Wild Rice Salad Bowl with Miso Dressing

Head over hills, forks over knives, miso over sugar — I am in love with this new salad.

Is it a life-changing concept? Not really. A new food revelation? Maybe.  A new salad recipe? For sure. A cool dressing idea? Bingo.

I recently pinterested a recipe idea that mildly shocked my imagination. Miso in a dressing? Intrigued, I could not drive fast enough to Whole Foods to get the key ingredients… Wild rice. Check. Tofu. Check. Edamame. Check. Miso. Check. Garlic… I paused to contemplate the pros and cons of having garlic breath during the design meeting with my team the following morning. Out went the garlic, in went the ginger.

Got home.  Loosely followed the recipe. Took a bite and stopped… Wow! “If I take another bite”, I thought to myself, “I might not have dinner for tonight.”

It was GOOD. Really good. Drop-dead amazingly good. Different. Colorful. Textured. Layered. Spicy. Salty. Sweet.  All at the same time.  A recipe of the year, for sure! Made it six times since the discovery – still get butterflies every time I try it.  And the dressing is the best part; so innovative – it already made its way into many of my old favorites: sauteed vegetables, sushi and wraps.

Wild Rice Salad Bowl in the making

Wild Rice Salad Bowl in the making

Wild Rice Salad Bowl with Miso Dressing

Wild Rice Salad Bowl with Miso Dressing

Wild Rice Salad Bowl with Miso Dressing

Adapted from Sprouted Kitchen (who just published a cookbook)

Ingredients

Salad

• 1/2 cup wild rice (any rice works, timing will vary accordingly)
• 14 oz. block extra firm tofu
• 2 tsp. coconut oil
• 2 tsp. tamari
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 heaping cup thinly sliced carrots
• 3/4 cup cooked, shelled, organic edamame
• 3 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
• 3 Tbsp. toasted sunflower seeds
• Handful of chopped cilantro

Dressing

• 4 Tbsp. white or yellow organic miso
• 4 Tbsp. agave nectar
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 5 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 inch ginger, minced
• Juice of 1 Orange

Directions

1. Rinse the rice. Bring two cups water to a boil. Add the rice, turn the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until all the water is absorbed (about 35-40 minutes), adding a bit more water if necessary to finish cooking. You will see a tuft of white pop from the center.
2. Optional step: If you like chewier tofu, freeze it a day before and defrost in the fridge on the day of cooking.
3. Wrap the tofu between a few layers of paper towel or a dish cloth and set it aside to drain for 10-15 minutes. Cut it into a 1/2” dice. Heat the coconut oil over medium high heat (I love the crust I get in a seasoned cast iron pan). Add the tofu and saute for about five minutes. Sprinkle the tamari and a few grinds of fresh pepper over the top and saute another few minutes until the edges are browned. Turn off heat and set aside.
4. Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together.
5. In a large bowl, combine the rice, tofu, sliced carrots, edamame. Toss everything with the dressing. Add the sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and cilantro and give it another toss. Serve room temperature or chilled.

Wild Rice Salad Bowl with Miso Dressing

 

Wild Rice Salad Bowl with Miso Dressing

Wine Pairing

Textured Ama no To Heaven’s Door Saké isn’t too sweet as far as Sake go and has enough depth and earthiness in the background to stand up to the pungent ginger in the dressing and tamari in the tofu.

Wild Rice Salad Bowl with Miso Dressing

Wild Rice Salad Bowl with Miso Dressing

Blueberry Almond Breakfast Polenta

Last Friday marked the beginning of Passover. Oats, buckwheat and wheat berries have been purposely stashed away; quinoa, cornmeal and amaranth made their way to the table.

I have gotten pretty creative with the chametz-free lunches and dinners but breakfast has always been a Passover challenge for me, mainly because there are only so many fruit smoothies and almond-butter shakes that my kids are willing to consume during this eight-day holiday. Luckily, I stumbled upon this great gluten-free kosher-for-passover breakfast idea – blueberry almond polenta.  Sure, some may say that polenta violates the principle of appearance of impropriety but I am willing to overlook such a minor detail (because it is just that good!)

Sweet, luscious, comforting, and totally addictive, this recipe is definitely going to stay in my arsenal after the holidays are over.

