summer peach tomato salad

This recipe, from the NYtimes, is the breakout new hit recipe of the last year or so in our household.   I believe my mom directed us to it last summer.

Ingredients for salad

• 12-14 oz silken tofu, chilled
• 2-3 ripe medium peaches
• 3-4 ripe medium tomatoes
• flaky sea salt
• 1/4 c packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 tbs fresh mint leaves
• black pepper

Ingredients for dressing

• 3 tbs evo
• 1 tbs balsalmic
• 1 tbs unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tbs seasame oil
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar

Steps

1. drain and blot tofu by wrapping in a paper towel
2. cut peaches and tomatoes in 1-inch thick wedges
3. place fruit on a platter, including the juices from the cutting board
4. sprinkle with salt
5. scoop tofu in mounds on top of the fruit, add salt
6. mix dressing in a shakable jar and spoon 4 tbs on the salad
7. chop the herbs and add them to the top
8. add pepper

pizza at home.... finally

We've vastly improved at making pizza at home, thanks to these pizza racks I found at Grocery Outlet a while ago.  Just a few years ago I was forgetting to take the dough out of the fridge to allow time to rise and we were making soggy rectangular pizzas directly on cookie sheets, or trying to move them off the cookie sheet and directly on to the oven rack, with limited success.   These pans make it easy. 

I've also started making the dough instead of buying it at Trader Joe's and have finally come to understand just how expensive buying pizza from a nice pizza place is, relative to making it at home.   Everyone is happy when we make it at home.  Dd even says "pizza" now.

pumpkin cake recipe

We made a tried and true pumpkin cake for D's 5th birthday.  Frosting is quite important to five-year-olds, it seems, so we made a blue cream cheese frosting, but usually we make the cake with no topping, or maybe a tiny sprinkle of powdered sugar.

1) preheat oven to 350, grease two loaf pans or large baking dish (like pictured)2) in large bowl combine flour through cloves3) in medium bowl (mixer bowl) blend sugar, oil, and eggs  and then stir in pumpkin4) slowly blend wet in to dry, adding water along the way5) bake at 350 for 90 minutes (for loaf pans), or about 60 for larger, more shallow pan6) cool in loaf pans for 10 minutes before removing

3 1/2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
3 c white sugar
1 c oil  (we used olive and was fine)
4 eggs
2/3 c water
2 c solid pack pumpkin puree (more than one 8 oz can)

Dd's first foods

In four short years the advice on feeding babies has changed enough that we started solids with Dd just after four months of age, rather than at six months like we did with D.  There are still lots of sources that suggest "exclusively breast feeding for six months," but the emerging research on allergies indicates that fewer allergies result when babies are exposed to common allergens early and often.  

From https://www.foodallergy.org/life-with-food-allergies/food-allergy-101/facts-and-statistics:

- The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reports that the prevalence of food allergy in children increased by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011.

- Between 1997 and 2008, the prevalence of peanut or tree nut allergy appears to have more than tripled in U.S. children.

The advice given to parents in the late 90s to introduce allergens later clearly didn't work.

Dd's first food was peanut powder mixed in breast milk.  Thankfully all went well.  Now he has also readily eaten peas, carrots, green beans, broccoli and apple sauce.  He's also sucked on an orange slice and been exposed to egg whites (another common allergen) though the texture was tricky.

Things are looking good for having a food allergy free family.  

Interestingly, he is also way better at eating that we remember D being at first.  He doesn't gag or push it out of his mouth the way D often did at first.  He's also been incredibly interested in food.  We speculate that he has watched us eat substantially more often than D had by this point because we have a consistent dinner time before he goes to bed and we sit around a dining table looking at each other.  When D was a baby we sometimes ate after his bedtime and when we did we were lined up in a row in our tiny galley kitchen without the benefit of a table.   The difference really is notable.  

Wish us luck in taking advantage of his open minded palate and making Dd in to a pretty good eater like D is!

tangy rhubarb lentil soup

While searching for a non-dessert rhubarb recipe, we stumbled on this recipe on Epicurious last spring.  We’ve made it on multiple occaisions, so it qualifies to be preserved here on the blog.   As you might be able to tell from the few recipes we’ve posted, we make a lot of soups.  In the last couple years we got a soup thermos, which makes soup, along with some tasty bread, a great option even for hiking lunches or other picnics.

