Start With One Large Head of Cabbage

So here I am broken again, after a total knee replacement.  What a way to learn humility.  This has necessitated that my lovely sister, Karen, come and live with me to keep me from ending up on the floor, or worse.  All has been going smoothly on that front. 

In my CSA box this last week was a monster cabbage.  Our first thought was cabbage rolls.  Now, we both recall some version of cabbage rolls that our grandmother made while growing up, and my mother says she made them too (but we don't remember that).  Mom also noted that this dish was her graduating dish to make for her Landfrauschule days in the 1950's at Hardemarschen.  But she doesn't remember what sort of sauce.  Our aunt makes it with Cream of Mushroom soup by a famous soup manufacturer.  Karen and I felt like we could do better than that.  Common recipes online use a tomato sauce.  We weren't so keen on that and wanted to stick with the mushroom concept.  So we crafted our own recipe.  

We served it to family today, and nearly all took seconds, even Jim, who had never had them before.  

Oh, one more thing, we made this recipe gluten free, and if the sour cream were omitted, it would be dairy free as well!  This is because Karen, like me, has people in her life that she feeds with food sensitivities (in her case a heady mix of gluten, dairy and corn) and so we are always testing recipes to see what is possible and also still delicious.  

The prep here is a bit laborious, but can be broken down and done over a couple days.  

My sister took the photo with her phone which is older than Methusela.  And it was blurry.  I would have taken a pic, but my phone was far away from me, and did I mention my mobility issues?  Yeah, that.  If I get another pic, I will update. 

 Cabbage Rolls According to Karen and Birgit

1 large (i.e. 3lb) head of cabbage

Filling:  

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (or venison or a mix as desired)

2 stalks of celery, diced

1/4 c chopped parsley (plus more for garnish)

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 c cooked white rice

1 egg

Salt and pepper

Mushroom Gravy

1/4 c olive oil, divided

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cups slice crimini mushrooms, could have increased this

1/4 rice flour

2 c chicken broth + enough cabbage water as needed to thin

2 T lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

2T sour cream (optional, if wanting to keep dairy free)

Method:  

Get a pot large enough for the cabbage boiling with salt in it.  Once boiling, plop the cabbage in and cook for 2 minutes.  Fish out the cabbage ( a tad tricky depending on how comfortable you are fishing a wet bowling ball out of hot water).  Let it cool a few minutes then peel off the leaves.  You may only get 4-5, and try not to rip them.  If they become stiff/rip, reboil the remaining cabbage as before and repeat peeling steps.  (Time save tip:  can do ahead).

Mix the filling, adding approx 1-1 1/2 tsp salt and at least 1/2 tsp pepper.  (time saver tip: This will keep in fridge for later.  

Oil a 13x9 pan, plus a second 8x9 pan.  

Assemble the rolls:  cut the central core out, approx. 2" and cut the large leaves in 1/2.  Place 2-3T filling on the thicker end, and roll up, burrito style.  Don't worry if you don't get both ends covered.  Place seam side down in the pan.  Repeat until you have used your mix, and all your leaves.  The smaller leaves are probably good without splitting.  We were aiming for lunch sized portions.  (Time saver tip:  you can do this ahead). 

Make the mushroom gravy:  saute the mushrooms in 2T oil with the garlic, slowly to release the moisture and cook down.  Once softened, remove from pan leaving the oil/juices behind and add another 1/4c oil.  Sprinkle the rice flour over it and whisk until smooth and heat until thickened.  Add the chicken broth, until thickened, and then add back the mushrooms.  Test for salt and correct seasoning and thickness.  Does it need some of the cabbage water to thin it out?  The goal is a pleasantly salty and mildly lemony sauce.  

When ready to bake:  Oven 350F.  Pour the gravy over the pans, cover with foil and bake 1 hour.  Then remove the foil, continue baking 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and garnish with extra parsley.  

Guest Post: Insomnia Daughter's No Mixer Cookies

 I am one of those people who has chronic insomnia. Yes I have medication I can take but I often try not to because in the morning when I have to wake up for the slog of online classes that incapsulate my existence, it is very hard to wake up. I will also end up taking a long nap in between my classes which makes the problem worse. Because of this more often then not I end up laying in my bed staring up at the ceiling and waiting until the blessed moment when I can fall asleep. 

Unfortunately there are some nights when I can tell its just not gonna happen. Maybe I have too much energy, maybe I am stressed, maybe its just random but Tuesday night was one of those days. At about midnight I got up after trying to fall asleep for an hour and a half and cleaned the entirety of the kitchen I share with 3 other people. One am rolls around and despite scrubbing the counters and sweeping and doing dishes, I still have too much energy. 

Luckily I had planned for this moment earlier in the day and had put some butter in the fridge to soften from the freezer. I grabbed that and made these chocolate chip cookies by Bon Appetite. 

The nice thing about these cookies is that they do not require a mixer and come together pretty quickly! I had them ready by 2 am and one of my night owl roommates was awake. I will include pictures one taken by me and one taken by him. 

No Mixer Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour. 

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda. 

1 1/2 sticks of butter (3/4 cup)

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar 

1 egg

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoon vanilla extract. 

Preheat your oven to 375. 

Whisk flour, salt, and soda together and set aside. 

Take one stick (1/2 cup) of the butter and brown it in a sauce pan. You want it to foam and I noticed with softened butter it took roughly 5 min. Then put this in a heatproof bowl and let it cool for about a min. Then take your half stick and put it in the browned butter to melt. My butter didn't melt honestly but when I whisked in the sugars it all broke up and was fine.

Whisk in the sugars.

Whisk in the egg and yolks

Whisk in the vanilla extract. 

Fold in dry ingredients 

Fold in chocolate chips. 

