Pre Holiday Meal

When you find yourself dropping massive amounts of money on the food for the holiday, it's easy to forget about what's for dinner.

Tonight we had melted cheese and ham sandwiches.
Recipe for 2 sandwiches.

1. Start the broiler.
2. Under the broiler, lightly toast 4 slices of Sourdough Bread.
3. Flip bread over and pile two slices with thinly sliced black forest ham from westridge. And pile the others with cheese. Eric chose thinly sliced Point Reyes Blue Cheese, I chose thinly sliced Gruyere. Before putting the sandwich slice back in the broiler, I put some slices of red onion on Eric's Blue Cheese. Drizzle olive oil over meat and cheese. Grind fresh black pepper over everything.
4. Once cheese is melted to desired meltiness, remove from under broiler. Assemble sandwiches and slice in half.

Family Coming for Christmas

My parents and my brother and finance arrive on Sunday, the 23rd for dinner. It makes my mom nervous when I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so I am doing my best to think ahead, plan out the meals and prep as much as possible.

The 4 days Dinner look like this:

Sunday Night
Baby Back Ribs
Polenta
Spicy Peppery Citrus Salad

Monday
Gumbo, Cornbread and Rice
Salad
Gingerbread Cake for desert

Tuesday
Seviche
Emapandas
Salad with Poblano Rajas and Smoked Whitefish

Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Guajillo Sauce
Smokey Greens
Cheese Grits Souffle
Spicy Pear Relish
Some sort of Roasted Veggie Squash Carrot Dish

Semolina Cake with 2 sauces

Tough Turkey

I was feeling ambivalent about hosting Thanksgiving dinner, but when I found out that Healthy Family Farms, the same stand from which I get my eggs from, was going to be making turkeys available, I got inspired.

Not remembering how big a turkey I usually get, and not sure who we were having over, I ordered a 20lb-er. When I picked it up, it was the biggest turkey I started inviting friends.

In honor of the local turkey, I felt out the rest of the menu from what I could get at the Farmer's Market, Farmer and the Cook and Rainbow Bridge. All organic and mostly local, I felt grateful again to live in Ojai, California.

On Wednesday, when I opened the turkey to get it ready to brine, I was overwhelmed by it's force. At risk of sounding too hippy, the spirit of my turkey was HUGE and I felt compelled to light a candle and say my prayers of gratitude. This was some turkey. I mean, like whoa whoa. It gave off this intense force that made my hair stand on end everytime I handled it.

But I learned a valuable lesson this holiday. While ethically I was very pleased with my free range organic turkey, I had not intended to cook an athlete. While the bird was perfectly cooked, nothing could mask the touch and chewy meat. Next year, I will be looking for the turkey that given the choice to run free, chose to relax and fatten up a little. A turkey more like me.

Thanksgiving 2007 Menu
10 peeps
Mixed Group.
2 Vegans

Appetizers
- Roasted Nuts with Rosemary, Brown Sugar, Cayenne and Salt
- Cheese Plate and Crackers
- Smoked Salmon Plate with Lemon Dill Sour Creme, Red Onions, Capers and Pumpernickel Toasts
- Herbed Olives


Dinner
Tough Turkey
(I carved according to the Video on the NYT. Great!)
Gravy
Basic Bread Stuffing (Bread from FnC)
Braised Fennel (Fennel from B.D.)
Slow Simmered Leeks in Olive Oil (Leeks from Rainbow, Carrots from Tutti Frutti, Onions from FnC)
Gingered Black Kale (Kale from Rainbow, Ginger from FnC)
Roasted Small Red Potatoes (Potatoes from Farmer's Market Stand)
Cranberry Sauce with Pomegranate Seeds (Cranberries from FnC, Local Pomegranates)


Desert
Katherine brought a Pear Tartan
Craig brought a Pumpkin Pie from Olivia

Steve and Olivia Came Over for Dinner

Steve and Olivia Came over for dinner tonight. I had a a huge chunk of swordfish from Ric and Alicia and they have lots of vegetables. They dropped of the veggies around 2:45 and we headed out to see a 2:50 showing of American Gangster.

Great movie.

We came back and together concocted the menu:


Tomato Arugula Bruchetta

Oven Roasted Swordfish with Mustard Tamari Glaze and Herb Roasted Potatoes
Wilted Spinach with Garlic and Flame Raisins
Steamed Bok Choy with Ginger and Pistachios
Marinated Shitake Mushroom Turnip Salad

Chocolate Chip Cookies

So fun to dine together and make up something totally new.

Tomoto Arugula Bruschetta

Olivia made a fantastic brushcetta of:

tomatoes
garlic
onion
arugula
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt

i found stale bread in the fridge and revived it by pan toasting it in olive oil in the pan.

delicious.

Roasted Swordfish with Mustard Glaze and Herb Red Potatoes wit

Ric of What A Deal Seafood convinced me to try cooking the swordfish like this. On Sunday, he had these big huge cuts of swordfish like a pot roast. And when I asked him how to cook them, he said, "Like a Pot Roast".

Oven to 400.
Baking Sheet prepped with piece of Tinfoil and oiled.

1. Bog 2+ pound piece of swordfish cut like a pot roast.
2. Mix up country Dijon mustard, green peppercorn mustard, tamari soy sauce and olive oil.
3. Stick 3 or 4 Fresh Rosemary Sticks into and through fish. (I did not get them "all the way through")
4. Rub outside of Fish with a 1/2 clove of garlic.

5. Wash and slice up small red potatoes into small wedges. Toss with olive oil, pepper, salt, thyme and Mexican oregano. Scatter around the fish.

6. Pour mustard marinade all over fish.

7. Put fish and potatoes in Oven and set timer for 20 minutes. At 20 minutes, turn pan around and set timer for 10 more minutes. Check Fish. You will most likely need to cook it for at least 10 minutes more, but it depends on your oven. We took it out at about 35 minutes. It was 2 minutes to being cooked. We covered it with tinfoil while rest of food got cooked (10 minutes), and it cooked the rest of itself and mellowed perfectly.

8. Transfer potatoes and fish to a serving platter.
(I would put the bok choy under it next time, but it looked pretty and old skool tonight).

Shikate, Turnip, Pepper, Avoocado Salad

I was not totally present for the making of this salad. Olivia did it. She can comment if I am getting it wrong.

A bunch of Beautiful Turnips from Steve's Farm
A bunch of Shitake Mushrooms
A Red Pepper
Avocados

1. 1/4 inch Julienne the Turnips
2. Slice the mushrooms
3. Mix turnips and mushrooms with soy sauce? I am not sure.
4. Roast up Red pepper, peal and chop, scatter the red pepper around the outside of the mushrooms and turnips.
5. Slice up the avocado and attractively arrange around the salad.

Lemonade Spinich

Olive Oil
Red Pepper Flakes
Beautiful Spinach
Ginger
Garlic
Golden Flame Raisins
Friend's Ranch Lemonade

1. Heat Saute Pan. Add Olive Oil.
2. Once hot, add red pepper flakes to taste.
3. Add Minced Ginger.
4. Add Spinach. Saute and turn for a while. Eventually add a little minced garlic.
5. Eventually add some lemon juice, add the raisins, and partially cover.

6. Check on and turn every so often. The spinach wilts super fast. When almost ready, add too much salt, stir and taste. Adjust as necessary.

7. To Serve, put in a pretty flat dish.

Bok Choy Saute with Pistachios

1. Just the right amount of olive oil in a hot saute pan
2. Once hot, add pistachios and saute until toasted and richer. Remove and store in a bowl.
3. If necessary, add more oil and heat.
4. Add Minced ginger and saute until fragrant.
5. Add prepped cleaned and sliced Bok Choy from Steve's Farm

Tonight the timing on this was dependent on the fish and the spinach and the red pepper. So I left it till it seemed al dante enough to be crunchy but cooked.

Transfer to a pretty plate and scatter with pistachios.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Alexis Brown Sugar Cookies in Entertaining.

oven at 375.
rack in the center.
cookie sheet greased with butter wrapper.

