Peter Piper picked a peck of passion fruit...

Last Sunday my landlord and I picked some passion fruit from the trees in our yard, and he told me how to extract the juice once the fruit were ripe.



I put a strainer over a small saucepan, brought some water to a boil, and washed the passion fruit. Then I halved about seven of the fruit--both gold and purple. I spooned the contents into the strainer and slowly poured about half a cup of boiling water over into the strainer, stirring and pressing the seeds to get as much juice out as possible. The juice is rather strong, so it doesn't matter that water is added. I removed the seeds from the strainer and put them in refrigerator to use later with yogurt and honey. While the juice was still hot, I stirred in some honey to lessen the tartness. I let the liquid cool and then stored it in a plastic container (a used apple sauce jar) in the refrigerator.

I enjoyed some of the juice on my fabulous balcony today, and life was momentarily perfect.


Now I just have to come up with a passion fruit cocktail to serve my family and friends when they visit...

almost there...

I can see a tiny light at the end of the tunnel. Bar exam results were posted today, and after more than four hours (no kidding) of refreshing my browser, I found out that I passed. I still can't believe it. I have only a few more hoops to jump through before I can be sworn in, and then the party begins. I realize that this entry isn't about food and that I haven't posted in a while, but I am still waiting for my cooking supplies to arrive so I can get into the kitchen and start experimenting again. I've been up to my eyeballs in work, too, but this time around I like my job. Spooky...

The Real World 2.0

Sometimes good things come to those who procrastinate wait...


Not bad for someone who, about a month ago, didn't think she'd ever find a job and get out of DC, eh? Above is what I see when I step out onto my expansive balcony. Yes, that's a coconut tree in the foreground and the sea in the background. I also have bananas, passion fruit, limes, mangoes, avocados, sugar apples, and ginger right outside my door. I'll be planting some herbs and a star fruit (carambola) tree later.

My first day at work was rather devoid of, well, work. I arrived just before 08:00, but no one was there, so I had to wait in the lobby. We sat in hearings until noon and then had lunch. Then we got sent home at 3 because a tropical storm is predicted. We all had to cover our office equipment and any exposed documents with plastic. It was surreal (is plastic going to help with anything beyond building leaks?). I have a probate case to read tonight--nothing too heavy.

I think the next twelve months will bring many adventures--and of course I'll be recounting the gastronomic ones here! In the meantime, I leave you with a very sophisticated recipe suitable only for the most refined of palates...

Peanut Butter and Guava Jelly Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices soft whole wheat bread
• 1 tsp natural peanut butter (it actually tastes better than the partially hydrogenated stuff)
• 3/4 tsp guava jelly

Instructions

Lay slices of bread flat so they form a near-mirror image. Spread peanut butter on one slice of bread and guava jelly on the other. Put the two slices together and cut diagonally down the middle. Enjoy.

waste not, want not

So I am moving to a tiny island in the Caribbean next month. You just never know where life will take you. For a while Seattle was the word, and then it was Baltimore. Now I have but a few weeks to find an apartment and a car, to overcome my fear of iguanas, and to get used to driving on the left-hand side of the road (most likely with the steering wheel on the left). ::sigh::

Anyway, the heat is on. I've still got tons of food in my kitchen, so when I got my job offer, I challenged myself to come up with ways to use as much of it as possible. The remainder, except the teas, herbs, and spices, will go to my parents and friends.

My first challenge was a couple of overripe bananas in my fruit bowl. Normally I don't eat bananas once all the green has disappeared because they are just too sweet. At that point they are good only for sweetening other foods and drinks, such as smoothies--and even then, I use only a bit because of their overpowering taste and aroma. Normally I sweeten my oatmeal with unsweetened apple sauce (I swear by the Whole Foods brand), but I ran out last week. Then it occurred to me that I could add a bit of syrupy banana to my oatmeal. I sliced the bananas and stored them in plastic containers in the fridge for easy use. Here is what I concocted.

