by Krista | Jul 16, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
Good morning, dear folks. 🙂 I actually awoke without an alarm clock this morning! That always makes me happy.
How was your week? Were you busy as all get out? On vacation? Just taking it easy? I hope it’s been good no matter what you’ve been up to.
It’s been a week of good changes for me, clearing out projects and responsibilities that were weighing me down and keeping me from the work I’m really good at and love. I’ve been studying Time Management over the past few weeks and although I’ve only been implementing one little thing at a time, I feel like great, heavy burdens have been lifted. What is your favorite time management tip that helps you get your most important things done?
I’ve taken on some new responsibilities too, fun and interesting ones that let me be creative and innovative and stretch me quite scarily at times. I love it!
I’ve been a bit of a hermit this week, taking time to rest and go for walks, sit outside and read in the sun, have good chats with my brothers and family, it’s been a good week. My frazzled, overwhelmed self is feeling settled, focused, loved and loving, and it feels good.
As I wrote yesterday, I’ve been eating leftovers a LOT this week! I don’t mind a bit because they’ve been so delish, like this Red Potato Salad with Mint, Goat Cheese and Toasted Pine Nuts. I had made it years ago and liked it so much, so I pulled out all my recipe files and rifled through them until I found it. Hooray! It tastes just as good a day or two down the road as the first day, and that suits my schedule just dandy.
Last night I was one tired lassie, so I sat out on the grass with this lovely Cherry Lime Cooler and sipped until the sun disappeared. Then I retired to my favorite comfy chair and finished it off. Such a light and refreshing thing to have at the end of a piping hot day.
Tonight I head down to Seattle to have dinner with dear friends up from California – it will be so good to see them! Then I get to stay with my youngest bro and sis-in-law and have jolly chats and hearty laughs before heading home again. I’m so excited!!!
Wishing you a beautiful weekend with people you love and who love you back. 🙂
This is my contribution to Myscha’s Happy Hour Friday.
Red Potatoes with Goat Cheese, Pine Nuts and Mint
Ingredients:
2 pounds red potatoes, diced into 1/2″ chunks
2 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup olive oil
ground pepper
3/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced or scallions, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp julinned mint leaves
Directions:
- Add potatoes to pot and cover with 2-inches water. Add salt and bring to boil. Simmer covered for 15 minutes or until tender.
- Drain and place in bowl. Immediately add olive oil, salt and pepper, toss to coat. Let cool.
- Add remaining ingredients and toss gently. Serve at room temperature.
Cherry Lime Cooler
(Serves 1)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Riesling, chilled
1 cup seltzer water, chilled
6 fresh Rainier cherries, pitted and mashed but still intact
1/2 lime, juiced
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients, pour into glass and serve immediately on a hot summer’s eve.
by Krista | Jul 15, 2010 | Plucky Thursday
Good morning, dear ones! Well, I’ve been in such a frazzled state the last few days, my mind a-whirl with projects and ideas and plans that I simply forgot to cook. Anything. At all. Thank goodness for leftovers and yogurt!
So as I sat in my armchair and realized I don’t have any recipes or food photos to share with you, I decided that today will be the day I share some photos from where I live.
Several of you have asked to see around my place, so here it is, in all its humble homeyness.
This is my backyard:
This is my cracked patio, my chimney, random black cords that go to I know not what, my rickety bench, and my bright pink, muddy Wellies.
This is my little container garden, various gardening bits and bobs, and a pot of basil I forgot on top of the chimney. My beloved creek is just over that tangle of blackberry bushes on the left.
These are the forget-me-nots that grow by my back door. Aren’t they cheerful?
And this is the sunset from my bedroom window.
I hope you have a beautiful day today, dear folks, wherever you live. 🙂
by Krista | Jul 14, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
There are few things that make me happier in this world than sitting around a campfire at night with dear friends, fingers sticky from flaming marshmallows and melting chocolate, as we talk and laugh and tell crazy stories. So I was a very happy girl at my cooking group Monday night when we did just that after our scrumptious Thai feast.