2 sticks butter at room temp.
generous 1.5 cup brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
2 eggs
generous 1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp fine sea salt salt

too many chocolate chips

1. use something electric to help mush up the butter
2. blend in the brown sugar fully
3. add the white and do the same
4. add the eggs
5. add the vanilla

6. sift the flour, salt and baking soda

7. slowly add he flour mixture, blending and tasting. i usually have bout 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour mixture left over. i do not like that flour taste, so i stop shy of that.

8. blend in too many chocolate chips. tonight we added a bag. sometimes we add more.

9. dollop onto cookie sheet. bake 8 to 12 minutes, depending on your oven.

10. as done, carefully trasnsfer to spot to dry as rest bake.

Crib Crew Dinner Menu

Each year, we kick off the CRIB with a Crew Dinner. I did not have the juice or time to pull off something elaborate and allowed what was available this morning at the Farmer's Market to guide me.

The Menu was:

Starters:
Oven Roasted Tomatoes with Mozzarella and Lemon Basil
Kale Bruschetta
Rosemary Spiced Nuts

Main Event
Potato Leek Gratin (Used Deborah Madison's Recipe from 'Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone')
Warm Red Cabbage Salad with Dried Fruit and Feta (Used Ed Brown's Recipe from 'Tomato Teachings and Radish Blessings'
Arugula Salad with Fennel, Avocado and Pomegranate Seeds

Leela brought and Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream
and Uschi brought a Pear and Almond Tart with Ginger Whip Creme

Lime Chicken Soup

Yesterday we had a ton of beautiful small tomatoes from Steve;s farm, a big white onion, lots of limes and poblanos and so the inspiration was born for a chicken lime soup.

1 White Onion
1 or 2 Carrots
3 Cloves Garlic
Mexican Oregano, Thyme and Cumin Sees
Chicken Broth
2 or 3 poblanos
2 Chicken Breasts
Lots of Fresh Tomatoes
8 Limes
2 ears corn (optional)
1 bunch cilantro
1 or 2 Avocado
1 or 2 jalepenos


1. Heat Olive oil in Big heavy Soup Pot.
2. Slice up white onion and throw in oil, stir and lower heat to slowly soften and brown.
3. Slice up a carrot or two, peal and smash a few cloves of garlic and add them to the pot.
4. Meanwhile, Roast, Peel and Thinly slice Poblanos
5. When onions and carrots are to your desired "cookedness", stir in desired amount of Mexican Oregano, Thyme and cumin seed. Stir and cook just a bit longer and then add chicken broth. (One tetrapak container for 2 peeps.)
6. Meanwhile, cube 2 chicken breasts.
7. When Broth is boiling, turn down heat and allow to simmer for a little bit while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
8. If you are lucky enough to have Steve's amazing small tomatoes on hand, cut them into half moon wedges. If not, the cut sweet cherry tomatoes in half or thinly slice Big tomatoes into half moon shapes.
9. Prep the Avocados by cutting in half, removing pit and slicing inside the peel.
10. Finely chop cilantro, thinly slice the jalapenos and juice the limes into a small bowl.
11. 10 minutes before you want to eat, bring broth back to boil and add chicken. Stir occasionally as it cooks. It cooks AMAZINGLY fast. Like 8 minutes or less. When chicken is cooked though (CHECK), add poblanos. Stir and add tomatoes. Add the Corn if using. Stir and remove from heat.
12. Stir in lime juice and salt to taste.
13. To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Spoon out half of a half of the avocado slices on top of soup and sprinkle with cilantro and jalepenos if desired.


Note: I made some white rice so Eric's would be a heartier, but I felt it was better without it.

The Washburns come to Dinner

Barabra and Derrick are some of my favorite people in Ojai and I was super excited to have them over for dinner.

We started with:

Smoked Whitefish and Crab Stuffed Jalapenos with Tomotillo Salsa

Then, for the main event, we ate:

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Guajillo Sauce
Oven Baked Polenta
Poblanos Rajas
Spicy Cesear Salad

We drank Titus 2004 Cab.

For Desert, we ate:

Ginger Cake with whip creme, blackberries, pistachios and mint
Coffee

Some of the recipes are right below, some reference

Tomotillo Salsa

1. Under the broiler, roast about 18 Tomotillos (skins removed and washed) under the broiler until blackened. Turn and blacken other side.

2. While tomotillos, are roasting, pan roast 4 cloves of unpeeled garlic and 2 Serrano chilies on a flat cast iron pan on top of the stove.

Once everything is blackened, pour tomtillos and collected juices, peeled garlic and Serrano chilies into your food processor. Pulse to combine.

(You can vary the above to your tastes, making it hotter).

Pour into a bowl and mix with enough water to make the consistency more spoonable. Just before serving, stir in about 1/3 cup or more of finely diced white onion and about 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro. Add salt and sugar to balance out the tanginess and heat.

Keep in fridge, till ready to use.

Stuffed Crab and Smoked Whitefish Jalapenos with Tomotillo Salsa, Avocado and Feta

Chile Rellenos are one of my most favorite foods, but I have always been intimidated about working with that huge chili, hoping it won't fall apart as I fry it up. Working with jalapenos has been a good way to gain confidence. And one day I'll tackle the poblano.

I have stuffed these with cheese, pork, chorizo, chicken and various other experiments. Tonight, I decided to try a crab and smoked white fish filling since we were having pork tenderloin as the main dish.

I served these as a first course for 4 peeps and made enough so everybody could have 3 each. The jalapenos are fresh and plentiful this time of year. I got mine at Farmer and the Cook who got theirs from Tutti Frutti.

Preparing the Jalapenos
1. Fill a medium saucepan with about 3 inches of water. Add 2 roughly chopped small cones or 1/3 of a big come of piloncillo (Mexican cane sugar) or about 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Bring to a boil as you prepare the chilies.

2 Make a "T-shaped" slit in each chili. The top of the "T" should be near the stem (about a thumb width) and the slit should go almost to the tip of the chili.

3. When water is boiling and sugar has dissolved, add chilies to the water. Simmer for about 5 minutes. (I usually use a small lid to press the chilies down cuz they have a tendency to bob on the top of the water).

4. Remove with a slotted spoon or tongs and drain cut side down.

5. When cool enough to handle, remove the seeds and veins with a small spoon. Be diligent about this. Any seeds left in there make it almost inedible for most people.

The Filing
As I mentioned above, you can stuff the chilies with anything, but tonight we used crab and smoked whitefish.

1. Heat some water and pour over a handful of Flame Raisins to soften.
2. Finely chop about 1/3 cup of white onion.
3. In a saute pan, heat a little olive oil. Add some freshly ground cumin and coriander and a hint of garam masala. Once fragrant (only about 20 seconds or so), add the onions and turn the heat to low. Saute until onions are super tender and the spices have blended. (I usually let this happen for at least 15 minutes)
4. While onions are cooking, chop about 1/4 cup of cilantro, a tbl. of capers and the warmed raisins.
5. Mix the onions, cilantro, capers together, mashing a bit with a fork.
6. Grate zest of one lemon into mixture and offer the juice of half of the lemon.
7. Add a generous 1/3 of a cup of crab meat and 1/2 cup of smoked whitefish. Blend well and taste for needed tweaks. Salt is usually required. (I do not add pepper cuz of the spiciness of the chilies).

Stuffing the chilies
Carefully Open and stuff the chilies with amount of stuffing that allows you to close the chili back up into its "original" shape. Store on plate with Plastic Wrap and put in fridge. 30 Minutes before frying, put the chilies in the freezer so they hold together better. (Thank you Rick Bayless for this tip).

Battering and Frying the Chilies
This is what makes this dish difficult to do for company. Cuz you really want to do this right before you serve it. So, I only serve it when pals who don't mind you in the kitchen when they come over.

1. If you want to keep them warm while you fry the whole lot up, turn the oven to its lowest setting. (I had polenta cooking in the oven tonight, so I did not have this option).

2. Heat a massive amount of oil in a deep dish heavy skillet. You want at least 1/2 inch of oil. Tonight I tried Spectrum's High Heat Sunflower oil and it worked great.

3. Separate eggs, letting whites fall into big bowl and keeping egg yolks in a smaller bowl.

4. Spread about 1/4 flour on a plate.

5. Add about 1/4 tsp. of salt into egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form. Then, with mixer still going, add a tbl. of flour and the yolks one at a time until blended.

