Archive | January, 2009

Pie Day

by susannahm on 25. Jan, 2009 in Susannah Michaels

Who knew there was a National Pie Day? I didn’t. So when our news director sent out an email asking the Wisconsin Public Radio staff to bring in pies for Pie Day, I thought it was an occasion of his invention. He kindly gave us a week’s notice, so we’d have time to “practice our crusts and ingredient shop.”  Thanks, Michael!

Office food is a phenomenon unto itself. So often, it’s that stuff that’s left out too long on the break room table, crumbs and bits strewn all around. At pot lucks, it can be franks and beans in a crock pot. I’m as guilty as the next person of putting out some junk that I want to disappear fast, like leftover Halloween candy. And then there are the times when it’s amazing to see how creative your coworkers are, and how much effort they’ll go to.

Pie Day was beautiful.

before

Twelve people brought in pies and another handful brought in ice cream. People streamed in and happily took plates with six different slivers of pie and a scoop of ice cream. Within half an hour, the table was a happy mess.

after

My contribution to Pie Day was a Kuchen (which means cake in German) – a recipe my coworker and friend Alice gave me. It is wonderfully simple, reliable, and easily varied.

You’ll need: 1 stick unsalted butter, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp almond extract, 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 cups fruit, 1 Tbl sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg, vanilla, almond extract. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix, but don’t overmix. Either chill the dough for 30 minutes, or just dip your hand in flour, so that you can press your dough into a 8- or 9-inch buttered circular pan.

Mix the fruit with 1 Tbl sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. I think you can skip that sugar. I used a combination of raspberries, blueberries, and a few strawberries I found in my freezer. You can use apples, pears, peaches, kiwis, whatever kind of fruit you want. Spread the fruit over the dough. Bake the whole thing at 350 for 40 minutes. Cool it on a rack.

Kuchen

By skipping the sugar in the fruit, my berries had a wonderfully delicate tartness. I think I might reduce the sugar in the dough a little next time. This dessert takes just minutes to mix up, yet it’s elegant and delicious.

It turns out that Pie Day is an invention of the American Pie Council.  I’m glad our news director was up on this holiday and my guess is, we’ll be celebrating Pie Day for years to come.

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Hummus, Hum Us, Huh Mass?

by Jamie Ginsberg on 24. Jan, 2009 in Jamie Ginsberg

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Without a doubt, my favorite dish is currently Hummus. Above is my attempt at an arty shot of Chick Pea beans, I opened the F Stop and zoomed in to try and blur the beans as they get farther away. Tonight we had some Hummus from Taza (more expensive Alladin’s) and it is just delicious. I always get their special house hot sauce and mix it in with the Hummus. Lately, I have been going easy on the bread (Noooooooooooooo!!!) so tonight I opted out of the delicious pita and used Romaine Lettuce Hearts instead. Nice and crispy with less calories than bread and I enjoyed the meal.

Making Hummus is shockingly easy. The first thing I do is get the Cuisinart set up, Squeeze 2 lemons in (no seeds, easy to see juice only if nothing else is in the cuisinart). Drop in 2 cloves of garlic and a splash of Olive Oil and chop up the garlic.

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I open up 2 cans of chick pea beans and rinse the beans well, pouring the drained beans into a bowl. My good friend Mike Ford told me his secret is to add some of the “juice” from the can into the Hummus. I did this last week and it made the Hummus especially creamy, this may be an excellent technique! My secret is I peel the chick pea beans. 2 cans takes about 20 minutes. I set up 3 bowls and squeeze the chick pea beans between my fingers to pop off the skins.

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The Skins chunk up the Hummus, no matter how much you cuisinart them. Once the beans are “cleaned,” I drop them into the Blender, throw in 2 tablespoons of Tahini and Chop! I usually add a little dried parsley and some paprika to add a little color and flavor. Blam…you’ve got Hummus!

When I do not have Alladin’s hot sauce to add I usually throw in a little good old Louisiana Hot Sauce. I am a huge fan of Crystal Hot Sauce, but this tough to get in Cleveland. Eric sent me up a case from Florida, generous of him but gone within 12 months. If you lived in Ann Arbor, you probably went to J Garden (Jerusalem Garden) at some point. Besides frying the most delicious fresh green Felafel balls right in front of you, they had Crystal Hot Sauce out on the counters for you to add to your Roll. I have been a fan of the Crystal Hot Sauce for more than 15 years, you can keep your bitter Tabasco, the closest imitator is Frank’s…go figure.

