Scrambled Egg & Salmon Breakfast

I just acquired American Classics, recipes from Cook's Illustrated. No pictures but detailed description of the various tests they ran to find the best way to create classics of the American kitchen. I found the standards they used for each dish fascinating reading. Scrambled eggs are supposed to be soft, creamy with large curd-like pieces, almost runny but not quite. The trick? Add milk to the slightly beaten eggs then cook quickly in a non-stick pan, using a wooden spatula to rake the curds up and allow the eggs to run into the pan to cook. Take off the heat before completely dry. The eggs will continue cooking on the plate. I added fresh chives from the garden and a tad of three soft cheeses to the eggs before cooking them in frothy butter. The creamy deliciousness made worthwhile what little guilt I felt. The salmon was simply and quickly seared with sprayed-on olive oil and topped with powdered dill and lemon peel. Homemade rustic Italian bread with a small pat of chilled sweet butter completed a rare breakfast treat for me. Normally I subsist on oatmeal quick-cooked in hot filtered water, with tahini, raisins, and fresh fruit. Every day.

Pineapple Salsa with Whole Wheat Rustic Bread

One of the dishes I made when pineapple went on sale everywhere two weeks ago. I cut the fresh pineapple into thick chunks that I marinated in lime juice, crushed fresh ginger and coconut cream. I was too lazy to cut some fresh mint from the garden downstairs. Besides it was night already and I just wanted a simple supper with the last remaining hunk of bread I had from the last bake day. Surprisingly filling and light, which supper should be anyway.

Poulet a la Niçoise - Chicken in Thyme, Tomatoes and Black Olives

Chicken thighs were on sale the other week so it was time to make poulet a la Niçoise, one of my favorite chicken stews from southern France. It's simplicity itself, especially compared to other favorite French recipes. I modified it with a short cut using the fresh tomato-and-basil sauces I make all summer long with the fresh basil from my deck garden. Marinate the chicken in lemon juice, black pepper, thyme and salt then sauté in olive oil with julienned salt pork before adding chopped onions, chunks of fresh tomato, my tomato sauce (or your favorite tomato sauce recipe, or for that matter, chopped canned tomatoes), dry vermouth, bay leaf, oil-cured black olives and a little stock, and simmer for about 45 minutes until thickened. Wonderful with crusty bread or brown rice. A crisp salad with a simple olive-oil-and-red-wine-vinegar dressing would complement this well.

Chewey White Whole Wheat Oatmeal Hazelnut Cookies

I modified this recipe from inside the cover of Quaker Oats Old Fashioned. Instead of all purpose white flour I used white whole wheat flour, I reduced the white sugar and kept the brown sugar, plumped up the raisins in warm water, and threw in hazelnuts. I watched the cookies carefully and took them out when the edges started turning golden so they were delightfully chewey. The next batch I allowed to bake the full time recommended by the recipe. They spread out more and came out almost like different cookies: melt-in-the-mouth crisp! Either way, chewey or crisp, these cookies are wonderful! The recipe made three dozens instead of four: I dropped large dollops to make giant-sized cookies.

Ham & Bean Soup with Leeks

This turned out so good I had to write down the recipe for future reference. For 1 1/2 hours I simmered a ham bone from Easter with the green parts of leeks I'd used to make Mireille Guiliano's detoxifying leek soup (French Women Don't Get Fat). I soaked 1 1/2 C of Great Northern white beans in warm water for half an hour, threw out the water and threw the beans in with the ham stock. Added 1 tsp of powdered thyme and simmered the lot another 45 minutes. Let the soup stand overnight then today reheated and simmered for 10 minutes until some of the beans broke down. The leeks by this time were also broken down. The soup was thick, reminiscent of pea soup but the skin on the beans was a treat to chew on. Before serving I took out the ham bone, shredded the meat from the bone and threw those into the soup. Topped with freshly snipped chives from the garden, this was perfect with chunks of home-made white whole wheat bread.

Three Citrus Mustard Salad Dressing on Romaine

This was a spur-of-the-moment salad dressing that turned out delicious! In a screw-top jar I mixed the strained juice of 1/4 orange, 1/2 lime, 1/2 lemon, 2 tb white wine vinegar, 1/4 C olive oil, 1 tsp dry mustard, 1/2 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 Tb honey, 1 Tb capers and 1 Tb tahini. Fresh-tasting on shredded Romaine lettuce, fine julienne of carrot and zucchini, finely cubed, ripe Roma tomatoes, and two chives from the garden outside. I sprinkled Greek feta on the greens and served it with the remaining orange slices as dessert, with two thick slices of tomato and two small hunks of home-made, white whole wheat sourdough peasant bread made with the no-knead method of Jeff Hertzberg. Paradise on earth!

Asparagus with Egg at Springtime

Asparagus and egg are both associated with spring, the first for being in season, the second for its symbolism of new life. They also pair well. Usually the egg is made into Hollandaise sauce. My introduction to fresh asparagus came my first spring in America. My cousin, Leah, was dating a Swiss guy, Robert, who served steamed asparagus that we dipped in mayonnaise!

Tonight's recipe is a lazy man's pairing. I had a couple of egg yolks fried earlier. I made a quick sauce of fresh tomato, garlic and scallions in a nonstick pan, then quickly cooked the asparagus in the sauce, adding the eggs at the end. Nonstick pan, a utility some fundamentalist cooks decry, to me is a blessing. I can cut the olive oil, just about the only oil aside from sesame oil for Chinese foods that I use nowadays, to the barest minimum. When searing leafy vegetables like lettuce I just spray the oil unto the pan. If I want to make a little sauce as I did tonight I pour in half a teaspoon just to accomplish frying instead of roasting.

Asparagus Stir Fry & Steak Dinner

Asparagus, one of my favorite vegetables, is in season. When asparagus appears in the produce section for under two dollars a bunch, I know spring is fully underway. The slender stalks are best - sweet and crunchy. They require the lightest cooking. Tonight I cooked them in the same non-stick pan where I'd quickly seared cheap cuts of Angus beef. I threw in minced garlic, sliced green onions and sliced ginger, cooked these for a minute before adding the 1 1 1/2 inch asparagus segments. I tossed the mixture for a minute or so, added a touch of salt and sesame oil and dumped the whole unto the plate.

The steak was cooked quickly in the hot pan, sprayed lightly with olive oil then sprinkled with Merma's Open Season Whiskey Steak seasoning from Cabela's before serving. After stir-frying the asparagus in the same pan, I warmed a cup of cold Japanese Botan rice with some chopped roasted Poblano pepper. The trio made for a perfect supper the night before Easter as lamb caldereta simmered on the stove for the feast-day dinner the next day.