Under a Red Roof

Draped in Velvet

September 29, 2009 in Cooking + Baking, Eating, Feeling by Colleen | 4 comments

I got stung by a wasp on Sunday afternoon. The hubster and I were gardening, and I felt what I thought was a sequoia needle stabbing into me. When I looked down to move my foot out of the way of said needle, I saw the wasp bouncing off my ankle, like a little basketball, over and over. I yelped, both at the realization and because it really hurt. I thought I came out of it relatively unscathed until yesterday afternoon, when my foot swelled up like a little balloon, nearly twenty-four hours after being stung. To be honest, I think I brought this on myself, as the inflammation only occurred after a rather vigorous scratching. My goodness friends, it itches! So here I am, swollen footed, gimpy, writing about soup and fish, delicious velvety soup and fish. George Costanza would eat it with pride.

Velvety Squash Soup

1 winter squash, about 2 1/2 pounds (I used a kabocha – it looks like a dark green pumpkin)

olive oil

salt

1 medium onion, diced

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 – 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup coconut milk

cayenne pepper (to taste, optional)

Cut the squash into large chunks. If you have a hard time getting your blade through the hard flesh, try gently tapping the knife with a hammer. I wish I could give proper credit for this discovery, because it works wonders! Place on a baking pan and drizzle the pieces with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to one hour, until soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

In a medium soup pot, saute the onion with the butter and salt until the onion is soft. Add three cups of broth and the curry powder and simmer over low heat. Once the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and add to the onion curry broth. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a regular one, adding the squash in batches. Use very little broth as you blend, or you will have a hot mess splattered everywhere. This is the voice of experience talking and why I have the immersion variety. Put it back in the pan as you go.) Add the coconut milk and correct the seasoning and thickness of the soup. It may need more broth, salt, or curry. If you’d like it spicier, add the optional cayenne now. Eat now or continue to simmer over low heat while you prepare the fish.

Floating Fish

2 fillets of firm white fish (neutral flavored cod or halibut are best)

curry powder

salt

Place fish on a baking pan and sprinkle with curry and salt. Place under the broiler for about 3-5 minutes, depending on thickness. Remove from oven, gently turn over, and season the second side. Broil until the flesh is opaque, another 3-5 minutes.

Ladle soup into serving bowls and gently float the fillet on top. It looks so pretty and tastes even better.

Enjoy!

My sad foot. I hope this doesn’t turn you off from the soup, but I had to share. It’s what I do.

Tags: Cooking and Baking

For Buddy: Chicken Made Easy

September 26, 2009 in Cooking + Baking, Eating by Colleen | 1 comment

Greg made dinner the other night while I was tapping away like a fat little pigeon – thanks Buddy! This isn’t it, but a fine substitute photo from an outing to Hood River a few weeks back. Anyway, he roasted some chicken but lamented the fact that he always makes it the same way, sprinkled with fresh rosemary (the shrubs in our garden are HUGE), salt, and pepper. Here’s my help to him (and you, if you like) in the future – a quick reference for the preparation, as well as myriad seasoning options for our dining pleasure.

Tasty Whole Chicken Legs (We’re not breast people)

To each of the seasoning combinations, add salt and as little or as much garlic as you like (fresh diced or dried ground)

Optional seasonings for each, depending on your tastes – ground pepper, red pepper flakes, and a light drizzle of olive oil rubbed on first

Use the following seasonings, alone or together, to your taste:

Asian: soy, sake, ginger, green onion, fish sauce, sweet hot sauce, peanut butter

French: sage, tarragon, thyme, rosemary, a splash of white wine in the pan

German: coarse sweet mustard, caraway seeds, a splash of apple cider vinegar in the pan (I’d probably skip the garlic on this one or maybe use just a little)

Indian: curry powder, cumin, garam masala, ginger, fenugreek

Italian: basil, oregano, marjoram, a splash of red wine or Marsala in the pan

Mexican: ground dried chipotle, cayenne, cumin, honey or agave

Spanish: smoked paprika, a dash of sherry in the pan

Classic: lemon pepper, onion, thyme, paprika, sage, brown mustard seeds

Preheat the oven to 450. Place chicken in pan (ugly side up, with or without skin) and season your way. Place in oven and roast for 5-10 minutes, or until it starts to crisp. Turn the temperature to 325 and continue roasting for 15 minutes. Flip the chicken over to the pretty side and season again. Turn the temperature back to 450. Roast until it is crispy and the juices run clear, usually about 5-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Tags: Cooking and Baking

Two Books and a Little Snack

September 25, 2009 in Cooking + Baking, Eating, Reading, Spotlighting by Colleen | 1 comment

Knock on wood, my previous stretch of disappointing reads has ceased, as I’ve enjoyed a few decent books in a row, all marvelous stories and worthy of finishing, which is so satisfying. Many thanks to my tax dollars and the Multnomah County Library for keeping my bookish desires happy.

