Gift Basket Fun

I’ve often made gift baskets on the theme of the Indian cooking hobby I enjoy. I’ve called them Beginner’s Indian Cooking Baskets. They’ve been exceptionally popular at fundraising auctions to which I’ve donated them, always garnering the top suggested bid. They’ve included basic spices, the small recipe book that I’ve created with my friends, a larger, commercially published Indian cookbook, and varying other basics and items necessary for making some of the recipes in the book and “garnished with fresh cilantro” and a bag of fresh Nan bread.

I was reading online about creating gift baskets and came across a gal wanting ideas for creating gift baskets for family members on her list. The idea of a Generational Gift Basket occurred to me as a fun idea.

You could include:
A taste of things that were old family favorites.
· A favorite family snack wrapped in a cellophane bag with ribbon (Nut’s and Bolts, a savory snack, was always served at my family’s parties. Cellophane bags can be had at craft stores.)
· A special unusual treat enjoyed by older family members. (My grandma loved gooseberry jam; some gourmet food shops have small “taster” jars.)
· An unusual family favorite sweet treat (Divinity, an older candy, was always made by my Mom and Grandma at holiday time.)
· An unusual item that had appeared at family meals. (My family’s big gathering always featured Jell-O with small marshmallows. A box of Jell-O and the marshmallows would be fun.)
· Huckleberries played a special role in my family. Maybe something Huckleberry, a candle or food or candy item.
· A cellophane bag tied with a ribbon filled with some cookies made from a favorite family recipe. (In my family it would be my Dad’s Mom’s Oatmeal Cookies, in my husband’s family it would be his Mom’s Mint Hideaways.)

A few or more family recipes hand written, typed or photocopied a into a little booklet or hole-punched and tied with ribbon or put in a cute recipe box. (I photocopied the actual pages of a “steno notebook” that was filled with family recipes and had the copy center "bind" them with plastic binding.)

A special photo/s of older family members (the recipient may not have) in frames. (Nice frames can be bought inexpensively throughout the year at yard and estate sales).

A membership to Ancestory.com.

A book to write in "family tree" info.

Please share any ideas you may have, I’d love to hear them.

From Turkey To Chutney With Loving Grandparents And Huckleberries Along The Way

We are going to my sister-in-law's for Thanksgiving and she wants to do all the cooking. From me she wants hors d oeuvres including the family fav - deviled eggs. I think I'll do a platter of eggs, exotic olives and other unusual things for light and interesting munching. (Any ideas out there? Comment away!) I've never cooked an entire Thanksgiving meal in my life and have never cooked a turkey. That could be a sad commentary on a deprived upbringing but no, it was just being around people all my life who loved to cook and, most likely, not having children. I think I might try to see if sis-in-law would like me to bring a dessert like an old family recipe of Pineapple Ice Box Cake (vanilla wafer crumbs topped with a butter/powdered sugar/egg mixture topped with whip cream and crushed pineapple mixture and topped with more crumbs).

The Pineapple Ice Box Cake goes way back in my family and is purported to have been created by my Grandma Allen. The town newspaper even interviewed her once about her cooking and published the recipe. Funny--local fame. She and my grandfather (LD we called him, short for Lorenzo Dow) were such good folks; I don't remember anything negative related to them. Grandma's thing was cooking. During the war years, when ingredients were rationed, people would save their ration coupons and give them to her and she would make wedding cakes. Growing up, I lived in walking distance from my grandparents. She had one of those white enameled "baking centers" where flour, sugar, etc were in built-in bins that pivoted forward. They had a root cellar, entered by a trap door from the kitchen, lined with shelves of goodies that were "put up" when in season, mostly fruit and jams and jellies. I remember my mother telling me about her brothers being able to eat a whole quart of peaches in one sitting. I remember Grandma lamenting how hard it was to get gooseberries like she used to pick in the back woods of Idaho. Of course, Huckleberry Jam (made from Idaho's Blue Mountain Huckleberries picked on family excursions) was "gold standard". Huckleberry pies were featured at all big gatherings and a slice of huckleberry pie was a common daily offering to friends who stopped by for pie and coffee (something that happened often). Apricot jam was a favorite of my Grandma and lots of pickled beets (yum-I still love them and they bring back fond memories.) They always had a huge garden and I remember her loving beet greens. I didn't appreciate them at the time and have been meaning to make some to try. I don't remember her or my folks making relish but I bet if they had known of the Indian concept of Chutney (combining fruit with onions and ginger - a sweet/savory mix) they would have liked it. Spices, though, didn't go beyond salt, pepper, (and maybe onion powder later on) and the "holiday spices" of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves - ah, they did use cloves in the pickled beets).

To my Indian friends, American middle class folks seem so spice-deprived. It’s true, and our family certainly never "developed a taste" for them. My husband still has trouble getting his taste buds to "embrace" a lot of the Indian spices. I've evolved and love a lot of the more "exotic" tastes. I was reading a cookbook last night featuring Ayurvedic (eye-your-vay-dick) recipes (it's a "healing regimen" originating in ancient India still practiced today that centers around food and different spices or ingredients for different constitutions and different conditions.) Spices are a prime component and tied to health. I wonder how Americans got so bland, maybe it was our roots in England - a cuisine I hear is pretty bland. (How did British cuisine not get influenced by Indian cuisine with all their occupying of the country? I do hear, from friends who hang out in Britain, though, that Indian restaurants are more prolific than others and have fabulous Indian dishes. So they must have developed a taste for it.) If I would have walked into a house as a kid and smelled the concoctions I now make, I don't know what I would have thought; I would certainly have been intrigued.

Well, food stream-of-consciousness this morning. I do, now, finally get the thing about reading cookbooks like novels. So much culture, history, etc is reflected through food.

A Salad Afternoon

I just read a great essay on the history of the salad in Saveur (in my opinion, the best of the food magazines) . It seems the French sort of began the trend but served them after the main course. For me, Iceberg lettuce, a can of shrimp, a teaspoon of lemon juice and Best Foods Mayonnaise, is a favorite salad. Or, Iceberg lettuce, a can of tuna, grated cheddar cheese and Best Food Mayonnaise another favorite. OK, one more – Iceberg lettuce, julienned salami, julienned Provolone cheese, chopped hardboiled egg and a very tangy homemade Italian dressing I make. I know that Iceberg lettuce has been referred to as “the polyester of vegetables” but I was raised with it and love its hearty crunchiness. Some of the other greens just seem wimpy. If they are done well, though, I always like a green salad of any type.

For a personal salad memory, my husband turned me onto mixing dressings – try French and Blue Cheese sometime. Lately I’ve been keeping a plastic tub in the refrigerator with things like Mandarin oranges, black olives, black beans, hard-boiled eggs, dried cranberries, cheese of some sort, Feta cheese and other goodies ready to add to the greens. Whipping up a salad is easy and, Yum City! Eating out, one of my favorite salads is from the Red Robin Restaurant, Barbeque Chicken Salad – Iceberg lettuce with strips of barbequed chicken, black beans, avocado slices, tomatoes, with Ranch dressing and garlic toast on the side.

Growing up never once, that I remember, did I have a salad as a main dish. And, other than a can of shrimp sometimes added to Iceberg lettuce (with Best Foods Mayonnaise, of course) no piece of fish or meat every touched the lettuce unless the main dish pork chop somehow sidled over to the salad on the plate.

