This is just one of the gems on Gretchen's most recent album "The Lost and Found". The CD has been on repeat shuffle for the past week or so-it's just soooooo good. And, not only is Gretchen a beautifully intuitive musician and singer, but she's such a warm, humble and lovely person. Go out and buy it!
Here are some things I'd like you all to know:
1) My references to carrots and hummus do not suggest I will be visiting Israel any time soon nor will I be making Tzimmes in view of Pesach celebrations (sorry, Ima).
2) Culinary creativity has now become the barometer to measure how content I am at any given time (the barometer used to be my ability to refrain from massacring my cuticles).
3) The best hummus is from Hummus Place-the chain of restaurants. It's so earthy, not overly acidic, and lushly thick and spreadable. I've given up on Sabra Hummus. It's so incredibly acidic-probably because it contains chemicals and flavourants that allow it to possess such a long shelf life- and so unsatisfying.
4) Fresh carrot juice is super underrated. I'm talking about the kind made in a juicer-not the store bought, bottled variety.
5) Cooking with herbs is mildly terrifying. I don't know why. It is just hugely daunting.
6) Jonathan Safran Foer's tome "Eating Animanls" has persuaded me to become pescatarian. I wish it was just for affect (so I could lapse and laugh it off), but I suspect it will stick this time. Read the book. It's an education if nothing else and it will allow you to make educated choices.
7) Some of my favourite, newly-discovered food blogs are http://www.101cookbooks.com/index.html, http://www.davidlebovitz.com/ (thanks to my pal Lohr), and my beloved http://reciperifle.blogspot.com/ is no longer on maternity leave-so let the acerbic witty blogging continue!
Last week was not a great cooking week mainly because I was wrestling with a chest-cough-turned-cold, several boxes of kleenex and general sense of bluh-ness. This week, however, is going to be much, much better. How do I know this? Well, while drinking my daily cup of Trader Joe's green tea and perusing food blogs, I was inspired. It was inspiration in the form of David Leibovitz's take on grated carrot salad (and the fact that I'm craving vitamin A) and the most delicious recipe for spinach gratin from Julia Childs via http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/03/the-best-baked-spinach/
So, post a little hop and skip on the treadmill-I'm hoping that if I start exercising again ignore my running nose, it will leave due to neglect, besides, I'm bored of being sick- I wandered into my local Fairways grocery store. Six organic carrots. A bunch of cilantro/coriander. Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries (all containing more Vitamin C than oranges...apparently...and they're good for lowering cholesterol). My favourite Pain De Seigle bread by Rudolph...to be consumed after Pesach OBVIOUSLY. See, Mum, you did raise me right!
My version of the carrot salad went like this:
Grated Carrot Salad...And Then Some
1 large carrot, grated
leftover black and red quinoa
half a fennel bulb finely shaved (or you could grate it)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt & pepper
a handful of spinach leaves
a handful of coriander and flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely
Mix the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Grate the carrot into the bowl first, then adding the fennel, quinoa, spinach leaves and herbs. Mix it all together-check the seasoning-and devour while perusing food blogs and reading about the impending royal nuptials on eonline.com.
Note: if you choose to behave like a savage and eat this delish salad in this manner, you might be finding stray kernels of quinoa nestled in your keyboard keys for weeks to come....you were warned.
The second kitchen adventure occurred this evening. It wasn't quite Julia Childs' version of baked spinach-I didn't have the time nor the patience. But it was delicious and protein-packed.
Spinach Bake for a Hungry Musician
1/2 cup lentils
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 a garlic clove
a handful of mushrooms, any variety will do
2 handfuls of spinach (remember that it cooks down a lot, so the more the merrier)
1 teaspoon honey
salt & pepper
a nob of butter...or two nobs of butter (Julia said you can never have too much butter)
Note: I mixed in more left-over quinoa. If you wanted a complete meal, you could add cooked brown rice or any grain to make it more hearty.
Cook the lentils according to the packet or your preference.
Heat some olive oil in a pan and add the onions and garlic when hot enough. Once slightly softened, throw in a big pinch of salt and the honey.
Add the mushrooms and more salt (this helps the mushrooms release water and, in turn, cook faster).
Mix the cooked lentils into the onion, garlic, mushroom mixture and add the butter.
Wash the spinach and place in a pot, on low heat, and cover with a lid until the spinach has wilted sufficiently.
Place the lentil mix in a small porcelain baking dish
(I used my blue-ish Le Creuset mini dish-happiness), top with the spinach (you might want to squeeze out excess liquid beforehand) and a handful of grated cheese (I used cheddar).
Place the dish under the grill/broiler until the cheese has melted.
Eat. And be happy. And then drink some rooibos tea to aid digestion and to get a good dose of antioxidants.
No comments:
Post a Comment