Monthly Archives: October 2018

Hungry Ginger Recommends – $%&! It’s Almost the End of October Edition

Posted on October 25, 2018 | Leave a comment

Wasn’t it just August and we were coughing through the summer wildfire smoke, making icebox cakes and exercising regularly?? Then, all of the sudden, freakin’ leaves are falling, Trader Joe’s is throwing pumpkin everything at us, and the gym seems like the worst idea. I mean, it’s going to be the holidays soon. Does it even matter at this point? Plus, it’s raining. Even the cat is depressed.

Before we start panicking about family holiday gatherings, let’s catch our breath and do a few things for ourselves.

Read a Book

I just finished Robert Galbraith’s latest mystery novel, Lethal White. If you are unfamiliar, Mr. Galbraith is the pseudonym of the one and only J. K. Rowling, who was outed in 2013 and, as of this October, is the author of four books in the Cormoran Strike series. All of the books are very good and this latest installment is the most intricate yet. The story lines are engaging and and the characters well-developed, with just the right level of sexual tension between the two main characters. Lethal White is quite long, clocking in at around 650 pages, but it moves pretty quickly and the pay-off is satisfying. It’s a perfect read for cold drizzly Fall days, curled up on the couch with a hot cup of cider. Cinemax has a mini series based on the first three books, which is quite good as well.

Watch a Show

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat came out in 2017. It is, and isn’t a cookbook. Yes, there are recipes, but at least half of the 450+ pages are more of a friendly conversation about cooking. The central idea of this cookbook is that, you don’t need recipes to cook well, just a basic understanding of how salt, fat, acid and heat work together in the kitchen. There’s a reason your pasta water should be “as salty as the sea.” Your dish too sweet? Add some acid! While I definitely recommend the cookbook as a kitchen staple, the mini series, just released On Netflix, is a feast for the eyes as well. Samin Nosrat is not your typical culinary television personality. She is goofy (in a genuine way, not a Guy Fieri way), real, and clearly relishes everything about food and cooking. She is someone you can imagine spending a relaxing afternoon with, messing around in the kitchen. The show is a good mix of travel, food porn and practical tips and, at just four episodes, will leave your mouth watering and wanting more. You might also be inspired to make some scratch pesto, just like the Italian grandmas did.

Salt_Fat_Acid_Heat_S01E01_32m12s46341f__1_.0

Light a Candle

Okay, okay, I know I made fun of Trader Joe’s earlier, but it’s only because I am guilty of buying into their pumpkin lunacy. Yes I silently judged the girl in front of me for grabbing the pumpkin Spice cookies…and then snagged a box for myself. Some of my favorite seasonal items at TJs, however, are the candles. The Pumpkin Vanilla and Honeycrisp Apple varieties to be exact. The Pumpkin Vanilla candle smells like you could possibly be a good baker and the Honeycrisp Apple smells like a crisp fall day and you’ve just bitten into a big juicy apple. They’re a great way to get into the Fall mood, just in case the wet leaves and dark mornings aren’t doing the trick yet.

That’s it! here’s hoping we are in for a few more sunny Fall days so my cat doesn’t start requiring kitty Prozac.

Of Comfort Food and Culture Wars

Posted on October 13, 2018 | Leave a comment

Two years ago France and Italy came to near blows over a recipe for spaghetti carbonara that was Frenchified with the addition of onions, creme, fraiche and, gasp…parsley!? It was a simpler time back then. One can argue that conflict over recipes is infinitely preferable to whatever shitstorm characterizes the political climate these days. International issue or not, spaghetti carbonara is my go-to comfort food. I always have eggs, pasta and parm/pecorino in the house and Trader Joe’s has these 4 oz packages of diced pancetta that are perfect for carbonara for two.

pancetta-from-Trader-Joes

If you can get it, buccatini, a hollow spaghetti, is great for the silky clingy carbonara sauce, which works its way deliciously both inside and outside each noodle. Carbonara is something I can make in just about any state: hangry, hungover, late at night drunk on tequila, you name it! I spent a lot of time trying different recipes for carbonara and finally settled on one that is simple and classic. You can see it HERE.

A few carbonara commandments that I learned along the way:

Don’t use milk or cream. Fat, starchy pasta water and cheese are all you need for an incredible sauce.
Eggs are necessary and, if you want a richer sauce, use more yolks.
Do not make your sauce in the pan you cooked the pancetta or bacon in. This can lead to scrambled eggs. Instead, fill a large bowl with hot water and let it sit while you are prepping your other ingredients. Then, when you are ready to mix everything together, dump out the water so you are left with a warm bowl that will gently nudge your sauce to silkiness rather than strong arm it.

Following these rules will result in a luscious, subtle sauce that is both rich and light, a far cry from the calorie bombs that can be found on some Italianesque restaurant menus, and on French food blogs apparently. However, I won’t judge if you prefer it creamy and/or parsleyed. I have a good friend who uses bacon bits and sour cream and I really enjoy her version as well. This is what is so great about comfort food. It is all about what makes YOU happy. We have enough to worry about in the world these days without drawing battle lines in our kitchens as well.

