c is for kitchen

Everything you love tossed together and covered in cheese

2012-01-29T14:33:00.005-05:00

As we all know, winter is the time for much sleeping, with short bursts of wakefulness centred around pureed soups and giant casseroles filled with who-knows-what.

[Image from: http://www.amoeba.com/dynamic-images/blog/Job/wrestling.jpg]

This bear would be less prone to attacking human-types during the difficult hibernation period if someone had thought to invite it over to partake in the following...

I got this unexpectedly delectable recipe from a great seasonal cookbook created by The Stop Community Food Centre (http://thestop.org/), a rad Toronto community org that works to promote food security and sovereignty by holding cooking workshops, doing a lot of community gardening, acting as an empowering alternative to more traditional food banks. As the story goes, they got an enormous donation of canned baked beans and were at a loss as to what to do with them until someone came up with this fine thing. You can replace the suggested veggies with whatever you have on hand, as long as they all cook at about the same temperature.

What you'll need:

1/2 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 red bell pepper, cut into, you guessed it, 1-inch cubes/pieces

1/4 cup veggie/olive oil, plus enough to coat veggies

kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

3 cloves garlic, divided

500g/1 lb firm tofu, drained & cut into 1-inch cubes

1 onion, coarsely chopped

2 398 ml/14 oz cans baked beans (I used the maple flavoured kind...)

1 small handful of fresh parsley, chopped

2 cups grated cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan, whatever, mix it up!)

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a mixing bowl, toss eggplant, zucchini and bell pepper with enough veggie/olive oil to coat, and season well with salt & pepper. Spread out on baking sheets, creating an even single layer on each. Roast veggies for about 20 minutes, or until they're nicely browned and pepper is still a bit crisp. Remove from heat and reduce oven temperature to 350F. Place roasted veggies in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

2. In a frying/sauTAY pan, heat 1/4 cup veggie/olive oil on medium heat. Slice 1 clove of garlic in thirds and fry in oil 1 minute, being careful not to brown. Add tofu and fry until golden brown. Remove tofu from oil and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate. Using a slotted spoon, fish out garlic and discard. Return pan to heat. Saute onion until translucent and season with salt & pepper. Finely chop remaining garlic cloves and add to pan; saute for 1 minute more, then add mixture to the bowl of roasted veggies. Add the baked beans, tofu and parsley to mixture and stir well to combine! Spread wondrous mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan or casserole dish and sprinkle LOTS of shredded cheese on top.

3. Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is browned and mixture starts to bubble at the sides of the pan.

Serves 4-6. Maybe just 4 because it's so delicious and/or if you're feeding bears.

The Blog Strikes Back!

2012-01-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

Dearest Friends, Lovers, Bakers, and Saute-ers,

You may have noticed something different about me, and no, it's not my bangs.

I know we've had our rough patches, but we've been so many things to each other over the years. What role have I not played?

Carrier of News and Knowledge
Oasis for the Hungry
Mediator of Romance
Enlarger of the Common Life
Bond of Scattered Friends
Assiduous Archive
Constant Companion
Konstant Kompanion

Change is afoot! I write you in the spirit of the New Year and new beginnings, and also with the spirit of forgiveness: all that is past has been forgotten. ~~But don't think I didn't hear about those nights you just had toast for dinner.~~
I know you've been thinking about me.
Let's get back together.

Missing you,

Your Blog.

BRAD'S "TWILIGHT"-SUCKS CORNBREAD

2012-01-13T13:59:00.003-05:00

A long time ago, in a kitchen far, far away, beautiful vampire-intellectuals (VIs) chloroformed Edward Cullen, tore out his heart, and used his tweeny, annoying blood to water their corn crop. The blood teemed and teemed out of his heart, and the VIs watered and watered their corn, and the corn grew and grew. By the light of the moon, VIs from around the land would gather by the crop to practice their jazz flute, attend to their cuticles, and discuss how to better spread their vampirism consciousness-raising strategies. Ah, 'twas a heady, bloody time!

When the blood corn was finally harvested, the VIs summoned Tom, Brad, and Antonio Banderas and made them compete in a nude, Iron Chef cornbread competition as penitence for having made Interview With a Vampire. The men baked tirelessly until Tom tried to convert them, at which time Brad called Angelina to "remove" him. But Antonio, in love with Tom, was so troubled by his loss that he had to go into a corner and have some quiet time. In the end, Brad, as always, was victorious. His recipe lives on in the annals of the VIs till this day.

BRAD'S TWILIGHT-SUCKS CORNBREAD

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose or whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggies
1/4 cup corn oil or butter, melted
2 to 4 tablespoons honey to taste
1 cup milk

Preheat the OVEN to 425ºF. Put the BUTTER in an 8-inch square baking pan and set in the oven while it's heating. Meanwhile, stir the dry ingredients together and make a well in the center of the bowl. In another BOWL, whisk together the WET INGREDIENTS. As soon as the oven is hot, remove the pan and bake in the middle of the oven until GOLDEN BROWN. Quickly, mix the wet and dry ingredients together, then pour the batter into the pan and BAKE in the middle of the oven until golden brown ON TOP and beginning to PULL AWAY FROM THE EDGES, about 25 minutes. SERVE HOT right from the pan.

TWIST IT UP:

Green chile and cheese corn bread: Add 1/2 cup grated Jack or Cheddar CHEESE and 1/4 cup OR MORE diced roasted green CHILES to the batter. (For even more, add some raw scallions!)

Vanilla corn bread: Vanilla sets off the SWEETNESS of the corn and is good when you want a slightly sweeter BREAKFAST BREAD. Add 1 teaspoon VANILLA extract to the wet ingredients and use a larger amount of honey.

Muffins with corn kernels: Stir 1 cup fresh or frozen CORN KERNELS into the batter for a little EXTRA CRUNCH.

Credits: ~~Deboarah Madison~~ Brad Fucking Pitt

Love,
Prof. Tata & Rico

Fried Chicken Wings

2011-07-31T21:55:00.025-04:00

In response to Rico's request for more culinary travel blogging, a recipe. Tamales, tacos, and tortas this is not - I refuse to be constrained by Western notions of "authenticity". Alitas de pollo are a delicious and popular dish, especially in the north. Decidedly not vegetarin, but I had to listen to a rooster yodling (cockle doodling?) at 6am every day for 4 months (in the middle of a city of 20 million!!), so really, they owe me one.

- chicken wings
- flour
- oil for frying
- salt and pepper
- your favourite bbq sauce

Coat chicken in flour. Place in a single layer in a pot of HOT oil for 10ish minutes. Remove, drain, and coat in your favourite sauce. Serve with salad and/or rice so you don't feel like such a pig. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm

Enchiladas Verdes

2011-06-22T09:24:00.003-04:00

Back in the land of grey buildings and personal injury lawsuits, I am missing Mexican food. I am relearning to discard toilet paper in the toilet bowl, and enjoying the calmness of traffic and taxicabs, and going unnoticed on the street as a guera/whitey. I learned this recipe from various Mexican mothers and grandmothers but like any good oral tradition, this likely inadvertently includes my own toque especial. My favourite thing about enchiladas is that they can be enjoyed at any time of day: breakfast, lunch, dinner or as drunkfood.

Serves 4.

You will need:
- corn tortillas (12?)
- oil for frying
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot (or was it garlic? luckily this is not very important)

For the salsa verde:
If you are a lazy person you can buy this pre-made. I think Herdez and La Costeña make good ones. But it's not as good as homemade! It may however, be cheaper.
- 10? tomatillos (these are the green tomatoes that come with a papery covering, generally found at Mexican specialty stores like at Bloor and Dufferin. If you don't have one near you, you can buy a tin of them), papery covering removed
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 6? serrano or jalapeño chillies (green and hot are the two key characteristics)
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt?

Toppings:
- iceberg lettuce, chopped
- crema (Mexican specialty store again, or just use sour cream)
- a mild shredded or crumbled white cheese

Prepare the chicken:
Put it in a pot with the onion and carrot and/or garlic and cover with water. Boil until cooked (no red juices emerge, and it's not creepily tender), about 30 minutes depending on the size of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the water and pull off the meat into small pieces with your hands. [Unrelated to this recipe but a happy byproduct: Throw the chicken carcass and skin and ligaments (mm!) back into the water, add some veggies and herbs, simmer uncovered for 3 hours and you have delicious chicken stock!]

Prepare the salsa (unless you are lazier than a Mexican and bought it in a store):
Blanch the tomatillos in as little water as possible. In the same water, boil the chillies until tender (about 10 minutes). Do not discard the water. In a food processor or blender, blend the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and chillies to taste. Add cilantro to taste and blend. It should be very very liquid so add the chilly water as necessary. Transfer to a deep frying pan or pot and simmer for 10 minutes.

Prepare the tortillas:
Heat some oil in a frying pan. Fry each tortilla in the oil for about 30 seconds. You don't want them to brown, you just want them to take up some of the oil so they don't get soggy in the salsa, and be hot so they are easier to fold. Keep warm in paper towl, plastic, or between two plates.

MAKE THE ENCHILADAS!
Place chicken meat onto one half of each tortilla and fold over. One at a time, place the stuffed tortilla in the frying pan with the salsa verde and submerge it for a few seconds. Remove to each individual's plate. Top with extra salsa verde. Give to your guest to add toppings.

Put on some cumbia and sit down to eat.

wanna be startin' something

2011-06-21T20:53:00.009-04:00

friends, i have been contemplating this post for many months, but every time i step up to put fingers to keys, i am overwhelmed with the power and immensity that is sourdough starter, and cannot find the strength to continue. luckily, my sourdough starter is in a state of hibernation (very likely the deepest of comas) in the fridge and it can't sneak up on me. but from what i've learned, it can do almost everything else.

sourdough starter fun/terrifying fact one:
it doubles as a building material! some industrious settlers, when not driving indigenous peoples westward or shooting buffalo herds from trains, filled the holes between the logs in their log cabins with sourdough starter. true story. you'll see this is true when you try and wash the jar you've been storing it in and find yourself grappling with a concrete-like substance.

so, sourdough starter is the base of sourdough bread, and it gives it its delectable sour quality. the way sourdough starter works is that it is either inherited or made, if you are gifted some by a friend, you can feed it and it will grow, or you can create a yeast trap and try and catch some delicious bacteria to make your own starter.

the joy of cooking describes a few processes for making your own starter, depending on whether you think there are magical yeast particles floating around your kitchen from past baking endeavors. i opted to use commercial yeast. essentially, you mix flour and water and yeast in a bowl, (or if you are trying to catch yeast, then just flour and water), and keep it in a warm place for days, stirring occasionally. in an ideal world what results, besides some very hard crusts (see fun/terrifying fact one), is a brand new sourdough starter that you can place in a jar, and then put in the fridge. (the image is of my jar of starter next to the loaf it spawned. note the warm locale.)

sourdough starter fun/terrifying fact two: it eats! and grows! after removing it from the fridge, and pouring off the "hooch," the clearish, alcoholy liquid that may have collected on the surface, you can feed your starter. sourdough starter is "fed" by adding equal parts flour and lukewarm water to the original, and allowing the mixture to sit out in a warm place. your starter is healthy if it begins to bubble after a few hours, after which you now have more starter then you had before. this can be used to bake bread, or placed back in the fridge to hang out until you need it, or until you want to feed it again. my rookie mistake was using all of my starter to bake the pictured loaf, after which i was out of starter and had to begin the whole starter-making process all over again. you always want to have enough starter for your recipe AND to leave in the jar to feed and regenerate. which brings us to...

sourdough starter fun/terrifying fact three: it remembers! they suggest you put your starter on a regular feeding schedule because it has the capacity to remember when it was last fed and expect similarly spaced feedings in the future. this is just little shop of horrors all over again. fear not, if starved, the starter goes into a state of hibernation, and can usually be revived by following the regular feeding instructions.

you and your starter are now poised on the threshold of a crusty and magical world of bread-baking, many aromas and buttering opportunities await you.

perhaps also armpit hair.

Egg Drop Soup with Noodles

2011-06-14T13:13:00.009-04:00

Hey Kitchenettes,

Loved this one because I never end up cooking these tastes and was frankly surprised I could reproduce them in my (dirty, dirty) kitchen. Simple comfort food at its best. Think you could add some light veggies in too, if you're looking to beef up the veggie content (that's right).

You need

5 cups chicken stock, or 4 cups chicken broth plus 1 cup water
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons medium-dry Sherry
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 cup dried fine egg noodles (1 oz)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 to 2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil, or to taste

You do

Bring stock, soy sauce, Sherry, ginger, and garlic to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Remove ginger and garlic with a slotted spoon and discard. Stir in noodles and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 4 minutes. Stirring soup in a circular motion, add eggs in a slow, steady stream. Simmer, undisturbed, until strands of egg are cooked, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in scallions (to taste) and sesame oil. Season with salt.

With thanks to Gourmet/Epicurious

Love, Prof. TT

Guest post: Nadine's multilingual summer cocktail

2011-06-14T13:07:00.003-04:00

Here's a terrific summer drink for you and your loved ones:

Greyhound:

-freshly squeezed juice of 1 Pampelmuse
-gin (1 -2 shots)
-a splash of whiskey (optional)
-ice wuerfel

Prost!

xox nads

the hard truth

2011-06-10T19:22:00.004-04:00

dear friends,

i know that in the past (sadly i know less about the present for many of you), most of us have orbited, if not entered, the vegetarian universe. why you ask? my personal reasons include living next door to madeleine cohen whilst i was learning to cook, the general grossness of raw chicken skins, and wild fears of "bad meat." however, as i learned the other day, in a sense all meat is "bad meat."

this judgment call of badness is related to the ratio of foodstuffs required to produce meat. it takes approx. 16 pounds of edibles (i'd say mostly grain) to produce 1 pound of meat. those are 16 pounds of food that could be consumed by other human beings on our rapidly populating, overheating, justin bieber-crazed planet. (did you know justin bieber is canadian?) instead, we feed perfectly good food to cows to produce less food in the form of meat.

don't think i don't have the bacon cravings, or that i don't eagerly give in to them. but just as an informative, fact-spreading, non-coercive, apolitical discussion of ideas, i thought i'd trot out the ratios and give us a little food for thought.

justin is clearly contemplating the ramifications of a meat-based diet.

-the statistics mentioned are accessible through mark bittman's new york times column: http://bittman.blogs.nytimes.com/

how to cook eggplants OTHER than the way you always do them

2011-05-29T07:15:00.003-04:00

hullo there, kitchenettes,

what's baking?

i was recently feeling frustrated about cooking eggplants, as i inevitably ended up just doing the same thing as always: baking them with shit tons of olive oil. however, my friend passed on the following strategy and it is, as steph would say, delish.

fun fact: more than 4 million acres (2,043,788 hectares) are devoted to the cultivation of eggplant in the world. mostly in china.

without further ado:

i just made eggplant following faith's instructions, and it is SO GOOD. you just put a whole eggplant on a baking sheet in the oven on HIGH, with a flame coming from above. Keep it in for about 1/2 hour or 45 minutes, turning every once in a while when one side gets black. By the end the flesh is soft and the skin is completely burnt. Scoop out the flesh into a strainer and let it sit for 15 minutes (to drain). Then mix with about 1 t. red wine vinegar per eggplant, plus rock salt and pepper, and then eat it! SO DELICIOUS. alternately you could mix it with tahini, lemon and garlic.

love,
prof. tata (with thanks to sophie!)

Savoury butternut squash muffins

2011-02-17T19:09:00.004-05:00

Dear friends,

This weekend I baked and brought what turned out to be delicious savoury muffins to a brunch potluck, pictured to the left. These babies were packed with butternut squash, spinach, parsley, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, feta, and parmesan.

These delicious treats are hearty and filling, and even the gluten and dairy averse could not help themselves from partaking because they were so beautiful. I will link to the recipe (HERE) because I don't want to steal the text and am too lazy to make it my own. But don't be too lazy to make them because they are so tasty.

xoxo

SOCCA - SO delicious.

2011-02-17T13:58:00.000-05:00

alright i'm not just saying this because i'm no longer eating wheat, but socca (chickpea flour flatbread) is one of the best things to happen to me in a long time. it's one of the easiest things to make, is incredibly adaptable and has an amazing texture and flavour. you can use it as you would a roti or chapati. or as a bread with dinner. OR you could get really crazy with it and make socca pizza.

all you need:
1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup water
olive oil
sea salt
ANY spice that you might want for flavour (cumin, rosemary, etc)
a cast iron skillet or other oven safe skillet

here's what you do:
mix together the water, chickpea flour and about a spoonful of olive oil. whisk together and let the batter rest (outside of the fridge) for preferably 2 hours. in a pinch, i have made this without enough resting time and the taste seems fine but the texture is not as fluffy.

when you're ready to get going, turn your broiler on as high as possible. put the pan in the oven on it's own to get it piping hot. I usually leave mine in for 5-10 minutes. then, add a bunch of olive oil (a few teaspoons at least if you're using cast iron). and pour a bit of the batter into the pan. you can use as much or as little as you want. for pancake style socca, 1 cup of flour usually makes about 3. broil on high until the socca cooks through and the top is browned.

remove from the oven, drizzle with olive oil, some kind of coarse salt i've you've got it, and whatever other seasonings you choose (rosemary is usually best to add after the fact while cumin should be mixed into the batter).

chickpea flour is high in protein, fibre, and all sorts of nutrients. AND it tastes amazing.

enjoy!

brightening up a gluten-free existence....

2011-02-11T12:41:00.000-05:00

dear friends and lovers:

for various assorted reasons, i have been eating gluten-free these days after a month-long "detox". this likely explains my lack of blog posting. what kind of zeal could i possibly have in a life with no gluten? WELL. let me tell you. my need for treats has propelled me into the world of mystery flours: almond flour, coconut flour, chickpea flour....

First, a quick note on almond flour. It is VERY expensive. Sometimes its worth buying it pre-ground because it has a much finer texture. But you could also experiment with making your own in a food processor. It's all about finding the balance between ground almonds and almond butter. All you need are some blanched almonds (skin off) and you're good to go.

