Citrus × meyeri

I have always had a fascintation with citrus trees. I have early memories of visiting my grandparents for the Christmas holidays and heading downstairs to see the lemon, lime and orange trees basking in the afternoon sun.

I bought my first citrus tree last year from The Tasteful Garden-- the Meyer Lemon (citrus x meyeri). I was so excited about it, thinking about all of the recipes I could make with it's extra sweet, slightly tart flavors. When it began to bloom in January, I could hardly contain myself. I was a bit discouraged when I read that it could take up to a year for the fruit to ripen - thinking this must have been a misprint. Not really.

Ten months later, my tree is heavy with golden fruit. The first recipe on our list, lemon curd. The recipe comes from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat.

MEYER LEMON CURD

Juice and zest from 4 meyer lemons

4 egg yolks

4 eggs

300 grams of fine sugar

200 grams of unsalted butter

We use a double boiler set-up, so start heating your water over medium low heat. Combine eggs, yolks and sugar in a large glass bowl, and mix until sugar is dissolved. Add juice, zest and butter and heat over simmering water. Wisk until curd begins to thicken...this could take a while (20+ minutes). Since you don't want scrambled eggs, be careful with the heat. Your patience will definitely pay off.

Recipe makes approximately 4+ small mason jars of lemon curd. Using standard canning method, simmer canning lids and rings in hot water for 10 minutes, while heating clean mason jars in an oven of 275 degrees. Remove the hot jars and let them cool briefly (no reason to waste your hard work by scrambling the eggs now). Fill with lemony goodness, finish with lids and rings and let cool.

I know you think you might share with your friends, but I wouldn't count on it.

Long Gone

Oh, little second Blog, how I have ignored you. Between travelling and illness and moving (yes, Again...it is becoming a hobby!) I haven't been able to think, much less write.

The season is changing slowly but surely. Fall is creeping in and I couldn't be more excited. To me, fall is the season that really starts the year. Maybe it was too long in schools, maybe it is because I abhor hot weather, but either way I always think of Sept as the beginning. This year feels that way especially. My life looks much different than I thought it would, both good and bad. I am hoping that as the leaves change and fall, so too will my sadness and grief. That chilly mornings and brisk afternoons will awaken me. Plus, the culinary possibilities are so different from Spring and Summer. Pumpkins and Apples everywhere! Root vegetables and warm soups. Football and chili.

I am ready.

Zucchini love

I must confess that I don't actually love zucchini. I just love cooking with it. With broccoli at something crazy a pound (for organic) I've been looking for cheaper ways to put green things in the diet. So I've started cooking with zucchini. I slice it for veggie stir fries and soups or shred it for pasta and meatloaf. One of my favorite things to do with zucchini right now is to shred a huge pile of it and add it to chopped onions that I've already got cooking in my deep cast iron skillet. I'll sautee the whole thing up with some grape seed oil until tender then mix in basil pesto, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil. I put the whole thing over a plate of spaghetti smothered in sauce full of homemade turkey meatballs. With a side of Caesar salad you can't beat it. The other slightly inventive thing I do with zucchini is grate it up for meatloaf. Sometimes I'll do an Italian inspired meatloaf with plenty of garlic, onion, and Italian seasonings. This time around Allen has requested a bbq version with zucchini, onion, bell pepper, bbq sauce, and chunks of cheddar cheese. Yummy.

For not being a huge veggie person (gasp), I'm learning that there are some very tasty ways to cook up some of our humbler comestibles. The main thing I've learned from all this though is when in doubt pesto, olive oil, and fresh grated parm make just about anything better.

Adventures in cooking

Since David and I have both finished reading In Defense of Food, and returned from Scotland, I've been attempting to make more recipes completely from scratch, meatless, and whole food-ish. My finished products have been pretty successful and delicious, but this week has been pretty dissuading.
First, I made dal. It was horrid. This was my second attempt, with a different recipe, and although I keep telling myself that, although I am not of Indian lineage, it can't be that hard to make good Indian food. Wrong. I'm leaving that to Taj from now on.
Second, I made the peach crumble that Mrs. Hall posted. I completed the cooling process and dug in with reckless abandon and noticed immediately that something was very wrong. I was thinking, why is this supposed to be good. I then returned to the recipe and realized that I missed a pretty crucial ingredient - sugar. Not so good without sugar folks.
Yesterday I took on the task of making pizza. I made the dough and sauce, and got one of those soft mozzarella blocks to shred myself. 10 hours and much scrambling and cleaning later, it came out pretty good, but was it really worth it? Probably not. The dough was not too difficult, but that sauce was a pain.
So, there isn't really a lesson to the story, other than that being a amateur chef isn't as easy as it looks. But it never really looked easy. It just sucks when you slave away, soaking the beans, chopping those one billion veggies into fine chunks, and destroying your home, and in the end what you produce is mediocre at best and I have to call the husband and say "You might want to grab some food on the way home".

