Pumpkin Pancakes

Every few months I refer back to a NYT article I mentioned a few months ago called “The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating.” I’m not entirely sure why I’m so obsessed with it. I think it makes me feel better when I can check off a few items on the list, feel good about my nutritional habits and then go back to eating ice cream and fantasizing about beer.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/the-11-best-foods-you-arent-eating/

Anyways, I can never check off ‘canned pumpkin’ because it is just not something I cook with unless I’m making pie at Thanksgiving. I assume I'm not alone here. However, the article says it’s very high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A so when I saw it featured in one of Trader Joe’s nauseatingly cute but apparently effective fall displays, I grabbed a few cans. From there it was a short journey to pumpkin pancakes.

Mix together 1 1/4 cups flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt and about 2 teaspoons of any combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground clove, and/or ground ginger depending on what you have. In a separate bowl, combine 1 1/3 cups milk, 3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin, 4 egg yolks, 1/2 stick of melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients. Finally, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer (or if you live in NYC sized apartment with your whisk) until they are firm or your hand is tired. Fold into the batter. Cook them up like normal pancakes and serve with maple syrup, a bit of butter and a sprinkling of good salt.

The Office Potluck

I work with people from all over Latin America and the Caribbean. My immediate cubicle neighbors come from St. Lucia and Guyana but this office has strong representation from Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ecuador…and Brooklyn. You would be hard pressed to find a Subway sandwich or a deli bought cup of soup in our lunch room. At around 1:30 every day, the line starts to form as my colleagues wait to warm up their elaborate leftovers. There is always a bit of sharing that takes place in the kitchen – half an avocado up for grabs, homemade salad dressing passed around and shared hot sauce for the rice and beans days. For the most part however, we all settle down to our own lunches after a quick “buen provecho.” That is of course unless it’s the much anticipated once a year International Planned Parenthood Potluck.

Some offices do fancy holiday parties at midtown hotels with bacon wrapped scallops and mini puff pastries filled with brie. We do a potluck. Today that meant a spread that included roasted pernil, arroz con pollo, shrimp fried rice, roti, guacamole, empanadas, curried chicken, fried plantains and more. The dessert table continued the global taste bud extravaganza with torta de batata, flan and organic chocolate chip cookies. ( I did say Brooklyn after all.) Even with just a small taste of everyone’s dish, it’s impossible not to overdo it. Luckily I was able to skip one dish this year. The auditors who happen to be in the office today brought Cinnabons.

Oven Baked Polenta Surprise

Like 99% of all New Yorkers, every day I walk by a corner pizza shop on the way from the subway to my apartment. Regardless of how questionable the establishment is, it’s always tempting to stop in for a slice whether it’s 3 pm or 3 am. On particularly grey, rainy days like yesterday, my cravings for gooey cheese go through the roof. However, on the rare occasion that I do get a slice, I’m often disappointed. The cheese is tasteless, the sprinkled parmesan resembles sand and worst of all, I wake up the next morning with no leftovers. (For anybody that knows me well, I have contemplated calling in sick rather than showing up at work with no lunch.)

This is where Baked Polenta Surprise comes in. It satisfies the exact same craving but it’s tastier and gives me lunch for a few days. I never used to make polenta because like risotto and McCann’s Irish Oatmeal, you have to stir it for way too long. But recently I discovered “An Elegant Gruel: Polenta” on New York Times’ Recipes for Health and now polenta is a fixture.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/health/nutrition/08recipehealth.html

All you do is mix one cup of corn meal with 4 cups of water and a bit of salt and throw it in the oven at 350. Fifty minutes later you have a nice, firm polenta to form the base for whatever you want to throw on top (i.e. the substitute for the pizza crust).

From here you can use your imagination. I like to cook up fresh tomatoes, garlic and spinach, layer it on the polenta, cover with cheese and bake for a few more minutes. Mushrooms and gorgonzola are a good topping too. I can imagine that sausage, tomatoes and basil would be delicious. Ham and pineapple? Not so much.

Early Morning Blueberries

Lately I have been waking up at 5 a.m. I think it’s a combination of flying back and forth between London and New York all summer, fear of bedbugs and a total absence of hangovers. The other morning I was actually craving a hangover simply because I so desperately wanted to still be asleep. Anyways, my early morning activities have consisted of washing down all my spices and spice rack, laundering the sub-leasers sheets and emailing my grandparents. If I’m feeling really wild, I indulge in watching Netflix in bed on my iphone. Crazy stuff.

This weekend I was home with my family in Boston so I decided to take advantage of the peaceful, early morning kitchen and make blueberry muffins at the crack of dawn instead. I followed Smitten Kitchen’s Perfect Blueberry Muffin recipe.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/08/perfect-blueberry-muffins/

I used those tiny wild blueberries which were amazing – although difficult to stir in without dying the entire muffin purple. I opted for sour cream over yoghurt since good, full fat yoghurt has all but disappeared from the shelves of suburban US supermarkets. (This is a major pet peeve of mine). These muffins aren’t sweet so don’t expect that sugar encrusted NYC deli muffin. Do expect to win major points with your family even if you are 34 years old and have been mooching off their stocked fridge for four days straight.

