Going Green

Scratch Cooking November 19th

Goinggreen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:13:19 GMT

Tonight I made sweet corn tamales. I have never even attempted to make tamales before, but I was in the mood to try something new. I made a variation on an Emerile Lagasse recipe that I found online.

4 ears sweet corn

1 1/2 cups masa harina

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup shortening

water

1/2 poblano pepper, chopped

1/2 jalapeno, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

10 Dried Corn Husks

Soak dried corn husks in warm water. Take husks off fresh corn, clean and set aside. Cut kernels off corn and saute over medium heat until starting to turn brown. Mix masa harina, baking powder, salt and cumin and set aside. Beat butter and shortening until creamy. Add cooked corn and beat for a minute. Add 3 tablespoons masa mixture and 3 tablespoons water and beat for several minutes. Add remaining masa mixture and 3/4 cup water and beat for several minutes. Add in chopped peppers and cilantro and mix.

Put one dried husk on a piece of tin foil. Put a fresh corn husk inside of it and fill with tamale dough and press into a cylinder. Fold dried husk over until it covers dough and put seam side down on tin foil. Repeat with remaining husks and dough.

Loosely close tinfoil packets, leaving them open on the sides. Place packets in a pan with about an inch of water in it. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

They were super good! Not as sweet as some I have had, but very flavorful. We each ate 2 standing up in the kitchen.

Afterwards I watched Top Chef and was humbled by the mock Bocuse D'Or competition they staged. These people have some mad cooking skills!

Scratch Cooking November 17th

Goinggreen — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:29:02 GMT

I have one word for you; Rumpledethumps. According to the Sundays at Moosewood Cookbook, they are a kind of colcannon, a potato and cabbage dish served on the Celtic British harvest festival of Lugnasa. "All members of the family must share the dish or risk offending the agricultural spirit that protects the crop. After the first bite everyone shouts 'Death to the Red Hag!' thus driving away the specter of starvation." Whatever. There was no shouting on our part because after the first bite, everyone (me, my daughter and her best friend) were going in for another bite.

Here's a link to the recipe only there's a typo. It should be 3/4 cup milk added to the potatoes.

Rumpledethumps is just such an awesome name for anything. How can you not want to announce to your family that you are serving rumpledethumps for dinner? All the better that it tastes delicious!

After dinner, I dragged the girls to a dharma rumble where my teacher answered questions about Buddhism. They forgot to send out the reminder, so it was a really small group which suited me fine because I had a lot of questions. The girls were very patient and really tried to absorb some of the concepts. They also absorbed an entire block of cheese, crackers and a bunch of cookies.

We brought gluten-free persimmon and chocolate bars. I made up the recipe and must say, I am pleased as a permission with how they came out!

Mix 1 cup garfava flour, 2/3 cup sorghum flour, 1/2 cup tapioca starch, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon xantahm gum, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon ginger (for those who can have flour, replace the garfava, sorghum and tapioca with 2 cups flour and skip the xantham gum) and set aside. Cream 1/2 cup butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar and 2 very soft persimmons, peeled and seeded (can be replaced with 1 cup pumpkin puree or apple sauce). Add dry ingredients and mix. Add 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips. Spread in buttered 9 x 13 inch pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

We had a lively conversation about it when we got home. The girls are both atheists, and full of doubt and skepticism about Buddhism and the concept of karma. We all spent a good hour and a half trying to find ways to make sense of it all and see how it might effect our lives for the better. It was fun and exhausting!

I've got a sink full of dishes and a head full of thoughts, but I am ignoring them all for now and going to bed!

Scratch Cooking November 15th

Goinggreen — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:12:32 GMT

This weekend's cooking projects had a distinctly French theme. I guess I was just in a Parisian state of mind.

Saturday, I made croissants using a recipe I had cut out of the LA Times a few years ago.

1 1/2 cups butter

1/4 cup flour

2 (1/4 oz) packages dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

3/4 cup milk, scalded

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg beaten

3 1/2 - 4 cups flour

1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon milk (optional)

Beat butter and flour until smooth. Place between 2 sheets of wax paper and flatten with rolling pin to 12 x 6 inch rectangle. Chill for at least 1 hour. Add yeast to warm water. Combine milk, sugar and salt and cool to lukewarm. Add yeast and egg to milk mixture. Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes. Roll out to 14 inch square. Place chilled butter on one half and fold other half over butter. Seal edges and roll to 20 x 12 inch rectangle. Fold in thirds to make 3 layers and roll again to 20 x 12 inch rectangle. Repeat folding and rolling 2 more times. Fold in thirds and chill 45 minutes.

Divide dough into 4 parts and roll each into 22 x 7 inch rectangle. Cut each into 5 parts and each part into 2 rectangles. Roll each rectangle from base to point to make a croissant shape. Place point side down on baking sheet, curving ends. Cover and let rise until doubled 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Brush with egg yolk mixture if you want them glossy and bake at 375 for 12 - 15 minutes.

