Birthday dinner planning

Fred's mom's birthday is tomorrow, and we're having her over for dinner, along with Fred's sister and her boyfriend.
His mom lived in Italy and Egypt for quite a few years, so I think we're going to do something Mediterranean-inspired.
But today, I stopped by an Indian grocer, so now I feel like I want to make something Indian. Hmm...
I experimented with a green chickpeas hummus this afternoon. Trader Joe's sells frozen green chickpeas, and I had a bag in the freezer. They taste a little more like peas than traditional chickpeas.
I think that tomorrow I'll make baked samosas with hummus inside. Yum!
Now for the rest of the meal... Hmm...

A kid at heart

I love to make messes. I love piles of odd things, gooey messes in the kitchen, quirky craft projects, arts projects that are destined to be left undone. I'm a kid at heart.
Lately I've been pursuing some strange culinary projects: One Saturday night a few weeks ago I made seitan. Yeah, so it took a whole bag of flour and about four hours. Then I simmered it in broth for a couple of hours, and it was a bit too tough. Do as all the smarter-than-I vegetarians and vegans out there do: Buy wheat gluten ready-made!
By the end of the night, Fred's kitchen was covered in starchy flour-water and sticky bits of gluten, and I was left with a pot full of "brains" as Fred and his friend John called it.
My next two projects are a bit less messy.
I bought soybeans at Whole Foods today. (I was in Columbus visiting my dad and seeing a friend, Erin, and her husband, who were in fro England.) Not edamame, but soybeans.
Guess what I'm going to make?
Tofu, yes, eventually. But tofu requires more equipment than I currently have. (molds, mostly)
I'm going to make my own soymilk. I'll soak the soybeans after I finish blogging. In a couple of days, I should have rich, creamy, delicious, fresh, homemade soymilk. Or I could have a giant mess of beany water.

Back, after an Internet diet

Finally, my computer is fixed (thanks, Dad!) so I'm back online with renewed energy and a slew of new recipes and favorite ingredients. I awoke early last Saturday and drove to Findlay Market to find something to make for a work barbecue. I planned on getting some feta and tomatoes for a pasta salad, but instead I retirned home with two paper bags bursting with produce and local goods: tomatoes, yes, but also shallots, garlic scapes (see below), massive zucchini, lemons, fennel, local honey and organic eggs, plus a whole-grain multigrain boule from Shadeau Bakery.

I get so excited for breakfast on the weekends. I love big brunches or breakfasts, especially frittatas and omelets. Since I no longer eat meat, a lot of the traditional dishes are out, but it opens up such a world of delicious flavor combinations. Eggs -- always vegetarian, free-range, certified organic for me -- are a great blank slate. They're full of protein and high in omega-3 fatty acids. I sauteed half a large zucchini with garlic and olive oil, then chopped tomato and some red onion. With Fred and a really good cup of strong coffee and the multigrain bread, it made for a perfect weekend morning. The only thing missing was a newspaper.

What I love about omelets is how versatile they are. They're fabulous for breakfast, obviously, but also with salad for lunch or dinner. Just about any vegetable goes well in them.
On Fourth of July, I threw together broccoli kale, rainbow chard, garlic and tomatoes with organic cheddar. Yum! Other favorites are spinach and tomato with feta, potatoes with Dijon mustard and kale.

One Friday night in early June, actually the night that my computer died, Fred and I came home starving and pressed for time. I'd seen a recipe for chickpea pasta -- spaghetti alla ceci -- and played around with it. It turned out to be a really easy, tasty dinner. With white wine, a sprinkling of parmesan and fried garlic, oh, rich and simple!

Pasta alla ceci

1/2 package whole-wheat pasta (cook according to package)

1/2 c white wine

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 t red pepper flakes, to taste

salt and pepper

3 T olive oil

Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Heat oil over medium-high heat in large saute pan, then add the garlic and cook until brown and toasted. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

Next, add the chili flakes and chickpeas. Turn heat to high and saute chickpeas for 2 minutes, shaking pan frequently. Add white wine, reduce heat and stir. Mash a few chickpeas to create a sauce.

