An apology....

Due to various reasons, I am not much of a cook the past three months. In fact, due to a very small, but quickly growing, munchkin, I can't stomach many of my past recipes. Instead, I subsist on pasta, egg&cheese, and....yes....poultry. In fact, I haven't been able to stomach vegetables or fish in four months. Alas, the Pescetarian is eating meat again. Anyways, I am starting to cook again, so I will be sure to post some of my recipes, and forgive my inclusion of poultry...

More soon!

Our (d)evolving relationship with food preparation.

Do you see cooking as a spectator sport? Watch the Food Network, but think heating frozen 'food' is dinner? Well, it is time to re-think your relationship with meal preparation.

My kind sister-in-law sent me this Times article by Michael Pollan. Using the new movie Julie and Julia, Pollan examines our relationship with food preparation and consumption. Definitely worth the read, Thanks J!


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html

Lemon Zucchini and Artichokes

Because I wanted to cook from my garden....

Lemon Zucchini and Artichokes on Rice

• 1 cup of basmati rice
• 1 tb of butter
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup of white wine
• 1 squeezed lemon
• 2 zucchini (or one GIANT one given to you by a fellow gardener)
• 1 cup of grape tomatoes, yellow and red
• 2 cups of green/yellow beans
• 2 cups or 1 can (drained) artichokes
• 1/2 cup of chopped basil
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Romano cheese to taste.
  

1. Boil 1 cup of basmati rice in 2 and 3/4 cups of water (a dab of butter or a little olive oil)
2. Chop veggies, and salt the zucchini.
3. Saute the chopped shallot and garlic in 1 tb of butter until translucent.
4. Add white wine, lemon, and zucchini. Saute until the zucchini is medium softness.
5. Add grape tomatoes, beans, and artichokes, saute until cooked.
6. When finished, plate and sprinkle basil on top of each serving.
   
7. Add salt/pepper/ Romano cheese to taste.

Daring food of the week...

Earlier I said I would try new fruits and veggies that I was scared of preparing. Although I did not update the blog religiously, things have been a little busy this summer, I have been trying new ones.

This week, I bought a pineapple. Now, I know pineapple is not exotic. However, the past 10 years, the span of my grocery shopping existence, I ran from the sight of an entire pineapple. I mean, they are big, heavy and they can hurt you-- those spikes! So, I usually resorted to purchasing canned pineapple. So, on a whim we bought pineapple last week, because after close examination I saw they now come with directions. I can handle carving directions, Right? Well it has sat in my fridge since I took it from its fellow spikey-mohawk friends. I hear its laughter every time I open the fridge, like those oinking pig fridge alarms. And then, last night I was publicly shamed. A dear friend of mine, and food lover, completely chopped through a pineapple. At their house for a summer bbq, A. explained that I am afraid of REAL pineapple. And well, I realized then and there I needed to get over my fear of punk fruit. Not one to ever back down from a challenge, I anialated that sucker.

A little Moules Marinières for your Bastille Day...

The Francophile that I am, I make July 14th a mandatory feast. Tonight, I purchased mussels from Slavins and Sons, a good bottle of French wine, and turned up Edith Piaf.




Moules Marinière

• 2 bags of Mussels
• 1 Shallot
• 1 cup of onion
• 8 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 pint of grape tomatoes sliced in half
• 2 tb of butter
• 2 cups of white wine, I use a white burgundy
• pepper
• 1/3 cup of flat leaf parsley chopped.

1. Rinse, soak for 5 minutes, then drain the mussels.
2. Meanwhile, saute the rest of the ingredients in a giant stockpot. Turn the heat down.
3. De-beard the mussels, which involves taking off the small hairy part of the mussel. Any open or cracked mussels should be discarded at this point.
4. Throw the mussels into the stockpot
5. Cook for 2 minutes or until the mussels open.
6. Voila! C'est fini!

