Pretty in Pink

Now that you've brought out your autumn decorations from the attic it's time to put on a pot of your favorite chili and bake some corn muffins and officially ring in the fall season this Saturday. I've finally caught the autumn bug after resisting it for a few weeks, but now I'm embracing it wholeheartedly. The pumpkin harvest beer from Blue Moon I'm sipping is also helping me to get over the long summer days. But shorter days also mean I'm spending more time indoors, much of it wasted watching hulu, but my web surfing took me to this you tube video of South Korean music sensation, PSY (short for psycho, how can it NOT be good?) Now that you've had your pop culture injection for the day we can move on. (Joel points out this video has over 200 million hits, so I'm not exactly being revelatory here. It's still awesome so watch it again).

My mother-in-law is an amazing cook and if possible, and even better hostess. Martha Stewart could learn a thing or two from Bev. From her immaculately decorated home to her decade old sourdough starter, there's nothing Bev knows better than entertaining well. When we come to visit her in El Reno, Oklahoma she always knows what her son wants to eat and she can't go wrong with her homemade chili. What separates Bev's chili from the rest of the pack is her delicious pink onions that top the steaming chili and add texture and flavor to jazz up even the best bowl of beans.

I finally asked Beverly for this recipe and she happily wrote it down for me twice. The first time I stuck the note in my pocket and then washed them the very next day. She graciously mailed me a fresh copy after I realized my error and finally, Pink Onions! She got this recipe from Vegetarian Cooking and it couldn't be easier to make. You'll have plenty of time to whip them up while your beans are simmering away. You can use your favorite kind of vinegar or whatever you have on hand. Apple cider, white wine, or red wine will all work with the same yummy result. Substituting a white or yellow onion is also an option but then you can't call them pink onions anymore. If you have leftovers, and you probably will, try using them on sandwiches, scrambled in eggs, in stir-fries, or anything else you can envision.


Pink Onions

2 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons-1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar, divided
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
salt to taste

In a large saucepan over high heat bring water and 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar to a boil. Add onion and return to a boil and cook uncovered over medium heat 2-3 minutes. Drain onion and let cool. In a bowl stir together onion, 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar, oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and salt. Serve at room temperature or cover and chill until ready to serve.

One last summer dish...

According to the calendar it's still summertime but the chill in the air and the leaves scattered on the ground say it's fall. As much as I love fall (what's not to love about sweaters and pumpkins?) I'm sad to see summer go. Chicago hasn't had quite as brutal a summer as other states and I know many other people are eagerly awaiting the cooler weather. For me, in my mind fall means winter, and I'm not too eager to see what Chicago has in store for us in a few more months.

So, to officially see summer off I'm going to make one last great summer salad. One of those meals that are light but completely satisfying in every way. The perfect dish to fit the bill is a Vietnamese Beef Salad. The complex flavor of the dressing combined with the hearty beef strips make this dish really filling. I learned how to make this dish in Hoi An, a charming but touristy town in central Vietnam (see above picture). They offer cooking classes on every corner for the curious tourists to learn the intricacies of Vietnamese cuisine. The class was made up of an interesting mix of rich older women who actually refused to chop vegetables, honeymooning couples, and then those flying solo, like me. When the instructor passed around a bottle of gold rum and told us to drink, I knew everything would be just fine. I wish so badly that I had written down the name of the rum we drank that night, it was so smooth and delicious, it totally changed what I thought about rum, which wasn't much.

Vietnamese love their beef and they like it rare. I do too on occasion, like in June when visiting my dad. He served me a huge bowl of homemade pho with thin slices of raw beef which cooked after he poured hot broth over the noodles and it cooked the meat to perfection. But if you don't eat beef or would just prefer to use an alternative, then use seitan. Seitan is wheat gluten and it makes a great substitute for beef in this dish because of its texture. It's also high in protein making it even more similar to the real thing.

This recipe also calls for tamarind paste which is very deceiving in that it seems like an easy thing to just pick up in the Asian market, but alas, nothing is ever easy. First I had to actually find where they kept the tamarind paste in the Asian market I frequent since I've never bought it before, 15 minutes later I had success. Then when I got home I had to do some research to make sure I bought the right kind of tamarind paste, since my package simply said 'Wet Seedless Tamarind'. Tamarind paste can come in a jar or a wet mushy block, like I got.

