Lazy Sunday

One thing that I really look forward to on weekends (aside from the obvious: sleeping in, not having to go to work) is breakfast. After a week of surviving on fast standbys like oatmeal, cereal and toast, I can't wait for a good old weekend breakfast - bacon and eggs, french toast, pancakes...pretty much anything that takes longer than 3 minutes to prepare.

The problem is that often these delicious meals take some time and effort. And some days, I'm not really looking to slave away in the kitchen for my first meal of the day when my stomach has already been growling for half an hour (generally the reason I'm even out of bed). But that doesn't mean cereal is on the menu again. Some days you try out a little gem of a recipe that is easy, painless and fast! The pancake was ready in about 30 minutes which is a huge improvement compared to spending an hour flipping batches of individual pancakes. And did I mention really tasty? Not too sweet, (I might actually add a bit more sugar next time, but I don't like a lot of syrup on my pancakes) nice and crispy-browned on top without being dry and some deliciously caramelized flavour from the apples.

The best part was that I had all the ingredients in the kitchen AND I got to use up that stray apple in the fridge that had been getting dangerously close to mealy. Sweet deal.

Oven Pancake with Apples
adapted from deliciousdays; the book

Serves two

125 ml milk (1/2 cup)
150 g flour (just over 1/2 cup)
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 small apple
Large pat of butter
Splash of vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 390 degrees Farenheit, 200 degrees Celsius. For the pancake batter, mix milk, flour, salt, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and eggs with a whisk until smooth. The batter shouldn't have any lumps in it, but also be sure not to beat it any longer than absolutely necessary.

2. Peel and core apple; cut into wedges and little slices.

3. Melt butter over low-medium heat in a 10-inch cast iron or oven-proof skillet and add apples. Saute for a minute and stir so that the apples are all covered in butter. Remove from heat and pour batter into the pan. Bake in oven until golden brown and puffy, about 20 minutes. Try really hard not to peek during this time or the pancake will deflate! Though either way, it will collapse quickly like a souffle. Serve immediately with some butter, powdered sugar or syrup.

Last Supper

Henry is the king of cliches.  "Been there, done that."  "Denial is not a river in Egypt."  "There are more horses asses than there are horses."  "You can't always get what you want."  The kids and I just roll our eyes as he comes out with one after another after another. 

I hope he doesn't read this post, because I'm going to use one myself and that is "be very careful about what you want, because you just might get it."

I'm talking about Cambodia.  I leave on Sunday- THIS SUNDAY!!!  How did this happen?  As I said before, I am terrified and electrified but I think the terrified part is taking over right now.  Am I really going halfway around the world to sleep under mosquito netting and hang around slums, hospitals and orphanages?  Uh - yes, Liz that's what you are about to do. 

So I am in the middle of packing, dreading the 20 hours of air travel, organizing everything at home so I can leave (thank God the burglar is no longer an issue), dreading the 20 hours of air travel, cooking food for Henry so he won't starve while I'm gone (yeah, right - he will probably go hog wild since the food police won't be around), buying gifts for our host families and tying up all the loose ends.  Oh, and did I mention how much I am dreading the 20 hours of air travel?

But I am cooking tonight.  Probably for the last time until I return.  Henry is out tomorrow night (which means I can feast on popcorn and wine), we are out with Henry's brother on Friday night and we are going to have a lovely dinner out (just the two of us) on Saturday night before I leave the next day.  That will be at Float-a-Way Cafe, which is one of my favorite restaurants here in Atlanta.  http://www.starprovisions.com/

Since I seem to be maintaining my 15-lb. weight loss (go, Liz!), I don't want to derail myself too much.  Hence, Roasted Shrimp and Broccoli.  Folks, this recipe is GOOD!  It comes from NY Times food writer and chef Melissa Clark and it's easy and delicious.  If you don't have coriander and cumin seeds in your pantry, go buy some.  The broccoli florets make a delicious catch-all for them.

I could eat this for breakfast.  Actually, I probably will tomorrow, but my breakfast preferences are the subject of another post. In the meantime, I will enjoy it this evening and I hope you try it soon also.

