Arame and Calamari Salad
Like everything I make, this recipe is subject to interpretation and I think could be excellent with many possible variations on the ingredients. As written, this serves two adults as a generous first course with some leftover for the next day. I opted to serve this with a shitake miso soup.
For the salad:
1 package dried arame or other sea vegetable
4 or so scallions, chopped finely
1 package frozen whole calamari (Whole Foods sells a great one, but use fresh if you have access)
2 carrots, julienned
Black or white sesame seeds to garnish
1tbl. Coconut oil for the squid
For the marinade:
3 tbl. soy sauce
3 tbl. Seasoned rice vinegar
Honey to taste (I used a half tsp. since the vinegar contains sugar already)
3 tbl. Toasted sesame oil
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 small cloves of garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1. Follow the soaking instructions on your seaweed package (mine said to soak in cool water for 20 minutes and then rinse and drain well)
2. Chop your scallions and carrots
3. Slice the squid into rings and pan sautée on high heat for 2-3 minutes covered then let cool in a colander; run under cold water to fully stop cooking and bring temp down
4. Combine seaweed, marinade, veggies, and calamari in a mixing bowl
5. Serve on individual plates garnished with sesame seeds
Voila! So easy!! So healthy!! So delicious!!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Salade Composee
This is another dish I feel weird writing instructions to because I make it differently every time and because it's so easy, it's not really a recipe. Nevertheless, this is a request from my recipe loving mother, who wanted instructions when I sent her a photo of my dinner the other day.
Ok, so Salade composee is just a composed salad, so instead of throwing and tossing e erything together, you arrange ingredients more formally in small groupings, like a miniature landscape painting that you can eat. That being said, I am sure the French have their own rules regarding composee, but I don't know them nor do I care particularly.
My composee always has a few basic inclusions: lettuce, egg, canned fish, potato, olives and/or capers, and a rotating assortment of raw veggies. Typically, one of which is either asparagus or green beans (I like the look of long green things on the plate).
Salade Composee
Serving size per person
Butter lettuce, whole leaves (or any soft leaved lettuce like red leaf, oak leaf, or green leaf)
1/2 Can fish (tuna or sardines)
2-3 small potatoes (depending on size you may only need one)
Small handful green beans (or asparagus)
3-5 kalamata olives
1 medium boiled egg
Assorted veggies of choice (I like carrots, cucumber, tomato)
Olive oil
Fresh lemon juice
Sea salt to taste
One small clove raw garlic
1. Boil some water and cook your potatoes in their jackets until they can be pierced easily by a fork (25 min ?). In the meantime, trim your asparagus, julienne your chosen veggies, and set them aside.
2. Remove your potatoes to a cold bowl of water with tongs- do not discard your hot water!
3. Add your asparagus and blanch in the potato water 2 minutes depending on thickness; I think greenbeans take a bit longer, but just check them for a pleasant taste, vivid color, and good snap.
4. Remove your asparagus with tongs to a bowl of cold water (I usually throw them in with the potatoes and just refresh the water).
5. Boil your egg (6 min?) and while you're waiting, remove your cooling potatoes and asparagus from the the cold water.
6. In a mortar and pestle, make the vinaigrette: add olive oil and fresh lemon juice and whisk. The basic rule for all vinaigrettes is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, or in this case lemon juice. I admit though that I like mine with more bite and almost always do 50/50 split. At least, this is my perception, but I don't know for certain because I never measure anything.
7. Cut your potatoes into bite size pieces and put them in a mixng bowl with your one pressed clove of garlic, add olive oil and sea salt and toss with tongs. Remove to another bowl, taking care to leave as much extra oil and garlic in the bowl as is natural and not time consuming.
8. Add your asparagus to the same bowl and toss in the remaining potato dressing.
9. Arrange whole lettuce leaves in single layer bed, to cover the plate, and drizzle with a tablespoon full of vinaigrette.
