Rain won't stop me. I'm Minnesotan, for chrissakes.
I was thinking about grilling out all day long. I knew I was going to the store for the b. to pick up some animal, so I picked up a few veggies to roast and the ingredients for a new bean burger recipe I had been wanting to try out.
Our menu tonight was Rib-eye steak, seasoned with Diane's Seasoning (thanks Wright!) Roasted Vegetables, rustic chopped potatoes, zucchini, onions and cauliflower - tossed in olive oil, sprinkled with salt & pepper and with a little rosemary and thyme tucked in. Pinto Bean Burger, consisting of mushrooms, onions, pinto beans & spices.
Well I never let you know - but I've been without a functioning camera lens for quite awhile. And, to be honest, I was not digging on blogging without an image to put to it.
Enter my beloved B. He truly knows when to show up and make my day. He surprised me with a new lens so I could get back to bloggin (and cooking!)
We've been working out most days each week and it's really changed how we're living. Getting up at 5 am is a regular occurance. Coffee is a reward for a hard workout. And now it's time to start changing our food to be a bit lighter. It only makes sense.
I found this wonderful recipe for this cornmeal dish. It's light and extravagant. It's lush and bright.
Grilled Polenta With Garlic-Tomato Sauce
3 cups vegetable broth 1.5 c cornmeal 2 tablespoons butter minced small onion 2 on -the-vine tomatoes olive oil salt & pepper snipped chives
1 piece of bread (gf or regular) 1 garlic clove 1/2 c walnuts 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/4 cup olive oil
1. Bring stock to boil and add cornmeal, stir till thickened a bit (around 4 minutes) and stir in butter and onions. Pour into a lightly greased baking sheet and spread evenly. Let cool.
2. Tear the bread into pieces place in a bowl with a bit of water, let soak 5 minutes. Squeeze the water out of the bread, set aside. Pound garlic & a sprinkle of salt until it forms a paste. Add walnuts, continue working the paste. Add the bread, then lemon juice, working each one in until fully incorporated. Drizzle in the olive oil until the sauce becomes thick.
3. Heat up your grill or use a stove-top grill pan.
4. Cut polenta into squares or triangles and brush with olive oil on each side.
5. Slice tomatoes in 6 pieces. Toss in olive oil.
6. Cook the polenta and tomatoes until you get a decent crust on the polenta and the tomatoes have softened. This takes about 4 minutes.
7. Plate your grilled polenta, top with tomatoes and pour the garlic-walnut sauce over the whole she-bang.
We have a great restaurant in downtown Minneapolis called Zelo. I blame them for the love affair I have going with quinoa, a grain I hadn't experienced until after being diagnosed with a wheat intolerance. Holy delicious. And very under-utilized. Everyone I know who tastes it's delicate nuttiness - falls into submissive lust with it. The lure is strong due to it's balanced set of essential amino acids, which makes it a complete protein in and of itself. Sweet. Quinoa delivers a hearty dose of magnesium, a mineral that helps relax blood vessels for those prone to migraines. Double sweet. After enjoying their Heirloom Grain Chopped Salad from Zelo, I just had to try to recreate it, gluten-free style.
1 cup quinoa 1 cup loosely packed arugula 6 asparagus spears, blanched, popped into cold water and sliced on the bias 2 scallions, rinsed and sliced on the bias 10 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half 1/2 avocado, sliced into chunks 2 ounces dill havarti or fresh provolone cubed into 1/2 " pieces 8 hearts of palm, chopped into cubes 2 tbsp lemon peel, microplanes, no pith 3 Tbsp lemon juice 3-4 good glugs of olive oil 2 generous shavings of fresh parmesan to top each serving
Cook quinoa according to directions on package, pour into bowl and stir every so often to cool (make sure you rinse the quinoa first -very important)
Blanch asparagus, shock in ice water and slice on the bias, toss in bowl
Slice scallions thin on the bias, toss in bowl
Halve tomatoes and toss into bowl
Cube avocado, toss into bowl and pour lemon juice over it
Cube havarti or provolone and toss in
Chop hearts of palm and toss in
Microplane lemon peel and toss in
Add in arugula
Pour in olive oil to get a light coat and mix
Salt and pepper to taste and top each serving with a couple shaves of fresh parmesan
Minneapolis is a wise-guy city. It's joke today is a snow storm forecast - two weeks into Spring. It got me thinking, what could I make that would entice Spring to follow through while keeping myself warm on a cool and snowy Spring day? I decided on an asparagus soup, one of my favorite recipes. Asparagus is in season and this recipe takes no time, and the reward...is huge. 1 pound fresh asparagus, chopped 1 medium onion, chopped 3/4 cup vegetable broth homemade or bought 1 tablespoon butter 2 tablespoons GF Flour or all-purpose flour salt and pepper - a dash of each to taste - go easy 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth homemade or bought 2 cups milk, or soymilk Shaved Parmesan sprinkle of lemon juice (about a 2 tbsp or a half lemon) - to taste top with asparagus tips and chopped chives
Directions
Place asparagus and onion in a saucepan with 3/4 cup vegetable broth. Bring the broth to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until the vegetables are tender.
