|
|
|
Attend a cooking class at Studio of Good Living in San Francisco and you’ll soon discover a new world full of culinary adventures. More than just a cooking school, the Studio of Good Living shares the art of living well with all its students!
Studio of Good Living offers exceptional cooking classes and events in the Bay Area and Beyond. Want to learn how to cook or brush up on your cooking skills? Take a class with us! Escape to San Francisco for a Taste of San Francisco or indulge yourself with Cook, Shop, Spa. Burned out? Drop into Live Well, Eat Well for yoga lovers. Continue the journey with the Art of Dinner Blog and view our video classes for new ideas to spice up your dinner table. . Need a change of scenery? Join us for a total culinary and lifestyle retreat in beautiful Maine. Discover the possibilities with Chef Phoebe Schilla and the Studio of Good Living. Life is Beautiful by Design.
It’s amazing to me how much the locavore movement has taken root in just a few years. This morning, in the crowded ‘oh my god, it’s two days before Thanksgiving’ grocery store panic I heard people repeatedly asking ‘Is this organic? Where does it come from?’ It’s great to see such interest in where our food is coming from. I really believe that we are in the midst of a food revolution. I see more of an emphasis on family meals, local products and cooking for oneself. I think it is fantastic and hope that we continue with this trend for a long time.
At the Farmer’s Market, persimmons and pomegranates are both in season. They work extraordinarily well together in the following salad recipe. I love the red of the pomegranate, the orange of the persimmon and the green of the lettuce on the plate. There are two types of persimmons available in the marketplace right now: Fuyu and Hachiyas. Fuyus are firm, squat and round. They are meant to be eaten out of hand, like an apple. Hachiyas are only edible when they are very soft and are best used for puddings and baked goods.
Persimmon and Pomegranate salad with Butter Lettuce
From Joyce Goldstein’s Mediterranean Fresh
Serves 6
2 heads of butter lettuce, leaves separated
3 ripe Fuyu persimmon, peeled and cut into wedges
Seeds of 1 large pomegranate (about a cup)
1/2c pomegranate and nut oil dressing made with hazelnut oil (recipe follows)
¼ cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped for garnish
Combine the lettuce, persimmons and pomegranate seeds in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Serve immediately, topped with toasted nuts.
Pomegranate and nut oil dressing
Mediterranean Fresh by Joyce Goldstein
4 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. Hazelnut oil
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Whisk the ingredients together and add salt to taste.
Enjoy!
This is my recipe ‘find’ of the month. It is a quick, easy and delicious dip that you can make up to two days in advance. My clients loved this recipe I hope that you do too!
Spinach and Yogurt Dip
From ‘Big Night In’ by Dominca Marchetti
*makes about 1 ½ cups
3 Tbsp. unsalted Butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 (11oz) pkg baby spinach leaves, steamed, squeezed to remove excess water and chopped (about 2/3 cup) *You can use frozen spinach, if that is what you have on hand. Simply thaw, drain and measure out 2/3 cup.
¾ tsp. kosher or sea salt
1 cup whole milk Greek Style yogurt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook over a low to medium heat, stirring frequently. You want the onion to be very soft and translucent. Remove the pan from the heat, cool and add the chopped spinach. Stir to combine.
In a bowl, combine the yogurt, salt, cinnamon, pepper and yogurt. Fold in the spinach and onion mixture. Let the dip sit for about half an hour to let the flavors mingle. Place in the fridge until cold.
The secret ingredient in this recipe is the cinnamon. It sounds unusual, but the pinch of cinnamon adds a haunting quality to the flavors of the dip.
This dip is outrageous served with pita chips, sliced cucumber, carrots and celery.
Sometimes the simplest things are the best….I’m at the Mayacamas Ranch in Calistoga this weekend for a long awaited yoga retreat. This is my first night away since the baby was born. The setting is beautiful—pristine, seemingly remote and what’s in my glass is tea as I sit by the pool watching the sun set over the Mayacamas mountain range.
 This retreat is my birthday present—detox weekend– to myself. I find that the days are so busy and so hectic I forget about the small things—like a cup of tea and watching the sunset. Chatting with friends and sitting in the hot tub under a starlit sky are the only things that I need to do this evening.
What I’m reminded of every time I make time to nurture myself is how important it is to stop and slow down. We all need to take better care of ourselves and each other in order to make this world a better place. Only from a place of inner peace and purpose will we be able to mindfully effect change in our world.
