Belly Lore - Picnic

Manet's painting, Le Dejuener Sur L'herbe (the luncheon - I prefer picnic - on the grass) when shown in 1863, was considered, well, not acceptable.  A nude nymph with eyes cast down to show shame was one thing, but a woman looking the viewer squarely in the eye was, apparently, quite another.  It was also the first time a painting showed a nude female sitting with fully clothed males.  Now with that I can see a problem...

Picnic

Happy May Day!  After all, everyone knows that (hooray, hooray) outdoor...picnicking starts today.  Yea, that's how it goes, right?  I decided to do a few salads instead of the usual fried chicken or sandwiches for this picnic.  Not because I wanted to keep it light, but because I didn't.  Strawberry rhubarb shortcake is involved.   But first the veges:

Really Yum Green Bean, Walnut and Feta Salad

1 C toasted walnuts (Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 min.)
3/4 C olive oil
1/4 C white wine vinegar
1 T chopped fresh dill
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1  1/2 pounds fresh green beans
1/2 of a red onion, sliced
4 ounces crumbled Feta cheese

Combine the oil, and next 5 ingredients in a jar.  Snap the green beans into 3 inch pieces and steam for 10 min.  Shock the beans in cold water, drain and pat dry.  Toss walnuts, beans, onion, and feta together.  About an hour before you serve, toss that with the vinaigrette.

The other salad is just some red leaf lettuce, strawberries (blueberries are good too), toasted walnuts, and blue cheese vinaigrette.

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

1/4 C white wine vinegar
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 T Dijon mustard
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 C blue cheese

Mix all ingredients except blue cheese into a jar and shake well.  Add cheese and dress salad.


For shortcake, I like to use a basic biscuit recipe and top with sugar before baking.  My aunt gave me some Bakewell Cream leavening from Maine and I like the recipe on the can.  You can use any biscuit recipe you like.  If you want whole grain biscuits, just substitute 1/2 of the white flour in your recipe with whole wheat flour.  After I formed my biscuits, I tried carefully cutting a few apart and adding  2 teas. of jam in between the layers before baking.  Yummy but not pretty.

I adore strawberries and rhubarb this time of year so I filled the shortcake with both.  I cut 2 cups of rhubarb into chunks and added about 1 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar.  I simmered that until the rhubarb was done and then drained the juice into a small saucepan to further cook down the sauce until syrupy.  I prefer to top my shortcake with this syrup rather than whipped cream.  Not that whipped cream isn't always welcome.  I tossed the rhubarb, strawberries and a bit of syrup together, broke apart a biscuit, and heaped the bottom with the fruit mix.  On goes the top to be drizzled with the rhubarb syrup.  Great picnic dessert, just don't forget to be equally as clothed (or better yet, unclothed) as your picnicking partner.  Hooray, hooray!

Belly Lore - Asparagus

Nicholas Culpepper, a 17th century herbalist, wrote that asparagus "stirs up lust in man and woman."  In 19th century France, bridegrooms were served 3 courses of asparagus at their prenuptial dinners (not absolutely necessary, I hope, but asparagus lore nonetheless) to, well, you get the picture.  A French courtesan of Louis the XV, Madame Pompadour, also enjoyed using asparagus as an aphrodisiac as did those famed Arabians in the Nights.

Spring

A drop of water left behind by a Spring fog was nestled in a perfectly cupped leaf.  It was so dazzling I had to almost touch it to assure myself this wasn't a misplaced creation of ancient carbon but a new creation, among many newly created by Spring.  Nature presenting herself here as a fresh jewel,  elsewhere as, perhaps, a bolt of lightning, an emerald flash, an intoxicating breeze, a sprout, a bud, a pool, a spring.

Oh how I love Spring.  That metaphor for the start of new and hopefully better times.  That erratic, sweet, beautiful, bold, lusty Spring.  That flourishing, stream swelling, melting warmth.  It inspires me to write bad prose and cook good food.  Oh, wait, that's pretty much year round...

What could be more lusty than Spring's gift of asparagus?  That ability to grow up to seven inches a day, that sensual shape, it begs to be warmed and dipped by hand into garlicky mayonnaise!  The dipping followed, of course, by finger licking.

