Salvation Amy

(Mostly) Vegetarian fun.

When I first met Scott he was not a reader.  Oh, he'd read every morning, "magazines," which, quite frankly, were actually catalogues.  When he and I were married, my mom got him a copy of Undaunted Courage for Christmas, and my husband, who actively hated both reading and history, was hooked.

This has opened up all sorts of present giving options for me, and he recently read The Omnivore's Dilemma which I gave him last year for Christmas.

This turns one story into another, which is the story of how, when I first met Scott, I was trying to raise my family vegetarian.  This did not go well.  The first time Scott cooked for us, he made spaghetti, which, he pointed out, was "almost vegetarian." You know.  Except for the MEAT.

Anyway, The Omnivore's Dilemma got Scott's attention, insofar as the weird politics that go into food production, and when we talked about giving things up for lent, he was willing to try to go meatless.

This sent me, as all food inventions do, to Philadelphia's most excellent Asian Food Stores.  There's one I particularly love, on Washington Street, that is in an old abandoned supermarket, of some sort.  It reminds me a lot of living in Thailand, and sticking out like a big, ethnic sore thumb.  There are tanks and tanks of fish, lobster, and frogs, all the most wonderful cuts of head on meat you can imagine, produce that you can't find anywhere else, and every spice or ingredient that you need to make any delicious recipe of your choice. 

Missing the cuisine of Thailand, as I do, I've been having a field day.  I've made dishes upon dishes of Thai food, and, at the end of the day, all I have to do is throw rice in the rice cooker, and we've got a meal.  OH! One of the best things at the market is fresh bamboo.  And fresh tofu.  Like maybe even made on the premises fresh.  In a big bucket.  With tongs.

Anyway - we've been having fun.  And in my quest to expose my family to the wonders of Thai Cuisine, I found this terrific foodie blog, with easy to follow instructions (not to mention conversions) and today I made this awesome Thai snack, which I have not had in 25 years.  Thai food is known for a perfect balance of (sometimes unusual to the Western Palate) flavors, and when I gave Scott one of these, he said, "Wow, I didn't expect the scallions, but that was perfect."  I didn't have the mini-pancake pan recommended, so I put a couple of tablespoons of the batter into the bottom of muffin tins, and baked them at 350 for about 10 minutes.  So mine weren't as golden brown on the bottom as the ones here, and I'll probably have to either look for one of the mini-pancake pans she describes, or something, but the taste is phenomenal, anyway.  Yay Appon! and thank you.  (The other thing is that the batter is way too thin to just cook like pancakes, if you know what I mean, but my version worked okay.

Best thing?  Charlie, who hates EVERYTHING, asked for seconds on the mini flan.  I know that scallions in a sweet sounds weird, but Charlie ate it.  I'm just saying. Next, I mean to try to make these, and would have already, if I had thought to buy sticky rice flour and tapioca flour.  I'll probably substitute a very firm tofu for the meat in this one.  I've been tasting these since I found this recipe, and I'm pretty sure that this particular delight is responsible for at LEAST half of the weight I put on in Thailand.

Here's a Little Cooking Tip for You

When you are planning on making paella for eight...

And you go up to Chinatown for ingredients....

It's always a good idea to see if you have ANY RICE IN THE HOUSE before you go...

Or before you start cooking....

Or before it is time to add the rice.

Dammit.

More Tomatoes

Tried to recreate a salad I had somewhere:

1. A whole bunch of Roma tomatoes, sliced. I may have mentioned that I have a lot of them.

2. A whole lot of buffalo mozzarella.

3. Olive oil.

4. Several sprigs of fresh basil and oregano.

5. Red wine or balsamic vinegar. About 1/3 as much as the oil you used.

6. Salt & fresh ground pepper.

Throw the whole thing in this nifty contraption and sort of shake it up, then refrigerate for several hours, flipping it over from time to time.

A Delicious Red Sauce

Late summer has struck or stricken, and what I didn't know about tomatoes, but learned quite emphatically is this: THEY ALL RIPEN AT ONCE. So I've had Romas out the wazoo and have had to come up with clever ways to use them.