According to the history of the salad article, they really didn’t take off in America until after the middle of the last century. Some fancy restaurants had them regularly, but middle class dinner tables didn’t sport them much. Olive oil was sold only in small amounts in pharmacies for medicinal purposes and softening skin. A “history of the avocado” article in Saveur said that an avocado, in 1920’s America, would have been the equivalent to $9.00 in today’s money. Maybe it was things like that that held up salad’s popularity.

Currently my plastic salad tub is stocked salami, Provolone slices, Feta, Cheddar and a couple hardboiled eggs. With black beans, olives and dried cranberries in the cupboard I'm ready to go. Maybe one day I’ll branch out beyond good ole Iceberg. A while back I had a lobster salad with some chopped cabbage mixed into the salad greens along with the most intriguing salad accoutrement I’ve had in a while - candied pecans – now there’s something I’ve got to remember to add to my salad tub!

My Favorite Tangy Italian Dressing
(This is supurb for a Chop Salad mixture of salami, provolone and chopped egg)

1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
3 pressed Garlic cloves
½ teas. dried oregano
¼ teas. dried basil
¼ teas onion powder
¼ teas salt

Campbell's and Ketchup

Food and it's preparation is such a compelling thread in most people's lives. Something that is a shared experience. It would be fun to be a food historian. My husband Hank has enjoyed writing his food columns for eight years celebrating good food and humorous tales of food and life. We attended an author lecture last year by a woman who's book "recommended staying as close as possible to the origins of your food." It was quite an interesting historical look at how people have gotten further and further away from the origins of the food they eat. When canned food first emerged in the early part of the last century, people were extremely wary of it, largely shunning it. I guess it didn't take long, though, to get swayed by convenience. Campbell's Soups and ketchup must have been amazing culinary short cuts for 1950's cooks.

I've been spoiled over the years with my husband's creativity as a cook. He loves food and cooking and experiments a lot with herb and sauce combinations. Interesting because he/we grew up in an era, the 1950's, where Campbell's soup was the amazing new ingredient. His mom's collection of recipes had a bunch using cans of soup. (I typed them all up as family gift one year - and actually crossed stitched covers for the cookbooks!) She really got into the "new" recipes of the 1950's. She had clipped recipes from sides of boxes and from magazines, a couple written on the back of bowling score sheets. It was fun typing them all up. Hank remembers Golden Mushroom Soup over pork chops. For variation and a 'special' version she would use Cream of Celery Soup. The only soup his mom made from scratch was potato soup with about "12 cubes of butter" added. Her clam chowder would be clams in the potato soup. One of his favorite of her dishes was roasted red potatoes baked then roughly mashed with gravy and meat slathered on top. When she made shish ka bobs, for dipping she made her special "Indian sauce", ketchup with curry powder mixed in. Her green salads (tomato and lettuce) were dressed with mayonnaise, when she got fancy, she mixed ketchup into the mayo for Thousand Island Dressing.

I can't remember my folks using Campbell's Soups in recipes. Maybe because Cream of Mushroom was the "magic" new ingredient and they didn't like mushrooms. (Not realizing it doesn't taste like mushrooms when in most dishes.) A cream base for a dish was accomplished by shaking some flour into some bacon grease and adding milk (probably half and half), sort of a Bechemel with flavor. That was the base of tuna casserole, with cheese added. That was the base of SOS (made with chipped beef and served over toast). I'm trying to think of a "fancy dish" my folks made......(thinking).....Well, I guess they didn't experiment much and just stuck to the tried and true. I remember new potatoes and fresh peas in cream sauce (their Bechemel with flavor). Scalloped potatoes were made with potato slices layered with flour and butter chunks throughout then topped with milk and baked. Fried chicken was a favorite but merely dredged in salted flour and fried in bacon grease or Crisco in an electric frying pan.

Ah food, it surprises me how intrigued by it I've become in the second half of my life.

Question of the post (click on the word "comments" below)....Did your family keep bacon grease for cooking and, if so, in what and where?

Yakisoba - that familiar and delicious festival food made easy

Ever go to a community festival and smell the yummy aromas of the booth that makes that vegetable-meat-noodle stir fry? Ever buy a plate and devour every bite wondering about the exotic secrets behind such a seemingly simple dish. Well, I’ve discovered the exotic secrets aren't so exotic and the dish is very easy – the trick is two ingredients that might not be found in your local supermarket.

My husband has discovered a little hole-in-the-wall place, Eastlake Teryaki. It's mainly takeout, and despite the name, serves great Vietnamese type dishes. Their Pho’, a yummy broth with noodles, julliened meat and other goodies served on the side to be added now rivals tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches when he doesn’t feel well. It has replaced the War Wonton Soup (wonton soup with shrimp and pork and all kinds of mushrooms and vegetables swimming in it) we used to get from the Uptown China in Seattle's Lower Queen Anne. Another dish we've enjoyed from Eastlake Teryaki is Yakisoba. Now we’re back to the yummy noodle vegetable stir fry you’ve enjoyed at those festivals.

I happened to be wandering through a Vietnamese supermarket the other day. (An unusual appointment took me to a new part of town.) It was fun especially since I’m interested in Indian cuisine. Indian’s make things with rice flour and tapioca flour and small bags of it were available right along with the regular flour. They had fresh ginger in bundles precut into 2” pieces (I bought a bunch and froze). In the dry noodle section I found inexpensive good sized packages of the bean threads that I use in the Korean dish that I now fix once in a while. In the wet noodle section (there is a joke there somewhere) I came across “Yakisoba Noodles”. Right there on the package was a recipe for the dish and it looked awfully simple so I bought a package. As it turned out, the “secret sauce” isn’t so secret or hard to find, in fact it was one that Hank uses for other things periodically and had brought home from Uwajimaya sometime back. It’s called Tonkatsu or Fruit and Vegetable Sauce. It’s kind of the consistency of dark Karo but denser.

Now, in possession of the noodles and the sauce, the time was right when I found myself with numerous errant vegetables that needed using. So, yesterday I began julienning, first carrots, then a little broccoli and cauliflower, then a bunch of green onions, then a sweet onion (sliced very thin) and finally about a quarter of a green cabbage. I definitely had the 3 cups of vegetables that the recipe asked for. I was so happy, using up the veges that would have gone bad and learning to make this yummy festival dish (plus learning to save the $8 the Vietnamese place charges for it.)

Here’s the recipe. (It makes a large amount so this is where my friend, Deb Taylor Hough's "cook ahead and freeze" concept is great. I had Zip Locks on hand and now have easy lunches or yummy noodle sides for dinner, plus I shared some with a neighbor.)

Yakisoba
Can be made vegetarian the way it is often served at festivals. You can add left over meat or juilianne some meat and fry it.
Ingrendients
Meat cut into small pieces and fried (I had baked a chicken so just put chicken pieces on the plates of noodles when served.)
32oz (2lb.) bag of fresh Yakisoba noodles (they can be kept refrigerated or frozen)
3 cups of julianned vegetables
½ cup Tonkatsu Sauce (also called Vegetable and Fruit Sauce on the bottle I have)
½ to 1 cup water.
Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions
Fry meat and set aside. Heat oil in the pan to high for stir frying the vegetables. Add vegetables and stir fry until tender. Place the noodles on top of the vegetables and add water to steam, heat and loosen noodles. When they are loosened begin stir frying them with the vegetables and add the meat and Tonkatsu Sauce. Stir fry until all ingredients are blended and hot.

A Lesson on Simplifying Indian Cuisine from an American Gal who isn’t even a cook!