Reserve a few asparagus tips for garnish. Place remaining vegetable mixture in an electric blender and puree until smooth.
Melt butter in the pan that was used for simmering the asparagus and onions. Stir while sprinkling flour, salt, and pepper into the butter. Stir to form a roux. Do not let the flour brown. Allow the mixture to cook only 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth and increase the heat. Continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Stir the vegetable puree and milk into the saucepan. Whisk in lemon juice. Stir until heated through, then ladle into bowls. Garnish with reserved asparagus tips. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
Meat is back. At least for me it might be. With a scarlet letter "C" looming over me and with the help of responsible farmers like the Fleishers I just might have a go at it.
Sounds easy right? Not so much. I've been a strict vegetarian for, oh I'd say almost half of my life. For those of you who don't know me, that's about 16 years. Those of you who do know me - see I am old. ::wink:: Too often a lifestyle choice of vegetarianism brings forth a negative air from the carnivores. It's understandable for sure. I have often experienced the shock style spite-spew of some very righteous vegetarians myself. It's why I don't back Peta. It's all in the approach and I hate their woo.
I've been asked my views and reasons on being a vegetarian many times. Sometimes people have been rude about it but more often I think most people are just curious. There's a whole slew of reasons why one chooses to eat the way they do. For me it's a lot of things that collectively got me to where I am.
I grew up a Meat-n-Potatoes Kid. My grandmother Ruth was a dominant icon in our household. There were to be meals of meat, potatoes and of course, a side of vegetables (corn or green beans) when possible. Accompanying this was spongy white bread with loads of real butter. Our salads, if they showed up at all, were iceberg. The crisp, watery green was adorned with a pre-shred of cheddar, drizzled with Russian dressing and spotted with croutons. The recurring meats were roast beef, meatloaf and chicken dumplings. I loved those dinners. Usually I was just happy because it meant there were mashed potatoes with gravy. I swear to all things holy, if my grandmother were still alive and cooked any of those items for me, I would gorge myself on them without a second thought.
My mom Doreen was a vegetarian. Always questioned voraciously by my grandmother about her quirky choice, she held fast and continued to compile colourful meals for herself. Never one to push her views on someone, she always answered with a vague response. As a child consumed with colour, I gradually was more attracted to the hues of my mother's meals and started eating more of them.
I am very inquisitive. I always need to know how or why or what. I needed to know why my mom didn't eat meat. So I read everything I could find on the subject. Knowledge can change your life. I would definitely encourage learning about the practices of the meat industry. I don't see it as a reason to deny meat, but rather to choose selectively when purchasing.
I was about 16 when I stopped eating meat. Reading dozens of books on it I found myself disturbed by the barbaric practices. It repulsed me. I lived on pasta dishes, rice a roni and a few vegetables. In college the atmosphere lent itself well to the practice. Vegetarianism was a good way to define myself. It was in college that I started to experiment with cooking with whole foods for the first time, but with a limited budget I fell back on standards and fast food. Oh yes, a # 2 - cheeseburgers without the meat. ::chortle:: no seriously. It was a trick I had learned from a fellow Veg. Little did I know at the time, my fries were animal lard dunked.
After college I found myself a job at a large ad agency downtown. I moved out on my own and started experimenting with better ingredients. I shopped at the farmers market weekly and compiled fantastic veggie meals.
Which brings me to today. I cook every day. It truly is a release, a meditation if you will. My week is planned out by what I want to cook. It's not that I'm obsessed with food, it's more that I just love a satisfying moan from someone who just tasted my food. Selfish right?
This past summer I found out I was sensitive to wheat. It has changed the way I feel about the food I consume. What I can eat safely has changed so dramatically. This summer I picked up the book Heat, by Bill Buford. It really changed the way I felt about meat. After that it was Shauna James Ahern's book, Gluten Free Girl which ran parallel with my own experiences. When I cut the wheat out of my diet, I started feeling better. I was having less headaches and feeling less anxious. More recently I caught a show about Fleisher's on PBS. "You can see inside the animal how they were treated." What a true statement. Raising an animal on their natural diet is better for them, the environment and us. After watching this I really felt that it sums up how I feel about meat. I've never been anti-meat. I just think we owe it to be conscious of what we put into our bodies and the way it gets there. Check it out, and let me know what you think about it.
