executive bad-girl decision...

someone had a birthday. i made a German apple cake to mark the occasion.

it was not my birthday, i should add, as my parents had sense enough to see that the celebration of my arrival in the world would not fall in the dead of Winter. and, before i forget... let us just chat a bit here about the dead of Winter.

you know all those groundhogs everyone tends to make a fuss about at this time of year? well, according to the majority of said creatures, Spring is supposed to come early this year. meanwhile, we are expecting something in the range of fifty centimeters of snow... FIFTY CENTIMETERS... (TWENTY INCHES, to us Yanks)... before the day is through.

so, basically... groundhogs lie!

where was i again? oh, yes... a birthday has been celebrated.

he has been super-busy of late, so the festivities consisted of the aforementioned cake... and leftovers from the day before. and, before you go thinking that it sucks to be eating leftovers, i should point out that we made a huge batch of sarma (the subject of my first ever post).

while most people's Wednesday meal probably consisted of bits left over from the meals they ate on Tuesday, Monday... and probably Sunday too... we were whipping up a fresh batch of mid-week Croatian cabbage rolls. so that is what we had for his birthday meal the following day.

i had one with a bit of smoked meat...

and he had two with half a kielbasa... because he excels at being absurd.

we made quite a few adjustments to his father's basic recipe, which will probably result in my favorite animator being kicked out of the family when his dad finds out. the four biggest changes were 1) using a combo of ground  pork and lamb (his dad uses pork and veal), 2) the addition of some barley to the rice and ground meat filling, 3) ditto for a grated zucchini, and 4) copious amounts of gochujang (Korean chili paste) mixed into the simmering broth. the first bite was indescribable.

him: i may get disowned... but it will be totally worth it. 

i cannot begin to explain how delicious this was. i love the taste of lamb, and gochujang makes everything better—we put it in most things we cook around here—but the inclusion of the barley turned out to be the best decision of all. not only does it bring a slightly nutty taste, but the chewy cooked-barley texture is fantastic in the filling. there was no discernible taste from the zucchini, as it has very little to offer on that front, but i like knowing that it was there.

we were practically pausing after every bite to comment about how good it was. my empty bowl speaks for itself.

then there was that cake.

this was my second time using this recipe from a food magazine (which i will talk about next time around, as this is already too long), and it is far less complex than it looks. the secret is the use of frangipane (almond paste) in an otherwise basic butter cake batter. that goes into a springform pan, and is topped with fanned out slices of Granny Smith apple.

i made a some minor changes to the recipe (added some ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the mix) and a few less-minor ones. we tend to like our baked goods on the less-sweet side, so i used about two-thirds the recommended amount of sugar (especially as there would be powdered sugar sprinkled over the top, plus a bit more sugar sprinkled on the apples).

if you squint a bit, you can see the sugar crystals on the fruit before the cake went into the oven for about an hour.

the biggest change of all was to reduce the oven to 350°F, instead of the suggested 375°F. i was skeptical about so small a cake being in so hot an oven for so long a time, but i decided to be a good-girl and do as i was told the first time i used this recipe. i will not be making that mistake twice, as the batter expanded so rapidly that first time, the apple slices were mostly covered up.

had i not made the executive bad-girl decision to reduce the heat halfway through, the cake would probably have been burnt long before the cooking time was up.

so, i used the lower oven temperature this time around, and it was perfect... if i do say so myself. i left it cooling while we ate sarma and watched the newest episode of Death in Paradise.

[random aside: i am rather fond of Ralf Little, so i may have done a bit of fan-girl swooning over him being added to the cast.]

it should be noted that my favorite animator is like a small child where cooling baked goods are concerned, so we had the same conversation several times.

him: how long do we have to wait to eat cake?
me: until it's done cooling. 

and, eventually it was. he insisted that it had to go on one of the plates he... uhm... "borrowed" from his parents place when he first moved out... like twenty years ago. those plates are older than him. this one has a chip on the edge, which i cleverly positioned just out of the frame.

the last step was to add a bit of powdered sugar. he did that part.

i skipped this step the first time i tried this recipe, because i did not want the extra sweetness, but we were celebrating this time around, so the powdered sugar is a nice final touch. i was afraid the apple slices would be covered up, but they were still visible.

