When you have access to hopping fresh shrimp, it’d be a pity not to take advantage of it. And when I say hopping fresh, I mean that literally. Living by the sea gives us the blessing of incredibly fresh (i.e. still alive) seafood, [...]]]>

When you have access to hopping fresh shrimp, it’d be a pity not to take advantage of it. And when I say hopping fresh, I mean that literally. Living by the sea gives us the blessing of incredibly fresh (i.e. still alive) seafood, and being in China means that it is almost dirt-cheap.

Am I concerned with possible contaminants in the water? Yes, of course. But my friend Lali, who is studying environmental management here, says that in comparison to a lot of places, Xiamen’s seafood is not too bad. The municipal government has managed it so that the areas where industries may potentially pollute the ocean are located far from the areas where fish are usually fished or farmed. And you’re unlikely to get sick or blemished seafood, because local markets, in deference to the Southern Chinese preference for all things fresh, sell the fish live. You choose the most energetic fish of the lot, and the fishmonger clubs it and cleans it right in front of your eyes.

Anyway, the aforementioned shrimp were literally jumping; making little popping noises against the plastic bag I was holding them in. I tried my best to give them a humane death by popping them in the freezer to numb their senses for about half an hour, then dumping them in a pot of boiling water.

Then I made a pot of creamy polenta, flavored it with basil, and threw together a quick spicy tomato sauce with bacon. In went the peeled and beheaded shrimp, and this easy weeknight meal was ready. Astonishingly, the short and simple list of ingredients yielded a dish with deep flavor, and the shrimp had that deliciously springy mouthfeel characteristic of fresh seafood. We polished the whole lot off in one sitting.

Shrimp and Bacon on Polenta
Serves 2 hungry people

Easy Polenta
From Marcella Hazan’s recipe on Epicurious
1 cup polenta
4 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp dried basil
2 tbsp butter

Shrimp and Bacon Sauce
Gourmet Nov 2009

¾ pounds shrimp, cooked and peeled
1 can diced tomatoes in juice
3-4 strips of bacon, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
olive oil for cooking

Start the polenta – bring water and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Over medium heat, stir in the polenta gradually, whisking to incorporate. Whisk for about 2 minutes, until polenta thickens. Stir in the dried basil. Cover pot. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for about ½ hour, stirring vigorously every 10 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, bacon, and red pepper flakes. Cook until bacon is browned. Add the can of diced tomatoes and cook until sauce is thickened, about 5-8 minutes. Add cooked shrimp and stir just until warmed through, about 1 minute. Taste for seasonings and add salt if needed (though the bacon is usually salty enough).

Stir the butter into the polenta until melted and incorporated.  Spoon polenta onto plates and top with shrimp-bacon mixture. Serve immediately.

Here’s a refreshing and easy snack, inspired by the movie Julie and Julia.  One of my favorite scenes in that movie, besides the scenes of Meryl Streep waxing rhapsodic over some perfectly cooked piece of food, is when Julie Powell makes these delicious looking bell-pepper [...]]]>

Here’s a refreshing and easy snack, inspired by the movie Julie and Julia.  One of my favorite scenes in that movie, besides the scenes of Meryl Streep waxing rhapsodic over some perfectly cooked piece of food, is when Julie Powell makes these delicious looking bell-pepper bruschetta.  What a great idea!  Bruschetta made with sweet bell peppers instead of tomatoes!  In the movie, Julie toasts the baguette in a skillet before piling on the diced vegetables, and when her husband bites into the bruschetta, he raves about how good it is, which of course is the first step in prompting Julie to start her famous blog… and the rest is history.

This is the perfect midnight snack, in my opinion.  Couldn’t tell you why, but I just feel like I would like some bell pepper bruschetta late at night just before bed.

Red Bell Pepper Bruschetta

1 sweet red bell pepper
1 small tomato (or 1/2 large one)
1/4 medium red onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
a drizzle of lemon juice
8-10 slices of baguette
butter for spreading
salt

Dice up all the vegetables and toss in a bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, and a sprinkle of salt (to taste).

Spread both sides of each baguette slice with butter and brown in a skillet over low-medium heat until golden brown on each side.

Top baguette with diced vegetables.  Enjoy!

Well, it’s getting cold outside, folks. On a whim today, I busted out the slow cooker and looked at it for a while, thinking about what I could make with it. Something hot. Something filling and cozy-feeling. Chili!

I searched the fridge. [...]]]>

Well, it’s getting cold outside, folks. On a whim today, I busted out the slow cooker and looked at it for a while, thinking about what I could make with it. Something hot. Something filling and cozy-feeling. Chili!

