The Spice Island

50th and final post (for now)...

2010-07-05T19:23:00.002-06:00

Hello friends, family, and assorted food lovers. I just wanted to let you all know that with my impending move to Africa, I've had almost no time to cook. And even less time to photograph and write up the recipes that I come up with. So I'm going to shelve this blogging project until I get back in a couple years.

But I did want to take the opportunity to let you all know that I have a new blog dedicated to my upcoming travels in Ethiopia. It is where I will (hopefully) be able to keep you all up-to-date on my adventures on the other side of the globe. I'd encourage all of you to bookmark it, if you want to keep up with my wanderings:

http://xakota.blogspot.com/

In the meantime, as many of you know, I have the cookbook of nearly 300 pages that I've been writing for the past several years. So if you are craving something new and exciting, give me a holler and I can email you the whole damn thing.

Thanks for all your awesome support and feedback on this little corner of cyberspace over the past several months!

Happy cooking!

--Spencer

Two Words That Will Change Your Summer: GRILLED PIZZA

2010-06-25T18:40:00.006-06:00

Photo by Robbie Stout

Last night we had a pizza party at the Lazy S Ranch. Seven of us devoured 8 pizzas and consumed prodigious volumes of adult beverages. It was a glorious evening, I assure you.

This could be my absolute favorite way to make and eat pizza. This recipe is especially fantastic because it allows you to whip up pizza with a bunch of garden veggies at the height of summer without heating up the kitchen.

There are three keys to making this pizza:

The first key is to keep your toppings light. The beauty of this pizza is its simplicity. But more importantly, anything besides a very, very thin pizza will not cook all the way through on the grill. My Margherita style pizza below is great, but you can change the toppings to whatever you like, as long as you go easy.

The second key is reading the directions all the way through before you start your cooking. Grilling pizza requires you to be quick on your feet.

The third critical key is to make sure your grill is very clean. A dirty grate will cause the dough to stick.

You’ll also need a wooden pizza peel—that’s the paddle you see at a pizzeria that the chef uses to transfer the pizza into the oven. It can be found at any kitchen store—or even in the kitchen section in a store like Target for less than $20.

Recipe makes 4 personal-size pizzas (we did a double batch last night).

Prep time: 3 cocktails

Double Batch Neapolitan-Style Thin Pizza Crust (click here for recipe)
2/3 pound mozzarella cheese, grated (3/4 a pound, if you’re a cheese lover)
28 ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes, or equivalent garden tomatoes
20 or so basil leaves, torn up a bit
4 TBSP olive oil
4 minced garlic cloves and chili pepper flakes (both optional)

As dough rises, open tomatoes and transfer the tomatoes and juice to a food processor. Puree until you have a nice tomato sauce consistency—a few chunks are fine. Transfer to small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stirring often, cook until the tomatoes have reduced into the thickness of marinara sauce, about 30 minutes, but will vary depending on water content of tomatoes.

When you’re 15 minutes away from making your pizzas, bring your grill up to heat. It should be hot enough that you are able to hold your hand about 5 inches above the grate for 3-4 seconds. On my grill, that’s slightly below medium heat.

When the dough is done, divide into 4 equal balls. Roll out the first one on a floured surface into a 10” thin crust. Don’t pinch up the edges like you would with other pizzas. Transfer to a floured pizza peel. Brush the top of the crust with olive oil a layer of olive oil.

Now transfer the pizza to the grill. It’s not as tough as it sounds. If you’re careful, it will just nicely slide right off the peel onto the grill. There might be a bit of sag. You can try to adjust it with a metal spatula, or just not worry about it.

Cook for about 90 seconds, or until the crust just begins to get nice grill lines and turn golden. With the pizza peel or a metal spatula, scoop up and flip the crust.

Now work fast! Quickly, ladle on a quarter of your sauce, garlic, and chili flakes. Evenly sprinkle a quarter of your cheese. Top with the basil. Don’t spread the toppings all the way to the edge; leave a little naked crust.

Close the lid and cook 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese melts. After the first couple minutes of cooking, open the lid and check the bottom of the crust every minute or so. If your grill cooks unevenly, part of the crust may cook faster than the rest, so you might have to rotate with the spatula to prevent burning.

When it’s done, remove with the pizza peel, slice, and serve.

Now repeat with the other 3 dough balls.

Enjoy the pizza with your adult beverages and friends and call me tomorrow to thank me.

Neapolitan-Style Thin Pizza Crust

2010-06-25T18:32:00.003-06:00

Unlike the American-style thick crust pizzas, this is a fairly authentic Italian pizza, the crust is thin and both crisp and chewy when prepared correctly. It is delicious. Note that with this crust, you'll generally need a pizza stone (unless you're making grilled pizza). You can usually purchase one fairly inexpensively at a kitchen shop.

Makes enough for 2 personal-sized (10") or 1 largish (14") pizza.

1½ cups white, unbleached flour
¾ tsp salt
1 packet (scant 1 tsp) dry active yeast
½ cup warm water

In mixing bowl, combine flour and salt.

In a small dish, whisk together the water and yeast with a fork for at least 30 seconds.

Work the yeast/water mixture into the flour with your hands. Continue to knead well on a floured surface or with kneading attachment of a mixer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside, covered with a damp towel, in a warm place, until the dough has doubled in size—about 2 hours. BUT you can accelerate the rising process by placing the bowl in the oven and switching it on to broil for 30-60 seconds. Then switch off for a while. The idea is to bring the oven up to 100-120 degrees to facilitate faster rising (30-60 minutes). But be careful not to forget about it when you turn it on.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and knead it for a few more seconds then roll out on a floured surface.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup

2010-06-19T17:05:00.005-06:00

More of a fall-ish soup, but I had an old butternut squash lying around, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Turned out fuckin' delicious, if I say so myself. The brown spices, maple syrup, and coconut milk complement each other well and make this a really hearty, creamy (though vegan), complex soup. Serve with some good, crusty bread, if available.

Prep time: 2 cocktails

A 1.5 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1” cubes
2 TBSP olive oil
3 TBSP butter (for vegans, you can use olive oil)
1 small onion
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 cups veggie stock, store-bought or homemade (click here for recipe)
1/2 cup water
½ tsp salt
3 TBSP maple syrup
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cardamom
4 Star anise pods (don’t use broken ones, as you’ll want to fish them out later)
A few minced fresh sage leaves or a dollop of crème fraiche (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. When oven is hot, toss the squash cubes in a mixing bowl with the olive oil. Then transfer to a cookie sheet and arrange so they aren’t touching. Place in oven and cook until they become a bit browned and are soft all the way through, about 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven.

While butternut squash is cooking, heat the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven on medium heat. Add onion and sauté until golden-brown, about 8 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients (but not the squash). Simmer 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Fish out the star anise pods and discard.

Add squash and cook another minute. Transfer soup to a blender or food processor (you might have to do this in batches). Process until completely smooth. Return to the pot and bring back to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and continue to cook, stirring frequently for 5 more minutes, or until you reach the desired consistency (or add water, if your soup is too thick).

Add the sage leaves, crème fraiche (if using) and a few grinds of black pepper as a garnish. A drizzle of olive oil is also great.

Heirloom Tomato Bisque

2010-06-13T11:30:00.006-06:00

It's finally summer! And though we're still a few weeks away from our first tomatoes here in Colorado, many of you in warmer climates are already harvesting the first Mortgage Lifters and Brandywines.

This is a GREAT recipe for a beginning home canner, as cracking a jar of rich, creamy, delicious garden tomato bisque in mid-winter is nothing short of miraculous. And if you're like me, the ultimate comfort food when you're sick is grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup--for which this recipe is perfect!

If you're canning, this recipe is good for a large batch (it makes 6-7 quarts). Obviously, if you don't want to preserve the soup, you can scale it down.

Also, this preparation results in a fairly uniform, smooth soup, but there usually remain a few small bits of tomato skin after preparation. If you want to, remove the skins by blanching the tomatoes for a minute and peel skins off. This will give you a uniformly smooth soup, but I find that it’s not always worth the trouble.

And remember: ONLY use fresh homegrown or Farmers' Market tomatoes. If I hear of anybody using Styrofoam grocery store or canned tomatoes, I'll personally come to your house and kick your ass for defacing this recipe. The simplicity of this recipe relies on you using only the best, sweetest, most flavorful tomatoes available.

Prep time: 1-2 cocktails (not counting reduction time)

1 quart veggie stock--preferably homemade (click here for recipe)
12-14 pounds ripe local tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), divided
2 medium onions, chopped
4 TBSP flour
1 quart half-and-half
¼ cup sea salt
Black pepper
Agave nectar

In a very large stockpot, combine the veggie stock and tomatoes on high heat. Stirring occasionally, bring to a boil and reduce to medium.

Once you’ve got the tomatoes started, melt half the butter in a skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the onions, and sauté until transparent, about 5 minutes. Add onions to the tomato mixture and stir well. Continue to simmer the tomatoes until they break dow fairly well, about 20 minutes.

As you cook the tomatoes, melt the remaining butter in a medium saucepan over slightly-less-than-medium heat. Add flour and whisk constantly for 3 minutes. Stir in half and half and bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat a notch and continue to whisk constantly for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

In batches, combine a few ladles of the tomato mixture with some of the half and half mixture in a blender and puree very, very well. Place this mixture in a fresh pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add salt and a good dose of pepper. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until you’ve reached a nice thick-soup consistency—about 1-2 hours, depending on the water content of your original tomatoes. And depending on the sugar content of your original tomatoes, the amount of agave will vary. Add until the sweetness of the soup just begins to come through, this is usually a few TBSP for most heirloom tomatoes, but will be more for paste tomatoes.

Adjust seasoning, if necessary. Enjoy now, or can the batch, according to your pressure canners' instructions for creamy soups.

Sweet and Tangy Sun Dried Tomato Salad Dressing

2010-06-04T19:14:00.005-06:00

I’m rarely a fan of salad dressing. If you use great lettuces and veggies, little more than oil, vinegar, and one or two extra ingredients are necessary. I’ve never understood why people drown delicious, fresh vegetables in disgusting, processed salad dressing. But then I realized one day when I harvested some lettuce from the garden that was less-than-perfect and didn’t have anything else ripe to accompany it, that I needed a big, blockbuster dressing. This is what I came up with. So anytime you have a salad that is less than inspirational in terms of freshness or variety, this makes a great dressing that will add a great flavor without all the chemicals and nastyness of a store-bought dressing. Simple and deeeeelicious!

If you're throwing a salad together with a little advanced notice, adding chilled Incredible Jerk Tofu is amazing with this salad dressing.

Prep time: 1/2 cocktail

1 cup rehydrated sundried tomatoes
3 scallions, whole
3 TBSP honey
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 TBSP dark soy sauce (and a few dashes more, if needed)
½ cup canola or olive oil
½ cup water

Combine all ingredients in blender and purée until smooth. Add additional water if you want a lighter consistency to the dressing. Top any salad with the dressing!

Jamaican Black Bean Burgers

2010-06-04T18:09:00.004-06:00

My buddy Arturo has been nagging me since I started this food blog to post this recipe. So I think I better dedicate this one to him.

This one isn't nearly as spicy as some of my other jerk recipes. It just has a nice, full Caribbean flavor. Along with the cucumber and papaya, this makes an absolutely delicious meal (ignore the radishes and lettuce in the picture--I ate all the cucumber before I got around to photographing).

The mayonnaise and Pickapeppa are also totally indispensible in this recipe. If you don't already know and love Pickapeppa, I can tell you that it is the single greatest substance known to man. Seriously. It's a Jamaican barbecue sauce made with cloves, mango, and other delicious tidbits. Pickapeppa is available at any large grocery store or natural food market. It makes everything delicious--from eggs to steak to Jamaican sushi. And for Chrissakes, make your own mayonnaise. It takes less than 2 minutes and is far better than the garbage you buy at the store.

