Aug 19

Grilled Pizza and Gridiron

The Seattle Seahawks had a Friday night exhibition game, and it was my night to provide dinner. I had a hankering for pizza, but knew that every pizza joint in western Washington would be slammed. Therefore, I took matters into my own hands.
I’ve grilled pizza several times before. It sounds more imposing than it is. Make a standard-issue pizza crust dough. The dough shouldn’t be slack (wet). Let it rise until doubled, then stretch the dough out to shape. Heat up the grill, grease the grates well, and slide the circle/rectangle/whatever of dough on the grill. Cover the grill and let the crust cook for about 3-5 minutes. The grill should be hot – 400° or higher. With tongs, turn the crust over to finish cooking. While that’s occurring, you can spread on the tomato sauce, add cheese, pepperoni, etc. Cover the grill again and let cook about 5 minutes more until the cheese is oozy. Carefully ease the pizza off the grill onto a cutting board, baking pan, or pizza peel and chow down.

I opted to make pizza Margherita, since I had extra sauce in the fridge and a bumper crop of basil. I stopped on the way home to pick up some mozzarella cheese and other provisions. Julian came up from the office as I set the dough aside to rise. “When is this pizza going to enter my belly?” he asked. “About the end of the first quarter,” I replied. Actually, the pizza was done midway through the first quarter. A fine accompaniment to watching the home team win.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/08/19/grilled-pizza-and-gridiron/

Aug 09

Cider

On a jaunt to Issaquah last weekend I noticed a farm store that sold cider pressed on the premises. Given that real apple cider is one of the things I miss the most about upstate New York, I pulled in on the way home. We were treated to a tasting of four different ciders. We bought a half-gallon of one made from a mixture of apple varieties grown on the farm. We also bought some ice cream. Since we were still about 20 minutes away from home, Julian wrapped the ice cream in his fleece jacket to keep it cold. Finding the cider stand was the highlight of the excursion. We’ll go back there.

It’s a mystery to me that, as many apples are grown in Washington, you have to hunt to find fresh pressed, non-alcoholic, unpasteurized cider. My first year here I asked a clerk at a (now defunct) grocery store to show me where I could find the cider. She showed me the shelf-stable, pasteurized product. FEH! You may as well drink water with a little caramel coloring added.

I asked the owner of the cider stand why I couldn’t find unpasteurized cider in grocery stores. He said it was health department regulations. He can only sell his cider on premises, even though a neighboring hotel would love to serve it. This stems from the infamous E. coli incident involving a major organic juice company. They were pressing apples dropped on the ground in a barn open to the elements, flies, and aerosolized bacteria from the nearby cow pasture. My home state of New York passed a law in 2006 mandating pasteurization of cider after an E. coli episode from a producer. This web page explains the law.

Of course, pathogens aren’t the only microbes that can grow in cider. So does yeast, which produces alcohol. The hard cider business is booming in Washington and elsewhere. Some enterprising grad students of my acquaintance pre-pasteurization law would get fresh cider from the grocery store that had passed the sell-by date and run it through the laboratory still. Voilà, apple brandy.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/08/09/cider/

Aug 09

The Multipurpose Cucumber Salad

Cucumber salads are a regular feature at dinner here. I often make one to balance a heavier main dish. They require no heat, so you can make them when the temperature’s well over 90°. They can also help keep you hydrated on hot days, since cucumbers are mostly water. Cucumber salads are ubiquitous among cuisines, so you can tweak the ingredients to go with almost anything.
Our standard template for a cucumber salad includes the following ingredients:

Cucumber(s). We use the standard grocery store or plastic-wrapped Persian cucumbers. If you can find or grow other varieties, use them. If the skin is wax-coated, peel the cucumber. You may also want to seed the cucumber by halving it lengthwise and running a teaspoon underneath the seeds. Persian cucumbers don’t require seeding or peeling. You can slice the cucumbers or grate them. If you do the latter, it’s customary to squeeze out and discard the excess liquid. One good-sized cucumber makes enough salad for the two of us for dinner, with some left over for lunch the next day.
Salt and sugar. You don’t need much of either. The purpose is to draw liquid out of the cucumber pieces.
An allium. You can use plain or sweet onion of any color, garlic, scallions, shallots, or chives. Whatever’s handy will work.
An acid. This is for flavor. We usually use rice vinegar, but you can use cider, white wine, or other vinegar. Lemon or lime juice can be substituted for vinegar. The classic Greek tzatziki uses yogurt as the acid.
Oil isn’t necessary, but you can add a flavorful variety. For example, you can add sesame oil for a northern Asian salad, or olive oil for a salad with a Mediterranean vibe.
Herbs and spices. This is the fun part. Here are a few things we’ve used over the years: Parsley, cilantro, mint, basil (Italian or Thai), thyme, five-spice powder, or dried Italian seasoning.
Other flavors. You can use soy or fish sauce in place of some of the salt. I added both black and white sesame seeds in my latest iteration. Chiles (fresh, dried, powdered, or pickled) can also be added. We’ve added chopped peanuts just before serving.
Now that you’ve settled on the ingredients, slice or grate the cucumber. Mix with a little salt and sugar. Stir in the allium, acid, oil (if using), any dried herbs, and other flavors. Let sit for about 1/2 hour while you’re making the rest of dinner. I usually add fresh herbs shortly before serving to keep them green. (Often mint and basil discolor if added too early.) Refrigeration isn’t necessary if you’re grilling something quick, such as steak or burgers; otherwise, put the salad in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
Cucumber salads are fast, easy, and versatile. They’re a great way to use up herbs or onion halves you have left in the vegetable bin. You can concoct any combination of ingredients you like. Just make sure you make enough to go around.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/08/09/the-multipurpose-cucumber-salad/

