Today’s Recipe: Ratatouille

This morning we woke to 40 degree weather with a wind of around 18 mph.  A good day for a warm and hearty stew recipe. I had all the ingredients for a wonderful Ratatouille so that is what I have made.

If you like zucchini and eggplant you will love this recipe. The cutting up of the veggies takes the most time, the cooking time is super fast and you end up with a very hearty meal.

Ratatouille

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Adobo seasoning
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 6 large cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 large red pepper, sliced
• 1/2 large green pepper, sliced
• 1 large eggplant, cut into sticks
• 2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 2 zucchini, cut into long sticks
• 2 stalks of celery chopped including leaves
• 1/2 lb ground beef (use better quality)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Parmesan cheese for garnish
• Parsley chopped for garnish

Use part of the olive oil to sauté the beef with the dry herbs. Set meat aside on a plate when almost cooked.  In the same pot add the balance of the olive oil and sauté the onions, celery and peppers for 2 minutes, add the balance of the veggies and cook just a few minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point you may need to add 1/4 cup of water but the veggies will release more of their own juices making more sauce. Add the ground beef and stir, cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Check the tenderness of the veggies, they should hold their shape but be tender.  This is the time to make adjustments to the seasoning, adding salt or pepper to taste.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley and a grating of Parmesan cheese.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

This tastes even better the next day.  You can serve over a baked potato or rice to make a more filling meal.

This recipe is from Sandy Hill who we met in South Miami years ago.  We have lost contact over the years but this recipe has lasted the test of time.  Of course I have made several additions to make it my own but the basic recipe is the same as when Sandy had Joe and I over for dinner back in the late 70’s.

My Little Garden

Okay, I know I am in an apartment on the 9th floor but I just cannot live anywhere without having a herb garden. So our apartment for three months in Montevideo is no different from any other home we have had.

From left to right: thyme, basil, sage and mint.  What I really want is cilantro as I miss that so much and of course oregano. I have figured out buying the live plants is so much more economical than buying fresh-cut herbs each week.  And picking from the plant well you can’t get much fresher.

Joe has found two spice stores for me one is only about five blocks from the apartment.  They even sell vanilla pods, what a find.  I will need to stock up on those for sure.

I am having a grand time cooking with all the spices and herbs I have available to me.

Sunday Market or Feria

Early Sunday morning Joe and I headed out for our daily walk. Joe had several places in mind for us to at least walk by if not visit.  One was the planetarium another the zoo and the third was……..  But instead we got totally side-tracked as we discovered a Sunday Market about five blocks from our apartment.

The vendors block off the several streets and set up their tents, some even come with what looks like a food truck that opens to show cold cases for cheese, meat and fish.The first thing that caught my eye was the flowers, but I only picked up one plant and that was thyme.  And it joined my other herb basil on the washing machine in our laundry room.We figured a tray of 30 large eggs would cost $3.00 and they even had one man selling household products, cleaning, TP, paper towels.  There were several vendors set up selling cheese, pork, chicken, beef and even fish. The fruits and vegetables looked fresh but we had just gone shopping on Friday and our refrigerator was filled with everything we needed for the week. I have not had the time to check prices but I am sure this Sunday Market is cheaper than Tienda Inglesa.Grapes run $1.42 per kilo, that is cheap cheap cheap.  They are grown here so maybe that is why they are so inexpensive. Next Sunday these will be on my shopping list.Everything is marked so you know what you’re spending.I just could not resist the strawberries, they are one of my favorites.  They were small with a hint of tartness. Just perfect to eat with sugar and cream, and that is just what I did.$1.60 a kilo for peaches. That works out to about 72 cents a pound. This stand was selling all different dried herbs and even had nutmeg nuts in this bowl above.  Need to spend some time finding out what these are but I did buy some of the adobo which I knew had red pepper flakes and seeds in it.  I have used it on several things and it does pack a punch. This will be our Sunday morning ritual.  Buying fresh fruits and veggies five blocks from the house.  Now all we need is one of those Old Lady Carts, yes, I am prepared to drag it around. ha ha

Oh BOY! Salmon

A quick walk from our apartment we come to the port in Buceo, Montevideo. At the port there are several fishmongers, a small fruit and vegetable stand, a trinket shop as well as El Italian Restaurant.  Our first visit I saw the most beautiful salmon filet that looked fresh and I HAD TO HAVE IT.

The small fruit and veggie stand had some very nice green beans so that is what I bought to have with the salmon.

