I love tomato, I love lettuce, but my sandwiches often flirt with other vegetables, such as kale, mushroom, pepper, broccoli, asparagus, arugala, etc. Here is a kale one-- Ciabatta bread, kale sauteed with onion and dried cranberries, slices of brie cheese and sprigs of rosemary. It's earthy and fragrant, satisfying yet light.
The first time I cooked kale, I exclaimed "all vegetables are not created equal". It tasted as if being cooked with meat stock. Some people do add meat stock when cooking kale. I sometimes add it to a meat dish. But when serving it as a vegetable plate, I don't add meat stock so that I can enjoy its pure and original flavor. Most green leafy vegetables don't store well. Kale is an exception. When raw, its keeps well in the fridge for a few days. When cooked for dinner, the leftover still tastes delicious the next day by itself or in sandwiches.
I like to get kale from Keith's Farm at the Union Square Greenmarket. Many farm booths there carry kale, but Keith's has the biggest selection of varieties: winter bor, red bor, white Russian, red Russian, Lacinato, Siberian. Try all of them and find your favorite variety. Keith's has a good selection of other greens and root vegetables too.
Recipe:
1 bunch of kale, leaves only, torn into small pieces
1/2 medium sized onion, sliced
1 handful of dried cranberries
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
water
Sautee onion first, when soft and slightly browned, add kale. Kale shrinks but does not sweat much. Cooking time and amount of water to add depend on the variety of the kale. I found that the darker the leaf color, the longer it takes to cook, the more water it takes. Add water a little a time, cook till the softness is to your liking. Season with salt and pepper along the way. Do not cover the pan during cooking, covering tends to darken the color.
When to add dried cranberries?
Depends on your preference. For more chewy bite, add towards the end. For softer bite, add half way during cooking.
I used Ciabatta from Costco in this sandwich. For tips on how to store and reheat bread, pls see:
http://www.thoroughliving.com/2008/10/how-to-store-and-reheat-bread.html
When pack for work lunch, don't forget fruits :-)
Sandwich with Kale
Cedar Planked Trout with Orange Ginger Sage Sauce
Trout never struck me as beautiful or uniquely tasty until I discovered Max Creek Hatchery's trout at Union Square's Greenmarket. When I opened the fish tank for the first time at its booth in the market, my eyes glistened and I knew I would buy it and become a return customer. I did.
Some people get scared by whole fish, some are dazzled by roasted whole fish at restaurants. I'd say don't get scared, whole fish is prized over fillets in quite many gourmet cultures. And don't get dazzled, it's awfully easy to roast a delicious whole fish yourself and debone it.
"Freshness" is the key to make anything delicious, but perhaps no food shows the correlation between freshness and taste as strong as in fish. If you can get hold of superfresh whole fresh, with a bunch of fresh herbs, dashes of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, drizzles of olive oil, you'll make yourself a roasted whole fish, equal in taste to those you'd pay $35 at restaurants. (Don't over cook it though.)
We had many delicious roasted whole fish with the Max Creek Hatchery's trout, using the simple recipe mentioned above. But I am greedy and often want to find new ways to cook things. I always had success with cedar planking salmon. Why not trout? I asked myself. So out came this succulent and interestingly delicious cedar planked trout with ginger, sage and orange juice.
Recipe:
1 whole trout, about 10 oz
1 chunk of ginger, peeled
1 dozen sage leaves
dashes of kosher salt
1/3 cup orange juice
1 cedar plank*
Roasting the fish:
1. Soak the cedar plank in cold water in a baking tray**. 2 hours is recommended***. Place a heavy item on the plank so that it fully submerges into the water, or flip side after one hour, so that the wood is evenly soaked.
2. Make 3 slashes on both sides of the fish, try 45 degree slashes. About 2/3 into the meat.
3. Cut 6 slices of ginger. Insert one piece of ginger and one piece of sage leave into each slash.
4. Put a few sage leaves and ginger slices inside the trout stomach.
5. Sprinkle kosher salt all over the fish, outside and inside. A thin and loose layer is fine.
6. Place the fish on top of the cedar plank in the watered tray. Place the whole tray into a cold oven. Turn the oven on to 325F. Do not pre-heat the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a fork can easily insert into the thickest part of fish all the way through.
*I got my cedar plank from Williams-Sonoma. The cedar flavor is light when cooking this way in the oven. If you cooking it on a grill instead, the cedar flavor could come out stronger.
** Soaking adds moisture to the wood and eventually adds moisture to the fish during roasting, making it juicy and succulent.
**Sometimes I forgot to soak the plank beforehand, the fish still turn out quite good. But it's a MUST to soak the plank in water DURING roasting even if you forget to soak in advance.
Sauce:
1. Mince 1 tsp ginger, 1/2 tbs sage leaves.
2. Heat orange juice, minced ginger and sage, 1/8 tsp kosher salt together on medium low heat, reduce to low when boiling, simmer for 5 minutes.
