Homemade Dashi Stock

I used to be under the mistaken impression that miso soup simply consisted of hot water, miso paste, and any “extras” the cook desires (cubed tofu, seaweed, sliced green onions).  When I tested this theory, however, I ended up with the saddest bowl of miso soup I had ever tasted.  It had the characteristic saltiness, yes, but the flavor was very one-dimensional.  A little internet research yielded information on the missing ingredient: dashi. A tasty broth, dashi is the backbone to any good miso soup; it’s where the lovely umami flavor comes from.  And it turns out to be surprisingly easy to make.  I found the necessary ingredients on a quick trip to the asian grocery store.

Kombu (seaweed)

Bonito (fish) flakes

Plus a little something extra.

Steamed fish cake. I have no idea of what to do with this.

It can be intimidating to cook foods from different cultures, but dashi is a good way to start with Japanese food.  I am a complete novice when it comes to Japanese cuisine, but I found this recipe to be surprisingly simple.  In less than half an hour, you will have a delicious, savory broth that can be used for miso soup or for cooking rice.  I used mine to make mushroom rice (it’s just what it sounds like: rice, shiitake mushrooms, dashi, and some soy sauce for good measure).  I definitely plan to experiment more and will be posting the successes here!  Enjoy!

Dashi
makes 8 cups
from Alton Brown’s recipe

Ingredients
- 2 (4-inch) square pieces of kombu
- 10 cups water
- 2 cups bonito flakes

Place kombu and water in a large saucepan and let sit for about 20 minutes.

Place over medium heat and remove kombu before the water boils.  You can tell it’s time to remove it when small bubbles begin to appear on the surface of the water around the side of the pan.

Add the bonito flakes and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.  Use a fine sieve or mesh to strain the broth.

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On another note, do you know what you shouldn’t do?  When baking an eggplant, you should not take it out of the oven and decide you can make it cool down more quickly if you run it and the glass baking dish under cold water.  Don’t do that.

Freestyle Cooking: Roasted Carrots and Fennel + Baby Potatoes with Carrot-Green Pesto

I’m one of those people who is almost incapable of making a recipe without tinkering with it in some way.  It’s not that I’m necessarily trying to improve upon the original…it mostly comes down to what I think is going to be the healthiest/easiest/most economical way to get something to the table.  If a recipe calls for a tablespoon of sour cream and I happen to have plain yogurt in the fridge, you can bet that I’m going to be making the substitution.  Or maybe I forgot to buy something that the recipe called for (or I accidentally bought parsley instead of cilantro, dang it!)  Or perhaps there were some beautiful bunches of local carrots and baby potatoes on sale at the co-op this week.

My lunch today was a tribute to the “waste not, want not” philosophy that I try to employ in my kitchen.  Why toss away those beautiful, delicate carrot greens when they can be transformed into something just as special as the roots?  I did a little bit of google-ing before putting my plan into action, though, because I vaguely remembered hearing once that carrot tops were poisonous.  It’s not true.  I think the origin of this piece of misinformation is that carrot greens resemble hemlock, which was famously used to poison Socrates.  Now that that’s cleared up, I’m never throwing my carrot greens into the compost again.

I call this “freestyle cooking” because I didn’t use exact measurements.  I think it can be empowering to walk into the kitchen with an armful of ingredients and the confidence that you will be able to turn them into something great without consulting a recipe for each step.  I was inspired by Green Kitchen Stories for the roasted veggies but the pesto was an experiment…one that turned out quite well.

Now that the bounty of spring is starting to creep into the produce section, I encourage you to challenge your creativity by freestylin’ in the kitchen now and then.  I’ll bet you come up with some fresh, delicious meals that will save you money.  Don’t forget to drop by and let me know how it goes!

Roasted Carrots with Fennel
from Green Kitchen Stories

Ingredients
- a bunch of whole carrots, peeled and sliced lengthwise if they are large
- a bulb of fennel
- olive oil
- fresh sage, torn into pieces
- anise seed
- salt and pepper
- goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 375F.  In a large pan, toss carrots, fennel, and olive oil together until vegetables are coated.  Sprinkle with sage, anise seed, and salt and pepper.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour.  Add goat cheese about 5 minutes before you take the vegetables out of the oven.  Serve warm.

