morestomach

november | remember

Published on November 30, 2013November 27, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach6 Comments

know that feeling
where you have to much to do
the to-do list is long,
you’re not crossing things out,
instead you keep adding
and what you end up doing is
taking a 3 hour nap?

felt … the crunch of leaves underfoot. autumn is on her way out, leaving behind a fading trail of yellows, reds and oranges
smelled … paint. we’re working on a craft project that i am excited to share with you, eventually
touched … yarn. i’ve been busy busy crocheting my fingers off
heard … a reading. do not go gentle into that good night!
saw … an overturned vehicle on the way to work this week. be careful out there people, get there in one piece, the turkey will hold till you arrive

a few pinterest & internet discoveries:
|| organization is not my forte but if i could just get my shit together, i’d make this
|| you guys. tutu + sweater tights? mind exploded
|| this pumpkin soup + coconut panna cotta: yes please
|| this rosemary laced buttercream piques my interest
|| i am so in love with this vintage campaign desk
|| my high school, in thailand, aerial view
|| last, if you’re not already tired of hearing about our wedding, our photographer posted a few more pix

photo captions:
on a very quick trip to NC to visit the bff and this guy, she made a tiny replica of our wedding cake, this time sans the dairy doom. it’s now ~~safe~~ in our freezer
then a few weeks later we visited with dw’s family in Louisville and i made the same cake for the family gathering, this is the recipe that i always use for for sure results. picture taken by my brother in law Jonas Wilson, used with permission, but with my edit
finally, pulled pork tacos. so good. recipe: 2 lb pork shoulder + 1 bottle ginger ale + salt & pepper + 1 onion sliced + a few cloves of garlic in crockpot for 12 hours on low = sweet tender pork. thanks erin w.

meanwhile: hello december!

cauliflower + pumpkin gnocchi

Published on November 25, 2013November 24, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach17 Comments

thanksgiving,
for someone like me,
who has a naturally inclined
ungrateful heart,
was a holiday that passed like
any other day
to be sure,
i acknowledge that we get
those 2 days off
48 hours that i spend in the kitchen,
yes,
because i spend my life
with a man who loves food
regardless of the day
the month
or holiday

i am not so presumptuous
to think that this dish should
be on your thanksgiving menu,
instead,
should you find yourself
with too much leftover pumpkin puree,
or any kind of squash,
after your celebration
make this
it’s warming
it’s filling
it’s easy

here’s to wishing you and yours
a delightful thanksgiving season
may the grace of this time
be ever present

cauliflower + pumpkin gnocchi (with cilantro walnut pesto)
recipe adapted from reclaiming provincial and purple house cafe
makes 4 servings

1 cup of pumpkin puree, i use the farmer’s market brand
1/3 cup grated hard cheese, like Parmesan or Grana Padano
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (you may need more, you may need less)
1 egg
2 tsp ground coriander seeds

to make the gnocchi, mix the pumpkin puree with the cheese, egg and ground coriander seeds. with a dough whisk (or a fork, or your hands), mix in flour, 1/4 cup at a time until dough comings together, pulls from the sides of bowl. on the counter kneed the dough until it’s smooth and not tacky.

divide dough int 4, roll out into thin ropes. cut into little pieces. i used this method.

cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water and then saute in olive oil. you’ll know when it’s done when the gnocchi rises up in the water.

roast up the cauliflower however you like it. i kept it simple: cut the cauliflower into little florets, put on cookie sheet and throw in preheated 350F oven for about 20-30 minutes. no seasoning

for the cilantro walnut pesto:

olive oil – about 1/2 cup
1-2 cloves of garlic
bunch cilantro
handful of toasted walnuts

heat up the olive oil with the garlic in a sauce pan, watch it carefully, don’t let the garlic burn.
in a food processor add the cilantro, with stems, with the walnuts and olive oil & garlic. process until desired consistency. season with salt & pepper. if the mixture is too thick, like a paste, add a bit of water to loosen.

serve all this together in one glorious Pile.

