About 
Hi there, I'm Rose. I love to cook food - and eat it. If you have any questions concerning any of my recipes, drop me a line at:
Contact:
rose [at] avocadobravado.net
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I don’t have a lot of cookbooks, probably about 4 total. The one I use the most is The Joy of Cooking, which I really like but I often find the recipes to be hit or miss. I use Joy mostly for reference, to learn about the various cuts of meats, setting a table, cutting open a fish, etc. My mom sent me Claudia Roden’s The New Book of Middle Eastern Food for my birthday and I’m delighted to finally have a cookbook that will become a regular in my kitchen. I’ve already spent hours flipping through its pages and I’ve planned all our meals for the week using nothing but recipes from the book. First up, meatballs with pine nuts and tomato sauce, also known as Daoud Basha (David Pasha). The dish gets its name from the Ottoman pasha who administered Mt. Lebanon in the 18th century, though I can’t find much more information about that. Some sources (who didn’t cite any references) said that Daoud Basha was something of a tyrant. In any case though, the meatballs named after him are absolutely delicious. The sweetness from the raisins is a great touch. Do make sure to get most out of your pine nuts by toasting them, it really does make all the difference.
Daoud Basha
(adapted from Claudia Roden’s The New Book of Middle Eastern food)
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a slice of bread (optional)
milk (if using bread)
1 1/2 pounds ground meat (lamb or beef, preferably lamb)
1 large onion, grated or finely chopped
salt & pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon all spice
2/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup raisins
2 pounds tomatoes
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cloves garlic
Preheat oven to 400F.
Toast the pine nuts by heating a small pan over a medium flame. Add pine nuts and stir frequently for 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant and slightly golden. Remove from heat and set aside.
Add a slice of bread to a large bowl. The amount of milk you will need depends on the size of the slice of bread. Cover the bread with just enough milk and let the bread soak up the liquid for a few minutes. Now add the ground meat, onion, salt, pepper, coriander, pine nuts, and raisins. Roll the balls into the size of walnuts and place them onto a foil-lined baking sheet coated with oil.
Brush the meatballs with oil and bake them for 15-20 minutes. Cut up tomatoes and blend them in a food processor or blender. Add a little salt and pepper, sugar, garlic, and pour over the meatballs. Bake for 35 minutes, turning meatballs over once. Serve hot.
Serves 4-6
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It was warm today. By warm, I mean 61 degrees (16 Celsius) without a single cloud in the sky. The warmest months in San Francisco are September and October. So spring and summer days when the sky is brilliantly blue and relatively warm are sacred and must be taken advantage of. I assembled a quick lunch, mostly consisting of leftovers – salmon salad sandwiches, candied cashews, an orange, and this potato salad. Then Cory and I headed to a nearby park on Haight street and basked in the sun for two hours, nibbling on food, reading books, and people watching. In typical Rose fashion, I “basked in the sun” in black boots, a black sweater, and a scarf. Clearly, I haven’t changed much since my days as a teenage goth. Well, except I no longer dab my face with white powder, black lipstick, or write bad poetry. Whew, glad that part of my life is over.
Though Salad Olivieh is a Persian potato salad, the actual origin of the dish is thought to be Russian. I turned my nose up to potato salad for most of my life, but I now have a soft spot for it. I loved the contrasting flavors in this dish, the sourness from the lemons, saltiness from the pickles, and the sweetness from the peas. Definitely a new summer favorite.
Salad Olivieh
(adapted from Turmeric and Saffron)
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6 large potatoes (boiled, peeled, and chopped into bite-sized pieces)
2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into bite sized pieces
1 1/2 cups-2 cups mayonnaise
4 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
3 dill pickles, chopped
1 cup frozen baby peas
1 cup frozen chopped carrots
salt & pepper, to taste
juice of 1-2 lemons
2 tablespoons olive oil
In a large bowl, mix together mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Season to taste. Fold in the potatoes, chicken breasts, eggs, pickles, peas, and carrots. Chill for at least an hour before serving. Optionally, garnish with extra vegetables.
Serves 6-8
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I love the addition of dried fruits to savory dishes and this chicken dish is no exception. It’s similar to a tagine, but I decided to serve it with rice instead of couscous. Cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, and coriander blend nicely into the apricots and raisins, and the addition of cashews made for a nice crunch. I found the two tablespoons of sugar to be a perfect amount without being too overpowering, but cut back on the sugar or leave it out entirely if you’re worried the dish may be too sweet.
