Recipe for Life

So...In keeping with my last post...

Welcome to the world Isak Dylan

I also found out my dog Tripoli died. I was so sad. Devastated, really. And I know I wasn't alone, and as pathetic as it sounds, calling my new nephew Tripp had its gratifying moments...

RIP, buddy:

Neicew: Fourth Niece/Nephew - On the Cusp of Birth

"Intellectual growth should commence at birth and only cease in death." - Albert Einstein

My brother, A, and his wife M, are having their second child, the brother or sister of T. Well, to be fair, I should say M is having their second child, and A is keeping family hungry for news in the loop.

Sometimes I love technology.

How come English has the words: "daughter", "son" and "children/kids" or "granddaughter" "grandson" and "grandchildren/kids" but  only "niece", "nephew", or... OR WHAT?? I'm using "neicew" as a placeholder. Without the singular for a group, what is the plural? It may be a completely new word altogether, we have "clutches", "gaggles", "murders", "herds". As an aunt, I'm just sayin, I could say I have a "murder of niecews" when the kids come over. If their parents would ever let them.

I am super stoked about the imminent birth of this child, which will share M's birthday. A and M wanted to wait to find out the child's gender; I gotta be honest, it's been more difficult to get excited about this kid or remember, because without a gender, this whole "human" thing seems largely theoretical. And it's a pain b/c I can't say "niece" or "nephew", I have to make up new words!

So now I am thinkin, if I could make a savory birthday "cake", what would it be? Since I'm back on the paleo-centric wagon, it would likely be a revised shepherd's-esque pie: seasoned, spicy, almost a little barbequey (a la agave instead of sugar, honey, or molasses) venison or bison, shredded, with green beans and sweet potatoes. On top would be a sprinkle of kale crisps. Mmn, kale crisps...

If you could make a savory birthday "cake", what would yours look like?

Veterans' Day Recipes...

I'm a few days late, but you could say that's similar to how the U.S. enters wars, so it's fitting, right??

So, how do you make a veteran? Start with a well-meaning, albeit often naive patriot. Blend with training, determination, and pain. Add conflict. Survive.  Tah dah!

Ok, for real, this blog is dedicated to all those veterans out there. You know who you are.

While I was out these last few months, a few were sent on an arduous journey.  This journey resulted in...meals-ready-to-eat! (aka MREs) and because of our location, they were....*drumroll please*

HALAL!

Perhaps it was hunger, perhaps it was desperation, perhaps it was that twisted positivity known as "survivalism" but when they returned, they had a recipe that I wanted to share with the world:

Brumie Stew (aka Survival Stew)
You'll need: an assortment of MREs, halal will work, a big pot, enough security, time, and space to start a fire OR the ability to use a burner (which I know can be a rare find in the field), harissa, boy cheese (see below), sunflower seeds (for texture), hunger, your team, and na'an, if available.

Once hungry enough and in a location where most if not all your team can sit together and heat up some chow, sift through the MRE's. Select enough that will likely not taste too bad together (for example, meat products with sauces, side veggie packs, the vegetarian servings, etc.)

Put them all together in a big pot; add boiling water if you have some and if you need some to thin it out. If there are filler assists, like rice, pasta, crackers--add those in, too.  Well save the crackers til the end, but the others can go in the pot. Keep stirring over heat. Add as much harissa as the weakest person on the team can handle.  Add the boy cheese. Keep stirring. Right before serving, add sunflower seeds for texture.  Yes, I mean those packets you ate to keep you awake on trips, or watched baseball players who didn't want to dip but still wanted to look like it ate.

Once hot enough both in temperature and flavor, sprinkle a few crushed MRE crackers on top of the individual portions and serve. You'd be surprised.  Sometimes, adding the peanut butter also helps.

Accompany with crackers or na'an with harissa and boy cheese. And dates. Don't like dates? You will when you have no other options for food other than bread, harissa, and boy cheese.  Repeat for weeks on end.

***
What's ironic is the above is in relatively good conditions.  The team had hot water, a heater, enough security and time to actually heat their food. Access to procure some food on the local economy (bread, harissa, boy cheese, dates). And they knew they "had it good" in comparison to many of our folks deployed, both military and civilian, worldwide. And compared to many of the folks we are trying to help in our deployments.

I can get boy cheese and harissa here in DC. I can even get na'an.  Often, we take for granted access to international foods and influences.  But even these come at a cost. So, to the veterans who will live to eat another MRE while securing my liberty to eat anything in the world I want, thank you from the bottom of my heart and the tip of my palate!

What Does "American" Look Like?

Bear with me as I deviate slightly from my normal food-focus to throw an additional hand grenade on the current political debate.  Take it as being in the capital of a country obsessed with perception, racial debate, and nationalism. Or caused by my "day job", which has caused me to travel the world in an effort to exercise "smart power" as Secretary Clinton has coined it, when dealing in the international forum.

Which reminds me, all posts, tweets, facebook comments are purely my own and not representative of any professional affiliation.

While I was gone, a colleague made a series of comments which ultimately resulted in her calling myself and several other ethnic minorities "not American".  When I called her out, she then apologized and said it was that we "didn't look American."
...

What exactly does an American look like? I began asking, both frustrated and insulted.  My question, fully loaded with an undertow of accusations, put her off-balance.  And the more she back-peddled, the harder I pushed.  Because I think the question is valid.

What does an American look like?

Frequently representing our country overseas, there are several points in which my national identity is at first confused.  I understand that, they are not my fellow Americans.  And frankly, the curiosity of my interlocutors are often more frequently regarding my position since I am a woman than my ethnic background.  But that's for another discussion.

During this last trip, folks particularly in North Africa often confused me as Chinese (I'm ethnically Korean). As soon as I said, "La, Ameriqi" (No, American), the general response was "aaah" and the light of understanding was visible.  At one point, a local shouted to me in a high pitched, excited voice, "You Americans--you look like--all the world! But one country! It is crazy!!" in response to a discussion regarding tribal roles within the cultural structure and social normals of his particular country.  Which, I found out, was not his, despite the years which he lived there, as he was originally from a neighboring country.  The notion of a country comprised of the rest of the world, and for someone like myself, a first generation transplant, to be able to claim, moreover actively work for, my "new" country absolutely mystified him.

