3/28/2005

Rainy monday and leftover shrimp!

As usual I prepared more shrimp than two of us could eat on Easter sunday so I will need to throw something together that calls for shrimp. I also have some cabbage, baby spinach, and chicken broth as well as wonton noodles {uncooked}. I think that a quick stir fry of slivered cabbage, grated carrots, sliced onion and minced garlic would be nice, with the shrimp added at the end. A stir fry is simply a mixture of foods cooked in a little oil starting with the food that requires the longest cooking time adding the rest of the ingredients in order of time required, until everything is in the pan. Season the stirfry as you wish. I usually add a little bit of soy sauce and Five Spice powder which is available in the Asian foods section of your super market. Grated ginger is another good addition.

A nice way to start the meal would be with a bowl of chicken broth, jazzed up by adding fresh parsley and a shake of garlic powder. Wonton noodles are a reasonable addition, so I will cut them in quarters and add them to the simmering broth. When they are almost tender, I will add some baby spinach that I have sliced very thinly. To do this, remove the stems, stack the leaves up and form them into a tight little roll. Using a sharp knife slice the rolled spinach into slivers. These thin shreds of spinach will cook almost instantly, so at this point taste the broth and adjust the seasoning. Sometimes I add a small shake of turmeric and curry powder to chicken soups because these herbs and seasonings seem to enhance the flavor and add a lovely golden color to the broth.

A fresh fruit plate is a perfect dessert and I have some strawberries, blueberries, and oranges that will do just fine. Simply clean the berries, slice the oranges into segments and arrange the fruit on a platter. Dessert is ready. Enjoy!

3/27/2005

Easter Sunday--and not a rabbit in sight!

Well, this has been an unusual holiday for me, because I did not invite the immediate world for dinner. Instead I planned a very relaxed day at home, complete with a good film to watch and some favorite foods to graze on. Stuffed artichokes are delicious and quite time consuming to prepare but with just two for dinner-no problem. If you have never cooked artichokes before, you may be a bit spooked by the way they look but be brave, they are just a vegetable after all.

At the grocers select firm tightly closed artichokes that are not turning brown around the edges, and if they are damp wipe them off with a paper towel. {my grocery store has a roll of paper towels hanging in the vegetable aisle for customer use} Store them in the refrigerator and use them soon because they do not store well. Now for the fun part! You will need a very sharp knife, a pair of scissors and a cutting board. If you are preparing more than two at a time you also will need a large bowl of cold water with the juice of a lemon added. As you prepare the artichokes drop them into the water. Drain each one well before stuffing them.

The stuffing is a simple mixture of bread crumbs {you can use the "Italian" kind}, a good handfull of grated romano cheese,
some garlic powder, and black pepper. Add olive oil gradually until the bread crumbs begin to clump together. You don't want a wet mixture. Put the stuffing aside.

Now you need to snip the ends off of each leaf because there are little thorns on those ends and they are VERY sharp. Next lay the artichoke on it's side and cut off the stem so that the base is flat. Then with the artichoke still on it's side slice about one inch off the top as well. You now have an artichoke that is almost ready to stuff. The next trick is to separate the leaves just enough to make space for the stuffing. My mother taught me to press the artichoke, top down using an open hand and pushing gently. I usually use a wooden cutting board for this part also.

Okay now--- the next step is messy so be prepared to sweep up crumbs after you are finished. Using a teaspoon and holding the prepared artichoke in one hand put a little of the stuffing between as many of the leaves as you possibly can. The artichoke will begin to grow larger as you work because of the stuffing. Finish stuffing all of them, and then decide how large a pan you will need. Put about two inches of water and a drizzle of olive oil in the pan and then squeeze those babies in nice and tight! Cover the pan, bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer. They will need to cook for about forty five minutes and you need to check the pan occasionally to make sure the water has not boiled away.

