Paella...My New Best Friend

Yes, I know, this is not the long promised post on nut milks and cool recipes I've been developing with them. I'll try to get around to that in the next few days.
In the meantime, I shall gush over paella.

Now, let me say: I've never had the "traditional" paella. Something to do with tentacles and peculiar sea life I'd much rather see through a dive mask than on my plate. But a few weeks ago, I was browsing cooking videos on the New York Times site, and came across a gorgeous looking recipe for Tomato Paella. I decided that "one of these days," I'd have to give it a try since I planted WAY too many tomato plants for the 2nd year in a row.

Well today, autumn descended with a vengeance and I saw dozens of Sungold Cherry Tomatoes, Brandywine, Lemon Boy and Roma tomatoes that were ripe and ready to rot in the changing weather. Unfortunately, I didn't have some of the other ingredients that Mark Bittman's recipe called for. So... I improvised.

Karen's Variation of Tomato Paella (changes from the Bittman recipe are in blue)
3 cups stock made from Better than Bouillon (available @ Trader Joe's)
1/2 cup Sauvignon Blanc
1 1/2 pounds cored tomatoes, in wedges (I used Lemon Boy, Roma & Brandywine fresh from the garden)
Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (organic, of course)
1 medium onion, minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon organic tomato paste
Large pinch of saffron threads (Trader Joe's has a decently priced bottle)
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 cups sushi rice (I live in WASHINGTON, not exactly the hotbed for Spanish rice)
Chopped parsley for garnish (and a really wonderful flavor when combined with the tomatoes)

I followed Mark Bittman's assembly instructions precisely. In terms of equipment, I used one of my well loved cast iron skillets and had to roast the dish for 18 minutes. Then I let it sit in the turned-off-oven for 10 minutes.

It's a DELICIOUS dish. I think it would work best as a side dish served promptly. But I'm going out of town tomorrow and will bring the leftovers, so that should be a real test of the recipe's utility for things like potlucks or picnics.

Sometimes the best recipe is the simplest

Last night was hot. I really did not feel like cooking, but I had just done a Trader Joe's run, so I really had no excuse. And then it dawned on me: my garden has gone nuts:



So... I REALLY had no excuse. I mean, I can barely keep up with my mesclun greens and the bok choy.

So, I steamed 2 small beets over rosemary water, tossed them with olive oil, fresh rosemary, sea salt and fresh ground pepper and served them with a mesclun salad.

Simple. Easy. And oh...so...good.

Breakfast Frittata w/Morningstar Breakfast Sausage

As my family likes to say, "this tastes like more!"

Ingredients:
1/2 medium Yellow Onion
1 clove Garlic
1 - 2 Tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Lg Beet Green Leaf
1/2 palm of Chard leaves (I used Trader Joe's Chard of Many Colors bag)
2 Organic Eggs
Couple of gentle shakes of Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Pinch of Herbes de Provence

2 Morningstar Breakfast Patties

1 slice of whole grain toast (I used TJ's Organic Flax Seed Bread)

Tools Used:
6" cast iron skillet; paring knife (I REALLY need to get a new one; mine is crazy dull); toaster oven; container for mixing eggs; glass cutting board (easier to clean than plastic or wood)

Instructions:
Heat the oil over medium heat. Slice the onion in half rounds. Dice the garlic. Toss the garlic and the onion in the skillet and stir periodically (NewsFlash: Apparently, onion and garlic sauteed in olive and canola oil, before adding anything else, keeps the oil from producing free radicals. Source). Meanwhile, coarsely chop the beet greens and the chard. Stir the onions and garlic, then place the greens on top of them. Turn the heat to low and cover the veggies with a lid. Meanwhile, place 2 sausage patties in the toaster oven at 400 degrees. Then gently mix two eggs with a pinch of Herbes de Provence. Uncover the veggies and stir them. Salt and pepper sparingly. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and cover with the lid again. Take the sausage out of the toaster oven and add the bread. Lightly toast it. While the bread is toasting, flip the frittata.

Once the toast is ready, choose your favorite FRESH fruit as an accompaniment (my choice: Organic Red Bartlett Pears), and assemble your plate like so:

Bon Appetit!

Copper River Salmon Sushi

1/2 lb Copper River Salmon (I used Sockeye)
2 1/2 Tb Rice Vinegar
1 Tb Sea Salt
1 bag Trader Joe's Frozen Brown Rice
1 - 2 tsp Sesame Seeds
4 Nori sheets
A couple Asparagus stalks (mine were frozen Trader Joe's variety)
Some Baby Carrots, julienned
Couple of leaves of Purple Basil
Small container of water to wet your fingers

Overnight:
Marinate the salmon in the rice vinegar and salt.

Microwave the brown rice, per instructions. While that's going, take out the salmon and cut it in strips about 1/4" thick. When the rice is ready, mix it with the sesame seeds. Lay a Nori sheet on a bamboo sushi roller, and lightly dampen the surface with your fingers and the water. Arrange the ingredients as you like. I preferred this order: rice, salmon, carrots, asparagus, basil. Roll your roll. At this point you might flirt with the idea of slicing it up. Don't. Brown rice isn't sticky rice and will fall out everywhere. Just eat the roll.

どうぞめしあがれ!
(Japanese equivalent of Bon Appetit)