Butter Lettuce and Radishes with White Balsamic Vinagrette

I made this salad today...it's a snap. I refuse to use bottled dressing..so flat and salty and yucky:

toss together (enough for 2 people):
thinly sliced radishes
torn butter lettuce
2 T. fresh thyme leaves

dressing:
1/4 cup "O" white balsamic
2 Tbsp. olive oil (I really like Caroliva from Spain, nice and buttery)
1/2 tsp salt
fresh cracked pepper
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 small minced garlic clove

whisk dressing ingredients, pour over salad, enjoy!

Indian Food in a CAN? Yes We Can!

Yes I purchased Indian food in a can at my local hippie/organic market and it was DAMN TASTY. It's a product from Jyoti Foods, and I was surprised at how delicious and fresh this tasted, as if that Indian woman pictured on the web site had just made the food for me in my kitchen:

I got the Punjabi Chhole. Talk about EASY. Just microwave a packet of Trader's Joe's Thai Jamine rice (they are pre-cooked and come frozen). Then split a can of the Punjabi Chhole btw two bowls and microwave. Divide the rice among the bowls, stir, and top each with a big dollop of 2% Greek Yogurt (also courtesy of TJs). It was SO GOOD. I bet it would be even better with a little squeeze of lemon in the Punjabi Chhole and maybe some fresh cilantro.

Monkey & Son: Possibly the Best Coffee of All Time?

Please consider trying out this coffee! You can order it from:

http://www.monkeyandson.com

We have been hooked on it for 2 years. Thom Fuhrman's own hand-crafted beauties are not only fair trade, but organic. The Sumatra is our fav. It is so rich and smooth, without acidity. Nice to know you're not drinking pesticide and the people that grow the coffee have a decent life!  Click here to check out the espresso machine we use, where apparently I already espoused the virtues of Monkey & Son before.  See!  PROOF that this coffee has lasted throughout the ages....That's saying a LOT when it comes to my fickle consumerism and the amount of competition that's out there on the coffee scene.

Home-Made Bagels

I just ate the most heavenly, warm, perfect bagel...minutes out of the oven! I found this recipe online and it worked like a charm:
Home-Made Bagel Recipe

"Homemade bagel recipe

4 cups bread flour

1 Tbls sugar

1 1/2 tsps salt

1 Tbls vegetable oil

2 tsps instant yeast

1-1/4- 1-1/2 cups of warm water.

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. You don't have to worry about soaking the yeast when you use instant yeast (most yeast sold these days is instant yeast). The dough should feel stiff, but add the extra water if it's really stiff, or you can't get all the dry flour incorporated.

Plop the dough down onto the counter, and knead for about ten minutes, or until the dough is uniform and smooth.

Cut the dough into 8 equal sized balls, and let rest for 10-20 minutes.

Pre heat your oven to 425.

Now, take each of the dough balls and using two hands, roll it into a little snake on the counter. When the snake is longer than the width of your two hands, wrap it around your dominant roiling hand. The dough rope should be wrapped so the overlapping ends are together at your palm, near the start of your fingers. Now take the two overlapping ends, and use your palm to squish/roll these two ends together. Once the dough is fused, you should have a perfectly circular bagel-to-be! This is the only part of the process that can take a little practice before your bagels will look really professional. Don't get discouraged if they don't look perfect, it just takes practice!

Let your bagels rest on the counter for about 20 minutes, and meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil, and grease a large baking tray lightly. You can just rub a splash of vegetable oil and rub it around.

After the 20 minute wait, your bagels will start to look puffy, and it's time to get them boiling! Add them as many at a time as you can to your boiling water without crowding them. Boil for about a minute, turn them over, and boil for another minute. Take them out a let dry for a minute and then place them on your oiled baking tray. Repeat until all the bagels are boiled.

Add the tray to the oven, and after 10 minutes, flip the bagels over, bake for another ten minutes; and they're done!"


It was so easy and the bagels came out perfectly! I used a high quality baking sheet (a little thicker than typical) and used grapeseed oil to rub it down. The grapeseed oil worked really well and imparted a nice, slightly buttery flavor to the bagels. I also added a tsp of baking soda to the boiling water to assist with browning the bagels. I only made 4 bagels to start as I was worried about how they would turn out--so I literally cut the recipe in half above and it still turned out GREAT. Before baking, I dipped the bagels in sea salt and raw sesame seeds.

These were so heavenly we didn't need to toast them at all. Just added a touch of butter about 10 minutes after they came out of the oven. I've never had more awesome bagels in my life! this is a must-try home experiment.

With the rising costs of food, knowing I can make something like this at home with just a few simple ingredients makes me feel very self-empowered.

Parsnip and Rosemary Risotto

OK just had to share one more huge success. It has been a number of years since I made risotto, and I only had Trader's Joe's vegetable broth concentrate packets around the house, but it turned out to be a huge success. Maybe the TJ's packets were the key? They are these little tubes with a shot of concentrated veg broth that you add water to....I had to tear open 8 of these little buggers and add 8 cups of hot water. It makes a pretty savory broth...darker and more strong than your typical broth from the can or box.

