Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette

Spring has officially sprung.  The sun is shining, the snow is gone and, little by little, it's starting to get warmer. The promise of sunny days and lighter layers has me thinking of some really delicious spring veggie recipes to share with you all, starting with this one:

Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette

You will need:
1 lb. fresh asparagus (it's in season!)

1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 TBSP red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste (lots)

I start by rinsing the asparagus.

Because the bottom end of the asparagus tends to be tough (and not really something you want to eat) you will want to remove them. Some cookbooks call for you to cut them off but the only true way to know how much to cut is by bending them until they snap. They will naturally snap off exactly where the rough part stops and the tender part begins. Plus, it's kind of fun to get to play with your food.

Place the asparagus in a large skillet and cover with cold water. Bring to a slow boil and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the asparagus is tender but not mushy- the residual heat will continue to cook them a little more after you remove them from the water.

(Have you ever wondered why recipes call for placing food in cold water before you bring it to a boil? It's because cold water will help your food to cook evenly. Placing food in hot water will cause the outside to cook faster than the inside, leaving you with a mushy exterior and an undercooked interior.)

While your asparagus are cooking, prepare your vinaigrette. Combine all of your ingredients in a small bowl and whisk vigorously, until combined.

If you're cooking with children, place all of the ingredients for your vinaigrette into a small jar. Close the lid tightly and let them shake it to combine.

 

Remove the asparagus from the water and place it on a serving plate.

Pour the vinaigrette over the asparagus and place into the refrigerator to cool.

 

This dish is meant to be served chilled, so you can leave it in the fridge as long as you need to while you finish preparing the rest of your meal.

I hope you take advantage of all of the yummy seasonal veggies that are fresh right now - they are beautiful and delicious.

Happy eating!

The Basics: Part 3 or Why I'm Anti-Cooking Spray

With so many "modern convenience" items on the shelves these days it can be easy to believe that these products are somehow superior to the "old" ways of doing things. While some products definitely are better, cooking sprays for baking are not. In fact, they stink.

Take a look at the photo below.

Do you notice the difference in the two cakes? The pan on the left was buttered and floured and represents the traditional method. The pan on the right was prepared using cooking spray.

The buttered an floured version is cooking properly: rising evenly and cooking through in the middle. The cooking spray version is rising faster on the edges than in the middle. It cooked so unevenly that the edges were completely cooked before the middle ever had a chance to rise.

Don't believe me? Here is the finished product:

I was able to take the buttered and floured version out of the oven well before the other cake. The cooking spray version not only cooked unevenly and took longer to cook completely but when I checked it at the time I removed the other cake, it was still runny in the center.

This uneven cooking got even worse when I turned the cakes out of the pan. The longer cook time caused the sprayed version to burn!

This little experiment caused me to wonder how much of a "convenience" products like this really are.

In my opinion, stick to the butter. Use the real butter, too. Think of it this way: you're about to eat a big slice of something that will add to your waistline, how much more could a little butter possibly add?

Fried Goat Cheese Salad

 
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have given up cheese for Lent. At first it was incredibly difficult to make it through lunch - there is cheese in just about everything you can imagine!

Fridays have been especially difficult as the meatless options tend to revolve around mac n'cheese, quiche, and pizza. Not only are these options full of cheese but none of them are going to help me work on keeping this girlish figure.

Since Lent began I've figured out numerous cheese substitutes and, while most days I think I could potentially give up dairy products completely, there are some instances where I really do crave a little cheese.

This Saturday was one of those days. Some of my very best girlfriends came over for an entire day of cooking, eating and girl talk. By the end of the day we were so stuffed to the gills that we sat staring at each other blankly across the dining room table, too full and tired to speak.

Believe me when I tell you that I ate more than my fair share this weekend, so you really shouldn't feel at all bad for me when I say that there was one dish - my favorite salad - that I was unable to eat and it made me so sad I'd have given up all the rest of the meals just for this one.

Please make this recipe and enjoy it, for me.

Fried Goat Cheese Salad

This quick and easy salad is perfect as an appetizer or as a light lunch. 

To make this salad, I start with a bed of mixed herb salad.

I then prepare the goat cheese.

Note that because goat cheese is so soft and prone to falling apart, I use dental floss to "cut" it into small medallions.

