tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21768444855611179042024-03-12T16:52:09.900-07:00dread & butterinstagram #dreadandbutterClaudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-28481913970426319882014-04-02T09:41:00.002-07:002014-04-02T19:10:03.768-07:00ceviche verde: or how to bring the beaches of Luquillo to your kitchenToday is grey. <br />
Today is rainy and grey. <br />
The light coming through my window even has a dull grey tint to it.<br />
The world outside is dull and muted.<br />
<br />
...But that doesn't mean that your day will be a grey, dull one. <br />
Today could be green.<br />
Today, you could make ceviche.<br />
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As I mentioned in my last post, I survived mainly on ceviche during my recent getaway to Puerto Rico. I ordered it every chance I got, comparing the different marinades and ingredients. The best ceviche I had was in Luquillo at a tiny beachfront shack called the Ceviche Hut. They make traditional Peruvian ceviche serving it with sweet corn and baked sweet potato, but added a giant fried plantain on the side just to make sure you hadn't forgotten you're in Puerto Rico. I ordered their octopus dish, since I had never had one before and it intrigued me - I know that cooking octopus with heat is difficult and it can easily turn tough and chewy if you don't do it right, so I wasn't sure what the acid would do or not do to the texture. But the octopus was prepared perfectly, tender and light, and full of flavor. The plain corn and sweet potato worked wonderfully to cut through and balance the acid in the marinade.<br />
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A big part of the reason this was my favorite ceviche was because I ate it out of a styrofoam container while sitting right on the sand of Luquillo beach, sipping a mojito and watching the sun set behind the palms. Might be my favorite meal of the weekend. If you get the chance, I highly recommend making the trip just for this experience. However, if you can't eat ceviche on the beaches of Luquillo this week, you can bring the ceviche to you...<br />
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Since ceviche deals with raw fish, I didn't want to wing it and screw up this simple, but delicate process. So, like I do with most things I'm unsure about, I did a bunch of research. I looked at a ton of recipes online until I found <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/12595/ceviche-verde-with-tostadas-and-avocado.html">this one</a> for a ceviche verde (green marinade made from lime juice) from the New York Times -it looked easy and incredibly delicious. While it is very different from the ones I had on the island, I was excited to use a preparation that I hadn't tried yet - plus, it fit in with the green kick I've been on recently. The avocado and fresh radishes take the place of the corn and sweet potato in balancing the acid...though I think next time I'll do a combination - maybe corn, avocado, and sweet potato salad.<br />
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A few quick notes -<br />
1) I left out the cilantro from the original recipe because my dad hates it. So if you're not a fan either, it doesn't completely change the integrity of the dish if you leave it out. I did add a tablespoon or so of chopped basil to add that fresh, herby greenness.<br />
2) Make sure you get your fishmonger to take the skin off the fish, or have a really sharp filet knife at home. I did neither, which resulted in a bit of a mess, and hacked, mangled chunks of fish. Though, while they weren't the prettiest cuts of fish, they still tasted lovely. <br />
3) The recipe recommends serving the ceviche on top of a tostada - a deep fried corn tortilla. However, I didn't want a greasy, heavy base to weigh down the light, brightness of the fish. So, I found a recipe for a baked tostada - brush both sides of a corn tortilla with olive oil, then bake on a tinfoil lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for five minutes on each side. The result is a light, crispy tostada that adds a beautiful crunchy texture without the greasiness of a traditional tostada.</div>
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Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-3972957076329189802014-03-31T18:58:00.000-07:002014-04-02T19:10:11.694-07:00fighting the winter funk: or i am so sick of being cold.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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These past two months have been a bit of a blur - a grey, cold, dark, snowy blur. This is the winter that just won't give up. During February it wasn't too terrible. I mean, technically it's still winter so freezing cold and snow is expected. Plus, it's my birthday month, so I'm more focused on myself and making sure everyone around me is also focused entirely on me and my happiness. Both in an attempt to battle the weather and as an outward expression of the joy I was feeling on the inside, my February kitchen was full of warmth - soups and stews, lots of bread and baked goods, golden browns and oranges and deep reds. However, as February came to a close, my longing and yearning for spring and warmer weather became much more intense, and when March failed to deliver, I fell into a deep psychological and culinary depression. I was getting sick of constantly being cold. I was sick of being stuck inside. I was sick of heavy stews and soups. I was sick of squash and cauliflower and mushrooms and sprouts and thyme and sage and rosemary. I was just so terribly sick of winter.<br />
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I wasn't the only one feeling the winter blues. And mid-way through March, my family decided to make an impromptu weekend getaway to Puerto Rico. Now let me just say, this is completely out of character for us. We normally plan vacations for moooooonths, doing tons of research and scheduling every day, jam-packing our itinerary to make sure we do everything we possibly can. And we never ever go anywhere tropical. Our vacations are usually educational, meaning we visit somewhere with lots of history, museums and culture, all of which we need to experience in a five day span. However, this vacation was planned on the fly with the sole intention of spending three days doing nothing but laying out on the beach drinking cocktails. Which is exactly what we did. Alright, fine, we did spend a day exploring the rain forest and getting dinner in Old San Juan, but otherwise all I did was snooze on the beach and drink muchos margaritas. <br />
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In addition to a pukka necklace and a sunburn, I came home with a sunnier and more positive disposition. The vivid colors and lushness of the island - such a stark contrast to the grey mundane, barrenness of home - seemed to shock me back to life. And the food! Everything was so bright and fresh and light that my taste buds were awoken along with the rest of me. While much of the Puerto Rican cuisine is meat-and-cheese laden and deep fried (sometimes multiple times), I ate some incredible foods (my dad and I basically lived on ceviche - fish, shrimp, octopus, scallop, you name it, we ate it) and encountered some insane flavor combinations (my favorite thing I ate was poached halibut with a mango-sun-dried-tomato-mint sauce, mainly because I never thought that those ingredients would taste good together, but by god, they were ridiculously delicious). <br />
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And even though it was freezing cold and snowing when we landed back home, it didn't bring me down. I realized that instead of being completely affected by and a slave to my environment, I needed to take control. While Winter may still be holding on out of doors, I've decided to bring Spring into my kitchen. I'm on a big green kick - peas, basil, broccoli, spinach, edamame, mint, lime, and avocado - all fresh and bright on the plate and on the palate. And with the lightening of my dishes and my diet, I feel the heaviness of the winter-funk lifting. It's incredible what a little change in diet can do for you physically and psychologically...but let's be honest, I won't be back to myself completely until the farm market season starts back up. And it can't come soon enough...41 days and counting...<br />
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<br />Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-86244484819476197852014-02-01T18:15:00.004-08:002014-04-02T19:10:35.943-07:00thai-peanut-baked-sweet-potato-mash: or quick-fire dinners.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I've mentioned before, I love the throw-together dinners. They're way better than the ones that I plan for days and make special grocery runs for. My best creations are usually conceived on nights when a grocery run has been overlooked and I need to make dinner with leftover ingredients from planned-dinners and whatever I can find hidden in cupboards and the far reaches of the fridge. Again, for someone basically spontaneous-less in life, flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants in the kitchen always seems to work out beautifully.<br />
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And sometimes, when throwing together a dinner, you get an absolutely fabulous idea in your head, but then you try to execute it and you mess something up in the middle and you have to be at work in a half hour, so you have to completely abandon your original idea and come up with an alternative on the spot. It's like a Top Chef quickfire except you've got ten minutes instead of a half hour and if you fail you don't get dinner. And sometimes, those quickfire dinners are dishes that you would have never created otherwise, and which are way better than the seemingly "absolutely fabulous" idea you started out with. <br />
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And so, I present to you, my latest quickfire dinner: Thai-peanut-baked-sweet-potato-mash (I'll come up with a better name at some point...) I mean, you could have it as a side-dish, but it's way better as your whole dinner. Slice some avocado on top and drink a glass of a big Cab, and bam! That's your dinner right there, baby.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>thai-peanut-baked-sweet-potato-mash</b></span><br />
makes four very generous servings<br />
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3 large sweet potatoes<br />
2 heaping tbs peanut butter (I used Earth Balance creamy coconut-peanut butter)<br />
3 scallions, chopped (plus a little extra for garnish)<br />
1 small red onion, minced<br />
4 cloves garlic, minced<br />
1 tbs fresh grated ginger<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">¼ </span>cup soy sauce<br />
2 tbs Thai chili sauce<br />
sriracha<br />
red pepper flakes<br />
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+ Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.<br />
+ Using a fork or pairing knife, poke the potatoes all over (take out all your angst/anger/frustration from the day/week/year on those potatoes, it's cathartic and will help the potatoes cook faster). Wrap each potato in tin foil individually and place on a baking sheet. Bake for an hour or until the potatoes are tender.<br />
+ While the potatoes are cooking, combine peanut butter, scallions, onions, garlic, ginger, soy, and chili sauce in a large bowl. Give it a quick mix, just to combine.<br />
+ When the potatoes are finished cooking, allow them to cool for a few minutes, just until you're able to handle them without burning your fingers. Cut each potato in half, then remove the skins (they should peel off very easily, but if they're a little tougher, use a spoon to scrape them off). Then cut the halves into big chunks and add to the bowl with the peanut mixture.<br />
+ Combine the potatoes with the peanut mixture using a potato masher until gently mashed and well combined (I liked leaving some nice bite-sized chunks of potato, but you can make it as mashed or un-mashed as you'd like). Add the sriracha to taste.<br />
+ Transfer potatoes to a medium baking dish. Put under the broiler until the peaks of the potatoes begin to brown, about 10 minutes.<br />
+ Serve warm right from the oven, garnished with scallions and red pepper flakes for added heat.Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-22174768122132676112014-01-21T15:44:00.001-08:002014-04-02T19:10:49.312-07:00how i spent my snow day: or this is as spontaneous as i get.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I don't consider myself much of a baker. I find that baking tends to be restrictive creatively. For instance, if you forget to salt a filet of salmon before you bake it, you can always salt it when it comes out, or even right at the table after you've already had a bite. If you forget to put salt in your country loaf dough, well, too bad, there's no fixing that one. There's more careful planning and less spontaneity in baking - which is kind of ironic, since outside the kitchen I am the over-planner-to-a-fault and tend to stay as far away from spontaneity as possible. However, there are some days that just beg for baking. On days when I'm overwhelmingly anxious and I've gone through all the tools in my anti-anxiety toolbox but nothing is working, I bake muffins. There's something about following a recipe entirely, not using your brain, focusing all your thoughts on making sure everything's right, and then in the end, being rewarded with a beautifully golden-brown creation. Instead of having my anxiety take over, I use it to produce something lovely. No matter how out of control your life feels, you can put flour and sugar and eggs and oil and baking powder and a little salt in a bowl, mix it up, bake it, and they'll rise and magically become muffins. Its a wonderful thing. <br />
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The other times when baking takes my fancy are snow days - what better time to bake than when it's cold outside and you're stuck inside and there are big fat fluffy flakes floating past the kitchen window? While high-anxiety breeds muffins, snow days breed scones and quick breads. Don't ask me why, I don't make the rules, it's just how it works, okay? Today was one such snow day. Since Ol' Man Winter had confined me to the house, I did a quick inventory of the cupboards, seeing what ingredients I had to work with. Since my anxiety has been pretty much in check this week and I had the whole day's time, I was up for a bit of baking-experimentation. There were a couple of ripe bananas sitting out on the counter, I decided to start with a basic banana bread and then work off of that. I love putting dried fruit in baked goods - it's so lovely when you get that bite with a little bit of sweetness and change in texture, but for me, there's never enough of it. We always have a smorgasbord of dried fruits in the house, so that wasn't going to be an issue. But what's fun or interesting about banana bread with dried fruits in it? I did one more quick scan of the kitchen, including the fridge this time. Which is where I found the carrots, buried underneath a carton of mushrooms and bag of lemons. Carrot-banana bread with an obnoxious amount of dried fruits? Done. <br />
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I looked for a carrot-banana bread recipe (I may have been in an experimental mood, but I wasn't insane), but couldn't find one - well, at least one that wasn't a cake. I decided to use a zucchini-banana bread recipe, tweak it to my liking, and then pray it'd come out as good as it was in my head. And, not to brag or anything, but it was even better. It wasn't a particularly sweet bread, but the dried fruit was a great balance, giving it just the right amount of sugar. At the last minute before baking, I decided to crush some raw almonds, mix them with a little cinnamon and brown sugar, and sprinkle them on top. Let me tell you, best spontaneous baking decision I've ever made - it made the top super crunchy, which was a nice pairing with the soft, fluffy base. I think this may just become my new go-to snow day baking recipe.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Carrot-Banana Bread</b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Pu2Nz_QoZI9FJz5GFD3I7HtY6e9E28fVZkaJjgrPNAsLNFTDiC7AgCnNMGVHatXMSQczOXjreIYZQf9wMOvUh4F-yCngjV1nXN9PwnenAyQERHj3vL290ZhyY7gwUS68pW86TmcqbC3S/s1600/IMG_0616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Pu2Nz_QoZI9FJz5GFD3I7HtY6e9E28fVZkaJjgrPNAsLNFTDiC7AgCnNMGVHatXMSQczOXjreIYZQf9wMOvUh4F-yCngjV1nXN9PwnenAyQERHj3vL290ZhyY7gwUS68pW86TmcqbC3S/s1600/IMG_0616.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a>makes 2 loaves<br />
