I am a raw tomato addict. It runs in the family.

The story goes that all my mother ate when she was pregnant with me was raw tomatoes so the lust for them must have been transferred to me while still in the womb. And for as long as I can remember the ushering in of summer in my childhood home involved finding massive amounts of tomatoes, taking them home, slicing them, and standing around in the kitchen eating them. All of us looming around a puddled cutting board of juicy red tomatoes, the liquid running down our arms while we devour these succulent bits of red tomato flesh.

There were also a lot of tomato, Miracle Whip and white bread toast sandwiches involved. Which has consistently been one of my favorite things to eat. I could have one everyday for weeks and never get sick of them. When I read Tom Robbins essay about tomato, mayonnaise and white bread sandwiches being the best food on earth I fell a little in love with him. Its called Til Lunch Do Us Part and you can read part of it in the book preview on Amazon if you want to thoroughly understand the term “food porn.” Then you should read Skinny Legs and All or one his other novels because hes a genius.

Tom Robbins was the first person outside of my family Id ever heard talk about the joy of raw tomatoes, almost everyone else Ive encountered finds eating them as if they were candy an unusual thing. Its something the fella and I tease one another about on a regular basis. He hates them, I love them, how can we possibly stay together with such opposed views on such an important issue. Somehow we soldier on, obviously we just stay together for the dog.

Sadly bread, white or otherwise is not part of this French diet so Ive been feeling the lack of my favorite sandwich for some time now. I do still have tomatoes however which our CSA share has been providing us in great abundance. There are pounds of them in the kitchen at the moment and more keep coming every week. I finally hit the too many tomatoes point this week, when I started dreading just eating them raw and had to start finding things to put them in.

Luckily Mark Bittman has a very handy recipe for easily taking care of large amounts cherry tomatoes in a yummy way. It seems too easy to be that good but it really is. And yes I will eventually start posting something other than salads soon. Ive just been short on free time and not feeling up to turning on the stove now that summer here in Wisconsin has finally decided to start. So for now here is another salad sans lettuce.

Cherry Tomato Salad

2 handfuls cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 large dash dark sesame oil
1 sprig cilantro

Cut tomatoes in half. Place in bowl.

Whisk together soy sauce and sesame oil. Pour over tomatoes and toss thoroughly.

Garnish with coarsely chopped cilantro.

This is even better the second day after it has sat chilling out in the fridge over night marinating until the tomatoes are little salty tart bombs that explode on your tongue.

Recipe from Mark Bittman in The New York Times.

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To celebrate getting back into the habit of blogging after a whirlwind month that included moving, I am giving you a salad that is both super simple and very delicious. I dare you to not love this salad. Its a healthful easy to make salad for the lettuce phobic or just someone tired of the same old romaine routine. Technically it doesnt even need a recipe just a combination of six ingredients you probably have in your kitchen on a regular basis.

Aside from the amazing minimalism of it this is a beautiful salad. The contrast between the blueberries and carrot in color is reveled only by the juxtaposition of the crunchy and then sweet soft berries. It was outstanding with a lean steak and a microbrewed local beer. This was the perfect meal to christen my kitchen with and I fully plan on preparing many more of the salads from this article in the New York Times. My life needs more simple, light, no fuss dishes and the dwindling days of summer seems like the right time to work my way through 101 salads.

Blueberry and Carrot Salad

2 carrots, ribboned or grated
1 handful fresh blue berries
1/2 handful sunflower seeds
equal parts olive oil and lemon juice
lots of black pepper

Grate or ribbon carrots into a bowl. Toss on blueberries and sunflower seeds.

Whisk oil, lemon juice and pepper together. Pour over carrot mixture. Toss to coat.

From a recipe suggestion by Mark Bittman in the New York Times The Minimalist column.

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Some books are begging to be judged by their covers, cliché or no. Seriously with a title like How to Make Love and Dinner at the Same Time how can you open the glossy little textual vixen without preconceived notions?

The fella and I found this little treat on our last cookbook hunting mission at the library. We just go to the closest library on that particular day were running errands, swoop in and grab an arm load of cookbooks each, then go home and play the lets make a menu for the week game. I grab a pile of French cookbooks and the fella finds a couple on Asian cuisine and whatever else is tickling his Scorpio-ian fancy right about then. This time that happened to be cookpot books.

