What Did You Eat?

WHB: Grilled Eggplant And Zucchini Sandwiches With "Muffuletta" Mix

This sandwich isn't a muffuletta by any stretch of the imagination.  It was created by Cindy Pawlcyn before she visited New Orleans and tasted the famous Muffuletta sandwiches from the Central Grocery.  I've had muffulettas from New Orleans and they're heady things.  This sandwich is very good, but let there be no mistake--it's not a muffuletta.  But, it's quite tasty and the ingredients can be assembled well in advance, days before you're ready to build the sandwiches.  This is a vegetarian sandwich, but meat and cheese can be added.  It's a great sandwich for traveling or picnics, because it doesn't get soggy or deteriorate if the bread is sturdy.

This week I'm guest hosting Weekend Herb Blogging, which was created by Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen.  If you'd like to take part, please do.  Send your link to me at rdfern[AT]sbcglobal[DOT]net by Sunday 4:00 p.m. (Utah time).  I'll have the Roundup posted after The Sopranos on Sunday.  Please mention my blog in your post (it makes me feel ever so important) and Weekend Herb Blogging.  Go here to check out the rules for WHB, should you have further questions.  Next week, WHB is hosted by Glenna at  A Fridge Full Of Food...But Nothing To Eat. 

Thursday Soup Or Stew Night: Curried Cauliflower Noodle Soup

Do you have a stuffy nose?  Is there lint in your belly button? Or perhaps you need to clean the wax out of your ears?  No problem. Make this recipe according to the directions and your nose will unplug, the lint will burn up, and the wax will melt in your ears.  This is the first Mustard's Grill recipe to confound me.   The soup was too darn hot!  When I first looked at the recipe, I wondered at the "3 to 4 tablespoons of curry paste" called for in the recipe.  I feared that 4 was too much, so I used a scant 3 tablespoons.  And instead of the 3 jalapenos in the recipe, I used just 1.   I figured I was being careful. Wrong!  When I sampled the soup after it had cooked for a while, I started coughing and flames shot out of my ears. I took those to be good indicators that the soup had warning signs all over it for me.   I guess I shouldn't be surprised because the garden next to Mustard's Grill has many huge habanero bushes, covered with the fiery little peppers.  Obviously, they like hot dishes there. 

Maybe I'm just a wimp, because my husband enjoyed the soup. He's always been able to eat hot dishes better than me. He used to have jalapeno pepper eating contests with my Aunt Scotty. (Scotty won.)   I do recommend this soup, but I would start off with just one tablespoon of the curry paste and taste the soup to see if you want to add more.  And for heaven's sake, be careful about adding the extra peppers.  You could just leave them out altogether.  There's a lot of good stuff in this soup.  I used  sweet and white potatoes in it. And it called for your choice of using either fresh or crystalized ginger root. I used the latter and it was fun to toss that into the soup pot, where it melted into the broth. 

Even though this soup was a surprise to me, it's still a good recipe, so I'm submitting it for Thursday Soup Or Stew Night held by the lovely Cyndi at Cookin' With Cyndi.  And Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!

WHB: Smoked Ham and Jarlsberg Cheese Sandwiches With Basil Mayonnaise And Tomato And Apricot Chutney

Several months have passed since I cooked anything from my beloved Mustards Grill Cookbook.  Since my taste buds have returned from parts unknown, I decided to celebrate by making a very special sandwich.  It's so special Cindy Pawlcyn, the owner of Mustards Grill, says her husband married her because of it.  He kept coming back to the restaurant to order it--and wound up falling under her spell too.  That's so cute, like a scene in a movie with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.  Clearly, I had to make the sandwich.  Like all the Mustards Grill recipes, it's a layering of different flavors: spicy, sweet, and savory.  The sandwich has pesto mayonnaise, Jarlsburg cheese, smoked ham and a wonderful tomato apricot chutney full of herbs and spices.  One of the spices is cumin which comes from the same family as King Cilantro, herb of the month and winner of the recent WHB Favorite Herb Contest.  But, my spotlight this weekend is on ginger root, one of my favorite cooking ingredients.

This weekend our fearless leader, Kalyn, is taking a breather and allowing me to try my hand at hosting Weekend Herb Blogging.  If you would like to take part in this event, just send me your link by 3:00 P.M. (Utah time) this Sunday, and I'll include you in the Roundup on Monday.  My email address is Rdfern(AT)sbcglobal(DOT)net.  Or send me your link in my comments, if you prefer. Here are the rules for Weekend Herb Blogging.

Crispy Black Bean-Rice Cakes With Crispy Yams

First, let me say that The Wire is back on HBO.  If you're not watching it, you're missing the best written and acted show on TV.  'Nuff said.

I'm still eating vegan. Still not enjoying soy milk, no matter what kind I try. But, I lost three pounds in my first week, and I wasn't expecting that.  Nice side benefit.  I have to say that I'm not crazy about meatless patties, like Boca burger and their brethren. I sound awfully picky, I suppose.   Well, here is a very simple, fast meatless patty that I will make again and again, no matter if I'm a vegan or not.  It's from the reliable Mustards Grill Cookbook.  It has a light crispy surface, with a creamy interior. I served it with crispy yams and red cabbage.  It looked very pretty, with the contrasting colors. But, the best part?   It was delicious.