Meanwhile, I preheat a nonstick skillet to medium heat with a few tablespoons of olive oil. You'll know your pan is hot when you can easily swish the oil in the pan and it moves quickly.


Next, I bread the goat cheese medallions. You will need only bread crumbs, no egg or milk, as the goat cheese is moist enough that the bread crumbs will stick without help.

In this case I used panko because I like the texture they add but you could just as easily use regular bread crumbs.


Once all of the medallions are coated, place them into the pan. Do not touch them for at least one minute, lest you mush them. (I hope I don't need to tell you what happens when you fry cheese directly on a hot surface, without a bread crumb barrier.)

After about one minute or when the medallions have become golden and crispy and the goat cheese has begun to melt, flip the goat cheese medallions to cook on the other side.

While those crisp up, slice your tomato, making sure that each slice is the same width as the goat cheese medallions.


Plate your tomato slices on top of your herb salad and follow with the warm, gooey, crispy goat cheese medallions.

I generally serve this salad without dressing but I have tried it with balsamic vinaigrette and it is delicious that way as well.

I recommend you plan serve two or three half-inch medallions to each person.


Happy eating!

Lenten Fasting

Every year for as long as I can remember, I have given something up for Lent. I know that in some families, people are encouraged to do something nice for others during the Lenten fast but I grew up Catholic and in my house it was always meant to be a time of sacrifice.

Last year for Lent I had the bright idea to give up coffee and the forty-six days were an absolute slice of Hell. The thing about my love affair with the legal, addictive stimulant is that I really truly am an addict. If there were a Coffee Anonymous I would likely be there every week, politely standing in front of a circle of peers saying, "Hello, my name is Valerie and I am addicted to coffee," only to leave the meeting and be found later at Starbucks hiding in a corner with a nonfat late.

Seriously, though, I feel the way about coffee that many feel about cigarettes:  I like to hold a cup of coffee, I like the way it feels in my hands. I enjoy the way it smells and the way it tastes. I feel confident when I have a cup of coffee and I feel like it makes me look cooler to others, as if they will respect me more when I am around my very close, personal friend, Mr. Java.

Last year, as I said, was not pleasant. By about the third day of Lent I had nearly set the house on fire.

I had on my stove top at the time those metal covers for each burner. One morning I woke to make my morning cup of tea, which I was trying to use as sad substitute for my morning coffee. I removed one burner cover, filled my kettle with water, turned on the stove and left the room to wash my face and brush my teeth in hopes of waking up a bit.

When, moments later, I still did not hear the sound of the whistling kettle I returned to the kitchen to find that, in my decaffeinated haze, I had turned on the wrong burner. What had been a darling little burner cover was now a serious hazard. 

The painted metal cover was aflame wafting God-only-knows what toxins into the air and shooting flames like a small dragon. It was all I could do to grab a frying pan lid and smother the flames. Had I been more alert at the time I might also have screamed and freaked out like the girl that I am but, as I say, I was in a caffeine-free coma. I will say, however, that putting out a small kitchen fire is the best method I have found yet in order to wake you up in the morning.

I have since discarded the three surviving burner covers and this year I have opted to give up something a little less risky: cheese. While the past few weeks without fromage have not been a picnic, they have also been significantly less eventful.

Even though I can't eat cheese for the next thirteen days, I can still share some of my very-most-favorite cheese recipes. And I think that is exactly what I shall do, starting tomorrow, with my Fried Goat Cheese Salad.

What are your family's traditions surrounding Lent? Do you participate in a Lenten fast? Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to rn6productions@gmail.com.

The Basics: Part 2

Five easy ways to make cooking (more) enjoyable:

1.  Read the entire recipe at least once before you begin cooking.

This does not mean that the first time to read through your recipe is moments before you prepare the meal. You should read your recipe well in advance of actually beginning to cook. 

Imagine that you have company coming for dinner in two hours and you're preparing a big dinner - that is not the time to learn that you forgot an ingredient or that you were supposed to let the meat marinate overnight!

2. Take out all of the ingredients you will need and place them near or in front of you.

The French call this (and, in part, #3 below) mise en place and it basically means things in place.

If you've ever been guilty of getting out one ingredient at a time, measuring it, adding it to the dish, and then searching high and low for the next ingredient on the list - all while something is burning on the stove - then you understand how helpful it will be to you to learn to take everything out before you start. If you've never been in that unfortunate situation then you are quite lucky but I suggest you take my word for this one and not test the food gods.

