~~ measure free recipes ~~

Riches in our Cupboards

Americans! We Can Eat Well & Tighten Our Belts! There was a time when only the rich could afford expensive spices. Ah, yes. We all remember the famed Spice Route to Asia. Just Google it, and you’ll find maps, mystery, and intrigue. You’ll find references to cardamom, turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon. Those wonderfully exotic sticks and pods and powders.

So, what better way to eat well while tightening our belts than to make full use of the riches in our cupboards. Of the full range of spices that are there just waiting for us to pop the lids.

At the signing in Welches, Oregon today at Wy’east Book Shoppe and Art Gallery, I’ll be demonstrating precisely that: dipping pears into fragrant, mysterious allspice, lacing the flax meal for quinoa logs with cardamom, and stirring cinnamon into the cottage cream for stuffing the dates.

For those who have Cooking Beyond Measure, this isn’t news. You’ll recognize the image pictured here, as well as the recipes. If you’ve not tried them yet, the holidays are a great time. More they are all innocent sweets, no sugar need apply. Finally, they are affordable. Hence the name of my presentation today at Wy’east: We Can Eat Well & Tighten Our Belts.

PS-Speaking of presentations and Cooking Beyond Measure, we’re doing pretty well getting the message out. My calendar is nicely filled with a slide show and reading at Portland’s book fair, Wordstock this weekend, and loads of other signings & samplings at bookstores and markets, especially my beloved New Seasons Markets where two stores in particularly sell through the books in amazingly prompt fashion.

Here’s a blurb the Willamette Week ran on us, complete with times for my gig at Wordstock:

Posted in Spices, Sweet Nothings | Add a Comment »

Toasted Sesame Oil & Balsamic Make Beets Luscious

As usual, it’s what you put on your foundation that makes or breaks a meal. Buried under all the Gorgonzola and toasted walnuts are nothing more than beets and Swiss chard. Here’s how it all worked.

My first catering job appeared last week, so I turned to the Red and Yellow Beets with Blue Cheese on p. 116 of Cooking Beyond Measure. A very nice recipe if I do say so myself, but not one that worked for me at the moment. No yellow beets. No time for roasting. Still, the idea compelled, so I went with the flow.

Boiled some red beets. Slipped their jackets off and cut them into bite-sized chunks. Flash cooked the chard leaves (stems severed and reserved for another day). Tossed the vegetables with garbanzos and dressed the works in toasted sesame oil and a tangy, autumny balsamic vinegar. Salt, pepper, and a dab of Poupon mustard was all it took to make this warm composed salad so very sumptuous. (The gingerbread from Laurel’s Kitchen and cottage cream from my book didn’t hurt the cause either.)

Then there was the summer savory growing outside the backdoor that worked so beautifully as a garnish–and allowed the cook to positively drink in the aroma of an herb freshly picked. Whoever said cooking was akin to slaving over a hot stove? Perhaps when you’re doing nothing more than following rote directions from a formal recipe book, but not when you’re so nicely engaged in the art.

Like German Ruiz, minister of tourism in Puebla, Mexico said, “you could write cooking instructions down, but in the end it’s the way you do it. No?” (Beyond Measure, p.11)

By the way, how’s everyone holding up in this economy? I know it’s taking a toll in my office.  Between the marketing work for Beyond Measure and working on Hippie Kitchen–where it appears Celeste and HH will be getting better acquainted–we’re scrambling. So moving forward, expect the blog and newsletter to come every other week. That’s probably enough to keep our growing community together–At least I hope so, as it seems that increasingly people are getting the hang of the message. People like Laura Marble, in Tucson who wrote:

“Once in a great while, somebody comes up with a question so perfect that it brings a whole corner of your life into sharp relief and fills you with clarity.

Last week, Jean Johnson asked me such a question.

“How did cooking turn into a rote exercise in following directions?” the Oregon-based food writer inquired as we talked on the phone. In an instant, my decade-long bout of boredom with kitchen duty became completely understandable….That’s a good thing for my waistline and pocketbook.”

Paste this url into your browser for the rest of Marble’s incisive article: http://www.explorernews.com/articles/2008/10/01/el_sol/doc48e2bb73ea1a0427439654.txt

Posted in Legumes, Mains, Salads, Sample Recipe from Cooking Beyond Measure | Add a Comment »

Getting into the Cardamom Action

After Rula’s comment on last week’s post I got inspired to actually get into the cardamom action. The softish green pods crack open pretty easily. I used a wooden dowel my father made me for tortillas, but a rolling pin would work just as well–or a tin can, I imagine. Anyhow, I explained all that techie stuff last week. What I wanted to share this week was how earthy and elemental the experience was.

First the smell. Cardamom carries that same heady aroma that rosemary and wild sage have–the kind of sage that grows along the highways out in Indian Country in Northern Arizona. Inhale and you feel the vapors curling right up around your mind, bringing with them the stability of the ages.

