I've been sad since one of our most interesting restaurants in the neighborhood, Tanuki, closed down its northwest Portland location. It served Japanese drinking food -- lots of spice, salt, and interesting ingredients -- and prided itself on "no sushi, no kids". Needless to say, we didn't frequent much after M was born, but I remember the few meals that we ate there fondly, particularly the kimchi fried rice. I think about it often.
Brasilliant's Kimchi Fried Rice
3c. cooked rice (we used brown basmati)
1c. kimchi, chopped
1/2 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1T soy sauce
2T butter
1/3 c. tiny Pacific shrimp
1 fried egg for each serving (we used 2 quail eggs)
2 green onions, thinly sliced for garnish
Saute kimchi and onion in a wok over medium-high heat until liquid evaporates and onions are translucent. When onions and kimchi look sufficiently cooked down, add 1T butter, soy sauce and garlic. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add shrimp and cook until curled, just a minute or two. Toss in rice and another tablespoon of butter and stir to combine. Fry the eggs and place on top. Sprinkle with green onions.
Enjoy!
Little made an outstanding developmental leap this past weekend. He figured out that there are ways of eating that don't involve his mom and dad shoveling food into his mouth. In other words, we embarked on new mealtime adventures while trying to figure out age-appropriate finger foods so he doesn't develop scurvy from a steady diet of Cheetos and astronaut food (I kid). So, I spent the weekend doing some research online and in the kitchen to re-envision some of his favorite foods. He's not turned into a picky eater, just changed the game overnight, insisting that he selects what he puts into his mouth and when. Fair enough, I suppose, but it would have been nice to get a little warning. After a few meals (and a day of him not eating nearly enough) I think we've found some solutions.
Turkey loaf:(sounds gross, but quite delicious) made of ground turkey, carrots, applesauce, oat bran, spices, and herbs
Sweet Potato, Eggplant, and Zucchini Cubes: Roasted to creamy perfection with a dash of olive oil
Breaded Tofu: Rolled in Cheerio crumbs (easier for little fingers), also comes battered and baked for dinner menu
Oatmeal bites: A breakfast favorite cooked a little longer with applesauce and diced into small cubes.
Diced fruit: Quartered grapes, cantaloupe, ripe pears, bananas, watermelon, and honeydew.
I've been meaning to jump on the homemade yogurt bandwagon for a while. Since we go through gallons of yogurt every month, it seems like something I should at least try once. While researching how to make yogurt, fresh ricotta came up in a number of postings, as well as in my go-to cookbook for things like this, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. I ambitiously purchased all the ingredients for yogurt and fresh cheese earlier this week, but never found the time to actually try it until today. Since the yogurt required a bit more attention, I decided to start out with the ricotta* first and move on to yogurt this weekend.
The recipe is incredibly simple: 1/2 gallon of milk, 1 quart buttermilk, and a couple pinches of salt. Bring milk to a slow boil, pour in buttermilk and stir until the curds separate from the whey. The whole thing was a bit like a science experiment, but in this case you end up with something tasty rather than a table full of suds or shattered beakers. And really, the hardest part is tending the boiling milk so it doesn't scorch. With that said, I made the fresh cheese while also entertaining/feeding Miles. In other words, you don't have to watch it that closely.
After the curds separate, you dump the whole thing into a colander lined with a triple layer of cheese cloth. I was a little less than careful while pouring, so I managed to get splashes of curds all over my jacket. You then just gather up the cheesecloth ends and twist so the curds gather into a ball. It's pretty hot, so I had to run the ball under cold water until it was cool enough to handle. Then, just squeeze the crap out of it until a good deal of the liquid is gone. My technique for pressing was to twist the top and use my other hand to press from the bottom to keep the nice round shape.
It took a few minutes, but eventually I felt that it was firm enough to let set. Basically, you just leave it tied up for an hour or so and it hardens a little more.
Our friends Larson & Serena gave us this great book, Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it, a while ago. While I've poured over the pages from time to time and made plans to have a big pickling/jamming/curing day, it just never happened.
