The Great Spinach Switch. A Fast Easy Lighter Version Of An Old Favorite.

Still getting whipped around by the weather here in Sonoma. We've gone from perfect warm spring weather to hail and rain, to sun lashed by cloudbursts and windy gusts. Last night my little olive tree blew over. Time to replant. This morning it's crisp, windy and cool. More of a March day than teetering on the edge of May.
 Today is a day for spinach! Not creamed spinach but a lighter version, flavored with dill and spiked at the end for an edge. It's called Mysore Spinach or Spinach with Dill and it's fast and easy too. Nothing to kick about there. The only drawback is the need for more spinach because this stuff goes fast and spinach once steamed is notorious for "shrinkage". So depending on how many people you're serving, you may need more than you think.
 I made this dish using one bag of organic baby spinach, about 12 oz. If you're serving more than 4 people you may want to get a bit more.
  Here's how to make this simple, tasty side dish.
  Rinse and chop about 12 oz. of fresh spinach.
Chop 1/2 cup of fresh dill

  Put the spinach and the dill in a large skillet and heat it on low. Put the lid on the skillet and let it steam gently. Shake the pan every now and then until the spinach is wilted and tender, about 10 minutes or so.
When the spinach and dill are cooked, add:
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 cup of whipping cream.
 Turn up the heat and cook down the spinach and cream. Boil it down and make sure you  keep stirring so nothing burns.
 In a separate pan heat:
1 Tbs unsalted butter
When the butter foams up add in:
1/4 tsp  black mustard seed
When the mustard seeds start to pop add in:
1/8 tsp cumin seed
1 dried red chilli
When the cumin and chilli turn color, take the pan off the heat and pour the mixture into the cooked spinach.
 Stir and serve.

  This is a nice, mild and tasty dish, great with even non-Indian meals. Not as rich as creamed spinach, it's freshness and the addition of dill, makes it a great change up from the usual.
   Spinach

Talk To Me Cupcake! Tasty Bites, A Gluten Free Treat!

I love cup cakes. They're so innocent. begging me to eat them.  I especially love mini cup cakes, mini anything actually. To me mini = guilt free. I know in the "reality based community", this is a bunch of horse pucky, but one can dream.
 The last time I made Gujarati steamed chickpea bread I wondered since it's so good savory, how would it be sweetened? I fantasized about little gram flour cupcakes studded with sultana raisins, an icing of sirkhand and a bit of finely chopped pistachios.
So a couple of days ago with Alan on the road to recovery eye wise, I decided to invite some friends over for an Indian lunch and try my little dessert experiment on them.
 I started the night before, as the batter for this steamed bread/cake needs to mellow overnight. The actual baking process only takes about 12 minutes. As to turning it sweet, I was winging it and we were all happy with the results, a not too sweet raisin spice cupcake. I baked steamed the cupcakes in a mini muffin pan that I had, and though the process wasn't pretty at first they were the ugly ducklings that grew beautiful. "Why Ms. Jones, you're beautiful with that frosting!"
  The biggest problem was finding a steaming vessel that would hold my mini muffin pan. Next time I try this I think I'll steam them in the oven where I can use a large baking dish as a bain marie.
  So here's what I did:
 The night before baking mix:
1 and 1/2 cups of sifted gram flour
3/4 tsp of salt
About 1/4 cup of brown sugar
3 Tbs  of vegetable oil
2/3 cup of plain yogurt
A fist full of golden raisins (I did say I was winging this)
1 Tsp of cinnamon
A  pinch of nutmeg
 Cover the bowl with a cloth and set it in a warm protected place to ferment overnight. I always store mine in the oven. Just don't forget and turn the oven on in the morning or you've got a problem.
When ready to bake  add:
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
 3 Tbs of warm water and stir these in, only whisking in one direction
The batter will start to turn bubbly and frothy. When it does, spoon it into lightly oiled muffin cups.
Place the muffin tin on a trivet in a pan of boiling water. Cover with a cloth and then a snug lid on top of that.

