A Meal That Tastes Real

The cooking never stops. Every day I am chopping and slicing, sauteing and braising and boiling, baking and burning. And the cleaning - oh the cleaning that must come after the cooking. How often is the phrase "cooking and cleaning" uttered? The "cooking" is inevitably followed by the cleaning. It's not "cooking and lamenting" nor "cooking and relaxing". No, it is NOT EVEN "cooking and eating".

Which is just a damn shame.

And so every night, after the boiling and the braising and the peeling and the roasting AND the eating, I have a sink full of dirty dishes waiting for me, taunting me on the road to relaxation. Some nights I ignore them. It's okay, I live alone and if I ignore a dish it will not take revenge, except perhaps in the emission of odors (it's bad to ignore any dish that once held fish). Eventually though, I must face the music of the dishwasher - and yes, I do have a dishwasher so it may seem unfair to complain, but everything still needs to be detached from the caked on food. I do not have a garbage disposal, so my sink also requires a good cleaning now and then.

Tonight I decided to take a break. Although I am averse to frozen meals, Trader Joe's has some good food items (salsa verde, lox, olive tapenade, and double chocolate cookies are my favorites) and the short ribs looked good to me. But I remembered why I don't buy frozen meals when I ate the dish - the mealy vegetables and strange tasting sauce were not the best. And that is why I like to cook it myself.

I like having a meal that tastes real, like a sun tan not a fake bake. Like a documentary, not reality TV. Like real love instead of lust. It lasts longer, it's more satisfying, and it's more memorable. And sometimes it tastes so good, it makes me want to tell everyone about it, even if it's as common as oatmeal chocolate chip cookies or pasta with shrimp. Because even when real love is so common with all the couples that I know, I bet all of them think they're pretty special. And that the cooking is totally worth all the cleaning.


Pasta with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce (from Giada's Kitchen)
4 to 6 servings

With recipes like this, you end up with leftovers of an ingredient like bottled clam juice, which you're never going to use up. My solution, because I liked it so much, was to make this dish again a few days later.

1 pound penne pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 15 oz can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup bottled clam juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp turn pink and are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.

Add the tomatoes, 1/4 cup of the basil, 1/4 cup of the parsley, and the red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and simmer for another 2 minutes. Add the clam juice and cream. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes until the sauce thickens.

Add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the cooked shrimp, the drained pasta, and the remaining basil and parsley. Toss together until all ingredients are coated with the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and serve.

Noting a Life: Dinner Notebooks

When the group from First Congregational Church of Berkeley and I arrived in Spain from Morocco, our first stop was Marbella. I knew the name immediately from Chicken Marbella which is one of my favorite dishes, originally from the famous Silver Palate Cookbook. You’ll find the recipe below. But I had always called it Chicken Marbella—like Mar-bel-la. To my surprise the city’s name was pronounced Mar-bay-a. So now I know, Chicken Mar-bay-a.
















We spent one night. I didn’t eat Chicken Marbella—in fact it wasn’t on the menu. But I can tell you exactly what I did eat at Bar California: salad with carrot, tunafish, tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, and onions and poured my own oil and vinegar. Then I had Shrimp Pil-Pil which is shrimp in boiling hot olive oil and garlic served in a small casserole. A Barbarillos (white?) and a Rioja (red) to drink. Then we went off to a bar and I ate Cuarent Tres, which means 43, almonds from Catalonia, and Poncho Cabineros, a spicy liquor, which I loved. Please correct my Spanish.

The reason that I know exactly what I ate is that since 2004 I have been writing down my dinners (and on trips all three meals) along with important information like where, with whom, what and the cookbooks I used, wine, etc. I put the information in little 4 x 6-inch notebooks which are easy to take along on a trip and to restaurants if I think a meal may be worth recording in detail.

At the end of each month, I put this information on a spreadsheet, clearly a throw-back to my 16 years as an administrator at Duke University. Then at the end of the year I tally it up. Here’s what it looked like the first year 2004 and the most recent year 2008: Cooked dinner for guests 46/38, Cooked dinner for myself or myself and Katherine 80/84, Ate leftovers 84.5/63, Take-out 0/4, Out at restaurants 50/57, Out at friends 23/17, Out shared (mostly holidays) 3/6, Catering 4/0, Traveling (mostly restaurants) 75/97. They each add up to 366; I don't know why. But close enough.

