December 28, 2006
First off, I just have to say…
Cookbooks that call for a number of vegetables rather than a quantity of vegetables are just infuriating. Especially when it comes to winter squashes. One Butternut Squash is not quite specific enough, thankyouverymuch.
October 7, 2006
Duh.
I feel like such a complete and total idiot.
I’ve been cooking with Jalapeno peppers all summer, since I’ve been blessed with peppers in the CSA share as well as peppers from my garden. Every time I grab a pepper, I mentally berate myself for forgetting to buy latex gloves *again* before getting on with it and burning my skin for the umpteenth time.
And all this time, I’ve had plastic baggies sitting just a drawer away from my cutting board.
September 6, 2006
Estimated sell-out: Very Soon (especially on the Stone Corral… only 81 cases bottled!)
The buzz begins!
August 31, 2006
Okay, so I’ve loved Dagoba since I discovered it about a year ago.
But now I just saw a picture of the founder, Frederick Schilling, on David Lebovitz’s recent blog entry.
Holy Hot Chocolate, he is gorgeous! Just one more reason to orgasm over every rich, spicy bite of my personal fave, the Xocolatl.
August 8, 2006
About a year ago, I discovered Smoked Salmon. Well, I knew it existed, but I’d never tried it.
Growing up in Santa Cruz, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by fresh seafood all my life. And I hated all of it. My father was an avid flyfisherman, but also hated seafood. He fished purely for the sport of it, purely catch and release. I grew up never eating fish. Never ever. Yuck.
My first job as a young teen was bagging groceries at a family owned supermarket in Scotts Valley, called Zanotto’s. Zanotto’s was an upscale joint, complete with an olive bar, a specialty cheese shop, real live butchers behind the meat counter (nothing pre-packaged), and a take-out sushi bar. Two japanese sisters worked behind the counter all day, rolling and cutting unagi rolls, caterpillar rolls, hamachi sashimi, cucumber, and california rolls. I’d watch as I walked by with the huge broom, tempted by the bright, vibrant colors of the boxed rolls, but repulsed by the strange smells. “You try?” They’d always ask. I tried a few things, but the flavor of the seaweed turned me off immediately. No, it just wasn’t my time yet.
Fast forward 7 years to my first date with my now husband. I still hated fish of any kind. He picked me up at my house and took me to (gulp) a sushi restaurant. This first encounter changed my life forever (in more ways than one!). It must have been fate. Destiny. Now, looking back, I can’t imagine my life without two things, both of which were basically introduced to me that night.
1. My husband.
2. Sushi.
I went into the restaurant expecting to order teriyaki and vegetable tempura, like I always would do when eating with sushi lovers. The boy had something else in mind. “One unagi roll, one shrimp tempura roll, an order of albacore nigiri and an order of yellowtail sashimi.” He ordered for us.
“Um…. I don’t like fish.” I said meekly, as the waitress walked away.
“Have you tried sushi before?” he asked.
“Yeah, when I was 14.”
“Well, it’s time to try it again!”
My stomach flipflopped as the food started coming out. Luckily, I’d had enough sake to loosen me up a bit, enough to give it a try.
I loved everything. LOVED it all.
But I still hated cooked fish. The flavor, the texture, it was just so different. It took some getting used to.
Nowadays, I’m pretty open to all seafood, but sushi is still my favorite. And like I mentioned, I just discovered smoked salmon. And last month, I discovered canned smoked albacore. From Santa Cruz. How appropriate.
Photo credit: http://www.davesalbacore.com
I’ve since stocked my pantry with about a case of this stuff. Not especially cheap, but great in a pinch. Need a good lunch? Smoked albacore tuna salad. Unexpected company? Mix smoked albacore with cream cheese and spread on crackers with sliced cucumber or avocado. And then there was last night: Planning on making turkey burgers, then realize at the last minute you have no ground turkey in the freezer after all? Make smoked albacore burgers. Serve them on greens, lightly tossed with a lemon vinaigrette of sorts, with sliced fresh tomatoes and avocado, sprinkled with fleur de sel and fresh ground pepper. Add a side of potato chips and a glass of crisp, grassy Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand.
Yum.
I love summer.
Smoked Albacore Burgers
Drain the albacore, reserving about 2 Tbsp of the liquid. Flake the filets with a fork into a large bowl. Discard any tougher portions (or feed them to your dog, like I did). Add the other ingredients, mixing together with your (clean) hands, and add the reserved liquid as needed.
Shape the albacore mixture into patties about 3 inches in diameter, 1 1/2 inch thick. Cover lightly and place patties in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (This was an afterthought addition, as my patties began to fall apart as soon as I added them to the pan.)
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbsp cooking oil. Place the patties in the skillet, and let fry for about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer patties to a plate with a few sheets of paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Serve as desired.
August 3, 2006
After so long away, I just have so many thoughts to jot down….
I was cruising my RSS reads, and came across Cream Puffs’s recent post on stuffed mozzarella, and this reminded me of something very important.
My friend’s 41st birthday is on Friday. This year was supposed to be the year she made buffalo mozzarella, some dream that popped into her head around this time last year. Only one problem: we can’t seem to locate water buffalo in California. I found one water buffalo milk producer in Vermont, but they won’t ship the milk. So…. I put it out here to the greater blogosphere…
Does anyone know where I can find some water buffalo milk?