Surprisingly the recipes in the book are pretty decent and hit upon all the major cuisines without bastardizing them too badly. Rebecca Field Jager should probably stick to the recipes however. On every page there is also a little Sex in the City-esque tip about sex and being a sassy hot lady. It isnt cute and it distracts from the actual point of the book. Crockpotting to have more time to get your grove on is a nice idea, Ill take advice on the former but I can handle the latter thank you very much. And should I ever need any pointers I cant imagine trusting advice about sex found in the cooking section.

Criticism aside her ratatouille was really good. After chopping up the veggies you have nothing else to do. Turn on the crockpot, go to work, come home, eat dinner. A traditional French meal that cooked while I wasnt in the kitchen, it was a nice change of pace. This went perfectly with the Broccoli and Red Pepper Penne though it was missing a little complexity of flavor. I couldnt quite tell what it was missing but after looking at some other ratatouille recipes it could be thyme and rosemary, Ill have to make it again to tweak it but that would be my guess for now.



The Vinedos de la Posada Malbec I opened with the meal rounded out an already amazing experience. Im on a real Malbec kick as of late. This one especially wins points for being organic, fair trade and made with no added sulfites. It has the South American spicy bite and big dark fruit of a New World Malbec but has the light drinkability of Malbecs from Cahors without being boring and flabby. Its the Malbec I go for when I want to treat myself a little, though I dont have to considering how many out of this world Argentinian Malbecs there are for under $10.

The Conquista Malbec is about $7, drinks like a $30 or more bottle, and sells out every time the day we get a couple cases in the wine store. Ive been carrying on a sordid love affair with it for years. And with a new book full of crockpot recipes I have even more time to spend looking longingly into its plum colored depths.

Crockpot Ratatouille

1 eggplant, sliced
2 zucchini, sliced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
(the original recipe is missing these last two spices which are in traditional ratatouille and would add to the flavor profile greatly)

To remove bitter juices, sprinkle eggplant with salt and let sit in colander to drain for about 20 minutes. Rinse then pat dry.

Cut up all the vegetables and add them with the spices to the crock pot. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Original recipe from How to Make Dinner and Love at the Same Time.

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Would you believe this meal came completely out of the crockpot with recipes that involve absolutely no measuring? Well wrap your mind around it because its true.

The night before I threw some pesto and cheese on the fish, wrapped it in foil and put the fish packets in the fridge over night. I washed and trimmed the artichoke and got out the crockpots so that in my pre coffee haze I could manage to get this cooking quickly before going to work.

The fish went into the crockpot with a timed setting. This way the fish could cook for 3 hours and then be kept warm until I got home. It was perfect and flaky and not at all over done or fishy. Sometimes I love technology.

The artichoke went in the smaller old school crockpot with some water and lemon juice. When I got home the house smelled green and welcoming. There are few things I love to eat more than artichokes so coming home between jobs to pull the leaves off a perfectly cooked artichoke was a dream come true.

None of this is the fellas favorite thing in the world so I made it while we was in Boston a couple weeks ago and was a very happy girl. Sometimes cooking for one can be thrilling. I can do something as crazy as dual crockpot cooking without getting any funny looks. It was thrilling.

I highly recommend crockpotted artichokes. Not that it takes long to boil them regularly but there is something really nice about coming home to ready to eat food especially something as esoteric as an artichoke.

Crockpot Fillet of Sole with Pesto


1 to 2 pounds of white fish (I used sole)
bottled pesto
shredded Parmesan cheese
foil

Spread out a layer of foil on the counter top. Put a piece of fish in it. Cover it with a spoonful of pesto. Sprinkle on some shredded Parmesan.

Fold over the foil to create a little packet. Put the packet in the crockpot.

Continue to layer in foil packets until you run out of fish.

Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours. You really should check it after 3 hours. The fish is done when it is fully white and flakes nicely with a fork. The stuff on the bottom will cook the same as the stuff on the top.

Original recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking.