There is no real reason for recording my dinners in this way. I think originally it seemed like a fun project—and I love projects. I do occasionally go back, as I did above, and check out what I ate on a particular date, like Saturday, March 20, 2004.

Sometimes I think that I am providing a future graduate student with a masters thesis on what a white, middle-aged, middle class, woman ate between 2004 and whenever I decide to stop.

But mostly I like to keep track of my life. I call the bookshelf that holds all these notebooks and others you will hear about at another time Noting A Life.

Moon Grub

This is more for fun than anything...plus it's probably Trivial Pursuit-worthy.

Flying to the moon requires more compact, efficient, high-tech nutrition than that required on flights to say…Mercury (duh, right?). Designed using “scientific nutrition”, astronauts are certainly not bragging about “pills and paste”, the space-ready food served on their menus in the past. Such products were designed to provide calories, vitamins, and minerals... however, astronauts won’t eat the stuff. The “pills and paste” are packaged in squeeze tubes or as bite-size cubes coated in gelatin to keep crumbs from escaping. Warren Belasco, author of “Meals to Come: A History of the Future of Food” describes the food as “edible biomass, food for function, not for the soul [1].” No kiddin’.

Astronauts were losing a lot of weight not only in part to the extremely unappetizing food, but also in part due to their increased energy needs. While “floating” sounds easy enough, a lot of energy is expended in space as opposed to gravity-ridden Earth. The calcium needs of the astronauts are also increased as bones regenerate more slowly in space.

However, Apollo astronauts were the first to have hot water aboard their space craft which allowed for dehydrated foods which were packaged like the military’s meals ready to eat (MRE’s) [1]. Unfortunately, the foods were typically consumed out of a pouch, allowing them to eat with a spoon versus the retired “pills and paste” alternatives in the past [2].

Flying in space causes a shift in body fluid to the head causing a decreased sense of smell. Because 85-90% of what we taste is what we smell, astronauts commonly use hot sauces, soy sauce, and other bold flavors to season their food and increase the flavor. Overall, the advances in selection and quality for our space crews have drastically improved. Those working for NASA have 180 varieties of freeze-dried foods from which to choose. They can even opt to include some of their favorite foods in the form of freeze-dried. A menu cycle is typically 7-days and many shuttle crews allow on foods representing their country to share with other astronauts. Carbonated products such as colas, however, are avoided as they cause “dry burps” when mixed with gravity.

Moral of the story: foodies probably wouldn’t be too thrilled about the cuisine in space. I’ll stick to my day job, that’s for sure.

[1]. LaRue Huget, Jennifer. Houston, We Have a Menu. The Washington Post. July 21, 2009.

[2]. Suddath, Claire. What Do Astronauts Eat in Space? Time. July 20, 2009.

Menu 8: A Second Spanish-influenced dinner

Chicken Marbella
Now that we have the pronunciation straight, we can proceed. Within the last year I have discovered that not everyone shares my affinity for sweet and savory in the same dish. I recently mentioned Chicken Marbella to Jessie, a dear friend of a friend, who said that she would never fix anything that had chicken and prunes together. She just wasn’t drawn to those combinations. What you have probably noticed by now is that I am drawn to those combinations. In fact, they jump off the page of a cookbook and into my lap. Sweet and salty. Raisins and bacon. My mouth waters. I want you to know that I fully confess to this affinity and won’t take offense if you don’t share it.

What is really great about Chicken Marbella is its ease: you can marinate the day before, then put it in your pots or pans, pour in the wine and sprinkle sugar, and bake. None of that nasty browning business. The thighs are much more forgiving than chicken breasts which tend to dry out.

8-10 chicken thighs, skin and extra fat removed
½ head of garlic, peeled and pressed
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
1 cup pitted green olives
¼ cup capers with a bit of juice
3 bay leaves
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup wine
2 tablespoons chopped flatleaf parsley or cilantro

1. In a large bowl, combine the chicken thighs, garlic, oregano, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Add the salt and pepper. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator overnight. You can also make it in the morning and refrigerate for the day.
2. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
3. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in one or two large shallow baking pans or clay pots and spoon the marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle the chicken with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.
4. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when the juice from the thighs runs clear, not pink, when pricked.
5. If you’ve cooked in the clay pots, then leave them as they are. If you’ve cooked in not-so-pretty pans, transfer the thighs, prunes, olives and capers with a slotted spoon to a serving platter, moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and pass the remaining juices in a small pitcher. Sprinkle the clay pots or the platter generously with parsley or cilantro.
Note: This dish can be served right out of the oven or at room temperature.

