Simple Gifts

I know many people who hate buying gifts. So much, in fact, that they won't do it. They say they don't want a birthday gift, or exclusively buy gift cards and hand them out (my husband and I have lately been laughing over some particularly absurd Heloise's Helpful Hints columns in the paper, one of which is pertinent to my thought: 

the writer explained how buying gifts is so hard, and she's just far too busy at Christmastime so what she does is she buys a bunch of gift cards and sticks them on the Christmas tree. At gift exchanging time, everyone approaches the tree and takes one envelope. If they don't like the gift card inside, they can trade. She concluded by exclaiming how well it worked, that everyone went away pleased with her gift.

Come on, how lazy can you be?! (plus, one of my big pet peeves: you know Christmas is coming. It comes every year on the same day, it's not like, oh surprise! It's Christmas! There's nothing stopping anyone from Christmas shopping in March- and please note: if you start shopping early, your huge Christmas shopping bills that come due in January aren't so huge. Take that, Heloise.)

In my mind, the perfect gift is something you buy for a dear friend because of something you have in common. "This is my absolute lip gloss, I just know Anneliese will love it, too", or "This serving bowl was the best purchase I made in 2004, Brian and Hannah must have it." Personally, I have a handful of friends, one in particular, for whom I shop as if I were buying things for myself. Therefore, buying gifts is rather fun, and causes far less guilt than buying unnecessary item for oneself.

One such gift was a book my friend K gave me for my birthday last year. It is A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg, the author of Orangette. In K's birthday card, she explains that Orangette is one of her favorite blogs, she's not sure if I read it too, but she thought I'd enjoy the book. It's taken me a long time to read it (I blame it on moving), but K was completely right. It's a great book: 1. it has great recipes (ones that are simple and inspired, and either go right along with what I like to eat, or make me want to branch out and do things, like make interesting salads) and 2. Molly's stories backing up the recipes are what I'd like my blog to be.

The only issue with that is I'm not a best selling author, nor will I ever be- I am far too lazy to edit any of my posts, and not dedicated to this blog nearly enough. But that's ok, because for me, this is just a blog. And sometimes, it's just a place for me to gather my favorite recipes so that I can find them easily in time to start dinner.

When K first sent me that book, I went and checked out Orangette (and to my surprise, I found that even though I hadn't ever read it (I really have no clue how I missed out on Orangette), I had used one of her recipes, her peppermint bark someone posted on Ravelry, insisting that we all try it, because it was the best. (yes, it is the best, I make that bark every Christmas now, sometimes I have to make multiple batches). Unfortunately, when I first went to Orangette, she was in the process of opening a restaurant, so wasn't posting much. Now she seems to be back, for the most part- aside from touring around, doing book readings.

Anyway, my point: last night I made a recipe from her book. I read the chapter that included this recipe in the morning, and decided we needed to have it for dinner. Mostly because it calls for 2cups of apple cider, and in a rare springtime coincidence (in the fall we always have cider on hand), I had about 2/3 of a half gallon of Big Y brand (i.e. mediocre, not worth drinking but fine or cooking- yes, we're cider snobs) apple cider in my fridge.

Saumon gelee, a la Louis XIV (or cider glazed salmon- Molly explains in her book the fancy French name)

3 cups apple cider (Molly said 2, I needed 3)

1 medium shallot, papery skin peeled off an quartered, lengthwise

1T butter

4 6oz salmon fillets

1/2cup fat free 1/2&1/2 (Molly said cream, Molly obviously doesn't need to worry about fitting into her jeans like I do)

Combine the butter, cider and shallot in a large skillet/wide pot (I used my 7 3/4 qt oval Le Creuset- it's new, I like to use it as much as I can) and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer 5 minutes, then discard the shallot.

Place the salmon fillets, skin side down, in the cider, and spoon the simmering cider over the salmon periodically, to cook the top part. Simmer over medium-low heat until the salmon is almost (but not completely- they'll cook after you remove them) cooked through. The salmon should take about 10 minutes per inch thickness to cook, I cooked our approx. 1.5in thick salmon about 20 minutes.

