Recently in Cooking at Home Category

That, my friends, is a beautiful piece of romanesco broccoli from the Capitol Hill Farmer's Market. I'm a big fan of the Farmer's Market, and try to do a sweep every Sunday. Not only is the food delicious...but well, I have a healthy lifestyle to maintain.

In terms of "diets", the 20/20 program actually hasn't been that bad. In fact, as I've progressed, I've learned to make adjustments to my cooking style, using old recipes and finding new ones. We all know just how picky I am with food - it's all about quality ingredients and what tastes good - and I've succeeded in maintaining my standards. I've learned a ton about nutrition and how to cook food that is healthier. It's not that my cooking wasn't unhealthy to begin with, but I needed to make small changes, moving the dial about 20 degrees. (Although it's fair to point out that if I cooked as healthy as I thought, I wouldn't be doing 20/20).

I fully admit, food wise, the first few weeks on the program were rough. I cried regularly, had to work at home a few days just because I couldn't bear to face seeing anyone else. I also had to decline a few invitations to foodie events. The food situation was just not optimal. An elimination diet, I spent a week eating large amounts of protein and berries. Theoretically, I was also supposed to drink special protein shakes with every meal, but alas, I was part of the small percentage that got violently ill from the protein shakes, so my life was all protein, all berries. I won't go into some of the gruesome details, and while I was satiated and did drop a significant amount, I don't ever want to repeat this part of the diet. My energy levels were low, I almost passed out at the gym and my hands were tingly. And the hardest part: walking through the farmer's market, seeing all of the beautiful produce and just being sad. So sad.

One week in, most vegetables came back in (starchy vegetables, like winter squash, corn and potatoes, weren't allowed until recently). That was a happy, happy day.

In subsequent weeks, other things have been added: dairy (non-fat Greek yogurt rocks, pineapple and cottage cheese is a treat, and the quality of the non-fat/low-fat cheeses has improved substantially since I worked in the deli in the early 1990s); fruit; legumes (mmmm, hummus!); grains (of the whole variety, like steel-cut oats, whole wheat couscous, quinoa, brown rice); and most recently, bread (whole wheat, of course, and here's to Dave's bread, which I loved even before I discovered that it's good for you). At this stage, I'm really only missing chocolate and wine (you know which one I miss the most of the two).

As each food has been added, I've had to figure out how it makes me feel. Luckily, nothing has made me sick. And I've discovered a few things. Dairy makes me hungry, thus explaining how I can't stop myself once I've started snacking on cheese. So, if I do yogurt for breakfast, I need to add some form of protein. And speaking of protein, I've found that eating protein in the morning helps curb hunger throughout the day. I eat a lot of egg whites. The jury is still out on bread - I have a feeling that it may be a trigger food, i.e., something that inhibits weight loss.

I cook a ton, I plan ahead: it's a constant balancing act. I need to maintain a set number of calories, and that requires making some big choices each day, ensuring that I get the proper balance of protein, carbs and fat (which, I've learned, should be a balance for each meal). So for example, if I want to treat myself to t-bone steak for dinner (allowed), I need to keep my calories down at lunch and breakfast. If I make a sandwich for lunch (bread is pretty high caloric), I consume fewer calories for breakfast and dinner. I can either have grains or legumes, so if I eat oatmeal for breakfast, no snacking on hummus with my carrots when I make dinner. I meal track (hurrah for iPhone apps, LoseIt is pretty good), not only looking at calories, but trying my best to maintain the correct protein to carbs to fat ratios.

And I experiment. Some meals have been downright boring - turkey cutlets are just uninspiring. And I've done my best to avoid the ultra-boring chicken breasts, an amazing feat. I've also begun to tinker with recipes, making adjustments to cut the fat, substituting ingredients. There's a ton of play with many recipes, and it's fun to experiment. And the farmer's market: I've always been willing to try new stuff, and this new lifestyle has pushed me to try even more. It's fun...and delicious.

