winner celebration party

Did you know clarified butter has a higher smoke point than both olive oil and canola oil?  Makes for excellent browning fat!

Happy Presidents' Day!  Are you spending the day in rest?  I am up to my neck in work this week, but the past weekend involved visiting loved ones and a cooking class at Sur La Table.  I have fond memories of my first cooking class at SLT in 2006, not because the recipes were particularly memorable, but because it was an important part of my first foray into adult life.  Then, I imagined adult life to require knowledge of complicated recipes and expensive gadgets.  How things change!  This time around, I focused less on the recipes and gadgets and more on picking up new techniques.  I should disclose that we carried home several Demeyere saute pans as part of the class.  It's not the pan pictured above, but close.  I can't wait to start using this thing.

Not pictured among these photos is a parsley-basil pesto crostini.  I learned that red wine vinegar, though of dubious authenticity, makes an excellent addition to pesto, especially if you're going to eat it with goat cheese on toasty bread.

This may not be news to most of you, but we were happy to find that chicken seared on the stove and finished in the oven is moist and tender.  We tried the same technique last week with steak, and it came out a perfect medium rare.

Chicken with a Shallot-Chianti sauce

We also made profiteroles with a chocolate ganache made with Guittard chocolate.  I only had a bite.  Chocolate and sweets-not really my thing.*

Now it's back to the grind for me.  Below are some new blogs, new products, and a glimpse of what's to come.  Have a great week!

Adding to my Blogroll (thanks, Squid Ink):

• Eastside Food Bites - A writer and food fan covering all things food in East LA
• Food Woolf - Exactly what the header says: A restaurant insider's perspective on food, service, and life.
• The Glutster - A young kid (to me, a twenty two year old is still a kid) takes on food, booze, and punk rock.

Farmers Market Finds:
One great thing about being relatively new to Los Angeles is the repeated joy of discovering local foods.

• *ChocoVivo - stoneground chocolate, no dairy added.  I liked it despite my apathy toward chocolate.
• Smart Simple Gourmet - Everything is delicious.  Butternut squash soup? Killer. Ragu bolognese? Best I've had. Founder's story: Worked in corporate America (her words) for years before quitting, going to culinary school, then making delicious, natural, healthful foods.

Coming Up:

• A Korean recipe - any requests?
• A recipe from a much appreciated late Christmas gift: King Arthur Flour All-Purpose Baking Cookbook

There is just one more week of finals to go, and then, freedom!  For me, this entails a paper and one more exam.  I always tell myself, like it or not, all is temporary.  Better to accept, even appreciate, a moment for what it is than to wish it could change.

On that note, here's a dish I made to relieve some finals-related stress.  This is the first time I've enjoyed eating chard.  No more flavorless, chalky texture.  

To my surprise, this tasted like a slightly spicier version of miso soup.  Umami delight.  Best part - I used what I had lying around.  The chili pepper flakes add a kick, and the Asian pear and beer lend a subtle sweetness.  It's not too sweet (a must for me), and the red vinegar and cheese at the end make everything rich and bright.

Give it a whirl.  This comes together quickly, maybe half an hour to forty five minutes, chopping included.

All right, back to the books.  My body is in sore need of exercise.

Braised Swiss Chard with Sausage
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
4-6 small carrots, diced
3 sausages, thinly sliced
1 bunch swiss chard, rinsed and chopped (stems and leaves separated)
1 Asian pear, cut into small pieces
1 can of beer (I used Sapporo)
½ to 1 cup of water
2 tbsp. butter
Red chili pepper flakes
Kosher salt

Optional:
Red wine vinegar
Grated pecorino cheese

How To

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.  Add the diced onion and a generous sprinkle of kosher salt.  Cook for a few minutes, until the onion has sweated.
   
   
2. Add the Asian pear and cook for another few minutes.  Next add the swiss chard stems, chopped carrots, and sausage.  Season liberally with red chili pepper flakes.  Cook for at least five minutes, until stems have softened.
   
   
3. Add the swiss chard leaves and another sprinkle of salt.  When the leaves have cooked down (a few minutes), add the beer and enough water to cover the ingredients halfway.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook until the leaves have softened, about 15-20 minutes.
   
   
4. Taste.  If desired, add 2-3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar (or other acid).  Ladle the dish into bowls and serve with grated cheese on top.

I found myself craving meat the other day. 
As is often the case, I turned to ideas for a one-pot dish. 

I bought this book during my last trip to San Francisco. 
It's slim and modest, offering nothing but braises and stews. 
But this is certainly the first cookbook I have ever used and not left
simply to be ogled on the coffee table. 

I have made the recipe on page twenty five before, but this time, I improvised, having neither short ribs nor carrots.

I began by browning some stewing beef over fairly high heat.

Out went the beef, and in went the cipollini onions.  I tossed these around in the pan for a few minutes, lowering the heat to a medium.

Then I added equal parts soy sauce and orange juice, along with a generous sprinkling of dried chili pepper.  I used more liquid than is pictured here, adding just enough to cover the meat and onions.

 I turned the heat down to a low simmer and let the pot go for about two hours. 

Eventually the fat rose to the top, as evident here.  After letting the contents cool, I placed the pot in the fridge overnight then skimmed off the hardened fat the next day.  I then reheated the beef, adding some couscous before serving.

Note: This braise is best eaten as soon as possible.  After a day or so, the soy sauce flavor becomes too salty to endure, even for a salt fiend like me.

Up Next: Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween!  If you are of the costume and party cohort, then merry festivities to you.  If you're like me, and envision an ideal Halloween evening as involving the couch, a t.v. show, and quiet, then here's a perfect dish for fall: chicken poached in ginger and garlic, served over brown rice.  It's soothing and a welcome change of pace from the usual Western fare. 

Being Korean, I feel I should have some recipe of my heritage, something passed down to me through generations.  Alas, instead, I have a Mark Bittman recipe, although this recipe turned out to be delicious.  I went through a ginger and garlic kick a few weeks ago, when I couldn't shake this insatiable craving for Asian flavors.  While this rendition of chicken, garlic, and ginger isn't immediately familiar to my Korean taste buds, it hit the spot.  In fact, I wish I had a bowl of this stuff right now (instead, I'm tending to a pot of risotto with white wine, but that's irrelevant...yum).

Check it out!  Ginger-garlic chicken over rice, a variation of the same but with fish sauce, and a Thai fish vinaigrette.  Good luck!