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3 cups AP flour<br />
1<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">½</span> tsp baking powder<br />
1<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">½</span> tsp baking soda<br />
1 tsp cinnamon<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">½</span> tsp nutmeg<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
4 eggs<br />
just shy 2 cups sugar<br />
1 tbs honey<br />
2 ripe bananas, mashed<br />
1<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">½</span> cups carrots, shredded<br />
2 cups dried fruit, chopped (I used a mix of golden raisins, cranberries, figs, dates, and apricots)<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">¼</span> cups raw almonds, chopped<br />
2 tbs brown sugar<br />
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+ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two loaf pans.<br />
+ In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. <br />
+ In another bowl, whisk the eggs until broken. Add the sugar and honey and whisk until smooth and creamy. Add the bananas and stir until combined.<br />
+ Combine half the dry ingredients with the wet. Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. Add the rest of the dry and mix, but stop while there's still flour and its a little clumpy. Add the carrot and dried fruit, then fold until just combined.<br />
+ Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick can be removed cleanly from the middle of the breads. (Note: I baked the loaves on the same rack, one in the back and one up front, then halfway through the baking, spun the pans and switched their positions to ensure even baking.)<br />
+ Allow the breads to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely...well, not completely. Let it cool for like five minutes, then cut that baby open while its still steaming, smear a little bit of butter on top, let it melt into the soft, fluffy insides and then enjoy this delicious snow day loveliness with big cup of coffee.<br />
<br />Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-21354304066443880542014-01-15T10:50:00.003-08:002014-04-02T19:11:13.542-07:00"well when i was in africa": or beth's birthday week stew<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We're really big into birthdays in my family. Like they're a big deal. Like they last a whole week deal (sometimes I try to milk it out for an entire month, but the rest of the gang rarely indulges). And this week is all about my mother, Beth Ellen. Her birthday isn't until Friday, but the celebrations have already begun. Yesterday, my brother spent the better part of the afternoon concocting a special cocktail for the birthday girl - an orange creamsicle martini. It required many variations and much taste testing, but he nailed it just in time to greet the birthday girl as she got home from work with a drink. While she was enjoying her cocktail, I was putting the finishing touches on her specially-chosen dinner. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3Q6BFGwxV_AkXP7REVrduS51UIld6M1LbQLN2RyqqpWdzjzA_GwINTghF8UYJs1kOEoKjQNICl3KaeB0_o_t0-5sOU2GST32e-lbyYJj0kuIEpY51MpIGzoLIlkiG2o9MCFt7SYz5REJ/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3Q6BFGwxV_AkXP7REVrduS51UIld6M1LbQLN2RyqqpWdzjzA_GwINTghF8UYJs1kOEoKjQNICl3KaeB0_o_t0-5sOU2GST32e-lbyYJj0kuIEpY51MpIGzoLIlkiG2o9MCFt7SYz5REJ/s320/download+%25281%2529.jpg" height="320" width="279" /></a>Now normally when I ask my mother what she wants for dinner, she gets frustrated. Mainly because I ask her everyday. Usually more than once. And usually before 10 AM. But this time it was Beth who called me for the dinner-prep chat. Before I could get done saying hello, she cut me off with "I want that African stew tonight." I had stumbled across a recipe for a <a href="http://cookieandkate.com/2013/west-african-peanut-soup/">West African peanut stew</a> a few weeks ago and immediately showed it to Beth - not only does she love stew and all things peanutty, but she has a very strong attachment to Africa. About ten years ago, she had her first of many trips to Africa - participating in a walk for the Elizabeth Glazier Pediatric AIDS Foundation in South Africa. I think she really fell in love with the country, especially the people that she met. She couldn't stop talking about it. I'd leave her alone for five minutes in the grocery store and next thing I know she's turned to the bag boy going, "Well, when I was in Africa..." (a decade later and we still tease her relentlessly about it). So, on a foggy, rainy birthday-week night, this stew seemed like the most perfect thing to have for dinner.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Beth's Birthday Stew</b></span></div>
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olive oil</div>
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1 medium red onion, chopped</div>
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2 tbs ginger, minced</div>
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3 cloves garlic, minced</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">¾ </span>cup unsalted, smooth peanut butter</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">½ </span>cup tomato paste</div>
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6 cups vegetable stock </div>
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1 bunch collard greens, chopped</div>
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sriracha</div>
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salt & pepper</div>
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+ In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, stir so that they are evenly covered with oil. Salt generously and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. Once the onions are translucent, add the ginger and garlic. Add a little bit of stock - this not only deglazes the pot and prevents burning, but it helps to create a nice base for the stew. Once the onions are caramelized and the mixture is nice and thick, add the rest of the stock. Turn the heat up and bring to a low boil.</div>
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+ While the onions are cooking down, combine peanut butter and tomato paste in a large bowl. Add a couple ladles-full of hot stock from the pot into the bowl. Stir until smooth, adding more hot stock if necessary.</div>
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+ Turn the heat to low, then add the peanut-tomato mixture to the pot, stirring until well combined. Add the collards, cooking until the greens are wilted, stirring occasionally. Salt, pepper, and sriracha to taste - but let's be honest, the more spice the better.</div>
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+ Serve to the birthday girl warm and garnished with peanuts in a orange clay bowl. Pour over brown rice or slop it up with a big hunk of crusty bread or both.</div>
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Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-5870976537613304582014-01-07T09:16:00.001-08:002014-04-02T19:13:06.755-07:00potato waffle with thai chili sauce: or have i mentioned i really miss germany?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quintessential Christmas Market.</td></tr>
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So I'm not sure if I've made this clear or not, but I've been missing Germany a whole lot. Maybe it's the end of the holiday season, or being back to work full-time, or this horrifically cold and nasty winter weather, or the fact that I've started to go a little stir crazy from being cooped up so much...whatever it is, there seems to be a gaping void in my heart that I'm having trouble filling. It's the markets that I really miss, and while I can't re-create the experience in my living room, I've gotten pretty-damn close in my kitchen.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLf0UDaJyOXEY6xAxOOIcIPAQ6PbXuTWMl_wn-pI7bHiwrg-2RAPfTdoq6iQSa5oUG4crb3h1Yb64IIxZTeuk3K-MY2akAcFT_3toVYDNrB8bt2fWa2Gu-O4rnYwNX2OPMjglVF_4o61iY/s1600/IMG_7800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><br />
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The market night that sticks out most in my mind is the one spent in Dusseldorf. It was my first market, my first mug of gluhwein, and my first taste of traditional German fare. I wasn't familiar with much of the food being sold in the stalls (flammkuchen: essentially a German version of a flatbread pizza) or with their foreign names (heisse maronen: hot chestnuts), but there was one food that I was very familiar with - kartoffelpuffer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXSiaOPoe5gqsk62oHWf-Gqyfd7wn2s9QFSrsyik1ifE61wK3CpNynE3ux0jA7BU_PHQHRhBm9f9HnRVpz02aCKTB7-zfKHHSegBHFgPCXeSThPLJNpV5t97860r8LsquiYfFk9Du5B9P/s1600/IMG_6383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXSiaOPoe5gqsk62oHWf-Gqyfd7wn2s9QFSrsyik1ifE61wK3CpNynE3ux0jA7BU_PHQHRhBm9f9HnRVpz02aCKTB7-zfKHHSegBHFgPCXeSThPLJNpV5t97860r8LsquiYfFk9Du5B9P/s1600/IMG_6383.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in my bier maiden get-up.</td></tr>
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Every October we have a big Oktoberfest weekend-long celebration at the restaurant where I work; our brewers make huge batches of Pilsner and our signature Oktoberfest; the staff dresses up like idiots in "traditional" German garb (see photo); and the chefs re-do the menu with entirely German flair - we had a giant slab of wood piled high with various wursts, spatzel, sauerkraut, and, my personal favorite, the potato pancake, the kartoffelpuffer...mainly because its was so much fun to say. Kar-toof-el-poof-er. Whenever a table asked me what was good or what they should order, I would blurt out "kartoffelpuffer!" (lots of times before they could even finish asking me). So, you can imagine my excitement when, walking through the Christmas Market, feeling slightly overwhelmed with all the foreign signs and people and smells, I caught sight of the first familiar thing I'd seen all day. I may have grabbed my friend Jessica's arm, pointed and yelled "kartoffelpuffer!" causing concern in Jess and all the other market-goers. She looked at me sideways as I said it again, a little quieter this time, "kar-toof-el-poof-er!" "You mean kar-tofe-el-po-fer?" Yes, I had been pronouncing it incorrectly the whole time, but the "real" pronunciation is waaaay less fun to say. Needless to say, I dragged Jess over to the stall and made her order us a round of kartoffelpuffers. Traditionally, they're served with applesauce, but we got the inside scoop from the teenage stall-boy who told us that you haven't had a kartoffelpuffer until you've had it with Thai chili sauce. It sounds crazy, but by god it's amazing. I've mentioned before the surprisingly overwhelming Asian influence in Germany, but I assumed that it was mostly in the metropolitan, newer parts of the country. I was shocked that such a traditional dish was getting such a modern and strange spin. But I loved it. The salty, crunchy-on-the-outside, melt-in-your-mouth inside of the pancake paired beautifully with the sticky, sweet and wonderfully spicy chili sauce. Add a mug of hot gluhwein and you've got a match made in heaven...or in the Dusseldorf Christmas Market.<br />
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Yesterday, after my first day back to work after the holidays, the void seemed bigger than ever. Stumbling aimlessly around the internet, I inadvertently happened upon a recipe for a potato waffle, and I knew that's what I needed, what might aid in dulling the ache in my chest. I'm not huge on fried foods and even less so on frying at home (the hot oil always spits all over, which always makes a mess of the stove and burns me at least ten times), so the waffle was the perfect way to get the kartoffelpuffer crunchy, yet soft consistency without having to fry. I even made a special stop at the grocery store for Thai chili sauce. And topped it with a poached egg, cause, I mean, why not? And, oh, it was so good. I mean, definitely not as good as having them made right in front of you, then eating them on the bar on the side of the stall in the middle of the market in Dusseldorf, but on a freezing, post-holiday night, it's the best way to fill the little hole in your heart.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://joythebaker.com/2013/09/mashed-potato-cheddar-and-chive-waffles/">Potato Waffle</a></span></u></b> - adapted from Joy the Baker<br />
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4 tbs butter<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">¼ </span>cup buttermilk<br />
2 eggs<br />
2 cups mashed potatoes<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">½ </span>cup all-purpose flour<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">½ </span>tsp baking powder<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">¼ </span>tsp baking soda<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">½ </span>tsp curry powder<br />
Thai chili sauce<br />
salt and pepper<br />
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+ In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Cook until the butter crackles and begins to brown. Immediately transfer browned butter into a large bowl. Whisk in buttermilk and eggs until well combined. Mix in mashed potatoes.<br />
+ In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, and curry. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.<br />
+ Heat waffle iron and grease well to prevent sticking. Drop about a <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">¼</span> cup of batter into the middle of the iron. Cook until brown and crispy on the outside. Remove from iron carefully (they're super delicate!) and place on cooling rack to prevent the bottoms from getting soggy.<br />
+ To serve, drizzle with Thai chili sauce and top with poached egg. Best consumed standing out in the cold with hot mug of gluhwein.<br />
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Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-11169035717671572582014-01-02T19:49:00.001-08:002014-01-02T20:04:01.123-08:00my winter obsession: or taking chestnuts from strangers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It all started on a chilly Sunday this past November. It seemed as though the Indian summer had finally run its course, and it was just starting to truly feel like autumn - the perfect day to take a long drive, look at the changing leaves, and hit up a winery (while I may not be religious, my father and I religiously stop at one of the many wineries in the area for our traditional Sunday tasting. And yes, the employees of such establishments may be on a first name basis with us, though they have yet to waive the tasting fee *cough cough*). These drives, while not completely aimless, tend to be meandering, allowing for a bit of discovery, spontaneity, and the unexpected. On this particular day, we stumbled upon a barn sale. What we thought was going to be yard sale-esque ended up being a local artist selling his found-art work in a barn (complete with a dozen scruffy, scrappy cats and a couple of old sheep) - sculptures made from bits of barn wood, antique toys and old farm equipment; intricate paintings made on scraps of metal that were lying around the barn; wood carvings from his days as a shop teacher...but I digress. The best part (and the reason I'm telling you all this) was the chestnuts. Yes, the chestnuts. So, as I'm walking around this old farm, looking at all this incredible art, the wrinkled, greying farmer/artist, comes and stands next to me, and without any prompt or explanation, pulls his hand out of his pocket, holds it out to me and says, "Chestnut?" Now, normally I'm a bit wary of anything that comes out of a strange man's pockets, but something in me said that yes, yes I really did want a chestnut. It was still warm from the fire and his pockets, cracked open easily between my numb fingers to reveal the delicate, fleshy meat within, which melted like buttah in my mouth...After that I may or may not have spent the rest of our time there hopefully trailing the poor man, waiting for him to offer me another chestnut. Which he did. Until his pockets were empty.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barn. Art. & Roasting Chestnuts.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awkwardly happy about chestnuts.</td></tr>
