Greetings from Sicily!

Well, this has been an excellent week in my cooking life. I am posting a blog from the kitchen of Collegio de Maria di Cefalu, a convent in Cefalu Sicily. If you're looking for a unique experience, I recommend going to www.monasterystays.com to book a room in a monastery or convent. There are rooms for rent in many locations around the world. I'd only heard good things about monastery stays so decided to try one myself. Not only was the room affordable and nice and clean with a private bath, but it was right on the edge of the sea. Look at view from our bedroom window!



If you want something different and can live without a TV or wifi in your room, this type of accommodation may be for you.

I wanted to cook something simple with fresh ingredients from the market. I found a stand in the center of town and bought some basil, tomatoes and an onion. Next, I went to a market and bought some pasta and some fresh parmesan reggiano cheese.  That's it! All you need are good ingredients to create something delicious. The convent kitchen was fully stocked with pots, pans, cooking tools, plates, glasses and utensils. I also found olive oil, salt, dried red chilies and a jar of dried chives. This is what I made:



ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



Fresh tomatoes on the vine, fresh basil, small onion, parmesan
region cheese, pasta, dried red chilies, olive oil, dried chives and salt.

STEP ONE:



Heat a T. of olive oil in a pan and chop onion. Add to pan when oil is hot and then add two red chilies. Start the water for the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve about 3 T. of the pasta water when draining after it's cooked.

STEP TWO:





Chop tomatoes in half (these were small roma tomatoes ) and add to the onions and chilies. Add salt to taste. Cook for several minutes until tomatoes soften.

STEP THREE:







Chop a large amount of basil (I used an entire carton) and add to the tomatoes
and onions. Add about a tsp. of dried chives and cook for another couple of minutes.

STEP FOUR:





Grate the cheese and add a very generous portion to the tomatoes. Cook for another couple of minutes.

STEP FIVE:



Add the cooked pasta to the pan and mix. Add the 3 T. of reserved liquid. Pour in another T. or two of olive oil. Mix.

STEP SIX:





Serve and enjoy! My husband Sadegh and I ate on the terrace just off the kitchen. It was late, and I didn't even make a salad. The key to this dish is the very fresh and flavorful ingredients and the quality of the olive oil.  Don't skimp on olive oil. Always buy high quality. It's worth every penny.

After we ate, we brought a plate down to the entrance where a nun was running the front desk. She was very happy to see us!

Cefalu is a beautiful place. If you go there, be sure to climb La Rocca that has a fortress dating to 70 AD. It's has gorgeous views when you reach the top. Here's a photo from the top along with a few other pictures of Cefalu:





After climbing steps with railings about 1/3 of the way up, you then travel the remainder on dirt trails. There's also a temple on La Rocca that celebrates the goddess Diana.







ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!

Post From Amber's Kitchen

My good friend Amber invited me to dinner and asked what I'd like to have. My response was: "let's cook together, and we'll make it a blog post!" She loved the idea so we got together yesterday evening and went to work.  Amber knew the premise of the blog was to cook what's on hand, so she left it up to me to pick through her fridge and cupboards. I brought the flounder and scallops that would be cooked around the ingredients in Amber's kitchen.

I was delighted to see the large batch of fresh herbs on her balcony growing in large pots. She picked some lemon thyme, oregano, basil and mint. I had brought a small piece of ginger I needed to use as well as some parsley, kale and swiss chard from my garden.

Here is the simple, fast and delicious meal we made.

ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



 Flounder, scallops, small onion, garlic, ginger, kale, swiss chard, parsley, oregano, lemon thyme, basil, mint, a carrot, dried red chilis (found at the bottom of a basket on my kitchen counter -- they used to be fresh), dried coriander, paprika, turmeric, white pepper, cayenne pepper, sea salt.

STEP ONE:





Heat 1 T. of olive oil and 1 T. of butter in a large skillet. When butter is melting, chop half an onion, mince 3 small cloves of garlic, a quarter of one of the dried red chilis and about 1/2-inch piece of ginger.  Add to pan when butter is melted and starts to sizzle.



