Sweet Beet Roast

I spent the weekend camping at Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. I was in the midst of a Canadian Boreal forest, characterized by oak, maple, elm and birch scattered among handsome conifers. It was far enough north for the leaves on the trees to be glowing in full fall technicolor bloom, with hills of yellow, red, green and orange overlooking a crystal clear lake. September 23rd was the fall equinox, and I literally watched as the sun move from summer to fall.

I got to Philadelphia feeling refreshed, but a little bit sad about being back in civilization. Dangerously low on food, I hit the grocery store almost as soon as I got back into town. I decided that such a vacation calls for a celebration of color and earth. The fresh, local beets that happened to be on sale seemed more than appropriate.

I've had a fear of beets ever since my first job in the dietary department of a nursing home, where I had to puree massive amounts of the smelly, canned variety so the elderly could eat them with the straw. It was the worst part of the job, even worse than buttering 600 pieces of toast with a paintbrush.

But these beets looked straight out of Peter Rabbit's garden. A deep, rich purple root, still caked in mud. They still had their tops, and the economical girl that I am, was lured by their dual purpose of root vegetable + green. That is two meals for a buck forty nine. I quickly got over my fear.

My lunch for tomorrow is still roasting in the oven as I write this.

Sweet Beet Roast

2 large fresh beets, washed, peeled and cubed
2 large carrots, washed, peeled and cubed
2 large apples [I used Macintosh] peeled and cubed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup apple juice
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp herbs de Provence [rosemary, marjarom, basil, thyme and lavender]
dash salt and pepper

blanch the cut carrots and beets. Mix in with apples in 9 x 11 pan drizzle with olive oil, vinegar and a small amount of apple juice [reserve some for cooking]. Stir well. Add sugar, herbs, syrup and salt. Mix well again. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Roast for 30-45 minutes, checking and adding apple juice as needed to prevent dryness.

I plan on eating this with rice or couscous, but will also make lunchtime pita wraps with a smear of cream cheese or lebne [yogurt cheese], topped with the beet roast.

As for the greens, my idea is to make a salad out of whole wheat pasta shells, kidney beans and sauteed beet greens. Send ideas for a dressing along my way.

my dad in food news

My dad was featured in today's Cincinnati Enquirer.

He used to have huge, overflowing open boxes of dates in the back of his store. They were so beautiful! The stupid health department said it was illegal and now they're all packaged in plastic. Why is it that overseas, you can hang a bloody goat in the window of your store and no one gets sick, but we freak out over dried fruit if its left uncovered???

Anyway, happy Ramadan and Rosh Hashana. Maybe dates are the treats of peace?

"I sell a lot of dates at Ramadan," says Dean Zaidan, owner of Mediterranean Imports in Findlay Market. He welcomes shoppers who are stocking up for the holiday. "People buy boxes for gifts, or they buy whole boxes to last the month," indicating a five-pound box of plump brown dates from California.

His tightly packed store, where he sells nuts, olive oils, spices and unusual imported foods, has a small corner dedicated to dates.

"There are 40 kinds of dates, that I know about," he says. "But not all ship well." His Medjool dates come from California, while the smaller Deglet Noor varieties come from Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia.

He also sells chopped dates, coated with sugar to keep them from sticking together, and a paste of dates for baking. The Medjool dates are larger and more moist than the smaller Deglet Noors, but Zaidan prefers the latter. "They have a deep, almost molasses-like flavor that I love."

Avacado and Mango Salad with Tostones

In the spirit of restaurant rip-offs, I'm posting this older recipe that I jotted down but never posted, mostly just to see if my RSS feeds are working.

Can I just say that writing "rss feeds" makes me feel like I am very tech savvy and smart.

Avacado and Mango Salad with Tostones

Admittedly, the idea for this meal with ripped off of an amazing restaurant in North Philly, Tierra Colombiana. As much satisfaction as it is to invent a recipe of your own devices, it is equally satisfying to make a meal that you know for sure will taste good. The restaurant is a favorite of my coworkers, and every time we go, I get this salad.

I didn't start out with food plagiarism in mind. I was mad at myself because I was too busy, lazy and tired to cook the night before, and my dinner consisted of a small box of chocolate covered sunflower seeds and a can of skunky beer. Vowing to never stoop to such low levels of food standards again, I spent my lunch break hunting the Reading Terminal for inspiration.

The Iovine Brothers produce stand, waaay in the back, was a gold mine. First, a mound of fifty cent Hass avocados, so ripe they were almost black. I've had so many blah unripe avocados that I pretty much won't settle for anything less these days. Then, the extra large blushing mangoes, also fifty cents. Finding one without too many bruises was a challenge, but the mango I finally picked turned out to be the star of the show.