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There was something so beautiful, romantic, quaint, and terribly singular about the whole experience that I went right home and tried to recreate this unique and irreplaceable moment again in my kitchen. No matter how many batches of chestnuts I bought, I could never get them to open as easily or be as soft and buttery as the ones from the farmer's pockets. The closest I came was at the Christmas Market in Dusseldorf - to be honest, it was less about the actual chestnuts themselves and more about the experience, walking the cobble-stoned streets of the Altstadt, warm chestnuts wrapped in paper in one hand and steaming gluhwein in the other. Another experience that I have yet to adequately recreate - though I did find a recipe for gluhwein that is so spot on that after the first sip I thought for a fleeting moment I had been magically transported back to Germany...I hadn't, but it's damn good.<br />
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I hadn't realized the possibility and versatility of this beautiful little nut past roasting until last week when I stumbled upon a Mark Bittman recipe for a chestnut soup. Not only did it include chestnuts and was created by Bittman (the Minimalist, the Flexitarian, the Vegan Before 6), but it was vegan. How could I not make it? And what better night for soup than tonight, so bitterly cold with the super storm Hercules pounding down on us; with fat, fluffy flakes drifting softly past my window; with snow accumulating faster than the plows can keep up with? Exactly. And it was. It was perfect. And as we speak (or I write and you read later), my mind is currently working on a way to incorporate chestnuts into a snow day breakfast...I'm thinking chestnut-banana-date smoothie, but I'll keep you updated...<br />
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A few little notes before I get to the recipe. De-shelling the roasted chestnuts is a labor intensive process. Its not difficult, it just takes a little time and effort. Though here's one trick I discovered tonight that makes the whole thing much easier - place the nut on a cutting board, then place a flat plate or another cutting board on top of it and then press down until it cracks (much like what you do with a knife to peel garlic). If you're short on time or just don't want to have to roast your own, they do sell packages or pre-cooked, pre-shelled chestnuts that are actually really very good - though you lose the way the roasting flavors your house and your soup. Oh, and I garnished my soup with some chopped-up chestnuts tossed in ground thyme. I liked the texture of the chestnuts in the creamy soup and I'm also mildly obsessed with thyme so it seemed appropriate (thyme tastes like coziness and warmth and I use any and every excuse to use it my dishes all winter long).<br />
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/20/dining/the-minimalist-no-cream-creamy-soup.html">Vegan Roasted Chestnut Soup</a> </span>- adapted from Mark Bittman<br />
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10 large chestnuts<br />
2 tbs olive oil<br />
2 cups chopped celery<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">½ </span>cup chopped onion<br />
4 cups vegetable stock<br />
salt and pepper<br />
ground thyme<br />
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+ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut an X into the flat side of each chestnut. Roast in an open pan for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the shell begins to open away from the meat. Remove the outer and inner skins from the chestnuts while still warm.<br />
+ Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, and a good amount of salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the stock and chestnuts (reserve a whole or partial chestnut for garnish if so desired), bring to a boil and cover partially. Reduce heat and simmer until the chestnuts are mushy, about 30 minutes.<br />
+ Puree the soup with a stick blender. Continue to cook until desired thickness is reached. Season to taste.<br />
+ Serve steaming hot in big bowls on a cold, snowy night. Top with chopped chestnut and a little dash of thyme, and pair with a deep, round glass of Spanish Cabernet Sauvignon.<br />
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<br />Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-45028606555983078862013-12-30T19:02:00.001-08:002013-12-30T19:02:51.141-08:00vegan kimchi stew: or my german korean thanksgiving 2013<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Jessie pre-German Korean Thanksgiving.</td></tr>
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A few months ago I booked a flight to <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Düsseldorf</span></span>. I never really had Germany on my radar as a place to visit, but when my bestest friend Jessica asked me if I wanted to come and stay with her in Dortmund, how could I not? She teaches English to middle and high school students, so we picked two weeks at the end of her semester so that she'd be free to traipse around Deutschland. It wasn't until days before I was leaving that I realized Thanksgiving was right smack in the middle of my German excursion. I wasn't too troubled. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love me some stuffing and canned cranberry sauce, but it's not like I'm never going to have another Thanksgiving again (knock on wood). Forgoing one Thanksgiving dinner seemed like a fair trade off for two weeks in Europe. <br />
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Fortunately, I didn't have to forgo the holiday at all. This year I had three, yes three, Thanksgiving dinners. Albeit they were all terribly unconventional, delicious dinners spent with strange, but friendly and welcoming faces. The first was the night I arrived in Dortmund (a week before the actual holiday), hosted by another teacher at Jessie's school, a German who spent time in America over a decade ago, fell in love with the Thanksgiving tradition, and hosts the dinner every year to show her appreciation for her family and friends. Our host's "American Thanksgiving" staples were meatloaf and a roasted-tomato and fresh corn cornbread that, while non-traditional, was probably the best cornbread I've ever had. Jessie and I made a turkey (her first Americans and turkey at her Thanksgiving dinner table), stuffing, Brussels sprouts with chili peppers (my addition to the meal), and fresh-pumpkin pie (which totally freaked all the Germans out. The idea of pumpkin pie completely disgusts them, which was hard to believe, but I didn't mind, because it meant more for me). <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner 1 & 2.</td></tr>
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The second dinner was at Jessie's fiance's parents' house in London. They were worried that we would be missing America terribly during the holiday season (we weren't), so made a huge meal with turkey and gravy, mashed sweet potatoes topped with roasted butternut squash, homemade cranberry sauce with scallions and brandy, pecan pie, and my favorite dish, "roasties" - crispy, crunchy baked potatoes cooked in goose fat reserved from last year's Christmas goose. Goose fat is vegan, right?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kimchi stew in the foreground with our ridiculous seafood platter behind.</td></tr>
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My Thanksgiving day dinner this year was shared with Jessica at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/restaurant.namu">Namu</a>, a cozy little Korean restaurant on the cobblestone streets of Dortmund, Germany. Stuffing and mashed potatoes were replaced with bowls of bibimbap and udon noodles. One of the most difficult and exciting aspects of the trip was not being able to speak the language (I know, I know, I'm a jerk and an ugly American, and I really should have at least attempted to learn a little conversational German, but being thrown into a foreign country without the ability to communicate gave everything an edge and air of spontaneity and possibility. There's something freeing about it). Not only did this make asking for directions and chatting up the cute guy sitting at the bar next you a struggle, but it made eating out down-right impossible. Thank God I had my fluent friend with me, so she usually took control and ordered for us, or tried her best to translate. However, trying to decipher the Korean menu written in German had us both lost. Thankfully, we had a very nice waitress who set us up with the most traditional dishes - my favorite of which, was a kimchi stew. Kimchi is a combination of veggies fermented using a variety of spices - it sounds scary, but the sour and slightly sweet flavor was something I had never encountered before and its delightful. </div>
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Which is why, while perusing the <a href="http://vedgerestaurant.com/">Vedge</a> cookbook I got from Santa (more on that in a later post), and I found a recipe for a vegan kimchi stew, I knew needed to make it. While it didn't quite reach the level of the German version I had (it had big chunks of beef in it, so already, the meat-less version was going to different), it totally brought me back to Dortmund. Its a new favorite comfort food, reminding me of a time when I was cozy and happy, sharing a phenomenal meal with a true loved one...and isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about?<br /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My vegan kimchi stew.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Vegan Kimchi Stew</b> </span><span style="font-size: small;">- from </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vedge-Plates-Redefine-Vegetable-Cooking/dp/1615190856" style="font-size: medium;">Vedge</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">2 tbs toasted sesame oil</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">½ cup diced onions</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">1 tbs minced garlic</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">4 cups chopped napa cabbage</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">8 cups vegetable stock</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">2 cups vegan kimchi</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">¼ cup tamari</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">2 tbs gochujang </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">2 tsp sugar</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">½ cup finely chopped scallions, white and light green parts only<br />1 cup peeled, shredded daikon radish<br /><br />+ Heat the sesame oil in a large pot over high heat until it ripples. Add the onions and garlic, cooking until brown, about 3 to 5 minutes.<br />+ Add the cabbage and continue to brown for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.<br />+ Add the stock, kimchi with its juice, tamari, gochujang, and sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.<br />+ Serve in big bowls, garnished with daikon and scallions.<br /><br /></span><b style="line-height: 18px;">Note</b><span style="line-height: 18px;"> - if you can't find gochujang (because I couldn't), you can mix equal parts curry paste and miso to get the same effect. <br /><br />Oh, also, I allowed the stew to simmer for about an hour, since I find that the flavors develop more the longer you stew a stew. I might have liked to even cook it down more to thicken it up. Though I do have very high hopes for tomorrows leftovers, since a night in the fridge seems to have the same effect as hours simmering on the stove.</span></span></div>
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<br />Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-6204460956163763092013-12-29T13:22:00.000-08:002013-12-29T21:59:21.289-08:00a year in review: or i'm baaaack!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One year. One whole year. To the goddamn day. </div>
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The unexpected and unplanned twelve month hiatus from blogging has proved to be terribly enlightening. This past year has exposed me to new, exciting, and mainly uncomfortable and anxiet-inducing experiences, that have sparked personal growth and change, which has spilled over into my cooking. I started working as a server at brewpub, a job which requires you to be social and interact with strangers, putting a fairly substantial crack in the shell of social anxiety I had been retreating into. It also revealed the back of house world and gave me the opportunity to learn from real chefs...mainly by skulking around the kitchen and bugging them about how certain things were made. <br />
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On top of working a full-time job, I also became primary cook at home. Instead of making the occasional elaborate dinner with homemade pastas and port-wine reductions, my dishes became simpler and more efficient time and money wise, but I still strove to keep them healthy, fresh, and full of flavor. I got to the point where when I ate something at a restaurant or saw a recipe or technique used on one of the many cooking reality shows I watch regularly, I could take it, put a little spin on it or tweak it in a way that I could use it in my weeknight dinners. I'm always looking for something in others' food that will spark the excitement in me, which I then translate into creation and experimentation tested on the very brave and willing members of my family. Even though I wasn't writing about my food this year, I became a bit of an Instagram-whore, posting pictures of almost every dinner plate and breakfast smoothie. While the amount of photos might be on the verge of obnoxious, it helped me hone my food photography skills, especially in terms of plating - I can thank the chefs at my restaurant for that, too. My family has even become experts, knowing which plates look best with which foods and that they can't start eating until I'm sure I got the best picture with the best plate. <br />
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This year, much of my inspiration came from travel. In May, I was in New Orleans with my family and a few weeks ago spent two weeks in Germany and a little bit of that time in London - the latter trip was personally incredibly challenging, but an experience that I wouldn't do any differently looking back. Both trips were spent mainly eating and drinking, taking in the flavors and soul of the respective cultures (I ate blood sausage in both Germany and London, something that honestly freaked me out and thought I would never ever try, but I did and it turned out to be ridiculously delicious, though it probably won't become a regular dish on my table). My food-spiration came from some pretty surprising places, like being exposed to the best Asian food I've ever encountered in a small Korean restaurant in Dortmund, Germany on Thanksgiving Day. When I got home from that trip, I told my family I was going to make them a dish that embodied my time spent there, and then served them a big bowl of miso soup with udon noodles, they were quite confused.<br />
