Beautiful Black-Eyed Pea & Corn Salad

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Black-Eyed Pea & Corn Salad

Black-Eyed Pea & Corn Salad

Just the other day I started looking through my thousands of recipes organized on my computer…I was hunting for a different salad to prepare with grilled chicken. Something other than the usual lettuce salad, perhaps one that didn’t center on my beloved combination of quinoa or grains and protein…and I happened upon this recipe that I used to make for many catering events.

Liquid smoke isn’t something I particularly like or use very often but in this salad it adds an interesting dimension. This is a really filling, delicious salad – and different than what most folks prepare. Plus it’s easy enough that I can purchase the ingredients way ahead of time and even make the salad and dressing separately a couple days prior to serving – and it still tastes great.

Delicious Dressing

Delicious Dressing

I used to literally make vats and vats of this black-eyed-pea salad – enough for an army. Today I prepare just enough for six people. It is kind of fun to make a smaller amount – it feels more intimate. And leftovers are great (though you might need to drain off some of the liquid). I am making this in the spring before corn is at the markets, but at the peak of summer when corn is fresh, I often grill extra ears for dinner and just repurpose them in this simple, bean-based dish.

I happily moved this recipe to my “Things I love” file so I don’t forget to make it more often!

Black-Eyed Pea and Corn Salad

Serves 6

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Dressing ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 1 dash liquid smoke
  • 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne or to taste
Salad ingredients
  • 1-15 oz can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed (or 1 ½ cups freshly cooked black eyed peas)
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (if frozen, defrost first)
  • 3/4 cup celery (1-2 stalks, finely diced)
  • ½ large red pepper (1/2 large, diced ¼ inch)
  • 1/4 large white skinned onion (1/4 inch dice)
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
Instructions

Shake all ingredients together in a jar – this can be made a few days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.

Combine all salad ingredients. Add dressing and stir well so everything is evenly coated. Add the cilantro just before serving so it doesn’t turn brown.

This is a terrific side dish for grilled chicken, fish or mushrooms. I like to let it sit at room temperature after it is ready for at least 20 minutes so the flavors meld.

 

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Happy 2nd Anniversary My Global Kitchens!

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Marilyn
These are a few of my favorite things!

These are a few of my favorite things from a Sunday farmers market last summer.

I cannot believe it’s been a year since my first anniversary post!  Many of you might not even remember it – but I sure do. I discussed my relationship with food and body image.  It was the first time I really went out on a limb – and it was very scary to really talk about what I think and feel about such controversial issues.  Surprisingly, I had more comments, personal notes and buzz with this particular column than any other – and it didn’t even have a recipe or travel information!  Sheesh...

So, I will continue where I left off and tell you more about food, exercise and stocking my kitchen.

1.   Food

I am not in love with (or even in like with) fried foods – i.e. potato chips, donuts, french fries, deep-fried Oreos, or any of this junk-food that so many Americans adore.  I could honestly have any of these items in my cupboards and I’d end up throwing them out as they would get stale.  Really.  It’s not even that they’re not healthful…as you may know, I would eat these things if they “spoke” to me.

Foods I love:

Sweets:  As I’ve said again and again, chocolate is a critical part of my life.  But again – I’m picky. I would let milk chocolate or white chocolate (shouldn’t even be called chocolate) stay in my drawer forever.  Dark chocolate is another story… I need a tiny bit every day, but only if it is high quality chocolate.  And while I don’t need them as frequently, there’s nothing like great fruit pies, my famous black bottom pie, and German Chocolate Cake.  I know, the cake is a wild card but I adore this dessert more than any other and seldom make it because the rest of my family isn’t super excited about it, and I end up gifting a lot of it.  Ice cream doesn’t do it for me either — I know, I know, I’m weird.

Salads and soups:  These are my favorite foods to prepare and to eat as well.  I can’t get enough of tangy salad dressings and weird combinations of nuts, seeds, fruits, veggies, lettuces, grains, proteins…  And I rarely turn away from soups – everything from vegetarian types to hearty, meat-based stews rock my world.

Lamb anything:  This might be why I love New Zealand so much.  During our visit I literally ate lamb every day – it just called to me.  Most New Zealand or Australian lamb is organic and grass fed, by the way.  And I don’t even eat a huge portion – even a little lamb keeps me satiated.

