March 16, 2010
Ginger and Almond Chocolate Clusters
Lately I've had an insuppressible urge to declutter. I would chalk it up to the advent of spring if it hadn't been so stubbornly cold, and if I didn't find myself in that state of I-can't-bear-to-live-with-this-stuff-for-a-minute-longer several times a year.
Actually, one of my resolutions for 2010 is to take on at least one decluttering project every weekend. It can be something quick, like sorting through the restaurant business cards we've accumulated over the years and removing the ones we'll likely never visit again (done), or something ambitious, like reorganizing our overstuffed basement, recycling/tossing/giving old things away (check).
It's not that we buy that much stuff to begin with, but clutter seems to build up out of nowhere; perhaps a good theoretical physicist will one day study the phenomenon. In any case, I find it relaxing to know I have a counter-strategy in place, and it's easy to tailor the size of the endeavor to the time and energy I have, yet still get a nice feeling of accomplishment. I even write down what I've done each weekend, to keep track; I don't go so far as to award myself little congratulatory stickers, but I'm this close*.
The approach applies to the kitchen, too, and I try to go through my cabinets and drawers with as unsentimental an eye as I can summon, and prune, prune, prune. What I no longer need I sell or give away. There is a special shelf in the lobby of my apartment building, and the unspoken rule is that one can leave objects, books, and magazines there for others to take. They're unfailingly snatched up in a matter of hours, and it's fun to think that some of my unneeded utensils simply live on another floor now.
And of course, my pantry also needs to undergo that treatment on a regular basis, to refresh my memory as to what it contains (the cabinet is so ill-conceived I have to take everything out to get a good look), group ingredients together with a semblance of logic, and identify those that need to be used up soon.
Unfailingly, I turn up small leftover amounts of dried fruit and nuts I want to use before they have a chance to shrivel up entirely or go rancid**, and these chocolate clusters are a delicious way to do so: they're simply made by combining your choice of nuts, dried fruit and puffed grain with melted chocolate, and letting the clusters set.
(And by a happy coincidence, they're also a perfect use for the box of 1,000 mini paper cups I've been working my way through for the past, um, six years.)
The chocolate cluster is a classic confection, but I only started making them after buying some at a chocolate shop in Barcelona a few years ago. Their version was called Trencadent and I couldn't stop eating them; I tried making them after coming home to Paris, and it turned out to be the easiest thing ever.
My rule of thumb is to use 1 cup of dried fruits and nuts plus 1 cup of puffed grain for each 250 grams (9 ounces) of chocolate; this creates an ideal crisp/crunchy/chewy texture and chocolate-to-filling ratio.
The puffed grain is there mostly for texture; the flavor is brought on by the nuts and the dried fruits. The following pairings I've tried and liked:
- almonds + candied ginger (as below),
- pistachios + dried apricots,
- peanuts + dried cherries,
- Brazil nuts + dried figs,
- almonds + candied orange rind,
- hazelnuts + raisins.
But really, you can make up your own combos depending on what you have on hand, or visit Sara or Dorie for more suggestions.
You could certainly add some spice or a touch of ground chili, but neither is necessary. Just remember to toast the nuts, so their flavor will be at its maximum.
And let me remind you that Easter comes early this year -- Easter Sunday is on April 4 -- so if you're in the market for an easy giftable chocolate idea, this may be it!
~~~
* Need help decluttering? Take a look at the Apartment Therapy Home Cures, which offer helpful weekly assignments, advice, and support. The spring home cure has just started, and the kitchen cure is under way.
** My freezer is too small and too humid to keep nuts safely, but if you have room in yours, it is said to be a good way to ward off rancidity.
"Ginger and Almond Chocolate Clusters" continues »
March 12, 2010
[Edible Idiom] Ne pas y aller avec le dos de la cuiller
This is part of a series on French idiomatic expressions that relate to food. Browse the list of idioms featured so far.
This week's idiom is, "Ne pas y aller avec le dos de la cuiller."
Literally translated as, "not going at it with the back of the spoon," it is a colloquial expression that means acting bluntly and deliberately, without restraint or moderation. It is often used in the context of interpersonal relationships, and especially when someone is particularly plain-spoken about an issue (equivalent then to "not mincing one's words").
Note: the French word for spoon can be spelled cuiller or cuillère; both spellings are correct. One should probably choose a spelling and stick to it for the sake of consistency, and when I stop to think about it I prefer the former, but I seem to go back and forth between the two in my writing.
Example: "Tu as lu sa critique du dernier film des frères Coen ? Il n'y va pas avec le dos de la cuiller !" "Did you read his review of the latest Coen brothers movie? He doesn't go at it with the back of the spoon!"
Listen to the idiom and example read aloud:
"[Edible Idiom] Ne pas y aller avec le dos de la cuiller" continues »
March 9, 2010
Converting Yeast-Based Recipes To Use A Sourdough Starter
Once you have a natural starter alive and kicking on your counter, stealing the occasional banana from the fruit bowl, it's hard to go back to baking bread with commercial yeast.
Not only would that feel like a bit of a betrayal (though you can always blindfold the jar of starter or work under the cover of night) but every loaf is an opportunity to strengthen your starter as well as your skills. And frankly, you've gotten used to the vivid flavor and lasting freshness of sourdough-powered bread, so you're a bit spoiled.
That's not to say you want to limit yourself to those recipes written with a starter in mind: even though baking with a natural starter has the ancestral high ground and is regaining considerable popularity of late, it is still practiced by a minority of home bakers, and most of the bread recipes out there call for commercial yeast.
