Nachos

Tonight before going home from work I joined friends for a glass of wine and some munchies: smoked salmon, baby carrots, sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, olives, and NY cheese, listening to a critter - probably a squirrel - in the wall, and the fury of a thunderstorm.  By the time I got home I did not feel like cooking dinner and, of course, spent time responding to emails, Facebook posts,and a walk around the gardens to see how my plants fared in the storm.  I'm hungry; it's 9 o'clock at night.  What to do?  Nachos!  These are made with organic blue corn chips, chopped tomatoes and onions, fresh cilantro from my garden and sliced organic avocado, topped with low fat mozzarella cheese.  I usually add black beans but I'm feeling lazy tonight.  Nuke until the cheese is bubbly.  I think it may even contain all of the food groups.

Dinner from the past

Here's a dinner from the past.  Chicken baked in barbecue sauce - I think from Dinosaur Barbecue in Syracuse, - sauteed baby artichokes in olive oil (oh how I wish they were available all the time), and polenta baked with the chicken as a side dish topped with garlic, chopped tomatoes and some herbs.  Artisan bread on the side. It's so difficult to find really good artisan bread here.  Wish Vicki was still in the area making bread and better yet, selling it. I'd be her best customer.

Take time to smell the roses

A big, big part of being your own welcome guest is surrounding yourself with things that make you happy.  Cultivate flowers and bring them into your space.  Display them in beautiful vases you've discovered at antique shows, flea markets, and yard sales. To use a cliche, take time to smell the roses, or lilac, as the case may be.

Wild rose.

                                           Lilac.

Patricia's Potato Salad

I got inspired to make some potato salad for today's picnic.
Every time I make it, it's different depending on what I have on hand.

This version started with four organic red potatoes and two hard boiled eggs from my neighbor's chickens.  I read somewhere that you shouldn't use red potatoes because they can be too starchy but I'm not that picky.

I added one rib of chopped celery, a couple slices of sweet onion chopped, a small sliced carrot, one scallion including the green, about a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, and about 1/2 cup of Vegennaise.  A little salt and cracked black pepper.  Mix everything together gently.

I like to put radishes in it but I didn't have any today. I also usually sprinkle a little paprika over the top to make it pretty.  Today's salad is in a Homer Laughlin bowl that I found in Lancaster, PA one day when I as antiquing with my mother.

Fish tacos

Another thing I constantly crave, fish tacos.  Hard to find in this region so I made them tonight.  Sauteed wild caught Cod with a little sea salt, ground pepper and lime juice; chopped tomatoes, sweet onion and green cabbage, topped off with low fat Monterey Jack cheese, Trader Joe's green salsa and cilantro out of my garden, stuffed into a Bearitos taco shell made with organic yellow corn masa flour. Usually they are prepared with a soft corn tortilla. 

Unfortunately, none of the pictures came out which I didn't discover until after I'd eaten them (the tacos, not the pictures).  All I can share is a photo of the Cod cooking.

Leftovers were just as good the next night with a side of Sunomono and cole slaw.

Japanese Sunomono

Even though the wind is howling and the thermometer outside is barely pushing 50 degrees, the show must go on so I made this Japanese Sunomono salad for the annual Memorial Day neighborhood picnic tomorrow.  I used four organic cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced, about a tablespoon or more of minced fresh ginger, thinly sliced a bit of sweet onion, and am marinating it in 1/3 cup of seasoned rice vinegar. The flavors should all be infused nicely by tomorrow afternoon's fete.

Tapas at Zabroso Restaurant

Last night following a meeting, I supported another local restaurant - Zabroso - and ate delicious tapas with this wonderful glass of Ramon Cordova Rioja.

Once I started eating, I neglected to take pictures of the tapas that included coconut shrimp with a mango dipping sauce, papas bravas - a house specialty, beef empanadas, and a delicious fruit, cheese and meat plate.

www.zabrosorestaurant.com

As much as I love cooking; I also love going out.

Pizza - the quick dinner

Whenever I want to have something that's easy and quick to make, I take out a Boboli pizza shell - the small ones since I'm cooking for one - or tonight it's an Old World Pizza Crust (Italian herb), and create a pizza from whatever I have on hand. Sometimes I spread Trader Joe's roasted eggplant sauce on it or most often, I spray olive oil - I couldn't live without my Misto sprayer.  Then I sprinkle on various herbs that are available - an Italian blend, some organic kale I dried, fresh basil from my garden.

Next, thinly sliced garlic, sliced onions, chopped green or red peppers, sliced mushrooms (Shitake tonight), some chopped broccoli (I use swiss chard when it's available), add sun dried tomatoes or chopped regular tomatoes and then sprinkle reduced fat mozzarella cheese across it all.  Be creative with whatever is lurking in your refrigerator.  I add some sliced Canadian bacon if I have a meat craving but it is easy to make this strictly vegetarian.  Only my friend Vicki makes it vegan and she even makes her own crust.  She gave me the recipe but I admit that I haven't tried it yet because, after all, this is supposed to be quick and easy and whatever attempt I would make would pale by comparison.  I miss her cooking!

