Salmon surprise

When I went to Whole Foods Sunday, previously frozen wild caught sockeye salmon was on sale for $10.99/lb.  Even though I'm not a fan, the red flesh was irresistible.  While I was standing there, I picked up 8 oz of lump crab meat, thinking I would stuff the fish.  First of all, you can't "stuff" a fillet, so topping it is what I did.

I decided to pull out the zatar and kurkum, the two seasonings together reportedly are great on fish. But salmon is native to a totally different region of the world...and how would those seasonings work with crab?
I was full of uncertainty but I decided to go for it...zatar is essentially thyme and perhaps other green herb mixed with sesame seed; and kurkum seems to be a seasoned turmeric.  I sprinkled the salmon with my everyday seasonings, then rubbed in the Israeli herbs with olive oil.

I mixed the crabmeat up as if I were making crabcakes, omitting the egg and slice of bread.  I sauteed okra on the side, and pressure cooked sweet potatoes in apple cider and butter.

We had the remnants of the pot roast tonight and It is now clear that I need to develop a weekly food menu.  It's ludicrous to cook full meals from scratch every night, not to mention my food budget is out of control.  My new is to make delicious meals for under $15.

Snowy weather

There's nothing like good old fashioned cooking to warm you up during a nor'easter.  Yesterday I took the top round roast we picked up in Santee out of the freezer.  I rubbed it with cumin, ginger, pepper, and my seasoning blend, stuck it in the marinator and dashed through the flurries to Whole Foods for some root vegetables.  I already had a half bunch of carrots (I avoid buying the ones in the bag for obvious reasons), so I bought parsnips, rutabagas, gold potatoes, and a stalk of brussel sprouts. 

By the time I got home the snow was heavy so of course the kids went out to play while I seared the meat.  I sauteed an onion then added french dressing, rice vinegar, and a little broth (I have no idea why but it produced a nice jus).  I put the meat on a small rack and cooked under pressure...I released the pressure and added the seasoned veggies then cooked a bit more.  In less than one hour we had an immensely flavorful one-pot meal with brussel sprouts and meyer lemonade (I think I'm addicted to meyers). 

Substitutions

I am really running these cookies and key lime pie in the ground...that's because they're relatively easy to make and it's not as stressful as baking cakes.  Today I made cookies for hostess gifts and I planned to make a crustless key lime pie because there was a slim chance that some friends would stop by this evening.

I got started on the cookies and realized that I was out of brown sugar...I almost panicked until my daughter reminded me that brown sugar was simply molasses added to white sugar - problem solved.  The cookie baking was seamless. 

While I was prepping for the pie I realized that I had no limes and no Nellie's.  However I did have meyer lemons...I figured it would be a simple substitution but I should have considered the fact that meyers are less acidic and included some zest.  I made some vanilla bean whipped cream to top it off along with a bit of zest. 

Whole Foods had a buy one-get one free sale on Allegro yesterday, so I picked up some Cafe Blend because according to the label it seemed like an ideal dessert coffee. It truly had a lush, creamy body as advertised.

Quickies

This has been a week of quick eats. Monday I made a one pot fish dish: haddock and vegetables (potatoes, carrots, celery, shallots, etc) seasoned and layered in a casserole dish and baked in the oven.  Tuesday night it was "sushi" from Whole Foods Alexandria. Wednesday I planned to make burgers but we were out and about so we stopped at Elevation Burgers at National Harbor. 

I was hesitant, but my daughter insisted that it was my kind of place...hand-scooped milkshakes; organic, grass-fed, free-range beef...a company with a philosophy centered around people and the environment as opposed to profits.  I was a little disappointed when I walked in the door; the decor seemed a little too industrial, it lacked the connection to "the environment" that I was expecting.  However, the burgers were good and comparably priced to what you would expect to pay at McD or Five Guys; the fries cooked in olive oil were ok (perhaps they should consider grapeseed oil).  I couldn't help but wonder how they supplied the entire franchise operation with 100% organic, grass-fed, free range beef unless they either own a ranch or are importing the USDA beef from South America. 

It would be disappointing if it were the latter - organic beef from South America is a bit of an oxymoron; many of the ranches are clearclut rainforest and the meat has to travel at least 5,000 miles to reach the USA.  For some reason, that meat is substantially cheaper per pound than the same locally produced product.

I cooked a few veggies but I was mostly taking it easy...Thursday night we topped it off with a visit to Jimmies on the wharf.  Last night was the epitome of throwing something together. 

We stopped at my brothers on the way home from Alexandria. My sister-in-law said she would make some baked chicken leg quarters. I said I'd rather have something a bit Filipino but neither of us felt like cooking;  the crowd has come to expect us to go all out in the kitchen but we were low on energy and supplies.

