Riding the Wave

In a semi-reflective mood this morning, and pondering yesterday's trip to the beach for Father's Day, it comes to me that parenting is a lot like riding a wave.  Just as in life, and surfing, it is vital to one's very survival that you learn to relax, trust yourself and your child, and just let the wave take you where it will.  Becoming tense and seeking to control the situation (be it a pivotal point in life, a sticky moment in parenting, or a monster of a wave) will only result in a great deal of useless thrashing around, and figurative (or literal, if you're still with me on this wave analogy) drowning.  Anyone who's ever spent some time in the ocean learns pretty quickly that if you're in over your head, relax, and eventually you'll float to the surface.  Maybe after taking a good pounding.  And learning a tough lesson or two.  This applies to life, especially life as a parent.

I am pretty stoked that I (somehow) got lucky enough to find the Mister, and that our kids have such an amazing dad.  This is the sort of man that brings out the best in people, and that seems to me to be a pretty handy trait to have in a relationship, and as a parent.  He's passionate about life, the ocean, art, and his family.  He has the patience of a saint...obviously, he married me.  And he knows when to paddle like hell, and when to loosen up and ride the wave.  He taught me how to do that (mostly), and he's teaching our kids that every day.

And the really brilliant part?  He'll always be right close by, if they do take a tumble, and need a hand.

Stoked on this man.  Happy Father's Day to you, Mister.

Perfect End

Looking out at the gray drizzling day, I can't help but worry that summer may not arrive after all.  Sure, there hints, oh-so-subtle hints, that it's just around the corner.  School is out.  Plans are being made to fill the now just slightly freer days with outdoor fun.  Heck, even the weather felt full of the promise of summer yesterday.  So, instead of dwelling on the (not atypical) rain today, let's chat about yesterday's goodness.  Particularly, dinner.

After a busy Friday, filled with saying goodbye to school for the summer, celebrating the (presumed) commencement of summer, and errand running for Father's Day, a spontaneous sort (my favorite sort) of gathering took place with friends, that included margaritas, toasts to the sunshine, and the usual amount of side-splitting laughter.  Perfect.  

And of course the good times carried on well past a reasonable (ie, school night, kid-friendly) dinner time.  But hey!  It's summer.  No school.  And these kids can surely be counted as more cultural for staying up a little later, enjoying good food and company, right?  (Guilt resolved.)

From the Farmer's Market, I had some lovely asparagus, and green beans.  The pantry revealed some tinned tuna in olive oil.  And a quick think, and perusal of the cookbook shelf had me reaching for my treasured copy of My French Kitchen, by Joanne Harris (hooray!), and Fran Warde.

The recipe for Warm Tuna and Potato Salad calls for anchovies, but I was fresh out (ha), but I did have some anchovy paste in the fridge, so I added a little squirt to the dressing.  The other alterations I made to the recipe were to add asparagus, because, well, yum.  I replaced one tablespoon of the white wine vinegar with lemon juice, and I also reduced the 2/3 cup olive oil, for the dressing, because I prefer the vinaigrette to have some zing.  And perhaps because maybe, ugh, swimsuits are going to be involved soon.  Sigh.

So, here you go.  Easy as anything.  Super filling, and pretty darn healthy.  Serve it up with a nice, crusty baguette of course, a la Francaise.

Warm Tuna and Potato Salad - adapted from My French Kitchen

 - serves 4 to 6

For the dressing:

1 or 2 small shallots, minced

2 Tbs white wine vinegar

1 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 Tbs grainy dijon mustard

1/2 tsp anchovy paste (optional)

1/3 cup olive oil (or more if desired)

sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

For the salad:

1 lb small red skinned potatoes (or white, something that holds its shape, not russet)

6 oz (or a couple large handfuls) haricots verts, or thin green beans, trimmed

8 oz cherry tomatoes

6 oz tuna in olive oil, drained

a few good handfuls of fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together, except for the olive oil.  Once those are combined, add the olive oil in a steady stream, while you whisk it in.  Alternatively, add all dressing ingredients to a jar, and shake vigorously.

