The Art of Artichokes

Ideally, the smaller the artichoke the better for this recipe and you can eat your heart out - as well as the artichokes.

You'll need:

Good Olive Oil (try basil or a citrus flavored)

dried chili pepper flakes

5-6 small artichokes

water 

Mayo, lemon, and garlic for dipping

Wash artichokes well, folding back the leaves like flower metals to remove any trapped dirt. Than cut them in half and place them cut side down in large pan or cooking pot. Add approximately enough water to to fill the pan about 1/4 inch. You don't need a lot of water. Also add 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oils and 1-2 teaspoons of chili flakes. Cover and steam for 10-20 minutes. They should be tender but you don't need to cook the small artichokes very long.

Drain and serve with a little dish of mayo. You can get fancy and add a bit of lemon zest and chopped garlic to dip in.

Bon Appetite. These go great as a side for chicken or beef. Happy Summer!

Pink

Need a dip to take to a picnic or potluck? This radish dip is easy and fun because few people can guess the vegetable causing it's pink hue.

Raw Radish Dip
• 1 large clove garlic or 2-3 small cloves
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (use fresh Meyers if you can)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 bunch radishes thoroughly washed with ends trimmed
• 1/4 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon dill weed (I prefer a lot)
Fresh ground pepper

If you don't have a food processor,  chop garlic and radishes finely and blend remaining ingredients well in a bowl.

Or, toss in food processor radishes and garlic until minced. Add remaining ingredients until well blended.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with tortilla chips.

I love pink! Cheers.

Just add chicken soup..

Mixing it up doesn't always go as planned for me. My friend, Chelsea, at work shared with me her dad's matzo ball recipe. We were talking about chicken soup and a version of matzo balls my great-grandma used to make.

Here's her dad's recipe

• 1 muffin tin
• 2-3 eggs
• salt & pepper
• dried onion or onion granules
• Olive Oil or chicken fat
• 1 cup matzo farfel

Soak matzo farfel in warm water for approximately 20 seconds, then drain thoroughly in a sieve. Add 2-3 eggs and season with salt, pepper and onion powder. Add more soaked farfel if needed; it should be consistency a bit thicker than pancake batter. 

Put a few drops of oil in each cupcake tin; fill 3/4 full with matzo mixture. Bake at 375 until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. The outside of the cupcakes should be slightly crispy and the inside soft.

Tip: place a cookie sheet on the rack just below the muffin tin to prevent oil from spilling over onto oven 'floor.'

When I asked Chelsea for her dad's permission to post his recipe here, it resulted in their having a conversion on their family history of making these. Her dad learned to make matzo farfel cupcakes from his Aunt Mary. However, he is guessing that since Mary wasn't Jewish (she was a nice Oklahoma farm girl), Mary probably learned how to make them from her mother-in-law (her father's grandmother). So the woman who likely brought the recipe to America was Chelsea's great-grandmother, Tillie. She was from the Ukraine or possibly Poland which was all Russia at the time. Tillie taught Chelsea's dad how to make chicken soup and then dip the cupcakes in.

Chelsea said her dad used to use rendered chicken fat to make these. When he was younger and made chicken soup, he would render the fat and use it in various recipes throughout the year, including the cupcakes. In her family, they call the rendered fat "schmaltz." It's a Yiddish word.

This recipe is so easy, I baked these before work. Warning: make sure you have your coffee 1st. I soaked the matzo farfel for 20 minutes instead of 20 seconds and mistakenly added oil to the mixture insted of just the muffin tins so my matzo balls looked more like matzo cookies - but they tasted delicious! I will definitely make these again and can't imagine my chicken soup without them now.

And I love that both of our matzo ball recipes came from great-grandmothers who grew-up in Russia! Bon Appetite.

Share the Love

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know a lot of people see today as a 'Hallmark' holiday, but I don't see anything wrong with being reminded to tell those you love that you love them. Cards, chocolate and flowers are all optional.