And made me proud.  Proud to be an American.  Proud to be able to tell folks with whom I dealt with on a daily basis, that yes, I believe the American dream is a dream of diversity, rooted in personal responsibility, social accountability, economic pursuit, and freedom of religious and philosophical expression. And that I was able to grow their understanding of who we are--that we are not the caricature that they so often want to believe. Ironically, ethnic diversity is part of the American image they inherently recognize since many of our celebrities are cross-cultural.  Name ten of the top American celebrities the world would recognize and you are bound to have a number of them either first, second, or third-generation Americans. To countries who have been around thousands of years, the fact that in two, or in my case, one, generation we can claim an identity which is greater than our ethnicity is...well, crazy. And pretty unique to Americanism.

What troubled me, and still does, is that this mystified recognition by my international counterparts seemed somehow lost on my colleague who so ignorantly called myself and several other minorities...not American.  And that her unintentional accusation stemmed from our ethnicity varying from hers. And here we all were together, committed to the promulgation of our national interest in a foreign land. Even more disturbing was returning and hearing this sentiment echoed by certain well-meaning friends and family.  I say well meaning because I know in no way were they trying to question my patriotism or American identity.

But they did.

To me, racism is abhorrent because it is demeaning the humanity of another person by virtue of their race--skin color and culture.  I do not think that either my friends or my family members who questioned my Americanism based on my skin color were in any way questioning my humanity.  So I hesitate to call the comments racist. The comments were prejudiced, but it's the subtle prejudice of the day, not the deep rooted hatred that our country has so famously fought.  We are a nation known for our self-loathing because of the treatment we have pushed on our own--on fellow Americans.  Every single cultural group on this planet has committed and received violent, terrible, acts of racism and prejudice.  What I love about being American is that part of our cultural identity is the active war we have raged against this atrocity.  However imperfectly we have waged it, the fight for common ground among the various cultures blended together to be our own, continues. Americans have no race, we have no identified skin color, and our culture is unique in its constant blending of other cultures. We have each other.

And I am expecting multiple phone calls and emails from these well meaning folks who read my blog and are mortified that I found their comments insulting, particularly in light of what I have done for my country. So let me be clear: I love my family and friends, including the ones who made the egregious comments.  And I understand the position from which they are derived--I don't look like them. And had they mentioned something about my appearance not looking Western, I would understand, and it would not have cut so deeply. Because I don't look Western. But I don't believe America does either.  Although it often represents "the West", that is a deep misnomer that I think does our country great disservice within the international domain. Walk through any major city or university in our great nation and you will understand what I mean.  We are not a country comprised of Western European, North American, Latin, Central, and South American countries.  We are comprised of the entire world.

And I know I don't need to explain how this relates to food, and "American food"...but you'll have to read future blogs for that ;)

So, I ask you, what does America look like? What does American look like?

xoxo,
Food and the Fury

Food And the Fury: Return to DC

I realize I disappeared for a bit. Ok, for almost four months. Without notice.

It's a key struggle, which I realize balancing profession and passion is a petty complaint compared to juggling things like job and family, or finances and necessities.  But Albert Camus once said that pain is a gas, great or small it fills a room. I think that applies beyond just pain.

While I was gone, I did not have time or access to my kitchen to experiment, but I was able to try some interesting foods and learn a little along the way.  And I continued my self-education in flavor, texture, and techniques.

One food I ate A LOT was soup.  Soup is comforting, versatile, and flavorful.  My favorite soup right now is lentil. I learned how to make it in the traditional Arab way (my favorite), which is much thinner and And get this, it is EASY to make. Seriously!

You need the following: small lentils (the orange kind--I brought mine back from the Middle East but you can get them at most stores), part of a yellow onion, stock or broth (chicken, beef, veggie or combo), cumin, (I also add cayenne pepper), lemon, mint, cilantro, salt and pepper:

So I used about 1 c. lentils for 4 c. broth. I had to add water, so I would say maybe 2/3 c. - 3/4 c. lentils for 4 c. broth. I sauteed about 2/3 onion minced in the bottom of a large pan.  After they were nice and golden and mushy, I added the broth and lentils. Let it simmer; add cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper to taste. Keep simmering until the lentils are almost dissolved into the soup. The soup should still be relatively thin.  This will take about 40 minutes.

Finely chop the cilantro and chiffonade the mint. Add.  Right before serving, squeeze the lemon in individual soup bowls for added freshness.

And serve--it's that simple!

Summer in the City: Bastille Day and Basil Watermelon

"And babe, don't you know it's a pity the days can't be like the nights in the summer in the city, in the summer in the city..." Lovin Spoonful a la Mark Sebastian

It's hot, stormy and muggy in DC. And while the rain is good for the flora, there are times when the rainy season reminds me of the DC winters--dark, grey, and foreboding. In the Most Powerful City in the World, the fragile egos seem to reach their expansive boundaries and bump into each other, sending needless jolts of electrifying, un-directed frustration and anger into the sweltering air.

A good way to cool it down is a trick we learned from our Grandbob down in Texas: Watermelon soothes a multitude of angst.

When I was young, Grandbob gave us large boat-shaped sections of watermelon (it was Texas, afterall), which we would carve into various shapes as we ate. Sometimes we'd add salt, but it was always the antidote to the Texas heat.

As an adult, I've always enjoyed bringing it to parties. Now I know, many of you probably know the tequila recipe: you cut up your watermelon and add some fresh squeezed lime, hand torn cilantro, a tad of salt and a dash of tequila and soak. More or less tequila based on taste. The reason why this works is because tequila and lime should imitate the nature of the rind on your palate. It adds a little bitterness and punch.

But to me, while that's ok, there is something so much better. And, after testing it on a few parties and friends, I feel confident in saying this may replace your current approach to serving "dressed-up" watermelon:

Cube or ball watermelon in a large bowl. Add the juice and zest of 1-2 limes, depending on watermelon quantity. Add a bit of cayenne pepper, to taste. Why? To me the taste of the cayenne pepper matches the deep red of the watermelon, without altering the watermelon's flavor. Add just a teeny hint of chili powder. Not enough to taste like "chili watermelon" but, as I call it, to "anchor the flavor"--to help your palate feel the flavor and heat you just added with the pepper is familiar and memorable, yet new and interesting. Add a bit of sea salt. Sea salt is generally lighter in taste than regular salt, but regular will do in a pinch. Add a very small amount of honey or agave (if you're trying to cut carbs from...watermelon...which is high carb). You want it to add dimension to the current watermelon sweetness, not for it to taste like honeyed watermelon. Add a chiffonade of basil.

Chiffa-what? I just heard your eyeballs ask me.

