{ that'll be two tacos, please }



{ feta cheese with sundried tomatoes, cilantro, leftover chicken, sauteed chard with carmelized onions, roasted mexican squash and zuchs, and homemade roasted tomatillo salsa }




A fabulous blend of flavor and texture.  My tacos were vegetarian and incredibly filling, I highly recommend making this recipe, it's delicious, relatively easy and packed with veggies.  Thanks to everyone who weighed in on the to bean or not to bean poll (great pun!), I'm glad we went sans legume on this one.

( Recipe for Tacos + Salsa )

 

Mmmmmmmmm.  That Jacques Pepin.  He is a smart frenchie!  We made his chicken this evening (link in the post below) and it was fantastique!   Fast, easy, and delicious, delicious, delicious.  The marinade/sauce, was ready in under a minute and because our chicken had already been cut into 8 pieces it cooked even faster.  Served with brown rice drizzled with sauce and shallots and onions and green beans blanched then sauteed.  Can you ask for more on a Monday?

As you have seen in my market posts, I am a big fan of Swiss Chard.  I was delighted and intrigued to see a recipe for Swiss Chard tacos with Carmelized Onions and fresh cheese in the Everyday Mexican cookbook the Willhoites gave me for my birthday.  The recipe calls for carmelizing the onions, sautéing the chard, and then topping with cotija cheese (or feta) and a chipotle salsa.  Using these elements as an inspiration, I think I'm going to make a more filling vegetarian burrito instead of the more petite taco (David saw the picture in the cookbook and exclaimed, “I hope you think that's an appetizer").  Given what I bought at the market, I’m thinking of roasting the Mexican squash and adding it to the onions and chard, and adding some leftover chicken from what we’ll have for dinner tonight and wrapping it all in a tortilla.  What do you think of adding beans to the mix?  I’ve got some dried pintos on hand that I could make quite easily and would serve whole, not refried and mashed, but I’m unsure that they'll mesh with the other flavors, what do you think?

 Poll #1429263 To Bean or Not to Bean, that is the question.
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Should beans be added to the chard, onions, and squash?

If yes, should they be:

I'm not one to flip out over star sightings, let's establish that.  BUT, this evening, David was riding his bike through Griffith Park and came across a film crew.  He was pedaling along and came up RIGHT NEXT to Jon Hamm.  Jon"Don Draper " Hamm.  I was kind of (*really*) freaking out when he came home and told me.  It went something like this:

Me:  You saw Jon Hamm? Didyoutalktohim?Whatdidhelooklike?  Oh my god, you saw DON DRAPER!!!!  You saw him in costume!
David: Uh yeah, I almost ran into him, he said "hey dude".
Me:  He called you dude?!?

First, the good news: the risotto with summer squash was amazing, as was the caprese salad and chicken breasts, and the linguini with pesto.  The bad news:  you should not roast beets too far in advance.  I roasted them on Sunday, we had them in a salad last night (Wednesday) and they were slimy and slightly off in flavor.  I didn’t even touch them.  And, those of you who know me well know that I can eat beets forever.  They were icky and nasty and I wanted nothing do with them.  Lesson learned. 

I have also commenced my summer reading.  I may be the last person on the planet to pick up a Malcolm Gladwell book; I am about ½ way through his latest, Outliers and have found it both quite obvious and very interesting—it’s not he’s saying anything new or profound about success (e.g., you have to work very, very hard at mastering your craft, there are hidden advantages, and opportunity and access matter, as does social class), but I do think he’s articulating and quanitifying some of the elements of success that have been sketchy and talked around.  David’s always giving me a hard time about the lack of non-fiction reading I do, so I thought this would be a good way to dip my toe in to the non-fiction waters.  Most of the time I’m looking for complete escape in a book, a way to tune out my world, so I often gravitate toward an all-engrossing novel that puts in me in someone else’s world and mind for long periods of time.   That said, I’m almost done with Julie Powell’s Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously.  It’s a memoir/novel which though not as literary as say, Faulkner or Tolstoy, is still a page-turner about a young woman on the brink of thirty finding her true self while cooking every recipe in Julia Childs’ Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  (Yes, they are making a movie about this book—starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams).  All I can think about is how much weight I would pack on and the money I would spend on groceries were I to cook from that gem on a regular basis—each recipe calls for something like ¾ of a pound of butter! 


I also just ordered a handful of books from Amazon’s used marketplace:  Fields of Greens: New Vegetarian Recipes from the Celebrated Greens Restaurant (thought this would be a good addition to our cookbook collection since we’re staring to cook so much from our finds at the farmer’s market); Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home (a memoir about a young woman adopted from Korea by an American couple, Alison recommended this one); and Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran (just heard the author on Fresh Air and the author was amazing).  Has anyone out there read Netherland by Joseph O’Neil?  It’s on my list and I’d love to hear what others thought about it…..