Blueberry Almond Breakfast Polenta

Blueberry Almond Breakfast Polenta

Blueberry Almond Breakfast Polenta

Adapted from Food52

Ingredients

• 4 cups milk
• 3/4 cups organic polenta
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 – 1/3 cup honey (depending on how sweet you want it to be)
• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• mascarpone cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Bring milk to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat
2. Reduce heat to low and add polenta, whisking constantly until smooth. Add almond meal and continue whisking until the polenta thickens to a creamy consistency. Add butter and whisk until it melts completely
3. Turn heat off and whisk in honey, vanilla and cinnamon
4. Divide between 4 breakfast bowls and top with blueberries
5. For a richer breakfast, serve with a dollop of mascarpone cheese

Blueberry Almond Breakfast Polenta

Blueberry Almond Breakfast Polenta

Notes

You can double the recipe (just make sure to make it in the largest soup pot that you can find. Polenta reheats well but you will need to add more milk to thin it out the following day.

Pairing

This awesomeness pairs well with a glass of cold vanilla milk (if you are a kid) or a cup of cappuccino (if you are ….aaammm… me!)

Blueberry Almond Breakfast Polenta

I have been asked this a million times in the past week, ” What will you be feeding your family in the next 10 days?” Here are some of the dishes I am planning to make:

Appetizers and Snacks

Almost as good as Matza - Socca Flat Bread

• Crispy Roasted Chickpeas with Moroccan Spices
• Hot Mezze Hummus
• Marinated Cauliflower Salad
• Nicoise salad
• Salmon Sashimi with Blue Cheese and White Miso Puree
• Socca bread

Salads

Caramelized Roasted Figs with Baby Greens and Honey Vinaigrette

• Baked Goat Cheese With Frisée Salad
• Caramelized Roasted Figs with Baby Greens and Honey Vinaigrette
• Chile-Roasted Feta and Watermelon Slab
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
• Three-Seed Cabbage Salad

Soups & Stews

Vegetarian Chili (minus tortillas)

• Beet and Orange Soup
• Butternut Squash Tagine with Buttered Chile Couscous
• Creamy Poblano Chile Soup With Corn and Chanterelle Mushrooms
• Emeril’s Vegetarian Chili
• Granny Smith Apple And Yam Soup with Glazed Slivered Almonds
• Jalapeño-Corn Chowder
• Roasted Squash, Pear, and Ginger Soup
• Moroccan Red Lentil-Bean Stew
• Swiss Chard and Potato Stew

Main

Slow-roasted salmon

• Grilled Chicken Salad with Mangoe
• Slow-Roasted Glazed King Salmon
• Uzbek Lamb Plov with Barberries & Raisins

Side dishes

The most popular Cucee dish - Quinoa Mac and Cheese with Spinach

• Quinoa “Mac and Cheese” with Spinach
• Roasted Vegetable and Quinoa Salad
• Swiss Chard and Potato Stew

Deserts

Very Cherry Chocolaty Larabar Truffles

• Very Cherry Chocolaty Larabar Truffles

Swiss Chard and Potatoes

After years of resistance, my husband and I have finally booked our next trip oversees. A trip that has been long overdue. A trip, frequently considered but always postponed until the next year. A trip too emotional to imagine or to plan.

Vacation request forms have been submitted and approved; we are going back “home”!

For the past 15 years, every consideration for our next vacation would always start with an idea of visiting the homeland. But every year, it would get quickly dismissed by yet another excuse:

1. We want the kids to see where their family comes from; let’s wait until they are old enough to appreciate
2. There are so many places we have not seen yet; we’ll visit home after we’ve traveled enough
3. Our friends are inviting us to go to Cuba, Costa Rica, Greece, Thailand; we can always go home next year
4. We are so used to the conveniences of our life in California – how are we going to deal with a possible limited access to hot water
5. My parents just came back from visiting my hometown and brought enough photos to take the edge off my nostalgia
6. All of our childhood friends are now scattered around the world – we have nobody to go home to
7. Everything has changed; we are not going to recognize anything
8. Everything has stayed the same; there is nothing new to see

But, the real and honest reason why we have not actually gone back is because we’ve been pretty darn scared.  What if it gets too emotional… or we feel nothing at all? What if we remember it all wrong and feel betrayed by our memories of the childhood?  What if the country is smaller, darker, more run-down than we remember, and we are left feeling sad for the place we used to call home? Or what if it is better, brighter, more colorful and we regret leaving it in the first place?