The other night, I would say, about 20 Romas, picked that day were just sitting there staring at me judgmentally, seething at the thought that they may have to rot if I didn't get it together quickly and figure out what to do with them. Afraid of canning, as an affirmed hypochondriac, and, finally sick of their little tomatoey passive aggressive silence, I plunged the little bastards into boiling water, ending my torment forever.

Then I had to think of what to do with them. This is what I came up with.

1. I left them in the boiling water to blanch for about three minutes. Then I plunged them into ice water for two reasons. One, I read somewhere that you're supposed to, because it stops the cooking, and Two, I was still really mad at them.

2. I put a big skillet on with olive oil in it, threw in one diced onion and way more garlic than most people like. Really. I buy it minced in a huge jar that lasts forever, and can never quite figure out how much to use. I think I did about two tablespoons minced. That is, for those of you who are counting, somewhere between 12 and 147 cloves of garlic, minced.

3. I also have an overabundance of cayenne. Hint for the home gardener... Just because you get a discount if you buy six plants, doesn't mean you necessarily should. I currently have enough fresh cayenne pepper to carry us into the 24th century. So I took one, and cut it into about five pieces and sauteed it with the onions and garlic. Because I don't like whining at the dinner table, I scooped out the pieces of cayenne after the sauteeing was done. You may be a meaner parent than me. Have a field day.

4. I splashed about three tablespoons of balsamic vinegar in, just to see what would happen. Nothing did.

5. Now if you blanch the tomatoes right, they should have splits in the skin, and they should peel easily. If you didn't or some aren't split, you can slash them with a knife. I did. But again, remember, I was really mad at them. Once you get the skins off, dice 'em up, and throw them in the pan with the now finished sauteeing onions and garlic, with the cayenne removed.

6. I had some leftover merlot, so, splash, I threw a couple of cups of that in.

7. Let the whole mess simmer for a while, adding more wine as it cooked down.

8. Threw in a can of artichoke hearts.

9. Threw in a can of black olives. I would recommend checking to see if they are pitted before you put them in, as I didn't, and I'm sorry.

10. Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.

Tonight I will be eating it over pasta. Initial tastings indicate that it's a little bit arabiata-y. Smooth taste with a little kick at the end. Not sure if that's the cayenne or the red pepper flakes, but, whatever. It's yummy.

New In Cooking

A new recipe with stuff from my garden in it, made up by me. And so delicious, that even the children ate it.

Which is saying something.

A Most Delicious Recipe, Made Up By Me

The produce is getting overwhelming, so I made this up.

We'll call it Pasta Amy's Garden:

2 Cans baby clams with liquid
1 can black olives, drained
12 cloves garlic, minced
4 stalks of fresh basil, throw away the stalks and just use the leaves
4 stalks of fresh oregano, throw away the stalks and just use the leaves
3 cups cherry tomatoes
4 banana peppers chopped up
32 oz chicken broth.
4 T Butter

1 lb pasta of choice

Sautee the garlic lightly in the butter. Add the clams and the chicken broth. Throw in the basil & Oregano. Bring to a boil. Throw in the tomatoes peppers and olives and let simmer for a while, stirring.

Throw in the pasta and cook until the liquid is absorbed.

Serve with freshly grated romano and parmesean, and black pepper.

Eat.

Playing with Food

I got some herbs planted on Sunday, scratching a gardening itch that I've been feeling a little lately. Scott turned over dirt and Caroline and I planted and the boys helped Scott's mom lay down dirt where later she'll plant ivy.

While we were all doing that, I put Charlie on a couple of tasks to get dinner ready. I had him shuck the corn, which he did one leaf at a time. Sometime along the way he realized that he could make a sort of corn/origami flower type thing.

Then I put him in charge of peeling carrots. Caroline showed him how to do the first one, and then he did the rest himself. He must have noticed that she was quicker, because he turned to me and said, "But Mom? Doesn't patience peel the best carrot?" So, technically, I think he wrote a proverb, because as a matter of fact yes, patience does peel the best carrot.

News So Exciting I forgot All About It

I started a cooking blog for those of you who aren't following the links as you should.

It's mostly recipes that I want to be able to access, when I make something that turns out particularly well and I know I'll forget what I did later. Also, adventures in cooking with and for four children. Thus the tagline, Eeeeeew, what's in this.

