A Cook Without a Kitchen

It has been five weeks since we last lived at home - will be two more before we get back. So, for the moment, I am a cook without (much of) a kitchen. And a blogger without (good) internet connection. Soon I will be back to cooking and writing about food. Here are a couple thoughts about food for the moment.

1. If you thought you didn't like meatloaf, try it again. Use ground beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, or a combination. Make sure to start with good meat, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's eat and you can't make good meatloaf with bad meat. If cost is an issue, use less meat, not worse. Season it as YOU like. Mix in grated onion, carrot, zucchini, or chopped spinach. Try using steel cut oats in a 1:3 ratio with your meat. Top the loaf with ketchup, bbq sauce, marinara sauce, thick sliced tomatoes.

2. Revisit corn on the cob. Yes, it is great just boiled and eaten plain and hot. But you can also cut it, cob and all, into chunks and add to soups and stews, take it off the cob and cook it into eggs, sauces, soups. Throw it on the grill in its husk.

3. Apples. Don't bother with red delicious, all the flavor and texture has been bred right out of them to get huge, bright, shiny red things with very little resemblance to a real apple. This time of year go for honeycrisp. They have a short season and are crunchy, sweet with a slight tang of tart, have a very apple-y flavor and nice juiciness.

From the Kitchen of...

Ok, here are the recipes of the two veggie dishes we made at Boulder's Tuv Ha'aretz' first cooking demo. Well, at least the first demo that I did for them. It was a great success - if you are interested in joining us for the next one, let me know.

Garlic Kale with Tomatoes and Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch fresh kale
2-5 cloves garlic, depending on your taste
1 large can chopped tomatoes, drained – save the juice
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
(capers)

Wash but don’t dry the kale. Rough chop it. Peel and slice garlic. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in sauté pan with a lid on medium high heat. Add garlic to the hot oil and let cook for a minute or two until aromatic but not brown. Add wet kale to pan, mix well then cover. Cook for a couple minutes, open lid, still kale, add tomatoes then cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. If the kale seems dry, add a little saved tomato juice as needed. Add the vinegar, cook uncovered for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add capers, if you are using them. Serve hot, either as a side dish or on top of polenta or pasta.


Chili and Brown Sugar Glazed Green Beans with Chili Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

for the beans:
1 lb fresh green beans
2 tsp olive oil
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs chili powder
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp vinegar, cider or white
salt to taste

for pumpkin seeds:
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
½ tsp olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp brown sugar

to make the beans:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, take the stems off the green beans. When water is boiling, drop beans in and blanch them, cooking just until they are bright green and lightly cooked. Remove from the hot water and cool quickly in very cold or ice water. In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil. Add the sugar, chili powder, and garlic. Cook until it is all hot and the sugar is starting to melt. Add the vinegar then the beans. Toss to coat. Cook a few minutes, until the beans are hot and glazed. Serve hot topped with the pumpkin seeds.Add the beans, toss to coat.
to make the pumpkin seeds:
Toss the seeds with oil then the chili and sugar. Put on a cookie sheet and bake in 400 degree oven until they start to brown. Be careful, they go from lightly brown to burned very quickly.

Enjoy and cook well. Eat well. Yeah.

Loving Cucumbers...And Fish?

Ok, another for today. Here is a recipe for a cucumber relish that goes great with the fish recipe that follows. Of course, it also goes great with pretty much any other summer meal - salad, chicken, tofu, burgers. Just try it, you'll find many uses for it.

Cucumber Lemon Relish
1 cup finely diced peeled cucumber
2 lemons
¼ cup finely diced red onion
1/8 cup finely diced fennel
2 Tablespoons chopped fennel fronds (or parsley)
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and supreme the lemons (remove the lemon sections without any pith) then chop the lemon segments. Add to the other ingredients, mix gently. This can hold in the fridge for several hours.