it was still his day, so he did the slicing.

now, if it was my birthday, i would be eating cake with some sort of adult beverage. however, he absolutely despises the taste of most forms of alcohol (he makes an exception for boozy eggnog during the holiday season), so we opted instead for geriatric-adult hot beverages.

that last bit reminded me that i also added a healthy splash of vodka infused with juniper berries to the cake batter. he may hate drinking alcohol, but he has no problem with it as an ingredient in cooked items.

the most important thing i should note about this cake is that it was entirely wheat-free, so i did not have to resort to taking antihistamines at any point.

i used a combination of roughly three parts oat flour to one part Bob's Mill Gluten-Free baking flour. i used straight oat flour the first time i made this cake, but the GF flour was a surprisingly excellent addition this time around, especially as i only included it because i wanted to get rid of the stuff. i usually hate the grainy texture of those GF flours, but this one was absolutely undetectable when combined with the oat flour, so i will most likely use this combination in other wheat-free baked goods from now on.

a great time was had by all.

please don't hurt me...

[i am attempting a week of daily posts in an effort to distract myself from being angry, frustrated, and disappointed... but mostly angry... about all sorts of stuff. wish me luck.]

we have a multi-part planting project in the works (some of which i will likely talk about later in the week... if i make it that far). unfortunately, we needed some parts that we did not already have on hand, so we started Sunday morning by driving to the other side of town to visit a new-to-us garden center. it was HUGE! we ended up making a hasty exit before we blew our budget for the next six months on gardeny (gardenish?) things. for example, we made the horrible mistake of checking out their bonsai section, so there might be some bonsai adventures in the not-too-distant future. the place is dangerous.

so, we paid for our stuff, then went racing to the car to get off the premises while we still could, assuming that all of the dangers would evaporate once we got back on the road. HUGE mistake!

we had barely turned the corner, when noticed a new-to-us Asian grocery store on the opposite side of the main street. it was HUGE. and they have an impressive assortment of... everything... including a seafood section with tanks full of swimming things all begging to become our next meal.

so, in we went, and home we came with this guy and a few of his friends.

i called this one Paco, because why not.

this is where things got interesting.

i should point out that we also purchased a new wok, because we had decided to give them a quick toss in the wok with some herb-y bits then splash on some sauce-y things and serve it with a bit of rice. naturally, he decided that this required a new wok.

me: we already have a wok.
him: but they have a whole aisle of woks, and they are all much nicer than ours.

so he ran off to select a wok, while i was left to bear the guilt of deciding which crabs would die for our culinary amusement.

fast-forward to a short while later, and we were standing in our kitchen, looking at the crabs splashing around in a container of cold water. this is when it suddenly dawned on us that someone would have to kill the things.

him: that is all you. i have never killed a crab in my life, and i would not know where to begin. 

so, i just stood there, staring at little Paco (who had already been separated from his friends), and there was only one thought running through my head.  

me: (said silently while staring at Paco) please don't hurt me. 

then i picked him up, wrapped him a kitchen towel—in case he had any thoughts of vengeance—and before long i had four crabs cleaned and quartered, with their claws removed and given a light crack to allow for maximum flavor penetration.

the new wok was hot and ready to go. in went a generous amount of chopped garlic, ginger, and green onions. that was followed by a sprinkling of five-spice powder and a healthy shake of the smoked paprika that manages to make its way into most things we eat around here. then came the crab pieces. i sauced it all with almost everything i could find. there was a fish sauce, light soy sauce, mirin, two types of Chinese cooking wine, Korean chili paste, and a healthy drizzle of sesame oil. i blanched some greens before beginning the crab dish, so i tossed them back into the wok at this point to warm them up again and get them coated in that everything sauce.

we dumped the whole lot into an old baking dish, and we served it along with a bit of plain rice.

it was so good! he is usually impatient when it comes to picking tiny bits of crab meat from their seemingly endless network of shells, but this dish was so tasty, that he gave it his very best effort. meanwhile, i was in a state of bliss through the whole thing.

we enjoyed our meal while watching Barbarella. this was a first time viewing for both of us, and it was the latest installment in the rather odd desire i have had of late to watch movies—most of them bad ones—that existed before my lifetime.

we ate. we laughed. we ate some more.

a good time was had by all... except maybe  Paco and his friends.

