Saturday, October 29, 2011
Follow Your (insert adjective here) Intuition
Saturday, September 10, 2011
MEATia
The weather here in Florida is finally starting to cool off a bit. This means my taste buds are craving more sultry flavors and meals with some depth. For a lot of people this means slow cooker pot roast, braised short ribs, roasted chicken, and all other things meaty. If you've been following my blog for a long time, you will know that I am not a big meat eater. The only reason being I don't tend to crave meat. Growing up Italian, the emphasis was always on the fresh bread and salted butter, or avocado salad with purple onions, or sea salted strands of pasta.
But lately, I've been wanting to explore meat and cook it more often. I'm not sure if my body needs it or my taste buds want it, but either way I've been going to a part of the grocery store I rarely frequent--meat and poultry. Where do I even begin? I think. There are so many types and cuts and fat percentages! HELP! And then of course there is all this media attention on free range this, grass fed that... and I can't help but wonder if any of this even matters or if it is just another media trend? Don't get me wrong, I understand the necessity of humanly raised animals and local food but my God, I feel like I am being bombarded with over zealous activists and over priced pork!
After 20 minutes of browsing pink and red packages, I decided on a lean (93/7) ground round. Great for meatloaf, hamburgers, and tacos. Flavorful, inexpensive, and versatile.
I brought home my meat, mixed it with salt, pepper, onions, garlic, and parsley, sauteed it in a big skillet and served it over toasted, 12 grain french bread and melted some Italian Provolone on top. My version of a traditional hamburger. It was so satisfying and I am beginning to grow very fond of this foreign ingredient.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Lessons: Following the Recipe, or Not.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Loving Legumes Like... LENTILS!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large onions, cubed
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 3 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 1/2 cups lentils - soaked, rinsed and drained
- salt & pepper, you know enough to bring out the flavor
- 2 bay leaves
- 7 cups chicken stock, or veg stock
- 1 packet of Sason can Azafran seasoning. (This seasoning will change your life, available everywhere in the ethnic food section.)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping.
Directions
- In a large stockpot, saute the onions in oil until they are glossy. Stir in garlic, sason, celery, carrots, and saute for 10 minutes.
- Once the vegetables have sauteed for 10 minutes stir in chicken stock, lentils, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Stir well, then add the lemon juice and bring the mixture to a boil. Slowly reduce the heat and cook for 1 hour on low to medium heat; or until the lentils are tender.
- Sprinkle the soup with parsley and Parmesan (optional) before serving.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Pickling: A Summer Love Affair
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Coastal Cooking
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
America! America?
As I ponder the title of Martha Stuart’s magazine, I find it quite ironic. Simplicity is something we rarely encounter these days. Maybe that is why we need a magazine like this in the first place. Instead of skipping towards my favorite section: “Five Easy Dinners,” I flip through the pages and investigate the things that the writers are trying to make simpler for us. Among the colorful pages adorned with advertisements, I find articles entitled, “How to Save Smarter.” and “How to Stop Procrastinating.” And while these topics can be useful, I notice that they are written in response to a future oriented accomplishment: saving for the future and postponing tasks for the future. It can only indicate that we rarely do anything to dedicate ourselves to the present moment which, in reality, is all we have. As I spend the weekend with my cousins at their beach house, I can’t decide if the maintenance of a vacation home out weighs the supposed relaxation benefits. When my cousin commented that he wanted to trade his home in for something a little bigger and closer to the water, I couldn’t help but think to myself, Well, that is sure not a way to save smarter... And then I ask myself, what about the house you already have? Can you take a moment to enjoy the blessing of even having a vacation home in the first place? The fact that we and, I include myself in this, always want more, explains the reason we need articles in this particular vain. So we are conflicted. Because on the one hand we want so badly to achieve The American Dream... Homes, cars, clothes, money, but on the other hand we are killing ourselves to get it. I am not condemning my cousin or anyone for that matter. It is really more of a compassionate curiosity of why “the next thing” always matters more than “this thing, here, now.” I am also not scoffing at luxurious homes and gorgeous clothes but as I am in the midst of my formative years, I believe I must question the values of those who came before me. I must ask what really matters the most and is the American Dream really just that... A dream?
The same thing goes for food. We are so quick to turn to process meats, bread, and substitutes for the real thing, i.e. Splenda and Smart Balance (quite an ironic name, huh?). Is a tablespoon of sugar in our coffee and a pat of butter on our toast really going to kill us? Give us heart disease or Diabetes? Coming from a mother and grandmother who have never used the substitute but have always eaten in moderation, I am going to say no. We no longer eat to sustain ourselves but rather we want to be as thin as possible as quick as possible. I am happy to say, I do not include myself in this category any more but as a woman with a former “weight problem,” I know what it is like to dream of being thin and the “life it promises.” I have also found that thinness really doesn’t promise anything lasting or deep. The failure of this promise had led to a miraculous discovery of a self worth that goes deeper than any amount of weight loss. So I ask you and myself daily... what do you really, really want? As John Tarrant once said, “All wanting--for love, to be seen for who we are, for a new red car (or beach house or Rolex, or to lose 10 pounds)--is wanting to find and be taken into the mysterious depth of things.” I am sorry to say that the depth we seek cannot be grabbed with bare hands, cannot be taken and hidden or locked up or saved or lost. It can only be experienced and felt. But isn’t that so much better?
Saturday, March 19, 2011
What a Girl Wants
There are many different directions in which I could go. Graduate school, cooking school, or working in the hospitality industry. Staying in Tallahassee or moving home... or moving to New York... or taking an internship in Scotland. Do I want the beauty of space and greenery or the fast-paced totally mod city life? All of these hypothetical possibilities are, in the least, slightly overwhelming, and, I guess all I can say is I'd like to experience it all. And though sure, it is about choices, it is more about experience, and what ever experience you have it is yours and only yours. To me that is perfection in itself.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Gimme Pizza!
I started by sauteing fresh spinach in a pan with garlic, olive oil, and salt. You can use arugula too, but my spinach was on its last leg and I didn't want to waste it! Don't be shy with the spinach... it will wilt to almost nothing! Place the spinach mixture aside and use the same technique with the onions. I cut mine into rings for long, luscious, caramelized strings. Saute until desired tenderness with salt and a little olive oil.
Grease a pizza pan, or any baking dish you have and place the dough inside. Press outward from the center with your fingertips until the dough reaches the edges of the pan. This will take a little effort but it will get there! Brush the top with olive oil, layer the onions, asparagus, and spinach, and douse that baby with some good Parmesan cheese! Stick her in the oven for about 20 minutes at 400 and dinner is served!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Soup for the Soul
With my symptoms still not at bay and the doctor not taking anymore appointments this week I am left to the good old fashion chicken soup cure. The problem is... I hate chicken soup. Yes I said it... the tried and true American classic honestly tastes like sink water. Can I have some Split Pea Soup please... or what about Spanish Bean? Tomato? Anyone? Oh, and can I get a grilled cheese with that.
I have a bag of split peas at home and I am contemplating making a hearty soup in the slow cooker with cubed ham, carrots etc. Here is a really classic recipe for you!
- 1 (16 oz.) pkg. dried green split peas, rinsed
- 2 cups diced ham
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 ribs of celery plus leaves, chopped
- 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
- 1 tbsp. seasoned salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp. fresh pepper
- 1 1/2 qts. hot water
I love my food with a kick so I always add a little Red Pepper Flakes inside... and of course... some Parmesan cheese on top!