Food Blog:
Cook In.
Eat Out.
Miss Tenacity.
New Mexico.
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Thursday, April 29
SEABITS SALAD
Seabits: You shop at a big-chain grocery, you know what I'm talking about... there you are, just casually shopping for "whatever you need" on an empty stomach, taking far too much time analyzing everything that leaps to your eye as you meander the cart down every single aisle, checking out the "fresh" salmon fillets and wondering if you have the energy to make a fucking fish fillet tonight after you get home instead of just eating ramen.... and then you see it. A styrofoam tray catches your eye, pink and purple tones beckon you, and you realize that the tray seems to be completely filled with miniscule tentacles. Yep, you've spotted the "mixed catch seafood" tray. At $4 a pound it seems like a bargain for protein, but ..... tentacles? You bet!
fresh hot chili, diced
fresh ginger, julienned
peanut oil
seabits
holy chili basil sauce
scallions
mashed garlic
salad leaves: mixed, parsley, cilantro
Gently fry the ginger and chili in the oil. Turn the heat up to med/high and add the seabits, cooking as briefly as possible (a few minutes or so). Add the scallions and garlic and remove from the heat, letting them cook slightly. Add the chili basil sauce, and toss to coat. While still warm, toss with the salad and season to taste. Or chill everything and eat the next day for lunch, but don't combine the parts until you're ready to eat. I apologize for not taking a photo, but it was tasty.
Time posted: 14:21 [permalink]
Wednesday, April 28
CHIMICHURRI BUTTER
I was setting about to grill a steak last night, and wanted some kind of topping for it. The last of my compound butters was gone, and I was thinking about making more. I found a recipe for a classic South American steak sauce, Chimichurri, and decided to make the same thing except as a compound butter rather than an oil-based dressing.
1 stick butter, slightly softened.
1 small bunch parsley, chopped (1 cup)
2+ cloves of garlic, diced or mashed
dried or powdered chile
salt & pepper
Mash everything together with a fork and/or spatula (I think the Kweez does too much damage to the parsley). Chill to firm up and then shape it or not.
Its great on steak, but also as the fat to saute kale in. Such is the life of the sugar-banished: steak and kale. Heh.
Time posted: 13:04 [permalink]
PLAYING WITH MY FOOD
I like to experiment. I like to try new things, and I am fascinated by all things gastro-intestinal and physiological.
To wit, during these two weeks I'm trying a no-simple-sugar diet. That goes for anything with high glycemic index, as well (potatoes, etc). The net effect should be to let me know if I am sensitive to high glycemic foods, or ultimately a "candidate" for a Zone or Paleo type diet.
I can eat all the meat, whole cheese, cream, butter, nuts, oils, and non-starchy veg that I want, but nothing else. I figured it wouldn't be a stretch from how I normally eat, but when you need to avoid those things that have just a touch of sugar in them (asian sauces, for example), or a touch of flour (roux!), a lot of my usual diet is eliminated. Oh, and no milky dairy. I miss my morning yogurt. Thank gullet for cream.
Once the two weeks are over, I should feel "something". Better, maybe. If I don't, it means I can go back to my usual ways without a second thought. I already eat really really healthily, so this experiment is just that - playing around to see what happens. I will report on the new weird dishes I have to invent for this phase, don't worry. It will end up being a lot like an SCD diet - see Mike's Flog for the nitty gritty.
Time posted: 11:17 [permalink]
CELERY - WALNUT SOUP
This is super easy, a "freebie" if you're on a low, um, sugar diet (I can't quite bring myself to use the PHRASE...), and of course, damn tasty. Even if you only add a splash of cream at the end, it still tastes very rich.
1 bunch of celery
1 small onion
fat
stock (mushroom is nice)
cream
walnuts, toasted.
Carmelize the onion in the fat. Chop up the celery, then add it to the onion with about a cup or two of stock. Cover and simmer for at least a half hour, until the celery is very tender. Transfer to blender, and whiz until desired consistency, adding more stock if necessary. Now add the walnuts and whiz more. When you are ready to serve, add back to the pan with as much cream as you want, season to taste with salt/pepper, and warm it through.
Time posted: 11:01 [permalink]
Tuesday, April 20
CORNY BREAD
I wanted to make corn bread this weekend, so I had the recipe from eGullet in hand, Bacon Chipotle Cornbread.
I got about halfway through prepping the components before I realized I had NO CORN MEAL. Horror! Ok, hmm. I definitely don't just want to make some non-corn quickbread, no sirree. Let's check the lazy susan.... hmm, a can of corn. I can take this and puree it and use that instead of the corn flour, but then I'd have to reduce the liquids, hmm, ok then. Hence the "cornbread" is now rechristened Corny Bread.