Add salt and pepper to taste, then add the pasta. Thin with reserved cooking water, if necessary. Sprinkle with parmesan and the fried garlic. The garlic gets sweet and crunchy. And it's only friend in a bit of olive oil, so it's not that bad for you.

I am mentoring a 13-year-old girl through Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and last month I taught her how to cook. Well, we made dinner together. It wasn't really a cooking lesson. She was more interested in watching Disney Channel than cooking. Who can blame her? She's 13! She's a meat-eater, so I made this Rachael Ray chicken recipe, modified a bit.

We went to the grocery store and picked out things for dinner. I let her choose which vegetables we ate. She tried for the first time mushrooms and broccoli.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Extra-virgin olive oil

salt and black pepper

1 T dried tarragon (I didn't have any rosemary! Now I grow a pot of it!)
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 package button mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 large shallot, chopped

1 T flour

1/2 cup soymilk
Heat iron skillet over high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then place in skillet. Cook five minutes each side.
In a separate pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat then add garlic and shallots. Cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until browned. Add flour and tarragon and cook one minute. Flour should be browned and coating the mushrooms. Add broth and soymilk and turn up heat to medium-high. Cook until sauce has thickened, about five minutes.

Serve with rice, steamed broccoli and the chicken. I ate mine over a veggie burger; Tabitha had chicken.

spaghetti al limone

This recipe reminds me of Cinque Terre (above, Vernazza), where I spent a perfect 24 hours last spring a la "Before Sunrise." We didn't work out, but this meal inspires good memories.
It's really simple to prepare: (for four people)

1 box whole-wheat pasta
2 lemons, zested and juiced
2 T olive oil
1/2 c cream or 1/2 c unsweetened soymilk

2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1/2 t crushed red pepper
handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

handful basil, chopped finely

1/4 c Parmesan cheese, grated
Put a large pot of water on to boil. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic and red pepper and cook until fragrant. Add the lemon zest, cook for 30 seconds and add the cream and 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the lemon juice and simmer until cream has reduced by half. Add about half the cheese to the sauce, then drain the pasta and stir well to coat.
Top with the parsley and/or basil and serve the remaining cheese at the table.
Think of Italy, burying your toes in the warm Mediterranean sand and first kisses in the moonlight.

to make Sarah jealous

In Korea, kimbap is affordable and ubiquitous; there were three Kimbap Chunguk (heaven) within a one-block radius of my school.

Brunch, lunch, dinner, late-night drinking snacks... kimbap is a 24/7 snack. The basic one has Spam (Pervasive in Korea thanks to Americans. South Korea is the third biggest consumer of the potted meat product), radish, cucumber, carrots, egg, faux crab and some roots. They are delicious! You can also add ground bulgogi (sweet, seasoned beef), kimchi, tuna, fish eggs, etc. There's a version wrapped in an omelet, and one filled with spicy dried fish.

They're about a foot long and two inches around, for between 1,000 and 3,500 won ($1-$3.50). My favorite was modum kimbap, which had 1/3 kimchi, 1/3 tuna and 1/3 bulgogi. Yum.
Sarah and I love them, and we hadn't had them since leaving Korea. I had one this week at Riverside, the Korean restaurant in Covington. It was $6 (!), about 6 inches long and was a little bland. I decided to try to make some at home.

