Magic, Now and Then

As children, magic is our comfort zone.  It is that small place in the world where anything can happen, not bound by time or space or reason.  It is the one reality that, when everything else seems to turn sour, stays vibrant.  When our lives become so passive that we desperately search for a parallel one, we find that magic fills an empty space.  But eventually, we all reach the age at which we learn that the tooth-fairy is really our mother, that our dolls do not have a secret life when we sleep, that there are no monsters under the bed, and that we were not dropped on the doorstep by a stork.  Magic disappears from our reality and is soon replaced with a rigid sensibility reinforced by years of schooling.  Rational thought overpowers curiosity, while peace chokes youth’s excitement and wonder.  The thrill of magic dies.

But it leaves a spark… a spark desperately waiting to be reignited.

One of the places that fans that spark is the professional kitchen.  The professional kitchen is a place of magic.  Orders are sent in at lightning speed, meats are cooked to the desired temperature and tenderness, and side dishes are tweaked to satisfy each costumer.  All the dishes are ready at the exact same moment for each table, piping hot, with a garnish to complement the taste and a clean plate.  By some miracle, the waiters pick up numerous plates, without dropping any of the items balanced on those plates, reaching the table with steam still rising above the food, a clean apron, and a calm smile that asks ‘is everything to your liking?’.  Any sense of time dissolves, as minutes turn into hours, orders rolling in as fast as the machine can handle.  Simultaneously, tens of tables are being served.  Special requests are fulfilled.  Dirty dishes are cleaned and replaced.  Somehow, everyone manages to hear the expediter’s orders over the clang of pots and pans on the stovetop, over the banging of the oven doors.  Plates are decorated for the appropriate dish.  Orders are cooked to perfection.  Dishes are sent back with sometimes completely ridiculous complaints.  Knives slice, dice and chop.  Observing carefully, you may be able to decipher the precise, calculated dance steps that create the dance of a professional kitchen.

In the small confines of the kitchen, you are the king of the world, completely omnipotent.  Imagination molds reality, while creativity dictates your every decision.  There is no-one questioning your judgment, no-one testing your intelligence, no-one trying to reason with you, or argue with your way of doing, because in the kitchen, you are right.  You are powerful.  You are beautiful.  Why?  How?

Well, the kitchen is a place of magic.  It is that small place in the world where anything can happen, not bound by time or space or reason.  It is the one reality that, when everything else seems to turn sour, stays vibrant.  Curiosity and wonder overpower rationality and sensibility.  The thrill of youth is revived.  We call it magic.

a few of my favorite!

honey-orange chicken
- wash 4 chicken legs and dry them WELL. pour honey on it, not too much, but enough to be able to coat the chicken with your hands. let that sit for a bit to soak in while you squeeze two oranges or so, and pour the orange juice on the chicken. dash of paprika and (secret ingredient:) quite a bit of cinnamon. stick that in at 375 covered, for about half an hour, then uncover till it caramelizes on top. when that's done, turn the chicken over and again put paprika and cinnamon. let that bake for a bit longer uncovered, maybe 15 minutes? or a bit longer even? untill it looks cooked on that side too. when you take it out, cover it REALLY well to keep in the moisture, and keep the chicken in the juice. do not throw away the sauce!! it is delicious for the noodles!! it's really just honey and orange juice and cinnamon tasting. REALLY GOOD!!!

white and red quinoa with chestnuts
- easiest thing! take white quinoa and red quinoa, cook them as directed on the box (about 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water for the white, and 1 cup quinoa to 1.25 cups water for the red). it usually cooks about 15-20 minutes, so add crushed chestnuts- straight out of the bag!- after 10 minutes, so that the flavor gets infused. you'll know it's ready when the kernels have a white ring around them that starts to fall away.

potato kugel
- mix 2 eggs, about 3 tbsps of flour, a heaping tbsp of salt and a dash of pepper together. into that mixture in that bowl, grate 8/9 potatoes and 2 onions. move fast so that the potatoes don't brown. what i do is peel them all and put them in cold water. then grate them as fast as i can. add one more egg if you feel it is not holding together well (i did add it). mix only with your hands. pour into greased pan and back at 375 covered for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. then uncover and take it out when it's nicely browned on top. don't hesitate to leave it in for a long time. potatoes can handle a long oven-time.

