Day After Soup

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For the broth:
Turkey carcass
1 large carrot roughly broken
2 celery stalks roughly broken
2 bay leaves
1 yellow onion quartered with skin on
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
2 sprigs of parsley

Put all ingredients in large stockpot add enough water to cover or just about cover the turkey. Bring to a boil then simmer for two hours or so skimming off any foamy stuff around the edge. Take out the big pieces and then strain into another pot or bowl big enough to hold the broth.

For the soup:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion medium dice
3 carrots sliced thinish
3 celery stalks sliced thinish
3 cups turkey meat pulled apart
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning (or half tsp each of sage, thyme, marjoram rosemary, pepper— I leave out the nutmeg due to allergies)
1 teaspoon salt—taste to adjust after a little while
3/4 cup Madeira wine
1/2 pound wild rice or mixed wild rice like Lundberg wild blend
All the broth plus water if needed

In a stockpot/soup pot add one tablespoon olive oil, teaspoon of salt and add onion, celery and carrot and cook on medium-high until softened. Add poultry season stir for a minute so it can bloom. Add 3/4 cup Madiera wine and turn heat to high and reduce about half. Add broth, turkey, rice and water if needed (I add water if needed to bring level up to about 4/5 of stockpot) bring to a boil, simmer for a few hours. Spoon off any foamy stuff around edge.

Summer Roll

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I make 3 per person. Here I’m making 12. Sometimes the ingredients get a little tilted by the the end. I usually run out of avocado first.

2 cups boiling water in a 9×9 casserole dish or something close to that. Break up a quarter of a 14oz package of rice stick noodles and soak for about ten minutes then drain in colander. Cut up a bit with scissors.

36 shrimp. 3 for each roll. I buy frozen medium size wild-caught white shrimp and flash them for 3 minutes in lightly salted boiling water. Then drain in colander and remove tails.

On a big cutting board:
1 carrot julienned (I have a hand-held Japanese julienne tool thing)
1 cucumber cut lengthwise and seeded. Julienne half. Thinly slice other half and put in bowl with some rice vinegar.
About 2 cups of cabbage finely sliced (Napa, Savoy, green, or whatever)
1 avocado cut in halves and sliced thin
Cilantro leaves and tender stalk
24 or so basil leaves

12 25cm extra-thin spring roll wrappers.

With enough space on cutting board to roll and a 9×9 casserole dish with hot water next to it, rotate wrapper through hot water, place on cutting board and begin to load about a third of the way down the wrapper: basil leaves and shrimp next to each other and then everything else on top. Tuck in sides and roll.

Sweet chili sauce for dipping.

Flu Prevention Diet

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Six medium or four large beets. Cut stems and greens from beets and save.

Place in pot and cover with water and bring to a boil. Continue on a slow boil until knife pierces beet easily. Half hour or so for small/medium and sometimes an hour for big ones. When done, reserve 1 cup of beet water. Set aside to cool.

In a small saucepan, combine beet water, a small yellow onion finely diced, one cup white wine vinegar, quarter cup sugar, four cloves, teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for around five minutes.

Meanwhile, trim ends off beets, pull skin off, slice or dice beets however you want. Combine beets and sauce in covered container and refridgerate overnight. Pull out a few hours before eating to let them warm up a bit.

Serve with hot tea and an orange.

Pooh’s Chair

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Looking for ways to display childhood memories. I think Pooh looks comfortable here. This stuffed animal has a long story. We stopped at Disney World with my father who was moving to Florida. Another long story. I wanted this Pooh bear so much but my mom said no because it was too expensive. After we got to our hotel in Fort Myers, my dad went out. My mom was really angry because he was gone so long. He came back with this Pooh bear. I was so happy. I have no idea where he got it, he may have even driven back to Disney World for all I know. All these years later, I still have Pooh.

Holiday Beef and Peppers

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…because it’s red and green. This is a quick one pan and one pot or oven/toaster oven recipe that would work well in a tiny house or micro apartment or anywhere. I wish I had thought of this in my first apartment.

Make rice. I used short grain brown rice. Get the oven going at 375º. Bring 2 1/3 cups of water to a boil. I use a measuring cup in the microwave. In a covered baking dish or use foil, combine 1 1/2 cups rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the boiling water. Stir. Cover. Bake for 50 minutes.

Make sauce. In a measuring cup add a tablespoon of cornstarch. Mix in 1/3 cup soy sauce slowly. Add 1 tablespoon grated ginger, 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped or put through the press, 1 teaspoon curry powder. I use plain old McCormick.