What if, what if, what if…

“How about we postpone India and finally go back to Russia?” I asked my husband a few weeks ago, over Swiss Chard and Potatoes.

We are coming home! He emailed me the tickets confirmation the following day.

Making the sauce

Cooking chard and potatoes

Where is the stew?

Swiss Chard and Potatoes

Swiss Chard and Potato Stew

Adapted from my friend grandma’s recipe

Ingredients

• 4 bunches rainbow chard, chopped into byte-size pieces
• 2 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 large organic yukon gold potatoes, chopped into ½ inch cubes
• 6oz Asiago Cheese, grated (or more, depending on your preference)
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 8 cups water (or enough to fill the soup pot)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup of cooked wheat berries (optional Cucee addition)
• ½ cup of cooked navy beans (optional Cucee addition)

Directions

1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes
2. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal.  If the pieces are too large, cut them with kitchen scissors. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside
3. In a large soup pot, bring water to boil. Salt it (apparently, this is a very important step)
4.  Add potatoes and chard, reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes, or until done
5. When done, pour out all but 1-2 cups of the cooking water. Add tomato sauce to chard and potatoes. (Wheat berries and beans are optional.) Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately. If too dry, add reserved water – the consistency should be of a stew not soup

Swiss Chard and Potatoes

Wine Pairing

I have recently visited a beautiful Lynmar winery in Sonoma and, even though I am not much of a Pinot girl, I fell in love with it’s wines. I think this medium-bodied 2008 Pinot should work really well with my friend grandma’s stew recipe

Swiss Chard and Potatoes

Swiss Chard and Potatoes

Black-Eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes

“What would you like, Ma-am?” a flight attendant smiled at me as she parked her cart by row 3, my row for the next 6 hours. Hm, what would I like?

I would like a long relaxing massage. A day all to myself with plenty of time to devote to a new complicated recipe and reflect on this stage in my life. A picturesque hike and a meaningful conversation with a friend. A full uninterrupted night of sleep.

A weekend getaway to Carmel with my family. A book that takes me places I have never gone before. Sparkly card stock paper in all the colors of the rainbow – with matching envelopes. New shape cutters for scrap-booking.

I’d like to take an art or a metal sculpture class. Or an inspiring photography workshop, taught by Quentin Shih.

I’d like a stove with 2 extra burners. I’d like to move into a soup, salad and grain cookbook library. I’d like to learn to fly an airplane. Or become really good at a new sport, perhaps even mountain biking. To take a trip “back home” – to a place where I was born, knock on my childhood friend’s door and tell her about the last 20 years. I’d like to slow down the time to enjoy my kids smiles longer. To live authentically and with no regrets. Throw my son’s epipen into the trash forever and watch him sink his pearl-white baby teeth into a slice of good-ol’ birthday cake.

“I will have a cup of black coffee, with half a Splenda and a touch of fat-free milk.”

The making of the Black-Eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes

Black-Eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes

Adapted from Vegan with A Vengeance

Ingredients

For the Croquettes:

• 1 1/2 cup of cooked black-eyed peas
• 1 generous tablespoon of olive oil 
• 1 generous tablespoon of tamari or soy sauce
• 1 cup of cooked quinoa
• 1 red or green chili, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
• 1 teaspoon of paprika

For the Coating:

• 1/4 cup of bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup of cornmeal
• pinch of sea salt
• freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of grated lemon zest

Directions

1. In a medium-large bowl, mash the black-eyed peas with a fork or potato masher. Mix in the olive oil, tamari and hot chili. Add the quinoa to the bowl, along with the spices and herbs and stir until well combined.
2. Combine the ingredients for the coating in a small bowl.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease the sheet.
4. Shape the bean and quinoa mixture into small patties, roll in the crumb mixture and transfer to the baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Turn them after 20 minutes have elapsed.

Black-Eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes

Wine Pairing

A spicy and jammy Sin Zin provides a nice contrast to with these crunchy croquettes.

Black-Eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes

Creamy Poblano Chile Soup With Corn and Chanterelle Mushrooms

Cucee loved to cook, Cucee lived to cook. Cooking was a creative outlet, a form of meditation and self expression. In a community, the aspiring chef was well known for amazing culinary abilities and an authentic desire to serve others. But no one ever suspected that even Cucee sometimes dreamt of being waited on, cooked for, and exposed to new flavors.