To actually be able to use the tamarind you must first add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until it begins to soften and dissolve. Then take a small mesh strainer and press out the paste leaving behind all the remnants from the tamarind pod. If you don't feel like doing this, and frankly I don't blame you, then you can substitute Worcestershire sauce since tamarind is a main ingredient or even lemon juice. However, it won't taste quite the same as using fresh tamarind paste which has a very unique brightly soured taste that you'll find in many Asian dishes, such as Pad Thai. The paste can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

The crispy rice paper that is served with this dish can also be found in Asian markets. It will be next to the other varieties of rice paper wrappers. You simply put the rice paper into the microwave for 2 minutes and voila! It turns into a huge cracker! It's pretty awesome. It's very similar to the shrimp chips you can make at home by deep frying only much quicker and without all the grease to clean up later.

Vietnamese Beef Salad
Serves 4

Marinade
1 lb. beef filet or lean boneless beef or 8 oz. Seitan
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
 salt & pepper to taste

Salad Mix
1 cup lettuce (green leaf or butter leaf)
1 cup green papaya, grated
1 cup tomatoes, seeds removed and cut into thin strips
1/2 cup cucumber, seeds removed and cut into thin strips
1/4 cup white onion, thinly sliced
1 fresh red chilli, seeds removed, thinly sliced

Dressing
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 teaspoons sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed

Toppings
1/2 cup mint (or cilantro)
1/2 cup Asian basil
2 tablespoons crispy shallots (see below for instructions)
2 tablespoons peanuts, crushed
Roasted rice paper

Crispy shallots
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup shallots, thinly sliced
Heat oil until it shimmers (350 degrees). Place shallots in oil and deep fry until golden. Drain well, set aside.

Marinate beef (or seitan) in the fridge for up to 3 hours. If grilling, cook the beef, covered, over hot coals for 8 to 10 minutes on each side. Do not overcook, beef should be rare in the middle. If you don't have a grill, heat a greased cast-iron skillet or griddle over high heat and sear the beef for 8 to 10 minutes on each side. Let beef stand for 10 minutes; the meat will continue to cook and the juices will spread throughout the meat. Trim and discard fat and cut against the grain into 1 1/2 inch strips. If using seitan or other meat alternative, simply marinate and set aside.

Place the salad mix into a large serving bowl and toss with the dressing. Add beef and mix gently. Move ingredients onto a serving plate and sprinkle on the toppings. Serve with crispy rice paper.

Oklahoma Breakdown

It's been a little longer than I'd like since my last post; family took us back to Oklahoma where we endured 100 degree heat, ate way too much food, and got to play with small children and babies. The photo above was taken in my mom's backyard on the last full moon which happened to be a blue moon. Spending the evening relaxing by the light of the moon in the warm Oklahoma night reminded me of why it's such a great state. Stunning sunsets and nights spent outdoors close to nature is soothing and a welcome relief after the bustle of the city.

 Overall the trip was successful but at times the stress and anxiety ran high as it has a tendency to do when you get together with the family. I love reading books about family dynamics. Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections and Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres remind me that families are by nature chaotic, overwhelming, and completely necessary. The fact that our families shape who we grow up to be makes us inextricably linked forever and it's impossible to ever distance yourself from that.

My original idea for a recipe came from my mother-in-law, a dish she makes when we come to town because my husband loves her vegetarian chili. Pink Onions top the chili and it's amazing how the bowl of hot chili is transformed by the slightly sweet and tart onions when they combine together in one bite. She wrote the recipe down for me but then I stuck them in my pocket and washed my jeans the next day. This kind of stuff happens pretty regularly. So until then I'm settling for a similar type of dish, a topping you can put on top of almost anything, but especially Mexican dishes. It's been adapted by a recipe I saw in Cook's Illustrated as a topping for chicken fajitas. It will also pair well with stews and chili's, sandwiches, ect. It's incredibly easy and also has great heat behind it so be sure to adjust the jalapeno to your liking. Stay tuned for Pink Onions to come...

 

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated
Spicy Pickled Radishes
Makes about 1 3/4 cups

10 radishes, trimmed and sliced thinly
1/2 cup lime juice (4 limes) or 2 T apple cider vinegar
1 jalapeno, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes or refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

Learning to Be Content

 

I've been feeling very lucky lately. Maybe blessed is a better word. We all have the times in our lives when everything seems to go wrong and you can't catch a break and then you sit and wallow in self-pity and worry. I've been there plenty of times myself; self-pity and I are good friends. But then other times life just seems to go on without a hitch, where daily you're reminded of all the good things you have and you seem to be content with just that. I think content is a perfect word to describe how I'm feeling.