1. Ginger-Garlic Chicken with Rice
Adapted from Mark Bittman's Hainanese Chicken with Rice

Ingredients: Start with several cloves of garlic and several slices of peeled ginger.  Also have on hand: chicken for two, vegetable oil, 1 small onion, two cups of brown rice, a pile of minced scallion, and sesame oil. You can see I am a stickler for exact measurements.

For the chicken: Bring to boil a pot of water--just enough to cover your chicken.  Add the chicken, plus several slices of both garlic and ginger.  Reduce the heat to medium-low or medium, and leave the pot alone for about ten minutes.  Then turn off the heat, and let the chicken sit on the stove in the pot for about another half hour, until it's fully cooked.  Remove the chicken from the pot and let it cool.  Set aside the remaining broth.

Note: If you are indeed using a whole bird, as Bittman requests, and are cooking it for up to an hour, then I'm thinking the liquid would properly be called a stock.  But since I used boneless meat and only cooked it for about half an hour, I think this is appropriately called a broth.  Note that either way, you can save any liquid you don't use in the final plating and freeze it to use next time.  This way, you have more concentrated flavor.

The rice: Put about 1/4 cup of neutral oil (vegetable, canola, etc.) in a large, heavy pan over medium heat.  Add more sliced garlic, and the chopped onion.  Stirring occasionally, cook the onion and garlic for about five minutes, until the onion starts to become translucent.  Next add the rice, and stir to coat the grains in oil.  They will become glossy. 

See?  Nice and glossy.  Add about 4 cups of your reserved stock, and bring the whole thing to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a bare simmer, and cover.  Cook the rice for about 20 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed. 

Plating: Slice the chicken and arrange over your cooked rice.  Drizzle sesame oil over the chicken and serve, along with the dipping sauce, which in my haste, I forgot to photograph. 

To make a dipping sauce: Combine a tiny bit of neutral oil, some minced ginger, some sliced scallion, and a pinch of salt.  I used less oil than what Bittman called for, since I found the sauce was otherwise way too oily.  In fact, I think you could omit the neutral oil and instead go for a tiny bit of sesame oil mixed with ginger and scallion.

2. Variation: Ginger-Garlic Chicken with Fish Sauce

After making Bittman's recipe, I stumbled upon yet another New York Times' recipe, similar but with less simple.  I made the chicken again, using Bittman's instructions for the chicken and rice, but adding cilantro (which I omitted the first time around) and scallions.  For the sauce, I used a Thai sauce I made the week prior, and added soy sauce, sugar, and reserved chicken broth. 

Note: This combination of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy is ubiquitous in many different Asian cuisines.  It's all about balance, which is why you should really make your sauce to taste. 

For the sauce: In a food processor, blend 2 cloves of garlic and a few slices of ginger.  Then add about 1/4 cup each of your reserved ginger-garlic chicken broth and fish sauce vinaigrette (recipe below), plus a tablespoon each of soy sauce and brown sugar.  Blend.

Plating: Arrange your chicken over brown rice, garnish with chopped scallions and cilantro, and drizzle some sauce over the top.  Delicious!

3. Thai Vinaigrette

Adapted from Joy of Cooking

Ingredients:

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce*
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
ground red pepper to taste (I used cayenne, since that's what I had)

How To:

Put everything in a jar, screw on the lid, then shake until everything is combined.  Open the jar, add about 6 tablespoons of vegetable oil, reseal the jar, then shake until smooth. 

Adjust as desired.  I increased the lime juice considerably, finding that this vinaigrette was more like salad dressing, less like a light Asian sauce.  Next time, I would decrease the amount of vegetable oil.  Try starting with just 2-3 tablespoons of oil.

* A Note on Fish Sauce, and "Asian" Food:

Fish sauce is not to be underestimated!  I could write an entire post on what has become my new favorite flavor.  I shouldn't be surprised, since my mom always added dried anchovies or kelp to stocks to flavor Korean stews and soups.  Fish sauce is used in East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, not exclusively.  No two are alike, and there are different grades of fish sauce.  I love it because it adds an umami flavor to all sorts of dishes, Asian or not, and it has an interesting history.  If you're curious, read more at Cook's Illustrated or take a listen at The Splendid Table (start at 23:27).  And what is this I read about artisanal fish sauces? 

A pet peeve of mine is(are?) generalizations about Asian cuisines.  Not that I'm an expert (far from it), but calling all Japanese food "sushi," Chinese food "stir fries," and Korean food "bbq and kimchi" is like saying American food is "burgers," or Italian food is "pizza."  The worst is hearing people say Asian food is all the same: spicy and unrefined.  If you ask me, pastas and butter-and-sugar-laden pastries all taste the same, too.

Unfortunately, many people, including me, are more than happy to rely on American restaurants to dictate what single dish, authentic or not, embodies an entire culture: pad thai, Korean bbq, sushi, pho, General Tso's chicken, and naan & curry.  But I'll stop there.  Instead of being critical, I should take my own medicine and start exploring.  After all, this is Los Angeles.  Any takers?

I've been on a DIY kick lately.  It all started last year when I made preserved lemons, and it continued this summer with strawberry jam.  The kick is still going strong, and I've most recently become interested in sauces.  Simple sauces.  Like tomato sauce. 

Tomato sauce is easy to make, if you don't mind waiting for it to cook.  I first learned to make tomato sauce in 2006, using lots of fresh tomatoes.  But if you don't have time, then canned tomatoes are perfectly fine.

Today I share two versions:  One is a tomato butter sauce from Marcella Hazan (Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking) that has made its way around the food blogosphere (see Smitten Kitchen, Amateur Gourmet, Food52, and Chowhound).  "Simple" is an understatement, and this sauce is as rich as bloggers say it is.  It's almost frightening how quickly I finished off this one.  Anyway, I won't promote it further, since butter speaks for itself.  The second sauce is a basic version inspired by recipes from Splendid Table and Simply Recipes.

Read on!

Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Butter

It begins with one 28-oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes and their juice...

About 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter...

Half a large onion, or one medium onion, peeled but not chopped...

All put in a saucepan and left to simmer for 35-45 minutes...

Until it turns reddish orange...

And you see little rounds of fat forming on the surface.  Remove the onion before serving.

~

Basic Tomato Sauce with Olives

Carrots (1-2), celery (1-2 stalks), and (1) onion - Chop and saute in a pan for a few minutes.  You should probably use a finer cut than this; I was lazy.  Also, my quantities are loose approximations.

