new food blog, too!

And, since I'm advertising new stuff I've recently acquired, I'd also like to announce my brand-new food blog, featuring such recipes as my favorite chili, pictured here. It's very new, and I'm still learning how to use Word Press, so it's going to be shaping up slowly over the next few months. I just thought you'd like a sneak peek! If you recognize some of the posts, that's because I'll be using some of my "fortification fridays" recipes that were debuted in this blog. I have been wanting to do a food blog for almost three years, and luckily, I've been writing down my recipes and taking photos of food for even longer!

new coffee table SCORE!

OK, it's not in the best condition, but I scored a coffee table at Goodwill for $15. We've had a really small one (refinished by Mr. Reluctant) since before we were married, and it's beautiful, but it's really too small for our needs. You can see the difference in the pictures. Since we're on a budget, I've been forbidden to buy living room furniture, but this was a deal too good to pass up.

I wrote to Lane, the manufacturer, about the age, so we'll see how old it is. It has walnut and burl maple insets. Someone's trying to pass off a similar model as "mid-century modern" on craigslist, but I doubt it's that old.

snow in eugene!

Apparently, it's the most snow in 10 years. We're bunkered down in the house, burning wood, eating chili...

...and pretending that it's worse! :)

The picture was taken first thing Sunday morning, and it did snow all day, but by now it's mostly melted. It was fun while it lasted, though.

hoppin' new year!

Though there's not a single southern thing about me, and I usually make Japanese ozoni for New Year's Day (not that there's anything Japanese about me, either...well, sort of), I made the classic New Year dish hoppin' john (blackeyed peas and rice) and greens with hickory smoked ham to usher in 2008.

We haven't done much home renovation, other than replace part of our roof in a scheduled plan and chop down some trees that had been mangled by the power company, for months now. I've been away in southern California for school stuff since September, and Mr. Reluctant has been busy with his own career. I'm very happy to be home now, and plan to do some small stuff around the house in the next few months. Not sure how interesting it will be, but I'll keep you posted nonetheless.

All our best for a happy and healthy new year!

fortification fridays -- spicy tuna rolls

I've been a big fan of spicy tuna rolls for many years. They drove me crazy until I figured out the secret ingredient: sriracha hot sauce, the Thai stuff you see on the tables at Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants. Some of the upscale sushi places use the traditional Japanese hot spice mix called togarashi (7-spice powder), but more often than not, the red stuff is sriracha. A couple of weeks ago, we ate at a Japanese restaurant in town that is rather out of the way, tucked into a strip mall between a Wal-Mart and a Goodwill. The sushi, surprisingly, was quite good. They had what they called a crunchy spicy tuna roll. Usually, I hate the fancy rolls because they are a mishmash of flavors, are either deep fried or brushed in teriyaki sauce or topped with Japanese mayonnaise, one of the foulest concoctions ever. But this crunchy roll was delish. The little crunchy bits of tempura batter were tiny and subtle, just adding a bit of texture. I've been craving them ever since.

If you would like to know how to make sushi rice, roll sushi rolls, learn sushi etiquette, or you’re just interested in the history of sushi, see this link.

Please don't put mayonnaise on sushi; some restaurants now skip a step and just glop some srirachi-flavored mayo on top of a tekka-maki or tuna roll. Gross.

Spicy tuna rolls

Serves: 4 with other sushi or appetizers
Kitchen Needs: rice cooker for rice, food processor

1/2 lb. Sashimi-grade tuna, raw
1 t. sriracha
1 t. sesame oil (you may also add some chili oil for extra spice)
1 t. soy sauce
4 green onions, white parts only, finely chopped
a few good shakes of white pepper
salt to taste
optional and delicious: 1 T. tobiko (flying fish roe, available fresh or frozen)

Cut tuna into 2-inch cubes for food processor. Add to food processor and pulse until chopped roughly. Place fish into bowl and mix with other ingredients. Taste for spiciness and salt. Serve in rolls with avocado or with slices of cucumber wrapped around a bit of spicy tuna mixture, secured by a toothpick.

(Image courtesy of someone on web -- I didn't record the URL, and I can't find it again :( . If you know where it's from, please let me know!)

que pasa at the reluctant casa

It's harvest time, and I'm in the process of canning dilly beans and green tomatoes, drying herbs, and slow-roasting cherry and plum tomatoes for freezing. We had a rough season in the Willamette Valley, I'll confess. Cold nights that really never broke 60 degrees for more than a few days, even in 90-degree heat spells, a late last frost, and a relatively cool summer. Made for some really unfriendly growing conditions. Still, I got a decent crop of tomatoes, some great paprika peppers (pictured, my new drying method) and an oddly happy bumper crop of tarragon!