When my mom was in town a couple of weeks ago, Jesse and I took advantage of her stay to go out for happy hour at Clyde Common for our anniversary. In addition to some of the most delicious mixed drinks I've had in a while (that'll have to wait for another post down the road) we shared small plates including an assortment of house pickled vegetables. On the pickle plate was a wedged pickled egg. I've always been kind of grossed out by pickled eggs, particularly the ones that are colored with purple beets, so I almost wanted to hold my nose when sampling. However, their eggs had a slight yellow tinge, which was not nearly as gross as purple, so I ate one. And I was hooked. It was mind blowing. We decided it was about time to give pickling a try.
The only thing missing in our kitchen were all the ingredients for pickling spices. So, on Tuesday afternoon I decided to pick up the CSA solo (instead of our usual family trip that can become a somewhat harrowing experience with a screaming infant near the end). I left a few minutes early and stopped by Penzey's in the Pearl and purchased a jar of their pre-mixed pickling spices. This afternoon we decided to hard boil six eggs for a trial batch. They need to sit for seven days to attain maximum pickleness, so we won't have a verdict until then. I think they're pretty spectacular looking though.
Here's the recipe for our first try at pickling eggs:
(I'll update later if we tweak it a bit)
6 hard-boiled eggs
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. water
1 T. Penzey's pickling spices
1.5 tsp. kosher salt**
3 cloves garlic, sliced
Place eggs and garlic in a 1 pint mason jar. Bring vinegar, water, salt & spices to a boil. Pour over eggs and garlic. Let cool on counter and place in refrigerator for 1 week. Enjoy!
**The first batch turned out to be way too salty, so I halved the salt to 1.5 tsp.
This weekend Jesse and I spent a lot of time cleaning up the apartment (it seems like we do that a lot lately). Things had gotten pretty disorderly over the past week with me trying to finish up my final papers and projects. Also, we never really got around to finishing the back bedroom. Since our friend Ed is coming into town on Wednesday, there was a bit of motivation to keep up the momentum.
Between organizing and cleaning, I did take a break to do a bit of sewing and to make tasty snacks and dinner on Sunday afternoon. One of the food blogs that I read occasionally posted a recipe for homemade cheese crackers a few days ago and I'd been thinking about them ever since. It's a pretty simple recipe: flour, cheese, butter, salt, pepper, and a little water. The recipe they referenced called for regular grated cheddar, which is practically a crime in our house. Why would you make cheese crackers that don't even taste like cheese? It was simple enough to substitute what cheddar I did have on hand, Tillamook's extra-sharp white.
I realized after this cooking project that a full-size food processor is probably going to be at the top of my kitchen "to purchase" list. The mini food chopper just doesn't cut it. This isn't the first time that I've attempted to make a recipe that was just a little too big for the food bowl or too stiff for the motor. Anyway, the dough turned out just fine and the crackers are delicious. I used the smallest fluted piece of my cookie/biscuit cutter set, which worked perfectly. The crackers puffed up in the oven to just slightly larger than standard oyster crackers.
While I wouldn't call the end product a cracker exactly -- they're more like homemade cheese straws in texture than say, a Cheez-it -- the taste is phenomenal and would be way better than your average oyster cracker in tomato soup. I'd say bring these little guys to a party if you really want to blow away your friends.
I always felt special growing up knowing that King Cake season always started on my birthday, January 6th. However, there are a lot of really bad King Cakes out there, so I rarely requested one as an actual birthday treat. Whenever I would go with my parents to visit my grandparents during Mardi Gras season I knew I was in for a treat -- I wasn't as interested in the King Cake as much as the candy, parades, beads, and doubloons. We'd inevitably go and visit relatives that were along one of the local parade routes and stand outside to catch our treasures. Of course, someone always had a King Cake and I would lurk around the kitchen and living room to see who got to keep the baby hidden inside.
