Sunday, May 31, 2009

Huanxontle aka lambs quarters



I've been feeling especially lucky lately because I've really been enjoying my assignments writing for the Ventura County Star
. It's a great arrangement for me because I don't have to be trapped in an office and I can get out and meet people and learn really cool things as I travel all around Ventura County.

Of course my very favorite assignment is writing the farmers market column. I love farmers markets anyway and to be paid to go around and scout out the farmers market scene in one of the most vibrant farmers market enclaves is especially exciting. The farmers market gig is made even more cool by the fact that farmers markets are really "in" right now, so there's always more and more to write about.

And even though I go to a farmers market a week to scope out the scene, I still go to Ojai each Sunday to my favorite home market. One of my favorite people there is B.D. Dautch who is always at the Ojai market at his Earthtrine Farms booth.

B.D. is a local favorite not only because he is a big proponent of the Slow Food movement, which has made huge strides in getting the message of local, old-fashioned food distribution out in this day and age of mass food poisonings. He also loves to grow unique, hard-to-find items that are in great demand by chefs from L.A. to San Francisco.

I love his frisee, which I made into a salad with apples, nuts (I generally use pecans, but lately have been using sunflower seeds, which are delicious) and gorgonzola or blue cheese. I added blackberries from the backyard to my Good Seasons (guilty pleasure) Italian dressing and it is amazing. I also get herbs and peruse the other goods, looking for anything intersting.

Last weekend I came on some odd looking stuff that looked like a weed. The sign said it was lambs quarters or huanxontle. I asked B.D. what the Hell it was and he said some of his guys had gone to Mexico and had found this stuff and brought back some seeds. B.D. said it made a great relleno.

I asked him how one would go about making what looked like a pile of weedy stuff into a relleno. He said to grab a small portion of it, blanch it and then roll it in cheese and an egg batter and serve it up with some red sauce.

It sat in my crisper for a week as I made excuses for not tackling the decidedly odd-looking stuff. It smells kind of flowery/fruity with nutty overtones, so it was intriguing. Finally, I screwed up my courage and made some up into rellenos. They were fantastic. I ate them with some Tapatio sauce and sour cream, along with a steak and the flavors were amazing.

Since you don't exactly stuff these like you would a traditional chile relleno, you should approach cooking them more like you would a potato pancake or fritter, with everything mounded in the skillet while you let the heat do the work of forming it into a cohesive whole.

Huanxontle rellenos

1 large bunch of huanxontle, also known as lambs quarters
1 cup Colby cheddar cheese, shredded
2 eggs
2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
garlic powder (not salt)
onion powder (not salt)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons canola oil

Blanch the huanxontle in a pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds,rinse and drain. Break off most of the woody stems and grab a small portion. Roll it in about a quarter cup of cheese. Whisk eggs and flour, along with onion and garlic powders and salt. Pour a quarter of the egg mixture into a separate dish. Roll the huanxontle and cheese in the mixture and mound the whole thing in a heated skillet skillet with canola oil. Repeat the process three more times, to make a total of four rellenos. Cook over medium high heat for about three to four minutes or until egg/cheese mixture is beginning to set and flip over and cook for another three to four minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with red sauce and sour cream.

Makes four rellenos. Multiply as needed for more rellenos. the egg batter proportions are 1 tablespoon white whole wheat flour to 1 egg.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Upside-down tomatoes




You've seen those commercials for those Topsy Turvy tomato dealies, which are basically glorified plastic bags that you have to find a hanger for, so you can grow tomatoes. Rob and I really like the concept, but seriously? A plastic bag with a hole in it for $9.95 and no way to hang the damn thing. That just seemed stupid.

But then, right before Mother's Day, we were on our monthly Sam's Club paper products run when we saw this black plastic container thing that you use to grow tomatoes and the top part could double as a planter. We decided it would be my Mother's Day present. Rob and I always select something we've coveted for Mother's Day. A couple of years ago, it was our gas grill, many years ago it was the beach bike I got hit on. This year it was the upside-down tomato planter.

