Asian Noodle Love

The Picky Eater LOVES her noodles!! So expect, dear reader, to see more than a few pasta-centric entries. She especially holds a special tender little place in her heart for Asian Style noodles, from ramen to udon, she slurps them all; at least as long as they are meatless and don't taste too spicy or weird.

Formal udon eating.
Note the green beans in the lower left.

Gombei Love
We loved the Sunday at Gombei (our local family-style Japanese restaurant and always on Sunday) that she ordered udon for the very first time. prior to that historic occasion, her standard order was Gombei green beans and white rice. It hardly seems worthwhile to take your kid out to a restaurant to eat white rice! For years it was plain udon- just noodles and broth. But in the last months before leaving home the Picky Eater branched out, consuming vegetable udon, sans tofu, lotus root or any other suspicious looking legume. Still, it was progress.

The Picky Eater was also quite fond of their yummy onion rings, and was ready to make them her regular meal. Because they are a special order item, and have inherent lack of nutrition, her dad put the kabosh on that in an instant. She is also known to snitch pieces of squash tempura from other unsuspecting diner's plates.

Other than the local grocery store, Gombei is probably the only local place where we count as "regulars." So, regular, that the wait staff there pretty much has all the possible variants of our order memorized- "Large plate" or unagi don, "large plate" or teriyaki chicken, udon and green beans. At our last Gombei meal before departure, the Picky Eater asked her dad and I when we would be eating at Gombei again. In non-collusioned unison, we simultaneously answered "Never!" After 15 years of twice monthly or more Sunday meals there, we had had enough. And true, to our word, we haven't been back.

But Gombei is great for families with kids- the food is fresh, fast, comforting, and well priced, and beer is served (for the grownups). They have back room seating for small messy eaters. We even held some of the Picky Eater's birthday dinners, with 10+ kids, there, and they never messed up an order. Give our regards to Gombei if you end up there.

Gombei -  Menlo Park      
1438 El Camino Real   Menlo Park, CA 94025
650 329-1799

Home Noodle Love
There are also a couple of stock home prepared Asian noodle recipes that the Picky Eater was partial to. The first is based on "Orchid's Tangy Cool Noodles" from The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking by Barbara Tropp. It makes me feel incredibly ancient to admit that I first made this recipe for a picnic lunch  prior to a Julio Iglesis concert at the Greek Theater in Berkeley in 1983.

Chinese Noodle Salad
1 lb. fresh Chinese noodles                                                                                                                (works fine with dried pasta of any shape too, cook it until just al dente)
Dressing:
3 1/2 Tb sesame oil
3 1/2 Tb soy sauce
1 1/2 Tb balsamic vinegar
2 Tb sugar
2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. hot chili oil
4 Tb thinly sliced scallions

Cook the noodles in a large pot of unsalted boiling water until just done, about 2-3 minutes. Drain and cool under cold running water. Whisk dressing ingredients together, and toss with noodles. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight and add the scallions just before serving.

Noodle salad with chicken

Noodle salad a la Picky Eater

This recipe invites additions of anything that strikes your fancy. Well, anything that is compatible with soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and sesame oil. The Picky Eater likes hers on the plain side (surprise, surprise!) with just frozen peas and grated carrots. But, I have been know to add any and all of the following:
    Shredded cooked chicken
    cooked shrimp
    cucumber matchsticks
    peanuts
    sliced snow or sugar snap peas
    thinly sliced radishes
    celery
    sliced mushrooms
    bean sprouts
    cilantro
    sesame seeds

Noodle Pillow with bell pepper saute

The Crispy Noodle Pancake
When I told the Picky Eater this morning (PST) that I had made a noodle pancake last night, she let out a sigh of longing. So, I guess it goes on the list of things to do when she's home. This is also from Barbara Tropp (starting to get the picture that The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking is the only Chinese cookbook that I own? Wrong ! I also own her China Moon Cookbook!)
Again, she asks for fresh Chinese noodles; we experimented with dry pasta noodles, but they don't have the glutenous quality required for the pancake to stick together.
Pot-Browned Noodle Pillow
8 oz. fresh Chinese noodles (thin)
2 tsp. Asian sesame oil
1 tsp. salt
4-5 Tb peanut or corn oil for pan frying (use 2 Tb if cooking with a non-stick pan)

Equipment: an 11-12" heavy frying pan or two 7" frying pans (divide everything in half if using the smaller pans) with lid(s).