13: Buffalo by way of Baghdad...

the problem with this whole "write down all the stuff running through my mind, then pick one at random" approach to a month of blogs is that now, two weeks later, i am struggling to recall what i planned to say on the subject for today.

other than... if i ruled the world, there would be a law banning the consumption of iceberg lettuce... except in tacos. naturally, he loves the stuff. i would suggest some sort of couple's therapy to resolve this conflict, but they would probably recommend that we both seek professional help. 

my lettuce of choice is romaine.  

when you chop off the hard, "stemmy" bottom from a head of lettuce, do not simply toss it away. 

stick it into a corner of a garden, or a flower pot, and it will continue to "grow"... well, sorta. those tiny leaves deep in the center of the stem that had not fully developed will take this opportunity to grow a bit, and you will have what i once heard being referred to as "reclaimed lettuce"

just do not expect to "escape the agro-industrial-complex" or any other such silly thing (which was the claim being made by the individual who coined the phrase). what you will get—at best—is a handful of small leaves. so, while you are probably not going to survive the Apocalypse on "reclaimed lettuce", it might make for a cute  little salad or a bit of garnish on some other meal... which brings me to today. 

there is a Middle-Eastern grocery store on the other side of our neighborhood that sells marinated chicken wings that are the base of one of our favorite Summer meals. i add a splash of Sriracha hot sauce, and put them into a super-hot oven on a cookie sheet.

while they roast, i chop up whatever veggies we have on hand that would be good for dipping. today's assortment includes red pepper, baby English cukes, and (non-reclaimed) romaine lettuce. 

when they are almost ready, i give the wings a quick brush of a bit of melted butter mixed with more Sriracha, and return them to the oven until they are toasty and browned. it makes for fantastic oven-baked "Buffalo wings". well... Buffalo by way of Baghdad, that is. and i serve it up with blue cheese dressing for dipping, and a garnish of a reclaimed lettuce leaf. insane amounts of yumminess. 

delusions of Thailand...

[i just dumped a ton of photos on the 'puter, so that should (hopefully) provide some inspiration for a few posts in the coming days/weeks. no promises though, as i am not quite through my latest bout of stoicism, which is just a fancy term for being wholly underwhelmed by life. wrote this one last night...]

it is Friday (i think) afternoon and storming intermittently here in Montreal. i rather enjoy the lighting and rain, but heavy thunder tends to leave me feeling unnerved... or maybe it was the two double cappuccinos (which i have taken to calling a cappa-cappa) i had earlier in the day. either way, i am feeling equal parts anxious and excited. the former i blame (mostly) on the weather, but the latter is all about the wings.

let me pause to explain that chicken wings may just possibly be my favorite of all the major food groups. they possess the perfect blend of collagen-rich skin and tender, flavorful meat, making for what is—sans doute—the tastiest part of the entire chicken. while i am usually wary of genetic modifications in plants/animals intended for food, i fully welcome the prospect of chickens each bearing a dozen (or more) wings.

for now, we stuck with the standard two-per-bird wings, which were cut in half. note that i did not discard the little wing-tip section, as that tasty little nub may just be my favorite bit of the thing. don't judge me! my favorite animator gave the chicken a generous dusting of kosher salt, black pepper, and smoked paprika, with a dash of ground ginger, ground cumin, and five-spice powder, then placed them in a 425°F oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet. that combination of spices had definite echoes of the east, so i set out to create a sauce that did the same. 

the first step was to open the fridge and stare blankly at the contents while waiting for inspiration to strike. we occasionally purchase a pre-made sauce/dressing called Memories of Thailand which would have been a good starting point for a quick marinade. it is a Thai-style sweet chili sauce of such lackluster flavor, one would be left to assume that the person who invented said condiment once visited Thailand and found it to be a very boring place. surely i could make a tastier version of such a thing. 

the key to my desired sauce was a balance of sweet (honey and brown sugar), sour (fresh-squeezed lime juice), and spicy (sriracha and chopped pickled Thai chilies). now, let me be clear here... despite my very tropical background, i am something of a wimp when it comes to intensely spicy food. so, while this sauce was spicy, it did not possess the level of heat that earns you a t-shirt for surviving some sort of killer-wings challenge at your local hole-in-the-wall. that is most definitely not my thing. 