6. Working quickly, hold onto the stems as you dunk chilies in flour, shaking off the excess and then dip them into the batter to coat fully. Then place them in the hot oil to fry. Work in small batches to allow plenty of frying room. As they set, spoon some of the hot oil on the sunny side up. Turn after about 2 minutes and fry other side.

7. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels and keep in oven if you have that option.

To Serve:
Tonight I smeared a platter with tomotillo salsa and layed the chilies on top. Sprinkle with cilantro and feta and serve with extra salsa and avocado slices to cut the heat. Might have been nicer to make everyone individual plates of them...but it worked out fine. Sour creme would also have been welcomed as these jalepenos turned out to be on the spicer side.

Spicey Ceaser Salad

This is a nice change from the usual Cesar salad. Almost works like a palette cleanser. Again, thank you Rick Bayless for the idea.

One way make the croutons:
- Cube your favorite bread. Country Sourdough or Pane Rustica are my favorites lately. Toast on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes in oven @ 400 degrees until dry and toasty.
- Meanwhile, gently warm 1/4 cup or more of olive oil with hunks of garlic. After about 20 minutes, gently mash garlic into oil and then strain.
- Toss croutons with garlic oil and put back in oven until golden brown. (About 5 more minutes).

The dressing:
In a food processor, combine
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 halved Serrano chili with half the seeds removed (or more to make it hotter).
- 4 tsp. Worchestshire Sauce
- 1.5 tbl of Sherry Vinegar
- Zest from 1.5 limes
- Salt

Blend for about a minute.

Remove from Processor and whip rest of 1/2 cup olive oil in by hand.
(Last night, we were only making salad for 4, so i divided the dressing in half, whipping only 1/4 cup of oil into the blended mixture).

The Lettuce
Trim 2 heads of romaine lettuce down to the more tender leaves. Tear or chop into bite size pieces and wash and dry.

When ready to serve the salad, toss the lettuce with about a 1/2 cup of finely chopped cilantro. Toss with desired amount of dressing. Add croutons and crumble Feta or Queso Fresco cheese all over it.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Guajillo Sauce

I was inspired to make Guajillo Sauce from Rick Bayless. But once I had made it according to him, it was not quite right to our tastes. So below is my recall of his instructions and our additions

1. Slowly roast 6 unpeeled garlic cloves on a cast iron skillet until blackened. (About 15 minutes).
2. Stem, open, seed and devein two 2 oz. bags of Guajillo Chillies. (Skinny bright red ones).
3. Start kettle of water.
4. Once garlic is done, toast chillies briefly on both sides and remove to a bowl. (I like to press them down into pan to blister them a bit). Pour hot water over them and allow to soak about 30 minutes to rehydrate.

5. In food processor, puree chilles, garlic, 1/3 cup beef broth, a couple pinches freshly ground cumin seed, Mexican oregano, salt and fresh ground pepper until smooth.

6. Press mixture though a sieve to get smooth paste and discard of skins.

7. Heat enuf olive oil (about 1.5 tbl) in big heavy dutch oven-like pan. Add puree and allow to cook until it "rounds out", loosing the chili edge and turning a darker brick red. Slowly begin to add the beef broth. Rick's recipe called for 3 cups of beef broth. I only added 2 to get a thicker sauce. At the end of dinner, I had no sauce left over, so I might add more broth next time.

8. Cook for 30 minutes over a low simmer, partially covered.

9. When we tasted it, we wanted it to be sweeter. So, I added a canela cinnamon stick, some flame raisins and a little molasses. If I do this sauce again, I would add the cinnamon stick in the beginning.

These additions, plus lots of salt, allowed the sauce to find it's footing and reveal something really yummy.

Because we were uncertain of the heat of the sauce, we grilled the pork tenderloin with just olive oil, salt and pepper.

To serve, I spooned some of the beautiful red sauce on a plate along with lots of the raisins. I sliced up the tenderloin on the diagonal and arranged on the platter. I scattered with chopped cilantro and toasted slivered almonds.

That Ginger Cake

No recipe has elicited as much love as this adaptation from Joy of Cooking's Fresh Ginger Cake. I have given this recipe out a million times and I always hear back that no matter how you make it, it turns out totally delicious.

Derick said it was the best desert he had ever had.

Tonight, I had all the mixings fixed so just before I served dinner on the table, I mixed them up and threw the cake in the oven so it baked while we ate.

Tonight I served it with soft whipped creme sweetened with a little maple syurp, blackberries and pistachios.

Here is the blueprint:

Heat oven to 350 and grease a round cake pan. (I like the 9" kind whose sides "pop off" to make for easy cake removal).

In a small bowl, combine
- 1.5 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt

In a large bowl, combine
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup dark corn syrup (or golden syrup, honey or light molasses...maple syrup would probably also work...)
- 1 large egg

Melt a stick of unsalted butter, and add to the molasses mixture with 1/4 cup water.

Add a very generous 1/2 cup of minced fresh ginger to the molasses mixture and stir.

Stir in flour mixture.

Pour cake batter into greased pan.
Bake for about 25 minutes until ye olde fork in the center trick reveals a clean fork.

Let cake cool enuf to remove from pan.
Slice and serve warm.

Grilled Cheese Take 2

A while ago I published instructions for my first foods. The things I first learned how to make. One of them was a grilled cheese sandwich for my dad. Today I updated it with my beuaitul Southern California life vegetables.

1. Turn on broiler.
2. Slice Ciabatta bread to desired thickness.
3. Put toast on cookie sheet and toast one side under broiler.
4. Thinly slice the raw hard goat cheese they carry at Rainbow Bridge and put on non-toasted bread side. Put under broiler to melt.
5. Meanwhile, in the nooks and crannies of toasting time, halve or quarter your favorite delicious cherry tomatoes. (Lately I am using the big orange ones from Farmer and the Cook). Toss tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, some shredded lemon basil and salt. (Some chopped shallots might have been good too).
6. When cheese is at desired meltiness, remove toasts to a plate and spoon tomato mixture on top. Grind some fresh pepper on and serve with knife and fork.

Cardamon Pod Tea with Maple Syrup and Lemon

It's just turned to fall. The light is softer and the mountains are blushing in the mornings.
I am just starting to make tea again. This is the one I made tonight and used to make a lot.

Start the water.
Lightly Crush 6 or 7 Cardamon Pods
Slice a piece of lemon (tonight i sliced a round one).

Pour a hit of Mountain School in Vermont maple syrup into your mug. Put the lemon slice and crushed cardamon pods in. When water is boiling, pour water onto. Let steep for about 5 minutes. If you want, filter, but I usually just drink it with all the stuff still in it.

Steve Sprinkle's Cherry Tomatoes with Blue Cheese

Last night we were on our way to the OVLC Moonlight on the Meadow Fundraiser. Seemed like a good idea to make a little snack before going. Steve Sprinkle had gifted me a basket of the most beautiful orange sweet small tomatoes. They are bigger than cherry tomatoes and probably have another name. Be sure to get some before they are gone.

1. Quarter 6 of the delicious small orange tomatoes from Framer and the Cook.
2. Drizzle with the Balsamic Vinegar that Kim brought you back from Argentina
3. Crumble the blue cheese that is in your fridge over the tomatoes
4. Drizzle some good olive oil over the tomatoes
5. Sprinkle some good salt

We ate it with forks.

Poblanos Rajas for BFF

My BFF (that's Best Friend FOREVER) just asked me to post this recipe. I did not make it up. It's a classic Mexican thang. The ratio of onions to poblanos can vary depending on your taste and aesthetics.

1. Roast 3 or 4 Poblanos under the broiler, turning occasionally so they are totally charred and black. (If the cute boy next door is grilling, you can put them on the grill and char them there). Time varies depending on the shape of the peppers and your broiler. Once charred, you need to steam them. You can do this is a zip lock bag or in a brown paper bag. My favorite technique is in a bowl covered with that new amazing Press n' Seal. Let them rest at least 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, slice up a big white onion into 1/4 inch slices.

