Mixed Vegetable Coconut Curry

Houston, we have a problem.
Lately, I have been feeling rather out of sorts. Something just didn’t seem right, and for the longest time I couldn’t figure out what it was. But the other day it came to me…I haven’t been canning.

Normally at this time of year, I would have made or would be in the process of making, gallons of pickles, jams, salsas and tomato sauces. I would have been putting up peaches, peppers, beans, and tomatoes for use later in the year. Not this year.

This year’s crop was a ghost crop caused by a number of factors. The first factor? Varmints ate the fruit from my trees. It was looking like we were actually going to have a legitimate crop of nectarines, peaches, and cherries until the four-legged bandits came through.

The second factor? Water. I felt guilty about using the water so I was perhaps less vigilant than normal about keeping things well hydrated.

The third and by far the most destructive: Chickens. They ate everything. Well, almost everything. I was able to save the butternut squash but had to harvest it all at once instead of keeping some on the vines. Needless to say, I have a glut of butternut squash, so I am trying to use it any way I can.

The really good news is that the chickens should start laying eggs soon, and we will have a glut of eggs. It may not make up for the lack of canned summer tomatoes come January, but it does lessen the sting a little. Read more…

Brazilian Feijoada and Caipirinhas

The Beautiful Game

Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole!
For those of you living a normal day-to-day existence, this week is like any other—although for some it is the last week of school, which makes this week (in the eyes of the kids) awesome. For us sports junkies, this week kicks of a month of pounding hearts, adrenaline spikes, heated debates, and hair pulling as the greatest sporting event in the world begins…the 2014 World Cup.

Aside from the Olympics, this is the only sporting event where the winners can legitimately call themselves a World Champion. Here in the U.S., soccer is well-loved by our younger generations, but for the most part takes a back seat to football and baseball. The rest of the world on the other hand, goes nuts for it. And I do mean nuts.,

This year’s games are being played in Rio de Jeneiro, which couldn’t be a more appropriate location. (Talk about a party!) Brazil has a long history of great soccer, and is looking to prove to the world again just how dominant they are in the sport.

For me, it’s an excuse to eat Brazilian food. I know. Not exactly the kind of fare you will find around every corner though you can find it—especially in the Bay Area. One of my favorite dishes is Feijoada.

Feijoada is Brazil’s most emblematic dish. It is stewed meat and beans with sausage and rice and collard greens. (My mouth is watering just thinking about it.) Throw in a caipirinha and I am a happy girl. Too many of those caipirinhas and I am too happy. (Be careful. Caipirinhas are the kind of drinks where you wake up in a road-side ditch…Don’t wake up in a road-side ditch!)

Authentic Feijoada can be time intensive and uses unfamiliar smoked cuts of meat not easily found by most Americans. (How’s that for diplomatic?) Below are two recipes for different versions of Feijoada. The first one is a not so traditional version from Chef Eric Ripert and is more approachable for the American home: the ingredients are more readily available, and the recipe is less labor-intensive. The second is a more traditional version for those who are up for the challenge.

And of course, the Caipirinhas…
Read more…

Italian Stuffed Flank Steak

Non-Conformist Easter

When you have a holiday that involves a traditional food, it is easy to get bored. (Except Thanksgiving. You don’t mess with Thanksgiving.) For me, it’s Easter.

Don’t get me wrong, there are things that I love about Easter but for some reason, this holiday more than any other makes me food-fidgety. (Yup. That’s a technical term.)

My sister hosts our Easter get togethers. Sometimes it’s brunch. Sometimes it’s dinner and, from time to time, it’s yelling in a clown’s mouth on the road to a soccer tournament.

This year our extended family is having brunch, which means that I will be doing my own thing for dinner. I’ve decided I’m going to go against all tradition and cook beef.

I have a large collection of recipe pages from classes at Tante Marie in the city. They are in plastic sheet covers, housed in 3-ring binders, and for the most part they sit on my shelf. From time to time, I flip through them looking for a particular recipe or inspiration. Last weekend I was thumbing through the pages when I saw one of my favorite recipes—Italian Stuffed Flank Steak. I decided then and there that I must make it for Easter dinner because: I’m just not all that excited about roasting a Leg of Lamb, it is so stinkin’ great, and Easter is as good an excuse as any.

Italian Stuffed Flank Steak is adapted by Tante Marie from a Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso recipe in The New Basics Cookbook. It takes some patience. Rolling the flank steak can be tricky. (Having another set of hands can be helpful). But it will always taste good no matter what the perfection police have to say about your rolling abilities. Read more…

Feast or Famine Mac ‘n Cheese

Feast or Famine

April is the month of budding fruit trees, tulips, nasty yellow marshmallow birds and, sigh, taxes.

Some years we look forward to April ‘cause we naively think that Uncle Sam will contribute to our “Butt on a Beach” fund. (By the way, this is a cause I believe in wholeheartedly. Donate now!)

Other years? Not so much.

We’ve all been there. One week we’re cruising down our beautiful “well maintained” highways (that shrine to our tax dollars at work) on our way to a dinner of filet mignon with lobster. And the next week Turbo Tax is telling us that there is a Costco size case of Top Ramen in our future.

So, in honor of Feast or Famine month, I offer you two of my top recipes for a comfort food favorite, Mac & Cheese. True, the desperate can go the blue-box, plastic cheese route. But the real deal is easy to prepare, and you can make extra for the freezer.

For those whose fortunes have been favored, I offer a decadent version, and suggest you enjoy it with your favorite bottle of bubbly—while using your best Thurston Howell III voice. Read more…