That romanesco? I steamed with some chicken broth, then served with a reduced balsamic vinegar. Fabulous!

And for show, a few other dishes that I've recently feasted on.

First up, Lebanese Style Stuffed Eggplant, courtesy Smitten Kitchen. My adjustments: left out the pine nuts, used about one tablespoon of olive oil to saute the onions and substituted bison for ground lamb and brown basmati rice for the jasmine rice. So delicious, and happily still snacking on leftovers. Oh, and speaking of bison, I've discovered that it's a pretty tasty meat.

Next, roasted turkey breast (deboned, brined and then grilled), baked squash, beets and black quinoa (there's also red quinoa, and the very traditional and much more available white varietal). Another delicious meal, with enough leftovers for turkey sandwiches and dinners.

And finally, another one of my farmer's market favorites: purple carrots. Sweet, crunchy, they taste just like carrots should taste.

Proper cake decoration has always vexed me. Nothing seems to pipe correctly, and my attempts have always resulted in angrily smearing the piped decorations into oblivion, always ending up with a simple, straightforward frosting job.

Paul assured me that he could teach me to decorate a cake, so on a Saturday afternoon, he came over, cake decorating tools in hand.

The final results:

And of course, a slice of the cake:

I made my favorite chocolate cake, the sour cream chocolate cake from Sky High, filling it with white chocolate mousse. We made a massive batch of swiss buttercream frosting, which is absolutely perfect for all things frosting. I may be making cupcakes for a work-related celebration later this month, and am excited because of the chance to practice piping!

A few lessons learned: piping isn't as hard as I've made it out to be; using the tools properly help; a mid-afternoon martini never hurts when it comes to cake decorating; and sparkling always goes well with the finished product (in this case, Delmas Blanquette de Limoux Languedoc).

Thank you, Paul! I can not wait to visit you in Miami and check out those beaches...

After a several month long absence, the Capitol Hill Farmer's market finally opened in early May. And the people of Cap Hill were happy, because not only were our favorite and beloved vendors back, but the market was even bigger and better with new vendors. And, it would last longer, through December 20, meaning that Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners could be composed from market ingredients.

My favorite returnees: the farm with the amazing selection of peppers (no peppers yet, but asparagus for the first month, amazing spring onions and now, fava beans and squash blossoms, among all of their bounty); the pretzel guy; the salmon guys; the honey guy; the chicken egg lady; the beef guys; Tiny's Organic product; Half Pint, delicious ice cream; and the little farm with the great vegetables that I'm not always sure what to do with, but they sample everything and always have a preparation idea. Among my favorite additions: another cheese stand (that now makes two, sometimes three!); the Green grilling guys, who grill burgers, which look delicious, but I've been all about the fried egg and bacon sandwiches; more prepared foods; the crepe stand; and the fresh from the sea couple with fresh oysters and clams. Uh-huh. Yes. Deliciousness to be had just a few blocks from my house, every Sunday from 11-3.

Probably not to your surprise, I've been buying and cooking from the market. My obsessions this year: pea vine greens, fava beans and now, squash blossoms.

Luckily for you, I've been taking pictures along the way!

First up, clam linguine with fresh herbs, a recipe courtesy of the Herb Farm cookbook, and clams, linguine and some of the herbs from the market. I think it had a bit too much parsley, but I also added a liberal amount of tarragon, chervil and basil, which was a good addition.

Next, one of a series involving pea vine leaves. I can't describe just how delicious these are, a simple green that is lighter than spinach, a bit less harsh than lamb's quarter, and despite a by-product of the pea, not tasting like peas. I found that simply sauteeing with some olive oil, perhaps some salt and pepper, or truffle salt, the pea vines were delicious. As an aside, Joe Bar, my go to coffee shop and crepery, featured a crepe with pea vines and chevre. I could not resist, twice, and after commenting about the delicious pea vine crepe on Facebook, discovered through a few friends that pea vines are actually a traditional Chinese food. That lead to one of my favorite dim sum experiences ever at Jade Garden in the International District, with not only all of my dim sum favorites, but a heaping big plate of pea vine leaves. Yes.