I baked homemade peanut butter cookies and shaped them into hearts for my family as a special treat today. I also sprinkled a few Ghirardelli chocolate chips on some of them. The plain ones are for my parent's dog, Angus, who has a real sweet tooth. He's a sweety too.

This recipe is from Baked Alaska: Recipes for Sweet Comforts from the North Country by Sarah Eppenbach (and one of my favorite cookbooks!)

Peanut Butter Cookies

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

• 1 1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup peanut butter, preferably crunchy
• 1/2 cup butter or vegetable shortening, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup oat bran - optional for a nuttier, crisper cookie
• Chocolate chips - optional to sprinkle on top

Cream the peanut butter, butter or shortening, sugars, and salt until well mixed and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Sift and stir in flour with baking soda and baking powder. (Stir in oat flour if you also decide to include it.)

Using a large spoon, scoop out and make balls about the size of a walnut - approximate 1 inch balls. Space them apart of an ungreased baking sheet. (I line my baking sheets with parchment paper and then place cookie dough balls about 1-2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.) 

Flatten the cookies with a fork making a crosshatch pattern. If you want to add chocolate chips, sprinkle a few in the center of the cookies before baking.

Bake 10-20 minutes until lightly brown - 10 minutes for a chewier cookie and 15-20 for a crisper cookie.

Cool and munch saving some to share with family and friends. Bon appetite!

Just doing what grandma told me

My grandmother, Thelma, was a child of the Great Depression and in the Great Depression you didn't throw much away.

She taught me many practical lessons including how to repurpose toilet and paper towel rolls to use for your electrical cords on your small electrical devices. You can make 2 cardboard bands per toilet paper roll if you use scissors to cut the cardboard into a 1-2 inch band; or 3 bands if you use a knife.

And these are easy to replace!

I want some meat on those bones

I'm talking about Prime Rib. This recipe has become a New Year's Eve tradition for me to feed my friends. I got the recipe from my mom and I believe it was passed along to her by a dear family friend, Lee Pattison. I knew her as Mrs. Pattison. She was my high school History teacher and an AMAZING woman.

Prime Rib

• Buy 1/2 pound of prime rib per person. Costco and Whole Foods both offer choice cuts
• Kosher salt and pepper (I like to use a fancy truffle salt that I purchase at the Fungi Store in the San Francisco Ferry Building. Williams Sonoma also carries it.)

Preheat oven. Roasted prime rib at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to 325 degrees and cook for 1 hour.

Remove from oven and cover with foil for 15-20 minutes to let the beef 'rest.' Do not overcook. The beef will continue to cook while it's 'resting.'

Yorkshire Pudding

• 1-2 muffin tins
• 2 eggs room temperature
• 1 cup half and half room temperature
• 1 cup all purpose flour

Spoon fat from cooked meat into the bottom of each muffin cup. 3 teaspoons - 1 tablespoon each. If there isn't enough meat juice, add some olive oil.

Whisk eggs, milk and flour together and fill muffin cup 1/3 - 1/2 full. (I put a cookie sheet on the rack below the muffin tins in the stove to prevent oven fires from the oil spilling over.) Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.

Serve with a green or spinach salad and a bottle - or several - of great red wine to celebrate to beginning of a new year.

Happy Chinese New Year of the horse. Wishing you good fortune and health in the year ahead.

Thai Pumpkin Soup

We really haven't had a cold Winter here in the Bay Area or a wet one, but I still enjoy spicy, hot soup this time of year.

Since pumpkins are pretty much out of season now, this should be one of my last pumpkin recipes until Fall. (Although I confess to having roasted and frozen jars of this luscious vegetable for the Spring to cook with!)

Here's what you'll need for this soup:

1-2 small pumpkins, seeded and roasted at 350 on a cookie sheet for 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Tip: scoop out pumpkin from skin using an ice cream scoop once it's roasted and cool enough to handle.