The second part of our all French cooking weekend involved a classic French Bistro dish that we always get at least once when we are in Paris - Moules Frites, other wise known as Mussels steamed in wine servied with French fries.

For the fries, we peeled and thinly sliced a combination of Russet and Yellow Finn potatoes and soaked them in a bowl of water with 1/4 cup white wine vinegar for about 20 minutes. We drained and dried them and put them in a pot of hot oil (medium high) until they were soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Then we took them out and drained them on paper towels and let them rest for 15 minutes

In the meantime, I cut the tips off some baby artichokes and sliced them into quarters. I sauteed them for about 25 minutes in 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/4 cup white wine, a clove of garlic, salt and pepper. About 5 minutes before they were done, I added in 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.

After the fries were done resting, I heated up the oil again, this time on high and when it was really hot, I added the fries in about 3 different batches and cooked them until they were crispy, about 5 minutes for each batch. As each batch came out, we drained them on paper towels and added salt.

While those were frying, I put a bottle of white wine, 2 cloves garlic, 2 bay leaves, salt, pepper, 2 teaspoons lemon juice and 1 chopped onion in a pot, when it was boiling, I turned it down to simmer and added the mussels. Once they are open, they are done. It usually only takes a couple of minutes.

For dessert, my friend brought vanilla ice cream and we had it with the poached fruit I made the other day.

I also did a little shopping this weekend. I had a 30% off coupon for Banana Republic and went with a friend. I was trying on jeans because none of mine seem to fit anymore. Yep, I am officially down 15 pounds since starting the scratch cooking project! I have also been sick, so I am not going to say it is all the scratch cooking, but I think it is playing a roll. I am actually hoping it will taper off now. I don't want to start looking like a typical Hollywood carb counting, dressing on the side, anorexic nutball.

Anyway, I was in the dressing room and asked the woman there to get me a smaller size pair of jeans. When I came out in the smaller size she said "you're tiny!" but more like an accusation than a compliment. I said "I'm not THAT tiny!" "How tall are you?" she demanded followed by "what's your workout?" To which I replied, "ballet and yoga. Oh, and I don't eat any packaged food but I do eat a lot of butter and cream". She looked at me in utter horror, stammered for a minute and then said "isn't that bad for your arteries???" I just shrugged and said I would take my size 2 jeans, thank you very much.

Scratch Cooking November 12th

Goinggreen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:29:17 GMT

Tonight we had a major breakthrough. My daughter ate eggplant and liked it! In fact, I think her exact words were "I have never before been so surprised to actually like something" and "this tastes like fettucine". So what was this eggplant dish that actually turned the eggplant hater into an eater of eggplant? A twist on a vegetarian moussaka or as I used to call it when I was a kid, moose caca.

First, thinly slice 2 medium eggplants. Place the slices on a baking sheet over a thin layer of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until soft. Set aside.

While that is cooking saute a chopped onion, 1 clove minced garlic and 2 cups sliced mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter, salt, pepper and a teaspoon each of basil, oregano and parsley. When soft, add 1/4 cup white wine and cook until all the liquid is absorbed. Set aside.

While that's cooking, clean and chop 1 cup green or yellow beans and boil in water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Mix 1/2 cup cream, 1 cup milk and 1 cup white wine with salt, pepper, a bay leaf and a pinch of nutmeg. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons garfava flour (or you can make a roux of butter and flour and whisk in). Simmer until slightly thickened.

Put one layer of eggplant on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Cover with mushroom mixture. Beat 3 eggs and pour over mushrooms. Cover with another layer of eggplant. Put beans on top and pour white sauce on top of that. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

I also made some poached fruit. The poaching liquid was one bottle Alsace pinot blanc, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 5 whole cloves, 1/2 teaspoon lemon peel, 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves and 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves. I brought it to a boil and used it to poach apples, pears, blackberries and raspberries. Once the fruit was cooked, I pulled it out and let the liquid boil down to about 1 1/2 cups and poured it on top.

It's still cooling so I can't say yet if it's any good, but it sure smells good!

Scratch Cooking November 11th

Goinggreen — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:28:17 GMT

I was just listening to The Story on NPR. A segment about the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPS, from World War II. They risked, and some lost, their lives in service of this country but weren't recognized as veterans until the 1970's. I like to think that women have come a long way since then in terms of recognition but after watching some of the pathetic display in the House of Representatives, from both Democrats and Republicans, to limit the rights that women have over their own bodies, I am not so sure.

I am not pro-abortion, but I am pro-choice. I'm not sure why I should have to make that distinction. Still, somehow pro-choice becomes equated with being an abortion pusher. It should be obvious that making the decision to terminate a pregnancy is not something anyone wants to have to do and that it is never easy and that it is deeply personal. And I don't want to hear some story about your cousin's boyfriend's sister who had three abortions and used it as birth control and it was no big deal to her. You have no idea what is in someone else's heart or what emotions they might be experiencing having to make that decision. Unless you personally had an abortion and it was no big deal to you, then talking about how other people experience making that decision is just conjecture.