Weekend Herb Blogging: Succotash Of Fresh Corn, Green Beans, Baby Limas, and Basil

I was raised in the South and the Midwest.  Both of these regions have different attitudes about corn. Corn is very important in the South, often eaten every day as corn bread or grits.  As I child I sometimes ate corn on the cob in the South, but more often I ate fresh corn kernels sauteed in butter or bacon fat, or tucked into hushpuppies.  When I moved to Illinois, we gradually switched to only eating corn on the cob. Eating the fresh ears of corn was as eagerly anticipated as vine ripened tomatoes.  My mother grew sweet corn and we would start boiling the water to cook it when she went out to pick the fat, golden ears.   Recently, I've gone back to cutting corn kernels off the cob and rediscovered how superior it is to the best frozen corn.  Yesterday I had succotash, made with lightly cooked corn, fresh picked green beans, and lima beans.  I normally make this with butter and cream. But, this vegan version was wonderful, and very easy to make.  One reason this dish is so delicious was the basil added to it, which made all the ingredients taste even more "garden fresh".  And that made this dish a great one for Weekend Herb Blogging, created by the lovely Kalyn, who has been hard at work, now that school is back in session. But, she still has time to host WHB at her site this weekend. Please go there and see what all the other herb bloggers have fixed for you.   

La Festa Al Fresco: Curry Chicken Skewers With Eggplant Relish and Tomato Chutney Vinaigrette

Some time ago the lovely Ivonne, of Creampuffs In Venice, and Lis at La Mia Cucina  issued invitations to a grand party, La Festa Al Fresco.  Time was running out for me, but I believe I just made it under the wire in time for the festivites. The invitation asks that the guests bring a dish that includes a fresh ingredient from their area, so I decided to use the Chinese eggplants and tomatoes that I harvested from my garden.  And the perfect recipe for that is in one of my favorite cookbooks, The Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook. And really, don't you think that Mustards Grill should treat me to a nice meal gratis?  I have certainly sung the praises of this cookbook for some time.  In any event, do not be dissuaded by the dismal photo of the finished dish, Curry Chicken Skewers With Eggplant Relish and Tomato Chutney Vinaigrette.   It's full of flavor and a lot of fun to eat.  Since there are so many people coming to the party, I thought they might like a nice skewer to wave around as they talked.  There's nothing like pointing a sharp skewer at someone to make your point.

Tomato Chutney

I'm still harvesting tomatoes from my garden and my urge to gorge on as many as possible has abated somewhat.  I've even stopped dreaming about tomato sandwiches every day.  That means I'm now thinking more about making sauce and other tomato based recipes for the end of Summer.  On Friday, I made tomato chutney.  This is a tangy/sweet concoction that tastes great on toast or grilled meats.  Like caramelized onions it also lends a unique taste and texture when added to stews. Tonight I added it to a chickpea pilaf. Sounds strange, but it was very nice.  And a tablespoon of it thinned with olive oil makes a delicious vinaigrette.   

How To Consume 10,000 Calories In Six hours

Last Friday, my cousin Roxie and I went to the Napa Valley for the day.  She had no interest in visiting the wineries, but she wanted to eat a nice meal (of course).  And shop. So I made reservations at one of my favorite restaurants, Mustards Grill.  I've prepared quite a few of the restaurant's signature dishes, using their wonderful cookbook, The Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook. On this visit, I wanted to try one dish I've never ordered, their famous Mongolian porkchop.

Right off the bat, we made a crucial mistake. We didn't eat breakfast and arrived in Napa with hours to spare before our reservation at Mustards.  Roxie wanted to visit the Oakville Grocery, a critical error.  The grocery is famous for the wonderful food stuffed into the tiny store. You can't buy toilet paper or cleaning supplies at the Oakville grocery, but you can find a great display of cheese, sausage, and prepared foods.   Spurred on by our hunger, everything looked delicious, so we began to fill our baskets.  I was delighted to find rendered duck fat, an Acme ciabatta, lemon curd, a huge turtle (the candy), and butternut squash tamales.  Roxie bought a  stinky Roquefort torta, and two spicy sausages.   We were off and running.

Grape and Almond Gazpacho

I hesitate to mention the heat, but that's my reality right now.  It was 110 degrees yesterday, causing the death of people in Stockton, a town near us.  So, the prickly heat all over my body and in my scalp seems very minor now.  But, I simply did not want to cook anything, so once again I turned to my Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook for their grape and almond gazpacho recipe. Actually, I've seen several different recipes for grape gazpacho recently. It must be a trendy dish. I decided to fix this version before it jumps the shark or I receive a cease and desist order from Mustards Grill to stop posting so many of their recipes on my blog. Yes, I'm sure my influence is major and my tiny little blog reaches all the way to Mustards' ears.

Proceed With Caution: Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame Noodles and Rice Vinegar Cucumbers

Ever since I received my Mustards Grill cookbook I've wanted to make their Chinese Chicken Salad recipe.  I'm very fond of Asian style salads in general and often prepare Vietnamese Chicken Salad, which is quick and delicious.  I could see that the Mustards Grill recipe was more involved than most salads, but it didn't discourage me from making it.  Even though the recipe contained the warning, "this is a fairly complicated recipe, but keep in mind that a lot of it can be done ahead of time," I failed to recognize that they were waving a big red flag at me to proceed with caution.  It wasn't a hard recipe by any means, but it required a great deal of busy work that could have been done at my leisure, days beforehand.   Instead, I blithely launched into it in the late afternoon and soon realized that I was a very foolish woman in not heeding the nice warning.  When I finally finished the salad, I was tired, annoyed at myself and faced a kitchen looking like a team of chimpanzees had a food fight in it.