She didn't have pancit noodles but she assured me that spaghetti would make a great substitution. I know the whole Marco Polo story, but I was highly doubtful as all noodles are not created equal - Asian noodles vary by culture,and Italian pasta is higher in gluten because it is made from durum wheat. 

She boiled two legs while I cut up and sauteed onions and garlic, added frozen mixed vegetables, then the cooked shredded chicken, seasoned, tossed with the pasta and soy and hoisin sauce. We all agreed that it was more akin to lo mein than pancit but it was certainly a quick meal.

Eggstatic

I have enjoyed egg nog since I can remember, it was a staple at holiday meals...and for some rason, I think it was that Borden stuff that comes in a can...my have times changed, I can't even imagine drinking egg nog from a can.  I remember the first time I tasted WaWa egg nog, it was in the fall of 1990, it was delicious - thick, creamy, just the right blend of spices.  Every subsequent fall I have consumed gallons of WaWa egg nog. 

Two years ago, I went into a WaWa and purchased egg nog...only this time, the carton was not black with gold writing, it was a cinnamon colored carton with cream writing.  I wrongfully assumed that only the packaging had been updated...actually the formula had been changed - it was thin, sweet, and the spices were all wrong...I called customer service and they assured me that it was the same formula.  I highly doubted it, WaWa was no longer the small dairy farm located in Lima...it was beyond regional with huge WaWa gas station convenience stores all over the place.  This new business model had ruined my egg nog. 

Since then, my egg nog consumption has decreased, the pleasure of sipping a cup of egg nog was but a distant memory.  I started venturing out, trying other brands but they were all too thin, too yellow, or the spices were not quite right...I tried Southern Comfort, Horizon, Trader Joes, all kinds of store brands, and finally settled on Turkey Hill.  I was beginning to think I would have to make my own egg nog. 

I stopped in the Alexandria Whole Foods Tuesday night to pick up a few essentials.  When I was checking out, I noticed egg nog in old fashioned milk bottles.  It was nostalgic, I remember my grandmother getting milk, eggs, and oj delivered.  I picked up a bottle, read the ingredients, and thought I would give it a try -$3.99 + $2 bottle deposit.  I must say, not only does Homestead Creamery's egg nog lack the artificial taste present in all of the other brands, it is fantastic.  I have savored every sip. 

This dairy farm in Wirtz, VA is a classic example of the von Thunen model; unfortunately with refrigerated trucking, this model is a bit obsolete because milksheds have vastly increased in size.  I desperately need to find a creamery in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, although theoretically VA could be considered within my foodshed.

Obnoxious

As I sit here with my hot spiced cider, I have come to the realization that I'm a bit of a jerk.  My friend had twins 5 weeks ago and she mentioned that she had a visitor last week and decided to whip up some frozen fish she picked up from Acme.  I couldn't believe it...why was this individual so special...that's when I realized that the only time I'd ever been invited over for a meal was by her mother...of course I gave her a hard way to go...her retort was that I was a foodie. 

She called me this afternoon and suggested that I swing by to pick up some berbere at 2pm.  During the course of the conversation, she said she wanted qulwah but didn't have injera or beef...I volunteered to pick it up.  I made okra for the veggie and a key lime pie for dessert. 

She chopped the onions, tomatoes, meat, sprinkled it with berbere and put it in the pot with oil...at this point it was clear that I have been making beef zigni, not qulwah...she put the top on and let it simmer while she tended to the babies...a short while later I put it on a platter with the okra and a cucumber tomato salad and we dug in. 

Everything was delicious and I had a great time talking trash...the only drawback was that the meat was not tender...perhaps a top sirloin would work for this kind of quick dish?

Before I left, I was sure to mention that today's impromptu meal did not count as an invite.

Tis the season

Winter is two days away, but fall is my favorite season. Veggies are still plentiful, heartier meals, and the eve hot cereal and some of my favorite beverages. 

Old fashioned oats with heavy cream, cranberries, and pistachios; farina with butter and sugar; and new this year - cornmeal porridge.  Apple cider, egg nog, hot chocolate, and this year hot apple cider has made quite a debut. Inspired by our visit to Franklin Fountain, I took a stab at hot spiced cider, no not the hard stuff that Johnny was propagating from seeds, but the good stuff that is produced by grafting.  This has been a great year for cider, with the best coming from Wegman's...the stuff I bought from Whole Foods this week lacked body, flavor, and sweetness; so I certainly couldn't go wrong trying to jazz it up. I don't have mulling spices per se but I was able to improvise. I simmered the cider with cloves, cinnamon sticks, grated fresh ginger, a bit of nutmeg and brown sugar. It was absolutely delicious.