For over four years I’ve enjoyed a serious hobby, cooking Indian cuisine. It happened because I made some special friends through my Dad's senior center, Mina, Doris and Sheila, who all grew up and spent many years in India before coming to America. Before that, cooking was never a creative endeavor for me; my husband (who finds it creative) did most of it. Sort of like math, I never really “got” the underlying principles of cooking and was always intimidated trying to “fly by the seat of the pants”. You’d see me shopping for ingredients, recipe in hand.

But, I’m a curious sort. I became intrigued by the dishes my friends introduced me to when we’d enjoy lunch at an Indian restaurant, I’d query them, interested in understanding more about Indian culture and food. Mina suggested that I buy ingredients for certain recipes and come over. Together we’d make some traditional Indian dishes. Numerous afternoons while enjoying tea, we’d construct exotically aromatic, tantalizing dishes that she’d made for years. They opened a new world for me. Under her tutelage I began to understand some of the “underlying principles” or alchemy that had eluded me with American cuisine.

Making Indian dishes is now, for me, an exciting and very creative endeavor. Some weekend mornings I almost need my Indian food “fix” both the creating it and eating it. I often share my concoctions with neighbors and friends. They are often amazed at how delicious is something that, had they looked at the recipe, they may never have tried. There are certain ingredients such as Mina's favorite, Patak's brand mild curry paste, that even my husband has incorporated into some of the dishes he makes. (He uses it not for an overt curry taste but for adding an interesting dimension to things like spaghetti sauce.) And he really enjoys certain dishes like White Fish Simmered in Coconut Milk with Onions and Spices.

Off and on in this blog I’ve shared some of the Indian recipes I’ve tried. I thought that maybe some readers might enjoy some of the things I’ve learned about how to simplify Indian cuisine. My friends have shared quick tips for creating the same taste with less work. I am in no way an expert, but I am a novice American cook who is not intimidated by Indian food and spices. I’ve learned some easy to fix dishes that have flavors that would “knock the socks off” your friends if served. I’ve learned dishes that every single American friend “who thought they weren’t fond of Indian food” has loved. I’ve learned how to blend simple, frugal ingredients (Indians do amazing things with vegetables) into dishes with a sophisticated dimension.

So, blog readers, here is a first “Lesson” I hope might unlock for you some “secrets” of Indian cuisine, show you how simple it can be and maybe encourage you to expand your cooking repertoire

Recipes for Indian dishes can look complicated but there is a fairly simple, underlying process that exists in many recipes.

In recipes for many meat or vegetable based dishes you will see a triad of Ginger-Onion-Garlic. This triad is fried up and into it goes the spices being used, then into that goes the main ingredients. (I'm going to illustrate that using the recipe below.)

I get an online newsletter from About.com column on Indian Cooking (Here’s a link to sign up or look at it - http://indianfood.about.com/od/thebasics/a/regionfood.htm

I came across the recipe shown below. The basic food ingredients here are potatoes and peas. (Talk about an interesting way to use frugal ingredients that are on hand in most kitchens).

Basically they've got hot oil going into which they brown some cumin seeds and green chili chunks.
Then they dump in and fry the Ginger-Onion-Garlic triad
Into that they dump all the spices (measured out ahead) and diced tomato. (In this recipe, diced tomato adds more substance and dimension to the triad) and simmer till blended.
Then they add the potatoes and peas and simmer till done.

Basically it's TRIAD + SPICES + MAIN INGREDIENTS

Indian spices do not exist in most American cupboards (the only one I remember was a bottle of curry powder that sat in our spice cupboard never used, I’m sure, the entire time I was growing up) and the tastes may be unfamiliar at first, but we American cooks can learn from their process. And, if desired, natural food markets that sell spices in bulk often have most of the spices called for in Indian dishes. Also, if you don't have certain called for spices (in the recipe below you'd have to get dry mango powder at an Indian market) just leave it out. And remember, the "finely chopped coriander is cilantro.

Below the recipe is a very simple American twist (no Indian spices) take on this recipe. I just made it and it's delicious.

Aaloo Mutter
from www.about.com column on Indian cuisine
(The gal that writes the newsletter made a spelling error i the fourth line of the Preparation that I got a kick out of so left in. )

Ingredients:
· 2 tbsps vegetable/sunflower/canola oil
· 1 tsp cumin seeds
· 2 green chillies slit (use mild chilis or omit if hot isn't desired)
· 1 large onion diced
· 1 tsp grated fresh ginger (sold fresh or already grated in jars in produce sections)
· 1 tsp crushed garlic
· 2 large tomatoes diced
· 2 tsps coriander powder
· 1 tsp cumin powder
· 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
· 1 tsp red chilli powder
· 1 tsp dry mango powder
· 5-6 large potatoes peeled cut into 8-10 pieces each
· 1 cup shelled peas (you can use frozen peas as well)
· 1 tsp garam masala
· Salt to taste
· 2 tbsps of finely chopped coriander to garnish
(I have found that adding a can of chicken broth is good, added half after adding the potatoes and peas and as much of the other half that you like toward the end of cooking for desired moistness.)

Preparation:
· In a wok/pressure cooker heat the oil and add the cumin seeds to it when hot. They will sizzle and soon turn slightly darker.
· Add the green chillies and when they stop sluttering add the onions.
· Sauté the onions till they turn soft. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and sauté for another minute.
· Add the tomatoes, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, red chilli and raw mango powders and sauté for a minute.
· Last of all add the potatoes and peas and half a cup of water (this is where I add 1/2 can chicken broth instead of water) Add salt to taste.
· Cover the pan and cook till the potatoes are soft adding as much of the rest of the chicken broth as desired.
· When the potatoes are cooked, turn off the fire, sprinkle the garam masala over the dish and cover immediately.
· In a few minutes open, garnish with the finely chopped coriander leaves and serve.
· If you are using a pressure cooker, time the cooking such that the potatoes do not get mashed.

Aaloo Mutter American Style

A very simple American twist on this recipe would be to fry up the triad (I had 1/2 large onion, 1 teas. crushed garlic, 1" piece grated ginger) then add any spices you like or just salt and pepper (I added Johnny's Seasoning salt and a tiny bit of chili powder for zing) along with some diced tomatoes (I used a chopped tomato I had on hand) then add the chopped potatoes (I used 2 Russet) and peas (I used frozen and I added 1/2 can of chicken broth at first and the other half after it had cooked down a bit on 300 degrees in an electric frying pan) cook till done. If you are unfamiliar with using fresh ginger, it won't be an overt taste, just an interesting back taste.

It was a delicious potato dish by itself, then I got carried away and added some teryaki steak and green pepper chunks (already cooked; left over from fajitas.) Voila! A simple hash style dish with dimension.

Amazing Left Over Veges Indian Style

One thing I’ve appreciated about Indian cuisine is how creatively vegetables are used. I could never imagine how vegetarians got much variety until I began to enjoy the rich variety and complex tastes of vegetable dishes created with Indian spices. One day I had some carrots and celery that I needed to use. I took a look through my repertoire of Indian recipes and actually figured this one out on my own. PCC stores have the needed spices, Garam Masala, cumin powder and chili powder, in bulk so you can buy just the amount you need inexpensively. Get your fresh ginger at a supermarket. If you don’t want to grate the ginger, most large supermarkets have small jars of already grated ginger in the produce section along side jars of already crushed garlic. When you prepare this dish, the aroma and the taste do things to carrots and celery you won’t imagine. My boat dock neighbors love it when I fix Indian dishes and often “stop by” to check out how things are going.

