Salty Apron

As the subheading of my blog reads “Food, Love, and Life (Not always in that order)”, this post is mostly about love and life. At the end, I’ll post a dynamite chocolate cake recipe that is terrible for the body, but excellent for the soul. It’s my great grandmother Agnes Nolan’s chocolate cake. She was my grandmother’s mother. If you don’t care to read some of my reflections about my family and life, or to see some pictures of the scenery where I am, please feel free to scroll to the very bottom for the cake recipe I made for Easter lunch and for some quick lessons I learned about high altitude baking.

For 2 weeks, I have been in CO staying with my mom and visiting with my grandparents, one aunt and cousins. C flew in for the weekend to spend some time with my mom, and I took him back to the Springs airport this a.m. at 4:15. I saw the sunrise on the way back and decided to stop for some quick iPhone pics, one of them being the feature picture at top.

This town is so “Americana” to me. I grew up in the midwest, and this same small-town feel can be found still in so many places around the U.S. including the one in which my mom lives now. She lives at 3300 feet in the valley of some mountains. On some days here, it is gorgeous and charming, as you’ll see from the pics, below. But, the history here is scary and I can’t seem to get over it. I suppose I shouldn’t be that astonished considering the racist country we started out as, and still are, since the “discovery” of the Americas by white men seeking to bring riches back to their home countries. But, I am astonished. For instance, why were there still wooden chairs in the middle school here in the 1990s that had placards on the back of them that said they were donated by the KKK? Yep, you read it right – the 1990s. There’s a prison museum here, of course, because the town’s main industry is the State of CO’s maximum security prisons. I believe there are 7 prisons, in total here. There’s a big meth problem. And, the pace here is ultra slow and the people here are super inefficient in their daily business – because why are you in such a hurry when you can drive from one end of the town to another in 10 minutes? To some people, this all sounds very bad, and I’m not going to lie and say I disagree. But, with some bad (and very bad) often comes some good.

Here, people still wave at you on the street when you drive by even though they don’t know who you are. They smile and say, “Good morning, how are you today”, as you walk past them on the sidewalk, again even though we don’t know one another. There’s a Carnegie library in a beautiful historic building. There’s a food incubator that helps people start small, food businesses legally. The incubator was started by an amazing middle-aged woman whose politics were too progressive for this town so she stopped running for office and devoted her energies in another way to helping the community and its people make money. The server at Merlino’s (good, aged steak there and even better homemade key lime pie!) calls me “hon” even though I’m at least twice her age, and she smiles and asks questions about my life as my grandmother brags about me being a former-lawyer-turned-chef-who-now-lives-in-Barcelona, even though the server’s busy and has other tables to wait on. My mom’s here. My grandparents are here. I slow down here and have time to reflect on what’s important to me: my family.

I believe if you take time to stop and look around – no matter where you are – you can find beauty (I know I’m a romantic, very blessed, and possibly naive, but I have to believe it’s true to combat all the bad I know of in this world).

Here are some pics from yesterday and today that make me smile…

My husband and me, lying on the floor at Aunt M’s after lunch yesterday (thanks for the picture, cousin A!):

A new friend I stopped to meet this morning as I drove back to my mom’s place:

My new friend in “Americana” landscape on a crisp, gorgeous CO morning:

If you look closely at “brown beauty” (I named her in my early morning fog and haste), she is branded with a heart on her left side.

Sunrise in the mountains (spectacular!):

After relaying some wicked history to C last night (yep, every family and every town has some), I woke realizing that my family, their history – the great, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the downright horrid -, and my history with them is everything. I am who I am because of my mom and my dad. I am who I am because of my grandparents. I am who I am because of my best friends, who are also my treasured family. Life is too short to hold grudges, to be angry over things in the past you can’t change, to be wrecked over the sad and inevitable things in the future that seem to come too quickly. Live as if you’re dying and you only have a short amount of time to love, to give, to honor and to eat chocolate cake 🙂 Because, you are and you do.

So, here’s Great Grandma Nolan’s chocolate cake recipe, courtesy of my mother who grew up on a corn farm in Iowa and who made this cake for me countless times when I was growing up.