We then headed up to the Ojai farmers market to get tomato plants from my favorite tomato plant grower Caryn Molinelli and we selected four plants, including brandywine and San Marzano, but these are all heirloom varieties. I assembled the plastic contraption while Rob poured sand from the beach in the bottom along with some water, to anchor it. The plants went through the holes easily. We added the soil and I transplanted some seedlings.

Usually when I plant my tomatoes they go through a couple of week of shock before they decide to dig in a grow. The plants in the tomato planter have taken off from Day 1. The black plastic keeps the soil nice and warm, which is important here because Ventura, being right next to the ocean, never gets really hot in the summer. Tomatoes actually like good, warm soil and the planter seems to be fooling the tomatoes into thinking they a lot warmer than they are.

Last year our tomatoes were devastated by tomato-eating caterpillars and I'm hoping our new arrangement will serve as a deterrent, while not freaking out the bees. But we did put the thing where our pool used to be, in the middle of our blackberry patch, and there are lots of bees there. We'll see.

Speaking of blackberries, I haven't been writing a lot about food lately because I've been on a strict low-carb diet. With all of the problems with my legs, it's more important than ever to lose weight. I had a lot to lose because I gained weight during my surgeries, despite trying really hard to watch what I ate.

The oven also broke and we haven't been able to fix it yet, so there hasn't been a lot of cooking. The other night, however, I did make a wonderful discovery. Last year, Rob cut back our blackberry bush in a futile attempt to get the thing under control.

We were given a small bush by a friend of Rob's when we first moved here. I asked him if it would run and he said, "Oh no. It's not the running kind." Ha! Like there is such a thing as non-running blackberries. Rob occasionally gets frustrated by the intrusive bugger and last year he really hacked it back. Of course, this meant it put out a bunch of new growth and we have some wonderful blackberries this year. After they bloom, I'm going to make him cut it back again.

Right now we have some amazing blackberries. They're huge and really sweet. The other night I was preparing to grill some chicken when I got inspired and added some blackberries and mashed them into the teryaki marinade I was using. The flavors went together amazingly well.

Blackberry teryaki grilled chicken

1 whole chicken, cut up
1 cup Veri Veri Teryaki or Trader Joe's Teryaki sauce
4 scallions sliced into 1/4 inch pieces (I used a bigger spring onion from the farmer's market and it was fabulous)
1 cup ripe blackberries
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (fresh minced garlic, if you're not lazy)

Mix all the ingredients, except the chicken. Mash the blackberries into the teryaki mixture with a fork. Add the chicken and coat and marinade it in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes on each side. Heat a grill and grill the chicken over low heat for about 15 or 16 minutes a side. Make sure to spread the mashed blackberry and onion mixture on the chicken before it cooks. A lot will fall off, but a bunch will still stick.


Oh and BTW, I've lost more than 20 pounds so far, which is making my legs feel a lot better

Monday, May 11, 2009

Rocking and rolling

I don't believe in prayer. Not that I don't pray, every human prays. Oh please, please, please let ME be the winner. Oh dear God, please don't kill me now! I just don't believe those prayers are much more than wishful thinking articulated. There does seen to be some kind of order to the universe, but beyond that I have no idea.

Sometimes that order even seems to come about in your own life. Just a few weeks ago, I found out my stepfather had died. Now I come face-to-face via photo with my step-granddaughter Jessica.

Apparently Courtney was out with her friend and they ran into my stepson, Jesse, with whom Rob has been in touch sporadically, and infrequently through the years. Courtney and Jesse decided to meet up on Mother's Day in a park near where they live just a few miles apart in Bellbrook, Ohio. Jesse brought his daughter Jessica, who turned 7 on May 9 and Courtney brought Cody and Alex.

Jesse had mentioned a daughter before, but seeing pictures of her -- a really cute, dark-haired beauty -- really brought it home. Courtney said that she and Jesse were both a bit awkward around each other, but it's been many years since they spoke and, she said, it's time to put the past and its grudges behind.

I think Courtney gave both Rob and me one of the best Mother's day presents ever with those photos of all three grandchildren playing together in a park in Bellbrook. But sometimes it is odd how tings work out, with such a scripted perfection. Cool.