This time of year is also the season for soups. Yesterday we had the liver and onions for breakfast so I had no lunch/dinner plan.  I thought about soup but I didn't have much on hand so I attempted a tomato soup that just didn't come out right, my daughter said it tasted like V-8...so I rummaged around the fridge and dusted off my Griddler and made a veggie panini (broccoli, red onion, spinach, peppers, sun dried tomatoes, sharp provolone) with a pseudo pesto mayo (kalamata olives and basil). 

Old Philadelphia

I think I mentioned before that my favorite ice cream used to be Old Philadelphia. Not only was Philadelphia the workshop of the world but it was the number one producer of a confection commonly known as ice cream in the colonial era, with the primary difference between Philadelphia style ice cream and French style being the omission of eggs.

Tonight we went to see The Borrowers at the Arden; Franklin Fountain was advertised in the playbill...I searched online and thought immediately of Serendipity 3.  It seemed like a great way to top off the evening. I decided against hot chocolate because I've been indulging in Williams-Sonoma on a nightly basis. The mulled cider with cloved oranges seemed appealing but I was indecisive (and I figured I could make that at home). The kids ordered ice cream, the husband ordered pie a la mode and I finally decided to go daring with a lambrakis hot lunch (without egg)...a mixture of malt, chocolate, cream, coca cola syrup. I was apprehensive but was pleasantly surprised, it went down smooth. 

It was a nostalgic ice cream parlor with a colonialesque twist. 

Cookie chaos

For the life of me I can't figure out how I got caught up in the season of giving. 

I have been baking cookies for the past couple of hours for my kids to take to school for their secret snowflakes.  I don't care how politically correct the Quakers think they're being...it's still a pollyanna...and I suppose the homemade treat idea was a way to make it less commercial.  In hindsight, buying a $5 gift would have been much simpler. 

First of all, where do you buy cookie tins?  Obviously not at a supermarket or dry goods store...I suppose the craft stores are bustling with them...we had to settle for plastic holiday treat "tins." Secondly, homemade doesn't necessarily mean made from scratch.  I could have purchased refrigerator cookie dough and been finished quite some time ago.  How many times has someone said that they were "making" cookies when what they were really doing was baking dough.

Somehow I have sent a message to my children that I am a short order cook.  Not only did they inform me that I needed to make cookies tonight, but they requested that they be made without oatmeal.  Well, I only know how to make chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal.  Fortunately the Ghiradelli's bag had a recipe on it...but did I follow it, of course not, I decided to improvise. 

I made 3 dozen cookies without oatmeal and then had the brilliant idea to make 3 dozen cookies with oatmeal for us to have at home.  Guess what I didn't make?

Dinner...that's coming from Bertucci's. 

Burgers and sprouts

There's nothing like a good, juicy burger. I used to get burgers at Fridays or Houlihans but that was before I concerned myself with beef production.  I desperately wanted a burger so we went to Whole Foods for ground meat.  They had ground turkey thigh $4.99/lb, local beef $3.99/lb, grass fed beef $5.99/lb, and bison $6.99/lb...they also had liver.  I bought the liver and one pound of beef.

My cousin's stepfather makes the best turkey burgers - I call them Mack Burgers...he works a concoction of condiments into the meat and my aunt tops those burgers with lettuce and tomatoes and Bay Fries on the side.  I mixed up the meat with HP Sauce, mustard, chili pepper sauce, and onion soup mix (yes I'm still using it). 

While I cooked the burgers, I steamed a pound of brussel sprouts.  The aroma was enticing and those burgers were so good that we wished I had purchased two pounds of beef. 

Experiments

Last night I went to Plate with my cousins.  The menu is eclectic but the food is under impressive.  We ended up ordering soup and assortment of appetizers, the best being Korean skewers but the kimchi was more like a spicy sauerkraut.  We are a difficult crowd to please because we are accustomed to good food.

This morning I was quite hungry when I woke up from a dream about hamburgers.  I went to the kitchen and noticed that my husband had marinated a london broil with what smelled like tamari, garlic, and some miscellaneous seasonings.  I took that out of the refrigerator and heated up the oven.  I made homefries and spinach (with ginger and garlic) to go with it. 

The highlight of my morning was the coffee.  There's a bogus Folgers commercial about a guy coming home from Africa and being so excited to finally get coffee.  Every time I see that commercial, I think - doesn't Folgers know the history of coffee - that it was discovered in Ethiopia and cultivated throughout Arabia before being spread to Europe along trade routes?  Then I got analytical, perhaps the commercial is a subtle way to promote the narrative of an uncivilized population.  Doesn't everyone at least know that coffee is produced in the global south and that the coffeehouse tradition in those countries are more third places than Starbucks could ever be. 