I'm still on the fence about a complete return to meat, but I'm curious.
This salad that I am about to share with you has been easing me through these grainy-gray days with it's promise of summer.
I picked up these greens at my local Trader Joes and have been hooked since. What's that you say? You desire a plethora of greens and reds running through herbes in a European bath of flavors? Delivered. How about a promise that this Spring I will begin a series of salads studies to share with you? That rocks, right?
Organic Baby Lettuces from Trader Joes include red and green romaine, red and green oakleaf, lollo rosa tango, red and green chard, mizuna, aruguls, frisee, radicchio, parsley, cilantro and dill! It's amazing, inexpensive and a great shortcut.
Messa Salad 1 bag of Herbe Salad 4 discs sliced from a beautiful herbed goat cheese handful of dried cherries handful of fresh walnuts
Vinaigrette Extra Virgin Olive Oil - about 3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar - a good glug to taste 1/2 teaspoon of sugar Smidge of mustard - I love Surdyk's Herbes de Provence one, but a grainy or dijon would work nicely Sea salt & fresh cracked pepper
Empty out your bag of greens into a large bowl Slice your discs of goat cheese (you can crumble too if you like) Toss in your handful of cherries followed by the walnuts
In a small bowl pour in a good splash of balsamic vinegar. Pour in your sugar. Grab a mini whisk (or fork) and pull out about a 1/2 teaspoon of mustard, add to the mix and start whisking. Pour in oil while mixing to create and emulsion. Salt and Pepper to taste. If it is too tart, add a bit more sugar, if there is not enough bite, add a bit more balsamic. This dressing is an easier and more affordable way to freshly dress your greens. Once you get the hang of it you can tweak the ingredients by adding other elements to intensify your haystack of green goodness.
Dig in and get messy. I promise it will be worth it.
Oh it's coming. I can feel it in my toes. The lightness of it all. The tippy-tops of grass being unearthed, the squirrels doing their waltz across the trees. I love it. It is, after all, my second favourite place to pause in the cycle of seasons.
I have to giggle when people ask me, "Why the hell would anyone want to live in Minnesota?" It's always such an assuming question. It's cold, right? What on Earth could possibly be remotely worthy to make someone endure such extreme temperatures?
I'll let you in on a secret. The magic is in seeing everything around you succumb to it's fate and return to the earth from which it came. It's through this transition a person realizes the impermanence of life and the care of design in everything around us. It's in the way Spring bounces onto the scene and breathes life into the ground to awaken the green. It's seeing beauty in the journey.
And with that simple answer to why, I bring forth an unfathomably divine risotto that my sweet b. made me for Valentine's Day. He really knows how to surprise me with the most fantastic meals! Since the asparagus is forging it's way into the market and tasting better and better the closer it gets to it's top season, I figure I will put this one out there just in case you see some good green unearthing in your supermarket.
Asparagus & Roasted Tomato Risotto 1 pound fresh asparagus, ends snapped pinch of sea salt 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 small minced onion. 5 cups of vegetable broth 2 cups Arborio Rice 3 tablespoons butter fresh-cracked black pepper 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese Cherry or Grape Tomatoes splash of extra virgin olive oil pinch of sea salt
Snap the ends off from your asparagus and put them into a large pot. Pour enough water in to cover them up. Cook them for about 5-7 minutes. Pluck the asparagus out of your pan and plunge into cold water. Add your stock to the pot of water you just pulled the asparagus from. Bring this mix to a soft simmer. Line up the asparagus on your cutting board and slice into 1 inch pieces. Reserve your tips for garnish.
Take your cherry or grape tomatoes and throw them on a baking sheet. Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Shoo them into the oven at 350 until they pop and roast up all pretty like.
In your Dutch Oven, add 1 tablespoon butter, your olive oil and the minced onion. Cook onion until translucent over medium heat. Then add in your asparagus, minus the tips. Add rice, remembering that a good risotto requires constant stirring. But it's oh so worth it. Begin adding the heated broth 1/2 cup at a time, taking care to make sure it's all absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. Continue on your way until the rice gives a bit when tasted. It's a personal deal, but we like our risotto to be rich and creamy with the rice a just a bit firm. It should take around 20 minutes or so...just keep going till you love it. Because you will. I promise.
So then comes the bling. Add the rest of the butter and about 1/8 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Salt and Pepper to taste.
Top your - God-given right to a decent dinner - with the asparagus tips, the roasted tomatoes and a decent shave of the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano. Crack some pepper across that bad boy. Ferociously devour.
Rain won't stop me. I'm Minnesotan, for chrissakes.
