ingestibles

Nov 27

thankful

Some very belated, and very disorganized, and unforgiveably unreciped, tidbits from the past weeks:

Lucky boyfriend got three birthday cakes this year: favorite flourless chocolate, pumpkin cake, and a (very messy but delicious) triple-layer mint chocolate chip ice cream cake with mint chocolate ganache and whipped topping (one layer was another flourless chocolate, so this might’ve had an unfair edge on being the best of the three.)

I flew home for Thanksgiving to be with my family and spent three days straight cooking: multiple loaves of Mark Bittman’s No-Knead Bread (I feel like an idiot for ever having even experimented with bread recipes other than this one). Savory cornbread to turn into a marvelous stuffing and sweet cornbread (for which I made homemade buttermilk for the first time) to bring to a family friend’s Thanksgiving potluck. Melissa Clark’s Mashed Potato Casserole which I worried would verge on Deen-esque and did, gloriously so. Roasted sweet potatoes tossed with olive oil, salt and chili powder. Very garlicky hummus. Brussels sprouts steamed with caramelized shallots. Vegan wild rice pilaf with sauteed onions, apples and raisins and toasted chopped almonds. Turkey. My mom made cranberry sauce, as she does every year, with a recipe I just found out this year is her grandmother’s. She does the pies, too, before the sun rises, and made an extra that my dad and I ate for breakfast and lunch. I made apple yogurt cake, trying to recreate one that I’d invented before but not written down (successfully!). And flourless chocolate cake, again. And vegan pumpkin chocolate cake. And pumpkin butter with fresh-squeezed apple juice and lots of ginger that turned out even better than Trader Joe’s. I couldn’t stop. It was the perfect vacation.

Nov 14

bulgogi & rice noodles with broccoli, spinach and bok choy

Dinner last Wednesday: three kinds of kimchi from Woorijip, Trader Joe’s bulgogi marinated boneless beef short ribs (panfry for five minutes on each side, these are effortless and REALLY REALLY GOOD), and rice noodles with sesame sauce, broccoli, spinach and bok choy that I’d made the day before.

Rice noodles with broccoli, spinach and bok choy:

  1. Steam the broccoli, bok choy and spinach until spinach is wilted and broccoli is tender but still crunchy.
  2. Cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions.
  3. Saute the vegetables in about half of the tahini and tamari, and the mustard.
  4. Drain the noodles and add the remaining tahini and tamari.
  5. Mix together the vegetables and the noodles, add more tahini and tamari as needed to taste.

A note: tamari and soy sauce are not synonyms. There are different kinds of soy sauce - like tamari and shoyu - tamari only includes soy, no wheat, resulting in a more intense, protein-laden umami flavor that stands up well through cooking.

Nov 13

eggplant parmesan

Dinner last night was cheesy, saucy, salty eggplant parm, which I’ve attempted to make several times before (and always failed in one way or another). Last night’s was excellent, and reminded me how much I like eggplant (some fantastic baigan bharta at Tiffin Wallah Friday night helped too). It’s easy and done in under an hour and doesn’t even require a side of linguine or garlic bread (although I’m sure there wouldn’t be complaints).

Eggplant parmesan:

  1. Begin by slicing the eggplant into pieces about 1/2 inch thick. Salt them on both sides and let them sit in a colander for 15-30 minutes to let out some of the moisture. Rinse them and pat them dry.
  2. Beat the eggs in a bowl. In another bowl, mix together breadcrumbs and seasoning. Dip each eggplant slice in the breadcrumbs, then the eggs, then the breadcrumbs again. Fry in about 2 tbsp of olive oil, 2-3 minutes on each side or until browned. Add more olive oil to the pan after each batch.
  3. Coat the bottom of a 9x9 square baking dish with sauce. Add a layer of fried eggplant. Top with some shredded parmesan and more sauce. Then add another layer of fried eggplant, more parmesan, more sauce, and on top, the mozzarella in pieces.
  4. Bake, covered, for about 20-25 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the mozzarella is browned and the sauce is bubbly.

Nov 08

stove-top roasted chestnuts

Anyone else breaking out the Christmas albums yet? No? Just me and the Wal-Mart advertising committee? Oh, okay. With sincere apologies for those of you who aren’t as thrilled as I am to see wrapping paper on the shelves and Reeses’ trees replacing the pumpkins at the Duane Reade, I AM EXCITED ABOUT THIS SEASON. So, on Sunday, I bought a few handfuls of chestnuts and determined to roast them. On an open pilot stove.

Roasted chestnuts:

  1. On one side of each chestnut, cut an X with a sharp knife to let the steam escape.
  2. Add the oil and chestnuts to a bowl and toss to coat.
  3. Heat a pan on low and add the chestnuts. Cover and stir frequently for 10-15 minutes.
  4. Add water, re-cover and leave over heat for another 5 minutes or until water is absorbed.
  5. Wait just until they won’t burn your fingers, peel, and eat!


Nov 04

comfort food

Black beans, spicy Cuban rice & beans, and goat stew from Sophie’s. Nice follow-up to a morning in the cold moving furniture and boxes of cookbooks from the old office to the new one.