Category Archives: Ocean of Flavors

Moonlight and Guava Puree

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If there were a diet pill that would change my blood chemistry so that mosquitoes would stop treating me like prime snacking material, I’d totally take it.

As I write this, I’m pleasantly cool, despite the fact that the temperature was 104 at 5 PM, and still reads around 88. About an hour ago, I left the air conditioned house and went outside where there was a warm breeze blowing. The light from the half moon was shining on the pool, and the wind was creating soft ripples. I was hot and cranky, and wanted not to be hot and cranky. We’d been out all day, came home overtired, and while we’d both napped from six to nine, Fuzzy was still (and is still) sound asleep.

Obviously, I’m awake.

The pool was beckoning, so I dashed back inside for a big fluffy beach towel, stripped off the cotton tank and pajama bottoms I was wearing, and stepped into the water, scaring a gecko that was sitting on the ledge of the planter along the back wall of the pool. (It did not fall in, thankfully.)

I didn’t swim laps, but I did grab a foam kickboard, and float around a little – I was trying not to get my hair wet because I hadn’t bothered with a swim bap – while Miss Cleo nosed around in the ivy for more small lizards to chase.

I didn’t stay in long, only 20 minutes, but it was enough to cool my skin, soothe my mood, and refresh my brain.

As I got out, and wrapped my towel around me, I felt the warmth of the pebble-textured deck beneath my bare feet, and realized there were no bugs buzzing close to me. It may be horribly hot here, but the lack of significant rain and relatively light humidity – especially for Texas in summer – means a dearth of mosquitoes.

I am not complaining, though I believe this may be why we don’t have any visible writing spiders in the back yard this year, and while I generally hate being able to see spiders, I miss those pretty, talented arachnids.

* * * * *

I am hungry, which makes sense since we ate ‘breakfast’ at 4 PM, and otherwise I’ve just had coffee drinks and bottled water.

Fuzzy took me to Zaguan for that meal, and I fell in love with the place. The food is fresh and real – I could taste the distinct flavor of every vegetable in my scrambled eggs, and the grilled plaintains were just the right level of sweetness. The mango-papaya smoothie I had (it came with my meal) was literally mango, papaya, and chilled water – no sorbet or fruit juice or sweetener. It was delightfully orange and really refreshing.

Since Zaguan is also a bakery, and I cannot resist a good pastry, I brought home two chocolate croissants for tomorrow’s breakfast (one for each of us), and a pair of guava-filled alfajores which are traditional Latin American cookies, though the use of guava is NOT traditional.

These have holes in the center a la Linzer tarts, and the guava puree poking up was healthy and flushed pink and somehow sexy to the point of being obscene, and right now I can’t think of anything better than to go brew a mug of tea and eat the cookies.

‘Twas Grillig

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It’s weird but having a grill is like having a shiny new toy, and I’m suddenly inspired to cook again.

Sunday night, we had grilled top sirloin with steamed broccoli, and roasted potatoes. (The secret to roasting potatoes on the grill? Put some olive oil and garlic salt on a square of aluminum foil. Coat the outside of the potato (after stabbing it several times so it won’t explode), wrap the foil around it, and then let it sit on the grill for about 45 minutes before you put the meat on.)

Monday night, I made bratwurst, baked beans, and sliced tomatoes seasoned with a little bit of lemon and salt.

Yesterday I coated chicken breasts in a mixture of olive oil, kosher salt, lemon juice, and herbs de Provence, and let them come to room temperature while I roasted sweet potatoes on the grill, and tossed some sliced zucchini in a similar oil/herb/lemon mixture. Then we grilled it all.

As I write this, I’m eating a grilled steak salad (made a basic lettuce salad, poured over it the leftover tomatoes, and then warmed leftover steak and some mushrooms and put that over the cool veggies.) It’s a wonderful blend of tangy and smokey, cool and hot.

Tonight, I plan to make penne al pesto and slice the leftover chicken breast (they come in packages of three and there’s only two of us) into it. Tomorrow we’ll do something with hamburger or turkey, ditto Friday.

I’m only using really light seasoning on all this stuff – garlic, salt and pepper, mostly, but it all tastes so good, and it’s so satisfying, and while, yes, I did succumb to the lure of chocolate and make a batch of brownies last night, they were made from scratch, with half the sugar the recipe calls for, and zero trans-fats.

Stay tuned for more adventures in outdoor cookery, or share with me your favorite grill recipes.

‘Twas Grillig…

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…with apologies to Lewis Carroll. We noticed that a neighbor had an old grill on their sidewalk last Sunday, and as we passed it, Fuzzy teased, “You know how you keep saying you want a grill…”

I pointed out that since there was no sign saying otherwise that grill was probably out for trash. It looked much more than “gently used.” In fact the words, “natural disaster” sprang to mind.

