Oh good heavens, how very sad that I haven’t gotten off my rump in the last month to write a post. Do me a solid and pick your favorite reason why:

1. Golly, I’ve just been so busy with my housework. That sweater set won’t knit itself!
2. Too drunk to write/monitor flames for cooking
3. Battling the knights of the round table
4. A pathetic combination of Hulu, Facebook, and re-“reading” books on tape

Notice how “battling world hunger” and “fighting to save the Koala” aren’t even on that fake list. I guess I’m just not that good of a person and will shortly be stripped of my citizenship and sent to Australia with the rest of the criminals and out-casts.

I hope they have Hulu there.

In a sudden surge of productivity and after succumbing to a craving for orange foods (I don’t know how you can crave a color, but I’m not one to argue with my stomach), I crafted the night’s feast: Garlic-y, Ginger-y, Pan-seared Salmon with Maple-Sesame Sweet Potatoes.

Salmon is one of my favorite foods. While I prefer it raw over a bed of sushi rice and sodium, I will take it almost any way possible: poached, baked, grilled, in a pie, on a stick, and the list goes on and on. It also comes with the added bonus of making me feel extremely virtuous, which gives me strength to walk around town with my nose in the air and my head held high, knowing that “Hey, I’m better than you. I just ate a fillet of salmon, brah.”

Lowo and I played around with this same dinner plan a few months ago, and this is my attempt to recreate it. The sauce is very tasty and could be used for veggies, chicken, or reduced and served over grilled flank steak. The below is for one serving of salmon and lots of sauce. I would definitely recommend doubling the sauce ingredients if you’re making this for 2 and are planning to eat it with rice.

Salmon

3 T rice wine vinegar
3 T soy sauce
2-in fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T sesame oil
3 T sake
1 6-oz salmon fillet, bones removed
1 scallion, sliced finely
oil for cooking

Potatoes

1 large yam or sweet potato
2 T maple syrup
2 T sesame oil
S & P

Preheat your oven to 400 and chop your potato into 1/2-inch, quarter-moon chunks. Toss with the oil and syrup, sprinkle with S & P, and spread evenly on a baking sheet. You don’t have to spray it with oil– the oil in the sweet potato mixture will suffice. Put in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until tender and edible.

Meanwhile, put the vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and sake in a measuring cup and whisk together. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add your oil (I used coconut oil, since it lends a great flavor to the dish without being overwhelming and has a very high smoke point).

When the oil is hot, at the fish skin-side down. Give it about 2 minutes, or until you can easily slide a spatula underneath. Flip, cook for about 1 minute, then lower the heat and add the sauce. Because of the sake, the sauce will boil up and get quite frothy. Don’t be alarmed, citizens! This is the tasty-making process.

Simmer the sauce for a few minutes as you poach the fish, or until the salmon is cooked through.

If you’re not used to cooking fish, telling if it’s done can be a bit nerve-wracking. There are a few ways to tell, but if you’re really worried you should just cut into it and test the pinkness. First, you poke at the fish and it feels firm and not very “giving”, then you are good. This takes a bit of practice to get the feel for it. You can also tell if the sections start to flake away from each other, like the way cookies will crinkle on the top when they’re ready to come out of the oven. The food is separating from itself and that’s a sure sign. Salmon fillets and steaks vary widely in thickness, so it’s a good idea to keep the heat moderate and not too high. While most fish cooks quickly, you don’t want to burn the outside and have a raw inner disaster because you were too eager with the flame.

Remove the fish and place over the sweet potatoes on your serving plate. Keep cooking the sauce until it has reduced a bit, to thicken it slightly.  Add the scallions when it is just about done. When ready, poor over the fish and potatoes.

Nomalicious!

Greetings, blogosphere! Between a trip to LA, general laziness, and many piles of clean laundry that just won’t fold themselves, I haven’t been blogging much. I am determined to come up with a holiday schedule to ensure that all of the sensational, mouth-watering, get-you-in-the-spirit foods are tasted, sauteed, spread on crackers, crafted into soups, and yes– of course– blogged about.

My dear mother requested this dish, which is one I’d forgotten all about! It’s very easy, keeps well, and is a great idea if you have vegetarians coming to dinner. Cheesy but not super rich, healthy so you feel virtuous, and just plain delish. If you want to be quick about it, buy jarred tomato sauce and skip the whole make-it-yourself part.