Add 1 tsp. of turmeric, 1/2 tsp. dried coriander, a pinch of cayenne, 1/2 tsp. of paprika and 1/4 tsp. of white pepper. Stir and simmer until the onions and garlic soften.

STEP TWO:



Add flounder and cook for a few minutes on one side. Flip and cook the other side and add the scallops. Poor in a little olive oil if the mixture is too dry.



Add the lemon thyme, oregano and basil to the pan. Stir and let simmer for a minute and then add the kale and swiss chard.  Add salt to taste. I added 1/2 tsp. Stir the greens and allow to cook for a couple of minutes.

Plate the fish and add your extras. Amber made some red rice dressed with a little olive oil and lemon and some roasted brussel sprouts mixed with her fresh herbs. We also made a salad with tomato, carrot, cucumber, red onion, fresh basil, mint and parsley dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and a little sea salt. Did I mention I love olive oil?







This event was especially fun because I made the meal with a friend. Try it sometime! And thank you Amber for opening up your wonderful kitchen and making a delicious dinner with me. I want to do it again!

ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!

Black Cod

I bought some sable fish, also known as black cod at a farmer's market this weekend. It was frozen and the price tab hefty. The purveyor told me if I taste it, I'll be back for more. I put it to the test. I paired it with a cabbage stir-fry, Yukon Gold potatoes and a salad. Here's the recipe:

ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



Sable fish, cabbage, carrots, scallions, garlic, butter, tomatoes,
cumin, paprika, parsley, tamarind paste (not pictured), grapeseed oil

STEP ONE:



Preheat oven to 400. Chop half a head of cabbage and throw it
into a hot pan heated with a T. of grapes oil. Peel a couple of
small carrots into the cabbage and top with a a T. of tamarind paste.
Stir until it's well blended and giving off a nice aroma. Turn
heat to medium low.

STEP TWO:



Coarsely chop two scallions with the tops and add to the pan.
Skirt a T. of tamari soy sauce into the mix along with some
ground pepper.

STEP THREE:



At this point, I saw I had some broccoli that needed some
attention, so I added that too. Add whatever you have on hand
to use up what you've got. Stir fry for a couple of minutes and
then turn off the heat and partially cover while you cook the fish.

STEP FOUR:



Prepare the sable (.75 lbs.) with a tsp.
of cumin, a tsp. of paprika, 1/2 tsp. of ground
coriander, a generous grind of black pepper,
1/2 tsp of sea salt and a T. of butter divided
across the fish. Bake for 10 minutes in the
400 degree pre-heated oven, and then increase
the oven temperature to 500 and cook for another
4 minutes.

STEP FIVE:



Plate the fish on top of the cabbage stir-fry and add the salad. Top the fish with minced parsley.

My final analysis: the fish was beautifully silky and very tasty. I might buy it again but will do another blog comparing this sable fish (aka black cod, butter fish) with another buttery fish that is way less expensive. After doing some research, sable fish is not even in the cod family, but I like
the fact that it is responsibly fished in very deep waters. Keep tuned. Also, the stir-fry was covered too long. I'd start it earlier while cooking the fish so that everything is especially fresh and colorful.

Eco details: 

• Sablefish populations are healthy, and the fishing method (bottom longlines) produces little bycatch or harm to bottom habitat. 
• The Alaskan sablefish fishery is operated under an innovative 'catch share' system, which allows fishermen to work under safer conditions and get better prices for their catch while conserving stocks.
• West Coast sablefish are now managed under a similar management plan as well. Bycatch is down 75%, and conservative catch quotas have limited the catch of overfished rockfish. Additionally, an innovation boom in gear design and fishing behavior has helped trawlers avoid bycatch hotspots and keep sensitive species out of nets.

From seafoodedf.org

ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!

Pepper Mushroom Chicken

A few vegetables needed to be cooked pronto. I had some chicken and combined them for this dish. Here's the recipe:

ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



Chicken, zuchini, green onions,  mushrooms,  red onion,  jalepeno pepper, green pepper, lemon, garlic, chicken broth, black vinegar, olive oil, canned diced tomatoes, white wine, sea salt.