3 slices cooked bacon, chopped
5 chipotle peppers, chopped
1 small can of corn (8-10oz?... it was definitely smaller than a normal 15oz can o' beans)
2 T butter
1 c flour
1/2 tsp tsp baking soda
1-1/4 tsp tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 c buttermilk
1 egg
Preheat an 8" iron skillet in the oven at 350 degrees. Add the butter to the skillet and leave it in the oven. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Take the can of corn & its juice and blitz it in the blender with the buttermilk and egg. Add this to the dry ingredients and just barely combine. Then add the bacon and chipotle, and pour the whole thing into the skillet on top of the nicely browned butter. Check after 20 minutes, but mine took about 25. It will be extremely moist and cake-like, nothing like the corn bread you've made from those blue Jiffy boxes. You will be transformed into a corn bread eating machine.
Next time, I'm adding some black beans just to make things interesting. But I definitely think the corn substitution worked out really well. I guess I only need corn meal for polenta, anymore.
Time posted: 13:31 [permalink]
Thursday, April 15
JELLIES
Both of my jellies turned out fine. The duo might need just a bit more sweet flavor to bring out their dessertishness. However, the base flavor combinations seemed to work well. The cardamom was too mild, so on that one I'll increase most of the ingredients next time. The banana one worked out just right, except that the banana chunks turned a hideous gray while in the fridge. I don't mind, but as a "company dessert" I would have to puree the bananas better or add food coloring (gasp!).
Here's what I put in them (in addition to 1 envelope of Knox):
Cream Cardamom Coffee
1 3/4 cup water
1/4 cup half&half
1/4 tsp cardamom
Splenda (forgot how much)
1 T brewed coffee
Soy Banana Rum
1 cup water
1 cup soy milk (Silk unsweetened)
Splenda
2 very ripe and mashed up bananas
1 teaspoon Hershey's syrup
1 T rum
If I can make a batch that tastes excellent, I will probably note down the formula and then use it for a party dessert - putting servings in ramekin cups for effect. Both would go well with a dollop of whipped cream, flavored to complement (coffee for the first one, and rum for the 2nd).
Time posted: 13:23 [permalink]
Wednesday, April 14
LIKE WHITE ON SUGAR.
Such is my sweet tooth the last few weeks. Its evil, its awfully fun.... and then my brother goes and gets me 5000 calories' worth of freakin' See's Dark Chocolates. Watch out, waistband! I overdid it last night and had about 10 pieces in 10 minutes, which did make me feel a bit ill, but it was still worth it. Mmmm, bordeaux....
To either conquer or aquiesce to (which is worse?) this problem I've been experimenting with jellies. Sugar-free jello to start, and now I'm actually getting into it and making up some wacko flavors with Knox gelatin, Splenda, and whatever ingredients strike my fancy.
Last night I made 2 batches: cream cardamom coffee, and soy banana rum. We'll see tonight how they turned out. My standards are high - it has to be good enough that I would eat it regardless my dietary plan. I know it won't be like eating a pint of Haagen Daz (those days may very well be over, unless I take up an additional sport), but this stuff is a tasty and interesting diversion.
I'll report back....
Time posted: 08:46 [permalink]
Tuesday, April 13
Spinach and Ham Fritatta/Gratin/Souffle-ish baked thing.
1 bag of frozen spinach
*3-4 egg whites
1 egg
milk (1/2 cup or so)
fresh grated nutmeg
*ham steak, diced (3-4oz)
cheese
*item "left over" from something else
(everything else is a staple item, or should be!)
Heat some butter in your biggest fry pan, and add the spinach, tossing to coat. Cover and cook until somewhere in between thawed and cooked. Just make sure no big frozen chunks remain. Uncover and make sure most of the moisture has boiled off.
Add the ham and spinach to a buttered gratin dish. Beat the whites and egg and milk together until frothy and loose. Add some salt and pepper, then grate the nutmeg in. Pour over the spinach, and top with some thin slices of cheese, if you want. Smoked gouda is nice here.
Bake for almost an hour at 350. Until its done. Then broil for a few minutes to brown the top. Let cool slightly and serve.
This has tons of nutrients and not very many calories. I guess the whole pan at 600 calories, and 50 grams of protein.
Time posted: 13:03 [permalink]
The Basic Philosophy of French Cuisine
1. Use everything.
2. See #1.
French cooking is the ideal where thrift meets taste. It is sacrilege to throw things out - any THING. You use the blood (for sausage), you use the skull (headcheese), you use trimmings from veggies (for stock), etc etc etc.
This is what I want to teach myself to get better at, and to make good-to-great food in the process. It is easily read about in anything by Jacques Pepin and his ilk. You prepare yourself and your pantry to be ready at any time - by having certain things in stock or in your freezer, you can make a great (and often fast) meal any night of the week.
