Grilling Banned

This might sound like a ridiculous title but it’s true. In my old hometown Vienna, Austria, the city is suffering from a major heat wave that has lasted who knows how long (I don’t keep track) and as a result, the mayor has declared that no one in the city is allowed to grill outdoors. There is no fire making of any kind allowed. It sounds funny to us, or at least to me, but I’m sure the Viennese aren’t chuckling. I remember living in Brooklyn and just melting in my apartment that did not have an A/C unit and was just a couple degrees cooler than the 110 degrees it was outside. At that point, you don’t feel like cooking anything. You don’t want to turn on the stove, the grill or heaven forbid, the oven. You don’t want to blow dry your hair, take a warm shower or even drink coffee. Which I don’t drink anyways. I remember I lasted on nothing but gelato and cold fruit that month. It really lasted the entire month of July. My husband was out of town, I was working from home, cooking zilch, drinking an obscene amount of water and running around in practically my bathing suit. I have not consumed that much watermelon since and have not lost weight that quickly again. Some would call it a blessing in disguise but I just remember being miserable.
If you find yourself fighting the heat, drink water, stay out of the kitchen and munch of some fresh fruit and cold salads. You’ll feel so much better, trust me.

Sweet Sandwiches

Ever since my husband went deep-sea fishing, we have been devouring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. That's one of the things he took with him on the fishing trip and since then, we have not been able to stop making them.
I grew up in Europe and the equivalent of that would be an open-faced Nutella sandwich. It is a slice of bread, buttered and smeared with a healthy layer of Nutella, which is a hazelnutty chocolate spread. I introduced my husband to that sandwich and he introduced me to the PB&J, since we didn't really have peanut butter in Europe back in the day. Since it has been literally been a PB&J at least once a day for the last week, I asked him which one won the sweet sandwich contest and surprisingly, Nutella is still the winner. I celebrated by dunking a teaspoon into the gooey mixture and licking it right off the spoon as if it was an ice cream cone. I should also mention that I make Nutella crepes at least once a month or so and am tempted to fry the PB&J sandwich, much to my husband's horror. How bad can it be?

I didn't take these pictures but felt like including them since I'm craving both right now.

 

 

 

Favorite New Cooking Show

I have watched so many cooking shows on TV that at this point, I know them all. So when a new show appeared, I was excited to discover some new recipes. The show in question is called The Pioneer Woman, and she also runs her own blog site with wonderful photography, tips and recipes thanks to her ranch living. I don't even mind watching reruns of her episodes since I like her pleasant demeanor, delicious looking meals and beautiful scenery around the ranch. If you haven't watched her show yet, check her out or visit her site.

Mamaliga - Also Known As Polenta

Mamaliga is the Romanian word for polenta. It is also the staple food of Romania, kind of like potatoes is for the Irish or rice is for basically all of Asia. I know Italians serve polenta oftentimes grilled or cut up into small pieces that they top with various things such as sun-dried tomatoes, but in Romania, we just cook it to a soft, creamy, cheesy consistency. It is like mac and cheese, without the mac. It is so freakin' good. I am not including the exact recipe here, but basically you mix about 2-3 parts of milk or water (I prefer milk for its creamier texture) with 1 part polenta or corn meal, bring it to a boil, turn down the heat and whisk like mad for about 5-10 minutes, until it thickens. We always add sour cream (I tend to have Greek yogurt at home so I use that) and plenty of parmesan cheese as it thickens, to give it wonderful creamy, cheesy flavor. Taste it to ensure that the little grains or grits are cooked and check for seasoning. You can add salt or just more parmesan cheese, which is salty in itself. It is usually served as a side dish with chicken (as in the picture below - and yes, I know that chicken looks like frog legs) or some kind of stew. It is excellent with stew. Give it a try. It's very good, very cheap and very fast to make.

