Ratatouille...Anyone Can Cook!

If you have not seen the movie, "Ratatouille", please do.  If you love food, family, following your dream, see it.  Yes, I know it's a cartoon and a far fetched one, at that, but it is delightful and if your face isn't lit with warm enthusiasm for life after you see it, well you might need to see my other 2 favorite movies, "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" and "Its a Wonderful Life."

It is the story of a little mouse with a big dream.  Inspired by the ghost of Chef Gaston, who's motto, "Anyone Can Cook!" the kitchen talented rodent leads us to Paris where he makes a splash in the kitchen of Gaston's restaurant and changes the lives of all around him.  In the end, the mouse impresses an important food critic with his version of ratatouille, a french peasant dish.  The critic, in one forkful of this exquisite creation is transported back to his childhood kitchen where his mother placed a steaming bowl of comfort food in front of her forlorn son to cheer him.  

It is not long after I see the movie that visions of ratatouille begin to fill my head.  I begin to crave the smell of the roasting vegetables bathed in a chunky tomato broth and baked to flavor intensified perfection.  The magic of the oven transforms vegetables that I do not like (zucchini, yellow squash) into love.  My mother used to make a vegetable stew, perhaps the Italian version of ratatouille, with eggplant, onions and tomatoes.  I never really liked it, but I would still eat it, thinking that it probably would make me a better person, or something like that.

So, here is my "recipe" for ratatouille.  Watch the movie and it will taste even better!

splash of olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large sweet onion, halved (chop half and save the other half for later in the recipe)
6 very ripe beautiful tomatoes
handful of fresh basil
fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt

1 eggplant
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
Half the onion from above
2 Roma tomatoes

In a big pot, splash some olive oil and saute the chopped onion and garlic until the onion is translucent.  Peel the tomatoes and cut into coarse chunks.  Add to the pot.  Chop the basil finely and add to the pot.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook this over medium to low heat until it is bubbly and saucy.

Slice the vegetables approximately 1/8" thick.  (If you can find the first three all the same size, your dish will look prettier.  There are many colors and sizes of eggplant, so you might try the narrower Japanese eggplant.) Splash a little olive oil in a glass or ceramic baking dish. Arrange the slices of vegetables, alternating in a chain pattern (watch the movie for the technique), covering the entire pan.  Cover with the tomato sauce and bake at 375 degrees until the tender and fragrant and rich and delicious, about 35 minutes.  To make this even more scrumptious, just out of the oven add slices of fresh mozzarella and let it melt. 

Make this dish, if only for you.  (I know I'm the only one in my family that will eat it.)  It is fun and easy to make.  You will feel like a chef.  You will inspire others.  You will enjoy a healthy, hearty meal.  It travels well.  It freezes well. It reheats in the microwave well.  Its one of those dishes that is even better the next day.  I've had it everyday this week for lunch and I feel like I am a better person.

Anyone Can Cook!

Girls Night In

So, after shuffling the man out the door armed with Queso dip and an assortment of brats and such to tailgate with other man beasts and watch football, LIVE!!, the panda and I decided on our Girls Night In.
The menu would be Thin Crust Tortilla Pizzas and a frozen treat of some kind for dessert.  After indulging in laundry and Twilight movies (ugh! too many questions, "Mommy, I thought vampires couldn't go out in the daylight", "Mommy, why is he sparkly?", "Mommy, they are just stupid teenagers, all of them." I could barely concentrate on Taylor Lautner's six pack!), but I digress.  Off to the Patch for primo toppings and chilly delights.

We perused the fresh produce aisle but found nothing within our tastes or budget.  ($4.29 for 1 artichoke???  It better season, clean and cook itself for that kinda money!)  We browsed the self-serve bins of nuts and dried fruits and picked up some raw pumpkins seeds, dried pineapple and coconut rolled dates.  We pondered the granola and grains, but passed this time, though the intensely yellow saffron rice caught my eye for just a moment. 