I searched the fridge. Two frozen chicken breasts, a bunch of random vegetables and a three-quarters used tube of tomato paste. The pantry yielded a can of diced tomatoes, black beans, and some spices. Score!

I set the beans to boil and soften as I prepped the other ingredients. Diced the chicken up small (no ground beef, so I guess we had to make do with a lighter version of chili, not a bad idea so soon after the holidays anyway), sliced some mushrooms, a green bell pepper, an onion and several cloves of garlic. Browned the onions, garlic and chicken, and then tossed everything into the slow cooker. 4 hours later, we had chili, baby! I stirred up a quick cornbread (from The Pioneer Woman) and we had ourselves a filling and comforting dinner, while sobbing over The Cove (oh dear, if you haven’t watched it yet, grab yourself a box of tissues and SEE IT). Oh…I mean I sobbed. Chris of course didn’t. He’s a rock (wink).

Chicken Chili (Slow Cooker Recipe)
Keep in mind that all of these measurements are rough estimates and that you can substitute anything you like. This recipe makes a small pot of chili for two or three.

2 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 8-oz can diced tomatoes
1 large bell pepper (any color)
¾ cup dried black beans
2 chicken breasts, finely diced (or ground)
1 cup white button mushrooms, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion, diced
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp chili powder (or more to taste)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp oil

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the garlic and onion until golden and aromatic. Add the chicken and cook for 2 min, tossing to brown evenly on all sides.

Add all of the ingredients except salt to slow cooker.

At this point, I cooked the chili on the high setting of my slow cooker for 3 hours, stirring every hour, because it was already pretty late in the afternoon. But I’m pretty sure the flavors would be better if you cooked it for longer, so I’d recommend turning it on to high for 30 minutes, then to low for the next 9 hours (you can make this in the morning and have dinner ready when you get home from work). If you try this let me know if it works.

Season with salt during the last hour of cooking. If the chili is watery, cook on high for a few minutes with the lid off to evaporate some of the liquid, or if you want you can stir in a teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in some water to thicken the liquid.

This quick salad is something that I make often when I want a healthy lunch but one that doesn’t take a lot of effort. Couscous is the perfect no-effort food. The kind you buy in most supermarkets is already cooked and just needs [...]]]>

This quick salad is something that I make often when I want a healthy lunch but one that doesn’t take a lot of effort. Couscous is the perfect no-effort food. The kind you buy in most supermarkets is already cooked and just needs to be rehydrated in hot water – something that takes all of five minutes, during which time you can chop up your vegetables and make an easy dressing. Often when I’m writing an article and I’m “in the zone”, cooking an elaborate meal just isn’t appealing, and this couscous salad is the perfect easy way out.

15-Minute Couscous Salad
This salad is the perfect fast light lunch, and also packs well to bring to work or to a picnic, potluck, or BBQ.  Serves 2 as a light lunch or 4 as a side dish.

½ cup instant couscous
½ cup boiling water
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (I used basil)
1 cucumber
1 ½ cups grape tomatoes
salt and pepper

In a heatproof bowl, rub the couscous with a dribble of olive oil (this will keep the grains from sticking together). Add the boiling water, cover the bowl, and let sit for five minutes.

Cut the cucumber into bite-size chunks and halve the grape tomatoes. By this time, the couscous should be ready. Fluff the cooked couscous grains with a fork, then put the bowl of couscous in the refrigerator to cool for 5-10 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar and the olive oil until emulsified (add a little extra olive oil if it isn’t coming together). Season the dressing with salt and pepper.

Toss all the ingredients together (veggies, cooled couscous, herbs and dressing). Adjust seasonings to taste and serve.

This salad can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until time to serve.

Cooking in China has its limitations.  Sometimes you don’t have a can of tomato sauce in the pantry, or even a can of diced tomatoes.  And you can’t run to the grocery store to get one, because the nearest store that sells tomato sauce is [...]]]>

Cooking in China has its limitations.  Sometimes you don’t have a can of tomato sauce in the pantry, or even a can of diced tomatoes.  And you can’t run to the grocery store to get one, because the nearest store that sells tomato sauce is an hour away.  I have such a hard life.

But don’t worry!  Camilla is here to save the day with her amazing, creative, and dexterous cooking resources – tomato sauce made with fresh tomatoes!  A revelation!

Okay, excuse my hyperbole.  But honestly, until I lived in China, I didn’t discover the beauty that is a simple fresh tomato sauce, where the flavors of the garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, and fresh basil shine through in all their glory.  Such elegant simplicity.  Such fresh flavor!