Mr. Reluctant pulled in the watering hoses yesterday. If that's not the sign of the end of the season, I don't know what is.

We've done very little on our growing list of remodeling projects lately. I've been struggling to finish an article that took much longer to write than I thought it would, and Mr. R. has been engaged in finishing his own article and his book, and traveling. Plus, we've been entertaining quite a bit, and experimenting with the BBQ. Priorities, yanno.

I did manage to cut down the hateful wisteria next to our grapevines and buy replacement handles for the laundry room cabinets, recaulk the kitchen window, and buy more curtains and shades at Ikea. Mr. R. got a few quotes for the roof replacement and ordered replacement panels for the storm windows, and I bought exterior paint. Not so much to report, no?

Part of the delay is that I'll be going to southern California for about three months starting next week. I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging from there, since I won't have a home to remodel, even reluctantly, and I won't be cooking much for myself. I think that I'll probably be an occasional blogger for a while.

In other news, the turquoise WWII cottage down the street, it turns out, sold for $300K. Woo-hoo property values! They immediately put in a white picket fence around the front. I had my doubts, but it turned out rather cute.

Hope you're all having a great fall!

fortification fridays -- my gazpacho

Got too many tomatoes, cukes, and peppers? Then I've got a recipe for you!

This is an adaptation of an authentic gazpacho recipe from someone’s grandmother chef in Córdoba, Spain. I, of course,
messed it up and made it simpler. The main difference is that I really like thick, smooth, pureed gazpacho, but I also like chunks of veggies. So I put the soup in the food processor and then garnish each serving with a mini-salad. This soup is hearty, even though it is cold, so serve in small portions if you are using it as an appetizer. It’s better the next day. The quality of the vegetables is paramount in this recipe.

My Gazpacho

Serves: 6
Kitchen Needs: Just a food processor or blender

2 pounds large garden tomatoes (this recipe won’t work with winter tomatoes)
2 large red bell peppers
6 pickling cucumbers, unpeeled, or 2 peeled garden slicer cucumbers
2 large garlic cloves
2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar, or substitute 1 T. good red wine vinegar and 1 T. good balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup fruity extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 baguette, day-old, cubed
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon leaves
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

Place bread cubes in small bowl and cover with water. Allow to soak for at least 10 minutes.

Roast tomatoes and bell peppers. You can do this in a few ways. I generally just use metal tongs and my gas stove burner turned up on high. You can place the peppers directly on top of the burner grate, and turn them every minute or so, until they are charred on all sides. You MUST watch them carefully. The tomatoes are more delicate, but you can do the same process; I usually roast them just until they are charred in places but still raw inside.

Another way to roast the vegetables is to slick a cookie sheet with oil, then roast them at 425 degrees, turning frequently, until they are charred. It’s best to refer to a cookbook for this method if you are unsure of the process.

Let peppers rest and steam in a brown paper bag or covered dish while you chop the tomatoes and cucumbers. I don’t bother slipping the skin off the tomatoes, but you can if you like. Add tomatoes and juice to large bowl.

Chop cucumbers finely; add to HALF to bowl with salt and pepper, HALF to small bowl to reserve as garnish. Finely chop garlic and stir into tomato mixture with cucumbers, tarragon, vinegar, and oil.

Carefully slit the peppers and pour the juice into the bowl. Peel the charred skin off the peppers and remove the seeds, stem and ribs. You may rinse off the pepper, but it will remove some of the smoky remnants. Chop peppers finely and add HALF to bowl, HALF to another small bowl to reserve as garnish.

Drain bread, without squeezing out excess liquid. Mix into bowl with rest of ingredients.

Let mixture sit for a couple of hours out on the counter, or, if you’d prefer, four to eight hours in the refrigerator, to let flavors meld. Leave a couple of hours before serving, because you will need to puree the soup and chill it again.

In a food processor purée mixture, in batches if necessary, and return to bowl. Chill gazpacho, covered, for an hour or so.

Serve with reserved cucumber and roasted red pepper. You may also garnish with chopped bell pepper, a tiny bit of chopped jalapeno, chopped hard boiled eggs, avocado, and freshly made croutons, if you are adept at such things. Maybe not authentic, but delicious.