Easy Brunch

Larry and I turned 20lbs of tomatoes into our winter supply of salsa on Sunday. Our niece Tracie came to help, and I fortified us all with a simple brunch before the chopping and stirring started.

At the Hollywood Farmers Market that morning, I found wonderful arugula at Flora Bella -- young and tender with a bite. I combined it with potatoes, zucchini and eggs for a simple frittata. I cooked and served it in a cast-iron frying pan -- no fancy flipping of frittatas here. Leftover corn and snap peas rounded out the meal.

Fresh rosemary is wonderful with potatoes. I have many bushes, including a potted one outside the kitchen window, and one that cascades over a retaining wall. Rosemary has many health benefits: it increases circulation to the brain, enhancing focus and memory, and possibly helping to prevent Alzheimer's; it stimulates the gall bladder and helps digestion, including the breakdown of saturated fats; it protects the DNA against certain kinds of damage; and its anti-bacterial properties help prevent yeast and bladder infections.

This recipe makes a thin frittata. If you prefer a thicker one, use a smaller frying pan. It will take a little longer to cook. If you can't find arugula, use spinach instead. Frittatas taste good hot, at room temperature, or cold. We enjoyed the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Frittata of Potatoes, Zucchini and Arugula
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 medium)
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
3 cups arugula, thick stems removed, coarsely chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
6 eggs
1/2 cup grated cheddar

Heat olive oil in 12" cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and toss to coat with oil. Cook until lightly browned and nearly soft, stirring occasionally to separate slices. (Lower heat a little if they stick too much.) Add zucchini and rosemary and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring as needed, for 2-3 minutes until zucchini and potatoes are tender. Lower heat to medium and add arugula and garlic. Cook, turning with tongs, about a minute until garlic is fragrant and arugula is wilted.

Turn heat to low, and distribute the vegetables evenly in the pan. Whisk eggs and season with a scant 1/4 tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper. Pour eggs over vegetables. Let cook 5 minutes or so until the bottom and sides have set and the top is still slightly runny.

Sprinkle with cheese and run under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until the top is set and the cheese is melted.

Cut into wedges and serve, or let sit at room temperature for a couple of hours. Refrigerate for longer storage.

Serves 4.

Airport food

Larry and I went back east to visit friends and family in early September. It was too technically difficult for me to blog during our travels (11 days, 4 states, 7 beds) but I have plenty of stories to share with you over the next few weeks.

We were lucky to spend many nights with friends and family who understood my food needs.

But traveling was a different story.

My first food surprise was at Los Angeles International Airport. We were on an 8 a.m. flight, so we planned to pick up something in the terminal to eat on the plane.

(Back in the good old days, we complained about the bad free food on airplanes. I remember a vegan breakfast on an Air Canada flight from Moncton, New Brunswick, to Montreal - rice pudding topped with a stewed prune. Nowadays, the food airlines charge you for is execrable. I won't put it in my body.)

So I prowled Terminal 7 for a healthy food choice.

But the airport let me down. La Brea Bakery offered mozzarella sandwiches, but I wanted something healthier. It is so easy when traveling to let down your guard and eat too much fat and carbs. Baja Fresh Express had vegetarian options, but I couldn't imagine chewing on a cold burrito on the plane. Wolfgang Puck Express had $8 salads on the menu, but none were available at 6:30 a.m.

(The Los Angeles Times is writing about the intense lobbying involved in the proposed upgrading of food choices at the airport. I am not optimistic that the quality of the food will improve any time soon.)

It was a four-hour flight. No fear of starvation. And I had eaten granola (see post June 2010) at home, and had a few apples in my carry-on. So I was fine without picking up food. But it was still eye-opening to see how little is available for vegetarians in the health-conscious City of Los Angeles.

