Reblogged from sweatlikemambo:

These are awesome! I saw this in Sunset Magazine, and I think they are the most perfect gift to give (or get)! For $14.95, you can get what’s shown above: 8 garden “truffles”, two each of Basil, Parsley, Chives and Thyme. (Or you can select a different set with different herbs…this one is the “Italian Herb” selection.) And it comes in a cute little truffles box complete with a list of which truffles are which. I especially love how it says, ”This candy is for planting – not for eating!!”… very cool idea. Get it here at the Moulton site.

I had to reblog this post from Sweat Like Mambo. She found this crazy awesome hostess gift that I can’t wait to give! Any friends or family reading this blog: Warning. You might receive this one day…

Pasadena is certainly not just up the road from South Orange County, but it didn’t take us too long to get there, and with only one “Are we there yet?” from the back seat. Pretty nice going, if you ask me. I left them at the entrance waiting to be collected for the craft event and swung into the main gallery. I asked one of the staff if it was true—could I really take photos? He said yes, but no flash ever. That I could handle.

I swooned through Degas, Picasso and two of my favorites, Kandinsky and Klee. I loves me some Bauhaus artists. I snapped a few pics then moved down to the Asian galleries downstairs, full of buddhas and shivas from the ancient past. I didn’t quite get to see Proof, the print exhibition, but I did have fun playing with my (still relatively new) camera.

After a walk through the museum’s lovely garden, we departed for some delicious Thai food before heading to South Pasadena to try to view the parrots. Yes, there’s a company of parrots that were once domesticated parrots who now fly free around South Pasadena, and come back to roost every night by the library there. They were loud and beautiful, but yet again the kids weren’t interested in what Mommy and Auntie wanted to see, and set about climbing any tree in their path.

We made it home with just a bit of traffic, and I got home in time to have a martini with The Husband before knocking up a quick meal of mushroom-covered halibut and salad.

The mushrooms were actually left over from the past two weeks of raw food that I quickly sautéed with the garlic that was missing from the original recipe. I also tossed in some leftover roasted Brussels sprouts, which gave it a great flavor with the added benefit of getting something else cleared out of the fridge.

This was a nice and quick dinner, but only because the mushrooms were already marinating in the fridge. Fresh mushrooms would also be nice to use with the same seasoning, so don’t let that stop you. We get halibut and salmon from A&H Fish Market from our farmers market every Saturday, so definitely use the freshest fish you can—if you can’t find halibut, black cod or seabass would work well.

Halibut with Mushrooms

Marinated mushrooms:

2 cups diced portobello mushrooms
2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
2 cups maitake mushrooms
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp fresh thyme
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary
1 clove of minced or finely grated garlic
1 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Combine the mushrooms in a bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients. Let sit in the refrigerator overnight before using, either as is or sautéed.

Main recipe:

1.5 cups marinated mushrooms
6 small Brussels sprouts, sliced lengthwise
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. piece of halibut

Heat up about 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a high-sided frying pan (not non-stick). Use the oil from the mushrooms, if you can. Add the garlic then the Brussels sprouts after about  minute. Sauté for about three minutes, stirring often. Add the mushrooms using a slotted spoon to drain of a lot of the oil. Sauté for a further five minutes before taking off the heat and keeping warm.

Place a halibut fillet in a dish; coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill until just barely cooked through. Top the halibut portions with spoonfuls of the mushroom mixture. The Husband grilled ours to perfection, and even broke our pact to not have any wine this month and poured himself a glass—it was that good, he said.

Now, here’s some of my favorite shots from my trip yesterday:

Statue head detail

Statue detail

From India, circa 1000 BC

Henry Moore

Yes, dear reader, the juicer won. Luckily I didn’t stick my hand in too far, so the situation didn’t turn into a scene from one of those Hostel films (I’m only assuming, I’d never watch one of those films. Okay, maybe if you paid me a million dollars. Maybe.). But one of my fingers got slightly mangled, and I now have a healthy respect for the juicer. It does, indeed, have the upper hand. Well, only when it’s plugged into the wall, and I have control over that. (Cue evil laugh.)

But the wound is not the reason I decided to treat The Husband and I to blueberry pancakes this morning. It’s all Food & Wine magazine‘s fault—this month’s cover has a stack of pancakes smack on the front, dripping with berries and syrup. It’s had me craving pancakes all week. And, I felt since we had eaten raw food all week and I ran five miles this morning, we deserved it.

Why coconut yogurt? I like it better than soy. If you're not lactose intolerant, use whatever kind you'd like.