August 3, 2006
I’ve lost track of how many days it’s been since I blogged here. I’ve been better about keeping up with the other blog, but I’ll be honest. That one’s easy for me. I don’t have to worry about posting a recipe, or bemoan my lack of photos due to the missing digital camera, or justify the fact that I haven’t been to my farmer’s market for weeks… All I have to do is get to my mat every morning. A mat is much more portable than a kitchen, so I’ve been able to keep up with my yoga practice fairly well. My food practices…. well… I’ve done my best.
This week is the first that I’ve had trouble keeping up with my CSA. Today’s my next pick-up date, and I still have half a yellow watermelon, a large magda squash, two ears of corn, a head of butter leaf lettuce, a canteloupe, and a basket of small strawberries (untouched for good reason) in my fridge from last week. That, plus some tomatillos I found at my Co-Op and a few avocados from the winery. We’re scheduled to dine out both Thursday and Friday, so Saturday’s farmer’s market may be more of a spectator sport for yours truly this week.
Saturday’s farmer’s market! Oh, how I’ve missed it! I’ve been away almost every weekend. This week is a return to everything I’m familiar with: an 8 hour work day. Waking up next to my husband. Seeing the furry face of Kula (and the husband, although somewhat less furry most times). Weekends at home. Early Saturday mornings at the market, just as the fog begins to burn off. Lazy Sunday mornings in bed, reading. And finally, cooking. The cooking feels a bit rusty, I have to admit. My timing’s off. So I focus solely on one dish, then realize, “oh crap” the dish is done, but the accompanying side dishes have become a complete afterthought.
Oh, and the garden is a complete mess. My first summer squashes are beginning to come in, although I have no idea when I should pick them. How does one know? Also, I grew my plants from seed, then got them mixed up after the second replant. Now I don’t know which tomato plant is which. This wouldn’t be such a big problem except I planted some green, yellow, and orange heirlooms. Now I don’t know which tomatoes are ripe! I’m trying to go off of the squeeze test, but I’m just not 100% sure….
Speaking of tomatoes….
Since I’ve recognized my mistep in timing in the kitchen recently, I’ve taken to items that require either marinating or baking. Beyond this, it’s been way too hot to stand at a stove and sautee, so I prefer to throw something in the oven and escape onto the breezy patio for a glass of wine while we wait for our meal. This polenta dish requires a wee bit of stirring over heat, but I just solved that problem by putting the husband to work while I chopped tomatoes on the other side of the kitchen. He was, after all, already sweaty from his bike ride. So I didn’t feel bad at all. I love this dish served with a side of cuban black beans and a simple green salad with a citrus vinaigrette.
Summer Tomato Polenta Gratin
For the Polenta:
- 1 3/4 cup milk (or soy milk for those lactarded like me)
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- oil or butter
For the tomatoes:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1 Jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 1/2 cup chopped green onion, white and green parts
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 cup monterey jack cheese, grated (I used goat’s milk jack cheese)
- 1/4 cup queso fresco, grated or crumbled (I used sheep’s milk feta)
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
To make the polenta, combine the first three ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Gradually stir in the cornmeal, reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently until it is thick.
Grease an 8×8 glass pan with the oil or butter, and spread the polenta evenly along the bottom. Set aside.
In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil and add the next 7 ingredients (through the garlic). Sautee for about 6 minutes until the tomatoes soften and begin releasing their juices. Remove from heat, and stir in the cilantro. Spoon the tomato mixture over the polenta, and add the cheeses.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese begins to brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
August 2, 2006
I’ve been thinking a lot about my experience making Paneer. Man, that was fun. Maybe now it’s time to attempt making a cheese that I can actually eat! So, this weekend, I’ll be attempting to make goat cheese of some type. Of course, I’ve gotta find a recipe first. Details, details. Anyone have any experiences making goat cheese?
I’m actually hoping when we move to Paso we can have a few pet goats to cruise around the property. Then we won’t have to mow. And Kula will have a few new friends.
Do goats eat poison oak?
July 20, 2006
I forgot to post about last week’s box.
How could I forget to post about last week’s box? Well, because I forgot to pick up last week’s box. Wednesday night, 9:15, there I was in the Portland airport, frantically calling my CSA partner, Tyler, giving him directions to the pick-up point and instructions as to how to pick up the veggies.
I did, however, remember to pick up this week’s veggies. Just in time to stick them in my fridge and leave for San Diego. But anyways… here’s what’s in this week’s box:
I just can’t argue with that logic.
July 8, 2006
This weekend, a tour of the Bay Area.
Tonight I stay with my parents in Santa Cruz.
Tomorrow, a bridal shower in Marin.
Tomorrow evening, a night on the town with the girls in SF.
Sunday morning, ashtanga practice in Berkeley.
Sunday late morning/early afternoon, a World Cup game back in the city.
Now comes the shameful part. I haven’t watched any of the World Cup. None of it. So who should I root for?
My Italian genes say “Italia!”
But I have a little French ancestry as well.
I could be swayed either way. So if you have a strong opinion on the matter, and want one more voice in the crowd cheering on your team, convince me and I’ll shout along with you.
