Seeing red

Strawberry season is here and I cannot control myself.

Look at me, sipping a kir royale adorned with strawberry slices at 3:00 in the afternoon for no reason whatsoever.

     
   

Oh, wait, there is a reason - summer vacation!

I wait for the once-a-year red berry madness and then gorge out of my mind.  I've been putting them in everything, including a spinach salad with Indian-spiced walnuts and plum vinaigrette that I made for a dinner party, and also in some fabulous mixed-berry buttermilk scones that were devoured before I could photograph them.

Um, yes please.

So of course I had to make strawberry jam, this time with a little help from my cousins Matt and Madhuri.

           

Tried a different recipe than the usual freezer jam, adding some lemon zest and a splash of creme de casis, just for kicks.  I highly recommend this recipe.  Check it out:

Naturally, there was also homemade strawberry ice cream.
I mean, it seemed like the thing to do.

Wish I could figure out how they do the strawberry balsamic ice cream at Bi Rite, but this was good too!
Whew, earned our treat! 

Humbled.

This is the best magnet ever.  Saucy redhead retro girl + garden themed = love.  This already has me scheming for my summer garden.  If only summer would hurry up and get here.  I'm talking to you, March.  Enough already.  We get it--you were going for dark and broody, which I guess would work if I was out on the moors in some irritating mid-century novel, but I don't care for the Bronte sisters nor do I care for you.  Now, let's make with the sunshine!

Chop chop!


Look at me, I'm talking to a month.  I may have lost it.

 But in the spirit of not losing my mind, and since I'm stuck inside, I might as well whip up something tasty.  I loved this.  I'm so into things that go with rice right now.  Dinner is jasmine rice with turmeric and peas and fried tofu (I finally got it to taste like it does in Chinese restaurants!  Secret ingredient: corn starch).  Oh, how good would broccoli be with this?  Yum.  The greens are fresh baby joi choy leaves, so small and tender they didn't need cooking.  The stupid neighborhood deer came and nearly cleaned me out.  All my beautiful little bok choy plants cropped clean off.  So I guess it's now or never.  They're not really full grown but I better taste them now while I can.


Remind me to plant heaps of hot peppers which the deer do not like.

Speaking of awesome, check out the ceramic pot I found at Goodwill for $1.50!  Thanks, Mom, for the little succulents to go in it!  I think I may finally be getting the hang of succulents.  Previously, jade was the only succulent that did well for me.  Now I have a variety going.  Succulents keep me humble.  I realize I can't fuss over them too much and I can't always win.  I do like the idea that they can grow anywhere and be easily shared with friends.  This pair makes me smile.

Other things that make me smile?  Oh, I've got dozens.

Ooh baby

Thanks to everyone who participated in the cheesecake taste test of last week because those little bad boys were a huge hit at Jasmine & Rodney's baby shower!  

The suggestion of crust was a good one.  Trader Joe's ginger cookies were a perfect fit.

This time I whipped the batter with a hand mixer.  The result: silky smooth.

Sign of a good party dessert?  No utensils required and none left over!  I'd say we have a winner.

Stay tuned for more frozen yogurt shenanigans coming later this week!

Ode to Salt

Pablo Neruda wrote that in salt, "we taste infinitude."  I wholeheartedly agree.  Leave it to a Chilean poet to come up with such a sexy way to say that salt is the missing link.  The tiniest pinch makes even the simplest of foods taste right.  This is the reason I never liked candy.  Sugary sweets have no fireworks--just a mild rah with no sis-boom-bah.  It's not that I don't like dessert; it's that I don't like tasting sweet without substance or depth, without salt.  Consider the following minglings of sweet and salt.  Ponder, if you will: Oatmeal cookies.  Green apples with a chunk of cheddar.  Anything involving almond pastry or peanut butter.  Even watermelon slices taste better with a little sprinkle.

Can't decide if you feel salty or sweet?  Oh, who we fooling--join me when I stand and say I refuse to choose!  To emphasize, how about dark chocolate-covered pretzels, chopped up and ready to go in the first batch of homemade frozen yogurt!

Voila!  Allow me to introduce the fabulously smooth treat that spoiled my dinner.  Chocolate fro-yo with sea salt and chocolate covered pretzel chunks.  Oh yeah, it's over.  I surrender.  All resistance is futile. 

Hey, yogurt has calcium!  I'm just looking out for my, er, bone structure.  Yeah, that's the one.

Obsession: Chili

Let me tell you, I am obsessed with chili. (Cornbread too, but that's another post for another day). It's the American standby that's ridiculously good for you. It's the wild west, the desert, the mountains, the redwoods. It's my parents' house. It's my house. And this time of year, when the air bites you a little, I could eat this every night. It's that good.

