cakeypal: February 2008 Archives

I had planned to have dinner with my friend Tom tonight--but he had forgotten that he was giving an exam tonight which meant that a lot of students wanted to meet with him before class. I walked out of the car trying to decide what to eat for dinner. I've been dieting for the last little while (a claim that isn't entirely true, since I've cheated many times already). Last night I decided to really break my diet, but I spent the day thinking that I'd eat veggies for dinner as penance. As I drove home, I hankered for something delicious but healthy. I was on my way to Von's to buy some groceries, when I saw the sign for Pars Cafe on Shaw and Blackstone. I just recently found out that it serves Persian food, which sounded good to me tonight, so I decided to stop.

Although there were a number of yummy sounding dishes (Fessenjan, a pomegranate, walnut, chicken dish and Ghaimeh, yellow split peas, tomato, saffron, and beef), I decided to stick to a simple food, in hopes that it would be relatively plain and healthy--so I ordered Joojeh Kabab, chicken and rice. When they offered me half rice/half salad, I took them up on having a few more vegetables on my plate (all the dishes include a broiled tomato and bread). The result? I had a yummy dinner tonight--and I've got leftovers for tomorrow.

I've been craving lentils for a couple of weeks now, but until today I didn't have time to make any. This afternoon, I did what I always do--google the ingredients that I want to be the focus of my dish and then improvise from one recipe. The recipe I found was one I'd actually flagged on my RSS Reader from 101 Cookbooks. I still want to make the "real" recipe sometime (especially the yummy sounding saffron yogurt)--but today I was on a mission to use up some celery that was close to going bad, so I adapted.

I liked that this soup was relatively thick and full of healthy vegetables. I'll freeze some to use for lunch in the coming weeks.

Kathee's Lentil Soup

2 cups lentils
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 c. chopped celery
1 t. sea salt
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 t. cumin
1 28 ounce can chopped tomatoes
2 c. water
2 c. chard, rinsed well, deveined, chopped

Bring pot of water to boil and add lentils. Cook for 20 minutes, drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in pot and add onions, celery, and salt. After a few minutes, add garlic. After another couple of minutes, add cumin. Cook until soft, then add water, tomatoes, and chard. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.

Serve with avocado chunks.

Yesterday, I was in San Francisco for the first performance of the ballet season. We made it to the city early enough to eat at Zuni Cafe--a restaurant Toni loves and one that I've been longing to eat at ever since I started reading food blogs. I've noticed that Judy Rodgers' The Zuni Cafe Cookbook has made many foodies' list of top ten cookbooks and is often praised for its clear directions and evident passion for food. When Toni mentioned on our drive up that it was one of her favorite restaurants and close to the War Memorial Opera House (where the San Francisco Ballet performs), I was in.

When we arrived at Zuni Cafe, there was a bit of a wait. We kept our eyes on the tables in the bar area, but a table opened up in the restaurant area quite quickly. I sat down, enjoying the view of floor to ceiling windows, the beautiful copper bar, and the intersecting grottoes that show Zuni Cafe's growth. Our waitress was friendly and helpful when I asked her questions about the dish I was interested in ordering. Over the years of watching food T.V., I've often admired the adventurous spirit of someone like Anthony Bourdain who has no problem eating offal and other kinds of meat that frighten me. But yesterday, I decided to try something different, a little more risky--though definitely not as daring as Bourdain's offal (awful?) choices. I ordered an egg baked in oxtail sugo, presented with arugula and grilled levain bread. Oxtail. Maybe for you who have tried it that's not such a big deal. But I was picturing something similar to the "pig butt" I once ate, well, tried to eat, in Portugal. Still, when the waitress told me that there weren't really pieces of fat in the broth, just bits of meat, I realized that I really wasn't being that daring, perhaps.

The meal was delicious--hearty, meaty, rich counterpointed with the peppery taste of the arugula. And the egg made it feel like I was eating steak and eggs. I was glad that the bowl was small, since the amount provided was quite filling. Although I wish that the dish had been a little less oily, still I really enjoyed my foray into eating a less common cut of meat.

Toni ordered a dish that looked divine, the type of dish I would normally order: Poached eggs with gigante beans, rapini, and breadcrumb salsa. The food was beautiful to look at and I had food envy when it first arrived. Toni let me have a bite of the garlicky combination.

This was a really good lunch--I'd like to go back to Zuni Cafe . . . perhaps when we go to the ballet in May, although there are many other restaurants we want to try, as well.

My friend Lisa has a great story about a recent gift she received. Her sister was on a trip somewhere and saw a Communist bookstore. Knowing Lisa's liberal ways, her sister's immediate thought was "Oh, what a great place to find a gift for Lisa!" And indeed she found a great book to buy: Frida's Fiestas: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo written by Diego Rivera's daughter Guadalupe. Recently, Lisa prepared a dish from the cookbook and brought it to a potluck. She also let me borrow the book for a couple of days. It's beautiful. Great pictures, charming stories about Frida, and recipes for delicious looking food. I think I'm going to have to get a copy of the book.

