I Love You More Than Food

Author: Caroline

  • The Cheese Course: Camembert & Pecorino Cheeses

    The Cheese Course: Camembert & Pecorino Cheeses

    A great way to end a meal or delay the need for one, a cheese course is one of my favorite courses and also a quite versitile one. Manchego (a somewhat dry, usually aged at least 4 months but often for a year or more, sheepsmilk cheese from Spain with some air bubbles) with membrillo paste (smooth quince jam without too much sugar) is a traditional Spanish tapas pairing for dessert or for appetizer, though personally I discourage utilizing much cheese as an appetizer at least when you plan on serving a meal–it’s too filling, and too strong in flavor (if you’re doing it right).

    So two cheeses I often keep in my fridge are some kind of brie or camembert (delices de bougogne and le chatelain are my top picks), and some pecorino (sheepsmilk cheese without air bubbles from Italy, semi-firm, sometimes with a slightly sweet flavor but also available as hard and dry as asiago–I prefer the younger versions).

    With these two and other things sitting around you can present some interesting combinations.

    Camembert with pear or apple is a classic pairing, it is also good with spicy orange marmelade. Actually, most things you can pair with camembert go equally well with an aged English cheddar (less creamy than the common Canadian counter part, Wednesleydale or another bandaged English cheddar are good ones to try).

    For the pecorino, my favorite pairing is that of honey. Drizzled on top, or in a chunk including some honeycomb it compliments the pecorino well and brings out the ‘tang. Chestnut honey–which, unlike the trend of specialty honeys, does actually taste different from others, is a common Italian pairing usually served in small quantities in the afternoon with a glass of Vermintino or Vernaccia white wine. You can also serve the cheese with preserved or fresh roasted and skin removed pepperoncinos.

  • Plantains with Kale and Pancetta

    Plantains with Kale and Pancetta

    Plantains with Kale and Pancetta

    Plantains with Kale and Pancetta

    1 large plantain, ripe (slightly soft to touch)
    1 1/4 inch thick slice of pancetta, cubed
    4 leaves kale, chiffonade
    1/4 C raw pistachios
    1 T butter or vegetable oil
    creme fraiche
    salt & pepper

    Dry heat a non stick skillet to medium high or high. Add pancetta cubes when hot. Let cook most of the way; add evenly sliced plantains, salt, pepper. Flip them over when golden on one side. Let cook 1-2 minutes at medium high heat, add kale. Don’t let kale cook too much. It should be crisp and somewhat raw tasting, but with improved color.

    Place on serving platter, add raw pistachios on top, serve with creme fraiche.

  • Flakey Buckwheat Southern Biscuits

    Flakey Buckwheat Southern Biscuits

    1/2 C buckwheat flour*
    1 1/2 C unbleached all purpose flour
    2 tsp kosher salt
    1 heaping tablespoon baking powder
    dash baking soda
    6 T unsalted butter, cubed the size of dice
    roughly 1 cup milk, buttermilk, or almond milk (do not use soy)

    Preheat to 425 degrees. Mix dry ingredients with a whisk; add COLD butter cubes to the dry and quickly use your fingers to smudge the butter into the flour to make it look like an uneven collection of breadcrumbs. Don’t let the fat get too warm, as the pockets of it are what create the air bubbles that make the biscuits airy/flakey.

    Make a well in the center of the bowl, add milk and mix quickly but not too thoroughly until its a sticky but not too wet mess. Use floured hands to handle as little as possible into biscuit shape and toss onto parchment or silicon lined baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes until cooked through and golden on top.

    *alternate white flour here for regular southern biscuits and make sure to use whole milk or buttermilk (sub partial yogurt to reg milk for same volume if you want)

  • Korean-Style Flank Steak with Broccoli Quinoa

    Korean-Style Flank Steak with Broccoli Quinoa

    Bulgogi marinade for the flank steak (skirt steak would be OK too) roughly .7 lbs:

    1 T red pepper flakes
    1/3 C olive oil
    4T balsamic vinegar
    1/4 C soy sauce
    6 cloves minced garlic
    fresh ground pepper
    1/4 C Jack Daniels or other whiskey

    Marinade overnight or up to two days, grill on medium high heat until well cooked outside (do not serve rare or it will be too chewy). Preferably medium or medium well.  Slice thinly on the diagonal grain and serve.