Chiffonade. That's fancy. talk (aka French for "made of rags") for the following method: Get a few basil leaves (5-10 to start), roll them lengthwise like a cigar (Side note: I'm not promoting tobacco use or smoking. I'm promoting basil use. Only not smoking. Just eating). With a sharp knife, cut across the rolled basil, creating small, thin ribbons of basil. Do this for as much basil as you want to add to the watermelon. Fluff those mama jama's up and throw them into the watermelon dish. Fold or gently toss the ingredients together so everything's distributed evenly. There should be enough lime to keep the basil fresh for a few hours.

The result is a striking deep red watermelon with ribbons of green basil and flecks of neon green from the lime zest. You'll notice adding the pepper and chili powder that the watermelon seems to naturally grow a deeper red. I'll post pics once I make mine tomorrow am for a work thing.

This can be made a few hours prior to where you're taking it, or right before serving. It takes about 5 minutes to assemble if the watermelon's pre-cut and once you get used to chiffonade knife-work and have your ingredients together. If you want to prep this the night before, put everything together but the basil and the lime zest. Just because once basil is wounded (i.e. cut) it gets dark green and then kinda wilty within a few hours. The lime will help, but still... Lime zest turns bitter over time. You want it to echo the bitterness of the rind, not actually be bitter.

Again, the goal is to bring out some of the rich subtlety of what some people think is the straightforward and simple flavor of watermelon. So when you are adding the other ingredients, remember the goal is to compliment and amplify the fresh, exuberant flavor of watermelon--the sweetness, some of the subtle bitterness and acidity of its rind, its crunchiness, etc. Better to be conservative and add a little more than to have any of the other ingredients overwhelm the watermelon rather than enhance it.

If you want to try it, here's your shopping list: Watermelon, lime, cayenne pepper, chili powder, sea salt, fresh basil, honey.

Aretha Franklin: Soup

"All I'm askin' Is for a little respect when you come home!" - Your Ingredients, and also, Aretha

I'm pretty convinced if food was a rockstar it'd be Aretha Franklin. Passionate, fiery, tender, soulful, food draws something out of its audience. But, it really does need a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T to get the most out of it. When I say respect I mean, know your food. Know what it tastes like raw, cooked in different methods. Focus on bringing what makes it so awesome out in your food prep, try using complimentary flavors, textures, temperatures. The goal is to showcase the food and delight your palate.

That's why soup is one of my favorite foods ever. It's simple, versatile, and focused on the ingredients. They're like sandwiches, only you use bowls and spoons instead of hands. And if you're doin a low carb diet, you can still eat real soup, unlike sandwiches, which then become lettuce wraps.

Soup should be exciting. The reason why lotsa folks don't think it is, is because like all great things, it's super easy to make terrible, even though it's not difficult to make it memorable. And, because it is simple, it comes in over-salted creepy cans. That's right, creepy cans. That and all the negative connotations with which our society has burdened soup's rep. Like the following:

-- Summer Camp cafeteria lady: Angry, uni-browed and you're pretty sure she hates you and laced it with hair and arsenic.
--  Childhood memories: Soup was whatever was leftover and gross in the fridge that needed to be tossed.
-- Diets: Cabbage or fake chicken broth.
-- Chick food: I'm lookin' at you, beefcake.
-- Seinfeld's Soup nazi: need I say more.

Luckily for me, my mom was a master soupierre (French for: one who makes soup. Don't go looking it up, just trust me.) We had chilled soups, chunky soups, hot soups, spicy soups, vegetarian soups, hearty meat-filled soups. Our soups were versatile, experimental, funky, fun, healthy, and most importantly, delicious. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of those times when I stood on a chair to help brown the meat, or saute the aromatics.

So two days ago, when I was eeking my way through life on motrin, sunglasses, and sleep, I made soup.

There are two important elements to good soup: the first is having good ingredients. The second is, when making your soup, DON'T USE WATER.

**Important sidenote/rant coming up **
I'm serious. if you use water to make soup, baby angels lose their wings and God sheds tears of shame and anger. You don't want either of those happening, so, for the sake of your soup, for the sake of the baby angels, and to save the tears of God, please don't use water.

What should you use, then? Stock, broth, juice, beer, wine, milk, pretty much anything but plain water. In cooking, water is used to boil, steam, poach, or thin stuff, and that's about it. Even when making stock or broth, I typically use a blend of water, wine/beer and juce. Why? Because the other materials add flavor, depth, and texture. If you use beer, for example, the malt breaks down and acts as a binding agent to make your liquid thicker. The hops add a depth and dimension to your dish that otherwise is difficult to create. If you have proteins, the wine, beer, and citrus juices act as natural tenderizers, making your proteins more...tender (there we go), and locking in the juicy goodness that it is. Milk adds a creaminess and creates a fuller flavor. Even using 1% (what I use). The sugars in all of these ingredients also help.

We can talk about how to make quick, flavorful stocks and broths later, but even for those who don't cook, seriously, write this on your shopping list: chicken/beef/veggie stock/broth. Even a bouillon cube (I just shuddered a little, won't lie) is better than plain water. Of course then it's a bit salty, but you get my point.
** Important sidenote/rant over. You may now come out of hiding**

Ok, so I started with some dried split green and yellow peas, lentils, barley, and little alphabet characters. Why? becase I had a "soup blend" of those ingredients. It said to add water. I wanted to fire off an angry email (or cannon) to the company, but the computer screen was too brightly lit for that, so instead I raised my fist to the ceiling and continued.

I added a 1.5 - 1 ratio of chicken stock to the dried barley and veggie blend, and 0.5-1 ratio of red wine. (Translastion: 1 c. of the blend, 1.5 c chicken stock, 1/2 c wine). As I could barely see, I didn't make my own stock, I used it from a box.

I brought it to a boil and then turned it down to a low simmer. I then added celery, and a can (yes, a can) of stewed tomatoes. Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and a few hours later, I had soup. It was good but needed, cumin and fresh cilantro. And maybe ham. But overall, considering I could barely see, and as my housemate, L, is graciously allowing our home to be more like a vampire cave, not bad.

*before you judge me, please remember I have had my kitchen for 3 days. During which I've been unable to go grocery shopping because I'm blinded by light right now).

