Reading and Precedents

I read a great deal about food. I read both of Tom Standage's books on histories of food/beverage (An Edible History of Humanity and A history of the world in Six Glasses) and I am currently reading both Bill Bryson's At Home and Michael Pollan's An Omnivore's Dilemma: A natural history of  four meals. In queue, I've got In Defense of Food (Pollan) and The Man Who Ate Everything (Stiengarten).

I like to say to myself that I enjoy non-fiction, and of that, history; however, invariably, my historical reading (only outpaced by my Islamic reading and comic books) tends to skew significantly towards the edible. Of the 12 or so non-fiction books I read over the summer at least 20% had to do with food (Candyfreak by Steven Almond, A history of the world in Six Glasses not to mention the number of cookbooks I studied intently).

Still, I can think of worse things to be reading in my spare time.

Today I read in At Home, Bryson's exploration of domestic life from the Victorian era to modernity, a bit about cookbooks. Bryson discusses the first cookbooks available. Up until well into the 1700s no cookbook really had measurements. Eliza Acton was the first person to actually use standardized measurements in describing how to prepare a dish. The style flourished afterward and it became commonplace; however, I sense that the world go along well enough with out definitive measurements down to the ounce.

Some of the most famous cooks cooked intuitively, as I do.
I was fretting a bit, when I began this blog, about whether my style of cooking would be useful to anyone-- about a pound of this, a palmful of that and on... but I feel that I'm in pretty good company now.

Still. I'll provide recipes on the occasion that it occurs to me to note the proportions I use. It should be fine really, It was for centuries.

Remembering Summer: Tomatillo salsa

Something that grows really well here in the Pacific Northwest are, surprisingly, tomatillos. I grew up in California and even then, I had never eaten as many tomatillos as I have since I started eating locally. My staple tomatillo product is chicken tomatillo soup, which is super easy and delicious; however, another great way to use them is in tomatillo salsa!

Green salsa is great on tacos, in quesedillas, on eggs, with chips and cream cheese (nom nom nom!)-- so I'm going to show you how to make yourself some green salsa right now. As usual, I don't really have a recipe but I've been successful with this enough to approximate things for you.

First up, you'll need tomatillos. Peel them and wash them thoroughly. Lots of dirt gets under the husks (tomatillos are sort of sticky and come in a papery husk after harvested) and sticks to the fruit. Also, sometimes, if you're using older tomatillos, the husk can start to rot a bit (the fruit will be protected) so it is really important to get them super clean! 

So, you'll need about a pound of tomatillos and the things on my cutting board above. An onion, peppers a lime and cilantro. All of these things, save the lime, came from my farm share. Adjust the amount of peppers to your personal taste.

Cook your tomatillos. I used a pot in this instance but now, generally, I roast my tomatillos in the oven for about 20 minutes. I feel like the roasting enhances the flavors. If you're really fancy, you can char them over an open flame when they've softened or set them on broil in the oven for about three minutes after they've finished roasting. If you're boiling, bring them to a boil and then simmer them for about 8-10 minutes.

This is chat your cooked tomatillos will look like. Now they look like the green salsa that you see in the store right?

Because it was uninteresting, me chopping the ends off the peppers, seeding them and tossing them into the processor wasn't photographed. This mixture is of a peeled and quartered onion, prepped peppers, and washed cilantro. I like my salsa smooth. If you like yours more chunky, don't process it so much. I know some people who claim to love to do this chopping work by hand because it infuses love into the food. At least so I am told. I'm fine with unloved food.

Throw your tomatillos into the processor/blender a couple at a time. I guess you could do this by hand but watch out! Tomatillos are juicy when they're cooked.  Once your tomatillos are the consistency you prefer, season it with salt and lime juice. I prefer sea salt but you can use any old salt. The lime acts both as a flavoring and a preservative. My tomatillo salsa lasts for about 6 weeks in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.  I haven't ever tried freezing it (it goes too quickly in this house) but you might have luck with that.

Brunching Hard: 2010 in review.

So this is how my people brunch!

December is always fun  because I get to look back on the year and think of all the times I spent with wonderful friends. Of course, since I am who I am, our friendships came with delicious food at every turn!

The dishes pictured below are from Coastal Kitchen, Kingfish, The Hi Life and the acclaimed Cafe Besalu.

The case at Cafe Besalu. I got in just before the line formed around the block.

A plum tart in late summer accompanied by an onion and gruyere tart. Javier bought a swiss cheese tart and a chocolate tart to compensate me for munching my onion and cheese tart.

Coffee Cake at Coastal Kitchen-- you have to love a brunch where you get an appetizer.

Feta Pancakes (I could live on feta if it had enough vitamins) with quince syrup, greek sausage and eggs, over easy.

My friend Lesley had an omelet.

At the Kingfish, my friend Tara had crabcakes benedict with potatoes and andouille sausage.

I had a savory bread pudding with cheese and tomatoes.

This was a Mister Funk. Cranberry juice, champagne and peach schnapps.

This was a peppery coffee-- pepper vodka, chocolate, creme de cocoa espresso and a cream float.

Ballard Farmer's Market Scramble at Hi Life

Irish Breakfast at Hi Life ( Irish soda bread with whiskey butter, Irish cut bacom, eggs, tomatoes and boston baked beans)

It is likely that there'll be a couple of more epic brunches this month but I'm wholly looking forward to a new year and new flavors!

Cakes of 2010

Did you know I enjoyed cake? I do.