I was also intimidated by the parsnips. It takes some time to chop them up. My fiance kept wondering if maybe I was in over my head, what with the veggie broth boiling, and all the parsnip cubes. I also was worried about over-processing the onion...you know when you overdo it in the food processor and you end up with an almost onion "soup"...strangely enough I think that also may have been a factor that made for a very smooth and delicious risotto.

This cooked a lot faster than I thought...I just had to keep tasting the risotto while cooking until I got it right. I have to say I am new fan now of parsnips! The taste is like a cross between cauliflower and potato in flavor. Very mild and sweet and creamy. A huge hit, even with my fiance, who claims to not like anything with rice.

I will definitely be making this again! I ate it for dinner and then for lunch for 2 more days and it just kept getting better.

Linguine Avgolemono with Artichoke Hearts and Green Beans

I've tried a lot of recipes from magazines, and should probably come as no surprise that the ones I tear out from Bon Appetit are consistently very good! Sharing one I made tonight. The plate is still steaming in front of me as I write. (Incidentally, I am also watching Top Chef).

Here is a link to the recipe on Epicurious: Linguine Avgolemono with Artichoke Hearts and Green Beans

It's really a cinch. Once you have a big pot of water boiling, add frozen artichoke hearts...and I used frozen haricort verts from Boundelle, so I didn't have to do any trimming/prep of the green beans. I also invested in some gourmet, hand-crafted linguine that had a more rough texture that allowed the sauce to really cling to the noodles.

I went a little light on the whipping cream--don't really feel a full half cup was necessary. But it was so simple to whisk together the yolks, cream, lemon juice. It's also key to not overcook the veggies or the pasta. You want the veggies just barely tender and then pasta still al dente. Taste the pasta while you cook to get the texture just right. Once you throw the cooked pasta, veggies, cheese, parsley and sauce together and start simmering, it's so fun to watch the sauce thicken up and all the ingredients marry. I didn't need to add any cooking liquid to thin it, but I did add some salt to kick up the flavor.

My only regret now is that I have 3 more servings and no friends over for dinner! I would definitely make this again for friends and feel confident it will be a crowd-pleaser.

Some 2006 Alicanto Sauvignon Blanc really complimented this pasta very well! The sauce is rich and the tang/grassy flavor really cuts through and refreshes your palate between bites.

ROASTING: An Alternative to Throwing Away Food

How many times have YOU been in this situation: You go to Traders Joe's Saturday afternoon and snatch up those plastic bulk packs of Roma tomatoes and red plums. You try your best to make as much Caprese salad as humanly possible, try to bring a plum or two for lunch every day to work. But by the following Thurs you glimpse those items you bought, certainly still very edible, but now a bit mushy or wrinkly. And it gets harder and harder to bring yourself to eat them.

There's nothing worse you can do with today's cost of food and global hunger crisis than to throw these out! I have a solution that has been working really well for me....

ROASTING.

Most people know you can halve tomatoes, brush them with olive oil, sprinkle them with salt and roast at 400 degrees for 45 min- hour for a tasty treat that can be tossed with your favorite hot pasta and basil, or just spread on toasted bread (topped with a fried egg...it's even better for breakfast).

But roasting fruit is just an incredible kind of alchemy, too. (Technically tomatoes are a fruit--yes--but I'm talking classic "fruit" here with the plums). I halved/pitted the plums (had 4 for 8 halves), microwaved a T. of butter, brushed it on the plums and then sprinkled them with brown sugar. I laid out the plums on a sheet of parchment on a cookie sheet. I recommend a higher quality baking sheet for these and most recipes. I roasted them at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, until they slightly carmelized and released their juices. here is the best--sprinkle a little sea salt on them right before serving! Wonderful.

there are so many stone fruits you can do this with and so many ways you can present the dish. I served the plums with a scoop of Haagen Dazs Light Vanilla Bean ice cream. Heaven!

ParadiseO Organic Fruit/Veggie Delivery

I highly recommend the service provided by ParadiseO. I've used them twice now, and have been very impressed. You can opt for their $25 box of fruits or veggies, or you can upgrade to $35 boxes or combinations of veggies and fruits. You can even create an account on their site and enter in foods you absolutely do not want--I for one, am not a fan of pears, watermelon or kale.

I opted for the standard $25 fruit box the first time, and got a lovely array of goodies: a whole pineapple, 2 gala apples, 2 pears, a mango, 2 bunches of bananas, carton blueberries, carton strawberries. The delivery was free and for the price this is an incredible deal for organic food! I also like the fact that the freshness is guaranteed--no moldy berries (booo! trader joes!) or excessive plastic packaging (booo again trader joes!!).

The second time I ordered, I ordered the standard $25 veggie box, plus an ala carte assortment of fruits. For about $60 I got 2 avocados, 2 sweet potatoes, a huge bunch of romaine, a huge bunch of spinach, cherry tomatoes, 2 zucchini squash, a big bag of green beans, 2 cartons raspberries, 2 cartons blueberries, 2 cartons strawberries and 1 bunch of bananas.

This is a LOT of fantastic fruit and veggies--you cannot beat these prices....you are supporting local, organic growers and you don't even have to get up off your butt to go to the store. Love it!