The farmer's market here is open year round, but it gets a little spotty this time of year, apparently. There's one guy who's there, rain or shine, first to arrive, last to leave. During the fall he had the pluots. Now he's got some nuts and dried nectarines as well as a whole lot of citrus. All of it is local, organic, and the most expensive is about a dollar a pound. The blood oranges have been a regular purchase and I've been eating them as dessert, since the tart and sweet is a really nice finish to a good meal. I also have been getting a variety called Cara Cara (named apparently for the area it originated from, in Venezuala), which have a reddish tinged flesh and are extremely sweet and less tart then standard navels.
I also picked up some Tuscan kale, which is long and skinny kale without a lot of curl to it. It was recommended in the latest issue of Bon Appetit, but I didn't figure that I'd be able to actually find it. The recipe they used to highlight suggested basically roasting it, much the way I approach aspargus, saying it would turn sweet and nutty. I may still try it, but this is what I did.
In a non stick everything pan, I put some thick sliced bacon, got it somewhere close to crispy, but more importantly, the pan full of bacon grease and bits. I then put a few leaves of the kale in there, treating them basically like bacon. Finally, I turned the heat down a bit, and fried two eggs (also from the farmer's market, the color and flavor of the yolk is out of this world). Then I made it all into a sandwich. Wow. The kale really is amazing, if you can find it, get it. Then an orange and some tea to finish it all off. Mmm.
I still have raddicio (two varieties), which I think is going to go into a risotto with the dried nectarines and some smoked gouda (no smoked mozarella at the store, sadly).
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Making my own
One of the wonderful things I got for christmas this year was a food processor. A full on, 14 cup capacity cuisinart. I used my moms for the period we overlapped at the Storrs house, and it is an incredibly versatile piece of equipment. What this has prompted me to do is to start making things that I would ordinarily buy.
First up was hummus. I've been eating a lot of celery with peanut butter because organic celery was on sale for a dollar a bunch or something ridiculous and peanut butter is delicious. So I figured I'd mix it up with some hummus. I tried a variant Alton Brown suggested, using peanut butter and sesame oil as a substitute for tahini, since the only tahini I could find locally seemed very overpriced. Not the same, but definitely edible.
I also made salsa, which is not a new thing for me, but something I've been craving to supplement breakfast burritos.
I keep meaning to make bread, since I have all the necessary tools and ingredients, but keep putting it off because I had other things to eat and take for lunch. Tomorrow is another possibility.
A post at the Homesick Texan has me considering making my own chorizo, as while it's very easy to come by here, making it from scratch gives me a lot more control over the ingredients and thus quality.
First up was hummus. I've been eating a lot of celery with peanut butter because organic celery was on sale for a dollar a bunch or something ridiculous and peanut butter is delicious. So I figured I'd mix it up with some hummus. I tried a variant Alton Brown suggested, using peanut butter and sesame oil as a substitute for tahini, since the only tahini I could find locally seemed very overpriced. Not the same, but definitely edible.
I also made salsa, which is not a new thing for me, but something I've been craving to supplement breakfast burritos.
I keep meaning to make bread, since I have all the necessary tools and ingredients, but keep putting it off because I had other things to eat and take for lunch. Tomorrow is another possibility.
A post at the Homesick Texan has me considering making my own chorizo, as while it's very easy to come by here, making it from scratch gives me a lot more control over the ingredients and thus quality.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
kolaches
Kolaches are a Czech pastry. They are soft, buttery little thumbprints filled with jam or cheese, or apparently, sausage. I tried recipe from a site called homesick Texan. The dough ended up being not quite as sweet as the ones I'm used to, and I messed up the amount of butter and the brushing with melted butter. I'm not sure if the ones I'm used to are a variant, but for sweet fillings I'd probably double the sugar. For savory fillings it was probably just right and would make for some awesome pigs in a blanket.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Fettucine with radicchio and lemon
I mentioned that I picked up a couple of radicchio at the farmer's market on saturday. I poked around for a few recipes and came up with one that looked good from Mario Batali. The gist of it is wilt the radicchio with some shallots, add cream, reduce, add fresh pasta, add lemon zest and juice, add asiago, enjoy.
It's brilliant. The bitterness of the radicchio with the tangy lemon against the saltiness and creaminess is just amazing. It'll end up being about three or four meals worth for me, so it's a good thing. I substituted two little meyer lemons for one of the lemons, and it's noticeable. I don't think I'd do more than that, and you probably can't get meyer lemons for twenty cents each where you are.
