Second chance at raab

If there is a theme to this blog, it might be 'second chances.' There are foods that, on the first try, I loved. I'm not talking about foods I grew up eating but stuff I discovered later in life (post high school), like Thai and Vietnamese food, kale, polenta, steel-cut oats, chana masala. Then there are some that I didn't like at first but am so glad I tried again, because now I love them: goat cheese, cilantro, beets... and broccoli rabe (or raab, I've seen it spelled both ways).

The first time I ate broccoli rabe, I thought I would like it because it's a gorgeous, green veggie (one of my favorite types of food) but I was unprepared for the unusual, bitter taste. I thought I was eating something that had gone bad. And I said so.

'Ew, I think this went bad,' I said to my cousins, who I had joined for dinner.

Polenta, or play-doh

The first time I ate polenta was at my office holiday party a few years ago. I worked for an Italian company so we had our dinner at an Italian restaurant. It was a really wild night--the food was a minor player compared to the beverages, but I very distinctly remember the polenta (oh, and a whole roasted pig which had to be carried by two people). I should say, the only dish I remember eating is the polenta. I had never eaten polenta before although I had heard of it. This polenta had been shaped into triangles and fried or baked. It was buttery, creamy, and cheese-y. So delicious. Probably very caloric too.


Which is probably why I had not eaten polenta since. But I was getting a little tired of eating pasta so I thought I'd give it a try.

I swear I came up with this myself

As I've mentioned numerous times, I am always on a mission to use up my fresh ingredients before they go bad. Equally important is trying to get those ingredients to last as long as I possible. Well, I think I have triumphed over mushrooms. Mushrooms in particular seem to go bad quickly, becoming gross and slimy or withered after just a couple of days. A long time ago I had read somewhere, or maybe saw on TV, that mushrooms should be stored in paper bags, I think because the paper draws the moisture from mushrooms, keeping them dry. I had been cutting up those big Whole Foods bags and wrapping mushrooms in them--not the easiest way to store, but the mushrooms stayed dry for over a week. Then, I happened to be making eggs with spinach and mushrooms for breakfast, and, having used up the last of my eggs... tada! That rare light in my head went off and I put the leftover mushrooms in the empty egg carton. Awe - wait for it - some.

A sunny afternoon treat

I've made brownies from a box plenty of times when I was growing up but for some reason, I had never really explored making them from scratch until relatively recently (like the past two years). That was when I came across the Joy of Cooking recipe which I had never noticed before because it is oddly filed in the 'Cookies' chapter. It's under the sub-category 'Bar Cookies'--I had never thought of brownies as being a bar cookie, but I guess it sort of makes sense (uh, sort of; it only took me 10 years to find the recipe). Anyways, it is super easy and requires the most basic of ingredients.

A rainy afternoon lunch

Roasted beet salad
I did not like beets the first, second, and possibly even the third times I ate them. It seemed like I should like beets, because they are beautiful and healthy. But, blech. They seemed slimy and tasted like dirt. So when I was present at a dinner where my cousin had planned a beet salad, I felt a bit of dread about having to eat it. Well. Roasted beets are an altogether different species than what you'd find in a salad bar or in a can. They still smell and taste a little like dirt, but in a good way--they smell like the earth, especially as they roast. Heavenly. Or, earthly.

Forgetful muffins

I do not know what is wrong with me, but I have been rather absent-minded lately. This morning, I got to the subway station and couldn't find my wallet. It turns out I had left it in another coat pocket after running errands last night. A couple of days ago, I forgot to wear earrings. Maybe not too unusual but very much so for me--I felt like I was naked. Last week, I had gone to the restroom at work which is outside our office in the hallway so you need a key to get back in the office. I was returning back to the office and I completely forgot which way to turn the key in order to open the door. This is a process I do probably five or six times a day, but I just blanked and stood there, struggling to unlock the door.

Last night, I decided to make muffins, which I had never made before, in order to use up the yogurt I still had from marinating chicken. Usually when I make baked goods, I always have the intention of sharing so that I don't consume all the calories. My cousins are out of town so I thought I'd bring them to the office. I had just put the muffins in the oven to bake and then I remembered... it was the first night of Passover. Oops. I have a few Jewish colleagues, some more observant than others, but still, it seemed very ignorant and tactless to bring in some kind of baked good during Passover.

A note about dried basil

Despite the protestations of Mark Bittman, I use dried basil. But it's not just any dried basil, it's basil I dried myself. That makes it better. Ha.

First of all, I find it impossible to use a bunch of fresh basil before most of it goes bad. Oh sure I can make a big batch of pesto but then I just have a bunch of pesto to use up. I'm just feeding myself after all. And because of that, it gets expensive buying fresh basil, especially in the off season, when I only use a few leaves at a time. So, I've found a sort of compromise.

Double oatmeal cookies (for breakfast)

My cousins just left for the Bahamas. Me, jealous? That doesn't even begin to describe it. One of my cousins-in-law half-jokingly suggested that I get up early to make them breakfast since they had a 6:30 a.m. flight. Puh-lease, they're going on vacation for a week while I go to work and they want me up at four in the morning to make them breakfast??

Well, there is nothing I like more than a food challenge.

Chicken and broccoli

I have a fear of cooking chicken. I think that I have been scared off by concerns of salmonella, or even worse, overcooking. My mom did not make too much chicken while I was growing up, certainly none of the Western classics like roast chicken or fried chicken, so I don't have much familiarity with it. And, I'd stopped eating it for a few years, partly because I never cooked it for myself. But I think it's time for me to get over my fear and learn how to cook chicken.

Turkey meatballs

I always thought that once I had successfully accomplished a dish that I would be able to recreate it just as successfully every time thereafter. However, if you forget to add salt to a dish, you will fail.