ROASTED SHRIMP AND BROCCOLI (adapted from Melissa Clark)

2 large bunches broccoli, cut into florets
4 T. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 T. coriander seeds
2 T. cumin seeds
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 lbs. shrimp, shelled and deveined
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Lemons, for serving

Preheat oven to 425-degrees.  Place broccoli on a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper.  Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle with coriander and cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and the chili powder.  Roast for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place shrimp in a bowl and toss with remaining olive oil, salt and pepper,  Add lemon juice and zest and let marinate for 10 minutes.

When broccoli has roasted for 10 minutes, remove from oven and add shrimp, using a slotted spoon so you don't add the liquid.  Roast, tossing once halfway through until shrimp are just opaque and broccoli is tender and golden around edges, about 10 minutes more.  Serve with lemon wedges, or squeeze lemon juice all over before serving.

Serves 4-6.

As my food goddess and heroine Ina Garten would say, "how bad can this be?"

Not Once But Twice

I'm so excited because the market near me sells lemongrass.



Yes, it does look like a funny, long stalk of grass. It's kind of thin and dirty and if I didn't know better, I would have walked right by it. I would be wondering if it was meant to be part of some sort of flower arrangement decor, maybe set in a round bubble vase in a base of marbles.

It would be lovely like that, but such a waste. You'll understand when you cut and crush your first stalk of lemongrass. Trim the base and bulb, and slice the stalk in half. Then hold one of those halves up to your nose and inhale. (I insist on this with corn cobs too - it makes it worth the trouble.) You'll get a clean scent of lemon from what looks like a weed. It's like cracking open a piece of coal to discover a diamond, or finding out that the quiet guy has a clever wit.

Lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves are the two components of authentic Thai food that are difficult to find. The lime leaves have still eluded me, though like vanilla beans, they are easily available on the internet. But with lemongrass in hand, I made a Thai hot and sour soup not once but twice this week. Usually I hate eating the same thing every night but the soup was spiced up with habanero chili, tangy with lemongrass and lime zest and juice, and chock full of mushrooms and shrimp and tomatoes. It tasted as good as any hole-in-the-wall restaurant's hold up the bowl to your mouth and suck it down soup. It's a light soup, only 135 calories per serving, but you can always put more coconut milk in it if you miss the creaminess. The flavor is there either way. Cooking Light recommends it with some sauteed snow peas, but for a heartier accompaniment, I found that a Thai beef salad was perfect.





Thai Hot and Sour Soup (Cooking Light)
(4 2-cup servings)

• 6 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 4 kaffir lime leaves or three strips of lime zest
  
• 1 (4-inch) lemongrass stalk, halved and crushed
• 1/2 habanero chile pepper, minced
• 1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms (about 2 ounces)
• 1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 medium tomato, cut into wedges
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Combine chicken broth, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, and habanero in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and shrimp to pan; cook 3 minutes or until shrimp are done. Add juice, fish sauce, tomato, and onions to pan; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in coconut milk and cilantro. Discard lemongrass stalk and lime leaves or zest strips.

bad day for flip fans

January 20

Cocktail doyenne Audrey Saunders says her Pegu Club was visited by the health department last night and, well, this is what she told her Facebook "friends":

"Everything was fine until the inspector looked on our menu, saw the Earl Grey MarTEAni, and told us that ... even with the warning we have printed on our menu about raw eggs, using raw eggs is a violation ... and that we have to switch to pasteurized eggs in our cocktails."

No-doubt the American Egg Board, egg producers' promotional body, would support the move, because they support anything that helps prevent food poisoning from eggs (wouldn't you? I mean you don't want people getting sick from your product), but in fact only one in about 20,000 eggs contains salmonella, according to the AEB.

I tell ya, eggs get a bad rap. They're not likely to raise your blood cholesterol either. From what I understand, the biggest contributing factor to blood cholesterol is genetics, and after that it's saturated fat. Eggs have a lot of dietary cholesterol, but not much saturated fat, and, counter-intuitive as it may seem, dietary cholesterol doesn't contribute to blood cholesterol.

In fact, egg yolks are really good for you. They contain all sorts of good micronutrients, including folate, Vitamins B6, B12, A and E, a bit of D and all sorts of carotenoids, which are good for your eyes, like carrots are.

Egg whites are pretty much protein.