Month: October 2013

Imperfect Pickles

Published on by poolepartyof57 Comments

There is a tendency in life (and certainly online) to show only the perfect.  Unfortunately, a beautiful picture is just that – beautiful, but only a picture.  It doesn’t always tell the whole story.  When I started this blog, the purpose wasn’t to show off a perfect life, but rather, a real one.

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There are always going to be moments when things don’t go our way, aren’t what we hoped for, and we feel frustration for all the imperfections of the things we can’t control.

A nice little example is my effort with pickles this year… I kept waiting this summer to share my newest amazing fantastic pickle-findings with you, but after three botched attempts, I need to chalk this one up to failure.  Cucumbers have a very short growing season and I missed it.  This is not to say that there are no pickles.  I made loads of them.  They taste okay, but they didn’t turn out how I wanted them to.  Some were too big and are floating around in the jars.  Some turned out a bit wrinkly.  Some didn’t seal correctly.  The funny part is that I couldn’t let it go.  I tried the damn thing three times!!  At some point in time, Albert Einstein described insanity as, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.  This pickle effort could possibly be described as cuckoo, crazy, or possibly insane.

When do you decide you have had enough?  How do you move past hurdles when it becomes clear that success is not within your grasp?  How do you know when to change gears?  At some point mid-August, I had to admit defeat in the 2013 pickle category and it didn’t feel good.  But, that’s the truth.  My message today is:

Know that you aren’t the only one to get frustrated.

Know that you aren’t the only one who fails.

We all do.

Truly.

We just usually don’t like to admit it, and we certainly don’t want to broadcast it to the world or Facebook.  So, without further ado, here are some photos of imperfect pickles.  I will try again next year.  Or I won’t.  We’ll see how I’m feeling about it next summer.

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Anthem

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Some days I need an anthem to keep moving.  To get that chin up.  Or, to deal with bad attitudes all around… Often, P!nk’s infectious lyrics and bold beats are just the ticket.

We were lucky enough to attend P!nk’s live performance last night.  She was in Seattle performing her Truth About Love Tour.  As I have mentioned before (Life Lessons on the Playground), I really respect P!nk’s ethos of feminine strength and her no-nonsense  attitude.  Her music often inspires me to be my own best person… and lately, to stop taking cr*p from unthinking people.

P!nk’s concert was fantastic.  She is a fabulously talented performer that grabbed the audience from the first note and didn’t let go for two hours.  I had heard that her concerts are part-rock concert and part-cirque de soleil-esque theatrics and she did not disappoint.   She spent much of the concert in the air doing amazing trapeze-type tricks while also singing her songs beautifully.  It was a high energy, emotionally-charged rush that was just what I needed after a long week.

Here are a few snippets of the concert.  It won’t do her justice, but might give you just a little taste of the fun we had.  In the last clip of “So What” you can see that she literally flies right over us!  It was really a fun time!

Butternut Squash Salad with Farro and Pepitas

Published on by poolepartyof53 Comments

Here we go again…

Butternut squash soup last week… butternut squash salad this week.  As we enter new seasons, I see that I might possibly get a bit obsessed with seasonal ingredients from time to time.  Corn, figs, and now butternut squash.  Oh well, there are worse things, I suppose.  This was the recipe that I was dreaming about as summer ended and the beginnings of fall were in the air, but have only, just now, gotten a chance to share with you.

I fell in love with this recipe from Smitten Kitchen last October and it’s memory stayed with me all year long.  It is hearty and fresh and perfectly fall.  It also makes me laugh every time I make it because we have a joke among a few of our friends about farro.  Each and every time it is spotted on a menu, all anyone ever has to say about it is, “oh, farro, that’s an ancient grain.”  What does that even mean anyways?  As it turns out, farro is a whole grain that hails from Italy, has a nutty flavor and a nice amount of tooth to it.  It is quite delicious.  If you are curious to know more about farro, click here, or simply try the recipe below.

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Butternut Squash Salad with Farro and Pepitas

Source: Smitten Kitchen

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
5 to 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup semi-pearled farro 
1/3 cup toasted pepitas 
3 ounces ricotta salata or another salty cheese, crumbled or coarsely grated (I use french feta)
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Peel squash, then halve lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Cut squash into approximately 3/4-inch chunks. Coat one large or two small baking sheets with 2 tablespoons oil total. Spread squash out in single layer on sheet. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast until pieces are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes, turning them over halfway through the cooking time. Set aside to cool slightly.

While squash is roasting, cook farro in a large pot of simmering salted water until the grains are tender but chewy, about 30 minutes. (Since there are so many varieties of farro, however, if your package suggests otherwise, it’s best to defer to its cooking suggestion.) Drain and cool slightly.

While squash is roasting and farro is simmering, in a small bowl, whisk together sherry vinegar, water, 1/2 teaspoon table salt and granulated sugar until sugar and salt dissolve. Stir in onion; it will barely be covered by vinegar mixture but don’t worry. Cover and set in fridge until needed; 30 minutes is ideal but less time will still make a lovely, lightly pickled onion.

In a large bowl, mix together butternut squash, farro, red onion and its vinegar brine, the crumbled cheese and pepitas. Toss with 3 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil, use the 4th one only if needed. Taste and adjust seasonings. Eat now or later. Salad keeps in the fridge for up to a week.

