Fideos with chiles, avocado, and crema

This Mexican style noodle dish was something new for me. It's easy and fairly quick to prepare, although I took a couple of short cuts that may have helped with prep time. The result was delicious. We will definitely have this again.

I had never heard of fideos before now. They are skinny noodles that are all wound up into little nests. I found them at Safeway in the "ethnic" section. As I recall, a package cost about 89 cents - maybe less. They are cooked pilaf-style, meaning they are browned in a little oil in a skillet before you add cooking liquid. In this case, you add a tomato, chile, garlic, onion puree and let it soak into the noodles. It's mildly spicy, but the addition of sour cream, avocado, and a little cheese helps cut the spice.

The recipe calls for 3 dried pasilla, New Mexican, or guajillo chiles. I assume you can find these at a Mexican grocer. I got a huge batch of New Mexico chiles from a friend last fall. I cooked them, pureed them, and froze them in little cubes. I wasn't sure how much to use. I tried 3 cubes (from an ice cube tray) and that seemed about right. I assume you could substitute canned green chile, but you won't get as much punch from that.

Here's what you do

• Cover the dried chiles with hot water and set them aside to soften while you work on the tomato sauce.
• Coat 4 unpeeled garlic cloves with a little olive oil and cook them in a small skillet over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, sliding them around the pan every now and then. Their skins will get toasted and the cloves will get soft.
• While the garlic is cooking, you can start the tomato sauce. You can either use 8 roma tomatoes or 1 can of fire-roasted tomatoes for the sauce. I opted for the canned this time, but I may try the fresh another time. Muir Glen is an excellent organic brand for tomatoes that are the next best thing to fresh. If you're using fresh tomatoes, coat them lightly with oil and grill over an open flame or sear them in a hot skillet to blister the skins.
• When the garlic is done, squeeze the garlic from the skins into a food processor or blender. Add the tomatoes with their charred skins. If you're using canned fire-roasted tomatoes, drain them first and reserve the juice. Add water to make one cup of liquid total. Add the liquid to the food processor. Also add 1/2 cup chopped onion, and 1 t. salt. Puree. (To recap, you should have garlic, tomatoes, onion, salt, and 1 cup liquid in your machine.)
• The chiles should be soft by now. Tear or cut the flesh into strips. Discard the seeds.
• Chop 3-4 parsley sprigs.
• Heat 1 T. oil over medium-high heat in a 10 inch skillet with a tight fitting lid. Crumble the noodles into the hot oil and stir until they're lightly browned. Now add the tomato mixture and most of the parsley (save a little for garnish.) Add all but a few of the chile strips. Stir to even out the contents of the pan and adjust the heat to simmer. Cover the pan and cook until the noodles are soft, 15-20 minutes. Season with pepper.
• Dish some onto plates and serve with creme fraiche or sour cream drizzled over the top. Crumble some feta cheese or queso fresco over the cream. Top with avocado slices and the remaining chile strips and parsley.

Things I'd Do Differently Next Time

Although it's a little more work, I'd like to try this with fresh tomatoes. I'd also like to try out using dried chiles, since I haven't done that before.

Cost To Prepare

3 dried pasilla chiles - ?? Maybe $1.00

4 plump garlic cloves - $.75

3 T. oil - $.50

8 Roma tomatoes or 15-ounce can Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, drained and juices reserved - $3.00

1/2 c. chopped onion - $.50

1/2 pound fhort skinny egg noodles (fideos) - $.90

3 parsley sprigs - negligible

1/2 c. creme fraiche or sour cream - $.50

2-3 ounces feta or queso fresco - $.50

1 avocado for garnish - $1.50

TOTAL for 4 people - $9.15

Mexican beer or Italian prosecco (sparkling wine) go nicely with this. The spiciness works well with bubbles.

Lemon Granita (with a special winter twist)

I recently made lemon granita with some friends on our "Homemade Italian Pizza" night. Granita is a fruit ice that originated in southern Italy. We made ours with the meyer lemons from my tree.