Truly, if you've spent any time around me you'll know I go a little wide eyed and smiley at cake. A little like this CAKE MONSTER.

So I am sharing the cakes I've partaken of this year-- although it is one short. My grandmother sends me a cake at Thanksgiving and at my birthday and I just eat that up, so it isn't shown amongst the cakes of 2010. All cakes are from Kingfish or Cupcake Royale.

Strawberry Shortcake

Red Velvet Cake

Hummingbird Cake

A Royale with Cheese (chocolate cake with cream cheese icing) and a lime coconut cupcake.

Chocolate Cake

Orange You Glad (chocolate cake with orange icing)

A lemon drop cupcake and a huckleberry mini.

Chocolate Cake with Cream cheese icing, to go.

Restaurants: Huiyona

Also in the Gone, but not forgotten category was the amazingly delish Filipino/Korean fusion restaurant Huiyona. My friend Dr. Christina and I went during restuarant week and were impressed by the food and the service. I made a sad face when Dr. Christina directed me to the newspaper article indicating that they'd closed. :(

Check out our delicious meal:

Dr. C got pork adobo sliders as her main course. They were served with taro chips and some sort of aioli.

I had duck confit as my main course. It was served with kumquats and other citrus flavors.

Dr. C had corn filled dumplings tossed with olive oil, thai basil and balsamic reduction. These were really delicious-- they were filled with creamy corn and the sweetness went very well with the basil's herbal aspect and the sweet acidity of the reduction.

My appetizer was a green papaya salad with julienned green papaya, green beans, carrots,cucumbers and tomatoes in a lime vinaigrette. This was bright and delicious.

Dr. C had Raspberries Chocolate Marquis with Grand Marnier Coulis as her dessert. I'm not a chocolate fan so I didn't get to taste this but she described it as delicious and rich. I should note here that each course was served with wine.

Candied Orange Zest Toasted Coconut Tres Leches Cake! Both Dr. C and I told the owner guy that we loved this and that since we were Latina, we knew what good delicious tres leches should taste like. He blushed a little, which made him even more adorable.

Restaurants: Divine

This might count as a repost but the purpose of this blog was to conslidate several aspects of my online writing-- mostly around food. Hence to fork in my cartoon hand.

These photos are from the now closed Divine Restaurant in Seattle. Vivian will be reopening and promises more deliciousness. You should go!

Vivian provided us with this special blend of Greek champagne and dessert wine

Zorba the Greek (Dog) watched over us as we dined.

Greek cheese stuffed in phyllo with pear relish

Spiral spanakopita with spicy feta and Balsamic Reduction

grilled pita

Greek Spreads: Eggplant-walnut, tzatziki, spicy feta, skordallia, cilantro pesto, olive tapenade, hummus and
taramousalata

recipe free cooking: easy like sunday morning

Leek and cheddar pie

Spinach Feta Pie

One of my reasons for starting this blog was to memorialize my cooking. I am loathe to use recipes and usually just eyeball things. I must be pretty consistent though because I get the same results.

This is one of my favorite Sunday brunch dishes-- it takes a few minutes and always, I have a wonderful result. Basic needs are:
1. Pie crust (homemade or prefab are AOKAY)
2. Eggs
3. Vegetables
4. Milk or cream
5. Cheese
6. Meats (optional)

Here is the gist.

I generally like to keep things simple-- leeks with cheddar or spinach with feta. Arugula and swiss is delicious also. Onions and ham (turkey ham is what I use since I am halal), chicken Italian sausage and parmesean or summer squash, tomatoes and gouda (that is about as complicated as I let it get).

Once you've prepared your crust and prebaked it make a simple custard. Depending on the depth of your pie crust, use these proportions:
deep dish: four eggs and 1/2 to 3/4 cup whole milk, half and half or cream (the difference will depend on the size of your eggs-- I suggest 'large' eggs for most purposes but large from one place might be jumbo from another so keep your eyes open.

blend your eggs and milk and season with salt, cayenne, and depending on the flavors of your additives-- mustard powder.

Vegetables: Pre cook your vegeables. For onions or leeks, saute until tender in butter or olive oil, depending on your tastes and the richness you prefer (for example, if you're doing onions and arugula, I'd suggest using olive oil and a more mild cheese to accompany the stronger flavors of the vegetables). For tomatoes and squash, quickly saute them and cook them down. For one pie, you'll need about 3/4-1 cup of vegetables.

Cheese: You can use any cheese you fancy really. Sometimes I combine cheeses. My favorites are feta, cheddar, swiss and gouda. Don't buy cheap cheese though. Use good cheese. This dish is so simple that it takes its flavor from the ingredients so quality ingreidients are better (by no means should you go pay for $16 per pound cheese.)

Meats: Choose your meats carefully. Too much oil will ruin the texture of your pie. If you're cooking something in a casing like chicken Italian sausage-- remove the casing and saute until done. Slicing the sausage in the casing, to me, gives the pie an odd consistency and mouth feel.

And that's it. Add your fillings to the center of your piecrust and pour your custard (egg, milk and spice mixture) over it. You may want to stir every things in the pie shell very gently to ensure that you don't just have a layer of feta at the bottom and a layer of tomato (or eggplant or spinach or onion or what have you) at the top. I generally finish with a sprinkling of a hard cheese of some variety on top just to give it an enjoyable crust and diversity of taste.

Cook until the custard sets. Remove from the oven and allow to cool at least 15 minutes.

Slice and enjoy!