Then the quiet crackle and the clean-hard feel of the papery husks as they crack, flex, and release their dark booty.

I tasted a seed, too. Chomped it right down. It wasn’t as wild as I expected. Peppery, definitely, but not overwhelming.

I soaked some raisins in cinnamon tea and cardamom. Great goop for spooning over things like butternut squash and cottage cream (p21 in Beyond Measure) or eating with waffles. The premise here, of course, is from the mystical world of fruit breads. Putting dried fruits and exotic spices down in rum or brandy or bourbon for a long soak–and then stirring it into batters full of molasses and butter.

Posted in Spices, Squash, Whole Grains and Breads | Add a Comment »

Chiles and Spice, and Everything Nice

Here in Portland, Oregon, it’s as if Mother Nature threw a switch and autumn commenced. I’m sure golden days are yet to come, but at the moment it’s brisk and cloudy. Gone are the fresh tomatoes and the lean, clean flavors that taste so great when it’s hot. Here are chiles and spices and everything that make fall and the holidays so enticing, so mysterious, so fragrant and alluring.

Pictured are the outrageously hot Thai chiles, fresh from the Asian grocery down the street. One of these babies minced together with garlic puts serious wow-appeal in everything from soup to warm salads.

Then, of course, there’s the whole nutmeg. It goes on my cereal daily, fresh off the petite rasp grater a friend gave me. Once you get a taste–and a yen for the arresting smell–of fresh spices, you’ll be hard put to settle for the preground stuff.

The green pods are cardamom, that potent spice favored by Scandanavians for cookies, breads, and fruit soups. I’ve found that it also is lovely for dipped pears and oranges–as well as almonds. In fact, I included a recipe note for cardamom almonds in Beyond Measure–basically tossing toasted almonds in melted butter and dusting them with peppery cardamom.

Cardamom pods are great to work with while you’re watching one of the presidential debates or the latest news on our fearsome economy. Before I settle in in front of the tube, I crack the outer husks on the cutting board with a rolling pin. Then it’s just a matter of picking the dark brown spice out.

Once your tv-watching for the evening has come to a conclusion, a quick whirl in the coffee bean grinder nets you fresh, fragrant cardamom that will stay lovely throughout the holidays. Also cardamom’s bold smell is a great antidote for whatever you saw on the tube that didn’t set quite right. Free aroma-therapy and all that jazz.

Posted in Breakfasts, Chile, Kitchen Moments, Spices | 2 Comments »

Apples in the Roasting Pans

After my comments on pesticides and apples in The Measure Free Weekly last time, I was especially pleased to have a box of apples in the basement from friend and gardener, Laura Berg. Laura is also, if you’ll remember from her comment on last week’s blogpost, the care taker of HH. Clearly more will be revealed on that subject as time goes by.

In any event, on the apples. This kind isn’t especially a good keeper, so I quartered them and put them in a slow oven with some water. Now they’re ready for the freezer–and then, of course, to pull out come winter for warming with cinnamon and nutmeg and spooning onto cereal, stirring into quick breads, and brewing down into sauces and syrups.

Yum. Fall apples. This year’s crop. Not a chemical in their genes. Or those that consume them. No wonder Celeste has given HH’s overture more than passing notice. She apparently understands that he’s part of a family that is clear on its priorities.

Posted in Fruit, Putting Food By | Add a Comment »

Celeste Basks in the Aroma of Roasted Food

Celeste has turned into a camera hound since she heard HH, a male frog in our town, spotted her on the back cover of Beyond Measure. She sniffs that she’s not too interested, but the truth is, she invited him over once harvest is on the wane.

So you can see, she has me hard at it. Trays full of whatever bounty comes through the door, roasting in the oven. Then it’s just a matter of bagging them up in ziplocks. Or even freezing first on the trays and then bagging so come winter we can pull out just what we need.

Plums, peppers, and tomatoes roast beautifully–and it’s so much easier that stirring a pot on the stove and worrying about burning. I also did some peaches and oh, the smells in the kitchen. Even Celeste was distracted from her romantic interest momentarily. Then there are apples. Roasted apples. Talk about having your kitchen smell homey and good. And getting harvest’s bounty put up easily and quickly.

Yes, basking in the aroma of roasted food. Earthy. Elemental. Something that strikes a chord in creatures of all kinds.

Posted in Fruit, Putting Food By, Roasted Vegetables | 1 Comment »

Fall’s Here–Ladies & Gentlemen, Start Your Ovens

We had a fleeting few scorchers last week in Portland, Oregon, but even fluke weather must give way to the changing of the seasons. Now with the equinox just days away on the 22nd, the days have grown brisk and flipping the over on to do a little roasting seems like the very thing. And, wouldn’t you know, roasting’s a great way to get the last of the peppers and squashes and eggplants ready for the freezer–that is if the fans don’t eat them first.

