One More Detour on the Writing Road

Threw a few things into the hummus that I haven't in the past--turmeric, ground sumac--along with the usual cumin, coriander, tahini. Roasted red and jalapeño peppers and harissa for a little kick. Juice of half a lemon plus zest. Smoked salt. Best batch in ages, so I hope I can remember what I added and the proportions.

Yup, a food post. You’ve been warned.

Over on Facebook, Lynn Flewelling posted a link to an article about how pre-soaking beans prior to cooking was unnecessary. I perked up when I read it because I love bean soups and stews, but never made them because of the soaking step. Slow overnight soak or fast one-hour boil and soak? If you don’t do it right, you’ll wind up with bullets. It didn’t help that the one time I presoaked navy beans for baked beans, they came out hard and gritty. I just didn’t think I’d have success if I tried again.

But this article gave me hope, so. I found the recipe for black bean stew and set about chopping the onion because I knew I had a pound bag of black beans in the pantry. Except that when I looked, I found I didn’t. I did have a pound of navy beans. A year-old pound of navy beans–I remembered the day I bought them at Whole Paycheck, the good little organic shopper shoveling her beans into a bag…then sticking them on a shelf and forgetting about them. I knew beans aged and got tough over time, but I figured that all I risked was half an onion and some time. It was either try to cook the beans or use them as crust ballast for blind baking…except that I already had a couple of pounds of dried beans set aside for that purpose, yet more navy and pinto beans that I bought with every intention of cooking and never did.

Anyway, along with the onion, garlic, and chopped dried chile pepper, I added a teaspoon of ajwain (an Indian seed that flavors and also mitigates that issue with beans that we all sang about in second grade**), some herbs de provence, diced sun-dried tomatoes, celery seed. I didn’t add bay leaf because I didn’t have any, hence the other stuff.

La:

 

Heated until it just started to simmer, then covered it and stuck it in a 325F oven. I figured that navy beans might take longer to cook than black beans, and I was right. I let them cook for close to two hours before adding the salt, checking them all the while–yes, they were absorbing liquid. Yes, they were getting softer:

 

After about three hours, I made tuna fish for dinner because I realized that the beans wouldn’t be done in time. Besides, anything stew benefits from sitting overnight, and I figured this would be the case with this stuff as well. I added salt and pepper–about 2 tsps salt instead of the single one called for in the recipe. Stirred and stuck it back in the oven.

At the three-three-and-a-half hour mark–the beans were still intact but creamy when chewed–I zapped the stew with the immersion blender and creamed maybe 1/3 of them.

I also added a large squirt of ketchup because I always add ketchup to navy bean soup, and a tablespoon of vegetable demiglace because frankly I still found things a little flat. Then I let it cool and stuck it in the fridge overnight.

Today, I added a can of Ro-Tel diced tomatoes and a little more salt. It is a very thick stew–if you wanted something more soupy, you could add stock or more diced tomatoes or water. I like it thick, so I heated some up in the microwave, stuck some cheddar cheese on top, and had it with a toasted roll.

It’s good. Yes, the beans have more flavor than canned or–from what I recall–presoaked. I was also struck by how well they remained intact even though they were very tender. Not mushy at all. Or gritty.

I bought black beans today, as well as lentils and white beans. Looking forward to making more no-soak bean dishes. They will need to cook longer, so I will have to be careful which recipes I try.

 

**also, Blazing Saddles

 

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

After some delays, on Monday I finally got around to my first attempt at pear preserves.

I love pears, but I’ve usually been disappointed in preserves and jams made from them. Price doesn’t matter. Supermarket or boutique, the pear flavor has been weak to nonexistent; even added flavoring like ginger has been flat. I wasn’t optimistic about these pears, either. The neighbors had left them on the tree for a while waiting for them to ripen, but it stayed cool for so long that they had to pick them while still unripe. I think the prolonged chill adversely affected the flavor–after I let them ripen in a paper bag for a couple of weeks, they were okay, but lacked the usual rich pop you get from a tree-ripened pear.

Anyway, went with this recipe from Emeril because it looked simple. Then, I made changes. Added 5 small apples leftover from my other neighbor’s donation because I wanted to add some pectin for thickening. Together with the pears, that resulted in 8 cups diced fruit. I read the recipe comments, and decided to cut back on the sugar because the pears were so sweet. So, 3 cups instead of 4. Added a couple of teaspoons of salt** because salt reduces the need for sugar and helps bring out the flavor of the fruit. 1/3 c chopped candied ginger instead of 1/4 c. Zest and juice of two limes because no lemons. And a tablespoon or so of fresh diced thyme because I thought the lemony taste would work well with the pears.