To not just limit public funding of abortions, but not allow any insurance company that participates in a federal program to cover abortions is relegating women, once again, to back alley abortions and unsafe procedures. It is basically saying that women's lives just aren't that valuable. A group have started referring to it as the Stupak Coathanger Amendment and that seems to be exactly what it is. Of the 420 congressional seats, only 76 of them are filled by women (and that includes bat sh*t Michelle Bachmann) and in the Senate, where there are 100 seats, there are only 17 women. Why are we still so under represented? It's an outrage!

So being all fired up, I had to make something a little hot (also, in honor of Lou Dobbs, I wanted to make something with a south of the border flair because we know how much Mr. Dobbs appreciates the wonderful diversity that is America); Roasted Squash and Poblano Soup.

First I peeled a kabocha squash and cut it into small chunks. I roasted those with some olive oil, salt and pepper at 450 for about 30 minutes. While it was roasting I chopped an onion and 1 1/2 poblano peppers and sauteed them in olive oil with salt and pepper until soft. Then I added 1/4 cup of white wine. (Thanks to my lovely friend Nina, I have 2 cases of wine for cooking! She's a wine broker and she had some cases that were no longer good for drinking, but good for cooking. I have one case of Reisling for savory cooking and the other is a case of Alsace Pinot Blanc for poaching and such. How great are my friends???) I cooked it until the wine was almost completely absorbed. Then I added the roasted squash, about 3 cups of broth, 3/4 cup more wine and 1/2 cup fresh cilantro. I brought it to a boil and then reduced to simmer for about 15 minutes. Then I ran the whole thing through my brand spankin' new cuisinart.

It was just a little caliente, and the extra wine gave it a really nice, complex flavor. Kind of like the wonderful complexity of races, religions and ethnicities that make America what it is. It was the perfect way to say good riddance to a racist, xenophobic, gas bag!

Any ideas for recipes using wine? Pass them my way!

Scratch Cooking November 9th

Goinggreen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:21:47 GMT

So I was sitting there writing an article about grassroots organizing versus astroturfing (setting up fake grassroots organizations that are actually industry front groups) when I realized that I was really, really hungry.

I went to root through the refrigerator for something I could stuff in my face and grabbed out a bunch of beautiful, white and purple turnips. I love turnips! Am I alone in this? I can't understand why! Between the roots and the greens you get sweet, pungent, sharp, smooth and everything in between.

I cut them up and stripped the greens off the stems and threw them both into some olive oil with salt and pepper (one thing I like about turnips is that nothing goes to waste). I added in a few romano beans for protein (when mixed with a grain) cooked for about 5 minutes and then covered it for about 10 minutes. Then I uncovered the pan and carmelized the veggies until they were turning a little brown.

Turnips, yum!

And speaking of nothing going to waste, I was talking to my neighbor about having a joint yard sale and mentioned that I had just received a new cuisinart as a gift and had an old one to sell. I saw his eyes light up and asked if he wanted it. Turns out, he's teaching culinary arts to students with disabilities. He doesn't want to use knives in the class and had been planning to hold a fundraiser to buy a cuisinart. I ran in the house and grabbed it and handed it to him, very happily. I also handed off the wood cutting board that my ex boyfriend had given me for Hannukah one year.

It was like a shedding of holiday gifts that come with baggage. The cutting board had been sitting in my garage because I didn't want it in the house but I didn't want to throw it away and add to the landfill. The old cuisinart had been a peculiar gift, arriving at holiday time many years ago with a note from my mother that said something like "so you can make latkes for your family". This was shortly after I told my parents that my husband and I were splitting up. As much as I was excited to get a cuisinart, it came with some pain.

So my old cuisinart will go to good use teaching students how cooking can change their lives and I have a whole new one that comes without baggage. Just with shiny new blades!

Scratch Cooking November 8th

Goinggreen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:50:50 GMT

When someone asks me what's cooking, I find myself answering quite literally. Is that a reflection of my obsession? lack of social life? Lack of social skills? Incredible ability to pick up on everyone's interest in my cooking? You decide!

This weekend, here's what was cooking:

- Plum Jam

- Linzer torte with plum jam (see above)

- Brioche (different recipe, almost blew up my cuisinart, more on that later)

- Chicken Mirabella (helllllllooooooo 80's!)

- Ricotta cheese

- Cheese and Nut loaf (hellllllooooooo 70's!)

- Onion Gravy

Let's start with the plum jam. I had made another one of those linzertortes during the week but taken it over to the Mahasukah center for the auction (that's another hint! Nobody wants to guess what I gave away as my auction item????) The poor child came home to a beautiful linzertorte (with fresh strawberry and plum jam) only to be told she couldn't have any so I promised I would make another this weekend.

First I bought about 4 lbs of fresh prune plums at the farmer's market. Not dried, but the fresh plums that they dry to make prunes. I washed them and took out the pits and cooked them with about a teaspoon of lemon juice and 2/3 cup of sugar. I used the jam to make the gluten free torte (I have practically memorized that recipe by now!)

