Gazpacho!

Gazpacho!

Posted by Nerdyy

OK so for a Saturday meal I decided to venture into the unknown(for me that is), A COLD SOUP! Well it is peak summer, tomatoes are ripening, cukes are bountiful, and the basil is quite delicious at this time.

So here we are: spoiler alert it turned out to be delicious. (DUH - all produce other than garlic was hand picked within 6 hours of preparation)

Recipe:

6-8 ripe Roma tomatoes
3 medium sized cucumbers
12 basil leaves
1 clove garlic
1 serrano pepper
Mint to garnish
1 tsp red wine vinegar or lemon juice
Salt as needed

In a pot, boil some water, and blanch the tomatoes for about 30 seconds and take them out - this is to easily remove the skin. Also blanch the garlic to soften and sweeten the taste. Once done, chop tomatoes and also chop cukes. In a blender or food processor add chopped tomatoes, cukes, basil, garlic, serrano, and blend till smoothish. Add salt and lemon juice/vinegar and blend again.

Serve with a chiffonade of mint(or something else) and a drizzle of olive oil on top. I only post picture of the final blend and leave it upto Van Gogh to be as artistic as necessary and add whatever topings as desired. One does not, after all, tell Van Gogh the direction of the art 😂

Have with some crusty bread or any other sides or salads!

Kimchi Pancakes, modified

Kimchi Pancakes, modified

Posted by Nerdyy

See-yo, Grappa c'est bien 🤗

On a different note, I decided to stand in front of a hot stove, outside, on the hottest day of the year, to try this out!

I used a modified recipe using one part flour and three parts chickpea flour (or besan!), so it had an interesting taste mix of traditional korean pajeon and indian pakora. Easy to make, add water to the 3:1 besan flour mix, chop up a lot of kimchi preferably the hottest one, add salt and hot chilli powder to "enhance" the taste, and cook on a cast iron pan, or any pan really.

For the side sauce, mix soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, a dash of sesame oil, and sriracha or sambal.

Very yum!

Glace a la Fraise

Glace a la Fraise

Posted by Nerdyy

It's summer aka ICE CREAM TIME!

Today's edition covers the recipe for the yummiest home made ice cream ever.

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
5 egg yolks
2 cups fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 ice cream maker (Necessary)

Mix cream and milk and sugar and bring to almost a boil over heat (about 185F). Turn off the heat,  beat the five egg yolks. Transfer the heated milk and cream one spoon at a time to temper the egg yolks, to make sure you don't end up with scrambled eggs. Keep stirring the egg and warm milk mix. When the eggs and milk+cream are almost the same temp, pour the egg and cream mix back into the rest of the milk and cream. Keep stirring, add vanilla extract. Take off heat at approximately 200F. One good indicator is when the mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon.

Pour the milk cream egg mix into a bowl and place bowl into an ice bath. Grind the strawberries into a coarse smoothie consistency, when the milk cream mix has cooled, add and mix the pureed strawberries to the milk cream mix, gently folding it in so it becomes a pinkish mix. Keep in fridge for about 3 hours to chill.

The ice cream maker has to be appropriately chilled, check the directions. Mine needs to be kept in the freezer for the bowl to freeze. Once ready pour the chilled mix into the ice cream maker and turn on according to directions.

Churnin"

The ice cream maker basically churns the mix to add air into the mixture, while at the same time the sides of the liquid freeze and the paddle collects the frozen bits so slowly the mix freezes and becomes fluffy. About 20-30 mins. Gently scoop out the ice cream into a tupperware or other freezer safe bowl, and cover tightly. 

Looks yummy the next day! Its not going to be exactly the store bought stuff or the artisinal stuff, but it is homemade and tastes great!

OK that's it from this weekend in Chez Nerdyy or Casa Nerdyy, however you wish to call it!

