On spelt pasta and feeling relieved

Spelt pasta?


Veggies ready


Pasta ready!


Salad rolls finished and packed for hubby consumption

Salad roll filling


This evening I decided to be adventurous and try TWO new recipes. I've never made my own fresh salad rolls before, and since I was making a pasta dish (see previous obsession post) that included matchstick size veggies, I decided that a similar shape veggie combo might round out a meatless meal. Ian and I have become more meat savvy as of late, and just about every time we shop we drool at the yak meat (too expensive right now) and end up buying and eating ground buffalo, so for Tuesday's dinner it seemed like a good idea to go veg.



I have to admit, I thought I would have a hard time with the salad rolls. Everywhere I read I'm reminded of the horrors of salad wrappers, but I didn't run into any problems whatsoever. I've never had a more reassuring moment. It's as if the heavens cleared and allowed for a brief moratorium on cooking horrors.




On deck this evening, we also tried spelt pasta, which I have to admit is hard to make al dente as other pastas, and has a very faint bitter aftertaste. I'll try it again I suppose, but I'll have to think of something that will tone down the flavor of the pasta rather than amplifying it...

Spelt Pasta with Zucchini and Spring Onions
8 oz. spelt pasta
Block of tofu, diced
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil plus 1 tsp.
3 spring onions, sliced thinly, both white and green parts
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 zucchini, sliced to matchstick size
Romano cheese, to taste

Directions
Cook pasta according to pasta instructions. While pasta is cooking, bring olive oil to medium heat and fry tofu for three minutes. Remove tofu from pan and add saute spring onions and garlic until fragrant. Remove from heat.

Place zucchini in a colander and once pasta is ready to be drained, drain it in the same colander, on top of zucchini.

Place pasta and zucchini in a serving bowl and add olive oil. Toss to coat. Add olive oil/spring onion/garlic mixture, and toss again. Add fried tofu. Sprinkle romano cheese to taste.



Fresh Salad Rolls
8-10 spring roll wrappers
Warm water
8 oz. rice vermicelli, cooked
1 mango, julienned
1/2 cup cucumber, julienned
4 tbsp. cilanto, chopped coarsely
2 tsp. lime juice
2 spring onions, chopped

Directions
In a medium sized bowl, mix together vermicelli, mango, cucumber, cilantro, lime juice and spring onions.

For each spring roll wrapper, place in warm water and place on a work surface. Distribute two tbsp. filling onto wrapper, and then fold spring roll wrapper over. Tuck sides in and then roll over onto rest of skin. (This part may take practice--if you've ever worked in a Mexican restaurant like I have you instinctively know how to wrap a burrito, but I've heard horror stories on this one). Place on serving plate and if you need to layer rolls, place wax paper or plastic wrap between layers. I refrigerate first so the spring roll wrappers have time to "set."



Simple Salad Roll Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1 tsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. lime rind

Combine all ingredients. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to two hours.




Note: I didn't actually work from any strict recipes here, so you might have to adjust....probably a lot....I can remember to write down my bank account number but my head is firmly planted elsewhere most of the time.

Teaching and Eating

This summer has been anything but lazy. I'm currently revamping a syllabus I have worked with a number of times after being assigned to teach introductory college writing in the fall for the first time in a few years. In previous courses I have used food as both a theme and a metaphor for the writing process. When we prepare a meal, we learn the basics of cooking first and we gather the ingredients needed to prepare a specific dish, and we stock our pantries full of staples that will be conducive to nourishment for later meals. When we eat a meal, we develop a taste for ingredients that we actively seek out in later meals, noting texture and depth and complexity of each particle that touches our tongues. This process of eating is not much different than the acquisition of a writing voice or style, and just as food nourishes the body, writing nourishes the soul through the fulfillment of our need to communicate with one another. Learning to write is much like learning to cook, complete with kitchen disasters that resonate with the painstaking process of writing an effective essay. Getting a D on an essay is much like burning the roast, and I find that students identify with this equation not only because all humans eat, but because thematic courses based on metaphor reveal to them (however subconsciously) that ever-so-important skill they will need to succeed in college: critical thinking.