So for now, I will share an amazing cookie recipe that I made last night. Largely inspired by the amazing Elana at Elana's Pantry, here is a recipe for gluten free lemon lavender cookies.

you need:
1 1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons dried lavender, finely minced
1/4 cup oil (i used canola, but Elana recommends grapeseed oil - which is much healthier. It is, of course, much more expensive and canola worked fine).
3 teaspoons agave nectar (you could also use honey or maple syrup if you don't have agave and if you are less considered about high glycemic foods)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
juice of half a lemon

now, here's what you do:
1. Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Whisk wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.
3. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones.
4. Form the cookie dough into 1/2 inch balls and press them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (no need to grease if you're using parchment)
5. Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes.

Be VERY careful not to overbake. Almond flour is funny so if you're experimenting with it, i'd recommend baking these in the upper portion of your oven. I baked mine closer the bottom and found that i had to leave them in for a bit longer than the 10 minutes since they weren't setting, but then the bottoms ended up burnt. If this happens to you, you can use a grater on the bottoms of these babies and they will be good as new.

enjoy hot out of the oven!
you won't even miss the wheat in these little gems.

The Pasta that Almost Lead to Tenderness (aka Fettucine with Peas, Asparagus and Pancetta)

2011-02-06T10:22:00.003-05:00

Last night had all the makings of a great night - a shower, a hot steamy evening (thank you tropical weather) and the decadence of pancetta. Tenderness guarantee, right? WRONG. BUT, the pasta was deeeelish. Like, make it for a co-worker you want to impress with your culinary prowess. Or when you have someone who thinks they are better than you over for dinner. Oh really, person who thinks they're better than me? Have you tried this awesome fucking pasta? Just do not use this pasta on the path to tenderness, for that road is fraught with peril and early morning golf games.

Also, as a tenderness-related-P.S. and a heavily nostalgic note, I've been listening to the epic first wives' club "you don't own me" every morning while teeth brushing and/or bed making and I'd say it has improved my life at least 17%. If we add in my frequent bacon-product use, we might be up to a solid 20% improvement overall. The potent combo of feminist empowerment and grease should never be underestimated. Anyways, every day should start out that awesome and end off with pancetta...trust me.

Finally, some alterations: I usually add a bit more lemon because I think it is more fresh and delicious that way. I substitute the whipping cream for whatever 1% or 2% milk I have in the fridge (add a bit less.) And I never add peas to this dish because I find them suspicious and gross, but if you're into that then go wild. Hope you lovers enjoy. xo

12 ounces fettuccine or penne

3 ounces pancetta or bacon, chopped

1 1/4 pounds asparagus, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces

2 cups shelled fresh green peas, blanched 1 minute in boiling water, drained, or frozen peas (do not thaw)

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, white and pale green parts separated from dark green parts

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, divided

Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot.

Meanwhile, cook pancetta in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 teaspoon drippings from skillet. Add asparagus to drippings in skillet; sauté 3 minutes. Add peas, white and pale green parts of green onions, and garlic; sauté until vegetables are just tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add vegetable mixture, 1/4 cup pasta cooking liquid, dark green parts of green onions, 1/2 cup Parmesan, cream, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon peel, half of parsley, and half of basil to pasta. Toss, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if needed. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle pancetta, remaining parsley, and basil over. Serve, passing additional Parmesan cheese.

i want a little (spicy baked chickpeas) in my bowl...

2011-01-21T05:28:00.004-05:00

need a little heat to save your soul?

i used this recipe to make a super quick meal the other night with a low amount of things in the kitchen. added a bunch of vegetables into the mix too and upped the spices. and i think it would definitely benefit from some more flavor, for example coriander etc., but nonetheless, great in a fix!

sing it, nina:

http://www.mojvideo.com/video-nina-simone-i-want-a-little-sugar-in-my-bowl-1967/4d5996760ea7e2a41767

ingredients
• 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon spanish smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• kosher salt

directions
preheat the oven to 400 degrees f.

rinse and drain the chickpeas and dry by rolling them around in a kitchen towel. combine the oil, paprika cumin, cayenne and salt in a large bowl. add chickpeas and toss to coat evenly. transfer the chickpeas to a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread them out in a single layer. bake until golden and crispy, 25 to 35 minutes, shaking the tray to toss after 15 minutes. remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the chickpeas to a serving bowl.

love,
prof. tata

comfort food, cali style

2011-01-03T19:52:00.008-05:00

i think that most americans would be horrified to learn that until i moved to vermont 4 months ago, 'shepherd's pie' or 'corned beef hash' were nothing more then culinary mysteries. and while the word 'meatloaf' has been mentioned in my presence, i certainly have no personal experience with it. in california, comfort food takes on a notably more mexican flavor. in fact, i bet that after trying my dad's tacos, the whole midwest would stop stocking whatever meatloaf is made of, and start filling the shelves with beautiful, spicy mexican chiles.

california comfort food a la r. horwitz (and l. brydolf):

1 white onion

2 jalapeno chiles

2 pasilla chiles (these look like green peppers, if unavailable, use green peppers)

kalamata olives

cooked potato

chicken (if desired)

cilantro

avocado

green salsa

corn tortillas

canola oil

feta

1. to begin, a key flavor comes from blackening the chiles over a gas range, or lacking that, broiling them in the oven. either way, wait until the skin is black and bubbled and then remove it with your fingers or a paper towel. mostly it's just important not to involve water because that removes the roasted flavor.

2. once blackened, remove seeds and dice the chiles and the onion and saute them in a pan with some canola oil. add some green salsa to the mixture, and when the onions have been cooked through, add pieces of potato, chopped olives, and chicken (my dad usually buys a rotisserie chicken and adds the already cooked meat).

3. the above makes up most of the taco innards. to complete the deliciousness, saute a corn tortilla in a bit of canola oil, add the chile mixture, top with cilantro, avocado, and if you like, feta cheese and more green salsa, and close the taco.

4. consume rapidly and make more!

the best thing about this recipe, is that if you've done some of the prep work beforehand, or had others do it for you (ex: rotisserie chicken), this meal takes about 20 minutes. plus if you make extra, you can keep eating it for days and days. and let me tell you, 3-day old hot tacos kick 3-day old shepherd's pie out of the water. or kitchen.

Carrot Ginger Orange Soup

2011-01-01T14:54:00.002-05:00

C is for Kitchen friends!

Hoping for a year full of posting, I will begin with this simple carrot, ginger, and orange soup!

You will need, about

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
4 cups carrots, chopped
2 tsp grated or minced ginger
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
1 cup orange juice
salt & pepa

Use a big saucepan to melt butter and heat olive oil. Add onions and carrots and saute for about 4 minutes. Add ginger and cook for 2 more.

Add stock, water, orange juice. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer. When carrots are soft (thirty minutes or so) take it off the stove to cool for a second, or don't, then use an immersion blender or a regular blender and blend to the texture of your dreams! Reheat it, season with salt and pepper, and there you go! So delicious and easy!

You can also garnish with yogurt and parsley or cilantro if you are inspired.

It also goes delightfully with this easy recipe for homemade six-seed soda bread:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/sixseed-soda-bread-recipe.html

pacific northwest: musings

2010-06-04T16:11:00.004-04:00

Here are the top ten reasons why we should all move to Portland:

1. The farmer's market is the best I've ever seen. I nearly died.
2. The world's largest independent bookstore. It's real and it's amazing.
3. Washington Park has over 15 miles of trails in one of the biggest urban green spaces in North America.
4. Food carts. Portland has over 450. Enough said.
5. Drivers are courteous towards cyclists and pedestrians. no need to cheat death all the time!
6. a mere one hour drive to Cannon Beach.
7. Pine state biscuits. In retrospect actually, this maybe should have been listed as number 1.
8. everything is more magical there.
9. people of portland love burritos and food in large bowls. i do too.
10. the willamette river, bike lanes across the bridge, pizza made with squash sauce...... GLORY AWAITS!

i haven't posted any recipes in awhile but spring is upon us out west. look out for upcoming portland-inspired recipes:
- pickled beets with pomegranate and chai spice
- my homemade granola
- rhubarb jam

well, what are you waiting for??!

dreaming of portland,

r.

B-B-B-BAKED BEANS!

2010-03-27T17:51:00.003-04:00

here is the best recipe for baked beans on the planet. it makes me feel like i'm 8 years old again because it tastes just like these beans from a deli in toronto that i would order with a side of tiny hot dogs. (in this case, side serving of hot dogs optional).

you need:
1 pound dried great northern beans
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
2 slices of thick cut bacon, sliced into chunks
1/2 dried chipotle pepper (optional)

this takes pretty much all day, so best to do it when you are sitting at home. for instance, i am spending this entire day learning property law / the most boring things in the universe. but i take comfort in knowing that a tasty treat is baking in my oven for later.

first things first. rinse the beans. put them in a large pot (one that is oven-safe, for later. either a dutch oven or cast iron pot or something all metal) and add enough water to cover them. bring to a boil, lower the heat, and cook until they are softened (about an hour).

then, mix up all the ingredients except the bacon in a bowl. add to the beans. it is okay to have leftover water in the pot, since you will be adding water anyway. then, add the bacon, stir it all up, and add enough water to cover everything. cover the top of the pot with aluminum foil and place the lid on top.

bake in the oven at 300F. check on the beans every hour and a half or so to make sure that the beans haven't dried out. if they are dry but not done, add more water as you go. it will take 6 hours for these to cook down into the most perfect, sauciest, tastiest beans in the world.

easy!

in conclusion, after you have made these beans, if someone says to you - 'how you livin???', you will now be able to respond with.....'LARGE!'

mm-hm.

Oxtail Stew

2010-03-17T18:04:00.004-04:00

Okay Folks,

This is a serious one. This is ideal if you are unemployed, underemployed, self-employed, or if you spend a lot of time at home for some other reason. It is also good if you are low on cash and have a desire to eat delicious that falls off the bone. This is a good one for getting in touch with the animal spirits. The ingredients are quite flexible, but the proportions and fundamentals are important.

Cooking Time: 2 Days, ideally.
Portions: a small hungry army

Ingredients:

Ox-tail

You can buy this from an "ethnic" butcher of some sort, search it out, not always in stock. Make this stew when you find it being sold somehwere. You can freeze it and thaw it for later use. Seize the day. It is usually relatively inexpensive, as far a meat goes.
It is also possible to substitute the meat with another kind, and keep the same idea, but . . . . alas you can not tell people you are making "ox-tail." A good substitution would be stew beef with the bone in or lamb shoulder cut up into chunks. If you are using beef or lamb of a stewing nature, reduce the simmering time to something more like 1.5 or 2 hours. You want the meat to fall off the bone, but you do not want to destroy the meat itself. There is such thing as too much of a good thing, even when that thing is slow cooking.
You'll find ox-tail either whole (about 1.5 feet long) or cut in half. Ask the butcher to cut your ox-tail up into chunks of a biggish size. If you want to feed more people, buy a big one or two small ones, if you want to feed less buy a small one.

carrots - a bunch
onions - a bunch
fresh thyme - a lot
garlic - a bunch of cloves
tomatoes - a bunch of fresh ones or a big can or two of whole ones)
red lentils - a cup
butter or oil - just a little
light green long peppers (or something similar very mild spice) - three or so
jalapano - one or two, depending on your preference
potatoes - totally optional (I don't really like then myself, but to each their own)
habanero pepper or some kind of intense hot sauce - if it suits you and you want to feel the burn
salt, pepper - not too much salt, be careful, you can't put it back in the jar!
water - various quantities
spices - ideally Jamaican curry powder sold in large quantities (such as Cool Runnings brand)

You can also make your own if you know what you are doing: tumeric, cumin, allspice, etc, but I'd trust the Jamaicans to work their magic.

Methodology

Heat up a BIG HEAVY BOTTOM pot to medium. Cut up a whole bunch of onions, very coarsely. Fry them in some heated but not burning olive oil or butter (not too much). Fry on medium for a bit. While the pot is hot add the ox to the onions. Cook the outside of the meat, stirring on occasion. Add carrots and potatoes (in largeish chunks). Make sure not to burn anything, but you want to be getting the heat up and into the ingredients. This whole thing should take a little while (10-15 min.) You can cover it, and it may start to get liquid in the bottom, depending on how it works out. If that happens, cool, great, reduce heat for a while and let simmer. Add peppers. If it is looking dry on the bottom of the pan, avoid burning by adding water, red wine and/or canned tomatoes slowly. Slowly add liquid until you have a saucy thing going on. Take about 20 little sprigs of thyme and strip the leaves off into the pot one at a time, toss the twig bits. Add garlic, crushed or cut up reasonably small. Add A couple of table spoons of spices as we discussed, depending on your preferences. Salt, pepper. Wash your red lentils in cold water, drain, and add. Add more water as needed (the lentils will take water).

The order of the actions is not highly important. Onions and meat first for sure. Don't let anything burn. Get the heat up, but do not settle into a rolling boil. Bring down heat once you have everything in the pot. Stir it up. Enjoy the process.

Now, clean up your cooking station, and let the puppy cook for a LONG TIME on VERY LOW. We are talking like 4 hours or more if you like. Add water as needed. Do not burn anything on the bottom. Usually 4 hours will do it good. You can also mess around with getting it up to a boil, and leaving it to cool on the stove for a hour or three while you go out and do something else, and then re-heating it and simmer it again. If you are using lamb on the bone instead, cook for much less time, like one hour of simmering or until the meat falls of the bone. Stew beef with the bone in - maybe 1.5 or two hours of simmering, it depends.

At this point the meat, of whatever sort, should fall of the bone more or less with the use of a fork. You may have somewhat over shot if you can no longer distinguish the meat chunks, but that is not the end of the world. When you are satisfied, stop cooking and let it cool completely. Leave it out on the stove for a while to cool off, then store in the pot, in the fridge, while time passes. When it has cooled completely, skim as much of the of fat off the surface as you can with a spoon or a ladle.

Reheat thoroughly (probably the next day) and enjoy this carnivorous feast. You can serve it with hot sauce and sour cream or yogurt, and definitely something bread-ish like pita or white bread or ROTI in large quantities.

Notes:

The long slow cooking brings out the flavour and turns a very tough hard-assed cut of meat into a soft and tender delicacy. It also semi-liquefies the nutrient-rich bone marrow and some of the cartilage-type stuff (good for those of you with joint problems!) The key here is to cook it on low, essentially for ever. This is an all-day thing, or a least an afternoon thing. It is also good to eat a sandwich while or before cooking, so you don't get hungry and try to eat the ingredients.

Proportionally, you will want it to be heavy on the meat and onions, with lots of taste and sauce. Most of the other vegetable ingredients will become broken down by all the cooking. It can be thick or thin, re water and lentil quantity, as desired. It works well as a thick sludge or as a brothy kind of soup. It works very well to be cooked in large quantity and reheated as needed over the week. Because of the large quantity and all the cooking, this stew will take quite a lot of spicing and not become deadly hot, so . . . hold the course. You can always cool it down with yogurt or sour cream.

Invite a large group of people over. Eat as a soup with a spoon. Encourage the use use of fingers to eat the meat and get at the good stuff. Add hot sauce as needed. Bring your appetite and leave your meat-on-the-bone prejudices at the door.

Dr. Rocker

this is for the professor

2010-03-16T02:48:00.005-04:00

dear friends but especially, prof. tata:

long awaited - the recipe for what is commonly referred to as the lentil/rice/onion delight. however, a few people (including my mother and mostly all other lebanese people) called it mujadra.

here is what you need:
2 cups brown lentils (or those small black ones which are really good. i have been using those lately)
1/2 cup rice (i use brown but you can use white)
4 cups water
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp allspice
salt and pepper to taste
about 6 onions (or more if you are feeling really funky)
lotsa olive oil

this is the easiest thing on earth to prepare.

washing the lentils and rice are essential. wash first, cook later.

boil the water. add the lentils and rice at the same time if you are using brown rice. cover and lower the heat. (if you are using white, add it to the pot after 15 minutes). let cook for 15 minutes. add the cumin and allspice and salt. stir and cover, cooking on low heat until the lentils and rice are cooked and there is no water left. (if you find that the lentils/rice arent cooked but there is no water left - do not fear. add a bit more as you go).

here is the trick - IMMEDIATELY AFTER you start cooking, cut all of the onions into thin strips. in a large pan with a bunch of oil, cook the onions on low heat until they are brown and basically caramelized. they should be super soft. this will take awhile (at least 40 minutes). you may even want to start on this first, depending on how proactive you are feeling or how hungry you are.

serve with the succulent onions over top of the lentils.

for the "true experience", serve this with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, mint springs, pita (for scooping - no forks allowed for this dish) and labne. you could also make a yogurt sauce with chopped cucumber, mint, and black pepper.

there you have it, folks.

this makes a lot of lentils and is good for leftovers. if you want less food (weird?), cut it in half.

curry coconut soup with chickpeas and veggies

2010-03-08T09:22:00.006-05:00

hey fools,
i made this yesterday whilst in a post-drunk, pre-drunk daze and it was amazing. warm, comforting, interesting -- all that you could want out of a homemade hangover dish.

die zulaten:

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion (about 6 ounces), chopped
1 medium red bell pepper (about 6 ounces), chopped
1 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped tomatoes, seeded and peeled, fresh or canned
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
3/4 cup cooked white or brown rice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

das kochrezept:

Heat the oil over medium heat.
Add the onion, bell pepper, and chili; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. [Note: I think if you wanted to "veg it up" you could also totally add more veggies.]
Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. [Note 2: I had no garlic and substituted ginger, which I thought was really good.]
Add the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, salt, and black pepper; bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.
Eat.

in lieu of any kind of relevant illustration, i'm posting this flyer i made recently. because, you know, coconuts and dildos go so well together.

love,
prof. tata

spelt + kale stew = a spicy delight

2010-02-28T00:46:00.002-05:00

dear internet friends,

today was a day of delicious eating. if you are in the mood for something hearty yet not heavy, spicy but flavourful... here is what you should do. acquire the following:

1 large-ish onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 small red thai chili peppers (or substitute with dried red pepper flakes)
1 tsp chili powder
a couple of fingerling potatoes (the most delicious kind)
1 carrot
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup spelt berries (farro)
4 cups broth
14 oz can diced tomatoes
half bunch of kale
1 cup ish savoy cabbage

sautee the onion, garlic and hot peppers in olive oil. when soft, add the chili powder, chopped potatoes and carrot. keep cooking on medium for another 5 minutes or so. add the can of tomatoes, spelt and the broth and a bit of salt. cover and bring to a boil, then cook on low heat until the spelt is soft (45 minutes ish if you get unhulled, which is healthier). add the chickpeas near the end of that time. Then once everything is pretty well cooked, add the chopped cabbage and kale and keep cooking on low until they wilt.

ta-da!

i ate this with crumbled sheep's feta on top and am immensely satisfied.

enjoy.

