Supper in under an hour.....

When I don't have a lot of time to cook or don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen, I have a collection of quicky stand-by favorites that I turn to again and again.  One of the things my entire family loves is salmon cooked almost any way, but especially teriyaki.  I've experimented with lots of different teriyaki glazes.  I like a thick glaze and have found the best way to do this is to heat the glaze up with a cornstarch slurry. 

Tonight I made supper in under an hour, start to finish, and that includes dessert.  However, if there is a more messy, more unorganized cook anywhere on the planet, I would like to meet him or her! 

It doesn't matter how hard I try: my kitchen turns into a complete disaster when I cook.  Things happen to me.  Like, my clothes get caught on something and when I turn to disentangle myself, I knock something off the counter.  I spill things on the floor.  I cut myself on the lids of tin cans.  I drop eggs into the wrong bowl.  And I generate SO MUCH garbage!

But I always get the kitchen cleaned up before eating.  That way, I can enjoy my meal without the pressure of knowing I have a huge mess waiting for me.

Tonight, I made teriyaki salmon cooked under the broiler.  To go along with it, I made a barley salad filled with veggies and tossed in a sesame/soy dressing.  And I made a salad of thinly sliced daikon and cucumber in a sweet/sour marinade.  The cucumber salad was delicious and went really well with the salmon!

The barley took 45 minute to cook and while it cooked, I chopped the veggies and made the dressing.  I did this early in the day so the barley would have time to cool.  Just before dinner, I sliced the cucumber and daikon, made a quick marinade with rice vinegar, sugar, and a little salt, tossed it together and stuck it in the fridge while I made the salmon. 

For the salmon, I made a standard teriyaki glaze, dipped the salmon in the glaze and stuck it under the broiler for about 10 minutes.  While it was cooking, I tossed the barley salad together.

For dessert, I made a banana cream pie.  (Yes, that's right.  A dessert that does NOT involve coconut!) Years ago I sold Pampered Chef and this is a recipe I remember from my days as a Pampered Chef consultant.  It goes like this:

Mix together

   3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

   2 T sugar

   1/2 cup melted butter

Press into the bottom of a nine-inch pie pan or spring-form pan

Mix together

   12 oz Cool Whip

   1 cup sour cream

   1 package instant vanilla pudding

Spread half of this mixture over the graham cracker crust and top with

   3 sliced bananas

Cover with the remaining Cool Whip mixture.

Sprinkle with chopped pecans.

This pie sets up quickly.  It doesn't need more than 30 minutes in the refrigerator!  So YUMMY!!!

A random assortment of deliciousness

First of all, I object to the term "persnickity."

Second, I accepted the mission to do research on the elusive Filipino donut. After several trips to several Asian bakeries, no dice. However, those of you from Fort Wayne who know the Calhoun corridor Marialyn's been referring to lately might be interested in knowing that in Seattle there is an entire part of town like that street. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_District,_Seattle
It's actually more dilapidated than the wiki article makes it look, which to me only adds to the charm. During the daylight hours at least. Y'all come out and visit and we'll take you there. I have scoured the ID, and the Filipino donut continues to evade.

Lots of berries where we live: blackberries grow like weeds, we're near a blueberry farm, and last year a friend of a friend had a cherry tree and were letting the cherries go to waste. Shame! So we picked a bunch, froze a bunch. I've been eating these pie cherries on oatmeal for breakfast with nuts and chocolate chips. Last Sunday we had a church potluck, so I baked two cherry pies. I was recently inspired by a local woman who has dubbed herself The Pie Goddess (and sells her wares here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-panini-enumclaw). One particularly debauched pie has a butterscotch crust, so when I made my cherry pie I just dumped a lot of cinnamon in the crust as I mixed it. Easy and awesome.

So the wife has requested beef, mushroom, and barley soup. Done. I'm a big believer in dry-rubs, and my family has long bought Sutter's prime rib seasoning now sold here: http://www.arenspub.com/Winners-Meats/3134/. But we use it for more than just prime rib, I'll use generous amounts of it on a chuck like this one:

Assemble leeks, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and barley...

And if you add it all together you'll have a great soup...

To enjoy on your patio with beautiful people.

