Cooking with Zoe: A good book

I recently joined a book club in order to get to know some new women in town. The women I have met so far have been really great. The books we read for my first meeting, not so great. [Not My Daughter and Invisible Lives] And to add to my sad reading woes, the Borders in town was closing just as we arrived. The nice part about that was that they had some killer deals, and the compulsive-book-buyer in me got carried away. I found a little gem in that process and just have to share:



Cooking for Gracie: The Making of a Parent from Scratch

I love food, I love cooking, and I am living the first year of my first child's life. This book was totally targeted to someone like me [and you? anyone?]. It is the story of a father's first year, month by month, with his baby girl, born premature by about five weeks. I have enough friends who have given birth to babies premature for this to hit home. Despite the challenging weight of raising a premie in the first year, the book overall is delightfully upbeat. His passion [not job] was cooking, and he gradually learns to help his passion serve his new role and the new little person in his life, instead of resenting his child for getting in the way of his passion.


A few things I enjoyed about this book:


1) Honest struggles in the kitchen, not totally unlike Julie and Julia. Everything from straight up recipe challenges, to figuring out how to cook for company, and the obvious challenge of cooking with an infant around.


2) Hearing about the first year of a baby's life from the dad's perspective. I follow plenty of moms through blogs and have lots of mom friends, but don't have many guys I spend much time talking to about infant stuff [missing my community group dad friends, Paul and Adam - you two are great dads! they were fun to go through pregnancy and the first few months of pregnancy with, not just because their wives are so cool]. It was refreshing and eye opening to know what the other side of this equation feels like.


3) Simple lessons. Dixon definitely had opportunities to take himself too seriously, but there was such a nice, approachable tone to the whole book. He shared some insightful lessons, but not as if they were profound golden nuggets from on high, just a guy ambling through this new beautiful chapter of life. As someone who all too often takes herself too seriously, it was good to have a nice example to model myself after! Also, he didn't go on and on. The book is short, the chapters are quick [and half of the chapter is a handful of recipes for that month - many of which I am interested in trying]. It made for a great read for this chapter of my life, when I need something I can pick up and put down and enjoy each time, instead of spending the precious little reading time I have trying to get back into something too dense or complicated.


A hearty one claw up, Lobsters. Check it out and let me know if you like it! Especially you Daddy Lobsters out there - tell me, does he get it right?

Cooking with Zoe: I love basil

This town is great. I can pretty much walk the length of it from one end to another with ease, even carrying Sofia the whole way. I'm like a walking advertisement for the Ergo, everyone asks me about it! And with few things scheduled in my days yet, and with how good it is for Sofia to get out of the house and have things to look at and explore, I've taken advantage of almost every opportunity I've had to visit our farmers' market. It is a small market, but its location is just so picturesque and pleasant. It's centered on the town green, a strip of grassy lawn in the middle of the town, peppered with trees and book ended by a huge gazebo and the downtown-y area. 

A new friend mentioned she buys loads of basil there and makes pesto in bulk so she can freeze it to use in the winter. 


!! 


I love pesto. My husband loves pesto - perhaps even more than me. I have been so frustrated for the past year to have so much trouble finding quality, affordable basil that I've been reluctant to make any pesto at all. So off to the farmers' market I went [twist my arm!], and I shopped around the different vendors to figure out where I should buy. I ended up buying it from one woman, Sarah of Small Wonder Organics, almost more because she seemed cool and nice than that I figured the price was best. [getting to know your farmers at your farmers' market is such a hip ideal these days, I'm so thrilled to finally be able to do it and not just glorify the idea of this practice!] 


A bit over eager, I was starting to ask her how much she would charge for a FEW pounds worth. She wisely encouraged me to look at what just one pound looked like and I humbly agreed to start with that, knowing I could find her if I needed so much more so soon. All of this I got at less than a fifth of the price I had been accustomed to paying in the San Diego grocery stores. And for about a week, I've had this lovely smell of basil wafting from my kitchen into the other rooms of my house. I almost want to scatter it into flower vases just to spread the aroma. 


Day one I used all the pine nuts I had to make as many recipes worth of pesto as I could, which turned out to be about five [we made about five more recipes later, when we got our hands on some more pine nuts]. Here's the pesto recipe I use:


Pesto Recipe:


Ingredients:
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil
[my mom ads 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco, which I never have around, so I skip]


Directions:
Process first six ingredients in food processor until finely chopped. Slowly add oil through feed tup with machine running until consistency is as desired. 


Pesto Uses:
I love to use pesto in pasta, with some grilled chicken and garlic sauteed mushrooms. That's probably our most common use. But we also love mixing it with some mayonnaise and grilled chicken to make chicken salad sandwiches. When I feel like splurging, I'll add in some artichoke hearts to that salad for some extra yum. When we're entertaining, I'll spread some pesto on some slices of a baguette, place a slice of tomato, and melt some mozzarella on top for a sure-fire-crowd-pleaser appetizer. 


A few nights ago, I made a caprese salad, which is just tomatoes, basil, and cheese [usually mozzarella, but I used some herbed goad cheese, also from the farmers' market, because that's what I had] with some basalmic vinegar and olive oil drizzled on top. And last night I made caprese paninis - the same ingredients grilled between some nice bread. So simple, and yet so stinking enjoyable! If any of this seems like too much work, I have to admit - I have been caught more than once in the past week just chomping on a leaf or two of basil on it's own. I feel a bit like a gourmet cow. 


None of this is terribly original or earthshattering, but I'm just twitterpated over how much GOOD basil I've been able to enjoy lately, I had to write about it. I hope you have a chance to visit YOUR local farmers market and make some good use of basil for yourself. 

