Fun Ingredients you should try now!

Here are my picks of interesting ingredients to add to your "I've seen that before at the market and I wonder what you really do with it" list!

1. Sriracha Hot Sauce: Made from sun-ripened chilies which are ground into a smooth paste with garlic and packaged in a convenient squeeze bottle. Use this on anything from stir-frys, to burgers or mix it mayonnaise. I love to squeeze this on eggs too!




2. Forbidden or Black Chinese Rice: Delicious nutty taste, soft texture, and beautiful rich deep purple color when cooked. High in nutritional and medicinal value, this pairs really well with shrimp which is how I like it, and it cooks in only 30 minutes.




3. Genmaicha Green Tea: This is such an interesting tea! It's a combination of toasted rice and green tea. It has a nutty flavor from the rice, and the added benefits of green tea. It was considered the poor man's tea in Japan originally, because the rice was used as a filler to make the tea less expensive.




A close-up of the tea:notice the toasted rice!






4. Maldon Sea Salt: This is a light delicate salt that is great as a finishing salt for salads especially, but great on roasted veggies and anything you want to add a light delicate salt flavor.





5. Mary's Gone Crackers: My sis turned me on to these actually. They are a great gluten-free alternative and are just so crunchy too. And to think, they have good for you fiber too. Developed by a woman who discovered she and her son had a gluten intolerance. They are made with organic brown rice, organic quinoa, organic flax seeds and organic sesame seeds. There are several flavors too like herb, black pepper and onion.




6. Tomato Paste in a tube: This is hands down the best food invention in my eyes. I mean, how many times has a recipe called for a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste and you open one of those cans, only to realize you have throw out the bulk of it- you can't save a can once it's opened unless you transfer it to another container...I am too lazy for that my friends! This is the answer for me. There is also a sun-dried tomato tube too! Tubes rock! What more can I say?

I Know How to Cook

I think perhaps this is one of the most delightfully illustrated cookbooks I have seen in a very very long time!

Written by Ginette Mathiot (1907–1998), and published by Phaidon, this wonderful book of over 1400 recipes, illustrates how easy and accessible classic French dishes can be. Perfect timing since French Bistro fare has become so popular. I Know How to Cook is the first English translation of France's cookery bible, Je sais cuisiner by Ginette Mathiot. Originally published in 1932, this book is to France what The Silver Spoon and 1080 Recipes are to Italy and Spain: the indispensable cookbook for every household. This new edition takes the modern kitchen of today into account and seeks to brings forth the natural French home cook in all who venture through it's gorgeous pages!

I just ordered a copy and plan on trying out some of the recipes as soon as possible! I will post those here on the blog to let you know how they come out!

Valentine Wishes

Here's a cute last minute card template for anyone who wants to get in the mood last minute for the upcoming day of love! It's from NatalieJost.com and I think these are adorable! They work best if you use a card stock paper, and there's a little effort involved in that you have to cut them out, but it's worth it!

And if you are into vintage valentine cards like I am, check this one out:

It's just so simple and so to the point! So this is my Valentine to all my readers! Thanks for stopping by and have a great Valentine's Day!

Comfort Food:Pancakes

One of my fondest childhood memories is when our Mom would sometimes make us pancakes for dinner. I remember thinking it was kinda weird but secretly I think we all enjoyed it and would often plead with her to make them even more often! Sadly, I don't recall if she made them from scratch or if they were of the boxed variety, like Aunt Jemima or Hungry Jack. I'm going to go with the latter that they were not from scratch. With 5 kids to feed, I would go for the box too! I seem to have some memory of Hungry Jack in our pantry. This is what it looks like now and it seems to me it hasn't changed that much! My sibs are going to have to help me out on this one!

You are probably wondering when I will get to the good part of this post? Well here you go: I made some wonderful pancakes from scratch, but I didn't eat them for dinner! I was in the mood this weekend for a stack and did eat them for brunch rather than dinner. Not quite that same thrill, but needless to say, they hit the spot.

Here is my recipe for Walnut Pancakes:

1 1/2 cups spelt flour [or all-purpose flour]
1/2 cup rice flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 Tablespoon honey [or agave]
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup rice milk (you may need to use a little more or less)
1 egg
1/4-1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts

1. Stir flours, baking soda and salt together in a medium size bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl, beat the egg, add the rice milk (soy or regular is fine too), honey, and olive oil until blended. Stir in the walnuts.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry being careful not to over beat the mixture.
4. Cook on a hot griddle.

I made a blueberry raspberry sauce with some frozen berries I had on hand, or you can just top with maple syrup and sliced bananas too!

I am considering trying to recapture the past by making these for dinner sometime!

Choppin' Broccoli.....

I have a list of my favorite blogs that I regularly check to see what other bloggers are doing and writing about. One that I really like is Gluten-Free Girl who is very inspiring to those of us who are gluten sensitive and also who just want to eat well!

She recently published a post on Broccoli Winter Slaw and it looked so good that I had to try it...trouble was I didn't have all the ingredients she called for. So, I did a little improvisation and I do believe it came out totally delicious and so good that I almost ate it all before I remembered to snap a quick picture! I swear, I could eat this everyday and not get tired of it!! What I did was substitute escarole (often called endive or chickory, but is the broad leaf variety and less bitter) for the brussels sprouts and the napa cabbage. And I also blanched my broccoli because I don't like perfectly raw broccoli.....

