Once again I am playing with my food

My Grandmother Fischer (German) used to make a cucumber salad, it basically consisted of cucumbers salt and mayonnaise, this was a large part of our summer growing up.  Then when I moved to Chicago, I fell in love with gyros and the wonderful tzatziki sauce (Greek).  I realize now that there is very little difference between the two and and now when I make my version of cucumber salad it more resembles the Greek tzatziki sauce.

This is a quick cool summer salad that I make for two most of the time but is easily made for many more; and when you make it make it to your taste adding more of what you like.

2 cucumbers, peeled

2-3 tablespoons Greek yogurt

1 clove garlic, smashed dragged in a dash of salt to make a paste

1 tablespoon dill weed

2 teaspoons shallot diced

Slice the cucumber ultra thin either on a regular of hand mandolin or peel it to the seed with a peeler.   Add the garlic/ salt (always use sea salt) mixture, yogurt, dill and shallots to the mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or so and serve.  The salt will pull moisture out of the cucumbers and the mixture will become more liquid.  Eat as a side salad or top your gyros with it.  This will serve 2 with a little left – maybe.

Enjoy!!

Signs of Summer, Grilling, Holidays and the wonders of eggs.

The first true sign of Summer is the holidays and Memorial Day is just around the corner.  And with it brings out the barbequing.  We here are all big on the bbq and will put almost anything on the grill and with the addition of the “baker”, my daughter’s boyfriend, we will more than likely attempt a few more sweet treats on the grill.  This time around I’m sharing a refreshing and simple (easy to medium on the skill side) desert, Grilled Pineapple, raspberries topped with a Zabaglione sauce.  Inspired by my favorite grilling site this will rock the house with the smooth texture and sweet taste.

Fruit and Zabaglione

Cook’s Note:  whenever you are working with an acid (citrus, including pineapple, use non-reactive containers for your best results.  Also be careful with these same products in tin cans – reactive.

Zabaglione

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup pineapple juice in a glass

3 tablespoons light agave nectar

1/4 cup light rum or tequila

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

6 slices fresh pineapple, center cut, each about 1/2 inch thick, peeled

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar 

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4cup fresh raspberries

Prepare the grill for direct cooking, if using a gas grill with a thermometer, ~350⁰.

 In the bottom of a double-boiler, filled about 1/3 of the way with water, bring  to a simmer over medium heat; in the top half, whisk the Zabaglione ingredients.  Reduce the heat to medium-low; place the top half over the bottom half of the double boiler once simmering (this can be accomplished with a heat-resistant bowl and a medium sized pan that the bowel can sit on top of). Whisk the Zabaglione constantly until it thickens, foams up to double or triple in volume, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 160° to 170°F, This should take just over 5 minutes BUT don’t be surprised if it takes longer, keep the water at a low simmer. Be careful not to let the eggs begin to set*, what does this mean, in short don’t overcook them. Remove the Zabaglione from over the water and whisk gently for 30 to 40 seconds to begin cooling. Set aside to serve warm.  You can serve it cold but it’s just not the same.  If you happen to create piece in the process you have 2 choices, 1) feed thru a strainer, and 2) start over – I highly recommend this if there are more than a few pieces – sorry folks.

Sprinkle the pineapple slices with the brown sugar and cinnamon, this will burn so be careful, coat evenly.

Clean and brush your grate with a light oil coating (of course I use olive oil OR coconut oil). Grill the pineapple slices with the lid closed 5 to 7 minutes, turning once. Remove from the grill and cut into bit sized pieces (if you have a unit for your grill that has small holes or wire mesh you can cut in advance, toss with the brown sugar and cinnamon and grill.  This will not have the grill marks but is just as good. Divide the pineapple and raspberries evenly among six dessert glasses. Spoon warm Zabaglione over the top and serve immediately.

*Eggs set at 140⁰ but this process can work smoothly for you with the constant whisking of the mixture.

Enjoy!!!

Eggs! And what we should know about them. 

Eggs are the wonder food of the kitchen, a light part, a dark part, and bind the culinary world together. Used in both savory and sweet foods, they act as:

Binders holding together meatloaf and stuffing;

Rising agents in soufflés, certain cakes, and cookies like meringues;

Emulsifiers in sauces like mayonnaise and hollandaise.

Provide structure to custards and body to ice creams.

