In life we make a lot of assumptions, this I think can be a dangerous way to filter out people or ideas. My analogy for this in a food related sense would be on a shopping trip I made the other day. I grabbed what I assumed to be regular corn, so to my amazement when I got home and began shuckin’ what lied beneath the humble husk was the most beautiful jewel toned purple and white sweet corn. Continue reading “Sorta Succotash”
California Walnuts’ Virtual Salad Party and a Cook Book Giveaway!
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I was recently invited to participate in California Walnuts’ virtual salad party! I got to choose from several different entree salad recipes and I chose this one from Aida Mollenkamp. The recipe is Baby Beet Salad With Chevre And Savory Caraway-Walnut Granola and the reason I chose this one is because of the ingenious savory granola element added to a classic mix of stuff my family and I love. Continue reading “California Walnuts’ Virtual Salad Party and a Cook Book Giveaway!”
Portland Caprese
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Summer..Summer…Summertime….let’s just sit back and unwind (In the style of DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince (before Scientology). Ah the delights of Summer! All kinds of seasonal produce is hitting the farmer’s market right now, so why not make a 5 minute recipe? First thing’s first I AM IN NO WAY STATING that this is Portland’s “Only” caprese cuz I know one of the 10 people reading this is gonna be all “This is not “Portland’s Caprese” I had it at (insert local place here) and it totes magoats has kale and veggie shreds”….this is MY version of the famed overly put on restaurant menus all over the country salad ok? Kinda like when Depeche Mode talks about one having “Your own personal Jesus” purely perspective based, nothing to be made doctrine of…just a damn good salad. Now that that disclaimer is out of the way we should talk ingredients. Continue reading “Portland Caprese”
Grecian bowl of yummy!
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So I love me some “Buddah Bowl” which is basically a big bowl of healthy vegetarian stuff topped with tahini dressing and eaten with good conscious. There are some great options here and even carts dedicated to the art of “The Bowl”. I love eating this way and it feels substantial and healthy. Continue reading “Grecian bowl of yummy!”
Easter egg radishes sashimi style
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This recipe is a fun lil’ play on Japanese sashimi, I used “Easter egg” radishes a bit of ponzu, lemon zest, and dill. I like to prepare produce like you would animal protein and the result is quite tasty. I would serve this like any salad along side a protein and starch. I used a mandolin to get the radishes nearly paper thin and it gives a nice mouth feel with a bit of crunch.
Continue reading “Easter egg radishes sashimi style”
Tahini Noodles
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I really love this recipe, like it in a unhealthy almost obsessed way….why? Because it so damn tasty! If you bring this to a potluck, I promise there will be nothing left over! With a few things that stay great in your fridge or pantry and a few items I bet you already have on hand, you are 20 minutes away from tasty! Did I mention it’s vegan? Well it is and it is tasty enough to show off for company with the ease of buying all the items in a decently stocked grocery store.
Continue reading “Tahini Noodles”
Simple 7 ingredient Pico de gallo
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For the last week and a half I have been in my hometown of Ogden, UT. The visit wasn’t planned and was a result of a family emergency. The worst of it has now passed and with a ton of support of family and friends we made it through and are hoping for a full recovery for my Dad. When I was here last summer I posted a recipe for tacos made by my nephew’s girlfriend Felisha. We decided to make them again for dinner and realized I never blogged her outstanding, but simple pico recipe, which is quite essential for the full experience. I went to my favorite Mexican market Rancho Market in Ogden, and as usual the produce was the best around, the roma tomatoes especially ripe and beautiful considering its February and more then a few months out of peak tomato season, the beef is ground fresh to order and the experience is one that shouldn’t be missed if you enjoy a friendly small town shopping experience, if you live in O-town and you haven’t gone there you are to say the least missing out on a rare gem in our tiny ski town.
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We made enough for a crowd, so I am blogging that amount, if you want to half everything to make less you can, but it does stay quite nicely in a sealed container in the fridge for a week or more.
Ingredients:
2 lbs Roma tomatoes, stems removed and diced small
1 medium red onion, diced small
3 Jalapenos, diced small, with seeds, now the amount you like depends on how spicy you like it, ours was spicy but not hell fire by any means, choose your own adventure
juice from 3 juicy limes, think ceviche level, in fact you could add fish and make this into an easy ceviche!
