Pasta with Cilantro Pesto and Red Peppers

Ever since this appeared in the May '02 issues of Vegetarian Times Jess and I have been addicted. The dish is a staple of our summer cooking and can last for up to a week, which is good since it makes a ton. I have changed the recipe a bit over time to our taste, so it is different from the original publication.

Cilantro Pesto
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 cups cilantro leaves
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 fresh limes, juice both and discard seeds
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Onion Mixture
Olive oil (just enough to cook the onion up with)
1 cup chopped sweet onion, such as Vidalia
1 cup diced red bell pepper
4oz. can mild green chilies
1 box orecchiette or medium shell pasta (the spelt/whole wheat pasta works here)
1 cup grated Pepper Jack cheese

Directions:

1. Bring large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, make pesto: In small dry skillet, toast almonds over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until light golden and fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes.Transfer to small bowl and let cool.
3. In food processor, combine almonds, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, salt and pepper; process until finely chopped. With motor running, add 2 Tbs. oil and lime juice through the feed tube, processing until mixture forms paste and stopping to scrape down sides of work bowl as necessary. Transfer mixture to small bowl
4. Add pasta to boiling water and cook.
5. While pasta is cooking, in large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tsp. oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring often, until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add green chilies and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
6. Just before pasta is cooked, scoop out 1/3 cup of pasta cooking water and add to pesto, stirring well.
7. Drain pasta and transfer to large, warm bowl.
8. Add onion mixture and cheese; toss to coat well.

Serve immediately.

We had a dry white wine with this one night and have had summer ale with it is the past. This is the perfect dish for the beach or picnic because it travels very well.

Buttermilk Vichyssoise with Watercress

This came from an old martha stewart article. I only use buttermilk and not cream so as to cut down on the fat. Also, its good to have a little extra veggie stock around to thin out the soup as it is very thick initially. Tasty both chilled and room temp. Recipe makes alot, so cut in half for two people.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 leeks, white and light-green parts only, halved lengthwise then thinly sliced into half-moons, washed well and drained
3 lg white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 1/2 cups veggie stock (chicken stock works too)
1 bunch cleaned watercress leaves, loosely packed
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper
2 cups buttermilk (or 1 cup buttermilk and 1 cup half-and-half)

1. Melt butter in a stockpot over medium-low heat. Add leeks, and cook, covered, until tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Add potatoes, stock, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil; simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Cool completely; stir in 2/3rds of the watercress.
3. Working in batches, purée soup in a blender until smooth. Transfer puréed soup to a large bowl. Season with salt and white pepper. Chill at least 1 hour. Add buttermilk just before serving. Adjust seasoning as needed. If necessary, thin the soup with a bit more stock or water to achieve desired consistency. Garnish with remaining cup watercress leaves.

Serve with crusty warm bread and a nice white wine. We paired King Estate Pinot Gris with it and it was very very tasty!

the sunday cook-off

i did a whole lot of cooking this sunday so that i would have a bunch of options to take with me to work for lunch. i didn't actually get to make everything i was hoping to make, but i will take care of that during the week.

details to come on...
Peach Cobbler
Cliantro Pesto Summer Pasta
Vichyssoise
Baked Soy and Pepper Tofu w/ ginger soy dipping sauce
Tatziki (modified to be less salty)
+ wine/drink we paired with each dish, whether it was good or not ^^

super excited because david is coming to town this weekend and we haven't seen him is almost 3 years. still looking for a new job much closer to home and actually have a few good leads.

Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

This is my family's recipe for buttermilk drop biscuits. I only know the measurements because I pretty much held measuring cups under ingredients as my grandmother made them. She says she just "knows" the right amount... well I am not blessed with such talent so I have measurements. I make these all the time and they are always huge hit. They are also so stankin' easy to make I almost feel bad when people think I slaved over them... almost.

The recipe also works well for strawberry shortcakes, just add a tablespoon or two of sugar and a dash of cinnamon to the ingredients before mixing up. Each biscuit can be cut in half to use as base and top of single serving shortcake sizes.

