mark bittman is a smarty party

i like mark bittman. he's funny and smart and likes to cook simple and tasty food. i often check his blog; i've watched his multiple pbs shows; i have both of his how to cook everything books; and, late last night, i caught him on "spain: on the road again" (gweneth paltrow, awfully and inexplicably, is a part of that show). if i grew up to have half the career and smarts of mark bittman, i would be a happy lady.

here, he talks about agribusiness, localvores, the history of food, and the environment. (it's full of stats too, e.g. i didn't know we kill 10 billion animals a year in the united states for food.)



years ago, i was a vegan, then i was a vegetarian, and now i'm an omnivore. i try to eat well. some people might say i'm fussy. but i know what i like, and i like things that are tasty. it makes me happy. last year, i had the best meal of my entire life at a bar on the side of the road in the canary islands -- dishes of grilled pork, squid, beef, and vegetables with no sauce or frills (a little lemon, salt, and pepper and that was it). i'm salivating just thinking about it now.

i long for the fresh, simple produce and meat of europe, cheap food that didn't travel miles to get to the market. back in the states, even though i don't have a lot of money, i still put high value on quality ingredients. i'm a goodie foodie who tries to eat smart, well, and with joy. more on this later, but i wanted to post the 20-minute talk bittman gave at ted a few years ago.

carl's jr. food porn

when i had cable and watched tv a lot, i was a fan of top chef. ex-mrs. salman rushdie aka model padma lakshmi hosts the show. she's quite pretty and has these intriguing scars on her bicep (from a childhood car accident). here, she's hawking carl's jr./hardee's burgers in a totally sexed-up commercial. i've never been to a carl's jr./hardee's (we don't have them in hawaii, and, as far as i know, we don't have them in chicago either.) i like bacon as much as padma seemingly does, but i don't think i can ever eat a burger in any way close to the way she's noshing on one here.

super duper easy and good lentil soup

winter in chicago is hard. (duh.) rarely is the snow white and pristine; rarely is the sun out to provide any sort of warmth and happiness; rarely can one leave the house without a sweater, long underwear, wool socks, and a puffy jacket. most of the time, it's sludge and grey and blisteringly cold. luckily, spring is here! but that doesn't mean that soup season needs to end.

i first made this super easy lentil soup a few weeks ago for our weekly lost viewings. i was looking for something cheap to make from things in my pantry when i stumbled on this recipe from a random web site. the soup was loved by all. people have asked me for the recipe. i now share it with you.

red lentil soup

ingredients
2 1/2 cups dried split red lentils
10 cups cold water
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 to 2 teaspoons minced garlic, to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour dissolved in 3 tablespoons cold water
Lemon wedges (1 to 2 per person)
Croutons
Green onions

Submerge and rinse the lentils in a medium-size bowl filled with cold water. Pick out small rocks and skim off any dirt or old shells that float to the surface. Drain.

Put the drained lentils in a 5-quart saucepan or kettle, add the water, and bring to a boil. (I take off some of the scummy foam that rises. This sounds gross, but that tends to happen with these kinds of lentils.) Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. (The lentils turn yellow, btw.) Add the salt and mix well. Continue to simmer until the soup becomes fairly thick, like pea soup, an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, cumin, and coriander. (I sometimes play with the spice measurements depending how I feel.) Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat and add the garlic mixture. Brown the mixture until the garlic and oil turn into a yellow sauce, about 30 seconds (make sure not to cook the garlic over high heat; it burns easily). Remove from the heat and set aside.

Add the dissolved flour and spice mixture to the soup. Simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes. (You can freeze the soup for up to 1 month at this point or refrigerated for 2 to 3 days. When reheating, add water, as the soup thickens upon cooling.)

Taste the soup for salt. Serve hot accompanied by lemon wedges, croutons, and sliced green onions.

so many lemons

my friends volcano! have a new single and video out: so many lemons.


volcano! - So Many Lemons from ppohio on Vimeo.

filming took a day; a nonopus; a breakaway wine bottle; fake flirting in the office, at da club, and in the streets; and lots of fog. they are touring all over europe again this april. if you're there, go see them!

shortbread crust + lemons = delicious

Lemons are great. Just a little bit of juice adds a lot to a dish, adding structure and a backbone by bringing out the flavors. I bought a bunch of lemons about two weeks ago for a lentil soup I made for my weekly Lost viewing with friends (I'll post that recipe soon). I really only needed one lemon, but they came in a whole bag at a reasonable price--a great excuse to make lemon bars! Note that you should probably make this for a group of people--I love them but found it hard to eat a whole tray of lemon bars by myself.

Shortbread crust lemon bars

Shortbread crust
(adapted from Joy of Cooking)

ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup (25 grams) powdered sugar
1 cup (140 grams) all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Grease with butter (or use a cooking spray) a 8 x 8 inch (20 x 28 cm) pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the flour and salt and beat until the dough just comes together (mine was a bit crumbly). Press the dough into the bottom of your greased pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling, which will also be baked at 350 degrees.

Lemon bar filling
(from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted it from The Barefoot Contessa)

ingredients
4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (3 to 4 lemons)
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2/3 cup flour

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or about five minutes beyond the point where the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar if you like.

spraypainted like new

When I moved into my one-bedroom apartment, after my six-month trip to Europe, I was lacking in the furniture department. I basically sold all of my belongings before getting on the plane to Barcelona. Luckily, my friend Neuner gave me a few items he owned, thanks to our friends Janie and Ed who moved to Switzerland. See this chair:


It was a bit rundown with holes and stains on the vinyl, but it had a good, sturdy frame. So I bought a can of spray paint (you can't buy spraypaint in Chicago, so I had to haul my butt all the way to Niles) and decided to make a quick DIY project out of it, i.e. I just spraypainted the cushions. Here's the finished project:


It's not perfect, but better.

homemade parmesan, sesame, and pepper crackers

why would you make homemade crackers? because you're bored and cooking something from scratch is so much better than buying something pre-made. that, and you can put whatever you want in the crackers. for me, it was parmasan, sesame seeds, and pepper. i used this super simple recipe from bitten.

homemade crackers
(from bitten)

ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour, more as needed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup cream or half-and-half, more as needed (i used half-and-half)
Coarse salt, pepper, sesame or poppy seeds, minced garlic or whatever you like for sprinkling (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly dust with flour. Put flour, salt, cheese and butter in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until flour and butter are combined. Add about 1/4 cup cream or half-and-half and let machine run for a bit; continue to add liquid a teaspoon at a time, until mixture holds together but is not sticky.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until 1/2-inch thick or even thinner, adding flour as needed. (ed: I had a really hard time rolling it out really thin because, although my apartment is great in many ways, I have basically no kitchen counter space. It was definitely thinner than 1/2-inch though -- I was aiming for super thin, crispy crackers.) Transfer sheet of dough to prepared baking sheet (drape it over rolling pin to make it easier). Score lightly with a sharp knife, pizza cutter or a pastry wheel if you want to break crackers into squares or rectangles later on. (ed: I 'lightly scored' it and it didn't quite work. This could be because I didn't roll it out super, super thin or because I didn't score it hard enough.) Sprinkle with salt or other topping if you like. (ed: I grated more parmasan on top, along with sesame seeds and pepper. Add as much as you like!)

Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool on a rack; serve warm or at room temperature or store in a tin for a few days.

happy square root day

a holiday that occurs when the day and the month are the square root of the year: 3.3.09

i like to dance

and i want to dance like this dude.


BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.