An Arabic Jewel (Grocery) in the Desert of Poway, San Diego

I live near Poway. It's an old little town, somewhat insulated and I think about 89% white, so you get the picture. Average folk, a bit behind the times, yet economically sound.

Here's what I found so strange today:

After poking around Michael's Craft Store, I was heading back to work when I spotted this place called North Park Produce, a seemingly, plain grocery store that looked to maybe be organic but with obviously no serious investment in appearances. I decided to drop in to see what quality produce they have just in case they were a local jewel in disguise.

However, once inside, I followed the entrance path to the left and noticed a cheese section then a deli section. Upon closer look at the cheeses, it appeared their was some stuff I hadn't seen before. Not like pretty Italian wheels or anything, but just something a bit ethnic about it all. (Curiosity pleasantly building!)

Next, there was an olive section in the deli with a decent variety. Hmmm?! :-o

I walked further in and past the produce section which had a few strange things among the usual.. one of which were "Ladies Apples". Not unheard of, but not usually what you see around here. :-)

A few aisles down, it happened. I experienced something close to culture shock!! There they were.. dozens of types of olive oils.. some I recognized at the Italian Markets around town, and some written in Arabic!! Then there were perhaps a dozen different brands of Ghee!!

And then behold... there were the spices. A WHOLE aisle dedicated to various spices from all over!! They even had GIANT black cardomoms as big as a quarter! There were also syrups from Pakistan.. Cardomom syrup, Rose syrup, and I couldn't resist the Violet syrup (as in the flowers, not the color). Chutneys and pickled spices (like pickled carrots, mangos, etc.) were everywhere! It was amazing, and I didn't even know where to start. :-o

After caving in and picking up some Garam Masala paste and a bottle of Violet Syrup (it's neat to see the nutritional value calories listed as "Energy"), I went up to the checkstand and eyeballed some Parisienne chocolates on the backwall but resisted going back.

Okay.. will go back as soon as I can find some neat arabic recipes! :-D

Fish, Clams and Tamales

This weekend was a celebration of fish! :-) As well as shellfish & crustaceans.. ah's & mmmm's abound. Hehe

My first dish was Clams Casino which are baked clams served on the half shell covered with a compound butter containing sauteed red & green bell pepper, onion and bacon, then topped with bread crumbs for which I used Panko. Pretty delicious! But I did feel a bit sad over taking the lives of the little clams. oy. :-p

The next dish assigned was a Filet of Flounder en Papillote, a pretty interesting dish to make! After fabricating a flounder (I had no idea these fish were so BIG!) into filets, skin on and scored, they're placed inside parchment paper envelopes atop a mixture of julienned leeks, fennel and red bell pepper, and all covered with a couple pats of freshly made Basil butter. Woo! :-)

I'm really digging the compound butters.. they're pretty easy to make and look & taste maH-velous!!! BTW, Basil butter is easily made by adding finely minced shallots and, of course, fine, chiffonade fresh basil.. mush together and form a log, wrapped with saran wrap.

Home on the range (bad pun, okay okay!), I finished up the Mole sauce for the tamales, made fresh masa (the soft cornbread to be steamed inside tamales), and stewed some pork overnight for the most tender meat, as well as acquiring a full flavored stock (for making the masa).

Backing up a little, the first time I made tamales, I bought pre-prepared masa at the Vallarta Market (a chain in Los Angeles that offers a great selection on Mexican and other hispanic goods). After steaming, the masa turned out hard. :-p

Now, this time being my second attempt at the Art du Tamalera, I made masa from dried maseca, and it turned out beautifully!! Matt showed me how to wrap tamales (although I think they'd look prettier tied--he thought that's just too froo-froo), and voila!

But NOW, I have a beef. I was following the Pork with Red Chili Tamales recipe out of "Tamales 101", and frankly, after having homemade tamales all my life made by the entire families of friends during the Christmas season,.. frankly, let's say the mole left.. um, much to be desired... like FLAVOR. Grrrrrr. >:-E

I don't know the history of tamales, but wherever this recipe for 'traditional' pork red chili tamales came from must have been the BLANDEST part of Mexico there ever was cuz they tasted like STORE bought tamales! It's only bothering me so much cuz they're very time consuming to make; I soaked dried Pasilla chilis and California chilis, but the ingredients should have caught my eye since no chilis in the recipe are actually hot. No cayenne, no jalapenos, no habanero, no serrano, no nada.
Major bummer. :-(

Back to googling mole recipes. *sigh*

A Down Day

Yeah, it's been quiet. Last weekend, we made lamb & pork dishes. I made Lamb Korma, (Indian) Lamb & Potato Stew, and Vegetable Biryani. My rice flopped and turned out like mush probably due to having forgotten to saute the rice a bit first before adding in liquid. The Lamb & Potato Strew seemed to really lack flavor.