Important temperatures in eggs.

135⁰ for 75min equal pasteurization

140⁰ eggs have a tendency to set

144⁰ most proteins in the whites denature

149⁰ most proteins in yolk denature

176⁰ whites and yolks firm up

194⁰ yolk starts to crumple

Because of this aversion to water, the protein structure folds up on itself. As kinetic energy is added to the system—in the form of heat or mechanical energy (e.g., whipping egg whites)—the structure starts to unfold as kinetic energy overtakes potential energy.

When in doubt check the list and see if the wonderful egg can fill the void in what you are making.

Mother's Day and BACON!!!

Hi folk's!

This is a little bit of a repeat from the newsletter.  We have been getting wonderful response from our social network sites and not much from our newsletters so we are goiing to focus on the social stuff.  With all the chaos we are having right now I can't promise a weekly post but I will try and I need the break too!

My Mother's Day - a new Cuisinart from my Daughter, an antique
stained glass shade , punch bowl, 6 champagne glasses a bud
vase, a manual coffee grinder and finally the
Terracotta Cazuela and all for the price of just he cazuela!

Hope all you Mothers had a wonderful Mother's Day - I did.  We started VERY early with chorizo and eggs, breakfast patties, home made bacon, mimosas and almond flour and milk pancakes(these need some more work).  from there we made a trip to Santa Rosa for an estate sale, I know I need to have my head examined, but David and I have been expanding our culinary ethnicity.  We have been looking for a couscousier, cataplana and a Cazuela.  I missed the first two on ebay both in copper - too much fun yesterday and the third, the Cazuela, was the reason for the trip.  A Cazuela is an earthen ware dish used in Mexican dishes use to cook over an open fire for stewing or slow cooking.  I have seen them used to make mole which we do often and I am working on a short rib with blackberry mole sauce and since David is sensitive to chili powders, I have to recreate our BSO2 blend without the powder replacing it with maybe fresh peppers instead, we'll see.  The cataplana is next on the list as this is for making steamed seafood and we love our steamers.

Okay so on to the good stuff, If you haven't figured by now I love to play with my food!  our latestet endeavor is home cured/made bacon.  We have tried with and without the skin, a savory and a savory sweet version.  We are still changing the cooking process but I believe we are pretty set in the flavor department.  David likes the skin on because it makes a crunchy bit on the edge, I prefer to remove it, and to satisfy his cravings I have been making chicharone with the skin I remove.  Why make your own bacon you ask?  Because there is less fat and more meat, it's less expensive than store bought, it's easy, and better, and you can make it to your liking.  I will probably never purchase bacon again, that is as long as I have access to pork belly.  The process takes a week and I go through about a pound and a half in 10 days.  David like it so much he is having me make extra to give to family and some friends! 

Below is the recipe I use to make the our bacon.  Have at it folks - I know you can do it!

Home Made Bacon

1 1/2 pounds pork belly, skin removed

2 1/2 tablespoons flake salt

1/2 teaspoon pink salt, optional

1/4 cup honey, brown sugar, or agave (with or without flavor)

2 tablespoons black coffee or apple cider

2 garlic cloves, smashed, I leave the skin on - it does not matter

1 tablespoon ground royal pepper blend

2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

1 teaspoon fennel seed, toasted

1 teaspoon coriander seed, toasted.

In a large resealable bag, add everything less the pork.  Combine well and then add the pork.  Rub the ingredients all over the pork.  When covered, lay in the bag and remove all the access air.  I am able to lay it sideways in the bag and fold the bag over to once side so that the liquid that gathers stay around the meat.  if you own a FoodSaver you can use that to remove all the air.  Each day, flip the bag over. Some liquid will begin to gather in the bag.

After seven days, wash the cure off the meat, rinsing thoroughly. Pat the bacon dry with paper towels and set it on a rack over a baking sheet. Allow the bacon to air-dry in the refrigerator overnight for best results.  If you are anxious, you can go fro the drying stage to the next step.

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Roast the pork belly in the oven to an internal temperature of 150 degrees for about 90 minutes. Chill the bacon well, then slice to preference. ( we are experimenting here as we are trying to get a thinner slice.  We will let you know how our experiments work on the next month or so as it may take a few batches to resolve the problem.