Picture #1: pea vines sauteed with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and dressed with seared scallops and a tarragon buerre blanc sauce. I drank a very tasty Domaine Pellehaut Chardonnay Gascogne from France along with. This was one of about four different treatments involving scallops, because I really love scallops.

Picture #2: pea vines, sauteed with olive oil, truffle salt and spring onions, and with glazed, grilled salmon.

Picture #3: pea vines, sauteed with olive oil, truffle salt and with grilled salmon.

I was eating other things besides pea vines and [insert name of fish/shellfish]. Fava beans! Here they are, in a spring vegetable ragout. Which, by the way, was insanely delicious. Spring peas, fava beans, artichokes (the fresh were too big, so I substituted canned), spring onions and pancetta, with mint and garlic tops for additional flavor, as if the other ingredients weren't enough. A very bright and tasty rose, Charles and Charles, from Washington's Columbia Valley went extremely well with this dish. The rose, a varietal that is all about spring, with bright, fresh notes that taste like sun, was well, more than perfect with the ragout.

More fava beans, this time with pancetta, garlic tops and mint, and seared shrimp. I would have grilled the shrimp, but I had run out of gas for the grill. Sacrifices, I tell you. And, a bottle of Gavi, Picollo Ernesto from Piedmont was just perfect with this dish.

There market also hosts a few vendors that sell beef, lamb and goat. It's not cheap, but good stuff, a la, the kind of meat that I probably ate when my parents would buy a side of beef when I was a kid, before agribusiness really started their evil practices. Ahem. "Dirty" skirt steak and bok choy. Funny story about the marinade: the night before, my upstairs neighbor and I joked about borrowing random stuff, such as a a cup of rum. The next day, I actually needed a tablespoon of rum to finish the marinade. Good timing!

The steak was delicious - the marinade added a nice salty goodness that was balanced by the warm flavor of the rum.

I won't even mention the delicious cherry varietals that are hitting the market, because I would not want to make you jealous. But I will leave you with one final picture: strawberries. These were the first of the season. They looked small, the baskets weren't completely filled and I wondered if they were worth the price.

One of Tiny's guys looked at me, and said, "yeah, they don't look like much, but trust me, they are amazing. I can guarantee you, they are delicious and you'll come back and want to buy a flat. We don't have a lot, we aren't even sampling." I pondered this, especially the lack of samples, because Tiny's thrives on samples. They never sell anything they won't sample...unless there's a reason. It turned out that there was a reason. I bought, promising to be back if they weren't worth the price. "Oh don't worry," he said, "you'll be back for more".

The strawberries were amazing. While they may have looked tiny and anemic, and been priced more than what I could have bought at QFC across the street, they packed a punch that I just wasn't expecting. Deep red flesh, full of juice, bursting with strawberry sweetness.

I always think that Easter is a holiday worth celebrating. Strip out the religious overtones, and Easter is just plain fun. Easter eggs, giant bunnies, candy, and of course, an excuse to cook a pork-themed dinner.

In the Olhava family tradition, Easter is also a holiday of potential disasters. Two years ago, the oven caught on fire. There were a bunch of years of wine-fueled Olhava cousin Saturday night Easter rib-fests, with the hangovers to prove it. Suddenly, the traditional American Polish breakfast of Polish sausage, hard-boiled eggs and coffee cake makes sense. My brother once threw up all over my cousin (so sorry to have been at Sunday school and missed that spectacle). And last year, my nephew had a complete meltdown, because he really, really wanted to make pie crust with his Aunt Schelley, and by the time he got home, the crust was already chilling in the fridge. Regardless, I'm always game for Easter. It's a tradition.