Oatmeal with Bananas

Ingredients (for one serving)

• 1/4 c Irish style oatmeal
• 5 slices syrupy banana (more or less depending on how ripe the bananas are and how sweet you like your oatmeal)
• 1/3 to 1/2 c 1 or 2% milk
• Half the seeds from one green cardamom pod
• Ground cinnamon to taste

Instructions

In a small saucepan, mash banana slices into oatmeal, trying to eliminate large banana lumps and achieve a smooth texture. This is easy to do with a wooden spoon. Stir in milk and cardamom seeds. Turn on heat and bring to a slow boil. Stir, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the oats are cooked to your liking, stirring occasionally. Do not let the bottom of the oatmeal burn! Remove from heat and discard cardamom seeds. Serve with ground cinnamon sprinkled on top.

arroz con habichuelas guisadas

Beans

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 c chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 heaped tbsp sofrito
• 5 manzanilla olives (sliced or chopped)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 c green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 15-oz can rositas (pink beans), pinto beans, or kidney beans (if your beans contain added salt, rinse and drain them; if you use dry beans, soak them overnight and do not drain them)
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 4 oz cold water if you drained the beans
• Salt to taste (if the tomato sauce is unsalted)

Instructions

Heat extra virgin olive oil over moderate heat in a large pot. Add onions and sautee lightly--do not let them get too soft as you want to preserve their integrity all the way until serving time. Quickly add garlic and sautee until golden. Add sofrito and bell pepper and stir. Cover and cook for about a minute or until the bell pepper begins to sweat. Uncover and add olives, oregano, black pepper, bay leaf, beans, and tomato sauce (and water if you drained the beans and salt to taste). Stir and bring to a boil. As soon as the mixture boils, cover the pot and turn down the heat. Simmer for 10 to 20 minutes (or until flavors marry) and then remove from heat. Serve over rice.

If you are feeling naughty, you can add 1/2 to 1 cup of precooked, frozen coldwater pink shrimp 5 to 10 minutes before turning off the heat. This is not traditional, but it is very satisfying.

Rice

Ingredients

• 1 c jasmine rice, washed in 3 changes of water and rinsed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp onion, minced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• Less than 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 and 1/3 c cold water

Instructions

In a metal saucepan and while beans are cooking, stir all ingredients except water, distributing the olive oil evenly throughout the rice. Add water and stir again. Bring to a brisk boil uncovered. Cover and reduce heat to allow rice to simmer. Stir occasionally to distribute oil evenly. When rice is tender (but not soggy or sticky), remove from heat and let stand with cover on for about a minute (this is so that the rice doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the saucepan). Fluff and serve.

How does my garden grow?

Life in the wake of the bar exam is eerily devoid of commitments. Obviously that will change when I start working, but for now I'm living the life of a retiree. This afternoon I went to the farmers' market at Dupont Circle in search of farm-fresh eggs. I found some, but then it occurred to me that it might not be a good idea to carry them home in the heat (I was on foot, as usual). I did, however, acquire some fresh veggies and another roommate--a tiny pot of peppermint (mentha piperita), which I need to repot. Next week I will look for spearmint so I can enjoy mojitos while I play shuffleboard.

The basil is doing well despite a dry spell while I was gone for the bar exam. Four out of five seeds germinated, but two of the seedlings looked like mutants. They might have been a different variety. Anyway, they looked so creepy that I threw them away and kept only the normal-looking plants. Six out of ten parsley seeds germinated, but the plants have fewer leaves than I expected. They look quite scraggly and pitiful next to the basil. Only one of five rosemary seeds germinated, and the plant died long ago.


Four out of ten oregano seeds germinated. Two of the seedlings died while I was gone, but the remaining two bounced back after a good watering.


I am still looking for lavender, chamomile, and cilantro. I may just start them myself from seeds as I've had modest success so far. I actually bought cilantro plants, but they did not survive repotting. I think I might have killed them by using the wrong soil. In any event, my garden is growing (no pun intended) slowly but surely. Soon window sill space will be an issue. . .