Fluff, separate and untangle the noodles in a colander. Boil them in a large pot of unsalted water until cooked but still firm, about 2 minutes. Drain the noodles and run cold water over them until they are cold. Drain again, and toss in a bowl with the sesame oil and salt.

Swirl half the corn/peanut oil in the frying pan over medium high heat until it will sizzle one noodle. Turn the heat down to medium, and coil the noodles into the pan in a flat, even layer, pressing and pushing them together with a spatula. Cover the pan and cook 5-7 minutes, until the underside of the pancake is brown and crispy.

Flip the pancake over (it can also be inverted onto a plate and slipped back in the pan cooked side up), drizzle the additional oil around the edges of the pan and swirl to distribute the oil. Press the pancake down again, cover and cook until browned on the 2nd side, for about 5-7 minutes more.

Slide the pancake onto a cookie sheet lined with 3 layers of paper towels, and let it drain for  a minute or two. Slide onto a platter, cut into wedges, and serve with a stir fry mixture of your choice. The pancake can be made up to 2 days ahead and reheated in a 400 degree oven until hot and crispy.
Serves 2-4.

Easy Stir Fries
Sometimes making a stir fry seems like an awful lot of chopping, measuring, and mixing, especially when it includes a variety of vegetables and seasoning. Here are a couple of fairly easy ones:

Szechuan Chicken
2 whole chicken breasts, skinned & boned
2 Tb soy sauce 2 Tb cornstarch
2 egg whites
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
6 Tb peanut oil
1/2 red chili pepper flakes
2 green peppers, cut into thin strips

Sauce
1/2 t. chopped fresh ginger
2 Tb dry sherry 
4 Tb soy sauce
1 Tb honey  
2 Tb rice vinegar

Cut the chicken into 1/2” strips. Mix the soy sauce, cornstarch, egg whites, and garlic. Add the chicken, mixing well. Refrigerate, covered, at least 30 minutes.

Make the sauce:  Mix the ginger with the sherry, then add the rest of the ingredients. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or sauté pan. Add the pepper flakes and cook briefly. Drain the chicken pieces, add to the pan and stir fry 2 minutes. Add green peppers and cook 2 minutes more. Pour in the sauce and cook, stirring, until it comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and serve.

This can also be refrigerated and reheated before serving.
Serves 4-6. From The Picnic Gourmet by Joan Hemingway.)

For vegetarian noodle fans, try topping your noodle pancake with a simple stir fry of broccoli, onion, and red bell peppers.
Veggie Stir Fry with Garlic 
1 lb. broccoli crowns
1 onion
2 red bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 Tb corn or peanut oil, or other high temp cooking oil
1 Tb. finely minced garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tb. soy sauce
1 Tb. unseasoned Japanese vinegar
1 tsp. sesame oil
pepper

Cut the broccoli into flowerets; peel, quarter, and slice the onion. Split the peppers, remove the seeds and inner ribs and cut them into 1" squares.

Heat the cooking oil in a wok or large flat fry pan over medium heat until a bit of garlic sizzles, then add the garlic and stir about 5 seconds. Add the sliced onion, and stir-cook for about 1 minute. Add the broccoli, stirring again for 1 minute, and then the bell peppers, also stir-cooking for a minute or so. Sprinkle in the salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, and stir together. Cover the pan and let the vegetables steam over low heat for a couple of minutes, until just tender. Stir in the cilantro, sesame oil and a generous amount of pepper. Serve on top or on the side of the noodle pancake, or with rice. Serves 3-4.

End your Asian noodle repast with these yummy sesame seed cookies. Be sure to underbake them; they turn hard and crispy on the outside as they cool.
Sesame Cookies
2/3 cup sesame seeds
7 Tb. butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Toast the sesame seeds, stirring occasionally, in a dry saute pan over low heat; it will take about 5 minutes. (You can tell that they are toasted when you can smell them.) Set them aside to cool.