Aioli (Garlic Mayonnaise)

6 peeled and chopped garlic cloves      1 C olive oil (divided)
1/8 t sea salt                                          1/2 t cold water
1 t Dijon mustard                                  1 t fresh lemon juice
2 egg yolks

Put garlic and salt into a mortar and grind slowly with the pestle until a paste is formed.  Put this paste into a medium sized bowl and whisk in mustard, then egg yolks.  Very slowly, in a thin stream, add 1/2 C olive oil while whisking madly.  Keep that stream of oil thin and slow.  Give it time to insinuate itself into the other ingredients until they are one.  If you aren't wishing you were ambidextrous you had better slow that stream and speed up that whisking.  When that is well mixed and looking its creamy best, stop, and in a tiny bowl mix the water and lemon juice together.  Add this in droplets to the egg mixture, whisking constantly.  Stretch your arms a bit and add the remaining olive oil in the same fashion until you have a creamy texture.  If you could get someone to lightly rub your shoulders until you're done, bonus.

Roasted Asparagus

Fresh asparagus
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Break off the woody stems of the asparagus (they will naturally break in the right place).  Toss the asparagus with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Put on cookie sheet and roast at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. 

Now pick up a lovely spear of asparagus with your fingers and dip into the creamy Aioli.  Bite, munch, groan, and lick your fingers.  Take another lovely spear, dip and insert it into someone else's mouth.  Happy Spring!

Belly Lore - Anticipation

"An intense anticipation itself transforms possibility into reality; our desires being often but precursors of the thing which we are capable of performing."  Samuel Smiles

Anticipation

I was watching a movie where an actor unwrapped a single sugar cube.  It struck me, somehow, as being very sensual stripping naked a sugar cube.  A sugar cube is so elemental, so deconstructed.  It doesn't need to be hidden under a wrap.  It's honest.  Simple.  Anyway, that lead me to think about deconstructed sweets.  A S'more, I think, is a good representation of a deconstructed sweet.  Simple ingredients standing nakedly as themselves yet joined to make a special treat. 

But even sugar needs a bit of help from a friend to be considered dessert (though I'm not ashamed to admit I've eaten a sugar cube as a meal finale on more that one occasion).  A hunk of excellent chocolate is great by itself also but when combined with a hint of coffee and a few other ingredients, the experience of eating chocolate is heightened.  And lengthened.  A piece of chocolate popped into your mouth takes only a minute or so to eat.  A chocolate dessert can be lingered over.  Deconstructed on your tongue. None of this one bite and done.  So here is a fairly stripped down (6 ingredients) chocolate dessert.  A coffee enhanced, sugar enhanced, bourbon enhanced, anticipation enhanced, chocolate dessert.

Frozen Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse

16 oz. Ghirardelli's Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar or other good (around 60% cacao) chocolate
1/2 C sugar
2/3 C strong coffee
1/3 C bourbon (as when cooking with wine, pick a bourbon you would enjoy drinking - ah come on, give it a try...)
10 T butter
1 1/3 C whipped (until stiff) heavy cream

Cook first 5 ingredients in a double boiler over lightly simmering water, stirring until smooth.  Cool.  Drizzle chocolate mixture over whipped cream

and fold  gently until smooth.

Spoon mixture into a plastic wrap lined loaf pan.  Freeze about 9 hours.  Anticipation, anticipation, anticipation.  Invert onto a plate and remove plastic wrap.  Beware: It looks so velvety when you unmold it you just want to lick the surface!

This doesn't freeze hard.  It slices smoothly and melts blissfully on your tongue.

 You could top this with a bit of whipped cream but I prefer it naked.

Belly Lore - Fat Tuesday

Jambalaya is a rice dish flavored with a combination of meats (especially ham since the word "jambalaya" comes from the French "jambon" meaning ham) and spices.

The word Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, is a last hurrah before the Lenten Season.

Lent is from the Anglo Saxon word meaning Spring.  It's a Christian observance lasting from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday and is a time of preparation for observing the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ involving giving up luxuries as a form of the repentence of sins.