Add some chopped green olives, a pat or two of unsalted butter, and a 1-2 cloves of minced garlic.
Note: I started with about 2 tablespoons of butter, but after the sauce had simmered for a while, I added 2 more tablespoons for added richness.  An extra tablespoon or two makes a noticeable difference, so start with a small quantity of butter and add more later, if you want.

Also add about a tablespoon of tomato paste...

Then, as above, add one 28-oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes with their juice. 

Simmer for 30-45 minutes.  You can blend this sauce if desired or eat it chunky, like I did.  In hindsight, I would have preferred this sauce to be smooth, since after a day or two, it started to look less and less like a sauce.  Maybe I could have added more liquid to it.  Also, the flavor is decent but fairly mild.  I wouldn't say you will be dazzled by this one, but you can certainly use this as a base and add whatever you think will suit your taste better.

Happy Food Day!  Do you know the six principles behind Food Day? 

One thing missing from this list is community.  Why not celebrate Food Day by sharing food and dialogue?  Sharing as in a two-way exchange-offering our experiences as much as receiving other people's experiences into our lives.  Every day, I see people talking at each other, each person silencing the other with a new thought.  Where is the listening?  Listening isn't a mere nod of the head, it's empathy and the potential to be changed.

The brightest moment of my weekend was talking to my mom on the phone and receiving unsolicited food advice.  Concerned when I said I rarely made it downtown for Korean food, she gave me what is her version of Korean fast food.  Cook thin slices of steak, and dip it in a mixture of salt, pepper, and sesame oil.  Top with samjang.  Wrap it in lettuce.  Eat wth banchan from the Korean grocery store.  Maybe some gaenyip, or anything, really.  That's it!  You don't have to make it yourself.  Don't cook every little thing like American food!  This is love. 

I am also celebrating Food Day with actual food.  Hopefully, I will be posting recipes during most of this upcoming week.  For today, I leave you with beef back ribs, baked in the oven.  I've never made ribs before, so I didn't quite know what I was doing going in to this.  But success!  Next time, I'll quadruple the quantity of ribs. 

Happy Food Day, and happy sharing.

Oven Beef Back Ribs

One small note: This recipe is based on some online research on how to make ribs in an oven, since I lack a grill.  The spice rub is a mix of various spices in my pantry.  I bought a mere pound of beef back ribs because, having never cooked ribs before, I wanted to start small.  If you are actually planning to make this into a meal, you'll probably want to at least double the quantity of ribs.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine a teaspoon each of coriander, cumin, chili powder, plus a few tablespoons each of brown sugar and kosher salt, and a dash of cayenne pepper.

Rub the mixture into the ribs, and rub it in like an I-told-you-so (sorry, couldn't resist the awful pun).  Double wrap the ribs in aluminum foil and place in an oven-safe dish.  Bake for 2-3 hours.

I didn't realize how much the ribs would shrink from the bone, but it makes sense.  Tasty.

Look at this.  Basil, handful of nuts and cheese, a little bit of garlic, olive oil, and salt & pepper. These humble ingredients are all you need to convert a humdrum pasta dish into something homemade and worthy of savoring. 

Ok, you're telling me that pesto recipes are everywhere, right?  In fact, just today, I came across this Whole Foods recipe for arugula-parsley pesto via Twitter.  So why am I posting yet another pesto recipe?  Well, a friend and classmate lamented to me this afternoon that no one in our generation would ever learn how to cook.  I contested this, pointing to myself as an example, but then, I remembered: It was only a year ago that I was still scared of the kitchen.  The kitchen was for mothers and chefs and experienced cooks, not for ignorant twenty-somethings like me. 

For years, I could follow a recipe religiously and hope for a successful result, but I couldn't go into a grocery store and know what staples to buy.  I knew how to dice an onion, but I couldn't make a proper stir fry.  Even while living in San Francisco-food heaven-for four years, I looked at my friend P in envy, wondering how she could take Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food and churn out one casual yet mouthwatering dish after another.  On weeknights!

As for me, I poked my way through the dark, hoping that trying one discrete recipe after another would turn me into a cook.  But it wasn't until early this year, when I had a kitchen all to myself and a determination to blog, that I started playing around.  I started with recipes involving lots of stock, lemons, herbs, and wine.  Pretty soon it became second nature to pick these ingredients up each time I went to the store.  Then for a while I went through a phase where I made the same thing, over and over again: oatmeal with egg for breakfast, beef stew. 

Even during those repetitive cycles, I was learning more about myself-what I liked to eat, my preference for single-pot meals.  Lately, I've been craving Asian food, so my counter is littered with ginger and garlic.  I am also taking out that new mandoline, discovering the utility of my Kitchenaid mixer, and actually putting my food processor to use. 

But it's not about the equipment.  It's about breaking assumptions and barriers.  Let's start with my friend who sighed.  To him, I say: A meal does not have to be an equally portioned plate of protein, starch, and vegetables.  Sometimes it's a bowl of noodles, or couscous with scallions and veggies.

Nor does cooking need to be a to-do list item.  Ironically, while I believe in cooking, I also believe that when you don't feel like cooking, you shouldn't.  Don't cook!  Eat something prepared, even junk. 

I know some people view cooking as a matter of health and cost-it often is for me, too-but I also view it as a form of mindfulness.  I cook to the extent that it excites me or calms me.  When I don't feel like cooking, the act stresses me out.  I eat instant noodles instead, or a plain bowl of rice with some soy sauce.  It works out perfectly, because soon I get so overwhelmed with work that I need cooking as an outlet, and/or I become so disgusted with Jack in the Box that I crave healthy, homemade food as an antidote.  See?  You don't need to force it.  Eventually, you'll come back full circle.

Mindfulness.  That's the message I impart.  And to dispel any false assumptions, I am still awkward in the kitchen.  I still ask stupid questions and learn things a so-called foodie would probably never admit not knowing, like what it means to braise something.

The point is that I am willing to learn and try to learn, little by little, every day.  If you can take that approach to food, focusing more on the exploration and less on any fixed goal (like "learning to cook"), then you will learn, and you will have a good time while doing it. 

On that note, I'm ready to share this pesto recipe.  If you've read this far, I admire you for your attention span!

All of the ingredients but the oil goes into a food processor.

While the processor is on, slowly drizzle in the oil.

Process using the pulse function, until you start to see a paste forming.

And pulse until the sauce is the consistency you desire.  Mine's a little chunky, but I'm okay with that. 