to this (moderately-spicy) mixture i added crushed garlic, finely-grated fresh ginger, a dash each of hoisin sauce and soy sauce, and a splash of toasted sesame oil. then came the controversial (in our household) ingredient. fish sauce. truth be told, i am not a fan. i totally get that there is a certain je ne sais quoi that relies on the presence of fish sauce lurking in the background of a given dish, but it tends to be too much for my liking, leaving the dish overpowered by the unmistakable quoi that is the essence of rotted fish. 

me: why do we even own fish sauce? i hate this stuff.

him: are you kidding me... it's awesome. we should put it in more things.  

i am fairly certain this is why couple's therapy was invented. however, i acquiesced and added a splash to the bowl, then offered up the resulting mixture for judgment. he stuck the tip of a (freshly-washed) finger into the bowl then gave it a taste. 

him: wow!!! it's like 'memories of Thailand'... but sooo much better! 

i took a taste, and i was inclined to agree. 

the chicken wings had by now been roasting for about half an hour, with a quick flip halfway through that time.

the bowl was a bit too small for the task, so the wings had to be coated in two batches, then returned to the oven. 

what followed next was fifteen (or so) minutes of what i like to call intense basting. this was his job, and it consisted of opening the oven every couple-few minutes to brush the wings with the sauce that remained in the bowl, until said sauce was all gone. i cannot begin to explain the delicious fragrance wafting through our place. it was a magical blend of garlic and ginger with the spicy notes of five-spice and chilies and the caramelizing honey and brown sugar, all enveloped in that unmistakable, effervescent burst of lime. it is crazy how fifteen (or so) minutes can suddenly seem like an awful long time. 

finally, they were done.

the objective here was not to (attempt to) recreate the crunch of deep-fried wings, but to produce something decadently sticky and sweet, with a glaze that looks/feels like warmed-up marmalade right out of the oven. that is some seriously sexy sticky stuff!

i served up the wings along with slices of cucumber and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro, and that combination proved to be absolutely divine. having never traveled to Thailand, it would be dishonest of me to present said sauce as a "memory", but i prefer to think of it as a "delusion" of something that just may be Thai-worthy.

this was a sticky, sour, sweet, spicy treat tailor made for a Summer day. the cilantro offered a lovely bit of herby freshness and the cucumber slices provided the right amount of cool to balance the (moderate) heat. this was a thoroughly perfect meal, and we were too busy coming up with terms to describe the incredible flavors to be upset that our poor tomato plants were being knocked about in the torrential rain and wind. he did have to attempt a quick rescue in the midst of an impressive display of lightning. after all the stress of caring for our tiny garden, every tomato counts.

____________

it is now extremely late in the evening. i am catching up on my latest k-drama, in between working on a lovely, lacy, completely itch-free sweater for self. my multitasking skills usually allow for knitting while watching things, but the combination of lace charts and subtitles means i have to alternate my way through this project. oh... and i may have also recently finished my third cappa-cappa of the day. sad, but true. it should be noted—lest anyone assume i am running out to the coffee shop multiple times a day to purchase overpriced coffee drinks—that this stuff is a mix. a wholly, totally, and completely addictive mix that i literally find myself drinking all day. no... i do not have a problem.

i have tried it in three flavors so far: Cappuccino, Mocha, and Vanilla. it also comes in unsweetened, decaf, and Caramel Latte varieties, but that last one just sounds completely unnecessary. i prefer it with one pack each vanilla and (plain) cappuccino. not only am i fond of blends (i am a complicated lady), but two packets makes for just enough liquid heroin to fill my warrior princess mug. i do not have a problem.

most fun part? it foams up on contact with hot water. i am fairly certain that this stuff will eventually be shown to cause every known kind of cancer.

the frothy layer looks a bit less frightening after a stir.

so, that is my latest obsession, replacing my usual obsession of drinking four (or five) large cups of tea per day, plus the one (or two) normal-sized cup of herbal tea i frequently have before bedtime. no... i definitely... definitely... do not have a problem.  

chicken wings and happiness...