Fat Tuesday

So enjoy a little of this

I think it's interesting that all of the dedication to Mardi Gras, to fat, to indulgence, to desire, is married to the sacrifices of Lent.  I like Fat Tuesday because it's representative of how we humans always figure out a way to indulge our desires, to reward ourselves, to enjoy ourselves, to torture ourselves, to just have fun, whenever we can.  I'm a big proponent of that philosophy of enjoying life.  Whether it's time to "take care of your business" or time to... let go, enjoy your life!

             

Or this

                                                         

Or this

Or this

Fat Tuesday or Lent.  Everyday possible.

Jambalaya

Mix 2 bay leaves, 1/2 t salt, 1 t black pepper, 1 t cayenne pepper and 1/2 t cumin.  Set aside.  In 3 T oil, saute 6 ounces of chopped tasso or other ham, 6 ounces of andouille or kielbasa smoked sausage for 3 minutes.  Add 1 C each of diced onion, diced green pepper and diced celery and saute until onion is translucent.  Stir in 2 C rice and cook for 5 min.  Add 1 can diced tomatoes and 3 cloves of minced garlic and simmer 10 min.  Add 4 C chicken stock (or Swanson's chicken broth).  Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.  Add 6 ounces shrimp, cover and cook until shrimp is done, about 5 minutes.  Enjoy!

Belly Lore - Trifecta

Trifecta - a type of bet in which the bettor must select the first three finishers in exact order.

Trifecta

I kind of love it when I hear people (men) talk about how overrated Valentine's Day is.  How it's a holiday created by the Greeting Card Assoc. (or Chaucer) to rip us off or, worse yet, to encourage us to think we can express love through the spending of money.  I love to hear this because though all of that may be true, I suspect the real reason these people (men) are Valentine's Day haters just might be because they don't like to express romantic love, in a way outside their own comfort zone, at all!   Just maybe this holiday survives (despite the loss of hand made card days) to coax, rouse, inspire, cajole, basically help, those afflicted with lack of ...expressiveness (ya, that's it, "expressiveness") by reminding them to think of what someone else might desire.  For one damn day.  And be willing to honor it.    That's what Valentine's Day should be about.

I do agree it's never best to show affection through commercial means (the traditional Valentine's Day  card, flowers, candy trifecta being a perfect example of that)  so how about getting seriously thoughtful and being willing to try to find out what your lover's trifecta might be.  Better yet, find out what your own trifecta might be then let somebody know!  And don't forget to enjoy your trifecta seeking journey.  That might just be the best part.

My food trifecta is.. well... I'm still looking. But I do like thoughtfully prepared food, sensuality, and some heat (wait a minute, that might not be in the exact order...) so a food trifecta for me (today) would be Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Sage Brown Butter, served on a bed of sauted fresh spinach and crushed red pepper (or some greens dressed with a spicy fresh lemon vinigrette, as a side), and a sparkling wine ( I lied when I said I didn't like sparkly things) like Piper Sonoma Blanc de Blancs NV.  And since a trifecta doesn't quite satisfy this belly, a Lemon Tart drizzled with Sage Infused Honey would complete this...superfecta!

I really like Lidia Bastianich's recipe for this Gnocchi but I will admit it's time consuming, and you do want to conserve your energy for... later, so you could try frozen gnocchi tossed with melted butter and fresh sage atop some mashed roasted butternut squash or sweet potatoes.






 Here is my recipe for the Lemon Tart:

Lemon Tart with Sage Infused Honey

1 1/2 C flour plus 4 1/2 t          3/4 t baking powder
3/4 C butter                              1  1/4 C sugar
3 eggs                                       3/4 C powdered sugar         
1/3 C fresh lemon juice            2 t finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 C honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In bowl, stir together 1 1/2 C flour and powdered sugar.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Pat into an 11 inch tart pan and bake for 15 min.  Meanwhile whisk eggs, lemon juice, baking powder, sugar and 1 1/2 T remaining flour.  When crust is ready, pour egg mixture over the crust.  Bake until set and light brown, about 30 min.  Cool.  Meanwhile mix honey and sage and let sit.  When ready to serve, cut, and serve each piece with a drizzle of sage honey.

I love how the sweetness of the honey softens the acidity of the lemon and that soft herbal bite of fresh sage complements the rich sweetness.  Sweet!

