Once again, I don't have all that much to report. I haven't found much time to write, but I have been refining various recipes, and trying variants, such as a curried version of my pot roast. I confirmed that my Russian beet salad recipe works even better with fresh beets, tested my mostly-theoritical enchilada sauce, and figured out why my cheese sauses have been curdling (don't boil the cheese, dummy). And I have dived into salad dressings.
I have come to the conclusion that I will need to continue testing recipes through tomato season, because I need to include recipes for salsa, bruscetta, and ratatouille - recipes that are perfect for using up those over-abundant summer garden veggies. (And which should never be made using out-of-season grocery store produce. Yuck.) But since tomato season has snuck up on me anyway, it's no big deal. Cripes, this was supposed to be a small project.
But it is still a small project, compared to my new favorite cook book. The Joy of Cooking has met its match! Mark Bittman's book How to Cook Everything has taken its place in my kitchen, and I don't even own a copy yet. My new friend Nicole let me borrow it, and I have been devouring the darn thing.
Here is the coolest part: I swear Bitman traveled through time and read my mind on how a cookbook ought to be structured. Horray, proof that I was thinking in the right direction! And even better: the intent of his book is to free the reader from both "convenience" foods, and the silly confines of recipes, teaching how to cook creatively and intelligently, rather than slavishly reproducing the author's exact concoctions. It is geared to teach people basic good cooking, for all the right reasons, rather than reproducing fancy restaurant fare.
I had a moment of doubt when I realized all of this. Why should I bother to reinvent the wheel with my cookbook? But the answer is obvious: my cookbook will be much cheaper. And perhaps since it is smaller, it will be less intimidating. My readers won't have to sift through recipes for lamb, roast goose, hush puppies, and lists of seaweed types in order to get what they need, nor will they have to filter out recipes that require food mills and other things that go whirr.
Anyway, here are some of the updates:
Curried Pot Roast (cook in advance)
For a variation of the above recipe, cook the roast with a can of whole or cubed tomatoes. When the roast is done cooking, scoop out the cooked onion and tomato using a slotted spoon, and puree in a blender with curry spices to make a spicy sauce. Serve cubes of the pot roast in this sauce over rice.
Enchilada Sauce (quick ingredient)
Use this with reheated chicken, tortillas, and some grated cheese to make quick soft tacos.
1 tbsp chicken fat, butter, or oil
1 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce, OR 2 tbsp tomato paste and ½ cup water or chicken broth
(optional) minced onion or garlic, as much as you like.
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp cumin
hot pepper to taste
Sauté the optional onion in the fat, add the optional garlic, and then follow the directions listed above. Season to taste.
Italian Dressing
¼ cup apple cider or balsamic vinegar, or lemon juice
¼ cup water
½ cup oil
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp basil
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
Put all of the ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake until mixed. Olive oil has the best flavor, but it turns solid when it is refrigerated, so use a more neutral oil like canola if you want to refrigerate some of the dressing for later.
Russian Beet Salad (quick side dish)
This slaw is a glorious hot pink color, nice garlicky flavor, and just a little crunch.
1 can of beets, or about 1 ½ cups cooked fresh beets, cut small
½ cup mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, minced, or 1 tsp dried garlic
½ cup chopped or smashed walnuts or pecans
Salt and pepper to taste
(optional) raisins, or chopped prunes
(optional) 1 tsp brown or white sugar, or honey
If using fresh beets, peel, slice, and boil for five or ten minutes, until a fork can pierce them. Dunk the cooked beet slices into cold water to stop them from cooking, and then chop them into fine bits, or grate them using the largest holes of a cheese grater. Add just enough mayonnaise to coat the beets. Stir in the remaining ingredients, and serve!
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