Beef Jerky

29 Aug

I’ve been letting my harsh stance on kitchen gadgets slide in recent months, and before I knew it, we had another acquisition.  I will admit that I was fearful when Jan excitedly reported that he’d ordered a dehydrator and it would only be a matter of days before it arrived from Amazon onto our doorstep. He told me I should be relieved that he’d bought the Nesco FD-80, as he was tempted to buy the Excalibur (which we got a sneak peek at during our raw foods class: Going raw), but that it was three times the price and didn’t seem worth it. As Jan says, a dehydrator is not a complicated thing; it’s essentially a box with trays and a regulated heating element and a fan, and since the Nesco had adjustable temperature settings, it fit all the requirements.

When the dehydrator arrived, Jan was like a giddy child with a new toy. He bought sirloin roast (deciding on that cut in particular because that was what was on sale), and cut it into thin slices. He used soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and dried chili flakes to make a marinade for the meat. After about 4 hours of the meat marinating, he loaded up the dehydrator and “let it do its magic,” as he said. He kept checking on the jerky till it seamed the right dryness which was about 6 hours later.

Beef jerky ingredient lineup

Before drying

Beef inside the dehydrator (hanging out outside on the barbecue)

After 6 hours of drying

We sampled the jerky and it was not over spiced nor over salted—it was amazing how we could really taste the meat. Much better than the stuff you buy in the store, we agreed. One thing to be aware of is that since you are dehydrating the meat you will end up with about 1/3 the weight that you started with, so 3 pounds of meat is only 1 pound of jerky. It’s probably more cost-effective to buy jerky premade from the store, but the quality you get with homemade is worth it.

Since his first batch, Jan has been experimenting with different ingredients and the recipe I’m sharing below is our favorite so far. With everyone in the family pleased with the beef jerky (especially Benny!), the dehydrator is, for now a welcome addition to our family of kitchen gadgets. And it might stay that way for a while. After all, once the allure of making homemade jerky wears off, there’s still a whole world of other foods out there to dehydrate.

Beef Jerky

print recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds sirloin or London broil cut into 1/8 inch strips
  • ¼ cup of soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon chili oil
  • 1 teaspoon chili flakes
  • ½ teaspoon crushed pepper corns
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Combine sliced meat with all other ingredients and marinate at least 4 hours.
  2.  Place in the dehydrator for 6-8 hours.

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The Fifteen Minute French Dip

8 Aug

I’ve been craving a French dip sandwich ever since I tasted the original at Philippe’s in Los Angeles (The original French dip) and the Italian beef Sandwich at Taste Chicago, all on the same night.

When Jan barbecued tri-tip for dinner and we had lots of leftovers, I knew I finally had my chance to have this delicious sandwich again. I put away the slices of tri-tip, which Jan had already thinly sliced, and added a French baguette to our shopping list for the next day.

When it was time for meal preparation, we utilized more leftover ingredients for the other components of the dish (lots of cabbage left over from an Indian-themed feast—more on that to come) and made coleslaw with green cabbage, carrots, and raisins. We let that rest for a while, since it always seems to get better once the mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar can meld together with the rest of the ingredients.  And we also started baking French fries in the oven, since those also took a little more time than our sandwiches, which Jan said would take less than 15 minutes to prepare.

To make the sandwiches, Jan began by getting water to a boil and adding beef bouillon, letting it simmer for about 5 minutes.  He then added slices of green onion and the pieces of tri-tip, allowing it to cook for another 5 minutes over low heat.  With about a minute before the beef was up, he placed the bread into the toaster oven, already cut into the desired sandwich lengths for each of us and split in half (but still attached at one end).  To mine, he added Muenster cheese to be toasted with the bread, and his bread he left plain.

Beef broth with green onions and thinly sliced tri-tip, simmering

When the toaster time was up, he used tongs to remove the pieces of beef from the broth and place them into the bread. The broth was placed into two bowls, one for each of us to dip our sandwiches in at the table. We added French fries and coleslaw to our plates and it was time to eat.