***

Crockpot Artichokes


artichokes
crockpot
water

Clean and prep the artichokes however you like to do so.

Put the artichokes in the slow cooker with liquid. I put the artichokes stem-side down in my big slow cooker and sprinkled them with a little salt, pepper, and fresh-squeezed lemon. Then I poured over about 2 cups of water (adjust to the size of your slow cooker; you may need a little less) and a drizzle of olive oil.

Cook on low for 6 hours or until the leaves can be easily pulled away. The final cooking time will depend on the actual heat of your slow cooker and the size of the artichokes.

Idea from the kitchen section of Apartment Therapy.

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If this salad doesnt make you love or at least learn to tolerate kale there is no hope for you.

Kale and I arent best friends but we visit on special occasions. Those special occasions being thick filling soups in the middle of winter. We get along pretty well as long as kale doesnt draw too much attention to itself which unfortunately it usually does. I totally understand why most people never invite it to their parties, kale is a bitter creature on a good day and an evening killer on bad ones.

This salad changed all that. The only reason I made it was kale came in the latest CSA box and there was steak in it so even if the kale was a failure there was still the yummy steak for dinner. I figured it was a win win type situation. But even as I wilted the big juicy organic kale leaves I was still hesitant about how much I was going to like this dinner. I was rushing to make it and take it in tupperware to my second job of the day, if I didnt like it I would be stuck at a coffee ship with nothing but scones to munch on.

Fortunately all the worry was for naught. Steak, vinegar, and salty olives turned the kale into a very delicious unassuming salad green. I wouldnt have even known it was a bitter green if I hadnt of chopped it up myself. This salad might not look like much but its great and filling and not at all like any other kale dish Ive ever dutifully forced myself to work my way through. The only way it would have been better is if I had decent sherry vinegar. Time to visit my friend at the fancy vinegar store on my next day off.

Steak, Kale and Olive Salad

1 pound steak, whatever cut floats your boat
1 bunch kale, thinly chopped
1 handful black olives, the saltier the better

equal portions olive oil and sherry vinegar


Season steak with salt and pepper then sear in in a nice sized pan to the level of doneness you prefer. Remove from pan to let cool a bit before slicing into bite sized pieces.

Put kale in pan with steak drippings and cook just until wilted. Remove pan from heat and toss in olives and sliced steak.

Whisk together oil and vinegar then pour over salad and toss.

Recipe from Mark Bittman in the New York Times.

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This crockpot pork goodness is highly addictive. Then again whats not to love about dinner that makes itself, is fall apart tender and involves peanut butter. Did I mention there is peanut butter? Thats really the most important part of this whole recipe. Saute some veggies to serve this over to take the place of the carb unfriendly rice and you have got yourself a nice treat for dinner.

Next time I would probably prop the pork up on the meat tray for the crockpot to keep it from stewing in its own fat so much. It was a bit greasy but I guess I was expecting that from pork so I wasnt too troubled about it. Other than that the sauce is a highly edible drug. Its simple but perfect.

We opened a bottle of Saint Gabriels Gewürztraminer with this, a bottle we bought specifically because Gabriel is the patron saint of the fellas congregation within the Apostolic Johannite Church (yeah I live with a priest, I probably havent mentioned that yet.) It was decent but definitely in your face with the sugar and not a whole lot else. There was some citrus and a wee bit of cinnamon that made it work with the spicy pork. We were rather pleased with the whole meal even though the wine didnt live up to what we hoped for.

The best part of this meal is it is the gift that keeps giving. Im looking forward to my second day of munching on the left overs for lunch tomorrow. Thats saying a lot seeing as a have a strict policy about not wanting to eat something more than two days in a row. Of course you could put peanut butter on pretty much anything and I would look forward to eating it. This may not apply to Brussels sprouts but Id be willing to give it a try.

Crockpot Asian Peanut Pork

2 lbs pork tenderloin or roast
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fructose
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Asian hot chili sauce (if you cant find one thats sweetener free Tabasco works fine)
1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tablespoon oil
1 red pepper, cored and sliced
1 yellow pepper, cored and sliced
2 cups green beans


Place pork in crockpot. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, water, rice wine vinegar, hot chili sauce and peanut butter. Set on low, cover and cook for 6-8 hours.

