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eG Foodblog: SobaAddict70 (2011) - Market basket blogging


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I've always wanted to taste those flowers. Are they kind of a sweet/flowery taste?

Shelby, I wonder if you couldn't grow a few nasturtium plants at your place? They are usually really easy to grow from seed. Mind you, they can be aphid magnets when I grow them in coastal BC, and they tend to reseed so if you don't want them anymore, you have to work a bit to remove them.

But the flowers are so expensive in the markets, and they really are tasty and so colourful. They also make a lovely vinegar - you don't need many flowers - just immerse them in white wine/champagne/cider/rice vinegar. They only take a few weeks and you get a beautiful colored vinegar with a peppery taste that goes well with salads, etc.

SobaAddict70, your food looks so beautiful, your meals simple and complicated at the same time. You make them look so appealing. How big is your kitchen - what are the dimensions?

Waiting to see what you will do with the strawberries!

I'll have to look them up and see how they do in the hot Kansas sun. I have plenty of places I could plant them for sure! I wonder if you could do them in pots?

Thanks for the idea!

Soba, your fish looks like it just hopped out of the sea! So fresh!

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Penny for your thoughts:

If you could get only one cookbook from the following, which would it be:

1. Zuni Cafe Cookbook

2. Marcella Cucina

3. One of Madhur Joffrey's books

4. Some vegetarian cookbook

That's one of the dilemmas I'm facing right now ... I can't decide.

I'm not a vegetarian, although a lot of what I cook is vegetarian-friendly.

Hi soba -

I laughted when I saw this because I automatically chose the zuni cafe cookbook - I have wanted this for a long time but never purchased. then I realized I have Marcella's cookbook, one of Madhur Jaffrey's books (world vegetarian, and many other vegetarian books), yet the one I want and gravitated to when I first read this is the one I don't have! Maybe I should just break down and buy it already!

Even though I never post my cooking on egullet (not a big fan of taking or transferring pictures), I always love seeing your posts on the dinner thread. Your cooking style is much like mine, lots of vegetarian even though we do eat meat. The colors of your dishes are spectacular and very artistic.

Count me as another that is jealous of the NYC green market. I am from western jersey and always go when I am in the downtown area. Here in NJ, our farmers markets don't start until the end of June.

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I've always wanted to taste those flowers. Are they kind of a sweet/flowery taste?

Shelby, I wonder if you couldn't grow a few nasturtium plants at your place? They are usually really easy to grow from seed. Mind you, they can be aphid magnets when I grow them in coastal BC, and they tend to reseed so if you don't want them anymore, you have to work a bit to remove them.

But the flowers are so expensive in the markets, and they really are tasty and so colourful. They also make a lovely vinegar - you don't need many flowers - just immerse them in white wine/champagne/cider/rice vinegar. They only take a few weeks and you get a beautiful colored vinegar with a peppery taste that goes well with salads, etc.

I'll have to look them up and see how they do in the hot Kansas sun. I have plenty of places I could plant them for sure! I wonder if you could do them in pots?

Thanks for the idea!

Soba, your fish looks like it just hopped out of the sea! So fresh!

Shelby, you can absolutely grow Nasturtiums in pots - they do better when they're just a bit rootbound. They're native plants for me down here at the equator, and if they can take my sunshine, they can definitely take yours. Make sure they're in full sun (it's how they grow here), and you're golden. Bear in mind, too, that if you grow your own you'll also have the option to eat the leaves and the seed pods.....

Soba, the strawberries are crying out to be used on top of fast baked/stovetop bread goods. I know you've got zero counter space, but there's no reason that you can't whip up a quick griddle cake or cornmeal shortbread (these recipes take one bowl plus your range, and no big messy anythings or power tools)..... Those would be a great second breakfast.

EDIT - a good spellar is me!

Edited by Panaderia Canadiense (log)

Elizabeth Campbell, baking 10,000 feet up at 1° South latitude.

