The versatile shrimp

            Did someone forget to tell April that “April Fools” only applied to the first day of the month?  Having had a brief teasing taste of summer in March, I somehow feel cheated with all these cold nights and cool, but sunny and dry days of April. It does make it easy to get the garden chores done, but even the garden seems confused. Our purple crocuses and daffodils next to the house seem to be holding up, but our rhubarb poked out it’s curled up leaf buds and stopped dead. It was too cold.

            Spring gardening season or not, friends occasionally come to visit and lunch can be a convenient time for entertaining, even if the view out back still is mostly enlivened only by the stately birches. It was too chilly to have only a salad and soup and dietary restrictions for some took cake or pie off the menu.  So, I reverted to one of my lunch staples – shrimp. Shrimp is wonderfully versatile. It can be fried, sautéed, or prepared in a variety of sauces, salads and even soups.  I was looking for something relatively simple and pleasing to the eye on a plate to go with my Oriental spinach salad. Since Delano’s seafood is close by, the uncooked peeled shrimp were easy to obtain and with some puff pastry and a general perusal of our refrigerator, I was set to go. Sometimes, spur of the moment recipes, like flower arrangements, turn out better than expected. And since one of the guests asked for my recipe, I wrote it down and will share it here.

                                    Curried shrimp empanadas  

            Sauté quickly for 1-2 minutes 1 pound large shrimp in 2 Tblsp. olive oil and 2 crushed garlic cloves. Remove from heat and cut shrimp in thirds, removing the tail. This could be simplified by using Maine shrimp that only need cooking for 1 minute and do not need to be cut. Chop 1 shallot, 1 small seeded jalapeño, ½ red and ½ yellow pepper, 1 cold cooked potato, ½ cup artichoke hearts.  In another pan sauté the chopped vegetables in 1Tbls. olive oil and 1 tsp. sesame oil. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 1 tsp. Madras curry powder (or more to taste), 2 Tblsp. chopped parsley and 8 oz cubed cream cheese.

            Unfold a sheet of room temperature puff pastry and on a slightly floured board roll it out to 11-12 inches square. Cut in half and brush all edges with 1 egg beaten with 2 tsp. cold water. Place one quarter of the mix crosswise on each half of the pastry sheet, fold the sheet over and seal the edges by crimping with a fork. Repeat with the other puff pastry sheet yielding 4 large empanadas. Place empanadas on a large pan lined with parchment and brush each empanada with the egg mix. Bake at 375 degrees for 18 minutes until golden. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and serve.

            To make smaller empanadas, cut each rolled out sheet in 4 and fold over filling in a triangular manner giving a smaller triangular pocket. Brush with egg as above and bake for 15-18 minutes. In either case, these can be served on a large plate next to a colorful salad,

                                                Oriental Spinach salad

            In a large bowl toss together ½ bag of washed and dried baby spinach, 4 oz. sliced water chestnuts, ½ yellow pepper sliced in thin strips, ¾ cup drained mandarin orange slices and dressing (1 ½ Tblsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. sesame oil, 2 Tblsp. rice vinegar, 2 Tblsp. apple juice, 1 tsp. soy sauce). Sprinkle with 1 Tblsp. toasted sesame seeds.

A few slices of watermelon and some strawberries for desert gave us at least the illusion that despite the April fools, summer will come.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

LATVIAN EASTER EGGS-ONION SKIN DYE

SUMMER PREVIEW - IN MARCH?

Summer Preview

            Last week’s unseasonable weather was enough to confuse not only the squirrels, robins, doves, our resident turkeys and woodpeckers, but also the human residents of our and other Maine properties. Amazing crocuses and mini daffodils were blooming in front of the house. The sudden urge to go outdoors and tend to all the spring garden chores at once became irresistible. Our irises got cleaned and weeded, the herb bed got it’s annual thorough haircut and our straggly clematis regained a more orderly shape.

