Back to School

Our morning on the first day of school looks like this:

Time to wake up!

Who, me?

I am almost... One more minute, please...

no, no, I am not sleeping... I am almost there...

I think most of the kids look at their books the same way
 on their first day of school... :)

Tomorrow our teenager starts his senior year of high school. 
Where did the summer go?! :)


See you,
Marina

Cheese Muffins

A few posts ago I teased you with some photos, and now it's time to share the recipe for those muffins many of your were so fond about. They are easy to make, and no stand mixer required. I personally do all mixing by hand. 

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Cheese Muffins

Ingredients:

3 cups  (470 g) plain flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, beaten
2/3 cup (150 ml) olive oil
1 cup (250 ml) milk
1 cup (100-125 gr) shredded cheese (I used Swiss, Pecorino Romano, Feta, Mozzarella)
1 Tablespoon dried dill (optional)


1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan with butter.

2. In a large bowl combine together the flour, salt, baking powder, and dill. Stir and set aside.

3. In another bowl , whisk the eggs, then add oil and milk and whisk again. 

4. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture, add the egg mixture and shredded cheese (any cheese of your choice), and mix all ingredients. Do not overmix! 

5. Fill the cups with the batter, and level it with the rim.

6. Place in the middle rack in the oven, and bake 20-25 minutes.

When muffins are golden brown in color and springy to the touch, insert a toothpick in the center: it should come out clean. 

Cool it for 5 minutes (if you can), and enjoy with butter or raspberry jam. 

* This recipe was highly adapted from The WS Baking Book.

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See you,
Marina

Happy 100th Birthday, Julia!

Share your love 

Julia Child is a legend, she is a chef of all chefs to whom I refer each time I need an answer.
In the modern world there is way  too many concerns about the high levels of fat in French cooking, introduced by Julia. When I hear it, I always say: "Nevertheless, Julia happily lived almost 94 years, so I'll take it". Julia herself advised to eat in moderation. "I would rather eat one tablespoon of chocolate russe cake than three bowls of Jell-O", she said.
Her cooking style,  her attitude and playfulness won my heart from the very first episode I watch after I purchased a DVD  The French Chef with Julia Child. I go to Julia not just for recipes, inspiration, and techniques, but for joy and to lift up my spirit. 

Listen to what Julia said to Letterman, when he asked her: Have you cook anything that turns awful?




With my spirit lifted, I improvise myself. 
For Julia's 100th Birthday I made a Rabbit Saute with Red Wine, Mushrooms, and Onions, adapting her recipe for Boeuf a la Bourguignonne (Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, volume one).

Rabbit Stew

"This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook - try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!" 

- Julia Child, My Life in France

"...no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing."

- Julia Child, My Life in France

Happy Birthday, Julia! 

See you,

Marina

Pickled Watermelon Rind

Ever since I saw on Kitchen Riffs pickled watermelon rind recipe, I couldn't stop thinking of it.  Then last weekend we bought watermelon that was not as tasty as it should, or simply as expected. Perfect to put pickling recipe to the test. 
But instead of following John's recipe, I went Google, and found this.

Omitting ginger, I followed the recipe. During the process I couldn't wander of ratio: 2 cups vinegar and only 1/2 cup  sugar? It didn't make a clear sense to me, nevertheless I proceeded. 

That evening I proudly set my creation in the center of the table for our dinner. We tried it, and run away from the table to spit it: it was just pure vinegar! 

I didn't through pickled watermelons away, instead, I added another portion of watermelon and radish, poured all the liquid from the jars, diluted it with more water and sugar to balance the vinegar, mixed all fresh and pickled ingredients together, covered it with pickling liquid, and then spooned back into the jars. 

Next day we tried it again. It was much better, and edible: we could taste watermelon and radish, and not the vinegar.  great condiment for salads, meat, sandwiches, or whatever else  you  use pickles.

Although the corrected recipe worked, both, teenager and Mr. I.V. asked why did I make it with the vinegar? Then teenager added: "make the one grandmother makes". 

Yes, why it didn't come to my mind to look into my mother's recipes? I couldn't call her that day: it was an early morning where they live and I don't think mother would understand that I really called her to find out her pickled watermelon recipe at 3 AM. 

She would call me back all day to ask me what happened.  So, to keep my mother worry free, I didn't call. Instead, I looked at my recipe book, and what did I found? 

In my mother's handwriting the pickled watermelon recipe, that she cared to write when she was here last January! 

I haven't done my mother's pickled watermelons yet, I still need to talk to her about some details, and then I will share the recipe with you. 

Have you had any cooking mishaps lately? 

How did you handle it?

See you,

Marina

"The Best Tuna Salad..."

