Wheatberry Salad- 2 ways

19 Apr

The other day, I was in the elevator at work– and one of my co-workers, who also belongs to the co-op, made some comment about how filling wheat berries are.  I chuckled and took it as typical co-op talk– but something about it stuck– and within the week I bought a huge bag of wheatberries (costing 83 cents, yup).  Pretty soon, i’m that co-op hippie in the elevator- talking about the delicious and substantive qualities of wheatberries, surely deserving to be mocked.  This salad is not too different from the Everything But The Salad– and is equally infinitely modifiable.  I made this two ways- a meat and a veg version. Ingredients might seem a little random- but it is basically whatever I have in the cabinet/freezer.  The veg features a chipotle baked tofu, spinach and black beans. The meat has duck, chorizo and kidney beans.  I sort of winged it on these recipes- so forgive me for the imprecise manner- and just ask me if you need anything clarified.

How to prepare wheatberries: A lot of people talk about soaking these overnight, but this does not really prove to be necessary.
Rinse wheatberries thoroughly in a colander. Boil 3 cups of salted water.  Add 1 cup of wheatberries.  Lower heat, and simmer for 45 mins uncovered until they are tender- and they will start to split. Drain. *now i only usually cook them for like 25 mins– maybe I just like them w. a bit more bite- but that’s what i do

Veg version
1 package firm tofu
Can of chipotle in adobo
14 oz can of black beans
10 oz bag of fresh spinach
Cumin- and I think I added a minuscule pinch of cayanne
Lime (or lemon if you don’t have it)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Take firm tofu and place on a plate. Put another plate on top of it- and put a very heavy book on it. Leave for 30 mins. This will drain out some of the water. It is not an altogether necessary step- but if you have the time- it does make a difference.  Cook wheatberries. Cut tofu into 1 inch cubes and place in an 8×8 inch baking dish. Mix some olive oil, half a lemon or lime, salt and pepper in a little bowl.  Pour over tofu.  Take a spoon of the chipotle sauce- pour over the tofu and mix up. This stuff is pretty spicy- so use more or less accordingly.  Bake at 400 for 30 mins.  Best Baked Tofu would work here too.
Drain beans in colander.  Sprinkle w salt & pepper and a pinch of cumin- tiny pinch cayanne. Mix up.
Wash spinach. Put wet spinach into a big pot. Add some water- maybe half a cup. Turn on the heat, put on a lid, and stir occassionally and the spinach will wilt in a couple minutes. Drain spinach.
Add beans, and wheat berries to spinach. Season with lime or lemon, salt and pepper.  Add tofu. I think a red pepper would work really nicely in here too, if you have it.

Meat-tastic version (not pictured, sorry)
1 chorizo link
1 duck breast
1 14oz can of kidney beans
Paprika
salt & pepper
balsamic vinegar
Cook the cup of wheatberries per instructions above.  Drain, then add salt, pepper, a splash of balsamic vinegar and a touch of olive oil.  Later, I am going to add some duck fat- but if you are not into that- add little more olive oil here.  Drain can of kidney beans.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.  Slice up chorizo and fry in dry pan. Take out of pan and set aside.
To cook a duck breast:
Wash and pat dry.  It will have a massive layer of fat on top. Make knife cuts into this fat, diagonal, quarter inch apart.  Make another set in the other direction, like a crosshatch.  Salt & pepper. Heat dry skillet on low. Don’t add oil (but because I am indulgent, I left the chorizo fat in this time). Put fat side down in skillet.  Will begin to brown and fat seep out, 10-15 mins.  Flip over and cook another 5 minutes. That’s medium rare.  Pretty interesting, apparently duck is a red meat- so you cook it medium rare etc- instead of like poultry which you cook through.  Want it more well done, cook on the longer side of the 10-15 mins.  Take out of pan, wrap in foil and let rest for 15 mins.  To eat, I usually cut off the massive fat layer- though one might consider this poor practice- then slice the breast on the diagnoal.  I have had crispy bits of duck fat on a salad before- and it was delicious- can’t remember the proper name for it.
Add beans, duck and chorizo to wheatberry salad.  Here is where I got a bit decadent again- and drizzled a spoonful of duck/chorizo fat that remained in the pan out over the salad.

