the failure in presentation

So sometime last week culinary chaos ensued.
I had made the decision to try and make an Alfredo sauce from raw cashews.
The first step in this sauce is soaking them for hours, so as I was boiling water for coffee my buttery little cashews went in for their day long soak.
The plan was to put them on fettucini noodles, until over coffee the boyfriend informed me that we would be having company, gluten free company.

an aside: this is also when we hatched the plan for what ended up being the next post "a failure in execution"

I always get so nervous making something new for people I don't know, hell I get nervous making something for people I do know, but I had been dreaming of this sauce for days, so I decided to still go ahead. and in place of noodles I had a spaghetti squash that needed to get used. boyfriend was in charge of a side and I went off to work worry free.

I didn't expect to have to cook in front of anyone but here I was. My oven started smoking trying to make the squash, I was cursing and dropping things while the boyfriend was calmly throwing together a salad.
here is the result.

sick looking right? The sauce is laying over the squash like a dead squid. I had intentionally made it thicker since experience has taught me that squash has a lot of water, apparently, not this one though.
So we present this to our guest who said "is this dinner all vegetables?" (I am panicking) we all timidly and silently grab a forkful and take a bite.
 Suddenly it was exclamation about how good it was, and it was! it was actually really incredible. it tasted exactly like Alfredo, maybe even more savory? the squash wasn't even a weird flavor for it. it was...maybe my favorite dish I've made in a long time.  next time though I will toss the sauce with the squash instead of pouring it over. presentation is key.

Fake-fredo
in a blender
1 1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked for 4ish hours and drained)
2 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons (or a healthy pinch if you are like me and don't measure) of onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, rosemary and parsley
1 tablespoon of mustard
salt to taste
1/2 cup daiya cheese
almond milk

add just a little almond milk and start blending, you will need to add more of the milk until consistency is a little thinner than you want, it will take awhile to get those cashews smooth. pour mixture into a saucepan and heat on low until hot, it will get thicker pretty fast. then just pour over your favorite noodle. easy easy.

I have been vegetarian since I was 11 (although i was never much of a meat person) so I am pretty accustomed to having portobello mushrooms in lieu of steak. I have done so many variations...steak seasoning, Italian seasoning...garlic.. all wonderful ways to make an already delicious fungi into a better one.
but this one, this is THE one.

in a large baggie combine
2 portobello mushrooms
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
a couple tablespoons olive oil (just enough to coat the mushrooms, really you want more vinegar than oil)
3 finely minced cloves of garlic
1/4 of an onion sliced. 
salt and pepper.

Smush around and toss in the fridge (it's better to do in the morning and let it marinade all day but a couple of hours will do.)
now you can either:

• throw them on a grill (get some foil out! those onions are the second best part, grill them on foil for balsamic glazed onions on your shroom)

or

• Throw them in a pan on medium high heat with the onions (save the marinade!). Towards the end when they are getting soft get out another pan and smash down the mushrooms. This will remove the excess water and make it more meaty.

Put the onions and mushrooms (and in this version provolone for the boy) between thick slices of ciabatta bread (this one is from grand central bakery) and throw it back in the pan (or grill) until its crispy and the cheese is melted.
One last (highly important) step, take the balsamic marinade and put it in the pan on high heat and start stirring. reduce it to half its volume and drizzle it over the sandwich.

The potato salad is a recipe I have liberally stolen from The Post Punk Kitchen . I have now made it 4 times in the last 2 weeks, once for over 15 people for a potluck picnic (that I didn't even go to!) with rave reviews. So you  really need to try it. Add whatever veggies you have in the fridge, I've done radishes or red bell pepper... it will make your friends think you are some sort of creative genius.

Next up: a fail post in two forms.

The Curry That Isn't Really Curry.

I'm not one of those girls who will claim that being able to cook will land you a man. (or that you ever need a man period) But... having a solid recipe or two can go a long way towards scoring points with a potential mate.

This was one of the first dinners I cooked for my now boyfriend, back when i was still wooing him. He sat there dazzled and in awe of my culinary skills. i only just told him tonight that it was merely 7 ingredients.

The curry that isnt really curry.

Combine in blender :

1 can of coconut milk
nearly one whole bunch of cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
2 thumb sized chunks of ginger
1 tablespoon curry powder (i used a green curry paste that is like fire. but regular yellow works too)

blend until smooth.
heat and pour over some basmati. And to really make it a solid meal, some big slabs of portobella (i am sure chicken works too)

I was asking the boyfriend how he would describe this and his reaction was "it's like, it hits your mouth and its like zip, like impactful. Like you know how MSG.... i don't. know i just take the photos."
Which reminds me. Yes he does!

All of the pornographic photos as of late have come from him. its not a bad trade. He just has to arfully snap a few photos of dinner and then he gets to eat the subject, and I in turn can justify spending a days worth of wages on infused oils. Successful working relationship.

I am a sucker for food magazines. It's my splurge after exams to go and get the latest issue of bon appetit or saveur (in the past I was a strict gourmet connoisseur RIP).  This last month's issue featured Gweneth Paltrow as if I needed something so unappetizing on the cover.

The feature story was about Fergus Henderson; the one who pioneered the recent nose-to-tail movement in restaurants (aka why you are craving bone marrow suddenly). Anyways, it was about traditional sunday lunch, and only one photo in to it, I was hooked.

Radishes.

Radishes with salt and butter.

Luckily, the farmers market opened here for the season in NW at a new location on 19th and Everett. So local french radishes were mine.

We cut out the middle man, butter, and went straight for radishes with Cyprus flake salt. It may be the most simple and radically satisfying appetizer ever. The best part about buying them from a market is the greens are actually edible. I made them into a simple salad tossed with a Dijon vinaigrette.
Even the boyfriend (who hates bitter greens) liked them.

Now I just need to get my hands on some bone marrow...

Holy Humidity Portland!

yesterday's humidity reached 51% and for portlanders that is intolerable.
i was studying for finals all weekend, but yesterday was hard. i was sweating from sitting in front of my laptop. so, by the time the boyfriend got home i was ready for a break and a chance to get out of the little sweat box that is our apartment.
zupans is like what i imagine shoe shopping is for most girls.

This behemoth had to come home with me. even though it took over 2 hours to steam in said humidity (turning the apartment into an actual sauna) it was totally worth it.

even the cucumber couldn't stay cool.
but in the end we got to share an artichoke  that had a heart the size of a saucer and my new summer staple, the more veggie than pasta, pasta salad.

and because i am lazy in warm weather. it is also beyond simple

Israeli couscous
diced tomatoes
diced cucumber
diced radishes (I had some french radishes from the NW Portland farmers market!)
finely chopped parsley

and its all just tossed with the following
lemon juice (nearly a 1/4 of a cup)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
 salt and pepper. 

the nice thing is that it makes so much its easy to have on hand to grab and go for a couple of days.