A pretty funny recipe title, but true. Most of my canned tomato products (sauce, paste, whole, diced) go into other things, like beef stew, pizza sauce, or spaghetti sauce. This is a really easy recipe for making a quick tomato soup when it is 25 degrees F outside. Celery is among the dirtiest of all the vegetables, so you should probably use organic celery.
Ingredients
One 14.5 oz can of organic diced tomatos, no salt added
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 c. celery, diced
1 1/2 tsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp organic granulated sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/4 tsp dried basil, crushed
Directions
1. In a medium pan over low-medium heat, melt butter and add celery. Cook until tender. Add flour and stir to make a roux.
2. Using a food prep or stick blender, briefly pulse the diced tomato then add it to the pan and bring it to a boil.
3. Add sugar, salt, pepper, oregano and basil and cook until the soup thickens. Remove from heat and serve.
Can use fresh basil leaves as a garnish, if available.
Serves 2.
Panna Cotta with Vanilla and Honey
Since the first version didn't quite come out as expected, I am attempting this recipe again with the hopes of creating a more delicate texture to a dessert that is supposed to not make you pass out after dinner from caloric overload. If you are going to pair a wine with this, I suggest a sweet dessert wine like moscato, port, or a dry Riesling. This particular ingredient ratio comes from Martha Stewart's recipe site. I figure, if she can cater this, it is probably a good one to make.
I buy my raw honey locally, either from the farmer's market or directly from a farm. Prices here range from $10-15/quart, the latter pricing is typically during peak summer season at the farmer's market.
If you're still looking to count calories with this one, you may be able to shave off a few by using low fat yogurt instead of whole milk yogurt. I don't recommend mucking up this recipe using fat-free yogurt.
Ingredients
2 c. organic heavy cream
2 tbsp unbleached, organic granulated sugar
1 tbsp raw honey
1 vanilla bean
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1/4 oz; 1 tbsp) + 1/2 c. water
1 c. plain organic whole milk yogurt
pinch of sea salt
1/4 c. raw honey, warmed
Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, add cream, sugar, 1 tbsp honey, and a vanilla bean (split lengthwise with its seeds scraped out and added to the cream as well as the pod). Boil until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cover with a lid. Let the vanilla bean infuse the cream for about 10 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, add unflavored gelatin powder to half a cup of water. Let gelatin soften for a few minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt and salt.
4. Bring cream to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in gelatin. Use a strainer when pouring the cream into the yogurt to remove the vanilla bean fragments. Mix until well combined.
5. Pour combined liquid into ramekins, depending on whatever sizes you have on hand. This batch made it evenly into eight 4oz ramekins. Chill for 2 hours, up to 2 days.
6. Warm 1/4 c. raw honey in a heat-proof bowl in the oven on its lowest setting for 15 minutes. In my oven this heat setting is 170 degrees F. This will allow you to pour the honey easily on and around the plated panna cotta.
7. To serve: unmold each panna cotta by running a straight paring knife around the inner edge of the ramekin. Set the ramekin in a bowl of boiling hot water for a few seconds, then invert the ramekin onto a serving plate. Hold these two together, firmly shake to release the panna cotta. Drizzle with honey before eating.
I buy my raw honey locally, either from the farmer's market or directly from a farm. Prices here range from $10-15/quart, the latter pricing is typically during peak summer season at the farmer's market.
If you're still looking to count calories with this one, you may be able to shave off a few by using low fat yogurt instead of whole milk yogurt. I don't recommend mucking up this recipe using fat-free yogurt.
Ingredients
2 c. organic heavy cream
2 tbsp unbleached, organic granulated sugar
1 tbsp raw honey
1 vanilla bean
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1/4 oz; 1 tbsp) + 1/2 c. water
1 c. plain organic whole milk yogurt
pinch of sea salt
1/4 c. raw honey, warmed
Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, add cream, sugar, 1 tbsp honey, and a vanilla bean (split lengthwise with its seeds scraped out and added to the cream as well as the pod). Boil until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cover with a lid. Let the vanilla bean infuse the cream for about 10 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, add unflavored gelatin powder to half a cup of water. Let gelatin soften for a few minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt and salt.
4. Bring cream to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in gelatin. Use a strainer when pouring the cream into the yogurt to remove the vanilla bean fragments. Mix until well combined.
5. Pour combined liquid into ramekins, depending on whatever sizes you have on hand. This batch made it evenly into eight 4oz ramekins. Chill for 2 hours, up to 2 days.
6. Warm 1/4 c. raw honey in a heat-proof bowl in the oven on its lowest setting for 15 minutes. In my oven this heat setting is 170 degrees F. This will allow you to pour the honey easily on and around the plated panna cotta.
7. To serve: unmold each panna cotta by running a straight paring knife around the inner edge of the ramekin. Set the ramekin in a bowl of boiling hot water for a few seconds, then invert the ramekin onto a serving plate. Hold these two together, firmly shake to release the panna cotta. Drizzle with honey before eating.
Kitchen Note: Portland Supply Shops
I visited the eastside of downtown Portland (east of the Morrison bridge) and was mildly amused by the shops I browsed. I chose these in particular because of their proximity to each other.
Rose's Equipment & Supply
207 Southeast Clay Street
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 233-7450
This is definitely one of the few supply shops in Portland for both the gourmet foodie and restaurant chef. It's one of two notable places for the more intermediate food aficionado. The other place that I haven't visited yet is Bowers NW. You can get all sorts of utensils, serving things, and commercial grade cookware from here. They even have a decent collection of woks to choose from; though, even with the raised edge you can buy, it won't fit onto most conventional/residential gas stoves. I didn't find the pâtisserie moulds that I was looking for.
