notes from my food diary

A few weeks ago my co-worker invited me to her house to pick some vegetables from her garden. She and her husband live in a 2-acre farm where most of the land is for their animals and the garden is situated near the house. I picked a various vegetables including zucchini, the perennial late-summer bounty. I decided to make zucchini fritters for a dinner some nights ago.  Fritters could be a wonderful dish when they’re cooked properly so they’re not greasy.  With fresh herbs available from the garden, they complement the fritters well.  Just a dollop of seasoned mayonnaise, yogurt sauce or salsa verde, you’ll have a good side dish to go.

Zucchini and fresh herbs fritters

Serves 4

Salt and freshly milled pepper

2 pounds green zucchini, coarsely grated

2 eggs, beaten

2 scallions, including an inch of the greens, thinly sliced

1 cup dried bread crumbs

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped basil

1 teaspoon chopped mint

Olive oil as needed

Lightly salt the zucchini and set it aside in a colander to drain for 30 minutes.  Mix the remaining ingredients together except the oil and pepper.  Rinse the squash quickly and squeeze out the excess water, then stir it into the batter.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large skillet.  When hot, drop about 1/4 cup of batter and cook over medium heat until golden on the bottom.  Flip and cook the second side.  Serve hot with seasoned mayonnaise, yogurt sauce, or salsa verde.

Source:  adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

There several things happened while I made this salad yesterday.  I was planning to make the lemon vinaigrette as suggested in the book but upon inspecting my only olive oil bottle in the pantry, I realized I wouldn’t be able to use the oil for the vinaigrette.  You see, I was also making other dish that needs olive oil, so I had to sacrifice one of them.  Unfortunately, this dish got nixed because nobody will eat beets and avocado as salad except me.  Well, nothing to cry about, because when I raided my "other" pantry, I found that I had a bottle of Annie’s Red Raspberry Vinaigrette.  Ah! you saved me, Annie! 

The other thing was that I should’ve chopped the red onions instead of slicing them thinly.  And one small red onion is still too much for me.  I love red onions, but not that much.  So if you just want to garnish the dish like me, use less red onions or you’d dare yourself to kiss your SO afterwards!  

And, the picture, ah, yes…the picture.  It was overexposed that the plate looks glaringly white.  But (there’s always an excuse, is there?), I forgot to put the little fork with the dish after I snapped dozens of pictures.  Only in the last minute that I remembered I wanted to do so, and by the time I took the picture, I lost interest of taking more pictures.  Guess, who’s hungry?

But the best thing is the book.  I borrowed it from the library and it has enough recipes that I want to try.  I don’t know if I want to buy it yet, it’s such a humongous book with almost 1,000 pages in it.  Since I have Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone already, I’m still debating. Maybe after I try several more recipes then I’ll be able to make up my mind.

Beet and Avocado Salad

Makes 4 servings

3 to 4 medium beets (about 1 pound), roasted or boiled, cooled, peeled, and sliced

2 ripe but firm avocados, peeled, pitted, and sliced

1 small red onion; or according to taste, sliced

1/2 cup purchased red raspberry vinaigrette

1 fresh tarragon leaf, minced, or a pinch dried

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Arrange the beets, avocados, and red onions in alternating layers in a dish.  Mix together the vinaigrette and tarragon and spoon over the beets, avocados, and red onions.  Taste and add salt and pepper; serve immediately.

Source:  adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

I’m back writing! This week has been a busy week for me. It’s a spring break for my whole family (hubby decided to take a week break as well) and I had guests coming over at the beginning of the week. I was so busy preparing lots of things for them that I didn’t have time to take care of this blog. With all the cleaning of the house, cooking Indonesian foods, and baking few cakes, I was left exhausted. My guests were happy with all the goodies I made for them, too bad they’re not staying too long to enjoy more! On top of that my son was discovered to contract a weak case of pneumonia. He’s been coughing almost a month without any improvement so few days before spring break I finally got him into his pediatrician. I felt bad for him, I wish I went sooner. But the pediatrician wasn’t too concerned because it’s an extreme case. He’s given an antibiotic and thankfully he was fine after all the medication was gone. After the guests left, we had fun swimming, going to the Japanese garden and playing in the park. So, yeah, my days were filled with family activities.