Once the salmon is done enough, remove from the cider and place on a platter and cover with foil. Turn up the heat slightly to reduce the cider. Once it's about 2/3 reduced, add 1/2 cup 1/2&1/2 (or cream) and cook until it's the color of caramel.

To serve, spoon the cider/cream glaze over each salmon fillet.

Results: this is absolutely delicious. I ended up buying wild sockeye salmon (it was on sale for cheaper than farmed regular salmon at Shaw's), which is much deeper in color than regular salmon. The salmon itself is tender and flavorful (but doesn't taste like salmon soaked in cider, it just tastes like really good salmon), and the sauce is sweet and appley. If you like cider, you'll like the dish. (plus, it's so easy)

I served it with kale and ricotta stuffed baked sweet potatoes that I'll tell you about tomorrow. We had a lovely dinner in the screen porch, to celebrate both our great new recipes, and the warm weather.

Ginger ice cream

One day, I had milk in my fridge. Lots and lots and lots of milk. I had to use it up, lest it expire and die a very smelly, dreadful death.

So I made ice cream, of course.

All of my previous ice creams have been variations of an orange coffee gelato from the Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker cookbook (included with the ice cream maker), but this time, I decided to venture elsewhere for a base recipe. I found a Martha Stewart ginger ice cream that looked good, so I adapted it for my half gallon of whole milk.

Not-so-fatty ginger ice cream (not quite low-fat, either)
Ingredients:
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
dash of coarse salt
2 cups whole milk (2% would also be good, for a lower-fat/calorie version)
2-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, cut into matchsticks

In a medium saucepan on a countertop (not over a burner- yet), combine egg yolks (make sure you use those whites for something else! such as meringue buttercream or a double batch of coconut macaroons) and sugar. Whisk vigorously for a few minutes, until mixture turns a lemony yellow. Whisk in milk and salt. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (note my "stirring constantly" kitchen set up- one hand on the laptop, the other stirring). Once mixture has thickened (but make sure eggs don't scramble/curdle- even if they do a little, it's ok, just not ideal), remove from heat and add in sliced ginger. Let sit 30-45 minutes, then cool (in a refrigerator is fine and easy, but takes longer, over an ice water bath is quickest). Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the ice cream maker's instructions.

"The best meal you've ever made"

quoth my husband.

Honestly, this is a really good recipe. It's delicious. But... it's easy. The best thing I've ever made should be something impressive and labor intensive, right? Something I slaved away in the kitchen all afternoon (or even all day) to make. Not something tossed in a plastic bag with a handful of other ingredients.

But, he insists, this is the best thing I've ever made. And instead of referring to it as "that honey and cumin pork we broiled", I have to call it "the best meal I've made".

And I need to spread the word.

I found this recipe on from Josie of pinkparsleycatering.blogspot.com, who has a number of really nice recipes (such as).

Ingredients (slightly modified):
1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and membrane
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp honey
zest of 1/2 an orange
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp canola oil

Combine all ingredients in a plastic ziploc bag.

(supporting the ziploc bag in a large cup makes it easier to fill)Marinade for a few hours or overnight (we marinaded for approx 32 hours).When getting ready to cook the meat, make a glaze of 2T honey (microwave for 10 seconds to make more liquidy), 1t cumin and 1/2 chipotle. Brush over one side of the tenderloin.

Grill over medium high heat for about 15 min (turning over once halfway through), until meat reaches 160-165F. Remove from heat, tent with foil, and let rest for 10-15 min before slicing and serving.