1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Dash of salt
Self-rising flour (vital that it is self-rising!)

1. Preheat over to 350 and grease a cookie sheet
2. Mix buttermilk, oil and salt in large mixing bowl.
3. Add 1 1/2 cups of self-rising floor. Mix making sure all ingredients are wet.
4. This is where is get a little confusing for some. Continue to add self-rising flour in 1/4 cup amounts until the dough is a little sticky, but wet sticky. Be carfeul that you don't add some much flour that the dough is dry and won't stick together.
5. Either scoop out approx. 2 tablespoons of dough and drop it onto your cookie sheet or using floured hands roll a small ball of dough in your hands and place on sheet. I usually roll mine in my hand and then flatten slightly ( they need to be at least 1 inch thick) ensuring a more uniform shape that is not common with drop biscuits.
6. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of each biscuit with a small amount of vegetable oil.
7. Bake for 12-18 minutes depending on your oven. It is pretty clear when they are ready as the top of the biscuit will be a nice golden brown.

Strawberry Hand Pie

Jessie loves it when I make pie and since I am also a big fan of pie we decided to use all the wonderful fruit we bought at Wilson's Farm and make hand pies. We had a flat of very fresh and ripe strawberries so strawberry pie it was. This recipe is originally from Martha Stewart, but I made a few changes according to my tastes and my lack of all the specialty kitchen implements she referenced in the recipe. I will try and take a picture of the 2 leftover pies tonight if I remember before we eat them up.

Starwberry Hand Pies
The Filling
2 cups of strawberries cut in half or quarters depending on size
2 tablespoons of sugar (I used the Splenda baking blend)
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Dough
Pate Brisee dough (recipe below for the amount needed for this recipe)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Extra sugar for sprinkling
All purpose flour for work surface

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Either line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat or prepare other appropriate baking surface. (I baked these in my pie plates, 2 to a plate).
2. In a medium bowl, add strawberries, sugar, and cornstarch; stir everything to combine and set aside to settle.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out a dough disk to about 1/8-inch-thick. You can either fill the dough at this point or transfer round to prepared baking sheet and then fill.
4. Place about 3-4 tablespoons of the strawberry mixture onto one-half of the round. The original recipe called for less mixture, but I really felt that it was off and recommend this greater amount.
5. Lightly brush egg around the edge of the half of the round with filling. Fold remaining dough over to enclose, forming a half moon. Gently press edges together to seal. Brush the top of each pie with egg. (this will give it that nice browned pie look)
6. Using a knife, make 2 to three cuts on the top of each pie. Sprinkle generously with sugar.
7. Repeat process for each hand pie. The recipe makes up to 6 but I opted for 4 more generously filled pies.
8. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer pies to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. Or let cool completely, and store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.

Pate Brisee Dough
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar (again, I used the Splenda baking blend)
2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces ( like to stick it in the freezer before using)
¼ to ½ cup ice water (literally, I but cubes in my measuring cup)

1. In the bowl combine flour, salt, and sugar. ( You can also do this in the bowl of the food processor, but mine is small so I have to make it in two batches which is easier if all dry ingredients are mixed in a separate bowl)
2. Add cold (must be very cold and hard) butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
3. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. I do a bit at a time and watch how it affects the dough. This ensures that I don’t over do it on the water.
4. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
5. Divide dough into six equal balls for hand pies. Flatten each ball into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap.
6. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour.
7. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

A New Direction

I'm going to try doing this whole blog thing with a new and different focus. I am not very good at writing about me. I'm pretty gaurded about my personal life/thoughts and was never the type of girl that kept journals or diaries. I always wanted to be that person and maybe I can one day train myself to do that. But until that day comes I will shift focus and work on getting myself to actually post every couple of days. And since I love to cook and food in general I plan to post receipes and food pic, maybe... just maybe... in hopes of getting other to join me in posting their tasty receipes along with me. Of course everything will be peppered with details about whatever craft i'm working on, place i hope to travel to, observations about commutting 4 hours a day, my job, what i'm reading, etc...