I struggled with the pasta. It's really difficult to make it in quantity. I got in a little fight with my pasta roller, had to step back, take some deep breaths, toss out some dough, and keep going. I need some better strategies for doing it in steps. The stand mixer worked fantastic for making a big batch of the dough, but I found I needed more liquid than the recipe called for, despite measuring the eggs as liquid, not numerically. It's still better than anything I can buy at the store, but I think I may get some dried pasta for when I'm feeling lazy, because it's a pain to clean up. For this dish, though, I wouldn't use anything other than fresh.
It's brilliant. The bitterness of the radicchio with the tangy lemon against the saltiness and creaminess is just amazing. It'll end up being about three or four meals worth for me, so it's a good thing. I substituted two little meyer lemons for one of the lemons, and it's noticeable. I don't think I'd do more than that, and you probably can't get meyer lemons for twenty cents each where you are.
I struggled with the pasta. It's really difficult to make it in quantity. I got in a little fight with my pasta roller, had to step back, take some deep breaths, toss out some dough, and keep going. I need some better strategies for doing it in steps. The stand mixer worked fantastic for making a big batch of the dough, but I found I needed more liquid than the recipe called for, despite measuring the eggs as liquid, not numerically. It's still better than anything I can buy at the store, but I think I may get some dried pasta for when I'm feeling lazy, because it's a pain to clean up. For this dish, though, I wouldn't use anything other than fresh.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Onigiri and rice
I've mentioned here and there that I've been making onigiri. Now, I haven't had authentic onigiri, which is something I'll remedy once I'm a bit more settled. Apparently there's some good places in the Bay area to get Japanese cooking supplies, and some of those places also have foodstuffs. My other option is to make onigiri for the group that went to Japan last summer, and use their experience to guide my own. Or both, since the latter is likely to happen regardless. Onigiri for all!
I've been following the tips and instructions over at Just Hungry, which is a really useful blog for people attempting to cook Japanese food outside of Japan. It's a good read, too, so check it out. Rice is very important. I've got ready access to a variety of rices, and I've come to really like the Japanese short grain rice, which is actually a medium grain. It takes a bit of extra prep work. You need to rinse it thoroughly, rub the grains of rice together, keep rinsing, and then let it dry for 20-30 minutes. You cook it like any other rice, start high, go low, tight fitting lid, but with a bit less water than a long grain rice might use. Package instructions are your friend. After the water is gone, let it rest with a damp towel over it for 10-15 min, and it's just a different class of rice. It coheres and is sticky, but each grain is distinct. It's firm but still soft, and has a great flavor. I've been eating it just as rice, or even in place of long grain.
Onigiri are basically balls of rice with filling. They usually end up in a triangular shape for ease of eating and carrying, but that shaping takes practice and my attempts at it have thus far ended up with fillings poking out. I'll keep trying it though. The simple way to make them is a combination of plastic wrap and a teacup (I use a ceramic dish lifted from a chem lab in some distant past that's been in our family for ages, they're the perfect size). The description on justhungry is better than anything I'd be able to do here. I still find these to be a bit big and the ratio of rice to filling isn't quite right. They're still completely edible, but either I need a smaller cup or I'm not doing it quite right. I'll keep messing with it. My other problem is that they seem to dry out pretty quickly, possibly because I live in a very low humidity environment. Dried out rice is not good eats. I have some ideas to solve this, mostly they revolve around eating them faster, but that doesn't help me with packed lunches.
Fillings are the easiest and probably the funnest part. I did a simple tuna with soy sauce filling the first time, and it was okay. Next time I'd use more soy sauce and some ginger and possibly chili sauce too. I sauted some onions and mushrooms with a bit of soy sauce and black pepper, this worked out brilliantly and was delicious. I mentioned I want to try some braised radiccio, since I think the bitterness will contrast nicely with the rice.
I've been following the tips and instructions over at Just Hungry, which is a really useful blog for people attempting to cook Japanese food outside of Japan. It's a good read, too, so check it out. Rice is very important. I've got ready access to a variety of rices, and I've come to really like the Japanese short grain rice, which is actually a medium grain. It takes a bit of extra prep work. You need to rinse it thoroughly, rub the grains of rice together, keep rinsing, and then let it dry for 20-30 minutes. You cook it like any other rice, start high, go low, tight fitting lid, but with a bit less water than a long grain rice might use. Package instructions are your friend. After the water is gone, let it rest with a damp towel over it for 10-15 min, and it's just a different class of rice. It coheres and is sticky, but each grain is distinct. It's firm but still soft, and has a great flavor. I've been eating it just as rice, or even in place of long grain.
