Salad Basics

Salads are awesome. Remember that love affair of veggies I'm always spouting about? Salads are the epitome of veggie love.

For posts of three of my favorite salads, check out: Kale Avocado Salad, Israeli Salad, Caprese Salad with Avocado and Spinach Salad.

This post is focused on the basics of salads. I whole-heartedly reject iceberg lettuce (not enough taste and lower in nutrients than other lettuce) but whatever floats your boat. Many items like kale, mustard greens and arugula require a certain palate to enjoy. I detected a notable difference in my palate when I stopped drinking soda and did not add sugar to coffee/tea. You begin to appreciate the bitter tastes in life (brussels sprouts, black coffee, hops, vinegar, radishes, broccoli, lettuce, dark chocolate, etc.) You can food-chain to expose your palate to bitter tastes by using iceberg lettuce as your main items with a little of bitter greens.

Greens
I prefer to limit the amount of lettuce in the salad. Many salads are a ton of lettuce with a few veggies thrown in for color. No thank you. Lettuce can be your base but I prefer to let lettuce make up no more than 1/3 of the final product to let the other veggies shine.

Preferred greens: spinach, kale, arugula, butter lettuce, Romaine, cabbage (green or purple), mustard greens and fennel. You can tear by hand, chop or ribbon.

Vegetables
Endless possibilities of deliciously wonderful combinations. My favorite go-to veggies: purple onion, chives, sprouts, carrots, beets, radishes, corn. Technically fruits but used as vegetables: tomatoes (grape/cherry are my go-to), avocado, cucumber, zucchini, green beans, snow peas, bell pepper.

Fruits/Nuts/Cheese/Other
Fruit: mandarin oranges, apples, pears, strawberries and pineapple. Nuts: walnuts, almonds and pecans. Cheese: goat, feta, gorgonzola, bleu and cheddar cheese. Other: olives (green, black, kalamata), cranberries, chick peas, beans (black, pinto).

Meats
Adding meat can make the dish more filling. Pick from chicken, pork, beef, cured meats (sliced prosciutto, capicola).

See my post on salad dressings here.

When making a salad with a tough lettuce like kale, it's best to dress the salad about 20-30 minutes before serving to allow the lettuce to soften. Items like avocado or goat cheese can be added right before serving.

4th of July Desserts

Red, White and Blue. The hunt for a themed dessert has always illuded me. Mainly because I wait until the last minute and try and pull off a no-bake cheese cake (1 layer dyed red) topped with blueberries with only 1 hour to set. That cheesecake ala 2012 was deliciously soupy at the rooftop party I attended.

Enter 4th of July 2013. I had a goal: to find the most perfect dessert to capture the red, white and blue theme. I scoured Pintrest for the perfect delicacy. Then I found it: Pavolva. Do you like meringue? How about a whole cake made entirely of meringue?

Pavlova with Strawberries, Blueberries and Blackberries

This recipe is for the above pictured Pavlova. It was HUGE.

A much more modest-sized Pavlova was made at my parents' house a few weeks later. This size was much more manageable when multiple desserts were being served. This is a cake made entirely of meringue, it does not keep well.

PIE

Lauren strikes again with her lovely hand at pies. I love her technique for crusts. She uses cookie cutters to place pieces of crust around the whole pie. I remember another pie covered in leaf shaped crust pieces. Rustic and beautiful. I don't have the recipe and I wish to personally explore more pie baking in the future.

Themed Movie Nights

My husband and I share a love of the cinema and television. Our gatherings with friends often centered around a particular movie or show. Here's a look back at some of our events. I'll update this list as I post recipes to various items.

Movies

Lord of the Rings Thanksgiving
I will do a whole post on this as it was documented in pictures. We watched The Hobbit (cartoon) and the LOTR trilogy (extended editions) with a multi-course meal. I have many thoughts and comments about how we executed this so stay tuned for a full post.

Spaghetti Westerns
Django and A Fistful of Dollars. Calzones and meatballs. Calzones are awesome because they can be custom made by each person. The meatballs required an unexpected second batch due to their deliciousness.

Halloween Month
A love of scary/creepy movies turns into a weekly gathering for the month of October.

2013
Rosemary's Baby, Wake in Fright, The Descent, The Devil's Backbone. I think the only themed items were Rosemary Butter Cookies shaped like babies. I planned on making Dirt n' Worms for The Descent but didn't make it to the store. The Devil's Backbone showing was accompanied by drinking Real Ale's Devil's Backbone beer.