Casey's Red Lentils

2010-01-07T09:05:00.001-05:00

Dear citchenites,

I am back in Marxist town and, fear not, the hilarious leftist styles are still ablaze. Yesterday, I decided to join them in their style-abyss by wearing my giant hippie/Canuck mountain boots with my skinny black jeans. It was, if I do say so myself, pretty swell. I also saw the super interesting Robert McRuer speak about Bad Education and the intersections between crip theory and queer theory. He is hella cool; you should check him out.

Anyways, now I am cleaning out my email box and thought I would post the following, which the Doctor gracefully sent to me a couple months ago.

In the words of the Dr., 'nuff love,

Prof. Tata

Casey's Red lentils

Here are the basic ingredients

- red lentils

- leeks or onions - a bunch

- lots of peppers, not too important, I like the narrow light green ones that are slightly spicy

- canned chopped tomatoes, or the real thing one or two cans

- garlic

- butter

- some curry powder OR in lieu of that a mix of lots of tumeric, some ground corriander seed, a bit of cumin, a touch of allspice, a some of something hot but not too much of the hot. Some chipotle pepper sauce or a little bit of some dried chipotle peppers could do well as a nice mild smokey hot ingredient. A little salt (careful!) And a healthly amount of fresh pepper.

- maybe a jalipenio or a few little red chillies

- fresh corriander and yogurt at the end

- water or veg or chicken stock

The key with this soup is, as with all soups and foods, is to get the balance of ingredients right.

It all depends on how much you are making in total

Start off with butter (hot but not burning) - a good liberal amount. You don't want to give everyone heart attacks, but this is what is going to make the soup good. Imagine you are me when making this an use my slightly exuberant sense of proportions, all the while keeping one foot in the door of balance and proportion. Fry up those leeks (lots of em and well-washed). This is the essence of the soup.

Good them well, and enjoy the smell.

Add a bunch of peppers and garlic. Then add lentils (a normal amount not too too much you are not making cement here!) and spice. Quickly, before anything starts sticking or burning add the can or two of tomatoes with the juice. Add more spices as required. Be liberal with the tumeric.

Add some water or ideally some great fresh chicken stock or veggie stock (not necessary though), until you get to a consistency where the lentils do not make it way too thick. At the same time, you are not not making water soup here.

Cook for about twenty minutes or until the lentils are well cooked. Bring on lots of chopped coriander leaves and yogurt to put on top to cool it down and green it out. Serve with very good fresh bread heated in the oven with more butter, and red wine in good proportion.

If you are in a meat mood, add a few sausages to this at the frying stage, and depending on the grease factor reduce the amount of butter.

And that's it!

Nuff love,

Casey

apple butter (fall bounty)

2009-10-02T17:18:00.006-04:00

dear friends,

fall is a very glorious time of year. harvest time! i am enjoying it immensely on the west coast (except, of course, for the curious absence of fall foliage colours. the leaves just fall and die in victoria, there is no transition!) in any case, to celebrate the wonderful harvest bounty, i made apple butter. it is a good thing to do while getting other things done (like about 600 pages of catch-up law school readings) - only requires a stir once every 15 minutes or so. plus, it makes your whole house smell delicious for the 5 hours that it takes to finish.

i used about 15 spartan apples with a couple of other kinds mixed in. if you have a bigger, wide-mouthed pot than i do, you can use as many apples as you have! peel if you want (i didn't. i hate peeling fruits for jams/butters. the skins give it a nice pink tinge, and also are full of vitamins and minerals that you would otherwise be throwing out just to get a texture that is a bit smoother. boo!) chop them up into a reasonable size, removing the cores. put them into a big pot and cook on medium heat with a little bit of water added here and there until they are soft enough to be mushed with a spoon. at this point, use an immersion blender if you've got one to puree into apple sauce. if you don't have one, you could always use a regular blender... or if you are like me and have a serious aversion to pouring hot liquidy things into receptacles, just keep cooking the sauce down until its soft enough that you can mash it all up.

after you have the apple sauce, it will take a couple of hours (maybe even 5) until it is spreadable, giving it a nice stir every 15 minutes. add some spices while it is cooking dowm (i used a bunch of cinnamon and a bit of cardamom, but i would have used ground cloves if i had them!) and sweetener to taste. i used brown sugar which was delicious, but you could also use honey, maple syrup, or regular old sugar. in the last 5 minutes, add the juice of one lemon.

once you're done, either eat everything you have made right away with friends and lovers. alternatively, can it for the winter! pour the hot butter into clean jars (sterilize jars in pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. it is preferable to use new lids), being sure not to leave any air bubbles. bang the jar on the counter to remove any, or slide a knife along the edges. put your lid on, then boil the jars again in a large pot for 15 minutes. i learned a neat trick from a fellow internet canning enthusiast. to test the seal of your jars once you are done boiling them, remove the ring of the lid and lift the jar by the rim. if it stays on tight, you are good to go!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

love, beeks

Survival!

2009-09-21T16:22:00.006-04:00

I was perusing a Bonnie Stern cookbook one afternoon and what did I stumble upon but Lilian's famed 'survivor cookies'! You can imagine how pleased I was, after my request for the recipe sat idle on the right-hand panel for months. For these changing times when we're all over the place, finding our ways in the world, cold and alone, these provide much-needed sustenance. I haven't actually tried this particular recipe so you will need to contact beeks directly if you want any trade secrets.

Survival Cookies
c/o Bonnie Stern c/o someone else whose name I did not note
Makes 48

2 cups butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 3/4 cups large flake rolled oats
3/4 cups poppy seeds
1 1/2 cups raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
2 1/2 cups chopped dates

1. In a food processor or large bowl: cream butter and sugars until light. Add one egg at a time. Add vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir into the butter mixture.
3. Stir in oats, seeds, and dates.
4. Use 1/2 cup batter/cookie. Place 2" apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate minimum 1 hour.
5. Bake at 350C for 15 minutes or until crisp but chewy (mmm...). Cool on racks.

strange things done under the midnight sun

2009-07-25T00:31:00.008-04:00

if we may for one moment, turn our thoughts and stomachs to the north, and if we forget that one of the functions of this blog is the democratization (within the bounds of economic status implied by internet access) of food and food preparation, then i will share the following:

suggested recipe for arctic grayling (or i suppose white fish of your choice):

after a few fishing excursions spent re-familiarizing myself with the whole line/pole/reel combo, i went fishing by myself after work, let's call it 1 or 2 in the a.m., on the lovely klondike river of gold panning fame. i was wearing my fishing outfit of course, jeans, rubber boots, elise's red plaid flannel shirt, hat and scarf for mosquito protection, and faded cordouroy jacket from 11th grade with a swiss army knife in the pocket. what i had thought lay in store for me was a tranquil evening not watching "300" the movie (the activity taking place in my living room), but my evening was destined to be violent and bloody as well. obviously, i caught a fish. whoa. a fish. for the last weeks i had been catching rocks and the occasional twig. so when that speckled silvery flopper chomped down on my spinner i was afire with adrenaline. unfortunately, the adrenaline, which is supposed to give humans you know great strength or speed or whatever, must have puttered out at exactly the wrong time. plus, let's be honest, i really had no idea what i was doing.

to continue, the fish was on the rocks, landed safely, flopping, and i stood completely terrified on the shore wondering number one, how to get the hook out of its mouth without touching it, and number 2, how i was going to manage to hit it over the head with a rock, again, without touching it. the not touching was somehow a central concept at the time. i decided not to take out the hook until later: challenge number one, solved. then in my infinite fish-based wisdom i decided that picking up a large rock and dropping it on the fish's head would solve problem number two. as you may have guessed, i was wrong. so after some involuntary squealing and shuddering and jumping around in a panic, i touched the fish. it was an arctic grayling, straight out of the river, mottled and grey with the trademark oversized dorsal fin. at the time, it was just slimy and horribly horribly alive. so i hit it on the head with a rock again. and then i switched rocks. and there was blood on my weapon rock and on the anvil rock and it was still alive and fighting me and slippery and let me emphasize one more time HORRIBLE. eventually a quiet fell over the shore.

there is a fairy tale in which the brave little tailor kills eight in one blow. in my case it was more like one in eight blows. happily thanks to youtube, once the fish was dead i knew what to do. the cleaning was less dramatic then the execution and once it was over and the fish was gutless, headless and floating in the improvised rock aquarium i made for it on the shore, my panic had mostly subsided. and then three casts later, i caught another one.

but on to preparation:

lemon juice
pepper
onions
butter
garlic (if you wish)

combine on and around and in fish, wrap the whole slippery headless ex-swimmer in tin foil and bake in the embers of a campfire or the nice safe controlled temperature of your electric oven. check in 10 minutes, then consume and watch for bones.

Passing that Dutch: Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed-Blueberry Sauce

2009-05-06T06:56:00.008-04:00

Reeducation at Warschauer S-Bahn
Photo credit: Erin Kimmel

As some of you may know, I have been rediscovering my hip hop roots lately, thanks largely to having downloaded (I mean, bought) the 10th anniversary platinum edition of Nas’ classic 1994 album Illmatic.

“What hip hop roots?” exclaimed Erin incredulously, when I told her the news. To which I responded that the second CD I ever purchased after Chumbawumba’s Tubthumper (anarchopunk forever!) was Ma$e’s Harlem World and that I beefed with hella ghetto kids on my nerdy high school basketball team, so there. Also, I believe Nas directly interpellated me in his chart-topping hit “N.Y. State of Mind.” (See verse two: “And the stuff that I write / Is even tougher than dykes.” Word Nas, word.)

In any case, in the midst of this re-hiphopification, Missy Elliot’s “Pass That Dutch” has been stuck in my head. Though some may think this is merely a narrow metaphor for marijuana, I have been dropping it lately haphazardly in a wide variety of contexts; and while such use generally invokes blank stares, I have quite enjoyed using it. Fittingly, I also think that this phrase is the perfect metaphor to frame this here blog post in which I, like Missy, pass that dutch and post a recipe that I neither made nor wrote but rather, briefly consumed.

So without further ado, I present to you, my pot-smoking Communist pig-friends, my friend Rebecca’s wicked dessert: Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed-Blueberry Sauce!

Peace,
Prof. Tata (and Rebecca)

Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed-Blueberry Sauce

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups (packed) powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon Juice

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
Crushed-Blueberry Sauce

For glaze:
Combine powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in small bowl. Stir with spoon until smooth and paste-like, adding more lemon juice by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to spread. Set aside.

For cake:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides; line bottom with parchment. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl; whisk to blend. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, lemon peel, and vanilla in small bowl. Pour buttermilk mixture and melted butter into flour mixture. Using rubber spatula, gently fold liquids into flour mixture until just blended (do not stir). Scrape batter into pan; spread evenly.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean and cake pulls away from sides of pan, about 30 minutes.

Immediately run knife around sides of cake. Place rack atop cake in pan. Using oven mitts, hold pan and rack firmly together and invert cake onto rack. Remove pan from cake. Place another rack on bottom of cake; invert 1 more time so that cake is top side up. Stir glaze until blended. While cake is still very hot, drop glaze by tablespoonfuls onto cake; spread to within 1/2 inch of edge (some glaze may drip down sides of cake). Cool completely. Serve with Crushed-Blueberry Sauce.

Danke: Epicurious.

© C is for Kitchen 2009

Definitely not kosher

2009-03-11T14:43:00.005-04:00

This photo pretty much sums up my Uncle Paco. Just back from a weekend with him and his wife Maria in Oviedo, in northern Spain, where I ate very well and took silly pictures. (Apparently Woody Allen said something nice about the city so they made him a statue.)

In casa, I worked hard on my vocabulary. A few choice words and phrases:

voy al cine de las sábanas blancas = i'm going to bed (literally: i'm going to the white sheets cinema. apparently used only by my aunt's father.)
no veo tres en un burro = i have terrible vision (literally: i can't see 3 people on a donkey... note that if you can see 4 people on a donkey, you're OK. the donkey probably is not.)
buzear = scuba diving (necessary for watching the 1980s underwater/alien/Cold War classic The Abyss, starring a young Ed Harris, dubbed into Spanish)
me estás mimando mucho! = you are seriously spoiling me (literally: me all weekend)

Even though she doesn't like it herself, la tia made a delicious Asturian bean stew for us Allodis and was kind enough to pass on the recipe.

Fabada asturiana

1 kg dried Asturian white beans (longish, but not flat like those from Barco de Avila)
pancetta/tocino entreverado (pig fat from the underbelly with some meat)
lacon (salted pork)
blood sausage (Maria insists it must be Asturian)
chorizo (Spanish pork sausage with paprika)
1-2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 bay/laurel leaf
cuarter onion
pinch of saffron, if you like
some white flour, to thicken the broth

Soak beans overnight. Put them in a pressure cooker or pot, add water to cover plus an inch. Add everything else except the flour. Bring to a boil and skim off all the gross foam. Cook under pressure for 20 minutes, or longer in a normal pot. If you like a thick broth, take out some beans, puree them and add them back. You could also add some flour. Serve beans alone or with meat. MMmmm...

Pink Pasta

2009-02-21T13:30:00.004-05:00

Dear Blog Readers,

The other night I made a very counterintuitive pasta dish--pasta with beets! Not only was the whole thing fantastically rose-tinged, it was also delicious. It was sweet and savoury and crunchy and cheesy--what more could you need? I would seriously recommend that all of you make this as soon as possible.

Pink Pasta with Beets and Beet Greens

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, sliced into thin crescents (about 4 cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 bunches beets with fresh healthy greens, greens cut into 1-inch-wide-strips
12 ounces farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Begin by putting the beets into the oven to roast. Depending on their size this will take between 3o and 60 minutes, so get started early! When they are finished, peel and cut the beets into crescents.

Next, get to work caramelizing those nice crescent onions. Put a large frying pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the onions, and saute until beginning to soften and turn golden, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and saute until tender and browned, about thirty minutes longer. (FOR A GREAT PRIMER ON CARAMELIZING ONIONS, go here). Once you are satisfied with the caramelization of the onions, add garlic and stir for 2 minutes. Scatter beet greens over onions and garlic, drizzle on a little more olive oil if needed; cover, and cook until beet greens are tender, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Once boiling, add pasta and cook until al dente--tender, but still firm to bite. Reserve a cup of the pasta boiling water, then drain, and return pasta to pot.

Stir onion-greens mixture and beets into pasta. Add pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls to moisten, if needed. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Stir in Parmesan cheese, and pinenuts.

Serve!

Climate change in action?

2009-01-31T03:42:00.011-05:00

Madrid is having a pretty brutal winter. While most years it rarely dips below 0ºC, this year has seen quite a bit of snow. Madrileños are still talking about their brush with death a few weeks ago when a full 10cm accumulated, more snow than they have seen in 40 years. Hundreds of flights were cancelled, only the children ventured outside, the city was paralyzed - it was hilarious. It also made me realize that I actually miss snow. How great of a Canadian am I?

Well... not such a great Canadian that I don't appreciate this last week of 15ºC and sunny (Madrid has apparently recovered from its cold spell). Hence the recipe. This cold summer soup is what I made yesterday after I went running in the sunny Parque del Buen Retiro in shorts and a t-shirt. Kisses!

Gazpacho
NB: Spaniards insist this is not a soup. The best description I have heard is "Andalusian liquid salad." Serve in a bowl or drinking glass.

2 slices stale white bread, crusts removed (75 g)
4 large ripe tomatoes (1 kg)
1 green bell pepper
1/2 cucumber
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
5 tbsp white wine vinegar
some water or ice cubes
garnish: toast cut into cubes, chopped hard boiled eggs, and any of the vegetables mentioned above that you want, chopped.

Soak the bread in water (mmmmm soggy bread). In a cuisinart, combine the tomatoes, seeded peppers, cucumber, onion, and garlic. [Purists insist you need to run it through a sieve to get rid of skins, seeds, and other undesirables. Whatever.] Squeeze the water from the deliciously soggy bread and add to the mix. Add some oil, salt, and vinegar to taste. Add water to taste, or ice cubes if you want to serve immediately.

squashed

2008-12-18T19:11:00.006-05:00

ahh in the hurried descent of the sun, biting winds, and treacherous sidewalks, young fancies turn to thoughts of squash!

two recipes: spaghetti squash... gratin? and whatever squash you like gratin. the first is a molly kotzen recipe, and the second is the esteemed deborah m.

let's begin the medley with the any winter squash gratin because i know spaghetti squash freaks some people out and we may as well ease into it.

thus preheat the oven to 325 degrees, though perhaps not quite at the beginning since the chopping, dicing really, of the squash can take quite a while. unless of course your kitchen is really cold and you need an excuse to warm it up.

2 winter squash(es?), i have only used butternut, peeled and diced as small as your arm can take
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 cup fresh parsley
some salt and pepper

toss the squash pieces with the above ingredients in a large bowl. then add 3 tbs of flour and toss again. pour/scrape/finegle the mixture into a oiled casserole dish, leaving the leftover flour in the mixing bowl. bake for like 2 hours.
___________________________________________________________________

the spaghetti squash has more ingredients but is faster in terms of from cutting board to mouth time. the temperature suggested is 375 degrees.

halve a spaghetti squash, they are yellow and disguise their inherent freakishness rather well. you can either bake it in the oven for half an hour, or wrap the halves in saran wrap and microwave them, i would say 8 minutes, and then another 5-8. either way when it is done scrape out the seeds and let them cool.

meanwhile combine the following in a pan:
1 cup of chopped onion, you may as well put more
2 cloves of chopped garlic
salt and pepper
some mushrooms, probably one of those blue boxes, or more if you feel inspired
1/2 tsp oregano
some basil and some thyme

when they are sauted, add 2 chopped tomatoes and cook until the t-juices are mostly gone.
scrape out the squash innards and put them in the pan with everything else. yes, i also find them (the innards) a little disturbing.

transfer the squash melange into a greased casserole dish and cover with grated mozarella. if you want less of an upper skin of cheese you can mix it in, but really i don't understand why you wouldn't want a bubbling browning layer of cheese. on top of that add some breadcrumbs and parmesan. bake for about 40 minutes and voila. strange and disturbing but so delicious.

breakfast beans.