But of course, most breads (see caveats below) leavened with commercial yeast can be leavened with a natural starter. It is just a matter of converting the recipe; all you need is a calculator and a play-it-by-ear disposition.
So, how do you go about it? There is no single method* but I have had good success with mine, so I wanted to share it with you below. If you want to chime in with your own method and experience, I'll be most interested to hear them.
"Converting Yeast-Based Recipes To Use A Sourdough Starter" continues »
March 3, 2010
Rice and Bean Salad
I hardly ever eat meat or fish when I'm alone. I may have a bit of ham or chicken on occasion if there is some left over from another meal, but other than that, my solo appetite favors a plant-based diet, with a few dairy products (yogurt, cheese) and eggs thrown in.
And because I eat most of my weekday lunches at home, in my own company (I admit I've become frightfully attached to the quiet and solitude of my workdays) and as an accidental vegetarian, I started to worry about protein: was I getting enough?
It's hard to say, since I'm not so worried as to weigh my food and tally up the grams of protein, but I thought it couldn't hurt to be a little more diligent about my grain-and-legume combos.
A quick reminder to those of you who don't spend their lives reading nutrition articles: most animal products provide what's called complete proteins, meaning they contain optimal proportions of all the essential amino acids (= the smaller units that constitute proteins) the human body can't manufacture, and therefore needs to obtain from its diet. Plant products, on the other hand, don't provide that same balance in essential amino acids, offering good amounts of some and low amounts of others. But as Mother Nature would have it, the amino acids found in grains and those found in legumes are complementary*, so that combining the two essentially results in a complete protein. Ha!
You don't have to eat the two at the same time -- you could eat a grain at one meal and a legume at the next, as the amino acids are said to remain available for a possible hookup for twelve hours -- but they happen to go really well together, as illustrated in many culinary cultures**: think couscous and chickpeas, pita and hummus, baked beans on toast, rice and lentils, corn and beans, rice and beans, pasta and beans...
And so I resolved to cook a batch of some type of grain and some sort of legume at the beginning of every other week or so, and incorporate it into my lunches on subsequent days. It's also a big time saver, naturally, because a minimal effort on Monday promises near-instant lunches after that: all I need to do then is add a form of fresh vegetable to the mix, raw or cooked, and we're in business.
Today's salad is an example of one such preparation: it uses a mix of beans and other legumes I bought on sale at the organic store -- it was marketed as a soup helper -- and an organic, fair-trade brown rice from Thailand I really like (it is fragrant and not too chewy, and it cooks quickly). The legumes and rice are soaked and cooked separately, then tossed with fresh herbs (chervil, in this case) and a mustardy vinaigrette.
I eat it slightly warm the first day, then cold or at room temperature. It works well over a bed of mixed greens, as a wrap in lettuce leaves or rice paper, plopped in a bowl of soup, or "refried" in a skillet and eaten in a tortilla. In all cases, it is wonderfully filling, improves as it sits, and can be easily transported for lunch at the office, where I hope you're able to find a little quiet and solitude from time to time.
~~~
* You can get similar results by combining seeds, nuts, and protein-rich vegetables (such as leafy greens or broccoli) with grains and/or legumes.
** I thought about this for a while, but couldn't find a good grain-and-legume example in the French culinary repertoire, apart from a lentil soup one might eat with bread. Can you think of examples yourself? Update: A reader pointed out that the provençal soupe au pistou is an example, involving beans and pasta. Thanks Anaïk!
"Rice and Bean Salad" continues »
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Permalink | Posted by clotilde in Lunch Dishes - Main Dishes - Recipe Inside! - Vegetables
March 1, 2010
March 2010 Desktop Calendar
At the beginning of every month, I am offering C&Z readers a new wallpaper to apply on the desktop of your computer, with a food-related picture and a calendar of the current month.
Our calendar for March is a picture that represents the old marble mortar my grandmother found at the bottom of her garden in Marseille in 1937, and one of the venerable cookbooks she entrusted me with; this particular one is called Mes Recettes pour votre ménage. I hope this photo reminds you of heirlooms of your own.
Instructions to get your calendar are below.
"March 2010 Desktop Calendar" continues »
February 19, 2010
[Edible Idiom] Le gratin
This is part of a series on French idiomatic expressions that relate to food. Browse the list of idioms featured so far.
This week's idiom is, "Le gratin."
As cooks may already know, gratin* is the generic French term for preparations (often involving vegetables and some sort of binding sauce) cooked in a baking dish in the oven until the surface browns and becomes crusty.
But it is also a colloquial expression that refers to a social elite, an exclusive crowd who distinguish themselves by their social background, their wealth, their elegance, and/or the select field they work in. It is generally used with a subtle mix of contempt and envy by people who are not a part of that circle.
A close equivalent would be the English idiom the upper crust (before it became a popular name for pizzerias and bakeries).
Though it was originally a matter of social class only, usage of this expression now extends beyond that to consider one's connections, talent (perceived or real), and popularity: an up-and-coming artist, for instance, can belong to the gratin without being particularly wealthy (yet) or of noble origin. Because of this, the term is often qualified further to specify the traits of the group in question: le gratin du cinéma for the movie crowd, le gratin parisien for the Parisian high society, le gratin mondain for socialites, etc.
It is frequently used with tout (tout le gratin = all the gratin, the whole gratin), which serves to point out that these groups tend to adopt a herd behavior.
Example: "Je suis allée à son vernissage, tout le gratin de la presse était là." "I went to her vernissage, the whole gratin of the press was there."
Listen to the idiom and example read aloud:
"[Edible Idiom] Le gratin" continues »
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