It's a Mushroom-Barley casserole sort of day....

Actually, I've hardly been in the mood to cook or eat, even, and I don't know why. I did make a fairly experimental beef stew, my first ever, but I don't have anything useful to say about it except, I wish I'd done it in a crockpot. I've been eating gingersnaps, peanut butter, snowy owls, hot bacon-cheese dip, and a great deal of water with my warm wine.

The Julie/Julia Project

Local girl cooks her way through Julia Child's formidable repetoire.

I've been meaning to tell you how I've rediscovered stuffing. Actually, I've only made proper Thanksgiving stuffing twice in my life.

Then I did an impulsiuve thing. In a fit of craving one evening, I bought a box of local supermarket brand turkey-flavored stuffing. I made some, but messed even that up. I added water at the wrong point and it was strange. The next time (this always happens rather late at night. The other day I mentioned to Denise, the Most Excellent Neighbor, that I'd been baking squash at 2 AM the previous night [probably early in the GNE period], and her reaction was raucous laughter...) it was much better. Next (yes, I bought another box) I plan to try baking it after the initial cooking, to see if I can get the crustier texture I like best.

I have a dream of stuffing made of cornbread and green chiles. That's coming into focus, gradually....

Drinkin & Drivin, Guzzlin & Groovin...

I would like a sidecar, please. And give me a scooter along with it if you could....

Tommmmato Pie

An oldie but a goodie...Tomato Pie.

It's Autumn now, turn on a dime. Turn the oven on. Throw a can of drained lima beans (butter beans) inb a casserole dish, and then a few peeled garlic cloves & some sausage--you have spicy chorizo in the freezer tray. A little tamari. Bake it, covered, about a half hour. A little smoked gouda on the side. Some steamed broccoli rabe. This life, she is good. Close the kitchen window as you sit down to eat...the cool air has arrived.

I have discovered a new cheese. It is a cow's milk brie from Germany, flavored with walnuts, both creamy and subtle. It is called Mirabo.

Peach Crisp

I also made Peach Crisp. It is the simplest.

Thinly slice some peaches--5 is a good number. Spread them in a baking pan. In a bowl, toss together one cup of oats, some brown sugar, some cinnamon, a bit of flour. Melt some butter--1/3 of a cup--and mix it in till the stuff is crumble. Sprinkle this on top and put into a 350 degree oven for a half hour.

Channing Way Shrimp Curry

Last night I made shrimp curry, from a recipe from Ruth Rechl's Comfort Me With Apples. It's a
dish she made often while living in a commune in Berkeley, and thus it is called Channing Way Shrimp Curry.

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1/2 stick butter

4 tablespoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cardomom

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon red chile powder

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup well-stirred canned coconut milk

2 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons freshly grated lime zest

1-2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

salt and pepper

Cook the onion and garlic in the butter in a heavy pan over moderate heat, until the onion is softened, about 4 minutes. Add the spices and flour and cook, stirring constatntly, for one minute. Whisk in the cream, coconut milk, broth, and lime zest and bring just to a boil. Simmer the mixture, stirring constantly, until it begins to thicken, about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and simmer, stirring, until the shrimp turns pink and is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle the curried shrimp over rice and top with garnishes (raisins, peanuts, chopped candied ginger) with mango chutney on the side. It is good, to, to have some Ali Akbar Khan ragas on hand to play in the background while you eat.


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We also had a simple spinach salad--spinach, mushrooms, red peppers. I had so much curry sauce leftover, and salad, that for lunch today I will cook up the salad ingredients and pour the curry sauce over them. Yum.

Curry always reminds me of college, when my then-boyfriend Jonah and I made huge, delicious pans of it, often. I was ambitious then and my idea of a good time was to make a five course Indian meal, chutney to lassi, as it were, including samosas and paratha. In fact, this was our Thanksgiving dinner for several of the 5 years we were together. These days I often substitute flour tortillas for roti, and they are fine. But the scent of turmeric on my fingers takes me back....