3. Do the prep work before you actually begin cooking.

Have you ever noticed how chefs on cooking shows can effortlessly toss in a quarter teaspoon of salt, followed by a cup and a half of flour without missing a beat? If you have then I bet you've also noticed all of those little bowls and jars that have every ingredient perfectly measured out for them. 

Of course, we don't all have a staff at home to help get us ready like that but think of this step as an extension of step #2 - you already have everything out on the counter, why not measure and prep it first?

This step can include washing and chopping vegetables, measuring flour and spices, chopping and/or shelling nuts, making coconut milk, etc.

4. Before you begin, take out all of the pots, pans, and dishes you will need.

As a further extension of steps 2 and 3 above, taking out, washing, and preparing all of your pots and pans will make your cooking experience much easier. This is especially true when you bake and your recipe calls for you to grease - or grease and flour - your pan. The same goes for pans lined with parchment or other paper liners. Get all of this ready first and you will have an easier and more enjoyable experience.

5. Pour yourself a glass of wine.

Somewhere I heard a friend of the family tell how his mother always had "cooking wine" whenever she made dinner. Initially he thought this referred to the wine she used in the meal. As he grew older, however, he learned that the wine was for his mother to drink while cooking.

I know I'm always happier with a glass of wine, aren't you?

Happy eating!

The Basics: Part 1

I have been having a lot of conversations lately about why I started this blog and why I'm so passionate about food (besides the obvious 'because a girl's gotta eat'). And it wasn't until very recently that I really articulated exactly what that reason is. Yes, I love food: I love to eat it and cook it and talk about it. But that's not why I started this blog. Not really.

I started this blog because I want to fix a lot of things that are broken and only a few of them are directly related to the kitchen:

I started this blog because we live in a world that values electronic transactions over face-to-face interactions and I am afraid that we are losing our country's rich oral tradition. I started this blog because time with our families is taking a back seat to work, school, and countless groups and clubs, which have become obligations rather than activities. I started this blog because I fear that people aren't teaching their children to cook.

One of my favorite phrases to use when I talk about food is that "everybody 'heats' but nobody 'cooks'." Maybe it's because mothers don't stay at home any more or because families are broken but it appears that we have stopped our oral traditions relative to food.

Historically speaking, mothers taught their children - at least their daughters - what had been taught to them by their own mothers and grandmothers and so on. Part of that was cooking.

Traditions and recipes were passed down through the generations.  In many cases grandparents as well as aunts and uncles were all under the same roof and child rearing was a team effort. Part of that was cooking.

In trying to sift through literally hundreds of recipes in order to find the ones that will appear on this blog, something really horrifying occurred to me:  what if you, my readers, are some of those unfortunate souls whose parents didn't teach them how to cook? All of the recipes in the world can't catch you up to speed because, in my opinion, recipes are written for people who already know how to cook.

The next series of blog posts are going to be dedicated to the basics:  things you need to know in order to properly execute a recipe and turn out a delicious masterpiece - or, at the very least, something you'd be willing to eat in your jammies on a Saturday morning.


These posts may seem elementary or overly simplified to some of you and to others they may be wildly helpful. My hope is that you will all come away with some little nugget of information that will make your kitchen life easier, maybe even happier, and that you will pass this knowledge on to someone else.

As always, happy eating!

You Are What You Read

 
I read cook books and cooking magazines like a teenage boy reads his father's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition or his mother's Victoria's Secret catalog.  

When the newest edition of Food & Wine shows up in the mail box I dash indoors, throw down the rest of the mail, and run to my room to be alone.  My eyes get wide, my heart starts to race and my breathing quickens.

First I look at all the pictures. Next I look at the "On the Cover" section and check out the featured stories and recipes. Then I read the entire thing cover to cover.

You've heard the expression, "you are what you eat," but I think it's much more likely that we ultimately become the person we are because of what we read (or what we don't read, which may be just as important).

What I mean by, "you are what you read," is that I think we gain a lot of our inspiration from the things with which we fill our minds. I think that is as true for blogs and other Web sites as it is for books, newspapers and newsletters, magazines and other periodicals.

I also think this applies as equally to choosing which newspaper to read as it does which cook book you purchase. Both shape your understanding of future readings and inform your reality. Both change you and give you a frame of reference for things yet to come.

