winter lunch

This Saturday I made lunch for my good friend Jessi Judd and her fiance.  I first met Jessi when we were missionaries for our church in Russia.  We lived together and while relations between us weren't alway smooth, she has become one of my closest friends.  She is getting married in a few weeks, and I wanted to make her something delicious for lunch while her and her fiance filled prepared their wedding announcements to be mailed.
I decided to make them a seasonal meal.  Winter in most of the United States, Canada and Temperate Europe means squash, root vegetables, cheeses, fish, grains, pastas, salted/preserved meats and hardy apples.  Especially with carbon footprints to think about, and our own health, I made lunch from as many local ingredients and seasonally available items as possible.  These are hearty dishes that stick to your insides and provide warmth and comfort on chilly winter days.

Baked Shells and Cheese
1 pound/450g whole wheat shells(I used organic Delallo Shells no. 91)
300g Smoked Gouda shredded
300g Emmentaler shredded, divided
500ml milk
bacon, chopped (three slices short of 1 lb/450g)
3-4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 large leeks, whites only chopped
half a medium yellow onion chopped
1 hardy winter apple chopped small(braeburn, etc)
homemade croutons, or crostini for the topping
preheat oven 350F/175C
set the shells to boil in salted water, once cooked al dente remove from heat, drain, run cold water to prevent further cooking and set aside
fry the bacon in a wide saucepan, once crispy remove to paper towels
in the bacon grease, fry the onion until soft, add the leeks until all are starting to caramelize, remove.
in the same saucepan on low heat melt the butter and add the flour, cook until it starts to froth and bubble.
add the milk, cook slowly until the sauce starts to thicken
add the bacon, onion and leeks to the white sauce
cook a little longer to thicken and marinate the flavors
add the 300g gouda and 250g emmentaler
melt the cheese into the sauce
salt, pepper to taste (fresh ground nutmeg if desired)
toss the sauce, shells and apples together and put in a 9x13 baking dish
top with croutons or crostini crumbled, and the remaining 50g emmentaler cheese
bake for 15-20 minutes till apples are tender and the cheese is melted throughout and on top

Roasted Butternut Squash with Beets
one medium butternut squash
3-5 small/medium beets
1/2 yellow onion
3 large sprigs fresh rosemary(an evergreen herb, you can have this fresh all year round and it is great for seasoning everything from veggies to poultry and fish)
kosher salt
butter or olive oil
pre-heat oven to 400F/200C
peel and chop the beets(at this point you can also par-boil the beets if you prefer a really tender beet, I didn't do this because I love the contrast between the super soft squash and firmer beet)
peel and chop the butternut squash
remove rosemary leaves from the stems and chop finely
chop in rather large chunks the yellow onion
melt enough butter to lightly coat the chopped veggies and toss with salt to taste and the rosemary
roast on a baking tray in the oven for 35-40min until the beets are sufficiently tender, stirring occasionally
turn on the broiler the last 5-7min to get nice coloring and caramelization.
serve with a grapefruit ginger glaze if desired.

Grapefruit Ginger Glaze
juice of one grapefruit(okay, so this is imported....I cheated)
few rosemary leaves
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3-4 quarter sized pieces of fresh peeled ginger
simmer the ingredients on low heat until thickened slightly
pour over the roasted veggies and toss well

it's that time!

So this week I finally was able to get more things in order for Christmas, which is hilarious because I'm leaving next week to go back to the States for a month which means I'll just get to do it all over again! WOOO! I finally finished decorating the tree, which was a bit of a drama because finding Christmas lights was way more difficult than it was last year.  I also started Christmas baking.  I made two types of cut out cookies; Gingerbread and Sugar.  I used a new Gingerbread recipe...both are not original recipes of my own but they are still really good, and the links are included there.  The only change I made, was that I added a tiny bit of almond extract to the sugar cookies.  Also I converted all the measurements in the Gingerbread recipe to metric because I weigh in all my baking now, it makes my results more consistent and I use fewer dishes, and I am not always searching for pesky missing measuring cups.