We cruised by the dairy and soy-based products and pre-packaged meats and headed for the meat counter.  We cocked our heads in wonder at the tiny, I mean teensy, lamb rib chops.  They were hors'deouvre size and I did the mental calculations on how many lambs would have to die for that kind of dinner party.  Holy grape leaves, Batman!

Panda wanted sausage for her pizza.  We found hot and mild Italian and also a chicken Florentine "Mommy, what's Florentine?" "It's with spinach."  She crinkled her nose and thought a moment.  "It might be good, but let's get the mild Italian." One good size link (about a 1/4 pound) was $1.62.  Now, for the Olive Bar.  You know, you tend to forget how expensive the olive bar is when you are dipping into those bowls of bitter, salty indulgence, bedazzled by the size and color and utter deliciousness of all the olives and roasted tomatoes and peppers and mushrooms.  Decadence comes about $6 for a little more than half a pound, but is an irresistible treat for my pizza choice.

We look at all the cheese from exotic lands like Wisconsin and England in the bargain cheese bin where they package up the little bits and sell them for under $5.  Nothing for us there, but it is fun to look at them all.  Panda is still liking the blue cheese, but draws the line at crumbles.  When confronted with a cellophane wrapped wedge of the moldy stuff she recoils.  "Grosss!"

Down to the freezer aisle, to see what we can find for our dessert and we find all kinds of coconut milk and soy "ice creams".  That sounds icky, so we are excited to spy Ciao Bella Blood Orange sorbet on sale for $3.99 a pint.  We also purchase a pint of the CB coconut to compliment.   At the checkout, Panda grabs some Bug Bites, little chocolate squares with an insect trading card inside.  Yay.  Can't wait to enjoy the chocolate while discussing what and where one might find the particular beetle showcased this time.  (bleah, but on-target fun for a tweenager.)

So, how to make a Thin Crust Tortilla Pizza.  Heat your oven to 375 degrees.  You will need 2 large tortillas per pizza.  Typically, a 10 inch TCT pizza feeds one person.  Put the first tortilla down on an ungreased baking sheet.  Sprinkle with a little cheese, panda used mozzarella and I used Parmesan.  Place the other tortilla on top.  This will stick them together and give your crust a little more body and crunch.  Put on toppings.  Panda chose a basil marinara sauce, sausage, pepperoni and shredded mozzarella.  I chose no sauce, fresh mozzarella, sausage, roasted tomatoes and assorted olives, drizzled with a bit of the olive oil from the olive bar container.  Into the oven for around 7-10 minutes.  Watch them carefully as the tortillas toast up and brown quickly and they just arent' very good "blackened".

 Here's how they looked out of the oven and they were so good.  The great thing about this method of pizza is that the ingredients don't get "lost" in the dough.  We had made homemade pizza using Publix pre-made pizza dough a few weekends ago.  Due to the chef's poor dough wrangling skills, the crust was uneven and way too puffy in some places, making it a chore just to chew.  The tortilla crust is not only delicious, but easy and consistent and at a couple bucks for a bag of 10 that last in your fridge for weeks, it's the way to go!

Now, onto dessert.  We put a scoop each of the blood orange and coconut sorbets into dessert bowls, sprinkled with the dried pineapple chunks and enjoyed the intense tartness plus the sweet creaminess and the chewy pineappleness all together.  We watched "Marigold" one of my favorite Bollywood movies and had a lovely girls night in, until I started to show off my dance moves and then it was time for Panda to grab her cat and kindle and retreat to her room.  Ah well, she missed out.

Babalu!

The Babalu is a locally well-known little spot on 4th Street in St Petersburg.  Its the kind of place you could go everyday for quite some time and not get tired of their menu.  Perhaps you've seen their commercial that makes note of their BIG menu--don't let that stop you!  Babalu has great food!

We visited for Sunday breakfast with 7 plus a toddler.  They were happy to put together a large table for us.  The service was good, but my partner in crime was disappointed by lack of his two favorite breakfast condiments: Heinz ketchup and peanut butter. 