Now, back to the post. Why would I say a funny title this time? Because the weather completely turned back to winter mode just this whole week. Rain started pouring down relentlessly, pretty soon hails were coming down as well and oh, don’t forget the wind as well. On and off, on and off. Last night all weathermen predicted an inch or so snow in the valley (Willamette Valley) in the morning. This time their prediction was true, it snowed in the morning. According to Oregon’s history, the last time it snowed this late or during spring time was around 1950’s. So, it’s not new but it’s not something that we experience every spring. It has stopped snowing or raining or hailing but we could still feel the chill.

The asparagus is starting to show up though and it’s something that I rejoice. It’s really spring time already despite the uncompromising weather. I grabbed a bundle this week and decided to make asparagus tart with Gruyère cheese. It’s something that I’ve made before but I burned the tart ;-P Not all completely but it was so crispy and brown that I was embarrassed to put it in the blog the first time. This time around I learned from my mistake. I adjusted the baking time and the size of the tart. I really enjoy the simplicity of the flavor and the crispness of the tart.

Asparagus Gruyère Tart
Makes 6-8 servings

Flour, for work surface
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
5 1/2 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (2 cups)
1 1/2 pounds medium or thick asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. On a floured surface, roll puff pastry into a 12-by-12-inch square. Trim uneven edges.

Place pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score pastry dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a square. Using a fork, pierce the dough inside the markings at 1/2-inch intervals. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.

Remove the pastry shell from the oven and sprinkle with cheese. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell. Arrange in a single layer over the cheese, alternating ends and tips.

Brush with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bake until the asparagus is tender, 15-20 minutes.

Source: adapted from Favorite Recipes the Costco Way

Ahhh…beets. Some people care deeply about them, some will simply say no thank you. Beet is actually the sweetest vegetable, even sweeter than carrots or corns. The root of red beets are often used for food colorants. This simple vegetables are just packed with nutrients such as folate, fiber and antioxidants.

I love beets when they’re prepared simple such as in salad or side dish. The earthiness of them and the slight crunch with each bite. I’ve never tried the yellow beets before and was pleasantly surprised that they actually tasted better than the red ones. These ones tasted slightly like cucumbers and they’re not so strong smell like the red ones.

If I’ve known making a side dish is as easy and tasty like this I’d have made it a long time ago. I didn’t make the full recipe because I knew that only myself who would end up eating the whole dish. My son would eat a few, which of course is better than the way his dad eat But now I could buy beets more frequently because I’m armed with a good recipe.

Roasted Beets with Dill
Serves 6

2 pounds yellow beets (about 6 medium), trimmed but unpeeled
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the beets in a small roasting pan with the water. Cover the pan tightly with foil. Bake until the beets are tender and pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. Peel the beets. Cut into 1/4-inch thick slices.

In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Add the beets and toss gently to coat. Stir in the dill and serve.

Source: adapted from The Big Book of Vegetarian by Kahty Farrell-Kingsley

This year I’m cooking turkey for Thanksgiving day. My hubby doesn’t like turkey that much, so instead of roasting a big bird, I did stuffed turkey breast with apricot and date. I found this recipe just last week from Fine Cooking magazine, October/November 2006 edition. And since there’ll be only three of us enjoying Thanksgiving feast, it’s the perfect cooking solution.

The stuffing has the sweet flavor from dried apricot & date but also it had crunchiness from toasted hazelnuts. I was glad I still had the sage plant from my garden, because fresh sage really accentuates the overall flavor of the dish. The glaze from Marsala reduction was a clever idea and made the preparation of the dish even faster. The thick bacon was used to keep the turkey moist and added a little fat to otherwise a dry white meat, here I used pancetta instead of thick bacon for a change.

For the side dishes, I made Cranberry & Pecan Sourdough Stuffing and Mashed Potatoes with Cheddar & Kale. A variety of classic dishes with a little twist. I love it when the dishes are simple yet wholesome.

