Orzo or Orzo

I am fascinated with the shapes of pasta right now. I have thought plenty of times (oh, texture-focused child that I was) about tortellini, and how to eat each piece by methodically maneuvering it around in my mouth so that the pinched together arms were directed towards my throat, and the folded over seam holding in the filling was placed exactly over my lower front teeth. This was the best way possible for a small mouth to experience the pleasantly ergonomic dissection of the storebought tortellini.

Imagine the tired parents who are just trying to get the kid to finish her dinner and not be distracted by it. Oh well! The way of a savoring life!

I also loved the feeling of eating Kraft macaroni and cheese, partly because we didn't have it at my house. The other reason was the liquid orange sauce, surrounding and dispensed by delicate inch long lengths of pasta and was mild and swimming with a lightness of being.

For me, spaghetti, fettuccine, and angel hair are perfect on occasion, especially at restaurants when I am spontaneously charmed by something I wouldn't probably make at home. The current intrigue lies in bite sized sculptural forms, and finding and imagining the qualities of the shapes, and the best usage. I have been frequenting an Italian market which has a huge selection of excellent pasta, in usual and unusual forms. I like Orecciette (shaped like "ears" or little bowls), and some wavy almost free-form ones. I have yet to try the tennis racket shaped ones although those tiny cross-hatches look appealing. Mouthfeel can be entertaining, or just contribute an interesting sensory aspect to food. Each shape delivers sauces and other ingredients to your tongue in different ways.

One night I used orzo, a pasta often used in soups. It is shaped like rice but larger and flatter. I used it in two unsoup related ways, just because.



orzo
sauteed red onions in olive oil with Indian spices (black pepper, cumin, corriander, cinnamon, chili, turmeric, and additional garam masala mixtures.)
fresh thin sliced scallions
fleur de sel
zest of a lime
a drizzle of honey

This one is best hot. It turned out with a good balance of spicy, salty and sweet.



orzo
red onion
scallion
tuna fish
kalamata olives
tomatoes, 10 cherry tomatoes
feta, crumbled
basil, chopped

I like this one cold. It is fresh and each bite offers a different combination of flavors.

O'er The Ramp-arts I Go

The pale green blush of spring is here and it is well into ramp season. I spent Saturday traipsing (sneaking) around in the woods on the prowl for those tender but not shy wild onion relations. The finding was a little difficult at first, with alien-size skunk cabbage beginning to cover everything. I admit my heart was pounding as I hoped I wouldn't be seen and because those things are tricky to pull up. The bulbs are just deep enough and the pink throats so slender that you really have to dig so as not to snap off just the leaves.

A clump of ramps visible in the central foreground

They say this rabbit-eared wild vegetable tastes like garlic and onion, but it has its own flavor, very green in the beginning with a spicy garlic burn in the back. And they are not messing around, either.

Ramp Pesto

About 50 ramps
Small handful of piñon (pine) nuts
a generous pile of Parmesan
a few long pours of olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper

Clean ramps well (since they-and you- are covered in dirt, roots and slimy stuff) and chop roughly. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until a paste forms. Yeilds about 3 cups. Toss into pasta, make bruschetta or freeze. You can also use ramps in quiches, to flavor oil, vodka, or anywhere you would use garlic, onions, or herbs.

Banh Mi Party

The crazy cats that threw the pizza party in December recently threw a Vietnamese sandwich shindig. It was a simpler affair, the only variations were the options of Nayonaise versus the real thing, and tofu, pork, or chicken. The meats had been marinated in a gorgeous place filled with star anise, ginger, coriander and other lovelies.

The recipe is roughly:

Meat marinade
1 knob of ginger, about 1.5" x 1.5", peeled and chopped fine
4-6 star anise, ground
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cayenne
1 teaspoon coriander
2 tablespoons brown sugar
*optional 1 tbsp honey

Four chicken breasts or equivalent pork, cut into thin strips. Baked tofu works well too.

Slaw:
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar, or enough to cover
1/2 cup julienned carrot (i think 3" lengths work best)
1/2 cup julienned daikon radish
5 green onions, sliced into 3" strips

For Sandwiches
Cilantro, leaves only, washed
Mayonnaise
French baguette

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a gallon ziploc bag or large bowl. Mush around with your hand to mix well. Add the chicken/pork and allow this to marinate for 30 minutes - 2 hours.

Make the slaw: Grate the daikon and carrots first and put them in a small bowl and cover them with rice vinegar. This will give it a pickle like flavor. Prepare the other veggies.

Cook meat in a pan and let cool before building sandwiches.


This recipe was contributed by Zach, who has just started a garden on his fire escape, sure to be a hotbed (heh heh) of beautiful urban produce.

Full

Thanksgiving 2007 Menu:

Turkey
Simple Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
Rosemary Apple Cider Gravy
Ginger Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans with Lemon and Mint
Green Chile Cornbread
Apple Brie Rosemary Purses
Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Fried Leeks
Gratineed Dijon Creamed Pearl Onions
Blackberry Pie
Pumpkin Pecan Clafouti





Green Chile Cornbread

1 portion green chiles minced (frozen/reconstituted/can diced)
1 poblano chile (roasted, peeled and seeded) minced
1 c. flour
1 c. cornmeal
2/3 c. buttermilk or plain kefir
1 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 T cold butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 can creamed corn

450 degrees. Big bowl, mix dry: flour, cornmeal, sugar, powder, soda, salt, then butter in bits. in another bowl, mix wet: egg, corn, chiles, kefir. Add wet to dry. Bake in greased dish, perhaps a square 9 inch glass baking dish, or some such item, until golden and toothpick comes out clean.

I am thankful for many things. Thankful that as I get older I get to watch people I love get older and really start to become friends with their siblings. I am thankful that my palate is so curious. I'm thankful for criticism, change, spices, chemistry and honesty. I am thankful for my senses, my memory, and my family. I am thankful for cumin, Honeycrisp apples, onions, and chiles. I can't possibly list all the things in the world I am thankful for, better to try and pay attention everyday and night and live the list instead of write it.

Black Eyes in 2007

Happy new year! I hope everyone rang it in safely and in the best ways. New years day I made black eyed peas for good luck. It might be too late to bring luck if you didn't eat them on day one, but they are really good so you should make them anyway. I did an easy simple version:

2 cans black eyed peas
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
some cut up ham
a bay leaf
S+P
a little dried oregano and parsley
a splash of chicken broth
a few cut up canned tomatoes

In a pot, saute the garlic and onions in some olive oil, add the black eyed peas (if they are canned be sure to drain them) and everything else. Cook for a while, until everything comes together. Use lots of fresh ground pepper and remove the bay leaf at some point. Serve with rice or cornbread. Salud!