Cucee has been dying to go out to a restaurant for quite some time and, one day, decided to finally follow the dream. Sharing with no one but the family, Cucee escaped to a secluded trattoria in a neighborhood where no one knew of the famous chef. Forgoing the menu, curious Cucee threw caution to the wind and put the entire dinner’s fate into the waiters hands.

At first, Cucee ate slowly, unsure whether the food would taste as good as that at home. But with each new bite, Cucee enjoyed it more and more. The food at trattoria tasted new and exciting, complex yet perfectly balanced, light yet filling. Taken completely by surprise, young Sprouts recognized that eating out is actually pretty darn fantastic. So, with parents’ and sister’s blessings, Cucee decided to do it again… and then again… and again… and again… And before long, Cucee became a regular at the trattoria, frequenting the restaurant on almost bi-weekly basis. The novel unfamiliar ingredients started looking far more appealing and intriguing than good old carrots, celery and onions. Slowly, the young gourmand became less interested in the act of cooking and, at times, was even envisioning giving it up altogether…

Cucee was getting depressed from living a double life. And so, the young Sprout was faced with a choice: remain true to his past and “cook in” for the rest of Sprout’s life or embrace a new lifestyle and continue “eating out.”

P.S. Who is this curious Cucee and where does he come from? If you’d like to know more about the aspiring chef and the whole Sprouts family, go back to the beggining of times and read the “Brussels sprouts” post… 

Creamy Poblano Chile Soup With Corn and Chanterelle Mushrooms

Creamy Poblano Chile Soup With Corn and Chanterelle Mushrooms

Creamy Poblano Chile Soup With Corn and Chanterelle Mushrooms

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection: Mexican

Comforting as ever, this soup is a food for the winter as the weather gets chilly. You can serve it on its own with a slice of textury cornbread, or as a starter course to any Mexican-themed holiday menu.

And even though this looks like a good old corn chowder, corn chowder it is not! This Williams-Sonoma recipe contains no heavy cream or flour – yet tastes silky smooth with a ted of kick and smokiness.

This recipe is so good that I usually double it!

Creamy Poblano Chile Soup With Corn and Chanterelle Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil or safflower oil
• 1 white onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 (12 ounce) fresh corn kernels or frozen corn kernels
• 3 poblano chiles
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (mexican preferrred)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 lb chanterelle mushrooms, brushed clean, trimmed, and sliced (you can also use any other mushrooms)
• sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 (3 ounce) muenster cheese or farmer’s cheese (how to make farmer’s cheese at home)

Directions

1. In a dutch oven, or other large pot over medium-low heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and saute until golden and soft, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Raise the heat to medium and add 1 cup of the corn, half of the chiles, and 1 cup of the vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer, stir in the oregano, and cook, uncovered, until the corn is tender, 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
2. Ladle the corn mixture into a blender with 1/2 cup of the remaining stock and process until smooth. Pass the mixture through a medium-mesh sieve back into the pot. Add the remaining stock and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
3. While the soup is heating, in a frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the remaining poblano chiles, the remaining corn, and the mushrooms and stir well. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper and saute until the mushrooms release their liquid and then the liquid evaporates, about 8 minutes (this may take longer if you are using other mushrooms, such as crimini).
4. Add the mushroom mixture to the soup, stir well cover, and simmer for 10 minutes to blend the flavors. Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and pepper.
5. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish with the cheese. Serve at once.

Creamy Poblano Chile Soup With Corn and Chanterelle Mushrooms

Creamy Poblano Chile Soup With Corn and Chanterelle Mushrooms

Wine Pairing

Creamy Poblano Chile Soup With Corn and Chanterelle Mushrooms

Creamy Poblano Chile Soup With Corn and Chanterelle Mushrooms

Creamy Poblano Chile Soup With Corn and Chanterelle Mushrooms

Green salsa dressing for a Mexican salad

Roasting Peppers and Cucee Salsa

The very first dish I ever attempted to prepare myself was a beer-can-chicken (well, actually , glass-of-water-chicken.) As a child, I watched my mom make it often and loved how flavorful, succulent and juicy the chicken would consistently turn out. So, when my boyfriend, the guy I often refer to as “the husband” in my Cucee posts, came over one time, I decided to impress him with this childhood favorite of mine. At 17, with my parents at work, and, for the first time ever, I had a real interest in using the kitchen, all by myself.