There was plenty of leftover jam, so the child needed something to eat it on. Thus, I tried a new recipe for brioche. Nothing wrong with the old one, just wanted to shake it up a little. I used the recipe in the Vegetarian Epicure Book Two.

I got both Vegetarian Epicure books as a present from my brother's then girlfriend when I was going into my sophomore year in high school. While everyone else gave me a hard time about being a vegetarian, Ingrid was very supportive and bought me a couple of books to get me started. I will always adore her for that (thanks, Ingrid!)

Here's the recipe:

Dissolve one package (1 tbs) yeast in 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm milk. Stir in 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 cup flour. Pour into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process for 20 seconds. Add 1/2 cup soft butter and porcess for another 20 seconds. Add 3 eggs and, you guessed it, process for 20 seconds again.

Here's where it got tricky for me. Add another 1 1/2 cups flour and process for 3 minutes. After about 10 seconds my cuisinart got stuck. I unstuck it and it start moving very slowly. Then it started to smell like something was burning!

I took out the dough and kneaded it by hand until it was glossy and elastic. I put it in a buttered bowl and let it rise for about 3 hours. Then I deflated it and refrigerated over night.

Next morning, I took it out, rolled it into 2 big balls and 2 smaller ones. placed the small balls atop the big balls and put them side by side in a bread pan (it says to use a brioche pan but who has one of those? Not I!) I let it rise another 3 hours and then baked at 350 for 50 minutes.

So here's the craziest part. Besides my daughter eating half a loaf in about 30 seconds, my friend Robin (the one who requested the chicken Mirabella) showed up at my house with a present for me: a brand new 11 cup cuisinart! I had not said one word about my cuisinart blowing up. I have been doing a lot of cooking for her and she saw the cuisinart on sale and wanted to buy it for me. Talk about timing! So now I am the proud owner of a brand spanking new Cuisinart Pro Custom 11. Kismet, baby, kismet! Thank you, Robin!

Chicken Mirabella from the Silver Palate Cookbook. What can I say? It is a recipe that is so 80's and although I don't eat it any more, I can remember just how addicting it is. prunes, capers, olives, garlic, sugar, olive oil and chicken. It's loud, it's bold, it's full of flavors. It's what my great aunts would have called patchke. And yet...

Here's the link to the recipe though I have a few minor variations; I used about 8 lbs of chicken, a combo of breasts, thighs and legs, all with the skin on and bone in. I used Italian green olives and I skipped the cilantro. Other than that, don't mess with perfection. It's a lot of sugar, but that's what makes the dish.

I wanted something decadent and reminiscent of another era that I could eat, too, so I made a cheese and nut loaf. Mine was a variation of the recipe in the Green's Cookbook. Here's what I used:

1 1/2 cups brown rice, made with a little olive oil

1 1/2 cups walnuts

1/2 cup cashews

1 chopped yellow onion

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper

2 cloves chopped garlic

3/4 cups chopped crimini mushrooms

parsley, thyme, sage

4 beaten eggs

1 cup home made ricotta

8 oz shredded smoked cheddar

First I made the ricotta. Yes, we should all know how to do this by now. Milk and cream brought to a boil, add lemon juice, simmer to make curds, pour through cheese clothes. I am so bad ass with this now that I don't even measure!

I also toasted the nuts (350 for 8 minutes and ground them in my still suffering cuisinart)

I cooked the onion in the butter until translucent, added salt and pepper and then the garlic, mushrooms and herbs (about a teaspoon of each). I cooked until the mushrooms released all their liquid and they were dry. I combined with the rest of the ingredients and put into a buttered loaf pan lined with parchment paper and baked at 375 for one hour.

Finally, some onion gravy for the loaf made with a chopped yellow onion sauteed in butter until soft. Add salt, pepper, sage and thyme to taste and about 2 tablespoons garfava or wheat flour and saute for about a minute. Add 2 cups broth (I still have left over from the shepherd's pie) and cook for about 20 minutes until it makes a gravy. Groovy baby!

About to go try it all. What's been cooking with all of you?

Scratch Cooking November 4th

Goinggreen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:04:18 GMT

Last night I went to the first night of the Second Annual Great Bliss festival featuring the Honorable Lama Marut. It was just what I needed to get some perspective after a mighty stressful day of work. There is nothing like listening to a Buddhist teacher to remind you of what matters and what doesn't.

Through my communications company, I am working on a TV show on Planet Green called Wa$ted, getting all their eco-friendly products for them this season. It's fun but tv production time lines are CRAZY! So yesterday was lots of scrambling around to get stuff for 2 episodes that start filming next week and one that starts on Friday.

I stayed in my pajamas and never left the house until I realized at 6 pm that a) I wanted soup for dinner and b) I really needed to go be around the positivity and peacefulness of a Buddhist gathering.