Aug 03

Upper Deck Dinner

I’ve been doing much of the cooking lately, courtesy of Julian’s cataract surgeries. They went well, but his current eyeglass prescription has been rendered moot. Last night I grilled some chicken thighs, eggplant, and home-grown Padron peppers. Three of the peppers and 1/4 of the eggplant were left over. In addition, I had to whack back my Italian basil plants. So tonight’s dinner was pasta with pesto and a mixed veggie salad.

I’ve been making pesto for years, so no recipe was needed. I buzzed 2 cups of basil leaves, 4 cloves of garlic, a hunk of Parmesan cheese, some pine nuts from the freezer, and some olive oil in the food processor. I got the pasta boiling and worked on the salad. I sliced the peppers and scooped the eggplant into a bowl. I then added a sliced tomato and some frozen roasted corn kernels that I thawed in the microwave. I mixed this all together with some white wine vinegar and Italian seasoning. By this time, the pasta was done and we sat down to eat. I picked some of the red shiiso leaves from my plant as a bed for the salad.

Julian was impressed. “Good gemisch.” High praise.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/08/03/upper-deck-dinner/

Aug 01

Keeping Cool

The Seattle area is under a heat warning for the next couple of days. Temperatures could reach 100° on Thursday and Friday. The heat wave even made The New York Times today. Most office buildings have air conditioning; however, homes are less likely to have central air. This includes our home, Casa Sammamish. We have a floor unit in the master bedroom, but the rest of the condo is A/C-free. Along with the usual precautions, this is how we attempt to beat the heat.

Go low. Our office/geek cave is on the lowest level. It’s at least 10° cooler than the rest of the condo.

Move the air. We catch the prevailing southwest breezes by opening the upper deck door and the living room windows. A fan moves the window air around. We also open the skylights on the top floor to give the hot air an outlet.

Cook outside. Our grill gets a workout during heat waves. It beats heating up the kitchen.

Eat salads. Tonight Julian made our standard shrimp-black bean-mango salad for dinner.

One thing we did this year was cover the skylight in the dining room with a curtain of sorts. Not only does it keep the glare off Julian’s eyes at lunch, but it does a decent job of keeping the main floor cool. We’ll also close the curtains in the living room to keep direct light out.

Fortunately, these heat waves don’t last long here. We shall survive.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/08/01/keeping-cool/

Jul 30

Courage Amidst Cowardice

By now much has been made of the three Republican Senators who voted no on the “skinny repeal” of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Some commentators have also mentioned Senator Mazie Hirono, who left treatment for stage IV kidney cancer in Honolulu to vote no. There are two groups of people who also deserve praise for their efforts to defeat this measure.

Members of the disability rights group ADAPT. These folks literally put their bodies on the line in the Capitol and Senators’ home offices to lobby (and, yes, shame) some of the lawmakers to vote against the ACA repeal bills. The sight of police lifting people out of their wheelchairs and arresting them changed many minds among the public. It’s a miracle nobody suffered serious injury, as the bones of folks with paraplegia are extremely fragile. Often the only thing allowing disabled people to pursue productive lives is Medicaid to pay for their medical care, wheelchairs, and home health.

The littlest lobbyists – children with disabilities and their parents. Again, Medicaid permits them to attend school with their peers and just be kids. It’s hard to believe that some Senators were not won over by these children and their families, but compassion is often in short supply when up against powerful political pressure.

There will be other attempts to weaken or repeal the ACA in the next few weeks. It’s critical to keep pressure on elected officials to do the right thing. It’s a matter of life or death for the disabled and others.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/07/30/courage-amidst-cowardice/

Jul 29

The Big Reveal

Julian and I watched the Tesla Model 3 roll-out. I put my name on the wait list and plunked down a deposit back in May. With luck, I might have one before the deadline to sell my not-so-clean diesel Jetta back to Volkswagen.