Invites went out, six brave souls arrived, and Easter dinner happened sans disaster.

Of course, we started with appetizers. I should note, you may get hungry and/or feel slightly full while reading this. I almost always miscalculate food portions, and Easter dinner was a perfect example of too much food. Alas. I made miniature crab cakes and artichoke heart and olive dip. Hilary brought a very excellent cheese ball (recipe courtesy of a now defunct Phoenix restaurant) and Gavin and Elaine brought the always popular spinach dip. Plus wine and champagne, because really, it's a necessity.

Richard was kind enough to carve the ham, glazed with a honey-thyme sauce. A number of dishes accompanied: potatoes au gratin with arugula, spinach and bacon, spanish tortilla (plus a bottle of chalupa sauce, both thanks to Tracy), artichoke hearts poached in lemon and olive oil, lemon asparagus salad, cauliflower and broccoli with some delicious cheese (a la Gavin and Elaine), and dinner rolls. Whew.

Richard labored on a very delicious lemon tart, even cooking the lemons that decorated the tart! I contributed a raspberry chiffon pie, and in a moment of self-congratulations, should say that the crust was one of the best I've ever made: flaky, flaky, flaky.

Lessons learned. First, a big meal, plus wine and champagne, requires time to digest. I should have started dinner about two hours earlier. Second, every single food on the table was on the rich end. A simple, straightforward, non-olive oil/cheese/high-in-fat component would have been a nice swap for something else on the table. But really, there were no complaints.

And finally, leftovers. I'm writing this entry about a week later, and still have a few leftovers to deal with. After a few repeats of the Easter meal, I couldn't take it. So, I chopped up the asparagus and artichoke hearts, sauteed in the olive oil and lemon dressing used in the asparagus salad and added to pasta, along with some parmesan and a few squirts of lemon (I later added spinach, and then later, sausage). Sadly, the potatoes will probably not make it...they're just too rich for another meal. As for the ham, I made a few sandwiches, and later, turned more into a very excellent quiche (I had to do something with the extra pie crust). I don't have a huge amount left, but don't want to waste it. Meaning, it will go in the freezer and at some point, I'll be inspired and use up the rest.

A few final images. First, the bar, ready to go before anyone arrived. I love the bar. My love for the bar is only eclipsed by my love for the new kitchen table, which is all stretched out, covered in food and ready for guests to sit, dine, drink wine and enjoy conversation.

The blogging has been a bit sparse in 2009, and for once, I have a good excuse. Two words: Battlestar Galactica. Yes, I've been sucked into the geekdom that is the BSG university. Free time is spent not only working my way through the episodes (thank goodness for the punctuality of Netflix), but reading up on the shows, pondering the plot twists and turns, the what-ifs, the theological and moral messages woven so brilliantly into every episode.

Now, just because I've been eyes glued to the TV does not mean that I have not been cooking and eating (although, the alcohol consumption on board the Galactica and surrounding civilian ships is fairly impressive, the food they eat is barely mentioned or considered, except for one crucial story arc. Moving on). I'm saving a few things for their own entries, but thought that I'd cover some topics:

Crispy Tacos. I am so in love with Smitten Kitchen. Her recipes are rock solid, her writing is fabulous and pictures are beautiful. I've made the crispy black bean tacos with slaw and feta cheese approximately a dozen times, and am still not bored. If the weather doesn't feel like bbq today, it's tacos for me. Speaking of tacos...

Rancho Bravo: Capitol Hill now has a taqueria, Rancho Brav. Woo-hoo! Originally a taco truck in Wallingford (tasty food in those taco trucks, as I've discovered since moving to Seattle), they've set up shop in a former KFC. Just about as good as Bay Area taquerias, plus with the added bonus of the soullessness of the former KFC as the taqueria. I'm eager to see how they morph and evolve and become even better.