The thing is, I do want a grill. We have one of those George Foreman counter-top things, but I want an outdoor grill, the kind with the propane tank and the froufrou grill cover, and the ceramic briquettes instead of real charcoal. I want to roast potatoes and grill salmon and steak all summer. I hate cooking inside when I don’t have to, and the Foreman thing’s okay, but there’s just something about actual FIRE that makes meat taste better.

Vegetables too, for that matter.

Mmm. Blueberries.

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I woke up this morning to a pounding headache, one that had been threatening to arrive all day yesterday, but didn’t really come on in force until I tried to go to sleep last night, and the sound of Fuzzy grumbling in the bathroom. It seems that L, our new housekeeper, did such a great job of cleaning the bathroom vanities, that he can’t find anything.

(Mind you, he is afflicted with the inability to see any object that requires moving another object. I always thought this was limited to looking for items in the fridge, but it’s universal, apparently.)

Outside, while the temperature is mild, the wind is not, and it’s making a howling sound that the dogs are clearly disgruntled by. Poor sensitive chihuahua ears. Zorro’s been giving me his patented slitty-eyed look all morning. As if I can control the wind.

I found the perfect way to soothe my own grumpiness, however. I made oatmeal, laced it with honey, and mixed in half a container of fresh blueberries.

Mmm. Blueberries.

My head still hurts.
But I’ll survive.

Rustico

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Sometimes, no matter how bad for you it may be, no matter how much it makes you want to counteract it with seven miles of extra running and a handful of diet pills, you have to give in and eat comfort food.

Last night, post root canal, pizza was the most comforting thing I could think of. Fuzzy hadn’t managed to leave the house yesterday, so caught up was he in work, and I was in no condition to cook. At one point, while making the dog’s dinner, I think I spent five whole minutes contemplating the shiny metal of the knife I was using. It was pretty. (Vicodin haze.)

So we ordered pizza. Well, two, because leftovers are crucial, neither of us had eaten all day, and I generally freeze several slices for junk food emergencies. One was a stuffed crust pie. I’m not a fan of those. Too much cheese, and the crusts are never done enough for me.

We also ordered the “Rustico” pizza from Pizza Hut’s new “Naturals” line. Made on a multi-grain crust, with chicken sausage, fire-roasted red peppers, and slices of tomatos under the cheese, this was as close to a homemade pie as I’ve ever had from a commercial pizzeria. I liked it. It tasted like home.

Of course, this morning, I feel like I need to do penance in the form of a juice fast.
But whatever.

Geek Anniversary

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We were late getting on the road as both Fuzzy’s work and my work intruded upon our day off (granted, we allowed it to), and then, I was feeling too hormonal and blechy to want to do mini-golf or Dave & Busters, so we went to Dallas to the Purple Cow Diner for junk food, then to the mall where I bought earrings and an oil burner, and Fuzzy did not buy anything at the game store, and then to Fry’s, because how could we not make a pilgrimage to Geek Mecca?

We came home, and I napped for an hour, then spend three putting the web calendar php application on one of my not-often-used sites so that I could make a colleague happier. At least I hope it has that effect. I’m a list person, not a calendar person, and don’t generally have tasks that are around long enough to NEED to be calendared. But, whatever. It’s not very pretty, but seems to do the job.

By the time either of us realized we were hungry, it was after ten, so more junk food (but not a LOT or anything), and I must confess, I have an addiction to baked potatoes now. We watched I Am Legend while eating, which I’m sure will give me nightmares despite the hopeful ending, but it was good. Much less grim than Matheson’s original novel, at least.

I’d already written one of the articles I had due for tomorrow while Fuzzy was out fetching dinner. I just completed and sent the other one. I’ve gotten into the habit lately of writing late at night for the next day, which means I can sleep late with no guilt. Or not much.

Wednesday I go to the dentist. I don’t want to.
But it must be done.

I Love a Rainy Day

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On Sunday, driving through Cedar Hill under ominous clouds, I looked at a line of men in plaid pants and cute hats, their golf equipment arrayed behind them, all along the driving range, and thought, “How peaceful. Wonder what would happen if it rained.”

It did not rain on Sunday, and while it threatened to rain all day yesterday, no real precipitation occurred, but this morning the heavens let flow a deluge and it’s been windy and rainy all day.

It’s the kind of day that makes working from home absolutely wonderful, because in between writing and researching, I could soothe the dogs, who are frightened of thunder, and make soup and a turkey sandwich for lunch, which I ate sitting in my comfy sofa, while watching lightning arc across the sky.