Hot Weather Fast Fixes

Sorry Fans,

For those of you who read our newsletter the May issue will be the last.  We are going to focus on the blog so stay tuned for more great recipes and such from here.

It has been a busy year thus far, plus to add a few medical challenges to the mix had me fall behind.  

But I am vowing to post weekly moving forward.  

With some 90+ degree weather we have not been the most fixed on cooking per se, but we did pull a few things out of our bag of tricks.  The first is a simple, fresh margarita, 1 large, sweet orange, 1 lemon and 4 limes, if you need sweet add 1/4 cup agave nectar and then 2 shots of tequila.  If this sounds strong, measure out the citrus and if you are over a cup you will be just fine on the rocks or blended. We keep ours on fake ice until we fill our glasses.

Easy Ceviche

1 pound shrimp deveined and cut into thirds

Ice bath for shrimp

1 Roma large tomato

2 cloves garlic crushed

½ cup jicama diced large

½ cup cilantro

¼ cup diced red onion

Jalapeno, diced small – check for heat before you add too hot add a litte

1 avocado

Juice of each 4 limes, lemons and 1 orange.

Bring water to boil in a large pot to cook the shrimp.  After about 3 minutes pull one and cut open to make sure that the center is opaque.  If it is then pull all shrimp out and place into an Ice bath, with they are cooling, juice the citrus into a non-reactive bowl.  Check shrimp – if cooled add to juice and make sure they are covered, add the remaining ingredients and let set up to 1 hour and then enjoy. 

Now this could be enough for 4, but David and I usually finish this, if we don’t, here is a remake recipe (so many don’t like leftovers that I remake or reused food in other dishes, then they don’t know it left over).  If there are any leftovers, pour off the juice so it doesn’t continue to cook.

3 pieces of bacon diced

2 eggs

All remaining ceviche

Marinated artichokes

In a sauté pan, over medium high, cook the bacon to medium doneness.  Pour off excess fat.  Add artichokes and ceviche, mix eggs and add.  Use the eggs as a binder or make as an omelet.  Serve warm.

March into Spring...

Cooking without borders!

“fresh is best!”

March 2012 Issue #32

This spring is starting out to be as weird as 2011!  And yes I know we have yet to truly get to spring officially – the first official day of spring this year is March 20, 2012, but it is hard to not get into the spring of things when we have such great weather.  So I have started some of the veggies for this year and I have joined with ”The Green Living Coalition” , Lee and Carissa Pillow and about a dozen others in their community garden project.  This is in its infancy but has momentum and lots of commitment from the group.  Anyone who is interested and if you would like to participate, please feel free to go their Facebook page.

I guess one may wonder why I talk about gardening so, 1) because it is something that David and I enjoy doing together 2) because I know what I am getting, 3) I can get what I want when I want it for the most part and not have to wait until Saturday Farmer’s Market (though I love that trip too), 4) I grew up having a garden, 5) there is no greater feeling than to know you created something, and lastly, I can preserve some of it for into the winter.  Again the salt thing has taught me to read the labels and time and time again I am hatting the things I find on the back of the container.   I find that many think they cannot have a garden but as was evidenced in last month’s newsletter not so.  Be brave and even just slightly committed and have at it.  Many out there are ready and willing to share.

One quick note on the Brentwood Farmer’s Market – it opens March 31, 2012.

This Month’s Tip…save your egg cartons – not the Styrofoam ones – they can be used to transplant from starter trays to the 1” size as you harden off your seedlings.

DID YOU KNOW… alfalfa is high in chlorophyll and nutrients?  It alkalizes and detoxifies the body, aids the liver and is good for anemia, ulcers, diabetes, hemorrhaging, and arthritis.  It promotes pituitary gland function and contains anti-fungal agents.

Monthly Recipe(s)

One of our first dates David took me to Livermore to Casa Orozco.  We shared what is called a Mexican Shrimp cocktail.  It was warn (the night was cold) and we have been making our version ever since.  And since we are coming up on our four years of dating anniversary I thought I would share this with you.