10. Arrange the remaining items in single clusters on the bed of lettuce and drizzle the crude veggies with more vinaigrette, pepper it all to taste and enjoy!
Salade Composee is definitely more time consuming than a regular salad, but it's a main course, and involves minimal stove prep, so it's a standard dinner option in our house in the summer where we suffer miserable heat waves without central air in the teeming disgustingness that is the Bronx, lol. It's not that bad, I'm prone to hyperbole... anyway, happy salad making!!!
Ok, so Salade composee is just a composed salad, so instead of throwing and tossing e erything together, you arrange ingredients more formally in small groupings, like a miniature landscape painting that you can eat. That being said, I am sure the French have their own rules regarding composee, but I don't know them nor do I care particularly.
My composee always has a few basic inclusions: lettuce, egg, canned fish, potato, olives and/or capers, and a rotating assortment of raw veggies. Typically, one of which is either asparagus or green beans (I like the look of long green things on the plate).
Salade Composee
Serving size per person
Butter lettuce, whole leaves (or any soft leaved lettuce like red leaf, oak leaf, or green leaf)
1/2 Can fish (tuna or sardines)
2-3 small potatoes (depending on size you may only need one)
Small handful green beans (or asparagus)
3-5 kalamata olives
1 medium boiled egg
Assorted veggies of choice (I like carrots, cucumber, tomato)
Olive oil
Fresh lemon juice
Sea salt to taste
One small clove raw garlic
1. Boil some water and cook your potatoes in their jackets until they can be pierced easily by a fork (25 min ?). In the meantime, trim your asparagus, julienne your chosen veggies, and set them aside.
2. Remove your potatoes to a cold bowl of water with tongs- do not discard your hot water!
3. Add your asparagus and blanch in the potato water 2 minutes depending on thickness; I think greenbeans take a bit longer, but just check them for a pleasant taste, vivid color, and good snap.
4. Remove your asparagus with tongs to a bowl of cold water (I usually throw them in with the potatoes and just refresh the water).
5. Boil your egg (6 min?) and while you're waiting, remove your cooling potatoes and asparagus from the the cold water.
6. In a mortar and pestle, make the vinaigrette: add olive oil and fresh lemon juice and whisk. The basic rule for all vinaigrettes is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, or in this case lemon juice. I admit though that I like mine with more bite and almost always do 50/50 split. At least, this is my perception, but I don't know for certain because I never measure anything.
7. Cut your potatoes into bite size pieces and put them in a mixng bowl with your one pressed clove of garlic, add olive oil and sea salt and toss with tongs. Remove to another bowl, taking care to leave as much extra oil and garlic in the bowl as is natural and not time consuming.
8. Add your asparagus to the same bowl and toss in the remaining potato dressing.
9. Arrange whole lettuce leaves in single layer bed, to cover the plate, and drizzle with a tablespoon full of vinaigrette.
10. Arrange the remaining items in single clusters on the bed of lettuce and drizzle the crude veggies with more vinaigrette, pepper it all to taste and enjoy!
Salade Composee is definitely more time consuming than a regular salad, but it's a main course, and involves minimal stove prep, so it's a standard dinner option in our house in the summer where we suffer miserable heat waves without central air in the teeming disgustingness that is the Bronx, lol. It's not that bad, I'm prone to hyperbole... anyway, happy salad making!!!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Sephardic Challah
The recipe is adapted from my old friend Jessamyn Waldman who is the executive director and chef of Hot Bread Kitchen, an AMAZING triple bottom line business in good ol' NYC. You can find the original recipe here as this one has my modifications.
Sephardic Challa:
Ingredients:
2 tbl. sesame seeds
1 tbl. flax seeds
1 1/2 tbl. anise seeds
1 1/2 tbl. caraway seeds
1 package yeast
2 c. warm water
5 c. breadflour (today I did AP flour with 3 tbl. wheat germ for good health, but it makes a denser loaf)
3 tbl. olive oil
2 tbl. honey
1 tbl. salt
cornmeal for dusting or parchment paper
2 egg yolks for glazing
Toast seeds two minutes until fragrant over med. low heat
In the Kitchen Aid, combine flour, oil, honey, and water and mix on low until dough forms.
