Southern (California) Fried Red Tomatoes

This is a fun variation on that Southern standard, using fresh red tomatoes instead of green. Serves 2.

Filling:

• 3 or 4 oz. very firm cream cheese (we like Sierra Nevada cream cheese, sold in a tub; if using the block type like Philly, use 50% more parmesan)
• 1 C. finely grated parmesan-reggiano cheese
• 2 tsp. Herbes de Provence
• 1 tsp. Aleppo pepper
• Salt/pepper/garlic powder to taste

Tomato:

• 1 very large or 2 medium tomatoes, sliced into four 1/2 inch thick slices

Panko Breading:

• Panko bread crumbs (about 1 C. in a flat bowl)
• 1 egg, whisked in a flat bowl with 2 TBL Half-and-Half or milk
• Flour (about 1 C. in a flat bowl)

Prep:

Form the cheeses and seasonings into two patties about 1/2 inch thick, with the same diameter as the tomatoes.  Put the cheese filling between 2 slices tomato; set aside. 

Heat extra virgin olive oil and butter in a nonstick pan (about 6 TBL oil and 2 TBL butter), being careful not to burn.  Bread the tomatoes by dipping first in flour (shake off excess), then in the egg, then press gently into the panko on both sides. 

Saute over low heat until golden on both sides.  You want the cheese inside to be warm but not too melty.  Remove from heat and let rest for a minute or two. 

Serve with a knife and fork, expect it to be messy; and enjoy!

H2 Uh-Oh!

When we think about local food, we tend to think about...well... food.  But in a Homer Simpson slap-to-the-forehead "DOH!" moment, we realized that good ol' tap water also needs to be on our radar screen.  Last year, we made the decision to buy BPA-free water bottles to use with our filtered tap water in an attempt to (a) drink more water by keeping track of it, (b) stop purchasing an appalling number of plastic bottles, and (c) save money in the process.  Mission accomplished on all three fronts, but more importantly, we've learned that we are also drinking cleaner, healthier water in the process. 

Most communities in the U.S. have strict monitoring requirements for tap water; it turns out that  bottled water is actually subject to less testing than tap water in the U.S.  For example, while there are regulatory standards limiting phthalates in tap water, there are no legal limits for phthalates in bottled water because of the bottled water industry's successful campaign to stop the FDA from setting a legal limit. 

Environmentally, the billions of single-use plastic bottles contribute to global warming on the production and distribution side, and they clog landfills and even the ocean on the disposal side. Most bottles aren't recycled, and even those that are require additional fossil fuel in the process.  And here's a really crazy stat for you: according to The Pacific Institute, it takes 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water.

There are many environmental and food choices that are complicated and difficult to implement, but this one is pretty much a no-brainer.  Obviously, there are many situations when we can't avoid disposables; but for the most part, you'll find us hauling around our snazzy REI waterbottles, feeling healthy, virtuous, and frugal.   

For a very thorough discussion of this issue, go to Mother Nature Network.

Organic Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Posted by the Teenager:  These are the most delicious chocolate chip cookies on earth.  That says it all.

1 ¾ C. organic all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

½ Lb (2 sticks) organic unsalted butter (we like Straus Family Creamery), softened

¾ C. organic brown sugar

¾ C. organic granulated sugar

1 tsp. Tahitian Vanilla extract

2 organic free-range eggs

½ C. rolled oats, ground in a mill or mini-food processer

½ C. rolled oats

3 pkgs (3.5 oz. each) high quality organic milk chocolate (we like Green & Black’s), coarsely chopped into random sized chunks

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.  In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugars, and vanilla until fluffy.  Mix in the eggs; beat well.  Gradually add the flour mixture and beat well.  Stir in the oats and chocolate.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets and bake in preheated 375 degree oven until the edges start to brown , about 9 minutes.  (To keep the cookies chewy, the middles should not quite be firm yet when you remove them.  As they sit, the cookies will continue to cook and firm up).  Let stand on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes and then place on wire racks to cool completely.

Note:  This dough freezes extremely well, so we like to bake up only as many cookies as we need for the next day.  We scoop the remaining batter onto a baking sheet and place in the freezer for a few hours until firm, then put them into a freezer bag.  You can then remove as many as you need and bake straight from the freezer (they will need a minute or two longer in the oven).  Mmmm….freshly baked cookies on demand!

Food, Farms, the Feds, and You

As comfortable residents of a sprawling suburbia, what on earth does the US Farm Bill have to do with us?  More than you can imagine, as it turns out.  The Government's food policies are far-reaching and directly affect the food choices that are available to us.  The Farm Bill, which Congress votes on roughly every 5 years, is coming up for a vote in 2012.  You can be certain that lobbyists are hard at work making sure that policies and subsidies continue to benefit their multi-billion dollar agribusiness clients for whom the value of food is just another commodity to be measured on a financial statement. 