Thinking critically is a difficult skill for students to learn, and food is a great example of how thinking about texts and ideas can open up a more complex understanding of a system beyond just one grain of salt. As Mark Kurlansky's great history of salt suggests, salt is not just the substance we look for when the meatloaf is dry and tasteless, but rather has been the building blocks of civilization (and to an extent, life) for thousands of years. The rise of Venice, the fall of the French monarchy, and the mobility of nomadic civilizations have all been linked to salt, and it is through a process of eye-opening "ohhhs" and "ahhhs" that students begin to see a simple relationship (French fries and salt) turn into one of complexity and serious grey areas. It is with a heavy heart that I watch my students discover time and again the salty root of Native American massacres (many battles were instigated by the substance) but I'm always amazed and proud of their willingness to discover and answer questions.

As I assemble my syllabus and choose readings for the course, I am drawn to those texts which investigate the simple elements of food and their more complex cultural construction--kind of like one ingredient in a very tasty stew.

Currently probing:

Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors

Hungering for America: Italian, Irish, and Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration

In Memory's Kitchen: A Legacy from the Women of Terezin

Salt: A World History

Spice: The History of a Temptation

I am apparently obsessed with pasta

You know, there's nothing like a food blog to reveal a food obsession you've been harboring. I make pasta ALL the time. I generally only make rice because I'm tired of eating pasta, and as you can see, I have never been one to follow the Atkins craze (or any diet, for that matter--I'm from the midwest people: WE EAT THERE).

Recently I became obsessed with that great pasta offshoot that can only be found at our local co-op in Moscow, Idaho: "alternative" pasta. I've permanently traded in "regular" pasta for whole wheat, and recently I've decided to try every pasta alternative I can find. Brown rice pasta, soybean pasta, spelt pasta....the possibilities are endless, and I'm hoping tasty. Last week I bought brown rice pasta with a shape name that I absolutely cannot remember for the life of me. Even after I looked up a list of pasta shapes I couldn't find the type--I swear it was something like "chiocolle" or "chocolle" or "I forgot." It looks a little more like orecchiette than cho-something but what do I know?

The best part about making a pasta dish for me is that I get to use my staples--Costco chicken sausages (I've got 'em all, baby!) and whatever pasta shape I find desirable--and dress it up with new ingredients.

For this recipe, I chose some beautiful organic produce I found at the co-op and the Moscow Farmers Market. Red and yellow bell peppers in strips, onions, very fresh asparagus and fresh shredded basil were tossed with the chicken sausage and garlic, and drizzled with olive oil. I adore vegetables, and I have to say that throwing in some fresh spring onions at the last minute was a great decision--the other onions were soft while the spring onions added crunch.

My verdict on the new pasta shape? Yum. Nom. I'll take it. But then again, you can't trust me seeing as if I could marry pasta, I probably would. Although I'm pretty sure Fox News would denounce my life choices...

Arugula ravioli and gorgonzola cream sauce

I'm a jerk. As you can see above, I completely forgot to take pictures of this dish, despite the fact that I made it special for the husband on our six month wedding anniversary last week (cheesy, yes. fun, yes.). I got some awesome (read: AWESOME) arugula at the farmers market that was more fragrant than any arugula I have ever encountered, and I needed something to make that was more substantial than peppery arugula on a chicken sandwich, so I made arugula ravioli. Yum! I must say that the arugula lost much of its peppery flair during the cooking process but the zing was slightly recognizable. Would I make this again? Maybe if I found extremely fresh, locally grown arugula again in the near future. Do I desperately want to make my own ravioli dough? Absolutely. Until I fork over the dough for making the dough, I will have to settle for wonton wrappers, which unfortunately have a tendency to break apart during the cooking process. One alteration to that process seemed to work pretty well--I sort of half steamed the wontons with the steamer insert on my giant pasta cooker. I half submerged and half steamed the ravioli, and it seemed to help keep the bulk of the ravioli fully intact.

