Before the day is over, I'd like to give a shout-out to Sam and say "Congratulations!" because one year ago today, November 5, 2008, Sam became a U.S. Citizen! I love you, Sam!

]]> http://runnerbeans.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/happy-citizenship/feed/ 1 andrealein 11 5 08 053 http://runnerbeans.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/a-post-delayed/ http://runnerbeans.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/a-post-delayed/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:38:12 +0000 andrealein http://runnerbeans.wordpress.com/?p=998 ]]>

In my blog post on Tuesday,  I promised to “expound the wonders of Wellness Formula” the following day, Wednesday. Well, as you may have noticed Wednesday came and went with no such post. I fully intended to write my post last evening. I sat on my bed with my laptop and struggled to plug the power cord into my laptop’s socket. Taking a closer look at the socket, I realized that I in fact was not holding my laptop, but Sam’s. You see, we have nearly identical laptops and I had by mistake taken his laptop instead of mine when I left his house earlier. Not knowing the password to his computer, I couldn’t use it to write my blog post. I felt guilty for letting my blog readers down, but decided that I would have to write my post the next day and should just go to bed. I have to do some other work now, but will post about Wellness Formula later. Ciao!

Pumpkins are everywhere.

There is a pumpkin on my doorstep. There is a pumpkin on my neighbor’s doorstep. There is pumpkin in my latte, pumpkin in my pancakes and pumpkin in the pumpkin butter I put on my pancakes. Pureed pumpkin even sneaked into my vanilla pudding  two days ago (ok, I folded it in with complete knowledge).

With pumpkin everywhere, you’d expect one to tire of pumpkins. But instead I say, “Thank you, pumpkin” because you’ve made me want to put pumpkin in more things: curried pumpkin soup, apple pumpkin bread, pumpkin-seed crusted trout. Your golden, glowing sweet flesh has helped me carve time from work, classes, wedding planning and the general busyness of life to blog again.

Thank you, pumpkin.

This is a perfect salad for a hot summer day when you don’t want to turn on the oven or stove — the shrimp, corn, onions and avocado are all grilled. Simply brush them with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and smoked paprika and grill. The avocados add a lovely creamy contrast to the smoky grilled shrimp, corn and onions, and the citrus-based dressing provides a fresh, clean zing to the salad. While peeling and skewering the shrimp and scraping the corn kernels off the cob is labor-intensive, the rest of the salad comes together in a snap.

Ingredients
For Dressing
6 tablespoons orange juice
3 ½ tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 ½ teaspoons finely grated orange peel
¼ cup olive oil
½  teaspoon truffle oil (optional)

For Salad
2 medium red onions, sliced into ½ -inch thick slices
2 pounds uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
3 large ears of corn, husked
1 ciabatta bread or pain rustique, cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices
Olive oil
2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika (Pimentn de la Vera)**
12 cups mâche (about 7 ounces)
2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, cut into ¾ -inch cubes

Preparation
Make the dressing:
Whisk first 4 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Whisk in olive oil, then truffle oil, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.

Make the salad:
Prepare grill (medium heat). Thread onions onto skewers; thread shrimp onto separate skewers. Place onion skewers, shrimp skewers, corn, and bread slices on two large rimmed baking sheets. Brush onions, shrimp, corn, and bread with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle smoked paprika on both sides of the shrimp. Grill onions and corn until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side; grill bread slices until browned; and grill shrimp until cooked through, about 2 ½ minutes per side.

Transfer vegetables, shrimp, and bread to work surface. Cut corn kernels off cobs; place corn kernels in very large bowl. Remove shrimp and onions from skewers and add to bowl. Add mâche and avocados to bowl. Toss salad with enough dressing to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer salad to large rimmed platter and serve with bread.

From The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh

My mom and I recently had breakfast at the new Chow restaurant in Danville. I’ve been lucky enough to go to Chow several times since it opened last summer, but it was my mom’s first time. While Chow has ample seating indoors (and a fireplace!), we chose to sit outside because the weather was sunny and warm.

My mom had the Mexican Scramble, which has  eggs, avocado, chiles, cheese, sour cream, salsa and black beans on tortillas. I have ordered this scramble before and it was declicious! It is a very large portion — enough for two people or to take home for lunch.

I had the Cafe Fanny Granola with yogurt, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. I wasn’t too hungry so this was the perfect size. And just the right proportions of fruit, granola and yogurt.

There are also Chow restaurants located in Lafayette and San Francisco’s Sunset and Castro districts. Open from breakfast through dinner, Chow’s mission is to serve “healthy, high quality comfort food at affordable prices.” While not all of the food on the menu is strictly healthy, the food certain is high quality, affordable and always delicious.

The dressing for this delicious new take on a classic green bean-and-tomato salad resembles a Mexican pesto. Green pumpkin seeds and olive oil form the base for the dressing, while garlic, cilantro and cumin add kick. The dressing makes about twice as much as needed, but keep the extra on hand to dress other salads throughout the week. This salad is a perfect accompaniment to grilled tri-tip and grilled sweet onions.

Serves 4.

Start to Finish: 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) green (hulled) pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
3/4 pounds haricots verts or slender green beans
2 small tomatoes (1/2 pound total), halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips

Method:
Toast pumpkin seeds in a dry small heavy skillet over moderately low heat,  stirring frequently, until puffed but not browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Reserve 1 tablespoon seeds. Puree remaining seeds in blender with oil, water, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, salt, and 1 tablespoon cilantro until smooth.

Cook beans in a 4-quart saucepan of boiling well-salted water, uncovered, until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain, then plunge into a bowl of ice and cold water to stop the cooking. Drain beans again and pat dry.

