Entry tags:
The Black Heart Box
1.
I have like $3 to last until the end of the month.
Got busted yesterday at the store for insufficient funds on a $19 grocery bill.
This happens and I freak and run and check the transactions, thinking I've had a spending orgy in my sleep. But no, it's only the usual $700 medical insurance bill and $500 accountant and and and.
I am going the rest of this month to observe the tenets of Obiwan![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
oneroomkenobe, and that is to cook and eat what there is. For tonight, I think that means borscht, turnips, broccolli, cheese biscuits, and my choice of tapenade, eggplant* or walnut dip. Poor me. (I must confess, David Tanis fucked me on the dips, they're disgusting.)
Last night it was pork stir fried with ancient tofu. It was terrible. I ate the pork and gave the Aceynator the tofu, which she loved because it was skanky. And the Japanese so pride themselves on being morally superior to cheese.
Oh yes.
2.
I started my needlebook last night. I'm thrilled with it.
3.
My mother had a black heart box. This is what she kept in it.
4.
Neither my sistacousin nor I can get beans to cook up right. We were raised on home-soaked, long-cooked beans -- me, I was weaned on rice and beans -- and we can't find a bean in any store, from the supermercado to the pan-Asian gluttony shop to the hippie dippie rich boho coop, that can be rendered edible by any amount of soaking and cooking. What happens is you soak overnight, you prep 10 veg for a soup with beans, or plan on baked beans or pea soup for supper, and after two, three, four hours of cooking THEY'RE NOT DONE.
What do you know about this? The loss of beans is a real blow in the frugal abundance department.
Canned beans are what daytrippers eat.
5.
The best new eat of the month happens to be, well, not exactly poor people food but in its best tradition: the $8 Indonesian fusion tineka sandwich I ganked off Cafe Lula's menu:
Peanut Butter (a good quarter inch of crunchy)
Sambal (a knife tip, no more, mad dog, well schmeared into the peanut butter)
Cucumber (unwaxed, rather thickly sliced)
Red Onion (thinly sliced)
Vine Ripe Tomato (thick)
Sprouts (radish are heavenly)
Drizzle of Sweet Soy Sauce (DO NOT OMIT) on the opposite slice of
Multigrain Bread.
_______________
* This, and Claudia Roden's baba ganouj, are the only acceptable cold eggplant preparations I have liked.
SICILIAN EGGPLANT RELISH (CAPONATA)
Makes 3 cups. Published July 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.
Serve caponata spooned over slices of toasted baguette or alongside grilled meat or fish. Adjust the vinegar as necessary, depending on the acidity of your tomatoes and what you are serving with the caponata. If coffee filters are not available, food-safe, undyed paper towels can be substituted when microwaving the eggplant. To allow the steam released by the eggplant to escape, remove the plate from the microwave immediately. Although the test kitchen prefers the complex flavor of V8 vegetable juice, tomato juice can be substituted. Caponata is best made in advance and can be refrigerated for up to 1 week in an airtight container.
1 large eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 7 cups)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup vegetable juice , preferably V8 (see note)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar , plus extra for seasoning (see note)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons minced anchovy fillets (2 to 3 fillets)
8 ounces ripe tomatoes (2 medium), cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons minced black olives
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 celery rib , cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
1 small red bell pepper , seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
1 small onion , diced fine (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup pine nuts , toasted
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Toss eggplant and salt together in medium bowl. Line entire surface of large microwave-safe plate with double layer of coffee filters and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Spread eggplant in even layer over coffee filters. Microwave on high power until eggplant is dry and shriveled to one-third of its size, 8 to 15 minutes (eggplant should not brown). (If microwave has no turntable, rotate plate after 5 minutes.) Remove eggplant from microwave and immediately transfer to paper towel-lined plate.