Brown around one pound ground beef. I freeze ground beef for dishes like this. I use 90% lean grass-fed. In a large frying pan, add frozen ground beef. On medium high heat, turn and break up with spatula. Meanwhile, back at the cutting board, slice one yellow onion into strips. Add onion when beef is browned. While onion is browning cut red and green pepper into strips. Add peppers to the pan and about a half cup of water. Cover and steam until peppers are how you like them. Work in the sauce for a minute or so, adding water if wanted.

Done.

I’m thinking about trying this with a butter, worcestershire sauce, and curry over mashed potatoes.

A Christmas Table

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Years of after holiday sales and a little hot glue make for a festive table! Plaid table cloth, 12 Days of Christmas napkins, and napkin rings from Williams Sonoma. Leaf plate from Martha Stewart for Macy’s. Votive candle holders from Pottery Barn. Wine glasses from Waterford Crystal. Candle shades from Harrod’s London. Centerpiece by Debbie Van Lunen. Pine cones from around the neighborhood.

Salmon and Vegetables Bentosh

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The same dish they have for takeaway at Whole Foods with better salmon and less sweet teriyaki.

Sushi rice (in the rice cooker or heat rice with 1 teaspoon canola oil and a teaspoon of salt and then for every 1 cup of rice add 1 1/2 cup water).

Carrots, red pepper, and broccoli steamed (start carrots first, then red pepper, then broccoli).

Pan sear salmon however done you like (remove pin bones if needed). I have been using Silver Coho Salmon I found at Trader Joe’s and it has been very tender and delicious.

Mix teriyaki sauce: in a measuring cup add a heaping spoon of cornstarch, then stir in soy sauce until you have a smooth slurry. Then equal parts soy sauce, mirin rice wine or sake, brown sugar. Add a teaspoon of grated ginger and fresh ground pepper to taste. Microwave a minute at a time until thickened or bring to a boil on stove.

Garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Maybe some thinly sliced scallions too.

Done.

2017: Year of the Dog

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Finally, a good photo of Nalani by Jessica (she’s usually a blur).

Tabboulah

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The first time I had this was in a Persian restaurant in Washington DC. What an incredible idea: a salad of parsley. It’s a bit of a pain to make, especially since I don’t like parsley stems, but foolproof.

For this version you’ll need:
• 1 1/2 cups bulgur wheat (medium or course)
• 2 big bunches of parsley
• 1 red onion
• 2 large tomatoes
• 1 cup lemon juice (4-5 lemons)
• 1/2 cup olive oil (I use Nunez)
• 2 tablespoons fresh or dried mint
• Salt and pepper to taste (I use Maldon sea salt and freshly ground Tellicherry pepper)

Equipment I used:
•  Large mixing bowl
•  2 cup measuring cup
•  Mesh strainer
• 2 quart sauce pan
• Lemon squeezer
• Cutting board
• 8 inch chefs knife

Start proofing the Bulgur wheat. There are many ways to do this. I’ve settled on putting it into a mesh strainer fitted into a saucepan—shown above—and running hot water over it to wet the grains until the water reaches the top. I sit it by the sink and about 45 minutes later it’s all puffed up and you can just pick the strainer up and let the water run out.

While this is going on, get out a large bowl, the biggest one you have. Finely dice the tomatoes and put them in your bowl and sprinkle with the Maldon sea salt. Set aside.

In a 2 cup measuring cup, add a half cup of olive oil and stir in the mint; finely minced if using fresh. Squeeze the lemons and add to the olive oil.

Now finely dice the red onion and add it to the olive oil and lemon juice mixture.

Now the parsley. I don’t like stems so I painstakingly pluck the leaves and then coarsely chop them. But you can do this however you want.

Once the bulgur is drained and ready, add everything to the bowl with the tomatoes. Add freshly ground pepper to taste or not.

Watch it disappear in less time than it took to make.

Japanese Loo

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I have been eyeing the basket weave tiles I was seeing everywhere, but it didn’t seem like they would work for a large bathroom— I thought they would be too busy. I have wanted to update this ‘builders special’ half bathroom for ages and I knew the tile would work well and it wouldn’t really be at risk for stains from hair dye, nail polish, and whatever else my kids get into, because they never use this bathroom. It wasn’t until I got these reproduction woodblock prints in Tokyo that I had that magic flash of inspiration and it all came together!

lostonearth

Trying to make sense of everything

Day After Soup

Summer Roll

Flu Prevention Diet

Pooh’s Chair

Holiday Beef and Peppers

A Christmas Table

Salmon and Vegetables Bentosh

2017: Year of the Dog

Tabboulah

Japanese Loo