THE LADY OF SHALLOTS

Warning---more prose than usual. I'll try not to do that too often. ----- I've been trying to intentionally cook vegetarian meals at least twice a week. I like MOST vegetables, but the ones I don't like, I REALLY don't like (I'm looking at you, eggplant). I also have legume/bean issues.  This makes it hard to cook vegetarian as I also want to be low-carb and my hypoglycemic-self needs some protein. So understand that it is with some measure of pride that I substituted chickpeas for cannellini beans in the recipe below.  I actually LIKE cannellini beans (one of the few), but we had none in the cupboard. What we did have was a can of chickpeas, of which I'm not a fan. But it turns out I'm even less of a fan of walking to the store in 88% humidity for one can of cannellini beans. So, I opened the can of garbanzo beans/chickpeas to make sure they were still ok (that can was there for a looooooooooong time), and here's where the pride comes in: I ...

I received Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen Everyday cookbook for Christmas, and finally had the time to crack it open. I started with the Smashed Cucumber Salad with Salted Peanuts and Wasabi Peas (page 50)... As always with a copyrighted recipe, I'll post the ingredients, but not the amounts. The basics: seedless cucumbers, kosher salt, sake , rice vinegar, sesame oil, hot pepper flakes, salted peanuts, wasabi peas So, this recipe had me at "wasabi peas"--so much so that I completely overlooked the SAKE (hence why I have it italicized and emphasized up above). I didn't read the recipe beforehand, because I thought that wouldn't be necessary for a "salad" and because I am sometimes not-so-smart like that. That would have saved me from my omission of sake, but alas. And I usually always read the prose from Deb Perelman because she's hilarious. So, what to do when you don't have sake? Internet to the rescue! There were two suggestions fo...

Honeydew is always hit and miss with me, usually because it is either too sweet (overripe) or not ripe enough. I came across this recipe from Rikki Snyder  (via Pinterest) however and was intrigued, because I was looking for something that would accommodate honeydew at almost any level of ripeness. It did not disappoint! I did find that I didn't have the patience to use the melon baller on the entire thing, so that's why you see chopped honeydew in my salad. I'm sure there is some home economics maven out there who is incredibly disappointed in me. I'm sorry. However, I did find the strength to make just enough for a wonderful cocktail of my own devising:   I made this with gin (Sapphire (TM))--I'd use Hendrick's (TM) next time---I muddled the honeydew and it is basically a G & T with muddled honeydew.  Very subtle. And the thyme garnish? Well, I've become a big fan of garnishing my cocktails with whatever herbs I have on hand. I had a nice marti...

I will start this post with a pseudo-apology to the O hio C ollege of C linical P harmacy. Yes... in the unlikely event that my O ther C ultures C ooking P roject becomes more a more popular choice in Google algorithms, I apologize pre-emptively to anyone more interested in Zocor (TM) than za'atar. With that out of the way...welcome to the first official Other Cultures Cooking Project Post! I did spend ample time agonizing over the name--I hesitate to use "other" as I am "other" to other others, but setting aside academic navel-gazing, I think we understand that it is contextual: "other cultures foreign to me." And we can understand that I'm not even sure what constitutes my "culture" so there's that too. What started this is that I believe food is one of the most important (and enjoyable) ways to learn about people--culturally, socially, economically.  I like to learn. I like to cook. I like to eat. So, a no-brainer, in other wo...

First, the sole and the slaw: I had some frozen sole filets in the freezer, and was desperate for a quick and easy recipe, but something a little better than just butter and onions.  Enter Baked Sole with Lemon .  Now, I'm a little wary of About.com--perhaps unfairly--as I find one particular About.com site on a topic about which I think I'm rather authoritative, to be full of inaccuracies and astonishingly sophomoric given the supposed "credentials" of the "guide."But that is not of great import at the moment as we are talking about food--not this other subject that shall remain nameless. I really loved this recipe for the good balance of butter and lemon. I made two adjustments (for pragmatic what-I-had-on-hand reasons): shallots instead of onion (a common substitution here at The Lady of Shallots), and cilantro mixed in with parsley. The real annoyance with baking sole (or any other thin, flat fish) is that you basically have to watch it carefully ...

Normally I'd make this in the summer, but holiday over-indulgence means healthy eating in January. The cannellini beans here provide just enough texture to make this a reasonable main course. The flavors are really well-balanced and the dressing is the easiest thing in the world: lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  The fennel keeps everything very fresh-tasting, and the lemon extracts some of the "fishiness" from the tuna. Be sure to rinse the beans (if using canned) and drain the tuna. Recipe HERE

Once again, I am indebted to the Food, Wine & Song Facebook page for motivation.  I was looking for something healthy and interesting, when this recipe from the NY Times caught my eye via Food, Wine & Song. I made no adjustments to the recipe, except that I skipped the goat cheese and I used sprouted quinoa. Sprouted quinoa, according to the box, can be eaten raw (simply rehydrated). I prefer cooked quinoa, so this was not an issue, but it did give me some flexibility with the cooking time as not all of the grains were evenly cooked.  This was fine. It has been awhile since I've made quinoa, and I forgot that it absorbs salt rather well. I went a bit overboard with the salt in the water, and was slightly worried (this is also why I left the goat cheese out).  Luckily, I let the salad sit for several hours and the radishes and asparagus took some of the salt. AND the dressing was a total lifesaver--the lemon buttermilk dressing hid the saltiness of the qui...