Picnic Tilapia with Cucumber Dipping Sauce

for fish:
1-2 tilapia filets per person
beaten egg
1 cup flour
2 tbs sesame seed
ground cumin
garlic powder
cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
olive oil for cooking

for dipping sauce:
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tbs finely minced cucumber
dash of toasted sesame oil
cumin, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

for fish:
Cut each filet in half along the body line. Mix together the flour and the spices, adjusting quantity to your taste. Usually a small dash of cayenne is enough to and heat without making it too spicy. I like a lot of cumin and garlic. Put flour on flat plate. Heat a pan with enough oil to coat the bottom. Dip each filet in the egg then coat with the flour mixture then cook fish until brown on both sides. Remove to a plate or cookie sheet and refrigerate until cold. Handle the fish with care while hot as it is a tender fish; it will firm up when cold.

for sauce:
Mix all the ingredients together, adjust seasonings. Keep cold until ready to serve.

Anticipating Tomatoes...and Lamb

There is nothing that says summer quite as well as fresh, juicy, really ripe tomatoes. Red, orange, or yellow, it is the sweet, tangy juiciness that makes them so good. If you are lucky enough to have an overabundance check out the Ball Blue Book for canning tips and recipes. If you have just the right amount for eating and want to do something other than BLT sandwiches (or FLT - fakin, lettuce, and tomatoes as we eat in our house) and caprese salads, try this. The name says it all. There are no quantities here, be brave and make it how you like it.

This goes great with the next recipe, lamb kofte kebabs (sans feta, of course, for those who keep kosher.) Serve with some simple saffron rice or cous-cous and a grated carrot with cumin salad and you've got a summer meal to remember.

Oh, if you don't have heirloom tomatoes, use what you've got - but they must be *really* summer ripe ones. And if you don't like watermelon, use honeydew or casaba or galia. And if you don't eat dairy, leave out the feta and adjust your salt accordingly.

Heirloom Tomato, Watermelon and Feta Salad
with Mint and Orange Blossom Water

heirloom tomatoes
watermelon (or honeydew if you can’t get watermelon)
feta cheese
fresh mint leaves
orange blossom water
olive oil or almond oil
salt and pepper

Cut tomatoes and an equal quantity of melon into bite-sized chunks. Crumble feta into large crumbles. Chiffonade mint. Gently toss together all the ingredients, taste and adjust seasoning. This goes great with spicy dishes.

Lamb Kofte Kebabs

bamboo skewers for grilling, soaked for at least an hour
1 lb ground lamb meat (you can substitute beef, turkey, or chicken but the meat must not be too lean or it won't hold together properly)
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika (these days you can get this at any grocery store)
1-2 teaspoons ground toasted cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
dash of ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
several grinds of fresh black peppers
1 egg

Mix all ingredients together until everything is incorporated but avoid kneading the meat or handling excessively as it will get tough. Form into small, egg shaped meatballs and skewer. Cook on a hot grill until well done but before the meat gets hard. Turn so the balls cook evenly. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Delicious!

Zucchini, Zucchini, Zucchini

Now is the time of year when people (and you know who you are!) start to sneak zucchini into everything. Lasagnes, enchiladas, cakes, other people's open car windows, random grocery bags, the thrift stores. Here is a delicious zucchini bread recipe that uses even the big, woody kind of the vegetable (the kind the English call marrows.) You won't need to sneak and pretend it isn't in here, it is so tasty no one will wonder.

Best Zucchini Bread Ever

for bread:
3 eggs
1 cup oil or melted butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

for topping:
½ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325. Well grease either two bread pans or a baking dish. Beat with a whisk until they are frothy. Beat in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Then stir in spices, salt, baking soda and powder, then flour. Pour into pans, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake 45 minutes then check with a knife. It might take as long as 60-65 minutes to bake, depending on pans.
Cool, remove from pans, cut and serve.

Variations:
-you can use grated carrot, apple, yellow squash instead of the zucchini or any combination of the four
-you can add nuts or raisins to the bread
-you can use ½ cup oil and ½ cup applesauce in place of 1 cup oil
-you can use the zest of an orange or lemon in the bread or as part of the topping
-you can substitute lemon or orange juice instead of vanilla
-you can add chopped candied ginger to the bread

On Soba, Summer, Love, and Old Friends

It is July, the hot days are here, the sun beats down on Boulder and the thunderstorms move in many afternoons and cool everything down. Love it. And if you are lucky enough to make it to the Pearl Street Mall of an evening you can catch the hippy looking bluegrass quartet on one block, the nerdy looking harp playing man with a deep voice singing Old English melodies on another, or the stoned looking (pretty sure this look is representative of the reality) young guys playing drums on the next. This is free entertainment at its best. Or spend just a few bucks for an ice cream or cup of coffee and you still have a cheap date night.