4-6 servings
Adapted from Julee Ross and Sheila Lukins’ The Silver Palate Cookbook

Coconut Rice
This rice is actually Cuban, but it goes with the Marbella so nicely. Both speak Spanish fluently. The photo doesn't reveal how tasty this dish is. Delicious. But not very visually stimulating.

2 tablespoons oil or butter
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 teaspoons minced or grated fresh ginger
1½ cups basmati rice
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (comes in a can)
1½ cups water
1 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oil or butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, but not brown, about 1 minute. Add the rice and sauté until the individual grains are shiny, about 1 minute.
2. Add the coconut milk, water, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and cook the rice until all of the liquid is absorbed and the grains are tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and let the rice stand, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve at once.

If you want to make it a bit ahead of time, you can rewarm it in a low oven.

4-6 servings
Adapted from Steven Raichlen’s Miami Spice

Oven-Roasted Tomatoes
I am crazy about these tomatoes, especially the cherry tomatoes. Fresh sliced regular tomatoes or cherry tomatoes would be great with this meal as well. Both the roasted and fresh add a necessary color to the plate.

















3 pounds small to medium tomatoes of any kind or color
OR
2-3 boxes of cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Cut the regular tomatoes in half crosswise and remove the seeds.
OR
Poke a hole in each of the cherry tomatoes.
2. Place in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Mix together.
3. Place the cherry tomatoes or the regular tomatoes with their cut side up in a single layer on low-sided pans lined with parchment paper or silpat. Roast in a 350ºF oven. No need to preheat. You can use convection mode on either roast or bake if your oven has that feature.
4. Bake in the oven until the skins are wrinkled and juices evaporated somewhat. The flesh should still be moist and soft to the touch. For regular tomatoes, count on 1-2 hours; for cherry tomatoes, one hour should be sufficient. If you are using convection, the times will be shorter. You can remove the tomatoes that are starting to caramelize (and potentially burn) if you desire.
5. Remove from the oven and cool.

4 servings
Adapted from a Ramekin’s cooking class taught by Mary Karlin, August 2004.

aqilah's system down

finally. i've got this.

thanks to u 4 the surprised.

i know i acted weird these several days. i don't even know y. i felt, horrible all the time.

the days went smooth. but, me myself is feeling... horrible. yup.

i eat when i feel like i have to, not when i want to. most of the time.

i had my as-if-breakfast-lunch in the evening around 5-6pm. ahah.

and then... owh. here's a few symptoms. all dr-2-b out there, plz act like u're Dr. house~

1. get pissed off easily! as easy as A-B-C. very3 impatient.
2. kencing tak lawas. what da?
3. i felt tired + exhausted all the time.
4. lazy. like totally lazy. nak mkn pon mls. ape ce?
5. and then i felt sorry towards every1 arounds me 4 my bad attitude.

my horoscope yesterday. no no, it's not that i believe in this. just. take a look

"u r likely 2 distance urself from others now, feeling the need 2 withdraw n reflect. ur thoughts r inclined 2 b heavy n pessimistic at this time, so it would b good 2 realize that u're only seeing part of the pict. this can also b a time of leaving, seperating from relationships n choosing a new way"

and a close friends of mine, sent a sms at 05:17am;

"qila. luv u. juz misz our memories 2gether." and so on......

i dont even realize she's the 5th / 9th / 17the person who said i'm different.

i'm just the same. no worries. i miss u guys too. and i'm really sorry. i'll be okay.

btw. yesterday. i've got my tickets to kuching. it would be on 5th august - 10th august. owh i'm going alone 1st. mama will be going to kuching around 7/8th august. i'll be sitting alone at kuching then... eh no3. i've to take care of abah. err. will i? he would be the one who's taking care of me. hahahahaha... owh abah. i'm sorry 4 making u sad 2 days ago too. i didn't mean it. i'm sorry. and i really3 can't wait to play with my new kittens!!! yeshhhhhhhhh... i'll show u my house later. then i'll be back to kl on...10th august. hu-ha-hu-ha 4 a while in kl & i'll be flying again around 17-20th august. owh yup, kuching again. haha...