Add some kale, some grass fed beef, and you're done.  Homemade meal.  No, I did not eat all that food.

Basic Pesto
Recipe from Winner Celebration Party (I don't recall when I first learned how to make pesto.  The ratio is so basic, you won't really need a recipe after one or two tries)

Ingredients:

• About 2 cups of fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
• A small handful of nuts (about 1/4-1/3 cup, depending on the type of nut, I say)
  
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (Parmesan is standard, I used Gruyere-Swiss, though it was a bit soft)
  
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  
  
  

A note on ingredients: The measurements above are just approximations, but this is the ratio I remember learning right after college.  Within reason, you can probably tweak the measurements and still have a delicious result.  As for nuts, pine nuts are standard, but you can substitute walnuts or probably other nuts as well.  But to let you know, I've only tried the first two I mentioned.


Steps:

1. Combine everything in a food processor, except the olive oil.
   
2. Turn on your food processor, and slowly drizzle in the olive oil while the machine is going.
   
3. Process until the sauce has reached the smoothness of your choice.

Notes:

Pesto comes in a variety of forms-I've used cilantro instead of basil, walnuts (as shown here) instead of pine nuts, and different kinds of cheeses.  It's hard to go wrong, so long as you have the right ratio of ingredients.  In fact, even the ratio itself can be tweaked, as you can see below.  My general rule of thumb is (in order of smallest measure to largest): nuts > cheese & oil > basil.

You can use pesto on cooked pasta, obviously, or on anything else your heart desires-meat, toast, vegetables, etc.  As for storage, keep pesto in the fridge or freeze it.  A former roommate taught me the trick of freezing the pesto in a sandwich-sized ziploc bag.  Squeeze out the extra air, and store flat in the freezer.  When you need to use the pesto, just break off a chunk and drop it straight into the pot.  Let it warm up, then add your pasta.  Toss and serve.

Hi there.  Hey, know what I like?  Lists.  Do you like lists, too? 

Guess what, I'm giving you a list this week.  Why?  Because I don't have time to sit down and write a proper post.  It's not that I don't care--I do--but work is piling up, and I am starting to do that thing where stress makes me become increasingly silent and MIA until I become an inert pile of useless human dough.  Oh, October.

So here it is: Things I'm reading, recipes I'm trying, food I'm craving, places I'm going, and blogs I'm adding to my reading list.  I'll eventually share photos of the recipes and will add more blogs to the blogroll.

Until then, enjoy these half-baked thoughts!

At Home, About Town:

The balcony tomato experiment wasn't a total failure, but I did learn that (1) the balcony is not the best place for tomatoes and (2) I'm not the most attentive gardener.

Weck jars make great portable containers for Greek yogurt and honey.

Mar Vista Farmers Market

Simpang Asia
 (more on this soon)

Cravings:

• Anything Asian.  Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Indonesian, you name it.  For some reason, I've tired of stock, lemons, and herbs and now crave ginger, garlic, and scallions.  Reverting back to a childlike state?  Maybe.  See below for some recipes I've been trying.  Next, I am thinking pork katsu (via New York Times).
  
  
• Also salad and vegetables, especially after discovering that a good vinaigrette can turn anyone into a salad lover.  Why pretend you like the same old dijon vinaigrette when what you really want is fish sauce?  Hey, if other people don't like it, then you win: more for you.
  
  

Recipes:

• Flourless peanut butter cookies, courtesy of Saveur.  @#$! these are good.
  
  
• Thai vinaigrette (Joy of Cooking) - fish sauce, lime juice, a squirt of hot sauce.  Yum.
  
  
• Soy miso ginger vinaigrette (Adapted from Joy of Cooking) - delicous.  Why pay $$ for a bottled version when you can make your own?
  
  
• Walnut pesto (my own recipe) - a no-brainer recipe that turns humdrum pasta into a special homemade meal. 
  
  
• Hainanese Chicken with Rice  (Mark Bittman) - No ruling on authenticity, but this totally satisfied my craving for something involving garlic and ginger.
  
  
• Next up: Simple Tomato Sauce (Splendid Table)
  
  

Radio, Print, and Internet:

• Listened to Night+Market's Kris Yenbamroong talk about Thai street food on KCRW's Good Food.  Mike and I met Kris through a college friend.  His food is delicious.  He also introduced us to the late night taco truck on Venice.

• Also caught up with Splendid Table with Lynn Rosetto Kasper. I love Lynn.  Something about her voice is so soothing and delightful.
  
  
• New York Times Magazine Food and Drink Issue: Nice layout, interesting questions. 
  
  
• Perusing readers' comments debating the expansion of food stamps to include fast food, via New York Times Room for Debate.  Really interesting.  Difficult challenge.
  
  
• Mark Bittman: Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? and Shared Meals, Shared Knowledge.  I appreciate his recent path away from recipes, but often I find his articles only hit one part of the bigger picture.  Is he being fair and critical or playing back familiar refrains to the choir?
  
  
• U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance: Newly formed, out to change the way you think about U.S. beef!  The Alliance has also been busy making this emotional documentary.  Here's Grist's take on the Alliance.
  
  
• How to start making my way down Jonathan Gold's food map?
   
• How to Peel Garlic in Less than 10 Seconds?  No way.  Thanks, Saveur.

WCP in the News:

• WCP received a mention on the Macheesmo food blog!  I'm flattered to have this little ol' blog as an example of website making.  On that note, I am planning to do a redesign of this site, maybe even get a proper logo.


• In case you missed it last week, WCP is also featured in the latest Lifeyo promo video.

Blogroll:

Last, but not least, check out the blogroll this week for a steady stream of food blogs.  Some I've been reading for a while, some I've only just discovered (like most of the ones on Saveur's 55 Great Global Food Blogs).  I'm sure these only scratch the surface!

Meet Liz.  Liz and I go to school together.  She likes literature and food blogs. 
I learned about the latter when I caught her sneaking a glance at Smitten Kitchen before class.  Looking at closeup photos of donuts at 9:30 am is not a good idea.

* * EDIT 9/26/11: Learning Liz is camera-shy, I have replaced her lovely face with an image showing off her gnocchi-rolling ability. * *

What do you do when you learn that a classmate likes food?  Schedule a cooking date, of course.  I drove to Liz's apartment, and after a quick ingredients trip to Co-Opportunity, we got to work.  The plan: Chicken tagine, based on Mark Bittman's recipe in The Best Recipes in the World, and green olive gnocchi, based on Heidi Swanson's recipe in 101 Cookbooks. 