If the mixture slumps when you scoop it up then let it rest for 5 min.

This recipe makes 16 cookies. let them bake for 8-10 min or until the edges are a deep golden brown. 

Results:

   

Public demonstrations.

     I am not one to publicize my views.  I don't have bumper stickers on my car.  I don't put up yard signs.  I don't, as a rule, march or demonstrate.  The Women's March in 2016 and 2017 were an exception on that last one.  Boy this president brings it out in you, doesn't he?  I probably ought to call my senators and representatives more, but don't.  
     Don't get me wrong.  I vote.  In every blessed election.  My daughter and her friends know that if you don't vote, you don't eat in my house.  I listen to the news.  I certainly am willing to discuss, on a personal basis, my views.  I have them.
     I also vote with my pocket book.  I buy organic.  I bring bags with me to the store, and jars and cloth bags for produce.  I donate to causes that are of interest to me.  I just don't habitually demonstrate.
     There are likely some who will condemn me for the convenience of my views, my behaviors.  I don't feel much pain this way, do I?  Not putting myself out there on the line.  They have a point.
     This winter has brought a national and a local issue to my doorstep.  The impeachment hearings are saturating my news feed.  I simultaneously can't get enough of it, and am thoroughly sick of it.  The whole affair feels like one of those movies where there is a train hurtling down the track toward the bridge, and we all know that the bridge has been sabotaged and the train will crash.
     Of course the big question here is what does the train represent.  I will just leave it there.  But I despair for our constitution and rule of law.  I despair for a large chunk of our represented leaders and their constituents who somehow think that this is not important.  Not relevant.  Up for debate.
     As if riding out the winter in Seattle were not enough, the looming strike at my place of work occupies the portion of my brain that Trump and the impeachment has not subsumed.  Never in my career did I expect I would need to participate in such an event.   I have been working in healthcare, and been part of a union for decades.  There have been sticking points, to be sure.  But never have the twice a decade contract negotiations devolved to the point where a strike was imminent.
     I admit that I reluctantly came to support the themes that the union was fighting for.  They were only partially relevant to my day to day work life.  I wanted to turtle in, try to stay below the bar so as not be noticed.  I think the day that I discovered that the hospital was declining to pay the wages of the bargaining team after a grueling week of negotiations, when they had publicly stated that they would do so was the day that I realized that turtling in was not an option.
     As we move day by day toward the strike date, and more and more details emerge, my resolve galvanizes.  They are hiring security guards, painting stripes on city sidewalks and erecting chain link fencing?   Just who does the administration think it is dealing with?  We are not thugs!  This sort of behavior on the part of the hospital disappoints me to the core.  I realize that we are merely faces and not names.  Numbers but not people.  That their opinion of us must be quite low.  I truly think they are expecting rocks and molotov cocktails.
     My trust in my employer has taken a real beating.  And I am tired.  The tension at work is high.  But it has forced me to publicly stand with my fellow employees, and to demonstrate.  And to prove them wrong as we peacefully exercise our right to publicize the unacceptable working conditions that are a daily reality for many of my peers.

Vanilla and Chocolate Tiramisu, or My Sister's Favorite Dessert

     Well, we are almost another circle around the sun.  How time flies.  This holiday season was a busy one, but actually not too onerous.  It was broken into pieces with a trip to Alaska to visit my sister, where we literally had a 5 day house party with multi course meals each night and a revolving guest list.  Dinners included fondue (cheese and a round robin of different breeds of deer---yes, we did head to head comparison), crab feed and a venison roast.  There was homemade bread and 100 year old sourdough pancakes.   But that was Thanksgiving and oh so long ago.
     Here we are at Boxing Day, and as a reprieve, Bryce and I drove to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge and looked for birds.  There were many.  And it was peaceful and quiet.   The sun peeked through and I was grateful for hat and mittens.  That sort of experience balances the hectic.
Yesterday was another meal punctuated by several great items--king salmon, crab cakes, and single malt whisky from Nova Scotia.  But the commentary around the dessert made a post necessary, as there were requests for the recipe.  It was only then that I realized this was my sister's absolute favorite dessert.  Who knew?
     I know this harkens back to the 90's, and I know there are plenty of versions of it.  Some not so great. I wanted to channel the idea from a Tiramisu cake from our local Bakery Nouveau, which is has layers of chocolate sponge between coffee buttercream.  But I didn't want a chocolate bomb.  My vision was alternating layers of vanilla and chocolate sponge.  And then I wanted a billowy layer of dairy/cream---what exactly is that layer called?  It's not exactly a custard, nor whipped cream, oh who knows.  I also didn't want a coffee bomb, and I wanted to taste the rum.   I didn't want a huge 9 x 13 pan of this stuff as it seems.....less formal and a bit overwhelming.  This was Christmas dinner after all and I wanted a bit of a celebratory dessert.  Indulgent but not over the top.  So I went with an idea from Smitten Kitchen for individual puddings, layered in glasses.  But no recipe really satisfied me completely.  It ended up being a riff from multiple sources to create this.  There are multiple steps here, but they can be broken up, done ahead and assembled altogether up to 24 hours in advance.  So, busy, but not too onerous.  Just like the season.

Individual Vanilla and Chocolate Tiramisu

serves 8-10, depending on size of container

Chocolate Sponge (I used this one)

Vanilla Sponge ( Here is one, but I used the Hot Water Sponge Cake from Richard Sax) (see notes)

2 c. coffee

6 T Rum (divided)

4 egg yolks

1/2 c sugar

1/4 t kosher salt

1 lb mascarpone cheese

2/3 c cream

Bittersweet chocolate to shave--1-2 oz chunk should do it. 

