There’s no meat in the fridge, no canned salmon in the cabinet, not even a packet of spam. What’s a woman to feed a carnivorous husband? So I found a recipe for raw tacos! Walnuts? Check. Spices? Check. Soy Sauce? Check. Food processor? Not so much, but I’m resourceful and make do with a coffee grinder.

After grinding, mixing, and using over sized lettuce leaves as shells, I served these tacos to my husband. He protested a little, but he tried a bite. And he liked it! He and I both agree that thanks to using the same spices that you would normally use in taco meat, it tasted just like a normal taco. He even enjoyed the lettuce leaves as a shell. Children might like this recipe too, ok maybe not the lettuce leaf.

Try it for yourself! Just drop a glob of guacamole, mango rawlsa, and some rawesome sour cream and you’ll have a meatless, vegan, gluten-free meal! Feeling adventurous? Try making your own raw taco shells, maybe even explore some other raw, meatless international food like Raw Pad Thai or Rawssian borscht!

Today is National Nachos Day, so how about you mix up a little meatless, raw nachos by making Spicy Corn Raw Tortilla Chips, Raw Nacho Cheese,  and Raw Refried Beans. Of course you could also just use meatless refried beans if you don’t want to go all out raw, but hey, guacamole can always be raw right?

Photo by Geoff604.

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I’ve been meaning to pay homage to the famous 60’s era concert and thought,”Hmm, what would be the quintessential hippie Woodstock food?”

Pot brownies, for sure. But alas, not the most legal thing. And I’m not sure I’d even know how to make them were I to somehow acquire the necessary bud.

Then I thought, “Granola!” Everyone ate granola then (and still). Maybe not the most Woodstock-esque food, but certainly a buzz food of the times. My mom made it all the time, and we ate it dry and with milk. We even genericized her healthy food as “granola food.”

When I went searching online for some great recipes, I found the following on Amateur Gourmet. And he read about it on David Lebovitz’s blog, who got it from the book “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking” by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. David said it’s one of those books that made him want to make everything in it, so I promptly bought it. (No, I have not been eating pot brownies).

So here it is (and here’s to Woodstock!), a superb recipe for easy homemade granola.

Photo: cuttlefish

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Photo: James.Whisker

Every day as we walked to school in Siena, Italy we passed the big panforte factory. We could smell the delicious confection baking and it was intoxicating. Back then I didn’t appreciate this dense and chewy cake but it’s now something I look forward to during the holidays.

Panforte dates back to at least the Middle Ages, some believe back even further, and originated in Siena (or at least Tuscany). It literally translates to “strong bread,” referring to its piquant flavor. Being so densely packed with dried fruit, nuts, spices, and honey I’m sure the Crusaders referred to it as their energy bar.

Many regard Siena as the panforte capital of Italy. While there are various recipes for panforte most Senese believe it should contain seventeen ingredients to represent the seventeen contrade (subdivisions) of the walled city (my beloved contrada was the Istrice, or the crested porcupine!).

If you’re making panforte follow the traditional Italian way by baking it in small 4-inch disks. Wrap it in wax paper, then brown butcher paper. Tie it with string and, if you want to get really fancy, seal it with red embossed wax. Che bella! A little slice is perfect in the morning with a cup of cappuccino, or after a meal with a nice glass of vin santo.

Panforte
Adapted from Chef Gina DePalma

Nonstick cooking spray, for pan
3 cups whole blanched almonds
1 3/4 cups whole hazelnuts, skinned or unskinned
2 cups diced candied orange peel
6 ounces dried apricots, diced
5 ounces dried figs, diced
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups honey
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees with a rack set in the center of the oven. Generously spray a 9-by-2-inch heavy-bottomed, nonstick round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with a parchment paper circle, spray parchment paper circle with cooking spray. Coat bottom and sides of pan with flour, tapping out excess.

Using a sharp knife, roughly chop almonds and hazelnuts and place in a large, wide bowl, along with orange peel, apricots, and figs; toss to combine.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, cocoa powder, salt, nutmeg, cloves, and pepper. Add to bowl of nuts and fruit and toss until well combined.

Place sugar, honey, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook mixture until it reaches 217 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove pan from heat and quickly pour sugar mixture into nut mixture. Using a heatproof spatula, stir until well combined. Transfer mixture to prepared cake pan, smoothing surface with a spatula.

Transfer cake pan to oven and bake until entire surface is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer cake to wire rack and let cool completely. Wrap well with parchment paper, and then again with plastic wrap. Store in a cool, dry place up to 3 weeks.

To serve, dust the panforte with confectioners’ sugar and cut into thin wedges with a sharp knife.
For more on the history of panforte check out Siena’s Panforte: A Christmas Delight.

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A few weeks ago we drove out to Walla Walla to do a little early spring release wine tasting. At one beautiful winery, Abeja, we were blown over by the fine wines as well as the food offered at their autumn celebration. Chef Pascal Sauton from Portland, Oregon’s Carafe Bistro prepared a dish so delectable we returned the following day for another tasting (well, five actually). The small plate that had the four of us nearly begging for more was the Lamb Spare Ribs with Kabocha Squash Puree and Hibbits Ranch Walnut Pesto. <Gasp!> Allow me a moment to compose myself…

It was a tender, fatty (oh yes, you want this fat) section of rib that had been slow roasted until the meat was falling off the bone, served atop a subtly sweet puree of kabocha (a Japanese pumpkin), then drizzled with a delicious earthy walnut pesto.

