A-ha Moments with Spinach

Have you ever had one of those moments where you finally get what all the fuss is about? I happened to me when I heard Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain,” the first time I caught a wave on a surfboard, and with a swallow of cognac from a 150 year old distillery near my father-in-law’s family home. For years, I hadn’t understood why people obsessed over Adele, surfing, or any alcohol in the whisky-burbon-scotch-cognac family, and then, in an instant, I did.

This dish was my moment with spinach. I like spinach, and I eat plenty of it in salads or mixed in with a variety of rice and pasta dishes, but I had never thought of it as much of a star player on its own. Spinach is just not that interesting of a flavor, right? Boy, was I wrong. In this dish, the flavor of spinach becomes strong and deeply verdant; the leaves around the edges of the pan crisp up and mix with crisped cheese to make little spinach nachos; the soft velvet texture of spinach is offset by breadcrumbs; this dish is spinach, seriously good. Not that we have a cultural obsession with spinach, but maybe we should. Maybe if we all ate this dish, we’d have a unanimous A-ha moment about just how good this little green leaf can taste.

Grapefruit and Candied Walnut Salad

I am not terribly fussy about food, in general. I like good quality food, but that is different than being all delicate about it. Seeds in the orange juice? Not a problem. Peel on the fruit, preferred. Peel on the potatoes preferred, for that matter. A bit of shell in the egg? Not going to worry about it (unless you’ve come over for brunch, in which case I will make one or two attempts to remove it). Antithetically to this kitchen attitude and behavior, I spent much of my youth working in the kitchen of a restaurant – a Tea Room, it was called, even – which served quite fussy food to grey-haired ladies. We’re talking cucumber sandwiches, petite aspics, lemon tartelettes. We’re talking we had to remove the crispy rib of a lettuce leaf before turning it to salad, because the crispy bit might be offensive. It’s a good life practice to occasionally have to behave in exactly the opposite way you’re inclined; keeps you flexible, and teaches you to be cognizant of a world unlike yours, in which people prefer their eggs without a little crunch of shell.

In this salad, I applied some of my old Tea Room training to prepare the grapefruit in the manner we used to for Sunday fruit salad. This technique removes most of the peel, pith, and the membrane that divides each section. It leaves only the most delicate part of the fruit. Can I tell you something? After preparing the perfect little sections, I ate the remains of the membranous de-sectioned fruit.

Rose Pancakes for Mom

Happy Mother’s Day!

Do all kids make breakfast for their moms on Mother’s Day? I think they should. Every year, I served my mom scrambled eggs, since that was the only dish I knew how to make. Also, every year my dad and I would go to the florist to buy her a bouquet and (for some reason) a mug that would say something like “World’s Best Mom” or “Love you, Mother” I believe my mom has since “lost” many of these gifts (I would have, too), but if you search her cupboards, you can still find a number of ceramic cups extolling her virtues as a parent, not that they’re wrong.

Mom, you are probably the most generous, and at the same time strongest, people I know; I think this is a rare combination of virtues. I admire that you live out these virtues through your actions, as you are not one for hyperbole (understatement of the year!). Among the many gifts you’ve given me is my love of the beach, and a fair dose of bravery in the cold Pacific Ocean. I remember swimming out beyond the surf zone with you, feeling at once terrified by our distance from the shore, and reassured by your huge smile and joy of treading a little puddle worth of the largest body of water in the world. I wish we lived in the same town so I could make you a nice breakfast.

Savory Rice Pudding with Crispy Broccoli

I admit it. I did it. After four nights of mustering the impressive strength to eat real food for dinner despite Gilles being away (which required the difficult tasks of either walking to friends’ houses to eat the dinners they prepared or reheating leftovers), I caved. I ate cereal for dinner. On Thursday. Yes, I did.

Which meant that I couldn’t eat cereal for dinner on Friday. Well, I could, but my self-respect was requesting something more.

Broccoli, crisped. Rice, made into a savory pudding. Together. Here it is.

A Light Potato Gratin with Sauteed Spinach & Caramelized Onion

French is a useful language if you want to cast your subject in a more flattering light. Does someone you know have a small chin? They’re not ‘weak-jawed’ in French, but rather they have a ‘fleeting chin,’ a menton fuyant, making them sound like someone who just has a really fun face. It is just as effective to use a French term in English to make something sound like it has more style or class (e.g., cachet) than it does: is something rather unrefined or primitive? Sure, in English you could say it is ‘rustic’ or ‘provincial,’ but if you bust out some French, you could call it ‘rustique’ or ‘provençal,’ which sounds much nicer.

So, enter the remarkably stylish potato casserole gratin. Notably, not potatoes’o’gratin, as I thought they were called when I was young (and thus assumed this was a traditional Irish recipe), but potatoes au gratin.

Take note! A gratin does not have to be heavy with cream, butter, and cheese. Here, I use low-fat milk, just a bit of fat which you could exclude, and only a sprinkling of cheese. Plus, we’re adding spinach. This dish feels luxurious and rich, but is actually rather healthy, depending on how you feel about potatoes!

Green Cabbage Salad with Goat Cheese & Apples

I’m always surprised by how much I enjoy cabbage. I remember when I was a kid, I had a Sesame Street book that was meant to be read along with an interactive tape player. One one page of the book, Snuffleupagus would tell you that cabbage was his favorite food, and then he would ask if YOU liked cabbage.

I would press no.

And then Snuffleupagus would make a very sad noise, and say something like “Oh, well… more for me, I suppose.”

Eventually, I started to press Yes I like cabbage just so I would hear happy Snuffleupagus.

To this day, I still think that I don’t really like cabbage. Then I eat it and remember that I think cabbage is pretty good. Somewhere, a muppet is happy.

End-of-Week Salad

It’s Friday. Let’s make a salad.

You were thinking more burgers and beer?  I was thinking the same thing.

If you change your mind, this salad could make you forget about burgers.  It is hearty and satisfying.

If you want to dream about cooking this rainy weekend, what about pastry? Or knish? Tonight, I’m going to learn how to make knish. Tomorrow, I’ll let you know how it goes.

But for now, the salad.

Cookout: Red Pepper Quinoa & Fire-Roasted Bananas

San Rafael Wilderness, full of wildflowers

The first time Gilles and I went backpacking together, we brought quiche and leftover roasted duck. The campers next to us were eating those dehydrated rice+stuff meals out of plastic bags that you can pour hot water directly into. Needless to say, they were envious of our dinner, and we of their pack weight.

We’ve toned things down a little since that first trip, but just because you’re outdoors doesn’t mean you have to rough it.

This past weekend we went for a short backpacking trip in the San Rafael Wilderness near Santa Barbara. The wildflowers were just coming out, the vegetation was nice and green, and the views stunning. To be alive!!

For dinner, we had this red pepper quinoa dish and for dessert, bananas cooked over an open fire. Divine!

Of course, if you’re not camping, the quinoa dish may seem a little rustic. You could plate the quinoa, pour over the sauce, and serve some eggplant or steak on the side.

The bananas would be delicious and rich in any backyard BBQ.

Campfire

Red Pepper Quinoa with Steak Bits & Eggplant

Bananas, ready to roast!

Bananas on the Grill

Red Pepper Quinoa

1 cup quinoa
2 cups cooking liquid (water or stock)
1/2 cup roasted red pepper sauce*
1 leek, sliced

mixed in, serve chopped in 1-inch pieces, or sliced on the side:
1/4 pound leftover steak
and/or
1 small, roasted eggplant (or less)

Put it together

Slice and wash the leek. Cook in some oil in a skillet over medium heat until tender. In a small saucepan, cook the quinoa with the cooking liquid for about 20 mins, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Mix the quinoa into the cooked leeks.

*You can make red pepper sauce from scratch, as described below, or you may be able to find a similar substitue in the store. I’ve made it before, and it was none too hard. This time around, with the option I had at the store, I calculated that it would cost me more to buy the peppers to make the sauce than it would to just buy the sauce, and the taste is comparable. Bought the sauce!

Stir in the red pepper sauce, or serve over the top of plated quinoa.

If mixing in, stir in the cubed steak and/or eggplant.

If serving alongside, plate the steak or eggplant.

Red Pepper Sauce

4 red bell peppers
1 small eggplant, or 1/2 of a medium-large eggplant
olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
balsamic vinegar, about a tablespoon
salt to taste
roasted jalapeno or serrano peppers, optional

Roast peppers and eggplant on the range turning every few minutes until skin is blackened and fruit is soft. You can use a gas or electric stove, or the BBQ if you’ve got it on. For stove-top cooking, just place the fruit directly on the burner, and use metal tongs to handle.

Remove fruit from heat, wrap in plastic wrap, and let cool. Once cool, remove the blackened skin and rinse. Squeeze water from eggplant flesh and remove the stem. Remove and discard seeds from peppers.

Toss it all in a blender. Add a few tbs of olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Roast the chili pepper, if using, and add to the blender (with or without seeds, depending on the level of heat you’re looking for). Blend! Add a splash of water or more oil if needed. Sauce should be relatively thick. Add salt and more vinegar to taste. You can roast the peppers and eggplant in the oven if you’re not up to the fire-roasting.

Fire-roasted bananas

Slice bananas in half. Roast over open fire. If the skins blacken, and if you’re using wood, the bananas develop a nice, smokey flavor. So good!

I’ll bet you could add a lot of stuff to this banana: maple syrup or brown sugar; cinnamon or nutmeg; a splash of burbon or wine. But the banana doesn’t need any of it. It is sweet, complex, and smokey enough just roasted on its own!

At rest

Single Lady’s Eggplant

Roasted Eggplant with Salad. Life is good!

We’ve all been there.  At home, alone, meal time. What to have?  A bowl of cereal?  Maybe a salad, but only if the lettuce is already washed?  A bag of frozen french fries warmed to mush in the oven?  What about this Roasted Eggplant dish?  It is almost as easy as cereal, and so much warmer and comforting. Cereal would never give you a hug, but an eggplant would.