Today, instead of making pommes frites, under my sister's suggestion, I went to the frozen food aisle. I am usually pretty lost in this section of the grocery store. However, next to the classic french fries I saw from childhood, sat a bag of organic fries by Alexia. No added chemicals and made with sea salt- excellent. We started cooking these before prepping the mussels, which takes only 10 minutes with two people. I drizzled olive oil infused with chilis over them before putting them in the oven, and they were crispy and ready to dip in the mussels when we were done!

Bon Appetit!!

Another Salad, and a yummy one!

This salad is super easy to assemble, and because of the flavors and ingredients, does not need dressing. In fact, by storing diverse ingredients to toss in salads, you can make this very fast. Usually, I use leftover sauted mushrooms from dinner in this salad, but if you want uncooked mushrooms are great, too.

Mo's Nicoise

• 1 cup of assorted Lettuce, the more variety in color the better!
• 1/3 cup of packaged Tuna (I prefer the kind in the packets not cans; less water)
• 1/4 cup of purple cabbage
• 1/3 cup of sauted mushrooms (Baby Portabellas are amazing this way)
• 5-6 Sugar Snap Peas
• 5 green olives (sliced is nice, but you can do this when you sit down to eat)
• 1 tb of chopped red onion
• 1 slice of goat cheese crumbled (I use the type in a roll; it is a superior texture and taste)
• Sprinkle pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds on top.

Toss ingredients together and Bon appetit!

Testing Animals, I mean really, is it necessary?

I love Vegetarian magazine. Even though I am a pescetarian, my consumption of fish is rare, and the recipes provided in the magazine are flexible and easy. As the blog shows, many of my good cooking innovations include fish, but I am learning more and more how to cook a meal that is independent of fish. More importantly, this magazine includes environmental education, which I now take to heart. They give reviews of companies who abuse and test on animals, as well as review companies who don't test or produce an organic product.They especially focus on animal testing, which is a ridiculous holdover from the dark ages of early industrialization.

The more I think about it, I would never want my cats, or any animal, to be tested on by chemists. When The Body Shop opened in the early 90s, I casually followed their slogan. But in the past ten years, during summers and awkward employment moments, I worked for the organization and I realized, testing on animals is unnecessary. It is a superfluous method of product control. We all know that certain chemicals are not healthy for the body, but companies insist on putting them on animals that we would consider pets. When A. and I married, I mentioned these ideas, and A. was more than more supportive. All I needed to do was mention our two cats, Cleo and Pokey, and he agreed. There is no reason to test on a being, when we know the results. So, for the past three years, I made a particularly serious effort at having only animal-testing-free products in our home. It is surprisingly easy once you do the research. For household products we use Method (some, but not all, of their products don't test) and Seventh Generation. For tough to clean spots, we employ a book on home cleaning that A.'s mom donated to us called Home Comforts. It is amazing. For hair and beauty, I rely on NARS, Almay, Aveda, The Body Shop, and a few smaller companies for hair products. Although I have never been a big fan of PETA--because their methods alienate people who would normally agree-- they have a fairly reliable list of which products to purchase, look here. It is no-longer about being a hippy-dippy liberal, but more about what is necessary. The question really is: If there are wonderful products that are equivalent to your mainstays, why torture an animal?

A little comic relief.

My new editor suggested that I post our favorite Eddie Izzard clip. It is food appropriate, especially in regards to Italian**, and after watching it for two years, we still laugh.

Click Here for Eddie Izzard.

** Please note: Do not eat Italian in anything called a canteen.

Thanks be to Cod.

After we travel, A. and I go into a sort of cultural withdraw. After our trip to the Yucatan, we sought out tacos and guacamole. Not only do we go to restaurants, but I make many attempts at mimicking our favorites, such as the best brunch ever. After France, we used tablecloths and listened to Edith Piaf, while I perused my Julia Child and Ina Garten books to find the best French recipes. When we travel, we take our time to enjoy the culture, and don't check things off our list. We feel really lucky to even be there and to take in the moment. Often, our long meals are what we remember best. The bliss of a conversation over a meal cultivates our passion for the food of different cultures. When we returned from Ireland, this of course occurred again.

