Refreshing smoothies one day…hot tea the next. It’s San Francisco, after all, so sundresses and icy drinks enjoy but brief moments of glory. As much as I reveled in salads last week, I’m baking this week to keep our kitchen warm.

All that exuberant sunshine encouraged my little pot of thyme to bolt and bloom. Usually, I snip a sprig here and there, but faced with a sudden bounty, I needed to figure out how to use it all up. I found lovely photos of sugared thyme, with detailed instructions on brushing each sprig with a thin layer of egg white, sprinkling with granulated sugar, and then baking lots of cupcakes for something worthy to garnish. Tempting, yes. Realistic, no.

I already have an entire shelf of flavored vinegars, several old enough to sport their own layers of mother, so that easy solution to excess herbs was out of the question.

Fortunately my old, one-bowl standby — shortbread cookies — came to the rescue. I’d made a batch earlier for Robynn’s 35th birthday (get it, sweet thyme? Yeah, I had to explain it to her, too.) But as with many things we give away, we often forget to save enough goodness for ourselves. These cookies are staying in my own kitchen, enough of them for me to sweeten my afternoon tea…until the next heat wave arrives.

THYME SHORTBREAD
I actually don’t like my own sweets that sweet, so the amount of sugar in this recipe is low. If you prefer, increase the measure of sugar to 1/2 cup. Have fun experimenting with other herbs or spices, such as rosemary, sage, cinnamon, cardamom, or saffron. If you don’t have long-grain rice flour (don’t use the glutinous kind!) then simply omit and use 2 cups of all-purpose flour.

Makes about 36 shortbread bars.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. and line a 13×9-inch sheet pan with parchment.

2. Stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. With a fork, cut the butter into the flour mixture just until the dough comes together. Sprinkle in the thyme leaves and continue stirring until the herb is evenly distributed and the dough is smooth.

3. With a flat or offset spatula, press the dough flat into the sheet pan. Score into evenly sized bars with a sharp knife. Brush lightly with egg white, and then prick each cookie two or three times with the tines of a fork.

4. Bake until golden, 15 to 18 minutes. While the bars are still warm, cut along your previous score lines. Slide the cookies with their parchment paper onto a wire rack and let cool completely. They will continue to crisp, and their flavor will be better after one or two days. Store in an airtight tin, sharing most of them with your friends and saving a week’s worth for yourself.

Although the calendar says it’s only May, it feels more like July this week. My kids are begging to go to the pool every day and I’m craving ice cream. Strawberry ice cream to be specific. Strawberries are in full season in all their sweet glory and what better way to stave off the heat than to indulge in icy cream and fresh berries.

I have often made strawberry ice cream using heavy cream, berries, sugar and not much else. Although these desserts have been creamy and sweet, they were a bit lacking. Without eggs, ice cream just doesn’t have the full body and character I’m looking for in my dessert. I have hunted for years for the perfect strawberry ice cream recipe, but most use between 6 and 9 egg yolks. Now I love egg custards (and ice cream made with eggs is essentially just frozen custard), but the more eggs included in a custard, the richer the flavor. Although this can often be a very good thing — such as with vanilla, pecan or chocolate ice creams — the richness of too many eggs in custard can detract from the natural sweetness of any fruit you add to it, flattening the flavors. Plus eggs are high in cholesterol and fat, so if I can, I try to avoid them in abundance. What I wanted was a lighter strawberry ice cream with the depth of flavor eggs provide, without overshadowing the strawberries and casting them out of the limelight (or raising my LDL levels).

I recently read a NY Times article that used a pudding recipe for ice cream. The problem is that it uses 8 egg yolks (yes, 8!). I remembered that my pudding recipe is thick and creamy and only uses a couple of eggs, which seemed much more reasonable. I decided to tweak it a little, however, using strawberries instead of chocolate. I also added one extra egg yolk to help bind the ice cream as I was worried the strawberries — which naturally have a lot of water in them — would make the custard runny. Heavy cream also seemed a better choice than the whole milk I use in my pudding as this is ice cream we’re making, not ice milk. My final alteration was to include some lemon juice and zest to help brighten the strawberry flavors. Finally I plopped everything into the beautiful ice cream maker my husband’s aunt bought us a few years ago (thank you Aunt Susie!) with excellent results. The final product had a deep strawberry taste, a rich and creamy texture, and a more complex flavor than the plain cream strawberry ice cream I’ve made for years. It also allowed the strawberries to star, unlike some custard ice creams I’ve tried. And best of all, it helped cool us off during this heat wave.