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail (warm)

1 Lb. Peeled and deveined shrimp 25-30 count*

or larger and cut into bit sized pieces

½ Tbsp crushed garlic

1/4 cup finely chopped red or sweet onion

1/8 cup cilantro chopped

1 1/2 cup each clam and tomato juice cocktail

1/4 cup each celery jicama, cucumber, 2 Roma tomatoes diced

1/8 c fresh lime juice

½ tsp hot pepper sauce to taste

1/8 cup horseradish or 1 jalapeño

1 ripe avocado peeled and chopped

Get shrimp ready.  Dice and chop all ingredients.  Mix the tomato, clam, lime, and hot pepper juice (and horseradish if you are using it) in a medium sauce pan.  Gently bring to boil add the celery, jicama, tomatoes, and cucumber then add the shrimp and cook 3 to 5 minutes until the shrimp turn pink. Remove from heat and stir in the avocado and serve immediately in individual containers or one large on to share.

*Cook’s Note:  shrimp become tough when you over cook them so get the liquid hot before adding the shrimp and watch what happens.

Squid can also be added, we add 3 or 4 cleaned and skinner squid, cut in to the tentacles and rounds.

Cook what you know and know what you cook – be brave and try something new.

Small Gardens & Valentines Day

Cooking without borders!

“fresh is best!”

February 2012 Issue #31

Sorry for the delay in publishing, things have been a bit crazy and I think it will get worse before it gets better, but I will be more prompt moving forward.

Cucumbers and peppers

Strawberries, grapes, blackberries, thyme

Oregano and Rosemary

What is left of the tomatoes

One of my favorite romantic meals to make is our shrimp diablo.  Yes this is a reprint but it has been so long and we have new members and since it is a favorite I figured you wouldn’t mind.

You have heard me talk about the way to utilize your space, large or small, to create a garden.  I have in the past had to do the best with what I had, a balcony, patio what every, but I don’t have pictures to support my claims.  Recently I came in touch with some people that did just what I have been talking about.

Home Depot, Lowes, Ace and OSH all sell one pot wonders in many varieties, we purchased artichokes and Japanese eggplant in singles last year alone.  We planted 6 corn stocks that way in 2011.  Just enough for the two of us for a year.  If you look at our pictures from the last two years we had our tomatoes growing up stuff,   My peas were 5+ feet tall and planted 2 weeks apart lasted(in the sun) until July!  And just the other day I picked squash from the 2011 garden in 2012. 

                                                                                                         

What are the advantages of doing your own garden – organic as best as anyone else can offer and if quantities you can consume and if you don’t OR you want to donate them grow more.  It gets the youngsters involved, and as the garden grows so do they and then bring it into the kitchen, for the rest it is healthy, sustainable, great flavors and on and on.  Does it take a lot?  You do have to weed but once a week works water during the hot time could be 3x per day but manufacturers have allowed us to purchase drip line and timer systems so that this becomes a no brainer and you can water early in the am mid-day and after 7 at night or later.

Now is the time to get it in gear and plant!

This Month’s Tip…learn to compost – there are biodegradable bags out there for your pails, we just burry it anywhere in the garden.

DID YOU KNOW… there are over 300 grapes in a bottle of wine?

Monthly Recipe(s)

Shrimp Diablo

8 - 10 large shrimp, deveined, tail on

½ cup red onion, large dice

½ cup yellow onion, large dice

1 garlic clove, large dice

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 Jalapeno pepper seeded and finely chopped

2 large Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

½ cup white wine

3 Tbsp. Butter

1 tsp. Hometown Spice

Parmesan cheese freshly grated

1/4 lb. linguine cooked

1. In a large sauté pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Sauté onions and jalapeño, until tender and the onions are translucent.  Add garlic, crushed red pepper, and shrimp cook until shrimp are opaque, about 2 minutes per side.  Add tomatoes, lemon juice, and white wine; reduce until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.  Divide cooked linguine into two bowls and spoon sauce over.  Grate cheese over dish.  Serve immediately.

Servings: 2

Wine paring for the above mentioned recipe A chilled Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio, Sparlking wine, Valdigue, or a Cline Cashmere not chilled.

January Newsletter

Welcome everyone to the New Year!  2012 is setting out to be a good year for us and we hope that it will be for you as well. 

We are a little late with the newsletter for the beginning of the year as December was a VERY crazy month.  Moving into the New Year saw David with a new job title and associated responsibilities at one job and a few more homes sold and activity at the other.  We are researching opportunities and creating several new items.  Caitlin was at it again with her creative juices adding The BBQ Fairy’s Dust to our already long list of low sodium custom blends and we should have two more Quick meals ready this week or next.

