New Beginnings

Hi. Been awhile, I know. I've been busy, ok??
Sorry. Lousy excuse. I spent a large portion of my unemployed period doing..I have no idea what I was doing. Lisa got me started walking dogs with her, and I liked it. I got a job. It was very corporate, and I didn't like that. So I tendered my resignation, and decided to become a full time employee at Animal House. I walk dogs, scoop poop, feed dogs and cats, and otherwise perform tasks that were never part of either my studies at Georgetown or my culinary training.

But you know what? I am tan, getting fit, and really, really HAPPY. Yes, there are days when we have too many dogs sleeping over (last night we had 9) and some have accidents in the house, but we realize that we are doing something that makes us, the pets, and their owners happy. So we slop up the mess and move on. It's really hard to stay angry at dogs. They are all cute and wonderful.

What's that you say? Am I still cooking at all? Well, YEAH. I am doing a couple of things to keep my cooking chops up. The first thing is that I am doing some parties with a guy I met through Facebook named Paul Cullen. He lives down near the beach in Delaware. Used to be in the band Bad Co. playing bass. Nowadays, he's got an Italian food and wine business, where he comes to you house, creates a three course meal, matches wines, and then sets up his amp and entertains with his guitar while you enjoy your wine. I get to help him in the kitchen. (he doesn't let me sing with him, which is probably a wise choice.) We work very well together, and I am really enjoying when I get to do gigs with him. Hopefully, there will be many more in my future!
Here we are, making some beautiful food:

I'm still planning on teaching at Montco in the fall, too. You all know I love to teach.

Then...Lisa and I got this great idea. What if we offer a service to our pet clients where we have meals ready for them when they get home from vacation, or the work trip? I can shop, cook, and package everything, so no one has to worry about cooking when they finally get home. Great idea, huh?

I am also going to start doing some cooking class/parties. Grab a few of your friends, a couple bottles of wine, and I will come to the house, teach you how to make some awesome grub, and provide recipes. It's a really fun way to spend time with your friends. It can be dinner, or lunch, or whenever. 

I'm working on my website, which will link this blog, my Facebook page, and the site all together. It will have all the information you need to keep up with me, book a party, order some food, or just see some beautiful food pics and find some recipes. I will make a big announcement when it's ready to go. 

Look for another post very soon. I'm going to do some cooking this week, so hopefully there will be something good to talk about. Thanks for sticking with me. Great things on the horizon!

Go buy some tomatoes, some corn, some local produce before it's too late. Shop local, eat local, kiss a farmer and all that. 

Namaste, my friends.

Using my Noodle

Big snowstorm coming. Everyone puts on a pot of chili. They also go and buy up all the bread, milk and eggs, as if these will magically disappear, and they must eat French Toast before they surely freeze to death. But I digress. Back to the chili. The chili I didn't make.

In an attempt to amuse myself while barely surviving this period of unemployment, I spent some time wandering the aisles of one of my favorite places to kill time, Assi Market. This is a Korean market that also specializes in amazing fresh produce, fresh, AFFORDABLE cut to order seafood, and about every Asian grocery item you could imagine. There is also a spot that sells small wares, in case you decide you suddenly need a set of matching chopsticks or a rice cooker. AND they have a food court, with, as you can imagine, some of the freshest food around.

Back to the snowstorm. I didn't want to make chili. I wanted to keep it lighter, and do something new.
So I bought a sixpack of ramen noodles, some dried shiitake mushrooms, a pack of fried tofu, and bean sprouts. I had miso in my fridge, and plenty of other seasonings at home. I also had some wild salmon filets in the freezer. See the plan coming together yet?

When cooking with ramen noodles, always follow this important step 1. Open the wrapper, break the noodle block into pieces before cooking, and THROW AWAY THE SEASONING PACKET. Have you ever looked at the sodium count? Yikes!

Let's see if I can remember the steps in order...
Cook the ramen in boiling water until soft, drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.

Soak the mushrooms in hot water until soft. Remove the stem and slice into strips. Or whatever other shape you fancy. Don't throw that soaking liquid away! Pour it through a coffee filter (to grab any dirt that may have been on the mushroom) into a small sauce pot. Use this as the base of the miso broth.

Miso is really easy. Since I had the mushroom liquid, I added a bit of water and whisked in some miso paste until I like the flavor.

Salmon filets have been thawing. I marinated them in a little sesame oil and soy. Then I broiled them. (heading outside the grill is not an option at this time)
I diced to tofu small, and rinsed off the bean sprouts. I blanched a couple asparagus spears I had.

Then I put it all together. The salmon was topped with a shake of my sesame/seaweed rice seasoning, and I swirled a bit of Sambal Oelek into the broth for a little heat.

No disrespect to chili, but geez, this was good. And easy. And not expensive. And pretty. And..ok I'll stop tooting my horn and post a picture.

Next time I'll show you the awesome Indian food I made last night.

Peace.

Open Sesame

In an effort to keep from thinking about politics 24/7, I try to allow my brain to meander through the mundane. And during one of those travels in the trivial, the ol' thinker came up with this one:

"What does a sesame seed grow into?"

Then of course, I wondered why it has taken me so long to wonder that. Of course, the research commenced. So, if you never wondered or just really don't care what a sesame seed grows into, time to go back to CNN, or FOX, or wherever you get your political news fix and get back to being agitated.

