Month: June 2010

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Giant Garlicky Meatballs

Spaghetti with giant garlic meat balls, served with Maralee's garden fresh asparagus, and a salad with thousand island dressing.

This is to counter an earlier posting of teeny-tiny meat balls. Tonight I went for giant-sized, with plenty of spices. Each meatball is made from a fifth pound of beef.

Giant Garlicky Meatballs (makes 10)

  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped coarse
  • 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
  • 1 c. chopped parsley
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. oregano
  • 2 tsp. basil
  • 1 32 oz. jar marinara sauce

Mix together all ingredients, except for marinara sauce, and form into 3″ balls. Brown in olive oil, turning 3-4 times. Drain oil from pan and pour the marinara sauce over the meatballs. Cover and let the meatballs finish cooking in the sauce, over low heat, for 20-30 minutes.

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Thousand Island Dressing

Thousand Island salad dressing is a great starter recipe for kids—there’s no measuring, it’s all done by eyeballing its texture and color, and it’s very hard to get it wrong. This was the first “recipe” that I learned in my mom’s kitchen. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Put a glob of mayo in a bowl (maybe 1 c.)
  2. Add a little bit of pickle relish (about 1 tsp.)
  3. Squirt and mix in just enough ketchup until the dressing is a pleasant pink color.

Shake in some garlic powder if you want a little more zing.

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Mulberry pie

This is a fresh taste of summer that surprised me.

I had only known mulberries as the dare-you-to-eat-one mushy fruit that grew on scruffy shrubs, staining suburban sidewalks and children’s feet. When our generous neighbors stopped by to invite us to pick as many mulberries as we wanted, it took me a moment to realize that they were serious. They, in fact, had plans for baking a mulberry pie. When my husband told me the joy of his childhood adventures climbing mulberry trees, picking and eating berries until his fingers were purple and his stomach was full, I sent him out to the neighbor’s with a cute little plastic bucket along with our son Joe, to reclaim his youth.

Mostly Mulberry Pie

Prepare a 2-crust pie dough, roll out the bottom crust and fill with a mixture of:

  • 4 c. mulberries
  • 1 c. sliced strawberries (or skip the strawberries and use 5 c. mulberries)
  • 3/4-1 c. sugar
  • 2 Tbs. flour
  • zest from 1 lemon

Top with lattice crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is brown and the fruit is bubbly.

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Playing with my food.

Careful placement of the seeds really brings out the braid on this loaf.

I went to Mary Pat and Dave’s going away party last night. Our beloved, former neighbors, who are now friends for life, are moving to New Zealand. The party invitation said that, if we liked, we could bring bread or a dessert. Bread. I can do that.

I did something new with this challah, taking extra time to carefully place the seeds. I poured the seeds into a small, thin-edged metal measuring cup, and very carefully shook them into place on the glazed bread before baking, creating a lovingly prepared piece of edible art.

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Reusable rice bag—a “find” while preparing Cholae and Fried Rice (Indian style)

This brand of Brown Basmati rice comes in a faux-cloth, reusable, zippered bag.

I was picking up some rice to make Indian style fried rice and I found this reusable rice bag! It is so clever, with its own zipper, and so beautiful. For those in CU, I bought this at Am Ko.

Also, I’m ready to share the recipes that I learned during my Indian cooking lesson, as told to me by my friend, Bharathi.

Fried Rice (Indian Style)

  • 3 c. basmati rice
  • 2 Tbs. butter
  • 2 Tbs. oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp. ginger, minced
  • 2-3 c. mixed vegetables, frozen or finely chopped fresh
  • 8 whole cloves
  • 1 tsp. salt, or to taste
  • 6 c. water

Heat butter and oil, add onion and saute until soft. Add garlic, ginger, cloves, and cumin seeds. Stir for one minute, then add rice and stir 2-3 minutes. Add salt, vegetable and water, and cook as you normally do for rice, for about 45-50 minutes.

Cholae (a spicy, flavorful, garbanzo bean and tomato stew)

  • 1 Tbs. oil
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
  • 5 c. cooked garbanzo beans
  • 1 28-oz can chopped tomatoes (use the juice as well)
  • 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 Tbs. amchoor powder (dried mango powder)
  • 2-3 tsp. channa masala (cholae masala) seasoning
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 4 whole bay leaves

Heat oil, add onion and saute until soft. Add garlic, ginger, cholae masala, turmeric, bay leaves, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Heat over medium heat for a few minutes and then stir in garbanzo beans, amchoor, salt and a little water (to adjust consistency). Heat over low heat for 30 minutes or more.

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Quiet house, gentle rain, baking muffins at 5am

These are moist and fruity with a mixture of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.

I woke up at 4:30 with strawberries on my mind, consumed with thoughts of fresh muffins for breakfast. With a large pot of espresso-made iced coffee to sustain me, I gathered up the little bags of frozen berries left from last summer’s crops, and baked a double recipe of these 3-berry muffins. The house is peaceful, with a gentle rain falling, and everyone still asleep. When the family wakes up there will be a basket of fresh muffins on the table, and then, hopefully, I’ll sneak upstairs and take a nap.

3-Berry Muffins

Combine the wet ingredients:

  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1-1/4 c. milk, warmed
  • 1 c. melted butter

Add the wet ingredients to the combined dry ingredients:

  • 3 c. flour (I use part whole wheat pastry flour)
  • 1-1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 4 tsp. cinnamon

Stir in the berries:

  • 2 c. mix of blueberries, raspberries and chopped strawberries

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Makes 2 dozen muffins.