Hot breakfast cereals: Especially when piled with chopped fruit, nuts, or even plain with a pat of butter and milk or cream. LOVE.

Finally, I am embarrassed but must admit that I am a food snob.  I dislike bad food – and am forever on the hunt for decent eats even in remote areas.  Fast food or really bad-tasting, commercial food does nothing for me, and I avoid it like the plague.  I can be a little obnoxious about this. In my next life I will be surrounded only by Mediterranean food and Asian-inspired cooking because I rarely tire of these two cuisines. In addition, I can quickly reach my fill of prepared food, be it from fine restaurants or good quality takeaway places.  I start to crave “my” homemade, I-know-what-is-in-it food.

Well-worn exercise shoes and well-loved chocolate

Well-worn exercise shoes and well-loved chocolate

2.  Exercise

This doesn’t have to be brain surgery.  I know myself well – I am constantly buzzing around like a cockroach. This becomes especially apparent when I am around more sedentary folks. Me?  I rarely sit still.  And I walk vigorously or take a 40-minute spin class several days a week.  Or I love to go to my nearby gym and take part in a yoga or strength training class.  The women at my gym are super nice and I have made lasting friends.  Who would have thought?  And I don’t ever mind walking or “doing” the stairs in my neighborhood alone.  I’m good company.

My point here is that, for me, exercise is essential to feeling good – both physically and mentally. I feel stronger and healthier AND fine with my aging body.

3.  Shopping

OK, this is going to sound very strange. But food shopping is almost meditative for me.  I’ve never been an avid clothes shopper, yet I could get lost at a good farmers market. I become almost religious about showing up at the Queen Anne Farmer’s Market every Thursday afternoon during the summer and the Ballard Farmer’s Market every Sunday morning year around.  I even love my neighborhood supermarket – I’m lucky enough to be within walking distance of a store with the most beautiful produce and flower displays I’ve ever seen. Metropolitan Market is close by, I know the staff there, and although it can be expensive for exotic produce or ingredients, I pretty much stick with a list and find their quality and pricing to be fair.

I keep a running list or wish list of little things that need replacing in my kitchen, be it a few nice dish towels, a new set of measuring cups, etc.  I feel like my kitchen is really up to snuff in terms of pots and pans, gadgets and appliances. I don’t have extra cooking supplies and I use every single item in my kitchen on a regular basis.   But once a year I take an annual pilgrimage to my favorite kitchen shop and gather items that need replacing.    Ahhhh…

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Salad in a Jar!

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Marilyn
Rachel's Scrumptious Salad in a Jar

Rachel’s Scrumptious Salad in a Jar

The other day I was talking with my family about how hard it is to find time to break away from work for a healthful lunch…and we discovered that all of us have our own solution. We all make various forms of make-ahead salads. It takes a few minutes to do the prep but your lunches are set for the week. I used to put mine in a Tupperware container with salad dressing in a separate, small sealed jar, but my daughter started making three or four days worth of “Salad in a Jar.” I like how pretty her jars look (she sent me this picture). Ever since, I now make my salads ahead in large mason jars. (Side note – since learning of my daughter’s ingenious idea – I stumbled upon this blog post – learning that great minds think alike!)

Here is how you do it:

Start by placing salad dressing at the bottom of the jar, then layer items beginning with the larger, heavier fruits and veggies, in this case, roasted beets, toasted nuts and seeds, chopped feta cheese and olives. Next came cherry tomatoes, some grilled chicken or fish and on top are the more fragile greens – here you see Spring Mix.

She takes one jar per day to work and keeps it in the refrigerator. She also keeps a large salad bowl at the office (enough for one large salad). Before eating, just shake the jar like crazy then pour the contents into the serving bowl.

Pretty genius! And every week you can switch the type of salad you make – anything from Salad Nicoise to chicken and asparagus or Thai beef salad. Anything is possible, and it takes the stress out of lunchtime when you are too busy to go out for lunch or prepare a meal from scratch!

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Chicken & Rhubarb – A Saucy Combination

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Chicken Thighs with Rhubarb Sauce

Chicken Thighs with Rhubarb Sauce

My friends and family often email me when they’re in a pinch – begging me for a quick, one dish, stove top meal. One that actually tastes good. One of my favorite go-to dishes happily fits the bill.