Now, I prefer my chili without meat, so I sought out a recipe that relied on beans and veggies. Have a little time to cook tonight? It's totally worth it.

Another thing I love about a big pot of chili--it uses ingredients you probably already have in your house. Great way to use up those veggies from the bottom of the fridge or from the garden!

From the last of the summer harvest--tomato, black cherry tomato (small green ones), jalapeno. Poblano peppers and zucchini from a friend's garden.

I love these flavors--chili powder, ground cumin, fresh garlic, oregano, kosher salt.


Actually, studies have shown that it cooks faster if you're drinking a beer...

Okay, not really. But I always recommend enjoying alcohol while cooking. And maybe a little music while you're at it. Bill Withers or The Band seems appropriate. Enjoy!


Favorite Chili
(recipe adapted from Cooking Light)

1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 chopped carrots
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups water
1 large or 2 small chopped red bell pepper
1 large or 2 small chopped zucchini
2-4 chopped jalapenos (remove seeds for less heat)
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
3-4 chopped tomatoes or a 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
*1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
*1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp rice vinegar

*Note: Canned beans are great and easy. Lately, I prefer to cook my own beans from scratch. If cooking from scratch, just make sure beans are fully cooked beforehand.

Saute onion and carrot in 2 Tbsp butter or olive oil for 5 min or until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic and saute 1 minute.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients (except the vinegar--that's at the end) and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar. Taste it and see if it needs more salt.

Serve with rice, cornbread, or on its own. I like mine topped with a little Greek yogurt, avocado, and scallion. Meat lovers could easily brown some ground turkey, beef, or lamb to spoon on top. Reheats great the next day for school lunches.

Finding Peace

I had a nasty thing happen at work today.

It angered me, then upset me, then kicked me when I was down. My only hope this afternoon was finding a peaceful state where I could be distracted enough to forget about it and then content enough not to care. And when days are warm and evenings are dark and cool, or on days like today when I want to get in my car and drive away from it all, I find peace here:

Peace like the last salsa of the season...

(um, remind me in a future post to share my dad's famous salsa recipe which will kick your ass, it's so good)



Peace like enough to share with good friends!



Peace like sorting dry heirloom beans,



that will simmer on your stove for dinner



Peace like heaps of tortillas and avocado that go perfectly with the beans and salsa you just made.



Peace in beer.



No, wait, even better--peace in familiar beer, when you know what the first swig will feel like.




Peace like when you make oatmeal coconut almond cookies or breakfast rice pudding...




...and then your whole house smells sweet and cozy.



Peace like curling up with a kitty!




Peace like sitting still long enough to work on a new silk winter pullover.

Peace in crime drama tv shows that make me yell at the television.

And the ultimate reward:


Man that hits the spot.


And maybe, just maybe, peace will be enough to make you go back to work and face it all tomorrow.

Flashback

When I was a kid accompanying my mom on grocery shopping trips, I would make a beeline for the produce section, grab a bunch of scallions, press the cold white ends up to my nose and sniff. Luckily, my mom usually purchased scallions, so it's not like I was sticking them up my nose and then putting them back. Stay with me, this story leads to something appetizing, I promise...I just have this specific memory attached to scallions and their mild warm oniony smell. So you can imagine my delight when my friend and fellow garden enthusiast Albert Kuo told me that if you stick green onions in the earth they will grow and you can cut them like chives. Um, how did I not know about this brilliant scheme sooner?

Which brings me to another childhood legend:
Grandma Evelyn's macaroni salad.
That's right, boofs, you know what I'm talkin' about.

Man, it was so simple, so classic. So not the gloppy elmer's glue concoction that passes in grocery stores for macaroni salad. I'm making this batch with really bright flavors--scallion, celery, red jalapeno...

...chives, of course, 'cause they go in everything.

Childhood me was too busy scarfing it with beans and vignadiles at family picnics to notice how she dressed it so I'm going with salt, pepper, a little oil, vinegar, scant spoon of mayo...



Just like Grandma used to make! When I was invited to my friend's annual pumpkin carving party and bbq, there was only one side dish that would do. How good will this be later with grilled chicken and cold beer? I mean, who could resist?

