tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40067979468024695892011-07-28T22:10:43.967-07:00Musings on food and drink.Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-25926353490430904072010-09-12T21:13:00.000-07:002010-09-12T21:13:50.324-07:00

I've never been a fan of agua fresca; usually it's too watery and sweet for my taste.  However,  Bon Appetit had a few recipes this summer for agua fresca that looked good.  Check them out here.  The spicy cucumber recipe is good and the watermelon-ginger recipe is terrific.  I modified them both, of course, cutting the sugar in the spicy cucumber recipe to a fraction, and omitting it

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-60273841324278569352010-08-25T12:34:00.000-07:002010-08-25T12:34:04.391-07:00

It's been an unusually cold summer here, so we've only had fresh corn in the past few weeks.  Its late arrival makes it all the more welcome on the dinner table.  One of my favorite ways to eat corn is in a tart, and I just hit on the way to make the flavor sing.  It's so simple I'm sorry it took so long for me to figure it out.  When trimming the corn kernels from the cob, rather than slicing

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-78292137179980594472010-08-25T12:30:00.000-07:002010-08-25T12:30:15.408-07:00

Recipe: Corn Tart Cornmeal crust: 1 c. flour 1/2 c. fine cornmeal 1/2 t. salt 2 t. baking powder 1/2 c. water 2 T olive oil Mix the dry ingredients, then stir in the wet ingredients.  Knead on a floured surface for about 5 minutes until the dough gets stretchy.  Roll and stretch into a tart pan, and blind bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  Note: this dough wants to shrink back in, so when you

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-73867893772172391692010-08-04T08:10:00.000-07:002010-08-04T08:10:41.432-07:00

I've been quiet on the blog for a while, not because we haven't been cooking and eating, but because of travels and work commitments.  It's been a busy few months. Summer fruits and vegetables are in the farmers' market.  We ate grilled vegetables accompanied by yogurt and salad greens every day while in Turkey earlier this summer.  Since we've been home we've done much the same, grilling

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-17491740972723406862010-06-02T20:59:00.000-07:002010-06-02T21:01:45.479-07:00

Trout Carbonara2 cups trout all bones removed12 ounces fresh spaghettine or fettuccine¼ cup fine dice onion1-2 large cloves garlic, fine sliced1½ tablespoons tomato paste¼ cup white wineolive oilsalt and pepper1 or 2 egg yokes per servingSo now I have cold leftover trout. What to do with it? Having a yen for pasta I decided to do a rift on pasta carbonara. I got some fresh spaghettini (

Aaron Reizeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05930143891440818103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-64361064871524753692010-06-02T20:54:00.000-07:002010-06-02T20:58:44.319-07:00

I was in Costco the other day buying this and that and walked by the fish area and saw packages of trout that had just been put out, i.e. hadn’t been sitting in the cooler for 6 days. They looked pretty fresh. Four large trout are a lot for one person to eat, but Lois is traveling this week, so I am on my own; it’s meat (or fish) pig-out time!I decided to grill the trout. Now I have usually been

Aaron Reizeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05930143891440818103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-38407740729576991462010-05-24T21:36:00.000-07:002010-05-24T21:36:05.373-07:00

Our oven has been out of service for a few weeks while we wait for a new relay to replace the one that burned out.  This really isn't a problem since we have other ways to cook, but sometimes we want baked dishes.  For example, I had some chard that needed to be used and a hankering for a chard tart.  Aaron sometimes roasts meat on the barbecue using a roasting pan (as opposed to grilling

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-56979566578856069012010-05-03T10:35:00.000-07:002010-05-06T17:55:52.582-07:00

When we were in Japan we ate yuba served in several different forms: wet (barely formed), dry, rolled into tubes and seasoned, in soup, and as a wrapper.  Yuba is the skin created when making tofu, similar to the way a skin forms on top of custard as it cools.  The tofu maker skims the delicate sheets of tofu off the cooking liquid and often lets it dry, similar to pasta.  It's much tastier than

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-67159475052075439722010-04-28T20:06:00.000-07:002010-04-28T20:06:54.146-07:00

