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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:
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rose [at] avocadobravado.net
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Five years ago, I picked up French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. I wasn’t fat, but I definitely weighed more than I would have liked. About 30 pounds more. I wanted to maintain a healthy and balanced diet, but I had no idea how to even begin such a thing. I had no relationship or history with real food. I didn’t know how to cook. I didn’t know the slightest thing about nutrition. Like a lot of American kids who were born in the 1980s, food meant Happy Meals, Lunchables, and blue moon ice cream (okay, maybe blue moon ice cream is a Michigan kid thing). I was still in the mindset that if something was “organic”, it was better for you. In my case, that often meant justifying eating a box of cookies a tub of ice cream every week because it was organic.
The main message I took away from French Women Don’t Get Fat was that I could eat anything I’d like - in moderation. As far as I was concerned at the time, I ate in moderation, especially compared to my childhood. I’ve since grown to really hate the term “in moderation” because it means something different to everyone. Does moderation mean fast food twice a week instead of everyday? A 20-oz soda a day instead of a liter? There are now just some things I absolutely will not consume at all. Like soda, Happy Meals, and Lunchables, though I’m still on a quest for the perfect homemade blue moon ice cream. I did end up shedding those 30 extra pounds once I learned how to cook, so I guess I have a different meaning of what “in moderation” is now (whatever that means).
In the book, Guiliano recommended a 48-hour diet of a “magical leek soup”. The leek soup consisted of nothing but boiled leeks and water. What a great idea! At the time, I didn’t know what leeks even looked like, but decided to go ahead with the “diet” anyway. I blindly went into the grocery store, searching for leeks and was a little disappointed when I found them (“so, they’re like big green onions?”). I made the soup. Probably the first soup I ever made from scratch. I had a bowl and gave the rest to my dad. I didn’t touch leeks again for another three years. I’ve since grown to appreciate leeks, though I certainly don’t think I’ll torture myself with the “magical leek soup” again. I made this chickpea and leek soup earlier this week to accompany dinner almost every night. It was light, smooth, velvety, and incredibly budget-friendly. Really, it was probably in the $5-6 range for about 8 servings. Of course, I had to throw in a bulb of roasted garlic to the soup, since I can’t get enough of it.
Chickpea and Leek Soup
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1 bulb of garlic, roasted
1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
or
2 15-oz cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons cooking oil
5 leeks (white and pale green parts), sliced
4 cups water, chicken or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
salt & pepper, to taste
optional garnishing: chopped fresh herbs (chives, parsley, rosemary, thyme) and/or parmiggiano reggiano
If using dried chickpeas, soak them overnight in a large bowl with a quart of water. Rinse and drain the beans and cook according to package directions. If using canned chickpeas, rinse the beans for 30-45 seconds over cold water, this will remove 35 to 40% of the total sodium from the canning liquid (source).
Preheat oven to 350F. Slice the top of the garlic bulb open, revealing the tips of the cloves. Place the garlic bulb on a sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle a teaspoon of olive over the top. Wrap the bulb in the foil, place on a baking sheet, and roast for 35 minutes. Remove from the foil and let it cool until it’s easy enough to handle.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. When hot, add the leeks cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add the water or stock, bay leaf, coriander, thyme, salt, and pepper. Lower the heat and bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
When the roasted garlic is cool enough to handle, pop out the cloves into a small bowl and mash with a fork until they form a paste. Mix the paste into the stockpot.
Discard the bay leaf from the soup. Working in batches, blend the soup in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return the soup to the stockpot, add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Ladle into bowls and garnish with freshly chopped herbs and cheese, if desired.
Serves 6-8
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At first glance, mast-o khiar looks an awful lot like Greek tzatziki. There are countless versions of yogurt and cucumber based dips stretching from Greece to India. Mast-o khiar is a very simple and straightforward dip, it means “yogurt and cucumber” in Persian. Persian cucumbers are most commonly used for this dip. They have thin skins and don’t require any peeling, but they may be unavailable in your area. If you can’t find them, you can easily substitute with common cucumbers available at your local supermarket, but be sure to cut off their bitter skins and deseed them. Serve with warm flat bread, pita chips, and vegetables.