I didn’t follow the technique at Philippe’s of dipping my entire sandwich into the broth before serving, and instead dipped one corner of the sandwich at a time, just before taking a bite of that piece. And it wasn’t just because I didn’t have to drive all the way down to Los Angeles for a French dip sandwich—I enjoyed the homemade version the best—I liked the freedom of choosing whatever cheese I wanted, how thin or thick I wanted the beef sliced, and even down to determining the thickness of the broth. Jan took a cue from Philippe’s and added spicy peppers to his sandwich, and I remembered to steer clear of the spicy mustard, even though we still had the jar from our trip waiting in the refrigerator.

Even though leftover tri-tip is a great excuse for making this sandwich, we’ve also had great results using slices of roast beef from the deli-counter or lunch meat section, so leftover barbecue isn’t a requirement. With only requirements being bread, beef, bouillon, and a few minutes, I’m not going to let such a long time go by before having another.

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More S’mores: Going Gourmet

26 Jul

I’ve written about s’mores before (Girls gone camping, Getting scientific about s’mores, One year ago: reminiscing on the Vantastic Voyage), and thought I’d said just about everything that could be said about them. But, when it comes to the things you love, maybe that isn’t true—there’s always more to be said.  So here goes.

Jan and I spent last weekend camping with a group of friends at Huntington Lake, which meant in addition to the “regular” food we were bringing, we also brought plenty of s’mores supplies to go around. Jan did our shopping and bought the ingredients for the classic American s’mores: Honey-Maid graham crackers, Jet-Puffed marshmallows, and Hershey’s milk chocolate and Special Dark bars.

When we got to camp, we learned that we weren’t the only ones thinking about making s’mores.  But these s’mores ingredients brought by other campers were the Trader Joe’s variety, and suddenly, a whole new s’mores world opened up for me.  There were Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies, Old Fashioned Cinnamon Grahams, Swiss Milk Chocolate, and the Pound Plus of Belgian Dark Chocolate. And lots and lots of marshmallows.      

With the addition of what I was calling the gourmet s’mores ingredients, our campfire wouldn’t be just about enjoying the classic American s’more, but instead, pursuing an always welcome activity for us—the taste test.

I used the lid of a plastic camping-box-container as my tray to lay out all the ingredients and offered a quick tutorial on my s’mores technique (toast 1 graham cracker square with chunks of Special Dark atop it while slowly roasting 2 marshmallows on a skewer, then using the other untoasted graham cracker to sandwich the hot marshmallows on top of the toasted graham cracker and melted chocolate, all while carefully removing the skewer).

Selecting ingredients

Everyone had their own ideas about what combinations they wanted to try: Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies with Belgian chocolate, open faced s’mores, untoasted grahams, etc. and they got to work constructing their own treats. As usual, there was the great debate about slowing browning the marshmallows verses catching them on fire and quickly burning it out. Jan argued that the more fiery technique allowed for the marshmallow’s sugars to caramelize, while I argued that my slow-turning technique near the hot ashes got the entire marshmallow heated completely through. But this wasn’t a new debate and everyone concentrated on making their own s’mores. I had the fun of watching each person work on their own creation and combinations of ingredients.

Jan offers his advice on marshmallow-roasting

S'mores in progress

Since I already knew what the “classic” tasted like, I tested out the new cookies/crackers. As people made their s’mores, the consensus was that the Belgian chocolate was delicious, but too thick to even begin melting, so I stuck with Special Dark since the thickness of that bar seemed to allow the chocolate to melt at the same rate of marshmallow-cooking. My s’more with the Belgian Butter Waffle Cookie was delicious, and tasted even richer than the standard s’more on graham cracker, with its thin and buttery texture.  I was intrigued; there was definitely something to switching out the different pieces of the s’more. When I felt that I had recovered from my initial sugar high, I made my second s’more, this time with the Old Fashioned Cinnamon Graham. The cookies were thick without being too crunchy, and I loved the little crystals of sugar that were powdered onto the cookies. The cinnamon, however, detracted from the rest of the chocolate and marshmallow flavors when everything came together.