I'll have the fillet M&Mignon, please.

Don't knock it. It's a little-known fact that the vitamin M found in M&Ms is essential to healthy bovine development. . .



That grass-feeding guy is so behind the times, huh? His poor cows are missing out on all those great corn, chocolate, and potato chip nutrients. It's forced bovine anorexia, really. Shame on WSJ for insinuating that cows should eat grass, thereby promoting body dysmorphic disorder and eating disorders among any cows who happen to be watching this video.

Okay, okay, this is not exactly news--it is, or at least should be, common knowledge that most of the cows here are corn-fed--but I'm in procrastination mode.

Sauteed Baby Spinach

This simple side dish requires slightly more effort than tying a shoe lace but tastes better than even the most meticulously tied double knot.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp chopped onion (or you can cut from top to bottom and then slice to get crescent shapes)
• 1 pinch chili flakes
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt to taste
  
• 3 dry oz (or about 2 large handfuls) baby spinach
• A few drops of fresh squeezed lemon juice
  

Instructions

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and chili flakes. Lightly sautee, taking care not to let the onions turn soft. When onions are heated, add garlic and sautee until garlic turns golden. Do not let the garlic brown. Add salt (if in doubt err on the side of too little) and stir in. Add spinach and stir to distribute olive oil. Let the spinach reduce, stirring frequently. When spinach is reduced and evenly coated, turn off heat and squeeze a bit of lemon juice on the spinach and stir in. Serve hot. Enjoy frequently during the bar study period.

My Little Pretties

I discerned my first seedlings (probably basil) at 06:00 today. They were ever so pale--nearly white, in fact . . .


Here they are just twelve hours later, open and somewhere between lime and Kelly green . . .


Alright, back to the books!

kitchen garden (literally)

So I finally gave in and treated myself to one of those herb growing starter kits that I've been eying for the past week or so. I like to think of it as my graduation present to myself. At the risk of sounding like a pre-schooler, I AM SO EXCITED! I can't wait for the first sprout! On the left I've got rosemary and flat-leaf parsley, and on the right I've got oregano and basil. I tried growing basil indoors when I lived in Cambridge and didn't have much luck, but hopefully things will go better this time. Anyway, I will transfer each surviving plant (I sure hope I have at least one success) into its own pot. The little pots are biodegradable, so they can go into larger clay pots when it's time to make the move.

Oh, I also sprinkled a mixture of dry, used tea leaves on the surface of the soil. I figure they look nicer than damp dirt and should decompose with little help. Well, back to my bar study. As much as I'd love to stay up and see if reindeer really know how to fly, I need to go to bed at a decent hour tonight.

P.S. Yes, I realize that technically I am no longer a law student, but I'm not a lawyer yet, either, so I'm going to leave the blog subtitle as it is for now.

Not Your Mother's Tuna Salad

When I was in the south of France this past summer (gosh, I hate how pretentious that sounds, but I think that "when I was on the Côte d'Azur" sounds even worse), I enjoyed many a fine meal chez Stéphanie. Her parents are fabulous cooks who use ingredients of exceptional quality--many of which come from their own kitchen garden. They even press their own olive oil, for crying out loud! Anyway, one day when Maman et Papou were not around, Stéphanie made brunch. While I was thoroughly impressed by all of Maman's creations, they were just a little too advanced for me to recreate with my novice skills. But Stéphanie's brunch was so easy that it almost doesn't count as a "recipe." Below is my version of it.