Arrange beans on a platter and drizzle with two thirds of pumpkin seed dressing. Top with tomatoes and remaining dressing and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon cilantro and reserved pumpkin seeds.

From The Gourmet Cookbook (Houghton Mifflin 2004).

Aprons are all the rage these days.

I first noticed their popularity early last summer when Robin and I were wandering through a farmer’s market in Boise. One booth displayed a treasure trove of aprons made of fun, colorful fabrics and shaped like sundresses. Peeking at the stitching and back of the aprons, Robin studied their design for a moment and confided, “I could make these!” A couple weeks later Robin and I were walking through San Francisco when bright swaths of material in a fabric shop window caught our eyes: the mannequins were wearing stylish aprons. From the smaller city to the bigger city, in Anthropologie and Sur la Table, wherever we went, aprons were taking kitchens by storm.

A month ago I got to stop dreaming about what apron I wanted and got to put on an apron made just for me by Robin. Her sewing abilities proved spectacular, and I LOVE the apron she made me. Thanks so much, Robin!

For weeks I have had The Food Snob’s Dictionary: An Essential Lexicon of Gastronomical Knowledge laying on my desk, thinking “Yes, someday soon I will write a blog about it.” Nothing ever materialized. Until today, that is.

In my quest to learn about molecular gastronomy, the brilliant thought struck me that maybe, just maybe this all-telling tome would hold the key to my understanding of molecular gastronomy. Yes, this would be it. Below, a definition of molecular gastronomy according to The Food Snob’s Dictionary. 

 ”Molecular gastronomy: Techno-futurist approach to cookery that applies scientific manipulation — and elaborately silly utensils and serving implements — to the gastronomical experience. Coined as both a term and a discipline in the 1980s by the Hungarian-born, Oxford-based physicist and amateur cook Nicholas Kurti (who proudly concocted an inverted baked Alaska, with a frozen outer layer and hot interior ) and the French chemist-foodie Herve This, molecular gastronomy was taken up as a cause by lab-rat chefs in the nineties and aughts, most notably This’s buddy Pierre Gagnaire in France, FERRA ADRIA in Spain, HESTON BLUMENTHAL in England, and Wylie Dufresne and Grant Achatz in America. As offputting as it may sound, the deconstructed “lumberjack breakfast” of mini-pancakes served on an octo-tined standing fork with Canadian-bacon “ketchup,” atomized eggs, and crab syrup was a triumph of molecular gastronomy.” 

There you have it. 

If you’re wondering why some of the names are in all caps, it’s because they are defined elsewhere in The Food Snob’s Dictionary. Pick up your own copy to learn authoritatively who’s who in the food world.

In the spirit of discussing the Locavore movement, I’ve included a tantalizing morsel from James O’Brien’s article, “Mean and Green,” which appeared in the November 2008 Diablo magazine. O’Brien offers witty observations of the Bay Area’s obsession with eating green. Don’t stop after this paragraph, though; click the link and read the entire article.    

Mean and Green

One man’s quest for an eco-friendly diet. And you thought low-fat was a drag!

By James O’Brien

“For years I’ve felt guilty and depressed with every piece of food I put in my mouth either because it was going to make me fatter or less healthy, or else because it wasn’t. Think rice cakes. Now comes the green movement, and the greening of everything from birth (you do it at home) to burial (no coffins, just dirt). The latest mandate is to make sure that your diet is green. More and more, especially in the East Bay and around Northern California, if you’re not eating green, and telling everyone about it, then you are a recalcitrant laggard abuser of the planet Earth.” Read more…

Illustration by Nick Dewar

Rotee Restaurant

400 Haight Street, San Francisco

Last weekend we went to San Francisco to try the Pakistani cuisine at Rotee restaurant. Good thing we had Sam as our guide: he helped us select the traditional favorites of his native Pakistan.

Pakora

Samosas

First we ordered Samosas and Pekora as appetizers. The crispy Samosas were stuffed with hot potatoes and sprinkled with a mix of spices. The Pekora were made with garbanzo bean flour and stuffed with onions. A cilantro sauce and tamarind sauce accompanied the two appetizers. The Samosas were our favorite–crispy on the outside, hot on the inside…need I say more?

Lahore Karahi

I ordered Lahore Karahi, which is a specialty from Sam’s hometown in Pakistan. The combination of chicken, tomatoes, onions and various spices create dish fiery enough to make my nose run. A yogurt sauce helped temper the heat.

Rotee

Rotee, Pakistani flatbread, is traditionally broken piece by piece and dipped in the dish. Sam’s rating: above average.

Tikka Masala

Sam ordered chicken Tikka Masala, which was milder compared to the other dishes–and useful for tempering the heat of the other dishes. Not as flavorful as in the land from which it hails, Sam questioned its authenticity.

lamb chops

My mom, ever the lamb-lover, ordered lamb chops. While beautifully presented with frills of onion garnish, the lamb chops were salty and over-seasoned. Future blog mission: find good lamb chops.

Palak Chicken

My dad ordered Palak Chicken. Palak means spinach in Urdu, so spinach was the main ingredient. If you are a fan of Popeye the Sailorman, then this dish is for you.

Tulsi

Tulsi again

Our host gave us a sachet of Tulsi, a sort of after-meal palate cleanser composed of sandalwood pieces and anise, which was reminiscent of black licorice.

Overall, we gave it 3 out of 5 stars. While most of the food tasted good, the quality was not up to par. The lamb was a disappointment, and the Tikka Masala lacked depth, but the Lahore Karahi was rich with tomatoes and spices. And we must not forget the Rotee (above average) and the hot, crispy Samosas. If you find yourself wandering around Lower Haight looking for a place to eat, check out Rotee for yourself.