In the heartlands of American, I would be a real traitor. For many reasons, but probably the fact that I don't really feel the desperate desire to return to live in the homeland (no healthcare, no vacation, and very often tasteless ingredients to cook with- probably my biggest complaint) and that I cook Middle Eastern food constantly are my biggest faults. But here is one of my absoloute favorite recipes, thanks to the cooking genius, Claudia Roden and her book Tamarind and Saffron, one of my all time favorite cookbooks. I'm making it tomorrow and can't wait to have it!
Oranges with Orangeblossom Water
10 oranges
2 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice (Tropicana will do in a pinch)
1 cup of sugar
1-2 Tablespoons of orangeblossom water
Cut the rind off the oranges- cut a slice off each end, then cut away the entire peel around the whole orange so that the flesh is exposed. Then cut in thick slices and finally quarter the slices so you have rind free chunks. Heat the juice and sugar together until the sugar melts and then remove from the heat and add the orange blossom water. Pour over the oranges and then refridgerate until you are ready to eat.
For that, I'd join a harem!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
Real fried rice
Just to explain, I've learned to cook Chinese food from my Chinese mother-in-law, so its not always like restaurant Chinese food. Fried rice is a good example of that... Here is what I do.
Get out your leftover white steamed (never boiled) rice. This should be (but don't be paranoid about it) Chinese/Japanese/Korean as other styles, even Thai, won't be the right texture for traditional fried rice.
If you want meat/chicken/shrimp in your fried rice that is not cooked yet, make a paste of rice wine, soysauce and some cornstarch and let your meat sit for at least 20 minutes, red meat longer.
boil some water and pour over a few dried shitaake mushrooms (you can substitute fresh, even though the flavour is different, but just slice, don't soak) and dried shrimp (optional)
Next, beat 2 eggs with 1/4 tsp of salt and a tsp or a little less of sugar and a tsp of sesame oil. Heat a pan on high with some oil and when very hot, pour in the eggs. They should cook into folds almost immediately. Don't let them cook absolutely through as they will finish cooking later.
Shred some greens (spinach, tong choi/cong ching tsai, watercress, whatever)
shred a couple green onions
finely shred a nub of ginger
mince a couple cloves of garlic
You can also add chopped preserved gourd, rehydrated day lily buds, fried tofu (don't use fresh, it goes to mush)
Then prepare any cooked meat by shredding
Heat some oil with the garlic and ginger until very hot. Drain the marinade from the meat and begin to stir fry (adding mushrooms, either the fresh sliced or the rehydrated sliced). When mostly cooked through, add the the onions and greens. When wilted, add the gourd, fried tofu, etc, and cooked meat. When fried off a little, add the rice. Pour over the mushroom soaking water except for the last spoonful which is normally full of debris. Keep stirring and frying and, if needed, add a little more oil or stock. When the rice has absorbed the oil and liquid, add in the eggs and mix. Voila, real fried rice!
Get out your leftover white steamed (never boiled) rice. This should be (but don't be paranoid about it) Chinese/Japanese/Korean as other styles, even Thai, won't be the right texture for traditional fried rice.
If you want meat/chicken/shrimp in your fried rice that is not cooked yet, make a paste of rice wine, soysauce and some cornstarch and let your meat sit for at least 20 minutes, red meat longer.
boil some water and pour over a few dried shitaake mushrooms (you can substitute fresh, even though the flavour is different, but just slice, don't soak) and dried shrimp (optional)
Next, beat 2 eggs with 1/4 tsp of salt and a tsp or a little less of sugar and a tsp of sesame oil. Heat a pan on high with some oil and when very hot, pour in the eggs. They should cook into folds almost immediately. Don't let them cook absolutely through as they will finish cooking later.
