salmon, vegetable & rice noodle salad

although summer doesn't technically start until june, memorial day marks the beginning of summer in the minds of most americans. it's the official start of grilling season and the kick-off of a thousand balmy evenings in the backyard, sipping cold beverages and slapping errant mosquitoes. 

although not at all grilly, this salad is extremely summery - it's cold and crisp and refreshing, with plenty of citrus and tender salmon. it's definitely going to be nice to have around as temperatures start to climb (although here in portland, it's like 60 degrees. but we take what we can get).  

it is always a little jolting to see artichokes growing here - i think of them as being more fond of a mediterranian climate. but clearly i'm no botanist.

the main activities you'll encounter in making this salad are poaching salmon and chopping vegetables. both are quite simple and offer relatively few chances to accidentally kill yourself. so that's good.

first, simply heat up some water in a pan large and deep enough to hold your salmon (a big deep sauté pan works well). i used a fillet of wild sockeye salmon (monterey says "best choice" which makes me feel moderately proud and responsible, like when your 2nd grade teacher writes "nice job!" on your worksheet) that weighed about 3/4 of a pound. the water should be deep enough to cover the top of the salmon. you can add whatever kinds of things you like to the poaching water - white wine or sake, lime or herbs, etc. i kept it pretty simple with like a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar, the stems of a bunch of cilantro and some salt and pepper. just heat the water over medium heat until it simmers. then add the salmon gently (skin side down, if it has skin) and let it cook for about 10 minutes or until it's a nice opaque pinky-red all the way through. you don't want the water to boil at all, so keep an eye on it and turn the heat down if need be. 

once the salmon's done, use a large spatula to maneuver it onto a plate and let it cool for a bit. now you're going to use the hot poaching water to rehydrate some rice noodles. just place some rice noodles in a bowl and pour the hot water over them, using a spatula or something to keep the cilantro from coming along. i used thai rice stick noodles, which are thick like fettuccine, but it would also be good with vermicelli, etc. then just let them sit for 10 - 15 minutes or until the texture seems pleasantly al dente. at that point, just drain them in a colander and let them hang out. 

while that's doing its thing, chop up some nice vegetables. i used some napa cabbage, a yellow bell pepper, a shallot, and some cucumber. some kind of chili would be nice, as would tomatoes, asparagus, scallions, even mango, etc. but you work with what you've got. just cut everything in small pieces that are roughly similar sizes. i cut the cucumber in half, scooped out the seeds (which is supposed to help if one is prone to heartburn), and cut it into little crescents. i julienned the pepper and cut the shallot into tiny thin rings. the cabbage went down like this:

finally it's time to put everything together. i like to mix up the dressing in the big bowl the salad will go in and then toss all of the other ingredients in. the dressing is ridiculous-simple, which means you have time to gawk at the winner of this year's portland pug parade. it seems appropriate for memorial day.

i like the look on the face of the lady on the far left. she can't believe what she's seeing!

anyway, dressing. it's just 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, the zest of about half a lime, the juice of 2 limes, a couple of tablespoons of sugar, a little sesame oil, and a pinch of salt. fish sauce would be good instead of salt, but i forgot that we had some. just whisk everything together, add the noodles and chopped vegetables, then flake the salmon in in big chunks. you want to be careful mixing things at this point so that the salmon stays in nice attractive pieces, rather than falling into little weird shreds. 

the last thing i added was a big handful of fresh herbs cut in little slivers - i used cilantro, mint, and lemon balm, but basil or other herbs would be nice as well. live a little! a little handful of toasted sesame seeds is also a good idea. 

this summer's going to be all right.

