Chinese-salad Brussels Sprouts and a dose of inspiration from a bowl

I needed a bowl to toss and mix the ingredients for today's Brussels sprouts salad so I reached for one of my good ole' standbys:  an enameled metal bowl which I'd received nearly 33 years ago at my bridal shower from my neighbor Nona.  I have always loved this bowl - it is the perfect size for mixing cake  batters, it's pretty, and and it has proven to be incredibly durable over the years, with only one small chip on the inside.  It got me thinking how sometimes even seemingly inconsequential things can be inspiring.  Today is my mom's birthday - she would have been 80 years old had she not died at the too early age of 44, when i was just 19.  This bowl reminded me of her because Nona was a good cook and she knew I didn't have a mom to teach a new bride the basic kitchen skills. She gave me this bowl with a set of assorted sized and shaped mixing spoons and a beautiful card offering to provide me with any lessons or advice I might need.   I used this bowl to mix the birthday cake for my first daughter's first birthday, and also to serve my mother-in-law's famous potato salad at more family gatherings than I can count.  Someone recently told me that she translates the word "inspiration" to "in spirit" and when I use this bowl, I do really feel one in spirit with all the memories of the good things that have come from it.

Chinese-style Brussels Sprout Salad

3 cups thinly sliced brussels sprouts

3 tbsp finely chopped onion of your choice

Dressing:
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Splenda or honey
1 inch knob of ginger, peeled and grated

2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp coriander (cilantro) leaves

Wash and thinly slice the Brussels sprouts. Note: If preparing this ahead of time, note that the dressing will soften the sprouts;  if you plan to let this rest for more than 1/2 hour, slice your sprouts more thickly to keep some crunch in them when served.   Mince the onion and toss together with the sprouts.

Add the dressing ingredients to a large (possibly cherished) mixing bowl, and whisk together until incorporated and emulsified. Toss the sprout mixture into the bowl of dressing and coat thoroughly. Add the sesame seeds and coriander leaves and serve or chill for later.

I took this to lunch and added some sliced smoked chicken and additional lettuce to make a filling, hearty meal.

Carrots for Breakfast and the Other 40%

                    

I was listening to a the Kitchen Chat podcast on the way home from work the other day that discussed food waste in America. Guest Dana Gunders, a staff scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, quoted a statistic that 40% of all food in America goes to waste, and that landfills are mainly filled with tossed food.  I am not sure I agree with that last statement, having spent a lot of time at the dump getting rid of yard waste from my always-overgrown backyard, but nonetheless, I do agree that there is a lot of food waste.  When you think how much water, energy, and other resources are dedicated to producing food, it's not hard to see how our green footprint could be improved by wasting less food.  (link to Kitchen Chat podcasts here)

My ingredients:  Brussels sprouts, horseradish,
parsnips, tumeric root, carrots, and 1/2 a shallot

Gunders recommends keeping a bin or place in your fridge with nearly expired foodstuffs as a reminder to eat those things first.  I don't have a bin, but I do actively attempt to use up expiring food first and to make the best use out of all parts of the groceries I buy.  In fact, for me I think it almost becomes like a game - what can I make with this odd assortment of items today?  One of my favorite ways to relax is to make an inventory of what's in my veggie bin or my chest freezer, and then spend an hour soaking in a bubble bath while reading cookbooks or surfing the web looking for just the right recipe to use it all up.

I am also a bit of a hoarder when it comes to using all parts of the food I buy.  One of my favorite take-aways from legendary chef Jacques Pepin is his advice to save all vegetable trimmings in the freezer so they will always be available to make fresh stock.  He keeps a bin in his freezer just for this purpose.  Clean carrot and potato peels, onion skins, mushroom stems, leek tops, parsley stems, celery trimmings and lots of other aromatics make their way into a ziplock bag that resides in my freezer. Whenever I have some chicken, beef, or lamb bones,  I add them to a kettle of water with the frozen scraps. On weeknights, I'll let the mixture simmer slowly all night long, and in the morning, I drain the solids and chill down the broth in an ice bath before placing it in the fridge to cool while I'm at work.  Upon returning home in the evening, I will again simmer the strained broth over a low heat all night long to reduce it further.  By the morning it's ready to chill, vacuum seal, and freeze for future use if I don't have an immediate need for it that day.  I have lots of other weird food-saving habits too, like always zesting lemons, limes, or oranges before juicing them. The zest stores really well in a baggie in the freezer, ready when needed. I save, seal, label, and freeze everything that might have some future use. If it's still hiding out after a few months, I will reluctantly toss it out, but only after making one last attempt to find a suitable recipe for its use.

The finished relish - it only gets better with age

The bottom line of all this rambling is that the podcast and Gunders' comments inspired me to inventory my veggie bin again. I found a recipe in Saveur magazine that called for two key ingredients I happened to have on hand - carrots and fresh horseradish root. After taking stock of the other items in my produce drawer, I realized I could modify the recipe slightly to use up some excess brussels sprouts,  parsnips, a piece of tumeric root, and a half of a shallot in place of some of the carrots.   The article touts this as a relish to accompany gefilte fish on Passover but I used it as a spread on toasted baguette slices and ate it for breakfast with a poached egg instead.  It was quick and easy to make, even on a workday. morning.  The flavors were bright and fresh, and a great way to start of the day.