Let's start with the soup. I made Carmelized Onion with Spinach and Mushroom soup. I chopped an onion and cooked itin a few tablespoons of butter until it was brown. Then I threw in some more butter, about a tablespoon, and about 12 chopped mushrooms. I sauteed that until the mushrooms were starting to brown and then tossed in about 1/2 cup cherry juice (you could use wine), a teaspoon of dry sage (I could have used fresh, but read on to find out why I didn't) and some salt and pepper. I cooked it until the juice was absorbed and then added about 2 cups of spinach leaves. Once those wilted, I added around 6 cups of the broth from the sauce for the Shepherd's pie and cooked for 20 minutes. While it was cooking, I took a shower and got dressed!

It was quite delish and will be enjoyed again tonight before I go to the second night of the Second Annual Great Bliss Festival to find out more about how to find happiness. I will let you in on a little secret. Here's the answer on how to find happiness - make other people happy. That's it, don't worry about a better job, a better car, a better husband, a better body. The only way to happiness is to make other people happy. So why is that so darn challenging?

The big joke is that I SCREAMED at my daughter just before going to the Second Annual Great Bliss Festival because she didn't want to go outside and get me fresh sage leaves. And I am pretty sure that according to the Buddhists, that screaming would result in some pretty negative karma. I did apologize, but still, the goal would be to not scream in the first place.

Thursday night they have their silent auction and Second Annual Great Bliss Festival Party. Guess what I am donating...I will give you a hint - ________ of the month.

In Buddhist tradition, you dedicate the positive karma of going to a teaching to others. So tonight, I dedicate it to all of you. May the positive karma flower for you in this lifetime. And if it does, we can call it the GG bump!

Scratch Cooking November 2nd

Goinggreen — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:45:58 GMT

It was a relatively quiet Halloween weekend. Friday night I went to a small party dressed as another Hitchcock leading lady; this time Kim Novak a la Vertigo in the black turtle neck and white coat with black gloves. It was interesting. Despite all the make up, I looked very reserved compared to everyone else. The majority of women at this party were dressed as sexy cop, sexy maid and sexy cow girl. And the host was covered in red makeup and had horns glued to his head.

It is true that in my younger days, I did once go to a Halloween party as a biker chick wearing not much more than fake leather shorts and fake leather bra, but still, I was 20. It seems that now most women, regardless of age, are dressed like their most slutty alter ego, including young girls.

We watched a rogue copy of Paranormal Activity. I’m not big on horror movies and this one was just plain stupid and predictable. At one point, it was supposed to be scary, but it was just laughable!

The freakiest thing all weekend was the adult man – the guy looked older than me - dressed in costume that came to the house for candy, sans children. At first I thought it was just odd. Then I wondered if maybe he was developmentally disabled, and then it hit me that it was kind of creepy. Thank goodness for the dog. He’s super friendly but barks a lot and loud. He can sound quite menacing even though his bark really means, ‘please pet me’.

My daughter was a nerd. She wore shorts with suspenders, big glasses, pig tails and a name tag that said “ask me about quantum physics”. She looked adorable. Her best friend was baby spice of the Spice Girls; Union Jack dress and high heeled boots. I love that my daughter opted for silly instead of sex pot. Makes me proud!

Okay, so here is what was cooking today.

I made the girls some French toast for breakfast with the remaining oat bread. (thin slices of bread dipped in a combination of egg, milk, vanilla and cinnamon and fried in butter). I don’t miss that many bready things, but I do miss French toast.

Then I decided to make a gluten-free linzertorte. I followed the recipe in the Gluten-Free Cookbook. Toast 1 cup almond flour for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Mix with ¾ cup brown rice flour, ¼ cup soy flour, ¼ cup tapioca starch, 1 teaspoon xantham gum, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of cloves. Set aside. Cream 1/3 cup butter with 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 1 egg. Add dry ingredients and mix. Divide in 3 discs, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes. Press 2 discs into bottom and sides of a 9” spring form pan (the kind where the bottom pops out). Spread 1 ¼ cups jam on top (I used the home made strawberry jam). Take last disc and shape into a rectangle. Cut in strips and arrange over top of jam in a lattice pattern. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 – 45 minutes.

I also wanted to make a vegetarian shepherd’s pie and biscuits for dinner so I started some split and black eyed peas soaking and started on a broth to make a sauce. For the broth, I cooked a quartered onion, a few stalks of celery, the green tops of two leeks, thyme, parsley, 3 bay leaves and salt with a cup of tamari and 6 cups of water. I cooked it for about 2 hours and then strained it.