Vietnamese Sandwiches: After hearing people rave about Saigon Deli in the International District, I finally gave it a try. Wow - the best Vietnamese sandwich I have ever had. Light fluffy bread, a generous helping of pickled vegetables and the meat, oh soo tasty. I have always loved the sandwiches, but Saigon Deli has raised the bar to a whole new level.

Pork and Vegas: I spent a February weekend in warm Las Vegas, visiting Adam and Aimee and their three kids (two more and they have a basketball team!) Somehow, I succeeded in eating some variant of pork with every meal: Adam grilled ribs for dinner (plus bacon in the beans and corn casserole), bacon both mornings for breakfast, pork leftovers for lunch, and I just couldn't resist the spicy shredded pork taco from Rubio's. I've been to Vegas at least a dozen times in the past 10+ years, but this was the first time that I didn't go for work. Except for seeing the hotel skyline - which, from a distance, looks a lot like the skyscrapers of every major American city, only those skyscrapers aren't filled with offices and condos, rather, hotel rooms - I barely knew that I was in Vegas. No crazy days filled with too many meetings in the LVCC, no presentations to stress over, no client/press events, no hangovers. It was really, really nice. Oh, and worth mentioning: Red Rock Canyon is exceptionally beautiful. I highly recommend. And Retro Cupcakes - honey and peanut butter, yum! Finally, I'm awarding Aimee with the best hostess ever prize: she actually emailed me before my visit asking for my breakfast food preferences!

St. Patrick's Day: Mom and Dad came to visit the weekend before St. Patrick's Day, and since it was the season, I decided to make corned beef. Elise at Simply Recipes wrote about baked corned beef, so I gave it a try. The corned beef wasn't bad, and the recipe for caramelized onions and cabbage absolutely rocked, but there is a reason most recipes call for boiling corned beef.

Finally, the weather. I'm not going to lie, and the following statement probably doesn't surprise you: this has been another long Seattle winter. Cold, rain and more snow than I ever expected in the Emerald City. Luckily, the 2008 snowpocalypse hasn't quite repeated in 2009 (although we still have November and December 2009), but there have been plenty of "oh my goodness, more snow" moments. Like when it started snowing about 2 minutes into my 15-minute walk to a bar to celebrate Pete's birthday, and I had to wait in line in the snow for another 10 minutes to get in (I still can't figure out why they didn't let me, a girl, into the *gay* bar). I walked in, found Pete, and he laughed and told me that I looked like a drowned rat. I then spent 5 minutes in the bathroom drying my hair with paper towels. (Pete was properly punished for that comment with a wicked hangover the next day). Or the St. Paddy's Day Dash: nothing really spices up a run more than running in a combination of snow, sleet and driving rain. Or, the Friday morning just a few weeks ago when I left my house at 6 for a run, and was greeted by cars dusted in a layer of snow. That was the most terrifying, when I did the math and realized that boot camp was starting in 6 short days. (First boot camp run: on mud-covered trails, in the rain). But, spring is now here, sort of. The cherry blossoms are gorgeous (check out this link for pictures of cherry blossoms in my neighborhood), flowers are blooming, the Mariners are playing, sunglasses are now worn more often, and I've been opening windows, sitting on my little balcony and renewed my spring relationship with Claritin. Yep, summer is almost here.

Despite my best intentions, I just could not bring myself to attend the Stranger's annual Anti-Valentine's Day party. So, instead I stayed home and treated myself to gougeres, champagne and single girl salmon.

Several years ago, I picked up Amanda Hessers' very excellent Cooking for Mr. Latte, a compilation of her columns and recipes from the New York Times, beginning with her first date with "Mr. Latte", chronicling dating stories to engagement, and culminating in their wedding. One of my favorites, and a standby for years, is Single Girl Salmon, a recipe designed for one.

Cover lentils with water (I usually use French green, but only had red, which cook very fast), add a bay leaf and I always add a shallot, and bring to boil. When lentils are done, drain, salt and pepper generously, then fold in olive oil, fresh lemon juice and if you have it, white wine vinegar. Balsamic also works. This should be done to taste...I like mine tart, but that is just my taste, which if you read this blog, know it can be a bit off.

