holiday season

I haven't written on my blog in almost a month. I was in Nashville for a bit consuming way too many deep fried delights, honky tonkin and checking out Johnny Cash's infamous all black suit and Elvis' solid gold cadillac at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Then it was on to Pennsylvania to see my folks. Sadly, I was hit with the horrible news that my mom has been diagnosed with stage 2 lung cancer. Of course, this was a shock. My mom used to smoke twenty five years ago, but the reasons could be more than cigarettes. Air pollution, radon emitting from the earth, the oil refinery near where my parents live... the list goes on. The environmental factors are truly disturbing and I could go on about the effects air pollution have on cancer. But I digress.

My mom is responding well to treatment. And one of the most important things is eating well during this difficult time. The first thing I did when I found out the news, was cook up some nourishing soup. The doctors told her she's not allowed to eat too many raw foods (in case of bacteria and her compromised immune system) Cancer patients should also eat foods that are antimicrobial, like garlic. Eating the colors of the rainbow. Lots of fruits and vegetables. Taking that advice to heart, this is the soup I made:

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

1 large butternut squash (peeled and cut into one inch chunks)

2 medium sized sweet onions (chopped into small dice)

6 or 7 med. sized carrots (sliced into 1/2 inch rounds)

4 cloves of garlic (minced)

5 cups water or veggie stock

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the peeled and cut butternut squash on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt. Roast in oven for about 40 minutes or until the squash can be easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat a stock pot, add olive oil and then the chopped onions. Add a pinch of salt. Saute on low heat until the onions become translucent and slightly caramelized. Add garlic, cinnamon and carrots. Saute until the carrots are soft. Add butternut squash and veggie stock/water. Add another pinch of salt. Cook for about 20 more minutes. *

*I used a traditional dutch potato masher to mash the soup a bit. You could conversely use a blender to make a smooth soup, but that requires cooling the soup, transferring it to a blender, transferring it back to soup pot. Too much work. Mashing makes it rustic and hearty. Also, I didn't have a chance to take a photo of the soup because the timing was a little bad. But here's a picture of the some carrots I had gotten at the farmer's market a couple weeks ago:

Oh, and here's the potato masher I used:

dutch random sweets

I realized I still have a ton of photos from my trip to Holland that I haven't had a chance to post about. Of course, they're all food related and of course they're mainly sweets. Take this one. These delectables were on offer at my cousin Marsha's house. She lives in the North of Holland with her lovely family.

From clockwise we have peanut cookies (kinda standard issue fare-not too exciting), but then we have these spekulaas sandwich cookies ( which are a type of gingerbread cookie that's usually in the shape of a windmill) with marzipan in the middle and then topped with slivered almonds. These are amazing -insanely dense and super sweet. Then there's the tompuce, which is the pale pink sandwich cookie with whipped cream. The top and bottom are a flaky buttery wafer that's just too good. In the middle we have some stroopwafel (which are the infamous cookies that everyone loves: two waffle-type cookies with a treacle syrup sandwiched in between). And of course some dark chocolate for good measure. Perfect after-dinner delights.

Pumpkin Molasses pie with a gluten-free walnut crust

I first made this type of pressed crust while I was still at school at the Natural Gourmet Institute. For our final project, we had to cook for over 100 people. My classmate Eileen and I were in charge of the dessert (of course!) We did this toasted walnut crust with a pecan and maple syrup filling with a side of roasted pear and ginger sorbet and a cashew vanilla ice cream. Woah, it was intense.

But back to the crust. It's super easy to make. No need to roll out dough or let it rest or sacrifice your first born to the gods of thanksgiving...  It's a great versatile crust that's also gluten free. I used a mixture of three different gluten free flours: white rice flour, potato starch and tapioca flour. They're all easy to find at any natural foods store. The brand I always see around is the Bob's Red Mill.

Now, on to the filling. I adapted this pumpkin pie recipe from the one that Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco makes for their Thanksgiving Dinner. It's vegan, so instead of using eggs, they use arrowroot (which is a starchy type flour that helps bind ingredients together and kinda give it an egg-y consistency but without the egg-y taste). They also use molasses which gives the pumpkin pie an earthy chocolatey-ness to it. Seriously, it tastes so rich and creamy, you wouldn't know it was vegan. I wouldn't say it tastes like a typical pumpkin pie, because it comes out sort of pudding like and not as solid as traditional pumpkin pies. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree which is basically just a can of pumpkin. It's too damn labor intensive to cut up an actual  pumpkin, de-seed it, roast it and then blend it. I mean, unless you're feeling super motivated or something.

