Monday, January 25, 2010

Even more about my market trip

What can I say, it was a super-duper awesome day at the market that is expanding into the week and so many lovely meals and moments and new recipes and new flavors...

I bought my first chicken from Stokesberry Farm and while I had a recipe from my magazine, here are t  great ideas instead - especially since I have nori at home!

Yes, Oysters, too

So, it was too hard not to also bring home a little jar of Kumomotos.....

And now I feel it is my duty to learn as much as possible about this food that I have never really had much of before, let alone prepare myself!

Happily the best prep so far is almost none....some pepper...lemon...maybe tabasco on one, grapefruit (yes!) on another...

I found some fun and educational reading in the NYTimes about our new friends the Taylors and their role in reviving the oyster...after reading it I will have to try the Olympic next time - but this NY times article says the Totten is the best, and here at Savueur they mention it winning awards as best tasting. I do like the Totten, lots of meat and nice flavor, but honestly I think it is not as lovely as the queen Kumamoto!

Maybe it is because I only have compared them raw  - the Taylor site mentions Totten is king of cooked so if we go that way we will take the Totten with us.

What got me on the oyster kick was reading about their nutritional value combined with how sustainable oyster farming is - this article at Saveur explains how "Oysters actually remove nitrogen from the water, so the more we grow, the cleaner the water will actually be."  No way!  Yes!

  1. This takes advance planning, but unless we gobble them all up too fast, I should have time to make this crazy champagne granita - sounds light and lovely yet HOT with a hint of tabasco!
  2. Perfect, heat and sweet in a traditional form - a nice dipping sauce with ketchup, worcestershire, garlic and lemon
  3. I'm not ready to cook these, but another time I do want to try this traditional warm cream champagne sauce (or white wine instead)
  4. Or just a saltine.
  5. Or just nothing.

Falling in Love all over again...


one: did you know if you read this in advance, you will have an inside clue as to some of the special visiting magic at the Ballard Market? for example, we missed out on the fresh-local paprika, but i will TOTALLY be there next week with you two to get the saffron!!! mmm! it is like reading about friends, vegetable friends.



two: okay, and you probably missed this but when i got my kale, i got three kinds, and of them was because one of the Nash people ran over and was crowing about this particular curly-bumpy kale (i guess it is formally called lacinato but then another person said they call it "dino" for dinosaur-skin-kale). So, with the family dinner last night, we roasted all kinds, and YES THIS KALE IS DELICIOUS! more mustardy and more sweet than the regular green/purple kales. I can't wait for you to try it! Go lacinato!

More Mussels!!!

This weekend my visit to the Ballard Market was magical because I met Bill of Taylor Shellfish Farms

They provide the AWESOME oysters we had at Anchovies & Olives last week, and so to have a DIRECT seafood connection to the same amazing fresh delicious RAW SEAFOOD is just way too exciting for me.  

So, a bowl of mussels is at home waiting for me, and with my arsenal of wine, shallots, lemon, and spices, we have the lovely challenge of choosing how to prepare our first at-home mussel meal.  Here are some ideas, we might just improv and riff on these:

yummy bread last night

the bread last night was a half-wheat half-rye desem


Sourdough_miche_%26_boule.jpg

Sunday, January 24, 2010

trying to recreate presse's french lentil dish

close ideas:

amazing sounding indian dal

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Red-Lentil-Curry/Detail.aspx

and

http://www.recipeslib.com/ethnic/indian-recipes/34824-lentils-with-garlic-&-onion-madhur-jaffrey.html

Emeril's Online Recipes

New Crush, David Lebovitz

to make:

  • Candied Ginger, using the leftover syrup for fun concoctions!
  • Lime Meringue Tart, ahhh!!! Put on the pavlova??!!
  • Cottage Cheese.  YES, cottage cheese!  he gets more amazing with each post i read...
  • Caviar - no, Lentils du Puy, but sounds like heaven.
  • ahh, more ginger!  Snaps! a la Chez Pannise
  • a non-fat snaps version similar to Barefoot Contessa's ultimate version
  • Almond Bread-  i was lying to myself when i thought these were more healthy than other treats...oh well!  =)