In the afternoon I started the peas cooking in water and cooked them for about 1 ½ hours. I also started on the sauce. I sautéed a chopped onion in 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil with some thyme, tarragon, salt and a bay leaf. After the onion started to brown, I added a chopped clove of garlic and ½ cup black cherry juice (you could use wine, but I didn’t feel like opening a bottle). I cooked it until the juice was almost all absorbed and added 3 tablespoons of garfava flour (you can use regular flour). I cooked that for about 2 minutes and then added 3 cups of the broth. I cooked it partially covered for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime, I started on the veggies. I sautéed some cubed onion and carrots in 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil with a little salt for about 5 minutes and then added ½ cup broth, covered and cooked for another 5 minutes. In another pan I sautéed some halved crimini mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil and a little salt for about the same amount of time. I added some cubed, peeled celery root to the carrot and onion mixture, covered it again and cooked for another 5 minutes. I threw some cauliflower, white and romanesco and some Brussels sprouts in boiling water for a couple minutes and then pulled them out and put them in a big glass pan. I added the cooked, drained peas, the mushrooms and the onions, carrots and celery root along with the sauce (minus the bay leaf).

I boiled some cut up red and white potatoes until they were soft and then mashed them with ½ cup light cream and 5 tablespoons of butter. I put the potatoes on top of the veggies and baked at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. It doesn't look so pretty in the picture with the red potatoes, I think next time I would use all white. It tasted good, thought!

It was some work, but I have to say, it was totally worth it. The sauce was rich and delicious and really made the dish.

While the potatoes were boiling, I made some biscuits. Mix 2 cups flour with 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon sugar and ½ teaspoon salt. Cut in 5 tablespoons of butter until it is like fine crumbs and then mix in ¾ cup half and half. Knead it for a minute or so and then pat out to about ¾ inch thick on a floured surface. I cut mine into circles using the top of a glass. Put them on a baking sheet and back for 15 minutes at 450 degrees.

Loads and loads of leftovers. We’ll be eating shepherd’s pie for a month!

Scratch Cooking October 30th

Goinggreen — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:36:37 GMT

How fun to chat with some of you girls last night as part of Girls Night Out. I was dizzy from the speed of the conversation! And thanks to those of you that gave me the pass for Halloween, I am going to pick up some fair trade candy from the co-op tomorrow!

So after the lovely chatting last night and a day in which I did not take a shower or get dressed until after 3 pm (my first shower in 2 days, yes work IS kicking my ass), and in which I watched the Bonner hearings (remember the guys who sent forged letters to congress saying things like the NAACP doesn't support climate legislation? Now that deserves a You Lie!) my brain was fried. So it seemed only appropriate that I make green fried rice.

Easy peasy, as it were. Make a pot of rice. Sautee a chopped onion in sesame oil, after a few minutes, throw in some chopped broccoli and beans (I used a combo of Romano beans which are like flat green beans and some flat beans from my garden). Sautee for about 15 minutes until veggies are soft. Throw in some rice wine vinegar and soy sauce along the way. When the rice is done, add a little more sesame oil to the pan and toss in the rice. Add more soy and vinegar to taste and sautee for a few minutes. And dinner!

You can throw in an egg too if you want but it's not necessary.

We had ours with some fresh raspberries for dessert. A good end to a busy, and sometimes stressful, day and a great chat with the wonderful women of PNN.

A word about the pan in the picture; it was my maternal grandmothers. She died when I was 2 so I have no recollection of her, but I love using that pan because it has literally seen almost a century of cooking! Using it makes me think of medieval times, when people passed down pots and pans in their will - talk about reduce, reuse, recycle!

I think we should all have at least one every day item that stays in the family and gets used. To me, it's a way to connect with your own ancestry and while future generations may not have memories of those people, it's a kind of thread between the past and the future.

Okay, enough philosophizing, on with the day!

Scratch Cooking October 26th

Goinggreen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:43:53 GMT

So, was today a turning point in healthcare reform? The Senate sent a bill to the Congressional Budget Office to analyze and that bill included a public option. A public option that states can opt out of, but a public option no less. So here's a little salute to some of the people that helped call the lobbyists out - Billionaires for Wealth Care:

Scratch Cooking October 25th

Goinggreen — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:53:30 GMT

I had an epiphany this weekend; I should always dress like I’m in an Alfred Hitchcock film. Okay, let me explain. I was at a costume party on Saturday and the theme was Alfred Hitchcock. Out came my grandmother’s black leather gloves, pocket book, pill box hat and lamb’s wool coat. In the pocket book, along with a mirror and comb, I actually found my grandfather’s business card from when he had a dry cleaning business. On the back was an address and phone number my grandmother had written when phone numbers still started with 2 letters as opposed to numbers.

Anyway, the red lipstick, the gloves, the dresses, the wraps, the men in dapper suits like Cary Grant, we all looked really good. But here’s the problem; it normally takes me 20 minutes to get ready for anything and getting ready for this party took me over an hour. The under garments alone take 20 minutes! And then there’s the powder and the lipstick and the eyelashes. I don’t know how our mother’s did it and managed to make a meal. No wonder post-war American women got hooked on cooking short cuts, they were spending all their time getting dressed!

Despite all the time powdering my nose, I did manage to get some cooking in this weekend.