Ingredients

• 2 medium ripe yet firm tomatoes (plum, roma, or beefsteak if you can find a non-mealy beefsteak tomato that actually tastes like a tomato--good luck with that)
• 1 6.5 oz can unsalted tongol tuna in water (drained)
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp finely chopped shallot (if you can't find shallots, sub a nice red onion)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• A few dollops (hate that word) of creamy goat cheese
  
• Fresh parsley or rosemary sprigs for garnish (you are eating raw shallot, so you might prefer the parsley to help freshen your breath--sorry, but that's the dancer in me talking)
  

Instructions

Cut tomatoes in half and remove and discard seeds. In a nonreactive (e.g. ceramic) bowl, stir drained tuna with a fork to break apart the chunks. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in chopped shallot. Add balsamic vinegar and stir to coat tuna evenly and break apart any remaining chunks to achieve a smoother texture. Let sit for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in extra virgin olive oil. Spoon mixture evenly into tomato halves. Garnish with goat cheese and fresh parsley or rosemary. Serve with pieces of a fresh baguette and a simple salad.

This is not your mother's tuna salad, is it?

Oh, and please indulge me for a moment, as I am on a one-woman mission to promote the PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur) region of France to all the people who go to France only to stay in Paris. Here's a little video I shot from the Medieval village of Le Castellet, from which we had a lovely view. Ah, memories. . .

Linguine con cozze (finalmente!)

Well, it's that time of the semester again. . . Finals and paper deadlines are barreling toward me from all directions, so I've been hiding out in the kitchen. I call it "productive procrastination." I've been wanting to make linguine con cozze (linguine with mussels) for quite some time, and what better time to do so than during the exam cram study period?

A couple of days ago I walked by the seafood counter at my neighborhood supermarket. I'd never seen mussels there before, but I do, I do, I do believe in fairies, so I check periodically to see if this particular supermarket has come round. This time I saw what I thought was a mirage: a small sign reading "We have mussels, $4.45 per lb." Holy mackerel! Not only do they have mussels, but I can afford them! I asked the man behind the counter if he really had some baby blues, and he smiled and said yes. So I marched home triumphantly with a pound of Johnny's Blues.


I have been enjoying the Moules Marinières at Les Halles and Bistrot du Coin for a couple of years now, but this was my first time cooking the mussels myself. I was largely ignorant of the care and preparation required, so I relied on this helpful guide. I stored my mussels in the fridge overnight (in two brown paper bags, slightly open with a damp paper towel inside). I do not recommend this, though, as it seems best to use your mussels when you get home from the market!

When I opened the mesh sack into a sink full of cold water, my fear of molluscs kicked into high gear. Despite my wearing latex gloves, it took me more than ten minutes to get comfortable touching the mussels! Then it took several more minutes for me to get comfortable holding them. Finally I was able to hold them and scrub them clean with a spare toothbrush. The debearding (see the guide) was the worst part--some of the beards were so stubborn that I gave up and threw those mussels away (I was afraid I'd kill them if I kept struggling with the beards). It's important not to kill the mussels before cooking them, because they become very toxic shortly after their death. Yikes! I left the cleaned, debearded mussels in a bowl of cold water while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.

Once I'd cleaned the mussels, the rest was easy. Here is my recipe for linguine with mussels.

Ingredients

• 1 pound cleaned, debearded blue mussels (throw away any that do not close completely when touched--they are dead)
• 1/2 c dry white wine (taste it to make sure it really is dry)
• 1 clove garlic, cut in half
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp chili flakes (honestly I think I could do without the chili, but I suppose it is "authentic")
• 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained (of course it's better to use fresh tomatoes if you can find good ones, but I keep finding mealy, bland ones here in town)
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley (this it what makes the dish, so don't even think of using the dried stuff!)
  
• 1 pound linguine (or spaghetti or spaghettini)
• Water and salt for cooking pasta

Instructions

Put wine and halved garlic clove into a large pot, and place one layer of mussels in the pot. Do not crowd the mussels or put any on top of each other. Cover the pot and let the mussels simmer until the shells open. Remove the mussels as their shells open, adding any remaining mussels in their place. Remember to remove the mussels as soon as they open and place them in a dish. Save the wine for the pasta sauce. Allow the mussels to cool. Shuck and chop the majority of the mussels, leaving a few in their shells for garnish.

