Joie de Vivre
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" ~Mary OliverArchive for Recipes - Sweet
185. Cleaning out the fridge.
A week ago, I cleaned out my fridge and am SLIGHTLY embarrassed to say that I found SEVERAL bottles and jars of condiments that had LONG-since expired – including a small jar of capers dated 2002. Yikes! So I threw everything away & I made a pact with myself that for now on I will be better about a) cleaning out my refrigerator and b) using up the items inside before I buy more.
Yesterday was grocery shopping day, so it was also “clean out the fridge” night. I had produce left (fiddlehead ferns & rhubarb) from my recent outings to the farmers markets, some crème fraîche from a dessert that I made for a potluck last week, a couple slices of pancetta, and a slab of salmon. Here is what I came up with: Crème Fraîche-Roasted Salmon, Sauteed Fiddlehead Ferns & a Rhubarb Galette for dessert (which I served with Molly Moon’s Honey Lavender ice cream).
I still have some golden beets left as well, so tonight I’m making Golden Beet Salad with Oranges, Fennel, and Feta. (I’ll share that recipe later if it turns out well.)
The recipes are below, but first a little information about fiddlehead ferns for those of you who haven’t tried them. You can find them right now at the farmers markets and they are wonderful!
Other names: Crosier, ostrich fern.
*Source of info: chow.com & wild-harvest.com.
General description: Fiddlehead ferns are new-growth fronds, usually of the ostrich fern. The name “fiddlehead” refers to any unfurled fern, not to a particular variety, because of their resemblance to the scroll of a violin (or fiddle) head. Fiddleheads taste like asparagus combined with artichoke. Fiddleheads should not be served raw as they have a slight bitterness until cooked and may cause stomach upset if eaten raw in quantity.
Season: The fiddlehead fern season lasts about 2 weeks in any locale, starting in early April in the South through late July in Canada.
Purchase: Choose fiddleheads that are bright jade green, springy and firm. Look for a tight coil and only an inch or two of stem beyond the coil.
Avoid: Avoid fiddleheads with excessive fuzzy brown scales. Any scales should not be at all blackened.
Storage: Fiddleheads do not keep well. They should be wrapped in plastic, refrigerated, and eaten within two days.
Nutrition: Great source of vitamins A & C.
Crème Fraîche-Roasted Salmon
Adapted from June’09 Bon Appétit (by Molly Wizenberg)
approx. ½ pound wild salmon fillet with skin (about 1¼ inches thick) per person
coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper
crème fraîche
fresh herbs and/or lemon peel
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- Place salmon, skin side down, on baking sheet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread a thin layer of crème fraîche over salmon. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and/or a little fresh grated lemon peel. Roast until salmon is opaque in the center, about 12 to 14 minutes. To test for doneness, cut small slit in thickest part of fillet; all but center of fillet should be opaque (salmon will continue to cook after fillet is removed from oven).
Sauteed Fiddlehead Ferns
Serves 4 to 6 – adapted from Martha Stewart.com
24 freshly picked fiddlehead ferns
1 teaspoon coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
*Also good with a clove of garlic and some pancetta which you would add to the oil & sauté before adding the fiddleheads.
- Trim the base of each fiddlehead, leaving only a small tail protruding beyond the curled section. Rub off any brown scales with your hands. Fill a medium bowl with cool water; add 1 teaspoon salt and the lemon juice. Add ferns, and push them down into the water several times to clean them. Transfer to paper towel to drain.
- On a steamer rack set over an inch of water in a saucepan, steam fiddleheads, covered, until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. (You can also blanch them in boiling for 1 minute, instead of steaming.)
- Heat grapeseed oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add fiddleheads, and cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until golden. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.
Rhubarb Galette
Serves 6 – adapted from The New Basics Cookbook
Pastry
1¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut in pieces
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
2 tablespoons ice water
*I also like adding some ground cardamom into the pastry dough with the orange zest.
5 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
2½ cups rhubarb chunks (1-inch chunks)
slivered orange zest
- Prepare the pastry shell: In the bowl of the food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse to blend. Pulse in the butter and the orange zest until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Sprinkle the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, over the mixture and pulse the mixture until it can be gathered into a ball. Kneed it once or twice, then flatten it slightly. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to form an 11-inch circle. Transfer it to a baking sheet.
- Lightly mark off a 9-inch circle in the center of the dough. Trim away the ragged edges to neaten it up. Sprinkle the marked off area with 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Spread the rhubarb evenly over the sugar, then spring on the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Top with slivered orange zest.
- Fold up the edge of the dough to cover the fruit slightly.
- Bake the galette until the crust is golden and the filling bubbles, 40 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.
Bon Appétit!