    1/2 C quinoa, rinsed and drained
    1 C water
    pinch cayenne, ground dry ginger, salt

    Bring quinoa and water to boil, reduce heat, cover, simmer for 12-15 minutes until water absorbs completely. When almost finished, add chopped broccoli and let cook until just brightened but still very crisp. Mix together with spices.

  • Sauteed Ginger Carrots with Sesame

    Sauteed Ginger Carrots with Sesame

    3 large carrots, cleaned and peeled
    2 inch peice of hawaiian young ginger (or less of other, stronger ginger)
    toasted sesame & sea salt mixture in a sesame grinder (gomasio)
    olive oil
    salt & pepper

    Cut the carrots on the diagonal, grate the ginger over them as they are finishing cooking (tender but still crisp) in the olive oil, put salt & pepper on them at the beginning of cooking, and serve topped with gomasio.

  • Creamy Chicken & Cashew Buckwheat Crêpes

    Creamy Chicken & Cashew Buckwheat Crêpes

    For the Crepes:
    1 C minus 2 T Buckwheat Flour
    3 Eggs
    2 T melted butter
    1/2 tsp salt
    1 1/2 C (about) almond milk

    Whisk dry ingredients, whisk wet seperately, combine to minimize lumps. The batter should be the consistency of light cream. Let batter rest for at least 30 minutes, ideally 2 hours. Cook on medium high heat in a non-stick shallow skillet or sautee pan, browning on one side until the edges pull away from the pan, and then the other side. Do not add too much batter at once, the crepes should be relatively thin (one coating on the pan).

    For the Filling:
    2 chicken cooked chicken breasts, cubed (we BBQ’d a whole bunch at once with just oil & vinegar)
    1/4 onion, diced
    1/2 red bell pepper, diced
    1/2 crown broccoli, chopped bite size
    5 leaves purple kale, chiffonade
    1/4 C raw cashews
    1/2 C heavy whipping cream
    1/4-1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
    4 T grated parmesan-reggiano cheese
    olive oil
    salt & pepper

    Sautee onion and pepper in olive oil with salt and pepper. When soft, add broccoli. Let cook a bit, get bright green. Add cream, nutmeg, and parmesean. Let simmer until reduced a bit. Add kale, cashews, chicken, cook until chicken warm but not hot. Turn off heat and reserve to fill crepes.

  • Fluffy Buckwheat Pancakes with Peaches

    Fluffy Buckwheat Pancakes with Peaches

    Lately I’ve been on a major health kick, trying hard to stabilize my blood sugar without any other aids. Food, you’ve probably heard, is a drug. I’ve been trying all sorts of strange things from San Francisco’s famous Rainbow Grocery Co-Op, including different types of grain and especially flours like chickpea flour, buckwheat flour, quinoa flour and more (I’ll be writing more about this in the future as I figure out things that taste good, especially pastas).

    This morning I was asked to make pancakes, and so sad that I wouldn’t be able to eat any because of the white flour & sugar, I made some adjustments to the recipe I posted a few days ago for Fluffy, American pancakes.

    DRY:
    1/4 C buckwheat flour
    1/4 C unbleached, enriched, all-purpose flour
    1 T baking powder
    3 T sugar
    1 tsp. sea salt

    WET:
    2/3 C almond milk (unsweetened) *don’t use soy, it makes it tough
    1.5 tsp sherry or cidar vinegar
    1 egg
    1 T sour cream or creme fraiche
    2-3 T sparkling water
    zest of one orange (or lemon)

    Whisk together the dry ingredients. Whisk together the wet ingredients. Combine them. Cook immediately on non-stick skillet with minimal butter at a medium heat. If you wait to cook this batter, do not combine the wet and dry until right before you cook, or you will loose the fluffiness that happens when the vinegar and baking powder meet.

