A More Exotic Lentil Soup

Certain comfort foods evoke an expectation rooted deep in our personal histories. Lentil soup is one such food of which we have a preconceived notion of taste. Yet, lentils are found across many cultures--cultures which employ different herbs and spices common to those provinces. Today we are making a lentil soup with something of an Indian flair--spicy, hot, and a little sweet, as well. Here's how it works:

Sweat half an onion, diced, in a cast iron (or any soup) pot, using extra virgin olive oil as the "lipid of choice" to quote my favorite chef, Mario Batali. Add tiny sliced baby carrots to the pot and season. Add celery (and here I have come into the heart of a bunch of celery, so I have added the leaves). As they give out a wonderful smell and the onions become opaque, add several cloves of garlic and about 3/4 to an inch of a small finger of ginger, both of which are super finely chopped and mashed a bit with the flat of your knife. Season again.

Scope out the lentils on a table top, checking for any tiny pebbles, etc., and then place them in a colander and rinse well. Lentils rank quite high in nutrient density, are an excellent source of protein and fiber, and are extremely cost effective. And raw, they are so soft to touch and wonderfully sensual. Great food.

Put the lentils into the pot, and add water to cover at least by a couple of inches. Now for the flavoring. I added an organic roasted vegetable bouillon, which includes tomato, about two teaspoons, but if you decided to go with a vegetable or chicken broth instead, substitute it for the water, but add a little chopped tomato. Crush about half a teaspoon of coriander seeds with the flat of your knife and then cut through it a bit until it is a little powdery--or use a mortar and pestle to crush it. Throw that in the pot. Also a good dash or two of lemon pepper, cayenne, and about half a teaspoon of cinnamon. Yes, cinnamon. A wonderful spice, cinnamon helps the body regulate blood sugar, and has other health qualities. After about fifteen minutes of cooking, add another couple of tablespoons of olive oil. This gives the soup richness. Let this cook slowly, so very slowly for about forty minutes, total. Add about a teaspoon of honey. Honey is a wonderful balance to pepper. Season to taste. If necessary, let it cook another ten minutes--this only if the lentils have not softened, but they should be.

So the upshot of this is a warm, pleasing balance of spicy, hot, and ever so slightly sweet--the perfect healthy meal for a winter day. Enjoy with a nice glass of wine and a warm crust of artisan bread--of course. Happy Holidays!

Apple-Cranberry Empanadas

Didn't have much time to cook holiday delectables for Thanks- giving this year, but I so wanted to make a couple of empanadas for a little sit down dessert with a friend. So I picked up three granny smith apples and some dried cranberries. Here's how to do it.

Empanadas are pocket pies, for want of a better description. For the crust, use one and a half cups flour; a dash of salt; about two and a half tablespoons of sugar; a half teaspoon of cinnamon; and a pinch of cayenne (optional) but surprisingly wonderful. Mix them together in a bowl. Into that put two and a half tablespoons of butter, cold, cut into little bits. Either use a pastry cutter, or a fork, or for the intrepid, fingers. Cut butter into flour mix until it looks like a corn meal. If you use your fingers, rub the mixture between thumb and four fingers lightly and quickly until you have achieved the same effect. You want to try to avoid melting the butter, so if you have hot hands, try a fork. Once you have achieved the corn meal effect, add these ingredients mixed together: half a whisked egg, a half teaspoon of vinegar, and about a teaspoon ice cold water. Work the wet into flour/butter mixture. If it seems a tad too dry, add a few drops more cold water. Split dough in half and wrap into plastic wrap, flattening them into a disk once wrapped. Pop those puppies into the fridge to chill for an hour at least.

Peel and slice apples, and then cut each slice in half (since it's a pocket pie, you need smaller pieces than you would normally put into a pie). (I only used two and a half apples, because they were large and I could tell I had more than I needed.) Then add a handful of dried cranberries and grate in about half an inch of a small ginger finger. In a separate little bowl, mix two tablespoons flour and about a quarter cup sugar, and teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix it together. Then add it to the apple mix.

Roll out the two disks of crust. (A little trick I used since I was working on a granite counter, was to tear off a piece of wax paper, sprinkle a bit of flour onto it, and roll out the dough on that. Then when it's time to fold the dough onto itself, you need only pick up the wax paper and fold it over. Makes for fast clean up, too.) Onto each piece of dough, place enough filling to make you happy (but not so much you won't be able to close it). Place it on half the rolled out dough, so you can fold the other half over the top. Pinch the edges together and then crimp them with a fork. Then brush a tiny bit of half and half (or water or milk) over the empanada and then sprinkle sugar over it.

Place on parchment paper on a sheet (or use foil, like I did). Bake in a hot oven (400 degrees, or 360 in a convection oven) for approximately twenty minutes until the crust is nice and golden. Cool a bit, but best eaten warm. Happy Holidays!