This simple, springtime recipe came to mind last week when I needed a home for some fresh rhubarb. I love chicken thighs too so it was pretty much a no brainer. (By the way, chicken thighs are very underrated in my opinion. They are inexpensive, moist and flavorful…mark my words, they will become the rage soon!)

Simmering Thighs & Rhubarb

Simmering Thighs & Rhubarb

The only downside to this dish is that it is decidedly BROWN. The rhubarb loses lots of  it’s color so be sure to garnish the final dish with something vibrant and accompany it with side dishes featuring different textures and colors.

Chicken Thighs with Rhubarb Sauce

Serves 4 (unless you’re like me and can make do with just one thigh)

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Ingredients
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 7 or 8 bone-in, skin-on medium chicken thighs
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium shallot finely chopped (about 2 Tbsp)
  • 3 large garlic cloves, roughly diced
  • 2 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated peeled
  • 1/2 cup sweet wine (port or sherry or dessert wine works well)
  • 1 cup chicken broth (I got lazy and used “Better Than Bouillon”)
  • 3 Tbsp honey
  • 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 ½ pound rhubarb stalks, sliced about ½ inch thick depending on the width (mine were average and I used nearly two bunches or about 10-12 medium stalks)
Instructions

Lay out a tea towel and place chicken thighs on top – dry them well.

Combine the spices (the first five ingredients in the list above) in a dish and gently press the mixture into the skin side of each thigh. Note, the brown sugar helps the chicken to brown well when sautéing.

Meanwhile, heat a large, heavy-bottom stainless steel 12-inch sauté pan for about two minutes. Once the pan is hot, add the olive oil and swirl it around, and let it become hot and shimmering but not smoking. This method of heating the pan and then the oil before sautéing prevents sticking.

Gently place the thighs, skin side down, into the pan and gently shake it to be sure nothing is sticking. Continue to sauté until golden brown, about five minutes.Turn the thighs with a tongs (don’t pierce the skin) and cook the second side until golden brown, about four minutes more. Remove the thighs to a rimmed plate so you can collect the juice.

Lower the flame to medium and remove all but two tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add the ginger and shallots cook for another two minutes, stirring frequently until the shallots soften.

Add the sherry, using a spatula to incorporate any bits that might stick to the bottom. Continue to boil and cook three more minutes. Add chicken broth, honey, and orange juice and stir well.

Keep the heat where it is, bring everything to a boil and add chicken thighs to the pan with the skin side up along with chicken juice from the plate. Continue to cook but lower the flame to simmer the contents

Cover and cook for 30 minutes, turning the chicken thighs over with your tongs and basting every 10 minutes, always returning them skin side up.

After 30 minutes, nestle rhubarb pieces around the chicken and return to a low simmer until the rhubarb is very tender, another 10 minutes.

I served this on top of plain cooked quinoa to absorb the juices, and with another spring favorite: pencil thin stalks of asparagus grilled with just a little olive oil. I added some Pepperonata alongside for color and dessert was a beautiful, colorful fresh fruit salad. My family loved this!

 

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Ruby Red Rhubarb

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Sumptuous Salad with Rhubarb Vinaigrette

Sumptuous Salad with Rhubarb Vinaigrette

Although it is still pretty cold and on-and-off rainy here, bundles of rhubarb appeared everywhere at yesterday’s farmers market here in Seattle. I usually associate this vibrant vegetable (yes – it’s a vegetable!) with Springtime – so I was pleasantly surprised to see displays of the celery-like, ruby-colored stacks. I purchased a few bunches and immediately starting trying to figure out what I could make besides the traditional rhubarb crisp, rhubarb upside down cake or rhubarb pie. I was in the mood for something savory and two recipes popped into my mind: a wonderful sweet and sour type chicken dish, and a tangy, pink-colored salad dressing that would be good on a main dish salad.

Fresh Rhubarb at the Farmer's Market

Fresh Rhubarb at the Farmer’s Market

And it just so happened that I had a left-over chunk of rare beef tenderloin steak in my refrigerator along with some steamed sweet potatoes, blanched asparagus spears, toasted walnuts, and various peppers and root vegetables. And of course I had some organic salad greens – in this case arugula.

It took just one try to make a gorgeous, zesty salad dressing. Just a little different from my usual and a much more seasonal version. I was so pleased with the results that I’ve decided this vinaigrette is going right into my regular spring line up!