Just before serving, in a large frying pan sauté peppers and green beans over medium high heat in the oil until tender. Stir peanut sauce until smooth and shred pork roast with a fork. Serve the pork over the vegetables.

Original recipe from Deborahs Culinary Confections blog.

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This soup is autumn in a bowl. Its filling, warm, healthy and involves pumpkin. What more could you ask for? Oh its also embarrassingly easy for such a tasty dish.

Im not usually excited about cooking that involved pouring things from cans and the spice cupboard, adding heat and eating. But sometimes thats all you have the energy for, and this is the perfect thing to make while in one of those moods and still having a great dinner no one will realize you put nearly no effort into. And those cinnamony roasted pumpkin seeds I made the other day are a amazing on top of this.

The chef and I decided this soup is pretty great but its probably missing bacon. It needs a little something extra to amp up the flavor and take it from yummy to out of this world. Oh darn guess Ill have to cook it again and experiment with adding bacon next time. Unless someone wants to do that arduous task and let me know what happens.

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

2 cans black beans (15 oz each), drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth

4 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 can (16 oz) pumpkin puree
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Baked pumpkin seeds, for garnish

In a food processor puree the beans and tomatoes with half of the vegetable broth.

Warm oil in a large pot then sauté red onion, garlic, cumin, salt, cinnamon, allspice, pepper and cayenne on medium heat until onion and garlic are brown; about 3 minutes.

Add pureed ingredients, pumpkin and the rest of the broth to the pot. Simmer uncovered until thick, stirring often and scraping the bottom, about 40-45 minutes.

Before serving stir in balsamic vinegar. Garnish with baked pumpkin seeds.

Original recipe from Noble Pig blog.

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In case you thought I was kidding when I keep saying everything has sugar in it heres another thing to add to the list: chipotles in adobo sauce. Theyre a standard ingredient in our kitchen especially to add a nice kick to Tuesday crockpot meals. However after a month of searching we couldnt find a single grocery store can of them that wasnt full of brown sugar not even at Whole Foods. Not willing to live without them and not liking any of the smoky pepper sauce alternatives we tried the fella searched out a recipe. Gotta love him.

So on Sunday when I was out drinking beer with another man he stayed home and made adobo sauce. I came home and the house smelled like a smoky spicy heaven. Apparently it was one of the easiest things ever to make as its a toss it in the pan and forget it for hours type thing. And the final product was better than any canned adobo weve ever had. The fella tossed them in the crockpot chili he made today and my lips are still burning hours later.

Take that sugar weve once again found a way around you. Next stop: bacon.

Chipotles in Adobo Sauce

10-whole chipotle peppers
1/3 cup onion, diced
5 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, sliced
4 tablespoons sugar free ketchup (found in the organic aisle)
3 cups water
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan.

Cook over a very low heat for 1 to 2 hours until the chilies are very soft and the liquid has been reduced to about 1-cup. Put in blender and process for a thicker sauce.

Will keep for a week in an air tight container when refrigerated.

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From the emptiness of the bowl by the time I got around to photographing it you might be able to guess how good it was. And you would probably be right. After all the time I spent stressing about large amounts of expensive beef going to waste, this ended up being my favorite part of the meal. That was a pretty impressive feat considering the amazing things that were on my Easter dinner menu.

Vichyssoise
Cauliflower “Potatoes”
Steamed Fresh Green Beans
Boeuf en Duebe in the Crockpot
Flourless Dark Chocolate Cake

Not a tradition holiday menu by any means but it worked out well. Doing the main dish in the crockpot really freed us up to concentrate on the side dishes, not to mention enjoying the company of my family rather than running around slaving over a hot stove. It was even less maintence than a roast or a turkey. The day we were cooking it that is, the days leading up to it we spent a lot of time babying this beef.

First we had to go out and buy a crockpot big enough to handle 5 pounds of beef, a pound of shallots and a bottle of red wine. This was actually good motivation to finally go out and do something weve been talking about for awhile. As much as we use the crockpot we really needed a nice one that was programable, it will make our lives much easier.

