The Cupboard is Bare Cooking

These busy summer days have not been too conducive to organized trips to the grocery store.  Try as I might to buckle down and plan out dinners for the week, I keep finding myself at the store, starving, and no plan.  These trips usually end with a huge cart of groceries, and no clear idea of how the things in it will turn into dinners.  Or, on the other hand, we find ourselves at dinnertime with no real food in the house at all, because no one has remembered we actually need to purchase food in order to eat.  That would be this week.

We have been eating a lot of the same easy dinners: sandwiches, tacos or burritos, and more sandwiches and burritos.  Either too hot, or too busy to spend much time in the kitchen.  But Yesterday we found we had even eaten through the last of our tortillas and bread.  Hunger struck in the afternoon, before dinner even, and my kids and I looked forlornly in the fridge–oddly stuffed with veggies (thank you CSA), and a couple hunks of cheese, but little else.  I opened the freezer.  Popsicles.  Ice Cream. (Somehow I always remember to stay stocked up on these int he summer). But wait.  What was this?  Frozen sweet potato fries.  That would just might do it.

My children ended up opting for a deconstructed burrito (heated beans, with melted cheese sans tortilla), but I satisfied my snacking with those sweet potato fries, and a little roasted red pepper aioli I fashioned—so proud of myself for noticing those roasted  red peppers in the fridge with the cheese and veggies.  Nothing is going to waste this week in our house, and I’m determined to not head to the store until I have some dinner plans.  Any suggestions?  Hot weather here this week, so nothing too stove intensive.

In case you find yourself smilarily desperate, you might want to tuck this aioli recipe away somewhere.  You can always make the sweet potato fries from scratch too (I have in the past), but I was glad to use up what I had on hand.  Desperation can lead to wonderful things.

Roasted Red Pepper Aioli

You can make aioli from scratch with eggs (epicurious has this version), but we were out of eggs too (having had them for dinner the night before), so I went for the mayonnaise version inspired by this one at foodnetwork.com and a couple other I say, trying to replicate a taste I’d had at Laiola in SF (they served a spicy pimenton aioli with their fried potato wedges–so good I think our table went through 2 or three orders of them).  Of course, I just did a little reading, and found that traditional Catalan aioli doesn’t use eggs at all, but oh well–this one sounds easier then their mortar and pestle version.

1-2 garlic cloves

1 roasted red pepper, or about a 1/2 cup-drained

3 heaping Tbsp of mayonaise (approx. 1/3 cup, but I didn’t care to dirty my measuring cup)

lemon juice

2 glugs, or about 2 Tbsp olive oil

couple shakes of tabasco, tapatio, chulupa or other hot taco sauce

salt & pepper to taste

Using a cuisinart/food processor, start with your garlic and chop until fine.  Add in pepper, and pulse a few times.  Then add in lemon juice and mayo.  Add the oil with blade going.  Finish with hot sauce to taste.  I did about 4 shakes and it had a nice spice level.  Serve with bread, sweet potato fries, or what ever catches your fancy.  Beware.  This is garlicky.

Sweet Potato Fries (from scratch)

Preheat oven to 450.  Peel sweet potatoes.  Cut into wedges or fry shapes (as you desire).  Put on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil or other oil.  Bake for about 15 minutes.  Flip.  Bake for another 10-15 minutes.  Season with salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, or what have you.  The thicker the cut of the “fry” the longer they may take to cook, or vice versa.

Have Zucchini Bread. Will Travel.

The picture above does not do justice to this zucchini bread.  Or perhaps it does.  It does document how good it was.  So good, that it was all but gone when I realized that I hadn’t snapped a pic of it, and was planning on posting about it today.  You’ll notice that I only show a portion of the loaf.  That would be because the rest of it was gone.  Oh.  And the other 3 loaves as well.  Eaten for breakfast, midnight snack, car snack, and afternoon snack.  In about 2 days flat.  Almost all by me.   I kept trying to share, but was fighting a hoarding instinct the entire time.

Zucchini bread in question?  Heidi Swanson’s recipe for My Special Zucchini Bread, from 101cookbooks.com, that I printed off a couple months ago, waiting for zucchini season to hit.  When I opened our CSA box to find it had, I reserved a couple to try this bread.  What makes it stand out?  Use of curry powder and chopped crystallized ginger (I have to note that I was in fact out of curry but substituted equal parts 5 spice blend and garam masala with great results).  Gave it that zing that seperates it from every other zucchini bread, and cut some of the sweetness.  If you’ve got some zucchini lying around, you might try it too.  Just be aware.  Very dangerous.  It dissapears before you know it.

I took our loaves along to a quick trip to San Jose this weekend, so I thought I’d share a couple snaps from our trip.  My husband’s parents were treating, and we stayed in a picture worthy hotel called the Sainte-Claire.  Very posh, by our standards. (They had robes!) Very nice treat. We visited the Tech Museum, and ate.  And ate.  And ate.  We enjoyed a couple italian meals, one at Original Joe’s– 1950’s authentic West Coast italian–with no waiter under 50 years old.  Although I’m not usually a breakfast person, my favorite meal was at the Il Fornaio–French Toast with marcapone cheese and berries, with maple syrup.  Oh my.  The marscapone was just right and will be repeated here at home.  

Now back to reality.  House cleaning, car fixing, broken washing machines, and work.   Ahh.  Summer.

 

Running the stairs. There was an elevator, but we opted for these most of the time.

Post Box. So cooly ornate. We've lost a lot of these details in recent years.

 

Up close and person with the letterbox.

Original Joe's minestrone. My son ordered it, but we all kept "tasting" it until it was gone.

Berry Berry Good.

I’m having childhood flashbacks of Strawberry Shortcake and all her pals, esp. Blueberry Muffin, and Raspberry Tart.  If you’re feeling extra nostalgic like me in response to the over-abundance of ripe berries to eat, you might like to watch some of the original S.S. cartoons.  Or check out some doll images to refresh your memory of long forgotten toy love.  Little did I know we had “second issue” dolls (we had Lemon Meringue, Raspberry Tart, and Strawberry Shortcake), now considered “vintage” (didn’t realize I was that old).  My sis also had a “blowkiss” Strawberry baby doll–I had no idea that was what it was called– that we loved to sniff, and sniff, and sniff–that smell is with me still today.  I’d forgotten it was even a show, but watching part of it on that youtube clip I realized I had seen it at least once or twice as a child.  And oh my, did I love my Strawberry Shortcake and friends.  Loved them to pieces.  I still have the few dolls my sis and I shared but they don’t look very purty anymore–the clothing is tattered and stained, and they are looking a little bald.  And they live in the garage.

But there are some berries that I can still love, and that look pretty good–the ones that come in my CSA box, and grow in my garden.  Oh my, are they good.  Last week we got boysenberries in our CSA box, and I immediately knew I was making the Fresh Berry Tart with Toasted Nut Crust (page 70) from the latest issue of Vegetarian Times.  Their picture had struck another nostalgic chord with me– a yogurt pie my mom made when I was little, with a graham cracker crust, I think.  This recipe looked like that one, only grown up with a nut crust.  I gathered up the few ripe (and not snail eaten) blueberries and strawberries from my yard to mix in, and in no time at all had this dessert ready to go.  Berry berry good.  Berry berry easy.  And probably the closest I’m going to get to a grown-up version of Strawberry Shortcake, and her pals.

I can live with that.

Fresh Berry Tart with Toasted Nut Crust

from the July/August 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times

Crust:

1/4 cup each almonds, pecans, & hazelnuts (I dislike hazelnuts, so I substituted walnuts)

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

6 Tbs. chilled unsalted butter, diced

1 large egg yolk

Filling:

1/2 cup light sour cream (I used regular I had on hand)

1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek Yogurt (I think I used lowfat I had on hand)

2 Tbs. light brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. grated orange zest

1 cup blue berries (I just used berries I had which was blueberries, strawberries & boysenberries prob around 2 cups worth)

1 cup raspberries

1 Tbs. orange juice (whoops! just realized I didn’t do use this!)

1.  To make crust: Preheat oven to 350.  Coat 9-inch tart pan with cooking spray.  Spread nuts on baking sheet, and toast in oven 12-15 minutes, or unitl browned.

2.  Pulse nuts, flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until nuts are ground to powder.  Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse emal.  Add egg yolk, and puse until moist clumps form.  Press dough into bottom and sides of prepared pan, about 1/4-inch thick, and pierce with fork.  Freeze 30 minutes.

3.  Adjust oven temp to 400.  Bake crust 12-14 minutes, or until golden.  Cool.

4.  To make filling: whisk together sour cream, yogurt, brown sugar, vanilla, and orange zest in small bowl.  Toss berries with orange juice in separate bowl (I forgot this step and it was still great).

5.  Spread sour creammixutre in crust with spatula.  Spoon beries over top a little at a time, until sour cream mixture is evenly covered.  Refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes before serving.  Can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.

Art Day: O’Keefe

Summer is chugging along at a rapid pace.  What happen to those long lazy days I remember from childhood, stretching endlessing ahead?  I hope my kids still feel that way, but we’ve been so busy it is flying by for me.  One thing keeping us busy is dipping into our summer jar every day or two, and being as true to the slip we pull as we can.  Last week we pulled “art day” and I was excited to share a book I picked up for my kids at the Georgia O’Keefe & Ansel Adams exhibit I saw recently at the SFMOMA. The book is titled, My Name is Georgia, and tells, in picture book style, the story of O’Keefe’s life as an artist.  Both kids seemed to enjoy the book, and I thought it did a great job of balancing factual info and presenting this artist in an appealing way. 

Jumping off from this book, I glanced in my copy of Discovering Great Artists (see my post using this book for nature journaling last Fall), to come up with an idea for creating our own art inspired by O’Keefe.  Discovering Great Artists suggested doing large close up paintings of flowers, but my son and husband weren’t as excited by this element of her art, as they were about her SouthWest landscapes with skulls.  Considering our participants, I changed approach and we picked out a couple of her images online to imitate/interpret.  My husband and son worked from this image, my daughter from this one.  I worked from a snapshot I had taken many years back of foxgloves.  We started by sketching out our pictures, and then painting them (tempura and watercolor).  All in all, although there was a little artistic frustration in attempting “perfection,” it was a fun family exercise.  We talked about personal interpretation, mixing colors, and other artsy stuff.

Here’s a little bit from one of our summer days.

Redeemed: Vegetarian Dinner

Last week I admitted that although I usually eat vegetarian, and mainly post vegetarian dinners here, I do eat meat.  However, a meatless dinner is what usually makes me happiest and I was so satisfied with a recent meal we had that I wanted it to share it with you.  

As I’ve written before, I have been getting the magazine, Vegetarian Times, for a while now, and I was initially unimpressed.  However, as the year went on this magazine has grown on me, and I have really enjoyed the things I have made from it.  Around Christmas, we gave their Holiday meal a try (which starred this Mushroom, Cheese, and Vegetable Strudel) and it was great, if a little time intensive.  Fast forward to summer, and I found myself pouring over the lastest issue with my 17-year old cousin who had picked it up at the grocery store.  Soon we’d pretty much tabbed the entire issue and I decided not to wait, and to make one of their meals (actually billed as a graduation/celebration meal) that night.

Everything turned out great, and wasn’t too time intensive, although a little planning and making ahead would have spread out the time in the kitchen.  We ate it al fresco, and it really felt like summer.

You can find the recipes at Vegetarian Times:  Carmelized Onion Tart, Confetti Slaw, and Warm Potato Salad Primavera.  I recommend them all.  And I think I should add that carmelized onions are my favorite new food–they really deliver a lot of bang for the buck.  Check out these two other recipes that highlight them: my favorite sandwich here, and a similar version to the onion tart above, that I made earlier this year.

See also my posts on a couple other recipes I’ve tried from Vegetarian Times this last year:

Tomato & Corn Pizza

Sorrel Drink

Thoughts: 4th of July & one year blogging

Happy 4th of July!  I’m not the most patriotic gal on the block, but I do look forward to some great food, and old fashioned fireworks.  I’m a sucker for letting my kids stay up late, and this year we will be out at my mom’s where we can walk down to the bridge to watch the show, small town style.

Posting this weekend also has me thinking about last year, when I started in on this blog after a false start the summer before.  I started out on July 1st of last year with a little 4th of July craft done with the kids, and 147 posts later, this blog has become a part of my life.  It gives me a chance to write a little every week, motivates me to try new things, and helps me appreciate the things I’m doing.  It also has led me to make some new “virtual” friends, and let some of my far-flung ones in on my life.  Ahh…I’m feeling a little sentimental now.  Just perfect for a patriotic weekend!

And on a less sentimental note…a little bit on the Ribbon Wreath:

The ribbon wreath above was a crafty moment I experienced a couple years back (MS inspired again, I believe although I couldn’t find it easily on their site–did find lots of other patriotic decorations and crafts though!).  Easy enough for kids to do and would be fun to customize for other holidays or celebrations.  You could also handwrite a message, scroll the paper, and stick it in the middle–I do something similar for my daughter’s birthday with a bell wreath I have.  Only materials needed are embroidery hoop and ribbons cut to about 9-12 inch lengths, and spray starch, or other stiffener.

Another version on this theme here at Ducks in a Row

And check out this Halloween version at thelongthread.com

Food & Friends: a thank you

O.K.  So not the prettiest of pictures of this scrumptious dessert, but it went so fast, this was the best I could do.  More important than the picture though is to send a HUGE thank you to my friend since pre-school (right?), Anna, who sent me a delicious early b-day present a couple weeks ago–a cookbook that led to this yumminess above.  It still surprises me how much Anna and I have in common, and how well she knows me.  We haven’t lived in the same town since we were about 10 years old, but every time she sends a gift I LOVE it.  Now how many people can do that?  She has some sort of talent!  She has introduced me to some of my favorite musicians through CD gifts, and to top it all off, when we had a visit last summer after a couple years, we were surprised to find we read many of the same blogs.  

Well, this year’s gift was just as wonderful, and spot on.  Rustic Fruit Desserts.  I hadn’t heard of it (which is surprising in itself), but as I turned the pages I kept saying, “I want to make that, and that, and that…..”  I jumped right in (I mean why wait when it comes to dessert), and as I had just bought a dozen peaches to make my favorite peach cobbler, I quickly decided to try the Carmel Peach Grunt instead.  My favorite thing about this ‘grunt’ was that it is cooked in a cast iron pan, and moves from stove top to oven without dirtying a new dish.  I’m always looking for cast iron pan recipes, and this one suggested another way to utilize my favorite pan.  

In the end, I found that it was almost exactly like the cobbler I usually make, but slightly sweeter (because of the carmel sauce the peaches are in).  The recipe was flawless, which promises great things for this cookbook.  I made it to bring to a friends house for dessert (Dawn, you should have tried some! but I know your kids enjoyed it) and then brought the left-overs on our picnic in the city a couple weeks back (yes, I have been slow in posting this).  The recipe says it doesn’t keep well, but I found that a day in the fridge did it no harm.  Of course it is always better warm, and with a little melting vanilla ice cream with it, but I think the topping develops a little more flavor as it sits.

Thanks Anna for another great gift!!!

Picnic Classic Revisted: Curried Chicken Salad

Yes, I like to pretend I am vegetarian. Mostly. But this is not strictly true, as I’ve hinted here before. And what I am about to post will make this clear. Below is my favorite chicken-salad recipe. Uh-oh. Cat’s out of the bag now. It is true. While we don’t eat a lot of meat in our house it is not banned from it, but, if I am going to eat it, it needs to be delicious. And this is.