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

Makes 4 - 8 servings

Ingredients
3 cups of fresh strawberries (cleaned, hulled and chopped)
½ cup plus 3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Zest from one medium lemon
3 large egg yolks
3 Tbsp corn starch
Dash of salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp butter

Preparation
1. Puree 2 cups of the strawberries with 3 Tbsp sugar and the lemon juice
2. Heat the heavy cream on medium-low until it starts to steam with small bubbles around the edge. Turn off the heat.
3. Whisk egg yolks with ½ cup sugar in a bowl until the mixture is a light yellow color.
4. Add the lemon zest, corn starch, and salt to the egg mixture and whisk thoroughly, making sure there are no lumps.
5. Add about a half cup of the warmed cream to the egg mixture, whisking vigorously to temper the eggs.
6. Add the egg mixture to the cream and incorporate thoroughly.
7. Cook on medium-low just until the mixture starts to bubble. Be sure to frequently stir or the mixture will start to burn at the bottom. I used a whisk, but a spatula would also work.
8. When the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, turn off the heat and add the strawberry puree.
9. Stir in the vanilla.
10. Chill in an ice bath.
11. Cover with plastic wrap, being sure to let it sit directly on top of the pudding to avoid a skin forming.
12. Refrigerate until fully cooled.
13. Place mixture in your ice cream maker and let it do its thing for about twenty minutes.
14. Place in a container and place in the freezer. Stir every hour or so until firm so it evenly freezes.
15. Serve.

Tips:
1. If you do not have an ice cream maker, you can still make homemade ice cream. David Lebovitz shows you how to make ice cream without a machine.

2. This recipe would also be great using peaches, nectarines, plums, or any other type of berry.

In late spring when the first cherries would appear at the Dallas farmers’ market, my mom would sing her little cherry ditty: “Cherries are ripe…” Granted, it doesn’t sound like much—it’s only a 3-word phrase—and she did sing it much more often than as an annual welcome to the little stone fruit, but I can’t look at cherries anymore without hearing her singsong voice.

Cherries are finally making an appearance at Bay Area farmers’ markets, and starting to taste less like watery insipid blobs and more like juicy flavorful sweet little gems.

While I typically like to eat my cherries out of hand, I will eat any fruit baked, especially if it’s surrounded by pastry, custard, or cake. So what happens when you merge all three and throw in some cherries? You get a heavenly, crispy-on-the-outside, custardy on the inside, pancakey Cherry Oven Pancake.

Modeled after the German apple oven pancake (also known as a Dutch baby), this incredibly easy, impressive dessert is as much science experiment as it is full-on delicious. Into the oven goes a thin batter, and out comes a big puffy surprise. Make sure you call your kids, your guests, or at least your dog in to see it as you pull it from the oven so they will be in awe of your culinary prowess.

Cherry Oven Pancake

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups cherries, pitted
1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)
Powdered sugar, maple syrup, or lemon wedges for serving

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 450F. Puree the eggs, milk, vanilla, salt, and sugar in a blender until smooth. Add the flour, and puree again until smooth.

2. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron pan and warm just until it starts to brown, then add the dark brown sugar, and stir with a wooden spoon until it starts to melt. Add the cherries and sauté until they start to release their juices, about 1 minute.

3. Turn off the heat and pour the batter into the pan. If you are using the almonds, sprinkle them evenly over the top of the batter. Quickly place the pan in the oven. Reduce the heat to 425F and bake until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.

4. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with maple syrup or a squeeze of lemon.

Teaching kids to eat and drink healthfully requires much more than admonitions. After carting away the vending machines and abolishing the Big Gulps, we can’t leave the kids empty-handed. Rachelle Boucher from Generation Chefs is working hard to fill the void. From the popular Pizza Smack-Downs at COPIA to her weekly cooking classes (free to high school students) in the beautifully outfitted kitchen at the Marin Youth Center (MYC a.k.a. “Mike”) she’s bringing fresh, whole, homemade food generously flavored with reaffirming messages and lots of common sense to a wide and diverse group of kids.


A visit to one of her cooking classes reveals her consummate skill in converting teens to the cause of healthy eating. Endowed with humor, warmth, and endless energy, she’s a master of choreographing 25 wary bundles of apathy and hormones into productive teams of excited, skilled, fruit-and vegetable-loving cooks.

Rachelle hefts up 20 pounds of refined sugar so the kids can see how much the average American teenager consumes every six weeks.

Her class this past week highlighted our favorite fruit of the season–strawberries–along with one very shiny, red bike blender. The lesson for the day involved putting down sugary drinks and sipping fruit smoothies instead. In addition to fresh strawberries, melons, and bananas, the teen chefs could choose from a colorful array of juices, frozen fruit, yogurts, and natural flavorings. Most importantly, they learned that not a single grain of added sugar was needed to create a delicious drink.

A rainbow of sweet goodness just before the pedal action.

Mike Graham-Squire from the Youth Leadership Institute joined the class to show the teens how to select ingredients, calculate food costs, determine servings sizes and overall yield, and–most importantly of all–operate the bike blender. As representatives of schools and local community organizations, the kids were also learning how smoothies can be a healthful, interactive, and effective fundraising tool at large events.

