Conquering the Wish List-ish

Graduation is five days away. Just thought I would update you.

I know, I can't believe it either.

I kind of feel like I am living an out of body experience this week. I think things to myself like "this time next week, the University of Kentucky will no longer recognize me as a student" and I get kind of sentimental. I was so hesitant to hand over my keys to the Student Government Office, turn in my last payroll sheet, and lock up for good. I was on campus yesterday for what very well could be the last time. No more exams to study for, papers to write, classes to attend, group project to organize, or courses to schedule. How can this be possible?

Despite the fact that my world had been turned topsey turvey right now, there is still the ever faithful Farmers' Market here to comfort me in times of change. A few weeks ago UK brought a mini Farmers' Market to campus, which afforded students the luxury of perusing the booths without having to leave the comfort of campus. And of course, who was out there with gusto and fervor? Yours truly. Check out what I found!

Organic local honey, green garlic, fresh thyme, and a curious dried bag of "calypso" beans

I was so intrigued by the green garlic that I had to buy it and learn how to work with it. In all of my food related study I had never heard nor seen such a thing, but what a wonderful vegetable! It looks like a large green onion and tastes just like a garlicy onion at that, so they went perfectly with my intuitive style of cooking - lots of aromatics and building upon flavors. I decided to add it to my wish list and then mark it off immediately.

So what has both predominant onion and garlic flavor already? Stir fry!

Green Garlic and Pepper Stir Fried Rice

2 TB olive oil (use sesame oil if you have it, but only use 1 TB)

1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped white button mushrooms

1/2 thinly sliced green garlic (green and whites)

1 cup thinly julienned spinach

red pepper flakes, to taste

2 TB soy sauce

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1 egg, beaten

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add bell peppers and mushrooms; cook until crisp-tender. Add green garlic and cook an additional five or so minutes (you will want to cook off some of the bitter and biting qualities of the green garlic, so don't get worried if it gets a little crispy around the edges.) Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Season with red pepper flakes and soy sauce (add additional oil if necessary.) Stir in rice and heat through. Mix in the egg and turn off the heat immediately - allow the egg to cook by the residual heat in the pan (which prevents the egg from turning rubbery and tough.)

Conquering the Wish List: #3

I might as well warn you now - this recipe is by no means a drop dead gorgeous plate that screams "eat me right now!" Alas, the difference that stands between what is pictured in my head and what actually makes its way to the plate is, well, vast at times.

So what did we scratch of the wish list this time? Green tomatoes? Nope. Rotten tangerines? Nope. Tomatillos. Yes, they are a dead ringer for both of the above on the outside, but on the inside they are a most peculiar specimen. Actually part of the gooseberry family, they are sold with their natural papery protective leaves on the outside that encapsulate the entire tomatillo, and are usually by the tomatoes in the super market. As you can see on the inside, they look like they could be a green tomato's stunt double, but lack the watery seeds and instead boast an almost spongy interior, perfect for picking up any flavor you put with them.

I chose to go pretty traditional with my tomatillos and quartered, roasted with onions and parlic, and pureed them into submission for green tomatillo enchiladas. Since I am a sucker for any type of Tex-Mex, Mexican, or Spanish food, I thought that I could just wing this foray into the unknown-ingredient-world guided only by past eating escapades. 

Here is the tomatillo sauce, specked with cilantro, up close and personal.

The filling was to die for, and probably the prettiest part of the meal (since the tomatillos lost all of their vibrant green after roasting.) Some poached chicken, and just about every veggie in my fridge, petite diced and sauteed with lots of smokey cumin and garlic.

Green tomatillo enchiladas, all wrapped up, smothered, and ready to be baked.

Up until now the pictures haven't looked too bad. The sauce was a muted mint green, the filling was studded with reds, yellow, and greens, and the enchiladas themselves looked pretty appetizing going into the oven. But when they came out... (makes a face.) Not so much. The sauce had gone from a light green to dark, almost musty green, indicative when you roast something, and not necessarily unappetizing, just not what I was expecting. I suspect more acid, like the juice of one lime, would have been the cure for this. 

Regardless of how it looked, my enchiladas tasted fabulous. The filling was savory and smokey, the sauce was pleasantly different, and I took pride in conquering an ingredient I wasn't all that familiar with without a recipe. All in all, a slightly ugly success!

Any requests on what you would like to see as the next ingredient crossed off the wish list?

Conquering the Wish List: #2

My mother would be horrified to know what I was doing right now...

I just got home... twelve minutes ago. I have homework and an exam tomorrow to prepare for tomorrow. And all I can think about is chocolate.

So what do I do instead of cracking the books? Huddle in the kitchen all sneaky-like (as if being covert will hide the fact that I am making cookies) and mix up a cookie dough in what has to be record time. No joke, three minutes flat and I had scratch-made cookies in the oven - talk about breaking a land speed record. I had a glass of milk poured and the mess cleaned up before the oven was done preheating.

But now what?! I still don't have chocolate! The eight minutes it takes to bake up these beauties seems to be an eternity! What do you mean I can't just eat the raw cookie dough by itself and call it a day? (not to say that at least a tablespoon full didn't "accidentally" fall into my mouth on its way to the cookie try...) I mean, there was only one egg in it after all - and I don't even care about salmonella, I just need chocolate in my system. Right. Now.

Oh my gosh that was the oven timer be right back!

Ok. I feel better. More human again.