How to Eat Supper

In my days in the book world, I am lucky enough to get a LOT of books. Cookbooks are a weakness of mine and I have a hard time turning any down that come my way. Just today I recieved 2 (one about Goat Cheese and Gordon Ramsey's Fast Food).

My favorite these days is The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper. The Splendid Table has a weekly podcast that I listen to whenever I can (you can download it for free if you don't catch the show on NPR). Lynne Rossetto Kasper is downright wonderful. She loves food and it shows in every recipe she shares, every story she tells. She and Sally Swift just came out with this cookbook, all about getting Supper to the table. Recipes that don't take more than 30 or so minutes but don't sacrifice taste, good ingredients or health. I have tried about 4 recipes and loved each one.

Today I will share the most recent one I tried (well, the white beans I have actually made twice, but who's counting?!).

Salmon Pan Roast with Garlic Shavings and Basil on Fresh Greens, coupled with Warm White Bean Salad with Fragrant Garlic and Rosemary.

Salmon Pan Roast with Garlic Shavings and Basil on Fresh Greens:
serves 4, 5 min. prep, 10 min stove time

1 5 oz. bag (or 4 handfuls) of fresh Spring Greens or mesclun mix
1/4 lb. Fresh sugar snap peas ( I used fresh green beans from the garden), coarse chopped
12 fresh basil leaves
4 small wild Salmon steaks of filets (1 inch thick), or other firm fleshed fish
Good tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I used Publix generic!)
1/4 teaspoon salt (sea salt is always best)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3 large garlic cloves, sliced paper thin
12 fresh basil leaves, torn into large pieces
2/3 cup dry white wine
lemon wedges

1. divide the greens among 4 dinner plates. Scatter the peas and 12 torn leaves on top.
2. Rinse the salmon and pat to dry. Examine for any tiny bones and remove.
3. Lightly Oil a slant sided 12 inch skillet (I used regular skillet) with the oil, and heat is over medium high. Season the Salmon on both sides with the salt and pepper. Slip them into the skillet and sear for a minute on each side, turning carefully.
4. Sprinkle the garlic and basil leaves around the fish. Turn the heat down to medium low, cover skillet and cook 6-7 minutes, turning fish midway through, or until the fish is just firm when pressed. it should be barely opaque near the center.
5. Remove fish from skillet and keep it warm. add the wine to skillet, turn heat to high and stir, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom. Simmer until the pan juices are sizzling and syrupy.
6. Drizzle the hot sauce over the greens and top them with the salmon. At the table, squeeze the lemon wedges over the fish and greens.

Warm White Bean Salad with Fragrant Garlic and Rosemary
serves 3 to 4, 15 min prep, 10 min stove time.

I fixed this as a main course once and it fed 2 of us fully.

1/2 slice coarse whole grain bread, course ground in a food processor (2 generous tablespoons crumbs)
3 tablespoons fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese (NEVER scripm on Parm!)
Generous 1/4 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
5 large garlic cloves, crushed with 1/2 tsp salt and coarse chopped
1/4 cup Good tasting Extra V. Olive Oil (again, I used Publix)
1/2 tight packed tblspoon fresh rosemary leaves, coarse chopped
Two 15 oz. cans Organic White beans (cannellini or Great Northern), drained and rinsed.
1 large handful salad greens
add'l salt and ground pepper

1. In a 12 inch skillet or saute pan over medium heat, toast the bread crumbs until lightly browned, stirring often. Transfer to small bowl and set aside to cool. Once cool, stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese and pepper. set aside.
2. In the same pan, slowly warm the garlic in the olive oil over low heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the rosemary, blending together for another minute or so, taking care not to burn the garlic. It should be very fragrant and beginning to soften.
3. Immediately add the beans and fold them in VERY gently. Turn the heat to medium. Heat the beans through, about 3 minutes, occasionally lifting and turning them as they heat, as stirring with cause them to mush. Add the greens and gently move them around in the pan until the are slightly wilted, 30 sec to 1 minute. Turn into a serving bowl, top with the bread crumb mixture and season with salt and pepper.

