• 18Feb

    Asian Cooking at Home – the Cut and Paste Method

    Mekhala‘s Asian cooking pastes are organic, vegan, and gluten free, and we were lucky enough to get our hands on a few of them. Of the dozen or so available varieties, the four that we cooked with were the Yellow Curry (Thai), Red Curry (Thai), Lemongrass Turmeric (Vietnamese), and Sichuan Mala Chilli (Chinese).

    • Lemon Turmeric Wild Coho Salmon
    • Yellow Curry Cauliflower Stew

    The Yellow Curry paste worked well with coconut milk in a vegan cauliflower, peas, and onions dish. This was my second favorite of the four dishes shown here, and my dining partner’s favorite.

    We used the Lemongrass Turmeric paste with coconut milk on wild salmon, which was my favorite of the four dishes. The scallions absorbed a ton of flavor, which helped make this a tasty combination.

    The Red Curry with coconut milk and Lotus Foods Organic Jade Pearl Ramen (green noodles) was a wonderful soup you might expect to find in a restaurant, so it was nice to have it at home. This was my dining partner’s second favorite dish of the four.

    • Sichuan Mala Chilli Bacon Salad
    • Red Curry Jade Ramen

    We combined the Sichuan Mala Chilli Paste with apricot preserves and a little lemon juice, and applied it to the bacon prior to cooking. This gave the bacon a nice sweet, sour, and spicy flavor, and a color that might put off people (like my dining partner) who aren’t used to eating bright red meat.

    Whole Foods and Mom’s each carry a few of Mekhala’s varieties. I’m keeping an eye out for the Thai Basil Garlic paste. Mekhala also has a line of sauces and dressings such as Pad Thai and Thai Chilli. Once you have some of Mekala’s products in your pantry, you can use some of the recipes on their website, or experiment like we did. And yes, these dishes all involved some cutting and pastes. 🙂

    -JAY

    Editor’s Note:

    Mekhala was nice enough to send several of these products for us to review. The Yellow Curry paste was purchased at Whole Foods.

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  • 08Dec

    Organic Thai Curry Kits Spice up Your Kitchen

    Thai is one of our favorite cuisines, so we jumped at the chance to review Verve Culture’s Thai for Two Organic Curry Kits. The curry kits are imported from Thailand, gluten-free, and vegan, and come in Penang, green, and red varieties.

    • Red Curry with Broccoli & Bell Peppers.
    • Green Curry with Wild Salmon, Zucchini & Bell Peppers

    Included in each are the following organic packets: curry paste, curry seasonings, coconut milk, and dried herbs. You follow step-by-step directions, which include adding 7-10 ounces of uncooked protein and 7-10 ounces of uncooked vegetables. The recipes were well described and not difficult. You are told to use 50 to 100% of the curry paste packet depending on desired spice level, and that the dried herbs (kaffir lime leaves, chili peppers, etc.) are not meant to be consumed directly (since they just flavor the sauce).

    We made the green curry with wild salmon, a small zucchini, and a small orange bell pepper. The curry went extremely well with the wild salmon. We used 100% of the curry paste packet for this dish, which turned out to be around medium spice level (high for my dining partner).

    For the Penang, we went with organic chicken breast from the Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op, an orange bell pepper, and fresh carrots. Visually, it contained orange vegetables with an orange sauce, so a different color bell pepper may have been a better idea. Scallions were added for a bit of color. 75% of the curry paste packet was used for this dish, which turned out to be around medium spice level (ok for me, but still a little high for my dining partner).

    • Penang Curry with Carrots & Bell Peppers.
    • Thai 4 TWO
      Thai Curry Kits.

    We used a small red bell pepper, and Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op broccoli and chicken breast with the red curry kit. 50% of the curry paste packet was used for this dish, which turned out to be around medium spice level (about right for my dining partner).

    We definitely enjoyed all three curry varieties, since the direct from Thailand ingredients give them an authentic flavor, but our favorite was the green curry (with wild salmon), even at the 100% spice level. The kits are good for two people, but we had some leftovers of the Pinang and red varieties since we used an extra 1/4 cup of water and a pound of chicken each.

    Verve Culture makes two other Thai kits: Tom Kha Soup and Pad Thai. For a limited time, there is a coupon code for your holiday gift-giving needs. Order 5 flavors of Thai for Two Cooking Kits with the code THAI4TWO.

    Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op‘s CSA boxes can be picked up at various sites in the DC area, including the Mosaic District’s MOM’s Organic Market.