The basil I grow outside my front door is thigh high and fat with huge leaves. I am wondering if I should consider making pesto by hand, as this article suggests. It is true my blender isn't quite up to the job, and I've been less than pleased with the consistency of earlier batches.

I want a cheesesteak right now.

Last night I came home from work, had a small glass of whiskey and fell asleep on the couch. Woke half an hour later roaring hungry. Here is what I made.

Nachos from Scratch
Cut up 5 frozen, defrosted corn tortillas into triangle chips, and fried these in small batches in canola oil in my cast iron pan. Warmed up leftover black beans. Spread chips on baking tray, strew this with beans, and some chopped green chiles. Heated this in a 350 degree oven for about 7 minutes. Topped it with salsa (I like Enrico's), corn relish, sour cream, and avocado. Ambrosia.

Meals like this make me wonder why I am cooking for myself only most of the time. This is a perfect snack for two, though too informal and messy to serve guests. Personally, I would permanently swoon if someone made this for me. Alas. I guess in the meantime I will have to swoon for myself.

A few culinary reading suggestions:

Eating together : recipes & recollections / by Lillian Hellman and Peter S. Feibleman

Commentary on and recipes for food from all over Europe and the States, with particular focus on New Orleans. Tells how to make the perfect soft-boiled egg and articulates the difference between Cajun and Creole cuisines. Snarky Lillian Hellman and her writer pal collaborated on this.

Tender at the bone : growing up at the table and Comfort me with apples : more adventures at the table, both by Ruth Reichel. Have just begun the first of these, and it reads like a novel. Very nice.

Special for the canine palate today:

Kong toy recipes. For example:

BANANA RAMA: 1 fresh banana · 2 tbs wheat germ · 1 tbs plain yogurt (can use your pet's favorite flavor as well) · Kong Toy that best fits your pet's chewing temperament In a bowl, mash up banana. Then, add wheat germ and yogurt. Mash all ingredients together and use spoon to add to Kong. Freeze for 4 hours. Makes 1 serving for Medium Kong. Double for every Kong Size that is bigger.

It's Julia Child's 90th birthday! Send her a note.

This recipe for bleedycake sounds intriguing. Maybe I'll make one for Samhain....

One of my favorite funnywoman folksingers, Christine Lavin, has a "Sleep While You Bake" recipe section oh her website. I was intrigued by this recipe....Intensive Sensitive Tomatoes.

Kteela's Marinade

Designed as a tofu marinade, also doubles for a beef or portabella marinade, and it's quite good as a salad dressing. about a quarter cup of balsamic vinaigrette about a tablespoon or so of olive oil (the following ingredients are better fresh, but dried will do...) minced garlic minced onion oregano cilantro (just a bit) chili powder cumin basil salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste anything else you have lying around (jalapenos are good, a bit of soy can replace the salt, well you get the picture...) let the marinade itself sit for a few hours, shake or stir occasionally. marinate extra firm tofu (cut in thin slices - about a quarter inch or less - off the brick), beef, portabella mushrooms, whatever for a couple hours. overnight is never necessary, but if it saves you time it's ok. i like to either fry, grill or bake the tofu and beef. the mushrooms i usually just try to grill. for salad dressing, toss with fresh dark greens (field greens and spinach are best), red onion, sliced black olives, white mushrooms, sliced baby carrots or shaved regular carrots, red and yellow peppers...etc. top with freshly shredded parmesan and croutons.

Ismali corn with Orzo

Another Laurie Colwin recipe, adapted by me. Into a big cast iron skillet or frypan, I put a few tablespoons of butter & then chopped scallion, red pepper, green beans and scrape fresh coen off the cob into the pan too. Salt, and sprinkle on some chili powder, stir. Meanwhile, I might've cooked up some rice or orzo, though this is delicious by itself, or cold, or in a quesadilla. When it looks delicious, serve. Tonight I also chopped up a few tamari roasted almonds & fried them up too.

