Mrs. Charles Darwin’s Recipe Book

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this “recipe book” of Emma Darwin awhile ago, before work got crazy.  It’s not just your average cookbook, it’s a documentation of family life in the Darwin household in the middle of the 19th century.  It is filled with reproductions of handwritten recipes and beautiful botanical illustrations, as well as interesting anecdotes and little details about daily life, such as what time the family ate lunch and dinner and how they were “lax” because they didn’t require the children’s nurse to wear the “right cap”.  Another bit of interesting trivia is that both Emma and Charles Darwin were grandchildren of Josiah Wedgewood.  Which is more intriguing — the fact that the father of evolutionary theory had a connection to the famous Wedgewood pottery or the fact that he and his wife were first cousins — I cannot say!

An example of  the Wedgewood Waterlily pattern used by the Darwin’s

The recipes, which have been tested by the authors, Dusha Bateson and Weslie Janeway, give us modern day folk a taste of Victorian England via one of its most esteemed families.   The historical notes are fascinating, and I found myself imagining what it must be like to live in Emma Darwin’s world.  The Darwin household must have been teeming with activity, what with their ten children and a dozen servants living with them as well as numerous visits from family and friends.  I imagine it was a full time job keeping track of the household accounts, the garden, and the livestock!

I hadn’t known that Charles Darwin had a rather delicate constitution and suffered from poor digestion.  The recipe book is filled with rich Victorian age food that is comforting and soothing,  such as puddings (apparently Emma’s original recipe book has more than sixty puddings!) and many other dishes with cream and butter.  Preserving and pickling was quite common at the time, and Emma’s notebook has instructions for preserving eggs, curing beef, pickling, etc.  There is a chapter in the recipe book on preserves that I am looking to make use of in the future (the Quince Jelly sounds wonderful).

Since there is a whole chapter devoted to Charles Darwin’s beloved puddings, I knew I had to try one.  I made the Burnt Cream, which is basically Creme Brulee.  I don’t have a blow torch nor a salamander (an iron disc with a long handle that they used to heat the sugar), so I melted the sugar and poured on top. Unfortunately, I did not achieve a hardened layer.  I also tried broiling it to crisp up the sugar with no luck.  So, I served the puddings  turned over on a plate.  The caramelized sugar made a sweet sauce, making the dish more akin to Mexican Flan, which was delicious.

I also made Stewed Spinach because I knew Jamie would love it (and he did)!  It is a simple side dish to throw together easily on a weeknight.  It’s so comforting and good.  And it always makes me happy to see my son eating green food.

The third recipe I tried out was the Gingerbread.  The authors adapted this recipe and used half of Emma’s original amounts (2 1/2 lbs. of flour!) I went a step further and cut that in half and made a loaf of Gingerbread instead of a large square pan of it.  It was also delicious — perfect with tea– and gobbled up by children and adults for a nice afternoon snack.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we did.  It also gave us an added sense of awareness knowing we were eating the same kind of food that was served over a hundred years ago and enjoyed by the Darwins in their cozy home in Down House on the North Downs of Kent, which added to the flavor.

Recipes from “Mrs. Charles Darwin’s Recipe Book”  by Dusha Bateson and Weslie Janeway, published by Glitterati Incorporated, 2008

Burnt Cream

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

2 eggs, separated

2 ounces (50g) superfine (caster) sugar, plus 1 teaspoon

1.  Mix the flour in a medium saucepan with a little milk or water before adding cream; this will prevent lumps. (Note:  I added 4 tablespoons of water and whisked it).  Bring to a boil and cook gently for 10 minutes to ensure flour is thoroughly cooked.

2.  Add the egg yolks and 1 teaspoon sugar.  (You can do without the sugar at this stage if you like, as the caramelized top will provide plenty in the finished dish.)

3.  Beat the egg whites only until they form a frothy liquid and add them to the pan.  (Note, I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.)

4.  Taste and, if you are satisfied that no hint of floury taste remains, pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish  and allow to cool.  Chill overnight.  (I used four small individual ramekins.)

Sprinkle an even layer of superfine sugar over custard.  If you have a blowtorch, heat the sugar until it browns.

Otherwise, as the authors suggest, “Far simpler is to put the superfine (caster) sugar in a small heavy saucepan and heat it gently until it melts.  Do not stir.  When it starts to color and bubble, tip the pain in a circular motion so the sugar is well mixed and dissolves completely.  Watch it carefully — it can burn very quickly.  What you want is a deep auburn color with that wonderful caramel smell.  Then, holding the custard dish in one hand, pour the molten sugar onto the top, tipping the dish so it covers evenly.  The sugar will bubble up, but do not worry, it will soon subside. With his method, a beautiful thin layer is achieved.  Do this a couple of hours before you want to eat.  As soon as the sugar has cooled, chill until needed.”

Stewed Spinach

3/4 pound (350 g) fresh spinach (I used one bunch)

2 tablespoons butter

Approximately 1/2 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Pinch grated nutmeg (optional)

1.  Wash the spinach leaves well.  Give the handfuls of leaves a good shake and pack them into a saucepan. No need for any extra water.  Cover the pan and place over a medium heat.