To test the artichokes to see if they are done, carefully pull one leaf out, and if it can be removed easily the artichokes are cooked. Of course you should not waste the piece you have pulled so eat it. Do you know how to eat an artichoke? Put the leaf in your mouth bottom end first and pull the leaf out between clenched teeth! Sounds barbaric doesn't it? If indeed it's tender you should remove the artichokes from the pan with a large slotted spoon and put them on a tray or separate serving dishes. Allow them to cool a bit. Provide separate bowls for well chewed leaves and lots of napkins.

While the artichokes were bubbling away we enjoyed some smoked salmon with horseradish sour cream, as well as steamed shrimp. Some plain crackers served with garlic hummus rounded out the platter. We sipped a bit of wine, watched our film, and before we knew it the artichokes were ready to serve! Yummy.
{I know--I said that we would talk about hummus! another tIme.}

3/20/2005

Snow?? Soup !!

When the weatherman said the "F" word {flurries!} this morning I realized that soup weather was far from over and took a quick look at my supplies for a hint regarding the Soup Of The Day.

In the freezer I found a package of turkey drumsticks and a small container of home made tomato sauce. In the refrigerator I found celery, carrots, and parsley. With the addition of garlic and onions as well as dried bay leaf and dried thyme I knew that soup was on the way. Of course the frozen turkey drumsticks needed to be thawed {microwave!}, and the vegetables needed to be cleaned and chopped. So, I put a pot of water on to boil and proceeded to cut the onion into chunks, mince the garlic, chop the celery and carrots, all of which went into the pot of boiling water along with the thawed turkey. I set my timer for thirty minutes, turned the heat down to maintain a simmer and finished the word puzzle I had started this morning.

When the timer buzzed I added the chopped parsley and a few bay leaves, as well as about one half cup of the tomato sauce, and a pinch of dried thyme. A quick stir, and I set the timer for another thirty minutes. At this point all that needs to be done is to wait for the turkey to be so tender that it is falling off the bone. Remove it from the pot, let the meat cool enough to handle and break the turkey meat up into chunks, discarding skin and any tough sinew as you go along. Add the meat to the soup, stir it and taste it to see if you need to add salt and pepper. When I make soup I prefer to wait until near the end before I add salt, so that I do not over do it.

Aha! while poking around in the refrigerator I saw the small bowl of spinach/cheese tortellini that remained from last night's supper! When I dish the soup up, I will add a few of them to each bowl. What a nice surprise! Now---what to have with the soup? Since I am fresh out of interesting bread, I will put out a variety of cheeses, an assortment of crackers, as well as a bowl of hummus. And that is another story. Soup's on!!

3/19/2005

Fruit Memories-etcetera

As a child I recall eating ripe peach slices that had been soaked in red wine, always being surprised that my parents allowed my sisters and me the opportunity to imbibe. Of course, the alcohol had pretty much evaporated by the time the fruit was ready to be served, and we ate the fruit in small amounts. I'm sure the wine was a rather inexpensive brand because we were relatively poverty stricken at the time.
Basically my mother washed the peaches well and cut them in half if they were small. If the peaches were on the large side she would slice them into smaller pieces, put them in a bowl and cover them with red wine. Then all she did was cover the bowl with a plate and put it in the refrigerator for later. When it came time to serve the peaches she scooped them out of the bowl with a slotted spoon and served them in small custard dishes. What a treat!

A while back I mentioned eating strawberries with a splash of balsamic vinegar and wondered if you had tried that delicious combination of sweet fruit and tart/sweet vinegar. It is one of the most elegant ways to serve strawberries and it is so simple that you can prepare them at the last minute. {actually you HAVE to prepare them at the last minute!} Simply cut the berries in chunks or in half and place them in small bowls for individual servings. Then drizzle with good quality balsamic vinegar and serve to an appreciative group of friends and family. Take a bow!