I ordered the Eggs Benedict with homefries $6.95.  Make sure to order your homefries "jazzy" and you will be happy with the bits of bacon, mushrooms, onions, peppers and kale that compliment the crispy potatoes.  The benedict was good, though the eggs were overcooked.  (Our friend who is a regular there says one of the cooks poaches eggs perfectly, the other cook, not so much.) But other than the egg yolk being solid instead of drippy, the english muffins were crisp and the hollandaise was mild and not too lemony. A watermelon wedge and a fresh fruit cup of melons and pineapple was a nice fresh accompaniment.  I cleaned my plate.

Mack ordered the Breakfast Burrito, large and full of eggs, cheese, onions, green peppers, wrapped in a flour tortilla.  With some sausage on the side and jazzy potatoes, he reports "It was good".  Our friend who eats there all the time let me share a huge bite of her french toast that was coated in sweetened cream cheese with nuts, and dripping with berries and berry syrup.  It was sooooo good.  See below, doesn't that look yummy?

Babalu has daily specials and ample parking.  Their prices seem pretty reasonable for the quality of the food.  They have indoor and outdoor seating and dogs seemed welcome outside.  They have a bloody mary bar and they looked great as they were served at other tables.  We've only been their for breakfast, but this is a place I'd love to give a try for dinner sometime...stay tuned.

www.babalueats.com

Road Trip!!!!!! Kallis German Butcher Shop

We went to Port Charlotte the other day to visit a butcher shop.  It was a pleasant 2 1/2 hour drive.  "WHY????" most would ask, would we drive all that distance for a butcher shop?  Well, first off, we love a road trip.  Throw a cooler in the back of the truck, pack some beach towels, bathing suits (just in case), chairs, some beverages and we are off!  We've driven to Gainesville just for dinner via Cedar Key; we've gone to Sarasota for Peruvian food; East Tampa for barbeque.  We always have fun, discover some great new places and see a little bit of Florida we've never seen before.

The other reason we went is because there are no butchers around where we live.  There are plenty of meat markets, but we are looking for an actual butcher shop where they make their own sausage and smoke their own bacon and have fresh cut meat.  So, on to Port Charlotte to Kallis German Butcher Shop.

Just North of the intersection of Midway Blvd and US 41, Kallis sits in a small building in a sea of strip malls.  The first thing we noticed upon entering was how CLEAN the place was.  Yay, we like clean.  There were shelves of German specialty foods like mustards and pickles and sauerkrauts and sauces.  There was also quite a large selection of all kinds of candy which makes me think that mayhaps Herr Kallis has a sweet tooth.

The meat cases are clean as a whistle and full of fresh beef and pork, deli meats and cheeses and smoked and fresh sausages of all kinds.  We picked a hunk of sirloin steak $4.99 lb, 10lbs of their 90/10 hamburger (a beautiful lean grind and a bargain at $2.49 lb).  We also chose some fresh Italian sausage and bratwurst at $3.29 lb and the biggest country style ribs I've ever seen for $1.99 lb.  Their bacon and some liverwurst from the deli case, some spatezele and dill pickles rounded out our order. Our decadent splurge was a big vacuum sealed bag of their own jerky.  They warn that it spoils quickly, but we knew that as much as we love jerky, it was no danger of lasting long enough to spoil.

We can't remember the name of the lady that helped us, but she was great.  She was very friendly and seemed like she was happy to get to know us while we browsed the shop and placed our order.  She was sure to tell us about the chicken they have in the back and the specialty items they have around the holidays.  She told us about her love of hunting and fishing and the outdoors and even offered to take us fishing the next time we came down for a visit.  She passed on the name of a butcher in Arcadia that sells whole hogs and sides of beef.  Sounds like a great place for a road trip.

How Spicy is too Spicy?

There is a trade-off to letting the man of the house take over the kitchen.  Usually, it involves having to drink a lot of milk and chewing a few Peptos.  This is not to say that his cooking is bad, it is to say that sometime it is too spicy....for me.   This was not the case when he whipped up some burritos for dinner this week.  I was home late from work and pleased as punch that he had started dinner.