Amazing Left Over Veges Indian Style

4 carrots sliced into ¼’ rounds
2 celery stalks sliced diagonally
1 small tomato, coarsely chopped (I used a Roma tomato)
½ medium onion chopped
1 large garlic clove, crushed or ½ teas. from jar
1” to 1 ½” fresh ginger grated, or ½ teas. from jar
½ teaspoon Garam Masala
½ teas. cumin powder
¼ teas chili powder

Steam carrots or place covered by water in a microwave for about 6 minutes.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil and a little butter in a frying pan. Add onion and celery and fry till onion turns translucent. Add garlic and ginger and stir fry for 1 minute making sure they don’t burn. Add spices and mix well. Add carrots and continue to stir fry until all are coated and flavorful.

You can substitute different vegetables for the celery and carrots. And, a cooking tip: You can freeze chunks of fresh ginger for very easy peeling and grating when you need them.

Fun with Korean Chapchae

I’ve just discovered a wonderful new dish concept, Korean Chapchae. I call it a concept because it is the type of dish that can be made many ways. I don’t know anything about Korean cooking, but when I came across the dish it looked intriguing. It also looked like something different than our normal fare and, TA DA! something that will make my husband enjoy eating vegetables.

I discovered Korean Chapchae in an article in a free, online newsletter I get called Make A Note. I think I must have found the link to subscribe to it in either Simple Times or The Dollar Stretcher; two other online newsletters I get that are focused on simplifying and the Simplicity Movement. Anyway, I gave the recipe a second glance because I noticed it had a complexity and didn’t use many ingredients my friend with Celiac disease cannot enjoy. Then I took another look at it because I had many of the odder ingredients it called for such as sesame oil, rice vinegar, and sesame seeds. Hm, I thought, a tasty new way to use a piece of beef or chicken. So I went out and found a piece of sirloin a bit more than the 8 oz. it called for. I had one main vegetable ingredient carrots to be grated and just needed fresh mushrooms, a cup of chopped green onion and 10 oz. of fresh spinach. I didn’t have the noodles (cellophane noodles AKA bean threads) but I knew my husband was going to Uwajimaya (Seattle's Oriental supermarket) so I put it on his mental list.

The concept of this dish is to cook the meat, vegetables and noodles separately with their own seasonings and then bring the three pieces together. It offers a dimension of tastes and textures. I’m sure there are many variations of this. Keep the noodles on hand and it’s a great way to use up varying vegetables and meats. Besides the noodles, the only ingredients an American kitchen might probably be lacking would be the sesame oil, rice vinegar and sesame seeds. Stock up and you’re ready to go.

I made it according to the recipe the first time with beef. We ate it down to the last bite, finishing it up the next morning for breakfast cold! One problem is you might be tempted to eat a lot but, hey, it’s vegetables and vegetarian noodles with some meat chunks

I made it a second time again according to the recipe this time with chicken (four boneless skinless thighs cut up). Delicious again and a different taste.

Today, in a new Asian cookbook I acquired, World of the East Vegetarian Cooking by a favorite Indian cookbook author, Madher Jaffrey, I came across a recipe for Vegetarian Korean Chapchae. In this case you cook the vegetables and noodles separately then combine. I didn’t have the vegetables called for but my first Chapchae recipe had said “a great way to experiment with different vegetables and meats”. I had noodles and the stuff for the sauce from my first recipe (it looked better than the way they cooked the noodles in the vegetarian recipe). Then I scoured the fridge. Two bok choy (what had Hank been going to make?) ¾ sweet white onion, a bit of fresh cilantro, about a handful size head of broccoli and a 4” hunk of zucchini. I julienned it all. It called for 4 tablespoons of cooking oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil in the pan, 4 cloves or around a teaspoon of chopped or crushed garlic fried a little in the oil, a tablespoon of soy sauce (I used a bit more) and a tablespoon of sugar added in as a base to stir fry the vegetables.

The part from the first Chapchae recipe for cooking the noodles is, I think, a good basic way of preparing the noodles you can add to any stir fried veges or veges and meat. I went with that for this vegetarian version.

Noodles for Chapchae
Cook 1- 3.75 oz package of cellophane noodles (AKA bean threads) according to package directions (about 10 cups of water boiling cook till they are translucent) when noodles start to get soft, use clean scissors to cut the noodles, so they're easier to eat. Once noodles are cooked, drain well, then add
1/3 C soy sauce,
1 tblsp brown sugar,
1 tblsp rice vinegar,
1 tblsp sesame oil, and
1 tblsp sesame seeds.

I added the noodles to the vegetables and once again, YUM CITY! Different textures, different tastes and easy to make.

Here is the entire recipe: I was going to send you to the Make A Note Newsletter website but the recipe somehow isn’t on the site. So I'm giving you a link to the site and encourage you to go there and check out past issues of the newsletter:
http://home.att.net/~make-a-note/index.htm
And here is an email address if you’d like to subscribe to it:
http://home.att.net/~make-a-note/subscribe-make-a-note@ds.xc.org


KOREAN CHAPCHAE

FOR THE MEAT
Sprinkle 2 tsp of flour over 8 oz of beef cut into small chunks, toss well.
Add
1 tblsp of soy sauce,
1/2 tsp ground ginger,
1/2 tsp sesame oil,
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Toss again. Let refrigerate 30-60 min.

Coat a large skillet w/oil, heat to med-high heat, then brown meat mixture, remove from pan & cover to keep warm.

FOR THE VEGETABLES
Add the following to the pan in this order:
1 tsp sesame oil,
1 tsp vegetable oil,
1/2 tsp garlic powder,
3C sliced mushrooms,
1C chopped green onions, &
1C shredded carrots.
Stir well.

Then add
1-10 oz bag of fresh spinach and stir until spinach is wilted.

FOR THE NOODLES
While all that is cooking, cook
1- 3.75 oz package of cellophane noodles (AKA bean threads) according to package directions. When noodles start to get soft, use clean scissors to cut the noodles, so they're easier to eat. Once noodles are cooked, drain well, then add
1/3 C soy sauce,
1 tblsp brown sugar,
1 tblsp rice vinegar,
1 tblsp sesame oil, and
1 tblsp sesame seeds.

Stir well, then add vegetables & stir again.
Finally add meat mixture and stir again.

Side note:
After making this dish the first time, I had way more grated carrots than I needed so I chopped up a tart apple, threw in some dried cranberries and made my ol' standby slaw dressing Best Foods Mayonnaise, cider vinegar and sugar to taste. A totally yummy slaw that Hank loved, as well.

Lentils & Rhubarb

As summer wanes, I was reminded today of rhubarb. It was strange, I was looking up a recipe that used orange lentils. Those are small bright orange lentils with the skins off. They cook up very quickly and can be used as a thickening agent in recipes. I have some and I had the urge to try a new Indian dish. Orange lentils are commonly used in dishes called dahls. Those are dishes, usually a mixture of vegetables, that include dried peas and beans or lentils. I love lentils and am fond of frying a chopped onion in bacon grease, then adding some normal green lentils with some water or stock and when they cook down, adding crumbled bacon or bacon chunks. Yum city! Hank doesn't get my fondness for lentils.