Baby Potatoes with Carrot-Green Pesto

Ingredients
- a few handfuls of baby potatoes, washed
- a bunch of carrot greens, tough inner stalks removed
- fennel fronds (optional)
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- a handful of walnuts
- juice from half a lemon
- olive oil to reach desired consistency
- salt, to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat.  Cook the baby potatoes for 15-20 minutes, until tender.  Drain.

While the potatoes are boiling, place remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Start with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil and add more as needed to reach the consistency you are looking for.

Spoon pesto over potatoes or use it as a dipping sauce.  It would also be great with pasta.

* I added this post to this week’s Fat Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday, Hearth and Soul Hop, Whole Foods Wednesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Real Food Wednesday, These Chicks Cooked, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.

Chocolate Brownie Cake and a Birthday

Having visitors from out of town always reminds me of how much our culture revolves around food and beverages here in Portland.  My list of things to do with an out-of-towner is skewed heavily toward the restaurants, bars, and breweries with just a few other attractions (Powell’s books, neighborhood shopping) sprinkled in.  And so I’m still recovering from my sister’s recent visit.  It was an especially exciting visit for me because it landed just a day after her birthday and, since we live in different states, we rarely get to spend birthdays together.  It also gave me an excuse to bake a birthday cake.

This recipe is about as simple as you can get.  It was adapted by Jacqui at So Good and Tasty from a David Lebovitz recipe.  It doesn’t call for any frosting, but good-quality ice cream is a great way to add a little extra sweetness and creaminess.  I’ve been snacking on it for a few days now and I think it’s definitely best when served warm.  Real ingredients, not too sweet…this is cake all grown up.  Happy birthday, Maggie!

Simple Chocolate Cake
adapted from So Good and Tasty

Ingredients
- 8 oz semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 eggs at room temperature, yolks separated from whites
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350F and butter an 8-inch cake pan.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double broiler until smooth.  Remove from heat and add half of the sugar, the eggs yolks, and the flour.

Using a hand- or stand-mixer, whip the egg yolks with the salt for a few minutes, until they begin to appear a bit foamy.  Slowly add the remaining sugar in small amounts, whipping constantly until the mixture forms peaks that hold their shape.  (I bought an electric hand-mixer just for this and I really would recommend it…I’m not sure I would have had the speed or stamina to do it by hand!)

Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites in with the chocolate batter until the mixture is uniform.  This will take several minutes but you will get there.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the center feels firm.  Let cool and serve with good-quality vanilla ice cream.
* I added this post to this week’s Melt in Your Mouth Monday.

Paleo Tuna Cakes

Have you heard of the paleo diet?  It seems to be everywhere I look these days and, I have to say, it seems to be founded on some pretty good concepts.  The driving idea behind it is  that we should eat foods that our ancestors ate.  In other words, no twinkies.  It is a little meat-heavy for my tastes (although proponents of the diet advocate for grass-feed, ethically raised meat) and it also involves cutting out grains.  What I do like about it is the emphasis on natural, whole foods and vegetables.  I’ve been incorporating some paleo principles into my diet for a little while now, but I’m definitely not an avid follower.  Any diet that says I can’t eat nachos at 1am now and then is just not sustainable for me.  But I believe you don’t have to do something perfectly 100% of the time to see real benefits from your efforts.

So that’s how these paleo tuna cakes ended up in my kitchen.

What separates these from most other tuna cakes is the fact that these don’t have bread crumbs or much else in the way of “fillers”.  This gives them a satisfying, meaty texture but it does mean that they don’t crisp up like some others you may have tried.  Personally, I liked them this way…healthy and satisfying.  Serve them with veggies for a true paleo experience.

For the tuna, I splurged on a brand called “Wild Planet” that’s committed to sustainable seafood products.  Not to mention it tastes better and is recommended by the expert folks at Cook’s Illustrated.

Paleo Tuna Cakes
makes 4 large cakes
adapted from Raf’s Kitchen

Ingredients
- 2 cans good quality tuna
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tbsp almond flour
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 pinches cayenne powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- oil for cooking (I used coconut oil, which did give it a slightly coconut-y taste.)

Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.  Form mixture into 4 patties.

Heat oil over medium-high heat and cook the patties for about 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.  Flip carefully to avoid breaking them.  Serve immediately.

* I added this post to this week’s Fight Back Friday and Fresh Bites Friday.

Superfood Larabars

If there is one thing I know, it’s that food bloggers love to write about making their own Larabars.  It makes sense, really.  Larabar ingredients are incredibly simple (usually just dates and nuts) and you can save a bundle by making your own.  My mom (who is not a food-blogger but who is a foodie) even sent me a few lovingly wrapped bars in a care package once.  I’ve seen recipes for homemade versions cropping up all over the place in the last year, but I have to say that until recently I didn’t really see the point.  Why drag out the food processor and make a mess in the kitchen when I could just eat a handful of nuts with a couple dates and call it a day?

I think that logic still has some merit, but during my last busy week of class and clinicals before spring break, I didn’t want a handful of dried fruit and nuts.  I wanted a bar.  And I realized that I was wasting a good deal of money by buying one at the coffee shop every day.  So I hauled out the food processor and set to work.

I couldn’t have asked for these to turn out better.  As I was pulling out ingredients for the basic bars, I kept noticing things in my pantry that begged to be included.  Raw cacao powder and dark chocolate chips, goji berries, and hemp protein all found their way in with the walnuts, almonds, and dates.  I realized that with the added ingredients, I had made a true superfood bar.  Oh, and they were delicious.

A quick note about my method: I used walnuts and almonds that had been soaked 8-12 hours and then dehydrated.  The reason I did this is because nuts contain compounds called phytates which can block absorption of important vitamins and minerals.  Soaking the nuts helps to neutralize the compounds and dehydrating them brings them back their original crunchy state.  If you don’t have the time or a dehydrator to do this, I think regular raw nuts would also work as long as you consume them in moderation.  Here is a helpful link for more information on how and why to soak nuts and seeds.

So now I’m a homemade Larabar convert and I’ll probably be making another batch during spring break to get me going once classes begin again.  My other spring break plans are to have some fun with my sister who is coming for a visit on Wednesday and to spend more time in the kitchen than my finals weeks allowed.

Superfood Bars
makes 5 bars

Ingredients
- 1 cup almonds (soaked and dehydrated, if possible)
- 1/2 cup walnuts (soaked and dehydrated, if possible)
- 3/4 cup dates, pitted
- 1/3 cup goji berries
- 1/4 cup hemp protein powder
- 2 Tbsp cacao powder
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 Tbsp water (for consistency, may need more or less)

Place all ingredients except water and chocolate chips into the food processor.  Pulse for about a minute, scraping down sides if needed, until mixture resembles a course sand.

Add chocolate chips and pulse a few times to mix in.  Add about a Tbsp water and pulse until dough is sticky enough to form into bars.  Add a little extra water, if needed.

Wrap in plastic or tin foil and store in the refrigerator.

* I added this post to this week’s Fat Tuesday, Hearth and Soul Hop, Traditional Tuesday, Gluten Free Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Whole Food Wednesday, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.

A Recipe for St. Patrick’s Day – Cream-Braised Cabbage

If you are at all skeptical about how delicious cabbage can be, I have the recipe for you.  And just in time for St. Patrick’s day.  I actually made this last week after coming across the recipe on the blog Bon Appetempt.  You see, I had half a head of cabbage that was threatening to waste away in the bottom of my refrigerator.  I was having trouble becoming inspired enough to make it into my favorite coleslaw or sauerkraut…and this recipe changed my plans entirely.  I ended up skimping a bit on the cream compared with the original recipe because I realized that I was probably going to eat the entire pan in one sitting, which I did.  It was still plenty decadent for me, but you could always bump it up a notch if you plan on more reasonable serving sizes than I did.

Excellent.

Sorry for the short post today.  I’m wrapping up the school term and so it’s been a doozy of a week…good but busy!