Thank.God.I.Eat.Meat!! Pure Heaven, I tell you, pure Heaven.

I’m sure I can’t do justice to Chef Sauton, but I’m going to do my darndest and try to whip this up at home.

Lamb Spare Ribs, Kabocha Puree & Walnut Pesto

Lamb ribs, cut into thirds (about 3″ in length)
1 kabocha squash
Olive oil
Fresh parsley, chopped
Raw walnuts
Walnut oil
Salt and pepper to taste
*optional: crushed garlic and lemon zest

Slow roast the ribs until meat starts to pull away from the bone.

To make the kabocha puree: Cut the kabocha into 2 inch pieces, remove seeds. Place onto a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 40-60 minutes in a 400 degree oven or until tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Once cool enough to touch remove outer green skin and place in a food processor. Puree the squash mixture until smooth.

To make the walnut pesto: Roast walnuts in a 350 degree oven until golden, turning frequently. Pulse in a food processor until in small pieces, but careful not to create a paste. Add chopped parsley, drizzle in walnut oil and pulse until a medium-moist consistency is reached. You don’t want it too pasty or too dry. For added flavor toss in some crushed garlic and lemon zest.

Serve ribs on top on the puree and spoon the pesto over the top. You will not be disappointed.

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Even though we tend to stuff ourselves to the gills during the holidays it’s always nice to have some snacks to nibble and nosh on. The hors d’oeuvres line-up just wouldn’t be right without a bowl of mixed nuts. Here’s the perfect alternative to the plain salt roasted variety – a nice sweet and spicy mix.

Spiced Nuts

1 large egg white
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1-3/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2-1/2 cups pecan halves or assorted nuts, such as cashews, walnuts or almonds

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Beat egg white until soft and foamy. Combine all remaining ingredients except nuts; whisk into egg white. Stir in nuts until well coated; spread mixture in single layer onto an ungreased baking pan.

Bake nuts for 15 minutes, then remove from oven. Using a metal spatula, toss, stir and separate nuts. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees and return nuts to bake until medium brown, about 10 minutes.

Remove from oven; toss, and stir again. Place baking pan on wire rack to cool. Break up any nuts that stick together.

Store in an airtight container up to two weeks.

Makes 2-1/2 cups.

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My newest love is mole. You’re probably saying, “Well, what took you so long?” Honestly, I had a bit of a bad experience years ago (I’ll spare you the gory details) and have been a bit averse to trying this rich dish again. But with a less whimpy belly, a fierce gusto for food and a recent trip back to Mexico, I tried it once more.

“Holy mole this is good!” I cried with gastronomical glee. I.Am.Hooked.

I know visually it may not knock your socks off, but believe me taste-wise it will.

Mole (pronounced mo-lay) is like curry. In fact, mole is a generic term for “sauce” and, like curry, comes in a variety of flavors. Such as, guacamole, or “avocado sauce.”

Probably the most well-know mole is Mole Poblano which is made from dried chili peppers, a whole gang of spices such as cinnamon and cloves, ground seeds and nuts, Mexican chocolate (stay with me now, it’s great), aromatics…oh the list goes on!

It’s no easy thing to whip up a mole. Well, a good traditional Mole Poblano, that is. It can take days to prepare a truly authentic one. But the good news is there are a variety of premade moles readily available at your local Mexican market or markets that carry ethnic foods.

We bought a Mole Verde (green mole) and prepared it with chicken like so:

We julienned some red and yellow peppers along with a large sweet yellow onion. Then we sauteed them in a large pan with a bit of olive oil until browned, removed them from the pan and set aside. In the same pan we heated up some more olive oil and browned a whole chicken (cut into parts). Once browned we added the pepper and onion mixture to the chicken. In a separate saucepan we heated the entire jar of mole and a bottle of white wine (minus a sip or two – wink, wink) until thoroughly mixed. We then added the sauce to the chicken and simmered the whole shebang for hours. You want to simmer at least a good two hours to allow the flavors to truly marry.

Muuuuuy delicioso!

If you have nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon try one of these great mole recipes from Ramekins. I specifically like the sound of Mole Poblano #5.

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Would that not be great if that is what we heard at Parisian fashion shows? Sigh, how life for women would change. But, alas, I speak not of fashion models, the plump beauties I’m talking about are Spanish Marcona almonds. These are the voluptuous Rubenesque sister of the regular almonds of which we are all familiar, and are blanched to reveal their creamy white skin. They also contain a higher fat content making them velvety and mild.

Long preferred as the almond of choice by chefs, Marconas are also quickly becoming the hot item to serve at swanky bars for noshing enjoyment. And the fat lady sings.

Oh, and get this, there is as much linoleic acid – an essential fatty acid good for your heart and circulation – in two almonds as there is in two and a half pints of milk! That just makes my heart go pitter patter.

Try this delicious sounding recipe for Spanish Tortilla with Almond Romesco from MyRecipes.

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