About 8 years ago Amy and I were in Quito, Ecuador. We took a walk in the city looking for a spot reputed to have the best chocolate drinks. We quickly got lost and wandered aimlessly for an hour until we were hungry. We looked up and there was an Israeli flag and a restaurant with a backgammon set. We were in the midst of a heavy backgammon rivalry, so we walked in and played a few games while enjoying the most delicious Hummus with chicken ever. Who goes all the way to Ecuador to eat Israeli food? We did find the chocolate drinks later that night, and they were unbelievable.

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Back to my hummus…In the battle to get skinny, I use very little Olive Oil, but use an appropriate amount for you. The more you add the richer the Hummus gets (same with the Tahini). I use the equivalent of 2 tablespoons olive oil, you might use half a cup. A great variation is to broil some red peppers, peel the skin and add them to the cuisinart with the chick pea beans. This loosens up the Hummus and gives it a mild roasted red pepper taste. Last time, I used roasted garlic instead of fresh, not sure how I feel about that…I like my Hummus to have a little bite. The point is, play with this dish, be creative and explore. Your taste buds will thank you.

This is a great dish to make while you are making Baba or Tabouli. It will last a few days and makes a great snack with sliced cukes. Cover and chill for added pleasure ;-)

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Simple, Simple Chicken Curry

by susannahm on 17. Jan, 2009 in Susannah Michaels

The first time I ate Indian food was at Shashank and Seema’s wedding at the Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois. Two carloads of Shashank’s grad school friends drove down from Madison. We were among the very few people in attendance not wearing colorful saris and shalwar kameezes. The ceremony was beautiful and foreign to us. “They should have closed captioning for the Hindi-impaired,” one friend commented. Afterward, instead of a reception line, we all went upstairs to a peaceful, empty part of the temple, and Shashank and Seema made the rounds among their guests, with her sari and his shalwar kameez tied together at the edge. It was sweet. And a little strange. Although they had chosen each other, rather than accepting an arranged marriage, there was no long courtship. They had known each other for three months. A few months earlier, we had known Shashank as something of a rake, and now here he was, tied to his new wife. I’m happy to report that 14 years later, they have three adorable kids (who endearingly call us Uncle and Aunt, in the Indian tradition) and a strong marriage.

But what about the food?? After our wanderings in the lofty upstairs, we descended to the basement for lunch. We went down the buffet line of unknown dishes. The other wedding guests, who had been kind to us all along, explaining tidbits of the wedding ceremony, continued to be kind. They told us what we’d like and what dishes we’d find too spicy. I was in my mid-twenties and had somehow never had this food before. But I loved it! I love that it’s vegetarian, that it’s curry, that it’s drenched in sauce — these are all characteristics I enjoy.

I once bought an Indian cookbook and thought I’d cook some of this great food up myself. I quickly learned that it’s not that easy. I began to feel that technique and a deep understanding of exactly how to use spices were fundamentals I lacked. I donated the cookbook to my library. I didn’t want it in my house as a reminder of what was out of my reach.

Enter Patak’s mild curry sauce.

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I found this sauce at my warehouse-like, no frills grocery store. I followed the chicken recipe on the side of the jar. And now I can make Indian food. No, it’s not veggie (I’ve tried it with veggies and it’s not as good), and it’s not the really great Indian food I enjoy at Shashank and Seema’s or at our burgeoning population of Indian restaurants in Madison. But it’s okay, it’s pretty good. And it’s easy, can serve a crowd, and makes Ben really, really happy. So why not?

You’ll need: 1 medium onion (diced), a few tablespoons of oil, 1 pound of chicken (diced into bite-sized pieces), a few tablespoons of Patak’s mild curry paste, and a quart of tomatoes and their juices (preferably home-canned). Yes, it’s that simple.

Start some brown rice cooking. Then, in a large pan, fry the onion in the oil for a few minutes. Add the chicken and stir until the pieces are white on the outside. Mix in a few tablespoons of curry paste. Add your tomatoes and simmer until the chicken is done. That’s probably as little as 10 minutes, but I do half an hour to be on the safe side. Serve your curry over your rice and enjoy.