Made with Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies

It seemed as if everyone had a favorite, and we all would have liked to try the infinite combinations of ingredients and cooking techniques, but we soon reached our sugar limit. What had, minutes before, been a lively group around the campfire, had become quiet and reflective.  I think we were all experiencing a sugar coma.  We discussed the “best” s’more, but of course came to no consensus. For my own view, I think I’ll stick with the classic, but trying these combinations of other cookies certainly got me thinking about other ideas. For example, I might want to just eat the Cinnamon Grahams on their own, and on another day, dip the Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies in chocolate or spread Nutella on top of them. For some of the other campers though, after trying the gourmet version, they might have a new favorite. As the s’more discussion ended, we seemed to have recovered from the sugar and everyone was back to their usual selves, having had enough cookies/crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate of any form until the next camping trip.

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Barbecue Sauce Taste Test #1: Chicken

11 Jul

What to do with a pantry full of barbecue sauce and a refrigerator full of chicken? Conduct a barbecue-chicken taste test, of course. The other night, I came home to find Jan in the midst of executing long-considered plan. Over the course of a few shopping trips, he had gathered the “original” flavors of a handful of barbecue sauces, all the while considering what he would do with them. And after reading a recent Consumer Reports article on the best barbecue sauces, it was finally time for him to conduct a taste test of his own.

When I got home, Jan already had a few guy friends over mixing drinks and snacking on appetizers. He had laid out the barbecue sauces in a row, and poured a small amount of each into a bowl. The sauce lineup of original flavor in no particular order: Stubb’s, Jack Daniel’s, Famous Dave’s, KC Masterpiece, and Sweet Baby Ray’s. Without allowing us to see which sauce was which, he had us taste the sauces by themselves. With our plastic tasting spoons it wasn’t quite as classy as a wine tasting, but we took our task seriously, taking time to taste and consider each sauce. We offered our guesses on which sauce was which, but Jan kept quiet, saying nothing would be revealed until we tasted the sauces with the chicken that he was busy barbecuing on the grill.

The guys taste the sauces on their own

The tasting medium of chicken was seasoned with salt and pepper, grilled, and “sauced” in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Again, Jan lined up the samples, 5 different bowls of chicken, each cooked with a different barbecue sauce. Jan instructed us in what order to take the samples, and to lay them out clockwise on our plates, with sample #1 at 12 o’clock.

The chicken before being cooked with one of five barbecue sauces

It was quiet for a few minutes as the seven of us tasted each of the samples. And then suddenly, you couldn’t keep anyone quiet—everyone had an opinion on the best and worst barbecue sauces. After debating for a while, it took the scientist in the room—our friend Nevin—to determine the best way to judge. On a small scrap of cardboard, she laid out a table: columns one through five for each sauce, and rows for each of the seven tasters. She asked each of us, one by one, to list our choices, from favorite to least favorite.

In last place was Stubb’s with 30 points (each person’s last choice was 5 points, their first choice was 1 point). Next was Famous Dave’s with 25 points, followed by Jack Daniel’s with 19 points and KC Masterpiece with 18 points. In first place was Sweet Baby Ray’s with 13 points. Our choices for barbecue sauces didn’t exactly match up with Consumer Report’s top-rated Stubb’s. But, all of us agreed that some of the worst-rated (by us) sauces might be amazing on pork or beef. We all admitted that Sweet Baby Ray’s was the sweetest of the sauces, but it seemed to best compliment the chicken. We agreed that another taste test with the same sauces and different meats would need to be done in the near future. In the meantime, we contemplated the results and kept eating more chicken.

