Dinner Party: Tri-Tip Roast

There is nothing quite like a Sunday roast for entertaining guests and filling the house with delicious smells.

For the best flavor, I suggest letting the meat marinate overnight.






Ingredients:
2 lb tri-tip roast

1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup white wine
1 cup orange juice
rosemary
thyme
salt
pepper

(optional)
sliced carrots
yellow onion
celery

Directions:
Combine olive oil, wine, juice and seasonings. Pour over meat and marinate for 12 - 24 hours, rotating occasionally.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice carrots, onions and/or celery place in bottom of roasting pan. Remove roast from marinade and place on top of vegetables.

Cook meat at 425 for 15 minutes. Lower temperature of oven to 350 degrees continue cooking for an additional 20 - 30 minutes until meat reaches an internal temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit (for medium rare doneness).

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 - 10 minutes to seal in juices.

Best Served With: Roasties, Yorkshire Pudding, Green Beans, Salad, Red Wine

Millet with Black Beans and Vegetables

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of millet (or quinoa)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 T minced fresh ginger
Kosher salt
1 c water

2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2-3 baby carrots, chopped
2 baby bok choy, sliced
1/2 shallot, sliced
2-3 T chopped red cabbage
Fresh ground black pepper
Garlic, minced (optional)

Splash rice vinegar
Olive oil

Supplies:
Cutting Board + Knife
Hot plate + Pot + Lid
Pan + Spatula

Directions:

In a small pot, combine millet with black beans, water, ginger and water.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat, and simmer covered until water is absorbed.  Remove from heat and let sit.

Note:  The bean-millet mix will last for two meals - one for now and one for later when you saute up a few more vegetables.  If serving a guest, double vegetable amounts.

Then place pan on hot plate and heat olive oil, adding in garlic (optional) and shallot for about 30 seconds when pan is hot.  Add carrots and red cabbage and cook for a few minutes to soften.  Then add mushrooms, continuing to stir.  Finally, add bok choy until leaves soften and just begin to wilt.  Remove vegetables from heat.

Place half of the grain-bean mix on plate.  Top with vegetables.  Sprinkle with rice vinegar.  Enjoy!

Candida Modification:  Ditch the vinegar.

Gram's Jam

For as long as I can remember, my grandmother seemed old - as I suppose grandparents do to their grandchildren. I only ever remember her with soft, permed while hair and a slower pace to life. The image of her playing solitaire at the dining table or sitting in the recliner watching Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy or Matlock will forever be a part of my childhood.

My grandmother was a woman of another generation. Born in 1923 in Oklahoma, she was a child of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl and, as a young woman, she lived through World War II. In the 50s, 60s and 70s, she raised five children on a farm and on a budget. And she was not just housewife and a mother, she was college-educated and had a career as a school teacher too.

When I was little, her house was only a few hundred yards down the dirt path and by the time I was eight, she came to live with my family. I always remember spending time with her after school. She may have been retired, but she never lost her desire to teach.

By the time I was two, she had put a needle and thread in my hands. By the time I was four, she was teaching me to read. By five or six, I was giving her a run for her money at card games like Skipbo and Uno. She'd help my sister and I with our homework and we'd help her with chores.

We all moved into a house on a small 3-acre lot in the country surrounded by farm fields and irrigation canals. We weren't farmers, by any means, but we always had a few livestock at any given time and occasionally we would plant a vegetable garden or harvest wild rhubarb or watercress.

In the back yard, we had an apricot tree that was planted long before we ever lived there. It stood tall shading the yard and always had more fruit than we could eat. In the summers, my grandmother would have my sister and I gather apricots before the birds could get to them and she would make homemade jam. We would eat it on toast or banana pancakes and share jars of it with the neighbors. Because of her, apricot has become my favorite. And today the jam - and mason jars - make me think of her.

