Drying Herbs

Sage...

Caterpillars

These two ate all of my dill.

Roof Garden

Some photos of my mini roof farm.

Found in the compost:
-tomatoes
-butternut squash
-bell pepper
-avocado
-apple (or pear?) seedlings

Purchased at the farmers market:
-cilantro
-flat leaf and italian parsley
-holy basil
-strawberries
-chocolate mint
-spearmint
-dill
-thyme
-Greek oregano

Grown from purchased seeds:
-sweet basil
-flat leaf parsley
-chives

Propagated from cuttings;
-sage
-rosemary
-more spearmint and chocolate mint
-more strawberries

Shepherd Salad:

3 ripe tomatoes chopped
1 medium cucumber chopped
1 small green bell pepper chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 table spoon minced fresh oregano
1 table spoon minced fresh dill
1 table spoon minced chives
1 table spoon capers
1 wedge of feta cheese

Toss with a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil.

Garlic Shoot Dumplings

Have you ever kept a head of garlic so long that the cloves begin to sprout green shoots? The next time this happens, don't throw them out! Put the bases into a dish of water and put them on your window sill (you can also encourage a new head of garlic to sprout this way). These tender shoots are delicious stir fried in a hot wok, or snipped into an omelet or salad Their flavor is green like a scallion with a garlic aroma. Garlic scapes, the curly stalks and seed heads of the garlic plant show up in farmers markets in the spring, but you can grow your own shoots year round. I grew a bunch a couple weeks ago and used them to make dumplings to add to my collection of homemade frozen dinners. But in my opinion, the best way to bring out the flavor of the garlic shoot is to fry them. Next time!

Filling:

A hand full of young garlic shoots, 25 or so, 8" long (on average, mine were actually all different lengths)
A pint of fresh shitake mushrooms
2.5 oz sai fun mung bean noodles, which was half of my box
1/2 lb silken tofu, which was half of my box
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 egg

I used store bought shanghai style dumpling wrappers, which are thicker than Hong Kong style. and made an egg wash out of just one egg beaten with a fork.

Dipping sauce ratios:

3 table spoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of rice wine vinegar
chopped scallions optional.

If you bought the dumpling wrappers frozen, let them thaw thoroughly before trying to separate them.

To make the filling: clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth and chop into cubes. Toss mushrooms with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and saute in oil until the mushrooms are browned.
Put sai fun noodles in a heat proof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Drain noodles and chop into 1/2" pieces. If the pieces are too long, they will stick out of the edges of your wrappers making it very hard to get a good seal when you are pinching the dumplings closed.
Mince the garlic chives. Chop the tofu into small pieces. Toss all of the above together in a large bowl with the sesame oil and crack in the egg. Mix until incorporated.

To make the dumplings: hold the dumpling wrapper in one palm and put about a tablespoon of filling in the center. Dip your finger in the beaten egg and moisten the perimeter of the dumpling. Pinch the edges closed pleating as you go. As the wrappers absorb the moisture of the filling, they will become very soft and sticky. Place dumplings that you will cook immediately directly into the steaming basket. Place the rest on a baking dish, far enough apart so that they do not touch, to be frozen.

To steam dumplings: place them in a steaming basket, in a pot over an 2 inches of water. Steam for 15 minutes until the wrappers are slightly translucent.
To freeze the dumplings: put the cookie sheet uncovered in the freezer overnight. In the morning, when the dumplings are frozen through, they can be put into a zip lock bag, or piled into another container and will not stick together.

Chocolate Tofu Cake

I had a sizable chunk of silken tofu left over from the tofu tomato kick I was on this week (Cantonese-comfort-food-style with ginger and scallions). So when I saw this recipe for Kyotofu's chocolate souffle cupcakes in New York Magazine, I knew that this was the time to try baking with soy! http://nymag.com/restaurants/recipes/inseason/54065/ As usual, I couldn't help fiddling with a lot of the ingredients and almost all the proportions (I have very strong opinions about how a cake should be). I couldn't be bothered to make cupcakes, so I made a loaf. And I had a lot more tofu to get rid of than the recipe called for! But despite tripling the amount of tofu, the result was a very delicious, moist, flavorful deep black-brown cake that didn't taste bland or of tofu at all. I suspect that the tofu is the secret to the moist, but fluffy crumb. And while the cake tastes decadent, it makes for a filling breakfast or snack because of the protein.