Note that if you wish to save some time, you can use store-bought jerk paste, but the spiciness and saltiness of different varieties varies significantly, so be sure to taste as you go.

Prep time: 2 cocktails

1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil, divided
2 cans drained black beans, drained, rinsed, and mashed by hand or in food processor
1 egg, beaten
¾ cup bread crumbs
½ cup oatmeal (not instant)
¼ cup white flour
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 TBSP jerk paste (click here for recipe)
½ tsp salt
Pepper to taste
1-2 papayas, peeled, seeded, and sliced
1 cucumber, sliced
Mayonnaise, homemade (click here for recipe)
Pickapeppa
6-8 buns

In a large bowl, combine 1 TBSP of the oil, beans, egg, bread crumbs, oatmeal, flour, onion, garlic, jerk, salt and pepper. Stir well. Let sit 10 minutes.

In a large frying pan, heat the remaining oil over medium heat. When hot, scoop out a scant cup of the mixture and form with your hands into a patty shape (if you have wet hands, this will be easier… and if dough is still too sticky to work with, add another TBSP or two of flour, until it becomes workable). Cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until browned, firm, and a bit crisp. Add more oil, to the pan, if necessary.

Serve on buns with slices of papaya, cucumber, mayonnaise, and Pickapeppa.

International Sushi: Four Ways

2010-06-01T20:19:00.025-06:00

Pics (top to bottom):

--The Chinaman is Not the Issue

--I Want to Dreadlock and Roll Every Night (And Sushi Every Day)

--The Muppet

--The Music Critic

So world-famous music blogger Kathleen Tarrant came over last night for a novice chef sushi-off. I'm not sure who won, but I was surprised at how easy, fun, and fast sushi-making is. We covered four very-not-Japanese styles of cuisine with our rolls: Chinese, Jamaican, Brazilian, and American.

My recipes are in regular font, hers are in italics.

Whose cuisine will reign supreme? You be the judge!

Prep time: 2-3 cocktails (for all four rolls)

Sushi Rice (for 4 rolls):

1 ½ cup white sushi rice (don't use any other type!)

1 ¾ cup water

4.5 TBSP rice vinegar

3 TBSP sugar

1.5 TBSP salt

4 sheets of nori (available at any natural grocer or Asian market)

Start by washing the rice. In a large bowl add cold water to the rice. Stir it around with your hands for several seconds and strain out water. Repeat this process over and over until the water is clear after swishing. It can take a while.

Bring water to a boil. Add rice, cover, and reduce to a low simmer. Cook 20 minutes (a little less if you're at sea level), and remove from heat. Let it rest, still covered, for 15 minutes.

While rice sits, whisk together vinegar, sugar, and salt (to get everything to dissolve, you might want to warm the mixture up in the microwave for 45 or so seconds.

After your rice has sat for the 15 minutes, VERY GENTLY stir in the vinegar mixture--be careful not to mash any of the rice.

You want to start building the rolls while the rice is still hot. On a sushi mat, lay a sheet of Nori, followed by rice, followed by toppings. It's difficult to describe sushi rolling. So I recommend you just hop onto YouTube and pull up some sushi rolling directions. A few minutes of video will have you rolling like a pro!

Two rolling notes:

1)We didn't bother with plastic wrap--as some of the directions recommended--and our rolls turned out fine.

2)Use a SHARP knife when you cut the rolls and rinse off and dry the knife after each slice you make. Failure to do so will result in mangled sushi.

The Chinaman is Not the Issue:

This is my nod to The Big Lebowski as the finest cinematic masterpiece ever made. And the beautiful simplicity of Chinese cuisine. Only a few ingredients here, yet the result is more delicious than a White Russian in Jackie Treehorn's Malibu Estate. If you don't get these cultural references, call me. I'll come to your house tonight and show you a movie that will change your life.

It really brings the room together.

1 very small sweet potato, baked and peeled

½ tsp Chinese 5-spice powder

½ tsp salt

A couple splashes coconut milk (water is an acceptable substitute)

Prepared sushi rice

Several carrot matchsticks, sliced lengthwise

1-2 scallions, sliced lengthwise

Several thin slivers of orange zest

2 TBSP hoisin sauce

2 TBSP soy sauce

Mash the sweet potato, Chinese 5-spice, salt, and coconut milk or water with a fork.

Construct your roll: On nori, spread the rice. Add the mashed sweet potato, carrot, scallion, and orange zest.

Slice into 8 or so rolls.

With a fork, whisk together hoisin and soy sauce for dipping.

And remember, Dude, Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian-American, please.

I Want to Dreadlock and Roll All Night (And Sushi Every Day):

Jamaican sushi? YES! It's the culinary equivalent of a reggae-themed anime film. It sounds so oddly intriguing that you at first want to check it out for sheer novelty value. But next thing you know, you're telling all your friends how cool it is!

This recipe calls for Pickapeppa sauce. If you don't already know and love Pickapeppa, I can tell you that it is the single greatest substance known to man. Seriously. It's a Jamaican barbecue sauce made with cloves, mango, and other delicious tidbits. Pickapeppa is available at any large grocery store or natural food market. It makes everything delicious--from eggs to steak to Jamaican sushi.

Prepared sushi rice

2 ounces steamed crab meat

2 TBSP whipped cream cheese (or more to taste)

Several matchsticks of cucumber, sliced lengthwise

Several matchsticks peeled mango

Pickapeppa sauce for dipping (or a combination ½ Pickapeppa, 3/8 soy sauce, 1/8 wasabi)

On nori, spread the rice. Add crab, cream cheese, cucumber, and mango. Roll up and slice into 8 or so rolls. Dip into the Pickapeppa. Savor. Repeat.

The Music Critic:

Music critics, as people, tend to be a little crabby and sour due to low pay and perceived lack of appreciation of our inherent genius. We also can be more than a little nutty due to many hours in the sun at sprawling music festivals. If there is one group of people that can be embodied by something that looks so homogenous on the outside but is overflowing with what to the untrained eye can look like insanity…it’s music critics. If you don’t like it…well…we liked your old stuff better, anyway.

Prepared sushi rice

2 ounces cooked crab meat

¼ avocado, sliced thinly

1 TBSP almonds chopped coarse

3 sundried tomato halves slivered

½ lemon (about 2 tsp lemon juice)

Soy sauce

Assemble the roll with rice, crab, avocado, almond, and sun dried tomato. Squeeze the lemon juice over everything before you roll it up. Roll and slice into about 8 rolls. Dip into soy sauce,

The Muppet:

Based on one very simple, timeless thought; you put the lime in the coconut. It healed Kermit. It can heal you.

Coconut/Cilantro Dipping Sauce
½ of a 14-oz can of coconut milk
2 TBSP skim milk
2 tsp white flour
2 TBSP chopped cilantro

Heat both milks until they reach a boil on medium/high heat, turn down to low, whisk in flour. Remove from heat, add cilantro. Let cool.

Once you've finished with the dipping sauce, it's time to make the roll.

1/2 of a 14-ounce can of black beans, drained
1 1/2 tsp prepared wasabi

Prepared sushi rice

2 ounces sushi-grade raw salmon, cut into strips

2 strips peeled cucumber (½ inch thick), cut lengthwise

1 scallion, sliced thinly lengthwise

3 tsp lime zest or 4 small slivers of lime rind

Make a black bean mash by mashing the beans and wasabi together with a fork (note that you'll have some left over).

Spread the rice on a nori mat. Top with all the remaining ingredients for the roll. Slice into 8 or so pieces. Dip into the coconut-cilantro dipping sauce.

Mexican Fried Potatoes

2010-06-01T20:15:00.001-06:00

I make this recipe at least once a week. It makes a great addition to huevos rancheros, breakfast burritos, tamales, tacos, and is great by itself with ketchup or hot sauce. You can omit the cayenne and substitute a couple minced jalapenos or other hot peppers and add them in with onions and garlic. You can also adjust the amount of seasoning up or down, depending on your personal taste.

Also, you can add lots of other ingredients to this for a Mexican style home fry breakfast side. I love adding bell peppers, sliced carrot, green onion, zucchini and even broccoli (if you add broccoli, cook the hell out of it on high heat by itself first and add to finished potatoes—it’s great if you actually blacken the florets a fair bit). Toss in anything you’ve got laying around. Bacon or chorizo lovers will be in heaven by combining those items with these potatoes.

One final note—I love to substitute one of the potatoes with a sweet potato when making this as a breakfast dish. The sweet-spicy combination is unbeatable and goes so well with eggs, beans, and a tortilla or two.

Prep time: 1 cup of coffee (I usually make this for breakfast)

3 medium to large russet potatoes
3 TBSP vegetable, canola or corn oil
½ medium onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup shelled raw sunflower seeds (optional)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground oregano
1-2 tsp cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated cheese (optional)

Poke holes in potato skins with fork and bake or microwave the whole potatoes until just barely cooked through. DON’T overcook! Remove and let cool a minute, chop into 1/2-inch cubes.

(Note: If you don’t mind a little greasier meal, double the oil and just cook the raw, chopped potatoes in oil—no baking or microwaving. Begin adding onions and garlic when the potatoes are almost cooked.)

Over medium-high heat, warm the oil up in a wok or frying pan. Add potatoes, onion, garlic, and sunflower seeds. Sauté, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes. Add spices and continue sautéing until potatoes begin to turn a nice golden brown. Adjust salt and pepper—don’t be shy, it takes a lot of salt. If potatoes start to stick, add a bit more oil.

Upon removing from stovetop, immediately dish up the potatoes and top with the cheese if you’re using it.

Zen and the Art of Tamale Making

2010-06-01T19:53:00.008-06:00

First a word about tamale culture and philosophy…

There is nothing better than homemade tamales. Tamales are a special dish in many areas of the Americas and Caribbean. Because they are so labor-intensive, they are usually prepared only in large batches for special occasions, such as Christmas or weddings. While I can hardly claim to have the tamale-making skill of a Mexican grandmother, these tamales are certainly better than anything from a store or restaurant. Tamales take a long time—2 to 4 hours—to prepare, but the reward is a cache of crowd-pleasing food that will keep almost indefinitely in the freezer. And that way, any time you need a quick meal, simply toss a few tamales straight into the stovetop steamer or microwave. In a couple minutes, you’ve got a fantastic meal.

You can fill a tamale with anything from fried plantains to king crab. The most simple, traditional tamale is usually just stuffed with green chilies and cheese. Shredded chicken, pork and beef are also very common. I like about any semi-traditional filling ingredients including corn, roasted chilies, sautéed spinach, Mexican fried potatoes (click here for recipe), Muy Tasty Burrito Beans (click here for recipe), roasted hot or bell peppers, chopped zucchini, sautéed onion, seasoned tempeh, roasted pumpkin, etc. Typically, you’ll want to avoid overly-soggy vegetables like tomatoes. And when you use a moderately soggy vegetable like sautéed spinach or zucchini, you’ll want to take any drying measure possible, such as patting the spinach dry or salting and straining the grated zuchs.

Tamales need to be served with a good sauce. While many sauces or salsas are good, I most highly recommend salsa rojo (click here for recipe).

My favorite filling follows. But be creative and use whatever Mexican style ingredients you like best.

Also, keep it simple. A tamale doesn’t need more than a couple dominant ingredients. Like so many traditional dishes, it isn’t fussy—its beauty comes from balance, elegance and simplicity.

This will make about 35-40 tamales.

Prep time: A six-pack

Filling:

3 cups Muy Tasty Burrito Beans (click here for recipe)

1 batch Mexican fried potatoes (click here for recipe)
1 pound jack or cheddar cheese, grated (about 4 cups)
6 Anaheim peppers (optional)
1 cup corn, frozen or fresh (optional)

Roast the peppers in the oven on the broil setting on a rack until they blacken well, turning occasionally. This should take roughly 10 minutes. Make sure you do this in a ventilated area; it creates a lot of smoke. Remove from oven, then put them in a dry paper bag, closed nice and tight until they cool, about 20 minutes. When cool, remove skins, stems and seed pods under cold running water. Then chop the pepper “meat” fairly finely.

