Arame and Calamari salad

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!!

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!!!

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!

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!

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.

Oysters Parmesan

I just had to sneak a rawbie with a little hotsauce.



So what you see here are not the usual oysters we get from Apalachacola, which are renowed for their, I dunno, radical excellence? They were, alas, out of them at Joe Patti's, so we got these much larger beauties from Galvaston. Not quite so local, but, hey, I was visiting Pensacola from Boston, so local enough for me.



This simple dish is de rigeur in any of the bombed out sea side steak and seafood joints along the Gulf Coast and is so ubiquitous, and relatively cheap, that we never thought to make it ourselves at home.

Well, as with most things, the homemade version was even tastier, and so this is now a New Year's tradition in the house! We make these little tasties alongside a few other tapas dishes with copious amounts of champagne. Delish! Here is the recipe:

Mix one part seasoned breadcrumbs with one part parmesan or pecorino romano. I prefer to make my own breadcrumbs with leftover bread thrown in a Cuisinart with garlic and onion powder and dried oregano flakes, but my lazier parents buy Progresso brand. Or maybe it's just that my Dad's bread is so good there are NEVER any leftovers?

Melt about some butter in the microwave or stove.

Shuck the oysters and arrange them on the broiler pan.

With a teaspoon, put some of the mixture on top and with another one, spoon on some butter.

Put them into a preheated oven at 450 degrees and leave them there until the breadcrumbs have browned, about 7 minutes.

Dad, is that right? I am writing from memory weeks after the fact! Will post a final pic soon! Muah!

Samosa!

When I was little my parents would make these for me and often I would either watch them do it or help chop ingredients. In spite of this, it always seemed a miracle to me that they knew-actually KNEW!-how to make these savory little pockets of joy.

Well, I finally decided to learn it myself and the results were fantastic. The only thing I will caution against is that they are a bit labor intensive and if you decide to serve for guests or family you may want to make the samosa ahead of time and then fry them up quickly at the last minute.

Oh, one more thing, the samosa dough recipe is a MUCH BETTER alternative to the empanada dough recipe I have included here in an earlier post. I am going to use this for all future empanadas, being as this dough is thinner, easier to work with, and uses oil instead of butter.

For the Pastry Dough:

2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
4 tbls. vegetable oil
4 tbs. water

Sift 2 cups of regular all purpose flour and one tsp. salt into a mixing bowl. I don't own a sifter so I simply measured my ingredients in a fine mesh seive and knocked them into the bowl, voila!

Now add the oil and make a meal with the flour, using yor fingers to crumble it all together. To this, slowly add the water and form it into a ball. I had to use practically 4 more tbls. of water plus an extra tbls. of oil to reach the desired consistency so I think it depends on your water, the humidity, etc. So be open-mided about not following this recipe verbatim.

On a clean, lightly floured work surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes until it is smooth. Again, don't feel bad about adding more oil and water if the dough isn't cooperating. Form the smooth, kneaded dough into a ball and put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

For the Filling:

4-5 medium potatoes
1 c. thawed green peas
1 medium onion, finely diced
2" chunk of ginger, peeled and grated
1 fresh chili or as jalapenos in a jar to taste
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, less if you don't want heat
1 tsp. toasted and ground cumin
1 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. ground coriander
3 tbls. chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbl. lemon juice
3 tbl. water

Boil potatoes in their jackets and peel and dice when cool. Heat 4 tbl. of oil and brown the onions and add peas, ginger, and chili with the cilantro and water. Cover, lower heat, and simmer until peas are cooked 3 min. Add potatoes, salt, spices and lemon juice and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes.

Serve with pureed heaven, otherwise known as:

Coriander Chutney

1/2 tsp roasted cumin
1 tsp chili pepper
2 bunches of cilantro Or 10, if you worship this herb like I do!
1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp salt

Shrimp Creole, P'cola style

First things first. Let me say how I love that cajun food reflects such a rich spectrum of culinary traditions. Now, just as sofrito (onion, cilantro, garlic, green pepper) is the base for Puerto Rican cuisine and mirepoix (onion, carrots, celery) the base of French cuisine, cajun food has the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity is equal parts onion, celery and bell pepper. Now, this being a culinarily eclectic household, we begin our cajun odyssey by throwing the following things in a Cuisinart, passing them off as The Holy Trinity, and blending them beyond recognition:

3 ribs celery
1 large onion
1 green pepper
4 cloves garlic

Now in the meantime, you will take 3 pounds of exquisite, head-on Gulf Coast shrimp and remove the heads by twisting them gently off. Reserve the heads and peel the shrimp, adding the shells to the ripped off heads with bulging shrimp eyeballs. Now, put 3 or so cups of water into a pot, add the shells, heads, a sliced lemon, a few ribs of celery, some onion, garlic, peppercorns, and thyme sprigs, bring to a boil and let simmer for 45 minutes. This is your shrimp stock. See? Now with the peeled shrimp, you will take a paring knife and devein as demonstrated below: Throw the holy trinity into a nice cast iron skillet with generous amounts of olive oil and sautee for a while on medium high heat. To this add a few chopped fresh tomatoes, salt, and some creole seasoning which you can buy or make yourself if you are so inclined.


After your shrimp are cleaned, you can toss them in said creole seasoning. Then go back to your sauce.

With your Holy Trinity (plus some) in the skillet, you will add 1/2 cup of white wine, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. of black pepper, 1 tsp. white pepper, caynenne to taste, and what the hell, a little more creole seasoning. I don't think you can ever have too much.

Let the sauce simmer for 45 minutes and then add some tabasco and worcestershire sauce to taste. Throw in the shrimp for 2-3 minutes and ta-dah! You're done! Serve with white rice and garnsih with anythign green and fresh. Deeee-lish!

A tart you can count on

When Jessy and I went to Joe Patti's we stopped by Kara's fruit stand in the parking lot. James and I had paid her a visit this summer on the way back from Nola and stocked up on tomatoes and this time of year she had some uber choice citrus fruits and believe it or not, strawberries from Plant City, FL.

I bought three pints of strawberries, so beside myself with glee for the chance to eat-strawberries!-in wintertime, deprived as I am for local berries in my native Massachusetts. I also brought back a quarter bushel of outrageously juicy tangerines and a quarter bushel of sweet as can be pink grapefruit.

The citrus didn't last long; we made copious amounts of fresh tangergine margaritas and drank up fresh grapefruit juice with breakfast, leaving me the strawberries.

Well, after taking inventory of the pantry, Jessy and I settled on making a flourless almond strawberry tart. We havn't actually eaten yet, so I don't know how good it is, but judging from the ingredients, how could it not be? Here goes:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups blanched almonds (cover raw almonds in boiling water for two minutes, drain, rinse, and then pop the skins off)
3/4 c. sugar, perhaps less though
2 egg whites
2 tbl. fresh lemon juice
2-4 cups fresh strawberries, in-season
1/2 c. apricot jam
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract ( I used my Dad's homemade stuff-divine!)
chopped nuts of your choice for garnish
2 shots of Amaretto, one for the citrus glaze, one for you, on the rocks

This is remarkably simple and gives a visually attractive result. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Start by getting some parchment paper and tracing with a pencil around an 8" cake pan, and place it on a bakingsheet.

Then put your blanched almonds and sugar in the Cuisinart and blend until they are a fine powder.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and vanilla until frothy and add them to the mixture. Now if you have a pastry bag with a pipe, congratulations, fancy pants. If you wanna do it ghetto style, like us, get a plastic ziplock bag and stuff the almond paste into a corner of the bag. Then snip off the corner to make an opening of approximately 1/2".

Now, sqeezing the bag, pipe the almond paste in a spiral motion starting from THE CENTER of the circle you traced on the parchment paper. Place the tart in the oven and bake until it begins to brown, about 20 minutes.




Meanwhile, put the apricot jam, lemon juice and amaretto into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. If you want, you can then strain it through a seive, but we like apricot chunks in keeping with our peasant tendencies (:

When the tart is cool enough to handle, brush the glaze on and toss the now halved strawberries in it. Be sure though to leave one berry whole to decorate the center of the tart. Arrange the berries on top as you like and let cool for at least an hour more.

We also threw in some bluberries for interest and then sprinkled some chopped pecans on top, in keeping with our in season options here on the Gulf Coast.

Post Script-this was a winner, totally delish. We served it with creme chantilly and it was lovely!

Boule

Or, as my gorgeous little girls would simply say, "crunchy bread", which is one of their favorite things to eat with brie or butter.