Recipe for the crust:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup gluten free flour (2 cups white rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch and 1/3 cup tapioca flour= this yields 3 cups, but only use one cup and save the rest for another baking adventure!)
1 /8 salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup melted coconut oil

Combine nuts, flour and salt into bowl of food processor. Grind to a fine meal.
Add syrup and oil to the processor. Pulse to form dough. Place dough in middle of 8 or 9 inch tart pan. Using your fingertips, press dough out so that bottom and sides are evenly covered. Trim crust and discard any excess. Place tart pan in refrigerator for 10 to 15 min to chill. (I didn't bother pre-baking it because it's a pretty solid crust that doesn't get soggy when filled.)

Recipe for the pumpkin pie filling: 


Preheat oven to 350F.


1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2/3 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons molasses
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced ( fresh ginger makes ALL the difference!)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons arrowroot
1/2 cup soymilk

In a food processor, combine the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, arrowroot and soymilk. Process until the mixture is well combined and smooth.

Pour into pie crust and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the filling has firmed up. Let cool and serve.

Serves 8 to 10

Before it was baked:

The finished product:

melk meisje

My blog namesake. The famous Vermeer painting portraying the "melk meisje" (milk girl)  or keukenmeid (kitchen maid servant) in the act of making bread pudding. 

I went and saw the original Milkmaid at the Met yesterday. The museum's written commentary about the symbol of the  milkmaid in 17th century Dutch paintings really perturbed me. First, everything is a sexual innuendo. Which wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't really all about the milkmaid being either a subservient or nefarious woman who must give in to the whims of the man or master of the house. It's ridiculously misogynistic. Most of the art critics are men and the few that are women offer very little difference of opinion, all stating that every object in the kitchen signifies the erotic. The jug is a uterine representation. The milk, alludes to the woman's overflowing sexual desires. The mortar and pestle symbolize female and male genitalia. Really?! The list goes on. It's exasperating. 

Secondly, they treat this myth of the milkmaid as a harlot as fact. As though all women who are dutch kitchen servants are waiting to be ogled by a man. Or just daydreaming about a tryst with the master of the house. Maybe she's thinking about mathematics or astronomy or how the hell to get out of this godforsaken kitchen! Of course, sadly, during the golden age in the Netherlands, women of a lower social background did need a man to get her out of an economically difficult situation. The strongest values of 17th century Netherlands that a woman could possess was domestic virtue. Sad. 

I do like, however, one view of Vermeer's works. "In the end, it is not the allusions to female sexuality that give this painting its romance or emotional resonance — it is the depiction of honest, hard work as something romantic in and of itself," states Raquel Laneri in Forbes magazine. The Netherlands was rooted in Calvinist ethics, on hard work and diligence and piety. I might not be so into the piety part, but I do like the calvinist work ethic and the need for more appreciation and acknowledgment of working class heroes, especially ones that make good bread pudding.  

pine nut lemon rosemary shortbread cookies

Lemon. Rosemary. Pine nuts. Butter. Shortbread cookies. Thanksgiving. Goodness. This recipe is from Heidi Swanson's cooking blog. Here's the link:

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/pine-nut-rosemary-shortbread-recipe.html

Cayenne spiced chocolate cookies with cinnamon sugar topping

citrus marinated kale salad

Eating raw kale might sound as delightful as biting into boiled brussel sprouts, but there's simple ways to make it taste good with very little effort. Kale is a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. It's very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C and has more calcium than milk. So, you should really eat your greens! 

By marinating the kale in orange juice, lemon juice and a splash of apple cider vinegar, you get a more tender and sweet green. You could just marinate in one of these acidic choices, but I chose all three to give it a more tart and sour kick to help balance out the rich creaminess of tahini and the smokey goodness of roasted red pepper.

Here's what to do: 

Tear off the leaves of kale from its stalk (about five leaves will do)

Put into large bowl and add about 1/4 cup of orange juice and lemon juice. Finish off with a splash of apple cider vinegar (any vinegar will do)

Roasting a red pepper is super easy: http://keukenmeid.blogspot.com/2009/08/roasted-red-pepper.html

After roasting on the stove top, put into an empty pot or bowl, cover and let it sweat for about 15 minutes. Then, remove all the burnt bits and its seeds and slice lengthwise into strips. Add to kale.