Serving:
Dip the fish meat into the sauce.
The skin will look dry and crispy after roasting, making it easy to tear off. Juicy meat underneath.
After you finish the top layer, just lift the bone, it comes off easily. It may sound cruel, the brain inside the head is tasty, reminds me of bone marrow in osso bucco. The skin is edible too.
Beautiful rainbow trout, you can still see the spotty pattern on the skin after roasting.
How to store and reheat bread?
We buy bread from various places. When buying from Costco, it's a BIG bag of them and we can not finish within a couple of days. Through experiments, we discovered ways to store and reheat bread and retain its flavors.
How to store bread?
For breads to be had within a day or two:
1. Wrap bread in foil.
2. Put foil wrapped bread in a ziplock bag, squeeze out air, seal. Store in the FRIDGE.
For breads you can NOT finish within a day or two:
1. Wrap bread in foil.
2. Put foil wrapped bread in a ziplock bag, squeeze out air, seal. Store in the FREEZER.
Time-saving tip: When buying a bag of individual-sized breads from Costco for making sandwiches with later, we slice them in the middle at one batch before wrapping and storing them away. So in the mornings, I just heat them and pack sandwiches for lunch w/o cutting and washing the knife each time.
How to reheat bread?
If using bread from freezer, try to remove it from freezer to the fridge the night before. If you forget or do not get to plan ahead, don't panic. It will just take a little longer to heat.
1. Turn on oven to 500F. (Usually, oven needs to be pre-heated. In our experiments, for reheating bread, pre-heating is not critical.)
2. Drizzle a little water onto the bread surface, spread the water with your hand all over the surface. The intention is to moisten slightly, not to soak with water.
3. Wrap the moistened bread in foil again and put it in to the oven. Heat for 15 minutes. (For small rolls, 10 min maybe enough; for a big loaf, maybe 20min. It depends on the type of the bread- size & density, and your oven.)
(When heating bread in the morning for lunch sandwiches at work/on-the-go, at this point you can go take a quick shower, change and come back to check the bread :-)
4. Take the bread out, open the foil wrap, let it cool for a few minutes. (Esp when you heat the bread to be packed for lunch at work/on-the-go, you want to let it cool for a few minutes before you assemble the sandwich and wrap in plastic wrap/foil again. Otherwise, excessive moisture will be trapped in and make the bread too soggy.)
Ciabatta Sandwich with Portobello and Caramelized Onion
Ciabatta is one of my favorite breads. Its rustic crust contrasts with the soft body and adds pleasant chewyness. It's distinctive holes inside give it a fun and smart character-- they lighten up the body, making the bites hearty without being too thick/dense. It’s really a bread that can hold its own. In this sandwich, I used Ciabatta from Stew Leonard's, check it out, click the image for bigger and clearer view, examine the crust and the holed body, isn't it perfectly baked?!
Good bread is a piece of heaven. Triple that with balsamic vinegar and rosemary marinated and roasted portobello mushroom, caramelized onion, and grilled brie cheese and a pinch of dried red chili flakes!
Recipe to follow.
Recipe:
<1> Roasted Portobello Mushroom
Serving: 2
2 medium sized portobello mushroom
1 1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp olive oil
sprigs of rosemary
1. Mix balsamic vinegar, olive oil, rosemary and drizzle over both sides of mushroom
2. Turn on oven to 500F, roast mushroom uncovered for 15-25 minutes depending on the thickness.
Note:
Portobello is often grilled. I tried to grill them in a stove top pan, often come out too dry and produces too much smoke. Then I experimented with roasting, perfect in taste and convenient-- I can cook it for next day's sandwich while having dinner.
Roast it in 500F high heat helps retain the juice in the mushroom.
<2> Caramelized Onion
Make a batch, store in the fridge. You can use it over a few days in sandwiches, soup, sauteed vegetables, pizza toppings, etc.
1. Slice onions (enough to create one single layer in the pan, but not more than that)
2. Heat the pan to medium high, drizzle a little olive oil, add onions, sautee them.
3. When turned brown on edges, reduce fire to low. Cook for about 45 minutes, stir every 10-15 min. When it's translucent and sweet. It's ready.
Note: Some like to add brown sugar. I prefer the basic sweetness in the onion without sugar.
<3> Grilled brie cheese
Place mushroom on heated bread, place a few pieces of cheese on top of mushroom. Put the whole thing in the oven and turn on broil. Broil for about 1 minute. Grilling/broiling is optional, the cheese goes well as is. And the sandwich will taste good even without any cheese.
Add caramelized onion, and sprinkle some dried red chili flakes on top. It's savory and sweet with a slight sour and spicy kick!
For tips on storing and reheating bread, see below:
http://www.thoroughliving.com/2008/10/how-to-store-and-reheat-bread.html
Breakfast/Snack: Fruity and Nutty Yogurt Oatmeal
My reasons for preparing food for breakfast/lunch at work or on-the-go:
1. Many factors impact a day's happiness. Maximize control of what I can.
2. Maximize opportunity to develop creativity.
3. Save money for more dinners at great restaurants to enjoy the food and the design, and to draw inspirations for home cooking.
