The Sunday News at Growers and Grocers

If you read my sidebar, you know I write for Growers and Grocers which is part of the Well Fed Network. The network is under new ownership, Growers and Grocers has a new editor, and I am writing a new column called The Sunday News.

If you're interested in issues such as local food production, organics and food marketing, click on by every Sunday for a round-up of food-related news and trends from all over the world. In fact, come visit every day because a lot of great articles are going up!

Quick and Smoky Miso Soup

This is a smoky, full-bodied miso soup, with a raspy voice and a penchant for half truths and white lies.  It's the kind of thing you plunge into, like a lake at midnight after the water has turned ink black and you can no longer see the bottom.  It is that enveloping.  If you didn't know better, you'd guess that it came to be only after long hours of building flavor through endless boiling and straining.  You'd guess that this soup really made you work for that first soul encircling sip.  And if you serve this to anyone else, you may as well let them think it.

The secret to this soup is in the stock.  Where usually you might find a recipe calling for dashi, a kind of Japanese soup stock, here you flavor the water with bonito flakes, which are flakes of dried, smoked bonito fish.  After the bonito gives up its salty/smokey flavor to the water, you strain it out for a near instant and deeply flavored broth.  And after all, it is the broth that keeps us plunging back in.

This particular recipe doesn't contain either the typical green onions or tofu, but feel free to add either or both.  Instead, I've given it a shot of arugula, whose assertive personality mellows alongside the wakame.  You might also consider watercress.

I found both the bonito flakes and the wakame at Whole Foods, so they're not so obscure to keep you from creating your own personal pool of miso.

Smoky, Soul Satisfying Miso Soup

Adapted from here

6 cups water

30 grams dried bonito flakes

3 dried shitake mishrooms

3 tablespoons dried wakame, shredded

6 tablespoons miso paste, in this case, red

2 cups arugula

Heat the water in a pot until just ready to boil, then add the bonito flakes.  Turn the temperature down a bit and simmer for two minutes.  Remove from the heat and let stand 5 minutes, then strain the bonito flakes out and discard.  

Add the mushrooms and the wakame and return to heat.  Simmer the soup over low for 20 minutes.  Spoon out the mushrooms and cut into thin strips, discarding the stems.  Return the mushrooms to the soup.

In a small bowl, whisk together the miso paste and a bit of the broth from the post, then pour back into the soup.  Continue to let the soup simmer.  Just before serving, add the arugula and heat just so it wilts.  Serve and dive in.

Crab Cakes for dinner- and a cool deck to savor them

Meet Fran, Charly, and Roxy!

Fran, Charlie (and Roxy!) invited us to savor home made crab cakes during our stay in the Bay Area. Charlie not only enjoys eating well, but is an excellent cook. The crab cakes really tasted ... crab, which is of course how they are supposed to taste, but too often crab cakes taste like bread crumbs, or egg, or whatever binder ingredient has been used ... I asked him to share with us his recipe.

Mix 1 lb of crab meat, some chopped spring onions, chopped cilantro, 3 Tbsp of bread crumbs (use plain), 4 Tbsp mayonnaise in a bowl. Be gently! Season with sea salt and ground peeper to taste. Add 1 large egg beaten, and mix very gently with a wooden spoon. Divide into eight same size portions and shape like the picture above shows. Put on a sheet of wax paper, cover, and let chill at least 30 minutes. Take out of the fridge and and put 4 Tbs flour on a soup plate and carefully dredge the crab cakes in the flour, on both sides.

Heat the oil to 375 F in a large frying pan where the eight crab cakes can be fried.

Place very gently the crab cakes one by one in the pan, fry until brown.

Once they are brown on one side, turn one by one and fry on the other side. Remove, place on paper so that excess oil is absorbed and serve immediately.

We had these delicious crab cakes with a home made Chipotle and Chili Sauce and a side salad.

Tomorrow I'll tell you what Charlie had prepared for dessert!

Quinoa Parsnip Maple Cookies

I have a few complaints to which I'd like to give a platform:

1. It's getting warmer (which is nothing but good), however that causes my dog to shed everywhere. And worse of all, she sheds on the low coffee table that I use for pictures. I have to clean it each and every time I want to put anything on top. It's getting old.

2. All winter I was missing my favorite pair of ultra-warm boots. Brown suede with cream flowers stitched up the sides. I love those boots. And I just found them yesterday. Which is good, except they may as well go back into hibernation because it won't be cold enough for them for another ten months. People conceive and have children in less time.

3. I have too many books. Not for my own good, mind you, but for my bookshelves. They are all breaking, seriously, all of them, because the books are piling up. I need a larger apartment. I'd sooner give away the couch than get rid of books.

But, one thing I won't complain about is Quinoa Parsnip Maple Cookies. Because these things are good. And, for a cookie, relatively healthy. Rolled oats, quinoa, parsnip, for goodness sake. I was introduced to this recipe by Sarah, of Simply Cooked, who originally found them on A Crafty Lass (and who doesn't want a Crafty Lass in their life?), written by Erin. Actually, Erin invented these little gems, so she gets double props for that. But Sarah played around with them, and I picked and chose from both of their adaptations.

I agree with Erin when she bemoans the underrating of the parsnip. Not quite a carrot, definitely not as colorful, they're often overlooked. Actually, speaking of carrots, you could certainly use those in place of the parsnip if you happen to have them on hand, or if you have a strong preference. And with a generous drizzle of maple glaze, these cakey little cookies are pretty darn delicious.