Combine chopped peppers and all other filling ingredients together in large mixing bowl when everything is cooled enough not to melt the cheese. Stir well and set the filling aside.

Masa:

Now you’re ready to make the masa dough. You’ll want to use masa harina, a type of flour made from hominy. It’s available at virtually any grocery store in the Mexican foods aisle. The dried corn husks that you need are also found there.

1 package of dried corn husks
9 cups masa harina
7 cups water
1.5 TBSP salt
2 ¼ cups oil, preferably corn or canola
1 cup fresh or frozen corn (optional)
String or twine (optional, but makes the process easier and faster)

Start by soaking the corn husks in a big bowl. Submerge them in hot water and let them soak for at least a half hour. You’ll want at least 50 husks. You’ll also need something heavy to set on top of the husks so they remain submerged. I use a brick.

Now you’re ready to make the masa. Combine masa harina, water, salt, oil, and corn in a large mixing bowl and mix well with a mixer or by hand.

It’s now time to assemble the tamales. This is the most time-consuming part of the operation and is a lot smoother if you can recruit a couple assistants and make an assembly line.

Take a fully-soaked corn husk and figure out which is the smoothest side. Set on the counter with smooth side facing up. The stuffing amount will vary depending on the size of the corn husks. Spread a thin layer of the masa dough on the husk, leaving about ½-inch space to the edges. Make sure there are no gaps or holes in the coating. Now spoon a bit of filling on top, stopping a bit short of the dough’s edge.

Roll the tamale cigarette-style. When you roll it up, make sure you the dough’s edges meet to enclose all the filling. Tie the two ends securely with the string. If you don’t have string, you can tear strips off soaked corn husks to do the job, but this takes a bit longer and the husk strips are easy to tear when tightly pulled.

At this point, you can freeze any tamales you don’t plan on cooking right away. Just stack in a large Tupperware or zip lock bag and place in freezer. You can later prepare frozen tamales by following the steaming directions (but add a couple extra minutes). Frozen tamales can also be steamed inside their husks right in the microwave (though most purists would pooh-pooh the practice). Microwave cooking times vary on size and number cooked, but typically ranges from 3-10 minutes.

To steam right away, use a bamboo or metal steamer. Stack the tamales so there’s lots of circulation space. Cover and cook for about an hour or until the masa gets nice and firm and doesn’t want to stick to the wrapper when you open it up. Don’t forget to check the water level occasionally! Steaming time varies from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on tamale thickness and how tightly they’re packed in the steamer.

Remove from husks before you eat (duh!). Smother with the aforementioned Salsa Rojo or other sauce.

The Best Pesto (Besto) EVER!

2010-06-01T19:47:00.005-06:00

I must confess that I hate most of these new-wave pesto recipes that you often see at restaurants. Sorry, but I want good, solid pesto, not some mango-wasabi-walnut pesto “sauce.” And even restaurants that serve authentic pesto often screw it up. So I give you what I think is an ideal pesto recipe which properly balances all the component flavors. I hope you’ll like it as much as I do.

Also, to take advantage of cheap summer basil prices (or your garden), you can make a huge batch of pesto and freeze it. When you freeze the pesto, you can do so in ice cube trays, then empty the trays into a sealable container or bag. Now you have an entire year’s worth of pesto already divided into single serve portions in your freezer! Do note that as time progresses, stored pesto loses its saltiness, so if it has been in the freezer for more than a couple months, you’ll likely need to add salt to taste when you thaw it.

This pesto is also good when mixed with some red sauce and used as a pizza or lasagna sauce.

Pesto is traditionally served chilled on hot pasta, so put it in the fridge until you use it. Go easy when serving. A little pesto can go a long way.

Prep time: 1/2 cocktail

3 cups packed basil (approx. 3 ounces)
2-3 cloves garlic
¾ cup pine nuts
¾ cup good extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil
½ cup grated parmesan cheese (preferably Parmesan Reggiano)
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients in food processor. Mix until smooth.

Classic Cesar Salad

2010-06-01T19:38:00.004-06:00

Store-bought Cesar dressing is to a real Cesar salad what Kraft Shake Cheese is to Parmesan Reggiano. That is to say, store-bought Cesar dressing tastes like shit, is full of garbage additives, and is an all-around rip-off. Making the real thing only takes a few minutes and is infinitely more gratifying and delicious.

And for what it's worth, Cesar salad is not Italian, nor is it American. It was originally conceived at a Tijuana hotel in 1924 by Chef Cesar Cardini when he ran out of normal salad ingredients over the busy 4th of July weekend and threw together the few remaining ingredients he had left. The result is a salad dressing that is delicious, bright, crisp, and perfectly balanced.

This dressing recipe makes enough for about one really nice big head of romaine. If you aren’t a huge fan of anchovy, don’t worry, it’s well hidden in this recipe. You could also remove the anchovy altogether and supplement with a little extra Worcestershire to taste.

Prep time: 1/2 cocktail

2 egg yolks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp to 1 TBSP anchovy paste (depending on personal taste)
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon salt (or ¼ tsp if your anchovy paste has added salt)
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/3 to 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Romaine lettuce
Croutons, homemade or store-bought
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional, but very good)

Combine first 9 ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk well. Then very gradually add in olive oil, whisking the whole time.

Rinse and tear lettuce up. Toss dressing with croutons and lettuce. Top with parmesan and additional fresh cracked pepper.

Best Vegetable Stock EVER

2010-06-01T19:24:00.003-06:00

This is a great recipe for those occasions when you find some sad carrots or wilted celery in the back of the fridge. DON'T throw it out! Instead, use these and any other veggie scraps as a starter for a batch of veggie stock.

If you do any home canning, you can preserve a big batch so you always have it on hand. Though stock freezes well, so portioning out a few gallons and throwing it in the freezer until you need it is a great alternative to the overprices, tasteless salt water that passes for stock at the supermarket.

This recipe calls for the pressure cooker. Food writer Mark Bittman once wrote in his New York Times column how much more concentrated and delicious the flavors become (not to mention a faster preparation time) when you use a pressure cooker. That said, if you don’t own a pressure cooker, a large stock pot or Dutch oven will still work.

As with any stock recipe, feel free to add any other ingredients that sound good—from lemon peel to thyme to fresh turmeric to sage leaves.

3 quarts water
1 TBSP salt
1 leek, chopped
½ onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 clove garlic, minced
1 small bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 bay leaves
4 celery stalks, chopped
20 peppercorns
2 TBSP + 1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients except salt in the pressure cooker. Bring to boil over high heat. Put on the lid and reduce heat. Bring the cooker up to manufacturers’ recommendation and process for 25 minutes. When done, strain out and discard veggies. Stir salt into broth.

If you’re not using a pressure cooker, bring the pot to a boil over high heat, reduce to simmer and cook, uncovered for at least two hours. You’ll want to add additional water as it boils off. When done, salt to taste and strain out and discard veggies.

Hey Everybody, I Am Pho King!

2010-06-01T19:16:00.007-06:00

Pho is widely considered the national dish of Vietnam. Pronounced “Fuh,” it lends itself well to puns (go back and read the title of this post again). Pho is a soup of noodles, rich broth, spices and, traditionally, beef. In this recipe, I substitute tofu for the beef, but I otherwise try to remain true to the traditional spirit.

There are a couple substitution options for this recipe. You can use seitan instead of tofu, if you like. Also, you can use any type of long, thin noodles. Traditionally, this dish is served with very thin rice noodles. But if you want a healthier version, whole-wheat angel hair or vermicelli is just fine.

Prep time: 2 cocktails

1 pound tofu, cubed cut into 1” cubes
6 ounces whole wheat angel hair or 12 ounces rice noodles
1 small head garlic, unpeeled, cut in half horizontally
1 small onion, unpeeled, quartered
2 medium shallots, unpeeled, halved
1.5-inch piece ginger, unpeeled and sliced
2 cinnamon sticks
1 TBSP whole black peppercorns
2 pods star anise
5 cloves
8 cups veggie stock (click here for homemade recipe)
3 TBSP Braggs, tamari, or fish sauce
1.5 cups cabbage (and/or greens like chard, kale or spinach), coarsely chopped (optional)
8 ounces bean sprouts
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1 lime, cut into wedges
Hoisin sauce
Siracha sauce
½ cup peanuts coarsely chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil a cookie sheet with a high-temperature oil, like sesame or peanut oil. Arrange tofu so that cubes ore not touching. Bake until the bottoms become a bit toasty golden, about 15 minutes. Then switch the oven to broil and cook until the tops do the same. Turn off oven and set tofu aside.

While tofu is cooking, heat a large dry pot on medium high heat. When hot, combine garlic, onion, shallot, ginger, cinnamon, peppercorns, star anise, and cloves. Dry fry these items until the onions get charred, about 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. When onion is charred, add stock and Braggs and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook, uncovered, 30 minutes.

As the broth simmers, cook your noodles.

Now remove broth from heat and run through a strainer. Discard the solids and return to stovetop. If using, add cabbage and/or greens. Bring to boil for 3 minutes and remove from heat.

Now assemble the soup. Take a large bowl and add some noodles, tofu and bean sprouts. Ladle hot broth over the top of everything.

Serve soup with a tray of accessories and garnishes that includes the cilantro, lime, scallions, hoisin, Siracha and peanuts. Add these to taste.

Homemade Sauerkraut

2010-06-01T19:12:00.002-06:00

STOP buying sauerkraut at the damn store! Making sauerkraut at home is easy, cheap and delicious. You just need a non-reactive ceramic or stoneware crock, some cabbage and a few weeks. It's especially handy if you have a garden with enough space to grow a few extra heads of cabbage.

You can also add anything that you would like to flavor the kraut, including onion, garlic, peppers, and carrots. Prepared kraut will keep for weeks in the fridge or is a great idea for your first home canning adventure.

5 pounds cabbages
3 TBSP NON-IDIONIZED sea salt

Let the cabbage sit at room temperature for 24 hours before starting. Wash, quarter, and remove cores. Let dry completely, then shred into dime-thick pieces. Mix the salt and cabbage together very well in the crock. With a wooden spoon, gently tamp and stir the cabbage for a few minutes. If there isn’t enough liquid that has come up past the top of the cabbage, add a bit of additional salt water.

Cover the cabbage very tightly with a clean cloth, then place a tight-fitting clean plate on top of everything and weight the plate with a clean weight (water-filled jars work well).

Allow it to ferment at room temperature for 10-15 days at 70 degrees. If your house is warmer, it will ferment faster, if it is colder, it can take several weeks.

After the first couple days of fermentation, you’ll need to start skimming off the scum layer that forms on top of the liquid. Then replace the plate and weight. Add a bit of fresh saltwater if the brine level drops below the plate. Taste the kraut occasionally to see when it has reached the suitable fermentation flavor. Transfer to a to mason jar and store in the refrigerator or enjoy it as your first canning project, though canning can kill many of the highly beneficial bacteria found in the finished product.

Tempeh Ruben Sandwich

2010-06-01T19:02:00.004-06:00

This is perhaps my favorite comfort food. It pretty much got me through college. Well, that and vodka. And Ritalin. And pretty CU girls.... But the sandwiches helped a lot.

Though it lacks pastrami, this recipe is still rich, delicious, salty, simple, fast, and fairly unique. Note that I recommend using homemade sauerkraut (a fun and easy project), though store-bought will still be alright.