Mast-o Khiar (Persian Yogurt & Cucumber Dip)
(adapted from Claudia Roden’s The New Book of Middle Eastern Food)
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16 oz yogurt, preferably strained or Greek
2 tablespoons dried or chopped fresh mint
salt & pepper, to taste
2 Persian cucumbers, sliced and chopped
Optional garnishes: more chopped cucumbers, ground dried rose petals, more mint (fresh or dried), olive oil
In a large bowl, beat together yogurt until smooth. Add the mint, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly. Fold in the cucumbers and serve with warm flat bread, pita chips, or vegetables. Add more salt, if necessary. Garnish with any of the following: more cucumbers, mint, dried ground rose petals, or olive oil.
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I’ve had strawberry shortcake on my “to-make” list since the beginning of summer, but I can never keep strawberries in the kitchen very long because somebody always eats them. Of course, by somebody, I mean me. Oops. I planned on making a full-on strawberry shortcake, but you see, err… I ate the rest of the ingredients. But hey! This at least gave me an opportunity to use my newly acquired cute little ramekins. For those of you who grew up eating strawberry shortcake from Bisquick mix, this recipe will be quite different from what you’re used to. This strawberry shortcake recipe is more biscuit-like than spongy and gets its moisture from the partially mashed strawberries and whipped cream. The addition of just a little bit of balsamic vinegar helps bring out the sweetness from the strawberries, too. Adding balsamic vinegar to strawberries may sound weird, but I promise you won’t be able to taste the vinegar. Just sweet, sweet strawberries.
Strawberry Shortcake for Two
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2 6-oz ramekins
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons white sugar, plus 1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter, chopped, plus 2 teaspoons extra
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons heavy cream, plus 1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup ripe strawberries, sliced
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Wash and cut the strawberries into very thin slices. Transfer the strawberries to a large bowl and mix in 1 teaspoon white sugar and 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar. Set the bowl aside while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut 2 tablespoons of butter into very small pieces with two knives, or with a pastry blender and add to the bowl. Mix in the beaten egg, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Stir until just combined.
Add a teaspoon each of butter to two ramekins. Place in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, or until the butter has melted. Brush the butter in the ramekins with a pastry brush. Alternatively, use non-stick cooking spray. Transfer equal parts of the batter to both ramekins and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until golden.
While the ramekins are in the oven, beat 1/4 cup heavy cream and 1 teaspoon sugar with a whisk until thickened. Use a potato masher to partially mash the strawberries. Remove the ramekins from the oven when the shortcake is golden, let it cool slightly. Spread a layer of mashed berries over the top of both shortcakes, followed by a layer of whipping cream, and top with the remaining strawberries. Serve right away.
Serves 2
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Some people have their favorite recipes and stick to them forever. When I talk to my dad and he tells me he’s making squash or chicken for dinner, I know exactly what he’s talking about. I try keep things constantly changing in the kitchen, but there are a few recipes I rarely ever stray from – mujaddara, for example. As much as I love the traditional hummus bi tahina (hummus with tahini), I’m constantly looking for new ways to reinvent it. I’ve been accused of being a hummus purist and even a snob, but that’s simply not true. I’ve just made it a personal mission to inform people that hummus means “chickpeas” in Arabic. It’s silly to call beet hummus, white bean hummus, edamame hummus, lima bean hummus, etc. hummus if the recipes don’t contain chickpeas. If you see a crazy lady rocking back and forth at a bus stop in San Francisco mumbling under her breath, “hummus means chickpeas in Arabic…” That’s me. Feel free to say hi.