My grandmother passed away two weeks ago and last week would have been her 88th birthday. So in celebration of her life and her birthday, I rolled up my sleeves and pulled out the Ball mason jars and cooked some homemade jam. Cooking jam may seem "old fashioned" - like my grandma - in a world where you can easily pop down to the grocery store and stare at shelves of any flavor imaginable. But what I've found is that cooking jam is something that I love. It slows things down in this busy world - savoring the moments and the flavors of life and really moving to a life that is more connected with the seasons, the earth and with others. Thank you, Grandma, for teaching me that. Happy Birthday and may you rest in peace.

Cooking in Style

What's better than etsy + shopping for kitchen accessories? Answer: Not much.

Just purchased: Oven mitt from CuveeKitchenApparel! No more burnt fingers and homemade chic.

Is it here yet? Is it here yet?

Freezer Power!

Cooking for one has it challenges, like breaking down recipes into portions for one. How do you split an egg in fourths? What am I supposed to do with the other half of this a can of diced tomatoes? How do I go through a whole loaf of bread before it goes stale or gets moldy? What am I going to do with the rest of this tofu block?

On top of all of that, some recipes aren't worth the time to cook just one portion - Shepherd's pie? Lasagna? Single Serving Homemade Soup? Forget about it. And unless I want to eat on a whole quiche morning, noon and night, that recipe is out the question.

But enter - Freezer Power. One of the challenges of living in a studio apartment was being freezer-less. No grab-and-nuke meals. No easy Trader Joe's dinners. No frozen vegetables. Not even ice.

But like many things, when you do without, you learn work-arounds. You get used to it. So although I've been in my new place for two months, I've just now rediscovered the power of my freezer. With the food-saving, air-chilling power of an ice box, you can cook in quantity and save it for later - making it easier to cook recipes meant for a larger guest list or keep your fridge stocked of ready-to-go meals when you are tired, lazy, down to the last of your groceries and out of a coherent pantry to make a meal, or simply on the run.

This week alone, I've cooked quinoa burger patties and taco casserole putting my spare servings in the freezer. Healthy, homemade breakfast in a hurry? No problem - grab some frozen homemade waffles or breakfast burritos. Rushing out the door to work and need lunch? How about some of those enchiladas from last week? Cooking a recipe that serves 4? Why would I pause?

Ahhh ... the difference a freezer makes.

The Butcher, The Baker, The Bulk Bin Taker ... Grocery Shopping for One

Figuring out portions for one can be difficult.   Recipes are often written for 2- or 4- or even 6-servings or greater.  Sometimes, a little math can easily adjust the recipe down to a single serving; but sometimes - as with baking - it is not quite that simple.  And shopping for one is often no easier.

Besides frozen TV dinners, many grocery items don't come packaged for one.  Think about a loaf of bread, a head of cauliflower, a can of beans, or a carton of eggs.  Many of these go bad before a single person can consume the whole package.  So cooking - and grocery shopping - for one takes a few tweaks.  Here's a few simple tips that I have found to get by:

• Make friends with the butcher.  Prior to the Single Life, I rarely bought meat or seafood directly from the Butcher counter in the grocery store, opting instead for the pre-packaged protein from the Meat Department.  But the pre-packaged meats are usually portioned for two adults or a family.  When one buys from the Butcher counter, you can specify exactly how much you want. I can pick up 1 chicken breast, or 1 filet of fish, or 1/4-lb of ground beef.  It felt a little silly at first - asking the butcher for such a small portion - but believe me, in the end, this has saved me so much money and food waste.  Similarly, I do the same with dry food items ...
  
• Buy in bulk.  Ok, so maybe not "buy in bulk," but shop in the bulk section.  When I need 3/4 cup of arborio rice for a risotto recipe, I go straight to the bulk section.  Or when I need 1 cup of flour, why should I buy a 5-lb bag that is going to eat up my cupboard space for the next year? I can get exactly the amount I need when I shop in bulk.
  
• Buy less produce, but more often.  I have found that in my mini-fridge produce just doesn't keep for very long.  It wilts;  it gets soft; and it quickly loses its appeal.  Instead, I have found that visiting the grocery store every 2-3 days to pick up a smaller amount of fresh produce is a much better way of keeping appealing looking fruit and veg in my kitchen.
  