From the Country of Marin’s Nutrition Wellness Program, nutritionist Ellen Szakal taught the class how to read product labels to determine the number of teaspoons of sugar in each serving. A chart listing their favorite snacks and a hands–on exercise counting out a disconcertingly large pile of sugar cubes helped them understand just how much unnecessary sugar they were consuming each day.

It’s a skill adults could use, too.

Calculating How Much Sugar Is In A Container
Looking at the Nutrition Facts label on the side of the package, find the number of grams of sugar. Then divide that number by 4. For example, ingesting 65 grams of sugar in a 20-ounce drink bottle (considered 1 serving) means swallowing 17 individual teaspoons of sugar.

So much youthful energy, it takes extra hands to hold the jar still.

Berkeley-based Juice Peddler sells kits for retrofitting bikes to become human-powered blenders. From the first-generation’s endearingly clunky tricycle platform and antique hand-drill to the fifth-generation’s sleek, high-density polyethylene design, the company has been at the forefront of DIY bike blender technology.

The kids took turns pedaling their fruit concoctions and proudly shared tastes of their icy treats with other teams. Lined up for judging, the smoothies created a rainbow of delicious fun: Monkey Melons, Fruit-A-Palooza, Pink Panther, Go Mango, Fruit-A-Licious, and Pink-A-Licous Strawberry.

I’m glad I didn’t have to judge, as it would have been a tough call to pick just one winner.

Sammy and Brittney confer on the formulation of their team’s smoothie.

Pinkalicious Strawberry Smoothie
The members of Team Pinkalicious decided to celebrate the happy coincidence of their clothing colors with an appropriately hued smoothie.

Serves: 6

Ingredients
10 ounces strawberries, hulled
1 banana, chopped
1 cup frozen berry medley
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 cup orange mango juice concentrate

Preparation
1. Place all ingredients in the jar of a blender.
2. Blend until completely mixed.
3. Serve immediately.

Minted Strawberry Agua Fresca
Another excellent recipe from Generation Chefs that highlights the current season’s bumper crop.

Serves: 6

Ingredients
2 cups ice cubes
3 cups strawberries, hulled
2 small mint leaves, optional
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
3 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
6 whole strawberries, split 3/4 up from the point, for garnish
6 mint sprigs, for garnish

Preparation
1. Place all ingredients in a blender in the order listed.
2. Blend until completely mixed. Taste and adjust for sweetness or tartness as desired.
3. Pour into chilled glasses, garnish with mint sprigs, and slide a berry onto the rim of each glass.

As a kid, the only green vegetable I willingly let into my mouth without making faces and disgusting noises was the artichoke. Knowing what I know now about the seasonality and regionality of food, I’m pretty impressed that my mother was able to get her hands on artichokes in Minnesota all those years ago. As a born and bred Californian, my mother loved artichokes just as much as we did. That said, I think she was motivated to stop the retchings, gaggings, and death rattles at the dinner table more than anything else.

I grew up scraping my eager teeth across the “strip the leaves and dip them in hot melted butter” globe variety, and it wasn’t until I moved out to California that I really had any experience with delectable baby artichokes. These little suckers are now in season, but if you don’t know how to strip and cook them, they can end up tough and bitter.

You want the leaves to be tightly closed. The more open the leaves are, the more likely they are to have a choke.

The stems of artichokes are just as delicious as the artichokes themselves, but the tougher outer skin should be stripped down. Using a very sharp paring knife, carefully peel off the layer.

This is what a clean stem looks like.

Snap off all the outer leaves until you get down to the tender pale green/yellow leaves.

Trim off the top of the leaves and cut the artichoke in half lengthwise.

Because artichokes start to brown (oxidize) the moment you cut them, toss them in a bowl of acidulated water. That is, water that has lemon juice squeezed into it.

Sauteed Spring Artichokes

Serves 2 as a side dish

Ingredients:
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Spring onions, thinly sliced
1 lb baby artichokes
1/4 cup water
Juice from 1/4 lemon
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
1. Heat the oil in a high-sided saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, raise the heat to medium-high, and sauté the onions for about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the artichokes, stirring to coat with the olive oil. Splash in the water and lemon juice and cover the pan. Stirring every so often, simmer until the base of the artichokes are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Serving Ideas:
You can serve these artichokes as a side dish just as they are or with a little Fiore Sardo grated on top, but I also like to combine them with farro and snipped chives, with pasta, or with roasted potatoes.

Well, God Bless America, it’s Kate Smith! I’ve recently been given a book of her favorite recipes called, of all things, Kate Smith’s Favorite Recipes.