Prep time: 1 cocktail (and a Ritalin)

2 TBSP olive oil
1 package tempeh, cut into ½ inch strips
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
A dash pepper and cayenne
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
7 drops liquid smoke
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
Dark rye or pumpernickel bread
Slices of Swiss cheese
Thousand Island dressing
A jar of good homemade or store-bought sauerkraut
1 Refrigerator dill pickle (recipe above), sliced into thin strips lengthwise (optional)

In a medium saucepan heat oil over medium heat. Add tempeh, Cajun seasoning, cayenne, salt, pepper, liquid smoke, and Worcestershire. Sauté, stirring occasionally until tempeh begins to brown (by the way: it’s fine if you end up breaking up the tempeh into smaller chunks as you sauté). Remove from heat and set aside.

Now it’s time to make the sandwiches. Take two slices of rye and top each with a big spoonful of tempeh. On top of each rye slice, place tempeh and a slice or two of cheese. Put both pieces of bread into the toaster oven (or regular oven, if you don’t have a toaster) and bake until bottom toasts up nicely and cheese is melted on top (broiling for a minute might be necessary for this).

Remove from toaster and add lot of Thousand Island and sauerkraut and a pickle strip (if using). Put everything back in the oven for a minute to get all warm and delicious.

Remove and eat! Now get to work on that term paper!

Awaze

2010-05-01T20:05:00.002-06:00

Awaze is a marinade made by combining berbere and an Ethiopian honey wine called Tej. Tej is tough to get a hold of in the states, so using mead (honey wine) or a white wine with a bit of honey are the best options here. In addition to berbere and wine, additions can include olive oil, onion, and additional hot dried peppers. Awaze is used both as a marinade for meat or vegetables in a dish called tibs (click here for recipe), as well as a general side condiment.

¼ cup white wine
1 TBSP honey
3 TBSP berbere (click here for recipe)
3 TBSP canola oil
2 small cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp grated ginger
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
½ tsp Cayenne (optional)
Salt to taste

Whisk well and chill if not using right away.

Celebrating Africa with TIBS!

2010-05-01T19:46:00.007-06:00

So yesterday, the Peace Corps officially placed me in Africa! After spending almost a year in the application process, I'm finally set to leave in September! To celebrate, I decided to get drunk with Kathleen on expensive beer and cook a big Ethiopian feast of Mesir Wot, African Beet and Carrot Salad, lots of Injera, and Tibs (the whole feast is pictured above--the tibs are on the left).

Tibs are Ethiopian marinated lamb pieces in a stew. In my recipe, I use zucchini, portabella and sweet potatoes instead of lamb. Serve just with injera or as part of your own huge, drunken celebratory feast!

Prep time: 1 cocktail for the tibs; 4 cocktails for the entire Ethiopian Feast

3 TBSP canola or palm oil

1 large yam or sweet potato, baked and cut into bite-sized cubes

2 tsp grated ginger

Double batch awaze (click here for recipe)
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 portabella mushroom, chopped
3 TBSP canola or palm oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon

Combine the awaze with the zucchini and mushroom in a Zip-Lock bag or Tupperware container with lid. Marinate for at least two hours, giving it an occasional gentle shake to mix everything.

Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium heat. Add oil and sauté the onion for 30 seconds. Add yam and ginger and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the marinade juice, lemon and zucchini/portabella combination. Simmer until the veggies soften a bit, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve warm with injera.

African Beet and Carrot Salad

2010-05-01T19:39:00.006-06:00

This salad is inspired by beet salads that are common in north and east Africa. It is an awesome stand-alone dish for any occasion, or as part of a big authentic Ethiopian dinner (see dinner menu in the Mesir Wot page, here).

Vegetables:
2 pounds beets, whole
4 carrots, halved lengthwise, then cut into 1/3” pieces
A few teaspoons olive oil
A few pinches brown sugar

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 TBSP fresh mint, minced
2 TBSP fresh chives, chopped
1 TBSP whole cumin seeds
2 tsp paprika
1 clove garlic, minced
¾ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh cracked pepper

Other:
2-4 ounces crumbled goat cheese (chèvre)

Preheat oven to 350. Poke holes in the beets and loosely wrap them in tin foil. Drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil, a half teaspoon brown sugar, and a teaspoon of water oil into the opening of the tin foil before closing and place beets in a baking pan.

In a separate baking pan, toss the carrots and 2 TBSP olive oil for the vegetables. Place both carrots (covered with tin foil) and beets in oven and roast until carrots become soft (about 20-30 minutes) and beets don’t put up too much resistance to a fork (about 45-70 minutes).

Remove vegetables and cool. Once cool, cut beets and carrots into bite-sized pieces.

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for dressing and mix well. When you’re ready to serve, toss the vegetables with the dressing. Finally top with the goat cheese or stir it lightly in with the rest of the salad.

This dish is delicious served either hot or cold.

Mesir Wot

2010-05-01T19:15:00.012-06:00

Mesir Wot is proof that vegan food can kick some serious ass, if you know what you're doing. These spiced lentils are a vegetarian staple in Ethiopia. There are so many different ways to make this dish, it’s difficult to list just one preparation. However, this is probably my favorite version.

Mesir wot is good served with injera only, but it really shines when you serve it as part of a big Ethiopian feast with lots of extra injera and a couple additional side dishes:

Red-red (not Ethiopian, but great with the other dishes) (recipe here)
Doro wot
Vegetarian Tibs (recipe here)
African beet and carrot salad (recipe here)

Prep time: 1 cocktail

1 cup red lentils
1/3 cup canola oil
1 medium onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, chopped
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tsp berbere (click here for recipe)
¾ tsp salt
a few pinches of chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Injera (click here for recipe)

Combine the lentils with 2 cups of water. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer, cover and cook until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a saucepan pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté until onion becomes a bit transparent. Stir in lentils and all remaining ingredients. Bring to boil. If it’s too soupy, simmer, stirring frequently until you reach desired consistency. Serve hot with injeera.

Operation: Delicious Injera

2010-05-01T18:52:00.004-06:00

This recipe took me years to get right. I have never found a cookbook or blog that had a suitable injera recipe. And it took me a long time to perfect the ratios and timing in this recipe. But the endeavor worked: this is the best injera you'll have outside of Africa. Guaranteed.

So what the fuck is injera? It is the traditional crepe-like sourdough Ethiopian flatbread that is served with virtually every meal in that country. It is indispensable in all of my Ethiopian recipes, as well as some from other regions. At meal time, a large piece of injeera is placed on a plate and all the food is ladled on top of it. Additional injeera is served on the side with which diners scoop up their food. Eating utensils are never used; just use your hands!

This recipe calls for teff flour. Teff is an outrageously nutritious Ethiopian grain that can be tough to find. Big natural food stores occasionally sell ground teff and you can order it online. Ethiopian or African markets also often have it. Also, when at the store, make sure you’re buying ground teff. Teff is the smallest grain in the world, so ground and unground look identical. Always double check to confirm the label says “ground” or “flour.”

Note that this is essentially a sourdough recipe and requires you to let the teff and water ferment for three days before preparation.

3/4 cup ground teff flour
2 3/4 cups water, divided
1.25 cups unbleached white flour
Pinch of salt
Vegetable oil

Mix ground teff with 2 cups of the water and let stand in a bowl covered with a dish towel at room temperature until it bubbles and has turned sour. This will take about 3 days. The fermenting mixture should be the consistency of a thin pancake batter. And if a bit of mold forms on top, don't worry. Just scoop it off and proceed.

After the teff has fermented, whisk in the salt, white flour, and remaining 3/4 cup water.

Heat a 12-inch or larger skillet (or use a dry non-stick pan) over medium heat and brush a light layer of oil. Then proceed as you would with a normal pancake or crepe: Pour in enough batter to cover the bottom of the hot skillet. About 1/2 cup will make a thin pancake covering the surface of a 12-inch skillet if you spread the batter around immediately by turning and rotating the skillet in the air. The bigger the pan you use, the better. So if you have something larger, use it. Obviously, you’ll scale the amount of batter up or down, depending on skillet size.

Injeera should be thicker than a crêpe, but not as thick as a traditional pancake.

Cook until holes form in the injeera, the top is dry and the edges begin to separate from the pan (about two minutes). Don’t let it turn too brown, and don't flip it over; it is only supposed to be cooked on one side.

Remove from pan by simply sliding or flipping it out onto a cooling rack (using a spatula is not recommended, because the hot injeera often cracks and breaks when you use a spatula) and let cool to room temperature. Once cool, layer wax paper or foil between successive pieces so they don't stick together.

Re-brush pan with oil, if necessary, between injeeras.

Serve at room temperature.

Blackened Fish Tacos (Eat tacos. Drink beer. Love life.)

2010-04-28T18:52:00.012-06:00

Not quite how they make them in Baja, but I actually like this better--no fried fish or heavy sauce. Light and delicious!

Note that blackening the fish will create a lot of smoke in your kitchen. If you can't keep a window open to ventilate, you may wish to fry at a lower temperature and not use the oven... or poach the fish in tequila, lime juice and cilantro after a flash fry--both methods are also very delicious.

Prep time: 3 cocktails (including Pico and homemade tortillas)

1 pound catfish, tilapia or other eco-conscious white fish... cheap fish is just fine—you’re just gonna spice the hell out of it
Several large pinches of each of the following: ground cayenne pepper, ground cumin, Cajun seasoning, chili powder, dried oregano, salt, pepper
1/3 bunch of cilantro, minced

A dozen small corn tortillas, store-bought or from scratch (click here for recipe)
1-2 cups cabbage, shredded

1/2 batch Pico de Gallo (click here for recipe)
Finely shredded jack cheese (optional)

3 limes, quartered
Hot sauce—Important: use only Tapatio or Chilula… Tabasco sauce will ruin the tacos, as will other vinegar-based hot sauces.

Preheat oven to 350.

Soak raw fish filets in the canola oil for about 20 minutes, flipping occasionally. Then put fish on a large plate and sprinkle with very generous pinches the dry spices, salt, and pepper. Flip filets and repeat spice application.

Heat a dry frying pan on the highest possible heat. Fry filets for a minute or so on each side. Then place fried filets in a casserole pan or cookie sheet. Sprinkle the cilantro on top and add another bit of salt and pepper.

Bake 20-30 minutes, depending on thickness of filets. You want the fish to cook through, but still be tender and juicy inside.

When done, chop up into chunks that are small enough to make good fish tacos.

If your tortillas aren't warm, heat them up a bit in the microwave (or for more authentic tacos, fry each tortilla in very hot oil for 1-2 seconds on each side). Fill each taco with equal parts fish, pico and cabbage. Give each taco a squeeze of lime, a bit of cheese (if using), and add a few splashes of hot sauce.

Eat tacos. Drink beer. Love life.

Pico De Gallo

2010-04-28T18:44:00.003-06:00

This is as simple as it gets. Perfect for chips, fish tacos, or damn near anything else.

2/3 of a bunch cilantro, minced and divided
4 tomatoes, chopped (vine ripened only, don’t use Roma or others)
1 small red onion, chopped
4 jalapeños, chopped
1 tsp salt
Juice of 2 limes
2 cloves garlic, minced

Combine everything in a big bowl and stir well. Eat the shit out of it!

Homemade Corn Tortillas

2010-04-28T18:39:00.002-06:00

Not only are these great for enchiladas, but they are also a lot more delicious than store-bought corn tortillas for fish tacos, making into chips, etc.

The key ingredient here is masa harina. Masa harina is flour made from hominy (or white corn). Masa is available at virtually any grocery store in the Mexican food aisle. Note that different types of masa may require differing amounts of water. I recommend that if the package you purchase has directions on the side, you follow those. But here’s a good “middle of the road” approach. This will make about 15 tortillas.

Also, you’ll need a tortilla press: a small and inexpensive appliance available at most kitchen shops and online.

2 Cups masa
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Water
2 TBSP vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl. Mix well by hand or with mixer. Roll into golf-ball sized balls and place in a tortilla press that has been lined with plastic wrap. Press well. Dry fry over medium high heat about 90 seconds, or until a few brown marks appear. Flip and repeat. Serve warm.