Yesterday, I was rummaging around my things and I found some dried wild mushrooms! Eureka! I reconstituted the mushrooms using 1 c white wine and 1 c chicken broth (again, water-free works for me). Once they were ready to rock and roll, I used the chicken-mushroom stock as the base for my soup, adding the pea, bean, and barley mixture, tomatoes, celery, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. I was really hurtin for some chili powder, cumin, and fresh herbs--thyme, cilantro, anything! Because of the heartiness from the mushrooms, I added much more pepper and cayenne, let the liquid soak in real good, and then added about 3/4 c of 1% milk and then simmered until it became sort of a creamed soup. Delish! Although I'd still like some spicy sausage in it. And fresh herbs. Fresh herbs are game changers, folks, but that's for another day. Oh, and onion or garlic. Unfortunately, I may as well have been wishing for unicorns and leprechauns because that was not going to happen. But that's the beauty of soup, guys--even a blinded post-PRK person like me yesterday could do it well enough to dish up and enjoy!

Beauty and the Beast: PRK and cooking

"If she doesn't eat with me, then she doesn't eat at all! Grr" - Beast, Beauty and the Beast

The day before yesterday (aka the day after I got eyeball surgery -- that's the technical name for it, by-the-by, PRK is just fancy), I was feelin pretty good. Sure, my eyes felt uncomfortable but I really had no idea what people were talking about when they said it was so difficult. They had me so nervous. That morning, the doctor assured me the worst was yet to come, and that by the afternoon it would probably be pretty painful, and to expect things to get worse before it got better. "PRK is just an intensive post-operative recovery process" she warned me. I smiled. I'd be fine. I didn't even bother getting the eye-numbing drops prescription filled. Why? Because they're supposed to be avoided if possible, and because, well, I didn't need them...

The night before last I woke up four times because my eyes started really feeling uncomfortable. You could almost call it...

Pain.

Eyes are swollen, burny, stingy, and super-light sensitive. I keep them shut unless I absolutely have to have them open...

When yesterday came, I had to pry my eyes open to put in the antibiotics. They did not want to be open, no matter how dark my room was, it just wasn't dark enough. And the stinging and burning! I found some motrin and took it; afterwards I realized, I had made all these grand plans with people because the day before I had been so delightfully smug about my recovery process!

I found my phone, and, to be able to unlock it, tilted it an angle so I didn't look straight into the light, and finally unlocked it and called my friend, J. J took me to the doc for the procedure, drove me back home, made me go to sleep while she went to two different pharmacies and waited for three hours to get prescriptions filled. While I slept. I owed her and her boyfriend brunch, at the least. But that was not for yesterday. She understood.

After a few more naps and motrin and sensory deprivation, I realized I was a little hungry. We don't have much in the kitchen as we're still trying to unpack stuff, purchase food items, etc. So I made a yummy salad out of some organic baby greens, diced cucumber, a few sliced grape tomatoes, cubed peach pieces, chopped celery, blueberries, and pine nuts. But what for dressing?

I dug around the fridge, avoiding the light--I had mustard. Looks like honey mustard vinaigrette!

To make a honey mustard vinaigrette is super easy: it's just spicy brown mustard, honey, extra virgin olive oil, and vinegar. I like white wine vinegar for this. Like everything else, I eyeball and taste my way to figure out what I like. For my salad, which was on the large side, as it was my entire lunch, I used more or less the following:

1 T (tablespoon) spicy brown mustard.
2 tsp honey (you can use more or less, to taste)
2 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp olive oil

Mix it all up and toss your salad in it--it is so nice and light and fresh and great for salads with nuts, berries, and veggies. If you have horseradish, that will bump this dressing up into awesome.sauce. Or, use it as a marinade on your poultry next time you want to bake/pan fry a dish with a lighter, but still flavorful taste!

It definitely lightened my mood. After which I took another two naps, had another motrin, and made...veggie soup...coming up next!

Alice in Wonderland: The Oysters...

"'O Oysters, come and walk with us!' The Walrus did beseech. 'A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, along the briny beach. [...] A loaf of bread,' the Walrus said, 'Is what we chiefly need. Pepper and vinegar besides Are very good indeed"  --Lewis Carroll

I think maybe the sheer boredom of being uncomfortable in my eyeballs but not in enough pain to actually enjoy having to do nothing but rest is getting to me. I definitely have to rest them. In fact I'm typing right now with my eyes closed. I'm not kidding. I'll let you know when I open them.  And I apologize for any typos, but now this feels like a challenge to me.

So I've been writing a lot of reviews in Yelp lately (plug: check out yelp, by user: Katherine H. Filter with Location: Washington, D.C. you should be able to reach me.)

**eyes are open so I can check this info on yelp: go to "Member Search" small tab on right. Type: "Katherine H." Filter by "Location" 2nd mini-page should be "Washington, D.C." Select it. You should see me. eyes closing again...**

A few things about having no kitchen for five weeks. You end up eating out a lot. And hten you start noticing things. At first you think it's unique, or that it's you. It's not. Sometimes patterns are there. I'm not talking Beautiful Mind or Consipiracy Theory here, I'm talkin reality.

I don't like that every place I go to get oysters, they always serve crappy little oyster or saltine crackers. Sure, I get it, that's why they're called oyster crackers, and you don't want anything competing. But honestly, you think cheap little plastic baggies of prepackaged crackers can cut it in  your fine dining establishment??

Now I want to make my own oyster cracker recipe and take them with me next time I go oyster-eating. And then I will pull them out and ask the chef to please eat one with one of his oysters and come talk to me if he wants to get serious about oysters. Like cannonball heavy serious.

Rant over.

Opening eyes. Still stings...

First Night: New Kitchen, New Vision

Finally. It is complete.

Our long-awaited kitchen renovations are finally to the point where we can use it. The days of feeling sick from eating processed food is over.

Sweet hallelujah.

As is my luck, it was finished yesterday, the same day I voluntarily underwent PRK corrective eye surgery. That's a different story for a different day. Like maybe Halloween. Anyway, the recovery process hasn't been that bad, and eager to return to my normal self, I cooked my dinner tonight. With my new eyes. In my new kitchen.

My kitchen wares are not yet fully unpacked. And my eyes are a distraction. But I managed to concoct a "curried" chicken and couscous. "Curried" because I think that's a similar familiar flavor, but really it was just an experiment.

First I took a boneless chicken breast L left for me in the fridge and I liberally sprinkled both sides with an herb mixture I obtained in Turkey--primarily dried oregano and basil. I added fresh ground pepper and cayenne pepper. I then hand-crushed Turkish lemon sea salt until it was a fine powder and rubbed all the ingredients in my hands so that there'd be just enough salt and so the chicken would absorb the other ingredients faster. I then marinated it in a white wine vinegar and olive oil. I put it on a small plate and popped it back in the fridge.