Shred some greens (spinach, tong choi/cong ching tsai, watercress, whatever)
shred a couple green onions
finely shred a nub of ginger
mince a couple cloves of garlic
You can also add chopped preserved gourd, rehydrated day lily buds, fried tofu (don't use fresh, it goes to mush)
Then prepare any cooked meat by shredding
Heat some oil with the garlic and ginger until very hot. Drain the marinade from the meat and begin to stir fry (adding mushrooms, either the fresh sliced or the rehydrated sliced). When mostly cooked through, add the the onions and greens. When wilted, add the gourd, fried tofu, etc, and cooked meat. When fried off a little, add the rice. Pour over the mushroom soaking water except for the last spoonful which is normally full of debris. Keep stirring and frying and, if needed, add a little more oil or stock. When the rice has absorbed the oil and liquid, add in the eggs and mix. Voila, real fried rice!
Best sandwich ever...
So, I made some really nice roasted peppers the other day (just with regular red and yellow bell peppers, although using the long, very sweet Romano pepper is extra good). After they cooled down and I peeled off the skin, I stored them in layers with Maldon sea salt (a favorite of mine) and some nice Greek olive oil. Then I made the following sandwiches,
grilled free range chicken, roasted peppers and basil in a wrap for my daughter
buffalo mozzarella, roasted peppers and basil in a wrap for me.
I'd love to have another today for lunch, but I've got leftover rice to use up so I'll be making fried rice with shrimp (prawns to the Brits). See my next post...
grilled free range chicken, roasted peppers and basil in a wrap for my daughter
buffalo mozzarella, roasted peppers and basil in a wrap for me.
I'd love to have another today for lunch, but I've got leftover rice to use up so I'll be making fried rice with shrimp (prawns to the Brits). See my next post...
Monday, October 8, 2007
What to add to spaghetti sauce...
Here are some interesting things to add to your spaghetti sauce (known as spag bol in Britain, and red sauce in the USA, and basically unknown in Italy...).
Herbs de Provence (nice mix of herbs, rosemary, thyme, sometimes lavender, and various others)
Smoked Spanish Paprika (my favorite)
Splash of balsamic or sherry vinegar
Splash of Worcestershire Sauce (this is typical in UK, and unheard of in the US)
a teaspoon of Chinese chili-bean sauce (my hubby's favorite, and it is really good!)
a glass of red wine (sort of necessary, in my book, but someone might forget)
Instead of using ground beef, take sausages, slit open the casings and fry the spiced meat mixture instead. British sausages don't work well for this as the meat has been ground 2x and is too finely textured, but any "Italian style" sausage in the USA or sausage de campagne on the mainland of Europe works pretty well.
If you are veg, try making the same sauce with Quorn or with cooked Puy or Beluga lentils (these both hold their shape when cooked so can stand the extra cooking). Or freeze cotton (not silken style) tofu and then defrost, drain with a weight on top for 1 hour and then grate. This becomes very similar in texture to ground meat.
Herbs de Provence (nice mix of herbs, rosemary, thyme, sometimes lavender, and various others)
Smoked Spanish Paprika (my favorite)
Splash of balsamic or sherry vinegar
Splash of Worcestershire Sauce (this is typical in UK, and unheard of in the US)
a teaspoon of Chinese chili-bean sauce (my hubby's favorite, and it is really good!)
a glass of red wine (sort of necessary, in my book, but someone might forget)
Instead of using ground beef, take sausages, slit open the casings and fry the spiced meat mixture instead. British sausages don't work well for this as the meat has been ground 2x and is too finely textured, but any "Italian style" sausage in the USA or sausage de campagne on the mainland of Europe works pretty well.
If you are veg, try making the same sauce with Quorn or with cooked Puy or Beluga lentils (these both hold their shape when cooked so can stand the extra cooking). Or freeze cotton (not silken style) tofu and then defrost, drain with a weight on top for 1 hour and then grate. This becomes very similar in texture to ground meat.
What I had for dinner...