You’re supposed to boil this stuff until the mixture “sheets off a metal spoon.” I may have let it go too long because I wasn’t sure how sheety the sheeting needed to be. In any case, the stuff thickened until it entered the marmalade/borderline candy realm, with pears, apple, and ginger all turning translucent. I shoveled it into 4 Bonne Maman jars–yes, I reuse them–and stuck it all in the fridge to cool.

It’s good. Different than anything I have ever had before. I’ve eaten it smeared on bread with Brie, on toast with butter. On a turkey and cheddar sandwich. It has a combo flavor–not quite any single thing, but a mix of the ginger, thyme, and pear. It’s waaay thick, like commercial preserves. I would make it again. Might even reduce the sugar a little more.

**thinking back, not 100% sure whether I added 1 tsp, 1.5, or 2. I used a half-teaspoon measuring spoon, so I know I shoveled a couple of times. I’m afraid I cook like my mom–a little of this, a little of that, and how much of this did I add again? So, salt to taste. Not too salty.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

Spent a week in the Portland Oregon area. Visited good friends. Did some research. Experienced the joy of driving twisty, winding roads. Really twisty. And winding. After a drive, my right leg ached from tension and brake-hitting.

This time, I actually visited scenic vistas.

Cannon Beach and Ecola State Park:

NB: Haystack Rock is that vaguely conical rock way in the back, on the far right of the photo. The other haystack-looking rocks are mere impostors.

The Columbia River Gorge (view from Crown Point Vista House):

Multnomah Falls:

Had lunch at Elephants Deli.

It was good to get away.

Came home yesterday–saw the Great Plains snowfall from the plane, and found 2.5 inches of wet stuff in the backyard rain gauge. Also found a very clean deck–the deck guy had powerwashed it on Monday. Tomorrow, he repairs what needs repairing. He thinks he’ll be able to coat/seal on Friday.

Also tomorrow, plumber installs new water heater. Meanwhile, I am planning the decluttering. It’s going to be All House All The Time for the foreseeable future.

Before I left, I picked the last of the tomatoes. Most were pretty green, so I bagged them and stuck them in the closet to ripen. Checked the bags yesterday and found about half were ready to go, so today I roasted them with garlic and balsamic vinegar. Had some for lunch with rigatoni, goat cheese and arugula. So. Good.

Busy days ahead.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

Don’t ask me where in hell the year has gone, because I don’t know.

Gaby is at playcare today, running with the pack (cue Bad Company). I was going to clean, but wound up doing laundry and baking instead. Neighbor-with-fruit-trees gave me a basket of white and yellow peaches, and while they tasted fine fresh, there were so many that I didn’t want to risk them going off, so I made a cobbler.

Sidebar to say that my absolute favorite Donna Noble line comes during her wedding, when her friend Nerys (sp?), who does give off a Bitch Vibe, complains that Donna made her wear peach. “But you are a peach,” Donna replies. “Fair of skin. Stone inside. Going off.”

Anyway. I had been planning to make the usual Bisquick cobbles, but I tripped over this recipe online and decided to give it a go. Blanched and peeled the peaches using the tomato method–which I guess is the peach method, too–by cutting an X on the bottom of each peach, then sticking them in boiling water for a minute or so, then shoveling them into a bowl of ice water. Let them cool for a few, then peel. Skin came off nice as you please:

Peeled and sectioned the peaches:

Poured the melted butter and lightly mixed batter into a 13×9-inch baking dish. Added a few drops of Fiori di Sicilia to the batter because it really freshens the taste:

Brought the peaches to a boil with vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, and a few teaspoons of Grand Marnier, just to see if it would make a diff:

Baked for about 45 minutes at 375F:

House smelled great while it baked. Haven’t tried it yet–fruit and spices taste better after sitting a few hours, for all the recipes tell you to eat fresh/warm from the oven. I’ll have some tonight, with coffee.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

I’ve always liked them, but had never made them before. But I had an 8 oz bag of shredded unsweetened coconut in the cupboard that I needed to use,

I used a combo recipe, the NYT for proportions and the Serious Eats for the chocolate idea. I was a little short on coconut, but I figured I would likely wind up with a more moist cookie.

