Week 14 : Saffron
September 3rd, 2010. Published under food, plants, recipes. 3 Comments.
There is a very talkative cashier at my local grocery store. He is always cheerful, almost overly so. His smile is so big and toothy that it’s at a point where some people I know would deliberately go to a different checkout to not have to interact with him. But I’ve had some great one minute conversations with him. He asked my daughter’s name – Leila – and replied with a “Oh she’s a heartbreaker”. He proceeded to enlighten me with the details of Eric Clapton’s lust for George Harrison’s wife.*
The last time I chatted with him, I exclaimed my glee at the affordability of lemongrass. “You ought to buy saffron next. Whoa, that stuff’s expensive”.
Why not try saffron?
I decided to buy some, and it cost about $6 for a small container of what looks like long, thin, red confetti. I suppose it is “more expensive than crack”, but I prefer “more expensive than gold”. The cost is due to the fact that the stamens are picked from the saffron crocus by hand.
Saffron makes rice yellow and even more delicious!
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Lorka’s Simple Paella (serves 4)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups broth
1 cup white rice
2 big pinches saffron
1/2 cup diced tomatoes or chunky tomato sauce
2 sprigs parsley
1 sprig thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
In a medium pot, set heat to medium-high and add olive oil to pot. Add onions and stir until soft but not brown, about 5-10 minutes. Without lowering heat, add white wine to the pot and let alcohol evaporate for about a minute while stirring continuously.
Add saffron and rice, continue to stir about 1 minute.
Add broth, tomatoes, parsley, and thyme to the mix. Stir well and turn down the heat until at a cheerful simmer.
Continue to cook about 15-20 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is soft. Take rice off of heat and salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4 as a side dish, or 2 as a main dish.
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* I get many comments on the song “Layla” when I mention my daughter’s name. That’s cool. I don’t mind. It’s great to have a cool song associated with your name. Veronica by Elvis Costello is an example of another cool name song.
Almost edible ..
August 31st, 2010. Published under garden. 2 Comments.
Dill blossom, wild lettuce, and dahlia.
Week 13 : Lemongrass Panna Cotta
August 25th, 2010. Published under food, plants, recipes. 2 Comments.
When did dairy get so expensive?
I aimed to make a panna cotta last night and went to the grocery store to pick up some heavy cream. I try very hard to buy organic dairy, and I happened to look at this chart of dairy ratings yesterday. It amazed me when I realized that a pint of Organic Valley cream costs a dollar more than an entire panna cotta dessert from Trader Joe’s. Well, of course my portion is for four people, but it put things into perspective. Trader Joe’s is notoriously secretive about their business practices anyway, so it’s hard to figure out how they can price things so cheaply.
Sugar melting in cream
My latest experiment was with lemongrass. Lemongrass panna cotta, to be exact. I thought it would be neat to try lemongrass in a dessert instead of in Thai food, which is the only way I’ve had it. I based this off of the recipe from the splendid table, which adjustments for a much smaller portion.
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Lemongrass Panna Cotta (serves 4)
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp cold water
1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
2 stalks lemongrass, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, and put in cheesecloth bag
Mix water with gelatin in small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes.
Warm cream, sugar, and lemongrass on stove until sugar dissolves and cream is steaming, but not boiling. Add gelatin mixture and dissolve. Take off heat and let cool 5 minutes. Fish out the lemongrass bag.
Place sour cream in medium bowl. Slowly whip cream into sour cream and stir until smooth.
Pour into 4 ramekins and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or until quite firm. To serve, drizzle with fruit syrup of your choice!
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Macarons in the Heat
August 18th, 2010. Published under food. 6 Comments.
It’s been way too hot here the past few days, so the idea of cooking really isn’t appealing to me at the moment.
However, during a nice breakfast in the kitchen, while Leila was toddling about with a cup in one hand and half a bagel in the other, Mike and I discussed his first experience with a macaron. He described it in religious tones, with amazement and disbelief.
“It melts in your mouth!”
“The edges are sandy!”
“I ate three in one sitting!”
At this point, my mental image involved colored meringue cookies the size of my palm. I wasn’t excited. I didn’t believe him. So I asked him -
“If they’re so great, how come I never got any?” *wink*!
Then the surprise!
Mike came home with a box from Le Panier, a French bakery in Pike Place Market. He told me over the phone that he got one of every flavor. My first impulse was to say, but how are we going to eat ALL those cookies? He knew better than me…
One of every kind!
I am a convert. They are fantastic. Perfect little desserts! Now I need to find the right recipe.
I immediately found the book I Love Macarons, but was disappointed to find out that most reviewers thought that the book was more eye candy than a basis for making tasty treats. They’re notoriously tricky to make, and the results really depend on finding the correct combination of technique and ingredients. There must be a reason why they can’t just be found in any bakery.
I’ll be looking out for some great recipes, if you have one please send it my way!
Week 12: Sassafras – The Sass in Root Beer Granita
August 9th, 2010. Published under food, plants. No Comments.
Yes, I scoop my granita with an ice cream scoop.
Before offering up dessert last night, I asked Mike to try and guess what we were going to have.
“Does it involve fruit?”
“No.”
“Does it have dairy?”
“No.”
“Chocolate?”
“Try again.”
“Corn syrup?”
“No. But it is dessert, so it involves some sugar.”
He gave up. He also looked a bit nervous.
Flashback to earlier in the way. While browsing around, a came across this “Root Beer Grows Up” post. I also realized that I still had Thomas Kemper Root Beer left over from my last Pagliacci pizza delivery. Decision for something new to try completed! I’ve seen a number of granita recipes over the past few months and really think it’s a easy and quick way to make dessert. I’ve shied away from buying a an ice cream maker, but I can definitely find the ambition to freeze sugar water and stir every hour or so. I’m sure that adding alcohol and some herbs to the mix adds some lovely nuances, but I just wanted the root beer flavor this time.
I also thought about how I don’t know what goes into root beer other than sassafras. Indeed, Thomas Kemper does use sassafras root in their flavoring along with vanilla.The subtle changes to ingredient lists for root beer seem to be as tightly guarded as the recipe for Coca-Cola.
So this granita thing was a success. It was icy enough for Mike, who has a great fondness for slurpees, sorbets, and all sorts of frozen sugar treats. I liked the low-energy and high-satisfaction aspect of making this dessert. Now we just need a bigger freezer for making more of these!