• 3 rainbow chard leaves
• 2 Tbs unsalted butter
• 2 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp ginger (?)
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 3/4 lb. rhubarb (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 3/4 cup French green lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1 Tbs packed brown sugar; more to taste
• 6 Tbs whole milk greek yogurt
• 3 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
• Kosher salt

1. Coarsely chop chard leaves and slice stems 1/2 inch thick and keep the leaves and stems separate.  Dice the onion.  Chop up the rhubarb.
2. Heat the oil in a 4 to 5 quart heavy duty pot over med-high heat. Add the mustard seeds, cumin and coriander seeds, stir to coat, and then cook until the mustard seeds begin to pop, about 1 min.
3. Turn the heat down to med low and stir in the ginger, garlic, turmeric, and cardomom. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 min.
4. Add the chard stems and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 min.
5. Add the rhubarb, lentils, brown sugar, 2 tsp salt and 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Add the chard leaves. Continue to simmer until the lentils are tender but not falling apart, about 5 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and brown sugar.
7. Immersion blend as desired.  Serve topped with a dollop of greek yogurt and the cilantro.

holiday pomegranate salad

We’ve made the Moroccan Orange Salad from this excellent cookbook, for several holidays in the last five years, including this Christmas.  I like how it tastes but admit that part of the appeal is that it is just so refreshingly pretty.

• 6 navel oranges (we often use cara cara oranges)
• 1 tbs orange flower water
• 1/8 to 1/4  tsp cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon clover honey
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• chopped fresh mint for garnish (the more the better…)
• pomegranate seeds (more is better.  We actually used 2 pomegranates for 8 oranges, I think)

Slice the oranges, catching the juice in the salad bowl.  Combine the orange flower water, cinnamon and honey and toss with the oranges.  Sprinkle with nutmeg and chill or serve at once, garnishing with mint and pomegranate.  This will hold for several hours in the refrigerator.

mushroom tarragon soup

We've made this enough times for it to qualify as a blog-worthy favorite.  Don't put in too much garlic!

Mushroom Tarragon Soup (from epicurious.com)

Ingredients

1 tbs butter

4 minced shallots

1 minced garlic clove

6 cups cremini mushrooms (minced?)

1  1/4 cups vegetable stock

1  1/4 cups 2% milk

1-2 tbs fresh chopped tarragon

2 tbs dry sherry

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 sprig fresh tarragon for garnish

Parmesan cheese

• melt butter in dutch oven, add shallots and garlic and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes
• add mushrooms and cook gently for 4 minutes, stirring 
• add the stock and milk and bring to a boil
• lower heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until mushrooms are soft
• stir in the chopped tarragon, salt and pepper on low heat
• immersion blend
• stir in sherry
• serve and top with Parmesan and more tarragon

We made cookies.

Tonight D and I made cookies.  It might sound like a small achievement but what it actually represents is that our oven is finally fixed!

We bought the range used last spring, from a store in Auburn for a very good price.  It’s a beautiful, dual-fuel Viking with what turned out to be a defunct convection oven. 

In the store they hooked it up and demonstrated that it worked to me, but all I could really do was confirm that there was heat coming out.   Flash forward to September when we moved in.  We didn’t do much cooking during the busy time where we were unpacking, cleaning up construction messes and finding lost things in the house.  Then when we did try it, it took a while for us to realize that it wasn’t working right.  In mid-October we cooked a beautiful salmon for my dad’s birthday for over an hour instead of the 10 minutes called for by the recipe.  We managed to eat it but it was a red flag for the oven.   We finally bought a thermometer to properly test it.  It heated up fine but couldn’t maintain the temperature at all.

We contacted the store about the warranty in early November.  A technician came out and saw that the problem was some kind of melted connection that failed when it got hot.  He did a small fix on the spot but said that if that didn’t work, we’d need to have the store order a new control board.  That fix did not work, so we got in touch again.  The store ordered the part, but it was back ordered.  Thanksgiving came and went.  Many texts were sent.  Then in late December, the part finally arrived in a surprisingly big box.  The technician came over that same day.  Lo and behold the box contained a control panel with the stove burner dials on it, not a control board.  The new part was ordered and finally came at the end of January.  Now it is installed and everything works.  The $600 control panel it still sitting in our house awaiting shipping instructions.  If we don’t hear back in a few weeks, perhaps we’ll sell it on eBay.

