Onion goo

You know how sometimes you go somewhere new, and unexpectedly you end up eating something that blows your mind?  And then you spend months, even years, coming back to that memory, in odd moments, in the shower or on the bus?  And then you think, "God, I have to go on a desperate search for this thing RIGHT. NOW." but you can't find it anywhere?  And then you start wondering if it'd even be as good as you remembered, because time and memory have a tendency to drop rose-tinted veils over your senses?  And so this mythical dish lives on in your mind, floating in and out of your consciousness, causing moments of wistfulness for years on end?

Yeah.

This is the story of Zoe and the "onion goo."  Spoiler alert: it has a happy ending.

Egg-lemon soup

Yesterday I had plans for this post.  I was jazzed to write about the beautiful farmer's market lunch I put together with Amherst friends.  I was ready to rhapsodize about the beauty of seasonal vegetables, to describe the messy murder of a pomegranate that took place in my boyfriend's kitchen.  I had photos taken, cute turns of phrase lined up.  Yesterday, I was all set.

But that post will have to wait for another day.  Today I have a cold, I'm home sick from work, and all I can think about is soup.

Thanksgiving at Chez Fenson

I can play the slideshow game too!

Thanksgiving is perhaps my favorite holiday ever.  As my sister put it, it's the one day of the year when we, as Jews, can be pretty sure we're doing exactly the same thing as the rest of the country.  It's a day of humility and gratitude, sleep, family time, and lots of delicious food.  What's not to love?

This year we had an intimate nine-person evening.  For the past few years, my sister and I have been in charge of planning and cooking the Thanksgiving meal, with my mom as sous chef and advisor.  Because there are always several vegetarians at my family's Thanksgiving table, we always make a meatless spread (except for the turkey, of course).  But that doesn't mean our Thanksgivings aren't flavorful, vibrant, and joyous.  In fact--well, see for yourself.

Baked Maple-Mustard Tofu

I make this tofu all the time because it’s great to have around to toss with a salad, wrap in a sandwich, or just snack on hot or cold. It’s baked for a long while at a low temperature to get as much moisture out as possible, leaving you with satisfyingly chewy, meaty tofu.

White bean and tomato soup

My grandmother never really liked to cook.  She did it, of course, for many years out of necessity--in the pre-feminist 50's and 60's, with a husband and three daughters to feed, cooking was an inevitability.  And as a good Jewish grandmother, conditioned to shower her family with love in form of food, she continued to make meals for us whenever we visited.

But with the rise of packaged foods, as her children and grandchildren have grown independent and her body has slowly wound down, she's stopped cooking on her own.  Now, at age 87, with a 94-year-old strict-vegan husband, her repertoire in the kitchen is limited to cocktails in the evening and fruit salad in the morning.  Most of her recipes were handed off to my mother long ago; they're Mom's recipes now, and that's how I remember them.

But there's one recipe I do remember well from her kitchen, the only real "grandmother's recipe" I have: white bean and tomato soup.

Edamame Rice Salad

 As a full-time student with a somewhat crazy schedule who prefers to cook for herself, I’m always on the lookout for one-dish meals that are healthy, simple, and easy to carry with me and eat on the run if necessary. Rice salads (or salads with any grain as a base, really) are a staple for me because they’re satisfying meals that fit in little tupperware containers, you can concoct them out of any ingredients you have around, and they’re usually good hot or cold.

This is one of my go-to rice salads. I believe it was inspired by a copy of Vegetarian Times that my aunt gave me a few years ago, but it also came together based on what odds and ends I happened to have in my fridge/pantry one week (rice, dried cranberries, feta) while living in my first post-college apartment. It's been a staple of mine ever since.

Grilled Eggplant and Smoked Gouda Bruschetta

I know, the title alone makes it sound delicious, right?

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been trying to cook at least one vegetarian meal a week. I've also been trying to use more seasonal ingredients. This recipe, which centers around eggplant, tomatoes, and the grill, fit the bill perfectly.