*ingredients*
salad:
3/4 lb salmon in water with salt, stems from cilantro, pepper
1/3 - 1/2 lb rice noodles
1 bell pepper
1/2 of a small napa cabbage
1 cucumber
1 shallot
1/2 cup mixed herbs

dressing:
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons palm (or other) sugar
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons sesame oil
zest from ~1/2 lime
juice from 2 limes
salt
sesame seeds

listening to: nothing but mowers, of which there seem to be dozens in the hood today. maybe i should put on some john philip souza! that seems memorial day-y.

kentucky sangria

last saturday was a big day - it was cinco de mayo as well as derby day - cinco de derby!

i'm fairly conflicted about the derby - i like all of the fancy hats and the juleps and the traditions and the tearjerky part of the pre-show where they go through all the human interest stories about the myriad tragedies that have befallen the owners, trainers, and jockeys. someone's always getting over cancer or a rare childhood disease. in this year's derby, the main story was about a heart attack in dubai that caused a workaholic to reevaluate his relationship with his family. presh!

however, horse racing in general is kind of sad and not very humane, so that kind of takes away from it. but i figure i can enjoy it and a mint julep once a year and salve my conscience with donating to horse rescue organizations. or not? 

in the realm of happier subjects, farmers' markets are starting up again here. the one i went to last week had trays and trays of lovely and amazing-smelling strawberries. obviously i had to get some. they ended up coming to our friends' cinco de mayo party as part of a kentucky sangria.

kentucky sangria is the happy marriage of sangria and a mint julep and as such is a good thing to have on hand for those magical times when the derby and cinco de mayo coincide.

a couple of hours before the party, i cut the strawberries and one mango into smallish pieces - maybe 1/3" or so. then i just piled them into what i think was a 32 ounce container with a little sugar (~1/3 cup, although you can adjust to taste), a whole thinly sliced lime (peel and all - as thin as possible), and a big handful of mint (probably like a dozen or 15 large leaves).

then just fill the container with the bourbon of your choice and let it all sit together for awhile. when you're ready to enjoy it, add the fruit & bourbon to a pitcher with a bottle of dry sparkling wine and 12 ounces (+/-) ginger ale or, if you like it less sweet, sparkling water or club soda.

you can probably use other fruits - pineapple would be particularly good. whatever you use, be careful - this is strong but it goes down mighty easily. even if it's not cinco de derby i think this would be a good sittin'-around-on-the-patio drink or cookout accompaniment.

*ingredients*
1 pint strawberries (this assumes you will be eating some of them while you cut them up)
1 mango
handful (12-15 leaves) fresh mint
1 lime
like 1 1/2 cups bourbon (something like that - i just poured it into the thing to fill it up)
1 bottle dry sparkling wine
12 ounces or so ginger ale, club soda, or sparkling water

listening to: the delgados.

arugula & almond pesto

SO. Springy. our yard is full of pretty and good-smelling flowers and i am so ready for backyard cookouts and trips to the beach. i also just took my last law school final EVER and i'm getting an iphone finally, so things are really looking up for old me. this pesto is just the kind of quick and easy spring pick-me-up that i want right now.

arugula has something of a weird reputation, i think. if you look up "arugula" and "liberal" together, there will be a great many results. i'm not sure why arugula is supposed to be more liberal-food than, say, baby spinach (aside from the David Kamp book and the manufactured Obama-elitism thing), but there you go. personally, i prefer to call it "rocket" like the british do. it sounds much cooler. 

this something-like-pesto is extremely simple and could no doubt be dressed up in any number of ways. i like to keep it basic and then use it on lots of different things - sandwiches, frozen pizza, and cheese & crackers are just a few of the things that benefit from the addition of a peppery and pleasantly bitter arugula spread.

you can probably make this with a mortar and pestle, but i found the food processor to be awfully quick and convenient. just blitz together a few handfuls of toasted almonds with 2 - 4 smallish cloves of garlic. it's good to break the garlic up a little before adding it to the processor to make sure it all gets incorporated together.

once the almonds and garlic are ground together (in tiny crumbs, not necessarily a paste), start adding the arugula (ROCKET!). i used about 3/4 of a 7 ounce bag, but it isn't rocket science (or is it?). also add some olive oil. this moistens everything and makes it more sauce-y. you will need perhaps 1/3 of a cup or less - i like to drizzle it in a little at a time while the processor is running.