Most things here are sold by the kilo and that was not a problem with me because I was open for fresh fish for a few days in a row.

For lunch that day I made it with this outrageous Asian sauce.  It had soy sauce, fresh grated ginger, garlic, a few slices of hot red pepper for a nice punch, honey (sorry I miss Eva Honey, Eva is our neighbor in San Clemente and that is the most flavorful honey I have ever had) a grind of salt and a bit of pepper.  Heat that in a small sauce pan and top your sautéed salmon with it.  YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY

So we had two nice pieces for our next lunch, yes I can eat fish every day of the week.

I served the same sauce but a bit more ja ja as I love the sauce as much as the fish.  And I served it with a fresh salad and even added peach slices to the salad and made a yogurt dressing with a bit of honey and herbs and spice.

Well the salmon was a huge success and we will have it again very soon. One problem we really need to try more of the local fish as well. So we will see what I pick next.

PS I know this is farm raised in Chile. I know all about the antibiotics but honestly we just had to have it.  We will not be eating it every day so once in awhile I will take the plunge and have salmon….

Kofta Kabobs and Tzatziki Sauce Come To San Clemente

Another great recipe to use with the Pita Bread recipe from a few days ago are kofta kabobs with tzatziki sauce.  Most recipes for the kabobs I have seen and my original recipe were made with lamb.  Because we cannot find lamb very easily here I have modified my original recipe to use part ground pork and part ground beef. It worked well and tastes great.

Kafta Kabobs

• 2/3 pounds ground pork (needs a good bit of fat)
• 1 1/3 pounds of ground beef
• 4 stems of parsley or cilantro *
• 1 small onion, finely chopped *
• 3 cloves garlic, roasted, peeled and chopped *
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• Small pinch of clove
• Small bunch of mint leaves, very finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• dash of chili flakes to taste

*Note: if you are grinding your own pork and beef add the onion, garlic and cilantro to the grinder, it just makes it so much faster and then it will be blended completely into the meats.

Roast the cumin, coriander and clove in a frying pan until they release their aroma, about 1 minute.  Cool slightly and grind to a fine powder in a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder.  Add all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl mixing well and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Shape the meat into a 6 inch tube shape like a sausage.  Gently cook for 3 minutes on a side, the meat will flatten out a bit but continue to cook until all sides have taken on a nice brown color and are a bit crispy.

Tzatziki Sauce

• 1 medium cucumber peeled, seeded and grated – then squeeze out excess liquid
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup thick yogurt or Kefir
• 2 cloves garlic, grated fine
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
• for garnish, chopped dill or cilantro and a dash of cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients together and sprinkle with garnish and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make your pita bread (or use rolls) and place one kabob in the center of the pita and liberally cover with tzatziki sauce.  You can also use hummus or hummus and tzatziki together for yet another taste sensation… Beyond Yummy!!!!

Thai Lobster Corn Fritters

I had the most beautiful fresh corn on the cob and several cooked lobster tails. So what shall I make?  How about Thai Seasoned Lobster and Corn fritters.

We are going to pretty much wing this, so hold on for a pretty funky ride:

Thai Lobster Corn Fritters

• 2 large egg
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or clabber milk)
• 1 small nob of ginger finely grated
• 2 garlic cloves finely grated
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Several teaspoons of chopped cilantro
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 medium ears of fresh corn – cut from the cob
• 2 cooked lobster tails, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 large scallion

In a large bowl combine slightly beaten eggs with the next 8 ingredients Mix well. Add flour, baking soda and baking powder. Finally add corn, lobster and scallion. Mix well to incorporate all the dry ingredients.

Using a tablespoon place a dollop of the mixture in a preheated frying pan that has a small amount of oil on the bottom.  Cook on medium heat until golden brown, flip and do the same on the other side.  Serve hot with the dipping sauce.  But they are great cold from the frig as well.

Sweet Sauce for Dipping

• 1/2 cup fruit juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced scallion
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger finely grated
• 1 teaspoon sugar or honey
• 1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoon of vinegar or water

Mix all ingredients and taste for seasoning. Set aside for the flavors to meld.

Side Salad

• 4-6 leaves of cabbage sliced very thin
• 1 medium carrot peeled and shredded
• 1 small green pepper seeded and sliced into thin strips
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or white vinegar

Mix soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and seeds along with vinegar in a small bowl.  Combine cabbage, carrot and green pepper and toss with wet ingredients. Separate into serving sized bowls.

They came out wonderful and the taste was excellent.  A great use for corn and lobster, making a wonderful summer lunch.

