Attack of the Giant Zucchinis

First, Pat gave me a larger than average zucchini from her garden along with a recipe for cream of zucchini soup...which I lost.

Then, she brought me two more zucchinis.



Humbly, I took the smaller one home to make something for a company potluck that could be eaten at room temperature as the office microwave is not really all that capable. Food & Wine magazine showed up on a Saturday afternoon with a recipe for a cold zucchini soup.

Zucchini Soup Two Ways?

I sound like an Iron Chef.

Cream of Leek and Zucchini

Since I lost Pat's Mom's recipe, I had to scramble for another online recipe that would use celery and leeks because I already bought them. I came across one on Bread & Honey blog and adapted that to what I have on hand.



I figured that one of the small, big zucchini I got from Pat and celery heart would be equal to amount of zucchini required. And it was. I also omitted tarragon and fennel seeds here, and used fresh thyme instead. And of course, being a meat eater, I used chicken broth instead of veggie one.

And I decided to drizzle my awesome quality, finishing olive oil on top. Yummy!

(And please ignore the oil slick in these photos. I was too clumsy when I dressed this up and too hungry to re-stage!)



Alain Coumont's Chilled Zucchini Soup with Purslane

I didn't expect to find any purslane out there, given that this also was the first time I've ever heard of this weed/herb. But I grossly underestimated my local farmers market: while I was looking for arugula, I found many bundles of purslane right next to it.

8 zucchinis or 3 lbs. required here equaled to my giant zucchini with the seeds/core cut out. I mean, look at them seeds!



What took the most time making this recipe is chopping the veggies.

So. Much. Zucchini!!!!

I cut that sucker in 3 parts, quarter each part, and then cut another third before I started slicing. I saved a few blocks of it to shave for garnish The first batch I kept the skin on, then I realized it might be too tough a texture. So I peeled the rest. In hindsight, I probably could've sliced the quarter and left the skin on as everything ended up blended anyway.



I was *this* close to add chicken stock to the soup instead of the water. But having never made a chilled soup before, I didn't want to risk having gross chilled chicken fat showing up in the soup.

And voila, the first ever vegan recipe I ever made!

I served this at the office potluck in short, clear plastic cups, dressed with purslane, zucchini ribbons, and a drizzle of olive oil. All 15 cups were taken from the tray however I found about half in the trash afterward, uneaten. Not everyone like "cold soup" as it turns out. But those who loved it, like my boss and a couple health-conscious people, really do love it.



Afterthought: Both recipes are pretty much the same up until when you need to add liquid. The hot soup required flour, stock and cream, while the cold one just needed water. Fun, eh?

Bison Burgers

Brandon and I rode our bikes out to Alamitos Bay Farmers Market a couple of Sundays ago. Amidst the fruits and vegetables, I spotted a sign that said "Grass-fed Bison".

Naturally, I popped on over.

"So, what cha got?"

The kindly gentleman behind the table said, "Everything".

Ken of Lindner Bison didn't have to tell me about the humanely raised, sustainable agriculture, grassfed and grass-finished bison with lower fat and higher nutrients, and all of that.

I was already sold at the word "bison".

This is also the one area Brandon one-upped me in the eating department. He had bison before, having practically spent most of his summers in New Mexico.

So we bought a pound of burger. For about $10.

Was it worth it?

Every. Single. Penny.

Ken told me to just season it with salt and pepper and onto the grill. Because bison meat is very lean, I should cook them to medium rare to medium to stay juicy.

On the way out of the market, I picked up spring onions and a bag of fresh ciabatta rolls to accompany the burger.

I halved the spring onions and drizzle some olive oil on it, and salt and pepper. On to the grill they went. I also lightly grilled ciatbatta bread for Brandon.

With the meat, I did just as Ken told me to do. One pound of meat. Salt. Pepper. Divided into 4 portions. And on to the grill!



There was barely anything dripping from anywhere on my grill pan from the burger. There was more oil from what I rubbed onto the spring onions grilling on the other end.

The meat was like the most flavorful beef I've ever had. Absolutely delicious on its own. Yet, enhanced with a side of grilled onions.

Beefy without ANY grease. Tons of flavor. Delicious.

I would love to have a stock pile of this fabulous meat in my freezer. However, since we're saving for a house over here (yey!), we'll have to settle on a monthly Tatanka treat.

KitchInspirations: Strawberry Shortcake Challenge

My friends Traci and Irena came up with the idea of a monthly cooking challenge.

Quite simply, Kitchen Inspirations. Where friends gather for a monthly cooking challenge to take a base recipe, make it their own, and share the results ~ All for the love of great food.

The June challenge is Strawberry Shortcake. As long as you have cake, strawberries and cream, you can take your creative license anywhere.

So, I made Grilled Pound Cake with Mascarpone Ice Cream and Macerated Strawberries.