Next, thin out 1/4 cup tahini paste with water til it resembles a creamy dressing. ( I added a pinch of paprika to accent the smokiness of the pepper)

Add to kale, sprinkle some salt and pepper and there you have a healthy hearty salad.

white bean and farro soup with mushrooms

I've been obsessed with making soups recently. They're really just so versatile and simple. I used to hate soups. The thought of chunky soup just made me queasy. But when you add beans, especially big starchy ones like great northern beans, they become rich and thick and hearty. I used farro, which is an ancient grain most closely associated with Tuscany, specifically Lucca. It's a form of wheat that's similar to barley in texture. It can get chewy in the best possible way, especially in this soup. This soup takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to make, but largely unattended. I didn't soak the beans beforehand. If you use canned white beans, this soup would probably only take about a half hour. This recipe has been adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. An amazing cookbook.

Recipe:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

2 celery stalks, choped

2 carrots, chopped

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 cup farro, uncooked

1 cup dried white beans

2 cups chopped canned tomatoes

6 cups water or veggie stock

handful of dried mushrooms (reconstituted by adding a cup of hot water and soaking for 15 min)

1/4 cup any fresh herbs. ( i had some chopped parsley)

Put oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. When hot, add onion, celery, carrots and some salt. Cook until the veggies are glossy and the onion softened, about 5 to 10 min. Add the garlic and stir. Add the reconstituted mushrooms with the soaking liquid (unless the liquid is sandy, then drain) Add the farro, beans, tomato and stock and stir.

Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the mixture simmers steadily. Cook until farro and beans are tender, at least an hour, adding stock or water as necessary if the mixture becomes too thick.

Stir in chopped parsley or basil and cook for another five minutes. Taste, adjust the seasonings and serve.

Makes about 4 to 6 servings

baked eggs with basil and herbed cheese

I had never baked an egg before. I just always ended up scrambling eggs or frying them. I figured baking required just too much effort. And really, eggs taste great when they're cooked these simple ways. However, I got these great little oven-proof ramekins for my birthday and thought it was about time I tried this technique out. I kept hearing all these great things about baking eggs, from how there's endless variations, it's super easy and it just looks elegant and damn adorable. Plus super tasty.

Here's what you need: 

four ramekins or a muffin tin would work too

four or more organic eggs (depends on how many you wanna make)

olive oil or any kind of oil really, for oiling the ramekins

any fresh herb ( I had basil) or dried herb (paprika would be great!)

bread crumbs

some good cheese ( i had a herbed goat milk cheese from Gouda)

sprinkle of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil the ramekins. Break an egg into each one and top with breadcrumbs. You could conversely put the breadcrumbs on the bottom and then break an egg on top. Top with cheese and then the herbs. And a good sprinklin of salt and pepper. Bake for about 11 minutes or until the egg looks set. I like it a little runny and oozy. Let the ramekins cool for a bit and then eat directly from them. They turned out great. It's like a little meal full of protein, a bit of bread and some nice touch of herb. Quick, simple and they looked really damn adorable. My roommate and I ate them with little spoons and we felt kinda fancy.

broccoli soup with homemade croutons

This head of broccoli had beautiful purple florets. The soup still turned out green though. This recipe is super easy and requires very little attention. It only consists of carrots, celery, garlic, onion and broccoli. Add water, olive oil and salt to that vegetable mixture. Use an immersion blender and you have yourself broccoli soup! Homemade croutons make it all the better.

Recipe:

One head of broccoli (cut into small florets)

Five medium sized carrots (chopped into 1 inch rounds)

Five celery stalks (chopped into 1 inch pieces)

One onion (sliced)

Couple cloves of garlic (left whole, with only white paper and stem removed)

1/3 cup olive oil

Salt

About 4 or 5 cups of water or veggie stock

Put the olive oil in a large stock pot at medium heat. When hot, add onions. Let the onion cook til they're shiny and a bit brown. Add celery and carrots and cook for an additional five minutes. Add water or stock and throw in the garlic cloves. Add salt. Bring to a boil and then add the broccoli. Add a couple more sprinkles of salt. Turn heat down to a simmer and let cook for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are all very soft. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to blend all the ingredients together. Make sure not to lift immersion blender out of soup mixture or you'll get yourself soup burned!

Homemade croutons

This is undoubtedly the easiest, quickest little add on recipe to do. And it gives soups a heartier full meal element. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. All you have to do is break off pieces of stale bread, put it on a oiled baking sheet and slather with olive oil and sprinkle salt on top. Bake for about 10 minutes. Ta da! Olive oil-rich salty, crispy bread! Add generously to soup! Top with cheddar cheese if you so desire.