After 1.5 hours, I pulled that bad.boy out and heated up the wok. I put a little bit of olive oil in it and then laid the chicken breast. After the side was brown, I flipped it. Separately I chopped up three stalks of celery and a handful of dried apricots. I added those to the wok with some water, a little belgian white wheat ale, some pomegranate molasses, and half of a lemon. Impatient, I pulled out the chicken, chopped it into bite sized pieces, and put it back in the wok. I added a few grape tomatoes, reduced the heat and simmered.

I had some leftover couscous, so I just poured some of the hot liquid over the couscous to bring it back to life and heat it without hurting it. I then added the chicken mixture with the sauce, and some slivered almonds to finish it.

Father's Day: Sweet Potato Biscuit sandwich Day

I am sleepy. This has been a crazy day week. Eating out all the time is making me happy, excited, interested, interesting, less complainy...

... feel like a giant, bloated, nausous, yellow tick.

There I said it. Meh.

Fed up with food from restaurant kitchens, last weekend I dragged my housemate, L, up to PA to visit my Dad (code: Best Dad in the World. Seriously, I'm not bein hyperbolic, this guy rocks. Like for real move over Ozzy cuz your rock looks like smooth jazz compared to my dad) for Father's Day at my parent's compound. (Note: I was the only child there that weekend. That should definitely earn me Most Favored Child status.) My mom has been in AR for some time with my younger sister B and her husband E and their son J awaiting the birth of their daughter N. N is a true woman already, she wanted to make an entrance so she has kept us waiting for over a week. N and I already have a mind.meld.

No one really knows how Dad survives when Mom leaves. While he technically can cook put together sandwiches and fry eggs, Dad just...doesn't. Mom says he's like a lion (cue: awww), he will gorge on a meal and then not eat for days. I hear it works for him, but frankly that is just incomprehensible to me.

Since I had to be at a separate baby shower on Saturday afternoon, L and I weren't going up until late afternoon. Dad and I had the following convo:

Me: So we'll get there in time for dinner. I think L and I will bring up bison and we'll make bison burgers.
Dad: Why don't we just go to the tavern down the road and you can buy me a bison burger?
Me: Because I haven't cooked in forever, and I know I can make a better burger and meal than a tavern can.
Dad: No you don't. Besides, we don't need to cook.
Me: But Dad, I want to cook.
Dad: *sigh* Well...
Me: Ok Dad, it's your day, we'll go to the tavern.
Dad: Cool, I mean, I'm happy to let you cook, I just don't think you need to go to all that trouble.
Me: Well, we will make breakfast the next morning. We'll make biscuits, and gravy, and...
Dad: *interrupting* Whoa, whoa whoa whoa (that's 4. count 'em) Let's not go crazy.
Me: *laughing* What?? That's not crazy.
Dad: Look, if you wanna make a few eggs or whatever, that's fine, but we don't need to get all crazy or anything.

According to Mirriam-Webster on-line, "compromise" is defined as:
1a: settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions
  b: something intermediate between or blending qualities of two different things
2a: a concession to something derogatory or prejudicial <a compromise of principles>

For kids (i.e. I understand) it's:
 1: a settlement of a dispute by each party giving up demands
 2: a giving up to something that is wrong or degrading : surrender <a compromise of one's principles>
 3: the thing agreed upon as a result of a compromise.

Well missus Mirriam and mister Webster, I don't do surrender. So our weekend resulted in:

L and I taking Dad out to the tavern for burgers (ours was bison, his was beef), fries (ours were sweet potato his were "normal") and a salad from the tavern followed by fresh soft-serve at the local ice cream stand on Saturday night.

Monday morning, L and I made biscuits, sausage gravy, and eggs. BTW--here's a shortcut for your gravy: after crumbling and browning the sausage, add the flour directly. brown/cook. Then add the milk, salt, pepper. So much cleaner and quicker...

Dinner however, was where the magic happened. Here's how you make magic: Make sweet potato biscuits. When you pull them out of the oven, top with sharp cheddar cheese, black forest ham (or other smoked meat) and thin slices of granny smith apples. With some spicy mustard.

This is what magic looks like:

Now I know ya'll wanna have the sweet potato recipe, and I don't blame you. It's awesome. Problem is, I forgot mine so I used Paula Deen's. Which is pretty much mine only I use half butter and half shortening. And like triple her recipe size. You may wanna consider putting some fresh tarragon in your mix too, because that is awesome.sauce.

Seriously, it's one of the world's easiest meals to make. And tastes FANTASTIC. Try it!

The Reviews Continue...

To live remains an art which everyone must learn, and which no one can teach.  ~Havelock Ellis

L's kitchen is still being renovated. So we are still cruising around the local joints and I'm still writing yelp reviews. We're now at the point where eating out has lost its novelty and we talk about cooking at home and how I feel sick from all the processed food...like a giant bloated yellow tick. 

Some places we visit help alleviate the flavor distress, others expand the discomfort. 

For me, running is a daily act of worship--it's difficult to explain, but as Olympic champion and martyr Eric Liddel once stated, "when I run...I sense [God's] pleasure." I tend to just say, running is my way of "keeping the blood off the walls" (I'm prone to hyperbole). Eating out three meals a day, combined with a ripped contact and the wrong prescription glasses have taken its toll on my routine, my pace, my ambition.

In other words, my hunger. It's not that I'm satisfied, it's that now I feel sick all the time. I feel nauseous and tense. I broke down this morning, put my whole, albeit old left contact and my ripped right contact in and ran--the first real run since my 7 mile Sunday morning run. After 3.5 miles I almost puked, but I felt free.

Life is about choices; and the choices we make impact the way we live. Sometimes it's complex and complicated--such as relationships and "milestone" decisions. Other times, it's as simple as what we choose to eat.  What we feel we deserve to eat--healthy or otherwise, what we feel like we need to eat, and how those choices influence how we feel, how we act, is clear.

It's easy to think the convenient choice is the best choice. But sometimes, making a decision is like cooking--it takes a little time and consideration; and while it often feels final, it's really not, it's just a turning point.

Blog Fury!!

I really hate the format of my blog. I can't seem to figure out how to get it so it just spaces normally between paragraphs, how it has normal sized font instead of either being readable by ants or giants...I'm frustrated that I can't figure out how to illustrate it or put a photo on the banner or how to put them in my posts with wrap around text.

Ughhhhh...if this is how some people feel about the results they get from their food prep efforts, I think I can understand why they'd be frustrated...

Curing Life's Lemon-Toss...