Red-Red: The Greatest Recipe Known to Humankind

2010-04-26T18:31:00.005-06:00

If you've ever been to a dinner party at my house, the chances are good that you had red-red. I'm not kidding when I say it is the best recipe that will ever grace this (or any) blog. I should just hang up my apron after this, because it simply won't get any better.

Red-red is a traditional Ghanaian recipe of spicy black-eyed peas. Though it sounds odd, I must say that it is simply amazing. Red-red gets the name from dual red palm oil and tomatoes traditionally used to prepare this dish. It is also usually served with fried plantains (I typically opt for fried bananas). I also add a non-traditional twist by eating it with injera (click here for recipe)or whole wheat flour tortillas.

Also, if you like to make your black-eyed peas from scratch rather than purchasing store-bought, you'll want to increase the salt by 2 tsp.

Prep time: 3 cocktails

1 cup red palm or canola oil
2 onions, chopped
2-3 habenero peppers, minced (I use 4)
6 cloves garlic, minced

4 tomatoes, vine ripened (not Roma or Hothouse)
2 cans black eyed peas, drained
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1 TBSP salt
¼ cup fresh ginger, grated (grate with smallest possible grating of cheese grater or Microplane; do not mince with knife!)

3 ounces tomato paste (1/2 small can)

2 tsp shrimp powder (optional)

Ground black pepper to taste

2-3 bananas or plantains, sliced into 1" wheels

FLOUR tortilias or injera for serving

In large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil on medium heat. Add onions and sauté about 5 minutes, until softened. Add peppers and garlic. Cook a few more minutes. Add tomatoes and cook 1 more minute.

Transfer to a food processor may and puree into a sauce.

Return onion/tomato sauce to pan or Dutch oven and reduce heat to a nice simmer, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, drain the black-eyed peas and mash up about 1/3 of them in the cans or a separate bowl. Add all peas to the tomato mixture. Also add the bouillon cubes, salt, ginger, tomato paste, and shrimp powder (if using). Let simmer about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add black pepper.

Stirring occasionally, simmer 20 minutes or until you reach desired consistency. Note that desired consistency can vary depending the original water content of the tomatoes. You may have to simmer significantly longer. Add salt, if needed—it should be a fairly (but not crazy) salty dish. Same with the spiciness: it should be really hot. If it's not, add some cayenne.

As the red-red simmers, heat a couple more tablespoons of oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. When it gets hot, add the bananas, flat-side down with a tongs. Once the bottoms get browned but not burned (about 3 minutes), flip and repeat. Remove and gently pat with a paper towel or cloth to remove excess oil.

Now tear your tortillas or injera into bite-sized pieces. You'll use these pieces to work like an edible scoop--no utensils here!

Eat the shit out of this dish and when you're done, call me to thank me.

Aloo Gobi: It'll Turn You Into an Indian Grandmother Too

2010-04-24T10:48:00.011-06:00

I was told last night after I served Aloo Gobi that I "could pass for an Indian grandmother." I guess I should take that as a compliment. Though, I suppose I probably do have the liver of an Indian grandmother at this point... so why not the cooking skills too?

Anyhow, aloo gobi is a classic dry curry of potatoes and cauliflower that originates in the Punjab region. It is great served with rice, chapati, or naan. Note that this recipe calls for ghee. Ghee is clarified butter than can be found at any Asian grocer or natural food store. You can also make it easily at home using directions found online. If you're not on the butter program, substituting canola oil is fine (though not quite as tasty).

Prep time: 2 cocktails

2 jalapeño or Serrano chilies, chopped
2 tsp whole cumin seed

1 inch ginger piece, chopped finely or grated
½ tsp black mustard seeds

3 bay leaves

¼ cup ghee or oil

2 medium-large russet potatoes, cut into 1/2 –inch cubes
1/2 head of cauliflower, divided into florets
1/2 cup water

1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1.5 tsp sea salt
1 TBSP brown sugar

1 bell pepper, chopped (optional)
2/3 cup cilantro, chopped

Combine chilies, cumin, ginger, mustard seeds, and bay leaves in a small bowl. Set aside.

Melt the ghee in a wok on medium heat. Add the spice mixture. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the seeds turn a shade darker and become nice and aromatic. Add potato and cauliflower. Sauté for 8-10 minutes, or until the veggies begin to brown just a bit and you can smell the potatoes really beginning to cook.

Add water, turmeric, coriander, paprika, salt, brown sugar, and bell pepper. Reduce to low/medium-low and saute until all the veggies are tender, but not mushy… about 15-20 minutes. If it starts to stick, add a couple tablespoons of water.

Add cilantro, stir well and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes before serving.

Serve over rice or with naan or chapati.

Momos!!!

2010-04-24T10:17:00.005-06:00

These traditional Tibetan steamed dumplings are one of my favorite foods. They're typically served with a tomato chutney called achar. However, I think tomato achar tastes too much like Mexican salsa and is a pain in the ass to make. Instead, I just whisk together keycap manis (a sweet Indonesian soy sauce available at any Asian grocer) with Siracha and soy sauce.

Prep time 2-3 cocktails

Dough:
3 cups white flour
1 cup water

Filling:
2 Potatoes
3 TBSP ghee or oil
½ cup shallot, minced
2” Ginger, minced
2-4 cayenne or Serrano chilies, chopped

5 cloves Garlic, minced
Pinch of curry powder
3/4 cup additional shredded veggies (bell pepper, cabbage, daikon, bok choi, etc).
¾ tsp Salt
Several good grinds black pepper
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2-4 cayenne or Serrano chilies, chopped
1 tsp cumin

Dipping Sauce:

4 TBSP keycap manis
2 TBSP Siracha
2 tsp dark soy sauce

Start with the dough. Combine flour and water in a bowl and mix well. With a stand mixer or by hand, knead the dough for 10 minutes. The consistency should be somewhat like pizza dough--if it is too dry, add a TBSP or two of water. Let stand at least 30 more minutes, covered.

Bake or microwave the potato. Cut into small cubes. Set aside in a covered container.

Heat the ghee or oil over medium heat in a frying pan or wok. Add all filling ingredients except the potatoes and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently until everything becomes a bit

tender. Add potatoes and sauté another minuter or two.

Bring a bamboo or stackable steamer to a boil on high heat.

Now assemble your momos. Divide the dough into 18 small balls and cover. With a rolling pin, roll a dough ball into a 4-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Spoon a few tablespoons of filling into the disk. Pinch the dumpling closed around the filling. As you may have noticed from the picture above, I'm not great at making this look very pretty. But there are many momo how-to videos online. I recommend you check them out before attempting.

After you're dumplings are formed, it's time to steam them. I recommend that you brush the bottom of the steamer with a bit of oil to prevent sticking. Steam 8-10 minutes or until dumplings are tender but not chewy and dried out.

While the momos steam, make the dipping sauce by whisking together the three ingredients.

Nepalese Dal: The Sacred Honda Civic of the Culinary World

2010-04-24T09:56:00.014-06:00

When I traveled to Nepal, this is what everybody ate. It’s called Dal Bhat, or lentils with rice. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of this dish in parts of India and Nepal. I was told that many people will go their entire lives without ever eating anything except this dish. During my few months there, I ate this for every meal myself.

While this dish excels in reliability, it lags a bit in sexy department.... It's kind of the Honda Civic of the culinary world. It's sacred to millions, but if you want some excitement for dinner, I recommend you make another Indian or Nepalese recipe and serve this as a side dish. Much like Steve Buscemi, dal bhat is always best in a supporting role.

Prep time: 1 cocktail

1 cup brown lentils
2 tsp ground coriander
½-inch piece ginger
2 tsp ground turmeric
½ pound fresh spinach or beet greens, chopped (optional)
2 TBSP ghee, butter, or oil
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice
A dash of cayenne
Prepared rice (I like Forbidden Black)

In medium-sized saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add lentils, coriander, ginger, and turmeric. Stirring occasionally, bring to boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer, peeking in occasionally to stir. Continue stirring occasionally until the lentils begin to soften, about 30 minutes.

Remove lid and add spinach or beet greens, if using.

After adding the greens, in a medium frying pan or wok, heat the ghee over medium-high heat. When it’s up to temperature, add the cumin and fry until seeds turn a nice golden-brown. Immediately transfer the ghee and seeds to the lentils being careful not to splatter. Also add the salt, lemon juice and cayenne. Stir well and cook another couple minutes before serving over rice.

Rasta Pasta

2010-04-19T18:51:00.007-06:00

Holy crap, I love this dish! Many years ago, I worked at a Jamaican fusion restaurant in Fort Collins. This is my take on their namesake dish--though my preparation is a lot better, I have to say. Maybe it's because I'm typically not as high as the cooks at the restaurant when I make it(?).

Anyway, the recipe calls for jerk paste. I provide the homemade recipe here, and it’s pretty quick and easy to make. But you can also purchase pre-made jerk paste (sometimes called wet jerk) at many gourmet shops and larger natural food stores like Whole Foods in the condiment aisle. Note that all storebought jerk pastes will vary in intensity and saltiness, so adding a little at a time is a good idea. And make sure you purchase paste and not powder.

Because this dish is pretty hot, you'll want to enjoy it with juice, a sweet cocktail, or a beer--preferably a ginger beer.

Prep time: 2 cocktails

1/3 cup canola oil
1 head garlic, minced (yes--an entire head!)
3 TBSP red wine
3 TBSP dark soy sauce
3 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 pinches dried basil
2 pinches dried oregano
1 tsp Cajun seasoning (optional)
1/3 cup jerk paste (click here for recipe)
½ red bell pepper, chopped
1 very petite zucchini, chopped
1 small broccoli floret broken up by hand
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced or mandolined
½ cup purple cabbage, chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 serving Incredible Jerk Tofu (click here for recipe)
2 handfuls pre-cooked pasta—use only penne or spirals
The top (green) third of a medium bunch of green onions, chopped

Combine oil and garlic in food processor or blender. Puree well.

Heat a large frying pan on medium high heat. Add garlic oil mixture. Sauté until it begins to turn gold--but not brown, about 30-60 seconds. Add wine. Continue to cook for 20 more seconds.

Add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomato, basil, oregano, Cajun seasoning, and jerk paste. Stir frequently for about 8 minutes. Taste and add salt or jerk, if necessary—it should be very strongly flavored!

Add all the veggies EXCEPT the green onion. Reduce heat to medium and sauté another 5 minutes or so, until the veggies become a bit tender, stirring occasionally.

Add tofu, pasta, green onions, salt and pepper to taste (salt may not be necessary if your jerk paste already has some). Sauté 1 more minute stirring often.

Remove from heat and serve.

Incredible Jerk Tofu

2010-04-19T18:41:00.006-06:00

Anytime somebody tells you that they think tofu sucks, tell them I said they're an ass. Then make this. It'll shut them up for good.

Note that this preparation tends to make a bit of a mess out of your frying pan. I highly recommend that you use a well-seasoned cast-iron frying pan for this recipe, as the clean-up is immeasurably easier.

This is also a fantastic way to prepare tofu for any cuisine, just change the spices to fit the cuisine.

Prep time: 1 cocktail

1 pinch dried oregano
1 pinch dried basil
3 TBSP jerk paste (click here for recipe)
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 TBSP dark soy sauce
1/3 cup red wine
½ cup orange juice or pineapple juice
3 TBSP peanut or non-toasted sesame oil
5 cloves minced garlic
1 brick extra firm tofu, cut into 1” cubes
2 TBSP sesame seeds (optional)

In small bowl, whisk together oregano, basil, jerk paste/Pickapeppa, Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire, Braggs, red wine, and juice. Set aside.

Heat oil in an 8- to 10-inch frying pan over medium heat. When it gets hot, add tofu. Stir often, very gently with spatula to avoid breaking the tofu. Fry until the tofu begins to become a bit golden, this can take from 10-30 minutes, depending on the moisture content of the tofu.