Steam the cupcakes for about 8 to 10 minutes. When  a toothpick poked into them comes out clean, you're done.
 Take the muffin pan out and cover it with the cloth for about 10 minutes. As you can see, I overfilled my muffin cups .

  But once they were unmolded, I was able to trim them into proper mini cupcake shape.

I put put the sirkhand into a pastry tube and swirled it onto the cupcakes.

I then sprinkled the tops with a bit of chopped pistachio. This is a cupcake "cheesecake" shot.

I loved these little mini bites. Everybody got three of them. I think I'll fiddle with the recipe a bit and see what else I can do with them. They're not super duper sweet, just pleasantly spicy sweet which is more to my taste, and they're so tiny they're hardly calories.

Coming Tomorrow, The Gluten Free Experiment!

Well, the thing I was wanting to try got tried.....results tomorrow.

Got Carrot Salad? Got 20 Minutes?

 I love stuff that's fast and easy. These are the recipes that are lifesavers especially when  "stuff" happens, for lack of a better word. Dishes that are versatile, and inexpensive to prepare and can be prepared ahead of time are even better. I was looking for that sort of  thing this week, after the whole Film Festival craziness and then Alan's eye surgery (he's doing great btw).
 We started the week off with cold cold temperatures and hail and are ending it with this.....

  80 degrees and the lilies are blooming.

What to do, what to do? Soup, stews, or something cooling??? I found the answer in a special sale on organic carrots at Sonoma Market, and book that Paula Wolfert gave me called the Salads of India by Varsha Dandekar.
This little paperback is amazing and I think I'm going to be getting quite a lot of use out of it. Since I had carrots I thought I'd see what Varsha Dandekar  had to say about them. I had cauliflower left over from lunch the day before and I decided to pair it with a lovely cooling carrot salad. This is what I did.
  Take one bunch of medium carrots, about 4 or 5. Peel and chop them . Steam them for about 20 minutes or so, until they are cooked through and tender.

   Mash the carrots.                    

  Add in :
1 cup of yogurt
1/4 tsp of salt                   
1/4 tsp of sugar
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper..or to taste.

 
Mix it in well.
In a separate pan heat:
2 Tbs of butter
When it's hot and sizzling add in
1/2 tsp of cumin seeds.
When the seeds get aromatic and turn color they're done.
Mix the butter and cumin seeds into the carrot salad mixture.

Garnish with some chopped cilantro and put in the fridge to chill.

 This can be made a head of time and it's is absolutely delicious. Perfect for a cooling spring or summer lunch or dinner. I'm for sure adding this to my summer holiday menu.
As for tomorrow I'm doing a big Indian lunch, so look for a new summer ready  recipe and a super duper dessert experiment that I hope I don't regret. Keep your fingers crossed.

Fast And Creamy, Super Dreamy, Cauliflower Curry

 Let's get this up front right now. I am cheap. If I can get a bargain, I do. I love nothing more than something that I can get for 99 cents. Unless I can get it for 89 cents ! Make it organic and 89 cents and I'm in, baby! This was the situation with cauliflower the other day. I don't care if I don't particularly like a vegetable (of course I love cauliflower) for 89 cents I can make it more lovable than Johnny Depp crossed with puppies.
I was also looking for something that would be easy to fix. Last weekend we were jurors at the Sonoma International Film Festival and then bright and early Tuesday morning Alan had cataract surgery. The surgery came about because two years ago he got a torn retina and had surgery to fix that. That repair caused a premature cataract to form which the opthamologist said happens quite frequently in those cases. I took him in for laser surgery, a fairly quick and clean procedure. Still, it didn't leave me a whole lot of time for cooking or blogging. Thus, the cauliflower.
One of the cookbooks that Paula Wolfert gave me for my birthday was India, The Vegetarian Table by Yamuna Devi who happens to be one of my favorite Indian cookbook authors.  There I found a great new dish that I could make with my 89 cent organic cauliflower. Here's my adaptation of it.
 In a spice grinder or good old mortar and pestle, mash up:
1 Tbs of coriander seed
1 tsp of cumin seed
1/2 tsp of fennel seed
Set it aside.
Cut a large cauliflower into small florets. The pieces should be smaller than usual, little buds of cauliflower.
In a skillet or kadhai heat :
2 Tbs of vegetable oil and  a bit of butter for taste

a

 When the oil is hot and sizzling add in:
A 1 inch piece of ginger thinly julienned
Stir fry that for about 30 seconds and then toss in the spice mixture along with
1/4 tsp of kashmiri chili (substitute 1/b tsp cayenne plus 1/8 tsp of paprika)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 Tbs of sugar
And a tsp or two of water