Rhubarb Vinaigrette

Makes about 1 cup

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Ingredients:
  • 1 medium sized rhubarb stalk, thinly sliced 
(about 1/2-cup)
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 Tbsp. honey 
(more or less to taste)
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard (regular or grainy)
  • 2 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions:

In a small saucepan, simmer the rhubarb in water, covered, for 5-10 minutes until it is very, very mushy.

Put the stewed rhubarb with all the remaining liquid into a blender with the honey, vinegar and mustard. Pulse until smooth. With the motor running, slowly pour in the oils until it thickens.

Store in refrigerator for about a week.

I love these seasonally inspired dinners! And many of you will find rhubarb growing in unexpected places or at local markets.  Be sure to watch for next week’s chicken rhubarb creation.

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Luscious Lemony Fettuccine

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Fabulous Fettuccine

This spring, I experienced what it is like (again) to parent a four year old – or as my grandson would say, a “4 and a third year old.”

My husband and I happened to be in Iowa for the Passover holiday, and offered to bring our oldest grandson home to Seattle for almost two weeks. It was an uber-busy time for our daughter – moving and setting up her new office, single parenting for the entire time while her husband was out of town interviewing for the next phase of life, on and on. When we offered to fly back with Zay, she initially refused but shortly warmed to the idea. Being at home for almost two weeks with only her 21-month old turned out to be pretty appealing. Zay was pretty excited too. Especially when he learned that he’d have his very own room for two weeks – plus lots of friends and family to visit and daily outings with grandma and grandpa.

Zay at Ballard Farmer’s Market

So what was it like? Well, I don’t remember being as tired in my thirties as I am in my sixties. I feel I am more patient now and don’t sweat the small stuff – like waking up too early and going to bed too late. And boy, was it fun to see the world through the eyes of a four year old.

All in all, it was delightful for Zay, but even more so for us. The only drawback – and it was unfortunately a nightmare – ended up being the airlines and the flights we chose. Snow in April? Yes. Cancelled flights? Yes. Overnights in Denver? Yes. Everything that could have gone wrong with our airline tickets went wrong.

It was still worth it. Our daughter had a more relaxing time with her younger son and he had much more time to be the center of attention. And I’ve decided that I want to make this a tradition for each grandchild – to be here by themselves in Seattle with their grandparents for a good stretch of time.

Zay ended up being really flexible and understanding. I loved cooking for him, taking him to farmers markets, and explaining the sites and sounds of Seattle. Since asparagus turned up everywhere, we concocted this dish following a trip to the Pike Street Market where we purchased fresh fettuccine noodles. My husband deemed it the best pasta I had ever made! If you knew him, you’d realize this is a huge compliment. And Zay didn’t leave one noodle in his dish!

Simple Ingredients

If you live near an Italian market that has sheets of egg noodles, this is a slam dunk. I suppose it would be good with dried noodles as well, but there is really no contest.

Lemon Fettuccine with Asparagus

Serves 6

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Ingredients
  • 8 ounces fresh egg pasta – cut for fettuccine
  • 2 Tbsp salted butter
  • ¼ cup of fresh basil, julienned
  • 3 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 ½ Tbsp grated lemon rind (I did mine on the microplane grater)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 lb fresh asparagus
Instructions

Snap off the ends opposite the tips of the asparagus. Unless the stalks are the pencil thin, I peel the stems with a veggie peeler (if thin, you can omit peeling), put in large deep sauté pan with an inch of water. (My sauté pan is 11 inches in diameter.) Bring to a boil, and lower to medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the asparagus is bright green and barely tender when pierced with a fork. Remove the stalks of asparagus and put into ice water and let sit for 5 minutes. This stops the cooking and quickly cools the vegetable. After the asparagus is cooled and dried, cut it into 1 inch pieces.

In a large nonstick soup pot, bring water to a boil. Add two teaspoons of salt.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the basil and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon rind, and continue to cook 2 more minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add the cream. Slowly cook the cream until a thick sauce forms. Stir in the pepper and the grated Parmesan and set aside.

When the pot of water comes to a boil, drop in the fresh pasta and cook without covering until it is al dente. The timing will be determined by whether you use fresh or dried pasta. Since mine was fresh this only took about 3 minutes.