            Since all this, as any gardener will tell you, takes time - I was sore put to discover on my calendar a commitment for cooking for a local potluck supper in the midst of all this activity. Normal March weather could have solved the dilemma with a savory stew in a crock- pot, but it did not sound appetizing with temperatures approaching 80 degrees. So, I rummaged for some warm weather recipes that could be quickly made with ingredients currently plentiful in stores. Since our grill still was tucked away in the back of our basement, I adapted a summer grilling recipe for chicken thighs to the broiler and since the featured “vegetable of the week” was broccoli, it was transformed into the base for a hearty salad.

                                                Tangy chicken thighs

            This recipe is ample for a small crowd, but it can easily be halved for a family and the cold leftovers would taste good on or in a salad.

            Combine in a bowl: 2 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. chili powder (hot if you like it), 1 tsp. smoked paprika, 1 tsp. roasted ground cumin, 1 tsp. powdered ginger, few shakes of cayenne pepper (optional). Trim 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs and cut in half or thirds. Sprinkle with the spice mix on both sides and place on a sided baking pan coated with cooking spray. This amount of chicken will need two large pans and the process will need to be repeated twice. Broil chicken, one pan at a time for 5 minutes, turn the chicken over and broil for another 5 minutes.

            In the meantime stir together in a small bowl 5 Tblsp. honey, 1 Tblsp. soy sauce, 2 Tblsp. cider vinegar, 2 tsp. water. Combine the chicken on one pan and baste with the honey-vinegar mixture and return to the broiler for 1 minute, take out of the oven, turn the chicken pieces and baste the other side. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and broil for an additional minute. Serve hot or cold.

                                    Broccoli-grape tomato-feta salad

            Rinse a large broccoli crown and steam for 2 minutes. Allow to cool and separate the florets. In a large bowl combine 5 to 6 cups of broccoli florets with ¾ basket of halved grape tomatoes. In a small bowl stir together: 2 tsp. Dijon mustard, 3 Tblsp. seasoned rice vinegar, 1 tsp. soy sauce, 1 Tblsp. chopped capers, 1 finely chopped shallot, 2 tsp. dried oregano and 1 Tblsp. olive oil. Toss broccoli mixture with dressing and toss again with 1 cup crumbled feta cheese. Allow the flavors to blend for a couple of hours in the refrigerator and serve cold or at room temperature.

This morning as rain washes over the swelling buds on the cherry tree just outside my window, I don’t want to contemplate what will happen to them when the temperature goes back to March normal and drops in the teens at night. I only hope that as a true Maine grown cherry, it will know how to survive. Maybe I won’t put my crock-pot in summer storage yet.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

Healthy Pleasures

            A few warm days here in Midcoast Maine have us thinking optimistically about spring. It means shedding our bulky sweaters only to discover that some of the bulk accumulated during winter does not shed as easily.  Time to think of paring down some of the substantial meals we have enjoyed all winter with the excuse of having to stay warm against the wind and the snow.

            In case we have missed all the imprecations to healthy eating habits from nutritionists and everyone in the health field, we are reminded to do so once more by the current National Nutrition Month.  The upcoming community forum entitled “Get your Plate in Shape” on March 29^th at the Second Congregational Church in Newcastle inspired me to look at some of my favorite recipes with a healthy eating goal in mind.

            Fish has been touted as one of our healthy meal choices not only because of the lean quality of protein, but also as a source of omega-3 fatty acids. Living in Maine, fresh fish is one of the local pleasures in food with haddock, hake and salmon in plentiful supply and halibut and cod available as well. And yet, any nutritionist will tell you that deep frying a fish in batter, tasty as it may sound, is not a healthy choice. The lean choice of broiling fish may be healthier, but lacks much in taste appeal unless you baste the fish with a bit of butter or soy sauce.

            One of my favorite healthy fish recipes has evolved from an old recipe by Craig Clairborne, from days long ago when he wrote for the NY Times. The age of the original recipe can be dated from the fact that flounder then was about 50 cents a pound and he had no qualms in using a half a cup of butter in the recipe. Here is my slimmed down version for haddock or hake.