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Battle of the Birthday Cakes

28 Jun

It seems that everyone has a cake they prefer to get on their birthday, and in our family, it’s come down to two frontrunners, one a flashy store-bought treat, the other a homemade favorite. In one corner, we’ve got what we call the “choo-choo-train cake” from Baskin Robbins. Many of you might remember this cake from your childhood: chocolate cake and ice-cream (usually strawberry or vanilla flavor) rolled into a cylinder and decorated to look like a train. Large cookies form the wheels, an upside-down cone forms the smoke stack, and the rest of the details are created with large quantities of frosting.

The "choo-choo train" ice cream cake

For Jan and his brothers, this cake is the birthday tradition, the thing they’re always happy to see headed toward them covered in candles. With its bright, bold colors and solid ice-cream construction, this cake always looks good.

David and Adam are always happy get this cake on their birthday

Growing up, my birthday cake of choice was the classic Swedish birthday cake, or tårta, made by my mom and dad. The cake is simple: moist white or yellow cake piled high with whipped cream and fresh berries. While the appearance of this cake is less predictable than that of the choo-choo train cake, sometimes looking like a beautiful creation, other times looking more like a train wreck, it is always delicious, and to me, the cake tastes like pure summer.

And despite the consistently neat appearance of Baskin-Robbins’ cake, the Swedish birthday cake is starting to gain ground at family birthday celebrations. I made the cake once for my father-in-law, which he described as looking like a cake hit by an atomic bomb. But before I could get offended, after a few bites he went on to say that it was the most delicious cake he’d ever eaten, and asked if I could make this cake all the time.

The reason the cake can be so ugly sometimes really depends on the time of year that you make it. During the summer, when you’ve got fresh strawberries, boysenberries, and raspberries to use, the cake will look the best because the berries are fresh. It’s in using frozen berries where the cake’s appearance starts to deteriorate. After thawing the berries and allowing the juice to drain, there still remains juice to soak into the whipped cream and turn it into a garish shade of pink. But then, there also seems to be a strange relationship between the cake’s appearance and rave reviews: the uglier it looks, the better it tastes.

Making the cake is simple: use a cake box mix for yellow cake (I don’t have good luck baking cakes from scratch so I always take this shortcut) and follow the package directions, baking in two 9” round pans. After baking, allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.  Use a stand mixer to whip the whipped cream, adding powdered sugar to achieve the desired sweetness.  Place the first layer on the plate you wish to serve the cake, and cover with whipped cream and berries. Another secret: don’t add sugar to the berries, or the juice from them will soak into the whipped cream. Add the next layer and cover the top and sides with the remaining whipped cream. Add the berries to the top and sides of the cake and the cake is ready to serve.

Now for my birthday last week, my dad said he wanted to bake me a cake, so of course I requested my favorite, the Swedish birthday cake. He did a good job too—looked good and tasted delicious.

Dad's Swedish birthday cake in progress, before adding whipped cream and berries to the sides

I began to doubt my previous conclusion about the cake ugliness-to-tastiness ratio.  Maybe after years and years of baking the same cake, we were all improving.  I was even getting requests from the people who always picked the choo-choo train cake. For Jan’s birthday last April, he got to celebrate with each cake at two different birthday dinners, so he didn’t really have to choose. I’ll take that as a small victory—slow, but steady progress. And with fresh strawberries to use, the finished cake looked neat and tidy, with no signs of melting or pink whipped cream. It was definitely the best looking iteration of the cake so far (see picture at top of this post).

Unlike boxers, for my favorite birthday cake, the more time it spends in the ring, the prettier it looks. Watch out, choo-choo train cake.

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Lomo Saltado: A Taste of Peru

15 Jun

The commercials for Match.com state that today, one in five relationships begin online, and I believe it. These days, it seems like everyone knows somebody who’s found their significant other through a dating site, and as someone who never experienced online dating (and is thankful for it after some of the stories I’ve heard!), I’m amazed.  Across counties, cities, and countries, people are able to meet online and eventually meet in person and get to know each other.

