Grilled Pancetta Wrapped Salmon Skewers

It’s been quite a while since I’ve written here and I’d like to say it’s because we’ve stopped eating — our waistlines would most likely appreciate it if we had — but sadly, that is not the case.  With my youngest son’s last year of high school recently drawn to a close and my own reinstatement as par-boiled domestic engineer coinciding with that of my son’s accomplishment, I’ve been distracted.  I’ve spent 31 years raising my children and had a busy career for much of it, so one might think that with endless amounts of time to look forward to, I’d roll up my sleeves and get on with whatever I’d wanted to do when time didn’t allow.  Instead, I’ve been involved in perfecting the fine arts of avoidance and procrastination.  Meals I’ve prepared have been relatively simple and those I’ve experimented with and taken the time to shoot have had photos languishing on my hard drive waiting for even the tiniest hint of motivation.  It seems that impending empty nest syndrome is alive and well in Paradise.

My son will be off to college late in August and so I’ve spent quite a bit of time taking stock of our lives.  Sounds heavy, doesn’t it?  Somewhat like pushing away from the table after a huge holiday dinner vowing never to eat again — unless it’s light and healthy, of course.  From a non-food perspective, this would mean we’re taking things lightly this summer — the summer before we’re sans children in residence.  The summer before we look at one another and say, “Where did all those years go, and how did we get to be this old?”

Time flies.

It seems that light, uncomplicated, and nutrient packed food is in order — like salmon.  Maybe we can dupe our bodies into thinking they’re spry again.  It’s a start, right?

This recipe is quick, tasty, and requires little or no prep.  Perfect for warm weather and relaxing times.

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Very Berry Buttermilk Sherbet

I thought I’d have more time to write at this point in the year, but I’ve been preoccupied by my youngest son’s graduation from high school, as well as planning for a fall trip to the UK — our first official empty nest vacation. Is there such a thing?

Both events provide me an excuse to spend time at my Mac even though one is rarely needed.  Who knew that sifting through 18 years of significant world events, pop culture, family photos and memories could be so time consuming?  Each rediscovered piece of a life gives me pause, and I can’t resist indulging myself more time than is necessary to collect this piece or that to add to a collection that will commemorate my son’s big milestone.  Memories of my own graduation day and those of my two older sons have me counting the years since, amazed at how truly quickly they have passed.

When I become too maudlin,  trip planning commences and the details of deciding which route to take from London, how many nights to spend where, and which pubs might best entice us to stop and sample a pint or two gives me something to look forward to. It doesn’t quite distract me from wondering how it will feel after so many years of having growing boys in my house, to have none.

Oh my goodness.

I’d say it’s time for some ice cream, wouldn’t you?  Or what about sherbet?

Definitely.

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Michael Voltaggio’s Indian-Spiced Short Ribs

Garam Masala

Something happened to our Sunday dinners this busy season.  They’re usually what I manage to hang on to after watching our weeknight dinners dissipate one by one from thoughtful, healthy salads and planned entrees, to a quick forage through the wilted inhabitants of my veggie bin for something to saute with rice or pasta.  Throw in some garlic and it’s dinner, right?  Hardly, but it can be eaten in a bowl, sometimes as late as 9:30 p.m. while we’re huddled in our dimly lit family room in front of a recorded show and making weary attempts at questioning one another about the day.

It’s no wonder that looking forward to uninterrupted time in the kitchen draws my attention to the weekend where the result is pleasant time together over a meal that is special — read:  is served on a plate at a reasonable hour.  The idea of “special”  seems to be part of a process to me;  a recipe catches my eye and lingers on the periphery of the minutiae that accumulates in my head, and somehow I manage to remember the main ingredient while on one of my less than stellarly organized grocery shopping trips.  The remembered ingredient is then wedged into my freezer, which just might contain the very same ingredient somewhere in its depths, as a reminder that Sunday dinner is a possibility.  Hopefully, this classifies me as an optimist.

Time goes by.  Other ingredients are collected in other stop-after-work trips to the store for the cat food or laundry detergent I forgot on the previous trip, and because those ingredients are often perishable, they become part of a different meal (see above).  It’s a vicious cycle.

Finally, the day arrives as it does each year.  Busy season ends, and glimmers of a normal life surface.  The long-awaited day in the kitchen and meal are planned and the big question looms:  Will it have been  worth the wait?

Absolutely.

(And this has nothing to do, of course, with the fact that Chef Voltaggio not only took the time to comment on my effort, but put a shout-out about my speck in the food universe on his site, Voltaggio Brothers in “Food Writing.”)

A gracious and hearty thanks to Michael Voltaggio!

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“Pasteria” with Balsamic Strawberries and Basil

I love ricotta, but I’ve never had truly fresh ricotta, so I decided to make my own.  It requires very little time, no special equipment, and few ingredients, so I was able to prepare it one evening, then drain it over night for use the next day.  I had no idea what I might make with it once it was finished, but that’s the story of my life right now.  How bad could it be to simply nibble on fresh ricotta sprinkled with sea salt and perhaps a drizzle of fruity extra virgin olive oil?  Of course, sprinkling it over a nice salad could be fabulous as well.  Perfectly simple, right?

Simple seems never to be in my repertoire.