We were fairly faithful to Bittman's recipe, though we did add homemade preserved lemons.  The aroma made us excited.

Heidi said to use premade gnocchi, but we made our own, based on another recipe from Heidi.  We think we'll increase the proportionate amount of flour next time, as Mark Bittman's gnocchi recipe requests.

Little gnocchi waiting to be boiled and pan fried. 
Like people, some are oddly shaped.

It's a good thing Liz and I both like green olives.  We decided not to puree the sauce, as the recipe required.  Lumpy sauce is good, too.

Colorful, patterned dishes and a tablecloth make for a photoworthy tableau.

Next time, my place!  Suggestions on what to make?

San Francisco is treating us well.  It is unusually warm, and the Golden Gate Bridge has the slightest shawl of fog around its shoulders.  I hardly miss the computer.  But, I admit, having a dumb phone and a laptop with a broken USB port makes for photo uploading challenges. 

I'll have to wait until I get back to Los Angeles to post trip photos.  In the meantime, here is a quick fingerling potato salad.  If you like your salads substantial, this one's for you. 

I did a riff on this New York Times Magazine recipe.  The salad is simple, though it does require separate preparation of some of the ingredients.  But once everything is cooked, it comes together quickly. 

I added a bit of corn and cherry tomatoes (not pictured).  I think I would adjust this by adding more flavor-I lacked the called-for chives, parsley, and capers, and they would have probably carried this dish forward more. Maybe you could also add marinated olives or tuna, a sort of nicoise.  Whatever you do, be sure to toss the salad in the dressing while the potatoes are hot.  They'll absorb the flavors better that way.  Eat it warm or cold.  And the spiciest of arugulas is best.

Do you like chard?  Leaves billowing from red, yellow, white stems.  A mild flavor, almost like spinach.  I prefer greens with a bite like arugula or collard greens, so chard isn't on the top of my favorite greens list.  But I keep trying it in hopes that one day I will.  Last week, I stopped by an impressive hilltop community garden in my neighborhood.  When you stand at the top, you have a clear view of the ocean.  You can drive by it every day without knowing it's there, thanks to the tall line of trees obscuring your view of the stakes and flowering plants.  The garden is so big it feels more like a small farm, divided into individual plots.  Each plot has something different-tomato plants, green beans, strawberries, wildflowers, lemon trees, and chard.  Lots of chard. 

So after seeing all that chard, I remembered to post these photos.  I stumbled upon this recipe for chard lasagna at A Cup of Jo.  It's actually a Martha Stewart recipe, but what convinced me to try it was reading Jo's rave review.

This is how it looks baked.  It's simple to make.  You prep the ingredients, layer, and bake.  This was my first time making a lasagna, and this one strays from the traditional tomato sauce and ricotta standard.  I was happy with it, though I think I'm still learning to like chard.  My favorite part was actually the sausage and lemon, while my least favorite was the white sauce, which quickly became pink sauce since the chard stems were red.  My memory bank retrieved recollections of bechamels and creamy sauces that made me queasy.  But don't think this dish makes you queasy!  Not at all.  I'm sorry I said it.  Oh boy.

There is a good comment on the MS recipe page-someone substituted kale for chard, and used parmesan and feta cheese together.  That sounds fabulous.

Lunch, fresh off the stove (well, still on the stove). 
Sorry for dark lighting!

Chicken Soba with Mushroom Garlic Reduction
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1/2 tub of crimini mushrooms, washed and quartered
1/2 red onion, diced
4-5 cloves of garlic (I like my garlic), smashed
1-2 handfuls shredded roasted chicken meat
Buckwheat soba noodles
1-2 tbsp. butter
Low sodium chicken broth
Dry red wine
Lemon (optional)

Yesterday I opened my fridge and pulled out everything that was open and consumable (goodbye, icky cucumber).  I didn’t think, I just grabbed.  “Everything must go.  Everything!!”  There was half an onion, some mushrooms, a dwindling rotisserie chicken, half a lemon, and a nearly empty box of chicken broth.  There was also half a bottle of wine on the counter that was no longer drinkable. 

I wanted a lunch that tasted fresh and had a lot of flavor without putting me to sleep.  Out came the soba noodles, which I love eating in a variety of ways. I brought a pot of water to boil.

I decided to do a quasi-pan sauce with the mushrooms.  I say quasi because instead of searing meat, I would use onions.  I started by sweating the onions in the butter over medium high heat until they started to leave a dark brown crust on the bottom of the pan.  In went some chicken broth, which acted as a deglazer.  After scraping up the brown bits, I added the mushrooms and garlic, cooking over medium to medium high heat.  I alternated between adding chicken broth and red wine.  I kept the pan hot enough to let the sauce reduce but not so hot that the sauce would entirely evaporate.  Everything turned a purple chestnut color. 

While the sauce simmered, I had cooked and drained the noodles.  When the mushroom sauce was dark and a bit thickened, I added the noodles to the pan, tossing them with the sauce.  Then I plated the pasta and squeezed the half lemon over the entire thing.

Yum.

Notes:

I like using up my leftovers, and I’m happy when I can find a perfect use for that last bit of onion, or last squeeze of lemon.  Lemons are great to squeeze onto anything-pasta, oatmeal, eggs, salad, meat, tea…anything that can use brightness.  Wine and broth of any kind are also my new friends.  They build a better base of flavor for anything you make.  I now buy wine, stock, and lemons on a regular basis, regardless of what I have planned that week.  I don’t buy expensive wine for cooking.  I am happy with the $2-3 selection from Trader Joe’s.  As for broth, it can get pretty pricey to buy those cardboard cartons, but thankfully, making your own stock is both easy and economical.  Just save your vegetable bits and meat bones (ok, well there is more to it than that, but this is the gist of it)!  And as for lemons, ah, well, there’s nothing I can do about that.  Is there a dwarf lemon tree that produces at least a bag of lemons per week?  I didn’t think so.

And don’t underestimate soba noodles.  They cook very quickly (three minutes or so, as opposed to seven or eight for Italian pasta), have a nice flavor, and are satisfying without leaving you feeling sluggish.  And they are versatile!  They can be eaten with tsuyu with some seaweed on top, or as a side along with an entrée.

Finally, I swear that my stainless steel All-Clad pan-the most recent addition to the kitchen, thanks to another very, very generous gift from Suzanne- has made a big difference in my food.  Food heats evenly, meat sears, vegetables caramelize.  It’s good when food sticks a bit because those bits release in liquid and make a flavorful sauce.  The recipe above would probably turn out very differently if attempted in a nonstick pan.