We did better at Washington Dulles on the flight home. It was an early evening flight, so I had a good salad at the Firkin and Fox pub in Concourse C. And before leaving our Rehoboth Beach hotel that morning, we had made sandwiches with the last of our picnic bread and cheese. Along with apples from a Pennsylvania farmstand, that was a good airline meal.

Late Summer Chard

Summer heat can make Swiss chard taste bitter. In the spring it's almost sweet, but now it can have an edge to it. (I can't blame it - too much heat makes me cranky too.)

The best way to remove the bitterness is to blanch the leaves in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Drain and eat.

Or, add a little zest by cooking the blanched chard in lemon oil. The oil helps your body absorb the phytonutrients in the chard, and it breaks down the leaves so they are soft but still bright green.

This lemony chard is good stirred into orzo, barley or couscous. You could serve it on slices of toasted baguette as a rustic appetizer, maybe with a shaving of parmesan cheese.

Monday night I served it with steamed carrots and brown rice for a simple meal that started the work week on a healthy note.

Swiss Chard with Lemon Oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon
1 lb Swiss chard

Put the lemon peel into a small saucepan with the olive oil. I use a zester that removes the peel in thin strips. A potato peeler works too, just make sure not to get the bitter white pith. Save the lemon for another use.

Warm the oil and lemon peel over low heat for 10 minutes -- don't let it simmer. Remove from the heat and let steep 20 minutes. Discard the lemon peel.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Wash the chard and remove the stems. Immerse the leaves in the boiling water, stir, and let cook 1-2 minutes until the bitterness is gone. The leaves should still be bright green. Strain the chard and squeeze the water out. Chop it a little.

Warm 2 tbsp of the lemon oil in a skillet. Stir the chard in the lemon oil over medium-low heat - you're macerating the oil into the leaves, not stir-frying. When the oil is absorbed, stir in salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Serves 2-3.

The extra lemon oil can be refrigerated for a few days and used in salad dressings or tossed with steamed vegetables.

Weighing food

My favorite kitchen tool is my digital scale.

It is essential for recipes in my English cookbooks which measure ingredients by weight. Weighing flour for baking is more accurate than scooping it into a cup.

I use it for beans and vegetables, although weight is less important there. (It also comes in handy for weighing packages for mailing.)

I remember my mother using her yellow kitchen scale to weight fruit for the Christmas cake and figgy pudding. She still has the scale, although now she's seen mine I think she's planning to modernize to digital.

My scale is made by Salter. I bought it years ago at the Sur la Table near my office. (It's handy / dangerous to have a cooking store within walking distance.) I've replaced the battery once, but have had no problems with it.

If you're in the market for a scale, consider the following:

Make sure it has a zero-out button. This means you can put a container on it, press the button, and it starts at zero. Then you can pour in your beans or flour and get the weight of the food, not the container. A simple, useful trick.

Both metric and standard options will be useful. Mine goes to 1/8th oz or 1 g. I've never needed to weigh anything lighter than that.

Also, consider storage. The advantage to a flat one like mine is things can be stacked below or on top of it. It sometimes even gets left on its side with no problem. You can get scales with attached baskets, but they will take up more room.

Finally, I made sure mine was easy to clean. Now I can't imagine cooking without it.

Tumeric Fried Rice

When I cook brown rice for dinner, I like to make extra so we can have this quick rice dish a couple of days later. This is my version of fast food.

Although the rice is fried, if you start with very hot oil the tofu and rice will absorb less of it. Serve it with some steamed greens for a colorful healthy meal that actually tastes like take-out. (Well, not the greens.)

The tumeric adds the pretty color, and is also anti-inflammatory. Most spices are health-promoting, and are worth experimenting with and getting used to. See here for 20 health reasons to add tumeric to your diet.

The recipe, from Thai Vegetarian Cooking by Vatcharin Bhumichitr, can be made with white rice instead of brown - a good use for rice left over from Chinese take-out.

