Killer Risotto

I like good risotto, but most of the time it ends up feeling very heavy and well...just...ugh. However, tonight's attempt was phenomenal!

I had it in my brain the other day when I picked up some lobster mushrooms and Chinese spinach at the farmers market that I would make risotto this week. I had some crimini mushrooms just hanging out in the fridge needing to be used...and I always dried mushrooms in my pantry...triple mushroom risotto with spinach! And because I like to try new ways of making things...I made this one vegan. Totally. Killer.

Triple Mushroom Risotto with Spinach

4 oz dried mushrooms (I did a combo of shitaki and king oyster mushrooms)
1 cup boiling water
2 - 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth (I really like the low sodium veg broth from Trader Joe's...good flavor)
4-5 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
4-5 oz lobster mushrooms (or some other flavor...chicken of the woods would be very comparable), sliced
2 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil, divided
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cups cleaned and chopped spinach
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/4 cup Shao Xing cooking wine (or Sherry)
1 Tbsp dairy-free margarine (I use Earth Balance)
1-2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

1. In a small bowl, combine the boiling water with the dried mushrooms, and let them soak, uncovered for 30 minutes. Drain 1/2 cup of the mushroom broth into a liquid measuring cup and add the vegetable broth, take out 1/2 of the soaked mushrooms, finely dice and set aside (keep the rest for another time). Heat the veg broth to a simmer (I do it in the microwave)

2. In a small bowl, toss the spinach, lemon juice and salt. Set aside.

3. In a medium size saucepan over medium heat, heat 1 T. of the coconut oil. Add the chopped garlic and onions, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and translucent, but not browned, about 6-8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft, about 4 minutes more. Add the remaining 1 T. of coconut oil and the rice, and, stirring constantly, cook until the rice is evenly coated and sounds like crispy rice cereal in the pan, making snapping and popping noises, about 4 minutes. Add the Shao Xing, stirring constantly, until all of the liquid is completely absorbed.

4. Pour about ¾ cup of the hot broth into the rice and cook, continuing to stir, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Continue to add the broth in ¾-cup increments, allowing the liquid to be absorbed before another addition, until the rice is translucent around the edges but still solid in the middle and the rice is of a creamy consistency, about 20 minutes.

5. Add the spinach and cook for just about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the spinach is wilted and bright green. Stir in the dairy-free soy margarine and nutritional yeast. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

SO GOOD!

*I found this recipe online and modified it...of course.

Luck O' the Euro As-ish

So...we're not Irish. And CiBaby is definitely not, although it was SUPER cute when she asked me today if she was Irish. "Only on St. Patty's Day, dear."

However, just because we don't have Irish blood running in our veins doesn't me we cannot celebrate! So in honor of the day we made a green snack to share with our friends.

Edamame Hummus

1 large clove of garlic, peeled

1 Tbsp sesame seeds (or tahini if you have it...today I did not...a crime, I know!)

2 tsp finely chopped cilantro

1 tsp lemon grass (I have frozen chopped lemon grass...so handy!)

1 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce

2 Tbsp mirin

1/4 tsp wasabe powder

1/4 tsp tamarind or lime juice

1/2 tsp sesame oil

12 oz bag (or 2 cups) shelled edamame, thawed

1 cup water

Place all ingredients, except 1 cup edamame and 1 cup water, into a food processor. Process until finely chopped, scrapping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Once finely chopped, add remaining edamame and water and blend until nice and smooth, about 3-4 minutes.

Serve with rice chips or veggie sticks.

May luck find you today, whoever you are!

Pumpkin Chili with Cilantro Lime Cream

With a snowstorm roaring away outside and some pumpkins begging to be used, I wanted something savory, nutritious and delicious to nourish my little family, so I came up with the following using ingredients I had on hand.

Pumpkin Chili with Cilantro Lime Cream

1 cup (1 small) finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 red pepper, cored, seeded and diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (or 1 can)
2 pints (or 2 small cans) diced tomatoes and their juice
1 1/2 cups (1 small can) hominy, rinsed and drained
1 can beans (white, pinto or garbanzo) rinsed and drained
2 cups water, veg broth or chicken stock
1 cup amber ale
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 cups cubed cooked pumpkin

Cilantro Lime Cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp finely chopped cilantro*
a squeeze of fresh lime juice
a pinch kosher salt

Mix together ingredients for the cilantro lime cream and set aside.

Cook onions, peppers and garlic in oil over a med-low flame until soft, but not browned, about 5-7 minutes.

Add pumpkin, hominy, beans, tomatoes, water or stock, ale, cumin, chili powder, oregano, cocoa powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down and let simmer 30-40 minutes. Add pumpkin chunks, stir and heat through, 5 minutes.

Serve with cilantro lime cream.
 
*If you don't already have some in your freezer, Trader Joe's has frozen herbs in small cubes...perfect for days like this!