My friend Jenny spent several years in Laos and is a wiz at making authentic Thai food. I loved watching her whacking away at massive green papayas, turning them into slender shreds before pounding them up with green beans and hot peppers. She even let us novices have a try at walloping the papaya and I confess it was quite a marvelous stress reliever.
As she shredded away the rest of us busied ourselves with our dishes, and downed glasses of the oddest looking drink I’ve had to date: Basil Seed. They advised me to drink with my eyes closed, but I was a brave little soldier and peered curiously at what looked to be fleas bobbing about in my glass. They are basil seeds enclosed in a gelatin bubble (think tiny tapioca) floating in a juice-ish concoction that tastes much like cream soda. I liked it!
We picked clean my platter of fresh spring rolls, stuffed with lime shredded chicken, basil, mint, cilantro and vermicelli. We dipped them in spicy peanut sauce so yummy I could’ve happily slurped it like soup.
The first time I had green papaya salad I was startled because I was expecting something sweet and cooling instead of spicy. This time I was prepared! Jenny told us she would only put half a pepper in the first batch of green papaya salad for our North American palates. Since we were all snuffling and tearing after just one bite, I can only imagine how spicy HER bowl was. Wowsers! It was good though, especially with handfuls of sticky rice to wrap each bite in.
Darren and Jon made two different versions of Pad Thai. Darren’s was dark and rich with tamarind sauce and shrimp.
While Jon’s was light and sprightly with lime and chicken. Both were delicious.
Kat made creamy and spiced Thai Iced Tea and brought wonderfully sweet and tender sesame rolls…
…and fresh, juicy lychee for dessert.
We rode out a fierce rain in the hot tub (is there a better way to wait out a heavy rain??), then clustered round the fire pit with coat hangers, marshmallows, graham crackers and 70% dark chocolate.
It was a beautiful night.
This is my contribution to Wanderfood Wednesday hosted by Wanderlust and Lipstick. Stop by and see other delectable foods from around the world.
Krista’s Thai Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups creamy natural peanut butter
1 can coconut milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce
3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
3 gloves garlic, minced
Directions:
- Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Taste. Add more hoisin sauce if not sweet enough.
Krista’s Fresh Spring Rolls
8 round spring roll sheets
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
Juice of one lime
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1/2 cups fresh Thai basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 bundles vermicelli noodles, cooked, drained and cooled
Directions:
- Pour lime juice over chicken and stir to coat.
- Soak one spring roll sheet in warm water 5-10 seconds. Place on clean counter top.
- Down center of sheet place shredded chicken. Top with vermicelli noodles, mint, basil, and cilantro.
- Grasp edge of sheet closest to you and fold over mixture, tucking edges under. Fold each end piece over, then continue rolling until spring roll looks like a burrito.
Darren’s Pad Thai
(From Alton Brown)
Ingredients
1-ounce tamarind paste
3/4 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
4 ounces rice stick noodles
6 ounces Marinated Tofu, recipe follows
1 to 2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 cup chopped scallions, divided
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 whole eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons salted cabbage
1 tablespoon dried shrimp
3 ounces bean sprouts, divided
1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped, divided
Freshly ground dried red chile peppers, to taste
1 lime, cut into wedges
Directions:
- Place the tamarind paste in the boiling water and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.
- Combine the fish sauce, palm sugar, and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.
- Place the rice stick noodles in a mixing bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Once the other ingredients are measured out into separate bowls, drain the water from the noodles and set them aside. Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch wide strips, similar to French fries.
- Press the tamarind paste through a fine mesh strainer and add to the sauce. Stir to combine.
- Place a wok over high heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil. Heat until it shimmers, then add the tofu. Cook the tofu until golden brown, moving constantly, for no longer than 1 minute. Remove the tofu from the pan to a small bowl and set aside.
- If necessary, add some more peanut oil to the pan and heat until shimmering.
