Risotto

I first watched risotto being made while I was in DC--Helene took me over to her friend's house, and they made risotto. It was delicious, and didn't look that hard, so I made some at home. I thought it was good, if a little overly creamy, but Ed didn't like it at all (because of the creaminess). I figured it was a lost cause, and then we were over at another friend's house, and he made risotto, and Ed really liked it. Ok, its ON. I decided to not add any cheese at the end, and to cook the rice only until just al dente, not quite fully cooked. Well, it worked, he liked it and I think we get to have risotto more often.

This is actually a fairly easy thing to make, it just happens to be pretty labor intensive. i.e. you stand at the stove for 45 minutes and stir rice. The end product is worth it, though. You can put pretty much anything in risotto, as long as you follow the right steps in the right order. The idea is that first you must toast the rice in some sort of fat, and then you slowly add your liquid little bit by little bit, until the rice has absorbed as much liquid as possible and it tastes done. Yup, thats it. So here is my take on a dish that carries a reputation for being hard to make, but isn't...

Ingredients:
5-6C vegetable or chicken broth, preferably real broth but boullions will work in a pinch
1C white wine (or a good hard cider; we used a pear cider and it was delicious)
1C short grained rice. Aborio (sp?) is traditional risotto rice, but sushi rice worked well. No long grain, brown, or wild rice.
1 small yellow onion
2-3cloves garlic (depends on how much garlic breath you like)
1/2C grated parmesan cheese
1C additions (diced mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, olives, whatever)
1-3tbs olive oil or butter

The method:

First you want to heat your liquids. When you add the liquid to the rice, it must be warm, otherwise you shock the rice, leaving the inside raw but cooking the outside (eventually). Thats not good, so heat your liquids. I generally have a pot of broth heating on a back burner, and just microwave the alcohol.

Next, dice your onion and various additions. In a large frying pan or wok, add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Then add your onions and garlic. Once the onions are sweated, add your rice. You want to stir this around so that the rice gets fully coated in olive oil. Add more if you need to. Cook the rice like this for a minute, until its starting to look translucent.

Once the rice looks translucent, add 1/3C of your warmed wine or cider. Stir it in and allow it to completely evaporate. Then add the rest, 1/3C at a time, waiting for it to evaporate fully each time. During this time you can also add your additions, but don't do them at the same time as a liquid addition since they're generally full of liquid (mushrooms, for example). Once you've used up your wine, start adding the broth, 1/3C at a time. The starch in the rice should start to make a nice goo, by this point. Depending on how gooey you like it, let the liquids evaporate/absorb completely before adding more or add more as they're still kind of gooey. Taste the rice every so often to see if its done. It should triple or quadruple in size.

Once you've got your rice to the cookedness that you want it to, remove from heat and stir in ~1/4C of parmesan cheese. This will make it even more gooey, so if you don't like that, don't add the cheese. Serve the risotto, and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Enjoy!

I found 1 cup of rice fed two hungry people, as a full meal, not a side dish. double or halve the recipe accordingly.

Bean-corn salsa

Another one of my favorite things to make when its hot and I have fresh tomatoes...

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 ears of corn, cooked and the kernels cut off the cobs
2 large tomatoes, preferably super fresh
2 tbs finely chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic
1/2 red onion
Juice of 1/2 lime
Salt to taste

Chop everything until its approximately of equal size. Put it in a large bowl, mix it together, and eat it.

Peach Tarts

Anna and I have been picking fruit a lot recently. Generally its either preceeded or followed by a rollerski, which means you can eat more fruit while you're picking it (you have to taste test each tree!). Last week the peaches and nectarines were out, as well as ginger golds and honey crisps (two of my favorite types of apples). We also got a bunch of raspberries--they were so good that you'd fill the whole pint box, eat it, and then refill it. Anyway, I made a peach tart, and it was delicious. Recipe follows.


Crust:
4 tbs butter
2 tbs lard
1 1/4 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
~2 tbs water

In a food processor, mix the flour and salt. Add the butter, and process 5-7 times. Add the lard, and process 5-7 times. Add water 1 tbs at a time (or if you have a spray bottle, spray it) until the dough just sticks together when you push it between your fingers. Roll it out and put it in a pie pan. Poke some holes in the bottom with a fork to let steam escape. Bake at 375 for ~10 minutes until its pretty much cooked. It should feel hard, not doughy.

Filling:
6 peaches
2 tbs sugar

Peel your peaches, put them in a bowl, and sprinkle the sugar over them. Let them sit for 10 minutes. Then spread the slices in an artistic manner over the crust, including some of the sugar syrup.

Bake the tart at 375 for another ~10 minutes, until the peaches are soft. Let it cool before you dig in :)

Carrot-spice muffins

I realize a lot of what I cook is baked, and generally a muffin. Thats because they're easy, quick, and healthy enough I don't feel bad eating them as training food. Plus, I like muffins. And then I discovered/created carrot-spice muffins, and my whole muffin world was turned upside down. These things put all other muffins to shame (well, not all, but many). Despite not having any oil, they're incredibly moist, and there is a complexity of flavors that is just really yummy. mmm. I'm drooling just thinking about them. so, yeah, carrot muffins. The recipe is based loosely off of a combination of recipes found online, so no real source. recipe:

1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup oat bran
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cup carrots, shredded
3/4C applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp grated ginger (or 1/2 tsp powdered ginger) --OPTIONAL
1 tsp orange zest --OPTIONAL
1 cup walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup milk (skim is fine)
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter or spray a 12 cup muffin pan (regular size – about 1/2 cup each).
2. Mix together dry goods in a large bowl.
3. Stir in carrots, apples, raisins, zest, and nuts.
4. Combine milk, beaten eggs, and vanilla.
5. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until ingredients are moistened (just until the flour streaks are gone – do not over mix).
6. Fill the cups with batter almost to the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tester comes out clean when inserted in the center of a muffin.

Blackberry Scones

After a little over-exuberant blackberry picking, I had lots of blackberries. So, into scones they go. Although these scones were purportedly for the IBC team at great glen tomorrow, I don't think they will make it that long... they're gooooood.

The wet:
1 egg
3/4C milk

The dry:
2C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 /2 tsp salt
1 /2 stick butter (frozen)
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs sugar for the top
1 C blackberries

Mix the dry ingredients. Using a cheese grater, grate frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Mix that in using your fingertips. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients, then add the wet to the dry. Fold until just mixed, then dump onto a table and gently knead the dough into a ball like shape. It is probably possible to make two balls. Cut these into eighths, move them onto a cookie sheet, and pour the remaining sugar on top. Cook until golden brown. Alternatively, brush the tops with an egg wash, and forego the sugar topping.

Fish

Does this exist in Boston? If so, where?!?!?!?

Fresh tomatoes and basil and avocadoes from the Public Market in Seattle. Life is good.