d Constitutional Cooking: March 2007

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

This is what I sometimes want to do with a jar of peanut butter.


Is that so wrong?

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posted by ek at 8:29 AM 3 comments

Thursday, March 22, 2007

The Dish on Fish

By shamelessly poaching from, once again, Shape Magazine, I bring you the following information about the best fish for your health and the health of the environment. They were rated in terms of their levels of mercury and other pollutants like PCBs and pesticides (your health) and on whether they were caught or raised in environmentally friendly ways (environmental). The results:



Good for you and for the environment; safe to eat four or more six-ounce servings per month:
Tilapia (see this post, way to go ATP)
Anchovies
Sardines (these also have lots of calcium)
Tuna, canned light
Mahimahi
Salmon, Alaskan

Be careful; safe to eat four six-ounce servings per month:

Monkfish
Red Snapper
Cod, Atlantic
Skate
Halibut, Atlantic
Giant Prawns


Limit consumption; safety to eat six-ounce servings per month noted following fish name:
Grouper (2x)
Bluefish (0x)
Tuna, Bluefin (1x)
King mackrel (0x)
Shark (0x)
Swordfish (0x)


Also, I just signed up for my preferences of veggies for my CSA and omg, I'm so excited. Happy Spring, everyone!

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posted by ek at 12:27 PM 0 comments

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Martha and crispy pizza

Because design blogs are my newest obsession, I found a random blog via apartmenttherapy that had a delicious recipe from Martha Stewart on there. Isuwanee made it twice, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Thinnest Crust Pizza with Mushrooms and Ricotta

Serves 4; Prep time: 15 minutes; Total time: 35 minutes

2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for baking sheets
2 whole-wheat sandwich wraps (12-inch)
2 ounces Asiago cheese, shredded (1 cup)
2/3 cup part-skim ricotta
1 package (10 ounces) white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450°, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Brush two rimmed baking sheets with oil, or for easy cleanup, line with parchment paper then brush with oil. Place one wrap on each sheet; brush with 1 teaspoon oil.

2. Sprinkle wraps with Asiago, then dollop with ricotta. Sprinkle with mushrooms and onion; season with salt and pepper.

3. Bake pizzas until crust is crisp and very brown all over, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back twice during baking. Cut in half with a pizza cutter or knife.

'
I didn't have onions or mushrooms or asiago cheese so I used Parmesean and baby tomatoes. Still yummy.

posted by mg at 9:22 PM 0 comments

Friday, March 09, 2007

The Best Kind of Corniness

First off, many kudos to EK for reviving the postings - it had been far too long. I, too, have been engaged in non-cooking pursuits, but now I'm back, thanks to an impending visit from my manfriend, RJM. He loves caramel corn and was lucky enough to grow up eating a delicious homemade version courtesy of his mother, hands down the best cook I've ever met. But her intricate recipe is way too taxing for me and my zero-counter space/poorly-equipped kitchen. So, I went on the hunt for an easier caramel corn recipe and found this one in this month's issue of Food & Wine magazine. I've tweaked it a bit, so I don't feel at all ashamed in calling it Ann's Nutty Caramel Corn. Give it a shot - it's easy and delicious.
  • 12 cups unsalted popped popcorn (from 1 microwave bag)
  • 1 cup salted pecan halves, broken up a bit with your hands (NOTE: This past time, I used a mix of pecans, cashews, and macadamia nuts; but I think only pecans might be best)
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Spray a large, rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray. Put the popcorn and nuts in a large bowl.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt and bring to a boil. Add the baking soda and cream of tartar and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the syrup is deep amber, about 4 minutes. Pour the hot syrup over the nuts and popcorn and stir with a wooden spoon until evenly coated. Spread the mixture on the baking sheet and bake until slightly dry, about 1 hour. The caramel corn will harden as it cools; let it cool completely.

3. Invert the caramel corn onto a cutting board and break into chunks for serving.


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posted by ATP at 6:45 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Curried Chickenless Salad

Yikes, there's been some neglect of this blog in the past little while. Not so much cooking going on Chez EK during that time. I was traveling. Changing gyms. You know how it go.

So here's a recipe that BJL passed along some weeks ago. I just got around to making it, and it's fabulous. It's a vegan curry sandwich stuffing made with tempeh. For those new to tempeh, it's pronounced "tem-pay" and is derived from our good friend the soybean. Its flavor is a bit nutty, but like tofu, it tends to take on the flavor of whatever is dominant in the dish. A 4oz serving of tempeh has 14g soy protien, 230 calories, 8g fat, 16g carbs, and 12g fiber. Here's the recipe:

Curried Chickenless Salad Sandwiches
One 12 oz package of tempeh (poached- see below) and cooled
1 celery rib, minced
2 scallions, minced
2 tbsp seeded and minced red bell pepper
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 tbsp slivered almonds
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup soy mayonnaise
1 tbsp sweet pickle relish
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper
Shredded romaine lettuce
2 large or 4 small pita breads, cut in half

1. grate or finely chop the tempeh and place in a large bowl. Add the celery, scallions, bell pepper, raisins, almonds, and parsley. Stir in the soy mayonnaise, relish, curry powder, lemon juice, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

2. To assemble, stuff a small amount of shredded lettuce into each pita half. Spoon the tempeh mixture into each half, dividing it evenly among the halves. Tuck a little more lettuce into each sandwich, if desired and serve.

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posted by ek at 3:55 PM 0 comments