We spent ten days in Japan last month, splitting our time between Kumamoto and Kyoto.  While in Kumamoto we were the guests of my colleagues at the university there, who hosted us at several fabulous kaiseki dinners. Kaiseki is a multi-course feast, perhaps a dozen courses, each tiny (just a few bites), beautifully presented and highlighting the particular ingredient.  If you want a sense of what

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-14015616634112910252010-04-26T09:57:00.000-07:002010-04-26T09:57:21.048-07:00

The blog has been quiet for a while because we've been so busy with travel, life and work that it's been hard to find time to write.  I've got some catching up to do. We just spent ten days in Rome, sightseeing and eating.  The food was uniformly good, and the farther we got from tourist places, the better it got.  The Italians know how to cook pasta, and every plate we had, even from the

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-78370646980397764722010-02-20T11:57:00.000-08:002010-02-20T11:57:02.352-08:00

We bought a Cuisinart slow cooker a few weeks ago with the notion to make soups and stews.  We already eat a lot of soup, but the hands-off aspect of the slow cooker is appealing for days when I don't have time to babysit the stove.   It means that I can cook when it’s convenient, and have dinner ready when I want, no matter what else fills up the day.  In the morning, I just chop some vegetables

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-34077024256472272532010-02-03T18:58:00.000-08:002010-02-03T18:58:23.588-08:00

The first time I had soupe au pistou was a few years ago, just after Aaron and I arrived in New York on a cold winter evening.  After a seemingly endless travel day, with a flight from California and a traffic jam on the way into Manhattan from JFK, I was tired and edgy.   A brisk, invigorating walk would have been just perfect to shake out the travel kinks, but this night was downright frigid. 

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-87819404735394252782010-02-03T18:55:00.000-08:002010-02-03T18:55:24.896-08:00

This is a hearty vegetarian bean soup served with pesto: 1.5 cups mixed legumes (or just white beans) 1 large onion 3 stalks celery 2 large carrots 1 large tomato or  1/2 c roasted tomato or a handful of sundried tomatoes, or the equivalent 1 clove garlic 1.5 tsp. thyme 1.5 tsp. tarragon 2 bay leaves 4-6 cups vegetable stock salt and pepper Pesto - a rounded tablespoon per person. The secret

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-47944620876452417542010-02-02T16:26:00.000-08:002010-02-02T16:26:00.004-08:00

  It was time to use up some of the bits of vegetables in the refrigerator (and a little chilly outside), so I made a semi-composed miso soup.   We've had composed soups in restaurants a few times lately, and it makes a pretty presentation.  Mine was more rustic, which is a nice way of saying that I just made little piles rather than working toward food art, but it was pretty nonetheless. Aaron

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-50805914002247118262010-01-29T13:49:00.000-08:002010-01-29T13:49:36.168-08:00

My sister Lee just had a milestone birthday, a great reason for us to gather in the Texas Hill Country. Aaron and I offered to cater her party so she could enjoy the day without work. Actually, we volunteered Sue and Jenny, my sister-in-law and niece, to cater as well; they’re both good cooks and good sports, so jumped right in. It turned into a full family event as my brother Dave stepped in

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-61513077109399192012010-01-21T20:46:00.000-08:002010-01-21T20:46:09.759-08:00

Our road trip through the Southwest featured carbs, mostly from diner breakfasts and Mexican restaurants. Comparisons of green chile and cheddar omelets (me) and corned beef hash (Aaron) across state lines didn’t break up the monotony as much as made a game of it, and we had a few standout examples. Aaron says the hash and biscuits at Harris Ranch in the California valley were hands-down the

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-41799038192678802862009-12-31T15:25:00.000-08:002009-12-31T15:29:34.725-08:00

Travis is home for a few weeks for the holidays, so we’ve shifted into lactose-isolated cooking mode. It’s easy enough to use olive oil rather than butter, or if a dish has cheese, say feta on a salad, to serve it on the side. I usually avoid baking when he’s home because so many recipes use milk and butter, but last night had a craving for popovers to go with the vegetable stew we were making.