Tuna Steaks with Peach Salsa and Crosini

We went shopping again. Lovin' that fresh food. Today we brought home a huge tuna steak and peaches and a nice baguette of sour dough baked only a couple of hours before. Diane wanted to eat fresh peaches but was dismayed that they weren't just so. Which meant--salsa.

Chop up a couple of peaches in little pieces, but not microscopic pieces. You want the visual effect of the fruit and to taste each component of your salsa--so don't get chop-frenzied. Also chop a Roma tomato and half a small Bermuda (red) onion. The onion can be diced a little smaller. If you have cilantro, chop a little bit of that, too. The color will be wonderful and the flavor brilliant. Finely mince a scant half quarter inch slice of ginger. Mash it a bit with your knife. Put all these ingredients into a bowl. Squeeze the juice of half to three quarters of a lime. Save the rest...you may need to make an adjustment.

Add a shot of Sriracha sauce (an Asian chili sauce) or: mince a tiny clove of garlic, mashing it with your knife, about a teaspoon of rice wine vinegar, and a pinch of chili flakes and a tiny, tiny pinch of sea salt.

Also add a scant pinch each of: clove, coriander and cardamom. All the pinches and garlic, ginger, are scant, because we are making a little salsa.

Taste. Always taste, taste, taste. I thought mine needed a little sweet for the sour, so in went a little drizzle of honey. You could use agave nectar.

The objective here is sweet, somewhat acidic, and hot and spicy. Once you taste it, and you realize these three concepts, you can direct your salsa to your own desired specifications. So if you need another shot of lime juice or a hint more heat, go for it.

Now for the tuna. Pan frying or grilling is best, because you do not want to over-cook tuna. Since we are living in an apartment, it was to the skillet! Heat it and add enough olive oil to more than just cover the bottom. At least a coupla tablespoons, depending on the size of your skillet and the amount of tuna you intend to cook. Our steak was so big, I cut it in half before the cooking. But be sure not to overcrowd your pan.

Season the fish with sea salt and pepper with fresh cracked pepper. Carefully introduce to pan, so you don't splatter yourself. Never add wet meat to a hot skillet. You will get hurt.

Two minutes on each side. This steak was a honker, so an extra half minute went onto the clock before it was flipped. Your steak should look what my son would call "raw." (See photo.) But it will be tender. and flavorful. Remove it from the skillet immediately. Plate, and top with a generous spoonful of salsa. Serve it with a nice, large salad and a vinaigrette dressing.

Crostinis are toasted bread. Thinly slice the baguette, and on each slice, drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil and smear it across the top with the back of your spoon. I put a little basil pesto on top:

Into a food processor add a bouquet of basil, three or so cloves of garlic, a scant handful of pine nuts. They really don't need to be toasted. The sweet pine nut raw is a delicately beautimous thang, y'all. But if you want, carefully pan toss them to toast. Back to the processor, also add at least a half a lime, juiced, salt and a little freshly grated nutmeg. While that whirs away, pour in enough olive oil to make the spread spreadable. Taste. Adjust flavors.

So back to the crostinis--you've spread it with a basil pesto. Add a thin slice of Roma tomato atop each and some shaved Parmesan and, a little tiny tiny pinch of salt, if you don't overdo the cheese. Put in the oven oven at 350 until the cheese is melted and the tomato looks softened. Serve warm or cold.

Don't forget to enjoy a nice glass of wine with your dinner. Lately, the trend is to marry specific wines with specific foods. I say, BAH HUMBUG! Drink what makes you feel happy. We had a wonderful Malbec that was quite cost effective. Salud, amigos!

Seafood Chowder In New Orleans

I've had a pretty easy time finding seafood in the last three cities in which I've lived. But, admittedly, I haven't been in every town in America, so I don't know how easy it might be for you to shop for something fresh from the sea. But if you've never explored, you should.

Look for fresh seafood the way you should look for any fresh food. Look for a quality environment. There should be plenty of fresh ice and fish displayed there and mongers in plain sight. Try to avoid any market where these elements don't exist. If you are purchasing something pre-wrapped, be very cautious. Dates don't always tell the whole story, but if something is out of date, its a big clue as to how often that store is receiving fresh produce. That's what we want, fresh produce.

So, today, I looked for the best deals I could find on a very tight budget and came up with tilapia fillets and shrimp. Unfortunately, there were no fresh clams (fresh clams are actually alive). You can make a chowder out of almost any kind of tender seafood. In other words, not tuna or swordfish. These fish get very tough when overcooked, and your chowder might turn into a leftover to be reheated for lunch tomorrow. Ask your fishmonger for suggestions, if you are at a loss.

Other things you will need are--haha--stock, white wine, and a nice roux.