Steel Cut Oats
Makes 4 servings
Good the first day, better the next

Add four cups of water to a pot and bring to a boil.  Add one cup of steel cut oats.  Boil for a minute, then turn off the heat.  Go to bed (leave the pot on the stove).  While you're sleeping, the oatmeal will absorb the water, soften, coagulate.  The next morning, reheat it, adding milk or water if necessary.  Make additions as you please (sugar, raisins, arugula, egg, etc.).

How do you approach weeknight meals?  When I come home from a long day at school, I tend to open the fridge, grab anything that's cooked, reheat, and eat.  Sometimes I even skip the reheating step since without a microwave, it would require turning on the stove.

I'm trying to do better.  It turns out cold cauliflower doesn't taste too great.  It's not easy, and I'm often unsuccessful.  But I hope by blogging some of my better meals, I will be more motivated to take thirty minutes to prepare a balanced meal instead of eating a carbs bomb (burrito, pasta) or frozen food.

These meals aren't gourmet, or even coherent, but they force me to use my leftover food.  More, they leave me feeling better than instant ramen.  (Not that I have anything against instant ramen.  Finals season has commenced, which means I'll be starting my diet of packaged noodles very soon.)

Quick Dinner: Chicken, Starch, and Greens - Two Ways!

Version 1 | Risotto with mushroom, onion, and Parmesan cheese.  Leftover chicken with breadcrumbs, reheated.  Baby bok choy, quickly stir fried.

Time: About thirty minutes, including risotto cooking time

Shopping List: Box of arborio rice, grated Parmesan cheese, chicken stock, mushrooms, an onion, baby bok choy, dry white wine, and a protein, if you don't have some left over. (I got everything on this list from Trader Joe's.)

Version 2 | Brown rice with store-bought rotisserie chicken and stir fried southern greens (mustard, spinach, collard greens)

Time: Ten minutes, not counting rice cooking time

Shopping List: Brown rice (Mitsuwa), rotisserie chicken (Whole Foods), prewashed/premixed southern greens (Trader Joe's), stir fry seasonings (sesame oil, oyster sauce, garlic)

I’m noticing a pattern among my favorite recipes: They're simple, don't require many hard-to-find ingredients, and store well.  Sometimes I put in some extra effort, but for the most part, I cook because I'm hungry and busy. 

Since I want to free up my week to focus on school, I cook on the weekends: During the week, I browse my favorite blogs for recipes.  By Friday, I'm thinking of what I want to eat the following week, by Saturday, I'm buying groceries, and by Sunday, I’m cooking up a storm.  I like visiting all the nearby grocery stores and making product and price comparisons (meat from Whole Foods, bread from Trader Joes, fish from Mitsuwa).

In the spirit of economy, efficiency, and flavor, I bring you a simple recipe that utilizes kitchen staples: bread, cheese, herbs, and chicken-Chicken with breadcrumbs!  The word “breadcrumbs” evokes Shake ‘n Bake, greasy chicken parmigiana, and Mary Poppins’ pigeons (one which I’ve never tried, one which I haven’t had in ages, and one which I never want to try).  But I hope this recipe banishes any sketchy associations because this dish, while simple, is delicious.  It’s crunchy, has great flavor, and is low on fat.  Consider it a healthy alternative to fried chicken. 

The recipe is easily adjustable to your liking.  I’ve included my measurements, but they are neither exact nor in rigid proportion.  See my notes below for some thoughts on variations.  At the least, though, I recommend you ensure that (1) you use good quality, dry bread (2) you add flavor to the breadcrumbs (whether it’s spices, herbs, or cheese) and (3) you do an adequate job coating the chicken.  By the way, I prefer a very coarse crumb (no powder for me!), but you decide.

Following those guidelines, you can't go wrong.  I hope you like it.

Chicken with Herbed Breadcrumbs
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 baguette (fresh or day-old)
Olive oil
Approx. 1 cup packed herbs
Approx. 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Optional: Minced garlic
Salt and pepper
4-6 chicken breast halves
2-3 eggs, whisked
1/3 cup flour

Equipment:

Food processor, baking sheet

How To:

1. Bread to Toast* | Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Slice your baguette into 1/3-1/2" rounds.  Arrange the rounds on a baking sheet, making sure they don't overlap.  Drizzle some olive oil over the top.  Bake until the bread is dry and toasty (Get it? Toasty?).
   
   
2. Herbs | While the bread is toasting, add the herbs to the food processor and chop.  Set the herbs aside in a bowl.
   
   
3. Toast to Breadcrumbs | Remove the bread from the oven and rip the rounds into pieces.  The pieces don't have to be tiny, maybe 1-1.5 inches.  Add the pieces to the food processor and process until the bread turns into coarse crumbs.  You may have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your processor.
   
   
4. Combine | Pour your breadcrumbs into a medium bowl.  Add your herbs, the Parmesan, salt and pepper.  Since Parmesan is already a bit salty, adjust your salt seasoning accordingly.  [Optional: Add minced garlic]
   
   
5. Coat Chicken | Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare 3 plates: Plate 1 with the flour; Plate 2 with the eggs, and Plate 3 with a copious amount of breadcrumbs.  Dip the chicken in that order: flour, egg, breadcrumbs.  The flour creates a dry base for the egg to adhere.  Be sure to let excess egg drip off the chicken before coating in breadcrumbs.  Use your fingers to press the breadcrumbs into the chicken, especially if you are using large, coarse crumbs like I did.
   
   
6. Bake & Serve | Arrange the chicken in a baking dish so that they are not overcrowded.  Bake for about 20 minutes, then let sit for a few minutes before serving.  [This dish is best eaten while hot and fresh.  A day later, the crumb gets moist and soft-still good, but not as crunchy.]

Notes:

• Herbs: I used fresh herbs, but dried ones would work great, too.  My mix was primarily basil, with some rosemary, thyme, and oregano.  Use what you have and what you think goes well together!
  
  
• Bread: If you're using day-old bread that is already dry, you can omit step one of the recipe.   Just process the bread into coarse crumbs.  Also note you can use pretty much any kind of bread you like.  I chose a baguette because I like the dense crust.
  
  
• Cheese: This recipe could easily use more cheese, but I wanted to keep the recipe on the lighter side.
  