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My year off provided me quite a bit of time for self-reflection, in which I realized that cooking is something I want to do. All the time. I need cooking and food in my life in some capacity, and at what capacity that'll be I still don't know, but I'm not in too much of a rush to figure my life out at this point. But I want to make moves, take a leap, put myself out there, and <i>do</i> something. So here we are. I'm back, dread&butter has gotten a little update, a fresh start. I'm just excited to share my food and to see where it takes me. Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-27027920682557387092012-12-29T08:50:00.000-08:002012-12-29T08:51:19.746-08:00On the Seventh Day of Christmas...While it may be after the calendar day, the Christmas Spirit is still a strong presence in the Confoy household - as are the Christmas spirits, if you get my drift. We still have one side of the family to celebrate with this weekend, and our tree is still up, decorated, and encircled with Santa's bounty. Speaking of which, I got a camera! Finally, the days of impatiently waiting for my brother to come home from school with his camera are over! And its a beaut. Actually, its the exact same one my brother has, but its shiny and new and pretty and way better than his silly ol' one. So, from now on, my food-photography should be better...or at least improving. <br />
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In my <a href="http://dread-and-butter.blogspot.com/2012/12/on-fourth-day-of-christmas.html"><span style="color: #e69138;">black rice pudding post</span></a>, I mentioned that my Dad's Christmas cakes are one of favorite foods of the holidays...actually, his cake might be my favorite part of the holiday. Made with mincemeat (the meatless kind), molasses, and a ton of spices, it's literally Christmas in a bite (well, not literally, but "figuratively Christmas in a bite" doesn't quite sound as nice). Especially when its <i>swimming </i>in honey whiskey...did you see what I did there?<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Craig's Christmas Cake</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ cup sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ cup Crisco</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 egg</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 cup molasses</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">3 cups of flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 jar mincemeat (meatless version)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tsp nutmeg</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tsp ginger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tsp cinnamon</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">¼ tsp salt</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 cup boiling water</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">honey whiskey (or brandy or rum)</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Lightly grease two loaf pans.<br />+ In a large bowl, mix sugar, Crisco, and egg. Add the molasses and stir well. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Next add the flour and salt. Stir until just combined. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Add the boiling water. Then add the spices and mincemeat, stirring well after each addition.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Pour the batter into the loaf pans, then bake an hour or until a toothpick comes out cleanly.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Let the cakes cool, then begin soaking the cakes. Slowly pour the liquor over the cakes, focusing on the edges where the cake has pulled away from the pan. Allow the sit until all the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat the process until the cake is thoroughly soaked through - you can do this over the course of a few days, if you want it really moist and boozy, which I highly suggest.</span>Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-13479849596513123072012-12-21T11:58:00.000-08:002012-12-21T12:03:25.695-08:00On the Sixth Day of Christmas...Last night marked the return of my little brother and his lady-friend from their first semester of college. The prodigal son's homecoming was celebrated with some bubbly, baked brie with jam, red wine, eggnog and whiskey, and our tree falling over. Twice. Thankfully it hasn't been lit or decorated yet, and by that time we were all pleasantly warmed by the evening's libations and it was more hilarious than upsetting. After up-righting the tree, we stumbled off to bed and passed out immediately. I had the morning off (an oddity and a blessing), so I took my time getting out of bed, made a big pot of Winter Blend coffee, and decided to whip of a welcome-home-Christmassy-breakfast-in-bed-special for the kids: eggnog soaked cranberry bread french toast with a fresh cranberry syrup. <br />
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French toast seemed to be one of those foods that embodies childhood and warmth and home. I used a sliced cranberry bread, eggnog in place of milk for the batter, and cranberry syrup to imbue the dish with the holiday spirit. Not to mention that I think the eggnog fulfills the "geese a'laying" quota nicely.<br />
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I woke the kids up with a spread of the french toast, coffee, and OJ set up on my brother's desk, then went out to run some errands. My brother sent me a text that read, "So. Effing. Good." One of the very few times that my cooking has gotten his stamp of approval. So I think this dish was a ridiculously delicious, hands-down success. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Homemade Cranberry Syrup</span></b><br />
1 cup fresh cranberries<br />
2 tbs honey<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ cup water</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ Cook cranberries and honey in a covered pot over medium-high heat. Once the berries begin popping, uncover and stir. Recover and allow to cook until all the berries have burst. Turn heat to low, stir, and cook until the berries have thickened to a jam-consistency.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ Add the water, bring the heat back up, and cook uncovered until desired syrupy texture is reached.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Eggnog French Toast</span></b><br />
1 cup non-dairy eggnog<br />
3 eggs<br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">pinch of salt</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">¼ tsp cinnamon</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">¼ tsp cardamom</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">1 tsp nutmeg</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">8 slices bread</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">¼ cup powdered sugar</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Preheat skillet to medium-high heat.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ In a medium sized, flat-bottomed or shallow bowl, whisk together eggnog, eggs, salt and spices.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Immerse the slices of bread, one at a time, into the egg mixture. Using a fork to flip, make sure the bread is thoroughly soaked, but not mushy. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Pull the bread out of the mixture, letting any excess egg drip off, and then place on the skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.<br />+ To serve, lightly butter each slice, dust with powdered sugar, and then drizzle cranberry syrup ontop.</span><br />
<br />Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-53901327248721671282012-12-20T18:16:00.002-08:002012-12-20T18:16:07.811-08:00On the Fifth Day of Christmas...I'm pretty sure you've all guessed what today's recipe is. I mean, "five golden rings"? I couldn't help myself, could I?<br /><br />
Now, some of you might think, "Wow, way to phone on in, Claudia." And to that I say, you try coming up with 12 original and innovative recipes in 25 days. Speaking of which, since Christmas is technically 5 days away and I still have, oh, 7 more recipes, I think I'm going to extend my deadline until New Years. But its not a cop out! Part of the reason is that half of my holiday parties are the week after Christmas, and I want to be able to feature some recipes I use for them on the blog. The other part of the reason is that I don't like rushing through the holidays, I prefer to drag them out for as long as physically possible - last year we had our tree up until February. And hey, you get to enjoy Christmas and yummy food even longer now! Isn't that exciting? I know, you can't handle your own happiness. It might even scare you a little. It's okay, accept your feelings, and express them appropriately. Go ahead, do a happy dance. I won't judge.<br /><br />...finished your happy dance? Good. I used Not Without Salt's <a href="http://notwithoutsalt.com/2009/08/13/oven-fried-onion-rings/"><span style="color: #e69138;">oven-fried onion ring recipe</span></a>. While a little on the messy side to assemble, they are otherwise super simple, healthier since they bake in a few tablespoons of oil, and are coated in crushed potato chips - yeah I said it, potato chip covered onion rings. It's just crazy enough to be insanely delicious. I used black pepper and salt potato chips and served them with a homemade curried honey mustard (curry strikes again!), which along with the cayenne pepper in the batter gave these little guys a surprising kick.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Curried Honey Mustard</span></b><br />
2 tbs spicy mustard<br />
1 tbs honey<br />
2 tsp Vindaloo curry powder<br />
1 tsp red curry powder<br />
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+ Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well. Adjust amount of each ingredient based on taste.Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-10780234957661133092012-12-20T17:34:00.000-08:002012-12-20T17:34:06.567-08:00On the Fourth Day of Christmas......my true love gave to me, four colly birds. That's right - <i><b>colly</b></i> birds. Apparently the version we know featuring "calling birds" is just a horrible bastardization of the original, which isn't really that hard to believe seeing as we live in America and just about all aspects of our culture are distorted, corrupted, twisted hollow shells of what they once were...but I digress.<br />
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This revelation was my muse for this recipe. A colly bird is an English nickname for a blackbird; "colly" being an Old English word meaning "soot" or "coal". My mind immediately started reeling off all of black foods I could think of...which ended up only being one: blackberries. I then got the internet to reel off all the black foods it could think of, which ended up being quite a few more, many of which I had never heard of. One of these was black rice. My first thought was to do a blackened tofu over black rice with a black bean sauce. I liked it, I really did, but it didn't feel like a holiday dish to me. Nothing about it felt special or new or, well, like Christmas. So, I scrapped the tofu-rice dish. I started to think of all the foods that embody Christmas for me: the top three dishes being mincemeat cake, waffles and potato soup (both of which may or may not be making an appearance next week), and rice pudding. Now, I wouldn't consider myself a big rice pudding fan, outside the occasional whipped cream-topped sundae-glass full eaten in a grimy diner booth with a cup of coffee in the middle of the night, of course. However, every Christmas Day, I partake in the Confoy-Osenlund family tradition of eating rice pudding together with hopes that your bowl will contain the sole almond in the whole batch. If you get the almond, you are the King/Queen of Christmas and you are forced to wear one of those paper Christmas-cracker crowns. Its all terribly exciting, and usually results in some fairly embarrassing photos.<br />
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So, in honor of the original lyrics and Confoy-Osenlunds, I bring you a black rice pudding topped with blackberries macerated in port and black pepper.<br />
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I followed theKitchn's recipe for <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-coconut-black-rice-pudding-176861"><span style="color: #e69138;">black rice pudding</span></a>, minus the coconut. Also, I highly suggest letting it sit in the fridge over night - it gets thick and creamy and absolutely wonderful.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Port and Black Pepper Macerated Blackberries</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ pint fresh blackberries</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 cup port</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tbs honey</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">2 tsp fresh crushed black pepper</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Place blackberries in a glass measuring cup. In a small pot, cook port, honey, and 1 tsp of black pepper over medium-high heat. Once it begins to boil, cook for a moment or two, then pour the hot port over the berries. Allow to sit and stew for at least 30 minutes - the longer they sit, the more the berries will break down, and the port will infuse in the berries. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">+ After the berries have been sitting, pour the liquid back into the pot. Add the last tsp of the black pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook until the port has reduced into a thick syrup.<br />+ To serve, top the black rice pudding with a few blackberries, then drizzle a little of the port-black pepper syrup over the top.</span></span>Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-52922792425466780762012-12-14T10:06:00.000-08:002012-12-14T10:06:31.537-08:00On the Third Day of Christmas...So, if you read last post, you know of my growing anxiety concerning this latest project, especially the bird heavy days ahead. However, the fear has subsided as many of my friends and fellow-foodies have come to my rescue and suggested some absolutely wonderfully creative ways to interpret the song into food. In fact, it was my high-school friend, Christina's idea to use Hen-of-the-Woods mushrooms for the third day's recipe. A spark of culinary genius that would have never crossed my mind. Brilliant, really, Christina. <div>
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So, for the third day, I give to you a trio of Hen-of-the-Woods mushrooms: a maitake pate, honey-glazed and roasted whole maitake mushroom, and a simple maitake and mixed mushroom soup. While only one can truly be considered French, these three hens are delightfully delicious and a perfect holiday party starter.</div>
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I was introduced to the Hen-of-the-Woods, or maitake mushroom at the Stockton Market this past April (and even wrote a <a href="http://dread-and-butter.blogspot.com/2012/04/farmers-market-stockton-edition.html"><span style="color: #e69138;">post</span></a> about it), but I wasn't quite sure how to use them. The only way I'd ever cooked mushrooms was sauteing them in butter with onions as a pizza topping. It wasn't until I started working at Gravity Hill that I was invited into the magical world of mushrooms. One of the vendors at the market every Sunday was <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ShibumiFarm" style="color: #e69138;">Shibumi Farm</a>, a local couple who cultivate nearly 30 different types of mushrooms using no pesticides and only plant-based materials to grow the fungi. Not only did they broaden my horizons to so many different types of mushrooms, but they changed the way I cook mushrooms - the miracle that is the dry saute. </div>
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<b><u>How To Dry Saute: </u></b></div>
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+ Place a large pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the mushrooms. Cook while stirring occasionally. The mushrooms will begin to squeak (or scream, as the seven year old daughter of the mushroom couple put it). Cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid, shrunk a bit, and begin to brown. </div>
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+ Once the mushrooms are cooked, de-glaze the pan (I usually use a splash of wine), making sure to scrape all the good mushroom bits from the bottom of the pan. </div>