If you know anything at all about me, or even care to, you know that I am fascinated with celebrities. Not the new ones so much–I prefer the dead ones. I couldn’t care less about Miley Cyrus, unless she has something to do with that restaurant in Healdsburg I’ve been wanting to visit. Or Clay Aiken and his scary new look. No, young, pablum-spewing singers are not my cup of tea. Give me an old, dead, pablum-spewer any day of the week.

Like Kate Smith. Now there was a singer. The Songbird of the South. Remember the song “God Bless America?” Ah, you do know who the hell she was. She had a big voice, a big heart, and an even bigger stomach.


And biggest of all was her radio program, as one might imagine from the overuse of exclamation marks:

Grand Baking News

Millions of Americans tuned in to hear her from 1931 to 1947–the year everyone basically started to tire of both the radio and Kate Smith. Fortunately, at the height of her popularity, she found time in her busy schedule to write a cookbook of her favorite recipes–all conveniently containing Calumet Baking Powder and Swan’s Down Cake Flour (the two primary sponsors of her show), which might explain why there isn’t one recipe for pie listed. Perhaps it was this very book that single-handedly killed the pie-baking spirit of the American Housewife. Just think about that for a moment and remember–you heard it here first.

But she did love to bake. And Eat. And who doesn’t? These bathing beauties the art director cleverly huddled around Miss Smith certainly look interested.

And so was I, naturally, because it’s been a while since I’ve made a man rave (see: copy below). I thought I’d follow the advice of an expert.

I chose to make Grape-Nuts Bread because I figured no man in his right mind could eat such a thing and not rave.

Grape-Nuts Bread

Grape-Nuts was also a sponsor of Kate Smith’s radio program. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any Postum’s Fake Coffee (yet another sponsor) to drink along side it. I chose to make this not-so-sweet loaf out of respect for Miss Smith–she lost a leg and eventually died from diabetes. It is a rather heavy concoction, not unlike the Songbird herself. It’s hearty and oddly satisfying, especially when toasted and struck with great lashings of butter.

Here is the recipe exactly as written:

Ingredients:

2 cups milk, scalded
1 cup Grape-Nuts
3 cups sifted flour
4 teaspoons Calumet Baking Powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cups sugar
1 egg, well beaten
3 tablespoons melted butter or other shortening

Preparation:

Pour milk over Grape-Nuts; cool. Sift flour once, measure, and add baking powder, salt, and sugar, and sift again. Add egg and shortening to Grape-Nuts mixture and stir well; add flour mixture, stirring only enough to dampen all flour. Turn into a greased loaf pan, 9×4x3 inches; let stand 20 minutes. Bake in moderate oven (350° F.) 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until done. Bread should be stored overnight to cut easily in thin slices.

Grape-Nuts Fruit Bread. Increase salt to 1 1⁄2 teaspoons in above recipe; add 1 tablespoon grated orange or lemon rind and 1 cup currants, chopped raisins, or finely cut prunes to Grape-Nuts-egg-fat mixture.

How’s that for semi-colon use?

Makes one loaf.

And, yes, I know what you’re thinking. You still haven’t seen Miss Smith performing. You still don’t know what all the fuss was about, so I’ll leave you with something very, very special– a Salute to the Beatles Miss Smith performed on the Cher Show (after the divorce–no Sonny) with, of course, Cher, and Tina Turner.

I firmly believe this specific performance was the coup de grâce for a once-beloved genre–the Prime Time Variety Show. Enjoy.

Kate Smith–murderess of both the American Variety Show and American Pie. She may have been, in her sweet, Southern way, the Kremlin’s most effective secret weapon against us ever. Think about that for a moment and remember–you heard it here first.

I’ve been reading a lot about the rising cost of food. The general media is painting a fairly dim picture of the current state of food prices and accessibility, and Jennifer Maiser’s recent articles on BAB helped enlighten us about the politics behind these stories and the reactions to them. Anyone who has walked into a grocery store lately, however, doesn’t need to read about escalating prices to know they’re real. Food is simply more expensive, and feeding one self, let alone a family of four or five, is getting more cost prohibitive each day. So what is a parent who needs to feed a family on a fixed budget to do? Luckily, there are quite a few options out there for the frugal home chef.

Cost-effective home cooking can be simple and the results just as satisfying and flavorful as any high-cost dinner you make. You won’t be grilling any T-bone steaks or putting giant prawns on the barbie, but all types of meat are within reach as long as you choose the right cuts.

Following are three recipes that will feed a family of four, and may even provide some leftovers. One costs less than $5 to make, the next less than $10, and the last just over $10. The costs were calculated using a trip to my local farmer’s market (where I can often purchase a bunch of greens for only $1.00 or $1.50 each) and a trip to Trader Joe’s (which I think is the most affordable place to buy staples like canned beans, pastas, rice, and organic milk). I didn’t include prices for dried spices as they are often standard in any cupboard; also, the minor cost doesn’t really affect the final dollar amount much, so I opted against the extra math involved in calculating something like how much a teaspoon of cumin will cost. I’ve included one vegetarian, one chicken, and one beef recipe to cover all the bases (well, except fish).