You may use either a fish stock, a chicken stock, or a vegetable stock. I was limited by what I had on hand, so I used a couple of cans of chicken stock I had in the pantry. And last week when I used a canned crab for a roulade, I saved the juice I squeezed and stored it in a plastic bag in the freezer. That will come in handy for great flavor. Naturally, you may make your own stock. I promise to address the issue of fresh home-made stock in this blog soon.

So, start out this cooking adventure with a roux. Today, we will used a slightly different methodology. We will make enough soup for four. Put about three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a heated pot. Chop half an onion, throw that in, too, seasoning with sea salt, and cook, stirring, until it is opaque. Now be ready to stand at the stove for ten minutes at this point, which means you'll need a clock or timer. Add an equal amount of flour as you used olive oil (here, it will be about three tablespoons). Start stirring it with a wooden spoon, and keep up that action for ten minutes.

We are trying to build the first layer of flavor for that chowder, and you can tell how that progresses by measuring time and looking at the developing color of the flour. It should turn a wonderful golden brown.

Once ten minutes elapsed and you have achieved a nice color, add diced: half a large red bell pepper, half a jalapeno (optional, of course, if you can't take the heat, or more if you love it), and a whole smallish carrot. Stir that continuously for another couple of minutes, taste, and once again lightly seasoning, if necessary. Add cracked black pepper and roughly a tablespoon of finely chopped garlic--more or less as you prefer.

Now for the liquids:

2 cans stock (best if unsalted, and always no msg)

half a bottle of chardonnay or other dry while wine

(if you have a jar of clam juice, use it--I used that 3/4 cup of crab juice I froze)

Into that add two or three large red or white potatoes (not russet--baking potatoes) cubed (diced). For herbs, this combination worked: dill, parsley, and a little thyme. Already the soup should look thick because of your roux, but not too thick because we want our soup to be healthy.

Let the soup cook in a mid-temp range. Don't let it boil away--we want to avoid adding water). But you want the potatoes to cook approximately five minutes. Taste, in case you want to add more garlic, salt, ground black pepper, etc. Let it cook another five minutes or so until the potatoes are tender. This soup should be able to stand alone at this point, so make sure you are happy with the flavor.

Remove your fish, if you are using fish, from the fridge, and lightly salt and pepper the fillets. Drop them whole into the pot. They will break up shortly. Once the fish is broken up, you are close to the end. Add your shell fish now. Rough chop larger pieces, like shrimp or scallops, etc. If you had canned clams, use them, juice and all. If you use fresh shell fish like clams or mussels, you may leave a very few with the shells on, but, make sure they are fully washed, etc. This is more for presentation, but most of your shell fish you should use without shell, so you and your guests don't have deep sea dive and get all messed up just to enjoy your soup. (Go back in the history of this blog to see where I made a Santa Fe chowder with a couple of clams in shell. Looks good, eh?)

If you have a few shells in pot, when they are open, soup is done. If you didn't, check for color and texture, of the shell fish, tasting a bite. Should be tender. Really, you don't want this to cook for more than four minutes or so. Remember the soup is hot, so it will keep cooking.

Lastly, once it is off heat, add approximately a quarter cup milk or so and stir it in. Taste. Be your own judge.

Serve with a nice artisan bread or a salad, and more white wine (or red, who cares?).

This chowder will have a sweet, but black peppery taste (or even hotter if you went with jalapeno or cayenne). And you should be able to taste the garlic (unless you chose to go lightly in that direction--remember you are in control of the vertical and horizontal--this is your chowder). Trust your taste buds. They will never let you down!

Vegan Heaven - Veggie Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Potatoes sure get a bad rap. The problem has more to do with the way Americans tend to serve them than the vegetable itself. Yes, if you deep fry them, or load 'em with butter and sour cream, they will fall into disgrace. But remember, it's not the potato's fault.

One of my favorite meals is a vegan one--baked stuffed potatoes. And it's a meal you can make while you are busy doing other things. A russet potato makes the best baked potato. All you gotta do is throw that tater into a 375 degree oven. Set a timer for twenty minutes and forget about it.

When time's up, chop any fresh veggies you have in the house with which you feel like stuffing that spud. (Notice in my photo it looks like too many vegetables for one potato, but remember, it will cook down.) Onion should always be used, because they have a contrasting texture, and when cooked are sweet. Today, I used: a quarter of a yellow onion chopped roughly, a clove of garlic minced, a diced Roma tomato, about half a small carrot sliced thinly,and chopped collard greens.

Put these into a casserole dish with some extra virgin olive oil and season. For additional flavor, add a couple of pinches of thyme, red pepper flakes, and cracked black pepper. Then toss them to distribute seasoning and coat the veggies with oil. My final deed is to splash in a tablespoon or two of white wine (of course). This will not only flavor them, but will provide extra moisture which will greatly benefit the potato later.

