I spy with my little eyes . . .

Yesterday was my first day of my last semester of graduate school -- woohoo!  I met with my thesis adviser who helped me map out a writing plan for my MA paper, I sat down with my graduate adviser and wrote out my petition to graduate, and I attended my first BALLET class.  Monday was a big day.

A note on the ballet class, I am about as graceful and elegant as an armadillo.  Imagine my fear and trepidation walking up to class when all the ballerinas were decked out in their pink tights and leotards, spread eagle in the hallway.  I nervously asked, "Is this Ballet 1?" They looked me up and down, fortunately wearing yoga pants and not jeans, and snickered.  

I sincerely expected the first class to be more or less a tutorial: my name is, wear this, bring water, explain the posses, this is the bar.  Negative ghost rider.  We jumped right in with all sorts of words and posses I couldn't pronounce less articulate with my awkward, gangly body.  I am headed today to buy ballet slippers and maybe some tights.  Not sure about the leotard.  I hope by investing in some ballet attire I will be guilted into going back on Wednesday.   

As you wait with bated breath for a report on Wednesday's class here are some photos of the latest river adventure. I spy with my little eyes:

Two bull moose. Can you see them?

They were close enough to throw a stone at, 

but fortunately they were more concerned with munching on grass than our humble presence.

 

 I wouldn't want him swimming in my direction.

Hasta luego, moose.

As with most things I cook, I begin dreaming about them mid-morning.  The following dish is no exception.  I started craving these flavors as I was preparing for my linguistics class.  Reading about phonetics and morphology really incites an appetite.

These meatballs were inspired by a Vietnamese sandwich called a bahn mi.  It is typically made with lemongrass and ginger marinated pork, carrots, cucumbers, cilantro and served on a baguette.  My ballet experience still fresh on the mind, I decided to swap the pork for ground turkey, the baguette for lettuce.  Go figure.  

The weather was scorchingly hot here so this fresh, light salad was perfect for a late meal.  These meatballs would be fabulous over rice or noodles or in a baguette.  Or munched on alone walking to ballet class.

Lemongrass.  Remove the woody outside and use only the tender core.

Grated ginger, garlic, chopped cilantro, sliced green onions, minced lemongrass,

chili paste, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce.

Brown on the stove first and finish in a 350 degree oven.

Served over lettuce with shredded carrots, bean sprouts, cilantro and pickles.

I made a quick Asian dressing with more garlic and ginger, chili paste, rice wine vinegar,

vegetable oil, and dab of mayo to hold it all together.

Asian meatballs

1 lb ground meat of your liking

1 inch piece ginger, minced or grated

4 garlic cloves, minced or grated

1 large handful cilantro, chopped

4 green onions, sliced

4 lemongrass spears, tough outside removed, minced

1 tbs rice wine vinegar

1 tbs fish sauce

1 tbs chili paste

1 egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all the ingredients, less the meat, egg and breadcrumbs; stir well to combine.  Add the meat, egg and breadcrumbs.  Mix to incorporate and form little balls.  Brown in a lightly oiled skillet in batches then place on a cookie sheet.  Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.  Enjoy!

Make these noodles!

Those fine readers who frequent Hail's Kitchen know that I have a fierce obsession with noodles, specifically Asian noodles in all forms and textures.  I often encourage you to try certain recipes and prod you to think out of your culinary box.  However, today I am IMPLORING you to try the following recipe.  If I could type on my knees I would and beg you to try these noodles.

Before I go into Ramen heaven, a brief diatribe.  I moved this past week.  Again.  I loathe moving.  It is as high on my dislike list as the dentist, left lane drivers and ice chompers.  Gracious friends have allowed me to move into their newly finished basement.  Once again I am a house hobbit.  The noodles were the last meal cooked in my studio. Tear. Sniff.

However, I am moving up! My new landlords/roommates have a fabulous home with a great yard, wonderful views and lovely neighbors.  I have to say that cooking for one is really a drag. In fact, it is quite depressing.  I do get to share my meals virtually with you, Internet.  But now I can share my meals in real time! I am still splitting my time between river and city living so I apologize in advance for sporadic posts. Don't fret, though.  Hail's Kitchen will still be around to feed you. 