2.  After 1-2 minutes, remove the lid and stir the leaves with a wooden spoon, turning the top leaves to the bottom, so they all cook.

3.  When the spinach is thoroughly wilted, let it bubble for another 1-2 minutes.  Taste  a small piece to make sure it is tender.

4.  Pour the contents of the pan into a colander and plunge the sieve into a sink of cold water.  This helps to keep the bright green color.  Do not submerge completely, but make sure the spinach is in the water.  Remove the colander from the water.  Using a wooden spoon or, even better, your fist, press the spinach down, removing as much water as possible.

5. When you have extracted as much liquid as possible, put the spinach back in the saucepan over moderate heat.  Add butter and with a wooden spoon mash or pound the spinach to break up the leaves.

6.  Add just enough cream to give a thick puree.  (You may not need to use the full amount.)  Season with salt and pepper and a little grated nutmeg, if using.  Serve at once.

Gingerbread

(I halved these amounts and baked in a loaf pan)

1 pound (450 g) flour  (about 3 1/3 cups)

1/2 ounce (15 g) ground ginger (4 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 ounces (110 g) butter

4 ounces (110 g) brown sugar (about 2/3 cup)

12 fluid ounces (335 ml) dark molasses

1 teaspoon lemon extract

2 eggs, lightly beaten

In Preparation:  Preheat oven to 350 F

1.  Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.

2. Sift the flour into a large bowl.  Add the ground ginger and the baking soda.

3.  In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter, brown sugar, and molasses together.  Add lemon extract.

4. Make a well in the flour and add the mixture from the saucepan.  Mix together thoroughly.

5.  Add the beaten eggs and mix well.

6.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes.  Test with a toothpick.  If it comes out clean, the cake is done.  If not, bake for a few minutes more.

Fun Holiday Activites for Kids and Green Beans with Bacon and Shallots

It’s the holiday season, and we’ve been doing a lot of baking and crafts to give as gifts.  J is doing a “Grab Bag” (like Secret Santa but minus the Christmas slant) in his class that I’ve been helping him with all week.  I will post later when it’s not a secret anymore!  I really proud of him because he came up with the concept entirely on his own and designed everything. I just helped him execute it, which involved a lot of cutting. I’ll leave it at that for now!

Another fun holiday craft we do is make cake decorations with fondant or gum paste.  The gum paste is a lot harder in texture and you can make very thin, solid objects with it.  You can make both at home and color as you wish, or you can buy them.

Last year, we made decorations for a dual faith cake with gingerbread men and a Christmas tree and Chanukah dreidls.

The fun thing about the gum paste decorations is that you can paint them with a clear alcohol (it will evaporate as it dries and you only use a scant amount) and decorate with luster dust.

Gum paste snowflakes and angels with brushes, alcohol and luster dust

Last year I made this beautiful snowflake cake that was featured on Chef Dennis’ blog, and we decorated it with these shimmery gum paste snowflakes using leftover paste from the aforementioned dual faith cake.

My bad photography isn’t quite capturing the beautiful shiny quality of the luster dust — sorry!

We’re very much looking forward to spending Christmas with Denis’ family in Long Island like we do every year.  We usually bring a dessert, a side dish, and snack-y things to munch on.  We all hang out in the kitchen, talking, nibbling, and having a good time.  This year, we’re hoping to introduce everyone on our New York side to our FAVORITE family game which we play every year during Thanksgiving at my brother’s house in Illinois.  My nephew introduced it to us I think during his first year of college several years back, and it’s become a family tradition to play every Thanksgiving.  It is AWESOME!  The more people the better too!  Later we saw a ripped off version that was a board game in Barnes and Noble, but trust me people, it is better when you make it yourself.

What it is called:  Teledraw

What you need:  A group of people, a stack of small plain paper (like post-its), writing utensils.  So if you have seven people, you need seven stacks of seven pieces of paper. If you have twelve people, you need twelve stacks of twelve pieces and paper, and so forth.

Ages:  6-100! (When J was younger, he used to play as a partner to Denis who would do the writing– for kids doing this on their own, they just need to be able to read, write, and draw)

Basically, the game is like Telephone, but instead of whispering a sentence to the person next to you, you write a sentence.  Then pass it to the person next to you — and you get a sentence passed to you from the person on your other side.  Then for the next round, you draw a picture of whatever sentence was passed to you.  Then you pass this on, then you get another picture, and you write whatever you like the picture is showing.  It is hilarious how much your original sentence changes after a few rounds!  When you get your original stack back to you, the game is over, and you take turns reading it to everyone.  When we played at Thanksgiving, we were crying, laughing so hard!

My brother and mom cracking up

I scanned my stack (minus the last sheet — sorry Nick!  It was a great drawing too!  Somehow it got lost in transit…  ) which had twelve panels — but showing eleven here.  I typed out the written segments so it would be easier to read here:

1.  (My sentence)  “I ate some cake.”

2.  Which my mother drew:

For some reason, my mom decided to make it like a “rebus”!