What's needed is a counterbalance in support of local/sustainable/organic/small-scale farming.  We can make our voices heard by demanding farm policies that help those farmers who engage in sustainable farming practices.  These methods produce tastier, healthier food while protecting our water, air and land.  It's also good for local economies and jobs.  Here's a concise description of the Farm Bill.

A simple way to get involved is to go to the Union of Concerned Scientists webpage and tell your Congress members to support farmer's markets and local food initiatives. 

Tofu-Cashew Lettuce Wraps

This is an excellent vegetarian meal, and is sure to please all lovers of Asian cuisine.

10 green onions

4 cloves garlic, minced

Fresh ginger (large thumb-sized), finely grated

1 12-oz. package extra-firm tofu, diced

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1/3 C. chopped cashews

Stir-fry quickly in a hot wok, using peanut or canola oil, adding ingredients one at a time in the order above.  Add:

½ tsp. Vulcan’s Fire Salt (from The Spice House)

½ tsp. crushed Aleppo pepper

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. sesame oil

2 Tbl. soy sauce

4 Tbl. oyster sauce

1 Tbl. Mirin (sweetened Saki, found in well stocked grocery stores)

Combine by tossing quickly, and serve on romaine lettuce leaves.  Wrap the lettuce around the filling and eat like a taco.  Serves 2 (or 4 if you can control yourself).

This recipe may also be used in our chilly SoCal winter nights J by serving with angel hair pasta instead of the lettuce.  If you do that, it’s also nice to add finely julienned slices of cucumber, to add some extra crunch.

Seared Ahi Bruschetta

This recipe works well as part of a "small plates" meal, or can serve as a hearty appetizer.

Prep the following:

Crostini:

1 good quality French baguette

Extra –Virgin olive oil

Good-quality salt

Thinly slice the baguette and place slices on a baking sheet.  Brush generously with high quality extra-virgin olive oil (we love the oils from California Olive Ranch), and sprinkle with salt (we like Himalayan fine pink salt) and freshly ground black pepper.  Bake at 350 degrees until golden; start checking at 5 minutes and stay close by – these go from golden to blackened pretty quickly.

Peppercorn-seared Ahi:

A 5-6 oz. filet (approx.. ¾ to 1-inch thick) of very good quality Ahi

Coarsely ground black pepper

This should be made ahead of time, since it needs to chill in the fridge. 

Spread crushed black pepper on cutting board. Press Ahi into the pepper (try the Lampong Black Indonesian pepper from the Spice House).  Repeat on other side.  Sear quickly on both sides in a preheated hot sauté pan for approximately 1 minute on each side.  The center should remain quite red.

Aoili:

½ C. mayonnaise (homemade or good quality store bought)

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tsp. good quality garlic powder or 1 clove crushed garlic

1 tsp. Dijon or brown mustard

Salt and pepper to taste (store mayo may not need salt)

Combine and let flavors mingle for at least ½ hour.

To assemble the bruschetta, top each crostini slice with:

A dollop of crème fraiche

Slice of peppercorn-seared Ahi

Sliced avocado

Cilantro

Dollop of aioli

Serve immediately.

In search of local olive oil

We use lots of extra virgin olive oil in our cooking .  LOTS.  So we set out to find a more local source than the tasty oil we've been buying from Turkey.  Fortunately we quickly stumbled upon olive oil from California Olive Ranch in Oroville, CA.  (Yes, it more than 100 miles away, but at least it's in the same state).  They have single varietals as well as an excellent everyday EVOO.  Our favorite varietal at the moment is Arbosana, but the four we've tried are all excellent (there are a total of 7 on their website).  California Olive Ranch seems to be doing the right things in terms of sustainable practices and sourcing.  And best of all, they distribute through Whole Foods, Sprouts, Mother's, and even Albertsons.  So unless we can find a similar quality olive oil closer to SoCal, we've got our new house brand.

Community Supported Agriculture

Sunday is pickup day for our crate of produce from Tanaka Farms' Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).  We joined this CSA a couple of months ago to help support local farmers while enjoying fresh, seasonal, local fruits and veggies.  Our travels this summer to France and Nova Scotia convinced us that we really need to shop locally for the highest quality produce -- every market we shopped in gave detailed information about the where their food came from.  Foods that are grown to survive days or weeks of transportation are NOT foods that are grown for their taste.  Our mantra has become: choose local over distant, and organic over pesticides. 

Our bounty today was zucchini, oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, basil, kale, green beans, and soybeans.  We have gotten a lot of kale in the past few weeks, and we've been simmering it until tender and then freezing it to add to soup when the weather turns cool.  We definitely plan to make Zucchini Frittercakes, fresh squeezed orange juice, Edamame, and Salad Nicoise in the next few days; and we'll see what else we dream up to do with the rest of our haul...    