- Add 2/3 of the scallions and then the garlic, cook for 10 to 15 seconds. Add the eggs to the pan; once the eggs begin to set up, about 15 to 20 seconds, stir to scramble. Add the remaining ingredients in the following order and toss after each addition: noodles, sauce, cabbage, shrimp, and 2/3 of the bean sprouts and peanuts. Toss everything until heated through, but no longer than 1 to 2 minutes total.
- Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with the remaining scallions, bean sprouts, and peanuts. Serve immediately with the ground chile peppers and lime wedges.
Darren’s Marinated Tofu:
Ingredients:
6 ounces extra-firm tofu, not silken
1 1/2 cups soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
Directions:
- Wrap the tofu firmly in a tea towel. Place the wrapped tofu into an 8-inch cake pan. Top with another cake pan and weigh down with a 5-pound weight. (Bags of dried beans or grains work well.) Place in refrigerator and press for 12 to 15 hours.
- Place pressed tofu in a 2-cup container. Combine soy sauce and five-spice powder and pour over tofu. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, turning once. Remove the tofu from the marinade and use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days.
Jenny’s Papaya Salad
(From Thai Food Cast)
Utensils:
Mortar
Pestle
Ingredients:
1 clove of garlic
2 chilies – or as much as you like.
¼ cup roasted peanuts
½ cup tomatos
½ cup green beans
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons palm sugar
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
2 cups of shredded green papaya
Directions:
- Shred green papaya
- Slice tomatoes
- Chop green beans
- Slice Lime
- Put garlic and chili peppers into mortar, smash it into small pieces
- Add peanuts, smash it into small pieces
- Add palm sugar, pound it until it mixes well together
- Add lime, fish sauce, pound it until it mixes well
- Add green papaya and green bean and pound until it mixes well
- Garnish with roasted peanuts
Jenny’s Thai Sticky Rice
(From Visit Chiang-Mai Online)
Kat’s Thai Iced Tea
Ingredients:
30 bags of black tea
seeds from 5 black cardamom pods, freshly ground
1 T. star anise, freshly ground
2 large coffee filters
1 T. tamarind concentrate (could probably substitute 1 t. tamarind paste)
1 large saucepan full of water
Ice cubes
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
Directions:
- Tear open the tea bags, and empty the contents into two large coffee filters, along with the star anise and the cardamom.
- Tie the coffee filters closed with food safe twine. (I just used the string from one of the tea bags I had previously emptied.) Basically you’re making two really big tea bags.
- Bring the large saucepan of water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium high and steep tea bags for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, leaving the tea bags in, and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Fill a tall glass 2/3rds full of ice cubes.
- Pour the tea into the glass through a strainer. It should be a dark orange colour.
- Float over the top of a spoon, about 1 T. of evaporated milk, and 1 ½ T of sweetened condensed milk.
- Serve with an iced tea spoon so guests can mix in milk themselves.
by Krista | Jul 13, 2010 | Spring
It was late afternoon in Mostar, Bosnia as we dashed laughing through a sudden rain storm that turned streets into rivers and our merry band into drowned rats. Gasping and dripping we arrived back at our van, shook ourselves like a pack of dogs and clambered in.
I didn’t want to leave.
Mostar is a city of rich culture, rebuilding itself emotionally and physically after the devastating trauma and upheaval of the Bosnian conflict in the 1990’s. Some buildings are too battered and gutted to do more than simply exist. Others are being transformed from places of rubble and devastation to ones of beauty and significance. I suppose the same could be said of the people.
I do not claim to understand this beautiful country, but I am grateful to have experienced it. I can’t stop reading about its history, geography, ethnography, even agriculture. I am in awe of people who go through such heartache, loss, and indescribable grief, and wake up each day doing something to make their life beautiful again.
The storm passed quickly and the sun came out as we drove up into the hills above Mostar. We looked back in amazement at the watery fields now glistening in the setting sun.