Strawberry Country Cake

8 Apr

This cake is simple, gorgeous and easy to make. Perfect for a weekend at Mrs. Weiner’s (yes, another post from that very productive wknd!)  I’d say the cake is somewhere between a yellow cake and a sponge cake- would you agree Rach & Reed? My mother used to buy something like this for passover- so I nostalgically spent a while looking for it- or a similar recipe.  But my search for strawberry shortcake gave me lots of biscuit type recipes– until this, which I finally found in the place I should have looked first– but under a different name: Ina’s Strawberry Country Cake.  This recipe makes two cakes- but only uses one- which you cut in half.  Can freeze the other cake- or save it for your book group ;). Don’t be intimidated by slicing a cake in half, as I was, just take a long serrated bread knife and sort of going around the cake, making a shallow cut, then go back over and cut further into the cake- does that make sense?  Reed showed me how– but I’m sure there are lots of demo videos online–I noticed our friend Jamie (we all know i refer to cooking channel people as if i know them) has one on his website. This recipe is not kosher for passover, but I feel like it could be with some matzoh meal/potato starch substitutions- or could at least give you ideas on how to jazz up your kosher cake.

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream filling:
1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream, chilled
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled [take stem off] and sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans. Then line them with parchment paper and butter and flour the lined pans [can trace pans to cut out circle pieces of parchment- I don’t remember doing this step- just buttered and floured but parchment never a bad idea.]
Cream the butter and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, then the sour cream, zests, and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine just until smooth.
Pour the batter evenly into the pans, smooth the tops, and bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then remove to wire racks and let cool to room temperature. If using 1 cake, wrap the second well and freeze.
To make the filling for one cake, whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until firm. Slice one of the cakes in half with a long, sharp knife. Place the bottom slice of the cake on a serving platter, spread with 1/2 the whipped cream and scatter with sliced strawberries. Cover with the top slice of the cake and spread with the remaining cream. Decorate with strawberries.

Egg Drop soup

5 Apr

This is my new comfort food.  Takes about 5 minutes to make.  Such a simple idea- but I never would have thought of it.  Until, I can’t quite remember how,  I came upon a 2006 NY Times recipe for poached scrambled eggs and egg & rice soup.  I was intrigued, but fyi just scrambled eggs poached in water are not so flavorful.  And recently, Bittman wrote about this egg drop variation in his NY Times soup matrix.   This recipe can be varied as you wish.  I really like it without the sesame oil and soy sauce too- and I call that Chicken & Egg soup.  And have added rice to that. Great w. sriracha (thai hot sauce).

4 cups chicken stock, as Ina always says, homemade is best
2 eggs
optional: soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions, sriracha, rice, chicken etc.
salt and pepper to taste

Bring stock to a boil in saucepan.  Beat eggs well in a little bowl. Lower heat to a simmer. Use fork to create a whirlpool in broth.  Pour eggs into center of whirlpool and keep whirling around for 1 to 2 minutes.  Eggs will be light and cooked- and delicious. I have made the mistake of adding too much soy sauce and sesame oil- which has a very strong flavor.  So maybe start w. a teaspoon of soy sauce and half a teaspoon sesame oil and add more to taste.  Add salt & pepper to taste.

