Fall Preview

The end of summer is just around the corner. It hardly seems possible that in just a week, I'll be back in classes and all my free time will be claimed. This will be my last year at San Francisco State and my entire schedule is filled with classes that I have been taking pre-requisites for, for two years: Experimental Foods, Clinical Nutrition, Advanced Nutrition, etc... The tangible applications of Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics. For the first time in my academic career I will be immersed in the subject I have chosen for my work's focus. It is simultaneously exhilarating and scary-as-all hell.

I am also looking forward to the busiest social calendar I have seem in months. Visits from friends from Utah and Canada, family from Seattle; two weddings and a big, 50th-birthday blow-out.

Farther out, close friends are planning a spring wedding in which I may act as an assistant baker. In order to be prepared I am researching and practicing my cake baking skills. So, look forward to cakes, cakes and more cakes!

Orange-Soy Marinade

In a small bowl combine:
1/2 cup of orange juice
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1 inch section of smashed/grated fresh ginger
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 tablespoon oh honey

Great marinade for chicken (several hours) or salmon (about an hour). With boneless, skinless chicken pieces I bread in panko and pan fry. With salmon, I grill.

Extra marinade can be brought to boil for a minute or two and used as a glaze to finish the dish.

Peach Ice Cream

4 fresh peaches (2 very ripe, 2 ripe but firm)
1/4 sugar

Lemon juice

Turn on your broiler and position rack approximately 4 inches from the top. Cut the peaches in half, remove the pit and sprinkle the cut side with sugar. Place on a baking sheet and broil until brown spots start to appear on surface, approximately 5 minutes. If the skins easily slip off the peaches, remove them. If they do not, don't worry about. Cut the peaches into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl. If your some of your peaches are mushy enough, macerate with a fork or hand. If they are not, don't worry about it. Sprinkle with lemon juice (to prevent discoloring). Set to the side and allow to cool.

1 1/2 cups milk (1 or 2%)
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large sauce pan, over low-medium heat, warm the milk, and cream until steam starts to rise. Do not allow to boil.

2 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 - 3 tablespoons of water
Combine yolks and sugar in a small bowl. Mix to combine. Add enough water to make if just barely pourable. Add several tablespoons of the warm milk-cream to the eggs, stirring constantly to temper. Pour slowly into the saucepan, stirring constantly to avoid cooking the egg. You can slowly raise the temperature but be very careful to avoid boiling the mixture. Stir constantly until mixture thickens (think think pudding). If you think you have cooked the egg, you can strain to remove bits. Transfer to a bowl, stir in vanilla and refrigerate until completely cool.

Once cool, add peaches and freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions.
Towards the end (about 20 minutes), watch your bowl to avoid over-flowing and making a mess. The addition of the peaches was at the the limit of what my ice cream maker could accommodate (but worth it).

Time: More than an hour (I forced the custard to cool in the freezer), less than two
Yield: Generous quart

Simple Lentil Salad

This recipe uses Better than Bouillion, a product that I love. It allows you to easily make dilute broth, adding extra flavor but avoiding excess salt. I only buy it at Trader Joe's where it is $2.99 a jar vs. any place else where it is at least $4.

1 cup of brown lentils
1 1/2 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon of Better than Bouillon, chicken flavored
1 garlic clove, smashed

In a sieve under running water rinse lentils, removing any small rocks. In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, bring water to a boil. Add lentils, Better than Bouillon and garlic clove. Reduce heat to simmer, cook approximately 20 minutes, covered until the water is absorbed and the lentils are still firm.

Transfer to a serving bowl. Add:
2 tomatoes chopped, including their juices
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
Juice of 2 lemons
Drizzle of olive oil, approximately 2 tablespoons
Salt and pepper to taste

Gently stir to combine.

Yields: 3 - 4 servings
Time: 1/2 hour

Baba Ganoush

2 eggplants, whole

Heat oven to 400 F. Poke 10-12 holes in each eggplant with a fork. Place eggplants on a baking sheet and bake for 30 - 40 minutes until skin has blackened in spots and eggplants are collapsing in on themselves. Allow to cool enough to handle. Remove the top and slice lengthwise. Remove inside flesh with a spoon, transfer to a colander and allow to drain for
10 - 15 minutes. Discard skin.

Combine in bowl (big enough to add the eggplant to)
2 garlic cloves, smashed
Juice of 2 lemon
2 - 4 tablespoons of tahini, to taste
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste.

Add drained eggplant, mix to combine and smash with a fork (think guacamole).

Get over the color and serve with toasted pita "chips" or vegetable crudites.

Time: About an hour, some unattended
Yield: 4 - 6 appetizer servings