Vegetable Soup

Vegetable Soup

T1 was busy in the kitchen while I obliviously goofed around on the computer in the next room. I had no idea what she was up to so I just left her to it because I knew I had something good and tasty to look forward to. Before I knew it, she comes into the room announcing "lunch is ready". Wow! I know time can fly by especially when I'm mindlessly surfing around. It's odd how at times when on the computer, it's almost as if you live an out of body existence. Kind of like the movie Altered States :) (Now if that reference isn't dating myself...) Anyway, in what seemed like a few minutes, or just enough time to open a can and heat up some soup, T1 made a pot of market fresh home-made vegetable soup from scratch.

Beans Beans They're Good For Your Heart...

Romano Bean and Kidney Bean Salad

We eat a lot of beans in this household. You've been warned!!! Just kidding. We eat them because we like them. They taste good, fill you up, can be prepared in many ways (although we eat a lot of them in salads like this) and they're really good for you. There is some truth to the childhood song, "Beans beans their good for your heart...". With the amount of fiber they contain, anywhere from 9 to 22 grams per half cup, eating beans may hold the key to lowering cholesterol, controlling hypertension, aiding in digestion and keeping your lower insides healthy. I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on T.V., but there is a lot of information out there regarding the benefits of a high fiber diet. Look it up for yourself. As for the second line of that childhood song, who doesn't let one rip once in a while? That's Mother Nature's sense of humor.

Okay, now that you've completely lost your appetite, these are Romano beans with kidney beans, parsley, olive oil and red wine vinegar. One bean short of a three bean salad.

Get Stuffed

Stuffed Pimiento Pepper

These little pimiento peppers from the farmers market were the perfect size for stuffing. The farmer I bought them from told me they would be super sweet and they sure were. They remind me in shape of those miniature pumpkins you find in the supermarkets this time of year with pumpkin like ridges.

I cut the tops off and hollowed them out with a spoon. The stuffing was a mixture of a baby garbanzo bean, toasted couscous blend from Trader Joe's, some minced garlic, minced onion, minced mushrooms, grated Parmesan cheese and mashed up anchovy filets. The couscous was cooked and drained and the rest of the ingredients were sauteed in a little olive oil to draw out the water in the mushrooms and to combine the flavors. After cooling down a bit, everything was mixed together and stuffed in the pepper containers. The peppers then went into a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes and they were done. We had the stuffed peppers with a little tomato sauce and pan fried salmon.

Pan Fried Salmon with Stuffed Pimiento Pepper

Zebra Heirloom Tomatoes with Bocconcini and Basil

Zebra Heirloom Tomatoes

The zebra heirlooms I found at the farmers market last Saturday couldn't have been more perfect. They were vine ripe and firm with tight skins. The flavor was intensely bright and tomatoey. There was even a slight berryness to the finish which makes sense seeing as how tomatoes are classified as a fruit. Eat enough supermarket tomatoes and it's easy to forget what tomatoes are supposed to taste like.

Zebra Heirloom Tomato Caprese

When it comes to produce this fresh, simpler is better so I chose to prepare them in a classic Caprese style salad with mozzarella bocconcini, some basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and fresh cracked pepper.

Close up

Santa Monica Farmers Market

Santa Monica Farmers Market Cornucopia

This morning I paid a visit to the Santa Monica Farmers Market. The market, located at the intersection of Arizona and the Third Street Promenade has always been a favorite of mine and is held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Saturday market has always been a little more relaxed and casual than the Wednesday version with less hustle and bustle and fewer professional chefs making serious purchases to compete with. Although there are half the stalls as found midweek, you can still find just about anything your heart (or stomach) desires as long as it's in season and grown locally-or more or less locally. I've heard of one farmer who travels all the way down from the Sacramento area to attend the Wednesday market.

Shopping at any Farmers Market makes good sense. I may not be a full fledged practitioner of locavorism (yet), but the quality, freshness and flavor of locally grown produce can't be beat and I may have to convert. It's a no brainer that eating locally grown food is good for our environment, besides, I'd rather put my money in the pockets of our farmers that do all the hard work rather than the middle men and corporations that drive the transglobal food industry. An added bonus is that in general, farmers are really down to earth folks (no pun intended) and answer any questions you may have and generously share their favorite recipes and preparations for their produce. If they don't already have samples out, just ask and most will give you a taste. Try doing that at your local supermarket.

Beautiful Zebra Heirloom Tomatoes

Yellow Lipstick and Pimiento Peppers

On this visit, I found several different squashes, Japanese eggplant, hydroponically grown arugula and Chinese celery, some cool looking yellow lipstick and pimiento peppers, lots of fresh herbs, two different types of fingerling potatoes, some amazingly crisp and sweet cameo apples (thanks for all the samples apple lady), bok choy, gai-lan, long beans, romano beans, and the last of the zebra heirloom tomatoes. I also picked up a nice whole wheat loaf and some corn rye from the Breadman.

With all this great stuff to work with in the kitchen, I can't wait to put paint to canvas and see what I come up with.

Steak and Potato Soup

Steak and Potato Soup

What a difference a day makes. As I mentioned in the previous post, it's been really hot lately. Well today, Mother Nature gave us some much needed relief from the heat. I woke up this morning and it was drizzling and overcast. Now this finally felt like fall. I don't even think the temperature topped seventy degrees. It was perfect soup weather.

We had some leftover steak in the fridge. It got sliced up and put in the pot along with a cubed potato, onions, carrots, green beans, sliced crimini mushrooms and beef broth. I seasoned the pot with some dried Italian herbs, a little garlic powder, a dash or two of Maggi seasoning, salt and cracked pepper. Simple yet effective especially on a cool day like today. Goes great with a crusty baguette.

Like a Heatwave

Yesterday it was unbearably hot. The temperature was in the mid nineties all day but felt more like a hundred. What's going on? It's already October!

Extremely hot weather always seems to diminish my appetite. I don't feel like eating anything heavy. The thought of cooking over a hot stove may sound nice when it's cold and dark outside but yesterday felt like August in Death Valley-inside the house as well as outside. We needed something simple and light.

I've always liked the concept of making a meal out of several small plates. Eastern Mediterranean cultures have meze, the Spanish have their tapas, the Japanese have izakaya, in Hawaii they serve pupus and so on. Most of the savory small plates that comprise these ways of eating are traditionally served with drinks but can also be served as stand alone appetizers or more often here in L.A. these days, are combined and shared to make up a whole communal meal. What's nice about this style of eating is that it's casual, not confined to courses and you get a taste of everything. Go back for seconds of your favorites or order another plate. Have some of this and some of that, have a bit to drink and eat a little more. Our Christmas eve tradition is to start with a nice breakfast then pull out all the stops and get right to work cooking little dishes of our favorites and eat them all day into the night, something I look forward to all year. Sorry, I got off on a tangent... back to last night's dinner.

Cannellini Bean Salad

Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta

Pasta with Shrimp, Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Olive Oil and Toasted Garlic

I wouldn't really define last nights dinner as any of the above ways of eating (alchohol wasn't included and there wasn't a lot of variety) but if it had anything in common, it was made out of three small light dishes. The first was a refreshing cannellini bean salad dressed with olive oil and lime juice. The second dish was brussel sprouts with red onion and pancetta (a dish I copied from a local Italian restaurant) and the filler was pasta with shrimp, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil and toasted garlic. It was light, that's for sure. The flavors where more summer like than fall but felt appropriate for our hot weather. At least I didn't sweat through dinner.