Needing something clean and healthy, I fell back on maki, always a good way to use up small amounts of leftovers in a healthy way. So the remaining brown rice became rolls around two different fillings: the first, roasted carnival squash puréed with a bit of umeboshi paste and shaken with sesame seeds, and the second kale pesto with fresh arugula leaves in the middle. As an appetizer, 2/3 of a block of tofu browned…
Month: October 2006
I was talking to the plumber and discussing variations in sauce recipes from family to family; once he left I knew what needed making for dinner. So a bit of bacon and half an onion browned, then a ton of fresh herbs, garlic, a splash of wine, and a can of tomatoes all simmered while I heated up a big pot of water for pasta. The fettucine tossed in with the sauce just before it…
Roasted butternut squash, stick-blended into the rest of the smoked duck broth, became the first course in another fridge-clearing dinner. The caramelized squash and the smoky broth combined beautifully, and the natural affinity duck has with sweet vegetables really made this one special. The main course was brown rice, pinto beans cooked with onion, cumin, lemon, chile powder, and the smoked fat from the top of the broth, and a salsa of corn, radish, and…
Still more rain, this time with the closest and loudest lightning I’ve ever heard (it blew all our surge suppressors and killed the phone) wanted another comfort-centric response, so I schlepped to the store after I thought it broke and got thoroughly soaked on the way home, to the point where a stranger gave me a ride, seeing that my feeble paper bags were about to dump dinner all over the sidewalk. The joys of…
This time the broth was all duck; the whole glorious smoked carcass along with an onion, carrots, and parsley simmered for a couple of hours. Then, once strained, more carrot and zucchini plus soy sauce went in to simmer while whole wheat spaghetti boiled since we were out of soba. Finished with scallions and cilantro, and had with a 2002 Jadot Beaune Les Bressandes, it proved another antidote to what seems like eternal rain.
All the other night’s ingredients (except the fish, which was gone) went back in the pan after a bit of onion had browned up a bit and then had some scallion and cilantro added to make a beautiful curried fried rice. This time a Trimbach riesling, also 2003 went with it. A nice way to enjoy a variation with subtle differences.
Roasting weather is upon us, so a pork shoulder got crammed with many garlic cloves and then goodly slathered with thyme, more garlic, oregano, rosemary, pepper and salt mashed to a paste in the suribachi. Into the oven, and then some blue potatoes steamed, skinned, and mashed with yogurt and parmesan went on the back of the stove to keep warm while I steamed some broccoli in the same pot. A quick pan sauce of…