Here's an interesting article I read on yahoo today about sustainable foods. I always thought that beef was the least sustainable meat, and eat it only sparingly, but it turns out lamb is even worse for the environment! It also says cheese is a bad choice when practicing sustainability. Well shoot me, I could never give up a good shaving of parm or extra sharp cheddar.
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/the-1-best-protein-for-your-health-and-the-worst-to-avoid-2512800/
Monday, July 18, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Bamboo Sushi
Bamboo sushi is definitely my favorite sushi spot in Portland. Not only is the food amazing, but you feel like a better person for having eaten there. I'll explain: Bamboo is the first certified sustainable sushi restaurant in the WORLD, and they work along with leading marine stewardship organizations to hold the trophy.
When I first dined at Bamboo and heard of their prestigious title, I wondered how diverse of a menu they'd actually have considering all the news reports about how seemingly all modern fishing practices are unsustainable. I was pleasantly surprised by a large and diverse menu. Not only do they have sushi, but they have a variety of cooked dishes as well, including black cod miso, a dish GQ recently named one of the top 5 plates of the year. Lots of people love sushi because they deem it a healthy option, but it's not when the fish is full of mercury and fattened on fish farms with grain and corn. At Bamboo you can taste the difference. The albacore melts in your mouth, the salmon is perfectly creamy, and the sea eel is unlike any anago I've ever tasted.
Not only does Bamboo use all sustainable ingredients, but their entire restaurant uses renewable energy to power itself. They compost waste and offer biodegradable take out boxes (which you won't need, because you'll stuff yourself silly here).
Spicy salmon with jalapeno rolled in habanero smelt roe.
Recommendations:
1. Make a reservation, I've waited over an hour for a table before (and that was on a Tuesday!)
2. Try to sit at the sushi bar, it's fun to watch the chefs making your food. Plus, I love to ask them questions about their technique and ingredient sources. They give you little samples of things if you're friendly!
3. Order the "Gin henson" cocktail to start (gin muddled with cucumber and basil with a dash of lemon-lime ginger infused syrup). The "Hoki Poke" box is delicious- rice pressed with red crab salad, layered with tuna, avocado, green onion, togarashi, and poke sauce. Bamboo is one of the few restaurants using this old technique of making sushi with a "press box".
Bamboo Sushi
301 SE 28th Ave.
Portland, OR 97214
When I first dined at Bamboo and heard of their prestigious title, I wondered how diverse of a menu they'd actually have considering all the news reports about how seemingly all modern fishing practices are unsustainable. I was pleasantly surprised by a large and diverse menu. Not only do they have sushi, but they have a variety of cooked dishes as well, including black cod miso, a dish GQ recently named one of the top 5 plates of the year. Lots of people love sushi because they deem it a healthy option, but it's not when the fish is full of mercury and fattened on fish farms with grain and corn. At Bamboo you can taste the difference. The albacore melts in your mouth, the salmon is perfectly creamy, and the sea eel is unlike any anago I've ever tasted.
Recommendations:
1. Make a reservation, I've waited over an hour for a table before (and that was on a Tuesday!)
2. Try to sit at the sushi bar, it's fun to watch the chefs making your food. Plus, I love to ask them questions about their technique and ingredient sources. They give you little samples of things if you're friendly!
3. Order the "Gin henson" cocktail to start (gin muddled with cucumber and basil with a dash of lemon-lime ginger infused syrup). The "Hoki Poke" box is delicious- rice pressed with red crab salad, layered with tuna, avocado, green onion, togarashi, and poke sauce. Bamboo is one of the few restaurants using this old technique of making sushi with a "press box".
Bamboo Sushi
301 SE 28th Ave.
Portland, OR 97214
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Spicy black bean & corn salad
Ahhh summer. I just can't get enough of you. I make black bean and corn salad often. I usually always have the ingredients for it on hand, and it's so simple yet flavorful. This side works wonderfully with Mexican, or as I served it last night, with orange-marinated grilled salmon and grilled pineapple. I heat this mixture in jalapeno olive oil, a delicious alternative to standard EVOO. You can find specialty flavored oils at gourmet food stores.
Black bean and corn salad (serves 3-4)
1 large ear or corn, grilled or boiled (or sub 1 15 oz can corn, drained)
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 of one jalapeno, diced (more of less depending on your sensitivity to heat)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp chili powder
Juice of 1 lemon
3 strips of jarred roasted red peppers, diced
1 tsp jalapeno olive oil (or regular EVOO)
1 15 oz can black beans
Combine first 8 ingredients. Heat olive oil in sautee pan over medium heat. Add corn mixture, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Drain the water from the canned black beans. Add to corn mixture in the sautee pan, and cook just until warm (about 1-2 minutes).