Add garlic, and continue to fry, stirring frequently, until the garlic begins to turn golden. Add wine/juice mixture. Keep it at medium heat and occasionally stir everything, but be careful not to break up the tofu! Cook until all the moisture has cooked off, about 20 minutes. Toss in the sesame seeds and transfer the tofu to a plate. Place in refrigerator and allow to cool completely before using.

Jerk Paste

2010-04-19T18:30:00.007-06:00

Jerk is one of the cornerstones of Jamaican cuisine. It is either a paste or a dry rub of brown spices, garlic, peppers, ginger, and thyme that dates back to colonial times. It combines the flavors of the old world and the new in a fantastic, unusual way. Jerk was used as a means of preserving meat in the days before refrigeration—much the way that very spicy rubs or salts have been used in other parts of the world. As such, it is pretty potent stuff (spice wimps should probably be cautious with my Jerk recipes). Today, jerk is ideal either as a marinade (especially good for grilling tofu, vegetables, meat, and fruit) or as a sauce. Jerk is one of those things that can be made a thousand different ways. This is my recipe.

Also note that if you wish to save time, there are commercially-available jerk pastes that work well for my recipes as well. I most highly recommend Neera’s; it’s long been my favorite. You can find it in a small jar in the condiment aisle of many gourmet and natural food stores, as well as online. But one word of caution: if you go with a store-bought paste in any of my recipes, be warned that these are often more potent than my recipe. As a result, it is probably a good idea to start with about a third of what my recipes call for and add additional jerk slowly, tasting as you go, in order to avoid overdoing it. And because these pastes often contain varying amounts of salt, the same is true for salt in my recipes that use jerk paste.

1 TBSP ground allspice
¾ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1.5 tsp ground clove
3 TBSP vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 Habenero or Scotch Bonnet chilies (heat wimps can use 2 peppers)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 TBSP dried thyme
2 teaspoons salt
1-2 TBSP fresh ginger
5 scallions, chopped
1 TBSP brown sugar
3 TBSP fresh lime juice
¼ cup white vinegar

In small dish, combine allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves.

Heat oil in a small frying pan on medium. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring constantly, until the garlic just begins to turn light golden—about 1 minute. Add spice combination. Stir constantly another 20 seconds and remove from heat. Transfer immediately to a bowl.

Now combine all other ingredients, along with the spice/garlic mixture, in a food processor or blender. Process until it is a smooth liquid.

Stores in the refrigerator for months.

Sweet and Spicy Indonesian Tempeh and Noodles

2010-04-18T09:54:00.005-06:00

I made this last night for a dinner party here at the Lazy S Ranch. It pleased vegans, meat eaters, spice lovers, and spice haters alike. And prep time was less than an hour.

This recipe calls for keycap manis—a type of sweetened soy sauce used extensively in Indonesian cooking. Keycap is available at any Asian grocer and is well worth having on hand—it is absolutely my favorite all-purpose condiment.

Like many other recipes I've posted, feel free to add anything you think would sound good. I’ve added bean sprouts and cilantro to the finished product, stirred all-natural peanut butter into the sauce, and even served this dish with a fried egg on top. Yum!

Prep time: 2 cocktails

1/3 cup keycap manis
3 TBSP Siracha
1 TBSP brown rice vinegar
2 TBSP Braggs or tamari
2 TBSP water
1/3 tsp white pepper
¼ cup peanut oil
8 ounce-package tempeh, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1.5-inch piece ginger, minced
¼ cup shallot, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large handfuls precooked and chilled noodles (rice noodles or vermicelli)
1 big handful chopped veggies (broccoli, carrot, bell pepper, and cabbage all work well)
2 scallions, green parts only, chopped into wheels

First, lightly steam or sauté the veggies. Don’t overdo it; they should still have a bit of crispness, as you'll cook them again more in a minute. Set aside.

Now prep the sauce by combining keycap manis, Siracha, vinegar, Braggs, water, and white pepper in a small bowl. Whisk well and set aside.

In a wok or large frying pan, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add tempeh and sauté until it turns golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add ginger, shallot, and garlic. Reduce to medium heat and continue to sauté a couple minutes, stirring often.

Now stir in sauce, vegetables, and noodles. Continue to cook, stirring very frequently until the sauce gets all bubbly and the veggies and pasta are nice and hot. Serve with a sprinkle of scallion on top.

Banh Mi: Imperialism never tasted so good!

2010-04-17T17:08:00.008-06:00

Banh Mi is one of the happiest things to ever come out of the colonial era. Banh Mi is a very popular sandwich in Vietnam, but is heavy with French influences—most notably baguette, mayonnaise and pate (I use marinated, roasted portabellas). The Vietnamese components include pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro, and hot peppers.

One critical consideration is to use really good bread. A couple real nice crusty 8-inch baguettes (cut into 4-inch sections) are great, as are four high-quality French rolls. Whole grain is a great choice, but white is also delicious. You can toast the bread right before you use it or go untoasted. In Vietnam, they actually use a rice baguette, but I find making these from scratch a real hassle.

Finally, it is important that you use real mayonnaise for this dish. Homemade is ideal, and only takes a minute to prepare. Store bought mayo will make an acceptable substitute, though. No lite mayo, Miracle Whip of other bullshit allowed on this sandwich. Seriously.

Prep time: 1 cocktail (not including marinating time)

1/3 cup white vinegar
¼ cup white sugar
2 cups carrot, daikon radish, or a combination of the two, julienned
2 TBSP peanut or olive oil
3 TBSP rice vinegar
3 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP Braggs or tamari (plus additional for topping)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lime
1 TBSP Siracha
2 whole portabella mushroom caps
Baguette bread or 4 French rolls
Mayonnaise (recipe for homemade mayo is here)
Sliced cucumber
1 medium jalapeño, chopped into thin wheels
Leaves from ½ bunch cilantro

Combine the white vinegar, white sugar, and a half cup of hot water in a small mixing bowl and whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add carrots and daikon and set aside to infuse at least 1 hour (overnight is ideal). This will create a delicious pickled carrot/daikon mixture.

In another small mixing bowl, combine peanut oil, rice vinegar, brown sugar, Braggs, garlic, lime juice, and Siracha. Whisk well. Now poke a few holes in the top of each portabella cap and place the mushrooms along with this marinade into a Zip-Lock bag. Gently shake up the contents to ensure the portabellas get thorough marinated. Let stand for at least an hour, though overnight is ideal.

Preheat oven to 400. Bake the mushrooms directly on the oven rack until they become tender, juicy, and cooked through—about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Now it’s time to build the sandwiches. Cut your bread lengthwise, but not all the way through (you want a hot dog bun-style piece of bread). Smear a generous amount of mayo on the sides, then load it up with strips of mushroom, drained pickled carrot/daikon, cucumber, jalapeño, and cilantro leaves. Finish it off with a few extra drops of Braggs and ENJOY!

Homemade mayonnaise

2010-04-17T17:01:00.003-06:00

Stop buying store-bought mayo! This stuff is super easy to make and is wayyyy better! And feel free to add whatever you like to this recipe to make it fit the cuisine for which you’re preparing. A touch of jerk seasoning and pineapple juice is great for Caribbean foods, while chipotle peppers and a dash of lime would make a great fit for Mexican cuisine. The possibilities are endless!

1 egg yolk
2 tsp dijon (or 1/2 tsp mustard powder and 2 tsp water)
Pich of sugar
½ tsp salt
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 TBSP lemon juice

Combine yolk, mustard, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl or food processor. Whisk well. Very slowly, add the oil a few drops at a time, as you whisk vigorsly (or keep food processor running). Once the emulsion begins to thicken a bit, increase rate at which you add the oil to a very, very light stream. Continue to whisk or keep food processor on while you do this. Once all the oil is incorporated, add in the lemon juice and serve. Stores a couple weeks in the fridge.

Muy Tasty Burrito Beans

2010-04-15T09:42:00.002-06:00

These are a great all-purpose beans that are great in burritos, enchiladas, tamales, or as a side dish. You can use either black or pinto beans. I prefer pinto.

1 pound beans
4 tsp salt
5 tsp chili powder
3 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic powder (not garlic salt)
2 tsp black pepper
2 TBSP vegetable oil

Do not presoak the beans. Combine all ingredients with water in a pot and bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer until beans are soft. Keep beans just covered with water all throughout the cooking time. Once beans are done, you can cook off any excess liquid to achieve the level of soupiness you like.

If you have a pressure cooker, you can make these a lot faster. Just follow your instruction manual.

PUPUSAS!

2010-04-15T09:21:00.011-06:00

Salvadorians confuse me. With a national dish this good, I find it baffling that anybody from El Salvador would immigrate to America. Without pupusas a few times a week, I fail to see how this country could offer a "better life." In fact, someday I might become one of the first Americans to illegally migrate into Latin America. Mainly just so I could eat pupusas.

So what the hell is a pupusa? It's basically just a stuffed tortillia. Pupusas can be stuffed with anything from cow tongue to fiddlehead fern leaves. Here, I go with beans—a much easier ingredient to come by!

Pupusas are served with curtido, a type of coleslaw/relish and a simple red salsa (salsa rojo). (You can click through for those recipes.)

This recipe makes about 10 pupusas. Generally speaking, two of them—along with salsa rojo and curtido—make a pretty satisfying meal. If you don’t want that many at once, you can store fully-formed, uncooked pupusas in the refrigerator for several days. Store them in an airtight container and separate them with wax paper. Then cook as directed below.

Masa is a type of corn flour. It’s what tamales are made with. It can be found in any Mexican grocery or in the Mexican section of just about any supermarket. Don’t try to use cornmeal or regular flour in place of masa. They are totally different.

Traditionally pupusas are made with a special farmers cheese that can be a bit tough to find in the states. The closest alternative I've found is a combination of Jack and whipped cream cheese.

Prep time (for Pupusas, curtido, and salsa rojo combined) is 3-4 cocktails

4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated
4 ounces whipped cream cheese (don’t use nonfat!)
3 scallions, chopped finely
3 cups masa
1 tsp salt
¼ cup canola or corn oil
2 1/4 cups water
3/4 Cup prepared “Muy Tasty Burrito Beans” (click here for recipe)
Several additional TBSP oil for cooking

Curtido (click here for recipe)

Salsa Rojo (click here for recipe)

Stir cheeses and scallions together in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Combine masa, salt, oil, and water in another mixing bowl. Mix well with an electric mixer or by hand.

Creating each pupusa is more an art than a science. I’ll describe as best I can, but it’s really a trial-and-error sort of thing. Eventually you’ll find a system that works best for you. Here’s what I do:

Roll masa dough into balls halfway between the size of a golf ball and baseball—about 2 inches in diameter. With your thumbs, slowly push in to create a recessed divot in the center of the ball. Keep going until you have a bowl-shaped masa “container” with 1/2-inch thick walls.

Add about two parts cheese mixture with one part beans. Fill each masa cup almost to full. Seal the top shut like a calzone. Now gently press the whole thing between your palms until it flattens out, about 3/4 of an inch thick and perhaps 4-5” in diameter. The walls of the pupusa should be as thin as possible without actually having any holes.

You can also use a tortilla press or rolling pin for this task (using waxed paper as a non-stick buffer can help if you use these items).

Just be gentile. DON’T create any rips or tears in the dough.

Once you've formed your pupusas, warm a frying pan with a couple tablespoons of oil over medium to medium-high heat. Fry each pupusa until it begins to brown a bit on the bottom. About 2-3 minutes per side.

Flip and repeat. Add more oil as needed.

After removing from heat, let the pupusas cool for just a minute on a paper towel or clean kitchen rag to let the excess oil drain off.

Serve hot with the salsa rojo and curdito mentioned above.

Curtido

2010-04-15T09:17:00.005-06:00

Curtido, along with Salsa Rojo, is the critical companion to Pupusas--the national dish of El Slavador. However, this slaw-like salad is also good when you want to bring something a bit unusual to your next barbecue. You can thank me later.

