July 31, 2006
Saturday. The house’s internal temperature finally dipped below 90… so I dared venture back into the kitchen. But not before a run down to a local farm for tomatoes, blueberries, and corn on the cob.
I thought I was going to have some help with the corn, but I had to do the whole schuckin’ thing. The siren’s song of the blueberries was too hard to resist for one little girl.
July 25, 2006
How do you recharge (and relax) after a hard day swinging a hammer and weilding a drill? You make sauce. Tomato and Chocolate Mocha! (not together silly), and all prepped while dinner cooks – Balsalmic roasted chicken and veg en papillote.
Start with 40 roma tomatoes, halved and seeded, (and all your baking dishes)
skipping dried herbs for fresh was the most tedious part – good thing I had helpers for this part….
add onion (2 C), garlic (4 t), thyme, oregano (2 T each, finely minced) and olive oil (1/2 C)
wait two-and-a-half hours. (325 for the first 2 hours, crank to 400 for the last 1/2), run it through a food mill (toss the skins), add 2 C of white wine (opt) and Voila!
If you followed the recipe link, you’ll notice I doubled the recipe… and if you look really closely at the first photo, you’ll notice I forgot to seed the tomatoes. I generally think that If I’m going to go through the trouble of making something, I might as well make enough to make it worth my while… and in case I made too much this time, I dragged out the canning equip. More often than not my insticts have provided us with a well stocked larder. This on the other hand came out much thinner, and less plentiful, than I had expected.
However, the yeild was just about what the recipe called for… so perhaps all is not lost, just a bit thin for my taste… Oh, the taste you ask… I’m underwhelmed. It didn’t impress, at least not yet. It came off too thin, and I really noticed the wine. I suppose I should have let it reduce a bit more.
So while I don’t think I’ll be having this over angel hair anytime soon… This may work out quite well for some sort of a pasta bake dish… I’ll try that when the kitchen cools down, and the humidity dissipates. Any other suggestions for improvement, or alternate usage? I hate to throw away, essentially $30+ worth of sauce… and 6 hours of my night (store to jar to blog)
On a more positive note… While the tomatoes were baking… and we were hankering for something COLD to alleviate the hot kitchen blues… Frappucinos or smoothies sounded nice, but alas, there was no chocolate syrup to be had… a quick search of the web turned up some promising, and some not exactly drink worthy… (Butter or Buttermilk in a Mocha?)
Allrecipes offered some simple ones. Simple is good…. But… I had to take it one step further… I took 1 1/4 cups of water, and brought that to a boil with 1 1/3 cups of sugar, and 2/3 cups of cocoa poweder… AND… 2 heaping TBS of instant coffee powder… Mochalicious! My only complaint is this was also quite thin, and it all settled on the bottom… but the flavor did not dissapoint! Being more of a simple syrup than a true sauce… I’m not afraid this is going to solidify into a solid mass, unusable come tomorrow, so tonight, I’m batting 500.
So, for the Tuesday review… Tomato Sauce – just as easy to make as yesterdays veggie spread (which was really good), chop, bake, ignore, puree… but not quite ready for prime time. The Chocolate Mocha sauce – Yummy! Further confirming a friends statement, that anything mocha is good.
July 24, 2006
Last weekend we headed down into Boston for a picnic, and just happened to drive by the Whole Foods in Cambridge. I stopped in to grab a cookie for the ride home… and basked in the joy that only a store full of natural and organic foods can bring.
I normally make a yearly pilgrimage to the one nearest home (about an hour’s drive) in the fall, so I can spend a weekend or two making soups and the like, to prepare for the winter. I’d try to get down more often, but the commute, and pocketbook, usually dictate otherwise.
This week we’re on vacation. But it’s not slated to be a vacation week in the traditional sense. Thankfully, that’s scheduled for October. No, as always, this week is about the house.
I’m finally going to put new windows in the master bedroom, finish up what the May and June rains put off in the landscaping department, and, time permitting, scrape the clapboards and prep for a new coat of paint. Not to mention I’ll be helping my father tackle a few small projects – finish a basement, frame out and install a bead-board ceiling on my in-law’s screen porch… and time permitting, relax a bit before I go back to the grind.