2008-12-17T18:31:00.003-05:00

okay so probably you could eat these beans anytime. but this morning i had one of those moments of realizing that i had already eaten eggs two days in a row but was craving something hearty with a high protein content - and here is what i came up with. it is quick, dirty, and leftovers are even better.

you need:
1 can black beans (or about a cup and a half cooked, if you want to pre-meditate this and soak overnight).
1 large onion, small dice
a heaping spoonful of cumin and one of dried coriander
hot red pepper flakes to taste
salt and pepper to taste
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped (you could use canned diced or crushed if you don't have tomatoes handy)
1 small sweet potato (i had a VERY small jamaican sweet potato and this worked well), diced extremely small - and i mean this, for rapid fire cooking and eating.

all the extras...... corn tortillas, avocado, sour cream or yogurt if you like, fresh coriander if you've got it, some grated cheese.

Put some olive oil in a skillet with lid or saucepan on medium heat and add the onions until slightly browned. Add spices to your taste, stirring often to make sure to avoid burning and sticking. add the tomatoes which will start to turn the base into a saucy, spicy mess. Then add the sweet potatoes if using, cover and let cook on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes start to soften (so i when i say chop small, it's serious!). when the potatoes are soft and the mixture is sizzling, add the black beans and cook until everything in the pan is equally hot.

And that's all. Serve however you like - with corn tortillas and the works, or in a bowl topped with a little bit of cheese or sour cream or the like. This is also good cold the next day, or as filling for an omellette if you're feeling crazy.

BREAKFAST REVOLUTION (!!)

2008-12-09T13:26:00.004-05:00

there have been a lot of harsh words about breakfast being tossed around these days. grim, boring, routine........ and it pains me greatly. the fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day is not just a silly cliche. or perhaps it is, but as a friend of mine likes to say, "cliches are cliches for a reason". hmm. well, ponder that later but the truth is, a better breakfast makes for a better day. so let's get the ball rolling on spicing up our mornings. here's a little something i like to make when my taste buds refuse to give me breakfast directions.

wheatberry morning delight:
serving size cooked wheatberries or spelt berries (these are the best if you can get your hands on them. sometimes also called 'farro').
plain yogurt
really delicious honey
chopped peaches
cinnamon
cardamom
chopped pistachios

so here's what you do. you can cook wheatberries or spelt berries the night before and they keep for about a week in the fridge. depending on how many people you eat breakfast with, cook about 1 1/2 or 2 cups of berries in a large saucepan. the measurements don't matter since it's not absorption method cooking - just make sure that there is enough water to cover the grains. bring the water to a bowl and set the heat on low until the berries are cooked, usually about 45 minutes to an hour.

to assemble your exciting new breakfast, take however many berries you want to eat, cover with yogurt, add chopped peaches or other fruit, drizzle with honey (maple syrup works too, as always, but i prefer honey in this), top with ground cinnamon, cardamom, and pistachios. eat this with green tea while working on a crossword and you will have a lovely day, guarateed.

impromtu peanut sauce

2008-12-03T22:10:00.005-05:00

why? why not! everyone gets tired of the old low-quality olive oil and garlic combo. but if you've got some vegetables that, if i may quote the great isaac hayes, are aching for some hot buttered soul, why not try the peanut?

a few spoonfuls of peanut butter
some water (for thinning purposes)
sesame oil
tahini
brown sugar
chopped garlic

put the ingredients all up in each other's business in a frying pan, adjust quantities by taste and pour a little out for george washington carver, the peanut pimp daddy.

pumpkin cranberry "i wish i wasn't moving" bread.

2008-12-03T16:38:00.005-05:00

dear fellow comfort food enthusiasts (not to be presumptuous or anything...),

as you may or may not know, i'm preparing to move yet again in a mere 48 hours. the logical thing for me to be doing right now would be, of course, to... pack? unfortunately, my desperate desire to pretend that i'm in fact not moving led me to spend the day baking four loaves of pumpkin cranberry bread - festive yet warm and comforting, certainly "home-y". (this recipe - adapted from Gourmet magazine circa 1996 and the internet). so if you find yourselves in a similar situation (any case of denying the inevitable), you might want to acquire the following things:

1 cup solid-pack pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup water
1/4 vegetable oil (or half apple sauce, half vegetable oil - universal rule.)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (although i usually use at least double this)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

now, here goes. preheat your oven to 350 if you have everything at hand - i have consistently "matched the preheat" on this one. in a large bowl with an electric hand-held mixer if you've got one or the raw power of your biceps and a whisk, combine the pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, and sugar. when smooth, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. (the recipe recommends sifting all of these ingredients but i have ignored this every time and it turns out fine). stir until just combined (over-mixing will result in an odd, densely textured bread). add the cranberries and tenderly spoon the batter into a buttered loaf pan (or four, depending on how many times you multiply this recipe).

let bake for about an hour and fifteen minutes (until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean) for this little loaf to achieve its full potential.

enjoy in denial of future vagabond life.

Poppyseed Explosion Cake

2008-11-23T22:39:00.006-05:00

My first notable encounter with poppyseeds happened somewhere around my eleventh birthday. It was mother's day, it was before I was a vegetarian (and before I was a lapsed vegetarian), and my dad and I were cooking my mom my favourite dish: roast chicken with a smattering of poppyseeds. At the time, I had something of a reputation as a picky eater. It would seem that I refused most vegetables, in fact most foods, that weren't white. I didn't like cauliflower either. Chicken though I did like, especially this delicious roasted chicken, a family classic, that came out golden with speckles of black just like the poppyseed bagels from the world-famous-just-a-block-away-Harbord Bakery.

After intrepidly touching the gross pink carcass on the counter, I told my dad he could go ahead with the preparations and that I'd just find the spices. "Where are the poppyseeds?" I asked. A look of terror shot through his eyes. "Well, uh, just let me find them," he answered, not looking me in the eyes. I knew something was up, so I insisted. I had him cornered, the jig was up, so with much trepidation he admitted that the whole "poppyseed chicken" thing was a hoax.

Those beloved dots on my beloved chicken weren't poppyseeds (!!) as I had been led to believe, but browned ground garlic. The truth of the chicken dish had been kept from me because my parents suspected that I could never accept to eat something so foreign as garlic--even in it's beningly ground form. Resentment, bitterness, grossed-outness, and mistrust flashed through me, but then I remembered that I was all of eleven (or was it twelve?) years old. "That's cool," I said, half meaning it.

Years later, just last week in fact, I saw poppyseeds in the cabinet of my current kitchen. Hmm I said, what do you make with this, if not chicken?

Well, friends, this is what you make with poppyseeds: the most delicious cake of all times, one of Deborah Madison's top five cakes, and worthy of a mighty ingredient that almost-flavoured my first foray into the kitchen. It's a cake that will stay moist for days though it will be finished in hours, it's a cake to write home about, certainly to blog about, and it's just about the best thing you can create on a single Sunday afternoon.

Poppyseed Explosion Cake

Note: this recipe requires numerous bowls. Before you begin make sure your roommates have committed to doing dishes after.
1 cup poppyseeds stirred into 1/2 cup hot milk (mix and leave to sit several hours before continuing with the recipe for maximum delight)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sourcream or buttermilk
Icing sugar to dust at end

Set poppyseeds to soak in hot milk, in a bowl, watch several episodes of TNG or Gossip Girl, then come back and preheat the oven to 375 degrees farenheit. Lighly butter and flour a 9-inch spring-form pan (one where you can remove the sides after baking).

In a bowl mix dry ingredients together, and set aside.

In a bowl beat eggs whites until they form firm but moist peaks, set aside.

In a BIG bowl cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, then beat in one egg yolk at a time until smooth. Stir in sour cream and drained poppyseeds. Add the dry ingredients in thirds. (At this point, Deborah recommends: "Scrape up the batter from the bottom of the bowl to make sure it's well mixed." I'm sure you'd have done this anyway but, well, never hurts to make sure). Stir in a quarter of the egg whites before folding in the rest.

Pour batter into pan, smooth it out, then bake about 50 minutes until cake is golden and firm. Take it out of the oven, set the cake on a rack and remove the sides so that cake can cool. Before cake is cool, lightly dust with icing powder (my method: take a sieve, put in some icing powder, and hit it so that it falls evenly over the cake).

Serve if you want the people in your life to be happy.

Tortilla Soup and Existential Blogging: Begrebet Angest

2008-11-23T20:40:00.000-05:00

I let my first C is for Kitchen invitation expire. I was very overwhelmed by the prospect. As the great Julia Child once proclaimed, you are what you cook! Am I savory or sweet? Sour or bitter? God, Am I Umami?? Am I an anti-animal rights barbarian or a baby-plant pamperer? Soon, posting had become no longer about trivial recipes but my entire self-definition! How could I possibly be expected to create something so substantive in the 14 months before the next blog invitation expired?!?!

And then, the economy crashed and Obama was elected president and I thought to myself, “Yes, I can!”

So, here’s to more productive moments of procrastination:

“Aztec” Soup or “Mexican Turkey Tor-tila Soup”

2 bunches scallions, trimmed and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped and kept away from the eyes and nose
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Many corn tillas
8 cups turkey/chicken/ “vegetable” stock
1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, undrained
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (or more)
Salt
2 cups cooked turkey/chicken, a la julienne (optional for an easy plant-pamperer twist)
Numerous ripe avocados
½ cup fresh cilantro
Cheese (cheddar, Monterey jack, anything strong)

Saute scallions, garlic, and jalpeno peppers in heated olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add chile powder, oregano, and cumin and cook for one minute. Cut tortillas into small strips and add to the pot. Add stock, tomatoes and lime juice. Season with salt. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut more tortillas into thin strips and fry with (lots of) butter or oil until crisp!

Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with turkey/chicken strips (or not), avocado, cilantro, fried tortilla chips and cheese!

Existence precedes essence!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Quick Buttercream Frosting or: How We Learned to Stop Job Searching and Become “Kuchenfrauen”

2008-11-17T11:04:00.008-05:00

Guten abends meine Freunde! Unfortunately, I have been preoccupied most of the summer completing a clandestine Masters degree in Abbreviations. So I do apologize (or, as we say in our Abbreviations classes, "apolo") for my recent absence. Nevertheless, I am here now to add more Euro-stylz to the blog by posting a treatise on German cupcake making (machen) and selling (verkaufen).

The Story of the Zwei Kuchenfrauen ("Cake Women"):

As I may or may not have already told you, Berlin’s low cost of living, like Montreal’s, comes at a price: an unemployment rate of a whopping 13% (almost double the national average). Consequently, one of the biggest bonding points of the typical “new Berlin” experience is bitching about the never-ending search for a good job. My new Aussie friend Tim, for instance, after failing to find jobs in graphic design, noted that he recently checked out the “adult” gigs section of Berlin’s craigslist and found (though declined to take) surprisingly high paying jobs as a porno actor. Born entrepreneur that she is, fellow “c is for kitchen” poster Beareene has of late been making many “maverick-y” suggestions about how we can get by. These ideas have ranged the gamut from “outsmarting” the other clothing vendors at the flea market and slowly cornering the hipster vintage clothing scene to running an ad hoc currency exchange business, taking advantage of the recent market chaos. However, the idea she actually managed to rope me in on was cupcake selling (!!) in front of one of Berlin’s most famous flea markets, Mauer Park.

And thus begins our tale. Let me tell you, the selling of cupcakes is not as easy as it may appear. And so, in keeping with the inclination towards brevity advocated by my recent fake degree, and with the grandiosity of yet again introducing another segment of this blog post, Beareene and I present to you: The Dangers and Delights of Cupcake Selling!

1. Making cupcakes in a land with easy access to vanilla and other decoration accoutrement is probably wise. Here in Germany, the Germans seem to prefer shitty “Vanilla Zucker” (vanilla sugar) in tiny, gross packets to real vanilla, therefore impairing the vanilla flavor of our retrospectively ill-chosen flavor of cupcake: vanilla. Moreover, after finding that the colored icing tubes that we purchased were equally unpleasant, we were forced to make the last minute decision of chipping stale Rittersport chocolate onto the cupcakes for decoration. Nico, the Frenchman whose apartment we were subletting and who thoughtfully decided to chain smoke in the 5 sq-meter kitchen the entire time we were baking, was needless to say unimpressed.

2. Even though it may seem easier to ice the cupcakes at home than at the actual point of vending, believe me in the long term it is not. Icing the cupcakes at home and then carefully arranging them on a rustic wooden tray is all well and good, my friends, until one must wait with said rustic tray on the subway platform at 12 am on a fresh Berlin Sunday morning. Then, particularly if one is a small blonde girl, one is left vulnerable to creepy old drunk men who take advantage of your friend buying subway tickets to make wild grabs for the cupcakes while you plead him to stop. Stoic though she is, Beareene, as she would like me to note, almost cried.

3. It is perhaps in your best interest to note in some sort of sign that your cupcakes are not “magic cupcakes,” as some passersby muttered to themselves.

4. Always make friends with the chestnut seller to your left, as he is wont to make your day at the end by unexpectedly buying one of your last cupcakes.

5. Also keep a look out for slightly tubby, jolly men who are likely to be return customers. One dude ended up buying 4 cupcakes (although two were ostensibly for his "friend") while chilling out a few feet away from us and periodically praising the new “kuchenfrauen” to no one in particular.

6. At the end of the day, you may be a little tired and when a guy comes up to you and asks you if you believe in the Koran and then asks you to eat some of his cupcake before he does because “it might contain poison” it may seem like a good idea to just play along. However, this can make you feel like you’re in some sort of fetishistic food porn, so at least be more aware of the erotics of the situation before you consent. (He also brought his friend over after Erin said yes, and then I had to do it. Double gross.)

In the end, Beareene and I sold all 21 cupcakes! (Admittedly, we each also ate one during the day.) And made 27 EU! However, if you deduct the cost of transportation and buying a cupcake tin, two coffees, and the ingredients, we made about 5 EU. Nevertheless, a day well spent!

Love love,
Prof. Tata and Beareeene

Pre and post-Pleasantville-Phenomenon Mauer Park Photos:

Vanilla (zucker?) Cupcakes:

This recipe is really for kids so—make sure an adult is present while you do this!!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 whole egg plus 1 egg white, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

Nonpareils and colored sugars for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the sugar and butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the egg and egg white one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions, beating until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat just until no traces of flour remain, about 30 seconds; do not overbeat.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full. Bake until the cupcakes are lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Then transfer the cupcakes to the rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

Frost the cupcakes with the buttercream. (The frosted cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before finishing.) Garnish the cupcakes with nonpareils and colored sugars and serve. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Adapted from Cupcakes, by Shelly Kaldunski (Weldon Owen, 2008).

Buttercream Frosting:

Ingredients:

6 cups confectioners’ sugar
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 1/2 Tbs. milk, plus more, if needed
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

Food colorings, stale Rittersport (optional)

Directions:

Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the confectioners’ sugar, butter, the 4 1/2 Tbs. milk, the vanilla and salt and beat on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

If the frosting is dry, add more milk, 1 tsp. at a time, until it is creamy but still holds peaks. Tint with food coloring as desired. Makes about 4 cups.

Danke Williams-Sonoma.com

Avacado snack

2008-11-09T15:37:00.005-05:00

For those days when you want the great taste without the work.

Take an avocado, cut it up. Season with lime juice and chopped ginger, and a dash of salt. Put onto toasted baguette.

Done!

a treatise on shortening

2008-11-01T19:37:00.005-04:00

let's face the facts, for some strange and inconceivable reason, shortening, a soft but mostly solid baking ingredient arouses in many a disgust that other fatty semi-solid baking ingredients, say butter, do not. why? perhaps the unnatural and corpse-like white/grey color, that it doesn't really expand beyond baking horizons, and the fact that in order to find it in the grocery store you always have to ask someone. and then there are people out there who KNOW that you are a user. and given the general aura of weird and gross that surrounds shortening, such a thing can't be good.

but i have been sent to show you the light! alas, the light did not come to me engraved on some golden tablets buried under a hill, but rather on a vegan baking blog in the form of Lime-Ginger Cookies. so let's talk business:

3/4 cup vegetable SHORTENING!
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tbs powdered ginger
2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup molasses, the sludge of the gods

mix together, roll into small balls and place on a greased cookie sheet in an oven heated to 350 degrees. (secret from lou's archives:) turn on the light and watch the magic happen. for the frosting, just mix lime juice with more powdered sugar than you're comfortable with, wait for them to cool slightly, and then smear. or if you're impatient go with the dipping method.

i am convinced that the soft but ever so delightfully chewy consistency in these cookies is partially due to the shortening. besides, if you are trying to seduce some waifish vegan babe, this little number is probably worth its weight in gold. and as we and countless investment ba(n)kers all know, gold is back in.

"what did the investment banker say after the financial crisis?"
"would you like some fries with that?"

-with files from the Gazette and a vegan with a blog named tamara(?)

the spanish word for shortening is "manteca," or more illuminatingly "grasa"

Spicy Chickpeas with Ginger for a Dark and Gloomy Night

2008-10-28T21:19:00.006-04:00

A friend came over for dinner tonight, drenched. He warmed his hands over simmering, steamy chickpeas, and I realized how perfect this dish--warm, spicy, delicious--was for a grim night like tonight. It's also a good dish for a dark and stormy night since you probably have most of the ingredients on hand, and can probably avoid a trip to the grocery store. A good recipe to have on hand when in your city of residence every night is a dark and stormy night, or at least between October and May.