My eG Food Blog (2011)My eG Foodblog (2012)

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stash-

great to see you blogging again. looks like you are doing well and feeling healthy. i would go for one of Madur Jaffrey's books. johnnybird is now going on a bean/lentil/other legume - fish/seafood kick right now. along with pasta/potatoes/rice but NOT spicy.

when you visit Quattros do they bring anything other than the duck and chicken eggs? if they have any of their venison, duck breasts or pheasants they are a bit pricey but worth it for the flavor that has developed.

are there drumfish where you shop? they are just coming in down the shore and are nice and meaty - they remind me of monkfish and can be quite useful. try poaching in a court bouillon then shredding for your own fish salad.

the jersey strawberries and asparagus are in down south - we will see what this hot weather has done for the northern crops.

love your food and can't wait to see what comes up next.

Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

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Unfortunately, Soba's computer went kablooey yesterday. We're going to close this up for now and hope that his computer is easily repaired so we can reopen it soon. If that doesn't happen we'll try to get him rescheduled soon.

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That's a lovely meal, the sea bass looks perfectly cooked. I'm intrigued by the chickweed, I'll have to see if I can scare some up around here.

Thanks, luv.

Chickweed is a late spring/early summer offering here in NYC.

It has a crisp texture and a flavor reminiscent of corn silk. There's a pale sweetness that's quite lovely when paired with gentle acidic notes. It doesn't do well when exposed to heat which seems to be why there aren't very many recipes that I've come across that use it as a cooked ingredient.

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Soba – we just got back from our trip and what a lovely surprise to see you blogging. I always love your food and your pictures and can’t wait to see what you have for us! I am just amazed at what you accomplish in such a small space! I love the nasturtium flowers – one of my first forays into ‘high gourmet’ was planting them 25 years ago. I got probably 3 blooms (I am NOT a gardener), but thoroughly enjoyed that peppery flavor on a salad. I am completely jealous of the market! I remember visiting during my last trip to NYC and I mourned that I didn’t have a kitchen to cook in!

Thanks Kim. :smile:

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SobaAddict70, your food looks so beautiful, your meals simple and complicated at the same time. You make them look so appealing. How big is your kitchen - what are the dimensions?

Waiting to see what you will do with the strawberries!

I don't know what the dimensions are, but it's slightly bigger than my bathroom.

Something around 6' x 9' approximately.

As for the strawberries:

017.JPG

Sliced strawberries, macerated in vanilla sugar, black pepper and mint, with light cream.

Another idea is to sprinkle sliced and hulled strawberries with 1:1 mixture of fresh squeezed orange juice and sugar. Proportions are for each 1/2 cup of berries, 1 to 2 T. worth.

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Penny for your thoughts:

If you could get only one cookbook from the following, which would it be:

1. Zuni Cafe Cookbook

2. Marcella Cucina

3. One of Madhur Joffrey's books

4. Some vegetarian cookbook

That's one of the dilemmas I'm facing right now ... I can't decide.

I'm not a vegetarian, although a lot of what I cook is vegetarian-friendly.

Hi soba -

I laughted when I saw this because I automatically chose the zuni cafe cookbook - I have wanted this for a long time but never purchased. then I realized I have Marcella's cookbook, one of Madhur Jaffrey's books (world vegetarian, and many other vegetarian books), yet the one I want and gravitated to when I first read this is the one I don't have! Maybe I should just break down and buy it already!

Even though I never post my cooking on egullet (not a big fan of taking or transferring pictures), I always love seeing your posts on the dinner thread. Your cooking style is much like mine, lots of vegetarian even though we do eat meat. The colors of your dishes are spectacular and very artistic.

Count me as another that is jealous of the NYC green market. I am from western jersey and always go when I am in the downtown area. Here in NJ, our farmers markets don't start until the end of June.

Heh.

I don't have any of the first three and I have quite a few of the last one (i.e., vegetarian cookbooks). I'm such a sucker for new ideas involving vegetables. Protein is boring to me ... it's either grilled, broiled, baked, in a stew, in a soup or by itself.

Although I have to admit that food porn featuring steak is an attention-grabber. It's just not very interesting to blog about, I think.

Thanks for the compliments. :)

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I've always wanted to taste those flowers. Are they kind of a sweet/flowery taste?

Shelby, I wonder if you couldn't grow a few nasturtium plants at your place? They are usually really easy to grow from seed. Mind you, they can be aphid magnets when I grow them in coastal BC, and they tend to reseed so if you don't want them anymore, you have to work a bit to remove them.