Under $5
This vegetarian dish was a staple in my house when I was growing up and is something I frequently make for my family now. You can make this traditional Italian peasant dish year round with whatever greens are in season. It’s the cheapest meal of the three and probably also the healthiest. Be sure not to drain out all the pasta water as you’ll need some to finish off the dish.

Linguine with Greens and White Beans = $4.18

Ingredients
1 bunch of chard, broccoli rabe, mustard greens or any other leafy green ($1.50)
1 12 oz can white beans drained and rinsed ($.69)
2 cloves of garlic
¼ tsp crushed red pepper (if desired)
1 lb linguine ($0.99)
3 Tbsp olive oil
Some pasta water
Top with Parmesan cheese ($1.00)

Preparation
1. Cook linguine in salted water until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat the olive oil and cook the garlic until lightly browned. If using the crushed red pepper, add it now.
3. Add the greens and partially cook until warmed through. If using a tougher green, add about a ¼ cup of water and cover to help cook the vegetable.
4. Add the beans and a little pasta water.
5. Stir thoroughly and cover for one minute.
6. Once the beans are heated through and the vegetables are wilted (but not soggy) add the cooked and drained pasta.
7. Add more water or olive oil if necessary.
8. Add salt to taste.
9. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Under $10
Chicken legs are the least expensive cut of chicken you can buy. As dark meat is far juicier than white, the legs are also one of the tastiest cuts and are great for barbecuing, roasting, or braising. Most kids also love drumsticks as they are easy to pick up and fun to eat. The following dish can be baked or barbecued. If you do the latter, be sure to set the potatoes on the grill in a pan and be careful not to overcook them. With a salad, this dish is a complete meal that is both filling and nutritious. The salad I’ve included is one of my favorite spring salads as it uses baby arugula, which is so perfect this time of year, and pink grapefruits, which add a lovely sweetness to the entire meal.

Roasted Balsamic Chicken and Potatoes with a Baby Arugula, Pink Grapefruit, and Candied Almond Salad = $9.75

Roasted Balsamic Chicken and Potatoes = $5.00

Ingredients
6 chicken legs (just under $2.00)
¼ cup olive oil (about $.50)
¼ cup balsamic vinegar (about $.50)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
3 large russet potatoes halved and sliced into 1/4 –inch pieces ($1.50)
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley ($.50)

Preparation
1. In a large pan, mix the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and some salt and pepper. Marinate the chicken in the mixture for at least an hour or up to one day in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Add potatoes to the pan with the chicken and mix in the marinade. Top with a little more olive oil if needed.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and top with chopped parsley.
6. Bake another 15 minutes or until done.
7. Serve.

Baby Arugula Salad with Pink Grapefruit and Candied Almonds = $4.75

Ingredients
1 medium bunch of baby arugula ($2.00)
1 large pink grapefruit, peeled and cut into ¼-inch pieces ($1.00)
½ cup unsalted almonds ($1.00)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp water
¼ cup olive oil ($.50)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar ($.25)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
1. Heat almonds and sugar in a dry pan on medium-high heat.
2. Toast the almonds in the pan until the sugar starts to meld into the nuts.
3. Add the water and quickly stir so the sugar melts into the nuts. Turn off heat.
4. Wash and dry arugula and place in a large salad bowl.
5. Add chopped grapefruit (with its juices) and candied nuts.
6. Mix salad dressing ingredients thoroughly and then add to the salad.
7. Mix and serve.

Just Over $10

Beef, Poblano, and Potato Tacos with a Corn and Avocado Salad with a Lime-Cilantro Dressing = $10.53

I’ve been adding potatoes to my beef tacos for most of my adult life. It all started in my early 20s as an attempt to eat less red meat, while retaining the beef flavor in some of my favorite dishes. A food article at that time suggested cutting the beef in some recipes in half and adding potatoes for extra heft. I tried this with my tacos, and was surprised by how well the potatoes worked with the beef in corn tortillas and how nicely the flavors melded. Later, I decided to add some roasted poblanos to add even more flavor to the dish and loved the results. The salad I serve the tacos with uses fresh corn and avocado and has a lime and cilantro dressing that screams Mexico. Served with some canned black beans, you have a quick, hearty, and healthy meal. Parents should note that my daughters don’t like the poblano peppers much, but I think they taste great and so let them pick them out on their own.