Rice, and crunchy vegetables like green beans or broccoli, work nicely as sides.

3 tablespoons mustard or vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tomatoes diced
1 1/2 cups chickpea broth or water
3 cups cooked chickpeas or 30-ounces canned, rinsed
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Garnishes: chopped cilantro, onion, diced tomato, minced jalapeno

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, stirring, until well browned, about 12 to 15 minutes. Lower heat and add the bay leaf, spices, garlic, ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and the tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, then add chickpeas and chickpea broth (or water). Simmer until liquid is reduced to sauce-like consistency, about 15 to 20 minutes. Season with lemon juice, and extra salt if you so desire. Serve!

Credits go to Deborah Madison.

my mom never made this, but i hear moms do

2008-10-20T11:57:00.009-04:00

let me set the scene for you: a crisp fall-turning-ever-too-soon-to-winter evening, an unexpectedly clean dining room complete with new navy blue table cloth, an assortment of mismatched chairs, and a sea of delightful company. on the table, a delicious feast complimented by the ever-present and ever-reliable premiere moisson baguette, and a symbolic bottle of fuZion, a versatile red. don't be jealous, just be a primate. you know, ape... like mimic, copy, borrow... god didn't any of you ever do crossword puzzles? ugh whatever.

on the table:

1. potato leek soup with sharp cheddar

2. beets with feta and carmelized onions

3. an innovative ginger/beet green combo a la madeleine

honestly, i can only help you out with items one and two, and if i really need to help you out with item two, well, amateur culinary feats are fine, but don't go into the business.

i ended up making the stock for the soup, though obvs i would never force this kind of endeavor on others. however, it just consisted of the green parts of the leeks, some crushed garlic cloves, and possibly a carrot all boiled up together for about 45 minutes. if that is not your cup of tea, just exercise your money muscle and buy some. stock. not tea.

4 leeks, chopped, white parts only
lots of little yellow skinned potatoes, maybe like 30? chopper-beeks help me out?
vegetable stock, between 4 to 6 cups
salt and pepper
some grated cheese, optional but not really optional

fry up the leeks in some butter, for a while, maybe 20 min, stirring. then pop them into the simmering stock. in the pan where the leeks were, fry the yellow potatoes, skins on and sliced thinly, for as long as you feel like. i suggest 15 minutes. when you're finished frying, dump them into the stock. simmer until the potatoes are cooked and then gingerly, especially if the available blender is one that has accompanied madeleine on her life's journey probably since conception, blend. texture is a great thing, so if you can't manage to smooth everything out, just pretend like you did it on purpose. salt and pepper and serve. the spanish actually have a verb for "to salt and pepper" but we of the english tongue have to take it one step at a time. drop some sharp cheddar in and stir. the spanish do not have a verb for this. sorry.

spiced whipped cream with a side of pumpkin pie

2008-10-18T15:55:00.004-04:00

This year, I made two important discoveries about pumpkin pie. The first was that you can eat and and revel in it all year round, not just while coloured leaves cling tenuously to their branches. The second was that whipped cream becomes infinitely more delicious when you throw in some spices.

Spiced Whipped Cream
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 tbsps sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
splash vanilla

Beat all the above together until peaks are formed in the whipped cream. Ideally, you have an electric beater, otherwise, you have a group of willing diners with strong biceps and a whisk. Serve with pumpkin pie and let autumn dance across your taste buds like a ballerina across the stage.

Pumpkin PiePreheat oven to 375˚ F, with rack placed in the middle
Pie crust (I usually buy one, but I have eaten this all-butter crust recipe and it was great)
2 large eggs, lightly whisked
2 cups freshly cooked or canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves or allspice
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together all of the above ingredients. Pour into the crust. Put in the oven!

Cooking time can really depend--in the Joy of Cooking Irma tells us that it is ready when "the filling seems set but quivery, like gelatin, when the pan is nudged, 35 to 45 minutes." In my experience, it takes quite a bit longer than that, more like an hour for it to be fully cooked.

After you have deemed it fully cooked (sticking in a fork for wetness helps), let it cool completely on a rack. Serve warm or cold, but definitely with spiced whipped cream.

Madrid's answer to the 4AM Fairmount Bagel

2008-10-18T11:27:00.004-04:00

Okay, let's be honest: when I was going out in Montreal it was more like the 1AM Fairmount Bagel. Regardless, after a night out drinking there is nothing more sobering and satisfying than a warm, chewy and crunchy, sweet and delicious loop of dough. Then you arrive in Spain and they don't even have a word for bagel. Last night, however, I discovered that they don't need one. This is what churros were really meant for!

Churros, for those who haven't visited the hispanic world or ArchCafe, is deep fried doughnut in the shape of those red AIDS ribbons, circles, or sticks, served in Spain with either coffee or liquid chocolate for dunking. They're primarily a breakfast food here, which because they're so oily and lacking in nutritional content, is off-putting for a lot of people. What I've recently realized though, is that there is a whole crowd of people who enjoy these at 7am, not when they first get up, but after the bars close and before they've gone to bed.

My first experience was at San Gines, a fancy chocolateria in Madrid's centre that is open all night. The chocolate there is really good. Not Juliette et chocolat quality, but better than the average served here, which is a disconcertingly gelatinous brown-grey liquid. What really clued me in though, was stopping by a churreria, the place where the churros are made, at 6:30AM and picking up a brown bag of them fresh out of the giant vat of oil. The operation is not as elaborate as at Fairmount and St. Viateur, but the similarities struck me: the same narrow shop, no-frills aesthetic, and tired workers in white aprons, making thousands of these units all day and all night right before your eyes. You can pick up a carton of the sketchy chocolate there too, before heading home to heat up a cup, satisfy your munchies, and collapse into bed.

Now because this is a cooking blog and not my own personal travel blog, I will include a recipe. I warn you that I have not actually made these, but this comes from a trusted book by Janet Mendel called Cooking in Spain so if are feeling ambitious, I expect they will be good. Personally I prefer porras, which are thicker and chewier, cooked in a big spiral and then cut into 6-inch logs, but she doesn't have a recipe for that.

Churros
Breakfast fritters

(There's a hilarious introduction about papa taking the littlest child to market to buy churros for the whole family on Sunday morning, but I will spare you. I will note that Janet insists churros "were invented for the sole purpose of dunking." Also, "they must be eaten fresh and hot.")

250 mL water
75 mL oil
1 piece lemon rind
1/2 tsp salt
200 g flour
oil for frying
sugar

Put the water in a saucepan with the 75 mL oil, the lemon rind, and the salt. Bring to a boil. Skim the rind. Add the flour all at once and beat hard with a wooden spoon, working it on a low fire for a minute or two until it forms a ball. The batter will be quite stiff. Put it in a pastry bag and pipe long strips or rings of the batter into deep, hot oil. It takes a bit of muscle to push it through. Fry until golden brown, remove and drain. With scissors, cut long strangs into short lengths. Sprinkle generously with sugar. Makes about 30 strips.

Rainy day hash.

2008-10-15T10:38:00.003-04:00

greetings fellow eating enthusiasts,

i'm currently in the process of writing grad school applications (and by that i obviously mean cooking too much and posting on the blog). you want more quick and dirty? this, my friends, is most certainly quick and dirty. it is also a food equivalent to drinking scotch on a cold day - warms up the insides, indeed. it is adapted from my favourite cook book of all time, moosewood new classics.

you need:
1 - 2 tbsp olive oil
3 medium sized sweet potatoes (about 6 cups, peeled and diced)
3 medium sized onions (2 cups, diced)
2 cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper (or if you are crazy like me, 4 small thai hot peppers)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp dried coriander
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn kernels, drained and rinsed
1 zucchini, chopped (or 2, if you're feeling wild like that)
1 tsp salt or to taste
chopped fresh cilantro to garnish
sour cream (optional. and i seriously mean optional, because i hate sour cream. but apparently, if you don't, it is good with this. alternatively, you could go for some raita, which i feel better about actually).

so here's what you do.

1. in a large pot on medium, heat up the olive oil. when sizzly, add the onions, stirring occasionally, and cook until they start to become soft. add the garlic and continue to saute for another minute.

2. add the sweet potatoes, cover and cook for 3 minutes or so.

3. toss in the jalapeno, cumin, coriander, and salt. mix it all up. cover and cook for 3 more minutes.

4. add the zucchini, black beans, and corn. stir until well combined. then let cook on medium heat for 10 more minutes, or until sweet potatoes are tender and your apartment smells delicious.

5. garnish with fresh cilantro and whatever else you might want (sour cream if you are not me. hot sauce from la chilenita if you are me.) presto!

note: if you find that the sweet potatoes stick during the early cooking process, you can add a little bit of water or orange juice to ease up the process.

Asparagus Sesame Salad

2008-10-06T17:35:00.007-04:00

This is always a big hit, so much so that if prices are good and so are the appetites, I'd recommend doubling.

First: Put into a big pot of boiling water a bunch of asparagus, sliced diagonally into two-inch pieces. Keep a close watch, cooking for about one and half to two and a half minutes until cooked but still crunchy--the only way this salad can go wrong is if the asparagus overcooks. Once cooked drain immediately and then refill pot with cold water and let it sit until all heat has left the asparagus. Then, drain (dry) and refrigerate until cold, about an hour.

Second: prepare the dressing. Whisk together:
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
4 teaspoons soy sauce 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Third: toast 4 teaspoons of sesame seeds, then add immediately to dressing

Fourth: when the asparagus is cold, and the dressing is ready, toss together. Eat!

Credits: go to Joy of Cooking

Black Rice Pudding like Obama would make it

2008-10-04T10:19:00.009-04:00

For some reason, people seem to have negative associations with rice pudding from their youth. Bad associations no more! This rice will CHANGE your how you feel about rice pudding, change you can believe in (hence it's Obama-like characteristics) with it's texture, taste, and pizazz that's almost too good to be true.

First things first--the recipe calls for sticky black rice. Because I was unable to find any, I bought "Organic Black Rice," in the shape of a brick, from Bonanza/Segal's. Because of this, I modified the recipe slightly. So, I'm going to put the original recipe here (taken from Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet), but I'll note the changes I made to accommodate for the non-sticky black rice.

You will need:
2 cups black (sticky) rice
3 cups water
2 cups canned or fresh coconut milk
3/4 cup palm sugar, or substitute brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional Toppings:
ripe mango, sliced (my favourite)
2 tablespoons dry-roasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup coriander leave
1/5 cup fried shallots

If you are using NON sticky black rice, presoak for about an hour. If sticky rice, don't. Place rice and water in a heavy pot and bring to a boil. Let boil vigorously for several minutes, stirring frequently, then cover, lower the heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to very low, let simmer, still covered, for about 30 minutes.

Before the rice finishes cooking, put coconunt milk in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir in sugar and salt until completely dissolved. Heat just to a boil, then reduce heat to lowest point while waiting for rice to finish cooking.

If you are using sticky rice, put the coconut milk into rice after it has finished cooking, remove from the heat, set aside from ten to 180 minutes, and then serve, adding toppings.

If you are not using stick rice, I added the coconut milk to the rice while it was still on the stove, and let them cook together on low heat, stirring, for about ten minutes, trying to make the whole thing "stickier." You'll notice that when you pour in the coconut milk it seems very soupy--some of that will cook away, but it will also become less soupy after a few minutes off the stove. When you feel that you are happy with the liquid to rice proportions, take it off the stove, let it stand at least ten minutes, and then serve to everyone's delight.

THIS IS DELICIOUS. PLEASE COOK AND THEN EAT IT.

everything in transit - the kitchen dilemma.

2008-10-03T16:46:00.003-04:00

dear real life friends on the interweb,

with the exception of square-cesca, it has been a long long time since we have been posting. to be honest, i think about it every three days or so and make notes to get my shit together and do a little something something. but i don't and you don't and i fear that we are falling off what was once a very good bandwagon. so here i am, writing an e-apology to no one in particular but maybe to the concept of our technological mystical recipe circle. no more, she says! i find it very hard to feel comfortable in a new kitchen with new tools and new space (moving is the worst) - i know, i know. excuses. but seriously. i have been suffering from very poor motivation and inspiration with all food-related things these days. so let's get this show on the road, a'iiight? to quote my mother circa 3 minutes ago, "it's 5 o'clock and time to rock!" thanks.

the only thing i can offer at this time is... well, actually, it's pretty fucking good. rico and i made what will only be called "black velvet compote". mysterious? sultry? romantic? AFFIRMATIVE! i had no idea that this kind of apricot even existed until the one and only rico snogger dumpster'ed a bunch of super ripe ones from the goldmine of all dumpster-ing locations, jean talon market. so in a very large soup pot in a familiar kitchen with familiar things (saint joseph apartment), we sterilized 4 jars with proper canning lids. then, we sliced and diced all those black velvet apricots (i am still so fascinated by these. if you feel like wikipedia'ing these tasty delights, please do it. and tell me all about them. but i'm too tired for that kind of quality research for the post right now). because we wanted to make a lot of jam and only had something like 9 apricots, we also chopped up a whole bunch of juicy quebec peaches (at least 20). in the large pot on low/medium heat (but high heat in our hearts), we combined all of the fruit and let cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes. then we added 1/2 cup of sugar (a little more if you like it stickier - this version makes a fairly loose, chunky, real fruit compote), turned the heat to low, and let simmer for a bit more than an hour. when the jam appears to be doing what it should do, add the juice of half a lemon (or more, to taste), and let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

when all is said and done, put your jam into the sterilized jars (it will be very hot - this is good for the sealing process) and put them into a pot of boiling water for about 5-10 minutes until a seal is created (you will know when the top of the jar doesn't pop up anymore when you push on it).

the end!

note: you can make compote with anything you've got following those general guidelines. it is very easy and tastes about 700 times better than buying it at the store.

Imprescindibles en tu alimentacion diaria

2008-09-14T16:20:00.005-04:00

Found on my aunt's fridge: the official Spanish food guide. Well not "official" like government-sanctioned, but published by Spain's all-purpose megastore, El Corte Ingles, which definitely has more cred.

Essentials in your daily eating:
1. Fresh products (fruit, vegetables, fish, meat)
2. Olive oil and olives - "one of the pillars"
3. Legumes
4. Rice and pasta
5. Preserved fish and vegetables
6. Cured ham and sausage
7. Wine
8. Dairy products (cheese should be 120-180g/day)

Also, I was volunteering at the World Social Forum on Migration this weekend and starting at 11AM at the volunteer snack table they had two legs of "jamon iberico" (see image), baguette, manchego cheese, pickled everything, wine and many bottles of martini dry. When I get back we are having a cocktail party and there will be no crudite.

Love to you all!
xoxoxF

p.s. I almost included with this post a picture of my swollen purple toe as a warning to women who leave their place in the kitchen. But it was gross and brought back painful memories of a children's scooter. So I will simply leave you with this: Get back in the kitchen you fools and post on the damn blog!

Deb's Easy and Delicious Cobbler

2008-07-03T19:14:00.004-04:00

I stole this recipe from Deb.

4 cups mixed fruit
1 cup + 1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp water
1/3 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Heat over to 350F. Mix berries and ¼ cup sugar and water. Let stand 10 minutes. Melt butter in 8x8 glass baking dish. In another bowl, mix ¾ cup sugar, flour, baking powder, and stir in milk. Mix well. Pour batter into baking dish and spoon undrained berries on top. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake until bubbly and golden, about 40 minutes.

Bean burritos

2008-07-03T19:11:00.001-04:00

Joy of Cooking esque
Makes 8

1 cup salsa
1 ½ cup sour cream
8 10’’ flour tortillas
2 16-oz can refried beans
4 cups shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack
1 cup onion, finely chopped
½ cup jalapeno, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Wrap stack of tortillas in foil and heat for 10 minutes. Remove stack from oven and take out one at a time so that it’s still warm and easier to fold. Spread each with beans, cheese, onion, and jalapeno, leaving a 1 inch border. Fold one inch on bottom, then on either side. Roll from bottom. Place seam down on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Heat for 15 minutes in the oven. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Lilian's latkes

2008-07-03T19:02:00.006-04:00

With so many Jews posting on this blog, I feel like a bit of an imposter putting up the latke recipe, but it must be done. After all, I did wake up at 4 a.m. in the dead of winter every year of high school to make this very recipe for the final holiday assembly.

If I messed this up, please edit.

2 eggs
1 small onion
3 large baking potatoes, peeled
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
3 tbsp Cornflakes, crushed (for crunch factor!)
vegetable oil

This is easiest in a food processor with a grating blade. Grate potato in food processor. Drain in cheesecloth to get rid of as much water as possible. Grate onion in food processor. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add potato, onion, salt, pepper, and cornflakes. Heat ½-inch of oil in a large skillet. Add batter by the spoonful and flatten slightly. Cook until crisp, 2-3 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side. Drain latkes on a rack or with paper towel. Add more oil between batches as needed. “have fun.”

Corn Chowder

2008-07-03T18:56:00.005-04:00

c/o New Basics

Warning to herbivores: forget about it. You might think you can vegetarianify this recipe, but you can't. Trust me because I've tried. Those bacon bits and chicken stock make all the difference.

Serves 6

4 oz (110g) sliced bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups onion, chopped
2 tbsp flour
4 cups chicken stock
2 large potatoes, cut into ¼ inch cubes
1 cup half and half cream (10% mf)
4 cups cooked corn kernels (drain and rinse if canned)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large red bell pepper, ¼-in dices
3 green onions (use white bulb and 3 inches of green), cut into ¼ inch rounds
Fresh cilantro

Wilt bacon in a large soup pot over low heat until fat comes out, about 5 minutes. Add butter to pot. Add onion and wilt over low heat for 10 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes . Add stock and potatoes. Cook over medium-low until potatoes are tender, about 12-15 minutes. Add half and half, corn, pepper, and salt and cook 7 minutes. Add bell pepper and scallions, adjust seasoning and cook another 5 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro.

