chachacha changes

As you may have gathered from the David Bowie reference in the title of this entry, my gastronomic life has been undergoing some changes of late. My meat-eating has been minimal over my life, with brief intermissions from vegetarianism when curiosity takes over. For example, while in Italy for two weeks one Summer with an orchestra festival I put my vegetarianism aside to order rabbit and cow brain (on separate occasions of course). Three Summers ago I began eating fish after trying some grilled copper river salmon that my friend had made and insisted I "just give a taste". My most recent departure from exclusive veggie munching began on the beaches of Delaware in late July while reading Comfort Me with Apples, Ruth Reichl's wonderful autobiographical book about her transition from the world of Berkeley commune living to the upper echelons of restaurant criticism. Her enthusiasm in describing foods/meat that I had never eaten implanted a desire in my mind to once again try new things. A few weeks later, while at Monk's Belgian Cafe in Philadelphia (an amazing place with delicious food and hundreds of top quality belgian beers) I was overcome with a desire to try mussels, creatures that I previously would have wanted to keep as far away from my mouth as possible. They were, however, nothing short of incredible. Steamed with de Kronick, a Belgian pale ale from the town of Antwerp, along with apples, garlic, caramelized leeks and gruyere cheese (the one ingredient I could have done without), these mussels were divine. Of course I had no mussel experience and nothing to compare them to, but I knew I was eating something special. On a whim I went for a Fleisch-filled main course: chicken apple sausage with raspberry mustard. I was euphoric at this point. The next week I went back again and ordered a duck salad. Why not?! So I'll never be able to look at a duck with innocent eyes again, I thought, but I needed to experience this taste. I had read descriptions of velvety meat that almost melts in one's mouth but could not comprehend such a feeling until this moment.

Fast forwarding to today however, I'm in Berlin and Winter has already arrived. It snowed yesterday, and daylight is disappearing. I moved to a new apartment in September. Pluses include living alone and being near my workplace, but minuses include being frustratingly far from and decent farmer's vegetable stand or market. I vow today to make it to the turkish market tomorrow and to return to my blog and good food as I must admit to living on a diet of bread and peanut butter recently.

In the spirit of inspiration, here are two photos from some meals I cooked at the beginning of September when the weather was still good enough to bike long distances for good fresh ingredients and I was freshly inspired by all that I mentioned in the first paragraph of this post. The first photo is of an Alice Waters inspired salad I made. Fresh greens, radishes, chevril (delightful) and a hard boiled egg with a mustard vinaigrette. The second photo is of my kitchen table looking lovely with my first attempt at cooking a sausage on my own, paired with a side of roasted potatoes and fennel bulb and a simple green salad.

Two Green Salads for Spring

Spring has sprung! In the winter when it is cold I find it difficult to eat salads. I went through a time where I was buying salad greens with the best intentions and then throwing them away due to salad green owner negligence. But when the weather is warm and sunny I love eating salads. The first salad I will post today is a pea salad, and devoid of leaves. It came about because I had a box of frozen peas in my freezer for months that I entirely forgot about. Fresh peas are amazing, but only available for a few weeks a year (and either expensive if pre-shucked or time consuming if not) and frozen peas are really quite good.


PEA AND APPLE SALAD

1 cup peas
1 small apple
some fresh chopped basil
half a lemon
olive oil
pepper

Either unfreeze your peas by sitting them out (I like to do this in a pasta strainer) or by running cold water over them if you are impatient. Or you could put them out in the sun for 5 minutes! They defrost quite quickly. Chop up an apple. I've been eating pilot apples here in Germany, they are nice and crisp. I cut the apple first four times, one time on each side of the core (the first piece you cut off is a semi circle). Then I cut these in rows lengthwise and then again the other way to get little squares. Mix the apple and peas together with chopped basil leaves, squeeze some lemon juice over it to taste and a dabble (dabble?) of olive oil. Then add a bit of pepper and maybe salt if you want it. Toss. Obviously you could make this in any amount that you want. Easy to make for one person or for 20! The recipe I wrote up there is probably good for two people. Play with whatever ratio of pea to apple that you like, but I think that peas should be dominant with a speckling of apple.


ALL GREEN SALAD

Ok, I have to admit before giving you this recipe that it isn't the most graceful salad in the world. Peas are rather difficult to get on your fork with the spinach leaves. Nonetheless, it is tasty and I like how everything is green. You can put some spinach in your mouth and then fork up some peas and shove them in there. Until you swallow that spinach ain't going anywhere. The mint makes it also especially refreshing for warm days and is known to aid in digestion.

Handful of spinach (you could use baby if you want, I used regular)
smaller handful of fresh mint leaves (if you have a child or a baboon use their hand for measurement)
some peas
half a lime
olive oil
pepper

Wash spinach and mint leaves and dry in a salad spinner (a great invention). Toss with as many peas as you wish, squeeze some lime juice on there (Also, when I juice I just squeeze with my hand. No need to get out a juicer.) add a dribble of olive oil and some pepper and voila! A salad with only green ingredients! Cool! You might assume that the use of a lemon instead of a lime is possible but I assure you, it's FORBIDDEN.

Roasted Kohlrabi and Fennel with Lemon Bulgur

So I finally got around to trying kohlrabi a few weeks ago and am now a huge fan. The kohlrabi roasted with fennel is so sweet and delicious you really have to try it. Kohl means cabbage in German, and although it has no leaves or anything kohlrabi is a member of the cabbage family.

