Accidental Hedonist

If you took a random sampling of my friends and asked them if I was a person of spontaneity or planning, they would not only file me in the “planner maximusˮ category, but also add a snarky comment about how I was born with an exact itinerary of to-do’s in my head. Regimented – yes; spontaneous – let’s just say I’m working on it.

My mother, if she could, would undoubtedly pipe in, and tell you that I arrived on the scene exactly nine months after the wedding day, ahem conception, as in her contractions began nine months on the day after she was married. And while she was quite keen on giving birth in April (it’s considered bad luck to give birth in May), I insisted upon my own arrival time, around 5:30am on May 1, precisely committed to that biological gestation clock Mother Nature has given its human fledglings.

In grade school, I used rulers and color pencils to denote my daily activities and their durations. And in college, I diligently (or perhaps psychotically) rewrote my notes after class, using a ruler and colored pens to achieve neat, pretty and to-scale graphs.

Some of this has changed: I no longer color-code my closet, despite the daily temptation; and my books, now commingled with KS’s, lack that autobiographical order that made me feel closer to Nick Hornby.

But I was happily content not to have any weekend plans – our first weekend of no weddings or birthdays or other commitments. Of course, we couldn’t just sit still, and decided to throw a little barbecue! For awhile now, I wanted to make a potato salad – but I kept finding recipes that made me wrinkle my nose in disgust – too much mayo here, not feeling the eggs there. And given my boundless love for the spud, how was it that I was yet to find a potato salad to love? The famed Russian salad “olivyeˮ, otherwise known as the winter salad, or “zimniy salatˮ, does not count – as the key word there is zimniy, or “of the winterˮ. And do you see any winter outside? No? Me either. All thanks to Deb – this salad is going to become a staple of summer cookouts and picnics – it is incredibly delicious.

So, how did I fare when KS and I decided to throw a last minute barbecue? I was cool as a cucumber. Not only did I get most of the ingredients at the farmers market, but we had enough time for a long walk, food prep and I even found a few minutes to throw some lip gloss on to look pulled together for the guests! I guess I could do this spontaneous thing, as long as, well, I get a bit of warning in advance that we need to be, well, spontaneous!

2 lbs fingerling potatoes
1 large cucumber thinly sliced
1 bunch of radishes – thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped dill
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 20-30 minutes until soft when pierced with knife. Drain and cool completely. In a large bowl cut potatoes into thick slices, add cucumbers, radishes, dill and green onions, followed by the mayonnaise, the sour cream and some salt and pepper. Mix well. Add more salt if necessary.

Serve chilled in a large bowl or small bowls.

Ceviche is one of those recipes that sounds exotic, but has actually been around for a long time. Generally accepted as South American in nature, it has a fair amount of popularity from Mexico on south. What this means is that there are as many variations of ceviche as there is seafood variation.

It also may be one of my favrorite ways to use limes in a recipe (although key lime pies are still a close second). I find the idea of cooking without heat to be immensely satisfying and makes for good conversation whilst serving.

• 1/2 lb bay scallops
• 1/2 lb ahi tuna, cut into 1/8″ bits
• 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and cut
• 1 medium red onion
• 4 Tbl cilantro, chopped
• 3/4 cup scallions, chopped
• 1 tomato, fresh
• zest from one lime
• Juice from 4 limes

In a large glass bowl, combine the scallops, shrimp and tuna. Add the onion, cilantro, scallions and tomato. Mix well.

Juice the limes and pour said juice over the seafood mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate and allow to sit for 6 to 12 hours.

I could extole the virtues of this recipe. I could sing its praises from atop a crest, with the sunrise behind me, and doves and squirrels dance about as I take a spoonful of this salad.

I think that would be overselling it a tad. After all, it’s only slaw.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good slaw, with a nice Asian inspired dressing that gives it a sweet and savory base. As a side dish, it is worth the effort to put it on your menu.

But I think I’ve come to realized my own writing limitations…poetry and slaw do not mix.

• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1 lb. Napa Cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 2 cups seedless green grapes, halved
• 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds

In a medium glass mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, sesame oils, ginger, sugar, pepper and water. Cover with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

In a large glass bowl, mix together the cabbage, onion, carrot, and grapes. Pour over the soy sauce mixture and toss.

When you serve the slaw, top with sesame seeds.