While I am on the subject of vinegar, another way my mother used vinegar was on a "rolled fritatta". Let me explain. Proceed
as you would if you were going to make a large omelette or fritatta, by beating about six eggs with some chopped fresh parsley, minced garlic, grated romano cheese, salt and pepper. Heat a large heavy skillet {Mother always used cast iron}, add a goodly coating of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat until a small amount of egg sizzles and cooks quickly. Pour the egg mixture into the hot skillet and reduce the heat to medium. As the mixture starts to set up on the bottom loosen the omelette from the center of the pan so that you are able to begin to roll it up. As you move the omelette toward one side of the skillet allow the wet egg mixture to flow over into the hot skillet, rolling the omelette in such a way that you produce a rather flat omelette that is about four to six inches wide and as long as the skillet is wide. At this point slide the finished product out onto a serving plate and douse with red wine vinegar. Slice into pieces and serve with good Italian bread, and a nice green salad.

My mother had very young looking skin on her hands for a very long time and I'm sure that this was because of the way she prepared our salads. In general she used escarole, leaf lettuce, fresh parsley and basil as the base for most of our salads because they were available, and salads in our house were very simple dishes. Next she carefully poured a small amount of olive oil over the greens and using her hands she made sure that each leaf of the greens was coated with oil. At this point the bowl was put aside until we were ready to have supper, at which time she sprinkled the greens with a small amount of red wine vinegar and, using salad fork and spoon, tossed the greens to disperse the vinegar. I'm sure that my mother owed her beautiful skin to that frequent olive oil massage!

3/14/2005

Soup? Succulent!

The other day I decided that what I needed was a nice pot of soup simmering, to ward off the icicles forming outside my kitchen window. Realizing that it was rather late to be starting a batch of conventional soup, I decided to see what I could whip up quickly that would satisfy that urge, so I looked in my cupboard and in my refrigerator.

There were several cans of a good commercial chicken stock on the shelf, and in the refrigerator I found two bags of coleslaw mix. This is just a mixture of slivered cabbage, and grated carrots. I also had a small bowl of home made meatless tomato sauce from a previous pasta meal. So, I simply heated the chicken stock to a simmer, added the coleslaw mix and a few large spoonfuls of sauce. With a dash of garlic powder {not garlic salt!}, and a shake of crushed red pepper flakes, the next step was to bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the temperature to medium-low, and allow this to bubble gently until the cabbage was tender, and the flavors had developed. About forty five minutes later, the soup was ready. {If you are feeding vegetarians you may use vegetable stock or vegetable bouillon cubes. This is the way I make the soup for my vegetarian daughter.}

In the meantime I decided to make some garlic toasts the way my mother made them. The ingredients were handy so I began by slicing a loaf of less than fresh Italian bread into large chunks, and placed them on a baking sheet. The next step was to "revive" the bread a bit by splashing them very sparingly with water. Do not soak the bread. Next I brushed each piece with olive oil, a little on each side is good, sprinkled them liberally with garlic powder, and crushed black pepper. These went into a very hot oven , maybe 425-450 degrees for about fifteen minutes. Keep an eye on them, and remove them from the oven when they are as brown as you would like. I happen to like them to be very crisp and brown, so I bake them for at least the fifteen minutes, sometimes a little longer.

For supper that night we had wonderful Winter Vegetable Soup, Rosarias Garlic Toasts, a glass of good red wine, and for dessert we enjoyed sliced strawberries sprinkled with Balsamic vinegar. Fruit with vinegar? That's another story!

3/06/2005

Sunday morning

House guests ready to head home today so a hearty breakfast is in order. Vegetable frtatta seems perfect, since I have mushrooms, red onion. tomatos, and baby spinach on hand. Good crusty bread for toasting, and a side dish of basmati rice with black eyed peas. Hot coffee, orange juice---who could ask for anything more?

A fritatta is a simple dish to prepare, and highly adaptable regarding ingredients. Provided that eggs are acceptable, you can use your refrigerator as a guide and inspiration. I begin by heating my large stainless steel skillet {one with a very heavy bottom} over medium heat while I slice mushrooms, dice red onion, and sliver the baby spinach {and a little fresh parsley}. The tomatos need to be squeezed in order to remove as much of the wet innards as possible as well as the seeds. Just slice the tops off of the tomatos and squeeze the stuff out. First into the hot pan is a good drizzle of olive oil, and then the onion. Stir this around a bit so that the onion has a chance to start cooking before you add the mushrooms then stir this around, and cook over medium heat until the mushrooms release their liquid. Now add the tomatos, and the slivered baby spinach and parsley, stirring this mixture.