Larry sautés a few shrimp in butter and adds them to his portion. I guess the tofu is optional, but it adds a nice chewy texture. You could throw in a drained can of chickpeas instead (totally inauthentic but tasty).

Tumeric Fried Rice

1/4 lb tofu, sliced 1/2" thick
2 tbsp cold-pressed oil (or a little less)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
1 tsp tumeric
2 cups cooked rice
3 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder

Heat the oil in a 9" cast iron skillet or wok. Pat the tofu slices dry, then add to the oil (carefully - they will spatter) and cook until deep gold, about 5 minutes per side. Remove and place on paper towels to drain.

Add the garlic to the pan. Fry until golden. Add onion, carrot, tumeric, and rice. Break up the clumps and stir it all together, making sure to scoop up from the bottom so all gets turned in oil. Add soy sauce and chili powder. Stir thoroughly.

Dice tofu and stir into rice. Serve immediately.

Serves 2 - 3.

Adapting Recipes

Bert Greene, in his wonderful book Greene on Greens, confesses to his need to tinker with any recipe that comes his way. That's his creative genius at work.

I play with recipes, not because I have creative genius, but because I place limits on the ingredients I use, and have to alter most recipes accordingly.

For instance, you might have noticed that red peppers don't show up often on this blog. That's because organic red peppers only appear in the markets in the fall, so that's the only time I use them.

When substituting ingredients, think of how the one you're leaving out contributes to the dish - with texture, color or flavor - and think what would be a good replacement. Parmesan cheese can almost always be replaced by extra salt (no, not if you're a purist, but if you're a vegan it's better than fake cheese).

I don't use bacon, so if I want a smoky flavor I use chipotles, smoked cheese, smoked paprika or soy sauce.

This is not a new pastime for me. Some of my cookbooks have 20-year-old notes on my attempts to substitute honey for sugar and whole wheat flour for white in baked goods. (Some of these experiments were more successful than others.)

I am also a rare vegetarian who does not miss the taste of meat. Asian vegetarian restaurants with fake meat dishes - yuk. I like the taste of vegetables. Occasionally tofu. But not tofu that tastes like chicken. If I wanted chicken, I would eat chicken.

And don't even start me on tofu hot dogs and all that pseudo-meat made with processed soy and chemicals.

However I'll eat some cheese and dairy products. White rice and pasta. Many of the taboos of the health movement are okay by me in moderation.

So my recipe-adapting is completely according to my beliefs. Seasonal. Organic. Chemical-free. Delicious.

And of course, it's up to you to tinker with my recipes so they suit you and your family.

Greens and Tofu

Every now and then I get a craving for tofu.

Not tofu dogs or tofu made to taste like meat - just plain firm tofu fried until it's a little crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Served with greens and peanut sauce, as in the recipe below, it is fantastic.

This dish comes from Thai Vegetarian Cooking by Vatcharin Bhumichitr. I don't eat a lot of Thai food because of the prevalence of fish sauce. However this author found vegetarian Thai recipes that don't just substitute soy sauce for fish sauce but focus on the good flavor of grains and vegetables.

To be authentic, this dish would be made with a Thai green called morning glory, but I used chard. Any mild green would work fine.

Thai Kitchen red curry paste is widely available. Use natural smooth or chunky peanut butter - the sugar and additives in the fake stuff will distort the flavor. The peanuts should be raw and unsalted. Grind them in a spice grinder or blender.

If you have a 1-lb block of tofu, cut it in half and store the extra in water in a covered container in the fridge. Change the water daily, and use within a week.

The recipe called for an additional 1/2 tsp of salt, but I found it too salty. Larry didn't, and if you're used to fish sauce you might enjoy the extra salt too. Taste and see what you think.

Serve with brown rice for a hearty, healthy meal.