A side note about lentils: the town I grew up in was in the middle of wheat fields. The crops were wheat and barley. But since I've left the crops have changed. The area has become known (so says their annual festival and plentiful tee shirts) as the Pea and Lentil Capital of the World. Growing up there, though, I don't believe a lentil ever passed my lips. I don't think my mother knew what a lentil was. Strange.

Back to my quest for a recipe that used my orange lentils, I came across one, an intriguing one, using rhubarb. I love rhubarb, I grew up with rhubarb, rhubarb is my friend. (Ha, what politician did that remind you of?) Ever make rhubarb sauce? This strange recipe has my lentils combined with a sweet potato. Now that's unusual in itself but it also uses rhubarb. This got me thinking, I wonder how many of my readers have had a close relationship to rhubarb, or have a rhubarb tale to tell? Or maybe a tale of lentils, or one of a recipe using an odd mixture of ingredients? Anyway, this is a strange post about lentils leading me back to my old friend rhubarb.

Here's the aforementioned recipe and a link to some great sounding rhubarb recipes from another of this country's ubiquitous festivals, TheLanesboro Minnesotal Annual Rhubarb Festival.

Curried Lentils with Rhubarb
Nancy Martinson
Makes 4 servings

1 cup dried orange lentils
1 large sweet potato, peeled and sliced
1 Tablespoon oil
1 cup fresh Rhubarb diced
2 Tablespoons sugar
1Tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon hot red chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Cover lentils with water in deep pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add sweet potato slices. Simmer until soft, 30-60 minutes. Remove from heat, drain if necessary, mash with a fork and set aside.

Heat oil in skillet until hot. Add Rhubarb, stir and cook until tender. Stir in the other ingredients add to mashed lentils. Pour into baking dish. Bake 20 minutes until hot.

Serve this dish hot with cooked brown rice. Garnish with coconut if desired.

Caveat:
I made the recipe and 1. I felt too much curry powder 2. the rhubarb tartness didn't really come through 3. It needs to be served heated and with coconut to give it texture and dimension.

More On Simplifying

In my last blog post I offered a simple, well fairly simple, recipe for a delicious Beef Stroganoff. Every time I make this, now, I double it because it freezes well and we love it. This brings to mind some great advice that I am taking more and more - cook ahead and freeze.

I have a longtime acquaintance, Deborah Taylor Hough, who is an expert on an interesting subject, Once A Month Cooking. See the website on her books on the subject and some recipes at: http://frozenassets.wordpress.com/ (She is also the author of, Frugal Living for Dummies
http://www.amazon.com/Deborah-Taylor-Hough/e/B001HCWZNA/ref=sr_tc_img_2_0

I have only a refrigerator top freezer. Though Deborah claims that, used effectively, even a freezer that size can hold two weeks of complete meals frozen ahead, I've only been using her cook ahead concepts for certain dishes like the Beef Stroganoff (recipe in the previous blog), a basic hamburger mixture she offers, certain Indian dishes I love so much I always double and a Mexican Black Bean Stew I make and love. I guess I'm using her concepts more and more.

From her I have learned to always keep on hand freezer quality, quart size Zip Lock bags and a black Sharpie pen. The bags are more expensive, but you are saving a lot by freezing ahead. For the Stroganoff we always keep our eyes out for a good buy on sirloin, I keep a couple of cans of consomme in the cupboard at all times, when I use tomato paste I freeze tablespoonfuls in snack size zip lock bags (cheap up the Dollar Store). I always have onions on hand so, when we get the sirloin, all I need are the fresh mushrooms. I even cook a whole bag of wide noodles ahead and freeze portions in Ziplocs. A double batch of the stroganoff and makes about six meals for us.

Deborah, on her website (link above) offers her recipe for a basic hamburger mixture (click on the word more… under the Make Ahead Ground Beef Mixture recipe description.) I make that as well. It makes for quick spaghetti sauce, pizza topping, or tons of other dishes, even a fancy slumgullion (I promise you will enjoy my earlier post titled SLUMGULLION, it has the recipe.)

As I've written before, my hobby is Indian cooking. I'm more fond of it and its unusual spices than Hank is. Dishes I love often involve an array of vegetables, not Hank's favorite food group. As Indian dishes are often very inexpensive to make and as I thoroughly enjoy concocting them, I often freeze portions to enjoy later and to share with friends. My unusual food gifts are always enjoyed offering another reason for cooking ahead and freezing.

I often make a yummy Mexican Black Bean Stew that is made with and a whole Chiptole pepper (I buy a can of them in sauce and freeze them individually.) It makes a large pot of soup that freezes well (in the freezer grade Ziplocs) and when reheated and topped with a dollop of sour cream makes for a delicious lunch. I'll share the recipe below.

The way I got started using Deborah's cook ahead and freeze concept was taking her advice about doubling recipes when you make something you really enjoy. So, if you're interest is piqued, get yourself some freezer grade Zip Lock bags and a Sharpie pen (for labeling the dish and noting when it was frozen) and double the next recipe that you make and enjoy. A side benefit to the cook ahead and freeze process is that it has caused me to clean out and organize my freezer space. Because of that, I am wasting much less food and I tend to use, more quickly, the dishes I've frozen ahead. You also get a great feeling for participating in the, now very popular, Simple Living Lifestyle. Isn't it great to know that something many of us have been doing all along is now called a lifestyle!



Mexican Black Bean Stew
2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (I use vegetable oil)
2 lg. onions, chopped
4 lg. cloves garlic, crushed
4 teaspoons Mexican seasoning
2 cups dried black beans, soaked (I use 2 - 14 ½ oz cans black beans, drained)
1 canned or dried chipotle pepper (I buy canned & freeze them individually)
1 49oz. can chicken broth (I use 4-14 ½ oz cans.)
2 teaspoon salt
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup chopped tomatoes (I use a 14 ½ o z can of diced tomatoes with the juice)
2/3 cup fresh cilantro chopped (more if desired)
lime juice and sour cream for garnish

1. Heat oil in a large pot. Add onion garlic, Mexican seasoning and sauté until onions are soft.

2. Add drained, soaked beans, Chipotle chili and stock or water to pot. (If using canned black beans add them with the corn, tomatoes and cilantro.) Bring to a boil. You will want to taste broth shortly into the boil as you might want to remove the Chipotle pepper when the right hotness is reached. Chipotle pepper can be put back in if desired as hotness mellows when vegetables are added.

3. Lower heat and simmer about 1/2 hour (or until beans are tender).

4. Add salt, corn, tomatoes, and cilantro.

5. Serve garnished with a squeeze of lime and dollop of sour cream.

Mexican Seasoning
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoons paprika
1 Tablespoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon celery salt
½ teaspoon salt

One Dish Wonder

I’m going to let you in on a secret. Well, it’s not too secret a secret but it was my strategy for saving face when in the dating scene. Yeah, OK, it was a few years ago. I’ve laughed for years saying that when I met a man I made sure he cooked before I dated him in case it got serious. I grew up eating good but basic dishes. The word cuisine wouldn’t have applied unless someone has lumped pot roasts, tuna casseroles, pork chops and gravy, hamburgers and beef stews together giving them their own category in the fancy food world. Though thriving on these good though basic dishes, for some reason I didn’t learn to cook. My mom cooked and once came in second on a statewide bread-baking contest. My Dad enjoyed cooking. As a widower he made killer huckleberry pies and was very popular with the ladies at senior center potlucks. My Grandmother, who lived in walking distance, loved to cook and I still savor the memories of brown beans and ham bone served with her amazing potato salad made creamy with an addition of thick cream. My cousin Donna, a sister to me, loved to cook. Each Easter she would make me bunny rolls, home-made rolls in the shape of bunnies. Donna was the first to introduce me to scalloped potatoes with cheese which, to me, was an amazingly sophisticated dish. The only cheese my mother ever allowed to touch a vegetable was the melting of cheese over a head of cauliflower.