Depending on how many people you are feeding, crack the appropriate number of eggs into a bowl, using two eggs per person {and one for the bowl}. Beat the eggs with a whisk or a fork, season them with salt and pepper, and any other herb you might like. Add this mixture to the hot skillet. Turn the heat down to medium-low and watch to see that the eggs are beginning to set. At this pont you can use a spatula to lift the edges of the fritatta, allowing the wet eggs to slide under and begin to cook. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and slide the still slightly damp fritatta in for about five minutes to firm up. If you want, you may sprinkle shredded cheese over the fritatta before placing it in the oven. When the top is firm, and any cheese you may have added is melted, remove the skillet from the oven and serve the fritatta directly from the pan. So simple and quite delicious.

Fritattas are a wonderful addition to your cooking accomplishments, and they are the perfect meal to prepare at the last minute, even when you think that you have nothing for dinner. Check the refrigerator, see if you have eggs, and just start cooking! Your friends and family will be delighted.

3/05/2005

After dinner comments

Yum! the finishing touch was added to the pan of vegetables and tofu just before I put it in the oven when my daughter sprinkled dried basil, and chopped, dried rosemary over the whole thing. The smells coming from the oven while dinner was cooking were incredible! We all enjoyed the flavors of the roasted brussel sprouts as well as the mushrooms, both of which had taken on a sweetness that is hard to describe.

Even though a salad may seem to be "vegetable overload" the crispness of the greens was a perfect accompaniment to the tenderness of the roasted vegetable, and was devoured with gusto! Dessert was going to have to wait, because we felt so satisfied with the dinner. We shared a very nice bottle of wine---a shiraz cabernet, which was quite satisfying.

I encourage you to try including tofu in your repertoire, because it is so versatile and is a very good source of protein that contains no cholesterol. Let me know what you think! I am interested in comments regarding anything that I suggest.

Roasted Vegetables and Tofu

Visitors this weekend! Vegetarian visitors! This gives me the opportunity to share some little known information regarding tofu. Today I will be preparing roasted vegetables and tofu for dinner, with a nice green salad, and a light dessert. Tofu is a soy product that is now available in most grocery stores and it comes in many different forms. The least favorite of mine is silken or soft tofu. It tends to put people off because of its texture, but is actually useful when producing fillings for quiche, lasagna, and some desserts. My very favorite tofu is baked tofu from Soy Boy. They call it Tofu Lin. It is available in a few flavors. This tofu has been baked, thereby reducing the liquid content and the resulting product can be cubed, slivered, or sliced, and added to casseroles or main dishes. So, on with the dish.

As usual, I consult my refrigerator to see what I have on hand and also check my supply of onions, garlic, and potatos. Today I have potatos, onions, garlic, mushrooms, bell peppers,carrots, and brussel sprouts. Using a large shallow roasting pan, I begin by lightly coating the pan with olive oil. Then, after all of the vegetables have been cleaned, I chop them into pieces, maybe 2 inches square {I do NOT measure}. Use your imagination combined with your knowledge of your likes and dislikes, and start putting the vegetables into the prepared pan, lightly salting as you go along.

Now, unwrap the tofu, cut it into cubes and add it to the pan. Drizzle some olive oil over the top, add some minced garlic, and cracked black pepper. At this point you can decide if you want to add herbs, remembering that using less is best, until you have some experience with the use of herbs. You can always add more, but you cannot remove an excess of, say--rosemary! A nice sprinkling of paprika adds some color, and now you are ready to cover the pan with aluminum foil and put it in a hot oven--400 degrees, for about one half hour.

At this point, carefully remove the foil {steam will be released, and it is easy to burn yourself}, and toss everything well so that all the flavors have a chance to mingle. Place the pan back in the hot oven for about another 15 minutes, stir again, and lower the temperature to 350 degrees. At this point you must check the vegetables to see if they are tender. Serve this to a delighted bunch of friends and family, with a nice crispy salad, and they will love you for it!