I made sure that they were multi-grain, of course, because of course that makes them HEALTHY pancakes, right? No? Shut up. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I found a recipe online that reminded me of a recipe from the Santa Barbara News Press I had years and years ago and promptly lost after the first time I made them. I used that recipe as a base and changed it to suit my taste, as I usually do, and I was very pleased with the result.

Warning: These are hearty, belly-filling pancakes, so don’t let your eyes be bigger than your stomach. We happily shared three pancakes and were plenty satiated. Oh, and there was the crispy prosciutto on the side.Vegans: This can be easily veganized by mixing the tablespoon of ground flaxseed with some warm water to replace the egg.Note: These would taste equally as yummy with raspberries or sliced bananas instead of blueberries.

“Healthy” Multi-Grain Blueberry Pancakes

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
3 Tbls yellow cornmeal
1 Tbls ground flaxseed
2 Tbls chia seeds
1.5 Tbls brown sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup plain coconut yogurt
1 Tbls vegetable oil
1 egg

Put the first eight ingredients into a bowl and stir with a whisk. In a 2-cup measuring cup, add the rest of the ingredients and beat with a fork.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just thoroughly mixed. Try not to overwork. Add a little more coconut milk if the batter seems too thick, but be aware that this is a really thick batter.

Have the blueberries (or other fruit) at the ready next to the stove. If you are having crispy prosciutto with your pancakes, cook it first and use the same pan for your pancakes. Heat up coconut oil (or any vegetable oil you prefer) in the pan and wait for it to get hot before spooning your batter into the pan.

Add the fruit by hand on each pancake, pushing down a little bit—this is why you want the batter pretty thick. Turn pancakes when brown on the bottom and turn down to cook on the other side so you make sure they cook all the way through. You don’t want pancakes that are still gooey in the middle.

Serve hot with butter or Earth Balance spread and real maple syrup. Please don’t use that fake kind of syrup—these pancakes deserve better. And you really won’t even be able to pretend they’re healthy if you use that goop.

And you can see that the juicer and I made up. That’s fresh carrot-apple juice: Three medium apples, four large carrots, one lemon and three inches of fresh ginger. Makes enough for two.

A delectable Valentine dessert.

I have to admit, I’m not entirely sure why people go gaga over red velvet cake or cupcakes. I’m not saying they’re not nice, I just don’t think they are that spectacular. People have asked me what “flavor” red velvets are—and that’s just impossible to describe. I do keep making them because choosy red-velvet eaters choose mine. I’ve heard the following compliments:

“Better than Sprinkles‘ red velvets!” (Take THAT, Candace Nelson!)

“As good as my Southern grandmother’s red velvets!” (I’ll take that compliment all day long, thankyouverymuch.)

Two dozen of these beauties ready for delivery!

“The best red velvets I’ve ever tasted!” (I wish I could take that one to the bank.)

Still, I struggle with red velvets. Not just because I can’t eat any but the vegan kind, due to buttermilk in the batter and cream-cheese frosting as the usual topping, but because they are delicate little flowers if done properly. You need to use cake flour, for a start, and they never seem to rise properly. But the taste, apparently, is wonderful, a delicate crumb with a tangy, not-too-sweet frosting on top.

Adding the red food coloring. I'll be making pink ones for my niece's birthday next month.

I made these for one of my favorite clients, Viceroy Hotel Group, since I wasn’t able to give them holiday treats. I thought it would be a nice change for them to receive some treats at a different time of year, and red velvet cupcakes seemed fitting. Plus I get to use all sorts of cheesy accoutrements, like heart-shaped sprinkles and heart cut-out cupcake liners. I have to drive them up, since I can’t exactly ship fully-made cupcakes FedEx unless I want it to look like a big Eton Mess. (Which is delicious, by the way, but not nice-looking, especially if the dessert started out as cupcakes.)

And no, The Husband didn’t get any for Valentine’s Day. Poor thing—we’re on a cleanse for February!

So here is my red velvet recipe, adapted from Martha Stewart. The cream-cheese frosting is hers through and through.

There was a little accident in the food-coloring tray…luckily I have more.

Red Velvet Cupcakes (makes 24)

2-1/2 cups of cake flour
2 Tbs. unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup canola oil
2 large eggs, room temp
1/2 tsp. red gel-paste food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with paper liners. Whisk together baking powder, flour, salt and cocoa powder.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar together; add oil. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Scrape down sides as needed. Add food coloring and vanilla. (Note: I usually use the “no taste” red food coloring.)

Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Put the baking soda in a small bowl, and measure out the vinegar in another bowl; add the vinegar to the baking soda and stir well as it foams. Add quickly to the batter, and mix on medium speed for 10 seconds.

Here’s my special tip: freeze the batter overnight. You don’t have to do this, but I find that they rise better if you do. It’s also easier to scoop into the tins with your ice cream scoop.

Divide your batter among the cups and bake, rotating trays halfway through. I bake them for 18 minutes, test them, then bake on 2 minute intervals if a toothpick doesn’t come out clean after the first bake.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
12 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1 pound (4 cups) confectioner’s (icing) sugar, sifted
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

First of all, it’s incredibly important that the butter and cream cheese is at room temperature before starting, and you really do have to sift the sugar. No exceptions, or you will have very lumpy frosting—and that’s from experience.

With your trusty Kitchen Aid or electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add the sugar, 1/2 a cup at a time. Then add vanilla (I often forget this!), and mix everything until smooth and combined, about a minute. I usually use the whisk attachment at the beginning, and finish it off with the paddle. You also need to scrape the sides of the bowl down quite often with this recipe.

Make another half-batch of this frosting recipe to match the number of red velvets the above recipe makes.

Raw food. You know you want it.

I’m not expecting many people, if any, to make the recipe on this post, but it was one of the best things I made on my own during my raw-food diet last week. It was hard—well, it was and it wasn’t—but I needed to lose a few pounds that the Tiny Kitchen had helped put on. I’d done the one-week cleanse program from 118° (thanks to Groupon and the encouragement of my personal trainer), a raw-food restaurant up in Costa Mesa, and it seemed to work. So, during my month-long cleanse I thought I should try it again.

The Husband encouraged me to buy the recipe book (can’t quite call it a cookbook) from the owner/chef of 118°, mainly because he has such unwavering faith in my ability to make anything in a kitchen. I think he also just thought it was a bunch of chopping vegetables, and forgot about the bread-style items that the restaurant provided, made from sprouted grains and using a dehydrator.

There's an immense satisfaction in beating your way into a fresh coconut. And a lot of cleaning up afterwards.

So I borrowed a dehydrator from a friend whose son who, although he had actually moved out, had one languishing in the spare room. Score! I didn’t want to commit to raw food so much that I actually bought a dehydrator. Storage is a problem, for one. And I’m glad I didn’t, because the recipe book was not always clear on ingredients or process.

And maybe it was my fault, because I was using a food processor instead of a blender. But why buy a blender when you have a food processor and a stick blender? I suppose some do, but refer to mention above of storage shortage. And then one recipe for “tortillas” called for squash. Squash. I don’t know if your mind is going to the same place mine is, but the question I had was: What KIND of squash? The Wikipedia list of squashes, which of course is neither entirely accurate or comprehensive, mentions at least 100 different kinds.

I chose butternut, and I wish I hadn’t. Well, what I really wish is that she had specified the squash type‡! Plus I didn’t measure the flax seed powder, and I think that was another mistake there. Suffice to say that the only things that really turned out well were the “slider buns” and the “tostaditas”, the latter being incredibly dry but tasty. I also helped the recipe along by adding my special spice mix (I’ll blog about this later) instead of plain chili powder. You’d think she’d be a little more creative in the spices, but her go-to was just cayenne.

I slaved all day over a warm dehydrator for this??

The item that really got me through the week were walnuts I found in the bin section of Whole Foods: Sprouted walnuts covered in salt and pepper. I could have eaten a pound at a time, except that they are $20 a pound, which thankfully kept my consumption down. But overall I felt great on this diet, which is pretty worrying, because it’s decidedly dull. One gets bored of chewing all this crunchy stuff, and to be honest, I like hot food. And you’d have to be Gwyneth Paltrow to get through an English winter eating just raw food. Honestly, it makes being vegan a piece of cake.

So my last evening before my weekend break of raw food—back on tomorrow but with the 118° special offer, thank goodness—I decided to use her coconut-curry sauce and make some lettuce wraps. They turned out quite nice, if I so say so myself. That is, if you’re into that kind of thing.

The sauce is delicious on its own and would be great with a bowl of rice and steamed veggies and tofu, or cooked with chicken for an actual hot curry. You could even cook tempeh, tofu or chicken with the sauce and make lettuce wraps like that. I, of course, had only raw veggies to deal with, so here goes. And by the way, this is barely like her recipe, which I used parts of as a base for my sauce:

Raw Coconut-Curry Lettuce Wraps

Sauce:

1 young Thai coconut*
1/3 cup raw macadamia nuts
2 cloves garlic
4 Tbsp. curry powder
3 Tbsp. sweet onion
1 serrano chile (optional)
1-1/2 cups coconut water**

First, get a screwdriver, a hammer and an apron, as you’re going to have to force your way into this coconut. Try to cut some of the white, fibrous material from the outside first, and try not to let all of the coconut water go to waste once you get into the thing. Scrape out the coconut flesh from the inside and put into your blender (or container for your stick blender).