Last night David and I were watching Food Network, as usual, a show called “The Big Waste”.  It was astonishing to see and hear just how much food goes to waste every year from farms, stores, and restaurants.  There were several reasons for the loss, one reason was customers at u-pick places picking something and discarding it in the field because they found another, didn't like the one they picked, or just changed their minds and tossed the product into the field!  They interviewed an educated gent, with current employment who they found dumpster diving at restaurants in his neighborhood, in New York.  There were probably 20 garbage bags of food that the restaurants had tossed and inside the bags were perfectly usable vegetable.  The chefs, Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, Anne Burrell and Alex Guarnaschelli, were teamed up girls against the guys for 2 days to find and salvage foods and then create dinner for 100 guests and being judged on the meals.  They went to chicken farms and found 3 coolers full of slightly imperfect chickens, chickens with torn skin or broken limb but perfectly eatable birds, just not birds that the general public would purchase.  They hit many locations in search of food for the dinner, vegetables galore, seafood, chicken, prosciutto and much, much more.  All the products they found were examined by a neutral judge verifying that the products they found to use were actually safe.  They even included checking the temperature.  While at a fishmonger he told a story of a banquet that was cancelled and the fish, 100 pounds, was returned and they were going to have to discard of it, the chefs used the fish.

It was amazing and appalling to us as we watched in horror the literally tons of perfectly eatable food that are going to waist, and this was only in the New York area.  I know that there are issues here as well.  I am aware of issues with out of the area individuals using the u-pick and discarding fruit they think is un useable (of course there are those that eat WAY more than what the pay for and then they argue about it). 

Tip.... Don’t have time for a dessert or not a successful at baking, find a packaged desert mix that you can convert into personal cups, most deserts are way more food than we need, serving personal sized (4oz) servings go over well and will feed twice the number on the box!

Fancy Feasts Ahi Tuna Poke It was a rather last minute decision to do anything for New Year’s Eve this year and we choose to stay home and entertain a few selected guests.  I had scheduled enough time Friday morning to be at Costco when it opened as I was looking for a few daily items and found that they had the fishmonger there.  As I started to walk around I made a few changes but ended up with, 2 lobster tails, a piece of Ahi tuna, 4 pieces of filet mignon, a salmon and a rack of lamb.  You would think I was feeding an army with this amount of food, but I was only feeding 6 and I only purchased small pieces of everything I purchased.

The idea behind my madness was lots of appetizers with the salmon being the main course along with a salad and rice and I knew that we would be eating for a long time being that we were starting at 6 pm.  So I would imagine you are saying what did I do with this food, well I started with the Ahi and made poke out of that and served with scoop type chips (they stay crisper), a recipe I shared I an earlier issue, the filet, I wanted to purchase a section of the whole filet but all they had was a monster piece that priced out around $100.00, not what I needed, I froze the pieces I had for 2 hours wrapped in cellophane so I could slice it thinly to pound out for Carpaccio.  I diced up red sweet onions and tossed them with cappers to sprinkle over the top just before serving.  The lobster I par baked, removed the meat from shell, wrapped in prosciutto with horseradish and diced into medallions, under the broiler and done. David purchase some sausage links and those we grilled and put into the oven to crisp up a bit and sliced, the lamb pops were wonderful (even if I do Say so myself), just a simple marinade and a quick trip on the grill (recipe below) then I did our Hometown Lemon Salmon on a cedar plank on the grill and finally for a light dessert, I made lava cakes in personal ramekins yum!  (If there is ever a recipe you would like and cannot find it, please do not hesitate to contact me, I’ll be more than happy to send it to you and I am still working on our cookbook)

Hometown Lemon Salmon on Cedar Plank Carpaccio

Lamb Pops 1 tablespoon Lemon olive oil Zest and juice of one lemon 2 tablespoons of fresh oregano chopped 2 table spoons minced garlic Couple grinds on the salt grinder Couple grinds of Royal Pepper 1 small single side of lamb Trim the fat and silver skin off the lamb, once you feel you have removed all that you can, slice between each bone.   In a 4 cup glass bowl combine the remaining ingredients and stir, then coat each pop, both sides place back into the bowl when all are done cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Grill, grill pan, or broil 3 to 4 minutes per side and serve.