    -JAY

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  • 14Oct

    Gwyn Novak’s New Book, One Pot Supreme CONTEST!

    We’ve written about Gwyn Novak and her cooking school (No Thyme To Cook) in MD previously. We love her! Her new book is available for pre-order on Amazon NOW and officially launches on 10/27/20.

    One lucky DCFUD reader will get a copy of the book mailed to them (US addresses only):

    We will randomly choose one entry (out of the first 100) to receive a copy of her new book, One Pot Supreme. To be entered in the contest, email your first and last name to Contest (AT) dcfud (DOT) com with the subject line “Cookbook Contest” by Wednesday October 21st at 5pm. We’ll pass the winner’s email address to Gwyn’s marketing person (who will ask you for a US mailing address).

    -JAY

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  • 23Mar

    Sequestered Cooking — Filipino Style …

    “Score!” I thought when I discovered the last two frozen lumpia in the freezer today. They were tucked in a freezer bag behind a mostly empty bag of shell-on shrimp. Below that shelf, I found a bag of French cut string beans (the kind I use for lumpia). I must have bought an extra bag months ago while feeling ambitious, but then never made another batch of lumpia when the reality of rolling the Filipino spring rolls after work set in. “Oh hey, that pound of frozen raw wings I bought on sale for the Super Bowl before I remembered I don’t like football!”

    What to do with only one fresh vegetable – a forgotten bell pepper – left and mostly bare stores? Go out? Heck no! We are solid proponents of staying at home and social distancing!

      I used the frozen wings to make some stock. Once that was at a safe temperature, I removed the wings and added shrimp to the stock. I popped that shrimp out fairly quickly to keep it from getting rubbery and then I took out the shells. I marinated the wings in vinegar and soy sauce and then broiled them to finish them. (Is there anything sadder looking than boiled chicken?)

      Meanwhile I fried up the lumpia and started sautéing garlic. My garlic was a little old, but whatever. I added the now cooked shrimp, various secret sauces (okay you got me…they are pictured above…and yes, I used bottled lemon juice. This is a comfort food (to me, anyway) emergency! I sautéed the thawed green beans, and pressed the water out the, and added the bell pepper and shrimp. When everything looked properly cooked, I removed all the vegetables and the shrimp from my wok.

      After boiling some stock in the wok, I added some pancit noodles. Finally, I reassembled the shrimp, green beans, bell pepper, and pancit noodles and heated again.

      Maybe not the best looking meal. Maybe not the best-conceived meal. But we didn’t leave the house. How about it, dcfüd? Show us some meals you made with all or no fresh items while we are mostly holed up at home hiding from Corona/Covid 19?

      -CAF (Cindy)

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    • 14Dec

      Recipes of the Chesapeake Region and Residents

      John Shields (MrcrabcakeJohn) is the owner of Gertrude’s Chesapeake Kitchen in the art museum in Baltimore, a PBS food show host, the author of many cookbooks, and an advocate of the cuisine (and waterways) of the Chesapeake region. His books generally focus on 18th, 19th, and 20’s century dishes and styles of cooking from the Chesapeake region. His latest book, however, The New Chesapeake Kitchen focuses on current recipes, since the bay has changed much in recent years.

      We LOVE John Shields and have written about him many times, so were happy to have a nice phone conversation from him. Some of the highlights are below:

      When asked how Chesapeake area cuisine has changed in recent years:

      JS: There is a return to looking for and using fresh, local ingredients (including shopping at farmer’s markets), which includes being mindful of seasonality. We have less crabs and native oysters than in the past, but now have new local cheeses, wines, and beers, high quality farm-raised oysters (raised from when they are teeny in floats and don’t have the antibiotics and chemicals of other aquatic farming), and even tasty invasive species fish (blue catfish).

      Regional cuisines are ever-evolving. I focused on the people of the region, and what they are cooking, and found some wonderful ethnic influences in their dishes. Some examples in the book include Caribbean Vegetable Stew, Moroccan Chickpea Vegetable Tagine, African-Inspired Sweet Potato & Peanut Soup, Mama Lan’s Tangy Noodles (which works with any protein), and Emily’s Hungarian Brisket.

      John is a master of the crab cake, but also makes them with other main ingredients. This came up when we were talking about invasive species fish. He even has a vegetarian recipe for “mock” crab cakes in the book.

      JS: We serve make Blue Catfish Cakes (catties) at the restaurant for brunch. Blue catfish is an invasive fish that eats baby oysters and blue crabs, so by eating it, we are eating a delicious fish (that does not taste “muddy” like some catfish), and also helping maintain the health of the bay.