Beef, Poblano, and Potato Tacos = $6.09

Ingredients
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
½ lb ground beef (I used Niman Ranch) ($3.00)
¼ red onion chopped ($0.25)
1 medium potato chopped into cubes ($0.50)
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp oregano
1 large poblano pepper roasted and peeled (see directions below) ($0.80)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro ($0.25)
¼ - ½ cup water
10 corn tortillas ($1.29)

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large pan.
2. Add the onion, beef, and potato. Cook until both are mostly browned (around 5 minutes on medium heat).
3. Add the cumin and oregano and mix in thoroughly.
4. Deseed and chop the poblano pepper and then add it to the potato/meat mixture.
5. Add ¼ cup of water to deglaze the meat and potato bits on the bottom of the pan. Add more water if needed.
6. Add the cilantro and stir.
7. In a separate pan (I use a large cast iron pan), add the remaining tablespoon of oil. When hot, brown each tortilla on both sides.
8. Fill browned tortillas with beef mixture.
9. Serve with lime, sour cream, or crema if desired (these will add to the price of the dish, but are not necessary).

Corn and Avocado Salad with a Lime and Cilantro Dressing ($3.75)

Ingredients
2 ears of fresh corn ($2.00)
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro ($.25)
1 avocado chopped ($1.00)
Juice from 1 lime ($.50)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation
1. Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix.

Can of Black Beans = $0.69
I like to serve this meal with some warmed black beans. A can costs 69 cents at Trader Joe’s. If you add this, the grand total goes a bit over $10 to $10.53, but it’s worth it.

How to Roast Poblano Peppers

Method One: On a gas stovetop
1. Turn a burner on high and set pepper on top of the grate.
2. Roast on all sides until the pepper’s exterior is completely charred.
3. Place in a paper bag and close tight for about five minutes. This will allow the skin to steam off.
4. Tear open bag and peel off the outer skin of the pepper (it should now come off very easily).

Method Two: In the oven
1. Turn on your broiler
2. Set your pepper on a pan and place on the top shelf under the broiler.
3. Char on one side thoroughly, and then turn over.
4. Char on the other side and then remove pepper from oven.
5. Place in a paper bag and close tight for about five minutes. This will allow the skin to steam off.
6. Tear open bag and peel off the outer skin of the pepper (it should now come off very easily).

Here are some links to other recipes that I thought looked good and seem to fall in the under $10 range. I have not actually added up the costs for these ingredients, but they look inexpensive to make. About a year ago, I made the falafel recipe and thought it was great. And, although I’ve never made the chickpea ragout, I completely trust all of Jacques Pépin’s recipes.

Falafel from Mark Bittman’s NY Times column
Chickpea Ragout from Jacques Pepin’s Food Made Fast site
Beans and rice from Recipe Zaar
Tofu and Bok Choy Stir fry from Epircurious

In honor of the 134th annual Kentucky Derby, which just happens to be happening tomorrow, I am making mint juleps. How could I not? Since I am neither a Southerner, nor have I ever been to Churchill Downs, I very easily could not. But I have lots of Southern friends and often like to pretend I am from the South– especially when I’ve been drinking bourbon. If I drink rum, I like to pretend I’m from the Midwest.

Ah, Magnolia. Ah, Churchill Downs. I’m certain that, had Sir Winston ever visited Kentucky, he would have downed several. Juleps, I mean. In case you didn’t know, the mint julep has been the official drink of the Kentucky Derby since 1938. Prior to 1938, I very much doubt anyone cared about officially recognizing official drinks.

The Julep, courtesy of Merriam-Webster.com: ju·lep

Pronunciation: \ ‘jü-əp\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Arabic julāb, from Persian gulāb, from gul rose + āb water (that’s rosewater, in case you weren’t following).

Date: 14th Century

1: a drink consisting of sweet syrup, flavoring, and water 2: a drink consisting of a liquor (as bourbon or brandy) and sugar poured over crushed ice and garnished with mint.

For the purposes of todays post, we will focus on number two. Definition number two, that is.

I am a sucker for a good mint julep, and it isn’t very often one comes across one– especially in California. When I was a young lad living in Los Angeles, my favorite bar/restaurant was called Ports. It had no sign, yet the habitués were congenial. I once asked my favored bartender to make me a julep, but he lacked the necessary fresh mint and therefore refused me. Two warm summer evenings later, I asked again for a Julep and he replied again in the negative. I then produced a large bunch of spearmint, presenting it to him as I would a nosegay. He accepted, sniffed, and made everyone at the bar a julep. And then we started dating.

Until I ran out of mint.

The Mint Julep
Thought it may sometimes seem that the Persians pretty much invented everything, it’s the American South that may lay claim to the mint julep. Sometime during the 18th Century, white people living below the Mason-Dixon line started drinking this concoction of bourbon, ice, sugar, water, and mint. Henry Clay introduced the drink to the swamps of Washington, D.C. in the early 19th Century at the Round Robin Bar in the Willard Hotel, months before the hotel was bought out by the InterContinental chain.

