Dandelion jelly

Found some dandelion flowers way back in the freezer as I was packing.  Here’s what happened:

Bring the water to a boil and add the dandelion petals.
Simmer over very gentle heat about 10 minutes, then strain.
Add more blossoms to the strained water and simmer for about 10 minutes. Continue simmering and straining until all the blossoms are used up.  Strain one last time using a coffee filter. Combine water with lemon juice, sugar and pectin. Bring to roiling boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Boil hard for one minute. Skim. Pour into hot jars and seal.  I’ve heard of people using yellow food colouring, but ew.

zucchini and ricotta galette via smitten kitchen

I saw this and thought it would be a great addition to my workplace’s menu vegetarian lineup.
Light and summery and made with the number one garden overrun: zucchini.

zucchini and ricotta galette | smitten kitchen

zucchini and ricotta galette

Atotonilco Tortilleria

I’m not one to get this excited about a product, especially a simple flour-based one, but when I realised that I actually get SAD when these are not available at my regular market, and Tortillas, Tortillas, Tortillas is closed and I have to hoof it across town to get to the Tortilla Hut, that’s when I figure I should write a post.
At first, I thought all tortillas were pretty much the same. I have never been more wrong.
Also, I’m not even going to cover corn tortillas, because I can’t find one that I like. Anywhere.
There is something inherently magical about these tortillas, to the point where I almost feel I should branch off and start Dammit, Let’s Eat Tortillas…
We all know that warming tortillas in a pan to get them pliable is a good idea.
Then we graduate to cooking whatever it is we’re going to eat on the tortilla in the pan and putting the tortilla on top of it for the last minute or so of cooking, then flipping the whole kit and kaboodle over onto the plate to serve.
However, for 2010, we’re introducing the pan-less cooking method, which only works if you have a gas stove, which you do, because you are cool. This would probably work on those new Star Trek-looking stoves, but I’ll leave that up to you to figure out.
Do nothing more than drape your tortilla over the burner, suspended by the five whateveryoucallthems that your pan normally sits on. Turn the gas on high for like 8 seconds, then down to low. It helps if you kneel down and watch at flame level to make sure you aren’t going to set your tortilla on fire. Also open a door or a window, as you will get smoke. (This also works for roasting peppers, but we’re not doing that.)
Now you will witness your tortilla coming to life. Introduce yourself.
On the bottom, you will notice that your tortilla is browning in a very Simon the memory game way. We want this to occur. The top will bubble in a very swamp monster sort of way, but it’s benign. About 3 seconds before it’s charred, grab the very outer millimeter of the tortilla and flip it over. You may want to remember tongs. I never do. (note to self)
We’re only warming this side, again so that it is pliable. The flavour and crunch will be on the outside. The inside needs to just conform to whatever you’re wrapping. 10-15 seconds max, and you can shut off your flame.
For a quick snack, slather butter on these and pig out. For a bigger snack, smear refried beans (they make vegetarian refried beans) and a soft white cheese, or yogurt, on the inside, and throw on some shredded lettuce.
You can also use the tortillas as extremely advanced croutons in salad, like the fattoush recipe I’m going to post tomorrow. They really change the taste and feel of a salad.

Atotonilco Tortilleria doesn’t have a website, but you can find them on Yelp or Urbanspoon. They’re at:
1707 West 47th Street, Chicago
773 523 0800

Dandelion bow tie pasta

You can use dandelion stems to replace some of the pasta in your dish, so much so that you can get away with using even less than a cup of pasta per person, which saves a lot of carbohydrates.

Into salted boiling water, dump in your pasta, and then after a few minutes some chopped dandelion stems Depending on their age, they can be kind of bitter, so this boiling will diffuse any bitterness and you’re gonna dump out the water anyway. Wait five minutes and throw in some broccoli and chopped leeks. Wait a few more minutes, just before the pasta is done, in fact, and throw in some chopped dandelion greens. Once these wilt and your pasta is done, drain the whole thing.

Sauce is melted butter with softened garlic, salt and pepper, Mexican saffron, cos it’s so cheap, cream, yogurt, and a nice cheese. You don’t need much since the flavours are all elsewhere anyway. Once this is melted, dump your drained stuff back in. Pine nuts go well with this.

DLE Video Podcast 002: Tom Yum Soup

I know I promised this video for the last couple of weeks. I finally found some time to put it together for you guys. I hope you will find this helpful and if you do cook it, I hope you will enjoy the soup as much as I do.

Direct Download Link

Tom Yum Soup—Shrimp

Ingredients

8 cups of water (or 3 cups of chicken stock and 5 cups of water)
1 1/2 cup raw shrimp (20 or more)
1/2 lbs of button mushrooms (oyster mushrooms would be better)
3 limes
3 stalks of lemon grass
5-8 kaffir lime leaves
1/4 cup fish sauce (more or less depending on how salty you’d like it to be)
1 small galangal root
5 sprigs of cilantro
2-3 stalks of green onion
15-20 cherry tomatoes
7-10 chili peppers (not in video because my friend doesn’t like super spicy soup)
2 tbsp roasted chili paste (aka nam prig pow)
2 tsp of chili oil
2-3 tbsp of sugar (to taste)
2-3 tbsp of tamarind juice

Start by boiling the water in a pot. Peel and de-vein the shrimp and set them aside. Cut lemon grass into pieces about 2-3 inches long. Before slicing, use the back of your knife to pound the lemon grass, just to bruise it which will help to release the flavor. Drop the lemon grass into the water and let boil for 7-10 minutes.