I owe a lot to who I am and how I view the world to my mother.

She raised me alone, working full time and managed to provide me with everything I ever needed and more. She taught me how to cook, how to crochet, the difference between a wrench and pliers, and she even taught me how to drive a stick shift. She is to put it simply, amazing. She married a Vietnamese man, a man very very different from herself and the world she knew. He introduced my mom to another culture and she embraced it wholeheartedly. Then she raised me to embrace it wholeheartedly even after their marriage was over.

I love being half Vietnamese. I feel like it's my own little way of setting myself apart from the masses. I have two cultures that I can call my own and I feel like a bigger and better person because of it. When my husband and I were making our way from Hanoi to Saigon, a daunting 1087 miles, we marveled at the country my father had come from and at the same time were deeply sadden at the circumstances that forced him and his family to leave. I'll leave dissecting the Vietnam War (the American War as they call it in Vietnam) to others, for now I'm simply content having visited the country where my father was born.

My mother has never shied away from cuisine's she's unfamiliar with, I like to think this played a part in my father falling for her. My mom is up for eating anything at least once and I remember so clearly my father instilling this notion in me as soon as I could pick up a fork on my own. "You have to try it, it's okay if you don't like it, but try it first." To this day I'm exasperated by people who say they don't like something when they've never even tasted it. Taste it! It's okay if you don't like it, but try it first.

I don't think you'll have a hard time enjoying this recipe, it's downright delicious!  The flavors in this recipe really work together and I made mine extra spicy just like mom taught me. You probably already have most of the ingredients in your pantry and it's a cinch to whip together. Don't be afraid to substitute vegetables or add more or less of an ingredient to suit your taste.

In closing, I'll say only that if I'm half the woman my mother is then I'm headed in the right direction. Mom, thanks for showing me all that's good and right with the world and teaching me how to cope with the bad. I love you.  

 

Spicy Peanut Noodles
Serves 4-6

3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup lime juice or 2 tablespoons vinegar (rice, apple cider, or white wine vinegars will all work)
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
4 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (stick to natural, the only ingredients should be peanuts and salt)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 cup broth (chicken or vegetable) or even water will do
1 lb. lo mein noodles
1 carrot, sliced thinly
2 baby bok choy, sliced thinly lengthwise
8 oz. tofu or cooked chicken
2 green onions, sliced thinly

Add all ingredients up to and including the broth into a saucepan. Cook on medium heat and stir until peanut sauce thickens and becomes smooth, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

Rinse lo mein noodles under cold water and separate with fingers, drain well. Toss noodles, carrots, bok choy, and tofu or chicken together until coated. Top with green onions and serve.

Note: You can find lo mein noodles in the refrigerated section of any Asian market or specialty food store. Feel free to try soda noodles or even traditional Italian pastas. You will most likely not need to use all of the peanut sauce. Try adding half of the sauce first and add more as needed. Use the leftover peanut sauce on sandwiches, with spring rolls, or as a dip for veggies.

Birthdays & Burritos

After graduating college and striking off on my own I began to develop an unease surrounding my birthday. A sort of dread/excitement fills me once the calendar flips over to August. It's a time for reflection of the past year mixed along with planning for the future, neither of which I like to do much. This time last year I was preparing for a 3 month expedition to SE Asia and I remember it clearly; I was excited about this new chapter in my life and at the same time remorseful to leave a city filled with such beauty, where I had made great friends, and where I learned to call Seattle home. Fast forward one year later and here I sit in our tiny apartment in Chicago, my trip to SE Asia behind me and only my own fears and apprehension sitting in the way of my future. I ended up having a really great birthday and was reminded again of how wonderful my family is and how important friendships are. Most importantly I received all 9 seasons of Seinfeld on DVD, what more could I have ask for?!?

And since we're still in the throes of summer, simple cooking still reigns in my kitchen. We've been trying to spend every possible moment outside, soaking up all the sunshine we can get before the season is snatched from us. That means meals that are quick and easy to prepare, but always delicious. I've been craving kimchi fried rice for the longest time, but since day old cold rice is necessary for stir fries I find it hard to plan ahead. I first discovered the recipe for kimchi fried rice here in a blog post by Molly Wizenburg, my role model and the only food blog I read regularly and enjoy immensely. You can call me silly but I feel a connection with her since she grew up in Oklahoma and moved to Seattle just like I did, except she's managed to publish a book and start a successful restaurant, guess you could say I'm off to a slow start, but the effort has begun!