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The Veggie Life

by Jamie Ginsberg on 15. Jan, 2009 in Jamie Ginsberg

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I cranked up the veggie machine 2 nights ago with some Tabouli and Babaganoush. The prep is easy, but tedious. I started by cutting an eggplant in half and putting it in the oven at Broil, center side up for 30 minutes. At the same time I put 1 cup of dry Bulgar in a bowl with 1 and 3/4 cup of boiling hot water (I cheat and use the Instant Hot…hello suburban luxury), stir gently and let sit for 30 minutes covered. Now on to the real work.

I took a bunch of parsley and rinsed it very very well (next time I will use 2 bunches, as you can see in the above picture more green would be a better balance). Then I clipped each stalk so I was only getting the tender stalks connected to the leaves. This requires patience. If you take too much you will get the tougher stalks which alter the consistency of the Tabouli, you can technically use the entire stalk but I am convinced this is a key part of the process. I viciously chopped the remaining parsley for about 2 minutes until the leaves broke up, but were not mush. The leaves went into a bowl along with a handful of chopped red onion. I drizzled some olive oil and squeezed 2 lemons on top and then mixed.  The bulgar was ready and mixed in quickly (all of the water was absorbed). Coveringwith tin foil I placed in the fridge overnight. Before serving, I quartered up a bunch of small tomatoes and gently mixed them in. When it comes to tomatoes, the more the better.

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The eggplant was now blackedned and soft and tender. I scooped out the middle and let it cool in a bowl. I cranked up the small cuisinart and chopped up 3 cloves of garlic in a drizzle of olive oil. Next time, I will roast the garlic with the eggplant to take the bite out of the garlic. I added the eggplant and cuisinarted lightly adding in a few tablespoons of Tahini sauce and squeezing in 2 lemons. Being the rebel I am, I took a large container of 0% Fage and added half to the cuisinart and blended for about 5 seconds. I then placed in a bowl, covered and refrigerated overnight.

I read thru Mollie Katzen’s MooseWood cookbook from http://www.tenspeedpress.com prior to making the above dishes. Mollie’s dishes are generally simple to make and taste delicious. Whenever I make something of hers, I feel inspired to be a chef and cook for the people. My independent streak still shines thru, so after reading her recipe I close the book, modify and tweak to my own tastes, as should you.

I ate this on lettuce leaves layered together 2 nights in a row and loved it. The hour of prep and cooking for the dishes equals 30 minutes per meal ;-) This is not only delicious, nutricious and vegetarian…it is also personally guaranteed to help you lose weight. If you are living and eating a little more conciously today than you were last month, try these dishes and you will feel great while minimizing your impact on the planet. Next week I will be making Hummus to round out the perfect trio of Middle Eastern dishes…I am confident telling you that I make delicious Hummus and I will share my sole (soul?) secret with you!!!

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Excessive Eating of Limited Foods – My Current Experiment

by Jamie Ginsberg on 12. Jan, 2009 in Jamie Ginsberg

The cold hard truth is…I am a creature of habit. Whatever I do, I do it a lot. Some may think this is unhealthy and caution me to find moderation, learn to eat a little of everything…try not to try so hard. Good luck! My psycho-social issues generally come alive when there is food in front of me, and I have made a life of embracing my demons. As I was getting an excellent foot massage down in Playa De Carmen (yes, I am spoiled) Lucia looks at me and says ” You are very strong, just a little overweight.” I laughed semi-uncomfortably and said “Yeah I am going to try and eat less this year.” Lucia immediately won me over her with her response (think Italian accent in Mexico), “No, don’t worry about it, eat how much you want, just be careful what you are eating, try not to eat so much yeast.”  Try not to eat so much Yeast? Eat however much I want? Hopefully, you know me enough by now to know that she was preaching to the choir. The rest of her advice was fitting, “Go see a Chinese Herbal doctor, for some tea, and an Ayurvedic doctor, for your doshas.”  I love strange stuff like that almost as much as I love eating.

I have been eating a lot of the same food as long as I can remember. From Pasta 4 nights a week as a kid, to frozen chicken patties in college, to burritos in San Francisco (Berkeley, Oakland, Marin) to Split Pea Soup today. I have been eating Yellow Split Pea Soup all week and I love it. It took 15 minutes of prep time and 3 hours of low boiling and I have been eating (drinking?) this for a week now. I sauteed an onion in a drop of olive oil, added some Black pepper and chipotle pepper cooking until the onion was browning, then added the well rinsed split peas (2 bags), carrots and filled the pot with water letting it cook at a low boil. When the carrots are soft enough you just mush them with a fork so they blend into the soup. Add salt to your taste. It looks a bit like vomit (thus I have not added pictures), but tastes great (unlike vomit) and fills me up. I have been bringing it for lunch and eating it at room temperature and heating it up at night for variation. Squeezing a half lemon into a bowl of soup adds a nice zing (I borrowed this technique from Taza after enjoying a lemon slice they sneak into their delicious lentil soup).