This is something I came up with after reading about traditional Italian cooking, vegetarians, beware, it is not for you! In the fall, in our local shops here in Luxembourg, we get a pretty good selection of game. Its pretty expensive (as I feel all meat should be, if it is well taken care of) so I picked up two things. One was a pre-made quail pate with pistachios and a bit of red currant jam which was very delicious, and the second was about a pound (1/2 kilo) of stewing venison. So, after reading about the Italian traditions with venison, I made a ragu (in the traditional Italian sense of long cooked meat in wine with flavorings) of venison, red wine, juniper berries, cinnamon, allspice, and rosemary. Served with pappardelle, it was really fabulous!
olive oil
one onion, finely minced
1 pound or 1/2 kilo of stewing venison
1/2 bottle of red wine (remember, the better the wine, the better the sauce)
2 Tablespoons of tomato paste (try the kind in a tube or a glass jar, its much better than canned)
10 juniper berries
1 generous teaspoon of cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon of allspice
3 large sprigs of rosemary
salt and pepper
Cover the bottom of a pan well with olive oil and add the onion. Fry on medium/medium high until softened and lightly golden. Now push to the sides and fry the venison until browned on all sides. Pour in the wine, and add all the herbs and spices. Bring to the boil, then stir in the tomato paste and turn down the heat. Simmer for 2-3 hours until the meat is very tender and the sauce is thick (I covered the pan for most of the cooking time to get the right thickness). Season with salt and pepper. Serve with noodles.
olive oil
one onion, finely minced
1 pound or 1/2 kilo of stewing venison
1/2 bottle of red wine (remember, the better the wine, the better the sauce)
2 Tablespoons of tomato paste (try the kind in a tube or a glass jar, its much better than canned)
10 juniper berries
1 generous teaspoon of cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon of allspice
3 large sprigs of rosemary
salt and pepper
Cover the bottom of a pan well with olive oil and add the onion. Fry on medium/medium high until softened and lightly golden. Now push to the sides and fry the venison until browned on all sides. Pour in the wine, and add all the herbs and spices. Bring to the boil, then stir in the tomato paste and turn down the heat. Simmer for 2-3 hours until the meat is very tender and the sauce is thick (I covered the pan for most of the cooking time to get the right thickness). Season with salt and pepper. Serve with noodles.
Friday, October 5, 2007
This is really good for the health, lemon has tons of vitamin C, ginger is good for the immune system and honey has all sorts of health benefits! Perfect for getting over a cold or to drink in the morning to get you started for the day!
8 coin sized slices of fresh ginger
1-2 tablespoons of honey
wedge of lemon
boiling water
Place the ginger and honey in a large pitcher that can stand having boiling water poured into it. Boil the water and then stir into the ginger and honey. when it has cooled down somewhat, squeeze the lemon into it (doing this when the water is boiling will remove the vitamin C). Adjust the proportions to taste.
8 coin sized slices of fresh ginger
1-2 tablespoons of honey
wedge of lemon
boiling water
Place the ginger and honey in a large pitcher that can stand having boiling water poured into it. Boil the water and then stir into the ginger and honey. when it has cooled down somewhat, squeeze the lemon into it (doing this when the water is boiling will remove the vitamin C). Adjust the proportions to taste.
Apple Crisp
So here is something perfect for fall, easy, cheap and apples are in season now so they will have more flavor. If you want to make this in the spring, try it with berries, although I recommend eating the whole thing at once, then, as the juice makes it very soggy by the next day, otherwise. I've also done this with apricots (just cut in half, pit, don't peel) and peaches (peel and pit). I think pears might work, but haven't tried it.
8 apples, MacIntosh are best if you are in the USA, try Boskop or something else fairly mealy in Europe- you want them to go down to fairly mushy, not to hold their shape.
1 Tablespoon of water
cinnamon
7 tablespoons of softened butter
1 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of flour
Peel and core the apples and cut into slices in any fashion. Place into a buttered baking pan and add the water. sprinkle with cinnamon. Mash the butter, flour and sugar together until you have a very crumbly mixture, it shouldn't really hold together. pile this on top and bake in an oven at 350 F/180 C for about 40 minutes until very lightly brown on top... Delicious with vanilla ice cream as well!