to cut the bitterness a little, i added some orange juice - perhaps 1/4 of a cup or so - whatever came out of half of a fairly juicy orange. the acid in the juice also helps to keep the pesto a bright vibrant green.

that's it, really. blend everything together until it's at a good texture. if you want to thin it out, add more oil and/or juice. also add some salt, to taste. you could use some parmesan or asiago or something to make it more like traditional pesto, but i like using it on cheesy things (aforementioned sandwiches/pizza), so i like to keep it plain. 

it's a particularly great sandwich topping when mixed with a little cream cheese or soft goat cheese and spread generously onto nutty, seedy toast and accompanied by gruyere/cheddar cheese and some peppery turkey. or, you know, whatever.

*ingredients*
it might be obvious, but this is really only good if you really like arugula. it's pretty bitter, so it probably isn't for everyone. 
2-4 small cloves garlic
1/2 - 2/3 cups toasted almonds
5 ounces or so fresh arugula
1/3 cup olive oil (or more, to taste/texture preferences)
1/4 cup orange juice (or about 1/2 an orange's worth)
salt, to taste

listening to: rocket man (shatner, ftw!), saint etienne

buffalo gals - bourbon with meyer lemon & rosemary

you don't have to call this drink "buffalo gals." you don't have to make it with buffalo trace bourbon, for one thing. making it with a different bourbon would make the name make even less sense than it already does.

also, it isn't just for gals. i don't even ever say "gals," even though i am from texas and some people expect that. although it does have a nice bright floral thing going on with the meyer lemon syrup, this is not a stereotypical girly drink.

this drink means business. or lounging on a sunday afternoon/evening. it is flexible.

although you could just use regular lemon sorry, you really need meyer lemon in here. or maybe something similarly complex, like cocktail citrus or possibly mandarin oranges with lemon juice as well.

anyway, peel the lemon zest in long strips, trying not to get too much white pith. a little is not a big deal, but don't like dig down in there.

sorry, my brain isn't working well. too much studying and not-studying. when i'm stressed out, i like to play stupid games that don't really require you to think that much. things like solitaire and, lately, asteroids. do you know that game? basically you're a little spaceship and you shoot asteroids and flying saucers and try not to get blown up. it's mindless but also vaguely entertaining, even though i am pretty bad at video games. i don't generally play them, since i don't like doing things i'm not good at, but for some reason, asteroids doesn't bother me like that. i guess i just figure that sure, i'm not particularly skilled at shooting space rocks, but that's why i went to law school rather than asteroids school.

i suppose the same could be said for games where you're a spy or whatever, but i've always sort of imagined that i'd be pretty good at being a spy, so i don't like the idea of discovering via video game that i would suck at it.

but anyway.

once you've peeled the lemon (it does take a sharp peeler, as they have very thin skin), add it, a smallish sprig of rosemary or two (see above) and half a cup each of sugar and water to a pan. bring it to a boil, let it boil for ~ 1 minute or so, then turn it off and let it cool.

this is a very simple drink, so you're almost done already.

bourbon. this one's good. there are also other ones.

once the syrup is cooled, mix the juice of 1/3 - 1/2 a meyer lemon, 1 1/2 - 2 ounces bourbon (to taste), and maybe 1 ounce or so (also to taste) of syrup. the amount of syrup you use depends on how sweet you like your drinks. the amount of bourbon you use depends on how bourbon-y you like your drinks.

that's it! stir, add ice, and sit out on the patio and enjoy the spring. i'll just be in here, alternately studying wills & trusts and playing asteroids.