177. Fabulous Comfort Food & A Baby
As you all know, I love a full calendar and last week was no exception…
Tuesday night, Amy, Tanja and I met at Table 219 on Capitol Hill for ‘girls night out’. Tuesday is their half-price wine night & it’s a fabulous deal! Their food is also reasonable & wonderful — contemporary comfort food. My favorite is the sauteed gnocchi with duck, arugula & cranberry-balsamic glaze, but tonight I ordered the special — pork loin with a foamy Dijon mustard reduction and a roasted vegetable risotto cake – and it was scrumptious! I’ve also heard they have a great brunch, which I’d like to try sometime. (hint, hint! anyone?)
Wednesday, after a rough day, Odie took me to see He’s Just Not That Into You. Let me start by saying that I did not have high expectations for this film. As anyone who knows me knows well, I can be somewhat of a movie snob, especially when it comes to which movies I deem worthy of seeing in the theater. That being said, Odie insisted that I needed a light comedy and although a bit corny, I’ll admit I was pleasantly surprised. While it’s not exactly 5 stars or anything, the ensemble cast was fun to watch (I especially loved Drew Barrymore’s small part where she laments the increasing use of technology in today’s dating world – AMEN sister!) and since it features every cliché, its humor is universal. Odie made a special point when we came out of the theater to tell me that I was Alex, who BTW my friends, is a man in the movie! Nice! — Why are we friends again O? ;) — I do however know where he was going with that, and (somewhat grudgingly, somewhat proudly) he might be a little right!
Thursday night, I spent a lovely evening with Tanja. We ate, drank, listened to music (Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, The Fireman), and she patiently let me rant about my week. I know I say this ALL the time, but I LOVE my friends and I don’t know what I would do without you all!
Friday night, I met Mitch & Monica (who was due to have a baby any minute and actually went into labor just a few hours after our dinner!) for dinner at The Bohemian in West Seattle. What a delightful place! They offer very reasonable wines by the glass ($4 to 6, nothing fancy) and to eat, the three of us ordered a few items to share: the Garnet Frites (crispy fries of garnet yams with herb & roasted garlic aioli, $8), the Cast-Iron Raclette (aged raclette & gruyer cheeses melted with pan-seared mushrooms, sweet corn, bacon & butternut squash served with artisan breads, $12), and The Pescivore (pan-seared sea scallops on risotto of heirloom faro grains, butternut squash, baby spinach & dry cheese, $21). EVERYTHING was tasty — particularly the faro risotto underneath the scallops — and the live music was a nice touch!
Nathan Jacob Barber was born Saturday night, February 21st, at 11:13pm.
He measured in at 8 lbs. 1 oz. and 19.5 inches long.
Welcome NJB to our wild & crazy world!
Saturday night was ‘Cooking Night’ at Mary & Grant’s lovely Queen Anne abode. There were 11 of us and we each were responsible for a course and optional wine pairing. We had SO MUCH fun and Mary did a wonderful job choosing the menu:
- A Selection of Cheeses accompanied by Grant’s Cocktails
- Fennel Soup
- Pear & Jicama Salad
- Roast Chicken Breasts with Potato, Butternut Squash and Spinach ‘Risotto’
- Cranberry Parker House Rolls
- Apple Crisp with Tortoni
Sunday was Odie’s annual bash in honor of the The 81st Annual Academy Awards. Yay Kate Winslet, Sean Penn, Man on Wire and Slumdog! Boo Odie for making me think I had won the contest when I hadn’t. :(
On the calendar this week: a non-date date tonight, dinner & Junot Diaz with the girls tomorrow, my food class on Wednesday, maybe Portland Thursday?, The Wire with G3, a get-together with an old friend, and a business function with Mitch. Loving every single minute…
155. Weekend Wrap-Up
Mitch & I had dinner on Friday night at Purple and then went to see The Dark Knight (directed by Christopher Nolan) at Kirkland Parkplace. Boy, was it intense…and violent! I have to admit that I covered my eyes several times and my stomach was slightly tied in knots afterwards. Heath Ledger was FREAKISHLY disturbing as The Joker and Christian Bale was incredibly sexy as Batman. (Morgan Freeman was in the movie as well and I love him.)