Gently cook the potatoes in their skins in a saucepan of lightly salted water (1/2 -1 Tbs sea salt), for about 20 minutes, or until easily pierced with a knife, but before their skins split.  Drain the potatoes, cut in halves or quarters depending on their size, and place them in a large salad bowl, or platter.  Pour the 2/3 of the dressing over the warm potatoes, and toss to coat.

Plunge the green beans into lightly salted boiling water (save a pan, and some time, and reuse the potato water), and cook for 2 minutes.  Drain well, and add warm to the dressed potatoes.

Place the asparagus on one side of a rimmed baking sheet, and the cherry tomatoes on the other, and drizzle a bit of olive oil over them, tossing to coat, and season with salt and pepper.  Roast for 10 minutes, then remove the tomatoes, and add them to the potatoes and green beans.  Continue roasting the asparagus (increasing the heat to 425 if need be), for another 5 - 10 minutes, until fork tender, then add to the salad as well.

Pour the last of the dressing over the salad, and mix gently to distribute evenly.  Flake the tuna over the top, and tear the basil, and scatter it over the salad. Serve at once, while still warm.

Oh, lovely.

Perfect end to a perfect day.

Have a great weekend.

One Day

 

In a rush, rush, rush these days.  Last night, in the midst of the dinner-laundry-clean out backpacks-etc rush, my awesome boy passed me some of his poetry from school, which made me pause, and smile, and feel very grateful for this kid.  I should mention, he drew inspiration from a song by the same name, by Matisyahu.

One Day

by Tyler King

One Day I Wish

There Will

Be Peace.

One Day

I Wish

People

Release

Their Anger And

Handle

Life Right.

One Day

I Wish That

People Might

Not Like To Fight Cause It Is

Not Right.

Man, this kid is always up to good stuff.  What a lucky mum I am. 

Have a lovely day.

Oh, David...

*Note:  The above title should be sighed, in a satiated sort of way.*

David Lebovitz, to be specific.  His insanely great cookbook, Ready for Dessert, to be further specific.  And, most specifically, as regards today's post:  Spiced Candied Pecans.

The mister, as you may have heard me mention, is featured in the Ballard Art Walk, this Saturday, at Venue Gallery.   Nibbles and wine are provided, so of course, ever going with my strong suit...I decide to go for it and make a few desserts.  Which, as we know, what with the dirty, Viagra-grubbing oven I possess, and my penchant for not following recipes...isn't always the wisest idea in my world.  Oh, but, why not?  What's life without a little bit of risk, right?

I have made, and tasted, several spiced nut recipes.  Some pretty darn tasty, some just so-so.  These may just make me look like I know what I'm doing in the kitchen, regardless of how my other desserts turn out.  Never mind that this recipe sort of isn't exactly, truly baking.  At least not in the cake and cookie sense.  And it's really simple.

Hooray for that.


A little note, before we go on:  the recipe calls for 1 tsp ground cloves, which I used, and sort of panicked about when the intense smell of cloves flooded the kitchen while baking.  I worried the nuts were going to be way too heavy on the cloves.  Never fear.  Trust David.  He knows what he's bloody doing.

Also, because I wouldn't be me if I didn't tweak a recipe, just a wee bit, David's recipe is for 4 cups pecans.  I used 2 cups pecans, 1 cup almonds, and 1 cup cashews.  Partly because I wanted a mix, and partly because I am a flawed human.  Try it either way.  They are lovely.  And highly addictive.  If I don't get it under control, I'm going to have to whip up another batch for Saturday.  And wouldn't that just be too terrible?

A little bit sweet, but only just.  A little bit salty, but only just.  A little bit spicy, but only just.  Oh, David...

Spiced Candied Pecans

Or, in my case:  Spiced Candied Nuts
adapted from Ready for Dessert, by David Lebovitz

1 large egg white
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tbs ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups pecan halves, or a mix of pecan halves, and whole almonds and cashews

Preheat oven to 300.  Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, or oil lightly.

In a large bowl, whisk egg white until frothy, about 10 seconds.  Stir in the brown sugar, spices, salt, vanilla, and nuts, and stir until the nuts are well coated.

