Month: July 2007

July 8, 2007

We learned this from John, and I think he learned it from Richard. It’s a kind of pesto, but made with a bitter green from the endive/radicchio family like pan di zucchero or radicchio; lately we’ve been using the galia endive because it’s at its peak. Frisée makes a divinely creamy mash. The suribachi is the ideal tool for making mash, and though it takes a bit of work, the result is well worth it,…

July 8, 2007

Sirkka and Danny came over for a mellow Friday dinner. Christine had been to Fleisher’s earlier in the day, and their housemade sausages are very good, so I whipped up a variation on her Mom’s sausage pasta sauce- with hot & sweet sausage and lots of herbs. Whole wheat spaghetti has a nice body and flavor for a big sauce like this (even though we don’t like the other shapes; the penne, etc. are too…

July 5, 2007

Christine bought wild salmon and a beautiful piece of chicken-of-the-woods today, and the colors were just gorgeous together, so I was inspired- especially since I spent all day drawing on a big sheet of MDF and needed some color. Plus, the greens beans have arrived, going from tiny to 6 inches long in about two days. I reheated brown rice with water to that magical twice-cooked creamy state, and cooked the fish skin side only…

July 4, 2007

I bought and read Barbara Kingsolver’s latest book a few weeks ago, and it’s both an inspiration and validation to what we’re doing here, and to what more and more people are doing around the country: growing and eating as much local food as we can. It’s the best kind of activism, since it involves copious pleasure while at the same time using less fossil fuel to bring us our dinner. It also helps, I…

July 4, 2007

Those peas, those peas. This right here is honestly why I bought the chicken, notwithstanding the crispy, wife-pleasing goodness of the roasted bird. The carcass made an excellent broth, and we all picked peas (Milo is very good at picking, but eats them all) plus salad and herbs. Super simple risotto ensued, flavored with the peas tossed in at the very last minute, plus parsley, parmigiano, and truffle oil. I made the risotto on the…

July 3, 2007

Last night, a simple roast chicken with brown rice. Also, shiitake caramelized in the chicken fat, and baby veggies (carrot, turnip, beet) from the garden roasted in foil alongside the bird then tossed with peapods in the wine-deglazed mushrooms. I bought the chicken as much for the carcass as for this meal; the peas in particular call out for something good this evening, and the perfect cool weather is allowing for all kinds of cookery…

July 1, 2007

Many leftovers and not much time led to this variety of small treats; there’s nothing like having nori, and other wrappers around to turn random scraps into elegant bites. The goes-without-saying summer rolls, wontons made with a filling of leftover curried chick peas puréed with the last of the sweet potato salad fromm John’s birthday, and maki made from some brown rice remnants and filled with the purée, a bit of barramundi Milo had the…