Sometimes we don’t appreciate the simple things of life until life strips away our modern (in)conveniences and forces us to enjoy pasta sauce made with fresh tomatoes.

Here we go…

The above photo is one of the few photographs on the site taken by me (the rest are by Chris).  I’m inordinately proud of it.  It was a total fluke, but I think it turned out well, don’t you?

Simplest Fresh Tomato Sauce
Serves 2

½ pound spaghetti
1 ½ pounds fresh ripe round tomatoes, or about 6 or 7 Roma tomatoes, washed
3 tbsp olive oil
4 medium cloves garlic, finely minced
salt and pepper
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp tomato paste (optional)
Fresh basil leaves, to taste, chopped

Step 1: Peel the tomatoes and prepare pasta

Bring a large pot of water to the boil.  Score a shallow “X” in the bottom of each tomato.  When water is boiling, blanch the tomatoes for 20 seconds and remove from the water.

Use the boiling water to prepare the spaghetti according to package directions.  Remember to salt the water – if you don’t add enough salt, the spaghetti will taste inadequately seasoned, no matter how salty the sauce is.  How much salt you add will depend on how much water you’re using.  More water will prevent sticking.  Drain the pasta when it is done, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.

When tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel each tomato by pulling the skin off where you scored the X.  The skin should come off easily.  Chop the tomatoes roughly.

Step 2: Make the sauce

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a non-reactive skillet.  Add the minced garlic, and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring, until garlic is softened and pale golden (do not let it brown).  Add the chopped tomatoes, and stir to coat with oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover skillet and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes disintegrate and release their juice.  Uncover, add teaspoon sugar, and cook, stirring, until sauce is thickened slightly.  Add tomato paste, if using.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Stir in chopped fresh basil leaves.

Add drained pasta directly to skillet and toss with sauce.  If sauce is dry, add a splash of reserved pasta water to moisten.

You can serve this with grated Parmesan, but I love the fresh and simple flavors all on their own, with a glass of dry white wine.  Umm!  I could eat like this every day.

We love pico de gallo.  It’s so festive, like little bits of colorful confetti, and so yummy.  Pico de gallo is a great summer food when the tomatoes are in season, and lucky for us, here in October, tomatoes are still ripe and [...]]]>

We love pico de gallo.  It’s so festive, like little bits of colorful confetti, and so yummy.  Pico de gallo is a great summer food when the tomatoes are in season, and lucky for us, here in October, tomatoes are still ripe and delicious in Xiamen, where today I was sweating in my long pants and black t-shirt in the blazing sun.  Especially on the bus where about 100 people were crammed into a bus that should fit about 40, and the little Chinese man in front of us in a straw cowboy hat kept giving us inquisitive glances when he noticed us speaking in English.

I love how when Chris and I go out, I’m the one who gets the stares. Not the 6’3” tall white guy, but the normal sized Chinese girl sitting next to him.  In a land of 1.3 billion Chinese people, how am I the anomaly???

It’s simple of course.  I’m with the white guy, and I’m speaking English.  Most people in our neighborhood just don’t have a frame of reference for someone strange like me.

Anyway, back to the fresh tomato salsa.  It’s delicious.  And we’re hanging on to summer for as long as we can.  And you should make it asap – it’s the easiest thing in the world, and soon tomatoes will be mealy, pale shadows of their former selves, so go grab the last ripe ones while you can.

NOTE: If you can find a good mango (and with our crazy food distribution networks around the globe now, you can find mangoes almost all through the year), try chopping one up and throwing it into this salsa. Trust me. Your taste buds will swoon.

Pico de Gallo (Fresh Tomato Salsa)

This is seriously so easy, and feel free to adjust the proportions of different ingredients to taste.  Chris doesn’t love cilantro (I know, what a weirdo), so I added a little less.

1 red onion
4 ripe tomatoes
½ cup chopped cilantro, lightly packed
2 jalapeño peppers
juice of 1 lime
salt

Chop onion and tomatoes and jalapeños into small dice (leave the seeds if you like it spicy – that’s where the heat is).  Mix everything together, including cilantro and lime juice.  Salt to taste.

Important!  Do not rub your eyes while you are chopping jalapeños! Not unless you want to find out the hard way (like Chris did), how nasty that can be.

By the way, if you live in China like me, those ubiquitous skinny green chilies will work just as well if you can’t find jalapeño peppers, though we actually did find them at a supermarket called RT-Mart.

And don’t forget to toss in a diced mango if you’ve got one!