 Happy reading to all!

All that prep work on Sunday is paying off.  Dinner tonight was ready in a flash and we even had proscuitto and melon as appetizers for our chicken breasts and caprese salads.
Y-to-the-U-to-the-M
 

You may recall that some time ago (two years ago?) I made the Silver Palate Banana Bread and was very disappointed with the results--a little on the tough side for my taste.  My aunt Gina pointed out that the problem was likely due to the fact that I had used the light butter I had on hand rather than the good stuff--not enough fat to moisten the bread.  Since I had so many dying bananas on hand yesterday, I decided to give the recipe another shot.  I stand corrected.  This is a great BB recipe and an interesting one because there are no other liquids added save the bananas themselves (you use 3 rather than the usual two) and the eggs.  I also like that it uses both All Purpose and Whole Wheat Flour.  Recipe is quick and easy.
( Read it here. )

{green salad with beets, tomatoes, and feta cheese}

A heartbreaking morning, watching Andy Roddick lose Wimbledon after such a valiant fight against RF.  The match went on for a long time and we got to the market very late and were in a hurry, not as much fun as it usually is.  But, we did manage to get some great provisions for the week including:
Arugula, parsley, melon, mint, basil, heirloom tomatoes, baby tomatoes, green beans, giant beets, salad greens, onions, garlic, cantalope, plums, and nectarines.  I've culled through fridge and our cupboards and have put together a satisfying meal plan for the week, here goes:

Tonight:  Roasted summer squash with risotto

Monday: Caprese Salad with pan fried, panko-crusted Chicken Breasts

Tuesday: Fettuccini with shrimp tossed with fresh pesto

Wednesday:  Green salad with tomatoes, roasted golden beets, fresh feta, chicken and baguette

Thurs:  Baked Salmon with green beans and potatoes

Friday: Tuna and white been salad tossed with orzo

To make the week even easier, I'm going to roast the beets today while I'm roasting the summer squash and will also make the pesto this afternoon.  I will cook two chicken breasts on Monday and reserve one for Wednesday night's salad.  I also learned today that Bristol Farms sharpens knives for free at their butcher counter, so since I forgot to buy eggs while we were doing our shopping today, thought I'd head over there to have knives sharpened and pick up fettucini and good oil-packed tuna.

                                              {still from Persepolis}
I stayed up past my bedtime last night to watch Perspepolis (wiki link to explain Persepolis as the capital of the ancient persian empire and a link the website for the movie), have you seen it yet?  I was quite impressed with the animation and the storytelling, the sense of humor, and the point of view on the Iranian revolution--particularly interesting to see it today given the renewed anti-government energy and the union of religious conservatives and students.  If you haven't sent it yet, I highly recommend renting it.   It's a coming of age story set in the period just before the revolution and several years after, showing the changes in Iranian society, the psychological toll of war, and the way in which the revolutionary zeal was co-opted by the religious fundamentalists--all through the eyes of a young girl on the precipice of adolescence.

Check out this story in the LA Times:

"Slashed prices, the digital transition and a budget-prompted tendency to spend more time at home motivate consumers to upgrade their televisions."

Don't get me wrong, I love TJs, I appreciate the convenience of Fresh and Easy, but, after tonight's dinner, I am again reminded that tomatoes fresh from the vine (not picked when they're not quite ripe), truly fresh herbs, and yes, organically raised chicken actually TASTE quite different.  Every bite our extremely simply prepared dinner was exquisite.  Every bite made me close my eyes and appreciate what was on my tongue, I kept exclaiming to David, "this is sooooo gooooooood"!  
Our caprese is below and our chicken breasts were just pounded thin, sprinkled with salt and  pepper then  dipped in panko bread crumbs and browned in the skillet with EVOO.

I can't begin to put in to words how delicious this dinner was:

If you love beautiful stationary and cards as I do, I'm sure you'll appreciate the new line of very well-designed letter press cards and invitations that Target is making in collaboration with Gartner studios.  While I was there picking up various and sundry items, I strolled through the aisle and they really caught my eye.  Letterpress cards can be an expensive  treat, but these are an excellent buy--50 cards and envelopes for $12?!? The stock is not as thick as you might find with Snow & Graham or even Gartner's regular line, but that aside they are lovely. They have another cherry blossom design that kind of matches my blog, but I decided to go with the ones pictured below, tho at that price I may go get a second box.