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+ Then, add butter, olive oil, salt, or other seasonings and saute as normal. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-lizjr8fF-qSwBtTY7ZOvzqSnexBXEAYg7sF4CVlfvooLLqxqcJP0q6To9kaHKIWtAgfT57qCgOZiQezIG1Oj6bVtU55wzqz4uHJwDraFNG_5DnMNUrDqg4xtWgf9owFUf8XL7UBa_Cv/s1600/image+(3).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-lizjr8fF-qSwBtTY7ZOvzqSnexBXEAYg7sF4CVlfvooLLqxqcJP0q6To9kaHKIWtAgfT57qCgOZiQezIG1Oj6bVtU55wzqz4uHJwDraFNG_5DnMNUrDqg4xtWgf9owFUf8XL7UBa_Cv/s640/image+(3).jpeg" width="313" /></a>I found the recipe for the pate on the <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/12/awesome-mushroom-pate-recipe.html"><span style="color: #e69138;">Serious Eats</span></a> site. Just a heads up, it's not vegan (but don't worry, the soup is!) I felt that the use of cheese as the fat was necessary in order to get get the right consistency and to keep it true to a real pate. However, there are tons of nut-based pate recipes on the web, like this one from <a href="http://www.cestlavegan.com/2010/07/mushroom-pate/"><span style="color: #e69138;">C'est La Vegan</span></a>. The only change that I made to the Serious Eats recipe was that instead of broiling the mushrooms, I dry sauteed, de-glazed with red wine, and then finished them off with olive oil, a little butter, salt, pepper, and thyme.</div>
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The whole roasted maitake mushroom is stupidly simple and quick, but looks beautiful and impressive. Place a fist-sized cluster of the mushrooms into a small ramekin or other oven-safe dish. Melt 1 tbs of butter and 2 tbs of honey in the microwave. Drizzle the honey-butter over the mushroom, making sure to coat all of the little tops. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the mushroom shrinks and begins to brown. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve warm. And make sure you soak up the extra mushroomy honey-butter in the bottom of the ramekin, you don't want that to go to waste.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Maitake Mushroom Soup</b></span></div>
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2 cups, maitake mushrooms</div>
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4 oz package of mixed mushrooms</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ cup dry red wine</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tbs olive oil</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tbs butter</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tbs rosemary leaves, finely chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tbs thyme leaves</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tbs sage leaves, finely chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 can full-fat coconut milk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">salt and pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ In a medium pot, dry saute the mushrooms. Once they're cooked, de-glaze with red wine. Add butter, oil, herbs, and a bit of salt. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and the liquid had thickened. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ Add the coconut milk, stir well. Using a stick blender, blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ Cook until soup is heated through and desired thickness is reached. Serve hot, garnished with thyme leaves or sprig of rosemary.</span></div>
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Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-56645734907289883692012-12-09T16:03:00.000-08:002012-12-09T20:30:02.220-08:00On the Second Day of Christmas...As of last post, the temperature has dropped a good 25 degrees, my father has put the lights up on the house, I've eaten fruitcake ice cream at Bent Spoon, and I've bought my first official Christmas present, so its starting to feel a tad more like the holidays than before. However, I'm still not fully in that holiday mode yet. I'm no hum-bug, I'm just taking my time, is all.<br />
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Oh, I forgot to mention (but hoped you noticed) that I'm going to attempt to have my 12 Days of Christmas Recipes correspond with the song, i.e. last week I made a pear-centric dish in honor of the partridge in his tree. This may seem like a simple feat, but for a non-meat-eater, the six bird related verses serve as a bit of an obstacle (...not to mention the Lords-a-Leaping, but I'll worry about those guys later). I mulled over the Turtle Doves for a while. Mock turtle soup was a front runner until I actually looked up what mock turtle soup was and found out its made with calf head, feet, and brains. I know, doesn't just scream holiday cheer, does it? With the soup off the table, I turned to the only other food-related turtle I could think of - the pecan, caramel, chocolate candy. However, I didn't want to just do a straightforward chocolate. I mean, the whole point of this project was to create unique and original recipes. So, I decided to take those three ingredients and put my own dread&butter-y twist on them. And thus the Turtle Dove Tart was born - pecan crust, chocolate filling, salted caramel drizzle, with the addition of a layer of tart cranberries. I thought the cranberries added a nice pop of color and balanced the sweetness of the chocolate and caramel. It turned out differently than I had in my head, but I have to say, it might become a new Christmas dessert tradition.<br />
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And now, off to watch <i>White Christmas</i> and brainstorm for next week...<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Turtle Dove Tart</span></b><br />
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<i>Pecan Crust</i><br />
1 large egg, separated<br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">¼ tsp vanilla</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ cup pecans</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ powdered sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 cup all-purpose flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">5 tbs cold butter, cut into </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ inch cubes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">pinch of salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ Preheat oven to 375 degrees.<br />+ Place pecans on a baking sheet, toast for about 5 minutes, or until fragrant and just beginning to brown. Once toasted, grind pecans in a food processor until fine, but not powdery.<br />+ In two small bowls, beat the egg yolk and white separately. Measure out 1 tbs of egg white and add to yolk. Add the vanilla and mix well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ In a medium bowl, combine flour, pecans, sugar, and salt. Cut butter into the flour mixture until it as a crumbly texture.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ Add the egg mixture to the flour, combine with hands until evenly moistened. Add a small bit water if needed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ Press the crust into a pie pan. Put in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ Place a piece of aluminum foil over the crust. Poke a few holes in the foil, then place pie weights on top. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the weights and foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool completely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><i>Tart Cranberry Jam</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">1 bag of fresh cranberries</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">2 tbs honey</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Put cranberries and honey in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium-high heat until the berries begin to pop. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries have all popped and a thick consistency is reached. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><i>Chocolate Filling</i></span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">1 bag dark chocolate chips</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">⅓ cup coffee liqueur</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">1 tsp vanilla extract</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">1 package silken tofu, drained</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">1 tbs honey</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">+</span><span style="line-height: 18px;"> B</span><span style="line-height: 18px;">ring a medium pot of water to a simmer over medium heat. Place the chocolate chips, liqueur, and vanilla in a medium metal bowl set over the simmering water. Stir often to prevent the chocolate from burning.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Once the chocolate is completely melted, place the chocolate, tofu and honey in the food processor. Blend until smooth. </span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><i>Salted Caramel Drizzle </i></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">(from <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/" style="color: #e69138;">smittenkitchen</a>)</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">¼ cup sugar</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">2 tbs butter</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">¼ tsp sea salt</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">2 tbs heavy cream</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ In a small saucepan, melt sugar over medium-high heat. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until its a golden brown color. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Take the pan off the heat, then add the butter and salt, stirring until the butter is completely melted. Turn the heat down and put the sugar mixture back on the stove. Add the heavy cream, stirring constantly, cook until it thickens and becomes a dark caramel color.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><i>To Assemble the Tart</i></span><br />
<i style="line-height: 18px;">+ </i><span style="line-height: 18px;">Spread an even layer of the tart cranberry jam over the bottom of the pecan crust. Top with chocolate filling (you'll probably have a little extra). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until the chocolate has firmed up. Then drizzle a healthy layer of salted caramel over the top of the tart. It can be served while the caramel is warm, but I suggest putting it back in the fridge for another hour (or better yet, overnight).</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-5070110128820192232012-12-03T20:19:00.000-08:002012-12-03T20:19:39.639-08:00On the First Day of Christmas...I can't believe it's December already - the sixty degree, sunny weather really isn't helping convince me either. However, the overabundance of holiday movies on Lifetime and cars in the mall parking lot are telling me that Christmas is right around the corner. So, to help get me in the holiday frame of mind, I'm attempting to create a dozen unique holiday recipes by the 25th, a la <i>The Twelve Days of Christmas. </i><br />
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On the First Day of Christmas (or the Third Day of December), my true love gave to me...a caramelized pear crostini with goat cheese and a honey-whiskey reduction. Alright, it might not flow as well as the original version, but you can appreciate my efforts, can't you?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHefyzMxaOKTdLwJa2hmXDBWfE-C0ap8vM_TJJ6VD7YTKgPp9b30gAx_P7UagURmMw5-KnAuZhyphenhyphen9faexl5G1_loVgkmhNlZ77Poal51pTrXUqbKuy3Hg0kzP9AVQSbGjimFFf58-4KhESr/s1600/photo+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHefyzMxaOKTdLwJa2hmXDBWfE-C0ap8vM_TJJ6VD7YTKgPp9b30gAx_P7UagURmMw5-KnAuZhyphenhyphen9faexl5G1_loVgkmhNlZ77Poal51pTrXUqbKuy3Hg0kzP9AVQSbGjimFFf58-4KhESr/s320/photo+(2).JPG" width="238" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Caramelized Pear Crostini </b></span><br />
1 sprigs worth of rosemary leaves, roughly chopped<br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">¼ cup + 2 tbs olive oil</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">a dozen thin slices of bread (I used baguette) </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">2 tbs butter</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">1 small yellow onion, sliced thinly</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">1 red pear, cubed</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">¼ cup honey-whiskey (I used Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey)</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">4 oz log goat cheese</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">sea salt</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Mix rosemary with </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">¼ cup of olive oil in a ramekin. Set aside.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Melt 2 tbs of olive oil and 1 tbs of butter over medium-high heat in a small sauce pan. Once the oil is sizzling, add the onions. Stir until all of the onions are well coated in oil. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt. Cook onions until they are just beginning to brown - stir occasionally, and lower heat if the onions brown too quickly. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Add the pear and 1 tbs of butter. Stir until the pears are coated in oil. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally until the pears and onions are brown and caramelized. Transfer into a small bowl.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ With the heat on, add the whiskey to same pan you caramelized the pear and onion in. Cook down until the whiskey has reduced by half, becoming thick and syrupy. Take off heat and set aside.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ While the whiskey is reducing, place the bread on a broiling pan. Using a small spoon, drizzle enough rosemary-olive oil to coat the top of each slice. Bake for about five minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ To assemble the crostini, spread a thin layer of goat cheese onto each slice of toasted bread. Top with a generous spoonful of the caramelized pear-onion mix. To finish, drizzle with honey-whiskey reduction. Serve warm (but don't worry, based on how quickly my family ate them, they won't be around long enough to get cold).</span>Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-43044944388675031732012-11-04T18:24:00.000-08:002012-11-04T18:27:29.491-08:00Post-Sandy Dinner & the Beauty of Brussels SproutsSo remember last post when I apologized for not writing in such a long time and how I promised that I would post more often and not neglect my blogger duties?<br />
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...well, that lasted about a day and a half. First, I got a job. Okay, fine, I got a<b><i> third</i></b> job, which I mean, I don't really need and you may think is crazy and completely unnecessary, but I couldn't turn it down! Honestly. And its completely different from my other two jobs, so its okay! Second, Sandy. As a New Jersey resident who lives on the Delaware River, that should be enough of an excuse. But in case it's not, we were without power, water, or heat for six days. So, as you can see, cooking and updating was kind of impossible. Thankfully, Monday night, with the dark clouds of Sandra looming over my head, I cooked up a big pot of veg stew which kept us alive through the rough times. That and lots and lots of cocktails - we'll talk about the hot honey whiskey toddies in a later post.<br />
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But <b>hallelujah! </b>last night power was restored. Along with my sanity (there's something about living in the dark and having to drive up to the park to fill up jugs with water from the fountain in order to flush your toilet that really wears away at your soul). And so, to celebrate this wondrous occasion, I did what I always do - I cooked dinner. I wanted something really autumnal, that highlighted the phenomenal produce of the season and that was warm and cozy. I decided on a filet of salmon with orange and pomegranate seeds, roasted buttercup squash (looks like an acorn squash, tastes like a creamy delicious marriage of a chestnut and a sweet potato), and caramelized cranberry brussels sprouts. </div>