I put on an apron, grabbed the chicken by the legs and plunked it over a glass of water. I generously rubbed the skin with every type of seasoning I could find in my mom’s pantry and popped the chicken into the hot oven – just in time for a doorbell ring.

A familiar scent filled the house, indicating that everything was going smoothly and the chicken was cooking. I peaked into the oven and saw a headless golden-crusted bird torso staring back at me.

15 minutes and a few minor burns later the anticipated chicken was disassembled and presented at the dinner table on a large polka-doted serving tray, as a messy pile of meat, skin and bones.

As I took my first bite, several valuable lessons were instantaneously burnt into my brain:

For the next 15 years or so, I’ve mostly cooked from recipes, which I followed to the T, measuring and weighing ingredients each time. I mastered a few favorite dishes and only then have I become comfortable with cooking from memory and inventing my own recipes.

I am proud to say that this week’s recipe is all mine.  The inspiration came over dinner, at a small Italian Ristorante in Seattle. A little lime juice, a few smokey roasted peppers, creamy avocado, herbs and spices – and the first original Cucee salsa was born. It is a pretty versatile dish and i serve it with anything really, whether it is fish, salads, or even sandwiches.

Fish and Salsa

Green salsa dressing for a Mexican salad

Green salsa dressing for a Mexican salad

Green salsa dressing for a Mexican salad

Green salsa dressing for a Mexican salad

Cucee-green Salsa

Ingredients

• 1/2 Avocado, diced
• 2 poblano chiles, sliced in half lengthwise, seeded
• 1 jalapeno, sliced in half lengthwise, seeded
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp water

Directions

Roasting Peppers and Cucee Salsa

Roasting Peppers and Cucee Salsa

Green salsa dressing for a Mexican salad

Wine pairing:

Roasting Peppers and Cucee Salsa

Roasting Peppers and Cucee Salsa

Roasting Peppers and Cucee Salsa

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom bake

My 6-year-old son has been known to forget. No, he does not have ADD or ADHD, or any other abbreviated disorder. He is just a happy kid with a condition that I call “selective forgetfulness.”

He clearly always remembers:

• to ask for a desert after dinner, e-v-e-r-y   s-i-n-g-l-e  d-a-y
• to leave a trail of toys behind as he travels from one room to another
• to sing I Need a Doctor, in both Eminem and Skylar Grey voices, naked in a shower
• that Saturday is  pancake day

But he is notorious at forgetting:

• his backpack on the way to school, and lunch box on the way home
• to look forward as he walks into a pole
• to put shoes on before walking out the door
• to clean up – in the midst of cleaning up
• how to spell his middle name
• to use an indoor voice at 6 in the morning

Yes, Jacob is well known for his easily-distractible, forgetful, dreamy, spacey self.

But yesterday at dinner, with his mouth full of beans, mushrooms and caramelized onions, Jacob forgot to chew.

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom bake

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom bake

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom bake

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom bake

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom bake

Adapted from The Stone Soup

Ingredients

• 5 onions, sliced into half-moons
• 2 lbs. button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup dry organic barley
• 4 springs thyme, leaves picked
• 2 cups organic dry white beans (or 3 cans, drained)
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 10 oz. grated cheddar cheese (more or less to taste)
• Olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

To caramelize onions:

1. Heat a few teaspoons of oil in a large frying pan set over medium heat and cook onions, stirring occasionally until golden, about 25 minutes. Add more oil as you need it.
2. Add thyme to onions and season with salt and pepper to taste. (This step can be done in advance).

To cook mushrooms:

1. In a different large frying pan, heat a 2 tablespoons of oil and cook mushrooms, stirring every few minutes to make sure they don’t burn.
2. After a few minutes, you’ll notice sheen of moisture in the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally until all the moisture has evaporated and the pan is dry. Mushrooms are ready when they turn a deep golden and reddish-brown. (This can step can also be done in advance.)

To cook barley:

1. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add barley and stir well. Cover the pot and reduce heat to low.
2. Cook for about 35 to 40 minutes. (This too can be done in advance.)