Cream-Braised Cabbage
serves 2-3
adapted from Bon Appetempt

Ingredients
- 1/2 a head of green cabbage (cut lengthwise)
- 2 Tbsp butter
- a pinch of salt, plus more to taste
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream, more if you like
- a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Cut your cabbage into 4 pieces, slicing lengthwise so that each piece will retain a bit of the core.  This will help keep the pieces together as you cook them.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the cabbage slices and cook for 5-8 minutes, until the bottoms are starting to turn a nice golden-brown.  Gently turn the wedges to the other side and allow to brown again.  Add the salt and the cream and cover the pan with a lid.  Reduce heat to medium and allow to cook until everything is nice and tender, about 15 minutes.

Squeeze lemon juice over cabbage and serve.  Understand just how mouthwatering cabbage can be.
 

S’mores Banana Ice Cream

Have you ever tried the trick of making ice cream out of frozen bananas?  I’ve got to admit that it’s a pretty good one.  You take a frozen banana and pulverize the heck out if it in the food processor.  You end up with a sweet bowl of soft-serve-like consistency “ice cream” that you can feel pretty virtuous about as you eat it.  Still, I can’t pretend it’s a perfect stand-in for the real thing.  I mean, my tastebuds are just never going to believe that a banana = cream + sugar.  There is just no way.  And so after my first few shots at making banana ice cream, I decided that it wasn’t going to cut it.  Sure, it’s a great party trick (depending on the kinds of parties you go to?) but it’s not going to stop me from wanting the real thing.

Recently, though, I was inspired to give it another try when I (re)discovered a fantastic idea that was posted on The Wannabe Chef’s website last summer.  S’mores Banana Ice Cream.  Bingo.  The “ice cream” portion is made of banana and cocoa powder and it provides a lovely base for the real stars of the show, lightly toasted marshmallows and graham crackers.  I loved it.  I’m playing around with the idea of introducing some fat into the equation by blending coconut oil into the ice cream.  I haven’t tried it yet but I have a hunch that it could be what many banana soft serve recipes are missing.

Has anyone else found an incredible flavor combination to use with this technique?  If so, I’d love to hear about it!

S’mores Banana Ice Cream
serves 1

Ingredients
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 Tbsp milk of choice (I used coconut)
- a handful of marshmallows
- graham crackers
- Optional: You could add a sweetener such as maple syrup or agave, especially if your banana was not incredibly ripe when you froze it.

In a food processor, pulse the banana, cocoa powder, and milk together (and sweetener, if using) until smooth.  You may need to scrape down the sides a few times.  Scoop into a bowl and set aside.

Broil marshmallows in the oven for just a few minutes, until soft and golden.  Sprinkle on top of the ice cream and garnish with a graham cracker square.

Many-Mushroom Soup

Hello!  Just a quick weekend post to tell you about some mighty tasty soup I made last week.  I’m afraid it’s not much to look at, but it was quick enough for a school night and made delicious leftovers for lunch the next day.  And yes, the recipe really does only make about 2 servings.  I know how strange it is to make such a small batch of soup.  I usually subscribe to the belief that the amount of soup in the stock pot should be enough to feed a small army with leftovers to stick in the freezer.  But mushrooms are expensive, people!  And I decided that I’d rather get a smaller yield of mushroom-heavy soup than a big pot with only a few fungi floating around.  I can tell you that was the right decision.

Many-Mushroom Soup
makes 2 servings

Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 7 oz assorted mushrooms, with the large ones sliced into bite-sized pieces (Try to get at least 3 different types. I bought a package with several kinds already mixed together)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 tsp ground thyme
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook until soft, about 7 minutes.

Add mushrooms, garlic, and salt and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add vegetable broth, thyme, and nutmeg.  Cook for another 10 minutes or so.  Serve immediately or enjoy the next day when the flavors have melded more.

*  I added this post to this week’s Sunday Night Soup Night and Superfood Sunday.

Cherry-Almond Granola

This weekend was so beautiful that it made me remember why I live in Portland.  Sure, we were back to cloudy skies and even some snow on the ground for my 6am(!) bike ride this morning, but the recent memory of sunshine made everything much more bearable.

Spring is coming!

Gnarly trunk.