mango pomegranate guacamole

Published on November 18, 2013November 14, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach19 Comments

keep it simple
reduce
streamline
shorten
that’s exactly what
i was thinking when i chopped my mop
it was a deliberate act,
one that was 5 years in the making
i always said that
i’d donate just one more time
before age made my tresses
dull
and lackluster
and i succumbed to artificial coloring

i dreamed of braids
and curls
and ribbons
and chignons
what usually ended up happening
was a simple plait down my back,
heavy and cumbersome
and not at all cute
for months i daydreamed
about the shorter locks
on the day of,
dear sweet dw sniffed the crown of my head,
rather feverishly,
before setting out for work
knowing that when he saw me again
that evening
i would look a different woman
in the less than 3 years
we’ve been together
i’ve always worn the longer do

nowadays
if it weren’t for the frigid temps
i could go without blow drying
and even if i were to do that step
it takes less than 5 minutes
to get my hair in order
with 18″ gone
i’m due to see my stylist
more often
for maintenance purposes,
for now anyway
seriously
this simplifying thing is
awesome

mango pomegranate guacamole
from Gourmet ~ November 2008, by Lillian Chou
**note: speaking of simple, i’m all for just avocado, onions, lime juice, & cilantro. it’s your standard guacamole. but the addition of tart mango and pomegranate seeds makes gives this simple dip another type of dimension. the regular version is just fine, in fact with the correct ratios it’s great.

2 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, halved and then scooped out
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 red thai chili, finely diced
juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1 mango peeled and cubed
1/4 cup of finely chopped cilantro
salt/pepper to taste

basically, put everything in a bowl and mix. if you want, mash the avocados. eat with chips. repeat.

other yummy dips:
food loves writing — lacto-fermented salsa
homesick texan — green sauce
homesick texan, via a cup of jo — summertime salsa
she simmers — shrimp paste relish with lime rind

blueberry jam danishes

Published on November 11, 2013November 8, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach15 Comments

i don’t read the paper much anymore
in this day & age
i get my news from the internet
the occasional radio or tv in the background
facebook
twitter
and from dw, who gets it from reddit
of all the outlets
newspapers are my favorite
the way the paper stains your
forefinger and thumb black
the way it is light but bulky
the sound it makes when you flip the page
you can’t get your news any other way

the thing is, though,
i don’t read the news from newspapers
invariably i turn to the advice columns
(i adored Dr. Abby as a kid)
and the birth & wedding announcements,
and then the obits
morbid i know
there is just something to reading
about beginning of life,
the beginning of a life together,
and then the ending of it
i like it

when dw & i made the decision to have a wedding
i knew i wanted to make our favors
it had to be something completely us,
that when people took it home
they would be reminded of us
blueberries are dw’s absolute favorite fruits
berry picking is something we enjoy doing together
and jamming was something i had always wanted to do

on july 4th,
with dear friends nuria & jesse, her husband
we picked 22lbs of blueberries
and then spent the next day jamming the entire batch
it took 6 hours
on september 28th
we handed out 4 oz jars
to every guest to take home
we have a few jars leftover
and they are obsessively hoarded
we’ve slathered them on vegan biscuits
eaten them by the spoonful
and on sunday, november 3rd
with our 2nd to last jar
i made jam danishes
we needed breakfast for the week
the jam had to be blogged,
in part to finally bring closure to the whole wedding thing,
and mainly because it’s so good
and i’m so proud of the work ~~i did~~ nuria did

i would imagine the birth,
life
and end of this jam to be quite successful
yes?

bluberry jam danishes ~ vegan
adapted from oh, ladycakes
*note: while i realize i went on & on about the jam, the recipe i’m posting is for the danishes. jam is jam, we didn’t really deviate from the recipe, which is linked below, but these pastries that highlight said jam. well. let’s just say that they are not hard to make, do not be intimidated by the steps/process, and for the record, i only did 2 turns and it came out just fine. boom.

Danish pastry dough
3/4 cup warm almond milk, warmed in microwave for 1 minute (admittedly, my microwave is weak, just don’t let it scald, but make it warmer than lukewarm)
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 TBL sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 TBL vegan butter, cold (this will be used to form the dough)
1 cup vegan butter, room temp (this will be used to spread on dough)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup AP flour

Filling
1 cup good quality blueberry jam, in my case, it was homemade! recipe found here.