      John talked often about recipes that stretch proteins and are “plant forward,” so you can feed more people affordably. This book features recipes such as Frogmore Stew, Wild Shrimp & Sweet Corn Chowder, Aunt Bessie’s Crab Pudding, and Asparagus & Crab Tart, that do just that.

      He recommends using underused fish such as hake, croaker, white or yellow perch, spot, and crappie, since they are more available than they used to be (unless you have a fishing rod). We have some wonderful protein sources in the Chesapeake region, and should use them.

      -JAY

       

       

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    • 14Nov

      Products we can’t get enough of …

      We’ve written about Dizzy Pig‘s spice rubs many times, and cook with Peruvian-ish and Raging River often. But, now I’ve tried Mad Max Turkey, and since it is just around for the holiday season, it’s a good time to mention it. This spice rub contains herbs (including sage) and garlic, and is designed for turkey, stuffing and gravy. Oh, and try Mediterranean-ish in pasta sauce, pizza, or garlic bread! Chris really knows how to design spice rubs, which is one reason his professional grilling team has won so many awards.

      Bluefish Fillet with Onions and Raw Spice Bar’s Creole Seasoning.

      Also, I’ve been experimenting with Raw Spice Bar‘s Products. We are very impressed with the quality of their spices. We enjoyed the Creole Seasoning, Jamaican Jerk, Ras-El-Hanout, and Malaysian Curry. Ok, we were split on the last one, but personally, I liked it. The Creole Seasoning was great on bluefish fillets (which was impressive), the Ras-El-Hanout (a Middle Eastern spice mix) worked well on both cauliflower and turkey burgers, the Malaysian Curry created a star out of chicken thighs, and Jamaican Jerk flavored chicken drumsticks wonderfully. We haven’t had a chance to try the Turkish Cured Sumac (since we are waiting till we make rice or buy some hummus) yet but it smells great.

      We recently sampled a variety of Pacari‘s organic Ecuadorian chocolate. We loved the Manabi, Raw Chocolate, and the Nibs. We also are fans of the Andean Mint (which is not in the image to the right) and Passion Fruit. This is high quality organic chocolate, and they have raw options as well. We aren’t fans of the Chocolate Covered Golden Berries, but if they have any other chocolate covered fruit, we’d love to try it. Oh, we want to try the variety with cardamom, but they were out of it when we placed an order. Pacari is my pick for holiday gifts this year.

      -JAY

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    • 12Aug

      Spice Rubs, Chilean Wine, and Vegan Candy Bars

      It’s time for another Product Roundup!

      First up is Dizzy Pig. We’ve been fans of (and writing about) competitive griller and BBQ supply store owner, Chris Capell’s spice rubs for years, and he keeps coming up with new varieties. We recently visited his new Manassas location, snacked on Tsunami Spin-rubbed chicken and duck, and Pineapple-rubbed bacon, and came home with some of his seasonings.

      We came home with newer blends, Peruvian-ish, Crossroads, and Peking, and traditional blends, Shaking The Tree and Pineapple Head. Shaking The Tree (lemon pepper) was wonderful with roasted potatoes and garlic. We tried Crossroads on burgers; it competes pretty closely with their best seller, Dizzy Dust, for BBQ flavor, although Chris recommends the latter for larger cuts of meat. Peking, we haven’t gotten to yet, although we will try it next time we cook skin-on chicken such as wings or thighs.

      So, what about Peruvian-ish? WE LOVE IT! Seriously! It has that Peruvian flavor you can only get with aji amarillo. We tried Peruvian-ish, on a mixture of roasted onions, orange bell peppers, and yellow squash, and on both beef and turkey burgers, and it worked wonderfully. Flavor of the Andes indeed! This is the first rub since Raging River (our favorite) that seems to go equally well with a huge variety of proteins and vegetables. And, both are very different flavor profiles, so they don’t compete. Now, we have to try some of these Peruvian-ish recipes!

      We recently got to try several Chilean red wines from the 10,000 acre holistic vineyard, VIK: the VIK 2012, Milla Cala 2013, and La Piu Belle 2011. All are red blends around 14% alcohol, and delicious. They are great paired with grilled or roasted meat, which explains why Fogo De Chao featured them at a recent media event. You can’t go wrong with a forkful of picanha in one hand and a glass of a great red in the other. I will admit that I (as planned) ate a plateful of their pork ribs, which did not disappoint.