• Reverse engineer your recipes.  Also, when I am disciplined, I select a recipe first and then go to the store to get the fresh ingredients.  This works much better than trying to work the equation the other way around.
  
• Learn the Single Serving Substitutes.  Some produce just works better in the single kitchen than others.  I have learned to substitute most tomatoes with cherry tomatoes, which last longer and don't leave me hanging with a half-cut tomato in my fridge.  I will often substitute a shallot for an onion.  And I frequently buy loose spinach instead of a whole head of lettuce.
  
• Share with friends.  Just because you are single doesn't mean that you can't ever make cookies!  When I find myself craving a recipe that is just too hard to cut down, such as scones or a batch of cookies, I bake the whole batch and share it with friends (or neighbors!).
  
• And remember, sometimes, it's worth it to pay someone else to cook it.  Some recipes with rarely-used or hard-to-find-in-single-serving ingredients are just not worth making at home.  I have found that purchasing curry paste to make Thai curry at home isn't worth it.  Or buying a watermelon to make a watermelon-heirloom-tomato salad isn't worth it.  So when I'm craving it, I just dine out. 

Portobello Mushroom Ravioli in a Shitaki Basil Cream Sauce

Few things more enjoyable than good wine, good food and good company - except perhaps having all three together. For my first dinner party back in a full kitchen, I choose a few of my favorite ladies, a Clos Du Bois Chardonnay and Portobello Mushroom Ravioli in a Shitaki Basil Cream Sauce. Pretty amazing combination.

Ingredients:
24 oz. mushroom ravioli
2 T butter
8 oz shitaki mushrooms (sliced)
3 green onions (chopped)
2 garlic cloves
1/2 t dried oregano
1/4 t dried basil
1/4 t dried thyme
1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
2 T fresh basil
1 c whipping cream
1/2 c parmesean chesse (grated)
1/2 t salt


Directions:

Heat water in pot and bring to boil. Add ravioli to boiling water and cook per instructions.

While ravioli is cooking, melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, green onion, garlic and seasonings to butter. Saute until mushrooms are tender.

Stir in diced tomatoes, basil and cream. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add Parmesan cheese and salt. Remove from heat.

Drain ravioli when cooked. Add to sauce. Tossing to coat.

Served Best With: White Wine, Salad, Fresh Bread.

Hand Baskets Be Gone

Shopping with a real cart feels so good ... Now that I have some place to put it all!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Moving Day

Today marks a big day for Spice and the Single Girl. It's moving day. I am leaving my studio apartment and graduating to a one-bedroom complete with full kitchen.

The past 14 months have been full of challenges, laughs, frustrations, imagination, experiments, explosions, love, good - and occasionally not so good - food. While it is hard to say that I'll miss my kitchenette, I can honestly say I have savored the adventure.

Goodbye 68" x 60" kitchenette. Goodbye hot plate. Goodbye mini fridge. Goodbye toaster oven.

Hello, Gas Oven ... Letting the cooking commence.

Today included a special trip to a used bookstore.  And what would be a trip to the bookstore without a scan of the cookbook section?  Well, I was absolutely tickled by a few of the titles I ran across.  I suppose if there is a blog about cooking for one with a toaster oven and a hot plate, a cookbook on microwave cooking or can opener gourmet, shouldn't be a stretch, right?

Dude Food
If It Doesn't Pan Out
Don't Try This at Home
The Fannie Farmer Cookbook
A Man, A Can, A Microwave
The Radiation Cookery Book
Can Opener Gourmet
Madame Wu's Art of Chinese Cooking
The Working Stiff Cookbook
The Hangover Handbook

The Single Girl in Spain

Hola, mi amigos! The Single Girl has gone trans-Atlantic. I've been in Spain for the past week or so and staying in an apartment in the center of Madrid. Stay tuned for adventures in eating and cooking for one - in a place where I don't know the lay of the land or the language!