In another large pot, bring salted water to the boil for the pasta. Add pasta. In yet another large pot, heat olive oil and butter. Add garlic and chili flakes and sautee (do not let the garlic brown!). Add the wine used to cook the mussels to the pot and reduce it. When the wine is reduced, add the diced tomatoes, the chopped mussels, and the parsley, stirring gently. When pasta is cooked al dente, drain it and add it to the sauce, tossing it lightly to coat it and heat it evenly.

Serve with a few mussels in the shell for decoration.



And by the way, if you had to buy a bunch of parsley, you obviously will have some left over. Try adding a bit of fresh parsley to your salads (you do eat a salad every day, don't you?).

Widget

So I added the Nutrition Search Widget from one of my favorite sites, NutritionData.com, to this blog. Scroll down and look beneath the restaurant links on the right to discover the Facebook of food. Seriously.

Easy easy mahi mahi

Because sometimes less really is more. . .

Ingredients

• 1 fillet mahi mahi
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 to 3 tsp garlic-infused extra virgin olive oil (I cut a clove of garlic in half, toss it in a small jar, and pour olive oil over it. I then screw the cap on a let it sit for at least 24 hours.)
• 1/4 sliced plain yellow or vidalia onion

Confession: As usual, I didn't measure anything, so these are mostly approximations.

Instructions

In a casserole dish, sprinkle herbs and salt and drizzle lemon juice and olive oil over both sides of the fillet. Add onions, covering and surrounding the fillet. You might want to toss the surrounding onions a bit to coat them in whatever liquid is in the dish. Cover the dish and let sit for 30 minutes, setting oven to broil in the last ten minutes. Uncover and broil on one side for no more than 4 minutes.* Turn fillet, putting some onions on top and stirring the remaining onions. Broil for another 4 minutes.* Remove and serve.

*4 minutes is only a suggestion. Be sure the fish is completely cooked before serving it, but don't leave it in the oven for too long, or else it will become dry and tough. Sometimes I can get it to cook in 6 minutes total, because the fish continues to cook after it's removed from the oven, but I recommend erring on the side of slightly overcooking it until you get it just right. Also, prepare only as much as you plan to serve immediately, because reheating broiled fish tends to make it tough.



This recipe also works well with tilapia, but I like to add about 4 sliced manzanilla olives to complement the very distinct flavor of that fish.

easy-does-it vegetable soup

So here I am with another soup recipe for the winter months. Have you discerned a theme yet? I do eat other foods, really. It's just that soups are extra convenient because they're easy to prepare in large quantities and they keep well. Also, they are, as my Parisian friend would say, sheep ("cheap").

Ingredients

2/3 c dry pasta (small pasta, such as letters of the alphabet, wheels, or shells) and water for cooking
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2/3 c chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp pesto (recipe to follow)
1 c chopped carrots
1 c chopped spinach (buy it chopped)
1 c chopped okra
1 c haricots verts, cut into 1" pieces
1 15-oz can kidney beans, drained
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 to 2 c vegetable broth*
1 to 2 c water (depending on the consistency you want and how salty the broth is)*
Pinch of black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
Pinch of dried rosemary
1 bay leaf

Instructions

Cook pasta as you normally would, but remove from heat just before it reaches al dente (if you are using small pasta, this will be about 7 minutes). Drain and set aside.

In a large pot, heat oil and add onion and garlic. Very lightly sautee, adding pesto after about a minute. Stir and sautee for about another minute. Be careful not to sautee all the flavor out of the onion and garlic! Stir in carrots, zucchini, haricots verts, and spinach. Quickly add tomato sauce and broth, continuing to stir. Add water to taste,* and stir in oregano, rosemary, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Stir in pasta, cover, and reduce heat. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Add beans and let simmer for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

*I don't think I ever use the same proportions twice when it comes to vegetable broth and water. I usually just taste whatever I'm making and observe the consistency of it to determine how much of what to add. Some broths are really salty, whereas others are too heavy on the carrots or celery. In fact, I didn't use celery in this recipe because I assumed that the broth would have enough celery in it. In short, I am not trying to be evasive here; I just want to account for differences in taste (no pun intended)!

salmon stew

Here is a simple stew recipe that makes great use of sofrito. I used salmon, which is a little atypical. You can use chicken (either dark or white meat), beef, ox tails, or another kind of meat. To achieve a thicker, more starchy texture you can add yuca or potatoes.