Burritos – The Ultimate Convenience Food, Infinitely Riff-able

Posted on October 6, 2018 | 1 comment

I loooove me a good burrito! Be it all snuggled in its foil wrapper, easily eaten on the go, or slathered in sauce and the size of a small infant, I am there for it, baby! I am a frequent visitor of taco trucks and hole-in-the-wall taco joints. This truck and this taqueria in my home town of West Seattle are two of my favorites. However, there is something to be said for not having to leave your house and having a delicious burrito ready and waiting for you in your freezer, mere minutes away from your mouth after a quick trip through the microwave (or in my counter-space challenged and thus microwave free home, a slightly more lengthy stay in the oven). Regardless of how you heat ’em up though, freezer burritos and breakfast burritos can seem like small miracles when you just can’t even but want something delicious and comforting to fill your belly.

Zoe can’t even…

Over the years, I have played around with this convenience food, trying different recipes and filling combinations and have discovered that the beauty of the frozen burrito is that there is no ULTIMATE RECIPE but rather, it is a dish that endlessly customizable and delicious in its many iterations so long as you follow a few basic principles of burrito making and a couple small but important freezer guidelines.

Burrito Principle #1: Have a variety of textures – No one enjoys a burrito that is just all mush. I mean, I love hella cheese and refried beans as much as the next person, but part of the joy of eating is variety – in texture as well as flavor. So, toss some cooked rice into that tortilla along with black or pinto beans that have been cooked and mashed slightly. Or leave your beans whole, but for the love of all that is sacred, make sure that they are cooked fully. No one likes under-cooked beans in their burrito. Then balance out the relatively soft textures of the rice and/or beans with some veggies like bell peppers and onions cooked to the point where they maintain a little crunch. And of course cheese and salsa to your liking!

Corollary of Burrito Principle #1: For breakfast burritos, replace beans and/or rice with hashbrowns and eggs scrambled with a little cheese, salt and pepper. I like to defrost some frozen hashbrowns or even tater tots and toss them with the cooked veggies.

Hashbrowns and veggies in the background and scrambled eggs with ham and cheese in the foreground destined for Denver Breakfast Burritos.

Burrito Principle #2: Don’t muddy the flavors – It may be tempting to really raid the spice cabinet here. I mean, when else are you going to use that artisanal ancho chili powder that you got at the farmers market last year? Or was it two years ago? First, check the sell by date. Odds are, many of your spices are past their prime and won’t be doing you any favors in whatever dish they land in. Second, be judicious about when and where you spice. For example, I like to use a boxed Mexican or Spanish rice for convenience sake when making my burritos. Near East is a brand that is readily available at grocery stores and makes a flavorful light (read: not gummy) rice for burritos. If I use a boxed rice, I ease off on the spices elsewhere. Maybe just some chili powder added to the veggies along with a splash of lemon juice and a half teaspoon each of cumin and coriander added to the beans. However, sometimes I will do a cilantro lime rice a la Chipotle and in that instance, I may add some more spices to the vegetables like paprika (sweet or smoked) and ancho or chipotle chili powder.

Burrito Principle #3: When it comes to cheese, its all about location, location, location! – Don’t just toss a handful cheese into your burrito and call it a day. You have been so thoughtful up to this point. Don’t leave, what is arguably the most important part of the burrito, to fate or your questionable rolling technique! It is always a little disappointing when we get to the very bottom of our burrito and there sits a large glob of cheese that would have been put to much better use lovingly woven throughout the whole. Slightly better, though not ideal, is when we bite into the burrito and see the clear demarcation if rice and beans and other fillings to cheese. Battle lines were drawn and the cheese stands alone to one side. Yes, it all comes together in your mouth, but perfection it is not. The answer to this, is to lay out your tortilla and then sprinkle shredded cheese all over that bad boy. Then add your other fillings to one side and get rolling. This way, the cheese is distributed throughout. It is cozying up to your other fillings but it is also hanging out between layers of tortilla, a happy cheesy surprise that makes every bite perfectly balanced. And, if you want to get REAL crazy, dollop some cheese sauce on top of your fillings to create a molten cheesy core. Take care: This technique is only for advanced burrito rollers and cheese fiends.

Ok, so you have got your burrito with all the fixins’. Is it ready to be rolled and frozen? Wait, step away from the burrito and attend to these two freezer guidelines:

Freezer Guideline #1: Don’t go crazy with the dairy – I mean, you went crazy with the cheese and that’s fine, but for these frozen burritos, leave the sour cream in the fridge. The water content in more liquid dairy products does not lend itself to home freezing, which is a slow process, inviting the formation of water crystals. No one wants ice in their burrito, which will melt and, separated from that fat, can turn your tasty creation into a soggy mess. Check out this really interesting article on the science behind freezing ice cream where the same fundamentals apply. You are totally welcome to heap sour cream on your warmed up burrito (or eat it straight out of the carton alongside…). I won’t judge.

Freezer Guideline #2: Keep the avocado on your toast and out of your burrito – Freezers do weird things to our favorite hipster health food. I am sure there is some science behind the phenomenon, involving enzymes and oxidation. Perhaps, I’ll do a deep dive into this in another post, but for now, trust me, just don’t do it. As with the sour cream, feel free to go crazy with the guac when it is time to eat the burrito. On top, on the side, EVERYWHERE!

Now you have filled your burrito and followed the freezer guidelines like the A+ student that you are, and now it is time to roll those babies up and toss them in the freezer, a down payment on your future happiness. If you plan on baking them in the oven later, roll up in foil and then stack in a gallon freezer bag. If they are destined for the microwave, roll in parchment paper, then foil and the gallon freezer bag.