Month: September 2009

I came home this week to an overabundance of farm share goodies, and I couldn’t be happier!  By cooking as little as I anticipated he would in my absence, my husband has given me the challenge of using nearly two weeks of our farm share before anything spoils.  We are back to lots of leafy greens, but we also have plenty of peppers, eggplant and tasty husk cherries.  Here are the adventures of the last two nights:

After travelling for 16 hours and not much sleep on a redeye from Lima, yes, I was back at it in the kitchen.  Fall seems to have arrived in New England while I was away, so I was craving comfort food.  With all the title ingredients on hand from the farm, I made potato, leek and corn chowder.*  Granted, the corn wasn’t the freshest, but I deemed it soup-worthy.  Because of the number of ingredients and the fact that I was feeling a little foggy-headed, I prepped everything in advance.  This array of items is my “mis en place.”  Literally translated, it means “putting in place” but it’s essentially getting prepped and organized.

Despite my meticulous planning, I was not thrilled with the outcome.  My attempt to give the soup a kick with a bit of serrano pepper did nothing to help the bland flavor and starchy texture of the soup.  My husband declared it a success, but only after adding an obscene quantity of salt.  I’ll definitely attempt this again, but it will take a little brainstorming to get it right next time.  I welcome suggestions.

Last night was more successful.  I kept it simple: salad and eggplant.  I made breaded eggplant – just coated in egg white and Italian breadcrumbs and topped with some chopped provolone cheese. In the past, I’ve had this fried in a generous amount of olive oil, which makes it pretty soggy.  In an attempt to avoid this, I cooked it two ways:  1.  On the stove with so little olive oil that I needed a basting brush to spread it around the bottom of the pan (an olive oil spray would work nicely too); and 2. Baked on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray.  Both turned out tasty, but the oven-roasted version was a teensy bit rubbery.  In the end I still preferred that over the stovetop version, which still managed to absorb more olive oil than I had hoped.

I also made a salad using husk cherries.  A rare ingredient for sure.  I sauteed garlic and fresh cayenne pepper in olive oil, added a little raspberry vinegar, a touch of honey and a handful of husk cherries.  Once the cherries were softened a bit, I poured the concoction over some romaine, tossed it with salt and pepper.  Voilà!  My first husk cherry dish!  I would have preferred other types of lettuce, including chicory to balance the sweetness of the dressing, but romaine (admittedly not from the farm) was most in need of immediate consumption.

On the side, I also made some more delicious refrigerator pickles.

And for those who are wondering, I did finally get a great meal on my trip.  About 3 hours before I went to the airport to fly home from Lima.  Amazing octopus and sea bass ceviche.  And, with my tail between my legs, I admit that it was in my hotel.

* My husband is “lactarded,” as he puts it, so I used rice milk in place of whole milk.

I have been in Latin America for 10 days now.  And I don’t have much good news to report on the food front.  Before I share the lonely gem in my culinary experience, let me explain my approach to eating abroad.

When I travel, eating alone is par for the course.  Sometimes I am with friends or colleagues, but more often than not, I grab a table for one.  I say this not to garner sympathy but because it’s a fact.  And because I want to take full responsibility for my choices.

I prefer to eat in the hotel as little as possible so I usually venture out, usually avoiding any recommendations from the hotel staff, who are likely to steer me toward touristy fare.  This means that my own picks are hit or miss.  On this trip, I’m striking out.

The food I’ve eaten in Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia can, at best, be described as edible.  I am not trying to play food critic; in fact, I have lowered my expectations over the course of this trip.   But I have not had one truly good meal in over a week.  Nothing write home about.  However, there is one standout from Monterrey, Mexico that I ate last week: salsa.

I wandered  into a modest restaurant a couple blocks from my hotel.  It was decorated with nuns (not my usual taste), and there were a few other occupied tables.  After ordering from the Spanish-only menu (my Spanish is pretty sub-par so this was a bit of a challenge), I was given a bowl of salsa and chips.  The salsa looked watery, so I was dubious.  Until I tasted it.  It was spicy, smoky and had a good amount of lime in it.  It was the smokiness that hooked me.  Not overwhelming but very much the predominant flavor.  Almost immediately after the salsa arrived, so did my dinner.  I quickly learned that the “sabanitas” that I ordered is a dish consisting of a thin, dry peice of meat accompanied by salad, rice and refried beans.  The only redeeming component of the dish was the onion and green peppers (serranos, I think) on top of the meat.  They had some heat.  Otherwise, it was a dud.  So instead of forcing my main dish down, I turned my full attention to my salsa.  It was a wise decision.

By the end of my meal, I was sweating, crying, and my lips were burning.  If there had been a mirror nearby, I’m sure I could confirm that I was as red as a beet as well.  I kept going until I just couldn’t take it anymore.  And then I had some more.  Little did I know that my first taste of the trip would not be eclipsed by any other.

I love Latin food, but I truly can’t wait to get back to the backlog of farm share veggies waitng for me at home.  I understand that greens are back and leeks are in full force.  Sounds delightful!