3. Mince a clove of garlic.

4. When poblanos are ready, remove from "steamer set up" and peel off the skin. This is where you will wish you really charred them, cuz if you got lame in step 1, it will be hard to peal here.
Remove the stem and seeds and then thinly slice.

5. Turn on heat under a pan and add some olive oil. Add the onions and saute until softer, but not brown or soggy. I think the dish tastes better when the onions still have a little crunch, so usually no more than 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute more. Add the poblanos strips and and heat through. Add some crumbled Mexican Oregano.

6. Remove from heat and when you are ready to serve, add a hit of heavy creme and good salt.

A Variation on a Theme: Pasta with Tomotoes and Other Stuff

Eric says I have been dialing this dish in since the winter. Using canned tomatoes and chard and sausage and some other unusual things like adobo sauce from the chitpole pepper can and sun dried tomatoes, the first version of this dish made Eric say, "Wow, this dish would make Uncle Cuccio so mad. Because he would love it and it would be like nothing he ever tasted before."

The ingredients keep changing with the seasons. Here is the version that we made tonight:


1. Start a pot of water boiling
2. Start Heat under your favorite meat searing pan. (Tonight I used non-stick cuz I am going out of town tomorrow and did not feel like having a lot to clean up).
3. Remove casing from Hot Italian Turkey Sausage (or other sausage of choice) and pull into bits and add to hot pan. Brown and when done, turn off heat and leave in pan.
4. Meanwhile, finely mince or press 2 cloves of garlic. Mash with some salt and throw in large bowl with some olive oil.
5. Half a small red onion and slice half moon shapes out of one side. Add to bowl.
6. Core and chop 4 large Delicious Big Beef or Heirloom Tomatoes.
7. Thinly slice about 7 marinated sun dried tomatoes and add to bowl.
8. Drain and add about 1/2 a jar of pitted Kalamata olives.
9. Pull Lemon Basil Leaves off the stems and add to bowl.
10. Stir and pour some more olive oil in, along with some Balsamic Vinegar and lots of Ground Pepper. Allow to sit while sausage finishes cooking and water begins to bowl.

Tonight, Eric and I were working and he asked me to delay dinner an hour, I turned water off and once sausage seemed done, turned it off to, but the tomato mixture was allowed to marinate. This seemed to work out.

11. Once sausage is done, turn off heat and let it rest till needed.
12. Once water is boiling, throw in pasta. I have been a huge egg pasta fan lately and tonight we used the fettucini width egg pasta noodles.
13. When pasta is done, drain. Add Sausage and lots of salt to tomato mixture. Mix with pasta and serve with chopped fresh mozzarella on top.

Quick Chard Bruschetta

I came home late from teaching and wanted something yummy to go with a glass of red wine.

1. Thinly slice up some Russian Kale
2. Heat too much olive oil in a pan.
3. When hot, add kale and stir. Once it looks kinda fried and bright green (i think about 5 minutes), add some Fire Raisins and continue to cook until raisins plump up. Squeeze some lemon on the greens and remove from pan and put in a bowl. Grate Parmesan into warm greens and stir.
4. Add some more olive oil to the pan and "pan toast" up 2 slices of Pane Rustica Bread till desired toastiness is achieved.
6. Rub Toast with a cut piece of garlic.
7. Place toast on a plate and pile greens on top. Good Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper.

Eat with a knife and fork. Goes well with Bill Moses's Casa Barranca 2006 Pinot Noir.

Oven Roasted Heriloom Tomato Pasta

Any juicy fresh tomato will do, but I had heirlooms.

1. Preheat Oven to 350
2. Core and Cut 5 or 6 Tomatoes in half. Put on baking sheet cut side up. Drizzle olive oil and grind fresh pepper on them. Put in oven for about 50 minutes, until they look a little dry on the top.
3. Meanwhile, start your pot of salted water.
4. Finely Chop 1/2 a red onion. I would have used Shallot if I had it.
5. Mince 1 clove of garlic.
5. Sliver lots of fresh basil. (I probably slivered a cup).

6. When tomatoes are done, roughly chop them up and throw in a big bowl with the onion, garlic and basil, some olive oil and lots of good salt and pepper.

7. Cook pasta. Tonight we used the egg pasta from Farmer and the Cook.
8. Drain Pasta and Toss with Tomatoes.

Serve. Yum.

Thomas Meyerhoffer Returns Home

Our pal thomas showed up yesterday night for 2 days. I love when Thomas comes to visit.

Tonight we made this:

Grilled Scallops on Fennel, Radish and Lemon Salad

1. Start the grill.

2. Prep the giant diver scallops from Ric and Alicia with a little olive oil,pepper and salt. 3 to a skewer.

3. Slice some Pink and Red French Radishes and bulb of Fennel super thin and toss with a little lemon zest, lemon, olive oil, fresh ground pepper and good salt. Divide among 3 plates.

4. Finely chop some Tarragon.

5. Grill Scallops Perfectly like Eric did tonight.

6. Arrange scallops on the fennel salad, sprinkle tarragon and serve with a lemon wedge.


Yum. Then me and Thomas had vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.

Surrender to the Meat Party: A Cooking Anxiety Dream

Had my first dinner party anxiety dream last night. Compelled to share it. Reveals my cooking control freak perfectly.

I had invited a group of people over to my house for dinner, but had been somewhat lame in making sure to invite everyone and not committed enough to really make sure they were coming.

Instead of preparing for the dinner party, I spent the day snorkeling with Allison and giant earthworms underwater. (This was a whole separate bizarre chapter of the dream).

When it struck 6:00pm, the time when people were supposed to be arriving, I had not yet started to cook anything. Of course, I had bought ingredients to that would require at least 5 hours to prepare and I was debating what to do, I resolved that we would all just get burritos at Jim n' Robs.

When I came downstairs, my little brother Geordie and friend John Fonteyn had cooked up all the food, but not in the way I would have. They had created a 1950's style meat fest. All the food looked like those funny colorized photos from the late 50s, early 60s cookbooks. So as I was scanning the crown roast with ham cold cuts tucked inside, the dried up pork chops slathered in ground beef and onions, the roasted chickens all torn up in caveman portions, and the maraschino cherry pot roast, I was in suspension between feeling grateful and frustrated. Dinner had been made unasked and lovingly, but it was not the way I wanted it. People were already arrived and more were coming, and I was going to be judged on the food.

The tension was unbelievable. And as I watched John from Krotona, a strict vegetarian, scan the offerings and not find anything, my sense of failure was immense. I woke up feeling helpless and ungrateful.

The advice I am gleaning this morning:
1. When you put something in motion, it will happen and you better show up for it.
2. If you are going to insist on doing it all yourself, then really do it.
3. But instead, why don't you notice the support that is there for you and work with it.
4. Your ideas about the way things should be will keep you from growing.
5. Soften your food snobbery.
6. And say thank you.

Old Skool New England Scallops and Sketti

1. Bring pot of salted water to boil.
2. Thinly slice up 2 leeks and saute in butter and olive oil. Set aside.
3. Mince up a clove of garlic and about a teaspoon of fresh green peppercorns.
4. When water boils throw in Spaghetti. You have about 12 to 13 minutes from here till done.
5. In same pan as you cooked the leeks, add more butter and olive oil. Salt and pepper 6 beautiful diver scallops from Alicia at GeeWhataDeal Seafood. When fat is ready, add scallops to pan. Saute until browned, but not cooked though. I partially covered the pan to speed up cooking. Set aside.
6. Add leeks back into pan. Add garlic and peppercorns. Add some white wine and allow to cook off. Add a little Dijon mustard. Put scallops back into pan and cover.
7. Slice up some fresh arugula from Steve's Farm.
8. When pasta is done, drain and add olive oil and lemon and salt to toss.
9. When scallops are done, pull from heat, add sliced arugula and some lemon juice to pan and stir.
10. To serve, put spaghetti in 2 bowls and dish out Scallops and sauce on top. Salt and pepper to taste.


Eric loved this. Reminded him of Boston where he went to college but also of Ojai where we live now. I ate my entire dish. He only ate half. Haha!

