A Cornucopia of...Food. And Stuff.

I've been going back and forth with cooking since returning home from Boston, but have a few morsels to share that have recently been dominating my diet (sorry for the lack of pictures, but I've been less than motivated to document my daily goings-on, much to, I'm sure, many's dismay). My motto is, if you can't eat at Clover everyday, try this shit out:

1. "When I Was Your Age I Walked 14 Miles in the Cold to Suture My Own Finger that I Ripped Open While Sewing Clothes From Burlap for My 12 Brothers and Sisters" Granola

Because, you know, it's homemade.

Anyhow, after visiting Kim in Boston (always inspiration for new foods and techniques to try out), one of my favorite things I came away with is a new granola recipe, courtesy her friend's blog, www.simmerboston.com. The best things about this granola recipe is that it is super easy, has no butter or oil (thus a lot less fattening than most granola), and can be modified according to your own tastes.

I have been halving the recipe, using honey instead of maple syrup (cheaper and more readily available here in IN), and using sliced almonds and pumpkin seeds as my nuts of choice.

The one thing I would say is to play around with the oven temp and bake time, neither of which are stated in the recipe. When I was eating goat cheese and bread while Kim slaved away baking the granola (and our dinner, fish with a dijon mustard sauce, roasted brussels sprouts, and brown rice; see below), we discovered that, I think, 20 minutes was too long. My first go also proved too much, as my granola was a bit...crispy. I did 15-20 minutes at about 300, I think. My most recent attempt was more successful, but I was on the phone, so I have no idea how long I left it in there. If anyone comes up with a good combo of temp and bake time, let us know!

The recipe is here: http://simmerboston.com/2010/04/homemade-granola/

2. Broiled Bluefish Dijionnaise

On our way home one evening, we made a spontaneous stop at The Raven used bookstore (on Newbury Street, no less!), and Kim coerced me to use my camera for questionable means that resulted in one of my new favorite (albeit, ridiculously simple) fish recipes. Because I can't cite it (we didn't think to take a reference shot of the title page, obviously), I'll give the minimum.

Broiled Bluefish Dijionnaise (substitute other fish as you see fit, likely white, meaty fish)

1/4 cup mayo
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon thyme or oregano (optional)
4 (6-ounce) pieces of Bluefish fillet (skin on or off)
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper

Set cast-iron skillet on broiler and heat for 15 minutes. Want the griddle sizzling hot.
Stir mayo and mustard together in small bowl. Crumble in herbs if using.
Season fish with salt and pepper on both sides and paint one side with mustard coating.
Put fish on griddle, painted side up, and broil 3 to 4 minutes, until coating is brown and bubbling. Serve hot.

It says you can also use a Foreman grill, which is hilariously awesome to me, but it says to leave the skin off if doing so. I don't have a cast-iron skillet, so I just use a regular baking dish, which works fine. However, I can attest to the cast-iron skillet producing tastier results.

Kim served this with a side of brown rice and roasted brussels sprouts, which brings me to:

3. Roasted Everything or My New Obsession or How to Eat When You're A Lazy Ass Cook

This requires very few words, other than to say, roasting vegetables really does make them taste better. I avoided this method for years because it seemed like it took So. Damn. Long. But, that is untrue!

Preheat your oven to 350-450 degrees (depending on how audacious you're feeling that night), toss whatever you're roasting in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and pop it in the oven for about 15-25 minutes, depending on what you're roasting. I also like to add sliced onion and roughly chopped garlic to whatever I'm roasting to add extra flavor and round out the meal.

Some favorite roasting options:
- butternut squash (the ultimate delicious roasting item...great on pizzas, orzo, pasta, or by itself...possibly mixed with goat cheese...)
- asparagus (shorter roast time for these little babies)
- brussels sprouts (which sound heinous, but are not. Best if you cut them into smaller pieces to ensure they are tender and thus less bitter. Also, good when you add balsamic vinegar into the tossing mixture)
- fingerling potatoes (I like to add paprika or smoked paprika in addition to salt and pepper. Also good, rosemary.)
- Cauliflower

4. Finally, an experiment in progress: Popovers

I recently made these over break, but they didn't turn out as I hoped. They were sufficiently popover looking (though slightly more brown than I would have hoped because I left them in the oven for too long), but tasted a bit like scrambled eggs...which I think was because I forgot to let the melted butter cool before mixing everything else together, but maybe is just the way popovers taste? I'll be attempting these again, but need more eggs to do it.

