Let's get started...
Greetings and welcome to GBC where I will regularly regale you with tales and recipes from my culinary adventures.
First, a brief introduction and then we'll jump right into the kitchen.
I'm a queer, thirty-something international educator and my great loves in life are (in descending order) reading, cooking, art, wandering the globe, and wrangling weirdos (aka teaching). I was first introduced to cooking via my love of reading; my oldest culinary memory involves a trip to the local library when I was 7 or 8, checking out a children's' cookbook and then proceeding to make egg drop soup and dinosaur-shaped pancakes (not at the same time...that would have been quite the combination), and I've been fooling around in the kitchen ever since.
I recently read and was charmed by Lucy Knisley's Relish: My life in the kitchen. This is a lovely memoir of a childhood remembered gastronomically with illustrated recipes between chapters. The first I attempted is probably the easiest; simple, sauteed mushrooms, and possibly the most delicious thing I've eaten in the recent past. So deliciously addictive, in fact, that I've made them (and built a couple of new recipes around them) four times in the past week.
Lucy Knisley's Relish Mushrooms
Ingredients
mushrooms (any variety)
butter or olive oil (approx. 1 tbsp of each or just one or the other)
minced garlic (my addition)
salt & pepper to taste
Method
Heat large skillet over heat. Add butter &/or olive oil (whatever your preference).
Once the butter ceases bubbling, add mushrooms. Make sure they have room to breath (hence the large skillet). Stir occasionally until they squeak, and then reduce heat. Add garlic. Continue to stir occasionally until mushrooms look crisp but still moist and garlic is browned. Remove from heat and add salt & pepper.
At this point, you can either rapidly shovel the entire batch down your gullet (as I did the first time I made these) or set them aside to add to some other delicious assortment of ingredients. I would add pictures of the mushrooms on their own, but I'm not kidding about how quickly I ate that first batch. If you're capable of self-restraint, try either of the following recipes.
Whole-wheat spaghetti with spinach, mushrooms, and tarragon
serves 1 (2 servings or lunch) ~ btw, as a single boy, most of the recipes I share will be for 1 with leftovers for lunch the following day ;)
Ingredients
2 handfuls of whole wheat spaghetti
1 box mushrooms (again, any variety is fine)
2 handfuls of spinach
butter or olive oil (approx 1 tbsp of each, set aside an additional 1 tbsp of butter)
minced garlic
1 tsp tarragon
salt & pepper to taste
grated parmesan cheese
Method
Begin by following the recipe above for the mushrooms. Begin heating your water (with a pinch of salt) for the spaghetti around the same time that you add the butter and olive oil to your skillet. Once it boils, add your noodles and follow the directions on the package (mine took about 9 minutes). Strain your noodles and add the spinach, mushrooms, butter, and tarragon to the pot with the noodles. The heat from the noodles and pot should be sufficient to melt the butter and wilt the spinach. Mix well and then serve with a little freshly grated parm.
The final result should look something like this:
Israeli (or pearl) couscous with roasted sweet potato, chickpeas, caramelized onions, spinach, mushrooms, and tarragon
serves 2 (3 servings or lunch)
Ingredients
1 cup Isreali couscous
1 1/4 cups water
1 smallish sweet potato, diced into small cubes (1ish cm)
1 medium onion, halved & sliced thinly
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 box mushrooms (again, any variety is fine)
2 handfuls of spinach
butter and/or olive oil
minced garlic
1 tsp tarragon
salt & pepper to taste
Mini mozzerela balls
Method
Pre-heat oven to 250C (480F). Add diced sweet potato, chickpeas, a little s&p, and 1 tbsp of olive oil to an oven proof casserole dish. Toss until sweet potatoes and chickpeas are coated with oil. Place in oven for approx 25 minutes (or until sweet potatoes are soft). About halfway through, I would remove and toss the ingredients so they roast evenly. Set to the side when finished.
While roasting, heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add butter to skillet, and onions once it's melted. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are dark brown (approx. 25-30 minutes). Set aside.
Add olive oil to the warm skillet, raise the heat to high, and then follow the mushroom recipe above.
While cooking the mushrooms, add couscous with a little olive oil to a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat and stir until slightly browned. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, until water is absorbed (approx. 12-15 minutes).