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I love brussels sprouts. Yeah, I said it. I <i><b>love</b></i> brussels sprouts (though I kind of hate that they're<i><b> brussels </b></i>sprouts, not <b><i>brussel</i></b> sprouts. It's like how the plural of cul-de-sac is culs-de-sac. Its weird and unnatural and it bothers me and I've already gone on about this for way too long, so I'll stop). Now I know they get a bad rap, but its only because people don't know how to do them right. A few boiled sprouts ruined it for the rest of the really good, roasted, caramelized, delicious ones. So put your previously conceived notions aside and try them again, the right way.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Caramelized Cranberry Brussels Sprouts</span></b></div>
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3 cups brussels sprouts, halved</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ cup fresh cranberries</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">drizzle of olive oil</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tbs orange zest</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">¼</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> cup orange juice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">2 tbs butter, soft</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">1 tbs honey</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">salt</span></div>
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+ Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.</div>
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+ In a small bowl, toss sprouts and cranberries in salt and olive oil until well coated. Transfer to a medium baking dish and sprinkle with zest. </div>
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+ Bake for 20 minutes, or until the sprouts start to brown. Pour orange juice over the sprouts, and stir well to de-glazing the pan. Bake for another 20 minutes.</div>
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+ While the sprouts are cooking, mix butter and honey in a small dish. As soon as the sprouts come out of the oven, drizzle with the honey butter (use as much or as little as you desire). Serve warm as a side or, if you're like me, in a big bowl as a meal.</div>
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Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-69011839571754775662012-10-19T19:49:00.001-07:002012-10-19T19:49:09.177-07:00Restaurant Love and Autumn DinnersI keep a mental list of restaurants that I want to go to in my head. Whether it be from passing one while visiting a new town, or word-of-mouth, or articles in the Dining&Wine section of the New York Times, I store and file and save until the right time. Most of these places are far-ish away or fairly expensive, so they're stockpiled in the "Special Occasion" section. Now, these could be family and friends birthdays, winning the lottery, new job, passing a test, knowing someone who passed a test, buying a new pair of shoes, parallel parking perfectly on the first try, or having the same day off as your best friend.<br />
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I've been eyeing <a href="http://deannasrestaurant.com/">Deanna's</a> in Lambertville for a couple of months now. I go to Lambertville/New Hope on a fairly regular basis, and thought that I knew every restaurant in the area...until my dad and I accidentally turned down the wrong tiny little street at the end of town and I saw an old fashion "Bar" sign and another advertising handmade pasta. As soon as I got home I did some research and discovered Deanna's. It wasn't the menu that won me over (though the over half-a-dozen fresh made pasta dishes did help a little), but the photos - Deanna's tiny, yet cozy space is transformed into a whole new space for every holiday. It looked warm, welcoming, and intimate, and I immediately fell in love. And then stored it in the little filebox in the back of my mind. Until yesterday...</div>
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It happened to be a "Having the Same Day Off As Your Best Friend" occasion, and Chelsea and I headed into Lambertville to walk around on a beautiful, warm autumn afternoon and, of course, eat really good food. And Deanna's was on the top of the list. The orange twinkle lights and giant skulls decorating the exterior had me a giddy mess before we even got in the door (if I haven't already mentioned it, I'm a Halloween junkie. I can't get enough.) For our date night, Chelsea and I sat at a small table in the bar area, under screaming banshees, surrounded by cobweb curtains and intricately carved pumpkins and masked, antlered, sparkly half-naked mannequins. And one of the specials that night was pumpkin ravioli with a walnut alfredo sauce. Which I of course had to have. Unique, inviting, fun atmosphere paired with phenomenal, fresh, delicious food? What more could you ask for?<br />
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If you asked for a store front in the next building that sells Deanna's pasta and sauces, then your wish has been granted. Chelsea and I popped our heads in to check the place out, with no intention of buying anything, and I left with a dozen pumpkin ravioli. Part of it was a spontaneous, over-excited purchase, but a much larger part was me wanting to try my hand at recreating a vegan version of the wonderful dinner I had just eaten. Which, I'm proud to say, tonight I did just that. I didn't want to be a complete copy cat, so I added rosemary and sage to my sauce to create deep, earthy flavor that I thought would pair well with the pumpkin. The only thing that I'd do differently would be to grind the walnuts up finer, there were too many chunks which didn't add anything texturally to the dish.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Vegan Walnut Cream Sauce</b></span></div>
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1<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> cup walnuts</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">2 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">2 tbs fresh sage, chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">2 tbs Earth Balance butter</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">⅓ cup sweet white wine (I used an Spiced Apple dessert wine)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 can coconut milk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">salt & pepper to taste</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">+ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the walnuts flat on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1 tbs each of rosemary and sage. Bake for ten minutes, or until the walnuts are brown and fragrant.<br />+ Once the walnuts have cooled, grind the walnuts and herbs in a food processor or small blender until it becomes a coarse meal.<br />+ Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the rest of the herbs and saute until they just begin to brown. Add the wine and cook for a minute or two. Then add the coconut milk. Cook until it reduces a bit and thickens up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">+ Stir in the walnuts, reserving about a tablespoon for garnish. Cook until desired thickness is reached. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">+ Serve warm over a pile of Deanna's pumpkin ravioli. Garnish with reserved walnuts and chopped rosemary.</span></div>
Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-24312791432922871852012-10-12T11:33:00.002-07:002012-10-12T11:34:03.253-07:00Apologies and Autumn Lovin'Well, let me start off by apologizing for not posting in over a month. It really is a travesty. I could lay blame on my brother who took our only camera to college with him, and I could blame the fact that I got hired by Gravity Hill to cook and work the farm market, and I could blame my full-time job for being an awful time-sucker, and I could lay blame on the fact that I haven't been cooking as much as I would like to...but really, all the blame falls on one person - me. It's not that I haven't been cooking. I have, it's just that I've been lazy. There, I said it. I've been insanely busy, there's no denying that, but I could have made the time to sit down for ten minutes and update. But I didn't. And I'm sorry for that. Not just because I feel like I've been shirking my blogger responsibilities, but also for my own sanity and well-being - I have missed writing terribly, and its one of the small pleasures in my life that help to keep me sane, a fact that I didn't realize until very recently. Which is why I'm back, and I promise, I won't be going anywhere anytime soon.<br />
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I love autumn. Strike that. I'm <i><b>obsessed</b></i> with autumn. Every year I look forward to sweaters, boots, cider, chilly air, chai, mums, warm colors, Halloween, apples, candles, jumping in leaves...I could keep going, but I think you get the idea. However, this year, besides stealing my dad's sweaters and practically living in my new Doc Marten boots, I've added some new fall favorites to my ever-growing list:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Squash</b> </span>- spaghetti, butternut, acorn, pumpkin, I love them all. Can't get enough actually: spaghetti squash topped with the last of the summer's heirloom tomatoes; butternut squash curry with apples, chickpeas and cauliflower; squash and cod stew with homemade sweet potato rosemary flatbread; vegan butternut squash and beet ravioli with a mushroom cream sauce. There's something so warming about squash...maybe it's just the color, those golden, glowing oranges and yellows. Not to mention that they can be used in both sweet and savory dishes. I mean, how many vegetables do you know that taste just as good tossed in honey and cinnamon as they do roasted with rosemary and sage? Squash is where it's at, my friends. And take this fall to try new varieties and use them in ways you never had before. If you haven't tried spaghetti squash, do it. Easy to prepare and holds endless possibilities. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Baby Ginger </span></b><i>- </i>yes, baby ginger. I never knew such a thing existed until we started selling it at the farm last weekend. The fresh ginger with the rough brown skin that you find at the grocery store is the mature root of the ginger plant. Baby ginger is the young root, before the skin becomes hard. This root is delicate and pink and the end of beautiful bamboo-like stalks. You don't have to peel baby ginger before you use it, and while the taste is still spicy and potent, its a little softer and less offensive than mature ginger can sometimes be. I'm hooked and will be stocking the freezer with tons of baby ginger to hold me through the winter.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Autumn Oatmeal</span> </b>- I know this isn't a entirely <i>new</i> favorite of mine, but come on, autumn is the perfect oatmeal weather. There's nothing like a big bowl of warm cozy oatmeal to ease the pain of having to pull yourself out from under your covers on a chilly autumn morning. My top oatmeal for the past few weeks have been pumpkin with golden raisins, spicy curry topped with an egg and a drizzle of honey, and berry rhubarb. I've also been playing with sweet potatoes and chai spiced oatmeals, but they both need a little more work. Oh, and don't worry, recipes are on the way. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Cardamom</span></b> - if you know me, you know that I'm not afraid of spices. I love experimenting with different flavors and combinations of herbs and spices. A few weeks ago, Karen (resident baker at Gravity Hill) made a cardamom zucchini bread with currants, and I immediately fell in love with the deep aromatic quality of the spice. I had used it before in baking, but never as the main spice. I usually opt for cinnamon as the focus and then fill in with other spices to deepen and round out the flavor. However, now I find myself toning down the cinnamon and upping my cardamom usage. In baking, oatmeal, curry, basically wherever I can use it, I do. </div>
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...the best part about the fall so far? This is just the beginning. There is so much more to come - I haven't even been pumpkin or apple picking yet. So Happy Autumn! Welcome Back! And get ready for an obnoxious amount of making-up-for-lost-time postings.</div>
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Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-88243163833669881042012-08-23T19:59:00.001-07:002012-08-23T20:07:51.440-07:00Almost-Autumn Roasted Eggplant SoupWell, folks, I've done it again. Not only did I get the stamp of approval from my brother, but I even impressed myself tonight. Roasted Eggplant Soup. I don't know where I come up with this stuff...okay, that's a lie. I got the idea at work today since the soup of the day was a roasted eggplant soup. But it's not like that! See, when I came in this morning I saw the soup up on our specials chalkboard and got really excited, but then I found out it was full of cream and served with a giant glob of goat cheese on top - don't get me wrong, I <i><b>love</b></i> goat cheese, but body isn't as big of a fan as I'd like it to be. However, after hearing my coworkers and customers rave about the soup all day, I decided that I needed to give it a taste. I poured a tiny sample cup with a pinch of goat cheese. It was delicious, but a little disappointing - I thought it was too heavy and rich with all the cream and cheese. I wanted something lighter that really highlighted the eggplant. My mind immediately starting reeling with possibilities of how I could put my own spin on it to make it vegan and, well, better. Thankfully I had a pile of Gravity Hill baby eggplants waiting for me at home which allowed me to put everything that was swirling around in my head <strike>down on paper</strike> <strike>down on cutting board</strike> in a pot. It turned out even better than it was in my head. Topped with some roasted sun gold tomatoes, it was the perfect "almost-autumn" soup - all the flavors of fall with the lightness and freshness of summer. <br />
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<b>Note:</b> I used baby eggplants, but you can substitute those with 3 medium eggplants or one very large one.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Almost-Autumn Roasted Eggplant Soup</b></span><br />
15 baby eggplants<br />
1 head of garlic (at least), cloves slices<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 cup dry white wine </span><br />
1<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ cups vegetable broth</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 can coconut milk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tbp Thai red curry paste</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tsp red curry powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">salt </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">olive oil</span></span><br />
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+ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.<br />
+ Slice each eggplant carefully down the middle, making sure just to create a slit and not slice all the way through the eggplant. Stuff each slit full of garlic slices (I mean it, get as much as that garlic in there as you possibly can). <br />
+ Place the garlic stuffed eggplants in a large baking dish, then drizzle generously with olive oil. Bake for about a half an hour or until the eggplants have begun to shrivel. Then, pour white wine (one cup or enough so that the eggplants are in about an half inch of liquid) into the bottom of the pan. Bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until eggplants are soft and wine has reduced.<br />
+ Once the eggplants are done, allow them to cool for a few minutes. De-stem them, but leave the skins on, and place them in a large pot, along with the garlic slices and any wine and juices left in the bottom of the pan. Using a stick blender, break down the eggplants until smooth and creamy. Add a little of the broth to make blending easier. <br />