Add the rest of the ingredients except the macadamia nuts, and only add one cup of the coconut water—preferably that which came from the coconut. Since I didn’t have a chili, I added some West Indian habañero sauce for some heat. Blend until smooth and well combined. Add the nuts and blend further; add more coconut water to get the sauce to the consistency you prefer. Keep it pretty thick for the purpose of the lettuce wraps.

Filling:

1 yellow crookneck squash
1 small zucchini (“courgette” for the Brits reading)
2 green onions
1/3 cup sprouted beans (I used a mixture)
Gem or butter lettuce leaves for wrapping, washed and patted dry

Chop the squashes into smallish cubes, and slice the green onions finely. Put in a bowl with the sprouted beans and smother with curry sauce; stir to makes sure everything gets covered.

Add mixture to lettuce leaves, and depending on size, serve about two per person. I found that on this diet I got full quite quickly, and I don’t know if it was just because I got bored halfway through the meal, or if I just was full of the raw power. We may never know.

‡I just looked at her website for the restaurant, and she mentions “zucchini tortillas”. So, not only is that the answer to the squash question, but I could have saved myself a hell of a lot of time and money by buying them from the restaurant. Oh well. Live and learn.

*They’re the ones you see in the supermarket wrapped in plastic and cut in a strangely angular fashion.

**Some of this will come from the coconut itself.

Sometimes, they're just too pretty to eat. That's a lie. No they're not. It just screams "Eat me!"

This one’s for my boys—Colin, Duncan and Alasdair—who came out to visit me just over a year ago while on a trip around California. Col and Dunk are two of my favorite people in the world, and Alasdair is right up there too. We got to know each other during my time in London; Colin and I would go to movies and dinner together while Dunk was off shooting another Channel 4 television programme. Yes, I spelled that the English way, thank you very much. Those are times I still cherish! When Dunc was in town we’d have dinner at each other’s houses or attend fabulous parties hosted by our various fabulous London friends, of whom I miss very much. Sigh…

I got to see Alasdair infrequently when he was in town from Switzerland, where he moved to be part of the World Health Organization. I think. All I know is that he is a doctor in great demand in places where AIDS is an epidemic. And on top of that he’s super fun.

Of course I had to invite them over for dinner, and because I’d been bragging so much about cupcakes, I made some for them. Cupcakes, until very recently, were not a popular treat over in the U.K. They are mainly an American thing, and when they do make them over there, they are small ones, mainly for children’s parties and they call them “fairy cakes“.

I like to call these “adult” or even “manly” cupcakes, because although they are small cakes with frosting on top, they have a flavor profile that caters to a more sophisticated palate. And The Husband says that the frosting tastes as good as his Nana used to make, and that’s good enough for me.

Freshly grated nutmeg is essential. Besides, it smells awesome. Just watch your fingers, please!

The boys loved them too, and even finished them off at the top of a mountain somewhere—near Palm Springs, I think, when they got an unexpected bout of snow. Dunk specifically requested these be posted in the Tiny Kitchen Stories blog, so naturally, they’re dedicated to them. They are also The Husband’s second favorite, next to my vegan lemon-custard-filled lemon cupcakes. Those are best in the summer, but these are great for a winter treat—not that we’ve had a winter here in California this year. Thanks, La Niña! I like a little bit of rain, now I’m back from London!

These recipes are adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes cookbook, but she doesn’t put the two together, which I think is a shame. I experienced the stout/chocolate flavor combination from an ex-boyfriend, who will remain nameless because even though he’s a very talented chef he broke my heart and doesn’t deserve to have his name in this blog. He did, however, make a delicious chocolate tart with stout ice cream. But these cupcakes are better.

(Dunc, you may need to buy some American cup measures to make these. I’ll try to weigh everything next time for you!)

