2007 La Posta, ‘Estala Armando Vineyard’ Bonarda, Mendoza, Argentina

This had a little more character than your Malbecs to my palate, and it was a spectacular sipper with Humboldt Fog ripened goat cheese.

Onion Confit

I decided to try my hand at my first-ever onion confit. It was slightly more laborious than I expected-- the cooking and tending time in the oven lasted exactly the duration of one itty-bitty's nap-- and when it was done I thought, "Um, OK, now what am I going to do with all of this onion confit exactly?" But turns out it is very worth it. This is a nice "staple" to have handy in the fridge. I've reached for it countless times in the past week as a surprising zazz to turkey sandwiches, in making a vinaigrette to go over a spinach salad, and as a sturdy basis for an onion and goat cheese quiche. Oh, it was meant to go with chevre. Those French know what they're doing.

The confit's swan song proved no less dazzling as I warmed about 1/4 cup of the confit with a cup of leftover roasted cauliflower in 2-3 cups of vegetable broth. Once it was all simmered together for 15 minutes or so, I buzzed it through the blender with a dash (>1/4 c) of half and half. A little dollop of creme fraiche topped it off and weee-- never again shall cauliflower languish in my fridge.

Here is the recipe for the onion confit, adapted from a cookbook called The Vegetarian Table: France.

4 T butter
5 lbs yellow onions, cut into slices 1/4-3/8 inch thick (about 7 cups)
1/4 c olive oil
8 dried bay leaves
4 T herbes de Provence
1 T freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Cut butter into several chunks and place them on 2 large baking sheets. Place baking sheets in the oven to melt the butter, about 4 or 5 minutes.
Remove the baking sheets from the oven and spread out the slices onions on them. The layer of onions should be about 1 inch deep. Tuch the bay leaves amongst the onions, the sprinkle the onions with the herbs and black pepper. Drizzle olive oil evenly over the top.
Put baking sheets back in the oven and cook the onions, turning them in the oil and butter every 10 to 15 minutes, until they have turned a light golden brown and have reduced in volume by nearly half, 1-1 1/4 hours.
Remove from oven and let cool. Transfer to 1 or more clean, dry jars and cover tightly. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Acorn Squash Quickbread

Earlier in the week I roasted an acorn squash. Then we ordered Thai food. Days later, the little squash sat forgotten in the fridge with nothing to go with in any sort of meaningful future meal kind of way. So I mashed it up-- leaving some big chunks though- and readied my mixin arm for a quickbread... something a little sweet but also not altogether unhealthy. The result was a moist, sweet-enough-for-me, bread that could be breakfast or dessert (in my case it was both, plus midnight snack). Walnuts would be a nice addition to this one too when I'm done being a nut-phobe where our nina is concerned. A keeper. Definitely make this one again.

2 c. white sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ginger
1 c. sunflower oil
1 c. water
2 c. unbleached white flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. wheat germ
2 c.+ acorn squash, cooked, cooled & mashed
4 eggs


Combine dry ingredients. Add water, oil and squash. Pour 1/2 full into 3 greased and floured 9"x5" loaf pans.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or when toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Blood Orange, Watercress and Frisee Salad

Dressing:
juice of 1/2 a blood orange, about 2 tablespoons
1 T red wine vinegar
4 T olive oil

1 blood orange, peeled and sliced
12 hazelnuts, lightly dry toasted in an iron pan on top of the stove and then cut in half
6 slices of goat cheese (soft, chevre)
1/2 c frisee
1/2 c watercress

Mix together the dressing. Toss greens with dressing separately in a large bowl. Arrange in bowls starting with a bottom layer of frisee topped by the watercress. Arrange orange slices, goat cheese slices and hazelnuts on top of the greens.

Serves 2.

California Dreamin

It's that time of year when I wonder how on Earth I've managed to live in the Midwest all these years. To not see the sun for, like, 39 days straight would certainly crank up anyone's seasonal affective disorder. But the infernal succession of ice, sleet, snow, slush, melt, snow, ice, sleet is a certain counterindication for the little Vitamin D capsules I add to my battery of supplements this time of year. The groundhog used to provide some solace, but the last few years spring is delayed well past his groggy worst-case scenario.