2-3 T cocoa, for sifting

1.  Make the chocolate and vanilla sponges.  These can be done ahead of time.  I froze mine and then thawed and used them on the day I assembled.  

2.  Make coffee and let cool, add 4 T Rum and place in a fairly flat bowl or pie plate).  

3.  Beat the egg yolks for 2-3 minutes until light colored, add the sugar and salt, continue to beat until it is thick and light lemon colored.  Best to err on the side of longer than shorter, as you really need the structure from this.  Add remaining 2T rum.  Beat.  Add the mascarpone and beat until well mixed, approx 1 more minute.  Set aside.  

4.  In another bowl with the dirty beaters, beat the cream until stiff.  Fold this into the egg/mascarpone mixture.   

5.  Assembly:  Have ready your glass jars.  (I used stemless wine glasses, and then today I used 1/2 pint mason jars.  It all depends on what size serving you want. ) 

6.  If the cake is over 1/2" thick (my vanilla cake was), cut into 1/2-3/4" thick vertical layers, and dip quickly into the coffee mixture.  My chocolate cake was in a sheet pan, and I used a glass and cut out rounds to fit my glass.  These were also dipped into the coffee mixture.  I did this one by one as I needed them, but you could work ahead.  

7.  The order is this:  vanilla cake in the base, you can use pieces.  A layer of 2-3T of cream.  Chocolate shavings.  A layer of chocolate cake, another 2-3T cream, chocolate shavings.  A layer of vanilla cake, more cream and then cocoa sifted on top.  If using a smaller container, like the 1/2 pint jars, it would be one layer of chocolate, one layer of vanilla, but the idea is the same.  

8.  Once assembled, cover and chill for up to 24 hours.  

Note:  I have seen recipes using pound cake and the usual is lady fingers.  I could have made lady fingers but I find the sponge cake works great.  But I would not use the pound cake:  too rich.  The sponge cakes are simple, not too sweet and fairly sturdy.  My audience found them excellent.  

The other thing I see is Marsala and not Rum.  Or Brandy.   

Using Lemons to Chase Away Winter

     It sure does seem like this winter has been hanging on longer than most.  I can look at weather data and see that the reason for this is the particularly cold and snowy month of February we have had here in the Pacific Northwest.  In past years the temperatures in February allowed for a bit of serious gardening.  Ground is frozen out there (again) this morning.  

     In years past, I used to mark the dark months with a series of social events which would allow for a certain pacing of time.  Truly, I realize I am whining a bit here.  For me these months include going to work in the dark, coming home in the dark, and since I work in a windowless bunker....Seeing daylight was more or less reserved for the weekends.  I know that there are others who have less light this time of year.  However.  I still marked the time, all to be gotten through in the pursuit of SPRING!  There would be a spaghetti feed around early November.  The dreaded holidays were endured because of the annual Night of Beef.  Robert Burns Night would then cap off January and into February we would coast.  The spaghetti feed and RBN did not transpire this year (ah well).  

     What did happen this year was a lucky dinner party the other day and then a second dinner just yesterday which necessitated a dessert.  Being surrounded as I am by the gluten avoiders, that was a requirement.  And lo!  in my fridge an abundance of lemons.  What a cheery fruit!  

    I hauled out a recipe that my mother has made and began the riffing.  Lemon Angel Pie, which I am certain she obtained from Sunset magazine, is a great homey standard.  This consists of a meringue, baked in a  pie plate with slightly scooped up sides---all the better to contain the filling naturally.  Then there is a lemon curd which is folded with whipped cream and voila!  A dessert that has the intensity of lemon, the coolness of the whipped cream and the sweet crispy crunch of the meringue, and a bit of marshmallowy goodness underneath.  What is not to like?  

     The dinner allowed an initial riffing of adding dollops of curd and cutting them in to allow for pockets of curd.  This has potential but the whipped cream is a little too delicate for this technique and it all looked a bit messy.  Blame the cook.    The second dinner really did the trick.  I didn't want to make this large of a pie as there were only 3 of us.  So I engineered the recipe to use only 3 eggs instead of 4 and then used larger ramekins to create Lemon Angel Tartlets.  Or mini pies.  Or whatever clever name I can think of.  They were gorgeous to look at and even easier to consume.  

     Lemons:  helping to pave the way from winter to spring.  What a savior.  And the sun is shining today, so that helps too!  

Tartlets straight out of the oven, and then 10 minutes later, when they had collapsed.  

 Lemon Curd, cooled and ready to fold with the whipped cream

Finished Product!  

Lemon Angel Pie or Tartlets

adapted from Sunset recipe for Tartlets

For the pie: 

4 eggs, divided

1/4-1/2t cream of tarter

1 1/2 c sugar, divided

6T lemon juice

Zest of 2-3 lemons (at least 1 T)

1/4t salt

1- 1/2 c whipping cream (see notes)

Oven is at 275F.  Use a pie plate, spray well or butter and set aside. 

Make the meringue:   

Beat the egg whites until foamy

Add the cream of tarter, keep beating.  

Once the volume is starting to increase, slowly slowly add 1 c sugar.  

Beat until you have firm peaks.  

Spread into the pie plate and using a large spoon or spatula, work some of the meringue up the sides.  

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until very lightly browned and firm to touch.  

Let cool.  

Make the filling:  (see notes)

Combine the remaining sugar, lemon juice, zest and salt in a sauce pan, and cook over low heat, whisking constantly until thickened and mixture coats the back of a spoon.  Temperature will be approx 160F.  

Immediately remove from heat, scrape into another bowl and chill until ready to use.  

Whip the cream until firm peaks.  

If using more than 1 c, set aside approx 1/3 for topping.  Using the rest, fold into the lemon curd--it will be easier to do this if you take a portion and fold/stir it first to break up the curd, then fold in the rest.  