Localicious

Thanks to a wonderful little Park & Rec art class for CiBaby this summer, I have 8 whole hours (spread out over 4 days, of course) a.l.o.n.e. Ahhhh heaven. So what did I do on my first day of solitude? I headed on a necessary errand...to restock my spice and seasoning shelves, which of course took me to Penzey's. I could seriously spend a good chunk of time there, but my spice cabinet and pocketbook said "stick to your list!"

With one necessary errand done and about 25 minutes to kill I swung into the Golden Fig store. Seriously, if you love food like I do, love to talk about it with other foodies and have not been there...GO! Okay, so you don't really need to be a foodie, but I'll bet that you'll start to become a very discerning consumer once you've visited this lovely little shop! Local local local...that's what it's all about. I could spend a king's ransom in that shop, but today I settled with 2 fantastic new (to me) items...Golden Fig's The Bees Knees - fresh squeezed lemon juice, water, local honey, local mint and lavender (we used sparkling water as our "mixer") and Extra Dough's Smokey Chipotle pecans (oh.my.god...HEAVEN!!!).

Another item you can find at GF, and our local farmers market, is Sunrise butternut squash fettuccini. While yes, it's light in flavor, you just need to make your toppings light as well. For this reason, and the reason that I have a bunch of produce from our garden and CSA begging to be used, I made up the following...

Summertime Pasta
8 oz Sunrise butternut squash fettuccini
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
2 cobs corn, kernels cut off
1 medium zucchini
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on size of said tomato
1/4 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
sea salt
bacon grease* and/or extra-virgin olive oil

Cook fettuccini as directed, al dente. Once cooked, drain, rinse, and toss with a little extra-virgin olive oil then set aside.

Meanwhile put 1-2 tsp bacon grease or olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat and add sage. Saute 2-3 minutes. It will turn crunch. Remove sage from skillet and put into a small, heat resistant bowl. Add corn kernels to the skillet and turn up the heat to medium. Saute 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the corn is cooking, make long ribbons out of the zucchini using a veggie peeler. Toss into the pan with the corn. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and a little olive oil if needed. Cook another 2-3 minutes. Add pasta, toss with veggies and let cook a couple of minutes, basically to just heat the pasta a bit. Turn off the heat, toss in the tomatoes, sage and parmesan cheese; toss to combine. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes...then serve with more parm, if desired.

Seriously, I don't think eating can get any sweeter than local! Totally localicious!

*Yes, I save bacon grease...have I mentioned this before? It's great for flavoring and a little goes a long way.

What's in the Box?

This year I had starting thinking once again about participating in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), but of course started looking a little too late. On T-Daddy and my anniversary we attended a local Living Green Expo where I met a farmer who intrigued me...his philosophies, his ideas and his product (he does mainly heirloom varieties, which I LOVE!). The only draw back, he wasn't delivering to our area...yet. He was seeing if the interest was great enough for our area to start a new route, so I put my name on his list for a share and to be a drop-site.

Well, both came into being...thus this will be my attempt to document our adventure.

Box #1 contained:

1 quart sugar peas

1 quart strawberries

2 bunches radishes

1 head red lettuce

2.5 lbs new red potatoes

2 zucchini

What did we make?

Dairy-Free Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream (adapted from The Ultimate Ice Cream Book: Over 500 Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, Drinks, And More, p. 124...I swear it's the best ice cream book around!)

3 heaping cups strawberries (fresh if you have them, frozen without syrup, defrosted if you don't)
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups (1 pint) SO Delicious French Vanilla Coconut Milk Creamer
1 tsp vanilla extract

Puree the strawberries with the salt in a food processor or blender. Should yield about 2 cups of puree. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the sugar into the eggs until thickened and pale yellow. Set aside.

Bring the coconut creamer to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan. Slowly beat the hot creamer into the eggs and sugar. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble. Remove from the heat and pour the hot custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Allow the custard to cool slightly (I put the bowl inside a large bowl filled with ice as I was impatient), then stir in the strawberry puree and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.

Stir the chilled custard then freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. When finished, the ice ream will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer ice cream, transfer into a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.


Potato Salad (we had a party to go to so I made a large bowl)
2.5 lbs new red potatoes, scrubbed
5 green onions, white and greens, sliced
2-4 radishes, halved and sliced thinly
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup mayo
1 mounded Tbsp Annie's Horseradish Mustard
1 Tbsp dried dill weed (you can use fresh - about 1/4 cup, but to get the flavor your salad will be really green!)
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Boil potatoes about 20 minutes, or until tender (but not falling apart). Drain and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, cube the potatoes into about 1/2 inch cubes.

In a separate bowl, mix mayo, mustard, dill, salt and pepper. Add to potatoes and mix thoroughly. This should be enough dressing, but if not add a bit more mayo and doctor up the spices if necessary (I do it to taste). Add green onions, radishes and eggs; mix well and refrigerate. Best if made a couple hours ahead of serving as to marry the flavors.


And with just the beginning of zucchini season starting, I've been stocking-up on interesting zucchini recipes. This salad/side was a good one...simple and delish! Odd location for this recipe, but whatever, I don't judge!