2. Meanwhile, whisk vegetable juice, vinegar, brown sugar, parsley, and anchovies together in medium bowl. Stir in tomatoes, raisins, and olives.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, until edges are browned, 4 to 8 minutes, adding 1 teaspoon oil if pan appears dry. Transfer to bowl and set aside.
4. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to now-empty skillet and heat until shimmering. Add celery and red pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and edges are spotty brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Add onion and continue to cook until vegetables are browned, about 4 minutes longer.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in eggplant and vegetable juice mixture. Bring to simmer and cook until vegetable juice is thickened and coats vegetables, 4 to 7 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl and cool to room temperature. Taste and season with up to 1 teaspoon additional vinegar. Sprinkle with pine nuts before serving.
SHOPPING
Caponata's Supporting Players
V8 Juice
Though not traditional, a little V8 juice enhances caponata’s tomato flavor.
Anchovy
A few minced fillets add dimension without imparting an overtly fishy taste.
Red Wine Vinegar
Red wine vinegar brings the right degree of acidity.
Brown Sugar
Brown sugar adds more complexity than white sugar.
Olives
Black olives lend fruitiness and bump up the robust flavors of the relish.
STEP-BY-STEP
How to Make Caponata
1. Salt eggplant and toss it in bowl to distribute salt evenly.
2. Microwave eggplant on coffee filters until almost all of moisture has evaporated.
3. Sauté eggplant first, then set it aside and sauté other vegetables.
4. Simmer all ingredients until cooking liquid thickens and coats vegetables.
RECIPE TESTING
A Cure for What Ails Eggplant To rid the eggplant of excess moisture and collapse the air pockets that make it soak up oil like a sponge, we came up with a novel solution: salting it and then heating it in the microwave. The salt pulls out liquid from inside the eggplant at the same time the microwave causes it to steam. In addition, the microwave helps to compress the eggplant, making it less spongy. To keep the eggplant from poaching in the liquid it released, we set it on a layer of coffee filters. By absorbing all of that liquid, the filters also helped to maintain a superhigh salt concentration on the exterior of the eggplant, which caused even more unwanted moisture to be drawn out.
Raw Deal
Without pretreatment, the raw eggplant looks good but cooks up oily and mushy.
Microwave Magic
Salted, microwaved eggplant isn’t as pretty, but the shrunken cubes soak up far less oil.
I have like $3 to last until the end of the month.
Got busted yesterday at the store for insufficient funds on a $19 grocery bill.
This happens and I freak and run and check the transactions, thinking I've had a spending orgy in my sleep. But no, it's only the usual $700 medical insurance bill and $500 accountant and and and.
I am going the rest of this month to observe the tenets of Obiwan
oneroomkenobe, and that is to cook and eat what there is. For tonight, I think that means borscht, turnips, broccolli, cheese biscuits, and my choice of tapenade, eggplant* or walnut dip. Poor me. (I must confess, David Tanis fucked me on the dips, they're disgusting.)Last night it was pork stir fried with ancient tofu. It was terrible. I ate the pork and gave the Aceynator the tofu, which she loved because it was skanky. And the Japanese so pride themselves on being morally superior to cheese.
Oh yes.
2.
I started my needlebook last night. I'm thrilled with it.
3.
My mother had a black heart box. This is what she kept in it.
4.
Neither my sistacousin nor I can get beans to cook up right. We were raised on home-soaked, long-cooked beans -- me, I was weaned on rice and beans -- and we can't find a bean in any store, from the supermercado to the pan-Asian gluttony shop to the hippie dippie rich boho coop, that can be rendered edible by any amount of soaking and cooking. What happens is you soak overnight, you prep 10 veg for a soup with beans, or plan on baked beans or pea soup for supper, and after two, three, four hours of cooking THEY'RE NOT DONE.
What do you know about this? The loss of beans is a real blow in the frugal abundance department.
Canned beans are what daytrippers eat.
5.