Stir the flour, baking powder salt, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Beat the softened butter with the two sugars in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually stir in the flour and mix until just incorporated, then stir in half (1/3 cup) of the sesame seeds. Refrigerate the dough until firm, at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and adjust the oven racks to accommodate two cookie sheets. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1" balls, and then roll each ball in the remaining sesame seeds. Place the cookie balls about 2" apart on the cookie sheets, and flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand. Sprinkle the cookie tops with any leftover sesame seeds.

Bake the cookies for about 10-15 minutes, depending upon your oven, until just golden brown. Do not brown! They may seem too squishy when you remove them from the oven, but they will harden significantly as they cool.
Makes 24 cookies.

Vegetarian Cooking That the Rest of Us Can Stand- The Cookbook Guide

Meat vs. Veg

Sometimes my place at the dinner table seems to be in the proverbial position between a rock (dedicated carnivore husband) and a hard place (equally resolutely vegetarian daughter.) So, what's a cook to do?
Over the years the solution that has played out best for us is a vegetarian main course with a side of meat.

As a dedicated griller, the Daddy has been in the habit of scorching up a pile of assorted meat products on Sunday night, which usually lasts until about Thursday, when we scrounge some chicken sausages out of the freezer, and start the cycle all over on the weekend.

With the Picky Eater's early proclivity for plain, bland food, our vegetarian main dish selection was pretty limited- pasta with garlic in oil, pasta in quick homemade tomato sauce, Mexican rice (no chiles), cold Chinese noodle salad, barley pilaf, Annie's Macaroni and Cheese, Near East box pilaf. Pretty BORING after the first fifty repeats!!

Trawling for recipes in my modest collection of vegetarian cookbooks was notable for its lack of success in tempting the Picky Eater's taste buds, but I had to acknowledge that the veggie to meat ratio we had was a good thing. As a result I have made friends with my vegetarian cookbooks, and after venting about a few pet peeves, will recommend a few keepers for cookbook collections.
My Gripes
1. Vegetarian recipes tend to need a lot more flavor support to make them taste interesting, which usually translates to a lot more work. What sort of work? Most often a ton of preliminary steps, like the concoction of vegetable based stocks, the separate chopping and/or blanching of a long list of vegetables and herbs, or the preparation of a bread or dough element that needs time (1 hour +)  to chill or rise.

2. Recipes with weird ingredients that don't even show up in an upscale grocery store, let alone a Save Mart or Safeway. Seitan? Black Chinese mushrooms? Nigari tofu? Any chance of suggesting a substitution?

Chilaquiles Casserole-
Looks yummy on the outside,
a watery mess on the inside!

3. Where's the fat? (and sugar?) I know, we should all be minimizing fat and sugar in our diets on a daily basis, but where's the fun in that? Most contemporary vegetarian cookbook authors are also committed to low fat diets, which I think is great (and they all look pretty skinny) but it always compels me to use more than that meager tablespoon or two of olive oil or brown sugar. I go for the feast or famine philosophy, and if I'm feasting I expect enough butter, cream, or cheese to keep what I'm eating from tasting like dirt.

4. Odd food combinations or cooking techniques that make judgement calls impossible. Knowledgable cooks can usually draw on their previous cooking experiences to inform decisions when unexpected cooking events occur. But, many vegetarian recipes go where I, with what I consider to be a fairly broad rage of cooking experience, fear to tread.

View of the kitchen after preparing
 "Baked Buckwheat Noodles
with Brown Butter and Cabbage"

A perfect case in point is my attempt to make the "Baked Buckwheat Noodles with Brown Butter and Cabbage" from the Greens Cook Book:
Reason for selection: I had no idea what the dish would taste like from reading the recipe.
Ingredients not normally stocked in the pantry: Four
Preparation time: over 60 minutes
Pans and utensils used: 1 saute pan, 1 saucepan, 1 baking dish, 2 bowls, 1 colander, 2 measuring cups, 1 strainer, & a piece of cheesecloth
Vegetables & herbs peeled and chopped: Five
Cooking processes (sauteing, boiling, etc.): brown butter, boil potatoes, boil noodles, saute vegetables, grate cheese, assemble casserole, bake    
Result: uninspiring

Instead of going to all that effort, try these "Roasty" Potatoes and Carrots, a long time Picky Eater favorite:
“Roasty” Potatoes & Carrots

Note: Quantities are arbitrary; the trick is to avoid crowding your roasting pan. If you do, the vegetables will steam and not develop a nice crispy crust.