u know what would be the 1st thing i'll do when i sat in the plane? i would turn on my mp3, and sleeeeepppppppppppppp. haha. and most of the time, i'll only wake up when i heard an annoucement "kita akan mendarat di lapangan terbang antarabangsa kuching sarawak sebentar lagi. sila pastikan anda memakai tali pinggang keledar & bla bla bla" owh. dah sampai~ haha XD eh u know what. it's tiring okay... u've to wake up early, packed ur stuff, went to the airport, check -in, boarding, and then when u arrived to ur destination, u've to wait 4 ur luggage, immigration, and finally. baru kuar dr airport~ wahaha... penat!

well. that's all for now. =]

Back home...

Phew. Amazing week in Umbria and somehow managed to strike the perfect balance between adventure and inaction each, naturally, involving much food.

Plenty to write about including making pizza in a furnace and probably a video post too so you poor, poor people get to see and hear me as well as read my culinary ramblings.

Fairly busy week coming up so it may be a few days before I get the chance to start the write ups but you are so wonderfully patient, I’m pretty sure you won’t mind.

And Ryanair is a sorry excuse for an airline. Just had to get that off my chest.

Weekend!

Last weekend I had a lot of fun! Since thursday, I haven't stop at home!

On Thursday night I had the t shirt customization workshop, do you remember? Well, I forgot to show you this lovely cap I've made for my friend Vic!

It contains a rainbow, some stars, hearts, spirals and a lovely pirate bunny! I love that kind of desing, so colorful and cute!

Then on friday evening I saw "Across the Universe", a lovely film; and later I had dinner with my friend Rose. We went to Foster's, we love that restaurant and we're bigger fans of their burguers; you know, once at month is ok for us, but... yaw!! I choose the Grand Chef burguer, it's my favourite one!!


That night I was wearing my handmade t shirt, i was in a punk mood that day!


On saturday, we went to the cinema just to see "Brüno", it was quite funny and we had lots of laughs... OMG! That film is soooo brave!! I wear my customize Bodyline skirt with an Alice in wonderland t shirt; Alice and the pirates socks and my new white tea party shoes!














My tea party shoes are so confortable, I really love them!!

And finally, yesterday I was at tarifa, at my uncle's house. I love that house because he collects vintage things, so I took some pictures of cute things.


Oh, yes, we had coffee in those lovely cups!! Aren't they cool?


One thing more: do you see that "island" on the horizon? it's not an island, it's Africa... yes, i live very close to it, only 14 km of separation between two worlds....



What about your weekend?

***

he tenido un fin de semana muy movido, apenas he parado en casa desde el jueves, que realicé el taller de customización de camisetas y le hice la gorrita que os enseño más arriba a mi amigo Vic. Es muy mona, ¿verdad?

El viernes vi la película "Across the Universe", me pareció preciosa; y luego por la noche me fui a cenar con Rose al foster's. Nos encanta ese restaurante y una vez al mes vamos a cenar allí, soy adicta a su hamburguesa Grand Chef!!

El sábado me fui al cine a ver "Brüno", me apreció una bizarrada de película, pero muy divertida. Os dejo una fotito de como iba vestida, con mi falda customizada de Bodyline, camiseta de Alicia en el País de las Maravillas, calcetines de Alice and the pirates y mis nuevos tea party blancos de Secret Shop, son muy cómodos!

Olvidad mi careto y la calidad de la foto, la hicimos con el móvil XD.
Luego cenamos con Anabel y nos fuimos al centro a bailar un rato, me lo pasé bien y conocí a carlos, un chico muy majo del grupo de "rapaditos" de Algeciras.

Ya el domingo pasé el día con mi familia en la casa de Tarifa de mi tío, la cual adoro porque tiene montones de cosas vintage; mi tío colecciona antigüedades e hice algunas fotos para mostraros cositas.


Este abanico es muy antiguo!



la foto del paisaje que os dejo más arriba es una visión volviendo de Tarifa, de África. Parece increíble que sólo 14 kilómetros separen dos mundos tan diferentes...

¿Qué tal vuestro finde?