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Posts Tagged ‘Food’

Triple Dare You

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , on May 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »

What does the city of Charlottesville, VA and Sir John Montagu, First Lord of the Admiralty, Great Britain have in common? They are both celebrating a momentous anniversary, 250 years! http://celebrate250.com/Would it help if I gave you a hint? The Earl is from the town of Kent in Sandwich…and he was a bit of louche, playing cards until all hours of the night. Legend has it that just when the Brit’s table manners were becoming more refined, The Earl asked to be served a piece of meat between two slices of bread. According to food critic Sam Bompus, “What you have with the sandwich is the shock of informality. He was a daring man to eat in such a way coming from his social background.” Little did he know that in his haste, he was ushering in our fast food generation.

Cut to today, and of course the blow out Diamond Jubilee celebrations for HRH Queen Elizabeth II, I had to ask myself, what is her favorite sandwich? An ex-Royal Chef enlightened me this morning on BBC. It seems Her Majesty was ahead of her time, only requesting local foods that were in season; in fact, Chef McGrady said that if he were to serve strawberries in January she’d probably have his head! Well I’m not sure I could belly up to one of these, but here is the Celebration Sandwich – venison, pate of guinea fowl with sour cream and flora (lettuce?), Stilton cheese, gin and Dubonnet (Her Majesty’s favorite cocktail, not quite sure how it is incorporated into the sandwich – http://cocktails.about.com/od/atozcocktailrecipes/r/dbunt_cktl.htm), beet root and apple juice from Sandringham. YUM! God save our Cupcake Queen.

From a daring Earl, to a beloved Queen, and back to our little Dominion; I was catching up on my beach reading the other day, sans beach, and imagine my surprise. There in the midst of May’s O magazine, in an article titled “How to Change Your Life at Any Age,” was my new friend’s daughter-in-law’s name, Kath Younger. I’d mentioned Kath Eats Real Food (KERF) before as a favorite local blogger,http://www.katheats.com/ but little did I know how truly famous she is! The feature was about two young girls, teens from Oregon, who ran out of peanut butter one day and decided to make their own, thereby launching Wild Squirrel Nut Butter. Jiffy this is not, it comes in tantalizing flavors like curious cocoa-nut and pretzel pizazz. Well, they credit sending a sample to Kath for sparking their business breakthrough. Her review – “SO blew my socks off!” And this is how business models and marketing are changing.

I’d call it daring to think you can improve on a lunchtime sandwich staple. I’d call it even more daring to believe you could make a living blogging about food. And I’d call an 18 year old future Queen of England, who insisted on becoming a truck driver and auto mechanic during World War II in part because she feared “…carrying about an inferiority complex for life,” very daring indeed! Happy Diamond Jubilee Your Majesty!

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When Less is More

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , on September 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

What an amazing Tuesday morning. Half-asleep, I opened the kitchen door after serving doggie breakfast and immediately regretted it. There were two small polka-dotted fawns strolling by the tree line. I watched Miss Bean saunter belly-full out on the deck and stand perfectly still. What was she thinking? Now any normal dog would have either crouched down, trying the slow and steady approach, or started full throttle running off the deck. Not my Bean, not even a bark. She just stood there in rapt attention, finally settling into her usual “head between the rails” default position after they disappeared.

Bean on Guard Duty

To continue with a “less is more” theme for this tasty Tuesday, I thought I’d share a delicious Portuguese fish recipe that makes me think of my friend, Maria. Swordfish was on sale and I love cooking it this way. Five ingredients and one pan easy! First saute one garlic clove and half of an onion in EVOO. Then add one can of organic fire-roasted tomatoes and any other tomatoes and peppers from the garden. I cut the 1.3 lb swordfish steak into five generous chunks and placed them lovingly on top of this sauce along with a beautiful long, green Japanese eggplant cut into chunks that I found at the City market. Simmer for about 15 minutes and Voila! I served this over sourdough bread.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures but luckily I did for the next night’s dinner. My trinity rule of thumb is that you can eat leftovers for three days. The only exception is fish – two days max. So since I am still cooking for four, it’s important to creatively improvise with leftovers. Here is what I did with Portuguese Swordfish, take 2 – make a delicious fish stew by adding:

  • 1 small box of organic veggie broth + some water
  • chopped purple beans from the City Market
  • chopped okra fresh from the garden
  • more chopped peppers (include one jalapeno)
  • fresh herbs like rosemary and basil

If I had a sweet potato I would have added that too. Purple beans turn green when you cook them; and a 2 year old shelter dog named Miss Bean knows when and where to expend her energy. Either that or my prey-driven pup has developed compassion. Do we know when less is more?