+ After the eggplant is broken down, turn on medium-low heat, and add the remaining vegetable broth, mix well. Once incorporated, slowly add the coconut milk, stirring after each addition. Add the curry paste, curry powder, and salt to taste. Stir well.<br />
+ Cover and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, or until ready to serve (though the longer you cook it, the more the flavors develop). Garnish with some roasted tomatoes and a sprig of basil flowers to really meld summer and autumn in one bowl.Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-971949562917167982012-08-22T18:19:00.000-07:002012-08-23T05:32:50.264-07:00Throw-Together Thai SalmonHave I mentioned that I am the Master of the Throw-Together Dinner? I have? Oh good. Well, last night was one such night where the spontaneous nature of creating a meal on the fly drew out the culinary genius within. It all started with some yellow beans...<br />
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For the past couple of Sundays I've been volunteering as a cook and baker at <a href="http://www.gravityhillfarm.com/visit.html" style="color: #e69138;">Gravity Hill Farm</a> (follow the link and scroll down for photographic evidence). Its been an absolutely amazing experience, because 1) if you know me you know that I'm obsessed with Gravity Hill and their produce, 2) it's my first time in a real kitchen cooking for people other than my family, 3) I get to work with unbelievably fresh ingredients - I hand pick the raspberries in the morning for the raspberry lemon corn muffins, and the eggs arrive direct from the hen house in a hay filled basket where they lay still warm and covered in feathers. And on top of all that, Gravity Hill offers a lovely, warm, inviting, creative and unique community of people sharing food, ideas, experiences, and talents. Despite having to be at the farm at 7:00 AM Sunday morning, I absolutely love every moment of my time spent there. But I digress...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ffbUeXXKwPkWKZEJZmNusyGrGi05hLOdQTognVAd_ZoEMl-tmDxNS_Ld_kyZFUSP4XkYfXrSacd3xTgtFAesZAExEvBVVmyrKy4kqSj9TdDvvQSTBVrEHlK1Bg42ZZg1GWgiEsaS8Z17/s1600/IMG_3248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ffbUeXXKwPkWKZEJZmNusyGrGi05hLOdQTognVAd_ZoEMl-tmDxNS_Ld_kyZFUSP4XkYfXrSacd3xTgtFAesZAExEvBVVmyrKy4kqSj9TdDvvQSTBVrEHlK1Bg42ZZg1GWgiEsaS8Z17/s400/IMG_3248.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">in the kitchen prepping husk cherry salsa.</td></tr>
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Yellow beans. Right. That's what I was talking about. So since I'm only volunteering at Gravity Hill, I get paid in produce - which let me tell you is a dream come true. I come home every Sunday with a giant bag overflowing with everything from spring garlic to Sun Gold tomatoes to baby eggplant to husk cherries to summer squash. This past Sunday, my haul of the day was a brown bag full of these beautiful yellow beans - a pale greenish-yellow, so translucent you could almost see through them, like little ghost beans. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with this unique ingredient, but the universe again sent me a little culinary gift. I follow a number of blogs and their post automatically pop up on my home page. One such blog is <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/" style="color: #e69138;">101 Cookbooks</a>, and guess what this week's blog post happens to be about? <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/yellow-bean-salad-recipe.html"><span style="color: #e69138;">Yellow bean salad</span></a>. I knew immediately that that was what I wanted to do with those beautiful beans. I thought salmon would be a nice pairing with the beans, but again, wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do with it. However, I decided to let go, open myself up, and hopefully allow myself to be influenced by the culinary muses. And boy did that wallop me with some inspiration. I ended up using leftover coconut milk from the bean salad dressing to make a marinade that I then poured over the salmon before I baked it - the fish absorbed most of the liquid, so the salmon was incredibly moist and full of flavor, and left a rich, thick glaze on the outside. I have to say, it might be some of the best salmon I've ever made, and I've made some pretty damn good salmon. Just another throw-together meal that ended in delicious, spontaneous brilliance.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Throw-Together Thai Salmon</b></span><br />
1<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½</span> pounds wild-caught salmon<br />
1 cup coconut milk (the canned kind)<br />
2 tsp Thai red curry paste<br />
2 tsp fresh grated ginger<br />
3 cloves garlic<br />
a big hand-full of basil leaves<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ lime, juice and zest</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ Place the salmon, skin side down, in a deep baking dish. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Put the remaining ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until the garlic and basil leaves are broken down. Then pour mixture over the salmon. </span><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Bake until salmon is cooked through, about 30-40 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Serve along side the yellow bean salad. </span></span><br />
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<br />Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-24005669152909681392012-08-07T19:13:00.001-07:002012-08-16T05:24:01.093-07:00PB&J OatmealFor the past couple of months I've been on a bit of a breakfast smoothie kick (See: <a href="http://dread-and-butter.blogspot.com/2012/02/green-berry-smoothie-over-past-couple.html"><span style="color: #e69138;">Green Berry Smoothie</span></a> and <a href="http://dread-and-butter.blogspot.com/2012/03/eat-more-kale.html"><span style="color: #e69138;">Eat More Kale</span></a> for reference). However, this kick has fizzled out these last few weeks, and I've found a new obsession - oatmeal. I feel like oatmeal gets a really bad rap. Most people think of oatmeal as grey, mushy, and bland, but I'm here to tell you, that's not the case. Oatmeal is the perfect blank canvas that you can color with the palate of your fridge and pantry to create something beautifully delicious. The possibilities are endless - cinnamon and honey oatmeal topped with fresh blueberries, zucchini bread oatmeal (here's a phenomenal recipe from <a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2011/08/22/zucchini-bread-oatmeal/"><span style="color: #e69138;">Oh She Glows</span></a>), strawberry blueberry oatmeal,coconut ginger lime oatmeal, chocolate banana oatmeal, sweet curried oatmeal (yes, curry and it's amazing), any and every combination of ingredients you could possibly think of. Still think oatmeal's bland and gross? <br />
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...You do? Well, that's why I'm going to give you the recipe that will change your mind about oatmeal forever - peanut butter oatmeal with a strawberry blueberry compote. I mean, who doesn't love peanut butter and jelly? By taking the peanut butter off the bread and into the oats, and by elevating the jelly to a simple compote, this sandwich transforms into a soul-satisfying, childhood-reliving, smile-inducing way to start your day.<br />
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<i>Note</i>: There are different types of oats that you can use to make oatmeal - rolled, steel-cut, and quick oats are the most common. I usually use rolled, since they are fairly low maintenance and cook quickly, without getting mushy like the quick oats. I recently discovered Old Wessex 5 Grain Cereal that's a mixture of oats, rye, triticale (a wheat-rye hybrid), barley, and golden flax - it cooks just like the rolled oats, but has a heartier texture and a slightly earthier flavor that I've found I really like. I also add chia seeds to my oatmeal 1) because it's ridiculously good for you - protein, fiber, and essential minerals like calcium and magnesium - and 2) when soaked in liquid, they get a gelatinous coating around them, which not only thickens the oatmeal, but gives it a pudding-like texture that I love.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">PB&J Oatmeal</span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3iqYfT_ZNsF8ZJGb2MHUIbLoFwmNktYLbi_VOU9x-m88c0_HktsNR_1hMPKsawlNOHtq4yp5EZRts4_6fqxZFkOW0ubEdOUOn_MQnLAGHvDhIARsmyQQ3sFDXhwQINq0wg_IMnEVhic5/s1600/IMG_4094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3iqYfT_ZNsF8ZJGb2MHUIbLoFwmNktYLbi_VOU9x-m88c0_HktsNR_1hMPKsawlNOHtq4yp5EZRts4_6fqxZFkOW0ubEdOUOn_MQnLAGHvDhIARsmyQQ3sFDXhwQINq0wg_IMnEVhic5/s400/IMG_4094.JPG" width="266" /></a>makes one serving<br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">⅓ rolled oats</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">⅔ almond milk (or whatever type you'd like)</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">a pinch of salt</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tsp cinnamon</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tsp chunky peanut butter</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbs chia seeds</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4 fresh strawberries, quartered</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2 hand-fulls fresh blueberries</span>1 tbs honey
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Put milk and oats in a medium sauce pan. Turn heat to medium, add the salt, cinnamon and honey, then give oats a quick stir. Bring to a low boil. Immediately turn heat to low and allow to simmer gently. Add peanut butter and chia seeds, then stir well. Cook until thick, or desired texture is reached, stirring occasionally to make sure it isn't sticking to the bottom of the pot.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ While the oats are simmering, combine berries and honey in a small sauce pan. Bring to medium heat. Stirring occasionally - you can even mash them with a fork or potato masher if you like a smoother texture. Cook until the berries have broken down and created a thick syrup.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ To serve, layer oats and compote parfait style. Eat warm out of a big bowl with a tiny spoon while sitting on the couch reading the morning paper. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-52669042004212104392012-07-27T19:42:00.001-07:002012-07-31T06:36:23.351-07:00London is Well Fit: or British Love and Olympic NoshIf there's anything I love more than the Olympics, it's the British - the film, the literature, the music, the humor, the boys, the curses, the accent, the tradition and history of the country. My family has always had a great appreciation for all things English. I was raised on The Clash and Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe and Van Morrison and <i>The Black Adder</i> and Mr. Bean and <i>The Goods</i> and Eddie Izzard and Monty Python and James Bond and<i> Four Weddings and A Funeral</i> and Pimm's Cups. My love of British literature really blossomed in college, where I took not one, but three British Lit courses - I honestly could not get enough, especially contemporary authors like Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and the Big Guy - ignore the face, I hadn't slept.</td></tr>
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<br />
My family are such Anglophiles that our first international vacation was to London and Wales to visit family. Last year, my parents sent me on my first solo-vacation back to London for my birthday to visit a few friends who were studying abroad there. I was thrilled to be heading to my favorite country (yeah, I said it), but I was worried about how I'd take to London - I'm not a big city girl, New York sends me into panic attacks. However, I immediately fell in love. Especially with the Underground. One of my favorite memories of that trip was sitting on the train on my way to New Cross listening to The Clash on my iPod. As I recall, I was smiling like an idiot, and might have scared some of the commuters sitting around me. <br />
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Part of what drew me to London and made me so at ease there was the fact that it doesn't seem like a city. New York is too big - the buildings are too tall and shiny, there too many people around me, there's too much going on, too much stimulus. I find New York extremely overwhelming and anxiety inducing. London, on the other hand, is like a giant small town. There are no skyscrapers, the buildings are all old and historic and beautiful. The English respect and preservation of their past and history is so endearing and wonderful - as Eddie Izzard so perfectly puts it, "I come from Europe, where the history comes from. You tear your history down, man. Thirty years old let's smash it to the ground and put a car park here!" Within London you have these little neighborhoods that feel so much like country villages that you forget you're in the city. Cobblestone streets with shops and merchants that could have magically walked out of a Dicken's novel. My favorite nook in the city was Borough Market.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEmv1_Ku_inpCdLXVzbnZLKFGn4-hNz0NNPfqO7XKlMNUvZtz37yL3L_6cEbITspVuWqc3iYFnTa3FsjDDV20Rnm_P6iZhOogEPF8UKdrMfd1y9IR3mITXXC31jceUX4b0Na1CoSCYJD1/s1600/190454_1942043154333_6015667_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEmv1_Ku_inpCdLXVzbnZLKFGn4-hNz0NNPfqO7XKlMNUvZtz37yL3L_6cEbITspVuWqc3iYFnTa3FsjDDV20Rnm_P6iZhOogEPF8UKdrMfd1y9IR3mITXXC31jceUX4b0Na1CoSCYJD1/s320/190454_1942043154333_6015667_n.jpg" width="214" /></a>Borough Market, located under London Bridge, is the city's oldest fruit and veg market with roots that date back to 1014. Now a days, they have far more than fruit and veg - meat pies, pastries, cheeses, breads, meats, curries, ciders, mulled wine, basically everything and anything you could possibly want. It's tiny, but there is a definite community and culture attached to the market. The vendors are loud and boisterous, calling you over to try their goods. The locals come to gossip over a big bowls of green Thai curry or to grab some fresh rabbit for dinner on their way home from work. I went just to wander and to take everything in - the sounds, the smells, the colors. Oh, and don't forget the tastes. Rabot Estate chocolate shop was my go-to, mainly because of their chocolate enhanced menu. A smoked salmon sandwich with chocolate creme fresh and nibs - I mean, does it get any better? Though I have to say the banana, salted caramel, and cocoa nibs on toasted brioche was my favorite. I may or may not have had a few dreams about that sandwich.<br />
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But I digress. Moral of this long, rambling tirade is that I love the British and London and was terribly excited about the opening ceremonies of the Olympics tonight. I decided that I wanted a celebrate with a London inspired meal. I thought about the classic British fare - bangers and mash, meat pie, beans on toast, fish and chips - but wanted to find something a bit more traditional. So, I do what us Confoy's do best: research. In no time at all, I found two dishes that jumped out at me - ploughman's lunch and potted shrimp. The ploughman's lunch is a pub food that usually consists of bread, cheddar cheese, sliced ham, pickles, and apples laid out that are then assembled into sandwich form. I took this idea and as per usual, put my own spin on it. I kept the bread, cheese, and apples, but substituted the ham for smoked salmon and added some roasted garlic for good measure. Potted shrimp was definitely the highlight of tonight's Olympic nosh - not only was it quick and easy, but it was ridiculously delicious. It was a great addition to the spread we had, and most importantly, it was the perfect pair to my tall, cold Pimm's Cup.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Potted Shrimp</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ stick of butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 large scallion, whites and a little green thinly sliced</span>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tsp cayenne pepper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">1 tsp nutmeg</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ lb wild-caught shrimp, roughly chopped<br />salt and pepper to taste</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">+ In a medium skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Once the butter is hot, add the scallions, cayenne and nutmeg. Saute for a few moments until scallions are soft.</span><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Add another tablespoon or two of butter and melt. Add shrimp and saute, stirring occasionally. Right before the shrimp are cooked, add the rest of the butter and cook until melted. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Place shrimp and butter into a ramekin and refrigerate for two hours, or until solidified. Serve cold on bread or toasts, preferably with a Pimm's Cup.</span></span><br />
