#madeweekly

[csibongourmet]

C Si Bon - it's French for, "It's So Good"! #csibon #lasagne #beef #veggies #glutenfree #cheesygoodness #deluxe #nopreservatives #noadditives #yum #30mins #ovenready #conveniencenevertastedsogood #urbanlisted #awardwinning #pertheats #fresh #frozen #madeweekly #freshprovisions #thegoodgrocer #iga

[madeweekly]

Sneak peek of a new project I'm working on. Black rice salad with mango, avocado, red pepper, purple cabbage, scallions and herbs, topped with garlic shrimp and Vietnamese dressing. 

[madeweekly]

Green eggs, without the ham. If you ever feel like scrambled eggs and toast may not be the most balanced breakfast, a hearty handful of herbs and other vegetables from your fridge will remedy that quickly. 

[madeweekly]

Herb oils are a cinch to make, and are a wonderful finishing element to have on hand. 

Cilantro oil is awesome drizzled over soups (like gazpacho!), on top of scrambled eggs, or whisked with lemon juice or vinegar to make a vinaigrette. You shouldn't cook with herb oil because heat will affect the flavor, but think of it as the finishing touch. 

Cover and keep in the refrigerator. It's best if you use herb oil within a day, or it will lose its potency and within a few days it will go bad.

[madeweekly]

Cilantro 101

I know, cilantro is polarizing. The only reason I accept that people might not love cilantro as much as I do is that their aversion is supposedly genetic. Cilantro-haters can't help it, so I forgive them.

Many of the cuisines I love the most use cilantro frequently -- Mexican, Thai, Indian, Middle Eastern. Cilantro has a wonderfully bright flavor that enhances and complements the strong spices often found in those cuisines. 

Cilantro / Coriander: Technically the plant is called coriander. Here in the US, we call its fresh, leafy version cilantro, and the dried seeds coriander. In other countries, the fresh herb is also known as coriander. 

Storage: Cilantro has a tendency to go bad quickly. My most successful storage technique is to wash it upon bringing it home and dry it as well as possible (in a salad spinner if you have one). Wrap in a couple of paper towels and store in a large ziplock bag, with the air pushed out. 

From root to leaf: The entire cilantro plant can be used for cooking -- its pungent roots are often used in Thai curries, its stems are tender enough to chop up along with the leaves, and its seeds have a lemony, mildly spiced flavor.

WTF is Culantro?: Apparently another plant called culantro (also known as Mexican Coriander) exists, which is related in flavor but looks like a leafy aloe plant. I have yet to come across culantro, but when I do, I will be sure to report back. 

Cilantro haters, step aside!

[madeweekly]

Tomatoes 101

I don't even know why we eat tomatoes in the winter. If any of you have read Barry Estabrook's fantastic book "Tomatoland," it'll convince you to never buy another tomato grown in Florida (or really, any commercial tomatoes at all).

That leaves us with late summer market tomatoes, and they're so much better than the tasteless, mealy, pink-fleshed things we call tomatoes in the grocery store that you'll never look back. 

I put heirloom tomatoes in a salad at the wedding I catered recently and had someone talk my ear off for 10 minutes about how good the tomatoes were. "But they taste like tomatoes!" Yes, yes they do. 

Varieties: Heirlooms come in a few categories: Commercial Heirlooms, Family Heirlooms (I wish my family had heirloom tomato seeds!), Created Heirlooms, and Mystery Heirlooms. The main premise of heirlooms is that the seeds have been passed down for generations, or are varieties that have occurred naturally or have been in circulation for over 50 years. 

Appearance & Buying: Heirlooms can come in all kinds of colors, from flame orange to greenish to purple to bright yellow to mottled and striated. They're more delicate than store bought tomatoes, so don't squeeze them too aggressively or they'll bruise (and be careful getting them home!). Just buy tomatoes that are firm, but not rock hard, with no soft spots or bruising. 

Storage: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT refrigerate your tomatoes. It ruins the flavor and texture. Store on the countertop and they should be fine for a few days. 

As a reformed tomato hater turned tomato lover, I invite you to tomato week! 

[madeweekly]

I discovered the wonder of shishito peppers at a fantastic tapas place called Boqueria. They're a little tricky because mostly they're mildly spicy but every once in awhile you'll get a really hot one. A bit of a fun gamble, and as long as you've got some crusty bread and crisp white wine to cool your mouth down you'll be fine. 

This is one of the easiest little appetizers ever, and a great start to a summer meal. 

[madeweekly]

Peppers 101 & I'm back!

Well hello there Tumblrs.....

I know I've had a long and silent absence, but I had good reason! Catering a wedding and going to France for 10 days will really interrupt the posting schedule. (Poor me).

But I'm back, just in time for peak pepper season. It's crazy the number and variety of peppers you'll find at the farmer's market right now. Hot, sweet, long, miniature, rainbow, you name it. 

Frankly, I'm not even sure what I can say about peppers as a category since there is so much variety. I'll be using peppers in the Capsicum family. These include very hot peppers, like Scotch Bonnets (popular in Caribbean cuisine), jalapeños, and Ghost peppers (the hottest in the world); and sweet peppers, like your standard issue Bell pepper. Their heat is dependent on the amount of capsaicin in the pepper, a chemical compound that creates that burning sensation in your mouth.

Generally, the hotter the climate the spicier the cuisine -- part of the reason for this development is that peppers actually help preserve foods and prevent them from going bad as quickly. I'll try to mix it up this week, with some spicy peppers and some not-so-spicy ones. 

And now, without further ado, pepper week!