nom nom!

I am entering the end of the second day of a three-day detox, something that I wanted to start the summer off with after a stressful year of school and then some end-of-the-year celebrating.

I have never done a detox before, and I have to say that this one is particularly gentle and simple, especially if you are already a fan of veggies and whole grains. It basically consists of whole grains and fruits and veggies, with no caffeine, dairy, alcohol, meat, or simple sugars. I have started the past two mornings with a bowl of oatmeal with strawberries, for lunch yesterday I had quinoa salad, for dinner we ate brown rice with tons of awesome greens and veggies, for lunch today I had a large spinach salad, and for dinner, this amazing wheat berry salad. For more on my detox, go here.

Which brings me to the first ever "nom nom!" post! "Nom nom!" will focus on my discoveries about food that I suddenly feel everyone should know. What should you know? About wheat berries! What should you know about them? They are a whole grain, easy to prepare (if you have the time), and delicious. (Some of my readers have been eating them for ages, I'm sure; while others of you may be like me and have never tried them.) You can treat them like quinoa or couscous. In the salad above, I dressed them with olive oil, fig balsamic vinegar, lime juice, salt, pepper, cilantro, chopped mint, chopped arugula, cumin, coriander, and tarragon. Then I added everything delicious and wonderful that I could: celery, carrots, strawberries, avocado, spinach, purple cabbage, pea tendrils, red onion soaked in vinegar, garlic, and green onion.

Nom nom! So good!

Here's how to cook wheat berries: put 1 cup of wheat berries into 3 cups of boiling water for about 3 servings. Cook them on low heat for about 45-50 minutes (until soft and chewy), and then drain.

Enjoy! xo.

green smoothie challenge

For the past five days, I've been trying out green smoothies. Not only are they surprisingly delicious, they're really fun to drink in front of 14 and 16 year-old kids who totally freak out when they see what you're ingesting. "Ew! What is that!" One kids told me that my smoothie "looked like Satan." Nice.

You know you need to eat your greens. Spinach has lots of dietary fiber and is a good source of Niacin, Zinc, and Vitamins A, C, E, K, and so forth. You really can't taste the spinach if you make your smoothie right, not to mention the benefits from all of the other healthy fruits that are added. They're easy, quick, and a great spring breakfast.

Here are the recipes from my first 5 days.

day 1: "surprisingly yum"
2 handfuls of spinach
1 1/2 cups of frozen strawberries
1/2 of a banana
a few pomegranate seeds

Refreshing and light, I could really taste the banana more than anything. Not very sweet, yet oddly sweet enough. I drank a small glass (about 6 oz) for a bedtime snack and then for my breakfast, I added:

aprox. 1/3 cup vanilla almond milk
the other 1/2 of the banana
1 tsp. of ground flax

This is my first purchase of almond milk, along with my first endeavor into green smoothies, and yum. Great breakfast.

day 2: "that can't be healthy"
2 1/2 cups of blueberries
1 banana
4 handfuls of spinach
1 1/2 cups almond milk
2 tsp. flax
around a dozen pomegranate seeds

Yum, delicious when fresh. Not quite as good when not fresh. Drink this one right away.

day 3: "Whoa, that's green!"
1 generous cup of pineapple chunks
2 bananas
2 generous handfuls of leafy green lettuce
2 cups of water

At first this one smelled like lettuce water. It tasted good, but I wanted more richness to it. So I put in another banana. After all, I'm making two servings. If you like bananas and pineapple, you'll love this recipe!

day 4: "almond milk makes all the difference"
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 1/2 cup almond milk (vanilla, unsweetened)
1/2 cup water
1 banana
2 handfuls of spinach

Really, I love these way better with some almond milk. They're delicious, they're creamier, they seem a bit sweeter, and they have calcium and vitamin D. This one might be my favorite of the week.

day 5: "the best even better"
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 ripe banana
2 cups almond milk
2 handfuls of spinach

This made yesterday's green smoothie even creamier, richer, and more delicious. If you want something refreshing and light, use lots of frozen fruits with water for almost an icy-like effect. But for a smoothie, go with almond milk. Plus, it's more filling that way

made from scratch: sweet potato tacos

What you need:
a large sweet potato
5 roma tomatoes
1 jalapeno pepper
1 shallot clove
3 green onions
as many garlic cloves as you can  handle
extra sharp cheddar
olives
cilantro
cumin
lemon zest
fresh squeezed lime juice
salt
corn tortillas