Zucchini with Black Sesame Seed (from Cakes and Loaves: 110 Recipes You Can Make at Home, p.18...cute book with lots of great savory and sweet bread recipes )

4-5 small, firm zucchini

2 tsp black sesame seeds

olive oil

(I added a splash of sesame oil for a little extra somethin')

juice of 1 lemon (aka 2 Tbsp)

pinch of sugar

salt, pepper

Julienne the zucchini using a mandolin slicer (I used the fine julienne blade). Dry fry/toast the sesame seeds in a small frying pan. Combine the zucchini and sesame seed in a bowl. Add the oil(s) and lemon juice and mix well. Add the sugar, season with salt and pepper.

Could you make...?

I love those 3 words. It's a challenge, like "What can you create with minimal time and without having to buy a king's ransom at the grocery store? Huh? Huh?!?"

A friend recently threw a birthday party for her husband and requested a lettuce salad. With a quick dig through my deep freezer*, and my brain, I came up with the following salad recipe. Of course when I told her what I was making she said, "Oh, I was just thinking lettuce, tomato and cheese." Ummmm, do you know who you're asking???

8-10 cups chopped Romain, or other crunchy lettuce (I used 2 Romain hearts)
1/2 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
1 cup roasted corn
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
5 slices thick cut bacon, fried and chopped
1/2 cup candied walnuts**
Fried dandelions (recipe follows)
Walnut oil vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Layer salad in this order - dressed lettuce, roasted red pepper, roasted corn, tomatoes, and bacon. Add the walnuts and dandelions right before serving so they remain crunchy.


Make ahead and set aside:
Vinaigrette
1/2 cup Roasted French Walnut oil
2 Tbsp high quality balsamic vinegar
1 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp basil, chiffonade

Whisk together right before tossing with the lettuce.

Dandelion flowers
1 cup dandelion flowers, stemmed and washed well
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2+ cup beer (use a little more if you need to thin the batter a bit)
1/2 cup oil (I used corn this time)

Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt and beer in a medium bowl. The batter should be like pancake batter, so if too thick add a little more beer, if too thin add in a little more cornmeal. Add in dandelion flowers and toss to coat.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan (I use my 5" cast iron frying pan as I don't like the wasted oil) over medium-high heat. Add the dandelions to the oil one-by-one, blossom side down and cook for about 3 minutes or until slightly browned. Turn over and cook the other side. Remove blossoms (I just use a fork) and place them on a paper toweling. Immediate sprinkle with kosher salt. Repeat with remaining blossoms.


The salad was a hit. Now I just need a name for it!

*This is where all of my harvest time labor pays off!
**If I need to put instructions on how to candy your own nuts, let me know.

Potato Gnocchi

For years I have been searching for a gnocchi to rival a restaurant's in the North End of Boston. Everything came up short. And tough. So when I picked a special Fine Cooking - Real Italian magazine I was delighted to see that they had not only a recipe, but also the technique of making these little pillows of happiness. I read through the recipe, tips and instructions and thought..."This is lemon squeezy!"

So tonight I whipped up a batch and I'll tell you the truth it was a little bit of heaven in a bowl...smothered in homemade sauce. Absolutely divine.

Potato Gnocchi - Fine Cooking Recipes, Techniques and Tips

Posted using ShareThis

Note: The one crucial part they left out of the recipe was the actual boiling of the gnocchi. For those who don't want to search the web and don't already intuitively know...Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling add (I had to do it in two batches) the gnocchi; gently stir so they don't stick to the bottom. The gnocchi will rise to the surface of the water when almost done. Let them cook a minute more. I removed them with a slotted spoon into the serving bowl and covered with sauce. So delicious!See More

Happy...

2010!

We rang in a very frigid new year with our good friends, the Kippsters. There was lots good, semi-clean fun...along with, of course, the annual watching of Christmas Vacation. And the kicker is that CiBaby was actually awake to ring in the new year! Yikes but yay!

After that fun night of too much to eat and drink and too little sleep, I creaked my way out of bed and into the kitchen. Our morning entailed celebrating a good friend's birthday with a New Year's Day brunch...and I had signed up to bring the cheesy potatoes. One, never have I made cheesy potatoes and two...well, there's CiBaby...who loves her cheese but her cheese doesn't love her (at least the inexpensive stuff). So I set out on a mission to make a great tasting lactose-free cheesy potatoes...sounds like an oxymoron, right? But holy crykies they were GOOD!*


CzaMama's CheeZ Potatoes for CiBaby


Thick white sauce with mushroom (recipe follows)

1 cup goat's milk yogurt

2 tsp corn starch

2 lbs frozen diced hash brown potatoes, thawed
1/2 cup goat's milk butter, melted
1 1/2 cups shredded aged cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/2 Tbsp dried onion flakes
salt and pepper, to taste
4 oz chevre, cut/broken into small chunks

In a large bowl, mix yogurt and corn starch. Slowly add warm thick white sauce, stirring constantly until incorporated. Add in thawed potatoes, melted butter, 1 cup aged cheddar cheese and onion flakes. Mix; add salt and pepper, to taste.