3.   My brother described this as:  “I see a little 3 year old running to a birthday cake.”

4.  Which my sister-in-law drew:

5. Denis then described:  “A smiling unshaven man watches as a child rushes toward a rocking chair-shaped menorah perched on a fireplace mantle. “

6. Which my nephew’s friend drew:

7.  Which my nephew described as:  “A little boy says the blessings over the menorah during Chanukah as Sirium Black watches.”

8.  Which Jamie drew:

9.  Which my niece described as:  “Harry Potter is putting a wand to his head.  In another room, Ron Weasley is begging him not to.”

10.  Which her boyfriend drew as:

11.  Which my other nephew’s girlfriend described as:  “A man stabbed his head with a stick but ended up running happily away.”

12. Then my nephew drew an amazingly detailed picture of man stabbing himself in the head and then running away with a smile on his face (lost in transit!)

So that is how “I ate cake” evolved into something slightly dark.  I love that the Harry Potter theme was continued for awhile!

Writing and drawing!

So if you have to time and energy– play this game with your family over the holidays!  It is guaranteed to make you howl (in a good way)!

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To end with a recipe….

Here is a quick recipe for a side dish we love that would be a perfect side at your holiday table if you have bacon eaters.

Holiday Green Beans with Bacon and Shallots

1 lb. green beans (I buy the frozen ones at Trader Joes, because I am lazy!)

2 slices of smoked, thick sliced bacon, chopped into pieces

1/2 large shallot, diced

salt and pepper to taste

chopped parsley for festive garnish (optional)

1.  Steam green beans in steamer until cooked but crispy.  For frozen, this is about 8 minutes. For fresh, I think 6 minutes would work, but test a bean and see.

2.  Meanwhile, saute bacon in skillet.  When it is cooked, remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate and let drain and crisp up.

3.  Add diced shallots to bacon fat in pan and saute until softened a bit, about 1 minute.  Then add steamed green beans and saute for about 2-3 minutes.  Add in reserved bacon and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish if desired with chopped parsley.  Serve.

Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday Season!

Melissa Iwai 2012

Grandma Bebe’s Grand Marnier Cranberry Mold

Grandma Bebe’s Cranberry Mold

We’re in Illinois right now having a great time eating tons of delicious home cooked meals (my nephew and I made a huge Japanese dinner last night and my brother is an amazing cook!), and generally laughing our heads off playing various games.  Our favorite is Teledraw, which is a version of Telephone involving drawing pictures and writing descriptions of them instead of whispering stories.  The end product ends up morphing into a completely different beast in the end.

This is a short and sweet post because I have to join the group again and more food and games are on the horizon!

Every year, my sister-in-law  makes this cranberry mold that I’ve never seen anywhere else.  The recipe has been in her family for years and was first made by her mother, Bebe.  The Grand Marnier gives it a special kick, making it something more special than your average cranberry side dish.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!

Grandma Bebe’s Grand Marnier Cranberry Mold

2 envelopes gelatin

2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
6 tablespoons Grand Marnier (or Triple Sec)
2 bags fresh cranberries, cleaned and picked over
Non-stick spray

1. Soak gelatin in 1/2 cup water.
2. Heat sugar in 1 1/2 cups water in pot on stove and bring to boil. Add cranberries and boil until they pop. Remmove from heat and add gelatin. Stir until it dissolves. Add extract and Grand Marnier. Stir to combine.
3. Spray cranberry mold (or bundt pan) with non-stick spray. Pour cranberry mixture into mold, cover, and chill over night.

Pumpkin Custard and How to Use Leftover Ingredients

Let me tell you something about myself:  I hate wasting food.

One of my pet peeves used to be recipes that only used a small amount of an ingredient, as in one tablespoon of chopped, fresh parsley or two tablespoons of tomato paste, etc.  The leftovers would languish and eventually go bad in the refrigerator — only to be discovered later.  I say “used to be” because I’ve found ways around wasting the rest of the ingredients through various methods.

I realized I did not clarify that with the last recipe I posted! The pumpkin granola bars only call for 1/4 cup each of pumpkin puree and applesauce.   So I wanted to use this as an opportunity to share some tips for using leftover ingredients.

Whenever I have extra, I either use it up right away (e.g. we ate the leftover applesauce over the next days), or I freeze it.  It can drive my patient husband crazy, but I’ve been known to fill our ice cube trays with all sorts of leftover ingredients:  Coconut milk (leftover from curry –  frozen coconut milk is great in smoothies!), tomato paste, marinara sauce, chicken and beef broths, apple sauce, milk and coffee creamer (before we go on a long trip and I know it would go bad otherwise — these are also great in smoothies and frapuccinos!)  Yes, I’ve even frozen pumpkin puree in ice cube trays.  The resulting pumpkin cubes are great in smoothies and this terrific pumpkin frappucino (I use the frozen pumpkin and less ice, so it has more flavor).

My ice cube molds hold about 2 tablespoons.  I freeze the food in them and then transfer the cubes to a labelled freezer bag — the key word being labelled!
Don’t skip this step — believe me, frozen chicken broth looks a lot like applesauce.  To defrost, I zap them in the microwave.  I know each cube is 2 tablespoons, so two cubes are 1/4 cup and four cubes are 1/2, etc.