Scrape into the cooled meringue base and gently spread it out.  If using extra whipped cream, apply dollops or spread on top.  Chill x 2 hours at least.  This is best not covered with plastic wrap but placed into a loose bag to not destroy the top.  

Notes:    

I saw several recipes online that used a whipped cream topping, creating sort of a triple layer pie.  Worth a try.  

If doing that, use the larger amount of cream.  

There are several ways of making the curd:  some use a double boiler to help with tempering the heat.  I find that if you DON'T WALK AWAY keep whisking and use low heat that this is not necessary.  The instant read thermometer helps too.  

Garnishing with lemon zest is nice. 

To make the Tartlets:  

Use larger ramekins, and butter or spray well.  

Use the same technique above.  

When placing the meringue in the ramekins, make sure there is a fairly generous amount at the bottom or it will be hollow when done.  Not that that matters, the filling covers all sins.  They won't really look like there will be room for any filling, but they collapse in when they cool.  

Amazing Coconut Curry Soup for Cold Times

     I travelled to Fairbanks recently.  Ostensibly to attend a wedding, it was also a perfectly viable excuse to visit a place I'd never been to, and to see the Aurora Borealis.  There were plans in there for hot springs and snowmobiling as well.  The weather promised to be über frigid, and we were braced.  Only to find that there was a cloud cover many of the days sufficiently so that the weather was balmy in the teens and twenties.  For them anyway.
     No Aurora was to be seen, unfortunately, due to my strong desire to sleep combined with said cloud cover.  And while that was a failure, another opportunity arose:  we were graciously served a curry soup by one of my sister's friends, Amanda, while there that demanded a recipe request.  The soup was spicy but not overly so, and full of flavor.  It totally hit the spot.  While balmy by Fairbanks standards, it was still cold.
     The soup was reminiscent of one I had made last year for my book club.  That one was a Malaysian Laksa, which had many of the same qualities.  This one, Khao Soi, was so similar that, when I held the recipes up and compared, it was more than coincidental.  They were nearly identical.
 
     Well, there is snow on the ground here too, and the temperatures are below freezing.  Time for more soup.  But which one?  It turns out I morphed them together and took liberties.  I also increased the vegetable count so that it was less brothy and more solid matter.  But the beauty is that it is also incredibly forgiving.  Don't want to add all the vegetables?  Don't.  Serving it to vegans?  No problem.  What if they are gluten free too?  Yup.  None of that changes the basic flavors and idea.  The idea is this:   you make a chili paste of several ingredients, sauté said paste in oil then add broth and coconut milk.  To this you add a protein, some vegetables and season with fish sauce.  You put a series of condiments on top.   To seal the deal:  it takes less than 30 minutes.
     I am sure that this is lacking in the authenticity department.  Now that I have morphed it, it is even more divergent.  What to call it?  Khao Laksa?  Laksa Soi?  Amazing Coconut Curry Soup from a place where the temperature is in the 80's?  For whatever it is worth, the recipe from Amanda couldn't be all that authentic either, as it uses guajillo chilis---aren't those from this continent?  I see she got it from Bon Appetit.  No matter.  The Laksa recipe was a morphing of two recipes, and the Khao Soi from Bon Appetit.  Know only this:  the tumeric, in whichever form you use is a devoted staining agent.  You wipe your hands on your pants, and they are blessed with yellow prints.  Same goes for your sink, and so have a care.  The upside is that your toes will be warm and you will be happy.   And you can imagine you are in a place where it's warm and sunny.
     This is my version.  The Laksa is too morphed to give credit, the Khao Soi in it's original form can be found here  Chicken Khao Soi

Amazing Curry Soup

serves 4-6

Make the paste:  

2-5 chilis---jalapeno, cherry bomb, seeded (see note)

2" piece of ginger, peeled and cut in 1/2" chunks

5 garlic cloves

2-3 shallots

stems from 1 bunch of cilantro (reserve the leaves for later)

1T coriander

1T tumeric (or use 1" piece of fresh if you can get it)

1 tsp curry powder

Grind the 1st 4 ingredients in a food processor until finely minced, then add the rest.  

Make the soup:  

2T peanut or vegetable oil

2 x 14oz cans of coconut milk

2-4 c broth (chicken or vegetable)

1 lb protein:  i.e. chicken cut in 1" pieces, firm tofu in 1" pieces , salmon or halibut chunks

1 lb Chinese egg noodles, rice noodles, or if you are lucky to find it:  black rice ramen noodles

3T fish sauce (Red Boat is best)

1T palm sugar

Optional vegetables: 

1 1/2 c sliced mushrooms

spinach

cilantro

sliced jalapeno

sliced red peppers

Garnishes: 

sliced red onion, fried shallot, cilantro, chili oil, sriracha sauce, LIMES---this is a must

Have everything ready to go.  This is a mise en place situation. 

First get the noodles ready:  they need to be mostly cooked.  If you are using rice noodles, soak in warm water until pliable.  If using ramen or Chinese noodles, cook to barely al dente according to package instructions.  Then run them under cold water and drain.  Set aside. 

Heat the oil in a soup pot large enough to hold all the volume.  

Add the paste and saute for 5 minutes, do not let burn.  Add the broth and coconut milk.  Bring to a boil.  

Then what you add depends on what you are using:  if you are using mushrooms, now is the time.  Same with the red pepper.  If you are adding chicken or tofu, add it too.  All must be heated and cooked, soup bubbling nicely.  When ready to finish, add the seafood if this is the protein source, as well as the spinach, a handful of cilantro.  This wave of add ins will only take 1-2 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.  When these are done add the noodles until they are heated through.  Add fish sauce and sugar and correct seasonings.  Serve hot, with garnishes on the table.  