Ooh, the finished product.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes (makes 24)

3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1-3/4 tsp baking powder
1-1/4 tsp sea salt
1 Tbs ground cinnamon
1-1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cups vegetable oil (not olive)
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1-1/4 cups unsulfured molasses
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large whole eggs
1 egg yolk
The zest of one orange
The juice of one orange
1-1/4 cups (10 oz.) Young’s double chocolate stout

First of all, only used freshly grated nutmeg and Young’s chocolate stout. You can use Guinness in a pinch, but it won’t be quite right. And there’s no substitute for the nutmeg, so don’t even try it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line your cupcake tins. I like using the gold or silver foil ones on these; it looks so nice against the dark brown cupcake. Whisk together all the dry ingredients (except the sugar) in a bowl and set aside.

This Kitchen Aid has been to London more times than many of my friends. It's a well-travelled machine.

In your electric mixer bowl and using the paddle attachment (you’re using a Kitchen Aid, right?), add the butter and sugar; cream together. Then add the oil, molasses, eggs, yolk, orange zest, orange juice and stout on medium-low speed. Mix until just combined, then add the flour mixture, also beating until just combined.

Please only use Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Please.

Fill your cupcake tins about 3/4 of the way full, and the best tool for this is an old-fashioned ice-cream scoop as shown in the photo. Really, nothing beats it. I put these in for 9 minutes, switch the trays from top to bottom, then bake for another 9 minutes. If a toothpick comes out clean after those 18 minutes, you’re set. Otherwise, go at 1-minute intervals until done, but usually 20 minutes is the maximum time needed.

If you have those snap-lock containers, these last for about a week. If not, they’ll go stale super quick.

You can do the whole “stout glaze” thing that Martha does, but you’ll have to ask me for the recipe in the comments, because I recommend you use the one below:

Chocolate Swiss-Meringue Frosting

Okay, this frosting makes me panic every time, so I’m warning you now. You’ll get through the laborious task of adding the obscene amount of butter, and it will look like a curdled mess. You might feel like crying. You may swear a blue streak. Usually I do both, then consult the oracle of the interweb and realize that I just have to keep the beater going for about 2 full minutes on medium-high and it will come together.

Also, please use the superfine baker’s sugar for this. It makes your life a lot easier. Please see notes below if you use regular sugar. Please don’t use any cool organic natural sugar that’s a lovely brown color either. This calls for white sugar, bakers!

I usually save the egg yolks and put a few in the dog’s dinner every night, which she enjoys very much. You can do what you like with them.

5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 Tbs sugar (see note above)
1 lb (4 sticks) unsalted butter (the best you can buy!)
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (again, the best. Not that artificial stuff.)
7 oz. dark chocolate (at least 70%)

Mmmm...chocolate! Don't scrimp on the chocolate. I did last time and got told off by the Mr.

Start by heating your chocolate in a double boiler. Chop or break up the chocolate, put it into a bowl on top of a simmering pan of water. MAKE SURE the bowl does not touch the water, or your chocolate will go all funny. Once it’s melted, set it aside, but don’t throw out the water, as you’ll need it in a minute.

Your mixer will get a workout with this frosting.

This you really need a Kitchen Aid-style mixer for with a metal bowl. I guess you could heat it in another bowl and then put it into your mixer, but I’ve never done it like that. Let me know how it goes if you try it. Put the sugar and the egg whites into the metal mixing bowl and put it over a pan of simmering water. Whisk it together constantly while it’s over the heat. After about 2 minutes, pull up some of the mixture and rub it between your fingers. If it’s still grainy, keep going. Your aim is to melt the sugar into the egg whites; this is why you want the superfine sugar.

Once that’s done, put the bowl onto the mixer with the balloon whisk attachment and mix it on medium-high speed until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Continue mixing until it’s super glossy and smooth, about 5 minutes. (NOTE: if you used regular sugar and the bowl is still quite warm, you need to do this for 10 minutes.)

Turn it down to medium low and start adding the butter, one tablespoon at a time. This is boring. And a little off-putting, really, when you see how much butter is going in. But don’t rush it, make sure that every tablespoon gets incorporated before throwing the next in. Once you’ve put it all in, if it looks like three-week-old milk, please see notes above.

Yes, it's a full pound of butter. A POUND. But don't let that stop you.

If it doesn’t, bravo! Now add the vanilla and the chocolate, which should be cooled perfectly for adding now that you’ve been doing the butter thing for ages. Et voilá! You should have some of the most delicious frosting on the planet. Use immediately if possible, because when this stuff refrigerates, those eggs make it rock hard. You’ll need to defrost it for at least an hour for it to get to room temperature and useable again.

Sweet bliss! This frosting had done the "curdling", but it all turned out fine.

The sucky thing is that this frosting makes ALMOST enough frosting for all 24 cupcakes. But if you make a double batch, no one will complain, trust me. The Husband has eaten it out of the freezer, chopping away at it and eating it like ice cream. I kid you not.

