Good Luck!

In the Southern United States there’s a tradition of eating Hoppin’ John for good luck in the new year. I recently learned that the black eyed peas actually originated in East Africa. So may I present my fusion Hoppin’ John. A diced onion, habenero, turmeric, ginger and some tomato. Cook it until it’s a paste. Add mustard seeds and fenugreek.

Add coconut mild and soaked black eyed peas that have been boiled with baking soda (thanks for the tip mom!). Throw in some kale.

Serve over rice. If you don’t fail at making them vitumba are also a delight.

The best thing about this is that it’s healthy, gluten free, and vegan. I don’t much care about those things but you can basically serve anybody with good restrictions this delicious dish.

Back to the Grind

I’ve been reminded this week how much effort goes into the food our grandmothers, moms, and aunties cook. Tonight I made a duck laab. A dish that I’m sure many Thai aunties make look effortless. But after making duck steamed rice, grinding toasted rice, peeling, chopping, and grinding the duck reminded how much love and work go into the food some people can make look easy. Oh and making duck broth too!

I Can Tell You

My love for you will still be strong. After the boys of summer have gone. As the days get shorter, suddenly I think I’m going to miss shucking corn and the absolute pain of peeling fava beans. This is a simple dinner that I hope I can sneak in one more time if the summer produce gives me a week or two. It’s so simple, so delicious, and only takes one pan. Sous vide a flat iron steak (in this case half of one) for two hours at 130. Sear. Top with ramp butter you make in the spring and hoard year round. While it’s resting toss in some small tomatoes to char. Add the the fresh corn in the pan with Calabrian chilis and their oil. Once it’s almost cooked (you don’t want to over cook anything here) add whole grains, fava beans (which have been par-boiled and had their skins removed) and basil. Easy peasy and colorful!

Kuku Paka

Well, of sorts. This is a Zanzibari dish of charcoal grilled chicken in a coconut sauce. It can also be made with fish or corn. Listening to Queen while eating it is mandatory.

This weeknight version is far from authentic (no grilling for one thing) but still delicious. I cooked down finely chopped onions and some garlic, added finely chopped tomatoes and some tender cilantro stems. Then went in coconut milk, freshly grated turmeric, some hot peppers, and freshly grated ginger. Added the chicken until it was cooked and then removed it with some of the sauce and put it in a baking dish. Decided to make it kind of a combo since the corn is still fantastic this time of the year and added that while I broiled the chicken to get some more flavor (great idea mom).

The end result was a little thinner than I liked though by the second day it thickened up and was more flavorful so this might end up being a made ahead meal.

Not a coal fire on a Zanzibari beach but not bad for a DC apartment.

Shellabrate Good Times!

Yeah, yeah, I can’t help it. It’s the end of summer. The heat has gone to my head. There have been so many roasted meats, tomato salad, and corn. While that’s still in the rotation this week I decided to try something different. It was delicious and so easy! This part is key. H-Mart sometimes has raw marinated crabs. I love them. For some reason, last time I picked them up I didn’t eat them same day so eating them raw wasn’t an option. Yesterday they came out of the freezer and into a pan with some defrosted large shrimp and scallion kimchi. Let them cook while some frozen lo mein noodles boil. Tossed it all together topped with more scallions and done! It was delicious, a little spicy but very flavorful.

Hot Fuzz

I can’t believe I’ve never seen this movie. So bad that it’s fantastic. The weather was less than ideal last night so going out for “date night” seemed like more of a chore than a fun activity. Also, earlier this week I probably committed an arrest-able crime. I bought a chicken to make Samgyetang. And then well, I chickened out (sorry, had to be done). So I just roasted the whole chicken (which I hadn’t done without spatchcocking in years). When I pulled it out the breast was perfect. But, the dark meat needed more cooking. I had to hack it up to make all parts edible. Total fail in terms of presentation. Luckily when carved it was still very tasty (yay heritage breeds for flavor and forgiveness).

