Fork Summer (into your mouth)

It's the last day of June, and as I thought to water the garden this morning tonight we have heavy showers. The humidity is making the high 60s feel much warmer, but I wouldn't trade any of it for the triple digits being enjoyed elsewhere. Since Summer is often more a state of mind than a climatic event here in Portland, I made a plate of it and ate it with a fork.

Cooking is sometimes like clowning - you have some things around you, you follow some impulses, and sometimes you end up with an unexpected bit of joy. This was a great affirmation of my practice this week to work at expecting little from others and allowing them to surprise. I'm also doing 30 second clowning - magic moments of seeing and being seen while in the drag of our regular hustle bustle. It happens! and it delights me. Here's to delight in ordinary days and simple exchanges.


Tonight's meal was half cheating - with a frozen pizza - and half scratch. My results were better than I could have hoped. (Amy's Three Cheese Corn Crust Pizza is dang tasty and the ingredients are not too frightening). We topped ours with fresh avocado slices. The warm veggie salad part of the deal follows.

Warm Summer Salad
Ingredients
1/4 sweet onion, sliced thin
2 ribs of fennel bulb, sliced thin
1 small zucchini, sliced in matchstick ribbons
1 ear corn, cut off the cob
handful arugula (or other bitter salad green)
1 Tbsp olive oil
sea salt, to taste
1 tsp lemon olive oil or squeeze lemon juice
za'atar, to taste (recipe for this Arab spice mixture follows)

Method
1. Heat oil and pinch salt in large wok or frying pan over medium heat
2. Sauté onions until lightly brownedAdd fennel, zucchini and corn, and continue sautéing until all are warmed through but still brightly colored (about 3-5 minutes)
3. Toss in arugula and season with lemon olive oil, za'atar and sea salt to taste

Since my lady won't eat cooked veggies, I made this just for me and housed the whole thing. Thus this recipe yields large one dinner side portion.

If you've never eaten Za'atar before you are missing out. Make this easy spice mixture at home by pulsing the following ingredients together in a food processors:
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup sumac
2 Tbsp dried marjoram
2 Tbsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp sea salt
This yields about 2/3 cup which will last for several weeks in an air tight container. Mix with olive oil and lemon for a phenomenal salad dressing, or sprinkle on grilled meats and veggies. Addictive! Enjoy your adventures in the kitchen and everywhere else you wander. And don't forget to jump puddles (out of yours, into others, because its fun).

vanilla caviar dancing brouhaha shebangdiddle

I took my clown out for a walk for the first time ever and I've been thinking about the qualities that my adventure made apparent to me. Qualities I often follow impulses towards - seeking out from outside sources. One of those is sweetness and my clown is steeped in it. Overflowing with it even. And so I would like to introduce to all of you - another iteration of all that is me - Mister E.

I'm on the left with pink feather eyelashes, and this is my dear friend Squirrely - whose going away party prompted the following cupcake effort and the "recipe" for the frosting you'll see below. This is my first combination of clowning and cooking, and it feels superbly silly. I like this! This frosting recipe was unwittingly named by my amazing cousin... (Thanks for being willing to clown with words long distance - I love you so big for that, Sarah.) I hope you will enjoy it.

mister e's (not-too-sweet vanillacaviardancingbrouhahashebangdiddle) cream cheese frosting

ingredients

5 Tbsp butter, melted

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened, then cut pats into the mixing bowl

6 oz neufschatel or regular cream cheese, softened

1 scant cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract + 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (this is delish)

method

1. put butter, cream cheese and extract in bowl, and beat till smooth with hand mixer on high - approx 3 minutes. 

2. sing while you cook. make it a silly song about loving something about yourself.

3. add sugar slowly until fully incorporated and super smooth - another 3 minutes? who's counting?