Godmama Marie's Signature Salad

2008-07-03T18:55:00.001-04:00

Dressing:
1 clove garlic
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Honey Dijon mustard

Salad:
Pine nuts, toasted
Blue cheese
Soft pear
Mixed greens

Yoghurty Muesli

2008-07-03T18:53:00.003-04:00

c/o Ben’s mom via Gail via Jessy D

Dry mixture:
6 cups quick cook oats
¾ cups raisins
1 cup chopped almonds and walnuts
½ cup sunflower and pumpkin seeds
4 tsp cinnamon

Toppings:
Orange honey
Yoghurt
Hot water

Combine dry ingredients and store in an airtight container. Take ½ cup of dry mixture, add enough hot water to moisten. Add yoghurt, and orange honey to taste.

Mango Lassi

2008-07-03T18:51:00.001-04:00

Indian dining in your own home. Makes 4 cups.

1 cup plain yoghurt
½ cup milk
½ cup mango pulp, or 7 oz fresh mango, pitted and sliced
Sugar to taste

Blend for 2 minutes.

Sweet and Sour Tofu

2008-07-03T18:48:00.001-04:00

A real staple with this group

1 cake firm tofu
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp grated peeled ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp honey, maple syrup, or sugar

Cut tofu into small cubes. Heat vegetable oil and sesame oil in a large skillet. Add the tofu and sauté, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes, or until lightly golden. Add the rest of the ingredients, lower heat and simmer for 3-4 min.

Rotini con Gamberi, Pomodoro ed Asparagi

2008-07-03T18:39:00.004-04:00

1/3 cup olive oil
½ cup white onions, thinly sliced
1 lb asparagus, sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 lb (about 5 medium) fresh plum tomatoes
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and (unless you're in Spain) de-veined
Salt and pepper
1 box Rotini
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Cook pasta. Blanch tomatoes (put them in a pot of boiling water for a couple minutes), peel, seed, and chop. Heat oil in a skillet and sautee onions 2-3 min. Add asparagus and sautee another 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, shrimp and simmer 4-5 min or until shrimp is cooked and opaque. Season with salt and pepper. Add pasta and garnish with parsley.

Pasta with broccoli, edamame, and walnuts

2008-07-03T18:35:00.003-04:00

Note to Jess: Do not quadruple the recipe! It will make an unconquerable mountain of pasta like that of Straga Nonna!

¾ lb chunky pasta
¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups broccoli, bite-sized
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
¾ tsp salt
¼ cup fresh basil, oregano, thyme, or marjoram, chopped
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
Salt and pepper
Grate parmesan or pecorino romano

Cook pasta to al dente. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic, cook for a few seconds. Add broccoli and ½ cup of hot pasta water, turn to high, and cook for 2 min. Add edamame, salt, and herbs. Cook until water evaporates and broccoli is crisp-tender, and bright green, about 5 min. Remove from heat.

Drain pasta. Toss pasta and vegetable mixture, olive oil, and toasted walnuts. Season with salt and pepper. Top with cheese.

Dal a la Joy

2008-07-03T18:33:00.003-04:00

So simple! So filling!

1 cup yellow split peas or red lentils, rinsed
3 cups water
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp peeled and minced ginger
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 serrano or jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 plum tomato, diced
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro

Add lentils, 2 cups water, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric to pot. Bring to boil, simmer covered for 20-25 min. Stir in 1 cup water and salt. Simmer partially covered for 20 min. Stir in peppers, tomato, and cilantro. Serve with basmati rice.

Thai Butternut Squash Soup

2008-07-03T18:14:00.003-04:00

Recipes are back. This one has been enjoyed by one and all over the last couple of years c/o Moosewood. This version has a few of my own modifications. If you don't like it, type up your own goddamn recipes.

Contents:
1 cup coconut milk
½ teaspoon Thai red curry paste
½ tsp salt
2 cups veggie brother (best without salt)
2 12-oz packages of frozen cooked winter squash or about 1 large whole winter squash
1 lime
2 cups fresh baby spinach
Sugar, to taste
Chopped cilantro

Pan-fried tofu:
8oz (½ cake) firm tofu
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp Thai red curry paste
1 tsp vegetable oil

If you’re using fresh squash, bake whole in oven for 1.5 hours or until poked easily with a fork. In the microwave, cut lengthwise, lay skin side up in ½ inch of water and cook for five minutes. Turn and cook for another 5 minutes or until tender. Seed, peel, and chop squash. In a soup pot, whisk together the coconut milk, curry paste, salt, and broth. Add squash, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare pan-fried tofu. Cut the tofu into small cubes and toss with soy sauce and the curry paste. Heat the oil in a small skillet on medium-high heat. Add the tofu and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Lightly grate the lime peel and juice the lime. Add zest and lime juice to taste. Stir in spinach and tofu and cook until spinach wilts. Add sugar and salt to taste. Garnish with cilantro.

'move it or lose it' pasta!

2008-06-16T15:10:00.004-04:00

dear friends,

many of you who are reading this blog probably know the following two things about me: one, if there's anything i hate in this world, it's wasting food. and two, i am moving out of my apartment soon. so i was perusing the insides of my fridge last night, the anxiety about everything i had to eat before the move on thursday building.... and i ended up concocting a pretty wild and delicious noodle extravaganza.

here's what i did:

boiled a bag of rigatoni pasta until i thought that it could probably use about 3 minutes more cooking time (but you could use any tube-shaped pasta, i would imagine.) drained and set aside.

in a very large and deep skillet on medium heat, i sauteed two diced shallots, three cloves of minced garlic, and a teaspoon of dried crushed hot pepper in something like a quarter of a cup of olive oil until soft and fragrant (about 6 minutes). i found part of a leftover yellow pepper and added it to the mix. then chopped fresh basil (i added the contents of my refrigerator, so you really can put a lot and it is delicious). then about a cup of diced sundried tomatoes (you could also add fresh tomatoes, or whatever you have). black olives and surprise! i found a can of chickpeas, which i rinsed and drained and added to the mix. finally, i incorporated money teph's broth method - i added a bag of baby spinach (about 4 handfuls) along with some vegetable broth and turned the heat up. when everything seemed to be well-mixed and delicious, i added the mostly-cooked pasta and combined with cracked black pepper. now the most delicious part - as much grated cheese as you can possibly find. i had about 150g of gruyere and some parmesan. on low heat, mix it ALLLLL in.

when the stovetop portion is all said and done, place your pasta mixture in a glass casserole baking dish (grease with a bit of olive oil). sprinkle the top with some bread crumbs and remaining cheeses and bake at 350F until the top is crisp and the insides are hot and bubbling - about 20 minutes.

you can use this method with pretty much anything you have in the fridge. the versatility is really the charm..... i'm sure that it would be delicious with zucchinis, tomatoes, pesto, garden gnomes... you name it.

whew! well, don't we all feel better now?!!

(maybe that's just me. but really. i really really do.)

Salmon a la Johnson

2008-05-28T18:54:00.008-04:00

Introduction

This is a recipe for grilled salmon. This salmon is known for its extreme wooing powers. Ladies can't handle this fish. They dig it so much it is crazy. They go crazy. This recipe is tthe result of YEARS of work by my father, Brian D. Johnson (AKA the Silver Fox). It is his "one dish" and it is, apparently, all he needs.

Let us get down to business.

This is a grilled salmon. Grilled with y TONS and TONS of fresh ginger and some other things. Here's the scoop.

First. Go to the fish store (I recommend Waldman's on Roy). Find the freshest most gleaming beautiful fillet of Salmon. Fillet! This will cost you money, but it will be worth it. After all this is not a regular meal. It is a meal of mythical proportions. So, buy the best most healthy, most agile and vibrant piece of salmon you can find. I also recommend getting a nice big piece. Do not be stingy!

Second. Think about what you are going to do with this fish. You are going to grill it. This is best done on a BBQ of the charcoal variety. This will require a BBQ, coals, a way to light the coals, an implement to fan the flames, a big spatula and lots of will power, because BBQing takes time and engery.

Third. Think about what you are going to put on the fish. Find a piece of ginger about as big as your two hands or your head, or something in that ball park. The fresher the better. Do not even try to cook this fish dish this way without a serious source of good fresh ginger. Do not use old dry crappy ginger. In addition to the ginger you will be adding a number of saucy things to flavour the fish. This will be covered in a moment.

Fourth. Think about the setting. What will be on the place with the salmon. You do not want it to be lonely on the plate. Nice rice. . . . veggies. .. asparagus. .. . rapinni. . . sweet potatoes . . . any of these do well. Soba noodles with some kind of sauce . . .woudl also be a good choice. Booze also goes well with this meal. It is best to get a bit drunk while cooking so that when you eat it you are ready to party.

Fifth . . . the recipe.

Materials

- two big pieces of fresh ginger

- 1/4 cup or less or more of Tamari soy sauce or whatever

- 1/3 cup real maple syrup (medium colour is good for this and cheaper, but any will do, but NO AUNT JEMIMMA)

- one lime's juice

- big piece of salmon fillet

- olive oil for coating fish

Methodololgy

Prepare your BBQ. This is key. You need good steady heat. that will not burn, but will cook your fish. The key to this is BBQ set up. The best is a deep old style charcoal BBQ with room for lots of coals and a good distance between the coals and the grill. Use pure hardwood charcoal i if you can find it. This allows for heat, but not burning. A nice big bed of hot coals is key. So. . . start your charcoal however you do. I recommend starting a little fire with paper and wood under your coals and being all natural about it. This helps you get into the caveman/cavewoman mind state ideal for cooking the fish. Take care of the little fire, make sure it catches the coals. . . TEND to the fire as you will soon tend to your fish. Be gentle and patient, observant and committed. Proceed with care and watch your fire grow. Care and attention to the ways of the fire will lead to prosperity.

(Side note.) On a recent visit my mother, Marni Jackson, described the appeal of the cowboy. When she was in her younger traveling days. . .she spent some time on a dude ranch with real cowboys. It was not the bull-wrangling, lasooing or gunplay that she found most attractive.She said that the great thing about cowboys is that they are "sensitive with animals - they know how to treat animals". You must attend to your fire and your fish as a cowboy would attend to their horse - with care

As the fire catches the coals you can blow on the coals with well directed steady breaths and/or use a large flat implement such as a baking pan to fan the flames (as would would do in the heat of a social revolt). Once you have achieved fire life off, make sure all of your coals get nice and toasty. This may require making a tall pile of coals (heat rises), were you throw the unlit coals on top of the lit ones. Once they are all hot and burning slowly you can spread them out into a nice bed. (As a general rule, use more than you think you will need).

While your coals are getting hot you can prepare the fish and the ginger. Take your fish out and give it a rinse in cold water and dry off with paper towel. Coat the fish in olive oil with your hands and put it skin down on a plate (for preparation).

Get the biggest sharpest knife you have. Sharpen it if you can. Put it beside a cutting board. Peel most of the skin off the ginger using a peeler and/or a small knife. Now take your peeled ginger and, using the big sharp knife, cut it up as small as you can manage (within reason). What you want is a nice big pile of minced ginger. Put this in a bowl. And add your sauces (soy sauce, maple syrup, lime juice). Mix it around and modify to taste. Something spicy can be added if you want, but this should do the trick. This sauce can be modified depending on your taste and approach. The goal is to have salty, sweet, gooey, slightly citrus ginger muck. This mixture will be applied on top of the fish in a thick coat. The maple syrup gives it a sticky quality needed to keep it on the fish. This should be a good thick layer. This is the "je ne sais quoi" of the Johnson salmon.

Cooking! When your fire is hot but not out of hand put the salmon on the grill (skin down, ginger up). Timing is key. This is where the caveman/cavewoman attention to fire pays off. The best is to let the coals get really hot and catch them as they are on cooling off side of things. You may want to grill some other stuff to test the heat. When you think the moment is ready to strike. .. throw that fish on the barbee. Watch closely to assure that burning does not occur. If it does take some actions to stop it. If your fire is too hot, you can try putting some tin foil under the fish or waiting a bit. If your fire is too cool. .. .. . go back to the beginning of the fire starting instruction and get your fire up to speed.

Cook the fish for a little while. What is this? It depends on the heat of the grill. .. .the size of fish. . .the geometry of the cosmos. The basic rule of thumb is to take a good close look BEFORE you think if could possibly be close to being done. Done with fresh good fish is not very cooked. Done is hot, and slightly flaking apart. Whatever you do, do not PLESE overcook the fish. Also, it is best to just feel if the fish is done and don't do too much hacking into it. A flashlight may help if it is dark.

Here is the unexpected plot twist, that makes the Johnson salmon a wiley dish. You are going to take that fish off the grill BEFORE it is done, and you are going to run that puppy under the broiler of your oven. So. . . take it off the grill (maybe using two spatulas and a helper holding an oiled baking pan or dish). Bring your fish to the broiler and watch it broil with eyes like a hawk. You want to caramalize the sugar and the ginger. .. . giving a crispy brown top to your perfectly cooked. The key is to get your heats and timings right. When in doubt . .. . cook less and hotter, but do not burn.

At this point, you will have somehow assured that all other parts of your meal are magically ready and ready to march onto the plate. Before you serve it, make sure it is cooked in the thickest part, but not overcooked on the side. More broiling or grilling is very acceptable for last minute corrections to undercookedness.

Et Voila! You are a caveman/cavewoman at the top of your game. The good thing about this recipe is that you can mess around with more or less or this or that . . . it is flexible. . . as long as you follow the general principles.

Enjoy!

Dr. Rocker

scurvy free is the way to be!

2008-05-20T12:14:00.005-04:00

just can't seem to incorporate enough sweetened condensed milk into your diet? feel like you've been missing out on the essential nutrients and vitamins hidden in that innocuous looking can of mt. everest sized caloric intake? well cry alone in your room no more.

key lime pie! fast, easy and gloriously fattening.

begin with the crust: graham crackers (1/3 of a box, or if you shop at p.a., they sell pre-crushed graham crackers to help us all cope with this hectic modern life, use about 1 cup), combine in a bowl with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup unsalted melted butter. press into a lightly greased pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

le filling: zest some limes, i would say like 2, and then juice a whole bunch more, until you have about 2/3 cup of lime juice. combine this with 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, and mix with a whisk for like 5 minutes.

technically because there are no eggs in this pie, you don't even have to cook it. but i haven't tried this yet, so do so at your own risk. otherwise for you squares and recipe-followers out there, pour into the crust and cook for about 10 minutes or until it seems gelatinous. refrigerate and serve cold (duh). mmmm

c is also for chocolate.

2008-05-12T12:26:00.002-04:00

so madeleine's friend, carin (!!), arrived for a long montreal visit from sweden, and madeleine hosted a potluck of guts and glory (theme: aphrodisiacs). money teph and i concocted somewhat of a chocolately, nutty extravaganza - and here is the recipe for all you lovers.

we borrowed from Chocolate&Zucchini's recipe for chocolate cake with candied hazelnuts, but with a few modifications. we added many more nuts, and instead of just hazelnuts, we made a little mix of hazelnuts and pistachios. also, as we all know - using good chocolate is the key to delicious chocolate cakes, as well as all things related to love-making. so instead of bittersweet baker's chocolate, we used a nice hunk of 55% callebaut.

you need:
200g (7oz) 55% callebaut (or bittersweet bakers. or whatever floats your lover's boat)
1 stick unsalted buttah
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 cup sugar (the original recipe called for more, but because we wanted to preserve the taste of the DELICIOUS chocolate, we used 1/4 cup less. you can adjust as necessary)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour
confectioner's sugar for dusting (optional. we forgot. but feel that it might be great...)

approx 1 cup of hazelnuts and pistachios combined
1/3 cup sugar

here's what you do:
first, gather combined hazelnuts and pistachios. in a food processor, chop em up (only a couple of pulses). save the flour-like nutty bits at the bottom to later add to the cake batter - this is key. toast the bit chunks in a non-stick skillet over high heat, and then set aside. in the same skillet over medium-high heat, add 1/3 cup of sugar with a splash of water, and let simmer until it forms a golden syrup. then add the toasted nuts, stir around to coat fully, and remove. place the candied nuts on parchment paper to cool.

next, preheat that oven (whooooo spring break!) to 360F. heavily butter a reasonably sized square baking pan a la brownies.

then, get your double boiler on! break up the chocolate (sob) and butter, place in a heat-proof glass bowl over a pot of nearly simmering water, and stir occasionally until melted, combined, and sensuous. once totally melted, whisk in the cocoa powder and set aside to cool off a bit.

the original recipe called for blending the batter in a food processor, but instead we used our giant biceps (GIANT, seriously) and whisked by hand. so grab yourselves a big bowl, and whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. add the chocolate/butter mixture. finally, the flour, and the hazelnut/pistachio grounds that you saved earlier (right? RIGHT??! i hope so). mix until just combined, careful not to overmix!

perhaps you should take your top off for the most sensual part of this recipe - slowly pourrrrrrrrrr the batter into the pre-buttered tin. place the candied nuts over top of the rich and moist batter, until the surface is totally covered. bake for about 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted at the centre comes out clean.

let cool in the pan for a little while, then cut squares out of the pan to serve.

finally, make love.

ta-da!

first step bean salad, second step freedom

2008-04-28T19:20:00.004-04:00

Do you ever wander around campus (or, if you have graduated, 'the real world'), wishing that you could find something that was tasty yet healthy, crisp but not deep-fried, and cheap? And then, do you accidentally wander into Caferama and accidentally order one of their bean salads thinking how good it could be, only to be deeply disappointed and unhappy because it is none of the above? Although Caferama will soon lose its spot in the SSMU building to some other uninteresting and overpriced chain, the dilemmas posed transcend this specific merchant of unsatisfying food.

Making your own bean salad, and carrying it around with you in a tupperware for all occasions, so long as it is occasionally refrigerated, is a good solution to all of these problems. Although not to the more systemic ones of corporate control and rampant capitalism and poverty wages and world food 'crisis.' But eating (and sharing!) a good homemade lunch is a way to start.

To set off on the path towards utopian living, via the creatively titled "Bean Salad," you will need to accumulate and mix together in a bowl:

1 can of black beans (or you can soak but I don't know proportions)
1 can of corn kernels (or you can use fresh corn in the summer!)
2 bell peppers, diced, perhaps a red and an orange?
a bunch of green onions, sliced
about 1/2 a cup of cilantro, chopped
1/2 a block feta, crumbled
1/2 cup wild rice (when cooked this makes between 1 and a half cups)
1ish tablespoon ginger, grated

When all of this is in a bowl, throw (or pour) on some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss. Turn. Ideally, refrigerate for half an hour but it will not be tragic if you can't. Eat.