STEP ONE:



Saute four cloves of smashed garlic in 1 T. olive oil until fragrant and then set aside.




STEP TWO:





Add red and green onions to the pan; saute for a few minutes until they start to soften and then add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms start to brown.

STEP THREE:



Add the sliced green pepper and finely chopped jalapeño. Cook for a few minutes until they start to soften. Remove vegetables from the pan and set aside.

STEP FOUR:








Chop the zucchini into half-moon slices, add chicken to the pan with another T. of oil, cook until browned and add the zucchini.

STEP FIVE:






Add 16 oz. can of diced tomatoes, 1 cup of chicken broth and 1 cup of dry white wine. Stir and incorporate the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add a splash of black vinegar or red wine vinegar. Cook for about 20 minutes and serve.

ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!

Feeling Frisky with French Lentils and Some Jasmine Rice

I've had these French green lentils in the cupboard for a while. I also spotted a bag of Jasmine rice that has been there for I'm not sure how long. That means a long time. I usually cook Basmati or short grain brown rice, so I don't even know how it got there.

I cooked some of the lentils last night and had about two cups left. Al dente too, just the way I like them, especially if you're going to use them later. So this evening, I took out the lentils and decided to match them with the Jasmine rice. I looked around and selected a few ingredients to make a side dish: tumeric, garlic, bird eye chilies, sesame oil, butter, grape seed oil and kosher salt. I eventually added spinach to the wok because I thought the dish could use a little more color (green and yellow are pretty together) and I wanted to use up the huge container of spinach I had in the fridge. This dish seems really greasy with butter and two oils in the mix, but I used the butter and oils sparingly.

Since this blog is predicated on using up the ingredients you have on hand in the fridge to create simple and delicious meals, the spinach didn't turn up on the cutting board at first. This often happens when I create these posts. I think of dishes to cook and then improvise some more on the way. So when you read these recipes, please keep in mind that they are meant to be approximations. If you don't have lentils, try beans for instance. Add more flavors to the mix if you'd like more boldness. For this dish, I added a heaping tsp. of chili powder from Penzeys Spices. Their blend is a gorgeous infusion of lemon peel, cocoa, cinnamon, fenugreek, fennel, anise and cardamon along with the usual suspects in a chili powder. Wow. What an aromatic punch! So use your own discretion and craft your own creations. Most of all, have fun when playing in the kitchen, crafting combinations of items you have in the fridge and in the cupboard. Besides using your creative talents, you are using foods that might otherwise be wasted, and we really don't want to do that do we?

Here's the dish:

ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



1 cup Jasmine rice, 1 cup cooked green lentils, tumeric, bird eye chilies, sesame oil, butter, 1 clove garlic (I only had one; the bulb in the basket was a desiccated mess!), grape seed oil, kosher salt.

STEP ONE:






Heat 1 T. of butter and 1 T. of oil (I used grape seed). Add 1 cup of rice, stir and toast in the butter and oil for about 5 minutes on medium heat. The rice has the faint aroma of popcorn as it simmers. When it starts to turn a golden brown turn down the heat to low.

STEP TWO:



Pour in 1 1/2 cups of water, 1/2 tsp. of turmeric, 1/2 tsp. of kosher salt and 3-5 bird eye chilies. Stir and cover the pan (or wok which is what I used). Simmer for 10-12 minutes. Check to see if you might need a little more water as the rice cooks and add a small amount if needed.

STEP THREE:







Open the lid and stir in a cup of lentils and the crushed garlic clove, scattering it about the rice and lentils. Add any other ingredients you'd like to add. It is good as is, but I wanted to bump it up a bit.  That's when I chose the Penzey Spices chili powder. Maybe you'd like to add a bit of tamari or some red or green salsa, fresh basil,  or ......? Allow to simmer for a few minutes and add a generous amount of spinach. Stir and allow to wilt. Stir in 1/8-1/4 tsp. sesame oil. Let the spinach steam for a couple more minutes.

Turn off heat and serve.

ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!