Eggplant

I could not come up with a more original title than that, sorry.
I grilled eggplant yesterday and made the Romanian version of baba ganoush, which is a dip from the Middle East. In Romania, we make the lazy version of it, and actually I like the taste of it better this way.
All I did was grill two large eggplants, although I usually bake them in the oven for about an hour (until they are soft) and let cool before you peel the skin off. Put the soft flesh in a sieve and let it drain since they contain a lot of liquid. Cut through the flesh with a knife, fork or whatever is around (it is soft enough that a butter knife will go through it) and mix it with a few squirts of mayonnaise, some salt and maybe some finely diced onion. I have made it with and without the onion and it's good either way.
It is excellent served on bread, like an open-faced sandwich, and most importantly, with tomatoes on top. The flavor combination of tomatoes and eggplant is excellent.

Here is the only picture I took before devouring most of the eggplant dip. And yes, I realize it looks like an art project.

Fishing for Sand Bass

My husband went deep-sea fishing today, much to his delight and my sadness. Sadness that I could not go with him unfortunately, due to my very unpleasant sea sickness. When he got back, he assured me that I would have been more than miserable as the waves caused the boat to bob back and forth incessantly. He has a strong constitution and he still felt wobbly once he was on dry land.
But he made it and brought home some sand bass, if I remember him saying correctly. Maybe he meant sea bass? I will have to check with him again since I have never heard of sand bass and am too lazy to research it right now. The fish was prepped on a rocky boat in a sloppy way by the people steering and handling the boat, but since they did most of the dirty work, I won't complain about the uneven cuts and still slightly scaly skin. Oh well.
So lo and behold, we have enough of this mysterious sand bass (that I still believe is a sea bass given its color and similarity in name) to last us at least a month. I froze most of it in small portions so I can defrost it without having to cook the entire batch and attempted to cook the first portion tonight. I marinaded it in a sauce akin to teriyaki sauce and decided to bake it. I have baked fish plenty of times before, I know what I'm doing, but due to the even portions of the darn fish, it was of course cooking unevenly. I would check the thickest part of the meat and it was still quite underdone. I left it for a few extra minutes and we ended up with sand bass jerky. My husband was so exhausted from the day's adventure that he woke up from his nap, ate the plateful of sand bass jerky with brown rice I shoved in his hand and promptly went back to sleep. He barely acknowledged my complaints about the dry fish. Although the marinade at least made it taste good.
So that was the day's exciting conclusion with fish so overcooked that I wouldn't even serve it to my mother's dog, my hands reeking of sand bass and my husband snoring contently away.

Comforting Lentil Stew

Despite how the picture looks, this is a delicious stew. And really, is there a pretty way to photograph lentil stew? I’ve tried and have yet to find a way.
I made this stew a couple of times after a nasty dentist visit and had to eat soft things. It is easy to make and only requires a few ingredients. My favorite combination when cooking.

1 cup dried red lentils
¼ cup diced pancetta (bacon works too)
½ tsp salt
2 carrots, diced
¼ cup onion, diced
½ tsp olive oil
1 cup water (or more – enough to cover the stew)

Serves 2

Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until it has rendered its fat, about 2-3 minutes. Add the onions and carrots and cook for a couple of minutes until soft. Add the dried lentils and stir so they get coated with the oil and pancetta drippings. Pour the water over and bring to a boil. Add the salt and stir. Once the stew is boiling, turn the heat down to low, cover the pot with a lid and let cook for 15-20 minutes, until all the water has evaporated and the lentils are plump and cooked all the way through. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed, although the stew will have a slightly sweet flavor from the carrots and onions.

Stir-Fried Rice

As is always the case when I get home from work around 5ish, I am starving. I thought by some miracle an early dinner would be waiting for me today, but that was not the case. I don’t know what I was thinking. Guess I should lower my expectations.
So I proceeded to make the quickest thing I know how to make – stir-fried rice. Here is the recipe, more or less. With stir-frys, you can substitute ingredients no problem.

1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked diced chicken
1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
½ small onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce

Serves 2

Heat the oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté for a couple of minutes until they are soft. Add the carrots and sauté for one minute until soft. Add the frozen corn and continue cooking for a couple of minutes so that the corn heats through. Add the cooked rice and chicken and heat through. Drizzle the teriyaki sauce over and let cook for a couple of minutes on high before serving.