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<br /></div>Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-59072157315992151422012-07-19T11:47:00.000-07:002012-08-07T18:21:43.484-07:00Food-Talk, Friends, and RamekinsI love food and I'm not afraid to say it. But it's not about eating food...well, not <i>entirely</i>. My love is of the possibilities, the creation, the idea that every experience can be a new one with the addition of a little spice. I get excited to try new techniques or mixing ingredients together just to see what happens, and it's an incredible feeling when it works and everything balances and tastes delicious. My meals bring me great pride which make me want to share them...maybe too much. I mean, my friends and family definitely aren't complaining about having to partake in the products of my culinary obsession. However, I think that I have begun to wear away at their patients and interest when it comes to talking about food. My food-talk is <b>non-stop -</b> a new recipe I saw online; Mark Bittman's ingredient of the week; the ground cherries I found at Gravity Hill and what I could possibly do with them; the daily question that grates at my family: "What should we have for dinner?" When I go on a tirade about how I prepared the cabbage I made for dinner last night or an idea I had for zucchini oatmeal, my loved ones usually give me a patronizing smile and blankly nod until I've exhausted myself. I have apologized to them, but I can't help it - food just gets me really excited, passionate, and apparently very talkative. However, I think that I have found my savior, the solution to my gab problem, and her name is Chelsea.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh farm veg on a cutting board is happiness.</td></tr>
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Chelsea works with me at Main Street, moonlights as a chef at a New Orleans style restaurant, and is just as much of a foodie as I am. She's a friend that I can talk to about the zucchini flowers I found at the farmer's market but don't know what to do with, and instead of having her eyes glaze over, her excitement rises to meet mine as she gives me her grandmother's fried zucchini flower recipe (which I made and was unbelievable). What I appreciate most is that when we talk it's not one-sided, it's a conversation - we bounce ideas off one another, share advice, recipes, techniques. I feel like I've learned so much just from talking to her over the past couple of months, but last week I went over her house for dinner and learned even<span style="font-family: inherit;"> more from watching her cook. She made a simple pasta dish with roasted vegetables, except it was a completely innovative meal for me. After she mixed the roasted vegetables into the pasta, she finished it off by sauteing some garlic in olive oil and pouring it on top. Then - the most exciting part - the toasted bread crumbs. On the table was a little ramekin filled with bread crumbs (for those who don't know, a ramekin is a little ceramic bowl that can withstand high temperature, which makes them the perfect vessel for cooking and serving dishes, and holding bread crumbs). I didn't quite understand what they were for, until Chelsea sprinkled some on top of her bowl of pasta. I was hesitant at first, but it was amazing. It added crunch, a surprising texture, to the pasta that is usually lacking. Toasted bread crumbs! On Pasta! Who would've thought?! Apparently Chelsea and her family, since they've been doing it for years. For dessert, we had mini-blueberry peach pies also served in ramekins, which happen to be the perfect individual serving size. Everything was wonderfully delicious, and she gave me so many ideas for things to do in my own cooking...which I put to good use this past weekend.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fried Zucchini Blossoms thanks to Chelsea's Grandmother</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My college friend Kit came for dinner, and Chelsea had a huge impact on the meal I made him. Not only did she give me inspiration, but she gave me my very own set of ramekins since I couldn't stop talking about them, and I cannot express my thanks to her enough. For Kit, I made tri-colored penne with roasted tomatoes. Usually my pasta dishes come out pretty much the same, since I always use the same ingredients, ratio of seasonings, and techniques. But for this meal, I stole Chelsea's method of pouring the garlic and olive oil over the dish at the end and finishing it off with bread crumbs - it turned a simple pasta into something new and different and fabulously delicious. For dessert, I also made individual ramekin pies - I made a vegan chocolate cream pie since that's Kit's favorite and topped it with some honey glazed fruit, another Chelsea inspiration (except don't tell Kit it was vegan, he wasn't supposed to find out...oops). Kit ate two mini-pies and finished mine that night, and then had two more the next day. My brother, who is highly critical of my cooking and tired of my healthy meals, was impressed and said that I might actually be able to do this whole cooking thing for real - thanks, Des. And I have to say, I even impressed myself with these little pies. <br /><br />Moral of the story is that I am so happy to have found a fellow culinary enthusiast friend that I can food-talk with and who is just as passionate about it as I am. I find that knowledge and understanding is best gained through sharing and conversation. And it's far more enjoyable and much more potent than studying from a book or reading off the internet. I just can't wait to have Chelsea over my house so I can cook for her. Only question is...what should we do for dinner?<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Roasted Tomato Penne</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 pint cherry tomatoes<br />10 basil leaves, sliced</span><span style="line-height: 18px;">¼ cup panko bread crumbs</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbs butter</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">½ lb penne<br />1 clove garlic, sliced</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">olive oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">salt and pepper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">+ Preheat oven to 350 degrees.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Halve most of the tomatoes, keeping a hand-full whole. Place the tomatoes in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Allow to sit for about ten minutes so that thee juices can seep out. Then, add pepper and half the basil. Drizzle with olive oil and mix so that all the tomatoes are well coated. Place in a shallow baking dish, bake for 40 minutes, or until tomatoes are shriveled and juicy.</span><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">+ While the tomatoes are roasting, heat a splash of oil and butter in a medium pan. Once hot, add panko. Stirring occasionally, cook until the bread crumbs are brown and toasted. Set aside.<br />+ Cook and drain the pasta. Set aside.</span><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Once the tomatoes are done, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a small pan. When the oil is hot, add the garlic. Saute until the garlic just begins to brown. </span><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Toss the tomatoes and remaining basil in with pasta, mix until combined. Drizzle garlic and oil over pasta. Serve each bowl sprinkled with bread crumbs.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Boy-Approved Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">makes 8 mini-pies</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">10 chocolate graham crackers</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">⅓ cup butter, melted</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 bag dark chocolate chips</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">⅓ cup coffee liqueur</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">1 tsp vanilla extract</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">1 package silken tofu, drained</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">3 tbs honey</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">1 cup fresh blueberries</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">1 cup fresh strawberries, quartered</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Preheat oven to 375 degrees.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Place graham crackers and butter in a food processor, blend until the crackers are broken down, and the mix resembles bread crumbs.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">+ Place about three tablespoons of cracker into the bottom of each ramekin. Push the cracker into the bottom of the dish, making sure there are no holes in the crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.<br />+ While the crust is baking, bring a medium pot of water to a simmer over medium heat. Place the chocolate chips, liqueur, and vanilla in a medium metal bowl set over the simmering water. Stir often to prevent the chocolate from burning.<br />+ Once the chocolate is completely melted, place the chocolate, tofu and 1 tbs honey in the food processor. Blend until smooth. Pour some chocolate mixture into each ramekin, leaving a little room in the top of each. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.<br />+ Right before eating, toss berries in 2 tbs of honey, mixing until well coated. Spoon some berries on top of each pie to serve.</span>Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176844485561117904.post-40595426723361199862012-06-24T19:44:00.001-07:002012-06-24T19:45:33.847-07:00Beach Day Picnic<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes all that good karma and positive energy that you've been putting out into the world finally works its way back to you, allowing things to fall perfectly into place. Wednesday was one of these days. A last minute shift change gave me the day off, and as I was updating my little day planner I realized that it was the official first day of summer. The next morning, I was watching the news as I drank my breakfast smoothie (I believe it was blackberry, blueberry, dark cherry), and Al Roker informed me that on Wednesday temperatures would be reaching into the upper 90s, real summer weather. It was then that it dawned on me - maybe it was with a little help from the karmic muses - beach day. The universe was sending me a message, and that message was to grab a blanket, slather myself in sunscreen, and do nothing but lay in the warm rays all day. And that's exactly what I did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg69CEqiZnXbu4AiTRpEp88pBBv97GV8yVck5SiFhVhbW_Af_q-p5gp5hM9_v9IAa1yW8Nz0P_dMztyUaEbeDx6A5O3V86T2uFaXIaLTVM24b3uvcu9avJ_l4zL-T0l5nkO00IaLxzI6BH/s1600/601249_10150959199983818_72136351_n+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="text-decoration: none;"></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But who wants to spend a day at the beach all by their lonesome? So, I convinced my best friend Brynn to come along with me (though she didn't really need that much convincing). We got to the shore, applied copious amounts of sunscreen, almost died in the surf, got a bloody nose (well, at least me), and were laying, sunning on the blanket all before 11:00 AM. We spent most of the day supine, flipping from back to stomach to assure even sun exposure, with short breaks to cool off in the water and partake in the picnic lunch we packed. Brynn made an awesome bean salad - red, white, and black beans, chickpeas, a couple spoon-fulls of pico de gallo, and a splash of apple cider vinegar. It was hearty an filling, but light and fresh which was beach-day-picnic appropriate. I made a fruit salad with watermelon, grapes, berries, and crenshaw melon - a sweet and incredibly juicy member of the cantaloupe family. When I make fruit salads, I like to finish them off with the zest and juice of a lime. There's something about the tang and tartness of the citrus that intensifies the sweetness of the fruits. If you're making the salad the night before, the lime not only keeps the fruit fresh, but it also creates this lovely juice that keeps the whole thing moist and allows the flavors to melt together wonderfully. The cold, juicy, sweet and tangy fruit was a great way to cool down when the sun got a little too hot. I also packed up some seaweed salad I got from Wegman's because 1) I am currently obsessed with this surprisingly sweet and satisfyingly crunchy snack, and 2) it's possibly the most perfect beach food, I mean, what's better than eating seaweed salad while sitting in the sand staring at the sea?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DPlPLpf2DYQgr32dYpeRCLfGYsgjTbSyEK5NcLxWedtMZUYr7F5vKfCJhkfck7dmRuUQLAwlxit9kd46IoT_LBQspfTJswr6eRiKT4Ik5SHYF3pI7P0xRE_vTdFLlqxIiIoEdb5a3Btf/s1600/photo+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DPlPLpf2DYQgr32dYpeRCLfGYsgjTbSyEK5NcLxWedtMZUYr7F5vKfCJhkfck7dmRuUQLAwlxit9kd46IoT_LBQspfTJswr6eRiKT4Ik5SHYF3pI7P0xRE_vTdFLlqxIiIoEdb5a3Btf/s320/photo+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We spent all afternoon just lying down feeling the sun beating down and cool sea breeze kissing our flesh, hearing the sounds of the surf and gulls and people, smelling the salt and sunscreen and water until we just couldn't take it anymore. It was Brynn's idea to stop in a little beach town on our way out to get cold drinks for the ride home. We ended up taking a stroll down the main drag, popping in consignment shops and boutiques for brief moments of air conditioned relief from the heat. Heading back to the car, we stumbled upon <a href="http://www.rejuiceanation.com/" style="color: #e69138;">Re-Juice-a-Nation</a>, a cute little joint that offered fresh fruit juices and smoothies, including a bunch of vegan options. After much deliberation (there were at least 30 drinks on the menu to choose from), I decided to go with the Bango - banana, mango juice, and mango chunks. They served it up in a massive cup, I mean, if it had been filled with coke, Bloomberg would have cuffed me. It was thick and cold and sweet, and as we drove out of town and away from the shore, the Bango was the perfect, healthy treat to end a beautiful beach day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">While I am so happy that karma gave me such a phenomenal day, I'm definitely not going to wait for the universe to do all the work. I've never been what you'd call a beach bum, but I see myself taking the utmost advantage of my days off to lay a blanket in the sand and spend all day reclining in the sun. And now that I know where the good smoothies are, there's nothing stopping me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Warning:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">When eating seaweed salad, the strands of seaweed have a tendency to get stuck in your teeth, especially the ones furthest back in your mouth. Therefore, if said beach-picnic is a date-picnic, seaweed salad might not be the best option. </span></div>Claudia Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307316159169982165noreply@blogger.com0