The basic ingredients are:
pickled radish strips
blanched carrots, julienned
frozen spinach, thawed and drained
cucumber strips
scrambled egg, cooked until very "hard" and cut into strips
faux crab meat strips
nori sheets (kim in Korean)
sushi rice, cooked and seasoned with sugar, rice vinegar and salt
sesame seeds
sesame oil
optional:
chopped kimchi, drained
tuna
mayonnaise

Here are the preparations: Spread rice thinly on the nori/kim, wetting hands to keep it from sticking. Don't be afraid to use pressure to spread it thinly. Spread the rice to the edges. Stack a strip each of the egg, cucumber, crab and radish and some carrots and spinach. Add tuna, mayo and kimchi, if desired. Using a straw or silicone mat, slowly roll up. Wipe the top with sesame oil, then slice with a sharp knife.
Sprinkle sesame seeds on the top; serve with pickled radish slices and kimchi.
Here is the finished roll:








Sliced and ready to eat:

NYT prospects and un peu de fromage

Got my French-English picture dictionary tonight. Yay! Let the learning begin. I am lame. Waiting for PJ to get here so we can have dinner. I am famished. Ate crackers with baba ghanouj and cucumbers for lunch... at 1:30. I made an incredible dinner that is waiting to be eaten. I prefer to eat with good company. It feels more like real life :) Chicken marinated in beer and Dijon mustard, then coated in whole-wheat (health nut, maybe?) bread crumbs. Broccoli. Mac n cheese made with skim milk, mustard, a bit of beer and cheddar. Healthier than the usual. This is a bad meal... so fatty! But the chicken is baked, and this is the first time there has been cheese in this apartment. (oh, there was some feta once for a Greek meal... oh well.) Had a great night tonight. Walked 2 miles home and got free hummus at grocery store (Kroger card discount + coupon machine at store + double coupon day = free hummus! Lame but funny!) Had a glass of wine while waiting... might explain the post being so random. This weekend will be the second I've spent here, the first with nothing to do. I plan to do nothing. Scratch that. I plan nothing. For once in my life, I do not have any plans. And that's OK. Sigh. 5 minutes more, then I'm eating alone! My good friend Katie Gill is coming here soon. She is from Indian Hill, so she's not coming to see me. Still, it will be great to see her. I haven't seen her since before Korea, hard to believe. I love this girl. She's more gung-ho about copy editing than I am. She works for the TImes in Washington. She rocks. I have a great gift for her... a compact. She once told me that she wanted to dress and look nice as easily as I did... or something like that. I am usually a mess, so I took it as a compliment. This girl is 22 going on Buddha in terms of wisdom, I swear. Plus, she can drink. Who could ask for more? Work is going well, by the way. OK, I give up. I am going to eat. or maybe I'll wait.

no hunger here

So one thing is for sure. No one is going hungry in this apartment. I have created some real culinary masterpieces since moving into my own place. Cooking is something I missed terribly when I lived in Korea and then with my mom. Last night I marinated beef in garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, cilantro, red pepper flakes and salt. To that, I added a sliced onion. Tonight I : - made rice with cilantro, hot sauce and lemon juice - sliced roma tomatoes and made a guacamole for dressing - seared the beef and caramelized the onions. With a nice bottle of red, yum. PJ was impressed. Monday night I was cranky and hungry. I finally acquired all the ingredients for my favorite pasta: alla puttanesca. anchovies, garlic, red pepper flakes, kalamata olives, capers and tomatoes. Delish! There have been other good ones: the cilantro/lime chicken with black bean-corn salsa tarragon chicken baked with white wine, jasmine rice and artichokes Korean fried rice with kimchi, tofu, tuna, lots of veggies and hot sauce Oh, I love cooking. Pj thinks it's funny that I won't eat ANYTHING from a box/can except for raw ingredients. I bought light microwave popcorn tonight, and it's the first snack food I've had in the apartment. I won't eat premade food, and I don't eat fast food unless traveling. That's what being overseas did to me. He did introduce me to my new favorite ice cream flavor: cherry cordial. Dark chocolate and maraschino cherries in sweet cherry ice cream. Divine! I usually don't eat ice cream (the whole milk aversion... for the record, yogurt and cheese good for me. milk, ice cream, stand back! Milk tastes spoiled to me because I've been drinking soymilk for six years now.) The other night we read the CIA World Factbook and ate the rest of the ice cream in bed. It was decadent. I love having quirky couple things. We read NYT online together and challenge each other with vocab words. OK, I really am tired now.