Dinner in a Hurry

I am always hearing about people who have too little time to cook. I always feel there is too little time not to. If I spend a long day working, I can stop by any half way decent grocery and, in ten minutes, come out with great fresh food, enough to make dinner.

When I get home, I can prepare that food and have dinner on the table in about twenty minutes. 

This doesn’t mean that I am making a gourmet meal, nor that at times I don’t like to spend all day preparing a meal, but for me, fresh ingredients prepared simply and served hot are always worth the effort. Also, unless you work in a restaurant kitchen (or as I once did an assembly line in northern New Hampshire that made frozen chicken pot pies) coming home and cooking is a break from your day. 

So, cook fresh simple food everyday. Sit down with the people you love for a meal every evening. And your life will be better for it.

Asian Cole Slaw

I have been on a roll with cabbage for the last several months. I have gotten used to the slight bitterness, and now love to use it as a staple. My sister-in-law Meredith made an Asian Cole Slaw last year that I really liked. I never got the recipe, my fault, but have made due with my own version. I can really eat this every day. It is so flavorful.

This recipe, made with half a head of cabbage, is good for six people for a side dish, but two or three people can eat it all if you like a “main course” salad.

Ingredients

1/2 head cabbage

1/2 bunch cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper

1 good apple

1/2 red bell pepper

2 limes (for juice)

2 TBSP rice vinegar

1 TBSP sesame seed oil

2 TBSP olive oil

1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

 

Finely shredd cabbage (see my diatribe on slicing cabbage & cilantro in previous post)

Seperate leaves from cilantro, discard stems and mince leaves.

Mince jalapeno pepper, removing seeds and ribs to taste. I have notice lately that the spiciness of jalapeno’s is all over the map. Sometimes I have a batch that don’t seem at all piquant. If this is the case, if you leave the ribs and seeds in you will find it to be more spicy.

Chop apple and red pepper into 1/4 inch cubes.

Combine all these ingredients in a large salad bowl and toss together.

Squeeze both limes over slaw, add rice vinegar, olive oil, and sesame oil. Toss

Sprinkle with salt to taste, add slivered almonds and serve!

Sunday Night Dinner

Kirk and Meredith are bringing William for dinner tonight, and Holly is coming with a strawberry shortcake. Erin has been painting in the livingroom all day and I am futzing with a bunch of details. We are heading to Los Angeles on Wednesday to show Erin’s work at a home show, so there are many little details to take care of.

At first I planned on a braised brisket, but time has run away from me, and anyway I also bought tilapia that I haven’t cooked yet and it needs to be cooked soon. So, Fish Tacos is just the thing.

This means brown rice, beans (I wanted black beans but only had pinto) tilapia, shredded cabbage, fresh salsa and a bit of goat cheese.

Man, I don’t even think I have time to write these recipes and still make dinner, so I will just write one. It is short, but invaluable.

I always here people complain that cooking brown rice is too hard to get consistent. It either comes out too mushy or two crunchy. I don’t understand it. I do it the same every time and it always comes out just right. Firm but not al dente.

I will often mince onions, mushrooms, cilantro, or other fresh vegis and toss them in right at the beginning. I even use white wine and/or chicken broth instead of the water sometimes. All this doesn’t seem to effect the texture of the final product. Adding any oil to the mix does effect the rice, so if you saute the onions or mushrooms first, your on your own.

So, here goes

Perfect Brown Rice -

1 cup brown rice

1 1/2 cups water

Put rice and water in small saucepan for which you have a tight cover. Bring to boil over high heat. Cover and simmer on low for 25 – 30 minutes until all water is absorbed.

This works for me every time.

I’ll get back to tilapia, fresh salsa, and pinto beans next time.

Oatmeal

As I mentioned in my last post, oatmeal is in my two top dishes to cook for breakfast at home. Man, I can’t imagine anything more boring than the idea of oatmeal, but, in fact, I have a recipe that I love.

When I was a kid, I ate oatmeal every day, often several meals each day, I did not use quick oats or old fashioned. I did not add milk, cream or butter. I had instant oatmeal and I added lots of sugar. I can remember the oatmeal glistening with a sugar coating when it was in my bowl.

I was a purist. One ingredient, oatmeal could have another ingredient, sugar, and that was fine. Third ingredients (don’t tell me about the water) were a desecration. If you are that type of oatmeal officianado, this recipe may not be for you. If not, well here goes.

In my last post I mentioned how important it is to me how I use my knife in food preparation. In this recipe, finely chopping the fruit and ginger is very important. I don’t know, call me crazy, but I never heard a painter say “apply the paint any way you want” ingredients are our medium. Knife, spatula, and pan are our tools. The plate is our canvas. Be proud of how you prepare and present your food.

Fresh Ginger is a hot spice, but it doesn’t make your fingers smell like garlic, and it doens’t cause your eyes to tear if you accidently wipe your face after pealing and chopping like jalapenos. I love ginger. Erin tells me it is good for me, and that is all the research I need. It would be a real disappointment to find out it is carconigenic or causes cellulite. But anyway, it is an ingredient that you must chop well to enjoy.

I take a ginger root, trim off one bulb, and then skin it with a sharp paring knife. Then, I cut it along the grain into long flat slices. They are like very small pine shelving. I turn them on their side, and again, cut them the long way into match sticks. At this point the success of your cutting is based on the fineness of your matchsticks. If they are similar to a matchstick from a pack of twenty. Good. More like a toothpick. Great. Like a dill stem. Absolutely Fabulous. Remember Practice makes perfect.