Birthday Party Food

I attended a birthday party for a five year old yesterday and have to mention the food selection. There was a taco guy who supplied Mexican food to the guests and a cupcake cake. First let me explain about the taco guy. If you are not from San Diego (or Southern California), you might not be familiar with this term. It is often the custom here to hire a taco guy to cater parties, even small ones for five year olds. Usually about two guys set up a grill and some tables at your house or wherever your party is (in this case the park) and prepare tacos to order. That means they cook the meat right then and there, prepare all the fixings such as guacamole, onions, cilantro, cheese and there is also usually rice and beans. Once the preparation is done, guests go up to the food station and order whatever kind of taco they want. Yesterday's selection consisted of carne asada, chicken or el pastor, which is marinated pork. All were equally delicious. In our circle of friends and family, we have enjoyed the offerings of the taco guy on more than one occasion. It also is cheaper than having a full-blown catered event and it keeps the atmosphere light. There is no fancy sitting down or even a place to sit down to begin with, for that matter, meaning there were no tables at yesterday’s event, just plenty of chairs. It’s a great way to entertain and also good for your wallet.
To move on to the cake made of cupcakes now. I had seen cupcakes introduced at parties to replace traditional cakes but for some reason, I thought yesterday’s cake was just genius. A bunch of cupcakes were placed next to each other (vanilla and chocolate flavor) and icing was spread on top of them to make it look like one large cake. Once the birthday song was sung and the candles were blown, no knife was necessary to cut the cake. All the mom had to do was distribute the cupcakes, frosting and all, to the children. Easy peasy. Personally I wasn’t crazy about the cake flavors and the frosting is the kind of sugar-laden thing I can’t stand, but the idea was great. I wouldn’t mind trying that technique with homemade cupcakes and a lighter cream cheese frosting maybe. Here are some pics of a taco man set up and the cupcakes, although these are just random photos not taken at yesterday's event.

 

Canned Soup

You might be asking yourself why I bother dedicating an entry to canned soup. Then again, you might not be a soup snob and enjoy it every day. Whichever the case, I am not a canned soup aficionado since I tend to make soup from scratch. As everything else really. However, I had a tooth pulled a couple of days ago and was not in the mood to cook, also partly due to the heat engulfing our house, thus I resorted to Campbell’s Chicken Soup with Rice and the one with noodles. On the rare occasion that I’m sick and can’t move, I ask my husband to pick me up soup from the store, which usually turns out to be just those cans. So I’m familiar with it. It’s not rocket science to heat it up and it tastes pretty decent. Today I actually made it a point to check the ingredient list and nutritional label. It was way overdue and I finally remembered to do so. Needless to say that I was flabbergasted despite the prior suspicion I had that I wouldn’t be happy with the outcome. Why in heaven’s name was there cream in it, milk solids, beef extract, various types of sodium, high fructose corn syrup and my favorite, mechanically separated chicken. Mmm. Nothing like chicken meat straight out of the Matrix. After reading the label to my husband, we mutually decided that it is in our best interest to make the damn soup ourselves, which I have done when not sick. Honestly, you throw water, a couple of drumsticks, carrots, onion and rice into a pot, add salt and bring it to a boil and you get the same thing. Minus the 2,000 milligrams of sodium. Yes, that’s how much one of those small cans of soup has. I did the math. And then promptly realized why my stomach and kidneys hurt. I should have consumed an extra gallon of water afterwards. Alas, I have learned my lesson and won’t do it again. For an extra twenty minutes, I can have a delicious soup made by moi without the worry of having mechanically separated my chicken.