      Fogo is the first U.S. restaurant brand to be pouring VIK Chilean wines. Fogo is offering two of the three VIK varietals in all of their Fogo restaurants nationwide – Milla Cala (Red Blend, Millahue Valley, Chile, 2013) and VIK (Red Blend, First Growth from Chile, 2013). Pricing varies by market, but those listed below are for the D.C. region:

      • Milla Cala: $13 (3 oz. glass); $25 (6 oz. glass); $93 (bottle)
      • VIK: $22 (3 oz. glass); $42 (6 oz. glass); $164 (bottle)

      I recommend getting on Fogo’s email list, since they will send you promotions. They recently emailed us about their $39 per person restaurant month (August) promotion, and you need to show up with a copy of their message to get the special.

      Nelly’s Organics (based in California) produces exceptional vegan candy bars. Picture the popular but not very healthy candy bars of your youth (Milky Way, Snickers, Mounds, etc.), but organic and dairy (animal product) free. They need to be kept refrigerated and are carried locally at Mom’s Organic Market (for $3 each and are well worth it). We sampled the following varieties (multiple times): Coconut, Nutty Nougat, Peanut Butter & Coconut, Caramel Nougat, German Chocolate, and Double Chocolate. We haven’t come across the Vegan Salted Caramels, but will make sure to try them if we do. Our favorites are the Nutty Nougat, Peanut Butter & Coconut, and Caramel Nougat. We grab a couple whenever we are at Mom’s.

      How did Carla (the Founder) get started in the candy bar business? She started making the vegan candy bars when her kids were little. She was just trying to copy the candy bars her kids liked and wanted a cleaner, healthier option. She never really intended to start a business, but once her friends and family tasted her creations, the requests kept on coming. Eventually she realized there might be a market for her candy bars, and we are glad she did.

      -JAY

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    • 11Feb

      Lemongrass-Pepper Shrimp with Garlic Okra

      It was nasty out yesterday. I’d been up early and so had snuck out for breakfast and coffee before the rain started, but by early afternoon I was fairly well entrenched on my couch, alternately watching crappy TV and trying to care about a not-great book I’m probably not going to bother finishing. As dinnertime approached, I considered venturing out and finding some suitable ‘Saturday night’ activities (like not sitting on my couch), but a glance out my window at the cold rain made items I’d claimed to be “Interested” in on my events calendar decidedly less compelling than staying warm by my fireplace.

      As yet another rerun of the cooking show I won’t admit publicly to watching claimed its latest celebrity victims, my mind wandered to dinner. What would I make? I clearly wasn’t leaving the house then, but I am leaving town in a few days, and the ‘fresh ingredients’ section of my pantry is of course a bit sparse, and what’s there needs to get used up. I pondered the most vulnerable assets: a bag of lovely, bright green okra; an only-just still OK lime; slightly more than a quarter of an onion; half of a stalk of lemongrass; the last few cloves of garlic. How do they fit? In the freezer: the last of a bag of shrimp.

      As my mind meandered to Thailand, my eye grabbed a jar of extra hot Calabrese pepperoncino peppers. “Ithailian?” Sure, what the hell.

      As the shrimp thawed (and I began warming myself with a nip of DC’s own Chacho Aguardiente), I sliced the onion and got it started caramelizing with a couple grinds of black pepper and shakes of dried basil. While that cooked, I assembled the mini-blender, and puréed:

      • 4 cloves of garlic
      • About 5 inches of lemongrass
      • About 2 tbs pepperoncino
      • 1 tbs cumin seed
      • 2 tbs fish sauce (I use Squid brand, and top it up with a few drops of anchovy oil)
      • The juice of 1 lime
      • A couple shakes of dried cilantro

      Just as the onion started to brown (about eight minutes), I added about a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, followed by the shrimp (six big ones), and stirred in my puréed sauce. Realizing at this point that it was going to cake like hell, I added about a quarter cup of (unseasoned) rice vinegar to loosen the sauce and integrate the elements. Cooking at this point only took a few minutes, as the vinegar cooked off.

      What about that okra, you ask? Super simple: I washed them (there were maybe 16) and tossed them with 2 very finely diced and smashed cloves of garlic, and steamed them over a small wok of water, into which I also muddled the garlic ends and peels. The result was a fragrant edge to the okra – I’m actually surprised this worked, but hey.

      I poured the shrimp and sauce over about half the okra (the rest is for lunch!), and it was really tasty. If I’d marinated the shrimp in the purée, it might have been even better, but for a 20-minute clean-your-cupboard dinner, I’m very happy.