2012
The Shining, Cabin in the Woods, Hausu (House, 1977), American Werewolf in London. Unknown if any themed items were made.

Marvel Movie Marathon
We got lazy and went and ate Dim Sum. Then we watched Iron Man 1 & 2, Thor and Captain America (didn't have time for The Hulk). Binge-watching comic book movies makes for a great time. We then went to the Alamo Drafthouse for dinner and The Avengers.

TV Shows

Lost
The show that started it all. I actually started dating my husband after attending Lost nights. Though the ending of the show was disappointing, it was a damn good show to watch as a group. No particular menu here, we would wing it every week. Someone would suggest a main course and others would be accompanying side dishes. Desserts were had in plenty. I really wish I had better documented these as they were a weekly smorgasbord of deliciousness.

Battlestar Galattica
Like Lost, weekly event with food. I think we scaled back financially and meat wise at these events.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (Blu Ray release)
Another gathering of friends to watch TNG in a whole new way. Check these out if you have ever liked Star Trek, fully remastered/restored. The amount of work put into these is incredible. Same as above, weekly menu changes. There was ideas about TNG themed desserts including gourmet Jello shots with layers, glitter and fancy colors. I think this idea washed due to experimentations with agar as a Jello substitute proving to be less than desirable. We moved to California before this dream could be fully realized. A Star Trek drinking night is always a good time.



The trick to planning one of these is to decide on something that will appeal to everyone. All of your friends love a particular tv show or genre of movies? Start there. Feeling a particular type of food? Let the food be your guide and look through movie types. We get by with Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime and Netflix. Check out your local video store for other hard-to-get films. Other gatherings we'd spend 30 minutes searching for a movie in our collection. These yielded some interesting picks but it's never my favorite way to pick a movie. Empathize with your guests, if they know the movie ahead of time, they can plan to be there or not. Choosing a movie and being the only hold out or getting bored half-way through can be hard.

Some spur of the moment picks: Hanna (such a good movie, really pushed by my husband and I, was a crowd pleaser), Kick Ass (fun for a group of people), and King of Thorn (interesting though none of use were familiar with the original manga so some internet research had to provide some context).

Salad Dressings

Never buy salad dressing again. Seriously. Most of the nutrients in vegetables are lipid-soluble; you will absorb more nutrients if eaten with butter or oil. Most store bought salad dressings have a lot of unnecessary sugar and preservatives. If you make it, you can control the amount of sweetness and freshness of ingredients.

I'll break it down with ratios and what your dressing should have.

Oil to Acid, 3:1. This is just an estimate. Use your taste buds to determine what tastes right.

Oil: Your choice but I prefer to always go olive oil or sesame. Stepping away from vinagrettes: your base can be largely miso paste or avocado for a creamier dressing. Mayo is the base for ranch dressings.

Acids: Vinegar (apple cider, red wine, white wine, sherry, balsamic, rice), lemon juice, lime juice.

Additions: seasoning with herbs/spices (aromatics), mustard (try whole-grain, dijon, spicy brown), honey, Siracha, whatever suits your fancy.

Favorite Combos:

Whisk together ingredients and taste often. If you don't like your final product, don't put it on your salad. Sounds silly but seriously, keep tinkering until it's perfect.

• Olive oil, lemon juice, Siracha, salt, pepper

• Olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, whole-grain mustard, salt, pepper

• Spicy brown mustard or whole-grain, honey (this is one you reallllly have to taste along the way so it doesn't become too sweet, can add oil to thin if it's not runny enough but I've never had a problem). Also makes for excellent dipping sauce for chicken.

• Olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, sherry, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

• Avocado (smashed), lime juice, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

• Sesame oil, miso paste, honey, grated ginger, minced garlic, pepper

The possibilities are endless. I try to make my salad and dressing a little different every time.

Salad dressings travel really easily in a plastic bag placed on top of a salad for a quick lunch.

Antipasto Spread

Just a casual gathering with friends. I believe we did Italian food with spaghetti, meatballs and veggies. No pictures of them, sorry. This was July 13, 2013- known only because I took a picture of wine bottle with an anniversary card.

My beautiful friend, Lauren, brought over the ingredients for an antipasto platter spread. Per usual, she went crazy in the store and created a gem. I later re-created this with my family but didn't win over as many people due to the spiciness of some items. Spice level is tolerance-bound and I've got a pretty high tolerance these days.