Put potato mixture into a 9x13 baking dish and dot with chevre. Top with remaining shredded cheddar cheese.


Bake in a 350F degrees, preheated oven for 1 hour.

Thick white sauce (bechamel) with mushrooms:
2 dried mushrooms (I used shitaki), rehydrated (reserving soaking water), squeezed of extra moisture and finely chopped
3 Tbsp goat milk butter, divided
4 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (or Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free flour)
1 1/2 cups hot lactose-free milk (I use 2%)
3/4 tsp salt
1/8-1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Add flour; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, or until mixture (known as a roux) is smooth and begins to bubble.

Remove saucepan from heat. Add milk all at once. Return saucepan to heat; stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. Sauce will be thickened and smooth in about 1 minute.

Add salt and pepper; cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

As if we hadn't cheered enough, the clan came over to our abode to continue our annual New Year's Day fire and hot dog roast...with a twist. This year it was so incredibly cold none of us wanted to be outside, so instead everyone roasted their dog and marshmallows by our cozy living room fireplace!

Cheers!

*I make no claim that they are healthy or low in fat/calories...just without lactose.

The Eat Local Challenge: Day 17

With the bounty of the harvest kicking in...fresh tomatoes, ripe off the vine, eggplant and zucchini begging to be picked and used...I couldn't wait to cook up a batch of Ratatouille!

Sebha del Hdaree

Ratatouille with Dates from Cooking at the Kasbah by Kitty Morse

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded, de-ribbed and diced

3 tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 fresh rosemary sprig

1 bay leaf

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 eggplant, peeled and cubed

2 zucchini, cubed

1/2 cup dates, pitted and chopped

2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 Tbsp slivered almonds, toasted

Preheat the oven to 375F. In a medium enameled casserole over medium-high heat, heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil and saute the onion and pepper until tender, 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, rosemary, bay leaf, and garlic. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium heat, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil and cook the eggplant and zucchini until the zucchini are golden, 3-4 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Add the eggplant, zucchini, dates and paprika to the mixture in the casserole. Stir to blend.

Cover tightly and bake until the vegetables are tender, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and discard the rosemary and the bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with toasted almonds. Serve hot or at room temperature.

The Eat Local Challenge: Day 10

This recipe has been a favorite of mine going back to my childhood. G-Mama use to wait until the zucchini were bursting at the seams and all of a sudden we got a mammoth one...what do do with it? Stuff it, of course!

Hint: start with the tomato sauce so it all comes together at about the same time.


Stuffed Zucchini

4 medium zucchini, scrubbed and peel removed in stripes (you could take it all off or leave it all on, I just did stripes)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 lb ground beef
1 egg beaten
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
6 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried OR 2 tsp fresh oregano
1 tsp salt
1/4 pepper
(tomato sauce recipe, below)

Cut zucchini lengthwise, scoop out inside leaving 1/4" shell. Chop pulp coarsely. Heat olive oil, brown onions 8-10 minutes on medium heat until soft. Add zucchini pulp and garlic, cook 5 minutes longer. Scoop into mesh colander and set over bowl to drain.

Brown beef, drain well.

In a medium mixing bowl, take vegetable mixture and meat and add egg and breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper. Spoon evenly into zucchini shells, mounded. Bake in a shallow dish with warm tomato sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese.

Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375F for 30 minutes, then 15 minutes uncovered.

Tomato sauce for stuffed zucchini:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 lbs plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped OR 1 big can of plum tomatoes (not drained)
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
black pepper, to taste

Simmer on low for 40 minutes. Press through a sieve or food mill (I never do this, but do it if you like a really smooth, seed-free sauce)

The Eat Local Challenge: Day 6

The other day I purchased a large bag (around 4-5 lbs) of green beans at the Farmers' Market with the intention of eating some and processing some for the freezer. Well, to my dismay I didn't care much for them...at least steamed. They were a bit too mature (a bit tough and dry), although they had decent flavor...so in order to save them I had to find a recipe to use them up that would somehow eliminate the parts I didn't like. The following soup did the trick (with a little bit of recipe manipulation)!!!

Green Bean Soup (Transylvania style!)*

2 lbs fresh green beans
1 large clove of garlic
1 handful fresh parsley
1 pinch of salt
4 slices Canadian bacon, chopped fine
1 onion, chopped
1-1/2 Tbsp butter, divided
3 Tbsp flour
1 cup Goat's milk yogurt (for the lactose challenged in the family)
3 Tbsp rice vinegar

In a large pot over medium heat, combine green beans, garlic, parsley, salt and water to cover, and cook until beans are tender.

Reserve 2 cups of water from cooked beans, transfer bean mixture into blender and puree, in batches, until smooth. Return to stove and put over low heat.

Fry Canadian bacon until browned, add to bean puree. Add 1 Tbsp butter and cook onions over low to lightly caramelize, add 1/2 Tbsp butter and flour, stirring until brown. Slowly add reserved water, stirring slowly and constantly to prevent lumps.