Bonus points: beans and corn, eaten together, form a complete protein!

Moros y cristianos

2008-04-21T19:12:00.007-04:00

The handing over of the keys of Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella by the defeated Baobdil. "It is every Granadine's fave," says the BH.

Moros y cristianos
aka racist rice and beans
c/o Joy of Cooking/Spain

olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 chili pepper or red pepper flakes
1 cup diced tomato or can of tomatoes
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup rice
1 tsp salt
2 cups canned black beans or 2/3 cup dried

To cook beans: soak overnight, simmer 30 min.

Heat olive oil over medium in a medium pot. Add onion, garlic, chili and cook 5-8 min or until tender. Stir in tomato, water, rice salt. Bring to a boil. Add black beans and reduce heat to simmer for 20 min. or until rice is tender and water absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand 10 min. covered.

cranapple walnut cake (find your inner spice!)

2008-04-16T22:05:00.004-04:00

dismiss your thoughts of moldy shower curtains, this cake is danky and moist in the best possible way.

350 degrees (beat the pre-heat only for the pros)
9 by 13 greased pan, or really whatever you have that will fit the batter.
the recipe says 45-50 minutes to bake but i found this to be a dirty lie, allot like an hour (one efficiently watched episode of the L word and a southpark)

put on some cee-lo and mix it right up:
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

combine in another bowl and then add to the wet mixture:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt

add:
2 cups slice apples
1/2 walnut pieces
1/2 lb. fresh, whole, raw cranberries (though really who knows what half a pound is. i know i misread this section and added half a cup. no lasting damage, though if your UTI is acting up, best ditch the cup for the pound. oh man homeopathic baking, our ticket to fame!)

i think that during the course of this baking adventure, i decided that if i could be a spice, i would be nutmeg. perhaps if you do peyote and flip through a cookbook you too will find your inner spice. not that that's what i did. seriously.

Orecchiette with Spinach

2008-04-10T17:13:00.006-04:00

Dear culinary hopefuls,

It has come to my attention that the Gosky Patties recipe was somewhat difficult to execute (common problems included runaway pigs, inability to locate adequate amounts of foolscap, concerns about animal rights violations). I do apologize.

Perhaps this is a better way to improve library-confinement: a quick & iron-heavy pasta concoction that even tastes good cold & out of a tupperware!

You will need:

400-500g of scoop-shaped pasta – e.g. orecchiette or gnocco sardo

16 to 20 oz baby spinach – no need to chop

1/3 cup olive oil

1.5 -2 shallots finely chopped (although the same amount of onions works as well)

1/2 teaspoon crushed dried hot red chillies

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (at least!)

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water till al dente – do not overcook, because the pasta will cook a little more when you mix it into the hot oil at the end. About 2 minutes before you figure that the pasta is done, stir the spinach into the pot of pasta (contrary to appearances, it will all fit in). Drain pasta and spinach when done.

Heat oil in large pan over medium-low heat. Cook shallot and chili flakes till soft but not brown (~3 minutes).

Add pasta and spinach to hot oil and mix well. Season with salt, and add grated Parmesan to taste.

(Courtesy of Fresh Ways with Pasta and my mother)

holy crap - chocolate yumms! or, 'i'm such a flake i don't want to bake'

2008-04-10T16:58:00.003-04:00

That's right folks, no-bake cookies that are delicious, nutricious and perfect for the impending warmth.

These are a one-pot taste explosion and as if you even needed it, there is the added bonus: they are especially delicious when made with spelt, so they are almost guilt-free (save for the butter...)

In a pot, bring to a boil:

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sugar (less if you are using a sugary cereal or sweetened coconut flakes)

1/2 cup milk

Once you have brought this to a boil, remove from heat and add:

3 tbsp cocoa powder

2-2.5* cups oatmeal OR spelt (spelt is crunchier and thus more delicious, but its your call)

0.5-1* cup crumbled special K/rice krispies

0.5 cup coconut flakes

Vanilla

*vary these amounts as necessary until you get a mixture that is thick enough to make into cookies

drop these cookies onto a greased baking sheet and put in the fridge for 1-2 hours, or as long as you can resist them. do not "pull a beeks" and put them into unlined muffin tins, or they will come out looking gross to say the least. Once they are set, they are ready to be devoured.

the inaugural run of nutter butters, inc.

2008-04-10T12:29:00.002-04:00

dear friends,

here is, get this, an ORIGINAL recipe that has come from my blossoming new passion for nut butters. i call this one mystery butter #1: what i did instead of kicking someone in the shins (a la waitress movie).

get a whole bunch (ie. maybe a cup) of raw peanuts, half a cup of raw shelled pistachios, and about 6 squares of dark chocolate (55% or higher, HOLLA), and raw honey (or whatever you got). preheat the oven to 300, roast the nuts until slightly browned and fragrant, about 6 minutes. then, in a food processor, combine all ingredients and honey to test, blend blend BLEND until smooth and delicious (this should take about 10 minutes or so).

put it in your favourite small jar, and if you're not going to eat it imminently, store it in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

happy buttering!

Lentils, Apples, Cumin, Salad

2008-04-09T23:53:00.004-04:00

After getting an extension on my Gulag paper, I was feeling invigorated, and thought that with a little more protein, I could go from good to great. Also good, lentils are a great lunch to bring to the library. So, I made this recipe off of chocolate&zuchinni.

All was going well, I even got creative and sauteed the tofu with the dressing which she doesn't recommend but really brings it all together. Then, disaster struck.

I went to taste the fruits (or legumes) of my labour, and it tasted like black licorice. Confused, I added more balsamic vinegar. Still nothing. Like Sherlock Holmes, I began to put the pieces together. I won't go through the clues and red herrings, but the verdict was that I had confused cumin seeds with fennel seeds. DISASTER.

The moral? During exams/paper season, be sure to read all of your labels carefully and not get cocky and think that you can tell your spices by sight. Cumin and fennel mix-ups are bad, but paprika and cinnamon would be way worse. STAY SAFE, and read the label.

Victorian Nonsense, Animal Cruelty: the Solution to End-of-Semester Bitterness?

2008-04-07T23:19:00.003-04:00

Edward Lear, famed 19th century master of nonsense was not only responsible for popularizing the limerick form and writing such poetic staples as "The Owl and the Pussycat" - he was also well-versed (har har) in the art of Nonsense Cookery.

Nothing like some Gosky Patties to quench the terrible hunger of paper-writing:

Take a Pig, three or four years of age, and tie him by the off-hind leg to a post. Place 5 pounds of currants, 3 of sugar, 2 pecks of peas, 18 roast chestnuts, a candle, six bushels of turnips, within his reach; if he eats these, constantly provide him with some more.
Then procure some cream, some slices of Cheshire cheese, four quires of foolscap paper, and a packet of black pins. Work the whole into a paste, and spread it out to dry on a sheet of clean brown waterproof linen.
When the paste is perfectly dry, but not before, proceed to beat the Pig violently, with the handle of a large broom. If he squeals, beat him again.
Visit the paste and beat the Pig alternately for some days, and ascertain if at the end of that period the whole is about to turn into Gosky Patties.
If it does not then, it never will; and in that case the Pig may be let loose, and the whole process may be considered as finished.

- Lear, Edward. A Book of Nonsense. Alfred A. Knopf, New York: 1992.

fit for the king's son

2008-04-07T20:25:00.000-04:00

the key to any gratin dauphinois is a golden crust--in 17th century France the golden crust of a gratin signified the "upper crust" of Parisian society.

in this recipe, the golden crust, made mostly of expensive cheese (rich and fatty), rests comfortably atop a hoi polloi of steamed vegetables (simple and cheap). clearly the structure of this recipe manifests the socio-economic structure of the feudal society from which it emerged.

Vegetable Gratin-Souffle

do this:

procure:
butter for the dish
3 cups vegetables, cut into 1-inch pieces (cauliflower, turnip, broccoli, zucchini or anything that tickles your absent center)
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
1/2 small onion or 2 large shallots, finely diced
1/2 cup grated Gruyere
2 eggs, separated
salt and pepper
pinch grated nutmeg

pre-heat oven to 375 and lightly butter an 8 by 10 inch gratin dish. steam or parboil the vegetables until barely tender when pierced with a knife. drain, rinse under cold water, then finely chop them.
lightly brown the bread crumbs in two tablespoons butter in a small saucepan, then stir in the milk. when it's hot to the touch, turn off the heat. meanwhile, cook the onion in the remaining butter in a small skillet over medium heat until translucent, about three minutes. Combine the onion, vegetables, and bread crumb mixture in a bowl, then stir in the cheese and egg yolks. season with salt and power to taste and the nutmeg. beat the whites until stiff, then fold them into the mixture. pour into the prepared dish and bake until puffed and browned, about 25 minutes.
serve immediately.
i served it with a citrus-avocado salad--the freshness of the salad complimented the rich gratin very nicely.

thank you deborah maidson.

HEALTH ALERT and a smoothie suggestion

2008-04-06T18:43:00.010-04:00

Hi everyone,

I was browsing the good old NYT when I came across this article about the (sometimes fatal) risks of blogging/being a blogger.

Some excerpts:

They work long hours, often to exhaustion... This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home.
Bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet.

“If I don’t hear from him, I’ll think: Matt’s passed out again,” said Brian Lam, the editor of Gizmodo. “It’s happened four or five times.”

Mr. Lam... is known to pull all-nighters at his own home office in San Francisco — hours spent trying to keep his site organized and competitive. He said he was well equipped for the torture; he used to be a Thai-style boxer.Should we disallow posting between midnight and eight am to promote a healthier work environment for ourselves? And, maybe we should join a gym or something?

A quick, refreshing and nutrient packed smoothie that could help you to keep on keeping on while blogging, or pursuing any other interests.

Locate and put into a blender:

1/2 a block of silky tofu
tip: it can come unflavoured, or you can choose mango or coconut or mixed berries or anything you could ever dream of
1 banana, in chunks
1/2 to 1 cup of frozen berries
tip: I prefer blueberries, but rasberries, mixed berries, any other kind of fruit work just fine, though I would probably stay away from pineapple
tip: frozen berries are good because it's like adding ice and fruit at once, which gives it a frothy texture. if you are lucky enough to have on hand fresh berries, throw them in the blender and add ice as well
enough orange juice to cover everything in the blender
tip: if you only have concentrate, you can plop some in and add water straight to the blender, it will all come together in the next step which is............

turn on the blender. keep it on until everything seems to have blended. try a little. adjust. feel free to blend to the rhythm of your favourite song. it may annoy other people in the vicinity, but they will be grateful because this recipe makes 2-3 tall glasses of smoothie, and you might be willing to share.

Easy Bake Tofu

2008-04-05T21:51:00.005-04:00

Addendum: Tofu Your Way Into Mahmoud's Heart
According to Japanese-Food-for-Health.com, "many people dislike tofu." Mahmoud is not one of these people. When in training season, Mahmoud likes to wake up to a hearty breakfast of tofu scramble, have some salacious sweet and sour tofu for lunch, skip dinner, and order a glass of tofu straight up with an olive for a night cap. This is his secret--the key to his vitality, sex appeal, and what the New York Times once called his "ever-so-appealing smell."

Many a lady has sought Mahmoud's love, and many have failed. Don't be that lady. Follow the recipe:

Easy baked tofu (courtesy of Moosewood's Simple Suppers)

1 cake firm tofu (I usually double, especially when cooking for 3 roommates)

Basic marinade:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger root
1 garlic clove (pressed)
sesame seeds
Note: with the ginger and garlic, particularly the ginger, more is always better.

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup to the basic marinade.

In the oven:
I started off making the recipe this way, and don't get me wrong, it's good. However, I find it a little easier and quicker on the stove top. Nevertheless, for the sake of options:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tofu into slices, cubes, triangles, or sticks. Lightly oil a baking dish large enough to hold the tofu in a single layer. Whisk together the marinade ingredients (or variation ingredients, if using) and rizzle over the tofu. Gently turn or toss to coat thoroughly. Bake uncovered, stirring once or twice, until the oil is sizzling and the tofu is firm and chewy, 30 to 40 minutes. Serve hot, at room temperature, or chilled.

On the stove top:
Open tofu package and rinse the tofu. According to my kitchen guru, Beeks, it is always best to try to drain the tofu of excess water. I usually do this, although sometimes skip it if in a rush. In any case, should you choose to "bake like Beeks," wrap the tofu block in a cloth and place it under a large book (I use the Bible) for about 5 minutes. Cut the tofu into small cubes. I like very small ones because then they get nice and crispy. Heat the vegetable oil and the sesame oil in a large skillet. Add the tofu and sauté, stirring often, for 4 or 5 minutes, until lightly golden. (If you like really crispy tofu you can leave it in way longer). Add the soy sauce and the sweet and sour sauce, lower the heat, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes longer. Add the sesame seeds in about 5 minutes before you're done cooking.

Great served with a vegetable side (like broccoli) and a grain/starch (favorites have included garlic mashed potatoes, coconut rice and saffron rice).

Love love,
Prof. Tata

Walnut Drops

2008-04-05T09:00:00.006-04:00

I know I'm stressed when I relinquish every facet of my life to an over ambitious baking schedule. Last night I was supposed to go to a party, but alas, the Chez Panisse Walnut Drop recipe called out to me--not unlike dangerous-bird women do to poor shipwrecked sailors off Cape Pelorium. The project did not, however, end in a gangorious death but rather an amazingly rich yet very light batch of cookies.

proceed as follows:

for 3 dozen cookies that are generally consumed in one night at 5302 st. urbain: 1 cup walnuts - 4 tablespoons very soft unsalted butter - 4 tablespoons very soft salted butter - 1/4 cup of sugar - 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract - 1 cup flour

Toast the Wanuts lightly in preheated 350 oven until they just begin to brown slightly, 5-7 minutes. Cool completely and grind in a food processor or blender. Be careful that they don't turn to butter. Cream the butters in a mixer until very light and fluffy. Beat in the sugar and vanilla, creaming again until very light. Mix in the nuts and flour just until thoroughly mixed.
According to the recipe a pastry bag should be used but you can just drop dough by teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Keep the cookies small. Flatten each drop slightly. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 300 degrees, remove from oven when a light brown.

Cool. Eat. Lay on left side.

very helpful for maintenance of the Imaginary when you feel you are slipping into pure void of the non-signified petit objet (a).
ereene

Lesson #1: broccoli

2008-04-04T22:59:00.007-04:00

So as not to mislead our readers, I would like to give the advice on avoiding broccoli incineration.

If you're going out to get trashed, do not steam broccoli just because it is the last perishable item left in your fridge prior to winter break. No one likes healthy party snacks! And if they do, it's called crudite, not cold soggy vegetables. That said, if you decide to ignore this advice, and start cooking up the broccoli anyway, don't leave the apartment just because the power goes out. In this province, everything is electric INCLUDING MOST STOVES, so unless you turn it off, the stove will go on again as soon as the dude at Hydro Quebec wakes up. But if you forget to turn off the stove, and you, say, go watch the Chronicles of Narnia in theatres, don't be surprised if you come back 7 hours later and your apartment has burned down. It probably won't, but you will think it has and this will give you a heart attack so you will die. Luckily this will save you having to endure 4 weeks of revolting all-permeating smell of incineration and from having to buy a new pot.

To your living roommate, I can only recommend those odor-absorbent sponge things that come in tupperware.

Just another helpful tip from the ladies of the spatula!

if only Popeye had known, he might still be with us.

2008-04-04T22:59:00.004-04:00

pasta with spinach and cheese.

made this last night with stuff that was going to go bad in the fridge. great experiment, and easy as can be. perfect for a quick meal. sneaky beeks will second its deliciousness. also, it is packed with spinach which is awesome for building guns, which is my ultimate goal now and forever.

word to the wise: you may not feel energized like Popeye does in that cartoons. d'uh. cartoons aren't real life. oh man, more like "word to the dinkus."

anyways, here are the basic instructions, but creativity points will be awarded for branching out. especially with candy.

-put your pasta on to boil (whole wheat tasted pretty alright in this recipe so, why not?)
-while it is cooking, brown some garlic in a bit of oil in a frying pan
-add a package of spinach and a stock of some sort (veggie or chicken depending on your preference) and cover until the spinach is wilted
-when your pasta is finished cooking, add a cup of stock and your spinach/garlic mixture
-add cheese. be creative. i used feta and parm, but cottage cheese, goat cheese, etc. i think would all be delicious
-stir over medium heat until the cheese just starts to melt
-enjoy.

nothing beats beets (or beeks)

2008-04-04T22:12:00.002-04:00

If you're rooting for root vegetables, this is the dish for you. ChocolateZuchinni as usual has a delish recipe that you can follow more precisely from the link. Basically, though, you grate an equal weight of beets and carrots, combine with an oil, a vinegar, some mustard and minced garlic, salt and peppa, throw in some toasted nuts (pine nuts, walnuts?) and add feta.

Disclaimers:

(1) if you have quantitative estimation skills like madeleine’s, deleg(r)ate (HAH!) determination of beet and carrot numbers
(2) much as we here at ‘c is for kitchen’ disapprove of the propagation of gender stereotypes, this is the recipe to get yourself a boyfriend for. or a burly lady. polyamory is ideal. your flabby biceps will thank you.
(3) there are inherent dangers related to the consumption of beets some of which will not be discussed on this blog. if you develop a health issue shortly after beet consumption, do not contact us, instead frantically call/email your mom or any of your friend’s parents with medical degrees. the other major danger: stainage. you could wear rubber gloves but then you would be lame AND you would not be able to utilize any of the following:

brilliant suggestions on how to use beet juice to break up beet grating monotony:
necessary equipment→ beets, and unsuspecting victims

(1) the vampire: crude, works best with small children. it is best if they aren’t yours (for many reasons, but in this case, nightmares = not actually funny.)

