holy bread!

My husband has been searching for a homemade recipe to get that crunchy, artisanal bread for over 10 years. He's tried bricks in the oven, water in the oven,  you name it and he's tried it. One fortuitous day, we came across a copy of Edible Santa Barbara. In that copy, there was an article about cooking bread inside a sealed vessel. This prompted hours of internet searching for the technique. And the discovery of Mark Bittman's interview with Lahey, a prominent New York baker who revealed his secret of using a dutch oven to make home made artisanal style bread. Try it, you won't be disappointed!

 

Link to recipe

Here is our first one! 

anyone can cook...even if your kitchen is as small as a matchbox

I watched Ratatouille for the umpteenth time on Friday night. I love Gusteau's mantra: "Anyone can cook." I also love Mark Bittman's simple approach to food and cooking.  Bittman notes that we don't need an industrial sized range to create delicious dishes. All we need are fresh ingredients, pots/pans, and a basic stove or oven. He posted a picture of his kitchen, the one he comes up with all of his glorious recipes in, here's the link. It is small and simple, just like mine. I was delighted to see someone else, especially a cooking guru like Mark Bittman, would have a simple kitchen free of the glitz and glamor that inhabit so many kitchens these days. So not only can you cook in a simple kitchen, but YOU can cook. We all can. It just takes a little effort and creativity.

Here's an easy recipe that you might wonder how each ingredient can be eaten together, but give it a try. It will surprise you.


Blood Orange Salad
2-3 servings

Ingredients
4 Blood Oranges, peeled* and diced
0.5 yellow onion, thinly sliced
0.25 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. peel and dice blood oranges, add to a bowl.
2. Slice onions and olives, add to oranges.
3. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

blood oranges

when scored with a knife, oranges are easy to peel

Kalamata Olives

sliced onions

¡Buen provecho! 

*Try scoring the oranges into quarters, then peel each quarter using your fingers. They usually peel pretty easily this way.

mini ginger cupcakes

My sister and mother gave me a brand new gleaming apple-green stand mixer for Christmas. I LOVE it. Well, I just learned that I love it because until yesterday, I had never used one of these machines. I was inspired by a cupcake recipe I saw in Vegetarian Times and decided it would be the perfect recipe to test my mixer on. These cupcakes are moist, light (for a cupcake), and not too sweet.

Mini Ginger Cupcakes (with a mascarpone/orange/honey frosting)
 makes 24 mini cupcakes

Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
1/4 cup sugar
1.4 cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into pieces
1/2 cup skim buttermilk
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cococa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Frosting
4 oz low-fat mascarpone cheese, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
chopped crystallized (or candied) ginger for garnish (about 3 tablespoons)

Directions 
1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease (you can use butter, spray, whatever your preference) 24 mini muffin pans.
2. Combine sugar, molasses, and butter in small saucepan over low heat, whisking the whole time until butter is melted and mixture is smooth, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. 
3. Whisk buttermilk and egg together, add and whisk molasses mixture in. 
4. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Whisk dry ingredients into buttermilk mixture. 
5. Fill muffin cups within 1/8 inch of rims. Bake 10-12 mins or until cupcakes are puffed and set. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and let cool.
6. For the frosting, whip the mascarpone cheese, honey, and zest in a bowl with a fork until smooth. Spread a thin layer on each cupcake and sprinkle with ginger if desired. 

 

creamy broccoli soup without the cream

While at Borders Books I stopped by the magazine section to check out what was new in the food world and I found a magazine called Whole Living. It recommended a detox to "boost" yourself and start the new year off right. Well,I was not about to commit to a detox but the recipes sounded awesome to try. Conveniently, our broccoli plants are growing strong and one of them had a huge head ready to pick. This soup was really easy to make and very tasty. I didn't have pine nuts so I made some croutons (cut bread up, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and put it in the oven on low for about 15 mins) and sprinkled them on top instead. Enjoy!

From wholeliving.com

Ingredients

Serves 4.