While I was up at Lake Tahoe for

spring break, I had a lot of lemons I needed to process. I used the rinds for making limoncello (an Italian lemon liqueur), and that meant I had lots of juice to use.

It's very simple. Here's how you do it.

Combine 1 and 1/4 cups sugar with 2 cups water in a medium sauce pan. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. Boil the s

ugar water for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup lemon juice and 1 T. grated lemon zest. Return to a boil and boil for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely. This can be stored in the fridge for a day or two until you're ready to freeze it.

Put a metal pan in the freezer to chill for at least 10 minutes. Pour in the cooled syrup and place the pan back in the freezer. After 2 hours, scrape the partially frozen mixture with a fork to break up the crystals. Put the mixture back in the freezer for 2 more hours (or more). Mix with a fork until slushy. Serve with mint garnish.

The rest of the story

While I was up at Tahoe, the mixture hadn't completely frozen by the time we were ready for dessert. We ate a spoonful, which was a little too syrupy, and realized that we had

the perfect ingredient sitting just outside our door. I scooped up a small bowlful of freshly fallen snow, spooned the partially frozen granita syrup over the top, mixed it in, and voila! It was perfect. It was like a lemon snow cone or slushy - very flavorful and exactly the right texture!

Crookneck Squash and Rice Gratin

I realize that crookneck squash is a summer vegetable, but I decided to go ahead and make this when I saw nice little yellow and green squash in my supermarket. I know they are from Mexico (which is not ideal). Oh well. This dish also features marjoram or thyme, summer herbs according to Deborah, but I consider thyme to be a year round herb, so that's what I used.

I used the ingredients that I had handy, so I almost feel like I didn't make Deborah's recipe. It was really delicious anyway. Here are all my modifications. I used onion instead of leeks - I just could not find leeks at the store today. I used brown rice instead of long grain white rice. I used a mishmash of different kinds of cheese I needed to use up, including mozzarella, cheddar, swiss, and a tiny bit of smoked fontina. The recipe called for gruyere. I also put the dusting of herbs on top before cooking instead of after. These modifications were all delicious and I would make it this way again, but I'm looking forward to trying it Deborah's way at some point.

Let's Get Started

First put on 1/2 a cup of rice to cook. (Bring one cup water to a boil, add a little salt, add the rice, turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or so.) She uses long grain white rice, which makes sense with the summery veggies. I used organic brown rice which gave the gratin a more chewy texture.

Butter a 2-quart gratin dish or 4 individual gratin dishes. Preheat oven to 350º.

Chop up a big handful of parsley leaves, several big marjoram or thyme sprigs, and 2 garlic cloves. You can chop this all together into a garlic-herb mixture. I had about a half cup total.

Wash and thinly slice 2 pounds crookneck squash or zucchini. Slice into thin rounds and set aside. (In the winter time you can use grated butternut squash and sage instead of thyme or marjoram.) Grate 1/2 cup of gruyere cheese, or whatever you've got. Set aside.

Quarter 2 large leeks lengthwise, white part and a little of the green. Rough chop and wash the leeks. Heat 2 t. olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and add the leeks. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 12 minutes. Add a splash of water or dry white wine to keep them from browning or burning. (I used tonic water 'cause that's what I had in my fridge. It made the onions a little sweeter, which was nice.) Season with a few big pinches of the herbs, 1/2 t. salt, and pepper to taste. Scrape into a bowl and return the pan to the stove.

Raise the heat and add 1 T. olive oil. Add the squash to the skillet and saute until golden in places, 4 minutes or so. Add about 1 T. of the herbs and continue to saute until fairly tender and a little more colored, two minutes or so.

Turn off the heat. Return the leeks to the pan, along with the rice and cheese. Toss well, taste for salt and season with pepper.

Set aside 2 T. of the herb mixture and add the rest to the vegetables. Transfer the mixture to the gratin dish(es), drizzle a little oil over the top and bake until hot throughout, about 25 minutes. Switch the oven to broil and brown the top.

When they come out of the oven, top with reserved herbs and a little lemon zest. Serve hot or warm.