This is how one our good friend Ken met his fiancé, who will soon be on her way from Peru to begin her life here in Fresno, California.  Though we haven’t met her yet, Jan and I are excited to welcome her here when she arrives.  So when we found ourselves passing by a Peruvian restaurant during a trip to Anaheim earlier this year, it was the perfect opportunity to both taste something new, and be able to report that we had, in fact, tasted Peruvian food.

We were told that one of the signature dishes of Peru was Lomo Saltado, made with thin strips of beef sirloin cooked with onions and tomatoes and served with white rice and French fries.  As the dish came to the table, I smelled the beef and onions, with a hint of mouth-watering Chinese food aroma thrown in.  While I was initially thrown off by this unlikely combination of scents and flavors, as I ate, that didn’t matter so much—it tasted good.

Lomo Saltado reminds me of a few things I love: beef fajitas, chili cheese fries, and Asian stir fry.  Not dishes I would ordinarily group together in the same sentence, but somehow, it seems to work.  After all, I wouldn’t give a second thought to eating a steak sandwich with onions and tomatoes along with a side of French fries.  So if I could get that same meal without the bread, why not?

On every table of the restaurant, there was also a large bottle of green sauce in a clear squeeze bottle.  I kept tasting the sauce over and over, feeling like there was something familiar in it, but was unable to put my finger on it.  I asked the waitress what was in the sauce, but she only shrugged her shoulders and said she didn’t know.

At home, we researched recipes in order to recreate Lomo Saltado in our own kitchen.  The first time we made it, Jan quickly sautéed the beef and served it over a bed of steak fries (we skipped the white rice).  With plenty of juice from the beef to drizzle over the potatoes, the meal was delicious.  But then, Jan made the dish again, this time with the green sauce, and that was what took the dish up to the next level.  Turns out, that familiar, yet unidentifiable ingredient from the restaurant’s green sauce was feta cheese, something I hadn’t even considered a possibility.

Stir frying the onions, beef, and tomatoes

Before getting "sauced"

To someone from Peru, our Lomo Saltado might taste far from authentic, but at least they might appreciate the effort, we figured.  Jan and I talked about how we could serve the dish and do our best to help Ken’s fiancé feel at home.  We patted ourselves on the back, grinning and feeling proud of ourselves.  We told Ken we were ready for her to get here.  But then he only laughed, and told us that she was a vegetarian.

I sighed, shaking my head.  Well, I thought, of course I would have known that if I’d seen her profile.  Guess I still haven’t caught up to these online times.  With a few spears of asparagus and romaine lettuce as tasting vehicles, I determined another fact: the green sauce doubles as a great salad dressing.

Lomo Saltado

print recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 lb beef sirloin
  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 1 medium onion
  • Frozen or freshly prepared French fries

For the marinade

  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

For the green sauce

  • 1 cup cilantro
  • ½ jalapeno, seeded
  • 4 oz. feta cheese
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Slice the beef into thin strips and set aside.
  2. Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a medium bowl, then add the beef strips and stir until coated.
  3. Marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour.
  4. While the beef is marinating, make the green sauce.  Use a food processor to combine cilantro, jalapeno, feta cheese, olive oil, canola oil, water, vinegar, lime juice, salt, and pepper.  Pour into desired serving container and set aside.
  5. Before removing the beef from the refrigerator, slice the tomatoes and onion into large pieces.
  6. If cooking the French fries in the oven, allow enough time to begin heating according to package directions.  If deep frying the French fries, fry in batches while the beef is cooking with the onions and tomatoes on the stovetop.
  7. Begin sautéing the onion until it begins to brown.  Add the beef to the pan including any remaining liquid from the marinade.
  8. Sauté until only a little pink remains on the meat, then add the tomatoes.
  9. Stir and cook until the beef is completely cooked.  Serve over a bed of French fries, drizzling the green sauce on top or serving the sauce on the side.