Ingredients for Step One: 1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. active yeast
1 c. water

OK, start off by warming 1/4 c. of water to the point that it is warm, but not so warm that you can't stick your finger in it comfortably.

Dissolve 1/2 tsp. active yeast in the water. When the yeast is dissolved, add some tap water to the beaker.

Then add the liquid to 1 1/2 c. flour, but first make a little well in the center and then combine until all dry ingredients are incorprorated.

If your mixture is at all dry looking, add a little water. The idea is to have a dough that looks like a very wet mass. This will challenge your idea of what dough is supposed to look like if you make bread dough the "regular way". THIS way is called the "wet" or "sponge" method of bread baking, also known, as my father smugly informed me, a poolish. What a cute word!

Once this is done, simply cover the mixing bowl you used to combine the ingredients and let the dough rise. Cover it with a kitchen towel and set it in a warm, cozy spot, for about 12 hours. You can do this in the evening, let it sit overnight and then have fresh bread for the day.

BOULE STEP TWO:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. yeast
2/3 c. water This is essentially the other half of the dough. Add the flour and salt to your Cuisinart or Kitchen Aid and pulse it together to blend. As in the first step, dissolve the 1/2 tsp. yeast in 1//4 c. water and when fully dissolved, increase the amount of water to 2/3.

Add the liquid to the original dough and stir with a rubber spatula until well combined. Then add the wet dough to the dry ingredients in the blender and pulse until combined, adding tablespoons of flour to the mix as necessary to achieve a good consistency (as in not too wet).

Remove the dough from the Cuisinart and knead by hand for five minutes, forming into a nice round ball, "smooth like a baby's bum" as my Dad would say. Place the ball of dough in the same bowl that the wet dough had risen in and let rise for another two hours. Now sit back and watch these videos to see what happens next!



After about an hour, you will be ready to bake your boule! Place your finally risen dough on parchment paper and place it gently in the bottom of a cast iron dutch oven. Make sure to score your ball of sweet baby bottom with a sharp knife or if you gansta, a razor blade,and stick it in the oven at 450 degrees for 35 minutes (ANd remove the lid to the dutch oven for the last 15 for color).

Voila! And don't worry, it only takes all day!

Here is the final project, and it was super yummy!

Berenjena (Melanzana) Parmagiana

Yes, my father is THE master of eggplant parm south AND north of the Mason Dixon line. I will be honest and upfront about his advantage over the general populace in the fact that he owns a mandoline, which most of us do not, and which is indispensable in the creation of this fine, fine dish. T

his summer, James will be challenging him to a cook off no doubt, once we level the playing field with the mandoline thing. (:

Here is how we roll:

Slice the eggplant to 1/4" thick. Soak it in salt water for 30 minutes to nuetralize the naturally bitter flavor. If you live on the Gulf Coast, using sea water is fine. Giggle.

Dip each slice of eggplant in a breadcrumb and freshly grated parmesan cheese blend, about 50/50. My parents use Progresso brand breadcrumbs, which if you have some, ahem, integrity, should be substituted with real breadcrumbs to which you can add some onion powder, garlic powder, and dried parsley flakes to taste.



Not to diss the master, but in an efficient kitchen, it isn't hard to save stale bread and pass it through the cuisinart so you don't have to buy what is essentially a waste product.




Fry the eggplant on medium or medium high heat in a cast iron skillet in some peanut oil, taking care to preheat the oil so that the eggplant doesn't suck up oil, which it shouldn't, if the oil is good and hot. (:

Now, once that is done, you will simply layer aggplant,tomato sauce,and grated mozzarella cheese, lasagna-style, in a glass baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for about a half hour.


As for the tomato sauce, if anyone reading this blog doesn't know how to make fresh sauce, then comment and I will post an addendum. Otherwise, I won't bother cuz everyone I know makes their own.

Bon appetit!

Wildcrafting

Today was a bit rainy and overcast in Massachusetts but we went out anyway and I harvested a motherload of red clover that is now drying loverly in my kitchen. I am going to use it for iced/hot tea- it is a great female tonic and the fresh buds are a nice visual addition to salads that also add a touch of sweetness.



My other find was some choice wild mustard greens; they are shaped like arugula but with the fine teeth of radish leaves. I plan on sauteeing them in garlic and oil and tossing with spicy italian sausage over pasta for lunch today, instead of broccoli rabe. Yum!

The Plaintain

"The Chip." "The Cracker." Even "The Pretzel," can't compete with...

