1 New Recipe a Week: Week 7 (aka Painted Fish)

Fresh seafood was a staple on our dining table as I was growing up in Hawaii.  On weekend mornings, we’d go to the beach, catch fish and gather limu (seaweed) and, if we were lucky, find an octopus or two or some panapana (sea urchin in Ilocano).  These items would be simply prepared, sometimes steamed with ginger, sometimes fried to a wonderful crispiness, many variations of seafood stews, or sometimes eaten raw (like the sea urchin) and limu. 

I like my fish unadulterated. I want to taste the ocean that they breathed and the seaweed that nurtured them. Whenever I go back to Hawaii, I eat poke, a popular raw fish dish in Hawaii that has a variety of preparation methods.  Ingredients might include fish, shrimp and octopus, and might be flavored with seaweed, green onions, kukui nut, sea salt, chili water, even kimchee seasoning.  The main thing is that the fish flavor is enhanced, not smothered.

The few glazed fish dishes I have eaten in restaurants were either over-cooked or over-sauced.  It was as if someone covered dark, rich koa or cherry wood with a thick paint.  Quite disrespectful!

In the interest of trying a new recipe, however, I set out to look for a glaze that might help me be more open-minded.  I found a wonderfully simple recipe from America’s Test Kitchen (yet again!) that had only three ingredients to add to the salmon.  Now that is simple.

In fact, it was too simple, so I decided I needed to stretch a little and bake a peach  cobbler from a recipe I found in an August 2005 Martha Stewart’s Living magazine. The peach filling is tasty with just a touch of ginger, but it is the taste and texture of the topping that renders this dessert a lavish end to a simple meal.

MAPLE-SOY GLAZED SALMON

The preparation time for this meal was 40 minutes, which is the time it takes to cook basmati rice in a rice cooker.  The actual time for the preparation of the maple-soy glazed salmon was about 2 0minutes, including the gathering of ingredients and cutting a side of salmon into fillets.

I simmered a 1/2 cup of maple syrup and 1/4 cup soy sauce for a few minutes until the mixture was the texture of syrup.  I baked six salmon fillets, skin side down, at 450 degrees for about three minutes then basted each piece with the glaze.  I baked it about three more minutes adding a little more glaze at the end.

I then sprinkled chopped up green onions and toasted sesame seeds on the top and the dish was ready.  It was served with rice and a mixed green salad with ginger tofu dressing. 

SALMON SIMPLY GLAZED TO PERFECTION — IN TEXAS!

p.s.  In my quest for a balanced meal, I rounded off this healthy fare with . . .

PEACH COBBLER ALA MODE!

Arrival at Baggage Claim C

He shifted his weight in the third chair of the single pew at Baggage Claim C.  He was amazed at how these thin seats initially looked comfortable, but soon made him squirm to find a good position.  His elbows banged up against the metal arms on both sides of his seat.  Why do humans intentionally design discomfort? 

“Flight 0804 has arrived,” the automated voice announced to the air.  “Baggage can be claimed at Baggage Claim C.  For passengers flying to another destination, please check the consoles located throughout the terminal.”

He was expecting many important people arriving on this flight.  Dignitaries, financiers, artists and musicians were listed on the manifest.  But he was especially interested in a woman he had yet to meet.  Her postcards always managed to reach him, bits of her life scribbled on the backs of beaches, mountains and cities.  Her simplicity intrigued him. 

“I like this town.  I may stay here awhile.” 

“I didn’t realize how much this beach meant to me.”

“These mountains must reach heaven.”

The tired-looking travelers started filing in one by one, pushing the turnstyle that ended their journeys.  He recognized the young senator from Illinois who will lead a nation, and another man who will challenge Israel’s sovereignty.  He smiled fondly at a dark colored man who will sing about how wonderful life is, and nodded briefly at a man whose baseball career will be tainted by his credibility before lawmakers.

He stood when a small woman came through, carrying an overstuffed red purse and a slim computer bag.  She seemed so . . .  ordinary next to these other destinies.  Yet he recognized her by her expectant glances at different faces, and a small smile that breathed anticipation. 

She set her bags down near the baggage conveyer and ran her fingers through her hair.  She was business-like in her movements, yet bent down to talk to a little Asian boy who will star in a TV series about being lost. 

She saw him walking towards her, and her smile broadened.  “I knew you’d be here,” she murmured when he stood a few inches away. 

He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, and said quietly, “Welcome to Gaia, child.”  They hugged as old friends do when time is of no essence.

“Let me help you with your bags,” he offered, as they waited for the conveyer to deliver her life.

- a birthday present to myself

Sunday Haikus on HEAT Multiplied!

HEAT X 1
Legions breathing fire
unleashing the breath of hell
on cattle and grass

HEAT X 2
Water molecules
struggle to remain intact
in heat invasion

HEAT X 3
Hair tendrils perspire
shirt outlines skeletal parts
breathing to exist

HEAT X 4
Indoors or outdoors
an unfair choice for humans
are we not rulers?