I
usually don't attempt to make King Cake myself, because if not done just right it can be a dry, tasteless loaf with cloyingly sweet (and tacky) icing on top. However, I just couldn't resist giving it a try in honor of the Saints making it to the Superbowl. Last year around this time, I tried a recipe that was very tasty, but didn't really look like a King Cake. The texture and feel wasn't exactly as I had remembered either. So, my mom sent over a recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse that she really liked and I decided to give it a whirl. I generally turn my nose at Lagasse's recipes, since he isn't really from New Orleans, but in this case he did get the King Cake just right. If you've never had a taste before, I'd have to say it's closest to a slightly sweet dense bread with a pretty good hint of nutmeg. Very simple, but oh so tasty. Mine didn't bake up perfectly (notice the seam where the dough didn't rise together), but it was still beautiful. This recipe also has a hidden treat inside, a slightly sweet cream cheese mixture that keeps the dough really nice and moist. It seriously is one of the best King Cakes that I've tasted.
The icing is lemon juice, milk, and powdered sugar that made a nice crust when it dried. As I hurried to ice the cake during commercial breaks in the fourth quarter, I realized that I probably shouldn't have put it on the cake stand until the end. Oh well, the drips are just part of the charm, I guess. And all of those little stars? Well, our grocery store didn't stock Mardi Gras colored sprinkles, so Jesse's contribution to the King Cake was painstakingly separating the gold, purple, and green sprinkles from two jars. Hey! He offered (and seemed actually excited about his accomplishment).
My only complaint? I personally think that it has a bit too much nutmeg, but that may just be my pregnancy nose/taste buds working overtime. Oh yeah, and it is really large! Next time if I make it just for two, I'll definitely try to cut the recipe in half.
On the moving front, yesterday was not very productive. I did get a permit to reserve parking space in front of our new building for our moving truck on Saturday. However, the remainder of the day was spent huddled in the library trying to finish up reading and writing for class. It was actually time well worth spending, because I think I may have finally figured out my focus while taking graduate classes at PSU. Rather than halfheartedly completing coursework toward a masters degree (that I have no intention of finishing), I think I'm going to work toward a graduate certificate in sustainability. While this wasn't the first time I had read about the certificate program, I initially dismissed it because of my limited understanding of what "sustainability" actually means -- I'm all for "going green" and sustainable building design, but as a career choice, it's just not my bag.
That's why the readings for last class last night were so mind blowing. I came to realize that environmental (or physical aspects) of sustainability are just one piece in a larger puzzle that includes economic and social aspects as well. Organizational sustainability is just as important as the physical stuff. I took a closer look at the certificate program and was pleased to find that the core classes are spread out in various departments including, economics, urban studies and planning, sociology, and environmental science. It's like American Studies with a focus. I love it! I found out that two of the core courses are being offered during the winter quarter, one of which is being taught by my current professor. Since there are no full time job prospects in sight, I think I'll sign up for both.
In other news, I made an awesome pot of chili earlier this week. In fact, it might be my best batch ever. It has ground turkey, black beans, kidney beans, garbanzos, corn, carrots, and roasted acorn squash. The squash and carrots add a nice sweetness and texture. I imagine this would make a pretty good vegetarian version, but I'm sort of partial to the chunks of turkey in addition to the veggies. While I'd like to take all the credit for the tastiness, I have to acknowledge Penzey's Chili 9000 spice blend for part of the success. I'm thinking there is enough chili for one more dinner, so I probably won't have to worry about cooking until tomorrow -- and by cooking, I mean take out. That is a relief, since I have a ton of moving to take care of today. I'm hoping to have the remaining contents of our kitchen and most of the closets emptied by tomorrow afternoon.
Right on the heels of a recent study revealing that some canned foods contain concerning levels of Bisphenol A (BPA) -- a known toxin and endocrine disruptor to humans -- I made an enchilada casserole. Half of the ingredients came from cans. What's not pictured is a giant tray of roasted acorn squash, that made up the other half of the ingredients. The name alone makes me cringe a little, but it was inspired by a local delicatessen that sold theirs at $9/pound. The delicatessen casserole was pretty tasty, mine was equally as delicious and probably cost a total of $8 (including the fresh squash).
I'm not usually one for all-out casseroles, but the soggy tortillas packed with a ton of vegetables was exactly what I needed while healing from my wisdom teeth battle wounds. When getting up enough courage to look at the spots where my teeth used to be, it was indeed a horrifying war zone. When I was a kid, my mom used scold me for a messy play area by exclaiming "Your room looks like downtown Beirut!" -- a reference that I didn't understand until much later in life. I chuckled to myself last week in the mirror (probably because of the Percocet-induced fog) and whispered a similar sentiment about the civil war that occurred in my face.