 Stir this mixture together than add in the cauliflower.
Stir the cauliflower around to coat it with the spice mixture for about 3 minutes then lower the heat and Put a lid on the pan.

Let it cook for another 20 minutes or so, shake the pan every now and then to keep things moving, try not to take the lid off.
When the cauliflower is cooked season it with salt and pepper to taste then add in:
1/2 cup of warm yogurt or buttermilk

Dribble a bit of melted butter over the dish along with 3 Tbs of chopped fresh cilantro and serve.

 Of course Patsy had to get into the act also. She wasn't particularly interested in the cauliflower however some fresh homemade vanilla ice cream got the full chin on the knee "please to gimmee?" treatment.

It's now Friday and Alan is doing great, he's getting his new eye glass prescription on Monday and is demanding naan bread and an Indian lunch on Sunday. The patient is always right.

Ten Happy Men (and Women) Judgement Day! The Sonoma International Film Festival Grande Finale!

 Well, all good things must come to an end and we bid a fond farewell to The Sonoma International Film Festival on Sunday night.
  I finally came down off of my high heels and into sandals, as the Festival Jury met at Saddles for the Judges Brunch..Judgement Day!
   When they say Saddles at this place, they're not kidding, as you can see from the decor.

After tucking into a lovely brunch of eggs Benedict, cereals, pastries, sausage, yogurt..you name it we settled down to argue out the prize winners of the films we'd seen.

Finally we had our winners list. This wasn't easy as the films we were judging in all categories were very good. Hey, nobody said this was gonna be easy, but then that's why we get the big brunch.
  That night we assembled at The Backlot Big White Tent for food, wine, music and awards.

It seemed like every film fan in town had turned out for the festivities, and I mean every film fan.

The Jaywalkers played

And the judges took the stage.

Alan and I judged the short film division and were very pleased to award the film The Hirosaki Players Best Dramatic Short.
Below, the happy filmmakers director Jeff Sousa (right) and his editor Micheal Louis Hill.

 The festival was a lot of fun for us and for all the attendees. We're looking forward to more fun next year.
For now, the Big Tent has been folded up and taken away, the Fimmakers have gone home or on to other festivals, Harvey has rolled his donut truck back up the road to Glen Ellen and for us, it's back to real life, finishing the project we're working on and cooking more Indian food.

Manolos And A Martini Glass Of Mashed Potatoes...The Sonoma International Film Festival Part lll

 Saturday was Gala Night at The Sonoma International Film Festival. Everything in the day was building up to the giant evenings' entertainment and the Spotlight Award featuring Robin Williams who isn't exactly a stranger around here, and original proto-supermodel Lauren Hutton.
  The whole town was abuzz, waiting for the evenings festivities. I had been eating all sorts of things I usually wouldn't eat in a given day since Thursday, but was bravely soldiering on.
Saturday involved  yet another trip to the Backlot Big White Tent, with my All Access Jury Food Pass. Who did I find at one of the booths, but cheesemaker Sheana Davis.

 Sheana is the friend that food lovers dream of. I can hardly believe that the home made cheese that she would bring over to our house to "try out" on movie nights a couple of years ago is now served at the French Laundry. That is the kind of friend to have.

It turned out that Sheana was serving her delicious Delice de la Vallee cheese with both rose petal jelly and also with pesto.

She also had a number of pasta salads, cured olives and strawberries in lemoncello.

All of these were served with little bags of homemade crunchy crostini. I grabbed a couple, found a quiet corner and sat down to get acquainted. One more trip to Harveys' Gourmet Donut Bar and I was set up for the day.
 The evening found us at the historic Sebastiani Theatre for the presentation of the Spotlight award and a conversation with  Lauren Hutton and Robin Williams.