Pasta Carbonara Tartlets

What to bring to a baby shower potluck brunch with a vegetarian mom-to-be among the meat eating crowd?



Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine provided an answer a couple of months back with the recipe for Spaghettini Carbonara Tartlets.

The original recipe of 1/2 lb. spaghettini (aka "Thin Spaghetti") makes about 24 tartlets. I cooked up the whole pound to double the amount. Being generous with the pasta in each cup, I made 42 tartlets.

I split half of the pasta to follow the recipe (Pancetta Tartlets) and the other half for my own vegetarian adaptation (Green Peas Tartlets).

However, I did make one double-batch of the egg mixture to save on using more bowls.

First, I very lightly salted the egg mixture for the Pancetta tartlets first. With all the pancetta, these guys really didn't need much salt. Once finished with them, I add another extra pinch of salt into the egg mixture so now we'll have the right seasoning for the Green Peas version. Easy, eh?

I also put almost a cup of parmesan in with the noodles and just topped each tartlet with a pinch more.

Pancetta Tartlets



The original recipe is made with cube pancetta. If your local market is anything like mine, I only found thinly sliced pancetta. It actually worked better for me as the thin ones cooked up super crispy, like super fine bacon. I bought 2 packs of those, rolled them up, sliced them and halved those slices, and into the pan with a little drizzle of olive oil.

And I am sure you can use your choice of bacon instead of pancetta and it'll do wonderfully as well.

Green Peas Tartlets



Instead of the hot pancetta grease to toss with the pasta, I just heated up a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a pan with a few flakes of red chilli and used that. I heated up about 1/3 of a bag of frozen green peas in the microwave, just so it's warmed through, not cooked until mushy. And I topped the tartlets with the peas instead of the pancetta.

Final results? BEAUTIFUL little nests of yummy goodness to take to a 16-people potluck brunch!

Gone bananas

Indeed, I went a little banana on Sunday afternoon.

I have 3 ripe bananas sitting on my dinner table and a very ill husband on the couch. What's a girl to do but to go grocery shopping and then bake, bake, bake!

Not to mention with Mr. My Head Hurts So Bad I Throw Up can use some nutriants. And bananas are good for nausea and help with replenishing loss potassium and what not.

So I picked Giada's Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Cream Frosting recipe from Food Network and went out to pick up extra ingredients.



I also add one not-so-ripe banana to the 3 very ripe ones. Doesn't seem to affect anything there. Oh, and I omitted the walnuts because I can't really chew them with braces and Brandon isn't keen on nuts.

Well, remember how I'd bitch once in a while that the Vons by my house sucks? They might have finished with the renovation in there, but they still don't carry anything worthwhile.

Like, you know, mascarpone cheese?

Not wanting to drive to another grocery store, I figured I can substitute with more cream cheese. So, 3 oz. of cream cheese plus 1/3 cup extra = 6 oz. of cream cheese. And it works out well for me taste-wise. I'm sure it'll have different flavor if you actually use mascarpone, but in a pinch, all cream cheese still works.

In hindsight, I wonder if the mascarpone might help stabilize the frosting a little bit. Our apartment got a bit warm with the baking and I found my frosting a wee bit melty. With my extra cream cheese substitution, the frosting is essentially a whipped honey cream cheese butter. It doesn't quite stay put as frosting when warm...but OH MY GOD is that good on warm muffins!

Besides, B can't really stomach the creaminess of the frosting right now. The muffins were better left naked. So I put the frosting in a tub and put it in the fridge and frost as I go.

Using 1/3 measuring cup to spoon the batter into the cups, I actually ended up with 24 muffins.

It's a good thing I made that many because I pretty much had 3 of them for dinner last night. LOL.

Strawberry Sake

Really, summer in a glass.

I read this article in the LA Times many years ago, and since then had made this lovely Strawberry-infused Sake so many times, it's become a part of my repertoire.



Put it simply, halve 2 pints of fresh strawberries (quarter if they're huge). Put it in a sun tea jar. Pour a bottle of cheap regular (junmai) sake over it. Let it sit in a cool dark place--not the fridge!--for 3 days.



And voila! On the 4th day, you put the whole jar in the fridge or you can strain out the fruit. Using a sun tea jar has the advantage of the spout--no straining needed to pour!

You might find that the smell and taste of it on the 3rd day may be a little bit on the riper side of the strawberries. Fear not, the taste DOES mellow out once it is chilled.

Oh and it keeps for about a week. After that, it will start to taste a little funny...



Well, I forgot to take a picture of the jar before I extract the sake to take to a friend's barbecue. Essentially, the color and juices have come out of the berries and into the sake. The fruit themselves looked like a white sock that has been in a red load of laundry.