These 2 recipes guarantee a great night! With a beer or some wine-Voila!

let me know if you try them and what you think.

cooking angst

I'm going to admit something here that just might get me banned from the blog. I don't really like cooking. (GASP!) I'm a pretty good cook, and I do it several times a week. It's just that day in day out I don't really enjoy it. First I have to clear away the dishes that I forgot to do earlier in the day to make room for all the dishes I'm going to dirty up tonight. Then I spend about an hour chopping and stirring. (Have I mentioned this is after I got distracted by my book so that supper is running desperately late?). Then my mad genius husband has a brainwave five minutes before it's ready. Taps foot. Gah! Forgot the broccoli! Another 15 minutes to get some veggies steamed. By now with one thing or another it's a quarter til nine, the kitchen is an absolute wreck, and we haven't eaten yet. It's enough to make me wish for fish sticks and mac 'n cheese. No this doesn't happen every day. There are plenty of times when Allen is the hugest help to me when I'm running behind and need an extra hand. But, you get the picture. It happens enough. Question is what to do about it. I'd say the first answer involves not making homemade potatoes au gratin and meatloaf for the same meal without a LOT of planning first -especially if bacon and fresh garlic is involved. I don't know how you make meatloaf, but in this household there's some serious veggie dicing going on when meatloaf is in the offing. Other thing -be more aggressive keeping the kitchen clean. Clean kitchen = happy cook. Finally though, I'm going to make a point of cooking more things just for fun -bean salad, muffins, homemade lemonaid- anything fun and tasty.

Thoughts on Grits

Grits are God's gift to Southerners
Oatmeal was introduced by Yankees who were jealous that God gave us grits.
Yankees worry that God gave us grits because He loves us more.
We don't worry about that because we know it's true.

Grits must be stirred with a wooden spoon. Embrace your heritage and stir -they will taste better.
Putting sugar in your grits is weird. Grits should be salty.
Cheese is optional. Who am I kidding. Cheese loves grits like fire loves air.
Black pepper loves grits too. Also butter.

Don't bother with instant or quick grits. If you don't have the 15 minutes to cook grits don't bother. Eat some toast.
Don't eat grits in a hurry. Sit down and savor the creaminess.
If you need fiber go get an apple.
When the directions say 4 generous helpings they lie. You may get 2-3 servings.

Always, always lick your wooden spoon. If you don't lick the spoon and scrape out the pan you are just kidding yourself. You don't really love grits.
When putting leftover grits away there should be regret mingled with excitement for tomorrow.
If you already ate the leftovers there will satisfaction mingled with sorrow for your scale.

Grits connect me to my past.
Grits are women stirring up pots of warm goodness for husbands and children -feeding the generations.
Grits are God's gift to Southerners.

Happiness is just a stock pot away

As I sit here, I have a free range chicken roasting in the oven and a "Mineral Miracle" vegetable stock simmering on the stove. It smells like I imagine Heaven smells like...warm and comforting and nourishing.

No longer will I fret over what to do with veggies that are almost past their prime. Some water, seaweed (really!), spices and a stock pot is the answer! With herbs from my garden. Yummy. Gone are the days of buying the 'original recipe' rotisserie chicken from Western. I am a changed woman.

Hope you all are eating well this evening too.

Cast iron heaven

Allen's grandmother recently passed on some of her cast iron that she's not using/doesn't have room for anymore, and I'm in cook's paradise with them. I don't know what it is that makes using cast iron so enjoyable. Maybe it makes me feel more in touch with my past; maybe cast iron is just more fun. I couldn't really say. It's certainly more picturesque. Last night I sauteed up some shitake mushrooms with green onions, garlic, and lots of butter to go with Allen's steak, and those mushrooms surely did look wonderful resting in that small black skillet with a wooden spoon poised ready to serve. Almost made me want to eat some too. lol. I'm not a mushroom purist. They're wonderful with cube steak simmered in gravy or in marinara sauce but not so much alone.