So:

2.5 cups dried unsweetened coconut (8 oz bag)
3 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 cup turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
couple pinches of salt, maybe 1/8 teaspoon
3 ozs bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Mixed everything in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Dropped the dough onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with a 1.5 inch scoop. Baked at 350F for 20 minutes. That took the cookies a little past golden brown into brown, but that’s how I like ‘em.

These cookies don’t spread. At all. If you want a flatter cookie, dampen your hand with cold water and pat down the mound gently. Hit it too hard, and it will fall apart.

They’re good. Not too sweet. Very, very light, in contrast to store-bought macaroons that I have had that had the look and consistency of very sweet, moist hockey pucks. The chocolate is a nice addition, but I think I will try lemon zest and a bit of juice next time. That should result in a very light, tart cookie. Good with coffee, and maybe vanilla ice cream.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

I can’t believe the day is shot already.

Judging from my headache, we’re in for a weather change. We got about an inch of snow on Thursday/Friday, so it actually looks wintry. More precip headed this way, but it will arrive in the form of freezing rain, which means possible ice accumulation. Downed branches and power lines. A good day to stay home. Hope the power doesn’t go out.

Spent the afternoon cooking. I’m always on the lookout for one-pot meals that combine protein and veg–I like making enough for the week because come Wednesday, shoveling something in a bowl and sticking it in the microwave is about all I can handle. Lately, I’ve been having some success with curried veg & bean recipes, with or without added meat.

A couple of days ago, I caught an episode of Jacques Pepin’s Fast Food My Way on PBS-Create. He made a delicious-looking pizza using a round of flatbread as the crust, and mixed up a popover which he filled with apricot jam. He also made Orecchiette with Fennel and Tuna, which caught my attention because 1) fennel and 2) tuna.

This guy made it as well. He followed the recipe more closely than I did–I made it from memory, and forgot the pine nuts and raisins. Didn’t bother with the cheese or the additional pasta water. Instead I added dried tarragon, capers, and the zest and juice of half a lemon. Broccolini. I only added half as much pasta, and an additional can of tuna. Served it atop a bed of fresh baby spinach, which is my way of combining the hot food and salad on one plate.

All I can say is, damn, it was good. Many times I will make something and know it’s okay-but-not-great. This stuff, though–I would have happily paid for it in a restaurant. The tarragon really boosted the flavors, and fennel works well with fish. As for the tuna, I refuse to pay for the really fancy ventresca, but I do splurge on canned stuff from American Tuna. It’s line-caught, and doesn’t need to be drained. I used a can each of the plain, garlic, and jalapeño–it stayed chunky and had a nice taste. If you’re looking for canned tuna that actually tastes like tuna, give this place a try.

Anyway, this recipe is a keeper. I can see adjusting veggies depending on mood. The broccolini was a nice addition, but baby spinach or another type of green leafy veg might work

I even made dessert. Last year, I bought a mini-pie maker. I haven’t used it that much, but I did fall for a couple of the recipes. My favorite was the blackberry-ginger pie, a simple as breathing filling:

3/4 pint blackberries, rinsed and patted dry
1/3 cup granulated sugar
5 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon finely-chopped crystallized ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt

You just combine everything in a bowl and stir until the berries are lightly crushed and evenly coated. I found three 6oz containers of blackberries at the store, so doubled the other ingredients. Put them in a glass casserole and let them boil away in the oven at 425F for about 20 minutes. Then I topped them with cobbler dough made with biscuit mix, and baked for another 20 or so minutes. Had it with vanilla ice cream. So good.

I am very full now. Just wish my headache would go away.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

Made banana bread yesterday. It’s my go-to recipe, simple as drool, and fairly flexible with regard additions. This time, I pretty much turned it into raisin-ginger-spice bread, given that I added a good 1/2c or more of golden raisins and the balance of the tipsy ginger from last week’s cookies–maybe 1/3c. Also added cinnamon. Ground ginger. Some cracked grains of paradise. 1/4 tsp Fiori di Sicilia, a damned strong citrus flavoring.