The noodles!  When my research assistant and I visited Julia in June we ate lunch at a noodle shop called Toshi's.  I heard rave reviews from Heather about this place and was pretty tickled when I had the opportunity to taste for myself.  For a noodle fiend like myself it was as if I had just stepped through the gates of heaven.  I have been craving their noodle soup since I left and decided it was time to try my hand at a recreation.  

Considering that this dish was made three quarters of the way through moving day, I utilized a shortcut:

Don't judge. Ramen noodles are highly underrated. Especially when you lack the time, utensils and energy to boil pork bones to make your own broth.  Use Ramen noodles.  

What makes this dish so spectacular are two things: butter and garlic.  DO NOT omit either of these when you make these noodles.  I can't even articulate what these two do to the soup other than make it so so so tasty.  This meal came together in the time it took to cook the pork: 30 minutes. (I bought a teriyaki pork loin which was very convenient).  Easy. Delicious.  Budget friendly.

MAKE THESE NOODLES!   xoH

Two ears of corn nuked in the microwave for about 4 minutes then sliced off the 

cob and slivered green onions.

See the moving mess in the background?

One can bamboo shoots, rinsed bean sprouts, garlic and butter.

Boil the ramen according to the directions, add bean sprouts, corn,

bamboo shoots, green onions, cooked pork, butter and minced garlic.

These noodles will surely be a favorite.

Thanks Toshi.

No future in wildlife photography

This past weekend I was on the river enjoying fresh air, a special visit from dear friends, great food, lots of wildlife.  A momma moose and her brand new baby were spotted cruising across from the lodge.  Birds of all sorts were busy taking care of their own babies and building new nests. 

We took a quick trip to Jackson where we strolled through an art gallery.  I kept thinking -- I can do that.  I can take a picture of a bird.  Yeah, right!  Birds don't hold still.  I crept as quietly as I could, tip toeing, army crawling.  Wildlife photography is way harder than say grilled cheese photography.  

Fortunately for me, I caught one little guy who had yet to figure out the art of flying.  He looked at me. I looked at him.  We agreed that we wouldn't mess with each other.  (Bird lovers relax, I wasn't this close. I had my big honkin' lens on).

He still has a fuzzy head!

I tried my damnedest to snap a decent photo of a western tanager for my dad who loves birds, but holy hell! They were not interested in supporting my Father's Day present.

Hey girl. I see you.

Yeah, I'm not interested in your stupid photo.  See ya.

I am left cursing and army crawling in the middle of the road.  Thank God no one drove by and heckled and/or ran me over.  Stupid birds.  

Since my wee little room on the river lacks a cooking facility, when I return home I am always thrilled to get into my kitchen.  I love salmon cakes, crab cakes, savory cakes in general.  You could use fresh salmon for this, but I had canned salmon at the ready, which you would never know the difference. These little cakes were so tasty.  I served them for dinner, but you could make them a bit smaller and serve them as a lovely little appetizer.  Try these.  You won't be disappointed.

I made these pickles but instead of cutting them I used my vegetable peeler and made ribbons.  Carrots, too. 

 Lime zest, green onions and cilantro.  Next time I'll add fresh ginger.  

This salmon is from Costco. So so good!  Makes great salmon salad sandwiches, too. 

 Good thing to have in your pantry.  Lots better than any other breadcrumb. 

Humina, humina, humina.

 Here's where the meal took a turn from yummy to YUMMY!  I made coconut sticky rice for dessert, and I had about half a can of leftover coconut cream.  So in the pan that fried the cakes, I added about a cup of the coconut cream, the juice of two limes, and about a tbs of chopped of cilantro.  This was a total crapshoot. WOWIE!  This sauce had a rich coconut flavor with a hint of lime.  Wonderful sweet contrast to the salty salmon cakes.   

 I would pay for this in a restaurant.