Gav, by the way, is modelling his new Seattle hippie hemp hat. Proof that we are not persnickety. Peace.

Moroccan Toasted Couscous Salad

I love couscous and I'm always looking for new ways to eat it.  This salad uses Israeli couscous which is a bit larger and rounder than regular couscous.  It can be hard to find but fortunately, our local co-op carries it on a regular basis. 

 

I recently returned from a trip to Istanbul and came home with bags of delicious dried figs and apricots as well as some good quality saffron threads so I decided I would blend them all together in this exciting salad.

 

The recipe calls for a long list of ingredients and although it demands a lot of chopping and slicing, there is nothing at all difficult about the technique and the result is a beautiful blend of colors and textures.  Everyone in my circle of friends loves this salad!

For the dressing, combine

   1/2 t cumin

   1/4 t cardamom

   1/4 t cinnamon

   1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

   1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

   1 T finely minced or grated ginger 

   1 T honey

   1/4 cup olive oil

   s & p to taste

For the salad, toast for 10 minutes at 375 degrees

   1 1/2 cup Israeli couscous

Bring to a boil

   1 1/2 cup water

   1/4 t turmeric (I substituted saffron threads since I had a good supply)

Add in the toasted couscous and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Let stand for 10 minutes, then fluff and mix together with

   1 small red pepper, chopped

   1 small yellow pepper, chopped

   1/2 small red onion, chopped

   10 dried figs, thinly sliced

   10 dried apricots, thinly sliced

   1/2 cup raisins or currants

   1 cup pistachios, toasted

   1/2 cup minced cilantro

   1 1/2 T orange zest

Drizzle the dressing over and gently mix into the salad.

 

If you take this salad to a carry-in or pot-luck, be prepared to hand out the recipe.  Someone will surely ask for it!  This salad is beautiful to look at, scrumptious to eat, and good for you to boot! 

  

A really quick and easy supper!

This morning, I asked Eddy what he would like for supper and his answer was a salad with strips of grilled chicken, some good crusty bread, and a glass of wine.  So, that's what I made!  Too bad Eddy forgot he wouldn't be home for supper tonight!

I made a simple Caesar salad.  What makes a salad "Caesar" is the dressing.  You can pretty much put whatever you want in the salad although it is traditionally made with romaine lettuce.  I put romaine and red leaf lettuce in mine, thinly sliced red onion, and homemade pumpernickel croutons.  Oh!  and lots of aged Parmesan cheese.

Here's my recipe for the dressing I made:

In a blender or food processor combine
   4 anchovy fillets
   3 garlic cloves
   2 T EVOO
   1 t Worcestershire sauce
   1 t Dijon mustard
   1/2 to 1 t hot pepper sauce

Process until blended and then add in
   1 1/2 cup mayo (best if homemade)
   2 T grated Parmesan
   2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice

Mix well.

For the chicken, I marinated boneless breasts in an Italian dressing for several hours before grilling them.  Be careful not to overcook the chicken!  Let it rest a few minutes before slicing it as this helps the juices to redistribute and makes it juicier.

Another really delicious coconutty dessert!

Today is my daughter's birthday.  One of her favorite desserts is coconut sticky rice with mango, the kind you can get at a Thai restaurant.  Although I'm a huge fan of sticky rice, I really love tapioca.  So, for my daughter's birthday, I decided to try a recipe using the flavors of her favorite dessert with tapioca.  It turned out YUMMY and was so easy to make!

I found the recipe in a Bon Appetit magazine from 2007.  Here is my edited version.

Process in a blender for 20  seconds
   2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
   1 inch piece of galangal, peeled and sliced
   10 Thai basil leaves
   6 fresh cilantro sprigs
   2 kaffir lime leaves OR 2 t grated lime peel
   1 stalk lemongrass, sliced

Bring to a boil and let steep for 20 minutes
   the above blended ingredients
   2 cups of water

Strain into a saucepan, add the following, and bring to a boil
   2 cups milk
   1/2 cup sugar

Stir in
   1/2 cup small pearl tapioca (not quick-cooking)

Return to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until thickened and reduced to about 2 1/4 cups.  (This might take 20 to 30 minutes)

Stir in
   1 can coconut milk

Refrigerate overnight.  (It will seem runny, but will thicken up overnight)

When ready to serve, scope into serving dishes and top with chopped mango that has been tossed with a little lime juice and some cayenne pepper.