I worried that maybe I had stretched the forgiveness of this recipe with the amount of alcohol, but I just had a piece and it came out great. I mean, Damn. I waited almost 24 hours to cut into it–spiced stuff always tastes better if you let it sit for a time. It’s dense, with a smaller crumb, like a spiced, rummy pound cake. Heavier than usual, which I think has to do with the amount of rum I added–it moistened the batter, but didn’t soak the gluten. Or something.

Hope I remember what I did. Must make more tipsy ginger.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

Made my first batch ever yesterday.

My go-to breakfast most mornings is cold cereal with fruit. I stick to as many “natural” cereals as possible. Organic brands. Low end of the sugar spectrum. The stuff can disappoint flavor-wise, and it’s not cheap. The granolas especially can turn out to be pretty pale and floury, and reliant mostly on sugar for taste.

A few mornings ago, as I emptied out a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Extra Thick Oats–five minutes in the microwave/good stuff–I stopped to read the thing and found a recipe for granola. Many were the ingredients, including ones that struck me as odd. Non-fat dry milk. Poppy and sunflower seeds. But I was planning to visit the BIG grocery store with the huge BRM selection, and decided to hunt down as many ingredients as possible and give homemade a try.

I left out sunflower seeds because not a fan. Added 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, 2 tsps cinnamon, and 1 tsp ground ginger. Dissolved 1 tsp kosher salt in the liquids before heating because baked things that don’t mention salt usually need at least some.

I used my biggest mixing bowl, the 4-quart yellow one from my ancient Pyrex 4-color collection. This recipe filled it almost to the top, and I had to take care while mixing so that stuff didn’t spill over the rim. I spread it out on one large cookie sheet, but after a half-hour realized that the layer was just too thick and shoveled some off on a smaller sheet. Baking time? About an hour, hour fifteen minutes. I overbrown everything because that’s how I like it, and I came pretty darn close to burning the stuff in the small sheet. But everything proved salvageable. I let it cool for a half-hour or so, then shoveled it into storage containers.

Verdict? I like it, but it’s an acquired taste. The browning helped. It’s not sweet–with only 1/2 cup honey, I should have realized it wouldn’t be. I could have doubled the cinnamon and ginger. Next time, I may try more additions–maple syrup, a little brown sugar. A tad more salt. Boiled cider. Vanilla. Right now, the overall flavor is grainy/toasty/nutty, like a bread or roll. I’d like to add a little dried fruitiness and yes, a touch more sweet. But it’s good as is, and I know what’s in it which is even better.

Serving size is about 1/3 cup, which seemed ridiculous until I remembered that I had munched on a scant handful over the course of baking and had to delay dinner because I felt too full to eat. So yes, 1/3 cup with a banana, milk or yogurt, and a few raisins thrown in make for a decent breakfast.

It’s a cloudy, cold Christmas Eve’s Eve here. Thursday’s storm gave us over an inch of rain but only a dusting of snow–the sump pump continues to pump on a regular basis, and the backyard is like a skating rink in spots. Dried lawn is coated with a layer of ice that crunches when I step on it.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

Spam babble of the day: Accord stands out as the Coptis groenlandica which will jewelry this paper hearts with the earth.

Over at Lisa Mantchev’s website, Lisa has posted about her experiments with Ina Garten’s Ultimate Ginger Cookie recipe. Her apotheotic–is that a word/it is now–recipe involves soaking the ginger in bourbon for at least an hour, the result being her Boozy Woozy Timey Wimey cookies. I liked the sound of that, but alas I have no bourbon. I do, however, have dark rum. The ginger has been soaking since yesterday afternoon and the level of the rum has dropped a bit, which implies soakage. I will be baking later in the week, Thursday or Friday. I will post pictures.

King update: you still wouldn’t know he’s sick. He’s bouncy. Eating well. Barking at me when he wants his foods, dammit–I’m never fast enough. Likes to be outside in the cool. At his last checkup, his liver enzyme results came in just a hair above normal. He has a follow-up on Jan. 3 that will include an ultrasound to see how things look. The oncologist told me that it will just tell us where we’ve been, not where we’re going. Yes, I know. But right now, we’re at happy, bouncy, and eating, and that’s all good.

Snow. We haven’t had any yet. It’s been 288 days since measurable snow fall around here, which is a record. However, we are supposed to get hit on Thursday into Friday with anywhere from 1-5 inches. On the other hand, if the snow line twitches, we could wind up with rain instead. I wouldn’t mind a little snow. Snow means clean puppy feet. Rain means mud.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.