 Easy asian salad dressing: 1 tbs wasabi sauce, 1 tbs mayo, 3 tbs olive oil, squeeze lime, 1 tbs rice wine vinegar, squeeze sriracha, salt and pepper.  Whisk until combined.  Toss greens with dressing and sesame seeds.  Fancy!

Canned asian salmon cakes

3 cans canned salmon 

2 limes, zested

2 green onions, sliced thinly

3 tbs cilantro, chopped

1-2 eggs

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (more for dredging)

3 heaping tbs wasabi sauce

salt and pepper (good dose of each)

canola oil for frying

Preheat oven to 325.  In a bowl, combine zest, onions, cilantro and salmon.  Begin to combine and break up the chunks of salmon.  Next add the eggs (you'll have to feel the texture and judge whether you need 1 or 2 to hold the cakes together), breadcrumbs, wasabi and salt and pepper.  Fashion the salmon into cakes using your hands.  Dredge them in the breadcrumbs and set aside until all the salmon is used.

In a hot skillet, add about 2 tbs oil and GENTLY! add a few cakes.  You could easily bake these for healthier cakes and eliminate this tricky frying process, but they get a lovely, crispy crust.  Fry until golden brown -- only about 2 - 3 minutes total if your pan is hot.  Remove salmon cakes to a cookie sheet and bake for about 8 minutes or until the cakes are cooked through.

Serve with wasabi sauce, sriracha, ponzu sauce -- all would be delicious!  Enjoy!

An amalgam of color and glory

Today is Tuesday, which means that we only have four more work days this week.  It also means that an oral health grant I've been working on is due today.  May 31 also means that there are only four more days until my birthday.  Four more days in my twenties.   I feel like I need to cram as much twenty-something, irresponsible behavior into the next few days -- drink to excess, stay up all night, engage in risky activities, run up a credit card, get a tattoo.  Tattoo, maybe.  Those other things sound exhausting.

Last year for my birthday I made myself a six layer rainbow cake in preparation for this magical monstrosity.  Can you imagine?  That cake would envelope my entire 451 square foot studio.  I don't have enough counter space let alone enough patience to attempt a cake of that scale.  

Maybe I'll make the cake version of the tattoo I've been dreaming about since I was fourteen.  It involves the movie A River Runs Through It, my bum and the letters L.O.V.E. 

Yes, I think that will be my birthday cake.  If you're confused, I promise an unveiling later this week.  It will be rad.  

Until the cake reveal, here is a recipe that taunts me almost daily.  I crave the following dish like I crave Asian noodles.  Friends, be forewarned, you will L.O.V.E. this concoction of rice, veggies and chili sauce.  It's called bibimbap, and it is a mainstay in Korea.  It's the perfect dish to clean out those neglected vegetables in your fridge.  Also, it can easily be made vegetarian or vegan!  Try it . . . but don't blame me when all you want for dinner is bibimbap.   

 Homemade pickles: sliced English cucumber with 1 tsp sugar, 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar, 1 tsp garlic chili sauce (more on this condiment below).  Combine all ingredients well and chill for at least 30 minutes.  

Zucchini, carrots and bean sprouts.

 Tri tip marinated in this.

 Sauteed spinach, carrots and zucchini.

 Below this amalgam of color and glory is steamed rice.

Top with an over-easy egg and a dollop of chili sauce. Resist the temptation to lick the screen.

Bibimbap

This recipe will serve two with much desired leftovers.

steamed rice, I like basmati but any kind will do

1 - 2 smallish tri tip steaks, grilled to your desired doneness (pork and chicken would be delicious too)

2 eggs

2 carrots, julienned

1 zucchini, julienned

1 large handful mung bean sprouts

1 English cucumber, pickled as indicated above

1/2 package spinach

4 cloves garlic, minced

garlic chili paste -- Sambal Oelek (buy this! It has a green lid and rooster on the label. Love. Love. Love)

Sesame and canola oil

sesame seeds

salt and pepper

First, make the pickles and stick them in the fridge.  Don't forget them!  Cook rice according to the package.  Meanwhile, prep all the veggies and heat your grill, grill pan or saute pan.  In a large skillet or wok, heat about 1/2 tsp sesame oil and 1/2 tsp canola oil.  Add 1/4 of the garlic and saute until fragrant -- be careful not to burn!  Add the carrots, season with salt and pepper and sesame seeds.  Saute until just tender (about two - three minutes).  Remove the carrots from the pan and repeat the process with zucchini, then bean sprouts and finally the spinach.  Grill meat until you reach your desired doneness and set aside. Cook eggs very last.  