Don't be put off by the unusual list of ingredients.  All these things can be found at any Asian market (like the ones on Calhoun St. in Fort Wayne.)  Galangal is a root that looks a lot like ginger root but it has a much paler skin color and is harder to peel.  Lemongrass is a grassy stalk with a tough outer coating.  Cut off the root and only use the white part along with the first little bit from the green section.  Kaffir leaves are the leaves off a special variety of lime tree.  The have a glossy sheen on one side.  If you can't find them, use lime peel.

Fava Beans: A Labor of Love

Monday, I visited a CSA farm.  CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and these organizations provide their members with a weekly bag or box of organic produce in exchange for a few hours of work a week or a membership fee.  A friend of mine who lives out in Seattle was telling me about the CSA that she recently joined.  I got so jealous, I had to search my own community to see if we had anything like this in my area.  I found one online, but it only accepted 20 members a year and it was already full. 

In the meantime, my daughter had been asking me to go out and visit this farm that a friend of hers works on.  So Monday, we went.  And, in a random act of coincidence as so often happens, it turned out to be a CSA farm!  Furthermore, it was my lucky day because although I was not a member, they were bagging up fava beans and the owner let me buy a couple of pounds.  I had never had fresh fava beans before but had been stumbling across recipes for them for ages!  I recently had visited all my area grocery stores looking for fresh favas and found them to be more illusive than a fresh spring morel!  Now, I was the happy owner of two whole pounds worth!

I hurried home with my bag of fava beans and began to look up recipes online.  I discovered that preparing fresh fava beans is very time consuming!  First, you have to remove them from their pod.  Each large pod contains about four or five beans.  They are a pale green in color.

Once the beans are removed from their pods, you need to further remove the kernel from it's shell.  To do this, you blanch the beans in rapidly boiling water for three minutes and then plunge them into cold water.  The skins will crack (or not!) and you can now slip the emerald green kernel out of its shell.

The beans are a beautiful, vibrant color and I tasted one raw at this point and found it to be tender, sweet, and delicious!

I sauteed the beans in some olive oil along with about a cup each of chopped fennel bulb and onion and about three cups of chopped swiss chard.  I only had to let them cook for about 20 minutes before I decided they were done.  A little salt and pepper and they were good to go!

I served them along side Haitian chicken and rice.  The meal was delicious!  Unfortunately, I don't know where or when I'll be able to get my hands on some fresh fava beans again but I can promise you that if the opportunity should present itself, I will be buying them!

"Left Over" coleslaw

Tonight  I made coleslaw out of bits and pieces of stuff I found in my refrigerator.  Literally!  This coleslaw has sugar snap peas,  red and yellow peppers, fennel bulb, daikon, carrots, red onions, bok choy, and radicchio.  In fact, just about the only thing it doesn't have, is cabbage! 

I pulled out bits of vegetables left over from previous nights, julienned everything and tossed them in a bowl.  I made a simple dressing with pomegranate-infused red wine vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and olive oil.  I was really happy with the way it turned out and will probably use this method to clean out my refrigerator again.  I think next time, I might add some raisins, or other dried fruit.

I sprinkled chopped peanuts on my serving.  (The only reason I didn't add them to the whole salad is because my husband and son don't like peanuts in their food.  Imagine that!)

So, why am I blogging about something as boring as coleslaw?  Because the salmon I made to go with it (which was my intended topic) turned out to be a disaster!  A friend of mine gave me some planks which she told me she uses to grill salmon.  I thought they'd be just the thing to grill my bourbon-teriyaki glazed salmon.

I soaked the planks in water for about an hour and a half prior to putting them on the grill.  I had a bit of a problem with this as the planks floated.  In order to keep them submerged, I had to weight them down.  But, I devised an ingenious method to do this so didn't anticipate any problems with the grilling.

My planks weren't on the grill 3 minutes when they burst into flames.  I would have taken pictures so that you could have a good, hardy laugh at my expense, but I was too busy trying to save my fish and didn't have time to go searching for the camera!  It was a mess! 