Baked Chickpeas, Olives, and Feta

Baked Chickpeas, Olives, and Feta

Posted by Nerdyy

Guess who is back midweek, Bitch (and I say that in the most platonically loving tone!) - well there is this recipe I HAD TO SHARE!

1 can chickpeas rinsed (use turkish or israeli chickpeas, tend to be crisper)
1/3 lb feta cheese
1 cup Kalamata olives pitted
2 roma tomatoes diced
2 cloves garlic crushed
a bunch of radish greens (sharp tasting, in this case home grown - of course), chopped
a bunch of mint (also home grown), chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Pour oil in oven safe dish, along with crushed garlic and roast in a 300F oven for about 10 mins, the garlic will smell heavenly. Put in all the other ingredients in the bowl, arranging them artistically (!!), isn't that the point?
Bake for about 25 mins. Take out of oven and sprinkle some mint leaves on top.

Seriously, this reminded me of the early artistic works of my favorite food porn creator, in later months she has moved on to creating color and texture separations between different foods.

Bon Apetit, mon ami!

Matar Paneer

Matar Paneer

Posted by Nerdyy

Hiya

Weekdays are rough, the whole process of planning for socially distanced operations starting mid August is taking a whole lotta time, but it all seems worth it. Thus Sunday evenings to Friday mornings are hectic hectic!

OK - so here's the next recipe, also a food recipe like last time.

Part 1: Making homemade paneer:

In a pan bring abut half gallon of whole milk to a boil, once that is done mix in about 5-6 tbsp of lemon juice and the milk will curdle quickly. Cool it down and strain the water out using a cheesecloth. Make sure all the water is squeezed out, it will create a better pressed paneer. Also supposedly using vinegar creates a better paneer. My experiment resulted in a more rustic country style paneer!

Part 2: Matar Paneer:

Heat oil, I used frozen masala that I had made fresh last October(ground onions, ginger, garlic, and hot chilli peppers) so fry the masala mix, add abt 1 tsp whole cumin, 1 tbsp ground coriander, 1 tsp turmeric, and 1 tbsp chilli powder. Yes it is going to be hot 'n spicy. Add peas, stir for about 15 mins, and add fresh coriander leaves (In this case, the coriander is home grown so I just snipped them off the plants and put them in my food!). Sprinkle some lime juice on top for an added pep.

Served with flour tortillas, seconds were gobbled down easily, and leftovers became a Paneer Panini!

In this case, as with most Indian food, a sparkling wine is best, so my suggestion is a Cava, or Prosecco. Gewurztraminer or Riesling also works.

Poulet Roti et Asperge grillees

Poulet Roti et Asperge grillees

Posted by Nerdyy

It's Summer! Ya didn't think I'd be moping inside did ya now?

Recipes:

1. Poulet Roti

About a 3-4 pound chicken (whole), keep about half a stick of butter outside to room temp, add salt to butter, mix it and apply under the skin of the chicken all around. This seasons the chicken well and also gives it the wonderful golden brown crisp skin (although take care not to tear the skin like I've done here!). For added flavor you can add cut up garlic under the skin, herbes de provence, and also quarter a lemon and keep it in the cavity while roasting.
I'm using a cast iron skillet, works well on the grill, take care to have some oil on the skillet because the grill gets really hot and can burn the chicken.
Temperature - about 450F for 45 minutes then bring the grill down to about 350 for half hour, we are looking for 175-180F temp for a thermometer inserted into the thigh.

2. Asparagus

Very simple recipe: Wash, cut, drizzle olive oil and salt. I'm using a vegetable grilling pan - very handy because it prevents the veggies from getting burnt on the grill.

For an accompanying drink if you prefer wine, go with a Sancerre or Pouilly Fume from the Loire Valley; or a Pouilly Fuisse or even a generic Chardonnay from Burgundy.

For this particular meal, I made a very refreshing summer cocktail: 1 and half ounce Gin, 1 and half ounce Aperol, half a can of grapefruit Seltzer and lots of ice, garnished with a slice of lemon. Yum!