Greens and Tofu
1 bunch chard
1/2 lb firm tofu
2-3 tbsp oil
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp red curry paste
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 heaping tsp peanut butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup raw peanuts, ground

Stem the chard, wash the leaves well, and put them in a large covered pot with just the water that clings to them. Place over medium heat and let cook a few minutes, then stir and replace the lid. Cook until soft, checking every few minutes to make sure they're not browning. Chop and set aside.

Slice the tofu into 6 pieces about 1/4-inch thick and pat dry. Warm 2 tbsp oil in a 9-inch cast-iron fry pan (or a wok) over medium heat. Carefully add the tofu - it will splatter. Let cook on one side until it's golden brown (about 5 minutes), adding more oil if necessary so it doesn't stick. Turn over and cook the other side. Remove from the pan and set aside on doubled paper towel to drain.

Put the garlic in the leftover oil in the fry pan and cook until golden brown. Add the curry paste and stir briefly. Add the soy sauce, peanut butter, water and peanuts. Whisk together until it makes a sauce.

Arrange the slices of tofu on the greens. Pour the sauce over the top. Serve with brown rice.

Serves two.

Eggs poached in tomato sauce

On a recent Sunday morning I picked fresh tomatoes and chiles in our garden and made this simple dish. It was like eating summer for breakfast.

It's similar to huevos rancheros or ratatouille with poached eggs. Best of all, it's quick to make and uses only one pan.

Use chiles to your taste. I used a mild banana, medium anaheim and spicy serrano, mainly because those were ready to pick. Leave the seeds in to make it hotter. Or use green pepper for a mild dish. A little basil added at the end would be nice.

Serve with warm buttered baguette to sop up all the delicious tomato sauce.

Don't feel like eggs? This bright simple sauce would be great on pasta or spooned over potatoes or rice.

Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
small clove garlic, minced
3 chiles, seeded and diced
1 1/2 cups diced tomato
salt and pepper
4 eggs

Warm the olive oil in an eight-inch skillet with raised sides.

Sauté the diced onion until it is soft. Add the garlic and peppers and cook another 3 minutes until the peppers are soft and the onions are lightly golden. Stir in the tomato, season with salt and pepper, and let the sauce cook down until it is thick. Depending on how juicy your tomatoes are, this could take 5-10 minutes.

Make four holes in the sauce and crack an egg into each one. (You would be wise to crack the eggs into a small bowl first, but I never do.) The yolk will stay in the hole but the white will spread into the tomato sauce a little. Cover with a lid and let cook 3 minutes before you peek. I like the white fully cooked but the yolk runny, which takes about 7 minutes, depending on the freshness of the egg.

When they're the way you like them, spoon the eggs onto plates and surround with the remaining sauce.

Serves 2.

Summer Chickpea Stew

Sometimes the vegetable garden takes a little break and production slows for a few days. The harvest might be limited to one tomato, a zucchini and some herbs. Don't despair. Add some canned beans for a simple home-cooked stew that tastes of summer.

Spoon it over brown rice for a satisfying supper for two, or serve it as a vegetable side-dish for four. Even people who think they don't like beans will enjoy this meal.

This recipe works fine with canned chickpeas (also called garbanzos), just rinse them well before you use them.

Dry chickpeas seem to take longer to cook than other dried beans, so I use the quick-soak method. Put them in a pan of water, bring to a boil, and simmer 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat, cover the pot and let the beans sit in the water for an hour. The chickpeas will have expanded a lot. Drain them, then cook in boiling water until tender, probably another 45 minutes to an hour. For this stew you want them cooked through but still firm. Drain and use fresh, or freeze until you need them.

Summer Chickpea Stew
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced 1/4" thick
3 mushrooms, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1 can chickpeas (or 1/3 cup dry, cooked)
2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1 tomato, chopped

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté oregano and garlic one minute. Add zucchini, mushrooms and chickpeas, stirring well to coat with oil and herbs. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender, under 10 minutes. Add the fresh tomato and mint and cook another five minutes. Add a little water at any time to prevent sticking. Serve warm.