                                    Piquant haddock or hake

            Cut 1 lb of fish in 4 pieces. Spray an 8x8 inch baking dish with butter flavored baking spray, sprinkle with 1-2 Tblsp. of dry bread crumbs and lay the fish on top in a single layer. In a small bowl mix together: 1 Tblsp. wine vinegar, 1 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tblsp. lemon juice, 2 Tblsp. melted butter or olive oil, ½ tsp. salt, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, dash of Tabasco, ¼ cup vegetable or chicken broth. Pour this over the fish and sprinkle with paprika. Bake in a 450 degree oven about 15 minutes, basting the fish with the liquid once during that time.

            Discussions of healthy eating always include vegetables, oats and nuts. This may be my excuse for even considering cookies in a healthy diet. However, the recipe below contains all those ingredients (and more) and the cookies passed the palatability test with flying colors by my graduate students, who regularly demolished a plate of them at seminars many years ago.

                                    Oatmeal-carrot-raisin and nut chews

            This makes about 5 dozen cookies, so the recipe can be halved.

Beat 2 room temperature sticks of butter with 1 cup brown sugar (packed) until fluffy, then beat in 2 eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla. In another bowl combine 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. nutmeg, ¼ tsp. cloves, ½ tsp. salt. Add this to the butter mixture and blend. Stir in 2 ½ cups uncooked oatmeal, 2 cups shredded carrots, ¾ cup raisins, ¾ cup chopped walnuts or pecans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop cookie mixture with a teaspoon on parchment lined baking sheets and bake 12 to 15 minutes. Cool and store in a tight container.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

Cherries in February?

            This years Valentine’s Day coincided in Midcoast Maine with election day, albeit a very limited election. However, both have to do with choices personal and political and we always hope we make the right decisions in these matters. Valentines Day at our house is always quite traditional with hearts and flowers and some reasonably priced champagne for dinner. As a rule, I’m not a great chocolate fan, but I do confess to liking chocolate covered cherries.

Which brings me to the topic of “cherries in February”. A most unlikely time of the year to feature such fruit, but blame the association to George Washington and the proverbial tale of the maltreated cherry tree.  Before we started celebrating both George Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays together on the generic sounding Presidents Day, my family always used to look forward to having a cherry pie on February 22 in honor of George Washington.  This year that gets complicated, since February 22 is also Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. So maybe I’ll stick to the official President’s Day and make something with cherries for that occasion. If you want to start with breakfast here are some healthy and tasty scones.

            Oatmeal, cherry and candied ginger scones.

In a food processor stir together 1 ½ cups flour, 1 Tblsp. baking powder, ¾ tsp. baking soda, 1/3 cup sugar, ½ tsp. salt and 1 1/3 cup old fashioned oats. Pulse 15 times. Add ¾ cup unsalted butter cut in slices and pulse again until the mixture retains only small lumps. Transfer to a bowl. 

Toss oat mixture with ½ cup chopped dried cherries and ½ cup chopped dried candied ginger. Stir together 2/3 cup buttermilk with ½ tsp. ground ginger and zest of a large lemon. Stir buttermilk mix into the flour mix until moistened. Turn out on a floured surface and knead 6 to 7 times. Pat dough into a 1 inch thick round. Cut out scones with a small glass and transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush each with some buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 16-18 minutes until lightly browned. Remove to a rack to cool and serve warm or cold with preserves of choice. Clotted cream would be ‘de rigeur’ across the ‘pond’, but is not a common commodity in my refrigerator.

Another way to include dried cherries in a meal would be to add them and toasted pecans to a butter lettuce salad with chopped pear or orange slices and a sherry vinaigrette. Having indulged in cherry pies all these years in the past, I think that I will try for cherry turnovers in puff pastry as a time saver. Puff pastry is found in the frozen foods section of the grocery and is a real gift to busy cooks.