Oh yeah, back to the BPA casserole. It was an act of post-wisdom-teeth-removal desperation for anything other than smoothies or soup. It was also an effort to give my poor husband relief from my constant crankiness onset by pain and hunger. Delicious it was, photogenic it was not -- probably because I really didn't care to even try to capture it in any pleasing way. There you are. Casserole on the stove. What? I was tired after opening all of those cans. All jokes aside, I have nothing against a good casserole now and again. Some of my best dishes are essentially casseroles, like my chicken purloo and jambalaya. However, they usually all contain fresh ingredients as opposed to canned.
As for the cans, I'm pretty bummed to find out the potential hazzards. We are all aware of BPA, given the extensive media coverage over the past year or two for its presence in plastic bottles, particularly baby bottles, and the heightened risks to developing organs and for developing certain types of cancers. I never really thought that the same plastic that was lauded in water bottles might be the same wonder liner that prevents our cans from leeching gross metal flavors into food. However, I'm learning that it isn't as simple as it seems, certain processed foods lauded as "organic" and "BPA-free" packaging still contained trace amounts of the compound.
I personally rely heavily on canned tomatoes to make homemade tomato sauces during the fall and winter months. It's just one more reason for me to wonder what the hell our FDA really does anymore? It's also troubling to think about the kids who grow up in households that rely heavily on canned foods for a bulk of their vegetables, especially in areas that aren't fortunate enough to have affordable fresh markets at their disposal.
I always have leftovers in the house. I blame this largely on my Mom, since she taught me how to cook in epic proportions. It was hard living on my own, because my freezer was constantly packed with 18 servings of gumbo or chicken noodle soup. Once Jesse came along, that problem became less of an issue, but his travel this week has brought up this single gal dilemma again. What to do with an entire pound of macaroni & cheese?
Long before I even dreamed of throwing an egg on it, my solution to leftovers was simple: throw it on a salad. This worked well when I was working full time, because it was a simple and healthy meal that I could make in minutes before leaving for the office. Leftover Pad Thai or Cashew Chicken? Great! Red beans and rice are surprisingly good over tender greens, as is vegetarian chili that has been slightly drained.
My stomach started to growl as I was finishing up my class reading yesterday, so I opened the refrigerator and peered inside. I don't think I've put leftovers over lettuce for over a year, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It was as delicious as I remember. I simply tossed a giant bowl of baby lettuce with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & fresh pepper and then mixed in a small serving of the mac & cheese. I still have quite a bit of pasta left in the fridge, but that means two or three more tasty lunches for me! Maybe tomorrow I'll be more adventurous and add some cranberries and almonds. The possibilities are endless!
When Jesse is away, I always have a hard time motivating myself to cook a good meal. Usually, that's not a huge problem since his trips generally last for only a couple of days. However, he's on a 5-day site visit and it's hard to justify take out or grazing on hummus and pita for an entire week. Tonight I was really craving mac & cheese, but also wanted to try and get some vegetables in my diet. So, I turned to an adaptation of my favorite stove top recipe by Alton Brown.
His version is plain mac & cheese that calls for evaporated milk, but I never have that on hand and honestly, don't think it's necessary. I use a mixture of half & half and 2% milk and that works just fine. I also subbed Dijon mustard for dried, since I never have that in the spice cabinet either. I like the tang of the Dijon better anyway. The recipe is so easy that you can make it in the time you boil pasta and tastes way better than the boxed stuff. For this batch I added peas and spinach, but I've been known to incorporate grated carrots, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed garlic, onions, and even tomatoes. It's a perfect base recipe that I've adapted multiple times depending on my mood. Paired with a salad (eaten after this photo) and a refreshing grapefruit Juice Squeeze, I was a happy woman.