Great Grandma Nolan’s Scotch Cake

Cake:
1) Sift together in a large bowl: 2 c. AP flour, 2 c. sugar
2) Bring to rapid boil in heavy saucepan: 1 stick butter, ½ c. shortening, 4 T. cocoa powder, 1 c. water
3) Pour over flour and sugar. Mix well.
4) Add ½ c. buttermilk, 2 eggs (slightly beaten), 1 tsp. baking soda and mix well. Bake in greased 10×16 pan at 375 degrees F.

Icing:
1) Start making 5 minutes before cake is done baking.
2) Bring to rapid boil: 1 stick margarine, 4 T cocoa powder, 7 T milk.
3) Remove from heat and add roughly 3/4 box, sifted confectioner’s sugar. Add in slowly so that it doesn’t clump. Follow with 1 c. unsweetened coconut flakes and 1 c. chopped pecans. Spread over cake while still hot.

Let cake and icing cool until icing becomes a bit firm on top and cool enough to cut without melting.

Chef’s notes:

1) I know this recipe calls for margarine and that’s very bad for your health. But, it’s what they had growing up in the 50s, so, if you substitute butter, you’ll likely need to make adjustments on other ingredients as well.
2) I know this recipe will probably make some bakers cringe, as the mixing of certain ingredients and in certain orders flies in the face of conventional wisdom on how to make a proper cake, but this recipe works. I’ve made it several times. The cake batter will look weird, and the icing will too, but both the cake and the icing will have great textures in the end.
3) At 3300 feet above see level, the adjustments are: a) bake at 400 degrees F (conventional wisdom on high altitude baking says to bake at 25 degrees higher), b) use 1-2 T. more flour, c) use slightly less baking soda as you don’t want it to rise too quickly and then fall (although I used almost a full teaspoon), and d) use slightly less sugar in your cake batter (I used 1 3/4 c. sugar instead of 2 cups. The chocolate cake is so rich anyway, I think even sea level bakers might consider using less sugar – you don’t miss it!).

Happy eating!

After a full day of packing, I went up to S & F’s for dinner. MMMMMM! We had stuffed salmon, grilled eggplant Thai-style, roasted vegies and a cauliflower “risotto” (riceless). Fred stuffed the salmon with sundried tomatoes, basil, feta, onions, and roasted red peppers. Then, he sauteed the stuffed salmon in butter, brown sugar and lemon until it was brown and crispy on each side.  Wow, what a killer salmon and so easy.  Nice and moist and just barely cooked in the middle. Perfect!

Shannon has been experimenting to try to recreate the eggplant from Spices restaurant in Honolulu.  Her eggplant was pretty darn close and simple to prepare!  If you like eggplant with a little sweet-heat/herby topping, this is the recipe for you.   She thinly sliced small Japanese eggplants and then grilled them with a little oil on them.  Then, when they were almost done, she mixed the sweet chili sauce with 1/2 c. fresh mint and 1/2 c. Thai basil, both minced, along with some sauteed onions as well as fresh white onions, both minced. The use of both raw and cooked onions makes for a great contrast in textures, as well as provides a bit of fresh onion flavor from the raw onions.

Here are picture of the plates, first without the eggplant (we forgot it, but I like this pic as it shows the full cross-section slice of the salmon), and then with the eggplant in front:

Delicious dinner!

So, I went on a run this gorgeous Hawaii morning and then came back feeling like I needed some salt. Before I went to culinary school, I would have a problem every once in a while where I would feel faint because I have low blood pressure (except when I’m driving in Hawaii – people, the accelerator is the pedal on the far right!), and then I would need to eat some salt. Thank goodness FCI cured me of this issue, since there was never a point at which I could get away with using little salt 😉

So, to get my salt fix in, I decided to have “dinner”, or a savory meal, for breakfast. I don’t like eating rules, much, so this fits in line with my eating philosophy. I made a Greek-inspired salad that was incredibly satisfying (and I threw in some braised tofu for good measure). I topped it with just a splash of peppery EVOO and sherry vinegar. Lots of salt in the feta. Perfect! Then, I followed it up with a sweet apple banana and a cup of Kona. Sounds weird, but it was perfect after my run.