And sorry, I haven’t found out a way yet to veganize this frosting. Any suggestions gratefully received.

Waiting for the final touches of cilantro and avocado.

The Husband found our favorite sausage brand back at Whole Foods a few weeks ago, and there was much rejoicing. It was a brand that we found while on our wedding trip/honeymoon in Kauai called Mulay’s. They’re in Colorado. Go figure. But we did find it, cook it and discovered that it was a very, very good tasting chorizo. We’ve since tried some of their other flavors, like the breakfast sausage and hot Italian, and all have been delicious.

Then one day, in their infinite wisdom, Whole Foods stopped carrying it, both up in West Hollywood where our friends (also sausage lovers) live, and down here at our local. Now, we’re not sure exactly why—maybe Mulay’s stopped distributing, or maybe it wasn’t selling (which would be a shame!).

We were upset. It’s not like we eat sausage every day (although we’d like to, in some fantasy world where sausages were low fat and healthy), but when we do eat sausage, we want it to be quality. We considered ordering direct from the company, but there’s a minimum shipment, and we just didn’t have room for that amount of food in our freezer. Really, where would the vodka go?

So The Husband was elated when he saw the packages back in the local Whole Foods, and bought a selection, including chorizo. I responded to his excited email with “I guess it’s chorizo for dinner tonight?” The Husband replied that he always thought of chorizo as a breakfast item, not a dinner item. Seeing a challenge, I quickly found an online recipe that sounded both delicious and dinnerish. And here it is, with a few improvements.

All the filling ingredients warming up together. How nice!

++Note for vegetarians and vegans! Use Soyrizo or similar instead, and I think this will rock. Vegans, get some plain soy yogurt or silken tofu and whip yourself up some cilantro crema and you’ll be all set!

Chorizo, Pasilla and Sweet Potato Tacos

2 cups paper-thin slices red onions
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 cups 1/2-inch-thick sticks peeled yam or sweet potato (the orange kind)
12 to 14 ounces fresh chorizo sausages (about 3), casings removed (OR Soyrizo!)
2 fresh pasilla chiles,* halved, seeded, cut into thin strips
1 jalapeño, chopped fine
8 7- to 8-inch-diameter flour tortillas
1 cup crumbled feta or cotija cheese
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, peeled and sliced

The onions marinating away.

Then you can get started on the rest of the recipe, but don’t put the mandoline away yet. You’ll need it to slice the red onion on its thinnest setting, then put them in a non-metal bowl and add the lime juice. Stir and leave to marinate. These really make the dish, so don’t skip them! The lime juice totally mellows out the onion flavor, in case you’re worried that the onions will be sharp.

The crumpet pan is perfect for toasting the tortillas!

I use my crumpet pan (which I’ve spoken of earlier) to toast tortillas, as it works exceedingly well. I learned a trick on heating tortillas from one of our friends who doesn’t even like Mexican food—put two on top of each other, and when you flip them, flip the top tortilla. This way you get to heat two tortillas at the same time, which is great when you have at least two for dinner. By the way, I used sprouted wheat tortillas while The Husband had plain flour tortillas. They make me feel a little healthier.

Delicious, light meal with that lovely shiitake flavor.

We’ve been getting the Sunset Wine Club selections for probably close to a year. It’s a great wine club—I don’t think that we’ve not liked any of the wines, plus they send recipes to do wine pairings with. And everyone knows how much I love a Sunset magazine recipe! (Okay, if you’re new to this blog or don’t know me, Sunset magazine is my absolutely favorite magazine ever. EVER.)

But have we actually made any of these recipes to pair with the wine? No. Not a one. Until recently, that is, when The Husband decide we should go for it. And, since the fish boycott seems to have been lifted (mainly because he’s not going to the acupuncturist anymore who started the ban), we were excited to try the fish recipe that paired with a Pinot Noir.

WHAT?! I know! Red wine with fish? Have those nutty Northern California magazine people lost their minds?

I put the mushrooms in with the broth to infuse it before adding to the recipe. Yum!

Well, apparently not, because the pairing was, indeed, delicious. As the recipe card says, and I quote because I am not a wine-description writer: “The earthy, foresty side of Pinot Noir gets along with the mushroom world. And this Pinot has a dark enough soul to like soy sauce, yet is light enough to work well with fish.” The wine in question is a Sonoma Coast Vineyards 2009 Salmon Creek Block Pinot Noir. And sadly, they only sent one bottle.