8 apples, MacIntosh are best if you are in the USA, try Boskop or something else fairly mealy in Europe- you want them to go down to fairly mushy, not to hold their shape.
1 Tablespoon of water
cinnamon
7 tablespoons of softened butter
1 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of flour
Peel and core the apples and cut into slices in any fashion. Place into a buttered baking pan and add the water. sprinkle with cinnamon. Mash the butter, flour and sugar together until you have a very crumbly mixture, it shouldn't really hold together. pile this on top and bake in an oven at 350 F/180 C for about 40 minutes until very lightly brown on top... Delicious with vanilla ice cream as well!
Food, music, and philosophy
This being my first official blog, it seems like I should write out a long complicated premise, somehow. But really this is just to put down my love of great food, done well. The music comes in as it is actually my career, and I love it, and the philosophy for both are my philosophy on life. Guess that did end up a bit long winded after all! So here goes...
There is something a bit sad about the modern way of cooking and eating with everything in instant reach and no waiting or expectancy. Food porn speaks to me, so to equate it with sex, waiting is half the fun, no matter how much you want it, thwarted desire satisfied is far better than instant gratification! So I try to cook locally, with the seasons, with some exceptions. The big one being mangoes, although none will ever compare to the ones my husband's uncle brought me when we visited him in Taiwan- totally like silk on the tongue, starting to drool, excuse me for a moment... Anyway, importantly, the things that are in season, usually taste the best together and will satisfy the soul in a way that the same old stuff grown thousands of miles away or in a hothouse would.
As for meat, I am not a vegetarian, although I often have vegetarian days simply because I feel more alive and healthy when I do. This applies to eliminating caffine and alcohol, but I'm currently having a Rochefort, a Belgian Trappist beer with 11 percent alcohol, so obviously I ignore that too. Anyway, with the meat thing, I tend buy less but have it organic or if not, at least specialty breeds of free range chicken (the French types are very good), pork (Spanish acorn fed is really expensive but amazing and Gloucester Old Spot is a great English breed), or beef (different breeds have different attributes). Just remember, when you eat an animal that is pen raised, it has had a very short, traumatic life which, aside from being a karmically very negative thing, is taste-wise very negative.
So now, I'll give you some of my favorite recipes as the fall progresses- or sometimes, just what I made my family for diner! I hope some of you enjoy it as much as I'll like to write it!
There is something a bit sad about the modern way of cooking and eating with everything in instant reach and no waiting or expectancy. Food porn speaks to me, so to equate it with sex, waiting is half the fun, no matter how much you want it, thwarted desire satisfied is far better than instant gratification! So I try to cook locally, with the seasons, with some exceptions. The big one being mangoes, although none will ever compare to the ones my husband's uncle brought me when we visited him in Taiwan- totally like silk on the tongue, starting to drool, excuse me for a moment... Anyway, importantly, the things that are in season, usually taste the best together and will satisfy the soul in a way that the same old stuff grown thousands of miles away or in a hothouse would.
As for meat, I am not a vegetarian, although I often have vegetarian days simply because I feel more alive and healthy when I do. This applies to eliminating caffine and alcohol, but I'm currently having a Rochefort, a Belgian Trappist beer with 11 percent alcohol, so obviously I ignore that too. Anyway, with the meat thing, I tend buy less but have it organic or if not, at least specialty breeds of free range chicken (the French types are very good), pork (Spanish acorn fed is really expensive but amazing and Gloucester Old Spot is a great English breed), or beef (different breeds have different attributes). Just remember, when you eat an animal that is pen raised, it has had a very short, traumatic life which, aside from being a karmically very negative thing, is taste-wise very negative.
So now, I'll give you some of my favorite recipes as the fall progresses- or sometimes, just what I made my family for diner! I hope some of you enjoy it as much as I'll like to write it!
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