"The Plaintain."



It's "The Godfather," of all things cruchy, fried or baked! The most versitle food on the planet! Well, maybe that's the tomato but..."The Plaintain," my friends, "The Plaintain" puts salsa in your step, tangos on your tongue and swirl in your hips. It pizazzes the palate with it's ability to change forms. Mash, you say...no problem; make a Mofongo! Sweets you want? Got it covered...let's have Amarillos (or Moduros depending on where you're from). In the mood for a pot pie? Make The Plaintain your crust for a surprisingly tasty and healthy alternative. Having a party? Need some chips & dip? Or just in the mood for a crunchy snack but got snowed into your house and I can't get out? If you're an Irizarry, or any other self-respecting Puerto Rican, you will always have "The Plantain" in your home. Don Poncho said, "Let them make chips!"

And so we shall...

"The Plaintain" Chip

This plaintain should be green and firm. Slice it up - length-wise. Easier to do with a Mandolin but if you have a cuisin art, get the attachements out! Cut the plaintain in half so it fits in your machine for a long cut. Let it dry out a little - 20 minutes or so. Salt it up a little add a dash of pepper if you like. Or paprika, or oregano, or garlic salt (see how versitle!) Heat a cast iron skillet about 1/3 of the way with canola, vegetable or peanut oil. Let the oil get hot but do not let it burn. Toss the leggy-plaintain strips into the hot oil. It won't hurt them; they like it! Don't over fill the skillet or you'll bring the temperature down too much or risk an oil spillage. Flip them around. When They look sunburned, take out and set on a paper towel. You may choose to season your plaintains at this point instead of before frying. That's ok, especially if you want to save your oil to fry up something else! Empanada's anyone?



Serve atop chili, add a little crunch to a salad, make nachos, eat with salsa. Or eat on it's own. You won't be disappointed.

Luuuuuuv Chocolate

Pre-made chocolate mix is an affront to humanity. Why anyone would NOT make their own hot cocoa is totally beyond me especially with the laundry list of unpronouncable ingredients that make powdered mixes "consumable" for immeasurable periods of time on bodega shelves the world over.

This is Titi Jess' luuuuv chocolate that she makes especially for her little niece my sweet baby Ava Bean.

Enjoy!

1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa powder
dash salt

Combine dry ingredients and add 1/3 c. hot H2O and 3/4 tsp. of vanilla and bring to a boil and dissolve the dry ingredients, stirrign constantly for 2 minutes.

Add four cups of cold milk and bring to a simmer, don't let it boil. For a thicker cup of chocolate, add some dark chocolate pieces, and for a change, a pinch of cayenne pepper.

This recipe makes 6 cups of hot cocoa.

I am a Salad, My Sister is a Dish

At lunchtime my father unveiled a stunningly deft analysis of my sister's and my particular personalities based on what we excel at preparing in the kitchen.

I am a salad: no need for recipes or fussy ingredients, can be thrown together from anything lying around with surprisingly good results, can be tossed recklessly,even thoughtlesssly into a bowl, without fuss and with complete spontenaity, ingredients flying this way and that. He also said I may be good at soups- though actually my baby is the one who excels at that, leaving us in a particularly one sided culinary conundrum if my father is right about food and personality.

I would of course add the following list of adjectives to his description: homegrown, fresh, a little crunchy, creative and neccessary for your health.

Jessica, on the other hand, is a dish or perhaps a sauce-measured, precise, complex, multi-stepped, ordered, and sophisticated...I can't argue with this one bit, it's true. Jessy doesn't like making salads, she says that mine always come out tasting so much better when I make them for her and I, in return, have to call her at least twice a week for this recipe or that because she really does have a certain method to her madness that produces excellent results!

This is the coven on the beach on Christmas day. I am the lettuce leaf and she is the layered, accessorized one. Go figure.

Shrimp Boil

I've said it before and I will say it again: one of the finest things about the Gulf Coast is access to cheap, local, delicious, and totally fresh seafood. My Mom works in an heirloom sewing shop (more on her particular talents later)and has a customer who regularly purchases her seafood directly from a local fisherman straight out of Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Sometimes he catches more than he expects and when he does, my Mom's customer will call up the shop and the staff will sop up some of the surplus (the disturbing side to this is the reckless spoiling of certain felines in this household who are accustomed to this abundance and get hand fed shrimp at the table...my parents cats-gorgeous and nuerotic-live truly high on the hog). When that happens, as it did the other day, my Mom will buy 10 pounds of shrimp at $3/lb and have a good 'ol fashioned Southern shrimp boil.