Frozen coconut milk cubes.

For the leftover pumpkin from the pumpkin granola in the last post, I decided not to freeze the rest of the pumpkin puree and instead made a simple pumpkin pie dessert minus the crust.

I blended the pumpkin, sweetener (I used stevia), cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and milk to taste  in a blender.  Then I added an egg and blended some more. I transferred the mixture to little ramekins and nuked them in the microwave for 2 minutes, then 1 1/2 minutes each until they looked done.  They were delicious with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice on top.

A less decadent pumpkin “pie” dessert.

For leftover ingredients that do not lend themselves easily to freezing, I make other things.  For leftover parsley, I always make tabouleh.  Here is a crunchy version inspired by Mark Bittman.  When I have leftover basil, I always make fresh pesto (which you can freeze or use immediately).  Here’s a recipe that I used when I had leftover basil after making stuffed zucchini.

Recently, I threw together a shrimp curry and had leftover coconut milk (which I froze as mentioned above) and chick peas.  A great way to use leftover chick peas is to puree them with tahini, lemon, garlic, salt, and olive oil to taste and make hummus.  If you only have a little bit though, I would recommend roasting them at a high temperature.  They make a yummy snack or salty treat to throw on your salad.  Just coat with oil or nonstick spray, kosher salt, and/or other seasoning and roast at 400 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes or so.  Roast until they are crunchy.  They are SO good.  I usually end up eating them all in one sitting.  They would probably be good mixed with popcorn, but I never save enough to try it out!

Do you have tricks for using up or saving leftover recipe ingredients?  Do share — I’d love to hear about them!

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On a literary note — I just want to let you all know that this weekend Denis and I will be on a panel with other authors of Halloween themed books at the wonderful Books of Wonder this Saturday at 12-2 pm to share Hush Little Monster.

	Oct 27th Saturday 12pm -2pm	HAUNTED HALLOWEEN FUN! KARINA WOLF – The Insomniacs MICHAEL LEVITON- My First Ghost LEO LANDRY- Trick or Treat DENNIS MARKELL – Hush, Little Monster MELISSA IWAI – Hush, Little Monster GIANNA MARINO – Too Tall Houses

On Sunday, we will be at Book Court in Brooklyn at 11 am.  I will be bringing these (mini) monster cookies to pass out.  If you are in the area, please stop by and say “boo!”

For info on upcoming events, check here.

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Now for the “recipes” — these are really just guidelines!  It depends on how much of the ingredient you have.

Pumpkin Custard

almost a can of pumpkin puree

sweetener of choice to taste

cinnamon to taste

pumpkin pie spice to taste

1-2 tablespoons or more milk, depending on how thick you like it-for a richer flavor and texture, use heavy cream

1 egg

1.  Blend everything in a blender except egg.  Then taste and adjust spices and milk.  Then add egg and blend some more.  You could also do this in a food processor.

2.  Transfer mixture to ramekins.  Microwave for 2 minutes.  Then again for about 1 1/2 minutes until custard looks cooked.  Serve with whipped cream and extra cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.

These are quite addicting. If you like them a lot, just go for a whole can!

Roasted Chickpeas

Leftover chickpeas

Non-stick spray

salt and or other seasonings of your choice

1.  Spray chickpeas with spray and sprinkle with salt on foil or parchment lined baking sheet.  Roast at 400 degrees F, shaking pan every 15 minutes, until chickpeas are crunchy — about 30-45 minutes.

Asian Chicken Salad with Peanut Sauce and Soba Noodles

Last week, we’ve so enjoyed having my mom visit us from California.  She came to celebrate her 82nd birthday.

Denis did not photoshop this photo. His comment: What 82 year old woman has that jaw line!??

Other than when we took her to visit Denis’ lovely parents in Shelter Island, she’s been in our garden weeding, picking up leaves, pruning plants–basically working her green thumb magic on it (which I sadly did not inherit)!

I wish I had “before” pictures to contrast this with! There were less flowers all around, and the rocks and back were covered in leaves and weeds!

We call her the Energizer Bunny.

Instead of eating out, she preferred me to cook “things from [my] blog” for her, so all week, I prepared various dishes for her and revisiting some old recipes.

Lots of smoothies:

High Fiber Smoothie

A ton of sushi, of course (click on each image for recipe):

Inside out rolls

Regular “maki” rolls

Inarizushi “Foxy Pocket Sushi”

With Miso Soup:

For her 82nd birthday which was the same day as Father’s Day, I made Reese’s Pieces and M & M waffles for brunch using our trusty Cadbury Egg Waffle recipe:

I bought a small bag each of Reese’s Pieces and plain M & Ms and scattered them on the batter before cooking in waffle iron.

And Crispy Fish Tempura Bites for dinner:

with Miso Green Beans:

And Rich Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting for dessert:

I used a double amount of  Chocolate Ganache Frosting in place of this frosting

Other meals were quick Chicken Quesadillas using cooked rotisserie chicken (after a long day of shopping–not much time to cook!):

I filled ours with cooked chicken, cheese, onions, and salsa

and Creamy High Protein Avocado Dip:

I discovered I don’t have to spend a lot of time searching for favorite recipes anymore — I can just do a search on my blog!