I had to quickly remove the fish to the grill, where they got stuck and consequently fell apart when I tried to remove them.  And then I had to remove the planks and find a place to toss them where they wouldn't cause any damage.  I share this story with you so that you won't think all my adventures in the kitchen are unqualified successes!

Calhoun Street.....

This morning, I went hunting for morels with my sister and her fiance.  After an unsuccessful hour of sloshing through the wet and soggy woods, we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at Mahnin on Calhoun St.

My sister and I had both eaten there several times, but it was the first time for her fiance, Todd.  Mahnin resembles nothing so much as a whole in the wall.  It's tiny and shabby and the English on the menu seems to be an afterthought since most of the customers are Burmese.  We were given small English menus to look over but it was hard not to feel jealous of the customers who could read Burmese as there was a white board mounted at the front of the restaurant written in Burmese that apparently had items on it not shared on the English menu.  Several customers were enjoying dishes that didn't resemble any of the descriptions on my limited menu!

My husband took me to Mahnin for the first time and he told me that the cook/owner was a well renowned cook in her home country.  One of the things I like about the restaurant is that although the menu is limited, if you describe for the server what you would like to eat, he'll go back in the kitchen and see if the cook has the ingredients to make it. 

The menus that they gave us today had a few new items on them and I decided I wanted to try the sea bass in chili sauce.  The server looked a little confused until I pointed to it on the menu and then he told me that they aren't quite prepared to serve that one yet!  So I settled for some spicy noodles with pork and vegetables.  I also ordered a spicy seafood salad to share among the table.  Todd ordered some shrimp rolls for the table.

The appetizers were delicious!  I'd had the seafood salad before.  It had come highly recommended by my husband and it really is good.  It has crab, squid, octopus, mango, mushrooms, onions, peppers, mint, cilantro, peanuts, cashews and some other Asian vegetables glistening brightly in a spicy dressing.  The shrimp rolls were good also and had crab and shrimp wrapped in seaweed and then in spring roll wrappers and deep fried.  They were served with two sauces; one sweet and one spicy.

The meals came with small cups of soup; clear broth with cellophane noodles and slivers of chicken.  Todd told the server he wanted a soup with lots of stuff in it.  The server brought him a bowl filled with seafood and vegetables in a spicy sour broth.  My spicy noodles turned out to be big, thick rice noodles all gummy and delicious with loads of vegetables and pork.

The food was great, but the highlight for me was listening to Todd moan and groan in delight over his meal.  He kept saying things like, "This is the BEST soup I have ever eaten!"   and  "oh wow!  yum!  mmmmmm.... these shrimp rolls are incredible." 

Calhoun Street is my favorite street in Fort Wayne.  It has several Asian markets within about a 6 block area.  These little grocery stores carry all kinds of things that you can't find anywhere else; like whole red snapper, octopus, all kinds of seafood and sea vegetables, sauces and noodles (fresh, frozen, and dried), unusual produce, and frogs.....

While traditional grocery stores charge upwards of $2 for a small package of herbs, you can buy bags of fresh mint, basil, and fresh curry leaves for just pennies at an Asian grocery.

Also along Calhoun St. you'll find small, family owned ethnic restaurants serving food you can't get anywhere else in the city.  There is Saigon, the Vietnamese restaurant whose speciality is big bowls of steaming noodle soups.  There's Mahnin, serving Burmese, Thai and other Asian dishes.  And there is a place called The Burmese Tea Room that serves curries and steaming pots of tea.

If you live in Fort Wayne and haven't visited Calhoun Street recently, you should make it a point to check things out!

By the way, while I was at Mahnin, I saw an announcement about an event at the Indiana Tech Cinema Center (on Washington Blvd.) tomorrow that I'm going to try and attend.  There will be free Burmese-themed refreshments served during a pre-screening reception for "Burma VJ; reporting from a closed country."  This film was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary in 2010.  It was totally shot with hand held cameras that were then smuggled out of the country.  After the movie there will be a discussion with a question and answer period.  The object of the event is to educate the community on the Burmese living and working in our city.  Fort Wayne is home to the largest population of Burmese living outside of Burma.  For more information about the event, click this link.