The Pig and I

Good evening! Today I am going for a mostly pantry meal. Normally one might make this dish with bottled clam juice or similar, but I actually had some frozen shrimp stock that I decided to incorporate into the dish (well, not all of it. Turns out I had a lot more than I thought). And I'm leaving the wine out, because although I know there's some in the pantry somewhere, the where has escaped me. Hope you enjoy! 2-3 tablespoons olive oil (30 cents) 1/2 onion, roughly chopped (15 cents) 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (3 cents) salt and pepper to taste (penny) 1 teaspoon thyme (2-3 cents) 1 can crushed tomatoes (50 cents) 1 cup clam juice or shrimp broth (this was free to me, since I used shells from shrimps) splash lemon juice (5 cents) salt and pepper to taste (penny) pinch sugar (penny) 1 can clams (~1 dollar, though I don't know what they cost these days 8 ounces linguine, cooked according to package directions (75 cents - man, pasta is getting pricey! 1.

In keeping with my bergamot theme (the rest of you should use the juice from either lemon or Seville orange), I bring you these stems. If you are not of the mindset to save the stems of your bunches of beets, rhubarb would be an acceptable substitute, though you will want to reduce the citrus by half. Enjoy! 1 tablespoon each: olive and vegetable oil 1 small sprig dill 2 cups beet stems, cut into 2" strips 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 4 radishes sliced thickly 1 sliced carrot 1 cup cooked black beans (I do them from dry and cook them w/ a bay leaf) salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons bergamot juice Add dill and oils to a small pan. Heat over very low heat and allow to infuse for 20 or so minutes. Remove dill and discard. Add all remaining except beans and bergamot juice and cook over medium or medium-low heat until somewhat softer. Add citrus and beans and cook the rest of the way through. Serves 2 (as a side).

I was making those ever-so-popular fleur de sel caramels today when I learned that maybe one should do the dishes either before, or after the candy making. It's been a while since I made real candy, so I excuse the forgetfulness. As a result of my negligence, I let it boil 5 or so degrees higher than the recipe called for. Oops. It set up quicker than the recommended two hours, and did not have that lovely, creamy-sticky-soft mouth-feel. What happened instead was that the caramels turned into a lovely caramel-toffee cross. Initially, it feels like toffee, but then you chew it a bit and it becomes sticky and soft, but not like a real caramel. Delicious, but not what I wanted*. I am learning from the fail in three ways: 1) Watch the pot, not the cleaning 2) In case of a fail of #1, set the alarm on the candy thermometer 3) On fail days, open a can of homemade pasta sauce instead of chancing ruining dinner (this is preemptive learning since I have not ruined dinner yet, by choosing t

Okay... I've decided to stop being secretive. I'm going to share the recipe. Mind you, it's 500 calories a slice (and everyone eats at least 2), but it's worth it. I can't believe I'm finally sharing this recipe. I first made this pie because I had a dream that I was sitting at my old prep table, eating a slice of this pie. I woke up from the dream, determined to write down what I could remember of the pie. Since I needed to really think on it to break down the flavours in my head, I took a long bath and scribbled on the tile walls in crayons. It took me somewhere between 30-50 pies (possibly more) before it tasted exactly like it was in my dream (let's call it a 15 pound weight gain before it was perfect). For some reason, people seem to have trouble getting this pie right without actually participating in the making first, but I think you guys can do it. If in some parts of this recipe, I sound a little nutty, don't be alarmed. I have a deep, deep

I got this recipe from Smitten Kitchen . Originally, it's a lemon and cranberry recipe. What initially caught my eye was Deb's mention of how disappointing it is that fresh cranberries get so little use (outside of sauce for the holiday table) in favour of the little dried bits. I could not agree more with her, and I am always trying to find ways to incorporate real cranberries into my baked goods. These scones were perfect not only for that, but for the substitution of bergamot in lieu of meyer lemon. I don’t think I froze enough rounds (I decided to bake 3 per person, which was too many - 3 would've been plenty for the two of us), but these are really, really wonderful. Slightly sweet and delightfully tart when you bite into one of the cranberries. They’re soft inside, slightly crispy on the outside and just wonderful little pillows of happiness. I’m putting curd on them when I want a sweeter bite and eating them solo when I want a sweet-tart bite. And happily, I have t

I find it odd I never posted this before. In my head, I had shared this recipe. But apparently, once again, what happened in my head and what happened in reality have nothing to do with one another. So I'm posting it now, as my entry for this month's In the Bag . I got this recipe from a Belorussian I used to know, who had changed his family's recipe from pork to beef in order to accommodate the dietary needs of his Muslim roommate. The only thing I've changed is the addition of garlic. Enjoy! 12 ounces beef (I used sirloin, but you use what you have), cut into cubes 2 potatoes, cut into large cubes 1-2 bay leaves pinch salt 2 quarts water a few whole cloves of garlic (optional) 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil 4 beets, cut into sticks 3 carrots, sliced 2 stalks celery, sliced 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 large chopped onion 1 large chopped tomato salt and pepper to taste pinch of sugar Boil the first group of ingredients for 30 minutes, skimming off any foa