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The Queen of Stir-Fry

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , on September 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

First of all, happy birthday to Freddie Mercury today. Queen’s indomitable frontman would have turned 65 today, and thank you Google for reminding us all. But let’s talk about another queen. Over this past holiday weekend, my lovely daughter the Bride celebrated her very first wedding anniversary by working a night shift in a very busy ER. She responds to many names: Doctor; Darlin; Magoo; and of course when I would recite her full name in response to teenage angst. And somewhere along the way to adulthood, she became the Queen of Stir-Fry.

I remember the first time I cooked a meal for my parents. It was Welsh Rarebit – a can of tomato soup with melted cheese and toast points. They were returning home from a big banquet and gallantly forced themselves  to eat. We laughed later about this innocent offering, a play on grilled cheese and tomato soup. And I remember the first meal the Bride made for us, the wok was chockful of fresh veggies and tofu. And whenever she’d return home for school vacations, this was a go-to, quick fix meal with anything left in the refrigerator, and she became the expert. A pinch of herbs, a dollop of fish sauce, and a star was born.

I recently bought a smaller wok, the better to stir-fry for two. So when Bob said he’s got okra ready to harvest in the garden, I pulled that baby out and started chopping. Stir-fry is so simple and so good. It makes any vegetable taste better. Here are the rules: use canola oil (olive and peanut oils tend to smoke and take away from the taste); start with garlic and add the tomatoes and pea pods last so they are crunchy; season with fresh herbs and soy, peanut  or fish sauce. If you look closely, you’ll see the tiny rounds of okra!

I still miss my daughter in the kitchen.

A year ago the weather suddenly changed, the drenching humidity blew away and the sun was shining on the new couple. We celebrated their marriage under a tent in an apple orchard. This is what it says on my Mother’s 1954 New Settlement cookbook – “The Way to a Man’s Heart.”

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Food Glorious Food

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , on August 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Have you ever heard a new word and said, “Of course!”  Maybe it’s not in the Oxford English dictionary yet, but you’ve had this “feeling” for ages and finally someone has put a name to it, maybe even an ICD9 code (medical billing jargon for diagnosis).  This morning on the Today show, while I was sipping my coffee, the proverbial light went off when I heard the word “Orthorexia.” It is defined as an obsession with “healthy or righteous eating”. I’m about to rant, so be prepared.

It all started when I was in college. I sat across from a couple who looked extremely hippyish, (granted it was a time for hippy) noticed they weren’t eating lunch and offered them some of my sandwich.  Oh the humiliation. You see they were some sort of vegetarian I’d never heard of, no leather shoes and they didn’t even eat honey cause of the way the bees were treated…let’s advance to the dawn of the 21st Century, my kids’ college years. Students had lots of excuses – allergy, gluten intolerance, all equaling extreme food elimination.  Skip ahead to the Bride’s medical school where I hosted a dinner and one girl was a vegan. So I learned how to make a vegan pesto with fake cheese.  Another night I heard one of her friends say, “That’s a bad food.” This girl is now an Ob-Gyn. I had to correct her and tell her there are no bad foods. How can a food be bad, did it misbehave? I tried talking about balance, but I’m not sure she was following.

And now I am distraught. Paula Deen and Anthony Bourdain are duking it out over our very food souls. It’s the butter Southern Queen vs the arrogant French Chef. Much as I love Paula, and the French in general, I had to laugh. Maybe it’s my Libran nature, but I think the Greeks had a word for it. Sophrosyne was its goddess and she stood for: moderation; discretion; temperance; and prudence. In other words, everything in moderation. The French hosts of the Bride and the MOH’s Junior year in Paris had hit on something when they told them we Americans are so fat because we “…bring doggy bags home from restaurants.” I scoffed at first. But hello, it’s all about proportion isn’t it, and portion-control. Not about bad ice cream.