red wine - caramelized onion meat
- in nonstick pan, fry 3 onions (with veggie oil, not olive oil!). when they are gently browned, let them simmer in just a bit of water (a couple tbsp only!) and balsamic vinegar (maybe 1 tbsp, maybe 2). reduce for a bit of a sauce, but there should really be barely any liquid there. meanwhile, wash your meat but dry it really well (that's the trick to not having dry meat), and pour the onions on top. add red wine, cover very very very well. put in 325 oven for hours! could be 3 hours or so- just check after a couple hours to make sure it's doing well. eventually uncover it for a bit, but not too long so that it does not dry out... could be just 15 minutes or so! again, cover really well when you take it out, and keep it in the sauce- serve with the sauce, and with something like quinoa it is a dream!)

baked sweet potato-cranberry dish
- such an easy one! cut sweet potatoes relatively thin. place in a greased pan. put cranberries with it. on the side make a little mixture of a bit of oil, brown sugar, and water (to maximize). pour that onto the sweet potatoes. bake about forty minutes covered (till it gets nice and soft) at about 375, and then uncover and let it caramelize- THIS IS SO YUMMY!!

chocolate almond cake
- probably the best, easiest, most crowd-pleasing dessert that exists.
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup almonds
½ cup oil (Not olive oil)
200 grams of chocolate
preheat oven to 375. melt the chocolate and mix it with the eggs, quickly, so that the eggs don't have time to cook. add the oil, almonds, and sugar, and bake for about 40 minutes, maybe more or less, until the top starts to crack well, and when you stick in a knife it comes out clean completely.

strawberry mango smoothie
- frozen strawberries and frozen mango. fresh orange juice. food processor. it's that delicious, and that quick!

Muffins with the Main

A common misconception: muffins are only eaten for dessert. If I may, I would like to suggest an alternative. Muffins do not have to be sweet, and they do not have to have cups and cups of sugar. Personally, I find it to be an interesting and fun twist to the main course. So this week, I opted for cranberry orange muffins to complement the prune chicken, mushrooms-greenbeans, and white rice.

First and foremost, I implore you to use FRESH orange juice. It's so simple, and so much less artificial. And trust me, you can taste it in the final product. When you can, you should ALWAYS use fresh ingredients, be it vegetables, fruits, or juice.

But back to the recipe...

2 C gluten-free flour (I used brown rice flour), 1/2 C almond flour (delicious with the cranberries, as you can imagine), only half a cup of sugar, 1 tsp unflavored gelatin powder, 2.5 tsp baking powder, 1 C orange juice, 2 eggs, 1/4 C oil, 1 C cranberries (recipe calls for dried cranberries, I used fresh... it's up to you).

When you see a recipe like this, you feel immediately that something rings right. There are no enormous quantities, no bizarre ingredients, no ridiculous amount of sugar... It looks reasonable, and the ingredients feel right. The fun of this recipe is that you need not get too busy with it: simply mix the dry ingredients together, and then toss in the wet ones. At the end, throw in the cranberries, and there you go!

Bake them in the 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or so, until the top is golden-brown. For those who like it to be a bit more sweet (since the cranberries are definitely a sour touch), you can make a glaze. Simply boil some sugar with water or juice, let it thicken a bit, and pour over the muffins.

This recipe made 24 scrumptious cupcakes.

Muffins are fun. They're pretty. And they're delicious!

Happy eatings!

a kind of culture shock

I know I recently talked about this, but it cannot be helped. This past Friday I made meringues. Except this time, I was in a foreign country. I thought it would be simple- the recipe calls for not much more than eggs, sugar, and chocolate. But here's the catch... When you're in a new country, the ingredients are new, too. I must say I was quite surprised. First of all, the sugar was far too sweet, as were the chocolate chips. The eggs were significantly smaller, and the salt absolutely DOES NOT salt! And the oven!! Converting temperatures from farenheit to celcius is of no use- you have to play around with the settings of the oven until you find a temperature that suits you.
I'm embarrassed, but I'll admit- it was tough. The first batch was burnt on the outside and still raw inside, when I only left them in the oven for half the usual time. The second batch was unbearabley sweet, and the rest was ok... not amazing. Sure does something to the ego, let me tell you! But I hope to get used to the new food, new tools, new place...