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Whiskey Raisin Crunch

7 Jun

It all started with rum raisin ice cream. A few weeks ago, I learned that rum raisin is a popular ice cream flavor in Japan, and because I found this to be an interesting fact, I’ve been thinking about this ever since. Having never tried rum raisin ice cream before, nor seen it at the grocery store or ice cream counter, I was intrigued.  I decided it was a flavor from another era, because when I did ask some folks about it, they said, “Oh yeah! Rum raisin ice cream!” like they were recalling a fond memory from long ago.  If rum raisin was something familiar, and yet, something that hadn’t been around in a while, I was bringing it back.

From my internet sleuthing, I found that Häagen-Dazs currently makes a rum raisin ice cream, but since I really wanted to sample the rum raisin flavor and not be distracted by the richness that all Häagen-Dazs flavors seem to take on, I decided I should try making it myself, getting the ice cream maker out of a long winter hibernation.

I began by getting my vanilla ice cream started, since I knew that’s what I’d be adding my rum-soaked raisins to. Since I was using the Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans for the first time instead of the vanilla extract, I cut off small pieces of the bean and scraped out the inside seeds little at the time, since I wasn’t sure how intense the “real” vanilla bean flavor would be.  When I had used about half of the vanilla bean, I was satisfied with the vanilla flavor, and proceeded to follow the ice cream maker’s directions for freezing the ice cream.

I then got out my raisins to begin their soak in rum, but finding no rum at home and with no desire to return to the store, I decided to use some honey whiskey we had.  I figured the sweet honey flavor would be a good replacement for the sweetness of the rum, and poured the alcohol over the raisins to begin their soak.

Then my mind got to thinking.  I remembered the “Secret Breakfast” ice cream I’d tasted at San Francisco’s Humphry Slocombe ice cream parlor (Bourbon ice cream and corn flakes) and wanted to make my own alcohol-flavored ice cream, with its own nod to breakfast cereal.

After adding my whiskey-soaked raisins to my vanilla bean ice cream, I crumbled up a Nature Valley “Oats N’ Honey” granola bar into the ice cream, adding a bit of crunch to the creamy blend. I took a taste right away, even though I usually like to allow the ice cream to harden with additional time in the freezer. Honey whiskey and honey granola were a match that agreed with me.

When I heard the next Taste Fresno TasteBuds gathering would be a potluck with the theme of “breakfast for dinner,” I knew my own breakfast-inspired ice cream would be my contribution.

For the potluck batch, I allowed the raisins a longer soak in the alcohol, and after 8 hours, they had absorbed most of the liquid, becoming plump with whiskey. I also used ready-made granola instead of a granola bar this time, though if I was really serious, I might have made my own. As I always seem to be short on ingredients and too lazy to return to the store, my cream-to-milk ratio was a little low for this batch, making for a less creamy texture because my ice cream didn’t have enough fat in it (the proper ratio of cream to milk is listed in the recipe below).  But, I forged ahead anyway, hoping the honey flavor, whiskey-soaked raisins, Madagascar vanilla beans, and crunchy granola would distract from the less-than-ideal texture.

Though it’s no rocky road (the favorite ice cream flavor in our household), I felt satisfied with the creation of this new ice cream flavor. Besides, with so many essential food groups thrown into the mix, Whiskey Raisin Crunch just might be the most important meal of the day.

Whiskey Raisin Crunch

Print recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 cup raisins
  • ½ cup honey whiskey
  • 1 cup whole milk, well chilled
  • ½ cup sugar
  • Seeds from ½ vanilla bean, or to taste
  • 2 cups heavy cream, well chilled
  • 2/3 cup granola, plus additional for garnish

Directions

    1. Place raisins in a small bowl and pour in the whiskey (I used Seagram’s 7 Dark Honey).  Allow to soak for about 8 hours, all day or overnight, stirring occasionally.
    2. After the raisins have soaked for about 8 hours and absorbed most of the alcohol, begin making the ice cream.
    3. Combine sugar with whole milk in an electric mixer and stir on a medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape out the vanilla bean seeds with a knife and add to the mixture, along with the heavy cream, stirring until combined.
    4. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions (about 30 minutes)
    5. During the last 5 minutes in the ice cream maker, add the raisins (pour entire bowl, including any remaining whiskey) into the machine, and the 2/3 cup granola (I used Fresh & Easy’s Classic Granola).
    6. Freeze at least 2-3 hours to allow ice cream to harden.
    7. Option: garnish with additional granola pieces when serving.