I enjoy serving this salad over a bed of baby spinach.  I always know when I have found a fantastic new recipe – my particular “tell” is that I find myself sampling multiple spoonfuls out of the serving bowl, just to make sure I’ve gotten it just right… you may find yourself doing the same on this one!  In fact, it was eaten so quickly, I never got a great photo of it plated and beautiful… sorry about that, you’ll just have to take my word for it – Delicious!

Butternut Squash Soup

Published on by poolepartyof55 Comments

Yesterday I figured out that I have been making this particular soup for 14 years.  This is by far my longest standing, go-to recipe.  The first time I made it was after graduating from college, right before I moved to San Francisco to start work and become an adult.  I love knowing that little fact – so much was about to happen in my life… There is a small tradition in my family of writing notes on actual recipes (when the dish was made, if any changes were made, how successful it was, and lastly, if there was an occasion).  These small bits of information are completely informal, with no rhyme or reason, but provide so much history!  This recipe, made by Marilyn Weissman, was originally published in our local newspaper in November 1993 as the winner of a community cooking competition.  My recipe (with notes) is a photocopy from that newspaper piece, but I see that Marilyn still lists this recipe on her website My Global Kitchens, another great place to poke around for recipes, I’m sure!

This comforting fall soup differentiates itself by bringing together some unique flavors.  Creamy butternut squash combined with the spicy and bright tastes of ginger and lime create a lovely fall soup you won’t soon forget.  I made this for our dinner last night, and I also ate it for lunch today and realize now that it really is better the next day.  The flavors have a chance to mellow and meld and is just oh, so comforting.

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Butternut Squash Soup

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, peeled and minced

3 tablespoons butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 lime, juiced (or to taste)

salt and white pepper (to taste)

Saute onion and ginger in butter, add garlic and cook until onion becomes translucent.  Add squash, broth, and water and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer 25 minutes or until soft.  Put in food processor in batches (or use immersion blender to save time and dish washing), return to heat and stir in lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Can make two days ahead.  Garnish with thinly sliced lime and ginger strip.

I usually serve this recipe with homemade croutons and a simple green salad.  It can also be frozen for later use.  The pictures above show the recipe doubled.  You will also notice a few other time savers that I usually stock in my freezer, pre-minced garlic and ginger by the company, Dorot.  I know you can find an assortment of these frozen herbs at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, among other stores.  If you enjoy making soup, I highly recommend investing in an immersion blender (also pictured above), this tool simplifies the process of blending hot liquids and is relatively inexpensive.  I use mine all the time.

This soup is one of my personal markers that fall has arrived – I hope you love it too!

Enjoy!

Homemade Hot Sauce

Published on by poolepartyof55 Comments

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Let me start by saying that I love hot sauce.  I will put it on almost anything and it is definitely my favorite condiment in the refrigerator.  When a friend brought over dinner for us the other day, she included some hot sauce that she had made herself last year.  I kid you not, when I say that I almost licked the bowl clean.  The hot sauce recipe was from The Pantry at Delancey, a fabulous new hands-on cooking school in the Ballard area of Seattle.  My friend, M, went to one of The Pantry classes last year and learned how to make this delicious sauce (along with yummy fried chicken and succotash).  I have yet to attend a class at The Pantry, as their classes sell out very quickly, but it is high on my list of things to do.  (Anyone want to join me?)  So when M suggested we make this hot sauce together a few weeks ago, I jumped at the chance!

This southern-style hot sauce is so fun because you control the heat.  The recipe was easy to follow.  The most time consuming thing about it is pushing the roasted chile puree through the strainer.  Next time I will look for a strainer with just a little bigger holes to make it go a bit faster.  We added a few habaneros, as well as all the peppers you see below, and the result was delicious.  It is spicy, but not burn-your-tongue-off-spicy and the white vinegar adds a nice balancing effect.  We doubled the recipe below and it made approximately 6 half-pint jars.  You store this sauce in the fridge, but I doubt it will be there for long.  I am already into our second jar and it is going quick!  I will definitely be making this again sometime soon.

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the Pantry at Delancey’s Southern-Style Hot Sauce

yield: 2 cups

8 ounces sweet chiles (we used bell peppers)

6 1/2 ounces medium chiles

1 1/2 ounces hot chiles

1 cup distilled vinegar

1-2 tablespoons water

1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt (to taste)

Trim the stems off of the chiles, leaving the base that the stem attaches to.  Toss the chiles in enough olive oil to coat them.  Roast them in the oven or on the grill until you get a nice char on them.  Set aside to cool.  If desired, peel the skins from the chiles (we did not peel the skins off).  Puree the roasted chiles in a food processor or blender with enough vinegar to keep them moving.  Push the pureed chiles through a strainer, extracting as much of the pulp as possible.  Add the water, salt and the rest of the vinegar and chill in the fridge for a few days.  You can eat it immediately, but it gets better with time.  Store in the fridge.

Enjoy on just about anything.  This hot sauce dresses up a basic quesadilla or eggs and would be a perfect accompaniment to a bowl of chili con carne!

Enjoy!

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