The Lamb Korma turned out as if the recipe was destined to be blah. While not having any cardomom or garam masala available was a tiny issue in itself, it turns out all the yogurt had already expired, so I opted for sour cream instead. Following the recipe, I added the sour cream in where the yogurt was supposed to be added--prior to simmering for an hour. Any chance of a creamy texture ended as it ended up just curdling. :-(

Backing up, when I first unrolled the leg of lamb which was BRT (Boned, Rolled and Tied), it was a bit of a shock to discover that it hadn't even been trimmed in the least! I expect too much. :-p It took me a good 40 minutes to trim away all the fat and silverskin so that it could be cubed properly. Trying to be careful, there was still what seemed to be an unacceptable amount of trim loss. :-(

Lesson learned: K.I.S.S.
Never, never again will I try to do any type of recipe that goes beyond typical shelved ingredients and standard veggies.

After our 2 & 1/2 hour cooking time ended, our chef kinda let into our little 8 person class about not staying on top of the dishes pointing out that the other class (note: 16+ people) was all neat & tidy. Spirit sank and hit the floor right before dinner, and neither I nor the other girl who takes photos remembered to pull out our cameras.

We have pictures!!

Yes, that's right.. there is proof we cook in class! LOL
:-)

First off, we have a lovely Teriyaki Chicken feast with an extremely yummy Cucumber Salad sitting there in the middle of all those legs and thighs. Woo! This was created by our chef as part of our usual Saturday night (class) dinner. How pretty, eh?

Next, we have have the amazing Scallops of Veal in Calvados. The veal is first pounded into tender, thin scallops and sauteed. Then, the pan is deglazed with Calvados (an alcohol) before stock and mushrooms are introduced to create a marvelous sauce. Here, it is served with sauteed wedges of green apple. Mmmmmmm!



Here we have a very happy Risotto with Sauteed Mushrooms, garnished with crispy leaves of Sage. I never knew how easy Risotto is to make, and now it's a regular at home! :-)


For side dish variety, here is a beautifully made Orzo dish. I love the combination of colors here.. very appetizing!


Here is a picture of our table, yet not everything is accounted for yet! Potatoes, chicken, chutneys, brussel sprouts.. what else?


Now, here's something a bit abstract! For kicks, we have Blue Duchess Potatoes! These are made from potatoes that are actually, truly blue. After cooking, they are piped into these little swirls with a pastry bag. Weird and interesting, I say! /:-) Especially next to steamed white asparagus with Hollandaise. And then there's the famous meatloaf!


Here's a lovely display of Beef Bourguignon, a name I've heard for many years but have never seen. Starting off with a marinade of Burgundy wine, veggies and onions, it is first seared then braised. The sauce is strained then combined with boiled pearl onions and mushrooms. Delicious!


Last but not least, here are sauteed Airlines of Chicken Breast, served with a wonderful combination of brussel sprouts and mushrooms in butter sauce.

Tada! :-)

Where to Make Mole?

Have you ever made a recipe of which part of it really does need to be cooked outdoors??

There's this Black Mole (pronounced "Molay") recipe on www.Epicurious.com that I'm feeling up to the challenge of making sometime over the next couple weeks, called Teotitlan-style Black Mole (Mole Negro de Teotitlán in Spanish), originally out of a booked called, "The Food and Life of Oaxaca" by Zarela Martinez.

I'm thinking of planning a day-camping trip, specifically to burn the chile seeds as required without offending the neighbors... and my birds.. and cats.. and future visitors. Supposedly, the process is extremely pungent and irritating. :-)~

Time for tamales!

Pere e Gorgonzola

Desperate for a quick & easy, but fully flavored munchie? Here's a recipe for Pears with melted Gorgonzola, an Italian favorite. :-)

Pere e Gorgonzola

• 2 pears, sliced in half and somewhat cored to make a boat (lengthwise of course)
• 4 oz Gorgonzola (traditional recipe calls for Gorgonzola Picante, but standard/wheel Gorgonzola works fine too.
• 2 oz butter
• 2 fl oz heavy cream

Mush the cheese, butter and heavy cream together in a bowl. Doing this in a pan over very low heat works well too.

Fill the pear boats with mixture, and enjoy!

I experimented with Anjou and Bosc pears, and prefer the Anjou since the skin of the Bosc is a bit too thick and bitter.

One variation I heard of too, is to first blanch the pears face down in Barolo, which I will try to make this week and.. FINALLY, take some pictures since we obtained a memory stick reader for the digital camera. Yay! :-)

Making Dinner

Talk about silly. All day long, I was thinking and preparing for class tonight; ironed my uniform during lunch, printed out my Action Plan, etc. And lo' & behold, after heading out early after work to avoid traffic, Mr Mattbear alerts me while on the phone to the fact today is Wednesday, so I don't have class tonight afterall! *rolls eyes*

So, still in the mood to whip up something, I went over to Henry's Grocery (aka "Wild Oats Grocery"), and picked up a chuck roast since we're studying beef this week. Therefore, tonight's savory delight will be a traditional recipe called Aunt Ruthie's Pot Roast, which usually uses brisket, but they didn't have any at the store. Chuck roast is quite flavorful, and has the tough texture perfect with which to practice braising.

As a side dish, I'm making Risotto since as it's been put off long enough! Let's see what happens....
:-)