Heat Wave Cooking

I wish I'd been able to spend more time with Duane while I was in town. Trips always go by too quickly, and somehow are over right when you're just getting into things. I definitely agree about Katie being a fabulous hostess- any visit to their house became an Event with themes and costumes and adventures in The Indian Room. In fact, it was at their house that I first decided zucchini may not be so bad... She melted cheese on top.

As for now, it's been hot- too hot to cook everyday. I still insist upon having a home cooked meal on the table (almost) every night, and much to the dismay of my poor husband, I do not consider microwaved nachos a meal. Midnight snack, maybe, but not dinner. (Especially when the tortilla chips are topped with St. Andre's brie and a dill pickle. Yeah. It's an uphill battle.) So what's a girl to do?

It's freezer time! Yes, I have jumped on the "freezer cooking" bandwagon. What's not to love- I've got a freezer full of convenient food, but it's all homemade and I know exactly what's in every single thing. I tweak it to my family's tastes and I can portion it into whatever sizes I want, from a big bag of pancakes (individually frozen between layers of waxed paper before being tossed in a Ziplock) ready to be heated up and slathered with peanut butter right before school, to homemade chili with roasted Anaheim peppers and both sausage and ground steak, because that's just how we roll. And all those organic eggs I bought for 99 cents a dozen? Quiche! (I just forgot to make sure I'd stocked up on foil bakeware before I got started. Oops!)

So now when I don't feel like cooking or it's too hot to have my kitchen turned into a sauna (or in this weather, a steam room), I just pull something out and heat it up. Tonight was super simple because I was running late getting home from work. I just pulled out a bag of chili and made chili dogs, threw together a compound butter for some corn on the cob, and sliced up a watermelon.

Here's my super simple chili recipe:

1 lb ground beef, preferably sirloin 
1 lb sausage (I like to find one with a bit of spice to it, a Cajun or Andouille), casings removed
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Anaheim chiles, roasted, skins and seeds removed, and diced
1 large can of tomatoes, either diced or crushed
1-2 cans of kidney or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
salt, pepper
seasonings to taste (cumin, cayenne. I usually start with 1 tsp each and adjust accordingly)

1. In a large pot, brown the onion with the sirloin and sausage. Drain off the fat. 

2. Add the garlic, chiles, and tomatoes and bring to a simmer.

3. Add the beans and season to taste. 

I love this recipe for it's versatility- it's so easy to substitute whatever I have. You can use hotter peppers (jalapeno, or for the truly brave, habanero. Just don't rub your eyes!) or substitute ground beef. Double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd or to freeze for later. Eat it with tortilla chips and a big dollop of sour cream,  or turn it into chili dogs. I usually make my big batch very mild for the picky eaters in my house and add the real spice to individual servings. And even though you can substitute ground beef, I really prefer the sirloin/ sausage mix. The sirloin is leaner than most hamburger so it balances out the additional fat from the sausage, while the sausage adds extra complexity and is a simple way to add seasonings. (Along that line of thinking, choose your sausage carefully. Obviously breakfast sausage is out, but I find Italian sausage doesn't quite work either.)

Chili-lime Butter

2 sticks salted butter, soft but not melted
juice and zest from one lime (my lime was fairly dry- you may only need half the juice)
1 tsp chili powder (today I used ancho chile powder for it's mild heat and smoky flavor, but if you want a bit more kick, use cayenne.)

1. Mix 'em up. It's that simple. Use a fork, a pastry cutter, the back of a spoon, or whatever seems to work best for you. Make it a cohesive mass- the more you mix, the better your butter will be. Taste it to be sure the flavors are balanced.

This will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Just make sure it's wrapped tightly.

Besides topping the ubiquitous summertime corn on the cob, you can use this butter on a toasted piece of bread for a turkey sandwich, or spread it on a biscuit to eat with corn chowder. And you can switch up the flavors however you want; compound butters are one of the easiest ways to add extra pizazz to a dish. Just mix in whatever seasonings you have that will complement your dish, from spices to finely minced fresh herbs. (A dill and lemon butter is excellent atop grilled fish.) Get creative and use whatever you have on hand!


Kate

I'm Asian on the Inside, or Why Adobo is Comfort Food

I remember going to lunch with you at The Market when I was three, maybe four years old. We’d walk down the hill, pass the flower stalls and slip inside. I could smell it before we arrived- that sweet, slightly tangy smell and as we got closer I could see it: Meat glistening in sauce, fluffy rice noodles and those perennial favorites- lumpia. We’d get adobo and pancit and we’d hike back up the hill to your office, gusts of steam sneaking out of out take-out containers. I’d crawl under the desk to savor every last noodle.

Flash forward to my first day of high school when I met my best friend. She’s Filipino and from a family that COOKS. I hadn’t had adobo from the market in years but I walked into her house one day and the smell brought it all back. “Sorry,” she said. “My house stinks. My Mom’s been cooking all day.” She didn’t know yet that I will eat adobo just about anytime, anyplace. All she knew was a lot of her white friends thought Filipino food was weird and made faces if offered a bite. Not me! I made myself a regular after school, on weekends, and more than one family occasion. I’d show up at her house and her mom would say “Eat, eat!” I don’t think I ever turned her down. Senior year rolled around and for her Senior Project my friend decided to explore her culture and learn to cook her native foods. I, of course, was a willing taste-tester and when she’d mastered a couple of basics my friend taught me to make adobo.

Now, I make adobo at home for my family. I make big batches and freeze some to save for nights when I don’t want to do more than heat something up, or I give it to friends in times of crisis (or triplets!). Mine isn’t as good as hers, and when she’s around I make her cook for me so I can tweak my recipe and improve it just a little, but it still fills that spot that only comfort food can satisfy. I hope that by making it often my daughters will want to learn how to to make it; that we can share this comfort food that has less to do with our own nationality and more to do with our broadening horizons, and the opportunities that are put before us in an age when the world is growing smaller every day.

CHICKEN OR PORK ADOBO
1 cup soy sauce
1 head garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp black peppercorns, whole
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp kosher salt (optional)
1-4 Tbsp white vinegar
whole chicken thighs, or pork shoulder, cut into 1" pieces
1 1/2 - 2 cups water
brown sugar (to taste)
cornstarch (optional)
cooking oil for frying

In a saucepan, combine 1/2 the vinegar, the garlic, pepper, bay leaf, salt (if using) and soy sauce. Add water. Sauce should be lighter than soy sauce. Simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Add brown sugar by the Tbspful to taste.

In a separate pan, heat the oil. Add the garlic and meat and brown the meat. Add to simmering sauce and cover. Simmer over low heat until meat is tender and sauce thickens, adding cornstarch if desired. Serve hot over white rice.

note: This dish freezes well; if you have extra sauce, freeze it and use it later. Also, because this is a recipe that has been passed along by word of mouth, these measurements are only approximations. Taste while you cook, and make sure it tastes balanced. You don’t want it too salty, vinegary, or sweet, but a little of everything.