Saturday, Mom and I hit the Redmond Saturday Market. I bought an arrangement of sunflowers, some produce (a butterscotch melon, a French orange melon, cucumbers, yellow plum tomatoes and blueberries), and a fabulous print of a painting of Pioneer Square by 17-year old Stephanie Johnson. Todd & I met up a little later to see the first movie in SIFF’s “Godard’s ‘60s” series (running August 8-14), Le Mépris (or Contempt, 1963, starring Michel Piccoli and Brigitte Bardot). It was fabulous (and I’d like to have Bardot’s body please)! After the movie, we explored upper Queen Anne for awhile in the pouring down rain. We ducked inside Chocopolis, where we shared a spicy hot chocolate and Todd bought a couple small boxes of chocolates. (I’m not sure why, but I was the lucky recipient of one containing a Lavender Jalapeno Caramel, Tahitian Vanilla Caramel, Strawberry Balsamic Caramel, and Fleur de Sel Caramel. I do love caramels! Thanks Odie!!!). Next, we ducked into Queen Anne Books, where we found a stack of great books for Odie. (I already have a stack on my nightstand.) Heading down the hill, we were trying to decide whether we should go out for dinner or make something at my place, which is when Odie suggested we stop at Eat Local. What a fabulous space and concept! Their menu consists of over 40 frozen meals, prepared in small-batches with local, organic ingredients. We bought the Manny’s Shepherd’s Pie and Ravioli Lasagna (layered w/squash & spinach). Also, Odie couldn’t resist a small container of Empire’s brown sugar ice cream. We nuked our dinners (both were fantastic!), curled up on the couch with wine, and watched Devil’s Playground (a documentary by Lucy Walker which follows a group of Amish teenagers through Rumspringa, their rite of passage where they discover what kind of people they want to be and whether or not they are going to join the Amish church).
This morning, I met Monica at Bakery Nouveau (she was even able to snag us a table!) for a cappuccino (my first in 3 weeks! HEAVEN!) and a slice of quiche, and then we walked around the West Seattle Farmer’s Market. I bought some Santa Rosa plums, pluots, Concesa green beans, homemade spinach pasta, and cherries. This evening, Kyle, Vanessa, Dad & I had dinner together. Kyle made chicken enchiladas and I baked a Plum & Orange Almond Cake for dessert. Tasty!
Plum & Orange Almond Cake
from “Italian Easy: Recipes from the London River Café”
Plums:
1 pound ripe plums
1 small orange
¼ cup sugar
1 vanilla bean
Cake:
2/3 cup blanched almonds
1¼ sticks unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
2 organic eggs
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoon baking powder
Topping:
1 small orange
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons muscovado sugar
½ cup slivered almonds
- Finely grate the peel and squeeze the juice of the orange.
- Heat the oven to 350°.
- Halve and pit the plums and put in a baking dish with the sugar and the orange juice and peel. Add the split vanilla bean and bake for 20 minutes. Cool. Scrape in the vanilla seeds.
- Grease a 10-inch round springform pan with extra butter and line with baking parchment.
- Grind the almonds in a food processor. Soften the butter and beat with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one. Fold in the flour, baking powder and ground almonds.
- Pour into the pan and push the plums and their juices into and over the cake. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
- For the topping, finely grate the orange peel. Melt the butter and stir in the sugar, peel, and slivered almonds. Scatter this over the half-baked cake, lower the heat to 325° and bake for 1 hour longer. Cool the cake in the pan.
117. Weekend Wrap-Up
Venerdi|– I met up with my friend Tonee for a little gabfest and a late dinner on Friday night at Purple Café & Wine Bar in Kirkland. As expected, they were packed, but this only made for a more convivial atmosphere and we only had to wait a few minutes for a table. I seldom order entrées at Purple because I have a tendency to fill up on their Baked Brie appetizer (w/apricot preserves, caramelized onions, candied walnuts, grapes & crackers, $11), which I absolutely adore. Tonight however, we each decided on pasta. I ordered a glass of an Italian red and the Wild Boar Bolognese (w/papperdelle noodles, parmesan & fresh herbs, $18), which was fabulous! The pasta was al dente and the sauce was meaty and had just the right amount of spiciness. Tonee had the Gorgonzola and Pancetta pasta (w/pennini, walnuts, roasted red peppers and scallions in a gorgonzola cream sauce, $17), which she liked as well. We had so much to catch up on that I think we were the last ones to leave the restaurant. (A big thank you to our waiter for continuing to check in on us LONG after we finished eating.)
Sabato|– Saturday was a picture-perfect, sunny, warm Seattle day! My Bug’s thermometer actually read 80 degrees at one point! I attended the Obama Rally in Kirkland in the morning (I’m continually impressed by the passion he inspires in people!) and then spent my afternoon reading alongside the pond at Bellevue Downtown Park. A new litter of ducklings were born a few days ago and it was entertaining to watch them navigate around the motorized toy sailboats on the pond. All seemed to actually coexist quite peacefully.:)
Matt and Natalie came over on Saturday night for an impromptu dinner party. We sat out in the deck (which is unfortunately NOT summer ready yet), listening to Israeli music, sipping Lillet w/orange peel, and munching on Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper crostini served with fig jam and blue cheese. For dinner I made an Umbrian Fish Soup, which I served with a grapefruit & avocado salad and a baguette; for dessert I made Tapioca Pudding infused with Lemongrass & Ginger. M&N brought a couple perfect bottles of wine (which we had no difficulty consuming), and after dinner we watched a heartwrenching, yet inspiring documentary, Sierra Leone’s All Star Refugees (2005).