BON APPETIT 😎

Caesar, are you too ambitious?

Caesar, are you too ambitious?

Posted by Nerdyy

Or at least that was the claim of Brutus, or maybe that was the claim of Shakespeare relayed through Brutus! If you have been following the news these days, you should be able to figure out what brought me to this topic.

However, there is a deeper purpose here; or at least a series of purposes. Readers (or maybe reader?) of my blog will remember (or if you don't I will refresh your memory) that I had alluded a year and a half ago to a restaurant in Rome that had (more than one) historical significance (here is the post: http://musikellishus.blogspot.com/2015/11/pasta-in-roma-yes-of-course.html). The purpose of that post was not just that though, I had intended to write a series of posts about interesting culinary creations and the original restaurants that created them.

So here is Part 2 of that series - the humble (as far as its beginnings) and the now classy Caesar Salad. Cesare (Caesar) Cardini from Lake Maggiore near the Piedmont in Italy emigrated to San Diego in the US in the 1920s and set up a restaurant in Tijuana , Mexico called Caesars. One day short of supplies, he concocted a salad with Romaine, eggs, limes, anchovy and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Thus was born the Caesar Salad!

As always, for the vegetarian palate, the anchovies can be skipped!

Mid Spring Grilling

Mid Spring Grilling

Posted by Nerdyy

For the first time in probably about a year I refrained from ANY work related crap during the weekend - so what better to enjoy the gorgeous weather than fire up da grill :D

C'mon Miss LMK Flip the damn chicken

Laylaa: CHICKENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Now for some real life pics: Bratwurst, Grilled Anise, Store bought Potato Pancake and Mac 'n Cheese

On Da Grill

On Da Plate and some Glenlivet on da rocks

Tailgating

Tailgating

Posted by Nerdyy

This was last weekend before the cowboys game ... and yes there were burgers and also sweet potatoes that were grilled :D ... I took this pic specially for my two veggie frnds that keep bugging me abt only posting beef pics LOLL :D

Beets n corn - both tasted yumm as did the sweet potatoes (and the burgers) :D

Keema Fry

Keema Fry

Posted by Nerdyy

Rustic style keema with cubed onions garlic ginger and mostly whole spices except for aamchoor. Some of my mirchi found its way in here :D. This was made outdoors on the side burner of the grill.

For those non beef eaters (i.e. most of you) this can be made with lamb, chicken, turkey, soy or any other veg protein of choice.

Enjoy with naan and a beer :D

Tomato n Basil Salad

Tomato n Basil Salad

Posted by Nerdyy

Ingredients: Home grown tomatoes, home grown basil, sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and tellicherry pepper (pic taken before pepper was added). Enjoy !

Dinner Companion

Dinner Companion

Posted by Nerdyy

Saturday Breakfast

Saturday Breakfast

Posted by Nerdyy

Almond Honey Granola with milk and home grown strawberry :D

Tomatoes - Part Two

Tomatoes - Part Two

Posted by Nerdyy

A different varietal from the one I had posted before, these are called Celebrity and they are a deterministic hybrid i.e. deterministic in the size of the plant. The last time I had grown these the fruits turned out to be one-fifth this size - so yeah I'm quite happy about this season so far. It was cool and wet during the first part of the growing season followed by hot and wet - with the excessively hot days just restricted to one week (this past week) - all in all great weather so far. The one on the left weighs about a pound and the other one about half a pound :D

So what do you do when you have a bunch of tomatoes fresh off you own vines :O Eat them of course - here is a classic recipe.

Panzanella:


About 2-3 pounds of fresh ripe tomatoes
Half a loaf of stale (day or two old) bread
One red onion sliced
Basil leaves julienned
Extra Virgin Olive oil and Red Wine Vinegar
Sea Salt and Tellicherry Pepper

Dice the tomatoes into large chunks as well as the bread. Mix all the ingredients together (except oil and vinegar). Toss in oil and vinegar, add salt and pepper to taste. Very simple but extremely delicious.