With less than a week until Easter and no real plans for a holiday meal in the works, I decided to look for dessert recipes that included ricotta and almost immediately found quite a few for a traditional Easter Pie, or in some cases, Pasteria.  It’s like a cheesecake, but it’s made with ricotta and grain.  Although the grain is most often wheat, some recipes use rice.  Others are made with a crust and latticed top — but some are completely without either — and leave it to me to make one in the least traditional way possible, lacking crust, wheat, and candied fruit.

This small dessert is perfect for spring, or when berries are at their best.

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Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

Yesterday was my oldest son’s birthday, and although I do make him a cake from one year to the next (he’s 31),  I didn’t this year.   Retrospectively, I did decide that the cupcakes made as a Valentine’s Day treat for my two remaining menfolk-in-residence might be as good a reason as any to coerce me to sit and write something in celebration.  My oldest loves chocolate cake, and had I asked what he might enjoy for his birthday, he’d have said chocolate.  Anything with chocolate.  Like his mother, he can do without the calories, so I think it’s fitting this year that a photo of a birthday cupcake take the place of the real McCoy as long as I can get him to look at my blog.  I’m not holding my breath because as my grandmother would have said, the chances are “slim to none and Slim’s on a fast train out of town.”

Where was I?

Cupcakes.  True to form, I haven’t tried either the cake or frosting recipe before, but have tried many others from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.  This is the book I go to when I want to experiment.  If you’re not familiar with it, you won’t see glossy photos of each recipe.  It’s more of a work horse cookbook.  What sets it apart from other cookbooks is the way the ingredients are listed.  Measurements are provided by volume and weight which makes it quite easy to divide a recipe or to adjust ingredient quantities.  Cakes are presented in one section and toppings in another and although Beranbaum makes suggestions about which go best together, I enjoy considering all the options.  Each recipe also contains a brief section on “understanding” where the science is explained.  As much as I’ve been an avid cook most of my life, I don’t always understand how or why certain ingredients interact with one another, so it’s helpful to understand what may not work when I’m experimenting.

What caught my attention with this recipe was the brown sugar — not something I’m used to seeing in a recipe for chocolate cake.  Equally interesting was the recipe for the buttercream.  Yes, it has an alarming amount of butter in it (hence the name “butter” cream…), but it’s made with egg whites instead of egg yolks, and they aren’t cooked as they would be in a mousseline buttercream.  Both recipes work quite nicely with one another and make a very chocolatey combo that the resident menfolk finished off in a couple of bites — even if it wasn’t in celebration of either of their birthdays.

Speaking of birthdays, Sass & Veracity turns a big three years old this month and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than to share with you that Saveur magazine has graciously nominated me in their 1st Annual Best Food Blog Awards in the “Best Individual Post” category.  I’m very honored considering those whose work is sitting alongside mine.  They understand the time and effort it takes to put a good post together — let alone two or three in a week.  The post Saveur has chosen to focus on is one I wrote after returning from Puerto Vallarta last spring at about the time that H1N1 was gaining momentum.  A group of friends and I met there in celebration of a 40th birthday only to find that we may have trouble getting back across the border.  We didn’t, of course, and thankfully I was able to have fun with my own version of Mexican street tacos, which have absolutely nothing to do with chocolate fudge cupcakes or birthdays.

Are you with me?

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Tamales with Pibil-Style Pork and Guajillo Sauce

Have you ever made tamales?  No, not tamale pie.  My mother used to make that and as much as I enjoyed her cooking, tamale pie would not have been one of my favorites.  From what I can remember, it was noticeably sweet, and comprised of hamburger, corn, and canned tomatoes.  I’m not going to blame this on my mother, because I know it was the recipe.  Tamale pie could never compare to homemade tamales.

The only source of comparison I have is that of local women who tempt office workers with their once-a-week offerings, wrapped in foil, and still piping hot.  They’re amazing and so of course it’s a challenge to not eat one before taking them home to share for dinner.  I’d say that’s a fairly good model to work from.

Often, tamales are made with dried corn husks, the masa, or corn meal and filling spread on the inside of a dried corn husk, or fresh banana leaf before steaming.  The filling can be anything imaginable, and often is depending on who traditionally makes the tamales, and what region of Mexico or the Southwest U.S. they’re from.

If you’ve been studying Mexican cooking like I have the past few years, the idea of banana leaves wrapped around a savory filling is quite tempting; it sounds so exotic! A glance out my patio window focuses in on the not so big non-fruit bearing variegated leaf banana plant I’ve been nurturing as a possible source.  No, I’d have to depend on a local market, which shouldn’t be a challenge in San Diego considering the influence of Mexican cooking, but it is.

When I first happened on to the lone 4-lb. package of huge sections of banana tree leaves recently, I grabbed it knowing I’d procrastinated long enough and could now make my own homemade tamales. I knew I didn’t need four pounds of leaves, so attempted quite unsuccessfully to separate them.  Unfortunately, the leaf strips were enormous and all folded together, so my efforts in trying to avoid waste ended up creating something worse.  The leaves began to split, making them useless for the next shopper’s tamales.

Thankfully, my first attempt at tamales was a success thanks to the help of a very good friend.  Between the two of us, influence from a few good recipes, and a make-shift steamer, a few split banana leaves caused very few problems.

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