Our attempts to eat within a tristate "local" radius yields little more than squash and beets this time of year, of which we have eaten plenty. Oh to be in the land of year round citrus and greens growing in your own backyard! So while the organic broccoli at Trader Joe's is Californian and looking wan, it's among the many other not-squash-or-beets that must round out my diet. Perhaps someday I'll do some canning and try to really live it old-school, but until then my only truly local and seasonal food options are venison and racoon scampering out of the woods and into the nearest 4 lane highway. That reminds me, let's hear it for dried beans!

An additional food challenge is the 21 month old who lives with us. This baby who up until recently so gloriously counted among her favorite foods tabouli, goat cheese, and salmon will, to take today for example, only eat crackers, bread, toast (apparently its own category of food), O cereal, and waffles (plain, don't even try to sneak a fruit in it or on top of it). She does get on kicks for a certain food and these foods are seldom local or in season, but like heck if I don't go to the ends of the earth to find organic seedless grapes this time of year if it's The Thing she's decided to permit past her lips. The most recent kick had been for raspberries but without warning the kick ended and I was left with two containers which I have been enjoying in the mornings with yogurt, my summertime breakfast cutting a little swath of comfort through this bleak season.

Other food friends that have helped to beat the blahs lately are--

-Humboldt Fog goat cheese paired with an earthy red, a chance to enjoy some new-to-me varietals out of South America, much more booming than my usual Loire preferences, but with this cheese they're perfect

-Homemade waffles smeared with melted chocolate

-J's tomato-tarragon soup

-This Amish cottage cheese from Iowa-- the best cottage cheese I've ever tasted! It was twice as good the week we had some very ripe, sweet pears.

-An-Mok stone ground wheat crackers. Since crackers are V's go-to food I've been exploring all kinds and this brand is really tasty.

-Lima bean-fennel soup

While we're in exile a few months longer from any foodie destination whatsoever, it remains homecooking every day, all the time. This, coupled with the gluten-minimal, dairy-now-somewhat-permissible, almost entirely vegetarian stipulations have brought my game up a notch, I must say. A few memorable meals include fried plantains with mojo and garlicy black beans with avocado tacos; polenta (the first time I've ever made it) with a ragout of zucchini, spinach, garlic and shallots, tomato-basil sauce and pecorino romano cheese; slow roasted salmon fillets on a bed of fresh tarragon.

It'll be June before our CSA share kicks in, and hopefully it will be slightly sooner than that that we will be returning to the city and to the land of restaurants I actually want to eat in and well-supplied, non-corporate grocery stores.

Until then, I'm taking my Vit D with a hearty helping of flax and keeping my picky eater enthusiastic about helping in the kitchen by letting her "chop vegetables" with her own cutting board and knife... a butter knife.

Roasted Root Vegetable Potage

I love the word "potage." It makes my homey soup of whatever I happen to have going limp in the refrigerator drawer sound downright sexy. Here's what got whipped up into a creamy soup today. (The blended soup kick is partly my preference, partly a way to increase the odds that a formerly omnivorous toddler who lately prefers crackers to vegetables will consume something flavorful and nutritious.) I used some homemade chicken stock I had in the freezer, but as a most-of-the-time vegetarian, I would have otherwise made this with vegetable stock.

4 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
4 parsnips, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
4 turnips, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
4 stalks of celery, chopped into 1" pieces
3/4 of a yellow onion, diced
6 cups of chicken stock
1/4 c olive oil
salt and white pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss carrots, parsnips and turnips in olive oil, reserving a little but of the oil for the soup pot. Roast for 45 minutes or until brown.

When vegetables are out of the oven, saute onion and celery in olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, until onion is fragrant and translucent. Add chicken stock and roasted vegetables. Reduce heat. Let all the ingredients simmer together for 20 minutes or so. Transfer to blender and blend into a smooth consistency for a creamy soup. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

Post soup note: the carrots give this soup a beautifully pale, orange color, while the sweetness of the parsnips and the pepperiness of the turnips are a great flavor pairing. I estimated the amount stock I used and so when I blended it it was still a bit thick. A little water brought it to the perfect consistency, however.

Fool Madamas

One thing about where we are currently living, the Middle Eastern food is outstanding. One suburb over there is a large community of people from Palastine, Lebanon, and Syria that there are no shortage of mom-and-pop restaurants fulfilling my frequent dolma/hummus/shawirma cravings. One such place also does a tasty "fool," sometimes also spelled "ful." This is like hummus but made with fava beans instead of chickpeas.

Since I have been using up the dried beans I dug out of the pantry a few days ago, decided to try my hand at a "fool" to use up some dried fava beans that have been hanging around unloved for far too long.