It's fast, easy, simple, and satisfying. Add a couple tablespoons of shrimp boil to a pot of boiling water with potatoes. When approaching desired softness, add corn on the cob and boil for about 5 minutes.

Remove the veggies to a colander(reserving the liquid)and add the unpeeled shrimp until they shine with that customary pinkish hue, no more than two minutes. Whip up some cocktail sauce, throw some newspaper on the table to save your linens from shrimp spooge, and dive in.

Again, shrimp is one of those things I don't usually care too much for, like crab, but my palate seems only to reject the stuff when it's of the shipped across vast oceans variety. When I am here, I love it!

I Love Milk....

but only in a frothy, spiced milk punch with a shot of 151 and creme de cacao straight up with milk and half and half and a dusting of fresh nutmeg on top, seved in a chilled martini glass, preferably.

This is one of only three ways I will drink this most hideous and vile dairy product in its liquid form, the others being hot chocolate and cafe con leche.

My Dad got me started on this drink this morning as a prelude to my coffee and I have to say it's a good thing he didn't make me any more because I definitely would have spent the day in the hammock on the beach sleeping.

For two cocktails:

put ice in a beaker and throw on top 2 shots 151, and a pony shot of creme de cacao
add 4 shots of half and half and shake vigorously.
Garnish with fresh nutmeg or dark chocolate shavings and don't operate any heavy machinery.

Mallorcas

The tastiest and most delectable little confection you can imagine-not too sweet, oh so soft and just lovely with a little cafe con leche. I remember calling this pan dulce when I was a kid visiting PR but found out on my last visit back that they are actually pan de Mallorca-the most delectable of which can be found at La Bombonera- a 50's style throw back diner in Old San Juan where my great grandmother and her mother worked when it was definitely NOT famous at all and where they make honest, simple foods that most people could make for themselves but have forgotten and so are more rarified nowadays.

My great grandmother apparently was a tasty little confection herself, tramping in and out where her mother worked (I assume as a waitress), totally barefoot, whose affections were secured by a 50 some odd year old man who would become my great grand father and who had made a fortune in I think, construction. He bought her some shoes, probably maintained her impoverished family (why else would a family allow their child to marry a man so old?), and sired six or so children by her, one of which was my beautiful grandmother, Rosa. They later married properly when his first wife either died or moved on and were together until his death at age 101. My father told me that his grandfather's secret to longevity was 2 asprin and two beers every day. Does that mean that 3 or 4 beers will get me to 125? Hmmmm, that is something to ponder. (:

Anyway, here is the recipe:

3 eggs well beaten
Add to this 1/2 c. sugar and mix well
In a Cuisinart place 3 c. of flour and 1/2 tsp. salt and blend til incorporated
Warm 1/2 c. milk
Warm 1/4 c. water til it's warm enough to stick your finger in comfortably, around 105 degrees or so, I think. Dissolve in this 1 tsp. of sugar and then add a packet of yeast and let it sit a bit.
Meanwhile, take half a stick of butter and get it soft either by having had left it out or by nuking it a bit
Throw milk, yeast, butter into Cuisinart and blend until well incorporated.
Take it out and knead it a bit, grease lightly a big mixing bowl and put your dough in, nicely formed into a mound.
Cover with plastic wrap or a warm towel and put in a warm spot to rise for an hour

Upon rolling out the dough on a floured work space about a quarter inch thick (it should have a soft yellow hue)you can lightly lightly brush some butter onto the surface. Then roll it up and it will look like this:


Then cut the log of dough into 12 sections and place them on a cookie sheet, greased with butter. It will look like this:



And, after having risen again for a spell while we were fishing on the pier, like this:



We had more luck with the mallorcas than with the fish:



Okay, for the final touch, bake the mallorcas at 325 degrees for about twenty minutes. They should not be brown or really even golden, when the edges start to tinge, take them out.

Then simply place a cup of confectioner's sugar in a sieve and dust the little guys til your heart's content. Let them set a while to cool and then enjoy warm. These little babies actually freeze really well, too so you can make a bunch and have them ready when and if someone drops in for tea.

Here's the final product: