Meals in the Time of Cholera
... with apologies to Gabriel García Márquez ...
Who knew that going grocery shopping would become such an ordeal?
Having retired after almost 17 years in groceries, I thought I had seen it all - the frenzy of the days before Thanksgiving, the panic-buying before Hurricane Sandy, the run on milk, bread, and eggs the minute 2 inches of snow was forecast. But nothing in all of those years prepared me for this - panic-buying and the constant and continuous empty shelves.
We've been once-a-week shoppers for a really long time - even for fresh produce. Over the years, I've gotten really good at using up those last stray bits in a soup or some such thing. I'd buy our basic staples - flour, beans, canned tomatoes during the winter, bananas, rice, yogurt... we do cook at home pretty much every meal. And once every few months I'd pick up the family-sized packs of toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues, laundry soap, and bleach...
I never gave it any thought. Granted, I'd never shop on weekends or the day before a major holiday, but shopping was always a brainless exercise - I'd go in, get my stuff, mentally complain about three cashiers open out of 23 registers, bag my goods, and go home.
Really simple. A chore, but a really simple one.
And now?!?
All of those things I took for granted are in short supply. And, to add insult to injury, I stopped my online buying of bulk foods anticipating our moving west... I thought we'd just pick up the odds and ends, here, and restock at the new home. What a horrible time to be practical! All of a sudden, we don't have those bins of lentils, beans, and flour - even core spices are running low. Things I just never thought of running out are getting low.
Being 68 years old, I really appreciate the early morning senior citizen shopping hours at a couple of our local stores, but... on my first trek out, the shelves hadn't been very well stocked at 6 ayem. All those staples were missing. Hopefully, it will be better when I venture out, tomorrow. We're far from destitute, and I could probably get really creative with dried fava beans and sweetened condensed milk if I had to, so I'm not concerned about going hungry. It's just the uncertainty of it all.
In the meantime, we're getting by quite well. We're both stay-at-homes, for the most part, so being in the house isn't a chore, for us. Granted, it is a bit strange knowing that we can't do all of the things we never did, anyway, but... we're getting by - and as long as the flour holds out, we'll continue to eat well, too.
Last night, Victor made the best pappardelle with cherry tomato sauce. Totally awesome!
He used his basic pasta dough from Alon Shaya:
Pasta Dough
- 1 1/4 cup 00 flour
- 1/2 cup semolina
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tsp olive oil
Mix flours. make a well and add the eggs, egg yolks, and oil. Slowly mix in the flour and knead until smooth. Let rest 30 minutes before rolling to desired shape.
And the sauce... ::sigh::
Simple Fresh Sauce
- cherry tomatoes
- garlic
- onion
- anchovy paste
- kalamata olives
- oregano
- S&P
Saute tomatoes, garlic, and onions in olive oil until tomatoes begin to break down. Add anchovy paste and olives, mixing well. Add oregano, and S&P, to taste. Add a bit of pasta water, if it appears too dry.
Add pasta that has been cooked about 9/10ths of the way and finish cooking in the sauce.
We had it with the rolls I made the other day - toasted in the oven with garlic butter olive oil and parmesan cheese. It was totally delicious. I pretty much licked my plate clean.
This morning, I made a batch of Lentil Soup. We've been doing soups for lunch for quite a while, now... they are one of the best and most nutritious things one can make - and they hide a multitude of sins.
This is a throw-together of:
- lentils
- celery
- carrots
- fennel
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- French herbs
- cayenne pepper
- S&P
For the large pot, I used 3 cups lentils, 5 carrots, 4 celery stalks, half a fennel bulb, and herbs and spices, to taste. After sweating the vegetables, I added the lentils, filled the pot with water, and brought it to a boil. I kept it at a low boil, adding the cayenne, herbs, and S&P, until the veggies and lentils were tender.
It's pretty fool-proof.
So... keep eating, get creative, and don't worry about not having an ingredient or how something will turn out.
It will be fine. We will all be fine.
Just stay home and limit those outside trips to ones that are truly necessary.
Savory Rugelach
Every now and again, I come across a recipe that I really want to make right away. Back in our endless eating days, I would. Now... I have to think about it a bit and balance the pros and cons. Being that we're keeping the weight off means it's working - but it's not always easy.
Fortunately, we had a friend over last night so I had an excuse! Thank you, Fine Cooking Magazine!
I have had and made rugelach many times over the years - but never a savory one. And if you're like me - you've been missing out. The concept is pure simplicity and perfection.
Savory Rugelach
adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine
Ingredients
For the dough
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 4 oz. (8 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 11 oz. (2-1/3 cups) all-purpose flour; more as needed
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- For the filling
- 1 oz. (2 Tbs.) unsalted butter
- 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup grated Gruyère
- 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 oz.)
- 1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten
To finish
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 4 oz. thinly sliced smoked turkey or ham
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp. whole milk
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)
- Minced fresh thyme (optional)
Preparation
Make the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using a hand-held electric mixer), cream the cream cheese, butter, and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add the flour and salt, and then mix just until a smooth dough forms. Divide into 4 equal disks if making crescent shapes or 4 equal squares if making pillow shapes. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour or up to overnight.
Make the filling
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, and cook until a smooth paste forms, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk. Bring to a simmer, and cook until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the cheeses and thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool slightly, and then whisk in the egg. Cool completely before using.
Fill, shape and bake the rugelach
Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment lightly coated with cooking spray.
To shape crescents, remove one dough disk from the refrigerator, and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 9-inch circle. Lay one-fourth of the turkey or ham on the dough, then spread with one-fourth of the cheese filling, leaving a 1/2-inch edge, and then slice into 12 wedges. Roll each wedge into a crescent shape from the outside edge in.
Alternatively, to make pillow shapes, remove one dough square from the refrigerator, and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into an 8-inch square. Lay one-fourth of the turkey or ham on the dough, then spread with one-fourth of the cheese filling, leaving a 1/2-inch edge at the top and bottom. Slice the square in half. Starting at a long end, roll each half into a cylinder from the outside in, and then cut each rolled half into six evenly sized pieces.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk. Arrange 12 rugelach on one of the prepared baking sheets. Brush with the egg wash, sprinkle with Parmigiano and/or minced thyme, if you like, and bake until golden-brown, 16 to 21 minutes. Cool slightly before serving. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
It seems a bit involved, but it's really easy. It's easier than making a pie!
And really really good. I can see any number of fillings going into this.
I think we've found a new favorite appetizer!
The Last Hurrah
Sadly, the garden is over for another year... It's been a good year, with a record amount of tomatoes, cucumbers, galore, and some pretty hot peppers.
The eggplant didn't do as well as it has in the past, and, neither did the hot peppers, although there are still a few out back. The peppers that did arrive came late. I'll go out and get the last of them as soon as it stops raining. (Wishing I could send the rain west...)
The green and purple beans started out great and then withered away. No idea why. The beets were good, but also not really plentiful. We also harvested the last of the leeks and the fresh ginger.
It really was the year of the tomato - and, when we weren't canning them, they seemed to go into almost everything we made.
A few nights ago, I made a throw-together andouille sausage and chicken stew, and then the following night, made a pot pie with the leftovers.
I laid thick slices of tomato on top of the filling before adding the top crust. It was a pretty good use of leftovers...
And then, after seeing a recipe from La Cucina Italiana - I made a bean soup with shrimp.
I didn't even remotely follow their recipe. but I did take their idea.
I made a quick bean soup using canned cannellini beans, homemade tomato paste, garlic, leeks, and celery, along with white wine, chicken broth, and aleppo pepper. I used an immersion blender to smooth it all out and then added a final can of beans for texture.
I sauteed shrimp in butter and olive oil, lots of garlic, a squirt of lemon, and lots of parsley. Put the soup in a bowl, added the shrimp on top, and drizzled the pan juices around. It was pretty darned good. I made garlic bread from the Italian Bread I had made earlier in the week
It was pretty good, too.
We probably have another weeks worth of tomatoes ripening and then it's over until next year - and next year's garden will be in California!
Tomatoes
They just keep a'comin' even as the plants start dying back. I'm really rather in awe - last year, they were pretty much gone in early September.
I think the Black Krim have been the best-tasting, overall, this year - a rich tomato flavor you will never get from the supermarket. That being said, the others haven't been too shabby. Every one has been superior to anything store-bought.
We're going to do at least one more round of tomato paste, but, tonight, decided on a Tomato Cobbler with Ricotta Biscuits from the NY Times. Something a bit different...
The recipe calls for draining ricotta, freezing flour, and, generally, making a huge production out of making the biscuits. I just made them using their basic ingredients but not following their process. They were really good. Use your own judgement.
Tomato Cobbler with Ricotta Biscuits
adapted from the NY Times
- 3/4 cup whole-milk ricotta
- 2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour, divided
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 pounds tomatoes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- salt and pepper
PREPARATION
Prepare the ricotta: Strain the ricotta in a cheesecloth or fine-mesh strainer for at least 30 minutes. When it’s ready to use, squeeze to get rid of any excess moisture.
Prepare the ricotta biscuits: Put 2 1/2 cups cake flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Transfer to the freezer to chill for about 20 minutes. Add the butter to the bowl and smear the pieces between your fingers, pinching them to make thin pieces and smushing these into the flour mixture until no big pieces are left.
Make a well in the middle of the bowl and gradually pour in 1 cup buttermilk while using a fork to fluff in the flour from the sides of the bowl until you form a shaggy-looking dough. Crumble in the ricotta and loosely incorporate with your fingers.
Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to shape it into a roughly 4-inch-by-6-inch rectangle. Fold into thirds and flatten back to the same size with your hands; repeat two more times, flattening the dough out until about 1-inch thick. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes.
Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat oven to 350 degrees. In a 2-quart baking dish, combine the tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar and thyme and oregano with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 tablespoons cake flour. Season generously with salt and pepper, and let sit while you prepare the biscuit dough.
Lay the biscuit dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut into 2-inch squares or circles and arrange in a single layer over the tomatoes — you should have around 10 to 12 biscuits. Roll and cut scraps, or just bake the scraps separately to snack on. Bake for 45 minutes, until the tomato mixture has bubbled up and the biscuits are browned on top. Allow to cool, and serve warm or at room temperature, finishing with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
I made pork patties with ground pork, aleppo pepper, garlic, and salt and pepper - and then pan-fried them.
The biscuits were really light, the tomatoes really flavorful. The total flavor combination worked great.
And there's still more to come!
Tomato Risotto
I have been making risotto for years. And years.
It's one of those dishes I just make - the basics are always the same, the flavors can change depending upon what's in the 'fridge. It's really an easy dish to pull off - and pretty much impossible to screw up. It takes about 30 minutes - and it's worth the minimal effort.
Tonight's version started off as a way to use up tomatoes. We're getting to the last of them, but... there are still quite a few. I used small yellow tomatoes for this, but any would work.
Tomato Risotto
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup arborio, carnaroli, or other risotto rice
- 1 cup white wine
- 4 cups hot chicken broth
- 1 chicken breast, cut in chunks
- 6 tomatoes, quartered
- 1 - 2 oz grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
Saute onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil and butter. Add chicken and cook about half-way. Add rice and cook until translucent, stirring continually. Add the tomato paste and blend well.
Add wine and cook until almost fully absorbed.
Begin to add broth by the ladle, stirring continually. Continue adding ladles of broth as the last one is absorbed. Midway through, stir in tomatoes.
Continue stirring and adding broth until rice is just tender.
Stir in cheese.
Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, as desired.
Enjoy.
20/20 hindsight being what it is, I probably could have held back a few tomatoes and stirred them in at the end for a bit more texture, but, as it was, they melted in and made for a rich, flavorful sauce.
BBQ Pork Tenderloin
In my quest for fun, new - to me - spicy peppers, I ordered some Korean Gochugaru Pepper Flakes online. While I know that I like eating Korean food, I haven't cooked a lot of Korean food. We used to frequent a Korean restaurant on 9th & Judah in San Francisco that had fantastic food - there was no reason to cook it if you could get such wonderful food right down the street.
Fast-forward many years, and Gochugaru pepper flakes are on their way. My first use was going to be on a pork tenderloin.
Sadly, the package was damaged in transit and never arrived. It was sent back - with full refund. I ordered another.
On to Plan B.
I had a container of Korean Gochujang Paste in the 'fridge, so I started there.
Gochu in Korean, is pepper and garu means powder. Gochujang is a paste that has gochugaru in it - along with other ingredients. The things you learn...
I decided to make a BBQ sauce of sorts, so I broke out the blender. I put in a half of an onion, 6 small radishes, 3 cloves of garlic, about 3 tablespoons of gochujang paste, and three tablespoons of ketchup, along with a pinch of salt and blended it all into a smooth sauce.
I sliced the tenderloin into about 3/4-inch slices and placed them into the sauce for about an hour. From there, they went onto a very hot grill for just a few minutes.
Onto the plate, topped with chopped scallions, and served with white rice.
It wasn't the most authentic Korean BBQ, but it did have a lot of flavor. Not overly hot and not overly sweet, it had a nice balance of flavors.
The gochugaru pepper should arrive this weekend. We shall see what other concoctions we can come up with...
Risotto with Aleppo Pepper
For a spice that is so popular, I must say that trying to find Aleppo Pepper out here in the culinary wasteland of the Philadelphia suburbs is nigh-on impossible. Thank goodness for online shopping or our culinary staples would be reduced to white bread and black pepper.
Aleppo pepper is named for the city of Aleppo in Syria - a city that has been inhabited for upwards of 8,000 years. Longevity doesn't translate to peace, however. Because of continued war in the area, the spice now comes mostly from Turkey.
The pepper is mildly spicy compared to other crushed red peppers, and has a unique sweetness, as well. It's quite flavorful.
Risotto with Aleppo Pepper
- 1 chicken breast, cubed
- 1 cup arborio, carnaroli, vialone nano, or other risotto rice
- 5 green onions, chopped
- 1 bunch asparagus, chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 heaping tbsp Aleppo pepper
- 1 cup white wine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup grated parmigiano cheese
- 2 tbsp butter
- S&P, to taste
Saute chicken in a combination of butter and olive oil until just starting to brown a bit. Add minced garlic and aleppo pepper. Saute until chicken is almost done.
Add 1 cup of rice and saute until the rice is translucent. Add 1 cup white wine and stir until most of it has been absorbed.
Heat the broth and add by half-cupfuls, stirring and waiting until it has been absorbed before adding the next. About halfway through, add the asparagus and green onions.
Continue cooking and stirring, adding broth by half-cupfulls, until rice is fully cooked.
Stir in the cheese and the butter. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper, as desired.
The combination of pepper, chicken, rice, and asparagus just seemed to work. Of course, I think cardboard would have worked with this. The flavors were exceptional.
The leftovers are going to be worked into a chicken soup.
More fun cooking!
Canning Soup
As we were eating the Roasted Tomato Soup, yesterday, I started thinking about fall and winter - and having lots of soups. I grew up on homemade soups and, to this day, they're one of my most favorite foods.
I figured if I canned a quart of soup from every batch we make, we could have a full basement of different soups to get us through the winter. Our current system is to make a batch of soup for lunches and eat it for three or four days - and then make another batch of something - and eat it for three or four days. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. With a few dozen soups downstairs, we could keep switching things up and never get tired of any one kind.
So... we started. a quart of the Roasted Tomato Soup, and a quart of a throw-together soup I made with leftover shredded pork. It's a peppery southwestern-spiced soup with lots of leftovers tossed into the pot with fresh tomatoes and a bit of broth.
This is going to be fun!
Tomatoes and Potatoes
The Tomato Bounty continues...
We have lots of sauce downstairs and lots more to make - and that's just from the plums and san marzanos. The other heirlooms are coming along strong, as well.
I had less than a pint of sauce left from the last canning - too little to process - so tonight, I used it to braise a couple of sliced red bliss potatoes. I started with a chopped leek and a bit of garlic, then added the potatoes to brown just a bit. Next went the sauce and a handful of the principe borghese tomatoes. A bit of salt, pepper, mint, and oregano - along with some crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper, finished the dish. On top of the potatoes and tomatoes went some sliced, grilled chicken, with three varieties of heirloom tomatoes on the side.
The tomatoes are just so damned good! I'm going to be very sad when they're done for the season.
Leftover Rice
I've always found it easier to cook a minimum of one cup of rice - I just don't have a lot of luck with cooking smaller amounts. It's even easier to cook two cups and have a couple of meals set up in the freezer or 'fridge.
Rice is the perfect vehicle for many things, so, tonight, I took plain cold rice and made a bit of a Mediterranean stir-fry.
Mediterranean Stir-Fry
- 2 cups cold cooked rice
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 leek, chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
- 2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- basil and mint, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
Saute leek, carrot, and mushrooms until wilted and lightly browned. Stir in rice and heat thoroughly.
Stir in chopped tomatoes and herbs and heat through.
Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper, as desired.
We had our rice with a small bacon-wrapped filet but it would be equally good with a protein of your choice - chicken, pork, ground beef - whatever.
Total simplicity - and really good!
Tomatoes and Beans
The tomatoes are starting to come in fast and furious. We're now harvesting daily.
With different varieties, there are different uses. In the grand scheme of things, they're all interchangeable, but they all have characteristics that make them better at some things than others. The San Marzanos are perfect for sauce. The Principe Borghese are perfect for sun-drying. The Black Krim, Yellow, and Green Stripe are perfect for salads and sandwiches.
And they all combine well.
Tonight, we made a bean salad using a homemade sauce from the San Marzanos, mixed with beans, served over Black Krims, and topped with sun-dried Principe Borghese.
What a treat!
The concept for the bean recipe came from Bon Appetit.
Tomato and Bean Salad
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 can beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- salt & pepper, to taste
- thick sliced heirloom tomatoes
- sun-dried tomatoes
- grated parmigiano
Mix tomato sauce, beans, green onions, garlic, oregano, and red wine vinegar. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.
Arrange thick-sliced heirloom tomatoes on plate. Top with bean mixture. Sprinkle with parmigiano and top with sun-dried tomatoes.
For the sun-dried tomatoes...
Dried Tomatoes
Slice tomatoes in half and lay out cut-side up on a lined baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle with salt.
Place in a 225°F oven for 2 1/2 hours.
After 2 1/2 hours, remove from oven and flatten with a small spatula.
Return to oven for an addition 2 1/2 hours or until dried to your preference.
You can turn off the oven and leave them in overnight.
Store in refrigerator.
If you're growing some smaller tomatoes, this is a great way to preserve them when they start coming in faster than you can eat them. The tomato flavor just explodes in your mouth.
Perfection.
Stuffed Pattypan Squash
My impulse buy at the produce store on Monday was a huge pattypan squash. I had never seen one that size, so I thought it would be fun to see what I could do with it.
While we did end up with a pretty good dinner, I don't think I'll be rushing out to get more of them - they're actually pretty dull and flavorless. The filling made up for it.
In doing a Chef Google search, I found that one of the better things to do with squash of this size is to stuff them. I also found that they should be pre-baked before stuffing, so I cut off the top, hollowed out the seeds, applied olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place it in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes.
The filling was bacon, leeks, mushrooms, garlic, chicken, and a hot pepper. I cooked everything and when it cooled, mixed in some shredded cheese.
Into the squash and into the oven for another 30 minutes.
The filling was excellent - the squash was meh.