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.

Faux Pho

Tonight was the perfect night for soup. I'm recovering from a cold. M had a late lunch and wasn't super hungry. Thus my plan was realized to fake it in our kitchen and make "pho". I didn't snap any photos of the finished product as it disappeared too quickly. Here's what you need to make your own impasta (hachachachacha). The following serves two for dinner or three for a light lunch.

Ingredients:

32 oz container chicken stock (I like Pacific Natural Foods' broth if I haven't made stock, and I often don't)

1 cup water

2 tsp rice vinegar

1/3 package thin rice noodles or cellophane noodles

1 Tbsp oil

1 boneless skinless chicken breast

1/4 onion sliced thin (red or yellow works)

1 nub ginger sliced thin (approx 1 tsp)

Garnish

1 lime, rolled and quartered

1 jalapeno, sliced thin

small handful fresh basil leaves

medium handful fresh cilantro

1 cup green cabbage, fat chop (I didn't have bean sprouts and I wanted something slightly sweet and crunchy)

Method:

In a 2 - 3 qt saucepan, heat broth, water and half the sliced ginger over medium low .

While broth heats, heat oil in small frying pan over medium heat. 

Add good dash of sea salt, and saute onions and remaining ginger until just browning.

Move aside onion mixture and add chicken breast to the pan. Cook until seared on one side, then flip and repeat. 

Cover and cook over medium low heat until the thickest part of the breast is 155-160 degrees.

Once broth is at rolling simmer (just shy of boiling) add noodles and remove from heat.

Set aside chicken to rest for several minutes, then slice thinly.

Add any juices from chicken pan, the sliced chicken & splash of rice vinegar to the broth.

Prepare a plate of all the garnish - this is the best part of the soup.

Dish out bowls of noodles (which have magically cooked in the passing minutes), chicken & broth.

Add torn basil, cilantro, jalapenos, cabbage (or other veggies) and squeeze that lime.

Dig in and be sure to slurp because it makes dinner more fun.

This yummy first attempt didn't have the complexity that a lot of pho broth has, since I didn't cook porkbelly or do anything much except open a carton and cook some aromatics. It did pack a nice amount of warmth and was a definite success, even if it's one I'm ready to improve upon. M and I are committed to getting back into the kitchen since cooking at home more is the only way we're going to pay for our home's seemingly endless remodel. Here's to this being the first of many meals we'll be sharing soon. Thanks for reading!

Cheesy Polenta with Brussels & Lemon Herb Oil

Today I see strong signs of Spring - buds on the plum tree, a raucous meeting of birds in the trees, daffodils standing like strange arrows shoulder to shoulder, and the first hummingbird I've seen this year! It was barely the size of my thumb, drab but iridescent goldgreen, flitting around the rue plant in our front wall garden. Such a beautiful harbinger made quite a pairing with the lunch I cooked up. I made cheesy polenta, caramelized some onions and shredded brussel sprouts, and pureed parsley & cilantro in a delicious olive oil pressed with Sicilian lemons (thanks due to my work for giving me discounted access to such mouth-pleaseing treasures). A little salt and Meyer lemon juice finished off the oil, and all the colors were vibrantly alive. It was sunshine in my mouth! Here's the breakdown so you can recreate at home. It was very easy and quick - less than 25 minutes prep and cook time.

Cheesy Polenta
Ingredients:
1 cup coarse corn grits (polenta)
3 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cube vegan bouillon
1 Tbsp butter
1/2-2/3 C shredded asiago/parmesan or other hard Italian cheese mix
dash of hot sauce (optional)

Method:
Bring the water, salt and bouillon cube to boil in medium saucepan. Slowly stir in polenta and reduce heat. Stir frequently and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add butter, cheese and hot sauce, stirring to incorporate well as it melts. Turn out mixture into non stick pan of choice - we used a pie tin, so we could cut out (1/8th) slices. Set aside to cool and set up a bit.

Brussels and Onions (This can be doubled or tripled)

Ingredients:
1/2 lb brussel sprouts cleaned, stemmed and shredded (about 1.5 cups)
1/4 onion, sliced very thin
1 Tbsp butter
sea salt, to taste

Method:
In heavy bottom saucepan heat butter & salt over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent and lightly browned. Add brussels and saute until lightly browned and wilted, when all the colors are really popping.