Kohlrabi and Fennel with Lemon Bulgur

1 Kohlrabi
1 Fennel bulb
olive oil
some garlic cloves
salt

bulgur
lemon

Take the hard outside layer off of the kohlrabi with a knife and then cut the resulting white greenish ball into chunks. Cut the fennel bulb into medium sized pieces as well. Save the arms coming out of the top of the fennel bulb for soup or vegetable broth. Smash a couple of garlic cloves or cut loosely into pieces. Toss the kohlrabi, fennel bulb and garlic in a bowl with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and some salt. Then put onto a baking sheet (can cover sheet with foil for easier cleanup) and roast at 400 degrees. After the first ten minutes mix the veggies around every few minutes until they reach the desired roastiness.

In the meantime cook up some bulgur as instructed on the bag or what have you. I like the kind that still has its brown outsideness on. When the bulgur is done toss with the juice of half a lemon.

Serve the roasted vegetables over or next to the lemon tossed bulgur. Garnish with fennel fringe.

BEETS!!!! in pasta!

I love beets. As those of you who watched Doug as a child (or adult?) know, beets are nature's candy. Except they are much better for you than any candy I have found! I don't know offhand exactly what in them is good for you, but I know its there and in substantial amounts.

The way I usually cook beets is by boiling them in water. Others may prefer roasting, and I must admit that it is possible that boiling takes some of the nutrients/flavor away but I boil them and they are flavorful and delicious. Anyway, I clean the beets (do not peel yet!) and then put them in a pot of water that I then bring to a boil. Beets take a while to cook, 45 minutes to an hour depending on how big they are. I usually cook two or three at a time and save the ones I don't eat in the refrigerator for quick use in salads and things. They stay good for three or four days when the skin is still on. Maybe longer. I don't really know because I eat them within this time frame. When the beets are done (you can test them with a knife to see how soft they are) put them on a plate to cool for a bit. I then chop the top and bottom off and peel them under cold running water. This makes it easy to peel and keeps your hands and the whole kitchen from turning pink.

Ok! I am now going to share with you a great pasta recipe that I eat once or twice a week lately.

Beet Pasta with Pine Nuts

olive oil
garlic
beets sliced into thick rods (one per person, or maybe half of one per person. I myself eat an entire beet in my pasta.)
a handful of pinenuts, toasted
whole wheat pasta (the picture has spiral, but I am currently into bow tie)
salt and pepper to taste
parmesean cheese

In a frying pan, heat some olive oil with a couple cloves of garlic. I like to crush the garlic with a knife and cut it in pretty big pieces instead of mincing it. When its cooking nicely add the cut up beets and cook a few minutes. Add cooked pasta, and some of the cooking water from the pasta if it is sticking or needs more moisture. Add salt and pepper and some parmesean. The pasta turns pink on the edges and such from the beets and looks pretty. After a few minutes, put it all onto plates, add pine nuts and more parmesean cheese on top. Consume.

Green Salad with Beets

And what do you do with the beets in the fridge? I slice them up and then add them to salad greens with some toasted walnuts, oil, balsamic vinegar and pepper. Feta is also a good addition if you are feeling extravagant or if you have some. A friend of mine living in Russia taught me about this salad, so it is Babushka approved.

Savoy cabbage warm salad

I buy most of my vegetables at a little local organic vegetable stand that is conveniently right by the subway stop I take to and from work. I was worried that once winter came that I would no longer be able to eat so many fresh and local vegetables but was proved incredibly wrong by the plethora of strange looking cabbages and root vegetables the likes of which I have never seen. It has been very exciting trying vegetables I have never eaten before. The other week I tried savoy cabbage for the first time and find it to be incredible. This warm salad has very few ingredients but it super delicious and colorful and will probably make you glow inside and out if it has the same effect on you as me. This recipe is what I make for myself, and thus is for one person.

olive oil
About 8 leaves from a savoy cabbage
salt
water
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2ish carrots, peeled and grated
vinegar
real parmesan cheese (gasp!) - optional

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. While it is warming up, stack a couple of cabbage leaves on top of each other and cut the hard stem part away. Then roll up the leaves kind of like a cigar and cut them into strips. You can then cut these in half again. I would. Do this until you have cut up all the leaves.

When the oil is hot throw the cabbage leaves into the pan and a pinch or two of salt. A real cook would probably tell you to do like half in the pan until it wilts and then add the rest but I just throw it all in at once since I'm just making enough for myself. (If you are cooking for more people you probably want to do the wilt and wait step though.) Stir. Add the minced garlic.

After a couple of minutes throw about a quarter cup of water into the pan so that it sizzles and the steam cooks the cabbage. You may want to do this a couple more times during cooking depending on how long you cook the cabbage, as it not only cooks it but keeps it from browing/burning.

When you are happy with the degree to which the cabbage is cooked dish it out onto a plate. Add grated carrot on top, or grate it right onto the cabbage. Add balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese to taste. I have popped the dairy cherry on this blog and do not feel guilty about it. Just know it isn't always necessary!

You can of course add any other vegetables to this you want. I once added spring onions into the pan and cooked them with the cabbage. You could also add other cold vegetables on top of you like. It makes no difference to me.