Or if you have no grill, broil on high for 15-18min, turning over after 10 minutes. Have your fan on, since the honey glaze will drip and burn slightly. As with a regular grill, remove from the broiler, tent with foil and let rest for 10-15 min before slicing.Like I said, this is incredibly easy. It's a bunch of ingredients left in a ziploc bag, then cooked. The pork came out nice and tender, and the combination of citrus, sweet honey, and spicy chipotle is exactly what we like. (of course, adjust the amount of chipotle to make it as spicy or mild as you like).
We had this with roasted chipotle/orange sweet potato wedges, and a lemony garlicky sauteed spinach (Clint's new specialty).

Pineapple-stuffed chicken

One day (just like every other day), I had some down time at work, and decided to use those 10 minutes to put some thought into dinner. In the freezer we had..... chicken.

Chicken is boring. We're definitely an "other white meat" household- I have a zillion delicious pork recipes, but I shy away from chicken, the tasteless meat.

But, chicken was on sale, so we had a lot in the freezer. And I had to do something with it.

Therefore, Jamaican jerk-spiced chicken, stuffed with a lime-pineapple salsa thing. Rather easy!

Jerk spice rub:
2 tablespoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons sugar
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Combine spice rub ingredients in a small bowl (store in tupperware and save leftovers for later).

Pineapple stuffing:
1 20oz can pineapple chunks in juice, drained
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Combine stuffing in a small bowl.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each)

Cut a deep pocket in each chicken breast. Season the outside with jerk spice rub, and stuff with pineapple mixture. Close pocket opening with toothpicks (soak toothpicks in water, 20-30 minutes if grilling).

Grill (on a proper grill or a grill pan) until chicken is cooked through. (Note: the grill pan doesn't work all that well if your chicken is fairly thick- if you don't have a real grill, broiling might be better)
And.... eat!
The jerk spice rub is flavorful but not overpowering, and the pineapple stuffing is fresh and light. This would be a good meal for a summer bbq.

Pho!

We have a butcher. Our butcher sells all sorts of meat things, and I have dreams of going in there and chatting, Alton Brown style, about different cuts of meat and learning what's best for what and how to cook it.

So far I've never been to the butcher, Clint likes to walk over at lunchtime on nice days, so he takes care of all our meat needs.

But one day, Clint mentioned our butcher has "soup bones" (beef shanks).
Do you know what you can do with soup bones? Make broth! This happened during the height of my chicken soup making days this winter, so I got pretty excited. Unfortunately, the soup bones appear to be one of the most popular items our butcher sells and he only gets them on Tuesdays, so it took us a while to actually get some for ourselves. Once we did, I took advantage of a recipe I'd found online recently.

Pho tai (vietname beef noodle soup), adapted from koko cooks.

Beef Stock (best made a day ahead, so the fat can solidify and be easily removed):
2 lbs of beef shinbones (a combination of bones and oxtails would also have been good)
10 cups water
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 inch chunk of ginger, peeled and sliced
4 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks


Combine all ingredients in a large stockpot, bring to a boil and simmer for 1hr, uncovered. Remove from heat and when cool enough (around 2 hours for me), refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove the thick layer of solidied fat and discard. (it was quite a thick layer of fat)

Strain the beef stock and discard solid parts (i.e. bones, spices, shallots, bits of fat). Because this is simmered uncovered, much of the liquid boils off. I was left with about 6 cups of broth.

Other ingredients:
¼ c fish sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
6 oz thin rice noodles, softened in hot water, cooked according to the package directions, and drained
1 lime, cut into wedges
1 jalepeno pepper, thinly sliced into rings
½ lb boneless beef sirloin, trimmed of fat and gristle, and cut into very thin slices

2 c bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
¼ c minced scallions, green part only
¼ c minced fresh cilantro
1 c Thai basil leaves, or sweet basil leaves

To make the soup, combine the beef broth with 3T fish sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, cook rice noodles according to the box's directions (generally, boil water, pour over rice noodles and let soften for a few minutes- rice noodles don't need to be cooked, like pasta). Thinly slice the beef, and add to the broth. Cook for 2-3min, until beef is cooked through (which is why slicing thinly is important, it helps it cook faster).
Divide rice noodles among 4 bowls, add about bean sprouts (which I cooked in boiling water for 3 minutes, then drained, because I've heard bad things about bean sprouts), chopped scallions, cilantro and thai or sweet basil (which I omitted, basil's really expensive lately!). Divide beef in broth among the bowls, and serve with lime wedges and jalapeno on the side.