"I had the best laid plans inside of America!" - The Cure

I wish I was techy enough to have a song play when you open this post. Not the entire site, but JUST this post. How awesome would that be??
Since I last wrote, I have:

• Had my car broken into/vandalized 5 times
• Moved...two blocks to the west
• Had two good friends move back to the States
• Lost my housemate to Cote d'Ivoire
• Gained a housemate who's also an old friend
• Grieved with three friends who unexpectedly lost loved ones
• Been on the world's worst date
• Celebrated my cousin's wedding
• Been looking forward to the imminent birth of my niece
• Started seriously trying to figure out what I wanna do when I grow up
• Started seriously considering growing up
• Gotten back into shape
• Eaten too much to stay in shape
• Started yelping and changed my twitter name

Perhaps most impactful on my life was being told a job opportunity I had been promised, had been told my application was 'merely a formality'...somehow...fell through. While I have been actively trying to cultivate some long-neglected elements of myself and my personality (focused writing, cooking, and food/drink education), this disappointment led me to throw myself wholeheartedly into a more intentional mental rifling of ideas, seeking insight from others, and finally, expression. When life hands out lemons, I prefer to cure them; after all, cured lemons are much more versatile than just lemonade.


Coupled with the kitchen and first floor renovations of the house in which I currently reside with my wonderful friend LD who graciously gave me squatters rights while I face the great unknown, I've been eating out a lot. Over a week, to be precise. With at least a week left to go. My newfound zeal has led me to begin writing reviews of the places I try on Yelp. After all, if I am going to eat, I should at least be writing about it. Check it out!


Another consideration I have been mulling over lately is whether to pursue culinary school or my sommelier's certification. Not Master of Wine (MW) cert, just the standard.  The reason being, with my palate and love for pairing flavors, a sommelier's cert could actually make me more relevant to food criticism and flavor profile creations. 


More to come! Check me out on Yelp!

Mama's Day: How to Spell Flavor (L-O-V-E)

"The trick is to taste your food. Which isn't really a trick." - My Mom

Ok, that may be my interpretation of what I consider one of the greatest lessons my mother taught me growing up: to savor. 


If you know my mom, you have probably tasted her food. You have probably sat on our kitchen counters (or stood by, your preference), smelled the aroma of her culinary creations, picked at a dish before it made its way to the table, and understand why all of her children love to eat.


But Mom's added zest goes beyond food. It's her approach to life. As long as I have known her, Mom has never been one to back down from a challenge. She is unorthodox, curious, imaginative, and generous. Her hospitality at times extends "too far", and her desire to make others comfortable is apparent in every facet of her life. 


She is seasoned with passion, dignity, and love. 


My favorite childhood memories seem to involve food--I remember as a kid eating "ants on a log" (raisins on pb stuffed celery) outside on our patio underneath the Alabama sun, the magic of the Christmas holidays with Mom's cookies and gingerbread houses (including "stain-glass windows" made from melted hard candies!), and the myriad of meals spent at the table all together in the days between.  Looking back, I'm amazed at my Mom's grace in letting her kids descend upon her kitchen like a swarm of feral jackals and experiment. Using her stuff.


We had quite a few melted plastic measuring cups and spoons back in my day. 


Growing up, every year my two older bros (E and A) and the younger sis next to me (B) would make my mom breakfast in bed for mother's day. Somehow, she survived to see her grandchildren born. 


One of our favorite family memories is when the four oldest (bros E and A, sis B, and me) tried to make a sponge cake as a surprise for my mom--it was either her birthday or Mother's Day. I was about 10, making E 13, A 12, and B 7. We thought a nice lemon sponge cake would be delightful. I think we wanted to get strawberries, too. But those are hard to come by when you're 10.


E was leading the charge, and together we had all the ingredients safely assembled, mixed and ready to be...folded???


E: Hey, how do you fold something?
Me: I think you do it with a spatula. You lift the stuff from the side and then push it in through the puddle. 
E: Like this? *Folding*
Me: Yes, like that.


*Maybe 2 minutes go by*


Me: That's taking way too long. I don't think it looks right. Maybe we just need to mix it as fast as we can and mix it REALLY GOOD. 
E: Ok


My mom was treated to our version of a deconstructed lemon torte--a very dense, eggy, and firm...memory-foam sort of sponge cake. That or a brick. And I wish I had known back then I could just mess up and call something "deconstructed" to make it sound intentional. 


Mom thought it was pretty hilarious, and her encouragement to delight in the unexpected has inspired me both in the kitchen and outside.


So to Mom, Happy Mother's Day! Thank you for teaching me how to savor, how to cook, and more importantly, how to live. I love you!

Mom with youngest sisters, C (right) and T (left) when they were just wee tots!

**Hopefully some of you got the "spells like" joke in written form...

Microwave Fritatta

"L'art :
Green arsenic smeared on an egg-white cloth,
Crushed strawberries! Come, let us feast our eyes." -Ezra Pound

**Written last night...then I fell asleep before publishing.**


I just wrecked my diet. For the last few weeks I have been carefully tracking my caloric intake--revising my diet to include high amounts of lean proteins and reduce my intake of sugars, simple carbs, and processed foods.

This started when I hit a wall and realized I have choices regarding my life. Sure, I won't ever be a "skinny" girl; I will always have curves. I need a wide variety of flavor profiles. But I can determine how "not skinny" I am, and how healthy I want to be. Some people don't have that choice, so I should feel some sort of obligation in that regard. Inspired with the efforts of a few people, I stopped making excuses and started pushing through the fatigue, busy-ness, and other excuses I felt were keeping me from making choices that would give me the results I wanted.

Three weeks, 35 workouts, and the above diet later I lost four pounds! I was so excited.

Until tonight.

My Easter basket of sweetened temptations resurrected from the foot of my bed to the forefront of my mind and I caved. :( I ended up eating a Reese's snack egg thing, a dove chocolate, a few skittles, and a few sour patch kids. Now I have a tummy ache.


But tomorrow, I start fresh. So to celebrate my climbing back on the relentless wagon of the pursuit of good health in my life, I'm offering up a simple but effective egg dish. What I call a "work breakfast" because it is convenient for those of us who sometimes get up at 0530 to hit the road. There's really no excuse not to eat the most important meal of the day. But I've heard and used every excuse there is. So please enjoy, this one's for us :)

For breakfast, I've started making microwave fritattas because I got sick of boiled egg whites and I don't have time to make a real breakfast in the am. It's easy:

I separate 2-3 eggs, throwing away the yolks. I put the whites in a pyrex or microwaveable dish.