Dissolve yeast in a bit of the warm water.
Add yeast mixture, salt and seeds and mix at medium low about 10 minutes
Then transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover, and let it rise for a while, one hour at minimum. Now cut the dough into thirds (that's a "Y" shape out of the circular loaf) and roll it out to 18 inches.
Lightly oil and dust with cornmeal a cookie sheet. Then braid the loaf and let it double in size, on the cookie sheet, covered with a damp towel for about an hour. Jessamyn actually makes two long ropes of dough and then makes two coiled loaves out of them, but I am romantically attached to the idea of braided challa and it it's elegance.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and whisk the egg yolks with a dash of water and let it stand 30 minutes. Repeat the egg wash and then sprinkle with the reserved seeds.
Bake for 30 minutes and enjoy!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Semla
One day I was looking for something unique and special with which to celebrate Mardi Gras and I came across an awesome blog that featured a recipe for Swedish semla, the traditional pre-Lenten treat. It was so beautiful that I just HAD to try it and I am glad that I did because it is truly a sublime not too rich just perfect kind of confection. I did modify the original recipe quite a bit, and will post soon, but here is a photo, enjoy!
Oh, this is them before the final touches were made; they are truly divine just plain with a little butter, actually. Next time I have overnight guests, I may make them for breakfast.
Semla: SOOOOOO worth it! This was adapted from a recipe from Nordstjernen located via the *fantastic* occupation: housewife blog
Ingredients for the dough:
5 tbl. unsalted butter
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. water
1 1/2 tbl. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbl. sugar
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
2 eggs, beaten
Filling:
10 oz. almond paste
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. creme anglais
1/2 c. marscapone
powdered sugar
In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, cardamom).
Melt the butter on the stove and add the milk to warm, but not so warm that you can't comfortably stick your finger in it.
Dissolve the yeast in warm enough for your finger to take a dip and let sit about 5 minutes while the butter mixture is cooling.
Add liquids (yeast + butter mix)to the flour and when difficult to stir, turn the dough out on a floured surface to knead until it is soft and supple.
Let the dough rise for an hour, covered with a damp cloth. While the dough rises, you can make the creme anglais, which is simply freshly whipped cream with vanilla extract to taste.
Then, hand roll the dough into an oversized tootsie-roll shape and with a sharp knife, cut the log into 16 sections.
Place each bun on a parchment lined cookie sheet and pre-heat your oven to 440 degrees for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, let the buns proof.
Brush the buns with the beaten egg and bake for 10 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.
Let the buns cool until you can handle them and then slice off the tops, if you can stand "wrecking" such a glorious bun and then scoop out the soft inside dough of the bottom half and place into a small mixing bowl.
To the scooped out dough, add the almond paste, milk, creme anglais and marscapone. Then re-fill each bun-with a pastry pipe if you have one (I used a regular teaspoon)and replace the tops.
Finally, dust with powedered sugar by knocking a confectioner sugar filled seive with a fork to your heart's content and fasten your seat belt for an outrageous treat!
Miracle Grains
Making Rosemary Gladstar's miracle grains has been on my list for quite some time and now that I have finally made them, the results are stupendous and I want to share them here.
Miracle Cleansing Grains. That's quite a statement. But if you use them, you will know why-they are truly miraculous! I made up a batch, put them in a plastic container in my bathroom, found a scallop shell from Pensacola to use as a scooper and designated a small marble mortar that didn't get much use in the kitchen to mix it up fresh every time I wash my face.
It feels so nice and I feel so pampered to be able to make for myself a truly wonderful beauty product. Here is the recipe:
2 cups white clay
1 cup finely ground oats
1/4 cup finely ground almonds
2 tbl. ground lavender
2 tbl. ground roses
2 tbl. poppy seeds
and rose essential oil for scent
That's it! To use, take a small amount and wet with water and/or honey (for extra moisterizer if you need it)and use like a regular cleanser.