Cooking with Zoe: Citrus Peanut Chicken Salad

One of my favorite songwriters, Rich Mullins, once said that he felt like when he wrote songs, he was really piecing together a quilt, rather than creating something new out of nothing. I think that describes nicely what I did with dinner tonight. Piecing together a few of my favorite recipe components and making a few twists here and there, I pulled together that had a nice balance of bright flavors, delightful balance of textures, and it was pleasantly filling. It also doesn’t hurt that I’m fully obsessed with all things peanut butter. If you try it out, I hope you enjoy it too.

Citrus Peanut Chicken Salad

2 servings

Ingredients:

Dressing:

(Adapted from Cooking Light, Light and Easy Menus cookbook, p.44)

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger

1 teaspoon orange rind

Chicken:

(Adapted from Betty Crocker’s Good and Easy Cookbook, 1996, p.74)

One orange

¼ cup creamy peanut butter

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

1 chicken breast half, sliced into strips

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup finely chopped salted peanuts

Salad:

1 head of red leaf romaine lettuce, washed

1 can mandarin oranges

½ cup chow mein crispy noodles

1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400˚

2) Grate the orange rind

3) Juice the orange

4) Mix orange juice with peanut butter and ginger in small bowl. Put chopped peanuts in a separate small bowl.

5) Salt the chicken strips. Dip chicken into peanut butter mixture, then into the peanuts to coat, place chicken into greased baking dish. Bake chicken for 25 minutes, turning once. Test to be sure the chicken is no longer pink by cutting into the center.

6) While chicken is baking, mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl, set aside

7) Tear lettuce into two bowls, add mandarin oranges, chow mein crispy noodles, cucumber, and orange slices on top. Drizzle dressing over salad and serve. 

Cooking with Zoe: Pork Popper Pasta

I love to cook, but I'm not exactly proficient and I mostly just stick to recipes I find. But last night, I tweaked a recipe in enough ways, that I feel like I kind of created my own dish [though I'm sure others have made something similar enough]. So not to claim originality, but just to share a creation that turned out tasty enough, here it is:

Pork Popper Pasta 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. pork chop, cut in cubes

4oz. pasta

one bundle of asparagus

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup flour

1 egg

3/4 cup bread crumbs or panko

cooking spray

2 Tbs. butter

lemon, sliced

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup chicken broth (or white wine if preferred)

parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. start boiling water for pasta, cook pasta

2. arrange three bowls: 1-flour, salt, pepper, 2- egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water, 3-bread crumbs

3. coat cubed pork in bowls based on listed order

4. coat skillet with cooking spray, cook pork on medium high until slightly browned on outside and no longer pink on inside, turning as needed, about 8 minutes

5. wash asparagus, cut off hard ends, cut into bite sized lengths, steam until they reach desired softness

6. remove pork from pan, wipe with paper towel, melt 1 Tbs. butter. Add lemon juice, broth, and lemon slices. bring to boil, then simmer until reduced by half. Add remaining butter and mix until melted.

7. Drain pasta and mix with pork, asparagus, and sauce. Top with lemon slices and parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings.

[influence for this recipe taken from Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again, recipe for Chicken Piccata, p.96] 

One of these things is not like the others

rancid brown goo

disposing of rancid brown goo

burnt goo at bottom of pot

what the goo was supposed to look like

Three of these things do not belong. 


Lobsters, here's a little thought about a good friendship: you have a nice balance of things in common, and things that make you different. While Emily grew up in a family that focused more on working out, I grew up in a family that focused more on eating. In order to have eating as a prioritized passion, cooking becomes a critical means to an end. I really love to cook. I don't claim to be any kind of expert, I just enjoy it. But all the effort I put into cooking the recipe you see above could not possibly yield anything I could actually eat. This was no "joy in the journey" kind of experience.

See how beautiful that last photo is (credit to Cooking Light Magazine)? Wouldn't you want to see that on your table? Wouldn't you enjoy eating it? It includes several beautiful shades of my favorite color, green, against the nice clean white of the rice and cheese. Lovely. Not so in my kitchen. 

The road blocks:

1. The recipe called for frozen shelled edamame, our grocery had no shelled option, which I only discovered at the point in the cooking when I was supposed to be adding the edamame. 
2. The recipe called for Arborio rice. I thought I could force a brown rice substitution. I still don't understand why I couldn't make this work, but this seemed to be the key downfall.  
3. Baby girl decided she was hungry about 15 minutes into the cooking process, so while I might have found some creative ways to course correct after the above two incidents, after a 45 minute feeding de-rail, it was just too late.  

So after about 2 and a half hours, I finally had to throw in the towel. Be glad the internet does not have a scratch-n-sniff feature (yet). 

The things I will take away from this experience to help me feel better about myself:

1. Respect the recipe. While substitutions can be a handy cooking tool, its probably the minority that are actually effective. I should have done my research. Lesson learned. 
2. Its ok if I'm not simultaneously a gourmet chef and good mom to a newborn. Guilt assuaged. 
3. Sometimes the best thing to do is to quit. My tenacity in pushing through adversity to make something amazing out of a seemingly impossible situation can be a strength that helps me to shine. In another light, this is an incurable stubbornness that gets me into trouble. There does come a point when you have to admit defeat. This was apparently a difficult lesson, as it took over 2 hours for me to finally give up. Self-awareness embraced.
4. There's a first for everything. Here's a little back-door-brag for you, after cooking for and with my husband for almost six years, this was the first meal that completely failed, forcing us to find something entirely different to eat. Vanity relished.
5. If at first you don't succeed, remember you can always get a blog post out of it. Laughter enjoyed.