On the Road Again...

...can't believe that we're on the road again...

WHAT? AGAIN! Yep. We're off this morning for two weeks in Japan. I'm pretty sure that we won't have any internet access for those two weeks, but if I can I'll check in. I have some posts scheduled, and they should post while I'm gone. So check back, ok? (Heh, heh, some of you already know what they are!)

I'll be back with photos and stories and maybe even some recipes at the end of the month. See you then!

Oh, WOW!

Oh, wow! Lizzie, at Lizzie goes Dutch has nominated me for a blog award. I’m thrilled! I’ve never had a blog award before. It’s my first one. Thank you, Lizzie!

This award comes with a very pretty badge:

...and some requirements:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award. (Check!)

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog. (Check!)

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award. (Check!)

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might not know. (See below)

5. Nominate other Kreativ Bloggers. (See below)

6. Post links to the blogs you nominate. (Check!)

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know that they have been nominated. (Off to do that now...)

Lemesee, 7 things you might not know about me.

1. I currently teach English as a second language to adults. You might know that, but you probably don’t know that this is my fourth career. I’ve been a college professor, a banker, and a management consultant. Now I’m an English teacher. Variety is the spice of my life.
2. I speak four languages: English, French, Italian and some German. I’ve also studied Irish Gaelic, but have no chance to practice it, and so have lost it.
3. I hate the smell of chlorine.
4. I never pack my suitcases until the last minute. If I pack earlier, I forget stuff.
5. I once went to the US National championships in fencing. I lost in the first round.
6. I used to drive a Fiat X-1/9. I used to race it in autocross races. I used to win. Specs on this car give the top speed as 110 mph. I can testify that it could go up to 130.
7. In addition to cooking, I paint. My paintings can be found here.

Other creative bloggers. Oh, dear, there are so many. I’ve looked at my favorite blogs to see if 1) they accept awards and 2) they’ve already got this one or 3) already have tons of others. I hate to make lists like these, but here you are--some of my daily reads. You’ll like them!

Kate at A spoonful of Thyme

Grace at A Southern Grace

Monique at La Table de Nana

Bob at Cooking Stuff

The Gypsy Chef

Kristin at Dine and Dish

Jain at Once in a Blue Moon

Pay no attention...

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

If you've received notices of blog posts, only to come here and find the dreaded "page not found", please excuse me. I've been trying to put some posts in reserve, and I keep hitting the wrong button!

ARRGHH!

Sorry...

IN PRAISE OF CHEDDAR

I love cheese. Hard cheese, runny cheese, white cheese, yellow cheese, blue cheese, old cheese, young cheese--you name it. You might remember that I live in a cheese - producing region. You’d think that this would make me happy. Content. Not wanting to ask for another thing.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was when my friend Danielle brought me this lovely:

It’s farmhouse cheddar, from England by way of the South of France. Danielle and her husband have a house in the Dordogne, near some gorgeous markets. In one of those, Danielle found this cheddar. Oh, my. There’s 500 g of this white gold--just over a pound. It’s crumbly and lovely and nose-tickly.

After I nibbled it a couple of times and gave part of it to my friend Francoise (who loves cheddar as much as I do), I have about 250 g left. What should I do with it? I’d love to hear your ideas.

FANCY PANTS POTATOES

Who says you can't play with your food?

I was roasting a chicken recently, and I wanted to roast some potatoes along with it. Normally I just cut them in pieces and parboil them about 5 minutes then just throw them in with the chicken. They’re always delicious!

The other day I thought I’d do something a little different. Something a little fancy.

I cut two large potatoes in slices and then cut out star shapes. I boiled them in salted water, wiped them with olive oil and put them in a roasting pan in the oven with the chicken for the last 30 minutes or so of cooking. The last time I basted the chicken I also basted the potato stars. Not too much, I didn’t want them swimming in the juice, but enough to moisten them and make them sizzle a little.

For a change, I timed it just right: the potatoes were done when the chicken was done. I sprinkled them with a little finishing salt and VOILA! They were wonderful--crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. The basting didn’t keep them from being crispy, it just added some of the chicken flavor to the potatoes.

YESSSSSS! I’d serve these to company!

Fancy Pants Potatoes

4-6 large potatoes

3-4 Tablespoons salt

approx. 2 Tablespoons Olive oil

Finishing salt

Cookie cutters in whatever shapes you like

Preheat oven to 200 C / 400 F. Wash the potatoes and cut them in slices about 1 cm / 1/2 in thick. Cut out shapes with the cookie cutters. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the salt. Yes, all of it. Boil the potato pieces in the salted water for approximately 5 - 6 minutes. Drain and rub with the olive oil. Put in a single layer in a large, shallow oven pan, and bake for 30 minutes. Check them from time to time and shake them around a little. Turn them if necessary to brown all sides. Make sure that they’re in a single layer-don’t pile them on top of one another or they won’t brown properly. Sprinkle with finishing salt to serve.

Serves 4 if they like it and 10 if they don’t.

P.S. I put the potato pieces left over from cutting out the stars in the pan with the chicken. They were good too, just not very fancy. They could also be cooked separately and mashed.