The best new eat of the month happens to be, well, not exactly poor people food but in its best tradition: the $8 Indonesian fusion tineka sandwich I ganked off Cafe Lula's menu:
Sambal (a knife tip, no more, mad dog, well schmeared into the peanut butter)
Cucumber (unwaxed, rather thickly sliced)
Red Onion (thinly sliced)
Vine Ripe Tomato (thick)
Sprouts (radish are heavenly)
Drizzle of Sweet Soy Sauce (DO NOT OMIT) on the opposite slice of
Multigrain Bread.
_______________
* This, and Claudia Roden's baba ganouj, are the only acceptable cold eggplant preparations I have liked.
SICILIAN EGGPLANT RELISH (CAPONATA)
Makes 3 cups. Published July 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.
Serve caponata spooned over slices of toasted baguette or alongside grilled meat or fish. Adjust the vinegar as necessary, depending on the acidity of your tomatoes and what you are serving with the caponata. If coffee filters are not available, food-safe, undyed paper towels can be substituted when microwaving the eggplant. To allow the steam released by the eggplant to escape, remove the plate from the microwave immediately. Although the test kitchen prefers the complex flavor of V8 vegetable juice, tomato juice can be substituted. Caponata is best made in advance and can be refrigerated for up to 1 week in an airtight container.
1 large eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 7 cups)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup vegetable juice , preferably V8 (see note)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar , plus extra for seasoning (see note)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons minced anchovy fillets (2 to 3 fillets)
8 ounces ripe tomatoes (2 medium), cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons minced black olives
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 celery rib , cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
1 small red bell pepper , seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
1 small onion , diced fine (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup pine nuts , toasted
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Toss eggplant and salt together in medium bowl. Line entire surface of large microwave-safe plate with double layer of coffee filters and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Spread eggplant in even layer over coffee filters. Microwave on high power until eggplant is dry and shriveled to one-third of its size, 8 to 15 minutes (eggplant should not brown). (If microwave has no turntable, rotate plate after 5 minutes.) Remove eggplant from microwave and immediately transfer to paper towel-lined plate.
2. Meanwhile, whisk vegetable juice, vinegar, brown sugar, parsley, and anchovies together in medium bowl. Stir in tomatoes, raisins, and olives.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, until edges are browned, 4 to 8 minutes, adding 1 teaspoon oil if pan appears dry. Transfer to bowl and set aside.
4. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to now-empty skillet and heat until shimmering. Add celery and red pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and edges are spotty brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Add onion and continue to cook until vegetables are browned, about 4 minutes longer.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in eggplant and vegetable juice mixture. Bring to simmer and cook until vegetable juice is thickened and coats vegetables, 4 to 7 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl and cool to room temperature. Taste and season with up to 1 teaspoon additional vinegar. Sprinkle with pine nuts before serving.
SHOPPING
Caponata's Supporting Players
V8 Juice
Though not traditional, a little V8 juice enhances caponata’s tomato flavor.
Anchovy
A few minced fillets add dimension without imparting an overtly fishy taste.
Red Wine Vinegar
Red wine vinegar brings the right degree of acidity.
Brown Sugar
Brown sugar adds more complexity than white sugar.
Olives
Black olives lend fruitiness and bump up the robust flavors of the relish.
STEP-BY-STEP
How to Make Caponata
1. Salt eggplant and toss it in bowl to distribute salt evenly.
2. Microwave eggplant on coffee filters until almost all of moisture has evaporated.
3. Sauté eggplant first, then set it aside and sauté other vegetables.
4. Simmer all ingredients until cooking liquid thickens and coats vegetables.
RECIPE TESTING
A Cure for What Ails Eggplant To rid the eggplant of excess moisture and collapse the air pockets that make it soak up oil like a sponge, we came up with a novel solution: salting it and then heating it in the microwave. The salt pulls out liquid from inside the eggplant at the same time the microwave causes it to steam. In addition, the microwave helps to compress the eggplant, making it less spongy. To keep the eggplant from poaching in the liquid it released, we set it on a layer of coffee filters. By absorbing all of that liquid, the filters also helped to maintain a superhigh salt concentration on the exterior of the eggplant, which caused even more unwanted moisture to be drawn out.