Distribute the nuts in an even layer on the baking sheet and bake until well toasted, and the glaze is dry, about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, and rotating your baking sheet front to back, if needed.  Let cool competely, separating the nuts as they cool.

Will keep for up to 2 weeks, in an airtight container.

 

Do you see how those little bites of deliciousness are fairly leaping off the dish, so I can eat them?

Oh, yes...

Here's hoping that my other desserts are as successful.

Cross fingers...

A Word on Wine

"Wine talks; ask anyone.  The oracle at the street corner; the uninvited guest at the wedding feast; the holy fool.  It ventriloquizes.  It has a million voices.  It unleashes the tongue, teasing out secrets you never meant to tell, secrets you never even knew.  It shouts, rants, whispers.  It speaks of great plans, tragic loves and terrible betrayals.  It screams with laughter.  It chuckles softly to itself.  It weeps in front of its own reflection.  It revives summers long past and memories best forgotten.  Every bottle a whiff of other times, other places, every one - from the commonest Liebfraumilch to the imperious Veuve Clicquot - a humble miracle.  Everyday magic, Joe had called it.  The transformation of base matter into the stuff of dreams.  Layman's alchemy."

-quoted from the novel, Blackberry Wine, by Joanne Harris

Is that not the most perfect doorway into a story that you have ever read?  Okay, there are many other brilliant writers and brilliant first paragraphs...but this?  This?  Wine's every nuance and consequence laid bare, so eloquently that you can taste it.  The words themselves are intoxicating.

And this next, not quite a literary quote, but I happened upon it the other day, and had a good giggle.

Charles & Charles 2010 Rose.  The display sign read:  "You can drink rose, and still be a badass."

I did.  And I am.

And by the way, that rose is scrumptious.  Also local, if you're a fellow Washingtonian.  And Blackberry Wine, by Joanne Harris...delicious.  Help yourselves to some of both.

Have a lovely day.

Eat Your Greens, Street Food Style

Devin and I visited the new Uwajimaya yesterday, only intending on a few sauces...Needless to say, we came home with a wee bit more than a few.  What can I say?  It's the food lover's version of a kid-in-a-candy-store kind of thing.  As we were leaving, hefting our bags out to the car, Devin said:  "Wow.  That was so much fun!  I can't wait to go back!"  It's a grocery store, people.  Selling food.  No toys, no crazy doodads or whatsits.  Food, interesting food, lights my gal up.  And I have got to dig that.

A bit of our haul:

Hmmm...baby bok choy, choy sum, Chinese long beans, ginger...

So, what's for dinner?

Time to bust out one of my absolute favorite cookbooks ever:  Street Food, by Tom Kime.  Full of gorgeous, simple recipes and travel anecdotes about street food from around the world.  I pretty much drool as soon as I open the pages.  Each dish is vibrant, colorful, and screamingly fresh.  My kind of food.  Incidentally...this is the perfect cookbook for summer.  There are a number of barbecue dishes, easy-to-take on-a-picnic foods...great entertaining food, not your usual burgers and dogs on the BBQ.

Anyway, let's make some Nonya Sambal.  A super easy, great weeknight meal, it takes only minutes to cook.  Tom's recipe is adapted from an Indonesian sambal, but he also credits Malaysia and Singapore, for its inspiration. 

Oh, and by the way, my kids loved this.  In the interest of not burning their mouths with the sambal, however, I only put about 1 1/2 tsp of the hot stuff in, instead of the 1 Tbs suggested in the recipe.  Sambal is pretty spicy chili sauce, especially for a small sort of person, and if you've got little ones, you can always serve some up alongside the meal, at table.

And one more thing.  If you can't get some of these vegetables, substitute!  The thing with traditional street food like this is that people use what's available and fresh.  No choy sum?  Use broccoli, broccoli raab, or maybe some asparagus.  Whatever sounds good.  You absolutely cannot mess this up.  So go crazy.