For her last night here, I decided to make something special and created my version of a chicken salad with peanut sauce, because she had mentioned she had had a great one awhile back during her many travels.  It is a quick and easy when you have leftover cooked chicken! We used more of the rotisserie chicken.  I also used my favorite peanut sauce recipe using roasted peanut flour (if you can’t find this, just peanut butter is fine–use this recipe instead minus sesame seeds) and coated cooked soba noodles and chicken with it (angel hair or vermicelli would work too).  Then I made a salad with shredded Napa cabbage, romaine lettuce, shredded carrot, julienned daikon radish, cilantro, green onions, and snow peas.  I topped the salad with the peanut sauce coated noodles and cooked chicken and garnished with more chopped cilantro and chopped roasted peanuts.

It was really good!  We had leftover sauce which I diluted with a bit of rice vinegar and used as a salad dressing over the course of the week –sans mom. 
We miss you obaachan! (Japanese for “grandma”)  Thank you for all your hard work here!!

Asian Chicken Salad with Soba Noodles and Peanut Sauce

Peanut Sauce:

¼ cup peanut butter (or 1 tablespoon peanut butter plus ½ cup peanut flour and 2 tablespoons water)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Salad Greens:

4 cups shredded Napa cabbage

2 cups shredded Romaine lettuce

1 cup sliced cucumber

1 cup julienned carrot

1 cup julienned daikon or other radish

1 cup blanched snow peas

2 scallions, sliced

¼ cup chopped cilantro, divided

Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

4 oz. soba noodles

2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded

¼ cup peanuts, chopped

1. Make peanut sauce.  Process all ingredients (peanut butter to sesame oil) in a food processor until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. Prepare vegetables.  Mix salad greens together in a large bowl, reserving about 2 tablespoons of the chopped cilantro for garnish.  Set aside.
3. Make vinaigrette.  Whisk soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil together in a small bowl.  Toss salad greens with vinaigrette to taste.
4. Cook soba noodles according to package directions.  Drain.
5. Assemble salad.  Toss cooked soba noodles with shredded chicken and prepared peanut sauce (use as much sauce as you want depending on how dry or wet you prefer the noodles—you will probably have some leftover!).  Divide salad greens into four bowls.  Top with noodles and chicken.  Garnish with reserved cilantro and chopped peanuts.

Peanut Miso Glazed Roasted Kale Chips and Winner!

Thanks to all who participated in my signed copy of Soup Day giveaway!

I loved hearing all about your favorite soups!

From Soup Day, Henry Holt 2010

I’m happy to announce that the winner of the giveaway is:   Michelle!

I will contact you and send you a signed copy this week.

I hope the child you give it to is inspired to play in the kitchen and enjoys my book!

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Remember when I was swooning over Trader Joe’s roasted seaweed?  Well, I think I’ve created a great cheaper, healthier alternative.  Kale chips have been around in the blog sphere for quite awhile, but it was fellow home cook, Alexandra, that I learned of slow roasting them and coating them with a sort of sauce.  I didn’t have the ingredients she uses on hand, so I made up my own using peanut butter, miso, soy, mirin, sesame oil, and some water.  The second time I tried it, I threw in some sugar.  I’m telling you, they are addictive.

Look at the peanut butter and miso yumminess!

I was blasting my kale chips at 400 degrees before and they always had burnt edges.  Slow cooking them creates the crispiest, crunchiest kale leaves with no burns anywhere.  The texture is a lot like roasted seaweed.  But this way, you are getting all the vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber that kale has to offer.

I love the nuttiness of the peanut butter and miso and the salty, sweet flavor combination these chips have.  Try it.  It may make a kale lover out of you!

Peanut Butter and Miso Glazed Kale Chips

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 teaspoon miso paste

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon mirin (or rice wine vinegar if you don’t have it)

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons water

8 cups of kale leaves torn into chip size pieces

non-stick spray

1.  Preheat oven to 200 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment or foil.  Set aside.

2.  In a large bowl whisk together peanut butter, miso paste, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar with a whisk.  Add water and whisk until smooth.

3.  Throw in kale leaves and coat and massage with clean hands to get the sauce on all of the leaves.  Spread leaves in one layer on lined baking sheet.

4.  Bake for one hour.  Halfway through baking, stir the leaves and turn over.

Makes about two servings.  You could probably double the recipe and use two baking sheets on different racks.  I will do this next time, because I could easily eat the two servings in one sitting — it’s hard to stop!

Note:  Don’t do this!  I tried it while in California, and the leaves get too crowded and don’t dry out properly, and it took forever.  Better to do a single batch and roast on two baking sheets!

Bean Bean Sushi: Creative Sushi Making with Kids

Hope everyone is having a great 2012 so far!  I’m beginning mine with a slight thumb injury caused by over vigorously kneading the gum paste from this post.  Who knew of such hazards in the kitchen?!  Anyway, the healing process is slow and I have to be careful not over use my right hand (though I’m constantly using it!)  One of the activities that exacerbates it is handling the camera– changing lenses and even removing the lens cap is very painful for me.  I may not be posting so much for awhile, and just wanted to let you know.  (The photos in this post were taken pre-injury.)