Cabbage Braised w. Bacon, Apple and Balsamic

1 Apr

This picture is not gorgeous- but believe me, the dish is.  I mean, bacon, apple and balsamic- what a delightful combination.  I used to have a crush on Jamie Oliver, back when he was just the Naked Chef.  Before he named his kids– no joke– Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisey Boo Pamela, Petal Blossom Rainbow, and Buddy Bear Maurice Oliver.  Seriously, not joking.   He also has like a million tv shows– which have gotten a bit ridiculous.  He is like– oh here i am, in my backyard with my $20,000 wood oven- la-di-da. Or like, I saw him literally prepare a whole dinner w. his pocket knife– like why? what are you trying to prove?  just use an actual knife.  But the best take on Jamie Oliver is the South Park episode in which they spoof all the food network stars- thanks Jenna for sharing that one.  Youtube/hulu/whatever it.  I feel like Jamie’s recipes don’t always work out the way they are supposed- because he can be pretty willy nilly about measurements- so for the recipe I have translated Jamie speak.

olive oil
250g smoked streaky bacon, finely sliced [this would be about half a pound of bacon. I was on a healthy kick so only used like 4 slices]
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, bashed [put in a ziplock bag and hit w. a frying pan]
1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 good eating apples, peeled and chopped into 2.5cm/1 inch pieces
1 red cabbage, outer leaves and core removed, chopped into irregular chunks
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
150ml balsamic vinegar [5 fluid ounces or about 2/3 cup]
a knob of butter [pat of butter]
a handful of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Pour a good lug [couple tablespoons] of olive oil into a saucepan, get it hot and add the bacon and fennel seeds. Cook until golden then add the onion and continue to cook, with the lid on, for a few more minutes until golden and sticky. Add the apple, followed by the cabbage chunks, salt and pepper and the vinegar, and stir everything together well. Put the lid back on and continue to cook on a low heat for an hour, checking and stirring every so often.  You will get- as Jamie says- a gorgeous sticky-sweet cabbage dish. Put in serving dish, top with butter and a sprinkle of parsley.

Vanilla Agave Granola

28 Mar

When you can’t find a recipe on the internet, it’s time to experiment.  This is sort of a melding of a Bobby Flay and an Epicurious recipe.  I am into the idea of making your own granola, but I hate that it can be so packed with sugar.  This uses agave nectar instead of some of that sugar- but still has the right amount of sweetness.  This recipe is very adaptable, so go crazy.  I enjoyed some w. milk- and some in a giant bowl w. greek yogurt, maple syrup, pomegranate seeds, bananas and raspberries- delicious. If you are having people over for brunch you could, as mrs. weiner suggests, make into pretty parfaits- layering the yogurt, berries and granola.
Let’s also talk for a minute about vanilla beans- which can add a great boost of vanilla flavor.  Unless you shop at the co-op, these can be pretty expensive [just to tell you how awesome the co-op is (again) i’ve seen them cost $7 for one bean, and at the co-op you get 3 beans for $1.44.]  Sometimes they come in glass viles, be sure to store beans in these or other air tight container, otherwise they dry out.  To use, run your knife down the bean, splitting it in half lengthwise.  Then run your knife down each side, scraping up all the little black specs onto your knife.  Add specs to whatever you are flavoring. You can put the scraped out bean in a little jar, fill with white sugar, close, wait a week- and boom- vanilla sugar.  Great to have on hand for things like this, french toast, baked goods etc.

4 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1/4 cup vegetable/canola oil (maybe coconut oil would work too?)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
if you have it: 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar and vanilla bean

Optional add-ins.  If adding a cup or more of something else, I’d only use 3 cups of oats
1 cup chopped dried fruit such as raisins, figs, dates, dried cherries, cranberries or mango
almond slivers or other nuts
2 teaspoons wheat germ
2 teaspoons flax seeds
1/2 cup of any other seeds such as pumpkin or sunflower
shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil. Whisk together honey, oil, agave, vanilla, cinnamon and sugars.  In a large bowl, mix together oats, salt and any seeds/wheat germ/nuts.  Add wet mixture to dry and coat thoroughly.  Spread on baking sheet.  Cook 25-35 mins- stirring once- until crisp and golden brown.  Put baking sheet on cooling rack, allow to cool slightly, then break into chunks.  Mix in dried fruit. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container.  I think it could keep for at least a week, though mine disappeared much more quickly.

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