For A Meaty Entree, Try These Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

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Over the past weekend, I cooked for a lively group of guys on retreat and served these stuffed portobello mushrooms to the vegetarians. They were scarfed up so fast, I really didn’t even get a proper taste.  But in this case, I’m pretty sure the vegetarians fared better than the omnivores who had to make do with boring old roast chicken. If you’re looking for a recipe your meat eating family members are likely to enjoy as much as your vegetarian friends, this could be it. This is a rich entree, so make it for special occasions (or make any occasion special by serving this comforting dish). Recipe after the jump…

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Photos: Top–stuffed portobello mushrooms come out of the oven.  Above–the mushrooms, before stuffing, after 35 minutes of roasting.

What To Take To A Potluck: Cole Slaw Gets A Makeover

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There was a time when cole slaw was pretty much something I avoided eating at all costs. Perhaps it was that when I was a kid, the slaw I encountered was little more than chopped cabbage combined with copious quantities of mayonnaise straight from the jar. The very thought of it makes me shudder! But that was, after all, a long time ago, and cole slaw has moved on. Today’s slaw takes cabbage as a given, but can include so many other ingredients which add contrasting sweetness and crunch. Jicama, it seems to me, is made for cole slaw, as are apples and dried fruit–all of which find their way into this new classic recipe. If you decide to add dried fruit, as I do here, I suggest you hydrate it by rinsing or soaking it in warm water. The fruit will be ever so much more moist and tender. Mayonnaise here is the basis of the dressing, but it’s so lightened with other ingredients that you barely recognize the starting point. You’ll no doubt think of all kinds of  ways to improvise on this recipe, and you won’t go wrong as long as you keep it light and fresh. Recipe after the jump.

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Photos: Top–this recipe is pot luck ready– it makes 8-10 servings.  Above–Serving suggestion, cole slaw goes beautifully with barbecue tempeh sandwiches (recipe here).

Compared To Choosing Paint Colors, Cooking Dinner For 100 Is A Piece Of Cake!

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Yes, I know this is allegedly a food blog, but bear with me.  For the next few weeks I’m going to be completely obsessed with getting my new house ready to move into. Having a warm, cozy, beautiful home is very important to me, and I hope you’ll enjoy sharing in this process a little bit as much I am enjoying it. But picking colors is excruciating! I bought a total of ten samples and put them on the walls.  Ultimately, five made the cut: a neutral pale gold for living and dining rooms, with a deep copper on the dining room feature wall, a dark rust red/brown for the foyer and my office, mustard yellow for the kitchen with semi-gloss ivory white cabinets, and terra cotta for the bathroom. It’s yet to be determined if I’ll get around to painting the hall and the bedrooms. Let me know what you think, as this is very much a work in progress. More photos and commentary, after the jump.

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Photos:  Top, not an abstract painting, but five possible colors for the living and dining rooms. Ultimately I choose the lightest color (second from the left) for most of the walls, with the paint sample just behind it for a contrasting feature wall.  Above: the dining room feature wall, after two coats of paint.

 

With Escrow Closed, And Keys In Hand, This House Is Mine

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Those of you who’ve been reading this blog for a while know that I’ve been on a sometimes excruciating eight month journey to find and buy a house. I’m happy–no, make that overjoyed–to report that my quest has come to a happy conclusion. Today I got the keys, and took a walk through what I hope will be my home for many years to come. And looking back to the want list which I initially gave my realtor, I’m pleased to say that this house ticks every box. It’s a vintage 1930 Spanish revival in a neighborhood of similar houses. At 1200 square feet, it’s a modest house indeed, but the perfect size for me. And at just over 100K, the price was nearly perfect as well. The back yard, large enough to be useful and small enough to be intimate, is already charming.

Of course, when you buy an 8o-year-old house, you’d better be prepared to have a long to-do list. And I am, but nothing about it seems overwhelming or likely to be very costly (I hope). It is clean and freshly painted and would be ready to move into if you really loved the institutional beige every room is painted. I really don’t, so add painting to the list. The experience of owning a home and making it my own is new to me, and thrilling, and I’m brimming over with ideas. Consider the photos in this post to be the “before” shots.  In six months or so I’ll post “after” photos to let you in on the transformation. Wish me well, and note that there are more photos after the jump.

