Serving Crazy with Curry...

Devi's decided life's no longer worth living. Her sister Shobha is bored in her arranged marriage and considering an affair. Each of her parents and her brother-in-law harbor their own set of secrets. The Veturi family puts the "fun" in dysfunctional.

Who are these people and what does this have to do with food? There IS a connection...

Meena over at Hooked on Heat claims she was born with a pen in one hand and a book in the other. In my case, I'd modify that to a pen in one hand, a fork in the other, and a book open across my lap. So when she announced a Cook's Book Club where food-focused bibliophiles are encouraged to read a monthly book selection and prepare a meal inspired by its plot or its characters, I knew this was going to be the event for me. The first book club selection: Serving Crazy with Curry.

After her intrusive but well-meaning mother foils her attempt at suicide, Devi goes mute, moves in with her parents and channels her emotions into some wildly creative and elaborate meals as she winds her way through healing toward happiness. A Blueberry Curry. Cajun Prawn Biriyani. Not exactly her grandmother's Indian cuisine.

In Devi's honor, I stared with a published recipe for Tandoori Tilapia with Hearts of Palm Salad. Substituted rock cod for the tilapia because it's seasonally appropriate and on sale this week. Used goat cheese yogurt because that's what I had on hand. And unleashed my creativity in the salad, adding avocado and arugula tossed in a couple tablespoons of the marinade mixture. The end result was a little Indian, a little American... and quite tasty. I think Devi would be proud...

Technorati Tags: Food | Indian Food | Food Blogging Event | Cooks Book Club

Flavors of March: Jamie's Favorite Frittata

As the winter gloom lifts a bit here in Northern California and gives us the first glimpses of the spring flavors to come, I've chosen Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Italy as my flavor focus for March. I find Jamie's collection of Italian favorites the perfect way to approach this seasonal transition: he offers stick-to-your-ribs comfort foods sure to drive the chill out of late winter evenings while showcasing fresh flavorful ingredients that abound each spring.

I prepared La Migliore Frittata di Gameretti e Prezzemolo (Shrimp & Parsley Frittata) without straying much from the recipe. I employed farm fresh eggs from my brother, parsley from a neighbor's herb garden, meyer lemons from a colleague's front yard, and a half pound of rock shrimp I picked up from my fishmonger. I served it alongside roasted red potatoes and a handful of salad greens tossed with avocado from my CSA.

The recipe is quick and easy to assemble, relying primarily on kitchen staples. It's filling and satisfying without overwhelming. The lemon gives the dish a wonderful brightness, which complements the punch of the pepper flakes brilliantly. Next time I'm going to add some fresh vegetables (artichokes, asparagus or edamame would be wonderful) and perhaps top it off with a chipotle cream or a tomato-avocado salsa...

Other bloggers who've tried Jamie's Frittata:
Ruth at Once Upon a Feast broke in her housewarming gift a bit prematurely with a frittata built on must-use-before-the-move ingredients.
For Deborah at Taste & Tell, Jamie's frittata is the perfect antithesis to carbohydrate-loaded pasta.

From the archives...
In 2006 we were surrounded by kids' tables at one of our favorite restaurants.

Technorati Tags: Food | Key Ingredient: Eggs | Italian

A half life, not a shelf life

Introducing...

enriched bleached wheat flour [flour, reduced iron, "B" vitamins (niacin, thiamine, mononitrate (B1), riboflavin (B2), folic acid)], sugar, water, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrongenated vegetable oil and/or animal shortening (contains one or more of: soybean, cottonseed or canola oil, beef fat), whole eggs, dextrose, contains 2% or less of: modified corn starch, glucose, leavenings (sodium and pyrophosphate, baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), sweet dairy whey, soy protein isolate, calcium and sodium caseinate, soy flour, salt, mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 60, soy lecithin, cornstarch, corn flour, corn dextrin, cellulose gum, sodium stearoyl lactylate, natural and artificial flavors, sorbic acid (to retain freshness), fd&c yellow 5, red 40.

Quite a cast of characters, huh?

And now thanks to Steve Ettlinger's "pop science journey" into the Neverland of processed, packaged foods, I know a whole lot more about who they are, where they come from, how they evolve, and what roles they play in the many foods that line grocery store shelves. In Twinkie, Deconstructed Ettlinger explores the industrialization and the globalization of the processed food industry as he traces genealogy of each of the sweet snack's ingredients to some rather surprising roots. And he does it without preaching or proselytizing.

Inquiring minds should skip the glorified infomercial that is the Food Network's Unwrapped and head to the bookstore or the library for a copy of his bright orange book. I only wish I'd been able to attend his recent presentation in Mountain View...