I accomplished my goal of making six meals out of our haul from the Farmer's Market and three proteins from Whole Foods.  Our final dish was a fantastic pasta, adapted from Everyday Food (thank you again Willhoite's for the subscription, it is truly the gift that keeps on giving!).  I think I've mentioned it here a few times, mainly because it's so quick and easy.  (yellow squash, cheese, half and half, bacon).  It's ready in less than twenty minutes and tastes divine.  I also like it because it's one of those recipes that has a simple blueprint and thus leaves lots of room for experimenting and substituting.  

David came with me to the Farmer's Market today and was equally impressed with the number and diversity of vendors and produce alike.  
Here's what we got today:

{Golden Beets, Yellow Peaches, Sweet Peaches, Plums, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, small chard, mint, parsley, basil, squash, feta cheese, and onion bagels}

This week's proteins:  Chicken breasts, shrimp, and salmon.  I think we will definitely eat our recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables

I know for sure that I'm going to make a caprese salad with the tomatoes, basil, and some mozzarella and that we'll have another salad this week with the beets, smaller tomatoes, feta, and some roasted potatoes.  I also plan on making polenta with zucchini and tomatoes, which I was i was inspired to make by this NY Times feature from the Well Blog.  

We also finally got on the flatscreen tv bandwagon and it's is AWESOME.  The prices have come down so much that we were able to get a great tv for a pretty fantastic price.  I am hooked and so glad that we got one since we spend most nights cooking fabulous dinners at home and forgoing dining and cocktails out.  Just the time to spruce up the home entertainment.  Last night we watched Mongol, which looked incredible on the new TV and was also a really compelling movie, I highly recommend it.  

While everyone was seemingly glued to all things Michael Jackson, I've been scouring the intertubes for news about the CA budget fiasco/crisis/clusterf*&%k.  It's not going to be pretty around the Golden State in the next few weeks, I'm actually relieved that I'm on the jury and will have to focus on something other than work for the next few weeks.
See today's LA Times for the reason I toss and turn all night. 

Last night I watched a great documentary (Something to Dance About) about one of my favorite choreographers, Jerome Robbins.  I learned so much about him that I didn’t know: that he had a tempestuous relationship with George Balenchine, that he testified to the committee on un-American activities, and that he spent 25 years with the NYC ballet.  I was blown away by his work on the King and I and West Side Story gives me chills everytime I watch it.  The evolution of his point of view and his belief that dance was a democratic form of expression that needed to reflect people’s lives are inspiring, definitely worth adding to your netflix queue.

Check out this article from the Well Blog over at the NYT, apparently Mark Bittman and I are on the same page about trying to get a week's worth of meals out of one shopping trip. 
Here’s a 10-ingredient shopping list that will give you five days of meals.

1. Chicken breasts (4 boneless)
2. Bacon (1/2 pound)
3. Shrimp (1 pound)
4. Spinach (1 pound)
5. Tomatoes (6)
6. Ginger
7. Onions
8. Asparagus (2 pounds)
9. Button mushrooms (1 pound)
10. Loaf of good country bread

So while sitting in the jury room waiting and waiting, I've been thinking about my top chef challenge (eat for a week based on sunday's farmers market haul and three proteins and what's already on hand) and think I've come up with a good game plan for the week, here it is:
Tonight: cut up the whole chicken, drizzle with mustard, honey vineagrette and fresh herbs (rosemary and thyme) and roast with baby potatoes and carrots. While that's cooking roast beets for tomorrow's dinner. Top with fresh parsley.
Wedesday night: baked sole fillets topped with lemon and served with brown rice and zucchini sautted with corn and onions.
Thursday night: salad with roasted beets, leftover chicken, blue cheese and toasted walnuts. (Bonus--no need to turn on the oven!)
Friday night: fusilli with yellow squash, bacon, peas, shallots, and a light cream sauce.

I will not pack my knives. I will not go home!

My challenge is this: can we cook for the week (sun-friday) based on what we have in the pantry, what we purchased from the farmer's market (see post below) and three meat sources that we bought at whole foods (2 pcs salmon, frozen sole, and a whole chicken)?  Last night we did very well (pasta w/fresh pesto and veggies). Tonight we have meal #2: salmon baked with pesto, atop a bed of wilted chard (cooked with bacon drippings) and quinoa.  I figured it would be important to start with the vegetables most likely to lose their crispness first and the meat that would, obviously, go bad first.

I don't mean to toot my own horn, BUT, this was a recipe that I made up on the fly and it really fracking good.  I made the quinoa while the fish baked and chard was wilted with the bacon rendering and the shallots (kudos to my favorite pan, my well-seasoned cast iron skillet).  The salmon was smothered with last night's pesto and seasoned w/s&p, then baked at 375 for approx 18mins.  The texture was sooo buttery and the chard was bitter and savory and the bacon atop the the salmon.........It was.....umami baby!  UMAMI

The plating was inspired by Nancy Silverton and I think it looked as good as it tasted.