Yesterday, I wanted a lazy Friday night but I also felt the need to make amends. Enter chicken salad and a cop movie. Not a thing I usually make or watch but it was hot and humid, and well I had a ton of chicken and leftover pasta salad. So I figured bread and a variety of cold items were the perfect snacks for movie night. But this chicken salad guys! I just chopped up the chicken, added loads of grainy mustard and black pepper, bit of mayo and a bit of sour cream (go easy on these), some sliced green onions and Chinese chives for crunch, and the juice of half a lemon plus some zest. I don’t love chicken, let alone chicken salad but this was such an easy satisfying meal to pick on while watching a movie on a hot day. Also spicy salami and peaches are really tasty together!

Swimming with the Fishes

Monday is usually super chill ladies night around here. After the weekend I don’t usually feel like cooking and there are leftovers so those get repurposed. There are leftovers this week as well, but they will wait for Tuesday because a visit to H Mart resulted in some really nice salmon which obviously had to be eaten ASAP. This was honestly no more difficult than heating up or repurposing leftovers. Will be in the regular rotation (if I can make it to H Mart that is :)). all I did was cube up the salmon, marinate in dark soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, and rice wine. I just did this to taste. Most advice says to marinate for four hours to overnight but that seemed like it might be over powering so I went for two. Topped with furikake it was delicious. I do have an overnight batch that I will report back on. I served it with forbidden rice and some sliced avocado and pickles and seaweed. So easy and so delicious.

Play It Again Sam!

Yes, yes I know that’s a misquote but I’m out of food re-use headlines. Brunch yesterday was lovely and composed almost entirely of leftovers. I somehow feel more accomplished doing that than making the actual dishes. Earlier this week I made a summer pasta with corn, zucchini, fresh tomatoes, and basil. It’s fantastic cold as leftovers so it’s been getting picked at but I swear this Tupperware is magic because it never seems to get particularly empty! I also made a leg of lamb with chickpeas and spinach (the leftover chickpeas will appear in tomorrow’s dinner).

When I was a kid my dad would make this leg of lamb and it was delicious (full disclosure mine wasn’t as good). The next day I would be tasked with making the entire family lamb sandwiches. Given all the amazing cooks in my family I didn’t see much kitchen time, but those always got compliments. So clearly post leg of lamb sandwiches must be prepared! Because 42 year old me is far lazier than 14 year old me we went the deconstructed route. Plus that way everybody could have as much meat or sauce as they like. The sauce is not a particularly pretty color (I should have whipped the feta and then added chopped olives) but it’s going to be in heavy rotation. Feta whipped with Kalamata olives, rosemary, garlic, and loads of pepper. You can also add some Calabrian chilis. Don’t add salt. If it’s still a bit salty throw in some mayonnaise. It’s so delicious I could just eat it alone on toast with tomatoes. Happy homemade brunching! (Don’t worry Olive got her share too).

Tomato Time

It’s just that time of the year. The first dish is cherry tomatoes with garlic, shallots, corn, sweet peppers, and feta. Finished with some eggs that were baked at the end. Easy, one dish, healthy, and delicious.

The second is a sort of pesto trapanase. Garlic and onions made into a paste. Fresh tomatoes, basil, and olive oil. A bit of salt, and all set. The best part is after you eat it warm, the leftovers make a lovely pasta salad for the week. One of the few benefits of all the hot weather. oh and the berries too!

Vegan,vegan, vegan, tomato!

This seems like an appropriate thing to post given the heat. Plus the cute story and the fact that it’s very healthy! It’s a take on the NYT best gazpacho. It’s smooth and strained and sans bread. The wonderful thing about the original is that you can tweak it so many ways. In this case a lovely farmer’s market vendor gifted me some huge, very ripe, but slightly bruised, yellow/orange tomatoes. Another vendor gave me some peaches because their card reader wasn’t working and they didn’t have the right change. A reminder how lovely it is to have people you buy from locally and getting to know them.

On to the food. This is an easy, if slightly time consuming method (but it also gets you a slight arm workout so multi tasking right?). In batches I blended tomatoes, cucumber, onion, garlic, watermelon, a bit of peach, some strawberries, and olive oil. Finished with some ramp vinegar and a splash of oloroso sherry. Garnished with basil, feta, and a bit of sautéed fresh corn. Fresh and healthy. And no heat required! Plus if you make a big batch it lasts for days and days and is good for any meal!