I like to finish with witch hazel and then jojoba oil and my skin feels soooo soft and nice. I think it's a fraction of the price of regular products, too! Whoopeee!
Miracle Cleansing Grains. That's quite a statement. But if you use them, you will know why-they are truly miraculous! I made up a batch, put them in a plastic container in my bathroom, found a scallop shell from Pensacola to use as a scooper and designated a small marble mortar that didn't get much use in the kitchen to mix it up fresh every time I wash my face.
It feels so nice and I feel so pampered to be able to make for myself a truly wonderful beauty product. Here is the recipe:
2 cups white clay
1 cup finely ground oats
1/4 cup finely ground almonds
2 tbl. ground lavender
2 tbl. ground roses
2 tbl. poppy seeds
and rose essential oil for scent
That's it! To use, take a small amount and wet with water and/or honey (for extra moisterizer if you need it)and use like a regular cleanser.
I like to finish with witch hazel and then jojoba oil and my skin feels soooo soft and nice. I think it's a fraction of the price of regular products, too! Whoopeee!
Pain au Levain
What does any sane woman do shortly after embarking on a two week long fast?
Bake bread, of course!
The fact is that after taking nearly a week to make my sourdough starter in the first place, I have major objections to NOT baking bread once a week on principle. What's more, if I don't make a new loaf, I have to discard half my starter and that makes me feel like well, there is no point to maintaining one in the first place.
SO, although I won't actually be consuming this loaf, I hope that my family appreciates it!
The story of this particular bread is as such: at my father's last Christmas I was introduced to baking with a poolish and thus began a bit of a baking bread frenzy. After a ton of internet research, I decided to seek out Daniel Leader's Bread Alone from my local library and see what all the fuss was about.
Well, two renewals and countless loaves later, I decided that infintley renewing the book at the library was a little ridonculous. Taking advantage of being in Union Square over the weekend, I stopped by Strand and lo and behold they had one copy left. Ten bucks, now it's mine!
Anyway, I couldn't possibly give better directions than Leader himself, so I won't. The only thing I do differently is that not having installed a make shift baking stone in my oven and lacking brotforms, I cook my bread in a cast iron dutch oven. Other than that, I try to stay true to the recipe!
If you are so inspired to delve deeper into the world of bread, go find the book in your library and give the recipe a shot!
Master Cleanse, Modified
So my girlfriend at work mentioned Stanley Burrough's Master Cleanse and being as I am in need of serious detox after two years of non-stop eating, drinking and smoking whatever and whenever, I decided to committ to a 10 day cleanse. The basic recipe is as follows:
fresh lemon juice and maple syrup (grade B) in equal parts
cayenne pepper to taste
clean water
This is to be imbibed all the day long, whenever one feels hungry. I have been having four quarts of the stuff at work (8-4pm). For the day, I bring a mixture of one cup juice pre-mixed with one cup of syrup and mix the concoctions on breaks.
Now, according to the official literature, one is supposed to take a cup of smooth move tea (an herbal laxative) in the AM and then proceed to imbibe ONE LITER of water mixed with two teaspoons of sea salt so as to give oneself an internal enema(the salt water has the same density as the blood and therefore is not absorbed, so basically it's a shower for your digestive system).
Well, anyway, being that I don't want to sabotage myself with too much suffering in the beginning and seeing as I am not much of a rule abider anyhow, I'm actually not following the cleanse as prescribed. Big surprise! SO, no salt water for now. Maybe on day 3 or 4 when I feel super confident about my ability to stick it out.
I have decided that so long as I drink four quarts of the lemonade, my caloric and vitamin needs are met for the day. SO, in the evening, I am having cold herbal infusions as per my liking.