The first time I made pad thai two or three years ago, people said:

Carly - this is really good.
Andy - I think this is the best thing you ever made.
Nick said - This is really good. I'm just not hungry. Can I have a peanut butter sandwich?
Charlie said - Hey, YEAH. I want a peanut butter sandwich!

Empty Tombs

What we made in Sunday School Today...

1 tube of Biscuit dough
Some brown Sugar
One Marshmallow per tomb

Read Matthew 28: 1-10

Take 1 piece of biscuit dough (enough to make a buscuit). Flatten it out. Sprinkle it with brown sugar. Wrap it around a marshmallow. Bake at 425 for about 10 minutes, but watch carefully to make sure it doesn't burn.

1 tube of biscuit dough makes about 10.

Talk about the empty tomb, and what people maybe thought when they got there.

Optional: Wiggle obsessively in your seat. Talk without raising your hands. Stick the dough to a paper plate and complain that you need more dough. Complain that other people didn't wash their hands and how are we going to keep track of which empty tomb goes with which kid. Jump out of your seat and head out the door looking for your mother. Ask if Matthew is in the Old or New Testament. Say you can't find the New Testament. Slam your Bible shut really loudly. Interrupt. Decide that the marshmallow is Jesus.

Pockymania

The boys and I went to the Franklin Institute yesterday, where Andy got to check out a huge millipede and a Madagascar hissing cockroach up close. Charlie liked the Africa exhibit, and Nick got to play virtual soccer.

Then we headed over to Chinatown, where we ate noodle soup with beef balls which was incredibly good, and Nick had young coconut milk. I tried to convince him that the slices of coconut meat in it were actually squid, but he wasn't buying it and our waitress was no help at all. Also, Charlie spilled a coke, and Andy and Nick traded seats so Nick couldn't poke Charlie anymore.

After that, we went to the fish market to see if they had lobster for 6.00 a pound, because when they do, you really have to buy it, but they didn't, so we didn't.

We stopped by a fruit and vegetable grocer, and I looked at durian, but it was really mushy, so I passed. Durian is this really pointy fruit that Thai people try to make foreigners eat because it has a really strong smell, and I guess they think that's funny. When I was in Thailand I was sixteen and stubborn, so I ate it, and actually it's really good. Now that I have kids, I see the humor in making people eat stinky stuff, so I'm looking for the perfect durian to inflict on my kids. Apparently, there are poems and art and songs about durian. The fruit that's really gross? Papaya. Ick. One time, when I ate durian I ended up feeling really drunk, and I asked a lot of people why that was over several years. Finally, Chai told me that it can get fermented. I don't know if I believe him or not.

I am Milk Flavored Pocky. (yawn)

what flavor pocky are you?

[c] sugardew

Then we went to the Asian grocery that I like, (not this one, which sells chickens with their heads still on just to freak out my boys,) to pick up Pocky for Charlie, squid jerky for Andy, these weird little popsicle and pudding things that Nick threw in the cart when I wasn't looking, and hard Hello Kitty candies for Carly. I also got ingredients that I either can't get around here, or if I can I have to pay one arm and one leg for them. For example, they sell pad thai sauce for $1.15 for a huge thing. In my regular grocery store when they sell it it's a smaller container and three or four bucks. Also, coconut milk usually can run about two dollars, but at the Asian grocery, about .69. Also a bunch of MaMa ramen noodley packets which are absolutely nothing like the ramen that they sell in the regular grocery store.

Finally we got bubble tea which I learned about here. What the boys like best about the bubble tea is that it takes just as much time to drink the bubble tea as it does to drive home from Philly. Then you get out of the car and use the bubble tea bubbles for a bubble tea bubble war, which involves spitting stuff at each other, using straws, which they like. Yesterday Nick confided that one time he spit one at our neighbor's car. Then our neighbor said "Hey, don't do that." and Nick said, "I didn't, it was Andy" and our neighbor said, "well, tell Andy not to do that." Andy was in the house at the time.

Andy and I watched Rashomon until Scott came home. I will probably write more about that, later, but I am still trying to absorb it all.

When Scott got home, he and I went to the store and got some shrimp and chicken and I made chicken satay and pad thai for dinner.

All in all, not a bad Saturday, unless you measure the goodness of your Saturdays by how much you get done.