Ok, back to my strategy of saving face for my lack of cooking skills. Meat was particularly challenging. I never bought expensive pieces of meat because I had no instincts whatsoever about cooking meat correctly. I suppose I should have taken a cooking class. (I did take a whole foods cooking class once, but that’s another story surrounding a temporary side step attempt to become vegetarian. Forgive me, it was the 1970’s). As a young single gal dating, there were times when my cooking skills or lack of would come up. What to do, what to do? I remember perusing the red and white Better Homes And Gardens Cookbook. I guess I was hoping for an epiphany. Page turning along in the meat section, I came across a recipe for Beef Stroganoff. Hm, I thought, it didn’t look too complicated. The ingredients stretched me a bit. I’d never used fresh mushrooms, consommé, or sour cream in a dish before. Guys generally liked meat dishes and it looked sort of like a “meat and gravy” dish with a kick, I thought. So, I set out to buy my first piece of sirloin steak and when the dish turned out amazingly good, I hit on something. I could become expert at this dish, and I did. It would turn out perfect every time. And, I never met a guy who wasn’t impressed and who didn’t think me a fabulous cook. Alas, the only trouble was I could only have them over for dinner once. So, I ended up with a guy who cooks, he seduced me with stuffed pork chops on the barbeque grill. I still make my Beef Stroganoff and it still comes out perfectly. It is, though, the only time my husband will let me get near the stove with steak of any kind.

Beef Stroganoff
adapted over many years from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

Ingredients
2 lbs. beef sirloin sliced in ¼” strips
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 Tablespoons oil
1 large onion, chopped
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 Tablespoons butter
5 Tablespoons flour
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 cans Campbell's Beef Consommé

Sour Cream to taste

Instructions
Slice beef and dredge in flour salt and garlic powder.
Brown quickly in oil.
Remove meat and brown onion and mushrooms for a few minutes.

Remove onions and mushrooms. Melt butter and flour mixing well into a roué. Stir in the tomato paste. Add consommé and cook till bubbly gravy consistency. Return meat, onions and mushrooms to pan, stirring into the sauce.

Stir in sour cream when ready to serve. Serve over wide noodles.

Modifications over the years:
I push the mushrooms and onions to the side of the pan and make the roué in the center.
I use Johnnies Seasoning instead of salt.
When sirloin is selling cheap I make a double batch cooling it and freezing it in Ziplocs before adding sour cream. It freezes well.
I cook and freeze wide noodles making for a quick fix dinner.

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At least turn down your brain

Tired? Having worked for years helping people with a professional method that helps them manage stress, emotion and their effects on the body, I’ve seen a lot of tired folks. Often it isn’t a major crisis that brings them but merely the toll of normal daily life. Our days in this modern world are filled with messages from every direction, “Feel guilty”, “Feel afraid”, “Feel inadequate”. Even with a fairly strong belief in our selves and intellectual clarity about life’s realities, the emotional toll can be great. Add, then, something out of the ordinary. Let us become a victim of crime, take a financial hit, loose someone in our lives, receive a diagnosis of serious illness or experience some other seeming “low blow”. The effects on our minds and bodies can be unexpected. Traditional psychological methods may try to help us “work through our issues” on a psychological level. What happens, though, to the toll on our mind-body mechanism while we are trying to analyze our conflicts, modify our unhealthy behaviors or reframe how we are perceiving things?

Modern folks have come to understand the importance of keeping their bodies in shape in order for physical resilience and health. We now know enough about the mind to clearly say that we must “keep it in shape” as well for our emotional health and intellectual effectiveness. Because, though, the mind is intrinsically tied to the healthy functioning of the body, keeping our minds in shape daily is critically important for the health of the body.

Even the toll of average daily life can be great enough to mandate our learning a powerful method of training our brains and working to practice that brain training every day. That is what I have helped people do. An effective method of brain training goes far beyond relaxation, it gives you the ability to actually diminish the eruptions of emotions in your body.

If that is not possible, we must consider the importance to both our emotional and physical health of at least “turning down” the activity of our brains daily.

Consider yoga
Learn a meditation routine
Take a hot bath or use the hot tub to relax muscles (relaxation helps quiet the mind)
Take time for the sauna or steam room at the gym
Keep a good novel handy (turn to it instead of the loop of thoughts)
Take time again for painting if that has been a release
Give yourself time for quiet moments with your favorite music

Do something that takes your mind away from the endless loop of “thought created emotions”. It’s critical for a healthy life.

Why?

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing a sweet young man in his early 20’s who moved with his hearing-impaired mother from Ethiopia and Sudan to America. For six years he has held the job of concierge at the retirement center at which I taught a class. Impressively, he was attending Seattle Central Community College and he loved the challenge of his courses. I've had the pleasure of chatting with him many times about his life and ambitions. His smile was genuine, and his sense of humor lightened many moments for the center’s residents. What further impressed me was his excitement about life’s possibilities. His goal was to attend the University of Washington. He had the grades, obviously the work ethic and even some scholarships. He continued to work to earn further money needed. I was looking forward to congratulating him on graduating with his AA degree this weekend. I knew how proud he was and could only imagine how proud his mother must be.

Instead of enjoying a celebration of his accomplishment, he lies unconscious in extremely critical condition in a Harborview Intensive Care Unit. Walking down a sidewalk after leaving his Beacon Hill apartment the other evening, he was jumped and attacked by 6 men who beat and kicked him to unconsciousness from which he has not recovered. It was a random attack, the purpose robbery. They have taken more than ever could be imagined. I so hope they have not taken everything.

Mini Garlic Cheeseburgers

My husband made mini garlic cheeseburgers for dinner this evening. They would make great hors d oeuvres for meat loving friends.

Mini Garlic Cheeseburgers

Ingredients:
1 large hamburger patty per person
Johnny's Seasoning Salt (or salt and pepper)
1 French bread baguette (about 3' round), sliced
Slices of your favorite cheese
Tomato slices
Dilled gherkins
Hot pepper chilis (we like Mezzetta Brand)
Garlic butter for the baguette slices
Catsup
Mayonnaise

Instructions:
Mix some mayonnaise into some catsup for dipping sauce. Slice tomatoes. Season and broil the burgers. When they are done, top each with a cheese slice and when cheese melts, cut each patty into quarters. While the meat is cooking, top the baguette slices with garlic butter. After removing the meat, toast the bread under the broiler. When the baguette slices are toasted, place a dab of mayonnaise on each one and top with a quarter of a patty of meat. Serve with tomato slices, gherkins, peppers, dipping sauce and French fries (Hank put frozen fries under the broiler) green salad or macaroni salad would be good for lighter fare.

Books

I love book TV, it’s my indulgence on weekend mornings. Like a print newspaper, it exposes me to information that I would not normally have sought. This morning Johan Van Overtveldt author of “Bernanke’s Test” is discussing the economic situation in America and it’s impact around the world. He is amazingly knowledgeable but his intelligence has another more important dimension. Like Antonio Damasio in the field of neurophysiology, he is simply and clearly spoken on a complex subject. Economics is a subject that has most of us confounded, frustrated and about which most speakers make our minds trail off amidst a barrage of numbers and acronyms. I’ve come away from his talk/interview curious about a book on the subject of economics, even tempted to look at it. If my book budget was unlimited and I had a Kindle electronic book reader I really believe I would have downloaded his book after the show.