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Colossal shrimp and quinoa

2 Jun

Seems like I’ve been hearing about quinoa everywhere lately, so realizing I’m probably far behind the times, I decided it was finally time to give it a try. A staple food in South America, quinoa (“keen-wah”) is a grain known for its high protein content. It can be used as a side dish, where rice or pasta might ordinarily be used, or cooked as a part of the main meal.

We found a box of organic quinoa at Trader Joe’s and cooked it according to package directions. Instructions stated that it could be cooked in rice or broth, and we used chicken broth, since we figured that would give the grain a greater depth of flavor.

Jan barbecued colossal shrimp (the actual name given to this size of shrimp I preferred calling “monstrous”), and served the shrimp alongside sautéed spinach and the quinoa. To accompany the shrimp, he prepared a cucumber-yogurt sauce and added a handful of chopped cilantro for some more zest.

Though I was in awe of the massive shrimp on my plate, my first bite was of the quinoa, since that was the item I was most curious about. Once cooked, part of the tiny round grains became translucent, and I was reminded of couscous in both appearance and taste. Despite being cooked in broth, there wasn’t much flavor to the quinoa, though it was complimentary to the other foods on the plate, and combining the quinoa with the yogurt sauce was a great marriage of flavors and textures.

Translucent/opaque quinoa grains

Even though I don’t think quinoa is going to become my go-to grain for a side dish, I was glad I could finally taste what all the buzz was about. Having something quick and easy to cook gives us some variation, and I’d like to try some additional quinoa combinations in the future.

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Take Me Back to Tomales

23 May

Roughly one year ago, in my inaugural post for Our Life in Meals, I wrote about visiting a Tomales Bay oyster farm for do-it-yourself oyster shucking and barbecuing (An open mind, and mouth, for oysters).  Despite my reticence then to eat raw oysters, I embraced what I saw as a challenge and enjoyed myself thoroughly, vowing to return.  A year later, I found myself back in the same place, with the same group (plus one), and with a whole lot of food experiences and adventures under my belt.

This time, I didn’t fear the raw oyster.  Instead, I looked forward to a beautiful afternoon in West Marin.  I’d eat a raw oyster or two, eat a few more from the grill, and enjoy a picnic among good friends.  For Jan, Lucy, and me, it was our chance to introduce a new experience to Robert, who eagerly anticipated the adventure. And we’d make this a picnic to remember, since we considered ourselves oyster pros after doing this once before. Knowing the setup at the Tomales Bay Oyster Company, our drive north from San Francisco included a grocery stop in Mill Valley, where we could buy the needed supplies. Our list included:

  • Charcoal
  • Matches
  • Plastic cups
  • Corn on the cob
  • Garlic
  • Onion
  • Malt vinegar
  • French bread
  • Brie wedge
  • Grapes and apples
  • Hot links and Italian sausage
  • White wine
  • Lemons
  • Limes
  • Gallon of water

Though it was an overcast day, it didn’t seem to have any effect on the numbers of people already at Tomales Bay Oyster Company when we arrived.  Everywhere I looked, tables were full, glasses were clinking, and charcoals were hot on the grills.

Tomales Bay

Jan and Lucy headed toward the water to buy the oysters, and soon returned with two dozen  medium-sized oysters.