Here are the recipes:

Dried Apricot & Date Stuffed Turkey Breast with Marsala Glaze
Serves 4, or 2 with leftovers

For the stuffing:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup pitted & coarsely chopped dried dates
1/4 cup coarsetly chopped dried apricots
3 tablespoons toasted and copped hazelnuts
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the turkey breast:
1 boneless, skinless or skin-on turkey breast half (1 3/4 to 2 pounds)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 slices thick-sliced bacon (about 3 ounces)
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups sweet Marsala wine

Make the stuffing: Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Set aside to cool. Put the date and apricots in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the hazelnuts, parsley, sage, and reserved onions and pulse a few more time until everything is minced and well combined. Transfer to a small bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Prepare the turkey breast: Heat the oven to 350 degree F. Put the turkey breast on a cutting board and, holding your knife parallel to the work surface, slice open the turkey breast horizontally, working from the thicker side of the lobe to the thinner side and not cutting all the way through. Open the tureky breast like a book and season generously with salt and pepper.

Spread the stuffing evenly over half the opened turkey breast, leaving a little border around the outer edges. Fold the other half of the turkey breast over the stuffing, enclosing the stuffing as much as possible. Lay the bacon lengthwise on top of the turkey breast and tie the breast crosswise with kitchen string in four to five places to hold it all together.

Season the turkey on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 12-inch oven proof skillet over medium-high heat. Beginning with the bacon side down, sear the turkey breast on both sides until nicely browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the skillet to the oven (the turkey should be bacon side up) and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, flip the turkey breast, return to the oven, and roast until an instan-read thermometer inserted into the center of the breast reads 165 degree F, 20 to 30 minutes more.

Remove the pan from the oven, transfer the turkey to a large plate and let it rest, loosely covered with foil, for about 10 minutes.

While the turkey is resting, make the Marsala glaze: Pour off the fat from skillet and discard any lumps of stuffing that may have fallen out of the turkey and burned. Put the skillet over medium-high heat, pour the Marsala in the skillet, and bring it to a boil, stirring with a wooden spatula to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add to the pan any juices that have collected around the turkey while resting on the plate. Continue boiling until the Marsala is reduced to 1/4 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the strings from the turkey. Slice the turkey crosswise into 1/2-inch slices and arrange the slices on a serving platter. Pour the Marsala glaze into a small bowl and pass with the turkey.

Cranberry & Pecan Sourdough Stuffing
Serves 4 to 6

4 to 6 cups 3/4-inch diced or torn sourdough bread
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/3 cup toasted pecans
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup low-salt turkey or chicken broth
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Tear or cut the bread into 3/4-inch pieces until you have 4 to 6 cups. If workng a day ahead, lay the pieces out on a rack and leave them uncovered on the counter to dry overnight. Otherwise, spread the bread out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a 275 degree F oven, stirring very 10 minutes or so, until it is crisp and mostly dry; it will continue to dry a bit as it cools. Depending on how moist the bread is to begin with, oven drying takes 10 to 30 minutes.

Cook the chopped celery and onions with a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until soft. Let it cool for a while. In a large bowl, toss the bread with cranberries and herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add in the broth, melted butter and finally the beaten egg. Heat the oven to 375 degree F. Lightly grease a 8-inch baking dish with oil or cooking spray. Spread the stuffing in the dish, cover tightly with foil, and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the top is lightly browned and crisp, another 20 to 30 minutes.

Source: Fine Cooking magazine, October/November 2006

Mashed Potatoes with Cheddar & Kale
Makes 5 cups

2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 2” chunks
1/2 stick unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)
5 cups kale, stemmed, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 cups sharp Cheddar, grated
1 cup milk, warmed

Simmer potatoes in water in a large pot for 15-20 minutes, or until tender when pierced; drain.

Return pot to medium-high heat. Melt butter, then stir in the kale, salt and pepper. Cook until kale is wilted, 2-3 minutes.

Off heat, add drained potatoes, cheese, and milk; crush with a potato masher until combined but still lumpy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Source: Cuisine at Home, October 2006