For breakfast at work or on-the-go, a fruity and nutty yogurt oatmeal cup is the most convenient. Takes only two minutes to prepare the night before.
Recipe:
Serving: 1
1 fruit bottom yogurt/vanilla yogurt, 8oz
1/2 cup oats
Additional fruits/dried fruits and nuts to your liking
(In the picture, I used strawberry fruit bottom yogurt, oats, blueberries and toasted sesame seeds.)
Mix all ingredients in an air-tight container, seal and store in the fridge. Enjoy it the next day :-) Overnight soaking in the yogurt gives the oats a soft and pleasant texture. For more crunchy nutty taste, you can put nuts in a ziplock bag and add right before you eat it next day.
For fruit bottom yogurt, we tried a few brands, so far our favorites are Stew Leonard's and Costco's Kirkland brand (it's actually Swiss style). Stew Leonard's is a fun and uniquely designed supermarket in upstate NY and CT with its own diary farm. Actually the farm came first and expanded into a supermarket. The store is like a farm house, a Disney world, a gourmet center, a garden, all combined. We always stop by when returning from hiking trips upstate NY or skiing trips in Vermont. Sometimes, we just drive to its Yonker's store as a destination from Manhattan.
We get Quaker oats from Costco, great price (before factoring in the garage fee, the bridge/tunnel toll and gas :-)! From personal perspective, it would be nice if Costco gets to open a location in Manhattan (this seems to be a controversial issue to many others though.)
Banana and walnut work well with this yogurt oatmeal too.
Wyoming: (7) Grand Teton- Horseback Riding
Lucky horses! They work only one ride a day (about 2 hours), and gets to enjoy the mountains, woods, river and lakes.
One of the lakes we passed: Emma Matilda Lake:
K's horse is called "Big Mac".
My horse is called "Dallas", and she is the employee of the month according to our guide Ashley :-)
Birdview of Oxbow End (behind us)
Peaks of the Grand Teton (very light behind us due to strong sunlight).
Our ride was arranged through Jackson Lake Lodge. The riding route had a variety of terrain and scenery, a beautiful ride through out. Guide Ashley was knowledgeable and pleasant. In the park, ride can also be booked with Jenny Lake Lodge, the route is likely to be different.
Wyoming: (6) Grand Teton- Wild Animals
Some go seek wild animals, they wait where animals often show up with powerful lenses. We seek, but will snap when opportunities come.
Fall is the season when many wild animals mate and hunt for food to prepare for winter, they "come out" a lot. Chances of encounter are high in the morning and at dawn. I learned from the park newspaper that Grand Teton is a bear country, wearing bear spray is a must. $60+ per can and one use per can! Wow, did not realize it's so expensive. I thought it would cost similar as insect repellent spray. Well, our lives cost more! So we geared up with the bear spray each day we went out, but I still felt a bit nervous. In the end, we did not encounter any bear, it's both a relieve and pity :-). When we returned the rental car to Hertz at the airport, we gave the unused spray to a staff there. And he told us that he saw a bear eating a moose a few hours ago near Jenny Lake!
Mountains in the background makes the beautiful horns of the elk to stand out.
Bald eagle.
Moose
Chipmunk
Squirrel
Bees, not exactly wild animals :-)
Wyoming: (5) Grand Teton- Beauty in the Decayed
There is beauty in every stage of life in plants, like in human beings. It just takes sensitivity and appreciation.
Black and yellow played out various patterns in this branch. Some are yellow with black dots, some the opposite, some black-rimed.
Sculptural
Burned by wild forest fire
Another tree trunk burned by wild forest fire. So remarkably resembles leopard skin.
Wyoming: (4) Grand Teton- Golden Aspen foliage
On the East Coast, in a good Fall, the mountains are blanketed with red and golden foliage. In the Grand Teton National Park of Wyoming, it's different, it's about random splashes of golden Aspen leaves. (Near town of Jackson, there are more cottonwood trees. In Yellowstone, it's mostly evergreens.)
Wyoming: (3) Grand Teton- Snake River
The Snake River winds its way through the park and extends past the town of Jackson.
The first three images were taken at the Oxbow Bend area.
Like a watercolor painting?
Cottonwood Creak that feeds into the Snake River
We took a whitewater rafting tour along the river with Dave Hansen company. I was nervous at first, but by the end, felt the rapids were not challenging enough! :-) It was very beautiful, but we did not take camera with us because we didn't have a waterproof case.
A low section of Snake River, outside the Grand Teton National Park boundary, closer to Jackson town.
Wyoming: (2) Grand Teton- Lakes & Waterfalls
We hiked around Taggart lake, Bradley Lake, Jenny Lake, and String Lake.
Jenny Lake has shuttle boat to shorten your route to Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls. But we hiked around the lake instead.