Now, turn them 90° and chop these sticks as fine as possible. Now you have prepared your ginger perfectly.

And here’s the recipe.

Oatmeal with Fruit and Ginger

Ingredients

2/3 cups Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1 1/2 cups Water
small hunk of ginger – final ammount about 2 TBSP
1 Pear
1 Apple
1 cup Yogurt
1 cup Orange Juice
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp each Cocoa, Brown Sugar, or 1/2 tsp Cayenne if you like

Preparation

Combine Oatmeal and Water in small sauce pan over high heat.

Mince Ginger as described above. (One thing about ammount of ginger. I get this stuff all the time, and it is not consistent on its flavor or heat. A ginger root lasts for five or six preparations. If you make the recipe today and it’s too spicy, cut down on the ginger, too bland, increase the ginger.)

Now put the ginger in the Oatmeal Water mixture quick, before you read that paranthetical clause. Once the water is boiling turn down to simmer. You’ll be cooking until it reaches the consistency you like. I like my Oatmeal like a thin gruel (now) but you might like it thicker.

Okay. cut slices off your pear, parallel to the core. two slice on one side, then turn it on its side; two slices on the next…and the next…and the next. Now you have these 1/4 inch thick slices of Pear with a 1/3 inch thick core. Throw away the core. Turn the pear planks 90° and cut them into matchsticks. Then turn them 90° to cube them. These cubes should all be about 1/4 inch in diameter. This is the same process as the ginger, but the outcome is not fine mince, but 1/4 inch dice.

Now do the same thing with the apple.

Mix the apple and the pear in a cereal bowl and add the OJ. Now split this between two cereal bowls.

Now dolop on the Yogurt.

If I am adding brown sugar, I like to add it now so that it is hidden by the oatmeal.

Now, split the oatmeal between the two bowls so you all you can see is oatmeal, but hidden below is the fruit/OJ parfait and the yogurt.

Now sprinkle on the Cinnamon, Cocoa Powder, and Cayenne as desired.

Serve immedeatley, the Oatmeal may be hot, but all the other ingredients are cold, so, the faster you serve and eat, the hotter this will be.

Enjoy!

Mince, Mince, Mince

My favorite breakfasts are eggs over cabbage or oatmeal over fruit. This morning I went for the eggs.

I have never been a great fan of cabbage. Sour Kraut is OK, Ruben Sandwich mmm…, Cole Slaw can be good, but cabbage in and of itself is not very appealing. I do cook with my family in mind, however, and so, over the years I have gotten used to using cabbage more. Cabbage is healthy. Cabbage is full of fiber. Cabbage takes the place of other bulk items that don’t have so much nutrition going for them; rice, pasta, potatoes.

The secret to using cabbage and enjoying it in my book is in how it is chopped. If you want to serve raw cabbage, it will be much more appealing if it is finely chopped. I think, the finer the better. Keep in mind, this is not true if you plan on cooking the cabbage. Cooking finely chopped cabbage will turn it into a mushy mess, but for a nice hill of cabbage under eggs,  finely chopped is the key.

First step, cut in quarters. Then cut out the core from one quarter and discard. Then remove any outside leaves that are wilted or brown. These just won’t make for an appealing presentation, though they won’t kill you. Next I lay the cabbage quarter on my cutting board with the long side facing me, and the cut, flat side facing away. Now, using a sharp (sharp!) eight or ten inch French knife, I work my way up the cabbage quarter, holding the cabbage with my left hand, knuckles turned out, finger-tips bent in, riding the side of the blade along my knuckles for accuracy. I slice as evenly and thinly as I can. I work my way up to the last bit of cabbage, then, turn it 90° and chop the last end in the same method.

This may seem like a long-winded description of an obvious technique, but, in my opinion how you cut is the most important first step to good cooking. 

Now – here’s today’s breakfast recipe.

Cilantro Eggs on Cabbage

Ingredients

4 Eggs
1/2 cup Yogurt
2 oz. Goat Cheese
1/4 Onion
1 Jalapeno Pepper
1/4 bunch Cilanto
1/4 head Cabbage
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Butter
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 slices good toast
1 Pear

Method

Finely mince and combine Onion and Jalapeno. Chop Cilantro leaves. Discard any larger Cilantro stems, but don’t worry too much about some stem. They taste fine, but can be a bit unattractive.

In a 6 inch skillet at medium heat melt butter and add olive oil. Add Onions and Jalapenos. Saute and Toss until onions are soft, but don’t brown.

While this is cooking, finely mince cabbage as described above. This is also a good time to put your toast in.

In a small bowl mix eggs and y0gurt. Blend thoroughly. Add crumbled Goat Cheese and Cilantro.

Cut your Pear in half long ways through the stem, then carefully cut out stem and seeds, retaining as much of the Pear as possible. Finely cut each half into eight or ten equal slices. Fan these on two plates.

Add Egg mixture to hot onions and jalapenos. Mix with rubber spatula. If the eggs stick. Live with it, but make a note to go out and buy a new egg pan for future breakfasts.

Toss minced cabbage together with a bit of something…soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice, salt, cayenne pepper, whatever. Just something to add a bit of flavor, then put half of the cabbage in a small hill on each plate.

When the egg mixture is cooked through, not too runny, not to browned if possible, not to dry, (it won’t be very dry because of the Yogurt) split the cooked eggs on the two plates right on top of the cabbage.

Butter Toast and serve. Quick!