Belly Lore - Funky (not the unwashed kind)

Funky
adj. funkier, funkiest
1. (of music) passionate, soulful
2. authentic, earthy
3. stylish, exciting

Funky (not the unwashed kind)

One of my three sisters (Margaret) has a shop called "Funky Junk".  She spends a lot of time going to auctions in Central Kansas to find, you guessed it, funky junk.  She picked up a few culinary-ish items with me in mind.  I love the faded colors, their rusty little hearts.                                                

This box of kitchen tools included three pastry trimming tools.  Three!  This woman made some damn pies.  Good lookin' pies.

The mystery homemaker had a crinkle cutter and an herb cutter.  Fancy.

Was there a little memetic desire creeping in here?  Either that or some just plain, "Let's party!".  I'm going with, "Let's party!".  I'll bet the previous owner could fold a mean cloth napkin too.  Maybe make a "Swirl" or a "Fan" fold.  Maybe even a "Fleur-de-lis"!  I can just see her in her handmade aprons both fancy

and utilitarian.

I'm not sure what this is.  A chinios with a hand holder?  It looks too loosely "woven" to be that, though.

 Any ideas?  Margaret?  Bueller?  Bueller?

Hell with it.  I'm going to go crinkle cut some crudites, bake a pie and ask those ladies over I think willing to party!  Now where's my apron...

Belly Lore - Memetic Desires

Memetic Desire - to desire something because someone else desires it (or something like that)

Memetic Desire

We are expected to make resolutions when ushering in the New Year.  Many of us resolve to lose weight and/or "get healthy".  Please don't bother if you desire this because you aspire to look as good as someone else deemed beautiful or handsome, or so you can bore the rest of us by talking endlessly about your superior-hopefully-impossible-to-achieve-by-the-likes-of-you weight loss "journey".  A journey implies more of a trip than from your home to the gym, and looking like Scarlett Johansson should be the desire of young Scarlett alone (She just might transcend desire come to think of it.  We all do.  Maybe.  And yes I am digressing.  Get used to it.  I digress hither and yon, here, there, and everywhere, even up one side and down the other at times) you shouldn't borrow your desires from others, follow a path not your own.  If true healthy beauty is your desire (that's a lot of "desires" I know, but then I'm quite fond of desire, just not the memetic kind), that honest "glow" is attained by learning what it is you want for yourself (that is good for you) and then pursuing it by whatever path comes naturally to you.

It's not natural to eat pre-made, boxed up food shot with whatever scary things necessary to survive the shipping process because some celebrity sold you on it.  It's not natural or "cleansing" to consume only liquids to achieve health.  Resolutions should involve making things clearer.  How can anything become clearer to you if you don't make your own good choices?  How can you possibly gain clarification when you're about to keel over or slap someone silly because of deprivation?

Eating and preparing food that makes you feel healthy provides a kind of never ending goodness that is rewarding to you and can expand to those you love, your community, your world.

So let's resolve to celebrate our daily sustenance.  Enjoy it.  Infuse it with our own style of goodness, our own desires.  And yes, that may sometimes involve a little candy.  For me anyway.

 I desire these carrots because I read in a magazine that Scarlett Johansson likes them.  Just kidding.  I love this recipe because the outer skin of these carrots is peeled away to reveal ribbons, ribbons wrapped in a rich, silky, spiced sauce.  Oh yeah, and because carrots contain vitamins B and C, are high in fiber,contain thiamine, potassium and manganese and I hear you can never get enough manganese.  The fact that they are also naturally high in sugar doesn't hurt.  Also it's easy.  Also I think cardamom pods are sexy.

I clipped this recipe from a Country Living magazine some years ago.

Carrot Ribbons with Cashews
Serves 8

1 1/2 pounds large carrots
1/2 C unsalted whole cashews (or any nut you desire- one lower in fat, perhaps)
3 T butter
3/4 C finely chopped yellow onion
2 t minced fresh ginger
1 T sugar
1/2 t salt
1/8 t cinnamon, plus one stick
1/4 t cardamom, plus 4 pods

Cut the carrots into ribbons using a peeler down the length of the carrot.  Toast the cashews in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until golden brown- about 2 min.  Remove and set aside.  Add the butter, onion, ginger, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent - about 10 min.  Add the carrots, remaining spices, and 1 T water.  Cook, covered, for 5 minutes.  Remove whole spices, toss in the cashews, and serve hot.