What you do:
1. roast the sweet potato to delightful perfection (or if short on time, microwave it)
2. slice tomatoes, pepper, shallot, and green onions into chunks; peel garlic cloves. broil on low for 15 minutes, then on hi until just starting to blacken.
3. while broiling, chop olives (I used a can of black olives, minus the ones I ate) and cilantro (a healthy handful). douse with lime juice, a teaspoon of cumin, salt, and a teaspoon of lemon zest.
4. take broiled veggies out of oven and place into blender/food processor. puree.
5. taste everything. does it taste delightful? if not, add what you feel it needs: more cumin, more salt, more garlic, more spice.
6.grate a bit of cheese.
7. cut roasted potato in half and loosen from skin with a spoon. (I then drizzled some fig balsamic on it for shits and giggles.)
8. lightly brown tortillas in some oil. form into taco-esque shapes.
9. stuff with each ingredient to your heart's content.
10. garnish with pickled onions.

Each ingredient should taste wonderful separately. Imagine how it will taste when you're done.

This recipe was inspired by last week's episode of The Splendid Table on NPR. Since the recipe wasn't published, I just made up my own.

Much of my cooking of, passion for, and sharing of food is inspired by The Everlasting Meal. Buy a copy. It's an amazing book. Seriously, this meal could not have happened without these two sources. The book helped me catch The Splendid Table when the interviewee was speaking of a fridge-full of well-made condiments and his love of pickled onions, reminding me of the book.

Other delights from my kitchen of late: homemade cauliflower soup using left-over stack, pesto made from cauliflower cores and the stems of greens, and picked onions.

how to roast an amazingly tender chicken

Yesterday, I roasted a chicken and the meat literally fell off of the bone when it was finished. Here's what I did:

You will need:
a local, organic, fresh chicken
some savory herbs and aromatics
some roastable veggies
a generous glass of wine
a few tablespoons of butter
salt
freshly ground pepper
a roasting pan with a lid

Do this:
1. Rinse your chicken. And if you're feeling inclined, thank it for its life and its nourishment.
2. Put into its cavity the herbs and aromatics. Yesterday, I used a few sprigs of rosemary, two delightfully huge bay leaves, and an apple core.
3. Place the bird on the roasting rack.
4. Cut up the roasting veggies, including at least one onion and as many leeks as you can handle loving (3 is a good number) and place them around the bird. Seasonal veggies are optimal. Suggestions would be turnips, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes/yams, and squash.
5. Rub butter onto the birds breast. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Pour wine and a cup of water over the bird.
7. Roast covered at 375 for 50 minutes. Baste generously.
8. Turn the oven down to 300. Roast for an hour.
9. Turn the bird over. Stir the veggies. Baste.
10. Cook for another hour, basting occasionally and checking for doneness.

De-licious. With the leftovers, you can:
Boil the carcass for chicken broth.
Blend the roasted veggies with a touch of cream and thyme for soup.
Make sandwiches.
Eat gravy over biscuits and eggs.

Enjoy!

Everyone says "yum" except the ladies!

Feast!

Here's a description of my kitchen right now: in addition to my laptop on kitchen table, there's an open bottle of Rhone style red wine, a handful of nasturtium seeds, two organic nectarines, two organic peaches, a basket of freshly harvested yellow and purple green beans. On my kitchen counter, a homemade butcher block littered with cucumber, shallots, and basil from the garden. Down past the dirty dishes sit six jars of cooling and thickening blueberry jam, made from blueberries that Brian and I picked yesterday and Willamette blackberry wildflower honey from 2009 before I had bees. It tastes like (guess what?!) blueberries and honey!

This is the best time of year for food. A significant percentage of our meals are from our own backyard. This morning, I made scrambled eggs with shallots, thyme, sage, and goat cheese. Everything was from our backyard except for the butter and goat cheese. It's time to pick your own fruit at farms (raspberries and peaches are next!), forage for figs and blackberries, and harvest from the garden. Soon, we will be traipsing through the woods for chanterelles and lobster mushrooms, boating for Dungeness crabs, and with any luck, feasting on our heirloom tomatoes!

dine out for japan

Tonight, a city near you may be participating in this fundraiser for relief efforts in Japan. A bunch of local restaurants here in Portland are participating in Dine Out for Japan (click link for a list of locales). I am trying to cornswaggle some of my friends into joining me, perhaps for some tacos at Porque No? or a delicious Tasty and Sons burger. Mmmm, burgers. Considering that I flew back into Portland last night at midnight and had to be at work today by 7, I am too tuckered to cook. It's either participate in a good cause or pb&j for me!