about once every 6 months or so, i am overcome by a longing for fried chicken wings.  the craving haunts me for days or even weeks, rendering me incapable of maintaining even the simplest train of thought.  i am especially fond of my wings drizzled with honey.  the residual heat softens the honey, resulting in a shiny, sticky glaze that encourages much finger licking and happiness.

thus afflicted, everything reminds of sitting occasionally in one of my favorite eateries back home in NYC, splitting a pile of wings with two of my favorite people in the universe.  we would go there just for that and, in between messy mouthfuls and over-sized mixed drinks, laugh about only being able to enjoy them in the presence of people with whom you feel true comfort.


my wing formula is a topic for another day.  just start with a batch of sizzling hot chicken wings, drain to remove excess grease (i use multiple layers of clean newsprint from the never-ending stash of art supplies as i find it absorbs better than paper towels), and lightly drizzle on whatever honey you happen to have available.  this time around, i used the buckwheat honey recently discovered at my local produce market.  the flavor reminds me of a really good nutty brown beer, malted and not overly sweet.  toss a few times to spread the honey goodness.

throw in a simple salad  of romaine lettuce with a handful of toasted pine nuts.

add a soy-sesame dressing and some chopped scallions, and you have a meal that just begs to be shared with the people who bring true comfort to your life.  

out with the old, in with the gnu...?

okay, so it's 3 weeks later, but i'm still thinking about the first meal i had this year.  foregoing all the usual conventions regarding lucky foods (i have never had a fondness for black-eyed peas, regardless of how nicely one disguises their presence), i try to start each new year with one meal that i truly love.  this time around, i decided to opt for one of my favorite dishes, a slight perversion of the one-pot meal concept in that it requires that you begin with one enormous pot and an assortment of ingredients that will make most modest meat-eaters blush.

CAUTION: this content is not for the weak of heart or appetite.  if you have a moral or religious objection to eating tasty animals... look away!  i present to you, a most meatiful new year meal and wishes for a tasy 2012.

okay... so it's a stuffed cabbage roll.  i can feel the immediate disappointment at those two words, but i assure you, this is no mere cabbage roll.  ever since my first encounter with sarma some years ago, i knew it would fast become one of my favorite foods.  this classic dish is featured in cuisines throughout the Middle East and Central/Eastern Europe with each region  providing their own variation on the theme.  i was introduced to sarma via Croatian cuisine, and my version aims to remain true to that style.

the two defining components of this meal are the soured cabbage leaves and the smoked meats that together give it its characteristic flavor.  the cabbage is a whole head that has been turned,intact, to sauerkraut.  in lieu of a whole soured cabbage, you can use either whole leaves of sauerkraut, usually sold rolled up in jars of brine next to the shredded sauerkraut, or you can opt for fresh cabbage leaves that have been wilted to enable easy rolling.  most recipes for cabbage rolls suggest either freezing then thawing the whole head to wilt the leaves, or immersing the whole head into a pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds, prying off the leaves one at a time in between blanchings.  when using fresh cabbage, the freezer method is definitely the way to go... unless you prefer to play 'bobbing for cabbage' in a large pot of boiling water.



the meat consists of ground pork for the filling and an assortment of smoked meats and sausages for the milieu. the fresh pork was ground by the butcher with the addition of a small portion of smoked meat for extra flavor, but that step is optional.  the smoked meat pictured consists of baby back ribs and neck bones and a secret ingredient to be discussed later.  the assortment of sausages includes sweet and spicy kranjska klobasa, a type of kielbasa, and spicy Italian sausage.  any variety of kielbasa and sausages may be used with acceptable results.  all of the smoked meats and sausages picture here were freshly removed from the freezer, hence the dusting of frostiness on the surface.  the remaining ingredients include rice, onions, sauerkraut, smoked paprika, salt, fresh ground pepper, an egg, and fresh thyme (optional).  i really like the spark of fresh herbiness the thyme adds to the dish.  you can use your nails or the back of a small knife to scrape the leaves from the stem for the filling.

to begin,  carefully peel off the layers of cabbages until you have a pile of as many large, intact leaves as your head of cabbage allows.  the number of leaves will determine how many rolls you can potentially make.  reserve the heart of the cabbage to add to the pot, or, if using fresh cabbage, the inner portion can be saved for another dish... maybe a hearty soup?