Before the show started, I asked, “Do you think the reveal will be more Steve Jobs or standard auto show fare?” Julian didn’t know. It turned out to be a cross between a Ronco informercial and the red carpet before the Oscars. You had the salivating multitudes (mostly male Tesla employees). You had chirpy banter by Tesla engineers. To Tesla’s credit, some of the banterers were women who weren’t dressed in typical auto show garb for females (a bikini or a low-cut, high-slit dress). Finally the car drove onto the stage and Elon Musk popped out. I half expected Joan Rivers to appear and ask: “So, Elon, who are you wearing?” Musk’s talk did not go into the geeky detail that an Apple unveiling does. It was actually pretty short for one of these things.

Since the reveal, Julian has been going through all of the online car porn on the Model 3. There are a few questions that remain unanswered in my brain before I drink the Kool-Aid and purchase one:

How much money are we really talking about? To get the base model, you can have any color as long as it’s black. Any other color costs $1000 more. Some other desirable features also cost more.

Will the Federal and state tax breaks still be in force when my car comes in?

Service? Granted, there are fewer moving parts on a Tesla, but what happens if the car dies in the middle of Spuzzum, British Columbia? (Yes, Virginia, there is a Spuzzum.) Tesla doesn’t have a typical dealership model, so finding a garage to handle any repairs outside major metropolitan areas could be dicey.

Does the trunk pass the wheelchair and bike tests? The trunk should be able to accommodate a standard wheelchair, which means I can fit most of what I’d be likely to haul therein. (The wheelchair test originated with my brother, and continued with Julian’s mom.) With the rear seats down, it should be able to hold my bike without the front wheel.

One of my friends is farther up the list for a Model 3. I’ll let him be my beta-tester.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/07/29/the-big-reveal/

Jul 27

Quote for Today

“For a powerful magnate, you sure don’t pick up things too quickly.”
-Rocky the Flying Squirrel, voice by June Foray. Ms. Foray died yesterday at the age of 99.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/07/27/quote-for-today/

Jul 26

A New Definition of Eternity

In older editions of Joy of Cooking (i.e., the ones that Irma and/or Marian authored), eternity is defined as a ham and two people. I want to amend that to a watermelon and two people. Even an icebox-sized melon is overwhelming to the two of us, especially since it’s not my favorite fruit. Nevertheless, I bought one at the fruit stand the other day because I had a hankering for watermelon-feta salad. This is a non-recipe: Chop up some watermelon and mix just before serving with feta cheese and fresh basil. I also had the tail end of a cucumber salad that I added to the mix. The rest of the watermelon is going to a potluck at work tomorrow – if Julian doesn’t devour it first.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/07/26/a-new-definition-of-eternity/

Jul 22

Oh, (R)Evolve

Julian and I walked up to the Main Street Block Party this evening. It was held to commemorate the first anniversary of the fire that destroyed two buildings on Main Street and would have decimated downtown if every fire department within a 15-mile radius hadn’t sent help. The biggest attraction was the beer garden put on by the Hop and Hound. We ran into our next door neighbors, then went in search of supper.

We ducked into a relatively new restaurant, Revolve, that bills itself as a “true food and wine bar.” The menu touts that its items are free of gluten, grains, GMO, legumes, soy, and refined sugars. The restaurant isn’t full Paleo, as dairy products are on the menu. The burgers and sandwiches are served on “paleo buns”, made from almond and coconut flours. Julian’s first comment was, “This is so Portlandia.” Luckily, the wait staff did not introduce us to the chickens that gave their lives for our meals. He ordered the jerk chicken, while I got the tikka masala chicken meatballs. His dish came with coleslaw and sweet potato fries; my meatballs were perched atop a cauliflower pilaf. Both of us had the draft ale, which was very good. Although it would be an ideal place for our gluten-free friends, I’m not sure the vibe is a good fit with Bothell.

This brings up another issue: The Paleo Diet. The premise of this way of eating is that humans were hunter-gatherers back in the day, and they should continue to eat in that fashion. Hello, have these folks ever heard of evolution? Hunting and gathering did not allow for many other activities other than finding one’s food. The rise of agrarian societies led to less food insecurity and development of civilizations such as in Egypt and Mesopotamia. There would be no Great Pyramids without a switch from hunter-gatherer to agriculture. Beer and wine were not available in Paleo societies, nor were deep-fried sweet potatoes. I think the diet was invented to justify eating large quantities of meat.  The adherents are, for the most part, hunting and gathering from Safeway instead of the wild.

My response to the Paleo Diet? Oh, evolve already.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/07/22/oh-revolve/

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