But the flowers are so expensive in the markets, and they really are tasty and so colourful. They also make a lovely vinegar - you don't need many flowers - just immerse them in white wine/champagne/cider/rice vinegar. They only take a few weeks and you get a beautiful colored vinegar with a peppery taste that goes well with salads, etc.

I'll have to look them up and see how they do in the hot Kansas sun. I have plenty of places I could plant them for sure! I wonder if you could do them in pots?

Thanks for the idea!

Soba, your fish looks like it just hopped out of the sea! So fresh!

Soba, the strawberries are crying out to be used on top of fast baked/stovetop bread goods. I know you've got zero counter space, but there's no reason that you can't whip up a quick griddle cake or cornmeal shortbread (these recipes take one bowl plus your range, and no big messy anythings or power tools)..... Those would be a great second breakfast.

I'll swing by the market on Friday again (I lost Wednesday due to cpu trouble) so I'll add that to the list of possibilities.

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stash-

great to see you blogging again. looks like you are doing well and feeling healthy. i would go for one of Madur Jaffrey's books. johnnybird is now going on a bean/lentil/other legume - fish/seafood kick right now. along with pasta/potatoes/rice but NOT spicy.

when you visit Quattros do they bring anything other than the duck and chicken eggs? if they have any of their venison, duck breasts or pheasants they are a bit pricey but worth it for the flavor that has developed.

are there drumfish where you shop? they are just coming in down the shore and are nice and meaty - they remind me of monkfish and can be quite useful. try poaching in a court bouillon then shredding for your own fish salad.

the jersey strawberries and asparagus are in down south - we will see what this hot weather has done for the northern crops.

love your food and can't wait to see what comes up next.

hm

Quattro's sells chicken (either whole or parts), turkey (in season), pheasant, venison and duck. They occasionally have pheasant and quail eggs but my understanding is you have to go early because those sell out rather quickly.

A friend of mine recently had quail egg omelettes for lunch. These are rather, ahem, dainty. You need at least 6 of them to make an omelette for one.

Haven't seen drumfish at all. What are those like?

Breakfast later this morning will involve something Filipino which might make prasantrin happy. I know I will be.

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I haven't forgotten about the ricotta gnocchi. That's for dinner Thursday night.

Tomorrow I'll be in NJ for part of the day and probably won't get back until after 9:30 pm.

Here's the demo in the meantime. I wrote this a while ago and posted it on my regular blog, the one that's linked in my signature. The recipe is adapted from Suzanne Goins' Sunday Suppers at Lucques. I make ricotta gnocchi quite regularly ... about once every six weeks. Her method is absolutely foolproof, which is more than I can say when it comes to my potato gnocchi. The latter never turns out as feathery light as I'd like.

Prior to making the gnocchi, you’ll want to drain the ricotta of any excess moisture. You can place it in a strainer or colander or double-wrap it in cheesecloth. Suspend over a bowl and let it drain for 8 to 24 hours, refrigerated. Cheesecloth is more efficient as it absorbs moisture from the ricotta while gravity does the rest of the work.

Combine 1 cup ricotta cheese and 1 cup flour in a large bowl and mix with a fork, making sure to break up any large lumps. Ideally the mixture should eventually look like this:

3652561807_4e02bed0d2_o.jpg

Make a well in the center, add 1 egg, a pinch of kosher salt and some freshly milled black pepper. Starting at the inside of the well, slowly fold the egg into the flour with the tines of a fork in a circular motion or until the mixture forms into a soft, pliable dough.

3652561809_a13f3f5b20_o.jpg

You’ll want to knead the dough as little as possible. Shape the dough into a ball, then divide it into four portions. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

3652561811_0971dff2e8_o.jpg

Lightly flour a cutting board or your work area. You want enough flour so that the dough won’t stick. If you add too much flour, the dough will be difficult to roll.

Take a portion of gnocchi dough and roll it out into a long, thin cylinder and cut into pieces. You can leave them as is or run them on the reverse side of the tines of a fork to fom ridges that characterize traditional gnocchi.

3652561815_4ca7ce6670_o.jpg

Drop a few at a time into salted boiling water. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until gnocchi rises to the top. Lift out with a slotted spoon. Ideally, your sauce should be ready once the gnocchi are done. Top with sauce and serve immediately.