Here is everything you need for this dish

This is exactly everything you need for this dish!

Look how delicious roasted eggplants look!

Beautiful, Golden, Roasted Eggplant

If you like, you can make a little sauce or pesto to serve over the eggplant, and you can put a little lettuce beside.  But those are just extras, believe me, I’ve eaten these roasted eggplants unaccompanied, many a time.

A Single Lady’s Roasted Eggplant

inspired by Nigel Slater’s Real Fast Food

1 or more eggplants

olive oil

roasting pan

extras

plain yogurt

pesto made of cilantro, spinach, basil, kale, or some combination

a little ground red chili

Put it together

Preheat the oven to 400 deg F.  Slice the eggplant in half length-wise.  Pour 1/4-1/2 inch of olive oil into the bottom of a baking dish, and insert the eggplant cut side down.  Roast in the oven for about an hour, checking the eggplant after about 40 mins.  The eggplant is done when it is soft to the touch and the cut side is cooked golden brown.

Remove eggplant and serve one half on a dish, perhaps with a little coarse salt or topped with some plain yogurt or a pesto made from fresh greens.  Here I served it with a dollop of greek style yogurt, a kale and cilantro pesto, and a sprinkle of ground red chili pepper.

To make this pesto, I used a few fresh kale leaves from the garden, rinsed, de-stemmed and coarsely chopped; a few sprigs of cilantro from the garden, rinsed; and a few leaves of spinach, de-stemmed and rinsed.  I threw it all into a blender with a splash of water, a little olive oil, and the juice of half a lemon.  It’s a kale smoothie for your eggplant!  You could add a clove of garlic, some sesame oil, walnuts or pine nuts, grated parmesan cheese.  It’s up to you!

Lettuce & Kale - Straight from the Garden

Baked Pea & Lemon Risotto

I’ve been eating a lot of peas… tis the season!  I wanted to add peas to rice.  The two tricks to adding veggies to risotto are to 1) not add too many and 2) make sure the veggies are soft and well-cooked, so they don’t conflict with the smooth, creamy, perfect texture that is risotto. Of course, I messed up on both counts when I made this, but I’ve corrected the recipe so that I hope your dish comes out perfectly!

English Peas

I thought that the peas used here would cook to soft in the dish, but they were still rather crunchy, so I’ve suggested that you blanch the peas before incorporating with the uncooked rice. I knew when I was adding my peas to the recipe that I was adding too many, but I usually love to over-veg starch dishes.  Otherwise, I ende up with this classic scenario: One of our easy go-to dinners is to cook up whatever veggies are in the fridge and serve them over pasta, and I always eat the veggies off the top and leave the pasta. Of course, this means I have to eat plain pasta for lunch the next day. You probably think I’m lying here, since no one in the world prefers veggies to starch, right?  Let me improve my credibility by telling you that I eat an AWFUL lot of bread.  So much bread.  Bread is at least 10% of the reason I married my French husband, who made bread to go with the dinner he served me for our second date, and who continues to make bread every day.  Its just that plain pasta or baked potatoes don’t do it for me.

Back to the risotto.  Try it and let me know.  I’ll try it again, and let you know.  Deal!

PS Did I tell you this is BAKED? You don’t have to stir the risotto on the stove.  I know, you love standing over a hot range.  Me, too!  But just this once, put something in the oven and forget about it for 20 minutes.

Adapted from Joy the Baker’s Baked Lemon Risotto

which is adapted from the Weight Watchers Magazine

2 cups Arborio rice, or 1 cup each Arborio and Mixed Wild Rices

32 oz (1 box, approx 4 cups) low-sodium chicken or veggie stock

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup white wine

1 small to medium onion, chopped or sliced

1 tbs lemon zest

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1/4 – 1/2 tsp ground red chili pepper

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup English peas

salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and set aside.

Heat approx. 3 cups of water in a small sauce pan to boil.  Add the peas and cook for 3-5 minutes, until soft (you might check before turning off the heat).  Drain water from the peas, and set aside.  If you wish to stop the cooking so that the peas retain some of their bright color, have a bowl of ice-water ready and add drained, cooked peas to the ice water.

Chop or slice onion and saute in a little oil until translucent to brown, 5-7 mins.  Meanwhile, zest the lemon and chop the thyme leaves.  When the onion is cooked, add the zest, thyme, and chili powder.  Mix and turn off the heat.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the rice, cheese and drained peas.  Add the onions and seasonings from the saute pan and mix.

Add the dry mixture to the baking dish, and cover with the stock, water, and wine.

Bake for 20 mins, stir once, and bake for another 20 mins.  The rice should be nice and creamy, the liquid mostly absorbed but not to the point that the dish is gummy. If the rice is not fully cooked, add a bit more liquid (1/3 cup), stir, and cook for another 5-10 mins.  Add salt to taste.  If you’re feeling fancy, you can serve topped with a sprinkling of reserved lemon zest or thyme leaves.