Breakfast from Last Night Leftovers

1. We fried up the leftover french potato salad from last night in Olive Oil.
2. In same pan, fried up our local organic eggs.
3. Served eggs on top of potatoes with leftover tomato salad from last night.

YUM!

French Potato Salad

1. Boil 4 delicious red potatoes from Steve's Farm

2. Meanwhile, make the dressing:
- minced shallots mixed with red wine vinegar (let this sit for a while)
- salt and minced garlic
- chopped capers
- good Dijon mustard
- pepper
- olive oil

3. When potatoes are done, drain. Cut up into desired size and mix with the dressing.

We served the potato salad along side the fish.

Seared Miso Ahi Tuna with Fennel, Daikon Salad and Leeks

1. Thinly slice one leek from Tutti Frutti.
2. Saute up leek on medium/low heat in olive oil. Set aside when done.
3. Thinly slice 2 fennel bulbs from BD and squeeze with lemon juice.
4. Thinly slice daikon radish from Rainbow and squeeze with lemon from Eric's tree. Create a "salad" with the fennel and the radish on the plates.
5. Grate zest from one or two lemons.
6. Finely chop super thin scallions from B.D.
7. Slice hunk of tuna from Alicia at GeeWhataDeal into four 1" steaks. Smear with Red Barley Miso from Farmer and the Cook. Heat olive oil and once hot, put steaks on. Sear on one side (about 2 minutes and then sear less on the other).
8. To serve, put pieces of fish on top of the radish fennel salad. Scatter leeks, lemon zest and scallions on top. Along side, serve Tamari soy sauce, wasabi, pumpkin seeds. The fish did not need the condiments, but Eric prefers it like that.

Volunteer Heirloom Bruschetta

Beautiful Ripe Small Heirlooms from Steve's Farm
Red Onion from Farmer and the Cook
Fresh Garlic from B.D.
Arugula from Steve's Farm
Lemon Basil from BD
Balsamic Vinegar from Kim from Argentina
Olive Oil
Fresh Mozzarella from Rainbow

Olivia combined the above ingredients in the perfect combination and sliced the mozzarella, arranging it around the bowl of tomatoes.
I sliced the bread into 1/2 inch thick slices. Toasted one side, then lightly under toasted the other. Removed from oven, rubbed a cut slice of garlic on the slices, poured some olive oil on them and toasted them a little more.
Instead of putting the tomato mixture on the bread, Olivia served the bowl of tomatoes with the bread on the side.

Steve and Olivia Came Over for Dinner

And Steve said, "I'll bring some vegetables and Patron."
And I said, "I'll order some fish from Alicia"

I had a wide open cranial sacrum appointment with Arturo that ended at 6:45.
Steve and Olivia showed up about then.

Alicia had delivered a shy 2lb of ahi tuna and 8 diver scallops.
Olivia came with volunteer heirlooms, leeks, carrots, arugula.
And I had some stuff in the fridge.

We made tomato bruschetta with lemon Basil and fresh mozzarella, french potato salad, miso ahi tuna on a bed of fennel, radish with leeks.

We ate apricots, caramel ice cream and drank black coffee.

Torrey's Ceaser Salad (san anchovies)

I love Torrey Nicholson. Yesterday he turned 6 and for his birthday requested that I make a Cesar salad, specifically asking for crunchy, not soft croutons. As I started to make it, I realized that I felt nervous. That I really wanted him to like it. That I had expectations of the results of my efforts. And suddenly that teaching of being passionate without desire made sense. Put everything you have without being attached to the fruits of your labour. Let everything you do be for the pure love and joy of the opportunity to serve another. And when you work this way, you become more discerning with who and what you are working for.

This made enough salad for 15.

1. Set oven to 350.
2. Chop or tear up 4 small heads of romaine from B.D. Wash and spin or lay out to dry.
3. Slice up some ciabatta bread into croutons (about 1 inch diameter). Melt some butter and olive oil together and toss croutons in the fat. Lay them out on a baking sheet and toast in oven till desired crispiness. I checked them every 5 minutes, and rotated them for about 15 minutes.
4. Mash up 4 heads of garlic and smoosh around your wooden bowl.
5. Finely Chop about 1/3 cup of yellow onion.
6. Finely chop about 1/3 cup of curly parsley. Mash Parsley and onion together with the garlic.
7. Add a smidge of sugar, overly generous tbl. of dijon mustard, overly generous tbl. of red wine vinegar, a few dashes of worshtishire and mash together.
8. Then I added the juice of an entire lemon and some fresh grated Parmesan. Lots of fresh ground pepper and a good amount of high quality salt cuz Torrey loves salt.
9. I had to transport the dressing, so i only poured in a little olive oil to suspend the flavors and transferred the dressing to a ball jar.
10. When I was ready to toss the salad, I added more olive oil (maybe 3/4 cup total) to the dressing and shook it up to mix. I tossed the dressing over the romaine, added the croutons and some more Parmesan and tossed again. Then sprinkled fresh Parmesan on top.

Post Spiderman Snacks

Steve and Olivia went to Spiderman 3 with us last night. It's great. More heavy handed than the first 2, but wonderful all the same. The main themes are forgiveness, God, Love, Om, and the power of positive thinking and the choices we always have.

We came back to the house and made some snacks:
Guacamole and Blue Corn Chips
Sliced Turnips and Radishes
Goat Cheese, Roasted Cashews, Salami and Fennel
Reheated leftover Zucchini Lasagna from last night

Guacamole
1. Mince up one love of garlic
2. Seed and mince a fresh green hot chili. Serrano are my favorite, but last night I had jalapeno.
3. Mice up 1/2 a red onion
4. Chop up a fresh tomato. (When in season, cherry tomatoes are excellent).
5. I did not have cilantro last night so i put a little Mexican Oregano for that pepper taste.
6. Combine, and squeeze lime or lemon on it. Add a little olive oil.
7. Cut up 2 avocados and gently fold in.

What to do with All that Zucchini

I have not yet become an official member of the CSA from Mano Farm, Steve's Alter ego. There are too many vegetables that Eric does not like to be willing to blindly accept the bountiful harvest.

But this week a box got left behind and I was the lucky winner. And man, does Steve grow beautiful vegetables. The box teamed with sweet fat carrots, succulent white turnips, spicy radishes, giant bok choy, massive beets, vibrant green spinach, spring mix, red leaf lettuce and too much zucchini and lots of squash.

So, today at class I asked Sims what to do with all my zucchini. He suggested a lasagna, using the zucchini as the noodles. I knew this would work cuz Eric does not like Zucchini, but like lasagna and I figured that I could mask the flavor. If I wanted to highlight the Zucchini, I would have made this differently (like make a white lasagna).

I am eating it now, and it tastes delicious, but it needs work. Here is what I did this first go:

1. Start a large pot of water boiling.

2. Finely chop up 2 carrots, 2 stalks of celery and 1/2 a yellow onion.

3. In a thick and heavy pot, heat the olive oil. When hot, add the carrots, celery and onion. Stirring occasionally. While these are cooking, mince one clove of garlic. Chop up one 28oz can and one 14oz can of Muir Fire Roasted Tomatoes. Mince about 5 sun dried tomatoes.

4. After about 10 minutes, add the garlic and stir. Cook for about a minute or so. Add the chopped tomatoes and juices, the sun dried tomatoes, and lots of fresh ground pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer.

5. When water is boiling, place the whole zucchinis in the boiling water. Sims had said to blanche them, but I was not sure for how long. I let them boil for about 5 minutes and then removed them. This seemed right. (I cooked about 12 zucchini ranging in size and had to do this part in batches).

6. I allowed the zucchini to cool a bit before attempting to slice them. This was hard to do and there must be a technique, but I thinly sliced the zucchini as best I could and set aside.

7. I chopped up all the fresh herbs I had. Tarragon, Dill and Basil.

8. After the sauce had cooked for about 20 minutes, I began to assemble the dish. In a 9x12 Pyrex dish, layer a bit of sauce. Lay one layer of zucchini on top. Plop large pieces of goat cheese all over the top. Ladle sauce over the goat cheese. Repeat for one more round, sprinkling the fresh herbs on top of the second round of zucchini. (If Eric liked Zucchini, I would have put another layer on top).