That being said, I am really happy with the results now.  I used this frosting for the sugar cookies, I just substituted regular shortening for butter flavored, because it is what I had.  I made a traditional Royal Icing for the Gingerbread men(1 egg white+5.3oz of confectioners sugar) and I added a bit of orange extract, because orange goes so well with gingerbread. The gingerbread men were inspired by mini-gingerbread cookies I saw in Marks&Spencer's over a week ago, they were decorated in a similar fashion and were called Jazzy Trousers, so I hope these Gingery-men enjoy their fancy Christmas outfits :)
I also finally finished decorating the Christmas Tree.  There was a bit of a drama in that department.  I only got to enjoy the decorated tree for a few days before taking off home to the States for Christmas.  But my Dad will be Home Alone(!) for another week and I know he enjoys it.
Christmas isn't just a time for decorating and baking, it is a great time to get to know your neighbors by bringing them treats of the season, and making up for not being neighborly the previous 11 months.  I recommend getting to know your neighbors, mostly because when they know you, they seem to be quieter at night :)

hearty cheesy veggies

Dinner tonight I used up more veg that my Mom had in the fridge but obviously had no plans for.  Also some expensive cheese that wasn't being eaten fast enough.
There was still spinach that seemed to be freezing nicely in the back of the fridge and a goodly amount of small new potatoes, so I went to work.  All I had to replenish was our onion supply.  It is my belief that no kitchen in winter should be without onions.  Actually no kitchen, ANY season should be without onions, but especially in Winter.  Onions are a hearty root vegetable that lasts well through the winter months and provides much needed nutrition during cold weather.  This recipe would still taste great with double the amount of onions. They taste so, so good.
So here you have it:

Spinach and Potatoes au Gratin

one bunch of spinach, or one 10oz package of frozen spinach

2 pounds of potatoes chopped

1/2 a LARGE onion chopped

two cloves of garlic crushed and chopped

3 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of flour

2.5 cups of milk

1 cup of dry white wine

1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

2.5 cups grated emmentaler cheese

pre-heat the oven at 200C/400F

saute the onions in the butter at medium high heat, after they have wilted and are transparent add the garlic, continue to cook until the onions have started to caramelize a bit

add the flour, make a roux

add the milk

simmer the milk until thickened slightly, add the nutmeg and some salt and pepper

(while the sauce is cooking prepare the potatoes and spinach, toss them in a 9x13 pan that has been pre-buttered)
once the milk is starting to thicken you can add the white wine to thin it out a bit
allow to simmer and thicken a bit again

add 1/2 cup of cheese to the sauce

taste the sauce make sure it is to you liking, season to taste - cloves are also a good addition, but a tiny pinch should be enough

pour the sauce over the potatoes and spinach, toss to make sure everything is mixed and touching some sauce.

top with the remaining cheese

place aluminum foil over the pan and bake for 40min

after 40min take the foil off and turn the broiler on for 5-10 min.

The cheese will get nice and browned on the top. 

Serve with a slice or two of Dark Rye bread(it's great for mopping up the extra gratin sauce)

Basil Fingers

As many of my close friends know, I love to cook.  Well, mostly I love to feed people I love good food.  So I don't know why I didn't do this earlier, but I have a goal to post one meal a week now of things that I create. Recently Americans celebrated Thanksgiving.  And, even though I live in South China, I was no exception.  I actually cooked TWO Thanksgiving Dinners this year! Anyways, like many I had a bit of leftover turkey and a turkey carcass that I needed to use.  So like many, after picking larger pieces off the turkey, I made a giant pot of turkey stock.  I salvaged more meat from the bird, and after putting most of the stock in the freezer, I took a look in my cupboards and concocted a dish that was far removed from Thanksgiving fare.  This was even better reheated the second day.  After cooking it my fingers smelled like basil...I love that.