Place the casserole dish in the oven with the potato. While you're there, assess that tater by squeezing it. Use a hot pad to do this. Set the timer for another fifteen minutes (based on your assessment) and walk away.

When the timer rings, or if it hasn't gone off but the house smells like it's on fire, go check your work. The potato should look plumped out too, and if it does, its really done. Be careful when you squeeze, 'cause it could pop. If the potato is still hard, let it hang in another five minutes.

Use that timer, and keep at it until you get the desired result. All oven temps vary and potato sizes vary, so you have to focus toward the end of bake time.

The veggies should look nicely roasted and collapsed in volume. But by having added that little bit of wine, they should look juicy, too. Let everything cool briefly. Then, when you know you won't burn yourself, put the potato in a personal serving bowl and cut it open. Squeeze the sides and work it generally with a fork.

First the potato will need sea salt and olive oil (I am never afraid to be liberal with olive oil--it is healthy and represents all the fat in this meal. Remember, a substantial number of vitamins are fat soluble.) Then introduce the cooked veggies, working them into the potato flesh. It should not look dry. If it does, add a few drops more olive oil. Taste. Season as necessary.

It seems I also had some Brussel sprouts on hand, and, splitting them into bite sized pieces, I roasted them in their own oiled dish while I was roasting everything else. Season them simply with salt and and black pepper and toss to coat them with the oil. They need nothing else, and you will reap great reward. Now these, you need to keep your eye on, as they will not give up their juices as will onions, and tomatoes. They will be done possibly in less than twenty minutes.

Altogether, it made a satisfying meal, leaving you wanting for little else but maybe a glass of wine. It is amazing how grateful your body is when you eat well.

Yucatan Black Bean Salad

My eating methodology is simple--if you consume something heavy (like Chicken Parmesan) one night, better follow it the next with lighter fare. How else might a woman keep her girlish form?

In agreement, my new roommate came up with this idea: buy a can of black beans for a salad. What a great idea!

However, being an aficionada, I find it is in the best interest of the meal itself to cook my own beans. They will be delicious and not as time consuming as one might think.

In the past, I would have made black beans the way I always have in Austin, which is probably a Diane Kennedy recipe. I learned to cook Mexican food at Fonda San Miguel way back in the day, and they adhere to a Northern Mexican tradition. However, here in the Crescent City, my friend, Caroline, showed me a Yucatan recipe with which I instantly fell in love.

Now you may say, why all that work just for a salad, and the answer is simple. Quality.

Out comes the stock pot. Into it, I place the sorted and rinsed black beans and a whole mess a water. I threw in about three bay leaves, some kosher salt, black pepper, about a third of a head of peeled garlic, roughly chopped, and an onion, also roughly chopped. Over the heat it goes, letting it come to a boil. If you are so fortunate as to have epazote on hand, by all means, introduce it to the pot, stem and all. This is a no fuss meal. I also added comino (cumin), extra virgin olive oil, and some red pepper flakes.

But here's a secret from the Yucatan: add equal portions of vinegar (I prefer cider but any vinegar will do) and orange juice. For a big pot of beans, that would be about a third to half a cup each.

Beans, like many other dishes, require acid. I have often made beans with all those ingredients excepting the vinegar and orange juice and have found it necessary to add a little wine. Wine, as you know, is my answer to everything.

But Caroline educated me on a more pure approach--purely Mexican, that is. In the Yucatan, food is often sweet because fruit abounds. Normally, in the Yucatan a bitter orange juice would be the sole additive, but in the absence of this extremely local ingredient, Caroline told me the orange juice/vinegar adaptation fits the bill. Wow, was she right. Muy delicioso.

So that's it. Done deal. Let the beans cook and cook until tender, adding more wates as necessary. I strained out enough for salad and put the rest away for another day.

Then all you have to do is make a quick salad. Use whatever you have on hand, I always say. Today, we used romaine lettuce, endive, carrots, broccoli, cucumber, roma tomatoes, and red bell pepper. The final touch were pickled peppers.

For salad dressing, a basic vinaigrette sufficed, as the beans were so full of flavor. Their richness satisfied the stomach. We felt lightly full and happy.

Mambo Italiano!

I couldn't upload these photos with my previous blog on Chicken Parmesan, but they are definitely part of the story. Had to show you up close the dried Shitaki mushrooms I purchased from a vendor at the Crescent Citiy Flea Market in New Orleans. And under that piece of wax paper is a chicken breast I had to pound out witih a jar of artichokes, since I didn't have something more appropriate. Yes! Go press forth (haha) and be the intrepid chef, undaunted by little things likek a lack of tools. You, too, can make an eye-popping Chicken Parmesan. read my blog from last night for more explicit instructions. But above all, remember, you can't eat well if you don't shop well. Search out the best markets in your community and then frequent them. Try to shop a couple of times a week, if possible, so your foods are as fresh and you get the best deals.