Drain the pasta noodles into a colander then add the sauce and pasta to your pasta water pot. (Note: this is why you want it nonstick. If it is a regular stainless steel pan, clean up is a lot more involved.) Stir until the pasta is thoroughly coated. Add in blanched asparagus and stir well.

Serve with extra grated cheese and a simple green salad.

This was so lemony and good that I’ll make it a couple more times while asparagus is in season. And keep in mind that the fresh egg noodles freeze beautifully if you buy extra!

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Bread Pudding – Take Two

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Decadent Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Decadent Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

A few weeks ago, I described the intricate process of observing a global dish being made in an authentic cook’s kitchen. And I planned, really I did, to publish the recipe I learned. However, I just cannot get my head around Miss Estella’s recipe.

For starters, she used white bread – “air” bread as I used to call it… basically white (aka processed) bread. That makes me pause, knowing full well 9 out of 10 of you won’t go further in the recipe. Add in margarine – which I detest and will never use – and boxed (irradiated) milk, baking powder (for what??), imitation vanilla and a method that pulverizes the bread so that the final product has zero texture. If I close my eyes I wouldn’t be able to define what I was eating – just a mushy, soft, sort-of-sweet pudding without a lot of flavor. Don’t misunderstand – I was ever so grateful to cook alongside her and I can only imagine how much comfort her bread pudding has provided her family and friends over the years. It’s just not my particular cup of tea.

I have my own recipe that I have made for well over ten years, and it is priceless. The texture is nice, the sweetness balanced. I am not saying it is healthful in any sense of the word, but in my mind if I’m going to have a bread-based dessert – it had better be great. I have served this during the dark winter days when I don’t have the option to make fresh fruit crisp or pies – I have even made it for New Years and Thanksgiving. There’s never a crumb left!

Right out of the oven!

Right out of the oven!

So here it is, MY glorious Global Kitchen bread pudding with an added feature – homemade caramel sauce. Not hard, and absolutely worth making. This week I got lazy and used packaged cinnamon swirl bread that was a little sweet to start with. You can adjust the sugar in this recipe accordingly so that if you use unsweetened bread, you add about ¼-1/2 cups more sugar.

Marilyn’s Bread Pudding

Serves 12

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Ingredients:
  • 1 large loaf cinnamon bread or sweet raisin bread (roughly 8-10 cups when cubed)
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2 ½ cups of 2 % milk
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 sticks melted butter
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon (I used more b/c my bread was only raisin bread)
  • Optional: ½ cups raisins if you are a raisin fan – I always soak them in 1 cup of fresh orange juice for at least an hour, then I drain them before adding to the recipe
Instructions:

Generously butter a 9 x 12 pan (I use a ceramic oval dish).

Cut bread into ¾ ” cubes and distribute evenly in the baking pan.

In another bowl combine sugars, milk, melted butter, eggs and cinnamon. Beat well to combine.

Pour liquid mixture over bread and gently press down so the bread soaks up the liquid. If you’re using additional raisins – add them at this point. The egg mix will begin to absorb into the bread right away. Cover and refrigerate the uncooked pudding for at least an hour or up to one day. Bring it to room temperature before cooking.

After the uncooked pan is at room temperature for an hour, preheat the oven to 350 and put the oven rack in the middle of the oven.  Again press with your fingers on the bread to get the egg mix evenly distributed.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the liquid part toward the center of the dish comes out clean.

Remove from oven to a cooling rack. Serve warm with the following sauce.

Caramel Sauce-makes 1 and 1/2 cups enough for leftover sauce!

Ingredients
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 heaping Tbsp. flour
  • 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla
Instructions

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add sugars, water and flour and whisk well to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for three minutes, stirring every 20 seconds or so until thick. The mixture will foam a bit at the beginning. Just keep stirring! Remove from the heat and after 2 minutes, add the vanilla.

Pass the warmed sauce in a pitcher to serve over squares of warm bread pudding. Bread pudding keeps one week in the fridge, and the caramel sauce stays for at least 2 weeks.

This sauce is wonderful over vanilla ice cream or drizzled over grilled or poached fruit with a touch of Greek yogurt. I’m thinking of scooping out vanilla ice cream, topping with some of this sauce then sprinkling with coarse designer salt flakes — to me this oh-so-21st-century.