Eggplant Roll-Ups
Altered slightly from Epicurious

Tomato sauce:
2 lbs fresh tomatoes
1 onion, diced fine
2 T olive oil
pinch sugar
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
salt & pepper
1/4 c chopped fresh basil

For the rolls:
2 medium eggplants
oil (spray is best)
salt
1/3 c goat cheese (I used plain, but herbed would be tasty)
1/3 c feta cheese
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c chopped fresh basil

Start with the tomato sauce and blanch the tomatoes. You don’t have to do this part, but it does make a smoother sauce in the end. Dunk the tomatoes in boiling water for 15 seconds and then peel them. It’s a good idea to core and score them first, so that you aren’t handling a slightly mushy product post-blanch. Chop them coarsely or put through the food processor. You will puree the whole thing later, so processing them now is not essential!

Saute the onion in the oil until soft, about 5 minutes or so. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, then add the tomatoes, S&P, and sugar. Cook this down for awhile– mine went for about an hour until I was satisfied with the consistency. Add the basil at the very end and season with S&P to taste.

It’s a good idea to start on the rolls while your sauce is simmering– you will probably find them to be ready at about the same time.

Peel the eggplant and slice lengthwise into 1/4-inch pieces. Sprinkle with salt and let sit over the sink in a colander for about 20 minutes. Heat the oil in a frying pan, pat dry the sliced eggplant, and brown each piece on both sides. Alternatively, you can layer them out on a baking sheet and broil for a few minutes on each side. I don’t know why I didn’t go this route. Note to self.

While the eggplant cooks, mix the cheeses and basil in a bowl. My mixture was fairly dry and I was tempted to throw in some cream cheese, but decided that it was all going to melt together and be awesome in the end. If you like the draw of a “four cheese” item, then by all means: cream cheese it up!

As the eggplant slices finished, I placed a large tablespoon down the middle of each (lengthwise) and rolled them (short side as the start of the roll..you don’t want a long, skinny roll-up).

Place them, seam-side down and close together, into a 13×9″ baking sheet. Sprinkle any remaining cheese on top and pop them under the broiler for a few minutes to melt and bubble.

If the sauce is done (make sure to taste test!), blend it with an immersion blender to make it extra smooth. Ladle it over the top and KABOOM! You’re a sorcerer, cause that stuff is magical.

This got rave reviews from my family, who would have no qualms telling me otherwise! So nom, people of the world. Nom!

Even though August in the Bay Area means foggy mornings and breezy evenings, the knock of summer still falls heavily on our doors. I spent a good 45 minutes combing through various seasonal blog entries from Smitten Kitchen and The Pioneer Woman, trying to find inspiration that would do justice to this glorious month. And, there it was: Gazpacho Salad.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, and grapes spell refreshing, while the bread satisfies the fat kid within me (probably soon to be on the outside, too). My sister made this for me a few weeks ago and it was declared a fabulous find, so it wasn’t hard for me to rediscover it in my own humble kitchen.

It is essentially Panzanella, which is an Italian dish that helps rid your cupboards of stale bread. Basically, those boot-folk take rock-hard lumps of bread and soak it in water, press out the moisture, and then use it in salad with lettuce, tuna, tomatoes, or whatever is handy. Brilliant, right?

If you’re looking for a filling but still light salad, this is the decision for you. You’re welcome.

Gazpacho Salad

adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen

4 cups cubed (1 in) bread, preferably a day or two old so it is stale. I used a whole-wheat loaf, which was very nice. Don’t go for a bread that is too soft, or else you will have real trouble cutting it
3 cups chopped tomatoes (I used cherry/heirloom, which were colorful and magical)
1 cucumber, seeded and diced fine
1/4 red onion, diced fine
1 c green or red grapes, halved
1 avocado, cubed
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 t cumin
1 t salt
1/3 c olive oil
3 t red wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 and toast the cubed bread for about 10-15 minutes. Not crispy, but not still soft. Let cool slightly. Throw the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, grapes, and avocado into a large serving bowl. Pound the garlic, salt, and cumin in a mortar and pestle until a paste forms. Whisk in the oil and vinegar. Add the bread to the bowl, pour in the dressing, and toss until everything is coated thoroughly. Let sit for about 10 minutes, or until the bread has absorbed some of the dressing and becomes totes delish.

What’s that? Oh no, the bread came like that. With a bite already taken out. Must have been a keen taste-tester at Whole Foods.

…Ahem…