Here is the link for the recipe:  Saveur recipe for Carrot and Horseradish Pickle Relish.

Carrots, horseradish, and lemon zest ready to pulse

The modifications I made were:  Used only two carrots, added 3 peeled parsnips, 5 brussels sprouts thinly sliced, a one inch piece of peeled diced turmeric root, and 1/2 of a large shallot, sliced thinly then minced.  The recipe instructs you to blanch the carrots.  I blanched the parsnips first, then pulsed them in the food processor, then set them aside.  Next I blanched the carrots and tumeric root together and processed the carrots/turmeric as directed in the recipe.  When making the pickling solution, I omitted the 1/4 cup sugar recommended in the recipe, and substituted two heaping teaspoons of Splenda (need to manage my blood sugar or else I would have used the regular sugar).  I added the pickling solution to carrot and horseradish mixture in a food processor and pulsed it until slightly chunky. At this point, I stirred in the shallots and Brussels sprouts, then let the whole mixture marinate for a few minutes while I poached an egg in the blanching water.

Also, while I was waiting for the water to heat for the initial blanching, I decided to make some parmesan cheese crisps to go along with the toasts. I preheated the oven to 400 degrees (miracle - my oven is still working... hope my luck holds out), and placed four little mounds, 1 tablespoon each, of grated parmesan cheese on a parchment paper-lined baking tray. I sprinkled each with some smoked paprika and a dash of cayenne then let them melt and crisp in the oven for about 3 minutes.  The combination of the salty cheese, the tangy relish, and the creamy egg yolk made a perfect light meal.

The end result:  this healthy and delicious breakfast!

Salad: It's What's for Dinner

Look at the carmelization on those brussels sprouts -- making them oh so sweet and delicious!

Today was exceptionally stressful at work, and I needed a dinner that was quick and refreshing because my commute home took nearly 2 hours and I was going to be late to my tap dance class. Salad fit the bill, so I decided to make one of my favorites which had the added benefit of further using up ingredients from my overstocked pantry.  As a perpetual dieter, I eat a lot of salads and they typically all have several basic components -- some type of lettuce, some type of nut, and some type of cheese.  To this base I usually add some additional fruits or vegetables and maybe an additional non-cheese protein source to achieve my desired flavor profile and suit my mood.


Salads can be really boring when you eat them all the time, so I like to mix up the components frequently, using a broad assortment of lettuces, nuts, and cheeses. At any given time I typically have three or four different varieties of greens handy and several choices of nuts and cheeses. Today, I had frisee, baby spinach, whole leaf spinach, and a perpetual supply of swiss chard from which to choose. I also had pumpkin seeds, cashews, walnuts, pecans and sesame seeds, and for the cheeses, I had a smoked English white cheddar, goat cheese, Irish Dubliner cheddar, and some fresh parmesan.

Too many vinegars -- another reason I needed to make salad today

I opted for the frisee because it's really crisp and also because I liked the color.  Food is all about looks, and the bright yellow-green color really appealed to me today. For the nut du jour, I selected pecans, and the cheese just had to be goat cheese.  I thought about coating it with herbed panko and baking it to make the classic French chevre chaud, but I was in too much of a hurry so I just crumbled it up instead.  For the dressing, I made a basic vinaigrette using some walnut oil, tarragon mustard and red wine vinegar that I had on hand.

Frisee and Brussels Sprouts Salad for Two

1/2 lb brussels sprouts
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper
1/2 head of frisee, broken into bite size pieces, washed and spun dry
1/2 cup whole pecans
1 Tbsp butter
sprinkle of garlic powder
4 oz goat cheese

Vinaigrette
1/4 c walnut oil
2 Tbsp high quality red wine vinegar
1 tsp tarragon mustard or dijon mustard
1 Tbsp minced shallot
1/8 tsp each salt & pepper

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking tray with parchment paper.  Wash and trim the brussels sprouts then cut them in half.  Toss in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper until coated then roast, cut side down, on a baking tray for about 15 minutes or until they are very well-carmelized on the bottom.

While the sprouts are roasting, cut the frisee into bite-sized pieces and wash and spin dry. Place in salad bowl.

In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and add the pecans.  Sprinkle with a strong shake of garlic powder and then toast the nuts until they darken and release their aroma, taking care not to burn them.  Let them sit and cool a bit - they will crisp up after about 3-4 minutes.  Do not mix them into the salad until just before you serve, to maintain the crispiness.

To prepare the vinaigrette, mix all the ingredients together with an immersion blender or a whisk. You can substitute whatever oil you may have on hand as long as it's fresh and fragrant.  Same goes for the vinegar - white wine vinegar, herb-flavored (non-balsamic) vinegar, or champagne vinegar would also work nicely.  Mustard helps to emulsify the dressing but if you don't have dijon you can substitute other types. I used a tarragon mustard as part of my pantry purge initiative.

To assemble the salad, place all the salad ingredients except the cheese in a bowl and mix together. Drizzle with just enough dressing to lightly coat the lettuce.  You can always add more dressing once it's plated, but you can never subtract, so go easy to avoid a soggy mess. Toss the salad and place on a plate.  Add the crumbled goat cheese and serve along with a nice glass of  chardonnay or pinot noir.