It's been a while

It's been a while since I've had the time to post.  I worked my (not so little anymore) butt off, and then spent the last few days relaxing and finally enjoying the pleasure of good company.

Oh, and of course, there was a little cooking involved in my law school rebound.  On Sunday a few friends came by and we feasted.  I made smoked salmon tea sandwiches, popovers, baked eggs, roasted tomatoes and asparagus, bacon, and a whopping great tray of macaroni and cheese.  This spread turned full out bounty with the gorgeous creations of friends: cinnamon rolls, potatoes, fruit salad, and some very necessary cocktails.

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Many people mentioned the eggs.  While they may have been humoring me, the crazy eyed be-aproned shut-in, I thought I would share the recipe because it's so quick and easy that by the end I was sending people home with the fixins.

Baked Eggs for a Crowd
1 dozen eggs
1 cup shredded good, sharp cheddar
chives
cream
butter 
s & p 
Equipment: muffin tins (you need twelve muffin cups total)

1. Generously butter muffin tins.
2. Crack an egg in each, top with a splash (a teaspoon or so) of cream per egg, salt, pepper, a teaspoon or so of chives, and a little cheese.
3. Bake for 10 minutes or until whites are set at 400.
I told you it was easy.  It gives you time to enjoy the other goodies...

Orzo Hellas

Some of you may be aware of my... uh... soft spot (read: fetish) for Chef Michael Psilakis' restaurants. His places give justice to all food, whether fine or hearty. My wallet loves him for that.

My favorite thing at Kefi is the orzo dish, which inspired Orzo Hellas. Not quite as decadent as Psilakis (deliberately so), but it certainly satisfied my craving.

 
 Orzo Hellas
8 oz of orzo
1/2 eggplant, cubed into 1/4 - 1/2 inch peices
1 zucchini, same size as eggplant
1 cup sweet red, yellow, or orange peppers, diced
6 oz baby spinach
1/2 cup water
1 16 oz can of crushed tomatoes
6 scallions, thickly sliced
2-3 shallots, finely chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, minced (if you have time, poach these whole in olive oil with a bay leaf and puree, then skip the saute step and add in with scallions... bumps it up a notch) 
8 oz real parmesan or kaseri cheese, grated
parsley and dill
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
olive oil

1. Coat a large pot with olive oil, and warm on low to mid heat. Add the zucchini and eggplant, add a pinch of salt, and cook for ten minutes or until eggplant is tender. Remove and reserve.
2. In the same pot, coat again (generously) with olive oil, add garlic and cook on low heat for two minutes. Add shallots, cook until translucent. Add scallions and peppers, cook for one minute. Add eggplant and zucchini.
3. Cook orzo according to package, drain and reserve.
4. Pour can of tomatoes and water into veggie mixture, season to taste with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for five minutes.
5. Add orzo and baby spinach, combine and let spinach wilt. Serve with a heap of kaseri or parmesan, cracked black pepper, and chopped herbs on top.

Silky, slightly sweet, light... yet warm and seemingly bottomless. Great for a rainy spring day.

Alternate serving recommendation: Forget the cheese, double the herbs and drizzle with a really fruity extra virgin olive oil. That would make a lovely vegan dish.

Think twice about that Gardenburger

Although I don't eat perfectly, I do have an extreme wariness of processed food, and soy in particular.  But say it ain't so: most veggie burgers are tainted with neurotoxins.  Frightening, I know.  It's a chemical made from crude oil (which is almost a euphemism: you can also think of it as a petroleum by-product) that's also present in rubber cement and gasoline.  (Awesome.)  It is used to extract oil from soybeans.

What's worse is that hexane (the chemical at issue) is used to extract cooking oils that aren't expeller or cold pressed. I just checked my cooking oils, which are purchased solely from health food stores: one cold pressed, one expeller pressed, and one mystery product.  I wonder my local take out place is using.

Mother Jones answers your questions.  Think before you eat, because no processed product is going to be as good for you as organic whole foods.

Quick meal: Tangy Fruit Compote and Greek Yogurt

I am super busy with school work, but I still need to eat. Here's a really quick recipe.


Tangy Fruit Compote with Greek Yogurt (or The Suspiciously Swarthy Scandinavian)
1 pear, chopped into small pieces
1 cup of strawberries, sliced
1 cup of rhubarb, chopped into  1/4 inch slices
2 tbsps sugar (more to taste)
1/3 cup water
vanilla
cinnamon
2-3 green cardamom pods
1/2 - 1 tsp cracked black pepper

plain Greek yogurt

1. Combine pear, rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, water, and cardamom in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat.  Stir occasionally, adding a dash of vanilla and cinnamon.
2. Once fruit has softened and reduced some, add a little black pepper, taste, repeat until satisfied. You may wish to add more sugar as well.  Keep lid off until desired consistency. Remove from heat and cool in the refrigerator.
3. Serve cold with Greek yogurt. I like a 1:1 ratio, but that's just me!

Also delicious with something crunchy... granola or:
1/8 cup pepitas, raw
1/3 cup rolled oats
honey or agave nectar
cinnamon
pinch of salt

Layout pepitas and oats on a nonstick baking sheet. Generously drizzle with agave or honey, add a dash of cinnamon (not too much or it will be bitter), and toss in a tiny pinch of salt. Mix everything together until evenly coated, and redistribute onto the baking sheet. Toast in the oven at 400 for 5 minutes, keeping a watchful eye. Do NOT burn the pepitas, or everything will be too bitter.

The compote would also be delicious simply on top of plain oatmeal. Mmm. I'm not sure I made enough!

Sirens and Muses: Renee's enticing watercolors

Renee's Garden Seeds initially seems like a small, run-of-the-mill online seed catalog... but don't be fooled.  Each seed variety has a beautiful watercolor illustration to pique your imagination. Not only that, but she has great information and suggestions for container gardening, including the ability to filter shopping searches for seeds well suited for containers.

(a sampling of Renee's gorgeous illustrations)

Cilantro and bedbugs?

While we are on the topic of cilantro....

Sirens and Muses: Red, White and Blue

It has been so hard to study lately....

(the view from my book... or red, white and blue)