No Knead Bread

Yvonne made some bread for us while we were up on Crane this weekend.  She told us that James found the recipe for  No Knead Bread while he was living on the east coast. ‘The secret of great bread: Let time do the work!’ is an interesting article about the no-knead method developed by Jim Lahey and here’s a short video that shows how easy it is to make at home.

I’m excited to impress my next dinner guests.

3 New Capitol Hill Favorites

We just came home after being away for 2 weeks and we were surprised to find a bunch of cool, new places on the hill.  Here’s some of our fav’s:

1. La Bete:  ”La Bete is about cooking the food that we like to eat without pretense or limitations. We want to showcase the bounty and beauty of the Pacific Northwest while building a sense of community in our neighborhood and local food scene.”

Okay, I haven’t eaten here yet, but when I walked in, I knew I was bound to love it.  Oh and I’m so looking forward to trying the Gin-Ginger: gin, lime, ginger, mint, Rachel’s Ginger Beer.  Maybe with the leg of lamb…

2. Bar Ferdinand: We spoke with the guy who runs the bar and said he was inspired to re-create the wine bars he found on his European travels.  He said American wine bars install a bunch of fancy equipment, but they wanted to take a minimalist approach to their place and just serve great wine. We tried a Spanish wine that was very tasty!

3. Arabica Lounge: Great coffee.  They did a great job with the decor.  It’s a great place to meet friends and have a chat.

Capitol Hill just gets better and better.

Great food without gluten (and other fun stuff like ‘how to cut an onion’)…

I have a sneaky suspicion that I might have a slight gluten intolerance … so I listened to KUOW’s interview featuring the gluten-free girl.  Her blog is wonderful and I especially like the videos, explaining how to cut a whole chicken or how to cut an onion like this helpful video.

HOW TO CUT AN ONION from Daniel Ahern on Vimeo.

Ever since I ate Paleo for a month, I realized I felt so much better.  If you feel sluggish or bloated after eating sometimes or are just interested in cooking, check out the interview.

It’s Cupcake Camp Time!

So if you didn’t hear yet, Cupcake Camp is this weekend! CupcakeCamp Seattle is a gathering born from the desire for people to share and eat cupcakes in an open environment.  Completely volunteer run and organized in an open and participatory manner, our first Cupcake Camp Seattle raises funds for Hope Heart Institute.

WHEN:Saturday, April 10, 2010 11am-2pm
WHERE: 415 Westlake Ave Seattle, Washington, 98109
WHY: Because who doesn’t love cupcakes? Plus there will be fun competitions and a fundraiser for Hope Heart Institute.

COST: $10 suggested donation at the door

*Thanks, Val, for the hot tip!*

Jamie Oliver: Teach every child about food

Jamie Oliver’s Ted talk about the importance of REAL food.   I love him.

Pork Tenderloin Roast

This pork tenderloin recipe is roasted with a tangy tomato sauce.  Next time I’ll do it with real tomatoes instead of a can.  I also added some chucks of zucchini to the sauce and put fresh parsley on top.  I had some pancetta that I used in the Coq Au Vin earlier this week –  this was a very tasty choice.

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 slices bacon
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons chopped sweet pickle or sweet pickle relish
• 2 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Preparation:

Arrange bacon slices over pork tenderloin. Place tenderloin on rack in a shallow roasting pan. Tuck thin end of meat under. Roast, uncovered, at 350° for about 25 to 35 minutes, or until internal temperature is around 160°.In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Cook chopped onion in butter until tender; add tomato sauce, sweet pickle, vinegar, parsley flakes and sugar. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Serve with roasted pork tenderloin. Pork tenderloin serves 4 to 6.

Whole Chicken in Le Creuset

I just got a Le Creuset which I’m very excited about.  Last night we made Coq Au Vin out of Julia Child’s book which I’ll do a post on later.  Tonight I couldn’t resist using it again so I quickly googled “whole chicken in le creuset” and found a great chicken recipe on <http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/608326> that I’m sure I’ll be using often.  I also added in some carrots (large chucks, cut sideways) and a cup of red wine.  I discarded the onions and celery at the end as the recipe says but kept the carrots to eat with the chicken. (I cut large enough pieces to survive the roast.) I served the chicken with the carrots and added zucchini that I quickly browned in oil (cut long ways in strips).  The final product was a beautiful plate of chicken, zucchini, and carrots with the very yummy lemon gravy on top.  Adding the lemon juice was a fabulous idea.