Next I spent the week making sun dried orange peel. This wouldnt have been a problem except there was no sun to speak of most of the days leading up to Easter. Thankfully Friday and Saturday were sunny and that seemed to give the orange peel long enough to dry out. But leave it up to the weather to add extra stress to preparing this meal. Supposedly fresh orange peel works just as well but we didnt have to find out this time.

Now came shopping for wine. Burgundy isnt an easy wine to find and the couple that were in town were all over $20 which was more than I was willing to spend on a wine that was going in a recipe. Someday I will put the investment into buying a nice bottle of Burgundy but it was not going to be now. Beaujolais is technically in the Burgundy region of France and there were several Id tried before that I thought would work fine to cook with. The Georges Deboeuf Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau is too green to make a drinkable glass of wine but I think it did fine in the beef. It actually helped to make the recipe a bit less boozy which I was worried about.

This recipe also wanted cognac which was more of an investment that I was looking to make that day so I went for the next best thing and got a small bottle of Korbel brandy. Both made of them are made of grapes, who cares, right? There was so little of it in the actual dish it didnt make a difference, you could probably leave the distilled liquor out of this all together and not even notice, the wine is plenty.




With this the crock pot we served up the soup and finished up the vegetables during the last hour of cooking time. We also opened a couple bottles of wine. The Parducci Petite Shiraz was a huge disappointment. I was excited about it being organic and sustainable produced on a family farm which is all well and good except the wine stunk. It tasted like fermented grape juice and nothing else, it had no subtlety or depth. My mother asked me to review it and “do my thing.” All I could say was, “It tastes like grapes.”

At that point I opened the Conquista Malbec, the wine that is the love of my life, which I knew I liked and actually had good things going on in it. Its produced biodynamically without pesticides but doesnt have the expensive organic certification. At the same time its actually a good well rounded spicy wine unlike so many wines that make a big deal about being organic or green which they use as their selling point forgetting to actually put the effort into making a good wine. So many of these organic wineries just throw an unpalatable mix of grapes together and think the organic label will keep people coming back for more. A boring undrinkable wine is bad regardless of its sustainability. Unfortunately Ive yet to find many good organic wines, they all taste largely the same.

Ah well, my family isnt big on wine anyway. My mother got to try a couple different wines she wouldnt have gotten to otherwise, that all that mattered. Hopefully the strange Easter wont keep my family from coming back for another meal. They were probably glad they brought their own bread to comfort them through courses of food theyre never heard of.

The beef was actually pretty decent. I dont know that I would ever feel the need to put that much effort into making it again but it was a fun experience. It tasted nice served over the faux potatoes with some green beans on the side. A pleasant special occasion meal for sure. Now I know what the big deal about Beef Burgundy is.

Crockpot Boeuf En Daube

5 pounds prime beef, cubed & trimmed of fat
1 pound shallots, peeled and coursely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped finely
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 bottle Burgundy wine

2 tablespoons oil
1 pound smoked bacon, chopped
1/2 ounce dried mushrooms (we used a couple ounces fresh buttons mushrooms)
6 pieces of dried orange peel *
1 tablespoon brown sugar (we omitted this)
4 sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 8-ounce can chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoons arrowroot
2 tablespoons cognac (or brandy)


Marinade the beef with the herbs, shallots and garlic over night in the bottle of red wine in a sealed container.

Before cooking, drain wine and reserve for later. In a large skillet sear and brown the beef pieces over high heat in the oil until brown, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Place browned beef into the crock pot.

Fry the bacon pieces until crispy and golden brown. Drain bacon, reserving fat for later and add bacon to the beef in crockpot.

Brown the shallots and garlic in the bacon fat then add to the crockpot. Add all the other ingredients, except the arrowroot and cognac to the crock pot, including the reserved wine. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for up to 6 hours. (If you want to use the oven preheat it to 325 and cook slowly for approximately 4 to 6 hours; check towards the end, the meat should be extremely tender.)

Half an hour before the end of cooking time use a ladle to remove some of the wine stock from the crock pot. Place in a small bowl and whisk in the arrowroot. Add back into the crockpot to help thicken sauce. It should have the consistency of a glaze not a gravy. Add the cognac to the crockpot and allow to cook until the timer goes off.