But those two minutes in Whole Foods continued to beckon me back. If you’ve never been, it can only be described as a Food Mecca.
Suddenly, all I wanted to do was toss the rebuilding and constructions plans, and instead spend vacation in the kitchen. Naturally, a trip to the beach today just had to include a pilgrimage to my beloved green grocer.
So, will I be cooking all week? Yes, and no. I just dug out some easy favorites. Not soups or any heavy cooking. Just some creative salads, sandwiches, and pasta dishes. Nice, easy summer fare… but enough to satisfy my cooking “fix.”
Otherwise, I’ll still be home repairing and helping Dad out for the next few days… but I already know what’s on the lunch menu – It’s cooking as I type.
As you can tell from recent posts, I’ve been on an Alton Brown kick lately… so, tomorrow I’ll be sampling his roasted vegetable spread, prepared in a sandwich… how can you go wrong with roasted summer vegetables and cream cheese? It just has to be good. It also is about the easiest thing to prepare. Chop, bake, puree, done.
Then later this week I’ll be making my granola again! A double batch should last about a month. I’m also planning on cranking out a double batch of Baked Tomato Sauce. I might can some for the winter – take advantage of what’s in season while I can… that is, if I can dig up some good looking Romas at the neighborhood farmstand. WF only had conventional, and I prefer everything organic whenever possible. If I’m going to do something big, or for the long haul, I’m going to do it right.
Just a bit of the bounty from today’s haul. Millet will become some whole grain waffles, Organic rolled oats, dates and coconut will become granola, along with applejuice concentrate, sliced almonds and a few other things. And the Tiger Balm? – well, I’m definitely going to need that, too.
(recipes and reviews to come)
July 19, 2006
How do you get your little girl to eat dinner, when, despite containing everything she likes, she won’t give it a chance? Make mealtime funtime!
She would have nothing to do with the shrimp, carrots, broccoli, noodles or waterchestnuts in the stirfry we had for dinner. Except for the latter, these are all things she loves.
Was she being difficult for difficult’s sake? Perhaps – she is three, after all. To her credit, though, she couldn’t eat her corn on the cob fast enough (or more thoroughly) this past weekend.
After several minutes of defiance, her dinner getting cold, my wife hit upon a brilliant idea – make her guess what she was eating! She likes playing a guessing game where she reaches into a bag and tried to guess what she was holding. So why not guess the food in her bowl? What fun!
Sweetie obviously agreed, as her mood lightened instantly. She was eager to play.
She ended up doing quite well, and she looked forward to each bite.
“Is that a shrimp?”
“Yes.”
“A carrot!”
“Yes.”
“Another shrimp?” (while making a face)
“No, that’s a waterchestnut.. it’s kind of like a raw potato… we won’t give that to you again.”
And so on….
She did start peeking after that, but kept eating anyway. Peace and fun were restored to the dinner table at last!
July 16, 2006
I make a mean granola in the cooler months, but I’ve been hankering for a nutritious, car- friendly version for the summer commute (without heating up the kitchen for 2-3 hours of cooking time on these 90 degree days). Tired of the average (at best) “power” breakfast or granola bars (for one to two bucks a pop), I took some tips from Alton Brown (Good Eats), and made my own. I was also able to increase the nutritional value and skew the flavors to really hit the spot.
AB claimed I could make any of these for about 5 cents a bar… and while I did have some ingredients on hand, and bought as many organic ingredients possible for the bulk of what I didn’t, the damage was actually about 55 cents a pop. The time spent prepping was equal to, or less than, the drive to the store. So it was still time, and money, well spent.
Granola bars came first… but I had to make some subsitutions. Trader Joes didn’t have good old fashioned rolled oats, and I didn’t feel like running around, so if a substitution was available (and made sense) then I went with plan B.
A four-grain hot cereal played the part of oatmeal. (oats, barley, wheat and rye). If anything, I’ve upped the nutrition here. I also skipped the sunflower seeds. Not a huge fan. Lastly, TJ’s didn’t have any dried apricots or cherries (surprisingly). So I increased the amount of blueberries, and added chocolate chips!