“This is a classic French way of making a chicken in a pot. Make sure you use a large (5-7qt) dutch oven that seals well (I put some parchment paper or tin foil to make an extra seal). It is extremely tasty, easy and the jus that it produces is so tasty.

Poulet en Cocotte
serves 4
1 whole roasting chicken (4 1/2 to 5 pounds), giblets removed and discarded, wings tucked under back
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 T olive oil
1 small onion, chopped medium
1 small celery stalk, chopped medium
6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and trimmed
1 bay leaf
1 medium sprig fresh rosemary
1/2-1 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven, over medium heat until just smoking. Add chicken, breast-side down; scatter onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and rosemary around chicken. Cook until breast is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Insert a wooden spoon into cavity of bird, flip chicken breast-side up and cook until chicken and vegetables are well browned, 6-8 more minutes. Remove from heat, place large sheet of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid. Transfer pot to oven and cook until instant-read thermometer reads 160 degrees when inserted into thickest part of breast and 175 in thickest part of thigh, 80-110 minutes.
2. Transfer chicken to carving boards, tent with foil, and rest 15 minutes. Meanwhile, strain chicken juices from pot through fine mesh strainer into fat separator. Discard solids. Allow liquid to settle 5 minutes, then pour into saucepan and set over low heat. Carve chicken, adding any accumulated juices to saucepan. Stir in lemon juice. Serve chicken, passing the jus at the table.”

Rover’s

Highly recommended for a very special date.  Had an amazing Birthday Dinner at Rover’s. Check it out!

Tim’s Simple Lentil Soup

An Italian chef taught Tim this recipe while he was staying in a hostel in France when he was about 21.  He made this for me when we first started dating and it was definitely a factor in winning me over!  Come to think of it, it’s actually the perfect recipe for bachelors on a budget. Serves 4-6.

.

Ingredients

2 Large Cans Whole Tomatoes ( I like Muir Organics in the US)
1 cup dry lentils (as pictured)
1 Large Onion (whole, peeled)
5 Cloves Garlic (whole, peeled)
3 – 4 cups Water
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Parmesan Cheese

*For best results, make sure to use a high quality extra virgin olive oil and high quality shaved parmesan.  In a pinch, you can always use that awful shake parmesan cheese!

Directions

1.  Combine the following in a Large Pot:  Tomatoes, Lentils, Whole Onion, Whole Garlic Cloves, Water.

2.  Let simmer on medium heat for about 45 min – 1 hr.  (Do not let the bubbles break the surface to avoid over-cooking the lentils. )

3. When the middle of the Onion “pops” out or is very soft, the soup is ready.

4.  Serve in individual bowls.

5. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle parmesan cheese on each serving.

6. Enjoy by itself or with some crusty bread.

PS. You can definitely get fancy with this soup and add fresh basil, yummy veges, etc.  But… to keep it simple and on a very low budget, just stick to the basics!

Chicken and Chickpea Soup (This one’s for KB)

We made this the other night and it was a very refreshing, healthy soup  (From Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food Magazine).  The lemon zest, garlic and cilantro topping really make the soup – try it with other chicken soups too.  I think it would be a great zing for a traditional chicken noodle soup.

2 tsp. Olive oil

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced

3 tsp minced garlic

3/4 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

6 cups chicken broth

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained

zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 tbs finely chopped fresh cilantro (corriander)

1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook, skin side down, until skin is browned and crisp, about 6 minutes. Flip chicken and cook until browned, 6 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate.

2. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from pot. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 4 minutes.  Add 2 tsp garlic and spices; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Stir in carrots and return chicken to pot. Then slowly stir in broth.

3. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a medium simmer, partially cover and cook until chicken is falling off the bone, about 50 minutes.

4. Remove chicken from soup. When cool enough to handle, tear chicken into large pieces, discarding skin and bones. Return meat to pot. Add chickpeas and season with salt, pepper, and squeeze in all of the juice of one lemon.  Serve soup into individual bowls.

5.  In a small bowl, stir together 1 tsp garlic, lemon zest, and cilantro; sprinkle generously over each soup serving before eating!