This afternoon, I went through the South Beach quick meals cookbook and found a recipe that would use a bunch of odds and ends I had in the fridge, and we’re about to sit down to an episode of Angel on DVD and piping hot pesto chicken with steamed broccoli on the side.

I love Rainy Days.

Bottled

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It was an odd Saturday, all things considered. I went to bed before one AM for a change, but half-woke when Fuzzy came to bed, enough to realize who he was and why he was stealing the cool part of the bed, and to tell him to set the alarms for 11:00, in preparation for my planned 1:30 repinking appointment.

The phone rang shortly before ten, however, to inform me that Natalie, my stylist, was out sick. After much back-and-forth, I have a new appointment NEXT Saturday at 11:30. So…freshly pink hair for Easter. I can live with that.

I’m still coughing, and my throat is tight, as the five people who heard my practice vocal track for a podcast audio drama I’d really love to be part of heard when I sent them copies. I can speak okay, but in the words of Ms. Eclectic, when I sing it’s the “pack a day” version of my voice. For this reason, I’m not entirely upset that I got to stay home and nurse my voice a bit, so I can make the official recording on Monday (this is just the singing part, the speaking tracks were already sent). To that end, I’ve been alternating water with lemon, and throat coat tea with honey, all day, with the exception of one nonfat latte this evening. As I type this, I’m sipping a hot toddy, made with the same tea, honey, lemon, and a healthy splash of bourbon. There are very few things that a healthy splash of bourbon cannot help.

The bourbon, by the way, marks the first time since we moved here that I’ve had bottles of decent liquor in my house. Oh, we always have beer and wine, despite the fact that Fuzzy doesn’t touch alcohol, but I’m hardly a heavy drinker, and honestly, until we asked Deb, we’d been hitting the grocery store, Cost Plus (World Market), or stores in Dallas for such things. So, thanks to Deb we now know that the closest liquor store worth visiting is Majestic in Kennedale, which is about nine miles from here, but they were very friendly, greeted us at the door, and hooked us up with their rewards card so we saved $9. (We also bought vodka, cointreau, peppermint schnapps, and Godiva dark chocolate liqueur, and I’m making of list for future visits.)

The rest of the evening was low-key: Lone Star Comics (for Serenity: Better Days #1), the Italian place at Highlands of Arlington because I wanted comfort food (I had grilled scallops on a bed of spinach gnocchi, baby spinach, and grilled sweet potatoes; Fuzzy had spinach tortelloni with spinach, cheese, sundried tomatoes and grilled chicken), Tom Thumb for a few forgotten items. (Damn! STILL forgot Mayo.), Starbucks, and CVS (for bubble bath since the grocery store had none I was willing to purchase).

We came home, cuddled the dogs, napped a little, and then watched a couple of episodes of Angel over dessert (pie for me, a Reese’s Klondike bar for Fuzzy). We talked about going to the auto show tomorrow, but honestly? I just want to read the Sunday paper, catch up on correspondence, and not do much else.

Say Cheese

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We spent much of yesterday rushing around and today I’m so tired that if we had a bottle of energy pills, I’d totally be popping them like candy. We don’t however, so I had a healthy turkey and provolone sandwich with slices of tomato on whole grain bread, and a bunch of red seedless grapes.

The choice of turkey was perhaps not the wisest considering that I’m still feeling drained, but mmm, it was good. It was turkey roasted with sundried tomatoes and herbs. Fuzzy said it smelled like sausage in the bag. He’s wrong. But he often is, and I love him anyway.

After the vet, we went to the pet store, to buy crunchy food for Miss Cleo. Dick Van Patten’s rolled food has been the standard around here since we stopped the BARF diet, and apparently his company makes crunchy stuff, too, so Miss Cleo and Zorro chowed down this weekend on Potato and Duck dog food, loaded with omega three oils and totally grain free.

We also visited Hollywood Video, because the branch in our neighborhood was closing, and everything was on sale. I picked up Waitress and Caffeine for $4 each. Fuzzy got some Zombie movies that I refuse to watch because of my issue with anything where the characters are scared, cold, wet, dirty and short on toilet paper.

We delivered movies to Blockbuster, where there were adorable girl scouts hawking cookies. I don’t KNOW any girl scouts this year, so I was pleased about this – we took home 2 boxes of samoas and 4 of thin mints, but almost everything went into the freezer.

We lunched at Panera, where I bought a loaf of Irish soda bread, it being mid-March and all. I had some this morning with strong tea, while I read the Sunday paper. Mmm. Domestic bliss.