So what’s in my glass is my favorite caffeine free tea of all time –the Marco Polo Rouge from Mariage Freres in Paris. It’s a rooibos tea, flavored with Chinese and Tibetan flowers (sounds decadent, doesn’t it?). It’s beautifully perfumed and entices you with aromas wafting beyond your glass. The person sitting next to you will definitely ask what you are drinking. I hope that you remember to make time for yourself….Enjoy!
“Climate change isn’t something that’s going to hit in the future. It’s already changing the weather patterns and water supply in California; a dwindling snowpack, bigger flood flows, rising sea levels, longer and harsher droughts.” CA Dept of Water Resources
Water is a limited resource and California is experiencing its third year of drought in a row. The time to do something about it is now. We need to use our water supply more efficiently and with a greater sense of responsibility. Here are some simple ways to conserve water in your home.
- Turn off the faucet when you brush!
- When you wash your hands, turn off the faucet while you soap up.
- Stop drips and leaky faucets when they occur.
- Install a low flow showerhead.
- Only run the dishwasher or washing machine when they are full.
- Catch ‘grey water’ by placing a bucket in the shower with you. You can use this water to flush toilets or water the lawn.
- Don’t hand wash dishes under a running faucet. Instead have a sink full of soapy water and a sink or bucket full of rinse water.
- Use the rinse water from your hand washed dishes to flush toilets or water the garden.
- Keep drinking water in the fridge instead of letting the cold tap run.
- When cooking, steam veggies instead of blanching them.
- Save the used pasta water or vegetable steaming water from cooking to use in the garden.
- If installing a high efficiency toilet in your home or apartment is not an option, place a sack of marbles or rocks in the tank to displace and use less water.
- Compost! You have to in San Francisco. Encourage minimal use of the garbage disposal.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=a3978a81-7fad-44fe-bf59-1fd13b525d03)
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays—notice I said ‘one of’ I think that Birthdays and Christmas are pretty nice too! It’s really easy to stress out about Thanksgiving dinner but please don’t. It’s really no different than any other dinner party. Here are some tips to help you organize your Thanksgiving dinner.
- 10 days to one week prior to T-day confirm the number of guests and double check on any food allergies and intolerances.
- 10 days to one week prior pull all of the recipes that you will be using for Thanksgiving.
- Once you have pulled the recipes, check your pantry for staples like flour, sugar, baking powder etc.
- One week prior to Thanksgiving go to the grocery store and get everything that you will need for Thanksgiving dinner except for the Turkey and perishable vegetables. Cranberries, butternut squash, potatoes, onions, garlic, frozen pie crusts will all keep for the big day. The grocery store is a zoo the day or two before Thanksgiving. I highly recommend getting everything that you can ahead of time and just running in to pick up the Turkey and odds and ends the day before.
- If you are using the ‘special’ plates and silverware that you only use a couple of times a year, check to make sure that the plates are clean and the silverware is polished a week or so prior to Thanksgiving. (This goes for any party that you throw.)
- Check platters, serving dishes and linens when your check the plates and silverware.
- 5 days to a week prior pick up any wine and beverages that you will be serving. Pinot Noir is an excellent choice for such a complex meal as Thanksgiving. Chardonnay is an excellent choice for a white wine, but if you prefer something dryer go with a Sauvignon Blanc . I love Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. While you are at the wine store grab some cocktail napkins to use with any hors d’oeurves that you are serving.
- One week prior order any pies and breads that you want from the bakery.
- The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, salt your turkey heavily in the body cavity and under the skin, wrap and place in the fridge. This technique is called dry brining. It’s my favorite way to cook Turkey. Use about 1 Tbsp. of salt for every 4 pounds of bird. Check out www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/dining/111trex.html for a great article.
- The day before Thanksgiving is here. This is what you can do ahead of time: blanch any green vegetables such as green beans or sugar snap peas. You can quickly reheat them by sautéing in butter just before serving. Peel and chop your potatoes, cover them with water and put them in the fridge. Today is a great day to bake pies if that is your thing. If you are making biscuits, mix your dry ingredients and cut in the butter today. Thursday morning, add your liquid, mix and bake your biscuits. Stuffing can be made ahead of time too, and just cooked the day of.
- Thanksgiving day. Ask your guests for help to pull everything together! Most people want to take part in the preparation—they just don’t want to plan the entire meal.
Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to connect with others year after year. That’s really what it is about, isn’t it? Connecting. In the end, if the turkey is a little dryer than you would like, just pass the gravy and count your blessings.
Good Luck and Happy Thanksgiving!