At this point, I had to go teach, so I put some tin foil on top and put the assemblage into the fridge. After class, I worried about Eric not liking it, so I bought some sausage and bread at Rainbow to have as backup.

9. When I got home, I set the oven to 400. I poured a little olive oil on the top, sprinkled salt and lots of pepper and put the dish in immediately and set the timer to 30 minutes.

10. The first serving was great, but Eric wanted meat. So i ended up frying up a little hot sausage and adding it to his second helping. I am delighted. Zucchini was eaten in this house. This is not a dish to show off the zucchini, but rather a dish that will use of a lot of it.

xo
k

Olivia's Perfect Squash Blossom Pizza

Sunday Nights at Farmer and the Cook now offer a selection of delicious salads and pizzas and Jonothan McCuen and friends play. We got the 2 Squash Blossom Pizzas. I feel like I could eat another. Maybe Olivia will give up the recipe, but let me see if I can recreate it:

1. Amazing delicious flaky thin pizza crust
2. Caramelized Onions
3. Fresh abundant vibrant basil pesto
4. Creamy flavorful goat cheese
5. Toasted Pine Nuts
6. Squash Blossoms fresh from the Farm

I gobbled it up and washed it down with a little red wine from Casa Barranca, our local organic vintner.

Such a nice community vibe and feeling always at FnC. Thank you Steve and Olivia.

Carrots and Kale in Orange Ginger Sauce with Spiced Rice

As I mentioned before, I am trying to hone easy vegan cooking. So, these next several months I am going to see if I can pull it off by choosing to eat light and less and find out what I start to crave.

Today I used Ghee, cuz I am gearing up for a PK with my pal Jackie Parker and I am supposed to be drinking ghee daily. Ghee is obviously not vegan.

1. Basmati Rice with Spices
Heat up some fat (today I used ghee). Once hot, add some spices. Today I used mustard seed, cumin seed and coriander seed. Add soaked basmati rice. Stir and toast rice a bit. Add the right amount of water. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat. About 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, peel and slice up some carrots. Mince up some ginger. Slice up some kale.

3. Heat some fat in a pan. Add the ginger and stir for about 30 seconds, and then add the carrots. Allow carrots to cook in the fat, stirring every so often, until they start to brown a little. Add 1/2 a squeezed Orange, cover and allow carrots to steam and soften.

4. When rice is done, remove from heat and let sit.

5. Add kale to the carrots, stir and cover for only about a minute to wilt the kale.

6. Today I added the rice into the pan with the carrots and kale to stir it all up and soak up the extra orange ginger sauce.

7. I put it in a bowl, added a little salt and ate the whole thing.

Seviche for Kim's Birthday

Kim turned 50 yesterday. She and Jake had been 2 of my primary food muses for the last several years. They went to Argentina for 6 months and came back divorced. Yesterday's gathering to celebrate her birthday was sweet, but I can still feel the mourning for the way it was.

Thank you to What a Deal Seafood, the tomato girl, and B.D for the ingredients.

This made enough Seviche as an appetizer for a group of about 30.

1. The freshest Fish you can get.
I used:
a shy pound of Bay Scallops
a shy pound of Escolar
a shy pound of Shrimps

2. Cut Fish up into 1/4 inch pieces.
Put in Bowl and Squeeze enough Lime Juice to cover.
(The limes I got were really dry and I ended up using 35!)

3. Put the Lime soaking Fish in the Fridge and allow to sit until "cooked". I let the fish sit for 3 hours. If you are used to sushi and trust your fish source, you do not need to let it sit for so long. Since I was bringing this to a party, i leaned on the side of caution. If you are squeamish about it, let it sit up to 6 hours.

4. While fish is "cooking," make the tortilla chips. Cut up store bought flour tortillas into triangular chip shapes. Spread them out and allow them to dry for about 30 minutes. (Make too many chips). In your favorite frying pan, heat about 1/4 inch of oil to hot. You will fry the
tortilla pieces in batches, being attentive to not crowding the pan. Because the top side will be cooking simultaneously, once you flip the chips over (being mindful with the hot oil), they will not need to be fried as long on the second side. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle some good quality salt on them while they are still hot.

5. While the fish is "cooking," make the salsa. Cut up 4 delicious ripe tomatoes into a dice that looks attractive with your fish and put in a bowl.

6. Mince up 3 Serranos and add to the tomatoes. I only left the seeds in one of them for a little kick, but not too much since it was for a party.

7. Mince up some cilantro, maybe about 3tbl., and add to tomato mixture.

8. Mince up 1/2 a big white onion. To reduce the "onion-i-ness" you can put the onion in cold water and put in the fridge until ready to use, or you can simply put in a strainer and rinse with cold water. Reducing the "onion" helps keep it from overpowering the rest of the flavor. Do not mix the onion into the tomatoes until you are ready to serve.

9. Once fish is done, drain the lime juice and press fish gently against the strainer to remove as much lime juice as you can. Toss the onions into the tomatoes and then gently toss in the fish. Add lots of salt and taste. Yesterday, by community vote, we decided to not add the avocado. The prevailing thought was that it would mellow the flavors too much.

10. I put it into a pretty blue bowl and stuck some of the chips around the sides. I served it with the bowl of chips next to it.

What do You Feed the World's Spiritual Leaders?

Uma Goswami was just here. Reminding us that we are Divine. She indicated that she would like to cook together and invite 50 or so people over. I anticipate needing to become more comfortable with vegetarian Indian food.

So I am starting this journey and looking for help. Tonight we created a rice dish from what we had in the fridge and spice drawer. I do not recommend it yet. Needs work, but here is a start.

1. Heat some Ghee
2. Add some mustard seed, coriander seed, cumin seed, mixed peppercorns and cardamon pods, fry briefly. Add Madras Curry powder and stir.
3. Add soaked and drained basmati rice
4. Stir and fry rice a little.
5. Add chopped carrot and thinly sliced fennel.
6. Add chopped tomatoes
7. Add appropriate amount of water
8. Stir and bring to boil.
9. Add thinly sliced kale.
10. Salt
11. Cover and cook for 13 minutes or so.
12. Meanwhile, fry up some cashews in ghee.
13. Once rice is done, allow to rest, covered for about 5 minutes.
14. Stir in cashews and serve.

If I had had raisins, I would have put some in.
I look forward to working this out.

xo
k

Peapods

Peapods are the most delicious thing ever.
You can eat them straight, but a little squeeze of lemon and sprinkle of good salt turns them into a delicious snack.

Olivia's Turnips

Who knew?
Turnips are delicious.

Steve Sprinkle's farm is exploding with all sorts of new and unfamilar vegetables.
Olivia showed me this easy way to eat turnips.

1. Thinly slice turnips up raw.
2. Mix with Soy Sauce and some sliced green onions or pepods for color
3. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top

Yum!

In Anticipation of Summer Cold Pasta

This pasta is best in the late summer when the tomatoes and cucumbers are unbelievable. But we swung by Farmer and the Cook tonight after a long hike and the produce, as always looked great, so we decided to give it a try.

Start a pot of water boiling for the pasta.
Start preparing below. Once water boils, add some salt and the pasta.
(Tonight we used Bionaturae's Organic Fusili)

As you prepare below, add to a wide deep bowl.

1. Mince 2 cloves of garlic and mash with some good salt
2. Thinly quarter 1/2 a red onion
3. Chop about a pound of the best tomato's you can find.
4. Thinly slice and then mince between 5 and 8 marinated sun dried tomatoes.
5. Add too much good quality olive oil and stir the mixture.
6. Peal and half and slice 2 cucumbers into half moon shapes.
7. Finely grate zest of 2 lemons into bowl. Then slice and squeeze the juice, being aware of keeping the seeds from getting into the bowl.
   
8. Add a shy 2 tbl. of drained capers.
9. Add about 1/2 cup of pitted halved kalamata olives.
10. If I had had fresh herbs like Tarragon or Basil, I would have used them. But instead, I used some dried Mexican Oregano and Red Pepper flakes.
11. Open and remove pits of 3 avocados. Keep avocado in skin and Using Sharp knife, slice in two directions to get 1/4 inch pieces. Reserve and do not add to bowl.
    

