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Archive for the ‘Food and…’ Category

Learning@Dinner

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , , , , , on April 8, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Did you know? Not only did there used to be a student jail for curfew breakers and related miscreants in Uppsala, Sweden, but that very same collection of cold stone cells is now the character-filled restaurant Domtrappkällaren. Translation: [Dom=cathedral] + [trapp=steps] + [kalleren=cellar]. For a mind-blowing bit of temporal perspective (for North Americans, at least), the university punishing said miscreants was founded in 1477. (Still left to learn: how are modern-day malfeasants chastised now that the jail has been repurposed? Inquiring minds want to know!)

The restaurant serves a delectable selection of Northern cuisine, including items like Kalix Löjrom roe. That name is a Protected Designation of Origin similar to “Champagne,” and is the only such designation in Sweden. Kalix is in Northern Sweden, and the region’s fish eggs (or Kalixlöjrom) gain their unique flavor from a mix of fresh and salt waters along with a copious dose of minerals. (Apparently, strontium and barium are quite tasty, if you can persuade a fish to prepare it for you.)

I learned none of this first-hand, sadly, but my globe-trotting father enjoyed the heck out of his dinner. Makes me want to get back to Sweden…

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Chocolate Volcanoes, Because Why Not?

Posted in Food and..., Holidays, tagged , , , , on February 13, 2014| 1 Comment »

My brain’s a little under-caffeinated today so I thought I’d bring you a recipe. Because chocolate cake, warm, soft, and straight out of the oven? Delicious. Also, I’ll admit to being a little snacky right now:) Enjoy!

Chocolate Cakes with Liquid Centers
The original version of this recipe was made famous by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten who says that this oozing molten chocolate cake happened completely by accident. The idea is fairly common now but it’s a great dessert for, say, Valentine’s Day. It’s quick, impressive, and can be pre-made and baked at the last minute, another big plus. These little cakes are tasty but easy to overcook. If that happens, well, you’ve still got chocolate cake.

115g / ½ cup unsalted butter, plus additional butter to grease molds
113g / 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
50g / ¼ cup sugar
16g / 2 T. flour
cocoa for dusting (or use flour, but cocoa will look better)

1. Microwave the butter and chocolate together on low heat (I use 30% power, stirring every couple of minutes) until the chocolate is melted. In the meantime, beat together the eggs, yolks, and sugar until light and thick.

2. Beat together the melted chocolate and butter. Pour in the egg mixture, then quickly beat in the flour, just until combined.

3. Butter four 4-ounce molds, custard cups, or ramekins, then dust with cocoa and tap out the excess. Divide the batter among the molds. (At this point you can cover and put these in the fridge until you are ready to bake; I’ve done this up to a day in advance.)

4. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Bake the molds on a tray for 7–10 minutes (depending on ramekin size and batter temperature); the center should still be soft, but the sides will be set.

5. Invert each mold onto a plate and let sit for about 10 seconds, then unmold. Serve immediately. Excellent with ice cream and strawberry sauce.

Makes 4 individual cakes.

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Everyday Brownies

Posted in Food and..., Likes, tagged , , , , , , , on January 17, 2014| 2 Comments »

Just in time for the weekend, here is my favorite brownie recipe. It’s quick and delicious. It’s also in metric, because once you get a scale and get used to the routine, the weight method is indeed easier and more consistent. Making fewer dirty dishes is an added bonus. Also, cocoa powder means no waiting around to chop and melt chocolate bricks. I have a double boiler but yeah, no.

Brownies

Time: 30-40 minutes
  • 142 grams butter
  • 42 grams cocoa powder
  • 200 grams sugar (I use brown sugar or half brown and half white for a nuttier flavor)
  • 2 eggs
  • 60 grams flour
  • Dash salt
  • ½ t. vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper (or grease with butter, but parchment paper makes for fantastically easy clean up).
2. Melt butter in the microwave on low (30% works for me). Use a whisk to stir in cocoa powder until smooth, then add sugar, eggs, flour, salt and vanilla, mixing after each addition. The batter will resemble quicksand, only tastier.
3. Pour into the pan and bake 20 minutes, or until set in the middle.* Let cool and cut.
*Note: This recipe can be doubled with no trouble, use a 9×13-inch pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
…
P.S. Upon reflection, I feel bad for those of you without a digital scale. Here you go:
  • 10 T. butter
  • ⅓ C. cocoa powder
  • 1 C. sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ C. flour
  • Dash salt
  • ½ t. vanilla extract
Enjoy! I know I will:)

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Learning@Lunch

Posted in Food and..., Science!, tagged , , , , , , on August 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I read with lunch. Sometimes speculative fiction, of course, but often other types of writing as well, including nonfiction. Right now I’m reading Pandora’s Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took Over the American Meal by Melanie Warner.

