House Spouse

Note: My in-laws are visiting this week, and have promised to take us out to eat most nights, so I am taking a break from cooking (except of course when we initiate Mom and Dad into the pizza grilling revolution). In the mean time, I’ll be moving some of the older House Spouse archives onto this site. The post the follows, I think, is especially appropriate now that I’ve started to see zucchini at the farmers markets. Enjoy!

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(From January 2008)

Andrew and I returned yesterday to icy sidewalks and brisk air after a week of sunshine and sixties in Los Angeles. My Vitamin D levels are up, and I’m certain this elevated mood will last for at least a few days.

Just before we left, I got to open two Christmas gifts (so as to avoid lugging gifts to and from California): a stand up Kitchen Aid mixer and Nigella Lawson’s How to Be a Domestic Goddess. Opening gifts was bittersweet because while I was thrilled with these two new kitchen additions, I knew I’d have to wait an entire week to use them. Last night, after a full day of travel (and a loss of two hours), exhausted we ordered Thai from our fave neighborhood spot and planned for the morning a re-stocking grocery run.

Zucchini and Chickpea Filo Pie
From How To Be a Domestic Goddess
(My notes are in italics.)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds (or 1/4 tsp ground cumin)
1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, finely diced
2 T olive oil
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp ground coriander (or 2 T fresh cilantro, finely chopped)
3 plump zucchini
generous 1/2 c basmati rice (I used brown basmati and cooked it about half way before starting)
2 1/4 c vegetable stock
2 15-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained
scant 1/2 c melted butter
7 ounces filo pastry dough

Preheat the oven to 400 F and put in a baking sheet.
Gently fry the cumin seeds and onion in the olive oil until soft (or, if using the ground cumin, wait to add it with the rest of the spices). Add the tumeric and coriander (if using cilantro, add it at the very end, with the chickpeas). Dice the zucchini (unpeeled), add them to the onions and cook on a fairly high heat to prevent the zucchini becoming watery. When they are soft but still holding their shape, add the rice and stir well, letting the rice become well coated in the oil. Add the stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring while you do so. When all the liquid has been absorbed the rice should be cooked, so take it off the heat, stir in the chickpeas, and check the seasoning.

Brush the insides of an 8-inch spring form pan (unfortunately, mine is a 10-inch pan, meaning my pie turned out shallower, next time I’ll make more filling) with some of the melted butter. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with 3/4 of the filo, buttering each piece as you layer. Leave a little filo overlapping the sides, and keep 3 to 4 layers for the top. Carefully put in the slightly cooled filling, and then fold in the overlaps. Butter the last layers of filo and scrunch on top of the pie as a covering. Brush with a final coat of butter, and put in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the filo is golden and the middle hot.

I served the pie for dinner with orange slices and a salad with yogurt dill dressing. I’m looking forward to a room temperature slice for a savory breakfast.

Before I stopped subscribing completely to Apartment Therapy and it’s food-focused blog, The Kitchn, I followed their recipe for a sourdough starter and the basic sourdough bread recipe that followed a week later (I stopped subscribing because I was tired of lusting after home decor items that I will never afford and feeling so bad about my own apartment for not living up to the gorgeous spaces featured on the site).

The recipe is pretty good and pretty fail safe. I’ve made the bread twice now and the second time around made for the tastiest loaves. I am attributing this to the fact that the starter was older, hence the flavors more complex and developed.

I think this bread is enjoyed best when toasted and spread with butter. I’ve been indulging in two slices for breakfast every morning. Certainly not Weight Watchers friendly. At all.

I printed up my final paper Tuesday night around 6 p.m. and immediately began thinking about how I would make a key lime pie that evening. This pie had been on my mind for about a week. So, after a trip to the pub for a celebratory beer and burger, I embarked on my first key lime pie-making adventure. Slightly buzzed, totally enthralled with my temporary freedom from using vocabulary that involves Latin and Greek phrases. (Although my dreams that night were riddled with theological problems.)

The recipe is from the May 2003 Gourmet (there’s a printable version of it on Epicurious, so I am going to refrain from reprinting the recipe). I made some fresh whipped cream using a teaspoon of sugar, a 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla and 8 ounces of heavy whipping cream. It’s definitely worth serving the pie with a fresh bowl of this because the mellow, fluffy mouthfuls of cream nicely offset the tart custard.

Candying the limes is fun, too. Just slice up a lime into very thin slices and coat with sugar. Set the slices on a plate and in to the fridge overnight. Right before serving, cut halfway through the lime and twist to garnish.