Avage nectar - the guilt free sweetener

 And afterall, I was checking another wish list item off my list. So this slight procrastination was well worth it. (full list can be found here.)

Back to Consumer Behavior studying.....

Conquering the Wish List: #1

For those of you out there who follow my blog regularly, first of all, thank you; I am flattered you have chosen to spend some of your time reading about what I have been up to in the kitchen! But you also may remember a blog from a few posts back about a wish list of sorts that I have been keeping (and for those of you who are behind in their Peach&Kiwi reading, this list can be found here .) This blog is one of many that are to come in the future in an effort to conquer this list. Life is short, the culinary world is gigantic, and I want to taste every bit of it!

I thought it would be fun to use the upcoming holidays to scour the groceries, markets, and hopefully stocking stuffers (if Santa thinks I have been good enough to stuff my stocking with the spices I have asked for) to cross some items off this list and to try some ingredients (and cuisines) that I have never had the pleasure of try before. Call it a Christmas present to myself. First off the list: short ribs.

Over the past Thanksgiving break, not only did my family indulge in our delicious Thanksgiving feast, but they also partook in my venture into "obscure-cuts-of-meat" land. Short ribs are not the craziest cut there is, but they are hardy a mainstay on American dinner tables. Which is a shame, because with the stereotypical beautifully marblized fat paired with a low and slow braising method of cooking, short ribs could quickly become addicting. By putting a nice sear on the outsides in a screaming hot stock pot (heat the olive oil until it just starts to give off wisps of smoke, then stand back when carefully lowering the ribs into the pot) you are developing the sugars on the outside of the meat, searing in the juices from escaping during the braise, and building that crust that we all know, love, and expect from a nice piece of beef.

Lavishing the sunshine - and hoping there is an olive oil decanter in my stocking this Christmas!

Searing the short ribs to caramelize the natural sugars in the meat.

Beautifully developed sear.

Finished short ribs after braising for two hours.

Almost too pretty to eat... almost.

To accompany this meaty, rich, and indulgent main course, I thought I would stay basic and simple. Which for me usually means heading to the produce section of the grocery and picking up whatever looks the freshest. Fresh produce is so hard to beat, and the better quality (and in season) ingredients you use, the less fussing you have to so over them and the more you can simply let the ingredients speak for themselves. This week, kale was looking particularly intriguing. Greens have always been a favorite of my Dad and I have grown to love them too, but with my own twist. I don't fry them with bacon fat or wilt them down with butter, sorry grandma's everywhere. Instead, I just cook them down until crisp tender with some chicken stock, garlic, and red pepper flakes. The heat from the pepper cut through some of the richness of the beef but wasn't over powering, and the crisp greens were able to stand up to the fall-off-the-bone tender short rib and creamy polenta. A perfect accompaniment.

And now to start on the Kale - on  of my Dad's (and now my) favorite dark greens!

Looks like a lot, but this entire pan will cook down to a decent portion for three people.

Think Italian oatmeal when you think of polenta - it is just as simple, heart-warmingly hearty, and versatile. It is a blank slate that you can flavor with any number of ingredients and mix-in, and served as a great vessel for sopping up all the juices from the short ribs (and for pan searing and serving with maple syrup for breakfast the next day!)

Polenta! Made creamy (and distinctly Italian) with olive oil, sage, and a little sprinkling of Parmesan.

My favorite part of my job! Quality control.

You eat with your eyes first... doesn't this make you want to dive right in?!

Final plated short rib, nestled on a bed of Italian polenta, braised kale, and demi glas.

All of this is very fool-proof and I can't wait to hear about some of your all's ventures into uncharted territory. Try using this holiday season to cross something off your "I really want to make that" list. Short ribs, check. And every bit was delicious. And a big thanks to my sister for again taking these breathtaking photographs. 

Peach&Kiwi's Ingredient Wish List

So I have list list you see. A list of ingredients that I depirately want to work with but have either not come across in a grocery store, are not affordable enough for this college student to indulge in (as is usually the case), or I have no idea how to work with such an ingredient. But everyone has a list like this right? Books they want to read, movies they want to see, places they want to go, restaurants they want to try (well, as least I have a restaurant wish list.) Here are a list of ingredients I want to use!

Hibiscus Flowers (for syrup)
Tomatillos
Forbidden Rice
Buddha Hand (for Citron Vodka)
Candy Cap Mushrooms
Celery Root
Morels
Prickly Pear
Kiwi Berries (different than actual kiwi - event cuter if you can imagine!)
Sunchokes
Kumquats
Quince
Cherimoya
Agave Nectar (it's sitting in my cabinet currently, just need a great way to use it! Maybe for some homemade granola?)
Napoles
Black Summer Truffles (or black truffle oil)
Farro
Lavender (I have experimented some already with fresh lavender in scones and lemonade, but more is needed!)
Papaya Seeds
Pork Belly
Japanese 7 Spice (comprised of ground red chili pepper, ground sansho (more hot peppers), black sesame seeds, dried orange peel, hemp seed, white sesame seeds, ground ginger, and nori)
Passion Fruit
Sorghum

And the list goes on and on. Hopefully I can ask for a few of these for Christmas and there will be some delicious dishes to photograph and blog about during the holiday break, which is quickly approaching! I hope you all have a fabulously delicious and safe Thanksgiving surrounded by your closest family and friends, and be on the lookout later on this week to see how we do Thanksgiving dinner!