Brasilliant's Stove Top Mac & Cheese3/4 - 1 lb. elbow pasta (I used fusilli)2 Tbl butter2 eggs3oz half & half3oz milk1 tsp dijon mustard1 tsp. hot sauce (I like Sriracha) or more to taste10 oz sharp cheddar (I used a mixture of cheddar and Gouda this time)salt and fresh ground pepper to tasteBoil the pasta according to box directions, drain and return to pot. Toss noodles with butter. Turn heat to low. Whisk together the rest of the ingredient except for the cheese and add to noodles. Stir in cheese and continue to mix until creamy and thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Make sure that you keep the mixture moving so that you don't scramble the eggs at the bottom. Mix in any additional vegetables and enjoy!Optional Additions
- Sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, and minced garlic
- 1/2 bag frozen peas (I throw them in the pasta water for the last 5 minutes)
- 1 bag baby spinach (sauteed and squeezed of water) -- Frozen would work well too
- 1 cup shredded carrots (toss them in the pasta water for the last 1-2 minutes to soften)
- Sauteed broccoli and minced garlic
My rule of thumb is to make sure that any veggies added aren't too watery. For the spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes I always saute for a few minutes before mixing with the pasta. You don't want runny mac & cheese! If you think the garlic will be a little too powerful raw, stab it on the end of a fork and blanch it for about 30 seconds in the boiling pasta water, or just saute it with the rest of the veggies. Voila! Delicious bachelorette dinner.
Last night I cooked our last meal at home before the big trip. While talking to my Mom on the phone yesterday, I was going through the fridge for perishables and scratching my head over what to do for dinner. I had about eight or ten tomatoes that were intended for tapas this weekend, but never quite made it. Naturally, fresh pasta sauce came to mind, but we made an insanely giant batch of Asian peanut noodles for dinner the other night (and still have leftovers), so I was not feeling like spaghetti.
While rummaging through the refrigerator, I found a lonely chipotle chili in adobo sauce stored away in the back and remembered that I had some dried chilis left over from my Oaxan feast. Voila! Dinner is born. Jesse ran out to the store to pick up some chicken and we were all set for an insanely tasty meal of chicken cooked in a tomato/chili concoction over brown rice with onions, garlic, oregano, and fresh cilantro. It looks like a humble meal, but it was really tasty. So tasty in fact, I'm having it for breakfast (with an egg on it of course):
Erin's Empty-The-Fridge Sauce
8-10 fresh tomatoes (blanched and peeled)
1 28 oz. can plum tomatoes (use 2 cans if fresh tomatoes aren't available)
5 dried Guajillo Chilis, stemmed and seeded
1-2 Chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (plus 1-2 tsp. adobo)
1 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. chili powder (or more to taste)
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. cumin (or more to taste)
1 tsp. salt (or more to taste)
4-5 chicken thighs
olive oil
Skin and de-bone thighs (or purchase them that way) and sprinkle with salt, a little garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne. This is the time when I break out my reserves of Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning -- it has the perfect amount of salt, spices, and heat. Let the chicken sit at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients.
Hydrate guajillo chilis in about 2 cups of boiling water (this takes about 10-15 minutes). While chilis are hydrating, saute onions in a medium dutch oven or sauce pan with olive oil until softened and starting to brown. Add fresh and canned tomatoes with all sauce and juices to pan. Roughly break up tomatoes in pan. Add guajillos and their liquid, chipotle, adobo, garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and salt to tomato mixture and stir. At this point, I used an immersion blender to blend the sauce into a nice smooth consistency. You could also do this in the blender. Let sauce cook at a medium to medium-high heat uncovered for about 20-30 minutes. If it splashes too much, set a lid ajar on the You want it to start to really cook down and thicken. Adjust seasonings to taste.
While the sauce is cooking, heat olive oil over medium to medium-high heat in a saute pan (preferably not non-stick). Brown chicken on both sides (about 3-5 minutes per side), in two batches if necessary. When chicken is browned, place in sauce and cover with lid and return saute pan to stove top. De-glaze the saute pan with a few tablespoons of white wine, dry vermouth, chicken stock or water (I guess beer would work here too). Add liquid to chicken and sauce. Cook for another 30-40 minutes until chicken is fully cooked and tender.
Serve over your choice of rice and enjoy! This would also make really good filling for tacos, burritos, or enchiladas.