Chili-Cheese Enchiladas with Mole

These are fairly simple to prepare, and are best when you use the freshest tortillas you can find.  Check out our local suggestion, Flor de Mexicali in Santa Ana, for some authentic, made-that-very-day tortillas.

Serves 4

Molé Sauce

3 Dried Chili Ancho pods

3 Tbl. Serrano Chili jelly

1/3 C. ground pumpkin seeds, hulled

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 C. vegetable stock

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Reconstitute the Chili Ancho pods in hot water for 6 hours, until well softened. Do not discard the soaking liquid.  De-seed the chilies and put in blender. Add Serrano Chili jelly, pumpkin seeds, garlic, ½ C. of the soaking liquid, and half of the vegetable stock.  Pulse a few times to combine, then slowly add as much of the remaining veggie stock until the consistency is thick but easily pourable. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Filling:

3 fire-roasted Pasilla Chilies* - skinned, seeded, membranes removed, sliced into strips

¼ lb. Jack or CoJack cheese, sliced into 8 (½ “ by ½ “ by 3”) fingers

1 Maui or other sweet onion, sliced, slowly cooked to translucent (not browned)

8 fresh corn tortillas

Cotija cheese for topping

Assemble the enchiladas:

Evenly divide the chilies, onion, and Jack or CoJack cheese; place on the tortillas and roll each one tightly.  Pour ½ the Molé Sauce in a baking dish, and place the enchiladas seam side down on top of the sauce.  Pour the remaining sauce on top, and sprinkle with crumbled Cotija cheese.  Bake at 375 degree for ½ hour or until cheese bubbles.

* Char the Pasilla chilies over a grill or gas flame until blistered and blackened on all sides.  Let cool; then peel the skin and remove seeds and membranes.  At this point, the chilies may be frozen for later use (we usually do a whole bunch at once to have on hand.  **WARNING** These can put out some major fumes, so work in a well-ventilated area, and we recommend using gloves to peel them, especially if you wear contacts or will be touching your eyes at any point that day!

In Search of Fresh, Local Tortillas

Posted by the Sous Chef:

Our search for local foods prompted a conversation a couple of weeks ago about tortillas (a staple in this household).  I was appalled to realize that my favorite corn tortillas were produced in Texas.  TEXAS??!!  I immediately set out to rectify this, but when I started looking at all the tortilla choices at the market, none were from anywhere in California.  How can this be? 

So I did a little searching on the Web and discovered a tortillaria in nearby Santa Ana.  The Chef and I made the trip to Flor de Mexicali on Bristol and discovered the real deal.  Made fresh on the premises, just the smell of these tortillas transported me back to my pre-school days when my beloved babysitter Aurora made tortillas by hand in her cozy kitchen.  As she taught me Spanish words, she would roll and pat, cook, and serve these simple delicacies hot off the flames with butter, salt and sour cream.  Mmmmm...heaven!

Flor de Mexico is now on our Saturday morning to-do list.  We can't get enough of these tasty tortillas, and we are especially happy to support a small, local specialized business that knows what they're doing; and they do it very, very well. 

Scallop Ceviche on Cucumber and Jicama

This works great as an appetizer, especially when served on sliced cukes and jicama rather than the more typical tortilla chips. 

Bay Scallop Ceviche on Cucumber & Jicama

½ Lb. Bay scallops

1/3 C. small dice red peppers

6 green onions, chopped

1/3 C. firmly packed Cilantro, rough chop

Juice of 2 limes

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt & ground black pepper to taste

Halve the larger bay scallops, then place all ingredients in a bowl.  Combine; let marinate for 6 hours.

Serve on sliced jicama and cucumber.

The Slow Food $5 Challenge

So today we are joining the Slow Foods USA $5 Challenge, where we are asked to prepare a tasty meal using as many local ingredients as possible for $5 per person (which is about the price of a fast food meal).  We are having friends over, and are looking forward to sharing the meal with them.  After purchasing everything we needed, we are coming in at a little over $4.50 per person - not including wine :)  The teenager is having his own under $5 meal since our tastes run a little exotic for him.  Here are the menus; we'll let you know how it goes...


Menu #1:
Bay scallop ceviche on cucumber slices
Chili-cheese enchiladas with mole
Zucchini frittercakes
Apple Crisp

Menu #2:
Panko-breaded chicken fingers
Buttered pasta shells 
Organic seedless red grapes
Organic chocolate chip cookies

Antidote to the heat wave: Ice Cream!

