Soy Citrus Dipping Sauce or Marinade

Here is the tofu I am marinating in this soy citrus sauce. 

This is a very simple dipping sauce/ marinade that you can use for a multitude of dishes.
It's great with fresh spring rolls, on rice or to marinate tofu, fish, chicken or beef. Add more oil and it make a great Asian salad dressing.

Soy Citrus Sauce

Ingredients
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2/3 cups soy sauce
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger root
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon honey.

Note: It might be fun to use a tablespoon or two of marmalade in place of the honey !!

1) Grate the ginger ( freeze your fresh ginger root to keep it longer and make it very easy to grate) and orange zest into a bowl. I prefer to use a micro-plane or micro-grater to grate the ginger and orange peel.

2) Add soy sauce, sesame oil, orange juice and honey, mix well.

3) Store in the fridge.

My weekend through food...

This last weekend Bob's aunt celebrated her 80th birthday in style. 

We were lucky enough to be invited. 

Calistoga was the center of all the activities, most of which revolved around food. 

 Here is the quiche, smoked salmon and raw veggies, I served for picnic lunch on the drive up.

 Here was the view from that picnic lunch at Land's End in SF.

 We didn't eat here but I liked the sign...

We did eat here, on the main drag in Calistoga.

 Carl and Marty enjoy a superb seafood chowder...

 with tentacles.

 Amazing Asian salad with avo.

Another great salad...

This was a seafood cocktail.

We were too busy eating out main courses to document them. 

I shared the slow roasted pork ribs with Bob, they were to die for, very moist and flavorful !!

The next morning after watching some members of our crew floating about...

we had a champagne brunch at Solage resort.

This was some kind of huevos ranchos spin-off.

I enjoyed this cute version of pain perdu ( French toast) with a creme anglaise dipping sauce.

Tra vigne was our dinner destination in St. Helena.

Freshly made mozzarella was one of the appetizers.

This was some of the best grilled steak I have ever eaten !!

A flounder.

Pork tenderloin.

To top it all off The Birthday Cake !!

With a yummy orange layer and caramel cream cheese frosting, all homemade by two of the guest !!

Roasted Curried Chicken

This curried chicken dish has become a favorite around our house. I made it for company a while back, it was a big hit. I even made it ahead of time and took it on a recent camping trip. It lends itself to all kinds of situations. It is simple to make and can be adorned with many food toys.

You can even leave out the chicken and use the same recipe as part of a vegan feast.

There are two secrets to this recipe, of course they won't be secrets once I tell you...
First if at all possible make your own curry powder. It's simple once you have the ingredients.
You can make up a batch and store in a closed container for several months. 
It is so much more pungent and flavorful !!
If that just doesn't work for you this recipe will still be great with a mixture you buy in bulk from the store. The stuff in cans or bottles is pretty useless.
The second secret is the longer slower cooking. I cook the chicken for two plus hours at 350 F.
You can also try it in the slow cooker, my daughter did it that way, adding more liquid and it came out great.

The Curry Powder
This recipe will make enough for several dishes.

Ingredients 

• 2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds, toasted
• 2 tablespoons whole cardamom seeds, toasted
• 2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds, toasted
• 1/4 cup ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon cayenne

1) Place the whole seeds in a cast iron or other heavy bottom pan, one that will allow the seeds to be in a thin layer.

2) Toast the seeds over medium low heat, shaking the pan often until they turn color and smell good, 10 to 12 minutes.

3) Allow the seeds to cool.

4) Using a small coffee grinder or mini food processor, grind the seeds into a fine powder.

5) In a bowl add the ground seeds to the turmeric, dry mustard and cayenne, mix well.

Laurie's Roasted Curried Chicken

Ingredients
1 whole chicken cut into parts or an assortment of chicken parts, bone in, skin on.
2-3 tablespoons fresh curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoon olive or sesame oil
potatoes, carrots, squash, onions ( optional).

1) Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2) In a small bowl mix together the curry powder, salt and the oil to form a paste. 
You can also do this as a dry rub, just leave out the oil.

3) Place your rinsed and dried chicken parts in a lightly oiled glass baking dish. Smear or dust with the curry powder. Be very generous with the curry.

4) Add small potatoes ( large chunks of carrots, onions and winter squash are good too).

5) Cover  tightly with foil and bake for at least two hours. The chicken should fall off the bone.

6) You can serve it with rice, couscous, quinoa or flatbread. 

7) For condiments offer yogurt, peanut sauce, chutneys, fresh mint, soy sauce, lime slices...

Note: If you plan to try this in a slow cooker, add 1 cup water or coconut milk. Start it on the highest setting for several hours, them turn it to low for several more. You want it to fall off the bone just like in the baked version.

Here's Bob's comment on this recipe !!

Very Very Chocolate Cookies

"When it comes to chocolate, more is always better."
That's the tag line for these super rich chocolate cookies with walnuts.
They are almost like a round brownie and will make any chocolate lover smile.

Remember to plan ahead as this dough needs to be chilled before baking !!

Ingredients:

5 oz. unsweetened chocolate*, chopped
8 oz. bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup butter
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted

1) In a small pan over low heat, melt the unsweetened chocolate and 4 oz. of the bittersweet chocolate. Set aside to cool.

2) Using a standing mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer, whip the eggs and sugar on medium speed for 10 minutes until thick and light in color.

3) With the mixer on low speed, add the melted chocolate mixture and the vanilla until blended.

4) With a rubber spatula, fold in the flour, baking powder and salt, scraping the bowl.

5) Fold in the remaining 4 oz. of chocolate and the walnuts.

6) Refrigerate the dough until it is firm enough to scoop, at least 1 1/2 hours.

7) Preheat oven to 350 F. The original recipe says to use an ungreased cookie sheet, I lined mine with parchment.

8) Drop scoops or large rounded tablespoons of dough onto the cookie sheet about 3 inches apart.

9) Bake until the cookies are cracked on top, dry on the surface but soft inside, about 15 minutes.

10) Allow to cool for a minute before removing to a cooling rack.

11) Store in a closed container and see how long you can keep them around ;-) They do freeze well if you have that much restraint.

* The second time I made these cookies I did not have unsweetened chocolate, so I used the darkest chocolate I did have. They still came out VERY chocolaty !!

Yoga, succulents, the garden art show and sale and why I have not been posting lately.

I realize I have not posted in a while...I have many excuses.

I was gone last weekend at a yoga retreat with Genna...

We did lots of great yoga together as well as hiking, eating, reading. sleeping and just hanging out. 

I did not bring my computer, it was heaven !!

When I got back I needed to get in gear for my sale this weekend: 

In the Garden Art Show and Sale !!

It is 10:00 to 5:00 both Saturday and Sunday at 329 Rigg St. in Santa Cruz. 

I am so excited to be selling succulents from my collection for the first time. 

Here is a sampling of what I have...

I spent three hours today potting many more.

Don't worry, I have also been busy making raspberry jam, marmalade, rose jelly, hot pepper jelly, as well as body butter, lippies, soap and lots more great photo-cards.

There will be eight other amazing artists in the garden as well !! Hope to see you there !!

I promise to get back to posting about food after this weekend. I have a decadent chocolate cookie recipe just waiting to be posted.