Chicken with Apricots and Raisins
(adapted from Food Gal)
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4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
salt
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
cayenne pepper or red chili flakes, to taste
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons cashew pieces or slivered almonds
1 tablespoon rose water
freshly chopped parsley or cilantro, for garnish
Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Sprinkle half of the spice mixture over the chicken.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat, when hot add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, or until browned. Flip the chicken over and cook for another five minutes, or until browned. Transfer chicken to a paper-towel lined plate and set aside.
Add a little more oil to the pot and add the onion. Cook until the onion has softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the spices, lime juice, sugar, and let the mixture come to a boil and stir. Add the broth and return the chicken to the pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Stir in apricots, raisins, cashews and continue to cook, covered, for another 20 or so minutes, or until chicken is done. Just before serving, stir in the rosewater. Serve with rice or couscous. Garnish with parsley or cilantro.
Serves 2-3
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Some people are really into cakes, cookies, and cupcakes. That’s fine and all, but when it comes to desserts I can never get enough of rice pudding. All I need is rice, sugar, and milk to keep me happy. Since rice is a staple food to a large chunk of the world’s population, there are no shortages of rice pudding variations. I rarely ever make rice pudding without cow’s milk. and it had been a long time since I’ve made rice pudding with coconut milk. Of course, I always wonder why because it’s so good. The end result is creamy, just sweet enough, warmly spiced with cardamom and cinnamon, and topped with pureed mango (don’t skip on the mango if you can!). I chose to use arborio rice for its creaminess, but just about any sort of rice will do.
Coconut Mango Rice Pudding
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28 oz coconut milk
1/3 cup sugar
a couple pinches of salt
1/2 cup rice (I used arborio)
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 mango, pureed
Add coconut milk, sugar, salt, rice, cardamom, and cinnamon to a large saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and add the rice. Reduce heat to low, stir often, and simmer for 30-35 minutes, or until rice is chewy and tender. Remove pudding from heat until cool enough to eat. Ladle pudding into serving bowls and top with pureed mango.
Serves 4
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This was not the soup I originally set out to make. Yesterday as I went into the kitchen to start dinner, I opened up Sara Jenkins’ Olives & Oranges and had every intention to make Vellutata di Carote (Velvety Carrot Soup). Once I finished peeling and chopping the carrots and potatoes, I closed the cookbook and suddenly found myself cutting up ginger. I’ll make Sara Jenkin’s velvety carrot soup some other time, but I was ultimately looking for something more medicinal and comforting. 1/3 cup of ginger may seem a lot, but I thought it was the perfect amount – distinctly ginger-y without being too overpowering. If you keep up with this blog at all, surely you’ve noticed that I add curry powder to just about everything. It gives the soup a bit of a kick, but leave it out if you’re looking for something a bit more simple.
Oh, and for absolutely no reason whatsoever, here are some pictures from our trip to the beach on Saturday. Even after living in San Francisco for a year, I still find a new reason to fall in love with this city everyday.
Hello, ocean.
I would have complained how cold and windy it was if it weren’t so beautiful.
Sutro Baths. A public swimming pool (the largest in the world at the time) built in 1896.
The building housing the baths burned down in 1966, and was subsequently abandoned.
As a child of the Rust Belt, I’m used to seeing abandoned factories and businesses, but
it was really strange to see ruins like this.
Sutro Baths.
This sounded a lot like “WHOOSH-AHH!” Also, I couldn’t help but think of the opening of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos when I saw this.
Cory & I.
Carrot and Ginger Soup
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2 pounds of carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/3 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 cups stock, vegetable or chicken
1 teaspoon curry powder (optional)
salt & pepper
Optional garnishes: freshly chopped cilantro, parsley, chives, yogurt, sour cream, creme fraiche, heavy whipping cream
Heat oil in a large stockpot. Add onion and cook until onions are tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add ginger and cook for another few minutes. Add stock, potatoes, and carrots and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until carrots and potatoes are very tender. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return the soup back to the pot and season with curry powder, salt, and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve.
Serves 4-6
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