the fall times

self portrait at the Musee Mechanique

San Francisco November 2011

Now for Mulled Wine!

Bring to a simmer:

1 cup water

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

12 whole allspice

12 whole clove

12 black peppercorns

6 cardamom pods

zest of 1 lemon

zest of 1 orange

Once simmering add:

1 sliced lemon

1 sliced orange

2 bottles cheap red wine

bring back to a simmer

Don't over boil! You don't want to cook off the good stuff!

Turn to low heat

then add:

1 cup brandy

Strain & serve! Zing!

All warm and fuzzy.

arugula walnut pesto!

The garden is coming along nicely this season! Right now we are up to our eyeballs in arugula. Which may or may not have to do with us taking almost five summers to establish it as a self seeding weed in the yard! I give you pesto!

3 cups coarsely chopped arugula

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup grated parmesan

3 peeled and chopped garlic cloves

1/3 olive oil

sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

into the food processor with everything but the oil! turn it on for a sec before drizzling in your olive oil!

then enjoy on fresh bread or toss with some tortellini! 

a weekend reduced...

An epic green couscous meal, 5+ hours of Monopoly resulting in Jim being a total slumlord, an amazing film finally available for you to watch, and a most important  soundtrack all means that spring has not yet arrived in this climate. Now for a pizza stone battle!



liquid salad for breakfast & other noncohesive matters.

Spring is in the air and I have lost an hour to the machine. Spring cleaning begins with a breakfast smoothie I inhale most mornings....

1.5 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 banana
1/2 cup blueberries
1 handful spinach
1 handful chopped curly kale
1 whole baby bok choy
1 tbsp or so freshly grated ginger

In the blender with you! Make sure to blend long enough as to not have to chew your smoothie... This paired with a green tea matcha latte = better than coffee.

My baby brother birthed an app for Android! He's just getting started and there are some pretty fancy ideas on the way...

Japan needs help... with the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji. Go here or here to see how you can help.

Finally, this just might have something to do with a future endeavor.

warm belly

I leave you in the tail end of 2010 with a recipe to warm you through. It's inspired by a vegan recipe I came across recently. The problem, no offense, is that most "vegan" dishes are horribly bland. I threaten regularly to write a cookbook entitled Modified vegan recipes for those of us with taste buds. Anyway, there she blows:

Carmelized leeks with butternut squash and toasted pecans

3 tbsp olive oil

3 large leeks

2 medium sized yams

1 medium sized butternut squash

4 cloves of garlic

1 tsp nutmeg (fresh if you can)

1 tsp cinnamon

sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

2/3 cup toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 475

Peel and cube to 1 inch squares your squash and yams. Finely chop fresh garlic. Toss in bowl with 2 tbsp oil, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt & pepper. Pour ingredients into baking pan and bake for about 25 minutes.

While baking: trim leeks at either end. Cut in half lengthwise, fan and rinse well to get rid of all dirt and grit. Chop into 1/2 inch slices. On medium, heat saute leeks in 1 tbsp olive oil until golden brown, about 15- 20 minutes.

In a dry pan toast yer own pecans. It's way cheaper and more satisfying.

Check squash and yams, cook until tender. When ready take out of oven, stir in leeks and pecans. Enjoy!

I was planning on this being a side dish, but I got too tired to make anything else. Pleasantly surprised to find it made a most satisfying meal and paired well with a hearty zinfandel.

Tomorrow I bring you a kick ass mulled wine recipe.

Ciao.

backyard bounty!

Some photos of yesterday's fruits. All organically grown by Jim and I, such proud farmers! Salad for dinner!

greens: green leaf, spotted romaine, butter, arugula, kales

early girl and san marizano roma

what we eat with

lemon cucumbers

a variety of purple and green pole beans 

F is for FIG!

I came home from work a bit ago completely starved. My fantastic neighbor has a fig tree and there are some very ripe and ready to pounce on fruits hanging heavily from it. I picked two and made the following....

2 large ripe figs
crumbled gorgonzola
honey
olive oil

Heat a large pan with a tablespoon of olive oil
Cut the figs in half
Pan fry them for 4 minutes each side
Plate and top with gorgonzola and drizzle with honey

Holy smokes! So delicious! Even Jim ate it and his experience with figs involves the disgusting center of those darn cookies which led to a taste aversion to all things figish.
I wish I took a photo for you all.

vegan mac n' cheese please!

On these super cold nights we've been having this is such a cozy feel good and sleepy meal. Don't get the wrong idea with this being a vegan recipe, I love the hell out of all sorts of cheese, this dish is just plain delish.

preheat oven to 350

1 cup soy milk ( I use vanilla- it's good I swear!)
1/2 cup water
a wee bit less than 1/4 cup of Bragg's liquid aminos
1 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
pinch of cayenne for good measure
2 pinches of salt
half block of tofu, or about 7 ounces
1/4 cup olive or safflower oil
2 tablespoons mustard

throw all of this nonsense into a blender, and blend away.
boil water for your noodles silly.

3/4 pounds of whole wheat elbow noodles (penne works well too)

after boiling noodles drain and put into a glass baking pan, pour blended goodness over the top, throw it in the oven for about 20 - 30 minutes.

Dress it up:
I throw a jalapeno pepper in the blender for some kick.
Jim likes cut up tofu pups thrown in the glass pan before baking.

for the love of parsnip

parsnip ginger puree:
preheat oven to 400

1.5 pounds parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon safflower oil (olive oil will do)
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
toss these together into a roasting pan, bake for 20 minutes, parsnip should be tender

throw all of this into your food processor or blender
add:
1.5 cups half & half (soy milk could be used but may mess with the texture)
blend away until mashed potato-like
transfer into a square glass baking dish
back in oven for 10 minutes

Delish! We ate it with bbq tempeh and steamed broccoli.
perfect potato substitute.

For a bite of sweet may I suggest Trader Joe's Maple Leaf Cookies. They are like holy shit kind of good.

summer's last hurrah

The past couple of cold nights are killing our two dozen plus basil plants. Today I was forced (damn you winter) to make batches of pesto to freeze for the upcoming no-basil season. Thus inspired to share with you my favorite pesto recipe. Sorry, no photos, those will come with more elaborate dishes.

KICK ASS ALMOND PESTO:
3 cups loosley packed fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup chopped raw almonds
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
(side note: T.J's has the best, for locals- Pasta Shop does)
3 garlic cloves chopped
1/2 cup olive oil of your choice (like wine pick one you love)
pinch of sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Throw the goods, sans olive oil, into your trusty food processor or blender.
Drizzle your oil into the mixture as you are blending.
Enjoy this tasty goodness fresh or freeze in a ice cube tray for future uses.

Locals:
Tonight "Spirited Away" is the midnight film at the Piedmont Theater.
See you there.