Cook onion/flour mixture to thicken a bit, then add to the bean soup and bring to a boil. Stir in yogurt (warm up yogurt by spooning some of the hot soup into a large bowl with yogurt first, then add back into the kettle) and vinegar.

Serve with warm bread.

We hope you like it, it was a big hit at our dinning table tonight!


*The original recipe can be found on All-Recipes.com

The Eat Local Challenge: Day 4

Steamed Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

(Nplooj Zaub Pob Qhwv Cub)

from Cooking from the Heart: The Hmong Kitchen in America

The mixture used to fill these glistening, fat cabbage bundles is similar to egg roll filling, and, like egg roll filling, every Hmong cook makes it a little bit differently.

Ingredients

10+ outer leaves from 2 large heads of American* or napa cabbage

(or substitute iceberg lettuce leaves)

3 - 2oz packages (bundles) Asian vermicelli noodles (aka cellophane, bean thread or glass noodles)

1 lb ground pork*, chicken or turkey

4 green onions*, white and green parts, chopped fine

1/4 cup cilantro*, finely chopped

1 small can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

3 medium-sized carrots, finely shredded

6 pieces black fungus (they are really black when dry)

6 medium-sized white mushrooms*, chopped fine

1 tsp salt

1 tsp MSG (optional, I did not use it)

1/2 tsp course-ground black pepper

2 Tbsp oyster sauce

a few drops sesame oil (I used about 2 tsp)

2 eggs, stirred

Preparation

Remove and wash the large outer leaves of the cabbage, being careful not to tear them. With a paring knife, cut any tough root-end away from each leaf. In a large pan, bring 3 quarts of water to boil. Once the water is boiling, submerge 1 cabbage leaf (or lettuce leaf) at a time in the water for a second or two. The leaves should become pliable but not limp. Drain and lay the leaves on a plate and set aside.

While preparing the leaves, soak the vermicelli noodles in a bowl of warm water for 30 minutes (or follow the directions on the package), or until soft. Using a fine-mesh colander, completely drain the noodles (and rinse and drain, otherwise they become one huge mass of noodles and are hard to mix later). With kitchen shears, snip the noodles into approximately 1-inch lengths. In a large bowl, use your hands to mix the ground meat with the noodles, green onions, cilantro, water chestnuts, carrots, black fungus and mushrooms. Add the salt, MSG (if using), black pepper, oyster sauce and sesame oil. Add the eggs and mix thoroughly.

Using a plate as a work surface, place 1 cabbage leaf on the plate and about 1/3 cup of the filling on the leaf. Roll up the leaf as you would an egg roll, tucking in the sides as you roll. Discard any leaves that have large tears, since the filling would leak out (small tears do not matter). To steam the stuffed leaves, fill a large flat bottomed bamboo** or metal steamer half full of water and set it on the stove over high heat to boil. (I put my bamboo steamer into my wok and it works very nicely.) Gently place each stuffed leaf in the top part of the steaming pan. The stuffed leaves can be stacked on top of each other. Cover the pan and steam the stuffed leaves for about 30 minutes. Remove the steamer from the stove, take the lid off of the steamer, and allow the steam to escape. Then carefully lift each stuffed leaf onto a serving platter. Serve hot.

In the end I have to say they were delicious!!! The only things I would do differently is increase the salt by maybe a 1/2 tsp, up the pepper to at least 1 tsp, and maybe double the cilantro. We also dipped our rolls in a mixture (in 1/3 increments) of soy sauce, mirin and water.

Note: when there were options, the ingredients that were bolded were the ones I chose to use.

+ I ended up filled 25 leaves with 1/3 cup filling (it made a lot of filling!)...if that gives you any idea.

* All locally grown/raised.

**Make sure you line the bottom of the bamboo steamer with some of your extra, too small cabbage leaves...otherwise you will pick up some of the bamboo taste.

Impromptu meals

I'm the queen of impromptu meals.* I have always wanted to be a planner, but it just doesn't seem to be in my nature. Tonight I made the most delicious Sesame Pork (I suppose you could use chicken too). I had been craving some really good sesame pork for awhile. It seems like most Chinese restaurants only have the batter dipped and fried stuff, and I wanted something more...something better.**

Everyone in our little household thought it something great. So here you go.

Sesame Pork - Serves 4

2 boneless pork chops, cut into 1 inch cubes
Arrowroot or cornstarch, to coat
4 carrots, peeled (or if you can't find the peeler at that very moment, just scrubbed) and cut diagonally into ¼ inch slices
2 Tbsp peanut oil (or whatever you tend to use, I like peanut oil for Chinese food)

Sauté pork in oil for 4-5 minutes, turning once. Add carrots and cook another 3-4 minutes or until tender but not soft. Add sauce to combine.

¼ cup dry-toasted white sesame seeds

Sauce
1/4 cup Shao Xing Cooking wine
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 ½ Tbsp arrowroot dissolved in 2 Tbsp water
1 tsp sesame oil

In a small saucepan on med-low heat, add Shao Xing, soy sauce and rice vinegar, bring to a slight simmer. Add in arrowroot/water combo and combine and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in sesame oil and remove from heat.