Mirador Community Store
2106 Southeast Division Street
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 231-5175
A very nice store that carries organic fiber products, some interesting cookware, and all supports the macrobiotic/vegan lifestyle. There is quite a lot to see here and I was able to find a suribachi
(Japanese mortar and pestle) set for a decent price. I already own one, but I seemed to have left it behind in California. It is the best tool for grinding high moisture content tiny seeds, like sesame seeds. When shopping for one, the pestle should be made from a hard wood so that it doesn't grind down the clay as you pulverize herbs/seeds in it.
Rose's Equipment & Supply
207 Southeast Clay Street
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 233-7450
Tram: SW River Pkwy & Moody
This is definitely one of the few supply shops in Portland for both the gourmet foodie and restaurant chef. It's one of two notable places for the more intermediate food aficionado. The other place that I haven't visited yet is Bowers NW. You can get all sorts of utensils, serving things, and commercial grade cookware from here. They even have a decent collection of woks to choose from; though, even with the raised edge you can buy, it won't fit onto most conventional/residential gas stoves. I didn't find the pâtisserie moulds that I was looking for.
Mirador Community Store
2106 Southeast Division Street
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 231-5175
Bus: SE Division & 20th
A very nice store that carries organic fiber products, some interesting cookware, and all supports the macrobiotic/vegan lifestyle. There is quite a lot to see here and I was able to find a suribachi
(Japanese mortar and pestle) set for a decent price. I already own one, but I seemed to have left it behind in California. It is the best tool for grinding high moisture content tiny seeds, like sesame seeds. When shopping for one, the pestle should be made from a hard wood so that it doesn't grind down the clay as you pulverize herbs/seeds in it.
Panna Cotta with Blueberry Sauce
Panna cotta is an eggless custard. There are a variety of ways to make it, but the key ingredient is heavy cream or creme fraiche. Sometimes plain yogurt is blended in so that it has a lighter flavor to it. The dessert is also not for those skimping on calories because heavy cream is heavy with calories (1 cup heavy cream = 400 calories), and this is before a fruit compote, sauce or chocolate is added. It's a minimum of 200 calories per serving.
I first had this at Tutta Bella's in Seattle and it was served up with a mixed berry pureé on top. Tutta Bella adds milk to the cream for their rendition of it, which is probably more accurate than the ingredient ratio below. Mine came out rather heavy texture, whereas a professional chef would have made it to have a delicate texture. Nonetheless, it all tastes pretty good to me.
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. organic heavy cream
2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin
Directions
1. In a small bowl, dissolve gelatin in cold water. I use Knox unflavored gelatin because it is readily available here in the US.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the cream, sugar, and vanilla extract until boiling. Add the gelatin and stir for two minutes. Remove from heat and pour into serving bowls or short juice glasses.
3. Let chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours, or until the panna cotta has set.
4. Add the blueberry sauce to the top of the panna cotta and serve.
Makes 3 half-cup servings.
I first had this at Tutta Bella's in Seattle and it was served up with a mixed berry pureé on top. Tutta Bella adds milk to the cream for their rendition of it, which is probably more accurate than the ingredient ratio below. Mine came out rather heavy texture, whereas a professional chef would have made it to have a delicate texture. Nonetheless, it all tastes pretty good to me.
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. organic heavy cream
2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin
Directions
1. In a small bowl, dissolve gelatin in cold water. I use Knox unflavored gelatin because it is readily available here in the US.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the cream, sugar, and vanilla extract until boiling. Add the gelatin and stir for two minutes. Remove from heat and pour into serving bowls or short juice glasses.
3. Let chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours, or until the panna cotta has set.
4. Add the blueberry sauce to the top of the panna cotta and serve.
Makes 3 half-cup servings.
Blueberry Sauce
I made this to pair with the panna cotta and I must say that it came out really well. It's very tasty and not too sweet. There is just enough sweetness to bring back the full flavor of the summer picked blueberries.
This is not the right way to make a simple sugar syrup, but doing so balances out the sweetness pretty nicely. Real simple syrups are normally equal parts water and sugar.
Ingredients
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. unbleached granulated sugar
1 tbsp raw honey
2 1/2 c. blueberries, thawed and drained
Directions
1. In a food prep, coarsely chop the 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, combine water, sugar, and honey and boil until the water has been reduced by half. Add the chopped and whole blueberries.
3. Blueberries are mostly water, so expect there to be a lot more liquid in the saucepan when the berries cook down. Let this cook over medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes or until it has an almost jam consistency...which is saucy, but not watery.
4. Pour into a glass bowl, cover, and let it cool until ready to use.
This is not the right way to make a simple sugar syrup, but doing so balances out the sweetness pretty nicely. Real simple syrups are normally equal parts water and sugar.
Ingredients
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. unbleached granulated sugar
1 tbsp raw honey
2 1/2 c. blueberries, thawed and drained
Directions
1. In a food prep, coarsely chop the 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, combine water, sugar, and honey and boil until the water has been reduced by half. Add the chopped and whole blueberries.
3. Blueberries are mostly water, so expect there to be a lot more liquid in the saucepan when the berries cook down. Let this cook over medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes or until it has an almost jam consistency...which is saucy, but not watery.
4. Pour into a glass bowl, cover, and let it cool until ready to use.
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