Posted by the Sous Chef: 

These  blazing hot days call for the cool pleasure of homemade ice cream.  Here's my favorite recipe, which we love for several reasons.  It is much lower in fat than most of the decadent ice creams we know and love, yet tastes fantastic.  It is ridiculously easy to make.  And it's made from all organic ingredients.  The secret (as with all cooking) is in using excellent ingredients, so make sure the vanilla is pure Tahitian.  The prep time is literally about 3 minutes, so relax and enjoy!

1 quart organic Half-and-Half (we love Straus Family Creamery)

1 C. organic sugar

1 tsp. Tahitian vanilla extract

Pinch of organic brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl; mix well.  Pour into prepared ice cream maker; process for 20-25 minutes.  It will be soft and creamy, but will firm up after a few hours in the freezer.

In Search of a French Baguette in O.C.

Posted by The Chef:

Having just returned from an extended stay in France where we enjoyed the pleasures of French foods, I embarked on an attempt to find a faithful reproduction of one of the simplest pleasures, the French baguette - a real piece of bread. I went looking for bread with a crunchy exterior and a chewy, somewhat open grained interior.  I went looking for bread like the bread we ate everyday in France; morning, noon, and night; every meal had this wonderful bread.

How hard could it be to find an acceptable baguette in Orange County?  Answer: I am still searching for an authentic reproduction.

I knew going into the search that the fat, spongy, fine grained thing that our grocery stores bake and place in a paper bag with “French Bread” written on it would not satisfy.  Unfortunately, what I found so far – with a couple of exceptions - hasn’t much been better.

Here are my initial results:

Pascal Epicerie: Grade = F

I figured this would be the winner going in and my search could quickly end. Surely you’d think this Frenchman would have the baguette thing down.  He runs a set of exceptional restaurants and his Epicerie has a nice selection of French products, including a very nice wine selection and moderate prices.  Regretfully, this was the worst baguette. It was completely void of taste, though it did have a pleasing crunch (but eating crunchy nothing is not what I was looking for).  The interior texture was totally wrong: fine grained like store bought sliced white bread (the latter actually has a better taste).  All in all, this was very disappointing.

Whole Foods Organic Baguette: Grade = C

Once again, I am amazed at the mediocrity of Whole Foods’ overall quality of food.  It may be one of (if not THE) best grocery store(s) in Orange County, but when I compare it to virtually any large grocery store in France, it simply doesn’t compare.  While the baguette’s taste was okay (though it needed a saltier bite) and the texture was okay (except it wasn’t chewy enough), the major problem was the totally wrong texture of the crust.  I think the crust would probably be fine if they didn’t stick the loaves into a sealed bag – something you will never see at a boulangerie in France!  The stack the loaves vertically in baskets to keep that perfect *crunch* and there’s no reason Whole Foods shouldn’t do the same.

La Brea Bakery (purchased at Albertson’s): Grade = B-

Texture was good – nice and chewy.  The taste was good as well, but needed a saltier bite also.  Unfortunately, the crust suffered from the similar treatment as Whole Foods – not the crunch and mouthfeel of a perfect baguette.

So apparently this will be an ongoing saga…the search continues…

Zucchini Frittercakes

The Chef came up with this recipe in order to use up some of this season's bounty of zucchini.  Delicious as a side dish, or, to satisfy the Sous Chef's vegetarian leanings, as a small plate main dish as well.  Because it's so light and moist, it doesn't require a sauce.

2 C. grated zucchini (1 medium-large zucchini)

1/3 C. finely diced shallots or red onion

1/3 C finely diced celery

1/3 C finely diced red pepper or minced red jalapeno (no membranes or seeds)

1 egg yolk plus 1 whole egg

1 C. Fresh breadcrumbs

1/3 C. finely grated Parmesan-Reggiano

2 tsp. Fines Herbes

Salt, pepper, garlic to taste

Mix thoroughly. 



Form into four 1” high patties (squeezing out excess juice if needed), and lightly dip both sides into Panko breading.  These are really delicate so handle gently! 

Sauté over a low to medium flame until golden brown in equal parts olive oil/butter mixture, CAREFULLY turning once (total cooking time 10-14 minutes).  

Delicious as is; but if you’re in the mood for a little decadence, serve with Remoulade or Lemon Beurre Blanc.

Welcome to the Orange County Locavore

What is a locavore? It is someone who attempts to eat food that is grown as near to their dining location as possible. It is part of the slow food movement - the antithesis of "fast food" (i.e., over processed, franchised establishments or out of a box meal that has been microwaved). It is food meant to be nutritious, good tasting, and eco-friendly.  It s a bit idealistic at times but then again we should all try to place the bar a little higher for ourselves and the environment than "fast food" and microwaved meals.

The OC Locavore Blog is about finding ways to grocery shop, cook, eat, dine, drink, etc in Orange County, California that is healthy for both you and the environment.