In conclusion, we managed without an oven for five months, but eventually got it fixed without extra expenditure so it probably worked out for the best in the long run.  Now we are excited to bake, roast, broil and toast!

my favorite fish stew

 

Here’s a recipe we’ve made and enjoyed several times.

• 2 leeks
• 6 oz. chorizo (I prefer other, non-spicy sausage) cut in to small half moon pieces
• 4-5 medium red potatoes cut in to bite size cubes (in the picture above I used purple potatoes)
• salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 28 oz. can diced tomatoes with their juice
• 1/2 c dry white wine
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 lb. cod fillet, cut into four even portions

1. Put the potatoes in a saucepan (not the dutch oven yet), covered with 1-2 inches of cold water.  Salt the water, partially cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat a bit, continue boiling until tender (10-15 min).  Drain.
2. Heat oil in dutch oven (medium for 1 minute), add chorizo and leeks  until the leeks are soft and sausage is browned (6 min)
3. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min.
4. Stir in the tomatoes with juice, the wine, 1 1/2 c water and 1/2 tsp salt.  Bring to a oil, partially cover, reduce to medium and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Add potatoes, salt and pepper, and half of the parsley.
6. Season the cod (S&P) and place on top of the stew, cover and simmer until just cooked through (6-8 minutes)
7. Serve stew on top of cod, with more parsley as garnish.

Drip, drip, sip, board the coffee ship!

 

Between the two of us, we’ve spent 6 decades not drinking coffee.  Jack has been known to drink a Frappuccino once or twice a year, but that’s mostly about the sugar, I believe, and I’ve often expressed shock and awe at the discrepancy between the delicious aroma and wretched taste of coffee.  I used to try it every couple years out of curiosity and it always confirmed my dislike.

But now we drink it.

Jack lead the charge to develop the taste for it.  As of this week we have a cold brew Dutch coffee brewer.

What changed for us?  We are eating less sugar and for about a year we’ve embraced the bitter flavor of %100 cacao, which is remarkably similar to coffee.  I think that laid the flavor groundwork.  Even though D sleeps through the night (except last night when he was sick and/or getting a molar) we’re tired.  We’re also fairly stressed out these days and frankly, we could use the boost.  It’s hard not to notice that the rest of the world is pretty excited about coffee, so now we’ve come aboard.

The cold brew coffee is supposed to be less acidic and easier on the stomach and we’re both committed to drinking it black.  I hope we can drink just the right amount to get the amazing clear-headed boost that I have right now, without falling into the grips of addiction headaches and dependency. 

 

 

sardines

 

We’ve now reached the point where I’m blogging about what I had for lunch.  It’s time to have this baby, am I right?

Today, on the two-hundred eighty-something’th day of this pregnancy, I finally got around to eating sardines.  I’ve been meaning to eat them for years, and it’s hard to put my finger on exactly why I never managed to do so. 

The pros of sardines are fairly obvious: fish is healthy and sardines are an inexpensive, low-mercury variety that comes in convenient shelf-stable packaging.  What about the cons?  While I have no beef with fish, or with canned tuna, I simply could not get past the can and the question of how to prepare the presumably cold and slimy contents. 

Seriously, I’ve had (different tins of) sardines lurking in the pantry for at least five years.

I’m well rested from taking PTO now and not making any plans, and maybe I’m emboldened by the challenge of our labor-to-come.  In any case, today was the big day.

The worst part was opening the can, which flicked oily tomato sauce in several directions as it opened.  Good thing my cheap, stretched out maternity top already had a stain on it…  The fish itself, which was packed in like a full term baby the day after the due date, was bigger than I imagined.  There were no heads or eyeballs to be found.  Perhaps I was picturing anchovies all along?

I figured that with enough parsley, some lemon and some good toasted bread they couldn’t be that bad.  And it was actually pretty good.  I feel so grown up.

cake time

My friend from Vienna introduced us to the deliciousness of the famous Viennese chocolate cake called a Sachertorte.  

making sushi

We were given a sushi set as a wedding gift and yesterday we finally got around to making some.  