What I enjoy so much about the julep is that it is refreshing, incredibly easy to make, and yet not so simple. There are essentially five ingredients and twenty-seven thousand theories upon how to make one. For an excellent read on what is, what is not, and what might be considered a true mint julep, I encourage you to read Jason Wilson’s story Juleps for the Derby? All Bets Are Off. It made me a very, very happy fellow.

Ingredients:

About 8 fresh mint leaves, plus one attractive sprig for garnishing
1 teaspoon of superfine sugar (it dissolves better than table sugar)
3 ounces Kentucky bourbon
a good splash of soda water
Crushed ice, and lots of it
Powdered Sugar, for dusting (I’d never done this until reading Wilson’s article, now it shall be forever part of my Julep schtick)

Preparation:

1. Chill a tall Collins glass or silver julep cup in your freezer for a few minutes.
2. Combine mint, sugar, soda, and half of the bourbon in the bottom of the glass. Muddle gently.
3. Add a few spoonsful of crushed ice and stir. Fill the glass the rest of the way with ice, top off with the second half of the bourbon, garnish with mint, and dust with powdered sugar.
4. Drink immediately, but don’t grab the glass around the middle unless you wish to give yourself away as unrepentently Yankee.

Serves: 1

If you now have especially strong feelings about the mint julep, you might wish to join the Mint Julep Sisterhood. Please watch this instructive video. NB: Granny Mae is wearing a snood, which means I must love her, in spite of her toothlessness.

If you have been suffering from the Vapors, I hope this has helped. Enjoy your Derby Day.

You know when you take a bite of something and you realize that this is a taste you are going to crave? Like salted caramel ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery. It’s usually something you can’t get just anywhere. For me it often happens when I’m traveling somewhere and I won’t easily find that taste again back home. Like the Middlewhite bacon sandwich at St. John’s in London (on homemade bread with homemade ketchup, don’t knock it til you try it), which my husband and I often wistfully talk about. Or, more recently, the most perfect shrimp po-boy from New Orleans.

A few weeks ago I went to New Orleans, a city I adore and which I’ve visited many times while growing up in Texas, but where I had not returned for at least 8 years. This was my first visit post-Katrina, and it ended up being one of the most meaningful, eye-opening, and intense experiences I’ve had while traveling (more on that in another post when I’ve had a chance to digest it all). For me, most of what makes New Orleans so special are the people who live there and their generous and kind spirit. With all that they’ve been through, they still carry on with the most positive attitude, full of Southern hospitality. It’s obvious every time you go to a restaurant or a bar and they serve up some authentic New Orleans cuisine, welcoming, gracious, and always happy to have you there.

On the advice of a few locals, we headed over to Domilise’s Po-Boy & Bar for one of the best po-boys in town. Tucked away in a residential area, we almost drove by the nondescript corner restaurant. It’s all that you might expect from a divey po-boy shop, the deep fryer and sandwich station on one wall, the bar on the other, and a handful of tables scattered in between. The line moves swiftly, and then you have to jostle for a table before your name is called and your sandwich comes out. In keeping with the old-time Southern feel, the drinks on offer include bottled Barq’s root beer and crème soda.

We were told that their specialty was the “1/2 and 1/2 dressed.” Huh? 1/2 fried shrimp, 1/2 fried oysters. “Dressed” means slathered with mayo, creole mustard, ketchup, and topped with shredded lettuce and pickles. There is nothing light or healthy here, so if you are looking for that, you should go elsewhere.

Not being a huge fan of fried oysters (I like mine raw), I went for the shrimp po-boy dressed (although my friend did order the 1/2 and 1/2, which only comes in a large size, and amazed us all by eating the whole thing). It was incredible, and we were not disappointed. I knew one bite in that I was done for. Fresh, crisp-fried shrimp that burst in your mouth with flavor, real Gulf shrimp that you just can’t get out here on the west coast. Light, airy crisp-on-the-outside French bread–oozing with the perfect amount of condiments–held it all together. I knew that I would return to the Bay Area and think about that sandwich, and wish I could just pop on over to Domilise’s and get another. I’m thinking about it right now actually. My friend Amy emailed me a week to the day that we went and reminded me of the sandwich, and how she wished she had one RIGHT NOW. It’s going to be a problem, I can tell.

So I decided to try to reconstruct one from memory. It won’t be the same. I don’t have the sweet old guy behind the bar asking, “What can I get you sweetie?” Or the friendly folks around us smiling and chatting with us, or the smell of the fresh seafood being deep fried, or that perfect taste that I crave when it all came together one day in New Orleans.

A Dressed Shrimp Po-boy

Serves 4

Ingredients
For the shrimp:
Peanut oil for frying
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornflour
1 egg
1 1/2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

For the sandwiches:
4 soft white French rolls (New Orleans style), split in half and warmed in the oven
Mayo
Creole mustard
Ketchup
About 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
Dill pickle slices

Preparation
1. In a medium saucepan, add enough oil so that it is 1/2-inch deep. Heat to 375 F.