There was chopping of peppers of all colors, shapes and nationalities.  Into the ground turkey went fresh red and green jalapenos, green bell pepper, red and orange bell peppers, Aji Amarillo pepper powder and Ghost Pepper salt.  "Ow!" my tongue said; "No!!!" my tummy said.

Wrapped in a flour tortilla, with shredded cheese, salsa and sour cream, it was delicious and had a bit of a kick.  With a glass of milk handy, I charged through and it was great, my taste buds humming with glee.  With the right amount of control, extrememly hot things like Ghost Pepper, can be safely eaten and enjoyed. 

If you give a panda some broccoli...

Sunday dinner...used to be a tradition, but now it seems like its no big deal.  Sunday is a day I like to cook because typically I have the time to do it.  No rushing around after work, no pressure, that's when cooking is enjoyable.  So, when the panda asked for "that really good chicken" I thought sure, it's Sunday after all.

The really good chicken is nothing special, but it is pretty tasty.  My mom used to make a "really good chicken", too...her version of coq au vin.  Sauteed in a big skillet with onions, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary and a splash of red wine, it was fast, easy and as chicken goes, our family favorite.  So, my chicken is pretty simple.  I like to use chicken thighs because they can stand up to long term roasting in the oven without going dry.  I get a pyrex or corning dish and put a little olive oil in it.  Then, I salt and pepper the bottom of the dish and arrange the chicken thighs skin-side down.  Yeah, I said it, chicken with the skin on.  Do it, its delicious and you aren't eating chicken skin like this everyday.  Put some salt, pepper and garlic powder on top of the chicken and then squirt a little lemon juice over the chicken (not too much unless you like a distinctly lemony flavor, which my eaters do not).  Put a few sprigs of fresh rosemary on top and cover tightly with foil.  Bake at 375 degrees for 33 minutes.

When the timer goes off, take the chicken out and turn the oven up to 400.  Turn the chicken thighs over so the skin is facing up.  Leave the foil off and roast for about 30 minutes until the skin is all bubbly, brown and crispy.  (If you absolutely cannot eat the crispy, delicate, flavorful, yummy, decadent chicken skin, it peels off easily.)

 

 

 

Our really good chicken was served with steamed broccoli and cheese sauce because these people will not eat broccoli unless you give them cheese sauce.  Oh, and some mashed potatoes, which apparently were also delicious with the cheese sauce.  It kind of felt like Sunday dinner, kind of.

Life in the Spiced Lane

We have a habit.  We can't help it.  We are drawn to it like a moth to a candle.  We can't drive by John's Pass unless we stop or think about stopping at The Spice & Tea Exchange (www.spiceandtea.com).  Once over the threshold you are immediately transported to exotic places only your nose could take you. 

They have a large selection of all types of salts, herbs, spices, teas and accessories.  Large jars sit upon the shelf-lined walls, each filled with something that smells divine.  One wall is devoted to flavored and global salts, from Alderwood smoked sea salt to Hawaiian red sea salt to black truffle salt and everything in between.  Flavored salts brighten the taste of foods and are often added at the last minute to "finish" a dish.

Next there are paprikas and peppers of all sorts.  Smoked sweet paprika is my personal favorite that adds richness to meat dishes and smoke to deviled eggs or summer salads.  Our latest pick is Aji Amarillo pepper powder.  Spice blends are also available, many designed by Vik the friendly "Spiceologist".  We recently purchased the Tandoori Roasting Blend and the Smoked BBQ rub. 

The tea wall is a delicious selection of flavors that go way beyond anything you'll find at most stores.  We picked up a Pear Caramel, a Blueberry and a Black Chocolate that smelled absolutely heavenly.  My favorite is the Coconut infused tea which I keep in my desk at work just to take a whiff of when I'm stressed.  A wonderland of flavored sugars add another dimension to teas.  Vik reports that blueberry tea plus cinnamon sugar is like sipping a hot cup of blueberry muffin.

Another selection of all kinds of herbs, spices and mysteries line the last wall in the shop.  There are gift samplers and accessories like tins, mortals and pestles and lots and lots of recipes.  Vik will welcome you like a friend and has plenty of great ideas to spice up your life.