Love Affair with Lentils

I’m obsessed with lentils. Not only do I include them whenever possible in salads, soups, side dishes, etc. but the word is usually part of my password if you ever want to access my dwindling back account. I don’t think it would work as a little boy’s name but there is definitely a cat in my future named Lentil.

Anyways, after weeks of traveling and gorging myself on Jamón Serrano, deep fried peppers, short ribs, Toast Skagen (fancy way of saying shrimp with mayo) and Swedish meatballs, I was happy to be back at home and cooking up some basic lentils. This is one of my favorite lentil soup recipes. It’s adapted from 101 Cookbooks’ Coconut Red Lentil Soup.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/coconut-red-lentil-soup-recipe.html

1) Rinse 1 cup of yellow split peas and one cup of red lentils until the water runs clear. Cover with 7 cups of water and bring to a boil.

2) Add 1-2 diced carrots and two tbsp of diced ginger. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

3) In the meantime, sauté another 2 tbsp of ginger, a bunch of diced scallions and 2 tbsp curry powder in a big pat of butter (or two!) for a few minutes. Add 2 tbsp of tomato paste.

4) Add this mixture and one can of coconut milk to the lentils. Let cook for another 15 minutes or so until the lentils are soft. Season with salt.

5) Serve topped with cilantro and green onions. Add Sriracha for extra kick.

A Vegetarian Dish Worthy of Name Day

I prepare vegetarian dishes all the time. During the week I usually throw together a grain, some fresh vegetables, and feta and toss it all with vinaigrette. Or if I want something hot, I often make pasta, baked polenta or a tofu stir fry. It’s cheap, makes good leftovers (I’m not a fan of reheated meat), and healthy. However, whenever I'm actually confronted with making dinner for a real vegetarian, I panic.

Meat-friendly crowd pleasers are easy – short ribs, pork tenderloin, lasagna, steak, etc. The meat forms the centerpiece and the salad and other accompaniments simply keep it company. With a vegetarian meal, however, I struggle to find the ‘centerpiece’ or rather, a dish worthy of presenting to somebody other than myself!

Last week I had to tackle this problem head on as it was Zuzana’s name day (a Czech Republic thing). Given the company, I knew I could just get away with serving dessert for the main course (a Czech Republic thing), but I was determined to find my Zuzana Day centerpiece. Luckily, corn and tomato pie from Smitten Kitchen came to my rescue.

Tomatoe Corn Pie adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1) Make or buy a pie crust with a top and bottom. I made mine (using a bottle of wine as a rolling pin) but I don’t think it’s particularly worth the time unless you are really good at pie crusts –which I’m not.
2) Prepare your pie filling: Slice approximately 2 lbs of beefsteak tomatoes into ¼ inch slices and remove as many seeds as possible. Remove corn kernels from 2 ears of steamed corn. Shred two cups of good cheddar cheese (spend the money). Chop up a generous handful of basil (or substitute pesto) and some chives.
3) Whisk together 1/3 cup crème fraiche and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
4) Line the bottom of the pie with a layer of cheese (prevents sogginess) and then add a layer of tomatoes, corn, and herb mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat.
5) Drizzle top of pie with crème fraiche mixture and seal up with top pie crust.
6) Brush top of pie with 2 tablespoons melted butter and poke 4 steam holes in the crust.
7) Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees. Let stand for 10 minutes when you remove or it will be watery.

Place it in the middle of your table as a centerpiece and toast to Zuzana.

Tortilla: Better as a soup than a name

Chucho thinks I should name my kid Tortilla. I have my doubts about that despite my deep appreciation for tortillas. Tortillas can really make or break a meal, and in NYC, it’s unfortunately often the latter. I recently read an article about Tortilleria Nixtamal and I have high hopes that it will up the standards for tortillas in NYC. In the mean time, tortilla soup satisfies my craving without requiring top notch tortillas. It’s based on a Wolfgang Puck recipe (Qué verguenza!) but it really does the trick.

1. Steam two ears of the freshest most flavor packed corn you can find. Remove the kernels and save the cobs.
2. In a food processor, blend a few jalapenos, one small onion, 4-6 garlic cloves and the corn.
3. Cut up a couple of tortillas and sauté in vegetable oil in a big soup pot until brown and crispy. Add the veggie mixture and cook for a few minutes.
4. Add two large chopped and seeded tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and 2-3 teaspoons of cumin. Cook for 10 minutes.
5. Add 6-8 cups of good stock and the corn cobs and simmer until soup reduces a bit and flavors mix. Add salt to taste.
6. Puree.
7. For garnish, service with chopped cilantro, a dollop of sour cream, baked tortilla strips, pulled chicken, avocado, etc.

Eat it. Enjoy it. But don’t name your kid after it.