Green, Purple & Brown Rice Salad

I think I can happily claim ownership of this recipe as I have done an extensive search on the internet and not found anything that so dares !

It was a hot summer day, I was bored, I had too much Thai Basil in the terrace….  and that purple cauliflower I always buy when I find it…. just because is, well, PURPLE… of course.  So here we go:

• 1 large purple cauliflower
• 2 cups of brown rice
• 5 limes
• some sunflower seeds
• 2 table spoon of fish sauce
• ground cumin and chili
• LOADS of fresh Thai Basil

Boil the brown rice for about 45 mts to 1 hour, until soft. Cut and steam the cauliflower for about 15 minutes or until “al dente”. Be careful not to overcook it and make it too soppy. Cut 3 of the limes in chunks and squeeze the juice out of the last 2. Cut the Thai basil leaves in chucks and the sunflower seeds.

Put all ingredients in a large salad bowl, adding the fish sauce, the cumin, the chillies and some salt to taste.  Mix well and put in the fridge. Let it marinate for half hour and serve cool.

New Year, New Rant – Ammonia in Beef?

Here we go again…..    picking up a copy of the NY Times on way home from family holiday in Australia and we read the front page article on safety of beef processing. The article talks about a processing to remove E.Coli and Salmonella, which in principal sounds grand, but the magical treatment – well it seems our friendly (Rocket) Food scientists have came up with the idea of injecting processed beef with Ammonia.

Now, as we know, Ammonia is a compound of Nitrogen (NH₃₎ and in nature is a useful way for organisms to access one of natures building blocks (Nitrogen) in creating proteins from Amino acids. TFD is not so much concerned (per se) about some consumption of Ammonia – it is a naturally occurring trace element and can found in soils as salts etc. Although caustic and most often found in cleaning solutions (oven, glass, tiles etc), the human body has a processing mechanism  – the human kidney can produce it for breaking down of acids and the liver is able to process Ammonia in the natural (urea) cycle. However this does not mean that it is suitable for direct consumption by Humans in larger quantities. So much for relying on the government to look after our interests.

This whole process is another example of patching up a hole rather than find a solution to the problem. Why do they need to address the E.Coli and Salmonella problems? The article points out that these are more prevalent in fatty trimmings of beef, so our friends in the Food Industry are putting more fat and less meat into our burgers, or trying to squeeze every extra gram of salable product (really??). TFD is not so ignorant as to assume that a beef burger is actually “beef”, nor that food corporations sole interest is anything other than profit.

However what is worrying is that the USDA not only endorsed the process, but worse accepted the company’s own research and findings rather than doing their own investigation. Who are the users of Beef Products Inc – none other than the likes of McDonalds, Burger King, the US Federal School Lunch program. Nice!

But back to the problem – why is there so much E.Coli and Salmonella in our meat that it needs to be treated. This comes down to the Food process – from the way the animals are raised to the way and what they are fed (grain vs grass) and how they are slaughtered. A simple web search will reveal the widespread nature of the problem of contaminated meats entering our food system in the US and their unfortunate and fatal effects. TFD will continue to go to their local butcher, select the meat and ask it to be ground in front of them. We will also inquire as to the origin of the meat and what is was fed on. However we realise this is a luxury the majority of the target audience of processed meat are not in a position to do, unfortunately.

Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines 2009

The top 10

1. 95 $27 Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley Reserve 2005
2. 96 $27 Numanthia-Termes, Toro Termes 2005
3. 95 $70 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape, La Crau 2007
4. 95 $52 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast 2007
5. 96 $54 Barone Ricasoli Chianti Classico, Castello di Brolio 2006
6. 94 $42 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Signature 2006
7. 96 $44 Renato Ratti Barolo, Marcenasco 2005
8. 99 $110 Fontodi Colli della Toscana, Centrale Flaccianello 2006
9. 96 $29 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Valley 2007
10. 93 $20 Brancaia, Toscana Tre 2007

Good luck on getting your hands on some Columbia Crest!

The Full list here

Spicy Pumpkin (Squash) Coconut Soup

A quick and simple alternative to soup or risotto for a pumpkin…

Essentially fusion Asian, using traditional blend of coconut milk, fish sauce and chilly and combining with the flavour of a butternut Pumpkin or squash as they call it in the States.  Simply chop up and fried the onion with oil, though you can brown it over a flame with the skin on beforehand for more flavour. Then added a butternut pumpkin that has been roughly chopped into 1/2 inch squares, a can of coconut milk and more or less the same amount of chicken stock  and half a cup of water. Let this cook over medium flame for about 10 mins, then added chillies, thai basil, corriander, fish sauce, rock sugar and salt. Everything is of course to taste – I think we added some Star Anise and I added some optional other flavours that I think would also work well, but what ever takes your fancy and how hot and spicy you prefer.