    Using buckwheat flour increases the nutrition in these pancakes, lowers the glycemic index, and makes them slower processing, meaning less of a blood-sugar spike results. They also have a higher protein content.

    Serve with peaches or other fruit on top. I suspect this recipe would also be fantastic with chunks of dark chocolate with chili pepper in it.

  • Black Quinoa Pilaf with Raw Vegetables, Nuts, and BBQ Chicken

    Black Quinoa Pilaf with Raw Vegetables, Nuts, and BBQ Chicken

    For Two:

    1/2 C Black quinoa, rinsed and drained
    1/2 avocado, sliced
    1/4 C raw walnuts
    1/4 C raw shucked pistachios
    1 small shallot, minced
    1/4 C broccoli including stems chopped bite-size
    1/3 orange (or other) bell pepper, diced
    2 inches zucchini, sliced very thin
    1/4 C “live” bean snack, rinsed (sprouted fresh beans like garbanzo, etc)
    3 leaves Japanese Kale, chiffonade
    1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
    1/2 tsp mustard powder
    1 lemon, juiced
    2 T hazelnut oil (substitute other nut oil or olive oil if not available, but this stuff is great for raw food)

    Cook the black quinoa 1 part grain to 2 parts water by bringing to a boil, covering, and immediately reducing heat to low for 20-30 minutes until all water is absorbed.

    Meanwhile, mix all chopped vegetables in a bowl with hazelnut oil, salt, and pepper. Mix mustard, cayenne, and lemon juice separately, and pour over vegetables to mix in. Mix in the nuts.

    Once quinoa is cooked, mix while hot with vegetable mixture to slightly warm and also wilt the kale. Serve with BBQ chicken (we marinade ours as a default in balsamic vinegar and olive oil).

  • Incorporating Raw Food: Quinoa Bowl with Hazelnut oil & Summer Vegetables

    Incorporating Raw Food: Quinoa Bowl with Hazelnut oil & Summer Vegetables

    I’m single-handedly battling my own metabolic syndrome by getting off of corrective pills and embracing a healthier, vegetable rich, flour & sugar low diet. I’ve found an easy way to incorporate more vegetables is to start adapting raw recipes and ideas into my diet. It really is like power food, though sometimes hard to digest depending on what you make.

    Surprisingly, it’s very filling and I was only able to eat half of the below portion in one sitting:

    For One:
    1/2 C quinoa
    1/2 avocado
    raw cashews
    bell pepper (orange or red)
    broccoli
    sprouted beans
    arugula, chopped
    1 snack box raisins
    cayenne pepper
    hazelnut oil
    salt & pepper

    Cook the quinoa (1 – 2, bring to boil while combined, cover and reduce to low for 10-15 minutes until water is absorbed; quinoa is the quickest cooking whole grain & is also high in protein.), meanwhile chop vegetables into diced size after washing and toss in hazelnut oil, salt, pepper. When quinoa is finished cooking, add raisins, salt and cayenne pepper. Lightly mix all the ingredients and serve with sea-salted avocado in top.

  • Organic Roast Beet Salad with Goat Cheese & Blueberries

    Organic Roast Beet Salad with Goat Cheese & Blueberries

    1 bunch wild arugula, washed and drained
    3 small stalks Japanese kale
    1/3 C blueberries
    4 small-medium golden beets
    2 T raw pumpkin seeds
    1/3 lb Capricho di Cabra or other fresh goat cheese
    1 small lemon
    olive oil
    salt & pepper

    Clean and trim beets and place in foil, covering with olive oil, salt, pepper generously. Close foil up, place in oven at 350 for 45 min-1.5 hours. Beets should give slightly to firm squeeze when they are finished.

    Meanwhile, clean produce. Whisk juice of 1 small lemon or half normal lemon with 1/3 as much olive oil, add salt & pepper. Dress the arugula, and the kale after slicing it in thin strips.

    When the beets are finished, clean and serve warm by placing in ice water and scraping skin away with a knife, then slicing into wedges. Assemble salad with goat cheese chunk, beets, blueberries, and pumpkin seeds.