In a big bowl, add a healthy layer of rice.  Arrange the vegetables and meat on top.  Place an egg (I like over-easy, as it creates a fabulous sauce) on top, as well as the chili sauce.  Mix it all up with your fork or chopsticks and enjoy!

Lack of cooking = irrational thoughts about Giada de Laurentiis

It's Wednesday, which means that several monumentous events have occurred.  I had several large assignments due Monday, including a presentation.  Check. Yesterday marked the final day of my contract.  Check. Check.  And I woke up to snow this morning!  My quest to find my lost ski pants now becomes all the more urgent.

My time has been consumed since we met last week by Thomas Hardy and an essay I am writing about food culture.  At the last minute I changed my paper topic from Eliza Hart Spalding, a topic I was comfortable and well-versed, to another that I am relatively comfortable and well-versed, but lack any scholarly authority to write. I am just a lowly food blogger who aspires one day to both look and make as much money as Giada de Laurentiis.  Too much to ask? Well, a girl can dream, or least win the lottery and buy boobs.

Needless to say, I have not been cooking this past week. I have sustained myself on: popcorn, string cheese, morning star black bean and Asian burgers (the Asian burgers are yum!), and kiwi. I have been eating so many kiwi I should be fuzzy and oozing vitamin c.  

I did order some hot and sour soup -- the best hot and sour soup can in fact be found in my little Southeastern Idaho town.  Anyway, I had a bit of leftovers and was craving noodles.  So I boiled about a half of a bag of mung bean noodles, which you can usually find in the Asian section of your grocery store. If I can find them here, you surely can find them.  While they were cooking briefly, I heated some fake ground meat -- ground pork or ground turkey would work great too -- that was begging to be cooked in my fridge.  I threw in the leftover soup and the drained noodles.  I slivered oh so thinly half of a carrot and cucumber, washed a handful of mung bean sprouts, sliced up some green onions and cilantro, and dinner was served.  

Friends, this dinner was so satisfying!  What was so wonderful: no seasoning.  All the fancy, expensive Asian spices were already in the soup!   Just add the garnishes you enjoy and serve.  The noodles add a fun, chewy texture.  The veggies add crunch.  Top it off with some sriracha and devour!  

Sorry I don't have any photos. This meal was very much an afterthought, but it was thrilling how well it turned out.

Because I am so relieved and happy and celebratory this morning, I have a series of photos that perfectly illustrate elation.

This is my lovely mom on the South Fork of the Snake River -- the last fishing trip of the season, sniff.  She only caught a few fish . . . or thirty.

Notice her elation?  She might have had Uncle Brown on her line. 

This shot was after two fish; she caught close to 90.

Boise State goes everywhere with us. 

 Fish number 137.

The judge, grinding his teeth that his wife was slaying the fish in the back of the boat.

Challenge # 2: Pho real?!

My friends, I made it to round two!  Hip, hip, hooray!!! Do you know what this means?  I get to share with you the most delectable and most crave-inducing soup on the planet.  I tout a lot of foods here at Hail's Kitchen. How many times have I uttered the phrase "best ever?" Too many probably.  But, people, this soup.  THIS SOUP!

Pho: it's pronounced fuh, and it is a Vietnamese treasure.

Typically the broth is made by simmering beef bones with aromatics and spices to create a rich, flavorful broth that invites you to bathe in the stuff it is so luscious. Meatballs, tendons, thinly sliced beef, chicken, gizzards, tripe, and other organs are often served alongside thin rice noodles.    