You’ll have to wait for Hippie Kitchen to see an image of what these pan patties and bell peppers look like all stuffed with smashed eggplant with a stick or two of Parmesan on top. But in the meantime, know that roasted squash and peppers turn into different animals. Sweet and earthy. So good you can eat them plain like pieces of fruit. Or smear a little pesto on for a quick snack. Then again you could get into chopping them up to put with eggs or whole grains or legumes. A little lace of olive olive and wine vinegar and maybe some walnuts over the top. Yes. This is good food. Affordable, healthy food. Food for you to play with.

Posted in Roasted Vegetables, Squash | Add a Comment »

Sun Dried Tomatoes

I’ve unceremoniously bagged my share of whole tomatoes for the freezer this season and even made a pot of sauce. But drying food’s been on my mind–for reasons that will be revealed in the coming weeks. So here they are on my mother’s bakers rack. Red plumpers all lined up in a row. You can also see I did some on a pallet in the background, not having time to fiddle with making a proper frame. I have a couple branches from some pruning this year under the pallet to help with air circulation, so we’ll see out it goes.

Actually the whole thing’s an experiment. I’ve done some drying in the past using the oven to get things started and then letting them do their thing in the kitchen. This is a first for the real deal, though. True sun dried tomatoes. And sun dried plums once the harvest of the Italian prune plums arrives–on the small side, I assume they’ll take to drying more than their heftier counterparts.

Anyhow, that’s it for today. Drying food. There’s something so elemental about it. Now instead of begrudging these last hot days of summer, I’m thinking how perfect it is that Mother Nature sends the heat this time of year precisely when people have always dried their surplus for winter. So fun being in touch with all that. Even if just a bit.

PS–In my haste to run off to an afternoon nap I forgot to add that I’ve dutifully covered the tomatoes with cheesecloth. Back when I lived on the Hopi mesas, though, I remember Joyce Tawayesva taking me out to the sandstone cliffs surrounding the village. “We used to dry the peaches out here,” she said. “Nobody ever bothered them.” At the time, I didn’t ask about how they kept the flies away or if in the larger scheme of things, a few flies landing on your drying peaches didn’t much matter.

I do know that the Columbia River tribes dry their salmon on racks in the open air, trying to time it with breezy days like we’re having right now in the Northwest. Not sure how they managed the fly thing either. I’m suspecting that us moderns are the main ones to make a big deal out of it. Not sure, though…

I’d look it up, but I just pulled my basil and have a bouquet worthy of a queen to turn into pesto.

PSS–Word is starting to get around on Cooking Beyond Measure with reporters and magazine editors from Park Avenue in New York City to Canada and beyond calling for review copies. In the meantime, Portland’s own AM Northwest show on Channel 8 invited me over for a cooking demo next Wednesday. The show runs 9-10 am, and I’ll be on during the last half hour for a few minutes. It’s nice to have your own town take some interest. Yes.

Posted in Putting Food By, Tomatoes | Add a Comment »

Celeste Becomes One with Fresh Salsa

Those who have a copy of Beyond Measure will recognize Celeste from the back cover. Indeed, she’s become a bit of a mascot and will most likely ensconce her lovely self on Hippie Kitchen’s (forthcoming 2009) back cover as well. While we’re not sure if this shot will make the final cut, she did want to pose her green, froggy self with the salsa doings.

As well she should, since she bellies up so nicely to the gypsy, Serrano, Anaheim, and jalapeño peppers I used for this salsa. Beyond that, the salsa is just onion, garlic, lime, and lotsa red plumpers. Cilantro is always called for in the formal recipes, but I didn’t have any around. Also, between me and thee, I didn’t even have limes on my first go round (we go through a batch every few days right now with harvest bringing on the peppers and tomatoes) and used a few shakes of regular old cider vinegar. Celeste thought it was cool–and it was close enough for the guys I go with.

Posted in Tomatoes | 2 Comments »

Cucumber Melon Soup Gets Ink in The Washington Post

It’s been a year to date that cucumber melon soup first got mention here on the blog. No wonder, cucumbers are hanging heavy on the vines and spilling out of produce bins everywhere when harvest rolls around. So too, the melons–sweet, ripe, and fragrant at summer’s end.

Not really a surprise then, that The Washington Post singled out Cucumber Melon Soup as an example of how measure free cooking works. Staffer Jane Black’s article, “Looking to Scale Down a Recipe” Go Figure,” ran 27 August 2008, and we are very pleased to have made the pages of this highly regarded newspaper. 

Black’s pick was more on target than she probably realized, because cuke soup was also featured at the book launch along with other tidbits. It got rave reviews. And when people saw how easy it is to make, they cued up to get copies of Cooking Beyond Measure.

Here’s the recipe note straight from the pages: Give chilled cucumbers and cataloupe a spin in the blender with a seeded jalapeno, salt, pepper, and taragon vinegar. Garnish this lean and serene drinkable smoothie with slives of melon or toasted coconut.

Posted in Drinks, Slice and Dice, Soups | Add a Comment »