Nonya Sambal - Adapted from Street Food, by Tome Kime
serves 4, as a main course, or 6-8, as a side dish

1 head choy sum (Chinese flowering cabbage), or purple sprouting broccoli
2 heads pak choy or bok choy
1 Tbs vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
4 oz green beans, ends trimmed (I used Chinese long beans)
1/2 cup bean sprouts, rinsed
handful each:  fresh mint leaves, fresh cilantro leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:

1 Tbs sambal oelek
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs hoisin sauce

-Cut the stems of the choy sum into 2 inch lengths and separate the leaves.  Cut the bok choy in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 2-4 wedges (depending on size), through the base.

-To make the sauce, combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan, and reduce over high heat for 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat.

-Heat a wok over medium-high heat and add the oil.  Stir-fry the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds until golden brown and fragrant.  (Careful, you don't want it to burn, and embitter the dish!)  Add the choy sum stems, bok choy, green beans, sauce, and 1 Tbs water, and stir-fry for 2 minutes.  Next, add the choy sum leaves, and stir-fry for a further minute, or until tender.  Add sprouts, mint, and cilantro, stirring and tossing for 30 seconds until wilted.

-Taste a little of the vegetables with the sauce, and adjust the seasoning to taste. Season with salt and pepper.  It should be hot and spicy, but with a balance of salty, sour and sweet flavors.  Serve immediately.

Because this was our main course, we served it atop basmati rice. 

How easy was that? 

Enjoy your dinner.

A Perilously Good, Save Your Day Kind of Cookie

 

These cookies should come with a warning.  

They're that good.

Dangerously binge-worthy.

Monica gave me the heads up on this recipe, which comes from Ashley Rodriguez's stunningly photographed foodie blog, Not Without Salt.  She calls it The Ultimate, The Last, and also The Chocolate Chip Cookie.  Translation:  The Most Delicious, The Seek-No-Further, The Only...Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Here's what you need to know:  

Salt.  Not only is there the usual small amount of salt in the cookie...there is flake salt dusted over the top of the cookie.  Salt and chocolate.  That, fine friends, is a perfect combination.  Do use something good, fleur de sel, himalayan pink, or vanilla infused sea salt.  You can even make your own.

Good quality bittersweet chocolate.  Chunks, not chips.  (Although, confession, I've made them with half chunks, and half Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips.  Which are not only damn good, but also very reasonably priced, so I don't feel too bad about not following that part of the recipe.)

An abundance of brown sugar, and a bit of Turbinado sugar, give these cookies a serious edge over the old stand-by recipe.  (Okay, okay...another confession. I've not had Turbinado on hand when we had a serious need for a chocolate chip cookie, so I - horror! - just substituted a little more brown sugar.)

I realize I'm sounding like a bit of a hypocrite after the recent post vowing to follow recipes, word for word, what with all the baking substitutions, but hear me out.  When, on a rainy weekend, we are all trapped indoors...while the mister is framing some very high, very triangular, windows...the compressor is belting out its deafening roar every 4 minutes...the nail gun hose keeps getting a kink in it every time it's dragged way up the ladder...and the normally calm mister (quietly) looks like he's about to lose his cool...it is a chocolate emergency.  Not enough bittersweet chocolate chunks in the house?  No Turbinado sugar?  Who cares!  This man needs a cookie!  Stat!

I've had these cookies made both ways.  The responsible, follow the recipe word-for-bloody-word way...and the hell, I've-got-to-cram-some-chocolate-in-this-guy-NOW way.  And yes, the recipe way is superior.  Undoubtedly.  But even with the substitutions, these were still the best chocolate chip cookies I can remember eating.  Ever.

So, go visit Not Without Salt.  Make the recipe for the Chocolate Chip Cookies to end all chocolate chip cookies.  

And, by the way, here's how to make your own vanilla sea salt.

Vanilla Sea Salt

1/4 cup flake sea salt

1 vanilla bean

Slice open the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds from the pod.  Mix the seeds into the salt.  Voila! Vanilla Sea Salt.  

Definitely, definitely pair this with chocolate.  It is unbearably delicious.

Here's hoping you don't have a chocolate emergency kind of day...but if you do...now you're prepared.