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.

Pass me some banana bread

This recipe was lifted from a well known test kitchen source. I reduced the sugar, cooked the bananas on the stove top, and added bourbon to the banana juice reduction (because it was the right thing to do). My first attempt is pictured here. It got good reviews from all those I foisted it on. And you all asked for the recipe. Let me know how your efforts turn out.

*Be sure to use very ripe, heavily speckled (or even black) bananas in this recipe. The texture is best when the loaf is eaten fresh, but it can be stored (cool completely first), covered tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days. Makes one 9-inch loaf.

What you need:
1 +3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 large very ripe bananas, peeled (see note*)
1-2 teaspoons good bourbon (I used Bulleit)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
1/2 cup fine organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

What to do with it:
1. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.
2. Place 5 (of 6) peeled bananas in skillet; cover with lid wrap and heat over medium high until bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 - 10 minutes. Transfer bananas to mesh strainer placed over bowl and allow to drain 15 minutes (you should have ½ to ¾ cup liquid).
3. Grease bottom of your loaf pan, and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Transfer liquid to medium saucepan and add bourbon, cooking over medium-high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir reduced liquid into bananas, and mash with potato masher until fairly smooth. Whisk in butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla.
5. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
6. Slice remaining banana diagonally into ¼-inch-thick slices. Shingle banana slices on top of either side of loaf, leaving 1½-inch-wide space down center to ensure even rise.
7. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 55 to 75 minutes. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 15 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and continue to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cooking sunshine since there was none in the sky

We've had a lot of rain in the last 30 days. A LOT. Everything is soggy. I found myself in a group of folks the other night all color coordinated in grey, to match our craptastic weather. In the midst of all this M and I cooked a meal together recently that was sunshine for our eyes and bellies. I haven't yet posted our dahl recipe but I'll leave you with the photograph and the components.

Red lentil dahl, red quinoa, garden peas and fresh cilantro.
Real food. So beautiful.
Inspired by reading Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food", and made joyfully, to spite the weather. Here's to blue skies of the palate regardless of what the outside world is doing.

Carrot Ginger Soup and Pear Chevre Cashew Salad

Last night's dinner was lovely, in spite of deciding not to serve the fish course due to questionable freshness... bummer! They were lovely tuna steaks but I am committed to the "when in doubt, throw it out" rule. (Apologizing for a missing course is definitely less embarrassing than giving someone intestinal difficulties...)

With cheese and bread, soup and salad, wine and dessert - it turned out delicious and perfectly filling. By popular demand I am writing out the "recipes" of last night's success. Tiny disclaimer: Please know that I make dishes, sometimes for years, without ever really paying attention to how much of this and what measure of that. I just eyeball it and shrug my shoulders and experiment. Sometimes I win a little extra grace from the kitchen gods and it turns out exceptionally well.

As I've shared in earlier posts, I'm also blessed with a partner who delights even in my seeming failures. I hope that all of you have the support and chutzpah, and grocery income, to play in the kitchen as well. And I'd love to hear how your experiments with my recipes turn out as well. May all your meals be thrilling and always shared with people you love, or at least with people who are interesting...

Carrot Ginger Soup
3-4 cups chopped carrots (fat coins)
1/2 medium yellow onion, fine dice
1-3 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2-3 Tbsp oil (suggest safflower, sunflower or canola - olive may be too strong tasting)
1/8 tsp salt, plus extra to taste
1/8 tsp white pepper, plus extra to taste
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp ground coriander
4-6 cups stock, chicken or veggie
1 cup snow pea pods, rinsed and cut in half diagonally

METHOD:
In stock pot or large pot, heat oil, salt and spices over medium heat until fragrant.
Add ginger and onions and saute until light fond develops.
Add carrots and saute briefly, but don't allow ginger to burn.
Add stock and bring to a boil.
Cover and reduce heat, simmering until carrots can be mashed when pressed gently with a spoon (about 30 - 40 minutes).
Puree the soup (half batch at a time) in a glass blender, or use a "wand blender" directly in the pot.
Taste and add more salt and white pepper if desired.
Place a handful of pea pods halves in each soup bowl and ladle soup over top. Peas will blanch right in the puree and add a lightly crunchy counterpoint to the richness of the soup.
Serve and enjoy! Makes 4-6 adult portions and recipe can be doubled.

Pear Chevre Cashew Salad with Mustard Apple Cider Vinaigrette
2-3 cups mixed greens & spinach
1 cup baby arugula (preferably sylvette)
1 ripe bosc pear (neck should yield to gentle pressure, but fruit should not be soft)
1 cup roasted lightly salted cashews
1/2 cup goat cheese

METHOD:
Rinse and dry greens, and place them in large serving bowl.
Cut pear into quarters, discarding stem and seeds.
Slice each quarter diagonally into crescents and place in bowl with greens.
Spoon or crumble goat cheese over salad.
Top with cashews and toss to distribute all evenly.
This salad is great with a varying cast of characters. Try other combinations of tree fruits, nuts or seeds, and cheeses. Mustard Apple Cider Vinaigrette
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup oil (suggest safflower, sunflower or canola)
1 - 2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (remove stems), minced salt and black pepper to taste.

METHOD:
Place all ingredients in lidded jar or container.
Close lid tightly and shake the jar until your arm gets tired.
Give the jar to a friend to shake until their arm gets tired.
Dressing should get lighter in color and expand in volume as it emulsifies.
Taste and add more seasoning as needed. Dress salad and serve with fresh bread.
If you get a chance to try these two, or any of the other recipes we've shared, please share your stories with us here in the comments or via email at crouchinglentil at me dot com
Cheers!