Lemon Herb Oil
Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (I used the aforementioned import - Casina Rossa -which already has lemons pressed in it, but any high quality oil will taste great)
1/4 cup cilantro chopped fine
1/3 cup flat Italian parsley chopped fine
juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon, or more to taste
sea salt to taste

Method:
We used an immersion blender but regular blender or cuisinart will do the trick. Put all ingredients into the blending vessel and puree until herbs are very finely cut and blend begins to emulsify a bit. You can tell this is happening when the volume appears to increase, and it doesn't separate when you pause.

Plating - Cut out a slice of polenta, top with a big spoonful of brussels and drizzle with oil.
Buon appetito! If you try this at home please share how it turns out. If you hate brussels, like several of my friends who are crazy, then other veggies make great substitutes. Try it with lacinato kale, broccolini, or any kind of raab. Toasted almonds would make a terrific addition to it as well.

Warm bulgur salad, ceci & lacinato

Tonight we both came home belly-aching, literally, so dinner had to wait for stomachs to settle. When M wandered into the kitchen looking lost I knew it was time to sort it out. I grabbed bulgur wheat, a ripe lemon, flat leaf parsley, shallots, chick peas, lacinato kale, olive oil, tahini, cumin seeds & a vegan bullion cube. You can make this quick and easy meal too. In our house this "recipe" makes two dinner servings plus two lunch leftovers.

Warm Bulgur Salad
1 cup bulgur
1 vegan bullion cube
2.5 cups water

Bring water with bullion cube to a boil in a 2 qt sauce pan. Add bulgur, cover and remove from heat. Let sit until most of the liquid is absorbed. Drain remaining liquid (I used a mesh sieve) and set aside.

Lemon Parsley Dressing
1 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
juice of one lemon (2-3 Tbsp)
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and coarse ground pepper to taste
Combine all in a lidded jar and shake it up well, until it starts to emulsify. Pour dressing over
bulgur and stir well.

Ceci (chick peas) & Lacinato
2 small shallots, minced
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 15.9 oz can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 bunch lacinato kale, chopped
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch asafoetida
2 tsp tahini
reserved liquid from bulgur

In nonstick saute pan heat oil, cumin seeds and asafetida over medium heat. Saute shallots until they sweat a bit. Add ceci and saute until golden brown. Add kale and stir to cook lightly, before adding tahini and reserved liquid. Cook everything together until kale brightens but remove from heat before it wilts. It should stay al dente.

Serve bowls of the bulgur salad topped with ceci & lacinato. Stick it in yer yum! Can't wait to hear how you like it. If you're off wheat other grains work great as well. You can do almost the same thing with quinoa, millet, rice etc. Just cook per directions for that grain (liquid:grain ratios may vary).
Rock it out and add things that sound good to change up the flavor profile.

Chili Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

On a heartsick night, this soup seems a perfect antidote to my memories of meals eaten with old lovers. Not only is it ridiculously easy - helpful when your confidence (kitchen or otherwise) is low - but aside from roasting the yams, you don't really have to cook it. And, I offer my humble disclaimer that it doesn't actually contain proper sweet potatoes... but chili spiced yam soup just doesn't sound as sexy.

Here's what you need to make enough for two, or for one tonight and one tomorrow:
3 medium sized yams (i like garnet or jewel)
2 cups veggie stock, simmering
1/4 tsp cumin, or to taste
1/4 tsp chipotle, or to taste
1/2 tsp chili powder, plus extra for garnish
1 tsp fat (i used leftover bacon grease, but you can use butter or oil)
sour cream, for garnish

Here's what you do with it:
preheat oven for 10 min to 350 degrees.
roast yams in their skins about 45 minutes, until soft and sugars are dripping like caramel
a few minutes before yams finish, heat stock to boil and then keep hot over low flame
remove the yam peels, carefully, and eat or feed to your veggie loving dog
place peeled yams and hot stock in blender, or if you're fancy in a pot and use your immersion blender in the pot
add spices, fat and blend until smooth and silky
top off with a dollop of sour cream, chili powder and enjoy each ever-loving spoonful.

here's a shot of the remnants... the kitchen stove light doesn't do a whole lot to show off the color blast happening in the bowl.