Icing
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp lime juice

add the yeast and almond milk to a small bowl; stir to combine then let sit for 10-15 minutes, until foamy

in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine flours, sugar, and salt; mix until combined

add two tablespoons of the butter, cut in small pieces, and continue mixing until the mixture resembles coarse meal, pour in the yeast mixture and mix on medium speed

add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour one tablespoon at a time (you may or may not need the entire 1/4 cup), and mix just until everything is combined. wrap the dough tightly with plastic and refrigerate for 90 minutes. (note: it will rise in the fridge, mine busted out through the plastic.)

sprinkle counter with flour and roll dough out into an 12X24″ rectangle . cover 2/3 of the dough with the remaining cup of butter. i took the butter out for an hour to bring to room temp, made for much easier spreading. fold the unbuttered third of dough over the buttered center, then over again. pinch the edges of the dough to seal and roll it out into another 12X24″ rectangle. repeat the folding process by folding the dough into thirds again, but without the butter.

cover with plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

do the rolling and folding and chilling thing 2 more times (technically, i only did it once more. i got lazy, went to bed early. whatever.)

refrigerate overnight.

the next morning, line baking sheet with parchment paper. dush counter with flour and roll out the dough into 9X18″ rectangle. (truth be told, i think i ended up with 10X18″ rectangle)

cut into 3″ squares, or whatever shape you want. i used my square biscuit cutters to maximize dough and not waste anything. transfer squares to baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes.

preheat oven to 375F.

once squares are chilled, use bottom of a 1/8 measuring cup to press into center. you want it slightly indented and there to be a small pit area for the jam. spread jam into pit, about 1 tsp or so.

bake for 15 minutes, until golden. cool on wire rack

make icing by stirring powdered sugar and lime juice. drizzle over pastries

will keep for up to 2 days in container, doesn’t have to be airtight

i baked 6 at a time, the rest i froze. to bake those, thaw overnight and then do the remaining steps the next day

Phở Gà – vietnamese chicken noodle soup

Published on November 7, 2013November 6, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach26 Comments

when i was in college,
maybe 18 or 19,
i dated a beautiful boy
(dated is probably too strong a word, ahem)
one with almond shaped eyes
hair silkier and blacker than mine
and he had a tendency to ignore me at the parties
where i would impatiently wait for him to look my way
but his eyes always shifted anywhere and everywhere else
to say the least,
it was a complicated relationship
one studded with embittered arguments
huffy silences
really mean answering machine messages
(yes, it was that long ago)
until one night,
actually,
middle of the night soon after the start of my 3rd year,
during a period in time when
i had gotten myself ridiculously entrenched
in yet another complicated relationship,
one that got me kicked out of the house,
i told him enough already
it was 3am
i was half asleep
and goddamnit, i had to report to work
in two and a half hours
and i put the phone back on the cradle
turned off the ringer
and washed my hands of that soap opera
coupledom

the thing about phở is that
it seems complicated
the broth is spice laden
you add things
you subtract things
it is never the same bowl
i myself would prefer to go out for phở
than to make it
but i found myself with a whole chicken to use
and it being soup season & all
i decided to uncomplicate it
in its most simplest
it’s chicken broth that’s been infused with
some exotic spices
maybe i’m oversimplifying
but in a time where i don’t have time
for convoluted bs
this is exactly what i can handle

phở gà
adapted from wandering chopsticks

package 1-lb of Banh Pho (Vietnamese Flat Thin Rice Noodles)
1 whole chicken, about 3-4lbs
1 onion, studded with about 15 cloves
2 2″ knob of ginger
2 sticks of cinnamon
6 star anise pods
4 cardamom pods
head half a of garlic
4 carrots, scrubbed and chunked, keep the skin on
2 tsp salt
fish sauce to taste

in a small frying pan, dry fry the spices

with a creme brulee torch char the clove studded onion, garlic and ginger knobs

in an 8 quart pot add the chicken and charred vegs, and carrots

in a small spice bag add the spices and then put into pot

add water until everything is just about covered

season with salt

bring to boil and then lower temp to simmer for about 45 min – 1 hour

remove chicken and allow to cool, then shred, putting bones back into pot. cover chicken until ready to eat

meanwhile, allow soup to simmer for another hour or so (i let it go for about 3 hours)

when ready to eat, cook up noodles according to package instructions and divvy into bowls

top with shredded chicken, garnish with thinly sliced onions and scallions

carefully ladle soup into bowls