The idea of making sushi at home may seem daunting to some people, but if you aren’t a purist, it really is easy enough to make on a weeknight.  My kid friendly version focuses on makizushi (the rolled kind) and does not involve raw seafood– just vegetables and cooked meats.

Freeing yourself from the notion of making traditional sushi opens up your world for creative play and improvisation and is a fun activity to do with kids.

All you need is a sushi rolling mat, nori sheets (dried seaweed), cooked Japanese rice seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar, and salt, and whatever filling you’d like to put in the sushi.

Roasted seaweed found in Asian markets.

Awhile ago Jamie announced that he had a new idea for a sushi roll that he wanted to try and make.  He called it “Bean Bean Sushi” and he envisioned it to be filled with ketchup and cooked green beans.  I was dubious, but never one to say “no” to a vegetable creation — especially coming from my son, I told him we’d make it for lunch that day.

This is what we did.  First I cooked rice in my rice cooker (here are directions for stove top cooking). While it was cooking, we got all the fillings together.  I decided to make mine and Denis’ with some leftover grilled chicken, cooked shrimp, leftover grilled Kirkland marinated salmon,  scallions, and avocado.

When the rice was ready,  I seasoned it with a mixture of rice vinegar, sugar and salt.

To make the rolls, I set the nori rough side up (shiny, smooth side down) on a sushi rolling mat.  I spread the surface of the nori with a thin layer of the seasoned rice, leaving a margin at the top.  It helps to wet your fingers with water while doing this to keep the rice from sticking to your fingers.

Jamie put ketchup in the center and then steamed green beans on top.

I made Denis a grilled salmon and wasabi mayonnaise roll.

Then we rolled it up starting from the long side closest to us.  As we rolled, we gradually  let go of the end of the rolling mat (or else it would be rolled inside the sushi!) and continued to roll the sushi cylinder inside the mat until we got to the top margin.  Then, we wet the nori with a bit of water — it acts as glue– and completed the roll.

I made three rolls — one for each of us.  For the inside out roll, I covered the mat first with saran and laid the nori on top of the saran.

After covering the nori with rice and then black sesame seeds (you don’t need to leave an uncovered margin at top for an inside out roll), I turned the nori and rice over so it was nori side up.  The rice side should be on the saran covered mat.  Then, I laid some shrimp, avocado, and scallions on top of the nori and rolled the sushi up, this time with the rice on the outside,  in the same manner described above.  Once you get the hang of rolling, it’s really quite easy.  It helps to do it slowly.  Try and keep the roll tight and even while rolling.  A perfect roll has all the filling in the center.

When the rolls were finished, I cut each in half and then cut those halves into fourths.  So one roll yields eight pieces.  It helps to use a very sharp knife and to dip the blade in warm water between cuts, so it doesn’t stick.

The rolls after cutting.

Surprisingly, Jamie’s Bean Bean roll was actually quite tasty.  Who knew ketchup, green beans, rice, and seaweed would go so well together?

Jamie's "Bean Bean Sushi"

Inside out shrimp, avocado, scallion roll and regular salmon and Trader Joe's wasabi mayonnaise roll.

Makizushi (Rolled Sushi)

Nori sheets (Dried Roasted Seaweed)

About 2 cups of short grain Japanese rice

2 1/4 cups water

3 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

fillings for sushi (for example, wasabi, wasabi mayonnaise, plain mayonnaise, ketchup, cooked meats, smoked meats, steamed vegetables, raw vegetables, cooked egg — basically anything you can line up in the center of a sushi roll!  The other day, Jamie tried to make one with edamame succotash, but it didn’t work so well, because the edamame and corn kept falling out…)

1.  Rinse rice in water several times until the water is almost clear.  Cook in rice cooker with water or cook on stove.  Prepare fillings and have ready.  Also have a small dish of plain water set aside.

2.  Mix vinegar, sugar and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.

3.  When rice is finished cooking, transfer to a non-metallic bowl, preferably a wooden or glass one.  Sprinkle vinegar mixture on top (don’t pour all at once — taste rice as you go and season to taste-you may not need to use it all).  With a large wooden spoon, mix rice with a slicing motion.  With your other hand (or employing a helper), fan the rice as you mix to take away the excess moisture.  Keep sushi rice covered with a damp towel so it doesn’t dry out while you are making the sushi.

4.  Lay a sheet of nori on a sushi rolling mat rough side up.  Spread sushi rice on nori in a thin, even layer, using the back of a spoon or fingers. Wetting spoon or fingers with water helps to keep the rice from sticking.  Leave an 3/8 inch margin at the top uncovered.  This is the part that you will use as a seam to close the roll.

5.  Place spread if using and choice of fillings in the center of the roll horizontally.  Lift the mat with your thumbs, holding the center ingredients with your other fingers.  Slowly roll into a cylinder, while moving the rolling mat out of the way (so it doesn’t get rolled into the sushi).  At the top of the roll, wet the uncovered seam of nori with water and complete the roll.