I wish I had Bubbi’s recipe for Split Pea Soup, and I may call her and bother her for it tonight. When I was a Vegetarian post college, I went to bubbi’s house for dinner ona  trip to NY. I called her the day before and reminded her I was not eating meat and specially requested her vegetable soup. This soup was rich, delicious and always plentiful enough to feed an army. As with everything Bubbi cooked, this was a labor of love. She would chop everything up and cook the soup all day. When I got downtown, I was hungry and excited…this was my favorite meal (forget about it, I say that for whatever Bubbi cooked me). As if it was this morning, I remember walking thru her spotless kitchen and peering into the soup pot with anticipation. As my heart sank, I stared at the huge turkey leg sitting in the middle of the soup. I looked over at Bubbi, speechless, who bursting with excitement proclaimed “I walked all the way to the supermarket to get that Turkey Bone, just for you.”

The only explanation I have, is that eating meat, as a Vegetarian at Bubbi’s house was a sign of your love for her. You wouldn’t let your pesky little morals or beliefs get in the way of her cooking. You would eat the meat. Vegetarian at Bubbi’s house meant nothing. That said, Bubbi was the first person to agree with my diet. “Just eat the same food,” she would tell me. “When Zadie and I would diet, we ate cottage cheese all of the time…nu we lost the weight.” Bubbi is also the only person to tell me, “”What are you dieting for, lose a little weight, but not too much.” Bubbi knows as well as I do that a lot of weight needs to come off. But Bubbi also remembers when she was starving and food was hard to come by. It is her survival instinct advising me to eat, so that I too will survive if food and finances are scarce.

As I eat my Yellow Split Pea Soup, I think of the generations of Irish, Italian, Polish, Jewish soup eaters eating this soup to survive (Ok, I may be the only hybrid that is Irish/Polish raised Italian who is an Ethnic non practicing Jew). I think of how delicious this is and wonder why I would ever want to eat anything else (this is the first sign that you have crossed the invisible line and are fully addicted to your food source). I look at the empty tupperware at my desk and wonder why I did not bring 3 bowls of soup for lunch today, at the same time I feel so full I wonder why I am wishing I had more soup. In a brief moment of truth, I acknowledge my soup is ok, not great, yet I wish I had more. Next Time, I will go on the Atkins diet and eat Bacon Blue Cheese Burgers without the Bun 3x a day.

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New Recipes in the New Year

by susannahm on 08. Jan, 2009 in Susannah Michaels

Like Jamie with his diet, I didn’t set out to be trite by trying new recipes in the new year. But circumstances conspired and I was only too happy to oblige. First of all, Jamie’s mom, my aunt Carol, sent me a cookbook for Christmas/Channukah. And secondly, as I was taking a new look around my food co-op, figuring out how to spend a gift card from my sister-in-law, I noticed a spinning rack of free recipes.

I tried four new recipes, two from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, and two from the co-op. This experimentation was so stressful to my poor Ben, that I had to break it up with an old reliable – quiche.

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Quiche is everything I’m trying to get away from in cooking – overuse of dairy and eggs, inclusion of crust. But damn, it’s easy and trustworthy, and makes for a nicely substantial meal. I steam a little broccoli and brown some onions for mine.

The first experiment was lentils and potatoes, accompanied by ricotta fritters, both from the Bittman book.

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The lentils couldn’t be easier. Simmer 1 cup of lentils and 1 Tbl curry powder in a combination of 3.5 cups of water and coconut milk. When they’ve had a 15-minute head start, add in two cubed potatoes. Cook another 15 minutes or so. Add salt and pepper.

The ricotta fritters were very tasty and great way to use up the half a tub of ricotta I had left over from a small batch of baked ziti the week before. Combine 0.75 cups ricotta, a quarter cup milk, and a cup of torn up day-old bread. Let the mixture soak for 30 minutes. Add salt, a half cup grated parmesan, 2 eggs, a quarter cup sun-dried tomatoes, an eighth cup chopped kalamata olives, and a sprinkle of dried basil. The batter’s a little too wet, but nonetheless, scoop up spoonfuls, coat in bread crumbs, and fry the fritters on both sides in a skim of olive oil.