Salmon salad as I run out of tuna... :)

In 2001, when I just moved from New York to Seattle, I was desperate for any job, and when the opportunity to work in the renovated food court of University of Washington came, I was on board the very next week. I was a prep cook before we would open, and then I served the  food to a thousands of hungry students in exchange of their cash. 
If you ask me which part I liked better, I couldn't tell you as both experiences were joyful. I loved watching our chefs at work (there was an Italian section called At Home, where all meals were prepared from scratch every morning), from whom I've learned some tips and tricks around the kitchen, including my knife skills. 
I also loved the atmosphere during serving time: cheerful, bright, and smart. 
Few years later, when my language skills improved and I got all my educational papers translated and in order, I left the HUB (that's how we called our food court) to pursue my career goal at other job. But the sentimental feeling of my years in the crazy yet delicious and fascinating student environment never left me. 

I started with a simple tasks in the kitchen, and with my skills improving, responsibilities grew. My proud moment was when I was asked to make a tuna salad, following the recipe. I did it one morning, then the next, then morning after that. Then I decided to play with the recipe, just a tiny bit (nothing can hurt a tuna salad, right?)
On our huge spice/herb rack I found a jar with rarely used dry dill. It took me a second to think of my tuna salad.  I felt like a kid who just found a jar of candies: my eyes were shiny, my face was stamped with a big happy smile. The basic recipe for tuna salad had just a few ingredients: tuna, celery, pickles, red onions, black pepper, and mayonnaise. I added dry dill, and reduced amount of mayo (to me the salad didn't look pretty, swimming in all that mayo).  Customers loved it, and it came to the point when I had to double the amount of salad for the day. 
That's when the Chef came in with the recipe check.  Oh, no! Busted! I was standing in the corner, head down, making myself as invisible as possible. Zillion excuses run through my head before he started to talk to me. 
He was standing there, smiling: "Let me try the best tuna salad everyone is talking about", he said. 
What? Did I hear it right, "the best tuna salad"? "Everyone is talking about"? I knew it was popular because we sold more and more of it, but the best?! and to hear it from the Chef? I was so proud, I was so happy! it was my little victory and one of the best awards. 
I told the chef what I did to the original recipe. He approved it with a smile. Then he asked me if I want to learn how to make pastry, but for this I would have to come to work two hours earlier in the morning. Who could refuse such offer? Not me... The very next morning I came to work two hours earlier, to make pastry, then to continue  later with my tuna salad. 

Pickled watermelon rind (recipe in the next post)

Tuna salad

Ingredients:
250 gr canned tuna (or salmon )
100 gr diced pickles (experiment with pickled watermelon rind)
1-2 tablespoon dry dill (it has more aroma)
1-2 tablespoon Vegenaise
2 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

In large bowl combine all ingredients, and you don't have to measure exactly (can of tuna, 2-3 pickles),  taste to adjust seasoning. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours and eat! 

Cheese muffins (come back for the recipe!)

See you,
Marina

Quick Pickles

July and August, when daily temperature is above 40C, gardening is put on hold. The only "gardening" I do during this hot months is sprouting and micro greens. Luckily, a unique micro climate of the Ozark Mountains keeps somewhat reliable supply of cucumbers and tomatoes, and other vegetables at the local Farmer's Market. I bought some cucumbers to make a quick pickles, that Mr. I.V. has been asking for quite some time. I make it old fashioned way, using just water, salt and spices. Then I leave it to ferment for 3-4 days, and it's ready to eat. 
I remember when I lived with my parents, my mother  would make a 3 liters (a little under a gallon) jar early in the morning, put it outside, and then she came back from work, pickles would be ready to eat.  Mother calls it "young pickles" because they haven't developed enough sourness. The longer you leave pickles to ferment in the brine, the more sour they become. 

For the brine I use my mother's recipe: 30 gram (2 tablespoons) of sea salt (or pickling salt) diluted in 1 liter of water. 
To keep pickles crunchy I wash them, then place in a container with icy cold water in refrigerator overnight. On the bottom of the jar place dill seeds, garlic cloves, bay leaf, coriander seeds, black pepper, and any other spices you like: experiment and improvise! 

Then add the cucumbers, and pour the brine over it to cover the cucumbers. Taste the cucumbers next day, then day after that, and then day after that again. Enjoy them as they ferment, then after a week move  (if you have something left) the jar to refrigerator to slow down fermentation.

Basil seems to like hot weather: this bouquet I cut today from my garden. I let it dry, although I've never dried Thai basil before.  Have you?




See you,
Marina

Organizing Photos

Another day Teenager decided to clean our computer and then upgrade it. He gave me a task I though would be easy to accomplish in an hour or two. All I had to do is to transfer my photos to an external hard drive. Well, easier said than done: it took me tree days to organize all my files before I could let him erase all data (he said computer would work better if he did so). 
I was postponing this project for quite some time, and I am glad teenager insist to do it now.  Before, I had my photos stores under the name of the post, which wasn't convenient when you need to find and eggplant under who knows what name.  Now I have all photos in folders, named by a subject on the photo. I am putting this to a test and I hope to find a photo of an apple in Apples folder. 

What is your photo organizing system? 

Do you keep your posted photos or you delete it from your computer?

See you,
Marina