To cook beans:

1. In a large pot, cover beans by 2 inches with cold water and bring to boil.
2. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, gently stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

To assemble:

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine beans, mushrooms, barley, onions, and cheese. Mix.
3. Spread in a thin layer in a large heatproof dish.
4. Pour the stock over.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Watch for the liquid – it should all evaporate.

Shortcut 1: If you precook your mushrooms, onions and beans (or use canned,) this makes a very quick weekday dinner. I usually double the recipe and bake it in 2 dishes; the leftovers  can be reheated in a microwave or in the oven with a little water or broth the following day.

Shortcut 2: If you are r-e-a-l-l-y pressed on time, forget about mushrooms and barley. Caramelize the onions, open 3 cans of beans and mix these with cheese cheese. Reduce your broth by ½, bake and enjoy!

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom bake

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom bake

Wine Pairing

Of course I would have gone red here if I could, but the hearty cheese nature of the dish really called for a rich white wine. I had a bottle of WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Gris 2010 in my wine fridge and its waxy consistency with hints of  sweetness and earthiness accented the bake nicely.

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom bake

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom bake

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom bake

Piroshki

Sunday night.  The kids are in their beds; my husband pours us two glasses of wine.  I smile at him, “What a nice and relaxing weekend it was. Wasn’t it, honey?”

He looks at me with surprise, which I, submerged in the ambiance of our slow-paced weekend, miss entirely.

“It was so mellow… so tranquil… so stress-free… Slow mornings, followed by some well-needed quality time with family and friends, a workout, relaxing five-mile hike and picnic at the beach…”

My hubby’s face expression transformed from surprise to disbelief.  Still in my dreams, I continue on, “I wish we had more weekends like this.”

It is his turn to speak. He takes a large sip of wine,  “Are we talking about the same weekend?” he starts suspiciously. “Because, here is what I thought we did:”

“Saturday morning.  We are running around like crazy, picking up pancakes from the floor and begging our kids to eat faster, so that we can make our early-morning hike.  We leave the house without having any idea where we’re supposed to go.  We meet our friends at the trail, 45 minutes late.  We hike for 5 miles, stopping every 100 feet, trying to convince our children that their sense of exhaustion is a subjective matter.”

“We sit down at the beach for a picnic.  But we have to relax fast since we only have 30 minutes before we have to go.  Our children loose any sensation in their extremities in the freezing ocean waves. We leave the beach, explaining to the kids that they have to spend the rest of the day in their soaking wet clothes because there is no time to stop by the house to change.”

“After an hour in a weekend traffic, you drop us off at my grandma’s for a visit, while you go grocery shopping. You pick us up one hour later and we rush to your dad’s Birthday Party. On our way to your parents’ house, our son tests other drivers’ eardrums with his version of “Moves Like Jagger,” while you describe how our local Whole Foods is better than the one in the city.”

“We spend the rest of the evening shouting our civilized conversations over loud TV speakers, watching our children refuse to indulge in a celebratory dinner, and listening to your mother trying to convince them otherwise.”

My husband stops for a second, to measure my reaction, and continues.

“Sunday morning.  The kids cannot wake up, tired from last night’s late entertainment.  I break every traffic law on our way to the synagogue, while the kids revolt against going to Sunday school because ‘it’s boring’.”

“After the gym, I break the same traffic laws, once again, on my way to pick them up in order to make it to the two birthday parties, one of which has already started. We spend the rest of the day running from one scheduled social function to the next, until we finally get home to frozen piroshki, instead of a real dinner.”

“Did I miss something?”, he concludes with a question.

Prioshki

Piroshki in the making: caramelized onions, chicken, rice, puff pastry

Piroshki in the making: caramelized onions and chicken

Piroshki in the making: shredding chicken and mixing it onion mixture

Cucee’s Healthified Mini Piroshki (Russian-style savory meat-filled pastry)

Ingredients

• 1 bag of puff pastry
• 1.5 lbs chicken legs (on bone)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 tbs Olive Oil
• 1 cup cooked white rice
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place chicken legs in a large pot; add water to cover. Cover pot and bring to a boil; reduce heat to a gentle boil and cook for about 90 minutes, or until chicken meat is falling off of the bone. Remove chicken and let cool. Reserve stock for soup
2. In the meantime, while chicken is cooking, sauté an onion on medium until nicely browned (about 30 minutes)
3. Combine chicken with sautéd onion; add salt and pepper to taste. Pulse in a food processor until the mixture is ground and everything looks well combined
4. Mix with cooked rice
5. On a lightly floured board, roll out puff pastry dough into ¼ – ⅕  inch-thick sheet. To make moon-shaped piroshki, cut out 4 inch circles with a glass or a biscuit cutter. To make rectangular ones, cut each pastry into 2-inch squares
6. Place 1 tablespoon filling in center of each piece of dough. Moisten edges of dough with a little water, fold over and pinch edges together to seal. Set aside. Repeat until all filling is used
7. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm, or freeze for later. (Frozen piroshki don’t need to be defrosted. Just pop them into a preheated oven and bake until hot all the way through)