Antipasto Spread

Pictured above: sliced bread with dipping sauces on two plates (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano) and (olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, parmesan), bread sticks, artichoke (read method preparation here).

Pictured above: a form of nut I honestly can't identify, sliced melon, Wickles Pickles (can purchase here, they're spicy sweet pickles- I'm usually a Kosher Dill gal through and through but I'm a Wickles convert), cheese crumbles (feta, pre-seasoned), roasted red peppers, mozzarella pearls, grape tomatoes, spicy pickled green beans, kalamata olives and eggplant appetizer (pictured in the tall brown bowl, can be purchased here). In the back, my friend placed asparagus standing up in a glass for an interesting presentation. She blanched the asparagus to maintain a good crisp. The jar next to the asparagus is filled with duck mayonnaise she made at home (instructions here but with substituted duck egg).

Just some ideas for an opening course of Italian food. Just general guidelines, customize it with your favorite items. To find what's available in your store, seek out the aisle with olives or pickles and locate the specialty items next to them. Tiny meatballs or sliced, cured meats would make a good addition. Meatballs are one of my husband's favorite items to make- I'll post about them later. 

Skewers and veggies, oh my!

I had the idea for this blog at an inopportune time in my life. Since the inaugural post, I've moved from Texas to California with very little certainty in job/housing. It's been an adventure for both my husband and I with our faithful dog in tow.

This will be dedicated to a look back on an oldie but a goodie: a relaxed day hanging out with friends using a grill. We're not vegetarians but I have a special place in my heart for veggies. I. love. them. My love of cooking took off when I discovered how to cook and eat well-seasoned vegetables.

My friends and I get together to cook together. The event is the cooking and bonding of friends. Probably some Sunday day drinking occurred. Maybe mimosas, probably delicious beer. I recognize this is not the most thorough picture taking but I'll do my best to describe what we did. Remember: no strict recipes, just rough guidelines. Make it your own. Experiment. Always try to improve each time you make something and customize it to your palate.

Fruit Platter

Simple enough. A fruit platter to snack on as we make the rest of the food. Pick out any fruit you like, slice and serve.

Caprese Salad with Avocado

This is a favorite of mine. I could eat it all day, every day. I like to make it on a big platter everyone shares for simplicity. I prefer larger slices but it works diced as well. Slice tomatoes and avocados. We used pearl mozzarella but I honestly prefer sliced. Ribbon basil (take a handful of leaves, roll and slice on the diagonal). Drizzle with olive oil. Squirt with fresh lemon juice. Season with fresh, coarse ground pepper and sea salt.

Chicken and Veggie Skewers

Marinate meat and veggies in the seasoning of your choice. We used a mixture of: powdered mustard, paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper and olive oil. May or may not have used curry powder. Make the mixture and taste. I cannot emphasize this enough. If you like the taste of the marinade you will love the skewers. Adjust the taste as needed. This is how you develop your palate. Too much mustard? Dilute with olive oil and other spices. You'd rather have too much marinade then the right amount you don't love.

 Stacked to perfection pre-grilling. I think we had a delay with the grill heating up fast enough. Plan ahead.

Mushroom are a requirement with my friends. Mushroom haters are left behind. I'm looking at you, dear husband.

Grill 'em up. This is the only shot of the corn we made. Our corn prep: open up corn husks and remove corn silk. Rub with olive oil or butter. Season with salt/pepper/cayenne pepper. Put the corn husks back up so the corn doesn't burn on the grill.

Artichoke

A picture of the artichoke after cooking (obviously upside down). The stalk of the artichoke needs to be sliced off to sit evenly in the pot for steaming. It's easiest to use a serrated knife and put your back into it. I've learned I love the taste of the stalk and I throw in the extra into the water to boil.

This is a relatively new love of mine. I've always been a fan of artichoke hearts and discovered how easy it is to make a whole steamed artichoke. My favorite method: Put a pot on the stove on medium heat with about 3-4 inches of water depending on the size of your artichoke. Cut off the stalk as described above. Use a serrated knife to cut off a little bit on the top. This makes it easier to spread and allows for easier seasoning. Place the artichoke in the water and season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon. I put the rest of the lemon and 1 bay leaf into the water. Cook for 30-50 mins, it's done when tender and leaves pull easily. We melted butter and a squeeze of lemon on the side to dip. I prefer to dip in a little bit of salt. Taste the artichoke first but I usually add more salt/pepper before serving.