Quinoa, Parsnip and Maple Cookies
Adapted from Erin's recipe, and Sarah's version as well

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup ap flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup cooked quinoa (start with 1/3 cup dried and cook it in twice as much water)
1 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup grated peeled parsnip, depending on the size of your parsnips, this might be half a very large one, or one kind of more normal sized one.

Oven preheated to 375 F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

With a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Then beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure that they are well combined before adding the next. Then beat in the vanilla.

In another bowl, mix together the flours, quinoa, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice. The buttermilk should be ready. Set your mixer on low, and beat in 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then half the buttermilk. Next add in another 1/3 of the dry ingredients and the last of the buttermilk before adding in the last of the dry mixture. Fold in the parsnips with a spatula.

Drop the cookie dough in tablespoon-sized mounds on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until golden around the edges. Transfer to a cooling wrack and let cool completely.

For the Maple Glaze

While the cookies are baking, whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar with 1/4 cup real maple syrup until smooth. When the cookies are completely cool, drizzle the maple glaze over the top. Allow the glaze to set before storing or serving.

Chocolate Fondue:Recipe

Lee's biggest complaint regarding my cooking is that I "never repeat", meaning I never make the same thing twice. Which isn't true of course, but I know what he means. I'm always looking to improve upon recipes and try something new. So for Valentine's Day I let him choose the menu, something new or a repeat of an old favorite.

For celebratory meals it seems eating in is at least as romantic as eating out, maybe more. And with a few possible exceptions, no matter what ingredients you buy, you'll be hard pressed to spend more than you would dining out. One year I even made platters of seafood--oysters on the half shell, poached shrimp, mussels, smoked salmon, etc. But the biggest hit was the time I made cheese fondue followed by chocolate fondue. So after deciding we'd rather do Valentine's Day dinner at home this year, Lee expressed his desire for "Fondue x 2", which is our menu du jour.

While making cheese fondue can be tricky, making chocolate fondue is practically foolproof and can be whipped up at a moment's notice. Even if you do end up going out for dinner tonight, I highly recommend coming home for this dessert. It's tres romantique. It would also be a lot of fun for kids. There are lots of recipes around for chocolate fondue, but this one is the easiest. I found a version of it in Michael Bauer's The Secret of Success Cookbook, which is a terrific book, by the way. Whatever way you celebrate, have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Chocolate Fondue
Serves 4
1/2 cup of heavy cream
8 ounces of the best quality dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
A couple tablespoons of liquor, optional

Heat the cream gently, take it off the heat when it gets hot, then add the chocolate and leave it alone for a couple of minutes to let the chocolate melt. Then whisk in the liquor and voila! chocolate fondue. The choice of liquor is up to you--Grand Marnier, Kirsch, Kahlua, whatever you like.

As far as equipment goes, you will need a fondue pot or a butter warmer to keep the chocolate the perfect consistency for dipping. What you use to dip is up to you but I like cookies or pound cake, banana chunks and raspberries.

Enjoy!

All about Meyer Lemons

If you like the tang of lemons, but not the pucker, Meyer lemons are for you. They are not nearly as tart as conventional lemons, and their peel is slightly sweet. Like a regular lemon perfected, the color and juice are amped up and the peel is thinned down. We are at the peak of Meyer lemon season here in the Bay Area and they can be found perking up markets, backyards and fruit bowls everywhere. Look how neon bright they are!

Like so much citrus fruit, the Meyer lemon was originally found in China. In 1905 the US Department of Agriculture hired Frank Meyer as a plant hunter and in 1908 he "discovered" the Meyer lemon in Peking (now Beijing). It is believed that the Meyer lemon is a hybrid between Citrus limon, the lemon, and Citrus reticulata, the mandarin orange. It is a very hardy plant and bears fruit from November through April.

I get very excited about Meyer lemons, because they are as versatile and easy to use as they are beautiful. Meyer lemons are great in many recipes where I would normally use regular lemons like souffle, lemon curd and with seafood, but I also do so much more with them. The easiest way I use them might be in salad dressing. Because they aren't as tart as regular lemons they make a fruitier more complex vinaigrette. The peel is also very desirable so I recommend using it in recipes like marmalade or candied peel. If you end up with more than you can use, consider making Moroccan preserved lemons or freezing the juice in ice cube trays to use later.

Other ideas for Meyer lemon:

* Make a fresh salsa to top grilled fish or bread, add lemon chunks (with rind) to chopped oil-cured olives and green onions and a splash of olive oil

* Use in gremolata, using 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, one large garlic clove, minced and the freshly grated zest from one lemon

* Whip up a vinaigrette using one part juice to three to four parts olive oil for vegetable salads, especially good with cooked or raw carrots, brussels sprouts, radishes, asparagus, baby artichokes (if raw, shaved in slivers) or spinach

* In sauces replace part of the vinegar with juice in beurre blanc, mayonnaise or aioli or use in traditional lemon sauces like lemon butter or hollandaise

* Marinate chicken or pork with 1/2 cup juice, 3 tablespoons honey, a splash of olive oil, a chopped clove of garlic and handful of chopped fresh herbs, parsley, thyme, rosemary or oregano

* Use the juice in a lemony risotto and top with a bit of the grated peel

* Roast lemon quarters with potatoes to serve as side dish

* Make lemonade using 2/3 cup juice to 1/4 cup sugar and 2 cups water

* Bake a Meyer lemon pound cake or Meyer lemon pudding cake

* Mix with honey to make a dressing for fruit, especially good with blueberries and bananas

FOOD + LEMONS

Photo du Jour

Such a beautiful house!