Early Fall Harvest

Northern California (at least the SF area) has a weird growing season compared to the rest of the nation. Summers are cold, September and October are hot, and we can have gardens all winter. Basically, as with politics and everything else, we make our own rules. But enough talk. I'm on the verge of yanking up my summer garden and putting in plants for winter. Thus I'm eating up everything left out there:

I had great success with Japanese eggplant and cucumbers...limited success with tomatoes, cherry or otherwise. What's in this colander was everything I got this summer. Believe me, I am going to savor every last bite, so help me. My mom & sister came over for lunch and we broiled slices of those little eggplants to go in roast chicken gyros. YUM.

And then there are my jalapeno plants. This was kind of an experiment because I've never successfully grown peppers before. These plants LOVE my new place--I can't pick the peppers fast enough.

My theory? These plants (and the eggplants too) really benefited from being planted with my new favorite thing ever, African blue basil. Unlike other basils, it's an annual, so you leave the blue blossoms on instead of furiously pinching them off. Flavor wise, it's a little sharper than the Italian sweet basil most are used to. It's closer in flavor to a spicy Thai basil. But best of all, honeybees go bananas for the flowers on this plant--every time I went out to the garden it was a bee party, I swear. And if honeybees come for the basil, maybe they'll stay for a taste of everything else and pollinate my whole garden.


So, what do you do with the jalapeno plant that keeps on giving? Um, what don't you do! Apparently jalapeno goes with everything.

Salsa fresca.
Mexican rice.
Whole beans.
Scrambled egg with goat cheese.
Asian-style sauteed eggplant.
Veggie chili.
Tortilla soup.
Give them away to fellow spicy food enthusiasts.
Have your dad throw them on the grill. Or shoot, grill 'em yourself. I just happen to have a dad who loves hot food and grilling things.

First Pizza

First pizza of my new house:

featuring mixed garden herbs, fresh mozzarella cheese, homemade yeast dough,



and starring sauce from July's sauce party.

By the way, thank you to whichever Westmont faculty member grew those gorgeous monster heirloom tomatoes and double thank you for leaving them in the mailroom where I could help myself. They were unreal on this pizza.



Spectacular!

My Vegetable Romance

Readers, I must confess, I have been swept up in a romance lately... a roasted vegetable romance, a whirlwind of tender slices of Japanese eggplant, baby zucchini, and sweet spring onions. I can't get enough. I mean, just look at these:

How you doin'?

My favorite roasted veggie treat is a throwback to childhood. I remember when the first local farmer's market opened in Redwood City. My parents would take my sister and I to buy the most beautiful vegetables there, varieties of which I never saw at the grocery store, like striped purple and white Japanese eggplant, summer squashes, and pale green Anaheim chilies. My dad would throw all of these on the barbecue and we'd eat everything on thick crusty sourdough with soft cheeses.


We Americans are such a meat loving culture that I don't think it's reasonable to ask the general populace to give up meat entirely. However, eating less meat is not only reasonable, it's easily managed and better for us. Similarly, anyone trying to watch their calories could substitute a roasted veggie side with their steak instead of pasta or other starch. We all know it couldn't hurt to eat more vegetables. The trick seems to be how to sneak them in with things we already like eating until it just becomes habit. For those adults that claim they don't like vegetables, my question is, are you eating the carrots out of a frozen microwaved potpie, because a). that doesn't count and b). yes, you're right, that is disgusting.

The thing I am discovering about roasting vegetable dishes in particular is that I don't miss the meat. I savor every bite, lick my fingers, swig my beer, and then kick back utterly satisfied. Sure, I do reach for that occasional burger or my weekly sushi, but I am getting a real kick out of veggies right now. Delicious, easy to cook, and don't spoil in two seconds like fruit (this is good news for the cook that shops on Sunday but is too busy to cook till Wednesday).

I don't have a barbecue, but an oven gets the job done! I did this tray of yellow onions, round zucchinis and eggplants in a 450 oven for 20-25 min. Slice up, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle of kosher salt & pepper

Stir a bit after about 15 min. I almost like them a dark golden brown, kind of caramelized. The eggplant will shrink considerably in size. Poke onions with a knife tip to see if they're done.

Before...

...and after...think of the possibilities! Roasted veggies go with everything.

You could set out roasted veggie slices with olives, salami and crusty Italian bread.

Gluten free friends (or any of us really) could toss some in scrambled egg with white cheddar and extra black pepper for an amazing omelet. Add green salad and you're good to go!

You could make my folks' famous --and lately my favorite dinner-- sandwich layered with fresh tomato and a shmear of goat cheese.

Or this super romantic dinner:
tossed here with linguine, spicy olive oil, and 1/3 cup chevre.
Creamy delicious. Garden parsley and arugula on top.
Open a little vino, play some dinner jazz, and enjoy.