I’ve been working on finding a special chicken salad recipe for a couple years as it is a great high tea recipe, and do like one I have that uses thyme and slivered almonds, but I have to say, if I’m going to be eating it, I’ve finally found one that actually makes me happy to taste it as I prep it.

I struck upon this when prepping for the tea I helped my friend Lara throw, and it got compliments all around. I kind of smushed together a recipe from epicurious and one from Ina Garten’s Family Style cookbook, taking parts I liked best from each, and ignoring things that seemed too time intensive.  I have to say, I find more “go to,” basic, but good, recipes in Ina’s cookbooks than almost anyone else–nothing fancy, but good flavor all the way–and her chicken salad recipe didn’t disappoint. Secret ingredient? Major Grey’s Mango Chutney. (btw: if you want to make your own Major Grey’s this recipe at Mother’s Kitchen looks excellent.  I bought mine at the store.  It was this one, but there are many brands.)

Last week I had been hoping to make Lemon & Oregano Chicken from Tessa Kiros, but with our days filling up with family fun, it started to look like we needed to use the chicken or risk losing it.  I roasted it in the evening and then passed on the rest of the work to my husband. We brought the chicken salad to an extended family picnic on Father’s Day (served simply with sliced bread), and then we ate the leftovers as a perfect summer dinner for the next two days with nothing more than lettuce and wheat bread.  It doesn’t need anything more (except maybe a tomato, but those aren’t quite ready here yet), because everything is already in it.

Curried Chicken Salad

I left out the raisins, red seedless grapes, and cashews called for in both the recipes I worked from, but if you were going to serve this on lettuce as a salad, I think they would be excellent additions.

1 whole roasted chicken (or cooked chicken breasts), cooled

1/2 cup plain yogurt (I think I had Greek yogurt on hand)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

¼ c. Major Grey’s chutney

3 tbsp. curry powder

juice of 1/2 a lime

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 c. medium-diced celery (2 large stalks)

¼ c. chopped scallions, white and green parts (2)

1/2- 1 red onion, chopped

Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and dice chicken in large bite-size pieces. Because we were serving this on sandwiches, we shredded it using two forks.

For the dressing, combine the mayonnaise through pepper. Use a whisk or blend in a food processor.

Combine the chicken with enough dressing to moisten well. Add the celery, scallions, onions, and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend.

Off to the fair.

More good ole fashioned fun on today’s agenda. We’re off to the fair! No time for writing, just time for fun with the family. Oh! And lots of love for my husband today. It is our 10 year anniversary. Whoa.
I’ll be back soon with some more summer recipes, and, if all goes well, a couple projects I’m working on. Enjoy your summer day and weekend! I’ll do the same.

Childhood Revisited: River Day

I grew up in an old-fashioned resort town.  Strange to think it now, but that’s really what it was.  Of course by the time my childhood rolled around, it was a resort town that was undergoing some change, drawing in different crowds, and adapting to the times, but plenty of charm left.  One particular charm was the type of friends we made there: summer friends.  We lived in a couple different houses growing up, and in each neighborhood there were still summer homes owned by city-folk, that in the summer  housed for just a few weeks (sometimes months in the summer), kids to play with. They even sometimes came, like a delicious present, at spring or winter break.  Beyond those friendships, our town also housed evidence of a past over-run with a summer presence of city-folk, including a small amusement park, miniature golf, and (one small town away) a movie theater.

While I’ve moved to “Town” (what we always called the larger town about a half hour from us, but not to be confused with the “City” which always only means San Francisco), my parents still live out on the River.  This means I get to visit them.  This week I’ve been out twice, and we ventured from their neighborhoods were we usually enjoy the quiet and the trees, down to the local resort draw, Johnson’s Beach.  And it was everything I remembered (except for the absence of the large metal slide into the kiddie area–that has disappeared), and everything my children could hope for: $1 soft serve cones, canoe rentals with their Papa, swimming to the buoys with mama on the raft, and hot rocks and a wooden sidewalk.

Basically, summer.