Basic Salad

We must have been super salad crazy that day. Or just over bought on the lettuce. Weird because we more typically make veggie salads with little to no lettuce. Looks like we ribboned lettuce (usually butter lettuce, never use iceberg- little to no nutrition), sliced grape tomatoes and feta. I haven't bought salad dressing in years. I prefer to make my own (usually a group effort with what's on hand). This one was probably lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and siracha whisked together. Ratio of acid to oil is 1:3. I will do a whole post on my favorite variations of salad dressing.

Inaugural post: an outline of my goals

The Prologue 

Working a Speech-Language Pathologist has given my life meaning. My countless experiences of being witness to healing, hope and yes, sometimes tragedy, occupy my life. A career. Something I always wanted. I wanted a career. A title. Something which required my heart to truly be successful. Something requiring years of school and training. Something which required me to be a life-long student of technical knowledge with the artistry of skilled intervention. I got it. And then... I wanted more. I still pour over research articles and occupy my thoughts with other ways to help my patients. But I have a lot of loves. I am a multi-faceted being. I am a wife. I am a friend. I am in need.

I was not a natural born cook. My experiences during adolescence and college left me feeling I would never be successful in the kitchen, relegated to an "ok" baker. I was surrounded by greatness, people who truly loved to share food with others. Various issues in my life held me back. My drive to intellect often makes me look before I leap. Sometimes too much. I often research ideas ad nauseam and then never pursue. I call this "smart people's procrastination". When I began dating my husband, I was intimidated by his friends. They were slightly older and all seemed to have a small repertoire of dishes they knew how to cook. A wonderful female, with whom I am lucky to call a friend, often speaks in "food porn". Delicious combinations of food come out of her mouth. She has a bevy of tricks up her sleeves and understands the chemistry of what's happening in the pan. She inspired me. At the same time I was spending a lot of time with another strong female who snacks on pickles and veggies trays. She inspired me.

When living in Denton, TX and working on my Masters degree, my long distance boyfriend (now husband) came to visit. With the knowledge he was a picky eater with a known love of Italian food, I scoured the internet and found a recipe for Rosemary Butternut Squash Lasagna. I spent alllll day following each step to a tee. It was delicious. Seriously, I love this recipe. Be warned, it's super heavy. This ignited a fire within. I can make delicious food.

When I moved back to Austin, TX in 2011, my lovely friends joked about beginning to take pictures of our cooking/baking affairs. Time was not on my side at the moment and now 2013 is now shortly coming to an end. During the past few years, I added cooking and baking to my list of hobbies. I have a love affair with vegetables, seek interesting food presentations and understand the importance of a well-seasoned dish. Over the past three years, my friends and I have gathered to celebrate life with cooking and baking adventures. Beer pairings. Themed movies. Presentations. I want to discuss these soirées and how to plan these adventures; however, I titled this blog Mellow Cookery. I want to share my how I turned from "please don't give me cookware, I don't cook" to "yes please, I'd like a micro-plane". This is casual fun because 99% of us are casual people who just want to eat some tasty food.

Thank you to Maya for your knowledge of Mediterranean cuisine, huge amounts of cilantro and making me appreciate beer. Thank you to Lauren for teaching me to understand the role of what each ingredient does for a dish and expanding my food book library. Thank you to Kim for taking the reigns of delicious food during our living situation when I was too intimidated. Thank you to Katie for being a boss at making events happen and sharing a love tofu and mustard. Thank you to Keeley and Josh, you showed me you can plant a large garden for sustenance, keep chickens in the city and cook homemade meals everyday. Thank you to Dawn who stated she would like a cookbook of my recipes and techniques for the holidays. Thank you to Adam who supports me with every fiber of his being and genuinely loves making noodles from scratch. Thank you to all my friends and family who have eaten my food. Particularly in frugal financial times, it's all I have to give.

Goals:

1.  Retroactively post on past events I've photographed
2.  Discuss food pairings with beer and incorporating beer into recipes
3.  List of themed events with food pairings and how to plan a themed movie night
4.  Link recipes I've followed and loved
5.  Post general guidelines for preparing food (so important and easy to memorize)
6.  Review book recommendations which have helped me understand food
7.  How to fix recipes which have gone awry
8.  Life. Who knows what might come up?

Thank you for your indulgence in my epoch.

The Mellow Cook