1 1/2 c dried fava beans
1 clove crushed garlic
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 t cumin

Soak fava beans overnight. Then cover with water and boil for 45 minutes to an hour. Let cool. Shell fava beans. Toss into a blender with remaining ingredients. Blend until desired consistency is reached. I added a little bit of water to make mine into a smooth puree, but some people may like their "fool" on the chunkier side.

This is good with toasted pita bread wedges, but since we didn't have any of those, and we are still primarily gluten-free in this household, I made myself a fried egg and topped it with fool. This is apparently a traditional breakfast in Egypt. And man is it good-- the runny yolk and the garlic and the fool's creaminess all combine into a nice variety of flavors and textures. What a good protein wallop to start the day!

Wine & Cheese

A current favorite evening nibble--

Meinklang Burgundenland & a goat gouda

Delicata Squash Stuffed With White Beans, Spinach and Sage

This meal evolved over the course of a day and a half, but it's hardly THAT laborious. This is the first time I'd ever cooked, and perhaps eaten, delicata squash. And it's one of the first times I've cooked with dried beans, besides throwing them into a soup, that is. It's a nod to using up what was around, and tweaking an existing recipe I found elsewhere online to make it gluten-free. Omitting the sprinkling of cheese I added at the end would make it dairyfree as well, but the picorino romano added lots of punch here and complemented the sage and the garlic quite nicely.

1 delicata squash, halved and seeds scooped out
1 c dried white beans, soaked overnight
1 large garlic clove, minced
extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 c baby spinach leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaves
1 c leftover brown rice
1/4 cup grated piccorino romano cheese


Bring a pot of water, about 4 cups, to a light boil over medium heat. Add beans. Cook for about 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender but not splitting. Drain (but reserve some of the liquid) and set beans aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the squash halves (cut side up) on a sheet pan or in a baking dish. Drizzle the surfaces with some olive oil, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake in the oven until the flesh is tender when pierced with a knife or fork, about 1 hour. Remove the squash halves from the oven and set aside.

For the filling, heat a little extra-virgin olive oil (about 1-2 Tbsp) in a saute pan over medium heat until hot, then add the minced garlic and saute for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the greens and saute until wilted. Now add leftover rice and the cooked white beans and continue cooking the mixture until the beans and rice are heated through. The leftover rice is probably dry from being in the refrigerator, so add a few tablespoons of the bean liquid to the pan. Stir in the chopped fresh sage, season to taste with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, and set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Fill the squash halves with rice mixture. Sprinkle freshly grated piccorino romano cheese over each squash half. Since everything is cooked this is really just a 5-10 minute cook time to warm up the squash and to melt the cheese (if using).

Serves 2

A Season for Drinking

lots of notable wines have crossed our table in the last few weeks.

Chateau Haut Peyruguet 2008 is my favorite white Bordeaux yet

Saracco Moscato D'Asti 2009 was delicious with Jeff's marzipan birthday cake

Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone 2007 was a nice, nice red for all ocassions

I don't usually like straight-up Pinot Noirs (too boomy) but Meinklang's Pinot is much more subtle and balanced, earthy and jammy.

Mas de Gougonnier Reserve du Mas 2004 les Baux de Provence was one of Jeff's favorites to date

And, I think we may have had this one before, but in case it hasn't been previously noted, a solild Gewurztraminer from Oregon: Montinore Estate 2007.

Cheers! Happy 2010!

A new favorite white

2008 Falanghina Ocone Taburno

Room temp is better on this one than chilled. Italian whites always hit me with a lot of sparkle up front and then make a quick getaway, but this one has a body that lingers with real beefy minerality.

From the wine librarian:
"Falanghina is one of Italy's most prized ancient varieties. Its name derives from the Latin word for the stake that supports the vine, which suggests that it originated at a point so early in viticultural history that staking a vine was a new technology, perhaps reserved for special grapes. It is now widely grown in Campagnia, a region well known for its mineral-rich volcanic soils. (Taburno is in the province of Benevento in the Campagnia region.)" -Importer; Certified Biodynamic

Teff Brownies

The first time I tasted teff (a few weeks ago, in peanut butter teff cookies), I thought "this is meant to go with chocolate" (but really, what isn't meant to go with chocolate?). Its hearty, dense, nuttiness was a shoe-in with loads if cocoa. Unlike the gluten free cookies we've tried lately (Bob's Mill mix, our own PB teff cookies), and don't get me started on GF breads, the sandy texture of most things baked sans gluten is less discernible here. Brownies fundamentally don't rely on flour as much as, say, muffins, so the transition is a smoother one for a gluten free sweet.