(2) as accurately as possible, replicate the following photo sequence (bonus points for leaving gratings that make it look like you have a deep wound) (call off the joke before they take you to the hospital, unless you’re canadian or are studying for your degree in joyless sterile interior design, in which case you just hit jackpot baby):

(3) self-tanning accident. actually, if you hang with the right people (read: lindsay lohan or active-living florida retirement community), no one will notice.

(4) possibly the best: stigmata. if all your friends are jewish and don’t know what you are talking about, make new friends. trust me, this is worth it.

thesis: lentils. antithesis: limes. synthesis: great soup. praxis: go make it right now

2008-04-04T20:51:00.012-04:00

fact: in 2005 Mexico produced the plurality of global output of lime (ringing in at 12%), followed closely by India, Argentina, Iran and Brazil.

fact: limey, a term often used to describe brits, especially sailors, derives from the daily rations said sailors would receive of lime, in their colonial sojourns, to prevent scurvy. you don't need to identify with mother england to appreciate a good nutrient.

fact: when you spend most of your days in the library, and your idea of a vegetable is the garlic in timmy's garlic cream cheese, it's time to worry about scurvy.

lentil lime soup to the rescue.

fact: to change your life for the better, short of graduation, you will need:

2 cups split red lentils, be sure to rinse and check for tricky little pebbles
1 tablespoon turmeric
4 tablespoons butter
Salt
1 large onion, finely diced, about 2 cups
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons mustard seeds
1 bunch chopped cilantro, about 1 cup
Juice of 3 limes, or to taste

Possible toppings/fillings:
1 large bunch spinach leaves, chopped into small pieces (iron is best digested when with citrus)
1 cup cooked rice
yogurt
crumbled feta
a (half) dozen corn tortillas (pitas) torn up and sauteed in olive oil

What is to be done?Put your lentils in a soup pot, along with 10 cups of water, the turmeric, 1 tablespoon of butter, and 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer (covered) until lentils are soft and falling apart. DM claims this takes 20 minutes. In my experience, this takes 40.

As the soup is cooking, for a disputable amount of time, get going on the onions. In a medium skillet over low heat, put in 2 tablespoons butter, the onion, cumin and mustard seeds. It will smell GREAT. When the lentils are soft, about 15-20 minutes, add cilantro to the onions and cook a minute or two more. Add mixture to the soup.

Wait until the soup seems ready to you. Then add the lime juice. If you aren't sure how much to put in, I usually start with two and end up with three. You've gone too far if on tasting the soup you spontaneously exclaim "blimey, that's limey," though, given the health benefits noted above, it's not too much of a problem.

Right before serving, put the last tablespoon of butter into a wide skillet (or the skillet you used for onions, saves dishes!), when it's foamy, put in the spinach and a dash of salt, and cook for just as long as it takes to wilt. Serve the soup, dish out spinach on top, and distribute other fillings/toppings as desired. My favourite combo is feta and corn tortillas.

TADA!

PS this recipe is from Deborah Madison.

Peeeee Kale soup

2008-04-04T17:59:00.004-04:00

Very Important Note on STOCK pre-recipe:

Stock is infuriatingly underrated slash overlooked. A good stock goes a long way. I made this soup twice; the first time with plain ol' h2O and the second time with stock that I had made and obvi the second soup was far superior. This is probably obvious but to make a good stock all you have to do is:
1) Save the parts of your vegetables that you don't eat in the freezer
2) When you've got a good pot-full, stick em' in some water and boil the shit out of them

A ton of the wonderful nutrients are extracted plus the flavor is amaze. Some vegetables that I find have particular stock potential are leek leaves, broccoli and asparagus stems, rutabaga and butternut squash skins.

La Recette

1) Fry up approx. 2 onions and 5 cloves of garlic in a pot-- until the onions are quite tanned.
2) Add a bunch of peas, maybe something like 2 cups.
3) Pour in water or stock after a couple of minutes... I usually add about 2 cups but my soup tends to be quite thick so I guess add more if you don't dig that shit.
4) Simmer for roughly 20 minutes.
5) Take a good bundle of kale leaves and lay them on top to steam.
6) Put through the blender or food processor.
7) Taste it to see if it needs salt and pepper. When I used the wickedly powerful stock, 'twas not necessary!

Love and peas,

Graves

Ginger snaps

2008-04-04T14:32:00.004-04:00

Voila. Erin made these at a party once last year and they were delicious, but I have tried since and failed. I think she made them into balls rather than cutting from a log.

Anything else, Rachel darling? The name change is not happening.

Update: the problem has been identified. Wrong recipe. Here is the one Erin made.

Sweet and speedy cornbread

2008-04-04T14:22:00.004-04:00

I have consistently managed to win "beat the preheat" on this one. Also from The New Moosewood.

Butter (for the pan)
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1 egg
3 tbs sugar or honey
3 tbs melted butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8” square pan (or a 9” or 10” cast-iron skillet) with butter or margarine.
Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients (including sugar or honey).
Stir wet ingredients into the dry, mixing enough to thoroughly combine.
Spread into the pan.
Bake for 20 minutes or until center is firm to the touch. Serve at any temperature you like! Especially tasty with chili, jam, or butter.

Moosewood Vegetarian Chili with Bulgur

2008-04-04T14:12:00.005-04:00

From Mollie Katzen’s The New Moosewood Cookbook (Berkely, California: Ten Speed Press, 2000)

This is great because it has beans and bulgur - protein and carbs! Your one-stop shop for energy, strong fingernails, and gas. Serve with cornbread.

Note: Pre-soak beans! 4-8 hours

2 ½ cups dry kidney beans, soaked
1 cup tomato juice1 cup uncooked bulgur wheat
Olive oil2 cups chopped onion6-8 large cloves garlic, minced1 carrot, diced1 celery stalk, diced2 tsp cumin2 tsp basil2 tsp chili powder1 ½ tsp saltBlack pepper and cayenne1 bell pepper, chopped1 14 ½ oz. can tomatoes3 tbsp tomato paste (half tin)

Toppings:
Parsely (minced)Grated cheddar

Place soaked beans in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Partially cover, and simmer until tender (75 min). Watch water level during cooking, adding more if necessary. Strain.
Heat tomato juice to boiling. Pour over bulger in a small bowl, cover, and let stand 15 min. Add to beans.
Heat olive oil in a medium-skillet. Add onion, garlic, carrot, celery, seasonings. Saute over medium heat for 5 min. Add bell pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender.
Add vegetables, tomatoes, and tomato paste to the beans. Simmer on lowest heat, stir occassionally, for 20-30 min. Taste and adjust seasoning.

pistachio carda(yo)mama cake.

2008-04-04T10:19:00.003-04:00

dear friends,

here is the pistachio cardamom cake adapted from moosewood (obviously. do i have any other cookbooks?)

but first, because you know how i feel about nutritional information and food factoids, i would like to share the following neat ones about pitachios:

- in a study conducted by Pennsylvania State University's Department of Nutrition and Sciences, pistachios were found to seriously reduce the levels of LDL ("bad cholestorol") in the blood. according to wikipedia, anyway.
- pistachios, in nature, have beige shells. however, many were commercially dyed red or green to hide stains on the shells when the nuts were still picked by hand. in our new modern world, most pistachios are harvested by machine, making the dyeing unnecessary. BUT roastsed pistachios can be turned red if they are marinated in salt and strawberry marinade prior to roastage.
- pistachio trees are hearty, and can survive in temperatures ranging from -10 C o 40C
- this one has to be a quote.... "pistachio nuts are highly flammable when stored in large quantities, and are prone to to self heating and spontaneous combustion". thank you, wikipedia. and now, we are ready.

set the oven to 350 and butter a 7 x 11 inch baking dish

you need:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperate
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup semolina
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted pistachios, plus 12 whole pistachios
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt

for the syrup:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

cream the butter and sugar. add the eggs one at a time, until creamy after every additio. then vanilla.

get another bowl, combine semolina, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt. grind the 1/2 cup pistachios in a food processor of some sort (magic bullet? or, coffee grinder/etc) until it becomes a course meal (we're not going for nut butters here, so careful not to overgrind. some chunks are welcome additions to this dense little number). add it to the dry ingredients. then in alternating batche, add the yogurt and dry ingredients to the creamy butter sugar deliciousness, beating well, until it is smooth.

put the batter in the pan, and bake for 30 minutes until a knife in the center comes out clean as a whistle.

while the cake is a bakin, combine water, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil, let boil rapidly for about 2 minutes, then set aside.

cut the cake so that it forms 12 triangular pieces, pour the syrup over the cake and press one whole pistachio into the center of each triangle.

voila!

cause i wouldn't be me if i didn't reference bd

2008-04-03T18:06:00.008-04:00

courtesy of theme time radio hour, the "drinking" episode:

bob dylan's mint julep recipe:

4 sprigs of mint

2 ½ ounces of bourbon (“i prefer 3” - bob dylan)

1 tbs powdered sugar

1 tbs water

put the mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a collins glass (now ladies and gents, actually who are we kidding... ladies, bob is very specific about the collins glass. as a fellow member of the 'i get all my glassware from dollarama' club, i am posting a picture to facilitate acquisitions)

fill with shaved or crushed ice.

top with bourbon and more ice.

garnish with a mint sprig.

and to finish 'er off, another dylan gem:

“two or three of those and anything sounds good!”

the perfect salad. this is not a joke.

2008-04-03T15:40:00.002-04:00

dear friends and lovers,

here is something that i'm positive you would all enjoy (and we should all enjoy together in the park, shortly enough). who wouldnt love something that incorporates leafy greens, lentils, AND goat cheese? no one that any of us would want to be friends with anyway.

you need:
2 tsp oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp grated ginger
3 cups vegetable stock
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 1/2 cups red lentils
lots of goat cheese
lots of baby spinach (or any other dark, leafy green)
cracked black pepper
lime wedges

for maximal deliciousness, you should
- heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat
- add the seeds, garlic, and ginger... cook em up for 2 minutes or so
- add the lentils, mix in, and stir for 1 minute
- then add the veggie stock 1 cup at a time, adding more when it has all been absorbed (you know, risotto stylez)... get out the crossword, this could take about 20 minutes.
- remove from heat and stir in the fresh herbs.
- to serve, put greens on plates and top with lentils, then top the lentils with goat cheese. pepper it up, serve with lime wedges.

this is neat and delicious, that is a promise.

'sup supa inca

2008-04-03T12:39:00.007-04:00

Supa Inca, notated by Madhur Jaffrey and improvised upon by the Coop (circa 2005-6) was likely first consumed in Machu Picchu, pictured to the left.

While the glorious history of this dish has yet to be fully documented, and is not yet forthcoming (dr curtain, you are welcome to take this on), it is, nonetheless, illustrious.

The bountiful harvests of the Andean highlands coalesce around the mightiest of grains, quinoa. Each bite is a tribute to the Inca empire, with a shoutout to whoever came up with feta.

While this dish is best enjoyed on a break during a moto trip across South America, or after an invigorating match of football, or at least after a trip to the museum of ancient civilizations, there's no shame in indulging right here and now, wherever you find yourself.

Proceed as follows.

3 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into dices
2 medium tomatillos, washed and finely chopped (if you aren't in South America or close to a Latin American grocer, you can substitute tomatoes)
1 cup corn kernels
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh hot chile (red or green) (optional,
but not really)
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
1 cup quinoa, washed and drained
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 block crumbled feta

Put the oil in a heavy, medium pan and set over medium-high heat. Put
in the potato an stir and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the potato
pieces have browned lightly on all sides. Add the tomatillos and stir
and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they soften. Add the corn,
chile, and cilantro. Stir for another minute. Add the quinoa and stir
for a minute. Now add 2 cups of water and the salt. Stir and bring to
a boil. Cover tightly, turn the heat down to very low, and cook gently
for 20 minutes. Set the pan aside in a warm place, covered and
undisturbed, for another 15 minutes. Fluff the grains, Then add feta.

PS. This can be addictive.
PPS. Doubling is kinda a must.

banana is sooo 1995

2008-04-02T23:43:00.003-04:00

pumpkin bread!

350 is yo' temp

whisk/stir vigorously/razzle-dazzle:

1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp salt (not coarse)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp baking powder

alas, another bowl (obvs find yourself a dishes bitch, harder with baking than cooking, instructions forthcoming: curtain, dr. "finding yourself a kitchen bitch." c is for kitchen. August 2008)

mix and set aside:

1/3 cup milk or water
1/2 tsp vanilla

in yet another bowl (large, and yes, this time size is important), beat/agitate/whollop until creamy:

6 tbs unsalted butter (whatever, you're going to need that bypass anyway)

add 1 1/3 sugar (combinations of white or brown)
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
the above dry mixture gradually
the milk mixture gradually
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup raisins or chopped dates

lovingly ladle into larded (greased) loaf pan
1 hour later all your roommates will suddenly appear

don't you wish your salad dressing was hot like me?

2008-04-02T20:29:00.000-04:00

MoneyTeph's delicious dressing:

1 part vinegar
1 part oil
splish splash of soya sauce (not too much)
1 clove garlic
1 plop of honey mustard
salt and pepper to taste

shake, don't stir and serve.

booya.

KRAFT DINNER, pro-styles

2008-04-02T19:51:00.000-04:00

in deference to lady s' reply to prof tata's link, i will include the kd recipe so that you guys don't need to go looking to the box. however, to make the KD extra good, you will most likely need the box, and contents.

step 1: purchase KD. at bonanza can be attained for the low low price of 99 cents.

step 2: fill pot with water. turn on heat. bring to a boil. at that point, add salt (doing so before it reaches a boil will slow the process down, kinda contradicts the whole point of kd).
step 3: open box. remove cheese package (for the uninitated, it looks like an envelope, and feels squishy). after removing cheese package and setting aside, dump contents (macaroni) into pot. stir occasionally, tasting regularly, and remove when it reaches al dente. or after, if you are lame.
step 4: drain pasta

step 5: put pasta back into original pot, on the element, but at a low temperature. taking advantage of the heat, melt butter (a tablespoon? tsp? take control! this is your life!) into the pasta, open the metallic envelope and spill the powder into the buttered pasta. lastly, slowly, pour in a little milk. little by little. you don't want to put in too much, or else you may have to live with regrets for a long long time. luckily, because this last step is occuring on a heated element, excess milk will be evaporate more rapidly than if you had it on an unheated element.

step 6: serve immediately. garnish with salt and/or pepper. possibly ketchup, but i've never been into that sugary addition to what is essentially a savoury dish.

step 7: put away leftovers. you may find a handy snack in your fridge the next morning! (although, leftovers are unusual, so i wouldn't count on it)

for the doubters

2008-04-02T19:45:00.000-04:00

the NYT doesn't lie, get ready for fame.

Why Blog?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/fashion/30web.html?ex=1207540800&en=c3b1bba9bf3c1419&ei=5070&emc=eta1

FOOD IS FUN, administration is not

2008-04-02T18:28:00.000-04:00

Beeks, Money Teph, and MCO just made kraft dinner.

Delicious.

Instructions can be found on the box.

love
lady spatulax3

coconut red-lentil curry

2008-04-02T18:27:00.000-04:00

Ok wow, this is hilarious. Ok, here's one of my favorites (thank you esther). In the unforgettable words of the upcoming MC Beareeen, "check, ch, check, check, ch, check, check, ch, check it out": http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/236684

My other posts will surely be more hilarious and witty, but I am intellectually drained after listening to 3 hours of idiot presentations, one of which began with a sound clip of applause FOR HER OWN PRESENTATION.

-Prof. Tata,
Ph.D Candidate In Going Out To Dinner Too Often

Admin stuff...

2008-04-02T16:47:00.000-04:00

Instead of signing in through the same email address, I suggest we all become separate authors of the blog and have sent emails inviting everyone. Although I think you have to use a gmail account so if you don't have one, and don't want one (that advertising stuff is admittedly creepy) you can still use the cisforkitchen@gmail.com. Also useful if you want to leave a nasty anonymous remark about someone else's cooking.

Finally, we can limit views to only authors, only people we invite, or everyone on the planet (potentially). Preferences?

Spelt honey cookies

2008-04-02T12:23:00.000-04:00

This is a sweet idea! It'll be such a great way to keep in touch next year. It's like a high-tech and less magical but infinitely more enjoyable and useful version of those jeans in Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. Because really- who needs pants?

Here is the recipe for those spelt honey cookies I brought to the lebanese feast at St. Joseph a few weeks ago, prompting both Helen and Elise to break their sugar-fasts.

hump day surprise--chickpeas and greens with moroccan spices

2008-04-02T12:18:00.001-04:00

dear ladies of the spatula (and friends/creepy internet stalkers),

this is the inaugural post of our interweb sisterhood. madeleine discovered this little gem (in a deborah madison cookbook), and cooked a delicious feast for beeks on a humble wednesdsay evening. hump days are good days if you have the following ingredients:

CHICKPEAS AND GREENS WITH MOROCCAN SPICES
1 large bunch chard, stems removed
3 cups cooked chickpeas or 30oz canned, rinsed
6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Salt
2 tsps sweet paprika
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp turmeric
3 tbsps olive oil
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsps chopped parsley
1 white onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, diced into ½ inch squares
¼ tsp dried thyme
1 small dried red chile
1 preserved lemon, skin only (we replaced with zest and juice of one lemon, but lemon with caution!)

Boil or steam green until wilted, then chop coarsely and set aside. Cover chickpeas with cold water and gently rub them between your hands to loosen the skins. Tip the bowl so that the skins flow off. Drain.

Pound the garlic in a mortar with a ½ tsp salt until smooth or mince it with a knife. Add the dried spices, 1 tsp oil to moisten the mixture, and 2 tbsps of the cilantro and parsley. Pound until a rough paste is formed.
[WARNING: we discovered that it would have been wise to pound the peppercorns first. unless of course, playing hide and seek peppercorns on your plate is your idea of a good time in which case, ignore this disclaimer.]

Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, pepper, thyme, and dried chile. Cook for 7 minutes, then stir in the garlic paste, chickpeas, and ½ cup water or bean broth. When the onion is soft, add the tomatoes, greens, ½ tsp salt, and another ½ cup water. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining cilantro and lemon and serve.

Serve with couscous or bulgur!!

with love,
mco & beeks.