Fresh tomato would be a nice accompaniment in summer, or braised greens in winter. I think the brown rice would be perfect for the more wintery version.

Things I'd Do Differently Next Time

I'd like to try this with white rice, leeks, and gruyere. I'd also like to try this marjoram, an herb I really love. The winter version with butternut squash and sage sounds great, too.

Cost to Prepare

1/2 cup rice - mine came from the farm, but I think maybe $.25 for regular white rice

big handful of parsley - from the garden, but maybe $.75 from the store

several big marjoram or thyme sprigs - garden again, but maybe $.50

2 garlic cloves - $.25

olive oil, salt, pepper - negligible

2 large leeks - $2.00

2 pound crookneck squash or zucchini - about $4.00 in winter. In summer, it's free from your neighbor

1/2 cup gruyere - $2.00

1 t. grated lemon zest - from the yard, or $.50

TOTAL for 4 people - $10.25 if you buy everything from the store. I think it cost me about $4.00 for the squash and everything else I had on hand in the garden or the pantry.

I will definitely make this again. It was very flavorful and delicious

Feta and Ricotta Cheese Skillet Pie

This dish is simple, fast and delicious. Add a salad or a bowl of soup and you've got a quick weeknight meal. I've made it several times now, but I'm finally getting around to blogging about it. The dish is handsome enough for company, especially if you have a cast iron skillet, which I don't. I think it is pretty enough for company even if you cook it in a plain dish. I usually cook it in a skillet that I can put in my oven. It is also high in protein, thanks to cheeses and eggs. It's so fast that you literally have to wait for your oven to warm up. It's also quite forgiving about the quantities. When I made it yesterday, I only had about 1/2 pound feta, and 2/3 pound ricotta, so I just used fewer eggs to get a consistency I thought would work.

Let's Get Started

Preheat the oven to 375º. Butter a 10" cast iron skillet or an earthenware baking dish.

In a bowl, mix 1/2 pound feta cheese and 1 pound ricotta cheese. You want some chunks left, so don't mix for too long. Stir in 4-6 eggs. Then add 1/4 cup flour and 3/4 cup milk. Season with salt and pepper, and 1 T. chopped dill.

Pour the batter into the buttered pan or dish. Crumble 1/4 pound feta over the top. Bake until golden, 35-40 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.

Accidental Asparagus (a recipe of my own)

The other night I had asparagus in my fridge that I needed to cook. I melted some butter in a pan, threw in some sliced garlic, and sauteed the asparagus. At this point I would normally pour in some wine, turn down the heat, cover the pan and let the wine glaze the asparagus. However, I didn't have any white wine. The only thing I had in my fridge that seemed like it might work was tonic water. I decided to give it a go.

It was amazing. It gave a slightly sweet glaze to the asparagus. I added a touch of salt and pepper. George LOVED it. Hooray for experimenting!

Cabbage and leeks

We just got both cabbage and leeks in our CSA box, so I made "Cabbage and Leek Gratin" yet again. I never get tired of it. The mustard cream that you put on top is delicious. I swear, this time I had everything ready to go before the water boiled. You do have to cook it in the oven for 45 minutes, but that gave me time to clean the kitchen and practice piano while it was cooking. Here are the directions, in case you missed it the first time.

http://vegsuppers.blogspot.com/2010/02/cabbage-leek-gratin-with-mustard-cream.html

Winter Squash Green Curry

Oh my goodness, this is good. I only recently learned that the term "curry" just means a combination of spices. This combination of herbs and spices is all fresh (well, nearly) - no curry powder, no pre-prepared curry paste - you make your own. This is SOOO tasty and so worth the effort. I will absolutely be making this again. The recipe says it serves four, but my husband and I had it 3 times with some still left in the freezer. This makes it economical in addition to being super tasty.

This dish features, mushrooms, eggplant, tofu (though you could substitute chicken or some other form of meat), and of course, butternut squash. I used those long, skinny Asian eggplant for this dish. I found them at my local Asian market. They sometimes come in my CSA box, too. I'm sure any eggplant will do. I must admit that I am only beginning to get comfortable with eggplant, but it blended perfectly into this dish and I didn't even really know it was there. The real star of this dish is the homemade curry paste and the coconut milk. YUM!