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Photos: Top–the facade is a bit stark, but I have ideas for warming it up. My thought is to replace the lawn and box hedge with drought-tolerant Mediterranean plants.  The house next door is nearly identical and likely built by the same contractor. Above: the living room as viewed from the foyer.

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Make These Quick Pickled Beets And Red Onions In 24 Hours

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It’s often said that we eat with our eyes. And that’s true enough, but if it were entirely true, wouldn’t we be devouring beets, with their luscious deep magenta hue, much more than we do? As for me, when I’m craving a vegetable, beets are seldom at the top of my list. And yet, I do enjoy roasted beets in a salad, or a hearty beet borscht soup, or crisp pickled beets. With their dominant flavor and color, beets are not as widely useful as say, carrots, but cast in their proper role, they can be very good indeed.

Historically, beets seem to have originated in the Mediterranean region, and culturally they are most associated with the cuisines of central and east Europe. Botanically, beets are in the same family as chard, spinach and quinoa. Nutritionally, they uniquely contain betalains, which are thought to be strong antioxidants. Members of this family also may contain oxalates, which in large quantities, for some people may inhibit calcium absorption. Generally though, for most people, the health benefits of eating members of this family are believed  to far outweigh the risks. For maximum nutritional benefit, dice the beets and steam them for about 15 minutes, serve with your favorite light dressing. And if you find beets with tender, fresh stems and leaves still attached, those are highly edible as well. Cook as you would other green vegetables.

As for this recipe, I’d never made pickled beets before and because I’d put them on the menu for our Monday night dinner last week, I had no choice but to come up with a recipe. Procrastinator that I am, I waited until the last minute to make these pickles. Hence the word “quick” in the title. And thus was born a recipe for pickles which can be made in 24 hours.  You may quibble that these beets are more “marinated” than “pickled,”and you might be right. If you have time to leave them in the pickling brine for several days, they’ll probably be even better. Use red beets, or a combination of red and golden beets as I did. In either case, the colors will be spectacular. Recipe, after the jump.

Wellness: Celebrating Longevity and My Mother’s 90th Birthday

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Perhaps it’s only a sign that I’m getting older, but I’ve been thinking more and more about longevity. It’s not so much that I fear death (although who of us can say we don’t fear it at all?), as it is that I’d kind of like to know how the remaining years of my life will unfold. I accept that few of us can know the future, but wouldn’t it be good to have a positive vision for the final decades of our lives?

So often, old age is seen only as a time of decline, depression and loneliness. Call me a pollyanna if you like, but that’s not how I plan to spend my final years. Yesterday, I read a story about the death of Dr. Leila Denmark at age 114, a remarkable life span. But what really caught my attention was this detail in her obituary: she was a pediatrician who kept office hours five days a week into her 103rd year. And recently I’ve been dipping into John Robbins’ study of some of the world’s healthiest and longest-lived peoples, Healthy At 100. It’s an important book wherein Robbins brings together scientific studies of communities where people live much longer and healthier than most of us, and I’ll have more to say about it in a later post.

Today however, I want to salute longevity much closer to home: that of my own mother. I’ve just returned from a quick trip too Minnesota where my family celebrated my mother’s 90th birthday. It was a great occasion, not only because of my mother’s age, but because she continues to be so alive. Although my mother’s health isn’t perfect,

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Photos: Top– my mother at home last fall. Above–celebrating her 90th with eight great grandchildren.

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Encore: Try This Apple-Matzoh Pudding Cake For Passover

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I first posted this recipe two years ago, and it proved to be a hit, both with readers who saw the recipe on this blog,  and with diners in Palo Alto who actually got a taste.  I’m making it again for our dinner next Monday, as a way of celebrating the Passover holiday. In place of flour, this recipe uses matzohs, the unleavened bread traditional to Passover, ground into a meal. If you decide to try this is recipe I think there’s a pretty good chance you’ll find matzohs for sale at your local supermarket this week. And whether you celebrate Easter or Passover or neither, I wish you a great weekend. Recipe, after the jump.

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