Turkey Potato Florentine

1/2 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves smashed and roughly chopped

3 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of flour

1 cup of turkey stock

shredded turkey as available

1 large 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes(this is what I had, but I'm sure diced tomatoes, mixed with tomato sauce work just fine

10 small golden new potatoes, sliced into bite sized coins

two large handfuls of fresh basil roughly chopped

healthy splash of red wine(I used cabernet sauvignon)(maybe 1/2cup)

1/4 cup or so of sour cream(can also use milk for lower fat)

salt and pepper to taste

two large handfuls of fresh spinach well chopped

boil the potatoes in some stock and water until tender, set aside(or do this while everything else is cooking)

saute the onion in the butter, crush and add the garlic a bit later - brown a little but don't burn.

add the flour, make a roux

add the turkey stock

simmer till it has thickened

add the tomatoes and shredded turkey

simmer until this has thickened a bit

add the potatoes and red wine.

cook off the alcohol a bit.

add the basil, simmer for a little - allow the flavor to seep.

add the sour cream, stir well to combine

very last add the spinach, it will wilt as you serve it.

For those that don't do dairy - omit the sour cream and exchange olive oil for the butter.

But this is a good gluten free meal :)

Taiwan at a Glance

I went to Taiwan for a little less than four days. I went to attend a Single Adult conference for my church. I met a lot of AMAZING people, at fantastic food, and I left wanting to see more of Taiwan. Within 24 hours of being in Taiwan I saw people being pulled over for speeding on the freeway, rest stops with western toilets and free toilet paper, and a McDonald's menu with apple slices and a bagels with Cream Cheese. It's like another world across the Formosa Strait. I met people that knew about Minneapolis because of the Minnesota Twins baseball team!! As I participated in the Conference I met people of fantastic faith, and I strengthened my own determination to life righteous principles.
Along with me assigned team I engaged in a service project, cleaning at an experimental school. As I spent time in the surroundings, I realized the difficulties that many of the students their must face. How they are highly dependent on others to engage in rudimentary activities. It helped put into sharp focus that I am not really different from them, I too depend on many people(many unknown) to meet my families' needs and my own. Our world is so connected. The more independent and metropolitan we are...actually the more dependent and helpless we are in times of crisis. When cities loose electricity or become isolated due to weather or any other catastrophe it is painfully obvious how dependent and useless many of the "modern conveniences" are without electricity or access to clean water. I love that we need to engage in serving our neighbors, whoever they are to truly learn their worth and our own. Only by truly giving do we receive.

When I was in Taiwan, I was able to spend time with people that are of the same faith. This not only gave me renewed strength and love for my God, but a stronger desire to serve those around me and be a better example. Many find the life choices I make weird, unnecessary or old fashioned. But I can say without a doubt that they make me happier and freer from mortal vices. Sharing my testimony with new friends, and learning more about the unique struggles that people of Taiwanese and Chinese heritage have while trying to live the Gospel gave me a greater understanding of the place I live and of the difficulties that face come from our own culture and those that we love.

While in Taiwan I ate some amazing things.  I went to a small night market but had some great things.  There is this egg seafood sort of omelet above.  And to the right is a fish cake soup.  I still don't know exactly what was in this soup.  I asked, but I by that point in the evening I had stopped asking for clarification when I didn't understand and just nodded my head knowingly and joyfully spooned myself some soup and omelet.

As a die hard fan of stinky tofu, I had been told a great deal about the superiority of Taiwan's Stinky Tofu.  On a fateful Saturday evening at a small night market in LuGang, I learned why it is famous.  Stinky Tofu(pictured above right) is deep fried in smaller pieces than in Hong Kong, and served with a cabbage salad on top with the traditional tomato/vinegar slightly spicy sauce that it is served with via impaled sticks in Hong Kong. Above left is a photo of the booth that I bought different types of Cow Tongue Cookies at...don't worry the cookies don't actually have cow tongue in them.  They are just vaguely shaped like cow's tongue.  (btw, if you are open-minded enough cow tongue is actually pretty good when prepared well).  Well, hopefully I will make it back to Taiwan soon, especially since now...HK stinky tofu just makes me miss Taiwan even more.