Which brings me to the subject of love. Just a couple of words. Love is. That's it.

And old friends, ain't nothing like 'em. They remind you of who you used to be and why the wine is better with some age on it. And they help you remember, whatever it is you want to remember. 'Nuff said there, too.

On to soba. This salad is great for summer and has the benefit of being full of veggies and whole grains, is vegan, pareve, easy to make and, best of all, delish.

Summer Soba Salad with Lots of Vegetables

1 package Japanese soba or 1 lb whole wheat or mixed whole grain spaghetti
1 Tbs toasted sesame oil
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar (they sell it right there in your friendly King Soopers)
2 Tbs (or more, to taste) sesame seeds
salt to taste
(optional, 1/4 cup chopped toasted peanuts or almonds)
your choice of the following:
1 large or two small carrots
1 handful snow peas
1/4 head of cabbage - green, purple, or savoy
1/4 napa cabbage
1 bunch baby bok choy
1 -2 green onions
1 piece of daikon
1-2 harukai turnips
3-4 radishes
the stems of 2-3 broccoli florets
1/4 red onion
several sprigs of cilantro

Cook the noodles per the instructions on the package. Remove from heat, drain, and cool using cold water while the noodles are still al dente. Meanwhile, cut the vegetables into 1-2 inch long very thin strips. When the noodles are cold and drained, toss with all the vegetables, the oils, the sesame seeds, nuts if you are using them, and salt. Taste, adjust seasonings, add what is needed to taste, toss again. Refrigerate until use. Remember, these are noodles and they are relatively delicate so toss gently and just enough to mix. When you serve it, sprinkle with extra sesame seeds and chopped nuts. Yum.

Ok, one more word on love for my old friend, CJ - when it is real, it is worth it.

Eat Your Veggies

A recipe from my sister, thanks Orly.

Sesame Oil Peas (and Shoots)

sugar snap peas
pea shoots
toasted sesame oil
coarse salt (kosher or sea)

Steam or blanch the peas and the shoots, separately. You want them to be what we call tender crisp - lightly cooked but still crisp and fresh. Gently toss together and sprinkle with the sesame oil and the salt. Eat.

And a recipe inspired by Emily, thanks for the idea.

Bok Choy and Carrot Slaw

1 bunch young and tender bok choy
4-5 carrots
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
1 tsp honey or agave syrup
salt and pepper to taste

Wash and finely chop bok choy. Wash (peel if necessary) and coarsely grate the carrots. Toss all ingredients together, taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Let sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving so flavors can meld. Eat.

And here's one more recipe for your pleasure.

Orange Roasted Baby Beets With Their Own Greens And Chevre

1 bunch baby beets, with greens
zest and juice of one orange
2 Tbs olive oil, divided
kosher salt
2 Tbs chevre, crumbled
fresh ground black pepper

Trim the greens off the beets. Scrub the beets and remove just the longest, hairiest root parts. Cut the tops off the beets, then halve them. Toss with orange zest and half the orange juice, 1 Tbs olive oil, and a sprinkle of the salt. Roast in a single layer on a baking sheet in 425 degree oven until they are fork tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, chiffonade the greens. Heat 1/2 Tbs olive oil in saute pan over medium high heat then add the greens, half the remaining juice, and a sprinkle of salt. Cook while beets are roasting, until greens are wilted, turning often. If the greens start to dry out, add a small splash of white wine or orange juice. Put the greens on a plate, top with the roasted beets. Sprinkle with the chevre. Mix together the remaining olive oil and orange juice, drizzle over the beets, sprinkle with a small pinch of salt and add some fresh ground black pepper. Eat warm or cool.