Grow. Cook. Eat. – Page 30 – Julia Shanks Recovering Chef and Urban Gardener

June 21, 2009

Random Apps of Kindness (and GIVEAWAY!)

Several years ago, my friend David and I started Random Apps of Kindness: every time we dined out, we sent an appetizer to a stranger. What started as a way to make peace with a favorite bartender, turned into a little adventure. For 6 months, we made new friends and even had an article written about us in the local paper. But like most good things, it came to an end.

When Melissa announced she was having a giveaway – 5 Random Acts of Kindness – I was reminded how much fun it is to do nice things for others. I entered into her giveaway, not thinking I’d win, but I did! Part of winning is means passing along 5 more acts. Even though the rules suggest that I use my blog to give my kindness, I decided to send 2 Random Apps and 3 Random Acts to my blog readers.

So here’s how it works:

1. Leave a comment on this post no later than 8 pm EST Monday, June 29. I’ll pick 3 comments by random, on whose authors I’ll bestow an act of kindness, and I’ll announce the winners Tuesday morning. And to fulfill my “obligation of 5” to Melissa, I will send 2 random apps of kindness and blog about it here.

My blogging prowess prevents me from capturing your email address. If you don't want to leave it here in the comments (so I can contact you if you win), be sure to check back.

2. My kindness can be anything of my choosing. It might be handmade and it might be purchased, but it will be selected just for you. It will be given to you sometime in the next 12 months. I make no guarantees that you’ll love it (or not find it odd or quirky), but I guarantee that it will be heartfelt on my part.

All you have to do, dear readers, is have a blog and be willing to pass on the kindness by creating a similar post. If you don’t blog but you Facebook, pledge to bestow a kindness on five Facebook friends. If you do neither, play the game the old-fashioned way: find a neighbor, stranger or friend in need and fill it.

Mayberry Magpie described it as a kindness dogpile, which sounds like great fun, don’t you think?

P.S.

June 20, 2009

The One Page Cookbook (Recipe: Herb Crusted Tuna)

Over 20 years ago, my father was my first passenger after I got my pilot’s license. It seems only fitting that today he should be my first guest poster. And as he tells it, he taught me everything I know about cooking, and especially plate presentation. Thankfully, I learned to eat artichokes on my own.

I am Julia's father. Although I have written a number of books and magazine articles, this is the first time I have written for a blog. I do so at Julia's invitation.

My subject is a cookbook. I suppose thousands of cookbooks have been written, especially in recent years. But this one is unique. Not only was it specially created for me, but I believe it is different from all the others of the genre. It is known in our house as The One-Page Cookbook.

In response to the ever-increasing demands of Julia's mother for my bolder participation in the preparation of our evening meal, I have with increasing frequency taken to cooking its central feature, usually fish. However, I would often get stuck in the middle. Since one of my daughters is a professional chef, this situation would naturally lead to a frantic telephone call to Cambridge. As often as not, she would be out.

Over time, it became clear that I should think ahead of time about where I was going–or rather how I should proceed–in this culinary adventure. This led to a request for more sustained assistance from Julia.

In response to my request, Julia wrote The One-Page Cookbook on an 8 ½ x 11 piece of typing paper that is now crinkled with heat and spotted (in several colors) but valuable as ever.

In one page, Julia managed to provide recipes for tuna, salmon, codfish, tilapia, snapper and scallops.

The only reason this cookbook has not been published by Random House and distributed more widely is that, unfortunately, there is no money in it.

Here is Julia's recipe for tuna from The One-Page Cookbook:

Season with s&p both sides. Add seafood herb mix. Get steel skillet and utensils (thin spatula, tongs, potholder) ready. Heat pan med hi, cover pan with canola oil. Canola must never smoke. Gently place tuna in hot canola oil. Start with tuna at room temp. Sear each side for two minutes. If oil starts to smoke, remove pan from heat.

The only modification I would make in this recipe is to place at the beginning the direction to begin with tuna at room temperature. I never remember to take the tuna out of the refrigerator in advance. But we're getting used to cold tuna in the middle. It's like seared tuna with sushi inside. Delicious!

Happy Father's Day, Dad! Looking forward to cooking many more meals with you and FOR you.

June 16, 2009

Herbalicious

I favor the soft herbs — tarragon, basil, chervil, chives. On the other end of the spectrum – rosemary, sage, and oregano – the flavors tend to overpower. Too often, cooks have a heavy hand with the hard herbs, and ruin an otherwise good dish.

But back to the soft herbs… They can be mixed with lettuces for a salad or blended together for my cherished dreamy green goddess. Or, mixed with soft butter to make a compound butter.

Compound butter is versatile. I rub a few tablespoons under the skin of chicken breasts before roasting

Or finish a tomato sauce with the butter for salmon.

Or toss steamed asparagus in it.

Herb Butter
1 tbs. fresh tarragon
1 tbs. fresh chives or scallions
1 tbs. fresh parsley or chervil
1 tbs. fresh basil
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 stick butter
salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop herbs and spices. Mix with butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I'm submitting this recipe to the Weekend Herb Blogging #188, hosted this week by the ever-charming Graziana of Erbe in Cucina – Cooking with Herbs. This event was originally started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, and is now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once. For more information, see the rules, hosting schedule, and weekly recaps for WHB.

June 16, 2009

Spring’s Last Hurrah

I've never had much luck growing peas… I usually console myself with the tendrils and buy English peas at the market. For Spring's last hurrah, I sauteed freshly shelled peas with morels, asparagus and tarragon (from the garden). I tossed it all with fresh pasta; a little butter, lemon juice and freshly grated parmesan rounded out the dish.

June 13, 2009

ERS (Empty Restaurant Syndrome)

I recall learning about this in culinary school. Our instructors warned us of this problem – potential customers walk into your restaurant and see nary a soul dining. They think something must be wrong with the restaurant and walk out. No one wants to be the first customer of the evening. And when the first customer is seated, we were taught to seat them in the window so passers by don’t get the feeling of Empty Restaurant Syndrome (ERS).

In the past few weeks the local papers have been covering the closing of several restaurants. Most recently, Great Bay announced it’s shutting its doors. The last time I ate there, the cavernous room seemed eerily empty. Sure, there were other diners, but nowhere near a full house. And when I go to Open Table to peruse restaurants for an evening out, invariably they have the coveted 7:00p.m. table available.

I’ll be honest, ERS has prevented me from dining there more. When it first opened, they were packed. In the past 2 years (and not just when the economy soured), when I’ve consider dining there, I’m suspicious as to why a seemingly good restaurant is empty. And now it seems that a collection of people, just like me, stopped eating there for no other reason than other people weren’t either. We created a self-fulfilling prophecy and the restaurant is now closed.

My father, on the other hand, has reserve-ERS (Full Restaurant Syndrome??). He actually prefers the empty restaurants because they are quiet. As someone who is hard of hearing, he cherishes the quiet ambiance so he can enjoy the conversations with his dining companions.

Have you fallen prey to ERS?

June 11, 2009

Garden Updates – Early June

I harvested the first kale last week. The leaves are decently sized, but like the first cutting of most leafy greens, they were still quite tender and delicately flavored. And they cook down like spinach. But to get to the second cutting, when the leaves will have more texture and flavor, I must get through the first.

Not that the first cutting was such a hardship. I sautéed them with garlic and chile flakes in a bit of olive oil; a little salt, pepper and lemon juice at the end.

In other garden highlights, I have a few roma tomatoes. Like last year, I was able to get the tomatoes in the ground by May 1st, and avoid any damaging frosts. But unlike last year, when the tomatoes were just starting to blush in mid July, I may get tomatoes by July 4th. We’ll see, and I’ll keep you posted.

The first jalapeno poked its nose out from behind the flower. Now I know that in a pinch, I can go to the garden for a spicy kick… though I hope to wait until it matures a little further.

The beet greens are large and hardy, but still not as big as supermarket beet greens. Since I can’t dig up the beets to check their size – if I did, that would be the end of its growth – I must judge their size by the size of their leaves. I still have a few weeks to go.

June 10, 2009

Bermuda Onions (Recipe: Alsatian Tart)

I used to work for a company that had over a dozen lunch-time cafes that featured sandwiches and salads. As one of the more experienced chefs within the company, I was called upon to help with new store openings and trainings. My boss assigned me to work with the deli staff and train them on the recipes. He didn’t think he needed to train me.

The signature tuna salad recipe called for Bermuda onions. Not seeing any sweet, young onions in the storage room, I grabbed a few Spanish onions and started peeling and chopping.

“Didn’t you read the recipe?” My boss asks.

“Yes, of course, " I said somewhat defensively. "It called for Bermuda onions, but there were none, so I used the yellow onions.”

“Bermuda Onions are red onions.”

What??? I had never heard that before. I had learned in cooking school that Bermuda onions were sweet onions, related to the Vidalia or Walla Walla.

Instead of researching on-line or in a food dictionary, I took a poll around the office. Everyone agreed that Bermuda onions were red onions. Still not convinced – I have a sharp memory for things like this, and I knew I couldn’t be wrong – I researched Bermuda onions.

Turns out we were all wrong (though I was less wrong). Bermuda onions fall into the category of sweet onion, whereas, the red and yellow onions are storage onions. Bermuda onions can be white or red, but are young, without the papery skin and often with the green tops still attached.

Bermuda Onion….

Red, Storage Onion….
For more about information about onions, click here. Pictures come from Cook's Thesaurus.

Alsatian Tart
Most sweet onions can be enjoyed raw in sandwiches or salads. But they also caramelize nicely making them great for classic recipes like French Onion Soup or an Alsatian Tart. I use a variation on a pizza dough, but pre-baked puff pastry or pie dough also works well.

Crust
¾ cup warm water
1 pkg (or 2 tsp.) yeast
2 ¼ cup flour
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. sugar
¼ cup melted butter

Topping
3 smoked bacon slices, diced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 Bermuda onions, halved lengthwise and very thinly sliced crosswise
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 cup grated gruyere cheese

Make the crust:
1. Dissolve yeast in water.
2. Mix salt, sugar and flour together.
3. Make a well in the flour. Pour in yeasty water and melted butter
4. Incorporate liquid into flour to make dough. Knead until smooth and elastic.
5. Cover dough and let rise in a warm place for 2-3 hours.
6. Punch dough down, and form into 6 balls. Roll each ball into round disks, about ¼ inch thick.
7. Bake in a preheated 450 oven for 12 minutes

Make the Topping:
1. Cook bacon in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spatula to paper towels to drain and pour off bacon fat.

2. Add butter to skillet and cook onions with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper over moderate heat, stirring, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Cover surface of onions with a round of parchment or wax paper (or cover skillet with a tight-fitting lid) and continue to cook, lifting parchment to stir frequently, until onions are very soft and pale golden, about 20 minutes. Stir in bacon and thyme, then remove from heat.

Assemble:
Top the crust with onions, bacon and gruyere cheese. Bake until cheese melts, about 5 minutes. If your onions come with green, scallion-like tops, use these to garnish.

June 9, 2009

CSA Cookbooks (Recipe: Pesto Pasta with Seared Scallops)

Many CSAs are starting up this week with their first deliveries. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It’s a concept that has increased in popularity over the past few years as more consumers become concerned about their food sources.

So what is a CSA? Farmers sell subscriptions or shares of their farms crop to the public. In exchange, the consumer gets a weekly box (bag, basket) of farm-fresh produce throughout the growing season. By purchasing a share, the farmer gets paid in front of the growing season when cash-flow is tight. He also knows that he has a committed marketplace to bring his produce. The consumer gets the freshest produce possible and supports the local economy and farmers. The added benefit for the consumer is getting in touch with where their food comes from. Typical CSA subscriptions run for 15 weeks throughout the summer and cost around $400 for a share. The produce in the box varies from week to week, depending on what the farm is harvesting. In New England, early weeks’ boxes include leafy greens, peas, strawberries and radishes. Later in the summer come zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers and corn. Subscribers can expect 6-8 different vegetables each week. Some farms offer winter subscriptions, too. Here in New England, we have meat CSAs and fish CSAs too.

For all the great benefits of CSAs, there’s one inherent drawback that most advocates gloss over…the consumer often gets vegetables they have no idea how to cook (kohlrabi, anyone?) or too much of something they know how to cook only one or two ways (Swiss Chard). The farmer is too busy harvesting (and truthfully, doesn’t particularly like the regular communications with the subscribers) to share new recipes or cooking tips. To alleviate this challenge, my dear friend Brett and I started a venture to create custom cookbooks for small farms. The farmer sends us a list of the crops he’s growing for the season and in return gets a cookbook full of recipes written especially for his crops, as well as storage and cooking tips. We recommend that the farmer build the cost of the cookbook into the price of the CSA and give to the subscribers as part of the package.

Throughout the season, I will be featuring recipes from the book we wrote for Even’ Star Organic Farm. If you have challenges coming up with recipes for your CSA subscription, email me at julia [at] CSAcookbooks [dot] com, and I will post recipes just for you.

And if you belong to a CSA, tell your farmer about CSA Cookbooks. For more information about CSAs or to find a CSA in your area, visit LocalHarvest.

Basil Pesto
First of the season basil is lighter and softer in flavor than the later cuttings. Pesto is a great way to use up vast quantities of basil, and freezes superbly. Tossed with pasta and served with seared scallops, it’s a great summer dinner.

¼ c olive oil
8 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
½ t salt
¼ t black pepper
¼ c white wine
¼ c almonds or pine nuts, toasted and then cooled
about 4 c basil leaves (Genoa type)
at least ½ c more olive oil or vegetable oil
¼ c grated Romano cheese
more salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the garlic in the ¼ c olive oil until soft but not very brown. Immediately add the next three ingredients and simmer until the wine volume has reduced by one half. Let cool.

Process all this in a Cuisinart until the garlic is fully pureed. Add the nuts and process until nearly smooth. Add the basil and PLENTY OF OLIVE OR VEG. OIL. Process further, until the basil is just barely smooth (no leaf pieces bigger than 1/8”), always adding more oil if the surface of the basil appears exposed to air. Add the cheese and process 15 seconds more. Taste for salt and pepper.

Place in a Tupperware or a glass jar and immediately be sure that there is at least ¼” oil floating over the basil.

Keeps 6 weeks in the ‘fridge or 2 years in a freezer.

June 7, 2009

Rose Petals

Down the road from Even' Star Organic Farm, in Southern Maryland, live Cameron and Donna. On their coastal property overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, they raise sheep. They only have a few dozen animals… they keep the herd small so that they can personally attend to each one and ensure they live a healthy, free-range life. Last year, when I did some work for Brett, he paid me in lamb from their farm.

On a recent visit, Cameron and Donna invited us to their home for dinner. Cameron prepared a dish from his native Iran: Rosewater Marinated Grilled Lamb with Roasted Tomatoes and Rice. The floral aroma of the roses ranks up there with intoxicating scents, right behind Tahitian Vanilla and Truffles.

Now that the roses have begun to bloom, I want to recreate this dish with fresh roses (and chicken instead of lamb). Soft and velvety with a floral fragrance, rose petals taste just as they look. They are inherently edible, though you want them to be free of any chemicals, pesticides or sprays. The safest bet is to grow your own. And be sure to remove the bitter white portion of the petals

To bring the dish full circle, I garnished the last of my mesclun with a few more rose petals.

Rose marinated Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes
3 tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 cup plain yogurt
Rose petals and/or 1 tablespoon rose water
Pinch saffron
6 chicken thighs or 2 pounds boneless leg of lamb
Salt and pepper to taste
3 roma tomatoes, sliced in half

1. In a small skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the cumin and remove from heat. Let cool.

2. In a bowl toss the chicken with the onion/garlic mix, yogurt, roses and saffron. Season with salt and pepper. Let marinate for at least 2 hours or as long as over night.3. Prepare a charcoal grill. When it’s hot, remove the chicken from the marinade. Grill skin side until crispy and slighty charred. The timing depends on the fire and the type of grill, but keep an eye on it since the fat in the skin can cause flare-ups. Flip the chicken over and move to the cooler side of the grill. Put the tomatoes on the grill. Cover the grill and let chicken roast for 15 minutes, or until cooked through.

4. Serve with basmati rice pilaf.

June 4, 2009

Dear Whole Foods: Get it Together!

A few years ago, Whole Foods came out with a line of “Two-Bite” confections: two-bite cupcakes, two-bite brownies, two-bite macaroons. As someone who truly wants only a bite or two of sweets, these were the perfect treats! I regularly purchased the chocolate cupcakes – they were moist with a perfect crumb, and the buttercream frosting was rich and creamy – perfect! I developed a pack-a-week habit. I would bring them to friends’ houses for after-dinner treats, or keep them around my place for a mid-day sugar kick.

To fill this demand, Whole Foods went into mass production and that’s when the quality dropped off. On several occasions, I would get home only to discover the cupcakes’ expiration date had already passed. I started double checking dates while still in the store, and always alerted the store manager when I found some past their prime. Phase two of the downfall – I would get home with unexpired cupcakes and they were already stale. You can tell from the crumb – it was dry. Again, I would return to the store and alert the manager.

After a few more purchases of pre-expired stale cupcakes, I stopped buying them. Clearly, all my attempts to help them with quality control fell on deaf ears.

Fast-forward two years… I’m at Whole Foods again, craving sugar, and notice a beautiful display of the famed (or is it, infamous?) two-bite chocolate cupcakes. Whole Foods continue to sell them; obviously people must still be buying them, so surely they must have gotten their acts together.

Not a chance! Stale, with two weeks to go until they “expire.”

I was too tired to complain again; previous attempts achieved nothing. But I didn’t want to waste them either.

The solution: BABKA! I mushed up the cupcakes…

…and used them as a filling for a challah with chocolate swirls. How’s that for recycling?