Avacado and Mango Salad with Lime Jalapeño dressing
Serve over black beans [do 'em up with some sauteed onion and chili powder]

spinach, spring mix or arugula
2 avocados RIPE!
1 extra large mango, or two small ones. RIPE!
juice of one lime
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 chopped Jalapeño

Toss mango, greens and avocado. Wisk together limejuice, olive oil and Jalapeno and dress salad.

Tostones

Green Plantain
Oil for frying
salt

Peel plantains by chopping off both ends, and slicing down the middle. Run under cold water and pull the skin away from the meat.

Chop into 5 or 6 pieces and fry in hot oil. When they are golden brown, take them out and drain on a paper towel.

When they are cool enough, smash with a tostone maker or heavy bottomed glass or plate and fry again for a minute or so. Sprinkle with salt.

Sorrel

Maybe I'm totally in the dark and everyone knows what Sorrel is, but I heard of it for the first time last weekend at Red Bamboo in Brooklyn.

Apparently, everyone knows about this fabulous restaurant, too. I was completely in love.

For folks who don't know what Sorrel is, here are some excerpts from the Wikipedia entry:

Common sorrel is a perennial herb that is cultivated as a leaf vegetable. The leaves may be puréed in soups and sauces or added to salads and shav; they have a flavor that is similar to kiwifruit or sour wild strawberries. The plant's sharp taste is due to oxalic acid, and so may be contraindicated in people with rheumatic-type complaints, kidney or bladder stones. Sorrel is also a laxative.

I hear sorrel juice is great with rum.

I didn't try any at the restaurant, and I wish I had. It is now on my list of veggies to try someday.

p.s. What is shav???

wilted spinach with fresh cayenne

This dish is my ultimate comfort food. Like all good recipes, it has a history.

During my days with the Student Environmental Action Coalition a few years back, my comrade Markio and I planned a field organizing trip visiting 8 different schools, without having access to a car. The first commandment of student organizing: make lofty, ridiculous plans with no means of implementation.

Our strategy: hop a Greyhound to Cincinnati and beg my mom until she let me use her old Dodge Caravan, a relic of her band mom era. The second commandment of student organizing: when in need, mooch off your parents.

Needless to say, it did not go over well. She refused to let me use her car and my life was over. We had an epic 24 hour screaming match. Not letting me use her car turned into not supporting my activism turned into not loving me for who I am, blah blah. From her perspective, I was a sponge, ungrateful, presumptuous, blah blah. It was one of the worst fight we ever had. And we've fought a lot.

My dad, ever the good guy, felt terrible about the whole ordeal. At 6am, before driving me to the rental car agency at the airport [only to discover that being under 25 made it impossibly expensive] he made me a huge breakfast. I couldn't really stomach the 'iggit el badounis or the strawberry yogurt parfait because I was so upset. It was so sweet of him to do, but it all tasted like cardboard, a terribly unusual phenomena for me. The best I could muster was mushing it all together with my fork to make it seem like I was enjoying them.

But I feasted on these soft, spicy greens with great enthusiasm. They calmed me down, mellowed me out. I ate three, maybe four servings. The nerves left my stomach and I was able to think us out of our predicament.

The moral of this story is not that my mom sucks and my dad rocks. The moral of this story is that your parents love you so you should love them back.

The fact that I made this yesterday has nothing to do with the state of my mental health. I just happened to have a bag of spinach in my fridge that had two days left, max, and some beautiful, waxy cayenne chilies, fresh from Hanako's friend's garden.

I'm certain my dad used Serrano peppers, but I was working with what I had. I used three peppers for one big bunch of spinach and I wish I used two. I also used too much oil...good olive oil is potent stuff and should be used sparingly.

Wilted spinach with fresh cayenne

1 bunch unwashed spinach [not the stuff in plastic bag]
2 fresh cayenne peppers
1tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
salt
lemon

Mash garlic with a bit of salt. Saute in olive oil. Chop peppers into largish chunks, and saute with garlic. Turn heat down and let cook slowly for 30 minutes.

Get out another pan to wilt your spinach. To wilt spinach, wash the spinach leaves gently in cold water. You don't need to add water to the pan as the water clinging to the spinach is enough. Put the spinach in the pan and turn on the heat to high and shake the pan until the spinach has wilted.

Add the spinach to the peppers and saute for a few minutes. Put in bowl and toss with a bit of lemon and salt.

Hey There Khalilah

Ohhh...its how you cook the meat..ohhh its how you cook the meat

Why eat when you can drink?

Yeah Labor Day Weekend! I made sure to pour a drop for my fellow workers for the occasion.

Flower Child Fizz
Named for Hanako, my new drinking buddy, who's name means Flower Child in Japanese.

1 oz cold attar or simple syrup [boil 2c. sugar, 1c. water, a few drops of lemon and rosewater]
2 oz whiskey
1/2 tsp lemon juice
orange or raspberry flavored sparkling water

garnish with an orange or lemon slice.