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Berry picking season: not so sweet

Yesterday I went berry picking, one of my favorite summertime activities. I love the peacefulness of the field, the beauty of the ripening berries and the meditative quality of picking-picking-picking until the bucket is full. I spend a lovely hour or so, joined by good friends, and the payoff is the sweetest, freshest fruit, free of pesticides and ready for my jam pot. But yesterday, I tried a new farm, where the owner had strict rules which included a set appointment, a minimum poundage requirement, and a no-tasting while you pick policy. You pick them, you pay for them, you eat them—in that order. The bushes were loaded with lovely ripe strawberries and my two buckets were full, totaling nearly 10 pounds in under an hour. After I paid I finally allowed myself a taste and… the berries weren’t very sweet. Ten pounds of not so sweet strawberries. I can’t bear to make jam out of these sub-standard berries, but with a tart lemon glaze, they made a fantastic fresh fruit tart. The rest are frozen, waiting to be made into smoothies. And next week, I will go to my usual farm source where I hope life will be sweeter.

This recipe involves a great deal of patschkieing as my mother would say—a lot of fussing. But I will make it again. It is an elegant, light and fresh dessert and makes a great presentation.

Strawberry Tart

For the crust:

  • 2 c. flour (I use part whole wheat pastry flour)
  • 2/3 c. confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2/3 c. cold butter
  • 2 Tbs. cold milk

Mix together the dry ingredients, place in food processor and pulse in the butter until it is the consistency of coarse sand (or cut together as you would for a pie crust, using a pastry cutter). With the processor running, slowly pour in the milk until just blended. Turn out onto a board and knead just until the dough balls together. Press the dough into a 12″ fluted tart pan, prick all over the bottom and sides with a fork, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow crust to cool.

For the cream layer:

  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1/4 c. flour
  • 2 Tbs. cornstarch
  • pinch salt
  • 1 Tbs. butter
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 c. warm milk
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

In a medium sauce pan combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Very slowly add the egg yolk mixed together with the warm milk, stirring continuously. After the mixture thickens remove from heat,  transfer to a bowl and mix in the butter. After it has cooled, stir in the vanilla.

For the lemon glaze:

  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 2 Tbs. cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 c. orange juice
  • juice from 2 lemons

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, stir constantly over a medium heat, until it is thickened. Transfer into a bowl to cool. If desired, thin more with orange or lemon juice.

To assemble the tart:

Spread the cream  over the crust, top with carefully arranged sliced strawberries, then gently top with glaze. Refrigerate until serving.

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Enjoy pancakes during the week: Make your own pancake mix

Our home in New Mexico sat at the top of a ridge, giving us an unobstructed view to watch things rise over the horizon: the sun in the morning, the moon in the evening, and the school bus in the afternoon. Max went to afternoon kindergarten and the bus would come right after lunch, which allowed us the luxury of a relaxed morning at home. Breakfast was an event, not just something on our checklist. No hurry-up bowls of cereal, or quick scrambled eggs on toast to eat in the car (as we often do these days) but it was a time for lovingly prepared, home-cooked breakfasts which were as much about the experience as they were the calories. Back then, nearly 100% of the time the answer to “What would you like for breakfast?” was “Pancakes.” Most often Joe, who was all of 18 months old, shouted this out. I always acted like this was new information, something special, and would set about preparing the batter. When the pancakes were ready we would sometimes take breakfast out to our front porch to “watch the world go by.” The three little kids would sit at their tiny little table on the deck, and I’d pull up the fourth teeny-tiny chair and join them.

Eventually, the excitement over mixing up pancake batter every morning grew tiresome. It was then that I decided to make up my own pancake mix.  My mother-in-law had given me the idea—it was something she had done when her three kids were little. It’s been many years since I got out my recipe, but this summer, now that Joe is 11-1/2 and capable of cooking, I made the pancake mix so he can enjoy fresh pancakes himself every morning, sitting on the front porch, watching the world go by.

Whole Wheat Pancake Mix

Blend together the following, using your hands to break up any clumps of brown sugar, so that everything is mixed together evenly:

  • 6 cups whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 c.  dried buttermilk
  • 8 Tbs. brown sugar
  • 8 tsp. baking powder
  • 4 tsp. baking soda
  • 4 tsp. salt

To make the batter, blend together the following (makes 6 pancakes):

  • 1 c. mix
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbs. oil
  • 3/4 c. water

Store the mix in an air-tight container, with the mixing instructions taped to the lid.

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Grilled Sesame Ginger Chicken

Don’t get stressed out about the word “marinade,” thinking that you missed the boat if you didn’t get the chicken sitting in it the night before. Yes, it will taste better and be moister if you can get the chicken in the marinade 4-6 hours before grilling, but truly, I’m lucky if it sits in the marinade for 20 minutes, and it’s still delicious.

Grilled Sesame Ginger Chicken

For 6 chicken thighs (or other pieces), prepare the marinade:

  • 1/4 c. each: soy sauce, olive oil, white wine
  • 2 Tbs. sesame seeds
  • 2 Tbs. grated ginger
  • 3 green onions, sliced

Marinade the chicken and place it on a medium hot grill. Brown and turn, then continue cooking until the meat is no longer pink (about 20 minutes total).

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Pink Slaw (the secret is beets)

I can’t decide if I like the flavor or the color more in this vibrant slaw made with raw, grated beets. Make your favorite coleslaw recipe, and add in a grated beet—it’s just that simple. Here’s how I make mine:

Beet Slaw

  • 4 cups grated or thinly sliced green cabbage (about 1/2 of a small to medium-sized cabbage)
  • 1 medium grated beet
  • 3/4 c. mayonnaise
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 Tbs. sugar
  • 2 green onions, sliced thin

Mix it all together, chill and serve.