I'm still getting used to how cast iron cooks though. It holds and tranfers heat differently from stainless steel. I found that out while cooking some steaks on my griddle pan last night. Since I was tired of making a mess of my everyday pan I decided to go ahead and try my griddle. First, I've smoked up the apartment more than once, but that perfectly seared surface is still barely eluding me. Second, what might be medium rare in a stainless steel pan is more like medium well on a cast iron griddle. If you're good you're supposed to be able to tell doneness by the resistence when you poke the surface of the meat, but I'm not quite there yet. I still tend to go by the clock. Hint, if your cast iron pan is smoking hot, 1min 30sec per side is a tad long for medium rare steaks. They were still good though thanks to a little help from Jaden at Steamy Kitchen and her wonderful instructions for turning cheap steaks into outstanding steaks. Yummy. I can't wait to do some more practicing in the upcoming weeks.

I heart real butter...or how does Giada stay so darn skinny?

Am I the only one who notices that as I cook more and really enjoy eating more, my waist gets larger? I thought that cooking good food and really enjoying food, not eating just to eat is not supposed to do that?
Once I realized that regular cream cheese is 167 times better than reduced fat, and "I can't believe it's not butter" pales in comparison to real, rich butter...well, the weight has come too. Now, don't misunderstand me, I realize that I am not overweight. But, if I keep gaining like I have been the past few weeks, I soon will be.
Yes, I am eating more vegetables. Yes, I am eating more whole grains. I just happen to be adding avocados to my salads and tons of olive oil to my grains. Then there is the muffins I can't stop making, and the cookies that cry out to be tested. Plus all the pasta dishes that I discover every day.

Is this a phenomenon that others have experienced as well? I have even started walking or riding my bike to the grocery store, so as to stave this off (plus, walking really limits what I can by as I have to be able to carry it all home).

I am not planning on changing my eating habits...I am cultivating a love for food, and if that means a size bigger, so be it. Women are designed to be soft and rounded. We really are. It is just our stupid culture that has Lindsey Lohaned this out of us (Yes, I just made Lindsey into a verb!).

I don't want my posts to be about weight, but as I was preparing for my shower to rinse the dirt that was coating my knees, feet, hands, ears (how? how?)from my gardening, i took a look in the mirror and was surprised at what i saw. Maybe it wasn't the dryer that made my jeans too small. Maybe it was the creme fraiche on my morning muffins.

Hi. It's me. What's for supper?

I ask myself that a lot -often when I've spent too much time with one of my Rex Stout novels and should have started supper half an hour ago. Yeah, that's me. Love to do everything, but usually don't get around to it 'cause I'm too busy reading about doing it. Oh well, back to supper. I grew up with approximately two recipes under my lovely vintage cloche hat: Granny's chocolate meringue pie and an honest to goodness best pound cake ever. Apart from those two I couldn't boil water (or so it was said). Then I got married, and OH MY GOSH no one's mom was around to do the cooking! Since man cannot live on pie alone I closed me eyes, whispered a desperate prayer, opened them up again, and opened a can of spaghetti sauce. I haven't looked back since. Not only can I open a can of spaghetti sauce with the utmost style and confidence, but I also know something I bet you don't know about cooking the perfect steak. My soups are brother-in-law approved, and Grandmom commended my clean, subtle approach to mashed sweet potatoes. Seriously, I enjoy cooking. I also enjoy reading, which is why I enjoy making meals with lots of leftovers to maximize my reading to cooking/dishwashing ratio (Allen is my dishwashing king). I love reading half a dozen recipes, doubling the veggies, and coming out with something completely my own. if you want a classification for my kind of cooking think healthy comfort food. Spaghetti with extra sauteed onions and bell peppers. Baked chicken with mashed sweet potatoes. Steamed broccoli galore (with plenty of melted herb butter). Italian pasta soup with spinach and zucchini topped with freshly grated mozzarella. Lots of free range meats and organic veg. If you are what you eat then I'm a quality lady. Either that or green and drizzled with butter. Did I mention we eat a lot of broccoli? I also like to experiment with tasty alternatives to sugar and gluten laden recipes. There are plenty of options out there for those who are interested, and I'd be happy to share with anyone who's interesting...err...interested. Inquiries from interesting people are welcome too :D

I'm really excited about the opportunites to share and learn with the women of Birmingham. I may try to do anything (domestic that is, no roller coasters or huge bungy cords), but I readily admit that I sure don't know everything.