Poor Bill, we now have an ex-President, post-MI, shunning his big macs and praising the vegan life-style. We have the “slow food” movement and the “eat local” set. In Cville we have Retail Relay, an online grocery service that lets you “meet” the farmers who produce your food. We have moms insisting that peanut-anything can’t be served at school lunches (along with sugary anything and vending machines full of soda). Even fish have their “toxic” and “over-fishing” labels. It’s enough to make any home cook think maybe they’re poisoning their family.

the new food pyramid

A psychologist and founder of the National Centre for Eating Disorders in Britain said, “The attachment to strange eating systems and theories is now supported by a thriving industry and gives people a sense of status.”Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for healthy, fresh food. My Mom always told me that the way to a man’s heart…well you get it. Food equals love. Now pass me that croissant!

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Blogolicious Part Deux

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , on August 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Welcome home to my Daughter, the Bride. She’s sleeping in her baby bed now (a New England full-size 4 poster), the one her Grandma tied a red ribbon around. We have a tight agenda, friends to see and a city market to explore tomorrow. Also heard it’s a tax-free weekend so some retail therapy may be in order. It’s the first time in three years of residency she’s had the ability to take a 3 day weekend for anything other than a wedding. But before we start the day, here are some of my random all-time favorite blogs – out of state (except for 1 or 2), family and friends as promised.

Famous and Not so Famous:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/  Ree Drummond was voted one of the top webcelebs on a Forbes survey last year, yet it’s hard to categorize her very professional blog. A Cali girl who married her cowboy (the Marlboro Man) and settled on a cattle ranch to raise her brood of beautiful children. Part food blog, part photo journalism/memoir, part homeschooling, she hits the right note of family in a virtual tone.

http://www.annleary.com/2011/08/mercury-wtf/ This is another professionally done blog by Ann Leary called “Wicked Good Life.” She wrote the novel “Outtakes from a Marriage,” and manages her farm complete with magnificent horses along with her celebrity husband, Dennis. Her byline is a kitchen sink of tags like: Art; City; Fear; Humor; and Writing. But if you’d like to see what the good life looks like, this is it!

The following are two foodie blogs I love. The first, “Relish This,” is from a writer cousin so not only are the recipes good, but they are delightfully fun to read. The second, “Food Porn,” is from my niece’s friend in MN. Full of seductively large, luscious photographs mixed with classic mid-western wholesomeness, this is a blog you’ll be drooling for.

  1. http://relish-this.blogspot.com/2011/07/nowsome-good-news-from-greece.html
  2. http://foodpornfor2.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/pork-and-lemongrass-meatball-salad/

http://doctorlynnsblog.wordpress.com/ And speaking of relatives, this is my brother the psychologist’s blog! Also from MN, it’s brandy new and I’m very excited about it. Its purpose is to help people find joy and meaning in life, so it is sprinkled with his compelling teachings and just plain good advice for strengthening our “psychological fitness.” He specializes in resilience. Think of Dr Phil, only much cuter. Speaking of which, spotted this artwork on a wall in our shopping center…..

Only in Cville

http://impactrichmond2007.blogspot.com/ Here is another relative I’m proud of, my cousin Anita in Richmond. She got the idea to start posting volunteer opportunities in her area for non-profits. Anyone can sign up and put their hearts and hands to good work! Bravo Ms Anita, and thanks for being my own personal Southern Welcome Wagon these last few years!

And now for two artsy Wedding Related blogs. First up is our beautiful pastry chef, Anita Gupta, who made the most yummy Guiness lager chocolate cupcakes with Bailey’s Irish Cream frosting, “Celtic Cupcakes” in honor of the Bride and Groom’s dogs. And second is the artistic and divine photography of Jack Looney. He just shot the Decemberists in concert and some killer takes of the brand new Martha Jeff Hospital that is about to open. Enjoy!

  1. http://www.eyecandycville.blogspot.com/
  2. http://jacklooney.com/blog/?p=3340

And how could I forget my son’s band?

http://www.theparlormob.com/ Album October 2011!

Water Play

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Sugar Coat That

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , on August 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Morning all. It’s so good to wake up to a debt deal that nobody likes, including Rep Emanuel Cleaver, who called this hard bargain a sugar-coated “Satan Sandwich.” Being a curious type, I just had to google. Seems this could be anything from a red velvet take on the Southern Moon Pie – red devil’s food cake packed with gooey marshmallow filling – to a suggestive edible, one bite of which arouses the libido. Think of Tom Jones, or Jack Nicholson eating oysters. But no, wait, they’re getting up there…think Matt Damon digging into a fried oyster po’boy in NOLA! YUM.

Would you like to see the kind of bar-be-que (or was it a cheese steak) sandwich with ribbon fries we devour here during the dog days of county fair season?