Bittman had suggested eating the lentils and fritters together, but the flavors were different and not quite complimentary, I’d recommend enjoying them separately.

The next recipe I tried was a mung dal, also from the Bittman book. The less said, the better. Not his fault, I’m sure. I overcooked the garlic and ginger. The sweet potato burritos from the co-op recipe rack were also not a huge success. At this point, we needed our relief quiche.

And the winner is … Blue Cheese and Walnut Linguini from the co-op recipe rack.

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Boil up a half pound of linguini. I use whole wheat pasta – it can’t hurt to be a little healthier. Meanwhile, caramelize a medium onion, cut into half rounds, in a generous helping of olive oil. When they’re done, add one half cup of balsamic vinegar. Your eyes might smart with the addition of so much acid, but don’t worry, it’ll work out. Let the vinegar boil out over 3 minutes. Meanwhile, toast and chop one-third cup walnuts. When the pasta and onions are done, combine it all, adding one quarter cup parsley, salt, pepper, and one half cup crumbled blue cheese. This recipe was easy and a nice addition to the arsenal. I got a dinner for two and lunch for one from this quantity.

I figure you have to try a bunch of new recipes to find one keeper. In this case, I tried 5 and will keep 3. Not bad, I’ll take it. Thanks to Carol for How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Bittman, and thanks to Julia for the beautiful bowls (see photo of lentils and fritters, above), which among other things, I bought with her gift card at the co-op.

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The Fat Boy Guide To Dieting

by Jamie Ginsberg on 06. Jan, 2009 in Jamie Ginsberg

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Why am I going on a diet yet again? Is it because I have 12 pairs of awesome pants that are 3 sizes to small (I bought them right as I hit my low weight 1.5 years ago and they were tight then)? No! It is for the 2 kids in the picture above. I want to give myself the greatest chance of living as long as possible…and all of the research shows that I need to be trim.

You are probably thinking  what Amy is thinking, Good for you Jamie; however,  you are about to become very not fun and a terrible food blogger. Not True! I started the first day of my diet grinding up some dried chipotle peppers in the mini cuisinart and using the powder in a veggie chili I had cooking in the crock pot and a delicious split pea soup. The subtle heat brought me right back to Mexico which is still fresh in my mind (Alex and Olivia were being super heroes on the beach just last week in Puerto Adventuras, see pic above).

The split pea soup was simple. I sauteed a chopped onion in olive oil, added some fine ground black pepper and chipotle powder. I then added the newly rinsed split peas mixed quickly and filled the pot with water. I boiled the peas for about 3 hours and then added some normal salt and a dash of sea salt. Delicious and nutritious. The chipotle flavor added just enough heat that I had a full bowl polished off in no time.

All of the cooking was easy and fun, but my mind was working overtime. What was my diet really going to be? What have I learned from all of the past diets? Is it trite to start a diet in January? Is the real me destined to remain an excessive eater? What should I give up and why?

At some point I should mention that I am currently not eating fish. Why? Because as I walked down the marina with the kids in Mexico I watched sport fisherman hold up there trophy fish and I was disgusted. Watching the Barracuda lay dieing on the concrete floor made me sad and revolted. Even worse, I watched with fascinated horror as the fisherman tore the skin off of a Bonito fish and then sliced the “meat” off with fresh blood oozing out of the spinal column. It was just way too real for me. My Yogic being was offended by this violation of Ahimsa (nonviolence). For the first time, I thought about giving up fish.

I immediately negotiated with my brain that eating avocado rolls would be sufficient for sushi. I am still on the fence here as traditionally I have felt the only thing better than sushi for dinner once a week is sushi twice a week! I don’t know if I can resist a Tuna Taco at Downtown 140, but I am going to try.

So what else am I changing? Cheese is out like 2008! Bread is greatly reduced or even eliminated for the first 2 weeks, jump starting the weight loss and providing a little motivation. Whatever you do this year, be true to yourself and eat what works for you. If you can do your small part to reduce the impact of your eating, then we can all take one giant step towards freedom and peace. As you walk down the road in 2009, make sure you are concious of what road you are on and know in your heart why you are on this road.

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