It doesn't hurt that these open-faced sandwiches are pretty damned delicious. My dad always hems and haws a bit when I announce that it is vegetarian day, but even he wolfed this down and gave me compliments. The components for this recipe are relatively straightforward and easy to assemble, but once you've sampled the gooey melted cheese together with the tender grilled eggplants and the tomato-parsley salsa, you'll wonder why you never thought to combine them before.

You might not think this is enough for a meal -- "bruschetta" usually calls to mind fancy little hors d'œuve toasts -- but believe me, the combination of the ingredients makes this dish surprisingly filling. If my dad is any indication, it's a pretty great main course option for herbivores and omnivores alike.

Butternut Squash Ravioli in Maple-Cream Sauce

I went to the wedding of Emily's cousin a few weeks ago, and for my main course at the reception I opted for the vegetarian dish: butternut squash ravioli. While I quite enjoy butternut squash -- it's among the many things I look forward to in fall -- the idea of stuffing it into a ravioli pouch never really occurred to me. As it turned out, my dinner was quite delicious and so, naturally, as soon as I returned home I decided to try my hand at this pasta-making business.

This particular recipe is adapted from a recipe I found on the Poor Girl Gourmet. I didn't change much, but I figure that I can be a bit more concise in my instructions than the author is. Also my pasta-making technique is better, in my opinion. After all, I have experience with this sort of thing.

 

Curried Lentil Soup

I’ve been traveling a lot over the past month, mostly for job interviews. Looking for a job on the West Coast while living on the East Coast is maybe a little bit crazy, but hey, it’s worth it. DC isn’t a bad place, but I can’t wait to get back to Seattle and all of its wonderful particularities. Not to mention the abundance of farmers’ markets, and fabulous coffee to be found on every other corner!

Jet-setting is fun for a few weeks, but it takes its toll as well: the jet-lag, the screaming baby on the redeye flight, the work that needs finishing when you return . . . October arrived, things finally calmed down, I was about to recover from my exhaustion—and then the weather turned in DC. My poor immune system couldn't handle the combination, and I got hit with a classic case of the common cold. What to do? Make soup, of course.

Chicken stock/vegetable broth

A disclaimer: last week, my beloved camera up and died on me.  It had a good long life--it saw me through three cherished years of college, which is basically a lifetime for any digital doohickey these days.  I am not devastated to see it go.

However, its passing means that I have no photo for my post this week.  Which is fine, because my chosen subject is not glamorous or photogenic.  It is, however, delicious and versatile--two of my favorite words when it comes to food.

Onward!

Infusions

I'm a busy girl.  I've got a full-time job, plus three hours of commuting a day.  I'm currently in the process of moving to a new apartment.  I've got a social life--a nerdy, nerdy social life.  I get tired.  So, much as I love to cook, an elaborate meal isn't always in the cards.

But then there are the times when, exhausted as I am, my friends and I simply aren't up for restaurant-hunting.  So it was on a recent Saturday night.  Six hungry, work-weary nerds, gathered around a dining room table in someone's post-collegiate pad, trying to formulate a satisfying and minimal-effort meal.  At that point I reached into my bag o' culinary tricks and pulled out one of the simplest, most satisfying show-offs I know: infused oil.

Aunt Ruthie's summer pasta with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil

This week's entry is a bit different from last week's Ribfest meat extravaganza. Three weeks ago when the summer was in its final and most pleasant stages, I (Pat) took advantage of a pot-luck picnic and the cheap bulk tomatoes bursting off the vines to make a big batch of another one of our favourite foods in the world: summer pasta with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.

This was the dish that turned me from a tomato-hater into a tomato-fiend a few years ago, thanks to my Aunt Ruthie's recipe and her fresh homegrown tomatoes. It has one of the highest deliciousness:preparation-time ratios I know of, and is the kind of vegetarian dish that has just as intense flavours and textures as any meat dish.

I've provided a sort of recipe as best I can remember, but it's more like rules of thumb to apply to your proportions. The photo shows all the ingredients I used to make a giant batch that supplied the pot-luck as well as several lunches/dinners for a couple of days (although, unfortunately, it's not quite the same as left-overs and doesn't keep more than a couple of days). 