Happy eatings to all of you folks out there!

(shout-out Jennie and Pinchas :) )

And enjoy your Thanksgiving!

appetite abroad

I was sure that when I left the house to spend a year abroad, I would spend time cooking up a storm. But here I am, six months after graduating high-school, spending the year in Israel, and I find myself in the kitchen less often than at home! But I have been making more time for my hobby, so the past couple of weeks have been better. I think this blog will slowly transform into the student's guide to eating well even under time pressure and work-load. And it will encourage me to brave the exhaustion/laziness and cook.

Tonight, for example, I had a half hour break for supper. You can imagine that those moments, while rushing in between two classes, was not the ideal moment for making a nutritious supper. I was tempted to slouch in the living room with crackers, peanut-butter, jelly, and a book. But my inner chef refused. So...

One of the most useful inventions, a must have for all students: rice noodles- those that cook in under a minute. LITERALLY! Super thin, pretty plain, interesting consistency... I boiled water in a small pot. While that was happening, I took out a piece of salmon and prepared the plate. As soon as the water was boiling, I threw in some rice noodles, and within a minute, I had my meal! On the noodles I sprinkled some balsamic-olive oil salad dressing, and on top of that I put the salmon. Quick and easy. And so delicious. Felt like a home-made meal!

More to come. I will not let another six months pass without posting :)

mmmmmmeringues

It's been so long since last time I've posted. This school-year was hectic; completely draining physically and emotionally. But now that I'm back to myself, I'm back to my blog, too. Now without further adieu, I return to my food.

Meringues. It's basically only egg whites and sugar. But when done right, it'm magic. Today I made a batch of chocolate meringues with chocolate chips. I beat the egg whites (only three!) with vanilla until stiff and added the sugar gradually. Then I folded in the cocoa powder and the chocolate chips. I continued by spooning out the meringues and placing it gently on a greased pan. It stayed in the oven for about 25 minuted and came out splendid; a hint of gold around the edges, a peak at the tip, and a somewhat caramelized bottom.

Now, there are a few very important things to keep in mind when making this recipe.

First of all, stiff means stiff. And stiff means that you can turn that bowl with egg whites upside down and none of it will move, let alone slide or drop.

Second, when you beat the whites, quickly reach the highest speed on the mixer, and put a little bit of salt and a DROP of vinegar to keep the white and the stiffness. It works like magic.

And when you fold anything into the egg whites, be gentle, but assertive. Someone once told me to be the boss of my food. This is true: don't break the egg whites, but make sure the chocolate gets everywhere you want it to go. Its your dessert, it's your kitchen, it's your call.

Happy eating!

So simple, so splendid

Sometimes I find that the simplest recipes are the best. Of course, if you have time and energy and ingredients, go right ahead and make something a bit more exciting! But tonight I was short on time, so I made a quickie.

Tilapia. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Tilapia is easy; if you overcook a bit, it won't make a difference. So use it if you are unsure of anything...

I put fresh lemon juice and olive oil in the pan. I let that heat up and added a layer of tilapia (COMPLETELY FROZEN!). Then I sprayed that layer and added another three pieces of fish on top, covered the pan, and left it on medium flame for about ten fifteen minutes. When it comes out, the fish is soft, and the liquid will give you a great sauce. Now this sounds not so exciting, but serve it with brown rice and a salad (lettuce, tomatos, hearts of palm), and a soup at the beginning, and you have yourself a meal! I served this with a tomato soup to start the meal. Just know which cheeses to add, and use the freshest kind you have. So light, so easy to make... perfect for one of those busy evenings at home when you want to throw together something healthy and delicious.

Happy eatings!