• 1 head broccoli (1 pound), cut into florets, stems thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• One 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
• 1/2 ounce shaved Parmesan, for serving

Directions

1. Steam broccoli florets and stems until tender and bright green, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly. Reserve 1/2 cup florets for garnish.
2. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add beans and stock and bring mixture to a simmer. Remove from heat and add broccoli; puree in batches in a blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish each bowl with broccoli florets, toasted pine nuts, and shaved Parmesan.

gobble gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!

root veggie mash, lamb chops, salad, and spears

Fall is finally here! Root veggies galore, pumpkins, and hearty dishes are all I can think about. The farmer's market is painted in autumnal colors that make my taste buds go wild. And I have finally decided that lamb is my favorite red meat. It is versatile and flavorful, can be fussed with, or left to savor simply dressed in salt and pepper. Sometimes, it is better left simple to accompany other more robust flavors like a pot of roasted root vegetable mash. Yum! This meal is simple, and if made with high-quality and fresh ingredients, doesn't require much added flavor.

I served the mash and meat with some lightly steamed asparagus spears and a salad with persimmons, pepitas, red onions, and a lemon shallot vinaigrette. I use about a 3:1 ratio for olive oil to acid (lemon juice or vinegar), add Dijon mustard (just a dash), salt, pepper, and in this case minced shallot. If you find the dressing is too acidic, try adding a pinch of sugar or a couple drops of honey. This was a relatively simple meal that was packed with flavor. ¡Buen Provecho!

Roasted Root Vegetable Mash
serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 large jewel yam, washed and cut into rounds about 1 to 1.5 inches thick.
1 large turnip, washed, peeled, and cut into rounds about 1 inch thick
2 medium russet potatoes, washed and cut into rounds about 1 to 1.5 inches thick
2 large carrots, washed and cut into wedges
1 Leek, washed and sliced finely
1-2 cloves garlic, use a garlic press to add to the leeks and olive oil
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
chicken stock (or veggie stock) if needed

Directions
1. Toss all sliced veggies with a little olive oil, place on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil.
2. Place baking sheets in the oven and turn the oven on to 400 °F (do not turn the oven on before you put the veggies in. By allowing them to heat up with the oven, the sugars caramelize better and the flavor is better).
3. Once oven is hot, cook the root vegetables covered for 30 minutes then remove the foil and cook until easily pierced with a fork, another 20-30 minutes. 
4. In the meantime, heat olive oil in a deep pot, add sliced leeks and cook until tender. Once tender, add garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes and turn off heat. 
5. When vegetables are ready, take them out of the oven and dump them into the pot with the leeks, olive oil, and garlic. 
6. Using a potato masher, mash all vegetables together. If they are dry, add some chicken stock, about 1 cup added in 1/2 cup increments. Add salt and pepper to taste. 


Grilled Lamb Rib Chops with an optional Chimichurri sauce


Ingredients
Lamb rib chops
Salt
Pepper


Directions
1. Heat grill
2. Cook ribs turning once so each side is evenly charred. Make sure your instant read thermometer reaches the recommended temperature for lamb.

Chimichurri Sauce 


Ingredients 
1/2 bunch parsley, washed and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon, juiced
red pepper flakes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste


Directions
1. Mix all ingredients together and spoon over meat. 

butternut chicken-noodle soup

We don’t get many rainy days in San Diego, so when we do I like to make fall-y dishes and savor the moment. Chicken noodle soup has a reputation for being curative so I decided to make it and see if it’d help me feel just a little bit better. The only problem is that I was craving a sort of hearty and sweet soup, so I had to mix the savory “normal” flavor of chicken soup with something sweet: a butternut squash. It was a marriage made in heaven.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

1 large onion, diced

1 small bunch celery, sliced coarsely

2 large carrots, sliced coarsely

1 whole chicken, cut into large pieces (or use your favorite cut, just be sure to leave some of the skin for flavor)

Egg noodles, I prefer linguine egg noodles—not too thick, not too thin

1 small-medium butternut squash, cubed in about 1.5/1.5 inch squares

Olive oil

Water

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Add a little oil to the bottom of a dutch oven, heat on high.
2. Once heated, add the chicken pieces. Cook until just golden brown.
3. With a slotted spoon, remove chicken from pot, set aside.
4. If needed, add a bit more olive oil, turn heat to medium, and add onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Be sure to stir!
5. Add chicken back into the pot, fill with water—until chicken is more than just covered.
6. Bring to a boil and then cook on medium for about an hour.
7. In another pot, boil water, salt it, then cook egg noodles.
8. While noodle water is coming to a boil add the squash to the chicken mixture, let cook.
9. Add salt and pepper.
10. When noodles are done, add them to the bowls and cover with chicken soup. OR you can add the noodles to the soup directly, is personal preference.

¡Buen provecho!