Cupcake fever

Here are some ideas in the works for my sister's shower.
{via: Allen Heberger and oh! cupcakes}
I am on the prowl for cupcake mastery and creativity for the cupcake tower!
This cupcake suits me. I like the little green ribbon and apparently simple design incorporating the edible flower. I've thought from the beginning that edible flowers would be a sweet touch. Pansies, especially, since they're one of my favorite spring flowers. My cousin is also making chocolate covered strawberries, so those might be a nice addition to the tower or may be beautifully arranged on their own.

{via Kelli Boyles at My Garden Diary}

{viaLife with Cake)

A winter in images

I'm sitting here drinking an amazing chocolate porter that tastes like coffee initially until the chocolate finish that Brian and Kris brewed a few weeks ago, reminiscing while I look at photos long overdue for my blog. So here are some highlights and summaries.

We had an amazing weekend of friendship, dancing, rain, hot-tubbing, and feasting for my birthday in mid-January at Arch Cape.

In February, we harvested our Plymouth barred rock. Rather the bully of the bunch, the alpha-hen, we decided we would live up to our word and harvest and feast on our first chicken.

Brian was really good at the slaughter, very calm and fast and sure. We did make some rookie mistakes, however. For one, we cut off the feet right away, a huge mistake as you want to tie the bird up and let it hang and rest for as long as a day. Then, even more careless, we buried the feet with the head. I would've liked to have used the feet to make broth.

I used my Riverside cookbook, and we slowly roasted the bird in white wine, water, fresh herbs, and vegetables. The book's directions were also helpful in the actual butchering of the meat. The meat tasted fresh and a bit like turkey, perhaps because it was roasted. It was more tender than I expected, and the flavor was strong, delicious. We had friends over and played music and drank delicious wines from Spain and Italy.

We also bought, on the same day, two new chicks; the one on the left is a black austrolorpe, a record layer, and the one on the right is also known for its egg-laying, a Rhode Island Red. Unlike last year, these chicks live in our basement.

In the past two days (including today), we've gotten four eggs! Which means that the Speckled Sussex and the Americauna are both now laying. The Sussex has been laying sporadically for a month or so now, but to get four eggs in two days is a lot for us! Crepes! Cookies! Scrambles! Frittatas! Quiche!

Tasting Italy 101

On Thursday night, my friend Steph and I made our way down to inner South East, where there appears to be nothing but warehouses, but inside of 107 SE Washington, a building has been revamped into chic industrial with an acupuncturist and massage therapists and wine bar and Red Slate Wine Company, where we met up with my friends Emily and Sarah and Sarah's boss Deb. Normally, Steph, Sarah, Emily, nor I would pay $20 for a wine tasting, but Deb hooked it up and we were able to go for free. Or, well, for the cost of the bottles that we ended up walking away with.

This tasting, in looks, was sophisticated and classy with olives, pecorino cheese, almonds, salami and squash roasted with onions and cranberries and herbs and funky glass pitchers of water and long tables elegantly set. But in feel, it was relaxed and with "no wine snobbery" allowed. We tried seven wines from single estates in Italy where the quality control is so high that one grape vine yields approximately one bottle of wine. Tom, one of the hosts, has a personal relationship with all of these makers, and so despite the quality and the rarity of the wine(some of these wines are only available in 3-4 states--including Washington--and only 200 cases of some were even made), prices ranged from only $14-$32 per bottle.

Some of the wines instantly reminded me of people. The Cesanese immediately reminded me of my friend Amy, and the Tom Langhe, a Barbera blended with Merlot instantly reminded me of my dad. The Marzemino was a complex wine that smelled sometimes briney and sometimes like slate but then was surprisingly gentle and ever-changing. The Montepulciano smelled like berries and chocolate with a delicious finish. In addition to walking out with some presents, I also bought the Fior d'Arancio Spumante for Thanksgiving. This sparkling desert wine that literally means "orange blossom" smelled like orange, pear, and subtle spices and tasted sweet yet not overpowering, as some desert wines can be. A delicate blend of citrus and oranges. We decided that this would be a classy substitute for mimosas at brunch.

So maybe instead of eating it with pie, I'll invite our Thanksgiving day host over for brunch and we'll share the bottle between the three of us before we get cooking!