            Cherry-almond turnovers in puff pastry

Thaw the puff pastry according to package directions. Take each puff pastry sheet and roll out on a lightly floured surface into a 12x12 inch rectangle. With a sharp knife divide the pastry in nine 4x4 inch squares. Prepare turnovers by placing a Tblsp. of cherry pie filling mix in the center of each square, sprinkle with 1 tsp. slivered almonds,  moisten the edges of the pastry with water, then fold the pastry in a triangle and seal moistened edges together with your fingers.  Place the turnovers on a baking sheet lined with parchment, brush lightly with beaten egg and bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Cool on a rack.

Cherries in February remind us that spring and summer will eventually come and with them those incomparable fresh cherries, to be eaten fresh or served up in a creamy clafoutis.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

Go with the Grains

            Couscous, quinoa, bulgur…No, I have not joined a New Age dance community to chase the winter blahs. Rather I’m exploring the culinary possibilities of these ancient grains that recently have come again to the attention of foodies everywhere. Suddenly in chic restaurants you may find your lamb chop on a bed of quinoa where previously it may have been lentils, a shrimp ragout served on a bed of couscous, where previously it might have been polenta and bulgur wheat is cropping up in a variety of Mediterranean dishes such as kibbeh with ground lamb and not just tabouleh.

            Couscous is a long time Mediterranean staple from western North Africa to southern France.  It is actually derived from crushed unground semolina wheat, just like other pasta, but undergoes further cycles of moistening and steaming before it ends up on our plates. It is steamed, never boiled and stirred, or the product is likely to be a gluey mush.  Couscous prepared ‘properly’ would be steamed over a pot of simmering stew or in a couscousière for nearly an hour, spread out to slightly dry, then returned to steam for another 30 minutes to finally yield a dry-steaming serving, when stirred with a fork.

Fortunately for the modern cook, Moroccan or fine couscous, roughly the size 3 times cornmeal, requires very little effort. You simply bring to boil 1 cup of water or broth with 1 Tblsp. butter, salt to taste, stir in 1 cup of couscous, cover, remove from heat, allow to sit for 5 minutes, fluff lightly with a fork and serve. It may not have the ultimate flavor of the long steamed version, but since couscous like grits has little flavor itself, the success of your meal is going to depend on the topping or other flavoring agents you add, such as parmesan, dried currants and pine nuts or even chopped sun dried tomatoes. My favorite topping is mushrooms, sautéed with chopped onion for 15 minutes, stir in 1 Tblsp. lemon juice and chopped soppressata or other spicy sausage. ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes.  When heated through,  sprinkle with 1-2 Tblsp. flour, slowly stir in 1 cup of beef broth and cook with stirring until thickened. Serve ragout on top of couscous.

There are two other types of couscous, Israeli or pearl couscous, which is about the size of peppercorns and Lebanese, the size of small peas. Both of these require more preparation and can be cooked like rice or as risotto on very low heat.

Quinoa, like potatoes, originated in the Peruvian Andes. It is a pseudo-cereal since it does not belong to grasses and unlike cereals it contains the essential amino acid lysine and is high in protein content.  Like other members of the Amaranth family it bears large seed clusters. It’s closest relatives are beets and spinach. The seed is processed to remove the bitter saponin coat, so the seed needs to be rinsed before cooking.  To cook, simply rinse and drain 1 cup of quinoa, add to 1 ½ cups cold water, ¼ tsp. salt, bring to boil, turn down the heat and cook for 15 minutes.  The seed produces a slightly crunchy dish, looking a bit like large couscous and can be used as a side dish for meat or vegetables.  It makes a hearty salad with 1 cup drained and rinsed black beans, chopped red pepper, 5 chopped scallions, and a lime-cumin vinaigrette (2 Tblsp. lime juice, 1 tsp. red wine vinegar, ½ tsp. ground roasted cumin, salt and pepper to taste, 1 Tblsp. olive oil).