Note:  The way to add or subtract heat is to dial the peppers up or down.  I have served this to guests who are averse to any spice, using cherry bomb peppers, which are not hot.  But some heat is nice.  I would go up from there and keep adding until you get the level that suits you.  You can always add chili oil or sriracha if you find it insufficiently warming.  

Genius Rice

The folks at Milk Street Kitchen are geniuses.  That is the only explanation for this fantastic dish.  It is true that an internet search for similar recipes will certainly turn up others, and they may all be good.  Who knows?   I might even be inspired to try one.  It will have to compete with the one I got from these folks though.

I am a bit of a lame cook while I am not providing food for others.  All sorts of stripped down versions of food end up being dinner and not many are worthy of repeating.  However, I try to generate at least one decent meal that involves several components each week.  This recipe stems from this effort.

I confess I was literally moaning.   The rice dish was that good.  If that isn't enough inspiration, then picture a dish of rice with so many colors and textures and flavors that the remaining meal seemed an afterthought.  All this in the spirit of testing a recipe that would be used at a future book club!  It's what I would call a win-win.

Persian Jeweled Rice

serves 4

Adapted slightly from Milk Street Kitchen 

1 t saffron threads

4T salted butter

2 medium yellow onions, diced in 1cm pieces

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

2 c basmati rice, rinsed and drained

2 t ground cumin

1 3/4 t ground cardamom

2 carrots, peeled and shredded on a box shredder (about 1 c)

1 c dried cranberries

1 t grated orange zest (see note)

1/2 c chopped unsalted pistachios

Combine saffron with 2 2/3c water and microwave until water is yellow, approx 1 min. 

In a medium to large skillet, melt the butter, add onions at 2t salt, stirring, until softened and light golden brown.  Add rice, spices and 1 t salt and 1/2t pepper.  Cook until rice is lightly browned, stirring.  

Add the water, carrots, and cranberries.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, and cover.  Until rice is absorbed and tender, approx 20 min.     

Fluff the rice and add the orange zest and 1/2 of the pistachios.  Correct seasoning, and garnish with remaining pistachios.  

Note:  this could easily be vegan if the butter were switched out for oil.  I used easily twice the amount of carrots, and will keep doing this.  I only had orange sweetened cranberries, so used a bit less and skipped the orange zest.  This was fine.  

**  If you serve this with broccoli and baked salmon, it might cause you to moan, so do so at your own risk.  

Salad for January Darkness

     The days are getting longer.  Well, you know what I mean:  the day is still only 24 hours, but the dayLIGHT is getting longer.  I have often said that the hardest time for me is from early November to early January.  I go to work in the dark, I come home in the dark.  I never see the chickens awake except on the weekend.  I hunker down and endure.  Once I can see and feel that the days are getting longer, my attitude changes, and I find the rest of the winter much easier to bear.
     The press and strain of the holidays doesn't help.  So it all feels like a breath of fresh air once January hits.  I don't do resolutions per se.  But I did review the last year and tried to find some highlights during my book club get together in December.  (we did a brief round robin).  I have to say 2018 wasn't too stellar.  I am determined that 2019 will be better.  It already is!   I have trips to Fairbanks and South Carolina planned.  Aurora Borealis!  I am going to Greece in September!  This fills the upcoming months with exciting adventures.  Other things are better as well:  say, for instance, health.  Mine and others.  The recent elections give me reason to feel more optimistic.
     I do try to eat more healthfully in January.  No rooibos tea detox stuff, just more vegetables, and less cheese and animal proteins.  I feel lighter and more energetic.   To that end, I ended up looking about for dinner options tonight that fit the billand remembered this one.  I have had the recipe for years, and it is visually beautiful, jewel toned.  It tastes fantastic.  I got it from Sunset magazine years ago.  I am sure there is nothing 'authentic' about it being Norwegian---I mean, they don't have coconuts there for one.  Or ginger for that matter.  But I hardly care, as the salad is a departure from a green one, and interesting flavors are to be found.
     This recipe is somewhat similar to one I ate growing up.  That one had carrot and apple, and a lemon/sugar dressing.  This one takes to a whole other level--a more grown up version, if you will.  The recipe is fairly faithful to the one I got years ago, but I confess to adding 1-2t of sugar to it.  Do what you want.  Don't be too concerned about the amount of the vegetables.  I use whatever I have on hand.

 The colors are so bright it almost hurts to look at them

Norwegian Beet Salad

Adapted slightly from Sunset Magazine

serves 3-4

1 beet
1-2 carrots
1 apple
1 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c coconut (flaked is better texture-wise)
2T lemon juice
1 T grated fresh ginger
1/2-1T sesame oil
chopped parsley
salt (1/4t +)
1-2 t sugar

Peel and grate the vegetables.  I to this in a food processor.  Add the remaining ingredients up to the salt,  then adjust the salt and sugar to taste.
No excuse not to make this for dinner, it's that easy.  Just put your sunglasses on to make and eat it, and pretend like it is summer.

Tuscan Butter Salmon via Guest Post!

Guest Blog by Karen Petersen 

Living in Alaska – it is a challenge sometimes to come up with new seafood recipes that are easy and have simple ingredients.  No point in ever putting in capers or radicchio in a recipe since the store in Thorne Bay can’t even special order that stuff!  It mush be bootlegged into town….

In any case – the Keep-It-Simple philosophy tends to work best, and the gas grill gets a lot of use.