Serves 4-6

Technorati Tags: Food, Recipes, Salad, Slaw, Grapes

Reference:
Nicole Routhier’s Fruit Cookbook

Oh avocados, is there anything you can’t do? *loving sigh*

Here’s a short but sweet recipe that fits perfect as a side salad for your mexican recipes, or even as a salsa for chips if you wish. The tartness of the grapes works nicely with the creamy goodness of avocados. It’s worth the ten minutes it will take for you to put together.

It’s also the perfect vegetarian recipe, as there is no meat products within, although I did slaughter several veggies. Let your own ethics guide you.

• 3 cups red seedles grapes, chopped
• 2 avocados diced
• 1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
• 1/3 cup sweet onion, diced
• 1 Anaheim pepper, diced
• 3 tblspn cilantro, chopped
• juice from one lime
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Bean sprouts, to garnish

Mix all (except the bean sprouts) of the ingredients in a medium sized glass bowl. Cover with Saran wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hours, allowing the flavors to maserate.

Remove and serve, topping with aforementioned bean sprouts.

Serves 4

Technorati Tags: recipes, salad, salsa, grapes, avocado

I think I’m in love with this recipe. Short and easy to prepare (under 5 minutes after you set your ingredients), and also very tasty. If you want a bit of kick to this, leave the seeds in the jalapeno peppers.

• 1 cup Crab Meat, Cooked (approx 1/2 lb)
• 2 Jalapeno Chiles, seeded and minced
• 1/4 Red Onion, Chopped
• 1 Clove Garlic, Finely Chopped
• 1/4 cup Tomato, Chopped, 1 small
• 2 tbl Cilantro, Fresh, Snipped
• 2 tbl Olive Oil
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• Ground Pepper (to Taste)
• 2 Avocados, Peeled & Chopped
• 1/4 cup Lime Juice

Place the Crab meat in a medium glass mixing bowl. Add the jalapenos, Onion, garlic, tomato and cilantro. Mix well. Add the oil, salt and pepper.

Fold in the chopped avacados, being careful not to smash the salad. Mix in the lime juice. Either serve immediately, or cover and chill.

Serves 6

Technorati Tags: Food and Drink, Recipes, Avocado Salad, Crab Meat

Another cucumber recipe, another salad recipe. I’m not complaining, because this is a very good salad to make. One wouldn’t typically think that dijon mustard would work with cucumbers, but it does in here.

This is a great side dish with a strong fish entree. In the picture you see smoked salmon, and it complimented the meal very well. Part of me wanted to look for some Mackeral, but hey, I’m in the Pac northwest for cryin out loud.

This recipe comes from Fergus Henderson’s The Whole Beast.

• 3 cucumbers
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
• 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cups olive oil
• Ground pepper, to taste
• 1 Tablespoon dill, chopped

Peel the cucumbers, and cut in half. De-seed and slice. Place cucumber in bowl and salt. Allow to sit in bowl for a half hour.

Meanwhile, mix the sugar into the vinegar, ensuring it dissolves. Mix in the mustard. After the mustard is fully integrated, slowly pour in the oil, whisking all the while, ensuring the dressing is emulsified. Pepper to taste.

Drain cucumbers before placing them in the dressing. Fold in well. Plate and serve.

UPDATED: to reflect an incorrect measurement. I had way too much olive oil listed in the ingredients.

Serves 4-6

Tsatziki (also known as Tzatziki) is a dish that seems to have an identity crisis. Some people claim it’s a dip, others claim it’s a soup, still others say it’s a salad. The key word in the dish is obviously “Tsatziki”, which may translate to cucumber. It may also translate to “Stupid yankees can’t transalte anything”. Any help from the Greek Community will be appreciated.

At any rate, this is a wonderful side dish, and blessedly simple to make. I made it as a salad . But it soon became obvious that it would also make a delicious dip or soup. The choice, as always, is yours.

• 3 8″ Cucumbers, peel, slice thin
• 1 cup Plain Yogurt
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 Tblsp Spearmint Leafs, chopped
• 1 Tblsp Scallions, chopped
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• Salt and pepper(to taste)

In a large salad bowl, place in cucumber slices. Fold in yogurt, lemon juice, spearmint, scallions and sugar. Cover bowl and place in refrigerator. Allow to maserate for 1-2 hours.

Salt and pepper to taste, and then serve alone or on Pita.