Love letters scavenged in sand

Her wind blown hair whispers
     he tossed this branch
     far across the ocean
     praying she would hear his thoughts
     from another dimension

Her salty fingers tingle
     he caressed the roundness
     of these weathered rocks
     wishing she could feel its smoothness
     and embrace his touch

Her sunburnt eyes perceive
     he weighed woven nets
     with these forgotten glass orbs
     promising to end his journeys
     with abundance restored

Her sandy feet discern
     he paused to examine
     remnants of starfish and urchins
     regretting life’s journeys
     on divergent oceans

She assembles these icons
    on an altar to a memory
    that ebbs and flows
    through letters she conjures
    from a celestial shore

1 New Recipe a Week: Week 6 (aka Chicken Canzanese)

When I was five years old, I accompanied Papa (my grandpa) to the open market on Maunakea Street in Honolulu.  These were special trips, and we ignored bins of fresh vegetables, meat hanging on hooks and colorful fish piled on ice on our way to a small shop lined with cages.    I was entertained by live chickens, brown and white birds, proudly clucking and strutting.  Grandpa examined each cage and eventually picked two or three.  The shopkeeper tied the chicken’s feet and wrapped each bird tightly in white butcher paper. I was allowed to sit in the back seat to watch them as they lay still on their sides, heads sticking out, eyes blinking and occasionally a cluck.

At home, Mama placed a large metal bucket about two feet wide and one foot high on the kitchen floor.  As she poured boiling water into the bucket, Papa deftly broke the chickens’ necks, cut off their heads, and we proceeded to remove feathers after the chickens were placed in the water.  On those weekends, our extended family had fried chicken and various chicken soups and stews.  Every part of the chicken, including the necks, feet and some of the innards, were used. 

Because I was willing (eager actually) to help in the process, especially in the pulling of the feathers, I was allowed first pick at the chicken pieces.  Inevitably, I selected pieces with the most skin.  The wings, drumsticks and thighs were mine for the asking.  Today I still choose dark meat pieces – on Thanksgiving, in a KFC bucket, at a potluck.  I often replace chicken thighs for breasts when I cook. 

I was therefore delighted to find a recipe on americastestkitchen.com specifically designed to optimize dark meat attributes.  The host of America’s Test Kitchen (ATK), Christopher Kimball, explained that the collagen in dark meat turns into gel and absorbs a lot of liquid.  The tendency of white meat, on the other hand, is to lose water and dry out during the cooking process.

CHICKEN CANZANESE

This is an Italian braised dish that uses common pantry items.  I dried and  peppered nine pieces of chicken thighs and set that aside while I prepared the braising sauce. 

To oil that was shimmering hot, I added about three ounces of prosciutto that was cut about 1/2 inch thick and diced into 1/4 inch cubes.  After cooking this until it was lightly browned, I added four garlic cloves that were sliced lengthwise. As I set it aside, I wanted to make sure that it would be okay, and tasted a couple of pieces of prosciutto.  It was “okay” (excellent!).

Next, I upped the temperature, added a little more olive oil and set the chicken in, skin side down. Although the written recipe called for skinning the thighs, the video noted that the crisping of the skin is part of the tastiness of this dish. Of course I kept the skin on!

I removed the chicken after about five minutes on each side, then reduced the oil to a couple of tablespoons.  I added two cups of Mondavi chardonnay and a cup of chicken broth and while it simmered that for a few minutes, I scraped the chicken crusted at the bottom to get every bit into the sauce.  I added four cloves, two bay leaves, twelve sage leaves and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes.  I stripped a four-inch stem of rosemary of its leaves, added the stem to the sauce and chopped up the leaves to use at the end.  I then nestled the chicken, skin side up, into this liquid and stuck the pan into the 325 degree oven.  

I prepared two simple side dishes that would complement the strong flavors of chicken canzanese. Al dente gemilli pasta sprinkled with fresh parsley and topped with chopped fresh tomatoes was light and perfect for soaking up the sauce. Steamed fresh asparagus rounded off the palate with its distinct flavor.

After about an hour and 15 minutes, I removed the pan from the oven and placed the chicken in its serving dish.  I discarded all the leaves, simmered the sauce until it reduced to a little over a cup,  and added the chopped up rosemary leaves, a tablespoon of lemon juice and a couple of tablespoons of butter.  I poured the sauce over the chicken and it was ready to serve.

CHICKEN CANZANESE – CRISPY SKIN, SUCCULENT MEAT, AND A RICH, FLAVORFUL SAUCE!

Note: Many thanks to America’s Test Kitchen for their videos.  While their written recipes are clear and instructional, their videos bring the cooking process to life and even someone like me can replicate their dishes.

Stunning Creativity in Three Minutes and Six Lines of Dialogue

In a recent Philips Parallel Lines “Tell it Your Way” competition on youtube ( http://www.youtube.com/philipscinema ), the basic requirements included a three-minute video and only six lines of dialogue. The winning video, entitled “Porcelin Unicorn,” is a simple yet highly textured story of two lives told in only two scenes. It is further evidence that writing is not about the story itself but the lens through which we help other people read, hear and see the story.

Sunday Haiku Quintuplet on Ants

 

1.
bubble-eyed insect
four-part body on six feet
ant morphology 

2.
obsidian specks
scurry to scavenge stale crumbs
ubiquitous ants

3.
women hunt and march
leaving men to breed and die
no choice for the ant

4.
fire mounds and pincers
soldiers swarm to burn, bite, steal
invasion of ants

5.
assignment from birth
leafcutter, weaver, army
purpose-driven ants

Mark Moffett was recently featured on NPR and CBS Sunday morning.  He is an entomologist, biologist, photographer and ant-enthusiast and wrote Adventures Among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions.  I don’t like ants, but I was fascinated by his stories of these tiny creatures.  These stories inform and sometimes scare me, but most of all, have taught me to respect the ant.