½ large head of cabbage, chopped
2 carrots, grated with cheese grater
1 qt boiling water
3 scallions, chopped
2/3 cup white vinegar
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped finely
½ tsp salt
Red pepper flakes (to taste)

½ cup packed cup fresh oregano leaves, minced --or-- 1 heaping TBSP dried oregano
1 TBSP canola oil

Put cabbage in a large bowl. Add boiling water. Let sit 10 minutes. Drain water.

Toss cabbage with all other ingredients in large bowl. Put in the fridge and let cool. Best if you let it sit overnight.

Serve cold as a side to pupusas.

Salsa Rojo

2010-04-15T09:07:00.006-06:00

This is a perfect accompaniment for tamales, eggs, or as a "restaurant style" salsa for chips. But it is at its best when served as an accompaniment for pupusas--the national dish of El Salvador (click here for recipe).

A couple quick notes: You can adjust the hotness by adding or subtracting hot peppers. Also, if you don’t use completely ripe tomatoes, the salsa will have a sour flavor. I recommend you use only very ripe, sweet tomatoes if you wish to avoid this.

4-6 Serrano chilies, stems removed (or equivalent jalapeños, cayenne or other hot peppers—use a couple habeneros if you want really hot salsa)
6 vine-ripened tomatoes, stemmed and quartered
¼ large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 veggie bouillon cube
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP canola oil (optional)

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender. Puree until fairly smooth, but still has a bit of chunky texture to it.

Put salsa in saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce to medium-low. Simmer uncovered until you reach consistency of a fairly thin (but not watery) salsa, stirring frequently. Depending on the juiciness of your tomatoes, this can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. 45 minutesr is about the average for store-bough tomatoes (and if you have really meaty garden tomatoes, you might have actually have to add a bit of water).

Remove from heat. Chill before serving.

Berbere

2010-04-10T12:22:00.002-06:00

Berbere is a spice mixture that is the essential backbone of a huge number of Ethiopian and East African dishes. Hunting down one or two of the spices might be a bit tricky (go online or to an African market if you can’t find them), but once you round everything up, you’ll be happy you did.

Also, berbere requires either an electric spice grinder/coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle. Once again, you’ll have to spend a few bucks if you don’t already have these items, but you’ll be very glad you did. Pre-ground spices just make an inferior product.

This recipe also calls for cinnamon chips, not ground cinnamon or cinnamon sticks. You can find them at a lot of gourmet or natural food stores. If not, just chop an equivalent amount of cinnamon stick.

The ground chili powder in this recipe is special. Don’t use common Mexican-style chili powder found in the grocery store, also don’t use something like chipotle; both have the wrong flavor. Instead choose dried serranos, anchos (though these are mild, so you’ll want to add some more cayenne), or another chili type or combination that doesn’t taste too much like Texas-style chili.

½ tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1/3 tsp cinnamon chips
¼ tsp whole cloves
1 tsp whole cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon whole fenugreek seeds
1/8 tsp whole mustard seeds
½ cup paprika (that’s right, ½ cup!)
1/3 cup ground chili powder
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp ginger powder
1 TBSP cayenne
2 TBSP salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Combine all the whole spices (first 7 ingredients) in a small bowl and mix well. Over medium-low to medium heat, warm a dry frying pan up. When the pan is totally warmed, add the whole spices. Dry fry the spices, stirring constantly, until they’re nicely toasted but not burned, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Grind finely. Add in all remaining ingredients and stir well. If you like your food to take on a smokier flavor, you can dry fry the finished product a few more minutes. But I like it just as it is. Berbere will keep in a dark, cool, dry place for a number of months.

Nuoc Cham

2010-04-10T11:37:00.004-06:00

This is a great all-purpose dipping sauce for Vietnamese or Thai dishes, grilled vegetables, or as a marinade. If you can't find fish sauce in the Asian section of your grocery store, it is available at any Asian market. If you don't eat fish, you can substitute soy sauce.

¼ cup hot water
2 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP fish sauce
2-3 TBSP lime juice
3 Thai chilies, sliced as thinly as possible
2 cloves garlic, minced

In a bowl, whisk together water and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved. Let sit at room temperature a couple minutes. Whisk in all remaining ingredients. Allow to sit and flavors to mingle at least 10 minutes before using.

My New Favorite Recipe: Tom Yum Fish Tacos

2010-04-10T09:59:00.012-06:00

This is the only dish I've made that I think actually gives Red-Red a run for its money as my favorite food of all time. Really.

While I'm not generally a huge fan of fusion foods, I've been fascinated for some time with combining Mexican and South Asian cuisines. Something about the shared elements of chilies, lime, cilantro, and fresh veggies really appeals to me.

The Tom Yum paste and fish sauce I call for here can be purchased at any Asian market.

Prep time: 2 cocktails (about 1 hour)

Fish:
3 TBSP tom yum paste
Juice of 1 lime
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 pound tilapia or catfish fillet

2-3 TBSP oil

Slaw:
Double batch Nuoc Cham (click here for recipe)
2-3 cups cabbage, shredded
¾ bunch cilantro, minced
¾ bunch green onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped

Spicy Thai Mayonnaise:
1 egg
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 TBSP Siracha paste
1 TBSP Tom Yum paste
1 TBSP lime juice
A few grinds black pepper
1 cup peanut oil

Extras:

16 corn tortillas, store-bought or homemade, DON'T USE FLOUR TORTILLAS
2 avocados, sliced
A couple handfuls of peanuts

Start by seasoning the fish: whisk together the 3 TBSP Tom Yum paste, juice of 1 lime, and brown sugar. Rub the paste into the fish and place in refrigerator.

Start the slaw by making the Nuoc Cham. As it cools, chop all the slaw veggies. Toss the veggies and sauce in a bowl and set aside.

Now make the mayonnaise by combining all the mayo ingredients, except the peanut oil in a food processor (you can also use a mixing bowl and whisk). Pulse until everything is well-mixed. With the food processor on, VERY SLOWLY add the cup of peanut oil in a drizzle. You want to take about a full minute to add the cup of peanut oil. Adjust taste, if necessary, and set aside.

Heat a medium to large frying pan over medium heat and add a couple TBSP oil. Add fish and fry until it’s cooked through, flipping halfway through. Once it is almost done, begin shredding the fish by using the edge of a metal or plastic spatula. Once fish is fully cooked, remove from heat and transfer to a plate or bowl.

Now build your tacos! Spread a big dollop of mayo on the bottom of a tortilla (the tortilla can be raw, flash fried, or grilled). Then scoop a few tablespoons of the fish and slaw into each taco. Finish with a couple slivers of avocado and a sprinkle of peanuts. Enjoy!

Marinated Artichoke Hearts

2010-04-10T09:50:00.003-06:00

This is a fabulous and easy marinade that will make artichokes better for virtually any application. This makes artichokes especially good on pizza, in salads, or tossed in pasta with pesto. If you don’t have the time or ingredients, don’t sweat it, no recipe will be ruined by failing to us these artichokes, but it certainly enhances most recipes.

1 can artichoke hearts
3 TBSP olive oil
1.5 TBSP red wine vinegar (can also use 1 Tbsp balsamic if red wine is not available)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp red chili flakes
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
Pinch of thyme and rosemary (both are optional)

When you open the can of artichokes, drain them and mash each one up a bit with your hands, so they aren’t an entire mouth full.

Combine all ingredients in a Tupperware container with a good, solid-fitting lid and stir everything together. Then cover with lid and shake everything up a bit.

Let sit anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 day. A periodic shaking will help the flavors mingle better.

Marinated Portabella Mushrooms

2010-04-10T09:48:00.004-06:00

So these mushrooms are fantastic in many ways. They’re great in pizza, tossed with fresh tomatoes and zucchini in olive oil, then added to pasta (with some brie cheese too, if you like). But my favorite is to marinate them then grill them. If you’re grilling them, they’re great sliced in shish-kabobs or as a portabella “burger” (see the American section for that).

If you’re caught in a pinch, using Italian salad dressing instead of this marinade will do just fine for any application.

2 Portabella mushrooms, whole, poked with fork
¼ cup olive oil
2 TBSP balsamic
1 TBSP tamari or Braggs
1 TBSP chili flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
A dash of OJ (optional)

Mix everything together in a Tupperware or zip lock. Stir or toss occasionally. This can marinate for 90 minutes to 24 hours.

If enjoying a burger, it is best on a bun with caramelized onion, tomato slice, romaine lettuce and roasted red pepper remouladé.

Behold the Almighty Beet Burger

2010-04-09T16:15:00.018-06:00

Beet burgers??? HELL YES! Of everything I've cooked over the years for my friends and family, these beet burgers are the most requested, praised, and quickly devoured. These are so damn good that I challenge any meat eater to honestly tell me they aren't delicious. If I see any such comment, I'll come to your house and eat my first real hamburger in 15 years. I'm that sure.

This is one of the few recipes that will appear on this blog that is not my own. But it is so good, I just have to share it. The recipe is adapted from a wonderful cookbook called Recipes from America’s Small Farms. It is a phenomenal book that has tons of great recipes and advice for eating locally and seasonally. I can't say enough good things about this cookbook. Buy. It. Now.

I probably don't need to tell you, but great toppings can include blue cheese crumbles, horseradish, Pickappeppa sauce, wasabi, fresh herbs, watercress, mayonnaise, heirloom tomato slices, pickled jalapeños, avocado, fake or real bacon, melted cheese, etc. Also, I've got an incredible homemade BBQ sauce recipe that I'll post soon.

Makes about 15 burgers. Prep time: 2 cocktails

½ cup sesame seeds

2 cups grated beets (roughly 2 large beets)

2 cups grated carrots (roughly 3 large carrots)

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 cup cheddar or pepper jack cheese

1 cup raw, shelled sunflower seeds

2-3 large eggs, beaten

3 TBSP flour

½ large onion, chopped fairly finely

¼ cup corn or vegetable oil

¼ cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 TBSP Braggs or tamari

1 TBSP red chili flakes

Lots of ground black pepper

½ cup crumbled feta or goat cheese (chèvre) (optional)

Additional fresh herbs like basil, oregano, thyme or cilantro (optional)

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce + 1 Tbsp additional flour (optional)

Buns and fixings

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat small, dry frying pan on medium heat. When hot, add sesame seeds. Stir almost continuously until seeds are toasted and brown, but not burned. Remove immediately and transfer to large mixing bowl.

Add all other ingredients to bowl. Mix well.

Grease the hell out of a cookie sheet with a rim. Form mixture into patties of normal hamburger size and shape. Cook 25-30 minutes or until cooked through. Remove, let cool a minute, and eat like regular burgers.

Gawd Bless 'Merikan Style Pizza!

2010-04-06T10:00:00.015-06:00

So for a while now, I've only been making traditional Neopolitan-style pizza with just a couple toppings, fresh mozzarella, and a great thin crust, all baked on a stone at high temperatures. But last night, I wanted a big, fat, overwhelming, thick crust 'Merikan style pizza. I wanted a black hole of a meal that sticks to my friggin ribs for a week. And this is what I made.

I also decided that since my dinner consisted largely of cheese, salt, and a lot of alcoholic beverages, that I should make my crust with whole wheat flour. Not only is it really, really good, but it makes this meal total health food!

100 Percent Whole Wheat Thick Crust

This is enough for one large pie. If you want to make both of the pizzas below, double the batch of dough.

3 cups whole wheat flour
1.25 cups warm water
2 TBSP white sugar (or 3 Tbsp honey or agave nectar)
1 tsp salt
1 packet yeast (2 tsp)
3 Tbsp olive oil
A generous pinch of each of the following spices: dill, thyme, basil, oregano, pepper, garlic salt, red pepper flakes (if you are missing one or two of these, don’t worry, it’ll still turn out okay).