The result – delicious! Crunchy, chewy, sweet (but not too sweet). The only negative was that they didn’t hold together very well. Not sure if that was because of the recipe or my not packing them into the pan firmly enough. I’ll find out the next few times I make these. My wife and daughter really liked these as well, so I think I won’t change the recipe (as already altered, I mean)
original recipe for granola bars, and directions
Next up was the healthier take on rice krispy treats. As with the granola bars I made the previous week, I had some substitutions in store. Primarily with the major component – no puffed brown rice cereal was to be had. Enter Kashi! No nutrition lost with this switch. Still didn’t have dried cherries on hand, so chocolate chips stepped in once again – to round out the almonds, blueberries and cranberries.
These came out pretty good. Almost no coooking involved with this recipe. I don’t think I was ever a big fan of the good old version off the Rice Krispies box, so I’m not the best judge for these. They weren’t as big a hit as the granola bars were with the rest of the family. I think they came out tasting stale to be honest, but they were good enough (better on the second day). I did eat them all, over the course of about two weeks. Can’t say I would crave making these again… perhaps if they were the peanut butter version rather than the marshmallow version, then I might be onto something.
original recipe for brown rice krispy bars
Lastly, today, I made the protein bars. I stuck to the recipe verbatim on this batch. I stole enough dried cherries out of a bag of trail mix from TJ’s, and got dried apricots from the supermarket. I would have had this recipe together much quicker if somebody wasn’t stealing the apricots almost as fast as I was chopping them.
These are the healthiest by far. Lots of protein, peanut butter, soy protein powder, silken tofu, eggs, and a host of natural ingredients to cover all the bases (nutritionally speaking), oat bran, wheat germ, dried fruits.
original recipe for protien bars
The verdict? They’re good, (i just ate three), but I’ll probably be the only person in the house to eat these. The texture is a little weird. They’re kind of like a cross between a hermit, whole wheat pancake and a dense muffin. Very tasty though. Could have upped the peanut butter, or added a chocolate drizzle (if not chips).
However, since these are just as, if not more, wholesome than the pricier fare available at the supermarket and specialty shops, I’ll make these again (the granola and protein versions, that is). I usually have most of these ingredients on hand anyway.
July 9, 2006
Had a really good food weekend (to balance out a fair amount of hard work).
The highlights:
Fresh tomatoes are one of my favorite things about summer. Found about a dozen different heirloom tomatoes at the market, grabbed two; a dark reddish/ almost purplish one, and a nice yellow/yellow orangish one. These were diced up, and baked atop some fresh bread, drizzled with olive oil, balsamic and a sprinkling of sea salt and fresh basil (chiffonade). They were gorgeous, as well as delicious. I’d have taken pictures, but I was too anxious to eat. I’ll make more, real soon… (speaking of tomatoes, I’m planning on making Alton Brown’s baked tomato sauce before the season passes. If it comes out great, I’ll be canning a bunch, otherwise it’s then back to jarred (organic) goodness from Trader Joe’s.
Speaking of AB, he had a Good Eats episode recently on sushi, and I’ve had a hankering ever since. Last night we met friends, and filled up. I enjoyed crab salad, tempura salmon maki and a tropical, almost dessert maki, with pineapple and a kiwi sauce. With a 22 oz Sapporo of course, followed by “fish” ice-cream.
Today – even though I shouldn’t have, we went out for ice-cream. I figure I’d burned enough calories to justify. What were my choices? Didn’t bother to check, I always have mocha chip. Today it came in a waffle cone. Don’t know what I’ll do if they ever run out.
July 2, 2006
I found a bunch of coupons attached to a bottle of wine. Weird? Yes. But Sutter Home’s marketing is currently revolving around a Build a Better Burger contest – with a grand prize trip to Napa for the cook-off.
Some (most actually) were for things we would buy, (Frugalistas take note; $1.00 off chips, pretzels, olive oil, and mustard. No wine purchase required.) nothing that really goes with wine per se…
but it seems that I may just be a step out of synch with food and wine pairings.
I understand Champagne and strawberries, Chiani or Shiraz and a nice, dark chocolate cake, but Avocados and Cabernet??? See back for details,… but not an explanation.
