Sunday, February 23, 2014

Minimal

By minimal I mean:

*Ingredients above all else. Technique is to make sure everything is seasoned correctly and cooked to proper done-ness.

*A minimum of pre-processed or canned foods.

*Things that can put in the oven and cook for a given amount of time, or salads that can be compiled simply.

*Minimal instructions. A recipe is just a list of ingredients. Quantities are rarely fixed.

*A single chef's knife does almost all the work.

*Emphasis in on achieving balance between flavors, colors, textures, nutritional values.

*Lack of pretention.

25. The Perfect Salad

My perfect salad now has the following ingredients:

baby spinach
olives
parmesan
roasted red peppers (not from a jar!)
grilled asparagus
avocado

Dressed with

olive oil
balsamic vinegar
mustard

About half the salad is spinach, and the other half the other vegetables.

This salad could evolve in several directions. It could become Greek salad by the addition of red onions and feta, with Greek olives and without the asparagus.

Other greens could take the place of the spinach. Poblanos can replace or suplements the roasted bell peppers. I do like cooked vegetables in my salads, though.

Friday, February 21, 2014

24. Pork Loin

One of the easiest possible dishes is a pork loin. Season by rubbing some salt, pepper, and other spices on it, stick it in the appropriate pan in a 350 oven for 30 minutes, and serve with an appropriate sauce, like the blueberry limoncello gastrique. You shouldn't even need a knife to cut it: if it is not overcooked, it will be extremely tender. It should have the slightest pink tinge to it, no more.

Monday, February 17, 2014

23. Blueberry limoncello balsamic gastrique

I got some limoncello for Valentine's day. I sauteed some blueberries in a little bit of it, with some balsamic vinegar, then added red wine vinegar until it wasn't too sweet. I had it over some of the leftover pork tenderloin, accompanied by seashell pasta carbonara.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

22. Cupboard Challenge: eggs, potatoes, chipotles, onions, quinoa, spinach, garlic

The challenge is to make a late breakfast with what I have on hand.

I put a red potato in the oven and started sauteing some onions. I added garlic to them when they were getting brown, then two chopped chipotle peppers, about a quarter pound of baby spinach, a few T of cooked red quinoa,and a beaten egg. Then I took a potato out of the oven, sliced it, and finished it on the grill pan.

The dominant taste was chiptotle. I didn't mind, but for guests I would have used only one half of a pepper to let some of the other flavors shine. This dish was essentially San Francisco Joe with chipotles and quinoa, without the meat.



21.. Spinach & Red Quinoa

I took some olive oil and sauteed a clove of garlic, then mixed in some spinach. When it was wilted, I added some red quinoa I had cooked the day before in the usual way, and warmed it up. This was perfect accompaniment to the leftover cod from the night before. It could have been vegan main course too, if I hadn't used butter in the quinoa.

Monday, February 10, 2014

20. Cod with coriander, cumin, and cayenne; quinoa

This alliterative recipe is simply a cod filet, rubbed with a spice mix of coriander, cumin, and cayenne, and gently sautéed. Finish with some lemon.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

19. Molasses sriracha BBQ Sauce

No picture for this: I made a sauce of molasses, sriracha, and vinegar, and used it for a cheap cut of ribs that I cooked in my slow cooker all day. It had a dash of soy sauce and Worcestershire and some cumin (could have used more of that). Then I added some salsa to lessen the intensity of some of the flavors. A little tomato sauce would have done the trick just as well.

The idea is that the sweetness would come from molasses, the acid from the vinegar, and the spice and garlic from the hot sauce.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

18. SF Joe (3): vegetarian version


Here I made San Francisco Joe in a meatless version, with Quinoa and no sausage. Accompanied by some siracha and orange slices for lunch.

Ingredients were onion, garlic, egg, spinach, jalapeños, leftover quinoa. I should have remembered the parmesan.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

17. Bay Scallops with Garlic and Jalapeños



Snow day lunch! Bay scallops with garlic and jalapeños (olive oil, cognac); carrots (baked with some curry powder and butter); quinoa cooked with spices; some greens with balsamic vinegar.