Add in tamarind juice, roasted chili paste, sugar, and fish sauce. Stir and let it come to a boil. Next, add mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Remove the stems from the kaffir lime leaves and then add the leafy part to the pot and crush the chili peppers (if you don’t want it too hot, you can leave it whole), toss them in the pot with the lime juice. To the pot, stir in the the shrimp and turn off the heat. The heat of the broth will cook the shrimp perfectly in about 2 minutes. The soup should have a balanced taste of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy all at the same time. If the soup tastes too bland, feel free to add more fish sauce and/or lime juice. Garnish with cilantro and green onion just before serving.

Ladle it into a bowl and enjoy!!

Dandelion pizza

It was bound to happen.  Chances are, if I like something, it goes on pizza, and the deliciousness that is dandelion is no exception.

Roll out your pizza dough unless you are super cool and can toss it into shape. Mine ended up being naan dough into which I had put sliced leeks.  It really was a nice addition.
Slather tomato sauce on top of it.
Rip off a handful of dandelion leaves and throw them in a food processor with some garlic and jalapeño.  Whir, then scatter on the sauce.
I used queso fresco because I wanted something not-so-melty.  I’m sure anything would work here.  I’d have used feta if I had had any.
Freshly ground black pepper and some sea salt went on top, with some fresh oregano and basil.
Bake for 15-20 minutes somewhere in the neighbourhood of 375.

The password is…fire

I’m still eating dandelion leaves.  There is no stopping.  Next weekend, I’m gathering all the leaves that haven’t been sprayed with weed killer and haven’t been peed on by dogs, and I’m going to blanch and freeze them all.

But for now, I’m eating them for breakfast, like so:

Dice some potatoes and toss in melted butter in your pan.  Once they are browned nicely, throw in some minced onion, and shortly after that, some bits of garlic, salt and freshly ground pepper.  Hack some dandelion leaves to bits and add handfuls since they will cook down.

While this is all cooking, take a slab of wild salmon and throw it on an open flame.  I got rid of my barbecue grill, but I took an all metal cheese grater on which I smeared some butter, put the salmon it it and put it on the gas stove top, which is a brilliant way to cook.  I do tortillas right on the flame like this too, and they are amazing.
When the salmon is nicely cooked on one side, carefully flip it over and introduce the raw side to the fire.  Inhale as your kitchen fills with smoke and love.

Move the vegetables to a bowl and add a little more butter.  Fry up some eggs over medium.  Rescue the firey salmon from the stove and put that on top of the vegetables, then add your eggs.  Cut this all up so the yolk gets everywhere and the salmon intersperses.

Yum.

Dandelion gratin

Basically if you’re not eating dandelions by now, you’re dead to me.  Well, not entirely, but I expect a valid reason for why you’re opting out of this totally inexpensive, if not free, healthy tasty green that is full of love and nature and is the food of choice for unicorns.

My fridge right now is practically bursting with these leaves.  Visitors think I keep rabbits.  I do not.

It’s the perfect time of year for gratin also, since you can leave your door open whilst your oven is on, and you’ve just taken your gratin dishes down from the high shelves to dust and wash them for spring.

As usual, there won’t so much be a recipe here as a recount of what goes in.  That, friends, is foreshadowing.  The key here is to use hyperexpensive cheeses.  Like, skip a meal so you can afford the cheese.  Don’t let me hear that you’ve used velveeta or anything.

Grease your gratin dish.  Margarine is unacceptable.
Potatoes in thin slivers line the dish.  Make it look like roofing shingles.
Minced garlic atop the potatoes.  Remain unconcerned if some should fall through the spaces in your shingles because those will roast and make you hungry as well as burn just a smidge and add another layer of flavour.
Top all this with leeks.  It’s at this point that you want to start planning the look for which you are going.  If you want to shred everything, fine, cut your leeks into razor-thin bits.  If you are going for a man-gratin, cut strips or rectangles.  Layer these, weave them, whatever you want to do.  It’s an art project.
Here’s another path on which you can veer.  The dandelion leaves go next, so either blanch them or don’t, chop them up finely or don’t.  I think having a long piece of leek, but almost packing material dandelion leaves is great.
Veer again.  This is practically a quantum gratin.  Egg mixture or not, with or without milk, but butter and cheese are crucial.  Just stick some butter knobs throughout.  Shave some cheese.  Gruyere, Swiss, beloved manchego, all of these are good.  If you’re making a bechamel or mornay sauce  and use nutmeg, you can totally use gjetost, which you can make at home, or buy.
Anyway, top all this goodness with breadcrumbs or panko, bake for 20-25 minutes around 350 and check for unicorn tracks on top after.  You can throw it under the broiler if you need to.

Dandelion curry

The alarmingly fresh asparagus I had yesterday got me wanting more Spring-type meals, so for dinner, I’m making dandelion curry, which IS Spring. (Plus curry.)

Also, I’m making it in my rice cooker, without rice.  Take that, Peter Peter, pasta eater.

The recipe is:
1 bunch of highly washed dandelion leaves, the thick stems having been removed
1/2 onion
some chopped leeks
garlic
turmeric
pineapple pieces, I used fresh, but whatever
can of coconut milk
thinned down peanut butter
mustard seed
cumin

Throw everything in the rice cooker, type up your recipe, and come back when you hear the click.  Done, son.

The SousVide Supreme has arrived

Just passing this on while looking at Gizmodo at the full color Iron Man decal for the Mac Book.

I have been intested in this method of cooking since seeing it on Top Chef and the like.

Read the full article here.

(Read about the Iron Man Mac Book decal here!)