As promised, here is the curd recipe. This is perfect for scones, toast, just to eat, or for an unusual twist on the filling typically used in those little fruit tarts. If bergamots are not available to you, you could always use lemon, Seville orange, sweet types of orange (cut the sugar a bit though), lime, pomello, grapefruit or any other citrus. Enjoy! 9 ounces freshly squeezed bergamot juice 2 tablespoons finely grated zest 1 1/2 cups sugar 6 eggs 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 12 tablespoons butter, cut into 1 tablespoon bits Whisk all but butter into a saucepan. Begin to heat over medium low heat and add all the butter. Whisking periodically, cook until the whisk marks stay in the curd. Pack into sterilised jars (or you can just put this in a jar and put it in the fridge, if you don't want to can it) and process 15 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.

We ordered in some Italian-style sandwiches tonight, but wanted a homemade dressing to dip it in. Here it is: 1 heaping tablespoon stone ground mustard 1/2 teaspoon each: garlic juice, dry minced garlic, italian seasonings, marjoram, kosher salt, seasoned salt 1/4 cup sherry dressing extra virgin olive oil to taste Whisk together all but the oil until it forms a paste-like mass. Slowly whisk in oil until it's of the desired consistency. Any leftovers can be used for just plain bread, or a salad.

I love potatoes, but I usually forget. I've probably told you that before, though (the downside to absent-mindedness?). Today, P asked if I'd make some breakfast food. So we decided to have potatoes and eggs (over hard). 2-3 potatoes (mine were small), finely diced 3 scallions, sliced thickly 2 tablespoons each: butter, olive oil large pinch each: aleppo pepper, sumac, salt 3 tablespoons lemon juice 1 1/2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses Melt butter into the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes, seasoned with the salt, pepper and sumac and cook, around 15 minutes (some people par boil potatoes first, but I like to watch tv while I cook them, so I do it turtle-style). Add lemon and pomegranate molasses and continue to cook another 15 minutes. Add scallions and cook until done. Serves 2.

I love those little bottles of Italian Gardeniera mix. Love them. I don't know if I love their flavour more, or the fact that one jar is a whopping 40 calories. Either way, they're delicious, but oh-so-expensive! While we were at the farmer's market, P and I saw some lovely purple cauliflower, sitting right next to huge bunches of dill and beautiful bouquets of broccoli. We thought they'd be nice to pickle together. The broccoli didn't quite make it into the jar, because I put so much other stuff in, but I will probably do the broccoli in other jars later. I hope you enjoy! 3 litres of mixed vegetables (I used the purple cauliflower, 3 carrots, a cup or two of celery sliced into 2" lengths, 2 green bell peppers in chunks, and half a bulb of fennel/anise, sliced thin, plus 10 cloves of garlic) 1 cup large sprigs of dill 4 1/2 cups vinegar (I used an equal mix of cider, white distilled and white wine, but you use what you like) 3 1/4 cups water 2 tablespo

Okay, so this post is really only going to be of benefit to people in California, Brazil, France, Italy and a few other places, but this is basically all I've been thinking about recently. Everyone else can pretend I'm talking about regular sour oranges, or can call their local produce vendor to see about acquiring some of the little guys. I just can't keep it all in! Anyway, I got my case of bergamot oranges delivered (by the way? Not a particularly easy feat when you live in a citrus state and need citrus from another citrus state). I zested and juiced 26 of the oranges the day before yesterday, my head spinning with all the possibilities. It's been so long since my home has smelled like this lovely, spicy, beautiful orange. Because I didn't have enough ice cube trays to deal with the juice (okay... in fairness, to deal w/ the juice and the vegetable stock I'm also freezing 2 tablespoons at a time), I stuck the 10 cups of juice in a container and stuffed it

I did this with turnip greens lately, but it went horribly wrong. I'm not sure what went wrong, I only know that it was so bad, we tossed the food and ordered pizza. So here we are again, except today I have beet greens (which honestly, I prefer over turnip). And that it's not disgusting this time. Enjoy! 1 bunch beet greens 2 tablespoons each: olive oil, butter, lemon juice 1/2 onion, sliced very thin salt to taste 8 ounces spaghetti or fettucini (I thought I had fettucini, which is what I wanted, but I was out), cooked according to package directions 1/2 preserved lemon, sliced very thin Heat butter and oil in large skillet. Add onion and some salt, then cook down a bit. Add greens, salt, lemon juice and preserved lemon. Cook down, then add pasta and toss together. Serves 2.