1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/3 cup teff flour
1/3 cup rice flour
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons agave nectar
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

chocolate chips to top (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8x8 glass pan. Combine all ingredients into a bowl. Mix until completely combined. Pour into bowl, spreading to the edges. If you want, you can add more chocolate by sprinkling chocolate chips across the top. I didn't and they were still plenty chocolatey.

Bake 25 minutes, or until the edges are brown. Don't overbake them, or they will be dry.

Zucchini Fritters

I've made these before with breadcrumbs, but here was a successful experiment in making them gluten-free.

1 large zucchini, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 c quinoa flakes
1/4 c rice flour
1/4 c minced onion
1/8 t white pepper
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/8 t garlic powder
1/4 t dried parsley flakes
1/4 t sea salt
1/2 c sunflower oil for frying

1. In a large bowl, combine zucchini, egg, and 2 T olive oil. Stir in quinoa (uncooked), rice flour, minced onion, garlic and spices. Mix well.
2. Shape mixture into patties.
3. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium high heat until hot. Fry patties in oil until golden brown on both sides.

Makes 10 cakes.

Apple Tart with Teff-Walnut Crust

I love teff. What I discovered about the teff peanut butter cookies we made earlier in the week is that teff is so loaded with protein and iron and other mighty vitamins that it is impossible to have a sweet binge on things made with it. This is coming from a person who can easily sit down with a plate of cookies, mind you. Two teff cookies, three tops, and one is totally satisfied, thinking, maybe I'll read some difficult poetry instead of lying on the couch to stare at the ceiling fan in a carb and sugar coma.

So this crust is similarly exhilarating, and crumbly... holds together a little bit better after the whole pie has been baked and has had some time to cool in the refrigerator, but tastes deep and rich-- without overwhelming the fruit.

Filling:

5-6 apples, peeled and sliced (I used honeycrisp)

2-3 T Earth Balance

1 T cinnamon

Crust:
1 c chopped walnuts
1/3 c brown sugar
1/3 c sunflower oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 cup teff flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Crust:
Mix ingredients in Vita Mix blender (dry attachment) on lowest setting until consistency resembled coarse meal. Press mixture into bottom of lightly oiled 9-inch tart pan.
Bake 12 minutes, or until crust becomes a smidge darker.

Filling:
In a large bowl, toss apple slices with cinnamon. Heap the apple mixture into the tart pan. It creates quite a mound, but they cook down considerably. Dot the pie with Earth Balance. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

**Even better with almonds instead of walnuts and pears instead of apples!

Cranberry Sauce

Super easy, quick and delicious.

8 oz. fresh cranberries
3/4 c orange juice
1/4 c sugar

Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cook on medium-high for 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced – stirring occasionally. You’ll hear the cranberries popping – don’t worry, that’s what you want them to do. Remove from heat and serve.

Happy Gluten-free Thanksgiving

This year we were able to dictate a Thanksgiving menu all our own because we put ourselves under family quarantine. Our colds didn't stop us from putting on a feast for the three of us, however, and with zero pressure about timing and entertaining of guests, J and I, well, mostly J, whipped up a spread that was entirely gluten-free, healthy, and vegan-- except for the turkey and the goat cheese.

J roasted a 10 pound bird (and I discovered that I have converted to the dark side... dark meat, that is). He also made mashed potatoes with Earth Balance butter and soy milk; a yummy stuffing made of corn meal, onions, celery and herbs; a salad of roasted beets with goat cheese and olive oil and balsamic vin. And in the interest of using all of the bird, J made a gravy comprised of all the ugly bits which, though I'm not a gravy fan, was deeply flavorful and yum.

I contributed a roasted butternut squash drizzled with date syrup, roasted brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, and an apple tart with a teff-walnut crust.

While we kept our nation's promise to overeat this evening, the meal didn't leave either of us feeling "logi," a term we use to mean leaden, bloated and immobile.

Of course, we regret not spending the day with either of our families. The only other time we were not at his family's table for Thanksgiving, or mine, was one year we lived out East and couldn't afford to fly back. Now that we're all in the same state it seemed unlikely that would ever happen again, but the prospect of hauling a congested toddler all over town we we weren't feeling up to snuff ourselves had us call it off early in the week. I'm sure our family members are thankful we weren't around them sharing our germs! And J is thankful he was able to eat everything on the table.