Stir the above and add too much salt and ground pepper.

12. Once pasta is done, drain and run cool water over it, stirring to bring temperature down evenly.

13. Add pasta to mixture and stir. Use spoon to scoop out avocados and gently add to pasta mixture.

Angel Hair with Prosciutto, Pine Nuts and Basil

Today I bought some fresh angel hair from Karl at Oak Tree Bakery. Jim Churchill and Lisa Brenneis told me that fresh angel hair was just not right, and all the Italians dry it. They warned that I was going to end up with a gloppy bowl of mush. These guys are Foodies so I left the bakery wondering if what I had understood to be the nature of angel hair was just an ignorant inexperienced unsophisticated understanding.

But we just finished dinner, I thought the pasta was great. I love what Karl is doing, and I hope he continues to grow and expand and do well. And I will buy his pasta again.

1. Start a pot of salted water boiling.

2. Slice up some prosciutto and fry in a little olive oil. Put into a large bowl.

3. In same pan, toast up the pine nuts. Put in same bowl as prosciutto.

4. In same pan, saute up some minced shallots. Just before shallots are done, add some minced garlic and barely saute. Add to same bowl.

5. Slice/Shred some basil and add to the bowl.

6. Zest 2 lemons into bowl and add the juice of one of the lemons.

7. Add some olive oil and too much fresh grated Parmesan. Lots of fresh ground pepper and salt.

8. When water is boiling, throw pasta into water. I counted to 30 (prob, about a minute) and then drained it.

9. As I added the pasta to the bowl, I poured in a little half n' half to help blend the flavors.


I chose the flavors for Eric, my main squeeze and food muse. He liked it a lot. And that is what matters most to me.

Butter Lettuce Salad with Sauteed Asparagus, Leeks and Smoked Ahi Tuna

1. Wash and Dry Lettuce.

2. Wash and Dry Arugula.

3.Thinly Slice and Wash Leeks.

4. Heat a little olive oil in a saute pan and add leeks, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 minutes. Remove to a small bowl or plate.

5. Add more olive oil to the pan and add Asparagus to pan and saute until done. (I left these asparagus whole cuz they were short beautiful thick stalks from Nancy Pepper's garden, but you could also cut them into pretty diagonal pieces). About 10 minutes.

6. Tear lettuce into desired pieces and thinly slice arugula (shred). Mix Lettuce, Arugula, and sauteed leeks together and toss salad with lemon and olive oil and salt and pepper.

7. Arrange lettuce on plates. Lie asparagus over the salad and sprinkle arrange slices of smoked ahi tuna on top.

Potato Salad with Mustard Dill Vinegrete

1. Cover small red potatoes with salted water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer till potatoes are done. With small red potatoes, I set the timer for 10 minutes and check with a fork for doneness. Then I reset the timer for appropriate time.

2. While Potatoes are cooking, chop 1 shallot and mix with 3 tbl. of red wine vinegar. Allow to sit for at least 5 minutes.

3. Mix in :
about a tbl. of grain mustard
about a tbl of chopped capers
2 to 3 tbl of dill
good salt and fresh ground pepper
I usually let this part of the dressing sit until I am almost ready to serve and then i slowly stir in about 3tbl. or more olive oil.

4. Once potatoes are done, drain and allow to cool a little before trying to handle. While still warm, slice up into halves or quarters depending on size and mix with dressing. Taste and add more salt and/or pepper if necessary. Serve immediately.

Karl's Turkey Sanwiches

We have been eating lunch at Karl's Oak Tree Bakery in Ojai, Calif. a lot.
He makes the most delicious roast turkey sandwiches.
As good as you would make them the day after Thanksgiving if you had homemade bread and olive tapenade available.

Fresh Roasted Thickly sliced Turkey
Homemade 9 grain bread
Fresh Olive Tapenade
Mayo
Lots of Salt and Pepper

Served with a yummy Balsamic Dressing Salad.


Thanks, Karl!

Romaine Salad with Blue Cheese, Maple Syrup Pecans and Mint

1. Cut and Wash One Head Romaine Lettuce...( I usually do this in a bowl of water. I drain it and rinse in a "colander") and then...Allow to Dry.

2. Heat Butter in a skillet. Add Pecans and Coat and Toast. Allow about 3 minutes. Add some maple Syrup and continue to brown. Remove from heat and place pecans on a paper towel to drain.

3. Toss Lettuce with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil. (I kept it light cuz the Potato dish I was serving this with was so saturated).

4. Separate into two bowls and Sprinkle with finely Chopped Mint.

5. Sprinkle Toasted Pecans over Lettuce.

6. Thinly Slice (almost shred) Point Reyes Blue Cheese over salad.

7. Salt and Pepper.

8. Serve.

(Tonight I felt like my grandma, Elsie Sykora. Cuz I kept affirming how good it was!)

Red Potato and Heirloom Tomato Gratin, Thursday, April 19th

I have been trying to hit this for a while. I started making a version of it from Deborah Madison's Green's Cookbook when I first started cooking. I was drawn to it cuz she said that she had gotten it from a Cookbook by Picasso and it had all of Eric's favorite ingredients in it.

We stopped by FnC on our way home after a hike on Willis Canyon and got the goods. We also picked up 2 delicious cappuccinos at Coffee Connection. We only had a Credit Card and Taylor trusted us to come back the next day. We put Steve and Olivia down as references.

So I am writing this as I cook, cuz these the first step of browning the potatoes takes time.

Get your OVEN ready. Preheat to 400 degrees/BAKE.
You will need an Oven Proof Pyrex-like Dish and A High Sided, Flat Bottomed Wide Skillet.

The POTATOES
1. Slice Potatoes as Thin as you can without hurting yourself.(Thank you, Edna).
2. Heat too much Olive Oil in the high sided flat skillet.
3. Brown the Potato Slices. You will need to work in batches. As they are browning, sprinkle fresh chopped ROSEMARY, good quality SALT and fresh ground mixed PEPPERCORNS on them. I seem to brown one side more than the other, guessing that this allows it to be both crispy and soft. I think I could have made them more like potato chips as they soften in the oven. Once browned remove to a plate. (If you want a drier dish, drain the chips on a towel. I ususally use paper, but I would love to learn how to use cloth. Maybe cheese cloth could work.)


THE ONIONS
4. While the potatoes are frying, slice up a large RED ONION. I chose to slice it in rings, cuz I thought it would look the prettiest.
5. Once the potatoes are all browned up, start browning the all onions in the same pan.

THE GARLIC
6. While the Potatoes are Browning or while the Onions are softening, Mince the GARLIC.

THE TOMATOES
7. While the Potatoes are Browning or the Onions are browning, core and slice the heirloom tomatoes.

THE OLIVES
8. While the Onions are browning, chop the BLACK OLIVES to a consistency of "chunky". I had a combination of herb cured and kalamata.

Once onions are browned, add the garlic, olives, DRIED THYME, a hint of RED PEPPER FLAKES, more salt, more ground pepper. Saute another 2 minutes or so, or until you first smell the garlic.

THE OVEN DISH
9. Poor a little olive oil into your PYREX-LIKE dish. Tonight I used this pretty Blue Crueset Oven Dish I have.

10. Spread Onions over the Bottom.

11. Layer first layer of potatoes on top of the onions.

12. Layer the slices of heirloom tomato. I had a combination of dark red and orange and I spread them out to create some contrast.

13. Layer the top layer of potatoes on. (I saved the most attractive (to me) potatoes for the top layer.)

14. Put in Oven. Set for 20 minutes

15. During this time, make the SAUCE and prep the SALAD.

16. At 20 minutes, check. Turn the pan 180 degrees to even out oven heat's effect on the dish. And set for 10 to 15 more minutes.

17. When done, remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes or so to cool to a reasonable temperature. As a cook who tastes all the time, you build up a tolerance for heat. People that are not used to tasting HOT food, need more cooling time than you think.

18. THE SAUCE
By hand, mix mostly sour creme, some meyer lemon juice , a smidge of grain mustard and some dry (fresh would be better) dill together.