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or smashed, Felisha says a teaspoon of garlic powder works fine if you don’t have fresh
one bunch cilantro, stems and all chopped
1/2 Tablespoon salt
Method:
Combine in a bowl! Put on everything and anything!
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This is one of those recipes that won’t require a recipe and you will find that you will no longer need to buy any jarred salsa ever! I must say the better the produce the better the product will be, find your own ethnic market in your town and talk to your grocer, butcher, and check out person get to know them and show interest in what they do and tell them you appreciate them…they will let you know about all the best stuff!
For me cooking is a way to show love, and when times get rough sometimes the best you can do is make something to share with your loved ones and to have a meal together. Tell your family and friends you love them and be available when others are experiencing hard times…bumps in the road are essential to living life and with every trial that comes my way I learn from and become a bit more understanding of others….you never know what someone is going through till you walk a mile in their shoes.
“Original Momofuku” style Brussels or why I admire David Chang
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I think David Chang is an admirable fellow, he is super successful, unapologetic, self-deprecating, and totally unique. Dave never seems to give in to “norms” or play by the “rules” and he was totally rewarded for this. Classically trained, he uses his skill to highlight the flavors from his culture into a whole new flavor profile entirely. I guess I like that he refused to compromise, that he served his dishes because they taste good, not because the ingredients were trendy, he was loved by patrons and critics for “his” flavors, not because he was handsome or witty, or because he was “camera” friendly. He is the “un Celebrity” chef, in life we get blinded by what we are told or think beauty or success should look or act like, we wear societal “blinders” of sorts. I love when someone is recognized and beloved for their lack of mainstream, idealized beauty and talent. Look past what you think “beauty” or “success” or “fame” is….you might just become who you really are supposed to be, when you make your own rules. Of course “results aren’t typical” but it’s worth a try I think.
This recipe is my take on the brussel sprouts that David Chang served at his flagship “Momofuku” back in the early 2000’s. This dish consisting of caramelized brussels, served with bacon and pureed kimchi became so popular he took them off the menu! I guess it was kind of the restaurant equivalent of “Radiohead” refusing to play “Creep” at gigs. He later revived the idea and does a different version where the sprouts are deep fried and jazzed up with fish sauce, lime, and sciracha. That is the recipe he has published, but I was much more interested in the original, the one that blew New Yorkers out of their chairs, well that and I had two pounds of brussel sprouts I needed to cook before they froze in our rentals home’s less than stellar fridge from the 90’s.
You will need:
2 lbs fresh brussel sprouts, woody part of stem removed and sliced length wise
6 strips of good quality bacon
1/3 cup kimchi, pureed in a blender, hand blender, or food processer
Fresh cracked pepper
A wedge or two of fresh lime
1 13×9 inch sheet pan
This is done on a single sheet pan in the oven, I did it this way to be simple, fool proof, and for easy clean up, his method is on the stove top, but if you don’t want to cook in batches I recommend this route.
Pre-heat oven to 375. Place bacon sliced on pan and cook in oven till crispy about 25 minutes, flip half way through. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels, using the same pan, drain half the bacon grease off, leave the rest and add brussel sprouts cut side down, turn oven up to 400, cook 12 minutes, stir around and cook another 10 minutes until caramelized. Remove pan from oven, and pour on kimchi puree (right on to the sheet pan it will deglaze the brown bits off the bottom, that equals flavor!), stir until all the sprouts are well coated, hit it with some pepper, squeeze or two of lime, and top with bacon. Enjoy! Serves 6 as a side dish.
Vegan Crockpot Fasolakia (Greek Style stewed green beans and potatoes)
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COLD! Ugh, I hate it……I would trade the cliché rain for whatever this bad air quality, bone splitting, frosty snow, gray doldrums this PDX winter has turned into. I miss just being water logged from rain, and when the weather is like it is now, the type of food I want is comfort food, but I also want to try to maintain plant based meals several times a week….is that possible? I say yes and today’s recipe encompasses both, vegan and comforting. As a kid my favorite dish at the Greek festival was fasolakia, which is a slow cooked veggie dish with a good glug or two of rich olive oil, while my sisters would munch diples and loukamathes I would be eyeing their green beans…haha! I also am trying to open my mind to crockpot cookery or lack of cookery (there I go again). For some reason I really detest “crockity” pots, figuring if you have a stove why would you need this silly contraption, cluttering up my already cluttered kitchen. I stay home during the week with my kids (both of which are currently sick, so where usually my six year old is at school, she is now home fighting with her brother between coughing fits) I understand not everyone has this luxury (depending on how you view it of course) so I want to venture into a safe way for working gals and guys can eat great without worrying about setting their home ablaze whilst at work and changing the view of “vegan” cuisine as rabbit food. Nobody wants to dive into cold kale salad when it feels like Jack Frost is robbing you of your humanity. So here it is my first post using a crock pot!