Fried Okra

Okra is my favorite vegetable. A lot of people are turned off by the slimy texture, but to me that's just one of its charms, along with its mild yet unique (and tasty!) flavor. I am lucky enough to have grown up eating okra, as it was usually the vegetable that was served in my elementary school cafeteria in Texas. Those of you who didn't grow up with it might find it sort of freaky.

Okra is a summer vegetable; I found a bunch of it at the market last weekend, which I bought without even thinking about what to do with it. I love it simply steamed with a little salt and pepper or lightly stir-fried; it's also a necessary ingredient in gumbo and is used to delicious effect in Indian cooking (where you'll find it under "bhindi"). This time, though, I figured I might as well try my hand at frying it Southern-style. I do live south of the Mason-Dixon Line, after all, and batter-fried was the first form in which I tried it.

If you're not used to okra, frying it this way is a great way to introduce yourself to it. If you can't love okra covered in cornmeal batter and deep-fried, there is something wrong with you!

Asparagus Salad with Sweet Balsamic Vinaigrette

pictured with"Bass in Paper," a recipe I'll reveal at a later date

So here's the dilemma: I want to start cooking more seasonal fruits and veggies in my dishes, because that's what all the cool kids do nowadays and because it's a practice that goes hand in hand with buying local. I also want to cook asparagus, which I find quite tasty. The problem is that a) we're fast approaching the end of the summer season and b) asparagus cannot, in good faith, be considered anything but a spring seasonal. Oh well -- better late than never.

This recipe comes out of my mother's recipe box and has quickly become a spring/summer favorite in the household. While Dijon mustard, olive oil, garlic, and balsamic vinegar aren't by any means a revolutionary combination -- it makes for an excellent marinade on chicken -- I'm happy to report that it works very well as a base for an asparagus salad vinaigrette. There's also comparatively little prep time involved, which is always a plus for a side dish.

Finally, I should mention that this recipe is Emily tested and approved (she even went back for seconds!), which means that it can be a good choice for friends and family members with a minor aversion to veggies. Give it a try the next time you want to try something new alongside your entree... though you may need to act quickly, lest the asparagus disappear from the markets until next March.

Recipe after the jump:

Hot chocolate with a kick

Mark Twain is thought to have said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco."  Whether or not he did say it, the fact remains: the City by the Bay is damn cold in June and July.  Five days a week, I commute from Silicon Valley, which I love for its hot blue summers, to San Francisco's financial district, which is almost always foggy in the morning and breezy come midday.  It's now starting to settle into September, when the weather traditionally heats up--the past week in the city has been sun-kissed and stunning--but for most of the past few months I've been wind-blown and cranky, mourning the loss of my inland summer.

So, when I come home for the weekend, I make hot chocolate.

Breakfast of Champions

I was born and raised in the Bay Area, and returned there after college to start my professional life. As a result, I am a spoiled, spoiled little foodie.

Everything you hear about California food is true. The produce really is that fresh, especially in the summer. The "ethnic" restaurants really are that good. The grocery stores really are that well-stocked. And yes, for all you New Englanders bemoaning your blue laws, you really can shop for wine and string cheese in the same store. My sleepy Silicon Valley town, with a population well under 100,000, has a huge year-round farmer's market--year-round!--and a wealth of gourmet, Asian and Latin American food purveyors.

I love it. I love fresh vegetables, and spices, and crazy-almost-pretentious California flavor combinations, and San Francisco sourdough with a good fatty Brie. I'll write about these things, I promise.

But for my first post, I'm going to talk about oatmeal.

Go-To Stir-Fry

My first post was a little bit of a challenge. I'm writing from my parents' place in Grapevine, Texas, where cooking the way I like to can be difficult for me. I like to cook with local, seasonal ingredients, and otherwise vegan. Right now, though, I'm in the land of Texas-sized grocery stores and Texas-sized steaks. Plus, my family's tastes are pretty different than mine, so what to make that everyone would enjoy?

My mom loves American-style Chinese food, but it's something she'd rarely try to make for herself, so I decided on the perennial vegetarian go-to: a simple stir-fry. It's simple, it's a crowd pleaser, it's pretty healthy, and it's very flexible: I did up some veggies and tossed mine with fried tofu, while Mom added some chicken for herself and my brothers.