You know how cheap sake has that bite to it? Well, the berries took in all of that too. A friend of ours decided once to just have the sake soaked berries for dessert. She liked the bitter, you see. Boy, did she get wasted faster than any of us actually drinking the sake!

Bottling tip: I have found that Voss premium spring water glass bottle to work beautifully for my transport. As I have found out, you can buy the plastic version of these at retail store in the big liter bottle and the little one. Some of the bars to sell the small bottle ones too. So...if you happen to buy those fancy schmancy water, keep the bottle.

I used to buy small bottles and corks from the beer brewing supplier store, slap on my own label and gave them to friends. But if I can find small Voss bottles out there, I don't have to trek to the special store for bottles now. However, I think I'll be paying more for the fancy water. Heh.

New direction

Well, kids. I've got me some braces.

I haven't cooked since the separators went in a few weeks ago. Well, outside of my mashed potatoes with peas experiment? I cooked nada.

My poor husband has been feeding himself since then, more or less.

Now that the braces are actually in, I haven't eaten anything really solid in a few days. And I expect that every month after tightening, I'm going to be begging for something soft and liquidy AND delicious.

All those soup and puree recipes I tossed out? Yep. Regretting doing that now. But I'm sure y'all will provide me with enough inspiration and guidance to find some more.

Sometime this weekend, I will have to completely restock my fridge and pantry with soups and other mush-able veggies. AND I will need to purchase a hand blender.

Definitely, I'm whipping up Giada's sweet pea and mint puree and freeze them in little baggies at some point this weekend.

Because a girl can only drink Muscle Milk and mush up Animal Crackers for so many days.

Now, about that potatoes and peas experiment. It was an experiment born of complete burn-out on soup...and the fact that my eyes were dilated from the optometrist that I couldn't leave the house to go buy anything else to eat. So I raided the pantry and the fridge.

I didn't know how it was going to turn out so I didn't take a picture. And it actually was pretty damn tasty!

Mashed Potatoes and Peas

The "recipe" is totally adjustable to how many potatoes you have or want to cook.

Boil up some baby Yukon gold potatoes (halved or quartered) with a few cloves of garlic (smashed and peeled) and salt. Drain and smash them around a little bit.

I did remove the skin once the potatoes were cooked. It was easier that way. (Then again, I didn't think I could chew the skin.) But that's really optional.

In another pot, heat up some butter, the amount you would use to mash the potatoes, with a few sprigs of thyme. When that sizzled, add frozen green peas, season, and saute that around. When the peas started to get mushy, add cream--again, just about the amount you'd use to mash the potatoes with--and heat through.

Take out the thyme sprigs before pouring the butter/cream/peas mixture into the potatoes. Now mash around some more.

Add a handful of Parmesan cheese and a pinch of pepper. Mash some more. Serve.

French Bistro Favorites

Through the month of May, Elizabeth is offering a 2 for 1 deal for her cooking classes: register one and bring a friend for free. So Aurora and I joined forces and enrolled for this one.

Aurora is ever the trooper. All of the dishes have dairy in it. Then again, out of all of Elizabeth's May classes, this one has the most potentials that our husbands would actually eat the food.

I was a trooper that day too, having been in bed all day from bad sinus infection. Aurora picked me up and I shambled in there, thinking this would be a cake walk.

Oh, no. It was action-packed, mad house of a class. But oh so much fun.

The menu: Leek and potato gratin; Grilled Chicken and Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce; Tomato, pinenut and cheese flat breads, and chocolate tart with creme fraiche.

The class was full, doubling the size of our learn to cook. However, they were all experienced cooks so there was not stumbling through anything there. Aurora and our new friend Chuck were the only two newbies. Again, taking the mother hen role, I volunteered us to do the blue cheese sauce and the flat bread.

We were busy with our flat bread enough that we actually missed out on the gratin and the tart completely. On the plus side, we now know how to roll out a pizza dough. A good trade off, really.



Unlike the deviled eggs that came in last, the flat breads were actually done first so we all had something to snack on for the rest of the class. My god was THAT yummy!



We also did get up close and personal with the grill pans as our flat breads were being cooked right underneath there. All of the ovens and stoves were going full blast. It got quite hot in the kitchen.





The leek and potato gratin came out next. It doesn't look like much here, but boy it was one yummy layers after the other in there.



Time seriously flew by in this class! The crowd size probably helped with that too. The next thing I knew, it all came together for me to snap pictures.





Mind you, I had lost my appetite for the day and didn't have much to eat outside of 2 soft boiled eggs and a handful of crackers all day. Suddenly, I was hungry. Really hungry. But my stomach just couldn't take much of the food.

However, the tart went down quite smoothly.



We will probably be taking a break from taking classes for a little while. But we do adore Elizabeth so you bet we'll be back for more later.

Cooking 101: Part 3

And just as we were comfortable cooking and being around everyone, the last "Learn to Cook" class at Prep Kitchen Essentials in Seal Beach came to an end last Wednesday. [Here's part 1 and part 2.]