So, when my husband sent me an email link for Tuscan Butter Salmon (Here is the original web link  https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a58412/tuscan-butter-salmon-recipe/ )   I thought there is no point in even looking at the recipe (I mean – it has the word “Tuscan” in it, so it must be complicated right?)  But it is rare that he ever looks at recipes, and he insisted that it looked good, so I gave it the once over and thought – okay – we can try this.  We have lots of Sockeye in the freezer and it needs to be eaten!

My metric for making a new dish is I try really hard to stick to the original the first time around and then all bets are off for further incarnations.  I decided if I could find all the ingredients at the store then it was meant to be.  Cherry tomatoes, Parmesan Cheese, spinach, heavy cream and garlic – how hard could it be?  For a bit of perspective, the previous week there was no dairy product to be had at the Thorne Bay Market (they didn’t send it) and the week before THAT it was no eggs, so I was prepared to pass, BUT lo and behold, all ingredients were to be found, and they looked pretty good (as opposed to 3 weeks old and slimy).

I daringly invited guests over for dinner and immediately had to double the recipe – but that was okay – have lots of salmon….

And I discovered my paella dish worked JUST FINE for the preparation.  So – it was off the races:

Get all your stuff ready to go before cooking since this goes licketly-split fast”

Prep the salmon (I pull out the bones) by cutting into pieces, drying them with a paper towel (this is a new thing for me) and lightly salting.

Chop the garlic, and parsley and put into separate little dishes.  Also wash and dry the spinach.  Grate the cheese, and slice the tomatoes in half.  Premeasure the cream and butter and you are ready.

Tuscan Butter Salmon

serves 4, increases easily

This goes together very fast – and  I found the fish cooked faster than the recipe says.  Better to under-cook than over cook because you can add cooking time at the end.  Here is the recipe as it was found:

Ingredients

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

4 (6-oz) salmon fillets, patted dry with paper towels

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tbsp. butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 c.halved cherry tomatoes

2 c.baby spinach

1/2 c.heavy cream

1/4 c.freshly grated Parmesan

1/4 c. chopped herbs (such as basil and parsley), plus more for garnish

Lemon wedges, for serving (optional)

Directions

    In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Season salmon all over with salt and pepper. When oil is shimmering but not smoking, add salmon skin-side up and cook until deeply golden, about 6 minutes. Flip over and cook 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.

    Reduce heat to medium and add butter. When butter has melted, stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add cherry tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes are beginning to burst then add spinach. Cook until spinach is beginning to wilt.

    Stir in heavy cream, Parmesan, and herbs and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.

    Return salmon back to skillet and spoon over sauce. Simmer until salmon is cooked through, about 3 minutes more.

    Garnish with more herbs and squeeze lemon on top before serving.

I added red pepper flakes and only used parsley because that is all I had in the garden….

ENJOY!

Heading Off Scurvy

     I signed up for an unusual grocery delivery service last winter.  It is called Imperfect Produce and the marketing concept is that it is providing its customers food which is perfectly good, but fails to meet the bar for retail in this country.  This could mean blemishes, or it could be too large.  Sometimes it is overstock.  Sometimes it is too small.  This is food that otherwise might end up wasted, and is offered at a large discount.  I struggle conceptually with it, as the food sometimes comes from fairly far away, and I value local food when possible.  However in the winter that is tricky, so I massaged that guilt away.  I also hate the fact that I cannot return the box, and it feels wasteful.  Finally I don't know why I continue the service, as I have a vegetable garden, an excellent food co-op, chickens, and a weekly farmer's market.  Do I really need this?  It's all really so easy, and my current approach is to use it until I find that I am either not happy with the produce, or I am no longer in need of the extra.   All of which seems a bit arbitrary, but there you go.
   Therefore I am in a phase of ambivalence and still getting deliveries, and thus received limes in the last box.  An abundance of limes.  Something on the order of 5 of them.  What to do with all of these limes?  Well, I could only drink so much gin and tonic.  I started thinking about a tart.   There are several recipes for this online, and I used the one from Martha Stewart, with some tweaks.

    First tweak:   I have discovered gluten-free graham crackers, so that my neighbor can have a piece of the tart.   I added some garnishes which might be consider gilding the lily, but the tart is a bit mono-chromatic and needed a little something.  I have some ideas for modifications, which I will add in the notes.  The beauty of this dessert it how easily it all comes together.  And the fact that eating a piece of this surely can be considered consuming one's daily vitamin C dose and therefore justifiable.  Right?

Looks a little bland, right? 

Ahh, better with garnish

Lime Tart
Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart
Makes a 9" tart

Make the crust:  

6 oz graham crackers, broken up (see note)

2 T sugar

4 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Place the crackers and sugar in a food processor, pulse several times until only small crumbs are left.  Add the butter and pulse briefly until well blended.  

Dump mixture into a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom, press with a flat bottomed glass to spread out and then with your fingers or the side of the glass to go up the sides as well.  

Place on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes, until slightly colored.  Cool.  Leave oven on, and leave on baking sheet.   

Make the filling:  

3/4 c lime juice

1/2 c sugar

1 x 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

pinch of salt

4 egg yolks

Stir ingredients together until smooth.  Pour into crust, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until edges are set and center is slightly loose or wiggly.  Remove from oven and cool on a rack.  I found the pan a bit oily on the bottom after this phase, might be good to have a kitchen towel around, especially when placing in the fridge.  Once cool, refrigerate x 2 hours, unless the ravenous masses refuse to give you that kind of time.  In which case remove sides and gently slide off the base and onto a flat serving plate, garnish and serve. 

Garnish:  

1/4-1/3 c whipping cream

1 T powdered sugar

Whip until soft peaks form, mound in center of tart.  

Dot with fresh blueberries and grate lime zest over the top.  

Note:  I can now find gluten free graham crackers, which work great in this recipe.  Depending on your access this is an option.  I also found sweetened condensed coconut milk, which seems like it might take this tart in a whole new direction, and is worth a try.  