Serve over steamed rice sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

*I do have a goal this year to make a new dish BY the recipe once a week, I've done pretty well so far.
**I haven't had a chance to really look hard for a good and different recipe, so I just made it up myself.

Year of the Ox

Happy New Year!

Today we celebrated the beginning of Chinese New Year...the year of the Ox (which happens to be my sign as well!) which will continue for the next 15 days, ending with the Lantern Festival.

The day began with a very fun playdate with 9 other mom friends and their 11 children, it was a full house. Fun was had by all. In an effort to minimize stress on myself I made nothing except for coffee. I did buy some fun treats at my FAV Asian market...trying to keep to the New Year traditions (and still be American kid friendly) I got green tea pumpkin seeds, sweet candies and taro filled wafer cookies*.

After the house quieted and was tidyed up, I set to preparing our meal. It was a simple dish but delicious and very easy to make, which was served with Yu Choy. G-Mama and Bopa joined us for the festivities.

Xinjian Rice Pot with Lamb
san geung yeung yuk faan

(copied from Food of the World - China)

This wholesome dish from Xinjiang Province is known in Uygur as "poluo rice" which means finger-food. Thus is eaten with the fingers rather than chopsticks* or spoons. This dish is always served at weddings, funerals, and traditional festivals, including the first day of Chinese New Year.

Serves 6-8 (generous servings)

2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil

10-1/2 oz/300 g lamb or mutton, cut into bit-size cubes

2 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 onions coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon Sichuan peppers, lightly roasted and lightly crushed

generous 2 cups short- or medium-grain rice

3-3/4 cups water

In a large casserole, heat the oil and stir-fry the meat for 1-2 minutes, or until the pieces are sealed on all sides. Add the carrot and onion and stir-fry until the vegetables are beginning to soften. Add the salt, ginger, and Sichuan peppers and mix well.

Finally, add the rice and water and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all of the water. Serve alone or as part of a meal.

We cracked open a bottle of wine

we picked up in China, and put some
traditional Chinese music on the stereo.

CiBaby was so proud of her chopstick skills,

even though there were near misses!

Wishing you all the best,

CzaMama, T-Daddy and CiBaby

*If you see Durian fruit wafer cookies by Garden Company, run fast and far. Horrible. They smelled so awful and tasted just as bad. The coconut and peach were good, and the taro (by I-Mei) were good too. All not terribly sweet...like american wafer cookies.

**We used chopsticks...Bopa wasn't too excited about using his fingers to eat.

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

What could be better than homemade tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich? I can't think of anything either.

With the little tomato eater's digestive track keeping her out of the great cherry tomato eating race, my cherry tomatoes were starting to accumulate. What to do with over 2 pounds of cherry tomatoes, what to do???

Make soup! I love the recipe that has been passed down from Grams to G-Mama, but that used large tomatoes...so I had to punt on this one and mix it up a little.

Cream of Roasted Cherry Tomato Soup

2 lbs (or 3 pints) cherry tomatoes

1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

milk (equal to processed tomatoes)

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp italian seasoning blend

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 500F. Place tomatoes in a large baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Roast the tomatoes for 20 minutes in the oven, they will burst open. Let cool 5 minutes, then transfer tomatoes to a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Place into a large measuring cup, it should yield about 4 cups.

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter. Add tomatoes and heat until simmering. Remove from heat, add baking soda and stir, it will foam.

In large measuring cup measure out an equal amount of milk to processed tomatoes. Slowly stir in, spoonful by spoonful, the tomatoes as not to curdle the milk. Once most of the tomatoes have been mixed with the milk add back into saucepan, add italian seasoning and salt; heat gently and serve.

Crazy fun weekend

This past weekend was just that, crazy fun.

Saturday morning T-Daddy drove Big Sister Northwest to start a new chapter in her in her life. G-Mama whisked CiBaby off for a day of fun and frolic and T-Daddy and I partied.

The afternoon began with one of the most beautiful and touching ceremonies where two people committed to a life together.

Then came the after party. What a rockin' fun night. Not only was the location great, the band was awesome and it ended up being a mini class reunion (there was about 10 of us in all). We had blast.

Then came Sunday. I had decided awhile back that I was going to host a mojito party on our back patio as part of a Mom's Night Out event with our Moms group. I studied up on mojitos as I'd never made them myself and found the perfect recipe. Of course I had to try them out pre-party...I wouldn't want to serve a bad drink!

Sunday morning started with finding a couple recipes for that evening's appetizers that were compatible with what is growing in the garden.

Eggplant Hummus
1 large eggplant (about 1 1/4 pounds)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup drained canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons (generous) tahini
2 roasted garlic cloves*
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise, then score flesh in crisscross pattern at 1-inch intervals, 1/2 inch deep. Rub cut sides with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil; sprinkle with salt. Place eggplant on rimmed baking sheet, cut side down; bake until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Cool slightly, then scoop flesh into processor (discard skins). Add garbanzo beans, remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, tahini, and garlic; puree until mixture is almost smooth. Transfer to bowl; stir in parsley. Season hummus to taste with salt and pepper.