There are some vegetables that invoke the same amount of disgust in people as tripe, kidneys or brain do in others. Those vegetables I jokingly refer to as ‘Vegetable Offal’. This includes lima beans, eggplant, okra and pumpkin among others. Just saying the names make some people quiver with barely disguised revulsion. Fortunately, I eat everything—well almost everything, I’m squeamish about brains and hearts, and please don’t put a pig or cow’s head on the platter for me. Tete de Veau? Oh, No! But as far as vegetables go, anything is fair game.
This Friday, when I opened my fridge and peered inside the vegetable drawer, all I had were odds and ends. Half of a baby sugar pie pumpkin, a couple of thai eggplants, 6 end of season dry farmed tomatoes , ½ cup of shelling beans that needed to be cooked, yes, a handful of okra was lurking in the back corner too. I vaguely remembered that I wanted to make a vegetarian chile from Julie Sahni’s ‘Savoring Spices and Herbs’ cookbook, so I pulled it off of the shelf and opened it up. There it was! Vegetarian pumpkin, eggplant, and lima bean chile. Many people would have turned the page. Not me! The chile was delicious—light and fragrant, rich with vegetables. I did alter the recipe to accommodate
what I had in my fridge and I would encourage you to do the same. I took the liberty of changing the name to:
Offal Good Vegetarian Chile (Sorry about the pun!)
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 c. chopped onions
1 Tbsp. minced Garlic
2 Tbsp. Chili Powder (She calls for 3 Tbsp. but I wanted something a little lighter)
1 tsp. allspice
2 c. fresh or frozen baby lima beans, fava beans, edamame or shelling beans
2 c. chopped peeled tomatoes, fresh or canned
3 c. vegetable stock or water
1# pumpkin, butternut squash, acorn squash or sweet potato, cut into 1 ½” cubes, about 2 cups
1 c. corn kernels, cooked
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Combine the oil, onions and garlic in a heavy sauce pan over medium high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions wilt and begin to brown, about 6 minutes.
Add the chili powder, allspice, beans, tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered until the beans are tender and the spices develop depth, about 15 minutes. Fold in the pumpkin and eggplant. Continue to cook, covered until the vegetables are very tender. About 25 minutes. The pumpkin will fall apart and give body to the sauce.
Add the corn and cook until heated through. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle generously with pepper and season to taste with salt.
I think that just about everyone loves the Miso soup that is ubiquitous to Japanese restaurants around the country. It is also used frequently in other Asian cuisines and is known as Chiang in China and Chao do in Vietnam. Beyond that, I think the general question is ‘What exactly do I do with this?
 - Miso for sale in Chinese market
Miso is more than just the base ingredient for soup—it can be used in a multitude of ways to add flavor and nutrients to what you are making. Miso is 13-20% protein and has an amino acid pattern similar to meat. (Vegetarians are you listening?) It is a fermented food and contains lactobacillus (the same good ol’ lactobacillus found in yogurt) that helps digestion. There have been various studies done that suggest miso has cancer fighting properties. In addition, some studies indicate that consuming miso can help reverse the effects of smoking and air pollution. Traditionally miso has been said to encourage good health and a long life. What more do you need to know to start incorporating miso as part of your weekly diet?
There are three basic types of miso—barley (mugi), rice (kome), and soybean (hatcho) and countless variations. It is made by mixing cooked soybeans, grain, mold (koji) and salt and letting this mixture ferment from 6 months to a few years. Frequently you will see miso labeled as white, red or black. The lighter varieties of miso are typically used for soups and are sweeter and less salty than the darker varieties. The best advice that I can give you about miso is to stop thinking about it as an ingredient and more as a condiment.
Miso can keep covered in your fridge for up to a year, so get cooking! Here two recipes—one for your soup and a marinade for fish.
Miso Soup (adapted from Epicurious.com)
½ c. Wakame (a type of dried seaweed. It used to be difficult to find, but even Whole Foods carries it now.)
¼ c. Shiro Miso (white miso)
6 c. Dashi (Japanese Sea Stock) See below for the recipe.
¼ c. scallions, sliced
½ # soft tofu, diced
Prepare the Wakame
Cover the Wakame with 1 inch of warm water. Let stand and soften for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Make the soup
Mix the miso with ½ cup of the Dashi—enough to loosen the miso so that it is pourable. In a saucepan on the stovetop, heat the remaining Dashi until hot then add in the scallions and the tofu. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the miso. Serve and Enjoy!
*I like to add bits of leftover cooked vegetables from my fridge to make a Vegetable miso soup.
Dashi
6 c. of cold water
1oz Kombu (dried Kelp, also available at WF)
2 pkg. Katsuo Bushi, (dried Bonito flakes) about 1 cup (If you are vegetarian, skip this.)
