fresh.  I understand if they're creating a recipe meant to finish cooking in a short time, but there's really no excuse for using canned carrots...  So, I gave the recipe an overhaul.  I made it distinctly UN-vegetarian (although it can easily be made vegetarian again) by adding some really yummy Italian sausage, using fresh carrots, adding celery, but kept the canned tomatoes (they're honestly the best option for soups and stews).  I, of course, I kept the white beans and kale in place, or else it couldn't still be called "Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup".  I also added a few flourishes:  grated parmesan cheese, a dollop of fresh (well, homemade/frozen) pesto, and homemade croutons.  The end result was an absolutely delicious and fresh vegetable soup for those cold winter days.  I would necessary freeze this particular soup, but honestly - this soup will go fast.

Stay tuned, tomorrow, for another beautiful soup:  Golden Winter Soup.

Farmer's Market Finds: Rabbit Sausage and Sautéed Russian Kale

Living in California, I am never hard-up for fresh fruits and vegetables.  I sometimes forget that the majority of the country doesn't have this kind of access to the bounty that we have here.  Now, California does sometimes have to rely on other countries during the winter, we still have plenty of fresh vegetables to choose from during the winter and early spring.  Like many little towns and neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area, Campbell has its own weekly Farmer's Market.  This market is always packed, rain or shine, and the vendors are always there.  The majority of farms who have booths are from the Salinas or San Jouquin Valleys.  There are also local artists, a local honey and beeswax seller, and plenty of great hot food booths (including my absolute favorite:  Oaxacan Kitchen).  I'm sad to say that I don't make it out to the Farmer's Market as I honestly should (it's only about a mile and a half from our home).  I did make a point to go this weekend, while Marshall was out.  I honestly think I have more fun at these things than he does, but I made good on my own promise and went Sunday morning.  I made the initial pass through the entire market and nothing really caught my eye.  It was getting into the early afternoon and I was hungry, so I got in line for the Oaxacan Kitchen and looked to my left.  It was the usual charcuterie booth (Fabrique Délices, out of Hayward) and I glanced at their menu.  Then, I spotted it:  Rabbit and Prune Sausage.  My mouth watered.  I had to have some.  After I placed my order for lunch and then made a beeline to buy the sausage.  I finally had a meal in mind:  Rabbit and Prune Sausage with Sautéed Bitter Greens.  My mom used to make a variation of this with red chard and chicken-apple sausage and it was a delicious, healthy, and quick weekday meal.  Before I left the market, I stopped at one of the first booths I walked past earlier and they had bunches of bitter greens.  I picked up 2 bunches of Russian Kale and 1 bunch of Mustard Greens (for later in the week).  I walked away from the market feeling fully satisfied and eager to eat!

I couldn't have made a better decision for dinner tonight.  I was a little worried about the sausage, since I didn't plan on grilling it, but pan-frying instead.  Luckily, the package had some easy cooking instructions:  cook in a pan over medium heat for 15-20 minutes.  Easy enough!  I already knew how to make the greens:  sauté with olive oil and lots of chopped garlic, until wilted and tender.  Since I didn't want to burn either dish, I had some chicken broth (only 1/4-1/2 Cup) on hand to provide a little steam to finish off the cooking.  I had never had Russian Kale before, but the lady selling it said it was great.  After I had the lid on the pan for a bit and uncovered the greens, I got a huge whiff of the forest:  earthy, dewy, and slightly sweet.  I love that smell.  I tasted the greens for doneness and they were perfect:  tender, not mushy, and just slightly sweet.  This is by far the most UN-bitter of bitter greens I have had.  The sausage was cooked perfectly.  The texture of the sausage was a little more chunky than your average mass-produced sausage; definitely more country-style sausage.  You could easily pick out the tender pieces of rabbit and there was just enough chopped prune to add a hint of dark sweetness.  Overall a fantastic dinner:  light, fresh, and fast!