Salt vs. Sugar

People tend to be either salt or sugar freaks, with the occasional exception of craving both equally. I am partial to salt, probably due to my upbringing. In Romania and Austria, we do love pickled and salted things. Olives, pickled vegetables such as cauliflower, green tomatoes, cucumbers, horseradish and carrots, bacon on its own and fermented items such as cabbage are just a few. I constantly hear that children have delicate palates and cannot tolerate strong tastes. If you had told my family that back in the day, they would have looked at you as though you had sprouted two heads. I ate pickles before I had a real sandwich. Same with the aforementioned items. Salt and vinegar are in my blood and I’m planning on passing that tradition on.
My husband on the other hand cannot for the life of him say no to anything sweet. Which is of course why he married me. Just kidding. He does have a serious sweet tooth though, which is great for me because I get to bake to my heart’s content. I can guarantee you that no crumb of cake is thrown away at our house. It compliments his afternoon cup of coffee, as well as my breakfast, our lunch dessert and of course the obligatory midnight snack. Because we are those kind of people. We snack at midnight. No matter what zip code or country we are in, we found out.
I am bringing him around to the salty side though. Slowly, very slowly. It took me 10 years to convince him that pickles with certain sandwiches are the bomb. I think Katz’s Deli in NYC really had more convincing power than my constant pushing however. So maybe I should thank them for making my husband see the light. First it was pickles, now it’s mustard. Lordy lord, it’s madness, I tell you. Next we might even move on to olives. The really salty kind. You know which ones I mean.
Until that time comes, I will indulge him and bake another cake. Actually I’m just indulging my own need to bake more than his need to munch on something while enjoying a cup of Joe.

Grilling At Home

A few weeks ago our neighbors moved out and sold us their gas grill. It’s a fancy piece of a thing and thankfully not as difficult to use as I thought. Although we have yet to change out the propane tank. Since we grilled on the 4^th of July, yes, we did the grilling, my husband was inspired to grill chicken drumsticks at home as well. And boy did they turn out good. Nothing like coming home from work on a Monday and being surprised by dinner. Actually nothing like being surprised by dinner period, since he rarely makes dinner. It was a delicious and wonderful surprise and I even managed to take pictures of the end result. Although I still have to write down the recipe of the marinade, which was passed down from his mother. Until then, here are pictures to get your mouth watering. It's chicken and green beans with garlic and pine nuts. He went all out.

 

Austrian Food Site

One of my favorite food websites is www.ichkoche.at, which is an Austrian site and thus written in German. Obviously if you can’t read German, this won’t be much help to you, unless you have spare time to translate, but I thought I’d mention it because you can browse through photos of recipes and at least get ideas. Translating the recipes isn’t hard either since most of them are not overly long.

In any case, this is where I go when I get homesick. I look up my favorite foods, figure out how on earth I can recreate some without setting my kitchen on fire and then get incredibly hungry. To be expected when looking at a food site. Which is not what you want to do before going grocery shopping, by the way. Trust me.

So I know the site by heart and have resorted to turning some of the recipe photos into a collage that graces my desktop, much to my colleagues’ dismay. If we meet in my office, they get to stare at this. I don’t think it’s too much…

 

Chili Potluck

In honor of tomorrow, we had a potluck at my office today, consisting of a chili cook-off, baked beans, cornbread, hot dogs, deviled eggs, pasta and potato salads and desserts. Needless to say, I feel as though I won’t be able to eat for a few days, as is always the case on such occasions. But alas, tomorrow is July 4th, which means I’ll probably be doing it all over again.
I made deviled eggs which were devoured like hot cakes. I borrowed from my mother’s recipe and added wasabi to them, which gave them a nice kick. I’ll have to write the recipe down to post here next time. They are always a popular item at the buffet table and are very easy to make. No need to buy them from the store because the home-made ones do take much better. And really, isn’t everything home-made better anyways?

New Kitchen Faves

There are always things I want to add to my kitchen library, which is what I call the entire domain really. It doesn’t just pertain to cook books, which I have plenty of, but to gadgets, references and just the coolest tools ever. For the longest time, I have wanted the items pictured below. In fact, I can safely say that I waited years to get that darn knife rack that when I finally picked it up, I felt like a kid at Christmas. It’s worth waiting for the things you really want, and since I am particular about the type of chalkboard or just the perfectly round cake dome, it can take forever for me to purchase items from my wish list. So these are the latest additions that I have used almost daily now.

 

Chalkboard 

 

Cake dome 

 

Self-explanatory