To the whites I add a few chopped pieces of any of the following: 

• kale 
• broccoli
• asparagus
• spinach
• green onion
• shallot
• fresh basil
• fresh cilantro

I add salt, pepper, a few herbs, and just a teeny bit of olive oil.  Other things to consider adding: zucchini, squash, mushrooms, peppers, olives, tomatoes (be careful if you're doing low-carb--they're fruits and therefore have sugar!)

If you want to make ahead of time, this is where you pause and then resume the following day in the microwave at work (or am I alone on that one?)

Put the dish in the microwave and heat for about 1.5 minutes. 

Patience and the Palate...

"How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?"  ~Paul Sweeney

 As you can see, I am still trying to figure this whole blogging thing out.  What makes it easier for you to read, absorb, and enjoy? What do you find useful (if anything?) What do you find annoying or frustrating? 


I know I promised to share with you my broccoli and tofu "recipe" and I will. One thing I have learned through this experience (attempting to blog) is that, like cooking, there is no real formula. It's a constant process of tweaking, testing, reworking. And it takes a lot of patience to make something worthwhile. Especially considering how flooded the market is right now out there for both blogs and "foodies". As much as I hate the term "foodie", I LOVE that the mystery of the written art and the culinary arts have been redefined and both are more accessible to normal, regular people like me who can stumble through each or both and discover what happens later.


Sometimes that means there are mishaps. Other times, some really unexpected successes.


I'm thinking this because, inspired by a few people, I have been taking an aggressive approach to life recently. Namely, I'm trying to get back in shape, control my eating habits more, and stop making excuses for why I've gained 25 whopping lbs since my return from Iraq 6 mos ago...


That's right, 25 lbs. On me. That's like what, adding a 2nd grader to your torso?? ugh...


So...expect some really fun low cal, low fat, low carb, high protein, and high flavor foods coming out soon. And to hear some ridiculous stories...


But now for the broccoli and tofu recipe:

I had originally intended to make a coconut milk curry, but unfortunately discovered my coconut milk had been used. So, I decided to make a hoisin-inspired marinating sauce. 


I used: sesame oil, soy sauce, molasses, chopped garlic, lemongrass, cayenne pepper, and sesame seeds.


Combine these together to make a relatively thick sauce. All ingredients you are using have strong flavors, so mine was something like:

• 1/4 part sesame oil
• 1/3 part molasses
• 2/3 part soy sauce

Chopped garlic, cayenne pepper, and lemongrass to taste. 


Once this is made, cube a package of extra firm tofu:

As you can see, I may have done mine out of order and now you are learning how I wish I had done it, haha. (see broccoli floret traitors in the pic)

Add marinade:

Marinating tofu--see the lemongrass?

Then chop the broccoli:

I have no idea why the photo is with garlic and lemongrass. I think to remind me of something. Something I forgot.

While your tofu is marinating, you steam then blanch the broccoli. You will be adding this to the wok, so make sure your cooked broccoli is a bit undercooked to avoid gross mushy food at the end:

Broccoli got blanched

After the broccoli is sufficiently cooled, season your wok with a little sesame oil, put it on medium heat, and add the tofu. You want the pieces to get nice and brown on each side--a lil crispy. 

Once it is sufficiently crisped on the outsides, add the broccoli. The goal is just to get the flavors to meld and reheat the broccoli. Keep adding the marinade, as needed.


In this photo I think you can see what I mean about the tofu pretty well, so I hope that helps.


When you are finished, plate your meal in a warm bowl, and add a sprinkling of sesame seeds.


My dinner looked like this: 

What will yours look like?




***This post has been brought to you by ellipses...there for you when you awkwardly don't know how to finish a statement 

I Put Cukes in My Water Bottle...

"The cucumber accents the water in such a way that..." - Will Ferrell


I knew none of you would believe me so I put the link of my homeboy Will's quote...


Yesterday, I decided a great idea would be to add cucumbers to my water bottle. To give it a little extra freshness and crispness. I usually like it with lemon/lime, and some herbs as well (try it, it's delicious!) So I sliced up a bunch of persian cukes and was super happy and excited.
 Then it hit me....


The mouth of the bottle is barely larger than the cuke slices. IN FACT, I may or may not have used brute force to squish some of them in it...
All I could think of after that was OH.MY.GOSH.HOW.AM.I.GONNA.GET.THEM.OUT?? I.DON'T.WANT.CRUDDY.CUKES.IN.MY.WATER.BOTTLE!!! 


Did I really panic at work? Maybe...
Was it called for? Absolutely.


Every time I drank water, instead of being super refreshed, all I could think of is "oh gross, I HAVE NASTY SLIMEY CUKEY WATER!!!!!!!"


Two days later I finally freed them. 


This story was better told in person. 


Anyway all that to say, for flavored waters, try the following combos:
-- cucumber
-- lemon
-- mint
-- lavender
-- limes
-- berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries--these are nice frozen)


I like to make combos:
-- cucumber lemon and mint
-- lemon and mint
-- lemon and lime
-- surely you get the point


*UPDATE* I don't know how to get my text to wrap around the photo.


*2nd Update* If you are going to swerve into a lane and cut someone off, when they honk to let you know they are there, don't slow down when they move out of the lane and then give them the finger. You kinda already did that when you took over their lane. 

Obsessive Compulsive Brussels Sprouts...

“We kids feared many things in those days - werewolves, dentists, North Koreans, Sunday School - but they all paled in comparison with Brussels sprouts.”  - Dave Barry


I keep looking here to see if anyone is commenting or reading it or even cares. I think the answer is "no". None of you clowns are actually reading this blog, all the hits are just me checking in because I'm obsessive compulsive and I really don't want to fail at something like blogging. That is just mortifying, really. It's like being a gamer, how can you fail at Dungeons and Dragons? Not lose the game, but let's be honest here and just admit, if you're playing D&D, you probably aren't a candidate of "Most Awesome Person Ever" Award. Leave that to those of us who are Judgy McJudgerson and blog before 6am, buddy. 


I love food. (I know, that's like Michael Jordan holding a press conference to announce he thinks basketball is a-ok. Bite me.) I hate people who are very snobby and inaccessible about food. My pet peeve is when we think we know more about food than we do (I once went to dinner with a woman who insisted that microgreens were spinach. I never went to dinner or talked to her again. I wish I was joking. But that was just one example of how the food quirk manifests itself in me.)  Sometimes I fear that this blog will turn into one of those boring places where people only go because they feel like they should because they're my real-life-friend and therefore obligated to support my online-persona, if only to push me out of the way for candidacy as "Most Awesome Person Ever." 