Cholesterol Check

Yes Please

Actually, my idea of a sinfully delicious sandwich right now is heading out to the garden, picking a ripe juicy tomato, and slicing it onto white bread (maybe sourdough) with a stripe of this newfangled olive oil mayo by Kraft slithering over the top and some salt and pepper. I’d actually call this an “Angel Sandwich.” However, since it looks like we’ll all be pinching our pennies for the foreseeable future, this Tuesday’s recipe is the staple in banana republics everywhere – Rice and Beans! The Bride brought this simple dish back to me from a trip to Brazil, so it’s the real deal.

Chop up 2 cloves of garlic and half an onion.  Saute in a few Ts of Evoo. Add 1 can of fire-roasted tomatoes, or Rotel tomatoes (hot). You could always poach, peel and chop fresh tomatoes and chilies from the garden. Add 1 cup of rice, any kind of rice you like, cover and simmer. Halfway through cooking, add a drained can of organic black beans. Check often and add water when needed. I also added some chopped yellow squash and pepper from Bob’s garden, but this is not necessary. I love this dish, very different from the kind of rice and beans one tends to find in Mexican restaurants. Ola!

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Summer Lasagne

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , on July 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »

We were having a few people over for dinner on one of those really hot mid-90s no breezey nights. And because yellow squash was at its peak in the garden, I decided to make a white lasagne, the kind my cousins in Ireland had made for us once. Usually, it’s not a great idea to try out a new recipe on company, but it worked. I found out later that Giada de Laurentis had almost simultaneously devised a similar royal lasagne for Kate and William out in California! Here is what you will need:

  • 1 box lasagne noodles
  • 1 container semi-skim ricotta
  • 1 giant yellow squash fresh from the garden
  • 1 container mushrooms
  • 1 bag organic baby leaf spinach
  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • 2 shallots, chopped
  • About 5 cups of Bechamel sauce + grated cheese
  • 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
  • freshly grated nutmeg

Making a lasagne is like conducting a symphony. You assemble everything you need and then start layering. Cook the noodles and set aside in lukewarm water so they are easy to handle. Saute the shallots and add the turkey to brown, you can start this while the noodles are boiling. Cooking  is the one and only area where I can easily multi-task. Wash and slice up the mushrooms.

You will need a mandoline to slice the squash paper thin. I first saw one of these slicing gadgets on the FrenchChef, Julia used hers to make Potatoes Anna.

You can either make  your own simple Bechamel white sauce, which requires a roux (flour + butter) with milk or you can buy a fresh Alfredo sauce in the dairy section of your market. Add some grated cheese to it – whatever you have in leftover hunks in the fridge. Add nutmeg to the sauce and at the end over the top. Add the sauce to the browned turkey. Time to start the layering…Put some sauce on the bottom of the pan, layer the noodles. First spread the ricotta cheese over the noodles like you would ice a cake. Then place the mushrooms, squash and spinach (no stems please) over the cheese. Ladle on some white turkey sauce – repeat twice more. End with a layer of noodles and sauce with the grated mozzarella on top.

I made this the night before. Take it out of the fridge a few hours before baking, then bake covered with aluminum foil for a half hour at 350 (maybe longer if you don’t have a  convection oven). Uncover and bake 15 minutes more.

Very simple and elegant, although Giada baked hers in individual ramekins with mascarpone cheese and corn. Maybe next time? And maybe next time, the air conditioning won’t quit right before the guests arrive?

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Pesto Prego

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , on June 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Usually, it’s August when our basil crop is abundant and I have the urge to make pesto. But this year my Daughter called to get our pesto recipe last week because her pots of patio basil plants were taking over the yard. So, I pulled out The Silver Palate, my newly married cookbook manifesto, first published in 1979, the year of the Bride’s birth. It automatically opens to page 80, “Pesto,” where the binding is broken. I only change one thing in this classic, I use pine nuts, not walnuts, but it’s really up to you and what you may have on hand…ingredients:

  • 2 cups freshly washed and dry basil leaves (no stems)
  • 4 garlic cloves coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup pine nuts
  • 1 cup EV Olive Oil
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/3 cup grated Romano
  • salt and ground pepper

She made a pesto pizza; I didn’t get the recipe, but here it is! Divine!