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Food as Art

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Marilyn

A colorful display of beautiful food on a favorite plate

Some of you – perhaps most of you – have a creative streak for making beauty happen: painting, photography, music, writing, wardrobing, decorating, knitting, flower arranging, gardening, sewing… creative capabilities are endless. Personally, I don’t feel I am particularly gifted or even highly competent at most of these activities. Yes, the writing and photography aspects of my website are particularly challenging for me.

Yet I love the creativity I possess in the kitchen. It is probably obvious to you by now that I can spend all day here, inventing and cooking as my iTunes playlist sings in the background. Improvising and making a meal becomes almost meditative and is my most imaginative and enjoyable endeavor. In my mind, I conjure up the tastes of a dish or an entire meal much like an orchestra conductor can close his eyes and hear how a piece of music will sound. I rifle through my leftover food and review the staples in the fridge and cupboard then create a memorable meal, typically without recipes.

When I do try something new that is actually a “recipe” I rarely make it as written or with precise measurements or ingredients; I seem to substitute at whim, and until recently I thought everyone did this too. I know what I like and what will please me at the moment. Most often, in less than 30 minutes I produce a plate of food that would knock your socks off. I do record (on my computer) these recipes so that if I happen to come up with a home run, I can sort of replicate a dish I love. Friends often call me for suggestions about menus or a particular recipe they are attempting to make. I have hundreds of cookbooks although since 1998 I’ve cataloged all my recipes on the computer – backed up two different ways so they are never lost in cyberspace.

A sampling of my most prized culinary possessions (see end notes for details)

For me it is important to pay attention to colors, sizes, shapes, textures, and flavors that will marry on the plate. AND I have so many serving pieces that it is embarrassing, but they’re not just decorative. Beautiful serveware items are my props: bowls or dishes that belonged to my grandmother who I never met, to my mother, platters and pitchers and cutlery from Italy and Africa and Spain and Japan and New Zealand, from craft fairs, or from special friends or family. I know and cherish the history of every piece. My only rule is that whatever I purchase or own must be used and not just put on a shelf to collect dust. I pull these items from their designated storage spots  almost every night, whether I am cooking for the two of us, for me and a friend, or for company. Lately I have given a few of these special objects to friends or family I know will treasure them as much as I do.

End note: the above picture features some of my most beloved objects: a shakshukah pan I just bought in Israel, a coffee cup from the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, a bowl from an art fair, a silver napkin ring from England (I have a collection of these from all over) and a tablecloth from Italy.

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Bubbie’s Chocolate Macaroons

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Marvelous Macaroons

Marvelous Macaroons

Monday night March 25 was the first Passover seder celebrated by Jews all over the world. I believe this holiday tradition is THE most observed even by secular Jews. My family convened in Iowa for a participatory ceremony and meal with our oldest child, her family and multiple friends. We ended up with 33 bodies attending the service dinner. In a small house. In very cold weather, so outdoor activities and seating didn’t happen.

Last Year's Seder Celebration

Last Year’s Seder Celebration

We made many of the usual dishes this year – but swapped out a new chicken dish for the lamb tagine. For the eight days of celebration, we are supposed to avoid leavening or flour (i.e. bread, pancakes, pasta to name a few). I’m not crazy about Passover desserts made with matzo meal or matzo cake flour. I’m over flourless chocolate cakes. For the past six years we have reverted to homemade chocolate macaroons with fresh fruit as dessert. If you are more observant than me, you’ll scoff at this recipe as many of the ingredients aren’t really OK for Passover (condensed milk, sweetened coconut). For me, as long as there isn’t flour or obvious leavening, I’m good with it.

The originator of this delicacy is my 87 year-old mother-in-law, also known as “Bubbie.” Her method is recorded here and I do add an extra square of chocolate to the original formula just because I’m a huge chocolate fan. I also started using toasted almonds to deepen the flavor. I have tried melting chocolate with the condensed milk in the microwave and the cookies didn’t turn out as well, darn it. I thought it would save cleaning another saucepan, but oh well.

Rachel's Macaroons

Rachel’s Macaroons

These are not good for you in any sense of the word, but I make them anyway and always look forward to having them for Passover in lieu of the canned, mass-produced macaroons. I bake them a couple of weeks prior to Passover and carefully freeze them. And because they are a cinch to make, they are one of my “go to” cookie recipes if I am called upon to bake cookies for family or friends.