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-6893856362191444282009-12-25T15:17:00.000-08:002009-12-25T15:17:35.620-08:00

I made enchilada sauce from scratch for the first time this summer. I’m not sure why I’d not made it before, perhaps because we rarely eat enchiladas, or perhaps I thought it would be a long, complicated process. I (more or less) followed a recipe from Annie Somerville’s “Field of Greens” cookbook, which describes a basic red tomato sauce (marinara) with appropriate seasonings of oregano, cumin

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-36911036600889786302009-12-25T15:16:00.000-08:002009-12-25T15:16:13.380-08:00

A simple red sauce, seasoned for marinara, enchiladas, and bravas (spicy) Two pounds of summer tomatoes, vine ripe and tender, chopped, or a 28oz can of San Marzano tomatoes (including the juice). Use either crushed tomatoes, or chop the tomatoes if they’re whole. One onion, 1/4-inch dice A few cloves of minced garlic Spices (see below) Balancing acidity (see below) Saute the onions for

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-58398133791909852262009-12-19T12:00:00.001-08:002009-12-19T12:03:57.137-08:00

Recipe: Leek and Celeriac Soup 6 leeks, trimmed, sliced and washed, white and light green parts only 1 bulb celeriac, peeled and cubed 6 cups vegetable stock 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon tarragon Salt and pepper to taste Dash of cream or half and half, optional Saute the leeks gently in butter or olive oil until they are fragrant and soft.   Add the celeriac, tarragon and stock, and

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-59597910232875164022009-12-13T20:28:00.000-08:002009-12-19T12:03:30.974-08:00

After a break of a few days while we worked through leftovers, the “ten days of soup” project resumed.  We’ve been able to expand slightly beyond soup, happily, though not too far beyond, while Aaron progresses through his orthodontic adventure.  The goal of the project is to make food interesting and tasty given the soup limitation. All the soups start with a homemade vegetable stock. For now,

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-43790667546558154222009-12-07T11:44:00.000-08:002009-12-07T11:45:24.779-08:00

Aaron can’t chew for at least ten days, a byproduct of orthodontic work, and is limited to smoothies and pureed soup for the while.  I love soup so this is no problem for me, and have taken on the challenge to make the ten days of eating the same thing as interesting as possible, varied and tasty.  Because the soups need to be pureed, all rely on a homemade stock and cooked vegetables, blended

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-14063308916939202432009-12-02T20:54:00.000-08:002009-12-02T20:55:54.811-08:00

Holiday meals are a group affair in our home. Cooking is the main event, with friends and family hands on in the kitchen, hanging out nearby to visit, or taking kids outside to play while others work.  This year was particularly fun because my friend Shashi guided the day’s menu. Shashi and I met in 1994, and while we’ve eaten each other’s cooking over the years, in fifteen years of friendship

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-80332622910013092992009-11-29T16:09:00.000-08:002009-12-02T21:00:10.143-08:00

Aaron and I have a tradition of making homemade pizza on the night before Thanksgiving.  It's usually just the two of us at home (a quiet evening before the crowd arrives the next day) and we make pizza from scratch, put on a fire, open a bottle of wine and watch movies. This year Aaron cooked.  He made two pizzas, a simple margherita with tomato and basil, and one topped with chanterelles and

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-70847078440967694312009-11-24T20:14:00.000-08:002009-11-24T20:18:00.427-08:00

Aaron and I spent a week in New York recently and tried some new wine and tapas bars. We like tapas because they give a chance to try several different foods rather than settling on one big plate of something.   Also, it’s a lot of fun to sip a glass of wine while nibbling on a few bites of this and that, with freedom to leave after a short while if we want to try something different, or linger

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-87122662599981385602009-11-20T22:06:00.000-08:002009-11-28T11:14:32.225-08:00

I’ve been on a quest to find a non-dairy pumpkin pie recipe for Thanksgiving.  We have several lactose intolerant guests this year, so I want to accommodate everyone’s food parameters while still giving the full Thanksgiving pumpkin pie experience.  There are two variations described here, with and without tofu.  I make silken tofu chocolate mousse that’s the bomb, so started the experiments

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-11727015234108190632009-11-19T17:48:00.000-08:002009-11-21T16:11:05.833-08:00