Pesto Pizza

Now, not to be undone, I happened upon a farmer’s market on my way home one day and filled up a bag with fresh basil so I could document the pesto process – this is one of the few times I use the Cuisinart. A kitchen appliance that comes with a video on how to use it was slightly intimidating, even if it is my favorite color blue.

Pesto is easy to make but the sequence of events here is very important. First, grate the cheese, then wash and dry the basil. Put the basil, the garlic and the nuts in the food processor and chop – then with the motor running, slowly add EVOO.  Shut off the motor and add the cheeses with a little salt and a big helping of pepper. Process briefly, then scrape out the bowl and chill till you’re ready to use.

I like to make a pasta pesto primavera. Steam any bigger veggies for 5 minutes (carrots, cauliflower etc) and chop thin stalks of asparagus and fresh from the garden yellow squash and anything else yummy. First mix the pesto with the hot pasta (I like bowtie) then add the veggies.

I also added that fake packaged crabmeat, not sure what it is, pollock or surimi maybe? Then we saw a hot air balloon coming our way…

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Poisson au Vanille

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , on June 20, 2011| 2 Comments »

There came a time about ten years into our marriage, when a cardiologist gave Bob the verdict – “Limit yourself to fruits and vegetables, with spartan quantities of chicken and fish.” That’s exactly what he said, I remember it like it was yesterday. What can you do about genetics? He had an uncle drop dead of a massive MI on a ski slope at 57; if I wanted to keep him around I had to learn how to cook a little differently. He’s allowed the occasional steak, as evidenced by last Tuesday’s post, but it’s a rare event.

I was the kind of Catholic who ate frozen fish sticks begrudgingly on Fridays. So I set about learning to love fresh fish and ground turkey, and of course chicken in all its many disguises. This recipe is something I’ve come to cherish from the French West Indies: Fish au Vanilla. I know, sounds funny, but believe me, it’s delicious. And requires only one pan.

For the fish for 2 (and a part sammi dog who adores fish): a pound to a pound and a half of any firm fish fillet – mahi, scrod, dorade; I used sashimi grade tuna. Cut it into 1 inch chunks, sprinkle with some vanilla flavoring and put back in the refrigerator for a few hours.

  • Chop: 1 garlic clove, 1 shallot, 1 leek, half green pepper, 2 baby bok choy (and maybe one regular bok choy if you like the white crunchy part)
  • Saute: garlic, shallot, vanilla bean and pepper in EVOO for 2 min
  • Add: fish and fry, stirring so the fish doesn’t stick for 3-4 min
  • Pour: coconut water and white wine (1/3 cup each?) add a dollop of ginger honey and soy/ginger sauce – let simmer a minute
  • Add: the rest of the veggies, cover and simmer 10 minutes

As you can see this dish is more like a fish stew. To make a thicker sauce, add more of the soy and less wine. Add some shell fish if you’d like to make an interesting bouillabaisse. The next day it’s even better as a tuna noodle casserole your mom never could have even thought of making! Just make a a good roux with butter and flour, add grated cheese (cheddar or maybe something French?), add the leftover veggie/fish  sauce, flake the tuna, mix with some egg noodles and bake. Yum….no soup cans were harmed or opened!

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Simply Scrumptious Salad

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , on June 14, 2011| 2 Comments »

What an absolutely glorious day! 78 for a high and some wind just to please the whip my hair gods. As promised, today is Tasty Tuesday and have I got a salad for you. It’s my Grecian Goddess aka as Mediterranean Salad! Here is what you will need:

  • 1 cucumber – or half if you have an empty nest, I prefer the English, less seeds
  • 3 green onions
  • a box of cherry tomatoes – cut in half if they’re big
  • 1 can of organic garbanzo beans, or 2?  – rinsed and drained
  • a handful of fresh mint
  • 1 package of feta cheese – crumbled
  • about 6 seeded kalamatra olives – halved

Chop up the veggies:

Start to make the vinaigrette:

  • press 2 garlic gloves
  •   3T red wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  • 1T Greek yogurt
  • enough EVOO to taste

Toss in the feta (alright use non-fat if you must) and add the fresh mint last. If you don’t have mint, fresh basil will do nicely. Toss with dressing and serve. This salad tastes better the next day!

We added the first radishes from Bob’s garden. And I have to admit, I’ve got him on grill duty from now till the end of Fall. He grilled up some delicious local flank steak ( marinated with thyme and garlic and pepper) from Whole Foods.

Vegetarians, look away!

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