Cheers!

Teff Peanut Butter Cookies

Having never baked with teff before, I made these cookies strictly by the book, or, by the package, as it were. The Bob's Red Mill bag of whole grain teff flour featured this recipe for cookies, and, since dairy and gluten free J was itching for something sweet today, and since I am always itching for something sweet, I thought wed give em a try. I was skeptical to say the least. No egg and no sugar? Also, I expected a somewhat sour taste like the teff-infused injera bread I've had at Ethiopian restaurants. Well, the sourness is no doubt the yeast or starter for the injera, because teff by itself, while hearty and dense, is delicious. I almost added some chocolate chips to this-- for insurance purposes-- but J refused. I'm glad he did because they baked up yummily without it. Though I am tempted to experiment now... teff brownies, anyone? The one thing is that they are crumbly, so once one starts to handle a teff cookie, one better devour it quickly!

1 1/2 c teff flour
1/2 t sea salt
1/ c maple syrup
1/2/ c sunflower oil
1 t vanilla
1 c peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350. Set aside an ungreased cookie sheet. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Set aside. In a food processor blend syrup, oil , vanilla, and peanut butter. Add the wet ingredients tot he dry ingredients. Blend well. Shape dough into walnut sized balls. Place on cookie sheet and flatten gently with the tines of a fork. Bake about 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Yields 24 cookies.

Buckwheat Pancakes

Here's a real stick-to-your ribs breakfast that's energizing at the same time. We enjoyed these cakes with syrup but they would be good with a berry coulis as well. The buckwheat is a thirsty grain, so the whole cup of soy milk here is needed for a good consistency to the batter. The buckwheat is also so robust tasting that I don't miss the milkfat flavor that regular pancakes have when I make them with soy milk.

• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup soy milk
• 2 Tbsp melted Earth Balance
  

Mix dry ingredients together; add egg, soy milk and Earth Balance, beating well after each addition. Drop batter onto preheated griddle surface and cook until brown on both sides.

Wild Rice with Dried Cranberries and Toasted Almonds

I should mention that we are embarking on an experiment in gluten and dairy free eating. I've experimented on myself before, at the recommendation of my acupuncturist, but this time there are more imperative health issues for J that deem it so. I'm pleased for a new cooking challenge. What's in: fresh fruits and veggies; soy products; poultry and fish (in limited amounts); all other grains in the non-glutinous family (quinoa, rice, etc.)
What's out: dairy and dairy derivatives (casein, whey, etc.); wheat and all gluten lurkers; red meat (not that I ate it anyway, and J only ate it once in a while, but I think he's calling a moratorium on red meat now as well);
Not sure: oats? corn?
So we'll be mostly vegetarian, sometimes vegan, and increasingly inventive when it comes to breadiness from here on out.

Day 1's dinner involved rotisserie chicken (cheating already, I know... not home-cooked), roasted root veggies and this yummy wild rice dish. Tasted very autumnal as well.

1 cup wild rice, washed and drained
1/2 cup almonds, toasted in a dry pan
1/2 cup red onions, slivered
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Fill a large pot pot with generously salted water. Add the wild rice and boil, uncovered for 55 minutes or so. You will know the rice is done when many of the grains are cracked open and tender, revealing the lighter inside.

Remove from the heat and drain off the water. Stir in the nuts, red onions, and dried cranberries.

(Can also use pine nuts instead of almonds.)

Roasted Roots

For the past couple of years I've snapped up this bag of root vegetables from Harmony Valley Farms whenever I see it at Whole Foods. Something about this (relatively) local, organic grower makes the most delicate and savory little carrots and turnips. The bag also includes parsnips, rutabegas, celeriac, and, on ocassion, sunchokes. Beautifully colorful varieties of carrots and turnips, too, not the old wan standbys. If we lived in Madison, I'd be hopping on their CSA membership. Unfortunately they don't seem to deliver to Chicago. Another reason to love them, this tasty marinade for roasting they included on the package. This beats my plain old olive oil rub down any day.

2 T olive oil
2 T maple syrup
2 T tamari (wheat free)
1 bag of "soup mix" root vegetables, chopped into 3/4" pieces
2 t dried thyme

In a medium bowl, combine oil, maple syrup, tamari and thyme. Toss root vegetables in oil mixture and spread evenly in a roasting pan. Roast at 450 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

(Could also use ginger instead of thyme.)