1 lb. small (creamer) boiling potatoes, halved
3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2” x ½” sticks
4-5 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
Sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme
3 Tb olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Oil a 9”x 13” pan with 1 Tb of the olive oil. Place the potatoes and carrots in a largish bowl and toss with the remaining oil. Scrape vegetables and oil into the roasting pan. Tuck the herbs and garlic in amongst the vegetables, distributing them evenly around the pan. Liberally season with salt and pepper.

Roast the vegetables in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until tender and caramelized. Stir once or twice during roasting. Serves 3-4.
Watch out! These are very hot when they first come out of the oven. Adventurous eaters can squeeze the roasted garlic cloves and smear the sweet soft garlic onto their vegetables.

My Recommendations

That said, there are plenty of things to like about vegetarian cooking and cookbooks. Here are my favorites, also all more or less Picky Eater approved:

Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. This 700 page+ tome is the Princess Di of vegetarian cooking. Elegant, straightforward recipes offer infinite variety and consistent excellence without chaining the cook to the stove. In the spirit of Green's Restaurant, where Deborah Madison got her start, the recipes are an eclectic mix of American and world cuisines which really resonates with the way we cook today.

The Picky Eater, ultimate discriminator, has marked more than 25 recipes which interest her, close to an Olympic record for her. While the scope of this cookbook might seem intimidating, it is still a good choice for the neophyte vegetarian cook. Typical is this carrot recipe, which the author states is "Simple but truly fine."
Carrots with Shallots and Parsley
1 1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled
2 Tb butter or olive oil
3 Tb minced shallots (in a pinch you could substitute scallions)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Salt and papper

If using large carrots, cut them into rounds or matchsticks making them uniform in size; if using baby carrots, leave them whole. Steam them over boiling water until they just yield to the tip of a sharp knife- 5 to 12 minutes, depending upon size. Can also boil them in the water if you don't have a steamer.) Drain well.

Melt the butter or heat the olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the shallots and cook them over medium heat until they begin to color, about 3-4 minutes. Add the cooked carrots  and parsley. Toss well and cook a few minutes more. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

A PICKY EATER ORIGINAL RECIPE!!
The Picky Eater has a favorite frozen pea recipe which is a  rift on these "Carrots and Shallots" that she adapted from America's Test Kitchen:
Peas and Shallots
2 Tb butter or olive oil
3 Tb minced shallots
1 cup broth (vegetarian or chicken)
1 cup frozen peas (not defrosted)
Salt and pepper

Melt the butter or heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the shallots, and cook until soft. Stir in the broth and reduce it over high heat until it just coats the bottom of the pan. (Reduce it more than seems necessary because the peas will throw off water. Reduce the heat to medium, add the peas and cook just until they are hot. Season with salt and peeper to taste.

The Greens Cook Book (Deborah Madison) and Fields of Greens (Annie Somerville), collections from the consistently fabulous (for 30+ years) and scenic San Francisco vegetarian restaurant, Greens. A good number of these recipes I would classify as "weekend" cooking, taking time and planning. But, others make quick, tasty meals, especially the pastas and salads. Most will require a trip to the grocery store. A long time favorite of ours, both at the restaurant and at home is the classic Greens' recipe for

Green's Black Bean Chili
2 c. black beans (or 3 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed)
1 bay leaf
6 garlic cloves, peeled
3 Tb oil
3 yellow onions, peeled & diced
2 bell peppers (green, red, or any color), diced
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, chopped
1 oz. oil packed sun dried tomatoes (about 4), chopped
4 t. ground cumin
4 t. paprika
1 Tb chili powder
1 Tb oregano
1 t. cayenne pepper
2 t. salt or to taste
2 oz. can diced green chiles
4 Tb cilantro, chopped

A note on the beans: Soaking, draining, and rinsing dry beans eliminates most of the gastrointestinal disturbing elements that cause so much bean avoidance. Canned beans are quicker, but....