This made me wonder if the electronic readers will have people actually reading more. Ultimately, I will get one. I think a lot of times I am not reading because I don’t have a good book on hand. Often, I come across descriptions of books in magazines, newspapers and from friends. They seem interesting, like something I’d enjoy reading, then I forget about them, or lose the scrap of paper on which I’d jotted down the title. I don’t make it to the bookstore or library in time. (Side note: I have a strange relationship with libraries. I’ve probably paid for an electronic book reader with all the library fines I’ve paid. I’ve never minded, though, I’ve considered library fines and the rare parking fine I’ve gotten as my contribution to local civic coffers.)

So, this morning, I’ve given myself another good point for my building list of justifications for buying an electronic book reader. And, if you are curious but intimidated about learning more about the economic maze in which the world seems to find itself, I recommend checking out Overveldt's book, Bernanke's Test.

Nearby Iris

Memorial Day

Growing up, a lilac bush sat at the corner of our garage. The fragrance of lilacs always brings back a significant memory from my childhood. Each year, Mom would gather armfuls of lilacs to take out to the graves on Decoration Day (It wasn't called Memorial Day until 1968.)

It was something my family did. It was the only time of the year I remember visiting graves. There were two cemetaries we visited, one out the Lewiston Highway where there were the graves of my sister Linda, who died at birth, Dad’s parents, his sister Dorothy, his uncle Frank and some cousins. The other was in Albion, a small town nearby.

I especially remember the Albion cemetery. It was on, what seemed to me, a lonely hillside. It was old. Many of the graves seemed abandoned and the dates on them were from the 1800’s. Folks from my Dad’s family, uncles, aunts and cousins, were buried there. We would park on a narrow, winding dirt road that led part way up to the hilltop, gather the containers of lilacs and walk the rest of the way. I remember feeling an awareness of lives that had been lived fully before I was ever born. It was one of the first memories I have of personalizing history. Who were these people? What had they felt? What joys had they experienced; what tragedies?

We would quietly find the gravestones, dust dirt and leaves away and place the fragrant lilacs. Mom would explain the relationships between the names etched in the stones. I remember the sun shining and always a slight wind blowing there. I remember having a sense of my relationship to history. They were moments of my childhood in which the obsession with “I” began to fall away.

Mega Mansions & Trailer Parks

The engine of a plane is the backdrop of this moment. I live on an international airport with floatplanes leaving and arriving throughout each day, rain or shine. A number are private planes ferrying folks to their island homes in the San Juans. Cruising through the islands you see mega mansions on cliffs. Nice but complicated. I can’t imagine living in a huge dwelling. Boat living for twenty years does not have me longing for more space. In fact, if I moved, what would appeal would be something small and unusual. A loftish type existence sounds fun. Some place I could decorate interestingly, uniquely, with odd flare. I’m totally fascinated by vintage Air Stream trailers that people have gutted and turned into retro-fantastic dwellings. There are a few trailer parks around the world filled with these creations that are rented out motel-style. I’d love to have the luxury to redo one. Why not, a retro Air Stream near an ocean beach somewhere, or as an office?

As an undergraduate, I lived in a trailer in an actual trailer park that sat just off campus. I bought it for $1200. It was cheap digs and fun living. The “park” was inhabited by struggling students and a couple of resident older folks to whom we turned for sage advice or how-to stuff. I wish I’d taken pictures but don’t think I have even one. It was an evolutionary and “heady” time for me, just out of a divorce, back in college, discovering feminism and my intellect. With just a bicycle for transportation and then my first “solely owned” car, a VW Bug I got around just fine. A while back I found the website of a store I used to frequent and sent them a note about my memories of that time.

1974 to 1976 … Wow! A magical time in Moscow for me and many others. I lived in a small trailer at the base of the university and traveled by bicycle. Back in college after a divorce in my mid 20s, my passion and time were given to the also emerging University of Idaho Women's Center with Corky Bush, Trynn Speisman, et al. And, my mind was expanding philosophically and politically.

I came across your website accidentally while searching writer's guidelines (I've been a writer and psychotherapist for many years). I stopped and smiled. I have to share that a pleasant and powerful sensory memory kept returning 30 years later every time I entered the Puget Sound Consumer Cooperative here in Seattle, until it recently went upscale, alas. That memory was of The Good Food Store. They say the brain's hippocampus pairs emotion and long-term memory. Being on my own in 1974, discovering my sense of self and the impact I could have on social issues was so exhilarating. I read Our Bodies Ourselves and Diet For A Small Planet. I debated feminist issues and took whole foods cooking classes.

I've carried with me a recipe I learned in those classes during my time attempting the vegetarian life. I make it periodically (because I love it and also because it brings back good memories). Its taste and smells always take me back to Moscow and feminism and bicycles and warm soup enjoyed over engaging conversations.

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

Ingredients
5-6 cups water
2 cups split peas
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup pearled barley or rice
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. dill seed
1/4 tsp. each sweet basil, oregano, mustard powder, celery flakes and black pepper
1 moderate handful toasted sesame seeds

Instructions
Bring water to rapid boil. Add split peas and salt. Let boil 3 minutes or until soft but still intact. Add barley, spices and onion; continue to cook. After about 1/2 hour, add sesame seeds. (If untoasted, stir in a frying pan on stove top using high heat till they start to turn golden.) While simmering the soup be sure that heat is on medium or lower all the time; too high a heat will destroy the vitamins. Soup is done when peas are dissolved and grain is soft.

A Plethora of Pies

A friend just brought a gift of a homemade strawberry rhubarb pie. It tastes as good as it looks and was like a gift from the past. Pies and piemaking were an important part of my past. Not that I personally made pies but, as I grew up, they were the dessert of choice for all of my extended family. We had a rhubarb patch by the garage and a blackberry patch nearby. We took day trips enmasse to pick huckleberries in the Blue Mountains of nearby Idaho. There was always hot coffee and a piece of homemade pie to offer someone who stopped by just to say hi, and people did in those days. Every large family gathering boasted a plethora of pies from berry to lemon merangue.

How's the weather? Call a ham.

The sun is out in Seattle. We soooo want spring. Actually we so want constant warmth and blue skies. It has been off and on and iffy, cool and drizzly, then sunny and back to cool. I know, not a compelling way to begin a blog entry, the weather. It reminds me of a short foray I once made into ham radio. A guy I was with at the time was a bit of an electronic nerd (not meant derogatorily, he went on to own a cable TV company). We had an impressive, at the time, reel-to-reel music system, electronic chess and the aforementioned ham radio. I listened to it and considered trying to learn the Morse code but never did. In those days, learning to tap out code was required to become a “ham”. I remember feeling fascinated for a while listening to folks from all over the world chatting back and forth. I soon learned, though, there is a universal “ham” obsession with weather. Now, in many crisis, these folks have played impressive roles in lifesaving. Alerting to weather information at those times maybe critical. That said, it seemed like every time I heard “hams” chatting it was about the weather. How’s the weather? What’s the weather like there? I don’t know why I expected more esoteric banter, but I would have wanted to know more interesting things from someone across the world than the current state of their weather. “Have you given thought to Spinoza lately?” “What’s the state of mind/body medicine in your part of the world?” Ok, so I’m sounding a bit snobbish, but I never even heard them share a recipe! I know with new forms of communication available, ham radio has taken a very back seat. I’m sure ham aficionados are patient, though. The world one day may find itself with the scenario of communication satellites being obliterated; the world in chaos and once again the tapping of a simple mechanical key will become the lifeblood of communication. In the meantime forget the Internet when you want to know the weather somewhere in the world, call a ham.