*The recipe calls for 1 garlic clove, minced, but since the oven was hot I roasted a bulb of garlic. If you don't know how, let me know and I'll give you the 411.


Tomato, Red Onion, and Basil Bruschetta
2 cups assorted heirloom tomatoes, seeded, chopped and squeezed of excess liquid
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar
2 roasted garlic cloves, mashed
salt and pepper to taste

Combine tomatoes, finely chopped onion, olive oil, chopped fresh basil, garlic and balsamic vinegar in medium bowl; season tomato topping with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Topping can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature, tossing occasionally.


I also served Slightly Sweet Dill Refrigerator Pickles and Dukkah, which I made a few days before. These five things were mixed in with all of the other wonderful treats the other ladies brought.

And last, but definitely not least, the mojitos.

Ultimate Mojitos from Ryan McGale at No. 9 Park in Boston
15 mint leaves, plus 1 mint sprig for garnish
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounch Mint Syrup (see below)
Ice
2 1/2 ounces light rum
1 ounce chilled club soda (although we topped off the glasses with the soda, so there was probably more than 1 oz)

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the min leaves with the lime juice and Mint Syrup. Add ice and the rum, shake well and strain into an ice-filled highball glass. top with the club soda and garnish with the mint sprig. Add more syrup to taste.

Mint Syrup
In a heatproof bowl, pour 1/2 cup hot Simple Syrup (see below, again) over 1 packed cup of mint leaves. Cover and let the syrup steep overnight in the refrigerator. Strain and refrigerate covered, for up to 1 week. Makes 4 ounces of syrup.

Simple Syrup
Combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool and refrigerate in a tightly covered glass jar until ready to use. Makes about 1 1/2 cups of syrup.

The gin option. To make a very delicious gin mojito you replace the rum with gin and the mint syrup with regular simple syrup, add a sprig or two of cilantro to the mint for muddling, and if you're daring, add a slice of habanero chili pepper right before shaking or a Thai chili pepper to the glass.

Meal from the garden

Call me cheap, thrifty, what-have-you, but there's nothing better than walking out to your garden and finding a meal at hand...that is unless you're going to take me out for a nice dinner.

Tonight we had just that. First, CiBaby and I gathered up 11 large slicing cucumbers (shared 2 with our neighbor CeCe) and a few Egyptian Walking Onions, we added that to a bunch of heirloom tomatoes and a couple of French round zucchini harvested during the past couple of days and voila...dinner!

The zucchini and onions were turned into Too-Cheap-to-buy-Crab Cakes (a.k.a. Mock Crab Cakes*). If you have not tried these yet, I encourage you to do so with the ever plentiful zucchini your neighbors pawn off on you. They're awesome, you'll even fool your friends and family...that is unless they see the green, but whatever.

Too-Cheap-to-buy-Crab Cakes

2 cups coarsely grated zucchini, unpeeled
(squeeze out as much liquid as you can)

1 onion, finely chopped or grated

1 cup Italian bread crumbs
(or 1/2 Italian, 1/2 plain or Panko - which I love)

1 tablespoon mayo

1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

1 egg, beaten

Combine all ingredients. Adjust texture if necessary;
too dry, add more egg; too wet, add more bread crumbs.

Heat oil (I like Extra Virgin olive oil for these) in a skillet.
Form mixture into thin patties and fry over medium heat for
2-4 minutes per side, you want a little browning going on,
so it might take longer.

The cakes were served with fresh cucumber slices and tomatoes sprinkled with natural smoked sea salt**.

DELISH I tell you. CiBaby and Big Sister even gave the 2-thumbs-up, pass-more-this-way-please approval!

*I by no means made up this recipe myselves, I just have a need to share it with the masses!
**Obtained at the Golden Fig. They have a wonderful selection of locally made, interesting food products.

Of course!

Every year at the farmer's market I'm on the lookout for old favorites and new tasty delights. Last year I discovered sweet potato leaves at a particular Asian vendor, he had a table loaded with them. We got talking about them and I decided to give them a shot, heck it was only $1 for a big bundle and I'm an adventurous cook.*

I brought them home and came up with a new stir-fry dish. To say T-Daddy was a little skeptical, is toning it down (he's not big into cooked greens). To his, and my, delight they were WONDERFUL!!! So much so we bought many bunches last summer and today he requested I pick some up. To my udder dismay, no stand in the market had any. I talked with one very nice young Chinese woman and she told me they were selling out of them early every day this summer**. WHAT?!?! It was only 9 AM. One woman had come by and bought 20 bunches and cleaned her out. hmph. Teaches me to open my big mouth about these! I was telling everyone how wonderful they were last summer...shhhh, you didn't hear it from me.

To make your own lovely stir-fry, try this out...