6.  Wet a sharp knife and cut roll in half.  Then cut each half into four pieces.   Continue to wet knife in between cuts to prevent sticking (I like to have a tall glass of water to dip the knife into).

Enjoy!

Chanukah Lights and Crispiest Latkes Ever

Last night was the second night of Chanukah — the Festival of Lights.  We celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas in our household, as did my Jewish husband growing up.

Many years ago, I illustrated Chanukah Lights Everywhere, by Michael J. Rosen.  I love the book because it is about Chanukah but also ties the Festival of Lights to other lights in our lives as well as other traditions “sharing a street together”.  I set the story in Brooklyn, where we live, because it is so beautiful here in the winter when the sidewalks and buildings are covered in snow.

On each night of Chanukah, as the candles are lit, there are the same number of cats to find (plus a hint of another cat) in the picture.  This book is not available in hardcover anymore, but it is available in softcover.  I’m just happy that it is still in print! 

To celebrate Chanukah, we light the candles on our menorah.  My mother-in-law found a beautiful one shaped like a bonsai tree that captures both my heritage (Japanese) and my husband’s.

My go to recipe for latkes is basic, but I thought I would try the one I saw in the New York Times last week — Apple Potato Latkes with Cinnamon Sour Cream.  I used yogurt in place of the sour cream.  The latkes were tasty, but they were too “fluffy” and soft for me — maybe it was the extra flour and addition of baking powder.  I like crispy latkes.  Since I have eight nights to experiment,  I made them again.  This time, I used my tried and true recipe that I use every year.  One of the tricks I use to get the crispy texture is to rinse the potatoes in water until all the starch has rinsed off.  Then I spin them dry in a salad spinner.  The combination of less starch and very dry potatoes makes the latkes extra crispy.

Another tip is to use a food processor to grate the potatoes.  It is just so easy and you can whip up a batch in no time.  Also, to save on paper towels for draining, I cut a brown paper bag (TJ’s is perfect!) in half and fold one piece into a square and put it a rack.  I then cover it with some paper towels and drain the latkes on those.

The latkes made with apple were OK — but you couldn’t really taste the apple –they were just slightly sweeter.  I prefer to eat the latkes with applesauce to really get that apple flavor, so omitting them in the latke batter is fine with me.  The combination of sweet, salt, and fat is perfect, which is probably why it is difficult to eat just one latke!    No use in trying to fix something that isn’t broken!

Crispiest Latkes Ever

6 medium potatoes

1 medium onion

2 eggs

2 tablespoons flour or matzo meal (I prefer matzo meal)

1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste

vegetable oil for frying

1.  Peel potatoes and grate (in processor or by hand).  Immediately immerse in a salad bowl spinner (or large bowl) and rinse with several bowlfuls of water until the water runs clear.  Drain in the salad bowl spinner (or colander) and spin several times until potatoes are completely free of excess moisture.  If you don’t have a salad spinner, you could squeeze all the moisture out using a clean dish towel.  The salad spinner is much easier though!

2.  Grate onions and mix with potatoes in a large bowl.  Add eggs and mix.  Then add flour or matzo meal and 1 teaspoon salt and mix.

3.  Heat oil in a frying pan so it’s about 1/4 -inch high.  Drop batter from a large spoon into the hot oil (I check it first with a piece of potato. When it sizzles, the pan is ready). Flatten slightly with the back of the spoon.  I make my latkes on the small side — about 2 inches in diameter but you can do them bigger. Do not crowd the pan.  Fry until brown and turn and brown the other side.  Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Continue to make latkes until batter is gone. Make sure to let oil heat up between each batch, adding more as needed.

4.  Serve immediately.

Autumn Bounty: Roasted Acorn Squash and Seeds

Hope all you folks (who celebrate it) had a nice Thanksgiving!  We visited our family in Illinois for a week.  I also visited the children at Woodland Primary School in Gages  Lake where my sister-in-law works on Monday. We had fun pretending to make soup!

From the Daily Herald -- my sister-in-law is in the back in the striped sweater!

While I was in Illinois, I received a really touching email from a woman whose adorable 2 1/2 year old daughter, Addison, enjoys my book, Soup Day.  She did a blog post about them spending the day recreating the story that is so perfect I just have to share it.  Check it out here!

Before, during, and after the Thanksgiving festivities, we all indulged in comfort foods and desserts.  My mom made our favorite enchiladas.

My nephew made amazing grilled chicken sushi.  Unfortunately I have no photos!  Major fail on my part.  He basically grilled some chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper in olive oil.  Then he cut it into strips and rolled it with cucumber, green onion and wasabi on seasoned rice and seaweed.  See the maki method here.  We also made crazy kimchee and jalapeno versions with smoked salmon and avocado that were so good.

My nephew’s girlfriend made these decadent, addicting Oreo Truffles with milk and white chocolate.

Photo credit: Run For Your Life on Food.com

My cousin made her own inventive creation of Coconut Frosted Pumpkin Cupcakes filled with Haupia (Hawaiian Coconut Pudding).   She’s from Hawaii and had the brilliant idea of combining Ina Garten’s Pumpkin Cupcake recipe (sans Maple Frosting) with this Haupia and Frosting recipe  (sans cupcake).  They were to die for!!