Buttered Croissants, broiled lamb & a taste of India

Hot, buttered croissants with coffee have to be a top morning indulgence for me. I used to enjoy them only rarely as I had to go out amidst traffic and morning chill to get them, or remember them the night before and then they were day old. Trader Joe’s is now my hero. They sell packages of eight frozen mini croissants. You take some out the night before and let them “proof” on a baking sheet over night. Then you bake them till golden brown. They are perfectly flakey, and deliciously croissanty, if I may coin a word. I discovered them by reading through the Trader Joe’s crazy little opus that they publish regularly. It’s a store that has little gems of food items up and down the aisles. Sometimes, now, I take the time to browse more in Trader Joe’s. That’s how I found what’s now a kitchen staple, their Mango Ginger Chutney. It’s a great accompaniment to my Indian dishes and Hank loves it as a cooking sauce. He used it brilliantly last night over lamb chops. No, you won’t overtly taste the ginger, it’s just a delicious sweet sauce with some complexity.

His dinner was a definite winner. Broiled lamb chops with mango ginger chutney sauce, broiled giant scallops which benefited from the sauce, as well, mashed potatoes with butter and fresh asparagus. I’ve been spoiled this week as the night before we had liver slathered in onions along with mashed potatoes (thanks to a friend who recently fixed it and inspired us). We both love liver and onions but often don’t think to fix it. Hank went to three stores trying to find veal liver but had to settle for basic beef liver. It was good, though. He told the tale of asking for veal liver at the Metropolitan Market and getting an angry stare. They might want to inquire as to the politics of their meat salespeople. Vegetarians or PETA folks should be allowed to opt out.

Wednesday afternoon I was a little down and needed an Indian food fix, both the fun of preparing it and the interesting tastes. What did I have on hand…red potatoes, a head of cauliflower that needed to be used… I went to Google and typed in potatoes + cauliflower + Indian + recipe and came up with the following dish. I put it all through the ricer topped it with a little butter for an amazing taste not at all overtly spicy!

Cauliflower and Potato Curry

From: Lisa Corsetti http://www.ivu.org/recipes/indian-veg/cauliflower-and-j.html I buy most of my Indian Spices, like Garam Masala, at a local food cooperative (Puget Sound Consumer Cooperative in Seattle) that sells spices in bulk.

Ingredients:
4 Cups potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
a pinch of asafetida (can be omitted)
3/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp salt
big pinch of sugar
2 tomatoes, chopped (I used a can of diced tomatoes)

1 1/4 cups water
1/2 tsp garam masala

Instructions:

Add all ingredients to a crockpot and cook on low for approximately six hours. Mash together.
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Voila! Our Experience

We dined at a small French restaurant, Voila!, in the Madison Valley area of Seattle last night. We began with an hors d oeuvre of escargot and a salad. The Escargot was placed on French bread baguette rounds dripping with a garlic butter mixed with finely chopped parsley and basil. Hank is fond of the escargot; I loved the garlic butter mixture in which I dipped the French bread served at the table. The salad was three endive leaves topped with rough chopped endive, leeks and walnuts, finely chopped shallots, vinaigrette, and blue cheese chunks.

For the main course I ordered the Cassoulet topped with buttered breadcrumbs and Hank the veal liver. The Cassoulet wasn’t quite as good, I felt, as Café Campagne near the Pike Place Market but was tasty. (Leftovers brought home were even better the next day.) It had the requisite duck, pork and sausage (and I thought I tasted some lamb), Cannalini beans and, for texture and taste, the breadcrumb topping. I felt it had a stronger tomato base to the sauce than I prefer.

Hank’s veal liver was served in 2” medallions in a sauce consisting basically, he felt, of dark wine and onions. He didn’t like the sauce and wasn’t impressed with the dish in general. The meat was surrounded with a mashed and piped yams seasoned mildly and poorly. One taste that came through was nutmeg. The liver wasn’t overdone, but not impressive.

We finished the meal with coffee and Sambuca (they didn’t have our desired anisette and Sambuca doesn’t hold it’s own in the coffee as well.)

I believe I’m sounding like a bit of a snob here, The entrées were in the $15 range, less than Café Campagne, The small chandelier and candle lit interior was pleasant.

Hail Tupperware!

It just doesn’t seem possible that the last entry here was before Christmas. Hank’s been through a successful knee replacement and three weeks recuperation at his sister’s in Issaquah. Thanks Helen! Here it is, mid February, the sun is shining on a Saturday afternoon. I’ve been making Snickerdoodles for Valentine’s gifts to neighbors. A small gesture, but a good Snickerdoodle is always a treat. I spent the day cleaning out the refrigerator and then the pan hole. I suppose on a boat it’s more properly called the pan hold, but hey. Pans on our boat are kept in a hole. To clean it out you have to get on hands and knees and sometimes lay flat on the kitchen floor to reach the bottom. Today I purged pans. Actually mostly I purged plastic ware that sneaks into the pan hole. I had to rematch all the Tupperware and sundry lids. I have more lids than containers, as usual. Tupperware is like socks; for some unknown reason you are always losing the lid or its matching container.

I fondly remember attending Tupperware parties with my Mom. It was the 1950’s and in-home parties were a new source of fun. Mary Kay was probably still selling Fuller brushes while Earl Tupper started setting the pace back in 1945. I remember burping lids, nested bowls, those pastel colored tumblers and cereal bowls and the amazing deviled egg carrying container (this was an era before the obsession with cholesterol) everybody made deviled eggs. They were the quintessential hors d oeuvre.

Things have come a long way. The last Tupperware party I attended was a couple years ago. A very fun-loving single guy friend of ours was talked into throwing a Tupperware party. He hardly knew what Tupperware was but was up for fun. He invited 30+ people and just about all showed. People brought wine and hors d oeuvres and he’d arranged live music (a neighbor couple, he played piano and she sang French love songs and show tunes). The Tupperware Lady was game – she demonstrated mango salsa in the Quick Chef hand chopper (throw in a tomato, a mango, an onion, some cilantro some lime juice, a couple spins of the handle and Viola! salsa) Bowls of chips and salsa circled the room and I bought the Quick Chef. I also bought the Tupperware cutting board and the deli meat and cheese storer and I love them all! The more wine people drank the more Tupperware they ordered. Based on amount of sales the host ended up with just about every hostess gift available (I don’t think Earl Tupper thought in terms of Host gifts).

I still love Tupperware, especially because moisture is a boat dwellers bane and glass breaks no matter how hard you try to store it creatively. Ironically, when I was first invited over to my sister-in-law’s house some thirty years ago I took deviled eggs as an hors d oeuvre (I’ve found even in the ‘age of cholesterol’ whenever you show up with deviled eggs they get scarffed up quickly). She was ecstatic about the treat from her past. She went to a high cupboard and returned with a Tupperware deviled egg-carrying container. “It was our mothers”, she proclaimed, “and I am gifting it to you with the mandate that you bring deviled eggs to all family dinners!” Hail Tupperware, it connects us through the generations.