French Green Lentils in Cream Recipe




Ingredients:
2 cups French green lentils, picked over and washed
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 stalk celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 onion, peeled, root end removed
1 clove
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup celery, cut in 1/4-inch dice
3/4 cup onions, cut in 1/4-inch dice
3/4 cup carrots, cut in 1/4-inch dice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
1 cup heavy cream (optional)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Methods/Steps:
Cook the Lentils: Place the lentils in a saucepan with the 2-inch carrot and celery pieces. Add onion with clove and bay leaf stuck into the flesh. Cover with cold water. Add salt. Bring to the boil and simmer until lentils are tender but not mushy, making sure there is always enough water in the pot to cover the lentils by at least 1 inch. Drain lentils and remove vegetables.

Sauté Aromatics: In a medium sauté pan, melt the butter. Add the diced celery, onions, carrots and salt; sauté vegetable until just tender. Add cooked lentils and cream and cook gently until cream lightly coats the lentils. Do not over-reduce. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Nora Ephron's Favorite Julia Child Recipes

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112294915

French Lentil Soup

Bon Appétit | December 2006


Yield: Makes 6 servings
ingredients
3 tablespoons extra–virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery stalks plus chopped celery leaves for garnish

1 cup chopped carrots
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups (or more) vegetable broth
1 1/4 cups lentils, rinsed, drained
1 14 1/2–ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
Balsamic vinegar (optional)
preparation
Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium–high heat. Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Add 4 cups broth, lentils, and tomatoes with juice and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium–low, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 35 minutes.
Transfer 2 cups soup (mostly solids) to blender and puree until smooth. Return puree to soup in pan; thin soup with more broth by 1/4 cupfuls, if too thick. Season with salt, pepper, and a splash of vinegar, if desired. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with celery leaves.

Wild Rice with French Green Lentils


Bon Appétit | February 2006

Yield: Makes 6 servings
ingredients
4 1/4 cups water, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 cup wild rice (about 6 ounces)

2 whole cloves
1/2 onion, peeled
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium carrot, peeled, halved crosswise
1 celery stalk, halved crosswise
2 garlic cloves, peeled
4 ounces 1/4-inch-thick pancetta (Italian bacon), cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup dried French green lentils*
1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
preparation Bring 2 1/2 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt to boil in medium saucepan. Add rice and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until rice is just tender, about 45 minutes. Drain. Return rice to pan.
Meanwhile, insert cloves into onion. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic; sauté until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add pancetta and sauté until crisp, about 5 minutes. Add lentils; stir 1 minute. Add 1 3/4 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and bay leaf; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 35 minutes. Remove from heat (some liquid may remain in pan). Discard onion, carrot, celery, and bay leaf. Stir rice into lentil mixture. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
Simmer rice-lentil mixture uncovered over medium heat until heated through and liquid is absorbed, about 6 minutes. Stir in parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Fun New Food Site

http://www.thenibble.com/REVIEWS/MAIN/pastas/glossary2.asp

Oats & Barley Nutritional Info

This morning I made a breakfast of 1 cup (uncooked) mixed of equal parts oats and barley with a table spoon of flax meal and dried cherries. I was trying to figure out the nutritional info.

Here is a link to the recipe I made:  http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/barley-oats-flax-hot-breakfast-cereal/

  • Comparing nutritional value of oats and barley -Blogger notes:

    They break down like this:

    1/2 C uncooked oatmeal has 150 calories, 3 g fat, 4 g fiber and 5 g protein

    1/4 C uncooked barley flakes has 80 calories, .5 g fat, 3 g fiber, 3 g protein

    These facts are from the back of the packages. To me this would indicate that the 1/2 C measure of barley would be slightly higher in calories, have less fat, more fiber and more protein than the oats but would probably be chewier.