Spring Gardening

     I really think spring is my favorite season.  There is so much promise.  Things just glow.  The light is intense.  The greens are bright, the reds are too.   My garden always looks tidy and sparkly at this time of year.  The weeds are under control.  For now.
     This month has been a bit unusual since I broke my ankle.  I have actually had enough time to really get weeding under control and mulch heavily.   Perhaps this will be the year where I at least stay apace with the weeds, as opposed to other years, where the fight seems lost by September.   One can only hope.
     A few photos from this cheery day:

Some of the first strawberries

This is actually an odd concern, as we have had issues with broody hens this spring,.  In the background is Alice who is looking like she wants to butt in and be broody despite efforts to dissuade her.  The day is young....

Caprese Salad, Reinvented

     We had friends over for dinner the other night.  I know some people tend to cook the sure-bet foods when inviting others over, so that they know it will all turn out.  Me?  I consider guests coming for dinner an opportunity to haul out cookbooks, scan my favorite food blogs and generally let loose.  It has the potential for disaster, I realize, but so far I have had very little of that.  I get the occasional 'meh' dish, but no one goes home hungry and in general it turns out well.  Since I am still confined by the 'boot' and thus have somewhat thwarted energies, doing a dinner was a great way to channel some of that.
     This time of year is always useful to haul at least one thing out of the garden, and this time it was radishes.  They were tasty, but they weren't the highlight of the meal.  Actually, there were several highlights, and this leads to another reason to make creative things when inviting friends over:  I like to write down the recipes that I think are exceptional.  Additionally, I like to include in the back of my recipe book the menu, with the date and occasion.
     This is something that has several benefits:  I get a great memory lane from it.  I get ideas for future meals.  It is sort of a journal of passing time, in a different way.  I am no Nigel Slater, but I get a kick out of it.  Only the meals where I really felt like the food was exceptional, and the whole menu hung together nicely are included.  One of the things that I noticed while adding this menu was that the interval from the last was an appalling year.  Too long.  I need to cook for friends more.  It is a great charge for my creative juices.

Here was the menu:

5/26/18 Memorial Weekend Dinner with the Bosses

Appetizers of:  Fresh veggies

Salami

Cougar Gold cheese

Pistachios

(Rose)

Roasted Tomato and Burrata Salad

Shaved Carrot Salad

Grilled Chicken Cutlets

Grilled Pita Breads with Israeli Za'atar and Hazelnut Dukkah

(Sauvignon Blanc)

Eton Mess/Raspberry -Pistachio Meringue with Spiced Whipped Cream

     In truth, all of it was excellent.  What stood out:  the tomato salad, the chicken and the dessert.  The dessert is compliments of The Milk Street Kitchen, and it was so good that we made extra to eat out of the communal bowl.  Someone (not me) made more for breakfast the next day.  

     What I am including here is the tomato salad.  Wow oh wow.  I 'blame' (perhaps credit is more accurate) Food 52 for this, as I saw a photo that they had posted of this salad on Facebook, and found it to be massively inspiring.  The idea is that tomatoes are often a little less than flavorful until summer really gets going.  In order to give them a kick, they recommend roasting them.  You then add lots of basil and burrata.  Amazing idea.  They didn't include a recipe but it was easy to figure out.  While the recipe below is really more of a method, easily increased based on the number of guests, and quite simple, the results are entirely worth it.  It is clearly more than the sum of its parts.  And beyond that, it is great reminder that utilizing my creative juices needs to happen more often.  Message received.  

Roasted Tomato and Burrata Salad

serves 2-6+

For every 2 servings:  

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 container (containing at least 2) burrata

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Fresh basil, coarsely chopped, 1/4-1/2c.  

Reduced balsamic vinegar (see notes)

Preheat oven to 400F.  Place tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle fairly generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Roast 20-25 minutes, until slightly wrinkled.  Let cool, although serving this on the lukewarm side is great.  (I would definitely want to serve the tomatoes no cooler than room temperature.)

Arrange on a platter or shallow bowl:  Tomatoes, burrata, generous basil layer, drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  

Note:  reducing balsamic vinegar is a great way to improve a so-so but less expensive bottle.  Take 1 cup of vinegar and heat to a gentle simmer over medium heat.  Let reduce until it is somewhat thickened about 10 minutes.  It should coat the back of a spoon.  Keeps for a long time and is infinitely useful over everything from your next salad to asparagus, to the sky is the limit.  

What to do when you're broken

     In the blink of an eye.  That's all it took.  Inattention for the blink of an eye and BAM!  I am on the ground and have messed up my ankle.  Due to my own stubbornness and desire to manage things it took another 12 days to discover that 'messed up' was not a sprain, rather a fractured fibula.  Which equaled surgery.  Which equals cast and crutches for close to 2 weeks.
     While I was inconvenienced in the walking boot that I was wearing prior to surgery, it pales in comparison to the things I cannot accomplish now that I am unable to walk on one leg.  It's the simple things:  I can do laundry:  wash, dry and fold.  But I cannot haul the laundry to and from the machines.  I can load and empty the dishwasher but can't reach dishes up to the upper shelves.  It is amazing how much stuff needs to be transported from point A to point B.  Try stripping and making a bed while you are sitting on it.  Forget about gardening, or carrying a cup of tea to another room.
     What is also amazing is the support.  Things like this, if you are a single person, are transformative.  They are also so affirming.  I have a tremendous support system.  People are moving my things from point A to B.  Taking me on errands.  Making me dinner.  Vacuuming.  
     The most tremendous support has been from my friend Katie, who flew from Bend to spend the first week with me.  She cooked, cleaned, and helped me figure out how to get my broken self up and down stairs (who knew how hard that could be?).  She weeded in my garden.  She kept me company. I truly don't know how I would have managed without her here.  In the spaces in between we got to reconnect.  Talking on the phone is not the same.  Being together was golden.
      She also is an amazing cook.  However this recipe....hers.... is not really a recipe.  It is a concept.   Bowls.  I love them.  They have all these layers of texture and flavor.   There are cookbooks devoted to the subject of bowls these days.  I have one.  It's pretty good, but does involve some attention to organization, at least in advance which I found a bit intimidating.  What was really amazing about the bowl that Katie made was a mix of it's use of a supermarket take-out option as a centerpiece and the real flexibility of it.