i have left a few of my old posts up for now while i try to covert them to draft mode... the good news after reading those is that i did get a job and now get to procrastinate at work ...

wooieee... pig souieee

ok so i should probably write something more about myself than just posting the myriad of articles that i have read online. i'm gonna do this randomly until i have it all here and so it does not bore the 3 people out there reading this blog.

i grew up on a farm in northern arkansas. yes insert whatever appropriate no shoes/indoor plumping/literacy joke you want here, although in response... i have too many / always had it and don’t like any situation without it / yes i can and quite well.

arkansas is a beautiful state and it was wonderful having ponies right outside my window as a little girl. my mother was an amazing individual who passed away when i was 13. to this day people that knew her stop me to tell of how she touched their lives. my father is a really neat guy and although we have fought a lot (our personalities are too similar at times) over the years i know he will always be there.

arkansas is an interesting place because you get the red-necks and what-not, but there is also a large community of very educated, very liberal society dropouts living in the mountains. when i was accepted to smith college my school counselor had to look it up. the school is only a female ivy that has been in existence since the mid-1800's... but i see how a guy whose job is to recommend colleges to students could have missed that... oy! so after getting accepted i went to work to share the good news. to set-up the scene i must describe where i worked. i worked in a coffee house in jasper, arkansas. population 250. its the largest town in the county and it on the tourist route down hwy 7. one would think if they guy in the town of 10,000 doesn't know smith college, then no one in this pin-prick of "town" is going to know. so i start telling some of the regulars. to my surprise i'm getting hugs and congratulations all around. now i spent a lot of time with these people schlepping them coffee. i knew they were all highly intelligent, well read, etc etc... but i knew nothing about their backgrounds. suddenly in the town of 250 there are graduates of every major learning institution in america... mit, cornell, nyu, barnard, etc etc. looks can be deceiving and its easy to underestimate people...

there is no doubt i encountered some interesting responses about where i was from once i made it college , but that kids is for another time... now i need to think about not procrastinating and writing a new cover letter

toddles

why do birds suddenly appear?

i finally got a possible interview offer for a job that does not involve working from home or telemarketing. happy happy joy joy. i hate job hunting! ever since trying to find a job last year in nyc the whole process has just been so frustrating and infuriating. it probably not helped by my feeling a bit unfocused in where i'm going professionally. law school was supposed to help me with that... right? ... right? well, sadly, it didn't. i just want to get a good position i can grow and be happy in and finally get to be a grown-up already!

on the news note i am getting so angry over the cindy sheehan debacle in texas. god forbid the president admit he may have been wrong on anything. there was a great article yesterday on salon about the similarities and stark differences between LBJ and bush in regards to compassion and war. i just hope that americans see what is happening and finally awake to the state that our country is in. its a sad comment on the office of the president when he can't make time to meet with the families of dead soldiers, but he can bike, pose for photo shoots while using (poorly i might add) a chainsaw and visiting little league games. oh i forgot, he has to go on with his life.

the crawford peace house has been organizing for ms sheehan and needs all the help and support they can get. they have set up a community board and a pizza fund to help feed those at camp casey.

who keeps playing afternoon delight

so i'm finally jumping on the blog bandwagon. my wife says i have something to say about everything so i should "blog-it-up". actually i think this means, "honey you're talking to much and i need to get some work done." either way here i am.

me: looking for a job. i graduated from law school almost 2 years ago and learned, among other things, that i didn’t want to be a lawyer. tough break, right? actually, i loved law school. i learned so much and i would keep taking the classes if i could. but law is not like it is on tv and much of it is monotonous paperwork done in solitary. anyone that knows me knows i am not a solitary woman, so i am looking for jobs that will use my skills but allow me to work with others. well, we will see...