Let it cook until ready (ie pumpkin is cooked to your preference). You can blend it to create a soup or serve chunky as we did, adding Vietnamese Rice Noodles during the last stages of cooking. If using Noodles you may have to add some more water or precook the noodles in a separate pot as they will soak up the excess liquid (as happened to us).

• Butternut Pumpkin (Squash)
• Onion or shallots
• Vegetable or other oil (eg sesame, peanut)
• Chillies (Thai)
• Coconut milk
• Chicken Stock
• Fish Stock
• Coriander (Cilantro)
• Thai basil (optional but recommended)
• Lemongrass (optional but recommended)
• Light soy sauce  (optional)
• Rock sugar (or white sugar)
  
• Lime juice (optional)
• Kaffir Lime leaves (optional)
• Salt

Dumplings & The White Bear

The other week TFD went along to the 4th Annual New York Dumpling Festival in Sarah Roosevelt Park, Manhattan. Always partial to some good dumplings we were enticed by the marketing hype of worlds best dumplings, not to mention the dumpling eating contest that some of TFD’s fellow gastro connoisseurs could have given a run for the money. Upon arriving we were overwhelmed by the crowds, long queues and poor organisation on a wet and miserable Saturday. 2 minutes later we were en route to Shanghai Cafe on Mott St for some great soup dumplings (don’t be put off by the pastel fluorescent lighting).

However this reminds us of another great dumpling find, this time all the way down in the real Chinatown (aka Flushing). There are a number of great places to try (eg Nan Shian Dumpling House), but this literal hole in the wall particularly attracted us. Compared to some of the street sidewalks and dingy back rooms that TFD has eaten in over the years on various travels this was quite luxurious, but by NY standards don’t say you aren’t warned. Having the food prepared and cooked in front of you leaves little for the imagination, but in this case for the better. What to try….. the Hot and Spicy Wontons are a must!

The White Bear
135-02 Roosevelt Ave #5
Flushing, NY 11354
(718) 961-2322

Arancini – make your own this time

One of my top easy-to-eats. Customizable in different sizes for different needs:

Large, medium and small …

The preparation is the same, count about one hour considering the rice takes time to boil:

• Rice (I like the Vialone nano quality, but the Arborio is as good)
• Frozen (or fresh) peas (one cup of peas for each cup of rice)
• Frying oil
• Mozzarella
• Butter
• Parmesan
• Some grated nutmeg
• Salt
• For the Batter: eggs and breadcrumbs

Get some chunky Italian risotto style rice…. Wash it. Boil it until cooked in salty water and drain it. Boil the peas, and add them to the rice. Season the rice with butter and parmisan, add some nutmeg and pepper to taste.

Take a small part of the mixture in your palm, flatten it out and stick a small piece of fresh mozzarella in center. Close the hand and work it to make a nice compact sphere. The arancini in the photo are golf ball size, but you can choose to make them bigger or smaller. Remember that the larger the sphere, the more attention you will need to pay in handling them whilst in the frying pan as they are more likely to crack. Suggestion is to start off small. Golf ball size is probably the most manageable.

Hit up the oil in a sauce pan. It should really cover the arancini. I like to fry everything in olive oil because is healthier, but if you are making loads of arancini this might turn out quite expensive. I generally compromise by using half olive oil and half standard frying vegetable oil.

Break the eggs in a bowl and whisk together the yolk and the white part. Prepare some papertowels covered in breadcrumbs. Pass the rice balls into the egg first, letting excess egg to drain off , then pass them on the breadcrumbs, and fry.

Remember to be careful not to touch them too much when in the pan, because they do crack easily, so always manage with a deep spoon and don’t move around too much.

They are generally ready in 10 minutes if you’re using the golf ball size. 15 minutes for larger sizes and about 5 for the small bite size.

Let them rest on absorbent paper to drain out excess oil. Serve very hot when the mozzarella inside is still melted.

et voila`…

The Kerala Cocktail

Quite a particular taste sensation from the menu of Death & Company, the Kerala  is one of those cocktails that I’ll remember. Last time I went it was off the menu, but you can still order as long as they have the Cardamom pods in stock. The combination of juices and bitters give a sweet sour taste that is balanced against a backdrop of rum & bourbon while the unique cardamom flavour just tops it off perfectly. Not simple to do at home, but won’t stop me trying.  However I highly recommend a trip down to Death & Company to sample along with the rest of the great drink and food menu. Unfortunately no photo’s…. its very dark (and everything gets a bit too blurry after a couple).