19. TO SERVE
Use a serrated spatula (I love my Cutco one) to cut the Gratin into a serving portion. Tonight's gratin did not hold and was loose and "Country Style" in the shallow bowl. I kind of like this aesthetic, but it you want a tighter hold, you will use less oil, maybe add a binder, like egg or milk, and allow to cool a little more.

20. Serve the Sauce on the side.

Pappardelle Pasta with Sausage, Kale and Mozzarella

We have made lots of different versions of this and will continue to vary it depending on what is available. Tonight I have started to record them.


1. Start the Water for the Pasta and add some salt.
2. In a separate heavy pot, heat some olive oil. (Probably about 2 tbl.)
3. Break up Spicy Italian Turkey Sausage into the hot olive oil and allow to brown. Stirring as required to get all sides.
4. As Sausage is browning, dice up 1 leek, 2 carrots and 1 clove garlic. (Sometimes the leeks will be super sandy and you will need to wash them once cut).
5. Once sausage has browned, remove from pan with slotted spoon into a bowl and add a little extra olive oil to the pot.
6. Add Leeks and Carrots to the pot and saute until desired softness and color is achieved. (I usually error on the side of browned and soft). While carrots and leeks are cooking, chop up Fresh Rosemary. (We are lucky enough to have this growing in our yard, so I use it a lot).
7. Once Leeks and Carrots are done, add minced garlic, Rosemary and dried Mexican Oregano. Stir until fragrant, about a minute or so.
8. Add enough Pernod to the pot to deglaze and simmer the veggies for about 2 minutes. (You could use almost anything here. I chose Pernod cuz it was in my cupboard).
9. Add enough Beef Stock (prob. about 1/3 cup) so that you can throw the sausage and slivered kale back in and cook it down into almost a sauce. (I slivered about 1/2 a head of beautiful black kale).
10. Add a smidge of the adobo sauce from a can of chipotles. Add Good Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper.
11. Put the wide egg noodle Pappardelle into the salted boiling water.
12. By the time the pasta is done, about 6 minutes, your 'sauce' is ready.
13. Drain Pasta and mix with sauce. Add some butter to bring flavors forward.
14. To serve, scoop into shallow pasta bowls. Add a bit of lemon zest. Chopped fresh mozzarella and toasted almond slivers.

Asapargus and Spinich Salad with Toasted Pecans, Point Reyes Blue Cheese and Figs

Making dinner from what is already in your house can be a good way to stimulate creativity.

Toast the Pecans, set aside

Saute up and caramelize a thinly sliced shallot
Barely Saute Asparagus
Put Shallots and Asparagus in Salad Bowl

Barely Saute the Fresh Spinach
Add to Asparagus and Shallots
Toss with some Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil

Divide Salad onto to two plates or bowls
Scatter toasted pecans, blue cheese shavings and chopped dried Turkish Figs

Salt and Fresh ground pepper.

Roast Chicken and Veggies

Eric and I make this a lot.
Here is how we do it.

1 Organic Free Range Chicken
2 Medium Size Red Potatoes
2 or 3 Carrots dep. on size
1 to 3 Parsnips dep. on size
2 yellow onions
1/2 head of garlic cloves
1 lemon
Fresh Rosemary
1/3 Stick Butter
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper


I use a cookie sheet with sides instead of a roasting pan, cuz more of the chicken can crisp up.
Oven at 400 degrees.

Prepare the Chicken
Remove all the included innards.
Rinse and pat dry.
Put in middle of baking sheet. The direction you face it depends on your oven. Give the chicken a "massage." Rubbing the skin and flesh. (This feels totally weird).

Prepare the Vegetables.
Potatoes
Cut the potatoes lengthwise in half. Then cut into wedges, with point ends.
Toss with Olivie oil. Herb of choice, fresh chopped rosemary or dried tarragon or other. Salt and pepper. Scatter on baking tray around Chicken.

Onions
Cut Onions in Half lengthwise. Cut into Wedges. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Scatter on baking tray around Chicken.

Carrots
Peal and cut so pieces are about equal. So some pieces you will leave whole, some you will halve, and some you will quarter. Toss with Olive Oil and mix with rest of vegetables.

Parnsips
Treat like Carrots.

Garlic
Leave cloves whole and with peal still on. Toss with Olive Oil. Stuff at least 4 in the chicken cavity and scatter the rest around vegetables.

Lemon
Cut into quarters and put in chicken cavity.

Rosemary
Stuff into chicken cavity.

Melt butter and pour all over chicken. Liberally grind fresh pepper and sprinkle good salt all over bird.

Put in Oven and set timer for 20 to 25 minutes.
At half way mark, turn Pan around so opposite side of chicken is facing the back wall and reset timer for 20 to 25 minutes.
At end of time, check thigh.

I have recently been turned onto the meat thermometer method. Very cool and usually works, Thigh should register 170 degrees or so. In the past I would stick a knife into the thigh and wonder if it was clear or pink.

Eric and I like our meat as moist as possible, so we push it a little. Let the thermometer read 175 to 180 if you feel otherwise.

After you have taken it out of the oven, scoop the vegetables into the serving bowls and let the bird rest at least 5 minutes before carving. A pair of good strong scissors are great for removing the parts, esp. for two people.

old skool italian phase

Sunday night for dinner, Eric requested an old skool Italian pasta sauce. Having not yet on my own arrived at a recipe I felt met his request, I scanned the binders of my cooking magazines and found and old Fine Cooking from November 200 with "Italian Ragus". It turned out so delicious, I made it again the next night and used it for Lasagna. This morning looking at my belly proves that eating beef ragu chiantigiana two nights in a row takes some practice.

This is the original recipe from the magazine with my notes indicating deviation

4 lb packaged ground chuck
(I used one pound of the Niman Ranch grass fed ground beef)
2 to 3 TBL Olive Oil
1tsp. salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
1 large carrot finely chopped
2 ribs celery finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 Tbl. minced garlic
(Even though i was using 1/4 of the suggested meat, i used the same amount of celery and carrot, 1/2 an onion and only a clove of garlic).
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbs chopped fresh sage
2 tsp. dried majoram
(The first night I made the sauce, I did not have fresh sage. It still turned out great.)
2 cups Chianti or other light dry red wine
(I used a shy one cup)
2 cups canned pureed tomatoes
(I used one can those whole Muir Fire Roasted ones and chopped them up)
2 cups low salt beef stock
(I used one cup)

Unsalted butter
Wide Pasta
Parmesan

1. Tear the ground beef into one inch pieces.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy based pot. When oil is hot, add just enough beef to cover one layer. Season with salt and pepper and brown, stirring occasionally. (About 5 minutes). Transfer to a bowl and finish cooking the rest of the meat.

3. In same pot, saute the carrots, onion and celery until soft and lightly browned. (About 10 minutes)

4. Return the seared meat to the pot. Add the garlic and herbs and saute briefly until fragrant. Add 1.75 cups of the wine and stir scraping the bottom to loosen any brown bits. Let wine reduce till it's almost gone. (About 8 minutes).

5. Reduce heat to low, add the tomato puree and simmer the ragu uncovered for about 1.5 to 2 hours. As it cooks, juices will evaporate, add 1/3 cup of beef stock periodically letting it reduce after each addition.

6. After the long simmer, the flavors have melded, taste and tweak to your liking. (I added salt and pepper). Just before serving, whisk 1/2 Tbl of butter oer serving into the sauce, toss with pasta, sprinkle on Parmesan.

Lulu's 5th Birthday Party Menu

Menu totally inspired by the beautiful collective community of Lulu's and Farmer and the Cook and the amazing vegetables that Steve grows.

Kale Bruschetta
Rosemary Potato Onion Frittata with Salsa Verde (see post on 2/16/07)
Roasted Red and Golden Beets with Feta, Kalamata Olives and Arugula
Cheeses and Crackers

Venetian Golden Sea Bass
Oven Baked Polenta
Slow Roasted Leeks (see post on 2/16/07)
Beet Greens Stuffed with Root Vegetables with Tahini Sauce

Roasted Asparagus with Lemon, Toasted Almonds and Parmesan
Endive, Fennel, Blood Orange and Avocado Salad

Almond Cake with Strawberries and Guava by Olivia

Recipes Below. Some posted earlier, see dates.