When the couscous is ready, add all of the ingredients to the pot and mix. Enjoy :)
The result should look something like this:
First, a brief introduction and then we'll jump right into the kitchen.
I'm a queer, thirty-something international educator and my great loves in life are (in descending order) reading, cooking, art, wandering the globe, and wrangling weirdos (aka teaching). I was first introduced to cooking via my love of reading; my oldest culinary memory involves a trip to the local library when I was 7 or 8, checking out a children's' cookbook and then proceeding to make egg drop soup and dinosaur-shaped pancakes (not at the same time...that would have been quite the combination), and I've been fooling around in the kitchen ever since.
I recently read and was charmed by Lucy Knisley's Relish: My life in the kitchen. This is a lovely memoir of a childhood remembered gastronomically with illustrated recipes between chapters. The first I attempted is probably the easiest; simple, sauteed mushrooms, and possibly the most delicious thing I've eaten in the recent past. So deliciously addictive, in fact, that I've made them (and built a couple of new recipes around them) four times in the past week.
Lucy Knisley's Relish Mushrooms
Ingredients
mushrooms (any variety)
butter or olive oil (approx. 1 tbsp of each or just one or the other)
minced garlic (my addition)
salt & pepper to taste
Method
Heat large skillet over heat. Add butter &/or olive oil (whatever your preference).
Once the butter ceases bubbling, add mushrooms. Make sure they have room to breath (hence the large skillet). Stir occasionally until they squeak, and then reduce heat. Add garlic. Continue to stir occasionally until mushrooms look crisp but still moist and garlic is browned. Remove from heat and add salt & pepper.
At this point, you can either rapidly shovel the entire batch down your gullet (as I did the first time I made these) or set them aside to add to some other delicious assortment of ingredients. I would add pictures of the mushrooms on their own, but I'm not kidding about how quickly I ate that first batch. If you're capable of self-restraint, try either of the following recipes.
Whole-wheat spaghetti with spinach, mushrooms, and tarragon
serves 1 (2 servings or lunch) ~ btw, as a single boy, most of the recipes I share will be for 1 with leftovers for lunch the following day ;)
Ingredients
2 handfuls of whole wheat spaghetti
1 box mushrooms (again, any variety is fine)
2 handfuls of spinach
butter or olive oil (approx 1 tbsp of each, set aside an additional 1 tbsp of butter)
minced garlic
1 tsp tarragon
salt & pepper to taste
grated parmesan cheese
Method
Begin by following the recipe above for the mushrooms. Begin heating your water (with a pinch of salt) for the spaghetti around the same time that you add the butter and olive oil to your skillet. Once it boils, add your noodles and follow the directions on the package (mine took about 9 minutes). Strain your noodles and add the spinach, mushrooms, butter, and tarragon to the pot with the noodles. The heat from the noodles and pot should be sufficient to melt the butter and wilt the spinach. Mix well and then serve with a little freshly grated parm.
The final result should look something like this:
Another option:
serves 2 (3 servings or lunch)
Ingredients
1 cup Isreali couscous
1 1/4 cups water
1 smallish sweet potato, diced into small cubes (1ish cm)
1 medium onion, halved & sliced thinly
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 box mushrooms (again, any variety is fine)
2 handfuls of spinach
butter and/or olive oil
minced garlic
1 tsp tarragon
salt & pepper to taste
Mini mozzerela balls
Method
Pre-heat oven to 250C (480F). Add diced sweet potato, chickpeas, a little s&p, and 1 tbsp of olive oil to an oven proof casserole dish. Toss until sweet potatoes and chickpeas are coated with oil. Place in oven for approx 25 minutes (or until sweet potatoes are soft). About halfway through, I would remove and toss the ingredients so they roast evenly. Set to the side when finished.
While roasting, heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add butter to skillet, and onions once it's melted. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are dark brown (approx. 25-30 minutes). Set aside.
Add olive oil to the warm skillet, raise the heat to high, and then follow the mushroom recipe above.
While cooking the mushrooms, add couscous with a little olive oil to a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat and stir until slightly browned. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, until water is absorbed (approx. 12-15 minutes).
When the couscous is ready, add all of the ingredients to the pot and mix. Enjoy :)
The result should look something like this:
Happy cooking!
RP
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