Ingredients put in crock pot in this order:
Glug or two of olive oil
3 peeled and quartered potatoes, I like Yukon gold for this
1 tsp dried oregano
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 pound frozen or fresh whole green beans
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained, I used these to bump up the protein, you can omit them if you want but I like them in this, makes it heartier.
1 cup water
1 tsp each salt and pepper
Handful of kalamata olives chopped (optional)
Basically put the ingredients in your crock in the order listed, and cook on high for about 2-4 hours or low if you want to start it the night before or before you leave for work. I served ours with couscous, which takes 5 minutes to make and serve, good with a fresh squeezed lemon juice. This is really easy and tasty, and will not be the last of my crockpot experiements!
Oven baked “Jo Jo” potatoes, or my love letter to gas station grub.
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I gotta say I ate some gas station food in my day…..one thing in particular was the fav. Tater logs, basically a chicken fried potato, sometimes called “Jo jo’s”. I remember my mom piling us into whatever 70’s station wagon we had at the time, without seatbelts (yikes), to get lemonade and 8 for $1 tater logs at “Stimpson’s” usually before we would drive up 28th street in Ogden, UT to see my grandparents and watch some “programs”. My mom would go to this particular gas station because the fry cook there (my mom called him the “Chef” of course, as she is a lifer in the industry and felt he deserved the respect), I remember the times when we would actually go inside and talk to him directly! Feeling so star struck, there he was rather chubby with a grimy white apron, a broad Cheshire cat smile and happy eyes. Visiting him was like visiting “gas station Santa” for me….when my sister Georgia got her driver’s license I remember many a night picking up food from the window and getting some sour “C” (probably not an ounce of dairy in the stuff) to go with them at 10 cents a cup, not sure why it was called sour “c” and honestly I don’t really wanna know! Haha! Stimpson’s has been closed for many years now, and I still to this day haven’t had tater logs that are quite as good as his, so today’s post is for a dose of nostalgia, I don’t advocate eating gas station food, as most of it is terrible for you and prefab…..but I do want you to think about the exceptional in the mundane, you have to cook with love, you can make something exceptional from the entirely plain if you do it with love and passion, Harriet Van Horne said “Cooking is like love, it should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” I don’t care how great or expensive your ingredients are if you find cooking a chore your dish won’t be good, the energy that you put into something is consumed by those who eat it. That fry cook (Chef) loved what he did and that is why I will never forget his potato logs, nothing fancy for sure, but an example of being exceptional, where it is least expected, here is my ode to him, not fried, so slightly healthier, made with love and isn’t that really the point? So here is my healthier, oven baked version…..eat the sour “c” at your own risk!
This makes a bunch….or in my house 4 servings:
- 2 lbs. of russet potatoes cut into quarters, I used some small and odd shaped one that I got in my 5lb bag from WA.
- ¼ cup flour (I used whole wheat “white”)
- ¼ cup cornstarch (use all cornstarch if you want gluten free jo jo’s)
- 1 tbsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tbsp. parsley
- 3 tbsp. Oil, I used camelina
- Pinch cayenne pepper
Pre heat your oven to 375, in a large bowl toss your potatoes with the oil. Combine dry ingredients and pour into potatoes, toss well making sure all potatoes are coated. Place potatoes on baking sheet rubbed with oil or sprayed with cooking spray and bake 40 – 45 minutes, turning half way through. Serve with dip of choice or au natural! These are great for pot lucks, BBQ’s, or just dinner on a week night. Also really fun to get kids involved in this recipe! I topped mine with a little fresh dill that I had…mainly for food styling purposes, but if you have it, use it, but totally optional!