Traditionally this dish is made the day ahead of time to allow the meat to further marinate then reheated for serving over mashed potatoes.

* To make dried orange peel, peel 2 oranges and cut peel into narrow strips. Place on a flat surface and leave in direct sunlight for a couple days. Or place on a baking sheet and bake overnight at a very low temperature. Fresh orange peel will work in this recipe as well but will change the intensity of the citrus flavor in this dish.

Original recipe from Recipezaar.com.

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Its been a busy week so there has been a lot of crockpot action going on in my kitchen.  Yesterday the fella threw this chili together for about the millionth time and I couldnt believe I hadnt written about it yet.  Its tasty and a great low fat/high protein meal. 

Aside from the basic seasoning and the inclusion of beans you could add whatever you have in the kitchen to this recipe to create whatever chili youre in the mood for that particular day.  Its a very forgiving recipe and beans hold up great in the crockpot so you really cant go wrong.  If you dont like spice you could skip the chipotles or go for a milder jalapeno.  Feel free to use whatever combination of beans you have around.  We used kidney and cannellini beans since we had a bunch left over from the pottage earlier in the week (Im terrible at estimating how many dry beans to cook in order to get the amount of beans I need for a recipe.)   But were also fond of a combination of black beans and chickpeas.

I like to top this with a little sour cream or yogurt and cilantro to add a little something extra to it while still sticking to the vaguely southwestern theme.  But if you wanted to be naughty some melted cheddar cheese on top would be amazing.  So go crazy and treat yourself to a meal  that cooks while youre at work.

Vegetarian Crockpot Chili

2 tablespoons oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon cumin 

2 tablespoon chili powder 

2 teaspoons oregano

2 tablespoons soy sauce 

1 28-ounce can tomatoes (or about 1 pound fresh tomatoes chopped) 

2 cups vegetable broth

1 6-ounce can tomato paste 

2 chipotles with some of their sauce, chopped

2 14-ounce cans black beans, drained

2 14-ounce cans red kidney beans, drained

salt and  pepper, to taste 

sour cream or yogurt, as topping

cilantro, as topping

Sautee the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes until the onion is soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chili powder and cumin and cook for two more minutes. 

Place the onions along with all the remaining ingredients, except sour cream and cilantro in the crock pot, stirring to combine.  Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Top with sour cream and cilantro just before serving.

Recipe made much more interesting from boring original over at  About.com

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You know how you make Moroccan food even simpler?  Cook it in the crockpot.  Its basically the more technologically advanced version of a tagine anyway and you can cook while you sleep. 

I love my crockpot especially for cooking something in large portions like this before a party.  It is done the day before and all I have to do is warm it up before the guests arrive.  This planning ahead made this the least stressful party Ive ever had.  All I did was warm everything up and throw it on plates for my guests.  I could get used to that.

There maybe a long list of ingredients but believe me there is no work involved and in the end you are rewarded with tender, sweet and slightly savory beef covered in a gooey decadent sauce.  On a plate with those salty stuffed tomatoes and some red quinoa with roasted vegetables that my friend Jess contributed to dinner, and this was an excellent meal.  It was almost as good as actually going to Morocco...okay maybe not but it was fun pretending.

We had some Cakebread Pinot Noir with the beef and it was stunning.  Pinot was the right choice for sweet, spicy beef because it had enough fruit to compliment the red meat but was light enough to not over power the spices.  I was really pleased with dinner and even more so that everyone invited loved dinner and had managed to somehow all bring the right wines to go with dinner even though none of us knew what wines to pair with Moroccan food. 

Then for dessert I went a step farther and knocked every one into an ecstatic food coma with warm fresh rice crepes and some almond and argan oil paste called, amlou.  With an ice wine we were all insanely happy and yes just tipsy enough to really start having a good time.  