Growing up in Alexandria, I was one of a few people with immediate Irish heritage, and certainly, I was the only dual citizen that I knew. There were the people who said they were Irish, ugh, loudly broadcasting their greenness on St. Patricks Day-- ironically, the day my grandmother loathed. In a town of Anglo-Saxon and Scot descendants, I grew up around the Scottish Games and the oldest Episcopalian church in the country. Alexandria was decidedly Protestant. With wild curly hair, big cheeks, and a Gaelic profile, I just didn't look or feel like my peers. In fact, after our last trip, I remarked to my mother how walking around Ireland I realized how much I looked like everyone. I fit in there. However, in the past ten years, the Irish finally arrived. Up and down King St, Irish chefs litter the various establishments. Upon returning from Ireland in April, we rushed to Eamonn's, named after the chef's son, and not the revolutionary. The best fish and chips this side of the Atlantic, we decided it rivaled most in Ireland. But, A. didn't stop there. For my 30th birthday, he took me to Restaurant Eve. Considered one of the best restaurants in the city, he went all out, and I still can't get over it. Dining with the likes of Denis Leary, we enjoyed a perfect meal. The food was fresh in such a way that reminds you that most food is not. I could not get over the dinner, or Denis Leary- that petite man, and it probably explained why we were pretty silent eating. No reflections about eating in Dingle at this meal. Upon leaving, they gave us a packet to make homemade scones in the morning. We jumped over to Daniel O'Connell's, this time named after the revolutionary, and shared pints in the most authentic pub in the city. I love the place, it reflects a modern Dublin pub-- because Ireland evolves, like the rest of the world. So much better then Fado's, Murphy's, or the 4 P's. Reflecting now, I can't get over how odd I felt growing up being Irish Catholic in D.C, but how hip it is now.

As if I need another reason to love Eamonn's and Restaurant Eve, yesterday the chef, Cathal Armstrong, was on NPR talking about sustainable eating, and all sorts of wonderfulness, take a moment to listen. Thank you NPR, the conversation brought me back to thoughts of Ireland again...

Please, no chicken, bacon, cream dressing, or ham.

Going to restaurants, I often need to rearrange the salads. "I would like the BBQ Chicken Salad, please. But, can you remove the chicken, add more tomatoes, and put the dressing on the side?" Ugh, I sound like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. However, salads in restaurants do not contain enough vegetable ingredients, so when the meat is removed you usually only have lettuce and carrots. I knew it was bad last summer when the waitress at Cap City knew me just by my odd order. Last night, in an effort to recover from the gluttony of a vacation in Mexico, I made the following salad. Restaurants should follow suite.

The Right Restaurant Salad.

• 1 cup of edamame
• 2 slices of a purple cabbage chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup of arugula
• 1 cup of carrots shaved
• 1 cup of bean sprouts
• 1 cup of green onions chopped
• 1 red bell pepper sliced
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 orange segmented
• 1 cup of rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice
• 1 tb sesame oil
• 2 tb soy sauce
• 2 tb of chopped fresh ginger
• 2 tp of honey

1. Mix edamame, cabbage, arugula, carrots, bean sprouts, green onions, red pepper and almonds. Plate the salad mixture, add orange pieces on top.
2. In a small bowl, whisk rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, honey and ginger.
3. Pour vinaigrette over salad.

This serves two, but if you chop up more ingredients, and put them in storage containers, you can have this for lunch the next day like I will . Creating a good salad is actually easy, if you make sure you chop the ingredients ahead of time. Assemble the dry ingredients in a Tupperware, and the wet ingredients, including dressing, in a Ziploc bag-- voila a healthy lunch. As someone who allows herself only 20 minutes to get ready at 6 in the morning for work, I can say there is no excuse for not packing yourself a healthy lunch.