Arugula Ravioli
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces arugula, washed, dried, coarse stems removed and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons breadcrumbs measured from 2 slices or one half of a roll, pulsed in the food processor until reduced to soft crumbs (I used bakery wheat bread for this step)
1/3 cup finely grated Romano cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg yolk (reserve egg white for sealing)
1 half-batch of fresh pasta–or–1 package of wonton wrappers
1 egg white beaten with two tablespoons of water to seal ravioli


To Make Filling
Heat olive oil in a large pan at medium heat. Saute shallots and garlic for 7 to 10 minutes, until they are soft and translucent, but not brown. Add arugula, turning and stirring it frequently, until it has cooked down, its water has largely evaporated but it hasn’t lost it’s color — about 3 to 5 minutes. Let mixture cool, then add bread crumbs and Romano cheese. Taste filling and season it as needed with salt and pepper. Add the egg yolk, stirring mixture until combined. Set aside.
To Make Ravioli From Wonton Wrappers
Line 2 baking sheets with heavy-duty foil; spray foil with nonstick spray. Place 4 wonton wrappers on work surface; cover remaining wrappers with plastic to prevent drying. Lightly brush entire surface of each wrapper with egg white. Spoon 1 generous teaspoon filling into center of each wrapper. Fold wrappers diagonally in half, forming triangles. Press edges firmly to seal. Arrange ravioli on prepared sheets. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
Cooking time will vary, depending on the thickness of your dough.

Flowers Ahoy!

My garden is enjoying itself. Everywhere I look blooms are blooming, plants are planting and herbs are....herbing? Here is some more beauty:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/21899566@N07/

Not being technologically savvy sucks

So I just posted something that ended up at the bottom of my blog (not sure why). Look for beans, greens and the fourth of July. Does anyone know how to change the dates on blog posts? Am I forever doomed??? Should I employ a 12-yr.-old who knows what he or she is doing?

Jamaican Rice and Peas

When I was in college, there was a little Jamaican restaurant tucked into a deli in Oak Park that I used to frequent whenever I had the taste for that delicious and well-known dish, rice and peas. Of course when most people think of Jamaican cuisine, the ever ubiquitous "jerk" chicken or pork comes to mind, but the frugal and pleasantly spiced "national dish" is the beauty you see above. Great for vegetarians (just substitute veggie broth for the chicken broth/stock) and bean lovers alike, I fell in love with the simple, creamy and earthy flavors that intermingle in this dish. Sage, allspice, coconut, jalapeno, and thyme don't fight for attention but rather join forces. I can recall the first time I ever ordered it, thinking that it would satisfy my taste for peas (my obsession with peas runs deep). Little did I know however that "peas" in Jamaica actually refers to kidney beans and/or pigeon peas. I wasn't disappointed by this discovery since after the first bite the essence of coconut and the creamy yet crisp texture of kidney beans revealed to me nothing short of a miracle. My first words after consuming this dish for the first time? Mazel tov.



Here's my favorite at-home recipe for this great summer dish. I served it with chicken tacos since I was a little tired of serving black bean stew, but it's also a great barbeque party dish since this recipe yields enough rice and peas to actually feed the population of Jamaica. And thankfully, on a hot summer day, this dish does not need to stew in the pot as long as black bean stew.





Jamaican Rice and Peas



Jamaican Beans & Rice

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 chopped red or green pepper (I actually used a yellow pepper)

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 small jalapeno chili, veins and seeds discarded, minced

1 1/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves (I used fresh from the garden)

1/4 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 tsp. ground sage (again from the garden)

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth (using chicken stock adds a fuller flavor)

1 can coconut milk (or use 2 tbsp. coconut cream and increase your broth/stock accordingly)

Two 15 oz. cans red beans or black beans, drained and rinsed, or 3 cups cooked dry packaged beans

2 cups cubed and peeled sweet potatoes (1/2 inch cubes) (skip this step if in a hurry but it's worth the time if you have it)

3 Tbsp. lime juice

1 1/2 cups rice (if you can, use brown rice--healthy and no one will notice with all of the colors in this dish)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add onions and garlic almost soft and almost translucent. Add spices, sweet potato and peppers. Stir for a minute. Add broth or stock, then coconut milk and kidney beans. Bring to a boil, and then add rice. Turn heat to low-medium and cover. No peeking! Simmer for twenty or so minutes (or until rice is done) and remove from heat. Add a squeeze of lime juice.