La Lavadora del Infierno

Whew ... I think I finally figured out this all-in-one Spanish washer-dryer. I washed the sheets 3 times trying to figure out how to turn the dryer on. Don't I feel like an idiot.

Favorite Things: Basil

Meet Basil (pronounced ˈbā-zəl), my basil plant.  I just hate buying a bunch of herbs, only to have most of them wilt miserably before I get a chance to use them.  Such a waste!  So I've adopted Basil in order to pluck the perfect amount of herb for what's on the menu.  He also adds a nice bit of green to my decor.  Welcome, Basil!

[Don't tell him, but I don't exactly have a green thumb, so wish me luck keeping him alive!]

Rainy Day Recipe: Potato-Fennel Soup

When the weather is wet, the Spice Girl gets cooking!  After much traveling and eating on the run, I am happy to be back in the kitchen tonight.  I got my latest box of organic produce from my CSA this week and it was packed full of some hearty vegetables, including - to my surprise - a bulb of fennel.

Now, fennel is not normally a vegetable that I would pick up in the store and buy, but that's why I love my CSA box.  It pushes my creativity in the kitchen.  So with the weather outside pouring down, I decided to whip up a delicious and warm potato-fennel soup.

Ingredients:
olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
potatoes (I used about 15 fingerling potatoes)
1 bulb fresh fennel, chopped
salt
pepper
cream

Supplies:
Hot Plate
Pot
Cutting Board & Knife
Hand Blender
Ladel

Directions:
Start by sauteing the onions in olive oil over medium heat in your cooking pot.  When onions are soft and slightly translucent, add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil.

In the meantime, chop potatoes and fennel and add to pot.  Cook for approximately 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are soft.

When potatoes are soft remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.  Then puree the vegetables using the hand blender until smooth.  Add salt, pepper and dash of cream to taste.

Simple, absolutely delicious, and extra servings store well for lunch.  Bon apetit!

For The Impractical Love of a Juicer ...

Cupboard Hog

Orange-Carrot-Ginger Especial

Working in a small space, practicality is often the stick by which one must measure.  You must think long and hard about the tools you have in your cupboard and the staples to carry in your kitchen.  Does it justify the space?  Will you use it?  Can you live without it?  Can another tool do the same job?  Because in a 68" x 60" kitchen ... EVERY INCH COUNTS.  But sometimes ... just sometimes ... that is not the case.  Sometimes, practicality succumbs to personal predilection.  And such is the case of my juicer.

Now, I will be the first to admit that my industrial strength Jack LaLanne juicer is absurd.  It is monstrously large (consuming over 1/2 shelf), laborious to set up/take down/clean, has limited functionality and, well, there are probably a dozen other appliances one should have before having a juicer.  It is also a thing of beauty ... serving up freshly squeezed orange, apple, grapefruit and even celery juice; making great bases for tomato and carrot-based soups; and ... most importantly, juicing up my personal favorite:  fresh immune-boosting orange-carrot-ginger juice for mornings when I am feeling a little run down.

So, for me, it is my juicer ... For you, perhaps it is your shot glass collection, or your George Foreman grill, or your salad spinner, or your creme brulee torch.  To each their own.  And when you live alone, who's to judge?

Tea Time

It's tea time at the studio and to be hostess with the mostest, one must always be prepared. Here are a few things to always have on hand for any spontaneous guests:

- Quality loose leaf teas with brewing pot
- Plenty of cups and saucers

- Cream or Milk

- Sugar
- Good Manners

- Biscuits or Cake

This is Your Dessert on Broil

Cajun Apple Crisp?

Actually, this is my dessert on cook-paying-to-much-attention-to-the-internet-and-not-enough-to-the-toaster.  But I found that blog title a little wordy. 

Despite the burnt topping, this was actually quite delicious.  So regardless of my failed attempt, I still share the recipe with you. 




Ingredients:
1/2 c almonds, ground
dash or two of salt
1/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg
1.5 T rolled oats
1/8 c oil
1 T real maple syrup, or agave nectar
2 tart apples (Granny Smith, in this case)

Supplies:
Toaster Oven
2 small bowls
Cutting Board + Knife
Muffin Tins, Ramekins, Loaf Pan or some other small baking dish

Directions:
If you have whole or sliced almonds, grind them in the food processor to a flour-like consistency.  Then mix together almonds, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and oats.  Stir in oil and maple syrup. 