Let's Get Started

Before you make your own super-fresh curry paste, you should start some rice cooking and prep your veggies. (I put a few slices of ginger into my rice, which turned out very nicely.)

Pour 1 and 1/2 cups boiling water over 8 dried shiitake mushrooms. (Dried shiitakes were ridiculously expensive, so I bought fresh since they happened to be there. I paid only $1.32 for 10 shiitakes. Since the recipe called for the soaking liquid later on, I decided to clean the mushrooms and then pour hot water over them to have some broth to use later in the recipe. It worked.) Quarter 2 long skinny eggplants (6 oz. each) and cut them into 1/2 inch dice. Sprinkle with salt and set them in a colander to drain. Peel 1 small butternut squash (1 1/4 pounds or so), scoop out and discard the seeds and inner pulp, and cut it into 3/4 inch chunks.

While the mushrooms are soaking and the eggplant is expelling water, you can get started on the curry paste. (I actually made this several hours in advance of preparing the rest of the meal, though it didn't actually take that long, especially with a food processor.) Just put all the following ingredients in a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth paste. Add extra lime juice or water to loosen up the mixture if necessary:

• 3 or 4 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 -2 inch knob of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 stalks lemon grass, just the tender centers
• 3-4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 shallots (1/3 cup), chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (it's fine to include the stems in this)
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 2 t. ground coriander
• 1 t. salt
• zest and juice of one lime (Limes were really expensive and I had lemons on my tree, so I used those instead)

Once you have the curry paste prepared and waiting in the wings, remove the mushrooms from their soaking water, squeeze them out, and save the soaking water. Cut them into wide strips, discarding any tough stems. Rinse the eggplant and blot it dry.

Heat 1 T. oil (I used olive oil, but the recipe calls for peanut oil) in a wide skillet. Add the eggplant and turn it quickly in the oil to coat all pieces. Cook over medium-high heat just to brown the cut surface, 4 to 5 minutes. Open one can of coconut milk and have it standing by.

In a large dutch oven (big pot), heat 2 T. oil. Add the squash and cook over medium-high heat, turning every so often, until caramelized in places. After several minutes, add the eggplant, reduce the heat to medium. Pour in one can coconut milk, the mushroom soaking water, the mushrooms, and 2/3 of the curry paste. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the squash is tender, by which time the sauce will have lost its color.

While that is cooking, drain one block of tofu and cut it into 1-inch cubes. Juice one lime and have 6-8 thai basil leaves standing by.

After the 15 minutes are up, add the tofu and basil leaves, then simmer until the tofu is heated through (about 5 minutes). Stir in the lime juice. Taste for salt. Just before serving, stir in the remaining curry paste and garnish with basil sprigs.

Serve over rice. Enjoy the poppin' fresh goodness of all the yummy green things in this curry!

Deborah recommends a spicy, dry Gewurztraminer to go with this dish. I say drink whatever wine you have in your wine rack.

Approximate cost to prepare

Curry paste

3-4 large garlic cloves - $.50

1 heaping T. chopped ginger - $.50

3 stalks lemon grass - $.75

3-4 jalapeno peppers - $1.00

2 shallots - $.50

1/2 c. cilantro (including stems) - $.25

zest and juice of 1 lime - $.50

salt, pepper, cumin, coriander - negligible

The rest of the stuff

2 small oblong eggplants - $2.00

8 dried shiitake mushrooms ($5.00 or so. I only paid $1.32 for fresh ones)

1 small butternut squash (came from my garden, but I'm guessing $2.00)

1 can coconut milk $1.30

1 block firm tofu - $1.50

6 thai basil leaves - $.25

another lime - $.50

olive or peanut oil - negligible

1 cup rice - $.50

TOTAL - $13.15 for 6 servings or so. You don't really need a side dish with this meal. It freezes well.