*ingredients* for 2 drinks (you'll have syrup left over)

syrup

peel/zest from one meyer lemon

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

2 smallish sprigs fresh rosemary

drink

2 ounces bourbon (+/-)

juice from 1/2 meyer lemon

~ 1 ounce lemon-rosemary syrup (to taste)

*if you want to make it a little more afternoon-y and a little less Serious Whiskey, add some club soda or sparkling water

listening to: explosions in the sky

springy lentil salad with citrus-mustard vinaigrette

lo, it is spring! the flowers are flowering, the birds are singing, and the chilly rain is still falling. but in between the cold and rainy days are drier, warmer days that stay light longer and longer and make you feel like maybe things won't be so bad.

i make a lot of variations on this salad, because lentils and mustard go well together and it's a nice, filling, and portable lunch that only gets better after you make it. i usually make a very large batch and we eat it (on and off) all week. also, it's vegan, which is nice. although sometimes we eat it with sausage, which is not vegan. usually.

these are french green lentils (or "lentilles du Puy") and they are the best for lentil salads because they keep their shape much better than the yellow or brown lentils that are always hanging shiftily around bulk bins. those lentils are great for dals or lentil soup, but for a salad these are really worth seeking out. i usually find them in the bulk section as well. they have a great texture and a bit of a peppery taste that i really like. fancy lentils! who knew?

because the dressing and vegetables add so much flavor to this salad, you don't really need to cook the lentils with much - just rinse them and put them in a big pot with water covering them by a few inches. i also usually add a bit of salt. then just bring the water to a boil, turn the heat down to low-medium, and let them cook for maybe 30 - 40 minutes, or until they're tender. the cooking time depends on how fresh they are, so just keep trying them. then drain them and add them to the vegetables that you have thoughtfully been preparing while the lentils cook.

you can use various vegetables - some fennel would be good, as would a little broccoli. i liked the orange and green color scheme that was going on with this batch, though.

just chop whatever vegetables you like into smallish pieces. i quartered the thicker parts of the carrots and halved the thinner ends, then cut them into pretty thin slices - maybe 1/8" or so. it doesn't have to be exact, of course. i sliced the celery lengthwise into maybe 3-4 strips per stalk, then cut it into thin pieces as well. the asparagus i cut into coins, for the most part, but left the ends whole. finally, i just diced up the orange bell pepper (green bell peppers are the devil and are not fit for human consumption).

oh! and a large shallot also got in there, but not in time for initial picture-taking.

you can just leave the vegetables raw, if you like, but i prefer to cook everything a bit to take the edge off. heat up like 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large pan (medium heat). then add the shallot (you could use onion instead, but shallots are a little milder and more garlicky), let it cook for a little less than a minute, then add the carrots and celery, let those cook a bit (2 minutes?), then the pepper. at this point, i also added a few tablespoons of chopped italian parsley and perhaps a teaspoon of dried thyme. fresh thyme would be good, but i didn't have any. other herbs would be nice as well - marjoram, any of the famed herbes de provence, etc.

let everything cook until the carrots lose their rawness - maybe 5 minutes or so, depending on how thick they are. add the asparagus towards the end, so it doesn't get too mushy - asparagus is so wonderful right now, you barely need to cook it at all.

then just stick everything in a bowl to hang out for a bit while you make the dressing.

i love when we're almost out of mustard because the jar makes a perfect vehicle for dressing and you don't have to try to scrape out the dregs of the mustard. lots of dijon mustard is good in this, because mustard and lentils are basically the chocolate and peanut butter of the savory food world. they just go together SO WELL.

since we're still in winter-spring crossover mode here in oregon, this salad really fits with both seasons. citrus is great right now, so i used the juice of a whole orange and a whole lemon, along with most of the zest of each. these, plus olive oil, the mustard, garlic, and salt are all you need for a very tasty dressing that brings everything together.

with the garlic, it's nice to make it into kind of a paste so it mixes in well. chop it fairly finely with about 1/2 a teaspoon of coarse salt, then use the side of your knife to slide across the cutting board, which helps the salt and garlic grind together. the rough salt crystals help speed up the process. once you get the hang of it, it's really fast. here's a video if that doesn't make sense.

everything goes into your mustard jar, then you can just shake it up, et voila!