We drove in silence for a while, no small feat with 5 chatty girls in the car, processing what we had seen, learned, and felt during our time in Bosnia. I felt grief, hope, peace, and deep gratitude.
We crested the hill on our way to Croatia and my heart swelled at the sight.
It was a perfect farewell.
Today I’ll share with you a recipe for one of my favorite Bosnian dishes: ajvar. Varieties are also found in Germany, Russia, and Croatia, and they’re all fabulous. A blended condiment of roasted eggplant, red bell peppers, onion, garlic and olive oil, ajvar is a rich, savory sauce that goes beautifully with so many things. I love it as a dip for Bosnian Cevapi, or spread thickly on dark rye bread topped with bacon or salami.
Bosnian Ajvar
Ingredients:
2 large eggplants, washed and dried
6 large red bell peppers, washed and dried
1 sweet onion, skin on, brushed with olive oil
2-3 garlic clove, peeled and minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Directions:
- Heat oven to 475 degrees F.
- Place eggplant, onion and peppers on baking sheet and roast until their skins blacken and blister, about 30 minutes.
- Put roasted vegetables in a heatproof bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow them to steam for 10 minutes. This will loosen and moisten burnt skins.
- Peel off and discard blackened stems, skins and seeds.
- Place vegetables in large bowl or food processor depending on the consistency you want. Mash in bowl if you want it chunky, puree in processor if you like it smooth.
- Add garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir until well mixed.
- Store covered and refrigerated. Can be canned to last longer.
by Krista | Jul 12, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
Good morning, dear ones! It is a dark and cloudy morning as I write to you (brrr!) but I’ve had several days of glorious sunshine so I don’t mind one bit.
How was your weekend? What did you get up to?
Mine was jolly, full of simple pleasures, tea with an old friend, bbq with other dear folks, reading in the sunshine by the creek. I awoke early Saturday morning – not the dreadful kind of early necessitated by an alarm, but the delicious sort of early where you wake up naturally, feeling quite rested, only to discover that most of the world is still asleep and you have a few blissful hours of quiet with no lawn mowers, weed whackers, or loudly cackling neighbors to disturb the peace.
It was marvelous. 🙂  So I decided to indulge with a rather decadent breakfast of French Toast made with dark chocolate chip banana bread, drizzled with sour cream thinned with milk, and topped with a lavish helping of blueberries. With a large glass of fresh spearmint tea, it was a rather splendid breakfast to eat out on my little patio, looking up at the trees and blue sky, listening to the tumble of the creek and the wind in the leaves.
I spent the rest of my weekend happily puttering. I tended my little container garden, bought a gorgeous oregano plant, thinned the lettuces I’d planted and transplanted them to their own pots. Hopefully they will start flourishing soon! I ran errands with Mums, chatted with my grandies, and got to cuddle my friend’s beautiful Indian foster baby who grinned and drooled contentedly while I kissed his fat cheeks and squeezed his oh so chubby legs.
I also ate more blueberries (I do so love them!), this time with fresh strawberries and plain yogurt mixed with agave and vanilla. Delicious!
And I watched the sun set behind the trees, making such beautiful etchings of the leaves and branches.
Now it is a new week and I have a couple things I’m looking forward to: dinner with friends I haven’t seen in a while, eating the first fresh spring rolls I’ve ever made, and finishing this rather ripping novel I started this weekend.
What are you looking forward to?
This is my contribution to Chaya’s Meatless Mondays.
Banana Bread French Toast
Ingredients:
6 slices banana bread
butter
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 shake tsp nutmeg
1 shake cinnamon
1 shake cloves
1/2 cup sour cream thinned with 1-2 tsp milk
fresh blueberries, washed and drained
Directions:
- Mix egg, milk and spices in wide shallow bowl.
- Melt butter in saucepan over medium high heat.
- Dip each slice of banana bread in milk mixture, both sides, and place in buttered pan. Fry until each side is browned. Remove to plate.
- Drizzle with sour cream mixture and top with blueberries.