CzaMama's Sweet Potato Leaf Stir-fry with Chicken
1 lb chicken breast
corn starch (or arrow root if you're allergic to corn, like I am)
2 Tbsp oil(your choice, I used peanut)
sesame oil
2 tsp Chinese 5 Spice

Cut chicken into bit size pieces and place in bowl. Add enough corn starch to coat. Heat a large skillet or wok until hot, then add oil and a few drops of sesame oil, for flavor. The oil should ripple, indicating it's hot. Gently lay coated chicken into the pan, sprinkle with Chinese 5 Spice. Let cook half way (it should lift easily out of the pan) and then flip it to finish. Once cooked, put into a bowl and set aside.

3 small or 2 large leeks, sliced into small pieces
1 small bundle sweet potato leaves, removed from stems, washed and drained
2 tsp oil
sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1-2 tsp sea or kosher salt

In same skillet/wok, if necessary, add a bit more oil and leek. Saute until tender. Remove from pan and add to chicken bowl. Add sweet potato leaves to the skillet, it will be a huge pile, but it wilts down. Sprinkle oils and soy sauce on top of leaves and add salt. Stir occasionally. It will only take a couple minutes. When wilted down, but not soggy, add chicken and leek back in to heat. Add more Chinese 5 Spice, soy sauce*** and salt to taste.

Serve over steamed rice.

Enjoy!

*To be sure the leaves you're eating are edible, I highly encourage you to buy them from a farmer and not pick them from your own garden...unless you really know your plants.
**I'm going back tomorrow to get my sweet potato leaves...early!
***We added the additional soy sauce once we put it over the rice.

CzaMama's in the Kitchen

Chances are, if you are at my house for a function or I bring food to you, you are my guinea pig. I LOVE trying new recipes out...and I throw caution to the wind and serve it to people without ever making it before. (Don't ever say you weren't warned)

Recently I've tried out 3 new recipes that I really like. So much so I'm going to post them for you.

For CiBaby's birthday party I made a massive amount of really yummy hummus. It was so good I heard mutterings later that people wanted to slather their bodies with it.

Hummus bi Tahini -Nantucket Open-House Cookbook...word for word

3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup sesame tahini paste
1 cup water
6 cups canned chick-peas (garbanzo), rinsed and drained
1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
Salt to taste
3 Tbsp fruity olive oil
Sweet Hungarian paprika
Lemon slices, Greek olives, and fresh mint or parsley sprigs for garnish

Place the garlic, lemon juice and tahini in a food processor fitted with the steel blade; process to a smooth paste. Add the water and chick-peas and process until the mixture is very smooth, almost fluffy. Season with the cumin and salt to taste. Transfer the hummus to an earthenware bowl. Pour the oil over the top and swirl lightly with the tip of a knife. Sprinkle with the paprika, and garnish with lemon slices, olives and mint or parsley sprigs. Makes 6 cups


I recently hosted a bridal shower and decided the day before it to make some baked french toast. I was accused of definitely being a 50's housewife with this one. It was damn good!

Stuffed Baked French Toast - Dining in the Spirit of Naniboujou

Preheat the oven to 350F (in the morning!)
Butter a 9x12" pan1
lb french bread, cubed8 oz cream cheese, diced into 1" pieces
8 large eggs
2-1/2 cups Half and half
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup maple syrup
cinnamon

Put one half of the bread cubes in the prepared pan. Spread (I just "scattered") the cream cheese evenly on top. Add the rest of the bread cubes. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs well. Add the half and half, butter and maple syrup. Pour the mixture evenly over the top of the bread. Press the bread down slightly to make sure everything is moistened. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon before baking. Bake about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!


And last, but definitely not least, for my new book club I made a delicious African appetizer. We read Pretty Little Mistakes, an adult "choose your own adventure" book. It was quite fun, albeit a bit odd. Well, my character went to Berkeley after high school and ultimately ended up in Africa.

Macadamia Dukkah - from Jo Jo Vasquez, Chef at The Banyan Tree Restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalaua, via Travel Goddess M.

1/4 cup coriander seeds
1/4 cup caraway seeds
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1/4 cup black sesame seeds
1/4 cup white sesame seeds
1/8 cup fennel seeds
1/4 cup fine bread crumbs
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, ground to cornmeal texture
Salt and pepper to taste (I actually toasted whole pepper corns and added to the mix)

Toast all the seeds, the crumbs and the nuts. (It might be best to do the seeds together, the bread crumbs on their own and the nuts on their own). Grind to a powder (in a blender or food processor, or with a mortar and pestle). Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

(Music to blog by: The Kitchen Song by The Bowmans)

Heaven in a teacup

I have a "unique" habit of eating wonderful treats out of teacups at home. I love teacups, I don't use them all that often (when I make tea for myself I usually put it in a "Big Gulp" travel mug so it stays warm), they are a great size and I don't have little dessert cups.

The other day I had it in my head to make homemade vanilla pudding. (I don't think CiBaby is quite ready for chocolate so that will have to wait.) I stumbled upon a pudding recipe on the MS Living website and all I can say is that it's an easy way to heaven! I sliced a little "naNana" into the pudding and T-Daddy swears he saw CiBaby's eyes roll to the back of her head.

Easy peasy and delish!