it's best to have the dressing ready by the time the lentils are done, so that you can put it on while they're still warm - it seems to help the dressing get absorbed better. start with maybe 1/2 the dressing, toss everything together, add more if you like. i ended up using all of it, but there were a lot of vegetables and lentils to cover. add more salt as well, if needed. undersalting things makes them gross and bland. it's probably a good idea to add a little more fresh parsley and other fresh herbs, if you have them. sometimes it needs a little more acid, too - more lemon juice or some apple cider or sherry vinegar would be good. it just depends on what you like.

this is one of those salads that just gets better as it sits, so it's great for bringing to work all week. you can add things like goat cheese, sliced sausage, hard-boiled eggs, etc., if you want to bulk it up a little, but it's really quite filling on its own. it's also great for a picnic or potluck, since basically anyone of any dietary persuasion can eat it - vegan, gluten-free - it's got it all! or rather, doesn't have it, if "it" is animal products or gluten.

*ingredients* for A Lot of salad - you can cut it in half if you want

1 pound (~ 2 cups) dried french green lentils

1 large shallot

2 large carrots

2 celery stalks

1 orange, red, or yellow bell pepper (NOT GREEN)

1 bunch (more or less) of asparagus

thyme, other herbs

2 -3 tablespoons dijon mustard (i like it pretty mustardy)

juice & zest of 1 orange

juice & zest of 1 lemon

1 small/medium garlic clove

1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)

maybe 1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil (also to taste - i like more citrus and mustard and less oil, myself)

listening to: nothing, really, but i've had simple song by the shins in my head all day. and, of course, the weight. rip, levon helm.

blackberry & grapefruit cupcakes

okay, so technically this is yet another blackberry recipe and it looks a lot like the blackberry streusel muffins i already made. BUT there are very important differences.

1. although there is no frosting in the pictures, these are actually cupcakes. therefore, they're much sweeter and richer than the muffins. although i did call them muffins when i took them to my class. but that was just because i ran out of time to make the frosting and no one wants to eat frosting-less cupcakes.

2. these have grapefruit juice and zest, which is great with blackberries.

3. i guess those are basically the only differences.

first things first. get out the butter (1 1/2 sticks) and the eggs (despite the picture, use 4) to let them get room temperature-y. the butter needs to be soft so you can cream it in with the sugar. i don't really know why the eggs have to be room temperature as well, but that's what all the real baking people say to do, so i generally do it.

once everything's achieved some kind of temperature equilibrium, preheat the oven to 350. then beat the butter for a couple of minutes so it's nice and fluffy. then add 1 1/2 - 2 cups sugar. using 2 cups makes them quite sweet, so be forewarned. it's forearmed.

let this just beat around for awhile (4-5 minutes) while you zest a grapefruit and then squeeze its delicious juice. i had a fairly small grapefruit that was really rather recalcitrant in its zest-giving, so i only had about a teaspoon. i think a little more would be nice - maybe 2. or 1 if it's really packed in there. you also need about 1/3 cup of juice.

add both of these at once to the butter-sugar mixture and let them mingle. then add the 4 eggs, one by one, mixing in between each.

i like to crack eggs into my measuring cup before adding them, because otherwise i'm always scared that i'll get shell bits in there and mix them in and it'll be gross. so be careful. no one likes biting into eggshells (except maybe mongooses/-geese).

once the eggs are nicely mixed in, add the flour mixture and the milk, alternating between the two. i add ~ 1/3 of the flour, mix a little, then 1/2 the milk, mix a little, and so on. you definitely don't want to overmix it, so don't go crazy.

once it's all come together, add lots of blackberries. i used about 2 1/2 cups, which made them quite berryful. you could probably get away with a little less or a little more, depending on what you have around. or other berries would be great, too - blueberries, raspberries, etc.

fold them in carefully so they don't all break apart and make the batter a weird color. then just fill up some muffin cups like so:

and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until they're goldeny brown on top and seem pretty firm, like this:

this makes about 2 dozen cupcakes and i ran out of the paper cup things midway through. luckily, you can make ersatz cups with parchment paper. just cut ~ 5" squares (mine were like 5" x 6" because the paper was 12" wide) and use a glass (or beer bottle, in my case) to smush them into the muffin tin. it describes it more on the linked page.