Spinach Cheese Soup/Sauce

Jenn (the cookingest girl I know in SF, and she is from Buffalo) made this for me when she got her new pressure cooker. I didn't use a pressure cooker, but was able to cook the spinach to a close-enough pulp. I also changed the order of some of the steps. Here's what I did: stemmed & washed a package of fresh spinach. Dumped it into a deep pot with a heavy bottom, and cooked it over medium heat, with about a cup of stock. You can use more, or less, depending if you want a soup or a sauce. Meanwhile, I chopped some garlic & sauteed it in olive oil with basil and thyme in a cast iron skillet. Jenn said a bay leaf is key, but I didn't have one, and the result was still delicious. When the garlic was underway, I added two tablespoons of flour to make a roux, whisked it till the flour was toasted, then added a bit of half & half. I quickly pureed the now pulpy spinach, and stirred it into the roux, and dumped in cubes of cheese--maybe 1 1/4 cups--mix of peper jack and extra sharp cheddar. I whisked as the cheese melted. (While this could have been eaten in this exquisite state, I actually went a little further & fried, again in olive oil, a few fresh pierogie (potato and onion, in this case) and served them with the spinach-cheese sauce poured over.)

Baked Eggplant

Today I sliced up an eggplant--long thin slices, like steaks--and I dunked them in some egg lightly beaten with half & half (I never have any milk around) and water, then into a dish in which I crushed Ritz crackers (oh, the buttery evil corporate goodness...) and some oregano. I lay these on a tray which I probably should've greased. Instead I drizzled a little oilve oil over the top. Baked them at 350 degrees F for less than 20 minutes; till they were golden and tender. Ate with salsa (Enrico's medium is my favorite.)

Superior Tuna Sandwich

I bought some of that tuna in the foil pack, mashed up up with some mayo (I like kind of a lot) and some chopped scallion. On plain Monk's whole wheat bread after an hour in my backpack in the sun, this was delicious. Later I put another one in the fridge to sit and it was delicious cold. That tuna quality makes a difference.

Brolied Salmon (originally posted 7.05.02)
Depending on how big your fillet of salmon is (half a pound per person is plenty), pour into a shallow dish tamari (japanese soy sauce) and roasted sesame oil (I like Kadoya) and chopped scallions, enough to just cover the bottom of the dish. Place the fish flesh down inthe marinade for 15 minutes or so. Set the oven to broil. When oven is ready, put the fish skin side down into a metal pan (trays are not ideal as the extra marinade will slip out and make a mess in the oven) and pour the extra marinade over it. It will burn in the pan, but cleans up pretty easily after a bit of soaking. Broil till the fish flakes easily at the thickest part, and the top has a nice roasty look (5-10 minutes, but must be checked frequently). Serve with steamed asparagus and orzo.

This dish is actually super fast & takes little effort, but will impress anyone with an intact tongue.

Fresh Green Bean Salad (originally posted 7.22.02)
Tonight I made a little dressing of olive oil and lemon juice, salt, into which I placed about 6 green beans five minutes of out my garden. The beans had spent 2 of those minutes in hot water which I heated in a butter melter. I tore a leaf of fresh basil to put on top. I let them sit for a few minutes and then ate them with my fingers, greedily, in my incredibly hot living room, feeling like the luckiest human in the world.

Corn Relish

I made and canned four jars of corn relish yesterday. I have never even had corn relish, much less made it, but I was inspired by (who else?) Laurie Colwin, a few recipes in the Junior League of Dallas Cookbook (Fourth Edition), and the sweet abundance of incredibly fresh farmer's market corn. Here's the general idea:

Get very fresh corn. I used 8 ears. Cut it off the cob into a big pan. add chopped bell peppers--red is mandatory, yellow and green are nice. I used 1 of each. Add a cup of brown sugar, a cup and a quarter of cider vinegar, 2 Tbs dry mustard, 2 Tbs kosher salt, and some cayenne. You could also use curry powder. Boil this down for around a half hour, then add fresh chopped onions (2 medium-sized ones). If you don't know how to can stuff, follow the instructions which come with Ball jars.



I haven't tasted this yet, but the experience of making it was quite satisfying and made me feel productive & well-fed before a bite was had, and that is lovely.