This Post Is About Food
The weekend came, the weekend, went, and all I have to show for it are some yummy fish cakes, a killer tomato sauce, a killer pesto, and some poached salmon. Ain't life a bitch?
It started on Saturday with a trip to the farmer's market. The fish lady sold me two bags of fish bones, one bag of salmon bones and one bag of halibut bones. The salmon bones I poached that evening after work, since the longer you let salmon stay uncooked, ...well, it doesn't get any better. The poaching recipe is, two quarts of water, a quarter cup of white wine vinegar, a lemon cut up into wedges, twelve peppercorns, one teaspoon of mustard seeds, and three bay leaves. You may add parsley if you wish (I didn't). Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, add the fish bones, remove when cooked (about five minutes), let the bones cool, then laboriously remove the bones by hand. Oh and don't forget to wash your hands between handling the raw fish and processing, by hand, the cooked fish. Put in a container lined with paper towels and refrigerate immediately. If you don't eat it by the next day, put in plastic bags, put the bags into another container, and freeze.
Sunday I made pesto from the basil and goat cheese parts I bought from the veggie lady and the goat cheese lady, respectively. Four cups fresh basil leaves, one half cup of grated goat cheese (or parmesan), one half cup pine nuts, six cloves of garlic, and one half cup of olive oil. Put in in a food processor and set the processor on chop.
Sunday I poached the halibut bones. Just with water, no seasoning. Sunday night I made fish cakes with the poached halibut. Season with salt and pepper, add an egg, add breadcrumbs, mix by hand, and fry up them puppies in canola oil in an iron skillet. Yummy.
But the most daunting challenge I faced was turning three pounds of San Marino tomatoes into a tomato sauce. I make cross cuts on both sides of the tomatoes, then boil them in water for about 60 seconds. That makes it easier to peel them. Then I chop them up. Heat olive oil in a skillet, add chopped onions and garlic, and stir. Then add the tomatoes, one cup of red wine, some bay leaves, oregano, thyme and basil. Also, salt and pepper. I also added a stick of celery and a large carrot, grated. Also a small can of tomato paste.
The sauce takes hours to cook, and when I tasted it, it seemed unusually acidic. I added a teaspoon of brown sugar, just to sweeten it up a bit. I had it on the stove simmering for at least three hours. Then I put it in the food processor and pureed it, then back on the stove to simmer some more.
Today I make a ratatouille (spell check anyone?). Saute garlic and onions (I have some nice cippolinas-nice and sweet) in olive oil. Ad a few tablespoons of tomato paste. Add all kinds of cut veggies (I'm using tomatoes, squash, celery, sweet peppers, green beans, but no carrots or potatoes!) Also some broccoli (but don't add that till the end).
But the real secret to this dish is something called "herbes de Province". I had never heard of these "herbes" until I decided to make this dish, which I had eaten at Le Mistral, a combination restaurant, take out place located at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. They serve excellent organic vegetables and organically raised meats, cooked in a rotisserie oven for a very reasonable price (under ten dollars for a meat entree and two sides). I asked for the recipe from the lady who works there, because I had some vegetables that were going to die in my fridge if I didn't do something with them, pronto. She gave me a small container of the "herbes", and they really did the trick.
Boil up some pasta, add the homemade tomato sauce, sprinkle it with the goat cheese, bring another container of the ratatouille, and I'll have a great lunch for work ( I go in at 4pm).
It's so nice not to write about Muni for a change. I write about whatever is happening to me on any typical day. Most of the time it's about work, because that's the only thing "happening" in my life on any given day. And if I don't keep a diary of my comings and goings, I won't write about anything at all. I really need the mental energy that comes from putting events and thoughts down on computer. So, enjoy the recipes. I did.
It started on Saturday with a trip to the farmer's market. The fish lady sold me two bags of fish bones, one bag of salmon bones and one bag of halibut bones. The salmon bones I poached that evening after work, since the longer you let salmon stay uncooked, ...well, it doesn't get any better. The poaching recipe is, two quarts of water, a quarter cup of white wine vinegar, a lemon cut up into wedges, twelve peppercorns, one teaspoon of mustard seeds, and three bay leaves. You may add parsley if you wish (I didn't). Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, add the fish bones, remove when cooked (about five minutes), let the bones cool, then laboriously remove the bones by hand. Oh and don't forget to wash your hands between handling the raw fish and processing, by hand, the cooked fish. Put in a container lined with paper towels and refrigerate immediately. If you don't eat it by the next day, put in plastic bags, put the bags into another container, and freeze.
Sunday I made pesto from the basil and goat cheese parts I bought from the veggie lady and the goat cheese lady, respectively. Four cups fresh basil leaves, one half cup of grated goat cheese (or parmesan), one half cup pine nuts, six cloves of garlic, and one half cup of olive oil. Put in in a food processor and set the processor on chop.
Sunday I poached the halibut bones. Just with water, no seasoning. Sunday night I made fish cakes with the poached halibut. Season with salt and pepper, add an egg, add breadcrumbs, mix by hand, and fry up them puppies in canola oil in an iron skillet. Yummy.
But the most daunting challenge I faced was turning three pounds of San Marino tomatoes into a tomato sauce. I make cross cuts on both sides of the tomatoes, then boil them in water for about 60 seconds. That makes it easier to peel them. Then I chop them up. Heat olive oil in a skillet, add chopped onions and garlic, and stir. Then add the tomatoes, one cup of red wine, some bay leaves, oregano, thyme and basil. Also, salt and pepper. I also added a stick of celery and a large carrot, grated. Also a small can of tomato paste.
The sauce takes hours to cook, and when I tasted it, it seemed unusually acidic. I added a teaspoon of brown sugar, just to sweeten it up a bit. I had it on the stove simmering for at least three hours. Then I put it in the food processor and pureed it, then back on the stove to simmer some more.
Today I make a ratatouille (spell check anyone?). Saute garlic and onions (I have some nice cippolinas-nice and sweet) in olive oil. Ad a few tablespoons of tomato paste. Add all kinds of cut veggies (I'm using tomatoes, squash, celery, sweet peppers, green beans, but no carrots or potatoes!) Also some broccoli (but don't add that till the end).
But the real secret to this dish is something called "herbes de Province". I had never heard of these "herbes" until I decided to make this dish, which I had eaten at Le Mistral, a combination restaurant, take out place located at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. They serve excellent organic vegetables and organically raised meats, cooked in a rotisserie oven for a very reasonable price (under ten dollars for a meat entree and two sides). I asked for the recipe from the lady who works there, because I had some vegetables that were going to die in my fridge if I didn't do something with them, pronto. She gave me a small container of the "herbes", and they really did the trick.
Boil up some pasta, add the homemade tomato sauce, sprinkle it with the goat cheese, bring another container of the ratatouille, and I'll have a great lunch for work ( I go in at 4pm).
It's so nice not to write about Muni for a change. I write about whatever is happening to me on any typical day. Most of the time it's about work, because that's the only thing "happening" in my life on any given day. And if I don't keep a diary of my comings and goings, I won't write about anything at all. I really need the mental energy that comes from putting events and thoughts down on computer. So, enjoy the recipes. I did.
posted by hans at 10:47 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home