Usually when I prepare hummus, I use canned garbanzo beans and simmer them in a saucepan with some water for 15-20 minutes. I find that this method helps the beans blend easier and improves the texture of the hummus. Plus, I love popping a few garbanzo beans into my mouth. They’re melt-in-your mouth delicious after simmering for 15 minutes or so. There are Syrian grandmothers who swear by soaking the garbanzos overnight and discarding the skins of the beans for the creamiest hummus possible, but I’ll leave that time consuming method to the experts (grandmothers, that is).
I’ve been on a garlic roasting kick lately. I’d say we’re going through 3 to 4 bulbs of garlic a week… and I have the breath to prove it. I’ve been adding roasted garlic to everything. Potatoes, toast, salad dressings, and now hummus. Apparently, there is such a thing as too much raw garlic. Not really for me, but for Cory. So I added roasted garlic to this batch of hummus. With roasted garlic, you get the garlic taste without at all being overpowering. The fresh herbs add a nice kick and a lovely pale green color.
Hummus with Roasted Garlic and Herbs
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1 bulb of garlic, roasted
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 15-oz can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained plus 1 cup of reserved water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini (roasted is best, but raw is fine)
2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives, plus extra for garnish
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley, plus extra for garnishing
salt, to taste
Preheat oven to 350F. Slice the top of the garlic bulb open, revealing the tips of the cloves. Place the garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle a teaspoon of oil over it. Wrap the bulb in the aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet, and roast for 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the hummus. Drain and rinse the can of beans. Toss the garbanzos into a small sauce pan with a cup of water and simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside. Juice lemons, set aside tahini, and chop the herbs. Add the lemon juice, chives, parsley, salt, and a ladleful of garbanzos with some reserved water. Pulse together in a food processor or blender. Continue adding garbanzos a ladleful at a time and blending, adding more water until needed. Continue this method until all the garbanzos have been blended.
By now, the garlic should be ready. Open up the foil and let the garlic cool until easy enough to handle with your hands. Pop the cloves out of the bulb into a small bowl. Take a fork and smash the garlic until formed into a paste. Toss the paste into the blender and pulse until thoroughly blended. Transfer the hummus to a large bowl. Add the tahini to the bowl and mix thoroughly, this will thicken the hummus considerably. Taste the hummus, adding a couple more pinches of salt or lemon juice, if needed.
Serve with warm flat bread, pita chips, or your favorite raw vegetables. Garnish with olive oil, extra freshly chopped herbs, and spices (thyme, sumac, za’atar, paprika, etc).
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We don’t go out to eat very often, perhaps once or twice a month at the most. Partially because I really enjoy cooking and partially because I’m unemployed at the moment, which cripples basically every aspect of our lives – including discovering all the culinary treasures San Francisco has to offer. When Cory’s brother was here last week, we used his visit as an excuse to check out a couple restaurants. One of them was Parada 22, a newly opened Puerto Rican restaurant located on Haight street. In addition to entrees, we ordered a variety of interesting side dishes, including sweet fried plantains, mashed cassava root with onions, and a white bean soup with olives and a generous amount of cilantro. After leaving the restaurant, I made it my goal for the week to attempt to make everything we ordered at home. I was slightly horrified when my attempt at mashed cassava root didn’t work out very well, but I did successfully manage to make a soup that was loosely inspired by the white bean soup we ordered at the restaurant. Cilantro haters are totally not welcome here. Use lots and lots, be generous.
White Bean Soup with Olives
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1 1/2 cups dry white beans, soaked overnight
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt & pepper, to taste
2-3 tablespoons of tomato paste
3 tomatoes, diced
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock or water
1/2 cup olives (I used garlic stuffed green olives)
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
at least 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Soak beans overnight in a large bowl and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
In a large stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. When hot, add the onions and cook until onions have softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and oregano and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute, stirring often. Add salt, pepper, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and stock or water to the pan. Stir, reduce the heat to low, and partially cover the stockpot.
Bring the soup to a gentle boil and add the beans and olives. Let the soup simmer for about another 15 or so minutes, stirring in the parsley and cilantro just before serving. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary and ladle into bowls.
Serves 6
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