Mediterranean diet aspirations

I could write about this for a long time, but talk is cheap and I don’t think it would make for an interesting post.  From sampling restaurants and traveling, I've learned that my favorite cuisines describe a tour of the Mediterranean – Turkish, Greek, Moroccan, Italian - you get the idea.

take-home cooking ideas

While I can’t exactly say that I’ve learned to cook anything new and amazing yet, I can say I have lots of new ideas for dishes I want to look up.  Here are some kitchen ideas I want to bring home:

• fennel – It is great in salads
• sprouts – We sprouted some beans at home after our trip to Costa Rica in 2006, and I’m inspired to get back to it again because they give such substance to salads, especially with salted sunflower seeds
• baking bread – I probably won’t get around to this for a long time, but our second Italian wwoof hostess regularly made some whole wheat bread with her own leaver (Is that the word?) and it was tasty and amazingly filling.  The rest of the world seems to eat a lot more bread than the US, and it is much better and also much cheaper (often subsidized with fixed prices…)
• eggplant – I don’t think it’s possible to cook it wrong.  We ate a lot of stewed eggplant, tomato, garlic, oil dish in Morocco and it’s stupendous.  I think I could eat it everyday.
• veggies in sandwiches – I think at home this is underappreciated.  Sure Subway will put a few raw veggies in but it’s nothing creative.  Today at lunch we had sandwiches and Jack’s had a coleslaw, an eggplant dish like what I just described, a chickpea and tomato dish and regular lettuce, tomato and meat.  More is better!
• pressure cooker – As scary as they may be, I think I need to get over it and get one.  All of our wwoof hosts have made wonderful concoctions with them and I suspect that few people cook beans regularly without them.
• cream – Ah France and it’s vast consumption of dairy products, which was a bit much, in my opinion.  That said, adding a little cream to a quick zucchini soup goes quite a long way.

Oh and by the way family, I have even eaten a few olives!  I don't love them, but some of the "less-olivey" (according to Jack, this means less briney) olives are not terrible.

don’t forget to pack a recipe

 

If, when you travel, you are lucky enough to stay with people, it is essential that you bring ideas for what to cook them.  So far we have had three people say, “How about you cook us a typical American meal?”

We do cook at home, but I’m still quite self conscious about cooking for people other than Jack and myself.  To add to my general anxiety there is the challenge of making something representative of a culinary melting pot.  Also, it must be made with seasonally and geographically available ingredients, in someone else’s kitchen, usually without access to the internet, meaning no recipes I’ve emailed to myself and nothing from recipes.com.

In Corsica, we made steak, mashed potatoes, cucumber salad and our old standby - waldorf salad.  In Vienna we made stir-fried cauliflower and tofu and a a cabbage-apple-cashew-lemon salad we like.  A few days ago in Morocco we made beef stew with cabbage, carrots, onions and potatoes, baked apples and …. a waldorf salad with guava standing in for grapes.  It always feels like we’re winging it but so far it has gone okay.  I do with I had a recipe for snicker doodles or something though.

BELOW: A tall guy cooking in a short kitchen in Morocco

BELOW: It rained about 10 days before our visit to the Sahara, so we got to sample a desert green called something like roquette.  It tastes similar to arugula.

I checked some stores and then read wikipedia to confirm that kale doesn’t exist in Europe (or North Africa).  Their loss!   On the other hand we’ve had about five new kinds of guava, several kinds of greens and some delicious kumquats, which I don’t think I’d ever eaten.  Also, in Italy we ate several varieties of eggplant, I’d never seen, including white ones.

BELOW: a raspberry guava or possibly a cherry guava

sweet sweet orange juice

 

One of the many delights of our week in Tunisia was the mandarin (and lemon and orange) trees in the backyard.  We made juice.

And then we drank it.

food we ate

 

At our wwoof farm in Umbria, we ate organic vegitarian food for two weeks.  We felt extremely healthy and it was also quite tasty.  We’ve eaten all organic at several places we wwoofed and I am pretty much convinced that it does taste better.  We had many simple dishes like lentils or vegetable soups and they just seem to have more flavor.  I don’t know that we’ll ever be (able to be) devoted to organic food, but I do think the taste is better in addition to the other health benefits.

If you ask Jack about the food we ate, there is a 99% chance that he’ll say “Hunger is the best sauce.”    He has a point, but so do I :)

We had a great salad every day at lunch, including fennel, a new favorite.

We also tried two completely new foods.  We had persimone out of the neighbor’s garden, and we needed a dictionary to identify it.  We also ate a large cousin of celary, which Jack really liked and thought tasted something like asperagus.

Oh and in my opinion, Italy tasted better than France, because French food was so heavy and creamy.  

Next up is wiener schnitzel in Vienna.