I had dinner a few weeks ago with at Rioja in Denver with my friend Mara. We had both been working all day and through the evening, so it was late before we set out, hungry and tired, in search of food.  It was one of those times when just finding a warm, quiet meal would have been fine, so landing in this gem of a restaurant was especially nice.  Rioja was packed and we didn’t have reservations,

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-687627693092166752009-10-29T21:37:00.000-07:002009-11-21T16:12:22.646-08:00

After a gorgeous, sunny fall in the bay area, cold weather hit for a few days this week.  I bundled in sweaters and brought out the soup pot.  Actually, even though it was sunny and warm last week I made a southwestern stew, so the soup pot hadn't been hibernating.   There's just something satisfying about making a big pot of soup when it's cold outside.  Last week I was browsing the Everyday

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-83062126366105142062009-10-24T11:51:00.000-07:002009-11-21T16:12:41.828-08:00

Annie Somerville writes glowingly in her “Everyday Greens” cookbook about the many uses of chipotle puree. The sauce couldn’t be simpler: puree a can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. Since most Greens recipes are best suited for a leisurely afternoon in the kitchen (first make stock from scratch, chop a lot of things, roast things, then simmer it all for a while…) throwing a can of something

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-56132186836624443502009-10-23T15:31:00.000-07:002009-11-21T16:13:20.258-08:00

I did a big shop at Segona's yesterday, then made soup stock with the trimmings. The colors were beautiful. This picture shows the stack of chard stems, potatoes, onions and fennel tops waiting to go into the stock pot.

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-33149644223729679912009-10-16T10:02:00.000-07:002009-11-21T16:15:15.256-08:00

Aaron and I did an overnight trip to Phoenix this week. The hotel concierge recommended a chain, Z Tejas, nearby, for dinner. Actually, I asked where to get a good margarita and some food, it being one of those days when a good margarita was going to be the high point. The concierge made the recommendation with confidence, so it’s likely he’d done some research into margaritas. You have to

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-49201848496856864572009-10-12T11:09:00.000-07:002009-10-12T11:36:46.726-07:00

I started cooking when living on my own in college and realized that it was a lot less expensive to make my own spaghetti sauce from scratch than paying $1.00 for a little packet of spaghetti helper. It seemed a lot to pay for a little packet of spices and I still had to buy the hamburger, tomatoes and such. I read the label and figured out that for a small investment in some spices I could do

Aaron Reizeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05930143891440818103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-36748380852109758902009-10-11T16:57:00.000-07:002009-11-21T16:15:52.192-08:00

A farmer at the Palo Alto market has a small table with just a few vegetables, including poblano chiles. I'm not sure how the economics work out for him because a bag of chiles costs just two dollars, so he must need to sell a lot of chiles to make the trip worth his while. Works for me, though. I had some stuffed chiles in Santa Fe a few years ago, but had never tried making my own, so when I

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-48339214822436630662009-10-10T21:12:00.000-07:002009-10-12T11:29:52.539-07:00

I love pasta, however, Lois and I have been trying to keep to a low carb diet. Lois is lower than I am. We especially try to limit carbs for dinners.At Sigona's vegie stand in Redwood City I saw a spaghetti squash and thought I could make something tasty for dinner. It's low carb and is a spaghetti like substance. Searching for recipes I found the ones that treated it like pasta to be either

Aaron Reizeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05930143891440818103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-4414751111010498762009-10-10T16:58:00.000-07:002009-11-21T16:16:14.300-08:00

A few months ago, Mark Bittman posted a recipe for chocolate pudding made with tofu on his blog. You need to suspend disbelief and try this -- it's really quite delicious. Your friends won't know they're eating tofu unless you tell them, and since it uses no cream you won't need to do as much penance at the gym the next day. I like tofu a lot, more than chocolate, so was keen to try the

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006797946802469589.post-86238498801937666652009-10-10T11:38:00.000-07:002009-10-10T17:08:05.181-07:00

I fiddle with recipe ideas, usually based on some kind of inspiration -- travel, an interesting dish in a restaurant, something that looked good in the store, or a recipe from a magazine or cookbook -- tempered by what's available in the markets (or the fridge) and what sounds good to eat that day. I'll work with an idea until I get distracted by a new idea. For example, last year we went to

Lois Brookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03908456680367303643noreply@blogger.com0