Black bean and corn salad (serves 3-4)
1 large ear or corn, grilled or boiled (or sub 1 15 oz can corn, drained)
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 of one jalapeno, diced (more of less depending on your sensitivity to heat)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp chili powder
Juice of 1 lemon
3 strips of jarred roasted red peppers, diced
1 tsp jalapeno olive oil (or regular EVOO)
1 15 oz can black beans
Combine first 8 ingredients. Heat olive oil in sautee pan over medium heat. Add corn mixture, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Drain the water from the canned black beans. Add to corn mixture in the sautee pan, and cook just until warm (about 1-2 minutes).
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Chicken and Soy Chorizo Paella
Paella (prounced pah-ey-uh), is one of the most traditional Spanish dishes. There are many variations to this classic Mediterranean specialty, so here's my take.
Notes: Saffron is expensive, in fact, it's known as the world's most expensive spice. It sells for about $6 a gram, but a little goes a long way. Leaving it out of this paella would change the flavor entirely.
Also, this could easily be made pescatarian by substituting the chicken for shrimp, or vegetarian by omitting the chicken all together and using vegetable broth. Regular dried chorizo is a good substitute for the soy, I was just working with what I had in my kitchen! I served this with a simple salad and crusty bread.
Chicken and Soy Chorizo Paella (feeds 4)
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp saffron
1.5 lbs chicken thighs, halved (I used boneless skinless to be healthier, but skin-on adds tons of flavor)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 link Trader Joe's soy chorizo. (TJ's soy chorizo is AMAZING! I promise you won't even know it's vegetarian!)
1 white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1.75 cups Arborio rice (aka the same stuff you make risotto from)
1/2 cup english peas
1 lemon, quartered.
1. Warm chicken broth and saffron in a sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, season chicken with paprika, 1tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Add to paella pan (or any oven-safe pan with high sides), cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes. Transfer to plate.
3. In paella pan, add onion, garlic, chorizo. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add tomato, cook down for another 5 minutes.
5. Stir in rice and add broth to mixture. Bring to a boil for about 2 minutes, then add peas and chicken to mixture. Transfer pan to oven and cook for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
6. Let rest for at least 10 minutes (HOT!)
7. As you dish out portions, squeeze 1/4 lemon over each plate. It adds a ton of flavor to the paella.
Notes: Saffron is expensive, in fact, it's known as the world's most expensive spice. It sells for about $6 a gram, but a little goes a long way. Leaving it out of this paella would change the flavor entirely.
Also, this could easily be made pescatarian by substituting the chicken for shrimp, or vegetarian by omitting the chicken all together and using vegetable broth. Regular dried chorizo is a good substitute for the soy, I was just working with what I had in my kitchen! I served this with a simple salad and crusty bread.
Chicken and Soy Chorizo Paella (feeds 4)
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp saffron
1.5 lbs chicken thighs, halved (I used boneless skinless to be healthier, but skin-on adds tons of flavor)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 link Trader Joe's soy chorizo. (TJ's soy chorizo is AMAZING! I promise you won't even know it's vegetarian!)
1 white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1.75 cups Arborio rice (aka the same stuff you make risotto from)
1/2 cup english peas
1 lemon, quartered.
1. Warm chicken broth and saffron in a sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, season chicken with paprika, 1tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Add to paella pan (or any oven-safe pan with high sides), cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes. Transfer to plate.
3. In paella pan, add onion, garlic, chorizo. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add tomato, cook down for another 5 minutes.
5. Stir in rice and add broth to mixture. Bring to a boil for about 2 minutes, then add peas and chicken to mixture. Transfer pan to oven and cook for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
6. Let rest for at least 10 minutes (HOT!)
7. As you dish out portions, squeeze 1/4 lemon over each plate. It adds a ton of flavor to the paella.
Hot in the pan
Ready to eat!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Lemon-lime basil cookies
Happy belated 4th of July! Zeph and I spent the holiday in Ocean Shores, WA at the beach with his parents and grandparents. The firework situation was unlike any i've ever experienced before. Mini fireworks are legal, but to get the big ones that shoot up you have to go to Indian Reservations. Then, in order to legally use them, you have to set them off from Reservation property. The beach where we stayed was technically a reservation, so hundreds of people drove right onto the beach, trucks loaded with huge fireworks and set them off all day and night long! We bought a few ourselves on the drive up, a had a ton of fun lighting up the sky while sipping beers and chatting with the locals.
I brought some cookies along to share while sitting around the fire. This recipe is perfect because it makes exactly one dozen, while some cookie recipes yield way too many to handle (and if you're anything like me, you don't need extra cookies laying around begging to be eaten!) I used the basil we're growing on our balcony, and I love the herbal flavor of these not overly-sweet treats. Using herbs in desserts always gives a little unexpected flavor to the after-dinner course!