  
• Marinade: You could marinate the chicken beforehand for more flavor, perhaps using yogurt or maybe even citrus.  I’ve even seen recipes calling for mayonnaise.

Ramen at an unlikely seaside Asian joint.  This dish was fairly lackluster,
but the Korean dishes looked and tasted homemade.

Ever feel like you spend more time getting ready to do something than actually doing that something?  If I had a wish, I would wish that my apartment clean itself and my laundry wash, dry, and fold itself.  I've tried-no magic fairy yet.  So I've learned the art of multitasking and early planning.  Toss the laundry in the washer, then hop over next door for some grocery shopping.  Cook on Sunday in order to save precious hours during the week to study. 

I could buy food at school, but making my own meals is both cheaper and healthier.  Cooking also keeps me sane, the way basketball or television is an outlet for others.  Now there is a beautiful lasagna cooling on the counter and steel cut oats soaking in boiling water, waiting to be scarfed down with brown sugar and milk in the morning.  Pictures and recipes to come!

Hope you all have a productive, sane week.  Get your ducks in order!

Salad's an easy, throw-together lunch that you can make in large quantities ahead of time.  The word "salad" can mean anything from your traditional garden greens salad to chicken salad covered in mayonnaise.  This Israel couscous salad was quick to make and a healthy alternative to the gummy, sauce-laden pasta offered by the school food vendors.

My basic recipe is below, and you can tweak it endlessly until you have a completely different salad.  Any pasta or grain-fusilli pasta, quinoa, barley-would work.  I like Israeli couscous (a wheat-based pasta) because of its large granule size, which lends more texture and bite than regular couscous.  This salad takes about thirty minutes to make and requires minimal stove time. 

Next, I'm thinking of easy, portable meals for this busy week.  The plan so far is steel cut oats for breakfast, a healthy lasagna for lunch, maybe some quick fish or chicken for dinner.  What are you eating?  Do you plan your meals in advance?

Spring Salad with Israeli Couscous

Ingredients

1 box Israeli couscous
1-2 purple beets, pre-cooked
Large handful of wild arugula (I like the extra spice of wild)
Several stalks of asparagus
A few small to medium carrots
Half a cucumber (I used a Persian cucumber)
Feta cheese
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

How To:

1. Couscous | Prepare your couscous according to the box instructions.  It's more or less like cooking pasta, except the couscous absorbs all the water.
   
   
2. Vegetables | While your couscous is cooking, prepare your vegetables.  Peel and slice the carrots, slice the beets and cucumber, and steam the asparagus for a few minutes until they turn bright green.
    
   
3. Toss | When the couscous is finished, toss it in a big bowl with all your vegetables.  Drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the whole deal, to taste.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add however much arugula you can handle, and the same for feta cheese.  Store in the fridge and eat straight out of the bowl if you're that hungry.

Looking for a quick dinner that requires only a handful of ingredients?  Look no further. [Fine, I burned it slightly.  M would not approve.  But it still tasted great.]

I've been keeping track of my diet recently-not for any insidious objective like calorie restriction-and noticed that in the course of a month, I eat very little fish or fruit.  Fruit I understand.  My body has rejected fruits by way of inflammatory response over the last five years.  But fish?  I don't love fish the way M does, but I can eat it without having to go to the hospital.  Still, I had this uneasy feeling that preparing fish was smelly and difficult.

But secretly, I wanted to learn how to cook fish, and The Kitchn came to my aid with this salmon recipe.  I tweaked it based on the ingredients I had, and it proved at least one of my fears wrong.  This salmon is very, very good. 

I used farm-raised salmon, even though M said he prefers wild.  According to M, wild salmon is less oily than farm-raised, but I wasn't ready to fork over nearly $30/lb.  Oh Whole Foods.  Sometimes you gouge my heart.

The fish is, of course, flavorful, but for me, it's the vinaigrette that makes this meal.  The scallion brings a piquant kick, the lemon juice the acid, and the cilantro an integral brightness.  [If you're one of those people who hates cilantro (maybe it's not your fault), you can leave it out.  But for me, the more cilantro, the merrier.] 

Finally, I substituted polenta for couscous, and I think I prefer this thick, creamy base.  It soaks up the vinaigrette and lends a pleasant enveloping texture to the flaky salmon.

The Kitchn blogger sums it up nicely: "[I]t's something I'd order in a restaurant, and at a fraction of the price."

* Now there is a lingering fish smell in my entire apartment.  How do I get rid of it?  Opening the doors and windows hasn't entirely helped.  I've already taken out the trash.

Salmon with Scallion and Cilantro Vinaigrette

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 medium to large salmon fillet, skin removed
1 cup dry polenta
Paprika
Salt and pepper
A few tablespoons olive oil
1/4-1/2 cup cilantro
1-2 scallions, thinly sliced
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

How To:

1. POLENTA | Start here, since polenta takes a while to cook.  Add 1 cup polenta to 3 cups boiling water and cook until it has absorbed the water, about 25 minutes.  Add 1-2 tbsp. butter toward the end, if you wish.
   
   
2. FISH | Season your salmon with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Heat a small amount of olive oil over medium high heat in a pan.  Cook your salmon about 3-4 minutes on each side.  
   
   [Avoid excess oil, since the fish is already somewhat oily.  Using a nonstick pan helps, but I used stainless steel, which gave the fish a nice crust but, then again, almost burned it.]
   
   
3. VINAIGRETTE | While your fish is cooking, mix the sliced scallions, cilantro, lemon juice, and olive oil together in a bowl.  You can chop the cilantro if you want, but I left it whole.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 
   
   [The Kitchn calls for equal parts lemon juice and olive oil, but I prefer more acid, so my lemon:oil ratio was probably 2:1.] 
   
   
4. SERVE | Plate polenta on a large plate.  Add your salmon fillet.  Drizzle the vinaigrette over the top, and serve.

Well, so much for a sunny staycation.  This week is likely to bring rain, rain, and more rain.  Not that I mind.  It's a good chance to catch up with work and to take a quiet breather.

Last night, I had absolutely no dinner plans.  I wearily put a few onions on the cutting board, peeled off their flaky skin, chopped off the blunt ends, then split them lengthwise.  A full few minutes passed as I stared at the half domes, dreading yet another saute.  I was just about to do my customary cross-section dicing but then began slicing them into half moon slices instead.  "Caramelized," I thought.  I had nowhere to go; there was time to wait for the onions to sweat and sweeten.