Raw Deal
Without pretreatment, the raw eggplant looks good but cooks up oily and mushy.
Microwave Magic
Salted, microwaved eggplant isn’t as pretty, but the shrunken cubes soak up far less oil.
Last night's stew
2. I made a chicken for Jewish Easter before I went to LA. When I returned, I put the leftover meat in the freezer.
3. A week ago I soaked some red beans overnight and put them in the fridge. I thought I'd usethem during the week, but there was enough of last weekend's ginger dal to last us all week.
4. Yesterday I decided it was time. I put the beans on to cook in one pan, and took the broth and chicken out of the freezer. Fried three pieces of bacon in a huge cast iron skillet; removed and sauteed an onion in the fat; added carrots, potatoes, pimenton, chile, cumin; added canned tomatoes, frozen peppers, chicken, broth, chopped bacon, chard stems, and eventually the cooked beans.
5. Made dumplings out of milk, butter, flour.
I impressed myself by the use of dregs and leftovers, as well as the success of the advanced planning.
Re: Last night's stew
Re: Last night's stew
Re: Last night's stew
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Soak overnight (24 hours); drain; add benas, and fresh water to cover by 2-3 inches, into your pressure cooker; add nonsalt seasonings (sauteed onions, herbs, etc); pressure cook for 1.5 hours; then add salt and salted seasonings like bacon, and fats, and simmer for a while longer to combine. Munch.
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Not until after the beans are cooked.
The second rule of Bean Club is NO ACID/BASES GODDAMMIT.
Ditto re: after beans are cooked.
You probably already know these things.
But their corollaries can be less obvious: if you have hard water, it will affect your bean cooking. If the mineral count (salts come in more than one kind) is high, it is just the same as having added salt to the water as far as the beans being tough is concerned. If your water is alkaline, this will do things to your beans also.
Third rule of Bean Club is start them in cold water, heat on moderate until just simmering, and leave them loosely covered without messing with them for at least an hour or two. Don't let the heat get too high, but also don't let it get too low.
Fourth rule of Bean Club is NO OIL GODDAMMIT (until after they're cooked).
Basically, when you cook beans, just cook beans. Then you can cook *with* beans. The only exception I sometimes make is to add some dry herbs to bean cooking water. Epazote. Sometimes a bay leaf or some sage, or savory.
I find the crockpot a great bean cooking tool because you can leave them all night and the temperature is very stable.
I second the pressure cooker advice, if you've got one.
If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can cook beans al fiasco (in the flask): put your beans and water in a jug or jar that can take prolonged heat. Quart or gallon Mason jars work great. 1:3 beans to water ratio is about right. Cap loosely so that as the air in the jar expands, it can escape as required. Place jars in a larger pot of boiling water up to their necks, preferably on a canning rack or steaming rack so they don't sit directly on the bottom. Bain-marie those bastards at a rolling boil for an hour or so, then check your beans.
Note: if you do beans al fiasco, stick a few sage leaves and a bay leaf into at least one of the jars. Heaven.
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i think cooking them in distilled water is worth a stab. thanks!
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I don't know beans about beans and have never cooked a bean in my life. I found your problems and Panjianlien's advice highly amusing, and it gives me to think perhaps I should learn to do something with beans (sometimes) (they're supposed to be bad for gout).
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if the beans around you have been sitting on the shelf for a while, it can take a long time to get those suckers cooked. Maybe being in the desert makes this happen sooner? a few pots of beans ago, I randomly had a bag of beans that took something like 6-7 hours to cook after 2 days of soaking, in my Philly not so salty or alkaline water. now I cook them the day before I think I'm going to eat them.
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It works. Well and truly. Changed my life.
Also - hello.