• 1/2 can coconut milk (I freeze the remaining milk for future use. I also like the low fat coconut milk you can purchase at Trader Joe's)
• 2-3 teaspoons Thai Kitchen green curry paste
• 16 ounces Magic Mineral Stock
• 1/4 cup Sambal Oelek ground fresh chili paste (use less for less heat) 

Combine all ingredients in a stock pot and cook on medium heat stirring periodically for 30-45 minutes. I pureed my soup to make it even smoother - but this shouldn't be required. Pumpkin will break down and the texture will become more liquid with additional cooking with the stock.

I froze remaining jars of this soup for future lunches on chilly days. Yum!

Use that body...

I'm talking about that left over roasted chicken body that you've been nibbling on for a week. Now it's time to get a few more meals for this bird.

Variation of my chicken stock:

• In a large pot place your picked over roasted chicken carcass
• Add 6-8 cups water (I use water from my Brita only because the water from the tap has a flavor I don't like)
• 1 red or white onion cleaned and chopped in chunks
• 3-4 garlic cloves peeled and chopped in chunks
• 5-6 juniper berries
• 2 sweet potatoes peeled and chopped in chunks
• 1 bunch of turnips peeled and chopped in chunks
• 1/2 Tablespoon Kosher salt
• 8-12 whole peppercorns
• 1/2 fennel bulb (or celery) and stalks chopped into chunks
• 4 carrots peeled and chopped

Cook 3-4 hours on medium heat until all of the vegetables are mushy. Strain stock with fine-mesh sieve or colander. It was hard for me to toss all the cooked vegetables, but I haven't found the magic in them - but in the cooked stock which is amazing to add to soup.

Freeze strained stock in 8-16 once glass jars.

Using 8-16 ounces of chicken stock, you're now ready to make a Butternut-Pumpkin soup.

Squash Soup

Cut in half 1-2 butternut squash(I had roasted a grocery store Halloween pumpkin and froze it in 16 once jars. Or you can also roast a second butternut squash.) Roast in oven at 350 for 1 hour.

Cool and using an ice cream scooper, scoop out squash meat. Add to stock pot with chicken stock.

Plus add
1-2 teaspoon Turmeric
2-3 fennel stocks sliced in 1/2 inch pieces (or celery)
2 carrots
1 yellow onion sliced

Cook on medium heat for 45 minutes until carrots are tender. Then emulsify or place in glass blender to puree.

Soup can be served with a persimmon green salad with a citrus champagne vinaigrette.

Bon Appetite!

Pumpkin & chicken stew

My sister's been doing the Paleo/Primal diet and loves it. I would miss my periodic martini and sourdough bread. I'm also trying to lose weight and eat healthy.

I love this recipe and this is the second time I've made it. This time, I had marinated and frozen the chicken so just needed to thaw and saute. Do what's easiest for you. I'm not sure how on target it is for the Paleo/Primal diet, but I hope you enjoy it!

Did you know that pumpkin gets better after they've been cut from the vine? The pumpkin I bought today at the Farmer's Market, I won't roast and eat for at least another 2-4 weeks. The wait is worth it. The pumpkin meat gets sweeter!

Here's what you'll need:

• 1-2 small pumpkins aged 2-4 weeks, wash the outside to remove residual dirt, seed, cut into chunks and roast on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Let cool. Scoop pumpkin meat out of skin and place in a bowl. Compost or throw out skin.

• Chicken breasts skinned and boned, cut into bite size pieces; marinate at least an hour in the fridge with the following:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup salsa or tomatoes and roasted/seeded chili peppers
• 1/4 lemon juice (I like Meyers lemons)
• 1-2 teaspoons cumin
• 1-2 teaspoons coriander
• 1-2 teaspoons dried chilis like Ancho (tip: I use 2-3 different ground chilis for greater depth in flavor)
• salt & pepper

Add 1/2-1/3 cup chicken or vegetable stock with the roasted pumpkin. Homemade stock is preferable if you have it.