Place the cold water and komu in a large saucepan and bring to just a boil. Turn off the heat and sprinkle the katsuo bushi flakes over the liquid. Stir and let stand for 3 minutes. Pour the liquid through a fine sieve (use a cheese cloth lined sieve if you have to) and set aside.
Miso Glazed Sablefish
Adapted from ‘Fish Forever’ by Paul Johnson
Marinade
½ c. mirin
½ c. Sake
¼ c. sugar
1 c. white miso
4 (5 oz) sablefish fillets
In a medium saucepan, bring the mirin and sake to a boil to evaporate the alcohol. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Remove from the heat and whisk the miso paste until smooth. Set aside and let cool completely.
Put the sablefish fillets in a nonreactive dish and slather them with the cooled marinade. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 3 days. (Paul points out that sablefish does well with the long marinade time, but if you are using salmon or other fish only marinate for an hour or two.)
Preheat the broiler and set the rack as far from the heat source as possible so that the fish does not brown too quickly. Preheat the oven to 425Fin case it cooks too fast under the broiler.
Wipe off any excess miso clinging to the fillets. Place the fish on the broiler pan, 6 to 8 inches from the heat source and broil for 8 to 10 minutes or until almost opaque through. If the fish browns too quickly and is in danger of burning, finish cooking it in the preheated oven.
It’s been chilly in my part of San Francisco this week. A welcome reminder of Fall weather! The cookbooks that have been in heavy rotation are: Braise, by Daniel Boulud and Melissa Clark, Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan and Mediterranean Fresh by Joyce Goldstein.
Here it is:
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=64747474-25b1-4243-8bad-149cd2d633b3)
It has been an insanely busy month. Tons of parties to cook for, new clients, old clients changing eating habits ……I haven’t had much time to read between work, baby and sleep. The month finally closed with Lily’s nine month check up. She had to get a couple of shots and my reaction to that is to buy more cookbooks. (Lily got the tiniest bit of ice cream for her troubles, and she loved it!) Luckily there is a book store with a great selection of cookbooks a couple of blocks from the doctor’s office. Added to my collection are:
Rose’s Heavenly Cakes, by Rose Levy Beranbaum
Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan
Clay Pot Cooking by Paula Wolfert
And ‘Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes’ from the editors of Food and Wine
I’ve already heavily earmarked the Best of the Best book with the recipes that I am going to cook this week. Sometimes I just like to go through a cookbook, mark all the recipes that I want to try and go on a tear—cooking all of those recipes in the space of a month. My clients absolutely love trying new recipes—I’m really lucky in that regard. It gives me an opportunity to really work a cookbook and expand my repertoire.
The one book that I have perused late in the evenings this month is Deborah Madison and Patrick McFarlin’s ‘What we eat when we eat alone’. It’s a nifty idea for a book. There are some unusual combinations and some intriguing recipes. People eat odd things when they are alone. I like the idea of ‘Open Faced Melted Cheese Sandwiches with Tapenade’. I’ll have to try that sometime. When I am alone, I admittedly eat strangely. If I am really exhausted and have been tasting and cooking food all day I love to end the day with buttered popcorn. If I have more energy then I’ll make myself a huge bowl of Pad Thai or an insanely spicy Thai Basil Chicken, with steamed rice on the side.
What do you eat when you eat alone?
*I really don’t want you to think that I just read cookbooks or books about food—I’m secretly (or not so secretly in my house) addicted to thrillers and murder mysteries. Historical novels and science fiction also fit the bill—it’s all speculative fiction in our house. Recently I read ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ by Steig Larson and thoroughly enjoyed that and the follow up ‘The Girl who Played with Fire’. The writing is sharp and well paced, the characters well drawn and the story line will keep you entertained until the very last page! Much to my chagrin, Mr. Larson passed away before he could finish writing the entire series. (He had originally planned 10 books in the series.) So awful! But I’m really looking forward to reading ‘The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest’ when it is released next May.
|
|
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8824c866-83a2-4ede-9f19-824ab7dbb7c5)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=fd493510-d67d-47da-9dcc-b185f04ffc0e)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=5b28890c-334e-4fe8-9c83-1edac898f78b)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=bbff0326-bd8c-490c-9482-88ffdbea43e6)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=500097d4-5d01-4ceb-9753-9f0a93a7b838)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6e65758d-3d48-467b-acf4-2435e93c581a)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=a5aa104d-9088-4af9-a294-1b2be15bec2a)
rss feed