Two dozen oysters in hand

Last year, owner Tod Friend was nice enough to lend us an oyster-shucking knife, after we showed him the pitiful excuse for one we’d picked up at Sur La Table.  This time, we were prepared with our own supplies, which we gathered ahead of time, not wanting to leave it up to chance what we found at Safeway:

  • Oyster-shucking knife (a proper one this time) and gloves
  • Pocketknife
  • Corkscrew
  • Giant bottle of Tapatío

Owner Tod Friend asks if he's going to be in the New York Times. He seems so disappointed when I shake my head no.

I got to work shucking the oysters, as Lucy and Robert concocted a sauce to top the raw oysters containing vinegar, onions, garlic, and lemon juice.  We placed a few of the oysters directly on the grill, as their shells would pop open when they were ready.

A lesson in oyster shucking

Putting the men to work

We had everything we needed, with the only additions I would bring for a third trip to Tomales being a vinyl tablecloth (must be red and white checkered), and napkins.  But thanks to the communal spirit of others at the picnic area, our table neighbors shared their supply of napkins with us and we didn’t get too messy.

Jan takes the first bite, or slurp perhaps

Setting up the oyster bar

Put the oysters on the grill closed, they pop open when done!

We talked and ate as we went along shucking oysters, pulling items off the grill when they were cooked, finally sitting down for a toast together.

Nostrovia! (To your health)

As we sat, enjoying the grilled corn on the cob, the sausages, bread, cheese, and fruit, there was a moment when I feared the afternoon wouldn’t be as idyllic as I’d planned: another group at the picnic tables far exceeded their alcohol limit and were looking to start a fight with anyone and everyone nearby. But in an instant, the situation was diffused, and everyone was back to minding their own picnics.  We all just wanted to eat our oysters in peace.

We bought another dozen oysters, this time purchasing the small-sized oysters.  As the smaller oysters were younger, they tasted sweeter, though another thing to keep in mind was that their small size required splitting open before placing directly on the grill.

After we were completely stuffed, we cleaned up our table and headed back to the car. A bit of sun was peeking through the clouds by this time, and we stopped in Point Reyes Station to explore the town and find ice cream cones.

Ice cream cones in Point Reyes Station

Forget Jan's tough-guy appearance, who'd want to pick a fight with us?

Though all the food from the day had been delicious, we felt satisfied, agreeing that it could be a while before any of us ate another oyster. As we drove the winding roads back into the city, we agreed on May 2012 for oysters, round three.

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Artichoke Oasis

10 May

Last year, we planted one small artichoke plant in our backyard.  A few months later, the plant produced two artichokes, but we weren’t quick enough to pick them.  The artichokes turned into bright purple blooms, becoming inedible.  I wasn’t going to let that happen this year, and I diligently checked on the plant to see how it was progressing.

We were right to follow advice to plant the artichoke plant away from the rest of our vegetable garden, as it continued to grow very large, resembling a giant weed.  Allowed to grow unhindered, the plant now has a six-foot diameter, taking up an entire corner of our backyard garden.

I watched the plant get bigger and bigger, fearing that it was only growing in size without producing any of my precious artichokes.  But then suddenly, 11 small artichokes began to appear, and I eagerly anticipated my first bite.

Last week, I picked the first two artichokes, washed and prepared them by removing the sharp points, and steamed them.  I served them my favorite way, served only with balsamic-lemon mayonnaise (see My Kind of Thistle).  They were so fresh and delicious, I did the same thing again a few days later.

The first two artichokes are picked from the garden

I’ve still got about 7 globes on their way (now ranging in golf-ball-size to tennis-ball-size, so they’ve got a little growing left to do), and I’m stumped for ways to prepare them.  Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables, so I’m nowhere close to tiring of them, but I’m pretty sure I could be doing a lot more.  I thought about spinach-artichoke dip, but that seems to benefit from the least natural forms of vegetables (i.e. frozen spinach and marinated artichoke hearts from a jar).  I’m compiling my list of ideas, ready for the exact moment more artichokes are ready.  In the meantime, I’m happy sitting in the garden, watching them grow.

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