When the lentils are done, heat olive oil and saute a thinly sliced shallot until brown. Salt and pepper a piece of salmon. Center cut works best, and you should probably salt and pepper earlier and let the salmon sit at room temperature. I happen to live in an area that has access to a good supply of salmon, so for Saturday night, I bought a pretty piece of Coho. Once the shallots are done, remove, then cook the salmon, skin side down. Flip at some point and from here, cook to your tastes. I find undercooking preferable to overcooking; it continues to cook as it sits, and really, overcooked, dry salmon is an injustice to the mighty fish.

Note, the recipe provides a few more details, but I think that adjusting recipes for you is always acceptable and encouraged.

Plate the lentils, plate the salmon on top of the lentils, and then sprinkle with the browned shallot. If you have parsley, you can even sprinkle a few leaves on top.

And that was Valentine's Day.

PS: I am currently looking for a permanent kitchen partner, a sous chef if you may. Requirements: must be useful with a kitchen knife, must like eating and wine and football. Send recommendations my way. It would be nice to write about doubling the recipe on Valentine's Day in 2010.

Pete and Paul spent many hours on the backsplash in my kitchen, so to properly thank them, I cooked. In retrospect, I may have spent about as much time planning, shopping and cooking as they spent tiling, but I'm not keeping track or anything. No, I would not do that.

We started with french onion soup. I used Cooks Illustrated latest incarnation, which was slightly more complicated than necessary, in my opinion. While Pete and Paul loved, I thought it tasted slightly burnt; the recipe called for deglazing the caramelized onions several times, but the deglazed bits turned burnt, a problem that I've had in the Le Creuset soup pot, but that's never made the food taste burnt. I wasn't able to properly bake the soup with croutons and gruyere - someone didn't pay attention to the texts asking for the proper pottery - so I sprinkled the toasted slices with gruyere, melted under the broiler for a few and topped the soup. I also opened up a bottle of 2005 Les Jamelles Chardonnay, a non-oaked varietal that was smooth and somewhat flavorful, although despite reading that it would go well, didn't really match the soup.

The main course featured what was the probably the best piece of beef tenderloin I have ever tasted. I've never been that thrilled about roast...and this cut and recipe completely changed my opinion. I've found that Cooks does a great job with meat, and they did not fail me with this cut. Directions: use a two pound cut of beef tenderloin (note, this is not an inexpensive cut), tie, salt and let sit for an hour at room temperature. Rub with shallot-garlic-parsley butter and bake until cooked to desired temperature. I like my meat on the rare end, so about 35 minutes. Then, sear in vegetable oil, resulting in a tasty, tasty crust, put on a cutting board and rub with more of the butter. Let it sit, ask someone to carve...and enjoy. I kid you not, this meat was melt in your mouth delicious. The butcher tried to sell me on some other cut, telling me that the tenderloin didn't have as much flavor, and she may have been right, but didn't bargain on my Cooks Illustrated directed recipe skills. Many sounds were made the table, and I knew that the meat was perfect when Paul told me that the meal "was totally worth the backplash". Good to know, Paul, good to know.

I also made Cooks' rustic dinner rolls, which are quickly becoming a Sunday night dinner mainstay, artichoke and leek potato gratin, and roasted asparagus with lemon. Oh, and a bottle of 2007 A to Z pinot noir. The wine was a bit syrupy, but opened up nicely and did well with the meat.

For dessert, a long-time go to recipe: lemon cheese with a hazelnut crust. Delicious, not too rich and just the right type of dessert to end a rich meal.

By the way, it may not be too noticeable, but that's a brand new table. Yes, after a several month absence, I now have a real life kitchen table. Four chairs, a beautiful finish, a built-in leaf, it is absolutely perfect.