Onigiri are basically balls of rice with filling. They usually end up in a triangular shape for ease of eating and carrying, but that shaping takes practice and my attempts at it have thus far ended up with fillings poking out. I'll keep trying it though. The simple way to make them is a combination of plastic wrap and a teacup (I use a ceramic dish lifted from a chem lab in some distant past that's been in our family for ages, they're the perfect size). The description on justhungry is better than anything I'd be able to do here. I still find these to be a bit big and the ratio of rice to filling isn't quite right. They're still completely edible, but either I need a smaller cup or I'm not doing it quite right. I'll keep messing with it. My other problem is that they seem to dry out pretty quickly, possibly because I live in a very low humidity environment. Dried out rice is not good eats. I have some ideas to solve this, mostly they revolve around eating them faster, but that doesn't help me with packed lunches.
Fillings are the easiest and probably the funnest part. I did a simple tuna with soy sauce filling the first time, and it was okay. Next time I'd use more soy sauce and some ginger and possibly chili sauce too. I sauted some onions and mushrooms with a bit of soy sauce and black pepper, this worked out brilliantly and was delicious. I mentioned I want to try some braised radiccio, since I think the bitterness will contrast nicely with the rice.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
oatmeal cookies
This is in part a test to see if this auto-updates on facebook, and partly a reminder to myself to find an oatmeal cookie recipe. Initial research suggests pretty minor variations in ingredient amounts. I can't recall whether I made the Joy of Cooking or the Quaker oats box top last time. They were crunchier than I would have liked. How does one make chewier cookies?
pinto beans
Dry pinto beans were on sale last week, and I figured they were a cheap and useful staple. I had no idea really how to cook them, so I pretty much winged it. I soaked them overnight, drained, and then boiled them until they were soft but not falling apart. I drained them again, and then sautéd some onions and garlic in butter, added the beans and a carton of chicken stock. I let it reduce a bit, then added a bunch of spices, by which I mean I spilled a little too much ancho chile powder into it. I also added cumin, oregeno, black pepper, and a bit of chipotle. Salt I waited on, since I heard somewhere it makes beans tough. They were still a little soupy when I got too hungry to wait anymore, but I put it over some white rice and they were delicious anyhow. I then left it on low and completely spaced out for a couple hours, at which point it had reduced almost entirely. I put in the fridge, and today they have the texture of refried beans and amazing flavor.
On an unrelated note, I hit the farmer's market again this morning. I got some pluots, which are amazing and wonderful. I much prefer them to plums, and am excited to try more varieties in spring and summer. I got some oranges, which look really sketchy on the outside, but are really juicy and tasty. I got some meyer lemons, which I don't know what to do with yet. I got some radiccio, some of which I will grill, some of which I will braise in ginger and put into onigiri. There was a vineyard there which doesn't seem to make wine so much as edible grapes. Do you still call it a vineyard? Anyhow, I tried some Thompsons, which are small, golden, and oh so sweet. I also got some flame raisins, which have a deeper flavor than standard raisins and are going to turn into some oatmeal raisin cookies tomorrow. They make all the varieties into raisins, and the flavor difference between them is amazing. I'll bring some back east with me at Thanksgiving.
On an unrelated note, I hit the farmer's market again this morning. I got some pluots, which are amazing and wonderful. I much prefer them to plums, and am excited to try more varieties in spring and summer. I got some oranges, which look really sketchy on the outside, but are really juicy and tasty. I got some meyer lemons, which I don't know what to do with yet. I got some radiccio, some of which I will grill, some of which I will braise in ginger and put into onigiri. There was a vineyard there which doesn't seem to make wine so much as edible grapes. Do you still call it a vineyard? Anyhow, I tried some Thompsons, which are small, golden, and oh so sweet. I also got some flame raisins, which have a deeper flavor than standard raisins and are going to turn into some oatmeal raisin cookies tomorrow. They make all the varieties into raisins, and the flavor difference between them is amazing. I'll bring some back east with me at Thanksgiving.
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