2. Have ready three shallow bowls. In bowl #1, put about 1/2 cup flour. In bowl #2, crack the egg and whisk it until frothy. In bowl #3, stir together about 1/2 cup cornflour with about 1/4 cup flour. Rinse and dry the shrimp. Dredge them first in the flour, then in egg, then in the cornflour mixture.

3. Add the shrimp, in batches to avoid overcrowding, and fry just until golden brown. Set aside to drain on a paper-towel lined plate.

4. Spread each side of the bread with mayo, then creole mustard. Layer the fried shrimp, a squirt of ketchup, the lettuce, and then the pickle slices on the sandwich. Eat it up!

Domilise’s Po-Boy & Bar
5240 Annunciation St.
New Orleans, LA
504-899-9126
map

A small way that you can help:
The Southern Food and Beverage Museum, located in New Orleans, lost over half its collection of cookbooks in Katrina. They are trying to rebuild their collection through donations across the country. If you have cookbooks on the American South or cuisines and cultures that have influenced the cuisine of that region; community-based cookbooks or pamphlets; culinary histories; or any cuisine-based books that you think they might be interested in, please send them to:

Southern Food & Beverage Museum
Attn: Liz Williams
1 Poydras Street, #169
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130

Breaking two cardinal rules in my kitchen–versatility and real-world functionality–my favorite new toy is silly, beautiful, and fun. It can only do one thing: make cookies in the shape of an obscure cut of lamb. A while back, while checking out the display cases at the excellent little butcher shop, Avendano’s, my friends spotted a batch of hand-crafted, limited-edition, copper cookie cutters. For some reason, they thought of me.

The packaging was gorgeous. Each form is hand-stitched to a card painted with a watercolor depiction of the actual cut of meat. I am now blessed with a “Middle Cut Rib” of lamb, which, to be honest, does not resemble any overly trimmed product that I’ve seen at most meat counters. My favorite part is the tiny tag, hanging off the cookie cutter like some exclusive designer label and engraved–by hand, of course–with the maker’s phone number.

This past weekend, I finally had a chance to give it a try. Since royal icing is one of my least favorite foods, depicting meat with only cookie dough became the challenge. An old recipe (adapted from Vanilla Refrigerator Cookies in the 1976 edition of the Joy of Cooking) and a bit of red food coloring leftover from making velvet cake came to rescue. I debated incorporating demi-glace or bouillon for meaty flavor, but decided to stay simple for the test run. Next time.

Here are some photos and notes from my first stab at meat cookies:

The red-colored dough, with a bits of white dough aka fat marbling left from the mixing. The color will lighten with baking, so make it darker than the final shade you want.

While still warm and soft, shape the dough into a thick piece that roughly follows the contour of the cutter. Basically, you’re making a lamb loin, or the meat before the butcher saws it into steaks or chops. Make it slightly smaller than the outline of the cutter, though, to allow for the fat layer…

…with some reserved, uncolored dough, build up a thin (or thick—your preference) layer of “fat” around the lamb loin. I started off with an offset spatula, and then figured out it’s much easier just to flatten pieces of white dough between my palms and press then right into the red dough. Press down firmly on the dough to avoid air pockets, which will later become cracks and gaps. Any breaks later are easy to fix, though, with extra dough.

After chilling for a few hours, I sliced the loin thinly with a chef’s knife and transferred the cookies to a parchment lined sheet pan. Final shaping with the cutter happens right on the pan. (The two front cookies have been cut).

Sweet meat trimmings. I mushed them together into a log, chilled again, and then sliced into pretty, round, marbled cookies.

Be sure to cool the cookies completely on a wire rack before storing them in an airtight container.

Layered between parchment, the cookies traveled very well to a weekend picnic in the park. If there’s a meat-lover in your life who happens to like baking or who deserves a batch of meat cookies…well, I think there’s a gift out there waiting to be made.

Red Meat Refrigerator Cookies
Makes 12 large cookies, plus trimmings.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest or 1/2 teaspoon lemon oil
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 – 4 teaspoons red food coloring

Preparation
1. Beat butter until creamy. Add sugar gradually and beat until pale and fluffy.
2. In a separate small bowl, lightly beat together the eggs, vanilla, lemon, and almond. Drizzle into the butter-sugar mixture and beat until smooth.
3. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir into the butter mixture.
4. Remove 1/4 of the dough to a separate bowl. Adding gradually, blend the red food coloring into the remaining dough. Leave the coloring slightly streaking, to keep the cookies tender and to mimic marbled meat.
5. Shape into logs or lamb loins. Chill thoroughly, or at least four hours.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Working quickly, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. Re-chill dough, if needed, to keep it firm. Arrange on parchment paper and bake just until lightly golden around edges, or 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.