Foodie Fifty
Fifty years ago this morning, on an emerald island in the middle of the turquoise Pacific Ocean, I first came on the scene, red haired, a haole baby amidst the sea of black-haired wee ones in the nursery of a hospital founded by Queen Emma and King Kamehameha in 1859 for the Hawaiian people. Although we moved to the mainland when I was nearly 6, some of my roots and favorite childhood memories are firmly attached to Honolulu. My red hair fell out, and I became a white blond towheaded toddler, playing naked on Waikiki and Ala Moana beaches in the brightness of water gleaming with sunshine. Chasing down the shave ice truck and slurping noodles at a saimin stand in Waipahu with my cousins are other memories that stay close. Grandpa's teriyaki beef, made with fine cuts of meat from his job cooking at Black Angus. His pork-fried noodles, pineapples sweet like you've never had them before, just cut from the plants a mere hour or two ago when he would go pick them up from the plantations. Bananas in the backyard, guava trees too, and that rooster!
I have so many good Oregon memories, but O'ahu has been on my mind lately. We were supposed to go back this November, but we've put ourselves on the 'no fly during a pandemic' list. Nonetheless, when J's Adulting 101 class suggested that the students find recipes to challenge themselves, the previous post was born. (J's Ramen) I've been on a cooking spree of late, skirting around recipes and letting intuition guide me. Sunday night we had a lot of rice to use up from some take-out Thai, as well as some frozen shrimp in danger of freezer burn, so I threw together a stew of grated carrot with grated giner, canned whole tomatoes (torn into pieces), chickpeas, cumin, coriander, paprika, salt and with red pepper flakes; added in the shrimp which had been marinated for about 10 minutes in lemon juice, olive oil, and more grated ginger. It came out vaguely reminiscent of some Indian-spiced meal, and my only improvement I'd make if I were to do it again is to add in lemon zest to the shrimp during the marinade so it makes it into the stew.
Yesterday, I roasted up boneless, skinless chicken thighs, something I do most weeks on a Monday. They are simply seasoned inside and out with kosher salt, pepper and sweet paprika; this brings out their natural flavor while leaving them easily adaptable to any dish, be it burritos or chicken salad. (Have you had my chicken salad? I make it in the Cuisinart with mayo, capers, and a dab of dijon.) I like to cover my chicken with a drizzle of good olive oil and a piece of parchment cut to fit the pan. When the chicken was done roasting and had rested, I collected the drippings into a cup, using a spatula to get all of the 'good stuff' from the bottom of the baking pan, then covered the cup and refrigerated it for use at dinnertime.
I'd already chosen to do a pasta dish, as I some bacon left over from what I'd bought for the frittata I'd made on Saturday. I'm going to call it Pizza Frittata.. .simply put, it's 2 slices of bacon (I had bought four) cut into pieces, 1 7 oz. jar of artichoke hearts and one small tin of sliced black olives, topped with grated parmesan cheese. Frittatas are easy and truly a 'kitchen sink' kind of meal; nearly anything will do.
With 7 oz of pasta, one picky eater who would just eat it with Parmesan, and two adults with more sophisticated palates, I got to work. Once the salted water in the pasta cooker started boiling, out came my big skillet and in went the bacon. When it was crisped, I added in two medium portabello mushrooms, sliced in 1/8 inch strips and then in half. (Always think about how the finished product is going to fit on your fork!) Seasoned the pan with salt and an extra drizzle of olive oil as mushrooms tend to soak it up.When those had softened, added in 3 diced roma tomatoes from the garden. Some choose to remove the seeds, but I was freestyling and my flow was good, so I ignored that. I sprinkled in about a teaspoon of dried Italian spices and then, the chicken drippings from earlier. Scraping off and discarding the top layer of fat, the 3/4 cup or so of gelatinous goodness was added into the pan, stirring a lot, and throwing in a handful of fresh chopped parsley. Once the pasta was done, we pulled out a bowl of noodles for J and then added the rest into the skillet with a little bit of the pasta water to help the sauce coat the pasta, and I let it simmer for a minute or two before serving. Joe stated that the meal was 'more savory than the steak and mushroom pie' at the pub, which was a nice compliment.
Today, though, I've got a sushi birthday dinner coming my way. I have made sushi before, and will always think that getting to pay someone else to make it for me is a lovely convenience. Knowing that Joe would be in the office today, I determined to make my own birthday special. It's something I guess age has taught me-- if you want to make the day special, it's okay to take charge of it. I've picked up some crab meat, which I will use for lunch, a nice piece of toast with crab salad seems perfect. There's also an artichoke waiting to be steamed up for lunch, but I'll save that for tomorrow. Instead of birthday cake, we'll do pain aux raisin from St Honore, because that's one of the best treats there is, in my opinion-- I'll take croissants over cake nearly every time.
I'm fifty and have no platitudes to offer, really. The pandemic spared me from having to contemplate some significant "50th Birthday" party which my introvert soul had zero interest in. One blessing of the pandemic is that the pressure to be social is pretty much nil. I do miss my friends, but I don't miss gatherings of more than a handful of people. A dearest friend came by on Saturday to celebrate Joe's and my birthdays (his was last week) and bought us take out from Flying Fish, which has my favorite fish and chips around. On Saturday, a sister called, and today I'll take a walk with a friend in the afternoon. This is what's great about getting older-- you know what you want and you go in that direction.
And for me, as autumn leaves crisply line the sidewalks-- that direction is the kitchen. Warm wishes from us.