Valentine's in North Africa: Sautéed Quail with Paprika Sauce and Moroccan-Spiced Vegetables

Yes, I do realize that we're in mid-April and I'm now JUST getting to the Valentine's Dinner I made for Marshall and I in mid-February.  I actually have recipes from meals and dishes I made toward the end of December of last year sitting in my "Food Blog" photo folder on my hard-drive.  We'll see just how quickly I'm able to catch up.  However, lately I've just been randomly selecting meals from my photos and going from there.  I've actually wanted to post the meal I made for Valentine's Day for a while now, but honestly at this point that's not saying a whole lot...

Anyway!

I've come to realize that the medium I have become most comfortable with for expressing my love (not to mention happiness, frustration, and all the other emotions of the spectrum) is food.  I love the food, of course, but being able to make a delicious meal and cook it for the people I love is something that's become quite apparent recently.  For Valentine's Day this year, I decided to do something a little special for Marshall (and me, of course).  Getting some slight inspiration from the episode of Friends where it shows what might've happened if Monica remained fat (and Ross never got divorced, Rachel married Barry, and so on), I decided to make an entire meal Marshall and I could eat with our hands.  If you know Friends as well as I do, you'll know the reference.  If not, no worries; just be content that I am a bigger nerd than you are.  I also wanted to cook something that I had never made before.  After some thinking and some searching through Epicurious.com, I came up with the following menu:

• Sautéed Quail with Paprika Sauce
• Moroccan-Spiced Vegetables
• Moroccan Couscous, and
• [Homemade] Cardamom Ice Cream

The ice cream, of course, was to be eaten with spoons, otherwise that would've been a much bigger mess than I wanted to clean up.  I found the quail and vegetables as a recipe duo and only later found the Moroccan couscous recipe on Food Network's website (thank you, Ina Garten!). 

Since Valentine's Day fell on a Monday and I didn't want to have to fight with the hordes of couples going out to dinner that night, I offered to make dinner the night before.  We would eat in, have a good home-cooked meal, and just stay relaxed.  On that Saturday, I went ahead and made the base for the Cardamom Ice Cream.  Sitting in the fridge overnight allowed the flavors to meld and really infuse the cream.  For some reason, I believe Marshall was out during the day on Sunday, so I had time to focus on preparing the meal.  The quail was the only worrisome part of the meal, as I had never cooked with it or even bought it from the store.  I found some at my favorite bankrupt Italian market, Cosentino's, and they turned out to be just fine.  They had already been cleaned and had their backs removed, which made my job a WHOLE lot easier.

The meal, and the night as a whole, was perfect.  I enjoyed eating with my hands, even though I don't think Marshall was as keen on the experience as I was.  The couscous was a delicious last-minute choice to round out the meal.  I loved the bright and smoky paprika sauce, which blended well with the vegetables and the couscous.  The quail was delicious, too, and not as gamy as I thought it might be.  I believe we almost forgot about the ice cream.  It was beautifully creamy, silky, and spicy, without being super sweet.  Definitely a perfect ending to our meal.

This is definitely a meal for a special occasion.  I could totally see turning this into a themed event:  a big group of friends over, lots of brightly-colored throw pillows and rugs on the floor, dimmed lighting, and everyone seated on the floor around a low table enjoying some delicious food and wine... 

Cooking for a Cause: Appetizers for Japan Earthquake Relief

This past weekend (hey look - it's a blog that's ON-TIME!), my bestest high school friend, Nicole, hosted a fundraiser for Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief.  Originally, it was going to be a birthday party and Humane Society fundraiser to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of adopting their adorable pup, Barney.  With the recent devastation in Japan, she changed gears and made it a full-on fundraiser for Japan.  She emailed me asking if I was interested in donating my cooking and make some light appetizers for the event.  I was only too happy to donate my time and cook for this great cause.  As soon as last Monday rolled around, I turned into total caterer-mode.  A few years ago, my mom was seriously considering starting her own catering company.  Unfortunately things fell through, but I learned quite a bit watching her cater birthday parties, Easter and Christmas feasts, and so many other events we had at our house.  So, I essentially turned into her:  I grabbed my pen and notepad and wrote down what I was going to make:

• Caprese Salad Bites
• Pizza Canapés
• Torta
• Artichoke and Feta Wontons
• Beef and Green Onion Skewers
• Grilled Caesar Salad

The only thing new on this menu was the Caprese Salad Bites, but I had watched my mom make them and, really, how hard is it to make an appetizer bite with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil?  The rest on the list I had made over and over for past parties or at least one other time (in the case of the Beef and Green Onion Skewers), so I was comfortable with making those and I knew how much time I needed and how many I needed to make.  Nicole gave me an estimate of 30 people.  I made sure that I either made double-batches or scaled down the original recipe to make it stretch.  I was also worried about covering my vegetarian bases, but turns out that most vegetarians could eat the majority of what I was making (I sometimes confused vegan with vegetarian).  Anyway, after making the menu, I made the schedule.  I plotted out the rest of the week:  when I needed to go shopping, when I could premake certain items, etc.  I scheduled everything to the point of cooking Sunday afternoon.  Everything was planned just so (well, that is until I realized I didn't schedule time to shower on Sunday - oops!  Don't worry, I showered.).  Next was the master grocery list.  I jotted down exactly what I needed and how much I needed.  I informed Marshall of the schedule, since he is the master of the Artichoke and Feta Wontons, and he was aware of when he was needed.

During all of this planning and plotting, I had two papers to write for school.  Those, of course, take precedence so I made sure to keep an eye on both time I needed for food and time I needed to write my papers.  I finished my first paper Wednesday night and my second paper Saturday evening.  I was non-stop this past week and it's what I absolutely love.

Sunday couldn't have gone any better.  Marshall and I arrived in a flurry of Whole Foods bags, platters, bowls, and prepped dishes.  With my schedule burned into my brain, I had Nicole's husband fire up the grill and I put Marshall to work frying up the wontons.  The first appetizers out where the Caprese Salad Bites.  These are also the only appetizers that day which actually got its picture taken.  I just completely forgot to snap pictures of the final product.  I threw the Beef and Onion Skewers on the grill and they were hot and ready for people to eat.  The Torta followed and were towered just so on their deep blue platter.  Next up were Marshall's wontons and those were the fastest to fly off the plate.  I got to play waitress and walked around with the wontons, so people hanging out outside got to have a taste.  By the time I made the rounds, the platter was empty.  Marshall filled up the last platter and those just went as fast as the first (it's probably because this batch had bacon!).  Last up were the melty and cheesy Pizza Canapés.

So, because I failed to provide pictures (I have prep pictures, which will be after the cut with the recipe), I asked Nicole to send out a request for testimonials.  Here is what some people said about the appetizers:

Chandani, of the Caprese Salad Bites, wrote:
This dainty, yet fresh and rich appetizer will definitely have guests coming back for more!  I couldn't resist going back for seconds, thirds, fourths, and maybe more...oops!  These salad bites have so many distinct flavors that you can taste each specific ingredient (basil, mozerella, tomato and balsamic vinegar with garlic, I believe) and will not walk away without a moan or two of "YUM".

Charly, Nicole's sister, loved the Caprese Salad Bites, too:
...these little bites were as appetizing to the eyes as they were to the palate. Neatly skewered on toothpicks, it resembled in appearance a healthy hamburger of sorts; everything was fresh and bright. Basil and fresh mozzarella are always delicious, but what really blew me away were the tomatoes used: Sweet Treats, a little fruit that packs the flavor of its larger heirloom cousin, the beefsteak. Hell yeah. Pretty sure I could have eaten it all if I allowed myself to do it.

Nicole, of the Beef and Green Onion Skewers, said:
The beef was cooked juuuuusstt right. So tender and moist, and was uber delicious paired with the onion. A great bbq treat :)


For the Pizza Canapés, Chandani thought:
These little pizzas are a perfect bite-size snack.  They are not only delicious and vegetarian, but leave you feeling like you are eating something good and healthy, most probably because the crust is made up of toasted rye-bread.