Here are two of my most recent and engaging reads, on quite opposite ends of the literary spectrum, which suits my tastes just fine (pun intended, you’ll see). Though this novel won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction nine years before I was even a twinkle in either of my parents’ eyes (1962), it seemed, to me, at least, that it could have been written today, as it speaks to the quite contemporary issues of faith, family, friendship, and healing.

The Edge of Sadness follows Hugh Kennedy, a recovering alcoholic, as he returns to Boston and his damaged priesthood after a four year sojourn in the desert southwest. The story centers around Father Hugh’s re-acquaintance with the Carmody family: the often charming and devilishly cruel patriarch Charlie, his son, Father John of the dazzlingly ideal parish, St. Raymond’s, his daughter, Helen, and a colorful host of siblings, children, grandchildren, and friends.

Father Hugh, once a highly regarded priest in a fairly well-to-do parish, is now leading a rather rag tag flock at Old Saint Paul’s, a poor and crumbling parish just outside of his old neighborhood. His one curate, Father Danowski, often to Father Hugh’s chagrin and sometimes his delight, is an eternal and energetic optimist, always trusting that new life will be breathed into Old Saint Paul’s, returning the parish to it’s glory days.

At 640 pages, the novel is a leisurely drive in the country, as Edwin O’Connor carefully unfolds the stories of the tricky relationships between the Carmody’s, the reasons for Father Hugh’s fall from grace and his assignment at Old Saint Paul’s, as well as the inner life of a priest. Though it hardly painted an idyllic portrait of family, priesthood, or parish life, I found the story beautiful and magnetic in it’s honesty. For isn’t it encouraging to imagine that even men of the cloth have the same struggles with prayer, envy, trust, and above all, faith, as the laity? I had a hard time putting it down.

Okay, since this is a long post, I’ve included an intermission, so you can do exactly what I did in between writing these segments, eat. Of course I wanted something quick, so I wouldn’t dawdle and not finish this post by my self-imposed deadline. What I made is quintessentially Colleen and yummy to my tummy, though maybe not yours. A bit of tuna, some sliced nacho style jalapenos, a drizzle of organic EVOO (as Rachel Ray would say), and a sprinkle of smoked sea salt. It really hit the spot!

Onward to David Lebovitz and his The Sweet Life in Paris. He describes it as delicious adventures in the world’s most glorious – and perplexing – city. Though this is quite true, I would also add the word hilarious after delicious. Indeed. Mr. Lebovitz is a highly entertaining story teller.

Without spending any time with the delicious (and sometimes pretty, I’m sure) sounding recipes, the book is a quick and laughter-filled frolic through the charming, and sometimes infuriating, streets of Paris, especially when you step in dog poo, because you will, dear reader, I gua-ran-tee it. I zipped through it over the course of an afternoon, easily laughing and commiserating with David on his adventures from the quotidian to the unusual.

However, where I throw up my hands in frustration and declare a moratorium on visits to Paris as a result of being chastised for not having exact change, failing to understand the delicacies of French plumbing, or being jockeyed out of my position in line, David joins the party and fully engages, eventually becoming one of those line jockeys himself. C’est pas ma faute!

If you have any interest in learning about an honest Parisian life and some delicious sounding recipes, grab a copy. It doesn’t disappoint!

Peachy Keen

September 19, 2009 in Cooking + Baking, Eating by Colleen | 4 comments

Happy Saturday, everyone!

We bought some rather fabulous looking local peaches at the market this week – big perfectly shaped, and oh, the scent, heavenly. The problem? Mealy as all get out. I took one bite and felt such a wave of sadness that something so pretty and sweet smelling could be so icky. However, with a bit of baking experience under my belt, I knew there was potential for them. Here it is – clafoutis. Creamy and custardy, like a soft pancake, though with a slight crunch of a crust on top, and a snap to make, too. I forget how easy they are, and much prettier than a stack of pancakes, too.