After lunch, we hit Radio Shack for a new RF modulator for the bedroom, because our tv is so old it doesn’t have the right inputs and outputs for cable AND tivo. The old RF modulator was whiting out everything. This one has restored normal color. We bought a second one for the tv currently in my office, which is being moved to the library for two reasons: One, so that I can play exercise videos in there when the weather is crappy, and two, so that when my parents come to visit (or anyone) they can have a place to crash and veg with television without stressing about waking us.

We were about to leave RS when I literally ran into the camera display. I have a very old $1000 at the time it was purchased Sony Cybershot with a telephoto lens permanently attached, infrared and night vision laser focus. It’s very cool, but it’s as bulky as an old-school SLR, and I hate lugging it around. I’ve been lusting after a teeny camera for a while, and now I have one. It’s a Samsung S85 – 8.2 megapixels, 5x zoom, a special portrait mode, and it’s sleek and black and fits in my pocket. Also, for $20 I got a 2 gb flash card for it, so I may never have to empty it unless I want to.

We went grocery shopping, skipped Target, and had sushi for dinner. I could live on sushi. Really. It’s such soothing food.

We stopped at Half Price Books on the way home, and I grabbed some vintage Nero Wolfe novels, a Trek novel I’d read in ebook format and wanted in physical form, and a Zone cookbook ($5).

Is it any wonder I’m exhausted today?

Killer Broccoli Beef

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While the original recipe is credited to Martha Stewart’s website, I acquired my instructions from my mother, who, like me, doesn’t measure when she cooks. This drives the measurers crazy. They want to know how much of this and what amount of that goes into any dish. The concept of “to taste” eludes them.

In any case, the ingredients for broccoli beef are:

Thin beef, such as fajita beef (pre-cut) or thin steaks – flank steak or bottom round – cut into strips
Soy sauce (we use the low sodium kind)
Brown sugar
Powdered ginger
Fresh ginger root
Celery
Scallions
Red wine (I used Bonny Doon’s Big House Red, but whatever you like will work, though zinfandel is probably too sweet, and chianti a bit too dry. Merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, shiraz, and generic table wine are all good choices.)

Mix:
Soy Sauce
Brown Sugar
Red Wine
Powdered Ginger

I used bottom round and used kitchen shears to cut it into strips.

You need enough to cover the meat when you toss it all into a bowl. More wine gives you a sweeter flavor, more soy gives you a darker tone. Use enough brown sugar to sort of give the hint of a teriyaki flavor without being entirely teriyaki sweet.

Marinate the meat at least four hours, overnight is better, in the fridge.

* * *
Chop celery, fresh ginger, and scallions.
Divide broccoli into bite-size pieces and discard excess stem if you’re like me, and anti-stem (I buy crowns, so I have minimum stem to begin with.)

Heat a deep frying pan with a splash of olive oil. When the oil is hot, use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat from the marinade into the hot pan. DO NOT TOSS THE MARINADE. You will need it later.

Brown the beef, then transfer it to an empty dish.

Add the vegetables and all of the marinade to the pan, let it all get hot, then let it simmer on lo for about ten minutes.
Return the meat to the pan, stir well, cover, and simmer for 20-60 minutes (depending on how done you like your meat).
Stir occasionally.

Serve over steamed rice (I recommend starting the rice cooker at the same time you put the cover on for the final simmering stage), noodles, or on its own.

Goes well with dark beer, red wine, and saki.
DOES NOT go well with anything citrus flavored as the flavors will clash, and the marinade will taste bitter.

Notes:
No, I have no idea of how much of anything beyond the fact that there were four bottom round steaks in the package, and I used about five stalks of celery. If you use more than a third of a bottle of soy sauce, that’s probably too much. I strongly recommend pouring a glass of wine to sip while you cook. It’s way more fun. Unless you’re hopped up on cold meds as I was.

Adding carrots or serving steamed baby carrots with butter and ginger on the side, would probably make this a more substantial meal.

If you are using ceramic pots, as I do, remember that low means LOW, and not HIGH, so that beef juice and sizzling marinade do not explode over your stove (thanks to Fuzzy for rescuing me when I should not have been cooking in the first place).

Overnight is the optimum length of marination. Especially if you’re using a tough cut of of beef.

Would probably work just fine with pork or chicken if those suit your fancy.

I used an entire finger of ginger root (based on one root being about a hand). Ginger needs a lot of cooking time, and should be diced. Imagine Severus Snape is watching you when you dice, and the size of the bits must please him. I also learned that it’s not the ginger that makes my tongue white out at Japanese restaurants, but the fact that it’s pickled. “Naked” ginger tastes just fine. Yellow onion (diced or chopped) works just fine if you forgot to buy scallions.