You could certainly make kimchi fried rice and call it a day, but I'm going to take it a step further and go for a Korean Burrito. Yes, that's right, I said Korean Burrito. The only other ingredient you need is an avocado and nori, an edible seaweed paper most commonly used to make sushi rolls. By simply rolling up the fried rice and avocado you have a delicious light meal perfect for a warm day in August.

 

Kimchi is simply fermented cabbage mixed along with other spices and usually garlic, chili peppers, vinegar, and salt. It's extremely popular in Korea; the average Korean typically eats 40 pounds of kimchi per year. And since it's low in fat and high in fiber it's kept the obesity epidemic far away from Korea. Like other fermented foods kimchi can aid in digestion because it's loaded with healthy bacteria. You can eat kimchi right out of the jar (be careful opening it, it can bubble over and get everywhere if you're not careful) or you can cook it which takes away the pungent aroma and makes it more palatable for people who don't care for the smell of it in its raw state. Either way it's delicious. Go eat a Korean Burrito and blow your friends minds.

Korean Burrito
Serves 4-5

1 16 oz jar Kimchi (look for a brand without MSG)
2 cups cold cooked white rice
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon seasame or olive oil
1 avocado, sliced thinly
2 green onions, sliced
sesame seeds, for garnish
10 sheets nori (edible seaweed)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add kimchi and cook until heated through and it begins to brown in spots. Turn heat to high and add cold rice, separating any chunks that are clumped together. Stir continuously until rice is heated through or when the mixture is beginning to brown. Add butter and stir to coat. Taste and season with salt as desired. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Place one sheet of nori on a flat surface. Place about 1/2 cup kimchi fried rice in the center of the seaweed paper and top with sliced avocado and green onions. Roll up as you would a burrito and enjoy!

I feel like 28 will be a good year. Thanks for sharing this journey with me.

Basketful of Blossoms

Last week I mentioned how much I love my new trusty yellow bike, which I've taken to calling, Schwinny (I've never claimed to be clever). Today I did something I've been meaning to do since summer first began; go to a farmer's market. Living in Seattle, farmer's markets are a must. They are everywhere! And lovely! I can't believe it's taken me so long to get to one here in Chicago. A friend recommended the Green City Farmer's Market right in Lincoln Park, just past the zoo. So today was the perfect day to hop on Schwinny and get to know my city better.

Today was the absolute perfect day for a bike ride, the sun was out and not too hot, with a light breeze to help you cool down. The market was perfect, plump tomatoes, ripe peaches, and corn corn corn as far as the eye can see. I loved the atmosphere, the samples, and feeling of community in an enormous city. I went there not knowing what I wanted, I just thought I'd let nature take it's course. When I spotted these beauties I knew what I would be eating this afternoon...

I got some other tasty treats today that I can't wait to eat..

Squash blossoms can be found on the ends of many varieties of squash but the one most commonly eaten are from zucchinis. They are very delicate and should be eaten within a day or two of harvest.  I've only ever heard of one way of eating squash blossoms; stuffing and pan frying. I decided to try it both raw and fried, I hated to waste all 6 of my blossoms by dunking them in hot grease- of course that would taste good! I wanted to showcase the flavor of these delicate flowers by tasting them in their natural state. I've had anchovies and capers on my mind recently, please refer to the pizza I ate in Manhattan for the source of my obsession. I knew these two ingredients must be present in this dish. I also had a leftover lemon and some creme fraiche which made my mouth water immediately just thinking about it all mixed together. After making this I decided it would also make an excellent salad dressing or dip, luckily I still have some left over which I've slathered on pizza... yummy.

The man at the farmer's market told me to be sure I picked the pistil out of the center and wipe it off with a damp cloth before cooking. After I saw some ants roaming around I made sure I cleaned them thoroughly and began the arduous task of filling them with creme fraiche goodness. I think the easiest way is simply to fill a plastic zip-lock bag with the filling, cut off a corner, and pipe it into the hollow center of the blossom. But I don't have any clean plastic baggies lying around, so I did my best to shovel it in with a spoon which wasn't easy or pretty.