Pop it in the oven at the temperature and time called for on the crust packaging.  Add a salad of romaine lettuce with shaved parmesan and ground black pepper and voila - an easy and nutritious dinner. I have a pizza cutter but I confess I usually use the knife that cut up all the vegetables.

Poached salmon

Sometimes I just want something simple and fresh like this poached salmon with a steamed artichoke.  I only buy wild Alaskan salmon, poach it in water with black pepper, lemon, a bay leaf, some sliced onion.  About ten minutes, flipped over half way through.

The sauce is made from Vegennaise, horseradish, a little Worstershire, chopped chives, and often I'll throw in some capers.

Artichoke is steamed for about 45 minutes or until the leaves pull out easily.  There are several dips I use for the leaves depending on the mood I'm in:   Trader Joe's red pepper sauce, Vegennaise, olive oil with lemon and minced garlic, or when I'm feeling really decadent - and guilty - I'll dip them in locally made organic butter.

I ate my first artichoke many years ago in California - Watsonville is the home of the artichoke - and have been hooked ever since.  I especially like baby artichokes, found infrequently in our local grocery stores, peeled, sliced and sauteed in olive oil with garlic, of course!

When you just don't have the energy

When you don't have the energy to cook, especially when it's hot and sticky....it's a good time to support your local restaurants by getting take out.  One of my favorites is East Sushi.  They have a new sushi chef....I need to tell him to cut the pieces smaller.  Clockwise from the top, Tiger Eye appetizer (smoked salmon in cream cheese wrapped in squid), seaweed salad, and shrimp tempura roll.  Glad I'm eating alone as I'll be wearing this soon.

Mediterranean Chickpea Stew with Greens

This is one of my favorite recipes ever.  I use a grain blend from Trader Joe's and garnished with plain Greek yoghurt, a little Thai hot chili sauce...it is manna from heaven.

Mediterranean chickpea stew with greens

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided 

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon cracked red pepper 

1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth

1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

1 cup fregula or Israeli couscous (I use Trader Joe's Harvest Grains blend)

1 15 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped

4 cups Swiss chard, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon plain yogurt 

1 teaspoon harissa (I use chili garlic sauce)

Parsley, finely chopped for garnish 

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 2 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and red pepper; cook 30 seconds or until fragrant.

2. Add broth; bring to a boil. Add chickpeas, fregula (or Israeli couscous), tomatoes, and saffron; cook 5 minutes or until fregula (or Israeli couscous) is tender yet chewy. Stir in the remaining 3/4 teaspoon of salt.

3. Add chopped chard, cook 5 minutes.

4. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Ladle 1-1/2 cups stew into each of 6 bowls. Top each serving with 3/4 teaspoon yogurt and 1/4 teaspoon harissa. Garnish with parsley.

Fregula is a pebble-sized toasted Sardinian pasta with a nutty taste and chewy texture. Israeli Couscous is also called pearl couscous or maftoul. It is larger than than the traditional couscous and chewy in texture. It is made with semolina wheat giving it a decent fiber content. Harissa is a fiery Tunisian condiment that you can substitute with your favorite hot sauce.

Fiddlehead Ferns

Sometime in the 1970s I came home to Central NY from Santa Barbara, CA, with my at the time boyfriend, Dana.  One of the Colgate professors my Mother worked for invited us to dinner at her farm house in Hubbardsville.  Among other things she served fiddlehead ferns.  I did not take any and my Mother admonished me severely.  I replied that I was sorry but I just didn't like green vegetables.  Well, that has changed.

I now look forward to this harbinger of spring.  Many recommend par boiling them first - apparently they can carry bacteria of sorts - but I have only done this once and I've not had a problem.  I wash them thoroughly and then saute them in olive oil with minced garlic.  I wish I had eaten them so many years ago......

One Pot Chicken Thigh Dinner

I made this the other night from a recipe I found on Pinterest which is an excellent resource. More and more, I search the web for ideas rather than cookbooks, of which I have many. I'm still ripping recipes out of magazines and still consult the books for old favorites but I think most kitchens of the future will have built in computers where we will all look up a recipe and have it at eye level, safe from greasy hands and spilled oils.  But I so love to look at the cookbooks I've had for almost 40 years to read the stains of dinners past.

The recipe was good but if you're cooking for one, leftovers day after day get tiresome.  So, I always try to make something that I can freeze for a future meal.

New Adventure

Okay, this is a new venture for me at the request of friends who share my love of cooking - and eating - on Facebook.  I have no idea what will develop from this.  This sharing of cooking for one, cooking for guests, trying new recipes, eating what's available locally, as much organic as possible, and even those nights when I'm worn out and all I can muster is yogurt or muesli. My hope is that you will find inspiration to invite to your table your own welcome guest.  Enjoy.