I love lamb. And I've cooked it in almost every form (chops, roasts, kofta...) EXCEPT rack of lamb. I've had this fear, you see, because I always remember the very elaborate crown roast my parents made once for a dinner party long ago. At any rate, now that the school year is over, I decided it was time to get over that. So, as usual, if I want a recipe I'm almost guaranteed to like, I turn to Ina Garten. Here's Ina's Lamb Persillade recipe (also found in her Barefoot in Paris cookbook). It truly was easy. I undercooked it a bit much (I like med rare), but the leftovers were fantastic, broiled in the toaster oven. Just cut how many you want to eat for lunch and broil them (if your original rack was rare...otherwise, I'd just heat them). I served it with two other Ina Garten recipes: Pasta with Pecorino and Pepper (which may be my all-time favorite easy pasta recipe because it goes with so many other dishes) and her French String Bean Salad ( How Easy is That...

This is the last of my Seafood Extravaganza posts (three total). This one is a lot shorter than the last . This recipe is, once again, from Barbara Lynch's Stir cookbook. This is a fantastic recipe (not reproduced verbatim here) and next time I'll be a little more liberal with the red curry paste...it was subtle and wonderful, but I'll be happy for a little more kick) Vinaigrette: chopped shallot , white wine vinegar , Thai red curry paste , grapeseed oil , crème fraîche Shrimp is lightly sauteed in olive oil, haricots verts are blanched, and hazelnuts are toasted in oven and chopped when cool (skins rubbed off with paper towel after toasting---neat trick!). Toss everything together with some sliced radishes and cilantro , and the dressing!

I currently have us on a "meat every-other-day" plan, but my low blood sugar requires protein in almost every meal. So...I am working very hard to find ways to incorporate beans into our diet. I'm not a big fan of beans (kidney, pinto, black-eyed, lima, you name it). I tend to tolerate them, and really only enjoy black beans in Mexican food. But in my quest for optimal health, it seems practical to find a way to eat them more often. This recipe comes from one of my most-used and most-loved cookbooks, The Cook's Encyclopedia of Thirty Minute Cooking by Jenni Fleetwood. I don't really care about the "thirty minute" part (usually), but I love the variety and ease of the recipes. In addition to blanched green beans (which I love), mixed canned beans (I used pintos and black beans), celery, onion (I used red), tomatoes, fresh parsley, I also tossed in a can of whole kernel corn....mostly for color, but I really liked the little bit of sweetness that it adde...

Tonight's installment of The Lady of Shallots "Summer Salad Marathon" was inspired by two recipes. The first was this " Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Grapefruit, Avocado, and Watercress Salad " from Real Simple (March 2008). The second was this recipe for Seared Ahi Tuna from SimplyRecipes.com. I made only one minor adjustment to the tuna marinade, and that was that I used powdered ginger out of necessity. I marinated the tuna for two hours and it was terrific. As for the salad, I obviously left out the mahi-mahi (and substituted the seared tuna), left out the avocado*, and added fresh chopped cucumber from my neighbor's garden (a gift, not stolen). I used the dressing as stated in the recipe. This was a terrific and healthy meal for a very hot and humid summer evening. The sweetness of the grapefruit and the honey-lime dressing balances the slight bitterness of the watercress very effectively and is just gentle enough to support the tuna without overshadowing ...

It is very hot here, and that means I like to keep as far away from the stove/oven as possible. So that means we've been eating a lot of salad. I find salad making very tedious and usually delegate that chore to my husband. However, when the main dish is a salad, I find ample opportunities for creativity and experimentation. I started with this recipe from Real Simple (August 2008), Chicken Salad with Potatoes & Arugula , but found that I was without arugula and just simply not in the mood for potatoes, so I lifted the dressing and the rotisserie chicken, substituted dried tarragon for fresh, and turned it into Chicken Pasta Salad with Hearts of Palm INGREDIENTS: 1 package fresh or dried pasta (I like rotini or some other shape that will capture the goodies) 1 rotisserie chicken (or chicken leftovers)--you'll probably only need half a chicken's worth 2-3 large hearts of palm, sliced 1/2 cup walnuts (optional) 1/4 cup EVOO 1-2 tablespoons champagne white wine vinegar...

In my attempt to use up what I enthusiastically purchase from the Farmers' Market (not always recognizing that I am cooking for two--not a small army), I have started to devise multiple recipes that are "variations on a theme." Here the theme would be scapes and asparagus (asparagi?). For the second week in a row, I've come home with scapes and asparagus. Why? Scapes have a very short season and they are good. It is Spring and I can get local organic asparagus as opposed to asparagus that has been shipped from Peru (FAIL!) scapes and asparagi have similar textures/consistencies so they cook well together So, you may remember the Sautéed Asparagus and Garlic Scapes from my last blog post. This installment of Variations on a Theme brings you: Chilled Asparagus & Scape Salad one bunch fresh asparagus, with stalk ends trimmed 1/8 - 1/4 lbs. garlic scapes, cut into one to two inch pieces 3 tbls. olive oil salt to taste white pepper to taste 1/2 cup white cooking...

Thus begins part two of our "It is hotter than Hades" food series. :) Today was so hot and humid I would have gladly spent part of it locked in a freezer. I hate cooking on days like this, but we've gotta eat. Since I also did not feel like getting in the car that has no air conditioning in order to go to the grocery store, I also had to play "let's experiment with weird random stuff in the fridge/freezer." Thus, I give you "Chilled Cajun Cod Nicoise Salad" which bears no real resemblance to Nicoise except for the green beans (which started off purple--see below). INGREDIENTS (serves 2) 2.5. filets cod or other flaky fish (I used frozen cod, but fresh would be better!) 1 Granny Smith apple purple green beans (incidentally, purple beans just turn green when you cook 'em, so don't bother unless you plan on eating them raw) red-leaf lettuce cajun spice (I used Penzey's , but you could also make your own) salt (enough for a rub--1 tsp s...