If you’re lucky enough to have a bread maker, make the dough the easy way: combine all ingredients in bread maker using dough setting. When done, let rest 2-3 minutes.

If you don’t have a bread maker, doing it the old-fashioned way should work as well. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly with mixer or wooden spoon. Gradually add water and oil. Once everything is well-combined, remove from bowl and knead it very well, about 10 minutes. Return to bowl and let dough rise, covered with a damp towel, until it has doubled in size (about 45 minutes). Then punch down and knead a second time. Let rise a second time for 60 minutes then punch it down.

Using a rolling pin and a floured surface, roll the dough out so it is slightly larger than a 14” pizza dish or a rectangle that is slightly larger than your 12 x 15 cookie sheet. Place dough on floured sheet. Roll edges over and pinch down. Now you’re ready to assemble your pizza.

Mediterranean Style Pizza

Adding roasted red bell peppers is a delicious addition to this pizza.

1 batch whole wheat thick crust (recipe above)
16 ounces homemade or store-bought marinara
Double batch marinated artichoke hearts (click here for recipe)
2 handfulls sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated (if dried), and coarsely chopped
2 handfuls of Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced in half
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 handfulls fresh basil, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
Several big pinches of dried oregano

Preheat oven to 325.

Prepare the whole wheat thick crust as directed above. Add sauce in an even layer, then ADD TOPPINGS BEFORE MOZERALLA. Start with the largest toppings (the artichoke hearts) on bottom and work up to the smallest (garlic). Don’t add the oregano yet.

Top with mozzarella. Sprinkle oregano liberally on top of everything.

This is a thicker-than normal pizza, it’ll take a while to cook—typically around a half hour. When the cheese near the outside begins to brown slightly, switch to broil. Cook the pizza another 30-60 seconds and remove. It needs to sit for a good 2-3 minutes before you can slice and serve.

Jumping Jesus, This Smoked Gouda Pizza Is Amazing

This is among my favorite pizzas. In addition to the normal topping list, I have a few favorite additions. All these are totally optional:

2 marinated portabellas, cut into 1/2”-wide strips (click here for recipe)
Additional fresh herbs
Drizzle of top-quality, aged balsamic vinegar
A cup or so of whole arugula leaves

Here’s what’s in the pizza itself:

1 batch whole wheat thick crust (recipe above)
2 large onions, sliced into thin rings and caramelized (directions below)
16 ounces homemade or store-bought marinara
2 medium heirloom tomatoes, halved then sliced thinly
¼-½ cup pine nuts or slivered almonds
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces high-quality smoked Gouda
Several pinches dried oregano.

Preheat oven to 325.

Once you have about 45 minutes to go on the pizza, you’ll want to start caramelizing your onions. Place a dry frying pan and heat it over medium-low to medium heat. Add the sliced onions and nothing else. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions turn a nice golden brown, and are very sweet, about 40 minutes.

Prepare the whole wheat thick crust as directed above. Add sauce in an even layer, then ADD TOPPINGS BEFORE MOZERALLA. Start with the largest toppings (the portabellas, if using) on bottom and work up to the smallest (garlic). Don’t add the oregano yet.

Top with mozzarella. Sprinkle oregano liberally on top of everything.

This is a thicker-than normal pizza, it’ll take a while to cook—typically around a half hour. When the cheese near the outside begins to brown slightly, switch to broil. Cook the pizza another 30-60 seconds and remove. It needs to sit for a good 2-3 minutes before you can slice and serve.

Spaghetti with Zingi Sauce

2010-04-05T08:05:00.010-06:00

This is much less a production than many other Ethiopian recipes. Once you have berbere on hand, it is very easy to prepare this dish, which is popular in Ethiopia and Eretria. Zigni is similar to a meat marinara sauce, except it is usually seasoned with berbere instead of Italian herbs. It came about during the Italian occupation of East Africa during WWII, when many Italian ingredients and techniques fused with traditional foods. Instead of the usual beef, I opt for tempeh. Other suitable meat alternatives might include TVP or fake ground beef crumbles.

Also, instead of spaghetti, this can also be served over cubed, roasted potatoes and/or over injeera.

Prep time: 1 cocktail (30 minutes)

4 TBSP olive oil, divided

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ pounds tomatoes, chopped

1 TBSP + 1 tsp berbere (click here for recipe)

1 ½ tsp sea salt

Two dozen or more good grinds of black pepper

½ tsp cayenne

Juice of 1 medium lemon

6-8 ounces dry spaghetti (I prefer whole wheat)

8 ounce package tempeh, crumbled

Fresh-grated, high quality Parmesan cheese

Heat a pot or Dutch oven with 2 TBSP oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until onion begins to turn transparent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another 2 minutes.

Then add tomatoes, berbere, salt, pepper, cayenne, and lemon juice. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring frequently until sauce reaches the consistency of a marinara sauce—about 15 minutes (but can vary significantly, depending on the moisture content of the tomatoes).

Once you get the sauce simmering, cook the spaghetti. And as you cook the spaghetti and simmer the sauce, you can also sauté the tempeh. Start by heating the remaining two TBSP oil in a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the crumbled tempeh and stir frequently until it turns a nice golden brown. Remove tempeh from heat and set aside.

When the sauce is ready, stir in the tempeh and simmer another minute or two. Remove from heat and serve the sauce over the pasta (or potatoes). Top with parmesan.

Fried Forbidden Black Rice

2010-04-04T14:43:00.015-06:00

Gawd Damn, this is good. Best fried rice I've ever had, in fact. Goes great with the Mapo Doufu recipe below, as the mild umami notes in the rice complement the fiery tofu quite well.

I’ve discovered fried rice is best if you are using cold rice, as it tends to clump less. So if possible, make the rice a few hours ahead of time and chill it (or use leftover rice). And you don’t have to stick with broccoli, cabbage, and carrots. You can use any veggies you like: eggplant, peas, bell peppers, sprouts, bok choi, spinach, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and just about anything else you want to throw in there is fine. Just remember to wait until you are almost done cooking before you add the tender veggies, like sprouts. Tofu, shrimp, or meat can also be added. And finally, you can use any type of rice--I just really love Forbidden Black.

Prep time: 3/4 cocktail (about 20 minutes)

2 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP oyster sauce
1 TBSP Siracha (optional)
4 TBSP peanut oil, divided
½ of a medium red onion, sliced into thin slivers
1 small floret broccoli, broken or cut up
3-inch piece of ginger, grated
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
1 cup of cabbage, shredded
2-3 eggs, beaten
2 cups prepared, chilled rice (Forbidden Black, or any other type)
1 big dash of white pepper or ground Szechuan peppercorns, if available
4 green onions, chopped

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Siracha. Set aside.

Put a wok over high heat and add 1 TBSP of peanut oil. When it gets hot (but before it starts smoking), add red onion and broccoli and sauté for a 30 seconds. Add ginger and garlic and stir fry for 30 more seconds. Add carrot and cabbage and sauté for another minute or two until the cabbage is a bit tender but not mushy. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.

Return the wok to the stovetop and add 1 more TBSP peanut oil. When hot, add egg and scramble the hell out of the egg—you don’t want any very big pieces remaining. When egg is cooked (BUT NOT DRIED OUT!) remove and transfer to a second bowl.

Now return the wok to the heat and add remaining 2 TBSP of oil. When hot, add the rice. Break up any clumpiness in the rice as you stir fry it. Now comes the critical part—once it’s all hot and broken up, you want to stop stirring the rice for a minute or two, so that the grains on the bottom become a bit crisped (if you want very fried rice, you can stir it up and let it cook like this a second time). Add the pepper and scallions and stir fry it all for 15 more seconds.

Now toss in the veggie mixture and egg mixture, as well as the soy sauce mixture. Stir fry everything for a few more seconds, remove, and let sit a minute before serving.

First Recipe: Mapo Doufu

2010-04-04T14:25:00.014-06:00

Mapo Doufu translates to "Pockmarked Old Woman’s Tofu." This dish’s roots supposedly go back centuries to the Chinese city of Chengdu in Szechuan, where an old, disfigured widow was ostracized to the outskirts of town. Because they couldn’t afford to stay in the town while they waited for their goods to sell, many poor farmers and traders also found themselves staying on the outskirts of town. By happy coincidence, the story goes, the farmers and traders eventually found the old woman and her amazing cooking. She soon became the pride of the city and her tofu is still the local favorite. Or something. All I know is this shit is delicious. Had it last night with the fried rice recipe (see today's other blog post).

If you've ever had Mapo Doufu, at a Chinese restaurant, this might be different than what you've eaten. I try to make this dish as authentically as possible—it won’t resemble the nasty, thick, sweet-and-sour Mapo Doufu that you sometimes see at restaurants in the US. Instead, this recipe is fiery, nuanced, complex, and very delicious.

Note that Szechuan Peppercorns are not related to black peppercorns. And because they add a very important smoothing element to the dish, you cannot substitute anything for it. But fret not! The pepper—along with any of the other exotic-sounding ingredients below—can be purchased at any Asian grocer.

Serve this with fried rice, plain rice, or steamed fish.

Prep time: 1 cocktail (30 minutes)

½ tsp freshly toasted and ground Szechuan peppercorn (instructions below)
3 TBSP peanut, untoasted sesame, or chili oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
3” piece of ginger, grated
3 TBSP spicy Sichuan chili bean paste
2 TBSP red chili flakes (or 2 tsp Szechuan chili powder, if you can find it)
1 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP fermented black beans, rinsed (optional)
3 TBSP rice wine
1 cup water
1 TBSP white sugar
1 block soft tofu, cut into ¾” cubes and gently patted dry
4 scallions, sliced
2 TBSP cornstarch whisked into 2 TBSP water

Heat a small, dry frying pan on medium heat. Add 1 TBSP peppercorns and toast, stirring constantly, until they are nice and toasted, but not burned--about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and grind in an electric coffee grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Measure out ½ tsp and set aside. Discard (or save for later) the remainder.

Heat wok on medium high heat. Add oil and let it get hot. Add garlic, ginger, and chili bean paste. Sauté for 60 seconds. Add all other ingredients, except last three and the peppercorns. Stir well, bring to a boil, then reduce to medium and simmer for a couple minutes. Now taste and adjust flavorings, if anything is out of balance.

Once you’ve adjusted the flavoring, gently stir in the tofu and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring infrequently. Add the scallions, peppercorns, and cornstarch mixture and gently stir everything together. Serve hot.

Just what the world needs...

2010-04-04T13:54:00.003-06:00

...is another food blog.

Right?

Well, I aim to make this one a little different.

I can honestly say that I've waded through thousands of food blogs and cookbooks over the years but have yet to find any single resource that stands out as truly remarkable.

So what makes a food blog remarkable?

Flavorful, bold, unapologetic, exotic, healthful, and interesting vegetarian food from all corners of the world. That's what.

The internet and the cookbook shelves of the local bookstore are flush with recipes that rely on tired ingredients and unimaginative combinations. And most vegetarian cookbooks and bloggers lack balls altogether. I'm going to have a brain hemorrhage next time I open a vegetarian cookbook to a recipe for something like "organic millet rolls with parsley and sea salt." Since when does being a vegetarian mean that we leave flavor and creativity at the door? And since when does the vegetarian diet have to consist only of fiber and soy? Fuck that. I intend to rock out with some spice, a little grease, and a shitload of creativity!

Furthermore, international is more than Mexican and Italian cooking. It's rare that you pick up a so-called "international" cookbook that contains anything of interest from huge swaths of the globe. I can't say I've seen many cookbooks with recipes from Afghanistan, Ghana, or El Salvador, despite the fact that these--and virtually all other regions--have rich culinary traditions that are well worth exploring.

So here it is: my attempt at a food blog. It is largely vegetarian (for now), and hopefully full of new ideas and flavors that will inspire you to crank up some music, pour a giant cocktail, and get down to business in the kitchen.

Let me know what you think!