Friday my daughter stayed home sick, so I made some apple pancakes for breakfast. A note here on things you never need to buy - you never need to buy pancake mix, muffin mix or cake mix. All they are is a combination of flour, sugar and leavening. Anyway, I always keep some homemade gluten free muffin mix in the freezer (a combo of flours, sugar, spices and leavening) and I mix it with egg (or ground flax see in hot water), milk (or almond milk), some flavoring, some spices and some kind of fruit. In this case, I added chopped apple, cinnamon and vanilla and fry them in some canola oil. Because of the leavening in the muffin mix, they come out very thick, like a cross between a fritter and a pancake. Pour on some pure maple syrup and they are addictive!

Saturday I made some oatmeal bread. It’s the same recipe I use for the milk and honey bread, I just replace 1 ½ cups flour with rolled oats. The oats make it sweet and chewy and perfect for PB&J.

Today, I had a few projects going, all involving cream. The first was lemon and ginger pots de crème. Pots de crème are small cups of custard. They are a quite luscious. Here’s the recipe I used:

1 ¼ cups cream

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup ginger

½ cup lemon juice

½ teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 egg

4 egg yolks

Heat 1 ¼ cups cream with ¾ cups sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Once sugar dissolves, remove from heat and add ¼ cup sliced and peeled, fresh ginger that’s been blanched in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Remove the cream and ginger from the heat, cover and let sit at room temperature for one hour.

Remove ginger slices and whisk in egg yolks and egg. Whisk in lemon juice and pour through strainer. Add lemon rind and pour into custard cups. Put the cups in a pan filled ½ way with hot water. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. It should still be soft in the middle. Remove from pan and let cool. Serve at room temperature with fresh berries or candied ginger.

For dinner, I made a gratin of potatoes, cauliflower and spinach.

5 mixed color potatoes

1 large cauliflower

2 cups spinach

1 shallot

Olive oil

1 cup cream

1 cup ricotta

½ cup milk

Salt

Pepper

Nutmeg

Slice potatoes and cut up cauliflower. Boil in salted water for 20 minutes. In the meantime, chop shallot and sauté in 1 -2 tablespoons olive oil at medium heat for 5 minutes. Add washed spinach leaves and cook until wilted. Drain potatoes and cauliflower and layer in a buttered 9 x 13 inch pan. Squeeze out spinach and put on top.

Mix cream, ricotta, salt, pepper and nutmeg and pour over vegetables. Pour milk on top and bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Kick heat up to 350 and cook for another 15 – 20 minutes or until it starts to look golden.

It would have been great with some kind of simple fish, but I am cutting back on fish at the moment. I recently saw Sylvia Earle from Blue Ocean Institute on the Colbert Report and she says that, in order to be environmentally friendly, there are only 3 kinds of fish we should be eating at this point – tilapia, cat fish and carp. And only farm-raised, at that. That’s because the methods of catching wild fish are so destructive and so many species have been dangerously over-fished. I’m thinking maybe it’s time to just take a break from fish and seafood altogether and go back to a stricter kind of vegetarianism.

So instead, the gratin stood alone and you know what, it was plenty! Especially with those pots de crème waiting for us for dessert!

Scratch Cooking October 22

Goinggreen — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:51:58 GMT

Today I got a little slice of LA life I don't ordinarily see. I road the bus from Santa Monica to downtown and back. Actually I rode my bike to the bus which took me from Santa Monica to downtown. I had a meeting, I have no car, I didn't want to cancel. The iphone map let's you map out a public transportation route which is pretty cool!

The people watching was fascinating. The people on the bus were of every race, ethnicity, age and style. There was a woman that made it her business to make sure that every elderly, disabled or woman with baby got a seat. She refused to let the bus driver leave the stop until her self-selected charges were safely seated. It was very sweet, actually. Then there was a guy, probably in his late 20's or early 30's that struck up a conversation with 2 people that spoke very little English. They were European and had just arrived in LA. With very little feedback, he kept that conversation going for at least 45 minutes.

On the way back, I seemed to keep over hearing people asking about when their stop was coming up and getting wrong information. So like a mother hen, I had to make sure they knew when to pull for the stop and where to disembark. This included a big group of rather large tattooed young men who were actually quite sweet and a girl that started asking if we were at Wilshire and Barrington yet about 30 minutes before we even got close. When we finally arrived at Wilshire and Barrington, she looked to me for approval and I gave her the nod to go ahead and venture forth.

Speaking of disembarking and young men, when we got back to Santa Monica, I got off the bus at the same time as a young guy, probably in his early 20's. He was dressed like he was going to work in a restaurant. He was walking next to me as I walked toward my bike and right as I got there he turned to me and said the words every single, 43 year old woman longs to hear "by the way, you're still sexy for a woman of your age."

GROANNNNNNNNNN!

I have already been told by a number of friends that I should take it as a compliment, but seriously, being told your sexy as a pick up line is already lacking in panache. Being told your sexy with caveats? Ugggghhhh. And that line "woman of your age". As if I was toddling across the street on a damn walker not unlocking my bike!

I must confess, there is a very snobby part of me that wanted to make a snarky comment about him being a busboy riding the bus, but I stopped myself. Because guess what, I was riding the bus myself and you never want to throw out an insult that implicates yourself. Plus, I have nothing against busboys or bus riders, just snotty ass kids that give women semi-insulting compliments.