So, without further ado, here is the recipe in question. Oh, a few notes: it called for grouper, and we used halibut from Sam at the farmers market. I used the Better Than Bouillon mushroom concentrate to make the stock, and I added a little of their “no beef” beef stock concentrate to it too, to make it a little pho-like. I could only find huge shiitake mushrooms, so I sliced them thickly, when they just said to leave them whole. And I added the mushrooms and ginger to the stock as I was heating it up, to infuse more flavor into it before adding to the recipe. By the way, this would be delicious with soft tofu instead of the halibut, for those vegetarians out there…

Braised Halibut with Ginger-Shiitake Broth

4 halibut fillets, around 5-6 oz. each (or other white fish)
Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. grapeseed or sunflower oil
4 cups vegetable broth
2 heads baby bok choy, leaves separated
12 shiitake mushrooms (if they are big, get 4 or 5)
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 tsp. minced ginger
2 tsp. thinly sliced green onion
2 tsp. thinly sliced red jalapeño chile
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Season your fish with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan (they said not non-stick, but my fish stuck, but maybe I did something wrong) over medium-high heat, add the oil and let it heat before adding the fish fillets. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the fish starts to brown, then flip and reduce the heat to medium. Add the broth, bok choy, mushrooms, soy sauce and ginger.

Cover and cook until the fish is opaque but still moist-looking in the middle (I overcooked it just a little bit, so keep an eye on it!), about 3 minutes.

Divide fish, mushrooms and bok choy among four bowls; or two, if you’re leaving some for leftovers (which are delicious!). Pour broth over the fish and veggies. Garnish with green onion and jalapeño, and drizzle with sesame oil.  Serve!

Doesn't it just make you want some?

But it was worth the wait. I decided to make a recipe in honor of Elote Café, the wonderful star of restaurants in Sedona, Arizona that my bestie Heather and I visited in early December. They don’t take reservations, so they pass out unlimited amounts of this seasoned popcorn for guests while they wait. We didn’t have a long wait, so I only got to try a little bit before we were seated with the best jalapeño margarita I’ve ever tasted—

I can't emphasize enough how much difference there is when you toast and grind your spices as you use them. It's incredible!

except for The Husband’s, of course. I didn’t have all the spices that he uses, so I couldn’t make the exact recipe. If you’d like that one, you’ll have to buy Jeff Smedstad‘s cookbook! I bought one at the restaurant, and he was kind enough to sign it. He was a very humble chef, which was wonderful to experience in this day and age of celebrity chefs.

Heather read most of the cookbook to me on the trip back from Sedona, and how nice was that!? So many recipes sounded delicious. Our tummies were rumbling so much for Mexican food that we had to stop in Blythe to get a burrito! (Good burrito, scary place. I would recommend packing a lunch and driving through, as I was told to do by those in the know.)

So anyway, back to the popcorn. This was perfect for a rainy day in front of the TV watching a movie with The Husband. It was the tail end of his birthday weekend, so we were chilling and keeping out of the wet weather. Time for a snack? Oh, yes please, says The Husband. And off I went to the kitchen. Do you know the secret of popping an excellent batch of popcorn

Frying pan. I promise you, it's the best way to pop.

It’s a frying pan. Yep, pop popcorn once in a frying pan (with a lid, of course) and you’ll never go back. I learned that trick from my friend Rebekah in Santa Barbara years ago, and it’s the best. I’ve also started using coconut oil too, which just makes popcorn absolutely dreamy with no need for butter. And you don’t have to worry about the oil burning! Coconut oil is perfect for high temperatures on the stove.

So make your spice mix, get out the Orville’s and get popping. We watched Moneyball, but the movie choice is up to you.

A Version of Elote Café’s Palomitos

1/4 cup sea salt
1 tsp sugar (I used extra-fine baker’s sugar)
1/4 tsp granulated garlic/garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin (freshly toasted and ground, of course!)
1/4 tsp cayenne
1-1/2 tsp ground ancho chile powder

Combine the spices and stir well, making sure no clumps are left in the mixture.

The Husband only likes Orville Redenbachers, and that's good enough for me.

For the popcorn:

1/4 cup high-quality popcorn
1 large tablespoon coconut oil

Get a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan and heat the coconut oil on high. Throw in three popcorn kernels and cover. I happen to have a frying pan with a clear lid, which makes things pretty easy all round—and quite fun as the corn starts to pop! I guess I’m still a little kid like that.

Once all three kernels have popped, you’re ready to go with the rest. Open your frying pan’s lid and throw in the rest of the popcorn kernels; cover again quickly. Give the frying pan a shake, holding on to the lid if necessary. Nobody wants hot, flying corn kernels in the kitchen, trust me.