Saute this all in a pot and cook until chicken is done, approximately 20-25 minutes. Add roasted pumpkin and 1/2-1/3 cup chicken of vegetable stock and cook covered for another 30-40 minutes on medium low heat.

2 Red Bell peppers, seeded and sliced to add on top of cooked stew. You can also garnish with fresh cilantro.

I served this with a combination of red quinoa and brown rice. But I think grains are non-Paleo/Primal diet.

Korean BBQ Burgers

Yes, one more burger recipe. My coworker and fellow foodie, Musetta, reminded me of this Korean Burger recipe. Another friend, April, originally shared it with me.

Going into fall with colder evenings, I particularly like these and often serve with steamed broccoli using the burger juices to dress the broccoli.

I also make these and freeze individual patties. I often cook them in a cast iron skillet too.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/korean-barbecue-burgers-10000001646413/

Bon appetite!

Burger Madness

I love a great burger. One that's more than salt, pepper and ground beef. I'm also thrifty so instead of buying them premade, I've been making and freezing my own individual beef patties. I also fry mine in a cast iron skillet and serve on a bed of greens. If you BBQ these, you should do it in some type of metal basket since they are chunky and gooey.

• 1 pound lean ground beef (I like grass fed because I think it tastes AND smells better)
• 1 shallot or onion (I like red onions, green onions, and shallots because they can taste sweeter and I think this compliments the beef)
• 1 basket of mushrooms, cut or chopped
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese
• 2-3 cloves minced/chopped garlic cloves
• Kosher salt & pepper

I use parchment paper to separate the individual patties and place in a plastic bag for freezing. When ready to serve, I pull out a frozen burger and plop into my skillet. No thawing needed, but it does take a bit longer to cook.

Change-up this recipe to suit your tastes. For example, last night I made another batch of burgers and added 1 Tablespoon of Turmeric (an amazing spice for the brain and I don't always want to eat curry), crumbled lite Havarti cheese slices, chopped Italian parsley and seven Sage leafs into my ground beef, red onion, salt and pepper, and mushroom mix.

Bon Appetite!

Sweet Potato & Beet Soup

I know it seems like ages since I last posted a recipe. I've been to London and back. It's good to be home and cooking in my own kitchen although the friends I stayed with are amazing cooks.

I made this soup prior to leaving. It can be served with 0% Greek yogurt for added protein/calcium.

Here's what you'll need for this delicious and colorful soup:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
5 fresh sage leaves, washed
6-7 beets peeled, washed, and cut into chunks
2 cups Magic Mineral Broth
1 carrot peeled, washed and chopped into chunks

Add everything to a stock pot and cook on medium heat for 2 hours. All the root vegetables should be very tender. Cool. Use an emulsifier or blender to puree until smooth. Store and freeze in glass jars.

Yum!

Starburst Tomato Soup

I don't even like tomato soup until I made this. You will need to make the Magic Mineral Veg stock in advance if you don't want to spend a big chunk of time in the kitchen. This soup is relatively fast to whip up once the stock is made. The the Magic stock really does add magic to this tomato soup.

• Assorted tomatoes, enough to pile on a dinner plate, washed and sliced 1/4 thick.
• 1/4 cup Orange Olive Oil or extra virgin olive oil drizzled over a cookie sheet
• 2 leeks, cleaned and sliced

Preheat oven to 425 F. Layer tomato slices and leeks on the cookie sheet and roast for 30-50 minutes. You want tomatoes to look shriveled.

2 Tablespoons minced ginger 

1/4 Meyers or regular lemon juice

2 cups Magic Mineral Broth

salt & pepper to taste

In a soup pot, combine everything including tomatoes. Cook for 20-30 minutes on medium sheet. Cool and blend with a hand puree or blender until smooth.

This soup is a sunny burst of flavor in my mouth - thus it's name :-)