Here’s a pic of the salad in my favorite bowl (thanks for making the Hampig bowl Jeff and Ca!):

The reason I love Greek salads is because I think they are a “cleaner” form of a chopped salad, without lettuce, at least the way I prepare them. I definitely love lettuce, but there’s something about just vegetable chunks without the abundance of lettuce in my usual salads that sometimes overshadow the other vegies. That said, I’m a fan of all kinds of salads. I try to eat at least one salad a day, and many times 2. I think it’s a really simple way to get in an array of fresh vegies (the possibilities for vegie and fruit salad combos are endless), which is what most nutritionists say is important for health (don’t just eat one type of vegie, but mix it up during the week and use lots of variety, including dark leafy greens).

One thing I read the other day in a nutritional healing book is that romaine lettuce has some great nutrient qualities to it. If you’re in a rut with dark, leafy greens or are getting bored of eating mixed green salads, try going back to a salad with a base of romaine. Romaine is an excellent source of Vitamins A and K, and a very good source of Vitamins C and Folic Acid (an important B vitamin for heart health). If you eat 2 cups, you’ll get 167% of the U.S. recommended daily intake (“RDA”) of Vitamin A, 120% of the RDA of Vitamin K, 37% of Vitamin C and 32% of folic acid, according to a few sites. See http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=61. Plus, I love that I can feel really full after eating a bunch of romaine, as it has a high water content. And, who drinks enough plain old, good water these days? I’m pretty sure I don’t.

One final word on nutritional healing for the day. I think I have ulcers and I’m going to blame that on being a stressed lawyer for a few years, although devouring extra spicy and acidic foods ever since I was little probably has something to do with it. No matter, I was on the hunt for some herbs or food that would help aid in repair of the problem. I don’t like people telling me what I can’t do, so any “diet” that says I can’t eat x, y and z, just isn’t going to work for me at this point in my life. And, I don’t like defaulting to western medical pills as the first resort. I have been accused of being a hippy at times, and sometimes I do believe I was born in the wrong era (yes, I romanticize the upheaval of the 60s and 70s in the U.S. and the change that was spurred by those years), but I think automatically defaulting to prescription drugs is not the way to go – hippy or not. Try healthier food, try alternative medical remedies, and go exercise for god’s sake! These are not hippy thoughts; these are common sense. Okay, enough proselytizing.

So, I did a bunch of research and came upon something that I think works for me. It’s called Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice Root extract, or “DGL” as it is often labeled. It’s essentially a concentrated form of licorice root. I have been eating a tablet 20 minutes before each big meal and I think it’s helping. The theory is that that the licorice coats the stomach, by increasing mucous and decreasing acid in it, and helps to prevent new ulcers from forming. So far, I have less stomach pain.

A word of caution and a disclaimer: I am not pushing this supplement, nor am I giving advice on the subject. My writing on the topic is really a chronicle for me as I journey into some aspects of herbal remedies and nutritional healing. Do your own homework and ask your doctor before you embark on any supplements, especially if you have any medical conditions and/or you are taking medications.

Read more about the benefits, drawbacks, potentially scary med interactions, and potential side effects. One site I went to see about these is co-sponsored by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/881.html. Another is a University of Maryland Medical Center page at http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/licorice-000262.htm.

Back to packing! Then, off to Michele’s with Mom2, Sabrina and Jim tonight. Fine dining on the water….doesn’t get much better! I just looked at the menu and I think I’ll try something for dessert that looks very scary to me: “Strawberries Foie Gras Forever”. Description: Ripe Strawberries Flambéed With Brown Sugar and Balsamic Vinegar, Foie Gras & Cognac over Vanilla Gelato. Check back tomorrow for an update on this one.

My mom grew up in the midwest and she loves midwest comfort food – meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn, salad and bread pudding. So, last night she made meatloaf and bread pudding. Busaba, Bev and Ian supplied the potatoes, salad and bbq’d corn.

But, unlike some of the food in the midwest and especially traditional midwest meatloaf made with ketchup (gross!), mom’s meatloaf and bread pudding are excellent.