For now, though, here's a recipe for the dish that Lisa brought to the potluck.

Bean, Radish, and Cheese Salad

5 c. cooked black beans, drained
10 radishes, cut in quarters
3/4 pound panela cheese cut in cubes (or muenster)
1/2 c. chopped cilantro

Dressing:
2/3 c. olive oil
1/3 c. red wine vinegar
2 t. chopped cilantro
2 t. salt

To make the salad, combine the vegetables and cheese in a salad bowl and toss with the dressing.
To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together.

I have eighteen fruit trees in my backyard--you read that right eighteen! Many of them are either miniature or immature trees (I'm not sure which). But, even so, it's difficult for me to keep up with all the fruit they produce. I've turned into one of those people who try to get all visitors to take fruit home. I managed to give away all my pomelos this year, and I've given away a lot of satsumas as well.

Now I'm focused on my grapefruit, since they've been ripe for awhile. I know last year they lasted well into the spring, so it's not like I have to eat them all tomorrow. Still, I need to find some creative things to do with them. Since the vinaigrette I threw together a couple of weeks ago didn't turn out so well, Friday I decided to actually follow a recipe. I found one for a vinaigrette using grapefruit juice; threw together a salad with red leaf lettuce, watercress, red pepper, and white beans; and then made the vinaigrette. It turned out great and I think I'll be using this to dress salads for the next couple of months. Here's my version of the recipe:

2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. Dijon mustard
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1/2 c. olive oil
4 T. grapefruit juice.

I shook the ingredients together in a container--no whisking or stirring.

If anyone wants to try this recipe and needs a grapefruit, these are waiting for you.

A couple of years ago, I was the advisor for my department's graduate student organization. When the president of the organization, Christina, got ready to move on, she gave me a gift. She used to make a salad I really liked, so she gave me a cotton shopping bag with the recipe imprinted on it. I love that gift. When I want to make the salad, I know exactly where to find the recipe. I don't have to go through my recipe files which aren't organized and are in increasingly scattered places. Instead, I go straight to my closet and pull out the bag.

In preparation for potluck #4 (out of 7!), I pulled out the recipe today and made the salad. Here's the recipe:

Christina's Aegean Salad

2 c. medium pasta shells, cooked
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. Calamata olives
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c, prepared Greek or Italian dressing
1/2 c. mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 1/2 t. dried oregano
1 pinch black pepper
1 c. crumbled feta cheese
1 chopped tomato

In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta, celery, olives and parmesan cheese.

In a small bowl, combine dressing, mayonnaise, oregano, and black pepper; toss with pasta mixture.

Cover and refrigerate for 1 or 2 hours. Before serving fold in feta cheese and tomatoes.

Variations:

Add 1/4 to 1/2 c. chopped purple onions
If using Italian dressing, substitute Ranch dressing for the mayonnaise.

I decided to use halved grape tomatoes in my recipe (although I'm not to that stage yet) and Annie's Natural Tuscan Italian dressing. I also included the tops of the celery because I adore celery leaves and this particular stalk was especially beautiful.

Here's a picture of it so far (without the tomato and feta added, so it's especially gloopy). If I have time tomorrow, I'll take a picture of the finished dish.

It's potluck season in my department. Usually, I end up buying something because I don't have enough time to make anything. But last Sunday, I actually came home from dinner out and spent an hour or so making Baby Potato and Watercress Salad. On a whim, I'd purchased a package of watercress earlier in the week--and I knew if I didn't use it soon, it would rot. I did a websearch for watercress salad and came up with a number of results; this one looked delicious, so I decided to try it, even though I'd never made potato salad before. The result? YUM! I liked the shallot infused dressing (and I had some leftover which I've been putting on salads this week) and the combination of watercress, potato, and egg.

I think everyone else enjoyed it, too, since I had very little of it left. I also quickly made a pickled veggie, garbanzo bean, and fresh tomato salad. Although I usually dress this type of salad, I decided to leave it plain. Surprisingly, most of this less showy dish was also eaten. The best dish of the evening, though, was Lisa's Beluga Lentil Salad. When Lisa told me how easy it was to make, I decided to go to Trader Joe's to get some Beluga Lentils. Alas, they seemed to be out. I'll continue to look for this kind of lentil, though--black and shiny with a nutty taste. Lisa combined the lentils with halved grape tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, parsley, and lemon juice (Lisa, did I get that right?). So simple and so good.

Also a hit was my ITunes Potluck Playlist. I threw it together, combining a variety of genres of music. My taste in music is quite eclectic--even more so than my playlist since I only selected pieces I thought would work as background. Both Kyle and Mike complemented me on the music--and I think everyone had a nice time at the potluck.

Red Dust from the album "Simple Things" by Zero 7