B is for basil and burdock- day 4

A nutrition researcher at the U of M was on MPR today talking about childhood obesity. She introduced a relatively new term, which identifies an issue facing adolescent populations today. "Food illiteracy". She told a story about a 9 year old boy to whom she was providing dinner. She placed a baked potato in front of the kid.
"What's that" The child asked, totally ignorant of the relationship between the brown crusty thing on his plate and his favorite side dish which comes in waffle, shoe string, steak, seasoned, and chili cheese variety.

I confess, I didn't actually hear the program first hand. I was walking back from the gym, watching a squirrel greedily dig up a hidden stash of acorns, and marvelling about how similar his stare down resembled that of a park junky. The phone buzzing in my pocket caught me off guard. I hit the green button.
"Oh hi" I said. In an era of caller ID there is no need for formalities.
"Do you realize that some kids don't even know what a potato looks like?" Christina launched right into her reason for calling.
"I am not surprised" I said, remembering my experience working with the Minneapolis high school kids on a farm.

"Will you go and pick some basil for me?" I once asked a kid.
"Whazzit look like?" he replied, puzzled.
"Well, um, it's green and.." Words failed me. The baggy clothed student cocked his head to the side and rolled his eyes and said.
"howm I supposed to find that. It's ALL green out dere!"
"Okay I'll come with you" I said, slightly bitter because I did not want to leave the stove. We shuffled out into the field, and I felt my bitterness fade as I watched the kid bend down and pick the leaves I pointed to. He brought them to his nose and sniffed a little.
"Damn, that smells goooood" he said (I didn't want to break the moment to scold him for swearing, so I let it slide). We filled our basket with basil, and went back into the kitchen. He clutched a sprig of basil in his hand for the entire rest of the day, wafting it in front of his friends, braving the risk of being taunted, and teaching them how to read in the language of food.

B is for basil and burdock

Kinpira Gobo
Peel and shred (using the shredder attachment on a food processor makes this process easy)
3 burdock root pieces (about 1 foot long)
5 large sweet carrots
In a large frying pan, heat
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil (or just use 2 Tbsp toasted sesame if you love the flavor)
add the shredded burdock and carrot and
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp mirin
cook for about 15 min on medium to high heat, stirring constantly. Turn the heat off and add 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds and 1 tsp rice vinegar
This is a slightly different version of the traditional Japanese dish, I am told that the Japanese do not use vinegar and add a bit of sugar to their recipe.

Basil and citrus honey mustard dressing on chopped romaine
In a large salad bowl, whisk
the juice from 1 lemon
the juice from 1/2 orange
2 tsp honey
2 tsp grey poupon Dijon mustard (I considered using wasabi, but I couldn't find any in my cupboard)
1 1/2 tsp french basil
1/2 tsp ume plum vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp chopped leeks
When the dressing is thoroughly mixed, add about 1/2 a large bunch of chopped romaine lettuce. Season with salt and pepper (and orange zest if you want to get fancy)

Salmon
Rinse and pat with a paper towel until it is EXTREMELY dry 12 oz of salmon (assuming 2 very hungry people are eating this dinner) Now, here is my salmon trick. Coat the bottom of your frying pan with olive oil, and heat the pan until it is really hot, almost smoking. Place the whole fish face down in the oil and immediately shuffle the pan a little so it doesn't stick. It is really important that the fish is dry, because otherwise the oil will pop up and burn you (and you get a better brown that way). Cook for about 1 min, then flip to the skin side and do the same thing. Remove from the pan and place into a baking dish. Squeeze the juice from 1 orange on top. Add the whites from 2 leeks, some salt, pepper, and orange zest. Shake about 1/2 tsp of soy sauce on top. Sprinkle lightly with brown sugar (as though it were salt). Bake at 350 for about 15 min (or 12-18 min, less if you prefer it pink, more if you like it a little well).

Enjoy!

Christina's vote: I would consider doing time for this dinner.

The co-op shopper vegetable soup

“Just to clarify, how much of the flour do you use for the ravioli?” said the smokey voiced newspaper editor on the other end of the line. I paced nervously around the living room, a hot phone glued to one ear causing a stream of sweat to form at the base of my ponytail-lifted temple. “Um, well you won’t end up using the whole pile, it really depends on the weather..just enough until the dough is sticky” I said, feeling stupid. “People will follow your directions EXACTLY” she said “you need to give precise directions, and we don’t have the space to explain all that” I began wishing I were more careful in recording my recipes, more organized.

“I loved that soup you made last week” our friend Gerry said “and I wanted to make it, but the recipe looks difficult to follow”

I am reminded of the saying: when one person tells you that you have a tail it is probably not worth worrying too much about, but when two people tell you you have a tail you better check to see if it’s true. The good news is, once the tail is identified, something can be done about it. One could accentuate one's tail, cutting slits in the backs of their pants so that the tail could break into the light of day and be waved around free in the wind. In the case of my recipe vagueness, embracing the quality is extremely tempting (who wants to bother with bookkeeping in the kitchen?). It is not very useful, however, and does not fall in line with what I am trying to do.

"What ARE you trying to do Emily?" I ask myself.

If I had a mission statement, it would sound something like this: “To try to inspire people to cook at home, and to inspire the home chef with ideas about how to palatably use fresh produce in everyday cooking.” While sharing my love of food, some stories, and some vague recipe ideas is nice, and entertaining for me, it is not incredibly useful if my recipes can't be replicated. Thus, I have lined up the measuring cups like soldiers ready for battle. I have a pen and some paper on my kitchen counter. I have called in for the backup set of measuring spoons. I am ready to face my tail head-on, and to begin a new phase of blogging. The mission: to share love, stories, AND recipes that are easy to follow.

On a side note, today is my father’s birthday. I got a lump in my throat while talking to him on the phone this morning, as he told me about what everyone ordered at his birthday dinner last night. I wished I could have been there, but he lives halfway across the continent. The people in my family have very different tastes and dietary restrictions, and finding something that can be enjoyed by everyone can be extremely difficult.

Macrobiotic, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, gluten, casein, soy free, Midwestern-New England vegetable soup. This recipe has a lot of ingredients, however I made sure to record careful measurements of everything I put in, so hopefully it will be easy to follow!

The stock

In a stock pot, add:

2 small yellow onions, chopped

½ Tbsp salt

1 cup water

4 cloves garlic, mashed

bring to a simmer. Prepare the remaining vegetables while the first group of vegetables simmer (about 10 min). Roughly chop and add:

1 cup white mushrooms

½ package of celery

6 carrots

½ Tbsp salt (again)

8 cups water

4 Thai basil leaves

1 Tbsp four peppercorn blend

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) for 1 hour. After the hour is up, turn off the heat, strain the stock, return it to the burner and begin the soup.

In a medium sized soup pot, add:

1 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

½ small yellow onion, diced

½ large russet potato, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced (the smell that reminds me of college)

¼ rutabaga, peeled and diced

2 cups stock

simmer, covered, while you prepare the remaining vegetables (about 10 min)

Add:

5 white mushrooms, diced

1 zucchini, diced

¼ cup cauliflower, broken into small pieces

2 more cups stock

simmer covered for about 10 min. Then add:

12 ounces crushed tomatoes (I used a can of organic, seasoned with basil)

1 tsp dill

¼ tsp white pepper

½ tsp french basil

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp salt

the remaining stock

Simmer for 15-20 min, covered

garnish with 2 chopped green onions and 1 bunch chopped Thai basil

~enjoy