Janet’s meatloaf recipe starts with a standard lean ground beef and ground pork mix. She does 50-50 pork to beef, and last night it was 6 lbs of meat total. I should note that this recipe makes 2, 3 lb loaves, so it feeds a lot of people. To the meat she adds 2 diced and browned onions, 1/2 head of sauteed minced garlic, 1/2 cup of bread crumbs she makes herself, oregano, salt, pepper, and 4 eggs. For the stuffing, it’s 1/2 lb. of shredded mozzarella, thin slices of good deli ham, and lots of blanched spinach. She rolls the meat around the filling and shapes the loaves. On top, she puts 1/2 strips of thick cut bacon and cherry tomatoes cut in half. Then, she bakes the loaves at 350 degrees F for about an hour, and then broils the top to brown it at the finish.

Here’s a closer look at some slices:

It’s absolutely stunning, isn’t it?  And, I can’t believe I just called meatloaf stunning.  At any rate, it was delicious.  Mario Batali, eat your heart out!

Even though we were all stuffed, we had to eat Janet’s famous bread pudding. Whenever she makes this, people ask for the recipe. It’s so utterly simple, yet it pleases every time.  She calls it her Egg Nog Bread Pudding.

Here is her recipe (yield: 9 small pieces, from an 8×8 pan):

3 eggs
3 egg yolks
3/4 c. white sugar
2 c. half and half
1/4-1/2 cup light rum (amount depending upon your taste)
1 tsp vanilla
nutmeg to your taste
1 loaf good crusty bread

Beat eggs and egg yolks. Add in cream and then beat in sugar a bit. Add rum, vanilla and nutmeg. Mix all together, then, cut the bread into 1 inch squares and soak in the egg-cream mixture for 1/2 hour to an hour. Bake at 350 until done, which was about 35-40 minutes last night, plus a quick broil to brown the top at the end.

She always pairs it with a good vanilla bean ice cream, although last night we forgot the vanilla at our place, so we used Busaba’s haupia. It was still delicious!

The other day when I said 2012 food has not been that exciting so far, of course I meant with the exception of going to Shan’s for Mexican night! Above, her lovely table and the food. The menu: Likikoi margaritas (the best I’ve ever had) rimmed with li hing mui; marinated and grilled tuna on corn tortillas; grilled chicken skewers; Mex rice; a salad of black beans, hearts of palm and mango; and chili rellenos. Below is a closer look at the rellenos. Shannon loves to fry, and she’s great at it. She never uses a thermometer and her fried food always comes out stunningly crisp and not greasy. There’s no magic here, just lots of experience. She knows her stove temperatures and when to drop the items in and take them out.

I loved her really simple salad of black beans, hearts of palm and fresh mango. It was dressed with a hint of lime and cilantro. The sweetness of the mango worked with the marinated hearts of palm really well.

Onto a recipe from last night’s meal… after a beautiful sunset and Mai Tai at the Elk’s Club (below):

Last night, I topped the gumbo a la Rachel with some braised kale (1 bunch green, 1 bunch purple). I’ve always been a fan of kale, collards, and chard. After so many years of preparing them, I’m trying to find new ways to enjoy them. Have that bottle of Martinelli’s left over from New Year’s eve? This recipe is a great way to use it! Any apple cider will do, but preferably one with no added sugar as you don’t want to overdo the sugar.

Here’s the braised greens recipe (serves 4): Take 2 bunches of your favorite cooking greens and throw them in a large pot along with 2 cups of apple cider, 1 cup chicken stock, and a large pinch of salt if your chicken stock has no salt (otherwise, you don’t really need the salt). Turn the burner on high and steam/braise the greens for a few minutes until wilted, but not “dead”. You want to preserve some of the great vitamins and fiber in them. Take them out with tongs and place on top of your favorite stew or protein, or use as a side. E voila! The sweetness of the cider compliments the earthiness and slight bitterness of the greens. So easy and delicious.

Up to Gigi and Suzanne’s tonight for dinner. Gigi always makes these individual chocolate molten lava cakes that are to die for. Can’t wait for dessert!