I love the taste of coffee and most often do decaf to avoid jitters.  I have a Cuisinart that grinds the beans just before brewing the coffee (I don't have the high end burr model  which is actually more of a grinder than a chopper - I was afraid that I would become addicted).  I like smooth and mellow coffee so I generally go with blends.  I think I had the best cups of coffee in the UAE, at Bab al Shams and Sheikah Fatima's house.

Arabic coffee has a wonderful aroma and flavor (almost like a chai); it is brewed strong, hence it is served in 4oz cups.  I decided to give it a go.  I added cardamon pods and cinnamon sticks to the beans, and brewed.  It was fantastic - didn't require cream or sugar...I saved my husband a few sips and he can't stop talking about it. 

I think I'll make another pot, this time I might add cloves and saffron as well.

Fluctuation

I've done it again.  Cooking came to a screeching halt after my most recent binge. I cooked almost non-stop Sunday - making the eggplant dish for lunch (this time using chinese eggplant and less sauce), and the fish for the 4Hers...Monday however we had Qdoba; Tuesday Kabobeesh; Wednesday Kabobeesh; I had  fallen into a bad pattern so I had no other choice but to cook today. 

There's nothing like a stir fry to quickly create a nutritious meal.  Sauteed onions, garlic, shallots, scallions, ginger, celery, seitan, carrots, and broccoli.  Made a quick sauce (rice vinegar, tamari, broth).  Microwaved a bag of frozen TJ jasmine rice.  Sat down to eat. Simplicity can be very rewarding. 

Fish school

From hook to table, or in our case, tank to table.  Our 4-Hers finished up their "Take the Bait" project today; a sport fishing curriculum that introduced the boys to the mechanics of fishing, bait, aquatic ecology, etc.  They learned about fish, went fishing, and now it was time to eat fish.  Because their attempts at fishing were unsuccessful, I thought a trip to Hung Vuong would be worthwhile - they could select a live fish and then clean it themselves...there's no place like hung vuong to bring you closer to food. 

They were amazed by all of the live fish - eels, crabs, catfish, etc. Each boy selected a fish, which the fish monger scaled...they watched him gut fish and skin frogs in record time.  Back at today's meeting place, we went over the parts of the fish and removed the fins with shears...my son's fish was still alive, gasping for air as his gills convulsed - I used this opportunity to distinguish between the dissolved oxygen that fish get from water and the oxygen we get from the atmosphere. 

One boy began to hesitate - he thought maybe we were being mean by killing the fish...I told him that we had to kill it to eat it.  My daughter who was still traumatized from the duck said we were murderers (she's probably heading towards vegetarianism)...and thought we should put the fish in water - that wasn't going to happen, these boys were hungry. 

Next they had to gut the fish - my husband cut each fish along the underbelly and the boys removed the insides - marveling as they identified intestines, kidneys, liver, etc...we were bordering on a biology dissection.  The fish bled, some oozed out yellow, others oozed out blue.  My son's fish continued to gasp until the knife met his belly...it was kind of creepy. 

I told the boys that the fish monger probably raised these fish, casually mentioning that some fish are farm raised while others are wild caught.  Then we talked about all the different ways to cook fish - dry heat, moist heat, and with fat.  I cleaned/washed each fish, seasoned inside and out, and set a tray of veggies (scallions, ginger, garlic, celery, carrots, shallots, lemons) in the middle of the table - the boys stuffed their fish and then I cooked them per their request - steamed, broiled, and roasted. 

I served each boy "their fish" with the coleslaw and corn muffins I made this afternoon.  This is what experiential learning is all about.

Master gardener?

I did my master gardener training 4 years ago...I hope I'm able to recall some of that when it's time for me to plan my garden this spring. I'm really psyched about this urban homestead idea. It's time to move beyond tomatoes and herbs; why not try to subsistence farm? I'm a little worried about the opossum and squirrels that frequent the yard, but I'll figure something out, especially since I want to get two hens as well.

One key thing I learned as a master gardener is that size matters. The young crops are usually more tender; larger specimens tend to have gone to seed (nature's mechanism of creating legacies). Bigger is not better, in fact its usually bitter.

When I was shopping for my colonial root veggies, I knew I had to go with Whole Foods because a farmer's market wasn't an option. When I took my grandmother to Reading Terminal on Monday, I chose young firm eggplant.  My grandmother bought rutabagas. Boy was I shocked. They were huge, at least 4 times the size of the ones I purchased from Whole Foods and they were covered in wax, as if someone had accidentally let a candle drip over them. So much wax, it left a residue on my fingers after handling.

To think, cucumbers, apples, and who knows what else is waxed for longevity...what about the pesticides?

All of the root crops were enormous -  the turnips, beets, parsnips. The stuff looked like it was on steroids. There were also Peruvian sweet onions masquerading as vidalias.

I'm not sure if this blog has made me more discerning or cynical about food.