If using the uncooked beans, either put them in a saucepan, cover with water to 1" above the level of the beans, and soak overnight. Or use the quick-soak method: Cover with water as instructed above, bring to a boil, boil for two minutes uncovered, remove from the heat and let sit for one hour.

Drain and rinse the soaked beans, cover them with fresh water by a couple of inches, and bring them to a boil with the bay leaf and 3 of the garlic cloves. Lower the heat and let simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally, and replenishing water if needed. (The water will cook away, but they should always be covered by some.)
If using canned beans, skip these steps.

In a skillet, heat the oil, then sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat until they soften. Add the bell peppers and cook another 5 minutes or so.

Put the cumin, paprika, chili powder, oregano and cayenne pepper in a small skillet over medium heat and toast only until you can smell them. (Do not burn.) This step mellows the flavors of the spices.

Add the spice mixture to the sautéed vegetables, and sauté a minute or two longer, stirring to scrape up the spice mixture. Add to the beans, along with both tomatoes and canning liquid. If using dry beans, bring back to a boil and simmer 1 hour longer, or until the beans are tender.  Using canned beans? Simmer for 30 minutes or so to allow the flavors to blend. If the beans seem too soupy for your taste you can either cook them down longer or remove some of the liquid. Add canned green chilies and salt and black pepper to taste. Just before serving, stir in the cilantro.

Serve with steamed rice ( I use basmati), grated cheese, more cilantro, salsa, sour cream, avocado, green onions, or whatever you like. These beans are also good mashed in burritos or tostadas.
Serves 6.

I am not a huge fan of dessert recipes from vegetarian cookbooks. In general, they don't generally include enough of the aforementioned fat and sugar for my taste. But, they tend to be strong on fruit based desserts such as these baked apples from Fields of Greens, which are yummy for breakfast with yogurt.
Baked Apples Filled with Nuts and Currants (or Raisins)
1/3 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted
(toast in a 350 degree oven for 5-8 minutes until just toasted, beware of burning)
4 medium baking apples (I used Granny Smiths & Golden Delicious)
1/3 cup raisins or currants
Zest of one orange, minced
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tb brown sugar
Apple juice, about 1 1/2 cups

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Chop the nuts and combine them in a small bowl with the raisins, orange zest, cinnamon, and brown sugar.

Peel around the top third of the apples, and partially core them, leaving about 1/2" of core at the bottom. (I made the cavity in each apple quite spacious in order to accommodate a maximum of filling.) Pack the filling into the apple cavities.

Stand the apples in a baking dish and pour in enough apple juice to fill the dish to a depth of about 1". Cover with foil, and bake for 40-60 minutes (or longer, depending upon size) until they are tender and can easily be pierced by a knife. Check them as they bake. Serve warm or cold with yogurt, creme fraiche, sour cream, or whipped cream, depending on your pleasure and your pantry. Serves 4.

The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash isn't strictly vegetarian, but it has so many great classic vegetable recipes that it deserves a mention. Marian Morash's husband was the producer of Julia Child's cooking shows, and Marian was one of her assistants. Russell also produced a 1970's-80's PBS gardening show, "Crockett's Victory Garden," which demonstrated and promoted home vegetable gardening. During a segment of the show, Marian would demonstrate a recipe using something from the victory garden's current crop. And so, a cookbook was born.

Arranged by vegetable, this book provides extensive information on preparation methods for each, accompanied by a plethora of over 700 recipes, any of which I would prepare for company without a second thought. It must be admitted that there are some vegetables I will never cook with- fennel, endive, parsnips, to name a few; but my 1st edition copy from 1982 is well thumbed and well loved. Several of our Thanksgiving standard recipes are from The Victory Garden (saving those for a holiday post); but I have also made many other of the recipes and consulted this book often when it came to technique when developing my own recipes.