On day one, I had red clover/peppermint and on day two I am having red clover/mullein. This is to use up all the wildcrafted herbs I collected and dried last year before the new season comes and also because I really think that with no food in my system, the tonics might actually be quite beneficial.
What has been really amazing about the fast so far is how much easier it is to NOT EAT when you're fasting as opposed to not eating the WRONG THINGS when you ARE eating. This has sort of reawakened my taste for truly yummy things. I have been fantasizing not about rich and luxurious foods, but about avocados, sprouts, and raw food in general.
This could be, of course, because I am planning to break the fast on fresh grapefruit juice during the day and some kind of seriously herbal asian style brothy soup at night for the first three days and then start incorporating foods suitable for a raw food diet.
It's not that I want to go back to a raw food diet forever, but I do feel like I have to center myself and get back to those basics because I feel I have become rather addicted to those warming and yummy foods of winter. I am planning on joining a CSA this year and with the warm weather coming, I think it's a great time to make a change.
Interestingly, my fast is coinciding with lent, which is also a traditional time of fasting and in harmony with the coming of the spring and the bounty of the seasons to come.
Well, I suppose I will end here by saying, that I am truly and pleasantly surprised by the relative ease with which the fast has begun. As someone who receives an inordinate amount of pleasure from food, I thought this would be somehow more painful. I am really looking forward to the end of the fast, but not in a fiendish sense of "I can't wait to eat food again" more like, wow, I will have really accomplished something good for myself two weeks from today.
fresh lemon juice and maple syrup (grade B) in equal parts
cayenne pepper to taste
clean water
This is to be imbibed all the day long, whenever one feels hungry. I have been having four quarts of the stuff at work (8-4pm). For the day, I bring a mixture of one cup juice pre-mixed with one cup of syrup and mix the concoctions on breaks.
Now, according to the official literature, one is supposed to take a cup of smooth move tea (an herbal laxative) in the AM and then proceed to imbibe ONE LITER of water mixed with two teaspoons of sea salt so as to give oneself an internal enema(the salt water has the same density as the blood and therefore is not absorbed, so basically it's a shower for your digestive system).
Well, anyway, being that I don't want to sabotage myself with too much suffering in the beginning and seeing as I am not much of a rule abider anyhow, I'm actually not following the cleanse as prescribed. Big surprise! SO, no salt water for now. Maybe on day 3 or 4 when I feel super confident about my ability to stick it out.
I have decided that so long as I drink four quarts of the lemonade, my caloric and vitamin needs are met for the day. SO, in the evening, I am having cold herbal infusions as per my liking.
On day one, I had red clover/peppermint and on day two I am having red clover/mullein. This is to use up all the wildcrafted herbs I collected and dried last year before the new season comes and also because I really think that with no food in my system, the tonics might actually be quite beneficial.
What has been really amazing about the fast so far is how much easier it is to NOT EAT when you're fasting as opposed to not eating the WRONG THINGS when you ARE eating. This has sort of reawakened my taste for truly yummy things. I have been fantasizing not about rich and luxurious foods, but about avocados, sprouts, and raw food in general.
This could be, of course, because I am planning to break the fast on fresh grapefruit juice during the day and some kind of seriously herbal asian style brothy soup at night for the first three days and then start incorporating foods suitable for a raw food diet.
It's not that I want to go back to a raw food diet forever, but I do feel like I have to center myself and get back to those basics because I feel I have become rather addicted to those warming and yummy foods of winter. I am planning on joining a CSA this year and with the warm weather coming, I think it's a great time to make a change.
Interestingly, my fast is coinciding with lent, which is also a traditional time of fasting and in harmony with the coming of the spring and the bounty of the seasons to come.
Well, I suppose I will end here by saying, that I am truly and pleasantly surprised by the relative ease with which the fast has begun. As someone who receives an inordinate amount of pleasure from food, I thought this would be somehow more painful. I am really looking forward to the end of the fast, but not in a fiendish sense of "I can't wait to eat food again" more like, wow, I will have really accomplished something good for myself two weeks from today.
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