     Here is the concept.  Take a mixed brown rice (she used Lundberg's), cooked and cooled somewhat (or not), sprinkle a little soy sauce on it.  In this photo, black rice was added as we had leftovers.

Layer baby kale chopped with red peppers on it.  

 Roast some broccoli, arrange on one side.  Spoon some tuna poke in the middle.  Slice an avocado lengthwise and arrange on the other edge.  Drizzle with shiracha mayonnaise.  Sprinkle with cilantro. 

     Don't have mixed brown rice?  Use whatever you have, but whole grain is best for the texture.  It could even be farro, barley, black rice, or quinoa.  Other lettuce greens would work, maybe spinach?  Have some leftover roasted veggies?  They could replace the broccoli, and in fact I did just that with some asparagus a couple days later.  Don't have shiracha mayonnaise?  You could probably mix hot sauce with mayonnaise and be fine.

Katie's version, with the roasted broccoli

 My 'leftover' version with asparagus.  

     I have included a recipe such as it is, but know that it is more of an idea, really.    I realize also that tuna poke may not be to everyone's taste or availability.  This bowl would work well with any protein with an 'Asian-inspired' flavoring to it:  think sesame oil or chiles, or a similar thought.  The beauty of the tuna poke is that it adds a cool, soft, spicy flavor and texture to this dish. The other beauty is that I didn't have to make it, and while broken, still ate well.  Thanks to Katie.  

Katie's Tuna Poke Bowl

 For 2 servings, easily increased

2-3 c broccoli florets
1T peanut oil
1-2 c of cooked mixed brown rice
2-3t soy sauce
3 c baby kale leaves
1/2 red pepper
1/2 avocado
6-8 oz of tuna poke
1/4 c coarsely chopped cilantro
2-3 T sriracha mayonnaise

1. Preheat oven to 450F.  Toss the peanut oil with the broccoli florets and roast on a pan in the oven until lightly charred on one side, flip midway.  Cool slightly.

2. Divide ingredients between two bowls:
Place rice in the bowl, sprinkle with soy sauce.
Chop kale and pepper together and place on top of rice.
Spoon tuna poke in the center of the bowl.
Arrange roasted broccoli along the edges.  Slice the avocado lengthwise and arrange in a fan on the edge.  Garnish with cilantro.
Place the sriracha mayonnaise in a ziplock bag and seal, snip off one corner, and drizzle over the top of the bowl.

 

Late Winter Lament, or, Carrot Soup

     Oh, this spring is a long time coming.  I can see the green, I can see the tiny leaves.  But it remains cold and wet, wet, wet.  Combine this with a tart reminder from the child (child?  who are we kidding, she is away at college now!)  that I have utterly failed to keep up my blog sends me to thinking.  Have I cooked anything worth posting lately?  It's too early for rhubarb, I am unable to post amazing garden shots, as I have been trapped on the couch with a sprained ankle such that I am lucky to make it to the kitchen so forget gardening.  And then there is the rain.  We should call it the late winter lament.
     Yes, radio silence.  You send the kid away to college, and suddenly it seems as if meals are more stripped down than before.  Indeed, I find that scrambled eggs and toast have featured more often than I would like to admit.  I am certainly eating vegetables, and the beriberi has not set in yet.  In fact, when I dropped her off, I had lofty plans for trying out new recipes and really getting in touch with meals I might otherwise not make, due to the potential reception.  Lofty plans indeed.  I did not do as much of that as I imagined.  And where has the time gone?  Finals are in 2 1/2 weeks.
     This is not to say that I have not hauled out a cookbook, or have resorted to take out pizza.  No, no, I have not sunk that far.  One more recent concoction was a soup.  Simple ingredients, but so tasty.  And worthy of reprinting.  I confess I do not know my source.  Regardless, it has been doctored a bit since I have started making it, and the garnishes are what really make this.
     For those who are faint of heart, the amount of curry paste is correct.  And it is not particularly spicy for it.  And for those who are just as uninspired by the dreary days, the color alone is amazing!

Curried Carrot Soup (Thai Style)

serves 4

1 medium to large onion, finely chopped.  You are looking for approx 1 1/2 c. 

4 c. peeled and chopped carrots

1 apple, peeled and chopped

        In a medium to large pot, saute in 1T Olive oil, sweat don't brown.  This will take 5-10 minutes.  

Add 2tsp red curry paste, mix and saute 1-2 minutes. 

Add: 

3 c water or broth

 1T white rice.  

        Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until all is soft, around 15-20 minutes.  

        Puree.  I use a stick blender for convenience.

Add 1/2 - 1 can of coconut milk.  In truth, I opt for most of the fat at the top of the can, and less of the watery portion below.  

Bring to a low simmer, and then taste:  you will need to adjust for salt. 

Then add:  

1-2t of red curry paste (yes, you really want to)

1 t lime juice (optional, I never do)

Serve with garnishes:  

Shiracha

Cilantro, chopped

Chopped toasted peanuts---these are crucial to the texture and flavor!