It is is tough to think that when I've only bothered to write a whole 6 (now 7) times. But that's part of the reason for my month-long silence. In addition to not measuring up to my own standards (see what I did there? In the biz we call that punny. Please don't throat punch me next time you see me), I didn't want to get tied down with a boring, unhelpful, inaccessible, self-absorbed blog. 


Then I realized you guys will send me emails, phone calls, texts, Facebook messages, or sometimes facebook comments/likes (thank you, by the way) so at this point it's safe to think you guys still think there's hope out there for an obsessive compulsive food nerd who lacks the ability to employ standardized cooking measurements, patience to do the step-by-step photo thing or creativity to illustrate my work with neat drawings. After writing that sentence I realized this cannot end well.


Anyway, inspired by my friend Tim, I decided to try my hand at making some brussels sprouts that even your kid (or you as a kid) would enjoy:

What you are looking at was dinner a few weeks ago: brussels sprouts, apple, onion, prosciutto, goat cheese, milk, cayenne pepper, black pepper, sea salt, cumin, chili powder and white wine. Ok, happy eating!


Just kidding. To make your own:


Step 1:  Prep. 
           Wash brussels sprouts and trim. I cut the bottoms off. Put in a bowl. 
           Slice onion--I made pretty large strips as I wanted them to be more than a seasoning/aromatic but as an actual ingredient. I used a yellow onion (see: Things I'd do differently below)  
           Chop apple-- All I had was a yellow one that I wasn't really sure was good because it was so old. But it was good enough. (Again, go to recommended changes at the bottom)
           Prosciutto: Purchased pre-chopped. If you want, you can use pancetta or bacon. If you use bacon, you need to cook and crumble first.  


Step 2:  Blanch brussels sprouts. 
           To do this all you do is get a big pot for boiling water and put a steamer basket in it--you know the metal thing that fits in the big pot with holes in it--add some salt to the water. Make sure the water does not actually come INTO the steamer basket, but sits BELOW it. Put on the lid and turn the heat up until it boils. Once it is boiling, deposit the sprouts into the basket, put the lid back on. Watch it because you don't want to overcook. Overcooked food is gross food. While the sprouts are steaming, get a large glass bowl out and put ice cubes in it and water. A lot of ice cubes. Once those sprouts turn a nice bright green and are a bit less cooked than you would like, remove them from the steamer basket and put them in the ice water. Look at you, you just blanched the $#!+ outta them sprouts!!


Step 3: Caramelize onions. You can start this between Step 1 and Step 2 if you have the time. 
            To not waste the nice taste of butter, put a large non-coated (if you have it) saucepan (or just large pan) on high heat on the stovetop range. Wait until pan is hot. You know it's hot when it blisters your finger. Or when you put a little water on it and it sizzles. 
            Put the onions on this and THEN add a little butter, olive oil*, fresh cracked pepper, and fresh cracked sea salt. You want the butter/olive oil to coat the bottom of your pan and your onions. You will LOVE the smell and crackly sounds this will make. 
            Reduce heat. As the fats disappear, add white wine to the saute mixture. I used pinot grigio (see things I'd change).


Step 4: Add chopped apple and prosciutto. 
            Once the onions are translucent but before they are caramelized, kick the heat up to about medium, and add the apples and the prosciutto. You want all these ingredients to get a nice brown crispiness to the outside, but not burned. Eyeball the liquids--you probably won't need more fat now that you have the nice moisture of the caramelizing onions and the fat from the prosciutto. But if you need more, add some white wine or a little water. 


Step 5: Add spices: Chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne pepper.**
           Once your onions, apples, and prosciutto are all in the pan, you want to add cinnamon, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. To taste.  For me, I added enough chili powder to have the ingredients look like a red crack had rained down on them--a decent dusting. I added about 2/3 as much cinnamon--it is heavier, looks heavier, feels heavier, and the taste is heavier. I wanted the dish to taste bright, so I just put a light dusting. Same with cumin--it is distinct. I love it, but I didn't want people to only taste cumin . You could put cardamom in this dish too, I may have added about a pinch or a dash, I'm not sure though. Since I love spicy, and I have a slight addiction to cayenne pepper, I used a heavy hand. Cayenne pepper can be quite hot and the heat builds, so if you don't want it too spicy, hold back. 


Step 6:  Making your Cheaters' Cream Sauce
             By now your sprouts should be blanched. In a microwave-safe measuring glass, pour some milk and microwave to heat up. Now is not the time to ruin your dish with curdled milk. Add the heated milk to the saucepan of onions, apples, and prosciutto. Let reduce a bit. If you feel like it, add a little cream. I also added some goat cheese. Reduce the heat and simmer on low until the milk/cream/cheese is now a cheaters' cream sauce. Add the sprouts (I cut the large ones in half). Mix it all together and cover and let it keep simmering until it looks cohesive, smells uniform, and the sauce is creamy. 


Step 7: Enjoy.


Always always always be tasting. Throughout each step and each sub-step taste. This will help you go in the direction YOU want your dish to go. 


Things I'd do differently:  
        Use shallots or a red onion. Yellow was fine but red onion is stronger and more flavorful. Shallots are more flavorful and more fun to say. 
        Use a tarter, firmer apple. Like Granny Smith. Like I said, this was a whimsy, I used what I had.
        Used a spicier, fuller, stronger white wine. The pinot grigio added a sweetness that went well with the apple. But I think a different wine would be superior--sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, or another fuller, spicier white wine. 

        Roast the blanched sprouts. While the onions, apples, and prosciutto are cooking, turn the oven on high broil; put the sprouts on a pan, and roast them. Watch the sprouts though because high broil burns quickly. Turn them over so they are all nice and browned. Remove.  I would do this because the roasting would add another dimension to the flavor profile (smokiness) and texture (more crunch--which would be consistent with the apple and prosciutto).

This is what happens when you're cooking on the fly though, folks. Improvise, adapt, and eat happy!


* (do NOT use extra virgin. Extra virgin olive oil is to be eaten raw, NEVER cooked. Use just plain olive oil. If you write me and tell me "oh but the cooking channel or celebrity chef so-n-so uses extra virgin olive oil on heat" I will send a throat punch to your house addressed to you. Well to your throat. That's just how strongly I feel about this.)


** Spices: The bottom line is that you want the spices to be present enough to add dimension, depth, fullness to your dish without people taking a bite and only tasting the spice. Spices really need to draw out the natural flavors and qualities of the various products they are highlighting. Think of spice as megaphones. Their job is merely to amplify whatever goodness it is you are cooking.