Also included in this meal:

Sundried Tomato Tapenade

Orange, Olive and Argan Oil Salad

Salty Stuffed Tomatoes

Red Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables

Rice Crepes and Amlou

Crockpot Beef Tagine

2 tablespoon oil, divided use
4 large onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 pounds beef, trimmed of fat and cubed

1 cup stock (beef preferably)
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 inch piece ginger, grated
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 cinnamon stick

5 carrots, peeled and cut into chucks
1 9-ounce can tomatoes (or 5 large tomatoes, diced)
4 ounces dates, pitted
6 ounces prunes, pitted

1/ 4 cup toasted almonds, sliced
1/ 4 cup cilantro, chopped


In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat and brown the onion and garlic until well caramelized.  Place into crockpot.

Heat the remaining oil in the same pan over medium heat  Pat dry the cubes of beef (youll get a better sear on the meat if it isnt wet), then in small batches brown the beef on all sides.  Dont cook the meat all the way through!  Youre just searing the outside of the meat so it will stay tender while cooking on low heat for a long time in the crockpot.  As you brown the meat place it in the crockpot.

Place beef broth in measuring cup or small mixing bowl and whisk the spices and agave nectar into it.  Put spiced broth and whole cinnamon stick into crockpot.

Toss the carrots, tomatoes, dates and prunes into the crockpot.  Mix all the ingredients in the crockpot up so it is well combined and coated in spices.

You may need to add more stock or some water to the crockpot at this point.  You want the meat mostly covered in moisture so it wont dry out.

Cook on high in crockpot for 6 to 8 hours or until beef is tender and falling apart.

Serve over quinoa(if youre gluten free) or couscous(if wheat isnt an issue).  Top with the almonds and cilantro.

Modified from a recipe by the French Tart at Recipezaar.com

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Another day another failed soufflé  I shouldnt be surprised but I still am every time.  And yet Ive been lucky enough that of my four recent unfluffy unimpressive soufflés they have all been at least tasty, making up in flavor for what they lack in beauty.  And this one worked out exactly that same way.  Le sigh.

Pistachio cake with rose water syrup sounded like a recipe too good to pass up.  And the fella is a freak for pistachios so I knew I would get points for making a dessert he would go crazy for.  Perhaps next time I cook something that requires him wash every dish in the kitchen twice he wont curse me so much.  When I told him what I was making it also got me help shelling about a pound of nuts which otherwise could have taken me hours going at it alone.

The rest of the baking didnt go so smoothly.  It was nearly impossible to fold fluffy egg whites into a sugary pistachio paste.  Im still not quite sure how that was supposed to work out but I did the best I could and ended up with a cake that alternately had chunks of nuts or areas of egg white when it was cooked.  Which sounds kind of unattractive but youd be surprised how good it is when covered in rose water syrup.

Also I didnt realize fructose would react so differently than sugar to being baked.  The original recipe called for baking the cake for 45 minutes but after about 20 minutes mine started smelling burnt.  So I had to do the biggest soufflé no no and open my horrible windowless oven and see what was going on in there.  Turns out I had a very very brown cake that had fallen from  fluffiness long ago.  Im not sure what I should have done differently to prevent this failure but it tasted just fine so Ill take the hit for the sugarless team and let the world know that fructose in a soufflé is not a good idea.  If you figure out how to make this work let me know.

Regardless of what it looked like the fella and I had no problem eating this sweet, gooey creation all last week.  It was worth the work.

Pistachio Cake

SYRUP:

1/2 cup fructose (or 1 1/ 2 cups sugar)

3/4 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons rose water

CAKE:

5 eggs, separated

1/3 cup fructose (or 1 cup powdered sugar)

1 1/2 cups pistachios, finely ground

1/3 cup pistachios, chopped coarsely

Make the syrup first.  Bring fructose, water and lemon juice to a boil and simmer just until fructose is dissolved.  The syrup will be very thin and will not reduce.  Remove from heat and stir in rose water.  Let syrup cool to room temperature and then put in refrigerator to chill.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 or 10 inch diameter nonstick round cake pan.