In addition to having an obsession with the broth that boarders on irrational, I love the garnishes that accompany this soup; bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, lime wedges, sliced chilies.  

When I lived in Salt Lake City, I made a point to eat pho at least once a week.  If I didn't know what to cook for dinner -- looks like a pho night!  If I had a stomachache -- pho!  If had a lousy day at work -- pho!  Breakfast, lunch or dinner, this soup fits the bill.  Heals you heart and soul.  Promise. Girl scout's honor.  

Now that I no longer live in the fine metropolitan area of Salt Lake City, I have missed my weekly ritual.  SORELY.  I've always wanted to make pho at home but have been scared of the broth.  I had this impression that it was too complicated, too many ingredients, too much time. 

Well, I am not going to sugarcoat this.  While the process wasn't necessarily complicated, the ingredients were a challenge.  The fact that I live in a relatively rural location, my grocery stores don't have a ready supply of exotic spices like star anise.  Sigh.  But, that didn't derail my mission.  I adapted with anise seeds and included fennel bulb.  Was it ideal? Probably not.  Did it satisfy my craving? Most certainly!  

The smell of the broth made my eyes roll in the back of my head.  Neighbors, you are welcome. To say that this broth is aromatic is like saying I am happy to have made it to round two: gross understatements on both accounts.

I had to fiddle with my broth a bit, adding more fish sauce and more sugar, to get it perfect.  I felt a little like Goldilocks, but finally, I got it just right.  

Good things come in nondescript, plastic bags.

Like beef bones.

 This is where I fell short in the recipe accuracy department. Anise seeds had to suffice. On a side note, every time I use cheesecloth I feel like a WWI nurse.  I enjoy channelling my inner Ernest Hemingway . . . or not. 

I, however, did not fall short in charring the onions and ginger.  I nearly burned down my building, but hey, all in the name of competition. 

My soup paled in comparison to my garnish in terms of beauty.

Thinly sliced sirloin and rice noodles ready for their salty bath.

My broth was not as clear as it should have been, but it certainly satisfied. 

I no longer have to whine and cry because I have to drive 2.5 hours for pho.  

Vietnamese Pho or beef noodle soup

adapted from a conglomeration of recipes

broth:

5 pounds beef marrow or knuckle bones (my butcher only had marrow bones)

2 onions, charred (burned skin removed) and quarted

2 celery stalks, rough chopped

2 carrots, rough chopped

1, 4 inch piece of ginger, charred and cut lengthwise 

1 bulb fennel, quartered

6 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 cup fish sauce

3 tbs sugar

2 tbs kosher salt

spices: 6 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 6 whole star anise (if you can find them) or 6 tsp anise seeds, 1 cardamom pod (if you can find it) 

6 quarts of water

the rest:

thin rice noodles, cooked according to the package (al dente is best)

1 lb sirloin, thinly sliced (slightly frozen helps with slicing)

lime wedges

cilantro

basil, thai basil (AGAIN if you can find it)

bean sprouts

chili peppers, sliced

First, parboil the bones in a large pot of boiling water.  This helps to rid them of any impurities.  Be prepared for a foul smell and even fouler water.  After ten minutes, rinse the bones and the pot.  Meanwhile, char the onions and ginger.  If you have a gas stove -- great!  If not, broil them in the oven until they are good and smokey. 

Return the bones to the pot along with the vegetables and spice bouquet.  Fill with with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Over-boiling causes cloudy broth -- check out my photos for a lesson of what NOT TO DO!  Allow the broth to simmer for at least 1.5 to 2 hours.  The longer the simmer, the greater the flavor.  

Strain out the vegetables and the beef bones.  Add the sugar, salt and fish sauce to the broth.  Be sure to taste and adjust accordingly to get the broth to your liking.  

To serve: in a big bowl, arrange a handful of sliced beef on al dente noodles.  Ladle in the hot broth.  Allow your guests to garnish their soup with the provided accoutrements: bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, sliced chilies and lime wedges.  Slurp and enjoy!