Pallea for eleven

Twice a month I do not have to answer the question, "what's for dinner tonight?" thanks to my new dinner co-op. For years now, Naomi and I have said why don't we double our recipes once a week and share. I look fondly back on those hazy daze we would eat at either our house or theirs once a week and the rule was that the guest did not touch a dish nor pick up a toy that our wild ones spread across the house. I remember sitting at their table in a stooper of sleep deprivation, not moving an inch for a couple of hours while being fed amazing pasta dishes, chicken paprika, chopped radish salads...but we never did follow-up on our plan to cook/share. I was on a walk with a new kindergarten parent in Eli's class that lives five blocks away and she mentioned wanting to start a food co-op with me and Naomi. What do you know, a few days later Nina shows up with an amazing green soup that we paired with a salad and some bread. It was so tasty, served with lemon and olive oil for the parents and heavy cream for the children. Last night I made paella from this month's Savour Magazine. As I was prepping the dinner I lamented the loss of dinner with the Goldner/Katzs since starting this co-op. Moments later Naomi called and gladly accepted our invitation to dine at our house instead of picking up the goods, it was a quick meal with friends. Over Spring break we'll have a pot luck with Nina/Chris/Ella, bringing a social element to our co-op and to meet my goal of HAVING MORE POT LUCKS in 2010. Last night I also pulled out my leftover raw beet salad doctored with feta and pinenuts and a yummy new cold lentil salad I made for two nights with left-over Japanese sweet potatoes, parsley, red peppers with a vinegrette...yummy.

beef stew weather

I've never craved beef stew but this weather, week after week of rain-drops dripping down our windows and the back of our necks, has me thinking of nothing else. I picked up some grass-fed beef from Bi-Rite and made the most delicious and new variety of beef stew. I tried the recipe from the The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook , I think I've only made it once and it was a traditional stew made with carrots, beef, potatoes, braised with flour for thickner, you get the picture, like mom made. This particular recipe is beef stew with carrots based on a french version called boeuf aux carrottes, and I chose to serve it over boiled potatoes.

With the oven preheated to 325 degrees, I seasoned the beef with salt and pepper, braised each piece until browned on each side, set it aside. Once the beef is set aside nicely browned, I added a cup of red wine and cooked over medium heat. Now the recipe later asked to add one more cup and reduced to half, I think next time I will reduce the 2 cups of wine at once as we all felt a little drunk after this dinner (the alcohol in the second cup was trapped with the lid on), the children were asleep at 7:15 on the dot! I added 2 bunches of carrots, a quart of homemade chicken broth, a nice strip of orange rind peeled with a peeler, onions, a bouquet of garni (what I had from our C.S.A. - rosemary and sage), put lid on the enameled pot and let cook for an hour and half. It was delicious.

follow-up note: So I started this posting two weeks ago and a note: I asked the chidren last night if they wanted beef stew and they both said NO! maybe not a hit with the under 5 feet set, although their bowls were mighty empty. No wonder I never ask them what they want - they just get what I make.

Permaculture looming...

I went to a lecture tonight given by a local organization called Kitchen Table Talk on Urban Homesteading. There were some very inspirational speakers that have 3,000 foot gardens in their yard, have lived in a tent in San Francisco for years, capture rainwater, have greywater solutions, or own 2 goats and 6 chicken in the Excelcior District. Alas, it was inspiring but a little overwhelming to imagine taking any of this on. It did get my wheels spinning, allowing myself to dream just exiting the space I thought I want 1) bees 2) a worm bin, not in that order and 3) a nice container garden 4) make yogurt, cheese, and kombucha and finally 5) host more pot-lucks.  I'm frustrated with the limitations the condo situation poses on us but I've been challenged to not be shunned from moving on my own path. What will happen next?

redirecting energies to food - KALE

During the holidays I was too busy sewing, baking, celebrating for cooking. every day I'd kind of moan inside when I realized it was time to come up with another meal. after eating holiday food for a month I've been inspired to get out the cookbooks and fill our bellies with more nutrients and less sugar. my friend Suzanne told me about a recipe for a raw kale salad during our Christmas day hike. she promptly emailed me the recipe, she's so good at this. I had a bag of mixed greens (red russian kale and baby collards).I only had sprouted grain Alvarado bread to make bread crumbs but they were fine (I food-process them and toast in a pan with olive oil until brown). It was incredible, I'm not sure if it was because my body was in kale deprivation or what, but I'm in love with this salad. Eva ate three helpings and asked for me to make it for dinner tonight, so guess what's in the fridge right now, washed and ready? 

Suzanne has used arugala instead of kale, I used feta as we served it with rocatta ravioli. I can just see the possibilities with this salad; served with meat, adding dried fruit and other nuts, maybe a roasted vegetable. 

Kale Salad 

(Recipe was passed on from a mom at school,not sure her source,my apologies for not giving credit.)

1LB dino kale discard stems, cut chiffonade style.

1 cup bread crumbs

3TBS toasted pine nuts

1 cup crumbled feta or ricotta salata

dressing:

2TBS finely chopped shallot

1 1/2 TBS lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 1/2 TBS olive oil

toss all together.

Suzanne has used kale, I used feta as we served it with rocatta ravioli. I can just see the possibilities with this salad; served with meat, adding dried fruit and other nuts, maybe a roasted vegetable. 

the elves are in high gear now....

what a treat

Neema + Tim just made dinner tonight, how amazing to eat a lovely dinner in our home prepared by such great cooks. the menu included steelhead trout with lemon and herbs, couscous with mint, julianned zuccini with sauteed almonds slivers in butter.....it was delicious. they can stay FOREVER! another treat was when they walked to the market to get groceries Sameer opted to stay at Auntie Jan's. I love having a toddler in the house, hearing the chitter chatter as he pushes trains along the floor, clapping and laughing on command, watching him adore the big kids....I'll keep this one.

from Memphis BBQ to Dahl

I love VA but my diet goes SOUTH while in the Old Dominion. This trip was not the exception: fried chicken, raised rolls, BBQ, crab cakes, an amazing bombe by my sister and the list goes on. Tonight my pallet and larder lead me to a quick meal as colorful as it was tasty. On the table was a magenta, raw beet salad, red tomatoes (from our garden) with mozzarella + shallot vinaigrette, and yellow dahl. I'd say this was a culturally mismatched meal but it was on hand and met all my dietary needs.

Recipe for raw beet salad adapted from Ro passed on to her by Nicole Lobue (see my website suggestions for a link to her site.)

Eva's face and fingers are a fine work of pink art right now in the bath, she can not even use a fork for this tasty salad

• Take a beet, tonight mine was a standard red beet but I use the pink/white and the yellow variety mostly, grate the beet in to a bowl, squeeze an entire lemon, add a handful of Italian parsley and some salt.
  

Recipe for dahl adapted from many a fine pots of steaming goodness prepared by David! I'm waiting for Padma's (Neema's mom) recipe!!!! We discussed this on my last visit to Vancouver but if I do not have pen in hand or am actually watching the preparation, I'll never remember. Bring it down in November Neema.

• I began with onion sauteed in oil, when starting to soften I add a 1/2 a cinnemon stick, and three shakes of Turmeric, and pinch of salt/pepper, saute for a few minutes longer, until you smell all the spices release their flavor. Add a cup or a cup and 1/2 of dried chana (split garbanzo beans), cover with water, simmer with lid slightly open. Check now and again to see if you need to add more water. I like mine when the beans are soft but keep their shape, you can cook them until they are like a restaurant, more of a mushy consistancy - we'll eat them anyway. This is a family standard, I can not wait to try a variation. Eli has known to eat multiple bowls of this beautiful yellow dish.
  

sad day

My first round of sad news came when I confirmed that my SLR Nikon D80 is broken. Yesterday I had my camera at church during world communion Sunday, as they children sang a lovely song, there was processing, children fidgeting for seats and when I was asked to "move over" while I had Eva on my lap, I promptly sat on my camera - lens up. I was hoping it was only the lens only but today when I my 85 mm lens did not work either, I got it. It is worth a try to get a quote on a repair, I've been a little sick to my stomach most of the day I know it is just a camera and I should not have such reaction over an object but it has been a real companion to me and my eyes to the world for two and half years. I'd saved my "coffee" money for 9 months to purchase the $1200 package, the zoom lens  froze in Philadelphia this past winter break and I was saving to buy a new one. I'm also sad not have it for my trip to see my Dad on Thursday, I wanted to document my time with my parents. I'll just fork over some $$ and take film + I may purchase a cheap Polaroid for the instant gratification I've come so used to.

The second sad news is that Gourmet is going out business. Art just sent this article to me. Before I had a chance to read it, he first lovingly held my hand when I emerged from my bathtub after reading A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, and broke the news. I've not been getting the magazine for long, so I can only imagine how hard-chore fans must be feeling, but I love this magazine. I got both this and Bon Appetite for a year and there was no comparison in the layout, the quality of images, the fabulous "Quick Recipe" section and the je ne sais quoi. The latter just is all spread out and I never find myself sitting down to devour an issue from cover-to-cover like Gourmet.  Ever month I can not wait to go down to the garage and see the plactic wrapped issue waiting for me. I'm alway excited when I made something recently that was featured this month, like when I made my Dutch Baby only to have it featured in the March issue and now in Molly's book. I would bring the book up to my room and wait until I had the time to scan and possibly read it from cover to cover in one sitting, first removing all the inserts that get in the way of me folding back each page. Alas, I'll just have to enjoy what I got and keep living like it's 2009 in my kitchen for the rest of my life.

Dutch Baby

We love Ducth Babies in our house. I first woke up back in March wanting to recreate a breakfast made by a wife of an old work friend. She called it a German pancake. I made one that was thick and custardy, Eva turned up her nose but Eli ate 7 helping, albeit small slivers. I made several since from the April, Gourmet (highlighted as a dessert option.)  It was one of those pride moments when you realized you beat the trend. This recipe was a little too dry and thin for my taste. I finally found the right recipe in A Homemade Life. I used my cast iron pans, one 9 inch and the 11 inch, a consitancy for all the family. You will see that one of the pans is no longer seasoned after being scrubbed with an abrassive brush (it killed me, our housekeeper, yes I'm spoiled every other week, took 20 years of seaoning off.)

good bye summer, con't

We had Italian Vegetable Stew for dinner tonight, from a recipe in this month's Gourmet.  The recipe matched the ingredients I had on hand and it seemed quick and easy. The bonus was how yummy it was. It may be the simplicity of the whole thing and the freshness of the end of summer veggies - don't know but I must have said yum too many times during dinner.

Ingredients:

3 carrots, cut lengthwise and 1/4 inch slice

3 zucchini prepared the same
one or two red peppers
2 onions
garlic
24 oz tomatoes (was so lucky to use some the tomatoes from my canning gone wrong experiment - so yummy
heaping handful of green beans
3 boiling potatoes
1/2 c chicken broth

oops I wrote out the directions but did not save - if you want them, ask me!

I also took a lead from Bi-Rite and served this with Serrano Ham and Procuto wrapped figs....

good bye summer

We are a little delayed here in SF. We don't actually get much of a summer but you are as likely to find that summer day in Autumn, or even Winter. I've been here for 14 years and still find myself wandering around the seasonal calendar confused. Yesterday, I decided to say good bye to summer by purchasing a few items I won't put in my shopping cart until next year. I got three quarts of strawberries and some black mission figs, and a bunch zucinni (well these will not go away for us all fall.)  After school we brought home Avalon for a playdate and we all sat down to a strawberry short cake, which I must admit I did not make all summer. The strawberries were a little disappointing - lesson learned, leave them behind after Labor Day. I adapt a scone recipe from The New Joy of Cooking, it's actually always marked by the red ribbon that is attached to the binding. Oatmeal Scones. We make these all the time, the melted butter makes them easy for breakfast or afternoon treat. I did not have any whipping cream so Avalon's mom donated Devenshire cream - a little bit much!

Oven at 450, ungreased baking sheet
Whisk together:
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup sugar, or less
1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt
Stir in:
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
(they make with Raisins or Dates. We usually add candied ginger and walnuts but today they were plain)
Whisk together, then add all at once:
1 large egg
10 tablespoons warm melted unsalted butter
1/2 cup of milk

Drop scones: makes 6 LARGE scones.

standard fare

taking stock of the larder

here's what I get out of my canning, minus the one jar of tomato sauce I knocked off the pyramid.

lovn' summer shelling beans

I go to the best grocery stores in the City, by my opinion, Bi-Rite, Canyon Market and of course Rainbow Coop. I fall in to a rut, I buy the same things over and over, granted they are in season. I get stretched by our CSA box that will throw out a new vegetable and start a new love affair, like the watermelon radish, don't get me started. Gourmet's Bevy of Beans and Basil just did it for me. I tried to get a variety of bean for a salad and this one said summer shelling beans and what do you know, there they were right there next to all the other standards I reach for every week. These were cranberry beans, I par-boiled them added them to the Italian flat bean and standard greens beans - fun texture and went well with the grilled pork chops and figs.

Eat-in a day of action

I was inspired by the Eat-in that was part of the Slow Food Nation last Labor Day weekend. I drove past Dolores park to see a 50 yard table spread with white table clothes with folks dining together. I made an attempt to gather a 15 + group for our own Eat-in at the urging of Slow Food to send a message to our Congress regarding the Child Nutrition Act which comes up for review every and only 5 years. It ended up being three families and I registered it with Slow Food as an official site. Here are a few images and check us out on the site. Ours was tiny but we got out there and ate in style. http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/campaign/time_for_lunch-detail/san_francisco_ca_crissy_field_eat_in/

Here are images from the national celebration: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/timeforlunch/

new favorite breakfast

i've enjoyed that last peaches of the season and thanks to the Ferry Plaza Cookbook, we've been enjoying a suggestion from the owners of Frog Hollow Farms (peaches!) I toast good crusty bread, brush with good olive oil and then use what cheese I have, feta or ricotta and add peeled sliced peaches.

marmalade at Sea Ranch

The children and I went with and met 4 mamas + children at Sea Ranch the final week before beginning school for last hooray. The first morning I baked ginger walnut scones and was taking them to the beach for a mid-morning snack. I'm glad I took this photos because moments later I missed my step on to a stone and did a face-plant in to the sand, with my body being broken by the basket of goodies. The scones were squished and full of sand. This did not keep us all from picking through the remains and pouring the marmalade on to every bite.

grapefruit marmalade

Could not wait to try my hand at the grapefruit marmalade from my canning class. I peeled, julienned the peel, sectioned, boiled all the incredients including the membranes/seeds to make pectin and processed the ingredients in a hot water bath. I was skeptical that the natural pectin would work but alas the marmalade began to thicken as it cooled and continued to do as for the next day on the counter. I knew I had a decent product when the empty pan went missing and found Eva scraping the leftovers with a spoon out in the hallway. Leon, Naomi, Enula and Marcel stopped by, all the children took turns licking the pan - thumbs up.

tomatoe sauce

I was inspired by my canning class last week which meant work for Art this week. I took the children for the day to sew for Eva's class, leaving Art with 14 lbs of Early Girl tomatoes I purchased from the farmer's market this morning. Before we left, Eli and Eva helped Art blanch the tomatoes and Eli took this photo from his point of view. There is not as much sauce as I thought there would be but boy oh boy am I looking forward to going to the shelf and grabbing fresh sauce in the winter. I'll can Monday afternoon.

aqua fresca

Today the children and I were at the local grocery at the bottom of the hill, when I saw packaged tamarind pulp for sale. I asked the clerk how you prepare it, I'm interested in recreating a drink from the Legion of Honor Museum we sampled in the Spring. we just winged it, boiling the tamarind, should have kept it in longer, adding pineapple/coconut juice and a few cubes of crystalized ginger + water in to the blender. The tamarind still had too many solids so we had fun straining it three times. A refreshind after a warm day at the park - wish could have joined us Nance!