Piroshki for the lazy - one large pie

Small square piroshki

Small square piroshki

Wine pairing

I love Hartford Court wines but neither my husband nor I have been a big fan of Pinots. Hartford Court Lands Edge Pinot Noir is probably one exception that we can both agree on.  It effectively balances the mildness of the piroshki in a way that no full-bodied red wine would.

Crescent-shaped piroshki

Crescent-shaped piroshki

Socca Flat Bread

Here, on the island, life is simple.

There is no McDonald’s or Cheese Cake Factory. No Home Depot or Costco. No Four Seasons or four star restaurants. No gyms with flat screen TVs, or without. No Starbucks, Applebee’s, department stores, or shopping malls. No traffic jams or traffic lights.

But there is a library with chess board tables outside. And places to rent bikes or mopeds. A Farmers Market full of local tomatoes, squashes and freshly baked bread.  Two pizzerias, a couple of seafood restaurants, and an ice cream shop.  A photo gallery, a cozy theater, and a ferry.

Farmers Market

Here, on the island, you don’t use a clock. You wake up to the sounds of the island. You fall asleep, sun-drenched, when the Milky Way lights up the sky. You walk or bike to the store to get groceries.  You buy whatever fish was caught that day.

Walking to the store

You dry your clothes on a clothesline.  You carry your garbage to the dumpster – on your bike.  You realize, while washing dishes by hand, that dishwashers don’t really save you time.

My son helping me collect dry clothes

By day, you spend a good number of hours on the beach. There are no lawn chairs with matching umbrellas and free drinks — you simply lay on a towel and drink your own water.  No one sells you jet skis, para-sailing, or deep-tissue massages. You entertain yourself: you swim, you run, you walk. You read, you stretch, you nap. Your kids build castles, roll in sand, and collect sea shells.  They play with tiny crabs, seaweed, and jellyfish.  They find giant straw sticks and use them as brooms, and spears, and stick horse toys.

Sea Shells

By night, you talk, you have some wine.  You look at the stars, seeing some for the first time. You walk to the beach and touch the water in complete darkness.

The sky and the stars

You meet your land lady and learn about her past. She brings you basil from her garden when she sees you cutting Farmers Market tomatoes for your lunch.  You watch your kids teach her parakeet to say “hello,” in a foreign language, while you are making bread from scratch.

Parakeet

Yes, here on the island, life is very simple.

Our house on Block Island

Socca Flat Bread

Socca

Adapted from rom The Sweet Life in Paris

Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp water
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/8 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tbs olive oil
• Freshly-ground black pepper, plus additional sea salt and olive oil for serving

Directions

1. Mix together the flour, water, salt, cumin, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Let batter rest at least 2 hours, covered, at room temperature
2. To cook, heat the broiler in your oven. Use Olive Oil spray bottle to coat a 9- or 10-inch pan with oil and heat the pan in the oven
3. Once the pan and the oven are blazing-hot, pour enough batter into the pan to cover the bottom, swirl it around, then pop it back in the oven
4. Bake until the socca is firm and beginning to blister and burn. The exact time will depend on your broiler
5. Slide the socca out of the pan onto a cutting board, slice into pieces, then shower it with coarse salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil (I did not use any salt, pepper or additional oil)
6. Cook the remaining socca batter the same way, adding a touch more oil to the pan between each one

Socca Flat Bread

Socca Flat Bread

Socca Flat Bread

Wine Pairing

Freshly made Socca goes well with any wine, on and off the island.  My husband and I are red-wine-drinkers, and we found Murphy-Goode Liars Dice Zinfandel 2008 to be a perfect compliment to the crispy flat bread, and the dinner that went with it.

Socca pieces

Socca Flat Bread

Socca Flat Bread