The bounty of summer crops

Now that summer is permanently in place for the next couple of months, my fruit and vegetable garden couldn't be happier. Of course, the 95 degree weather for the past couple of days has forced me to consider a cheap and eco-friendly way to shield my lettuce and tomato plants from the intensity of the sun, but I see some clear plastic bags and reusable materials from my fountain of junk (ie., the basement) coming to the rescue while it's still mostly overcast today. I know a lot of people go out and buy shade props, but I think this might be a useful way to get rid of some of my junk...until fall.

I've started a system for crops that has proven quite effective, but unfortunately takes up an extraordinary amount of time at staggered intervals. With a mixture of peat moss, Miracle Gro timed release fertilizer soil and vermiculite, I'm starting seedlings in my old egg crates and sour cream containers. I have learned since the last time I planted everything all at once, I cannot use up three pounds of snap peas. I just can't. I eat snap peas like many people eat potato chips, and anyone unlucky enough to sit next to me in a graduate seminar knows that I will happily munch on them until the bag runs empty. But during the summer, when the heat forces me to put the bag away and lament the lack of air conditioning in my life instead of stuffing my face, I needed a more reasonable system.

The photo above is of an old concrete sink (I imagine from a basement laundry area) that my landlord had turned into a cute little greenhouse for the side garden. It's easy really--just plant your seedlings, water, cover the greenhouse with the old recycled window frame and wait for the bounty to emerge. Once I transplant the lettuce (see above) I grew this past week, I imagine I can probably knock on some doors and share the wealth. Since the greenhouse is the perfect climate for growing seedlings, I've begun staggering their germination at two week intervals (good sense for the growing food price climate of the supermarket and even better for my gardening obsession).

And if you get the chance and you're in Pullman, stop by Scotty and Suzanne's wonderful Living in the Garden nursery, and you might just get to see some of their awesome recycled art.

http://www.livinginthegardens.com/

Sweet Home Blogger Award

Thanks to Jessica at foodmayhem.com, I now have my very own Sweet Home Blogger Award! Woo hoo! While I'm flattered, I'm always envious of her site's beautiful pictures and her fantastic reviews. It's hard not to imagine a dish that she has described.

So on to the passing of the torch as they say.

Not Eating Out in New York: http://www.noteatingoutinny.com Another site I check religiously. The pictures are always enticing, the commentary often hilarious and humble, and the recipes....there are no words. Cathy's motto "Consuming Less, Eating More" is one I am personally in line with, and while I don't have the personal discipline to stay away from prepared food as long as she has, she is a kitchen inspiration. From what I have heard in the rumor world, Cathy's also writing a book about her experiences. She can bet I'll be waiting anxiously to scoop it up, and hopefully pick her mental cabinets for a few good recipes.

Mango muffin madness

I was a little excited to see rips mangoes last week at Costco, and I bought one of those giant racks o' fruit that only make sense if you are a catering business. I adore mangoes. Even slicing them is like an act of love, diving into a fruit that clings to its pit and removing the juiciest pulp known to humankind. I used to be intimidated by mangoes because I was never sure whether or not they were ripe, or if I was cutting them correctly, but after many a mango session in my kitchen, I have perfected the art of extracting heaven from a piece of fruit.



But what to do with a million mangoes nearing their prime???!! Well, muffins of course! I thought about a bundt cake but there's something magical about muffins. Compact, perfectly portioned and tasty, I have baked just about anything into a muffin for kicks. Plantains, black beans, ham and cheese have all made it into my muffin tin. After a quick search on the interwebs, I found what looked like an awesome recipe on recipezaar and adapted it to my needs (I always use whole wheat flour so they're a write-off in the breakfast category). I'm definitely saving this recipe--the muffins came out fluffy, quasi-cakey and healthy. Nom nom.




Mango Muffins (adapted from http://www.recipezaar.com/5453)
2 cups whole wheat flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used a canola/vegetable oil blend)
1/2 cup fat free half and half
1 egg
1 1/2 cup mango puree

Mix wet ingredients and dry separately, then combine. Don't overmix! 400 degree for 10-12 minutes does the trick.