The original recipe called for a spoon of miso, not something I keep on hand. But I wanted to compliment the chocolate with something strong, anticipating flavor dilution from the tofu. I used a tablespoon of matcha (a Japanese green tea powder), the flavor of which you can just detect in the finished cake. Next time I will try instant coffee, or peanut butter. It needs to be a rich, warm flavor, if that makes sense? I also used olive oil instead of butter, which I always do for cake, mainly because I am always baking for myself and don't want to eat pounds of saturated fat. But health considerations aside, using oil instead of butter makes for a more moist and tender cake. Because this was a chocolate (and matcha) cake, I didn't want the olive flavor to be too strong, so I used Filippo Berio Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil.

2 cups chopped dark chocolate (I used Trader Joe's bittersweet)

1/2 cup light tasting olive oil

1 tablespoon matcha powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar (this depends on how sweet your chocolate is)

1/2 cup flour

3 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup silken tofu

1/2 cup milk

a splash of bourbon (this has almost become a ritual for me, I couldn't taste it in the finished cake)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Heat the chocolate chunks and the olive oil in a saucepan over very low heat, stirring constantly until the chocolate is melted. Stir the matcha powder in, don't worry if it is a little lumpy. Beat the eggs with an electric mixer until foamy and, while beating, pour the chocolate and oil mixture in slowly. Continue to beat until the batter appears to pull away from the sides of the bowl, indicating that the oil is fully incorporated. Add the rest of the ingredients and gently mix until all are incorporated. The batter should be fluffy, almost stiff resembling chocolate frosting. Spread the batter into an oiled 4.5" x 8/5" loaf pan with a rubber spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes, or until the top looks puffed and cracked, but a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with a few crumbs still attached. Cakes continue to bake a little after they come out of the oven, so I always try to take them out just before they are well done. As the cake cools, the center will fall in a little, like a souffle.

Pear and Almond Tart

This recipe is adapted from Dorie Grennspan's on her inspiring blog: http://www.doriegreenspan.com/dorie_greenspan/2009/01/tuesdays-with-dorie-french-pear-tart.html . I made it last night to take to my grandmother's house for dinner, and simplified/cheated quite a lot as I was short on time and supplies. But it turned out so well that I just had to document it here. So easy! Literally 20 minutes of prep time and about an hour in the oven.

The sweet pastry crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine crystal sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg

Toss the dry ingredients and the butter in the bowl of your mixer until the butter pieces are dusted with four, then add egg and mix on medium speed with the paddle attachment until the mix resembles large crumbs (like on a diner coffee take). Press the crumbly dough into an oiled pie pan to make crust. I used a 9"d Pyrex pie dish and held it up to a light from time to time to see where my crust was thin and needed more dough. Pre-bake the crust in the middle of the oven at 350 until it is golden (about 20-30 minutes). The sides will probably darken quicker than the bottom of the crust.

Almond cream:

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into pieces, or room temperature

1 7oz package of Odense almond paste, cut into pieces

1 egg

2 tablespoons of bourbon

Put the ingredients in your blender and whirl away. In the beginning you may have to stop blending and poke the almond paste pieces with a spoon to get them to settle into the line of the blade. If your butter is soft it will blend into the almond paste more easily. Blend until smooth.

2 medium size firm-ripe Bartlet or d'Anjou pears

a wedge of lemon

Quarter and core the pears and slice 1/4" thick across the quarters. Drizzle the cut pears with lemon juice. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the almond cream out of the blender pitcher into the pre-baked pastry crust and arrange the pear quarters however you like in the cream, pressing them in gently. Bake at 350 at the bottom of the oven for 30 minutes until the cream is golden.

Grilled Halloumi

The box says "The cheese that grills". It might just become a protein staple in my veggie diet because I am starting to have my doubts about the benefits of eating Trader Joes Beefless Strips every night. Delicious as they may be grilled with BBQ sauce. This will be the first of many posts about burnt or toasted cheese, one of the tastiest things on earth.

Halloumi comes from Cyprus and is traditionally made from sheep's milk. Its a firm, cooked curd cheese, like mozzarella, but they boil and salt the hell out of it. Then it is pressed into blocks, not stretched. It is by no means fat free, but for some reason, when you heat it, it browns and softens slightly (deliciously), but does not melt or release oil. When you bite into a slice, it is still a little bouncy and squeaks against your teeth in a very satisfying way.

Directions: Heat up your cast iron (or other non stick) skillet over a medium flame. Slice the cheese 1/4" thick. Rinse the salty brine off the slices and pat them dry (they will still be very salty). Put them right on the pan with no oil (though I always rub my iron skillet down with olive oil after I wash and re-season it). The cheese will release brine and whistle and squeak. It browns quickly so keep your spatula handy. Flip slices over to brown the other side and press down on the tops with your spatula so that they heat all the way through. Plate them with a squeeze of lemon juice on top and serve while warm with fresh fruits and/or vegetables to cut the salt.