Strawberries - Part Two

Strawberries - Part Two

Posted by Nerdyy

Small but beautiful :D

Tomato

Tomato

Posted by Nerdyy

First fruit of the season and its massive - its the size of my hand and my hand is pretty large - it weighs about a pound and half :D - this is the heirloom cherokee purple tomato - very tangy and a little sweet - perfect tomato flavor.

Have it sliced with some sea salt sprinkled on the top and little strips of basil :D

Two Treasures that I picked up in the market

Two Treasures that I picked up in the market

Posted by Nerdyy

Sea Salt from the South of France region and Herbes de Provence - someday I'll cook chicken with the Herbes de Provence (probably in the Fall) and post the recipe and pictures :D

Provence

Provence

Posted by Nerdyy

After the end of the work stuff in Paris, it was time to head for a little R & R and some wine tasting too - France has an excellent railway network with the high speed TGV trains making connectivity between relatively far away places very efficient. The distance between Paris and Aix-en-Provence is about 640 kms or about 400 miles. The TGV train covers the distance in approximately 3 hours with top speeds of about 200 mph - nice eh :D

Aix is the city of fountains

Rotunda Fountain

French Countryside and Vineyards

One of the Wineries

There was also a visit to the Mediterranean town of Cassis also a wine producing area.

Cassis

This was my second visit to the Mediterranean in 6 months - the dark blue sea is truly spectacular

Pure heaven

Aix and the rest of Provence is also famous for its produce and food markets - the produce is really stunning, as are the saucissons (dried sausages) cheeses olives and of course the Poulet Roti. Dont drool at these pictures too much :P

Farm Fresh Eggs with Bread in the background

Spices

Saucisson

Fromage

Olives

Fruits

Tomatoes

The best way to enjoy the food is to go in the morning and bring a bunch of stuff back home - since I was staying in a place with a fridge and microwave I brought all this stuff home along with some excellent rotisserie chicken and potatoes - heaven :D

After three days in Provence it was back to Paris for a day and then back home :D

Strawberries

Strawberries

Posted by Nerdyy

Yes I did resist the temptation to gobble them up - I will tomorrow though :P

you all have till tomorrow afternoon to come and steal my strawberries - after that they are gone :P

Shrimp Linguini

Shrimp Linguini

Posted by Nerdyy

OK - maybe all of you forgot this

(Published in Golden Memories 10/15/2012)

 Marinara

Ingredients:

About 15 tomatoes from farmer nerdyys garden ( a mixture of cherokee purple, yellow pear, roma and early girl), diced
Two small onions diced
4 cloves of garlic crushed
Few basil leaves and marjoram from the garden

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a heavy bottomed pan (heavy bottomed for equal distribution of heat). Add onions cook till translucent, add garlic cook till it gives aroma or fried garlic, add all the tomatoes and stir over high heat. Keep stirring till most of the liquid becomes thick, then put it on simmer for abt 30 minutes. At the end stir in the julienned basil and marjoram leaves.

At some later point of time this will become a meat sauce :)

This was stored in the freezer since last Fall, so last weekend I took it out and decided to make a Shrimp Linguini using the marinara sauce.

First the shrimp - lightly tossed in crushed garlic and extra virgin olive oil and grilled:

Shrimp on the Barbie (as the Aussies would say)

 Cook the pasta (Linguini) - takes about 10 mins in boiling water. Add a little salt to the boiling water (and a little extra virgin olive oil if you want). Take the pasta out and drain. Heat a little olive oil and add some crushed red peppers (dried) and some garlic from the marinade on the shrimp. Heat the marinara sauce and pour over linguini, add shrimp and toss together. Garnish with some chopped basil or parsley - both available in my garden :P

Linguini with Shrimp

The end product was a little smoky because of the grilled shrimp and the crushed red peppers. You can substitute the shrimp with zucchini and/or mushrooms.