Variations:

• Sprinkle potatoes with crushed rosemary before roasting.
• Use flavored olive oil: garlic, hot pepper, herb
• You can also do these on the stove top in a non-stick pan. Boil them about 10 minutes in salted water (to cook them through) and drain them. Heat some olive oil in a non-stick skillet and put the potatoes in the pan over medium high heat. Let them brown on one side and then turn them to brown the other side. This should take about 15 minutes total. Sprinkle with finishing salt and serve. I’d probably add some freshly chopped rosemary to the olive oil before I added the potatoes. (Of course, the sides won’t be browned with this method)

RISOTTO ALLA MILANESE ...and a little bit about saffron

Saffron threads are the dried stigmas of a crocus flower, "Crocus Sativus Linneaus". Each flower has three stigmas, which are picked carefully by hand. Around 250,000 stigmas are needed to produce a pound of Saffron. THAT’S why it’s so expensive! Luckily for us, a little tiny bit goes a long way. Saffron is the distinctive flavoring and coloring agent in Spanish Paella. It’s also the main flavor/color in the Italian specialty Risotto a la Milanese (recipe below).

Saffron is produced in warm climates. In Europe, most of it comes from Spain or Italy or Greece or Iran. I usually buy it when I’m in Spain or Italy, and it’s (a little bit) cheaper that way.

You can buy saffron in two forms: threads or powder.

If you buy threads, be sure that they’re a dark red/orange color, and that they’re dry and brittle. If there are some lighter orange or yellow or beige threads in there, it’s a lower quality and won’t have the strength of good saffron--you’ll need more for the same effect, and in the end it’s more expensive. When you use the threads, they should be soaked for at least 10-15 minutes in a little warm water to release the flavors (but the longer you soak them the stronger the flavor). The resulting ‘tea’ can be mixed into whatever you’re making, along with the threads. I like to see the little threads in finished dishes. You can also steep the threads in warm milk or broth or whatever liquid you’re using if you don’t want the water to dilute the dish. Or you can steep them in room temperature wine or lemon juice.

If you buy powder, it should have the same dark red/orange color. It’s important to be sure that you buy from a reputable source, because it’s not all THAT hard to adulterate the powder. I use powder when I don’t want to have the little red threads in the finished dish, or when I want stronger color overall. You don’t have to soak the powder, you just add it to the dish near the end of cooking.

Whatever form you use it in, it should always be added near the end of cooking. Here’s one of my favorite ways to use it:

Risotto alla Milanese

1/2 liter / 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion or 2-3 shallots

7 oz / 200 g Arborio or Carnaroli rice

6 ‘portions’ saffron

75 / 1/4 cup ml white wine

100 / 4 oz g fresh parmesan, freshly grated

1. Finely chop the onion or shallots. Put the stock on to heat. It should be simmering.

2. In a wide, shallow pan, heat the olive oil and add the onion. Cook gently, till it starts to brown. Add the rice, and stir till the rice becomes translucent. It should look like this:

3. Add the wine, and stir till it’s gone. Add 1-2 ladles full of hot stock, and stir. Cook on medium low heat till the stock is absorbed by the rice, and then add some more. Stir the rice often to make sure it doesn’t stick. Continue doing this till the rice is done, about 25 minutes (if you run out of stock, you can use hot water).

4. Check the rice starting at about 20 minutes. It’s done when it has a creamy sauce all around it and there is no longer a hard center. You don’t want it soft, but it shouldn’t be crunchy.

5. When you add the last ladles full of stock, add the saffron and stir it in well. When the rice is done, you want it to be a little runny, because then you’ll add the grated parmesan. Stir it well, add salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 4 if they like it and 10 if they don’t.

Notes:

• You can use any rice that’s meant for risotto--this is short grained rice. Don’t use rice that’s meant to be steamed, because it won’t have the starchy exterior that it needs to make the sauce.

• If you don’t have stock, you can use hot water. If you want to make this vegetarian, use vegetable stock.

• There are two ways to serve risotto in Italy: creamy and not too liquid, or very runny. The runny style is called “alla onda”, and is the way Jamie Oliver says it should always be served. Pooh. I prefer it creamy and less runny.

LOVE NOTES

When we first met, Dan and I lived 1500 / 2500 km miles apart. When we saw each other, it was a special occasion. We didn't have much daily ordinary stuff together. We did that for eight months, then we got married and I moved to Washington. But during that eight months, I got something in the post every day from him. A letter, a post card, a clipping, a funny note, something every day. For us, it was one way to bring the daily ordinary stuff into our separated lives. We’ve been married for almost 20 years now, and we’ve had plenty of daily ordinary stuff. Somehow, though, the special spark has never left, and the love notes continue. Not in the post, but in small, special things. Here are some examples:

Every morning he brings me a cup of espresso in bed. He gets up and goes to the kitchen and makes it with an espresso machine we chose together. He brings me a steaming cup to help me wake up. It’s wonderful coffee: strong, fortifying, life-giving. Like love. It’s practically the only coffee I drink anymore. Nothing else can match it!

Dan is in Brussels today, all day. He took an early train and so we got up at 5:30. After my morning coffee, I went to my bathtub to soak while he had his breakfast and left for the train. When I came into the kitchen it was still dark in the house. Gleaming under the lights I found another love note:

My breakfast place set for me. Nestled inside the napkin ring were my vitamins.

Tell me about a love note you've received lately.