What I like best about this recipe is that even though it's super easy (really- dump some stuff in a pot, cook it for a while, chill it, slice some stuff and put things in a soup bowl), it's rather delicious, and if you're used to American food, it seems pretty exotic. I'm not lucky enough to live in an area where there's $3 bowls of pho on every corner, so I either have to drive a while to find a restaurant (where pho is rather more than $3) or make it myself. And now making it myself is kind of the obvious choice.

And I now have an additional 4 lbs of beef bones in my freezer, waiting.

Adventures in grocery shopping

Last night we went to BJ's. I've never been to BJ's before, and my Pace/Sam's Club days ended in college (when my parents realized that even when we just stopped there for a few items, we'd end up needlessly spending $150-200). But we got one of those "free trial membership" cards in the mail, and decided to try it out.

We shopped til we dropped.

BJ's was everything I expected: a huge warehouse building, ridiculously tall/long aisles, giant bottles of shampoo, and flats of ramen. What I did not expect, however, was such a large fresh food department. The produce looked halfway decent (also unexpected), and the cheese section was impressive (compared to other grocery stores in the area, but still paltry compared to the Coop and Whole Foods).

The best part was King Arthur All Purpose flour for 56 cents/lb. This is the nearly the same price as the Coop (55cents/lb last time I checked), and nearly half of Shaw's and Big Y ($0.99-1.09/lb). They only sell it in 10lb increments, but, um, since when is 10lbs of flour too much? I would have bought 2 or 3 10lb bags, if I didn't think it'd be so easy to return for more as needed.

Nuts were also a good price, although I'm not sure of the quality. The dried fruit selection was decent, and my eyes boggled at the packaged candy (I refrained from buying any).

I also found refrigerated Panera soups, which was intriguing, so I bought the tomato bisque (110 cal/1cup serving, not bad at all!) Finally, the star of our trip: lime juice sold in 15oz bottles (!!!!!) for $1.99 each. Compare this to grocery store lime juice, which only comes in 8oz bottles, for $1.69 each or more. It has always irked me that you can't buy larger bottles of lime juice, especially when you can get 32oz of lemon juice everywhere. (I admit it- I do use bottled citrus juices instead of fresh. My citrus always goes bad, so it makes no sense to keep it around, especially when it's so expensive).

Of course, we also bought the standard giant bottles of shampoo, lotion, 8 packs of toothpaste, 16 pack of razor blades, gallons of juice, and 4 packs of cleaning products. We did not indulge in the 48 pack of paper towels.

Oh, and I picked up the prequel to "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", which was exciting to find.

(some day I'll get back to cooking and telling you about it. Some day.)

Tidbits

Oh, hi.

So my life has been taken over by other, stronger and more important forces. I've been cooking a bit, but I just don't have the time to tell you about it... yet. On the bright side, part of what's taken over my life is work, and it's for a good reason (it just doesn't feel like that when I get home at 11:30pm, but I can kind of see the bigger picture). I'm trying to write posts when I have large chunks of time, all at once, and the space out the publishing, but that's not as easy as I thought.

To tide you over until I can tell you about ginger ice cream, honey-cumin glazed pork and indian pudding, let me share some quick and tasty snacks.

Today I went to a special Earth Day fair, and bought apple pie bread from the Great Harvest Bread Co. It's a big flat square loaf of slightly sweet bread, stuffed with apples and cinnamon, with a sweet crumb layer on top. I'm waiting to cut into it, because I'm giving half to my parents. But the loaf is just staring at me right now, it's very difficult to wait.

I wandered into Trader Joe's the other day, and discovered this delicious snack.

Dried mango.

I recommend.

They were also giving these away. For free.