 

place the ground pork in a large bowl and add chopped onions, rice, egg, paprika, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme.  you can also opt to add some garlic powder or crushed fresh garlic. 

 

i use a blend of red, green, and black peppercorns and whole coriander seeds ground using the handy mortar and pestle.  sure, a pepper grinder or... gasp... pre-ground pepper would be faster, but where's the fun in that?

at this point, roll up your sleeves and get stuck in with clean hands until you have completely combined the mixture.  try to avoid excessive squeezing or pressing.  now we're ready to make rolls.  

i prefer to divide the mixture in advance of beginning the rolling process.  my obsessive-compulsive tendency requires evenness in all things, so i weighed the mixture using a digital kitchen scale, and brought it up to a round number by the addition of an extra handful of rice.  in this case, my mixture weighed 1600g (i use metric measures to blend in to my Canadian surroundings), so i used 100g of filling for each roll, which is roughly 1/2 c of mixture.  be sure to take the number of cabbage leaves into account  before beginning to divide the meat.  one head of cabbage should provide enough large leaves for 10-16 rolls.  keep in mind that the rice will expand, so don't over stuff your rolls, or they can explode in the pot.  

working with one portion of filling at a time, shape into a log slightly smaller than the width of your cabbage leaf.  place the log on the stem end of the leaf, and make the first roll to cover the filling.  if using fresh cabbage leaves, you can use a small, sharp knife to shave off part of the tough central rib on the back of each leaf.  toss the trimmings into the bottom of the pot.  nothing goes to waste in this dish.  

flip up the sides of the leaf to prevent loss of filling, and continue to roll until you have a snug packet.  repeat until you have used up all the filling.  any leftover cabbage leaves can be tossed into the bottom of the pot at this point.  we have all the parts necessary to create a fantastic batch of sarma, but if we are to take this meal over the top and into the realm of sublime deliciousness, it's time to bring out the secret-no-more ingredient.  

just when it seems this dish could not get any more meatiful, here comes happiness in the form of salty, smokey perfection.  speck is a cold-smoked ham, with a flavor that is a cross between prosciutto and a dry-cured Virginia ham.  it can be used in much the same manner as prosciutto, including eating as is, sliced paper-thin, or as a very sophisticated replacement for bacon.  the rind is very tough, and is usually removed before use, but given the long, slow cooking required for sarma, the rind should be left in place.  cut the speck into large cubes and carve up the slab of smoked ribs.  all the parts are now in place to begin filling the pot.  

place a layer of cabbage leaves or sauerkraut on the bottom of a large stock pot or dutch oven, and begin to layer in the rolls.  mix each layer with one or two sausages and a portion of the smoked meat.  arrange each layer so the rolls are packed in tightly enough that they will not unravel once the liquid is added, but with enough room to expand slightly as the rice cooks.  as absurd as it may sound, use the pieces of meat as packing material to fill in any large gaps along the perimeter of the pot and in between the rolls.  

i also tuck a few sprigs of thyme along the sides as i continue to build the layers.

spread some of the sauerkraut between each layer, finishing with a layer of sauerkraut on to top.  pour any remaining sauerkraut liquid into the pot and fill with enough water to cover the contents.   there should be at least a few inches of headroom to allow for expansion of the rice and some slight floating of the rolls in the cooking liquid. bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to a low simmer.  given the volume and density of the rolls, it is important to get the liquid to a boil before reducing the heat, but be careful not to leave it at a boil for too long, or the rolls can begin to unravel in the turbulence.  cook 3 1/2 to 4 hours, beginning the timing after you have reduce it to a simmer.  you may need to add some water from time to time, but be mindful that the rolls will want to float in the fluid, so do not add too much at a time, or you risk ending up with a large pot of sarma soup.  

     

allow the rolls to cool slightly in the pot before serving up  with a few pieces of assorted meat and a splash of cooking liquid.  the best part of this meal is that after all the work, they freeze very well.  divide between freezer-safe container, allow to cool to room temperature, then cover tightly and freeze.  a delicious meal at the ready.  to reheat place sarma, frozen or defrosted overnight in the refrigerator, in a pan with a splash of water, cover, and heat over a low flame.