Here is Shauna's recipe:

The Slaw

1 head broccoli
10 brussels sprouts
1/2 head Napa cabbage
2 stalks celery

The Dressing

½ cup mayonnaise, fresh-made if possible
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste

Prepping the vegetables. Take off all the little florets of the broccoli head. Peel the outer layer of the broccoli stalks and slice them in half lengthwise, then dice them (about 1/2-inch cubes). Remove the outer layer of the brussels sprouts. Cut each Brussels sprout in half. Slice the halves as thin as you can. (You could use a mandoline here, but you don’t have to do so.) Cut the Napa cabbage in half. Remove the core and slice as fine as you can. Slice the celery down the middle, lengthwise, then dice the celery stalks the same size as the broccoli stalks. Combine all the vegetables in a large bowl.

Making the dressing. Mix the mayonnaise, mustard, and rice wine vinegar. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. If you want the dressing a touch thinner, add a bit more vinegar or a smidge of water.

Finishing the salad. Coat the vegetables with the dressing. Season the salad to your taste.

this is my version

here is the slaw along with cumin rubbed salmon fillet and sweet potato pancakes

The Bitter Truth

photo from The Bitter Truth website

I am wondering why all of a sudden I am noticing that bitters are making into the food and beverage media lately. Last year it was food trucks...this year so far, it's all about the bitters. I guess I am glad for this new resurgence as I fancy bitter over sweet any day! You may have noticed I don't post a lot about desserts and sweets? Anyway, I think the real reason is because there is a shortage in the world of angostura bitters , made solely by a company in Trinidad and Tobago, recently shut down due to the recession and some other issues. Let's hope they get that all resolved!

Meanwhile, the New York Times just had a recent article as well as Food and Wine magazine on alternatives to the angostura. These amazing little elixirs, that once added to a cocktail or food , make for a balanced, sophisticated taste experience. Bitters are made from a mixture of water, alcohol, gentian root, and vegetable flavoring extracts. (Originally, the recipe was developed as a tonic for ailments like sea sickness and stomach maladies, in 1824 in Germany). Bitters are very concentrated and not meant to be drunk on their own, but added to enhance drinks like the Manhattan, Champagne Cocktail and Pisco Sours.

In August 2006, the first products from The Bitter Truth were released: an Orange Bitters and an Old Time Aromatic Bitters. Shortly following that, Lemon, Celery, Grapefruit and a Xocolatl Mole Bitters became available.

The Bitter Truth Elixier, is The Bitter Truth’s latest product, a digestive liqueur in the grand tradition of the Alps.

Don't know about you, but I am going to be sure to check out the drinks menu at my local bar and see what they are "stirring up" with bitters!

Easy Fish Dinner

Word on the street is that fish is good for you. I personally love fish, and in particular the fattier types that are loaded with Omega 3's like swordfish, halibut, yellowtail etc. The trouble has always been finding good quality fish, and so I decided that whenever I go out to eat, that I should always order fish with the theory that quality restaurants will have quality fish. These days however, like most of us trying to keep on a budget, I don't seem to be going out to eat as often as I used to and I am so much more interested in cooking at home since I have had the gift of time for the past year to do so!

I found a local fish market here and the fish is very fresh....it's in Fulton Market and it's called, Isaacson and Stein. They have a great variety of fish all in an "open air" style market and you actually pick your fish (and I mean you bag it!) and if you need to have it filleted or anything, they will do that for you. A very different type of experience!

Conversely, I have experimented with buying my fish at Whole Foods- don't judge me but I actually tried the "frozen" wild caught salmon and swordfish they sell! I gotta tell ya, it was pretty darn good too....I have been quite a snob about frozen food in my life- believing that fresh is the only way to go...but my snobbery has been getting a challenge lately not just with frozen fish, but with other foods too. Like frozen berries, for instance. Great for smoothies or quick sauces for pancakes! (more on that on another post)

Back to the fish though...I made a wonderful swordfish dish courtesy of Epicurious.com. I made a side of jasmine rice and it was deelish! The butter sauce is amazing! I will definitely make this one again and again...it was very easy!

This recipe serves 4 but you can easily scale it down for one or two like I did:

Pan-Roasted Swordfish Steaks with Mixed Peppercorn Butter

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mixed peppercorns, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/2 teaspoon (packed) grated lemon peel
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 1-inch-thick swordfish fillets (about 6 ounces each)

1.Preheat oven to 400°F. Mash butter, parsley, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon ground mixed peppercorns, and lemon peel in small bowl. Season to taste with salt.

2. Heat oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle swordfish with salt and ground mixed peppercorns. Add swordfish to skillet. Cook until browned, about 3 minutes.

3. Turn swordfish over and transfer to oven. Roast until just cooked through, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer swordfish to plates. Add seasoned butter to same skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping up browned bits, until melted and bubbling. Pour butter sauce over swordfish and serve.

I added some cherry tomatoes at the end of step 3, just to give it some color, and I also added extra pink peppercorns (I had used these in my shrimp dish a while back and just love the flavor!)