If you like to cook and bake, then maybe you're like me and you spend hours pouring over countless recipes, blogs, Web sites, and magazines.  You probably have your favorites, just like you would if you were addicted to fashion or if you were a soccer fanatic:  you would have spent months, if not years, combing through all of the junk until you found exactly what you were looking for - the gems.

In order to be an expert in anything, you have to study it. You must devote yourself to learning it from the inside out and back again. This is as true about food as it is about auto mechanics.

In his book "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell tells us that the magic number for gaining this expertise is 10,000 hours.

Maybe you're a beginning cook and you're looking to hone your skills. Maybe you're a seasoned vet in a bit of a rut and you'd like to pull yourself out. I suggest you take an afternoon field trip to your local book store. 

Spend the afternoon looking at all of the cookbooks. I'm not suggesting you buy anything, either, you don't need to break the bank. Jot down some notes on the titles you like or the ingredients you've always wanted to try. Take note of the cooks and chefs who have compiled your favorite recipes. Then, when you get home, you can get on your computer and look everything up!

Take the time to peruse food blogs and web sites (I have some suggestions on the right hand side of this page). The more you do this, the more you will learn what you like - and what you don't.

You can predetermine what kind of cook or baker you'll be based on the things you read. If you want to eat healthier, read through Healthy Cooking or Cooking Light to get some inspiration. If you're always in a rush but still want to make meals at home and stop ordering so much take out, pick up Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals or Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade. If you have always wanted to learn how to make your own Chinese food at home, or learn to cook Italian, then get busy reading those sorts of cook books and cooking magazines. You can take the reigns of your cooking destiny.

What happens when you invest your time focused on one particular area is that you learn about the subject from every angle. You'll learn the ingredients as well as the methodology and the tools. And knowing all of that will bring you one step closer to becoming the kind of cook or baker you want to become.

Next, of course, you'll have to actually practice the recipes over and over until you get them just right. As you do this, you'll read and re-read those recipes again and again until your meal is just as you want it. All the while you'll look for helpful tips and suggestions along the way.

And when you have achieved your desired kitchen prowess, remember that it all started because you first read.

I'd love any suggestions on new food web sites, blogs, cooking magazines and cook books. Please send them to me at rn6productions@gmail.com.

Happy eating!

What's in Season: By Month

January
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Grapefruit
Leeks
Lemons
Oranges
Papaya
Tangelos
Tangerines

February
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Grapefruit
Lemons
Oranges
Papayas
Tangelos

March
Broccoli
Lettuce
Mangoes
Pineapple

April
Artichoke
Asparagus
Broccoli
Lettuce
Mangoes
Pineapple
Rhubarb
Spring Peas
Zuchini

May
Apricot
Artichoke
Asparagus
Broccoli
Cherries
Lettuce
Okra
Pineapple
Rhubarb
Spring Peas
Zucchini

June
Apricots
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Cherries
Corn
Lettuce
Peaches
Strawberries

Watermelon

July
Apricots
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Corn
Cucumbers
Green Beans
Kiwi
Lettuce
Peaches
Plums
Raspberries
Strawberries
Summer Squash
Tomatoes
Watermelon

August
Apricots
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Green Beans
Kiwi
Lettuce
Peaches
Plums
Raspberries
Strawberries
Summer Squash
Tomatoes
Watermelon

September
Apples
Eggplants
Grapes
Lettuce
Persimmon
Pomegranate
Pumpkins
Spinach
Tomatoes

October
Apples
Broccoli
Cranberries
Grapes
Lettuce
Pomegranate
Pumpkins
Spinach
Sweet Potatoes
Winter Squash

November
Apples
Broccoli
Cranberries
Mushrooms
Oranges
Pears
Persimmon
Pomegranate
Pumpkins
Spinach
Sweet Potatoes
Tangerines
Winter Squash

December
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cranberries
Grapefruit
Mushrooms
Oranges
Papayas
Pears
Pomegranate
Sweet Potatoes
Tangelos
Tangerines

What's in Season: By Season

Spring:

• Apricots (start)
• Artichokes
• Arugula
• Asparagus
• Beets
• Carrots
• Chard and other greens (particularly in colder regions)
• Cherries (seasons starts some places at the end of spring)
• Fava beans
• Fennel
• Fiddleheads
• Garlic scapes/green garlic
• Grapefruit
• Green onions/scallions
• Greens (particularly in colder regions)
• Kohlrabi
• Kumquats (end)
• Leeks (end)
• Lemons
• Lettuce
• Morels
• Nettles
• Spring onions
• Navel oranges (end)
• Parsley
• Pea greens
• Peas (garden, snap, snow, etc.)
• Radishes
• Rhubarb
• Scallions/green onions
• Spinach
• Strawberries
• Turnips

Summer:

• Apples (late summer)
• Apricots (early summer)
• Avocados
• Basil
• Beets
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Boysenberries
• Cantaloupes
• Carrots
• Chard
• Cherries
• Chiles, fresh
• Corn
• Cucumbers

Autumn:

• Apples
• Artichokes (second crop)
• Arugula
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Broccoli raabe, rapini
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celeriac/celery root
• Celery
• Chard
• Cranberries
• Edamame
• Eggplant (early fall)
• Fennel
• Figs
• Garlic
• Grapes (early fall)
• Green beans (early fall)
• Horseradish
• Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes
• Kale
• Kohlrabi (late fall)
• Leeks
• Lemongrass
• Lettuce
• Limes
• Mushrooms (wild)
• Okra (early fall)
• Onions
• Parsnips
• Pears
• Peppers (early fall)
• Persimmons
• Pomegranates
• Potatoes
• Pumpkins
• Quinces
• Radicchio
• Radishes (all types)
• Rapini
• Rutabaga
• Salsify
• Scallions
• Shallots
• Shelling beans (early fall)
• Sunchokes/Jerusalem artichokes
• Sweet potatoes
• Turnips
• Winter squash

Winter:

• Beets
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Cardoons
• Carrots (storage)
• Cauliflower
• Celeriac/celery root
• Celery
• Clementines
• Escarole
• Fennel
• Grapefruit
• Horseradish
• Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes
• Kale
• Kiwi
• Kohlrabi
• Kumquats (late)
• Leeks
• Lemons
• Mandarins
• Onions (storage)
• Oranges
• Parsnips
• Pommelos
• Potatoes (storage)
• Radishes (large varieties)
• Rutabaga
• Salsify
• Shallots (storage)
• Sunchokes/Jerusalem artichokes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tangerines
• Winter squash

Holi, Part 2

You may remember my last post where we talked about Holi, the Hindu celebration of spring. In honor of Holi, I have one more Indian recipe for you all.

I had this Saturday night for dinner with a wonderful group of friends and I have to say, it is definitely a make again!

Fair warning 

which I should have given for you all before the last recipe 

I like my food spicy! 

In fact, if I'm not crying or sweating or both, then it's not spicy enough. 

I want my lips to burn and my eyes to water. 

I want to feel my body heat rise and my heart race. 

I realize, of course, that you may not all feel that way but that's the fun of cooking - you can make any recipe your own!

As I've only eaten the following recipe once, there is no modification for you this time. If you try it and you come up with any of your own modifications, send them to me! 

You can reach me at rn6productions@gmail.com.

Without further ado...

Minted Rice with Garbanzo* Curry

Rice:

1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)

2 whole cloves

1/8 tsp. cumin seeds

2 tsp. canola oil

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

2 cups water

1/2 cup minced fresh mint

Garbanzo Curry:

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)

1 TBSP canola oil

1 tsp curry powder

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp minced fresh ginger root

1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans*, rinsed and drained

1 cup water

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

2 TBSP lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute the cinnamon, cloves and cumin seeds in oil until aromatic, about 1-2 minutes.  Add rice; cook and stir until lightly browned. Add water and mint. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onion and cinnamon in oil until onion is tender.  Add the curry, garlic and ginger; cook 1 minute longer.  Add the garbanzo beans, water, tomato sauce, lemon juice and salt; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4-6 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Discard cinnamon; stir in cilantro.

Fluff rice with a fork.  Discard cinnamon and cloves.  Serve with garbanzo curry.

This recipe takes about 20 minutes to prep and 20 minutes to cook. It says it only makes 3 servings but we stretched 6 out of it.

*Garbanzo beans are chick peas. You may have already known that but just in case you didn't, I thought I should tell you so you're not combing the grocery store looking for them for hours.

Happy eating!