Appropriate lunchtime fare, wouldn’t you say? Allow me to share with you two fascinating excerpts:

You probably don’t think of your lunch as being constructed from powders, but consider the ingredients of a Subway Sweet Onion Teriyaki sandwich. Of the 105 ingredients, 55 are dry, dusty substances that were added to the sandwich for a whole variety of reasons. The chicken contains thirteen…. The teriyaki glaze has twelve…. In the fat-free sweet onion sauce, you get another eight…. And finally, the Italian white bread has twenty two….
— p.11

Yum. And lest you think that a salad at home is necessarily pitfall free:

… using fat-free dressing on a salad can prevent you from absorbing many of the vegetables’ healthy (fat-soluble) phytochemicals.
— p. 18

This has been Learning@Lunch. Enjoy:)

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Oh Asian Grocery Doorbusters, How I Love Thee

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , on October 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The Asian grocery down the street can have some amazing  deals. This past week it was daikon (aka white radish) for nine whole cents a pound, and lemons, nine for $1. Now, I picked up some daikon because, well, why not?, but I also bought as many bags of lemons as I could carry. I love lemons, their color and acid taste, the way their juice brightens almost any dish, and the fact that they don’t even need to be fresh to be good. In fact, sometimes they are better when they’ve been preserved. On the off-chance that you too have been blessed with citrusy goodness, I include my recipe.

MOROCCAN PRESERVED LEMONS

One of the best chicken dishes I’ve ever tasted involved these savory morsels of salty sour goodness. The Restaurant Marrakech in Fez serves poulet citrone with chicken stewed to the tenderest perfection in a bright yellow potion of salty preserved lemons and olives and onions. I haven’t reconstructed the recipe but I’m working on it.

2 lemons, organic if you’ve got them
½ C (122g) fresh lemon juice
⅓ C (86g) coarse salt

1. Wash the lemons well. Cut them into 8 sections each and place in a glass jar. Add the remaining ingredients, cover tightly and shake to combine.

2. Leave the lemons at room temperature, shaking the jar every day, for 2 weeks. Rinse lemons before using.

Note: from The Dean & DeLuca Cookbook. Recipe scales well, and once ready, lemons will keep in the refrigerator for ~6 months.

Doubled recipe in a 750ml jar. Trust me, you want to pack these in something water-tight.

/zomg delicious!

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I Hear Winter Is Coming

Posted in Food and..., Other, tagged on October 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »

We put the garden to bed this weekend. Finished uprooting the tomatoes, stripping all scarlet runner beans, and thanking the basil for its heroic effort in these Northern climes. In an effort to retain some essence of summer just that much longer, I brought in a few clippings of the apple mint. Prodigious stuff, this plant will take over a garden if you let it, but in a container it is content to produce huge, gorgeous, fuzzy leaves with a distinctive but mild mint flavor. Terrific in spicy peanut noodles, chickpea salad, or smoothies.

Apple mint

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Thanksgiving (v1.0.ca)

Posted in Food and... on October 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I have just given my very first Canadian Thanksgiving. It was a lovely mix of friends and family, and of course, food.

* Menu for a Canadian T-Day (appetizers and alcohol are assumed, because… well, because):

— Turkey with stuffing and gravy

— Tortiere (meat pie to us English speakers)

— Green beans with lemon, butter, and anchovy sauce

— Mashed cauliflower with herbs and boursin cheese

— Orange cranberry sauce

— Pumpkin pie (Tried a new recipe, from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything; I wasn’t sure about the added step of pre-cooking the pumpkin mix, but the result was a deliciously creamy custard-y filling. Recommended.)

Funny, none of the Canadians at the table knew what they were supposed to be thankful for, so we settled on friends, family, and dinner:)

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This Cake…

Posted in Food and..., Other, tagged , , , on September 14, 2012| 1 Comment »

… Is Not A Lie:)

Image

Have a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster too, while you’re at it.

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What I Wish My Summer To-Do List Looked Like:

Posted in Food and..., tagged , on August 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

— Perfect my margarita recipe (frozen, no salt, fresh limes);
— The end.

Sadly not so much, but I like to dream.

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Dinner

Posted in Food and..., tagged on July 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

— Home-grown tomato salad with local (i.e. backyard) basil, mozzarella and goat cheese salad
— Crusty Italian bread (the bread was crusty, not the Italian)
— Shrimp quick-stewed in a bit of water with lots of lemon juice, salt, bay, pepper, scallions, sherry, and olive oil, then topped with a reduction of the cooking liquid. So delicious Mr. Man licked the bowl. Me too, actually.

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