More on this subject later..... but on to a recipe, using this mindset.
Time posted: 12:46 [permalink]
Friday, April 9
Breakfast at work, redux. Real, good&tasty oatmeal (takes about 10 minutes - not instant!):
1/4 cup steel-cut oats
1 tsp butter
Put in glass container and nuke till butter is melted. Stir to coat and then nuke another 2 minutes. Oats should get all toasty-like. Don't use a plastic spoon to stir, unless you like melted plastic in your oatmeal.
Add 3/4 cu hot water (from the water cooler's hot tap - woohoo!), stir briefly, and then nuke off and on so it doesn't boil over, for about 5-6 minutes total nuke time.
Check for chewyness, then add a pinch of salt and condiments to taste and eat. About a zillion times better than the oatmeal in packets that you keep in your desk drawer....
Time posted: 10:51 [permalink]
Tuesday, April 6
Reading my new Food & Wine last night, I saw a Greek influenced soup in there that I have transmogrified into a salad:
Mediterranean chickpea salad (serves 2)
1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon anise seeds, crushed
One 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon roasted garlic mustard, or dijon
1 t dried parsley
1/2 t dried shallots
6 kalamata olives, chopped
Combine everything except the chickpeas, whisk and let steep for a few minutes. Add chickpeas and toss. Enjoy!
Time posted: 10:07 [permalink]
Monday, April 5
Salsa.... perfect on a cold rainy day.
After reading up on the general 'guidelines' to making salsa (primary ingredients plus mandatory "sit time" of 1 hour to marinate flavors), I put together two varieties this weekend:
Mango Salsa
1 mango, tiny dice
1 jalepeno (fresh, not pickled!), diced
1/2 red onion, diced
juice of 1 lime and 1/2 lemon
salt
bunch of cilantro
Mash or process first 4 items. Add salt to taste, then add chopped cilantro when ready to serve. Eat damn near the whole batch without even noticing that you can't stop sweating OR eating.
Roasted Salsa
3 jalepenos, again fresh/raw.
1 can chopped tomatoes (S&W brand is best, or use fresh)
1/2 red onion, diced
juice of 2 limes
salt
cilantro
Roast the jalepenos on the stove till black. Put in plastic bag to cool/steam.
Marinate the red onion in the lime juice (this will take the edge off the onion flavor, so don't do this if you love onion breath)
After several minutes, take out the peppers and scrape off most of the black skin. Don't worry if you leave some on - the charred flavor is nice. Lop off their tops and as many seeds as you want.
Put peppers, onion & juice in processor. Pulse a few times to blend.
Drain the tomatoes, then add them to the mix and pulse until desired level of smoothness.
Add salt to taste, and when ready to serve add cilantro.
Don't forget to let both salsas sit about an hour before eating - they taste way way better than when first made.
Enjoy!
Time posted: 10:04 [permalink]
Friday, April 2
Breakfast at work. I haven't been having a lot of fruit lately - but cultured products are becoming a habit (kefir and yogurt). Here are two opposing early morning feeds, one cool and one hot. I just happened to eat both today, because breakfast kicks ass. Apparently some of my coworkers think I eat really weird things, and that I "always eat healthy". I suppose both are true most of time, if your idea of breakfast is like theirs and consists of Eggo waffles and/or Pop Tarts washed down with a Frappucino. Yick.
COOL (twiggy blueberry kefir, a.k.a. "are you eating a bowl of twigs???"):
1/2 cup thawed wild blueberries (or fresh)
1/2 cup plain lowfat kefir
1/2 cup all-bran
sprinkle the whole thing with a little sugar to take the tart edge off the kefir, and eat as a parfait, or mix it all up and eat before the cereal starts to sog, which takes about 5 minutes.
HOT (cheesy oatmeal, a.k.a "gross out your coworkers bowl of mush"):
3/4 cup cooked steel cut oats
milk
raisins (possibly pilfered from communal Raisin Bran box; optional)
1/2 cup cottage cheese
If oatmeal is cold, heat up everything before putting the cheese in, then heat just a little bit more but not enough to melt the cheese. Eat the warm, salty, cheesy glob with gusto.
Time posted: 11:53 [permalink]
Birthday dinner at Geronimo. Isn't my boyfriend the BEST? Here's a quick spread of my 3 courses (including a before/after of the entree):
Tomato tart first course:
Colorado lamb chops with polenta cake and beans BEFORE:
And, AFTER:
Cheese course w/ balsamic strawberries:
I was only able to eat about a quarter of the cheese course..... so I will be having it for lunch today, assuming the cheese didn't deconstruct itself in the fridge. Yum.
Time posted: 08:44 [permalink]
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CONTACT ME: tenacity -at- gmail.com
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