Everytime we've made the Artichoke and Feta Wontons, they go fast.  As Jesse (Nicole's husband) said:
The wontons were awesome, especially the ones with bacon!  I'm glad I got to grab those in the first wave because they did not last long.  Crispy goodness.

Even the vegetarians liked the wontons (the batch without bacon, of course!).  Chandani said:
A true vegetarian appetizer option, these were a delight to have seeing that vegetarians like myself rarely have an opportunity to enjoy a meat-free wonton!  It was a wonderful treat and I definitely would have had more than one if I had found some!  They must have gone quickly!

I'm telling you - these wontons are a hit!  Charly said:
...despite the fact that they had just come off the stove, I bit into it eagerly. Mmm. The wrapper had the perfect amount of chew to it, and the filling was savory without being too salty (a problem I usually have with pickled artichokes). There was also a batch with bacon (how can you go wrong?). I really didn't care if I burned the corners of my mouth a tiny bit; totally worth it.

Nicole said, of the Grilled Caesar Salad:
Definitely the hit of the party, mostly because it was the most interesting on top of the fact that it was delicious. The grilled lettuce just tasted like summer. Enough said :)

There's nothing better than hearing the nice things people have said about the food I made.  My only goal for cooking is to make other people happy.  This is why I do it and why I keep doing it.  Cooking for the people I love is just so rewarding.  Now, cooking for the people I love and for a cause that I love, too?  I'm happy to announce that Nicole was able to raise over $600 at the party and through Adobe, who matched our donation, we were able to donate $1200 to the Red Cross in Japan.  Yatta!

Reader's Request: Whole-Wheat Flatbreads with Lamb and Yogurt

I'm very fortunate to work for a company that allows me to work from home.  Ever since we all got laptops, my manager has been very understanding of when I want/need to work from home.  She knows that my commute is one of the longer ones from our department and agrees that working one day a week is helpful on my budget (and well-being).  Anyway, over the last year, I've been working from home one day a week and it's been wonderful.  I can do laundry, run errands, and watch TV, while still getting a full day's work done.  I also get the opportunity to see people during the week who I would not normally get to see outside of the weekend.  My bestest friend from high school and photographer extraordinaire, Nicole, stopped by last week.  She had a few things for me and I for her and we also got to sit and chat for a bit.  The conversation eventually turned to talking about food, which is quite common for me, and while sitting in the kitchen we both started to flip through my cookbooks and magazines on the shelf.  We mainly talked about what appetizers I've been asked to make for her upcoming Japan Tsunami/Earthquake Relief party, but she pulled a few other things off the shelf, too, just to have a peek at what recipes I had lying around.

She picked up my little Martha Stewart digest magazine (the same magazine I got this lovely gem) and started flipping through it.  I mentioned how much I loved that little magazine and that I wish Martha would start producing them again.  They're so infrequent, I don't even think she does them anymore.  Anyway, Nicole found the recipe for Whole Wheat Flatbreads with Lamb and Yogurt, immediately turned to me and said "You're cooking this and writing about it in your blog, so I can get the recipe!"  Well, Nicole, your wish is my command!

I remember making this recipe for the first time a long time ago.  I think it was our first year living in our current apartment, so about 2.5 years ago.  This was the first time I attempted a bread of any kind, let alone a whole wheat flatbread, and I think my first foray into something resembling Southeast Mediterranean or even Middle-Eastern.  I just remember making them and being totally pleased.  The warm nutty whole wheat bread, the spicy lamb, the sweet onions, the creamy and tangy yogurt, and the cool mint just plays such a melody in the mouth.  There are so many flavors it's crazy, but they all work together to create a fantastic meal on the plate.  The one thing I was a little disappointed with this time around, was my flatbreads weren't as crispy as they were the first time.  I have a feeling my dough was a little too wet and perhaps too thick and weren't cooking long enough in the pan.  They shouldn't be like crackers, but they should at least be more crisp than chewy.  Overall, though, I was again pleased with this dish.  It's hearty and filling and thoroughly delicious.

Nicole, I hope you and Jesse like this one as much as Marshall and I do!