Here are a few interesting things that I learned:
You can compartmentalize the nose, so when smelling wine, if you imagine that you're breathing in through the top part of the nostrils, this is where you will smell the berries or the fruit. The bottom part of the nostrils is where you will pick up on minerals/woods/earth.

In Italy, it is often considered insanity to drink without food. Wine is made to pair with food, so don't be afraid to take a few bites of cheese/olives/stew/whatever and then sip your wine and slosh them both around together to see what one does for the other.

When trying to pair wine with food, look up the primary ingredients from that region. If that region is known for tomato dishes or seafood or mushrooms and cheeses, those are the foods that will go with the wine.

The most famous wine regions were once under the sea. Shells have lots of calcium carbonate in them, and calcium carbonate give fortitude and structure to wine.

All of these wines are organically and sustainable produced, but are not labeled as such because, as one of the wine makers says to Tom, "It's 2000 years of common sense."

the breakfast club

So, our friend Matt proposed that we start our own version of the Breakfast Club, since Portland has oh-so-amazing breakfast spots. This town has got a lot of amazing, delicious cuisine, and Portlanders excel at their locally roasted coffee and at breakfast. So the first official meeting of the Breakfast Club was Sunday morning at Hash.

We waited on comfy leather furniture for our table for six while drinking locally roasted coffee that was nutty and not too bitter or biting. I ordered (along with over half the table) the corned beef with potatoes and a poached egg, brioche toast, and jam. Everything was delicious and the portion sizes were reasonable, as were the prices. We discussed what exactly corned beef was, and I learned that the salt they brine the corned beef in is actually shaped like corn. The atmosphere was clean, well-lit, comfortable. The only thing that didn't impress me were the paintings on the wall, large colorful acrylics that looked like paintings any one of us could have done ourselves.

Next month, we're considering for our second Breakfast Club outing Jam or the La Petit Provence.

food and other inspirations

So, blog. What are you and I gonna do all fall and winter, until it's catalog and seedling season? I can't just let you disappear forgotten into the internet ether. So instead, I'm going to look, once again, beyond my garden and yard (but still there too) for inspiration and humor and love and laughter to share with the world.

And food, this time of year, is a big part of that. I claim that it's my instinctual need to fatten up for the cold winter. I need that extra pudge to get me through, so suddenly, after months of not really wanting to be in the kitchen, I'm looking at recipes for pumpkin gnocchi, macaroni and cheese with mushrooms and sage, butternut squash soup, and fried green tomatoes. And I think that tonight, I'm going to go ahead and make this green tomato chutney from Gayla Trail.

As for eating out, Portland is a mecca for fabulous happy hours, and my new favorite is a place called Tasty n Sons, not too far from my 'hood. Happy hour cocktails aren't exactly cheap at $7, but the food is not only cheap but uh-uh-amazing! $1 bacon wrapped dates with almonds, $4 panna cotta, a $5 bleu cheese or cheddar bacon burger that drips delicious grease and really just might be the best burger deal in the city. I'm getting hungry writing about it. Is it time for lunch?

peaches (no this is not a pop song but my garden is starting to sing)

August has brought me mixed emotions about my garden. I'm not quite sure why or how to articulate it. My mistakes glare at me. Certain areas are a disorganized jungle that I love one day and shake my head at the next. Companion planting gone wild. Problems seem to crop up lately, caused by the heat perhaps. Aphids on calendula, mysterious spots and possible diseases on certain plants, and the green tomatoes that taunt and tease and never seem to ripen.

But then there are the joys of the garden and of the season. Fresh salad made with kale, nasturtiums, green onion, the last of the peas, braggs, olive oil, and some lemon juice. Yogurt dips using home-grown garlic and dill. Peppers are starting to come in, which means time to get harvesting and chopping those up for hot sauce. Soon, I'll have green beans (finally!) and summer squash.

Then there's the success of my first-ever solo batch of jam. We went out to Sauvie Island to pick peaches, which I jarred, dehydrated, and jammed. The jarring was also my first solo mission into home canning, so while they don't look perfect, they look yummy enough for winter smoothies. The dehydrated peaches are like fruit roll-ups for gourmands, and the peach jam? Oh hell yeah. I only made 5 8oz. jars, because we don't eat much jam. But I have a feeling we'll eat it more often now.