Now, I'm off to finish packing, run a last few errands, and finish up those blog posts for the trip!!
Thankfully, the heat stayed at a manageable 90-95ยบ this weekend, so we were able to actually cook, ride bikes, and enjoy ourselves. That's not to say we didn't sweat quite a bit while doing these activities, but it certainly wasn't hot enough to make me want to die.
Friday afternoon, I decided that I needed a sundress. So, I made one just in time to go out for a date night. The fabric was cut from a free pattern by Heather Ross and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it fit with virtually no alteration. It's incredibly comfortable and perfect for these hot afternoons that we've been experiencing. Since it's really only 
held up by the elastic faux smocking that I created, I'm still playing around with some form of straps so I can ensure that it doesn't accidentally get pulled down, say when I ride my bike. With my summer dress on, we rode our bikes over to the Produce Row Cafe in east Portland, largely because Jesse read about their interesting beer and whiskey pairings in one of our local newspapers. I never would have thought to drink rye whiskey along with a cream stout, but it was delicious and they complimented each other quite nicely. While at the Cafe, I also had the best tuna melt that I've ever tasted. It had all kinds of herbs -- fresh parsley, dill, chives -- along with scallions, red onion, and celery on sourdough bread. MMM.
Saturday was not nearly as fun, we cleaned the apartment and scoped out laptops at the Apple store downtown, but nothing of great consequence. After we got back from the bike ride downtown, Jesse decided that it good afternoon for a nap. I wasn't very sleepy, so I walked over to the grocery store to pick up things for dinner. I decided to make a dish inspired by the Produce Row Cafe's pasta of the day -- chevre mac & cheese with peas and fresh parsley. It was perfect for a hot day, not too heavy and didn't require the stove to be on for a long time. After dinner, I cracked open a couple of travel guides and started really planning for our September trip to Belgium and Germany. (I'll post on that sometime this coming week.)
Today, Jesse and I had planned on going on a hike near Multnomah Falls, but we got so into planning for the trip that we decided to hang around the apartment to continue to fill in our tentative itinerary. We were so inspired by one of our tour books in particular, that we rode our bikes out to Belmont Station (the best beer store I've ever visited) and picked up a variety of Lambics to try. I'm getting really excited about the trip, which officially is now only one month away.
I started a post on Friday to talk about my Thursday night at the Timbers game. The game was awesome. However, they tied with the Puerto Rico Islanders despite my chanting with the rest of the crowd. I think when I become gainfully employed again, Timbers season tickets are going to be a household budget line item. I was really excited to write about my night out with Jesse and our friend Tivra, but my laptop power cord died and I wasn't able to figure out how to transfer photos from my camera to Jesse's laptop. Even though I'm only half-way finished with my coffee and the synapses aren't all firing in sync, I plugged in the old camera for a second try. While waiting for the 698 photos to load off my memory card (because I don't have the option to only load 3), I'll tell you a little about my weekend.
I decided to make Friday night a celebration because I successfully completed my first week of school, Jesse finished editing a giant proposal, and I hadn't cooked a real meal since his birthday the week before. So, we made homemade fettuccine and I threw together a fresh tomato sauce that was pretty darn tasty. It was hot and my voice was scratchy from the Timbers game the night before, but it was so nice to sit down and have a nice dinner. I'll have to write down and post the recipe for the sauce sometime, but that's for another day.
Saturday was even hotter than Friday (peaking at about 92 degrees) and to beat the heat we had cocktails blended with lots of ice. I then got dressed up and met up with a few ladies on the tail end of a martini crawl. It was so much fun because I have neither dressed up, nor had a ladies night out since I moved to Portland. Not surprisingly, I paid for my Saturday night fun with a serious case of the slows on Sunday. Yesterday it hovered around 95 degrees outside until 6pm and didn't get much below 80 in the evening. Today, tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday are supposed to be around 99-102 degrees, so Jesse and I are planning on heading out in a little while to spend the day in air-conditioning.
I'll head off to my second week of class and he'll probably find a coffee shop or park at a table at the library to get some writing done. After this week I'll officially be half-way finished with my summer course. It was a little hard to get back into reading a textbook and participating in discussion, but I'm getting the hang of it again.