Written before fear of fats took hold, this cookbook abounds in generous helpings of butter and cream, which can easily be modified if desired. The recipes run the gamut of elegant to homey, and it is one vegetable cookbook where I embrace the dessert and bread recipes. Think Julia Child's cuisine without the haute. Here are two favorites from the onion chapter:
Soubise (Onion & Rice Braise)
1/2 cup rice
2 lb onions (sweet onions preferred)
6 Tb Butter
2 Tb oil
Salt
1/2  cup grated Parmesan
Lemon juice
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Drop the rice into boiling, salted water and boil for 5 minutes., then drain. Peel and chop the onions. Heat the butter and oil in a baking dish in the oven. Carefully stir in the onions, rice and 1/2 tsp. salt. Mix to coat well with the butter and oil.

Cover the pan and bake, stirring occasionally,  for 45-60 minutes or until the rice is completely tender and the onions are soft and golden. Mix in the cheese, salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste. Makes 4 cups.


Onion Dinner Rolls
This recipe must be started either early in the day (allow 9 hours) or the day before you want to bake. One critical secret to successful bread dough is making sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature. In this recipe, watch out for the eggs and butter.

2 packages active dry yeast
1 1/4 cup warm water
3 eggs (room temperature)
4 1/2-5 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup sugar
2 c. chopped onions
2 tsp. salt
7 Tb butter, softened

In the bowl of a mixer, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of the warm water and let it stand for 10 minutes. Add the eggs, 2 1/2 cups flour, remaining 1 cup warm water, butter, sugar and salt. Beat at low medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining flour to make a soft, slightly sticky dough.

Cover the dough, put it in a warm spot in the oven, and let it rise until it is doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Punch down the dough and refrigerate it at least 6 hours or overnight.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator 3 hours before baking.

Sauté 1 1⁄2 c. onions in 2 Tb butter until wilted and golden. Cool.  Divide the dough in half. On a floured board, roll each half into a 1⁄2” thick rectangle. Spread each rectangle with 2 Tb softened butter, then spread with sautéed onions. With the long side facing you, roll the rectangle into a jelly roll shape. Cut into 1” thick slices, and place cut side down into greased 2” muffin tins. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter, and brush over the tops. Sprinkle with the remaining 1⁄2 c. of raw onion. Bake in a preheated 400 ̊ oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
Makes 20 rolls.

Vegetarian Kitchen Doyennes
Any discussion of vegetarian cooks and cookbooks is not complete without  mentioning of Martha Rose Shulman and Mollie Katzen. Over the last 40 years they have authored a veritable library of vegetarian and vegetable oriented cookbooks. And, for many reasons, they loom large in my personal Pantheon of eminent women. But, my stuffed apple breakfast calls, and I leave them for another day.

Bon Appetit!

For the Love of Peanut Butter

The Picky Eater reports that she has resumed her romance with peanut butter. The current object of her affections is Butterscotch Peanut Butter purchased at Kauffman's in the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. She stores it in the tea pantry down the hall in the dorm, takes it to the dining hall to slather on her morning bagel, and dips in for a spoonful or two when she's feeling peckish.


The Picky Eater is so fond of Kauffman's peanut butter that she took the time to send me a link to their online sales site. Sadly, butterscotch only appears to be available in situ, but the Picky Eater is confident that I will enjoy the honey roasted or chocolate flavors equally as well. Just in case all this talk has you craving fresh ground peanut butter, here's the website link:

http://www.kauffmansfruitfarm.com/standard/store/grid1.aspx?id=%20%20159

Due to a well-meaning, but misguided mother, the Picky Eater lost her taste (burn out) for PB & J school lunch sandwiches in second grade. Thereafter followed the chocolate lunch years- a container of Brown Cow full fat chocolate yogurt for breakfast and lunch almost every day for about eight years, rather like eating pudding two meals a day. Foolishly, Brown Cow downscaled their packaging and the thin foil tops caused one too many chocolate yogurt leaks in the backpack, and that was the end of that revenue stream. While PB & J never really took hold again as a school lunch staple, it did slowly creep back into her diet during the high school years. She and her dad are both happy to eat it spread on whatever bread product is lying around. The Picky Eater, as would be expected, is selective in her choice of jelly/jams; she opts for Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry, while her dad, with the exception of orange marmalade, uses whatever jar is almost empty. This is what Bonne Maman has to say about its Wild Blueberry Preserves:

"The distinctive allure of wild blueberries in a velvety-sweet gel creates an entirely delightful and robust blueberry experience."