Here's my recipe (note that I used no pectin):
1 quart peaches
1/4 cup water
1 cup local honey
2 cups sugar
I dipped the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds and then iced water for 30 seconds to peal them easily. Then I sliced and mashed them with my potato masher. Then I added the water and sugar and got them boiling. I turned the heat to medium and stirred and stirred while they slowly boiled and thickened until reaching 220 degrees. I let it cool slightly, and poured the jam into clean jars. When the jam was completely cooled, I put the jars into the freezer.

blackberry bramble and other delights

Apart from savoring some backyard blackberry honey, we will again, like many Portlanders, be trying to come up with creative, delicious ways to enjoy the fecundity of blackberries that are everywhere, including the back corner of my backyard, the one place I don't battle them, and a current pollen and nectar sanctuary for my bees.

Here are some lovely recipes that Modish posted today for your berry surplus. I can't wait to try the sorbet and possibly the pie, since our apple tree is also brimming. The cocktail also sounds like a sip of summer loveliness, and here are some other suggestions:
*Try crushing sage into your lemonade. Perhaps add a splash of vodka, if you're so inclined.
*Muddle cherries, mint, and club soda.
*Muddle some rosemary and limes into your gin and tonic.
I imagine a bit of lavender would taste lovely with any of these as well.

Side note: Heartbreakingly, we're having a helluva time getting our sour cherries out of our cherry tree. A tall ladder doesn't get you out on the branches. Any suggestions?

Anyway, here are the recipes. Bon berry appetit!
 

Peanut butter brownies

Yesterday, I couldn't find a good recipe for peanut butter brownies, so I created my own:

Jessica's Peanut Butter Brownies

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky recommended)
2 cups sugar
2 t. vanilla
2/3 cup cocoa
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 t. baking powder
dash of salt

2-4 handfuls of dark chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 350 and grease 9" X 11" pan. Melt butter, stir in peanut butter, sugar, vanilla, and cocoa. Mix in eggs. Add flour and baking powder gradually, stirring until all is well mixed. Bake for 25 min. (I like my brownies undercooked).

time to be gourmet

This Christmas vacation was spent with my boyfriend's family in Minneapolis, Minnesota where the snow continuously fell on the Mississippi River, and all I had to do was cook, eat, and read. So on Christmas, I made chocolate truffles and venison meat balls with spaghetti (next time, I want to make fresh pasta), yesterday was brined and roasted chicken with acorn squash stew, and then, tonight was the piece de resistance:

For a first course, mushroom, bacon, and sherry chowder which I used several recipes to make, creating thereby a recipe of my own. To redo, I would say cook 4 pieces of bacon in the soup pan until crisp and then set aside. Add 2 tbsb. of flour to the warm bacon grease, whisking until smooth. Add 2 cups of vegetable/chicken broth, bringing to a boil. Then lower to a simmer and add 4 cups mushrooms, 1 shallot, 1 leek (which I didn't use this time), 2 stalks of celery, 2 sprigs of time, a sprig of sage, and kosher salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove sprigs and add 2.5 cups of whole milk and half of the cooked bacon. Keep warm until ready to serve, at which point you add the rest of the crumbled bacon.

Second course was surf and turf: NY strip steaks grilled med.-rare and lobster tails with a beurre blanc.

Since I wanted a lemony bb, I added a couple of narrow pieces of lemon peels.

 My boyfriend did a fabulous job rubbing down and grilling the steaks, and he also made a wonderful apple pie. He is the pastry chef in our little family, although he learned a lot about making crust from my talented mother, who makes delightful pie.

And I, because I never had before, and because my boyfriend's father loves it so much, made bread pudding. Yum yum yum yum yum. I found this delightful holiday recipe that calls for eggnog and bourbon or brandy, and I used brandy. I didn't change this recipe much, but I did add a few dashes of cinamon in addition to nutmeg.

And yes, we all watched "Julie and Julia" last night, which inspired me, and Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking is officially on my wish-list.

Bon appetit!

cookies and pizza

Above are raspberry linzertorte thumbprints that I made for a Christmas party I went to; the recipe is from the December/January Readymade. They have hazelnuts, lemon zest, cocoa, cinnamon, and curry in them! I also made pistachio and cocoa truffles and the gingerbread men, women, angels, etc. below and set up a cookie decorating station at the party.

I bought my boyfriend a pizza stone for Christmas. Here's a picture of our first pizza, which we undercooked. But the second pizza turned out great; maybe our best homemade pizza to date with a great, firm crust, mozzarella cheese, goat cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms and brussel sprouts sauteed in wine, green olives, red onion, and thick sweet bacon.