Umbrian Fish Soup (Tegamaccio)
Gourmet Magazine – April 2008
Serves 4 to 6
2 pound mixed freshwater fish fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup dry white wine (preferably Italian such as Grechetto, Vermentino, or Trebbiano)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (preferably Italian)
2 cups water
- Pat fish dry and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt.
- Cook onion, celery, and garlic in oil with ½ teaspoon salt in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened but not browned, about 8 minutes.
- Add parsley and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
- Add wine and boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, water, and 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a simmer.
- Add fish and reduce heat to cook at a bare simmer until just cooked through, about 10 minutes.
**I also added a pinch of hot red pepper flakes to add a little spiciness and some fresh ground black pepper.
Tapioca Pudding infused with Lemongrass & Ginger
from Hogwash Blog
Serves 4 to 6
1/3 cup small tapioca pearls (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1 cup water
2 eggs, separated
1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
¼ teaspoon salt
1 4-inch segment lemongrass, cut into 1” pieces
5 (¼” thick) slices ginger (about the diameter of a quarter)
½ cup sugar
- Combine the tapioca and the water in a small bowl, and set aside to soak for 30 minutes.
- Whisk the egg yolks, coconut milk, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Add the tapioca (with its water), stir in the lemongrass and ginger, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick.
- Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the work bowl of a stand mixer. With the mixer on medium speed, add the sugar in a slow, steady stream, then increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, about 4 to 5 minutes. (The mixture will be smooth and shiny like meringue, but not nearly as stiff.)
- Remove the lemongrass and ginger from the pudding, and stir a heaping ½ cup of the hot pudding into the egg white mixture. Fold the egg white mixture back into the saucepan, and cook another few minutes on low, stirring until the mixture is evenly blended.
- Scoop pudding into small bowls and serve warm or at room temperature.
Domenica|– Dana and I met in the morning at Café Besalu for coffee, a ginger biscuit, and a slice of their quiche (today’s selection was Leek with Goat Cheese). After filling our bellies, we walked around the Ballard Sunday Farmer’s Market for awhile. Our market bags were brimming with goodies by the time we left. No rhubarb yet, but I bought some fiddlehead ferns to sauté, an apple, a pear, some Estrella Wynoochee River Blue cheese, a container of DiVino’s homemade gnocchi, and some beautiful pink tulips. Farmer’s Markets are SO MUCH more inspiring than grocery stores!
In the afternoon, I met Odie and Jess at the Harvard Exit to see The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (Brazilian movie, directed by Cao Hamburger). This film played at Brazil’s São Paulo Cinema Festival in 2006, but was just recently released in the States. What a little gem! It’s sweet, sad and touching. The casting is perfect. Visually, the film is intimate and lovely. And the soundtrack is wonderful. I highly recommend it.
The Village Voice: A brutal crackdown on left-wing dissidents by Brazil’s new military dictatorship hardly registers in a country preoccupied with the 1970 World Cup championship. Before 12-year-old Mauro’s radical parents go into hiding, they hastily arrange for their son to stay with his estranged grandfather in another city. Unbeknownst to them, the old man has died, and Mauro (Michel Joelsas) finds himself alone in an alien environment where people speak an indecipherable language called Yiddish. United by a shared passion for all things Pelé, Mauro slowly makes friends in the ethnically diverse neighborhood and develops a bond with the old man next-door. Directed by Cao Hamburger, this warmly engaging film benefits from its understated approach (it suggests rather than spells out the political turmoil), and its light, comedic tone never mitigates the drama of the central story.
Baseball|– The M’s won two out of three games against the Angels this weekend, which is exciting, especially given the fact that they lost 13 times in 19 tries against the Angels last year. Hopefully they continue to step it up a little, although this might be a little difficult considering the number of injuries on the team right now! Their record YTD is 6 wins, 7 losses. They are currently in third place behind the A’s and the Angels.
Cali|– Kyle and Vanessa were in San Diego this weekend, so I was on dog-sitting duty. As I’ve mentioned before, Cali is a 6-pound white fuzzy ball of perpetual motion. Saturday, I took her on a two-mile walk to tucker her out, and Sunday, we ran ‘hot laps’ in my condo while it poured down rain outside in the evening. Her sweetness makes up for the fact that she torments Boo, barks at every little noise, and wakes up with my neighbor at the crack of dawn every morning. I don’t think she quite understands the idea of sleeping in on Sunday!
Purple Café & Wine Bar
323 Park Place
Kirkland, WA 98033
425.828.3772
Click here to visit official website.
Café Besalu
5909 24th Ave NW
Seattle, WA 9810
206.789.1463