4 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush cups of 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with butter.
In large bowl, whisk together the flour, milk, eggs, butter, and salt until only a few lumps remain (do not overmix).
Divide batter among prepared muffin cups and bake until puffed and a deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minute. (Do not open oven door before 30 minutes or the popovers will collapse. Remove 1 popover to check that the underside is browned.) Serve immediately.

Brits vs. Americans...

While attempting to synthesize and log notes on intergroup and group processes, I had Julie and Julia on in the background (marking the umpteenth time I've watched this movie), which, of course, made me wish I was cooking (or blogging) rather than studying. This, then, made me absolutely determined to do some real cooking this fall. For whatever reason, maybe because I just learned that Yorkshire pudding isn't pudding at all but rather very much an American popover, I have decided to tackle the former first. And a souffle. (Mmm. Souffle.)

Have I attempted one yet? No. Why am I mentioning it here? Because it's (fairly) well-established that committing oneself publicly in writing increases the likelihood that the behavior will occur. So, to the 1.5 people that maybe still possibly read this blog, there you have it. You have roughly 4 weeks to prepare yourself for this foodie shit to get crazy. Yo.

*I just noticed the difference between Yorkshire pudding and a popover is a matter of national origin, but so too are the psychological domains flippantly mentioned at the beginning of this post. This was completely unintentional, but still awesome.

That's what happens when you try to post at midnight.

Fellow food lovers: I'm sorry I barraged you with family photos. I meant to post those to our family/personal blog, but alas, I woke to find I had shared them with you all instead! I do hope you have a Happy Easter, and eat something delicious. If you haven't discovered the food blog Smitten Kitchen yet, I commend it to you -- make some of her strawberry rhubarb compote to celebrate spring!

Happy Easter!

TVP? We'll see.

I've been doing a lot of this lately:


Why?

All you need is love, right? And, nothing says LOVE like TVP and black bean (with peppers and onions) nachos in a heart-shaped pan! Saute it all together with some TJ's taco seasoning and olive oil (TVP has no fat, unsurprisingly), top with Tilamook Cheddar and put into the oven at 450F for 5-10 minutes - voila! Dinner!

Pairs nicely with a gin and tonic (Bendistillery gin, of course).

Now, if I could only figure out how to abate TVP gas, we'd be in business...

Experiments in Polenta-Land

Happy New Year, all!

My year as a high school teacher continues to nudge me away from the kitchen and towards frozen delights from TJs or snack-dinner (a term coined by Katie VL's little nephews when I was down visiting over the holiday).

However, every once in a while, I get inspired. A few weeks ago, two dear friends had me over for dinner and we feasted on amazing beet and avocado salad and baked polenta with goat cheese. I vaguely remember hearing about polenta once before in my life, but I had no idea that it is an Italian grain made of cornmeal (are you thinking what I'm thinking? Gluten-free!). You can buy it at TJs in a little polenta-log, make it yourself, or buy it elsewhere, I'm sure. It's affordable and organic at TJs, so win-win. Tonight, when I came home after an 11 hour day with almost no sustenance and a shot voice, I was looking for something to make with polenta that gave me protein, veggies and a new taste. What I came up with was completely an accident, but I loved it and will make it again soon.
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Pesto Polenta with Shrimp and Pan-Fried Veggies (gluten-free)

Place polenta slices (1/4-1/2") onto a cookie sheet and into an oven at 350F, topped with parmesean cheese. Bake for 20 min.

While baking, pan-fry 1/4 red pepper and 1/2 zucchini (sliced) and a large handful of spinach in an ample amount of olive oil. Add shrimp (or any meat you desire, I suppose) and continue to fry. Now, for the magic: season towards the end with black pepper, a spoonful of pesto, a hefty sprinkling of parmesean cheese and a few tangy sun-dried tomatoes. Mix around and coat with pesto while finishing your pan-frying.

Take polenta slices out of oven and place on a plate. Top with the veggie/shrimp/oil mixture which will be absorbed by the polenta, enhancing the flavor of everything. The polenta should be slightly crispy on the outside, which is delicious.
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Serve with wine to drink and Seu Jorge's album, Cru, as accompaniment for your elegant meal. I will be finishing my evening with my favorite Italian chocolate: bittersweet Perugina.

Salute!