Ingredients

3 medium salmon fillets (about ¾ to 1 lb) cut into ¾ inch cubes
3 to 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, depending on how much sofrito you use (Spanish works well with the recipe, but Italian, Greek, or Turkish is always nice)
2 to 3 tbsp sofrito
¼ c chopped onion
¼ cup green bell pepper, sliced
1 ají (small, sweet pepper), sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
10 manzanilla olives with pimentos (sliced)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (if you use the “no salt added” kind, you will probably want to add salt to taste)
1 ½ cans cold water (just use the tomato sauce can to measure the water)
1/2 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
Additional water to boil salmon
Lemon

Instructions

Squeeze about ½ tsp lemon juice into a large saucepan of water, stir, add salmon, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer until salmon is cooked almost thoroughly. Remove salmon (preferably with tongs or a slotted spoon to avoid dragging water and excess fat along with it) and discard water.

Heat olive oil in a large pot (such as a Dutch oven). Add sofrito and stir lightly for about 30 seconds. Add ají, bell pepper, and onion. Stir. Add garlic about a minute later and stir. Cover and let cook for one minute. Add olives, tomato sauce, water, oregano, and bay leaf. Stir. Add salmon and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Let simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with rice, beans, and tostones, maduros, and/or yuca.

Oh, I finally made a decent batch of rice. Normally my rice comes out sticky, but this time the grains remained separated and well-defined. After washing the rice, I added a bit of olive oil to it and gave it a good stir to coat all the grains. I suspect that this helped me to achieve a better texture. I added a garlic clove for flavor.

ponle sofrito, mamá

I'm a bit behind because I took the word "holidays" literally, but here I am, keeping my promise. Below is the sofrito recipe I came up with after tinkering with several different ones. Sofrito is commonly used in traditional Puerto Rican recipes for sopas, sancochos, asopaos, and beans. It is what gives these dishes their distinct, "bright" flavor. It also makes this flavor easy to achieve. Preparation of sofrito might take a long time, but once you start cooking with this base, you will find it very easy to create full-bodied soups and stews. I will post a recipe for the stew I made tonight soon.

Be aware that one key sofrito ingredient, recao or recaito (or culantro), can be hard to find in many parts of the U.S., so if you intend to use it, you might need to scour your local Latin American food shops or order it online ahead of time. Alternatively, you can try increasing the amount of cilantro you use. And remember: do not expect sofrito to look or taste good on its own! As mentioned above, it is merely a foundation for other recipes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 large green bell peppers
2 large red bell peppers
1 1/2 to 2 heads of garlic
3 large onions
1 ½ to 2 bunches of cilantro
2 oz extra virgin olive oil
5 ajíes dulces (small, sweet cooking peppers)
30 leaves recao (or sub 1 tsp ground coriander or extra cilantro)

Preparation:

Chop ingredients to ease use of food processor. Puree all ingredients together in a food processor. Store mixture in refrigerator overnight to let flavors mix. Pour mixture into ice cube trays and freeze. Use 1 or 2 cubes in soups, asopaos, and beans.

N.B. You can set aside a small amount of sofrito at a time to keep in the refrigerator if you plan to use it all within a few weeks (rather than using the mixture straight from the freezer). I find that this enhances the flavor.

Happy New Year!

I just wanted to wish you all the best for 2008. I hope we all have a prosperous year among good company and good food!

I have a sofrito recipe coming, but I need to upload and sort my photos for it. In the meantime, check out this New York Times article on an ingredient that is often taken for granted, heat. Enjoy!