Archives for the 'Asian' Category
End of the month round-up
I’ll admit it, I’m happy to see this month recede. Don’t get me wrong, I usually adore October, brisk chilly mornings, sun drenched indian summer afternoons, leaves turning brilliant reds, blues, and oranges, and good food to eat. But my cooking hasn’t been that interesting and there was this, which seems to be lingering to some extent. Also my appetite betrayed me. For the longest time all I wanted to eat were delicious falafel, crispy brown and tucked into a warm pita lined with tomatoes, chopped parsley, and yogurt sauce seasoned with garlic, salt, and lemon juice. Actually, I just had one for dinner tonight and I don’t see this obsession of mine waning at all. You’ll notice there are no pictures of falafels, too busy eating. But we have enjoyed eating these lovely pears from our CSA fruit share.
This club sandwich brought me right back to a road trip vacation with my parents and my brother. I must have been 9 or so and we drove west. Whenever we’d stop and eat in a restaurant I’d order a club sandwich. I thought it was so cool. Also I had a pair of cowboy boots that I wore all the time, a bad perm, an overbite, and cat woman glasses as thick as a coke bottle. Yes indeed folks, I was quite a beauty. But this sandwich is the real thing, beautiful, totally local and tastee.
This herb encrusted Icelandic lamb with purple potatoes, both from Jordandal Farm, were lip smacking good with great lamby flavor, and so much fun to eat. Those potatoes are another one of my obsessions this month. The first time I bought the potatoes I only got a few because our CSA keeps us well stocked in taters. But these were not typical spuds…on no my friends, these were potatoes of the gods. When I went back 2 weeks later Eric didn’t have anymore with him. I explained how much I loved these potatoes and what fine and awesome taters they were, and poor Eric took pity on me and said he’d see what he could do. Sure enough he wrangled me a good sized bag of them and now it’s all I want to eat. I cut them into a 1/2″ dice, steam them, and then toss them with shallot butter, coarse kosher salt, and some coarse pepper…ummm, I’m in heaven. They’re perfect warmed up in the microwave with leftover whatever on top. Again no photos, too busy eating.
Beef, eggplant, and mushroom stir fry is one of my favorite combos. I sauce it with some soy, siriracha, and a dash of rice vinegar. I always use dried shitakes for this because they have such a bold flavor and a great texture.
This was a huge pot of soup featuring diced french fingerling potatoes, squash, chard, onions, and carrots. Totally local too.
Another sandwich…this is made on a ciabatta and filled with Brunkow’s pepper-jack cheese, Jordandal’s beef summer sausage, olives, and those beautiful sweet and spicy red peppers from Whole Foods’ olive bar…I have no idea what they’re called but I love, love, love them on everything. I made this into a panini using my new electric griddle and and a cast iron skillet as a weight.
Another easy-peasy obsession of mine…stir-fried rice noodles with egg, sriracha, and topped with ribbons of fresh basil. I know it’s ridiculous, but I like it.
I can already hear the humming of the interweb as it gears up for the gluttonous holiday season. I’ll get there…after a few more falafels.
A slight change in perspective
The onslaught of zucchini continues and frankly it becomes a chore trying to think of new ways to use it. I’m now at the point that I put off thinking about what I’ll cook for dinner until 5:30 or so and then I stick my head in the refrigerator and those damn zucchinis are still there. Why can’t they be magic leprechauns with pots full of gold? Okay…I know that’s weird, but really, couldn’t they turn into something I want to eat, like sushi? Oh, all right…they’re zucchinis and they’re proud of it…onward.
My inspiration today was simply to leave the sunny and provocative Mediterranean preparations behind and head east. Zucchini is often used in Thai and Indian curries (at least here in Madison) so my first thought was a standard curry served over rice…but I’m not in the mood for rice or anything even remotely heavy. So I decided to zip the zucchini and eggplant through my mandoline and turn it into noodle-ish substitutes…light, tasty, and, woohoo!!!…I killed 2 more zucchinis! I diced the chicken and sauteed it in oil and Penzys’ Singapore Seasoning and then deglazed the pan with coconut milk. While that bubbled away I gave the zucchini/eggplant strands a quick spin in a super-hot wok, plated, tossed on a tomato, and there we are… eating zucchini again and with no complaints…uh-huh…it was tasty, light, filling, zesty, and GH thought it was fabulous too.
So maybe a different perspective is all it takes sometimes.
Tangled up in green
Wow…what a difference a month makes around here. Saturday’s market was overflowing with fresh, local produce. We purchased tender mushrooms, fresh and fragrant basil, strawberries, and black raspberries. We picked up our order from Willow Creek Farm and chatted with Tony Renger about corn and soybean prices and ethanol. We were headed out when I realized I hadn’t bought any of the beautiful spring onions…their pungent aroma lingered in the air as we walked past stalls piled high with red and white varieties. I dashed back to get some and also spied these curly, spiral delights of pea tendrils. I had to have them but I wasn’t sure what to do with them.
As dinner time approached I did a quick online search and found that they are commonly used in Asian cuisine…quickly stir fried. Perfect… those spring onions just needed a brief dance in a pan to bring out their full sweetness, and the mushrooms would lead off and add a nice warm flavor note.
The pork chops were rubbed with minced garlic, ginger juice, and soy sauce and grilled (honestly, grilled a bit past perfection as our grill went inferno for a bit). The tangle of pea tendrils and their supporting cast made a nice nest for the pork chop…of course it only rested for a moment, just long enough for this photo, then it was devoured. The pea pods tasted green, the mushrooms prevented it from becoming too green, and the onions and basil added a punch. A success!
Have you seen any unusual items at your local market? How did you prepare them?
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