Making Whole Grain Mustard

I received both yellow and brown mustard seeds from a blog friend and decided to make some beautiful fresh mustard.

Whole Grain Mustard

• 1/4 cup brown mustard seeds
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar (I used regular Heinz vinegar)
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt or sal de mar
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar or honey (optional)
• you may want to add one of the following: 1 t dry tarragon leaves, 1/4 t allspice, a cinnamon stick, 1/8 t red pepper flakes or 1/4 t caraway seeds for flavoring

Put mustard seeds, wine and wine vinegar in a small bowl. Cover and let soak at room temperature for two days

Add mustard seeds and liquid to a blender, hold back 2 tablespoons of the seeds. Add salt, sugar and other flavoring blend until mustard is a thick consistency. Add the whole mustards seeds and put in clean jars and allow to sit in the refrigerator for two days before use.

Two beautiful jars of whole grain mustard. I took a taste – it won’t take much to add a great deal of zest to a sandwich or, better yet, sausage. One jar is already being given as a gift to our friends Eva and Fred. I know they will get a “kick” out of it.

Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

It is a wonderful feeling to look in my “pantry” and find fabulous ingredients like poppy seeds, baking soda, cardamom pods, curry, curry pastes, turmeric, smokey paprika, tapioca, fish sauce and an assortment of pickling spices right at my fingertips. This is due totally to all you wonderful folks who for the past several years have asked if you can bring us anything from the States.

Today’s treats include eight jars of Garlic Cucumber Spears made perfect with mustard seeds, celery seeds, turmeric and coriander seeds all delivered to my door by some of my new friends. I added a bit of garlic, some hot pepper flakes that I previously made and the balance of the dill weed from Mary MacDonald’s garden.

I was in a mood today and so I also made Lemon Poppy Seed Bread/Cake. Oh my it has been a very long time since I have had poppy seeds in the house. These breads did not last very long. Joe and I ate a few pieces even before it was a bit cool, so I started handing out pieces to my neighbors or we would have eaten them totally ourselves.

I guess this afternoon Joe and I should go to the beach. I have done all that I wanted to accomplish today so the beach sounds like a great choice for this afternoon.

Thank you again to all of you lovely folks that have packed spices and herbs, roots and seeds and all other sort of special item in your luggage to deliver to our door. I cannot express my appreciation for your kindness in making room in your luggage for these items. It truly makes a difference in our daily lives.

Homemade Hot Pepper Flakes

Both Joe and I just love adding hot pepper flakes to our food. I buy it in a huge 12 oz container but go through it so fast that I decided to make my own. First I must give credit to John MacDonald who did this with his own hot peppers and gave me the idea to make my own, thanks J0hn!

The young man who delivers fresh fruits and veggies to our gate had these beautiful yellow hot peppers a few days ago.

After washing them and removing the stems, I used the scissors to cut them up into smaller pieces. Don’t allow your fingers to touch these because it is very painful, I use plastic gloves or plastic baggies to keep my hands safe.

I put these on pizza trays and then into a preheated 275- 300 degree F oven for about 1 hour. Every 10 minutes I would toss them and move the pans around.

The jar on the left is red pepper flakes I made about a month ago, the jar on the right is todays’ batch of yellow pepper flakes.

Yummy! And as Jacques Pepin would say, FLAKE!

Making Cheese

Several times a week a gentleman drives around our neighborhood selling fresh milk. He has a motorbike with two 5 gal insulated jugs on the back. I have made rice pudding with this rich milk and even shared it with the neighbors. This week I decided to make some fresh cheese or queso fresco or farmers cheese with my purchase.  I know your asking why in the world would you make your own cheese, first our tienda does not carry any meats or cheeses, I haven’t seen even yogurt so the only way to get cheese is to go to Portoviejo which is not always convenient for me. The other choice is to buy cheese from the truck that comes around once a week and I have found that to be way too salty for my taste, I buy it if I have to but it is not my first choice.

No paper or plastic cartons, he just measures out what you want into your pitcher for .70 cents a quart.

Making fresh cheese is very easy, you bring your milk up to 195 degrees F add two tablespoons of white vinegar and a dash of salt,  stir it around until the curds are formed and strain it.  Allow the cheese to sit in the strainer for one hour to be sure all the whey has drained out. Then I added some very finely chopped fresh herbs. Today’s combination is plain with just a dash of salt shown on the left and rosemary, mint, basil and a dash of red pepper flakes and salt shown on the right. Glad I already took the photos, cuz here comes Joe!