I came home to a sick kid walking through the door. I asked what was wrong and she oinked and said she was growing a tail. It seems more like a cold than swine flu, but I'll let her enjoy the drama of it for a day.

It was a soup for dinner kind of night. I sauteed a sliced leek in a few tablespoons of olive oil for about 10 minutes. Then I threw in 2 large sweet potatoes cut into chunks (you can peel them, but I leave the skin on), salt, pepper, a sprig of rosmary (leaves taken off the branch) and about 6 or 7 cups of water. I cooked it until the potatoes were soft and then ran it through the food processor.

My daughter said it tasted like Thanksgiving. That's because I always make sweet potatoes sliced and roasted in olive oil with garlic and rosemary. It's one of her favorite things and I wanted to replicate it in a soup for her.

I also confess to you right here and now that I did break down and buy her some cough drops because A) even though I know they are candy, they make her feel better and B) I knew there was no way I could make them for her in a time frame and form that would make her happy. So I hope you will forgive me. The ones I bought were made of organic honey if that counts for anything!

Scratch Cooking October 21st

Goinggreen — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:20:52 GMT

What is it about breakfast for dinner? It's just so nice when you don't feel much like cooking and not in the mood to eat anything in particular to have some pancakes or scrambled eggs for dinner.

My intention was to make pancakes for dinner, but my daughter decided to make herself French toast for a snack, so that plan was foiled. So instead, I made some buttery rice (1 cup rice, 2 cups water and about a tablespoon of butter, some salt and pepper), sauteed some broccoli and onions and added in 2 beaten eggs. It wasn't exactly breakfast for dinner, but it was close.

Our dog actually stole a little off my daughter's plate. Have you ever before known a dog that likes broccoli? Ours does!

My daughter asked how I made the rice so buttery and my answer was...butter! It is true that just about everything is better with butter.

So it was a very simple dinner tonight, prepared and ready in about 20 minutes. And guess what, nothing pre-cooked, canned or packaged was used.

I don't know what I will do tomorrow night. My daughter asked if we were also giving up buying groceries and I had to remind her that I don't have a car, which makes grocery shopping a little difficult. I have my bike, though, and nothing to stop me from running by the co-op or the fish store for some supplies. So I guess I don't really have an excuse except that I haven't felt like going to the store.

I have some lentils in the house, so if I still can't manage to drag myself there, lentils for dinner it will be!

Scratch Cooking October 20th

Goinggreen — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:04:59 GMT

So tonight I went out for a really lovely dinner with my friend Nina who is in the wine business. I want her to start writing a blog because she puts these status updates on her facebook page that are so thoughtful and passionate about the food and wine at the retaurants she goes to that I actually sometimes feel like I can taste it!

We were talking about how snarky food writers have become. It's like they think that to be interesting, they have to be negative and clever.

Now I will confess that when Anthony Bourdain said that someone's broccolini tasted like doll hair a few years ago, I laughed, but it didn't make me excited about food. This is a new era and mean is out! Writing about food and wine with appreciation is where it's at! And it's always fun to enjoy a meal with someone who isn't there for the spectacle but because they really know how to enjoy food.

So not much cooking went on tonight or Monday, but Sunday night I did cook some biryani and chana masala, or that is what I will call it. You see, I never really cooked any Indian food until recently and then the only things I ever tried to make were kitchari, which is a pretty simple rice and lentil dish, and Aloo Tikki which is like a chickpea and potato pancake. I always felt a little too intimidated to try to make Indian food because I didn't grow up eating those spices and flavors. But Sunday I decided to play around with some Indian spices and rice and soaked chickpeas and make a dinner out of it. And, actually, it was really, really good!

For the Biryani, I sauteed turmeric, ginger, corriander, cumin, fenugreek, slivered almonds and salt in oil for a few minutes. I would say about a teaspoon of each spice and 1/3 cup of almonds. I added a cup of rice, 2 cups of water and cardamom seeds from about 6 pods.

For the Chana Masala, I soaked about 1 cup of chickpeas in water for 8 hours, drained them and then cooked them in water for about an hour and a half, skimming off the foam along the way. While that was cooking, I sauteed a small chopped onion, 1/2 a chopped jalapeno, 1 clove minced garlic, and about a teaspoon each of turmeric, corriander, cumin, salt and pepper. Once the onions were soft, I added a chopped tomato, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro and about 2 teaspoons of grated, fresh ginger and cooked for another 15 minutes. Finally I drained the chickpeas and added them in with a cup of water and cooked at high heat for 20 minutes so that the liquid boiled down into a nice sauce. You could use canned or pre-cooked chickpeas, the whole thing would take about 10 minutes of prep and a total of 45 minutes or less to make.

We ate it with some sliced and salted cucumbers, which were perfect to offset some of the spice. It was a lot like making rice and beans, just with Indian spices.

So the lesson is, don't be intimidated!