Nice to think that there are childhood comfort foods that last a lifetime.

Musings on Peanut Butter
Writing about peanut butter naturally leads to a lot of thinking about peanut butter, which in my case took two directions- "Where did it come from?" and "What should I cook with it?" For the answer to the first question I consulted Harold McGee's 1st (1984) and 2nd (2004) editions of On Food and Cooking: the Science and Lore of the Kitchen. In the first edition Mr. McGee tells us that over half the peanuts used in the United States are made into peanut butter which is mostly eaten by children. The 2nd edition adds that peanut butter was developed around 1890 in either St. Louis or Battle Creek, Michigan (by the same Kelloggs of Rice Krispies fame), and how it is processed, including the addition of 3-5% hydrogenated shortening in commercial brands like Skippy to prevent oil separation.

There are other considerations when it comes to peanut butter -  smooth or chunky?, hydrogenated or natural? The first is just a matter of preference, with most children, it seems to me, coming down on the side of smooth. With the latter one must pick one's poison -  bad-for-you hydrogenated oils or the aggravation of peanut oil dripping down the sides of the jar and slopped on the kitchen counter, leaving behind a dry, unspreadable mass in the jar.
Our 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking warns against the limited nutritional value of commercial peanut butters which do not contain the protein rich germ of the nut due to its propensity to taste bitter and turn rancid. Joy recommends making your own at home:
Homemade Peanut Butter
In a blender or food processor combine 1 cup of fresh roasted or salted skinned peanuts, 1 1/2 - 2 Tb flavorless vegetable oil, and 1/2 tsp salt. Process until as smooth as desired. refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.

Cooking with Peanut Butter
Peanut butter's strong and distinctive flavor puts some limitations on it's use in cooking. Anything you make with peanut butter is absolutely going to taste like peanut butter with a few other flavorings on the side. So, recipes tend to blend it with other strong flavors- both sweet and savory- chocolate, garlic, red pepper, vinegar, soy sauce. Truth be told, around our house most peanut butter is consumed au natural. One recipe that I have made in large, i.e. 20 pound, quantities is this ...

Thai Noodle Salad

12 oz. linguine
4 Tb Asian sesame oil
8 green onions, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tb minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. soy sauce
3 Tb unseasoned rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tb chili-garlic sauce
Additions (your choice):
2 c. mung bean sprouts
1 c. finely shredded carrots
1 thinly sliced red or yellow bell pepper chunks
1/2 English cucumber, sliced into 1/4' x 1" pieces
1 c. sugar snap peas, sliced into 1" pieces
Chopped cilantro to garnish

Cook the pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Transfer the pasta to large bowl, and add 3 tablespoons sesame oil and toss to coat.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 6 green onions, garlic, and ginger; sauté until onions soften, about 2 minutes. Add honey, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, and chili-garlic sauce; whisk to blend. Simmer sauce 1 minute. Cool to room temperature. Pour over pasta and toss to coat. Add additional vegetables of choice and mix well, or mound with vegetables on a platter (see photo.) Sprinkle with the remaining green onions and chopped cilantro if desired. Makes 8 side-dish servings.

Cookies!!

Always willing to experiment in the name of a good cause, I devoted a day to trying a few new peanut butter recipes. First, the obvious- Peanut butter cookies. After comparing recipes in America's Test Kitchen's The New Best Recipe, David Lebovitz's Ready for Dessert, Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts, The Village Baker's Wife by Gayle and Joe Ortiz, and on Martha Stewart's eponymous website, I decided to modify the already tweaked-to-death ATK recipe with some suggestions from David Lebovitz, and this is the result:

Left to right: Chocolate chip, plain and peanut butter and jelly, and M&M peanut butter cookies.
Our taste testers voted the chocolate chip version "best of show."