Next, I made a batter of flour and water using nothing but consistency as a measurement and dunked three blossoms into the batter and left 3 untouched, simply drizzling olive oil and salt over the top. When my oil was nice and hot I seared the 3 remaining blossoms for about 3 minutes on each side, until they looked nice and brown and crispy.

Best of both worlds. Raw and fried squash blossoms. 

 The blossoms are delicious, fried or raw. The zucchini stem of the raw blossom wasn't as pleasant as the cooked version, but I guess I expected that. Overall this is a dish to try simply because if you come across squash blossoms you can't resist their beauty and this is a beautiful way to consume them. Happy days and happy eating!


Stuffed Squash Blossoms
Enough filling to stuff 6 blossoms

Filling
4 oz. creme fraiche
3 anchovy fillets
1 tablespoons capers
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mince anchovy and capers, add to creme fraiche along with lemon zest and juice. Set aside.

Carefully wipe blossoms with a damp towel and carefully open blossoms to remove the pistil from inside. Pipe or spoon anchovy filling into blossoms and twist the ends to close.

To serve raw, drizzle with olive oil and salt.

To fry, heat skillet with vegetable or canola oil until it reaches 350 degrees. Mix 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 cup water for batter. Add water until it reaches a thick batter consistency. Coat blossoms with batter and fry in the hot oil for 3 minutes on each side or until the blossoms are golden and crispy. Serve immediately.

Working Up a Thirst

I don't know what this plant is called, that's what mothers are for. Isn't it beautiful?

I haven't been spending too much time cooking in the kitchen, its been pretty standard fare around here lately. Tuna salad, pasta, and other no frills meals. About a week ago I was lucky enough to come across a beauty of a bike, a yellow vintage Schwinn Continental, and since then I've been zipping around the city, exploring more of Chicago in a week than the entire 6 months we've lived here. So you can imagine that when I say its revolutionized my life you can understand that it's not an exaggeration. Then, two days ago Joel found a 3 speed cruiser so now our biking family is complete!

 

Biking in the heat of summer can bring about a strong thirst and what better way to quench it than with a tall glass of lemonade?  Cherries are in season right now and they've been in our fridge consistently for about a month now. I decided to throw some cherries into the mix and some mint for color and to offer a contrast of flavor to the sweet cherries and lemonade. It's super easy to make; just get a glass and fill it a quarter of the way with crushed ice. Then take about 3 or 4 cherries and a few sprigs of mint and muddle it all together. If you don't have a muddler then you can use the pestle to your mortar like I did. Just be gentle and don't break your glass like I did, but I didn't use crushed ice, which is why I'm telling you to. Also, be gentle. You just want to smush the cherries and crush the mint enough for it to release it's oils, which doesn't take much force. Now you've learned from my mistakes. Now, fill up your glass with ice and add lemonade! It's delicious. Of course this would make an excellent cocktail, but it's only 1:30 people! Cocktails are for after 5 pm, so I guess I'll have to settle for a beer!

 

I actually drank this last night, but I would drink another one right now if I had it. I love Lagunitas IPA but wanted to try this Anniversary Release, Lucky 13. It's a great beer. It's big on the hops but has a smooth finish, so the bitterness doesn't sit on your palate as with other beers. Does it sound like I know what I'm talking about?

After lemonade making Joel and I made plans to bike to Humboldt Park and watch some outdoor Shakespeare. We even packed some snacks and a blanket to get cozy as we got a dose of culture. But as we started out on our 7 mile trek it became apparent that the play wasn't going to happen. The sky had become dark and overcast, the wind was swirling and yet we pedaled west anyway. Just 2 streets away from the park we pulled over and looked up at the sky, the lightning that had just started was seriously making us reconsider things. I figured the play would be cancelled anyway and I was super bummed about our day being ruined. We turned around and worked hard to cover the distance we had just made before the storm rolled in. All of a sudden the air changed and I could smell the rain. The tempertature dropped and above the tree line I could see a rolling black cloud race across the sky, covering up what remained of blue. It was quite a sight to behold. Then the rain started, slowly at first, then more quickly, until a full fledged thunderstorm took over. The wind whipped dirt and leaves around and my vision became blurred between the wind and the rain but I still pedaled faster. I was soaking wet, cold, surrounded by thunder and lightening and it was one of the most fun and memorable days of the summer.

We pulled over in Wrigleyville to let the worst of the storm pass and drink a beer before heading home. Again, I'll reiterate, summer is awesome.

Nico thinks so.