Bubbie Weissman’s Macaroons

Yield: 3-4 dozen

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Ingredients
  • 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • 3 squares unsweetened chocolate-Bakers or Hersheys is fine
  • 1 package (2 2/3 cups) sweetened coconut flakes
  • 1 cup finely chopped toasted almonds (with skins) – I toast these way ahead of time in the toaster oven
  • 1 tsp. pure Vanilla extract
  • ⅛ tsp. salt
Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt condensed milk and chocolate over low heat in a small saucepan until the chocolate is liquid, stirring often. Pour into a medium sized bowl then add remaining ingredients into the liquid chocolate/condensed milk with a rubber spatula.

Make heaping teaspoon-sized blobs on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, placing them two inches apart.

Bake for 14-15 minutes until barely brown. Put parchment and cookies on the counter for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack.

Notes:
  • Once completely cooled, these can be easily frozen between layers of waxed paper.
  • This can be doubled or tripled since there isn’t leavening in them. That way you can enjoy them for a long time!
  • You can make these larger and bake them a bit longer.
  • I am going to play around with replacing half of the coconut with unsweetened shredded coconut – the texture will be less moist I imagine, but I will report my findings.

 

 

 

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The Arrival of Springtime Asparagus

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Amazing Asparagus Salad

Amazing Asparagus Salad

Nothing says SPRING to me like asparagus, when it finally shows itself at the farmers markets here in Seattle. As much as I love all the root vegetables available week after week during the cold winter months, when I spot asparagus for sale at the produce stalls I know we are on our way to more and more and more wonderful fruits and veggies. YAY!

This year U.S. supermarkets might have less asparagus available due to a diminished supply from Peru and Mexico (colder weather in Mexico). Happily, this won’t affect my local farmers markets, where the spears are grown nearby – just east of the Cascade Mountains.

There are varying opinions on how to select the best asparagus. In my humble opinion – the thinner the better. I find that the thicker stalks don’t have as much flavor as the thinner ones – plus they’re just never as tender as the pencil-thin stalks. Many disagree with me, touting the virtues of thicker asparagus. I guess it’s just a personal preference!

I’ve already decided that my first dish of the season in 2013 will be an asparagus salad – room temperature, of course. I rarely like vegetables super chilled – to me room temperature or warmer brings out more of the flavor. This salad pairs beautifully with roasted chicken thighs or simple fish.

And I’m not giving up those root vegetables just yet – they just will be a delicious accompaniment to this lovely vegetable salad.

Asparagus Avocado Salad with Citrus Sesame Dressing

Serves 4

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Salad Ingredients:
  • 1 large bunch of thin fresh asparagus-about 1 ½ pounds
  • 2 large ripe avocados, flesh cut in pieces 1 ½ inch x ½ inch
  • ½ cup almonds, toasted and very coarsely chopped or halved
  • 1 yellow or orange pepper, cut into 1 ½ inch long thin slivers
  • 2-3 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
Dressing Ingredients
  • 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
  • ½ tsp sea salt and 10 grinds of fresh black pepper
  • Honey to taste – about 2 tsp
Instructions

Start the same way you do for marinated asparagus. Note, I usually simmer the asparagus for only 2 minutes if they are really thin.

Snap off the ends opposite the tips of the asparagus. Unless the stalks are pencil thin, I peel the stems with a veggie peeler (if thin, you can omit peeling), put in large deep sauté pan with an inch of water. (My sauté pan is 11 inches in diameter.) Bring to a boil, and lower to medium heat for 5-7 minutes until the asparagus is bright green and barely tender when pierced with a fork. Leave the top off the fry pan when doing this. Remove the stalks of asparagus and put into ice water and let sit for 5 minutes. This stops the cooking and quickly cools the vegetables. Place the stalks onto a dry dish towel, making sure the water is absorbed, and then put in a sealed bag or container.

When ready to serve, cut the asparagus into 1 ½ inch pieces and place in a bowl with avocados, peppers and almonds. Combine the dressing ingredients (I put all the dressing ingredients in a jar and just shake it to combine). The dressing is rather thin. Taste and adjust the sweetness or saltiness to your palate) and toss gently through salad. Place into a serving bowl and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds. Serve at once.

You cannot dress this salad ahead of time because the asparagus will turn dull green or brown.

Alternately, I have swapped out the peppers with sliced oranges or even red grapefruit slices.

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