But boy did we go out with a bang.



On the menu were Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry with Spicy Peanut Sauce, Beef Braised in a Red Wine Sauce with Vegetables, Jasmine Rice Pilaf, and Smoked Paprika and Black Olive Deviled Eggs.



All the tasks get divvied up and everyone was attending to different things. But we were all chopping, slicing and dicing together at one point. I took charge of the Deviled Eggs since I've never actually made them before. Aurora came to assist as, for a change, she is a one-time veteran!



The braised beef, once it was in the oven, smelled sooooo good it drove any of us standing at the stove top bonkers. Unfortunately, the appetizer of Deviled eggs actually got finished last. Whoops.



But the food were great. I brought my regular size bottle of wine and shared with half the class. Aurora and I ended up chatting up with Elizabeth over more wine after class for a little while.

Some of us are so addicted to Elizabeth's casual teaching style that we want back for more. Actually, Aurora and I are returning for one more bout tomorrow for the French Bistro Favorites. Like you can say no to the thought of steak and blue cheese sauce and potato gratin!

Why aren't you taking a class yet? :)

Cooking 101: Part 2

Elizabeth was right. We'd fall better in step in our second "Learn to Cook" class at Prep Kitchen Essentials in Seal Beach. [Here's part 1]

This class went faster and smoother than the first one, I think. Everyone gained confidence from the last class. Now in this kitchen, they could do anything! It was totally awesome.

On the menu last night, Butter Lettuce Salad with Chopped Vegetables and Dijon Vinaigrette, Herb Roasted Whole Chicken with Homemade Gravy, Roasted Seasonal Vegetables, and Romano Cheese and Herb Omelettes.



We learned the fine art of dicing and mincing. Here's Elizabeth showing us how to dice a radish. On the side there, how to make "pretty" cucumbers. She also showed us how to seed a tomato and properly open up an avocado, and later on, gave me strategy on attacking a butternut squash.

Aurora and I chopped all sorts of veggies including an eggplant and a couple of tomatoes. I just wanted to do them because I don't get to work with these much at home because Brandon doesn't eat either. (Cooked tomatoes are okay, just not raw.) And ditto with Aurora's household. But hey, now we know how to cut up an eggplant if we need to!



A by-product of that is a section about seasonal veggies. I'm slowly learning about seasons for the veggies as a part of my culinary education.

Having grownup with seasonal fruits for dessert and never actually had to shop for my own produce, I only knew that fruits have seasons, not the veggies. Once I started learning to cook, I was spoiled rotten by whatever was available in the grocery stores. Only recently have I learned about using seasonal--and even local--ingredients. New cooks should know about that first hand, and Elizabeth told us that right off.

Local ingredients in season are going to taste better than something off-season shipped in from wherever.



Then there was the chicken. Oh, the dirty mind of my side of the table about breasts and thighs, stuffing a lemon up in there, and the poses of the chicken. And only Aurora and I were the only two on our side drinking wine and half a glass even! LOL.

You see, we were roasting a whole chicken. Elizabeth's method is to tuck the wings under the chicken, lay it on the side for the first part, flip to the other side, then finally finish off with the breast up so we have even browning and cooking time.

I couldn't help pointing out that the wings tucking behind the head was like someone lounging at the pool with her hand behind her head. Once we laid the chicken side way, now it was looking like the supermodel poolside lounging pose. It didn't help that the chicken was lathered up in butter, luxuriously reclining over a bed of vegetables.

It was soooo much sexier when it came out of the kitchen at the end though.



So far we had been very hands on with the slicing and dicing, but the major cooking tasks had been offered up for volunteers. So while some of us were busying with our part, we might miss out on something else. A couple tackled the vinaigrette. Another lady, pan gravy. The rest of us were making proper French omelettes.

I was taught in the school of stir-wait-stir-wait-on goes topping-now flip in a third-now fold the rest on to plate. Elizabeth's was the let sit-lift and pour egg under-on goes topping-lid on-flip in half. The eggs were fluffier her way. It takes longer and more patience, but DEFINITELY fluffier.

Voila. Fluffy and delicious, herb-y and cheese-free omelette that Aurora made. She should be VERY proud!



A few...okay 3...of us actually got Elizabeth to save the giblets for us to nibble on. The Asian and half-Asian duo over here obviously love this stuff but to our surprise, the Token Male (I think he said he's from South Africa...) also ate some.

I mean, come ON! Perfectly roasted veggies all cooked up with pan juices and giblets that cooked in broth and other deliciousness? You were gonna throw that out?! Blasphemy!



A LOT of fun and seriously delicious meal. Perfect for anyone's first dinner party!







Next week, stir fry, pilaf, hard-boiled eggs, and braising.