it worked pretty well, although some came out better than others. if you try it, you should attempt to get the paper pretty well folded so the cupcakes don't get weirdly shaped. but it isn't that big a deal. cupcakes are going to be crowd-pleasers even if they are funny-shaped.

as far as frosting, i didn't make any for these, but i usually make cream cheese frosting with two softened bricks of cream cheese, half of a softened stick of butter, a little vanilla (~1 teaspoon), and some powdered sugar. mix everything but the powdered sugar together, then add it ~ 1/2 cup at a time until it's as sweet as you like. you could also add some grapefruit zest to this and it would be aces.

cupcakes may not be as trendy as they once were (i guess the glitterati have moved on to ... cake pops? whoopie pies? macarons? i don't know), but they still are a sweet and tasty little dessert with a high ratio of frosting to cake. you can't really go too wrong.

*ingredients*

i don't know where this recipe came from originally (maybe epicurious? i can't find it there, but that seems right), but it started out as lemon-blueberry layer cake. i've made it that way, too, and it's excellent.

3 cups flour (~ 15 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup butter (~ 1 1/2 sticks), softened

2 cups sugar (could use less)

1/3 cup grapefruit juice

1-2 teaspoons grapefruit zest (or whatever you can get off a recalcitrant grapefruit*)

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup milk (or buttermilk/milk+yogurt mix would be great)

whisk dry ingredients together

beat butter until fluffy, add sugar slowly as the mixer runs, beat until light and fluffy

add juice + zest and mix thoroughly

add eggs one at a time, mixing in between

add ~ 1/3 of flour mixture, mix a little to incorporate

add ~ 1/2 of milk, mix a little

alternate, ending with flour mixture

fold in berries (i used frozen, but fresh would also be wonderful, of course)

bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until firm and golden-brown.

frost with cream cheese or other frosting, or pretend they're muffins and eat them for breakfast.

listening to: of monsters and men. icelandic accents + boy/girl harmonies = good times! i really think you should watch this video - it is somewhat scary and very awesome.

*recalcitrant grapefruit would be a good name for a band. or maybe not.

adventures in fruit

look! it's a cherimoya! they were on sale at the grocery store, and i've heard that they are also called custard apples, which sounds good.

the lady behind me in line was very complimentary re: my cherimoya-choosing skills until i told her that someone who worked there had picked it out for me. that kind of lowered me in her estimation. but she cheered up when she started telling me about her time in spain where she first tasted the wonders of the cherimoya and apparently ate it for dinner for like two weeks or something. people always like to talk about their travels.

ever since i bought it half an hour ago, i keep thinking the word in my head with different syllables emphasized. CHERimoya. cheriMOYa. cherimoYA. i haven't cut into it yet, but i'm excited. CHERIMOYA!

... later that day ...

so. we ate some cherimoya. you guys, cherimoya is SO WEIRD. at first it tastes like blue cheese (?!), then it changes to tasting all fermenty (??!), then it tastes sweet with a weird background of something savory.

i cannot in all good conscience recommend it, exactly, but it was a taste sensation. it's worth trying, but we could only really eat a few bites of it. very interesting. cherimoya!

luckily i also got some exciting citrus, which was much better. above is a lovely meyer lemon. these are the best ever. they're extremely fragrant and slightly sweet. i use them in cocktails (peel some zest and add it to a martini or add it and some of the juice to a gin & tonic) or things like lemon curd. they're also good with fish - you can slice one into thin rounds and lay it over halibut or something. fantastico!

the other citrus thing i got was called "cocktail citrus" at the store. it's apparently part pomelo and part mandarin. it has a lot of seeds, but i liked the slight bitterness. it was great in a gin & tonic and i could see it being good in some kind of tequila drink as well. time to get some more and do some experimenting.

listening to: red house painters. trying not to think about cherimoya.