What Did You Eat?

Kona Kampachi Tartare With Spicy Lemon-Ginger Vinaigrette

Several weeks ago Northern California went thorough a severe rain and wind storm.  I woke up to find sections of my fence flattened, my yard flooded, and angry squirrels who blamed me for all of it.  It was  pretty dismal, until I read an e-mail sent to me from the good people at Kona Blue.   They offered to send me their product, Kona Kambachi, at no cost, so I could test it out.  I immediately Googled the company, discovering that Kona Kambachi is a premium sushi grade yellowtail species, full of omega-3 oils, mercury free, and farmed in Hawaii without damaging the ocean environment.  And the fish is much sought after by top chefs, due to it's taste and texture.  Suddenly, the flooded yard and angry squirrels faded in importance.  I've always wondered about the quality of sushi grade fish sold by mail, and now I was about to receive some, no strings attached. The more I read about the fish from a variety of sources, not affiliated with Kona Blue, the more I looked forward to receiving it.

In my research, I found that most chefs like to serve the fish raw.  So, I decided that the first dish I would make would be an adaption of a recipe from the cookbook Terra, which calls for sushi grade salmon and tuna, dressed with a lemon-ginger vinaigrette.  Using the Kona Kambachi, it wound up being a memorable dish.

Daring Baker's Challenge: Lemon Meringue Pie. (It's delicious! But, it looks like ....)

Hell.  That's what my pie looks like--hell!  You think I'm exaggerating, but stay with me.  The picture above is just an illusion.

I was delighted when I saw that the very talented Jen at The Canadian Baker chose lemon meringue pie for the January Daring Baker's challenge.  I saw it as a way to salute my Grandma Bessie, famous for making  majestic lemon meringue pies whenever she had people over for dinner.  She easily turned out several pies a week with great ease.  And according to my mom, Grandma often beat her egg whites on a flat plate, using a dinner fork.  None of that fancy cream of tartar and electric mixer business for her.   She used a PLATE and a FORK--and the meringue was perfect.  Her recipe came from the back of a cornstarch box, and to my knowledge, she never produced weepy meringue, or tough crust, and the pies were always quite pretty. 

As you see above, my pie looked somewhat presentable when it came out of the oven.  But, proceed with caution if you have ugly food phobia. That said, click below and be prepared to view lemon meringue hell.

WHB: Vietnamese Meatballs, With Lettuce Wraps (Mint)

Yes, it's another recipe for meatballs.  Frankly, I never get tired of them and would eat them everyday, if I could.  The recipe comes from Food and Wine, for small hors d'oeuvre meatballs resting on lettuce cups, and dipped in sweet Asian chili sauce. Reading that, I immediately thought it foolish to wait until I threw a party.  So I made my meatballs bigger, placed them on red leaf lettuce, and served them for dinner.  There are many things to like about these tasty orbs.  Besides being quick to make and low in fat, they're fun to eat.  I always like wrapping food up in a crepe, tortilla, or lettuce leaf and popping it into my mouth.

The meatballs contain cilantro and mint. Cilantro haters can omit it and just use the mint, or add some basil.  I'm a great fan of mint used in savory dishes.  If you've only had it in desserts, you'll be amazed at how it adds a unique taste, different from when it's used in sweets  This recipe was made in honor of Weekend Herb Blogging, which was founded by the marvelous Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen.    WHB is being hosted this week by the lovely Anna at Anna's Cool Finds.  Stop by her blog and see a recap of all the wonderful herby recipes from bloggers around the world.
 

Presto Pasta Night: 5 Minute Udon Soup

It's damp and cold here, with a steady drone of rain day after day.  The supersaturated ground feels like pudding, sucking at my shoes when I go outside.   And my sinuses decided to join in the fun, mimicking the rain outside.  Thank God for jiffy udon soup.  It cooks in two minutes, and easily accommodates leftover odds and ends of food.  Here's a great place to use up the lonely veggies, scraps of meat, tofu, or seafood languishing in the fridge.  In this case, I garnished it with shrimp, snow peas, shredded spinach, and scallions. 

This is my submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was started by the wonderful Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. Each Friday Ruth has a recap of wonderful pasta recipes from bloggers from all over the world.  So, do stop by and check it out.

Roasted Oatmeal With Walnuts And Apricots

Back in the day, when I was a kidlet groing up in the South, my breakfast was usually biscuits with brown flour gravy, grits swimming in melted butter, crisp country bacon, and eggs over easy.  No one ever talked about cholesterol, and people thought that breakfast was the best way to start the day.  I wish it was, it's still one of my favorite food memories.  But, I rarely have that type of breakfast now. Instead, I usually eat cereal.  One of my resolutions for this new year was to eat more steel cut oatmeal.  I prefer it to the more familiar oats that I grew up eating.  It has a better texture, I think, and it fills me up better and holds off hunger longer than other types of cereal.  And, of course, it's very healthy for you.  It's full of soluble fiber, which reduces LDL, the "bad" cholesterol that leads to plaque buildup.  This recipe include walnuts, which also reduces LDL, and like oatmeal can increase HDL, the "good" cholesterol.