Much hilarity ensued. The theatre was packed and now that it's over and the Fire Marshall is out of range, I can say that people were sitting in the aisles. It was beyond standing room only.
The Gala evening event followed at Ramekins.
 Wine, champagne and volcanic water (you should have heard Robin Williams' comments about that!) were served in the patio.

 Of course there was music, while people mingled in the garden.

The party moved indoors in search of food.

    There was an assortment of treats, small and fast moving. I remember various cheeses, salmon hache (?). As soon as the servers would bring the next thing out people fell upon it. I would have had pictures but when hunger is involved they have not made the camera fast enough to keep up with me.
  A few hours later as I found myself in my stiletto Manolos which I had not worn since moving here from LA three years ago (you can imagine how that felt) holding a martini glass of hot mashed potatoes topped with wild Sonoma mushrooms and home cured pancetta....somehow I knew it was time to leave the party. Also, to get hold of any photos of me holding said glass and eating hot mashed potatoes with an iced tea spoon in the middle of a Gala.
 We decided to call it a night.
  This morning with aching feet, we reported to the Jury Brunch and the final days' events. More to come.

Hollywood in The Vines. The Sonoma International Film Festival Part Deux!

 There were more films, more feasting and all around gustatory bad behavior on my part at this years' Sonoma International Film Festival. I am trying, trying I tell you, to not put anything that is not on film into my mouth as I rove the Backlot Big White Tent between shows. It is also not helping that Ben and Jerrys' is giving out free ice cream cones to all Festival participants. These people are trying to kill me!

   The afternoon found us buzzing like large locusts around the food tent and the table of our new best friend Harvey of Harveys' Gourmet Donuts. Here is Alan trying to extract the last of the donuts from his paper cone of insane goodness.

I am now a member of Harveys' Facebook Fanpage. Shout outs to Harvey and check him out!
 Of course before we could enjoy our donuts we had to eat lunch. Wild Thyme was one of the booths we hit, for their baby back ribs.

  In the afternoon we reported to the Barrel Room of the Sebastiani Winery and a reception for the Filmmakers and Festival Staff.
  The Barrel Room was dim and the pictures were the best we could get considering we were surrounded by towering gigantic vats of aging wine and thick stone walls.

 Some of the party moved out into the winery gardens where the light was a whole lot better.

Here I go scurrying along the cloister in my shawl looking for sunshine. It was chilly in the Barrel Room.

It was great talking to the Filmmakers whos' work we'd seen, and of course as Jurors we kept our counsel. Wine and snacks were served but I was still recovering from lunch and Harvey.
  I feel that I need to add here that I am someone who eats my main meal in the middle of the day every day, European style. I do not eat dinner unless we are having guests and rarely eat after 6 in the evening. One meal fills me up, so all this feasting is hard hard work. Feel sorry for me now? Sure you do. Not.
The evenings' Main Event was an extraordinary documentary film The Singularity is Near made by futurist Ray Kurzweil one of the pioneers in the field of AI . The film described how we are rapidly approaching the moment of singularity where we will still be human but post biological. Meanwhile the still biological parts were wondering what food was next and where we would find it.
 It was at a  party for Dr. Kurzweil in the private dining room of The El Dorado Kitchen in the El Dorado Hotel, known around town as  the EDK and one of our favorite Sonoma restaurants.

Beautiful little finger foods were passed around and I really really really wanted to get a picture of the English pea mascarpone mousse on crostini, but Alan was not fast enough. He did manage to snag a picture of some of the desserts. Thin little ginger bread crackers dabbed with a taste of dark chocolate mousse and starred with a bit of soft meringue.

It was dim and the supper was by candle light so this was the best we could do. Of course it wouldn't have been a party without  several types of delightful macarons.

 We got to bed around 1 a.m and were up early this morning for more food and films. Tonight is the big Dress Up Gala Dinner with Lauren Hutton and Robin Williams. More to come....