In a large bowl beat the egg yolks and the fructose until it is a pale creamy texture.  Add the finely ground pistachios and mix very well.  Beat the egg whites until stiff in a small bowl using a standing mixer(read Julia Childs advice in Mastering the Art of French Cooking on egg whites for more in depth tips on how to make it work) and then fold them gently into the pistachio mixture.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan, sprinkling with the course chopped pistachios and cook for about 25 minutes (45 if using sugar.)  The cake will poof up slightly like a soufflé and will pass the toothpick test when finish.  Immediately turn the cake over onto a deep serving dish.  Using a tooth pick make holes over the top of the cake then pour the syrup over it.  The cake will taste best after 2 hours when the syrup has had time to soak into the cake.

Made Montignac friendly from a recipe by Claudia Roden in Arabesque.

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It started innocently enough with my 3 jalapeño curry, the fella amped it up with 4 Serrano in his pea and paneer dish and the chef shamed us with this evilly delicious soup. There were 5 unseeded habenaros involved. I think it is safe to say I will not be continuing the spicy cooking challenge by making a jerk sauce with 6 Scotch bennet peppers. Im okay with letting Jacob win, he is after all the professional.

The really amazing thing about the soup was that not only was it hot but it was tasty as well. Yes it made us all cry in the very best way while clutching our beers (mine sorghum from Red Bridge and theirs Founders wet hopped seasonal) but it also had great flavor. The habenaros open up every taste bud you never knew you had to all the other things going in the soup. Citrusy lemon grass, salty fish sauce, herbal cilantro, creamy coconut milk. They all work together to make something amazing.

Were all crazy people who like spice so the heat wasnt a problem for us. If you arent up for that much spice you can put in less peppers or cook some of the heat off of them by frying up the onion puree which will cut the spice a bit. And if the spice is still too much in the finished product you can do what we resorted to and pour it over some brown rice and toss in some paneer to add something to compete with the habenaros.

Spicy Coconut Milk and Mushroom Soup

1 1/2 cups mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
2 medium onions, chopped

3tablespoon lemon grass puree
1teaspoon fish sauce

5 cloves of garlic
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
5 habenaro peppers, seeded

3 cups coconut milk
6 Cubeb peppercorns, ground (1 teaspoon of regular pepper and a pinch of clove would work fine)
2 1/2 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (mint or basil will work as well)


In a pot heat oil over medium heat then add mushrooms and one of the chopped onions. Cook until browned. Add lemon grass and fish sauce.

Puree remaining onion, garlic, ginger and habenaros in the food processor. Add in one cup of the coconut milk and puree until you have a paste. If you want to lesson the heat of the soup sauté this puree until the onions are no longer raw before adding to the pot with the mushroom mixture.

To soup pot add remaining 2 cups of coconut milk, peppercorns, and chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Add cilantro and simmer soup for 5 minutes. Serve over brown rice with paneer or tofu to cut spice if needed.

A purely original Jacob Schenk recipe.

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Some girls like to be surprised with jewelery or flowers. I think both are a waste of money. Nothing thrills me more than being surprised by food. Especially coming home to a house than smells delicious when I thought I was coming home to an empty refrigerator.

The fella and I still havent recovered from Easter and therefor havent had time to go grocery shopping. I thought I was going to be eating whatever cheese was left over, a can of black beans and an apple for lunch between jobs today since there was no other food in the house. Instead I came home to the scent of spicy poultry and the dog laying on the floor near the door in a puddle of her own drool.

Amazing boyfriend that he is, the fella had gone out and bought a roasting chicken at 7AM and found a recipe for cooking it in our new programmable crockpot before he went to work. I was blown away. Having something tasty to eat made my day and made me fall in love with him a little bit more. Ill take surprise chicken over roses anyday.

The combination of sweet and spicy make a perfect chicken with very little work. It was tender and flavorful. The meat fell off the bones and by flavoring it differently on the inside and outside it added depth to a really simple recipe.

Crockpot Funky Chicken

1 lime, halved
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fructose
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 pound whole chicken
1 clove garlic
1 serrano pepper, halved

In a bowl, juice half of the lime. Stir in the soy sauce, fructose, coriander and cayenne. Rub this mixture into the skin of the entire chicken.

Place the other half of the lime, the garlic, and the serrano in the chickens cavity. Truss the chicken and place in slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for 4 to 5 hours.

Original recipe from How to Make Love and Dinner at the Same Time.

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