I stuck a dab of butter in the dutch oven, and when it melted, I added two onions worth of half moon slices.  I let this cook over low heat, stirring only occasionally.  A few minutes in, they were translucent.  A half hour later, they were exhausted-limp and losing form. 

After about an hour, the onions started to form a sweet-smelling, clumpy mass.  Onion residue was sticking to the bottom of the pan, so I poured in some leftover white wine.  The brown bits released and turned the onions a deep brown.  I waited some more.  The heat went up to medium.  In went the last quarter cup of wine.  I grabbed my last box of stock-beef stock-and poured about a third into the pot. 

A few minutes later, I ladled the soup into a bowl, topped it with cheese, and had an unexpected dinner of onion soup.  It was my favorite meal of the week, even sans bread and herbs.

My mind feels a little numb from the incessant drumming of rain.  When I woke this morning and heard the dull thud of water on the roof, I jumped out of bed and ran barefoot onto my balcony, dragging my soaked plants under the eaves.  I think they'll survive.  But I worry it's only a matter of time before the growing puddle outside creeps through the cracks of the glass door, into my living room, and onto my feet.  Splash, splash.

Occasionally, I like to skip the mirepoix and layered stews and eat vegetables straight up.  Some garlic and oil, maybe some liquid.  Tonight, I tossed some organic carrots in a pan with garlic and a splash of beef stock (did you know organic carrots leave a trail of fluorescent yellow orange?).  My leftover asparagus got rolled around in olive oil and kosher salt, then stuck in the oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for ten minutes.

I find myself loath to make complicated meals these days.  Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's all that's going on outside my calm apartment.  I won't waste lines on platitudes, or myopic prose about how a tragic disaster done to others makes me more grateful for flowers and tea.  I'm just struck by how my perception of events feels more and more skewed as I click through endless photos and spinoff articles.  Reality feels ephemeral; it's difficult to know how to respond.  You can insert your literary reference of choice here.

Funny how recipes get passed around.  Word of mouth from a friend, a favorite blogger's review.  I knew I wanted a recipe with asparagus, per my spring plans, but was uncreative with my online search.  Luckily, the words "spring" and "asparagus" landed me on this recipe via Serious Eats, adapted from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook.  I haven't read the book, but M and I have good memories of Zuni's polenta with mascarpone (mm).

So consider this an adaptation of an adaptation.  Is it good?  I thought it was decent.  For me, this soup could have used something extra-maybe a splash of vinegar, some cheese, or as my friend suggested, cilantro. 

Maybe I used too much asparagus in proportion to pancetta, or maybe I didn't fry the pancetta long enough before adding it to the soup.  I'll never know.

Ingredients:

Olive oil
About 2 cups onions, diced
1/2 cup white rice
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
8 oz. asparagus, woody parts removed, diagonally sliced into 1/8 inch pieces
4 oz. bacon or pancetta, diced
Salt and pepper

How To:

1. Heat about 4 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan.  Add your onions and a bit of salt.  Cook about ten minutes, until translucent.  Stir occasionally.  [You want the onions to sweat, not to caramelize.]
2. Add your rice and liquid to the pot.  Add 1/2 cup of water (in addition to your chicken stock).  Bring it all to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.  Cover the pot and cook until your rice is cooked but still a bit firm (15-20 minutes).
3. While your rice and stock are cooking, get a big skillet and heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil over medium heat.  Add your bacon or pancetta and cook for a few minutes.  Toss in your asparagus and mix it in with the meat.  Then leave it alone for about four minutes.  Stir.  Leave it alone for another four minutes.    
4. Add your asparagus and bacon mix to your rice and stock pot.  Bring this all to a boil for about a minute.  Turn off the heat.  Add a ton of black pepper and serve.

Notes:

• I could only find ultra thin asparagus at the grocery store.  I wonder whether using thicker stalks would have imparted more of an asparagus flavor.
• Slicing the asparagus took forever.  So did dicing the pancetta.  A sharp knife helps.  So does patience.
• I used arborio rice and ended up adding more water and stock as the rice soaked up a lot of liquid.
• The soup is best eaten the day it's made, before the rice and delicate asparagus have congealed into a solid mass.

Photo: Our cooking instructor in Chiang Mai, Thailand. 
She is holding two small but potent peppers.

The Internet tells me Spring is still three days away, but already I am planning ways to celebrate its arrival.  Unlike New Years, which pitches me into deep contemplations about humanity and my life path, Spring is a much more manageable transition.  For the same reason, it is also more joyful.  No high expectations to live up to, no austere, self-imposed rules to live by.  Just a few pleasurable moments punctuating long spells of Microsoft Word.

This year, I'm thinking-with the exception of work-small goals, low expectations, and immediate gratification.  I don't mean clothing or exotic trips.  I mean food.  Here's the list I brainstormed this morning.  My stomach is now grumbling.  Off to the market!

COOK/BAKE

• Something Sweet | How does someone with a slight aversion to sugary treats have such a penchant for baking?  I don't know.  Maybe I like predictable results and precision-the measured cups, the nested bowls, the precisely timed bake.  So what to make?  I tire of cookies.  Maybe a pie?  Ah, but who will eat it?  You're looking at the person who took a week to finish a Ritter's chocolate bar.

• Preserved Lemons | I've heard whispers of these lemons from friends and food blogs.  Now, thanks to NYT's easy DIY method, I feel it is doable.

• Asparagus | I'm trying to think of a spring-worthy dish.  Asparagus would be the perfect vegetable, and risotto is the first dish that comes to mind.  But what else?

• Salmon Cakes | My old roommate introduced me to these cakes.  Seafood isn't something I exactly crave, so I was unfamiliar with the seafood counter at Whole Foods.  But these cakes are addicting*.  And now, thanks to a boyfriend who loves seafood so much he has regular dreams about fishing, I do stop by the seafood counter.  Out of habit.
  * My only gripe is that the recipe calls for canned salmon, and I have some misgivings about canned foods (despite the fact that I still use canned products).

PLANT

• Tomatoes | I don't relish tomatoes straight up the way some people do, and the last word you will hear from my mouth is "heirloom."  But I remember a sauce cooking class from several years back, and how much I like bolognese, and how tomatoes can be worked into so many dishes, and...yeah, I like tomatoes.

• Prik khi nu (Thai chili pepper) | My first attempt at growing these failed, but lucky for me, there is an entire packet of seeds left.  These small peppers are not readily available at your neighborhood grocery store, but their intense spiciness is essential to many a Thai curry or sauce.