Lemon-lime basil cookies
1 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar (and a little extra for pressing cookies)
12 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 Tbs sliced basil leaves
1 tsp lemon zest
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp lime zest
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Preheat oven to 375. Place all ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until large clumps form. Roll 12 balls out of the dough and place on baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Lightly dust the bottom of a flat measuring cup with powdered sugar and press cookies into 2 inch rounds, dusting the cup bottom with powdered sugar between each press. Bake about 20 minutes.
Before baking. Looking a little green! The green color ended up fading after they baked.
Packed and ready to take to the beach. I love the little flecks of basil in the dough. They look plain, but the zest adds a ton of flavor to these yummy cookies!
I brought some cookies along to share while sitting around the fire. This recipe is perfect because it makes exactly one dozen, while some cookie recipes yield way too many to handle (and if you're anything like me, you don't need extra cookies laying around begging to be eaten!) I used the basil we're growing on our balcony, and I love the herbal flavor of these not overly-sweet treats. Using herbs in desserts always gives a little unexpected flavor to the after-dinner course!
Lemon-lime basil cookies
1 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar (and a little extra for pressing cookies)
12 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 Tbs sliced basil leaves
1 tsp lemon zest
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp lime zest
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Preheat oven to 375. Place all ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until large clumps form. Roll 12 balls out of the dough and place on baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Lightly dust the bottom of a flat measuring cup with powdered sugar and press cookies into 2 inch rounds, dusting the cup bottom with powdered sugar between each press. Bake about 20 minutes.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Secret Steak Sauce
I got an email yesterday from my mom including a recipe with the below message attached:
Immediately after I received the recipe I knew I just had to make it for dinner. My mom has a special place in her heart for Swiss/French cuisine after living throughout Europe growing up. She is always the first to school me on whether a fondue at a restaurant is made the Swiss way or the American way. She's particular about the gooey chocolate sauce that they serve over waffles for desserts at Swiss restaurants, it has to be just as she remembers it from when she was a girl or she writes the place off as not authentically Swiss. My mom remembers the flavors of her childhood much more vividly than I can recall mine. So I knew I had to make this secret french sauce that was a favorite of my Grandpa's and the rest of my mom's siblings years ago in Geneva!
"My siblings have been sending emails back and forth about steak sauce they and Gramps especially loved in a restaurant we used to frequent while living in Geneva. It seems the chef took the recipe with him to the grave. They have been searching for similar ones that are served in other French restaurants in Europe and the USA and have come up with a recipe close to the original"
Immediately after I received the recipe I knew I just had to make it for dinner. My mom has a special place in her heart for Swiss/French cuisine after living throughout Europe growing up. She is always the first to school me on whether a fondue at a restaurant is made the Swiss way or the American way. She's particular about the gooey chocolate sauce that they serve over waffles for desserts at Swiss restaurants, it has to be just as she remembers it from when she was a girl or she writes the place off as not authentically Swiss. My mom remembers the flavors of her childhood much more vividly than I can recall mine. So I knew I had to make this secret french sauce that was a favorite of my Grandpa's and the rest of my mom's siblings years ago in Geneva!
Secret French Steak Sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 large shallots
3 cloves garlic
2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 bunch tarragon
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Peel and slice the shallots. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. Add the olive oil to a small pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until slightly colored. Add the chicken stock and simmer for three minutes.
Pull the tarragon leaves off the stem and put them in the blender or food processor. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender. Carefully pour the chicken stock mixture into the blender. Puree until completely smooth. Pour back into the pan and bring to a boil. Cook for one minute. If the sauced is too thin, simmer for a few more minutes. Pour over slices of medium rare (or as you like it) strip steak or your choice of steak.
Serves 8.
It turned out delicious. I actually think this sauce would work just as nicely over flaky white fish. The only mistake I made was using honey mustard instead of dijon (it's all I had in the kitchen, and after searching THREE grocery stores for tarragon I wasn't about to go out again just for mustard. Why was all of Portland buying out the tarragon reserves yesterday?) I think dijon would have added that horseradish taste this sauce needed. But otherwise it was very tasty!
This sauce has a nice green herbal taste from the tarragon, a little bit of a bite from the vinegar, and rounds out nice and salty from the anchovy paste. I served it with a zucchini casserole and crusty bread to sop up any extra sauce! I'm told it's authentically served with pommes frites, but until the day I install a deep fryer in my kitchen (read: never) I'll settle with crusty bread. Bon appetit!
This sauce has a nice green herbal taste from the tarragon, a little bit of a bite from the vinegar, and rounds out nice and salty from the anchovy paste. I served it with a zucchini casserole and crusty bread to sop up any extra sauce! I'm told it's authentically served with pommes frites, but until the day I install a deep fryer in my kitchen (read: never) I'll settle with crusty bread. Bon appetit!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)