I took the best of a recipe from Richard Sax and another from David Lebovitz to suit my quite particular tastes and it was perfectly delicious. You can use peaches, apricots, cherries, berries, plums, or a combination. It’s really hard to go wrong. Also, if you can, get up before the hubster (or the kids) and make it for breakfast, like I did. The sleepy smile plastered on his face and delight at the first bite is well worth the time and effort.

I also gilded the lily and made a peach sauce with the remaining fruit. I used the recipe included with my pancakes. Actually, I very nearly called this post, “How About Orange?” in homage to a rather snazzy blog and the fact that we had peach clafoutis, peach sauce, and charentais melon for breakfast – a rather monochromatic but happy coincidence!

Clafoutis

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 pound firm, ripe plums, peaches, apricots, sliced OR 2 cups berries or cherries (pitted) OR a combination

3 eggs

1/2 cup flour (I like using 1/4 cup whole wheat and 1/4 cup all purpose)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon brandy (optional, but very good, especially with peaches)

1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling

1 1/4 cups milk (2% or whole milk give the best flavor and texture)

Position your baking rack in the top third of the oven and preheat to 375. Liberally butter the bottom and sides of an 8 or 9 inch gratin dish or pie pan. Arrange the fruit in a pretty pattern.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Whisk in the butter and flour until smooth, add vanilla and brandy (if using). Whisk in the 1/4 cup sugar, then the milk.

Pour the custard mixture over the fruit (be gentle about it so you don’t disrupt the prettiness you’ve made). Bake for 30 minutes.

Gently slide out the rack the clafoutis is resting on so you don’t disturb the crust that is forming. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, and continue baking for about 30 more minutes. It will be slightly firm in the center and the top will be a gorgeous golden brown. Serve right away or warm. It will deflate a bit, so snap your photos quickly (hopefully you’ll have better light than I did today).

Enjoy!

Tags: Cooking and Baking

Super Shrimp

September 1, 2009 in Cooking + Baking, Eating by Colleen | 1 comment

I am terrible with recipes. More specifically, I don’t generally use them. I add a dash of this and a pinch of that and voila – dinner is served! Though this does not stop me from buying beautiful cookbooks that gather dust on the shelf in my kitchen. Then, at the precise moment when my creativity is spent, and I cannot fathom something spectacular to make for dinner, something I haven’t done a million times, I remember, “Hey, there’s that whole shelf full of lovely books, filled with gorgeous pictures, saying ‘Pick ME!'”

Last week, at one of the aforementioned creative lows, I hit the books, and what I discovered was so absolutely delicious that, of course, I took a picture of it, with the thought of it being right here, under this little red roof. However, as I am also prone to do when actually using a recipe, I didn’t follow it exactly, tweaking it a little to suit me and the hubster. So what follows is an adaptation of a recipe from The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper. What appealed to me, not just the fact that I wanted to cook shrimp, was the description states that this is “guaranteed to have your family moaning with gratitude.” I don’t know about you, but who doesn’t want that? The best part? It’s true, Gregory and I both sung its praises with “MMMmmm” and “This is so good!” and “I love it!” Hopefully you will, too.

Plumped and Spicy Ginger Caramel Shrimp

Brine

1/3 cup kosher or sea salt (not iodized)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup medium hot chile powder (the amount is not in error)

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

6 cups warm water (or cold if your shrimp is already thawed)

1 pound large frozen shrimp (out of their shells, tails are a-okay)

Saute

4 large cloves garlic

1 4-inch piece fresh ginger

4 tablespoons mild oil

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

salt

4 teaspoons sugar

In a large glass or stainless bowl, combine the salt, sugar, chile powder, and cayenne in the warm water. Add the shrimp, and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and dice the garlic and ginger. Drain the shrimp and pat dry. Heat the oil in a large, straight sided saute pan over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic-ginger mixture, the pepper, and a dash of salt. Cook for a minute before adding the sugar. Continue stirring without allowing the pieces to brown.

Add the shrimp and stir until they are turning pink and firm. We served ours over brown rice, and they were just delicious. Also in the picture, oven roasted corn and an adaptation of my most popular recipe: Crazy Crispy Kale. These are actually collard greens, as they were out of kale that day – still ever so delicious. Never be afraid to try something different, I say.

Enjoy!

Tags: Cooking and Baking