And I’ve got more than photographs to tide me over until the next beautiful day.  I also have what might be some of the best granola in the world.  Seriously, I stood at the counter for a good 15 minutes after it came out of the oven continually popping bits into my mouth.  Then I remembered that I should save some to enjoy with coconut milk later this week.  It was hard to step away.  This is some seriously good granola.

I decided to keep it simple and stick with the cherry and almond flavors.  Now, I usually like to try and add just about anything that sounds good from my pantry to a recipe like this.  I like to use up all the little odds and ends of dry goods that I’ve got stashed away.  But sometimes simplicity is key and I managed to keep it simple for once.  Which I know can be hard when your pantry looks like this.

So many types of dried fruits and nuts calling my name.  I resisted the siren call and realized that it can pay to be a person of simple tastes now and then.

Before baking.

Who ate all that?

Cherry-Almond Granola
makes 2 cups

Ingredients
-  6 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/4 cup almonds, chopped and toasted
- 1/2 cup dried bing cherries, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, combine oats, almonds, and cherries.

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring maple syrup, almond butter, coconut oil, and almond extract to a gentle boil.  Stir constantly for just a couple of minutes and then pour over dry ingredients.  Mix until evenly coated (you may have to use your hands).

Spread granola in a large oven-safe pan.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, stirring once.  Remove from oven and let cool.  It will get crunchy as it cools down.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

* I added this post to this week’s Whole Foods Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, These Chicks Cooked, Full Plate Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.

Baked Salmon Steaks with Ginger Sesame Vegetables

It’s obvious that I like to cook.  I love the creativity and discovery involved and of course I love eating the results.  I also love the idea of cooking for other people, of providing them with a cozy meal and good company.  But the reality of cooking for other people makes me duck and cover.  I get nervous that something won’t turn out.  I’ll burn it at the last minute or I’ll accidentally add too much salt, ruining the whole thing.  Or (possibly worse) they’ll just think my food is kind of mediocre.  This is why you see so many “serves 1″ recipes on this site.  I just can’t take the pressure.

And so I got a case of the heart palpitations last night when Jeremy mentioned he was having a client over to do some work at exactly the same time that I was planning on making dinner.  ”But I’ve never cooked salmon steaks before!  What if she hates bok choy?  And how am I going to take my food photos without her thinking I’m a total weirdo?!?!”

Well, I solved that last problem by hiding around the corner in the kitchen and snapping some poorly-lit shots before serving the food.  As for the rest?  It turned out just fine.  In fact, I don’t think I could have chosen a less fussy, more rewarding dinner for company.  The brilliance is that everything goes in the oven at the same time and comes out at the same time.  Very little risk of forgetting something and burning it.  And salmon always bumps up the “wow” factor.

I chose to use salmon steaks because there was a killer deal on them at my local market.  One good-sized steak can easily serve 2 people.  Just divide it up after it cooks.  You could easily use another cut instead but your cooking time may be different.

Salmon Steaks with Ginger Sesame Vegetables
serves 4

Ingredients
- 2 salmon steaks (Wild-Alaskan preferred)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 heads baby bok choy, sliced in half lengthwise and carefully washed
- 2 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp roasted sesame oil
- 1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and finely grated
- a few Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 425F.  Place salmon steaks in a small glass pan and season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.  Set aside.  If you plan on serving this meal with rice, you can get that started now, too.

2. Place bok choy halves in a large glass pan and drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Top with salt.

3. In a large bowl, toss cabbage, mushrooms, remaining olive oil, sesame oil, and ginger together with salt.  Add to the pan with the bok coy.

4. Put salmon and vegetable pans into the oven together.  Bake for 12-16 minutes, depending on the thickness of your salmon.  Stir vegetables about halfway through.

5. Before serving, divide the salmon steaks in half, lengthwise.  Simply slide your knife along the line where the bones are.  Remove the larger center bone and all the smaller bones where you cut.  Don’t worry, they’re not too hard to find.  You can also remove the skin before serving if you’d like.  Serve with rice and top everything with toasted sesame seeds.

* I added this post to this week’s Melt In Your Mouth Monday, Weekend Gourmet, Real Food 101, Fat Tuesday, and Gluten Free Wednesday, Monday Mania.