Peanut Butter Cookies 
(with variations- Chocolate Chip or M&M Peanut Butter Cookies or Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints)
note: This cookie dough should be refrigerated at least 2 hours before baking.
Makes about 36 cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp.baking powder
1 tsp. salt
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup white sugar, plus extra for baking
1 cup crunchy peanut butter (ATK recommends a commercial hydrogenated brand- just this once!)
2 lg. eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup salted, dry-roasted peanuts, ground to resemble breadcrumbs
Optional: 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, or 1 1/2 cups M&M's, or for Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints - 1/2 cup strawberry (or flavor of choice) jam (should be thick)

Stir the flour, baking soda and powder, and salt together in a bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in the peanut butter, then the eggs one at a time, and the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture and then the ground peanuts, both until just incorporated, along with the chocolate chips or M&M's, if using.

Refrigerate the dough for two hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and arrange the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Put about 1/2 cup of sugar in a wide, shallow bowl.

Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into one inch balls. Drop the cookie balls into the sugar, and shake them around to cover in sugar. Place them about 3 inches apart on the cookie sheets. If making plain peanut butter cookies,  flatten each slightly and make a crosshatch pattern with the back of the tines of a fork.

Bake, about 15-18 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through baking, until the cookies are brown around the edges but still look uncooked in the middle (to maintain their chewiness). When the cookies seem firm enough to handle, move them to wire racks to cool.

For Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints, bake the cookies until they look puffy, about 10 minutes. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and make an indentation in the center of each cookie with the handle end of a wooden spoon. Bake about 5-8 minutes more, until the edges are golden, and cool as directed above.

When the cookies are completely cool, heat the jam in a small saucepan, stirring until it has just softened, about 30 seconds. Spoon about 1/2 tsp of jam into the center of each cookie. Store in a single layer for up to one week.

Peanut Butter Makes a Meal
With a veggie noodle salad and a dessert, it made sense to make a meal of it. Hence, a recipe for...

Beef and Chicken Satay Skewers

1 lb. boneless beef (my household meat expert recommends sirloin or chuck- we used London Broil and it was a little tough)
2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts
7" wooden skewers
Double recipe of teriyaki marinade (recipe below)
Satay peanut sauce (recipe below)

Prepare the marinade. Slice the beef against the grain into 1/4" wide strips and place it in a container with 1/2 of the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours or overnight.

Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise into long thin strips. Place them in a second container with the remainder of the marinade. Also cover and refrigerate for three hours or overnight.
Soak the skewers in water while the meat is marinating.

When ready to cook, preheat the broiler with the oven rack about 5" from the heating element. Thread the meats on the skewers and lay the skewers on the slotted upper rack of a foil lined broiling pan,  placing the blunt ends of the skewers along the outside edge of the rack. Brush the meat with the marinade. Broil the skewers for about 7 minutes, turn them, baste with marinade and broil on the second side for 5-7 minutes, until the meat is browned on the edges and cooked through (the beef should be medium rare inside). Cooking time may vary depending upon your oven.

One pound of meat makes about 8 skewers. Serve with peanut satay sauce.

Teriyaki Marinade

6 scallions, chopped

1/2 c. soy sauce 

5 cloves garlic, crushed

2 Tb oil 

2 Tb brown sugar

2 Tb sherry 

1 Tb sesame oil   

pepper 

Optional additions: 2 Tb cilantro, chopped, 1 tsp. ground cumin (best with the beef) and/or 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

 Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add meat or chicken and marinate several hours or overnight. Use for boneless chicken breasts, chicken pieces, or beef. After marinating, the meat can be grilled, broiled, or baked. Brush the meat with marinade during cooking. 

Makes enough for 1 lb. of meat.   

Peanut Satay Sauce

This is a nice medley of flavors that doesn't allow the peanut butter to predominate. And, a yummy way to enjoy peanut butter without having it stick to the roof of your mouth!

Adapted from a Martha Stewart cold noodle recipe.

1 large clove of garlic

a 3/4" piece of ginger

1 Tb (or more to taste) chile sauce

7 Tb smooth peanut butter

3 Tb sugar

4 Tb vegetable oil (not olive)

2 Tb rice vinegar or the juice of one lime (whichever you have in the cupboard)

4 Tb water

Peel and halve both the garlic and the ginger. Process them together in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth. Additional water can be added for a thinner sauce.

What's your favorite peanut butter? Or favorite peanut butter recipe? Send in your nominations and they will be published in a future blog. Best recipe entry will win a PDF copy of An Edible Life: Memories and Recipes.