       

      – MAW

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    • 06Aug

      German Spice Company Launches Line of 12 Seasonings in US Market

      Chicken Thighs with Just Spices’ Blend, Chicken Seasoning

      Just Spices launched 12 new spice blends in the U.S. market on June 22. This follows the German brand’s initial launch into the States late last year. We sampled three of their spice blends:

      Hash Brown Seasoning: This was our favorite of the three products. We tried it on French fries and sliced oven-baked potatoes and sweet potatoes. Next time, we will try it on actual hash browns or latkes. The blend includes sea salt, salt, fenugreek seeds, paprika, garlic, cilantro, natural smoke flavor, nutmeg, turmeric, cumin, fennel seeds, black pepper, cloves, and chilli. It is odd though that they use both sea salt and salt in two of these three products, where sea salt alone would do.

      Chicken Seasoning: This blend worked well on skin-on baked chicken and includes sea salt, salt, natural smoke flavor, brown cane sugar, tomato, paprika, garlic, chilli, rosemary, thyme, sage, coriander, turmeric, fenugreek seeds, cumin, fennel seeds, and black pepper.

      Flavors of India Seasoning. This salt-free blend includes fenugreek seeds, ginger, paprika, onion, cilantro, cardamom, and turmeric. It did not seem as well balanced as the other other two seasonings, and in the DC market (or NYC) we have an immense number of Indian spice mixes, products, and restaurants with which to compare this product’s flavors. Odd that they didn’t include coriander in the mix. Maybe the spice blend reflects what Indian food tastes like in Germany?.

      We recommend trying the Hash Brown Seasoning, and Chicken Seasoning  if you run across them in the states.

      Other products in this line include: Tofu Seasoning, Berry Yogurt Seasoning, Blossom Mix, Clean Eating Allrounder, Herbs de Provence, Pasta Alfredo Seasoning, Ranch Dressing, Sweet Love, and Vegetable Seasoning.

      -JAY

       

       

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    • 05Jan

      Delicious, Easy, Not Even Remotely Authentic: Al Pastor Pork

      I’ve been a bit obsessed with Mexico City recently following a trip in November. It’s pretty fantastic (if you can handle the smog  and speak at least a bit of Spanish) – great art, great culture, amazing food, etc. – I’m going back this month. But in the meantime, back up here in the cold, I wanted to bring myself  back to a bit of a warmer state of mind, and what better excuse to use everyone’s favorite  winter warmer, the slow cooker?

      So I decided to try a spin on a DF classic – al pastor. So I polled a couple Mexican friends  (ok, exactly two) for a recipe, and combining them got a semi-coherent list of ingredients with vague proportions. But it sounded good, and I’m not big on precise measurements anyhow.  Also note that al pastor is generally defined by use of the guajillo chili, which I didn’t
      have handy. I used chipotle. I also had no pineapple juice, so that got mucked about a bit,  and obviously I slow-cooked instead or spit-grilling.Tasty, not authentic

      You read the title, right?

      I also added the onion because I thought it seemed right. It was.

      I used:

      Product:

      • 2 lbs. pork butt country ribs, separated and stabbed repeatedly
      • 1/2 yellow onion, quartered
      • 11 oz. cubed fresh pineapple

      Marinade:

      • 2 tbsp. achiote (anatto) seed, ground
      • 2 tbsp. ground chipotle
      • 1 tbsp. garlic powder
      • 1 tbsp. oregano
      • 1 tbsp. cumin
      • 1 tbsp. salt
      • 1 tbsp. pepper
      • 1 cup cider vinegar
      • 3/4 cups water
      • 1 tbsp. agave nectar

      Preparation is wonderfully simple: put all the ingredients in a glass or ceramic bowl, cover and marinate overnight. In the morning before leaving for work, I poured everything into my trusty slow cooker, and set it on low for 9.5 hours (its longest setting, just because it’s not like I was getting home in less than 11) . I arrived home that evening to a gorgeous aroma from the pot, now happily keeping things warm, from which I heaped lovely, fall-apart tender pork. It was truly delicious alone, but over some rice (I suspect hominy would be good too) it was really awesome.

      The cooked marinade, by the way, is a keeper: this may become a go-to barbecue sauce for me: transfer it to a saucepan and let reduce. Thicken with cornstarch or flour, and toss the pork back in, you could make tacos. I’m just sayin’.

      Buen provecho!

       – MAW

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