Technorati Tags: Food | Processed Food

Always a bridesmaid...

Those of you who've been following along this month know that I haven't had a lot of luck with recipes from my chosen focus cookbook this month: Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites. A used bookstore bargain-bin find, it's been occupying space on my cookbook shelf for several years. The inside front cover's inscribed with wedding shower wishes from a group of the bride's girlfriends. I've often wondered what became of Kim and Mark, married in early 1997. Now that I've tried some of the recipes, I'm understanding why regardless of how their marriage fared, Kim was willing to sever her relationship with Moosewood. After a lackluster seafood dish and an equally bland experiment with garlic soup, it's only a recipe or two away from eviction from *my* kitchen. Double-dog dumped.

Tonight my mission is to use up some CSA cucumbers that are on their last legs. I think Moosewood's got a simple cucumber salad recipe. Sure enough, there on page 233: Cucumbers Vinaigrette. All I need is two cukes and a handful of pantry staples.

But wait, behind the cucumbers there's a quarter of a red onion and a wedge of jicama... What the heck... the more the merrier. So I slice the vegetables, whisk together the vinaigrette toss it all in tupperware and the tupperware back in the 'fridge so that the salad can macerate and absorb the vinegary goodness.

The result? Not bad. Not bad at all. But not much of a recipe either. Moosewood's still going to have to try a bit harder to maintain its spot on my bookshelf...

Cucumbers (and other crunchy vegetables) Vinaigrette
Adapted from Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites

2 medium cucumbers, peeled (since mine came from the CSA and had no wax, I didn't bother)
1/2 jicama, peeled and julienned
1/4 red onion, sliced
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground dried mustard
ground black pepper to taste.

Slice cucumbers crosswise into 1/4-inch rounds. Toss with jicama and onion.

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt and mustard in a small bowl, whisking vigorously to dissolve sugar and salt. Toss with vegetables. Refrigerate for 20-60 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Season with ground pepper to taste.

Technorati Tags: Food | Recipe | Salad | Key Ingredient: Cucumber | Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites

Think Garlic! Spanish Potato Garlic Soup

First, apologies in advance for the crappy cell phone picture. My camera's in John's car.

I wanted to love this, my second selection from my focus cookbook of the month: Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites. It has all of the components for bringing warm and flavorful comfort on a cold rainy winter day. Long a lover soups with 'cream of' in the title but trying to watch my waistline, I'm slowly making peace with soups with chunks. And with a broth containing 20 roasted and pulverized cloves, it was the *perfect* contribution to Sunita's Think Spice - Think Garlic event.

Sadly, despite the sweet spicy garlic, a pungent CSA onion and smoky paprika, it failed to deliver the flavor. I'm really wondering if this is another case of operator error. Others have enjoyed it. But for me, it wasn't even the sum of its parts. Sorry Sunita. I tried.

I'll finish it, but I won't try it again. And unless the next couple of experiments with Moosewood are phenomenal, I'm going to clear a space on my bookshelf, offering this one as a donation in the next library fund-raiser.

Spanish Potato Garlic Soup
from Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites

For the Garlic Broth:
1 large head of garlic (about 2o cloves)
1/4 cup white miso
3 cups water
3 cups vegetable stock

For the Soup:
1 large onion, thinly sliced (2 cups)
2 large potatoes, thinly sliced (I used russets and left the skin on)
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Heat oven (or toaster oven) to 400.

Separate and peel garlic cloves. Place on dry pie plate and roast for 15-20 minutes (until golden but not browned).

While the garlic's roasting, slice the onion and potatoes, and chop the tomato.

Puree garlic in a blender with miso and water. Add to vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large skillet. Saute onions, potatoes and paprika 5-7 minutes, until onions are tender but not brown. Add tomatoes and thyme and simmer 5 minutes, until most of tomato liquid is absorbed/evaporated.

Add potato mixture to broth and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Serve with crusty sour dough bread.

Others who've tried this recipe:
Conrad at Green Edmonton gives us a local/organic/sustainable riff on this recipe.
Skona of Skona Life recommends this for warding off the winter chill.

Technorati Tags: Food | Recipe | Food Blog Event | Think Garlic!

New on my must own list...

We've all played the game. My menu would include copious amounts of hamachi, saba and unagi, remember?

Now Melanie Dunea's interviewed fifty of the world's top chefs... men and women who've arguably tasted (and in many cases created) some of the world's finest food.

Anthony Bourdain. Thomas Keller. Eric Ripert. Jamie Oliver. Lidia Bastianich. Wylie Dufresne. Mario Batali. And many more.

What would they choose as their final meal on earth? Inquiring minds are dying to know...

No pun intended.

Technorati Tags: Food | Books About Food