PS: In case you read these recipes and thought "how bland! Where are the onions and garlic?", first, no, not bland, I just can't eat those foods any more. With the tomato chickpea and shrimp stew, I used the grated carrot to add sweet instead of onion. With last night's pasta dish, the drippings from the chicken really helped to develop a flavor foundation and the bacon just finished the job. Part of what I enjoy about the kitchen is the challenge of cooking while having a medically-restrictive diet: it is mentally very engaging and I think it's made me a better cook, relying more on tasting than recipes alone.
I have so many good Oregon memories, but O'ahu has been on my mind lately. We were supposed to go back this November, but we've put ourselves on the 'no fly during a pandemic' list. Nonetheless, when J's Adulting 101 class suggested that the students find recipes to challenge themselves, the previous post was born. (J's Ramen) I've been on a cooking spree of late, skirting around recipes and letting intuition guide me. Sunday night we had a lot of rice to use up from some take-out Thai, as well as some frozen shrimp in danger of freezer burn, so I threw together a stew of grated carrot with grated giner, canned whole tomatoes (torn into pieces), chickpeas, cumin, coriander, paprika, salt and with red pepper flakes; added in the shrimp which had been marinated for about 10 minutes in lemon juice, olive oil, and more grated ginger. It came out vaguely reminiscent of some Indian-spiced meal, and my only improvement I'd make if I were to do it again is to add in lemon zest to the shrimp during the marinade so it makes it into the stew.
Yesterday, I roasted up boneless, skinless chicken thighs, something I do most weeks on a Monday. They are simply seasoned inside and out with kosher salt, pepper and sweet paprika; this brings out their natural flavor while leaving them easily adaptable to any dish, be it burritos or chicken salad. (Have you had my chicken salad? I make it in the Cuisinart with mayo, capers, and a dab of dijon.) I like to cover my chicken with a drizzle of good olive oil and a piece of parchment cut to fit the pan. When the chicken was done roasting and had rested, I collected the drippings into a cup, using a spatula to get all of the 'good stuff' from the bottom of the baking pan, then covered the cup and refrigerated it for use at dinnertime.
I'd already chosen to do a pasta dish, as I some bacon left over from what I'd bought for the frittata I'd made on Saturday. I'm going to call it Pizza Frittata.. .simply put, it's 2 slices of bacon (I had bought four) cut into pieces, 1 7 oz. jar of artichoke hearts and one small tin of sliced black olives, topped with grated parmesan cheese. Frittatas are easy and truly a 'kitchen sink' kind of meal; nearly anything will do.
With 7 oz of pasta, one picky eater who would just eat it with Parmesan, and two adults with more sophisticated palates, I got to work. Once the salted water in the pasta cooker started boiling, out came my big skillet and in went the bacon. When it was crisped, I added in two medium portabello mushrooms, sliced in 1/8 inch strips and then in half. (Always think about how the finished product is going to fit on your fork!) Seasoned the pan with salt and an extra drizzle of olive oil as mushrooms tend to soak it up.When those had softened, added in 3 diced roma tomatoes from the garden. Some choose to remove the seeds, but I was freestyling and my flow was good, so I ignored that. I sprinkled in about a teaspoon of dried Italian spices and then, the chicken drippings from earlier. Scraping off and discarding the top layer of fat, the 3/4 cup or so of gelatinous goodness was added into the pan, stirring a lot, and throwing in a handful of fresh chopped parsley. Once the pasta was done, we pulled out a bowl of noodles for J and then added the rest into the skillet with a little bit of the pasta water to help the sauce coat the pasta, and I let it simmer for a minute or two before serving. Joe stated that the meal was 'more savory than the steak and mushroom pie' at the pub, which was a nice compliment.
Today, though, I've got a sushi birthday dinner coming my way. I have made sushi before, and will always think that getting to pay someone else to make it for me is a lovely convenience. Knowing that Joe would be in the office today, I determined to make my own birthday special. It's something I guess age has taught me-- if you want to make the day special, it's okay to take charge of it. I've picked up some crab meat, which I will use for lunch, a nice piece of toast with crab salad seems perfect. There's also an artichoke waiting to be steamed up for lunch, but I'll save that for tomorrow. Instead of birthday cake, we'll do pain aux raisin from St Honore, because that's one of the best treats there is, in my opinion-- I'll take croissants over cake nearly every time.
I'm fifty and have no platitudes to offer, really. The pandemic spared me from having to contemplate some significant "50th Birthday" party which my introvert soul had zero interest in. One blessing of the pandemic is that the pressure to be social is pretty much nil. I do miss my friends, but I don't miss gatherings of more than a handful of people. A dearest friend came by on Saturday to celebrate Joe's and my birthdays (his was last week) and bought us take out from Flying Fish, which has my favorite fish and chips around. On Saturday, a sister called, and today I'll take a walk with a friend in the afternoon. This is what's great about getting older-- you know what you want and you go in that direction.
And for me, as autumn leaves crisply line the sidewalks-- that direction is the kitchen. Warm wishes from us.
PS: In case you read these recipes and thought "how bland! Where are the onions and garlic?", first, no, not bland, I just can't eat those foods any more. With the tomato chickpea and shrimp stew, I used the grated carrot to add sweet instead of onion. With last night's pasta dish, the drippings from the chicken really helped to develop a flavor foundation and the bacon just finished the job. Part of what I enjoy about the kitchen is the challenge of cooking while having a medically-restrictive diet: it is mentally very engaging and I think it's made me a better cook, relying more on tasting than recipes alone.
Comments