Separately, core apples and cut into slices.  Place apple slices in baking dish and top with crumble mixture.  Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees until apples are soft and topping is crisp (not black).  Toaster oven temperatures and cooking times may vary.

Best of luck, my friends, and remember:  eat your dessert first. 

Homemade Turkey Stew

I had already taken a bowl
before the picture :)

On a rainy day like this, there is nothing quite like a stew to warm the soul.

This cleanse-friendly stew is my first meat recipe on the blog.  After many years of vegetarian- and pescetarian-ism, I began eating organic meats in small portions when my body was encountering some health problems and I had to go off of carbohydrates for a while (my vegetarian diet being very carb-heavy).  So now instead of calling myself "vegetarian" or "pescetarian," I've settled for "I'm just particular."  :)  I was never much into labels anyway. 

I hope you meat-eaters out there enjoy the recipe. 

Ingredients:
1 lb turkey thighs or breast, cut into cubes
1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 qt vegetable or chicken broth
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into slices
1 medium turnip, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
(parsnips, rutabagas and beets are all good subs/additions too)
1/2 t salt
pinch of rosemary
pinch of thyme
pinch of basil
fresh ground pepper to taste
garlic to taste
olive oil

Supplies:
Hot Plate
Toaster Oven
Shallow Oven-Safe Dish with Lid
Cutting Board + Knife

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Place pan on hot plate and heat small amount of olive oil over medium high heat.  Add turkey pieces and brown, 2-3 minutes on each side.  Add onions and celery to pan.  Cooking for 2-3 more minutes until onions start to become slightly translucent.

Add salt and 1/2 the broth.  Bring to simmer.  Cover and place pan in oven, cooking for one hour.

After an hour, remove from oven and add the rest of the vegetables, herbs and stock  Return to the oven and cook until vegetables are tender - approximately one hour.

Remove and let cool slightly before serving.

New Year, New Cycle, New Beginnings

Today marks the beginning of a new year. And seeing as January is also my birthday month, it brings a special significance of new beginnings to me. So amongst the party poppers of New Year's Eve and the birthday rug cutting and an annual pap smear, January is also a time of reflection, creation and cleansing.

This year, amongst my laundry list of new year's resolutions which include learning Spanish and completing 30 days of yoga, I've taken on a 30-day cleanse. Mine is:

* gluten-free
* dairy-free
* alcohol-free (gasp! I may have to make an exception for my birthday)
* sugar-free (uh ... at least trying)
* low caffeine (oh, sweet aeropress, I will see you in a month)
* And complete will an assortment of supplements, teas, juices and exercise

To each their own, but if you are attempting a cleanse this January, here are a few tips to get started:

1. Determine the rules
Figure out how long you are going to cleanse, what you are subtracting or adding to your diet, if you are focusing on cleansing a particular part of your body (digestive, liver, etc.).

2. Clear the Cupboard
Take a survey and remove all the items that you are not suppose to consume during your cleanse.  Give them away to a friend or, if they aren't perishable, store them somewhere out of sight until your cleanse is through.

3. Plan ahead
Look up recipes that fit your cleanse.  Go to the store ahead of time and pick up the necessary ingredients.  I also signed up for a CSA during the course of my cleanse so I'll have fresh, organic, local produce delivered to my door.  No excuse!

4. Pack your own snacks
Too often when you are hungry, it's easy to grab those chips or cookies or pasta or [fill in the blank] that are sure to spoil your cleanse.  Be sure to carry around cleanse-approved snacks to avoid falling off the wagon.

5. Drink lots of water
Your body is going need to help flushing out all those toxins, so drink up and stay hydrated throughout your cleanse.

For those of you not cleansing this January, excuse the healthy recipes for the next month and wish me luck.  Happy New Years, everyone!