4. add vanilla paste and mix another 30sec - 1minute.

madness - makes enough to frost 22 mini cupcakes plus crack out on eating the remaining 1/4 cup however you see fit. use on cupcakes, berries, graham crackers, fingers etc. you can thin it with milk if you want to use as berry dip, or add more sugar if you want stiffer frosting. refrigerate any unused portion. keeps for 2-3 days (HA! like it will last that long)

tiny wacky cupcakes (in case you need somewhere to stick your brouhaha)

ingredients

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cider vinegar

1 cup cold water

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbsp cocoa powder (I mix up hershey's or dutch process cocoa with black cocoa)

method
1. preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. grease mini muffin tins or line with cupcake papers
3. in mixing bowl sift together dry ingredients
4. make three wells in dry ingredients and add butter, vanilla & vinegar
5. pour water over all and mix until incorporated (not too much though!)
6. bake for 10-12 minutes, or until top springs back/ skewer inserted comes out clean

madness  - recipe makes 24 mini cupcakes, or less if you eat batter like I do 
let cool briefly in tins, or - if using papers - remove immediately to cool on baking rack. eat any that break or fall on the floor during removal. allow remaining little treats to cool completely before icing. using a little silicone or offset spatula pick up a glob of goodness and swirl gently onto the top of each cakelet. store cupcakes in sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days. again, very funny if you think you and your gaggle of friends won't scarf them up whilst making happy sounds of contentment and pleasure. 

Curried Couscous breaks the losing streak!

Sometimes I get myself into a kitchen funk, where not only do I have trouble deciding what I'd enjoy but then also fail in my efforts to make anything appetizing. Maybe it's a phase of the moon. Maybe my sense of smell temporarily goes out of whack. Maybe I'm imagining things. But last week was one of those miserable times and it culminated in my throwing out the better part of an entire pot of "chili". I put that in air quotes because I'm not sure what it was trying to be - too many different things perhaps, like a bad remix - but it succeeded at none. At that point I wave the white flag and wait for the winds to turn.

This morning I woke to a soupy day outside (pouring rains) and a desperate hope to shake my kitchen blues. We had an exceptionally productive day, here at the Mister E Chicn Coop. We purged junk, donated art supplies, got together a load of recycling and managed to meal plan and shop for the next few days' meals too. Tonight it seems all that did the trick and my losing streak is done... with no small thanks to this simple (FAST) meal that's been rattling around in my brain for weeks. It's a variation on our quinoa salads past, and infinitely modifiable. I'll be posting other great revamps here soon. So here's the recipe for Curried Couscous with Chickpeas and Feta. There's no photos of our dinner cause we ate it all... Please let us know how your version turns out!

Curried Couscous with Chickpeas and Feta

Ingredients
1.5 cups water
1/2 cube vegan bouillon (fave is Rapunzel vegan w/ sea salt and herbs)
1 Tbsp curry (LOVE Vata Churna Spice Mix from Maharishi Ayurveda)
1 cups couscous

1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 sweet onion, diced
1/2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
2 carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 rib celery, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 cup petite peas (cook according to package and set aside)
1 Tbsp safflower oil (or olive, canola, sunflower if you prefer)
1 pinch salt
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp chipotle
1/4 - 1/2 cup crumbled feta (optional)

Method
Bring water, bouillon and 3/4 Tbsp curry to boil. Add couscous, stir, remove from heat and cover. Let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Turn out into large mixing or salad bowl

In large saute pan heat oil, salt and remaining spices over medium. When drop of water sizzles add onions and saute until translucent. Add chickpeas & carrots and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes. Add celery and zucchini for quick turn in the pan - 1-2 minutes - until colors brighten. Remove from heat and allow to cool for approx 5 minutes. Add chick pea saute and cooked peas to couscous and mix the lot. Add feta and serve.

Makes 4 dinner servings (approx 1.5 cups each)

Want to make this recipe vegan? Skip the feta.
Want to make it gluten free? Substitute quinoa or millet for couscous. Add spice mixture to water and cook according to directions.