Since my brother’s house was overflowing with decadent food, I focused on making a lot of vegetables!  One of dishes I made was my favorite fall veggie that is also readily available throughout the winter months—acorn squash.  You can steam cook and even microwave them, but my favorite way to prepare them is to roast them at high heat.  It really brings out the natural sugars, and you can do double duty and roast the seeds at the same time.

To serve, I mash the cooked acorn squash halves in their skins a bit and add butter and brown sugar and cinnamon to taste.  I cut the halves into wedges and serve them in their skins.  If you don’t eat the skins, it’s easy to scoop out the sweet flesh and eat with a spoon.  It tastes like dessert.

We like to eat the savory roasted squash seeds as is or tossed on our salads for added crunch.

For about $1.49 per acorn squash, this is a fantastic deal I love to take advantage of this time of year. 

Roasted Acorn Squash

non-stick spray

1 medium acorn squash

butter to taste

brown sugar or maple syrup to taste

cinnamon to taste

Roasted Acorn Squash Seeds

Seeds from an acorn squash

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

Kosher salt to taste (or other spices — cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic salt might be good!)

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.  Spray with nonstick spray.  Set aside.

2.  Cut acorn squash in half lengthwise.  Scoop out seeds and stringy flesh.  Separate seeds from flesh and rinse in a colander.  Spread seeds out on a paper towel to dry a bit.

3.  Place acorn squash halves cut side down (I do this to get them caramelized on top) on parchment or foil lined baking sheet.  Roast for 30 minutes.

4.  While squash is roasting, scrape seeds off paper towel into a medium bowl.  Toss seeds with oil and seasonings.  Set aside.

5.  When squash has roasted for 30 minutes, flip halves over so cut side is up.  Set timer for 20 more minutes and continue roasting.

6.  When timer goes off, move acorn halves to one side of the the baking sheet and spread prepared seeds on other side of pan in one layer.  Set timer for 10 minutes.

7.  When timer goes off, stir seeds and continue to check every five minutes or so once or twice.  Remove seeds to a plate when they are golden.  They will crisp up more as they cool.  Test acorn squash flesh to see if they are done.  If they are soft like a cooked sweet potato, they are ready.

8.  Season acorn halves with butter, brown sugar or maple syrup, and cinnamon to taste.  Cut into wedges and serve.
9.  Serve seeds as is in a bowl or tossed on salads as a healthy, crunchy condiment.

Mmmmm!

Summer Salads: Asian Slaw with Fuji Apple and French Potato Salad

I usually include jicama in this slaw, but I couldn't find one at the store!

We’ve been grilling a lot this summer — correction — my husband has been grilling a lot this summer.  I’m the sous chef in the nice air conditioned kitchen marinating the meats, prepping the vegetables, and making all the side dishes while he swelters in 100 degree plus weather over the hot coals.  Seriously, he actually grilled outside for a couple of hours during the heat wave here last week where we had record highs of 104 degrees (with humidity, it felt closer to 109).

Two side dishes I’ve been making which go quite well with the grilled vegetables and meats we’ve been having are an Asian slaw that I concocted that is both sweet and savory, and a Dijon and olive oil based potato salad with lots of fresh herbs.

The potato salad is based on a recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, but I altered it by greatly reducing the olive oil by more than half.  She tends to have a heavy hand when it comes to olive oil and butter, that Ina Garten!!

With the “leftover” bunch of parsley, I’ve been making Tabouleh also — another great summer side salad!

Hope you enjoy them.

French Potato Salad

2 lbs. Yukon and Red Bliss potatoes (I just used Yukon)

kosher salt and pepper

2 tablespoons chicken broth

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white vinegar

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (I increased the dill!)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3-4 tablespoons virgin olive oil

1.  Bring a large pot to a rolling boil.  Season water generously with kosher salt.  Boil potatoes for about 20 minutes or until a knife can be inserted easily into the flesh.  Drain potatoes into a colander and cover with a clean dish towel and let steam for about 10 minutes.

2.  Cut potatoes into sixths or fourths depending on their size.  Place in a large bowl.  Sprinkle the chicken broth and wine over and let sit and absorb for awhile (I usually use this time to make the vinaigrette and chop up all the herbs ).

3.  Mix together the Dijon and vinegar in a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Then slowly add the oil while whisking to form an emulsion.  Set aside.

4.  Season the potatoes with the vinaigrette to taste.  You may have some leftover, which is wonderful as a salad dressing.  Then add the scallions and chopped herbs and stir gently to combine.

Serve at room temperature.

Make about 6-8 side servings.

Asian Slaw

Asian Slaw with Fuji Apple and Jicama

½ head of Napa cabbage, shredded (about 7 cups)

½ cup finely sliced red onion

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

½ Fuji apple, julienned

¼ cup julienned jicama

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1. Toss shredded cabbage and sliced onions with salt and sugar.  Set aside for about 10 minutes.
2. Add apple and jicama to cabbage and onions.
3. Whisk rice vinegar, lime juice and sesame oil together.  Pour over cabbage mixture and toss to coat.  Just before serving sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Makes about 6 servings.