As the corn gets popping, keep shaking the pan over the heat. Make sure you have your bowl at the ready as the popping noises come to a stop. Pour the popcorn into a bowl, and season with the spice mixture, above. Add slowly, mix it then taste—you can always add more, but you can’t take it out. The Husband thought it was too salty, so I probably added too much to the mix. I liked it though!

The crumpet pan is perfect for cooking these taquito-type snacks, but a frying pan will work just as well.

Every once in a while, we get down to La Siesta in San Clemente, where they have the best carnitas we’ve found in Orange County. There might be better somewhere in Santa Ana, but the drive there is not so scenic, so we rarely go. We used to love their huevos rancheros, but it seems to have gone downhill—it seemed to do so right after our favorite waitress, Carmen, left the restaurant.

We miss Carmen. She was the best waitress ever! Remembered your name, made you feel welcome, would ask questions about your life. A light went out of the restaurant after Carmen left. I hope she’s happy and making some other restaurant very special somewhere!

La Siesta also has this amazing red salsa. It’s not a pico de gallo, but a real salsa, with some smoky chili in there that’s not a chipotle. We ALWAYS get some of this to go. It’s just too good on just about anything–eggs, in guacamole, on pizza…you get the point.

The assembly. The measurements aren't exact, so add ingredients to your preference!

Anyway, back to the carnitas. We usually get some to go, and this is one of our favorite things to do with it. This is a nice little snack, but it can be dinner too, with a side salad and maybe some quick refried beans.

I haven’t tried making carnitas yet, but I probably will soon. I found a nice recipe in a new cookbook of mine. I’ll be trying chorizo soon too…

If you have some carnitas floating around in your fridge, definitely try this! You can use a regular, heavy-bottomed frying pan, but I love using this crumpet pan I bought in London years ago. I found Elizabeth David‘s crumpet recipe, and I was on a roll. Had to have the right pan…you know how that is, right? Now after about 15 years or so, it’s perfectly seasoned and great for stovetop or oven use. I’m so glad I searched every London cooking shop for it–this was before the internet!

The Husband whipped up some nice margaritas, old-school style, for our meal. ¡Aye Carumba!

P.S. These pics are from the new camera–I hope you like the new and improved photos!

Here’s the recipe for the carnitas taquitos and the quick refried beans:

Carnitas Taquitos:

Four flour tortillas (the nicer the better)
1 cup of carnitas, room temperature*
1/2 an avocado, thinly sliced
1 cup grated cheddar (or more, to taste!)
Your favorite hot sauce or salsa
Chopped cilantro

Don't turn them too often; let them get nice and crispy on all sides.

Shred up the carnitas into each tortilla, laying it across the tortilla towards one end. Add avocado and hot sauce across the carnitas. Finish with cilantro and cheese, and carefully roll up. Set aside. Repeat with each tortilla.

Heat the pan over medium heat and add just a little bit of oil so they don’t stick. Carefully add the taquitos to the pan, seam side down. Check after a few minutes to see if the tortilla is getting brown, then roll the taquitos over a bit until they’re sitting on uncooked tortilla. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn, and turn them carefully so that the filling doesn’t spill out.

Once they’re crispy all over, serve immediately with more hot sauce.

*Vegetarians, try using Soyrizo–that would be a tasty substitute!

A nice, easy weeknight dinner—that is, if you have carnitas loitering in your fridge.

Quick Refried Beans:

1 can of pinto beans (undrained)
3 oz. bacon or salt pork, chopped (optional for vegetarians)
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 small red jalapeño (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan and add the chopped bacon. Cook until crispy, then add the chopped onion. Cook for about five minutes until the onion starts to soften and brown just a bit. Add the chili and cook for a further two minutes, stirring.

Add the pinto beans and let them get warmed through, about three to five minutes. Remove them from the heat and carefully puree about half of the beans. It’s not an exact science–if you like really smooth refried beans, the puree them all, but I go for about half. I usually do this with a stick blender, but you can also use a regular potato masher, or pour some of the beans into a blender. But PLEASE be careful, as the beans will be so hot you will burn yourself if the beans get on you!! It will be like napalm, and nobody likes all that swearing in the kitchen.

Ahhh. Delicious comfort food to go with an episode of Jeopardy!

Return to the heat for a few minutes before serving, and stir well. Add pepper to taste, and salt if you like. You can even add a little milk to make them even creamier—I got that trick from a roommate of mine in college whose Mexican mother used to do it. It works.