Bulgur wheat is a natural whole grain cereal that is cracked and partially processed to shorten cooking time. A staple of Mediterranean diet, it is now estimated by archaeologists that early Neolithic Bulgarians may have used this cooking method as early as 5730 BC, as found in grain excavations. Bronze age fragmented cereal and grain has been found also in Northern Greece. In current use the fine grain bulgur cooks in about 5 minutes and is used in kibbe preparations with ground lamb. Medium is used in tabbouleh after soaking 1 cup bulgur with 2 cups boiling water, draining off excess before stirring in: 1/3 cup lemon juice, 3 Tblsp. light olive oil, 1 tsp. wine vinegar, 1 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, 1 cup chopped parsley, ¼ cup chopped mint, 2 chopped tomatoes, 3 chopped scallions with green tops. Refrigerate for a couple of hours to allow blending of flavors before serving.

Coarse bulgur adds it’s nutty flavor in soups, stews, salads and pilafs. At our house we sometimes use it as a delicious hot breakfast cereal, instead of oatmeal. Simply bring 2 cups of water to boil with ½ tsp. of salt, stir in 1 cup of bulgur and cook slowly with occasional stirring for 15 minutes.

Exploring these cyclical discoveries by new/old food trends has been a fascinating learning experience and a delicious way to chase the winter blahs!

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

Good Bread

            Having had the pleasure to contemplate a brimming basket of croissants and freshly cut real French baguette this past week on my breakfast table, I naturally started to think about the special appeal of bread in it’s various forms and flavors. Not to mislead anyone, this did not happen in Paris, which can be quite dreary this time of the year, but rather on St. Martin in the French West Indies. The weather there is balmy, with direct flights from Paris, but not alas from Waldoboro Maine. Nevertheless, it provided a pleasant January interlude, before returning home in time for some more snow.

            But back to good bread!  We have all heard that bread is the staff of life and when we enter a home filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread we inhale deeply in full agreement with that statement, cliché or not. And yet, it is amazing the various forms and flavors that can be created from such basics as flour water and yeast. My favorite breads usually come in some crusty version of wheat, white, rye or multigrain. Here in midcoast Maine we have an amazing array of small and large bakeries that seem to compete with each other for variety of flavors. The large Borealis and Atlantic bakeries offer their distinctive brands in wide selection including long crusty French and wheat baguettes . Others, like Black Crow specialize in crusty round loaves that bring back memories of Tuscany.

            Further south, Brunswick boasts of Wild Oats bakery.  During a visit to the Brunswick Farmers market, which continues throughout winter indoors in the Fort Andross Mill Building, we discovered the enterprising organic ZU bakery. The huge eye catching 4 pound loaves of rye or multigrain bread would feel at home in any European market.  Mr Olins, the baker uses traditional French baking methods with certified organic whole grains that are milled just prior to mixing the dough.  Leavening with a natural starter and the unprocessed sea salt lend the bread a wonderfully complex flavor and long keeping qualities.

            Such flavorful breads can make great sandwiches or accompaniments to soups and salads and yet when fresh can be eaten with just unsalted butter to bring out all the subtle flavors of good bread. A poignant story comes to mind of survivors celebrating the arrival of spring after the bloody war in Bosnia.  They were able to grow radishes in their window boxes and savored this harbinger of spring and hope with buttered black bread with fresh radish slices.

            And then there is that special form of bread that has gained immense popularity, the bagel! Their popularity has unfortunately resulted in supersizing, usually without maintaining the chewy texture and special flavor. The assiago bagels from Pannera are delicious, but we have searched smaller bakeries for the chewy qualities with flavor. Close by Village Bakery in Waldoboro has usually a limited supply. Rockland has an aptly named Hole in the Wall Bagel Bakery, where I’m happy to munch on both sesame and sundried tomato bagels. The preferred accompaniment to bagels being cream cheese and smoked salmon, in Maine can even classify as a locovore meal.  In summer, I like to be less orthodox and will top the cream cheese with a fresh slice of tomato, an equally colorful and delicious choice.

            Poor Marie Antoinette, she apparently never understood that bread was one of the best things in life.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)