I found this recipe in Martha Stewart living, which calls for roasting the oatmeal and walnuts.   Roasting usually improves the flavor of food, and it gave the oatmeal a nice toasty flavor.  This is a lovely way to start the day.   But, I wish they would discover startling new evidence that my old fat laden Southern breakfast was actually good for your heart.  A girl can dream, can't she?

WCB: We're Hosting

Well, I've been an indoor cat for a couple months, since that woman rescued me after I hurt my foot.  Sometimes I miss rambling around my neighborhood, but then I think how I have my own room and regular meals, which is cool.  Today, the woman combed me real good, cause my winter coat is falling out.  My body must think it's summer, since I'm so warm and toasty living inside.  I like being combed and purred up a storm.  My foot is better, but I can't jump hardly at all, cause something is wrong with it from the injury.  But, I get tuna and chicken a lot.  Dude--life is good!

So, decided to see how this Weekend Cat Blogging works.  We're hosting this week, so if you want to take part, leave your permalink in the comments or e-mail us at upsiefan (AT) yahoo (DOT) com. And link to this site in your post.  I have no idea what that all means, but was told that it's important and that we will be adding the different kitty participants to the end of this post, as we get their links.

PPN: Fazzoletti With Turkey Stew, Prunes And Pearl Onions

Fazzoletti translates literally into "face towels," which is what these large squares of fresh pasta resemble.  But, I wouldn't wipe my face with them, they're too delicious.  Simply cut into four inch squares, they  are the easiest pasta shape to make, in my opinion.   I thought about dragging out my pasta machine, but decided to use fresh pasta sheets from my local grocery store instead.  While not as good as homemade, the fazzoletti was so enjoyable, I made food porn noises as I ate it. You know what I'm talking about. The sauce was a simple turkey stew, made with prunes and pearl onions.  The stew requires little real work, but cooks for some time in oven.  And that was fine with me.  The weather was cold and clammy outside, but my house was filled with the aroma of turkey legs, rosemary, and thyme, braising in the oven.  The recipe comes from Food & Wine, and they suggest serving each person their own turkey leg. That's always fun, but two hours of braising doesn't produce attractive turkey legs, so I pulled the meat off the bone instead.  The prunes add a slightly sweet flavor to everything, so even if you don't think you would like them, I wouldn't leave them out.  You can substitute egg noodles for the fazzoletti.  And the stew would be wonderful on polenta.

This is my submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was started by the wonderful Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. Each Friday Ruth has a recap of wonderful pasta recipes from bloggers from all over the world.  So, do stop by and check it out.

Happy Birthday Brussels Sprouts And Sausage Soup

It's hard to make a Happy Birthday treat when the celebratory person is on a rigid diet.  Yes, there are some sugar free and low fat options, but I chose a different route.  My husband's love for brussels sprouts is almost an obsession. If offered a choice between any dessert or a big bowl of steamed brussels sprouts, he would gladly choose the latter.  So, when I saw this soup recipe in Sunset magazine, I knew this would be perfect for him.  It also contains sundried tomato turkey sausage, potatoes, and caraway seeds.  And that's pretty much it.  The soup had a slightly sweet flavor, from the caraway seeds and the brussels spouts.  This certainly isn't a soup for people who hate these little cabbages, (as I like to think of them), but it was a huge hit with my husband. 

Edamame With Mint, Almonds, And Scallions

I can't remember exactly when I first had edamame, but it was surely well into my adult years.  Frankly, even though I'm a huge fan of legumes, until then I thought soybeans were only meant for feeding livestock.  That changed as soon as I popped the first edamame into my mouth.  Now, it's one of my favorite foods.  And why not? They're good for you, super fast to prepare, and delicious. I always keep several bags of frozen shelled edamame in my freezer, for snacking or meals.  I've had different versions of this recipe, and it can be adapted to your personal taste. You can add more or less of the soy sauce, vinegar, and chili sauce, if you wish. Sometimes I add some chopped ginger root too.  You can also replace the almonds with peanuts or cashews.  I make this dish and stash it in the fridge, where it improves with age--if you can resist eating it all as soon as you make it. 

WCB: Specially Made, Just For Me

Don't you love it when a package comes for you?  I do.  This came last week, from my Godmother, Glenna at A Fridge Full Of Food, And Nothing To Eat.  The package was addressed to Mom, but I know it was meant for me.  Look, at it.  It says "Cats."  Look at me, I'm a cat.  Glenna designed and needle pointed it just for me.  Because I'm worth it.   

Hey, Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted this week by Chey's Place.  You should head over there, because their blog really rocks.   And don't forget about Carnival Of The Cats, The Friday Ark, and those crazy kitties at Bad Kitty Cats Festival Of Chaos.