Sesame is a flowering plant, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Wild relatives of the plant can be found in India and the Middle Eastern countries. It is now primarily cultivated in China and India, who supply most of the world with these little edible seeds that grow in pods on the plant. Sesame's ability to grow both in drought or monsoon conditions has made it a sustenance crop for poor farmers throughout history.

Sesame is one of the oldest oilseed crops, having been domesticated over 3000 years ago. It has the highest oil content of any seed.

An annual plant, sesame sports tubular flowers, that can be white, yellow, blue or purple. The seeds can also be different colors, from white and tan, to brown, red and black. The seeds are found in a fruit capsule, which when ripe, will naturally split to reveal the seeds, growing in lines. When the split capsules are as dry as possible, the seeds will be harvested, cleaned and hulled.

Sesame seeds appear in cuisines worldwide, and in many different forms. In the Middle East, seeds are ground into a paste called tahini, which is a key ingredient in hummus, and the sauce that tops falafel. In Greece and Sicily, cakes and cookies are made with ground sesame seeds, or topped with them. They show up in Indian, East Asian and West African cooking. The sesame, or as the Africans called them-benne-seeds were brought to America through the slave trade. To this day, benne sticks and benne cookies are staples in South Carolina. They are also found topping burger buns and bagels.

The biggest importer and consumer of sesame seeds, however, is Japan, where they are used in so many ways. They top sushi, salads and snacks, but the most popular use is as sesame oil. Toasted sesame oil is a staple of Japanese cuisine. It is mostly added at the end of cooking to avoid flavor loss and to keep from smoking and tasting rancid. Sesame oil is high in vitamins B1 and E, magnesium, copper, calcium and iron. It is also a source of fiber and good fat.

So now you know the story behind the lowly sesame seed. I know I feel better having this knowledge. And as a parting gift, I shall leave you with a recipe for Benne Wafers. You're welcome.

Benne Wafers
Preheat oven to 375. Line sheet trays with parchment and spray with nonstick spray.

1 c. toasted sesame seeds

3/4 c. melted butter

1 1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. all purpose flour (I like unbleached)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

The easiest way to toast sesame seeds is to place them in a sauté pan and heat over medium heat, swirling constantly, until evenly browned. Remove and cool before using.

Combine all ingredients well. Drop by 1/2 teaspoonful onto prepared pans, leaving room between cookies. Bake for 5-6 minutes, or until just browned at the edges. Allow to cool. They will be very flat and crispy.

SAYS-A-WHO? SESAME!!

Keeping My Head Above Water

So, it's a new year, I am without a job, and I'm trying desperately to find something good to talk about. I haven't been cooking anything too spectacular, mostly bean stews and pasta. It's that time of year where all I want to do is braise things, make soup, and try to stay warm. In fact, I think once I'm finished here, I'll get back under the blankets and cover myself in dogs. We have four now. I know that sounds like too many, but they're pretty small. They bring a lot of joy to us. And so do the cats, I don't want to leave them out, but they're just not as snuggly.

My wife, Lisa, has a pet sitting/dog walking business, and for the holidays, I thought it would be nice to make some gifts she could give her clients. For the humans, I made some really rocking granola. It started as "hmm, what do I have in the house so I don't have to buy a whole bunch of stuff", then grew, as I realized a) how many clients she has (yay!) and b) how stinking good the granola was. Most people like granola, but don't take the time to make their own, thinking it will be difficult or time consuming. So they pay high prices for store bought stuff. Let me tell you, it's not hard to do, and home made always tastes a little better. Being the milk of human kindness that I am, I am going to share my recipe here. Ready?

My oven only holds two half sheet pans, so this is what I wrote the recipe for.

1/2 large canister rolled oats (you can use quick or original, but not instant)
2 cups sliced almonds (I use the unbalanced ones, I like the color on the skins)
1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds (shelled, please)
1/4 cup flax seeds
1 cup coconut oil
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup honey (organic, if you can)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tsp. almond extract
dried cranberries, or other dried fruit of choice

Preheat the oven to 325. Line 2 cookie pans or half pans with parchment and spray very lightly with nonstick spray.
Combine all dry ingredients (EXCEPT CRANBERRIES) in a large mixing bowl, and toss to mix.
Combine oil, sugar, honey and extracts in a small sauce pan, and heat over medium until melted together, stirring with a whisk.
Spray a rubber spatula with nonstick spray and use to scrape all of the sugar/oil mixture into the dry mix. Coat and combine thoroughly with the spatula. Divide the mix between the two pans and press down to form an even layer of granola.
Bake for 24 minutes, spinning the pans halfway through the cooking process.
Allow to cool on pans, then break apart into a large bowl and add cranberries. Store in an airtight container.

I also made dog biscuits. Peanut butter and pumpkin biscuits. They were pretty easy, too.

5 cups whole wheat flour
4 eggs
1 can organic pumpkin
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. cinnamon

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, combine all ingredients. Turn out onto a board or table and roll to about 1/2" thickness. Cut out shapes using a cookie cutter. Bake in a preheated, 350 oven for about 40 minutes, until hard. Cool thoroughly before storing,

Everyone love the gifts. We bagged them up and made cute little ingredient labels. The best part, though, was all of the calls asking if the granola was for the dogs or the people. Sigh..

So that's pretty much what I've been up to. Try these recipes. Even if you don't have a dog, make some for someone who does and give them a gift. Or donate them to a rescue. You'll be a hero, at least in my eyes.

Send me good vibes in my job search, people. Please. And I'll keep looking for things to talk about. All my best wishes for a great start to a great year.
Peace.