EASIEST HOMEMADE PICKLES

Photo by Carol Guilford

I learned how to make pickles from a deli owner in the Catskill mountains where we escaped on weekends to escape New York City summer heat. He made them in a big barrel.

The jar is a 1-pint Mason, originally bottled with organic marinara sauce.

You may diddle around with the ingredients. I like mine slightly sour, garlicky and with a kick.

4-6 smallish Persian cucumbers

1 tablespoon pickling spice

     a combination of cinnamon, bay leaves, mustard seed, dill seed,  ginger, fenugreek, allspice, chilies, cloves and mace. Look for it in the spice aisle.

½ cup vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced lengthwise in half

2 small, hot, dried red peppers (optional)

1. Wash and dry the cukes. Slice lengthwise.
2. Put the pickling spice, vinegar, salt, garlic and peppers into jar. Arrange the cucumbers If there is extra space, slice one of the cukes, horizontally and put them on top. 
3. Screw the lid of the jar on tightly.
4. Leave the soon-to-be pickles at room temperature for 12 hours. If you remember, turn the jar upside down after about 6 hours. When upside-down, put a paper towel under the jar to avoid pickle juice leakage. Refrigerate. Will stay crisp for 3 weeks.

EASIEST GUACAMOLE

Photo by Carol Guilford

I flirted momentarily about attending the annual avocado festival, in Carpenteria, CA., but from LA, it is two hours up, two hours back. Aha! On-line, I checked out last years celebration to see what I was missing. 

The guacamole contest for the best guacamole confirmed my belief that the KISS rule applies.  “Keep it simple, stupid.”  With my “virtual” trip, no crowds, I didn’t have to try the avocado ice cream or personally witness the “largest” vat of avocado. Here is my avocado joke.  The party was so dull, the guests stood around watching the avocado dip turn brown.   

Hass avocados are good; the best is slightly nutty in flavor.  A ripe avocado gives way to gentle pressure. To hasten ripening, put in a brown paper bag, then refrigerate when ripe. Use soon. I have ruined many a lovely avocado by not using it at its peak.

1 medium avocado

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

pinch of salt

3-6 drops of Tabasco sauce (optional)

1.      Cut the avocado in half. Remove the pit. The skin should peel off easily or the flesh may be scooped out with a spoon.

2.      Mash the avocado in a bowl, with a large fork.  Don’t overdo it, there should be visible chunks.

3.      Add the lemon, salt and Tabasco, if you are using it.  Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over the top, to keep it from turning brown. If you are making it for company, make it as close to eating as you can.  Recipe may be multiplied.

Serve with tortilla chips. Potato chips work too.

Photo by Carol Guilford

 El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead is a Mexican celebration, a day to celebrate, remember and prepare special foods in honor of those who have departed. I appreciate the sentiment. Here is  a picture of two muertos eating guacamole.

Photo by Carol Guilford

EASIEST BEEF STROGANOFF

Beef tenderloin, Crimini mushrooms and crème fraȋche instead of sour cream

turns this Russian classic into a date-nite dinner. Ask first time guests if they like mushrooms.

Photo by Carol Guilford
 

best utensils: I use two skillets:  8-inch and 10-inch stainless-steel Cuisinart.  

preparation and cooking time:  under 30 minutes

                                                                                                             serves 2

½ beef tenderloin (filet mignon)

1 cup sliced Crimini mushrooms (4 or 5)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup crème fraȋche

1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon soy sauce*

kosher salt; freshly ground black pepper

1. Pat beef dry. Cut into 2 inch long, ½-inch wide pieces. Lightly salt and pepper the beef on both sides.

2. Wipe the mushrooms with a damp paper towel.  Cut off the tough end of the stems, then slice diagonally. 

for the mushrooms

      

3. Use medium heat to melt the butter in in the 8-inch pan. When it is hot and foaming, add the mushrooms and sauté/stir-fry for 1 minute, stirring with your favorite spoon. One cup of mushrooms yields ½ cup as they shrink up. Turn the heat down and slowly mix in the crème fraȋche and Worcestershire.

for the filet

4. Melt the butter (in the 10-inch pan) over medium heat until it is very hot. Add the steak and  sear very quickly—I’m talking 10? seconds on each side.
5.  Add the soy and turn the meat to coat it.

      Add the steak to the hot mushrooms, stir and serve.

* I use SAN-J organic, low-sodium tamari sauce

CgNotes

The mushrooms can be made in advance, and slowly heated.  For brunch or a light lunch, the mushrooms are good on toast, (a shot of brandy doesn’t hurt) coupled with fresh fruit.

To double the recipe, use a 10 and a 12-inch skillet.

An “easiest” cucumber salad makes a zesty side.

BOLO (police jargon for be on the lookout) for Persian cucumbers. If you use a regular cuke, after peeling, split it vertically and scoop out the seeds before slicing.

For 1 to 1½  peeled, sliced cucumbers, gently mix in 2 teaspoons vinegar* and ½ teaspoon sugar.**  A tablespoon of the white part of a green onion is optional. Salt, if you like. Refrigerate until serving time.

• Cook’s choice. For some years, I have been crushing on organic golden balsamic. Whole Foods sells Spectrum and I saw Star at Ralphs/Krogers. Time flies. I remember when there were two kinds of vinegar for sale--white and apple cider. They are still there, midst the array of rice vinegars, wine vinegars and the raspberry-infused.

 

EASIEST BUTTER MOCHI

Photo by James Dannenberg permission by Los Angeles Times.

What is mochi?  A Hawaiian delight.

The first time I tasted it, at a pot-luck, I thought it was bread pudding, not a favorite of mine.  I was wrong. It isn’t bread pudding.  

Eric who brought this almighty dessert is from Kailua, Hawai, on Oahu. Kailua means “where two currents meet together.”  There, butter mochi is a local staple.

The main ingredient of butter mochi is sweet rice flour—short grain, gluten free.
”Mochiko.”

I buy Kado Farms brand  at  an Asian market in LA.*  I did a little research and Walmart sells it, on-line, but one must buy 6 pounds. Best bet is to find an Asian market in your territory, or plan to make a lot of mochi.

The recipe following is for half of Eric’s recipe. Doubled it is a great contribution to a pot-luck which is, of course, where I found it.

utensils: large bowl, 6-inch wire whisk, 8X8 baking pan

8-ounces mochiko flour

2 eggs

½ can coconut milk  (6 ½  ounces)

½ can condensed milk (6 ounces)

½ stick unsalted butter

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

1. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, coconut milk, condensed milk, melted butter and vanilla.

2. Add the sugar slowly, mix in.

3. Add the mochiko slowly, whip until the batter is smooth.

4. Bake in a 325-350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.

5. Cool. Do not refrigerate. Cut into squares to serve. Will last 3-5 days.

*I always have a good time at the Ranch Market, once I make it through the large trucks burdening the streets of the San Fernando Valley.

     In a mall with Chinese Barbecue restaurant, a Vietnamese restaurant, a shop selling Chinese herbs and an Office Depot, I wander the aisles, listening to (the last time I was there) piped-in Burt Bacharach instrumentals.

     At the market can be found, paper-thin slices of beef for sukiyaki, dried lilies, fresh pork hocks, a dozen varieties of mushrooms, shelves of boxed sauces.   

    I always smile when I pass the tanked live crabs with a warning sign that live crabs bite and children are not allowed to touch or play with them. 

 

      Photo by Carol Guilford