Isn’t this sandwich beautiful? I am a bit of a sandwich queen, despite my attempts at eating Paleo which has provided Carnet with much success in how he feels and looks. There’s something so satisfying about 2 really good pieces of bread housing a fantastic sauce or sauces (the gooey-er the better in my book), and your favorite vegies, fruits and/or proteins. Before culinary school, I thought about doing a sandwich truck, but the math didn’t work out for me as I’m stubborn and wanted to serve only all natural, pricier proteins, and organic grains and vegies. I don’t think people in Hawaii will flock to buy a $15 sandwich over and over, no matter how delicious or packed with good calories and fats (in large part, people in Hawaii want lots of food for their money and they’re addicted to fat, usually bad fats. Spam musubi and plate lunches….need I say more?). In defense of Hawaii, over the last 5 years especially, we have seen a movement by the 30s and 40s crowd to source and serve better food, source locally, engage in nose-to-tail cooking, and “try” to bring more CA-style eateries into being. There’s still room for improvement, however, and hopefully in a few years that’s where I’ll come in 😉

But, I digress. Back to my sandwich. So, my cranberry-walnut-whole wheat bread sandwich is perfect hangover food. How do I know this? Not saying. Anyway, I toasted the bread, slathered it with soynut butter (non-gmo, if you believe the label but I don’t since I’m pretty sure Monsanto owns the whole corn and soybean world – boooo!) and inserted slices of local apple bananas and turkey bacon. The sweet, the salty, the crunchy and creamy from the soynut butter…ahhh. It seemed healthier than many other combos I could have opted for, but it had lots of fat and salt that did cure me. That, with a piping hot cup of 100% Kona coffee. Wow! I suppose it’s an ode to Elvis, as everyone says he liked peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but this one is really an ode to my mother. We have been laying into bacon and banana sandwiches since I had my first tooth. I think this would have also been great with almond butter, which I’ll try next time.

2012 has not been a really exciting food year for me yet. It’s mainly been about making simple, nutritious food for the family. Carnet and I made 2 beer can chickens (yes, free range, organic chickens if you believe the labeling) the other night, which is a great way to have leftovers for at least 2 meals. Super simple recipe will be posted at the bottom of the page. And, you don’t even need to use beer cans. I only had one can of Asahi, so I used a can of ginger ale for the other one. Last time, I used a can of pineapple juice. It all works. It’s about the steam more than the actual flavor of the liquid.

Anyway, 1 chicken fed 4 of us, along with roasted root vegetables and cauliflower rice. Then, dinner #2 out of the second chicken was a sliced chicken, apple, spinach salad, with a few left over vegies from the fridge topped with a simple balsamic, mustard, and olive oil dressing.

Meal #3 will be a kind-of gumbo, but not really. I’ll shred the rest of chicken #2 and throw it in with some fire roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, onions, fennel, celery, red bell peppers, chicken broth, a Thai chili or 2, andouille sausage and scallions. Again, this one is about cleaning out the pantry and using up vegetables in the fridge. We won’t put it over rice, as that’s not in Carnet’s eating regimen at the moment, but it will be a good stew, nonetheless.

Here’s the beer can chicken recipe I use:

Beer Can Chicken

 1 (4-pound) whole chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub (if it doesn’t have salt, also rub chicken with 1 tablespoon salt)

1 can beer

Remove neck and giblets from chicken and reserve for gravy making. Rinse chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken with oil and then rub inside and out with dry rub and salt. Set aside.

Open beer can and take several gulps (make them big gulps so that the can is half full). Place beer can on a solid surface. Grabbing a chicken leg in each hand, plunk the bird cavity over the beer can. Transfer the bird-on-a-can to your grill or an oven roasting pan and place in the center of the grate or oven. The bird should be balancing on the can uniformly.

On Grill: Cook the chicken over medium-high, indirect heat (i.e. no coals or burners on directly under the bird), with the grill cover on, for approximately 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

In Oven:  If you do it in an oven pan, you can also throw in vegetables to roast with it in the bottom of the pan about 30 minutes prior to the bird being done. I use carrots, celery, onions, parsnips and sweet potatoes cut in big chunks. If you cut them too small, they will be too mushy.  Cook at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes to start browning and crisping the skin, and then lower temp to 350 until temp registers 165 in breast.  Let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

* One chicken will feed about 4 people. Use two chickens if there are more people or leftovers for 2 more meals!

** If you want crispy skin, you’ll need to baste the outside of the chicken with olive oil or butter a few times while it’s cooking.