When I make ricotta gnocchi, I usually pair it with some kind of vegetable. It depends on the season and what's available at the market.

Some ideas:

Winter -- cabbage and leeks; shaved turnips and cheese; cauliflower and rocambole garlic

Spring -- asparagus and mint; ramps and upland cress

3569133332_6fb4f02de5_o.jpg

Sheep's milk ricotta gnocchi with chanterelles, zucchini and nasturtium flowers

Summer -- summer squash and mint

4817681058_de2686fb57_b.jpg

Ricotta gnocchi with Sungold cherry tomatoes and shiitake mushrooms

Autumn -- wild mushrooms and pumpkin; sweet peppers and heirloom tomtoes; hazelnuts and Gorgonzola

More later.

Edited by SobaAddict70 (log)
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oh yum yum yum - i just bought some ricotta, will definitely be giving that a go... IN terms of vegetarian cookbooks - try and get hold of either Plenty by Ottolenghi or the Vegetaraian option by simon hopkinson, they have to be two of my absolute favourites - i think Plenty is more your style though...

"Experience is something you gain just after you needed it" ....A Wise man

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Good morning.

I'm in the middle of prepping brunch so here are some of the obligatory pantry and fridge pix in the meantime.

026.JPG

028.JPG

The plastic bags have garlic and white shallots in them respectively.

030.JPG

That container full of brown stuff is aamchu (dried mango powder).

035.JPG

038.JPG

The container full of white stuff on the top shelf is dried coconut.

Feel free to ask me any questions. Be back in a little bit.

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019.JPG

041.JPG

052.JPG

Fried egg; Filipino fried rice; asparagus with anchovy butter, lemon and capers

Filipino fried rice -- 1 cup leftover steamed rice; 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced; 2 scallions, minced; 1 teaspoon patis; white pepper, to taste. Fry garlic in oil until garlic takes on a little color, then add scallions and rice. Stir-fry until rice takes on a pale gold sheen and is heated through, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with patis and white pepper, then serve immediately. If you don't have patis (fish sauce), light soy is a good substitute.

Asparagus with anchovy butter, lemon and capers -- Steam asparagus until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Immediately shock in a bowl of ice water, drain and reserve until needed. Melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 anchovy fillet. Whisk until anchovy disintegrates, then add lemon juice and capers. Give a few stirs, taking care not to burn the butter. Cook for an additional minute then remove from heat. Spoon sauce over asparagus and serve at once.

Edited by SobaAddict70 (log)
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Beautiful, and good to see you back! Will you get an extra day because of the time lost?

Asparagus with capers sounds so good. May have to try this (minus the anchovy butter :wink:) this weekend.

Good to see amchoor in your kitchen, can never have too many mango related products! I think my favourite use for it is in dry North Indian sabzis (veg dishes) - a particular dish with potato and also one with okra come to mind. Would love to hear what you use it in.

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Beautiful, and good to see you back! Will you get an extra day because of the time lost?

Asparagus with capers sounds so good. May have to try this (minus the anchovy butter :wink:) this weekend.

Good to see amchoor in your kitchen, can never have too many mango related products! I think my favourite use for it is in dry North Indian sabzis (veg dishes) - a particular dish with potato and also one with okra come to mind. Would love to hear what you use it in.

Hi Jenni.

A favorite of mine is roasted cauliflower with asafoetida and aamchur. Make roasted cauliflower as normal, then sprinkle a 1:1 mixture of hing and aamchur on top, then serve at once.

4825165414_fedeb01b0e_b.jpg

That other dish is dry-fried green beans and potatoes with Indian spices, lemon and coconut. Recipe here: http://spamwise.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/dry-fried-green-beans-and-potatoes/

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That container full of brown stuff is aamchu (dried mango powder).

Is it just mango? I sell amba (powder or paste form) which is mango mixed with curry of some sort. I've never known what to do with it.

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Soba, in re: the light fluffy gnocchi, have you tried using self-rising flour, rather than plain? The extra baking soda may be just what you need, but cut down on any additional salt until you have tried it once or twice.

Those light bulbs caused quite a double-take on my part; I thought "WTF, shelf stable eggs?", then I had a second look! :laugh:

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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